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Totally hosed
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Feb 15, 2023 02:41
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 22:08 |
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Falconier111 posted:I think I’ll call this chapter here. There’s actually a couple of sections I didn’t cover, but those talk about devoted and conspiracies in more detail, and there’s a whole chapter later on on conspiracies I plan on concentrating that information in. Hey, that means we can spend the next update making characters in the next chapter! I’d appreciate a few character ideas to work with; they don’t have to be particularly detailed or heavily grounded in the setting, just things I can work with as we cover the next couple chapters. A totally hosed lady with shark related issues and terrible credit.
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Feb 15, 2023 02:57
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Infinity RPG: Yu Jing Space Swords New Ammo Ferro-gel Ammo: Ferro-gel rounds are 3 millimeter spheres of kinetic diffusion gel bonded to magnetic iron. They spread on impact to distribute their energy over a broad target as possible in order to stun and knock over the enemy. They are used as riot ammo by the Imperial Service as well as for capturing valuable targets alive. However, they're only useful in high-burst weapons (Burst 3+), because you need to fire a lot of them. They provide Nonlethal, Knockdown and Stun. Alternatively, they can be fired from a hyper-rapid magnetic cannon, giving it alternate modes of fire - either a low-spread precision mode to stun specific targets or a high-spread area mode to knock out entire crowds. Ki-rin X Ammo: Ki-rin rounds were developed after initial forays into selling hunting licenses for wild ki-rin in rural Shentang. The idea made folks very angry, and after prolonged unrest and the murder of several would-be hunters, the government introduced Ki-rin ammo as a specialized form of nonlethal rounds. A hunting license comes with a single round Reload, which will painlessly mark whatever it hits with a unique, negligably radioactive tracking tag that lasts for X months if it does any damage at all. Spotter robots can then track the target and record its movements. Thus, a hunter gets bragging rights via the live feed of the animal for as long as the tag lasts, and the money made from selling these hunting licenses goes to maintaining ki-rin habitats. Most importantly, the Shentang populace appreciates that the ki-rin gets to live out its normal span. If the hunter misses, they get a fancy letter thanking them for contributing to conservation efforts and the chance to buy another license and single "bullet." New Armor Crane Armor: Crane-rank Imperial Agents are detectives, lawyers and all-around enforces of law with free rein from the Emperor to do whatever they want in his name. Each receives a personalized armor suit that is also their badge of office and a recording device for their judgments so they can be properly precedential. Back-mounted transmitter spines maintain a constant connection to Imperial systems and physicians, providing extensive and constantly updated BTS shielding. The armor also contains a nanopulser in each shoulder, an x-visor, a recorder that cannot be turned off, a locational beacon and a full sensor suite of the agent's choice, along with being pretty solid medium armor. Iron Turtle Suit: An Iron Turtle suit appears to be a normal if somewhat dense formalwear set, but in truth it's a smart material armor developed by Gimse Chaebol for executives at risk of attack or potential kidnap victims to provide inobtrusive defense. They can be activated quantronically as a Minor action to encase the wearer in a reinforced, spiky armor plating with a fully independent air supply worth 2 Oxygen Loads. While so armored, the wearer's unarmed attacks do extra damage and gain Piercing 1 and Vicious 1, but because the suit isn't particularly flexible, all Coordination, Agility and Awareness rolls get increased Difficulty, and the wearer is Hindered as long as the suit is active. Deactivating the suit and returning it to its formalwear mode is a Standard action. TF Coat: TF stands for tokko-fuku, Japanese for 'special attack uniform.' They are neomaterial reproductions of Japanese WW2 pilot suits or bosozoku 'uniforms' - knee length coats covered in gang logos, slogans or neon embroidery, typically worn with baggy pants and mag-boots. They were the popular fashion with bosozoku racers before the Uprising, and remain popular with JSA bikers. They give increased Difficulty to find anything hidden in their voluminous inner pockets and +1 Momentum on Command rolls with bosozoku or military bikers. Smartcloth in the shoulders and underarms also lets you ignore the penalties to Close Combat attacks from Hasty Piloting or Flat Out movement. New Implants Covert Dermal Grafts: These are full-body cybernetic augments implanted under the skin to improve stealth. The use overlapping absorption linings to reduce body heat and infrared emissions, cushion the user's footsteps, reabsorb skin oils to reduce forensic evidence and even transmit false scanning signatures. This gives a bonus die to all non-quantronic stealth rolls and additionally adds Armor soak to all limbs. It's also even harder to detect than most concealed augs by any method, even medical scanners or sniffers. Fucanglong Arm: These cybernetic replacement arms are temperature resistant and extendable. Their name derives from Chinese treasure-guarding dragons, and they were popularized by miners and workers during early colonization efforts because the Party would pay for most of them to improve work efficiency. They're not nearly as necessary now that remotes and power suits exist, but they're still popular as symbols of strength, particularly among blue collar dissidents. They give a bonus die to all rolls relying on arm strength, provide decent Armor soak and grant the arms total immunity to extreme temperature, though not the rest of the body. Further, they improve unarmed attack damage and give your unarmed attacks Extended Reach, because they extend. You usually get two at once, to ensure balance. A user with only one replacement arm must have Brawn 10+ or suffers from constant lack of balance, giving +1 Complication range to Agility rolls. Gesar Augmentation: The name comes from the Central Asian epic hero Gesar, and the full-body Silk-based aug is only offered by Qing and Ming family doctors to those bearing imperial bloodlines. In theory it only works on them due to relying on specific DNA markers...but in truth, the number of markers it works with is large enough that essentially any human could be augmented, if someone were to actually try. What it does is encourage healthy genetic expression and general bodily health, reducing the XP cost to raise attributes to any value up to 11 per attribute. Skeletal Reinforcement X: Skeletal reinforcement is relatively common full-body cybernetic aug among colonists expecting to visit heavy gravity planets and among folks looking to get an edge in close combat. You lace the skeleton with titanium, smart metals or even Teseum bands, gaining greatly increased tensile strength that can push your body to superhuman levels. You get +X Brawn, increased armor soak to all locations and increased unarmed strike damage. While the augmentation is subtle, it alters your mass and balance, making it detectable with a difficult Observation roll, a moderate Close Combat roll or an easy Medicine roll. New Drugs and Poisons Ngam Drops: This drug is typically injected into tapioca pearls and eaten as part of bubble tea. The word 'ngam' is Yujingyu for 'sweet,' and the drug produces a mild euphoria that heals 3 Mental damage over about half an hour and gives minor Morale soak. However, an Effect roll means that it also causes the user to become somewhat suggestible, reducing their Resolve for 2 hours. Ngam is a legal drug and commonly used by couples on dates. It is, however, illegal to take for Imperial or Party officials to prevent impaired judgment or corruption in their rulings. Recall: Recall is a nasal spray or eardrop full of nanobots that temporarily enhance memory through reinforcement of the synaptic paths. They're legal, but hard to get due to rare ingredients mostly sourced from Paradiso. One dose lasts for an hour, and while active, they halve the Difficulty of all rolls to remember things, rounding down. They're popular with exam takers, though only the richest can afford them now. Vigour Poison X: This poison is known by many names - Dailing Dust, Kofuku Smog, Eko-Airosol and more. It's a radiomimetic compound in gas form that was formerly popular with terrorist groups. It is a capital crime to make, sell or own in Yu Jing or Great Japan, because it is very easy to aerosolize and one dose can easily take out an entire room. The poison is not very strong, so it's mostly good for killing or permanently injuring the lungs of kids and teens - which means it's really only useful for folks who really, really want to spread fear and anger. Adults are still hurt by it, of course, but they're much more able to survive and recover from it. Yangwater: Stimulant powders mixed with alcohol, designed to accelerate the metabolism and artificially increase strength and stamina by binding with muscle tissue mitochondria. The drug also makes you feel nice and warm, but the hangover is intense to say the least. You get +3 Brawn and +3 Morale Soak until you are knocked unconscious or sleep, but for the ten hours after you next wake up, your body is pumped with fatigue toxins, giving -1d6 Brawn and Morale Soak, to a minimum of Brawn 6 and 0 Soak. New Explosives Fireflies: A firefly is a micro-drone generally made from a grenade casing. They flood an area with cheap sensors, giving quick if not particularly great information on foes in cover. Once a firefly is thrown or shot into a location, the user can make a basic Analysis roll to reduce effective Cover Soak based on Momentum spent, and if Cover is dropped to 0, targets are Marked until they leave the zone. Users can share the benefits of the firefly with allies as a minor action. Vigour Poison Charge X: Vigour Poison explosives are rare - they've only ever been deployed a few times, all of them horrific massacres. However, the design is easily available on Arachne darkweb spheres. The main reason they aren't common is that the poison itself is quite rare and most governments have active counter-terrorist protocols against them. When activated, the charges fill their zone with Vigour Poison gas, which compounds for multiple charges in one zone. For X rounds, the gas spreads to adjacent zones and will harm anyone without BTS 5+ or protective gear. The concentrated poison makes it deadly even to adults - anyone who suffers a Wound from the gas takes permanent damage to their lungs, reducing their max Vigour. New Melee Weapons Kukri: These are, in a sense, traditional Nepalese blades...but modern kukri lace the blade with electromagnetic pulse circuits for disabling security systems. There's a switch that toggles between EM and normal blade modes as a Minor action. They're regulated and largely intended for deployment on Paradiso, but Triad forces have gotten ahold of them and will happily sell them on the black market. Neokatana: Neokatanas combine ancient Japanese traditions and modern technology. They are difficult to use for the untrained, but in the hands of a skilled swordsman they are terrifying. They're meant for traditional Japanese sword techniques, assuming the wielder will sidestep and not use them to parry directly. Their focus is on deadly cuts over all else, with Piercing 3 and Vicious 3, and they are not particularly good if you rely on your weapon for defensive movements. They are a major status symbol in Great Japan, giving bonus Momentum to social rolls against Japanese folks, but increase the Difficulty of such rolls on non-Japanese Yu Jing people. Qiang: A qiang is a spear - made with modern materials and a monofilament head, but it still looks basically like a traditional Chinese spear, with a red tassel under the head to distract foes and catch blood. If your Close Combat Focus is higher than your target's, you can make an Exploit action as a Minor action while wielding one. The weapon normally increases complication range due to its monofilament edge, but Close Combat Focus 2+ reduces how much. Heavy Qiang: A heavy qiang is just a qiang scaled up for TAG usage by Hu Enterprises. This version uses a tassel that can strobe in polarization patterns similar to flare chaff, giving it the same distraction capabilities as a normal qiang. It gives the same Exploit bonus, but works if your Close Combat or Pilot Focus is higher than the target's, and likewise, Pilot or Close Combat Focus 3+ will reduce the complication range increase. Sensei Wraps: While invented in Yu Jing, sensei wraps are now common throughout the Human Sphere. They are smart-cloth strips full of sensors, reactive threading and an integrated Close Combat expert system, and you wear them wrapped around your fists and forearms or around your legs and feet as protection during martial arts training or competition and used as sources of educational feedback. The wraps record, analyse and critique the wearer's technique and can also harden themselves to improve striking and blocking ability. This essentially allows the wearer to toggle the Nonlethal quality on or off as a Free Action. You can double up on pairs for your hands and feet, but you can't wear gloves with the hand kind or boots with the feet kind. Shinobigatana: The favored weapon of Yu Jing and Japan's ninjas, these blades are designed for armor penetration over all else. They're very hard to get, and they're essentially monomolecular wires locked in place by a small E/M field. They are absurdly good at getting through armor and very little else, and without care, they're very easy to chop your fingers off with. Sword of Office: These weapons come in many forms - jian, katana, seven-star blade, patag, whatever cultural sword you want. What unites them is massive quality, because they are only given to Imperial Agents as badges of office, incorporating smart weapon enhancements to provide realtime feedback via the user's geist. This means the blades excel at parrying, as the geist serves as a sort of miniature expert system that assists the wielder. New Ranged Weapons Akrylat-Kanone: These are actually Nomad guns, but they were mass produced for resale by Gang Tie Industries. They're essentially a Panzerfaust with an antitank adhesive round rather than a high explosive one. The design was briefly proprietary, but has now proliferated. They're also modified for easier disassembly and reloading, with each containing two Reloads. Once those are used, the weapon must be disassembled as a simple Tech roll. The blast from the warhead is pretty painful but nonlethal. Well, less lethal. Chain-Colt: Chain-Colts aren't really a specific gun so much as a type of gun, a backalley knockoff chain rifle made to be disposable. They're cheap, easy to get and popular with criminals of all kinds. You take an electric flashforge receiver and plug it into the gun to turn a cylinder chain magazine into a whole lot of really hot shrapnel. They are deeply illegal pretty much everywhere but very easy to make. They do massive damage at short range...but they also wear out very fast - if you roll a complication while using one, it melts or otherwise breaks completely and cannot be fixed. Cihuai Rifle: The Imperial Service saw PanO's Locust rifles, stole the plans and secretly hired Hu Enterprises to improve on them. Hu Enterprises simplified and streamlined the designs, plus hired subcontractors from the Haqq to integrate a small toxin sprayer into the chamber. The Cihuai, meaning Locust in Yujingyu, is the result. They're rare but quite valuable to the Imperial Agents and anyone else that can get their hands on one. They are at core extensively modified combi rifles designed to fire specialied Breaker rounds that degrade enemy BTS shielding, the toxin sprayer adds Toxic to all rounds fired, and the stock has a charge plate built into it that allows the weapon to be used as a stun baton in a pinch. Further, their simplicity gives -1 Difficulty to all Tech rolls to modify or repair them, so they are often modified to accept different kinds of ammo. Palad Khik: Palad Khik is a Thai term for good luck charms, we are told, that has become Bosozoku slang for single-shot grenade launchers stuck onto your bike. It is considered tacky to use more than one in a race, though people still do it fairly often. They're able to fire a Heavy ammo grenade, but each tube is destroyed during the firing process and, if attached to bike, has to be angled to specifically aim at one of Close, Medium or Long range when it's attached. Range penalties outside that specific range are doubled. A rider with Pilot Focus 3+ ignores the Improvised quality on the grenade launcher, as does installation by someone with Tech Focus 3+. However, these guns can't easily be used off a bike - they are functionally single-shot grenade launchers with Improvised 3 in that case. Ki-rin Rifle: Ki-rin rifles are specialized hunting rifles designed to operate with Ki-rin ammo. They are single-shot bolt action guns which require a (very easy) Ballistics roll to reload after each shot, but which give a bonus die when used to fire Ki-rin rounds. Ki-rin hunting in this manner is growing in popularity with the wealthy elite, and good marksmanship on a hunt is considered to be very prestigious. Obviously, this has driven the rifle price up significantly. New Programs CLAW-2 Monkey Trap: Monkey Traps are popular among the meaner kind of sysadmin, designed to trap enemy hackers so that they can't escape unscathed when caught. The program is only usable as a Reaction when a hacker moves out of reach in a quantronic zone, attempts a Withdraw action or attempts a Terminate Connection action. If the reactive attack succeeds, the target's movement or action is canceled in addition to the Monkey Trap's damage. GADGET-3 Zhang Xun: Zhang Xun is a form of Supportware named for a Tang dynasty general and tactician known for using archers to draw out and kill one of his rivals. This is because it is an aim-assist program that provides telemetry data to help allies. The user can make Analysis rolls to assist ranged attacks as a Reaction without the normal Heat cost. Any assisted attack that hits allows either the hacker or the assisted ally to spend 1 Momentum to choose hit location instead of 2. SWORD-1 Horrorshow X: The Horrorshow is a variant on the more common Brain Blast program developed by the Otaku to create terrifying nightmares in their victims. They hook into neural equipment to generate disturbing sensory images and cause a massive adrenal dump in the brain. It is expected for a hacker using one to study the victim so they can incorporate personal details in