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By popular demand posted:I abandoned the Bourne movie 30 minutes in, but I think that a Layla Khan film I would enjoy thoroughly. Oh yeah, hard agree. Also, how long until the peasantry start getting creative with scythes?
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May 7, 2020 15:24
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Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2e: Barony of the Damned I Did Not Expect To Use Jousting Twice So a lot of this is going to be more narrative because of how the campaign is written. Barony of the Damned is not a railroaded minicampaign. You're stuck in Mousillon until you find a way to escape or you get the head of Guido LeBeau, because of the Cordon, but either objective will get you out and while you have a trail of clues, you have a lot of different ways to find LeBeau. Plus plenty of different things that can happen during the adventure. They all lead to the same ultimate conclusion, but there's a lot of room for different kinds of parties to do things and whole sub-chapters are optional. All you actually have to do is find LeBeau, or decide you've had enough and find a way out. As a result, most of the chapters are more a description of a place and things that could potentially happen, plus stats for important characters and suggestions for extra encounters or events. There is no canon resolution for the two villages situation that's coming up, and PCs can just find the info they need and pass by without engaging with the Pig Lore at all if they want. They'll miss out on 100 bonus EXP, but it's genuinely not their problem unless they make it their problem. Engaging with the side-plots just gets you more EXP and some adventures. I appreciate this a lot! It's a huge relief after Thousand Thrones' nonsense. I'm also adding an extra encounter using material in the book because hey, it's there, and they say you might want to have the PCs have a 'welcome to Mousillon' moment on their way to the villages. About half a day's ride in, they encounter a ruined watch-tower, a half-finished Cordon fortification that has long since fallen into disrepair. They've already seen enough to realize Mousillon is simply different from Lyonesse. The roads are barely there, the horses are perpetually worried about the smell of death and decay on the air, and everything feels like it's covered in mold and mist. Even in the parts that aren't explicitly swamp, the wet gets everywhere and forms the constant drizzle and mist that plagues this land. When they smell something cooking from the sheltered building, they decide to approach and see what's what. A huge man in black, spiked plate throws the doors open, and seeing a fellow knight on the road immediately introduces himself as Bougars de Biaucaire, inviting them to enjoy his hospitality as a noble of Mousillon. The party accepts, until they see what's past the door. The man has an entire peasant impaled on a stick, being turned over the fire by another miserable, beaten peasant. Gilbert stares in horror, and most of the party draw weapons. Bougars looks at their reaction to his hospitality and shouts something about 'You're another of those damnable kings, aren't you!?'. Gilbert is a little confused (he doesn't realize he's acting out the exact story of Duke Merovich in miniature here) but tells the man cannibalism is no knightly action and is an affront to Morr, and challenges him to the joust. This will not be the first Black Knight he has bested. Bougars accepts, telling the boy he'll rip his throat out and drink his blood when he wins, and both men saddle their horses. Vendrick suggests he could just, you know, shoot the guy. But it's too late, Bretonnia is happening. Ulrike offers to do this instead, but Bougars scoffs at the idea that a Knight of Bretonnia would strike a woman. Ulrike offers more insistently, and adds that she's quite confident he won't be striking any women. Gilbert stands aside to let the lady-knight accept the challenge (handing her his lance) as the Butcher mocks him for letting a woman fight his battles for him. Ulrike is faster than the fat man, and so gets the Advantage on their first pass. She nails him square in the chest (+20% WS when she had 61% base? Yeah, she was going to hit) and doesn't just hit, she inflicts a Fury! A...really heavy one. A 9 on her second damage roll. She does 15 wounds in one blow, almost putting the man on crits. The huge blow flings him from his horse (won Str vs. Str, which was much dicier as he's stronger than her) and completely explodes Gilbert's lance (failed WS test to keep it from breaking). She rides her horse in a slow circle as the fat man slowly stirs and stands, cursing at them all, saying they'll rue the day they crossed the great Bougars de Biaucaire. Karl offers to see to his injuries if he yields, and he agrees. The moment Karl gets close, he tries to grab him and take the Shallyan hostage. Villainy! Karl is grabbed, and Vendrick aims carefully. Anya responds by casting Drop (that spell is amazing), making the villain drop what's in his hands (Karl) and as Karl gets down, Vendrick puts two shots into the villain. One bounces off his thick plate, but the other strikes him right in the throat. The Butcher stares down at Karl at his feet, reaches out for a moment, then staggers backwards and falls. Ulrike curses the dead knight for dishonoring the yield, and Gilbert helps Karl up. Elena asks him why the hell he bothered, and he says Shallya's mercy is for everyone. Though he's kind of sick of getting kidnapped all the time. Elena shrugs and gets to looting the dead knight's Best Quality Sword and Great Axe, and hands Gilbert his Best Lance, which is inscribed with the name 'Peasant Killer'. Vendrick says he can smudge that out of the wood. They have no idea they killed one of Mallobaude's lieutenants. They won't be dealing with the man on this adventure since he's beyond the scope of it, but this won't be the last of his villains they fight; the next one is actually directly in the adventure. I just felt like showing off it's easy to incorporate some of the book's other material into the adventure as it is. The peasant they rescued from the watchtower is from one of the local villages, and will happily guide them there to get away from the grisly task he'd been forced into. Soon enough, they reach the twin villages of Puantuere and Craechuer. These are lands riven by strife over a great inequality: Puantuere has both great wealth and a great military power compared to their neighbor across the bog. You see, Puantuere has a pig. AND two men with sharp sticks. Craechuer is worried about the expansion of their mighty neighbor and has begun to feel threatened, which they are right to feel, as Blug, the tyrannical elder of Puantuere, seeks to get even more pigs so he can shame the other village more. But perhaps a sinister power is at work beyond the mere politicking of these regional powers: A young woman of Craechuer has heard terrible whispers while she's out frogging in the bogs, and the respectable young entrail-stirrer of Puantuere may hide a dark secret. And is Imperatrice the Pig a blessing, or a terrible curse? Our adventurers are going to find out! Riding into Pauntuere, they'd expect a hero's welcome for saving one of their peasants from being forced to cook other peasants for an insane cannibal knight, but they just get a lot of grumbling about 'shiney folk from outside'. It takes a Fel test to even get villagers to talk to the PCs in this town, and even then they just direct the heroes to Blug. Blug is the cause of the region's recent upheavals, having spearheaded the initiative to both buy the pig and begin to employ two peasant lads as militia to protect her. He expects respect and deference, which the party is not especially inclined to give him, and asks them to spy on the other village for him. He also mentions the other village is 'wrong' and much too 'accepting of them from outside lately', which they take (correctly) as the hint that LeBeau passed through Craechuer. He complains at length about them, calling them heretics who don't even maintain a proper entrail-stirrer or a gut-pit to throw away the inedible parts of the frogs. Everyone knows you offer those to the spirits of the swamp to prevent disaster, and their impiety is threatening both villages! Karl listens to the old Elder, being the most patient member of the party, nodding along with his rant as he learns what he can. Vendrick is curious about the idea of spirits, wondering if maybe there's a very weird naiad or something in the swamp, so he and Anya go to speak to the 'entrail-stirrer', Spuc. She's the mage, after all, she might see if something's weird. Spuc has a dark