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Topics - Johnstone

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16
Eschaton / Meanderings Part 2: Setting
« on: April 17, 2011, 07:12:33 PM »
I also really like the Lem quote you posted. Solaris is one of my favourites, the book and both movies, all for the same reason, all for different reasons.

I find that the book is one of the best representations of human contact with an incomprehensible alien species/society/intelligence/whatever. Humans have spent 100 years trying to understand Solaris, to no avail, and then they shoot some rays into it and their lives are destroyed in a matter of days by concrete but incomprehensible phenomena.

I was already thinking it would be nice to play a game in the AW style, but set during the/an apocalypse, where there's still society and technology, but that contact with something Other begins to break that down. What happens to individuals standing on that line?

The Other could be technology/the singularity, it could be Lovecraftian aliens like in CthulhuTech, it could be psychic vampires, it could be an alien race on the other side of the psychic maelstrom who have used up all their resources and now want to use up humanity's. A whole range of stuff could be handled, from cyberpunk cliches to psychic Japanese schoolgirls fighting ghosts to grimdark spaceships lurking around inhospitable planets to government secret agents in disposable bodies sent to do undercover work in breakaway religious sects at the cusp of inhumanity.

TRANSCRIPT

Theoretically, we experience reality on three levels. Obviously, there is the material universe, the primary framework that all other internal frames of reference are created to deal with. That's Level 1.

But there is also information, especially important in this digital age. As this is not necessarily a physical thing, but it also does not exist within a person's mind, it is termed Level 0. This is partly to acknowledge it's virtual aspects, as users can be fooled into thinking a digital existence is just as concrete as a material existence.

There is also the collected experiences that happen inside the mind. This is Level 2. Each person has their own Level 2 inside themselves, they share Level 1, and they require special skills and technologies in order to access Level 0.

However, our work has revealed new horizons, just as the Industrial and Digital Revolutions expanded the physical limits of the human body and mind. Level 2 can be shared. Is this the cause of our next discovery, or the result? Even more exciting is the possibility of a still-theoretical Level 3. We believe that Level 3 is the natural home of another world entirely, undreamed of by humanity.

Although our communal Level 2 experiments are still at the preliminary stages, we are confident our results are real and can be replicated by others. We have decided to attempt to contact Level 3, to create a bridge between it and Level 2, with the eventual hope of bridging Levels 3 and 1, if our findings are correct.

17
Eschaton / Meanderings Part 1: Stats
« on: April 15, 2011, 09:13:13 PM »
Okay, so having five stats is okay for Apocalypse World, because it's a rather constrained setting, but my normal inclination would be to have more stats. Probably seven, by separating technical aptitude and psychic powers, and maybe separating cool into covert and overt, so there's a stealth stat. Or whatever else would fit a new setting—there's plenty of settings where magic, psionics, luck, knowledge, and the ability to make machines should all be separate stats instead of weird. And also, with five it's pretty easy to max out all your stats. Actually, it's pretty easy given the –2 to +3 range, but whatever.

Still, I like the four stats. And then I thought about a different style of dice mechanic. What if your stats are rated 1-4, so you give each one a different number. That's how many dice you roll, and you keep the two highest. So, if your stats is 2, roll 2d6. If your stat is 4, roll 4d6 and count the two highest ones.

If your stat is 1, either you roll 1d6 (which kinda sucks—I'll get to bonuses later), or you rate it P instead of 1, and roll 3d6 and keep the two lowest. So you still get a range of 2-12, just like the other stats, but it's considerably worse. Anyway, that gives a much different curve than straight +1 or +2 does (I think, anyway).

So, how do you get bonuses to your roll? Here is where having more than five stats comes in. You have additional tags for your stats that give you bonuses in certain situations, and you can use gear and other special bonuses.

And that's how I came up with this:

Assign amongst Cool, Heavy, Social, and Deep the following four scores: 2, 3, 4, and P.

When you avoid interference, roll your cool.
...and when you evade pursuit or detection, roll cool+evade.
...and when you resist pressure, roll cool+resist.

When you show your strength, roll your heavy.
...and when you commit assault, roll heavy+assault.
...and when you recover from shock, harm, or setbacks, roll heavy+recover.

When you manipulate someone, roll your social.
...and when you dissect someone, roll social+dissect.
...and when you make a deal, roll social+deal.

And then Deep gets a bit more complicated. Basically, it's the same as Echoes, you roll it to establish a node, and then you get a sync score in that node, and when you tap the node, your roll+sync.

