Fragged Empire: A Kaltoran, A Legion and A Nephilim walk into a bar...

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Chernobyl Peace Prize: May 7, 2007; Or later, later's fine.
But now would be good.

Tsilkani posted:

So I've been fiddling around a lot with the NPC creators for Fragged Aeternum in preparation for running a game. Would anyone be interested in me posting what I've made?

Yes, definitely!

# ? Apr 30, 2018 21:14

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# ? Jun 9, 2024 20:57

ProfessorCirno: Feb 17, 2011; The strongest! The smartest!
The rightest!

Tsilkani posted:

So I've been fiddling around a lot with the NPC creators for Fragged Aeternum in preparation for running a game. Would anyone be interested in me posting what I've made?

My own Fragged Empire game goes along nicely; they're currently investigating some bizarre supposedly pre-Kaltoran ruins deep in Mishpacha that I've decided to connect the Varish'kin and Mt. Varish to, with inspiration coming rather heavily from Stellaris' Horizon Signal events (but translated into psionics). I always see psionics heavy adventures as my excuse to get just loving weird with poo poo, and my group seems to be totally ok with it hahaha.

# ? May 1, 2018 06:13

Tsilkani: Jul 28, 2013

Alright, here's a witchy type I made. I've got 3 players, so Immense NPCs are major threats to throw at them. She's got a vermin theme, with rat and bug swarms all over the place and a defense of turning into a swarm of bugs (incorporeal). At least one of her actions every turn should be Think, to get more Stinging Swarm bodies and to buff herself.

The Insmiss Hag posted:

Insmiss Hag (Immense NPC)
PC Resources: 4

MIG 5 AGI 4 SPE 2
CON 4 EMP 5 UND 4

Variations: Caster (Add Stinging Swarm Power Group, when you perform the Think Action, a Power Group gains +4 Bodies), Infernal Plan (After Think Action, you and allies +1 End and Crit Dmg until your next turn [Stacks])
Traits: True Nature(Thaumaturge) (You may choose where to place 2 Dangerous Terrain from your Arcane Weapons, within 2 spaces of you or your target)

Combat Order: 4
Stealth: +2
Max Momentum: 4
Movement: 3(2+1)

Weapon: Crawling Chaos
Hit 3d6+1/4d6-1 Rng 5/3 Max 15/10 End Dmg 3/5 Crit Dmg 5 Hands 0/1* Type: Ranged, Arcane-Sewage Acquire: 16t+2Kn Resources: 3
Dual, *Splash 4(Any), Requires 0 Slots, Dangerous 2(Swarm, Crawling), After you Attack with this Weapon during Combat, move ALL Swarm Dangerous Terrain 1 space.
Dual Ranged, Spell, Arcane-Sewage, Rat Swarm

Weapon: Evil Eye
Hit 3d6+9 Rng 10 Max 25 End Dmg 7 Crit Dmg 3 Hands 0 Type: Ranged, Fear Acquire: NPC Resources: 0
Small, Momentum 1: Once per Turn, make a Free Attack with this Weapon, Pen 4 min 4, Natural, Attacks from this Weapon do not break Stealth, Hit Location 1d3+3, Agility never increases To Hit, Requires 0 Slots
Small Ranged, Fear

Stance: Verminform
Defence 14* Direct Armor 1 Splash Armor 5 Endurance 50 Recovery 2
Twice before you next Turn you may gain +1d6 Defence vs an Attack, At the start or end of your Turn you may take 1 Dmg (no Armor) to a random (1d3+3) Attribute and become Incorporeal and gain +3 Armor and -2 non-Fear Crit Dmg for 6 seconds or until your next Turn
Avoidance, Incorporeal

Stinging Swarm (Power Group)
PC Resources: 4

Hit 3d6+Bodies+7 Rng 1 Max 1 End Dmg 1+Bodies Crit Dmg 4 Type: Melee, Arcane-Garden Resources: 2
Small, Momentum 1: +1 Crit Dmg, Dangerous 1d6(Swarm, Flying)
Defence: 15 Armor: 2 Movement: 5 Bodies: +2/Turn
Traits: Flight (You can fly)

Tsilkani fucked around with this message at 20:52 on May 1, 2018

# ? May 1, 2018 18:20

Tsilkani: Jul 28, 2013

Here's another Immense NPC. This one is a wolf-like Fiend that has corrupted the Great Lantern of the district. It's sneaky and made to take advantage of the fact that darkness provides cover for Stealth.

