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Lemon Curdistan posted:Zilargo are actually "good guys" - in a setting where everyone is a political dickbag who is trying to conquer the world, they're political dickbags who just want to be left alone. This is over already, but gently caress it I'm getting a word in edgewise. Thing about Zilargo is that for it, the writers took the "race of schemers" to its logical extreme: the national hobby of Zilargo is literally scheming for the sake of scheming, even if it's mainly a ridiculously circuitous scheme to say, get that Promistide fruitcake bonus. You could suddenly replace all the gnomes in the world with clones of David Xanatos and nobody would notice-not even the gnomes you missed. Thus, the Trust is less like a secret police force and more like a police force which is secretive-they have to be, considering that "cheap thug" in gnomish is "Bond villain" in everyone else (with stupidity intact, which is why they're cheap thugs). They have to be, considering you have to be the loving Machine from Person of Interest in order to stand a fighting chance-there's enough problems without the criminal elements of Zilargo knowing where your family is. That, and they have a three strikes policy (first is a threat, the second is blackmail, the third is Guantanamo). Also, I think the Triumvirate is democratically elected. Well "democratically", seeing as how given who the gnomes are, they probably consider not stuffing the box (repeatedly, to counteract your opponent stuffing the the box for his own side) not trying.
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Apr 28, 2013 19:21
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Bitchtits McGee posted:The almighty dragon, one of the creators of the world, tugs impatiently on the lesser dragon's cloak to be fed. He must be a contestant on that world's version of the Upper-Class Twit Of The Year Contest. That was the "being rude to the waiter" event.
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May 8, 2013 18:14
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Ah, CthulhuTech. Where did you go wrong? I have a confession to make: Once, when the setting book came out, I was the primary writer of its page on TV Tropes. I valued setting over rules in those days (I was a stupid child) and let's face it, CTech seemed like it was written by the weeabo gods for naive, post-Pokemon teens like me. It was only after my dog, showing off his gift for prophecy, peed on a book, did I realize something was wrong with the gameline, and I chose to not buy any more. God I love my dog. Reading this deserves a new word for what I am feeling: Cathartonement, a combination of atonement and catharsis. I love you, Ettin. And because I love you, I vote for Ancient Enemies, since it isn't as bad. Or Unveiled Threats your choice as to where my vote goes. After that, Burning Horizons, since my mercy only goes so far. 
Erebro fucked around with this message at 18:19 on May 9, 2013 |
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May 9, 2013 18:09
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Tatum Girlparts posted:
I would bitch here about using "right" instead of "write"... ...But it seems oddly appropriate. Like righting a ship, after this garbage capsized it. It's at times like this when I can't help but think that Eclipse Phase and Eldritch Skies are CTech's Mirror Universe versions, where it is balanced, smartly written, and actually lives up to its promise. Frankly, I would suggest a full rewrite, but at this point, it's better just to scrap the setting and create a better one with the same premise of Giant Robots in the Lovecraft verse. Maybe advance the tech and power levels of Eldritch Skies a bit, include asides about how cults of hyperspatial entities dream of arcane mecha designs that they may manufacture with an extreme minimum amount of needed resources, and pull out the old "how to construct a gameline in the Unisystem" instruction booklet. Hell, the cults would even be better antagonists: Just imagine the creepy factor of Yellow Signers greeting you over the intercom not with warcries and threats, but lullabies and reassurances. They're not here to kill you, after all-they're here to save you. From the pain of living, yes, but still.
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May 12, 2013 04:39
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InfiniteJesters posted:Why not just wait for the next version of Adeptus Evangelion? Nah. In that game, you'd be working for the Yellow Signers. 
