I put this question to my family - what sort of RPG(s) do you want to play over the Christmas break?
Their choices were, "The Pathfinder Pirates Game", "Swords & Wizardry, though moving away from Dyson's Delve if you guys want", "Traveller", "Mekton", or "Super Heroes".
Unanimously and quickly they chose "Supers!".
So I need to get my ideas hat on and come up with some good villains for them to fight....
Friday, December 12, 2014
Comfort Food
Why do I always go back to Classic Traveller when I'm feeling down?
Is it because of nostalgia for the countless hours I spent in my youth designing spaceships and worlds?
Is it because of the inherent simplicity of the rules make it easy to run "thought scenarios"?
Or is it because in Traveller, the universe is truly what you make it, with the rules offering as much or as little direction as you desire?
I've all but given up on running an ongoing campaign at home or with friends, but on days like today, I still daydream about jumps into poorly mapped out systems, facing off against rival crews/gangs who heard the same rumors as you did about lost treasures and civilizations, suiting up in your best new gear in hopes that you're not bringing a knife to a gun fight, and doing 2d vector math while juggling limited computer processing resources.
Ok, maybe not so much that last one. :)
Is it because of nostalgia for the countless hours I spent in my youth designing spaceships and worlds?
Is it because of the inherent simplicity of the rules make it easy to run "thought scenarios"?
Or is it because in Traveller, the universe is truly what you make it, with the rules offering as much or as little direction as you desire?
I've all but given up on running an ongoing campaign at home or with friends, but on days like today, I still daydream about jumps into poorly mapped out systems, facing off against rival crews/gangs who heard the same rumors as you did about lost treasures and civilizations, suiting up in your best new gear in hopes that you're not bringing a knife to a gun fight, and doing 2d vector math while juggling limited computer processing resources.
Ok, maybe not so much that last one. :)
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Are Supers in my Future?
I've had little luck getting any RPG action in at home. We did start off off a Pathfinder-based "Pirates" game, set in Midgard's Western Sea, which I'll blog about once we actually get going.
But in the mean time, I've become interested in Superhero games.
I'm sort of late to the Superhero Comics scene. Like VERY late. Sure, I read my neighbor's Spiderman comics as a kid, and I watched all the usual 70's and 80's superhero TV shows like every other geek my age, but it wasn't until Avengers and then Guardians of the Galaxy that I actually got really interested in Superheroes.
So I've been looking for a game system that can accurately model everything from the recent Marvel-verse movies (Avengers&Spinoffs, Fantastic-4, X-Men, etc.), the recent DC TV serieses, and other "caped crusader" type situations.
At first, I was pretty sure the Mutants & Masterminds was going to be my "ride". It's D20 based, has HeroLab support, has TONS of supplemental materials, and was able to handle any of the character concepts I threw at it. But it had one serious drawback for my gaming group - the players really need to understand the character build system to get the most out of it.
For the same reason, I've ruled out the various FATE based systems. While they seem like they'd be very playable in the right circumstances, my group isn't the sort who embraces clever rule mechanisms - by and large, they're happier with "I want to do X, what do I roll?" rather than the level of Narrative responsibility that FATE requires.
So I think I've found the perfect game: Supers!, revised edition. Character building is as simple as spreading 20 "dice" around various stats and dreaming up what super powers you want. Game play is creative, but "narrative control" is mostly limited to describing how you use your powers to attack or defend. You can get pretty creative with that, like defending against a gun attack with your Composure - basically, staring down the bad guy, and unnerving him so much that he misses you with his attack - or using Super Speed to body-slam someone, who could use Super Strength to resist you, or maybe use the ability to phase out of existence to not be there. Of course you could simply try to dodge the charge, or resist an attack with your innate toughness. The reason you have so many options is that once you use a single source of power in a round, you can't use it again. So if you blow your Elemental/Fire control making a shield, you can't then turn around and fire-blast someone in the same round. Lots of fun choices to make!
I received the print-on-demand book from RPGNow yesterday. My daughter asked me what it was, and immediately told me what sort of superhero she would play.
Apparently, she'd already been thinking about what sort of superhero she would play in an RPG, because kids do that sort of thing.
But in the mean time, I've become interested in Superhero games.
I'm sort of late to the Superhero Comics scene. Like VERY late. Sure, I read my neighbor's Spiderman comics as a kid, and I watched all the usual 70's and 80's superhero TV shows like every other geek my age, but it wasn't until Avengers and then Guardians of the Galaxy that I actually got really interested in Superheroes.
