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unseenlibrarian
Jun 4, 2012

There's only one thing in the mountains that leaves a track like this. The creature of legend that roams the Timberline. My people named him Sasquatch. You call him... Bigfoot.
Even noted TRANSMEDIA EMPIRE Far West at least started with a fiction anthology!

...I wonder if any of the contributors there got paid, there were some actual real published and not just licensed game fiction writers involved.

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Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!
"Why would you need to get paid when you'll be at the ground floor of the next Star Wars?"

"... well, more like Space Rangers, but that's pretty much the same thing, right?"

FMguru
Sep 10, 2003

peed on;
sexually

Alien Rope Burn posted:

Also, can there possibly be a worse start for a transmedia empire than a TRPG? I mean, the only things I can think of that came close are Forgotten Realms and Battletech, and even so they have pretty spotty records. You might be be better starting off with something more lucrative like a live puppet show.
Battletech started life as a tabletop miniatures/hexmap boardgame (with a bunch of stolen IP, too). RPG stuff came much later.

And I'll be contrary and say that TTRPG just might be a good place to start to build an IP. The barriers to entry for an RPG are lower than just about anywhere else (compared to, say, producing a tv pilot or getting a novel published, promoted, and placed in major bookstores) and the game also serves as a setting bible.

Kai Tave
Jul 2, 2012
Fallen Rib
Technically it worked for Vampire: the Masquerade :v:

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!

FMguru posted:

Battletech started life as a tabletop miniatures/hexmap boardgame (with a bunch of stolen IP, too). RPG stuff came much later.

Well, it came out when the line between RPG and some board/minis games wasn't as firm, as evidenced by the fact you had a pilot that got advancements over the course of multiple scenarios. This is pretty well highlighted by the fact that Mechwarrior originally was just an expansion for the board game to add more full-fledged RP elements, and a lot of the supplements were full of the sort of setting lore you'd expect from RPG books, not board game supplements.

Comrade Koba
Jul 2, 2007

theironjef posted:

"Secrets of the Juke" coming to stores near you.

The Jukes of Hazzard

theironjef
Aug 11, 2009

The archmage of unexpected stinks.

I think the GWOM trailer either launched before the book came out or was created first because the book is full of stills from it.

theironjef
Aug 11, 2009

The archmage of unexpected stinks.

Comrade Koba posted:

The Jukes of Hazzard

We were kicking ourselves the moment we cut the mics for not saying that.

Doresh
Jan 7, 2015

FMguru posted:

And I'll be contrary and say that TTRPG just might be a good place to start to build an IP. The barriers to entry for an RPG are lower than just about anywhere else (compared to, say, producing a tv pilot or getting a novel published, promoted, and placed in major bookstores) and the game also serves as a setting bible.

The entry barrier for novels can be greatly reduced through self-publishing, especially if its digital only. Not as much promotion, but that won't stop people who want to call themselves "author".

Doresh fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Mar 16, 2016

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

Israfel reeeeep

The Book of Songs is kind of dry, but it does give us Izzy. She's kind of neat conceptually, as being about as close to an 'Angel of the Symphony' as you can get. She's a Seraph, she has Music, she's still approachable and a part of Creation, she's hideously powerful, she makes for a good NPC for any setting. She's also cautiously friendly to demons, which allows some cross-gaming. Throw in some conspiracy or another with the Archangel of Song and you got a musical for a game.

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

FATAL & Friends
Walls of Text
#1 Builder
2014-2018

Liber Canticorum: Peter, Paul and Mary

The Songs of Hunger were discovered by Haagenti, who has traded them only to Mammon and Kobal. All have a range of (Song's level*Essence spent) yards and duration of (CD) days. The Corporeal Song causes someone to become ravenously hungry, while accelerating their metabolism so no food is enough. They may negate it with a Strength roll with a penalty of (Corporeal Forces). Failure means, no matter what they eat, they neither gain weight nor lessen hunger. If used on one person over an extended period, they will eventually waste away. Each week, they lose 1 Strength, and die at 0. Lsot Strength returns at one point per week not subject to the Song. This does affect corporeal celestials, but they get a bonus to the resistance roll equal to their Corporeal Forces, and the hunger and strength less only affects the vessel they were in when targeted. The Ethereal Song fills the target with a sense of insufficiency regarding one expendable resource of your choice that the target can consume. The victim constantly desires more. This has no mechanical effect, they just feel they never have enough and will hoard or consume more than they need, suffering nightmares about the lack. This can be resisted by Will. The Celestial Song causes a hunger for Essence. It is resisted by Will, and means making another Will roll any time during the duration that they want to spend Essence. Anything less than full Essence will also make the target desire to gain more Essence by any means they have, while mortals will feel restless and unfulfilled. Demons of Gluttony have an affinity for all Songs, while demons of Greed have an affinity for the Ethereal and Celestial Songs. Haagenti, Kobal and Mammon know these Songs. They cost at least 1 Essence and cause (CD) Disturbance.

The Songs of Laughter were discovered by Kobal while he was an angel. They have recently been rediscovered by Christopher, Archangel of Children, which has rather angered Kobal. The Corporeal Song causes people to laugh and smile. It does not make them happy or cheerful - they just have to smile or laugh for (Corporeal Forces+CD) minutes, and makes them easily amused. Someone who is determined to look sour can with a Will roll. This Song affects anyone within (Song's level+Essence spent) yards when it is used. The Ethereal Song makes everything you do seem funny to everyone within (Song's level+Essence spent) yards, no matter what you say. This lasts for (CD+Ethereal Forces) minutes. Will negates. The Celestial Song lets you gain Essence from the genuine and unfeigned laughter of an audience at anything. The audience must be at least 10 people, and you get 1 point of Essence per five minutes of general laughter, as at a party, or one one minute of breathless laughter at a single joke. An audience of 100 or more doubles the Essence gain, and any number less than 10 doubles the amount of laughter needed. The maximum Essence you can gain is (CD). The Essence is not stolen from anyone - it just appears as per a Rite. Demons of Dark Humor have an affinity for these Songs. It is known by Kobal, Christopher and Novalis. The Songs cost at least 1 Essence and causes either (number of targets) Disturbance for the Corporeal or Ethereal, or (CD) for the Celestial.



The Songs of Lightning control the power of lightning. Jean does not teach them lightly. The Corporeal Song immunizes the target to electricity for (CD+Corporeal Forces) minutes. This also grants immunity to the Celestial Song of Lightning. Machines that need electricity will stop working. The target remains conductive, however. You must touch the target. The Ethereal Song activates and powers any electrical device for (CD*Essence spent) minutes. It will operate normally, but needs no outside power. Alternatively, you can cause a destructive electical surge, which will not damage the device but will burn out any electrical components and require them to be replaced before it will work again. The range is (Ethereal Forces) yards. The Celestial Song calls down a bolt of lightning. The target must be within (Song's level*10) yards and must be either outside or near a window. The lightning bolt strikes automatically, doing (CD*Essence spent) Body damage. It cannot be dodged, but Protection from anything but metal armor works normally. If the target takes any damage, they are automatically stunned. Angels of Lightning have an affinity for these Songs, and only Jean knows them. They cost at least 2 Essence and cause (CD*2) Disturbance.

The Songs of Oblivion were, until very recently, lost with the death of Mariel. However, Alaemon recently rediscovered them. The Corporeal Song temporarily removes one person or object from the Symphony. You touch the target, and for (Corporeal Forces+CD) minutes, no harm done to the target causes any Disturbance. The Song has an opposite effect on Roles, however - a celestial with a Role gets to resist with a tN of (Corporeal Forces + Role's level). Failure drops the target to effective Role 0 for the duration, for the purposes of masking Disturbance only. The Ethereal Song erases memories permanently. It has a range of (Song's level) yards and allows the user to choose one memory to erase from the target's mind. The memory may be of a time period up to (Ethereal Forces) hours, or any specific single fact. The victim can resist with Intelligence, and celestials add Celestial Forces. The Celestial Song can only be used against celestials, and only on the ethereal or celestial plane or against those in celestial form - and any Kyriotate with any Forces in a host is immune, at that. The target must be visible to you, but if they are, they must roll Will or be banished to Limbo. They can roll Will after (CD) hours to try and leave, rolling again after (failed CD) hours if they fail, until they succeed. Kyriotates and Shedim, who cannot enter Limbo, are instead banished to Heaven or Hell respectively. The bodies of slepeing celestials banished from the ethereal remain in a coma until the owner returns. On emerging from Limbo, the celestial automatically returns to that body, unless it has died, in which case they go to trauma. Any surviving demons of Oblivion have an affinity for these Songs. Only Alaemon currently knows it. It costs 2 or more Essence, or 3 for the Celestial Song, and causes (CD) Disturbance.

The Songs of Pestilence were once common, discovered by Makatiel, Prince of Disease. After his attempt to destroy humanity, Superiors on both sides worked together to destroy him and are much more careful about teachin the Songs. Killing with them will create Disturbance at the moment of death for celestial singers. However, others infected by the initial victim will not. Celestial victims are normally immune to infection. The corporeal Song allows you to infect a single target with a disease by touching them. They resist with Strength at a penalty of (CD), and failure indicates they are infected, and the disease runs its course naturally. The Ethereal Song only works with contagious diseases. It turns one mortal or object into a carrier, though the living carrier will not contract the disease. For (CD) days, they infect anyone they come in contact with as appropriate for the disease. It is up to the GM to decide what counts as contact for the disease and the object. The Celestial Song works in the same manner as the Ethereal, but the carrier can be an ethereal or celestial object or being. Demons of Corruption, Disease or Death have an affinity for these Songs. Most Princes know them, as do most older Archangels. They cost 1 Essence and cause (CD+disease level) Disturbance.