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May 12, 2013 13:48
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Amechra posted:I now am filled with the urge to sit down and write a proper cthulhu-mecha rpg. See: my posts. We already have the setting (Eldritch Skies with tech and power level dialed up), we just need the rules. You could also do worse than Demonbane, which is an actual Visual Novel set in a mecha vs Cthulhu Mythos verse. One where the Japanese version has eroge elements, but it's fairly tame (ie, consensual sex with your love interest of choice) and there's versions (such as the OVA and the English version) around without the hentai scenes, with nothing lost to the plot. It's definitely more faithful to the source than CTech is. This is also a universe where the Necromicon is actually a cute girl Al-Azif made in his lab, and where the last battle in the good ending is you kicking Nyarlathotep's rear end into the next millennium (seriously, that's how long it takes for him to construct another avatar) for the right to ascend as an Elder God. Think about what that says about CTech for a second.
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May 12, 2013 22:42
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Pussy Cartel posted:It tells me that the guys behind Cthulhutech weren't the only ones to get the brilliant idea anime and hentai go just great with the Lovecraft mythos. ...Well, it does that too, but here, the writers Really, it makes CTech even more sad and despicable. Even the actual mecha anime with eroge elements is better and less skeevy than this game! EDIT: And for Ars Magica, let's complete the hat trick of supernatural beings and go for the Faeries. Erebro fucked around with this message at 00:54 on May 13, 2013 |
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May 13, 2013 00:52
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AmiYumi posted:You must admit, like 90% of that is thanks to DOCTOR WEST. Guilty as charged. Unfortunately, he cannot make everything better, as he coming into contact with CTech would have the same effect as antimatter and matter. Not that the world is worse off for CTech being completely converted into a massive explosion, but it would convert him as well. Anyway, enough plugging from me, back to Ars Magica. It's good to see that they were aware the Caliphate existed, and for including Jafar as a bad guy. He was cool in Disney, he's even cooler here.
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May 13, 2013 05:45
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Bieeardo posted:I've always felt that the rules forbidding changeling children, whether born to Returned ones or Returned themselves, was a shuddering response to their being such a huge influence in Changeling: the Dreaming. Not only were they the most magically powerful age of changeling, but they were often the worst played and a huge pain in the rear end when it came to dealing with the mundane world. Additionally, there developed a common theme of changeling lovers conceiving changeling children despite the rules and fluff stating that was vanishingly rare because of the dictates of theme. That, and the Law of Inverse Fertility (in fiction, the chances a couple will have a successful pregnancy is inversely proportional to their desire to have one) is a thing, and a very old thing at that. The Wyrd, being as obsessed with stories as it is, has probably decided that if you or your SO want a baby, you're going to have to work for it. There's at least one goblin fruit that induces a guaranteed knocking up (that only grows on the horns of goblins who embody that same virility, ie large and hostile) and a Goblin Contract meant to induce it in yourself or others (which, given how it's a Goblin Contract, naturally comes with a downside-the child is going to be supernatural in some way, which means a lot of headache in the future at best, more likely given how you're a changeling a True Fae will take notice and try to add your child to his curio collection).
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May 14, 2013 13:23
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I say Rival Magic. EDIT: Holy poo poo that was a fast ninja. Can't complain too much, though, my vote was the same as the Random Number God. Still...holy poo poo. Erebro fucked around with this message at 19:39 on May 14, 2013 |
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May 14, 2013 19:37
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Nile Empire for me. I'm giving you a break (to the extent you can have one with this clunker of a system) and letting you do the one that sounds awesome.
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May 25, 2013 04:32
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Voting for Realms of Power: Faerie because there are only two kinds of fae in the world; the stupid Victorian watered-down version (I'm counting Dreaming) and the awesome. That and then we'll have a full set of the Realms of power.
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May 26, 2013 05:15
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On the Nile Empire: Question: Is it possible to have an antagonistic good character? The kind of person who would destroy the few to save the many and honestly thinks that's looking out for the common interest, and still feels awful about it? Given what the Nile Empire is, naturally the cosm would pressure him into realizing how misguided he is and show that tough decisions often just mean you aren't seeing the third option, but still...
