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Exile/Balor seems like a natural fit to me. You are the annoying, unkillable meat shield that never goes away and you can never escape from.
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Dec 20, 2018 18:27
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Is there a way/any advantage to make power sets modular? Like, if you're using one set of powers, you can't use the other? A chimera/Solaris Jykell and Hyde character would be fun to play.
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Dec 20, 2018 22:25
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Tibalt posted:Is there a way/any advantage to make power sets modular? Like, if you're using one set of powers, you can't use the other? I feel like there was some way to do it, maybe as a T-Lois? I'll have to look.
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Dec 20, 2018 22:28
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Tibalt posted:Is there a way/any advantage to make power sets modular? Like, if you're using one set of powers, you can't use the other? I think this is just a matter of which powers you're using at the moment. Though mechanically it might not be the best idea. If you, say, made a character who was a Chimera-Solaris who would not bother using Therianthropy until they were cornered and primarily bought Solaris powers to use as a doctor/buffer, just with Chimera in their back pocket for emergencies, that might work out. As it stands, there's no way to say, basically build yourself two characters and have them locked off from one another by circumstance. Though given how you get EXP by player rather than by character, you could ask to change between two characters from session to session based on which personality/concept/viral strain was currently dominant. Or start as the gentle doctor and then later swap to a physical powerhouse who is extremely unstable if (when) you go over 100 and can't get back down, saying it's the same character, just playing a very different side of them.
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Dec 20, 2018 22:57
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So the Exile's Fusion power is basically turning into a Venom/Carnage symbiot. Can the Exile still act normally while Fused, even though it has to be located where it's Fusion partner is? Because then it's super awesome. Also I imagine that could let you really benefit from an ally with some super movement powers, piggybacking on their dodges and mobility while keeping them effectively invincible. If the Exile's Fusion partner is hit by an attack, is the Exile also automatically hit? Or are they still counted as separate characters in terms of being hit and damaged?
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Dec 20, 2018 23:43
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PurpleXVI posted:So the Exile's Fusion power is basically turning into a Venom/Carnage symbiot. You're still counted as separate, though AoEs will hit both of you since you're both in the same Engagement all the time. And yes, you both get your separate turn, you just give your ally complete access to all your powers while you're fused. Also, you're linked to them by their movement. So say you gave an ally the 'move while Dodging' trait, they could Dodge and move, you'd just go with them. You yourself basically can't decide to move until you end the Fusion. Single target attacks will only hit you or the person you're fused to and I believe you can Cover one another, too, especially if you have the Cover power from Exile. Quite a few of the tankier power sets actually have the 'cover allies without using my turn' power, it's a nice way to do tanking. Fusion is mechanically really weird but potentially extremely great. To clarify, say I'm an Exile-Chimera and I fuse with a Halo-Black Dog ally. I don't get their Halo and Black Dog powers, though I still get to act normally on my turn. But they get all my Exile and Chimera powers, which they can fuel from their own Encroachment rate. If they use one of my powers, they gain Encroachment instead of me, so you're effectively also sharing mana bars. E: It has also been pointed out to me that this also lets your friend who's wearing you combo your abilities with theirs. So, say they want to use a Black Dog physical attack combo, they could now throw in your Chimera and Exile powers for something truly insane. Night10194 fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Dec 20, 2018 |
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Dec 20, 2018 23:49
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It's basically turning yourself into someone else's magic backpack, except you can still attack, from what I can tell.
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Dec 21, 2018 00:02
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Consider, for instance, the person who was playing The Thing But Nice as a Stoker-Exile: That character now gives the person they've fused with Red Servant from Stoker. Red Servant with a ton of riders. They can actually cause a minor viral epidemic. Though people you Fuse with don't get Fusion.
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Dec 21, 2018 00:04
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Night10194 posted:Consider, for instance, the person who was playing The Thing But Nice as a Stoker-Exile: That character now gives the person they've fused with Red Servant from Stoker. Red Servant with a ton of riders. They can actually cause a minor viral epidemic. Though people you Fuse with don't get Fusion. If the entire party has Exile as a secondary part of them, and gets Fusion, then for the REAL BIG FIGHTS, they could all gattai into their ultimate form, unless there's a side note that only one character at a time can Fusion with another. Be that Voltron or Captain Planet or something weirder. Actually, though. If one character with Fusion fuses with another character, giving them access to their powers. And that character then Fusions with a third character, would the third character also get access to the first's powers?
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Dec 21, 2018 00:10
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I think the way to do it best if the rules allow it is to have everyone Fusion to the same guy, and they're all just clambered on top of him as he fires all their powers at once.
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Dec 21, 2018 00:11
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Mors Rattus posted:I think the way to do it best if the rules allow it is to have everyone Fusion to the same guy, and they're all just clambered on top of him as he fires all their powers at once. Mecha-Shiva!
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Dec 21, 2018 00:16
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PurpleXVI posted:If the entire party has Exile as a secondary part of them, and gets Fusion, then for the REAL BIG FIGHTS, they could all gattai into their ultimate form, unless there's a side note that only one character at a time can Fusion with another. Be that Voltron or Captain Planet or something weirder. I think you only get the abilities of the person actively using Fusion on you. I think it's also not something that was fully considered in designing the power.
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Dec 21, 2018 00:18
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Also here's a thought: You could use this to have sacrificial PC's. You wanna toss the BIG KILL BEAM but you don't wanna burn your PC to ashes with the, uh, Encroachment, I think it is? Just Fusion with the session's designated sacrificial goat, he tosses it for you cheerfully and promptly implodes at end-of-session while everyone else walks away and high-fives, and his player rolls up another sacrifice.
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Dec 21, 2018 00:41
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I'll be explaining how exactly Encroachment works once I'm through these. I should have done it before, but I'm like halfway through the power sets now, damnit. I also have to keep stopping myself from calling it Sin or Infection because that's what we renamed it for Biblical Fanfic and Parasite Eve respectively.
