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 Our Kickstarter is live get your funky on now.  What if Jim Rockford and Bo “The Bandit” Darville had to hijack a supertrain to rescue Bigfoot from the US Army? Or how about if the Duke Boys helped Foxy Brown and Barbarella smuggle some alien technology across the country in the trunk of the General Lee? What is this jive poo poo you’re talkin’ about? Spirit of ‘77 is a roleplaying game about kung-fu tough guys, fast cars, red hot mammas, explosions and fighting The Man. It’s a world where Nixon made a deal with aliens to win the Vietnam war and remains in power behind the scenes for more than a decade. Street gangs dressed like pirates roam the big city looking to rumble with bare knuckle brawlers and their pet ape. Corrupt county sheriffs chase bootleggers down lonely country roads that always have a conveniently placed dirt ramp for jumping the creek, and rock and roll superstars use the power of Glam to fight an alien menace from beyond the stars.  Sex Drugs and Rock and Roll. The best parts of a bad decade. ----- My friend and I have been working on this project for awhile now, and we’re finally ready to start showing it off to people. It’s a pastiche of 70’s pop culture; glam rock, exploitation films, TV detectives, and post-apollo sci-fi. We’re pretty far along, but still have a long way’s to go before we’re ready to publish. We need tons of feedback and playtesting and appreciate anyone who wants to take the time to check it out. I intend to run some PbP games in The Game Room soon, so keep an eye out for the recruitment thread. Powered by the Apocalypse Spirit of ‘77 is based on Apocalypse World, if you’ve played it or any of the other Powered by the Apocalypse games (Dungeon World, Monsterhearts, Monster of the Week) you’ll be familiar with the basics of Spirit of ‘77. If you’re not familiar with Apocalypse World that’s not going to stop you from enjoying SO77, but if you want you can check out more info in the Apocalypse World thread. What have we added to make Spirit of 77 it’s own game? Well I’m glad you asked... Role, Story Buzz Characters in So77 are made of three primary components; role - what they do, story - how they do it, and buzz - why they do it. John Shaft is a Tough guy who’s One Bad Mother and out for Payback. Barbarella is a Honeypot who’s got X-Tech and is looking for Love. Jim Rockford is a Sleuth who’s an Ex-Con and looking for Cold Hard Cash. Dirty Harry is a Vigilante Former Badge who’s out for Justice. By mixing and matching roles, stories and buzz you can make a huge variety of unique characters. To facilitate this, character "rap sheets" are made of two pages, one for your Story and one for your Role the two pages combined make your full character. What’s your Thang? A faithful butler, a bitchin ‘71 Hemi ‘Cuda , or a gold plated .44 magnum revolver, every character has a thang, something interesting that’s part of their character. Turn up the Heat and Get your Groove on. Heat is a mechanic specific to So77. Heat is used to represent the interest of The Man, the more trouble you cause the more Heat you get, which can then be used against you. ----- Why should I play this game? Because you want to be as bad-rear end as Jim “Slaughter” Brown  So it’s like Burt Reynolds and poo poo? Yes, yes it is. What's this about a Spotify playlist? You can listen to it here: http://open.spotify.com/user/spirit_of_77/playlist/3lS0q78rtwNMS2aiQYFJP7 I heard you were streaming? Yup! You can see our Friday night playtests on Twitch. http://www.twitch.tv/spirit_of_77 But can my character have a pet monkey? You sure as gently caress can. Ok, I can dig it, where can I learn more? The current playtest rules can be found here.(Updated March 17 2014) The current character Rap Sheets can be found here. (Updated March 17 2014) A full demo game including an exciting adventure on the Love Boat can be downloaded here This is just a rough draft right now, and feedback is always appreciated. If you want to run a playtest game please post about it in this thread, I'll do what I can to help. Bucnasti fucked around with this message at 00:32 on Sep 3, 2014 |
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Nov 27, 2013 03:50
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*** Current Erratta, FAQs and Other Notes *** Weapon Traits
Updated weapons
Bucnasti fucked around with this message at 04:26 on Dec 7, 2013 |
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Nov 27, 2013 03:50
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Sounds awesome, but there's only one thing I look for in a game: can I kill poo poo and inspire people with the POWER OF ROCK AND ROLL? Can I use this game to run a campaign where the FORCES OF ROCK fight the soulless minions of DISCO?
