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Night10194 posted:I've never liked running pre-written adventures (I like writing my own and I know my players and know they'll never stay on rails in any form) but I can't imagine how anyone runs a pre-written campaign. It just feels like sooner or later your players are going to do things different enough to diverge completely, even if they really like the basic gist of the plot. Selachian said it pretty well but I would describe the major sections of the AP as sandbox-ish. The PCs are given a goal but with wide latitude in how to accomplish it. Asking for guidance from the important NPCs is met with a, "You figure it out, also if you fail we'll kill you and torture you for all eternity." I've played and DM'ed a number of other Pathfinder APs and this felt less railroady than any other.
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Nov 20, 2016 17:35
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Kurieg posted:The EVAs weren't furry enough for the maniacs who wrote the CTech adventures. They could always write in a not-EVA that's a giant teddy bear you pilot by having it eat you. While wearing an inflating wolfsona fursuit. That would still be an improvement over some of these adventures.
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Nov 20, 2016 18:11
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Midjack posted:Too bad none of those shows had a game about them. Okay, Adeptus Evangelion counts I guess.
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Nov 20, 2016 19:28
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Siivola posted:Not only is there an Azumanga game, it's by a goon: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/156194/Raspberry-Heaven I hope this doesn't have a caveat like most magical girl rpgs (who usually end up as Meguca: The Suffering) And Gurren Lagann is available in several flavors (Remnants, Giant Guardian Generation, Battle Century G...)
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Nov 20, 2016 19:40
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Doresh posted:I hope this doesn't have a caveat like most magical girl rpgs (who usually end up as Meguca: The Suffering) Nah, it's perfectly sincere.
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Nov 20, 2016 19:56
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I have learned the hard way that a tiny bit of suggestive stuff into a game will get amplified when certain people latch onto it. That's probably why Raspberry Heaven has less weird stuff than Azumanga Daioh, since there's nothing like Kimura-sensei in there. Very early versions of the game had you put together archetypes to make a character, and the one for having your character be unusually attractive and got a surprising number of guys to go "Yeah, my character in this heartwarming slice of life story has big boobs." The weirdest thing about Raspberry Heaven is that the format was heavily inspired by Jonathan Walton's zombie game Restless, which he hasn't actually published yet.
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Nov 21, 2016 00:53
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Ewen Cluney posted:I have learned the hard way that a tiny bit of suggestive stuff into a game will get amplified when certain people latch onto it. That's probably why Raspberry Heaven has less weird stuff than Azumanga Daioh, since there's nothing like Kimura-sensei in there. the pedophile teacher is less "suggestive" and more "disgusting poo poo" so it's a good idea not to include it
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Nov 21, 2016 13:00
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Ewen Cluney posted:I have learned the hard way that a tiny bit of suggestive stuff into a game will get amplified when certain people latch onto it. That's probably why Raspberry Heaven has less weird stuff than Azumanga Daioh, since there's nothing like Kimura-sensei in there. Very early versions of the game had you put together archetypes to make a character, and the one for having your character be unusually attractive and got a surprising number of guys to go "Yeah, my character in this heartwarming slice of life story has big boobs." Which is weird since I would have thought the go to idea would be that episode of Dexters Lab where he becomes handsome. Or bishonen sparkles every wear and foot long eyelashes Rigged Death Trap fucked around with this message at 13:59 on Nov 21, 2016 |
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Nov 21, 2016 13:49
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Rigged Death Trap posted:Which is weird since I would have thought the go to idea would be that episode of Dexters Lab where he becomes handsome. Or what Robin on the Teen Titans GO! looks like without his mask... 
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Nov 21, 2016 17:03
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Don't forget the sudden field of flowers in the background.Ewen Cluney posted:I have learned the hard way that a tiny bit of suggestive stuff into a game will get amplified when certain people latch onto it. That's probably why Raspberry Heaven has less weird stuff than Azumanga Daioh, since there's nothing like Kimura-sensei in there. Very early versions of the game had you put together archetypes to make a character, and the one for having your character be unusually attractive and got a surprising number of guys to go "Yeah, my character in this heartwarming slice of life story has big boobs." So none about these "Everyone's dead" or "Everyone's a clone robot whatever" conspiracy theories surrounding the show? Nice. Nuns with Guns posted:the pedophile teacher is less "suggestive" and more "disgusting poo poo" so it's a good idea not to include it Clearly, Kimura-sensei was a masterful stab at the despicable kind of otaku who has to get all pervy even when enjoying a whimsical slice-of-life show for the whole family. Much like the giant middle finger to otakus that was Neon Genesis Evangelion, the writer's idea backfired, making Kimura-sensei the godfather of waifudom.
