FATAL & Friends 2014-15: The Neverending Storygame

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Cythereal: Nov 8, 2009; I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

The Lone Badger posted:

"Mad science doesn't pay the bills"? Even if it can't be reproduced you could make tons of money selling it as a service. "Your satellite in orbit for $100/kg, no questions answered." Or use your Super-Prospect-O-Mat to find a huge deposit of rare earths, buy up the mining rights, then have the site surveyed conventionally.

Which is all very sensible and intelligent and Genius makes no attempt whatsoever to address attempts to get around Havoc checks. Wonders are definitely capable of interfacing with mundane technology, as examples are repeatedly given of wonders hooking up to regular power outlets or mundane internet.

Genius will regularly mention that as a mad scientist you're likely very poor because you're spending all your money on mad science, and if you're rich it's not because you're a mad scientist.

Then again, there's this at four dots of Epikrato:

Genius posted:

Wealth and the Market:

The genius can manipulate her or other people's Social Merits. Merits that can be targeted include: Allies,
Contacts, Fame, Mentor, Resources, Retainer, and Status. She can also control Beholden Number, Generator,
Tenure, and any other Merit that is based on wealth, status, or windfalls.

The genius rolls Manipulation + Politics and spends an hour of work ( a minute at -2, or a turn at -4; very
short spans of time may be deemed impossible by the Storyteller). If attacking another person who does not
want to be influenced, the genius rolls vs. the target's Resolve + Composure + the highest Merit dot that the
genius is targeting.

Dramatic Failure: The target loses one dot in the relevant Merit if that dot was supposed to have increased, or
gains one dot if it was supposed to decrease. This effect lasts for one day.

Failure: The target's Merits do not change. The genius cannot attempt to manipulate this person's fortunes
again until a day has passed.

Success: The genius can add or subtract one dot of Social Merits per dot of Inspiration. This effect lasts for one
scene. The effect can either occur immediately, or the genius can trigger it a number of days distant equal to
his Inspiration, whenever he desires. A genius can only have one "trigger" in place at a time; if a new one is
put in place, the old one vanishes.

Exceptional Success: The genius can add or subtract one dot of Social Merits per dot of Inspiration. This effect
can last indefinitely if the genius wants. If given an indefinite duration, the genius must bind a number of
Mania to the Merits equal to the difference in dots between the "real" amount and the modified amount.

Suggested Modifiers: The genius is very familiar with the subject's finances (+1), the genius does not know the
subject very well (-1), the genius is targeting a genius-only Merit (-2), the genius has engaged in previous
successful manipulation to ensure his plan succeeds (+1 to +3)

A genius can only have a total number of Merits dots modified (up or down) equal to his Inspiration.

A genius can also use this ability to cancel another genius' manipulation. This also requires a Manipulation +
Academics check. If even one Success is rolled, the subject's Merit dots to stabilize where they should be.

A related ability at four dots of Epikrato is large-scale public manipulation. Like elections. Or the stock market. Weather control also becomes possible at this point.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 05:14

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 05:06

The Lone Badger: Sep 24, 2007

Cythereal posted:

A related ability at four dots of Epikrato is large-scale public manipulation. Like elections. Or the stock market. Weather control also becomes possible at this point.

So I could, say, short-sell everything then crash the stock market?

# ? Apr 8, 2015 05:26

Swags: Dec 9, 2006

So my job has me copy editing independent medical exams, which are done by doctors at the behest of insurance companies when someone opens a claim. Today I had one that had an arm injury, and typically during extremity-based exams the doctor does a lot of measurements on the extremity. This one included the phrase 'inner arm circumference' which I mentally read as 'inner anal circumference.' So thanks for that, FATAL nerds. You've altered my ability to read.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 05:33

Cythereal: Nov 8, 2009; I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

The Lone Badger posted:

So I could, say, short-sell everything then crash the stock market?

With enough successes? Yep, you certainly could. Every axiom makes you capable of horrible, horrible things past two or three dots, though some require more creativity than others.

Three dots in Skafoi, for example, let you build interplanetary spaceships. Four dots gives you FTL, teleportation, and interdimensional. Five is time travel.

Cythereal fucked around with this message at 05:42 on Apr 8, 2015

# ? Apr 8, 2015 05:39

wiegieman: Apr 22, 2010; Royalty is a continuous cutting motion

Major stock market or election manipulation is like a glowing "come eat me alive" sign to the vampires who think they have a monopoly on that poo poo. Which is why you shoot them with black hole lasers! I unironically like a lot of Genius, it can be fun if your group isn't comprised of spergs.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 05:44

The Lone Badger: Sep 24, 2007

Cythereal posted:

With enough successes? Yep, you certainly could. Every axiom makes you capable of horrible, horrible things past two or three dots, though some require more creativity than others.

I'm just still harping on the "short on money" thing.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 05:45

NGDBSS: Dec 30, 2009

It sounds like all the axioms have ludicrous narrative capabilities, which makes me wonder what you're actually supposed to be doing as a character beyond "I dunno, CRAZY poo poo!" (Perhaps the game will say/will put some restrictions on the axioms, but I ain't holding my breath.)

# ? Apr 8, 2015 05:47

Zereth: Jul 9, 2003

Mors Rattus posted:

The closest nWoD has to an Illuminati is the God-Machine, which is basically just an infinitely old weird poo poo generator that does strange and terrible things for no reason anyone can fathom.

