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Yeah, that's a lot of GURPS books that don't exist - GURPS Car Wars, GURPS Vehicles 2, GURPS Pokemon...
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Apr 2, 2015 12:33
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Please stop quoting Plutonis, it makes putting him on ignore here pointless. 
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Apr 3, 2015 16:43
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Lynx Winters posted:GURPS is fine mechanically if you want a detailed and crunchy ruleset, but good lord it's got issues with presentation. For a game as scalable as it is, it does a piss-poor job of actually showing how to raise or lower the complexity for your game. Also, statting NPCs the same as PCs needs to loving go, and even at its simplest you still have to do it a little. I used to be a huge GURPS 3e fan back in the day, but 4e... wasn't as progressive as I hoped even at the time, and boy, is it written for preexisting GURPS fans and nobody else. When I got around to play it, I was pissed off at how they just muddled every genre and power level of trait into a single alphabetical list, and trying to parse it all for the first time to just find the elements I needed was a big headache. And I'm saying that has somebody who used GURPS Vehicles in games unironically. I think GURPS is very important historically but just never kept up with gaming state-of-the-art. There are some things it can do pretty well - low fantasy and historical, chiefly - but it has still has a lot of core issues, mainly stemming from a point system that never has actually functioned properly to a heavy push on simulationism that pervades the system (skills being more expensive depnding on how "hard" they are to learn, all those optional combat rules, etc.) and bogs it down. Even simplified, it tends to be really deadly for a game where making a character can take an hour. It's a fine game line but the core system has always been increasing layers of patchwork that was never really unwoven and rebuilt into something coherent and elegant as time went on.
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Apr 5, 2015 04:05
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Really looking forward to finally seeing a proper treatment of asparagus in RPGs, at least.
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Apr 5, 2015 04:25
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One of the weird effects of something like the 3d6 in GURPS is that though it's a system created with total awareness of the curve, the point costs don't really take it into account per se, trait costs go up as the additions to your chances of success from a trait go down; buying high stats is basically just to counteract penalties (and to cheapen skills), of course, which the system serves up pretty liberally. The math is pretty wonky at times - when you realize you spent 45 points getting to succeed on a 14 or less, and then have to spend another 35 points to get to 16 or less... but what does that 35 points buy? An extra 4% margin of success, because of the curve. That's an oversimplification - things often work out differently in the system - but it's a good demonstration of how strangely it can function at times.
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Apr 5, 2015 09:13
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Android Blues posted:In general though, all these factors combine to create a system where having an exceptionally high skill confers upon you some advantages (like the ability to more easily lop off limbs or hit a target in the dark), but doesn't make you exorbitantly better than a character with a modest investment in that skill. In general, though, increasing skills to the 4 points / level step is generally cost inefficient; the fact that two attributes govern the majority of its massive skill list means you don't want to be worrying too much about cranking a specific skill up too high unless it's really necessary (as with spellcasters, who often rely on the knock-on effects of high skill). And yes, the general intent of the rising costs is to punish specialization, but at the same time it presents issues when trying to adapt the system to certain genres. I'm reminded of GURPS Special Ops, where being a specialist in multiple fields boiled down to being a 200-400 character, in a system where you could have massive powers of the mind that invalidated 90% of that at well under 200 points. Of course, that also came down to modern games charging the same amount as fantasy games did for Strength and Health, despite the fact that those attributes have far less impact in modern games. It definitely has its advantage in that discourages massive exceptionalism (for the sorts of games that works well for, like the aforementioned historical games), but it weights the game towards particular genres and conceits rather than being a cost based on utility, which would serve a generic system better.
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Apr 5, 2015 18:05
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Android Blues posted:Isn't Special Ops a 3rd Edition supplement? We might actually be chatting about different systems here. It was, but the essential issues that led to Special Ops and Black Ops sorts of characters being bloated stat-hogs didn't really change over editions, as far as I know (probably worse, since a lot of the original builds for those sorts of characters relied on 1/2 point skill buys). But it could be that a 4th edition fan could prove me wrong.
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Apr 6, 2015 01:32
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Android Blues posted:You don't tend to have the CP in 4e to pump your DX and IQ particularly high without really hurting the breadth of your skillset - they cost 20 per point, twice as much as ST and HT. Ah, yeah, that is a lot better. I had completely forgotten that; it's what I get for having played in a 4e campaign only once, and briefly at that. My mistake! thelazyblank posted:Depending on how much you like the base ideas of Cortex+, it's got a lot of good info on how to make Cortex+ work for you. Has there ever been an odds calculator for Cortex? One of the things that really bugged me about it is that it tends to realllly obscure the dice odds of a given action. It's not always clear what adding a d8 or bumping up a die size is likely to do or splitting a die is likely to actually do in terms of a numerical increase.
