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Khorne's pretty simple, I'll grant you. But he's simple in a way that's really easy to use. Khorne hits things really hard and they die. There's not really any nuance, he's nowhere near as cool as Nurgle, but he's usable and makes sense in a way that Slaanesh and Tzeentch have never been, respectively.
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Jul 24, 2017 17:26
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Ah, yes. That I get. We always just sort of used him as the God of expendable mooks who are usually surprised to find out that murder can turn back around on you once you come up against, you know, well armed adventurers. Or a vampire. Blood Dragon runs into Khornates is always a good time. "Oh, I heard you guys like killing and fighting. I'm really into those too!" E: Also, Slaanesh is really easy to use if you play him as less sex parties and more just 'This one's actually just the classic devil'. She's got all kinds of things people actually want and it's easy to understand why someone will make dark deals with something that promises them money, excellence, and whatever they desire. The whisper in the darkness promising your heart's desire if you just do a few easy things to show your devotion rather than crazy technocolor cocaine times. Night10194 fucked around with this message at 17:31 on Jul 24, 2017 |
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Jul 24, 2017 17:29
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Old World Khorne is the god of war, hate, bloodshed and tasteful interior decoration using the viscera of fallen enemies but he's also generally the god of justice and honor and martial fairness. His warriors are supposed to ignore the weak and helpless because it's not fair to kill them and there's no honor in it. So even though a rampaging horde of Nordic berserkers from the warp-cursed north are a very real thing, they tend to punch above their weight or at least go for a fair target (on paper, really). As a result there have been a lot of despotic kingdoms and tyrannies that have been felled by a Khornate warrior showing up and yelling "hey motherfucker, you're dishonorable as poo poo and I'm coming for your head!" And then they generally tend to win, making a local revolution happen in the process of skull-hunting.
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Jul 24, 2017 17:31
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Cythereal posted:One of my favorite in-setting anecdotes is the explanation for Bretonnia's outlawing gunpowder weapons. So, a while back, there was a great Bretonnian champion and duelist. He claimed no one could best him with any weapon, and he ended up accepting a challenge from a guy in Nuln, the center of gunpowder and advanced weapons in the Empire. JcDent posted:Meanwhile, the nations in Age of Sigmar are *faaaaaaaaaaart* Kaza42 posted:Come on, it totally was. Its lands extended beyond the core German area, holding onto significant area dominated by other cultures.
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Jul 24, 2017 17:32
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Night10194 posted:Or a vampire. Blood Dragon runs into Khornates is always a good time. "Oh, I heard you guys like killing and fighting. I'm really into those too!" So would a Blood Dragon and a Khornate Champion have a murder contest (First one to kill a thousand enemies wins! GO!) or would it be more of a direct game (Okay, Knornate. You try to kill those guys and I'll try to stop you. If more than half survive, I win)?
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Jul 24, 2017 17:33
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The HRE's rule was, for its entire existence, plagued by the fact that the rules of what counted as 'in the HRE' were vague and even with that some people kept rebelling. The Lombards, for example.
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Jul 24, 2017 17:34
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Kaza42 posted:So would a Blood Dragon and a Khornate Champion have a murder contest (First one to kill a thousand enemies wins! GO!) or would it be more of a direct game (Okay, Knornate. You try to kill those guys and I'll try to stop you. If more than half survive, I win)? They're not that complicated. Usually, they'll just kill each other. Possibly over a disagreement about sword minutiae.
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Jul 24, 2017 17:35
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Night10194 posted:They're not that complicated. Usually, they'll just kill each other. Possibly over a disagreement about sword minutiae. And more likely, the Blood Dragon and the Berzerker would deem each other worthy opponents and have themselves a little duel on the battlefield while everyone else stays the gently caress away.
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Jul 24, 2017 17:36
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After we played a few games of Chaos in the Old World, our take on Khorne/Running Joke is that he's a politician who promised a battle and each province and he intends to deliver.
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Jul 24, 2017 17:43
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The main thing is that Khorne thinks subtlety is a drink.
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Jul 24, 2017 17:44
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Warhammer Fantasy: Knights of the Grail Rejoice, a knight of Bretonnia provides thy shield! Unlike the Imperial State Troops, the Kingdom of Bretonnia does not have a standing army. What they have is a long chain of feudal obligations and vassals. One of the most common and honorable feudal duties to owe is military service, so a Duke can call on his Lords can call on their Knights, and anyone with lands can call on the strongest of their peasant subjects to become Men at Arms and take a wage as soldiers and bailiffs. These sub-units of a Bretonnian army will not have trained together and Bret armies can be pretty disorganized, plus they have the difficulty of needing to hold their men together during long campaigns. A knight is eager to return to his estate and make sure things are managed, plus he's bringing most of the law enforcement from his fiefs with him on campaign; he can't afford to stay out long lest his villages get raided or his people get ideas about the unjust nature of the feudal system. This means that the longer a Bretonnian army campaigns in the field, unless it's making great progress and gathering wealth, captured land, and opportunities for glory, the more the less secure and poorer nobles will drop out and take their levy with them, as the strict text of their oath commonly only promises about 40 days a year of service. Bretonnian defense of important strategic passes and regions is passed off to an able noble as a Marquis, given permission to build fortifications and summon troops without needing further oversight. These sorts tend to be pragmatic enough that they'll reach unofficial arrangements with young knights errant and baseborn adventurers, giving PCs a very easy way to gain a noble employer even if by all rights they should be captured and sent back to their farms. Bretonnians also settle disputes by force of arms, between Lords. A man is not permitted to make war on his feudal superiors, but usually one's superior has too big an army and too many vassals to make that feasible anyway. Nobles of equal rank can legally fight it out if one has proof the other has engaged in actual treason (like allying with Chaos), if one has proof the other has stolen part of his fief, or if one can prove the other has made grave injuries upon the honor of one's family. Adventurers are very useful for gathering evidence of these charges ahead of a bout of civil strife, and an innocent noble sorely pressed by a neighbor might resort to hiring the PCs to help in a time of need. These small, petty struggles are the perfect place for a party of 3-6 exceptional people with good luck on their side to make an impact. Merchants are by nature anomalies. They aren't supposed to exist; a noblewoman isn't supposed to have a trade, a nobleman's trade is supposed to be war, and peasants are all tied to the land and enserfed. But trade is vital to Bretonnia, and it produces plenty of products that other nations want, while having a few particularly good sea ports and good relations with the Empire to stimulate the exchange of goods. While they are officially peasants with absolutely no political power, the merchants of Bretonnia are often richer than the nobles they serve, and the country couldn't function without them bringing in foreign goods and expediting international trade. Similarly, there's no official way to tax merchants; a peasant turns over 9/10ths of their produce as their feudal obligation, but merchants aren't doing agriculture. Bretonnian conservatism and the intense, quiet lobbying of merchants has kept their taxes entirely under the table. Nobles, similarly, know they need the merchants even if they pretend they don't exist, and so permit them to do so because the money and economic power of the merchants could strangle the country if they felt they were under concerted attack. To deal with taxing people who aren't officially able to be taxed, Bretonnian merchants have developed an elaborate system of ceremonial gifts, whereby they give valuable goods and gold to the nobles as recognition of their greatness and their service to the community. If the noble needs money more than product, the merchant than buys the gifts back the day after at reasonable rates. This buyback is done without any of the fanfare of the original gifting; it would be gauche to highlight a noble's poverty or risk affronting their honor. Merchants also hire guards to watch their warehouses and help protect their caravans (another good origin for peasant PCs), and the wealthiest have small private armies that can compete with the average lord. Similarly, since they aren't bound by chivalry, it's technically legal for them to import firearms and crossbows from the Empire. In practice, they do so only enough to make sure their warehouses won't be an easy target for an avaricious noble; a merchant doesn't want to look like he has designs on revolution. On some occasions, the younger children of a poor noble family will marry into a mercantile one, with the expectation that their relatives will protect the merchant's business legally and politically, while the merchant provides for their new relatives financially. Merchants also form unofficial guilds, disguised as 'social clubs', and the lack of any actual legal framework to limit their power or grant jurisdiction in specific areas can lead to nasty feuds, intrigues, and skullduggery. Merchant clubs are especially common and powerful in ports like L'Anguille. Next: Actual Peasants, or the Art of Keeping The Lord The Hell Out Of Things. Night10194 fucked around with this message at 18:01 on Aug 4, 2017 |
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Jul 24, 2017 18:01
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Hostile V posted:Age of Sigmar takes place on Eternia where the Light Hemisphere has the capitol of Eternos and the Dark Hemisphere has the capitol of Snake Mountain. Castle Greyskull is also there along with innumerable kingdoms of animal people. Man, He-man's setting is way more interesting than Age of Sigmar. (The best thing about Eternia is that it's actually a sword and planet setting that happened a generation back; Adam/He-man's mom is an Earth Astronaut who crashed there and married the local prince, in a reversal of how these things usually work.)