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Jun 1, 2013 01:18
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Mr. Maltose posted:It's really the final insult. Not only were you taken, not only did they change you forever, not only did they replace you with a puppet, but they replaced you with a puppet who's better than you at being you. Well, technically all fetches are, by nature of the pledge used to make them, worse at being you than you being you. They have to be missing a personality trait. If the fetch isn't well-made, this is often his conscience. Thing is, pledgecraft is, by its nature, full of loopholes and breaking the spirit while obeying the letter. The trait of a well-made fetch could easily be nicotine addiction, impatience, short attention span, urge to kill people...
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Jun 5, 2013 13:49
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Y'know, Mrrlyn could have been really cool. Almost the British answer to the Coalition States. He's greedy and ambitious, certainly, but he's put so much effort into seeming to be the good guy that he's actually become the good guy. A good guy who manufactures crises to solve, but also solves the genuine ones without hesitation. Add a sense of honor and theatrics on top of that, he could be the Grand Admiral Thrawn of Rifts: A bad guy, but such a stylish bad guy that you can't help but respect him. Instead, he just adds to the stupidity of Rifts Britain.
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Jun 5, 2013 22:33
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General Ironicus posted:The Bogey Conundrum is a weird psychic effect that prevents anyone from remembering or recording any details related to the Mohilar. Combine policy discourages research into it, because extended thought on the matter can induce serious stress-related symptoms like migraines and hypertension. While there is no metaplot or real answer, and your group may never care to find one, there are some cool possibilities listed: I like the idea that the Molihar are (not were, are) a race composed of living memes. Know anything about them, they know about you, since a tiny bit of them is inside your brain. If they want, they can then use that knowledge to mind control you or even hollow you out and wear you like a suit. The Conundrum was a safeguard put there by the Vas Kra-if you manage to think straight enough to learn more about the Mohliar, the headache disinfects the knowledge of Mohliar thoughtforms so you remain safe. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work....
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Jun 7, 2013 04:29
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I vote for The Church. I need a break from the Order of Hermes after that update.
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Jun 9, 2013 02:12
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Tasoth posted:I know it's Rifts and it's bad Rifts at that, but the Apocalypse Sentai Squad's designs really appeal to my inner thirteen year old. They're all pretty rad and you won't get me to say otherwise. I always thought of them as Conquest, War, Famine, and Death. I suppose you could call War Strife, but I like to think of them as a failed military expansion of an empire, given the Roman cultural context of the Book of Revelation. Conquest leads to massive War, protracted War leads to food shortages and Famine, and people starve to Death. Anyway, that's your Erebro :sperg: for the day, back to your regularly scheduled thread.
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Jun 9, 2013 03:45
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...Wait. Isn't the cow-headed goddess of fertility Hathor? Isn't Apis a male cow deity? ...Well, I actually think that Hathor appears wearing cow horns or as a cow, not cow-headed. But confusing genders...that's a new level of  in research.
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Jun 12, 2013 00:26
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Okay boys and girls! It's time for Erebro's Fun Ideas To Make CTech Suck Less! Most of this stuff is okay, actually, but a few need fine-tuning. ISSE: While I dislike cybernetics eating souls, the ability to pilot anything you darn well please needs a pretty hefty downside. I say the thing doesn't work unless you already thought like a machine, which means clamping down on your emotions during implantation. Needless to say, this makes you creepy as all hell, so wave goodbye to your social life. Vibe: No real problems with the device itself. If you're going to bounce your logistic operations through Shoggoth TV for security, it is by definition a high-risk high-reward endeavor. RCI: Just one addition: The NGE has reverse-engineered them. There's your Pokemon right there. Cloning Pods OF ENDLESS HATRED!: While the potential for an Attack of the Killer Clone Tomatoes is a point in its favor, I would make it so that the technology itself ain't out to get you. Rather, it's because the Renegade Migou don't actually have a clue what they're doing with it, and thus the clones are invariably mutants of some kind. Thus, why they haven't put it into production yet-they're still looking for a way to predict and/or control what the genetic crapshoot will be next. QBattery: This isn't most of this stuff. Besides the sheer force of sniggering that will result from showing off one of these things, it's just rather dumb to sell this thing, since the inevitable scandal could only be stopped through writer fiat (which makes it rather likely, given the syphilis-eaten brains of CTech's developers, but still). The "murder cube" idea is a pretty drat chilling thing though, since using them shows just how much an entrenched cult disregards human lives. Industrialized evil, yo.
