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Angrymog posted:I think you've missed a bit at the bolded section, because it doesn't make any sense; if you get a 1 on what? the d10? Where do doubles come into if you're just rolling 1 die? if you roll a 1 on the d10, you roll again and then double the result. I think I missed the word 'It' after the line
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Aug 1, 2020 09:09
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mellonbread posted:CASTLE GARGANTUA PART 12: THE FALL OF THE MESEMBRINE Isn't this the golden cock summoning map?
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Aug 1, 2020 11:43
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i saw the references to into the unknown, but apart from the name-drops i saw no real connection with Gargantua.
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Aug 1, 2020 15:07
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I'm really not sure about the whole 'wizards exude an aura of antisocial behavior' thing. People would have plenty of reason to be uncomfortable around weird people who get up to crazy wizbiz without some kind of magic aura from the Gift, it just feels sorta unnecessary.
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Aug 1, 2020 15:18
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And people in the middle ages were definitely not lacking in xenophobia and tribalism. So yeah that strange man who's a part of a secretive society of wizards would be shunned in probably all of Europe.
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Aug 1, 2020 15:26
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Night10194 posted:I'm really not sure about the whole 'wizards exude an aura of antisocial behavior' thing. People would have plenty of reason to be uncomfortable around weird people who get up to crazy wizbiz without some kind of magic aura from the Gift, it just feels sorta unnecessary. It serves as an explanation for why other magical societies of purely Gifted people have failed before - paranoia ends up consuming them. This becomes an important setting component for why the Order has been so successful, and why other large scale magical groups scare them (and why those groups are often very different in structure).
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Aug 1, 2020 15:31
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Mors Rattus posted:It serves as an explanation for why other magical societies of purely Gifted people have failed before - paranoia ends up consuming them. This becomes an important setting component for why the Order has been so successful, and why other large scale magical groups scare them (and why those groups are often very different in structure). More to the point, I think it serves as an element of escapist wish fulfillment. You're not crazy, you know the secrets of the universe! People don't dislike you because you're a socially maladjusted weirdo, it's just a side effect of how enlightened you are! You're not misunderstanding basic social cues and rules, you're elevated above and separate from mundane humans!
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Aug 1, 2020 15:33
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I'm just not fond of explaining things with a magic aura when mundane or social explanations serve fine. A bunch of people with immense personal power and individual obsessions having trouble forming groups (and being treated rather cautiously by their neighbors) is explanation enough for me.
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Aug 1, 2020 15:38
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AD&D 2E’s THAC0 system was much more streamlined than 1E, which resolved attack rolls by using The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 24: The Deck of More Fighter Kits Cards 121 through 216 were written by Paul Riegel, who it appears did at least a little other work for TSR - the Greyhawk module WGM1: Border Watch, for example. 121: Encounter at the Oasis The PCs are in a desert, short on water, and find a watering hole with a small herd of camels nearby. It’s “controlled by the Brotherhood, a group of camel beast-riders who are sworn with religious fanaticism to the Albar, their leader.” Camel beast-riders. Okay. I mean, I know camel-mounted warriors are a thing, but “beast-riders” is perhaps a bit of a high-falutin’ term for them, don’t you think? Anyway, all eight riders are away from their tents when the PCs arrive, giving them a chance to loot some small amounts of coinage if they want to act like computer-game RPG protagonists. However, the riders will return soon. If the PCs aren’t thieves or total jerks, the Brotherhood will be friendly enough, and even if they stole, the riders will accept an apology and “a healthy tribute to the Albar.” I’m not sure I need the only Middle-East-inspired people in the deck so far to be war-camel-riding religious zealots. Besides, to make these dudes interesting I’d have to come up with their own strongly-held idiosyncratic religious beliefs on the spot. I’ll pass. KIT CORNER: Beast Rider (PHBR1 Complete Fighter’s Handbook) This fighter is from a tribe that takes a certain animal as their totem and is very good at forming bonds with it and riding it… “even if it’s a type of animal not normally considered a riding-beast.” It requires a Charisma of 13, which you’ll need because you also get a -3 Reaction modifier in most societies, and the DM is supposed to be constantly having people give you grief for being an uncivilized weirdo. Also, if your mount dies you take 2d6 damage and must save or act as if feebleminded. Finally, you have to start with hide, leather, or padded armor, but can pick up metal