Messages

61

RPGs / Re: I need help developing an EASY sci-fi RPG for class ASAP!

« on: April 24, 2010, 02:54:31 AM »

Ah, I remember doing something similar in the advanced program thing in Elementary School, though that was set in feudal Japan.  We also did something exactly like that in Middle School, if I'm not mistaken.

The most obvious way I can think of to link the game to schoolwork would be to have some resource they need to get in-game gained through completing their assignments.  If I remember correctly, the resource we got in the feudal Japan game was rice, which was needed to take control of and keep control of captured territories.

Another suggestion would be to provide some rewards for the winners, or who is doing best at a certain time, just to make sure everyone is motivated to participate.  I'm not sure how much free reign you'd have on giving out things to your class, but a small amount of bonus points for grades would probably get everyone invested.

Having the students write in-character journals for weekly assignments or something could be something interesting to add, if you think you can get everyone to get into it.

62

RPGs / Re: Bootlegging

« on: April 22, 2010, 11:40:46 PM »

Well, I'd say either have one of them take the time to learn to brew beer, and just give them a brew beer skill for skill checks, or allow them to seek out and recruit an NPC that could do the brewing for them.  Then, just have most of the group's work go towards keeping the operation a secret, and setting up distribution, and possibly a few speakeasies.  You know, the fun stuff.

The party should rarely have to do the monotonous busywork, and even if they have to do it, the game shouldn't focus on it for long.

63

RPGs / Re: Pathfinder thread

« on: April 19, 2010, 03:43:35 PM »

First off, there is a Pathfinder SRD. Check it out:

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/

I've just recently started playing in a Pathfinder game myself.  It's not that different from 3.5, but most of the differences are improvements, in my opinion.

64

RPGs / Re: New World Monster Manual

« on: April 15, 2010, 07:25:04 PM »

Ah, I just copied the text straight from the Monster Builder, hence the lack of formatting.  And I don't have all his languages listed there, but he does know Common.  And yeah, the party will be level 9 by the time they get there.

As for the Rocketeer, it looks better, but did he have the damage bonus for crits originally?  That might be a bit dangerous, considering how likely the guy will get a crit given all the attacks he's going to be making.

65

RPGs / Re: New World Monster Manual

« on: April 15, 2010, 02:38:18 PM »

I thought about using something similer to the 'Flyby Attack', but at the time. I thougt it mite be a little over powering. (If the PC's were all in a line, the Rockteer could possibly hit and knock over everyone in one turn). But if I made the knock down a second attack...

Yeah, I think having it be a second attack would make it reasonably balanced, though still a bit powerful.

Anyway, I figure for all my talk, I should post something of my own.  It's not so much an original creation as it is the combination of two different monsters, but I'm afraid it's all I really have at the moment.

The premise of it is this:  The leader of a Tiamat cult that the party is currently attacking is getting desperate.  As a final act of desperation, he's attempting to perform a rare arcane ritual to turn himself into a dragon.  Tiamat, disgusted with her human servant having the hubris to think he could ever equal the strength of her children, will twist the spell when it's cast, transforming him into a half-human, half-dragon abomination.  This probably isn't the final version I'll use, but here it is.

Armos Kamroth (Draconic Abberation)   Level 9 Solo Controller (Leader)
Medium aberrant magical beast   XP 2,000
Initiative +5      Senses Perception +11; darkvision
HP 326; Bloodied 163
AC 25; Fortitude 26; Reflex 21; Will 19
Resist 20 cold; Vulnerable 5 radiant
Saving Throws +5
Speed 7 , Fly 5 (hover), Overland Flight 10
Action Points 2
R Lance of Faith (standard; at-will) • Divine, Implement
Ranged 5; +11 vs Reflex; 1d8 + 6 damage, and one ally gains a +2 power bonus to his next attack against the target
m Bite (standard; at-will) • Cold
+14 vs AC; 1d8 + 5 plus 1d10 cold damage (plus an extra 1d10 cold damage on a successful opportunity attack)
m Claw (standard; at-will)
Reach 2; +14 vs AC; 1d8 + 5 damage
M Dragon's Fury (standard; at-will)
The dragon makes two claw attacks. If the dragon hits a single target with both claws, it pulls the target to an adjacent square and makes a bite attack against the same target.
C Breath Weapon (standard; recharge 5 6) • Cold
Close blast 5; +13 vs Reflex; 4d6 + 6 cold damage, and the target is slowed and weakened (save ends both)
C Bloodied Breath (free, when first bloodied; encounter) • Cold
The dragon’s breath weapon recharges, and the dragon uses it immediately.
R Cause of Fear (standard; encounter) • Divine, Implement
Ranged 10; +11 vs Will; 1 the target moves its speed +1 away from Armos. The fleeing target avoids unsafe squares and difficult terrain if it can. This movement provokes opportunity attacks
 Divine Fortune (free; encounter) • Divine
Armos gains a +1 bonus to his next attack roll or saving throw before the end of his next turn.
 Healing Word (minor; 2/encounter) • Divine, Healing
Close burst 5; you or one ally can spend a healing surge and regain an additional 1d6 hit points.
Alignment Evil   Languages Draconic
Skills Athletics +19
Str 20 (+9)   Dex 12 (+5)   Wis 14 (+6)
Con 16 (+7)   Int 12 (+5)   Cha 13 (+5)
© 2009 Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. All rights reserved. This monster statistics block has been generated using the D&D Adventure Tools.