secret he can scarcely conceal. His duty is respectable and honorable within the village, but he hears things. With a Charm test from Anya, he cannot help but confide in the heroes: He thinks Imperatrice the Pig is talking to him, telling him to do awful things. He fears he is falling to the power of the Black Pig of the Woods, and that one day he will kill as it tells him to. As they're walking away from him and wondering what the hell to do with this information, they catch sight of an eight year old girl merrily skipping into the swamp. This is Minne. She has an imaginery friend, and is off to see him! The heroes go to catch up with her, not wanting to leave a child wandering off alone, and encounter her friend. One of the Grey Men, the strange swamp dwelling humanoids, complete with odd antlers and the smell of decay. The creature genuinely likes Minne and won't hurt her. He really is her good friend. What he does about intruding PCs is another matter. If they kill him (either thinking they're saving the girl, or because he attacks) Minne will flee into the swamp and any adventurer with scruples will have to go save her. Thankfully, the Grey Man does not attack. He simply stares at the heroes, and the little girl introduces them. They have an extremely awkward meeting with something they don't understand, but Vendrick says it doesn't seem Chaos-tainted or evil, and Anya sees no dark magic. Maybe it really is just Minne's friend? The creature looks to them, and quietly points in the direction of Craechuer. Then it pats Minne on the head and walks back into the swamp. They have no idea what the hell just happened. Meanwhile, the rest of the party has realized they need to visit Craechuer to ask where LeBeau has gone. The team gears up to ride around the swamp and plunge into another den of intrigue. Yes, the first adventure is mostly a small comedy piece of local intrigue and very low stakes, but it's fun to start with some silliness before things get grim. I like the Pig Legend intro adventure. Next Time: The Inner Workings of Craechuer, and The Doom of Imperatrice
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May 7, 2020 16:06
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Three things:Night10194 posted:But it's too late, Bretonnia is happening. This is pitch-perfect. Your love of Bretonnia is infectious, Night, because it's now my favorite part of the setting too. In fact, I really have to thank you in general--your Hams write-ups (even of the bad books) are pretty much directly responsible for me becoming interested in the setting. Night10194 posted:Karl offers to see to his injuries if he yields, and he agrees. The moment Karl gets close, he tries to grab him and take the Shallyan hostage. Villainy! Gilbert would be quick to inform you that this is, in fact, perfidy. Night10194 posted:He thinks Imperatrice the Pig is talking to him, telling him to do awful things. He fears he is falling to the power of the Black Pig of the Woods, and that one day he will kill as it tells him to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP4s2DCX_30
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May 7, 2020 16:18
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Pig Legend is fantastic and the weird Grey Man is just the best.
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May 7, 2020 16:21
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I must emphasize how good it is to be back with a book that actually leaves those things open. The Grey Man is there to either cause the players an adventure (if they fight him or drive him off, then have to rescue Minne) or to give them mysterious clues if they're stuck. Because it's entirely up to you how Grey Men act and what's the deal with them. E: I will also note a lot of this adventure kind of depends on the PCs having some degree of conscience. Barony of the Damned can be played as bastards, certainly, but it has much more impact if the PCs are at least anti-heroes who will grumble a lot before deciding they can't just leave a girl in the swamps, etc. Night10194 fucked around with this message at 16:25 on May 7, 2020 |
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May 7, 2020 16:22
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Soulbound definitely shows some lessons taken from WFRP 4e, especially in downtime actions, but is also very it’s own thing. Seems interesting, at least.
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May 7, 2020 16:36
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Mors Rattus posted:Soulbound definitely shows some lessons taken from WFRP 4e, especially in downtime actions, but is also very it’s own thing. Seems interesting, at least. A friend described Age of Sigmar as "if you made Exalted out of bits of WFRP instead of animes," and while I know nothing about it, I have to admit it's a hell of an elevator pitch.
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May 7, 2020 16:40
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Fairly accurate for the fluff, mechanically poo poo is way simpler than Exalted ever was. Magic can get complex but for the most part PC facing rules are pretty simple.
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May 7, 2020 16:59
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Is it wrong to say that I hate exalted for dropping an interesting setting into the most verisimilitude esc game I have ever seen?
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May 7, 2020 17:26
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Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2e: Barony of the Damned Officially and Truly Some Pig The team heads to the next town over to see if they know anything about LeBeau. Whatever happens, they will learn of LeBeau from the village's two elderly frogwives. Our heroes will be doing it in a rather dramatic and silly manner. The Frogwives are the leaders of Craecheur, the ladies Ger and Floupe. The villagers consult them on everything, and they command great respect. Karl being Karl, he is polite and straightforward with them, offering to help anyone in the village who needs a doctor (just assume he does this almost anywhere they go) and showing respect for his elders. This means the PCs will be well received in the village. They tell him there's some trouble over the pig, but also that a 'handsome young man' (Floupe scolds Ger for fawning) with two missing fingers matching the description of LeBeau did stay in town awhile back. They gave him some shelter and food and he headed on to the keep of some noble named Aucassin. The team has actually now completed this adventure, solely by Karl being polite and kind to a pair of old women. But the intrigues have not yet ended! Elena looking the most mercenary of the team, she's approached by the wealthiest man in town, Marfe. Marfe owns the small apple orchard and grows actual fruit. He even has shoes. He considers himself the representative of the peasantry. He offers to shower the party with frog's legs if they'll help him find justice against the village of Puanteure. He has a plan to steal Imperatrice the pig, which Ger and Floupe do not approve of, because Paunteure has an actual military (those 2 peasants with sticks). But surely brave heroes can correct this injustice. Elena ignores the man, asking Karl if he has what they need, but in the meantime Anya and Vendrick are still following up on the swamp being weird as hell. They meet a local girl named Eep. Eep is a Swampaire, and the more conservative elements of Craecheur society (Marfe) object to her being permitted to do man's work, but Ger and Floupe permit it and Eep is an astonishingly good frog-catcher. Her listed stats show she's way up there in starting Agi and BS, the two most important stats for catching frogs, and she's of above average intelligence, too. She also has a prominent underbite (everyone in town has minor deformities) but otherwise is in surprisingly good health. She has heard terrible whispers in the swamps. They ask her if it's the Grey Man, and she scoffs; no, the Grey Men are nothing to be afraid of as long as they're placated. No, she's heard a man praying to the BLACK PIG OF THE WOODS, the true evil, one that surely means doom for both villages. This is independent confirmation of what Spuc told them (she heard Spuc) but this is beginning to make seasoned adventurers suspect evil bullshit with Imperatrice. Gilbert hears their report and decides this is the time for decisive and heroic action. He is going to slay the Black Pig and rescue the villages from this disorder. Karl tries to talk him out of this, but Anya is sort of suspicious something might actually be wrong with the pig, given the craziness. Elena follows along out of