The Songs of Poison were discovered by Sammael, a servant of Fleurity, Prince of Drugs, who earned the Word of Poison as a reward. Saminga is known to have learned them, as have others. The Corporeal Song turns any physical substance up to (Corporeal Forces) pounds toxic with a touch. It creates an ingested poison with a base 1d6 damage and cycle of 1 hour, with a term of (CD) hours. Each additional Essence spent can decrease or increase the cycle by one increment, which adjusts the term by the same amount - so 2 Essence gives a cycle of 1 round and a term of (CD) rounds, for example. 2 Essence can increase or decrease the term one increment without altering the cycle, and 3 Essence can increase the damage by 1d6. Sung at a -2, the poison can be made contact or can be made as an invisible, odorless gas that fills a radius up to (Corporeal Forces) feet. The Ethereal Song imbues a substance of up to (Ethereal Forces) pounds with the effects of a drug of your choice. One performance makes (CD+Essence spent) doses. At -2, you can make contact or inhaleable drugs as per the Corporeal Song. The Celestial Song creates celestial poison, acting as the Corporeal Song, except damage is Soul damage and the base damage is 1, not 1d6, with each 3 Essence increases the damage by 1. Celestial poison is resisted by Will, not Strength, and can remove Forces. Demons of Drugs have an affinity for these Songs. Fleurity and Saminga both know them. They cost 2+ Essence and cause (CD) Disturbance.

The Songs of Purity were used by Uriel in creation of the universe. They remove impurities from a touched target. The Corporeal Song destroys physical impurity, or for 2 additional Essence, separates out the impurities. It can strain salt from seawater or poison and disease from a creature. It will not repair any damage already done, however, and cannot remove 'impurity' that is integral to an object, such as the iron in a human body. This does not affect things below the molecular level, either. Each use affects one living thing or (CD) cubic feet of inanimate material. The Ethereal Song removes foreign influence from the target's mind, including hypnosis, resonance, Songs or attunements. It will not fix minds addled by drugs or disease, however, as those are physical causes, and will not cure insanity, which is not a foreign influence. Discords, likewise, are not foreign. When attempting to remove the effects of celestial powers, the CD must beat either the effect's CD or the Ethereal Forces of the responsible party for effects with no CD. The Celestial Song deals (CD) Soul damage to any entity possessing the target. This cannot remove a Force, but if the total damage would remove a Force, the possessor is forced from the host and cannot repossess them until all Soul damage is healed. This has no effect on anyone but an etheral or celestial possessing a host, and you know if you hit something after use. Any remaining angels of Purity have an affinity for these Songs, and Gabriel, Khalid and Laurence still know them. They cost at least 2 Essence and cause (CD) Disturbance.

The Songs of Retribution were discovered by Asmodeus, but a Redeemed Gamester taught them to Marc and Dominic. The Corporeal Song causes the Symphony to lash out at Disturbance in an area up to (Song's level+Essence spent) yards in radius, set when the Song is used, or a single dreamscape. For (Corporeal Forces+CD) minutes, anyone who causes Disturbance, including you, takes Body damage equal to the Disturbance caused. If on the etheral or celestial plane, the damage is Mind or Soul damage respectively. The Ethereal Song amplifies dissonance, making it painful and distracting. You must touch the target, and they get -1 per note of dissonance to all TNs for (CD+Ethereal Forces) minutes. This obviously does nothing to anyone with no dissonance, and you do not automatically know if the target has any. The Celestial Song amplifies Discord. You touch the target and choose a realm. The target has a penalty to all TNs qual to the highest level Discord in that realm for (CD+Celestial Forces) minutes. If you know or guess exactly what Discord that is, you may use this Song to exacerbate it. For each additional Essence spent past the base cost, that Discord's level is increased by 1 for (CD) days, to a max of 6. Any excess Essence, or all of it if you picked one they don't have, is wasted. Asmodeus, Dominic and Marc know these Songs, which cost at least 2 Essence and cause (CD+appropriate realm Forces) Disturbance.

The Songs of Stone control the earth, and David never teaches them to anyone below the rank of Vassal. The Corporeal Song causes earthquakes in a radius of ((Corporeal Forces+Essence spent)*100) yards. The CD determines how severe the quake is. Anything damaged by it causes Disturbance due to being from celestial interference. The Ethereal Song moves earth and stone. It has a range of (Song's level) yards and affects (10*Essence spent) pounds of mass. For (CD+Ethereal Forces) minutes, the mass animates and moves at your command, with a maximum speed of (Precision) yards per turn. Whatever form it's in when that runs out is how it remains, as long as the formation is stable. (Unstable ones collapse.) The Celestial Song grants Celestial Forces to corporeal objects. The user or object targeted will be able to affect beings in celestial form ofr (CD) minutes, allowing them to strike in combat for Soul damage without being in celestial form. Solid objects form a barrier to celestial form, able to withstand their HP in soul damage. The base cost affects either you or an inanimate object with HP up to (4*Celestial Forces). Each additional point of Essence adds 8 HP to the max allowed. Angels of Stone have an affinity for these Songs, and only David knows them. They cost at least 2 Essence and cause (CD+appropriate realm Forces) Disturbance.

The Songs of Vulnerability result from vapula's experiments, but they are still experimental, and failed use causes the user to suffer the Song's effects most of the time. All require the user to touch the target, and none can harm mortals...yet. The Corporeal Song renders a vessel vulnerable to all diseases that can affect a mortal, though it doesn't infect them directly. This lasts for (CD) days, during which the vessel also heals at human rates. Any diseases contracted vanish when the effects end, however. The Ethereal Song renders a vessel with the need to sleep for (CD) days, as much as any mortal does, causing all effects of fatigue and sleep deprivation if the celestial does not sleep. The Celestial Song renders the target hypersensitive to Disturbance for (CD) hours. In this period, the target is pained by any Disturbance, proportional to the seveirty. A Will roll may be needed to maintain concentration and avoid TN penalties. The victim gets +2 to all PErception rolls to detect Disturbance, but cannot get CDs higher than 2. Only Vapula knows these Songs. They cost at least 2 Essence and cause (CD) Disturbance.

The Songs of War were not discovered by Michael, but an ancient servant of his. Until the Fall, there was little use for them. Baal took them with him when he Fell, but has been choosy about teaching them, as have the militant Archangels. However, most Princes do know them due to their age. The Corporeal Song requires you to touch someone. For (CD+Corporeal Forces) minutes, they suffer no negative effects from blood loss, and remain conscious even at 0 Body HP, and able to fight until their negative HP exceeeds (Essence spent+target's Corporeal Forces). Their blood also flows copiously and in great quantity while the Song is in effect. The Ethereal Song has a range of (Song's level*Essence spent) yards. Everyone in range must roll Will or suffer boosted aggression for (CD*Ethereal Forces) minutes. This does not force violence, but makes it much more likely. It also adds the CD to any Will rolls to reisst fear or uncertainty in a violent situation, including suppression of the Cowardly Discord. The Celestial Song allows you to harm a mortal without causing Disturbance, if the mortal starts the fight. You must touch both the mortal and any celestial subject you want to bless this way. For (CD) minutes after, if the mortal takes any violent action delberately and aggressively, the blessed celestial may harm or kill the mortal without Disturbance. The mortal need not strike first - they can be attacked, and the Song will just take effect after they retaliate. However, anything that forces the victim to attack will not trigger it. Angels of War and demons of the War have an affinity for these Songs. David, Gabriel, Janus, Jean, Khalid, Laurence, Michael and Baal certainly know these Songs, and most Princes could know them. The Corporeal and Ethereal Songs cost 1 or more Essence, while the Celestial costs 3 or more. They cause (CD+number of targets) Disturbance.

Secret Songs are kept secret, and other Songs may have practical limits on their performance, such as Essence cost, but some Songs just can't be used by most people. They may not be secret, but they are restricted, able to be performed only by certain beings. You can learn a Song that is restricted, but if you don't fit the criteria, you can't use it. The following are Divine Songs, intrinsically holy and able to be used only by angels, relievers and Saints. (And not any Soldiers or ethereals, even if they happen to align with Heaven.)

The Songs of Faith require submission to the unaltered Symphony and opening yourself to it, gaining insight and removing yourself from Earthly concern. Any dissonance an angel has subtracts from the TN to use these Songs. Only Khalid commonly teaches these, but any Archangel can. The Corporeal Song turns your vessel insubstantial, allowing you to walk through solid objects and ignore any purely corporeal attack, though ethereal and celestial attacks work normally. You remain visible. This lasts for (CD+Corporeal Forces) minutes or until you cause a Disturbance, whichever comes first. The Ethereal Song opens your perceptions. For (CD) minutes, you automatically detect any Disturbance you could possibly perceive, with a CD of 6. During this period, you cannot move, speak or react in any way, however. The Celestial Song voluntarily gives up all free will to your divine nature. You are driven entirely by your resonance and Word and, for (CD) minutes, the GM controls all of your actions, in the most consistent manner to your nature and Word. However, while in this state, you are immune to any effects that might alter your conscious decisions, such as Discords or demonic resonance, but not the Song of Possession. Angels of Faith have an affinity for these Songs. They cost 2 Essence and cause (CD) Disturbance when they end.

The Trisagion we've seen, but Seraphim get an affinity for it.

The Song of Witness is an ancient Song, taught by the more traditional Archangels. It only comes in Celestial Song version. To use it, you make a binding promise and call on the Symphony as witness. If at any point afterward you break the promise, a Disturbance of (10*original Essence spent) happens, along with obvious unearthly effects. Out of respect for the Malakim, this Song is now rarely used except by the Sword, who must get Laurence's permission before invoking it but traditionally do so when accepting a quest. This costs at least 1 Essence and causes (Celestial Forces) Disturbance.

The following are Diabolical Songs, usable only by diabolical beings - demons, infernal spirits and undead, but not sorcerers, Soldiers or any Hell-aligned ethereals.

The Songs of Blood only affect mortals, and each has a duration of (CD+appropriate realm Forces) minutes. The Corporeal Song requires you touch the victim. For the duration, you can regain Body HP by drinking their blood. The amount of damage you heal is equal to the amount you cause by bloodletting, and can exceed your maximum, lasting until those points are lost. The Ethereal Song must be used on a sleeping mortal or in a dreamscape. If the target dies while stil asleep and the Song is in effect, they automatically become a dream-shade. You do nnot control them, however, and cannot stop their passing after, but you can promise them things in exchange for cooperation - and need not tell the truth. The Celestial Song must be used while you can see your target. If you then kill them before the Song ends, you get all Essence they had at the moment of death, though Essence transferred causes Disturbance and excess Essence is lost. Demons of Death have an affinity for these Songs. They cost at least 2 Essence and cause (CD) Disturbance.