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Nov 29, 2013 06:23
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This is pretty cool, dude. Just how long have you and your friend been working on this?
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Nov 29, 2013 09:26
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Count Chocula posted:Sounds awesome, but there's only one thing I look for in a game: can I kill poo poo and inspire people with the POWER OF ROCK AND ROLL? Can I use this game to run a campaign where the FORCES OF ROCK fight the soulless minions of DISCO? Why yes. Yes you can. The Rocker role hasn't gotten a lot of playtesting yet but that's the basic idea behind them, they can inspire their allies and knock out their enemies with the POWER OF ROCK. Upmarket Mango posted:This is pretty cool, dude. Just how long have you and your friend been working on this? Thanks, we've been working on it a little over six months now.
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Nov 29, 2013 21:38
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Bucnasti posted:Thanks, we've been working on it a little over six months now. I'm just going to chime in and say that you are smokin' this poo poo, big-time! By that I mean, nice work! I haven't read it all, but at first glance it looks very thematic and thoroughly executed!
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Nov 30, 2013 03:20
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I love the playbook based on The Warriors, too. And the Shaft one, and the Glam one. I imagine the GM needs to sound like the DJ from The Warriors.
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Nov 30, 2013 04:19
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I feel like I was born to play this game.
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Nov 30, 2013 11:33
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Just chiming in to say this sounds absolutely amazing.
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Dec 1, 2013 01:28
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Thanks for all the kind words guys. It's exciting to finally get this out in front of people. In case you haven't seen it I've set up a Play-by-Post playtest game in the game room. Check out the thread here. If this game fills up, I'm probably going to run a second one starting in January
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Dec 2, 2013 09:11
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Chiming in with the rest to say that this is awesome as hell. Fantastic idea for a * World game, and despite being far from a 70s aficionado, had me instantly wanting to play after a brief look through of the PDF. I'm so going to run an Interstate 76/82/Vigilante 8 themed version of this some day.
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Dec 2, 2013 09:47
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The premise sounds awesome, and the role/story/buzz thing is great. Do you have any plans to write a supplement called Punk is Dead that's set in the UK? Because you should make those plans.
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Dec 2, 2013 19:05
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This is neat as all get out, I have a soft spot for that era of film and goddamn if this is not a crack at getting it down. No other real commentary than a general thumbs up.
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Dec 2, 2013 19:06
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I love the flavor, man! You captured it really well. If only "Nightclub" was a Thang. Is there a chance of this getting real-published? I found a few typos; would you like me to post 'em here?
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Dec 3, 2013 02:23
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QuantumNinja posted:I love the flavor, man! You captured it really well. If only "Nightclub" was a Thang. In our playtest games owning a business has tended to just be part of the fiction, one character owned a junkyard for instance, but maybe we should formally add that to the Thangs list. Publishing for realsies is our plan. Most likely to self publish via a kickstarter late next year. This version is still rough and un-edited. We will eventually use a professional editor to pick up all our typos and gramatical errors. We know there are a ton of them already, so don't spend your time hunting them down for us right now. What I could really use is feedback on clarity and content. What is difficult to understand? What doesn't sound right? What doesn't sound cool or fitting to the background? How well is the book organized? Also is the book enjoyable to read? I know the book has a long ways to go and nothing is set in stone at this point so I'd like to get as much constructive criticism as possible on every aspect of the book.
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Dec 3, 2013 03:00
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The book is REALLY enjoyable to read. I found myself browsing content I already understood to hear about Black Stone Cherry and Beau's crazy hijinx. It's a cool way to integrate iconic characters.