Devourer of Light posted:

Devourer of Light (Immense NPC)
PC Resources: 4

MIG 5 AGI 5 SPE 5
CON 4 EMP 3 UND 4

Variations: Sneaky (Momentum 3: you become Stealthed[you require Cover]), Terrifying (After you use a Fear Weapon: you gain +1 Momentum)
Traits: Blink (Once during your turn you may Teleport 1d6+2 spaces for free)

Combat Order: 4
Stealth: +2
Max Momentum: 4
Movement: 5

Weapon: Shadowed Claws
Hit 3d6+1/5d6-3 Rng 1 Max 1 End Dmg 8/10 Crit Dmg 4 Hands 1/2 Type: Melee, Arcane-Alleyway, Acquire: 16t+2Kn Resources: 3
Large, Dual, Requires 2 Slots, Natural, Splash 1(Any), +3 Crit Dmg vs characters at 0 End, all damaged characters have -1 Hit and Range (min 1) on their next Attack before your next Turn (Stacks to -3)
Dual Melee, Tooth & Claw, Arcane-Alleyway, Shadow

Weapon: Whispers in the Dark
Hit 2d6+9* Rng 13 Max 45 End Dmg 10 Crit Dmg 4 Hands 0 Type: Ranged, Fear Acquire: NPC Resources: 1
Large, *+1d6 with Unleash Action, Pen 4 min 4, Natural, Attacks from this Weapon do not break Stealthed, Hit Location 1d3+3, Agility never increases To Hit, Requires 0 Slots
Hefty Ranged, Fear

Stance: Unfriendly Shadows
Defence 15 D Armor 2 S Armor 3 Endurance 55 Recovery 1
While you have Endurance: at the end of your Turn if you have 0 Momentum you gain +3 Momentum
Aggressive

Also, I've noticed that Hit seems to really outstrip Defence, especially for Fear weapons. None of the weapons for the NPCs have their Agility worked in, which is usually another +4 or so. Most Defense tops out around 14, which isn't going to cut it unless they really roll low.

Tsilkani fucked around with this message at 02:21 on May 4, 2018

# ? May 1, 2018 20:52

Tsilkani: Jul 28, 2013

This is a multipart fight, for a giant avian Fiend that's terrorizing the district. The first part is meant to be run in large-scale combat, with heroes clambering all over rooftops to try and take the bird down:

Stormcrow posted:

Stormcrow (Immense NPC)
PC Resources: 4

MIG 4 AGI 5 SPE 4
CON 4 EMP 3 UND 4

Variations: Caster (Add Stormlights Power Group; when you perform the Think Action, an allied Power Group gains +4 Bodies) Shocking (+2 End Dmg, all Weapons; Strong Hit: Shocking (Hit) All Damaged characters take 6 End Dmg, are Pushed back 1 space and are Suppressed)
Traits: Flight (You may Fly; +1 Defence and Movement)

Combat Order: 4
Stealth: +2
Max Momentum: 4
Speed: 4

Weapon: Lightning Call
Hit 2d6+2 Rng 9 Max 40 End Dmg 6 Crit Dmg 6 Hands 1 Type: Ranged, Arcane-Rooftop Acquire: 16t+2Kn Resources: 3
Large, *+1d6 Hit with Unleash Action, Requires 0 Slots, Energy, Dangerous 2 (Wind), Strong Hit: Shock (Hit) All damaged characters are Suppressed and Pushed 2 spaces in any direction
Hefty Ranged, Spell, Arcane-Rooftop, Storm

Weapon: Thunderous Scream
Hit 4d6+5 Rng 8 Max 15 End Dmg 10 Crit Dmg 3 Hands 0 Type: Ranged, Fear Acquire: NPC Resources 1
Dual, Splash 4 (Any), Pen 4 min 4, Natural, Attacks from this Weapon do not break Stealthed, Hit Location 1d3+3, Agility never increases To Hit, Requires 0 Slots
Dual Ranged, Fear

Stance: Storm's Might
Defence 11 D Armor 4 S Armor 4 Endurance 70 Recovery 3
Endurance

Stormlights (Power Group)
PC Resources: 4
Hit 3d6+2+Bodies Rng 6 Max 20 End Dmg 0+Bodies Crit Dmg 3 Type: Ranged, Arcane-Rooftop Resources: 2
Small, Momentum 1: Once per Turn: make a Free Attack with this Weapon, Energy, Dangerous 2 (Wind)
Defence: 15 Armor: 2 Movement: 5 Bodies: +2/Turn
Traits: Flight (You can fly)

Next, the second part is the injured form on the ground in normal scale, with large bases for the head and wing. The wing moves with the head portion, but can use its movement to reposition around the body.