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Jul 24, 2017 18:20
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unseenlibrarian posted:Man, He-man's setting is way more interesting than Age of Sigmar. And here I was in blissful ignorance that He-Man could be free of continuity and could be free to just indulge itself in camp and beefcake. But, no, of course there's a loving backstory.
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Jul 24, 2017 19:31
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ZorajitZorajit posted:And here I was in blissful ignorance that He-Man could be free of continuity and could be free to just indulge itself in camp and beefcake. But, no, of course there's a loving backstory. Wait to you hear about how Skeletor was just some human guy who got his face burned off in an attempt to take the crown then made a deal with a demon to survive, who turned his head into a skull.
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Jul 24, 2017 19:48
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Young Freud posted:Wait to you hear about how Skeletor was just some human guy who got his face burned off in an attempt to take the crown then made a deal with a demon to survive, who turned his head into a skull. Man, the He-Man reboot went places from episode one.
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Jul 24, 2017 19:50
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I'm really curious to see how important child birth/rearing are in Wurm. So far the matter-of-fact tone makes it palatable, but given the nature of stuff reviewed here I'm ready for it to go  at any time.EDIT: re-Bretonnia, I was on a Total War: Warhammer this weekend and Louen's diplomacy dialogue makes him not quite the paragon other sources portray him as. on receiving a large gold gift: "This sum will feed a large duchy for years. We will put it in the vault." SirPhoebos fucked around with this message at 21:21 on Jul 24, 2017 |
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Jul 24, 2017 21:18
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Cythereal posted:One of my favorite in-setting anecdotes is the explanation for Bretonnia's outlawing gunpowder weapons. So, a while back, there was a great Bretonnian champion and duelist. He claimed no one could best him with any weapon, and he ended up accepting a challenge from a guy in Nuln, the center of gunpowder and advanced weapons in the Empire. (it's the best sidequest because you can get him to give you his gun after you beat him, and it's stupidly good  )
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Jul 24, 2017 21:52
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U.T. Raptor posted:This is also the basis of the best sidequest in Jade Empire. I dunno, the fact it's John Cleese being an over the top take that to the White Man shows foreigners Civilization cliche is what makes it the best.
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Jul 24, 2017 23:57
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Robindaybird posted:I dunno, the fact it's John Cleese being an over the top take that to the White Man shows foreigners Civilization cliche is what makes it the best. Also how the gun breaks the game squarely over your knee if you've built your character in advance to use it.  Hi, wuxia game. I'm shooting you in the face now.
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Jul 25, 2017 00:00
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 Rifts World Book 15: Spirit West, Part 5: "They live exactly the way they have always known, and consider the "trappings" of the modern cultures, even something as simple as a steel blade knife, to be a corrupting influence to be avoided." Native Americans of Rifts Earth A bit of history We're given a very broad-strokes history: tribes were pushed west, people forgot their traditions and heritage, and many were assimilated into American culture. Others lived on reservations and maintain bites of this culture! The two groups came together and survived the rifts, but there are now several different factions. These are: Modern Native Americans "or Modern Indians", Traditionalists, Pure Ones, or Renegades. Once again, RENEGADES. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3-EF2Eiico  "Wearing a bone breastplate over armor doesn't make much sense, but it does make me look more ethnic." Modern Native Americans - Circa 105 P.A. So, these are sometimes known as "Tech-Indians", which are those indigenous people who prefer technology, guns, and giant robots. It kinda focuses on how these are often those with impure blood to a point I'm not entirely comfortable with, but points out some have full Native American ancestry and just happen to like bang bang shoot shoots. They have "lost sight of their Indian heritage, although they are proud of it" and don't care about customs and magic and reject both because we can't have nuance. (Nobody tell Forge of the X-Men.) Many grow up around the Coalition states. Some are even Coalition citizens! Scandalous! Rifts World Book 15: Spirit West posted:Modern American Indians are just like any other humans in Rifts®, the only differences are they have colorful relatives living a very different way of life, and have, with a long, rich history in North America as a people, connected to nature, shamanism and spiritualism. Yes, you can be special magical people... adjacent! We get a long-rear end laundry list of O.C.C.s they can have, which mostly boils down to "any, except the new classes from this book because they don't respect the ancient ways." and can't get any of the special spirit gifts later on. Rifts World Book 15: Spirit West posted:However, all greater spirits and gods can sense whether a person has Native American blood coursing through his or her veins.  Yes, being Native American is special enough that any god can tell. Or do they just mean Native American gods specifically?   Including such ancient traditions as horse and rifle use. Traditionalists So, these are indigenous tribes that have rejected technology to go back to some vague Golden Age back before iPhones and cotton gins. We've seen it in Africa, South America 1, and Japan, but let's do the time warp again. They rely on magic and the guidance of "spirit-beings"... which must be different than all of the entities and ghosts we've seen so far which tend towards "insane", "rear end in a top hat", or "insane assholes". Any Native American can join up by renouncing technology, but what do they mean by that? Well, they can use bows (and arrows), stone axes, knives, and simple dwellings. Most accept using guns prior to 1901 but if you pick up a Colt M1903 Pocket Hammerless I guess the spirits forsake you. But a Colt M1892 is hunky-dory! Spirit-approved! They can also use things made of steel or "simple" Techno-Wizard items, whatever "simple" might entail. They specifically can't use energy weapons, vibro-blades, shock weapons, power armor, self-propelled vehicles, or sealed M.D.C. armor. However, it's apparently acceptable to use unsealed M.D.C. armor. Rifts World Book 15: Spirit West posted:They believe to do otherwise is to again lose sight of the spirits and customs that give them a special place in the world and the ability to live in harmony with nature. Because I know when I use a toaster, swing a wiimote, or ride a segway. I forget what those hideous brown pillars stuck in the ground with all the green poo poo on top are and am like "What are those? Those are horrible and ugly, we should burn them." I see a fuzzy-tailed tree-climbing thing and I'm like "I feel nothing for you, beast!", and I try and try to brain it with a rock. And then I see a bizarre scented colorful thing planted in the groundand feel nothing for it, so I just urinate all over it. So this seems pretty true to my experience! In any case, as far as their shamanistic magic goes, it turns out to be a legitimate ban, because the spirits are a bunch of conservative luddites. Once again, only their spirits are so fussed about machines, African rain makers, British druids, and Lazlo mystics don't have to worry about this. But this legitimizes their concerns with technology. It tries to emphasize that they don't hate those who use technology, even as the text undermines notion at every turn. Rifts World Book 15: Spirit West posted:While the Traditionalist Indian strives to live in harmony with nature, those who use (worship) technology tend to bend or even break nature to fit their desires and needs. Technology has a long, tragic history of destroying and spoiling nature rather than finding a harmonious union. We get a list of O.C.C.s they can choose, including plenty that don't exist, like "Healer" or "Wiseman". It notes that if the O.C.C. has a non-tech equivalent (like changing Motorcycle for Horsemanship) players can do that. Other skills that don't have any non-tech equivalent, like some Radio or Computer skills... just aren't replaced. You lose skills. Yep, unless you're playing a shaman, there's not much of an upside to playing a traditionalist. You can even end up without an M.D.C. weapon to use, which is a real issue. Oh, and if you're not a Native American, whether you're