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Silent Legions The Bestiary - Creatures of Bleak Dreams Silent Legions follows the bestiary format laid out by Stars Without Numbers and Other Dust: It presents a list of generic statblocks which you pick from based on how much or little TPK potential you want your critter to have, and then roll up some traits to decides its visuals and possible additional abilities it might have. Like Other Dust, it also presents a list of example creatures. The list of statblocks is the biggest so far with a total of 11, including two types of human opponents (common and skilled), a generic undead human statblock and several statblock for your Eldritch horror needs, be it an Amorphous Terror, Humanoid Thing or Outer Entity (which is the most dangerous thing you can encounter, with an average HD 8, 4 tentacle attacks at 1d8 each and a Madness die of 1d10). Now the latter's stats might not sound like much, but they have many things going for them. Like all supernatural critters, they are immune to crit attacks, and Outer Entities are also the primary candidates for creatures that are straight-up immune against magical damage sources. If that wasn't enough, you can turn any creature into a Nemesis. This is a template that beefs up a creature'S HD and attack bonus of 50% (with a minimum of 5 each), and it grants a second action each turn. I was also talking about average stats because each of these statblocks actually has three different stat arrays (Weak, Average and Strong). This is because the special monster traits you can roll up (which includes stuff like "acidic", "multilimbed" and "skeletal") moves one or more stats up or down from the Average array, resulting in more variety in creature stats without having the GM to do much extra work. Though if you want to tweak the creature, you can just pick and choose from the arrays anyways (with a guideline on what to do when a trait boosts a Strong stat or reduces a Weak one). As this is a game about horror, you can roll up on a table to determine what kind of horror the creature is supposed to convey, with a general description about each. Examples include body horror (for all your Junji Itou needs), consumption horror (Berserk seems to love this one), pursuit horrors (for your Eldritch not-Jasons) and sexual horror. Thankfully the books essentially goes "Don't use this if you don't know what you're doing, and be careful to make this an actual focus of an adventure". And the example for this kind of horror is essentially that one scene from Exalted where a little girl got turned into a demon-generating multi-womb, except this can apparently also happen to dudes. There are also rules to roll up diseases and poison, which are fortunately not oldschool enough to just have everything be save-or-die. Most of them are more like debuffs. Mundane Humans You average humans, serial killers, cultists and mad scientists. Special mention goes to the Slasher (HD 6), who is immune against non-magical weapons (though you can set them on fire or drop a building on them), always hits and rolls a damage die that starts at 1d4 and goes up one step up to 1d20 for each hit it scores (can't crit, fortunately). Doesn't come with slasher teleport powers, but he's faster than the other humans. Undead  The friendliest zombie you will ever see A standard selection of zombies, ghouls, vampires, and ghosts. The vampires have the gimmick of letting the PCs roll up an Occult check to see if they can figure out that particular vampire's weaknesses, if they actually now that vampire's origin and name. And to emulate zmbie movie conventions, shotguns and two-handed weapons always auto-crit against zombies. Uncanny Abominations  Just look at this guy. It's like he's doing stand-up comedy :  Now here's the weird and Eldritch stuff. Some of these can be the center of an entire cult, while others just do whatever. Blistered Priests (HD 7) are nasty creatures that love to disguise themselves as priests or therapists, for they feed on human's psychological torment and suffering, which they then turn into physical debilities to make them suffer some more. This torment is kept in boils covering their body, which burst open in melee damage for some extra Madness as their opponent suddenly experiences the suffering of someone else. As cult leaders, they love to supposedly ease their followers' suffering through more and more extreme acts of self-mutilation. Cancer Men (HD 8) are the result of experiments to extends someone's life span with the help of radiation. In the case of the Cancer Men (or Women) this actually worked, though they have basically turned into sentient, human-shaped tumors in the process. As a rather straining feat for them, they can cause cancer through touch. This cancer kills in one week per point of CON on the victim, and it can only be cured by killing the Cancer Man - largely because the tumors are actually part of the Cancer Man. He can feel and see through them, and a sufficently infected victim can even be controlled remotely. Killing a Cancer Man is a pretty hard task unless you manage to pump them full of chemotherapy drugs, for then they will instantly recover all their hit points at the start of every round as long as they still had 1 hit point left . They're kinda like super tumor trolls in that regard. Drowned Kings (HD 12) were the sorcerer kings of what is clearly supposed to be Atlantis. When prophecies foretold the downfall of their kingdom, they performed a ritual to protect themselves from the catastrophe. The ritual worked in that it erased traces of their kingdom from history and threw them into a pocket dimension, where they are sleeping in their sarcophagi. When a Drowned King is awaken from his slumber, they quickly create a court of loyal servants through their scary mind control powers, and they hold court in bizarre palaces that are created by twisting doors and passages of buildings and generally messing with space-time. As they have slept for who knows how long, they hunger for pleasure and intense feelings, which often results in a lot of riots and general chaos. Fetches (HD 8) are awesome. They are supernatural assassins, appearing as car-sized monster spiders who can only be seen by their victim, unless someone else believes in their existence and that they're out to get said victim. They terrorize their prey by appearing a total of seven times, first in the far distance and then coming steadily closer and closer. The seventh time is were they actually attack their victim, though they aren't nice enough to just kill them. Instead they get impaled on one of the spikes on their carapace, where they will live in endless torment until someone manages to free them, at which point they are finally allowed to die. A Fetch typically carries the impaled bodies of their previous victims around. The are still moving and all, but like the Fetch, they don't make any sound. Despite their cruesoome efficiency, summoning a Fetch is tricky. The ritual itself already requires a human sacrifice, and should a Fetch fail in its task (be it because it was killed or banished), a second Fetch will apear to hunt the summoner. Gray Waifs (HD 7) appear as sickly maidens that typicall hang around cults and more powerful Eldritch critters. They love to create a damsel-in-distress narrative for them to attract heroic protectors. Once they have clung to a victim, they will fuel its paranoia by fabricating further troubles for themselves or altering his perception of social interactions. This can go for a long while and can end in their hero killing a dear friend or ally, or helping a cult achieve its goal. When their victim as fulfilled its purpose, the Gray Waif will show its true form: A eight-foot tall cylindrical monster with four tentacles and beaks. The Harbingers Syndrome is a kind of occult fallout that can happen before a natural disaster or in proximity to high magical activity that will have catastrophic effects in the future. Whatever its actual origin or motivation is, the syndrome causes the infected to ensure that the upcoming disaster will not only occur, but will to so in the worst possible way. This "syndrome" will even go so far as to create doppelgangers of those infected to failed at their task. It isn't really spelled out, but the statblock for the Harbinger (at HD 5) is probably for the infected and doppelgangers, which are noticably nastier than most types of humans. Lycanthropes (HD 7) in this game are the result of parasites from a world where everyone's going berserk all the time. Their beast and hybrid forms don't necessarily have to resemble any earthly predator, and even if they generally look more like a dire animal on close inspection. They can only be reduced below 1 hit point through magic or silver weapons, for that metal is toxic to them. They can hulk out whenever they want to, but they prefer the night as that allows them to be more sneaky. They also prefer nights with a mostly full moon because the human senses of their host don't actually improve in monster form, so they need a light source to actually see poo poo. Macguffins are nasty incorporal entities than can transform into whatever object their victim desires the most. The object functions just like the original, but after a couple weeks, more and more of the victim's possessions will become infected by the entity, causing more and more frequent re-rolls to avoid them breaking or generally failing. Eventually, the victim's entire possessions will fall apart. This curse of sorts can be broken my destroying the fake object. This in and of itself is easy, but the Macguffin can influence others to essentially go all Smeagol and try to get the object for themselves. And if everything else fails, the Macguffin can pull a poltergeist and animate objects (HD 1) around it to attack people. Shibboleths (HD 3) are a varied group of Eldritch beings who come in all shapes and sizes. They aren't particularly powerful for a supernatural monster (HD 3) and can't communicate with humans (not that they care about humans unless they need them for siniser purposes). The disturbing thing about Shibboleths is that they don't actually have to hide or anything. Humans who see them (either in the flesh or in a photograph or video) are incapable of conveying their existance in any way, shape or form. PCs can temporarily power through this urge at the cost of Madness, but NPCs are absoultely helpless against this effect. You can have entire villages know about that group of monster who are strolling around the place and building a weird tower near the local market, but none of them would be able to talk about this or call for help. Spoken Ones (HD 8) are acidic blobs of slime the size of a bull who can create human-looking servants of varying levels of intelligence. Aside from digesting human sacrifices to become more powerful and create more sophisticated servants, a Spoken Ones primarily goal is to have its name be spoken by humans. As their names are long and unpronouncable, a Spoken One will send out servants to make its name known piece by piece. These name fragments can be strangely compelling to humans, which can eventually lead into a cult forming around a Spoken One that spends their time chanting parts of its name. The Walkers Between (HD 8) are from the void between the various worlds and dimensions, and their goal is to destroy all form of barriers or boundaries, be they physical or metaphorical. They appear as a tall humanoid shape covered in rags, under which there seems to be nothing at all. Sharp blades and glass shards can protrude form its sleeves to attack, and they don't actually speak as much as they alter the sound around them. It is impossible to hit one with ranged attacks, and their sharp melee attacks have a very high crit chance. As they can create new gates between worlds, cults often summon one to do just that. As payment, a Walker Between will either demand very cryptic and sometimes impossible stuff. Or he just goes body horror and demands victims he can fuse with other victims or even objects. Next Time: Game Master Resources - how to suplex Cthulhu.