Injured Stormcrow posted:

Stormcrow Head (Skilled NPC)
PC Resources: 4

MIG 4 AGI 3 SPE 3
CON 3 EMP 3 UND 2

Variations: Bloodlust (When an enemy is killed you gain +4 Momentum points; when an ally dies you gain +1 Momentum point)
Traits: Tactics (All allies gain +1 Hit, End Dmg, Defence, and Recovery)

Combat Order: 2
Stealth: +2
Max Momentum: 3
Movement: 3

Weapon: Beak
Hit 3d6+3 Rng 1 Max 2 End Dmg 1 Crit Dmg 4 Hands 1 Type: Melee, Arcane-Rooftop Acquire: 14t+2Kn, Resources: 2
Small, Momentum 1: +1 Crit Dmg, Energy, Dangerous 2 (Wind), Strong Hit: Shock (Hit) All damaged characters are Suppressed and Pushed 2 spaces in any direction
Small Melee, Arcane-Rooftop, Storm

Weapon: Wounded Screech
Hit 3d6+7 Rng 10 Max 254 End Dmg 4 Crit Dmg 2 Hands 0 Type: Ranged, Fear Acquire: NPC Resources: 0
Small, Momentum 1: Once per Turn: make a Free Attack with this Weapon, Pen 4 min 4, Natural, Attacks from this Weapon do not break Stealthed, Hit Location 1d3+3, Agility never increases To Hit, Requires 0 Slots
Small Ranged, Fear

Stance: Cower
Defence 11 D Armor 2 S Armor 3 Endurance 30 Recovery 5
While you have Endurance: you gain +1 Armor per non-Front Cover Steps that you're gaining, You gain +2 Armor and Hit during all Surprise Rounds
Outwit

Stormcrow Wing (Skilled NPC)
PC Resources: 4

MIG 3 AGI 3 SPE 3
CON 3 EMP 3 UND 3

Variations: Extension (You're connected to another NPC, the character you're connected to gains +1 Armor while you have End [Stacks], you must stay close to your connected NPC, -2 Recovery)
Traits: Fierce (+4 Hit, all Weapons; +1 Defence)

Combat Order: 3
Stealth: +2
Max Momentum: 3
Movement: 2(3-1)

Weapon: Wingbeat
Hit 2d6+14 Rng 1 Max 1 End Dmg 3 Crit Dmg 2 Hands 1 Type: Melee Acquire: 14t Resources: 1
While you're not Suppressed you and any characters behind you gain Front Heavy Cover, Requires 2 Slots, Always requires a Get Ready action to Activate or Deactivate this Weapon, Strong Hit: Bash (Hit) All characters damaged by this Weapon are Suppressed and Pushed back 1d3 spaces away from you
Shield

Stance: Meatshield
Defence 11 D Armor 5 S Armor 5 Endurance 40 Recovery 1
While you have Endurance: twice before your next Turn you may redirect 1 non-Fear Attack aimed at an adjacent ally onto yourself, you have -1 Armor while you have 0 Endurance
Endure, Invulnerable

Stormlights (Power Group)
As Above

You can up the difficulty of the second half by adding in a second wing, making the head even more protected.

Also, I like to picture a lot of the weapons these NPCs have with acquire costs as lootable, if a player wants to switch out. Like, you could cut out the Stormcrow's Heart to get a Lightning Call spell, or fix up the Devourer of Light's claws into a dual-wield weapon. It fits the Dark Souls games, and they can say they're just chucking them all in the armory for now if they just want trophies.

# ? May 4, 2018 02:21

Tsilkani: Jul 28, 2013

Here are some less impressive enemies for non setpiece fights. The first is a series of guardians for an armory, made from the weapons and armor themselves. Just add in a number of Weapon Wraiths and/or Armor Wraiths to match your number of characters. The Weapon Wraiths have Hidden to represent the difficulty in hitting the core amidst all the whirling, slicing weapons.