I'm going to partner him with a couple of monsters somewhere between a minion and a standard, most likely, so he can actually get use out of those leader powers without making the encounter impossible.  I'm also not sure if I should reduce him to Elite status or not.

66

RPGs / Re: New World Monster Manual

« on: April 13, 2010, 11:55:46 PM »

A suggestion for the Rocketeer power: make it work more like a flyby attack like the Spiretop Drake has. Basically, make it work like this;  The Rocketeer shifts 8 squares, and any time it moves adjacent to an enemy during the shift, it can make a single attack against them.

I'd also personally make the attack make a second attack against the opponent's Reflex to see if they're knocked Prone, rather than it being an auto-effect of the power.

And I didn't realize the Crab Man had a Swim/Burrow speed.  That adds some interesting versatility to it, though it still feels like it's missing something..

67

RPGs / Re: New World Monster Manual

« on: April 13, 2010, 06:27:00 PM »

I really like the Rocketeer.  The self-destruct on a critical is pretty damned painful, but is balanced out a bit by the goblin being wiped out in the attack.  The Rocket Slam seems a bit powerful for an at-will though, and it feels like he should have a standard attack that doesn't involve him rocketing around the battlefield, though the players' attempts to pin him down as he does so would be pretty entertaining.

The Crab Man is alright, but he seems to have very little in the way of attacks, especially for an Elite.  Maybe something that worked underwater, given that his foamy spit only works out of it?  Or maybe his foamy spit could be a rolled recharge that only works while he stands in a square with water, or something that gives the players incentive to keep him in one place.

To be honest though, it sort of feels like the Rocketeer should be the Elite, and the Crab Man should be the standard monster.

68

RPGs / Re: I am a horrible monster because I didn't let a player control another PC

« on: April 07, 2010, 11:43:33 PM »

In my opinion, persuade checks should never equal the persuader getting the persuaded to do exactly what they want, even if it's an NPC.  It should give them a bit of incentive to side with the persuader somehow, but it shouldn't convert you automatically.

That said, I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with giving incentives for the persuaded to side with the persuader mechanically, especially if it fits the particular genre of the game.  For example, in MAOCT, where emotional damage is as dangerous as physical, I've essentially house-ruled a Peer Pressure roll, where you can make an emotional attack against someone, and they'll receive the damage if you don't go along with what they want you to do, or at least don't actively work against them.  I don't think I'm overstepping my bounds with that, as it's not forcing, but encouraging.

I'm not familiar with Wild Talents, but Ross's call wasn't the wrong one.  I agree that you shouldn't be able to persuade anyone, especially PCs, to lay down their lives with a single roll.  To be honest, this whole thing is best determined from group to group, and game to game, as the right solution in one just wouldn't be the right one in another.

69

RPGs / Re: Game Fodder / Story Fodder

« on: April 06, 2010, 07:07:16 PM »

I personally think that at least half of the videos from http://www.everythingisterrible.com/ can be used as inspiration for a Monsters and Other Childish things.  For example:

This last Saturday, I needed to run a Monsters game off the cuff.  So, I decided to scan through the most recent EIT! videos, and ran across this.

<a href="" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win"></a>

So, I quickly crafted a plot where this guy went to the player's school for a "Bubbles Against Drugs" performance.  However, he was actually a bubble cultist, and was trying to convert the entire school to also worship the almighty bubble with his eldrich arts of bubblemancy.  The players, being monster-bonded, were able to see through the illusion and had to find a way to break his spell and bring him down.

The best part about it was that I could use the video as both inspiration and a prop of sorts.  I imagine it'd be tougher to find videos that would work in other games, but most of it's perfect for a game of Monsters.

