|
Covok posted:Is Eclipse Phase 2nd Edition out yet? There's some chat about it in the EP thread I think.
|
# ? Mar 25, 2018 03:46 |
|
|
# ? May 25, 2024 09:07 |
|
So there's a LANCER discord channel and Tom aka the rules guy has been dropping some spoilers for the upcoming revision which he imagines is going to drop sometime around April. One of the big changes is to how mechs work in the sense that mechs are now comprised of two parts, a core and a shell. The core is where your stats are kept and levels up like normal, gaining targeting bonuses, stats, ability to use more weapons, etc. The shell is then what you get by taking a specific license like the GOBLIN or VLAD, which can push your core's stats over the cap. In addition each shell now brings with it a special unique ability similar to the ones you get in Titanfall, with each shell ability having a persistent passive ability as well as an active ability you can use 1/mission. He previewed a handful of them, the VLAD gets an aggressive active armor system that damages people who attack it and the active version makes it hurt attackers even more while blunting incoming close-quarters damage, the RALEIGH gets a built-in cannon that doesn't take up a weapon slot and can be charged up like the Unreal Tournament rocket launcher, the METALMARK gets a built-in cloaking system, and the BALOR has built-in nanohives which damage anything it touches and can be supercharged to take on a variety of functions that you can switch to at the start of the round. Oh, and the PATTON can saturate the entire battlefield with micro-mines that detonate if anyone moves too quickly. In part this is intended to simplify character creation somewhat...your core is persistent across all your licenses so all you really need to do is apply the shell to it like a template whenever you switch mech builds...and in part to incentivize people to actually use the different shells instead of simply sticking with whatever and splashing around for the various bits of gear you want. GMS licenses don't have any shell abilities, but he mentioned that all of the shells have now been moved from tier 2 licenses to tier 1 licenses which means you can grab one as soon as you reach character level 2. A lot of the old license gear was reworked into shell systems so I don't know if that means new systems will be taking their place or if the licenses simply have one less piece of transferable gear which is now subsumed into the core system or what. He also mentioned that the antagonists chapter is getting an extensive overhaul including guidelines for creating your own enemies.
|
# ? Mar 25, 2018 06:12 |
|
Lemon-Lime posted:1.6 should have a large setting infodump included, so that should help. I wouldn't expect the non-mech stuff to get fleshed out mechanics-wise, though. I'd at least like to to get to the point where anything where you're not in a mech causes the game to grind to a halt before transforming into mother-may-I (I am in a game where mech battles are relatively infrequent and planning for them a large feature, so my character whose backstory did not justify any skills in planning basically just trains her wonder dog while the grown-ups talk because there's no way she can meaningfully contribute beyond random 50% rolls).
|
# ? Mar 25, 2018 06:35 |
|
A LANCER game where mech battles are infrequent kind of seems like it's missing the point imo.
|
# ? Mar 25, 2018 06:39 |
|
God dammit, life lesson learned If you realize you have a word puzzle in a D&D game, double check the spelling of all of the characters names
|
# ? Mar 25, 2018 07:34 |
|
I'm currently playing in a D&D 5e campaign and my DM is asking for more backstory. I'm don't feel particularly good at coming up with that sort of stuff (esp fantasy); can anyone suggest some resources or prompts to help me come up with something?
|
# ? Mar 25, 2018 08:00 |
|
the onion wizard posted:I'm currently playing in a D&D 5e campaign and my DM is asking for more backstory. I'm don't feel particularly good at coming up with that sort of stuff (esp fantasy); can anyone suggest some resources or prompts to help me come up with something? Do you already have a background in place? I'd improvise from there, since most of those have some implied backstory. Alternately, could you ask your DM to ask more specific questions? It may be easier to improvise if there's a specific question they want to know the answer to, versus a vague "need more backstory over here."
|
# ? Mar 25, 2018 08:15 |
|
Antivehicular posted:Do you already have a background in place? I'd improvise from there, since most of those have some implied backstory. Alternately, could you ask your DM to ask more specific questions? It may be easier to improvise if there's a specific question they want to know the answer to, versus a vague "need more backstory over here." Background is Hermit. The character's a Gnome ranger and we're playing in hoard of the dragon queen, btw. I'm not exactly sure what the DM is after, more story hooks I think. I tried to talk to him about it at the end of our last session but it wasn't very productive (tbf it had been a very long session). I'll try asking about it before we start next time.
