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I want to play that goat plot so bad.
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Apr 13, 2015 13:16
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And that's the story of how I Googled "Spanish goat recipes."
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Apr 13, 2015 13:30
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Traveller posted:[*]Night of the Long Knives: PCs are rookies just arrived into camp. The veterans sharpen their fangs. The longest night... This is one of those names that sounds perfect for all sorts of things and then you look it up.
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Apr 13, 2015 14:31
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theironjef posted:This is one of those names that sounds perfect for all sorts of things and then you look it up. For what actually happened in the event, I'd be surprised if it wasn't a deliberate callback.
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Apr 13, 2015 14:47
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Everything is possible.Traveller posted:I've been away from home for too long. A scenario seed for a potential German version would have the players take the role of Bundeswehr recruits fighting the urge to start smoking out of pure boredom. Green Intern posted:I want to play that goat plot so bad. This would make for a kickass Only War adventure.
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Apr 13, 2015 18:42
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Doresh posted:Everything is possible. East Asian version lets you pick playing groups in South Korea or Singapore or Thailand. Playing recruits in Israel might be too serious
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Apr 13, 2015 18:58
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Just go mine The Good Soldier Sveijk for ideas. It's the same genre, but Czech.
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Apr 13, 2015 22:29
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Doresh posted:Everything is possible.
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Apr 13, 2015 23:49
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Robindaybird posted:One could pretty much do M*A*S*H: The RPG with this. As long as you have a good group. Imagine a party of only Hawkeyes and Klingers, and none of them are good at it. The horror. The insufferable horror.
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Apr 13, 2015 23:57
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pkfan2004 posted:It really would. How in the hell are you gonna kidnap the Commissar's pet Grox with getting killed by the Grox being the least of your worries? "We're going to need an Ogryn."
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Apr 13, 2015 23:57
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A Fancy 400 lbs posted:As long as you have a good group. Imagine a party of only Hawkeyes and Klingers, and none of them are good at it. The horror. The insufferable horror. Ugh. No.
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Apr 14, 2015 00:25
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Genius: The Transgression, The College of Scholastic Theory and RoguesGenius posted:The College of Scholastic Theory Mad Scientist Classic. The Scholastics don't need much explanation: they're the academics, naturalists, and archaeologists of the Peerage, and the most politically powerful foundation. Genius posted:The Scholastics are a diverse and terrifying bunch. They wake things up that people thought were dead, dig Sorry if the foundation sections have been boring, but the foundations themselves have been pretty dull and most of them are lifted directly from oMage. In short, the College has basically no unique history or attributes because it's synonymous with the Peerage: it's the oldest, biggest, most powerful foundation, and other foundations are mostly distinguished by how they differ from the College. Genius says they practice mad philosophy, but in the olde schoole natural philosophy kind of way i.e. omnidisciplinary science. Genius posted:Scholastics don't just organize themselves; due to their influence and pervasiveness, they influence most of As always, there's a difference between the hidebound older generation and a new generation of spirited youngsters, and the New Scholastics are what internet trolls wish they were. Genius posted:The Scholastics of today are trickster figures, The remaining fluff is equally flavorless and generic, so on to the bits of crunch. Favored axioms are Apokalypsi or Metatropi, and their grant makes no sense without Wonder creation rules that we'll get to later. A Scholastic can select her fault from two offered by the Storyteller with a regular Success rather than an Exceptional Success. An Exceptional Success allows her to choose from three faults selected by the Storyteller. An Exceptional Success and double the usual Mania cost is still needed to build a wonder without any faults. Also, Scholastics always know their wonder's faults immediately upon handling the wonder. Genius posted:Concepts: You can also play as a Rogue, which means you're either part of the Peerage but don't belong to one of the foundations, or you're simply not a member of either Lemuria or the Peerage. You have no grant, and your second favored axiom is whatever you want. That does it for the foundations, so question: should I briefly cover the Lemurian Baramins next, or move on to the actual crunch of creating a character? Also, any suggestions for improving the review in general?
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Apr 14, 2015 03:29
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Cythereal posted:"The important thing isn't building a death ray out of a hamster cage and a hair dryer, it's showing everyone online that I did!" And you're doing fine, I like that you break it up with snippets from the text. Shame the book doesn't have any art.