the imagery as a form of very nasty performance art. While it only works on folks with neural equipment, the user can spend 2 Momentum to cause mental damage with Terrifying X and Grievous instead of quantronic damage. UPGRADE Phoenixware: A popular and common Supportware, this program repurposes your hacking device's processors to tracking your OS operational meta-structure, allowing for very fast program reintegration after a reset. There's all kinds of rumors about rootkits and corruption related to the program, though, and most Yu Jingese criminals and foreign governments avoid using it. Basically, if you have it installed, when you use the Reset action, it's only a Minor action and the Hacking roll is very easy, plus the difficulty penalty after reset is reduced slightly, and can be reduced further with Momentum. However, if you end up in conflict with ALEPH's agents or Imperial forces (but not general Yu Jing or Party agents), any use of the device where Phoenixware is installed has increased complication range. New Remotes Rui Shi Remote: Yu Jing combat doctrine considers remotes to be active combatants rather than passive defences, and the Rui Shi is specifically designed as a hunter/killer unit, relying on speed and accuracy over armor and focused on pure offense, with advanced optics to further increase their danger. While they're small, squat things on four legs, they move very quickly and are armed with a stun pulse and a spitfire machine gun. They also have an integrated repeater unit to help deploy quantronic assets such as hackers into enemy territory. Su-Jian Immediate Action Unit: Su-Jian Immediate Action Units are heavy infantry remotes on the cutting edge of Yu Jing's science. The name means Swift Sword, and the basic form is heavy armor...but with reduced bulk due to removing the human being inside. Instead, the remote can radically alter its shape from a high mobility quadrepedal travel form to a humanoid combat form. The transformation is a Free Action, allowing the machine to quickly move across the battlefield and attack any target with its many integrated weapons - a spitfire gun, a light flamethrower, a panzerfaust, a heavy pistol and sword-like blades for close combat. The main weakness it has is that it is difficult for an LAI or geist to pilot, so you'll want a person on the operating controls. Yaozao Remote: The Yaozao, or remote flea, is Yu Jing's first effort at a humanoid remote. It's worked exceptionally well, too. Each is a one meter tall figure coated in chameleonwear, so they're very easy to miss, and their hands are very delicate with integrated tools designed to allow remote work by doctors or engineers. They're meant to follow users around and help them out, and most military vets in Yu Jing find them endearing after interacting with them in the service, so there's a thriving market for decommissioned units. They have a stun pulse integrated into them to stop close combat attackers, too. New Tools AiQ Upgrade: Many of Yu Jing's social media Mayasphere, like TenTen, PingMe and We@, are gated by your Hao Lu social rating, especially dating and networking sites. It's not official policy, generally, but rather an easy way to filter out undesirables before they can harm the group somehow. However, you can get around this with a referral from another datasphere, some of which will allow low-value users in for money or payment in labor. AiQ upgrades teach your geist how to network these referrals more easily, allowing you to get through them without needing to put in a ton of work. Mechanically, this means a bonus die on Lifestyle rolls to find contacts or dates when your geist helps you out, and reduced difficulty to find contacts in higher Yu Jing social classes if you have the Network talent. It's not that hard to get one, but the maintenance cost can be annoying. Baekdusan: These are special data storage units designed in the shape of the mountains between China and North Korea. They're pretty common throughout Yu Jing households, but especially so in Koguryo. They're designed to secure your family's datasphere with relatively decent commercial security, providing decent Interference Soak against hacking attacks...from anyone with Hacking Focus of 2 or less, anyway. Hacking Focus 3+ means it can't do anything to you. They do however have a physical button you can hit to disconnect your home from Maya in case of intrusion. Chongqing Quantronic Security Kit: This tool was designed by a Maya cluster aiming to recreate in quantronic form the idea of a guard dog. It generates a massive number of false proxies and file trees to confuse intruders, routing them into dead ends to allow the owner time to prepare a more thorough quantronic defense. An installed kit activates the first time its owner is Breached, causing increased Difficulty on all future Hacking rolls against the owner until their next Breach or until the attacker makes a moderate Analysis roll. A purchased kit comes with licenses for three installations, which is how many you can have on your PAN at a single time. Installing them takes five minutes and a very easy Hacking roll. Hykaate Dome Kit: A Hykaate kit is meant to let you very quickly build a sturdy, functional geodesic dome shelter using only a foot-long tube of sealant glue made out of the mineral Hykaate and a stack of plastic windproof panels. The assembly is simple for anyone with Survival or Tech Expertise 2+ and takes about an hour. A single kit makes a dome 2 meters in radius, and they can be combined together to make bigger structures. They can also be used to produce extremely deadly incendiary explosives. It requires one Reagent and a moderately difficult Science roll, but a single kit can be cooked down into the equivalent of 3 D-Charges with Incendiary 2, but they get Improvised +2 for each complication rolled. Their use by the Kempetai during the Uprising means Yu Jing monitors for their chemical signature in all public areas. Unfortunately for them, the glue has become utterly ubiquitous on Shentang, so it's easy for anyone to get. That said, loving up the chemistry is often deadly, so criminals who can actually reliably convert a kit into bombs can charge a pretty penny. Imperial Messenger Ceremonial Kit: Yu Jing officials love anachronistic pageantry, and that's why many Imperial messengers like to hand deliver important messages on hand-inked scrolls with wax seals. These kits are designed to make that actually a good idea, if still eccentric. Each kit secretly holds three uses of surveillance and encryption tools hidden among the ink and paper and wax. Other variations are scroll tubes with special sensors, smart paper that records in writing all sounds in a hundred meters, calligraphic ink that can passively record holographic images, or smart paper that can embed massive quantities of data in its weave as a nano-scale array. No matter what, each use of the kit lets you conceal recorders or encrypted messages that cannot be found without a moderately difficult Observation or Analysis roll. Khmoc Outfit: These are produced exclusively by Tep Kompheak, a tailor from Kampubang, and his direct family. They are outfits lined with transmitter threads linked to a small battery and a projector in the small of the back. When turned on, the outfit distorts light around itself, effectively becoming thermo-optic camo without the normal Negative Feedback trait. Kompheak's work is excellent and he can do it in any number of styles, but his best work is Yu Jingese party outfits. The word khmoc means 'ghost' in Khmer, and Kompheak will only sell his ghost outfits to those he believes are enemies of the State, as he is an avowed dissident. The existence of Khmoc clothing is strictly secret, known only to a very trusted set of contacts in the underground resistance movements. Loudcast Box X: Loudcast boxes are popular with dissidents for exposing government misconduct, because they're really hard to shut down. They are recording devices that broadcast high-wattage streams via radio wave to any receiver within 3 kilometers, allowing people on the receiving end to store and record the transmission without need for direct data connection and the trail it leaves. They are illegal due to their interference with legitimate broadcasts, and remain alive for Xd20 rounds, with X being the creator's Tech Expertise. Anyone can make one with a Part and a moderate Tech roll, which is easier if you've ever made one before. Memories Kit: Memories kits aren't sold - they're made. You can buy the components, of course, but each one is personalized for the person you give it to. They're a tradition dating back to the colonization efforts - you take a bag or box and fill it with around half a kilo of mementos, tools, valuables, holographic imagers and similar to remind the person you're giving it to of home. They are often given to family members that are moving away or children leaving home, to help them remember the folks they're leaving behind. They reduce the difficulty of any roll to remember past events in your life, and you can also spend a half hour thinking about the contents to treat your own Mental damage with the Psychology skill without the usual penalties. However, any damage healed is reduced per Effect rolled, as these represent regrets or bad memories. Trauma Analysis and Neutralisation Kit: TANKs for short, these are backpack-mounted automedkits designed to allow soldiers to fight even under heavy injury. They inject the wearer with specialized concoctions mixing Serum, pain suppressant and stimulants. While they function perfectly well as normal automedkits, they also allow the user to ignore Difficulty penalties from Wounds for up to 3 hours. However, a user of this capability gets increased Difficulty on all Awareness and Coordination rolls until healed due to the combat drugs. Wushu Tracksuit: These are lightweight clothes meant for maximum flexibility, and are also referred to as biao yan fu, Yujingyu for 'show uniform'. They incorporate a sensor suite and locational beacon to track your movements, vitals and so on, and anyone with access to their network gets bonus Momentum on Medicine rolls to diagnose you or to Analysis and Science rolls to study your moves and physiology. They're generally used by the Wushu Community for recording martial arts techniques for future teaching, but also are popular with athletic coaches and use in military basic training...and with prisons for tracking the movements inmates. X-Visor: An X-Visor can refer to just about any kind of device or augment intended to increase visual range and acuity in combat. They're usually used as an upgrade for AR implants or armor helmets, allowing the user to partially ignore Difficulty penalties on Ballistics or Observation rolls. New Vehicles Kumoropu Bicycle: Kumoropu, 'spider loop,' is a name taken from an Earth biking trail. The bicycle bearing the name is a light offroader that is also popular with commuters. They're originally from Fuji-Ono LLC, but the Imperial Court nullified the trademark and patent after the Uprising. Now, the term is a generic one for any collapsible smart-materials bike, generally with an electrically assisted drivetrain and powerful quantronic lock. The original bikes used proprietary Teseum lacing tech, but that version is twice as expensive as the new ones that don't have it. Lunar Dragon Head: Lunar Dragons are based on lunar exploration vehicles, which early colonists strung together for New Year's celebrations. Their modern incarnation has come a long way - they are vehicle trains designed for partying and VIP tours. The Lunar Dragon Head is the control vehicle at the front, with the cockpit and room for up to three pilots. It is then followed by one or more 12-meter modules, each independent and able to house potentially 40 passengers, depending on accomodations. Each module has its own airlock, and the train ends in a decorative (but mobile) tail, to make the whole thing resemble a dragon. Some use hoverskirts, some have wheels, some have legs, but all of them are highly customizable and often put on display for parades with extensive fireworks displays and dancers. A skilled pilot (or, more often, set of pilots) can cause the entire train to 'dance' sinuously, though it's harder the more modules there are. Lunar Dragon Module X: Each module to a Lunar Dragon is 12 meters long and barely resembles the small habitats originally used by lunar explorers. They have independent propulsion but their direction is controlled by the Head, and each has independent life support systems and facilities. Most are built for comfort and looks, though they do function as all-terrain vehicles still, and are extremely customizable. You can install internal weapons, smart partitions, dance floors with gyro-stabilizers to maintain a level floor in any terrain, sleeper pods, pools, the works. Milu Hovercycle X: The Milu is named for a revived species of Earth deer that is now common on Yutang. Yunmen Hoversports designed them as amphibious hovercraft in the shape of a motorbike, and they're epsecially popular on the Penglai coasts. They come in single rider or multi-occupant, and the tandom version is very popular with tourists, albeit rather awkward ones - the tandem bikes and multi-occupant trikes are not particularly aerodynamic. Milu hovercycles are very smooth but not particularly good at evasive action. TZ Tsurugi Motorcycle: The TZ Tsurugi is an all-terrain racing bike with an aircraft engine driving it, quantronic hardening to stop hackers and extremely good aerodynamics. They're the preferred ride of the bosozoku and the Aragoto Senkenbutai Advance Guard. Before the Uprising, they were made in Kume by Tosho Zaibatsu and were mostly sold to the Yu Jing military, with only a few reaching the civilian market where they largely got bought up by Yakuza elites. Some are still made in Shentang, but only by Japanese engineers unable to escape during the Uprising. Those who got out now operate out of Tokyo and make the bikes for mass market sales. Consilium's courts are currently considering a major case about the ownership of the TZ trademark, and will likely be stuck in appeals for years regardless of the winner. Tsurugi bikes are able to move at extreme speed in short bursts, though they're pretty dang fast even normally, and they have hydraulic struts that let the bike jump or move like an ATV with a moderately hard Pilot roll. Further, a rider with Pilot Focus 2+ takes no Difficulty penalties to any roll from Hasty Piloting or Flat Out movement. Next time: The lifepath
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Feb 15, 2023 03:15
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Xiahou Dun posted:A Murphy is a rule that has unintentional, often very weird consequences. I figure it's okay to have that kind of religion in a game as long as it's not something for PCs to follow. Evil cults are a classic source of antagonists. Though in any game I run they'll be your basic "god of murder/destruction/etc." and not "god of child sexual abuse" because gently caress including that edgelord bullshit. Mors Rattus posted:Infinity RPG: Yu Jing And speaking of edgelord bullshit, did the Infinity RPG really need even an obscure/oblique reference to the Aum Shinrikyo 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack? I'm thinking no. Everyone fucked around with this message at 03:24 on Feb 15, 2023 |
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Feb 15, 2023 03:16
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To mix it up: a Rather hosed Deviant with a terrifying yet diminutive presence and great powers of violence and psionic mutilation.
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Feb 15, 2023 03:53
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Cooked Auto posted:Not sure if I would call that moon in particular orange. But that might just be me.  Here you go, then! e: for best results, listen to this while looking at the picture.
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Feb 15, 2023 04:04
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Cythereal posted:I kinda miss WHFRP's take on its Champion class, because it was the final evolution of the pure fighter class. That game made the point of describing it as a martial artist class, because you simply do not get that good at swordsmanship or whatever without being seriously passionate about it. Of course, this is probably something to do with some ancient RPG nerd thinking that martial arts are strictly for Asian shitkickers, and people never formalized a system for swinging swords, people just get better at swinging them in the general direction of the enemy until they fall. Gatto Grigio posted:Splats work best, I think, when you have to start with a template that already comes with core assumptions (vampires drink blood and avoid the sun, werewolves change shape and avoid silver) but you need something to differentiate Vampire A from Vampire B. The assumption here is that you're all soulbroken, I guess, but it breaks down soon after because there's no way you're organizing yourself by the way you got hosed up, and if powers are so easily distributed, you're not banding into societies based on that either. Also, I don't think anyone mentioned that, but the whole SOULBROKEN CAN ONLY FEEL UNSUBTLE EMOTIONS is just them trying to justify superhero comic book morality in-universe, right?
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Feb 15, 2023 06:48
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Falconier111 posted:E: I also need you to choose one of the following options: I want to suggest one kind of hosed and one totally hosed, because I want the gulf of magnitude  between these to come across. A deviant who's totally hosed really doesn't reflect a deviant who's kind of hosed.JcDent posted:Also, I don't think anyone mentioned that, but the whole SOULBROKEN CAN ONLY FEEL UNSUBTLE EMOTIONS is just them trying to justify superhero comic book morality in-universe, right? I wouldn't say "justify," but "cause the behavior of," yes. It's talking about Conviction and Loyalty and how they warp your interactions with people, it's not talking about every emotion you ever have (or if it is you should ignore that).
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Feb 15, 2023 07:21
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You can't just say the emotion you're experiencing! That makes me angry!
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Feb 15, 2023 07:33
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Falconier111 posted:
Germophobic mom too much prone to melt things around her by becoming a puddle of bubbling hydrochloric acid.
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Feb 15, 2023 09:41
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I demand a Totally hosed Full-Body Conversion cyborg
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Feb 15, 2023 10:45
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Quackles posted:
Now we're talking, that's a proper blood orange moon.