armor later in your career. In exchange, you get Animal Training and Riding as bonus NWPs, a +5 bonus to reaction rolls with the type of animal they choose, and start with a mount of the appropriate type that they have a weak telepathic bond with. It’s supposed to be possible, but kind of a pain, to get a new one. The entry includes a list of mounts that are considered appropriate, though the DM has to approve your choice. Under no circumstances should you ever choose loving camel. Start with elephant or fire lizard, and when the DM rejects it, bargain down to smilodon or unicorn. Kind of a weird kit, since your mount has to be appropriate for your whole career. It’s no problem if you’re starting at higher level to give your Fighter a griffon, but if you’re starting at level 1, your riding boar buddy is going to get outclassed pretty quick. Overall kind of cool, though. 122: War Party The PCs turn a narrow mountain pass and stumble into “two groups of humans fighting, one side just finishing off the other.” The winning side is led by a berserker who mistakes them for enemy reinforcements and leads the charge against them. If they’re quick they can escape, but it’ll take a riding check if they’re mounted. The berserker goes after the mightiest-looking warrior. Ehhhhhh. Who are these people? Why were these two groups even fighting? And you have like a fourth of the card blank. Give me something a little more inspiring. I guess I'll keep it because it's pretty simple to slot in two antagonistic local factions... not like they even need to be human... but I'm not super impressed. KIT CORNER: Berserker (PHBR 1: The Complete Fighter’s Handbook) If you have a 15 Strength, your fighting man can be a berserking man. They get Endurance as a bonus NWP. They get a +3 Reaction bonus from civilizations that have Berserkers, and a -3 from, uh, everybody else. They can’t start with the heaviest armor, but they can buy or acquire it later. And they can It’s way too fiddly, but that’s AD&D for you. I guess it serves its function. 123: Playing Hooky The PCs are passing through a town whose major export is gladiators (to compete in a nearby city). There’s a gladiatorial school there, but apparently the students are indentured or enslaved, because the city guard interrogates the PCs when they’re staying there, looking for “escaped ‘trainees.’” Later the group is approached by several “armed and well-trained gladiators” who want to hide out with them. They’ll ratchet up the pressure if the PCs refuse, eventually trying to kill them to take their places. Then the city guard will come back around, following a tip, and be extra “rude and inquisitive.” I see fun roleplay with the PCs putting disguise skills and magics to use, improv-ing backstories for the gladiators and claiming they’re previously-unseen members of the party / henchmen / whatever, etc. Or maybe just hiding them in a bag of holding. Keep, let them make some ex-gladiator buddies. KIT CORNER: Gladiator (from PHBR1: The Complete Book of Fighters) You need to take short sword, trident, and net as weapon proficiencies. You get Charioteering and Tumbling (from the Rogue list) as bonus NWPs. They have to buy their starting armor from a special list of Gladiator armor in the book, because this is ADVANCED Dungeons & Dragons, and it’s unacceptable to call Thracian armor mere “leather.” They get a free weapon specialization in their choice of bow, cestus, dagger, drusus, lasso, net, scimitar, short sword, spear, trident or whip, so that’s nice. Their main negatives are supposed to be that they’re famous and recognizable, and that they’re always getting hassled by promoters and managers. To make up for the gladiator’s benefits, “the GM should make it clear that these promoters are mostly of the sleazy variety who will cheat, rob and betray him at the drop of a hat.” I don’t even know what to say there. 124: Company of the Red Wing A small town has hired eponymous mercenaries to protect it and provide security. “The mercenary company is a well-disciplined military machine, but it was not trained or equipped for this mission. This has led to a split in the company between the mercenaries and myrmidions.” Wait, what's the difference? Are those two parts of the same company? It's not clear. And what's the threat from the outside or inside that the villagers are so worried about? Presumably mercenary companies don't come cheap. Anyway I guess the mercenaries are thuggish and everyone is afraid of them. The PCs see several terrorizing the townsfolk, demanding free beer from the bartender, and so on. They might extort the PCs for a “nonresident fee.” If they report the offenders, they’ll get in trouble with their unit commander. They might also pick a fight. This could have used a second draft, but it’s basically sound. Keep. KIT CORNER: Myrmidion (from PHBR1: The Complete Book of Fighters) A myrmidion is a professional soldier who goes around soldiering. They need 12 Strength and Constitution. They get free NWPs in Fire building and “Ancient History (specifically Military History),” presumably because they are all aspiring to rise to the rank of Major-General. They also get a free weapon specialization (nice) and begin with an employer. On the other hand, their military bearing and disciplined manner makes them extra recognizable (the kit notes that there are plenty of mercenaries with bad posture and poor presence; they just don’t have the Myrmidion kit), and they begin with an employer, which means the DM gets to boss you around. Screw the man! Be an Outlaw instead! “Memorable and distinctive” seems like a weird drawback for a character who’s likely to be travelling with a bunch of D&D weirdos, but whatever. 