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Covok posted:I said two weeks. You know, like, latter half. No need to get all flustered. You still got time. I was being facetious Not flustered. I'm sure I will be before the end, but for now I feel pretty much on schedule (especially if I get some solid work in this weekend).
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# ? Jul 18, 2014 19:22 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 08:25 |
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Iunnrais posted:Why is Surprised and Stunned rated as a higher tier than Petrified, Dazed, Blinded, Removed from Play? Helpless, yes, I can see that being worse than Petrified etc, but Surprised and Stunned? Yeah, like P.dot said, even though Petrified makes you lose a round you get a DR consolation prize. The same with Removed from play. Although its no LoE is double edged. It really sucks if you've got some nasty ongoing damage you'd like some help with, but at least no one else can attack you in the meantime. Blinded is a little tricky. I can see a good case for moving it down a tier. Petrified and removed from play are both probably a little worse than dazed or blinded. Blinded on the other hand seems a little worse than restrained, the attack penalty is greater, you can't take OAs, can't flank, and you can't teleport out of it. Every once in while you also come across a DM who forces you to guess which square monsters are in when you are blinded, though I'm pretty sure that is not RAW. The only mitigating factor for blinded is that you get to skip the -5 to attacks if you have access to area attacks. So it's in an awkward place of not quite being as powerful as removed from play, but probably being more powerful than restrained. Flanked seems like a 2. You can usually shift out of it (though it's usually not too hard for them to shift back into flanking you), and technically it only makes you grant CA. But being flanked by a pair of shifty kobold rogues is a lot scarier than 'granting CA' would indicate. So it seems like immobilized. Immobilized is not too terrible in and of itself, but if you get immobilized in a square of damaging terrain the situation gets grim quickly.
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# ? Jul 18, 2014 20:15 |
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Ok, so I keep flipping back and forth on how I want to do things. Initially I started with essentially reskinning the Bard, Ranger, Fighter and Wizard classes to match my theme. That just felt a bit boring. Then I thought I'd try to get them super simple and stripped down. I wasn't happy because I just felt the balance was going to be off for me. So now I'm doing something kinda half-way. I'm taking features and overall power themes from the classes I want and either modifying them to fit the theme (reskin) or stripping them down to the basics. The balance might still be a bit off, but meh, can't say the base game is super balanced as is. I did kind of come up with what I think is a neat way to do my defender class. I really wanted to come up with a way to eliminate out of turn actions. So, no more Opportunity Attacks. Someone earlier suggested auto damage. That's perfect for my needs, but I thought I could take it further. For example, a fighter-type should be able to stop enemies from getting past them right? This is handled in D&D with the Combat Superiority feature by forcing an enemy hit by an OA to stop moving. But I don't want to have to interrupt the action to roll, so that won't work. Instead, my defender class, the Gunner, will have a pool of "Threat Points". Here's an excerpt from the Gunner entry: The Gunner Features
Additionally, there will be some encounter powers that can be boosted with Threat Points. By the way, Overwatch is my answer to Combat Superiority losing a lot of its benefit in a game that tends towards ranged combat. So, does this seem alright? Horribly overpowered?
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# ? Jul 18, 2014 20:19 |
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wallawallawingwang posted:Blinded is a little tricky. I can see a good case for moving it down a tier. Petrified and removed from play are both probably a little worse than dazed or blinded. Blinded on the other hand seems a little worse than restrained, the attack penalty is greater, you can't take OAs, can't flank, and you can't teleport out of it. Every once in while you also come across a DM who forces you to guess which square monsters are in when you are blinded, though I'm pretty sure that is not RAW. The only mitigating factor for blinded is that you get to skip the -5 to attacks if you have access to area attacks. So it's in an awkward place of not quite being as powerful as removed from play, but probably being more powerful than restrained. Bold = false Technically you can still take OAs. As per Rules Compendium, Blinded means "targets have Total Concealment" against you i.e. +5 Defense for them (functionally the same as -5 Attack for you) so it doesn't matter if you're making area attacks. Blinded means you can't see but you can still perceive; you only don't know where creatures are if they are Hidden (total concealment + their Stealth beat your Perception, basically) P.d0t posted:I'll break this down.