70

RPGs / Re: Uses for an immovable rod

« on: April 06, 2010, 02:00:15 AM »

A bit over the top but:

Stealthily replace the enemy stronghold's shipment of arrows and bolts with cleverly disguised immovable rods, and set the command word to activate them to be someone shouting the word "FIRE!"  Congratulations, you've just disabled all of the enemy force's archers.

Affix blades to the ends of the immovable rods.  Now you can pin an opponent's arm in any situation

Place the immovable rod in front of a door you want to remain shut for a quick and easy barring.   Add another invisible one at ankle level for added hilarity.

Build your citadel entirely out of immovable rods.  It is now indestructible, or at least nearly so.

Attach immovable rods to your boots, and have them activated by thought. Now you can walk on water AND air.  Have similar rods placed throughout your armor, and you could even possibly walk on walls and ceilings somewhat comfortably.

You're a lich.  Make your phylactery an immovable rod, and throw it into space, or a volcano if you can make it and yourself impervious to heat, or somewhere else equally difficult to get to.  Surround it with several identical immovable rods.  Make every rod deactivated by a different code word that only you know, and, of course, make them all only destroyable in the fires of Mount Doom, or somewhere else unreasonable.  Anyone trying to kill you permanently will have a hell of a job doing it.

I'm betting they make damned good paperweights too.

71

RPGs / Re: Character Sheet Sharing Station

« on: March 21, 2010, 08:21:34 PM »

Well I just got back from play the game with Lt. Brain Sheldrup (ironically base off Divine Fire) and he didn't cause any PC death save his own (Though one almost died setting the charges to blow up Brain's corpse, his final request.)

Yeah, I was in this game too, and I happened to also be the one who killed him AND blew up his corpse.  I managed to survive, but I also eventually became a ghoul.

I still count it as a win.

Too be fair, we both jump on the express train to ghoulville when the Prvt. left us alone with the body-parts

Hey, the ghoul was the only nice guy we had met all day, and we both were fairly insane at that point.

I just feel sorry for the Private, he was the only sane one among us.  At least he made it out fairly unscathed.

72

RPGs / Re: Character Sheet Sharing Station

« on: March 21, 2010, 07:24:28 PM »

Well I just got back from play the game with Lt. Brain Sheldrup (ironically base off Divine Fire) and he didn't cause any PC death save his own (Though one almost died setting the charges to blow up Brain's corpse, his final request.)

Yeah, I was in this game too, and I happened to also be the one who killed him AND blew up his corpse.  I managed to survive, but I also eventually became a ghoul.

I still count it as a win.

73

RPGs / Re: Grognards.txt

« on: March 11, 2010, 02:40:31 AM »

So, on these other boards I post on, specifically The Spoony Experiment boards, I'm one of the only supporters of 4E among a bunch of 3.5 fans and other various old-schoolers.  Generally, our rare discussions on the topic of 4E are reasonably civil, they honestly have good arguments most of the time, and I'd like to think at least that mine are good as well, and generally everyone goes away agreeing that the system has flaws, and it's mostly a matter of opinion..

However, there's this one fellow there who seems to have an irrational HATRED for 4th edition, so much so that I'm half-convinced the PHB2 killed his father on the side of an old country road one night.  I have picked what is probably his worst post on the topic for your entertainment, wherein he argues that MONOPOLY IS A BETTER RPG THAN 4E.

A lot of the people that say you 'can' roleplay in 4E despite the system don't realise that the people that prefer Pathfinder/3.5/AD&D aren't saying that the game doesn't allow you to.

In fact, "When your room looks kind of weird, and you wish that you weren't there, just close your eyes and make believe, and you can be anywhere"; I can roleplay during any activity. I can be folding socks and roleplay. I can name the socks, give them identities and all that sort of things.

The thing they're saying is that, 3.5/Pathfinder/AD&D were more capable of allowing you, both as Player Characters and Non-Player-Characters have stats and skills and feats and classes that represented a larger variety of character concepts.

I know, we all know that you 'can' say that you're anything you want. I can say that I'm a grizzled old retried war veteran that comes back to adventuring to try one last time to find the lost macguffin that had eluded him in his youth, to train a new batch of adventurers so they don't make the same mistakes he did at their age. Nothing will fucking stop me from saying that. I can say that my character is that and not even have a character sheet. I can say that my left sock I'm folding is that character.

The problem though is that there is a disconnect in 4E D&D between what you say and what you are, on the character sheet. Either you play the characters Wizards of the Coast built for you, or your character and his sheet have nothing in common, and it creates a disconnect, that makes the game feel tacked on for no reason.