The Songs of Self declare self-ness to the Symphony, shutting it out almost entirely. Any dissonance is subtracted from the TN of these Songs, and while they are active, you can't sense Disturbance at all. The Corporeal Song makes you insubstantial but not invisible for (CD+Corporeal Forces) mintues. The Ethereal Song gives you great insight into the motives of others with regards to yourself, and inutition for what might impact you, but also makes you deeply self-absorbed. For (Ethereal Forces) hours, you get a bonus of (CD) to any roll to deduce intentions, motivations or probable outcomes that directly involve you, but an equal penatly to any rolls to perceive or deduce anything that does not directly relate to you. The Celestial Song boosts your Will for (CD) rounds, giving a bonus to all Will rolls equal to double the Essence spent. This is the only Song known to work in Limbo, so it is rarely taught. Balseraphs have an affinity for these Songs. They cost at least 2 Essence and cause (CD) Disturbance when they end.

Next time: Resonance-restricted Songs.

Rand Brittain
Mar 25, 2013

"Go on until you're stopped."
The Celestial Song of Laughter sounds like it would be downright insane if you managed to get a spot on the Tonight Show.

Doresh
Jan 7, 2015
Sparks of Light


The Finish

Little something I forgot to mention last time: The book mentions how a magical girl's transformation can have noticable effects on her apperance, like the typical Precure standard where your eye and hair color - as well as your hair style - can change dramatically. It also mentions how the first transformation can have a lasting effect on her appearance even in untransformed state. Not sure where that comes from.
Oh, and the Light is not dickish enough to hand out costumes a girl won't like. What a bummer, my OCs (do not steal) have a tendency to go "The gently caress am I wearing?!".

Rituals

Rituals add a little bit of crunch to the rules, providing magical girls with what are essentially finishing moves and utility spells, like healing people or sprouting wings.

Learning a Ritual requires a bit of research and a MacGuffin - aka it's an adventure in and of itself. Once that is done, you just thave to spend time casting it and paying its cost in Hope Points, which can be shared by the entire group (which costs the donators a turn). The cost depends on the Ritual's Shard aka Level (of which there are three), and it can be cheaper depending on whether you're from the Light or Dark and it's currently a full or dark moon.
At no point is a roll of any kind required. Rituals just work.

Rituals are deliberately freeform in nature, but the book lists a few general effects to adapt and customize with a fancier name. These example effects are from the first Appendix a bit further into the book (aka 5 pages later), but I'll just put it right here where it belongs.

Spells of the First Shard: The Spark

The most basic of Rituals, with good use during combat at 5 Hope Points and a casting time of 1 turn. An attack Ritual deals about 3 Hits (more than you could normally do in one shot), while an utility spell might get rid of a disadvantage or create a Fate-like boost (aka free Aspect use).

Example effects are Astral Jaunt (teleport to any place you're attuned to), Open Astral Door and Pacify Yomi (which do just what they say).

Spells of the Second Shar: The Bond

The big guns. Harder to obtain, and harder to use as they require 2 turns and cost 15 Hope Points, so you better have at least one buddy ready to donate points. Attack Rituals of this Shard are however ever so slightly more useful, as they cause 10 Hits per cast. Healing Rituals can also get rid of major disadvantages.

Utility-wise, these Rituals are mainly there to get rid of problems. Mass teleport, polymorphing, or fix whatever havoc the Dark has caused. It also mentions how only the Dark can do Mind Control - but fear not, for even the Light can apparently Rewrite Minor History.

Spells of the Third Shard: The Web

Incredible hard to get, very expensive (30 Hope Points), and very slow to cast (several minutes). These Rituals are just there to alter reality and change an entire campaign. Basically whatever the hell Madoka did in the last episode.

Example effects include Resurrection, Rewrite Major History, and Time Travel. You can essentially do anything you want at this point.

I'm not exactly sure how the magical girl society makes sure none of the Third Shard users suddenly start rewriting world history. The game also commits the capital sin of kinda sorta introducing finishing moves without trying to emulate the "finishing" aspect. As it stands, it seems the best option is to alpha-strike any opponent with Attack Rituals, but lets wait for the example enemy statblocks for the final judgement.

Gamemaster-Fu

Is anyone here familiar with DollDivine, this site that - among other things - has a Sailor Moon OC (do not steal) generator? Well, the creators of this book sure are:


There are four more of these, and they are the entire rest of this book's art.

The rest of this section is fairly standard GM stuff, with the added reminder that one shouldn't forget the slice-of-life part of a magical girl show.
We also get some information about transformation sequences (strange how this in the GM section). Basically, they are actually instantaneous, and the girl's protected during it anyways, so nobody has to worry about getting hit or anything. That's rather short and painless.

Hound on the Trail: Example Episode

This little example adventure starts with the magical girls battling a Yomi who has decided to hang around in the school gym - which has a good chance of the "combat" turning into a volleyball match. With that out of th eway, the real threat shows up: Toby, a wannabe investigative journalist who is dead-set on proving that magical girls exist. He only has blurry pictures of the party so far, but he did notice that the PCs were the only ones to leave the gym after the fight. And he might just get his hands at a better camera from a dark magical girl who wants to find out the PC's identities itself. Overall pretty basic stuff.

After that, we get a couple of typical scenarios (like bad guys trying to harvest stuff, or just mundane events happening), and a random episode generator to find out who is doing what in which location.

Threats

The game assumes that each magical girl will deal around 1/2 Hits per turn, which is of course drastically increased by using Rituals.

Interestingly, the example "bestiary" not only includes stuff like a Low Power Yomi and a member of the Not-Shintennou, but also a Noisy Reporter and a Crush on a Cute Classmate.

These example writeups have been done with a group of 4 magical girls in mind. So let's see how to alpha-strike the two strongest...

A Not-Shintennou deals 5 Hits per turn and tank 8 Hits before he goes down. Three 1st Shard Rituals are all that's necessary, and its both faster and more cost-effective (as one of the three girls casting can share her cost with the fourth). Not using Rituals will have this fight last around 4 turns on average, which results in a lot more Hits suffered by the girls.
The strongest opponent is called "The Endless", and he/she/it deals 4 Hits per turn and can take 20. 7 uses of a 1st Shard Ritual or 2 uses of a 2nd Shard one will do the trick. All of this can be accomplished in the second turn, before the enemy gets a chance to hit a second time.

Alpha-striking: It's good for you.

Example Sparks

These are pretty much archetypes based on the Inner Senshi, though they can also be applied to a few Cures and Megucas.

(Though the weird part is how Sailor Mars is supposedly an exmaple of the "Fireball Heroine", who is very energetic and emotional. That's not quite what I'm getting from here, then again I've seen/read pretty much everything related to Sailor Moon except for the first anime, where she is supposedly a bit of a dick. I'm the weirdest Sailor Moon fan ever.)

Next Time: Who knows? Valor? That Returner RPG that's been threatened to be reviewed multiple times in the grand history of this thread? Or something completely different? Who knows, I'll take a short break for now, during which I might try to make my own magical girl game, then fail to stick the landing and end up with something that is more about the historically-accurate adventures of lawyers that happenes to include magical girls for some reason.

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

FATAL & Friends
Walls of Text
#1 Builder
2014-2018

Holy poo poo, literal recolor Sailor Moon fanart.

Night10194
Feb 13, 2012

We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

Sparks did not seem like a good game, no sir.

Robindaybird
Aug 21, 2007

Neat. Sweet. Petite.

The dollmaker's fun, but I am sadly addicted to dollmakers - but it's ridiculous. Either don't use art, or sparingly. This is both lazy and somewhat dodgy as they're taking someone's work for profit.

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

Rand Brittain posted:

The Celestial Song of Laughter sounds like it would be downright insane if you managed to get a spot on the Tonight Show.

Yup. It's pretty much how Kobal has stayed alive and why Nybbas might be smiling while the fabric of existence tears through him like a claw rake shot out of a supernova. They are freaking DISGUSTING with Essence.

Count Chocula
Dec 25, 2011

WE HAVE TO CONTROL OUR ENVIRONMENT
IF YOU SEE ME POSTING OUTSIDE OF THE AUSPOL THREAD PLEASE TELL ME THAT I'M MISSED AND TO START POSTING AGAIN
So there's nothing stopping an Angel of Creation from taking the Ethereal Song of Poison but only using it to spread good vibes?

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

FATAL & Friends
Walls of Text
#1 Builder
2014-2018

I'm pretty sure secretly dosing people with drugs because they touch your pet rock is not something Heaven approves of. Especially when those drugs don't get any less addictive just because their effects are caused by touching your rock. Don't dose people without their knowledge and consent.

MollyMetroid
Jan 20, 2004

Trout Clan Daimyo
I GOT YOU A HEROIN ADDICTION THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING!!!

Holy poo poo dude, that's just vile.

Count Chocula
Dec 25, 2011

WE HAVE TO CONTROL OUR ENVIRONMENT
IF YOU SEE ME POSTING OUTSIDE OF THE AUSPOL THREAD PLEASE TELL ME THAT I'M MISSED AND TO START POSTING AGAIN
WTF I was talking about consensually opening people up to the glory of the Symphony and the oneness of all things by means of giving other things the properties of weed or, at the most, psychedelics. Maybe non-consensually dosing a group of angry fanatics with something mild to mellow them out, at most. And can't Angels use their resonance or whatever to make sure that people only get good, life-affirming trips? Might make a good concept for a Cherub guru/psychonaut guide.

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

FATAL & Friends
Walls of Text
#1 Builder
2014-2018

What's the point of using magic to get someone to smoke weed by touching a rock when you can just get them to smoke actual weed? Like, if you're gonna do it with knowledge and consent, why do you need the Song?