|
# ? Mar 25, 2018 09:12 |
|
Well, some questions I'd ask would be: - is he a hermit by choice or by necessity? Could he be involved in something that makes it better for him to not live near anyone, either knowingly or unknowingly? - was there a singular event that finally made him decide to pack it up and live far away from anyone? (Or if I felt particularly like being blunt I'd ask "what was the singular event...", because "no, just felt like it all his life" doesn't make for a great story hook ) - does he get by completely on his own? Where does he get supplies, does he go to town once a month or a year, does someone come by occasionally; basically the question is "under the premise of being a hermit, any contacts or friends?" Potential story hooks I'd be looking for are mainly "is there something from this character's past that could catch up with him" and "are there NPCs I could flesh out and have get into trouble". e: alternatively, I'd want to find out if that character has any long-term goals, and make one the center of an adventure.
|
# ? Mar 25, 2018 09:43 |
|
A posse of six rangers (led by your character's older brother) were pursuing a band of outlaws lead by Butch Cavernish, a dwarven highwayman. The group was betrayed by their guide, and led straight into an ambush at Beholder's Gap. A friendly local found the smallest ranger (that's you!) barely alive after the ambush and saved your life. To conceal the fact that you lived, you and your new friend dug 6 graves (not 5) and put your name on the 6th. You have fashioned a mask from your dead brother's leather armour. You will not stop until the Cavernish gang is brought to justice. You are... The Gnome Ranger. Hi-yo Electrum! Awaaaaaaaaaaaay! Elector_Nerdlingen fucked around with this message at 10:06 on Mar 25, 2018 |
# ? Mar 25, 2018 10:03 |
|
AlphaDog posted:A posse of six rangers (led by your character's older brother) were pursuing a band of outlaws lead by Butch Cavernish, a dwarven highwayman. The group was betrayed by their guide, and led straight into an ambush at Beholder's Gap. A friendly local found the smallest ranger (that's you!) barely alive after the ambush and saved your life. To conceal the fact that you lived, you and your new friend dug 6 graves (not 5) and put your name on the 6th. You have fashioned a mask from your dead brother's leather armour. I love you and this post.
|
# ? Mar 25, 2018 14:59 |
|
Make sure to not give your character any family or loved ones or else you've lost
|
# ? Mar 25, 2018 16:07 |
|
Countblanc posted:Make sure to not give your character any family or loved ones or else you've lost I wish I could convey to other GM's that just because I have family that's still alive in my backstory, does not mean it's a license to kill/kidnap them at a moment's notice. It's tired, trite bullshit and it's really boring to play the "I'm a loner with no family" schtick for the upteenth time because I can't trust the GM to let my character have family that isn't some product to be stolen to antagonize the character. This isn't to say them being kidnapped can't be done well. It can! But the second you mention that any family or loved ones are still alive in your backstory the GM will immediately want to put them in peril and it's just so lacking in imagination that I want to zone out and go to sleep whenever it comes up.
|
# ? Mar 25, 2018 17:03 |
|
the onion wizard posted:I'm currently playing in a D&D 5e campaign and my DM is asking for more backstory. I'm don't feel particularly good at coming up with that sort of stuff (esp fantasy); can anyone suggest some resources or prompts to help me come up with something? I stole this off the WotC forums before they were deleted and it helps me sometimes: quote:The Ten-Minute Background Nuns with Guns fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Mar 25, 2018 |
# ? Mar 25, 2018 17:57 |
|
Slimnoid posted:I wish I could convey to other GM's that just because I have family that's still alive in my backstory, does not mean it's a license to kill/kidnap them at a moment's notice. It's tired, trite bullshit and it's really boring to play the "I'm a loner with no family" schtick for the upteenth time because I can't trust the GM to let my character have family that isn't some product to be stolen to antagonize the character. I've personally found it far more entertaining to wait until the PCs have accumulated acclaim, riches, and status and then have family members start crawling out of the woodwork looking to mooch off of them. That may just be my group though, since I and most of my group all grew up with big chunks of our family tree being lovely white trash. So everyone just has their own unique strategies for how to deflect Auntie Gorgonna off somewhere when she's been hitting the hootch and wants to talk about how separate but equal mage schools "weren't as bad as the media makes it sound".