125: One Stands Alone A small bridge over a ravine between two mountains. “The PCs may have heard tales of a crazy old warrior who stands guard over the bridge,” or they might just be passing through. The latter seems more likely, because this is a random encounter and I DEFINITELY did not seed this information. An old warrior is protecting the bridge and is attacked by four trolls (who “come every day to raid”). He’s clearly nursing some old wounds and isn’t going to make it, though the outcome is pretty foregone to begin with given that he’s got no fire or acid. So yeah, the PCs are probably going to want to help. The interesting bit here is the Arthurian warrior, but he’s not given a name or a personality or anything, really. Bit of a shame. Kind of cool imagery, though... Keep and I'll just roll with it. KIT CORNER: Noble Warrior (from PHBR1: The Complete Book of Fighters) The Noble Warrior is probably a knight-type person if you’re in a medieval milieu, but might be different in other types of campaigns. They are distinguished from the Cavalier in that they are probably a brutal rear end in a top hat like most historic warrior caste people. “Noble” here means “rich,” not “good.” They need to take their noble weapon proficiencies, generally lance, long or bastard sword, and horseman’s flail or mace, and get Etiquette, Heraldry, and Riding as bonus NWPs. They start with 225 extra gold, get a +3 reaction modifier from folks of their culture, and can get shelter from lower-status people (or, at higher levels, from their patron). However, they have to have a liege lord, and they pay an extra 10% for each experience level on the price of pretty much anything they buy to represent buying things of the best quality, tipping, etc. (Honestly, I’d be happy paying that just so I can be constantly describing how my food, lodging, and equipment is much better and classier than everyone else’s.  ) If they can’t pay, they start getting negative Reaction Adjustments, because nobody respects a poor noble, I guess.So… wait, why WOULD this guy be guarding a bridge himself?
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Aug 1, 2020 15:57
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Pendragon's 'need to catch up a player who missed a session' includes a solo scenario for 'the Knight was just hanging out at a crossroads or bridge, waiting for someone to start poo poo'. Sitting at a bridge and waiting to do An Adventure is the true calling of Knights!
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Aug 1, 2020 16:05
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Night10194 posted:I'm just not fond of explaining things with a magic aura when mundane or social explanations serve fine. A bunch of people with immense personal power and individual obsessions having trouble forming groups (and being treated rather cautiously by their neighbors) is explanation enough for me. That's entirely fair. Say this for Ars, though: they take the concept and fuckin' run with it and actually try to work it in organically as a major factor in wizbiz.
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Aug 1, 2020 17:24
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Night10194 posted:Pendragon's 'need to catch up a player who missed a session' includes a solo scenario for 'the Knight was just hanging out at a crossroads or bridge, waiting for someone to start poo poo'. Sitting at a bridge and waiting to do An Adventure is the true calling of Knights! Screw taverns, my next campaign starts with the PCs meeting at a bridge.
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Aug 1, 2020 17:33
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The old legend of the black rider meeting you at a crossroads to offer you a bargain or a no-strings-attached help could work for a first party meetup. Heck, a party of desperate people brought together is a great start for any campaign.
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Aug 1, 2020 17:45
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 Chapter 5: The Known Universe (Random Subsector Generation) Traveller’s second major selling point is its subsector generation system, which when completed gives a campaign not just a play area, but a play area with a thriving economy complete with different goods, markets, trade routes, and political situations – everything you would need to run a trade campaign out of the box, and enough to run any other campaign with a few tweaks. This book’s version… doesn’t work quite like that. Like I said earlier, it tries to cram the rigorously scientific GURPS Space world generation system into a setting where it doesn’t fit (and if making things more complicated to meet the system isn’t the most :gurps: thing I’ve ever heard). But it does work. It takes too long, involves too much math, the results are too similar too often, but the whole thing holds together well enough. So I’ll run us through this whole process now.  World generation works by generating the statistics we already saw back at the beginning of this chapter, all cross-referenced and designed to build on each other. But before you do that, you take a blank subsector map and roll a D6 or two for every blank hex; the frequency depends on how common stars are in the area, ranging from a two in three chance in a cluster to one every 12 on 2D6 for nearly-empty rifts. The average subsector has a star in every other hex, working out to between 30 and 50 stars total. You then roll for each system’s physical characteristics, going back and rolling for each system’s social characteristics after your done. I want to illustrate how different parts of the system work, so I’ll put together two planets, Alpha and Beta. Each of these steps involve random rolls (modified by previous roles) unless I specifically note otherwise.