Count Chocula
Dec 25, 2011

WE HAVE TO CONTROL OUR ENVIRONMENT
IF YOU SEE ME POSTING OUTSIDE OF THE AUSPOL THREAD PLEASE TELL ME THAT I'M MISSED AND TO START POSTING AGAIN
I was thinking like that Swamp Thing issue where he turned a normal plant into weed. Or Jesus turning water into wine. People need the drug but it's hard to get for some reason.
Magic mushrooms or DMT (The Spirit Molecule) might be a better example.

Or just chilling out a roomful of angry bikers or whatever.

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!

Robindaybird posted:

This is both lazy and somewhat dodgy as they're taking someone's work for profit.

It's wrong, to put it bluntly.

Do they credit their artists? Now I'm curious.

Evil Mastermind
Apr 28, 2008

Doresh posted:

Sparks of Light

Wait, what? That's it?

Robindaybird
Aug 21, 2007

Neat. Sweet. Petite.

Alien Rope Burn posted:

It's wrong, to put it bluntly.

Do they credit their artists? Now I'm curious.

I sent a message to the creator's facebook to see if they knew about this. What's really funny is the Senshi makers actually have a drat good variety of stuff and they went with possibly the most vanilla options possible.

Alien Rope Burn
Dec 5, 2004

I wanna be a saikyo HERO!

theironjef posted:

On it. You guys will be pleased to learn i'm literally at Kaiser psychiatry right now for my crappy attention so look forward to a dully robotic but generally more accurate system mastery coming soon.

Speaking of that sort of dull accuracy, did you see there's a tree demon in the OP?

It might be best not to look, it's probably better to leave it a mystery.

theironjef
Aug 11, 2009

The archmage of unexpected stinks.

Alien Rope Burn posted:

Speaking of that sort of dull accuracy, did you see there's a tree demon in the OP?

It might be best not to look, it's probably better to leave it a mystery.

For some reason I always pictured them as looking a little like a bush baby that decided to stand up straight and wear a sweater, but that looks like a werewolf bit a minotaur. Still, rad to see a picture of one finally!

Nessus
Dec 22, 2003

After a Speaker vote, you may be entitled to a valuable coupon or voucher!



Count Chocula posted:

WTF I was talking about consensually opening people up to the glory of the Symphony and the oneness of all things by means of giving other things the properties of weed or, at the most, psychedelics. Maybe non-consensually dosing a group of angry fanatics with something mild to mellow them out, at most. And can't Angels use their resonance or whatever to make sure that people only get good, life-affirming trips? Might make a good concept for a Cherub guru/psychonaut guide.
I imagine you get a couple of practical issues here besides.

First one is the morality issue. The second is that a lot of drugs have a socially bound behavioral component to them. An example here is with liquor; while alcohol has objective physiological effects (though they may vary from person to person) the details of how these are expressed varies. Some people might use it as emotional release, others to numb themselves, yet others to give themselves permission to express freely, yet OTHERS to give themselves permission to tell a girl they're into them.

So it isn't some inevitability that you're going to make someone an enlightened calm chill out dude if you make him experience the weed through touching a rock.

I do imagine an angel who knew the Song of Poison could probably get away with tranq-gassing enraged townies if he was pressed, though.

Seems like under In Nomine logic, some kind of hypothetical Good Trip Song would probably be coming out of Novalis or Blandine.

Count Chocula
Dec 25, 2011

WE HAVE TO CONTROL OUR ENVIRONMENT
IF YOU SEE ME POSTING OUTSIDE OF THE AUSPOL THREAD PLEASE TELL ME THAT I'M MISSED AND TO START POSTING AGAIN
'Rock', eh? What about giving meth or crack or heroin the properties of more benign drugs?

Jokes aside, In Nomine's Celestials seem pretty non-trippy, then BAM Numinous Corpse, aka Cronenbergian Body Horror/Old School Angels.

After the Song of Storms, I want to write up the other Ocarina of Time songs.

Lilith knows the Song of Freedom, but who teaches the Redemption Songs?

Does the Angel of Song live in a Tower?

I think I've just turned into whoever put those random song quotes in every White Wolf chapter heading.

gradenko_2000
Oct 5, 2010

HELL SERPENT
Lipstick Apathy
The Book of Iron Might, by Mike Mearls

The Book of Iron Might is a third-party rules supplement, written by Mike Mearls under Monte Cook's Malhavoc Press company. This book was published in Oct 2004.

The back-cover blurb tries to juxtapose this against Cook's The Book of Eldritch Might, which were rules supplements focused on more magic items, magic spells and generally spellcaster-oriented material. This one is supposed to give martial characters their own options in combat.

Part I: Combat Maneuvers

quote:

A barbarian slashes across a vampire’s eyes, hoping to prevent the fiend from using his dominate ability. This is a risky maneuver that requires skill and luck to complete, as the vampire takes special care to defend his head and other vital points, while the barbarian must take careful aim in the chaos of the fight. If the barbarian manages to hit, he can disable the vampire’s special ability for a few moments—perhaps enough time to defeat the horrid, undead beast.

Under the core rules, attacks like the one described above are impossible. You can disarm a creature, trip it, grapple it, and attempt a few other special moves, but most of your attacks are an effort to wear down a creature’s hit points and knock it out of the fight. Most of the time, these options offer more than enough choices to keep players and DMs happy. However, sometimes you might want or need more options. Plenty of monsters rely on special attacks or abilities that might be vulnerable to special attacks. If a giant octopus surges over a small boat, it makes sense for the sailors to hack at its tentacles, chopping them away to allow the boat to escape from its grasp. Some monsters even have special rules for making attacks against their eyestalks and other body parts.

The rules in this section present a system that you—players and DMs alike—can use to create special combat maneuvers. It treats an attack as any effort to negatively affect an opponent. That negative effect could be anything from hit points of damage to temporary blindness or a trip attack. You can build a maneuver by adding special effects to a standard attack. Unusual, powerful, or exotic special effects impose a penalty on your attack roll to reflect their difficulty.

The combat maneuver system works off two key parts:

1. You determine the effect of the maneuver. The effect will impose a penalty on your attack roll. This is usually very steep, ranging from -30 to stun an enemy for 1 round, to -20 to cause ability score damage, to -10 to cause a knockback.

2. You determine the drawback of the maneuver. This will reduce the attack roll penalty of the effect, in exchange for something bad, potentially bad, happening to you just for attempting the maneuver, or if you fail it.

Before the book goes into the meat of the maneuver system, it has a sidebar on two rules alerts:

1. The True Strike spell, which provides a +20 bonus to your next attack roll, may need to either be banned, or reworded such that it doesn't guarantee that maneuvers will hit, because otherwise it would allow a spellcaster to wipe the attack roll penalty of most maneuver effects. I feel like this is oddly specific, especially in the context of how True Strike already consumes your Standard Action such that you can only make your attack on the next round over, but at least it's cognizant of how it'll let spellcasters muscle in on the benefits of what's supposed to be a martial-focused rulebook.

2. While natural 20s are supposed to be automatic hits, the book warns that perhaps the maneuver effects shouldn't be included in that, because otherwise players can take the most penalizing maneuver effects possible and count on always having a 5% chance to deliver anyway.

Melee Maneuver Effects

Ability score damage: take a -20 penalty to your attack roll. If you hit, you cause 2 ability score damage to an ability score of your choice. If you crit, you cause 4 ability score damage. There's also a line in here about how this only works against creatures that are vulnerable to critical hits, because this is 3rd Edition, and "you can't crit a rock golem" is a thing, and this ability score damage effect diegetically works by hitting "a joint, nerve center, or other vulnerable area of your opponent’s body, temporarily damaging one of his abilities."

There's a "warning flag" about how this might make spellcasters too vulnerable because it can destroy their primary spellcasting attribute when spellcasters are already vulnerable to this maneuver because they are low AC targets. I would argue that that's the point.

Area Attack: you attack multiple 5-foot-squares, rather than a single target; take a -5 penalty to your attack roll for every 5-foot-square that you wish to simultaneously attack. These squares must all be within your reach, and as an additional drawback, this attack cannot crit. The first square isn't free, so attacking two squares is already a -10 penalty. You make a single attack roll for all targets within these squares, but damage is rolled separately.

I suppose this is one way to get access to Whirlwind Attack early on and without all of the extra feat chaining.

Blinding Attack: take a -30 penalty to your attack roll. If you hit, the target is Blinded for 1d4 minutes, or 2d4 minutes on a crit.

There's another Warning Flag for this maneuver, saying that there is "potential for abuse" since a Blinded creature losing their DEX bonus to AC will be even easier to hit. The book is worried about the creature getting hit by this very same Blinding maneuver again, over and over, but at a 1 minute interval? I seriously doubt you'd ever need to reapply that ever again unless the target has some means of direct removal. Yes, it does make the creature more vulnerable to all other attacks/maneuvers, but again, I'd argue that that's the point.

Nevertheless, the book recommends that a creature blinded this way should "behave logically" and break off and head for safety until it can be relieved from its blindness. Another recommendation is to have a successful application of this attack instead just cause the target to take a circumstance penalty instead of full blindness.

And again, since this is 3rd Edition, this maneuver will only work if the target has eyes that can be blinded, and gives the DM a narrative out:

quote:

Not only must you strike at a foe’s eyes, but you must hit him in the precisely correct spot to cause injury to the visual organs. Most creatures wear helms or take special care to defend their faces.

I find it really distasteful for the book to begin nerfing itself barely after its even begun.

Bonus Damage: take a -5 penalty on your attack roll, to gain a +2 bonus to your damage roll on a successful hit. You can increase the damage bonus in additional 2-point increments, up to a maximum of a -25 penalty to your attack roll for a +10 damage bonus.

This is bad. So bad. So loving bad. Holy poo poo. Power Attack exists. What the hell! Like, the only possible value to this piece of poo poo would be if you really wanted to take something else besides Power Attack and use this as a poor man's replacement in the meantime, but I really can't envision any sort of serious melee build that doesn't take Power Attack within the first 3 feats at the most.

