TG Chat Thread 2017

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Gobbeldygook: May 13, 2009; Hates Native American people and tries to justify their genocides.

Put this racist on ignore immediately!

Robot Style posted:

Does anyone have any experience with the fanmade Mass Effect D20 system? I'm currently playing a campaign with some friends, and our hacker party member seems way too OP. At level 2, he was able to open all the holding cells on a military flagship through an air conditioner control inside his cell, which seems a little ridiculous.
It wouldn't be too much of a problem if he wasn't also the group's medic. In our last session he refused to help another player's severely wounded character after a sudden ship crash until the rest of the group agreed to go along with a "Master Plan" he spent two weeks coming up with. The plan was just him using a future-ipad to hack a neutral military frigate in orbit (from the ground, through a signal-jamming sandstorm) and commanding it to fire on a hostile ship, also in orbit. He's currently level 4, and routinely makes rolls in the mid-30's.

Is this guy just taking advantage of a poorly QC'ed fanmade game, or is there active bullshit going on?

This is a poorly QC'd fanmade game. First red flag was the number of classes; six normal classes + 13 race specific classes and those classes are poorly templated.
"Tech Points: A Salarian Scientist starts the game with a number of tech points equal to his Intelligence modifier times Salarian Scientist level (minimum of 1)."
"Tech Points: The Volus Protector�s tech points are equal to his Intelligence modifier times Volus Protector level (minimum of 1)."
First version wasn't clear whether you kept gaining points every level or not, but most of the classes use the Volus Protector's language.

Presumable he's either an Engineer or Infiltrator. At Level 4: 18 int base, +2 from being Quarian, 7 skill points in all relevant skills, +2 for White Hat feat (+2 to damping/decryption/electronics/hacking), and +5 for Skill Focus (level 3 feat). If your GM is a complete doormat, he took the Savant achievement feat (pg 315) at level 1 and got +3 electronics/repair and +2 damping/decryption/hacking. That gets us to +21 and it already doesn't matter. The highest DC for a hacking check (Hack a military-grade defensive IFF and alter it) is 30 and he can just take 10 to autosucceed on that. He can choose to do things in half the time if he takes +5.

...unless he just wants free money. To hack a bank terminal to transfer you money is DC (15+[amount of money desired/500]) and takes a number of rounds equal to the DC divided by 3 (round down). Let's say he wanted to withdraw 5500 credits and wanted to do it fast, that would DC 26+5 = 31, 10 rounds base divided by 2 is 5. So 30 seconds with a bank terminal and he can withdraw 5500 credits from any bank terminal he runs into. The rules note he can only do this once per terminal. He might spend that money on:

Quarian service vest: Light armor, 2700 credits, +2 to damping, decryption, electronics, hacking, and repair checks (not typed, stacks with everything)
Omnitool upgrades: +1/2/5 to any given skill for 100/800/2500 credits. So +5 to damping, decryption, electronics, and hacking would be 10k credits (again, not typed, so it stacks with everything)
Neural amplifier: 300 credits+4k or 16k credits for +2 or +4 to int
Skill implant: +3 competence bonus to a skill for 5250.

So if you guys spent some time robbing banks with the explicit one-roll Rob Bank rules, he could have up to a +33 to hacking at level 4.

edit: You need an Omnitool for any damping, decryption, electronics, first aid, hacking, and repair checks so he should not have been able to do any hacking in the holding cell unless they inexplicably let him hang onto his tools.

Gobbeldygook fucked around with this message at 05:27 on Jan 12, 2017

# ? Jan 12, 2017 05:19

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# ? May 14, 2024 00:16

Serf: May 5, 2011

gradenko_2000 posted:

Boy do I feel silly for guffawing at how ham-handedly Revenge of the Sith handled a transition over to fascism. Turns out it's going to be even easier than that!

Lucas was just a decade too early. But like for real one of the villains is named loving Nute Gunray and their flagship is the Invisible Hand.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 05:21

Plutonis: Mar 25, 2011

If you download a Mass Effect D20 RPG you deserve what you get.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 05:21

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

Serf posted:

Lucas was just a decade too early. But like for real one of the villains is named loving Nute Gunray and their flagship is the Invisible Hand.

The big Trade Federation ship that Anakin blew up in Ep 1 was a Lucrehulk-class Battleship

# ? Jan 12, 2017 05:24

Ominous Jazz: Jun 15, 2011; Big D is chillin' over here
Wasteland style

Plutonis posted:

If you download a Mass Effect D20 RPG you deserve what you get.

Just play feelings and lazers

# ? Jan 12, 2017 05:33

Serf: May 5, 2011

gradenko_2000 posted:

The big Trade Federation ship that Anakin blew up in Ep 1 was a Lucrehulk-class Battleship

Unsubtle but very necessary.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 05:45

Plutonis: Mar 25, 2011

Serf posted:

Unsubtle but very necessary.