amusement, to see what happens. Gilbert marches back into Puanteure, and declares that in the name of the Lady and the authority of a Knight of Bretonnia, he is here to rid this village of its evil pig. The locals stare at him in horror as he marches to the pen, and the two brave guards ready their little pointy sticks. Gilbert ignores them. None of them are any threat at all to a PC, even when they call in their big friend to help; this is entirely meant to be a comic scene even in the adventure. Nothing in the two villages is a threat to 2nd tier PCs. This is all a parody of the standard Warhammer Adventure, where the PCs roll into town, get involved in intrigues, and uncover some dark evil as a result. Gilbert challenges the pig as a knuckle-duster wielding Elena is careful not to hurt any of the three peasants too badly as she quietly keeps them from interfering. Imperatrice looks at Gilbert. Gilbert looks at Imperatrice. Gilbert accuses her of twisting the minds of Bretonnian peasants and declares he is the shield of the people. Imperatrice looks at Gilbert. Gilbert continues to read the list of charges and inadvertently steps in the pig's food trough while doing so. Imperatrice, enraged and insulted (likely by the slight to her honor, not just him stepping in her food) charges the knight and knocks him into the muck. She actually has Strike Mighty! He gets to his feet, raises his shield to deflect a second attempt to throw him around, and then he, uh...he kills the pig. It's a pig. Imperatrice is not that dangerous. She will attack during the ridiculousness if it becomes a pignapping or an attempt to destroy the Black Pig, but she's barely a threat and only has Strike Mighty for comedy. Gilbert has slain the pig. The people of Puanteure are crestfallen, though now they can have bacon for awhile. Craecheur is overjoyed, and Eep calls him her hero and a truly noble knight and gives him a hug. Karl holds his head in his hands because his friend has just murdered a pig for (probably) no reason. Ulrike takes it in stride. She's gotten used to how these things go. The people of Craecheur hold a 'feast' with the finest frogs and snails they can manage, and the village girls clean Gilbert's armor from where it had gotten coated in blood and pigshit from the sty. Unbeknownst to the heroes, while they have not actually slain the Black Pig (such evils cannot be easily undone) they HAVE brought peace back to the two villages. Without the great inequality between them, they will be capable of cooperating again, which is actually worth 100 bonus EXP. Both villages will also survive, as the heroes didn't kill any people. Gilbert killed a pig after being thrown into pigshit while accusing her of being an avatar of the devil, and somehow this worked out. Considering his eventual future fief, he actually tells the young Swampaire he might have use for her in Lyonesse if they succeed this quest. He has a mind towards future color NPCs when he gets his stronghold. This is actually one of the book's potential outcomes for the story! Bumbling around and killing the pig for being the Black Pig actually does help calm both villages and make things better. So does convincing them not to get up to this BS. If you go on a crazy killing spree or something, they just tell you where LeBeau is to get you to go away and never come back. It's a fun little parody adventure to start off and introduce Mousillon, and it's optional! If you just stay polite and reasonable you get the info you needed without having to do much. But who can resist the intrigues and the pig? The adventure is called Guido LeBeau and the Doom of Imperatrice for a reason! But because it's perfect for right here, and because it's more material from the book, as they set out to the Grismerie to seek out this Aucassin, they have an encounter rich with destiny. While the team sits on watch near the river at camp, they are suddenly aware of a truly magnificent trotting. The sound of an immensely fat and marvelously beautiful pig approaching. She's larger than Gilbert and Ulrike put together, towering over the party and though it may be a trick of the campfire, she appears to glow with power. The Grand Sow of the Grismerie looks down at the heroes, and begins to speak before any can recover from how goddamn weird this is. She tells them they are people who may yet change some of the destiny of Mousillon, and tells Gilbert in particular he has a noble heart in opposing evils like the Black Pig. But she cautions that not all evils are easily met with sword in hand, openly and honorably. If they were, would such evils persist so long? Power and knightly valor are not the only way to challenge the forces of darkness. She looks to Karl and tells him the comet-shaped wound on his heart will heal in time, and confirms for him that to bring healing will bring his own. To Vendrick, she tells him a most bizarre prophecy: The Horned Woman will one day clear the darkness from his eyes, but until that day, he should open his heart and accept what lies before him until the curse has lifted. She has little to say to Elena, as 'a sensible woman needs no advice from a pig'. Anya is a woman of a strong soul, whose affinity for the darkness will help her bring others out of it, and to Ulrike to hold fast to her anger, and to her control of it. The party finally recovers enough to say anything, with Karl asking who the heck the pig is and how she can talk. The mighty pig merely smiles, and she wishes that strength will be granted to such heroes, strength and wisdom that the world be mended, and then trots off to find some truffles. Karl remarks this is definitely the weirdest thing that's ever happened to him. Yes, weirder than Thousand Thrones. It's not every day a magic pig glowing with destiny comes and prophecies at your party. After a little talk to make sure they all actually saw that, and some discussion of whether or not this meant anything, they get back to camp. They'll reach the Chateau Hane soon, and the next grand adventure. Goddamn I love that the Grand Sow exists. Next Time: An Excellent Host Night10194 fucked around with this message at 17:50 on May 7, 2020 |
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May 7, 2020 17:34
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Josef bugman posted:Is it wrong to say that I hate exalted for dropping an interesting setting into the most verisimilitude esc game I have ever seen? That’s not quite what the system is - Ex3 in particular is better described as an immense edifice of subsystems and mini games, many of which are quite fun! But there’s a lot of them and some of them are built out in frustrating ways. But the core social and combat subsystems are very nice in 3, and not unbearably complicated. They’re crunchy! But Ex3’s big issues are more that some of the subsystems aren’t that lovable (naval warfare saddens me, and Craft is ... contentious) and there are way more Solar charms for weird niche specializations than their needed to be, like the endless abstract craft charms and the Socialize charms for having multiple personalities. Meanwhile, later books in the line like the Dragon-Blooded book have really reasonable numbers of charms - there’s lots, but they’re distributed better between abilities and Craft isn’t a giant pile of abstractions, it’s a reasonable pile of abstractions. (In my opinion, anyways) 2e got kinda verisimilitude-y but honestly it was just over complicated and broken more than anything else, the verisimilitude was a distant second to the core issue of the system being both super hard to learn and bad at what it was trying to do.
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May 7, 2020 17:34
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Mors Rattus posted:Soulbound definitely shows some lessons taken from WFRP 4e, especially in downtime actions, but is also very it’s own thing. Seems interesting, at least. Review it like you did 4e and I will love you forever.
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May 7, 2020 17:38
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Night10194 posted:Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2e: Barony of the Damned Just this image of the players looking up from their beer like "uuuuuuuuuh, did... did we ALL just see that?"
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May 7, 2020 17:44
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MonsterEnvy posted:Review it like you did 4e and I will love you forever. Tempting. I do want to get back to Nameless and Accursed, but I've had trouble finding motivation to do this stuff with the pandemic. Maybe writing this up will help me out, especially since I want to learn it well enough to write homebrew Seraphon (read: lizardmen).