Daze Attack: take a -20 penalty to your attack roll, and you Daze the target on a hit. Daze in 3rd Edition means they lose their next turn, but otherwise take no other penalties.

Yet another Warning Flag - low AC targets might be Dazed round after round, completely locking them down for the entire. Again, this is the point, and a 1-round Daze is going to "lock down" the attacker that keeps applying it as much as it does the dazed defender if both of them can do nothing else. And the standard note about how the target creature needs to be vulnerable to critical hits for this effect to work.

Deafening Attack: take a -10 penalty to your attack role, and cause the target to be Deafened for 1d6 minutes on hit. Deafened in 3rd Edition means taking a -4 penalty to initiative, automatically failing all Listen checks, and a 20% chance of spell failure when casting a spell with verbal components.

quote:

the DM must judge that it hears in a manner similar to humans or animals.

Deny Dexterity Bonus: take a -10 penalty to your attack roll. On hit, the target loses their DEX bonus to AC on your next attack against them. However, your next attack roll against them must use either your DEX or CHA modifier instead of your STR modifier, and you do not apply an ability modifier to your damage roll.

The book tells us right away that this is probably redundant against the use of the Bluff skill in combat to Feint, but says that this maneuver specifically still has value if your character does not have the Bluff skill. The problem is that taking away your STR modifier on the attack roll and replacing it with DEX/CHA might well mean that you're not actually getting any utility from this maneuver at all.

Disable Natural Attack: take a -20 penalty to your attack roll. On hit, you can select a single natural weapon/natural attack of your target, such as Bite or Claw or Tail, and the target will be unable to use it for 1d4 rounds.

Alternatively, you can change this into a Hindering Attack, which adds a further penalty of making your attack deal no damage, but makes the effect persist until your target passes a Strength check with DC [10 + your Strength modifier], rather than a flat 1d4 rounds. The book makes this out to be something like:

quote:

instead, you pull off the maneuver by wedging an object into a creature’s mouth, tying a sack around its claws to dull them, or otherwise neutralizing the attack form without actually striking with your weapon.

Disarming Attack: take a -20 penalty to your attack roll. On hit, your target drops their weapon. You have a +4 bonus on your attack roll if you're sing a two-handed weapon, or a -4 penalty if you're using a light weapon. The target gains a +4 AC bonus against this maneuver for size category larger that they have over you. This is somewhat redundant with the existing Disarm action already in 3rd Edition, but as with the Deny Dexterity Bonus maneuver and the Bonus Damage maneuver, the precise circumstances are different or can be made to be different.





At this point I'm going to interrupt the chapter to skip ahead to a discussion of Maneuver Drawbacks, or else this first post is going to end up way too long.

A Maneuver Drawback is something that you combine with any of the Maneuver Effects, in order to reduce the attack roll penalty that the Effect forces you to take.

Take Disarming Attack, for example. It's a -20 penalty to your attack roll. If you combine it with the Effect Only drawback, then you reduce the penalty by 5, so that it's only a -15 now, but also you don't get any damage out of the attack, only the effect.

The Drawbacks are:

Attack of Opportunity, Target Only - the target will get a free Attack of Opportunity on you when you perform the Maneuver. Reduce the penalty by 5

Attack of Opportunity with Failure, Target Only - the target will get a free AOO on you when you perform the Maneuver, AND the maneuver automatically fails if the AOO hits. Reduce the penalty by 10

Total Attack of Opportunity - all enemies that are threatening you will get a free AOO on you when you perform the Maneuver. Reduce the penalty by 10

Total Attack of Opportunity with Failure - all enemies that are threatening you will get a free AOO on you when you perform the Maneuver, AND the maneuver automatically fails if the AOO hits. Reduce the penalty by 15

Effects Only - the Maneuver will only produce the effect, but no damage. Reduce the penalty by 5

Free Strike - the target will get a free attack on you, that automatically hits, when you perform the Maneuver. Reduce the penalty by 10

Full-Round Action - the Maneuver requires a Full-Round Action. Reduce the penalty by 5

Opposed Check - you and the target must make an opposed ability check, opposed skill check, or opposed attack roll for the Maneuver to take effect (on top of the attack needing to hit). Reduce the penalty by 5

Overpowering Effort - you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC until the start of your next turn. Reduce the penalty by 5

Overwhelming Effort - you fall prone after performing the Maneuver. Reduce the penalty by 5

Reflective Attack - if your Maneuver misses, your target can perform the same Maneuver right back at you. Reduce the penalty by 5

Reflective Effects - whenever your Maneuver hits, you take the same damage and effect that you just rolled. Reduce the penalty by 10

So, let's go back to the Disarming Attack effect, with its -20 attack roll penalty. According to the core rules, the first step of a Disarm attempt is for the target to make an AOO against you, and the Disarm attempt will fail if the AOO deals damage. This is equivalent to Attack of Opportunity with Failure, Target Only drawback, so that reduces the penalty to -10

The next step in a core rules Disarm is an opposed attack roll. This is equivalent to the Opposed Check drawback, which reduces the penalty further, down to a -5

Finally, a core rules Disarm will allow your target to attempt to Disarm you back if you fail the opposed attack roll. This is equivalent to the Reflective Attack drawback, which completely eliminates the attack roll penalty.

So that's the basic framework of the Maneuver system: you pick an Effect, it comes with a hefty attack roll penalty, and then you pick one or more Drawbacks to reduce the attack roll penalty down to a more manageable level.






Next: I'll cover more of the remaining effects, as I just wanted to get the Effect+Drawback pairing discussed before we got too deep into the book, because obviously an Ability Score Damage Effect with a -20 attack roll penalty would just be regarded as unusable.

Halloween Jack
Sep 12, 2003

La morte non ha sesso

Alien Rope Burn posted:

That die range system has to be the worst, though. Did Magellan list any playtesters? It feels like a game that never actually touched a tabletop.
I know I just said that Magellan looks like it was maybe handed off by the author to be turned into a game, but at the same time, Jon and Jeff sound really on-point about it including rules written by someone who wasn't thinking of what a player, as opposed to a writer, would do with them. They're good at spotting that kind of thing.

Sometimes I see rules or character abilities that seem to have been included because the writers envisioned one really cool scene that would involve it, without thinking about how it works when it comes into play repeatedly. I can't think of a lot of examples, but a good one is the rule in Heaven & Earth that lets you escape certain death by playing a game with the DM. The idea of something catastrophic happening, followed by somebody literally playing chess with Death to immediately retcon it, is appropriate to the game. It's exactly the kind of thing that could happen in Twin Peaks. But only as something invoked by the GM, once in a campaign. As something that could happen again and again...you probably don't want that. The powers from Vanishing Point sound like they fit the bill, too--they're neat but too situational, and sound like they exist to set up a particular gimmick in a scene.

Everlasting has a rule where literally every single opposed roll can lead to players betting luck points on the outcome and upping the ante. The only saving grace is that it's optional and sorta runs on group consensus, so everyone will get sick of it and stop doing it.

Kobold eBooks
Mar 5, 2007

EVERY MORNING I WAKE UP AN OPEN PALM SLAM A CARTRIDGE IN THE SUPER FAMICOM. ITS E-ZEAO AND RIGHT THEN AND THERE I START DOING THE MOVES ALONGSIDE THE MAIN CHARACTER, CORPORAL FALCOM.
This is my first ever FATAL & Friends review, and in fact it's my first tabletop RPG review ever.

So what better game to start on than the series I hold very dear and near? Yes, it's...

Part 1 of The Final Fantasy RPG, Third Edition, by the Returners. I've been threatening it on and off for a while and decided to finally just pull the trigger on it.

I forget how many pages this has, so let's get this started off right with some embedded musi--

We're gonna need the extended version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YtfErGrnKA

I'll try to put any book text in quote boxes.

Auron, FINAL FANTASY X posted:

Every story has a beginning. This is the start of yours.

So they throw these quotes at the top of every chapter. Expect milquetoast bits of dialogue from all over the series as they struggle to match quotes to talking about thousands of d100s. Also expect to learn which game these characters are in, I guess. At least this book predates FF13, so we'll never have to hear about Lightning.



The book starts off, after our lovely quote from Auron, with a brief explanation of Final Fantasy. In case you'd downloaded this PDF that says 'FINAL FANTASY RPG' on it and had no goddamned idea what a Final Fantasy is. I suppose I've heard of worse ways to get someone into a franchise...

No, I haven't. :sigh:

Actually, I'm just going to throw this text out there, in all its raw glory.

quote:

The first Final Fantasy title appeared on American shores in 1990, long after rescuing its Japanese creators from impending bankruptcy and virtual obscurity. Its unique blend of traditional Western mythology and science fiction had an almost immediate impact on game players the world over, going on to become one of the cornerstones of the fledgling console RPG genre. Since its inception, the Final Fantasy series has become one of the best-selling – and most influential – role-playing sagas of all time, spanning no less than thirteen official titles on seven platforms and countless spinoffs, including two animated series and full-length CG movies. The Final Fantasy RPG is both an homage to these titles and an attempt to bring their spirit and feel to the gaming table.

It's all like this. That takes up only about a fourth of the page. There is not a single bit of art in this book(don't hold me to this, it's been years since I really read this tome).

The book continues with a big section titled 'HOW TO USE THIS BOOK', which you'd think would be your usual 'what is a roleplaying game?' spiel. You'd be wrong. Instead we're treated to a series of conditional paragraphs addressing fans of the series that are new to tabletop RPGs, then people who don't know Final Fantasy are assured that

If you are new to the Final Fantasy games posted:

No 'insider' knowledge is required to use and enjoy the contents of this book. In fact, the first portion of this introduction is specifically designed as a crash course for this much-loved series, keeping you up to speed with the series veterans. In the space of the next few pages, you'll find capsule summaries for the fifteen most important Final Fantasy games as well as a primer on the content and feel that's common to them.

They aren't kidding. Let's skip ahead, as the rest of this section is ACTUALLY the 'what is a roleplaying game?' section we all know and love, complete with an explanation of how the book is formatted and a brief guide to how the book is laid out. Chapter-by-chapter, in case you didn't read the Table of Contents.

