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wiegieman posted:They often ignore Insanity in later systems, in Black Crusade the players are already completely bonkers and the same goes for Dark Eldar in Rogue Trader. Well, they do that after making it an even worse system in the original DH, since they also paired it with Corruption and made the Fear system way, way, *way* worse.
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Sep 19, 2017 23:18
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I've never liked mechanical insanity/stress systems in tabletop games in general. Characters mentally breaking down when facing extreme situations is part of role-playing, and just about all my DnD characters who survived long enough to be successful adventurers ended up either disturbingly blase about death or suffering PTSD.
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Sep 19, 2017 23:52
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Yeah, I feel the mechanical guts of thise systems just widen the IC/OOC divide rather than help, doesn't help that a majority of effect simply read 'annnd you get a slap in the face'. The fact that I stopped using the Fear gubbins in a Deadlands: Reloaded campaign says a lot. Christ that system loved its negative modifiers... (Fear Level + Monster Fear etc). Unknown Armies probably did it best.
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Sep 20, 2017 00:14
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Terratina posted:Unknown Armies probably did it best. But most importantly, Unknown Armies was *about* that kind of thing. That was the core of the game's genre.
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Sep 20, 2017 00:26
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Night10194 posted:But most importantly, Unknown Armies was *about* that kind of thing. That was the core of the game's genre. To the point where UA 3 makes it literally your character stats, but I think that's a bit too far. I think Pendragon does it best.
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Sep 20, 2017 00:29
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Still, over here in WHFRP, the game is about heroes, still. Just they're heroes who lie to people sometimes or sneak around fights and who worry about getting enough gold to eat and get hammered occasionally. The madness stuff just doesn't work that well for the PCs. E: What I mean is, if you want to be rambling in your drink about all the horrible poo poo you've seen and give your Champion a thousand yard stare sometimes, it feels in genre. Randomly becoming a pyromaniac or kleptomaniac or whatever just doesn't. Many of the WHFRP PCs I've played have picked up odd habits from what they've seen and done, but we've always ditched Insanity. Night10194 fucked around with this message at 00:39 on Sep 20, 2017 |
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Sep 20, 2017 00:35
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Y'know I'm tempted to hand the sliver medal to FATE for insanity/fear gubbins because it's Just Make poo poo Up: The SystemTM.
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Sep 20, 2017 00:38
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How about Don't rest your head? It's built around the madness mechanism.
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Sep 20, 2017 00:47
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Horrible Lurkbeast posted:How about Don't rest your head? It's built around the madness mechanism. Sadly I have yet to read through that, and many other systems.
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Sep 20, 2017 00:49
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Horrible Lurkbeast posted:How about Don't rest your head? It's built around the madness mechanism. I like Don't Rest Your Head, although I feel like it tends to be a little aimless unless the GM really knows what they're doing. Good for oneshots though.
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Sep 20, 2017 01:39
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Kurieg posted:I still remember the 5e preview stream where Mearls personally DMed a game for the PA/PVP crew, and Kurtz's hopes being dashed against the rocks once he discovered he could no longer be a 4e style cleric and spending the rest of the game despondently doodling on a notepad. Oh and the one where Mearls ran a game for his internal team where they kept falling to succeed at skill tests and he'd just sit there for a minute then ask them to roll again.