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# ? Jul 18, 2014 20:24 |
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P.d0t posted:Bold = false Huh. I've never heard that before, but I only have the original PHB and the website compendium. What reference are you using? On the website under blinded it says "The creature can’t see, which means its targets have total concealment against it." Looking up concealment: "Unless otherwise noted, area powers and close powers are not affected by concealment. Such powers often produce explosions or great weapon swings that don’t depend on vision." For total concealment it specifies: "An attacker takes a -5 penalty to melee and ranged attack rolls against a target that has total concealment. The attacker can’t see the target: It is invisible, in a totally obscured square, or in a heavily obscured square and not adjacent to the attacker." Under invisible it lists "doesn't provoke" as one of the benefits of being invisible. Now I can see the difference between stealth-ed and invisible. You could be invisible and banging cymbals together or something. If totally concealed and invisible are two different and separable conditions, I... well, that'd have to be one of the dumbest 4e rules. Edit: Though I guess part of the utility of making a 4e-alike is to cleanup this kind of stuff, regardless of RAW or how it gets played from table to table. wallawallawingwang fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Jul 18, 2014 |
# ? Jul 18, 2014 21:47 |
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wallawallawingwang posted:Huh. I've never heard that before, but I only have the original PHB and the website compendium. What reference are you using? On the website under blinded it says "The creature can’t see, which means its targets have total concealment against it." I'm just using the Rules Compendium. My bad, you're right about Area/Close attacks But as far as I can tell, Total Concealment
Invisible (total concealment)
Total Concealment mentions some example conditions that might allow it (Invisible, in a totally obscured square, in a heavily obscured square and not adjacent to the attacker) but, yeah, Invisible is basically "Total Concealment+" The WOTC Forums guide to Stealth (google "Hidden Club") basically says "Hidden should be a condition, but it's not singled out as such in the rules." Like I said, it's effectively Total Concealment + Stealth greater than Perception. P.d0t fucked around with this message at 22:21 on Jul 18, 2014 |
# ? Jul 18, 2014 22:18 |
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Error 404 posted:WELP. Oh no. In the US people almost never have mutton or goat. Lamb is fairly common, but probably less so than venison. I was just seeing the others as all being domesticated animals. If you accept that the birdmen are actually chickens or geese.
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# ? Jul 20, 2014 02:01 |
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Oh my goodness, I actually have something for this! I will confess I started this beforehand, but this will give me an excuse to pull it all together into an actual playable state. Game Concept I actually drafted this up for a CYOA here on the forums that I am waffling about running - I love the story-heavy CYOAs where people get to control the player's actions, but wished that there was a way for more people to have a chance to play at once. I also really love Turn-Based Tactics games (Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre, etc) and how you get to control an army of dudes. So I wondered, can I mash them up? What I ended up with was a game where a small group of posters (10 or so) would each control 1-3 characters from a small number of classes who each have a small number of choices to make per turn(to reduce analysis paralysis) but who can end up looking pretty different depending on skill choices and stuff. Other people following the thread who didn't want to make a character/missed the cut off date could play as spirits that could effect the outcome by buffing/debuffing the characters on either team (for instance, giving one player +1 to hit while reducing their ally's defense by the same amount). It can ALSO be played on tabletop - either as straight war games or with a DM guiding the opposing army. In that case, you can either play without spirits or just get friends/dead players/bored significant others to play those roles. Character Concept My issue with 4E is you have so many options on each turn that it takes forever, so I've cut it down to a bare minimum of options. code:
code:
As your characters progress, each of those abilities can gain different variations depending on class (Club Deals 1d6 Damage + slows target by 2, for instance), but you'll always have only the 4 abilities to choose from. The idea is that you'll always know exactly what move you'll be making. Character Creation Pictured: 2 of the classes (Reaver and Taker respectively) iterating through the different levels of experience. Each character has 6 levels from Unblooded to Master, each has a different sprite (for male and female, of course) and unlocks different tweaks to your abilities. I've done up a pretty thorough Excel Character Sheet(need to have Office 2007 or higher, I think?) that lets you create three characters. It's all completely automated - the only stuff you'll need to fill in is your Player Name, your Character Name (Which also generates a little backstory for them), your Class (drop down menu) and your XP (400 is the XP cap, so play around with that). Also, the little red arrows are comments, so hover over them to get details. Items and Weapons are also drop down menus, and they'll cause your attack names to change when you change em'. Neat, eh? Also at the bottom are emblems - achievements gained through battle that give bonuses (like Tactics Ogre). Rules Pretty basic 4e rules, with some tweaks. The full ruleset (so far, pending changes) can be found here, which also gives a sort of turn-by-turn play instruction. World Building I'm also drawing up some building/terrain tiles and sprites for each character class/level/sex combo, a little taste of which is here. As I said, I obviously started this beforehand so I'm probably excluded from proper entry, but I'd still like to see what people think of it. The Excel file linked earlier is really, really thorough and automatic - it'll pretty much walk you through character creation, and it'll do it way better than I did.