Sergio Alessandri, Free Trader (2165) posted:On Apishlun, I had a fruit that was the best thing I ever ate – sweet, juicy, with a faint tartness that went straight to the pleasure centers in my brain. I found it growing on a tree at the edge of some farmer’s field. When the farmer saw me eating it, he nearly blew a blood vessel. I thought I was in trouble until he explained to me it wasn’t his fruit tree, it was just something that had been growing there. And the last time he’d checked, it was poisonous. After generating the physical stats for every world in the subsector, you go through and decide how the population is laid out.
 At this point we have a solid idea of what a world looks like, but aside from the basics we don’t know how worlds interact. Now we move on to the final few steps, putting together the subsector’s trade network; no random rolls here, just referencing data. Many Traveller systems don’t actually include this step, or include a weaker or less thorough version.
That was exciting. Are you excited? I’m excited. It takes a lot of time to put together a proper, functional subsector out-of-the-box – and that’s not including relationships with neighboring subsectors, which can force you to re-evaluate outpost placement and trade routes. But it does leave you with a healthy play area. Speaking of which, here’s a completed (if slapdash-looking) subsector I made a couple weeks ago:  Major trade routes are red, minor roots are blue, and branch routes are yellow; all planets here are Imperial Vilani (except for New Nusku, which is Terran, and the worlds with 0s, which are unoccupied). Some notes:
But however well it may or may not work, that’s the procedure for making your own subsector for players to root around in. Next time, we move on to character creation (such as it is).
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Aug 1, 2020 20:58
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PurpleXVI posted:I'd play it for comedy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds6-o4gomRc
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Aug 1, 2020 21:52
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OtspIII posted:B2: Keep on the Borderlands -- Part 2: The Keep So you say, yet the master of keep is repeatedly stated to be a Spaniard  quote:Inner Bailey Entrance: The Keep is in two big segments--the Inner and Outer Bailey. The Outer Bailey is full of civilians, adventurers, merchants, and so on, while the Inner Bailey is where the Castilian and the guards operate from. I wanted to comment on the oddness of of calling it the inner and outer bailey instead of "motte and bailey", but going by the picture it's a later, stone-based castle design, and apparently the term "bailey" remained in use even in the high middle ages after mottes were no longer part of castle design. The more you know!
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Aug 1, 2020 23:39
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ARS MAGICA 5e CHARACTER CREATION PART 1 VIRTUES AND FLAWS  How to be this guy The first part of character creation is to pick what sort of character you'll be creating, so it's a good point to go over what they are. Magi are the core of the game, although not exclusively who'll see most of the action. They have to take a free ability called the Gift, which lets them take Hermetic arts and supernatural abilities, as well as virtues and flaws related to Hermetic Magic. It also comes with a -3 penalty to social roles tied to people liking you. There's been some commentary on it in the thread, where people commented they didn't like at as an inherent result of magical ability instead of the implications of hermetic life and being an rear end in a top hat. Ultimately I like it as automatic for mechanical reasons: It heavily encourages middlemen with the companions and grogs. They also get some extra bits in character generation to cover magic, but that'll come later. Companions are the allies and important people drawn into close ties with the magi and the coven, and can be pretty much anything. They get as many virtues and flaws as the Magi, although they don't have the Gift unless you really really want to play as an apprentice. Nothing stops you from taking other supernatural gifts, like being a werewolf or having enchanting music. Grogs, minor characters somewhere between Shakespearean minor characters with large personalities and hirelings, get a smaller maximum for virtues and flaws, and can't take the gift because that would make them important. They aren't supposed to be complex or important, but being expendable and clear in personality makes them a lot of fun. Plus, these characters are the most likely to be shared in troupe play.  the peasants in the stands are probably laughing their codpieces off at the bawdy dialogue between these two So now we've got that sorted, we need to get started on Virtues and Flaws, which take up an entire exhausting chapter of the book. It's very much a 90s designed section, with all sorts of wild spikes in balance. The unusual thing about it is that although the book treats this like a regular merits and flaws system, it's a filter for pretty much every aspect of character definition. It's where you establish what's effectively a class for your character, their social status and it handles getting powers and Hermetic House abilities. Virtues and flaws are broken into costs of Major and Minor, theoretically noting their impact and importance, as well as specific categories that define who gets what and how much. Magi and Companions get a budget