Note that this applies even to its own agents. They don't know what its goals are (just what it wants them to do right now), and it certainly doesn't apply to the agents which break free of it. It's a matter of some debate if the God-Machine even has a goal, or self-awareness for that matter.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 05:53

Cythereal: Nov 8, 2009; I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

NGDBSS posted:

It sounds like all the axioms have ludicrous narrative capabilities, which makes me wonder what you're actually supposed to be doing as a character beyond "I dunno, CRAZY poo poo!" (Perhaps the game will say/will put some restrictions on the axioms, but I ain't holding my breath.)

In theory, the biggest restrictions on Inspired and what they can do (they use axioms to build stuff - they have no power in and of themselves) are their usually limited time, money, and raw materials. Geniuses could build a Death Star, but where would they get the funding?

# ? Apr 8, 2015 06:12

Nessus: Dec 22, 2003; After a Speaker vote, you may be entitled to a valuable coupon or voucher!

NGDBSS posted:

It sounds like all the axioms have ludicrous narrative capabilities, which makes me wonder what you're actually supposed to be doing as a character beyond "I dunno, CRAZY poo poo!" (Perhaps the game will say/will put some restrictions on the axioms, but I ain't holding my breath.)

To play Girl Genius: Modern.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 06:19

Zereth: Jul 9, 2003

Nessus posted:

To play Girl Genius: Modern.

Which doesn't work because in Girl Genius the only thing non-Sparks have the problem with is understanding the creations. They can use, maintain, even build things designed by Sparks fine.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 06:24

Kai Tave: Jul 2, 2012; Fallen Rib

Yeah, Genius sounds like it would be terrible at actually doing "Girl Genius Modern" because the central premise that Girl Genius is based around is "mad science has fundamentally changed the world." Nobody hides their stuff for fear of an errant curious glance breaking it, mad scientists literally rule the world. There are talking castles and airship armadas and people get reanimated from the dead as a matter of course.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 08:01

Mr. Maltose: Feb 16, 2011; The Guffless Girlverine

I think Genius would want to short out any idea of "Use my super duper technology to create marketable goods and services" by saying that it would be a good and sensible idea to do so, two adjectives that don't really apply to men and women so unstable they exist in unique paradigms of physical laws. It's not a very good excuse, but Genius leans pretty hard on characters being too mad science for basic logical things already that one more on the pile isn't too onerous.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 13:13

Green Intern: Dec 29, 2008; Loon, Crazy and Laughable

Evil Mastermind posted:

Of course there is. Although amazingly it doesn't have splats.

Has both Gliding and Combat Gliding Skills, the latter of which only serves as a limiter on how many dice you can use in aerial combat.

And Gargomancy, which I keep thinking lets you gargle magic at people.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 14:53

Bieeanshee: Aug 21, 2000; Not keen on keening.; Grimey Drawer

Green Intern posted:

And Gargomancy, which I keep thinking lets you gargle magic at people.

Angus McGonagal, the Gargling Gargoyle

# ? Apr 8, 2015 15:02

Green Intern: Dec 29, 2008; Loon, Crazy and Laughable

Bieeardo posted:

Angus McGonagal, the Gargling Gargoyle

Wearing argyle, no less.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 15:09

theironjef: Aug 11, 2009; The archmage of unexpected stinks.

Gargomancy seems like it'd be mostly applicable in the capturing of Smurfs.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 15:16

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

Donald Rumsfeld, Blood Gargomancer

# ? Apr 8, 2015 15:18

theironjef: Aug 11, 2009; The archmage of unexpected stinks.

Bieeardo posted:

Angus McGonagal, the Gargling Gargoyle

There's a tradition at our game table, which is that one of the city guard is always named Striker McGonagal, and he's always waiting for the right moment to be the star of an 80s action movie (it never actually happens). From now on this guy is his dad.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 15:23

Cythereal: Nov 8, 2009; I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Genius: The Transgression, Part 7: Klagen

Genius posted:

Klagen
The Catalyst of Loss
Nickname: Cassandras
Traditional Planet: Venus

"No, you fools! You'll doom us all!"

Mister Freeze. If Grimms are the angry mad scientists and Hoffnungs are the mad scientists with a vision, Klagens are the mad scientists filled with regret and pessimistic views of the world, trying to set right some personal tragedy or stop a looming threat on the horizon. That being said, Klagens are as nuts as any other Inspired so don't be surprised if their quest takes some peculiar turns.

Genius posted:

Origins:

Klagens are the least likely of all geniuses to bear seeds of their catalyst before the tragedy that defines them.
They may be sad, thoughtful people, but others are equally likely to be exuberant, full of life, and
passionate―though rarely is a pre-Klagen abstractly disinterested in human affairs. But despite this common
thread of being connected to humanity, Klagens come from all walks of life. They don't start off angry like
Grimms or cultivate jealousy like Neids.

Mad doctors are more often Klagens than any other catalyst, since there is so much potential for tragedy in
the healing arts. Even Klagens who begin in other fields can experience a desire to study medicine after their
Breakthrough. But people who will become Cassandras come from nearly any walk of life, since tragedy can
strike anywhere. Some are construction workers and machinists who lose friends to accidents,
mismanagement and plant closings (often caused by their own failures; catalyzing mortals who can blame
someone else more often become Grimms or Neids). Others are researchers who watch friends grow
obsessed with studies that eventually destroy them―some Klagens almost seem like echoes of another
would-be genius, annihilated during their Breakthroughs―while others grow obsessed with their own
studies, only to wake up one day and realize that everyone has left them, and all that remains is their work.
Comparatively few Klagens come from outside the scientific community, however; most regular people faced
with tragedy move on, or fall to despair; few see a solution or a way to stop those tragedies from happening
again.