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Feb 27, 2016 11:54
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Angelic Player's Guide: Holy Smokes Typically, your best bet for evading Seraphic resonance is 'I don't care to answer that.' 'It's none of your business' is usually false, after all. You may think it's cagey to go with 'It would have been wrong for me to have done that, wouldn't it?' but then, if the Seraph later discovers you did in fact do whatever, you can't claim ignorance as a defense. Silence works pretty well, as do non-sequiturs. Most Seraphim hate them, especially those with no sense of humor, because they misdirect conversation and often leave them seeing something incredibly inane as the target's big lie. This conceals well, but almost always causes a bad reaction. GMs are advised that Seraphim can make mysteries a problem in a hurry...if they can easily get access to anyone they want to question, and if the people they have to question know about the War. Most people don't, making their questioning difficult. Plus, it can be hard to spot truth among normal social llies - dyed blonde hair might be a lie, but not as a disguise - it could just be a lie to conceal age. Plus, Seraphim rarely use their resonance casually - failure takes it out of commission for hours, after all. Seraphim gain dissonance from lies, and can erase that dissonance if they confess to the lie and reveal the whole truth to anyone that heard it, then get forgiveness from all of them. Usually this is impractical. A Seraph can also erase 1 dissonance by spending a week engaged in total ,absolute truthfulness - not only not lying, but not engaging in the sorts of evasion Seraphim normally use to get around difficult truths. They either speak the complete truth or say nothing. Further, if they are subjected to a lie in this perior, they must either expose it or immediately leave. This can make interaction quite difficult. A final way to erase a point of dissonance is to uncover a very large lie and then reveal the truth. This must be a complex lie that will take a lot of work to unravel, and it must serve some greater good to do so. The GM determines what counts. Obviously, the greatest danger for a Seraph is to be trapped in a lie. Humans and most other angels can deal with the polite lies that make life easier. Seraphim often have trouble with the fact that, for example, when someone asks how they look, they don't want an honest evaluation. New Seraphim often must be taught that 'how are you' and 'see you later' aren't meant to be literal - the Truth is that they don't mean what the sound like. Seraphim can grasp this, if in annoyance. They can learn to avoid tactless observation or even to remain silent around lies, but they can't say anything even a little dishonest. They can't tell someone they look fine if they think that person looks overdressed. They can, however, focus on an aspect of the truth - 'I like the color' or 'you will certainly make an impression.' Seraphim prefer to avoid situations where they may be asked difficult questions. They can deal with blatant attempts to take advantage of them by just not answering, but demons love to talk to Seraphim and try to lead them into situations where they either give up information or lie. The wiser Seraphim just walk away. Certain Discords affect Seraphim alone, or more than others. Forked Tongue is a Celestial Discord that makes everyone believe you're lying, especially if you are. It hits Seraphim more than others but can hit other celestials. Painful Lies cannot - it's a Corporeal Discord that causes the Seraph to feel pain in the presence of a lie, to the extent that it reduces all of their rolls and they need to make a Will roll not to visibly flinch. Truthfulness can hit anyone but mostly hits Seraphim - it's an Ethereal Discord that makes it very difficult not to say exactly what you think, without any editing. Stereotype posted:Cherubim: Make sure they are not deceived, so their loyalty is never misplaced. Cherubim are relentlessly devoted to duty, moreso than any other Choir except perhaps the Malakim. They are guardian angels and protectors. In older myths, they were portrayed as fierce and monstrous beasts that would devour any threat to their charges. Novalis and Blandine, the two greatest Cherub Archangels, reflect the more modern, gentler Cherubim, but David, when he was a Cherub, was of the older breed. Famous Cherubim include Anafiel, who brought the prophet Enoch to Heaven, Christopher, Archangel of Children, Jophiel, who guards the Gates of Eden, Kerubiel, who died facing Lucifer in the Revolt, Ridwan, who admits Soldiers of Faith into Heaven, Zadkiel, Archangel of Protection, and Sephon, who was in charge of keeping tabs on Lucifer when the War began. (For some reason Raphael is listed here; she was not a Cherub, however, but an Elohite.) Fer Cherubim are sent ot Earth as free agents. While other angels may just wander in search of trouble, Cherubim do not like such open-ended jobs. They like to be given something to protect. They are rarely leaders, and focus on defense over offense. However, they are vital to many plans, guarding those important ot the War. They protect their charges from all harm - not only by weapons, but any other problem, as well. Cherubim are not hunters, but are excellent trackers, especially of those who would harm their charges. In Heaven, they work as gatekwwpers, guardians and sentinels, happy to watch the same spot for centuries on end. They tend to serve as the greeters and escorts as well, and often as large retinues for Archangels. If an Archangel is worried about an angel, they may set a Cherub to watch the angel's Heart for risk of Outcasting or Falling. Ther Cherub may also be sent to rescue them...or drag them back to Heaven. Most Cherubim prefer Roles that will facilitate their duties, but not all are overtly protective. Bodyguards are nice, but obvious. Many Cherubim work instead as janitors - rarely noticed, able to go anywhere, and they don't mind mopping up. They also enjoy work as PIs, bounty hunters and photographers. Some work as cops or soldiers, but many prefer work as EMTs, firemen, ambulance drivers, park rangers, lifeguards or other custodial or emergency service tasks. Some also serve as teachers, crossing guards or nurses. Cherubim actually quite like human society, but find the moral decay of Western civilization rather frustrating. Those that could not see or could overlook the hypocrisy tended to enjoy America in the 1950s. Many tended to believe that a spouse, two point five kids, a dog and church every Sunday was as good as life got for umans. Cherubim rarely have time to engage in hobbies or diversions, but those who have free time enjoy movies, especially love stories, though they don't like the infidelity and lies that seem to happen in real relationships. Cherubim also almost universally love video games. No reason. The experienced Cherub can use their resonance to learn more about their charges than they normally get. By taking -2 to the TN of their resonance, they can determine if anything or anyone has taken a special interest in their attuned. CD 1 means they just have a vague sense of someone watching them. CD 2 means they know for certain if someone is. CD 3 means they have a good idea of who. CD 4 means they know exactly who. CD 5 means they also know to what extent someone is watching, including the location of any bugs or cameras. CD 6 means they know why, too. With -4 to the TN, they can even use their resonance to learn more about their attuned (or the Role of their attuned, for celestials). At CD 1, they know the attuned's name or basic function. CD 2 gives basic facts about the person - age, profession, etc. - the name of the owner of the attuned or the significance of a place. At CD 3, they get that plus the person's basic personality, the object's advanced functions and the major events in the last year at the place. At CD 4, that plus a person's basic desires, the last year of an object's history or the major events and visitors of the last five years at a place. At CD 5, that plus a person's basic fears, the last five years of an object's history and all the details of its operation, and the events and visitors of the past 10 years at a place. CD 6, that plus every significant event in the lifespan or history of the person, place or thing. Cherubim who are present when their charge is attacked in any way can make a Dodge + Celestial Forces roll to impose themselves between the target and the threat. If they succeed, they become the target of the attack and can make their own defense roll normally. Cherubim add Celestial Forces to any skill roll made in direct protection of a charge, including any attacks on anyone immediately attacking or threatening the charge and their own defenses against such attacks. Cherubim also become implacable foes of anyone that harms their charges. Should the object of a Cherub's attunement be destroyed or severely harmed, as determined by the GM, the Cherub will know some of when and how and can make a Perception roll to link to the antagonist through the Symphony - though without a CD 6, they won't know exactly who. If they make this roll or were rpesent for the destruction, they