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Sep 20, 2017 02:43
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Guide to Glorantha: GOD LEARNERS DID NOTHING WRONG The Western cultures are rational humanists and materialists, based on the philosophies of the atheist immortals of Brithos. They are divided into hereditary castes, each with separate rules. In the Second Age, they, in the form of the God Learners, almost took over the world. Since the Closing of the Waters, however, they have become much weaker. They are also the primary practitioners of sorcery. There are four major regions that are Western culturally. The most, uh, PC-friendly one is Seshnela, the modern stronghold of the West. The Seshnegi are the inheritors of the remnants of the Jrusteli, or God Learners. Now, they follow the Rokari school of Malkionism and their wizards enforce strict adherence to the ancient caste laws. Seshnela is most notable for its bickering noble-warrior ruling class, its powerful mercenary armies, its oppressed peasantry and its secretive wizards, who watch closely for fear of ever returning to God Learnerism. Other Western regions are Loskalm, a Fronelan nation that rejects Malkioni caste systems for New Hrestolist Malkionism - a radically egalitarian belief system in which every Loskalmi is equally Worker, Soldier, Wizard and Ruler as needed, with the goal of taking on each role over the course of a lifetime. Safelster is a region of city-states in Ralios that features Malkionism syncretized with Orlanthi cults, often bringing about very unusual interpretations of Malkioni and Orlanthi doctrine. Safelstran cities maintain a hierarchy that is more fluid than the caste system, but not by much. Carmania is an isolated Western outpost dating back to the God Learners and recently absorbed by the Lunar Empire. They have maintained their culture in the upper class, but softened it somewhat due to Lunar influence. The peasants tend to be Pelorian, however. There are also a few Western city-states throughout Umathela, dating back to the God Learner conquests, and they tend to be quite independent. A brief aside now, to explain Malkioni wizardry. The Malkioni worship the Invisible God, who made the Runes, which barbarian cultures worship as gods. The Runes created lesser versions of themselves, often combining them with other Runes. Malkioni sorcery manipulates the Runes directly, by four principles. It can Summon or Dismiss a Rune, it can Command a Rune, it can Combine or Seperate a Rune, and it can Tap a Rune. The key to it all is properly identifying the specific target, with more control the more specific you are able to get. The favored technique is Runic genealogy - identifying a thing through its Runic precedents. The God Learners were absolute masters of sorcery via their deep understanding of mythology, and one of their great victories was done because of it. See, they summoned a set of carefully identified water elementals, used them as Runic ties to summon a sea god as if it were just another elemental, then forced the god to call its father, as if they were practicing demonology. They then made the father summon a different child - Tanian, the God of Sky Water. Then they used Tanian to defeat the Waertagi, who had no concept of Burning Water like that which Tanian was able to command. Tapping is the only non-obvious practice, and what it is is taking the local manifestation of a Rune and converting it directly into magical energy. So you Tap the Stasis from a rock and turn it to dust, or Tap the Life from a forest and kill it, to gain the power within. Most Malkioni cultures, with a few exceptions, consider it to be inherently evil, but it's fairly simple to derive from Malkioni philosophy. Most schools of sorcery will focus on one or a small number of Runes to use magic on, rather than all of them, which would be impossibly difficult. Anyway. Westerner skin tones vary - they can be dark brown, light green, red, blue, or anything in between. Brown skin is most common. Hair is usually blue-black, yellow, red or green. Facial hair is regulated heavily by caste - all wizards must have long beards, nobles must be clean-shaven. Westerners tend to average around 5 feet tall (more, if they aren't direct Brithini), except for wizards, who tend to be taller but weaker. The Malkioni religion divides most Western societies into strict castes: Wizard, Noble, Soldier and Worker. Caste is hereditary in Rokari Malkionism, with caste determining diet, marriage practices, occupation and more, to keep to the Laws of Malkion. Caste mobility is totally forbidden. Women belong to their father's caste, usually, and subcastes can exist within a caste - most professional and crafting groups are subcastes of Worker that are effectively able to work as their own small caste. Disobedience of caste law interferes with the oldest and most potent spells protecting Western societies. Many other Malkionist schools, however, are less rigid - particularly Hrestoli ones. Nobles, called Talars, are the yellow caste. They rule Seshnela and adjudicate disputes of other castes. They answer only to other, more potent talars, and serve as rulers, generals, governors and merchant-princes. They are