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ManMythLegend posted:I'm not sure if you're just looking for a cyberpunky setting, or some sort of tone for the rules, but there's a Savage World setting called Interface Zero that I've heard good things about. It's straight cyberpunk, but it would be easy enough to hack in fantasy elements to make it Shadowrunnier. For those who might be interested, I have a fairly extensive Savage Worlds to Shadowrun hack Although I admit it's very much "my" version of Shadowrun, based heavily on 3rd edition (actual differences between mage and shaman, AR/wireless exists but VR is king) and I never bothered to come up with Technomancer rules.
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Jan 5, 2017 11:25
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If you ever want to feel really charitable towards the tri-stat system, take a look at BESM d20. They manage to combine the worst elements of tri-stat and d20 design.
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Jan 7, 2017 05:07
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They didn't even bother assigning the same number of points to each class, even though that's entirely the point (get it!?!) of a point-buy system. Of course, just the idea of a class-based point buy system still kind of gives me a headache, especially when one of the clases is just "X points per level". I will say, tri-stat BESM did do one thing that was different and showed a bit more thought than most "universal" systems as to how genre affects the values of a character's abilities (well, skills only if I recall correctly) and realized that if you're doing a romantic comedy set in not-Hogwarts then social and magical skills are going to be more valuable than being good at shooting someone in the face. Of course, that really just shows the inherent problem with omni-systems, trying to assign an objective value to abilities and powers without any context is always going to be a problem.
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Jan 7, 2017 21:03
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Alien Rope Burn posted:Yeah, skills only. And the core issue with that is that it encouraged you to create characters counter to whatever genre you were playing, because you could buy up nongenre skills and relied on the GM not letting your character solve everything with stealth and gunplay in your high school romance anime. Well, ideally a well-run high-school romance game there just aren't going to be problems that can be solved with a gun, because you'll be spending your time getting into wacky hijinks and trying to get sempai to notice you. Trying to pass your Advanced Mathmagics exam with a gun isn't going to get you very far... ...unless you're inspired by Assassination Classroom... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KFwWlLeIqE so yeah, YMMV
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Jan 8, 2017 07:31
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Kwyndig posted:I know at least one version of the Tarrasque would simply reform somewhere else 24 hours later if you tried that. Probably not the 3.5 version, because lol 3.5, but one of the other ones. Not to mention all it proves is that the editors of 3.5 forgot to include "ability drain" on the tarrasque's big list of immunities (which includes energy drain and ability damage). I mean, obviously the intent would be that the Tarrasque would be immune to that, it just so happens that one slipped through the net.
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Jan 9, 2017 12:03
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Oh god, please, please don't turn the chat threading into another. loving. D. And. D. Arguement! It was only last week or so that the 5e thread got closed and apparently the bile built up too much for it not to pop all over the place. So I step out for a while, give it a few hundred posts and I figure I'm safe. NOW HERE IT IS AGAIN! Who loving cares what anyone else thinks about X Edition of D&D!?
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Feb 25, 2017 19:50
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Why not "Power Attack", "Super Attack" or "Hyper Attack" or something.
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Mar 5, 2017 21:45
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Yeah, Raising Steam felt off for me too. I stopped reading it because I knew at the time it could very well be his last and I didn't want to end it on that note. I enjoyed Snuff and Unseen Academicals though. Not as big a fan of I Shall Wear Midnight, but that's partially because Tiffany Aching never quite grew on me as a protagonist, and I preferred Lancre and its witches to her stories. drat, now I'm feeling all mopey. I miss Pratchett.
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May 13, 2017 23:51
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I mean, I think it's uncharitable to call all fantasy/sci-fi right-wing. But I think that unless you specifically go out of your way to write something averting it then it would be possible to point out "right-wing" themes in them. I mean, it'd be pretty hard to characterize Terry Pratchett as a right-wing author...but yes the patrician is basically a tyrant who more intelligent and competent than everyone else and there are other themes or ideas that, out of context, could be called right-wing. Part of the problem is of course setting in general (i.e. classic fantasy tends to involve monarchies, tyranny, etc. as "okay"). But largely I think it's just the nature of fantasy/sci-fi fiction in general. They're about important, significant individuals (not groups or movements) doing important things in a world full of threats and dangers. And "world full of threats and dangers" is basically the selling point of fascism and the extreme right...everything you hold dear is in danger and you and your beliefs are always under attack by the large, vaguely defined "other". That's also the basic formula for producing a plot. Can you work around that? Definitely. Is it necessary? No, not really. I can shoot people in the face in GTA or beat someone to death with a dildo in Saints Row without believing that these are acceptable actions in the real world. I can read a fantasy book and cheer for a heroic king without therefore assuming that it would be applicable to real-world politics.