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Apr 14, 2015 03:36
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Adventure Fantasy Game is a game written by Paolo Greco and was released in Spring 2013. From the way it's marketed it tends to consider itself part of the Old School Renaissance, but personally I find the mechanics different enough from old-school D&D that it's really it's own thing, and that's good because being different means ditching a lot of the cruft that still permeates the OSR. Before we even get to the Table of Contents, the game has a section called How to Start Quickly: quote:What's the base mechanic? Page 19. Read 20 too if you have a minute. That seems like as good a place to start as any, so I'll be tackling these in turn. Base Mechanic The core of the system is called 5MORE: When the outcome is not certain, let the players describe their action and roll a d6 Modify the roll per the player's description +1 for easy tasks, -1 for hard ones +1 for good ideas/plans, -1 for bad ones +1 for a high relevant stat (we'll get to this later), -1 for a low relevant stat +1 for excellent equipment, -1 for inappropriate equipment On a 5 or more, SUCCESS! On a 2 to 4, the character failed but without dire consequences On a 1, absolute failure, but be creative with the consequences A skill/experience system is also tied into this 5MORE mechanic. If the player succeeds at a task with a natural 5 or 6, they get an Experience Roll. The player rolls a d6 again and if it also comes up as a natural 5 or 6, they get to write down the task they just did along with the first letter of EXPERT. Subsequent successful Experience Rolls for the same task let them continue spelling out EXPERT. Once they spell out the word completely, they get a +1 to all succeeding rolls for that task. The game gives some advice on reining this in: the attempt at the task must be meaningful - no picking locks over and over; this should probably apply to tasks done under stressful or critical circumstances; perhaps one letter to be gained for a given encounter or scene. Finally, if a player becomes an EXPERT in six different tasks, they choose to pick one of those six, erase EXPERT, write MASTER, and get a +2 bonus on rolls for that task. Character Creation Stats are broken up into three: PHYsique, CRAft and SPIrit. You roll 3d6 for each of these. If your roll is 13 or better, then your stat is high and you get a +1 to rolls involving that stat. If your roll is 8 or less, then your stat is low and you get a -1 to rolls instead. Anything else is considered average. There's also a table of additional effects that stats might have, such as high PHY giving you extra damage when wielding two-handers, or low SPI making you the target of bad luck events, but in keeping with the simplicity of the system you can just use stats as they interact with the 5MORE mechanic. Classes If you choose the Way of Steel, you're considered a Fighter. They get additional Hits, can wear any type of armour, and have something called Secret Weapon Techniques, but those don't come into play yet for the abbreviated ruleset we're talking about so far. If you choose the Way of Magic, you're considered a Caster. The game explicitly says that while the spell descriptions describe the effects of a spell, they do not prescribe the spell's nature. A Caster can be a mentalist, a sorcerer, a bard or even a scientist, and how they access or flavour their spells is completely up to the player's imagination. Casters start with 3 spells: Unveil Arcana, some other spell of level 0 and some other spell of level 1. A level 1 Caster has 1 mana, which they can use to cast 1 spell. They gain 1 more mana and know one more spell per level taken in the Way of Magic. Casters cannot cast the same spell twice until the dawn, and they need 6 hours rest to regenerate all of their mana. If you choose the Way of Arts, you're considered a Practitioner. These are the "skill monkeys" of the game: for every level taken in the Way of Arts, the player can distribute 5 letters of EXPERT across various tasks. Practitioners can also use relevant skills to engage in tradecraft and earn some money for themselves during downtime. The game makes special note that pickpocketing and theft are valid tasks for this money-generating activity. At this point you may have noticed that I've used the phrase "for every level taken in Way of X". That's because the game supports multi-classing: you can be a Fighter 3/Caster 5. Besides the extra Hits, taking levels in Fighter will let Casters cast spells while wearing armor, although you do need multiple levels of Fighter to be able to wear heavy/plate armor, not just one. Accomplishments The game asks the player to write down 4 things that their characters wants to or is destined to do, with the provision that it should be easy to determine if an Accomplishment has already been successfully accomplished. This is supposed to be a guide for what the player should strive towards, and for what situations the GM should place the player in. Hits determine the amount of punishment a character can take before being incapacitated. At level 1, Casters and Practitioners roll 2d6 and pick the best result, while Fighters roll 2d6, pick the best result, and add 2 Every time the character levels up, they roll a d6 for every level they have (and Fighters add 2 for every level the have), and either take this new result for their new total, or add 1 to their old total, whichever is higher. Tier The last important number to remember is a character's Tier: Level 1 to 3 = Tier 1 Level 4 to 6 = Tier 2 Level 7 to 9 = Tier 3 Level 10 and up = Tier 4 Equipment All characters start with a standard set of equipment: quote:a set of humble clothes, a pair of cheap sandals and a hat ... and then they get to roll twice on a 2d6 table for additional random gear. On a 7, a Fighter gets light armor, a helmet, and a shield; a Caster gets a Doctor's Bag; a Practitioner gets A spare set of tools. Other results include a musket and 10 shots, a spears and daggers, an intelligent crow, a treasure map, a patron, or even a townhouse. Combat Rules This chapter tells you right off the bat that it's not a combat game, and its rules are lightweight and very abstracted by design. The game has two different sets of combat rules: the simple 5MAIL and a more advanced FIGHTMORE. I'll be discussing 5MAIL for