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Night10194 posted:Like I write a bunch of pretty serious games in Hams town (and play in them) but all of them have plenty of ridiculous comic relief stuff in them because that's just how hams is. Terrible German, Kvas being held up as a drink that'll floor a bull instead of mildly alcoholic liquid bread, a defenestration of Prague joke, everything about Bretonnia's ridiculous comedy of errors, the ridiculous dwarf Grudges, and the way elves are never as special or capable as they think they are? Hams has plenty of comic relief. My favorite way of describing Elves to new players is that they are almost as good at things as they think they are, and nowhere near as good at things as they sell themselves as.
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Sep 11, 2018 20:41
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I like that as you become a celebrated physician, you become an alcoholic and then a politician.
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Sep 11, 2018 20:46
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More tabletop games need backdoor doctor as a class you can play as.
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Sep 11, 2018 20:54
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Mors Rattus posted:My favorite way of describing Elves to new players is that they are almost as good at things as they think they are, and nowhere near as good at things as they sell themselves as. Which is why Hams elves are some of the only elves in fantasy fiction I genuinely enjoy. All 3 flavors are fun, from the ridiculous fascists shackled to their insane king in his pointless, grinding grudge war to the arrogant pricks sitting on their paradise island while the world passes them by to the murderous hicks who don't even seem to notice they've been thoroughly co-opted by murder-trees, elves just seem prone to falling off of things, tricking themselves, and getting into trouble in Hams.
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Sep 11, 2018 20:59
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So, what would be the best method to get Melee as a Physician then exactly?
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Sep 11, 2018 21:01
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ChaseSP posted:So, what would be the best method to get Melee as a Physician then exactly? Downtime training, pay extra XP for it.
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Sep 11, 2018 21:03
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Daeren posted:give Stan's sales pitch
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Sep 11, 2018 21:04
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WFRP 4e - Wizzing It Up Scholar is for all species. Scholars typically study at some institution of learning, especially the university at Altdorf. Most specialize in one or two subjects, and many only learn just enough to make a livable career of it or have something neat to talk about at parties. Poor Scholars often work as scribes or note-takers, as most citizens of the Empire cannot read or write. Others tutor the rich. The best of them are invited to join universities, delivering lectures to hundreds. Dwarfs and Elves are less likely to work for Imperial institutions, though they may hunt through the Empire in search of knowledge. Scholars often go adventuring to gain funds for their research, or to seek out lost tomes and secrets. Others are hired on to help out with relevant knowledge. Scholars have easy access to a lot of Lores, making them very handy exposition and knowledge sources, and they're pretty okay socially. Just...keep them away from combat. On Scholars posted:"None of us thought much of her. Scrawny thing the Captain dragged out of a library in Altdorf, name of Sosber. Kept to herself. Nose in a book. But when we finally faced the Corpse Render, when so-called warriors ran, she stood fast. Her quiet voice rang with steel as she called out where to strike. Not the heads as you'd think, no, but the body. Steel slew the beast that day, but knowledge made it possible." - Oskar Reisdorf, Mercenary Tier 1 Scholars are Students, Brass 3. They get good T, Int and WP, and have Consume Alcohol, Entertain (Storytelling), Gamble, Gossip, Haggle, Language (Classical), Lore (Any) and Research. Their Trappings, incidentally, always include Alcohol and Opinions, among other things. Their Talents are Carouser, Read/Write, Savvy and Super Numerate. Carouser gives a bonus to Charm and Gossip at parties, and Consume Alcohol at all times, and lets you reverse a failed Consume Alcohol test if that'd make it succeed. Tier 2 is Scholar, Silver 2. They add Art (Writing), Intuition, Language (Any), Lore (Any), Perception and Trade (Any), plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Bookish, Etiquette (Scholars), Speedreader and Suave. Tier 3 is Fellow, Silver 5. They add Entertain (Lecture), Intimidate, Language (Any) and Lore (Any). Their Talents are Linguistics, Public Speaker, Savant (Any) and Tower of Memories. Linguistics gives a bonus to all Language tests, and lets you treat any Language as a Basic Skill after a month of exposure to it and an Int test, which you can attempt once per month. (This doesn't work for Language (Magick).) Public Speaker lets you influence vastly larger numbers of people when using Charm for public speaking, depending on how many times you purchase it - ranging from five times more than normal (at 1 purchase) to 'any and everyone that can hear you' (at 9 purchases). Tower of Memories lets you perfectly recall any sequence of facts or figures no longer than your Int score without rolling, with a roll required for more than that but not a hard one. You may recall one such sequence per purchase. And given how big a Scholar's Int is likely to be, this is along the lines of 'I skim through the tome and memorize the entire ritual in seconds.' Tier 4 is Professor, Gold 1. They add Entertain (Rhetoric) and Lore (Any). Their Talents are Magnum Opus, Master Orator, Savant (Any) and Sharp. Sharp is +5 base I. Wizard is only for Humans and Elves. Wizards channel the Winds of Magic. To legally do magic in the Empire, a Human must follow the Articles of Imperial Magic and belong to one of the Eight Colleges in Altdorf. Once graduated, they study and practice the art of magic which, by law, they may only use outside of the Colleges in defense of their own life or against foes of the Empire. In practice, most Wizards ignore this unless a Witch Hunter is looking. Many Wizards serve in the armies, though they are usually treated with cautious suspicion. Many adventure to pay their tuition or dues, seeking their fortune as best they can, or seeking out relics and lore. They are actively encouraged to fight any monsters troubling the populace by the Colleges. Wizards are weak to start out, but quickly become extremely potent due to their magical spells, and get some decent melee training. They are, however, quite fragile outside of the two Orders allowed to wear any kind of armor at all. On Wizards posted:"I don't care what promises they make, or what colleges they belong to, they are dangerous abominations. I am continuing to petition for their destruction in the name of Sigmar, for the good of all." - Reikhardt Mair, Witch Hunter Tier 1 Wizards are Apprentices. They get good WS, Int and WP, and have Channeling (Any Colour), Dodge, Intuition, Language (Magick), Lore (Magic), Melee (Basic), Melee (Polearm) and Perception. Their Talents are Aethyric Attunement, Petty Magic, Read/Write and Second Sight. Aethyric Attunement gives a bonus to Channel tests and prevents Miscasts when you roll doubles on a successful Channel test. Petty Magic gives you Petty Spells equal to your WP bonus, and the ability to buy more Petty Spells with XP, starting at 50 XP but going up the more spells you learn. Second Sight gives a bonus to any test to detect the Winds of Magic, and grants you the Sight, which is detailed in the Magic chapter. Tier 2 is Wizard, Silver 3. They add Charm, Cool, Gossip, Intimidate, LanguagE (Battle) and Language (Any), plus Agi as a stat. Their Talents are Arcane Magic (Any), Detect Artefact, Fast Hands and Sixth Sense. Arcane Magic gives you access to a Lore, which you may now learn spells from wth XP, starting at 100 XP per spell and going up the more you leanr. You may not learn the Bless or Invoke Talents while you have this. I...don't believe you start with any spells by default, but the Magic chapter might overrule that. Detect Artefact gives a bonus to Intuition tests to detect artefacts, and you can make such tests when you touch things. If you succeed while touching a magic item, you know it's magic, and each SL gives oyu one specific rule it follows, if it has any such rules. You can normally use this only once per object touched. Fast Hands gives a bonus to Sleight of Hand and to Melee (Brawling) tests to touch people (but not damage them), and no one gets passive Perception tests to spot you using Sleight of Hand - they have to actively be looking to oppose your tests. Also, you get a +10 bonus to Melee (Brawlign) checks just to touch people per purchase. Sixth Sense gives a bonus to Intuition tests involing the Sixth Sense, which most ly happen when the GM secretly rolls them while you walk into danger; success tells you that you are in danger before it happens, and allows you to ignore Surprise. Tier 3 is Master Wizard, Gold 1. They add Animal Care, Evaluate, Lore (Warfare), and Ride (Horse), plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Dual Wielder, Instinctive Diction, Magical Sense and Menacing. Dual Wielder gives a bonus to Melee or Ranged when attacking with two weapons and lets you make two-weapon attacks in one action, which...are complicated and not hugely worth it unless you spec for it but can theoretically do some really nasty damage. Instinctive Diction gives a bonus to Language (Magick) tests when casting, and prevents Miscasts from doubles on successful Language (Magick) tests. Very, very good and useful. Magical Sense gives a bonus to Intuition tests to detect casters, and lets you make Intuition checks when you meet people to tell if they are spellcasters and sometimes what they focus on. Menacing gives a very large bonus to Intimidate tests - as written, it basically gives twice the bonus of normal SL-bonus-granting Talents. Tier 4 is Wizard Lord, Gold 2. They