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Dec 21, 2018 00:45
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Does X2 have posing rules? I feel like I should be shouting "This is my Stand!" before using some of these powers.
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Dec 21, 2018 04:05
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cPW0MX79fU Very important footage of a Chimera-Stoker in action. You should come up with both a name for your power combos (partly so you remember them, you can make more on the fly if you want to) and whatever ridiculous thing you say while using them.
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Dec 21, 2018 04:14
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gently caress I lost half of my next post cause my internet changed and I did not notice it.
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Dec 21, 2018 06:43
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Having your powers literally externalized into a Stand/Persona is actually a thing in the last book that got officially translated for the line before Ver Blue went dark.
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Dec 21, 2018 09:24
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Double Cross THE SPEED FORCE Superspeed is traditionally a sticking point in supers RPGs. Often it gets to take the form of extra actions, or otherwise becomes an even bigger form of "Dex is the God Stat". I am happy to report this is not the case in DX. Hanuman is the Syndrome of overwhelming speed and powerful vibration. You can vibrate so hard you buff your allies because the vibration turns into supernatural music and beats. I'm not kidding. Hanuman isn't a dedicated buffer like Solaris and some Neumanns, but it's pretty good at it and many of its buff spells can combo with Neumann's. Hanuman also gives me a chance to talk about the problems of the Social stat. Social is the least useful stat in the game, because it rarely gets used in combat, which is the main point of mechanical complexity in the game (and unabashedly so, the game tries to make this thus). The thing is, there are plenty of buff powers that use the Negotiate skill and thus the Social stat. The problem is that they're buffs. They thus don't actually have to roll a check. Therefore if I have a 1 Social and 0 in Negotiate, I can still use most of Hanuman's Negotiate powers perfectly well. And I should consider doing so, because they're actually pretty great. Hanuman gets 3 solid buffs off Negotiate and a status heal they can cast on others, which means you can toss in 'all your bad status effects are gone' onto 'also you get buffs' for an ally. The issue for Hanuman's buff spells is they all take a Major action, so you're giving up your attack to buff allies. Hanuman also gets a 5 level power that makes one of their Negotiate checks per battle hit Lv+1 targets, and that doesn't require all those targets be in the same engagement, so you can toss some serious buffing on all your buddies once per battle. I say serious because Hanuman's best buff (which it shares with Neumann) uses Negotiate to give someone +Lv dice (Max Lv 3) AND -1 Crit Value (min 6, so stacks with Conc). Now this kicks in on your next Major action, so you could theoretically cast it on yourself and then take a buffed action next round, too, if you were charging up for your biggest move of the fight. The other buffs are cheaper +Dice and +Damage stuff, but a full compliment of the 3 Hanumann buffs (and the option, if you have it, to add a status heal to the package since they use the same skill) cast on your whole party (no reason NOT to include yourself when using the 'buff multiple people' ability) can give everyone a real boost. You can be the battle-bard with the speedster set. As you'd probably expect, the speed power set has the best dodge-tanking in the game. Hanuman gets a really good basic active Dodge, but they also get further things like 'If you've moved this round, get 2xLevel Dodge dice' (Shadow Image, max Lv 3) or 'Move during the Setup of the round, including being able to Break Away from melee' (Start Dash). They also just get a passive, huge Init boost power called First Strike that adds +3 Init a level, up to 5 levels, for 4 base Encroach. So they can essentially have better than the Init buff Balor can put out, on at all times. Remember Init also affects your movement rate. Hanuman also gets the ability to break out of an ability called Blockade (which is woefully under-used). Blockade normally stops you from breaking out of melee, though very few powers give Blockade (I think this is a bit of an oversight, Balor should have had this ability. I think only Salamandra and some Enemy powers do it as it stands). Blockade mostly comes from fiction situations, according to the rulebook; You're stuck on a narrow tightrope with an enemy on the other side, etc. Well, Hanuman can break out of that at will with one of their powers. You just can't nail these guys down. They also get an excellent power that adds +Lv+1 Dice to either a Body or Sense check at cost of losing d10 HP, but that can critically be used for either Major OR Reaction actions, meaning you can use the same boost power for active dodging and melee fighting or shooting. Hanumans also have boosts to their physical attacks, but from an interesting angle. Instead of boosting raw damage (they have the worst raw damage of the 'physical' Syndromes) they loving hate your defenses. They can completely ignore armor, and with their magic attacks they can actually shatter a character's armor and leave them open for others. They're also amazing at taking out large numbers of weak enemies; they get a power called Sonic Boom that melees a whole Area (Select) of 'Troops' (Weak enemies the GM has defined as Troops) and every enemy that takes a hit does not roll damage, they just drop instantly. They also get a high damage magic attack that ignores armor and attacks every enemy in the scene, without limited uses. That sounds insanely powerful, right? They explicitly cannot use Concentrate with it. So Siren's Song is mostly for damaging lots of enemies with poor defenses at once, since your crit values with it are going to be bad...unless you've buffed your Crit Value with that Negotiate power. A 'Choir' of Hanuman characters singing the song that ends an army would be hilarious. Their magic attacks can have riders that inflict Pressure and Dazed (-2 Dice for one turn), and in general they use their magic less for raw damage and more to do some chip damage while loving with people and breaking off their armor. So if you want to add some anti-armor to a magic character, consider Hanuman in your power combo. Their physicals can also ignore Guard a limited number of times, or turn their melee attacks into AoEs (representing bouncing between enemies to punch everyone super fast), or attack after making a full round move action. Hanuman's ultimates are