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Nov 21, 2016 17:51
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Evangelion is a lot better (and easier to understand) if you've spent a lot of time with people with clinical depression. If I had any idea what was up with AdEva these days I'd do it some time and explain why Monsterhearts or something is a way, way better system to use for the kind of stories I got out of running that system. As it is I need to get back to Myriad Song. I had some troubles pop up that kinda knocked me out of working on RPG reviews for a bit, but it's all good now.
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Nov 21, 2016 18:00
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Doresh posted:Clearly, Kimura-sensei was a masterful stab at the despicable kind of otaku who has to get all pervy even when enjoying a whimsical slice-of-life show for the whole family. You would think that writers would learn that parody critiques are just going to go over the heads of their intended audience, and yet.... (otoh, I love the passive-aggressive slap fights that result when the 'wrong message' is taken from these shows "You want resolution to the series I don't want you weirdos to like? FINE EVERYONE DIES!!"
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Nov 21, 2016 18:17
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SirPhoebos posted:You would think that writers would learn that parody critiques are just going to go over the heads of their intended audience, and yet.... Komm, Süßer Tod is one of the most sublime moments of EoE. A bright happy sounding song with deeply disturbing lyrics and a German Name that both of the series intended audiences weren't likely to understand while Hideaki Anno murders everyone you love. (It's German for "Come, Sweet Death")
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Nov 21, 2016 18:31
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That's also the title of a novel. And here I was wondering why the grammar was so spot on.SirPhoebos posted:You would think that writers would learn that parody critiques are just going to go over the heads of their intended audience, and yet.... Kimura later also turns out to be quite nice-ish outside of school. I guess the writer gave up or something.
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Nov 21, 2016 18:37
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EoE Came out before the novel, both are named after a song by Bach that you may recognize.
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Nov 21, 2016 19:05
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So much Tang.
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Nov 21, 2016 20:57
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Doresh posted:Kimura later also turns out to be quite nice-ish outside of school. I guess the writer gave up or something. Well the whole gag (laff or choke, take your pick) is the "is he or isn't he" with the cast's discomfort over him and the ambiguity of whether or not he's a pedo. I thought the whole point of that revelation was "he isn't" as they get old enough to see him as a real person beyond their assumptions. Granted, it's been ages since I read it and I could be forgetting something vital in the multilayered, complex, sprawling continuity that is Azumanga Daiou, so feel free to correct me if I'm misremembering it. And even with that, it doesn't keep it from being problematic on a number of levels and made even more problematic by anime fandom, of course.
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Nov 22, 2016 01:06
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poo poo you don't post for a week and the whole place turns to anime. Hey, here's Cyberworld: The Live-Action Roleplaying Game of the New Dark Ages. Be warned, this thing uses photos instead of art, which is A) terrible, and B) means that there's horrible 3D actual women in it instead of waifus. Also it's a LARP. Also it includes phrases like "CAST OFF THE YOLK OF GOVERNMENT RULE" and "DESPITE THERE BEST EFFORTS THEY WERE ALL WAYS DEFEATED." Also it's in all caps. theironjef fucked around with this message at 03:26 on Nov 22, 2016 |
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Nov 22, 2016 03:23
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Sorry, that was me. Also I'm not sorry. Stay tuned for when we find out that Slayers d20 only has three base races!
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Nov 22, 2016 03:33
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Before I listen to the episode- If I hack in a LARP, and sit down with a GM to help out, and then maybe get some hacker buddies together to join me in the hack, can we successfully drag the LARP back into becoming a tabletop game?