trained in the arts of horsemanship, wrestling, combat, music and poetry, and are expected to obsessively compete with each other for status. In war, they fight as armored cavalry. Wizards, called Zzaburi, are the blue caste. They learn wizardry, and serve as philosophers, religious servants, scribes and magicians. In war, they serve as magical support. They answer to the talars, but are honored for their work and given free housing and food. Some are wizard-priests supported by the entire community, and most learn their arts in schools or from wandering zzaburi teachers. Rokari zzaburi must be celibate and free of all worldly interference so they can focus on magical explorations. As a result, new zzaburi are chosen from promising children of all other castes, rather than born. Soldiers, or Horali, are the red caste. They are professional warriors that must obey the talars and zzaburi. They may not labor with their hands for money, save with talar permission, and must work to defend the country, fight in war and execute the law. They also collect taxes. Seshnela assigns its horali into 'war societies' which claim descent from a legendary martial beast. The best known are Lion, Mammoth, Wolf, Snake, Horse, Deer and Bull. Each war society is further divided into regiments, which are extended family groups led by a captain. Last is the Worker cast, or Dronars. Most Westerners are dronars, the brown caste, and serve as farmers, craftsmen, shepherds or militia. They must labor to support the other castes, and most able-bodied dronars must also be militia members. There are many subcastes within the dronars, such as Perfume Trader, Tea Grower, Redsmith or so on, which function like guilds. Slaves and non-Malkioni exist outside the caste structure and have neither caste restrictions nor protections. Non-Malkioni are known as 'barbarians' or 'jabberers' and are usually given protection by the ruling talars. There are an estimated 8.3 million Westerners across the world, mostly in Fronela or Seshnela. Seshnelan lands to be in continual chaos, due to being divided into a number of independent fiefs only theoretically united under the Serpent Crown. Strong kinds can unite the land and bring peace, but weak ones always send it back to near-anarchy. Under the Serpent King is a massive court bureaucracy that handles most governance and is largely controlled by the Rokari zzaburi. The greatest virtue in Seshnelan society is living in accordance with Malkioni law, by following the duties of your caste. Farmers plow, soldiers fight, and that is their virtue - they can't do the jobs of the other. Honesty and loyalty are paramount for all castes, however. Malkioni in general and zzaburi especially value humanistic, logical thought and search for truth. Seshnelans also tend to be quite sensual, while Hrestoli are noted for their work ethic.  Left: A wizard-priest zzaburi from the Seshnegi province of Pithdaros. Right: A (female) Man-of-All from Loskalm. The status of women in Malkionism is heavily debated. Most Western societies are patriarchal, and among the Brithini, women form a fifth caste, with its own laws. The Rokari believe women share their father's caste and their primary duty is to be a good wife and mother. Women typically receive lesser inheritances compared to men. Among the New Hrestoli, however, men and women are equal in all respects. As noted above, they can even become Men-of-All, the mystic guardians of Loskalm and the New Hrestoli, who study magic and act as judges and leaders. Another special role, albeit one in all Malkioni societies, is that of the Ascended Masters. These are those men and women who attain spiritual perfection in life and unity with the Invisible God. They are also known as saints, and must be mortal - no god has ever Ascended, though some have been redeemed by recognition of the primacy of the Invisible God. Ascended Masters are venerated by those seeking guidance, but do not grant any magical ability to those that pray to them - they just provide guidance and aid by example. The Hrestoli list of saints includes Xemela, Hrestol, Tomaris, Gerlant, Arkat, Talor, Halwal, Tryensaval, Snodal and Siglat. The Rokari regard veneration of the Ascended to be barbaric superstition, and the Brithini do not even believe they have much worth. Many Henotheist sects, however, treat them as gods. And, side note, Westerners love games of martial and athletic skill, especially boxing or fighting monsters. The Malkioni all share the Western script, but their spoken languages can differ wildly. However, the written form is always identical. Brithini is spoken by...the Brithini, who claim it is the oldest unchanged language - a claim the God Learners agreed with. Many Westerners believe the written form of Western is derived from Brithini speech; the Brithini claim the opposite. Carmanian is primarily spoken in Carmania, and is related to Loskalmi, spoken in Loskalm. Malki is spoken by the Umalthelan Malkioni, and is related to Seshnegi, spoken in Tanisor. Vadeli is spoken by the Vadeli, and most Western merchants also speak Tradetalk, a lingua franca used in the Middle Sea Empire and throughout the West. All law is derived from the ancient laws of Malkion, with