add Language (Any) and Lore (Any), plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Combat Aware, Frightening, Iron Will and War Wizard. Combat Aware gives a bonus to Perception tests during combat and lets you make a Perception test to ignore Surprise. Frightening gives you a Fear Rating equal to your number of purchases which you can switch on and off at will. War Wizard lets you freely cast one spell with Casting Number of 5 or less on your Turn without actually using an action, though if you do you can't cast a spell as your actual action that Turn. That takes us out of Academics and into Burghers! Agitator is available to Dwarfs, Halflings and Humans. They are lobbyists, of a sort, using paint, public protest and speeches to muster the sympathy of the people and gain their support. However, they must be wary to avoid the attention of those interested in maintaining the status quo - or at least avoiding their inquiries. The most dangerous Agitators are able to destabilise noble rulers, towns or even entire provinces. They nail signs to things or distribute leaflets, though often they run into the problem of illiteracy. Religious Agitators serve as street preachers shouting about the gods and living off donations and the support of other zealots, and those who last long enough often earn the support of the powerful seeking change - albeit in secret. Agitators travel often in search of crowds or to avoid arrest. They may end up leaders of motley crews of adventurers, pushing them to fight for some greater cause. Altdorf is especially well known for its massive fogs and its massive riots, possibly due to its status as the capital of the Empire, or possibly due to the presence of the Grey College during the Grey Wind Ulgu to the city. Whatever the reason, whenever the fog rols in from the Altdorf Flats, mobs seem to gather in the streets and shout or break things. The Agitator is very much a social class, though it also gets some halfway decent brawling skills eventually and can be quite sneaky. On Agitators posted:"ALTDORF FOR ALTDORFERS! MIDDENLANDERS OUT!" - Pamphlet, Street of a Hundred Taverns, Altdorf Tier 1 Agitators are Pamphleteers, Brass 1. They are good at BS, Int and Fel, and get Art (Writing), Bribery, Charm, Consume Alcohol, Gossip, Haggle, Lore (Politics) and Trade (Printing). Their Talents are Blather, Gregarious, Panhandle and Read/Write. Gregarious gives a bonus to Gossip tests with travellers, and lets you reverse a failed Gossip test if it would allow you to succeed. Tier 2 is Agitator, Brass 2. It adds Cool, Dodge, Entertain (Storytelling), Gamble, Intuition and Leadership, plus Agi as a stat. The Talents are Alley Cat, Argumentative, Impassioned Zeal and Public Speaker. Alley Cat gives a bonus to Stealth (Urban), and lets you reverse failed Stealth (Urban) tests if doing so would let you succeed. Tier 3 is Rabble Rouser, Brass 3. It adds Athletics, Intimidate, Melee (Brawling) - well, they say Melee (Fist) but they mean Melee (Brawling) - and Perception, plus WS as a stat. The Talents are Cat-tongued, Dirty Fighting, Flee! and Step Aside. Dirty Fighting gives a bonus to Melee (Brawling) and increases your damage while using Melee (Brawling) if you don't mind it breaking any and all formal rules of boxing or dueling. Flee! gives a bonus to Athletics when Fleeing, and increases your Movement by 1 when Fleeing. Step Aside gives a bonus to Dodge tests, and when you successfully Dodge an incoming attack, you may move up to 2 yards and no longer count as Engaged, but none of your opponents get a free attack on you while you do it. This is extremely good for anyone who doesn't want to be in melee. Tier 4 is Demagogue, Brass 5. They add Lore (Heraldry) and Ride (Horse), plus I as a stat. Also their Trappings include an Impressive Hat. Their Talents are Etiquette (Any), Master Orator, Schemer and Suave. Schemer gives a bonus to Int tests used as part of the Talent, and once per session you can ask the GM any one question about a political situation or web of socail connections; they make the aforementioned Int test secretly and give you answers based on your SL. Next time: Artisan, Beggar, Investigator
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Sep 11, 2018 22:18
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Daeren posted:I'm in a game of Fantasy 4e that Mors is running and one of the PCs (played by another goon, HostileV) is a Halfling Merchant who had to put serious thought between picking Read/Write because "I should be literate and thus a functional merchant" and Blather because he'd start with something like a loving 50%+ chance at base to give Stan's sales pitch at someone and nail them to the ground in confused rapture. That is exactly what I was thinking when combat blather hit the page. 
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Sep 12, 2018 00:41
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If a priest of Ranald makes a solemn oath to his god - is it a sin if he keeps it or if he doesn't?
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Sep 12, 2018 06:20
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Wait, wizard apprentices get polearm? What are the downsides of being Halberd Mage, then? Too bad priests-in-training don't get melee (or is it more expensive?) until they priest-up. How do you smite the unbelievers in the name of Sigmar if you don't know how to warhammer?
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Sep 12, 2018 07:57
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 Rifts World Book 19: Australia, Part 3 - "If a man cannot be trusted, he is as dangerous as the crocodile, and like the snaggle toothed croc, is to be feared and shunned by men."  "Not extinct! Not it!" The Outback & The People So, we get a lot of vagueness thrown at the wall to show how different Outback communities can be. Rifts World Book 19: Australia posted:Good, bad or indifferent, social or anti-social, sedentary or nomadic, some groups and communities are wild and lawless, others quiet and orderly, some brutal and extreme, others cooperative and reasonable, and everything in between. Anyway, their myriad differences often lead to conflict, and even though there's still a vague "Australian" national identity, it's interpreted in so many ways to be of dubious value. Most law enforcement follows a frontier town with a Sheriff, deputies, and a citizen militia, but some model themselves after militaries. Family and clans are the closest thing there is to a universal reality, and larger communities often see social status defined by one's last name.  "Be patient, my children. We'll be in a book soon enough." We're told that work dominates most peoples' lives, as the authors seem to be relying on the assumption that pre-industrial societies were backbreaking lives of total peasant drudge, which isn't entirely true. Still, freeloaders and those not carrying their weight without some actual excuse (physical disability, age, illness, etc.) are usually booted from the community. Most communities are fairly isolated, and finding certain resources can often be a make-or-break issue for many communities. Technology has largely regressed outside of the two big "tech-cities". Combustion engines are the most common source of power, computers are generally simple, and magic is usually used for communication when available. Often technology is jury-rigged or scavenged in the usual Rifts humble jumble sort of way. In general, technology tends to be lower than seen in many other parts of the Rifts setting (like North America).  "I don't know what I'm riding and I don't much care." The Code of the Outback It's not really a code, even though we just called it a code! They just like writing codes at Palladium. But these are values generally felt by many Outbackers.
This section uses the organizational rules first introduced in Ninjas & Superspies, which made some sense because they defined what your ninja or superspy could ask for. If your superspy needed a stealth toboggan for a Netherlands adventure, you just look up the vehicle entry and see what they have available. It wasn't much of a system beyond just codifying entries, but it had a purpose. You pay points from a pool to get access to a resource. Mind, there are no rules for growing an organization or changing them, nor any fixed amount of points you get, so the whole thing is at the whim of the GM. Then, the same system was used for circuses for some reason in Rifts World Book 1: Vampire Kingdoms where it made less sense, unless the PCs are all working for a circus. I mean, it certainly defined how many trucks a circus had or how many jugglers they could access, but that wasn't essential information. Rifts Mercenaries used it for mercenary organizations, which seems more like something you'd see PCs working for. And Rifts World Book 19: Australia users it for Outback communities. This makes some sense, presuming you want a group entirely based around a single community. On the other hand, it's painfully dry. Rifts World Book 19: Australia posted:K. Trade  "And now, see the doom that awaits!- wait, I'm not in this book? Really?" And that's just half of one of the lists. First you start off with "Orientation & Disposition" which is basically how your community reacts to outsiders and treats each other. Then we have "General Type & size of the Community" which determines how many points you get, from "Small Shanty Town" or "Family Commune" at the low end and "Major Town" or "Advanced Civilization" at the high end.Sometimes the amount is even randomized, like with "Militaristic Encampment", but the gamemaster is encouraged to just add or subtract points as they like. Then you get to actually spending points, including:
... y'know, I just realized I never actually finished this section but I think we can leave it there. I wonder if a group has ever confronted the essential dilemma: "You know, we could save some points if we can just put up with a bunch of racist psychopaths."  "Finally, got some nice random metal flair, I was feeling naked." Some Notable Outback Communities This is a short list of sample communities in the Outback, statted out with the above system.
Next: Maxin' and Dundeein'.
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Sep 12, 2018 08:47
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Alien Rope Burn posted:Life: Don't be a fuckup. I can confirm that this is not an actual Australian value.