Armory Wraiths posted:

Weapon Wraiths (Henchman Group)
PC Resources: 4
Hit 3d6+5+Bodies Rng 1 Max 1 End Dmg 2+Bodies Crit Dmg 4 Type: Melee Resources: 2
Poison, Pen 1 Min 4, first attack each turn gains Strong Hit (5-6)
Defence: 16 Armor: 4 Movement: 6 Bodies: 6
Traits: Hidden (+1 Cover Step, If your bodies ever gain Entrenched Cover they become Stealthed)

Armor Wraith (Skilled NPC)
PC Resources: 4

MIG 4 AGI 2 SPE 3
CON 2 EMP 2 UND 2

Variations: Brute (+2 Armor, -3 Att Points and Defence)
Traits: Well-Armed (+1 Resource, -1 Defence)

Combat Order: 2
Stealth: +2
Max Momentum: 2
Speed: 2(3-1)

Weapon: Rusted Forgehammer
Hit 3d6+1 Rng 2 Max 2 End Dmg 6 Crit Dmg 6 Hands 2 Type: Melee Acquire: 16t Resources: 2
Large, Splash 2(Any), Requires 2 Slots, Strong Hit: Bash (Hit) all characters damaged by this Weapon are Suppressed and Pushed back 1d3 spaces away from you
Massive Melee, Hammer

Weapon: Metallic Screech
Hit 2d6+8 Rng 13 Max 45 End Dmg 5 Crit Dmg 3 Hands 0 Type: Ranged, Fear Acquire: NPC Resources: 1
Large, +1d6 Hit with Unleash Action, Requires 0 Slots, Pen 4 min 4, Natural, Attacks from this Weapon do not break Stealth, Hit Location 1d3+3, Agility never increases To Hit
Hefty Ranged, Fear

Stance: Armor Scraps
Defence 6 D Armor 6 S Armor 6 Endurance 50 Recovery 3
Endurance

The second group of enemies is more thematic, to represent a mad Tethered whose lantern has broken and the magic was warped as a result. I made the encounter partly to introduce the concept of Suspense rolls. Acid is a good substitute for burning magical light.

Encounter Description posted:

A horrid sight awaits you as you open the door, leading into what appears to be an old teaching auditorium. While mostly empty, several seats are taken by what appear to be skeletons, held together by some sort of softly glowing slime. At the head of the class, lecturing the skeletons in some ghastly parody of school, stands an old man covered in scabs and suppurating wounds. As he walks back and forth, you catch a glimpse of a lantern strapped to his belt: the man is a Tethered! Something is clearly wrong with the lantern, however: the metal is twisted and bent, the glass panes shattered, and the light emanating from within is dim and inconsistent.

As the ancient, insane Tethered stomps back and forth, profane ramblings spilling from his lips, he begins wheezing and stumbling. Before you can do anything, he collapses to the floor, clearly dead. However, instead of rising as a spectre, something unexpected happens. The light from his lantern begins oozing out, in an almost liquid fashion, slowly flowing over the old man�s body and into his open wounds. The man convulses and begins screaming in pain as the light enters him, his face twisted into a rictus of agony. (Humanity Suspense Roll) After all the viscous substance has entered his wounds, the Tethered�s screaming eventually stops, and he returns to his feet with agonizing slowness. He resumes his lesson, illuminated froth dripping from his lips as he speaks.

The Classroom posted:

Tethered Teacher (Skilled NPC)
PC Resources: 4

MIG 2 AGI 2 SPE 3
CON 4 EMP 3 UND 4

Variations: Tethered, Minor (You're a Tethered, if you kill another Tethered they do not become a Spectre, you may perform 1 healing roll per combat)
Traits: True Nature(Deranged) (Up to 4 times per session you may re-roll any one of your rolls that has not already been re-rolled)

Combat Order: 4
Stealth: +2
Max Momentum: 4
Movement: 4(3+1)

Weapon: Burning Light
Hit 3d6+0 Rng 5 Max 20 End Dmg 1 Crit Dmg 4 Hands 0 Type: Ranged, Arcane-Sewage Acquire: 14t+2Kn Resources: 2
Small, Momentum 1: Once per Turn: make a Free Attack with this Weapon, Requires 0 slots, Dangerous 2 (Acid Pool), all Damaged characters have their Armor reduced by 1 against the next Hit on them before your next Turn (Does not stack)
Small Ranged, Spell, Acid

Weapon: Demented Screaming
Hit 3d6+7 Rng 10 Max 25 End Dmg 4 Crit Dmg 2 Hands 0 Type: Ranged, Fear Acquire: NPC Resources: 0
Small, Momentum 1: Once per Turn: make a Free Attack with this Weapon, Requires 0 Slots, Pen 4 min 4, Natural, Attacks from this Weapon do not break Stealth, Hit Location 1d3+3, Agility never increases To Hit
Small Ranged, Fear