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Feb 15, 2023 12:40
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JcDent posted:I demand a Totally hosed Full-Body Conversion cyborg CYBORG GRANDPA G 
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Feb 15, 2023 14:00
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I have absolutely no idea if it'd be actually possible but make an animorph who is of course totally hosed
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Feb 15, 2023 14:47
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YggdrasilTM posted:CYBORG GRANDPA G Cyborg grandpa superhero was a really good anime.
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Feb 15, 2023 15:04
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JcDent posted:I demand a Totally hosed Full-Body Conversion cyborg 
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Feb 15, 2023 16:08
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Falconier111 posted:
Let's see Tim the barber, who's regular clientele included a number of conspirators who saw something in his superlative barbing, and lead to him being Totally hosed.
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Feb 15, 2023 16:23
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 Speaking of totally hosed, what the gently caress is going on in this picture? I have zero clue.
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Feb 15, 2023 16:33
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It's security camera footage of a cyborg ninja, a very large cat person, and four people with small groceries.
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Feb 15, 2023 16:41
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Siivola posted:It's security camera footage of a cyborg ninja, a very large cat person, and four people with small groceries. At least it’s not the  picture, that’s one of the ones that made me laugh out loud. He looks like he’s about to do jazz hands 
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Feb 15, 2023 16:58
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Gatto Grigio posted:
That’s just footage from your average anime convention.
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Feb 15, 2023 17:21
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JcDent posted:I demand a Totally hosed Full-Body Conversion cyborg YggdrasilTM posted:Germophobic mom too much prone to melt things around her by becoming a puddle of bubbling hydrochloric acid.  Can we add a totally hosed radioactive gay test pilot?
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Feb 15, 2023 17:21
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Pakxos posted:Let's see Tim the barber, who's regular clientele included a number of conspirators who saw something in his superlative barbing, and lead to him being Totally hosed. Timothy Clipperhands
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Feb 15, 2023 19:44
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Everyone posted:Timothy Clipperhands Tim Snips 
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Feb 15, 2023 20:12
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Crab Man He is turning into a crab, a bit faster than everything else. Kinda hosed
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Feb 16, 2023 00:14
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For contrast I want an absolutely minimum level of hosed office drone just trying to make the best of his I dunno, gills or something.
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Feb 16, 2023 01:00
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 Deviant: The Renegades, Chapter 3: Renegades (Pt. 1) This chapter covers character creation start to finish, though it doesn’t cover everything the book wants you to do in the first session; conspiracy creation happens off in its own chapter a bit down the line. Much of the chapter is standard Chronicles of Darkness character creation, so I’ll skim over most of it. I recommend you check out the Chronicles of Darkness review if you want more info on how it works. Anyway, before you even start talking about characters, the book wants the table to take a look at this chart:  A campaign’s threat level determines how powerful both the characters and the conspiracies they face are, with the assumption that there’ll be slightly fewer conspiracies active than players. I know that sounds like a lot, but conspiracies in this game run off a Sine Nomine-style faction system and take about half as long to design as even a simple starting character. The book expects everyone at the table to help draw up the conspiracies before the end of the first session and, having seen the rules, I can tell you that’s a reasonable assumption. Anyway, the book implies most campaigns will sit towards the upper-middle of this chart, though from what the thread seems to be saying I guess I should make two characters, one from the second level and one from the fourth, the show how our levels vary between campaigns (and also to illustrate how conspiracy creation works later on). I’d do that full conversion cyborg, but this book kind of discourages completely artificial characters (which I will complain about that link later), so I couldn’t pull that one off. Instead, I’ll combine that with the sharkgirl concept for our invasion-level character and the housewife and fighter pilot ideas for our hyperplasia-level character. The book strongly recommends everybody make characters at the same threat level to ensure campaign balance, but it does tell you how to make characters with different power levels of lot – you just have to keep in mind stronger characters will show up weaker characters and weaker characters may not be able to handle a stronger conspiracy.  After that comes standard CofD character creation: character concept, attributes, skills and specialties, and then the supernatural template, starting with race and class. Origins we’ve already covered, and clades mostly matter later in the process. But I have to talk about adaptations now, reflexive actions unique to each clade that reinforce whatever that clade’s theme is:
 Speaking of which, variations! Variations are rated by magnitude (i.e. point value) and are either tied to a scar of the same magnitude or to a scar of greater magnitude with one or more other variations of lower magnitudes. You can’t connect one variation to multiple scars (mostly because magnitude one scars are actually gameplay benefits, but we’ll get to that), and that scar-free variation deviants get from their origin manifests as a point of magnitude they can either use for a simple power with no scars or to boost another power without making its scar bigger. Variations come in controlled (activated with an action), involuntary (like controlled but sometimes activated at inconvenient times by a scar), and persistent (always on) varieties, are either overt (using them might alert a conspiracy) or subtle (no one will notice you using them), have a bunch of standardized keywords that change how they work, and might come with deviations, bonuses or drawbacks you can opt into that increase or decrease the variation’s magnitude. It’s not complex stuff, there’s just a lot of moving parts. So let’s look at a bunch of sample variations to get an idea of how they work:
 Scars are at once less interesting to talk about and way more dramatically interesting at the table. Just about very variation is tied to a scar, either one of the same magnitude or one of a greater magnitude with a certain number of other smaller variations that change depending on how big the largest connected variation is. The scar directly affects every variation it’s entangled with. I don’t want to get into the weeds describing individual scars because they’re a mixture of things that make it harder for you to use your powers and what would be flaws in a merits and flaws, things you’ve definitely seen in other systems and that are way cooler in action than represented by  lists. Except they have an issue.So, scars come in three flavors: physical, mental, and social. You know how WoD stats, on top of those three, have those other three categories? Every roll you make has to do with a scar or its connected variations keys off those categories under physical, mental, and social attributes. In other words, a character using a variation uses the attributes from whatever category the scar falls under to make rolls.
Whatever, it is what it is. I’m not sure how clear that all was, but don’t worry, I’ll be building two whole characters and running through how I create their variations in scars to make the process a little more transparent. That’ll come after the next update, when I talk about other half of character creation.
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Feb 16, 2023 01:24
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Cybersquirrel. Cybersquirrel.
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Feb 16, 2023 01:26
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Yeah we need to see Green Lantern Ch'p in action here
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Feb 16, 2023 01:41
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Infinity RPG: Yu Jing Sweet Freedom Time to make two characters - one standard Yu Jing, one Japanese. The first one I will wait to name until I know where he's from; the second is Honoka Yukishiro because I like Precure Decisions 1 and 2: For both our characters, things start off the same: Birth Host is human and we'll leave all stats average. For Decision 2, we also are just automatically rolling Yu Jing for both, even though Great Japan is now independent. Its independence is recent enough that all Great Japan citizens were formerly Yu Jing and left pretty recently, so we'll deal with that part later. Faction skills for Yu Jing are Tech and Education. Mystery Person will take Tech as a signature, Honoka will take Education. Mystery Person Birth Host: Human Faction: Yu Jing Agility 7, Awareness 7, Brawn 7, Coordination 7, Intelligence 7, Personality 7, Willpower 7 Skills: Education Expertise 1, Tech Expertise 1 Focus 1 Signature Skills: Tech Talents: Natural Engineer LP: 5 Honoka Yukishiro Birth Host: Human Faction: Yu Jing Agility 7, Awareness 7, Brawn 7, Coordination 7, Intelligence 7, Personality 7, Willpower 7 Skills: Education Expertise 1 Focus 1, Tech Expertise 1 Signature Skills: Education Talents: Disciplined Student LP: 5 Decision 3: Homeland. We roll on the Yu Jing homeworlds table For both. Mystery Person rolls 15: Sol (Chung Kuo). He is from Earth. He speaks Yujingyu and rolls on the Regional Yu Jing Languages table and gets +1 Willpower and Awareness and Lifestyle training. His regional language is 18: Cantonese. Honoka rolls a 3: Shentang. She speaks Yujingyu and a language from the regional table as well, but gets +1 Intelligence instead of Willpower; the rest is the same. Her language is 2: Yujingyu. No bonus language for Honoka! Mystery Person Birth Host: Human Faction: Yu Jing Agility 7, Awareness 8, Brawn 7, Coordination 7, Intelligence 7, Personality 7, Willpower 8 Skills: Education Expertise 1, Lifestyle Expertise 1, Tech Expertise 1 Focus 1 Signature Skills: Tech Talents: Natural Engineer Languages: Yujingyu, Cantonese LP: 5 Honoka Yukishiro Birth Host: Human Faction: Yu Jing Agility 7, Awareness 8, Brawn 7, Coordination 7, Intelligence 8, Personality 7, Willpower 7 Skills: Education Expertise 1 Focus 1, Lifestyle Expertise 1, Tech Expertise 1 Signature Skills: Education Talents: Disciplined Student Languages: Yujingyu LP: 5 Decision 4: Status. For this, things change - before we roll, we have to determine lineage, because that's a big deal for Yu Jing due to, y'know, the racist policies. If your character was not born in Yu Jing, they are automatically Laowai - a foreigner, immigrant, person of unknown parentage or someone with no Asian lineage whatsoever. Laowai are social outsiders in Yu Jing and cannot get above Upper class by random roll. The other possible heritages are Guanxi (East or Southeast Asian but not Chinese, Uyghur or Japanese, accepted in society but less likely to be wealthy and powerful than ethnically Chinese), Chinese, Shualai (Japanese, Uyghur or the child of criminals, only slightly better off than Laowai), Imperial (Guanxi or Chinese, but you're related to the Imperial family so you're almost certainly rich) or Party (your family was part of the Party, so again, you're probably rich). Each home planet has a different table to roll on to see which lineage you get, with only Yutang having a chance at Imperial. Mystery Person rolls on the Sol table: 13, Chinese. If he didn't already speak Cantonese, he would get it free, but he does. He then rolls on the Chinese status table, getting 5: Middle Class, Earnings 3 and +1 Personality. I name him David Han. He rolls a 6 for Home Environment - High Society, +1 Willpower and more Lifestyle skill. Honoka automatically rolls Shualai because we've decided she's Japanese. She gains either Japanese or Uyghur as a free language - we take Japanese. We roll on the Shualai table, getting a 6: Demogrant, Earnings 2 and +1 Agility. Her home environment is 2: Violent, +1 Brawn and Athletics. Seems like she's not having a great childhood. As a note, Yu Jing also has a class below Underclass: Dissident. Your family get to be known dissidents there, with no Earnings whatosever! Even Imperial folks can be that, some Imperial scions rebel. Dissidents automatically have a criminal record and the Dissident trait. David Han Birth Host: Human Faction: Yu Jing Status: Middle Agility 7, Awareness 8, Brawn 7, Coordination 7, Intelligence 7, Personality 8, Willpower 9 Skills: Education Expertise 1, Lifestyle Expertise 1 Focus 1, Tech Expertise 1 Focus 1 Signature Skills: Tech Talents: Natural Engineer Languages: Yujingyu, Cantonese Earnings: 3 LP: 5 Honoka Yukishiro Birth Host: Human Faction: Yu Jing Status: Demogrant Agility 8, Awareness 8, Brawn 8, Coordination 7, Intelligence 8, Personality 7, Willpower 7 Skills: Athletics Expertise 1, Education Expertise 1 Focus 1, Lifestyle Expertise 1, Tech Expertise 1 Signature Skills: Education Talents: Disciplined Student Languages: Yujingyu, Japanese Earnings: 2 LP: 5 Decision 5-6: Youth Event and Education. Each heritage has a different youth event table! David rolls on the Chinese table. He gets a 9, 2: Discovered competitive martial arts. David loves him some kung fu tournaments. Honoka rolls on the Shualai table, getting 4, 6: Witnessed uncommon kindness. While she may have a rough life, people around her cared for and watched out for her. That's nice. For education, David rolls 5: Creative Education. He got to grow up and go to school at a creative arts university or something. He gets +2 Personality, +1 Willpower and -1 Brawn, skill in Discipline, Education, Lifestyle, Observation, Persuade, Stealth and two of Analysis, Pilot or Tech, a set of AR Eye Implants, a Recorder and 1 Asset. We grab Analysis and Tech and his second signature skill is Observation. Honoka rolls 13: Scientific education. She studies the sciences! +2 Intelligence, +1 Awareness, -1 Personality, skill in Education, Lifestyle, Pilot, Tech, Medicine and two of Medicine, Science or Spacecraft. We take Medicine and Science, and Science is our second signature. Also, she gets an analytical kit, 5 Reagents and a Sensor Suite. David Han Birth Host: Human Faction: Yu Jing Status: Middle Agility 7, Awareness 8, Brawn 6, Coordination 7, Intelligence 7, Personality 10, Willpower 10 Skills: Analysis Expertise 1, Discipline Expertise 1, Education Expertise 1 Focus 1, Lifestyle Expertise 2 Focus 1, Observation Expertise 1 Focus 1, Persuade Expertise 1, Stealth Expertise 1, Tech Expertise 2 Focus 1 Signature Skills: Tech, Observation Talents: Natural Engineer, Sharp Senses Languages: Yujingyu, Cantonese Earnings: 3 Gear: AR Eye Implants, Recorder, 1 Asset LP: 5 Honoka Yukishiro Birth Host: Human Faction: Yu Jing Status: Demogrant Agility 8, Awareness 9, Brawn 8, Coordination 7, Intelligence 10, Personality 6, Willpower 7 Skills: Athletics Expertise 1, Education Expertise 2 Focus 1, Lifestyle Expertise 1 Focus 1, Medicine Expertise 1 Focus 1, Pilot Expertise 1, Science Expertise 1 Focus 1, Tech Expertise 1 Focus 1 Signature Skills: Education, Science Talents: Disciplined Student, Scientist Languages: Yujingyu, Japanese Earnings: 2 Gear: Analytical Kit, Sensor Suite, 5 Reagents LP: 5 Decision 7: Adolescent Event! There's a 50% chance of using the Yu Jing table instead of a core book table. David rolls a 4: core table A. He gets an 8: someone close to his was murdered, and his family admitted to him that they were deep in some kind of criminal conspiracy. David is rather upset to learn this, but gains the Criminal Connections trait. He may freely swap to Submondo faction (but doesn't) and can freely choose Criminal as a career in any career step. However, he also gets +1 Difficulty to all social rolls with security or cops. Honoka rolls a 1: Yu Jing table, result 20: She died, but fortunately won a Resurrection lottery and got brought back. She spends 1 LP to be brought back in a standard Lhost and gains the Debt of Gratitude trait - she was gifted her Resurrection, and she feels she owes it to pay that back to the people around her. David Han Host: Human