now. 5MAIL uses a number called Fighting Capability (FC), which is your Tier - 1, and then Fighters gain additional FC based on their additional +2 Hits per level. A starting Fighter would have an FC of 1, while a Caster or a Practitioner would have an FC of 0. Combat is divided into 4 phases followed in strict order: Melee, Missile, Manoeuvre, and Magic. A character chooses which phase they want to "use" for their turn, and that's when they act. Melee Phase The character rolls a d6 and then adds their FC If the target is wearing no armor, +2 bonus to the roll If the target is wearing light armor, +1 bonus to the roll If the target is wearing heavy armor, -1 penalty to the roll Much like the 5MORE skill system, if the result of the roll is 5 or more, the character hits and then rolls for damage. The section also mentions a Charge maneuver to gain a bonus to the roll if the character is not engaged yet, and that a character using a shield can do a 5MORE Shield Block roll once every round to negate a melee attack against them. Missile Phase If the character was hit by a melee attack in the previous phase, they can't act in this phase. The character rolls a d6 and then adds their FC If the target is wearing no armor, +2 bonus to the roll If the target is wearing light armor, +1 bonus to the roll If the target is wearing heavy armor, -1 penalty to the roll If the target is at a distance, -1 to -3 penalty to the roll depending on how far they are If the target is using a shield and/or is in cover, -1 to -4 penalty to the roll depending on the circumstances Manoeuvre Phase This is where you close in to melee with a target without charging, or to leave melee reach of a target you're engaged with Magic Phase This is where a character can cast their spells. If it's instantaneous, then it takes effect immediately during this phase. Otherwise, a spell that takes more than one phase to cast will be declared here, then will take effect on the next magic phase. If the caster is wounded before the next magic phase, then the spell that they declared is disrupted and will not take effect, and the Mana they spent on it is lost. The game says that Melee, Shield Block, Missile are all tasks in and of themselves, and so like 5MORE skill rolls, can result in Experience Rolls and EXPERT and even MASTER status. Special Note on Monsters Because of how the combat rules and stats interact, creating monsters is fairly simple: Tier = same as the players Level = should be about the same as the players, plus or minus within their Tier Hits = Level * d6 FC = Tier - 1 Damage = 1d6 The rest is "special abilities" that you can make up on the spot, such as a monster being particularly heavily armored, or sneaky, or having a breath weapon, or having poison, and so on. And that's it for part 1. Next time I'll talk about spells, experience gain and character development.
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Apr 14, 2015 12:24
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AFG honestly sounds like more fun than a lot of other games that have tried to simplify old-school D&D, both among those that stick to a d20-based ruleset and those that do otherwise.
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Apr 14, 2015 14:19
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 Heaven & Earth! It's a lot like one of those fan-made White Wolf games, except tweaked enough that they wouldn't sue, and published in 1999, and uses cards instead of dice, and is basically Twin: The Peaksing. Weirdos and vaguely haunted events in small town America and there's angels and demons working apocalyptic machinations in the background.
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Apr 14, 2015 14:34
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theironjef posted:
(Hey look, I'm sorry, but I have a review of Legacy coming up. I have to get this positivity out of my system.)
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Apr 14, 2015 14:42
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Don't worry, it doesn't stick the landing.
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Apr 14, 2015 14:45
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Halloween Jack posted:That sounds really cool, actually. Oh hey, yeah, I have this game; albeit a later edition that uses dice rather than cards. It's published by the same studio that did Aletheia, the game I reviewed... God, two threads ago, maybe? It's definitely interesting, and yeah, very Twin Peaks. theironjef posted:Don't worry, it doesn't stick the landing. Pity. I remember the third edition being pretty good.
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Apr 14, 2015 14:49
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GimpInBlack posted:Oh hey, yeah, I have this game; albeit a later edition that uses dice rather than cards. It's published by the same studio that did Aletheia, the game I reviewed... God, two threads ago, maybe? It's definitely interesting, and yeah, very Twin Peaks. Yeah, we went after the first edition. It's imaginative, that's for sure. I assume in later editions he had a stronger editing team, that'd help curtail all the tarot silliness and his tendency to launch into first-person rants about life stuff in the middle of rule sections of the book.
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Apr 14, 2015 15:13
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The one thing I don't like about AFG is the stat system. If it's simplified down to +1, 0, -1, why even bother rolling 3d6? Because D&D does it? It seems like 1d6 with 1,2 = -1, 3,4 = 0, 5,6 = +1(or 1 = -1, 2,3,4,5 = 0, 6 = +1 if you want a different distribution) would be a decent simplification, or even just assigning each one to one stat.
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Apr 14, 2015 15:36
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A Fancy 400 lbs posted:The one thing I don't like about AFG is the stat system. If it's simplified down to +1, 0, -1, why even bother rolling 3d6? Because D&D does it? It seems like 1d6 with 1,2 = -1, 3,4 = 0, 5,6 = +1(or 1 = -1, 2,3,4,5 = 0, 6 = +1 if you want a different distribution) would be a decent simplification, or even just assigning each one to one stat. I agree, although it's such a small part of the system that in game review terms it wouldn't really register as an issue worth "half a star" or something.