interesting. Their first restrict 80, Primal Ways, gives a massive +10 damage per level (max level 3) but a -5 dice to your actual attack roll and can be added to any combo that uses at least one other Hanuman power. This is their only real damage boost available, but it's a hell of a damage boost if you can handle the to-hit penalty. Their second at 80, Ripple Formation, is a massive 'reduce expected HP damage taken by Lv+1' max level 5 damage reducer, except it can't be cast on the Hanuman. They can use it once per round, casting it to back up an ally and greatly reduce incoming damage on them. Their first 100% is Limit Removal, only useable once per adventure, only has 1 level, but reduce the Crit Value of their next action by 1, min 5. That's further than move CV buffs can go; if someone else has thrown a -1 CV buff on you, you're Concentrating, and you use this, you now have a 60% chance per d10 that you're going to crit on that die. This can lead to crazy crit chains. Their other 100, Light Speed, is what you'd expect: You can perform 2 turns in one turn, once per adventure. As a downside, all Major actions in those turns are at +1 Crit Value. But there's no 'I go again later in the round'. You just go twice. After Image is our usual Restrict 120 No-Sell, where you just say you dodged completely and take 0 HP damage. We've seen this power from several Syndromes already, and it's always fairly useful. Finally, Rapid Beat lets the Hanuman add it to a combo at 120 (at cost of 20 Encroach) to make any other combo hit every enemy or ally on the field. Every single one. Range: View, Scene (Select). Their Pures are a bit of a letdown, though. One lets them act during the Init calculation phase instead of the main part of the round, but you're a Hanuman; you probably had everyone beaten on Init anyway unless they had really massive Init boosting Enemy Only powers. Their other Pure makes an attack unable to be Dodged (limited uses equal to level, of course). You can add that in to the one making an attack unable to be Guarded, at least. Being able to bypass enemy defenses is always helpful, and is Hanuman's specialty. Hanuman's simples let you play air guitar so well that you play actual air guitar and it's better than a real guitar, let you hear everything, let you transmit your voice like radio, change your voice, silence an area, run so fast you can run up walls and along water, and...somehow create a hyper-oxygenated environment that makes everyone feel good? By vibrating? What? Hanuman is interesting because I can see a lot of ways to incorporate it into another set. A Hanuman-Exile, for instance, could be the most annoying Dodge Tank to ever dodge. Hanuman-Chimera could supplement Chimera's smashing with some anti-mook AoE and armor piercing. Hanuman-Angel Halo could use Hanuman's ability to add in some status effects and armor breaks to Halo's general laser blasting. When we get to them, a Hanuman's buffing can add well to Neumann, though it won't do as much for Solaris, which tends to use Negotiate to debuff enemies or attack them with poison rather than buff allies (it uses magic for that). Orcus also has some good Negotiate buffs. Hanuman's abilities are broad enough, and it's good enough at its main specialty (dodging), that adding Hanuman in will immediately give you the option to be a good dodger while probably giving you something you can use to help out your other power set. Superspeed never hurt anybody. Next Time: Who loves giant robots?
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Dec 21, 2018 15:44
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I always got the sense DX was supposed to be the SMT Persona RPG, and not just for the how often the scenarios feature an amnesiac otherworldly being who turns into a boss you only beat with the power of friendship or how one of the sample PCs is literally Mitsuru Kirijo; it’s that the game encourages the little things that give the right feel, like the equipment heavily incentivizing Maid/butler outfits or animal mascot costumes. I’m sure someone has hacked the Lois system into outright Social Links.
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Dec 21, 2018 17:30
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Double Cross That's one of God's weapons Morpheus, on the surface, can do loving everything. The Syndrome is about summoning extremely powerful gear and enhancing existing stuff, as well as casting Summon Giant Robot and other similarly impressive feats. For a lot of people, all you have to say is 'If you're a Pure Morpheus you can start a fight by summoning a Gundam' and they're in. The issue for Morpheus is that while its abilities tend to have very high caps, they take a lot of investment. Take our girl Makoto and her cool twin pistols. To make those as good as they'll get will eventually make them Damage 19 each, which is slightly better than the amazingly good Reaming Claw on a Chimera for base weapon damage. The issue is that costs a second power, ten levels in that second power, and 4 levels in the original Hundred Guns. She could make them even better with another power, Crystal Sword, which makes each gun +2 damage per level (max 3) for an entire scenario if she casts it on each (cost of 4 every cast) but at that point she's spending 14 Encroach just on her guns (before attacking or anything) and they still only stick around for a single scene. That whole thing would cost about 120 EXP to get set up and maxed out, which is an awful lot and leaves the character kind of a one-trick pony. This is the consistent issue for Morpheus: You can do a shitload with Morpheus, and a lot of its powers are really good. It's a very strong Syndrome. It's just it feels like it's intended to be the more active/primary counterpart to Black Dog, where Black Dog was great for dipping while Morpheus is surprisingly good at magic, melee, and ranged depending on which one you focus on, but because it requires so much focus in practice you're probably going to just pick one thing you're good at and then also take the armor power because Morpheus' armor is loving awesome. So to get at the meat of Morpheus first, let's talk about the ability to summon amazing weapons and armor and the powers that support this. A lot of Syndromes have a summonable weapon or two, and a few can call in some pretty great armor that can surpass the stuff you can buy. Armor is very helpful, since it'll help you whether you're Dodging or Guarding, so solid armor helps any character. Heavy armor normally penalizes your Dodge and Init. Morpheus' armor does not. Makoto's armor summon only costs her 2 Encroach (and can be combined with other Minor Actions like summoning her guns) and gives her 8+(2xlevel) armor, max level 5. That's up to 18 armor with no drawbacks at all. 18 damage reduction against every blow. The best 'buyable' armor later on is AV 25, can only be used for one scene before breaking, and heavily penalizes Dodge and Init because it's a powered exosuit. The actual melee and gun summons are only okay, what really sends them over the top is Double Creation, which you've seen on Makoto. It gives +1 to Attack OR Guard for every level you've got (up to 10) and works with the Create Shield, Hundred Guns, or Infinite Weapons powers. Create Shield is also amazing, creating a high Guard shield 'weapon'. Create Shield starts at 6 Guard at level 1, and goes up to 14 at level 5. 