each caste being governed by its own laws. The talars hear all disputes between castes, all matters of criminal law, and any complains the dronars or horali bring to them. Judgments are made by the king or his subordinate talars, but they aren't law - just orders. They cannot make law nor interpret texts of law - just provide order and peace. The zzaburi are a major requirement for law, and a king cannot make judgments without consulting them. Seshnelan war is also a constant. The King maintains constant battles against the Duke of Nolos and many nearby city-states, while the talars quarrel among themselves. The armies are typically built around the talar heavy cavalry, who are undisciplined but very well trained. The Malkioni worship the Invisible God, who made the Runes (or True Beings). The Runes made lesser versions of themselves, called Srvuali, or made combinations with other Runes, called Burtae. Orlanth is said to be a Burtae, a mix of Fire and Earth, as are most Storm Tribe gods. Many Srvuali and Burtae were corrupted and stood between humanity and the Invisible God, warring amongst themselves as deities and dooming their followers to endless cycles of rebirth. However, one lesser Rune, Malkion the Founder, revealed the laws of the Invisible God to men. The Invisible God gives little to no magic to its worshippers, but knowledge of its divine law allows the zzaburi to manipulate and define the world, turning it into raw materials to shape. Malkion died in the Gods War, killed by rebel gods, and Malkioni zzaburi now shape the world with no need for consent from 'deities.' The primary school of Malkionism is the Rokari school, or The Right Way. It is dominant in Seshnela, and very hierarchical and centralized, led by the Watcher Supreme. It holds that each caste must stricly obey its purpose, and that is all that need be done for salvation, or Solace. Philosophically, it values an excellent farmer as much as the greatest king. Converts are assigned a caste by the local ruler. Most Westerners see Malkionism as a philosophy, a religion and a way of life. They believe and do their best to obey the laws of Malkion. They attend regular ceremonies in which the zzaburi use their magical energies to fuel the great spells that protect Western society, with the remainder being granted to the High Watcher for use in magic. Sorcery is most widely accepted, and most Malkioni see any magic more useful or complex than simple kitchen or farm charms to be too dangerous for non-zzaburi to use, for fear of damaging themselves or trapping their soul on the material plane, as the barbarians do. And yes, the spells that protect Malkioni society can be used to, among other things, grant immortality as long as the laws of Malkion are followed. (This is mainly seen among the Brithini, however.) Temples to the Invisible God are built according to ancient rules of sacred geometry, and they are made to contain sacred texts, house the zzaburi and focus the sorcerous powers used within. Architectural style is diverse within the bounds of sacred geometry, with ROkari temples usually being ornate but highly abstract, while Hrestoli temples usually have art depicting saints and heroes. Safelstran temples usually have many shrines to lesser gods. The Boristi school of Ralios hold it is their sacred duty to Tap things of Chaos, and were founded during the Gbaji Wars, but never became very popular. The Brithini school hold that there is no afterlife. They are immortal atheists, so long as they perfectly maintain their ancient strictures, and they do not even worship the Invisible God. They Tap freely, and claim to be the oldest and most perfect Malkioni. The Galvosti of Ralios are a Hrestoli school of thought that allows Tapping of non-Malkioni. They believe in reincarnation, as do all Hrestoli schools, and were once allies of the God Learners, then nearly wiped out when the God Learners fell. The Henotheist schools are found throughout Ralios and Fronela, and acknowledge the Invisible God as supreme but believe other gods and spirits must be worshipped as well for aid. Each has unique secrets, and many claim descent from Arkat during the Gbaji Wars or during his rule of Ralios. The New Hrestoli Idealists claim descent from Hrestol, and believe themselves to be thoughts of the Invisible God trapped in the gross matter of this world. They believe all people must spiritually develop and liberate themselves through Joy by systematically moving beyond caste and become Men-of-All. Those who fail are reincarnated until they can succeed and become one with the Invisible God. The Sedalpists of Umathela are strict pacifists who believe any violence against sentient beings is sinful and pollutes the attacker. They are known for their tolerance of other views and their reliance on mercenaries when they must fight at all. (They don't enjoy using them.) The Valkarists are found only in the East Isles, and have only three castes - the Magic Men (who rule) and the Spearmen and Fishers (who support them). They allow movement between castes with the permission of the Magic Men. So, who was He, Zzabur, for whom the zzaburi are named? He was a son of Malkion and was the Philosopher-Wizard of Brithos. He was the