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Nov 22, 2016 03:42
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Alien Rope Burn posted:Before I listen to the episode- Maybe in some other LARP. In this one all hacks are going into a cyberdungeon to fight the daemon that keeps this door locked. You let people know you're currently a hacky hologram by crossing your right arm over your chest, and that you are an invisible hologram (is that different from a hologram that isn't there? I dunno) with your left arm. theironjef fucked around with this message at 04:18 on Nov 22, 2016 |
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Nov 22, 2016 04:15
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It’s been a while, and the start of The Great Modron March review tempted me to put this on hold to review Planes of Law, but I’m committed to finishing this up. 4: “It is a purely chaotic artifact. Thus it is a wonderful item to give to player characters.”  For this update, I’m going to focus on artifacts that a Player Character can use. Or at least ones the book says they can use. The Invulnerable Coat of Arnd is a non-descript chainmail shirt. It’s probably the most straight-forward artifact in this book, both in its background and function. There was an evil wizard named Vitros oppressing a small nation. The priests and craftsman of said nation made a chainmail shirt and prayed for someone to murder-hob the wizard. A wandering priest named Arnd shows up and wearing the coat he kicks Vitros’ poo poo in. And then he rides off into the sunset. The End. The book suggests giving the coat to a PC so they can do the same. Simple! The Invulnerable Coat can re-size itself to any humanoid between 3 and 8 feet, an ability that’s since been presumed to be in any magic item. The wearer of the Coat cannot be hit by any physical attack except on a natural 20 and receives a +5 bonus to all saving throws. The armor protects as a ring of fire protection and is immune to acid, cold, and electrical attacks. (The wording is confusing, I think it’s supposed to say that the wearer is immune). A cleric wearing the Coat can utter a special prayer to gain 3 experience levels for 4 days (1/month). This increases includes hit points, attacks, spells and saving throws. The Coat’s curse is that whenever the wearer is in the presence of impoverished or suffering people, there is a 70% chance that the spirit of Arnd will take possession of the wearer to aid the unfortunate. The wearer spends 2d4+1 hours roaming the area, seeking out the poor and aiding them “as a 14th level cleric”, whatever that means. The wearer has no memory of what they did after this period ends. Suggested Means of Destruction:
Hey, why don’t we check out that table? Cataclysms work more like Artifact curses than powers because the user has no control over using them. The default range of these effects is a 1 mile diameter centered on the Artifact. So let’s suppose Donald Trump (TOPICAL HUMOR LOL!) tries to squeeze himself into the Coat. As a result... Table 11: Cataclysms: 12
 Johydee’s Mask is another artifact that the book says is appropriate to use for low-level parties. The full face mask is made of an unknown opaque material shaded gray. It has a similar background to the Coat of Arnd. A well-organized band of thieves terrorized a frontier region until one day when it was visited by a priestess of a goddess of truth and justice named Johydee. Rather than murderhobo the thieves away, she instead creates the mask with the assistance of a retired illusionist. The mask allowed Johydee take the guise of the band’s leader and infiltrated their ranks. She discovered long-buried divisions amongst the thieves, and brought them back to the surface. As a result the Thieves Band dissolved, and the region was once again at peace. Aside from giving the mask to the party, the DM can have an adversary use the mask to plot a series of thefts, and “at the end of the adventure the mask can allow the thief to elude the party and finally disappear without a trace.” Yeah, gently caress you again, 2nd edition. The wearer of Johydee’s Mask is immune to all gaze attacks. The PC can assume the guise of any humanoid being, from gnome to hill giant size, by concentrating for one full round. If the PC has seen or heard the subject, the disguise is complete, “including voice, mannerism, clothing, and equipment.” There is a 5% chance per hour that close friends and family of the subject will detect discrepancies. This power can be used once a day, and lasts up to 12 hours. In addition, the Mask has 1 random power from the Movement table and 1from Enchantment/Charm: Table 27: Movement: 19 Table 21: Enchantment/Charm: 4
The Mask’s curse is that there is a 2% chance per hour spent in impersonation that the wearer comes to believe that the identity of the subject is actually their own. Only a wish can reverse this effect. Suggested Means of Destruction:
 The Horn of Change is one of those artifacts that’s simply a collection of random powers. The book seems to believe this is an appropriate item to give to players because it will “provide many opportunities for role-playing”. In practice the item is a campaign wrecker with no justification for including it. It doesn’t even have an interesting story. Once upon a time a rogue goes gambling, has a huge luck streak, brags about, then OH NO a charismatic stranger comes to the gaming table and the rogue’s luck streak reverses. Finally, the rogue bets the last thing he has-his soul-and the stranger puts the horn against it. The rogue wins, and “after gaining a reputation for wonders,” he vanishes one day without a trace. When a character picks up the Horn, he is instantly aware of its possibilities (the DM is told to show the player the table in this entry). Every time the horn is blown, the DM rolls on the main table, then rolls on the table referred to.  Let’s take a roll from each of these tables: http://orokos.com/roll/456672 http://orokos.com/roll/456675
Those last two entries are always negatives imposed on the user. So there is a 1-in-4 chance with each use that the Horn fucks the player over. In addition, each day the character owns the Horn there is a cumulative 1% chance that he is seized by gambling fever and must take any honest wager. This lasts until the Horn itself is gambled away. Suggested Means of Destruction:
 Well that was some bullshit. Let’s get to something more straightforward. The Mace of Cuthbert is a gnarl wooden club. St. Cuthbert is the Judge Dredd of TSR’s list of gods. He travels the countryside in human form testing the faith of his followers. If it is lacking Cuthbert whacks the follower and their faith is restored. In some circumstances, Cuthbert gives the Mace to a follower so that they can whoop rear end on his behalf. The Campaign Use segment has some good suggestions. Aside from general murderhoboing the PCs may be tasked with recovering the relic from enemies of the church or perhaps a powerful but corrupt member of the clergy. The cudgel functions as a +5 mace of disruption. Any intelligent mortal struck by the club becomes an enthusiastic follower of Cuthbert for 1 day, and on a natural 20, the target loses 1 point of intelligence (no save or MR). A cleric of Cuthbert can cast detect undead at will and call upon faith 3/day. 1/day the wielder can cast a modified version of cloak of bravery that gives a +3 save for all types of save and the effect is granted to up to 4 creatures and lasts 8 hours. The Mace’s curse is that the wielder becomes a lawful good follower of Cuthbert and an extreme zealot, trying to convert everyone. In addition “the zealot’s Charisma is reduced to 4 due to obnoxious behavior for as long as the Mace is possessed.” Methinks someone is projecting a bit here. Suggested Means of Destruction:
 Let’s get one more artifact in. The Jacinth of Inestimable Beauty is a crystalline, fist-sized flower made from orange corundum facets sewn together with strands of gold. The Jacinth was cut and assembled by a dwarf named Jojonek. Jojonek was guided by the gods in crafting the flower, and they gifted him with 4 bottles of floral scented oils. So not only does the artifact look like a flower, but it has the fragrance of a flower. Of course Jojonek took all the credit for making the Jacinth, which the gods weren’t too keen with. So they drove the dwarf insane until he fled his home with the Jacinth. Just another day in Dwarf Fortress  The book doesn’t offer any complicated campaign ideas, suggesting the flower causing NPCs to act strangely (or charming PCs, because 2nd ed gonna 2nd ed).Contact with the Jacinth adds 5 points to the user’s Charisma (maximum 21). To use the invoked powers, a PC specifies a floral scent while holding and smelling deeply of the flower. This releases the named scent and the power. If no scent is named or a scent is specified that the flower doesn’t have, a random scent is released. The scents and their powers are:
Lavender: Suggestion (3/day, cast at 20th level) Rose: 1 from Major SLP table Jacinth: 1 from Fate and Fortune table Fate & Fortune: 4-Permanently imbue the user with all knowledge of the gambling profession. If the user is already proficient in gambling, the ability score improves by 1 The character suffers the effects of chaotic sleep while in possession of the Jacinth. When the ratio of sleeplessness to sleep is 2 to 1 (um isn’t that the human norm?  ) the PC becomes sluggish and incoherent, taking -1 to all attributes. At 3 to 1, the character becomes paranoid, meaning reaction rolls are required for each encounter with -6 penalties.Suggested Means of Destruction
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Nov 22, 2016 05:44
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Waffleman_ posted:Stay tuned for when we find out that Slayers d20 only has three base races!