of a maximum of 10 points of flaws, and a corresponding amount of Virtues. Magi also get the Gift and whatever freebies come with their house. Grogs get a max of three points instead of 10, to keep them minor. There are more rules for what specific ones people need. There's a maximum of 5 minor flaws, you can't have more than 1 major personality flaw, need one social status and you can't take too many Hermetic virtues. Finally we get to the actual lists, and it's kind of a mess, really. I don't know what I expected. There's a huge disparity in quality between different choices, and if you're going through the game in order, you probably have no idea what half of them mean. I don't think it's all fundamentally just bad balance, the game just stretches the virtues and flaws system to cover more than it usually does. Best practice is to pick a Major Personality and Major Story flaw, since those don't have any disadvantage built into them compared to the punishing physical and mental issues you can take. Some even give you an advantage, like access to specific skills. Virtues tend to be a bit more consistent, with most having some mechanical weight. There's too many to go over in detail so I'm just going to cover some that are interesting, worth talking about or representative. One very important set of virtues and flaws is the Gentle Gift and Blatant gift, which change how much your Magi Gift affects people. Blatant Gift basically tanks your ability to interact with mundanes, while the Gentle Gift means you get close enough to normal that you don't have a mechanical penalty and can even deal with animals. It's something every mage should consider as an option, either good or bad. Wealthy and Poor don't mean you just get more money, since the game doesn't have much focus on gear. It means you can spend less time off-season working, which translates to more experience points per year, and it even ties into other social status backgrounds. A lot of the virtues and flaws are More/Less XP for particular conditions, which sets off alarm bells in my head and I can't imagine anyone taking the flaws, unless it's just a way to make the skills section easier. The Knight social status and a few church-based positions specify you need to be a male character to take it. Thumbs down, everyone wants to be a lady knight and everyone is going to ignore this outside of groups it'd come up in. Hopefully. There's a few fortunate gaps, nothing stops you from being a female mercenary captain, bandit chief, and the True Love abilities don't specify the opposite gender. There's a lot of choices based on ties to the supernatural that have a really big impact. Having faerie blood in you gives a lot of benefits, you can have a ghost looking out for you with a big pool of its own experience points, be descended from giants and my favorite, having a Guardian Angel looking out for you that gives advice and magic resistance if you're acting in accordance with God's will. Magi are the most powerful, but a knight with true faith, a guardian angel and a big sword is going to put the fear of god into them. There's also Flaw equivalents, which tend to be "you have a magical being hanging around you. It has its own agenda and is an independent being." Most supernatural virtues and flaws give you access to a specific ability, like dowsing, detecting the divine and infernal, or changing shape into an animal. It's probably embarrassing to do next to the wizard, but having dowsing would be super handy for all the times you need a grog to investigate and it'd be funny to have him wave sticks around in front of Mandagora the Magnificent.  the art generally isn't great. I kinda get what they were going for with the shading but it just doesn't work. The woodcuts and older black and white works are much better. The disability-related flaws are written in a way that feels really mean-spirited. For example;  There's a Transvestite Flaw. It's very transphobic. I get that the middle ages were not exactly a queer-friendly time, but it's way beyond that in writing. this book posted:You dress and act as a member of the opposite gender, and expect to be treated as such. Note that this is not a delusion — you know what your physical gender is, but choose to live as the other gender. In Christian and Muslim lands you are regarded as a freak, and are often shunned, laughed at, or even chased out of town. However, these problems will only arise if others realize you are not a member of the gender you are living as. Because of your long experience living as a member of your chosen gender, attempting to live as a member of your physical gender will result in a–3 to all social skill rolls for as long as the character attempts to live as this gender And that's the virtues and flaws. You've seen it a bunch, even if you have no idea what the mechanical affects are. Avoid the huge mechanical downsides, focus on personality and story hook things for flaws, and you'll be fine. To make things interesting, I'm going to roll up a character to illustrate how things go, since it's fairly dry and intimidating so a bit more personality will help. I need a short concept for a Magi, their Companion, and a loyal Grog, and I'll see what I can do with them. Next time: More Character Creation. Skills and stats
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Aug 2, 2020 00:29
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I gotta say 'The Merits and Flaws system is expansive and central to character design and very 90s' does not sound like a point in this game's favor in the slightest.