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Sep 12, 2018 12:33
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 Obsidian: The Age of Judgement is a roleplaying game by Apophis Consortium published first in 1999, and this review uses the 2nd Edition from 2001. Written by Micah Skaritka, Dav Harnish, and Frank Nolan. Obsidian is a post-apocalyptic anarchist corporatist literal hell on earth secret knowledge crunchy dice-pool game. It is purchasable online here if you’d like to support the authors of this work. Part 15: Build a Demon Workshop The extremely dull narrative that every chapter begins with continues here with our kultist protagonist going to a nightclub, watching people 90s rave-scene dance on each other, and then getting arrested by the cops. I’m barely reading these things anymore but does it remotely surprise you that our evil kultist who infiltrates society is named Barrabas? Yeah, me neither. This chapter, called “Protagonists and Antagonists”, is where the actual information about how to stat up a monster, what weaponry the Law carries, and what rituals and rules people follow in society. Like the other chapters i its a grab bag of stuff but unlike other sections where there was little reason to be grouped together this one fits somewhat. If you want to know what kind of things the party is going to be fighting you can find it in this section alongside what a speeding ticket costs. This section kicks off in earnest with a recap of the Darchomen, the super-human immortal mystics who run the show behind the scenes on humanities behalf. Despite the earlier books lore all of the sudden a bunch of them are dead and two of them, not just one, have betrayed the order so we are down to 35 total Darchomen. The book wants us to care that they can all talk to each other and pull the strings behind the Law, but as far as Shadowy Cabals go they’re pretty boring since they aren’t evil or corrupted in the slightest. They genuinely spend all day trying to do good, defeat the evil Darchomen, stop demons, and make sure society runs without them directly guiding it. They’re not even very interesting to fight because even with 5 ranks in every skill they’re otherwise just people. A group of fresh characters could kill one without breaking a sweat. After that it is time to recap all nine circles of hell. Yes, this is the third time the book has provided us the backstory in paragraph form for each and every circle of hell and yes, this is the third time the stories conflict with each other. Did you know that the Circle of Avarice, formerly the Circle of Lust, has 8 ranks to its demonic hierarchy but the Box of Under has none? These are the sort of details you get in this section, because don’t forget, there aren’t any mechanisms or purpose for players to cross from Earth to these realms of hell that are being described.  His wings are actually overcompensating for how small his knife is With that recap of the history of places your players will never see out of the way, let us start summoning demons to do our will. Before you can have a demon and do unspeakable things*, you gotta pay a lot of fun taxes. First, you need to have a tome that describes the demon for you; no book, no summon. Next the tome you get has to have a occult score lower than your occult rank or you can’t summon it because it is too weird. Then you have to have enough spirit points to summon the demon, many of which will require more spirit points than you can keep on your person so go rope somebody else into your demon summoning. After that you need considerable time and a safe space to summon from. Then you need to lower the demon’s Aversion score by permanently spending Humanity points until you believe you can beat its new Aversion score using your Spirit score as a roll. If you beat its Aversion score, you can permanently spend one Spirit to make it loyal to you. If, on the other hand, you fail this roll, the demon drains your spirit till you die. Did you succeed all that? Good, because every demon you summon has a terror rating and being its master doesn’t make you immune to that check, so it is very likely you summon something that instantly kills you.  So what eye do I look at when I talk to you? Ok, fine, we’ve jumped through enough hoops to be a trained seal and survived the Terror Rating, what do we get? Well, to be fair to Obsidian, you get to break the action economy entirely. Your demon is now utterly loyal barring you sending it away for no reason or letting it die, and acts just like any other character would in combat. How you’re supposed to share custody of a demon you had help summoning is an exercise left up to the reader and their divorce attorney. The next ten pages of the book are then dedicated to how you can spend your demon’s creation points building them. There are tons of options and special rules demons follow for health, defense, and stats, but given it took me five seconds to combine “demon copies itself once per day with all stats intact” and “demons can buy an infinite number of ranks in “shoot people” for no additional cost per rank” this may not be a well balanced section. Do you want to make a demon who perfectly masquerades as a normal household appliance and so long as they touch the victim for two turns in a row warps them to a hell dimension where they are instantly destroyed permanently both body and soul? Of course you do, and don’t worry, you’ll still have points left over. After that we get the games actual bestiary and, to be honest, most of these things are chumps you would never want to summon when you can build your own. They have terrible stat spreads, pathetic health, weak armor, and for the most part none of them would be able to handle a group of player characters much less a single one. A lot of them have extremely high endurance scores and other skills that, as written, do literally nothing for a demon and feels like the authors didn’t really pay attention to their own rules. The absolute highlight of this incongruity between the demon’s stats and how the game works is a demon with 0 dexterity that therefore can never take a turn in combat. The descriptions of the demons are pretty boring, consisting of a grab bag of horror demon tropes like flayed skin, tentacles, and blood teeth. Each one is of course is the most horrible thing ever, but when they have defined scores for how scary they are that’s objectively not true. The scariest thing in this whole section is that the entry for Succubi noted that all of them are “ebony-skinned.” Next Time: The Double-Secret Shadowy Cabal of Good *Yes this entire section is useless if you play as humans who don’t want to cause the death of all mankind for no benefit to themselves.
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Sep 12, 2018 12:48
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WFRP 4e - Burger Meister Artisan is for all species. Artisans are crafters, making...well, just about any kind of good. Bakers, chandlers, smiths, shipwrights. The larger towns and cities of the Empire have guilds to prevent fraud, because an Artisan's entire income can be put in jeopardy by unskilled competition selling cheap, bad goods. Guild Artisans have strict quality standards, and failing to meet them will get you blackballed and forbidden to practice locally. Artisans also do repairs and maintenance for all manner of things - war machines, ships, siege defenses, finished goods. Artisans in training are often sent traveling to practice under various masters, and the pressure to be perfect often drives young Artisans to take vacations or seek out less stifling work. Dwarf craft guilds rarely admit Humans, and by Imperial tradition Dwarfs are permitted to practice their craft without belonging to a guild. This can bring conflict, as the guilds rarely like skilled competition. Halflings often join Human guilds if allowed, and will usually allow Humans into their own guilds. Elves do not have guilds, and while they could certainly join a guild, most would never lower themselves enough to do so. Artisans craft stuff, but their real talent is simply that they're going to be really strong and tough, with good social skills. They don't get combat tricks but are going to be pretty good at a lot of Basic Skills by default. On Artisans posted:"Sorry, mistress, all the shoes are gone! I forgot to put the milk out last night. The Spite must have taken them." - Wiebke, Cobbler's Apprentice and Thief Tier 1 Artisans are Apprentice Artisans, Brass 2. They are good at S, T and Dex, and have Athletics, Cool, Consume Alcohol, Dodge, Endurance, Evaluate, Stealth (Urban) and Trade (Any). Their Talents are Artistic, Craftsman (Any), Strong Back and Very Strong. Craftsman gives a bonus to a single selected Trade skill and adds it to the list of skills for any Career you enter, or gives a discount if it's already there. Strong Back gives a bonus to Row and Swim, and also to any opposed Strength tests, and increases the amount of Encumbrance you can handle. Very Strong is +5 base S. Tier 2 is Artisan, Silver 1. It adds Charm, Haggle, Lore (Local), Gossip, Language (Guilder) and Perception, plus Fel as a stat. The Talents are Dealmaker, Etiquette (Guilder), Nimble Fingered and Sturdy. Sturdy gives a bonus to S tests when lifting, and greatly increases the amount of Encumbrance you can handle. Tier 3 is Master Artisan, Silver 3. It adds Intuition, Leadership, Research and Secret Signs (Guilder), plus WP as a stat. The Talents are Acute Sense (Taste or Touch), Master Tradesman (Any), Read/Write and Tinker. Tier 4 is Guildmaster, Gold 1. It adds Bribery and Intimidate, plus Int as a stat. The Talents are Briber, Magnum Opus, Public Speaker and Schemer. Briber gives a bonus to Bribery tests and reduces the cost of bribes. Beggar is only for the Dwarf, Halfling and Human. Beggars rely on the generosity of strangers and what they scavenge or annoy out of people. The law does not protect them, and the watch usually has no sympathy. They often end up on the street as orphans, in and out of the Mercy Houses all their lives. Once they master the basic panhandling and scrounging skills, they learn to use disguises and ploys for sympathy to increase their earnings. Not all are destitute - some just have truly awful jobs - bonepicking, ragselling, gong farming. (I have no idea what a gong farmer is.) Of course, on the plus side, anything is an improvement for a Beggar. They will eagerly head on adventure for a chance at cash, as long as they're not being used as mere fodder. Those that can't afford a proper porter might hire them to carry things, and their street savvy is often useful. Plus, if it goes bad...well, it's not hard to go back to begging. Beggars are sneaky and physically skilled, with some good criminally-inclined social skills. On Beggars posted:"Please, frau, I beg humbly for enough coppers to buy bread tonight. Even a pfennig would do - Gutbacker is selling day-olds." - Elsie, Halfling Panhandler Tier 1 Beggars are Paupers, Brass 0. They have good T, Agi and Fel. They have Athletics, Charm, Consume