Faction: Yu Jing Status: Middle Agility 7, Awareness 8, Brawn 6, Coordination 7, Intelligence 7, Personality 10, Willpower 10 Skills: Analysis Expertise 1, Discipline Expertise 1, Education Expertise 1 Focus 1, Lifestyle Expertise 2 Focus 1, Observation Expertise 1 Focus 1, Persuade Expertise 1, Stealth Expertise 1, Tech Expertise 2 Focus 1 Signature Skills: Tech, Observation Talents: Natural Engineer, Sharp Senses Languages: Yujingyu, Cantonese Earnings: 3 Gear: AR Eye Implants, Recorder, 1 Asset Traits: Criminal Connections Special: +1 Difficulty to social skill rolls with security or police services. LP: 5 Honoka Yukishiro Host: Standard Lhost Faction: Yu Jing Status: Demogrant Agility 8, Awareness 9, Brawn 8, Coordination 7, Intelligence 10, Personality 6, Willpower 7 Skills: Athletics Expertise 1, Education Expertise 2 Focus 1, Lifestyle Expertise 1 Focus 1, Medicine Expertise 1 Focus 1, Pilot Expertise 1, Science Expertise 1 Focus 1, Tech Expertise 1 Focus 1 Signature Skills: Education, Science Talents: Disciplined Student, Scientist Languages: Yujingyu, Japanese Earnings: 2 Gear: Analytical Kit, Sensor Suite, 5 Reagents Traits: Debt of Gratitude LP: 4 Decision 8: Career! Shualai, Laowai and Guanxi, incidentally, get lists of careers that are easier for them to hazard and harder for them to hazard. For Guanxi, it's hard for them to become Neobushi, Ninja or Subversive, but easy for most government jobs; it is largely the opposite for Shualai and Laowai. David spends 1 LP to roll on the Yu Jing table, getting 3: Celestial Guard. He rebelled super hard against his criminal parents and joined the military, excelling and reaching the ranks of the Celestial Guard that protect the Emperor. He gets +2 to everything except Agility and Coordination (+1) and Personality (nothing). He also gains skill in Athletics, Acrobatics, Observation and two of Close Combat, Ballistics or Analysis. We take Close Combat and Analysis, with Close Combat as the final signature skill - David is becoming the martial artist he dreamed of being as a kid. He also receives a suit of light combat armor, a combi rifle and another recorder. He rolls 2+1dN for Earnings, getting 3 - no change. He's in the job 6 years, and for what table he gets to roll on for event, he rolls a 2: Yu Jing Adolescent Event Table, but ignore any further traits. He gets a 4: he displays uncanny talent for a traditional art. It turns out he excels not just at kung fu, but at calligraphy. This makes him a big hit on Yutang, increasing his social status a step, but he now gets +1 complication range on Lifestyle rolls to blend in, as a minor celebrity. Honoka spends an LP to roll on the Japanese career table. She gets an 11: Subversive. Her drive to improve lives around her leads her towards rebellion against the State, and she takes up work at a pirate radio station. She gets +3 Willpower, +2 Agility and Awareness, +1 Intelligence and Personality. She gains skill in Discipline, Stealth, Thievery and two of Hacking, Persuade or Tech. We take Hacking and Persuade, with Persuade as our third signature. It is here that I note that the Yu Jing book has some truly awful editing, getting skill names wrong in some place (Persuasion instead of Persuade) and sometimes referring to the wrong table in a way where I can catch the error and fix it, but it's weird and annoying. Anyway, Honoka also gets a Breaking & Entering Kit, a Fake ID 2, and a Hacking Device. By the end of her work, she's 25. She rolls 1dN for Earnings, but can't roll higher than 0. She gets a 1, so no Effects, and thus no change. Also, she gains the trait On The Watchlist, and may freely choose to change to Dissident status; if she does, she can defect to another faction at this time. She does not, yet. Her event table is the Japanese event table, with a 3: one of her contacts is killed in a riot started by Rantan Services, one of the ninja front companies. She gains a rival in the Onishi ninja clan. David Han Host: Human Faction: Yu Jing Status: Upper Agility 8, Awareness 10, Brawn 8, Coordination 8, Intelligence 9, Personality 10, Willpower 12 Skills: Acrobatics Expertise 1, Analysis Expertise 1 Focus 1, Athletics Expertise 1, Close Combat Expertise 1 Focus 1, Discipline Expertise 1, Education Expertise 1 Focus 1, Lifestyle Expertise 2 Focus 1, Observation Expertise 2 Focus 1, Persuade Expertise 1, Stealth Expertise 1, Tech Expertise 2 Focus 1 Signature Skills: Tech, Observation, Close Combat Talents: Natural Engineer, Sharp Senses, Martial Artist Languages: Yujingyu, Cantonese Earnings: 3 Gear: AR Eye Implants, 2 Recorders, Light Combat Armor, Combi Rifle, 1 Asset Traits: Criminal Connections Special: +1 Difficulty to social skill rolls with security or police services, +1 Complication range on Lifestyle rolls to blend in Age: 24 LP: 4 Honoka Yukishiro Host: Standard Lhost Faction: Yu Jing Status: Demogrant Agility 10, Awareness 11, Brawn 8, Coordination 7, Intelligence 11, Personality 7, Willpower 10 Skills: Athletics Expertise 1, Education Expertise 2 Focus 1, Discipline Expertise 1, Hacking Expertise 1, Lifestyle Expertise 1 Focus 1, Medicine Expertise 1 Focus 1, Persuade Expertise 1 Focus 1, Pilot Expertise 1, Science Expertise 1 Focus 1, Stealth Expertise 1, Tech Expertise 1 Focus 1, Thievery Expertise 1 Signature Skills: Education, Science, Persuade Talents: Disciplined Student, Scientist, Charismatic Languages: Yujingyu, Japanese Earnings: 2 Gear: Analytical Kit, Sensor Suite, Breaking & Entering Kit, Fake ID 2, Hacking Device, 5 Reagents Traits: Debt of Gratitude, On the Watchlist Special: Rival (Onishi Ninja Clan) Age: 25 LP: 3 Career 2: David spends another LP for a roll on the Yu Jing table. He gets a 17: Imperial Agent. He appears to have excelled in the Celestial Guard and been tapped to serve the Emperor even more directly. He can either roll to see what rank he gets or, as Upper class, simply be taken in as one of the Ye Ji, or Pheasant rank. We take the rank - it fits his investigative skills. David gains skill in Close Combat, Discipline and Observation, plus two of Analysis, Close Combat or Stealth. We pick Analysis and Close Combat, and take another Close Combat talent. He also gains a Sword of Office and a Ye Ji Inspector-variant set of light combat armor. His Earnings roll is 1+4dN, resulting in a 1. No change. He rolls on the Yu Jing adolescent table again for event, getting a 10: a member of the Party Old Guard is impressed by him and his traditional skills and becomes his mentor. He gains Discipline skill, but gains a Rival in the Party New Wave. Honoka spends an LP to roll on the Japanese table again. 4: Smuggler. Honoka has graduated to actual crime, not just subversive opinions, and is smuggling arms for the Japanese resistance movements. She gains skill in Pilot, Observation, Thievery and two of Tech, Hacking and Discipline - we take Tech and Hacking, plus a Hacking Talent. She acquires an Adhesive Grenade, 2 Smoke Grenades and AR Eye Implants, plus Earnings 0+4dN, or 2 and an Effect. This results in no changes, as her Earnings were already 2. She rolls on the Japanese event table, #17: she gets arrested. While she manages to convince the Imperial Court she's not a criminal, it's costly - she gets Psychology skill but a 3 Asset debt. David Han Host: Human Faction: Yu Jing Status: Upper Agility 8, Awareness 10, Brawn 8, Coordination 8, Intelligence 9, Personality 10, Willpower 12 Skills: Acrobatics Expertise 1, Analysis Expertise 2 Focus 1, Athletics Expertise 1, Close Combat Expertise 2 Focus 2, Discipline Expertise 2 Focus 1, Education Expertise 1 Focus 1, Lifestyle Expertise 2 Focus 1, Observation Expertise 2 Focus 2, Persuade Expertise 1, Stealth Expertise 1, Tech Expertise 2 Focus 1 Signature Skills: Tech, Observation, Close Combat Talents: Natural Engineer, Sharp Senses, Martial Artist, Deflection (-1 Heat cost to Defence and Guard reactions with Close Combat) Languages: Yujingyu, Cantonese Earnings: 3 Gear: AR Eye Implants, 2 Recorders, Light Combat Armor, Combi Rifle, Sword of Office, Ye Ji Inspector Variant Light Combat Armor, 1 Asset Traits: Criminal Connections Special: +1 Difficulty to social skill rolls with security or police services, +1 Complication range on Lifestyle rolls to blend in, Rival (Party New Wave) Age: 29 LP: 3 Honoka Yukishiro Host: Standard Lhost Faction: Yu Jing Status: Demogrant Agility 10, Awareness 11, Brawn 8, Coordination 7, Intelligence 11, Personality 7, Willpower 10 Skills: Athletics Expertise 1, Education Expertise 2 Focus 1, Discipline Expertise 1, Hacking Expertise 1 Focus 1, Lifestyle Expertise 1 Focus 1, Medicine Expertise 1 Focus 1, Observation Expertise 1, Persuade Expertise 1 Focus 1, Pilot Expertise 1 Focus 1, Psychology Expertise 1, Science Expertise 1 Focus 1, Stealth Expertise 1, Tech Expertise 2 Focus 1, Thievery Expertise 1 Focus 1 Signature Skills: Education, Science, Persuade Talents: Disciplined Student, Scientist, Charismatic, Hacker Languages: Yujingyu, Japanese Earnings: 2 Gear: Analytical Kit, Sensor Suite, Breaking & Entering Kit, Fake ID 2, Hacking Device, Adhesive Grenade, 2 Smoke Grenades, AR Eye Implants, 5 Reagents, Debt (3 Assets) Traits: Debt of Gratitude, On the Watchlist Special: Rival (Onishi Ninja Clan) Age: 29 LP: 2 Career 3: Both our characters spend 1 LP to get a third Career. David spends 1 LP to roll on the Yu Jing table. He gets a 9: Zhanshi Gongcheng Mech-Engineer. Someone in the Imperial Court decides he needs to make better use of his technical skills and has him reassigned to engineering and maintenance for a few years. He finds this annoying, but he he gains Athletics, Discipline and Tech skill, plus two of Ballistics, Medicine and Tech. We take Ballistics and Medicine - David gets more well rounded in his skills here, and picks up another Tech talent. He also picks up a powered multitool, an armored uniform and another combi rifle. His Earnings are 1+3dN or 1 and an Effect, so he drops from Upper to Middle class and -1 Earnings, as he has had little time to maintain his social fame and is technically being demoted. His event is on core table A, #11: He is injured in a shooting accident during a live fire exercise. We roll a hit location to see where, and he gains the trait Old Wound...in his head. He got shot in the head. So now he has a big scar past his ear, I guess. It twinges in the rain. This has been a bad two years and is likely why David is asking to be reassigned to O-12 work or something similar. Honoka rolls on the Japanese table, getting 20: faction table of her choice. I'm gonna stick to the Japan table. 14: Kuge Aristocrat. Thanks to her work as a smuggler, Honoka has gotten in good with the Kuge families and been adopted as one of their agents. She now works as a corporate executive slash spy, helping to plan the Uprising. She gains Discipline, Lifestyle and Persuade, plus two of Discipline, Education or Psychology. We go with Discipline and Education, and a Persuade Talent. She picks up an AiQ Upgrade, a Chongqing Quantronic Security Kit and a Ki-rin Rifle. Her Earnings are 2+4dN, or 4, jumping her up to 4. When the Uprising occurs in Step 9, she will also jump to Upper class when she defects to Great Japan. Her event is core table C, #12: she is the only survivor of a ship crash, spending a year stranded in space and gaining the trait Space Sickness. David Han Host: Human Faction: Yu Jing Status: Middle Agility 8, Awareness 10, Brawn 8, Coordination 8, Intelligence 9, Personality 10, Willpower 12 Skills: Acrobatics Expertise 1, Analysis Expertise 2 Focus 1, Athletics Expertise 1 Focus 1, Ballistics Expertise 1, Close Combat Expertise 2 Focus 2, Discipline Expertise 2 Focus 2, Education Expertise 1 Focus 1, Lifestyle Expertise 2 Focus 1, Medicine Expertise 1, Observation Expertise 2 Focus 2, Persuade Expertise 1, Stealth Expertise 1, Tech Expertise 2 Focus 2 Signature Skills: Tech, Observation, Close Combat Talents: Natural Engineer, Sharp Senses, Martial Artist, Deflection, Snap Diagnosis (-1 Difficulty for Tech rolls to diagnose problems, and when using Exploit actions, gain Piercing equal to Tech Focus on the next attack) Languages: Yujingyu, Cantonese Earnings: 2 Gear: AR Eye Implants, 2 Recorders, Light Combat Armor, 2 Combi Rifles, Sword of Office, Ye Ji Inspector Variant Light Combat Armor, Armored Clothing (Uniform), Powered Multitool, 1 Asset Traits: Criminal Connections, Old Wound Special: +1 Difficulty to social skill rolls with security or police services, +1 Complication range on Lifestyle rolls to blend in, Rival (Party New Wave) Age: 31 LP: 1 Honoka Yukishiro Host: Standard Lhost Faction: Yu Jing Status: Demogrant Agility 10, Awareness 11, Brawn 8, Coordination 7, Intelligence 11, Personality 7, Willpower 10 Skills: Athletics Expertise 1, Education Expertise 2 Focus 2, Discipline Expertise 2 Focus 1, Hacking Expertise 1 Focus 1, Lifestyle Expertise 2 Focus 1, Medicine Expertise 1 Focus 1, Observation Expertise 1, Persuade Expertise 2 Focus 1, Pilot Expertise 1 Focus 1, Psychology Expertise 1, Science Expertise 1 Focus 1, Stealth Expertise 1, Tech Expertise 2 Focus 1, Thievery Expertise 1 Focus 1 Signature Skills: Education, Science, Persuade Talents: Disciplined Student, Scientist, Charismatic, Hacker, Equivocator (when trying to deceive someone, get 2 bonus dice per Momentum spent) Languages: Yujingyu, Japanese Earnings: 4 Gear: Analytical Kit, Sensor Suite, Breaking & Entering Kit, Fake ID 2, Hacking Device, Adhesive Grenade, 2 Smoke Grenades, AR Eye Implants, AiQ Upgrade, Chongqing Quantronic Security Kit, Ki-rin Rifle, 5 Reagents, Debt (3 Assets) Traits: Debt of Gratitude, On the Watchlist, Space Sickness Special: Rival (Onishi Ninja Clan) Age: 32 LP: 0 Decision 9: Finishing Touches. David has had a meteoric rise through Yu Jing, but grown annoyed and disillusioned with at least his direct boss after being demoted and nearly killed in a live fire exercise. I would say his superiors, despite his excellent work, never trusted him completely due to his family's criminal ties. Honoka, meanwhile, has gone from career rebel and smuggler to powerful political figure in Great Japan. In this step, if the game is set post-Uprising, all Japanese characters must now choose either to defect or remain with Yu Jing. Anyone who remains Yu Jing gets -1 Social Status and -1 Earnings and the Trait Suspected Rebel. Anyone who swaps to GreaT Japan changes to Minor Nations faction and rolls randomly to determine their new social status, which doesn't change Earnings. (Except Honoka, because of her Kuge Aristocrat career.) Any Japanese character with the Dissident social status must defect to Great Japan in this way. David Han Host: Human Faction: Yu Jing Status: Middle Agility 8, Awareness 10, Brawn 9, Coordination 9, Intelligence 9, Personality 10, Willpower 12 Skills: Acrobatics Expertise 1, Analysis Expertise 2 Focus 1, Athletics Expertise 1 Focus 1, Ballistics Expertise 1 Focus 1, Close Combat Expertise 2 Focus 2, Discipline Expertise 2 Focus 2, Education Expertise 1 Focus 1, Lifestyle Expertise 2 Focus 1, Medicine Expertise 1, Observation Expertise 2 Focus 2, Persuade Expertise 1, Resistance Expertise 1, Stealth Expertise 1, Tech Expertise 2 Focus 2 Talents: Natural Engineer, Sharp Senses, Martial Artist, Deflection, Snap Diagnosis, Riposte (After a successful parry, you may make a standard attack as a Reaction against the person you parried) Languages: Yujingyu, Cantonese Earnings: 2 Gear: AR Eye Implants, 2 Recorders, Light Combat Armor, 2 Combi Rifles, Sword of Office, Ye Ji Inspector Variant Light Combat Armor, Armored Clothing (Uniform), Powered Multitool, 11 Assets Traits: Criminal Connections, Old Wound Special: +1 Difficulty to social skill rolls with security or police services, +1 Complication range on Lifestyle rolls to blend in, Rival (Party New Wave) Age: 31 Infinity Refresh: 3 Firewall: 9 Resolve: 14 Vigor: 10 Honoka Yukishiro Host: Standard Lhost Faction: Minor Nation (Great Japan) Status: Upper Agility 10, Awareness 11, Brawn 8, Coordination 7, Intelligence 11, Personality 9, Willpower 10 Skills: Athletics Expertise 1, Education Expertise 2 Focus 2, Discipline Expertise 2 Focus 1, Hacking Expertise 1 Focus 1, Lifestyle Expertise 2 Focus 1, Medicine Expertise 1 Focus 1, Observation Expertise 1, Persuade Expertise 2 Focus 1, Pilot Expertise 1 Focus 1, Psychology Expertise 1 Focus 1, Resistance Expertise 1, Science Expertise 1 Focus 1, Stealth Expertise 1, Tech Expertise 2 Focus 1, Thievery Expertise 1 Focus 1 Signature Skills: Education, Science, Persuade Talents: Disciplined Student, Scientist, Charismatic, Hacker, Equivocator, Magnetic Personality 1 (+X bonus Momentum on all Persuade rolls, where X is the level of the Talent) Languages: Yujingyu, Japanese Earnings: 4 Gear: Analytical Kit, Sensor Suite, Breaking & Entering Kit, Fake ID 2, Hacking Device, Adhesive Grenade, 2 Smoke Grenades, AR Eye Implants, AiQ Upgrade, Chongqing Quantronic Security Kit, Ki-rin Rifle, 5 Reagents, 6 Assets Traits: Debt of Gratitude, On the Watchlist, Space Sickness Special: Rival (Onishi Ninja Clan) Age: 32 Infinity Refresh: 2 Firewall: 12 Resolve: 12 Vigor: 9 From here, the book just has some NPC stats, so I am finally done with the biggest non-Combined Army assholes in the entire setting. Possibly with the exception of the Tohaa Illuminati Woo! The End. And I have a new Soulbound book to talk about this weekend!