Perfect Thought, the application of Malkion's logic to the world. He is responsible for much of Western philosophy and the development of the faith surrounding the Invisible God. All Malkioni wizardry is ultimately derived from his work. His magical theories are some of the oldest Gloranthan books, and while each sect differs in interpretation, they do tend to share faith in the Abiding Book (which, it is said, was written not by Zzabur but by itself, via magic) as the most complete compilation of the Perfect Thought of the Invisible God. The writings of Zzabur himself are divided into several categories. The Invocations and Curses are a set of spells and curses to the Runes, asking for inspiration and threatening terrible punishment to anyone who has improperly obtained or misused the work. The Red Book is a history of the cosmos and Runes, beginning with Chaos and the birth of the Powers and Elements from it. It is named for its binding and parchment, made of the skin of Red Vadeli. The Blue Book is a series of Runic genealogies - mostly long lists of names, with matchign names of the gods that correspond to them. The Brown Book describes the history leading to the Gods War and contains some of the most powerful spells ever used. It is written on the skins of foes of the God Time Brithini. The Original Peoples is a history of the Kingdom of Logic and the death of Malkion, the Great Darkness and the Vadeli Wars. Finally, the Families Book is a series of genealogies of the Ice Age Brithini, which is generally updated to include modern Malkioni families that have been able to preserve their lineage and records. From this, you may note that Zzabur was an insanely powerful wizard who did stupidly potent things and had no concern for the lives of others. This is correct; he is the First Wizard, from whom all Malkioni wizards take their name. He, Zzabur, will come up again later. Every time he does, it will be doing something profoundly dangerous or ill-advised. Next time: Dragon dragon, rock the dragon
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Sep 20, 2017 02:48
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theironjef posted:Oh and the one where Mearls ran a game for his internal team where they kept falling to succeed at skill tests and he'd just sit there for a minute then ask them to roll again.
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Sep 20, 2017 03:01
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I guarantee that my playtest dwarf fighter, Bronan the Brobarian, was funnier than MC Killzalot.
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Sep 20, 2017 03:09
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Hearsay had it as a fairly serious campaign before he dropped in with MC Murderisdope
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Sep 20, 2017 03:15
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Night10194 posted:Still, over here in WHFRP, the game is about heroes, still. Just they're heroes who lie to people sometimes or sneak around fights and who worry about getting enough gold to eat and get hammered occasionally. The madness stuff just doesn't work that well for the PCs. I have no problem with that, because yeah, I looked at the insanities in the books, nodded and said "...yeah, that's not happening." But I guess I'm wondering what do you fill that hole in the character sheet with? I still kind of like the idea that magic users or people who actually touch chaos come away from it, not necessarily mutated but with a growing, mounting effect, to discourage getting too close too often, so I was thinking that you could have a "chaos contact" meter that runs up just like the insanity points, but instead of being scared into unplayable madness, encountering or conjuring dangerous magical effects can leave a resonance on your character, like insight in Bloodborne or the like, where you are more attuned to chaos or magic in general and can better sense what it's doing in the background. And when it hits that magic number 6 like in the base game, your level of chaos exposure, to pinch that great idea from Knights of the Grail, "causes an adventure," but doesn't actually make your character itself less fun to play. Hell, I think that's what I'll do if I can get another game of this going with my friends. I'll just make the meter "Insight" and have it increase if they are exposed to weird poo poo or do weird poo poo and they start seeing weird poo poo that's happening on a level they can't necessarily interact with until it notices them and tries to come through, giving the party something interact with. I could even let the players kind of craft what they're seeing with roleplay and let that lead to the manifestation. marshmallow creep fucked around with this message at 03:30 on Sep 20, 2017 |
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Sep 20, 2017 03:28
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Yeah, that could be fun. Really, the key to everything is 'Makes something happen' rather than 'Destroys the PC immediately'.
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Sep 20, 2017 03:32
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not a fan of this Anti Zzabur sentiment, mors.