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May 7, 2020 17:56
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Josef bugman posted:Just this image of the players looking up from their beer like "uuuuuuuuuh, did... did we ALL just see that?" The thing that draws me to Hams in general is the intersection of the mundane and the weird as hell. It is a setting that cares about the Empire's tax and legal policies or the crazy feudal politics of Bretonnia, while at the same time having a magic prophecy pig or a giant drunkenly but politely asking a farmer for directions or a scholar having a heart to heart with a mummy king. The two sides co-existing is what makes me love it. Yon Peasant matters. Yon Peasant gets to be the hero sometimes. You're quite probably playing Yon Peasant. Night10194 fucked around with this message at 18:07 on May 7, 2020 |
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May 7, 2020 18:03
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Mors Rattus posted:Tempting. I do want to get back to Nameless and Accursed, but I've had trouble finding motivation to do this stuff with the pandemic. Maybe writing this up will help me out, especially since I want to learn it well enough to write homebrew Seraphon (read: lizardmen). Going by some talk in the AoS thread it wouldn't surprise me if we'll see Seraphon in an upcoming supplement because apparently Skink Starpriests were considered but this was before their lore got revamped so the devs weren't exactly sure about how to use them.
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May 7, 2020 18:26
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 Soulbound The Land of Weird Spelling Officially, the full title is Warhammer: Age of Sigmar Roleplay: Soulbound but gently caress that it's Soulbound. Age of Sigmar was a controversial move by Games Workshop, because it came on the tail of End Times and the ending of the Warhammer Fantasy line, and was intended to replace it. It was not particularly well written in its first edition and deeply disrespectful of the Fantasy stuff that had come before. Then, somehow, Games Workshop came under new management, and new management was not stupid. 2nd Edition tried to step back the disrespect and be more open to things like 'women among the Stormcast' or 'being open to new and old fans' and 'trying to have rules.' Soulbound's existence is part of that, and in many ways it represents an attempt to try and get all the second edition lore broadly straight and in one place. I think it's done a decent job, and that lore has definitely caught my interest - I hated Age of Sigmar originally, but once the big change in management and the major rewrites started coming down, I became more appreciative. It's not perfect, but Soulbound does a decent job of making high octane, high stakes action movie version of Warhammer. PCs (mostly) belong to the Soulbound, a divine order resurrected by Sigmar, Grungni, Alarielle, Teclis, Tyrion and possibly Malerion to oppose the forces of Death, Chaos and Destruction (read: orcs, mostly). Members of the Soulbound form small groups whose souls are literally tied together, helping them resist the Dark Powers and other dangers of the soul and protecting them from ever being claimed by Nagash and undeath...because the divine power causes their souls to explode on death, though Grungni is pretty sure they reform eventually for reincarnation. (No one else is.) In exchange for this power, the Soulbound work to protect the Free Peoples and ensure that the Mortal Realms are safe from being corrupted or destroyed, and maybe do some jobs for the gods besides that. Being Soulbound is permanent, cannot be revoked, and prevents you from having kids. It stops you from aging and binds your soul to all others in your Binding. This combined soul strength grants immunity to Chaos corruption, undeath, various mental afflictions common to the Mortal Realms, and allows members to tap into immense power from each other. Every member of the Soulbound has their own reason for joining, often with contracts negotiated directly with Sigmar or other gods to ensure that their goals or ambitions will be helped as they help the group. The book opens, though, with the Grand History starting from the end of the World-That-Was and the formation of the Mortal Realms. Chaos destroys the Warhammer Fantasy world and Sigmar tumbles through space, clinging to the last remnants of the Old World, which becomes a shining fragment called Mallus. The Father of Stardrakes, Dracothion the Great, comes over to investigate the shiny thing in space and detects that Sigmar is a noble soul. Dracothion is a giant star dragon and has lots of powers, so he wakes up Sigmar and carries him to the Eight Realms, placing the Mallus into Azyr, the Realm of Heavens. Sigmar brings about a golden age for the Mortal Realms, traveling the land and meeting the people living there. He helped them out, fought primordial monsters, and founded Azyrheim as the capital of his new Empire. He sought out and found the other surviving gods, making pacts with them to form the Pantheon of Order. Each of the Eight Realms - one for each Wind of Magic - got a protector in the form of one of the gods. At this point, even Nagash and Gorkamorka (the united form of Gork and Mork) all agree to help out, for reasons. Sigmar is recognized as their leader, and all seems well. However, the pride and greed of mortals proves the undoing of this age of glory. The humans, duardin (read: dwarves) and aelves (read: elves) cause the realms to crack and fracture as their flaws call out to Chaos. A few turn to worship of the Dark Gods, allowing them a foothold in the new worlds. At last, the legions of daemons break through and begin the Red Century of war against all mortal life. Chaos spreads across the Realms, and while the Pantheon of Order fights, it's a long and slow battle. Slowly, Sigmar loses his allies. Alarielle is defeated soundly by Nurgle and retreats to her sanctum in despair. Gorkamorka gets bored of politics and launches a Waaagh across the Realms on his own. Tyrion, Teclis, Malerion and Morathi (who is wielding Khaine's corpse as a puppet-god) turn their focus to freeing the souls of their race from Slaanesh's belly. Sigmar is unable to hold the line, and Nagash decides that this is all Sigmar's fault. In a critical battle at the Eightpoints, where all the realms met, Nagash betrays Sigmar and his undead horde turns on the forces of Order. Sigmar is defeated in battle, and Chaos floods the Eightpoints. Sigmar's hammer is destroyed, and he flees to Azyr, sealing it off to protect the mortals that live there. Dracothion, Sigmar and Grungni set about creating the Anvil of Apotheosis, a tool they can use to forge a new army quite literally. Sigmar takes the souls of human heroes of the past and reforges them in the lighting of Azyr and his own divinity, turning them into the Stormcast - a legion of immortal heroes who can lead the fight against Chaos with their sigmarite weapons and armor, their base in the Sigmarabulum and their palace of Sigmaron. Sigmar is bad at names. Sigmar's armies of Stormcast and loyal mortals head out into the Mortal Realms in the Sigmar's Tempest, striking at the forces of Chaos in every realm. They reopen ancient realmgates, allowing thousands upon thousands of soldiers to pour out of Azyr and try to reclaim their worlds. The Cities of Sigmar, bastions of civilization in each Mortal Realm, are founded, and Chaos faces its first real resistance in centuries. Meanwhile, Nagash has spent his time murdering all the other death gods he can find and declaring himself master of the entire realm of Shyish. He has spent the centuries secretly constructing an immense fortress, the Black Pyramid, out of the death-powered realmstone of Shyish. It has taken him this entire time to complete it, and only his undead patience allowed it. He prepares to seize control over all death in the entire Mortal Realms, and while the other gods become aware of this and tell the mortals, they are unable to stop him. The Black Pyramid nearly takes control over an entire Wind of Magic. However, Nagash is unaware that a small team of Skaven agents have infiltrated the pyramid. They disrupt the ritual by opening a portal back to their home in the Eightpoints, the new Skavenblight, and everything goes wrong. Nagash absorbs as much magic as he can, but a giant wave of death magic flows over the Mortal Realms. This the Necroquake, causing the dead to rise and attack anything nearby. Hordes of skeletons and ghosts pour forth in each realm, and the nature of magic itself changes. Spells come to life, raging across the land in living cataclysms of magical power. Nagash quickly seizes control over as many of these new undead as he can, and Sigmar realizes that his forces are beset now on all sides by Chaos, the Greenskins and the forces of Death. He turns to his old allies. Alarielle emerges from her long depression in a warrior aspect, ready to fight Nurgle once more. Morathi pledges the support of the Daughters of Khaine, as she hates Chaos more than pretty much anyone left alive after Slaanesh betrayed her. Teclis and Grungni remain silent, but most believe they are working with Sigmar now. It'll have to be enough for now. The Stormcast and the other forces of Order work to hold what they have reclaimed and push the lines forward. The gods select the strongest among their people to become Soulbound, hoping to bolster their forces in key positions. The Soulbound will stand at critical junctures and change the tides of war. Next time: Okay but how do I play one?
