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unseenlibrarian posted:One of the default options for attacks is 'take a penalty, attack more than one mook at once'. There's also schticks that let you make more attacks as long as you're attacking unnamed characters. Oh, excellent. I haven't found the big list of Things You Can Do In A Fight yet, I'm gathering I may have to assemble one myself.
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Dec 10, 2015 16:37
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Every rule and ability is Things You Can Do In A Fight in this game. They split chapters by character type because if you're a gun guy you don't need the sorcery rules, kung fu people don't really need to know about mutant powers, etc. That said, if you're the GM there are certain things not in the main combat chapter you'll want to know about. For example, how to handle disarms, rearming, and reloading is in the guns chapter even though characters with melee weapons like the Sword Master can also be disarmed. Also, just to jump ahead of you a little, mooks are even mookier than in 13A and don't have hit points. If a mook gets hit, they drop. If they get hit by a super-nice roll, let the player go nuts with the description.
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Dec 10, 2015 17:45
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Super cool. I'm used to the d20 "everything is a power" or Apocalypse World "narrate what you do, roll +hard if required" styles of play. I'm starting off with the eight "normal" sample archetypes, so everything will probably be Martial Arts or Guns this time.
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Dec 10, 2015 18:32
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AlternateNu posted:I'm actually in Lynx Winters' playgroup, and the fights have been great without any gun-users. (We have a pew-pew ghost type, but that's about it.) We did notice that it kind of hosed over the Archer in our original group when no one chose guns, though. So, keep that in mind. You can fix this by just giving the bow a base DV of 10 (since the only real reason it's at 7 is to make it more primitive/less dangerous than firearms, which don't exist in this case) If you do that, let the Archer replace Wuxia Archery with another schtick, of course. Alternatively, if you're going to have a lot of ranged bosses, you could keep Wuxia Archery but change it so that if there's a ranged attack with a DV higher than 11 in play on either side (friend or foe), it gives the bow a DV equal to that minus 1. Lemon-Lime fucked around with this message at 18:59 on Dec 10, 2015 |
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Dec 10, 2015 18:55
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All right, I'm running the core book adventure tonight. Sample archetypes only, starting without the crazy stuff from other junctures. Any advice for a first time FS GM?
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Dec 13, 2015 18:46
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Don't expect to get through the whole thing, because the first fight is gonna take forever while everyone figures out the rules. Also, make sure people know about things that aren't in the rules summaries at the back of the book, like reload checks and spending fortune for bonus dice. Seriously, how did that not make it into the summaries?
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Dec 13, 2015 19:12
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Captain Walker posted:Any advice for a first time FS GM? Do not fall into the trap of setting your fights in a single small self-contained area like a corridor or something. Always have fight scenes that are the size of at least a football field so you can make your narration properly dynamic and not just "he shoots you from behind cover" ad nauseam. Similarly, write up a list of 30 or so ways the enemy can interact with the environment and make sure you use one at least every other time a named enemy acts (mooks can just be glossed over because they're mooks). And to tie in with that, ignore any description of range or distance in schticks and just let movement be an assumed thing unless it wouldn't make sense even in action movie logic (e.g. you've described some enemies going up a floor and some of the PCs didn't follow them and there's absolutely zero way they can do anything like jump out a window and climb up the outer wall or just shoot through the floor). Pre-roll initiative and use the tool for pre-rolling mook attacks that's linked in the OP.
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Dec 13, 2015 19:29
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Captain Walker posted:All right, I'm running the core book adventure tonight. Sample archetypes only, starting without the crazy stuff from other junctures. Any advice for a first time FS GM? It's really weird how a big part of the adventure is loading the app in-world as a cyberguide. Was that you or as-written? I didn't realize you were talking about the actual app until later.
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Dec 16, 2015 05:14
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Mimir posted:It's really weird how a big part of the adventure is loading the app in-world as a cyberguide. Was that you or as-written? I didn't realize you were talking about the actual app until later. Sylvan Master is actually supposed to be some sort of AI that the Dragons used, which I could have expanded on had I not totally lost the loving plot the second the bullets stopped flying. I could find none of the handy plot points in the book. Oh well.
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Dec 16, 2015 05:35
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I still think the best intro adventure was what came up in the last thread: start in modern day -> chase scene through the Netherworld -> second fight scene in different juncture -> second chase into Netherworld -> final fight in Netherworld. The best thing to do in that situation would probably be to have the second fight be in whatever juncture most of the PCs are from, just to give them a "now you're in MY house" deal.