Alcohol, Cool, Dodge, Endurance, Intuition and Stealth (Urban). Their Talents are Panhandle, Resistance (Disease), Stone Soup and Very Resilient. Very Resilient is +5 base T. Tier 2 is Beggar, Brass 2. They add Entertain (Acting), Entertain (Any), Gossip, Haggle, Perception and Sleight of Hand, plus WP as a stat. Their Talents are Alley Cat, Beneath Notice, Criminal and Etiquette (Criminals). Beneath Notice gives a bonus to Stealth when in plain sight and causes anyone of higher Status tier to ignore you unless your presence becomes inappropriate, and causes anyone of higher Status tier not to gain Advantage for striking or wounding you in combat. Tier 3 is Master Beggar, Brass 4. They add Charm Animal, Leadership, Lore (Local) and Secret Signs (Vagabond), plus WS as a stat. Their Talents are Blather, Dirty Fighting, Hardy and Step Aside. Hardy gives you extra Wounds equal to your T Bonus. (And adds more Wounds if that goes up, so it basically changes your Wounds formula to have TB*2+Purchases instead of TB*2.) Tier 4 is Beggar King, Silver 2. They add Bribery and Intimidate, plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Cat-tongued, Fearless (Watchmen), Kingpin and Suave. Fearless gives a bonus to resist the selected enemy type's Intimidate, Fear and Terror, nad lets you ignore any of those they cause if you pass a Cool test at +20%. Investigators are anyone but Wood Elves. Most of them track thieves, missing persons and killers, though some are researchers and journalists or even blackmailers. They learn to track footprints, interrogate people and use deductive reasoning...and also how to break into places. Secular ones tend to operate on the very edge of the law or work for the guards of a Merchant House, but religious investigators are often members of the Cults of Sigmar or Verena and are held to a higher ethical standard. Experienced Investigators sometimes put on an air of sophistication to make themselves seem more credible, claiming observation skills that can't be taught or learned. Certainly the top detectives of fame and fortune have to be relentless self-promoters to make it that far. Investigators are sometimes hired to solve mysteries too dangerous to tackle alone and will bring on adventurers to help, and often these just lead to more mysteries that must be solved. Thus, an adventuring party is often steady employment, as long as they can find someone to pay the crew for what they're learning. They are sneaky, social and smart but have poor combat skills. On Investigators posted:"I regret to inform you that your husband is buried in Frau Kohl's vegetable garden, beneath the turnips. That will be 6 shillings and 4 pence, please." - Hemlock Surelight, Elven Sleuth Tier 1 Investigators are Sleuths, Silver 1. They have good I, Agi and Int, and get Charm, Climb, Cool, Gossip, Intuition, Perception, Stealth (Urban) and Track. Their Talents are Alley Cat, Beneath Notice, Read/Write and Sharp. Tier 2 is Investigator, Silver 2. They add Consume Alcohol, Dodge, Lore (Law), Melee (Brawling), Pick Lock and Sleight of Hand, plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Etiquette (Any), Savvy, Shadow and Tenacious. Shadow gives a bonus to any test involving Shadowing, and lets you use the Shadowing rules without requiring a Combined Test - you just use the higher of your Perception or Stealth skill. Tenacious gives a bonus to Endurance tests to endure hardships, and doubles the length of time that successful Endurance tests allow you to endure. Hardships for this purpose include prolonged riding, exposure, rituals and similar adversity. Tier 3 is Master Investigator, Silver 3. They add Bribery, Evaluate, Leadership and Lore (Any), plus Dex as a stat. Their Talents are Bookish, Break and Enter, Sixth Sense and Suave. Break and Enter gives a bonus to Melee when forcing or breaking inanimate objects and gives you bonus damage against inanimate objects. Tier 4 is Detective, Silver 5. They add Intimidate and Lore (Any), plus WP as a stat. The Talents are Acute Sense (Any), Savant (Any), Speedreader and Tower of Memories. Next time: Merchant, Rat Catcher, Townsman
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Sep 12, 2018 14:17
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You mentioned you can lose status by not keeping up your lifestyle, but how does that work with increased status when you promote to a new tier? If a master artisan falls in hard times but then checks enough boxes to become a guildmaster, is he brought to gold 1 regardless?
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Sep 12, 2018 14:31
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quote:(I have no idea what a gong farmer is.) Before modern plumbing, somebody had to get a shovel and dig out the privies. It's literal poo poo farming.
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Sep 12, 2018 14:39
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marshmallow creep posted:You mentioned you can lose status by not keeping up your lifestyle, but how does that work with increased status when you promote to a new tier? If a master artisan falls in hard times but then checks enough boxes to become a guildmaster, is he brought to gold 1 regardless? Yes, but they’d immediately begin decaying if they kept refusing to buy appropriate food, lodging and clothes.
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Sep 12, 2018 14:39
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The Lone Badger posted:I can confirm that this is not an actual Australian value. The full entry is "Life. Life is hard. Life is short. Live it well, with integrity and courage." Given I used to have an acquaintance that would forward news articles of "bogan stories" so I can't say I could argue your point.
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Sep 12, 2018 14:45
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megane posted:Before modern plumbing, somebody had to get a shovel and dig out the privies. It's literal poo poo farming.
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Sep 12, 2018 15:29
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megane posted:Before modern plumbing, somebody had to get a shovel and dig out the privies. It's literal poo poo farming. I learned about it recently in this bit from Worst Jobs in History. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QUd-cTNT8o&t=923s
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Sep 12, 2018 16:00
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It's also a specific class in one of the 2e Sourcebooks. It's a totally terrible class, except it's a 1st Tier with Fearless. The explanation being they've seen some poo poo.
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Sep 12, 2018 16:36
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WFRP 4e - A Small But Vicious Dog Merchants can be anyone but Wood Elves. They trade in stuff - mostly simple goods that are easy to ship, but the ambitious aim for exotic stuff like gromril or spices. Higher profits, but the routes are long and need good foreign contacts. Merchants can't sell in most towns without paying dues to the Merchants' Guilds, which are quite powerful and rival many noble courts in influence. Local commerce is easier, handled by small traders who move things between villages. Traders can join guilds by apprenticing under a master Merchant as a junior partner, and potent Merchant Princes will own offices and warehouses in many cities, holding the same status as minor nobles. Others branch out into banking and moneylending. Merchants often feel a kinship with adventurers, often hiring them as guards. Adventurers are adaptable and enterprising, after all, a good investment as partners in your company. Merchants have excellent social skills and get both Blather and the ability to raise WS natively, so they're not terrible fighters even though they get few fighting Talents or Skills. On Merchants posted:"If Nuln wants trade wars, so be it. I'll see their river blockaded and raise taxes on guns. After all, the Emperor owes me a few favors..." - Leo van Haagen, Marienburg Merchant Prince Tier 1 Merchants are Traders, Silver 2. They get good WS, Agi and Fel, and have Animal Care, Bribery, Charm, Consume Alcohol, Drive, Gamble, Gossip and Haggle. Their Talents are Blather, Dealmaker, Read/Write and Suave. Tier 2 is Merchant, Silver 5. They add Evaluate, Intuition, Language (Any), Language (Guilder), Lore (Local) and Perception, plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Briber, Embezzle, Etiquette (Guilder) and Savvy. Embezzle gives a bonus to Int tests for Embezzling, and allows you to make an opposed Int test whenever you use the Earning mechanics, either in play or downtime, as long as you have an employer to skim off of. If you win, you skim off extra cash without being detected. If the employer wins by 6+ SLs, you get the cash but are detected. Any other result means you don't get a chance to skim. Tier 3 is Master Merchant, Gold 1. They add Cool, Language (Classical), Navigation and Secret Signs (Guilder), plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Cat-tongued, Etiquette (Any), Numismatics and Sharp. Numismatics gives a bonus to Evaluate tests to determine coin value, and lets you judge most coins without even requiring a roll. Plus, you can identify forged coins with a simple Evaluate test rather than an opposed one against the forger's SL. Tier 4 is Merchant Prince, Gold 3. They add Lore (Any) and Intimidate, plus WP as a stat. Their Talents are Iron Will, Luck, Schemer and Wealthy. Luck gives you bonus Fortune Points equal to your purchases. Rat Catchers can be Dwarf, Halfling or Human. They patrol every town or city, for the Empire is full of scraps and foulness, and with it, rats. Many, many rats. Rat Catchers kill the rats, clearing their nests and delving into the sewers, which are hopelessly infested. Most Rat Catchers adopt a stray puppy while still in training, raising it as a ratter. The best Rat Catchers are hired as sewer jacks by towns, hunting giant rats and other nastiness below. On rare occasions, rats have overrun entire towns, reclaimed from them only with the help of the best exterminators. Rat Catchers move between towns when the rats get too big, too smart or too Skaven, or when competition gets too rough. On such journeys, they often work with adventurers looking for a streetwise fighter willing to go where normal people won't. They are some of the few Imperials who tend to be aware of the existence of the Skaven, though because the Skaven frequently murder those that openly spread rumors of their existence, Rat Catchers tend to deny that they exist and may even use their professional abilities to discredit such rumors. Rat Catchers are solid fighters and sneaks, and they have the dog. The dog is great.  