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May 7, 2020 18:32
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Cooked Auto posted:Going by some talk in the AoS thread it wouldn't surprise me if we'll see Seraphon in an upcoming supplement because apparently Skink Starpriests were considered but this was before their lore got revamped so the devs weren't exactly sure about how to use them. Wouldn't surprise me, I'm just not patient.
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May 7, 2020 18:32
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Mors Rattus posted:Wouldn't surprise me, I'm just not patient. Understandable, because who can resist playing a Skink.  Also I found out there's another RPG named Soulbound while I was doing some googling earlier: https://www.soulboundrpg.com/
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May 7, 2020 18:36
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I think every single person in AoS is incredibly bad at names. What's interesting to me is the new management at GW calls the End Times one of their last huge mistakes, because they finally realize this is all fiction and wanting to write a different version of Fantasy and a new wargame doesn't mean you need to write a long 'kill the old setting' nonsense story, and indeed, you can still keep producing Fantasy stuff where it works while quietly discontinuing the old wargame.
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May 7, 2020 18:37
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In case you're wondering where Dracothion comes from, by the way, I don't know. As far as I can tell, there's just a noble space dragon of goodness now. He's just here and helping.
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May 7, 2020 18:41
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Night10194 posted:I think every single person in AoS is incredibly bad at names. Old management demanding names they could copyright exclusively really. But yeah, they're not great. Night10194 posted:What's interesting to me is the new management at GW calls the End Times one of their last huge mistakes, because they finally realize this is all fiction and wanting to write a different version of Fantasy and a new wargame doesn't mean you need to write a long 'kill the old setting' nonsense story, and indeed, you can still keep producing Fantasy stuff where it works while quietly discontinuing the old wargame. It'll be interesting to see what they'll do with the Old World game. For all intents and purposes it is the Horus Heresy equivalent to AoS and they're already intending to add things we haven't seen before like an expanded Kislev roster.
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May 7, 2020 18:46
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Night10194 posted:I think every single person in AoS is incredibly bad at names. I know right? It's like they never heard of comic book infinite earths.
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May 7, 2020 19:11
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Mors Rattus posted:In case you're wondering where Dracothion comes from, by the way, I don't know. As far as I can tell, there's just a noble space dragon of goodness now. He's just here and helping. The Seraphon tome states that there are rumors that he is Sotek. More of his deal is explained later in the book anyway along with other creatures like him. Also on Aelves. I find this name utterly fine cause it comes from the origin of the name, and more importantly is pronounced exactly the same. Duardin is ok, but if they were going to change Dwarf I would have chosen the name the dwarfs already had for themselves Dawi. MonsterEnvy fucked around with this message at 19:16 on May 7, 2020 |
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May 7, 2020 19:12
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Soulbound Heroic Identity and How to Be One There are two ways to make a character. The easy way, where you pick an Archetype and use that to guide your choices, or the hard way, point buy. For point buy, you start with all three of your stats at 1, pick your species, then have a pile of XP to spend on Attributes, Skills and Talents. Then you get gear, which changes if you're Stormcast, Kharadron or Fyreslayer. (Stormcast also get slightly more XP; they're beefier than the other "species" at the cost of not actually being Soulbound.) Either way, you start by picking your species. There are currently five options - Human, Stormcast Eternal, Aelf, Duardin and Sylvaneth. A sidebar notes that other species will be explored in future products, like Orruks (read: orcs), Ogors (read: ogres), Grots, Skaven, Vampires and so on. Species doesn't actually change a lot except for Stormcast. But let's look 'em over. Humans are the most numerous and widespread mortal species in Order, and would be most numerous period if not for the Skaven and Greenskins. They aren't as tough as a Duardin or as innately magical as an Aelf, but they are able to be excellent warriors or mages regardless. Their lifespan is shorter than the others, but it drives them to excel and reach for greatness, though that same ambition can easily lead them to ruin in the temptaitons of Chaos or Nagash. While humans form the source of the Stormcast, they are also disproportionately those who join Chaos or serve Death. Humans come in wide variety, and depending on what Realm and part of a Realm they hail form, they can look very different, with many cultures. Sigmar is their most frequent god of choice, especially since most Humans descend from the refugees he protected in Azyrheim. However, others survived outside and formed their own cultures, sometimes with their own gods - false or true. Most humans live in the Cities of Sigmar or near them. The Species Bonus for being Human is Adaptable: You get a free Talent on top of the ones you start with. (This is worth 2 XP; all Species Bonuses are meant to be about this powerful. Humans just get flexibility instead of the numbers boosts that the other mortal Species get.) Stormcast Eternals are forged. They are made from mortal souls, all of them paragons of human heroism in some way or other. Once a soul is chosen, it is taken to the Chamber of the Broken World, where it is torn apart by Azyr's lightning and then painstakingly reassembled. Then it gets sent to the Cairns of Tempering, where its spirit blends with the Gifts of the Gods. At last, it goes to the Anvil, where Sigmar strikes it with the World Hammer, infusing some of his own divine essence into the new STormcast. Only a heroic soul can survive the Reforging, and once done, they are essentially immortal. On death, they simply dissolve into lighting and return to Azyr to be reforged once more. Stormcast typically stand between seven and ten feet tall, their bodies sculpted to perfection by the divine smiths. They can hail from any human culture, past or present, but there is a flaw in the Reforging process. Stormcast are marked, and the more often they are Reforged, the clearer it becomes. Lightning might spark from their body, their voice may roll with thunder, they may glow golden. They often lose parts of their memories and personality in the Reforging, especially the memories of their mortal lives. Their zeal and inhuman marks can make them feared as well as awed by the people they walk among. Their Species Bonus is Reforged. They can't become Soulbound - but they're immortal. You either pick or roll an exploding d6 to determine how many times your Stormcast has been Reforged before. When you die, you return at a narratively appropriate moment that you work out with your GM, having been Reforged once more. It's noted that Sigmar hates that his Reforging is an imperfect and flawed process. He does it anyway, because the Eternals are needed, but he really wants to fix the problem. It's up to the player to decide what physical or mental marks are left on them by the Reforging process, but they should be unsettling to be around as they are further Reforged. (Stormcast also have access to higher-stat Archetypes, at