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Apr 14, 2015 16:04
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So why should anyone takes more than 2 levels of fighter? As far as I can see, that gets them to +5 hits, which gives success against anything in melee.
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Apr 14, 2015 16:32
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wiegieman posted:So why should anyone takes more than 2 levels of fighter? As far as I can see, that gets them to +5 hits, which gives success against anything in melee. The bonus to FC (and therefore bonus to attack rolls) does not scale 1:1 with bonus Hits: +2 and +4 Hits, you get +1 FC +6 and +8 Hits, you get +2 FC +10 and +12 Hits, you get +3 FC +14 or more Hits, you get +4 FC
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Apr 14, 2015 16:40
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Halloween Jack posted:AFG honestly sounds like more fun than a lot of other games that have tried to simplify old-school D&D, both among those that stick to a d20-based ruleset and those that do otherwise. It's always nice to see someone create something with the spirit of oldschool, not the antiquated rules and presentation. Speaking of... *looking at his next planned review* pkfan2004 posted:It really would. How in the hell are you gonna kidnap the Commissar's pet Grox with getting killed by the Grox being the least of your worries? The Lone Badger posted:"We're going to need an Ogryn." "... some xeno meat, a rope, and a Leman Russ..." Oh, and how would "Drunk Baneblade driving" work as a scenario?
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Apr 14, 2015 17:12
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"You wake up in the cockpit of a baneblade, the remnants of last night's bender strewn around you. If you don't get this thing back to base fast and with a good excuse, you're probably going to be executed."
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Apr 14, 2015 17:36
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Genius: The Transgression, An Introduction to Lemuria As an organization, Lemuria in the 21st century is a shattered wreck. Its leaders are dead, their secret agenda defeated, their numbers few. But Lemuria's infrastructure is still intact, and geniuses continue to go insane every year. For these people, Lemuria's immense resources are attractive, and even more seductive is their promise that no, you're not crazy. You're so very sane, and everyone else is insane and jealous of you. Lemurians are Unmada to the last, geniuses so convinced that they're the sane ones that their Inspiration warps their own mind to that end. Powerful Unmada can even begin warping reality around them to fit their own view. This isn't to say Lemurians can't be reasoned with, or that they're all trying to rival the reputations of Dr. Mengele and Unit 731. Indeed, many Lemurians are perfectly decent people with basically good intentions. The problem is that they're dangerously insane to a man, and their Unmada nature means their deeply warped view of reality can be difficult (not impossible, there are rules for Unmada regaining their relative sanity) and quite often dangerous. Like all Inspired, each Lemurian has their own individual madness, but most Lemurians come to decide that human civilization went wrong at some point and fall into one of five major paradigms called baramins. Lemurians, and Unmada in general, are nothing if not masters of cognitive dissonance, so baramins and Lemuria as a whole are much more highly organized and able to cooperate with each other than you might think. The Atomists Genius posted:Atomists: The youngest full baramin, Atomists are proof that Lemuria's collapse did not mark the end of their ideology. During the 50s and early 60s, futurists around the world painted a lovely picture of a future world where all the world's ills would be cured by technology. Jetpacks, flying cars, space exploration, robot butlers, the works. When it became obvious during the 60s and 70s that that vision was a pipe dream, the Atomists emerged. They still believe in that promise of a world made better through technology, and many of them blame Lemuria's defeat in the mid-20th century for us not getting it. Atomists are true political technocrats, seeing every problem as solvable - only solvable - through technology. Scientists, they say, should be the masters of humanity, not politicians, and would be if not for that pesky human element. Atomists are, at best, indifferent to the human condition and human behavior, if not actively hostile to these bugs in the code of human civilization. Some Atomists might be charming and gregarious one on one, but larger social and psychological dynamics inevitably escape them or are dismissed as irrelevant herd responses that can be corrected through technology. Not all Atomists are futurists from the mid-20th century, though that's certainly their core leadership. More recent Atomists tend to see dystopian cyberpunk futures as a good model where the technological megacorps just need to be more efficient about stamping out the punks, or think the machine civilization from The Matrix sounds like a really good idea. Biotechnology Atomists are also starting to crop up, and they tend to get horrifying in the blink of an eye. The Etherites Genius posted:Etherites: The Luminiferous Ether (or Aether) was an interesting and popular scientific theory in the 19th century that explained much of that time's understanding of physics and electromagnetism. When the Ether was conclusively disproven in the early 20th century and then buried by relativity and quantum theory, quite a few scientists were dismayed and horrified at just how complex and goddamn weird the universe turned out to be. Those Inspired who rejected this modern view of physics and other important scientific developments of the 20th century, to the point that they became Unmada, formed the Etherite baramin. Despite the name, Etherites do not necessarily believe in the Ether itself. What unites the Etherites is what the Ether represented: a grand unified theory that comprehensively explains all of physics, typically without any of that yucky weirdness that modern-day