Night10194 fucked around with this message at 01:14 on Aug 2, 2020 |
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Aug 2, 2020 01:11
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That "transvestite" flaw (not gonna even start on the problems with the name) just has so many layers of dumb. Like just picking one of them randomly, it doesn't even have any mechanical teeth cause what incredibly contrived circumstance would lead to that happening. The actual penalty is just... the book yelling at you?????? Even if we very charitably just took it at face value (why would we do this), it would incentivize players to play characters whose born sex doesn't match their gender identity cause it gives them free points. Wait. I accidentally made it awesome. poo poo. I take it back, they accidentally made it so the min-maxing option is to be queer. That owns.
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Aug 2, 2020 01:17
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Mors Rattus posted:Yes. First and second have a very, very different setting from third, which has a very, very different setting from 4th and 5th. That's interesting, as far as I knew all editions were just based (fairly closely) on historical Europe, with the biggest change being whether or not the Tremere tied in with Vampire. Would it be possible to ask for a capsule summary of the differences?
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Aug 2, 2020 01:39
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Aaaaaand there goes any interest I might ever have had in Ars Magica. Poof! It's magic!
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Aug 2, 2020 02:06
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Magus: Beavis Companion: Butt-Head Grog: Mr. Anderson Given all the sidebars in the 5E Ars Magica books I have, I suspect a 6E book would instead flip it and have like one sidebar on the topic of "prevailing attitudes about gender in medieval/Mythic Europe" while removing flaws like that one. Even the 5E core was written in '04, though who knows, maybe the authors are veterans mumsnet posters, who can even tell any more.
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Aug 2, 2020 02:09
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Leraika posted:Aaaaaand there goes any interest I might ever have had in Ars Magica. Poof! It's magic! Its early 90's White Wolf trying to do their impression of 11th century Europe. What are you expecting exactly?
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Aug 2, 2020 02:13
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Including that is a really bad choice by the game designers, but I will point out that in Ars Magica, "Flaws" aren't necessarily negative traits or bad things. They're just things that might complicate your life. So, "continence" (you don't have sex) or "Close family ties" (You're close with your family and they'll go out of their way to help you) are flaws too. It doesn't mean that the flaw as written isn't transphobic, but I get the impression that it was included to let people play transgender characters within a game design that said "We need to make mechanics out of everything".
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Aug 2, 2020 02:37
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Xiahou Dun posted:That "transvestite" flaw (not gonna even start on the problems with the name) just has so many layers of dumb. Epicurius posted:Including that is a really bad choice by the game designers, but I will point out that in Ars Magica, "Flaws" aren't necessarily negative traits or bad things. They're just things that might complicate your life. So, "continence" (you don't have sex) or "Close family ties" (You're close with your family and they'll go out of their way to help you) are flaws too. Even ignoring the transphobia it's just weirdly written. If you're a cross-dresser or transgender person, you have a pretty significant penalty when acting your 'physical gender'. There's no mechanical effect if you aren't, it just says christians and muslims will really not like you (somebody tell me if there's a reason jewish people don't mind). There's similar options for being an outsider from mainstream christian europe if you choose to take them, and those don't judge you and just give a reputation among people who care. That's not even necessarily bad. If you want to have a conflict with existing power structures as a queer person, that's an interesting narrative and there's better ways of representing it. The other part is that it has some very specific assumptions about why you do it. There's no room for actual transvestites who don't identify as the gender but just prefer the clothes, only do it sometimes, are doing it for magical reasons or the classic "Woman pretends to be male so she can get into male positions in society". It is kinda free points if you stick with it, but it's 1 minor flaw and there's so many you can take that don't hate your character. There's not actually much I'd cut from the book despite the complexity, but this is mean-spirited, redundant and poorly designed.
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Aug 2, 2020 03:18
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I mean, I entirely agree with you.
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Aug 2, 2020 03:24
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Epicurius posted:I mean, I entirely agree with you. I know, I didn’t mean to argue against you, I just thought the section needed a bit of further commentary.
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Aug 2, 2020 03:37
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Chapter 6: Characters Traveller’s third selling point is its character creation system, which takes characters through every step of their lives up until the start of the campaign through taking various career paths. Interstellar Wars completely disposes of that in favor of standard GURPS character creation. This chapter contains all kinds of information on the factors going into Interstellar Wars characters, but the vast majority is only stuff you'd need if you were actually going to play the game. Lots of statistics, lots of character construction, lots of fine details that don’t fit easy to summaries without going into either of the above. Not good for covering in this format. I could certainly try to cover at least a little bit of it's by making a GURPS Interstellar Wars character here, but I just don’t think I can make it interesting; even a Vilani character would just be another stat bundle I could build for any other setting. I think the best I can get out of this chapter is literally just a giant list of interesting details. 