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May 19, 2017 22:26
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My read on the Disc is that the closest-to-ideal society presented (at least from the narrative's point of view) is the kingdom of Lancre (namely the version scene in later witch books like Lords and Ladies and Carpe Jugulum). A small population that lives largely independently and feels it's very important to have a leader to serve as a (figure)head of state, but also feels it's essential that the king not really get involved in their day-to-day life in any meaningful way. He just needs to be there for "royal stuff" (state dinners, throwing parties, waving, etc). In other words a lot like Britian's current relationship with the royal family minus any other form of government (prime minister, parliament, etc) being a part of the picture. So purely aesthetic monarchy draped over...I guess a kind of loose, chill, traditionalist anarchy? Not sure what the proper governmental term would be. Of course, you could do a deep reading to show that this is bad-wrong in many different ways. But it's also (like everything else in discworld) not meant to be a literal endorsement of a particular government or lifestyle so much as it is a parody of some slice of reality wrapped in Pratchett's humor. Just because a thing happens in a book does not mean that the book is demanding it happen in reality.
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May 20, 2017 22:33
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Rand Brittain posted:I don't really recall anything in Pratchett that suggests that people in Lancre are any happier than people in Ankh-Morpork. The lack of casual murder and/or organized crime is a pretty big selling point. But I'm not saying that Ankh-Morpork is represented as awful (other than the murder, the protection rackets, the river of barely-moving poo poo, the tendency to burn down, the racial tensions that are only just starting to ease, etc) but that life in Lancre generally just more idyllic and their threats tend to be external, where as most of Ankh-Morpork's problems are internal.
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May 20, 2017 22:48
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Yeah, but we aren't really talking "government" at that point. Lancre does, generally speaking, a better job of making sure that its citizens don't get murdered, have to pay a monthly fee to not be robbed, get abused by those in power, have the right to self-determination, not get caught up in pointless wars, not get set on fire, etc. In general Ankh stories are about dealing with a problem with the city (racial tensions, suppression of competition or free speech, mad gunman, jingoism, civil rights) and how the characters are working to make things better. Where as Lancre stories are about something coming in to ruin their otherwise pretty fine lives and at the end things return largely to the status quo (with Wyrd Sisters being the significant exception, but most early disc books where fairly different...early Ankh was the same). Of course, we can't speculate heavily on rates of depression and suicide among fictional citizens...but it's clear that Lancre has less social/political problems than AM. But, as I pointed out originally, we're talking about parodies and caricatures. These are not real people. Or real countries. they're the creations of a humorous jokester to poke fun at various parts of the world (Ankh-Morepork being London/America; Lancre being rural UK, etc). My intent was to point out the futility of trying to map them as a guideline to modern society as something to critique or inspire. Sir. Pratchett certainly had political opinions and that certainly can come through in his writing...but that doesn't mean every character is an expression of that. You can have characters like the Patrician without assuming that he supports tyranny, or characters like Carrot or Verence without assuming he supports monarchy.
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May 21, 2017 00:00
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Rand Brittain posted:People in Lancre are also dirt-poor and lead a generally filthy lifestyle while being one witch away from horrible death due to a lack of doctors who don't wear pointy hats. There's no actual signs of poverty in Lancre, they don't have money but they don't really use it either. They largely exist on a barter economy and are doing perfectly fine. They also seem to have some fairly desirable exports (lancre foods or goods are mentioned in other places), but are largely self-sufficient only importing luxury goods like the stuff at the castle. They are rural, but not poor. AM on the other hand has actual poverty, like people going hungry or stealing to survive poverty. It's got wealth too, but not for the average citizen. As far as filthy...Ankh-Morepork has a literal river of poo poo running through it. Lancre living is far, far more hygenic than anything in AM and the Witches are presented as far better at medicine than anyone available in AM (wizards are worthless at it and doctors in general are presented as usually worse than no assistance at all). It is certainly not exciting (except when a novel is currently happening) and you can't get rich there...but you're also less likely to be stabbed. So you know...good with the bad. Lancre is also free from Dibblers. oriongates fucked around with this message at 00:50 on May 21, 2017 |
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May 21, 2017 00:46
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gnarlyhotep posted:Is the F word allowed here? gently caress no it loving isn't!!
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May 28, 2017 00:12
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Or it's not based on a physical property of the gem itself, but the metaphysical worth people ascribe to it based on its market value. The diamond industry was created to artificially inflate their value in order to both make money and allow smaller, less impressive diamonds to work as spell components.
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Jun 30, 2017 17:58
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It's how I sold an RPG newbie on Shadowrun (of course using my SW hack rather than actual shadowrun, would never subject a new player to that)
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Jul 21, 2017 06:33
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AlphaDog posted:Yeah, temporary victories with a cost is what I was getting at. As others have said, Delta Green is very, very good. I haven't had an opportunity to check out the newest version (although my understanding is that it maintains that level of quality), but Delta Green: Countdown is, in my opinion, the best-written RPG book I own and I have adapted and re-adapted material from it over and over, not just in CoC scenarios, but in tons of other systems and settings. It's really great.