human or a D-Bee? You can be a traditionalist but can't ever get the full benefits or become chief- Rifts World Book 15: Spirit West posted:However, no matter how dedicated to the old ways these Non-Indian people may be, they do not share the bond with the spirits and gods as the "Chosen People." This means they cannot select any of the Native American O.C.C.s, or ever hope to be a Shaman. However, they can use fetishes and gain an animal totem. Native Americans who aren't traditionalist can become them, but they have to revert to 1st level even if they aren't changing classes or anything like that because they're starting "a new life". Oh, and if you break from being a traditionalist and return to it as a lifestyle, you have to go back to 1st level and you can never use major or legendary fetishes, and can't select any of the shamanistic classes later on ever again, even if you were previously one. Uuuuugh. Okay. gently caress this book. Want to have a personal plotline where you lose and reclaim your faith? No, gently caress you, this book says. Get hosed. gently caress it so much. gently caress. Fffff-   "No, we're not going to explain clothing like this, try and figure it out yourself." Pure Ones & Ancients These are descendants of those who hosed off to the magical realm and returned. It reminds us repeatedly they're of 100% Native American heritage despite being back for two centuries (and being seven to nine generations removed), and are still dedicated to the ancient ways. They even consider using a steel knife or riding as a passenger on a hovercycle to be forbidden. It emphasizes they don't hate those who use technology, they just totally judge them and think technology leads to "ruination". That being said, they often hate psi-stalkers, simvan, or xiticix as enemies or rivals. (Why psi-stalkers? Aren't they au naturale, too?) Rifts World Book 15: Spirit West posted:From the perspective of many "civilized," high-tech cultures, including the CS, these so-called "Pure Ones," are "retro-fanatics" who live a simple, primitive life with few of the luxuries and amenities offered by technology. Some, like the CS, even consider them savages or barbarians. However, such people are fools, for the lifestyles and ways of the Pure Ones, Traditionalists, and those who try to emulate them (to varying degrees) have simply chosen a different way of life. It is no more difficult or less sophisticated than any other culture. Ironically, these "retros" and "savages" have a broader, more advanced view of life than many of their detractors, for they tend to respect all other cultures, magic and technology, acknowledging only that these people live differently, and believe in and possess different types of magic and power, whether it be psionics, Techno-Wizardry, sorcery, or science and technology. So, the Pure Ones an only take the new O.C.C.s and a small selection detailed later for classes. It specifically notes they'll never take bionics but other forms of bionic augmentation, but may take bio-systems. They aren't allowed to use techno-wizard devices or ride on vehicles in addition to all of the restrictions for traditionalist. These guys seem like a PitA to have in an adventuring party. "We have to get to Kingsdale and warn them the Coalition is going to attack, hop on!" "Oh, I can't, I have to use a horse." "That nag goes like 40 miles per hour, tops. The Coalition is going to murder everybody. We need to do at least a hundred miles an hour if we're going to get there before nightfall." "You have to understand my pure Navajo blood bans me from using your abomination of science, nothing personal. It would offend the spirits." "Well, you don't have to drive. Hop on." "I cannot, my people have not needed hovercycles for millennia, and today changes nothing." "For millennia your people did without horses! They were introduced by the Europeans before your people even hosed off to another dimension! You're okay with them! A hundred thousand people will die at the hands of skullfaces unless we-" "- no." "Okay, okay. Okay. I respect your religion, but what if we have Mentos the Mind Melter levitate you next to his hoverbike, then we drive off." "Oh! That would be acceptable." "Ugh, I'm so tired of- wait, what?" "I'm allowed to be moved by Mentos' psychic powers. The spirits are cool with that." "I seriously don't think I'll ever understand your religion." "I try not to think about my religion, it just messes the whole thing up."  "Yeah, I'm a stereotype... on the edge... TO THE EXTREME!" Renegades So, these are Native Americans that have taken up technology but also believe in their heritage. What makes them different from "modern Native Americans"? All I can guess is that they pay more lip service to tradition than the former, so they can take a totem animal and use minor fetishes. They also are advocates of telling their spirits straight-up that technology isn't bad, but the spirits aren't hearing it yet. I guess their big deal is that they're trying to be a fusion of technology and magic even though their spirits specifically forbid that. Some "fanatical" traditionalist or pure ones see them as traitors (I guess the rest see them as fools). Factions We get some smaller extremist groups here:
In general, the Coalition States are regarded as the heirs of European invaders, and are seen as dangerous and aggressive. Rifts World Book 15: Spirit West posted:This does not automatically make the CS an enemy or evil... Huh? But aren't they? Rifts World Book 15: Spirit West posted:The Coalition States are the antithesis of the Traditionalist movement and represent all the evils and misuses of technology — the "white man's magic." people and places to be avoided and feared. Oh, good, I was afraid Rifts was losing its ability to contradict itself within a single paragraph. Editing! However, apparently only "militant extremists" attack or raid the Coalition, and most just "chase" the Coalition from their territory. I don't get it. Are they seeking to just avoid conflict? It actually doesn't say. However, as most live a fair distance from the Coalition States, contact is uncommon. Except for those that aren't that far from the Coalition at all but shhh we're talking about the West. The Coalition, on the other hand, considers them to be traitors to humanity but not of much consequence - they apparently have no idea how widespread Native Americans actually are in the West, despite having nuclear-powered planes that could reach the West Coast in an hour, taking pictures all the way. Next: The noble, sacred, traditional roles of learning to kill stuff real good.
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Jul 25, 2017 00:09
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Mors Rattus posted:The Chaos gods are written really unevenly. There has almost never been a good Slaanesh take, Tzeentch isn't that far ahead of him, and then Khorne and Nurgle are like three miles away, partying. Night10194 posted:E: Also, Slaanesh is really easy to use if you play him as less sex parties and more just 'This one's actually just the classic devil'. She's got all kinds of things people actually want and it's easy to understand why someone will make dark deals with something that promises them money, excellence, and whatever they desire. The whisper in the darkness promising your heart's desire if you just do a few easy things to show your devotion rather than crazy technocolor cocaine times. Bingo. Here's how I described it once to a friend: quote:Slaanesh is desire, excess, and most importantly, obsession. Tzeentch is honestly the most boring of them to me when written well, weirdly enough, because Tzeentch, much like dogs and ghosts, just sorta does things arbitrarily. All it cares about is that things change, and its element of hope for change for the better is purely there to trick people into serving it. It's a cosmic mastermind, super-intelligent unfathomable intelligence, always plotting, etc etc  , but it isn't actually doing anything. The best analogy for it is a griefer in something like Minecraft or ARK, who Wile E Coyotes dumb bullshit plans to grief the server for dozens of hours off in their own little corner and never actually accomplishes jack poo poo most of the time beyond temporary damage.its me im the guy who still knows volumes about 40k fluff despite holding the modern takes for everything but the Orks in contempt Daeren fucked around with this message at 01:07 on Jul 25, 2017 |
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Jul 25, 2017 01:03
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I mean, I loving love Warhammer Fantasy and I ran a lot of 40kRP (actually more than Fantasy RP, where I've more often been a player), but I stopped running 40k when I realized both the system and setting were pretty consistently working against me instead of with me. Fantasy is actually real good, though. At least pre 8th edition. Back when they hadn't forgotten the elves weren't Eldar and weren't getting eaten by Slaanesh and back when they hadn't decided to answer every question in the setting in the stupidest possible way. You're not alone, person who likes the ideas buried in GW's pile of terribleness.