can then choose to attune to the antagonist, then and there, no contact needed...but they don't have to protect the target. This 'nemesis attunement' otherwise follows all normal Cherub attunement rules, but gets no benefit from any special Superior attunements. This attunement replaces the one to the original charge only if that charge was actually destroyed. A Cherub will lose the dissonance of allowing their charge to be harmed (and also lose the nemesis attunement) if they find and appropriately punish the attacker. If the attacker was a demon, destroying their vessel or soul is always appropriate. However, for mortals, too much punishment can be as bad as too little. A murderer deserves death, sure, but a kid who broke a relic might better get a spanking. Nemesis attunements are always optional and may be ended freely at any time. If a Cherub can repair the original charge, that's usually a better idea - saving the charge is more important than retribution and will also cure dissonance. While you can see ruses in the use of this, Cherubim would never do so and would find the idea horrific. A Cherubic attunement isn't about convenience - it's a part of you, more important than your own life. If you do do it, you get 2 Dissonance - one for the destruction of the attuned and one for arranging its destruction for your own convenience, against its best interest. Also a note - Cherubim can use their resonance to triangulate locations even when they aren't able to tell exact locations from a resonance roll, and can often use this to help figure out their own locations when lost. Triangulation is quite handy. Cherubim take dissonance hard. They often become depressed and may lose self-confidence, becoming afraid to attune to things. From there, ti's a downward slide to apathy and a Fall. Cherubim prefer to convert dissonance to Discord - better to admit failure and do penance than to slide lower. If a Cherub earned dissonance by letting an attuned by destroyed, making the attuned whole again will remove it, but there's not a lot that can be done for a dead attuned. When a Cherub eats dissonance for failing to erase an attunement, it's because the attempted 'betrayal' causes harm, and in these cases, the Cherub can erase the dissonance by taking elaborate precautions to ensure they leave the subject in a better state than they were when they tried to break the attunement, then making a second attempt. Fail again, you get another dissonance and keep the attunement, though, and eventual success will only remove one dissonance. If you earn dissonance by betraying a Superior, friend or your own morals, you can emove it only by fixing whatever harm you did by the betrayal and being forgiven by those you betrayed. The biggest danger to a Cherub is to attune without thought. Sure, the resonance is convenient, but you must protect all your charges and will suffer if they are hurt. Only a foolish Cherub uses their resonance to track foes or more things than they can defend. Howveer, Cherubim need not be attuned to gain dissonance. Their word is their bond - promising to do something and failing can cause dissonance, as can pledging loyalty to a cause and then abandoning it. Thus, Cherubim choose their friends carefully and are nearly as cautious as Malakim about making oaths, if less focused on wording - for Cherubim, it is spirit that matters. Cherubim must be careful to uphold all their obligations and avoid conflicts of duty or failure to keep their word. Special Cherub Discords include Life-Linked Attunement, which is a Corporeal Discord that causes physical harm to the Cherub when their charges are harmed. Overzealous is a Celestial Discord that makes the Cherub see threats everywhere to their charge, forcing them to spend at least (level*2) hours per day protecting their charges from anything nearby. Wordbound sometimes also suffer that, focused on their Word. Ritualized Responsibilities is an Ethereal Discord that makes the Cherub engage in ritual behavior for no real purpose, rather like having OCD except it can involve weird angelic behavior. Other angels can gain this as well. Trenchant Bond is an Ethereal Discord that causes the Cherub to gain dissonance when they cannot see their attuned or move more than (Forces) yards away from them, with the duration between dissonance hits depending on the level of the Discord. Stereotypes posted:Seraphim: The purity of their devotion to the truth is admirable, but they tend to lack sympathy for those who must live with their proclamations. Next time: Wheels within wheels
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Feb 27, 2016 17:25
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Doresh posted:Silent Legions I think you just sold me a copy of Silent Legions. Holy poo poo, I love those.
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Feb 27, 2016 17:28
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Doresh posted:
That is *funny*. You think you *see* Orz but Orz are not *light reflections*. Maybe you think Orz are *many bubbles* too. It is such a joke. Orz are not *many bubbles* like *campers*. Orz are just Orz.
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Feb 27, 2016 17:30
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Mors Rattus posted:That is *funny*. You think you *see* Orz but Orz are not *light reflections*. At least they aren't goddamn Juffo-Wup freaks.
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Feb 27, 2016 17:35
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Glorious Shofixti The Shibboleths were also presented in Stars Without Number as an example of an "Other" alien race, and their mind whammy effect was even freakier: those affected by it not only cannot perceive the Shibboleth at all, but will also deny any evidence to the contrary to the best of their ability. The only way to counter the effect was by being or becoming a torched psychic (losing Wisdom or Constitution points to use a psychic power) or by submitting to a surgical procedure that also caused stat point loss.
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Feb 27, 2016 18:08
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Bieeardo posted:I think you just sold me a copy of Silent Legions. Holy poo poo, I love those. Then I hope the Appendix will seal the deal for the rest. Mors Rattus posted:That is *funny*. You think you *see* Orz but Orz are not *light reflections*. Man, now I remember those. I want a visual novel about them. Orzuful Boyfriend. Traveller posted:The Shibboleths were also presented in Stars Without Number as an example of an "Other" alien race, and their mind whammy effect was even freakier: those affected by it not only cannot perceive the Shibboleth at all, but will also deny any evidence to the contrary to the best of their ability. The only way to counter the effect was by being or becoming a torched psychic (losing Wisdom or Constitution points to use a psychic power) or by submitting to a surgical procedure that also caused stat point loss. Dammit I forgot about their debut. And Madness is more or less torching in this case. That even comes up in the appendix (because of course there are rules for using Madness and the Slaughter Die mechanic in SWN). (I suppose this connection implies the Scream from SWN was the result of not-Azathoth sneezing. Or those Walker dudes trying to "free" the psychic power. And several of the crazy psychics from Other Dust might be Harbingers.) Doresh fucked around with this message at 23:29 on Feb 27, 2016 |
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Feb 27, 2016 23:19
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Doresh posted:
Add Transhuman Tech into the mix and suddenly the autonomists and hypercapitalists of the Threshold Sector have a very good reason not to go through the Tempest. Which of course means they'll do it anyway, so basically it's Eclipse Phase.
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Feb 27, 2016 23:41
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Bieeardo posted:I think you just sold me a copy of Silent Legions. Holy poo poo, I love those. Half of them sound like modern/Stephen Moffat Doctor Who villains, where the trick is figuring out what weird set of rules they obey, and how that manifests in their effects on others. You start with fragments of a name or rumors of a spider and work backwards from there. You could probably do it in reverse and add gore to The Silence or the Weeping Angels or whatever and turn them into Silent Legions monsters. Or treat In Nomine's Angels as similarly rule-bound monsters...opposed by a Free Lillim who fled Heaven and Hell...
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Feb 27, 2016 23:43
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Doresh posted:Man, now I remember those. I want a visual novel about them. Orzuful Boyfriend. Until your boyfriend kills you for getting too close and maybe discovering the truth about dimensional fatigue.
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Feb 28, 2016 16:17
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Kurieg posted:Until your boyfriend kills you for getting too close and maybe discovering the truth about dimensional fatigue. ...So, the Hurtful Boyfriend story arc, then.