 Not where I saw Jack Black’s career heading. And yeah, that’s about it. For a chapter that’s 26 pages long. If I were going to build a spaceship like the book seems to want its players to, I’d probably have rolled up at least a captain or something, but… oh man, that’s a whole other can of worms. A can of worms we’ll open later, because next time we’ll start delving into this era’s technological climate. Horray! Falconier111 fucked around with this message at 04:03 on Aug 2, 2020 |
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Aug 2, 2020 03:57
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Epicurius posted:It doesn't mean that the flaw as written isn't transphobic, but I get the impression that it was included to let people play transgender characters within a game design that said "We need to make mechanics out of everything". Given that it's nineties White Wolf, I doubt that anything approaching that much thought was put into it.
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Aug 2, 2020 04:14
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Bieeanshee posted:Given that it's nineties White Wolf, I doubt that anything approaching that much thought was put into it. This is 5th Edition. It came out in 2004, and White Wolf didn't own Ars Magica anymore. It had sold it to Wizards of the Coast, who decided not to do anything with it and sold it to Atlas Games. the people who did Over the Edge, Feng Shui, and Unknown Armies. And it looks like it's a new flaw for 5th edition.
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Aug 2, 2020 04:29
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That makes it even more tone deaf.
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Aug 2, 2020 05:25
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I suspect they just simply forgot there's large Jewish communities in Europe during that time.
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Aug 2, 2020 05:28
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Is there anything stopping a magus from taking the Merits that are obviously intended for Companions, or is it just that they've got so much else competing for their points?
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Aug 2, 2020 08:57
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It also feels like it, uh, implies that if you feel your physical and mental gender don't match, then it's by definition a delusion. Which is also a kind of yikes take. Maybe I'm just reading it uncharitably.
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Aug 2, 2020 09:07
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PurpleXVI posted:It also feels like it, uh, implies that if you feel your physical and mental gender don't match, then it's by definition a delusion. Which is also a kind of yikes take. Maybe I'm just reading it uncharitably. I'm not even sure how to parse that part, since "physical gender" is basically a nonsensical phrase. But I do like the note that trying to live as your assigned gender is actually more difficult; that's the kind of observation you can't make if you don't have some empathy. And that it's a flaw because of other people's prejudices, rather than something inherently wrong. So overall I rate it "pretty okay, for 2004".
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Aug 2, 2020 09:52
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The Lone Badger posted:Is there anything stopping a magus from taking the Merits that are obviously intended for Companions, or is it just that they've got so much else competing for their points? The only real limit is that you have to take the hermetic social status, so you can’t double up on being a knight and hermetic magi. There’s no problem outside of that though. I don’t think the game has any issues with it, although you probably want wizard specific stuff.
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Aug 2, 2020 10:08
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Wrestlepig posted:The only real limit is that you have to take the hermetic social status, so you can’t double up on being a knight and hermetic magi. There’s no problem outside of that though. I don’t think the game has any issues with it, although you probably want wizard specific stuff. This isn’t quite true. Magi can’t take Wealthy or Poor, specifically. But yeah, there’s no limits in which merits a magus can take.
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Aug 2, 2020 11:47
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Falconier111 posted:It takes more points to build a professional painter than a successful politician. Historically accurate. 