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Feb 16, 2023 02:16
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Mors Rattus posted:
Looking forward to your impressions.
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Feb 16, 2023 02:24
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Mors Rattus posted:
Excellent. Looking forward to it.
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Feb 16, 2023 14:40
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Deviant: The Renegades, Chapter 3: Renegades (Pt. 2) Where were we? Right, acclimation. Acclimation is your power stat, an abstraction of how used you are to having variations and scars in your life. It starts at zero (though you can raise it a little at character creation) and gives you a flat bonus to basically every roll you make that has something to do with being a deviant. You really want acclimation because without it the aftermath of instability (which I’ll get to in a sec) will really bite you in the rear end, but low acclimation doesn’t have any inherent negative effects unlike a lot of WoD power stats. You can also choose a form around this time, essentially a variant ruleset that represents your character being something a little different from the rest; as a starting player you can choose amalgam (your character’s personality is actually composed of multiple minds fused during divergent process), self-made (you are your own progenitor), symbiont (your variations are all self-aware and might act out on their own), and transmissible (you can spread your diversions like a disease). None of them change gameplay dramatically but they all have some roleplay opportunities behind them; you can just take one if you want with storyteller approval. With that out of the way, you can work on your instability track. You start with five plus your acclimation boxes in the track, and minor, medium, and major instability accumulate and stack them exactly like bashing, lethal, and aggravated damage respectively. Minor instabilities build up quickly; you gain as many minor instabilities every session as the magnitude of your biggest variation (which means characters with powerful variations stack instability very quickly), as well as on dramatic failures while using variations and whenever you act against your loyalty or conviction. You gain medium instabilities really only when a loyalty touchstone dies, and the only way to get a major instability is to kill one of your loyalty touchstones yourself. Unfortunately, instability builds up fast – without a way to shed instability, a starting character who otherwise does nothing wrong but starts out with a relatively modest magnitude three variation will go from completely clean to dead in five sessions. On top of that, every instability in the last five boxes of a characters’ track (and remember, characters start out with only five boxes) inflict some pretty hefty penalties; minor instabilities give a cumulative dice penalty to scar resistance rolls, medium instabilities increase the magnitude of characters’ scars, and major instabilities give them brand-new scars of their choice.  Fortunately, there are ways to dump instability (losing the relevant penalties in the process), though they take focused roleplaying via loyalty and conviction. As you’ve probably guessed, loyalty and conviction replace the virtue and vice respectively from vanilla CofD (though you can actually pick up a virtue or vice later as a merit if you want). Starting characters get one loyalty touchstone and three conviction touchstones, plus whatever their origin gives them, and you can actually replace them pretty easily; once per session you can just declare something fills an open touchstones slot (at the cost of a roll to confirm that will give you a minor instability even if you succeed) and/or toggle a touchstone from one category to the other for free. The book tries to sell the latter as a way of mechanically representing deviants turning on people who betrayed them, but RAW it’s just as easy to switch a touchstone the other way; I get the impression this is supposed to represent the hosed-up relationships the book brought up earlier. You can actually use that mechanic to switch over enough touchstones that your loyalty rating exceeds your conviction rating to achieve something called catharsis, where you gain extra willpower every day and no longer take minor instability from your variations as long as that ratio sticks. On top of the beats and willpower boosts you get from indulging in touchstones like virtues and vices, acting on conviction will heal a minor instability or downgrade a medium instability once per scene, acting on loyalty will heal a minor or medium instability, and killing a conviction touchstone will remove any single instability outright. The only other ways to dump instability are losing minor instabilities by rolling exceptional successes on scar finesse or resistance rolls or taking a major instability-inflicted scar on as permanent, dumping that major instability. Actually, this brings up something I really should’ve talked about with scars. On top of whatever negative effect scars have, the first time any scar gets in a character’s way during a scene, that character takes a beat. While magnitude one scars have negative effects, they only kick in whenever the player decides to let them, giving a beat in the process. Magnitude one scars really aren’t penalties at all, just mechanical rewards for roleplaying. So, you remember how you can dump major instabilities by taking on the scars they give you permanently? The magnitude of each new instability-caused scar equals how many other instability-caused stars there are +1. Whenever you make one of these scars permanent, not only do you choose which scar you take, you can then attach variations to that scar as long as those variations fill up the scar’s magnitude. If I’m reading the rules right, with extremely careful play it’s possible to build up massive bevy of magnitude one scars that don’t meaningfully hamper characters but offer constant experience opportunities by shedding major instabilities at the exact right moment. You can then attach minor variations them at your leisure or just leave them floating. Granted, you can’t always pull this technique off and sometimes you might have to take an L, but the scar system is slightly less punishing than it appears.  Long story short, instability itself is unstable; it accumulates fast but you can dump it almost as quickly by conforming to genre expectations, which in itself is pretty good design. It does tightly constrain what your characters can do if they want to survive the whole campaign, but as the book later discusses, there’s a certain level of mortality assumed by the game that makes this less of an issue. But we’ll get to that. That’s the whole deviant template, and after that comes the rest of standard character creation. You take your merits next, and the book goes out of its way to define merits as an out-of-game resource with ingame effects; if you lose the benefits of a merit during gameplay, the points you spent on it get freed up to be spent as normal. While this book doesn’t have the full merits list that the CofD corebook has, it’s designed to be self-contained enough to use on its own, so it has enough merits to support the average character. WoD veterans will be interested to note that flaws have been eliminated and folded into merits; while many merits grant unambiguous bonuses, others place restrictions on character actions in exchange for commensurate benefits, stuff like activating your fight or flight instinct to give bonuses to one or the other or triggering yourself by remembering your captivity to learn something important about your experiences. It’s good, modern design, and it’s nice to see Onyx Path moving into the future like this. After merits you gather all the other miscellaneous things that go into making a CofD character, and it all works the same except for aspirations, which you only get one of as opposed to three (loyalty and conviction serve the same purpose and it’s not like deviants have the mental bandwidth plan too much for the future, anyway). After that you build everyone’s conspiracies (which the book details and the different chapter), and you’re done! Next up, I’ll build us our two new characters. Unfortunately, tomorrow I have to catch a flight across the country so I may not be able to post that update for a bit, but I have plenty to work on with two characters so who knows, I may not of been able to post anyway. We’ll play it by ear.
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Feb 16, 2023 20:29
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I think Deviant may have the most baffling White Wolf/Onyx Path book art yet.
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Feb 16, 2023 22:43
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Whoops, this got done early. Whatever, not like I'll be able to post tomorrow. Deviant: The Renegades, Character Creation (Pt. 1) Okay, first, an apology. I was wrong; you can’t connect any persistent scar to a variation; it has to be thematically connected or have a mechanical effect on the variation as it activates. No cravings for cranberry sauce here. I’m not perfect and my understanding of the rules aren’t perfect either, but I won’t have it said I don’t acknowledge my mistakes. That said, I’ve gone ahead and drawn up the first of two characters. Each will reflect some way I bend the game’s rules to exploit the mechanics in some way without actually breaking the letter and spirit of the rules, so I strongly encourage WoD vets look over my stat blocks and character analysis and tell me if there’s anything they see that seems out of place or that I missed. Those of you that aren't, feel free to skim it and not pay any attention to all my hard work, I don't care. Name: Janet Montreras Threat Level: Hyperplasia Concept: Former Fighter Pilot Out for Revenge Origin: Epimorph Clade: Invasive Forms: N/A Adaptations: Stubborn Resolve, Redundancy, Overclock Aspiration: Find where Danny Yoo lives Health: 8 Willpower: 5 Acclimation: 0 Speed: 10 Initiative: 6 Defense: 5 Attributes
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quote:Who wouldn’t have taken the chance? Janet had come far from the lean child of equally lean parents in poor urban El Paso, but she’d hit a dead end. Not everybody from her background could’ve made it all the way to fighter pilot, but while she was good, she wasn’t THAT good, and she knew it. No standout achievements, no talent for command, no special skills (aside from being good in a brawl)… She’d peaked and she wasn’t even 30. So when some weird-rear end black ops group came looking for volunteers, she leapt at the chance, signed some forms she probably shouldn’t have, and spent the next couple months screaming as they replaced her body parts one by one with swarms of nanomachines. Janet stumbled out of the experience a changed woman, the ambition that’d defined her life replaced by emptiness. She took the fat pension they offered as a bribe to keep her mouth shut, then quickly married her old friend and former squadmate Hal, settling in for a quiet life as a base wife. So, I built Janet in mind with a goal: I wanted to demonstrate just how dangerous you can make even a relatively low threat level character in the system. She’s kind of a one trick pony in combat, but it’s a hell of a trick. The first part of the equation lies in her variations. At the start of combat, she bumrushes the enemy. Normally this would be a risky move at best, but this is where the boneless/immunity combo comes in handy. She can sprint all the way out, reflexively turning into goop any time something hits her; by default the only things that do damage to a deviant using the liquid version of boneless are fire and electricity, and it just so happens the second magnitude of immunity gives blanket immunity to any two of a broad list of environmental hazards – including fire and electricity. Literally the only thing that can hurt her is another deviant or supernatural creature using a relevant power, and even then she’s got that invasive adaptation that lets her dump damage if she really needs it. If she’s under so much fire she can’t stand her human form at all, she can move her speed in goop mode just fine. Once she reaches her target, she just starts punching them with her lash until they fall over, gooping every time someone targets her and reconstituting herself whenever it’s time for her to deliver another punch. Her lash has the invasive modifier because it’s extremely potent. In-universe, she’s intentionally shedding nanobots on every hit that burrow into enemies on even glancing hits, so they have to have self-awareness to realize danger isn’t where it looks like it is to dodge her attack; out of universe, I’m willing to assume most thugs and heavies haven’t invested in the social resistance stat, so by switching out defense for composure like that I’ve effectively dropped their opposing rolls to my attacks by 1/3 to ½. If I were to play her, I’d add armor piercing capabilities and options that let me stun opponents as I level her, too. The other part of the equation is in Professional Training, an almost cartoonishly potent merit. Basically, you pick an area of expertise you might have plausibly gotten professional training, then choose two “asset skills” to act as anchors (the game doesn’t define what asset skills are, so I assume they just mean any two skills you choose). The second level of the merit gives you 9-again on rolls involving your asset skills – and since nothing was stopping me from taking athletics and brawling as my asset skills, that means dice on my attack and defense rolls now explode twice as often. The third dot gives me a bunch of specialties and a new asset skill, and the fourth gives me a new dot in an asset skill of my choice and a beat every time I improve one. Hell, even the first dot in the merit gives me two points worth of contacts. I don’t know what’s going on with that merit. Anyway, long story short I’ve made Janet here practically invulnerable in a fight against most enemies. Granted, she’s not perfect. Deviants ignore the benefits boneless gives her with their lashes or any other attacks bolstered by variations, so while she’s still a respectable martial artist while going up against a devoted optimized for combat, that scenario she’s not much better than any highly trained human. That sound weakness gives resourceful human enemies all kinds of options they can use to trap her in liquid state, and while they can’t hurt her when she’s like that, it’s not like she has a lot of offensive options as a puddle and they literally just have to scoop her up and put her in a jar to capture her. I also sacrificed a lot of out of combat utility on her, though she at least has some options when looking into the military (which is what she’s going to be doing all the time she isn’t fighting). Still, it is kind of telling that you can make a character that hard to kill at the second to lowest power level. Anyway, next time I use a shark girl to create an infinite circle of willpower points.
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Feb 17, 2023 02:43
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Some interesting things that build also highlights, that the DtR rules don't really address that well: - Immunity is Perpetual and Reflexive. Perpetual means it's always on. Reflexive means it can be activated reflexively instead of with an instant action...but: always on. So ??? Also there are numerous powers with this pair of keywords, so they didn't just raise this issue with Immunity. However: if you took Dependency as your scar, you can be the cranberry sauce addict you always wanted to be, anyway. And it's still Physical! - Christ, 1-dot Lash is weak. A funny thing that came up at my table is that RAW you can waste a Variation+Scar dot on "the ability to punch" (Bruising Brawl Lash, *, with the "Quick" effect (you can activate it reflexively; your hands are already in hand). On the other hand: 2-dot Lash, you just take Devastating as a +1 Magnitude modifier, for "the Lash now deals higher of Scar Power or Magnitude B/L" and you can pretty easily get a 4/5L weapon that's never more than an instant action (at worst) away. - I would actually argue Acclimation is a garbage power stat, for everything except the Instability stuff you outlined (and which, to your point, you can mitigate the issues with by slamming through low-Magnitude Scars). It caps at 5, starts at 0 (instead of the free 1 everyone else gets), and if you aren't using Directed variations and thus rolling it a lot, it's only going to come up for flipping on your power suite...when you're already getting a couple free dice from your Scar Finesse and Magnitude of that Variation. One small rules quibble on Alex Mack v2, if your Boneless is Magnitude 4 (3 base, +1 for the Defensive deviation you added to give it Reflexive) then the scar needs to be 4 overall as well, and currently your Involuntary Stimulus is 3 (2 base, +1 for Identifier). So you're looking at either making it Common for a +1 modifier (so like...any sound. Deviants!) Uncontrollable (you can ONLY go goo if someone's blowing an airhorn in your face), or Unpredictable (sound AND ST fiat 1/session). Any of which make for a really fun time, when having a 3-base Involuntary Stimulus means you get both "this always triggers the variation unless you succeed on Scar Resistance" and "you can't turn it off while the stimulus remains." The good news is, if this character was built at just a sliiiiightly higher power level, you'd be able to take Monstrous Transformation, and either bundle Boneless with Immunity (at a higher level, no less!) under a single mega-scar with one activation, and still be able to squeeze in other things, since the rules only care that half your Variations are from either in-Clade or universal.