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Feb 28, 2016 19:41
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Angelic Player's Guide: Holy Cow Ofanim are Heaven'st fastest, embodying dynamic energy. Most know at least one Song of Motion. Some believe the Ofanim care nothing for duty or the work of others; this is incorrect. They are as dedicated as anyone else, they just don't think conviction can be expressed properly except by action. Janus and Gabriel are the Archangelic Ofanim. Famous Ofanim include Ambriel, Angel of Last-Second Rescues, Galgaliel, who represents the Choir on the Seraphim Council, Io, Angel of Dreams of Flight, Ofaniel, leader of Heaven's messengers, Orifiel, the highest-ranking Ofanite of Puriy, who Fell after Uriel was recalled, Raziel, the Angel of Mysteries, Rikbiel, the Angel of Ascension, Sandalphon, fastest of the Ofanim, and Tychagar, Angel of Heavenly Communication. Ofanim act with haste and speed. They can be thorough, thoughtful or creative, though they aren't good at subtle, but their greatest virtue is speed. They are often used as messengers or transportation specialists, and they often have a knack for networks and efficient assembly lines - in design, that is. They make poor managers. Ofanim are excellent guides and navigators, as well, and often make for excellent combatants. They tend not to do well with long-term jobs, however. They aren't patient. In Heaven as well as Earth, they are messengers and guides, and some have even got the task of carrying messages to Hell and back - though never negotiating. Ofanim are awful diplomats. In the old days, Ofanim were usually messengers, sailors, tinkers or soldiers. These days, they have more options. Few Ofanim enjoy maintaining Roles, especially if they don't get to travel. As a result, they prefer to be bounty hunters, PIs, truckers, bikers, bush pilots, wilderness guides or photojournalists. Many also work as pizza delivery folks - they can go anywhere, after all, and quickly. They also like to be cabbies when they can. Soldiers and sailors also see Ofanim in Roles, but generally only in rapid deployment forces, and warrior Ofanim prefer to work as mercenaries than regular soldiers. Ofanim adore the breakneck pace of modern cities. They've loved cars from the outset, and while many angels blame Vapula for them, OFanim think they were Jean's. They love to move at a breakneck pace, and some even turn their vehicles into artifacts. Prisons terrify them, as does the idea of incarceration. They favor death over life in prison - it's more merciful, to their minds. They tend to view relationships the same way - they're passionate, loving and loyal, but terrified of commitment. Ofanim resonance is modified - their ability to boost Agility-related roles is limited now to only those that involve the Ofanite moving themselves in some way, so they can boost Driving or Dodge but not Throwing. Ofanim who resonate at a -2 penalty can add the CD to the CD rather than the TN of any Agility-based roll, but it still adds even for failure. This cannot be combined with general risk modifiers. Ofanim may spend a point of Essence and make a resonance roll to teleport (Celestial Forces) yards without an action...but if they fail, they take (CD) corporeal damage and can't try again for an hour. Ofanim may also use their resonance at a -4 to shorten the time needed to do any task. The GM determines what that means, but typically it will add the CD to the Ofanite's rating in any skill solely to see how long it takes to do the job, or will use CD as the divisor for determining how long it takes. Ofanim are excellent but terrifying drivers - often they can halve travel times, but typically that measn they're cutitng through pedestrian walkways or going over 150 on the interstate, and they definitely tend to attract police attention doing that. Their speed on foot can be quite stealthy, however. Any Ofanite in celestial form moving at a resonance-based speed gets -4 to all others' attempts to perceive them - they're just too fast. Any teleportation, obviously, is basically instantaneous and thus invisible travel...but you can't open doors, windows or so on at instant speed, so if you don't stop for them, you'll probably tear through and be hurt in the process. Ofanim earn dissonance by inactivity and stumbling. Those who earn it by inaction can erase if they, in that instant, undo what their inaction allowed to happen. If an Ofanite sees an elderly woman but stands idly by rather than stopping her as she gets hit by a car, they take dissonance...but if she survives, the Ofanite can remove that dissonance by immediate application of the Song of Healing, as long as it heals her completely, and also fixing any collateral damage, including to the car. Ofanite who earn dissonance for failing a resonance-enhanced Agility-based roll can erase that dissonance with a second resonance-boosted attempt at the same action...as long as the new one succeeds with a CD equal to or greater than the failed roll. A seocnd failure will just cause more dissonance, and while a success will never add dissonance, it won't remove it unless the CD is good enough. You can keep trying, but you can never remove more than 1 dissonance this way, so it's not really a good idea. The most painful situation for an Ofanite is to be constrained. They hate lines and avoid situations where they have to wait, so they work poorly in most organizations. They aren't good at teams, and that can be a problem, so it's often best to give them as much leeway as possible. They are notorious for risktaking, and poor judgment can result in dissonance, so they have to learn when it's best to apply their resonance. The best way to avoid failure is to become skilled, and Ofanim try to get good at any Agility-based task, as well as at calculating odds. Further, they often learn to recognize situations which would make them helpless and actively avoid them. Sometimes they can't do anything about it, bvut they try to avoid no-win situations. Ofanite-specific Discords include Claustrophobia, an Ethereal Discord that causes them to take dissonance if in an eclosed space, requiring opne space out to the Discord's leveli n yards. Anyone can have the Discord, but only Ofanim take dissonance from the terror - everyone else just gets a fear of being in those spaces. Combustible is a Corporeal Discord that causes deterioration of the vessel at speed. Any time the vessel moves quickly for an extended period, the vessel will actually smoke and begin to melt, taking the Discord's level in damage each minute. GHyperactive is a Celestial Discord that keeps Ofanim from sitting still, requiring them to have an area around them equal to the Discord's level in yards to move around in unless they make a Will roll to suppress it for (CD) minutes, or else become a frantic cripple. Stereotypes posted:Seraphim: They've usually got good advice, but try to get information from them in as few words as possible. Let them get started on a lecture and you'll be listening forever. Elohim are cold, aloof and detached. They see the truth of the soul by freeing their reason of anything that might color their perceptions, and this view is alien to most humans and even to many celestials. Heaven's greatest Elohim are the Archangels Khalid and Jean. Other famous Elohim are Camael, the first Elohite to ever Fall and formerly the highest-ranking non-Seraph on the Council, Dokiel, Angel of Weights and Measures, Haniel, a warrior Elohite noted for valor in the Revolt, Johab, Angel of Salvation, /Lailah, Angel of Conception, who records the destinies and fates of all mortals before their birth, Mihr, Angel of Mercy and Sophia, Angel of Enlightenment. Elohim serve in many roles, as objective opinions are often handy. Their main purpose, though, is counselling others. They tend to prefer avoiding Disturbance and are excellent at advising others. They are often Heaven's subtlest angels, as well. They work well in jobs that would upset other angels, as they can handle unpleasant tasks as long as they're for the greater good. They will not hesitate to kill one ot save a dozen, for example, and this can frighten even other angels. Their resonance is also good for predicting human actions and advising others based on those predictions. They make great interrogators. In Heaven, they help pass judgment on others, counsel other angels and even Archangels, and provide guidance for those who fear directly approaching a Superior. They sometimes even go out to help Outcasts return to the fold. Elohim often take Roles as doctors, counselors, psychologists or therapists, and do well in emotionally charged environments, as they can keep a cool head well. They are very good in any social profession and often in very technical ones, as well. They can also serve well as detectives, investigators, or diplomats. They are not creative, however, in most cases, and are poor at any job that requires it, like an artist or journalist. They rarely have the drive or desire to change society. Most are also poor combatants - they may know how to fight, but they are too meticulous to trust their instincts well. Elohim do not feel strongly, as a group, about human society, except to dislike those parts that are openly harmful or diabolically inspired. They accept humans for their complexity and regard each human work as a product of God's greatest experiment, not to be tampered with easily. They observe, understand and rarely intervene. They tend to focus more on the interesting than the fun - events where emotions run high provide them with insight, even if they may personally dislike the event. They also like to find rational humans. They make excellent philosophers and scholars, and enjoy debate. Some also study Eastern meditation techniques to help their tranquility. They tend to be very subtle and manipulative with humans. An Elohite who spends a week observing a mortal and using their resonance at least three times a day will quickly begin to sense patterns in the subject's life that will help predict their past and future. Once this is done, they need to interact significantly with the mortal at least three times to achieve a sympathetic state. The angel must be able to question the subject freely, so it is often best to bfriend them or work as a counselor for them. Once they achieve this state of sympathy, they can spend 1 Essence to develop a clairvoyant sense for the subject, allowing them to make a resonance roll to know the target's location, actions and feelings as well as their next likely action. This sense can be maintained until the angel uses their resonance for anything else or leaves the corporeal realm for any reason. Elowhim who become dissonant tend to express their emotions briefly but intensely. They can work off one dissonance per week by spending that time in a state of total calm - though their environment doesn't have to be calm. The trick is that the Elohite must be, meditating and listening to the Symphony. Elohim who earn dissonance for acting according to their desires rather than their objectivity, however, must return the Symphony to the wy it was before they imposed their will to lose the dissonance. Sometimes this is not possible. Elohim need a light tough. Trying to avoid taking any side is hard, especially when trying to balance your nature and influence on the world. Elohim do have emoptions and can even express them, but they may not let it influence their actions, and expression of emotions while remaining purely rational is hard. Many risk losing their perspective by overzealously suppressing their feelings, so they prefer to hold opinions that are completely subjective, like having a favorite color, that can't reasonably influence them. Likewise, they may form and express opinions...they just need to be sure their opinions are based on facts. Even when being objective, they cannot become amoral. Some begin to rationalize subjectivity for 'the greater good' and allow themselves private selfishness where it 'won't do harm'. They are on a slippery slope, becoming increasingly emotional and opinionated, and may never quite realize when, exactly, they Fall. The game suggests speaking of the character in the third person to create a sense of detachment. Elohite-specific Discords include Emotional Static, an Ethereal Discord that causes Elohim to take a penalty equal to the number of other people in range of their resonance, to a max of the Discord's level, as they pick up surface emotion from everyone nearby. Further, when resonating someone, they get information on (Discord's level) subjects in range, not just the target, and will not be able to tell which comes from which person. Empathy is a Celestial Discord that means, when the Elohite fails a resonance roll, they experience the target's emotions rather than just reading them, for (10*CD) minutes. They do not think they are the target, but will gain the target's personality traits. A Will roll is required to suppress these emotions for up to (CD) minutes. Oversensitive is an Ethereal Discord that, when the Elohite fails a resonance roll, causes the target's emotions to overwhelm the Elohite's senses, stunning them for (CD) minutes and preventing them from using their resonance again for (Discord's level) hours. Stereotypes posted:Seraphim: We value their ability to see the truth; this can be as important as knowing the reasons for the truth. We hope they find our insights equally valuable. Next time: Virtue and Perspective
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Feb 28, 2016 22:18
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Io, Angel of Dreams of Flight
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Feb 29, 2016 03:56
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Elohim are stupidly fun to play, and to GM. You'd think the pushed idea of cold and emotionless would make it boring, but there's a hundred ways to play it without making it some sad Spock parody. It's enjoyable to figure out what the Masterless Master would be like for a certain Word. Plus they're good for straight faced vicious sarcasm. Also Ofanim are weird as being, I think, the only Choir that can gain dissonance from USING their resonance. Ofanim and Calabim have always been kind of eerily close to one another conceptually, less of a Fall and more of a Small Hop Down what with the whole beings of elemental power concept. But yeah, Elohim. Khalid... yeah. Elohite, the beings of logic and reason, with the Word of Faith. Focused monomaniacally on Islam. Yeeeeaaah. The worst part is that a lot of these batshit idiot ideas got painted on in thick globs, and later canon couldn't really contradict it, only try to mitigate it. Seriously what the living gently caress was (still IS) wrong with 90s RPGs.