Much like Watto

# ? Jan 12, 2017 05:47

Halloween Jack: Sep 12, 2003; I WILL CUT OFF BOTH OF MY ARMS BEFORE I VOTE FOR ANYONE THAT IS MORE POPULAR THAN BERNIE!!!!!

Robot Style posted:

Is this guy just taking advantage of a poorly QC'ed fanmade game, or is there active bullshit going on?

Can't it be both?

There are two types of D20 adaptations: awfully-balanced fussy piles of bullshit, and the figment of the author's imagination that he believes he actually wrote.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 05:58

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

Robot Style posted:

Is this guy just taking advantage of a poorly QC'ed fanmade game, or is there active bullshit going on?

Does the end of the campaign involve different colors of explosions?

On a different note, have you thought about using a different engine? It may not be D20, but Cortex+ could be a better fit for your group.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 06:59

Robot Style: Jul 5, 2009

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.
The player in question is playing a Quarian Engineer so is probably doing something similar to what was suggested by Gobbledygook, combined with our GM being a first timer who just wanted to try a Mass Effect game without giving a lot of thought to trying to do conversion on an existing system.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 07:42

Brother Entropy: Dec 27, 2009

Ominous Jazz posted:

Just play feelings and lazers

or impulse drive if you're a pbta fan

# ? Jan 12, 2017 07:48

Elfgames: Sep 11, 2011; Fun Shoe

i mean i don't think a rules light story game is exactly good for replicating the feel of mass effect.

but you should never ever ever trust a d20 fan game

# ? Jan 12, 2017 08:00

Ratpick: Oct 9, 2012; And no one ate dinner that night.

Someone on tumblr posted a way back about using Strike! for Mass Effect. I have to admit that I'm not familiar with the series myself, but as far as I understand they're essentially sci-fi RPGs with some cover-based shooting, so it does not seem that far-fetched an idea. You could probably even hack the emotional attributes system in some way to make a Paragon/Renegade system. Maybe? I don't know.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 09:19

Brother Entropy: Dec 27, 2009

Ratpick posted:

Someone on tumblr posted a way back about using Strike! for Mass Effect. I have to admit that I'm not familiar with the series myself, but as far as I understand they're essentially sci-fi RPGs with some cover-based shooting, so it does not seem that far-fetched an idea. You could probably even hack the emotional attributes system in some way to make a Paragon/Renegade system. Maybe? I don't know.

yeah the cover + positioning stuff of strike could actually be a real good fit for how mass effect 2 and 3 play

is that emotional attributes system from a supplement? i don't remember it being in the core book

# ? Jan 12, 2017 09:26

drrockso20: May 6, 2013; Has Not Actually Done Cocaine

Ratpick posted:

Someone on tumblr posted a way back about using Strike! for Mass Effect. I have to admit that I'm not familiar with the series myself, but as far as I understand they're essentially sci-fi RPGs with some cover-based shooting, so it does not seem that far-fetched an idea. You could probably even hack the emotional attributes system in some way to make a Paragon/Renegade system. Maybe? I don't know.

Yeah it would be a good fit, especially since the Class/Role system lines up pretty well with the class system Mass Effect uses(especially the version 3's MP uses)

# ? Jan 12, 2017 09:29

Ratpick: Oct 9, 2012; And no one ate dinner that night.

Brother Entropy posted:

yeah the cover + positioning stuff of strike could actually be a real good fit for how mass effect 2 and 3 play

is that emotional attributes system from a supplement? i don't remember it being in the core book

It's in the core book, but it's an optional rule. I think the example given was using it for a Sanity system, but one of the Kits (the moneybags kit) used it for Greed.

Of course it'd have to be hacked so that it's not a single scale but a continuum, but I could see it working.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 09:33

Brother Entropy: Dec 27, 2009

Ratpick posted:

It's in the core book, but it's an optional rule. I think the example given was using it for a Sanity system, but one of the Kits (the moneybags kit) used it for Greed.

Of course it'd have to be hacked so that it's not a single scale but a continuum, but I could see it working.

okay yeah found it on page 73

i'm not sure you'd necessarily need it to be a continuum, you could maybe have paragon and renegade as two different skills? i remember in at least one of the MEs the two didn't cancel each other out and you could potentially have both maxed through new game+

the whole 'stop becoming a PC or lose the skill at 6' is a little extreme for paragon/renegade though. i'm actually getting kinda interested in running a mass effect strike game now, if anyone's got any other ideas of how to do paragon/renegade stuff(or if it's really even necessary) i'm all ears

# ? Jan 12, 2017 11:38

Ratpick: Oct 9, 2012; And no one ate dinner that night.