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Aug 2, 2020 14:11
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Thieves begin with a base 20% chance to decipher The Deck of Encounters Set Two Part 25: The Deck of Even More Thief Kits 126: A Little Help for the Baron “The town is rife with rumors about some sort of great meeting of minds at the baron’s castle.” Then the baron’s “new security specialist,” Margali, seeks out the PCs to come be special guards at the castle for the guests. She’ll pay them what needs to be paid. What she knows and that they don’t is that one of the guests has a price on their head and is being targeted by assassins. The assassins will sneak over the wall the first night to kill their target. Hmm, the situation is a little vague. We’re not told who’s being targeted, by who, or why. There’s no mini scenario for the combat, so I have to make up how they attack, the relevant layout of the keep, etc. It’s just a lot of mental work for me for a really simple premise. Pass. KIT CORNER: Troubleshooter (PHBR2 Complete Thief’s Handbook) This character is a security consultant/white-hat hacker - they try to break into places to figure out how to improve security. They must take the Observation NWP, and they get the special benefit/hindrance of incredible coincidences. The book describes it in terms of Murphy’s Law, that anything that can go wrong for them, will. This is supposed to be useful professionally, because they’ll just happen to encounter improbable weaknesses in security. “The DM is encouraged to bring it in at his discretion during play, for maximum excitement and role-playing fun. Fill the character's life with astronomically improbable events and bizarre coincidences.” So, basically, the Troubleshooter is… a PC? Under the optional rules, they get +5% Open Locks and Find/Remove Traps, and -10% Pick Pockets. So that’s... exciting. 127: Simple Escort Mission The PCs are in a city, and approached by a merchant who offers to hire them to escort his wagon to another town. He’ll pay well. Unfortunately, They’ll be stopped at their destination by guards who question them about all this poison that’s recently been showing up in town. (Lots of demand, is there?) “The smuggler lies, declaring the PCs have been in his escort for some time.” Why on earth would he lie about that? Anyway, he’ll meet a group of leather-clad men at some point and give them a sack full of poisons for a purse of gold, then they’ll move on to the next town. Not a huge fan of this as written, but it wouldn’t be hard to make this guy a little less of an idiot. I guess we can keep it as a quest for less scrupulous groups. KIT CORNER: Smuggler (PHBR2 Complete Thief’s Handbook) “Smugglers must be exceptionally alert; they therefore get a +1 bonus to their surprise roll.” Absolutely everything else in the entry is flavor, suggestions, and description of how smugglers operate. So... at least it’s all upside? Under the optional rules, they get +5% Move Silently, Hide in Shadows, and Detect Noise, at the cost of -5% Pick Pockets, Open Locks, and Climb Walls. So if you want to min-max your sneakery… here you go. 128: Far from Sherwood Forest Heading down a well-traveled forest road, the PCs encounter a net trap. The lead PC can make an INT-10 check to notice it, because this is AD&D, folks, and when we want to see if the PCs notice something we just wing it. The net will fall on the PC(s) in the lead - if they’re mounted they have to make a riding check to stay on, otherwise they get no save and for three rounds get no DEX or shield AC, and are -4 to hit. Then they’re attacked by 20 bandits. With 20 THAC0 and 6 HP each. Four with shortbows, the rest with assorted melee weapons. This is a “medium” danger encounter, which means mid-level PCs. These Merry Men are about to be the Minced and Mutilated Men. “Bandits attack!” I’m sorry, AD&D 2nd Edition, I’m just not interested in taking up our game time with this! Maybe when I was younger and had more of it. But for now, pass. KIT CORNER: Bandit (PHBR2 Complete Thief’s Handbook) Bandits rob people traveling through the wilderness. They need at least 10 Strength and Constitution. They need to take proficiency in the knife and in a bludgeoning weapon, but since that fills both of the thief’s base weapon proficiency slots, they get an extra one to use for anything. They also need to take the Survival NWP. They take a -2 reaction penalty to non-bandits who recognize them as a bandit, and in exchange they get the raw power of “+1 on their attempt to surprise in a wilderness setting.” Under the optional rules, they get -5% Pick Pockets, Climb Walls, and Read Languages; +10% Find/Remove Traps; and +5% Hide in Shadows. Plus a bonus +5% to Move Silently, but only in the wilderness. Why doesn’t the Hide in Shadows bonus have that restriction, then? Whatever. Dallbun fucked around with this message at 04:51 on Aug 3, 2020 |
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Aug 2, 2020 15:45
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I played a oneshot last night that introduced my group to both Troika and Ars Magicka rules, and it went pretty well. The DM made a wizard from most of the houses to choose between using the Ars rules, and we had the Grogs and Companions generated using Troika rules. Companions were limited to 1 spell from Troika, and grogs couldn't have any. We also used the combat and initiative systems from Troika, and pulled monsters from both Ars Magicka and Troika. It worked pretty well, though there was occasional confusion about the difference between Spontaneous and Formulaic magicks. I played a House Bjornaer leopard heartbeast, who was pretty decent in melee combat but couldn't deal with large groups, and the other player that bothered to show up had Undyne faerie blood and was pretty good at putting large groups to sleep. The blatant gift flaw is pretty hilarious, though its easy to play off since your followers will do most of the talking anyways I'm definitely interested in how much different the game would have been if we played in purely Ars rules, but it was probably the simplest way to get it set up without an absurd amount of work beforehand.
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Aug 2, 2020 17:38
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