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Feb 29, 2016 11:46
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I really like the Archangel of Faith being an Elohite, but Khalid's character... yeah. In my preparations for an In Nomine campaign, I've revised Khalid to still be Muslim, but he's more Islam's chief patron in heaven than a Muslim fanatic himself, comparable to the celestial patrons I established for Catholicism (Laurence of course), Orthodoxy (Dominic), Judaism (Novalis), and Protestantism (Leviathan, my homebrew archangel).
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Feb 29, 2016 13:13
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Bill Webb's Book of Dirty Tricks Part 8: Greed is Bad! This final section involves tricks and scenarios that try to exploit the players' desire for more loot and treasure. Collapsing Treasure Room quote:We all remember the scene from The Mummy where the greedy evil henchman gets trapped inside the sealing tomb because he is unwilling to leave behind the hundred-pound sack of gold. Whether you trap a player character for being greedy or have the ceiling fall down on him, it’s a useful lesson that greed can get you killed. Yet again, he's outright condoning the killing of player-characters in order to teach them a lesson, and for the mistake of not playing carefully. Examples of this trick include: * Load-bearing treasure: the loot is embedded in the walls, such that removing it will directly cause the building to collapse. * Load-bearing enchantments being maintained by the Evil Wizard: when you kill the big bad, the structural integrity of the dungeon/castle/tower becomes compromised because reasons, and you only have a limited window to get out with what you can before it all comes down. * A monster pulls a Samson and begins tearing down the walls of the dungeon, either as one of the enemies the party was already fighting, or as a new entrant into the fight * From any of these situations, assume that the exit is some distance away and so the players have to make a break for the exit ... except the encumbrance rules mean they can't move that fast! The point is that you must force the players to make hard and fast choices regarding how much treasure they're going to try to get away with. I've seen this pulled off well exactly once, in a Dungeon Crawl Classics scenario. The players fought a purple demon on some island, they slew it, and it triggered a tsunami that would drown all of them. The GM made a secret roll to determine how many rounds the players had before the tsunami hit, and then played out loot recovery by rounds, something like "1 round of rummaging through the gold pile nets you 100 GP". That's probably the best use of this trope, because it's an interesting decision that the players are somewhat informed about, rather than being a gotcha. The Apple Tree The idea here is to have some sort of boon that looks like it might be replenishing, except it takes so long to replenish that the players will have to (unbeknownst to them) have to make a Golden Goose decision. quote:The Silver Apples I'm calling out that last sentence as at least a good thing, that the presence of a Druid would allow the party to be fully-informed of what the deal is. Magic Pools and Potions (Is One Enough and Two Too Many?) This is supposed to be a lesson in moderation. Drink from the fountain once and you gain flight. Drink from it twice and it is poison. Make a wish on the statue once and your attributes increase. Wish on it twice and it decreases your attributes instead. Eat a certain herb and you're healed a little or lose a status effect. Eat too much of it and you suffer "an entirely horrible effect" The author makes an alcohol and overdose analogy, and also a "pop rocks and coca-cola" analogy: if a character drinks two potions in quick succession, go to the AD&D 1st Edition Dungeon Master's Guide, look up the Potion Miscibility Table and inflict a bad effect on them because the two potions mixed in their stomach! And we're right back to gotcha/Nethack-spoilers gameplay. This is exactly the kind of thing that turned me off from ever touching a shrine in the original Diablo I. While I could look up all of the effects and match them to the generic and vague names, it was too much work to bother doing that, and especially the ones that are only good for you if your stats/character status falls within a certain range. Hiding in Plain Sight This one is the gag from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: the Holy Grail is actually the plain-looking wooden cup, and the ogre's tattered, ratty, stinky bedsheet is a Cloak of Elvenkind. He mentions this as yet another way to deny the players from obtaining treasure if they're just not thorough enough. I want to title this short paragraph "Burying the Lead". Besides the fact that very few players in TYOOL 2016 are going to miss the gimmick of a bunch of golden ornate objects next to an ordinary one, this is just another of those things that you, the GM, are completely in control of by dint of how the players can't know anything unless you tell them. Conclusion quote:Well, gentle reader, I hope you have enjoyed this brief peek into my brain, and I hope you have a better understanding of how I think when I run a game. Certainly all of you reading this have similar tricks up your sleeve, all of which I would love to hear about. This sampling of a few ideas is at best an idea generator for all of you, and at worst a list of one-off things you can try in your home campaign. As a final send-off, he gives us a "role-playing, not roll-playing!" good bye. And that's the end of the book. It didn't sit right with me skimming through it and going through the introduction, and the close read-through did not improve my opinion of it any. It's a very antagonistic, very "cull the weak" style that may well have been in vogue 30 years ago, but just strikes me as mean-spirited and punishing today. A lot of it is founded upon hiding essential information from the players, or making it so that they cannot learn it until they've paid some dire cost first, or exploiting the player-to-character knowledge gap to force the players to make decisions that the characters should honestly be more informed about considering they're supposed to be adventurers. The second is perhaps forgivable to a point, but the first and latter approaches rob the players of agency because if a game is a series of interesting decisions, you cannot have one if you have any sort of background with which to make an informed choice about. While I have no doubt that there are people who enjoy playing his games, and that that sort of game can be enjoyable if played off well (as I mentioned, Dungeon Crawl Classics' level-0 funnel plays the killer dungeon trope to the hilt), this book isn't for me, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
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Feb 29, 2016 13:26
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Maybe, just maybe, he could save himself a lot of hassle if he ran a game that didn't revolve around scrounging and slaughtering.
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Feb 29, 2016 14:47
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Alien Rope Burn posted:Maybe, just maybe, he could save himself a lot of hassle if he ran a game that didn't revolve around scrounging and slaughtering. Is it just me, or do all of these "Play Dirty" dickheads hone in on D&D or its offshoots? Even Wick didn't seem to talk about LOT5R or 7th Sea too much in his books.