physics entails. Genius posted:Etherites seize on different self-evident physical absolutes, from baffling subatomic particles to all-explaining biopsychic fields. So yes, you have Genius' blessing for Lemurian Jedi who really do believe in the Force. Etherites live and die by their personal theory of everything, insisting on jamming everything they encounter into their model, or for the relatively lucid Etherites adjusting their model to account for the new observations. Blatant contradictions to their model tend to meet with either the Etherite utterly ignoring it (and sufficiently powerful Etherites really can make contrary evidence simply disappear) or with extreme violence. Etherites tend to be touchy and violently reactive about their theories, which combined with their natural affinity for Katastrofi and their grant makes them Lemuria's most destructive agents when firepower is called for. The Mechanists Genius posted:Mechanists: If Atomists believe everything can be solved through science and Etherites have a scientific theory that explains everything, Mechanists offer a simpler view of the world: the nature of the universe is simple and mechanical, everything boiling down to simple physical laws and the process of cause and effect. Though the Mechanists only emerged as a full baramin at the end of the 19th century, the idea has been around for a very long time that the universe is ultimately simple and works according to a logical process. Abstract ideas like the soul and free will are irrelevant artifacts of humans reading too much into things. This is not to say that Mechanists all believe in a literally clockwork universe: the current theory of the day is believing the universe runs on market principles. What they share is a belief in a systemic, mechanical nature of the universe, and Mechanists tend to be coldly inhuman in their insanity, utterly refusing to take responsibility for their actions. They aren't fanatics or utter idealists, they simply and wholeheartedly believe they're not in control of their own actions and indeed that no one is. It's the genetic lottery, one might say, or simply the will of God. Others draw up designs for a God Machine that directs the functions of the universe and creates an illusion of free will. Mechanists form much of Lemuria's organizational and infrastructural backbone with their natural affinity for planning and organization. They're rarely much for other people, and more than any other baramin Mechanists have a tendency to go into solitary seclusion, preferably in a fortress guarded by an army of robots. The Oracles Genius posted:Oracles: Unlike the previous three baramins, Oracles are a distinctly older, non-technologically based baramin that hearkens back to an earlier view of the cosmos and humanity. They got their start in the classical world, as Aristotle swept aside old Platonic views and the Islamic Golden Age dawned, replacing a mystical view of the universe with something beginning to resemble science and conventional philosophy. Even modern theology is a bit too cut-and-dried for many Oracles, and they grew in power over the centuries as mystics and philosophers in the East and West alike rejected the beginnings of modern science and natural philosophy. Gnosticism, Taoism, and the Kabbalah are all popular with Oracles, and it is not uncommon for Oracles to be genuine priests of older religious traditions from around the world. Oracles are wonder-workers in an older sense of the word, practicing alchemy and what some genuinely believe to be outright magic in their work rather than mad science (and don't try telling an Oracle that what they're doing is actually a form of science). They're dwindling in number today, as most people who believe in overturning modern science for the betterment of humanity fall into the Atomists and Etherites. Modern Oracles are typically devotees of New Age religions/philosophies, neo-pagan movements, or hardcore anti-intellectual strains of modern religions and philosophies. Others that aren't partial to religion still view the world in more mystical terms, often believing in ideas like geocentrism or psychic powers. Despite their waning power, Oracles are still the dominant political force in Lemuria as they were for centuries. Given their mystical and often moralistic views of the universe, Oracles almost invariably see the world in black and white terms. Their terminology and way they sort things may differ from Oracle to Oracle, but it is an extraordinarily rare Oracle who grasps the idea of neutrality, moral ambiguity, or subtlety in general. The Phenomenologists Genius posted:Phenomenologists: If truth is in the eye of the beholder, then clearly there is no objective truth at all. This is the fundamental conceit of the Phenomenologists, a philosophical backlash against notions of objectivity and a rational view of the universe. To a Phenomenologist, reality is what you make of it. Certainly it's not down to any claim of truth or fact. The alien power of Inspiration doesn't help their claims to sanity, and Phenomenologists in general are a skip and a hop away from Illumination. Lemurians in general want the world to know about their existence, their power and brilliance, and if there's any overall philosophy to the Phenomenologists beyond a belief that the universe is fundamentally irrational and subjective, it's that if there's any truth to be had in the world it's in the power of Inspiration. Despite this patent insanity, Phenomenologists can and do find comfortable homes in modern science. Psychology and other social sciences are popular, but economics and theoretical physics are a growing field of interest as well for those Phenomenologists who see past Genius' presentation of them as fishmalks. Really, they are fishmalks. Other Baramins Like the foundations, these five baramins are not the whole of Lemuria, just the ones large enough to have a favored axiom and grant. Just going to leave this here. Genius posted:Numericals, An Incipient Baramin:
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Apr 14, 2015 18:11
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I dunno how i feel about the bad guys being composed entirely of hideous goon sub-species and stereotypes.
