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In 2000 AD, the world ended. Fifteen years later, things get worse. COMING THIS SUMMER: DEPRESSED TEENAGERS IN ROBOTS It's an Evangelion game, run in Atomic Robo and set in the ruins of Boston. Those other guys in Japan? We don't care about them. Nothing exciting happens to Tokyo-3 this time. This one's set around NERV 1st Branch.  Boston got wrecked by Second Impact, of course. But the city's intellectual capital and cultural influence were too much to just discard in aftermath of Second Impact. And besides, now that the city's flooded, there's plenty of additional port space! Well, you take it where you can get it sometimes. NERV 1st Branch was established with what was left of MIT, BU, and the parts of Harvard that were still too poor to pick up and escape the city's drowning. Along with the experimental MAGI-04, this means that First Branch is the research hub of NERV, pushing the cutting edge of mankind's understanding of the recent apocalypse into places they probably shouldn't go. With the rising of the seas following Antarctica's big melt, the old downtown core is deep beneath the waves - wags making jokes about Watertown tend to have a bad time of things in the city. First Branch is under the sea, too, as for once in its existence, the Big Dig infrastructure proved useful. The Bunker Hill Bridge ferry terminal is First Branch's primary point of contact with the outside world, and the primary launch site for its EVA units. Much of the city has relocated to the shores of old I-95. The port is booming these days, drawing surface traffic and running cargo airships out of the old skyscrapers. The Sox haven't won a series in fifteen years, but with the harsher winters these days, the Bruins are doing well. Being from New York continues to be a capital offense. - Because I refuse to let Ettin retain the title of biggest anime, it's an Eva game! You could make a sad teenager who pilots a giant robot that may or may not be the inhuman fusion of a giant alien and a Freudian abstraction, or you could be a sad adult who has to watch over the pilots and deal with your own emotional wreckage. You can't be the Branch director, but beyond that, I'm open to suggestions. Ask any questions that come to mind. I would also like all applicants to come up with one thing their character believes to be true about EVAs, NERV, Angels, or the city of Boston. Apps close next Monday the 18th at 12:01 AM, EST. That's GMT-5 for you foreign types. ADDENDA Clarification: You can't be the Branch's head. You can be Ops Director, Head of Research, whatever. Just make sure you can compete with a bunch of insane teenagers piloting building-sized robots. Stress: As written, Atomic Robo's stress rules are dumb. You get seven boxes to divide between Mental and Physical stress tracks. Ignore the rest of it. Want to pilot an EVA? Read this post! grassy gnoll fucked around with this message at 22:06 on May 13, 2015 |
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May 12, 2015 08:04
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Bendigeidfran posted:Postin' interest. Gonna make a support pilot that's shot down every episode and gets shown up by a buncha' stupid kids. I'm not sayin' you can't do this thing, but just be sure the character you draft will have the dramatic and mechanical gravity to compete with a bunch of insane teenagers in twenty-story tall robots. Unknown Quantity posted:Never watched Evangelion but I'm interested so sure. Will post a sheet later assuming show knowledge isn't mandatory for joining. Exact knowledge of the show is definitely not required, 'cause this is going to be a different set of characters and plots. Having some background probably isn't a bad idea, though, just so you know what you're getting into and what the setting's like. The wiki synopsis is a good primer, and if anything in particular strikes you as one of those "I wanna know more" things, the Evageeks wiki is full of exhaustive nerds poring over canon and apocrypha alike. Take what it says with a grain of salt, but it'll give you a general idea of what's what. Also, full of spoilers, if that's a concern. Epi Lepi posted:I love Eva but I don't know this system so I'll try to do some research before recruitment ends. Any handy resources for newbies to this system or links to buy a pdf? You can get a PDF here or a hard copy here or at your local game shop. It's a pretty simple system - if you can count between negative 4 and positive 4, you can play FATE-based games. The big thing that trips up new folks, and I'm glad you reminded me about this, is the way stress is calculated. Ignore what it tells you in the book, because it's inexplicably badly written. You get seven stress boxes to divvy up between Mental and Physical Stress. I'll put this in the OP.