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Jul 25, 2017 01:08
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Ninja Crusade 2e - The Firebrands: Ninja Powers The Way of Fire gets some new Jutsu, surprising no one. Basic Jutsu Blinding Flash (Yin+Persuasion): You must have Bright Star. You gather ki energy and release it in a flash, gaining +1 Marksman (???) and temporarily blurring the target's vision. They get Sensory Loss 2, which fades by 1 per Round. On a Boost, it's Sensory Loss 3 instead. Heat Palm (Yang+Fortitude): You heat your fists. For a number of attacks, you get +1 Fighting and +1 damage, and you deal double damage to non-living targets. Median Jutsu Burning Blood (Yin+Fortitude): You must have Cauterize. You heat your body massively, becoming dangerous to the touch. Your attacks get +1 damage and ignore some Armor. On a successful Block against a weapon, you take no damage and the weapon is destroyed. This lasts for several Rounds. Deflect Flame (Yin+Speed): If attacked by fire of any kind, you may activate this to redirect it to a new target. The new target gets -1 to Dodge the original attack. On a Boost, -2 instead. This lasts until the next fire-based attack on you or for the Scene, whichever comes first. Flame Sigil (Yang+Discipline): You use this to write a magic sigil on a paper tag. At will, you may activate it to deal 3 damage that ignores up to 2 Armor ot everything in Close range, and 1 damage ignoring 1 Armor at Near range. On a Boost, all Armor is ignored. Advanced Jutsu Fiery Flight (Yang+Fortitude): You must have Fire Mantle. You can fly on fiery power. You move at triple Movement, get +2 to Dodge while in flight and get +1 to activate any Fire jutsu. Dragon's Spirit (Yang+Discipline): You must have Burning Blood, Fire-Breather and Fire Mantle. Your skin peels back to reveal red scales, and you sprout angry dragon heads on long fiery pillars. You get an amount of bonus Health based on Yang, +2 to all Defense checks and 2 extra Dynamic Actions per Round that you may only use defensively. You may also aim the dragon heads to shoot fire with a Yang+Marksman check, doing 4 damage if you hit. These effects last for the entire Battle. The Way of the Immaculate Show does, too. Basic Jutsu Deadly Music (Yin+Speed): You turn a musical instrument into a weapon with appropriate tags. The instrument loses its deadly nature after you let go of it or, if thrown, after it hits the target. Distant Whisper (Yang+Empathy): You encode a hidden message into an artistic performance, allowing a single target in the crowd to perceive it as long as they can sense your performance. The information cannot be more than a single sentence. On a Boost, you may send the message into someone else who then passes it to your target without your direct involvement. Rhythmic Blending (Yang+Perform): You must have Perfect Show. You move in rhythm with a group of at least four people, making a rudimentary disguise to fit in with them that will pass casual inspection but not close scrutiny. On a Boost, your disguise is amazing and the difficulty to pierce it is higher. Median Jutsu Proxy Dance (Yang+Perform): You must have Perfect Show. You may use this dance to tie yourself to someone you have a strong emotional connection to, as long as you can see them. While you dance, the target takes no damage when struck, and you take the damage instead. You may end this at any time. On a Boost, you can make the target take damage for you instead. Kicking the Next (Yin+Empathy): You must have Distant Whisper. If you are attacked, you can rally the nearby crowd into a riot, as long as they aren't personally loyal to your attacker. The rioters will do whatever they feel like - attack your attackers, run them out of town, maybe listen to you if you chant at them. However, if you help fight at any point or stop feigning injury (if you weren't hurt), the crowd will disperse. The crowd is mechanically a Legion of low to middling ability. Advanced Jutsu Stunning Spark (Yin+Speed): You must have Blinding Flash from the Way of Fire. You draw the audience's attention, then produce a bright flash. You have 1 Round in which to vanish or otherwise take an action without anyone noticing. If you return to your original position after doing so, no one will notice what you did. If you use this to start a fight, your first attack is automatically a Surprise Attack, but the jutsu ends when you strike. On a Boost, you get 2 Rounds instead of 1. Blending of Selves (Yang+Perform): You must have Proxy Dance. You and all other ninjas that activate this during the same Battle move as one. Your Health and Psyche are pooled, and none of you will fall until the entire pool runs dry. You all get a cumulative +1 to all combat rolls and to Initiative per user, to a max of +3. You may only be part of a single instance of this jutsu at once, and it lasts all Battle. The Way of Inked Skin gets some, also. Basic Jutsu Summon Chains (Yang+Fortitude_: You summon a chain whip out of your tattoos that wraps around your arms and can be used as a Quick Chain weapon. You get +1 to attack with it in Close range and +2 at Near range. This lasts for the entire Battle. Remove Ink (Yin+Crafts): You can use this to remove any tattoo on your body except the clan tattoo at the base of your neck. All others are absorbed into the clan tattoo and remain there for up to one day. However, while your tattoos are hidden, you may not use any Way of Inked Skin jutsus. Median Jutsu Chain Hold (Yin+Might): You must have Summon Chains. You fire a bunch of chains at the target. They must make a Strength check against your activation before every Action they take or they get a -2 penalty to it. This lasts the entire Battle or until they make 3 successful Strength checks, whichever is first. On a Boost, they need 5 successful checks instead. Body of Vision (Yin+Crafts): You project your vision through eye-shaped tattoos on your body. Eyes on the chest, back and shoulders grant 360-degree vision, while on the hands lets you look around corners. This gives +1 Perception, makes you immune to surprise attacks and nullifies any blindness penalties, but does not remove penalties for darkness. On a Boost, the eyes can leave your body and float anywhere within 300 feet of you. Advanced Jutsu Chain Barrage (Yang+Crafts): You must have Summon Chains. You fire chains out from all over your body, lashing at a wide area. You attack using Fighting+Crafts+2, dealing +2 damage to anyone in Close range. You get +2 to Block for 1 Round, then absorb the chains back into your skin. On a Boost, if you know Chain Hold, you may spend 1 ki per target to automatically activate it without a check, using your Chain Barrage activation for its roll result. Embed Jutsu (Yin+Discipline): You may blend your ki into a target in an hour-long ritual in which you place a tattoo. Any jutsu you know can be placed in the tattoo, and you make a check for it after you embed it. The recipient gets the Tattooed 4 Condition. While they have it, they can use the tattoo's power at any time using your activation check for the embedded jutsu. This does not require them to spend any ki - or even have the ability to do so. When the duration ends, the power fades but the tattoo does not. Then we get some new Celestial Animals! Foxes are Fire-elemental, and their skill is Crafts. They are master tricksters, childlike and playful, but also very strategic. They like to prank friends and trap foes, and as they age, they grow extra tails. The strongest of them have nine tails and are very, very powerful. Many, however, are hunted and killed for thier magical tails before they reach this stage. Their Trigger is that they love to prank people. The party gains 1 Karma if an important clue or lead ends up being a plant from the fox, who just can't hold in the laughter any more. The example Major Animal is Kaminari, the Six-Tailed Storm, a Master. She is a human-sized fox with a shiny coat and six tails. She is a leader of animals, having outgrown the typical fox pranks, and instead meets directly with the Lotus Coalition to assist them. She believes the Izou Empire is her home, and rarely returns to the Fox Realm. She wants the ninja to take control of the Empire when the war ends. She is surprisingly serious, and she requires her summoners be as fearless as she is, often requiring them to follow a battle plan she devises and seeing how they react when the plan needs to change. She has 13 Health, 17 Psyche, 7 dice on attack, 9 on defense, 3 Actions per Rund, Armor 1, Initiative 8, +2 damage and 1 Dynamic action, plus 4 dice in a wide variety of skills. She is Intuition (++), Crafts (+), Fighting (-), Perception (-) - she's a very crafty, canny fighter who likes traps and hates to fight head on. She's also too flashy to really hide. She knows seven jutsu among Water, Fire and Movement. She also has level 2 in all Fox Style techniques. Once per Battle, she can also make a counterattack with her tails, focusing them on up to six targets in Close range, with a bonus the more tails are used on a single person. She can teach this as an Advanced Jutsu that grows tails on the ninja and allows them to use them similarly. However, the Twist is that if even one target succeeds using Stealth as part of their combo, the entire technique fails. The Nine-Tails are said to be the most potent of all Greater Animals, and only five are known to exist at all. They gather often to discuss the future of the world, and are very wise, but largely aloof. They never enter the Earth realm, as their presence can cause miles around them to burst into flame. It is believed that this may be how the Desert of Black Sand was actually created by the Land of Exalted Flame. Next time: Phoenixes, Red Dragons and minor clans.