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Feb 29, 2016 14:54
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 OPPOSITON FORCES, PART 2  1894 Vampire Edom probably has a vampire. Who is it? Maybe Lucy Westerna, maybe Mina Harker. Maybe someone else. She's only a century old, so she's weaker than Dracula, but being a full vampire she's still a step above the Brides. The statblock below is a baseline, but not hard and fast. Depending on Edom training, she might have ability ratings in Shooting or Weapons. If she's been upgraded by Edom research, her other abilities might be higher. quote:General Abilities: Aberrance: 16, Hand-to-Hand 11, Health 11  HMS Prosperine Ratings After the Dukes, The naval ratings from the Prosperine are Edom's primary forces on the ground for their more violent operations. Standard operation: Do what you're told by a man you don't know, and don't see anything while you do it. Their stats are pulled from NBA's generic enemy statblocks for Special Police or Special Operations Soldiers. Rating typical gear loadout: Assault rifle, marksman rifle, Glock 17. All guns have tactical UV lights on them that will suppress vampiric powers (but have no effect on Dracula). Special Weapons Training with crossbows, night-vision optics, kukri knives. The Conspiracy So, that's all of Edom's forces, but they're hardly the only forces on the table. It's time for Dracula's minions! Most of Dracula's run-of-the-mill minions use the default Thug statblock - he doesn't seek out highly-trained humans, because if he wants something done right he can just send a Renfield. Some things Dracula might send after the agents:
Regional Assets How much muscle Dracula can flex depends on the location. In Romania, every node has at least one asset bribed or coerced to do his bidding, usually acting through the Romanian mafia. 1-6 cops in every city in Romania are under his wing. Wherever he has messy work to do, Dracula has at least 20 thugs and 5 thug bosses (statblock: Mafioso). In Bucharest, that goes up to 50 thugs and 10 bosses, plus more through his money men if he feels it's necessary. If he needs money, Dracula can dig up a million pounds in a day.  The Satanic Cult of Dracula Stoker's notes describe Dracula leading a cabal of worshippers in London, but the references were removed from the published version of the novel. Edom would have wiped out what they were aware of after Dracula fell in 1894, but they couldn't get everything - the cult has grown in the shadows for the past hundred years. Was it abandoned when Dracula withdrew from London, or does he still rule it from afar?  Either way, the cult is small - thirteen seats, one reserved for the Master. The other twelve might include any other Conspiracy vampires who operate in London - Lucy, the Brides, someone more recent. There might also be an elder Renfield as a survivor from the cult's 1894 origins. Possible new blood (a lot of these are NPCs we haven't met yet):
Beyond the ruling circle, the cult has secret meeting places and servants - locations might include Coldfall House, Canary Wharf, a Red Room, Le Dragon Noir or a copy of it (more on those later). If the cult has a funding source, make it a node in the Conspyramid. The Human Trafficker may be involved, since cults need human sacrifices from time to time. Baseline stats for cultists: quote:General Abilities: Athletics 4, Disguise 4, Driving 4, Hand-to-Hand 3, Health 6, Shooting 4, Weapons 6 Baselan stats for low-ranking cult servants: quote:General Abilities: Disguise 4, Driving 6, Hand-to-Hand 6, Health 3, Shooting 4 Next: DRACULA
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Feb 29, 2016 15:27
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Kavak posted:Is it just me, or do all of these "Play Dirty" dickheads hone in on D&D or its offshoots? Even Wick didn't seem to talk about LOT5R or 7th Sea too much in his books. I'd say part of it is because lots of people play D&D: you write for your audience. You're probably a D&D player yourself, so you write what you know. Another contributing factor is the "I already know this" syndrome: did you know D&D 3rd Edition's DMG has a poo poo-ton of practical advice for GMing? You'd never know it though if you only ever homed in on the mechanical parts, since you've already been playing long enough that you begin assuming you can skip those sections ... and then you end up buying a book specifically about GMing anyway. The genre also has something to do with it: you couldn't pull the sorts of gotcha bullshit you'd find in Bill Webb's book if you were running not-Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, because you and the character both know that a door is a door is a door. Okay, maybe you can have the ecoterrorists rig the door with a booby trap, and maybe you'll declare that Ding Chavez gets his face blown off by a claymore mine if he doesn't explicitly declare that he's going to check the door for a tripwire, and maybe you're going to put a claymore on top of a claymore just to gently caress with the players some more, but you're not going to pull poo poo like poisonous potions and unkillable enemies and statues that turn traitor if you touch them twice and illusions that you have no choice to believe are actually there and ghosts that walk through walls. EDIT: That is of course unless Rainbow Six ends up fighting ECO-VAMPIRES, but then you'd know going in that it's actually Night's Black Agents, and that just ruins the surprise. gradenko_2000 fucked around with this message at 15:51 on Feb 29, 2016 |
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Feb 29, 2016 15:35
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BRB settinng up Rainbow Six campaign
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Feb 29, 2016 15:44
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In between the NBA review here, the imminent release of the Delta Green RPG, and playing through Raven Shield over the Christmas Holidays, I've really wanted to get my Phoenix Command retroclone/houserules++ to the point where I can run a game of Delta Green: Raven Shield...
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Feb 29, 2016 16:05
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A lot of it is that many versions of D&D are dysfunctional, but when it breaks down, it's not D&D's fault, it's the players' fault. After all, D&D is in a big, thick book! It has lots of rules! It has a wizard ejaculating magic from his fingers! It's an authority!
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Feb 29, 2016 17:54
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LatwPIAT posted:In between the NBA review here, the imminent release of the Delta Green RPG, and playing through Raven Shield over the Christmas Holidays, I've really wanted to get my Phoenix Command retroclone/houserules++ to the point where I can run a game of Delta Green: Raven Shield...
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Feb 29, 2016 18:09
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Alien Rope Burn posted:a wizard ejaculating magic from his fingers
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Feb 29, 2016 18:17
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ProfProf, between your awesome Undertale LP and selling me on NBA, just gotta say, "Thank you!". Currently plotting an NBA campaign with either A) A game with the sparkly Twilight vampires as the conspiracy, or B) A Dracula Dossier scenario with pregen characters based on the cast of Archer. "Do you want VAMPIRES?!? Because *that's* how you get vampires!!!"
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Feb 29, 2016 19:57
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Why not both? Bill Webb should design videogames. That 'gently caress you, game!! RESTART!' loop is pretty addictive. quote:I've seen this pulled off well exactly once, in a Dungeon Crawl Classics scenario. The players fought a purple demon on some island, they slew it, and it triggered a tsunami that would drown all of them. The GM made a secret roll to determine how many rounds the players had before the tsunami hit, and then played out loot recovery by rounds, something like "1 round of rummaging through the gold pile nets you 100 GP". That's probably the best use of this trope, because it's an interesting decision that the players are somewhat informed about, rather than being a gotcha. There was a Fallout: New Vegas DLC that pulled something like this, but there was a way to game the system that kinda ruined the thematics of it. I do think a dungeon ending with a Metroid style run while everything explodes could be fun.
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Feb 29, 2016 20:14
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gradenko_2000 posted:Speaking of Phoenix Command, I tried to do a write-up of Sword's Path Glory, and that just broke me. I got all the way to the Shock tables before I gave up. You are a more steely man than I. Girl. Sword's Path Glory is... like, you know how in computer fighting games your moves are timing-based with animation-cancelling windows? SPG is like that, but in paper form. It's not even particularly difficult, it's just something of a chore to do all the math and tick-counting you need to do to play it. (I've never actually tried playing it, but I can tell how it works from the rules.) Like, in attempting to make a retroclone of PCCS, the very first step I took was to get rid of all the multiplication, because multiplying all damage by 10/HLT whenever someone gets shot is just a chore. SPG gleefully expects you to perform all that multiplication, and more!
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Feb 29, 2016 20:42
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Count Chocula posted:Why not both? That was Dead Money, which at least sorta spends a great deal of the DLC reminding you about how the very most important thing is "letting go" of various things, so it doesn't come entirely out of nowhere. Maybe a gigantic massive heavy pile of gold is one of those things to let go of 
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Feb 29, 2016 20:54
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Count Chocula posted:Why not both? Ironically, while exploiting "any part of a corpse counts as the whole thing for adding/removing items from its inventory" was slightly counter-thematic to Fallout, it feels very AD&D. Like, the kind of custom 3rd level Transmutation a particularly cheesy wizard researches.
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Feb 29, 2016 20:56
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Count Chocula posted:There was a Fallout: New Vegas DLC that pulled something like this, but there was a way to game the system that kinda ruined the thematics of it. I do think a dungeon ending with a Metroid style run while everything explodes could be fun. Moinkmaster posted:That was Dead Money, which at least sorta spends a great deal of the DLC reminding you about how the very most important thing is "letting go" of various things, so it doesn't come entirely out of nowhere. Maybe a gigantic massive heavy pile of gold is one of those things to let go of ...Man, I did my run-through of New Vegas as 'brute with a bumper sword', so I was able to get -most- of those gold bars and lug them all the way home because my carry capacity was ridiculous. I never ended up selling them, either, just arranged them all pretty on my coffee table, because I couldn't find someone with enough caps/expensive items I wanted to buy that it was worth breaking them out of storage.
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Feb 29, 2016 22:15
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Count Chocula posted:There was a Fallout: New Vegas DLC that pulled something like this, but there was a way to game the system that kinda ruined the thematics of it. Yeah, but Dead Money was trying to make a point about having to let the "Old World" go, which may or may not have been dickish, but at least was trying to make a point. There's a weird push/pull with D&D where we (Americans) are taught in a lot of our stories and media that greed is bad and leads to a bad end. But D&D not only rewards greed, but makes it the primary reward system in the earliest versions. So you have this whole thing where it feels "just" for DMs to find ways to punish people for their greed, even though the game practically requires it in its default state.
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Feb 29, 2016 22:16
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Alien Rope Burn posted:Yeah, but Dead Money was trying to make a point about having to let the "Old World" go, which may or may not have been dickish, but at least was trying to make a point. Gordon Gecko would love D&D.
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Feb 29, 2016 22:29
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Alien Rope Burn posted:There's a weird push/pull with D&D where we (Americans) are taught in a lot of our stories and media that greed is bad and leads to a bad end. But D&D not only rewards greed, but makes it the primary reward system in the earliest versions. So you have this whole thing where it feels "just" for DMs to find ways to punish people for their greed, even though the game practically requires it in its default state. I think it helps to imagine the PCs not as murder hobos, but as medieval fantasy Indiana Jones'. Just add the houserule that they don't gain XP from their treasure unless it goes into a museum. Oh, and make whips useful. Doresh fucked around with this message at 23:18 on Feb 29, 2016 |
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Feb 29, 2016 23:16
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Doresh posted:I think it helps to imagine the PCs not as murder hobos, but as medieval fantasy Indiana Jones'. Be sure to bring a wizard so you can cast Detect Nazis and Otto's Irresistible Car Chase.