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May 12, 2015 17:53
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The Deleter posted:Before I get into my concept, how feasible is it to make a character that's actually, like, a squad of dudes? Basically, they're the dudes who protect civilians and fight whatever horrible parasites that drop off the Anegls this time, and generally clean up after the dumb kids in the EVAs when they make a mess. There'd be a face character that does most of the work but there'd be mechanics or stunts to model having a squad. The Squad-Based Action section in the Fate Core rules isn't quite what I'm looking for - I'm more thinking the Buddy from Strike or something. Is this too much? It's not automatically a bad idea, but my first impulse is that the squad stuff is probably more the tool of the Ops Director than an independent character. My concern with having someone that far into the B-cast, and this applies to Bendigeidfran's pitch too, is that I don't want to fragment the party too much. If this were a face-to-face game, it wouldn't be that big of a deal to put everyone else on hold. But with PbP, I'm concerned that a huge level of disconnect between the Eva pilots and The Other Guys could basically lead to two different games being run in the same thread, with plot and posting times diverging in ever-increasing amounts as time goes on. So, if your heart's really set on it, go for it. It's definitely a cool concept, but I'll be leaning on you extra hard to keep posting and to stay with the pace of the rest of the game.
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May 12, 2015 23:09
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Like I say in the OP, Gendo is no go, but blotto Misato you got to. I couldn't think of anything good after the no go bit.
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May 13, 2015 04:57
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Off the cuff, that is a thing in Eva already. Spoilers, I guess? At least one if not all of the MAGI supercomputers are running multiple forks of the designer's mind, who, y'know, did the murder-suicide-"suicide" thing before the machines were completed. 'course, this means if you're in it for niche protection, that makes you the second digital ghost hanging around NERV. Hard to say in regards to the general idea. Eva's definitely more on the scientific mysticism side, versus hard SF or space opera. You're talking about a show where there's a metricized readout of the human soul. On the flip side, there's hyperscience poo poo all over the place, like the theoretical physics concept swallowing Shinji whole. In more practical terms, I'm a little wary from just what you've mentioned, although I may be reading past you. I'm a little hesitant to recommend a PC type that's potentially without a body - having something immediate and squishy to threaten is kind of a valuable asset in action storytelling. Also, potential Other Guys problems - what's your character doing while the pilots are going to school or whatever and there aren't Angels attacking? TLDR: could work, interesting idea, maybe needs some refinement from both of us.
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May 13, 2015 21:45
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 EVA PILOTS PAY ATTENTION TO THISI've been asked, and it can't hurt to put this in writing. Your EVA unit will be a hardware megastunt, with some additional handwaving to deal with scale. Now, you can take one of two options. One, you can design your own stunt package and pay for it out of your normal budget. That way you get to pick and customize your own EVA. Option two, I build you an equivalent stunt package, which may or may not have features you want, and may or may not have downsides. It will, however, cost you nothing.
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May 13, 2015 22:05
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Len posted:When I get home tomorrow I plan to attempt to make a character that would be one of the guys sitting at a computer terminal doing missiony stuff like deploying the giant skyscraper sized rifles or rattling off numbers that mean nothing. Is that an option as a role? That one's gonna be a stretch. What would you be doing when you're not shouting technobabble? I'd suggest more like a chief engineer or an ops director. Remember, you guys are the stars of the show! You can be big, important folks! Ettin posted:The gently caress you say 
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May 14, 2015 01:11
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Davin Valkri posted:Right, right, I was thinking that he'd have a body. He'd be too freaked out existing as data for NERV to handle, so they'd download him into a spare body they had that'd been aged up a decade or so, something like that. There'd still be a body to target and he'd still be trying to live a normal life--maybe he'd take a job at the school or something?--he'd just approach the existential horror angle of NGE from a differnt perspective. Less SHODAN, more Motoko Kusanagi...ish. You've got my interest, at least. Let's take a look at what you've got. Comrade Gorbash posted:Would it be possible to put aside a stunt for the Eva but not build the whole thing? Basically, to ensure one specific ability even if the rest is up for grabs? Yeah, that seems reasonable, depending on the particulars of the stunt. What did you have in mind?
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May 14, 2015 21:18
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Just about six hours until close. If you're still thinking, now's the time to hustle. So far, we have: The Deleter's Franklin Wilson, the Haley Joel Osmet of the Eva world. zachol's Jenny Laboe, bio teacher-cum-shrink. Unknown Quantity's Sable Halcyon, who despite all her rage is still just a rat in a cage. Waffleman's Dylan James, delinquent with correct opinions of New York City. bahamut's Hannah Asagiri, who can be replaced. Bendigeidfran's Srinidhi Rivers-Narayan, a refugee from the Blue Stripe pages. Takanago's Andrew Carter,  ARB's Taylor twins, that prove two heads are more hosed up than one. Comrade Gorbash's Teresa Mai Kurita-Steiner, who thinks you're disgusting.