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Apr 14, 2015 19:15
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Ronwayne posted:I dunno how i feel about the bad guys being composed entirely of hideous goon sub-species and stereotypes. I don't get a goon vibe from the baramins so much as old people, fundies, and other anti-intellectuals who are very very angry that at some point the world stopped working Like It's Supposed To. Although if you want to there's nothing stopping you from playing as Lemurians beyond the game telling you that you shouldn't. All the necessary rules are provided for playing as Lemurians if you want to do it.
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Apr 14, 2015 19:55
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so the Etherites are basically Time Cube guy?
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Apr 14, 2015 20:12
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Robindaybird posted:so the Etherites are basically Time Cube guy? Yes. Every Etherite has some grand theory that completely explains the cosmos and gets very twitchy whenever someone questions it or presents evidence that doesn't fit their theory. More lucid Etherites find a way, no matter how tortured the logic, to fit the new evidence into their model. More typical Etherites reach for a ray gun or pretend they didn't hear what you just said. Around sufficiently powerful Etherites, the universe really does bend and warp to fit their conception of how everything works. Depending on the Etherite projecting the Unmada field, your toaster may suddenly rearrange its inner workings to reflect the Etherite's cosmic theory or simply stop working even though it's perfectly physically fine because the laws of physics around the Etherite have changed.
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Apr 14, 2015 20:49
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On some level, isn't all of Genius about that? Making contraptions work despite the laws of reality rather than because of them, until someone skeptical enough points out you just plugged a power strip into itself and it all falls apart? Except I guess these guys are good enough that they point out no, the real question is how is your power strip working when it isn't plugged into itself?
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Apr 14, 2015 21:14
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Hyper Crab Tank posted:On some level, isn't all of Genius about that? Making contraptions work despite the laws of reality rather than because of them, until someone skeptical enough points out you just plugged a power strip into itself and it all falls apart? Except I guess these guys are good enough that they point out no, the real question is how is your power strip working when it isn't plugged into itself? All of Genius is basically, "Mage, but using a ray-gun instead of a wand is now mandatory."
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Apr 14, 2015 21:20
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Hyper Crab Tank posted:On some level, isn't all of Genius about that? Making contraptions work despite the laws of reality rather than because of them, until someone skeptical enough points out you just plugged a power strip into itself and it all falls apart? Except I guess these guys are good enough that they point out no, the real question is how is your power strip working when it isn't plugged into itself? Again, yes. The primary message of the Peerage is that you are insane, your stuff shouldn't work. Unmada are the people who think they're sane, that their stuff should work because that's how the universe works, and because of Inspiration they really can passively alter the world around them to reinforce their view of the world. We'll get into the exact rules for unmada later. And yes, geniuses are for all intents and purposes mages. The book even points out that it's very, very difficult to tell the difference between the two and posits a genius/mage liaison group that exists to take care of newly awakening mages and geniuses mistaken for the other.
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Apr 14, 2015 21:22
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Cythereal posted:And yes, geniuses are for all intents and purposes mages. The book even points out that it's very, very difficult to tell the difference between the two and posits a genius/mage liaison group that exists to take care of newly awakening mages and geniuses mistaken for the other.
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Apr 14, 2015 21:33
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Zereth posted:What arguments do they make for how they're not actually the same thing, only with extra crazy on the Genius side? Here is the sum total of the arguments for why geniuses are different from mages: because they are. The book seems to assume that if you care about the difference you probably shouldn't be playing Genius and spends no time whatsoever addressing the whole "what's the difference between Inspiration and magic?" thing. Edit: Here is the sum total of Genius' effort to address the issue. Genius posted:Mages: Cythereal fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Apr 14, 2015 |
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Apr 14, 2015 21:40
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theironjef posted:Yeah, we went after the first edition. It's imaginative, that's for sure. I assume in later editions he had a stronger editing team, that'd help curtail all the tarot silliness and his tendency to launch into first-person rants about life stuff in the middle of rule sections of the book. I have the 1st and the 3rd edition. All the handwaved stuff in 1st gets covered in 3rd so you actually get all the backstory.
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Apr 14, 2015 23:01
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I like to imagine Atomists as hardcore Heinlein/Randian enthusiasts who are mad that a high-powered techno-libertarian utopia where nudity is allowed and everyone can gently caress everyone didn't happen. Also if I ever played an Etherite, they would either be an anti-vaxxer or a multi-level marketing salesman who has actually figured out how to make hexagonal water that cures you of all ailments or has actually invented space-age vorpal knives or something.