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Feb 29, 2016 23:41
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Doresh posted:I think it helps to imagine the PCs not as murder hobos, but as medieval fantasy Indiana Jones'. Just add the houserule that they don't gain XP from their treasure unless it goes into a museum. Not to say all D&D games are that way, that's just where the mechanics naturally lead one unless you actually plot a route around it from the beginning.
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Feb 29, 2016 23:41
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Comrade Koba posted:Be sure to bring a wizard so you can cast Detect Nazis and Otto's Irresistible Car Chase. Sticks to Snakes may only be cast by those of a Chaotic alignment.
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Mar 1, 2016 00:09
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Bieeardo posted:Sticks to Snakes may only be cast by those of a Chaotic alignment. Or Jews.
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Mar 1, 2016 00:19
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Angelic Player's Guide: Holy poo poo Malakim are embodied virtue, born from the noblest and purest during the rebellion, led by Uriel, to become angels so resolute they could not Fall. Since then, they have been Heaven's first and final line of defense against Hell. In Heaven, they are Archangelically represented by David, Laurence and formerly Uriel. Famous Malakim include Barbiel, Angel of Divine Wrath, Ithuriel, the first Malakite to face Lucifer in battle (and die), Orion, Angel of Hunting, Peliel, Angel of Righteous Vengeance, Raguel, chief executioner of Judgment, Sorush, chefi execution of the Fallen among Judgment, Tarshish, Angel of Wisdom, Soldekai, Gabriel's lieutenant, Uzziel, a former lieutenant of Gabriel who was slain by Belial, and Zuheyr, Angel of Cleanliness. Malakim are first honorble and warriors second. They fight not out of being born killers, but because their honor demands they oppose evil in every way. EWvery Malakite is dedicated from creation to fighting all evil. Other angels investigate plots, monitor the enemy and work to counter them without Disturbance, but the Malakim are sent in when games are done. Malakim terrify demons, and every Archangel, even Novalis, keeps an elite group of Malakim for situations needed extreme force - destroying demonic lairs, rescuing angels, recovering or stealing important artifacts.Not all Malakim are mad dog killers - some prefer cunning. But still, they are always looking for evil to destroy. Their talent for violence has nothing to do with their resonance, however. They measure honor, and violence is just something they often do. They can sniff out the deceitful, psychotic and mad easily, making them excellent investigators. They can also discover blackmail, though they'd never think of it themselves. Malakim also work as internal security for Heaven, policing themselves and others. Most do not think of themselves as hunting for traitors but as protecting against corruption, but the effect is generally the same. Malakim have little else to do in Heaven - there's not much evil to fight. They stand guard and, rarely, act as police, they train younger angels and they try to get back to Earth. Malakim are more likely than any angel but Kyriotates to have no Role. They're happy to just be wandering drifters. Still, when they have Roles, they prefer ones that let them punish sinners. Soldiers might seem obvious, but the constraints on modern soldiers are often too limiting. More often, they are militaryp olice, investigators or scouts. They do like Special Forces, however. Cops are a more natural Role, especially plainclothes detectives. They like toi use their resonance to ensure the other cops are not corrupt, too. They'll do well in any Role allowing travel or frequent contact with people from many walks of life, however. Malakim like to randomly screen people in search of those that require their justice. They function often as journalists, traveling salesmen, truckers, bartenders, counselors or priests. Malakim believe strongly in moral standards. They hate relativism and prefer clear lines. This means they can be somewhat reactionary, but they don't care what the rules are so long as they're not diabolically inspired and are accepted by the community and widely known. Malakim hate unjust laws, and while civil disobedience isn't their way, they admire it in others. They value any virtue and approve of hierarchical organizations that teach morals. They care about etiquette, not out of offense from rudeness but because it's another useful framework of right and wrong. Malakim hate having to choose the lesser of two evils, but tend to believe the greater good is more important than one person's rights. Few of them have much sense of humor, and they're nearly incapable of compromise. They stand by their views no matter what the consequences, and respect those who can do the same. The Malakite resonance is amazing at picking out someone's values and actions, allowing them to identify both sinners and, sometimes, potential Soldiers. At a crime scene, they can find those feeling guilty easily. Privately, they can get a ton of useful blackmail, though they tend to prefer violence over blackmail. Malakim cannot directly detect other celestials, but often greater deeds will point to a celestial. If someone's noblest deed this week was killing an angel, or their most ignoble deed was befriending a demon...well, they could be mortal, but best to check. Malakim cannot usually atomatically detect dissonance, but they're quite good at spotting dissonant actions. Malakim are not judges of morality, however. They perceive how someone relates to their own code of morality - no matter how selfish or selfless they are. This doesn't usually cause trouble with demons, who are deeply selfish, but it can make Earth very uncomfortable. Malakim like just societies because they hate working in unjust ones. So, why didn't Malakim murder Hitler? Because by the only standard that matters to a Malakite, he was not evil. Which is to say: Hitler adhered perfectly to his own (grotesque) sense of morals. Likely some Malakim would'vetraded a point of dissonance for his head, but they were busy handling the demonic schemes that followed the Nazis around like tiny, yappy dogs. On a smaller scale, Malakim often find 'noble' humans whose values are traditionally evil. How they react depends on circumstance, the Word they serve and their own values. (This doesn't make a ton of sense to me - Malakim don't take dissonance for killing someone honorable unless it's one of their oaths.) Malakim take dissonance seriously. One note's enough to get other Malakim to shun them, or even report them to their boss for punishment. When Malakim gain dissonance, either by oathbreaking or breaking a Word's rules, there's a few ways to get rid of it. All are extreme. First, a Malakite can purge one dissonance by finding and destroying a greater source of evil than the cause of the dissonance. Killing demons works...but only if they serve a Word opposed to the principle you violated. Second, a Malakite can remove dissonance by swearing new oaths. Every two new oaths remove one note of dissonance. Any oath sworn this way is permanent, so be careful with them! The most extreme way to purge dissonance, however, is to die fighting demons. A Malakite engaged in mortal combat with demons loses 1 dissonance if their corporeal form is slain while they are fighting. Malakim may not choose to suffer evil to live. Many Malakim interpret this more strictly than God might have intended - some believe it means they must attack immediately, which can lead to dissonance itself. Reflexively destroying a small evil and allowing a greater one to escape, or unwisely attacking when success is impossible, are both implicitly choices to allow evil to live. Wiser Malakim note that the oath has no time limit. They plan, stalk and spy until they can launch an ultimate attack or their hand is forced. Once all leads are explored, however, hesitation ends. It is possible to work with demons - but only temporarily and only to fight a greater evil. Malakim earn no dissonance for allowing a lesser evil to live if it helps destroy a greater one. What they cannot do is ignore evil. When other angels cultivate demonic relations that do not help save more people...well, that's underhanded and dishonorable. They will not ignore that...unless they notice the demon is trying to Redeem. Redemption is a permanent destruction of evil, so most Malakim believe they must never obstruct the efforts - and killing a demon tends to be bad for their odds. Some might even help the demon out somehow. Another problem, of course, is getting stuck in conflicting or foolish oaths. Even older Malakim find it hard to obey every vow. Malakim can't take spurious oaths or multiple versions of the same oath ('never use a pistol' and 'never use a rifle', say) the wiser ones take highly specific vows and consider how they mix with their other vows or Word dissonance. Superiors can remove a Malakite's oath, generally following a painful lesson. Malakim would never ask for it, however - the vow is part of their basic nature, no matter how unwise. A Superior must choose to remove it without being asked. When an oath expires ('slay all dragons', say) then the oath must be replacedi mmediately, at the cost of 1 dissonance per sunrise in which it is not. Malakite-specific Discords include Binding Oath, a Celestial Discord that renders the Malakite paralyzed unless they make a Will roll whenever they try to violate an oath, and if they succeed at the Will roll, they take (Discord level) celestial damage, which can remove Forces. Plus, the Discord adds to the TN of dissonance rolls. Burning Touch is a Corporeal Discord that causes any physical contact with a demon, undead or demonic artifact to cause (Corporeal Forces) damage to both parties, in the form of bright green flame. Evil Warning is an Ethereal Discord that allows a Malakite to detect demons with a Perception roll in the form of an undirectional evil rumble, louder the more demons there are and the closer they are...but any demon can make a similar roll to detect the Malakite, gaining full information on them as if they had rolled on the Disturbance chart. Stereotypes posted:Seraphim: They are very wise and should be respected. Sometimes it seems like they'd rather fight the War with words than with action, though. Kyriotates are able to take on many aspects, seeing the world through many eyes. They are the most alien of Choirs, experiencing life in ways other angels can only imagine, but are also closest to human experience in many ways. Jordi represents them as