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May 17, 2015 23:10
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Picks! Pilots Franklin Wilson, played by The Deleter, piloting EVA-01 Pax and Noah Taylor, played by ARB, piloting EVA-02-d Dylan James,, played by Waffleman, piloting EVA-03 Rabbah Iowa, played by K Prime, piloting EVA-04 Hannah Asagiri, played by bahamut, piloting EVA-06 Support Staff Dr. Jenny Laboe, zachol, in charge of brains and grades It was, fortunately and unfortunately, difficult to choose. It breaks my heart not to include some of these characters, for real and for true. But! In the event someone drops, after I'm done declaring them damnatio memoraie, those who've apped and not been chosen now will be given priority for replacement duty. Game thread will be up some time tomorrow, as it is very late here and I am quite tired. In the meantime, questions. All Pilots Tell me about your living arrangements. As this is the land of freedom, NERV's pretty open to options for your living space. Space is provided in the pilots' barracks, but it's spartan accommodation, to put it mildly. Some of you still have living relatives! Perhaps you're with them? Or maybe you've made other arrangements. You've still got to be close to HQ in the event you're needed, so keep that in mind. Franklin, what's the worst treatment you've ever gotten from a fan? Rabbah, the tactical commander at NERV-1 is a civilian given command authority as part of the UN Emergency Powers protocol. How's that treating you? Dylan, you been staying out of trouble lately? They've got their eye on you, you know. Pax, would you care to explain yourself? Bahamut, how aware is Hannah of what's been happening? Noah, there's a girl in your class that reminds you of your sister. No, not her - Rachel. Pax doesn't see it. Why do you think that is? Dr. Laboe, you're an old friend of the colonel's. How did you come to know Dr. Marcus Jagr, our Operations Director?
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May 18, 2015 06:38
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Thread is up. Zachol, Jenny is presumably in the command center for this one. Feel free to buff the pilots during combat. In the interim, keep responding to your questions here.
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May 19, 2015 01:57
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 Jagr and Adams  Fourth Angel
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Jun 15, 2015 01:53
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These took longer than I anticipated due to technical issues. Also, I'm still really loving bad at coloring poo poo.    I'm afraid I may have made the twins too British, and Rabah's got a bad case of the Innsmouth look, but it's pretty late here and I should have been unconscious a while ago.
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Jul 9, 2015 04:58
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So here's a question for everybody. I'm sorta picking up that the big one-on-five fights don't work so well in FATE. Right now it seems like we're pretty much just mashing stat blocks against each other and making pew pew noises. Battle Century G got released since the start of this game, and it could work pretty well for our purposes. There's an SRD freely available, too, so while buying it would be great, nobody's forced to spend money if they don't want to do so. Should we change systems, or keep things as is?
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Jul 31, 2015 18:44
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The good news is that we'll have a while to make the switch. I have one more "session" before we need some tactical combat. Well, provided you guys don't try to kill anyone.
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Aug 5, 2015 14:08
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Anybody else want to probe at the adults obviously acting suspicious, or should I push us onward?
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Aug 10, 2015 01:38
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It's okay. I'm having A Week too. I look forward to Jenny's response. On one hand, Franklin was dumb enough to push someone who does violence for a living. On the other hand, that soldier just smacked a kid around. And a kid that's ostensibly important to the survival of the human race!
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Aug 12, 2015 01:58
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Stone cold, zachol.
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Aug 12, 2015 23:33
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Zachol, you got anything for the twins, or can I kick things forward?
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Aug 26, 2015 18:53
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Wise fwom yoah gwave, OoC thread. We now have an important decision to make. Here's the junction point where we can transfer to Battle Century G, or keep going in Atomic Robo. Or alternately, it's a graceful point to draw the game to a close. No matter what we choose to do, it is important that we hear from everybody about what they want to do going forward. Speak now or forever be tanged.