4E D&D then feels like a jRPG, where you walk around and can talk to people or do things, but then combat comes out, the screen shakes a few times and you're in an entirely new game where your old retired veteran has a high Str score because that's needed to make an effective Warlord, or either that, or he suddenly decides that, just for battle, he's a Bard, because Bard's powers use Charisma.

3.5/Pathfinder/AD&D though, it's a lot easier to make sure that what's on your character sheet syncs up a shitload better than with what your concept is, without sacrificing total usefulness in the game.

Oh, I'm sure I 'could' create a Warlord with an 8 Str, but the game and balance will have to crawl to a standstill as it scratches its head at my retarded fucking character statistics.

Because every stat is more important, there is often a lot more use for stats that don't go straight into your combat powers in 3.5/Pathfinder/AD&D. You don't just cherry pick 2 stats for combat usefulness and powers, dump on everything else except maybe a third for a Defense, and then roleplay an entirely different character than your sheet suggests you have.

Another problem 4E has is that it tries to shoehorn in fixes edgewise with feats, so to get a few of those concepts you need, you have to sacrifice utlity to try to mash in a feat that allows you to be what you wanted, which would had been a lot easier in a different game.

Non-Player-Characters are much, much worse than Player Characters in this regard. The entire game falls apart entirely if you imagine the world as a dynamic place that moves while the players aren't watching it.

Whole armies of high level and experienced minions die instantly in a sandstorm, the economy is a clusterfuck that's balanced entirely on game mechanics and attempts in no way to try to make sense, environmental penalties and rules make it so entire civilizations in less than pleasant sunny climates will wither away the moment the player characters set eyes on it.

The game falls apart thematically and sensibly unless you assume everything is a static mobile for the players to kill and loot, tucked away in an ethereal void or quantum probability cloud until within Spot/Listen check proximity of the Player Characters in which case they coalese in media res in a state that would fall apart if the Players were inclined to actively watch the state for more than a few weeks.

Not to mention lazy powers, skill checks, items and abilities that only work in metagame terms and make no sense when you even barely attempt to examine them from the point of view of a character in universe.

Ressurection that costs about as much as a small wardrobe of barely nice clothing with no other penalty than an hour of time and a small penalty for a handful of rolls, and yet people still even die in the fucking world from anything other than old age, skill challenges that are frightening impossible for simple checks and ironically easy for shit that should be difficult to do.

The game just outright can not stand up to any amount of in-universe scrutiny, and that's why, if you don't play the characters the game wants you to, you have to just make shit up.

Feats and Magic Items entirely indivorsable from the setting (and its lazy AdjectiveNoun naming system) and the default character builds (and tell me how easy it is to play a striker class that uses the 'wrong' type of armor or a leader with the 'wrong' alignment or 'type' of weapon by the default core books).

Core concepts to the genre that are split between 200 books so that the only way to attempt to customize your guy is to wait for a 'patch' to come out and add something you might want.

And you're right, nothing does 'stop' you from just saying you're whatever the fuck you want to say you are. I can't contest that. But we might as well have Monopoly out, and any time I want to do something, see if I land on Park Place. Sure it won't make any sense to what I want to do in-universe compared to what I want to do in-game, but neither would 4E.

74

RPGs / Re: Favorite character class in 3.5 Dungeons and dragons

« on: March 10, 2010, 01:45:56 AM »

I use Skype for my weekly 4E game alongside MapTool, and it works perfectly fine.  There have been some problems with brief disconnects, but it isn't frequent enough to really disrupt gameplay.

On topic, my favorite class is Bard.  Why, you ask? Two words:  BARDIC KNOWLEDGE.

I don't know why, but I love playing the character who just knows about everything.  Every time I roll a Bardic Knowledge check, I'm filled with childlike glee.

Beyond that, I also like Paladins, because it's fun to play a pure goody-goody every now and then, and Monks, because they're ready, willing, and able to punch a dragon in the face. 

75

General Chaos / Re: Introduction

« on: March 09, 2010, 02:40:53 PM »

Hello everybody.  I'm relatively new to the hobby of RPing, and have only been playing for about a year.  My first game, oddly enough, was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness, though I have since moved on to the greener pastures of D&D and Monsters and Other Childish Things.

I'm currently running a 4E campaign, with a few Monsters one-shots thrown into the mix every now and then. The RPPR Podcast has been a huge boon to my DMing. Also, it introduced me to Monsters, which has swiftly become my favorite system.

So yeah, that.