So I've been looking for a game system that can accurately model everything from the recent Marvel-verse movies (Avengers&Spinoffs, Fantastic-4, X-Men, etc.), the recent DC TV serieses, and other "caped crusader" type situations.
At first, I was pretty sure the Mutants & Masterminds was going to be my "ride". It's D20 based, has HeroLab support, has TONS of supplemental materials, and was able to handle any of the character concepts I threw at it. But it had one serious drawback for my gaming group - the players really need to understand the character build system to get the most out of it.
For the same reason, I've ruled out the various FATE based systems. While they seem like they'd be very playable in the right circumstances, my group isn't the sort who embraces clever rule mechanisms - by and large, they're happier with "I want to do X, what do I roll?" rather than the level of Narrative responsibility that FATE requires.
So I think I've found the perfect game: Supers!, revised edition. Character building is as simple as spreading 20 "dice" around various stats and dreaming up what super powers you want. Game play is creative, but "narrative control" is mostly limited to describing how you use your powers to attack or defend. You can get pretty creative with that, like defending against a gun attack with your Composure - basically, staring down the bad guy, and unnerving him so much that he misses you with his attack - or using Super Speed to body-slam someone, who could use Super Strength to resist you, or maybe use the ability to phase out of existence to not be there. Of course you could simply try to dodge the charge, or resist an attack with your innate toughness. The reason you have so many options is that once you use a single source of power in a round, you can't use it again. So if you blow your Elemental/Fire control making a shield, you can't then turn around and fire-blast someone in the same round. Lots of fun choices to make!
I received the print-on-demand book from RPGNow yesterday. My daughter asked me what it was, and immediately told me what sort of superhero she would play.
Apparently, she'd already been thinking about what sort of superhero she would play in an RPG, because kids do that sort of thing.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Traveller Character Damage - Pulp vs. Beaten to a Pulp
One of the reasons my home group has given for not wanting to play Traveller is that it's not very "heroic". People can (and do) die easily, and aside from getting better equipment and ships, there's no character advancement to speak of. (Not technically true of course, but "leveling up" is not as exciting an event as it is in D20 games.)
So that got me thinking. Sure, I could switch to "Stars Without Number" (a very well done fusion of D&D and Traveller concepts), but if I were to keep good ol' Traveller as the basis, how could I make personal combat less punishing for the characters without requiring them to always use their Battledress and Plasma Rifles?
Well, one way is to adjust how damage and healing are handled.
In the versions of Traveller I like the best (Classic and Mongoose), damage comes straight off the 3 physical stats. I like this convention because it means as you get hurt, you lose capability. But in both versions, healing is more "realistic", in that it takes days or weeks to recover from wounds. That's SO not Pulp...
Inspired by later edition D&D's handling of damage, I've come up with an alternative, synthesizing CT, MgT and to a very lesser extent, D&D 4+. It's not that different from the stock system(s), but hopefully will be different enough to "pulp" things up a bit.
(Aside: I had a more comprehensive system laid out, but after writing an "or you could just do it this way..." section, I decided I like that way more, so it's the only one I've presented here. Also, CT's standard system is pretty forgiving if you don't actually "bottom out" a stat, so maybe this is just an MgT thing....)
ASSUMPTIONS
RULES
So that got me thinking. Sure, I could switch to "Stars Without Number" (a very well done fusion of D&D and Traveller concepts), but if I were to keep good ol' Traveller as the basis, how could I make personal combat less punishing for the characters without requiring them to always use their Battledress and Plasma Rifles?
Well, one way is to adjust how damage and healing are handled.
In the versions of Traveller I like the best (Classic and Mongoose), damage comes straight off the 3 physical stats. I like this convention because it means as you get hurt, you lose capability. But in both versions, healing is more "realistic", in that it takes days or weeks to recover from wounds. That's SO not Pulp...
Inspired by later edition D&D's handling of damage, I've come up with an alternative, synthesizing CT, MgT and to a very lesser extent, D&D 4+. It's not that different from the stock system(s), but hopefully will be different enough to "pulp" things up a bit.
(Aside: I had a more comprehensive system laid out, but after writing an "or you could just do it this way..." section, I decided I like that way more, so it's the only one I've presented here. Also, CT's standard system is pretty forgiving if you don't actually "bottom out" a stat, so maybe this is just an MgT thing....)
ASSUMPTIONS
- In combat, Endurance represents how "tough" you are, and acts as a buffer against "hard" damage.
- Strength and Dexterity damage is real "broken bone, deep cut" damage, and actually requires healing.