an Archangel. Other famous Kyriotates include Arael, Angel of Birds, Manakel, Angel of Aquatic Animals, Shakziel, Angel of Water Insects, Orc, Angel of Networks, Hamonah, Angel of the South Wind, Och, Angel of Alchemy, and Zahun, Angel of Scandal. Kyriotates make excellent spies and informants, able to possess and control many vessels. They are excellent coordinators as well, able to exist in many places at once and multitask easily. Heaven is against interfering with free will, but Kyriotates are sometimes used in sticky situations where direct control of some human is needed. They are always careful to not cause more problems than they solve, but they can often act where their hosts can't, extracting them from difficult situations. In Heaven, Kyriotates are limited to their true form, but they remain excellent multitaskers and organizers. They serve as clerks, researchers, administrators and record-keepers, keeping Heaven running. Most go to Earth sooner or later to gather information, as well. Elohim often take Roles as doctors, counselors, psychologists or therapists, and do well in emotionally charged environments, as they can keep a cool head well. They are very good in any social profession and often in very technical ones, as well. They can also serve well as detectives, investigators, or diplomats. They are not creative, however, in most cases, and are poor at any job that requires it, like an artist or journalist. They rarely have the drive or desire to change society. Most are also poor combatants - they may know how to fight, but they are too meticulous to trust their instincts well. Most Kyriotates have no Roles - they just can't use them unless they're a Role that can be handled anonymously by a body-swapping being, like a computer consultant that works by email. Some do specialize in possessing certain kinds of host, however. Most Kyriotates instead focus on 'tags' that let others identify them - a favorite expression, a Symbol they wear or draw, a tune they whistle, etc. This allows them to identify themselves to allies while hiding from enemies, at least until a demon discovers their tag and turns it against them. Kyriotates love individuality and subjectivity above all things, which some see as close to the view of the Fallen. However, for Kyriotates, their subjectivity is all they truly have to call their own. and they tend to have very defined and eccentric personalities. While they experience the world firsthand, they are not of it. Sometimes they become caught up in the details of the world around them and forget they aren't allowed to hold on to the world. Everything in their life is transitory but duty, and they are supposed to not become too involved. This means they tend to vary between two extreme views. Some try to distance themselves from the lives they work with, doing their work and moving on quickly. They are often cold and alien. Others throw objectivity to the wind and immerse themselves in their hosts' experiences, seeing everything from many perspectives. Most hover between the two extremes, trying to balance their nature. Kyriotates may use their resonance to learn more about their hosts, rolling at -2 to determine what is important to the host. CD 1 tells the one thing most important to them generally, such as health or money or family. CD 2 senses all the things important to the host in order of importance. CD 3 gives that in detail, such as what the definition of success is for the host. CD 4 also tells why each thing is important. CD 5 also tells the one thing that would cause the most harm to the host's interests. CD 6 also gives the ine thing the Symphony considers most important about the host, whether the host agrees or not. A Kyriotate can also resonate at -4 to gain some of the host's skills and memories, similar to what Kyriotates of Destiny can do automatically. CD 1 tells what the host was thinking about when they got taken over. CD 2 gives the last hour's memories and one Skill of your choice. CD 3 is a week's memory and two Skills. CD 4, a month and three Skills. CD 5, a year and four Skills. CD 6, total memory and all Skills. Kyritoates are challenging in play. Their resonance has the same range as anyone else, except they can't use recordings or reproductions...but they [i]can[/o] resonate across live video feeds or telephones. It's a very good way to cross long distances without Disturbance. Kyriotates gain all natural abilities of the host, including the minimal base knowledge to use any senses, natural weapons or movement abilities. A bird host can fly, but the Kyriotate can't use any special maneuvers the bird has learned. Kyriotates have no access to any supernatural powers of the host. Their great advantage is being able to have many hosts at once. They suffer no disorientation when switching hosts, and the hosts share a mind, so they have no need to communicate. However, Kyriotates cannot extend their stay in a host. When time runs out, they have to leave, though they can come back after being in another host. Ruleswise, a Kyriotate can take as many corporeal actions per round as they have bodies, but only one celestial or ethereal action - so they can fight, take a shower and solve a crossword simultaneously, and any combination of those and one of a Song, attunement or distinction at once, but not two Songs at once. (Resonance is the exception.) Regardless of how many hosts, they only regain 1 Essence per day, and any Rite works once per day per angel, not per host. They cannot be in more than one place celestially, and only Kyriotates of Dreams can be in more than one place ethereally. Kyriotates can be on multiple planes at once, but can act only on one of those planes on any given turn - so one turn is earth, one is Heaven, the third is the Marches, etc. And you can't give up a realm's turn. Kyriotates track soul HP, mind HP and Essence across all forms as shared, but corporeal HP is per host. While in a host, the body is treated as a vessel in all ways, except that damage to them causes Disturbance. Kyriotates can possess vessels, sending their owner to the Marches until they leave the form. If Kyriotates and/or Shedim fight over a host, they each roll resonance normally. If more than one succeeds, they all do nothing in that host for one round. If only one succeeds, that celestial gets control that round. The only time when Kyriotates change their hosts' appearance is when they have Corporeal Discord, which will manifest in any host they possess until the Kyriotate leaves. For human hosts, Kyriotates prefer the iwlling and will usually cultivate friends, especially Soldiers, for this purpose. They will possess unwilling humans but usually only to help them. They prefer to know what they're getting into, as the risk of harming an unknown or unwilling host is great, and they keep nonconsensual visits very brief. Those with permanent vessels of their own 'tie up' Forces in them, unable to use those to possess others until the vessel is destroyed. Animal hosts are more useful - they're common, easily controlled, uncomplicated and often overlooked. They can also be quite useful in combat, though less so now that guns are a thing. Animal hosts also grant access to the animal's natural abilities. Animals, however, are limited in their ability to operate in human society. Plant hosts are usable only by Flowers Kyriotates, and while they can move branches they tend to be unable to move if rooted. Most small plants have 1 Force, while threes tend to have 3, or even 5 for the largest, and a plant host grants Strength equal to twice their Forces. Lightning Kyriotates can possess inanimate objects, which usually only takes 1 Force. Objects retain sense, hearing, touch and any special senses the object might have - like, say, the ability to 'hear' radio waves in a radio - but their ability to communicate depends entirely on the object's abilities. Morse code is suseful to know. These objects also cannot move in unnatural ways - table legs aren't flexible - but stones can, say, roll. Doors can open or close. Cars can drive. That kind of thing. Kyriotates must leave their host bodies better than they found them. This includes mental, emotional and spiritual health. A Kyriotate that ruins a host's career or family life is going to be dissonant. That's why they prefer to know about their hosts first, so they can protect their needs. Animal vessels are easier - so long as they are unharmed and their survival is unthreatened, they're fine...as long as, say, the shelter you leave them in is not going to just cage them up indefinitely or put them down. If you make a mistake, you can go back and try to fix it to remove the dissonance...but some have fallen because they weren't able to admit something wasn't fixable. The need to protect hosts can cause conflict between duty and nature. Other angels might sacrifice a vessel for the greater good. Kyriotates can't. They are also far less likely to buy the idea of sacrificing one person for the good of all in general. They are expected to respect the lives of their hosts, but not get too involved. They must keep the greater good and the good of the host at the same time. Those that become too distant and see humans as just pawns are on the road to a Fall. Next time: E Pluribus Unum
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Mar 1, 2016 00:19
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Count Chocula posted:Why not both? I've been playing quite a bit of Dark Souls II recently on account of my friends getting back into the series, and like Bill Webb's campaign it's full of traps and "gently caress you!" moments which can make mincemeat of your character. However, the core idea is that you're an undead, so whenever you die you get reincarnated minus the experience you collected. However, death is not very bad punishment-wise, for you lose a small bit of max health (which can be restored with a semi-common item) and you can regain the lost EXP if you get back to your original place of death without dying again. There's also the fact that most monsters have a predictable attack pattern, so as you try again you get better and less likely to die except through impatience from that same enemy. I feel that a lot of these Killer DMs can take a page or two from Dark Souls. I understand that PC gen is really fast in Original and OSR D&D, but there's no expectation that a new PC will start at the group's level or whatever to minimize the sting. That, and there's the expectation that a TPK in D&D spells the end of the campaign, because you can't run the same adventure again without the players preemptively knowing what's going to happen ahead of time.
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Mar 1, 2016 01:10
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