|
# ? Mar 25, 2018 22:37 |
|
Desiden posted:I've personally found it far more entertaining to wait until the PCs have accumulated acclaim, riches, and status and then have family members start crawling out of the woodwork looking to mooch off of them. What about trying a plotline with a sibling trying to launch their own adventuring career off the PC's fame/glory?
|
# ? Mar 25, 2018 23:23 |
|
AlphaDog posted:What about trying a plotline with a sibling trying to launch their own adventuring career off the PC's fame/glory? Concerned parents wanting their child to abandon this incredibly dangerous career path and just settle down with a nice girl/boy and continue the family baking business?
|
# ? Mar 25, 2018 23:28 |
|
Broke: Some dude killed your parents Woke: Your parents just killed some dude, better get back home and find out what the hell just happened.
|
# ? Mar 25, 2018 23:36 |
|
My first DnD5e character operated on the goal of "My parents did something considered somewhat scandalous, I need to be out questing to uphold our reputation and associate us in the news with good stuff instead of bad stuff so that nobody believes it when word of the scandal finally gets out."
|
# ? Mar 25, 2018 23:49 |
|
AlphaDog posted:What about trying a plotline with a sibling trying to launch their own adventuring career off the PC's fame/glory? “I’m sorry, who said I would take this artifact across the Deathlands for free?”
|
# ? Mar 26, 2018 00:02 |
|
AlphaDog posted:A posse of six rangers (led by your character's older brother) were pursuing a band of outlaws lead by Butch Cavernish, a dwarven highwayman. The group was betrayed by their guide, and led straight into an ambush at Beholder's Gap. A friendly local found the smallest ranger (that's you!) barely alive after the ambush and saved your life. To conceal the fact that you lived, you and your new friend dug 6 graves (not 5) and put your name on the 6th. You have fashioned a mask from your dead brother's leather armour. mods??? Every time I've ever played a ranger i've played it as a modern day texas ranger type with a gun who is hunting down outlaws so this isn't that far off.
|
# ? Mar 26, 2018 00:23 |
|
I had a running gimmick with a character that her parents were academics who disapproved of her adventuring as a way to expand magical power and also constantly upset that she didn't write or visit enough.
|
# ? Mar 26, 2018 01:59 |
|
Cheers for the help, folks.
|
# ? Mar 26, 2018 03:01 |
|
New blogpost is up for Let Thrones Beware Today's topic: Finally, a Unified Mechanic That's Good - Defining Game Principles pt. 2 This weeks' blog post examines the second two design principles of Let Thrones Beware. The unified mechanic; and short, interesting, and crunchy tactical combat. Read on and learn why LTB's non-combat resolution mechanic means there's finally a good skill system in town. Finally, a Unified Mechanic That's Good - Defining Game Principles pt. 2
|
# ? Mar 26, 2018 14:46 |
|
Can anyone help me find a system to use in my upcoming table top game to represent platoon-level military operations? I'll be running an Only War table top rpg (where the players are soldiers in Warhammer 40k's Imperial Guard. I want to represent three scales of play - the normal Only War scale of one squad (that's the rules as written), a "firefight" scale for multiple squads (I can just adapt the normal rules) and an "operations" scale that will involves platoons/companies and that I want to focus more on logistics (that's what I need help with). Before I bore anyone with the homebrew that I was thinking up last night I wanted to check to see if anyone could recommend an already existing system. I'd list my requirements as: Simple 3-12 game pieces per side, representing maybe 50-500 men Involves the way troops need ammo, medicine, fuel, parts, rest, etc. In my head I'm imagining a geographical hex map with unit chits on it, operating at a a platoon level around supply and fire bases and the main game mechanic being managing and protecting your own supply lines while disrupting and seizing the enemies. From PC games Unity of Command is the closet I can think of. I'd want it to resolve in 2 or 3 hours of play. We'd be playing over rule 20 so I don't need a physical copy, but I'd be happy to pay for rules if someone can recommend something. If it we come up empty I'll try to clean up my home rules and maybe you can all help me arrive at something?
|
# ? Mar 27, 2018 13:18 |
|
If I'm running a pulpy sci-fi space-commandos-fighting-space-Nazis campaign in FATE, what are things that people expect to be doing frequently enough to need detailed mechanical subsystems (I've already got alien species rules and starfighter combat rules)?