- Instant healing Medkits are available, and fill a role similar but not identical to "Health Potions" in fantasy games.
- Resuscitation of recently dead characters is possible, given prompt attention and/or sufficient medical technology.
RULES
- Damage is applied to Endurance first.
OPTIONAL: reducing Endurance to zero with the first shot will knock the character unconscious. (The "first blood rule" - I generally only use this for NPCs.) - Once Endurance is Zeroed, other damage must go to Strength or Dexterity, player's choice. Apply the WHOLE damage to that stat, and spill any extra on to the remaining stat.
- Strength and Dexterity don't start taking damage until Endurance is ZERO.
- Zero out Strength OR Dexterity, and you're unconscious
- Zero out BOTH, and you're dead
- Endurance restores after a "short rest" (1 hour), or by using a Medpack as a standard action.
- First Aid is assumed to happen during the "short rest".
If it can't for some reason, then Endurance only recovers 1/2, and must heal like other stats. - Once Endurance is restored, other Stats may heal, though never past their initial values:
- 1d6+END points per Medpack used.
- 1+END point per day for light duty, 2 for "bed rest".
- A doctor can use Medic to assist this recovery
- OPTIONAL: if you use more than 1 Medpack per hour, you'll suffer 1D damage from overdose. This damage goes straight to Strength or Dexterity, player's choice. It might be worth it, if Endurance is higher than the number rolled, but it's clearly a risk.
- Recently (within 5 min) killed characters can sometimes be resuscitated:
- A character who has taken total damage beyond twice the sum of all three physical stats cannot be resuscitated. (For an average 777 character, that's 42 points to "vaporize" from healthy. Though it's only 21 points to "mangle the body beyond recovery" from dead.)
- A Resusci-pack (Cr100,000) will bring a character back to 1 in all stats.
- A Difficult Medical/DEX check can work, but each failure adds MoF to the next attempt to resuscitate.
- Some military armors are equipped with automatic medical drug systems. Assuming the armor's supply of medicine is available, the automatic systems will apply the drug any time the character's Endurance hits zero. However, this will happen AFTER the rest of the damage has been distributed, and will not happen if there is a possibility that drug overdose could kill the character. (No stat left is greater than 6.)
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Jerrick the Psion(Kineticist)
Another in my pathfinder character series, this one is a sample Psion I built using Dreamscarred Press' "Ultimate Psionics" for Pathfinder. Like the others, he's pretty stereotypical - he uses his telekinetic powers to essentially be a Rogue character. As he levels up, he may eventually take some Rogue levels, but for now he's focusing on the Psion track. UP Psions don't start to get interesting until 2nd or 3rd level.
It's worth noting that it doesn't look like Psions share Wizards' difficulty wearing armor, so if Jerrick can score some armor proficiency or wear something like Cloth that doesn't carry a nonproficiency penalty, that might work to his advantage. But since he has the equivalent of Psion mage armor, he'll probably be ok. Especially since he has a feat that lets him juice up his weapons with +1 energy, and +2d6 if he expends psionic focus during the attack. Ouch!
Jerrick
Male Human (Chelaxian) Psion 1
CG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses alertness; Perception +3
Defense
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
hp 6 (1d6)
Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +2
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee dagger +2 (1d4+2/19-20) and
quarterstaff +2 (1d6+3)
Ranged light crossbow +2 (1d8/19-20)
Psion Powers Known (power points 3, ML 1st; concentration +4):
1st—control object, energy ray, inertial armor
0 (at will)—crystal light (DC 13), detect psionics, far hand, telekinetic punch (DC 13)
Statistics
Str 14, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 14
Base Atk +0; CMB +2; CMD 14
Feats Body Fuel, Psicrystal Affinity, Psion Weapon Proficiencies, Psionic Weapon
Skills Autohypnosis +4, Disable Device +6, Perception +3, Sense Motive +2, Sleight of Hand +3, Spellcraft +7, Stealth +3, Use Magic Device +3
Languages Common, Dwarven, Elven, Goblin
SQ disciplines (psychokinesis [kineticist]), share powers, talents, telepathic link
Other Gear crossbow bolts (20), dagger, light crossbow, quarterstaff, ale (per gallon), backpack, belt pouch, belt pouch, chalk (5), flint and steel, thieves' tools, trail rations (5), waterskin, psicrystal, 74 gp, 2 sp, 9 cp
TRACKED RESOURCES
Control Object - 0/0
Crossbow bolts - 0/20
Crystal Light - 0/0
Dagger - 0/1
Detect Psionics - 0/0
Energy Ray - 0/0
Far Hand - 0/0
Inertial Armor - 0/0
Telekinetic Punch - 0/0
Trail rations - 0/5
Special Abilities
Alertness (Ex) While a psicrystal is within arm's reach, its owner gains the Alertness feat.