Klagens are the rarest of all catalysts for a simple reason: most people with the potential for Inspiration in their situation tend to respond with anger (Grimms), have a new vision for the future (Hoffnungs), or blame someone else (Neids). A Klagen is usually created when someone in that kind of situation decides that it is their own fault, either directly or blaming themselves for not being smart enough, not paying enough attention, missing something that's obvious in retrospect.

However, the Mania coursing through Klagens does not let them simply rest and grieve. They must do something about their loss, whether that means setting things right in their minds or trying to prevent their personal tragedy from happening to anyone else. On a good day, a Klagen is the most empathetic and human of the Inspired, knowing so well the potential for tragedy and sorrow. On a bad day, a Klagen is probably the one kidnapping little girls across the city and using mind control and memory editation to try to make them a new version of their dead daughter.

The favored axiom of Klagens is Exelixi, the axiom of restoration. That Klagens would be partial to the axiom of healing and buffing is unsurprising, but Exelixi is also the axiom that leads to raising the dead and even true resurrection.

As you might expect, the first derangement Klagens always develop is Depression.

Genius posted:

Training:

Klagens come from backgrounds that see great suffering. Many are ex-military or former doctors, with the
Skills to back up those origins. They are often gifted, possessing high Intelligence or some other Attribute, but
prone to moral failings that imply a feeble Resolve. Cassandras that come from technical or blue-collar
positions, such as auto-mechanics and construction workers, often have excellent Dexterity, Intelligence, and
Wits, while those who saw their political dreams destroyed can be highly influential speakers when they find
the motivation.

With so many Klagens coming from the medical world, Medicine is a common Skill. Others see the world of
the metanormal and supernatural as the quickest route to healing the damage they've caused, and become
masters of the Occult, while others try to escape humanity entirely for a time, and learn self-sufficient Skills
like Survival and Animal Ken. Those that fall out of society completely become the wandering mad, their
street-level experiences reflected in Skills like Brawl, Larceny, and Streetwise―though few Klagens remain in
this state for long.

Concepts: Disgraced software engineer, geneticist who made a fatal error, unwitting creator of monsters,
shack-dwelling crazy person, prophetic ecoterrorist, fallen trophy wife, nihilistic politico, scholar of genocide,
hollowed-out social worker.

"When I was in high school my teacher told me that there are more people alive today than have ever lived. Don't
worry: she lied, then got cancer. (Not my fault.) We live atop a mountain of corpses. The Earth is swimming in
humans, above and below the ground, so when I see you trying to raise the dead, I'm torn. On the one hand, I
recognize your despair. On the other hand, do you really want to spend the rest of the week fending off a zombie
apocalypse as the Earth vomits up her dead? AGAIN? Come on, man, think this through: every time you try this, we
end up fighting zombies. I hate zombies. Just put the syringe down."

Stereotypes:

Grimm: Rage just makes more hurt. Reflect on what has hurt you; that will stop it from happening again.
Hoffnung: We can hope for small victories, maybe. Revolutionary change is beyond the reach even of
Inspiration in this awful world.
Neid: The terrible truth is that no one cares about you enough to hate you.
Staunen: What childish whimsy, to pretend to see "beyond" the horrors of this world. In truth you just ignore
them.

Next: Neids and Staunens. These Catalyst sections are pretty short, so I'm just going to finish the last two in one post.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 17:39

Hyper Crab Tank: Feb 10, 2014; The 16-bit retro-future of crustacean-based transportation

I never know how to approach WoD-like fan stuff (or even the official stuff, really). On one hand, mad science is totally a concept that has the potential to be fun to play. But here, it gets crammed into the same and extremely predictable WoD framework we've seen a million times before, because WoD. It's not even that it's a lazy approach, because clearly a lot of work went into this and there are quite a few genuinely good ideas in there. It's just... I don't know. It's not even that I don't like rules and crunch, because I'm crunchy as all can be, but somehow everything just becomes bland, predictable and formulaic when squeezed into the WoD format.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 17:58

Bieeanshee: Aug 21, 2000; Not keen on keening.; Grimey Drawer

It's a Procrustean bed. Everything squeezes into a range of five ranks, ten in very specific or impossibly extreme circumstances, which doesn't offer a lot of granularity or wiggle room.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 18:06

theironjef: Aug 11, 2009; The archmage of unexpected stinks.

Just makes me want to make one that's borderline worthless and put it out into the world. Disney: The Afternoon is my new game guys. You can play as Clan Darkwing, the Rangers, Duc'Talz, join the Goof Army, or be a Sky Pirate. 5 dots in Resources gets you a silo full of coins you can swim in.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 18:15

Evil Mastermind: Apr 28, 2008

theironjef posted:

Just makes me want to make one that's borderline worthless and put it out into the world. Disney: The Afternoon is my new game guys. You can play as Clan Darkwing, the Rangers, Duc'Talz, join the Goof Army, or be a Sky Pirate. 5 dots in Resources gets you a silo full of coins you can swim in.

When are you launching the Kickstarter?

# ? Apr 8, 2015 18:16

theironjef: Aug 11, 2009; The archmage of unexpected stinks.

Evil Mastermind posted:

When are you launching the Kickstarter?

Right after I move to wherever Disney can't possibly drag me into court from. I'm already hiding from Klasky-Csupo.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 18:25

Halloween Jack: Sep 12, 2003; I WILL CUT OFF BOTH OF MY ARMS BEFORE I VOTE FOR ANYONE THAT IS MORE POPULAR THAN BERNIE!!!!!