the cost of not being Soulbound and having a downtime penalty like Elves in WFRP 4e.) Aelves are rare, mostly found in Azyr after the four surviving Aelf gods rescued the souls of the Old World elves from the belly of Slaanesh. All were left marked by their ordeal, and it caused them to be warped in their recreation, altered by the nature of the gods that helped them be reborn and the realms they were reborn in. The Aelves of Malerion in Ulgu are dark and terrible, while those of Hysh are proud and shining, and the Scathborn Aelves of Morathi are often serpentine or winged monsters, held captive in the depths of her temples. All Aelves, however, share a few traits. They have long and tapered ears, are naturally graceful and beautiful, and have a natural sensitivity to the energies of the realms that helps them adapt to extreme environments. This also gives them an innate talent for magic and makes them nearly symbiotic with their chosen lands. They are very long-lived, though this varies between the types of Aelf. Khainite Witch Elves rejuvenate themselves in blood rites, while the Idoneth of the deep sea typically only live three centuries or so. Aelves also all have a natural arrogance and sense of superiority to them. This can manifest as cruelty or callousness, or just condescension and paternalism. Their Species Bonus is Long-Lived. Every Aelf tends to gravitate to a hobby or calling that grounds them and keeps them sane over their long lives. They almost ritually pursue these studies, using them as a marker in time that remains constant when all else might change. This gives them Training (1) and Focus (1) in any single Skill of their choice, though they both have to go to the same Skill and are get applied before spending any XP from Archetype. Duardin are split into three broad categories. The Dispossessed are clans that seek to reclaim the ruins of the lost Khazalid Empire and hold to their ancient traditions, fighting to reclaim what was once theirs and caring far more for their old ways and old lands than wealth and treasure they have no former claim to. They are, essentially, Fantasy's dwarves sans the Slayer Cult. The Kharadron are the Duardin who abandoned the mountain kingdoms in favor of building airships and sailing the clouds. They are mercantile to the extreme and very meritocratic, focusing on accumulation of wealth and, to a lesser extent, knowledge. While they honor Grungni the Maker as their creator, most Kharadron feel he abandoned them in the Age of Chaos and is unworthy of more than that simple honor, favoring their own scientific research over the old traditions. The Fyreslayers are the inheritors of the Slayer Cult, worshipping the Shattered God Grimnir. They are mercenaries that seek out ur-gold, which was formed from the bones of Grimnir. They are famous both for seeking payment for all they do and for refusing to accept the coin until their sworn oath of service is completed. For them, gathering wealth is a spiritual act they must be worthy of. I'm not a huge fan of the Fyreslayers, because the Slayers are less special when you have an entire society of them. Dispossessed and Fyreslayer men are very proud of their beards and will never willingly cut them, but the Kharadron regularly trim them to better fit into their suits of sky-dwarf power armor. Their Species Bonus is Too Stubborn to Die. Duardin stubbornness is legendary, and it can keep them going when they shouldn't even be moving. They get +2 Wounds on top of their normal amount. Sylvaneth are most of what's left of the Wood Elves. (There are a few actual Aelves that are also Wood Elves, the Wanderers, but they're a distinct minority.) Sylvaneth are born from soul pods, plant bodies grown and animated by fey spirits. They are usually humanoid, but their shape and size vary wildly between caste and purpose. Each one is made with a specific purpose in mind by Alarielle. Their skin is armored bark covering over a heartwood core, and they can take nearly any natural color or pattern of plant life, which they can also adjust further on the fly - they might thicken their 'skin' in battle or lighten themselves to run better. They often grow plants on theiur own bodies as adornment, either clothing or hair, and they are able to sense the flow of water through the ground. They have faces, with eyes formed by knots and pits, but they rarely change expression - they pick one they like and then it tends to stay that way. In Ghyran, they are able to communicate telepathically via the Spirit-Song, a melody sung by the all the plants under Alarielle's command. Outside it, they can only hear faint echoes, and non-Soulbound are often driven to madness or depression by the lack of voices. They know that Alarielle loves them, personally and deeply, because the Spirit-Song tells them so. They use verbal communication only with non-Sylvaneth, and typically sound strange. They also usually forget to move their mouths unless they're really used to other species and trying to make them feel welcome. Their natural goals are simple: protect the natural order and ensure nature survives. That's what Alarielle wants themt o do, and they tend to be hostile to outsiders who seek to tame or command nature. The kinder ones are ptiying instead, knowing that outsiders can't understand their place and lack the comfort of Alarielle's close love. Their Species Bonus is Natural Armour. Sylvaneth are made of wood suffused by divine magic. They get a base Armour of 2, which is natural and regrows if damaged; after a Rest, any damage to their natural Armour is repaired. They can't wear normal armor, but can reinforce their barkskin with special oils to improve it. Next time: Stats
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May 7, 2020 19:24
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"Sigmarabulum?" Nice try, Mors, but even the Nounverb Verbnouners at GW aren't that bad.
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May 7, 2020 19:30
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May 7, 2020 19:34
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Sylvaneth also have the power to sense Water. Which makes them valuable guides and well liked in the water parched areas of the Realm of Fire.
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May 7, 2020 19:36
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GimpInBlack posted:Night's Black Agents: Solo Ops I vote Eczes.
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May 7, 2020 19:43
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Well.
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May 7, 2020 19:56
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Josef bugman posted:Is it wrong to say that I hate exalted for dropping an interesting setting into the most verisimilitude esc game I have ever seen? I think it's less verisimillitude and more just that Storyteller is a terrible system. It's a game that doesn't, by and large, know what it is. It both wants to be about LARGER THAN LIFE SEMI-IMMORTAL DEMIGODS and also about being able to step on a nail and get tetanus(and yet the ST system can only handle a very narrow band of power otherwise it just goes out of whack), the writers were much too horny when writing it, the mechanics suffer as badly from System Mastery as 3e D&D if not more, piles upon piles of abilities are pointless and the authors never understood that carrot mechanics are better than stick mechanics.
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May 7, 2020 20:02
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wiegieman posted:It's 2070 and Earth is dead but by god RPG writing doesn't have a single weird fetish so the sum total of human culture was worth it. I wonder, how does the weird 3e Hams fantasy stack up against 2/4e? Because while I love hams fantasy, every time the reviews star going into martials, my eyes just glaze over from the "right choices" stuff - every fighter needing Dodge/more attacks/strike mighty sounds like Bloodbowl's "Blodge Goes On Everything," which isn't great in a G where you're supposed to be P'ings some R's.