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Nov 22, 2016 11:42
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theironjef posted:Also it includes phrases like "CAST OFF THE YOLK OF GOVERNMENT RULE" drat Egg Council got its claws into the TTRPG community!
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Nov 22, 2016 15:24
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Zereth posted:Is one of them being just like Zelgadis, who's a unique chimera made by a magical experiment? Chimeras are one of the many additional race templates you can apply to your character. It's beastmen (which is mechanically more of an umbrella race with like 8 different variations), human, and dragon.
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Nov 22, 2016 16:20
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Alien Rope Burn posted:Well the whole gag (laff or choke, take your pick) is the "is he or isn't he" with the cast's discomfort over him and the ambiguity of whether or not he's a pedo. I thought the whole point of that revelation was "he isn't" as they get old enough to see him as a real person beyond their assumptions. Granted, it's been ages since I read it and I could be forgetting something vital in the multilayered, complex, sprawling continuity that is Azumanga Daiou, so feel free to correct me if I'm misremembering it. And even with that, it doesn't keep it from being problematic on a number of levels and made even more problematic by anime fandom, of course. Oh, I know that. He's way too good at being uncomfortable. And I tell ya, the Nasuverse has nothing on the Azumanga EU. theironjef posted:Maybe in some other LARP. In this one all hacks are going into a cyberdungeon to fight the daemon that keeps this door locked. You let people know you're currently a hacky hologram by crossing your right arm over your chest, and that you are an invisible hologram (is that different from a hologram that isn't there? I dunno) with your left arm. Now that's just silly. A hologram should be visible by definition. Doresh fucked around with this message at 19:34 on Nov 22, 2016 |
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Nov 22, 2016 17:57
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What if it's an ultraviolet hologram?
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Nov 23, 2016 00:58
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What if it's an ultraviolent hologram and I just punch people with hard light?
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Nov 23, 2016 02:21
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Waffleman_ posted:What if it's an ultraviolent hologram and I just punch people with hard light? You're way outside the scope of the game. It's a regular light hologram that's invisible, and also it can't touch people or things. Also it can go anywhere even though it's apparently broadcast by a satellite from space. If it wants to hack something, that player needs to mimic the effect of diving into that specific thing in the game world (door lock, computer), then put up that left hand to let the players know they're currently in the Virtnet and not the real world. Then they roleplay the story of casting a hack spell to get into a dungeon to fight a daemon, and once they kill it (with violence), they can turn off that CPU, which has the side effect of killing any hacker that was controlling that CPU. Fun!
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Nov 23, 2016 02:29
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But what if I wanna become self-aware and go rampant like Cortana?
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Nov 23, 2016 02:30
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You're going to need a better game. It's kind of amusing of just how obvious the game just smashes Laws of the Night against Cyberpunk 2020 rules-wise, it's like two different systems that don't work well in the first place being made into a terrible system mashup, from Cyberpunk's "LED fingernails made me want to murder everybody because I rolled real bad" to Laws of the Night's bomb mechanics (I always stopped buying Potence before you get "the bomb", because why). The author tore out Cyberpunk's role skills and instead inserted something like Laws of the Night's influence traits in their place. I guess the space stuff was just there so you could moan about c-beams glittering in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate? WAIT I FORGOT TO RIGHT THIS POST. IN ALL CAPS.
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Nov 23, 2016 02:43
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Waffleman_ posted:But what if I wanna become self-aware and go rampant like Cortana? Well, if you get to max level as a virtech, you gain the magical ability to log off again. So I think that you are running rampant all the time til then.
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Nov 23, 2016 02:43
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The ability to log off better allow me to leave the abandoned warehouse where we are most likely playing this game.
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Nov 23, 2016 02:51
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Waffleman_ posted:The ability to log off better allow me to leave the abandoned warehouse where we are most likely playing this game. Nah man, you're playing it in a skyscrapper. Or an amasement park.