Hyper Crab Tank posted:

I never know how to approach WoD-like fan stuff (or even the official stuff, really). On one hand, mad science is totally a concept that has the potential to be fun to play. But here, it gets crammed into the same and extremely predictable WoD framework we've seen a million times before, because WoD. It's not even that it's a lazy approach, because clearly a lot of work went into this and there are quite a few genuinely good ideas in there. It's just... I don't know. It's not even that I don't like rules and crunch, because I'm crunchy as all can be, but somehow everything just becomes bland, predictable and formulaic when squeezed into the WoD format.

Insisting on splats as a jumping-on point is stupid and boring, and squeezing every WoD product, let alone every fan supplement, into splats was the worst thing about WoD and its worst contribution to gaming in general.

Like, seriously. Fanbooks for Immortals and Scanners that divided them up into tribes or philosophies or whatever. gently caress that. Hunter: The Reckoning's splats sucked too. Mummy was splatless, it just had a few factions that didn't automatically determine how many points you got in snake-charming or whatever, and then they remade it as Mummy: the Resurrection which was dumb and had dumb splats and undid literally every single interesting thing about Mummy. I'm ranting now.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 18:28

Mors Rattus: Oct 25, 2007; FATAL & Friends
Walls of Text
#1 Builder
2014-2018

Hunter: the Vigil's were pretty great though, mostly.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 18:29

Kellsterik: Mar 30, 2012

I think my least favorite was Mage: the Awakening's Paths. I always just ignored the boilerplate description of how all Obrimos are holy rollers or Mastigos are Tyler Durden because [no reason given]. Just here for the ruling Arcana, guys.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 18:36

Nessus: Dec 22, 2003; After a Speaker vote, you may be entitled to a valuable coupon or voucher!

Halloween Jack posted:

Insisting on splats as a jumping-on point is stupid and boring, and squeezing every WoD product, let alone every fan supplement, into splats was the worst thing about WoD and its worst contribution to gaming in general.

Like, seriously. Fanbooks for Immortals and Scanners that divided them up into tribes or philosophies or whatever. gently caress that. Hunter: The Reckoning's splats sucked too. Mummy was splatless, it just had a few factions that didn't automatically determine how many points you got in snake-charming or whatever, and then they remade it as Mummy: the Resurrection which was dumb and had dumb splats and undid literally every single interesting thing about Mummy. I'm ranting now.

Scanners didn't do it, as I recall. There was a note that some Scanners work for companies or whatever, while some Scanners are indie rock, but that's not a splat.

Highlanders probably did. Boy, that TV show sure had a real loving big impact on WoD, didn't it.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 18:47

Cythereal: Nov 8, 2009; I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

For what it's worth, in Genius your Catalyst and Foundation are mostly RP fluff - the only thing Catalyst determines when it comes to crunch is what one of your favored axioms is and what derangement you'll develop first. Your choice of Foundation, if you belong to one, gives you a choice of two for your second favored axiom, and a special bonus. If you belong to a Lemurian Baramin, it simply determines what your second favored axiom is.

All of the Catalysts make thematic sense in my opinion: it's the emotional state that drove you mad. Your choice of Foundation is mostly about what kind of mad science you're partial to, and the game notes that you're free to be part of the Peerage but not belong to any Foundation if they don't interest you. If you're Lemurian, your choice of Baramin is about where or how exactly you think human civilization went wrong.

I'll do Foundations and Baramins after I finish Catalysts, even though in the book they come later. Then into the crunch after that.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 18:59

Halloween Jack: Sep 12, 2003; I WILL CUT OFF BOTH OF MY ARMS BEFORE I VOTE FOR ANYONE THAT IS MORE POPULAR THAN BERNIE!!!!!

Nessus posted:

Scanners didn't do it, as I recall. There was a note that some Scanners work for companies or whatever, while some Scanners are indie rock, but that's not a splat.

Highlanders probably did. Boy, that TV show sure had a real loving big impact on WoD, didn't it.

Y'know, I think we read the same Scanners supplement from BJ Zanzibar, and you're right. It was silly to single out that one when it was one of the ones that actually just stuck to the source material.

There have been so many Highlander fan-supplements (for WoD and other systems) that I can't keep track. Some guy on RPGnet did one for nWoD and actually got a cease-and-desist for it, but I have a copy :smaug:

# ? Apr 8, 2015 20:37

Doresh: Jan 7, 2015

Kurieg posted:

I have some good news and bad news for you.
Good news: Bloody Roar Exists
Bad News: It's not particularly exceptional beyond the fact that it's a fighting game where you're a were-whatever
Worse News: There hasn't been a game in this series since 2003 and there probably won't be a new one since Hudson Soft was absorbed into Konami before they could get funding for it.

Fight! actually has a whole info box about emulating Bloody Roar.

Kavak posted:

Aaand this review just went from hilariously racist and stupid to depressing.

Who needs the CyberPope if you can have "This is what RL is kinda sorta already looking like" World :smith:

theironjef posted:

Because Noun: The Verb is an inherently fun and easy to copy format. Pick a silly name, divide your subject up into five categories, add a curse.

I mean there's gotta be a Gargoyle: The Flappening out there with categories like Goliaths and Brooklyns.

Now I would make a joke about a hypothetical "Magical: The Girling", but I think that's what Princess: The Hopeful is.

I think there's even a fan-game for Kamen Rider, but I don't even want to think about how this is supposed to work with your typical WoD rules and customs. I'm already waiting for Super: The Sentaining.

The Lone Badger posted:

"Mad science doesn't pay the bills"? Even if it can't be reproduced you could make tons of money selling it as a service. "Your satellite in orbit for $100/kg, no questions answered." Or use your Super-Prospect-O-Mat to find a huge deposit of rare earths, buy up the mining rights, then have the site surveyed conventionally.

Or "Guaranteed orbital destruction for $1,000,000 per square mile. No questions asked!"