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Apr 6, 2015 05:14
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Ferrinus posted:Sadly I can't talk detail about how mechanics work, or give any specific examples. I can only do is dance like a little birdie around the issues. Ooo! Ooo! I can. Wait. who cares Ryoshi posted:Someone give me some context for this so I know if I should be laughing or afraid for Fenris's sanity. Yes.
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Apr 7, 2015 04:18
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TheLovablePlutonis posted:emotional maturity Hm. I'm sorry, I'm going to have go lie down for a bit, I've got to come to terms with this level of irony.
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Apr 7, 2015 04:41
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Libertad! posted:About 10 to 12 years ago this card shop I frequented hosted Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments. All of the players were children, except for this one grown-rear end man who just bought a poo poo-load of cards with cash only an adult with a disposable income could drop; naturally this gave him an advantage. My parents weren't very fond of the guy, partly because the idea of an adult competing against children was kind of pathetic, and because it's kind of creepy. Well, it's important as a manchild to sit across from a real child and beat them at a children's game, because gently caress knows you couldn't beat them at their age, it's time to catch that trailer up
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Apr 8, 2015 02:23
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General Ironicus posted:Add another to the pile: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1936776919/anime-rpg I like the fact it's the "Anime RPG", but if you sit through that terrible video of clip art there is, uh, not one image evocative of Japaneseyness, any discussion of anime, or really anything that makes it an "anime" rpg other than the logo, I guess. That terrible logo. Oh, and it takes place at a school, I guess? Nevermind, that's anime enough. 
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Apr 9, 2015 03:53
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DalaranJ posted:The best part about this news is that the new system will either be a good fit for Rifts and the game will be hilarious, or it will be a bad fit for Rifts and the game will be hilarious. I'm gonna spoil it and say I presume - if this comes to completion, which is a big "if" - it'll be a crossover with the Breachworld RPG. Siembieda already came out supporting it, it's by a Palladium author, and I can't see Kev doing something like this outside of the Palladium social circle. In addition, I can't imagine any major RPG companies willing to cooperate with Palladium, especially with the ongoing debacle that is Robotech RPG Tactics. Of course, Siembieda still says they're going to release six Rifts books and change this year, run their convention, complete their kickstarter, license Nightbane and Rifts to outside companies, and-  "Rifts®: The Adventures of Young Erin Tarn™"It just seems to me like he's sitting down for heaping bowl of toe-and-sock salad once again.
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Apr 21, 2015 05:16
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Len posted:Oh? What's going on with this? The only thing I've heard about it is that it's "really cool looking" from a guy I know whose blog has gone from actual articles about games to sales pitches in order to get free stuff. Well, where to start? To be up front, the main part of the game is out and is playable (albeit with notable errata), and AFAIK is out to all backers. That being said...
I'm sure there's other stuff, but that's what comes to mind immediately.
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Apr 21, 2015 14:50
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Plague of Hats posted:Sean Patrick Fannon, a Savage Worlds author, has dropped some pretty heavy hints about the non-Palladium Rifts thing. That sounds plausible enough, if hilarious. It'd be quite the punchline it it's true.
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Apr 21, 2015 15:31
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LORD OF BUTT posted:Also, is there a 5e-bomb of sorts? I'm trying to dig up all the reasons why 5e is terrible for a friend but can't find anything off the forums. He wants to introduce a kid to elfgames with 5e and I'm trying to explain to him that the kid is just going to run screaming in the other direction. To be blunt, I wouldn't sweat it so much. It's not that 5e is bad (or at least no more or less than most of the bastards in the D&D brood), just that it's pointedly average. But I'm not sure you need to sweat that so much when running for kids. I feel sometimes like RPG fora are like that stereotype of wine tasters ("mmm... this feat list is a little bland... Do I detect a hint if 1994 Shadowrun?") over a lot of stuff that is no big fuss to casual players.