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Sep 20, 2017 04:12
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Mors Rattus posted:Guide to Glorantha: GOD LEARNERS DID NOTHING WRONG I mean you did say he was the first wizard. You know how *Wizards* get.
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Sep 20, 2017 04:14
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rumble in the bunghole posted:not a fan of this Anti Zzabur sentiment, mors. I never said I didn't like the guy.
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Sep 20, 2017 04:26
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ArkInBlack posted:Hearsay had it as a fairly serious campaign before he dropped in with MC Murderisdope You can do some fairly outlandish poo poo in a tabletop RPG as long as you play it low key. I had someone drop loving megaman X into a 4e game as a PC but didn't loving draw attention to it every 5 seconds.
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Sep 20, 2017 05:27
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Kurieg posted:You can do some fairly outlandish poo poo in a tabletop RPG as long as you play it low key. I had someone drop loving megaman X into a 4e game as a PC but didn't loving draw attention to it every 5 seconds. I had a player in a 4e game that was pretty much just Raiden from MGS Revengeance, complete with using nanobots to drill through the dungeon traps, but the group (and I) found it cool so whatever.
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Sep 20, 2017 05:34
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I am in the camp that generally hates fear/insanity/morality systems (and especially anti-fear systems that excuse PCs from adverse mental effects) and yet I have met so many players whose pride and level of identification with their character is such that they take it as a personal affront if their brave murderhobo should ever quail in the face of a thousand screaming demons erupting from a weeping wound in the Earth. The problem with having a system to try and halt that bullshit is that the system tends to be overly punitive and arbitrary, and still doesn't make those people into interesting players. It just makes sullen, resentful monosyllabic responses or dumb fishmalk 'insanity' antics. Unknown Armies at least came closest, since while being overly fiddly it wasn't just a punishment for reacting like a human, and divided psychological trauma into categories based on the problems encountered. Eta: Also having adult conversations at the start of a game about "no this IS the World of Darkness and it's okay to act afraid" are actually helpful in some cases, since some of the folks mentioned above have been censured by bad groups in the past.
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Sep 20, 2017 05:37
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Insanity rules are pointless because most pcs are already insane.
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Sep 20, 2017 07:13
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I've gone as far as asking my GM if I can take a Sanity check right now, because I feel like my character would be reeling from the current situation.
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Sep 20, 2017 07:21
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gradenko_2000 posted:I've gone as far as asking my GM if I can take a Sanity check right now, because I feel like my character would be reeling from the current situation. I did that in a modern CoC oneshot I played at Dundracon almost a decade ago. It was the only role I failed that entire session.
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Sep 20, 2017 07:48
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I feel like Blades in the Dark has perhaps one of the best "sanity" systems because there's a little bit of randomness to "when" you snap, because stress and boiling over are the unpredictable parts of mental trauma, but the actual "madness" is explicitly some logical outgrowth of what put you over that tipping point. Even Call of Cthulhu has you roll to determine random phobias or maybe you're suddenly struck by amnesia and that's just so…wacky. What other systems work more like Blades in this regard?
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Sep 20, 2017 08:12
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One of the changes in Delta Green from Call of Cthulhu is that what's considered a "Temporary Insanity" from losing too much SAN in a short amount of time, is instead a forced Flight, Fight, or Catatonic response. A permanent insanity is also changed to instead manifest as a Disorder. It can still be mental health issues, but the game heavily implies that it should be related to what caused it, rather than some random roll: quote:Whatever the source of the disorder, it takes the form of an irrational adaptation to the trauma that produced it. It may manifest a few hours after the trauma, or it might take days, weeks, or months to appear. The player and the Handler negotiate the exact nature of your Agent’s psychological trauma, so it makes sense. If your Agent saw his or her partner die in a fire, developing pyrophobia makes sense, while developing erotomania based on the feel of fur is ridiculously unlikely. Delta Green also splits up sanity losses into Violence, Helplessness, and The Unnatural. If you lose SAN from Violence or Helplessness three times without taking a temporary insanity or drawing a disorder, you become Adapted to it. You can no longer lose SAN from that type, but it brings with it a separate set of penalties since someone Adapted to Violence becomes rather unempathic. There is no Adapting to The Unnatural. Delta Green also has Bonds, which are your relationships with close friends and loved ones, and you can Project your SAN loss onto those Bonds as a sort of ablative SAN armor. Red Markets does something similar, but goes a step farther in that "permanent insanities" are more about what the character does to deal with them, rather than the actual manifestation. Maybe they'll turn to drugs, or alcohol, or become withdrawn, but either way the "economic horror" theme of the game focuses on the increased cost of feeding your addiction. gradenko_2000 fucked around with this message at 10:19 on Sep 20, 2017 |
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Sep 20, 2017 08:50
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gradenko_2000 posted:
This sounds a lot like the Unknown Armies sanity system, which is really a step in the right direction from CoC:s
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Sep 20, 2017 09:56
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Yeah, I only read part of the core book at my FLGS but Delta Green's tone is so much more oppressive and frightening than regular CoC, and I love that game to death. Part of it is the spycraft elements giving the War on Terror a whole new definition, though- it'd be harder to do without the whole government agent deal.