I had to share this. On Rat Catchers posted:"See there by the midden-heap, Omar? There's a big one! Make sure it's dead before you pick it up. It'll bite yer hand with its poisonous teeth." - Annaliese Rattenfanger, Sewer Jack Tier 1 Rat Catchers are Rat Hunters, Brass 3. They are good at WS, BS and WP, and get Athletics, Animal Training (Dog), Charm Animal, Consume Alcohol, Endurance, Melee (Basic), Ranged (Sling), and Stealth (Underground or Urban). They also get, yes, the Small But Vicious Dog as a Trapping. Their Talents are Night Vision, Resistance (Disease), Strike Mighty Blow and Strike to Stun. Night Vision gives a bonus to Perception tests in low light and allows you to see clearly out to 20 yards per purchase if there's any light at all, and consider light sources to extend out 20 yards further per purchase. Strike Mighty Blow gives bonus melee damage. Tier 2 is Rat Catcher, Silver 1. They add Animal Care, Gossip, Haggle, Lore (Poison), Perception and Set Trap, plus T as a stat. Their Talents are Enclosed Fighter, Etiquette (Guilder), Fearless (Rats) and Very Resilient. Enclosed Fighter gives a bonus to Dodge in enclosed environs and lets you ignore any penalties to Melee caused by confined spaces, as well as letting you use Dodge even when it'd normally not be allowed due to lack of space. Tier 3 is Sewer Jack, Silver 2. They add Climb, Cool, Dodge and Ranged (Crossbow Pistol), which should just be Ranged (Crossbow), plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Hardy, Stout-hearted, Strong Legs and Tunnel Rat. Strong Legs gives a bonus to any Athletics tests involving leaping. Tunnel Rat gives a bonus to Stealth tests while underground and prevents anyone underground from making a passive Perception test to oppose your Stealth - they have to be actively looking for hidden people. Tier 4 is Exterminator, Silver 3. They add Leadership and Track, plus S as a stat. They get Fearless (Skaven), Menacing, Robust and Strong-minded. Also, their Trappings include a Large and Vicious Dog. Townsman is for anyone but Wood Elves. It's kind of a generic catch-all worker career - innkeeps, bankers, clerks, street hawkers, ostlers, shopkeeps, and so on. Pay varies, some get commissions, others have fixed salaries. Promotion isn't usually a thing, though ambitious Townsmen might eventually own a business. The most successful of them usually end up overseeing civic matters on a town council, and Burgomeisters, the most important civic leaders, have roughly the same social status as a Guildmaster or Merchant Prince. They are the growing middle class of the Empire, and usually have the free time to take a day or two off each week to adventure. Some even build up savings to have time to take vacations and go further out than that allows. It isn't rare, after all, for citizens to go on pilgrimages for a few weeks or months, and skilled workers are always in demand, so there's little worry they won't have a job to come back to. Townsmen are decent at a lot of stuff but don't really excel at anything except social. On Townsmen posted:"I'm afraid you'll have to remove your backpacks in this shop and leave polearms at the door. The owner deducts broken ceramics from me wage." - Frida, Part-Time Shopkeeper Tier 1 Townsmen are Clerks, Silver 1. They get good Agi, Int and Fel, and have Charm, Climb, Consume Alcohol, Drive, Dodge, Gamble, Gossip and Haggle. Their Talents are Alley Cat, Beneath Notice, Etiquette (Servants) and Sturdy. Tier 2 is Townsman, Silver 2. They add Bribery, Evaluate, Intuition, Lore (Local), Melee (Brawling) and Play (Any), plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Dealmaker, Embezzle, Etiquette (any) and Gregarious. Tier 3 is Town Councillor, Silver 5. They add Cool, Lore (Law), Perception and Research, plus Dex as a stat. Their Talents are Briber, Public Speaker, Read/Write and Supportive. Supportive gives a bonus to all social tests to influence a superior and, when successfully rolling to socially influence those of higher Status tier, allows you to choose to use either your rolled SL or your ones die as your SL. Tier 4 is Burgomeister, Gold 1. They add Lore (Politics) and Intimidate, plus WP as a stat. Their Talents are Commanding Presence, Master Orator, Schemer and Suave. Next time: Watchman, Advisor, Artist
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Sep 12, 2018 16:44
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Of course there's a TIDE of VERMIN in Ubersreik. 
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Sep 12, 2018 16:58
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"Rodents of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist."
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Sep 12, 2018 17:26
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SenZar It's time for SenZar's chapter on Magic. Of course, it starts out by making GBS threads on how other games aren't doing magic right. SenZar posted:Magicks, Spellcasting and Spells in The SenZar System are really · cool. Why? Read on and discover for thyself why The SenZar System RULES ... Instead, this system runs off of mana/spell points, in this case being Power Points(tm) that fuel your ability to nuke enemies out of existence. Like fighty types, spellcasters also tend to be able to do multiple things, maybe even cast multiple spells, per combat round. But as I think I mentioned back during the combat chapter, this is limited by casting times. The authors also spend a good amount of this chapter doing something that it doesn't feel like a lot of games do, which is discussing their design decisions. Like, why is a combat and magic class still more or less balanced despite an action economy discrepancy? Why are the hybrid classes still balanced? Why did they choose to limit this thing? Etc. I like it because it makes things feel less arbitrary, and also because in case I decide to sit down and houserule some of this stuff, I've got the authors' thoughts on why another action phase per round for the Sorcerer or whatever might be OP. I feel like the last time I actually remember an in-depth digression on game design reasoning was in the 2nd ed AD&D DMG. Though it's probably a bit too much that one thing gets a Neato, Wicked, Radical, Cool and Awesome explanation(that is to say, one of each) for why it's a sensible design decision. Writing quirks aside, the start of this chapter is primarily just wizard maths, the more detailed cool poo poo comes up later. There's a decent amount of maths because many combat spells are essentially just a template, and the exact effects depend on the effort(power points) expended by the caster, which define the damage done, range, area of effect, etc. It also means that mages have some options for "pulling" their punch by not feeding the maximum amount of power points into a spell and even restricting the blast radius on stronger spells. We're also introduced to making magical items here(before we've even gotten to the spells) and the baked-in mechanic wherein if someone runs in and shoves the evil wizard over while he's enchanting his Rod of World Domination, he'll probably explode/implode horribly(you link your soul to a magical item while pouring Power Points into it to enchant it, if someone interrupts the process or you fail a check while doing it, you take an unmitigable point of damage for every Power Point you tossed into the thing). Magic items also generally need to be made from exotic materials, which you can't just forge on a boring old anvil, you need a cool-rear end lava/volcano forge, or some cool sci-fi laboratory to do it in. Only the Khazaks know how to make volcano forges, though, so you may need to bribe/kidnap/play one of them if you want to make it easy on yourself. For some reason, poisons, venoms and radiations are also in this chapter, but it seems like the rules for becoming a mutant weren't ever released, or were in one of the "campaign builders" that are incredibly out of print now(the bestiary, Creeping Death, still seems to have a few extant copies, but the remaining two "campaign builders"(i.e. supplements) were released on CD, of all things, so I think that short of actually contacting Todd King, I don't think there's any chance of getting a hold of them). Here we learn that there's a type of dragon(purple dragons) that apparently breathes/bleeds mutating hard radiation and that absinthe is a poison. It's apparently also reasonably likely that you'll survive a poison that causes your blood to instantly combust. Seriously. Afterwards, diseases! Everything diarrhea to venereal diseases. Yes, this bit even points out that if any players bang prostitutes, they should probably roll CON saves or catch something nasty. Most of the nasty things consist of attribute drain until horrible death. I have no idea why the rules for getting Parkinson's are in the middle of the magic chapter, and, in fact, placed in between the rules for actually casting, using and learning magic, and the big master list of the spells themselves. For some reason, while doing the classes, I also didn't notice that a good number of the Spellsinging spells are named after real songs, like "99 Ways To Die" and "The Unforgiven," just in case you were wondering what sort of music Todd King and The Brune listened to while making this. I've already commented on the sort of spells you can expect for the various spellcaster classes earlier, so there's not much to add there. But afterwards are the magical items and... most of them are really less insane than I would have expected. They tend to make sense and be useful. And then of course there's this. SenZar posted:Frank N's Stein: This unusual stein has the unnerving "Party On!" ability to remain filled to the brim with whatever "normal" liquid is originally placed within it, and never to drain for the duration of the night, though it be slammed, chugged, and consumed like madness itself. Once dawn breaks, however, the party's over, and the contents vanish-but come nightfall, the madness can start again! The definition of a "normal" liquid is left vague and undefined, so here's your potentially gamebreaking goofball item. SenZar posted:The Ball: This demented little "grey putty ball" is in fact a sentient "living artifact," capable of any possible Shapeshift (see "Shapeshifter") at will! The only problem with this otherwise cool artifact is that anything it shifts into (and it'll shift into anything "commanded" of it by the character) is doomed to be "Faulty"that is, sexually explicit, demented, sick, twisted, and gross. The Ball prefers to maintain a foot-high phallic form when not "in use," perched upon the shoulders of its "owner" for all to see. A sentient artifact that mostly just wants to be a dildo. A good few of the artifacts are also clear D&D knockoffs, like a Deck of Many Things expy, and an artifact that feels somewhat inspired by the Eye of Vecna. Of course, there are also things you'd never see in D&D, like an artifact chaingun and revolver pair, and a magic skull helmet that gives you immense magical powers and raven servants... except the magical raven servants that are meant to grant you near-omniscience by scouting for you are, in fact, lazy, poorly motivated and prone to just not doing their jobs and instead lying about what they saw or just plain making poo poo up.