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Nov 23, 2016 02:54
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The thing that has bothered me the most about the VirTech hologram thing lately that I am sad we didn't mention on the podcast is this. What exactly does the VirTech see as a hologram? Like, the body you run around as is just light so it's not like there's some camera giving you a first person view. So are you just Google Earth-ing it from the same satellite that sends down your avatar? If so, how is that somehow "so real that you experience pain as if it were actually happening"? You should basically be having a top-down view that should be giving you greater awareness of your surrounding. It's like saying that if you play a MOBA, you're going to confuse it for reality. God drat I hate the entire concept of the VirTech so loving much.
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Nov 23, 2016 02:58
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At least if you were just a floaty hologram at least that would be something interesting because at least you'd have this kind of unique ability instead of being just being able to die via telepresence. At least.
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Nov 23, 2016 03:04
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Way of the Wicked - Book 1 - All Twisted Up ACT TWO: INTO THE KNOT (PCs are level 2) The PCs are met at the door by Tiadora, she’s changed her clothes but she’s still a bitch. quote:“Dearest, you took long enough,” she says pitilessly. “We were beginning to wonder if you’d ever make it. Oh, and you brought friends. The master commands all of you to appear before him but before that, you must be made presentable. Slaves!” She claps her hands. A dozen young attractive men and women all wearing very traditional servant’s livery appear quickly, their heads bowed. “These people are our guests,” she commands imperiously. “See them to their rooms. I want them cleaned, dressed and refreshed. Quickly.” There is something in that last word that sounds like a threat. Certainly the slaves take it that way, hustling to perform their duties.  Devilishly handsome. quote:At last Tiadora leads you to a beautifully appointed office richly decorated with dark wood and sumptuous brocade tapestry. Sitting in a leather high-backed chair is a devilishly handsome fellow who smiles as you enter. “I believe you to be the first to ever escape from Branderscar Prison. Well done! Of course, you had help from the outside,” he says with a wicked smile. If they decline the offer or try to attack Thorn it ends badly, Tiadora makes short work of them. Let’s assume the PCs accept the offer. Asmodeus is a LE god so this whole arrangement is sealed with a contract signed in the blood of the PCs and the Cardinal. There’s one copy for the PCs and one for Thorn to keep. quote:THE PACT OF THORNS With the diabolical legal formalities completed Thorn gives them 3 days to rest and relax. They can amuse themselves with the servants in the Manor but are prohibited from leaving. Questions to Tiadora will be meet with more vague, sneering answers. Tiadora uses this time to surreptitiously collect hair samples from each of the PCs. With these samples and their blood on the contact Thorn will have no trouble scrying on the PCs. The PCs are also provided with any starting equipment the would normally have received, up to 200gp of other class appropriate gear, a silver unholy symbol of Asmodeus and one very useful item: quote:Iron Circlet The PCs will also find they are not alone in the Manor, there is another group of fresh recruits, Thorn’s prospective 7th knot. The group calls themselves “The White Ravens”. Elise Zadaria (LE Human Witch CR2) - the leader of a group of wicked adventurers from the mainland. Dostan Alfson (NE Half-Elf Barbarian CR2) - he talks very little and is fanatically devoted to Elise. Tallus “Trak” Rackburn (LE Human Ranger CR2) - twin brother to the groups Cleric Trik he delights in hunting humans. Titus “Trik” Rackburn (LE Human Cleric CR2) twin brother to Trak, an outwardly pleasant demeanor hides his true nature; that he is a cultist of Asmodeus and serial killer. The White Ravens could shape up to rivals, allies or romantic interests. They will play a larger role in Book 2 of the AP, for now though they aren’t important. When 3 days have elapsed the PCs are brought before Cardinal Thorn. THE CRUEL TUTELAGE OF CARDINAL THORN quote:“Have you enjoyed your gifts? The iron circlets allow you to move amongst your enemies as one of them. The silver amulets will remind you of your true loyalties. And the other items – well, you need them now.  1 - The Chamber of Deception - Stone stair lead down to an empty chamber. On the archway is an inscription, “Deception is a tool. Self-deception is death. Deceive always thy enemy but never thyself.” The entrances to all the rooms here give these types of hints. The doorway to the east is bait for