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Dec 16, 2015 19:52
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Captain Walker posted:All right, I'm running the core book adventure tonight. Sample archetypes only, starting without the crazy stuff from other junctures. Any advice for a first time FS GM? I know I am a bit late to the party here, but encourage your players (and lead by example) to really go batshit insanely over the top with describing their characters' antics. I ran Red Packet Rumble at a local game con a couple months ago and I had one guy who went out of his way to turn his horrible miss against a set of mooks into an action that broke all the caged-doves free (I mean, it's a wedding, there have to be doves, right?) and sent them winging in slow-motion throughout the fight to the background of bad 80's power metal ballads. Start them off by just asking them to narrate how they killed/knocked out someone, and you'll lead them down the road to glorious carnage descriptions in no time.
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Dec 27, 2015 09:57
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I just now noticed this thread, but in case anyone want them I sorta reverse-engineered a custom archetype system. Most of the existing archetypes fall inside in pretty well.
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Dec 29, 2015 22:15
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Only one day left for the thread of the month! Truly the end of an era.
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Dec 31, 2015 15:52
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I picked up Chi Wars and it was neat to see the Seoul section. I am a pretty big fan of Korea cinema and some of their variety shows, so it was pretty neat seeing places I saw on Running Man in the book.
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Dec 31, 2015 18:25
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Golden Bee posted:Only one day left for the thread of the month! Truly the end of an era. Not the Past juncture era, though. That never ends.
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Dec 31, 2015 22:28
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So my Scrappy Kid has kind of a "Skate from Streets of Rage" vibe. Since we have another driver, my GM is letting my swap out the "Drive Anything" Stunt for something else. What's a good stunt to get across being a boarding/skating/scootering basdass? What I have currently: "Wheels of Polyurethane": Exit vehicles for 0 shots during chases; unless you're impaired, you never need to make a check to catch up to vehicular chases."
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Feb 11, 2016 05:42
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I'm hopefully going to be playing a game of Feng Shui 1 this weekend (the GM actually has it vs not having FS2). What sort of things does the Fu move "Strike of the Snake" cover? It says it reduces the cost of any 3 shot task that requires a Martial Arts test to 1 shot. I wanna be a cool kung fu man and Old Master seems to be exactly what I want. I'm currently thinking either Eyes, Slither, Strike and Coil of the Snake +1 more or Prodigious Leap, Flying Windmill Kick, Crane Stance, Wing of the Crane +1 more. One has cool jumping, mondo flying kicks, a dodge thing and +6 damage. One has making enemies act slower, making unnamed enemies unable to attack me, whatever the 3 shot only 1 shot thing is and then Coil of the Snake seems to be Flying Windmill Kick but better? Windmill Kick you attack forever until you miss, but Coil of the Snake you can like, wait until 1 shot before you actually go and then can do an attack for 1 Chi? So you can spend all of your Chi on that? That's up to 10 attacks before your turn comes up if you want and you can keep going even if you miss and spread them out however you want? Dunno what the +1 choice would be for either. Other than this dilemma I've mostly been coming up with cool kung fu names for each move and they all sound like yoga positions.
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Feb 17, 2016 18:52
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KFM seems like the best class in Feng Shui 1. I say buy the new book, it's like $15, isn't it? Give it to him as a gift and you'll want to run it yourself later.
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Feb 17, 2016 20:08
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Yeah, FS2 just plain works better than FS1.
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Feb 17, 2016 21:52
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Rejoice, we're doing Feng Shui 2! Now I can't decide of Old Master or Martial Artist is right for me. Old Master has the cool "it's like he has a weapon" damage for punches and kicks and the jump and the Windmill Kick which I was enamored with from 1 (even if only 3 max instead of forever), but also the "once you get hit you're pretty much going to get hit forever" downside. How much does that actually come into play? The Martial Artist is a little more robust, as well as a little faster and going late in initiative in a game where someone fast can go multiple times is the worst. The default shticks are cool, one where you rise to the occasion, one where you go "ur dead mate" and one where you make someone easier to hurt. The nunchaku moves are also super cool, especially the eventual last move in the tree, but I really wanna be a punch and kick guy so I would probably ask if I could swap both of those for the Prodigious Leap and Windmill Kick instead. I just wanna be useful and not die really easy while also punching and kicking with aplomb. The other types picked so far are the Highway Ronin and the Scrappy Kid.