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# ? Jul 22, 2014 23:42 |
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I thought for a minute I was in the recruitment thread and got really excited.
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# ? Jul 23, 2014 03:56 |
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Speleothing posted:I thought for a minute I was in the recruitment thread and got really excited. Well I still plan to do the CYOA ~one day~ so I guess keep your eyes open!
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# ? Jul 23, 2014 03:59 |
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dog kisser posted:sprites for each character class/level/sex combo Apparently only female sprites have midriff-exposing outfits. Why do game sprites always need to conform to its creator's blatant lack of fashion sense and stupid, retrograde ideas regarding gender and clothing? "It's a world of fantasy where anything* can happen!" *Only for values of anything that are aligned with heterosexist patriarchy
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# ? Jul 23, 2014 13:19 |
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Nancy_Noxious posted:Apparently only female sprites have midriff-exposing outfits. Ah, there's actually reasons for that! In all other classes, both male and female are wearing appropriate armor (insofar as I can convey that through sprites!), but Reavers (the female sprite of which is up in my other post) of both genders wear increasingly revealing clothing as they increase in level. Male Reavers are literally wearing a loincloth and headbands. The fluff reasoning is that Reavers will literally get stronger and more resilient by being braver and wearing less armor. The actual reason is that it makes the sprites 'pop' and further differentiates them from the other classes. Believe me, growing up playing tactics games nothing bugged me more than guy unita in full armor and girls in bikinis. Edit: also now that I think about the other sprite is ALSO female and is wearing way more clothes as she levels. Dog Kisser fucked around with this message at 13:58 on Jul 23, 2014 |
# ? Jul 23, 2014 13:53 |
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Just coming in to remind everyone that we have reached the final week of the contest. By 12:00 Thursday night, I'd like everyone to post a link to the submission form of their game. I'd prefer if it was a digital document rather than a forum post as it would make it easier to parse the thread for other entries. We're in the final stretch, you guys can do it!
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# ? Jul 26, 2014 19:58 |
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For better or worse, we're pretty much done and just making final passes for small details and polish. I'll get a new link to our entry put up in the next few days: v:
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# ? Jul 26, 2014 20:02 |
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Alright, got some class writeups and sprites (male on left, female on right) done for every class/gender, as well as some other fluff glossary stuff. Manitou - Spirits that congregate around battlefields and the dead. Most are too weak to influence anything more than a stirring of dry leaves or ghostly whistling, but some rare few can affect the material world in a more tangible sense. Mostly take on the appearance of flowing, smoky clouds, but often display animal or humanoid features. Attracted to the life energy of great heroes. Blooded - Many men and women ply their trade at soldiery, but sooner or later they either lose their lives in combat or prove themselves worthy of becoming Blooded. A Blooded individual has attracted the attention of the Manitou, drawing dozens of minor spirits to their being. The spirits enter the individual, granting them improved combat prowess and resilience, and whispering both guidance and nonsense into their ears always. Taker - A Blooded individual that desires improved precision will take the path of the Taker. The Manitou possessing their form will enhance their senses, allowing them to detect vital weaknesses in their foes from great distances. As a Taker gains mastery and more Manitou are drawn towards them, their senses become supernatural, forcing them to don a mask to dull their visions - but allowing them unparalleled accuracy.