a pit trap. The north is an alcove containing alchemist’s fire and another inscription, “Thou hast seen through deception to uncover a useful tool.” The south wall contains the true exit. 2 - The Chamber of Many Paths - “Following the herd is for fools. Fear not their icy derision. Instead, fear only thy Infernal Lord.” The chamber is strangely cold and there are tracks leading to the doors on the south and east walls. These are booby trapped with spears. The western wall has a door but it’s covered by a Violet Mold. Fire and body heat will make the mold grow and deal damage to the PCs, cold damage will destroy it. 3 - The Chamber of Darkness - “Know your enemy. Shatter all that blinds you and then burn thy adversary to ashes.” The room beyond is shrouded in magic darkness the source of which is a glass orb in the center of the room. The darkness provides cover for a nasty Vampiric mist that will pick away at the PCs if they fumble around the room. The two doors out of the room are barred and will take a full round to open. Destroying the orb or casting magic light spells is the best way to deal with this room. 4 - Timeon’s Redoubt - “Cruelty is a tool not a pastime. Be ruthless to thy enemy but reward those who serve thee well.” This room contains only a torturer’s rack. A search of the room will reveal a hidden chamber and the terrified squire Timeon(LG Human Aristoract CR1/4) who has been here a few days. Cardinal Thorn has allow him to overhear some details about the rest of the dungeon which would be useful to know. The PCs can talk him out of the information or torture it out of him. (I think one of the later books in the AP suggest he can be pushed into a crisis of faith and overtime converted to worshipping Asmodeus if the PCs let him live and treat him kindly. My player’s never came to this room.)  5 - The Chamber of Might - “The chosen are revealed by their might. The weak deserve no sympathy.” The door to the south is barred but before the PCs can get out they have to deal with a pair of Mithral Cobras (CR3). They have high AC, DR 5/-, construct traits, SR13 and paralysis poison. This was a tough fight and softenes up the PCs for what comes after. 6 - The Chamber of Sin - “Suffer not the fool. Stupidity is our faith’s cardinal sin.” In the middle of the chamber is a pedestal with a silver and sapphire amulet. An Appraise or Perception check will reveal the sapphires are fake. Taking the stair to the east will activate a spiked ball trapping hitting anyone between the dotted lines. If the PCs try to present the amulet to Cardinal Thorn he berates them and orders them back to the basement. 6a and 6b - a secret passage will bring the PCs around room 7. 7 - The Chamber of the Shrieker - “Secrecy is our greatest ally. Exposure brings death.” Beyond the door is another darkened room. In the center of the room is a Shrieker which if the PCs trigger it will alert the occupants of rooms 8 and 9, The east wall hides a staircase leading to another part of the manor. 8 - The Chamber of the Risen - “Beware the fallen for they may rise once more to threaten you.” In this room are 8 barnacle encrusted coffins, 4 of them contain Draugr. It the PCs triggered the Shrieker thy will have already awakened and begun tearing their wear through coffins and doors to get to room 7. (Timeon knows about these two rooms.) 9 - Sir Balin’s Cell - “Serve thy master well and be rewarded.” The door is heavy and well locked but a key hangs on the wall nearby. quote:Sir Balin of Karfeld waits in this cell. He is a captured knight of the Alerion order and is personally famous for hunting followers of Asmodeus. He may have been instrumental in capturing one or more of the PCs.  Success Cardinal Thorn congratulates the party and gives a little speech about how much you should hate any Mitrans. Then he offers to complete your training. Failure If the PCs fail to return the amulet in 24 hours Thorn admonishes them and orders Tiadora, in a fade to black, to torture the poo poo of out the group for their failure. They still get to complete their training but are a little worse for wear. Of course Cardinal Thorn was scrying on the party the whole time and has learned about their strengths and weakness. Over the next 3 months he trains the group, forging them into the perfect weapon of his revenge. This is all handled as a montage, but when the training is done they do gain a mechanical benefit, another Trait. “Asmodeus is with you.” - Whenever you channel energy, you gain a +1 trait bonus to the save DC of your channeled energy. “Deception is a tool. Master it.” - You gain a +1 trait bonus to Bluff and Sense Motive. “Discover what is real and what is illusion.” - You gain a +2 trait bonus on saving throws against illusions. “Fear nothing save our dread lord.” - You gain a +2 trait bonus on saving throws against fear effects. “Focus strengthens your will.” - You gain a +2 trait bonus on saving throws against charm and compulsion effects. “Let us