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Sep 12, 2018 17:26
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Night10194 posted:Of course there's a TIDE of VERMIN in Ubersreik. Vermintide sucked precisely because they had no playable Rat Catchers with Small But Vicious Dogs.
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Sep 12, 2018 17:38
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That trader anecdote ending is pretty good, but based off the initial rate of increase I totally thought it was going to end “by the time I was 25 I was selling more apples every day than there are atoms in the entire universe.”
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Sep 12, 2018 17:39
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WFRP 4e - Remember, Everyone Here Starts With An Ear Pick Watchmen can be anyone but Wood Elves. They are employed by authority to patrol the streets, and most are generally well-meaning peacekeepers. Few of them actually know anything about the laws they enforce, and corruption is rampant. Many Watchmen enlist purely to have the authority to hurt people that anger them or to support their local gang. Some earn triple their actual wages in bribes. Only a few towns and cities actually have professional Watchmen who are taught to understand the law. Instead, the Emperor's Peace is usually maintained by local army forces on the walls, guard gates and street patrols, who just obey orders. Not all Watchmen are crooked, but even the moral ones usually get jaded fast by the corruption inherent to the current system. By joining adventurers, they can fight for actual justice (sometimes) and at least work on their own terms. Their street experience makes them decent fighters in a small party and having a cop can make a team of adventurers seem more legitimate. They are good fighters with decent social skills. On Watchmen posted:"So I go up to Middenheim, Ulric's own country, and what did I find? I swear more than half of their City Watch are women! I would have stayed up there for the rest of my career if I could've." - Jana Tennisohn, Chief Inspektor (retired), Nuln City Watch Tier 1 Watchmen are Watch Recruits, Brass 3. They get good WS, S and Fel, and have Athletics, Climb, Consume Alcohol, Dodge, Endurance, Gamble, Melee (Any) and Perception. Their Talents are Drilled, Hardy, Strike to Stun and Tenacious. Drilled gives a bonus to Melee tests when next to an ally that also has it, and if an enemy would cause you to lose Advantage while you're next to an ally with Drilled, you keep 1 Advantage per purchase. Tier 2 is Watchman, Silver 1. They add Charm, Cool, Gossip, Intimidate, Intuition and Lore (Local), plus WP as a stat. Their Talents are Break and Enter, Criminal, Night Vision and Sprinter. Sprinter gives a bonus to Athletics tests about Running, and gives you +1 Movement when Running. Tier 3 is Watch Sergeant, Silver 3. They add Entertain (Storytelling), Haggle, Leadership and Lore (Law), plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Disarm, Etiquette (Soldiers), Fearless (Criminals) and Nose for Trouble. Disarm gives a bonus to Melee tests made as part of using it and allows you to take an action to make an opposed Melee test against a target. If you win, their weapon is hurled a few feet away, and if you win by enough, you can decide which way it goes or can even just grab it and wield it yourself if you have a free hand. It's no good if they're unarmed or bigger Size than you, though. Nose for Trouble gives a bonus to any test to spot troublemakers, and lets you make an Intuition test at will to tell if anyone nearby is trying to cause trouble or harm you, even if you'd normally not be allowed to make a test for some reason. (Generally, this test is going to be Opposed by anyone who is trying to conceal their hostility, but the GM can roll that in secret.) If you spot troublemakers who start combat, you may ignore any Surprised conditions they'd normally cause. Tier 4 is Watch Captain, Gold 1. They add Lore (Politics) and Ride (Horse), plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Public Speaker, Robust, Kingpin and Schemer. This takes us to the Courtier careers! Advisors can be anyone. They...advise people. They tend to be well educated in politics and the local social conditions, and have access to confidential and private information. While many are born to the job, others actively seek patronage as a path to power. Some young royals pick their childhood or school friends for it, trusting them over all others because they'll speak truth to power. Years at court or serving lesser nobles does open a path to greater power, and many Advisors end up not serving nobles but others such as criminals, warlords, merchants, guilds or cults. If there's something weird going on in their master's domain, an Advisor is usually going to be the one asked to investigate it, which often gets them into trouble. At the upper levels, they may have their own staff to rely on to take care of their office while they're away on leave, and Advisors are able to approach people across all classes of society easily, as they are expected to poke their noses into things and ask questions on behalf of their master anyway. They are an excellent social career with decent academic knowledge, though they don't do much else. On Advisors posted:"Sigmar votes with Reikland for three. The dead Emperor, Mootland and Reikland will vote the same way, taking Reikland to six. As you know, you need seven votes to become emperor. Given Ar'Ulric always votes for Middenheim, it's highly unlikely the Imperial seat will return to Nuln while the House of Third Wilhelm flourishes. Best hope for a daughter, your Grace. A marriageable one." - Krammond, Advisor to the Elector Count of Nuln, 2475 IC Tier 1 Advisors are Aides, Silver 2. They're good at T, I and Agi, and have Bribery, Consume Alcohol, Endurance, Gossip, Haggle, Language (Classical), Lore (Politics) and Perception. Their Talents are Beneath Notice, Etiquette (Any), Gregarious and Read/Write. Tier 2 is Advisor, Silver 4. They add Charm, Cool, Evaluate, Gamble, Intuition and Lore (Local), plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Blather, Criminal, Schemer and Supportive. Tier 3 is Counsellor, Gold 1. They add Entertain (Storytelling), Leadership, Language (Any) and Lore (Any), plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Argumentative, Briber, Carouser and Cat-tongued. Tier 4 is Chancellor, Gold 3. They add Lore (Heraldry) and Ride (Horse), plus WP as a stat. Their Talents are Commanding Presence, Embezzle, Kingpin and Suave. Artists can be anyone. They use their artistic talents to create things of beauty - painting, sculpture, written works and so on. The best attract wealthy patrons, and some become teachers at art schools, attracting even wealthier benefactors to their salons. However, most Artists spend their lives without patrons, trying to prove their value and usually unappreciated. They make ends meet doing political cartoons and satirical art, sketching suspects for the watchmen, writing social commentary or even becoming forgers. Getting a patron isn't easy, so many Artists travel around looking for them. Even those that can support themselves often travel the world in search of inspiration, and those hired for religious art must often travel long distances to distant temples and abbeys. Artists are focused on social, knowledge and crafting skills. On Artists posted:"Please remain still, my lord. It is rather difficult to capture the majesty of your countenance if you continue to scratch yourself so. Perfect! Now hold that pose for just a few seconds more if you please. And there you've gone and done it again. Might I suggest you pay a visit to the apothecary? He may have several effective remedies for lice, especially if you find your incessant squirming as bothersome as I do..." - Gottlieb Toman, Painter, prior to his execution Tier 1 Arists are Apprentice Artists, Silver 1. They are good at S, I and Dex, and have Art (Any), Cool, Consume Alcohol, Evaluate, Endurance, Gossip, Perception and Stealth (Urban). Their Talents are Artistic, Sharp, Strong Back and Tenacious. Tier 2 is Artist, Silver 3. They add Climb, Gamble, Haggle, Intuition, Language (Classical), Sleight of Hand and Trade (Art Supplies), plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Carouser, Criminal, Gregarious and Nimble Fingered. Tier 3 is Master Artist, Silver 5. They add Charm, Leadership, Lore (Art) and Lore (Heraldry), plus WP as a skill. Their Talents are Acute Sense (Any), Dealmaker, Etiquette (Any) and Nose for Trouble. Tier 4 is Maestro, Gold 2. They add Research and Ride (Horse), plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Ambidextrous, Kingpin, Magnum Opus and Read/Write. Ambidextrous reduces the penalty for using your off hand alone on tests to -10, from -20, or to 0 with two purchases. Next time: Duellist, Envoy, Noble
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Sep 12, 2018 18:39
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Night10194 posted:It's also a specific class in one of the 2e Sourcebooks. It's a totally terrible class, except it's a 1st Tier with Fearless. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
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Sep 12, 2018 19:32