When you look into something, there are three acknowledged levels. Level 1 is reality, the physical world. When you look deep into the real world, roll deep+sense (or deep+investigate or search maybe?). Level 0 is under-reality, the flat world of data, information in books and bytes, out there on the interwebs somewhere. When you dredge through Level 0, looking into it (whatever "it" is), roll deep+research. Level 2 is inside your mind. It's not connected to anybody else's mind, so you can only go deep into your own mind. When you do, roll deep+recall.

Psychic powers also occur on Level 2, and sometimes on Level 1...

You can get skills that act as bonuses, from your playbook or whatever:
Combat training, +1assault.
Iron will, +1resist.
Regeneration, +2recover.
Sex appeal, +1dissect.
Silver tongue, +1deal.
Eidetic memory, +1recall.
Hacker, +1research.

Or, you can get skills that act like permanent nodes, for example:
Criminology (sync+1)
Rocket science (sync+2)
Ancient history (sync=0)

That's what your stat thread made me do, Nathan.
More later...

18
Apocalypse World / I Barfed Forth this Apocalyptic Booklet (pics)
« on: September 06, 2010, 08:25:25 PM »
So I was analyzing the character classes, and looking through a lot of the stuff on these forums, right? And I wrote up some of my own character classes. And then I decided to make a thing, instead of just throw them up on the internets. After all, Vincent said he wants plenty of exclusive playbooks floating around. So I made 13 copies of this:


My little cameo:

And my most favorite part:


It contains five custom character classes, all with a somewhat sinister bent to them: the Damned, the Haunted, the Horseman, the Last Child, and the Sorcerer.

The Horseman I have already posted, including pdfs.

The Damned is a stealthy assassin type, like a vampire or a Jason Voorhees.

The Haunted has ghosts following him around. Does something similar to JWalt's Valkyrie class, but is much more open-ended. Also has a list of ghosts to choose from.

The Last Child is a creepy psychic child, who foretells doom and lays down curses. Probably the most teamwork-oriented of these five playbooks, despite the ability to curse people.

The Sorcerer is somebody with a familiar. It can do a boy and his dog, or stuff from the game it's named after. Or be an alternate version of Driver or Horseman.

Getting the layout to look right wasn't too hard. Vincent used a lot of free fonts (thanks Vincent!), and I avoided using lots of black.

Making two-tone art was hard, though! I kept wanting to leave it with grey tones or keep various shades and colours in the pictures. They turned out okay, not quite the same as Vincent's. If anybody wants tips and techniques, though, I'd be happy to talk about that.

I had it printed at a local shop, 44 pages regular paper, at 5.5x8.5, so it's a tad bit taller than the rulebook. And then I dug my camera out for the first time in a year to take those pictures.

This was a pretty easy process, I'd say. The hardest part was making the foldable booklet pdf for the Horseman, although writing a balanced and interesting character class takes some work, too.

But if you've already written character classes, I encourage you to go the whole way and make it look like a real thing. Go get it printed, too. Then we can trade!

19
Apocalypse World / New Playbook: Last Child
« on: August 24, 2010, 09:55:44 AM »
Me again, with another one: The Last Child

I saw Ben mention a Golden Child playbook he was working on, after JWalt suggested this idea. Well, I guess we can fight over it. Like Bumfights, but with crazy psyker kids.

Anyway, feedback would be wonderful. Especially on the Vulnerable move, I'm not real sure about that one.

The Last Child gets +1Weird as part of their stat lines.
Cool+1, Hard-2, Hot+1, Sharp+1, Weird+3
Cool+2, Hard-1, Hot-1, Sharp=0, Weird+3
Cool+1, Hard-1, Hot-2, Sharp+2, Weird+3
Cool=0, Hard+1, Hot=0, Sharp+1, Weird+2


And you get this one:

Prophetic Curse: when you reveal to someone your secret knowledge and pronounce a curse against them, roll+weird if it's an NPC, roll+Hx if it's another player's character. On a 10+, hold 1 and take +1forward against them. On a 7-9, hold 1. Until you spend your hold, you can help or interfere with a PC, no matter where you are. You can spend your hold to:
·   be where they are, with or without an explanation
·   cause a 2-harm accident
They can spend your hold by:
·   doing something you tell them to do
·   fighting to protect you
·   giving you something you want
On a miss, they hold 1 over you, same terms.


Then pick 1:

Black Witchery: You are privy to special rituals that make your brain more receptive to the psychic maelstrom. You can use augury without followers or a workspace, so long as you aren't rushed or threatened.

Dark Radiant Fear: in an enclosed space or at night, you can roll+weird to get the effects of going aggro without going aggro. Your victim has to be able to see you, but you don't have to interact. If they force your hand, the fear counts as s-harm.