All in total, there are 10 chapters and 5 Appendices. We're in for a long one, folks. 400 pages of unadulterated nerding out over Final Fantasy.

:suicide:

After this we get a brief clarification on which games this book uses stuff from, and contains this little gem. I'll let you decide for yourself what red flags this raises.

GAME COVERAGE posted:

Rather than emulate any one particular game in the series, the rules presented here try to find a common ground between them by mixing and matching elements from each major release. The Summoning rules presented in Appendix III, for instance, are directly based on the 'persistent' Summoning first seen in Final Fantasy X, while the fire-and-forget Summoning from earlier games is presented as a separate ability

They then go on to apologize that it's not going to 100% match every Final Fantasy game, which... Given the state of the fanbase when this book was made, I guess I'm not going to fault it too much. In short, don't expect to be swapping Jobs all over the place, because the core book is basically locked in Final Fantasy Tactics style combat.

Without the Job switching.

:shrug:

Then there's this lovely block of text under a header labeled 'NAMING'.

NAMING posted:

The names of the characters, races, equipment, items, and spells listed in this rulebook usually follow the games' official North American translations. Because the quality of these localizations has dramatically improved over the twenty-five years since Final Fantasy first arrived in the US, names used in the FFRPG tend to favor the newest and most accurate translations. This includes the updated translations given to recent remakes of older titles like Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy Tactics; players who have only experienced the originals may not immediately recognize some of the names used here. The rationale for this is relatively simple: once a translation changes, it generally becomes the standard for all future games in the series. For example, the old x 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 sequence of Spells was dropped in favor of -ra , -ga , and -ja suffixes back in '99, 'Gil' replaced 'Gold Pieces' as of Final Fantasy VII, and the most recent translations began phasing out 'Soft' for 'Golden Needledkjddddddddddddddddddddddd

Woah, sorry, I fell asleep on my keyboard there. I'm no going to go back to give you the rest, it keeps going on like that for another two sentences.

We're gonna call this here, because the next section is going to stretch my loving VIT stat to its breaking point.

Next up: 9 pages of Final Fantasy history in dense text, minimal dividers, and no art. :suicide:

Kobold eBooks fucked around with this message at 16:11 on Mar 17, 2016

theironjef
Aug 11, 2009

The archmage of unexpected stinks.

Halloween Jack posted:

I know I just said that Magellan looks like it was maybe handed off by the author to be turned into a game, but at the same time, Jon and Jeff sound really on-point about it including rules written by someone who wasn't thinking of what a player, as opposed to a writer, would do with them. They're good at spotting that kind of thing.

The other thing that looks writerly about GWOM would be the special die. You can see why it exists, because having to roll inside a range precludes a fixed point for a critical or a fumble. The special die seems like a reasonable solution. Add a second D20, assign two faces to be crit and fumble, and you're all set. They even thought to use it for hit location charts as well, so it has a few effects.

Then they gently caress it up, writer-style. Every skill has it's own special die result table. With firefighting, a 7 is a crit and a 14 is a fumble. With seduction, it's a 2 and a 13. They also each have their own specific description of what a fumble entails (instead of just saying "Hey DM, figure it out but it's bad"). So again with firefighting, a fumble indicates that the fire doubles in size, and a crit destroys 9 square meters of fire. And with seduction, a crit is just an auto-success (which brings up a whole question of "what's a non-crit success do?) and a fumble is a failure that increases the chance of future failures.

So you can start to see the problem here. This book has no index. Every time you roll a skill, you have to go find that skill (out of 113 skills and another 60 or so skill-like powers) to not only see what the results could be but also whether or not you hit one of the special results. Every time. If they had just set the crit and fumble to 1 and 20 you could ignore them 90% of the time, but this is the Shield Mind skill, and you don't know if a 15 is something special or not, and if it is you don't what what special thing it is, so you have to go check. True, you could just write down in full all your skills, but then combat's special die brings up a new problem.

See, the special die hit location chart for combat changes based on the creature you're fighting. A dru-ack has a special result on it's vitals D20 for wings. So does a Seibling but on a different number. A cree has a result for torso just like other races but on a different number and the result is something different and complicated (it shuts down their spellcasting for a random time period). You could conceivably write down your own vitals chart for ease of use, but the result is rolled by the attacker. So if you punch a dog, the DM has to go find the dog vitals chart when you roll to punch that dog. And again, every time. Not just like "Oh you rolled a 20, let's check for vital areas." This doesn't sound like the worst thing until you realize that they charts are next to the player race descriptions in about half of these, and then also in the back of the book for several more.

theironjef fucked around with this message at 16:17 on Mar 17, 2016

Mors Rattus
Oct 25, 2007

FATAL & Friends
Walls of Text
#1 Builder
2014-2018

Liber Canticorum: Band Camp

Resonance-restricted Songs are usually restricted to a particular Band or Choir, but if you manage to get that resonance, such as from the Master of Divine Knowledge distinction or the Balseraph of Fate attunement, you can use those Songs, too.

The Song of Truthswearing exists only in Celestial variant. It attunes a Seraph to someone's truthful voice. First, the Seraph must use the Song in the presence of the target, who then must make a statement which is true - not just something they believe is true, but objectively true. For (CD) hours, the Seraph treats all statements the subject makes as if they had successfully uses their resonance with a CD of (Celestial Forces). No roll is needed, though you can choose to make one for a higher CD. If your resonance is impaired during the period, such as by a failed resonance roll, the Song does not end but provides no useful information until you regain resonance usage. This Song does not affect your ability to resonate anyone but the target, and it can only affect one target per usage. Seraphim have an affinity for this Song. It costs 1 Essence and causes no base Disturbance.

The Songs of Lending temporarily loan a Song or ability to the target. They were discovered by and are usable only by Cherubim. The range is (Song's level+Essence spent) yards, but if the Cherub is attuned to the target, it can be used at any range. While the Song is active, the user cannot use the transferred ability without ending the Song, and it cannot transfer itself. These Songs can theoretically transfer any power, but do not allow the target to use any they could not normally use - so attunements only affect Soldiers or other angels, and then only if they could in theory learn that attunement, for example. Lending a skill does not add your skill to the target's - it's a substitution, and the Song fails if the target already has the ability at a higher level than you. The exception is Forces: the Songs can transfer a single Force, with the Cherub choosing how their stats are reduced by the loss. The target gains the same amount. You cannot transfer your last Force in a realm. A Djinn who knows one of those Songs after a Fall can still use it, but only on an attuned. (Djinn cannot learn the Song, just use it if they already knew it.) The Corporeal Song can transfer corporeal skills (based on Strength or Agility) or 1 Corporeal Force. Skills last for (CD) hours, Forces for (CD) minutes. The Ethereal Song can transfer non-corporeal skills or 1 Etheral Force, same duration. The Celestial Song can transfer Songs or attunements for (CD*Celestial Forces) minutes, or a Celestial Force for (CD) minutes. The Corporeal and Ethereal Songs cost at least 1 Essence, and the Celestial costs at least 2. They cause (CD) Disturbance, plus 1 if a Force is transferred.

The Songs of Speed are restricted to Ofanim. The Corporeal Song grants their tendency to movement to a target in (Song's level) yards, or multuple targets at -1 per target past the first. All targets must roll Will to resist or else find it uncomfortable to sit still and receive a penalty of (Corporeal Forces) to all Precision or Agility-based skill rolls. The user must also roll Will just to hold still, or else fidget and be nervous. The effects last for (CD) minutes, and Ofanim are immune to its effects. The Ethereal Song enables toal concentration on a single task, allowing the time required to complete it to be divided by (CD), so long as the target does not stop even to eat or sleep until it's done. You must touch the target, and they must begin the task immediately, but you don't have to stick around for them to complete it. Once the task is complete or as soon as they stop, the target collapses of exhaustion. Mortals need 8 hours of sleep, while celestials need only an hour of rest. Ofanim receive no benefit from this. The Celestial Song imbused others to keep up with Ofanim using their resonance. (Only celestials can travel with them in celestial form, however.) Targets must travel with the angel, remaining within (Celestial Forces) yards, but will not tire while the Song lasts. It costs 2 Essence per passenger and lasts (CD) hours. Ofanim have an affinity for these Songs. They cost at least 1 Essence for the Ethereal and Corporeal or at least 2 for the Celestial. They cause (CD+number of targets) Disturbance.

The Song of Moodreading is restricted to Elohim. It works similar to the Song of Truthswearing, and like it, has only a Celestial variant. The Elohite must touch the target when using it, but will continually be aware of the target's moods and motivations as though resonating them with a CD of (Celestial Forces) for (CD) hours. It is otherwise identical to the Song of Truthswearing. Elohim get an affinity for it, it costs 1 Essence and causes no base Disturbance.

The Songs of Virtue is restricted to Malakim. It tunes their resonance to a specific type of noble or ignoble behavior for (CD) hours. You can end it with Will, but while it is in effect, your resonance will detect only that sort of behavior. This is a Celestial Song and has no other varieties. This is a normal use of resonance during the duration, but the results apply only to acts falling in the purview of your criteria, which can be as general or specific as you like. However, the virtue or sin chosen must be a virtue or sin by the subject's moral standards - and you can't define something you consider virtuous to be a sin or vice versa. So if you name 'being a demon' as a sin...well, it won't detect demons because demons don't agree with you that it's ignoble, usually. Malakim have an affinity for this Song, which costs 1 Essence and causes no base Disturbance.

The Song of Castling is actually a variant of the Celestial Song of Motion usable only by Kyriotates. It allows a Kyriotate to swap the position of two hosts, with range and Essence cost identical to the normal Song of Motion - so base 4 Essence, for two hosts, and they move into each other's locations. Some Kyriotate virtuosos have improved the Song to switch hosts with non-host targets, or even swap two external targets. This requires a virtuoso performance roll at -1 for host to non-host or -2 for two non-hosts. Non-host targets can resist if they like, as per the Celestial Song of Motion, and if either resists, the Song fails. This costs at least 4 Essence and causes (CD) Disturbance at each location.