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Sep 20, 2017 10:16
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Kavak posted:Yeah, I only read part of the core book at my FLGS but Delta Green's tone is so much more oppressive and frightening than regular CoC, and I love that game to death. Part of it is the spycraft elements giving the War on Terror a whole new definition, though- it'd be harder to do without the whole government agent deal. This was however less annoying than the round of CthulhuTech, in which we were so heavily informed about the power of the cops that we super-stealthed while half the team ate chicken wings in a dockside bar.
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Sep 20, 2017 12:08
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occamsnailfile posted:Eta: Also having adult conversations at the start of a game about "no this IS the World of Darkness and it's okay to act afraid" are actually helpful in some cases, since some of the folks mentioned above have been censured by bad groups in the past. The single most helpful thing anyone can do in RPGs is have an earnest discussion between players and GM about shared expectations for their game and reach a point both agree on.
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Sep 20, 2017 12:15
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Delta Green agents shouldn't really be able to cherry-pick from the equipment list at will without some serious bureaucratic and law-enforcement hurdles to jump. They can raid a Green Box, but lord knows what kind of random mishmash of discarded equipment and still-dangerous artifacts can be found there.
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Sep 20, 2017 12:20
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Night10194 posted:The single most helpful thing anyone can do in RPGs is have an earnest discussion between players and GM about shared expectations for their game and reach a point both agree on. Not hard to paraphrase this into good advice for any relationship, really.
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Sep 20, 2017 12:25
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Nessus posted:This was however less annoying than the round of CthulhuTech, in which we were so heavily informed about the power of the cops that we super-stealthed while half the team ate chicken wings in a dockside bar.
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Sep 20, 2017 16:43
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Sometimes, Origins games are good. Sometimes they are very bad.
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Sep 20, 2017 16:58
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The more I think about it, the more potentially replacing Warhams' Insanity meters with a 'how close is the Warp/Realm of Chaos to noticing you personally because of all the insane experiences you've had and generating a specific nemesis for you' meter seems like it would be a great idea for some campaigns.
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Sep 20, 2017 18:47
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AmiYumi posted:...what? At a guess, it was a Tager game. Those are somewhat notable for the extreme disparity Tagers have with police. The standard police-issue power armor in the setting have a damage reduction of x0.02, and Tagers can make attacks with a x50 damage modifier maybe once per combat if they're lucky. So if you have a stealth Tager you sneak around the problem, and if you don't have a stealth Tager you eat fast food at the docks.
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Sep 20, 2017 18:56
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Night10194 posted:The more I think about it, the more potentially replacing Warhams' Insanity meters with a 'how close is the Warp/Realm of Chaos to noticing you personally because of all the insane experiences you've had and generating a specific nemesis for you' meter seems like it would be a great idea for some campaigns. Now give the GM an easy way to generate nemeses like in Shadow of Mordor or something
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Sep 20, 2017 18:58
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Now picturing a critical hit chart where results in a certain range generate "The NPC hit with this is guaranteed to survive the encounter and become a Nemesis" that feeds into another table later with what sort of scarring and personality quirk they pick up.
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Sep 20, 2017 19:09
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