Brother Entropy posted:

the whole 'stop becoming a PC or lose the skill at 6' is a little extreme for paragon/renegade though. i'm actually getting kinda interested in running a mass effect strike game now, if anyone's got any other ideas of how to do paragon/renegade stuff(or if it's really even necessary) i'm all ears

Oh, definitely, that'd have to be the first to go. In general I'm not a fan of any kind of emotional attribute system where at some point you lose agency over your character: V:tM's Humanity comes to mind, but Burning Wheel also has it for Dwarves, Elves and Orcs (although there it's a much slower process and much better tied with the rest of the game's mechanics).

But yeah, the Paragon and Renegade stuff might be completely unnecessary to the game, and even though it works in a single player experience like a CRPG it might be jarring to have a party with multiple different Paragon/Renegade scores across the board.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 11:46

unseenlibrarian: Jun 4, 2012; There's only one thing in the mountains that leaves a track like this. The creature of legend that roams the Timberline. My people named him Sasquatch. You call him... Bigfoot.

For my notably half-finished hack I basically made Paragon and Renegade minikits, more based on what a maxed out hero of that type would do than as any sort of morality scoring system.

quote:

Champion:

This minikit is for the sort of hero who always looks for the diplomatic solution, who inspires others to do the right thing and be the best version of themselves. They aren�t as insufferable as you might think from that.

Advances

Above and Beyond: When you go out of your way to fulfill a relatively minor request (Bring a dying war-turtle�s last poem back to his dryad spouse, retrieve a child�s toy from a war zone, etc, etc.) gain an action point.

Savior of the Spaceways: Gain an extra community reputation with a group you�ve helped.

Upper Left Blue: When you appeal to someone�s better nature to try and get them to do the right thing, roll an appropriate persuasive skill.

On a success, they do what you ask, and may change for the better.

With a bonus, they�ll also offer additional help; say, a discount on goods if they�re a merchant, or another appropriate award.

On a Twist, they�ll do what you want, but reluctantly, and they may change their mind and be angry about it later.

With a cost, they�ll do it and then refuse to have anything else to do with you.

quote:

Badass:

You�re the hard man (or woman, or monogendered space dryad, etc) making hard decisions. Action is your reward, punching people is how you do business.

Badass Interrupt: When a situation calls for it, you can take sudden, decisive action. In Combat, you can make a basic attack before initiative is rolled.

Explosive: There�s always something around that you can shoot, hit, or point out to ally to shoot that will blow up.

A particular set of skills: When faced with an enemy where you don�t want to waste your time, roll intimidate or another appropriate skill:

On a success, they�ll flee from you. With a bonus, they may offer you something to leave them alone, and then flee.

On a twist, they�ll leave for now, but they may show up later as reinforcements in a fight, or try to corner you with allies- (you can use this advance again, but you�ll be at a disavantage. )

With a cost, they�ll attack immediately, but be at a disadvantage when they do so.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 11:47

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

Isn't Paragon/Renegade a sort of gamified emulation of the sort of curated, player-driven plot you'd get with a human DM in the first place, such that you might not need an explicit representation of it anymore if you already have a human DM driving the game to begin with?

# ? Jan 12, 2017 11:55

Zandar: Aug 22, 2008

gradenko_2000 posted:

Isn't Paragon/Renegade a sort of gamified emulation of the sort of curated, player-driven plot you'd get with a human DM in the first place, such that you might not need an explicit representation of it anymore if you already have a human DM driving the game to begin with?

It also serves as a mechanic to basically tie your charm/intimidation skills to your reputation, so you might want to include that in some way.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 12:06

Halloween Jack: Sep 12, 2003; I WILL CUT OFF BOTH OF MY ARMS BEFORE I VOTE FOR ANYONE THAT IS MORE POPULAR THAN BERNIE!!!!!

Ratpick posted:

Someone on tumblr posted a way back about using Strike! for Mass Effect. I have to admit that I'm not familiar with the series myself, but as far as I understand they're essentially sci-fi RPGs with some cover-based shooting, so it does not seem that far-fetched an idea. You could probably even hack the emotional attributes system in some way to make a Paragon/Renegade system. Maybe? I don't know.

Here's unseenlibrarian's post with the race/class notes he wrote up for it.

Strike! is what I would use if I was going to run ME. Fragged Empire would also work well but would require a lot more work, since that's not designed as a multi-genre toolkit game.

Edit: Derp! He beat me to it.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 14:51

Cinnamon Bear: Aug 29, 2016; by FactsAreUseless

I'm digging through Shadow of the Demon Lord and theres a lot of cool stuff but so far I've noticed:

-the author seems to have a scat fetish
-seriously poo poo is everywhere
-playing with poo poo
-asslicking
-artwork of a cigar smoking wizard in jorts riding a bubble through space

# ? Jan 12, 2017 15:01

Sion: Oct 16, 2004; "I'm the boss of space. That's plenty."