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Apr 14, 2015 23:52
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MiliKK Animal House, Lousy Guns Edition The first module (heh, they called it modules, of course - this was in an old RPG magazine after all) for MiliKK I'll go through is called Supervivencia (Survival) and it's a simple thing to give GMs and players a feel for the game. PCs should be Veterans or Grandfathers, know each other beforehand and belong to the same company. Rumor has it that there are division-level surprise exercises on the works. Successful rolls of Military Psychology, Chutzpah or rear end-Kissing will reveal that the exercises will take place very close to the coast, and the company's only role will be to hold a span of ground to deny it to the 'enemy.' Furthermore, the company won't have to walk a mile on foot to get to their destination - trucks will be provided. And, on top of it all, another unit will set up some huge tents at the staging grounds, so the soldiers won't need to carry or set up sleeping bags or tents of their own. Yay! Of course, such a happy situation cannot last.  Captain González, company CO, orders his men to pack up only necessities and form up - of course, most people will have already packed up the necessities for a day at the beach. Captain González is a kind but clumsy man, however, and he manages to fall face-first off the stairs when about to join his men: the wound is not severe, but he won't be able to participate. Commander Morales, a.k.a. "the Hyena" because of the way he laughs, is left in charge, and the man is famous for being a hopeless fuckup. Welp. Some hours into the journey, Morales orders the trucks to stop and everyone to come down. A good walk will make them hungry and they need the exercise, he says, so they get to walk the last 30 kilometers in full gear to their staging grounds. The lieutenants will march with the troops to lead by example; he would join them, of course, but he's got to ride with the trucks to get things ready. Any PC that fails at a roll of Chutzpah, Truancy, or whatever they can come up to hitch a ride will have to do those 30 kilometers under a sweltering summer sun. Difficulty 5 Endurance roll, otherwise they lose 5 Morale. Fortunately, however, they get a free Swearing roll to mitigate the damage, because even the officers are pissed off. catalan cursing up in this posted:IMECO 2nd Lt. Revetllat is the first to snarl through his teeth: "...será mal parit el fill de sa mare..." When they finally arrive, they'll notice a Supply truck going the opposite way: Difficulty 5 Intuition roll to notice it's loaded up with their tents. See, the Hyena had the bright idea to order all the tents dismounted and packed away: he spotted a nice old abandoned farmhouse where the troops will be much more comfortable, and in a better tactical position. The farmhouse, by the way, is on top of a hill, and the road there is rocky and rough. The Commander would help, gladly, but he's got to take a jeep to appraise the Colonel of the new situation and receive orders. 5 Morale hit to anyone that has to carry supplies uphill if they fail an Endurance roll, unless they manage to get away from the poo poo pile beforehand. A Difficulty 1 Military Psychology idea will tell the PCs that the Hyena had a terrible idea after all: the position is hard for supply trucks to get to, they'll be out of communications, and can't evacuate quickly if they're located or needed elsewhere. And they'll need to set up a guard post for their trucks, left down the hill. The farmhouse is a disaster: the soldiers will have to clean up, cover holes in the walls, and basically make the place somewhat inhabitable by human beings. It'll take hours of work, though. An Intuition roll at Difficulty 10, however, will reveal a major prize: a plastic bag with over two kilos of hash! Another Intuition roll will help PCs paying attention notice that the Supply soldiers return with the truck, throw the tents to the ground and gently caress off with sour looks on their faces. Another bright idea of the Hyena: the troops have to camp downhill, while only four soldiers stay at the farmhouse just in case the "enemy" wants to storm it. Again, time to haul all the gear back, and no Endurance roll will help with the 5 Morale loss this time. It's deep into the night when dinner is served, and any PC that doesn't make a Difficulty 5 Endurance roll will pass out for hours. If any PC is still standing and goes outside for a leak or to smoke, they will notice two shady figures skulking around. IMECO Revetllat and Corporal Pepe Triana are sneaking off! They're both buddies, and Pepe told his pal that he knows a town nearby with lots of summer partying going on, so they're planning to get on their beach civvie outfits and going for a night out in the Commander's jeep, which they're now pushing gently outside of the camp so as to not wake anyone up. PCs that can approach them without making too much noise and get some civilian clothes could convince the two (rear end-Kissing, Chutzpah, or Military Psychology for good ol' blackmailing) to take them along. Pepe is right: it's party o'clock at the town. Detect Cool Spot rolls to find out the best parties, and if the PCs make their Getting Laid and Speak Guiri rolls they'll meet two tall, curvy German chicks, Ingrid and Sigrid. "'Appearance: Nymphomaniac Vikings. Attack: [CENSORED]"  If the PCs don't try to stop things, they'll end up in the middle of a raging orgy at their apartment, along with the IMECO and the Corporal. Endurance or Muscle rolls to see how they perform: a crit means the girls have found the man (men) of their lives. A fumble...  