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May 7, 2020 20:09
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Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2e: Barony of the Damned The Chateau Hane I'm locked in my apartment with nothing else to do all day, so let's get to the vampire. Stunned by their encounter with the Grand Sow, the heroes continue on, finding the Chateau Hane without too much trouble. The structure of this adventure is much like the first: There's a lot of advice, information about personalities and characters you might deal with, and a very general outline of events, but nothing is set. It is entirely possible that a PC party stops here, enjoys a fine two days of traditional hospitality with a host who helps in their quest without demanding anything of them, and then moves on to Mousillon, ignoring the prisoners, the murders, etc. Opposing Aucassin, freeing his prisoners, etc are all entirely optional, and potentially very difficult. Naturally our heroes will get involved, though; this adventure is structurally rather similar to Carrion Call, and they have Anya Vonreuter with them. She's going to recognize The Signs that some bad stuff is going down here. Bookeeping first. They earned 300 EXP (200 base, +100 for saving the villages, if accidentally) for the last chapter. They'll eventually end up with the full 1200 you can earn over this adventure, which will actually see Gilbert at least get to exactly what he needs to finish Knight of the Realm and lead to the question of whether he becomes a Questing Knight or branches out with something like Captain or even Noble Lord, depending on how his character develops. Gilbert gets tougher and picks up Dodge+10 and some Agi, Ulrike gets stronger, picks up Dodge+10 and some Agi (they're kind of mirrors of each other stats wise), Elena very nearly finishes Protagonist and is just about ready to finish her diversion and become an Enforcer, Anya finishes Apprentice Mage but doesn't have the EXP to buy her Lore or extra Mag (thinking I'll make her a Shadow Mage instead as her character has developed, so she also gets her first Mark now that I'd decided: Lights tend to flicker and lower in her presence) but she's close. Karl picks up his own Magical Sense, Channeling, and Speak Arcane but still needs Petty to actually cast spells. Vendrick is a Targeteer now, with 2 Attacks, Sure Shot, and Mighty Shot. His bow is effectively Damage 6 against most heavily armored foes, on par with the two knights, and he's got a 72% BS. He's 400 EXP away from a 92 and being some kind of crazy bow-saint. He's a good shot by elf standards; his basic ability with a bow would be considered just slightly above average for a Waywatcher/Ghost Strider. Anya will be showing off being a Rogue/Wizard the way that Syphan showed off being a Warrior/Wizard, I think. Shadow works for a 'darker' magic that isn't so violent, letting her play around with shadow and trickiness and use her magic more cleverly rather than just vaporizing people. The heroes arrive at the Chateau late in the day, just as the sun is finishing setting. This means they are greeted by the master of the house himself, Lord Aucassin. You might remember him from Mallobaude's buddies. He is a completely critical part of the Black Knight's plans, being the cultured noble and undead ambassador who is helping him to recruit. Aucassin is genuinely happy to have guests, especially guests who look to be fine knights and interesting travelers. He believes firmly in the laws of hospitality, and this will actually cause our heroes a little bit of trouble down the line. On the way into his keep, they notice an impaled prisoner still rotting on a pike. Karl points out that's a very bad way to die, and Aucassin agrees; why else would they punish heinous crimes that way? The man was a poacher, and if someone were to violate the swamping rights the entire economy could collapse and make Mousillon a lonely and impoverished place (this is a direct quote. Let it not be said this book doesn't have a good sense of humor). Inside his keep, rather than the poverty and squalor of Mousillon so far, they see gorgeous tapestries and artwork lining the walls. A truly excellent rendition of Landuin's Charge has just been hung up in the main dining room (recently completed by the undiscovered but excellent peasant tapestry artist that Aucassin has locked up in the chateau) and there will be a reading of a new poem of the tale by his Courtier, the beautiful Bertrand of Aquitaine. Aucassin quite loves the young poet, and is slowly working on his will in hopes he will eventually accept the Blood Kiss and become an eternal artist, so he happily shows the man and his work off to any guests. His majordomo Diomedes organizes all aspects of the household, including finding suitably beautiful men and women to poison and stash under the floorboards for his master to eat at his leisure. The poetry really is excellent, and Aucassin himself is an excellent storyteller who knows all the best legends of the Twelve Battles and other fine tales of knightly chivalry and honor. The team is genuinely having a good night and an excellent supper for the first time in a week when Anya begins to suspect something's up. She sees Diomedes ushering a girl quietly into a side room. Ostensibly a new maid. While their gracious host gives Gilbert a chance to talk of his own deeds (he ignores the fact that Ulrike is a knight, too; he's very old fashioned even if he's welcoming) Anya quietly looks over the scene with Magical Sense, suspecting something. Unlike in Thousand Thrones, if you do this, you can absolutely discover Aucassin is a vampire early. She excuses herself a moment to use the privy, and goes to see what happened to the young girl. She gets there in time to warn Lissuet the new maid, before Diomedes can finish serving dinner and come back to strangle her in her chambers and prepare her for tomorrow's supper for his master. She quickly explains to the woman she needs to get out of here, lying a bit and claiming to be an 'undercover Damsel' sent to spy on Aucassin to get Lissuet moving. Diomedes is later frustrated to find the woman has escaped, but the castle is empty enough that Anya is able to make it back to dinner without anything seeming too amiss. Note you can actually do this. It's very unlikely Lissuet lives; she'll probably be murdered that night before the players know what's wrong. But the adventure keeps the possibility that suspicious PCs might realize something is very wrong when they make a Per-10 to spot her being led into a side area of the castle, and might save her life. If they do, she's a kind and honest young woman with a family that's very glad to have her back. As the text says, she deserved better in life than being murdered by a vampire, no matter how good a host he is. Normally, you only really begin to realize anything is wrong after having a rest for the night unless you're very suspicious, but Anya's family used to lure people into their fancy house and kill them for sport. She has a lot of reason to be very suspicious. During dinner, they also reveal Karl is a priest of Shallya. Aucassin salivates just a little; an innocent, handsome, attractive young man who likely can't fight back very much would be a fine dinner if he could just separate him from his holy symbol, but he is too devoted to the laws of hospitality to make plans to kill Karl. Gilbert also mentions a fight with a terrible butcher-knight on their way in, which their host takes in stride. Yes, they've murdered one of his co-conspirators, but he probably didn't like the man much, and really, if he went down to a foreign lady knight he would never have been useful anyway. Aucassin is far more wary of the elf. It could be an agent of the Lady. But he promised them his protection, his roof, and his food, and so they have it until they threaten him or snoop around too much. When they tell him why they're here, he mentions he gave LeBeau shelter, because it is his custom. When he hears LeBeau is a peasant rebel and agitator, he is incensed at being tricked into supporting such filth. He gladly tells them he lent the man a horse and tells his master of the stables to identify which one for them, so they can find their query more easily. He sincerely wishes Gilbert the best in finding this criminal and taking his head. Anya is not quite sure how to warn her friends at dinner. And it's better to fight a vampire in daylight, anyway. The next day, they also find a maid trying to warn them of something. One of the maids is a friend of Bernice, the lady locked up making tapestries. Aucassin loves Bernice's work, but like Anya and Ondurin, he has failed to make her his thrall. The same will that makes her devoted to her art also makes her surprisingly hard for him to crush, and she dreams of him dying in battle or of old age so she can escape and go back to Couronne. The maid not only slips them a letter (which thankfully Anya and Karl can read) but a key to Bernice's room, hoping they can save her. Elena had already been noticing many