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Jul 25, 2017 01:09
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Alien Rope Burn posted:
Ooh, I know something about this one! The Ho-Chunk people consider being called this word offensive, because it's Chippewa for "dirty." This will not come up because it's impossible that they would have survived Kevin's "gently caress Wisconsin" policy.
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Jul 25, 2017 01:19
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some loving LIAR posted:Ooh, I know something about this one! The Ho-Chunk people consider being called this word offensive, because it's Chippewa for "dirty." This will not come up because it's impossible that they would have survived Kevin's "gently caress Wisconsin" policy. Wikipedia posted:The name Winnebago comes from an Algonquin term "People of the Filthy Water."  Thanks for the note! We've already had several antiquated tribal names used already that I noticed, but I'd have to sit down and research hundreds of names to put this through the wringer. I don't know how much is sloppy research and how much was "was written 20 years ago", but it's clear they only really focused their research on the Plains and Southwest regions for the most part. For what that's worth, which will be considerably little once we're done with this. We haven't even hit rock bottom yet.
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Jul 25, 2017 01:31
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20-year-ago me wouldn't have understood at all why this was badly broken, and nodded along at their "well, we're trying" prologue text. I'm sure of it.
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Jul 25, 2017 01:34
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Ninja Crusade 2e - The Firebrands: BIRD The Phoenixes are Fire-elemental, and their skill is Holistics. They are a symbol of health and beauty, and they're fun to have around. They are talkative, endlessly curious and prone to getting into trouble, however. They can take two forms, generally - a small, red-and-yellow canary, and a large fighting hawk that is on fire. Of course, that form is very attention-grabbing. Their Trigger is their curiosity. The party gains 1 Karma when forced into danger to follow the phoenix into whatever has caught its eye. The example Major Animals is Motoko, Child of the Sun, a Warrior. In her natural form, she is a brilliant hawk with wings of fire and long feathers that leave a smoke trail. However, she stays hidden most of the time, waiting for those that catch her interest. She has a knack for picking people that will shake the world with their actions, ever since the First Ninja War. To hear, even the Phoenix Realm's beauty is lesser compared to Earth, and she sees herself as Earth's protector and the watcher of humanity. However, she can be annoying to be around, because...well, she has an obsession. Motoko wants to seek out and taste every fruit in the world. Thus, she generally picks nomadic summoners, and a tribute of rare fruit can gain her favor...as can a promise to seek fruit with her. She has 8 Health, 7 Psyche, 6 dice to attack and defend, 1 Action per round, Armor 1, Initiative 9, +1 damage and 2 Dynamic Actions. She also has 3 dice in a wide variety of skills. She is Discipline (+), Speed (+), Fighting (-), Might (-) - she's a wanderer that gets on with people, but dislikes fighting. She is very fast, but that's not enough in battle. She has five jutsu from Fire and Caring Hands, plus Lightning Speed. She is very loyal and will sacrifice herself for a summoner that is loyal to her. She can give up her Health and Psyche to heal her summoner, even if it kills her, though it costs a Favor mark. She is also able to give her feathers to her summoner for use in Alchemy, making Restore potions that use them as components heal more damage. The most notable Greater Phoenix is Keitaro, the only phoenix in the entire universe that has been alive since the beginning of time, without ever dying. He was there when the Earth was not yet made and humans were stars in the sky, and he was there when the oceans were created and the gods were born. However, it's hard to understand anything he says - even few phoenixes speak his ancient dialect. The Red Dragons are Fire-elemental, and their skill is Knowledge. Dragons are exceptionally rare, and they're rarely seen in their natural form. Those who befriend them are often given baby hatchlings to protect, which resemble red iguanas rather than epic creatures. The ninja's job is to show the dragon the world. Red dragons can sprout wings at will and fly quickly, but on land they are slow and somewhat fragile. Their personalties range wildly. Their Trigger? They don't really care about the problems they cause. The party gains 1 Karma when the hatchling goes missing and they must choose to find it instead of doing something more important. The example Major Animal is a Master named Yemon, the Great Guardian. He is the son of Enshoku, the dragon inside Ensen Volcano. Enshoku herself rarely leaves the Dragon Realms, sending her son instead. He is 20 feet long, breathes fire and has burning claws. He is known as the Great Guardian because images of him defending the mountains have appeared in many depictions of the ancient wars of the ninja, reaching all the way back to the Orime war. He is very hard to impress, and tends to see humans as untrustworthy insects that'd steal his power if they were given the chance. He is also easily bored, and it's hard to get him to pay any attention at all to you. However, those that can trade insults with him without backing down amuse him with their lack of fear. He has 30 Health, 26 Psyche, 10 dice to attack, 7 to defend, 2 Actions per round, Armor 3, Initiative 7, +2 damage and 3 Dynamic Actions, as well as 4 dice in a variety of skills. He is Fighting (++), Fortitude (+) and Speed (-) - going up against a dragon in battle isn't the best plan, and he's very tough, but he is slow. He can use just about any jutsu he wants, but mostly focuses on Fire and Survival. He also has at least level 2 in all Dragon and Tiger techniques. Any attack he hits with by at least 2 successes causes Burning 1. If his summoner uses the Way of Fire, they only need 2 successes rather than a Boost to get the Training effect. On top of Enshoku, there is believed to be at least one other Greater Red Dragon out there, slumbering beneath the Bridge to Battle province. Legend has it that a dragon egg was lost millenia ago in the region, and that finding out would earn the friendship of the Red Dragons, for it supposedly holds their prince. Many heroes have lost their lives chasing the prince of the Red Dragon Realms, however.  