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Dec 3, 2013 05:12
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Bucnasti posted:What I could really use is feedback on clarity and content. What is difficult to understand? What doesn't sound right? What doesn't sound cool or fitting to the background? How well is the book organized? The book was a pleasure to read. Everything else definitely has the look and feel it seems like you were aiming for. It might help to make the attributes section a little more compact, but I'm guessing that'll come out in the wash. It was unclear that everyone gets a Thang because it wasn't listed on the character creation list, but later on it indicated that everyone got one and I wasn't certain which way it went. Also, it would be nice if the Basic Moves gave car examples: it seems a lot of characters get rides, and the only place I found vehicle-based "combat" rules was under Hot Wheels.
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Dec 3, 2013 07:01
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QuantumNinja posted:The book was a pleasure to read. Everything else definitely has the look and feel it seems like you were aiming for. It might help to make the attributes section a little more compact, but I'm guessing that'll come out in the wash. Thanks for the feedback. For attributes when you say more compact do you mean less pages (there's a lot of empty space on those pages) or less text? Or maybe we should add more text to fill out the space... Speaking of attributes, I've been struggling with their position in the rules. I tried to lay out the character creation sections in the order that you do them, starting with your role, then attributes, story and gear. This is kinda contrary to traditional RPG books which start out with attributes then get into things like races and classes. Was having the attributes section later in the character creation rules confusing in any way? I've considered just going the route of Apocalypse world and giving each role a set of attribute arrays to chose from. A free starting Thang was a recent addition to the rules and it appears that we didn't update the character creation checklist at the beginning of the book. I noticed that a lot of the characters in the PBP game missed their free Thang. That will get updated in the nextversion. You're right about driving examples. Car races and chases are an integral part of the setting, I've got a bunch of driving stuff in the works right now, just got to find the time to work out the details and get it all written out. It should be in the next version.
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Dec 3, 2013 07:41
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I'm gonna set all my RPGs on fire now because this is my perfect setting and system.
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Dec 3, 2013 07:43
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"Hey boy, how'd you like to be John Saxon? Any John Saxon!" shouldn't be as enticing to me as it definitely is.
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Dec 3, 2013 07:49
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Bucnasti posted:For attributes when you say more compact do you mean less pages (there's a lot of empty space on those pages) or less text? Or maybe we should add more text to fill out the space... I was mostly talking about the empty space, but either, really. Basically, I think it needs short and sweet, but long and explicit will do, too. It's a hard struggle between "enough to know the rules" and "enough to explain the setting and the feel", but right now it seems to land in the middle. More examples for each would make the world seem more alive, but compacting what's there doesn't strike me as wrong. Bucnasti posted:Speaking of attributes, I've been struggling with their position in the rules. I think that layout is fine, but maybe put the Stat block options right in the middle somewhere. For clarity, this is how I made my character: Role, then Moves, then Look, then Gear, then Attributes, then Story, then Buzz, then Story again, then Thang / Gear. I'm cool with stat blocks, but the point buy was a really nice change of pace. Honestly, you could literally just summarize the point-buy system on every single "Introducing the..." page and I don't think it would seem out of place. It would also be swell if you were clear on the "important" stats for each Role, too, so maybe you could do it all in the same place. Bucnasti posted:You're right about driving examples. Car races and chases are an integral part of the setting, I've got a bunch of driving stuff in the works right now, just got to find the time to work out the details and get it all written out. It should be in the next version. Yeah, there might should be some Car moves or just a section on it. You mention a ton of racing and whatnot, and I'd love moves like "Burn Some Rubber", "Drop The Hammer", and "Watch This!". I'm excited to see what you do. In conclusion, this: Tatum Girlparts posted:I'm gonna set all my RPGs on fire now because this is my perfect setting and system.
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Dec 3, 2013 08:06
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I think "Might" is sort of out-of-tone with the rest of the attributes. It sounds pretty generic. I'm not sure what would fit better; maybe Muscles to go with Brains? Or Swagger? I need to watch more '70s B-movies.
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Dec 3, 2013 08:46
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Might fits because Test Your Might is a motivation for like 3/4ths of all 70's chop socky fu flick characters.