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Sep 15, 2017 02:32
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It's been a while since 2e, but if I'm recalling correctly, cleric's tend to make better necromancers than wizards in a lot of ways, at least in terms of doing the stuff you think of for classic necromancers. For instance, animate dead is a 3rd level cleric spell, but a 5th level wizard spell, and I don't recall there being any differences between how it functioned. Wizards get more life-draining or "spooky" attack spells (your vampiric touch, chill touch, ray of enfeeblement, etc), but when it comes to things like actually interacting with dead stuff an evil or neutral cleric is probably a better choice. Though that might depend on what books you're using, there's probably a lot of extra spells in other books.
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Dec 11, 2017 01:02
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If you want inspiration for being a good paladin, Terry Pratchett's a great way to go. Any of the Watch books are great but Feet of Clay is probably the standout. Pay attention to both Vimes and Carrot. Small Gods is also a great one and it's more stand alone. The witch books are also great, Granny Weatherwax would be quite the paladin if it didn't involve flouncing around in a bunch of silly dishware.
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Dec 21, 2017 22:32
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Jimbozig posted:Hey, since we were talking about reskinning, I'd like some ideas for a certain thing - the damage buff. In fantasy games, the cleric casts a spell to make you stronger so you hit harder and do more damage. How does that translate to a game where you are shooting bullets at enemies? How can a buffing class buff an ally's damage and have it "make sense"? The bullets glow now. And everyone knows glowing weapons do more damage. If the buff is really strong maybe they'll be some kind of floating symbol things in front of the gun barrel, everyone knows those sting like hell.
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Dec 22, 2017 21:19
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I do a lot of gaming with freeform skills/abilities and it's a big issue. Mostly the best way to handle it is not to sweat the small stuff and encourage bigger skills rather than trying to cap overlarge ones. When I say sweating the small stuff I mostly mean looking at how the traits work in play vs trying to get too nitty-gritty. For example, in a game like PDQ take Qualities like "Way of the Sword" vs "Martial Arts Master". Assuming both are at the same rank, they'll largely operate identically: martial arts master gives you a bonus when punching someone, way of the sword gives you a bonus when cutting someone. Both can be reasonably used in defense and (barring weird interpretations) both are good for some minor social/knowledge stuff outside of their combat role. Now, what's the obvious difference: one requires a weapon. Think of something like a traditional action fantasy or wandering adventurer games. In the large majority of cases, characters are going to have access to their weapons when they need it. There's still a difference, but it's a pretty small one. A good comparison is the monk vs fighter paradigm in D&D, the monk often underperforms because they're penalized for getting their combat abilities permanently attached rather than requiring equipment, but in almost all cases it doesn't make a difference because everyone has their equipment anyway (because the fighter is going to get grumpy if they get disarmed every other adventure anyway). Now, context matters...for instance if the game weren't a fantasy world or a post-apocalyptic wilderness or what have you, but rather a modern game with things like police and weapon laws, then the gap becomes much wider...because the places you can get away with toting a sword are much fewer. This leads to my second recommendation which is that I find the best way to balance freeform Traits is to bring up weaker Traits to meet the level of the stronger Traits. So, rather than coming up with some penalty to punish the martial artist in this context, I would suggest that the swordsman come up with a new Trait that is suitably bigger. Perhaps this might involve taking a Trait like "Master of the Shadow Blade" which comes 'packaged' with things like stealth skills or just plain the ability to create their own magic sword from thin air. Likewise, it's easy to get too specific when it comes to non-combat Traits and usually it's better to combine or improve those weaker traits rather than trying to set a hard cap on the power of bigger traits. Now, obviously there are problems when someone tries to pull off a trait or quality like "unbeatable" or "Jack of All Trades, Master of All of Them Too". That's why freeform traits are exclusive to what are called "high trust" games, and one reason I never suggest FATE as a go-to system for newbies without an experienced GM. They're for games where the players can trust that the GM isn't there to try and screw them over and deny them their abilities and the GM can trust the players not to be dicks and try and slide BS past them. Probably the biggest sticking point I've run into is dexterity style traits like speed or agility, for much the same reason they're kind of a god-stat in things like the story-teller system: taken literally they just cover too much stuff compared to other straightforward traits like strength or combat skill. It's not a huge problem or an insurmountable one, but it's definitely been a persistent annoyance. Of course, you will run into situations or abilities that are obviously better, especially if superhuman abilities are in the mix. Something like "really strong" compared to something like "telekinesis" is kind of obviously problematic, since by default TK can do everything you'd want to do with strength and can do it invisibly at a distance. Best approach is to have some kind of rules in place ahead of time to deal with how big supernatural traits are handled. A common solution with things like PDQ is just to start these traits off one step lower so they're always a bit behind the other traits. oriongates fucked around with this message at 00:41 on Dec 30, 2017 |
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Dec 30, 2017 00:39
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I get a completely pointless endorphin rush from exploding dice, so that elevates SW from "functional workhorse" to "top 3 systems" for me.
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Dec 31, 2017 21:30
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