The Gracious Illustrators are also known as the Illustrators, the STrokes or the Kanboku Clan. They practice Crane and SCorpion styles, and their unique jutsu is the Way of 18 Strokes. They get +1 Crafts, +1 Intuition, +1 Knowledge and +1 Perception, as well as +1 Yang. Their clan has survived many battles, and while they are not very aggressive, they are nearly impossible to destroy. The most potent of their ninja can, after all, literally paint the future if they are gifted enough in the arts. Once, they served as portrait painters to the nobility and mural artists ofr the Empire. It is believed that their paintings won the War of Withered Fangs by dictating the Emperor's fate. Word of their potent jutsu made the Strands and Shadows try to destroy them, and their numbers have been small ever since. They live and work in artist communes, studying the ways of expression. They occasionally work on contract to the Living Chronicle, assisting in transcribing history. This is where they first met the fledgling Virtuous Body Gardeners, while they were still the tattooists for the Chronicle. It's believed that the Sumi caught the eye of a Kanboku master, who then worked with his clan to paint a mural depicting their eventual split and rise to power, with the support of the Illustrators. The mural has since been hidden, and its location is known only to the eldest of the Kanboku, for the destiny could be destroyed if the painting were ever damaged in any way. The Kanboku existed in almost total obscurity for decades, unti lthe Crusade began. Their prophesies have begun to occur, and working with the Lotus Coalition allows them to watch the Sumi in action, as well as help them (and the Lotus Coalition in general) shape the future. Illustrators spend most of their time pursuing art. Their potent abilities are very dangerous, and the Izou hunted them down very early in the Crusade. They live mostly in hiding, in caves or disguised as simple painters. They work in the background, avoiding notice, and are noted for their calm demeanor and lack of enthusiasm for anything besides their art. They hold very little land, and instead mostly borrow safehouses from the Inks. Their initiates are chosen for their artistic skill and martial ability, the mixture of which is the ideal of the clan. They train extensively to master both art and combat, and those who prove unworthy are killed to prevent the clan's continued existence from being revealed to the Izou armies. The Lotus Coalition took in the Gracious Illustrators for one major reason: to keep trakc of their art. A painting of victory could be enough to push the Izou back...and the Illustrators are fully aware of this value. They have therefore refused to paint literally any portraits for the Lotus Coalition and instead insist on working with the Virtuous Body Gardeners as support. They are rarely front-line fighters, but many are masters of weaponry. When the Izou are gone, they will be able to return to their once-great numbers and reclaim their status as a major clan. The Gift of the Kanboku is their art. They get +1 Crafts for painting (including use of their jutsu). Their paints are made in part with their own blood to enchant it, and they may choose to give up some of their blood more quickly than usual, sacrificing 1 Health during a jutsu activation to get 2 automatic successes. Their Trigger is their lack of expression. They feel emotions but are very bad at showing it. The party gains 1 Karma when being seen as an emotionless automaton disgraces or hurts the group somehow. Their potential Contacts: Nozaki Yasuoka (Fighting), a bounty hunter always looking for another score. Hama Etsuko (Empathy), a con artist that enjoys breaking hearts as much as, if not more, than the money he makes. Kanboku Tomi (Crafts), one of the best painters in the world, but who has secluded herself from it. Ohka Ume (Intimidation), a guard captain and mother of two. Shiba Bunjuro (Fortitude), a street performer who gets people to punch him as hard as they can for a small fee. Sasada Kenzan (Speed), an Izou messenger who is very fast but has awful sense of direction. Bonds:
 Next time: The Way of 18 Strokes and the Grey Tigers.
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Jul 25, 2017 02:43
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Daeren posted:Tzeentch is honestly the most boring of them to me when written well, weirdly enough, because Tzeentch, much like dogs and ghosts, just sorta does things arbitrarily. All it cares about is that things change, and its element of hope for change for the better is purely there to trick people into serving it. It's a cosmic mastermind, super-intelligent unfathomable intelligence, always plotting, etc etc I think Tzeentch could work better as basically standing aside rather than being a griefer. He doesn't care what kind of change happens, just that there is change. So he finds people who don't like the system and give them powers with pretty minimal strings so long as they make some waves. Basically, I'm thinking the Outsider's role in Dishonored. Yes, Tzeentch expects you, Mr. Disgraced Noble, to go and murder all the conspirators and create a tyranny. But if you don't and you usher in a new golden age, well, that's change. Of course he'll find someone who doesn't like it, maybe one of those former conspirators, and empower him to gently caress with you, but that's life. Making Tzeentch actively non-malicious to his followers rather than the griefer, who uses his cosmic mastermind intelligence to just... find places where change can be created, where chaos (heh) can spread, makes him more playable in my mind. In general though I think where 40k went hugely wrong if they wanted people to take Chaos seriously was treating the Chaos Gods as actual characters (caricatures?) with agency rather than basically making them forces of nature which happen to have manifestations that can talk. And I think it would have worked better for 40k's satire if that was the truth. It's not that taking Chaos's gifts is evil in and of itself, but the Imperium creates its own enemies because Chaos's powers are inherently unstable and chaotic, and by oppressing the gently caress out of so many people you create a lot of angry, angry dissidents who are willing to take that chance, because gently caress the Imperium. It also makes the Radicals and their stuff make more sense, because you can, in fact, use the powers of Chaos without getting burned versus 'lol chaos always wins.' The Eldar just dug too greedily and too deep and decided to use this powerful, but dangerous source of might everywhere and it turns out giving everyone ridiculous superpowers might actually destroy your empire. That also gives the Dark Eldar a schtick as basically being post-apocalyptic Mad Max elves, which is cool. That would mean that Chaos wouldn't be a 'side' but would rather be a supplement to things like "rogue Space Marines" and "ex-Imperium dissidents" but I'm not sure that's a bad thing.
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Jul 25, 2017 04:13
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I'm trying to scare up some righteous outrage about this Spirit West bullshit, but all I can manage is a vague disgust and a sardonic "Well, of COURSE."
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Jul 25, 2017 04:38
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Night10194 posted:Anyway, speaking of mass murder, here's the army in Bretonnia in Warhammer Fantasy: Knights of the Grail This is extremely my poo poo, and my favorite army in Warhammer. Where are you getting this from? Post more!