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Jun 15, 2013 19:17
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50 Foot Ant posted:That "total number of troops" thing hosed one of my old Rifts GMs when he was running Africa and we got tired of the Gods of Light dicking us, treating us like poo poo (Honestly, we were treated better in Atlantis than by the Gods of Light, mainly because we had lots of cash to buy poo poo, big guns, and cool poo poo to sell), and having us act like errand boys and having Thoth & Assholes Inc. constantly order us around and flex their muscles about how we weren't poo poo. We had to sit through a 30 minute "briefing" by Thoth & Assholes Inc about the Pheonix Empire and my mind went "Wait, 7K, spread out over Africa and the Middle East? With only 22K irregulars? Mostly a human slave army? Ooooh..." and we all got together and plotted when he threw in details like how they were a coordinated military and had bar codes and all that poo poo and we even more powerful than the CS because of... umm... monsters? Fare thee well, Great One. May your long journey bring you other, halfway competent GMs, where your insane genius will be appreciated. In the name of Thrawn, all gamers salute the Slayer of Killer Dungeon Masters, 50 Foot Ant the (Tomb of) Horrorsbane. 
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Jun 17, 2013 07:24
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Druggeddwarf posted:Hello! Wow. That is literally the most boring, generic cover for a setting ostensibly in Japan. Even Random Anime poo poo would be better than that cover. Don't judge books by covers, and all, but the cover...I can judge that very well, and it sucks. Knowing what is going to be inside given your comments, though, I can get an early start to this game's list of sins.
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Jun 18, 2013 23:18
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MadScientistWorking posted:Actually, its a staple of scifi and horror flat out as I've been slowly reading through Roadside Picnic to do the Stalker RPG which massively spoils the book. Its really incredibly odd because its contains nontranshumanist analogs of the same exact elements as Eclipse Phase like the exsurgency. Also, I remember why the Cthulu aspect stuck in my mind. Their Appendix N references it four different times as far as I could tell and it stuck in my mind as to why Cthulutech got a nod. That's the thing. Exsurgency isn't anti-transhumanity at all. The problem with psi-omegas and Exsurgent mutants lies in the virus itself, not anything to do with their new state of being. It turns people into guns, pure and simple. It doesn't promise freedom from ethics, it promises slavery and destruction of the mind. It doesn't make you like the Great Old Ones, laughing and shouting and killing with joy, it makes you into a husk to house itself. Stop thinking of it like cosmic horror and see it as it is: The self-aware weapon of a culture that likely forgot it existed, assuming that culture even exists anymore. Assuming it isn't something stranger. My favorite theory is that there is no difference at all between the ETI and the virus: Each "strain" is actually an alien colonist, and their hostility towards humanity is the same hostility the conquistadors felt towards the native Aztecs-they see us ignorant savages in need of extermination or education on our proper place in the universe: Kissing their metaphorical feet. Not all of them are like this, no-the playable asyncs play host to one who realized what they were doing was wrong, and sacrificed its sapience to help elevate us to their level (when one is so far past the singularity you've had another one, sapience becomes like sweets-the ETI likes it, but it can live without it and still get along in life). Just the ones the PCs know, since their culture tells them humanity is an inferior race to be treated with smug contempt. The horror isn't the virus, it's what you will do to stop it.