The Whizzard and the piss trees.jpg

# ? Jan 12, 2017 15:10

Serf: May 5, 2011

Cinnamon Bear posted:

I'm digging through Shadow of the Demon Lord and theres a lot of cool stuff but so far I've noticed:

-the author seems to have a scat fetish
-seriously poo poo is everywhere
-playing with poo poo
-asslicking
-artwork of a cigar smoking wizard in jorts riding a bubble through space

He really leans hard into the "Revulsion" style of horror apparently.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 15:11

Arivia: Mar 17, 2011

Cinnamon Bear posted:

I'm digging through Shadow of the Demon Lord and theres a lot of cool stuff but so far I've noticed:

-the author seems to have a scat fetish
-seriously poo poo is everywhere
-playing with poo poo
-asslicking
-artwork of a cigar smoking wizard in jorts riding a bubble through space

considering one of sotdl's big inspirations is a game infamous for its shitfarmer classes, I'm not sure what you expected

# ? Jan 12, 2017 15:23

Cinnamon Bear: Aug 29, 2016; by FactsAreUseless

Arivia posted:

considering one of sotdl's big inspirations is a game infamous for its shitfarmer classes, I'm not sure what you expected

I haven't found the small but vicious dog yet :smith:

Actually its pretty good. I was more repulsed by the jorts though.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 15:26

potatocubed: Jul 26, 2012; *rathian noises*

Sounds like a good time to point out that Talislanta had (has?) a literal poo poo farmer class. Marukani Dung Farmer, as I recall.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 15:56

TheSoundNinja: May 18, 2012

potatocubed posted:

Sounds like a good time to point out that Talislanta had (has?) a literal poo poo farmer class. Marukani Dung Farmer, as I recall.

I always wanted to play that...

# ? Jan 12, 2017 16:39

Yawgmoth: Sep 10, 2003; This post is cursed!

Cinnamon Bear posted:

-artwork of a cigar smoking wizard in jorts riding a bubble through space

Okay someone link this pic because that sounds amazing.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 16:40

Plutonis: Mar 25, 2011

https://twitter.com/icp/status/819296817401778176

# ? Jan 12, 2017 16:54

Ominous Jazz: Jun 15, 2011; Big D is chillin' over here
Wasteland style

Plutonis posted:

https://twitter.com/icp/status/819296817401778176

Dark Carnival Game Con :siren:

# ? Jan 12, 2017 17:03

Terrible Opinions: Oct 18, 2013

Don't play with my heart Violent J.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 17:06

Sion: Oct 16, 2004; "I'm the boss of space. That's plenty."

imagine that i linked that ettin written 'gently caress you' thing here

# ? Jan 12, 2017 17:12

Antivehicular: Dec 30, 2011; I wanna sing one for the cars
That are right now headed silent down the highway
And it's dark and there is nobody driving And something has got to give

Ominous Jazz posted:

Dark Carnival Game Con

I like to imagine that Dark Carnival Game Con is going to get complaints from a group of very serious Juggalo chessmasters, face paint replicating classic board positions and problems, about the jackasses playing a CAH ripoff and yelling about EROTIC FAYGO CONSUMPTION or whatever the hell is in a Juggalo-themed CAHoid deck.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 18:07

LongDarkNight: Oct 25, 2010; It's like watching the collapse of Western civilization in fast forward.; Oven Wrangler

Not sure if it's better or worse than the other Juggalo game.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 18:50

Kwyndig: Sep 23, 2006; Heeeeeey

It's less likely to get people arrested. I'm not sure if you'd consider that better or worse though, because juggalos.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 18:55

Plutonis: Mar 25, 2011

Juggalos are legit cool as hell if only a bit goofy and 90% of the hate against them is because they are lower class.

# ? Jan 12, 2017 19:08

Sion: Oct 16, 2004; "I'm the boss of space. That's plenty."

Plutonis posted:

Juggalos are legit cool as hell if only a bit goofy and 90% of the hate against them is because they are lower class.

Well, as a loyal subject of the British Crown I can only say 'and..?'

:smuggo:

Nah but seriously, how do magnets work can someone please clear that up for me

# ? Jan 12, 2017 19:50

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# ? May 14, 2024 00:16

rkajdi: Sep 11, 2001; by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

Plutonis posted:

Juggalos are legit cool as hell if only a bit goofy and 90% of the hate against them is because they are lower class.

What's it like to be this wrong about everything? People hate on anyone with the taste to base their life around a lower-talent version of Eminem crossed with KISS, regardless of social class.

EDIT: And of course you also have a rap sheet a mile long for slurring minorities, so you're obviously the person to point out who the actually deserving people are.

rkajdi fucked around with this message at 19:56 on Jan 12, 2017

# ? Jan 12, 2017 19:54

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