14 Guard as a static boost from your weapon is great, and say you put points in Double Creation, now you're making a gun and a shield or sword and shield at the same time and they're both better. This almost makes up for Morpheus' actual Guard boost active power being the worst in the game. Similarly, Morpheus actually has the strongest 'basic' magic attack in the game, Sand Blade. You summon some of the energy of creation and try to either cut someone with it or just make them stop being created, for 2 damage a level, max 10. AND it lowers their Guard by 5. It costs 2 Encroach instead of 1, but it's Target - just like Light Bow and others. The problem for Sand Blade is Morpheus doesn't do much else with magic. They can dodge using magic instead of Body, which can be helpful, and they get an excellent Heal (Heal any target d10 per level, plus your Mind as a static boost, max 5) using magic, but the latter doesn't take checks and can't combine with attacks, obviously. They can also inflict Rigor (stop movement) on an Area (Select) with RC a few times a battle with Paralyze, and that can be a vehicle to make Sand Blade AoE. So you can mess with people and paralyze them, but really Morpheus alone doesn't justify specializing in magic, even if it's got good tricks with it. What Morpheus lacks is that Morpheus can't do much that's very special with the gear it creates once it creates gear. It gets a decent armor penetrator, it has some very basic attack and dice boosts that work on melee and ranged, and it can kill mooks like Hanuman with Genocide Mode (functionally the same as Sonic Boom, but can be used with guns, too), but it doesn't get many other boosts for its weapon attacks until its ultimate abilities. This leads to a situation where you're either relying on your gear alone to be enough (which it could be, Morpheus gear rules) or you're using another Syndrome to help you fight and fill in Morpheus's shortfalls. They also get a kind of neat melee ability where instead of using a weapon, they turn parts of the enemy's body into volatile explosives for 2 damage a level (max level 5) that ignores Armor, but you're probably better off with a magic sword. They're also really good at Ride, which makes sense, because they can summon vehicles. If you summon a vehicle and get on it, it helps you move faster regardless of Initiative and provides an extra layer of light armor. The best vehicle they can summon is Morph Robot, but that requires rank 5 in Vehicle Morph and they can only get that by being Pure or by being extremely overheated (you slowly get +levels to all your powers as Encroach goes up, and this can break caps). This summons a robot with 15 attack power and 18 armor; you can use Ride to attack with your vehicle like it was a weapon, or you can use normal weapons while riding a vehicle. Morpheus also doesn't have the best of ultimates. Its first, Perfect Control, is a Restrict 80 that gives you +10 to a test after you've already rolled it at the cost of 5 HP, use only once per session. Eh. Support Device is better, giving you a huge Lvx2 (max level 5) bonus to one stat's checks for a round, up to 3 times an adventure, at Restrict 80. You have to choose the stat when buying the power, and have to buy it again to use a different stat, but that's a massive dice boost and it being 'per round' means you could use it on multiple Dodges that turn, etc. Crystallize is just +3 damage a level, power combo now ignores armor, max level 3. Nothing special, but useful. Material Synthesis at 100 lets you shove two armors or two weapons together, adding their stats together into one super item that lasts the rest of the scene. Pretty handy, potentially. Soul Alchemy is our good friend the 'get back up one more time when out of Rez range' power, as seen in several other Syndromes. And Giganto Lance is the same 'Attack all targets in the Scene' power as Rapid Beat was over in Hanuman. The Pures are 'Pick an item and add +5 to one of its relevant stats, X times per session, where X is the power's level' and 'Give yourself +5 dice on a test, Lv times per session', which are simple, but solid and reinforce Morpheus's nature. The thing about Morpheus is it pushes you strongly towards physical combat if you want to use the gear you make, but you don't have to use it personally. If you're using Morpheus primarily to have a good base for a magic attack from Sand Blade while having access to good armor, that's legit. It certainly works for the Morpheus-Solaris antediluvian Sage in biblical fanfic game, after all. But even if you do that, it might be worth investing in weapons because now you can hand the weapons of the Lord over to your Chimera-Exile buddy and they can go to town with gear far beyond anything they could buy or pull out of themselves. Whatever you do with Morpheus, though, it's going to cost a lot of EXP. It'll be worth it when it's done, but it won't be cheap. Morpheus' simples are, as you'd imagine, based around making stuff. Forgot your TV remote? Make a new one. Want dinner? Create it from nothing. Need a drink? Your bottle of whisky is always full because you can cast create whisky (my first PC in this game was an undercover detective Morpheus who did this). You can fold your car up into a tiny square and hide it or put it in your pocket, then unfold it in an instant. You can dissolve and recreate walls behind you to walk through them. You can analyze any kind of component or material. You can turn things into other sorts of material or alter their appearance but not their function. You can forge any documents you want as perfect copies. Being able to make poo poo with magic is really convenient! Next Time: Brain Genius
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Dec 21, 2018 21:07
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A question on the house rule of two Simple Powers per Syndrome - and I like the idea because if you want to start with your character always having, I dunno, perfect abs then go with God - but if you do a Pure strain would that mean you'd get four Simple Powers?
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Dec 21, 2018 21:56
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Dawgstar posted:A question on the house rule of two Simple Powers per Syndrome - and I like the idea because if you want to start with your character always having, I dunno, perfect abs then go with God - but if you do a Pure strain would that mean you'd get four Simple Powers? Yeah, that's what I do.