Body Fuel You can expand your powerpoint total at the expense of your health.
Psicrystal Affinity You have created a psicrystal
Psionic Weapon You can charge your melee weapon with additional damage potential.
Psychokinesis (Kineticist) Psions who specialize in psychokinesis are known as kineticists. They are the masters of powers that manipulate and transform matter and energy. Kineticists can attack with devastating blasts of energy. Unlike other psions, when a kineticist select
Share Powers (Su) Have any power you manifests on yourself also affect your psicrystal.
Talents You may learn 3 "talents" (level 0 powers) as well as detect psionics.
Telepathic Link (Su) The owner has a telepathic link with his psicrystal out to a distance of up to 1 mile.
At first glance, Jerrick would appear to be just another handsome Chelaxian rogue - his close-cropped beard, quick wit, and fondness for other people's money make him an affable but untrustworthy friend.
But Jerrick is a Kineticist, and devotes much of his effort to the study of mind over matter. He has learned the abilities to manipulate things at a distance, as well as manifest raw energy of different elemental types to wield against enemies, and to wrap around himself for protection.
He has constructed a Psicrystal companion, which he only refers to as his "little buddy." Jerrick often seems to be at odds with his psicrystal though, because the crystal is attuned to his latent (and well hidden) sense of heroism, and exhorts Jerrick to heroic deeds that seem at odds with his roguish persona.
It's worth noting that it doesn't look like Psions share Wizards' difficulty wearing armor, so if Jerrick can score some armor proficiency or wear something like Cloth that doesn't carry a nonproficiency penalty, that might work to his advantage. But since he has the equivalent of Psion mage armor, he'll probably be ok. Especially since he has a feat that lets him juice up his weapons with +1 energy, and +2d6 if he expends psionic focus during the attack. Ouch!
Jerrick
Male Human (Chelaxian) Psion 1
CG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses alertness; Perception +3
Defense
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
hp 6 (1d6)
Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +2
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee dagger +2 (1d4+2/19-20) and
quarterstaff +2 (1d6+3)
Ranged light crossbow +2 (1d8/19-20)
Psion Powers Known (power points 3, ML 1st; concentration +4):
1st—control object, energy ray, inertial armor
0 (at will)—crystal light (DC 13), detect psionics, far hand, telekinetic punch (DC 13)
Statistics
Str 14, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 14
Base Atk +0; CMB +2; CMD 14
Feats Body Fuel, Psicrystal Affinity, Psion Weapon Proficiencies, Psionic Weapon
Skills Autohypnosis +4, Disable Device +6, Perception +3, Sense Motive +2, Sleight of Hand +3, Spellcraft +7, Stealth +3, Use Magic Device +3
Languages Common, Dwarven, Elven, Goblin
SQ disciplines (psychokinesis [kineticist]), share powers, talents, telepathic link
Other Gear crossbow bolts (20), dagger, light crossbow, quarterstaff, ale (per gallon), backpack, belt pouch, belt pouch, chalk (5), flint and steel, thieves' tools, trail rations (5), waterskin, psicrystal, 74 gp, 2 sp, 9 cp
TRACKED RESOURCES
Control Object - 0/0
Crossbow bolts - 0/20
Crystal Light - 0/0
Dagger - 0/1
Detect Psionics - 0/0
Energy Ray - 0/0
Far Hand - 0/0
Inertial Armor - 0/0
Telekinetic Punch - 0/0
Trail rations - 0/5
Special Abilities
Alertness (Ex) While a psicrystal is within arm's reach, its owner gains the Alertness feat.
Body Fuel You can expand your powerpoint total at the expense of your health.
Psicrystal Affinity You have created a psicrystal
Psionic Weapon You can charge your melee weapon with additional damage potential.
Psychokinesis (Kineticist) Psions who specialize in psychokinesis are known as kineticists. They are the masters of powers that manipulate and transform matter and energy. Kineticists can attack with devastating blasts of energy. Unlike other psions, when a kineticist select
Share Powers (Su) Have any power you manifests on yourself also affect your psicrystal.
Talents You may learn 3 "talents" (level 0 powers) as well as detect psionics.
Telepathic Link (Su) The owner has a telepathic link with his psicrystal out to a distance of up to 1 mile.