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Feb 17, 2023 05:38
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Seems like the easiest way to make a full conversion Borg in Deviant would be an Invasive with Anomalous Biology, where depending on the rating you can go without food or sleep and be immune to poison, disease, bleeding and other stuff that effects biologicals. It’s a Mutant-specific variation, but as we said earlier, the allowance for taking non-Clade Variations is very generous
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Feb 17, 2023 19:59
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 Joylessdivisions World of Dorkness Presents Changeling: The Dreaming 1st edition review  Welcome back to another deep dive into the World of Darkness. Today we’re flinging ourselves back into the mid-90's, specifically 1995. 1995 was a pretty cool year, I was nine years old, and Hollywood was cranking out some serious hits, we had Seven, Heat, The Usual Suspects, Casino and Friday all released this year, as well as some of my personal favorites, Tank Girl, Showgirls, Ghost in the Shell and Mortal Kombat. This was also the year that I learned that things I’m excited for can suck extremely hard, looking at you Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. Never had I known such disappointment from a film, and as the realization slowly dawned on me as I sat in my living room, Little Caesar's pizza in hand watching 90 minutes of incomprehensible garbage unfold before my eyes, I learned the hard lesson we all must learn, that sometimes things we love are garbage. But 1995 was also full of some fantastic music, we all sang along to Gangsters Paradise and Waterfalls and I will fight you if you try to argue This Is How We Do It isn’t still a bop. Meet me behind the Wendy’s after school sucker. But most of my memories of 1995, like a lot of my memories of childhood are a bit of a blur of excitement about upcoming movies, new games I saw advertised in comic books and long summer days spent riding my bike around town with my best friend or being holed up in a house with an SNES or Genesis controller in hand, screaming the worst words a nine year old could get away with while getting my rear end handed to me in Mortal Kombat 3 or Young Indiana Jones Adventures. Why am I talking about my long-gone childhood here in the introduction of a World of Darkness game review? Because we are looking at Changeling: The Dreaming, a game focused on the imagination and the bittersweet loss of childhood innocence. First let’s begin as we always do, with the cover.  $25.00 sticker price ($48.01 adjusted for 2023 inflation) The back cover reads: “Judge us not by our seemings For we are never what we appear. Come hither, changelings And join the dream-dance, Lest the winter come And the dreaming pass Into memory. Recall your heritage! Let the games begin!” If the front cover art and the back of the book didn’t tip you off, this is going to be a vastly different look at the World of Darkness than what we’ve been exposed to so far. Changeling the Dreaming Credits: By: Mark Rein-Hagen, Sam Chupp, Ian Lemke with Joshua Gabriel Timbrook Design: Mark Rein-Hagen, Sam Chupp, Ian Lemke with Joshua Gabriel Timbrook Design contributors: Deirdre Brooks, Earle (Glas) Duboraw, Rob Dizon, Robert Martin Development: Ian Lemke Storyteller System: Mark Rein-Hagen Development Contributors: Robert Hatch, Jennifer Hartshorn, Phil Brucato Words: Deirdre Brooks, Phil Brucato, Jackie Cassada, Sam Chupp, Richard Dansky, Jennifer Hartshorn, Robert Hatch, Ian Lemke, Robert Martin, Nicky Rea, Mark Rein-Hagen, Kathleen Ryna Editing: Robert Hatch, Ken Cliffe Proofreading: Ken Cliffe, Robert Hatch, Ian Lemke, Laura Perkinson, Devid Remy, Ethan Skemp, Cynthia Summers, Joshua Gabriel Timbrook Index: Ian Lemke, Ethan Skemp Art Director: Richard Thomas Conceptual Designer: Joshua Gabriel Timbrook Art: Stuart Beel, Mike Chaney, John Cobb, Brian Dugan, Jason Felix, Lee Fields, Mark Jackson, Brian Le Blanc, Jeff Miracola, Nick Ruskin, Alex Sheikman, Richard Thomas, Joshua Gabriel Timbrook Front Cover Art: Henry Higgenbotham Cover Design: Ash Arnett Full Page Art: Tony Diterlizzi Typesetting and Layout: Aileen E. Miles White Wolf Game Studio Play Testers: Mark Rein-Hagen, Sam Chupp, Ian Lemke, Phil Brucato, Aileen E. Miles, Rob Hatch, Joshua Gabriel Timbrook, Danny Landers, Kathleen Ryan Play Testers: Assorted folk. Once again, we’re robbed of the White Wolf roll call, but considering it was missing from the Wraith corebook and then returned for Necropolis: Atlanta, I can only assume that the practice was pushed off to the sourcebooks to save on word space. When the book is clocking in at 287 pages, and full color, I have to assume that space was a premium and the fun, but unnecessary roll call was culled from the corebooks for this reason. Table of Contents: Preface: The Dreamer Book One: Childling Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Setting Chapter 3: Storytelling Book Two: Wilder Chapter 4: Rules Chapter 5: Character Chapter 6: Traits Book Three: Grump Chapter 7: Glamour Chapter 8: Systems Chapter 9: Drama Appendix Preface: Never, Never Grow Up....... We open with a pair of questions: “Why do we grow up?” and “Why do we leave our childhood behind?” The preface touches on these two questions, explaining that while as children we yearn to be “Grown-ups”, as adults we just as desperately yearn for the innocence and fantasy of our youths. But what is it that we’re searching for as adults when we think back on those times gone by? Are we trying to recapture our innocence, our sense of wonder and imagination that comes to children so easily? As adults our focus is on survival, getting through the next day and paying bills, with little time to let our imaginations wander freely. As adults, we don’t dream the way we once did, we no longer believe in the magic of the fantastical. As children we were more open and freer in our imagination, exploring fantastic worlds with imaginary friends and though it was all fantasy, it held a shred of reality for us. For Changelings, the fantasy is reality, and the loss of imagination is death. Stories are woven into their very being, as they are as much part of the stories they tell as the stories are part of them. The fear of growing up is a constant struggle for Changelings, and it is this fear that brings the most harm to them, as learning to fear is part of growing up, a concept antithetical to Changelings. While our lives are spent in the world of the mundane, a Changelings life is a sort of mirror to our own lives, though we may only allow ourselves to slip into and embrace fantasy and whimsy on occasion, it is the world in which they live and breathe, only occasionally grounding themselves in the mundane. Roleplaying is a way of exploring our dreams, and because of this it is belittled by many adults as a frivolous pursuit, though fantasy still has an important place in our lives just as it does for the Changelings. Anything is possible, if you believe. The remaining preface is entitled “On Being Kithain” and while the overall visual style it is presented in, as sheets of handwritten paper on a desk or table surrounded by various items and oddities is really interesting and mood setting, the actual text itself is a bit challenging to read, as either they had someone hand write out this entire segment or they used a font that resembles a cursive script, as well as bits of the writing being obscured by items laying on the page. While I really like the visual style of this intro, it is on par with Wraith for a difficult to read introduction to the setting. The other bit off weirdness with this intro is that it is addressed to an NPC named David, and as I share a name with this NPC, it’s both unnerving and charming that this introduction seems to be addressing me specifically. I’m also incredibly amused by some of the items, as there is a Les Miserable T-shirt, a signed photo of Dr. Bashir from DS9 and several Lorena McKennitt albums. My boss at a tiny independent bookstore with an emphasis on metaphysical and magic books that I worked at many, many years ago, once said to me “You know you’re Dad mentioned liking Lorena McKennitt to me the other day, and I thought the only people who listened to her were pagans and lesbians.” I had a good laugh because the only reason I had heard McKennitt was through my Moms, so at least the lesbian's part of that equation held true. There is also a lovely drawn map of North America and part of Mexico in this section, with various kingdoms listed across the map and the name “Concordia” on the bottom of the map.  Book One: Childling Opening with a bit of fiction from the perspective of a Childling on their Sainday, we learn our narrator and their fellow Childlings went to the park that afternoon and played for hours until they had to return to court. We close our fiction with the following: “Today is my Sainday. I forgot what number I’ve gotten to, but I managed to be the youngest again. It is a big responsibility to be the youngest. People might think it is an easy job, but it takes hard work because you have to play all the time. Sometimes I would rather be big because it’s less hard work” Ah the innocence of youth. Before we begin chapter 1, we are treated to a beautiful full-page image of a Sidhe changeling bearing a sword. These full-page pieces are sprinkled throughout the book, and they are all gorgeous works, which is saying something considering some of the other truly fantastic art in this book. This is also the first time we’ve had a WoD corebook presented in full color and it absolutely elevates both the art and the vibe the book is trying to get across.  Chapter One: Introduction  We begin our introduction chapter with a few paragraphs explaining what Changeling is about, that it is a storytelling game about the Dreaming, and that this game depicts the invisible world of fantasy that exists alongside our own, a world of delight, mystery and enormous perils. The themes of the game are lost innocence and the cynicism of adulthood, and through playing Changeling we will learn that fairy tales aren’t just for children (which they never were) and that they often do not have happy endings. About This Book Changeling is a game of make-believe, though not a game in the traditional sense of winners and losers, but a game more focused on the art of storytelling. This is very much the usual sort of About segment that has been in each of the corebooks and as such I don’t have a ton to say about it. You’ve read one “About this book” segment of a WoD corebook, you’ve essentially read them all. Changeling Kind Changelings lead a double life, alternating between reality and fantasy, caught in the middle ground of dreaming and wakefulness, neither wholly Fae nor wholly Mortal, yet burdened with the concerns of both. Finding a balance between these two worlds is essential if a Changeling is to remain whole. Of course, this synthesis is not easy, and how could it be, the affairs of mortal life seem trivial when standing among the ageless Seelie Court, or donning garments spun from pure moonlight. How could you go back to such mundane things as polyester after that? Unfortunately for Changelings, they have no choice, though their Fae souls are ageless and eternal, their mortal minds and bodies continue to grow older and less resilient to the slings and arrows of the mundane adult world. Sooner or later, nearly every Changeling faces one of two grim fates: succumbing to Banality and the loss of their Fae magic, or Bedlam and the loss of their mortal reason and sanity. But is this fate inevitable? Can you retain your child-like wonder while fighting against cruel Banality and its power to rob you of your magic and memories of who you truly are? Can you ride the waves of the Dreaming without being swept out into the riptide of Bedlam? Tragically, you are alone in the world, as no mortal can truly understand who and what you are. Some attempt to express themselves through art and music, but only those of Fae blood will truly see, truly understand and appreciate you for what you are. Welcome to the Dreaming. Storytelling The usual paragraphs that we’ve seen in the previous corebooks, that before modern forms of entertainment like TV and Movies, we told stories to each other via oral tradition. With the continuing advancements in technology, we have become more passive in our interactions with stories, instead of telling them ourselves, we let others tell them for us, trading our own imaginations and dreams for those that have been packaged up and presented to us through a screen. Roleplaying Again, we’re presented with the typical explanation of what roleplaying games are, that Changeling has its essential rules provided in chapter 4, and that while this game can be played with any number of players, generally roleplaying games work best with smaller groups of a max 6 players, as this allows every player a chance to shine. The Storyteller The storyteller runs the game and handles the adjudication of rules, as well providing the players with the world, characters and events that they will encounter in their journeys. Players The folks who have agreed to gather round a table (or webcam in our dystopian future) and roll some dice and tell a collaborative tale of adventure and mystery. Characters More of the same information that we’ve seen in the previous corebooks about what characters are, and that it should only take about a half hour to create a character on paper, but the work of bringing that character to life beyond the numbers on the page will take more effort with additional details about character creation provided in Chapter Five. Winners and Losers There are no winners or losers in the traditional sense we think of regarding games. In Changeling games, each player is working towards the same goal of survival in a world fraught with dangers, and the petty squabbling amongst characters does more to doom them all than leading any singular character towards a victory. Victories in the form of accomplishing goals is the closest to “Winning” a player or group of players can hope for. Playing Aids Changeling is intended for play around a table or other flat surface to allow for the rolling of dice and the use of pencils and paper. 10-sided dice are required to play and as always, Storytellers are encouraged to bring any additional items to the table that they feel will enhance the atmosphere of the game. Live-Action While designed for the table, Changeling can also be played in a live-action (or LARP) format, with formal rules provided in the Mind's Eye Theater line of products from White Wolf Studios. Rules The very basics of how to play Changeling as a LARP are provided, with the emphasis being placed on the safety of all players. -Don’t Touch: Combat should never be performed in a LARP and should be left to dice rolls or the rules provided in the previously mentioned MET products. -No Weapons: No real weapons should ever be brought to the game, as well as props that require touching another player to be effective should be avoided. There is a note that even toy guns are off the table and should not be used, with a reminder that the “Don’t Touch” rule is always in effect. -Play Inside: Play either in your house or somewhere private, it’s the polite thing to do and you don’t want to scare the normies. -Know when to stop: When the Storyteller calls for a time-out, everything needs to stop. Even in a LARP (especially in a LARP) the ST’s word is final. Lexicon Broken into three groups, “Common Parlance”, “Vulgar Argot” and “Old Form”, each group provides a series of in-universe terms that will be used throughout the book and are intended to be used by both the players and the ST. Common Parlance begins with Arcadia – The Land of the Fae and home of all Faeries in The Dreaming and ending with Yearning – AKA: “The Gloomies”, the Yearning is the utter longing for Arcadia that overcomes grumps as Banality encroaches upon them. Vulgar Argot begins with Churl – A vassal; an insult when used to describe a Noble and concluding with Sots – Mundane people, “Sothead” and “Sotbrain” are popular epithets. Old Form begins with Burgess- A mortal; sometimes used to refer to commoners and ending with Voile- Chimerical clothing, garb or jewelry. Structurally this is absolutely the same introduction chapter that has been in each of the previous corebooks, covering the absolute basics of the game being presented with just enough flavor related to the game being discussed to make it all work. I am very amused by “The Gloomies”, it’s goofy but it fits the childlike vibe the game is aiming for and isn’t the worst way to describe the feeling of realizing you’re getting old that we all face.  