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Nov 13, 2015 20:50
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Keep going carries easily. I guess this is your point to exit gracefully if you individually want to bail. I honestly don't have a read on how things are going for you guys individually, so this is mostly covering my bases. On a similar note - Alien Rope Burn posted:I'm down with whatever you want to explore, gnoll. If you wanna do a new system, I can shift. Whatever's more interesting to you. I'm down for more, but focus on what you need as a GM in any case. this kind of thing is really helpful. If there're things you liked, didn't like, or specifically want to do, let me know! Unless all you've got is a truly spectacular low-effort shitpost, you're not gonna hurt my feelings, and more feedback means a better game for everyone. To answer ARB specifically: I've been worried about that, too. That was one of the reasons I broke everyone up into (mostly) pairs this past segment. I'm having a tricky time keeping things high-stakes and sufficiently scary in general, though that may be because AR PCs are really durable. I dunno, is there interest in a sort of "class trip episode," some kind of setup where there are utterly no world-threatening stakes and everyone can just bounce off each other for a while? Is everyone willing to put in the posting frequency that'd require to keep from killing the pace entirely?
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Nov 15, 2015 17:48
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This is a thing we can do. Zachol, you still with us? Haven't heard from you yet.
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Nov 16, 2015 15:05
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Yeah, sorry about the holdup on my end. I've been gifted with covering for my entire team going out sick at once at work, which is just a little bit of a surprise. Should be done with that bs by now, though. More character shorts coming up once I get back to a computer. We'll take the time to switch over to BCG; I was planning on having zachol work the NERV forces, which will probably require there most tinkering mechanically. Check back for a regular update later today.
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Nov 20, 2015 18:02
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I'll be honest, higher starting XP was my initial plan. I dunno. My core concern as a GM is that fighting Angels, the second purpose of an Eva game, isn't very exciting in AR. You've got a very limited number of opponents, and you have to be deadly and weird, but AR as a general system doesn't support squishy PCs (or NPCs, really). The other game I can think of that has a stated design for going crazy and fighting Angels is Ctech, soooo... I picked BCG because it's generally thematic, has decent tactical combat, and has a number of rules in place that cover the weird interactions between giant robots and non-giant-robots. I'm also winging it, so if you've got another option, I would be delighted to hear it. Is there something apart from the dual nature you're having trouble with? And if anyone is having trouble with conversion, please let me know. Worst case scenario we'll kludge something together on consensus.
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Nov 24, 2015 14:51
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bahamut posted:So how many of them there charactery/experiency points are we looking at starting with? Still figuring that out myself. Will let everyone know hopefully by this weekend. Alien Rope Burn posted:I may have come off more harsh than I intended, I'm not against it. It seems like combat would be more interesting and there are good options like the co-pilot one, don't get me wrong. But attribute costs ramp up really quickly, and it's the kind of game where I wish there were sample characters to show me what I should be aiming for. Nah, it's all good. I hope I didn't sound defensive - as with most games, I'm literally making poo poo up as I go, and if anyone has a way of doing the heavy lifting for me, I'm certainly not going to say no. The full version has some NPCs and boss monsters - I'll pull their data when I get home for a comparative basis.
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Nov 27, 2015 00:29
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So stats. Averaging a roll of 5 on a d10, if your combined stats and skills can equal +5 on the regular, you're probably doing good. Stats at 3 are neither good nor bad. Stuff you want to be good at should key off a stat around 5-7ish on the regular. If you want to be hyper-focused, you could go higher, but you might be short on CP for other basic functionality. Here're some blocks from the NPC section. There's a level 1 mech with 4s across the board. Conversely there's another level 1 at M5, G5, T4, E5, Sy0, and Sp4. A level 2 ally boss is M2, G4, T8, E5, Sy6, Sp 4. People include A level 1 grunt at F1, I6, C2, A3, W3, R2 A level 2 priest at F4, I4, C5, A4, W5, R5 A level 2 boss at F6, I4, C6, A4, W8, R4 Which all seem to be within the realm of reasonability for the values given. Somewhat related, I'm thinking of starting you guys at +61 XP, which is enough to boost you to level 2. It gives you more to work with in character creation, plus the two GP. Does that actually answer your question in the slightest?
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Nov 29, 2015 03:02
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That was some good awkward teenagerness (don't think I didn't see that before your edit, Deleter). You're going to start with +66 XP instead. Do you guys think you can get your personal stat blocks puzzled out in the next couple of days? It'll add to the camp antics.
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Dec 8, 2015 02:30
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For those getting slammed by the season, if you have to prioritize, just get your pilot stats out. The robot can wait. Failing that, iunno, we'll flip a coin for success tests or something. Less pressure.
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Dec 10, 2015 14:33
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Looks okay to me. If it turns out it breaks something, we'll fix it later. I dunno, it seems like the twins are working toward a common goal most of the time. Can you hybridize something that gets them both covered?
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Dec 14, 2015 20:17
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This seems like a good time to mention Hannah constantly no-selling Franklin is the funniest goddamn thing.