Rupter - A Blooded individual that desires the ability to confuse and befuddle groups of foes will take the path of the Rupter. The Manitou possessing their form grant them great mental powers, allowing them to wreak havoc on their opposition. As a Rupter gains mastery and more Manitou are drawn towards them, their power and capabilities grow - as do the voices in their heads.
Reaver - A Blooded individual that desires the ability to charge headlong into their enemies will take the path of the Reaver. The Manitou possessing their form thrive on acts of bravery, empowering the Reaver with great strength and toughness. As a Reaver gains mastery and more Manitou are drawn towards them, the spirits' desire for ever greater acts of bravery leads them to strip away their armour - a danger largely offset by skin and muscles grown hard as marble.
Locker - A Blooded individual that desires the ability to hold their foes in place and deal heavy damage will take the path of the Locker. The Manitou possessing their form grant them a powerful grip and an unshakable stance, allowing them to lock down even the toughest foes. As a Locker gains mastery and more Manitou are drawn towards them, the Locker gains the solidity of a mountain and the inescapable grip of a vice - as the solemn voices of the Manitou guide their actions.
I'll probably be submitting as a zip file or something in a Dropbox link - is that ok? edit: And here's the rules and stuff as I add stuff to it : Land of the Manitou Documents Dog Kisser fucked around with this message at 03:00 on Jul 27, 2014 |
# ? Jul 26, 2014 23:07 |
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The Fantasy rules module I'm not sure I'll have this thing finished in time - but here's the core document. There's more to do (including more classes) - but you can always add more classes and six should be enough to submit.
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# ? Jul 27, 2014 01:59 |
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neonchameleon posted:The Fantasy rules module Can we see the three strikes skill challenges link listed in the core document? It says I don't have permission.
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# ? Jul 27, 2014 21:25 |
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I'm curious to know how many contestants there are, so I wanna make a list; I'll edit as people post. If you're gonna submit an entry, post your name and the title of it. Or PM me. If you're already listed below but are dropping out, let me know that too. Author: Title
P.d0t fucked around with this message at 00:50 on Jul 31, 2014 |
# ? Jul 28, 2014 00:45 |
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wallawallawingwang posted:Can we see the three strikes skill challenges link listed in the core document? It says I don't have permission. It was half done and I'd linked it prematurely from the core rules, sorry. It's now accessible. I think I'll also be able to get the fast and fun combat section done by the end of the month. Edit: And the current working title is 4th Trifold - this too will almost certainly change neonchameleon fucked around with this message at 01:03 on Jul 28, 2014 |
# ? Jul 28, 2014 00:56 |
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Alright, sorry but I'm bowing out. I have some ideas for what I want to do but nothing is clicking and I've kinda lost interest. So yeah, there's no way I'm gonna finish on time.
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# ? Jul 28, 2014 04:43 |
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Dropping out. To be honest, it was never my intention to make a "better 4E", I was just trying to shoehorn some ideas I had into a grid-based combat system. If this contest somehow results 4thfinder, I will seriously consider pitching it to my group because 4E is great but oh god those loving cows.
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# ? Jul 28, 2014 11:14 |
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I'm still in.
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# ? Jul 28, 2014 17:10 |
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oh yeah!
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# ? Jul 28, 2014 17:16 |
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I was hoping to have something along the lines of a 4E lite, but the power had been out and will likely stay out until until the thirtieth.
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# ? Jul 28, 2014 18:19 |
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I really want to try and finish up what I've got going, but it turns out moving is incredibly time consuming! Who knew?
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# ? Jul 28, 2014 20:45 |
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And GM guidance on how to set up fun combats.
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# ? Jul 29, 2014 03:28 |
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At this point it's pretty clear it's not going to be finished in time due to work.