of the tapestries seemed unusually sad, and signed by the same artist; maybe this is the person imprisoned in the chateau? Being heroes, they go to investigate. Elena and Vendrick are the only two who are stealthy, so they go to see Bernice and discover from the poor artist she is virtually a prisoner. Combined with Anya warning them Aucassin may be a vampire... Gilbert notes they are here under protection of hospitality, as guests. Even if the host is evil, to attack him by surprise in his own home when they were guests would be a grave violation of honor, courtesy, and all norms of noble society. Ulrike notes that eating people is rather the same, and asks him how different drinking someone's blood is from eating them like that Butcher Knight. Regardless of their plans, however, they were spotted speaking to Bernice; they realize Diomedes has fled in a hurry off down the corridors to warn the master and wake the household. They also realize very quickly that there are very few actual windows and no easy ways to use sunlight within the keep itself. The matter has been taken out of their hands, and they are about to pay for Gilbert's delay on matters of honor. Now, Aucassin himself is not an especially powerful vampire. His Transfixing Gaze is terrifying for one PC (WP save or be frozen as long as he keeps maintaining half actions, counting as Helpless) and he's Frightening, which is always a problem. But he hates bulky full plate and only has mail and a rapier, and he's 'merely' SB 6 and TB 6 with 2 attacks and a WS on par with the heroes. The problem is if he's alerted, he can have a knight or two with him. While the heroes prepared for battle, so did his household, and now they face two Knights (not Knights of the Realm) and the master of the house. Aucassin's Knights have stats later in the adventure; they're plate armored, SB 4, TB 4, A2, WS 52. Well trained, skilled, and well equipped, they're each only a little weaker than Gilbert or Ulrike. However, this is the first battle where Gilbert has had enough warning to pray. Virtue of Chivalry can be awkward, but the Lady's blessing turns his arming sword into an Impact weapon for the cost of a minute's prayer and a Fortune point. More Fortune goes to keeping the party from panicking from Fear as they face down an actual vampire knight. He accuses them of dishonoring his hospitality by snooping around his 'property'. Anya tells him people are not property, and that she won't see others victimized like she did at Schloss Vonreuter. He tells them people have always been property; what a vampire knight does is no different from what Gilbert will do with his serfs one day. Gilbert challenges him to single combat, and he responds by siccing his men on them and engaging. This is probably the hardest fight the party will face for some time. But unlike a party in Ashes of Middenheim, they have the numbers to potentially win. Instead of running ranged support, Elena is forced to commit herself into the melee to keep the enemy from getting past the knights into Vendrick, Karl, and Anya. They also all wear helmets, which makes her stun gimmick useless; good thing she's beefed up her hand to hand some with Protagonist. The two additional Knights also make Transfixing Gaze much more lethal. Thankfully, Gilbert has a shitload of Fortune and manages to save against it. He and Ulrike charge into the knights, and for the first time her greathammer really makes a difference. Even knights don't like taking Damage 7 Impact. This fight took a long time to run, but it was completely brutal on both sides. Vendrick's skill being high enough to shoot into melee, combined with his shots being unblockable, turned out to be pretty key. By the end, Gilbert was at 1, Ulrike had taken a Crit to the head (no helmet hurt her a lot, sorry Ulric) and needed Toughness to avoid losing an eye, and Elena was at 2. But Aucassin and his knights were dead. It was a seven round fight, too; heavily armored, skilled characters can go back and forth for a long time. Thankfully, Ulrike is tough as hell and got a 45 on the test not to lose an eye (and avoided bleeding out due to Karl). She now has one of those stylish scars all across the bridge of her nose and her left eye and cheek, where one inch deeper and she'd have a stylish eyepatch instead. After Karl stops the bleeding and gets everyone painfully to their feet, they grab the poor woman from the locked up room, punch Diomedes in the face, and tell Bertrand to run before getting to their horses and getting the hell out of here before more of the household arrives. They escape just ahead of Gerflar, Aucassin's favorite knight. He swears vengeance. If you kill Aucassin or steal from him or otherwise annoy him, Gerflar will be coming back to challenge the PCs towards the end. He's pretty badass, too. They'll have more trouble awaiting them, and they still don't realize how much they've troubled Mallobaude's plans. Killing Aucassin really hurts him. He absolutely needed that guy. With Bernice freed, she'll be following along behind them for now, staying out of fights, until they can somehow help her get home to Couronne. Now they must go onwards, to the city of despair itself in pursuit of LeBeau and the horse he rode in on. I like this scenario. It's good for the same reason Carrion Call is, but it's also got the benefit of letting you interact plenty with the villain. You can also just skip it entirely. Or stealth your way through it. If you're never spotted, after all, you don't get the revenge knight. Next Time: Mousillon itself
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May 7, 2020 20:12
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JcDent posted:I wonder, how does the weird 3e Hams fantasy stack up against 2/4e? 4E helps that in that you don't get any extra attacks at all last time I checked, but are the only people to can actually get good at weapon/ranged skill so it allows them to do plenty of damage against low skilled people.
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May 7, 2020 20:12
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PurpleXVI posted:I think it's less verisimillitude and more just that Storyteller is a terrible system. Are we talking about 2e or 3e here, because while there are shared problems they did end up being significantly different games on a structural level, and 3e definitely isn't trying to do that tetanus thing (there is a disease subsystem, because there's a subsystem for everything). 3e has leaned heavily into 'each subsystem/specialization should be a fun game for the players' and while it's a complicated, crunchy system and the subsystems are hit or miss, it's a very different design style than 2e.
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May 7, 2020 20:25
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Joe Slowboat posted:Are we talking about 2e or 3e here, because while there are shared problems they did end up being significantly different games on a structural level, and 3e definitely isn't trying to do that tetanus thing (there is a disease subsystem, because there's a subsystem for everything). Yes, but unless you're a lifer, the 2e/3e divide isn't as massive from the outside looking in. From what I've gathered, if you came up with 2e, 3e is a wonderful toolbox with some sharp edges. If you left 2e and never looked back, 3e doesn't seem all that different. Playable sure, but low bars, legacy, wtf craft, etc
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May 7, 2020 20:37
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200 pages of charms is still 200 pages of charms. Most people aren't that excited to dive into it if they weren't already on board.
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May 7, 2020 20:38
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Night10194 posted:200 pages of charms is still 200 pages of charms. 200 pages of charms, of which something like 2/3rds of the ones in the core 3e book, if I remember right, are just boring dice-adders which are more or less circumstantial.
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May 7, 2020 20:49
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Night10194 posted:200 pages of charms is still 200 pages of charms. Exactly. If you are in the tank for Exalted, 3e is awesome in terms of mechanics. If not, 3e didn't change nearly enough to pull in someone who was turned off by the inherent flaws/choices made in 1e/2e. But Essence is coming. At the very least, it might make it easier to learn Exalted.
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May 7, 2020 20:50
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I still enjoy the setting fluff but boy those rules seem contrary to being able to engage with them, as well as the prospect that what you really are supposed to do is minmax early on and just keep buying Charms forever. At least they stopped charging you XP to package Charms together in combos. I think?
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May 7, 2020 21:00
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