Stance: Jerky Swaying
Defence 14 D Armor 1 S Armor 5 Endurance 25 Recovery 2
Once before your next Turn you may gain +1d6 Defence vs an Attack (After an Attack Roll is made, but before Strong Hit Options are selected)
Avoidance

Viscous Zombie (Henchman Group)
PC Resources: 4
Hit 3d6-1+Bodies Rng 1 Max 1 End Dmg 5+Bodies Crit Dmg 2 Type: Melee, Arcane-Sewage Resources: 3
Your first attack each turn gains Strong Hit (5-6), Splash 1(Any), +3 Crit Dmg vs characters at 0 End, Dangerous 2 (Acid Pool), all Damaged characters have their Armor reduced by 1 against the next Hit on them before your next Turn (Does not stack)
Defence: 14 Armor: 4 Movement: 6 Bodies: 6
Traits: Well-Prepared (+1 Resource)

Viscous Illuminate (Power Group)
PC Resources: 4
Hit 3d6+2+Bodies Rng 1 Max 1 End Dmg 2+Bodies Crit Dmg 3 Type: Melee, Arcane-Sewage Resources: 2
Small, Momentum 1: +1 Crit Dmg, Dangerous 2 (Acid Pool), all Damaged characters have their Armor reduced by 1 against the next Hit on them before your next Turn (Does not stack)
Defence: 14 Armor: 2 Movement: 4 Bodies: +2/Turn
Traits: Lightning Strike (Additional Bodies arrive at the start of your Turn, -1 Crit Dmg)

# ? May 8, 2018 02:27

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.

So speaking of Fragged Aeternum and things to fight, looks like the first adventure for it has dropped.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/241649/FA-Adventure--Endless-Depths-Part-1

# ? May 8, 2018 03:41

Tsilkani: Jul 28, 2013

Wade just dropped the Armoury book for Fragged Aeternum: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/241822/Fragged-Aeternum-ARMOURY?src=hottest_small

# ? May 11, 2018 15:53

Spiteski: Aug 27, 2013

Has anyone got the Fragged Empire Reference PDF?
It's pretty expensive and not really sure exactly if it's worth grabbing. Any review?

# ? May 13, 2018 01:38

Chernobyl Peace Prize: May 7, 2007; Or later, later's fine.
But now would be good.

Tsilkani posted:

Wade just dropped the Armoury book for Fragged Aeternum: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/241822/Fragged-Aeternum-ARMOURY?src=hottest_small

Since it's only like $4 I assume people are picking it up already but: this rules. My only complaint is that I wish a lot of the weirder weapons were actually in Bloodborne, like the kusari-gama with the hook at one end and lantern at the other, or the shovel that can turn into a shield. Also having a lot of new Stances and stuff is really good.

# ? May 13, 2018 01:57

Tuxedo Catfish: Mar 17, 2007; You've got guts! Come to my village, I'll buy you lunch.

I'm probably gonna run Fragged Aeternum for my next campaign but I absolutely refuse to use their in-house setting because it sucks. I realize it would be totally against the spirit of the games' narrative style but I wish Bloodborne or Dark Souls (particularly Bloodborne since I can't even play it on PC) had a series bible so I could familiarize myself with the setting enough to run games in it, and not just have to fill in all the blanks myself.

I might just do some homebrew thing instead, I guess.

# ? May 13, 2018 02:10

Cassa: Jan 29, 2009

Spiteski posted:

Has anyone got the Fragged Empire Reference PDF?
It's pretty expensive and not really sure exactly if it's worth grabbing. Any review?

Having gotten mine for free, it's fantastically useful. Last I checked it had all the empire player and enemy creation mechanics. Made weapon and PC creation a breeze. More perks than the main book too, I think.

# ? May 13, 2018 02:39

Spiteski: Aug 27, 2013

Cassa posted:

Having gotten mine for free, it's fantastically useful. Last I checked it had all the empire player and enemy creation mechanics. Made weapon and PC creation a breeze. More perks than the main book too, I think.

I picked it up on this. Well worth it thanks for the opinion.

# ? May 13, 2018 23:50

Tsilkani: Jul 28, 2013

Chernobyl Peace Prize posted:

Since it's only like $4 I assume people are picking it up already but: this rules. My only complaint is that I wish a lot of the weirder weapons were actually in Bloodborne, like the kusari-gama with the hook at one end and lantern at the other, or the shovel that can turn into a shield. Also having a lot of new Stances and stuff is really good.