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# ? Jul 29, 2014 12:44 |
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I'm working on a thing. Currently out of town but we'll see how far I get. Class balance will probably be horrible, not sure how much of the DM instructions/monster creation rules/sample map and monsters will be finished before Friday. Also I just reread God Emperor of Dune so that has probably leaked into my dying space opera setting... Fuschia tude fucked around with this message at 04:19 on Jul 30, 2014 |
# ? Jul 30, 2014 04:15 |
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Okay, so this entry is basically feature-complete for the purposes of this contest, so I'm just going to go ahead and submit it before I spend another hour reformatting the powers The math has been a bit of a challenge to balance since the hack we've done has massively changed the attack/defence dynamic, but hopefully the test encounter included should be an appropriate level of challenge. This is Captain Hats' XCOM-inspired entry; due to time constraints I jumped in to lend a hand getting the last features in place and putting some polish on this mofo. Please enjoy EREBUS, a tactical squad-based 4e hack with a hard-on for Greek mythology! (use the download link, it's a LOT easier to read as an actual PDF.) If there's any issues getting the file off Mediafire, I can PM it to you. Zeerust fucked around with this message at 18:17 on Jul 31, 2014 |
# ? Jul 30, 2014 22:00 |
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First draft of the Warlock - someone in my group's interested in playing one (which is why I'm looking at Warlock and Vessel (spellcasting Cleric/Invoker)).
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# ? Jul 30, 2014 22:47 |
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TheSpookyDanger posted:I was hoping to have something along the lines of a 4E lite, but the power had been out and will likely stay out until until the thirtieth. lovely I'm always interested in "4e lite" so do it up when you have a chance and keep me posted!
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# ? Jul 31, 2014 00:54 |
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P.d0t posted:lovely Oh i'm definitely going to keep working on it, I just don't have much hope to finish before the contest is over. Thank god for charoppers though, the various handbooks are incredibly helpful for this kind of thing.
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# ? Jul 31, 2014 03:01 |
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Just out of curiosity, WHEN on the 31st is it 'pencils down' time? I wouldn't be embarrassed to hand it in as is, but having an idea of the end time will help me squeeze in the last few changes.
Dog Kisser fucked around with this message at 05:36 on Jul 31, 2014 |
# ? Jul 31, 2014 03:13 |
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Frankosity posted:
Uh... Are you looking to playtest this? Because I can see about maybe doing a playtest session with a recorded actual play within the next month or so if you're interested. This looks fantastic!
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# ? Jul 31, 2014 04:05 |
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Erebus looks really awesome and I hope you and Captain Hats continue to work on it outside of this contest.
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# ? Jul 31, 2014 04:39 |
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LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS, (MAN)CHILDREN OF ALL AGES I am happy to present to you the culmination of a month of effort between P.d0t and myself. It's weird, it's violent, and I think it's pretty damned playable. So, without further adieu... SteakPunk: The enemy of my enemy is not food CLICK THE MEAT AND WIN A PRIZE! Error 404 fucked around with this message at 13:09 on Jul 31, 2014 |
# ? Jul 31, 2014 12:47 |
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Could you reformat the Steakpunk character sheet please? That solid black wall's very hard on my eyes - and it takes special measures to write on a black background, meaning that I think you literally can't fill in the character sheet with a pen (you can't put in the highest, middle, and lowest attributes and there are underscores that I think are meant to be where you write them in).
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# ? Jul 31, 2014 13:08 |
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neonchameleon posted:Could you reformat the Steakpunk character sheet please? That solid black wall's very hard on my eyes - and it takes special measures to write on a black background, meaning that I think you literally can't fill in the character sheet with a pen (you can't put in the highest, middle, and lowest attributes and there are underscores that I think are meant to be where you write them in). Sure. Edit: ok, got that redone. I hope it's a bit easier on the eyes now. Error 404 fucked around with this message at 13:26 on Jul 31, 2014 |
# ? Jul 31, 2014 13:11 |
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Much better, thanks.
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# ? Jul 31, 2014 14:00 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 08:25 |
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Error 404 posted:Sure. Steakpunk is my favorite entry so far. Including mine!
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# ? Jul 31, 2014 14:24 |