Hyper Crab Tank posted:

I never know how to approach WoD-like fan stuff (or even the official stuff, really). On one hand, mad science is totally a concept that has the potential to be fun to play. But here, it gets crammed into the same and extremely predictable WoD framework we've seen a million times before, because WoD. It's not even that it's a lazy approach, because clearly a lot of work went into this and there are quite a few genuinely good ideas in there. It's just... I don't know. It's not even that I don't like rules and crunch, because I'm crunchy as all can be, but somehow everything just becomes bland, predictable and formulaic when squeezed into the WoD format.

Half the time, I can't even tell if a WoD-style game is supposed to be a parody or not.

theironjef posted:

Just makes me want to make one that's borderline worthless and put it out into the world. Disney: The Afternoon is my new game guys. You can play as Clan Darkwing, the Rangers, Duc'Talz, join the Goof Army, or be a Sky Pirate. 5 dots in Resources gets you a silo full of coins you can swim in.

I'm all for Clan Darkwing. The classic Greek tragedy of a hero that kinda sucks at what he does.

Or how about Shounen: The Jumpening, where noble Gokoos destroy enemies by shouting really hard, and vile Eisens can reshape the past with the ancient art of Red'Konne.

And with that out of the way...

Fight! - The Fighting Game RPG

Chapter 2+3: Skills, Qualities, Weakness and Quirks

The next two chapters are mostly light on rules and just feature a long list of stuff to pick from, so I'll just do them in one post. But first, an example Fighter. I'll start hm at PL 1 and will later upgrade him to PL 3 for a potential combat example.

El Oso, Luchador Bear Extraordinaire.

The past of this Fighter is shrouded in mystery. One day, je just stepped out of the forest, donned a red mask, and entered the ring to show humanity who the real alpha-predator is.

Before the crunch, I'll fill in the two "fluff boxes" on the official character sheet:

Vital Statistics

Age: ?
Height: 9ish feet
Weight: 400+ pounds (he's quite athletic for a bear)
Blood Type: Do bears even have our blood types?
Style: Lucha Oso
Appearance: A bear he is, a bear a bear, all black and brown and covered with hair.
Reason For Fighting: Species Superiority Complex?

Reputation

Win Quotes: *Bear growls*
Opening Pose: Arms lifted and looking at the cheering audience, then he turns around to his opponent
Winning Pose: Same as Opening Pose, just in reverse
Taunts: *Bear growls*

As a grapple-heavy Fighter, we could make him a specialised tanker with Stamina of 2 and a -1 in either Speed (making him slow) or Strength (gimping his basic moves and requiring him to rely on special moves that lack in utility because they have to make up for the low base damage). But since he's a luchador who's also pretty darn tough and strong, a balanced spread of Strength 1, Speed 0 and Stamina 1 sounds like a good compromise. Later Power Levels can flesh this out further with bonuses to damage (he's a bear), Accuracy (he's pretty huge, so those hit boxes out to be large) and Control (as your typical fighting game grapple move is a bit hard to pull off, we need all the help we can get).
I think this goes to show how careful Fight! is. A more universal system could've had El Oso dump all his mental stats to beef up the physical ones. You can't actually be the best at everything here.

Now onto skills!

Chapter 2: Skills

Skills rolls are a basic 1d10 + Skill level vs a Target Number (called "Difficulty Level" here). The maximum possible level for a skill is either 10 or your PL times 3, whichever is lower. This means you can already max skills with a PL of 4, allowing you to pull off "Generally Impossible" uncontested skill rolls 50% of the time (outside for circumstance modifiers). If a Basic Quality is relevant to a specific skill use, you can at its rating as is to the roll. Raw Basic Qualitiy ratings can also be used as a skill roll, usually at lower TNs. Rules for Critical/Mixed Successes and Fumbles are there, but optional.

In contested rolls, ties are always rerolled, unless a tie would actually make sense in context.

Skill Challenges are also there, called "Action Sequences". These even allow you to break your way through a guarded building without actually having to use the combat rules. Just treat the guards as a skill roll or two.

Skills are broken up into Combat Skills (which really aren't anything like the other skills), Mechanical Skills (stuff that's useful in the two combat sub-systems) and Narrative Skills (fluff and roleplaying stuff).

The skill list is a mix of your usual suspects (Animal Handling, Awareness, Cooking, Intimidation...) and some skills geared more towards martial arts (Meditation, Sense Ki, Stance Evaluation, a knowledge skill about the "Fighting World"). There's nothing about Driving, Piloting or Riding, though there's always the Occupation skill. Skill Specialisations are their own separate skill, which you roll along the base skill and pick the better result. Languages aren't really a thing in Fight!, unless you pick an Occupation skill to reflect that your Fighter really knows lots of them.

A problem I can see is that there are some skills with similar names, but different applications. There's Agility, Acrobatics and Athletics. There's "Endure Great Harship" and "Grim Determination". You use "Call Forth Wisdom" to play mentor, and use "Receive Wisdom" to make sense out of what your mentor just told you. The descriptions are thankfully clear on what the skill does.

And now onto the more interesting ones:

Climactic Super Mov: You know that thing where half-dead anime heroes suddenly pull a surprise Spirit Bomb out of their buttocks to save the day? This is the skill for that.
Property Damage: The "F*ck Sh*t up" skill. Synergizes well with Strength.
Thug Thrashing: Your Beat 'em Up skill. Gives you extra actions against Thugs (your mooks, minions, cannon fodder, what have you).
Power: Requires a Quality to get and gives you a super power like flight, teleportation or invisibility. You can get yourself fitting Special Moves without the skill, but you won't be able to use them outside of combat.
Gadgeteering, Magic and Psychic: Freeform skills that allow you to do pretty much everything as long as you can justify it with its respective flavor. As they have a much wider utility than the above Power Skill, these not only require a Quality to get, but also have a bunch of secondary skills that require a minimum level of half its level.