I've picked up all the Armoury books so far, just waiting for the Fragged Seas one. Even if my players don't necessarily use them, having a bunch of ready made weapons to throw on NPCs is fantastic.

# ? May 14, 2018 03:49

Spectral Werewolf: Jun 15, 2006; And if that wasn't funny, there were lots of things that weren't even funnier...

Tsilkani posted:

Wade just dropped the Armoury book for Fragged Aeternum: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/241822/Fragged-Aeternum-ARMOURY?src=hottest_small

This is just premade gear using the normal rules? I do have people who are more comfortable picking from premade lists, but I�ll probably pass for now if that�s the case.

# ? May 14, 2018 07:17

Tsilkani: Jul 28, 2013

Spectral Werewolf posted:

This is just premade gear using the normal rules? I do have people who are more comfortable picking from premade lists, but I�ll probably pass for now if that�s the case.

Yeah, it's just premades. I grabbed it mainly because I like supporting Wade's stuff, but occasionally it's nice to have ready-to-use gear.

# ? May 14, 2018 19:48

Harrow: Jun 30, 2012

I find that Fragged Empire can be a little prep-heavy for my liking--the very detailed enemy stat blocks make it tough for me to just pull out an interesting/satisfying combat encounter on the fly, for example, even with the Antagonist Archive available--so anything that gives me pre-built stuff is much appreciated. One of my players also really liked having the Fragged Empire Armory around to get ideas for things he could try to build/otherwise acquire in-game.

# ? May 15, 2018 17:55

Tsilkani: Jul 28, 2013

Wade posted on RPGnet to let everyone know all the books are now available for sale, and also to talk a bit about stuff in the pipeline. One of the things mentioned was a Dieselpunk Mech setting, and the idea of FE's npc and weapon customization applied to mecha sounds fantastic.

Tsilkani fucked around with this message at 19:24 on May 21, 2018

# ? May 21, 2018 18:59

Andrast: Apr 21, 2010

Honestly, I just want more main setting stuff

# ? May 21, 2018 19:12

Spiteski: Aug 27, 2013

Wade is very active on his own Discord as well, and has been spitballing ideas with people regarding the Dieselpunk setting. Definitely worth joining if you use Discord and wanna be up to date with things or just to yarn with people playing the game.

# ? May 22, 2018 01:30

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.

Andrast posted:

Honestly, I just want more main setting stuff

Main-setting thing is also coming, though apparently Exploration archive's gone from just a general "Explore space" book to more a specific indepth look at a non-haven region of space book with some of the stuff that would have gone to a more general book slated for it. Which lets him also bring in stuff like the Oni Nephilim, etc.

# ? May 22, 2018 02:54

Spiteski: Aug 27, 2013

Tsilkani posted:

Wade posted on RPGnet to let everyone know all the books are now available for sale, and also to talk a bit about stuff in the pipeline. One of the things mentioned was a Dieselpunk Mech setting, and the idea of FE's npc and weapon customization applied to mecha sounds fantastic.

He posted some of his WIP stuff today too. Here is a mech sheet and the first pass of a reference sheet

Wade posted:

Ok, lets do this

I've been working crazy hard on this project from the start of last week, and I now have character sheets and all of the stats (Weapons, Traits, etc...) all made up.

Some of my names are a bit cheezy, so they may need to change. And I have done 0 playtesting

The stuff looks pretty cool. I'll admit, I haven't got nearly enough time played with the base or existing expansions to know just how good or bad things are, but it looks pretty fun.

# ? May 22, 2018 07:38

Darwinism: Jan 6, 2008

I might be running this for a few friends, what are some quirks/pitfalls that people have found with the system and what do you do to mitigate them?

# ? May 22, 2018 17:46

Pieces of Peace: Jul 8, 2006; Hazardous in small doses.

Darwinism posted:

I might be running this for a few friends, what are some quirks/pitfalls that people have found with the system and what do you do to mitigate them?

Unfortunately, while the base game has rough guidelines as to how you should award Resources, Influence, Levels, and Spare Time Points for various styles/themes (Political Intrigue, Space Marines, Just Getting By), it doesn�t get more specific than �high� and �low.� I don�t have any exact formulas myself, you�ll probably have to fiddle with them to decide what�s right for you.

Key things to remember about improvement are: leveling doesn�t actually improve your combat power too much in most circumstances, but increasing Resources really, really does. Your players� Max Resources will go up as they level and if they�re anything like mine they�ll expect/focus on getting their Current Resources up to max, but you shouldn�t necessarily let them. All the NPC building is based on your party�s average Resources, not average level.