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Dec 3, 2013 11:15
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Regrading Groove, I was reading the section on pg 28 and the glossary on pg 237 and a few things stand out. Groove - Groove powers Rocker abilities. Groove is reset to 0 at the end of each session, use it or lose it Which I see on page pg 237 but I don't see it on pg 28 or anywhere else that Groove is reset to 0 at the end of session. In my opinion, I think it would be helpful for players, Rockers and non-Rockers, to be aware that you have to use it or lose it. Now, back to pg 28. - Groove helps you improve your rolls, lessens negative effects and generally makes things more funky all around. Rockers can create and spend Groove using their Talent, although there are other methods for Groove to be generated. I am not sure if it is elsewhere in the book but what are the other methods for Groove to be generated and can non-Rockers take advantage of it? That section seems to be unclear to me but it might be that I am looking in the wrong place. I hope this helps. AmyL fucked around with this message at 12:05 on Dec 3, 2013 |
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Dec 3, 2013 11:59
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Tatum Girlparts posted:I'm gonna set all my RPGs on fire now because this is my perfect setting and system. Wow. Thanks! I gotta say, I'm super happy with the positive response for the setting. We've been kinda working on this game in the dark for so long and there's been a little part of me afraid that when we showed it to people they wouldn't be interested. It fills this Bad Mother with some joy. QuantumNinja posted:Attributes and car moves... Good stuff, you've given me some things to consider. Mr. Maltose posted:Might fits because Test Your Might is a motivation for like 3/4ths of all 70's chop socky fu flick characters. I think "Might" is a song reference too. I'm not much of a music guy, but David is and a lot of stuff comes from song lyrics. AmyL posted:Regrading Groove... Good catch. we'll clarify that in the future. There were previously more moves to generate Groove but the were cut out. I plan on having more groove producing moves in the future though.
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Dec 3, 2013 21:55
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I like how Velet Goldmine is basically canon. I'm not sure how well X-Tech fits in, though, or why you need to be an Ex-Con to be McGyver. If you do expand the supernatural elements, though, I'd add the Satanic panic/demon possession films of the 70s. But honestly my favorite bits are just the Streets of Fire/Warriors references. Do you have a link to the Spotify playlist?
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Dec 4, 2013 04:29
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Count Chocula posted:I like how Velet Goldmine is basically canon. I'm not sure how well X-Tech fits in, though, or why you need to be an Ex-Con to be McGyver. If you do expand the supernatural elements, though, I'd add the Satanic panic/demon possession films of the 70s. But honestly my favorite bits are just the Streets of Fire/Warriors references. One of our original concept statements for the setting was: What if Ziggy Stardust really was an alien rock messiah and was killed to cover-up Nixon's contact with aliens following the moon landing? So the science fiction elements of the setting all blossomed from that, and then grew to include things like Space 1999, The Six Million Dollar Man and Barbarella. There was also a real UFO hysteria in the 1970s, high profile sightings (many of which were hoaxes), popular books like The Chariots of the Gods, and several TV shows about searching for UFOs fed the hysteria throughout the decade. We have plans for a supernatural focused follow up, but right now we're concentrating on the Sci-fi, Kung-fu and Glam rock elements of the setting. There are a lot of abilities that could have fit into more than one story or role, sometimes we had to make hard choices, or put things where they fit best. After you get to level 5 you can start taking moves from other stories and roles so you can always go that route to get things like Jailhouse Jurryrig on your non-ex-con. Try this spotify link, I'm at work so I can't verify if it's working. http://open.spotify.com/user/spirit_of_77/playlist/3lS0q78rtwNMS2aiQYFJP7
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Dec 4, 2013 08:41
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It works fine. Edit: The honeypot's armor for undressing seems like an AW holdover. I mean, it was true of some women in the grindier flicks...but almost NEVER true of men. It seems like an out-of-character thing about the genre - they didn't show graphic violence to the swimsuit region. But in character, would Cleopatra Starr drop her towel if a Malachi tossed a molotov at her? Golden Bee fucked around with this message at 09:39 on Dec 5, 2013 |
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Dec 4, 2013 09:41