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Dec 21, 2018 22:03
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Volo's Guide to Monsters: Goblinoids: The Conquering Host Part 4 Previous Entry Maglubiyet’s Will Be Done When Maglubiyet conquered the goblins "he taught them to fear his cruelty. They bowed in sniveling obeisance to him and then turned their impotent wrath upon others, becoming petty tyrants." When he conquered the bugbears "he taught the bugbears the practicality of cold brutality." When he conquered the hobgoblins "he knew he had to take the hobgoblins firmly in hand. From him they learned discipline, and thus they became the natural leaders among all the goblinoids." All Goblinoids are bound together by Maglubiyet's subjugation of their deities. They all fear him, but carry out his will differently. Goblins tend to flee from threats and must be rounded up and threatened by hobgoblins to do they can be made of use. Bugbears only obey the demands for aid by hobgoblins grudgingly, and often must be bribed first. Hobgoblins on their own will generally remain in their forts content to deal with internal politics of rank and matters of defense, but when they encounter other types of goblinoids (or seek them out), it is viewed as diven sign to band together and do the Mighty One's bidding on a grand scale. NO OTHER GOD SHALL STAND posted:Goblinoids are indoctrinated from a young age to consider all gods but their own as lesser, false entities. Maglubiyet is the only true deity, they learn, and the world will be wracked by chaos and despair until he one day conquers all pantheons. Goblinoids harbor a special hatred for clerics of enemy deities, focusing on them in battle and desecrating their temples whenever they have the chance. Whether a deity is good, evil, or neutral is immaterial. All gods other than Maglubiyet and his servants are false and must be destroyed. Call to War: Formation of the Host When the host gathers, the arrangement fundamentally changes how the individual races behave. Leaders in Word and Deed.Hobgoblins take up most of the leadership roles and serve as the military center, along with serving as the new backbone of the whole culture. Hobgoblins called to leadership in a host "tend to become fired with purpose, overtaken by a fanaticism that lends new urgency to their every action." When multiple legions gather into a host, each legion has a separate status just as the banners in the legions do. The legion of the host's warlord has the highest status and warlords of lesser legions are demoted to the title of general. While a member of a low ranked banner in the warlord's legion outranks those of the other legions that share the same rank, a general still outranks everyone in the warlord's legion other then the warlord. Despite most hobgoblin legions having a great deal of animosity for each other they set it aside when they form a host. The warlords of the rival legions don't even try to depose the leader of the host unless the fortunes of war provide the opportunity. The Legions record insults directed towards it while serving as a member of the host and when the host disbands, they resume their animosity and grudges. Volo posted:Hobgoblins have a code of honor. Its details vary from legion to legion, but it’s always brutal. Stealthy Shock Troops. Bugbears absorbed into host serve as a "special cadre of spies, assassins, and bodyguards, answering to the senior leadership of the host rather than to others of their own kind." Hobgoblin leaders will normally equip the Bugbears with better quality gear, metal tipped weapons instead of stone ones, or chain shirts instead of hide. But they are never outfitted with ranged weapons (which they refuse to use) or heavy armor (which compromises their stealthiness). If some bugbears demonstrate a particular talent for stealth or combat, the hobgoblins might separate them into squads that employ those skills to best effect. BUGBEAR SPECIAL FORCES posted:Under any circumstances, bugbears are valued members of a goblinoid host. If some of them are specialized (or can be trained) in different aspects of warfare, their value increases, especially when they work in concert. Reluctant Little Tyrants. Upon a goblin tribe being brought into a host hobgoblins train the goblin gatherers and pariahs as soldiers, which effectively rises them to the ranks of the hunters and reduces the number of castes for goblins in the host to two. While goblin leaders still maintain some authority, but even the lowliest hobgoblin and bugbears can give orders to a goblin boss, and the goblin boss must obey, or more likely order other goblins to do the job. When the goblin join a host they tend to resign themselves to their fate. Which could be to have their souls claimed by Maglubiyet for eternal war in Acheron the plane of battle. As a result they become humorless and show no pity to any creature that falls under their dominion, usually enslaved laborers or monsters that are pressed into service. "When the need arises, they also work as scouts, sappers during sieges, and skirmishers on the battlefront." Auxiliary Units.Hosts rarely consist of nothing but goblinoids, particularly if it has been going on for a while. Along with standard wolf and worg mounts, a host will normally press a large number of creatures into service. Some examples. *A low, two-wheeled pushcart loaded with small wooden cages containing cockatrices. *A hydra with goblins riding on each head that direct the beast by controlling the view of its blinkered eyes. *Former slaves, often soldiers who once fought against the host, who now fight alongside the host to gain better treatment and protect loved ones held captive. *A carrion crawler ridden by several goblins in a row and directed by a lead goblin using a long pole to suspend a lantern just out of reach of its tentacles. The Host on the March Goblinoid hosts are very aggressive and near constantly on the move, occasionally breaking off small garrisons (often of one type of goblinoid) to guard territory that needs to be held. The hosts usually march at night using outriders, who carry messenger ravens, traveling ahead and on the sides of the main group. The ravens can recognize individuals and so can quickly carry messages from anywhere in the host before going back to their owner. While most of the host travels on foot, wolf-riding goblins and worg-riding hobgoblins also make up a significant portion of the force. Hobgoblins will also use other mounts like horses, or monsters they can tame such as hippogriffs, axe beaks, or giant vultures. Bugbears don't ride mounts, but are willing to catch a ride on the howdah of a battle beast like an elephant or hydra. If the host has slaves, they carry the wagons and sledges holding the hosts equipment in the center of the host so they are surrounded. If there are no slaves, goblins and beasts of burden perform this function. Conquest and Occupation "Warfare in the name of Maglubiyet isn’t conducted like the raiding of orcs or the wanton slaughter of gnolls. It is instead a practice of claiming territory and subjugating people." Those who surrender while giving little to no resistance are given fair and honest treatment. Those who give proper tribute can look forward to avoiding goblin whips and chains. Warriors among the conquered can join the host as auxiliary units, if they prove to be capable and trustworthy. Goblinoids like to retain the population in settlements they conquer so they can continue to provide goods and services. "The labor force likely includes more youngsters and elderly than before the goblinoids’ conquest, with a corresponding drop-off in production." In any case, a group of conquered people serves the host best when it continues to produce resources for the goblinoids. Only when settlements offer stiff resistance or have no value do the goblinoids resort to slaughter and slavery to empty it of enemies. Hosts that gain large amounts of victories and the territory that comes with it can end up becoming a true nation. This empires can last for generations if the military can achieve new conquests or claim victories defending their territory. If triumphs don't keep coming the goblinoids bonds start coming apart. The hobgoblin legions will start infighting, and the goblins will ignore their