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WFRP 4e - Swashbuckling Is Still Mechanically Supported Duellists can be Dwarfs, High Elves or Humans. They are, technically, mercenaries - they fight on behalf of other people, generally. They settle matters of honor between people and groups, or for the courts, as representation of either accused or accuser in trial by combat. For some, it's for love of fighting, the beauty of the blade dance. Learning to fence is dangerous, and some apprentices get crippled or scarred for life. Those who live long enough to master it, though, can aspire to great fame and to become teachers of the blade in their own right, or become Judicial Champions that fight duels on behalf of noble courts and entire governments. Some modern Duellists, particularly in Altdorf, favor pistols, which older ones tend to see as both foolhardy and dishonorable. Duellists of any skill level often travel the Empire in search of worthy foes to bolster their reputations or to find excellent teachers to learn from. They especially love to study foreign techniques and claim them. Some Duellists also make a living as more common hired blades in a pinch. Most Dwarfs have little interest in fencing or the fripperies of the modern duelling scene, they do have long traditions of disputes settled by single combat, and these Duellists too will travel far to better their skills. Duellists are great fighters with few other skills, and suffer from being fragile - they get Cool and eventually native WP raising to help resist mental stuff, but never get native T raising, so they have to pay for it with special training costs during downtime. On Duellists posted:"First blood, ye fool! First blood! And here ye've gone 'n run 'im through!" - Ortolf Erhardt, Burgher Tier 1 Duellists are Fencers, Silver 3. They get good WS, I and Agi, and have Athletics, Dodge, Endurance, Heal, Intuition, Language (Classical), Melee (Any) and Perception. Their Talents are Beat Blade, Distract, Feint and Step Aside. Beat Blade gives a bonus to Melee when using the Talent, and lets you make an unopposed Melee test as an action to reduce the target's Advantage by striking their weapon. It can't be used on unarmed targets or against targets of greater Size. Distract gives a bonus to Athletics tests to use the Talent, and lets you use your normal Move to instead make an opposed Athletics test against the target's Cool. If you win, they can't gain Advantage until the end of next Round. Feint gives a bonus to Melee (Fencing) tests to use the Talent, and lets you take an action to make an Opposed Melee (Fencing) test against the target's Melee. If you win and then attack them again before the end of the next Round, you can add the SL of your Feint to that attack roll's SL. (So basically, you get to take the results of your one attack and bank them for your next, to make one very big and damaging attack.) Tier 2 is Duellist, Silver 5. They add Charm, Cool, Gamble, Melee (Parry) (which actually covers the Main Gauche and Swordbreaker weapons), Ranged (Blackpowder) and Trade (Gunsmith), plus BS as a stat. Their Talents are Combat Reflexes, Etiquette (Any), Fast Shot and Reversal. Combat Reflexes gives you +10 to Initiative per purchase for the sole purpose of determining when you act in combat. Fast Shot gives a bonus to Ranged when using the Talent, and lets you fire a loaded ranged weapon outside of normal turn order before anyone else gets to do anything, but uses up both your action and your movement for your normal turn. Reversal gives a bonus to Melee when defending and it lets you choose, when you win an Opposed Melee test, to forgo any damage you would normally do and, instead of gaining 1 Advantage, steal all of your foe's current Advantage. Tier 3 is Duelmaster, Gold 1. They add Intimidate, Leadership, Melee (Basic) and Perform (Acrobatics), plus S as a stat. Their Talents are Ambidextrous, Disarm, Dual Wielder and Riposte. Riposte gives a bonus to Melee when defending and, if your weapon has the Fast Quality, then once per round per purchase, you may deal damage on a successful defense as if you had been the one attacking. Tier 4 is Judicial Champion, Gold 3. They add Lore (Law) and Melee (Any), plus WP as a stat. Their Talents are Combat Master, Menacing, Reaction Strike and Strike to Injure. Combat Master causes you to count as one more person per purchase for determining if you are outnumbered (and therefore would take penalties). This is much better than it sounds. Reaction Strike gives a bonus to Initiative tests made as part of the talent, and whenever you get Charged, you can make an Initiative test to get a free attack on the Charger outside of nurmal turn order, using your primary hand. You can use this once per round per purchase, but once per Charge. Envoys can be anyone. They're negotiators and diplomats, agents of...well, someone, often the Empire, a noble, a foreign nation or a merchant house. This kind of career is very risky because of all the intrigues, and they must be very careful. First, they tend to serve as heralds helping diplomats in figuring out the minutiae of contracts and deals, or working to represent lesser guilds, merchants and so on before they build up the reputation enough to find better clientele. Some work for mercenary companies, helping to find jobs that bring profit at minimum risk. They travel often as part of their job, meeting people from all walks of life and gathering contacts anywhere they can. Sometimes they even have to get their hands dirty to make sure their master's wishes get made real. If failure doesn't kill them, it can also put them on the run and in need of protection. Envoys are primarily social and not good at fighting, but they tend to be good at surviving a fight and can Blather. On Envoys posted:"Watch that one. She's got a tongue like a snake and nary a scruple. Still, she's got a weakness for Elven wine and handsome young footmen. I'm sure you can arrange something...scandalous." - Odmar Horst, Guild Envoy Tier 1 Envoys are Heralds, Silver 2. They get good T, Agi and Fel, and have Athletics, Charm, Drive, Dodge, Endurance, Intuition, Ride (Horse) and Row. Their Talents are Blather, Etiquette (Nobles), Read/Write and Suave. Tier 2 is Envoy, Silver 4. They add Art (Writing), Bribe, Cool, Gossip, Haggle and Lore (Politics), plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Attractive, Cat-tongued, Etiquette (Any) and Seasoned Traveller. Attractive gives a bonus to Charm tests to influence anyone attracted to you, and when you make a successful Charm test against them, you can choose to use your rolled SL or the ones digit of your roll. Seasoned Traveller gives a bonus to any Lore test about local detail and adds Lore (Local) to any Career you are in or gives a discount if you had it already, and each time it's in your Career you can take it for a different area - Reikland, Ubersreik, Altdorf, whatever - and still get the discount. Tier 3 is Diplomat, Gold 2. They add Intimidate, Language (Any), Leadership and Navigation, plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Carouser, Dealmaker, Gregarious and Schemer. Tier 4 is Ambassador, Gold 5. They add Language (Any) and Lore (Any), plus WP as a stat. Their Talents are Briber, Commanding Presence, Noble Blood and Savvy. Noble Blood gives a bonus to any test that is influenced by Status, and you are considered to be of higher Status than anyone who doesn't have the Talent, no matter what. If they do, you compare Status as normal. Nobles can be anyone except Halflings. They are highborn, given the right to rule, make law and dispense justice just by blood. They often inherit vast wealth and land, but only those in the direct succession can expect true power. Many work their entire lives to consolidate wealth and power via business, conquest or politics, and those that lack in inheritance must make their own way, often as commissioned officers in the army or in service to a god. It is also common to find them working for other Nobles, more powerful ones, such as daughters being sent to be royal handmaidens. Nobles often adventure to serve their families or advance their own station. Others do it out of boredom, or to expand their options due to being low on the succession line and with few other prospects. The GM may disallow the Noble career due to its vast temporal power and wealth. Nobles mix social and combat skills, leaning towards the former. On Nobles posted:"Everyone thinks that Nobles have it easy, but it's a treacherous life and you're always standing in someone's way. I'd rather take my chances out here with you lot than risk assassins back home. Give me a heard of Beastmen any day." - 'Lugner' Rodziner, Tenth of his Line Tier 1 Nobles are Scions, Gold 1. They have good WS, I and Dex, and get Bribery, Consume Alcohol, Gamble, Intimidate, Leadership, Lore (Heraldry), Melee (Fencing) and Play (Any). Their Talents are Etiquette (Nobles), Luck, Noble Blood and Read/Write. Tier 2 is Noble, Gold 3. They add Charm, Gossip, Language (Classical), Lore (Local), Ride (Horse) and Melee (Parry), plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Attractive, Briber, Carouser and Suave. Tier 3 is Magnate, Gold 5. They add Language (Any), Intuition, Lore (Politics) and Perception, plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Coolheaded, Dealmaker, Public Speaker and Schemer. Tier 4 is Noble Lord, Gold 7. They add Lore (Any) and Track, plus WP as a stat. Their Talents are Commanding Presence, Iron Will, Warleader and Wealthy. Warleader (or War Leader, the book can't decide) gives a bonus to Leadership tests during war, and any subordinate that can see you can add your purchases in it to their SL for one WP test per Round, not stacking with any other person that has it. Next time: Servant, Spy and Warden
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Sep 12, 2018 20:46
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Given being outnumbered was loving dangerous in 2e (and managing to outnumber big enemies was important to beating them), I would think a talent for counting as more people than just yourself during combat sounds pretty great already.
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Sep 12, 2018 21:16
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Night10194 posted:Given being outnumbered was loving dangerous in 2e (and managing to outnumber big enemies was important to beating them), I would think a talent for counting as more people than just yourself during combat sounds pretty great already. This is pretty much why, yes.
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Sep 12, 2018 21:43
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Does it only prevent outnumbering or does it help you provide outnumber for allies?
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Sep 12, 2018 21:44
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Night10194 posted:Does it only prevent outnumbering or does it help you provide outnumber for allies? Only prevents it, because a Duellist is insane enough already.