The Songs of Friendship are restricted to Mercurians. They make it easier to get people to like you...but cannot force anyone to feel anythng they would not normally. The Corporeal Song allows you to share some of your resonance, giving others a natural feeling for how best to present themselves. This zone radiates out from you for (Corporeal Forces) hours, with a radius of (Song's level+Essence spent) yards. Within that range, all successful reaction rolls have a minimum CD equal to the Song's CD. Unsuccessful reaction rolls are not affected. The Ethereal Song generates an aura of friendship. For (CD) hours, you get (Essence spent) levels of Charisma, as long as you remain friendly. Hostile action ends the Song. Further, the bonus does not apply against anyone you do not feel genuinely friendly towards. The Celestial Song is rarely used these days. It hgas no game effect and can only be used in celestial form. It has a range of (CD*Celestial Forces) yards, and you pick anyone in that range to be affected. Anyone affected automatically perceives your form, but feels no fear whatsoever towards you. They will be naturally inclined to trust and believe you unless given strong reason to feel otherwise. This part continues even after you leave your celestial form. Mercurians have an affinity for these Songs, which cost at least 1 Essence and cause (CD) Disturbance for Corporeal and Ethereal, or (number of targets) for Celestial.

The Song of Distortion is a Celestial Song restricted to Balseraphs, allowing them to 'lie' when causing Disturbance. It does not diminsh the Disturbance, but distorts it so it is hard to get accurate readings on. This lasts for (Song's level) minutes, during which time any Disturbance you make, up to (Celestial Forces+Essence spent), will be distorted. Others must subtract (CD) from the CD of their Perception roll, and if this results in a 0, all they know is that a Disturbance happened somewhere in range. Negative numbers provide false information decided on by the GM. Demons of Secrets and all Balseraphs have an affinity for this Song. It costs at least 1 Essence and causes (CD+Celestial Forces) Disturbance when it ends, which is not distorted.

The Song of Stalking is a Celestial Song restricted to Djinn. It can only be used on someone you're attuned to, and has a range of (Song's level) yards and a duration of (CD) days, or until the attunement ends, whichever is first. It can be resisted by Will. While it is in effect, the subject automatically fails any Perception rolls to notice you except on a Divine Intervention, but only in situations where a Perception roll is actually required. As long as you hide, they can't see you. Djinn have an affinity for this Song, which costs 1 Essence and causes no base Disturbance.

The Song of Feedback is a Celestial Song restricted to Calabim. It cycles their resonance, generating a pent-up field of destruction waiting to be unleashed. Each use allows you to invoke your resonance (CD) times without targeting anything. Once you hit that limit or at any point before that, you can then invoke your resonance to damage equal to (CD*number of stored rolls+Corporeal Forces) damage, or plus Celestial Forces in celestial form. At that poiint, the Song ends. It cannot hold charges longe than (Song's level) hours, at which point you must either release the charges on something or they turn on you. When storing resonance, a failed or resisted roll has normal effects and end the Song, dissipating all held charges. Further, when you unleash, a failed roll means your resonance is unsuccessful as normal, the Song ends and all charges are lost. However, a resisted roll requires you to take damage or dissonance as usual...multiplied by the same factor you would have increased your damage by. Calabim have an affinity for this Song. It costs 1 Essence and causes (CD) Disturbance once the charges are unleashed or dissipated.

The Song of Hysteria is a Habbalah-restricted Ethereal Song which lets them use their resonance more broadly over a long period. It can affect anyone within (Song's level+Ethereal Forces) yards, with each victim past the first costing 1 more Essence and giving -1 to the roll. Victims resist with Will, and celestials except for Elohim add Ethereal Forces. The Song does not itself generate emotions, but for (CD) hours, it amplifies any emotions the target feels to extremes. People react as they naturally would to extreme emotion. As a side effect, after the Song ends, their emotions are burnt out and dulled temporairly, reducing their Will by 1 as though targeted by the Celestial Song of Dreams and recovering the same way. Habbalah have an affinity for this Song, which costs at least 1 Essence and causes (CD+number of targets) Disturbance.

The Song of Desire is a Celestial Song that reveals desires, restricted to Loilim. Normally, Lilim must make eye contact to read Needs, but this Song briefly attunes them to Needs revealed by voice or body language. You choose one target you can see when using the Song, and can make Perception-based resonance rolls to read their Needs without eye contact for (CD) minutes, but each roll requires one full minute of studying the target. Lilim have an affinity for this Song, which costs 1 Essence and causes no base Disturbance.

The Songs of Corruption are Shedite-restricted Songs discovered by Legion, the late Prince of Corruption. Asmodeus and some other Princes forbid their Shedim to learn them, both out of fear of Legion and because they allow Discord to be lost. These Songs allow a Shedite to, over al ong period, transfer their Discord to a host instead of themselves. The victim must be thoroughly corrupted, however, over a long period. The appropriate realm's Soing is needed for the Discord you want ot lose, and you must be in the host continuously for (Host's Forces - Song's level) weeks, minimum 1. At the end of that period, you spend (Discord's level*2) Essence, and the host can negate with (Will+appropriate realm Forces). If you succeed, the CD must equal or exceed the Discord's level. If it does, you transfer one level of Discord from yourself to the host. If you fail for whatever reason, nothing happens. Either way, you have to wait the full period again before the next use. Demons of Corruption, if any survive, and all Shedim have an affinity for these Songs. They cost at least 2 Essence and cause (CD+total Discord level pre-reduction) Disturbance.

The Songs of Symbiosis are Shedite-restricted, and more commonly know as the Parasite Songs. Each requires you to occupy a host for (host's Forces-Song level) days, minimum 1, before the Song can be used...but once you successfully use one on a host, you can leave and return and still get the benefit by using the Song, for (number of days ridden) weeks afterward. All of these last until you leave the Host, and each can be done only once per possession - so your CD is whatever you get until you leave and come back. The Corporeal Song lets you leave the host for up to (CD+Corporeal Forces) minutes and automatically reenter without rolling. The host regains control while you're gone, but if you return within the time limit, the possession is treates as uninterrupted. If using the trick to transfer back silently from another host, reduce your Forces by (CD), minimum 1, to determine how long it takes. The Ethereal Song shares your Word with the host, causing any attempt to force the host to commit an evil act in that Word's purview to reduce the host's Will by (CD) - so Shedim of Lust have an easier time committing lustful acts, say. The GM is supposed to be fairly strict about what qualifies. The Celestial Song allows you to tap into your host's Essence. You can draw (CD) Essence from the host, drawn out however you like over the course of the possession, though you obviously cannot take Essence they don't have. These Songs cost 2 Essence and cause (CD+host's total Forces) Disturbance.

The Song of Harvesting is an Impudite-restricted Celestial Song. It allows an Impudite to prepare a future Essence donor by infusing them with a bit of Essence. You must touch the target and, on top of the base cost, transfer at least 1 Essence, with a max of howeverm uch the target can hold at the moment. The transfer happens even if you fail the Song roll. However, on a success, you get a bonus to Essence theft against that victim for (CD+Celestial Forces) days. The bonus is equal to the Essence initially transferred. Note that anyone who controls their own Essence can refuse an Essence transfer. Impudites get an affinity for this Song, which costs at least 1 Essence and causes (CD) Disturbance.

The Songs of Life were granted by God to help create the universe. No one is capable of using the Corporeal Song any more, even Lucifer, while only Superiors can use the other two - though some others have used them, leading to speculation that anyone who hunts long enough can discover them. All require you to touch the target. The Corporeal Song used to create life from inanimate matter - specifically, from Primordial Clay, which is a very rare substance indeed. It must be shaped into the creature you want to bring to life. The Song then turns it into a living creature, with each Force the target is to have requiring one 'level' of Clay. The being is unique and cannot reproduce, even if it appears to be an existing type of life, unless you have a CD 6, in which case it is a new and viable species, though still the only member unless you make more. The Corporeal Song could also end life, killing any living being instantly, resisted by Will. This includes vessels and undead. The Ethereal Song gives the power to create and destroy ethereals. One use creates a new spirit, which will last for (CD) days, except on a CD 6, in which case it is as permanent as any ethereal. Once created, however, even 'temporary' Ethereals can live indefinitely if they find a source of Essence to sustain them. However, ethereals and celestials can use this Song only to create ethereal beings they have seen before or using images from a mortal dreamscape. Humans, if they somehow got the ability to use this Song, might be able to create anything. Used to destroy, this Song can kill any ethereal in much the same way the Corporeal Song was, even if that ethereal is in a vessel. The Celestial Song is used by Superiors to create new celestials. You must either use your own Forces or have other Forces available to build a new celestial - and only Superiors can access loose Forces. This Song cna also destroy celestials, either in celestial form or in vessel (in which case the vessel drops dead). The celestial resists with Will, but if they fail, their Forces are dispersed. Angels of Creation would have an affinity for creating life, and demons of Death with destroying it. These Songs cost 6 Essence and cause (target's total Forces) Disturbance.

The Songs of Sacrifice can only be used by mortals, though celestials can learn them for the purpose of teaching. Anyone who knows one version can learn the others without a teacher...but all other restrictions apply, so the non-Coporeal versions are rare. They allow a mortal to give of themselves freely and without reservation. When someone transfers HP this way, they are treated as normal healing for the target and normal damage for the donor. They cannot give more HP than the recipient normally has, nor take more than that from the user, but it is possible to kill yourself or Force-strip yourself to heal another. You can choose whether or not to take on other maladies, but the HP transfer is automatic. Other maladies include Discord, conditions imposed by powers and so on. Most transfers are permanent or until the condition ends, but Discord is only transferred for (appropriate realm Forces) hours. All require you to touch the recipient. The Corporeal Song transfers (CD*song's level) Body HP to any corporeal being or object, including vessels, and you may choose to take on eany one adverse physical condition, such as disease, poison, drugs, infestation or so on, or (CD) levels of Corporeal Discord. The Etheral Song transfers (CD*song's level) Mind HP, and you can choose to take on one adverse mental condition, such as the Habbalah resonance but not possession, or (CD) levels of Etheral Discord. Most permanent menta conditions are treated as Discord and so will revert after (Ethereal Forces) hours. The Celestial Song transfers (CD*Song's level) Soul HP, and you can lose Forces from it. If someone dies as a result of using this Song, they are automatically drawn to the Higher Heavens, even if they are a Soldier of Hell. These Songs cost 1 Essence and causes no base Disturbance.