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Feb 22, 2016 07:54
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For Old Master: It will come up eventually if the game continues, but it's a net-0 roll to avoid the defense penalty from being hit (or +1/+2 if you're impaired). The key word is eventually, though. If it's a one shot or a small campaign, run with it and let your old man flag fly. The longer the campaign, the more likely you'll have a crazy fight where the dice will probably conspire to take you down, and you'll want to avoid Death Checks if able. But since you can spend one of your 10 Chi and one shot to have a Defense of 18 + d6, it's easy enough to avoid getting hit from most attacks. Plus, Defense 17 base for an entire keyframe against non-MA types is nothing to sneeze at, for the cost of a single shot and a single Chi. For Martial Artist: You can still punch and kick with the nunchaku, and do the weapon's damage. Just toss it into the description, and it's pretty much the same as long as you aren't using anything that specifically says "unarmed attack". However, if you really like things that say "punch" or "kick" attack in the power description, you'll probably want to just stick with the Old Master, or talk to the GM. Either way, switching Fu powers for Fu powers usually won't cause too much trouble. Personally, I love the Prodigious Leap stuff too much to not suggest taking the Old Master, but that Toughness 5 does make even the simplest of death checks a risky proposition. But it won't be like you'll die in the first few scenes without tremendously stacked odds or ridiculous bad luck.
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Feb 22, 2016 09:08
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Your other Old Master advantage is that if you do biff the death check you can just slap down the martial artist and go "I will avenge my master!"
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Feb 22, 2016 11:46
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Old Master is a more fun space; ours has been lucky and has only had his defense decrease once or twice (across five fights). It's pretty funny because the rest of our group is grounded to action movie stuff, and only the Old Master does Wuxia stuff. We'll all jump over balconies and swing from chandeliers and he'll walk up a waterfall and backflip to the other side of the room.
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Feb 22, 2016 20:58
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Yeah the current melodramatic hook is the Old Master's prize student who was going to inherit the school killed the other students and ran off with the secret scrolls of the martial art for his/her own nefarious ends and the Master must avenge the students so their spirits can rest in peace. If he kicks the bucket then it turns out one student survived because they've been double dipping on their martial arts training and wasn't at the school that day (hence the slightly different move list) and they would then have to avenge the Master AND the students for a double whammy of vengeance. I'd probably ask to use nunchaku moves punches and kicks or replace them with the Leap and Windmill Kick. It's even nice mechanically because the Leap wouldn't be at the double distance the Old Master has because the student doesn't have the requisite number of shticks from that tree which represents not being as good! it's perfect! There's even Hammer Punch in the Wing Chun which is almost the Master's thing! Wowza. And then one day in the distant future they'd learn the other moves and who knows, maybe even become... the master... Feng Shui chargen is good as hell. Is this what it's like to be one of those players that doesn't mind if their character dies because that just means a chance to play the next cool one you have mind?
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Feb 22, 2016 21:34
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EthanSteele posted:Feng Shui chargen is good as hell. Not only are you that, but Feng Shui 2 encourages it by making chargen easy and lets you focus on the main part of new characters: Why they're there and what they're going to do. And unless your GM is a jerk, just giving the new character enough advances to catch up is also equally easy, since it's balanced around having X advances for the group.
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Feb 22, 2016 21:52
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I also love the Dragon and the Drifter's moves, where the Drifter is mechanically rewarded for being the guy that is sometimes late to sessions and it makes sense for them to not be there every time and the Dragon can be the best at something as long as nobody else has it or can copy an absent person's move if it's super needed, eg: you really need someone to do a cool Sorcerer move but the wizard is gonna be an hour late. Though I guess they would prefer not to wizard move because of that reversion thing, but you get what I mean!
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Feb 22, 2016 22:04
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By the book, the Fox and the Bear seem to be the best transformed animals. The Fox is "manipulate everyone else and get what you want", the bear is "Kick rear end, keep kicking rear end, and don't stop kicking rear end." Elephant is good too. Crab is bland as heck (and has a weapon-use penalty but all its art is holding cleavers.)
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Feb 23, 2016 00:32
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Is there a way to make an uncomedic party? I mean unless you go Martial Artist/Archer/Old Master there's so much zaniness to be had.
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Mar 2, 2016 08:51
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Comedy-free? Unlikely but it's possible. It just depends on everyone playing the type without any of the explicitly comedy bits. Don't play the Jackie Chan versions of any of them, don't play to comedic beats, don't play up failures for comedy, etc. This sounds un-fun enough not to ever try, but it's definitely possible with a lot of effort. I played a Private Investigator who was pretty much only funny due to things going wrong or how many times he was the one breaking expensive objects, and had it not been for the Thief in the group, that kind of accidental/slapstick humor would've been the only funny things in the whole game. Then our Killer died and was replaced by a Cyborg from the future who looked like the old Killer, which led to more gags than before. Especially visual/comedy violence gags.