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Jul 25, 2017 05:09
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Ninja Crusade 2e - The Firebrands: CAT The Way of 18 Strokes is the Earth=elemental jutsu of the Gracious Illustrators, which requires them to paint art in seconds in order to call on it for magic. On a Boost, you can either heal 1 Health sacrificed via the clan Gift or get +2 to Initiative. On a Backfire, you get -1 Crafts and -2 Initiative. Basic Jutsu Iron Stomach (Yin+Fortitude): You tap into your years of experience eating paint. For the scene, you get +2 Fortitude to resist ingested poisons and drugs. Lesser Zhu Beasts (Yang+Crafts): You paint a beast on a scroll, summoning it to serve you. It uses the stats for a Smaller Animal. Painted Arsenal (Yin+Crafts): You paint a weapon, summoning it into existence. It has the same stats as a normal weapon of its type, and lasts for the scene. On a Boost, it also has one additional Quality of your choice. Searching Creatures (Yang+Crafts): You paint a swarm of tiny animals, which come to life and spread out to cover a distance of half a mile in all directions as you meditate. While you meditate, you can look through the eyes of any of these creatures, though only one at a time. This ends when you stop meditating. Splash Darts (Yang+Marksman): You hurl paint at someone, using the activation as an attack roll. The drops of paint become sharp daggers, dealing 2 damage when they hit. On a Boost, you also get +1 to your next jutsu activation check against the same target. Median Jutsu Carrier's Wing's (Yang+Crafts): You must have Lesser Zhu Beasts. You paint a giant bird, large enough for you to stand on and be carried by. Its Movement is equal to yours plus your successes, and it has 3 Health. It lasts for the scene or until killed. Dripping with Talent (Yin+Marksman): You hurl paint at your target, using the activation as an attakc roll. Every success you get over the target lowers their Movement by 2. If their Movement hits 0, they lose their Standard Action. On a Boost, they automatically lose their Standard Action. The penalty is reduced by 1 per round. Greater Zhu Beasts (Yang+Crafts): You must have Lesser Zhu Beasts. This functions identically, but uses Larger Animal stats. Instant Hole (Yin+Crafts): You paint an opening on a wall, turning it into a door. This can be used on any surface no more than five feet thick. On a Boost, it can be used on any thickness of surface. Strokes of Destiny (Yin+Intuition): You go into a ritual trance for six hours. In that time, you paint an image of the future, though it will not be completely clear, due to angles, shadow or lack of chronologic order. The GM may ask you to make Knowledge+Intuition checks to interpret it over time. Advanced Jutsu Altered Course (Yang+Perception): You must have Strokes of Destiny. You paint something you desire to happen. Once the portrait is complete, the event will happen, exactly as you painted it, though you cannot control when. You gain the Confused 3 condition, and while you have it, you cannot recover resting ki. Also, the painting can be an evil genie sometimes - you might paint your enemy being killed, but it could turn out to be someone who is disguised as them or mistaken for them instead. Dragon Scroll Attack (Yang+Crafts): You must have Painted Arsenal and Splash Darts. You unfurl a number of painted scrolls, hurling them into the air. On your next Action, you jump into the center and make an attack, raining down the painted weapons on your foes. You get +3 Marksmanship for this attack, and each hit deals 2 damage. You may attack a number of different targets. On a Boost, you may direct as many of the attacks as you want at a single target. Painting Targets (Yin+Crafts): You must have Dripping with Talent. You splash paint on a number of targets within Near range. The next physical attack on each of these targets gets +2 and deals +1 damage. On a Boost, the bonus lasts for two attacks on each target. Simple Shapes (Yang+Fortitude): You must have Instant Hole. You turn into a coat of paint on a flat surface, able to move along it two-dimensionally. You are immune to all damage unless the surface is destroyed. If this happens, you are instnatly ejected and lose half your current Health. Zhu Hoard (Yang+Discipline): When you activate Lesser Zhu Beasts or Greater Zhu Beasts, you can reflexively activate this to summon a number of additional lesser beasts or a slightly smaller number of additional greater beasts.  The Grey Tigers are also known as the Tigers, the Mouko Clan and the Kittens. They practice Tiger and Wildcat styles, and their jutsu is the Way of Bloody Claws. They get +1 Athletics, +1 Might, +1 Persuade and +1 Survival, as well as +1 Yang. The Mouko were once a simple group of scholarly families in the Izou jungles, studying the cats that lived in the area. They watched the tigers and leopards and took notes...until they discovered a pack of rare tigers, who were somehow colored grey for unknown reasons. After years of studying felines, the Mouko could tell these beasts were much smarter, tougher and more agile than normal tigers, and they bred very quickly. Even the Mouko had trouble keeping track of them. That would be when the Recoiling Serpents attacked, as the tigers lived in their territory and they saw the Mouko as a threat, given their guardianship of the powerful tigers. Many of the families were massacred, but the tigers came to the defense of their friends. The encounter ended when both sides were forced to retreat. The Mouko and the tigers both lost much of their population, and they understood that neither could survive without the other. Thus was the Grey Tigers ninja clan born. Today, they hold a very small piece of territory between the Bridge to Battle and Triumph provinces, which serves as a sanctuary for the ninja and their tigers. They are constantly fighting both the Serpents and the Inks, who want their land for themselves. This aggression has lessened some since the Lotus Coalition recruited the Tigers, however. A temporary peace has been made, but the Mouko still serve primarily out of necessity rather than out of any hate for the Izou. They know the Izou army has never found their sanctuary - but other ninja have, so they're the bigger threat. The Mouko maintain their home in the spot where the tigers were discovered. This place, known as Neko-shi, has enough food to sustain their current numbers and many more besides, and is quite beautiful. The clan still works towards its original goal of studying and recording the lives of their tiger friends, but now they earn this knowledge firsthand rather than by watching from afar. The tigers and ninja eqat together, play together and protect each other, considering each other part of the same family. Over the years, they have learned that the grey tigers may be descendants of Queen Kazuhiko herself, which may bring them trouble when her plans come to fruition. Still, the ninja have the same vicious hearts as the tigers. A ninja and their tiger are one unit, trained together from the cub's birth. Their temperaments are not always agreeable, but the pair leanr to work together, and the ninja emulate the tiger's timing, hunting skills and territorial nature. Many are masters of unarmed combat from emulating their tiger companions. The Grey Tigers have one goal: keep Neko-shi hidden. They will do anything they need to to make that happen. They'll fight for the Lotus Coalition, do recon missions, help the other ninja out, as long as it keeps the tigers safe. They hope they can become powerful enough that they can go from being defensive all the time to a full ninja force that can take territory worthy of a major clan. The tigers are slowly regaining their once-great numbers, but it will still be some time before they're anywhere close. They have purposefully removed themselves from any situation involving the continuing problems between the Serpents and the Pack of the Black Moon, but it's not really helped - they keep getting caught in the crossfire. The Gift of the Mouko is, well, the tiger. They are each ki-bonded to a tiger, getting +1 to any check the tiger can help with, or +2 for Intimidation checks. The tiger is their choice of a young or adult tiger. A young tiger is a Smaller Animal with +2 Initiative, while a full tiger is a Larger Animal. The tiger gains their choice of +1 Health or +1 Psyche per Rank. Further, they can spend 1 ki to apply any jutsu they use to the tiger also. Their Trigger is their territorial loyalty to Neko-shi. The party gains 1 Karma if they ever have to split their loyalty between the group and Neko-shi to disastrous effect. Contacts: Kiski Seiko (Intuition), a wise woman who tells many moralistic fables. Kasai Kenji (Travel), a Coalition scout that has discovered Neko-shi's location. Ijiri Kazumi (Deception), a noble with great influence in Triumph Province. Kuramochi Kyoko (Holistics), an animal-healer who is one of the few that the Mouko allow to see the tigers in their home. Mouko Eien (Athletics), a protestor who is traveling the Empire on foot, painting scenes of carnage to show the damage the war does. Tanizaki Yoshihide (Stealth), a famous hunter who dreams of taking down a grey tiger. Bonds:
 The Way of Bloody Claws is the Fire-elemental jutsu of the Grey Tigers, which focuses on emulating tigers. On a Boost, they can extend jutsu effects to their tiger for free. On a Backfire, they get a cumulative -1 penalty to Fighting. Basic Jutsu Big Paw (Yang+Fortitude): You make one of your hands into a giant tiger claw. This has no listed effects but presumably gives it weapon Qualities? Cat's Landing (Yang+Survival): When you fall from a distance of no more than 50 feet, you may activate this to take zero damage and be able to act immediately upon landing. On a Boost, it works on a fall of any height. Don't Touch the Fur (Yin+Survival): You remove anything non-livin that is touching your skin, instantly. Hope you don't need pants! Hunter's Focus (Yin+Survival): You tie yourself to the target, hunting them perfectly. You get +1 to Stealth checks against them for the scene and deal +1 damage if you ambush them. Unswayable Nature (Yin+Empathy): You steel your emotions, gaining Armor 2 against attacks using Persuade for the scene. Median Jutsu Cat Nap (Yin+Fortitude): You can activate this between scenes to nap really hard, increasing your recovery by 2. However, a failure on activation means you begin the next scene with a Backfire. Double Claw (Yang+Fighting): You must have Hunter's Focus. You and your tiger attack together. You use the activation as your attack. If you hit, your tiger then gets +2 to their attack and deals +2 damage. If both attacks hit, the target also gets Bruised 2 and -1 to their next Defense. Feline Form (Yang+Fortitude): You take on the form of your tiger, except you can be any color of tiger you want. You cannot speak and have no hands, but get +1 Athletics and +1 Stealth while in tiger form. Grey Tiger's Leap (Yang+Might): You multiply your jump distance by quite a bit (based on Yang) for several jumps. Marked Territory (Yin+Survival): You become instantly a master of the local territory, getting +1 to any checks to operate in the environment, such as local knowledge, finding specific places or making Journey checks through it. Advanced Jutsu All Fours (Yang+Fortitude): You must have Feline Form. You assume a hybrid form of human and tiger, gaining long, clawed arms, sharp fangs and a tail. You get +3 to Athletics for climbing, jumping, dodging and balancing, +5 Movement and deal +2 damage with attacks for the rest of the scene. Bezoar Bomb (Yang+Marksman): You must have Feline Form. You turn everything in your stomach into a gross hairball vomit that hits everyone in Near range, using the activation as an attakc roll. Targets can only Dodge, and then at -1. Those hit get Slowed 2 and Deprived 1 due to gross, slimy and very smelly barf. On a Boost, it is Knocked Out 2 instead of Deprived 1. Lion's Roar (Yin+Intimidation): You let loose a mighty roar against the target. If you hit, they lose their Standard Action and 1 Dynamic Action this round. If they are reduced to 0 Dynamic Actions, they cannot make Defense checks for the rest of the Round. They also take Sensory Loss (Hearing) 1. On a Boost, they lose 3 Dynamic Actions instead of 1. Marked Prey (Yin+Perception): You must have Hunter's Focus. You must draw your target's blood to activate this. Whenever you come within several miles of the target afterwards, you know it and automatically succeed on tracking attempts. However, while this is active, you may not mold Yang ki. 9 Lives (Yin+Persuade): You must have Cat's Landing and All Fours. You may activate this as part of a day-long ritual to bring good luck. For the next day, you get 9 +2 bonuses to apply to any check you want, in any combination. You could even drop all of them at once. However, if you fail any jutsu activation during this time, the bonuses drop from +2 to +1. Next time: The Winds of Aion.
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Jul 25, 2017 13:38
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U.T. Raptor posted:This is also the basis of the best sidequest in Jade Empire. Aaand reinstalling. And mourning the gutting of Bioware and fact that we'll never get a Jade Empire 2.
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Jul 25, 2017 16:03
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MJ12 posted:In general though I think where 40k went hugely wrong if they wanted people to take Chaos seriously was treating the Chaos Gods as actual characters (caricatures?) with agency rather than basically making them forces of nature which happen to have manifestations that can talk. And I think it would have worked better for 40k's satire if that was the truth. It's not that taking Chaos's gifts is evil in and of itself, but the Imperium creates its own enemies because Chaos's powers are inherently unstable and chaotic, and by oppressing the gently caress out of so many people you create a lot of angry, angry dissidents who are willing to take that chance, because gently caress the Imperium. It also makes the Radicals and their stuff make more sense, because you can, in fact, use the powers of Chaos without getting burned versus 'lol chaos always wins.' And the fact GW forgot that y'know, fascism is bad, and the Imperium is a hugely flawed empire that is slowly destroying itself over it's zealotry include mass sacrifices to a well-preserved corpse or a man who can't move or speak for gods knows how long and would massively disapprove of the Imperium. So they're trying to treat it as the forces of grim, gritty heroes verses the forces of darkness, and ignore the fact they're a bunch of xenophobic fascists who often create their own problems.
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Jul 25, 2017 16:36
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Mors Rattus posted:Ninja Crusade 2e - The Firebrands: CAT  
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Jul 25, 2017 16:38
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Been on a Total War: Warhammer kick, so I'm really digging the lore stuff about Warhammer Fantasy. Did you cover the lorebook on Dwarves yet?
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Jul 25, 2017 16:41
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SirPhoebos posted:Been on a Total War: Warhammer kick, so I'm really digging the lore stuff about Warhammer Fantasy. Did you cover the lorebook on Dwarves yet?
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Jul 25, 2017 16:50
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SirPhoebos posted:Been on a Total War: Warhammer kick, so I'm really digging the lore stuff about Warhammer Fantasy. Did you cover the lorebook on Dwarves yet? Unfortunately, there is no lorebook for dwarves in WHFRP2e that I know of. Which is definitely worthy of a grudgin'. That's one of the big oddities: There's no elf or dwarf book. No Lustria book, I could understand (so I'm writing one myself, wildly divergent from canon but I want to be able to run a game about rad kung fu amazons, big dumb dinosaur warriors, and terrified little lizard guys trying to keep the world running in fantasy south america while they fight canadian murder elves and rat nazis) but elves and dwarfs are a big deal, and in regular contact with the rest of the Old World. I know a reasonable amount about the dwarfs, I know some about elfs, but most of the stuff I know is from the sourcebooks on other places.
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Jul 25, 2017 17:07
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Robindaybird posted:And the fact GW forgot that y'know, fascism is bad, and the Imperium is a hugely flawed empire that is slowly destroying itself over it's zealotry include mass sacrifices to a well-preserved corpse or a man who can't move or speak for gods knows how long and would massively disapprove of the Imperium. So they're trying to treat it as the forces of grim, gritty heroes verses the forces of darkness, and ignore the fact they're a bunch of xenophobic fascists who often create their own problems. They need to keep him alive for if he goes down then the Imperium looses any ability to keep itself going and Terra would get consumed by demons almost instantly.
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Jul 25, 2017 17:10
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Also old Empy was probably just an rear end in a top hat like everyone else like him. The one really great 40k fluff story is the one about him going to the last remaining church on Terra to try to convince its priest to join his glorious crusade, and the guy straight sees through him and says 'You're just another tyrant, just a slightly more competent one, and you're gonna get everyone killed. I'd rather die.' and walks calmly back into his church to burn with it. E: Some day, years later, when I'm done with WHFRP I've got to do 40kRP and talk about why it's such a disappointment of a game. You want to see something that's an example of someone tinkering with a system and accidentally messing the thing up? Look no further than 40kRP as an evolution of WHFRP2e. Night10194 fucked around with this message at 17:16 on Jul 25, 2017 |
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Jul 25, 2017 17:13
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Night10194 posted:Also old Empy was probably just an rear end in a top hat like everyone else like him. The one really great 40k fluff story is the one about him going to the last remaining church on Terra to try to convince its priest to join his glorious crusade, and the guy straight sees through him and says 'You're just another tyrant, just a slightly more competent one, and you're gonna get everyone killed. I'd rather die.' and walks calmly back into his church to burn with it. There's also the great bit from Angron where he flat-out tells Leman Russ that the Imperium is the worst, most tyrannical dictatorship in the history of mankind, the Great Crusade's objective is to enslave all mankind and exterminate everyone who would dare dissent, and the Primarchs are willing slaves of history's greatest monster. And that if Angron was a better, more moral man like Russ had encouraged him to be, Angron would assault Terra himself to kill the Emperor as the only moral thing to do.
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Jul 25, 2017 17:22
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