The Songs of Souls can only be used by Superiors...or mortals. However, most Archangels would never teach a mortal. Princes might, for a great price, but even then it is very rare. These Songs cost (target's total Forces) Essence and affect anyone you can see. The Corporeal Song delays death, bot for mortals and vessels. It must be used within (target's Corporeal Forces) rounds after the target's death, but if successful, it forces the soul back into the body for (CD) hours. The target is still dead...but if the body can be restored to positive HP, the soul will attach again, and the target will return to life. The Ethereal Song delays a soul's journey to the afterlife. It needs to be used in the same duration as the Corporeal Song. If successful, the soul does not go to its final destination, but becomes a dream-shade for (CD) days, which can be extended by repeat uses of the Song...but the target can roll Will to negate the Song and move on. The Celestial Song brings a mortal back to life, provided they've been dead no more than (target's Corporeal Forces) days and their body is healed enough to prevent them from immediately dying a second time. Superiors can only bring back those killed by celestial intervention, and only if the soul went to their own realm - an Archangel can't revive the damned, nor can a Prince steal a soul from Heaven, and neither can revive a reincarnated or pagan soul, nor one that has dispersed. Further, the subject automatically attempts a Will roll to negate, even if they want to return to life. If they succeed, they cannot be brought back by anyone. Those who are revived do not remember their brief stays in Heaven or Hell, though there are rumors of exceptions. Celestial vessels can also be revived, though they still need healing. However, the celestial must have entered Trauma or Limbo no more than (target's Corporeal Forces) days ago. Success brings them back, though celestials can choose not to resist, though they do not know who is performing their revival or where their body is. These Songs cause (target's total Forces) Disturbance.

The Songs of Spirit Speech can only be used by ethereals and mortals. Celestials can neither learn nor be affected by them. All require the user to have met the target at least once, though they can send messages anonymously. You must visualize the target when using the Song, and they must be in the corporeal or ethereal realms. The Corporeal Song only works on those in the corporeal realm. It sends a verbal message, audible in your vocie to anyone in hearing range of the target, no longe than (Essence spent*Corporeal Forces) words. If the target is sleeping, roll Will to see if they wake up and hear it. The Ethereal Song creates a minor illusion, perceptible to only one sense, for (Ethereal Forces) minutes. The Celestial Song allows oyu to manifest briefly before the target for (Celestial Forces) rounds, unseen by anyone else. If you use this as an etheral to manifest on Earth, you may materialize there if you have a vessel, ending the Song. This can be maintained indefinitely if you or the target keep spending Essence on it. These Songs cost at least 1 Essence and cause no base Disturbance if used wholly in the ethereal realm, or (CD) Disturbance if at least one of you or the target is in the corporeal realm.

Next time: Lost Songs

Doresh
Jan 7, 2015

Robindaybird posted:

The dollmaker's fun, but I am sadly addicted to dollmakers - but it's ridiculous. Either don't use art, or sparingly. This is both lazy and somewhat dodgy as they're taking someone's work for profit.

I might just try to make pictures myself for fun, and in hopes that enough training might make me better than official Touhou artwork.

Robindaybird posted:

I sent a message to the creator's facebook to see if they knew about this. What's really funny is the Senshi makers actually have a drat good variety of stuff and they went with possibly the most vanilla options possible.

Is that so? I might have to check it out myself some time...

And yes, every one in the book is a Not-Senshi with a Cure color pallette. There's also a dash of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers because Senshi Black (with white ribbons and highlights) is a black girl.

Alien Rope Burn posted:

It's wrong, to put it bluntly.

Do they credit their artists? Now I'm curious.

Yes. DollDivine is mentioned, and our Rainbow Spark is the work of an artist named HyaKkiDouR4n.

Evil Mastermind posted:

Wait, what? That's it?

Okay, I might have glimpsed over the part where mascots are both an archetype, and you are encouraged to just create them like a normal PC. Don't gently caress with Luna, or Mepple for that matter.

Other than the example plots anyone familiar with the monster-of-the-week format I've also skipped, there's also a published adventure for cons or something for our brave heroines to alpha-strike through.

Kobold eBooks posted:

This is my first ever FATAL & Friends review, and in fact it's my first tabletop RPG review ever.

So what better game to start on than the series I hold very dear and near? Yes, it's...

Part 1 of The Final Fantasy RPG, Third Edition, by the Returners. I've been threatening it on and off for a while and decided to finally just pull the trigger on it.

Hah! I have summoned thee!

These quote are very corny, and I can't wait till the class section. There are so many weird choices. Like how every fighting dude is essentially Cyan.

quote:

They then go on to apologize that it's not going to 100% match every Final Fantasy game, which... Given the state of the fanbase when this book was made, I guess I'm not going to fault it too much. In short, don't expect to be swapping Jobs all over the place, because the core book is basically locked in Final Fantasy Tactics style combat.

I have no idea why it would've killed them to offer Job Switching (as seen in many FF entries) or a more freeform system. Super Console, a parody, does a better job at this.

Kobold eBooks posted:

Then there's this lovely block of text under a header labeled 'NAMING'.

I think the major changes in the last months before the "official" release consisted of changing various item and ability names. Who needs a Quadra Slam if you can have a Flurry, amirite?

Halloween Jack
Sep 12, 2003

La morte non ha sesso

theironjef posted:

The other thing that looks writerly about GWOM would be the special die. You can see why it exists, because having to roll inside a range precludes a fixed point for a critical or a fumble. The special die seems like a reasonable solution. Add a second D20, assign two faces to be crit and fumble, and you're all set. They even thought to use it for hit location charts as well, so it has a few effects.
Having to roll between X and Y sounds neat in theory. But then, history's full of novel resolution mechanics that were crap in practice. I'm not an expert on all the percentile systems out there, but it seems to me that d100 systems...or d20 systems, which just compress the percentiles into more manageable increments...tend to throw away a big advantage of using a percentile systems, that being knowing the % odds of results. Like how in Stormbringer, dedicated combatants need a weapon skill of over 100%. What does that mean?

It still makes sense if you have clear standard guidelines for what a -20% penalty or +15% bonus, but most games gently caress that up, too. I hate incoherent difficult scales almost as much as I hate...

quote:

Then they gently caress it up, writer-style. Every skill has it's own special die result table. With firefighting, a 7 is a crit and a 14 is a fumble. With seduction, it's a 2 and a 13. They also each have their own specific description of what a fumble entails (instead of just saying "Hey DM, figure it out but it's bad"). So again with firefighting, a fumble indicates that the fire doubles in size, and a crit destroys 9 square meters of fire. And with seduction, a crit is just an auto-success (which brings up a whole question of "what's a non-crit success do?) and a fumble is a failure that increases the chance of future failures.

So you can start to see the problem here. This book has no index. Every time you roll a skill, you have to go find that skill (out of 113 skills and another 60 or so skill-like powers) to not only see what the results could be but also whether or not you hit one of the special results. Every time. If they had just set the crit and fumble to 1 and 20 you could ignore them 90% of the time, but this is the Shield Mind skill, and you don't know if a 15 is something special or not, and if it is you don't what what special thing it is, so you have to go check. True, you could just write down in full all your skills, but then combat's special die brings up a new problem.
...gigantic skill lists.

Skill-like powers aren't bad in theory. Like, the only thing, and I mean the only thing that Legacy: City of Violence got right was that it handled its psychic powers as just skills, instead of having a clunky subsystem. But Legacy: Book of the Unliving also only has maybe 6 superfluous dumb skills that no one will ever put points in, as opposed to 60.

quote:

See, the special die hit location chart for combat changes based on the creature you're fighting. A dru-ack has a special result on it's vitals D20 for wings. So does a Seibling but on a different number. A cree has a result for torso just like other races but on a different number and the result is something different and complicated (it shuts down their spellcasting for a random time period). You could conceivably write down your own vitals chart for ease of use, but the result is rolled by the attacker. So if you punch a dog, the DM has to go find the dog vitals chart when you roll to punch that dog. And again, every time. Not just like "Oh you rolled a 20, let's check for vital areas." This doesn't sound like the worst thing until you realize that they charts are next to the player race descriptions in about half of these, and then also in the back of the book for several more.
Combat rules with hit location silhouettes for every different creature type are an example of peak poo poo I Don't Want To Deal With. I remember there was some post-apoc game--Aftermath, maybe? That got lambasted in InQuest years ago for having a hit location chart for dogs that included 2 dozen discrete hit locations, including 2 for the tail.

Night10194
Feb 13, 2012

We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

The biggest problem in percentile systems is they tend to show up for 'grittier' games where the designers think a base chance of success for a trained PC should be 30%. Which is horseshit.

That's one of the reasons I'm reviewing Ironclaw; it's one of the few gritty games I've seen where the game is also player-favoring. From the getgo it's clear you're already well out of the shitfarmer phase and hitting the ground running, but still have plenty of room to develop.

Lynx Winters
May 1, 2003

Borderlawns: The Treehouse of Pandora

gradenko_2000 posted:

The Book of Iron Might, by Mike "The Squeakiest of Farts" Mearls

It's funny how all of this pearl-clutching about a buff person doing something cool sometimes comes from the guy who made Iron Heroes, a version of d&d3 where there's a bunch of new martial classes about doing Cool But Different Martial Things while the casters are fiddly and GMs are warned against allowing them.

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Black August
Sep 28, 2003

Angels and demons can be trippy dippy or horrific elder gods (I mean hell by default Kyriotates look terrifying and Shedim are basically shoggoths), or both, or neither. The game wants you to make up your own mind.

Yeah sure maybe some Creation angel might sing a rock that makes you high and take it to a party for the night. But you know what happens when that angel starts getting careless about those kind of tricks? Judgment calls. Then you go back to Heaven and you don't get to leave.

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