Lemon-Lime fucked around with this message at 15:59 on Mar 27, 2018 |
# ? Mar 27, 2018 15:52 |
|
One of the Rogue Trader books has pretty reasonable rules for army/fleet actions. Battlefleet Koronus maybe? They’re crunchy enough for players to engage with, but don’t have much bookkeeping.
|
# ? Mar 27, 2018 15:54 |
|
Lemon-Lime posted:If I'm running a pulpy sci-fi space-commandos-fighting-space-Nazis campaign in FATE, what are things that people expect to be doing frequently enough to need detailed mechanical subsystems (I've already got alien species rules and starfighter combat rules)? Repairing / retrofitting/ obtaining nonstandard gear
|
# ? Mar 27, 2018 16:09 |
|
Jack B Nimble posted:Can anyone help me find a system to use in my upcoming table top game to represent platoon-level military operations? I believe Reign is supposed to have good rules for company level combat.
|
# ? Mar 27, 2018 16:20 |
|
LeSquide posted:Repairing / retrofitting/ obtaining nonstandard gear I'm reducing gear purely to aspects, so that one should be covered.
|
# ? Mar 27, 2018 16:28 |
|
Kibner posted:I believe Reign is supposed to have good rules for company level combat. It’s abstracted beyond tactical hex combat, really.
|
# ? Mar 27, 2018 16:52 |
|
I can’t imagine why you would run a tactical combat game in loving FATE
|
# ? Mar 27, 2018 17:14 |
|
fool_of_sound posted:I can’t imagine why you would run a tactical combat game in loving FATE The person posting about FATE isn't the person posting about tactical combat.
|
# ? Mar 27, 2018 17:25 |
|
Oh ignore me then
|
# ? Mar 27, 2018 17:27 |
|
Jack B Nimble posted:Can anyone help me find a system to use in my upcoming table top game to represent platoon-level military operations? I think that's just Warhammer 40K.
|
# ? Mar 27, 2018 21:35 |
|
Lemon-Lime posted:If I'm running a pulpy sci-fi space-commandos-fighting-space-Nazis campaign in FATE, what are things that people expect to be doing frequently enough to need detailed mechanical subsystems (I've already got alien species rules and starfighter combat rules)? Do these starfighter combat rules include ramming and boarding? Because your players are going to ram and board a ship like the Jem'Hadar/Orks in 40k.
|
# ? Mar 27, 2018 21:36 |
|
That reminds me of something: Is there an explanation in Traveller for how it talks about how space combat is a matter of sensors, since combat doesn't happen at visual range, but then there are also boarding actions with 18th century melee weapons?
|
# ? Mar 27, 2018 21:54 |
|
Halloween Jack posted:That reminds me of something: Is there an explanation in Traveller for how it talks about how space combat is a matter of sensors, since combat doesn't happen at visual range, but then there are also boarding actions with 18th century melee weapons? I think it was justified as "other weapons are too damaging to the ship; if we're boarding, we want to capture it more or less intact and using most energy weapons, grenades, or high-powered gunpowder weapons would make that goal hard." It's vaguely plausible I guess. Sensitive things in the bulkheads, modern armor being more or less resistant to lower-powered arms, fragile ship hull, etc. I think I remember that the frequency of boarding actions was somewhat contentious, though not nearly as bad as say, the existence of piracy.
|
# ? Mar 28, 2018 01:14 |
|
Well, one of the key interesting points in Traveller is that there's no interstellar communications short of sending a ship from point A to point B, which is why worlds are still fairly diverse and relatively independent, and at least goes some way towards explaining piracy. I wouldn't say Traveller is perfectly consistent, but there are at least some interesting conceits as to why the world is the way it is.
|
# ? Mar 28, 2018 01:20 |
|
|
# ? May 25, 2024 09:07 |
|
Hypnobeard posted:I think it was justified as "other weapons are too damaging to the ship; if we're boarding, we want to capture it more or less intact and using most energy weapons, grenades, or high-powered gunpowder weapons would make that goal hard." this reasoning would also imply that boarding actions would be borderline suicidal and therefore presumably rare though
|
# ? Mar 28, 2018 01:25 |