duties while the hobgoblins are distracted. "Then, seeing the disarray of the host as a sign that Maglubiyet is no longer looking, the bugbears turn on their hobgoblin leaders, take a few of their heads as fresh trophies, and leave." THE WARBORN posted:While a host pursues conquest, it is taboo for its members to copulate. Such proclivities must be suppressed so that all effort is focused on the task at hand. Breach of the taboo can bring summary execution, so it is rare for offspring to be born among the host even when it successfully campaigns for years. Life in a Slave State When the hosts conquers a settlement or community. Those living in it quickly learn to adjust to goblinoid rule. The hobgoblins bring their own legal system on their vassals and it is likely to be harsher than what they are used to. Yet the host will respect the traditions, laws and customs among the conquered, "as an aid to maintaining order by pacifying the population." Some civilian leaders are allowed to keep their positions, and often gain more power then they had previously by serving as agents of the goblins and helping identify those disloyal to the host. In religious matters there is little flexibility. Religious leaders and clergy are eliminated if they show any resistance. Clergy of gods deemed harmless, a harvest god for example, can escape this fate. But servants of gods of battle and conquest encountered by the host are given a choice: "Turn to the worship of Maglubiyet, or prove the superiority of your god in combat." Those who remain faithful rarely last long as they have to face a succession of opponents - "as many as it takes for the priest to succumb and for others to see that resistance is pointless." Maglubiyet ultimately only offers two choices: submit or die. If the settlement has holy sites dedicated to conquered gods, these are converted into shrines to the Mighty One. "All representations of the defeated gods are thrown down, ruined, or marred. Mosaics are broken apart. Stained glass is shattered. Flags and pennants are soaked in blood. Statues are put in chains. Altars become chopping blocks where Maglubiyet’s bloody axe is used to decapitate all who refuse to bow to him." MAGLUBIYET'S ARMY OF IMMORTALS posted:The war horns of the host signal that every goblinoid has the chance to prove his or her worth to Maglubiyet and join his Army of Immortals in Acheron, the plane of eternal battle. There Maglubiyet marshals his host against slavering orc hordes in a bid to bring Gruumsh and the other orc gods to heel, a mythic contest that has pitted the goblinoids and orcs of the world against one another since time immemorial. Goblinoid War Camp Goblinoid Armies don't stay on the move forever, but when they camp it's not for rest or relaxation. A goblinoid war camp is constantly ready for war and the hobgoblins run it accordingly. The basic layout of a war camp is circular. To prepare the site they dig a ditch around the desired location, interrupted in places to provide paths. Inside are sections of a wooden palisade, each part capped with a gate and a tower on either end. These outer walls and gates aren’t regularly manned or patrolled, because the occupants aren’t concerned about being taken by surprise. If an enemy force does approach, though, these barriers do a good job of delaying any incursion until the goblinoids can rally their defenses. Inside the surrounding bulwark, the goblinoids all have their separate quarters, organized according to their wonts. Typical of any camp are the wide paths that crisscross it, running from each gate through the center of the camp and out the other side. This configuration enables all the goblinoids to swiftly rally and exit the camp to meet an approaching threat.  Command Center Where the legions warlord resides. They meet with the advisors and prepare and plan conquests. Most of the time, a command center also holds elite bugbear bodyguards that protect the warlord and a goblin jester that serves as insurance against the appearance of a nilbog. In a camp that doesn’t have separate facilities for a library and a rookery, the command center takes those functions. Library records are stored in a chamber next to where the war council meets, and posts for ravens are set all around the exterior of the building. Goblinoid Quarters Each type of goblinoid has its own accommodations within the war camp. Bugbear Dens. "After the hobgoblins stake out their territory, bugbear gangs dig their dens wherever else they wish, sometimes building them in the shadow of the outer wall but most often scattering them about, seemingly at random. A den typically consists of a hole and a crawlspace big enough for a few bugbears." Goblin Hovels. "The camp’s goblins settle wherever their hobgoblin commanders tell them to. Their quarters usually surround the areas where slaves and beasts. The typical goblin hovel is a round tent where related goblins sleep. In a permanent camp, these hovels often take the form of wattle-and-daub huts." Hobgoblin Barracks. "Not surprisingly, hobgoblins have the most spacious and well-appointed quarters in a war camp. Each of the banners in a legion has its own group of lodges in one of the quadrants of the interior, each one facing the pathway that runs past its front door." Library Hobgoblins know the value of improving one’s knowledge, and so they value any documentation about the world around them — maps, accounting records, battle reports, and other important facts. This knowledge is sorted by a legion’s librarian and stored in the camp’s library. The library serves as a hub for communication and strategy, and it is never located far from the group’s leaders. In the field, the army’s library is carried in a fortified and fire-protected wagon, surrounded by battle-hardened caretakers willing to give their lives to protect it. Pens and Pits Goblins are responsible for tending to the camp’s slaves, battle beasts, and beasts of burden. These are hobbled, chained to posts, or placed in pens, cages, or pits as needed. Most of these containment sites are surrounded by goblin hovels, and those that aren’t are nearby, so that the goblins can keep track of their charges. Rookery "Hobgoblins keep flocks of ravens that serve them as messengers and spies. A huge, tree-like conglomeration of metal and wood serves the ravens as a roosting and nesting place. If a camp doesn’t use one of these freestanding structures, its ravens are accommodated by perches and outcrops built on the outside of the command center. In the field, a wagon serves as a makeshift rookery." Supply Wagons Members of the army are expected to maintain their own gear, but ammunition and replacement gear are kept on hand, as well as other supplies. Rather than being contained in a building, these items are on wagons distributed throughout the camp in such a way that all the vehicles are accessible and ready to be moved if the rallying horn is blown. Every wagon is under watch by at least two guards, which are responsible for recording “withdrawals” and reporting on inventory to the camp’s leaders. The Block Maglubiyet’s holy symbol is a headsman’s axe, and the block is where it is blessed by feeding it the lifeblood of conquered foes and goblinoids that neglect their duties. In a temporary camp, the block might be a slab of wood or stone laid on a pile of dirt. In a permanent garrison, the block is often attached to the command center and placed on a consecrated platform. "Near the block stands a post or a rack with various weapons that represent the symbols of the goblinoid gods, each placed in accordance with the god’s rank. Maglubiyet’s headsman’s axe is always highest. Then comes Nomog-Geaya’s sword and handaxe, Bargrivyek’s white-tipped flail, and at the bottom, often touching the ground, the red-and-yellow whip of Khurgorbaeyag. Notably absent from this grouping are the symbols of the bugbear gods. Instead, severed heads hang in bunches around the block or are impaled upon spikes, their eyelids removed and mouths open. These honor the bugbears’ deities, Hruggek and Grankhul, and their separate but subordinate positions in Maglubiyet’s rule." Next Time: Hags: Dark Sisterhood
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Dec 21, 2018 22:26
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Is that war camp a swastika?