At first glance, Jerrick would appear to be just another handsome Chelaxian rogue - his close-cropped beard, quick wit, and fondness for other people's money make him an affable but untrustworthy friend.
But Jerrick is a Kineticist, and devotes much of his effort to the study of mind over matter. He has learned the abilities to manipulate things at a distance, as well as manifest raw energy of different elemental types to wield against enemies, and to wrap around himself for protection.
He has constructed a Psicrystal companion, which he only refers to as his "little buddy." Jerrick often seems to be at odds with his psicrystal though, because the crystal is attuned to his latent (and well hidden) sense of heroism, and exhorts Jerrick to heroic deeds that seem at odds with his roguish persona.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Twilight's Peak and Traveller Tuesdays
Well, my Traveller Tuesdays group has failed to precipitate from Jump Space, and must be declared lost.
But I've been able to gin up some support for a different Traveller game, this time based around "Legend of the Sky Raiders". (The last one was a sandbox campaign loosely based on "Twilight's Peak", but running wit Mongoose Traveller rules.)
I'd be going back to Classic Traveller, with which I had some success running "Death Station" a while back.
I'll keep "Rule 68A" as a tool for general task throws, but run everything else "by the book". But I won't forget to use the "draw!" rules this time. The fact that CT has what amounts to a combat's initiative system mentioned as almost an afterthought does make one scratch one's head.
But I've been able to gin up some support for a different Traveller game, this time based around "Legend of the Sky Raiders". (The last one was a sandbox campaign loosely based on "Twilight's Peak", but running wit Mongoose Traveller rules.)
I'd be going back to Classic Traveller, with which I had some success running "Death Station" a while back.
I'll keep "Rule 68A" as a tool for general task throws, but run everything else "by the book". But I won't forget to use the "draw!" rules this time. The fact that CT has what amounts to a combat's initiative system mentioned as almost an afterthought does make one scratch one's head.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
OSR Creature/Encounter Specs
In this post, Wayne Rossi proposes the idea that OSR modules should adopt a relatively standard stat line for creatures, based on a synthesis of the best parts of the existing corpus of adventures. I won't reblog his full proposal, but in essence, he would have creatures (taken from his original post) listed in an encounter as:
Wayne also proposes an INT listing, which I wholeheartedly endorse. I'd like to see a switch to modern dice notation also (so 2-12 becomes 2d6, for example), but I digress.
The ML stat gives me an idea for one additional stat that would not be part of the raw creature description, but would be part of the stat block for the encounter:
MO (Motive) - one of "Guard", "Defend", "Explore", "Rest"
Orcs (4) - AC 6, MV 90', Dx 8, HD 1, hp 5,4,3,2, #AT 1, D 1-6, Save F1, ML 8
Black Widow Spider (1) - AC 6, MV 60' (in web 120'), Dx 15, HD 3*, hp 13, #AT 1, D 2-12, SA poison, Save F2, ML 8This should be pretty self-explanatory and familiar to anyone who has played a pre-3e version of D&D with the exception of Dx (dexterity, useful for breaking ties in initiative, retrofitting "touch AC" or other purposes) and "ML", or Morale Level, which only exists in some variants of OSR D&D. The idea is, throw 2d6 for ML or less to stay in the fight. An ML 7 has an average chance to stick around, whereas an ML 12 will fight to the death.
Wayne also proposes an INT listing, which I wholeheartedly endorse. I'd like to see a switch to modern dice notation also (so 2-12 becomes 2d6, for example), but I digress.
The ML stat gives me an idea for one additional stat that would not be part of the raw creature description, but would be part of the stat block for the encounter:
MO (Motive) - one of "Guard", "Defend", "Explore", "Rest"
Guard - The creature(s) are screening access to some nearby location.
Tactics - Stand and fight. Send one creature to warn the location if the players are winning.
Tactics - Stand and fight. Send one creature to warn the location if the players are winning.
Defend - The creature(s) are inside of a camp of some sort
Tactics - The creatures will not intentionally abandon their camp.
Tactics - The creatures will not intentionally abandon their camp.
Explore - The creature(s) are investigating the location
Tactics - Fight until 1/2 are wounded or killed, then attempt to disengage
Tactics - Fight until 1/2 are wounded or killed, then attempt to disengage
Rest - The creature(s) have set up camp and are unprepared to fight
Tactics - Will count as surprised for 1-3 rounds, then will Defend.
In all motives, a morale failure will result in the creatures fleeing as usual.
Tactics - Will count as surprised for 1-3 rounds, then will Defend.
In all motives, a morale failure will result in the creatures fleeing as usual.
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