Chapter 3: Qualities, Weaknesses and Quirks

This is also where we get rules about Story Points. They can be handed out by thinks like good roleplaying or purposefully playing up to a Weakness or Quirk. You spend Story Points to manipulate the plot, activate some Qualities, reroll skill rolls or have the GM throw you a bone if you're stuck.

Your typical Quality, Weakness or Quirk gives you a bonus or penalty to a specific skill roll under specific circumstances, and there's also typical advantages/disadvantages like Amnesia or Connections. There's also like half a dozen different Qualities etc. related to your Fighter's looks, some only available to one gender (males can't be Cute, but at least they can be Bishounen), including Fan Service aka Pantyshots. The book notes how some of these Qualities are relative, so in a world where every female has huge gazongas, someone with the Buxom Quality has water melons.

There are also Qualities with a direct combat effect. Fortunately, these are actually balanced with drawbacks. Sure, you can be a short dude that's really hard to hit, but you'll have a hard time hitting stuff at longer range with melee attacks. Combat-related Weaknesses sadly don't make up for their disadvantage outside of maybe allowing you to get more Story Points (which don't actually do anything in combat aside from one combat sub-system).

A Quality of note is "Technique", which gives a Fighter access to stuff that nobody else can do, like Chun-Li's wall jump (which sadly is only in the Round 2 book, along with most other things you can use Technique with).

And yes, "Theme Music" and "Badly Drawn" are a thing (and the "Annoying Voice" Weakness can also represent a very bad voice actor), if your Fight! campaign leans more towards the sillier side.

And now back to El Oso.

After the Basic Qualities, it's time for some Qualities etc. I think it's a good idea to leave some Quality "slots" unspent, which we can then use to boost Combat Skills or Fighting Spirit.

Qualities

For a bear, Big and Tall sound about alright. This reduces incoming damage further, makes it slightly harder to knock him back, allows him to just push people away through sheer mass, gives his basic moves longer reach and adds a small Intimidation bonus on top. On the flipside, he's bad at jumping as well as easier to hit and to evade. The jumping part can be cancelled out with the Mobile Quality (he's a luchador, after all), but the other drawbacks require some adjustments to El Oso's strategy. He's probably going to spend a lot of Fighting Spirit to keep his defenses high, and he better have some Special Moves to discourage the use of Evasion.
For the last free Quality slot, I take Theme Music. El Oso's fictional player is so inspired by his bitchin' theme song that he automatically regenerates Fighting Spirit at a slow rate!

Weaknesses

El Oso naturally has Fearsome Appearance, making him stick out of crowds and suck at negotiation (unless they involve intimidating people). Unintelligent sounds good since bears don't usually go to school. I'm not going for Unattractive as El Oso's quite handsome apart from being a bear.

With those Weaknesses picked, I have 2 free slots/points that I put into more Fighting Spirit.

Quirks

For personal quirks, I go for Arrogant, Attitude and Short-Tempered because he's a wrestler and a bear.

Skills

With 15 points to spend on normal skills, I'll do it quick and just max out 5 skills with a level of 3 each (the maximum you can have at PL 1).
I pick Acrobatics, Endure Great Hardship, Intimidation, Thugh Thrashing and Property Damage. He's a big, scary bear that make cartwheels while wrecking your car.

Combat Skills

With just 5 points to put here, I go the boring route of putting 2 points in Combo (enabling 2-hit combos) and 3 points in Defense (the most reliable way to defend).

Next Time: Special Moves. Let's make some Bear Hugs and Flying Clotheslines!

# ? Apr 8, 2015 21:26

Cythereal: Nov 8, 2009; I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Genius: The Transgression, Part 8: Neids and Staunens

Genius posted:

Neid
The Catalyst of Banishment
Nickname: Wyrms
Traditional Planet: Saturn

"Scoff at me, will you? I'll show them! I'll show them all!"

This Catalyst shouldn't need any introduction. Neids are mad scientists characterized by jealousy, paranoia, and rejection by their mundane peers. Most Neids fundamentally want to be recognized by others, especially those who called them mad, for the brilliant scientists that they think they are - and indeed often genuinely are, they're just insane.

Genius posted:

Origins:

Neids are the most likely of all geniuses to have been part of the traditional breeding pool. Many belonged to
cutting-edge research groups and saw something none of their peers could see; others were trapped in safe
but mediocre scientific careers until one day Inspiration hit. All, of course, suffered during their
Breakthrough, usually leaving trails of broken friendships and destroyed reputations. Despite their origin,
almost no Neids remain in science after their Breakthroughs; while some geniuses can fake legitimate
research, the Banished are often too bitter and resentful to remain amidst the consensus.

Of all geniuses, Neids are also the most likely to go crazy well before their catalysts. This madness is subtle, at
first, and usually begins either as skewed reasoning or paranoia. Skewed reasoning quickly results in a
decline in the pre-Neid's job performance; this, especially if it's coupled with claims of "miraculous" results
(caused by stray Mania as the genius begins his Breakthrough), results in resentment and pity from the
budding genius' peers. Those Neids that catalyze first through paranoia often do excellent work, but they
become increasingly afraid of sabotage or theft, that someone is trying to destroy or steal their research. Even
if this is the case, as a pre-Neid grows more paranoid, his behavior becomes increasingly erratic and
dangerous.