I haven�t tried the Fragged Empire Hacked variation of having Resources only increase by selling Trade Goods, but it might be a decent idea, especially since it provides a motivating factor all on its own if your players are told they need to acquire trade goods and sell them (preferably to places that import those goods, to get the +1 to +2 bonus to the roll) in order to increase their power levels.

Henchmen are incredibly dangerous to players if they�re allowed to take their turns, although they�re usually at the bottom of the combat order. Expect your players to start going for more Splash weapons once they figure this out.

The game states in several places that actual access to items in game is restricted by what�s plausible in the fiction - you�ll probably want to hammer out exactly what that means to the players, since the game also nominally lets you re-equip when they have downtime and access to an armory. Can they get anything with a Resource cost? Are certain variations or weapons not available until they get access to them? Should they run individual purchases by you?

# ? May 22, 2018 18:30

Harrow: Jun 30, 2012

One thing I've found is that I had to adjust my own instincts when it comes to how to reward players. Throwing equipment at them might not really be the best possible reward, even if it's fun for you to come up with items, because their resources determine what they can actually use. After a few sessions, though, my players started to really value trade goods, which is cool--it seems like a "boring" reward, but as players come to recognize how necessary trading is to their progress, they start to get excited about doing it, so trade goods become a good reward for players to find.

Also, make good use of henchmen. They're more dangerous than players expect, but they're also much lower maintenance than regular or nemesis NPCs. If you have too many non-henchmen NPCs in a battle, it can be a lot of overhead for you as a GM to keep track of their ammo (especially when they need to reload) and stat damage, but henchmen don't have stat damage so that's one fewer thing to care about.

This part isn't advice so much as me asking for advice, but: one of the reasons I drag my feet a little on running new Fragged Empire sessions for my group is that level of GM overhead. Has anyone found some good ways to make managing combat a little bit easier and/or make it easier to improvise things for sessions? Right now I'm finding that I have to prep in a lot more detail for Fragged sessions than I do for other games I've run recently and it makes it hard for me to run sessions as often as I (and my players) would like.

One thing I want to do when I have time is create a bunch of "generic" encounter templates for myself. Just a bunch of different configurations of humanoid enemies, Nephilim, animals, etc. that I can reflavor to suit what the players end up stumbling into as needed, maybe shake things up with terrain, that kind of thing. It's probably going to be a lot up-front and it won't help with in-battle number fiddling but it's something.

Harrow fucked around with this message at 20:12 on May 22, 2018

# ? May 22, 2018 20:07

Darwinism: Jan 6, 2008

Thanks for the advice, it is pretty different going to a system that values equipment so much more in combat. The group I'm running for is most used to 4E, so I think they'll really like the tactical depth here and the fluff is wonderful. I'd be running Ghost Ship Carthage then Let Sleeping Gods Lie if the group responds well, both look solid.

Ship stuff seems a little difficult to integrate well, do people here use it much or just tend to use cinematic travelling?

# ? May 23, 2018 08:59

Harrow: Jun 30, 2012

My group really likes the ship stuff. The key is that it's a mostly separate system--it uses a different resource (influence instead of resources) and basically functions as a shared character sheet that you use during space combat.

The tough thing might be getting a handle on how turn order works in space combat, especially because a player has to roll a skill check in order to turn the ship or change its speed and that doesn't take effect until the next turn. There's also the whole need to match velocity to attack another ship, etc. Much like the regular combat I suspect it gets a lot easier after you do it a few times, but it's definitely a very different system.

The big key is that Hunk of Junk hull trait, because it's basically the only way a group of newbies is going to be able to afford a ship. It can be changed out later once they have more influence to fix up the ship.

# ? May 23, 2018 15:29

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.

What I'm really hoping is that once the last Armory PDF is out and the barebones NPC statblocks book Wade's talked about happens, we get Fragged Empire and Fragged Seas: Shipyards with a bunch of pre-built ships for varying group sizes.

# ? May 23, 2018 18:52

Tsilkani: Jul 28, 2013

unseenlibrarian posted:

What I'm really hoping is that once the last Armory PDF is out and the barebones NPC statblocks book Wade's talked about happens, we get Fragged Empire and Fragged Seas: Shipyards with a bunch of pre-built ships for varying group sizes.

Those would be pretty great, yeah. Antagonist books for all the lines would also be nice.