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Dec 21, 2018 23:09
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Double Cross Genius As Action Heroism Rather than a gadgeteer or superscientist like you'd see in many Supers games, the super genius power set in Double Cross instead applies all of that genius to combat. Instead of extensive rules for super inventions, Neumann instead get rules for yelling out enemies' weak points to buff their allies, or telling everyone to get organized and get moving during the Setup Phase. Instead of talking about whether or not Reed Richards can cure cancer, Double Cross is way more interested in a Neumann setting up amazing tactical action dances where they rush from one gun to the next, emptying them all in turn as they choreograph their own shootout with their super brain. Paradoxically, I'd classify Neumann itself as a highly physical oriented power set despite the mental focus. Neumanns actually don't use Mind, because they don't use magic attacks at all; they CAN choose to use Mind for Melee or Ranged checks (using it as a stat-replacement type thing, though this makes it cost 2 extra Encroach an attack) if you wanted to be a caster with your other set, but they get so little out of Mind normally from their own power set that it's kind of hilarious given how much of it they start with. What Neumann does better than anyone else is group buffs. Solaris can give it a run for its money on buffing in general, but Neumann is really good at giving the whole team a big boost (for a big Encroachment cost) before the round even starts. Take Tactics, one of the bread and butter Neumann powers. This gives a whole group (Area Select) of allies +Level dice to their next Major Action for 6 Encroach, max level 5, and you do it during Setup so it doesn't take your action or rely on Init. Neumann can also let a group of allies reposition before the round starts, they can pass out Initiative, they can cure allies of Status Effects during the Setup as they yell at you to snap out of it; they're the 'leader' class. They also get some token out of combat bonuses, like the ability to Concentrate non-combat checks with Genius's Insight, or the ability to use a single skill (Will) for all investigation checks to represent your overwhelming genius. These are nice enough to have, but the real reason you're doing DX is for the action. Outside of buffing people in the Setup phase, Neumanns can also react to a situation with Support Fire, using their gun to help an ally out with either an attack or defense for +Level dice (max level 5) once per round in response to an ally taking an action. Any action. They can hand down a Negotiation linked buff that gives +3 damage a level (max 3), a more EXP efficient form of Hanuman's Negotiate buff. They can support an ally's Guard with information on the enemy with Defense Support, they can give out the same '+Level dice and -1 CV' Negotiate buff Hanuman had, and they can use their turn to take a shot that interrupts an enemy and, if the Neumann beats their attack roll with the Neumann's own attack roll, cancels the enemy's move. They're really good at helping out and coordinating with buddies. But that's not all for Neumann. They're also not bad at fighting back with gun and blade. Their combat abilities are above average when it comes to giving themselves dice, but they do a bit less raw damage than some of the other combat specialists. They can build to do a ton of damage, it just tends to require a lot of investment; for example, their basic damage buff is Critical Shot, which gives 3+Lv damage to a melee or ranged attack. It has 10 levels. At level 10, it'll be better than most Syndromes' '+2 damage a level, max 5' powers, but only by 3 points, and for a hell of a lot more EXP. So while you can become such a genius of combat that you outdo the guy setting himself on fire and putting people through walls, it takes a lot more character resources; you can often get better, quicker combat returns from another Syndrome. The most unique method they have for upping their physical combat game comes from our girl Makoto's Multi Weapons. This lets you use two weapons with the same skill that you're equipped (so two guns or two melee weapons) at the same time, adding their damage together to determine your base damage. This only requires buying the base power, and no further EXP beyond that, while only costing 2 Encroach per attack; this can be a huge bargain! You can go even further with Variable Weapons, which is a 1 Level power that has to be combined with Multi Weapons. It lets you add additional weapons to the mix, up to your power level in Variable. This means a Pure Neumann can somehow figure out how to use 5 weapons in the same action sequence/attack, since they could buy 3 ranks in Variable Weapons. That can get nuts, especially if you know a Morpheus. Even the basic tri-wielding version is a pretty good trick! They can also use Impenetrable Defense to defend with the Guard value of two melee weapons at once. Neumann love dual-wielding! In addition to that, a lot of their combat abilities gently caress with the person they're fighting by, say, raising the Crit Value of their reactions against your attack, or lowering their Guard against all attacks this round, or shooting off their armor. Neumann's ultimates are interesting. At 80%, you get the one outright Counter move in the game outside of the Chimera's Blade of Vengeance, with Counter. This can be used Lvl number of times an adventure, and lets you Counter an enemy's single-target attack against you with any Major Action attacks/combos you wish. If you hit them, they get hit and you don't. Really good. Absolute Prediction at 80% lets you get such a good read on a guy that you raise their Crit Value to dodge you by 2. Simple, useful, though not as good as being undodgeable. Last Action at 100% lets you take a full turn immediately on being dropped by losing all your HP; one last attempt at victory before you go down. Goddess of Victory at 100% lets you pick an ally (or yourself) right after they've rolled and give them a +3xLvl bonus to their final check result, max level 5. Again, quite useful for putting an important action over the top. Mars' Blessing lets you perform a hyper-attack at 120%, where you use every bit of genius and skill to obliterate someone by adding an extra Lvl+4 dice worth of attack power to a physical attack, ranged or melee (max level 3). This hits like a truck if you hit, on par with Chimera's big moves, and is only usable once an adventure. Blitzkrieg lets you pick out a character, even a character who has already moved this turn, and have them perform a full turn during the phase where you're looking at Init and choosing who goes next. If they haven't moved, this