We're told that most Neids get their start with a remarkable achievement, creating a proto-wonder with stray Mania that's capable of something not quite miraculous but a good step or two ahead of current technology. Inevitably, this proto-wonder falls apart or is revealed to be a freak accident that can't be duplicated, and that tends to send the proto-Neid into a tailspin to Inspiration. Others come up with some brilliant scheme or idea that inevitably doesn't quite work out when the proto-Neid tries to apply it in the real world. Those who realize that their idea genuinely was crazy or simply won't work are the ones who back away from Inspiration and resume their lives. Those who do not, those who want to show everyone how brilliant they are - for selfish or altruistic reasons - become Neids.

Neids almost always develop a powerful sense of paranoia, either before jealousy consumes them or afterwards, but in the World of Darkness their suspicions identify real rather than imaginary enemies more often than not.

Epikrato, the axiom of control, is the catalyst's gift to Neids. This is the axiom of mind control in various degrees first and foremost, but also probability manipulation and weather control. If people won't listen to the Neid, the Neid will make them listen.

No prizes for guessing that Suspicion is the Neids' derangement of choice.

Genius posted:

Training:

Wyrms are often the most security-minded of the Inspired, focusing on acts of subtle retribution: Computer,
Investigation, Stealth, and Larceny are areas of particular focus, and most Neids favor Subterfuge over other
Social skills. Generally, Neids prefer the oblique approach.

Many Neids are brilliant, and even those that were mediocre scholars before their Breakthrough feel their
intellects transformed by Mania upon becoming Inspired, meaning that most favor Mental Attributes. Many
Neids make poor Social specimens, though, with arrogance, suspicion, and sheer orneriness limiting their
ability to make friends and influence people. A few Neids, though, keep their bitterness well-hidden, and are
often masters of Manipulation, but few of the Banished have much Composure; the slightest hint of rudeness
can send one careening into an insane rant. Whether a Neid is physically-oriented varies greatly; most come
from academic or technical fields, which makes it unlikely, but the few non-scientific Neids who appear are
often tough and physically capable, and others see fitness of body as an important adjunct to fitness of mind.

Despite their frequently limited Social abilities, many Neids have old contacts and favors owed that give them
an impressive collection of Social Merits: Allies might be rare, but Contacts, Resources, and especially Status
are all very common, and even Fame is not unheard-of; at least one infamous Neid even has a late-night radio
show where her rants about the government destroying her research have made her a local celebrity.

Concepts: Paranoid hacker, pyramid scam victim, tale-telling Ufologist, neurotic security consultant,
calculating mastermind, betrayed researcher, ex-CEO holed up in the woods, jittery cat burglar

"First let me tell you that human beings without mathematical souls are transparent to God and thus mean nothing
to Him. So you ask, why does God (who is the Equation) care about window-souls? He doesn't, but the Devil, whom
I define as our negative thoughts, does, and directs window-soul humans at us to destroy us. These humans think
they think and feel, but they are without the highest Number and their feelings are only our self-doubt. Destroy
your self-doubt, be free of their hatred. Or destroy them, and be free of your self-doubt. Vengeance is time- and
space-symmetrical, like any good equation."

Stereotypes:

Grimm: Anger is good, but ask yourself, what right do you have to be angry? That's right: you deserve to be
angry because they hate you, and they've taken away what you love.
Hoffnung: Alright, "make it better." I can get behind that. But you need to know who wants to make it worse
first.
Klagen: Other people get hurt all the time. Why can't you see the pattern in it?
Staunen: Yes, it's a candy-coated wonderland, isn't it? The cosmos has its boot on your throat, and you're
admiring the shoelaces.

And the last Catalyst, the Staunens.

Genius posted:

Staunen
The Catalyst of Curiosity
Nickname: Grigori
Traditional Planet: Mercury

"Oh, the things I have seen..."

Other than Neids, Staunens are the classical mad scientists. These are the people who caught a glimpse of something extraordinary, and that sense of awe and wonder consumed them. Staunens are the catalyst least involved with the mundane world, with no interest in changing or doing something about it. Their quest is to learn, to explore, to push back the limits of the unknown. Pity they're as nutty as any other Inspired, and what fills a Staunen with wonder can be horrific beyond description to a more rational individual.

Genius posted:

Origins:

The Staunens saw something before their Breakthrough and it consumed them. Most Staunens were
hobbyists: not full scientists, but not rank amateurs either; they were explorers, tinkers, and investigators.
Seeing something new and strange, whether in the flicker of a telescope or the scrolling lines of computer
code, they grew hungry for more. Staunens not drawn from the breeding pool are often investigative
journalists or private investigators who stumble upon something too weird to dismiss but not quite
horrifying enough to bury behind fugues and night-terrors. They might never even see what they hunt,
whether it's an immortal Ophidian who controls the town's mayor or a secret spawning-ground of electronic
manes. Instead, the fascination itself is what drives these amateur sleuths and mystery-seekers.

As a rule, the mental breakdown for Staunens is unusual in that it tends to come at the moment of revelation rather than as they drive towards Inspiration. Invariably, whatever a Staunen finally sees breaks their brain, whether from wishing they had never found the answer to their question or from snapping into a whole new world of possibilities. However it happens, Staunens have seen too much and looked too far, and now there is no turning back. Not that the idea would occur to most of them.

Some Staunens devote their entire lives to one question, looking for one holy grail of [mad] science. Others are more impulsive and constantly flit from project to project as ideas and questions capture their interest. Be they obsessive-compulsive or merely obsessive, Staunens stand out in a collaborative for their general lack of interest in the human world. A Staunen wants to learn more about the world, not change it, though being Inspired they can't help but leave change and chaos in their wake.