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Jun 24, 2013 05:21
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MadScientistWorking posted:There is nothing in the setting that actually says that. The problem is that with the way most of the ETI and Titan stuff is written you can't prescribe any behavior to them namely because the heavy handedness was them drastically emphasizing the freakishly bizarre abilities the ETI have. Its supposed to become self evident that you are dealing with something beyond any semblance of human comprehension. Apart from the giant sidebar plopped right on page 353 that chapter where it explains that they aren't going to explain what the ETI's motive is, so the GM can make one himself, and several suggestions are offered? The idea that Exsurgency is just a relic of a long-ago war among them? And all the other motives are fairly understandable (fear of other godlike intelligences, weeding out any species that will not listen to diplomatic overtures, conquest and curiosity, and uplifting the TITANs, who turned evil on their own)? And the crazed affect it has on humans may be an unplanned for side effect? ....Okay, I can see how trying to tie alien behavior to a motive may be a lot of work, probably more work than should be required of the GM. You got me there. But still, they had some pretty understandable logic behind it, even if they did take it to a rather silly extreme. Although, "humanity is collateral damage" is by far a better Lovecraftian conceit than the vast majority of would be cosmicist horror writers; The entire death of our species was the unfortunate accident of someone else's own problems. Really shows just how uncaring the universe is, that all of human achievement is undone as the byproduct of another species' achievement. We were the causalities of poor environmental policies. Cue Nyarlathotep laughing his rear end off. Erebro fucked around with this message at 19:09 on Jun 24, 2013 |
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Jun 24, 2013 19:07
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Baofu posted:Compare to Actually, this raises a good point, and the main problem I have with the CoG: The Children of Gaia, as presented, are delusional. They're a faction of shallow pacifists in a race specifically bred for an army, they think they're behind everything good, including the things they couldn't possibly be involved in, and now, the origins of Rome. Yes, I can understand how Rome would be corrupted by the Wyrm in its dying days, given how entropy, social disintegration, and selfishness caught up with it, but as it is? Its origins have infinitely more to do with the Weaver than the Wyrm. The initial founding of the Roman Republic began as a way to strengthen social order after its last, tyrannical king was kicked out, and as it evolved into an empire, it found itself needing more and more central control to manage the whole thing, which gave rise to Julius Cesar and his dynasty. More importantly, Rome didn't just conquer, it assimilated. Over time, its conquered territories would be molded and transformed into copies of Roman culture. They would speak Latin, they would worship Jupiter, they would use Roman numerals.... That's how the Weaver works, law and order growing exponentially until it becomes an unstoppable titan, unknowingly setting up its own downfall much of the time, because eventually people stop working together. Indeed, that's how Rome is likely to have fallen-too many non-assimilated soldiers, loyal only to Rome in that it paid them, and their bosses were Roman. Make Rome the result of the City Warders' manipulations, the she-wolf who raised Remus and Romulus being a Weaver priestess. There's a way more interesting idea right there, and a source of tension between the Glass Walkers and the CoG; the GW think it was a great idea, if lacking finesse, while the CoG...see above. As it is, we're supposed to take the line of self-righteous bull at face value, like the CoG are furry elves. And this, kids, is why people despise the CoG. Two bad tastes that go into food poisoning territory together.
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Jun 29, 2013 14:02
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Germany. I was always interested in the political situation of the place before Germany was fully unified into the country we know today.
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Jul 2, 2013 20:29
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pospysyl posted:Next time: The evils of sun worship ...Hmm... It's about Native Americans...it has something to do with their religious beliefs...the writers seemed to honestly believe Pocahontas was an accurate representation of either...which means Europeans, and Christians are the bad guys... ...This is gonna be the "Jesus is the Sun" chestnut again, isn't it? Get ready for 90s White Wolf's opinion on Christianity, kids. It ain't gonna be pretty. Erebro fucked around with this message at 05:15 on Jul 29, 2013 |
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Jul 29, 2013 05:09
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Pussy Cartel posted:It's Werewolf: the Forsaken. Unfortunately, the rules suck, and as pospysyl mentioned, there's no real engagement the Urathra have with the setting-it's possible to entirely ignore the fact the Shadow exists or that there's a political aspect to territories, while in Changeling (for instance), the reason why you're part fae in the first place is that you were enslaved by the ultimate villains of the setting, but escaped. God-Machine Chronicle has its failings (I'm looking at you, uber-high Defense), but the opportunity to hammer Forsaken into something halfway decent via its own version of Blood and Smoke is not one of them. Erebro fucked around with this message at 08:07 on Aug 8, 2013 |
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Aug 8, 2013 05:33
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And yeah, it really is a far more mature game and, not only that, a much more local game, focusing less on running all over the world while fighting the big bads and more on dealing with problems and even politics in your home region, which seems to be a common theme across most of the nWoD games (except for Promethean).