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Dec 16, 2015 15:27
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While I'm working up the start of our first BCG Episode: Zachol, if you want to tell us about the rest of Jenny's day, there may be something that happens as a result. Waffle, do you have a stat block for your Eva that I missed?
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Jan 15, 2016 22:54
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Also, here's a bigger map of Boston Metro. I don't know if you guys will ever want or need this, but here it is just in case. It's an almost 8 meg PNG, so don't look at that on your cell connection.
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Jan 16, 2016 03:38
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Alien Rope Burn posted:Wouldn't we be testing Speed instead for an Operation? Yes. I was looking at the quick ref in the back of the book instead of where I should have been looking. That's kinda weird that there are two separate ways of determining initiative. Oh well!
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Jan 16, 2016 20:25
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I would suggest the pilots pick their deployment. You can tell me where you want it or just give it a quick mark-up in MS paint, and I'll put in a full version in the next full post.
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Jan 17, 2016 16:49
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Everyone gets three XP for their end-of-day activity. K Prime gets an extra XP for how utterly monstrous and teenager-like that last post was.
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Jan 31, 2016 16:03
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Here's something to think about. Unless the dice radically turn against you, the Angel is not likely to pull off a kill. This is going to be your first big unqualified win since that first Angel encounter. What are the pilots going to do to celebrate their victory, perhaps in a form that can cap off the scene in a couple of posts lasting no more than a week?
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Mar 1, 2016 14:54
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I'm going off the rules on page 31 of the full book. It's my interpretation that the two duelists are locked into combat with each other until one of them is dead or disengages. That, and the specific wording of "might test" and not "attack" makes me assume that it doesn't matter if you're shooting or stabbing at a duel participant, you hit your buddy on an odd roll. I'm open to arguments, though. I am not an expert in BCG yet!
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Mar 9, 2016 03:21
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Hmm. That definitely works RAW, and I'll allow it. I do wonder if that was an intended use, though.
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Mar 9, 2016 03:38
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Yah, that'll definitely kill it. I'm writing up the post now. In the interim, consider the following: What did you like and dislike about BCG combat? Excusing length, because PbP combat takes a billion years regardless of the system. What did you like and dislike about the encounter itself? What would you like to do going forward? I'm trying my damnedest to kill you guys and make the rest suffer in proper Eva form, but you're being pretty resilient. Do we want to turn this into a less grim version, or do you want me to set things up for a serious turn?
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Mar 9, 2016 14:40
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Initiative: I'm open to trying "everyone acts simultaneously" instead of proper initiative. My chief concern is that occasionally someone's going to act on information that's outdated - nothing is unfun in quite the same way as spending days waiting for your action to go off, only it misses because of something that's entirely out of your hands. Still, we'll give it a shot next time. Move then act: This I'm less open to messing with. I've tinkered with action economy in games before, and it turns out I'm really bad at math! It's seriously crapped out a lot of games. Range: I'm going to make the hexes smaller next combat. We'll see how badly that goes. Somewhat related - when I'm posting a lot of maps, I know the file size keeps creeping up. Has anyone had issues actually accessing the forums page to look at the game? I don't want to commit to making Even Bigger Files if I'm going to totally destroy someone's computer. Angels: I'm thinking of increasing damage across the board, and I'm definitely going to crank up the Angels' power level. Lemme ask a secondary question. Would you guys rather have only the Angel increase damage and decrease its health, or would you rather have Tension ratchet up by two points a turn for everyone instead? Either way, I'll probably throw in two turns for solo bosses from now on. I think maybe three on one could work, but with six PCs versus one boss, it's kind of lopsided. Puzzle bosses: So this is something I've been struggling with the entire game. Eva Angels are substantially weirder and unknowable than you really get in a semi-balanced RPG system. They have to follow rules beyond what's important for the narrative. I've also killed games before by making something Weird and then the players have to puzzle it out - it's even easier to get frustrated and give up when you're working through PbP than playing GM Simon Says in person. Where would you guys prefer to be on the weird/video game boss spectrum? Do you want puzzle bosses, and if so, how hard to you want me to signpost what you need to do? The Deleter posted:I love it when I finally hit upon a very "Franklin" approach to things. He's pretty caught up in his own superficial celebrity appearance, so he is 100% confident that a lovely poem shoved under a door will work. This reminds me, Frankie and Rabah have been appropriately awful teenagers as of late. The two of you get an extra XP.
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Mar 11, 2016 22:02
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