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Mar 2, 2016 09:11
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Why would you not want comedy? Even the most serious and hardboiled HK cinema has plenty of moments of comedy spiced in among the heroic bloodshed.
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Mar 2, 2016 09:29
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Golden Bee posted:Is there a way to make an uncomedic party? I mean unless you go Martial Artist/Archer/Old Master there's so much zaniness to be had. It's pretty easy for most of the game's archetypes to not be played for comedy, but the game is so OTT and encourages you to swap between melodrama and slapstick on the dime to mimic HK cinema, and most groups tend to goof around, so most people tend to fall into comedy as a default. I've run a pure wuxia one-shot that was serious.
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Mar 2, 2016 09:48
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Galaga Galaxian posted:Why would you not want comedy? Even the most serious and hardboiled HK cinema has plenty of moments of comedy spiced in among the heroic bloodshed. I'm asking if it's possible. Like an alternate universe or something. I know our Masked Avenger often enters scenes by dropping from above, but 50% of the time he lands on top of a pile of goons instead of knocking them out.
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Mar 2, 2016 17:15
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I mean, it's pretty simple: do you have the kind of group that treats roleplaying as a fun activity for everyone involved and does stuff like repeatedly quoting Monty Python? Your FS2 game will be silly. Do you have the kind of group that is in it for the pathos and treats it like improv acting? Your FS2 game will be serious. 
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Mar 2, 2016 18:32
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Lemon Curdistan posted:I mean, it's pretty simple: do you have the kind of group that treats roleplaying as a fun activity for everyone involved and does stuff like repeatedly quoting Monty Python? Your FS2 game will be silly. Do you have the kind of group that is in it for the pathos and treats it like improv acting? Your FS2 game will be serious. Even then, it's hard. Our group (My PI, a Thief that was Basically Jackie Chan, a Magic Cop and a Killer into a Cyborg) had many more melodramatic scenes than pure comedy scenes, but that didn't stop the comedy at all. Part of it was the Jackie Chan scenes and the ridiculous explosions my PI would cause, or in some cases, not cause when trying to cause them. I think eventually, between the setting, the system and just human beings being human beings, it's really hard to completely avoid the comedy. Not impossible, but a lot of effort and attention would be needed.
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Mar 2, 2016 20:07
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As pointed out, it really doesn't help that the genre the game goes for (Hong Kong cinema) is explicitly known for alternating between serious drama and slapstick comedy pretty much on a dime, either.
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Mar 2, 2016 21:08
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Our game fluctuates between comedy and gore, then spirals into melodrama. Like, "the main boss of the adventure is the Scrappy Kid's demonically possessed mom who's basically unstoppable." Which was in the middle of "how many ways can we us a gong to kill this kung fu master?" and "Is throwing your sunglasses at someone really an attack?"
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Mar 2, 2016 22:17
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Okay, so we all know Feng Shui (either edition) is not a fun time to try to run in PbP. Especially the combat sequences and how long they'd take. I've been thinking of a few ways around that, but want to shoot them around here to see if there's anything obviously wrong with them that I'm clearly missing. 1) Complete information: Giving the defense values, even the shticks of all enemies as the combat starts. A step down from that would be just listing normal defense values then marking down any shticks as they happen. Either way, it'll allow players to usually narrate their successes/failures without input from the GM. 2) Running multiple shots at once rather than one shot at a time: Allow 3 to 6 shot bursts of actions where you run the combat in chunks. Give people a targeting priority and see if they hit things. Couldn't mix this too much with #1, but it could help with clearing mooks and give people something to do most of the time. 3) Default Actions after 48 hours: Have each player decide a default action before the combat starts and use that if there's not enough posting action. This one isn't mechanical, but it might speed up the game and ruin combos if it comes down to it. Any other suggestions/possibilities?
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Mar 2, 2016 23:48
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I mean, if you list all their schticks, you're losing a lot of drama. Half of Kung Fu is revealing secret techniques the heroes have to overcome.
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Mar 3, 2016 01:36
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Honestly, all that sounds way more complicated that picking an hour for all of your players to be in IRC at the same time and just doing the fight there.
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Mar 3, 2016 16:48
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Lemon-Lime posted:Honestly, all that sounds way more complicated that picking an hour for all of your players to be in IRC at the same time and just doing the fight there. That's actually not a terrible plan. Given the consistency of combat in FS2, it might just turn into a Roll20/IRC game where people do the transition scenes in PbP, but that's probably better than the alternative of combats taking literal weeks (if not months) to complete. Brain may just be going too HK Action Movie mode, but you could even have the IRC combat be description-light and run it as a choreography of beats and important moments.
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Mar 4, 2016 03:29
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