# ? May 23, 2018 21:37

Evil Mastermind: Apr 28, 2008

Fragged Aeternum is the deal of the day over on DriveThru. Down to $6.03 from $18.

# ? May 28, 2018 22:35

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.

So https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wadedyer/fragged-dieselpunk-mecha-rpg is out- a short term kickstarter for a new 50 page supplement for mecha rules and an attached setting that's basically "Stompy gas powered mechs meets alien conspiracy theories." game

It'll also add mech rules for Fragged Empire into the Fragged: Hack PDF.

(I am pulling for Twi-far mechs to just be giant glowy farens in vaguely humanoid shapes with their Twillinger host floating in the middle.)

# ? Jun 29, 2018 11:11

Darwinism: Jan 6, 2008

So unless I'm misreading things particle pistol turrets are free. This is kinda hilarious, since for a base level party it seems like a pretty huge force multiplier.

# ? Jul 12, 2018 08:46

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.

Turrets are a type of drone, so they have a minimum cost of 1 resource after all other considerations. (It's in the header for drones on page 104)

# ? Jul 12, 2018 13:33

Darwinism: Jan 6, 2008

unseenlibrarian posted:

Turrets are a type of drone, so they have a minimum cost of 1 resource after all other considerations. (It's in the header for drones on page 104)

I knew it was too good to be true. The info doesn't always seem to have the best layout, but it's a fairly minor nitpick.

# ? Jul 12, 2018 18:19

ProfessorCirno: Feb 17, 2011; The strongest! The smartest!
The rightest!

I've been DMing Fragged Empire, but there hasn't been a ton of the tactical combat simply because my group enjoys vague freeform with skill rolls more. When it HAS come up, though, I find it can often start to get irritating when non-henchmen just don't go down. Last game they managed to crit drat near everywhere until finally actually killing the fucker. Anyone else having similar problems? And like, yes, the answer is "guys, you can aim!" but, well, players gonna be players (and use every action to attack no matter what).

# ? Jul 13, 2018 02:11

Spiteski: Aug 27, 2013

ProfessorCirno posted:

I've been DMing Fragged Empire, but there hasn't been a ton of the tactical combat simply because my group enjoys vague freeform with skill rolls more. When it HAS come up, though, I find it can often start to get irritating when non-henchmen just don't go down. Last game they managed to crit drat near everywhere until finally actually killing the fucker. Anyone else having similar problems? And like, yes, the answer is "guys, you can aim!" but, well, players gonna be players (and use every action to attack no matter what).

Could you not just set yourself an amount of attribute damage that you'd consider them being dead no matter how its distributed? Like, if they take 10 damage in any distribution of attributes they go down? It'd be different to just bulking endurance since crits would still be useful, and armour and attribute negatives would still have some bearing, but would cut that period of time when they are alive beyond their henchmen down considerably.

Otherwise, boost crit damage on all weapons by 1 versus NPCs. Can quicken things up.

Spiteski fucked around with this message at 04:09 on Jul 13, 2018

# ? Jul 13, 2018 03:55

S.J.: May 19, 2008; Just who the hell do you think we are?

ProfessorCirno posted:

I've been DMing Fragged Empire, but there hasn't been a ton of the tactical combat simply because my group enjoys vague freeform with skill rolls more. When it HAS come up, though, I find it can often start to get irritating when non-henchmen just don't go down. Last game they managed to crit drat near everywhere until finally actually killing the fucker. Anyone else having similar problems? And like, yes, the answer is "guys, you can aim!" but, well, players gonna be players (and use every action to attack no matter what).

I feel like this can swing either way kind of depending on what particular weapon loadouts the party is bringing with them, and is probably a bigger problem at lower experience levels just in general.

# ? Jul 13, 2018 04:15

Cassa: Jan 29, 2009

Yeah low level non-henchmen seem tough. You could have them retreat once their buddies go down.

# ? Jul 13, 2018 04:42

BabelFish: Jul 20, 2013; Fallen Rib

It might be worthwhile to send players up against a couple skilled enemies that explicitly use the analyze action to their benefit. A well trained legion sniper team would be thematically appropriate.

# ? Jul 14, 2018 01:12

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# ? Jun 9, 2024 20:57

Darwinism: Jan 6, 2008

So one of my players would like to go for melee, but it seems really high-risk at low resources since there don't seem to be tons of ways to boost your defense. Am I getting a decent read on that, and what's some advice for melee player builds?

# ? Jul 17, 2018 20:07

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Fragged Empire: A Kaltoran, A Legion and A Nephilim walk into a bar...

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