Eventually, the PCs will want to return, which means getting rid of the gals (who want them to stay for another hour or ten) and dragging the other two goons, who are too drunk and high respectively to be of much use. They could leave them behind, but the two assholes could just reveal their names. So it's time to drag them back to the jeep and head back to camp, with a surprise Difficulty 6 roll not to crash the car as they start singing and dancing. Perhaps gagging them will be in order. Anyway! Six o'clock in the morning, time to wakey wakey. The Hyena is going to use an "efficient" defensive system employed by the Americans in 'Nam, which will send small patrols around the camp to detect the enemy. Difficulty 2 Education roll to realize how he hosed up this time: the Americans used that system in jungle terrain, not the flatter ground where they're in and where a couple of armored vehicles can just run over any silly old foot infantry platoon. No matter, the PCs get saddled with it, commanded by Sergeant Fojones, a.k.a. "Festicles." A tough, brutish SOB. The Sarge orders the PCs to piss on the ground to make mud, and coat themselves with it to blend with the terrain (nevermind that their green fatigues already contrast heavily with the local terrain) Instant 2 Morale hit to anyone dumb enough to go with the Sarge's command, since it's trivial to just move away from his sight and use water from their canteens to make the mud. Once 'camouflaged', Festicles will order them to advance and hit the deck every time a plane flies over them. Did I mention that the exercises take place near a local airfield?  The patrol reaches the shores of a 'river', that is to say, a smelly sewer entrance disgorging wastewater into the sea.The wastewater shifts between a diarrhea-like brown and a vomitous yellow, and it's dragging dead rats along. The Sarge will order part of the patrol to cover them, while the rest charges through the river - him on the lead, yelling at the top of his lungs! A whopping 10 Morale loss, since a Brains or Truancy roll will make the PCs notice that there's a clean exit about twenty meters to a side. Festicles will fall halfway through the 'river', swallowing up part of the wastewater, so he'll go easy on anyone that doesn't quite follow his command. He'll order the rest of the patrol to recon ahead over a small mound while he stays along with another soldier to rest. Oh, by the way, the patrol is beyond the mission area: over the mound, there's a nudist colony. When the PCs decide to come back, regardless of their possible attempts at fraternization with the local populace they'll find Festicles drooling something greenish, with little red spots all over his body and having a bad case of the runs. The PCs could try to drag him back to base, or ask the nudists for help: they'll gladly supply a car, but they're going to drive them to base in their birthday suits. The troops will love them, the Hyena will be mad as hell, and the PCs will have to roll Marshality, Chutzpah or Military Psychology to dodge a bullet there. After lunch, the Hyena leaves camp to meet with Command, and things are nice and quiet! Until the PCs watch Ingrid and Sigrid on a beat up Citrôen coming for them, clearly unwilling to let them go~ The PCs, Revetllat and Triana will have to find a way to get rid of the German girls before the Hyena returns, or at least keep them quiet because there'll be hell if the Hyena or the other lieutenants get word of their escapade. They could try anything from organizing an impromptu brothel in the back of the kitchen so that the entire company helps in keeping them busy (they'll love it) or gag them and throw them into the water (they'll love that a lot less) At night, the PCs will get saddled with guard duty at the farmhouse. What they don't know is that the drug dealer that hid his stash in the farmhouse will come back for it, along with two other thugs. They're poo poo at stealth, however, they don't even know about the military exercises in the area, and any PC that is minimally alert will spot them. A Marshality roll along with aiming their (unloaded) weapon at the losers will make them crap their pants and surrender on the spot. If they think of turning them in at the camp, though... aw gently caress. The Hyena has been hitting the Chinchón (an anise-based spirit) something fierce, so upon receiving the 'prisoners' he'll yell that they're an advance party for a "Freemason Red" army camouflaged among the local civilians, so he'll be forced to declare martial law. And everyone gets ordered onto the trucks to assault the beach town! The Hyena is about to turn things into a royal clusterfuck, and the smartest thing the PCs can do (in fact, what most of the company will do) is gently caress off as soon as they get the opportunity. Eventually, the Guardia Civil will stop the Hyena at banging on the doors of the town hall, and book him on charges of drunkenness and public scandal. Not a single member of his force, officers included, will lift a finger to help him. If the PCs are still around, they'll hear Lieutenant Paje, a tough but reasonable guy, order everyone to be present at morning call in camp tomorrow, before finding the nearest bar for some scotch with ice.At the end, the PCs will be rewarded with 1-3 Survival points and 15 Morale for making it to the end. If any of the PCs got laid with Ingrid or Sigrid, they'll have to make a Difficulty 10 Endurance roll now, or catch some king-sized crabs  . As for the Hyena, he'll be presented with the Medal to Distinguished Merit, for his great performance during the exercise. 
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Apr 15, 2015 08:10
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Traveller posted:As for the Hyena, he'll be presented with the Medal to Distinguished Merit, for his great performance during the exercise. Kind of sexist, but this totally redeems it. Interesting that there don't seem to be any dudes at the nudist beach.
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Apr 15, 2015 08:40
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