won't lose them their normal turn. They just get an extra turn this round. You can do this to you, or to an ally. The Pure powers are an 8 Encroach reactive 'You get +1 Crit Value to whatever you were doing' dick move called Interrupt (limited uses based on Level) and the biggest damage buff for allies in the game. Undefeated Genius is loving amazing: You can only do it once per session/adventure but it grants all allies in a Scene +4xLevel Attack Power to their attacks this round, up to level 5 (so 7, since you're pure). It does not affect you. Still, up to +28 damage to your entire party for one turn, especially if timed for a moment when people might get to take multiple turns from heat? That's goddamn huge. So, if you want to buff allies and be a leader, consider Neumann. You'll also have enough cool physical moves and tricks to throw in that you won't spend the whole game watching other people do awesome stuff. Neumann lacks for any way to get the gear it's going to be relying on outside of buying mundane stuff, though, so you'll either need to pump the skills that get you additional gear (Procure, the Social stat) or you'll need to take a second Syndrome (like Morpheus, our girl Makoto actually has a really solid power combo) to supply you. Alternately, make friends with a Morpheus, they're helpful. Neumann's actual combat abilities won't help a caster much, but a Neumann-Something Magical who focuses on Neumann's buff abilities is a completely legitimate choice. The most dangerous place a Neumann can be is alone; otherwise, you can be the force multiplier your team needs. Their simples are the sorts of genius stuff you'd expect: Amazing deduction, brain like a supercomputer for math, ability to completely control their sleep cycle and brain function, perfect mimicry of mannerisms and spy poo poo, code breaking, linguistics so good you can not only learn any language in seconds but also talk to animals. They're great at showing off being a Super Genius. Next Time: We get sick of the word Domain
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Dec 21, 2018 23:10
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The important thing is that the talk to everything, including animals, power is called Doctor Dolittle 
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Dec 21, 2018 23:12
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PurpleXVI posted:Is that war camp a swastika? Manji or Sauwastika. Swastika is clockwise. Though it's likely a reference the cartographer decided to go for. MonsterEnvy fucked around with this message at 23:43 on Dec 21, 2018 |
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Dec 21, 2018 23:37
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I should also mention, the other thing Neumann completely lacks on its own is anything but single target damage. They have even less AoE damage than Chimera, which is to say absolutely none rather than 'can have it if you're Pure'.
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Dec 21, 2018 23:46
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Weirdly, my favorite thing about Chimera as a syndrome has nothing to do with turning into a werewolf, it's that their ranged attack power is basically just
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Dec 22, 2018 00:45
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unseenlibrarian posted:Weirdly, my favorite thing about Chimera as a syndrome has nothing to do with turning into a werewolf, it's that their ranged attack power is basically just It's a shame their Ranged Attack is so bad because yes, 'I threw a phone booth at him' is fun.
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Dec 22, 2018 00:54
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unseenlibrarian posted:Weirdly, my favorite thing about Chimera as a syndrome has nothing to do with turning into a werewolf, it's that their ranged attack power is basically just Funny enough that guy did hit his target the first time he was seen. It was just a trash can rather than a street lamp. 
MonsterEnvy fucked around with this message at 01:02 on Dec 22, 2018 |
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Dec 22, 2018 01:00
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Can a Neumann dual-wield their fists?
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Dec 22, 2018 11:46
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The Lone Badger posted:Can a Neumann dual-wield their fists? Night, I love the sound of this thing but I would ask if you could break up some of these paragraphs, they are dense enough to be hard to follow.
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Dec 22, 2018 12:40
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Nessus posted:FRIENDSHIP INCREASED HUNDREDFOLD! MUSCLES INCREASED THOUSANDFOLD! Sure, I'll try to do so. The Lone Badger posted:Can a Neumann dual-wield their fists? I believe so, yes.
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Dec 22, 2018 13:31
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The problem with dual-wielding fists is that they have a -5 damage modifier (the only negative damage modifier I can find on the weapon list), so RAW using Multi-Weapon with fists would actually reduce your damage to -10, in a fairly obvious Murphy's Rule. A power that boosts a weapon's value (not an attack value, but specifically a weapon), like Morpheus Crystal Weapon, can overcome this. It's pretty far from ideal, though.
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Dec 22, 2018 14:46
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It's great if you've summoned Reaming Claw or you have Cyber Arm, though. Since they replace your Fists with a better Fist.
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Dec 22, 2018 14:52
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Night10194 posted:It's a shame their Ranged Attack is so bad because yes, 'I threw a phone booth at him' is fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEdg4glpCkg
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Dec 22, 2018 21:03
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I can't help but think of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJi_MiX7SxM&t=45s
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Dec 23, 2018 03:04
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Black Dog + Neumann seems a great way to do the Gadgeteer thing that Neumann doesn't do on its own. I praised Double Cross for not trying to be all things to all people, but it's extremely versatile. What makes it work so well is that, like Marvel Heroic, it has a firm model of how play will proceed.
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Dec 24, 2018 14:25
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