Staunens receive Apokalypsi as their favored axiom, the axiom of discovery. Apokalypsi is where sensors and information gathering devices of all kinds lurk, from tricorders to brain scanners to interdimensional telescopes. Staunens have seen something, and they want to see more.

Being the obsessive spergs that they are, Fixation is the common derangement of Staunens.

Genius posted:

Training:

Staunens are often more like "pure scientists" than other catalysts, exploring the world for its own sake. They
often study Computer and Science more than Crafts, and they are the most likely to study the Occult. Those
that seek out the weird and extraordinary have a variety of Physical Skills like Larceny and Survival, while
Staunens who began their careers as journalists or investigators usually possess Investigation, Politics, and
Subterfuge.

Catalysts of curiosity often result in a more stable personality than with other mad scientists, granting higher
Composure. Those Staunens able to articulate their amazement at the world often possess blazing Presence.
Staunens without Social Attributes are also common, though; these often possess staggering Intelligence and
Wits to record and make sense of observations, as well as high Resolve to survive weeks or months of
repetitive study for little reward.

Many Staunens let their previous social engagements melt away upon their catalyst, meaning that Social
merits like Allies and Fame are comparatively rare. In contrast, Staunens often have excellent senses and
memories, making Merits like Eidetic Memory common.

Concepts: Forgotten stargazer, cryptid-hunter, bright-eyed theologian, cartographer of mysterious places,
obsessed genealogist, manipulative social engineer, lucid dreamer

"I'm afraid I don't see things like you do. I mean it: I'm afraid. What if the things I find beautiful drive you mad?
What if they hollow you out like clever little squirrels getting nuts for the winter, except the nuts are your eyes, and
winter is, I don't know, maybe the Rapture or something? And I'm just smiling while your face gets ripped apart
because I think it's beautiful? These things worry me sometimes, when I'm not not looking at the night sky. So I
spend a lot of time looking at the night sky, and not looking at your face and thinking about squirrels."

Stereotypes:

Grimm: Some people mistake blind fury for a sense of true justice. There is justice in the world, but beating up
polluters like you're Captain loving Planet isn't what it looks like.
Hoffnung: The world is magnificent as it is, not just as you want it to be.
Klagen: Sorrow is a local and ultimately futile feeling before the majesty of the cosmos.
Neid: There is more to Heaven and Earth than your endless, insufferable whining. I have heard the song of the
universe, and it's telling you to shut up.

Next: Wondrous Aesthetics (It's brief, but it's something Foundations and Baramins talk about so I'll get it out of the way)

# ? Apr 8, 2015 21:29

Kurieg: Jul 19, 2012; RIP Lutri: 5/19/20-4/2/20

Halloween Jack posted:

Y'know, I think we read the same Scanners supplement from BJ Zanzibar, and you're right. It was silly to single out that one when it was one of the ones that actually just stuck to the source material.

There have been so many Highlander fan-supplements (for WoD and other systems) that I can't keep track. Some guy on RPGnet did one for nWoD and actually got a cease-and-desist for it, but I have a copy

My favorite bit of BJ Zanzibar stupidity were the were-squirrels that were stronger than the Garou in every conceivable way.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 21:31

Thesaurasaurus: Feb 15, 2010; "Send in Boxbot!"

Kurieg posted:

My favorite bit of BJ Zanzibar stupidity were the were-squirrels that were stronger than the Garou in every conceivable way.

Is that supposed to be some sort of allusion to Squirrel-Girl?

# ? Apr 8, 2015 21:35

Night10194: Feb 13, 2012; We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

Ah, yes. Fools-showing. Truly the classic inspiration for mad science. I'm surprised it took so long to get to that.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 21:35

Omnicrom: Aug 3, 2007; Snorlax Afficionado

Thesaurasaurus posted:

Is that supposed to be some sort of allusion to Squirrel-Girl?

My brain immediately went here as well.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 21:37

Xelkelvos: Dec 19, 2012

Doresh posted:

Now I would make a joke about a hypothetical "Magical: The Girling", but I think that's what Princess: The Hopeful is.

I think there's even a fan-game for Kamen Rider, but I don't even want to think about how this is supposed to work with your typical WoD rules and customs. I'm already waiting for Super: The Sentaining.

Princess is magical girls in WoD. You are correct. Thanks to Madoka Magica they even have a source of horror that appends the previous one.

As for sentai and Kamen Rider, Hunter does that well enough actually. The only reason to make them their own splat is to give mechanical weight to done of their qualities

# ? Apr 8, 2015 21:37

theironjef: Aug 11, 2009; The archmage of unexpected stinks.

Xelkelvos posted:

Princess is magical girls in WoD. You are correct. Thanks to Madoka Magica they even have a source of horror that appends the previous one.

As for sentai and Kamen Rider, Hunter does that well enough actually. The only reason to make them their own splat is to give mechanical weight to done of their qualities

Exalted seems to work as catch-all rules for anything anime as well, but let's be real here, no one starts cranking out a fan one of these after agreeing that they can just adapt existing works.

# ? Apr 8, 2015 21:40

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 05:06

Doresh: Jan 7, 2015

Xelkelvos posted:

Princess is magical girls in WoD. You are correct. Thanks to Madoka Magica they even have a source of horror that appends the previous one.

As for sentai and Kamen Rider, Hunter does that well enough actually. The only reason to make them their own splat is to give mechanical weight to done of their qualities

I think I'll stick with Magical Burst. I don't need crossovers between magical girls and scat-crazy furry dudes.

And please tell me Hunter has Giant Robots. That would be amazing.

Doresh fucked around with this message at 21:46 on Apr 8, 2015

# ? Apr 8, 2015 21:44

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