perfect your favorite spell” - Pick one spell. This spell’s effects manifest at +1 caster level. “Quiet as death” - You gain a +2 trait bonus to Stealth checks. “Strike first, strike ruthlessly and thus be victorious” - You gain a +2 trait bonus on Initiative checks. (All but one of my player’s chose this, because you know Pathfinder.) “Wear your armor like a second skin.” - When you wear armor of any sort, reduce that suit’s armor check penalty by 1 to a minimum check penalty of 0. “You shall be my angel slayer.” - You gain a +2 trait bonus on Knowledge (planes) checks about good-aligned celestials and receive a +1 trait bonus to any damage roll you make against them. During these 3 months The White Ravens are undergoing the same training and there are opportunities for roleplaying. When your training is finished the Cardinal rewards you with a feast complete with a summoned devil, human sacrifice and other devilish rituals. quote:Behold he proclaims, “The Nessian Knot is forged.” NEXT TIME - The Frozen North
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Nov 23, 2016 03:32
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Alien Rope Burn posted:You're going to need a better game. What's funny is that there was a semi-official R. Talsorian Cyberpunk LARP. They demonstrated it at Gen-Con/Origins in 1995(?) and my friends ended up copying their ruleset to run it at A-Kon. I ended up carrying it on for a couple of games. IIRC, it was super-simple: Combat depended on what you had on a weapon card and if you were wearing armor or cyber; Boosted Solos went first, then Solos, then Boosted others, then normals, with ties being action occurs simultaneously; there were only two wound states - Wounded and Dead; and armor blocked up to it's wound level in damage, could be blown through, and ablated with each attack. Character abilities were simplified as well, Solos being the one I remember the most because they went first over all others; Fixers had the ability to get things from the judges at cost to resell; and I believe MedTechs were the only people who could use Medkits and install Cyberware. I'm not sure where it came from but we had a Bodyguard class, whose special ability was to interrupt attacks and throw themselves in front of the attack. I know the original and our games had Netrunners, but I believe it was pretty much they could pull off automatically anything off the net if they knew about it. For the most part, it was a class that require something to do with the narrative, essentially walking MacGuffins for other characters to manipulate, coerce, etc. to get to access the Net. Cyberware also opened up spiffy stuff, like the ability to dodge the first attack in a combat loop or a martial arts chip that allowed you to do damage without a weapon, or had narrative weight, like there might be a locked door that needed opening, there's a chip for that. Drugs did the same thing, but were single-use. Young Freud fucked around with this message at 16:13 on Nov 23, 2016 |
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Nov 23, 2016 04:00
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That sounds interesting, at least. Having Solos go first certainly is an accurate simulation of the TT game, where Solos almost always went first (they could get up to like a +20 init bonus where other people could only get +10, IIRC) and won almost all fights because exceedingly few characters could take a full auto-spray of armor-piercing bullets... except against other Solos. Solos is such a goofy name now, too. I mean... 
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Nov 23, 2016 04:09
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Alien Rope Burn posted:That sounds interesting, at least. Having Solos go first certainly is an accurate simulation of the TT game, where Solos almost always went first (they could get up to like a +20 init bonus where other people could only get +10, IIRC) and won almost all fights because exceedingly few characters could take a full auto-spray of armor-piercing bullets... except against other Solos. Yeah, and just because they went first didn't mean that they'd always win, just most of the time. Something happened in one of the games we ran were a Solo ambushed a target. He got his shot off with his handgun, but it bounced off her concealed armor, at which point she pulled a Polymer One-Shot Handcannon that penetrated his armor, dealt that single wound box, and he went "Oh poo poo! No harm, no foul" and broke contact. And Solos is confusing name to begin with. I get that Pondsmith got it from "solo operative", a term for mercenaries that are hired singly and operate without the need of a crew or support team, but it's such an obscure reference. In my own stuff, I call those guys "Operators", since that's been popularized in popular fiction and the media.
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Nov 23, 2016 04:24
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