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Bieeardo posted:While I prefer how Lost dealt with child characters being so awful in the Dreaming ("No, you're all infertile. Sorry. Ain't happening. And if you're Taken too young, or too old, you don't have the sense of self to return to."), that is loving hilarious. Given what we've seen in the Children of Gaia reviews, I can hardly blame the writers. They seemed to get over it in Forsaken Chronicler's Guide, though-one of the suggested setting hacks is making it so that The Wolf Can Cleave Where He Wants, Thank You, thus making it something like a game of familial intrigues, since werewolves having other werewolves as spouses isn't that strange, nor are feuds. We also have a coupe child changeling characters floating around (Wild Sam in Grim Fears, one as a possible antagonist in Innocents, though I forget her name), but they're presented as exceptions (for example, Wild Sam's Keeper was as nice as the True Fae could ever possibly get and then some-his most traumatic experience was discovering his own grave when he was unceremoniously dumped back on Earth).
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Aug 9, 2013 02:45
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Midjack posted:Finally a setting that lives up to its cover art. I'll say. Holy poo poo, the Cyberpapacy needs to be adapted to other systems. Not only is the core idea great (gothic era corrupt church that merged with the Adeptus Mechanicus and now rules a cyberpunk wonderland with supernatural elements) but Malraux is evil in a very human, very scary way; he's been told from birth that there is a real Devil in this world, and the only way to fight him is hardline, stab-first burn-second ask-questions-never fire and brimstone Catholicism. He's just as much a product of the insane morals of such a culture as he is the ruler. In other words, he could actually exist, and that makes two varieties of awesome already. The whole Techpriest thing just adds their five on top of the pile.
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Aug 30, 2013 18:52
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AccidentalHipster posted:John Wick's Eldritch High Okay: Nathan Westbury, Slytherin. Polite nerd who takes pride in that fact, knows he's out of place in Ye Olde House Of Rich Brats (he was Sorted there due to his ambitious perfectionism), prefers hanging out with Ravenclaw. Loves Arithmancy and Potions (as a subset of loving math), hates Transfiguration.
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Oct 7, 2013 19:40
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Because I am a smartarse: R'shana Al'gri (you can call him Al): This eccentric young ven of the House of the Serpent, due to a chance encounter with an ork known only as "The Qlue-Stik", has apparently decided that the end of the ven is inevitable due to His bit of manchildness is being really, really hipster about it ("I realized how pointless and farcical life is before it was cool"), and being the perfect picture of a college know-it-all who hasn't quite realized he isn't particularly smarter than everyone else. Erebro fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Oct 24, 2013 |
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Oct 24, 2013 20:07
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Halloween Jack posted:The Garou are the least sympathetic protagonists in the oWoD. Their stance on every other supernatural race is "Kill them" or "dunno, might as well kill them, better safe than sorry y'know." Quite. Say what you will about the regular clusterfuck that is Forsaken's rules, at least the Urathra are vaguely sane. Speaking of nWoD versions of gamelines, one of the things the writers did right was find a happy medium between "cool" and "utter monsters" for the antagonists. Belial's Brood, for instance, are essentially Tyler Durden if he were a covenant of vampire biker gangs. That is five kinds of awesome on toast, served with a nice, big helping of pure, unrefined nightmare fuel. Erebro fucked around with this message at 03:59 on Oct 29, 2013 |
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Oct 29, 2013 03:45
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