Hold onto your butts because we’re about to go deep into the world of Changelings with  Chapter Two: Setting Changelings are exiles, born of Arcadia but trapped in the mundane, dangerous and cruel mortal World of Darkness. This chapter details both the setting of the game as well as the society of the Kithain and the mindset of the Changelings, the kingdoms, freeholds, monsters and dangers born of imagination and creativity. The World of Darkness The World of Darkness is a place that is hauntingly familiar to our own but differs in that it is a world blighted with ancient malignancies and ever creeping, lengthening shadows. It is a place where our worst fears walk among us. Here, acid rain bites the skin, the darkness draws deep around the crumbling streets of the cities. It is a place where even simple acts of kindness are almost heroic, a place where suicide hotlines ring without answer, drugs are rampant and children vanish without warning, never to be seen again. It is a world where pain is a welcome reminder that you are alive, still fighting to see another sunrise, and the Fae are not excluded from this overwhelming darkness and tragedy. Many Kithain are born, live and die never knowing their true nature, trapped in their mortality and bound tightly to the world they perceive around them. Worst of all, are those that have awakened to their true nature, and are either consumed with the crushing weight of Banality, the grinding force of the mundane, or being driven mad by the answers they seek. Others choose to reject their heritage all together, locking away their Fae nature in fear. Despite all this tragedy and horror, all is not lost. A few Kithain still believe, and dream that things can be better, they are the Kithain who have not succumbed to the darkness that threatens to devour them, and though they have been soiled by the ugliness of the world, they also bear the seeds of truth and beauty within. Gothic-Punk Truth and Beauty. Truth was once defined by the cycle of life, and Beauty by its diversity. Once upon a time, the world and its counterpart were one, a time when Truth and Beauty were the two faces of the same coin. The quest for beauty has been replaced with self-pity and self-serving art that glorifies the darkness within us all. In this world our eyes see little difference between the truly beautiful and the truly grotesque. Those that seek beauty are those with no hope, those that see the mystery of Death as a beautiful thing. In the World of Darkness, Despair is the only beauty left. Truth is found in the words spoken from behind a raised fist or gun, uttered by nihilists with nothing to lose. Most in this world do not want to hear truth, instead satisfied with the escape that the cacophony and noise that media can provide. The only ones who speak truth are those who admit their own despair. Gothic-Punk in this case speaks of the modern ideals of truth and beauty, of twisted beauty that becomes Truth and violent truth becomes Beauty. These blurred lines are the essence of Gothic-Punk. Into this chaos are cast the exiled children of dreams, set to unravel the lines and limits, and while they too bear the marks and scars of this Gothic-Punk world, what is only philosophy and fashion to others, is all too real for the Kithain. Having now read and reviewed three previous explanations of the World of Darkness as a setting, I must admit I really, really enjoyed the way it is presented here in Changeling. The bit about truth and beauty is a bit more purple prose than it needs to be, and I while I get the gist of what they’re trying to say there, it feels a bit overindulgent on the author’s part. Having said that, the rest of the explanation of the setting is great, and while the basic framework of “Players vs the greater world around them” is one that is at the core of each of the games, Changelings feel unique in that they are not confined to the bleak horrors that the Kindred or even Garou must face. It’s not like Changelings have it easy, but for as hopeful as Wraith was, this game really drives the idea of hope in a hopeless world to the forefront through the dramatic dichotomy of the characters and the world around them. Arcadia Through the mists of our world, is the land of Arcadia, home of the Fae. Arcadia is the polar opposite of the World of Darkness as we understand it, a place of hope, wonder, beauty and peace, a place existing within the Dreaming, though standing as its own realm within the greater realm of the Dreaming. Arcadia holds all the ancient lands of Faerie where most Fae still live and is the place from which all Fae originated. A blessed land, Arcadia is the font of Dreaming and where all Kithain seek to return, whether they’ll admit it or not. None on Earth can truly speak to what Arcadia is like, as all Earth born Fae lose their memories of the place, though legends speak of breathtaking beauty and magical majesty. It is an Eden for the Kithain, and as distant as any Heaven. Born of Myth Born of the Dreaming and shaped by the stories of thousands of bards, Faries are creatures born of myths, creative imagination personified, stories given life. Whenever a new story is told, a Faerie is born. They are the embodiment of countless stories and are given form in their creator's images. Though they long ago broke free of the confines of their creators, the Kithain are still fascinated by them, or more succinctly, us. A History of the Dreaming Provided is the summation of Fae history, as sung by the bards of High King David. The Sundering Once upon a time, the world was filled with light just as it was filled with shadows. Death, pain and sadness still existed, but they were parts of a greater whole, and the world of the Dreaming and the world of Mortals was one, no boundaries between. Magic pervaded both worlds. Everything was in harmony as part of the cycle of life, and the Fae moved and lived freely among mortals, largely unseen and carrying the song of the Dreaming with them. They danced, played tricks and beguiled humanity. It was a time when the Dreaming was accessible from anywhere in the material world, and the Fae moved at will between the realms. Then came the Sundering, and the two worlds were torn apart. None know for sure what caused the Sundering, as it began in the mythic age before records were kept. For reasons unknown, Humanity gradually turned from truth and beauty and shut the Dreaming out of their hearts. With the severing of the worlds, the Dreaming was left broken and drifting. The Fae could still travel between the realms, however, to do so now was fraught with dangers. Many chose to live wholly in the material world, while others chose to remain forever in the Dreaming. The pain caused by the Sundering was great, and distrust, anger and fear began to spring up between Humans and Fae, and as humanity pushed the Dreaming further and further away, the Fae grew more isolated, frustrated and alienated. As it was on Earth, so too did war, death, flood, famine and pain spread across Arcadia. As humanity waded through its own hubris, new Fae were born of the stories told in this reforged world, and these Fae were cast in the molds of their tormented human dreamers. Arcadian Kings, kingdoms, knights and lords emerged. Tir-na-N'og Some have described the Sundering as a great tidal wave that swept across the world, possibly originating in Mesopotamia and then sweeping east or west until mostly dissipating by the time it reached the lands of North and South America. It was in these lands that the Dreaming remained closer to the material world than anywhere else on earth. Because of this remaining connection, many beautiful fortresses and places of Fae power were built, created from the materials of this world and from Glamour, the magic of the Dreaming. The Fae built an empire in this new world, calling it Tir-na-N’og or The Summerlands, a place of peace and beauty. The mortals who lived in these lands knew of Tir-na-N’og and respected it, allowing for denizens of the Dreaming to continue to walk amongst humanity and imparting their wisdom and magic. Some Kithain who lived in Tir-na-N'og sometimes performed rituals of Glamour to bless humanity with children of the Fae. The Age of Travel While the Sundering had made traveling between the worlds more difficult, it was not impossible, and gradually the old “trods” or walking paths between the worlds were rediscovered, allowing for slightly easier travel between the realms. These Faerie gates became the sources of many legends and tales, with the most powerful, Silver’s Gate, residing in the powerful Fae freehold of The Court of All Kings. Reawakened trods became a hot commodity in both worlds, but especially among the Fae who lived on Earth, as they fought for trade and congress with their brethren in the Dreaming. These passageways were held open until disbelief became too strong to support them. Banality, the anathema of the Dreaming was born of Humanity turning from imagination to cold logic. In time, trods became more difficult to navigate, with some only opening on special days. Ultimately, most closed permanently and the Kithain left on Earth were forced to bide their time until an opportunity to return home arose. Ireland Despite the Sundering, there were some lands beyond Tir-na-N'og where the connection between Kithain and humanity remained strong. Ireland and parts of the British Isles, humanity and the Kithain created pacts, intermarrying and continuing to share stories and cattle. Occasionally Fae even took mortal children and replaced them with Fae children. These children grew up with no knowledge of their true nature until their people came to claim them. Oh look, the first time we’re actually referencing Changelings in the context of their mythological origin as baby stealers. Which is a pretty hosed up story, even in the World of Darkness. The Shattering While the Sundering had begun the severing of worlds, it culminated in the Shattering, the point at which the material world and the Dreaming was completely severed, occurring around the outbreak of the Black Plague and just before the Renaissance when the first vestiges of rationality were born and began to spread across Europe. This was a time of fundamental change in human belief that would crescendo in the Age of Enlightenment, though these early birth pains were enough to mark the end of the Fae’s power on Earth. With the Shattering came the terrible choice that all Fae had to face, find the last remaining Fae refuges and hide away indefinitely, embracing a material existence to survive on Earth, or flee back to Arcadia. Most of the noble Kithain of Earth fled back to Arcadia in fear of the deadly corrupting force of Banality, while the commoners, such as Eshu, Trolls and Boggans were trapped and forced to adapt. The remaining gates to Arcadia, even those that would never open again, shattered. Silver’s Gate was the final gate to fall. With the Shattering so came Banality, sweeping across the lands like a ravenous wolf, devouring all things of Glamour. Those that could make it to heavily protected freeholds survived in isolation while the rest took refuge in mortal forms that would allow them to survive the cold wind of reason and logic. With the noble Sidhe gone, the commoners were left to adapt as they could. Interregnum The name given to the time following the Shattering, the Sidhe were gone, and the commoner Fae hid from humanity or clustered together in tight knit bands. Lacking any social structure, the Earthbound Fae concealed their true nature from Banality, the world and each other. Those that found difficulty in adapting to the village and town life of humanity at the time became wanderers, some joining or forming traveling circuses, finding refuge, disguise and a home amongst the freaks ubiquitous to such shows. Many a commoner tradition was born of these years on the road, and some of these Fae circuses were the first Motleys, societies of common Fae, whose traditions continue to this day. In the freeholds, a new class of non-Sidhe nobles arose as the commoners took over the mantels of authority that the Sidhe had abandoned. To mortals, the Fae that had taken mortal form were freaks and madmen, and this time can be considered a Dark Age of the Fae, but a golden age for humanity. The Concord The Shattering drew into stark focus the challenges the exiled Fae faced, and because survival was so difficult, the Seelie and Unseelie, two rival Fae courts came to an unprecedented agreement: cessation of hostilities and allowing both sides to pass through the others lands in peace. This truce was dubbed The Concord and has survived to the present. Because of the Concord, present day Kithain society is built upon both Seelie and Unseelie concepts. Law and Chaos, Honor and Madness exist together. The Accordance War Trods that had been closed by the coming of reason remained dormant for centuries, making reaching the Dreaming impossible until humanity once again opened its mind to wonder and curiosity. It wasn’t until 1969 and the moon landing that the sheer force of imagination of the people of Earth was enough to trigger a great stream of Glamour to flow back into the ancient pathways and lost freeholds. This was called the Resurgence. With this sudden reconnection between worlds, noble Fae who had fled to Arcadia returned to Earth. “Something” happened in Arcadia that caused the exile of five of the thirteen noble houses from the Dreaming, though these exiled nobles forgot the reason for their actions and their subsequent punishment, as loss of memory is a side effect of contact with Earth. Undeterred, these nobles set out to make the best of their exile and move to stake their claim in the reinvigorated Earth. A call was made to all earthbound Kithain, return from hiding and serve your “Masters”. Previously lost freeholds were retaken by the nobles and in short order, the ancient kingdoms of the Fae had fallen back into place. The re-establishment of the Sidhe nobility meant the imposition of their laws. The society of the Kithain post Shattering was changed dramatically from a paranoid, nomadic wandering to one of Neo feudalism. The Arcadian Fae society, full of nobles jockeying for positions of power, was now imposing itself on the commoner Fae society that had evolved in its own ways. In an attempt to restore their authority, the exiled nobles staged what became known as the “Beltane Night of Iron Knives Massacre”, a night when many commoner leaders were destroyed with cold iron. This triggered the Accordance War, where commoners rose up against their noble oppressors. Though many Kithain were destroyed during this three year civil war, in the end the commoners had won the recognition of their rights by the nobles. Because of the aid of so many commoners in solidifying the Sidhe’s control of freeholds, the nobles were forced to recognize the influence and power of the commoners, and an emancipation of sorts took place, kings were forced to appoint councils and groups of commoner advisors, as other nobles had to appoint commoners to their courts as representatives of their people. Today, per the traditions of the exiled Sidhe, rule is decided by who swears fealty to whom, though commoners are no longer ignored in the order of things. It’s not unheard of for a commoner to rise above their station and join the ranks of the nobility, though they are never completely treated as equals.  The Rise of High King David The peace that followed the Accordance War was achieved partially through mutual tolerance, and predominantly through the rise of High King David, the embodiment of each side's ideals and cause. Born in upstate New York in the early 60’s, David was Sained (put in touch with his Fae nature) at a young age. He grew up with his sister Morwen in the home of True Thomas, grand bard of the Fae who had taken in several childlings during the war. The war chief Lord Dafyll ruled the returned nobility during the war, fighting the commoners in every part of the Americas, conquering regions in a methodical fashion from the west coast to the east. His campaign climaxed in Manhattan, where the 4th Troll Commons Infantry made its last stand. As the battle in Strawberry Fields spilled out into street by street skirmishes, Lord Dafyll was forced to call a retreat and fell back to the Times Square subway station where he was cut down with a blade of cold iron. Having stood their ground and repelled further Sidhe attacks, the commoners were free to search the station for Dafylls prized sword, Caliburn. While the plan was to use this as a rallying symbol for their army and as a weapon for their cause, it is unknown if Dafyll hid the sword, but the commoners were unable to find it. With the death of Dafyll came a power struggle amongst the Sidhe, allowing the commoners to make New York City their bastion. When it was discovered that noble Fae were hiding in upstate New York, assassins were dispatched. True Thomas and his charges barely escaped, making their way to New York City on New Year's Eve to hide in plain sight. Unfortunately for Thomas, a Redcap patrol recognized him in the crowd and the old bard was forced to defend his charges with his Cantrips and staff. David slipped away, beckoned by a call he could not refuse. He returned shortly to the scene of battle, Caliburn in hand, and fought to defend his patron. Despite being unskilled with the weapon, the sight of the child wielding the glowing sword was enough to unnerve the Redcaps. Thomas called out “Behold! Thou dost look upon thy King!” How David came upon the sword is still unknown to this day, and word of the long prophesied king had finally arrived began to spread among the nobility of the East Coast. Thomas brought the boy, sword in hand, to the Kingdom of Apples and the court of Queen Mab. She was unimpressed, and when ordering her servants to remove the boy from the throne room, a great griffin materialized around the boy and cradled him in its wings. The Griffin also foretold was enough for Mab to recognize David as High King. For the next few years, David and Morwen lived in Caer Loon in the Kingdom of Apples. Despite meeting political and military resistance from other nobles, David was eventually pronounced High King following a royal lottery and won the support of both noble and commoner by appealing to the values of both groups. The nobility he had defeated in combat could not deny his power as was their custom, and David’s egalitarian attitude won over the commoners whom he gave consideration and a voice to. His reign marked the embodiment of noble and commoner needs that lead to a tenuous peace that lasts to this day. In recognition of his achievements, David named his North American kingdom Concordia. Today, stories of High King David, who rules from Tara-Nar, a fortress of his own making abound. His wisdom and honor are legendary, Caliburn at his side. Morwen serves as ruler when David is absent from court. The Kithain of Concordia live under his benevolent rule, though there are quiet voices that dissent, most subjects of the kingdom are content. In Concordia, the Fae thrive and are afforded the opportunity to understand and live with one another.  