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Apr 21, 2015 21:09
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Back when I played Masquerade as a long-time Malk primogen, Eyes of Chaos actually ended up being a key political tool, since we used it to catalog most of the derangements and beast traits held by PCs in the game. It also had the advantage of bypassing generational limits (IIRC), unlike Dominate. It's also a "soft sell" compared to Dominate - people are less likely to resist it and less likely to take umbrage. Dominate is often seen as an act of mental violence, where Dementation is more often just seen as hijinks. And the unwritten cultural advantage of Malks is very real and was a factor in almost any game I played. MET's social dynamic is more important than min-maxing. That's not to say stats aren't important, but relationships are the the real key to power in most such games.
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Apr 21, 2015 23:12
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RocknRollaAyatollah posted:The problem with MET is that while that is true, it eventually comes to a point where you unfortunately have to fight. This was even more true in Camarilla and other organization games. This is true, but there's a lot of ways around it, too. I'm reminded of my Catiff who never got in fights by constantly challenging people to fights at the slightest sign of resistance. People assumed I could back up my threats. I could not. Ultimately, though, the most important part of a MET game is to have a friend on staff who will let you inflict your broken, ridiculous 6th generation* self-insertion on all those poor saps who have never bought the Storyteller a pack of smokes. * I mean, 5th generation would be ridiculous, amirite? Jimbozig posted:The Ennies, like any fan award, are mostly pointless. The winners are terrible as often as they are great. But at least there are no loving sad puppies (please tell me there are no sad puppies here). I can describe myself as an "Ennie award-winning author", no joke. This is either a sign of their amazing insight or their complete irrelevance.
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Apr 22, 2015 03:02
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Also, with the Savage Worlds Rifts news (that I will remain skeptical of for the moment), it's worth mentioning that like its namesake, The Palladium Megaverse Gigathread sputters on and has yet to die. It may be time soon to seriously update that OP. If you have any interest in what it's like to work there, Croatian Alzheimer's posts from the first page of that thread are great reading. Note to Ettin: if you can / could / would add "™ " to the end of the thread name, I just realized the thread requires it.
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Apr 22, 2015 08:50
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Fantasy Craft had a setting called Epoch where you played a fantasy version of South American natives struggling against a Aztec Empire empowered by black magic, it was probably the most interesting of the mini-settings they did in Adventure Companion.
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Apr 25, 2015 22:15
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Covok posted:That sounds pretty rad, honestly. Was it tastefully done? It's always hard to say when it's all converted to pure fantasy, with nothing deeply based on real cultures. It could definitely be criticized for leaning on the idea of the noble savage archetype, where people were fractious but basically good and repected nature nature until the newer civilization came along and hosed things up, and relies on some cultural mish-mash like counting coup. On the other hand, it goes all the goddamn way with it, where the invaders build cities with bone towers, summon demons, and use corrupting magic. I don't feel like I'm in a great place to say exactly how sensitive it is but I can definitely see some eye-rolling going on. On the the other hand, I do like the idea of struggling against a foe that's both technologically and magically superior, which isn't something you see in most RPG fantasy settings (Dark Sun is about the only one that comes to mind).
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Apr 25, 2015 22:44
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Bucnasti posted:My all time favorite miss-use of steampunk was in a review for a video game I read a few years back. It was a cyberpunk mecha rail shooter and the reviewer said something like, "The aesthetics are like steampunk, but more futuristic, lots of wires and neon, I call it 'electricpunk' " Meanwhile, back in 2012... Alien Rope Burn posted:I prefer my new genre, called "Sparkpunk", where everything runs on the fanciful, wondrous technology of alternating and direct current, which is even more gritty and feasible because it is real.
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Apr 26, 2015 08:15
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Fuego Fish posted:That's not how it works. You introduce him to Improved your post, no thanks necessary. If you ever want to just collapse and foam at the mouth, just pick up a copy of 3G Guns! Guns! Guns!, which starts out like: 3G Guns! Guns! Guns! posted:The next thing you need to do is figure out the Damage Value of your weapon. To do this, you need the TL, propellant energy, action type and diameter of the projectile. It is extremely important to remember the difference between propellant energy and muzzle energy. One is the raw energy of the propellant, and the other is the amount actually imparted to the projectile. The difference can be significant, so when the term energy is used, note which kind is mentioned. You can calculate Damage Value by using the following formula: 
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Apr 27, 2015 03:19
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Mormon Star Wars posted:Someone should start one now that we are getting SAVAGE WORLDS: RIFTS. I wouldn't count any eggs Siembieda crows about until they hatch.
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Apr 28, 2015 04:40
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