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Bringing this over from the post in the Game RoomMegazver posted:Hmmm. I suppose this makes sense. Honestly, because I forgot to put that move in the current document. I'm still working out how much I want people to be able to advance their stats, but it will be an option in the future to some degree or another. Megazver posted:
Megazver posted:Yeah. But, y'know, every single Story can do that and be as good at kicking people in the face as the Bruce Lee playbook. I mean, as long as they're not wearing a leather jacket or if you want to merely defeat them instead of murdering them to the death, then you have to roll a 10+ twice to do any damage to them. And if they're both wearing a leather jacket and you don't want to kill them there's nothing you can do to them, even if you've spent a level on a special murder-move. Again, this is valuable feedback. We haven't had somebody play a Kung Fu Tough Guy yet, so these rules are going to need a lot of testing and refining. You are correct any weapon (even an improvised one) is currently better than unarmed in every way, although that is fairly realistic it's doesn't match the theme of the game very well. I'm going to have to think about this a bit, I want Kung-Fu to be a good, maybe even the best story to go with Tough Guy but at the same time I don't want the other stories to be bad choices. Golden Bee posted:It works fine. It is swiped from AW, but I still like it. It allows characters to indulge in the tight fitting revealing fashions of the day without forgoing the protection of leather jackets and overcoats. Depending on what you accept as revealing clothing there are plenty of male characters that wear tight leather pants, tight tank tops or go bare chested. Warren Beatty in Shampoo is the quintessential male Honeypot and he spends half the film with his shirts unbuttoned down to his navel. As for Cleopatra Starr, I'd like to think that she would drop her towel and then proceed to kick the crap outta the Malachi thug while surrounded by flames in an awesome fight scene that is carefully choreographed, cropped, cut and lit to avoid an X rating. 
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Dec 6, 2013 22:54
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Bucnasti posted:Again, this is valuable feedback. We haven't had somebody play a Kung Fu Tough Guy yet, so these rules are going to need a lot of testing and refining. I don't see how letting the Kung Fu have 2-harm Unarmed with an investment of a move is significantly better than every other story just getting a 2-harm Thang weapon. I think I'd even make Flying Fists the +1-harm weapon and keep the Close tag as well. I heard Sid Meier say a very interesting thing once - ideally, every starting option available to the player should seem awesome and overpowered as gently caress. And as a corollary, it's better to leave something a little overpowered than a little underpowered. EDIT: Also, I don't think this is a Kung Fu Tough Guy problem, this is a Kung Fu problem period. It remains to be seen in actual play, of course, but the way a lot of moves read right now a lot of them are kinda situational or dependent on outside circumstance instead of giving the characters cool options that are available most of the time. But this could just be my inner unrepentant optimizing Munchkin. Also, give a quick rundown of what clumsy, messy, etc do for those who are about to play.  Oh and another note - you could just rename Payback to Pursuit, cause the condition fits, and give "Payback" a new condition. "When you take vengeance on someone who wronged you" perhaps? Megazver fucked around with this message at 01:07 on Dec 7, 2013 |
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Dec 6, 2013 23:14
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Bucnasti posted:Depending on what you accept as revealing clothing there are plenty of male characters that wear tight leather pants, tight tank tops or go bare chested. The Battle Babe' armor-inversion ability can also apply to James Bond. It's why he could be wearing a tuxedo, turtleneck, or be bare-cheasted and fight much more equipped soldiers in combat armor.
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Dec 7, 2013 00:31
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Megazver posted:... While the Kung Fu could be boosted a bit to make it stand out for DPS and Flying Fists might be +1 Harm/Close, I seldom find that *World games are about DPS races, and combat is usually more of a set piece than a serious, time-consuming part of the game. In fact, I've run a few *World games now and DPS/difficulty checks are almost always secondary in my prep for encounters: I'm looking for awesome scenes and set pieces, not "oh, this'll be a fun DPS race". That aside, I think an awesome move might be something like: Fast As Lightning - When you attack, on a 10+ you may select to targets to deal damage to. (Also, if you select a weapon as your Thang in every situation for sheer munchkin DPS I feel like you're really missing out on the awesomeness that is a Thang.) Megazver posted:Oh and another note - you could just rename Payback to Pursuit, cause the condition fits, and give "Payback" a new condition. "When you take vengeance on someone who wronged you" perhaps? Foxy Brown wasn't out in pursuit, she was out for some motherfuckin' payback. Bucnasti, any word on the car-related moves?