The Nature of the Fae Changelings exist in a world created of the filaments of dream, and despite living among mortals, no human can truly understand what the Kithain’s secret, or Dreaming lives, are like. Chimera Like children in a playground, the Kithain live in a world of imagination, however unlike children, what a Kithain believes can become real. The unconscious mind of the Kithain shapes the very matter of dreams into something they and they alone can understand. These are called Chimera, as they exist only for those of the Dreaming. Chimera can be objects (weapons or magical treasures), creatures (often monstrous) and places (flying castles or archways in forests). Chimera are capable of a degree of intelligence, with some chimerical beings having the ability to speak. The reality of the Fae is composed almost entirely of Chimera. Glamour As much as Changelings are made of stories, they are also made of Glamour, the mystical, elemental power of fantasy and fancy. Chimera are the “Physical” manifestation of dreams and imagination, Glamour is what gives them life and animates them, as well as the Dreaming itself. When a Changeling draws upon the power of Glamour, they are drawing from the very essence of the Dreaming. This power can be used to not only change the Dreaming, but also material reality. Glamour is what allows the Kithain to evoke their magical powers and cast Cantrips. While Glamour is invisible to the mortal eye, (because we do not believe in it), the Kithain have an innate ability to sense it, allowing them to recognize and see things that are of the Fae that may be hidden to mundane eyes. This power is known as faerie sight or Kenning, allowing the Kithain to recognize each other as well as when Glamour has been used as well as sources of Glamour. While all Kithain have some innate ability with Kenning, those who practice the Kenning Talent (chapter 6) can use it freely. Glamour is a rare and precious resource in the World of Darkness, and the Kithain covet it and jealously guard sources of it when found. Banality When humanity shut the Dreaming out of their collective hearts, a scourge of disbelief swept the world. Hope, trust and imagination were replaced with reason, pessimism and scrutiny. Known as the “Endless Night” this rejection of magic and fantasy resulted in the force known as Banality, the antithesis of the Dreaming and Glamour. Where Glamour invigorates and stimulates the imagination, Banality instead deadens the imagination and spreads apathy, callousness and close-mindedness. Banality is the blanket with which the mortals of the World of Darkness have chosen to wrap around themselves to protect against and survive the horrors of the world they exist in. By dismissing hope and faith, humanity insulates itself from the pain of failure, and by shutting out mystery and dreams, they suppress fear, in turn deadening beauty and wonder. While Banality is not a conscious force, it’s power to block Fae magic from the world has made it the greatest villain the Kithain have ever faced, and one they are nearly powerless to stop. Banality reads like a much better thought out version of Paradox, in that you can do your cool magical powers, but you’re also not going to get something showing up out of the aether to beat the poo poo out of you and dump you in the bad kids corner for engaging with the magic element of the game. The Undoing When a Kithain becomes too rooted in the world of humanity that their Fae nature is suppressed, they are consumed by Banality, removing all memory of their true nature and leaving nothing more than a mundane human. This is known as the Undoing and it is a scourge. Hiding the Scourge To survive the terrible power of Banality, the Kithain learned to conceal themselves in mundane forms, such as trees, animals and humans. By weaving their Glamour into their new forms, the Kithain have been able to assume these new likenesses known as “Seemings”. Over the years, the Kithain have perfected these disguises, allowing them to be nearly indistinguishable from the mortals they emulate. Through their seemings, most Kithain have adapted and learned to not only hide from but coexist with Banality. Only those who have just arrived on Earth seem to have trouble with Banality in a day-to-day sense. Even the most well adapted Kithain still fears Banality and its terrible power. The Kithain first discovered that escaping Banality was possible through assuming the guise of mortal infants and children, replacing the mortals in the material world (while the mortal children themselves were transported to Arcadia). By entering the material world in this way, the Kithain have been able to grow as mortals without triggering Banality. This is the most common way that the Sidhe come to Earth. Okay, second time we reference swapping babies, and I like that the authors just hand wave it away with “oh the mortal kids get sent to the Dreaming” as if that makes the kidnapping and replacement any better. Which it doesn’t, I mean sure the kids who get taken to the Dreaming are probably living the Lost Boys life but I’m almost certain that the Lost Boys had a choice in going to Neverland and weren’t just kidnapped to hang out forever with Peter Pan. Commoners, who have mostly adapted to existence in the material world post Shattering, instead are reborn into mortal families (typically families that carry Fae blood) when their previous body passes away. The Kithain spirit joins the souls of the unborn and the two are fused, thus commoner Kithain grow up as humans with no memories of their Fae origins. Some of these Kithain live and die as mortals, completely unaware of their true natures, while others discover their Fae natures through an event known as the Chrysalis. I will never understand White Wolf’s bizarre attempts at working breeding and hereditary elements into their games. I mean I understand for the Garou they need to further their species and all that, but why are Changelings theoretically loving mortals? Especially when their just stealing kids and replacing them? Whatever, Fae blooded mortals are a thing I guess because it’s the World of Darkness and it’s a loving weird place. The Mists The Mists of Forgetfulness (The Mists from here out) is one of the greatest curses inflicted by Banality. It clouds the minds of the Kithain on earth, locking their memories of Arcadia and their past lives away from them. Because Earthborn Kithain have assumed mortal form, they are limited by that form, and anything they have experienced prior to assuming that form is forgotten. These Kithain live frustrating, bitter lives, knowing they are different and desperate to discover their true heritage, searching constantly for clues to their identity. Occasionally the Mists part, and in these rare instances the Kithain dreams of the past, as glimmers of their past lives in Arcadia are revealed, but often little information can be gathered before the Mists close once again. Because of the power of the Mist, Arcadia is still a mystery to the Earthbound Kithain. True mortals are always blinded by the Mists as their innate Banality causes them to forget any encounters with Glamour. Awakening to the Dreaming Kithain awaken from their mortal existence on their own terms and different phases of their mortal lives, yet despite this the stages of awakening are the same for all regardless of age. The Chrysalis Awakening to the Dreaming is a traumatic experience (much like the Garou’s first change or the awakening of a Mage’s avatar), and the awakened Kithain undergoes what is known as the Chrysalis, a complete transformation of their perceptions, as they discover the Dreaming, their true nature and other Kithain. When a Kithain awakens, it is accompanied by a great groundswell of Glamour that draws the attention of all nearby Kithain Sometimes when multiple Kithain sense the awakening, they rush to the scene and take on a duty to the “fledgling” to help them through the process of realizing and accepting what and who they are. However, the trauma of the Chrysalis can sometimes be too much for the newly awakened Kithain to handle, as they experience deep delusions and release unconscious, unpredictable spurts of Glamour. This maelstrom of terrifying, chaotic hallucinations is called the Dream Dance, a vision quest in which the awakened Kithain confronts their deepest fears and greatest aspirations. In very rare, and extremely tragic cases, the Dream Dance drives the Kithain completely mad, while others are so terrified by the events that they suppress their nature, welcoming the stable familiarity of Banality. Still others become so twisted by the events that they come to hate the Dreaming, and their true nature. These unfortunate ones often become Dauntain, seeking to destroy the things that bring them so much pain. Fosterage After the onset of the Chrysalis and sometimes before its completion, the new changeling is brought to the nearest Freehold where the process is explained, proof of their nature is provided along with counseling, so long as they haven’t gripped tight to Banality or worse. The new Kithain is then “adopted” by an older, more experienced Kithain, usually a Grump who serves as the fledges mentor and guardian. This guardian is tasked with teaching and guiding their ward in the ways of Kithain society. The guardian’s status (either noble or commoner) has an effect on where their ward will fit into their new society, and often are adopted into the household or motley of the guardian. Ancient tradition states that the lord of the Freehold chooses the fledgling’s guardian, and the lord can assign anyone they wish, though they may seek counsel from their advisors if they choose. If, however, a commoner motley finds the fledgling, they never take them to a noble controlled freehold. Both ward and guardian swear Oaths of Fosterage. In the absence of true Fae kin, the fledgling's guardian is considered their family. Wards are typically heir to their guardian's estate and titles, in some cases including the title over a freehold. Fledglings don’t necessarily end up in the same court (Seelie or Unseelie) as their guardians, and if the case of a Childling, the guardian is likely unaware of their charges court. The Saining After the fledge has been assigned a mentor (especially Childling and Wilder fledges) they must pass through a period of waiting, typically lasting a year and a day. During this period, they are fully educated about changeling society, and in time are allowed some freedom within Kithain society, though still under the protection of their guardian. This period is known as the Warding. As the end of the year and a day period approaches, the fledge is allowed to make their own mistakes and suffer their own consequences, while still being observed by their guardians, they are no longer as protected as before. For Grumps (those who have passed the age of 25) that are newly awakened, things are different, as they have experienced more Banality, they are immediately taken to a specific house or motley as guests and taught of their heritage until they are ready to enter Kithain society. Once the changeling is fully prepared to be initiated into Kithain society, the seers perform a ritual called the Saining (literally the Naming). The enchantment of the seers parts the Mists for a time, allowing for the Kithain to learn their true name. This true name is only shared with the Kithain’s household or motley, as it has mystical significance and to allow an enemy to know their true name is to give that enemy power over the changeling. (Just like Mummies) The Saining for noble Sidhe is different than that of the commoners, as the ritual is held in secret with only the members of the Kithain’s household. The young Sidhe undergoes a trial known as Fior-Righ to decide if they are truly Sidhe and to which house they truly belong. They are also tested in other ways to judge their skill, physical abilities and wits. When a noble house plants a changeling in a mortal family, they usually already know the Kithain’s allegiance, as well as their character and abilities even before the Chrysalis occurs. Regardless of social standing, newly initiated Kithain swear vassalage to their lord or motley, whichever is appropriate. And that's where we'll leave off for now, because Chapter 2 goes on for a whiiiile longer. joylessdivision fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Feb 18, 2023 |
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Feb 17, 2023 23:14
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As a big fan of Lost, I find it fascinating just how radically different those game's interpretations of the Fae are. To my (much younger) self, it's like the switch between OWoD and NWoD Changeling reflects the loss of innocence (such as it was) between the 90s and 00s.
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Feb 17, 2023 23:30
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 Pathfinder Core Rulebook, Second Edition, part Ten: The Godbotherer Original D&D is before my time and I chart my experience with the hobby starting in 1st edition AD&D. But in those way back times, there were just three classes: Fighting Man (later fighter), Magic-User (which stayed magic-user in AD&D 1e, then became mage in 2nd as part of the wizard group, and finally wizard in 3rd edition), and Cleric. Just cleric, and the name hasn't changed. From what I've read, the cleric was a later addition (although still early enough to be included when Gygax typed up the rules). In those earliest of days, people would play monsters, and the first cleric was created to gently caress with someone's vampire character. The cleric was a core part of the adventuring team. They were decent fighters, having the second best attack progression (behind fighters), able to wear the heaviest armor, although unable to use edged weapons put them a little behind (in 1st edition, a mace was 2-7/1-6 (small-medium/large creature damage), while the long sword was 1-8/1-12... although that's a footman's mace which may have been intended to be a two-handed weapon). The cleric used a d8 hit die (in AD&D, d8 was the standard hit die for monsters, so one could see the cleric as being average, the fighter being tough, and the thief and magic-user less sturdy). Pretty good saves, particularly against Paralyzation/Poison/Death Magic. They could Turn Undead, driving off or destroying a whole class of baddies. And they had magic. Their spells were less overtly offensive when compared to the magic-user (no magic missile, no fireball). They only had seven spell levels, to the m-u's nine. They didn't have spell books, being able to choose from every cleric spell (2nd edition introduced specialty priests, where you gained certain benefits but had access to fewer spheres based on your god- never seemed worth the trade-off). They received bonus spells they could prepare based on a high wisdom (wizards had nothing like this until 3rd edition). Spells could buff your team or de-buff the enemies... but you didn't need to worry about most of them because your first level slots were going to Cure Light Wound. When a good night's sleep restored 1 HP (not even 1 per level), someone able to hand out 1d8 heals was a lifesaver. So every party wanted a cleric, but few people wanted to play one. D&D 3.0 fixed this. First, spontaneous casting. Memorize whatever you like, but you can burn off spells for the Cure Wounds of that level (3e added in Cure Moderate Wounds, filling the long void between Cure Light at 1st and Cure Serious at 4th). Even this became unnecessary as a Wand of Cure Light Wounds was 50 charges of portable healing for just 750gp. Second, the Cleric spell list got tuned up. They could greatly improve the party- or just themselves, leading to CoDzilla, where a cleric or druid could dominate combats, becoming better fighters than the fighter. Pathfinder 1e didn't change much, although it did take away heavy armor from clerics. It also gave the clerics proficiency in their god's favored weapon. So while the iconic cleric followed the goddess of the sun (similar to how 3.x's cleric worshipped Pelor), her weapon was the scimitar.  The Pathfinder 2e cleric is a full caster like the bard (and I'll note, the champion did not have spells outside of some devotion spells from abilities or feats). They're trained in all simple weapons and their deity's weapon. They are UNTRAINED in armor, although their doctrine may change this. With 4E, clerics tended to be either melee types, or "laser clerics" casting spells at range; I could see something like the laser cleric being grouped with wizards in not getting armor. Pick a god, they'll give you a skill and spells, sometimes spells not on the cleric list. Anathema rears its head again and if you're doing and casting things that go against your god's beliefs, you can lose the abilities you get because of your god, including spell casting (this might be the first time something like this is in the printed rules affecting clerics. It makes sense- back in the day, the rules had no problems with a cleric of the goddess of mercy dropping Flame Strike on their enemies. But, if sorcerers and wizards aren't going to lose their abilities, it feels unfair holding certain classes to a higher standard). Divine Font is the new take on the old spontaneous heals. You receive additional spell slots at your highest level, 1+charisma mod, but can only prepare Heal or Harm spells based on your god. Heal is the catch-all Cure Wounds spell, and a good illustration of Pathfinder's 3-action system. Heal for a single action restores 1d8 HP on touch (or inflicts that much to an undead like in Final Fantasy). For 2 actions, range is 30 feet and it heals an extra 8 HP, possibly hard to pull off in combat, but quicker restoration after. For 3 actions, you're affecting all living and undead creatures in 30 feet. The spell can be Heightened, cast using a high level spell slot. Each level higher adds a d8, and the 2 action version adds another 8 HP. Your subclass is called a Doctrine, and there's the Cloistered Cleric (way way back in Dragon magazine, there was a Cloistered Cleric NPC class, the type of cleric who hung around the temple) and the War Priest. The Cloistered Cleric doesn't learn armor (they do become experts in their god's chosen weapon at 11th, but without armor, not great getting into melee). They reach legendary proficiency with divine spells at 19th. The War Priest learns light and medium armor and gets Shield Block as a feat. They become trained in Martial weapons at 3rd, but who is going to be fighting with anything besides their god's weapon? Especially when they hit expert with it at 7th level. They'll achieve expert spell proficiency at 11th level, and master at 19th. Any sort of cleric will get a 10th level spell slot at 19th (which also means their Divine Font is providing level 10 Heals, 10d8 plus a possible 80). Cleric feats at 1st level include Deadly Simplicity, given free to Warpriests if your god's weapon is Simple, increasing the damage die. Cloistered Clerics get Domain Initiate, granting domain spells which are focus spells. You can take feats bumping Heal/Harm to d10s. Another feat expands your undead damaging power of Heal to Demons and Devils. 2nd level, Communal Healing lets you heal the same amount as a single target heal you cast. Turn Undead charges up your Heal spell to cause undead to flee for one round. Level 4, Improved Communal Healing lets you redirect the Healing from Communal Healing to someone else in range... which as written here, seems you could use it on the same person you healed. Level 8 has Cremate Undead, which a Heal spell on undead also give them persistent fire damage equal to the spell's level. I've been down on a lot of feats, but to me that feels pretty cool. Might not do much, but it feels more interesting than a +1 to this roll or +2 to that one. Level 15 you can get Eternal Bane or Blessing giving a permanent spell effect, radius 15 feet, with a spell level of half your level, round up. I was about to get really excited, but neither spell gets heightened, just a flat +1/-1. I guess the spell level is just making it hard to dispel. Persistent +1 to attack is handy. Other option at this level is Resurrectionist, which when you revive someone, they get Fast Healing 5 for a minute. 20th level, Avatar's Audience, everyone you talk to knows that you're speaking for your god. You can Commune without cost. And you can plane shift to your deity's realm Most of the cleric is contained in the spells, but those are far off and I don't know how deep I'll get into them.
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Feb 17, 2023 23:51
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