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Sep 12, 2018 21:46
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I love that ratcatchers eventually get Fearless (Skaven). Bigger rats, bigger dog, same poo poo, different day. So what if they've got giant magic siege cannons? Principle's the same.
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Sep 12, 2018 22:31
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megane posted:I love that ratcatchers eventually get Fearless (Skaven). Bigger rats, bigger dog, same poo poo, different day. So what if they've got giant magic siege cannons? Principle's the same. Anyone who says the Skaven are invincible would do well to remember that they keep getting their poo poo kicked in by a bunch of sewer maintenance workers. And their terriers. Night10194 fucked around with this message at 22:36 on Sep 12, 2018 |
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Sep 12, 2018 22:33
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To be fair to the Skaven, they also get the poo poo kicked out of them by each other, orks, and dwarves. It's all numbers that keep them going.
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Sep 12, 2018 22:36
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WFRP 4e - Living To Serve Servant is for Dwarfs, Halflings and Humans. Most Servants are former peasants who are quite happy to not be working in the fields. They learn how to act in high society, along iwth the work of cleaning, cooking, buttling and grooming. They get paid with room, board and a wage, but their actual quality of life varies highly depending on how their master treats them. Experience Servants may become personal attendants or even stewards, managing vast swathes of domestic affairs for their employer. Servants working for royalty are often of noble blood rather than peasants, too. Servants may go adventuring bacuse their employer is traveling or adventuring with them, and bored young nobles may treat their Servants as friends rather than staff, being the only normal people they have access to. They may even send their Servants out to adventure so they can live vicariously through the stories they bring back. Favored Servants may even be given duties that force them onto adventures. Servants are sneaky types with a good selection of social and exploration skills. On Servants posted:"Only a fool mistreats those entrusted to cook food and pour wine. Believe me, there's no end of damage a spiteful servant can wreak upon the unwise." - Baron Gerber Jochutzmann Tier 1 Servants are Menials, Silver 1. They get good S, T and Agi, and have Athletics, Climb, Drive, Dodge, Endurance, Intuition, Perception and Stealth (Any). Their Talents are Beneath Notice, Strong Back, Strong-minded and Sturdy. Tier 2 is Servant, Silver 3. They add Animal Care, Consume Alcohol, Evaluate, Gamble, Gossip and Haggle, plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Etiquette (Servants), Shadow, Tenacious and Well-prepared. Well-prepared lets you, once per session per purchase, pull out any Encrumbrance 0 item out of your backpack when it is needed, as long as you could feasibly have gotten it recently and it doesn't stretch credibility too far. A bottle of spirits, a whistle, whatever. You must then deduct the cost for the item from your cahs on hand, having clearly spent it earlier. Tier 3 is Attendant, Silver 5. They add Charm, Cool, Intimidate and Lore (Local), plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Embezzle, Resistance (Poison), Suave, and Supportive. Tier 4 is Steward, Gold 1. They add Leadership and Melee (Basic), plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Etiquette (Any), Numismatics, Read/Write and Savvy. Spy is for everyone. They are brave or foolish people whose job is to secretly gather information for clients. They are an asset to anyone in power that wants knowledge of specific things, and they often take months or even years to cultivate an identity that no one will notice but which has ties to key people or groups. Their work is risky - if caught, they're usually tortured for some time before being allowed to die. The best of them earn a lot of money, but getting out safely is never easy. They try to avoid attention, so they are rarely known by their reputations, except perhaps in the sense that people remember the results of their work without a name to attach them to. They are found across the Old World, working for many people and groups. Their investigations easily get them caught up in all kinds of plots, forcing them to flee when they get burned. They often use their talents to evade capture, and joining a group of heroic adventurers to hide has brought many Spies into the world of adventure. Spies are sneaky, social and decentl if not great at fighting. On Spies posted:"Treason? That's it? For the lof of... why didn't I qualify for high treason? I've done plenty of other terrible things. Should I list them off for you? What's that? It's not personal? Well, it is now, you prig-powdered gaff!" - Sieben Dietmund, Accused of Treason and Contempt Tier 1 Spies are Informers, Brass 3. They get good Agi, WP and Fel. They get Bribery, Charm, Cool, Gamble, Gossip, Haggle, Perception and Stealth (Any). Their Talents are Blather, Carouser, Gregarious and Shadow. Tier 2 is Spy, Silver 3. They add Climb, Entertain (Acting), Intuition, Melee (Basic), Secret Signs (Any) and Sleight of Hand, plus WS as a stat. Their Talents are Etiquette (Any), Lip Reading, Read/Write and Secret Identity. Lip Reading gives a bonus to Perception tests to read lips, and lets you make a Perception test to understand anything said by someone whose unobstructed lower face you can see, regardless of distance. Secret Identity gives a bonus to Entertain (Acting) tests to support your secret identities. For each purchase, you select one Career, and as long as you are dressed appropriately you can use that Career's Status instead of oyur own for modifying social tests, and can ignore the Criminal talent while in these identities. However, you must make Entertain (Acting) tests when you meet people that may be able to tell you're lying. Tier 3 is Agent, Gold 1. They add Animal Care, Animal Training (Pigeon), Language (Any) and Leadership, plus I as a stat. Their Talents are Attractive, Cat-tongued, Master of Disguise and Mimic. Master of Disguise gives a bonus to Entertain (Acting) tests when being someone else and lets you make a disguise without need of a Disguise Kit. Mimic gives a bonus to Entertain (Acting) tests where accents matter, and lets you make an Initiative test to perfectly replicate any accent you've been exposed to for at least one day. You can attempt the test once a day. Once you succeed, you retain the ability to mimic the accent forever and are completely unable to be detected as faking it, even by a local. Tier 4 is Spymaster, Gold 4. They add Lore (Any) and Research, plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Briber, Schemer, Suave and Tower of Memories. Wardens can be anything but Wood Elves. They care for and maintain their employer's holdings. Failure to improve or at least maintain a status quo is usually a problem for them, and multiple Wardens may work for a single employer on a single estate. Their work can include upkeep and maintenance, overseeing hunting grounds or caring for a rarely used home. They may watch over cropland, forests or lakes, and those working for the rich and powerful are often quite powerful themselves. They rarely travel unless their duties require it, but they still need to regularly patrol the properties they oversee. Between jobs, they may work as guides or hunters, which can lead them to adventure. Those who are fired may also bear a grudge and even sell information to the enemies of their old masters. Wardens possess a mix of social, survival and (minor) combat skills. On Wardens posted:"Yes, m'lord, the duke has been a-bed this last decade. And, yes, m'lord, I am running his estate. No, m'lord, I don't see that changing any time soon. After all, in Penzkirchen, my word is now law... Arrest him!" - W. Edvart Kurtz, Governor of Penzkirchen Tier 1 Wardens are Custodians, Silver 1. They are good at S, T and WP, and have Athletics, Charm Animal, Consume Alcohol, Cool, Endurance, Intuition, Lore (Local) and Perception. Their Talents are Menacing, Night Vision, Sharp and Strike to Stun. Tier 2 is Warden, Silver 3. They add Animal Care, Melee (Basic), Outdoor Survival, Ranged (Bow), Ride (Horse) and Swim, plus WS as a stat. Their Talents are Animal Affinity, Etiquette (Servants), Strider (Any) and Rover. Animal Affinity gives a bonus to Charm Animal tests and also causes any creature with the Bestial trait that hasn't been trained to be belligerent to automatically be calm and unaggressive in your presence unless they have a reason not to be, like pain, hyperaggressive nature or having young nearby. (Hyperaggression is there because Bestial is a trait had by things like Squigs and Jabberslythes.) Strider gives a bonus to Athletics tests to cross the chosen terrain; you pick a specific terrain type and ignore all movement penalties when crossing over or through it. Rover gives a bonus to Stealth tests in Rural areas, and when doing so, bystanders don't get passive Perception checks to oppose you - they have to be actively on the lookout. Tier 3 is Seneschal, Gold 1. They add Bribery, Charm, Gossip and Leadership, plus Fel as a stat. Their Talents are Embezzle, Numismatics, Read/Write and Supportive. Tier 4 is Governor, Gold 3. They add Evaluate and Language (Any), plus Int as a stat. Their Talents are Commanding Presence, Etiquette (Any), Savant (Local) and Suave. Next time: Bailiff, Hedge Witch, Herbalist Mors Rattus fucked around with this message at 23:38 on Sep 12, 2018 |
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Sep 12, 2018 23:21
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| # ? Dec 9, 2024 12:45 |
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ChaseSP posted:To be fair to the Skaven, they also get the poo poo kicked out of them by each other, orks, and dwarves. It's all numbers that keep them going. Added on the Skaven instinct is to be a huge coward. I remember a book were a gang of Skaven fought some Sewer Jacks and basically trampled over each other to get away once they faced more resistance then they expected, as they considered 20 to 1 to be fair odds, but once it became 15 to 1 it was every rat for himself.
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Sep 12, 2018 23:33
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