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Dec 7, 2013 01:44
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Young Freud posted:The Battle Babe' armor-inversion ability can also apply to James Bond. It's why he could be wearing a tuxedo, turtleneck, or be bare-cheasted and fight much more equipped soldiers in combat armor. Or bare-chested Captain Kirk. I hate to say this, since it sounds seedy, but the AW sex moves would fit the sleazy 70s tone of the game. Though it feels like everyone the Vigilantie sleeps with would die in the next scene.
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Dec 7, 2013 02:56
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Bucnasti posted:Thank you. This is super valuable feedback to me. I fret a lot about how the book is organized. I'll look into how this data is presented in future versions. I agree that it was annoyingly hard to find the actual basic moves. But I was also looking for an excuse to post this important Spirit of '77 related video featuring Richard Nixon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qRZvlZZ0DY
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Dec 7, 2013 02:58
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Kung Fu: In the playtests that I've done so far, the amount of damage dealt was usually secondary to making choices about how to deal damage, and much more often Punch his Lights out was the go to move. I want Kung Fu to be more about mobility and options in combat than about damage dealing, but unarmed being so inferior to any melee weapon is a problem for tough guys. I want a bare knuckled bruiser like Philo Bedoe to be able to kick rear end just as much as a Bruce Lee style karate champ. The simplest solution might just be to give tough guys a move that's "your fists do 2-harm" I'll think about this and discuss it before we make a permanent change. Another thing about Kung Fu... on my to-do list is a Kung Fu Master compendium class that will expand the Kung Fu abilities. I could see a move like Fast as Lightning might ending up there. Weapon Traits: I'm adding these to the second post in the thread. Payback/pursuit: There will always be a Buzz called Payback... because Shaft. Reskinning it as Megazver is proposing works well, or maybe we'll add one to the list to cover this situation. James Bond: Although he could be made as a Tough Guy, a Vigilante, or a Sleuth, I always think he works best as a Honeypot. Sex Moves: I've thought about the sex moves, I think sex between player characters is less likely in So77 then in AW, but maybe we'll include them as optional rules in some fashion. Car Moves: Working on it. I'll try to get some stuff posted next week. Sock it to me: You know years later Nixon claimed that it was those 6 seconds that won him the election.
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Dec 7, 2013 04:22
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The one unaddressed issue I have with Spirit 77 is that I cannot play Blacula, or any number of other Frightsploitation dudes. I don't know if it should be a Story or a Role, but it should be something
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Dec 7, 2013 04:43
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Mr. Maltose posted:The one unaddressed issue I have with Spirit 77 is that I cannot play Blacula, or any number of other Frightsploitation dudes. I don't know if it should be a Story or a Role, but it should be something Oh don't worry we've got plans for Blacula (and Blacula Hunters), demon possessed children and all manner of supernatural shenanigans, it's just going to come later, most likely as a follow up book.
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Dec 9, 2013 05:31
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God drat it, I wish any of my friends were cool enough to be aware of any of the sources you're borrowing from, save vague memories of the Dukes of Hazzard. This looks awesome.
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Dec 9, 2013 05:45
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Bucnasti posted:Oh don't worry we've got plans for Blacula (and Blacula Hunters), demon possessed children and all manner of supernatural shenanigans, it's just going to come later, most likely as a follow up book. Dibs on playing the first incarnation of Jefferson Twilight when this happens. "And I'll uh...I'll check for blaculas. Nope, no blaculas."
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Dec 9, 2013 05:55
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When you check for Blaculas roll+soul. On a 10+ There's Blaculas all up in this place. on a 7-9 Nope. No Blauculas. on a 6- You got the blue balls in your blood eye. Venture Brothers is a big influence on this game.
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Dec 9, 2013 07:50
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