Forebodings of Doom: when you warn someone off a future course of action, your words are not to be taken lightly. If they're a PC and they defy you, they take -1ongoing until they succeed or desist. If they're an NPC, roll+weird. On a 10+, they don't do it. On a 7-9, they do it if they want to but it goes badly. On a miss, they do it and it goes worse… mostly for you.

Some Other Language: when you manipulate someone without speaking, roll+cool instead of roll+hot.

Vulnerable: When another PC helps you, they mark experience and get +1 to the roll.
(?)


Like the Horseman, the Last Child is supposed to be somewhat villainous, inclined more towards anti-hero than hero. Also, its supposed to be more of a team-player and less a lone wolf.

20
Apocalypse World / New Playbook: Horseman
« on: August 23, 2010, 09:24:30 AM »
Hey kids! If I could get some feedback on this collection of moves, I'd really appreciate it.

The Horseman is a herald of the apocalypse, riding from place to place spreading ruin and misery. Always good weird, usually good cool and hard, sometimes good sharp, never good hot. And "he" has a "horse," of course, of course.

HORSEMAN MOVES
You get this 1:

Infernal Steed: when atop your steed…
…if you act under fire, add your steed's sight to your roll.
…if you try to seize something by force, add your steed's power to your roll.
…if you go aggro, add your steed's power to your roll.
…if you open your mind to the psychic maelstrom while mounted, add your steed's sight to your roll.
…if you help or interfere with someone, add your steed's power to your roll.
…if someone interferes with you, add your steed's weakness to their roll.

Then choose 1:

Come and See: when you attack a fortress or a building with people in it, you and your steed count as a gang (3-harm gang small).

Conquest: when you charge into battle without hesitation and fight without using cover, you and your steed get +1armor.

Famine: when you manipulate a person towards an action that is actually to their detriment, roll+weird instead of roll+hot.

Hell Follows Close Behind: when you lead a group or convoy across the land, roll+hard. On a 10+, hold 3. On a 7-9, hold 1. You can spend your hold to:
·   take +1forward with one of them
·   make them forget the way back
·   add a want of your choice to the group
On a miss, you lead them into disaster, from which you are not exempt.

Herald of the End Times: When you preach doom to a crowd, roll+weird. On a 10+, all 3. On a 7-9, choose 1:
·   you put the fear into their hearts (want: +anxiety)
·   you put them in a state of want, immediately
·   they don't turn on you, regardless of their wants
On a miss, they turn on you, regardless of their nature.

STEED
Choose one of these profiles:
·   Power+2 sight+1 1-armor weakness+2
·   Power+2 sight+2 0-armor weakness+2
·   Power+1 sight+2 1-armor weakness+2
·   Power+2 sight+1 2-armor weakness+3

Choose its type:
Animal, human, or machine.

Choose its strength or strengths:
Aggressive, easily maintained, fast, huge, off-road, uncomplaining, workhorse. Choose as many as its power.

Choose its look or looks:
Blackened, fiery, filthy, frightening, glowing, hairy, magnificent, metal plates, spikes & leather. Choose as many as its sight.

Choose its weaknesses:
Diseased, envious, gluttonous, greedy, infested, lazy, lusty, picky, proud, sloppy, slothful, slow, ugly, vain, wrathful. Choose as many as its weakness.


What do you think?
Is it well-balanced with the other playbooks?
Does this sound like a character you would be interested in playing?
And suggestions for moves and steed options?

Thank you!

21
Apocalypse World / No Duplicates and Switching Playbooks
« on: August 22, 2010, 10:16:47 AM »
In Soviet Apocalypse World, question has a you!

When you switch to a new playbook, you keep the old one for reference, but does it become available for another player to use? Character creation rules say no duplicates, but you've switched, right, not added...?

For example, I am playing the Battlebabe, and Andrew is playing the Maestro D'. Last session we both got our fifth advance. If we get our sixth advances next session, and I decide to become a Hocus, say, and he decides to retire his Maestro to safety, can he introduce a new character who is a Battlebabe, since my character is now a Hocus? And if my now-Hocus character gets killed two sessions later, I can introduce a new Maestro D' right?

Or do either of these situations break the no duplicates rule?

22
Apocalypse World / Can I choose which stat to use?
« on: July 23, 2010, 09:33:16 PM »
Vincent, I'd like to play the rules as written before I start hacking it, but some of the wording is ambiguous.

The Angel move Professional compassion says "you can choose to roll+sharp instead of roll+Hx when you help someone..." while the move Sixth sense says "when you open your brain to the world's psychic maelstrom, roll+sharp instead of roll+weird" (no hint of choose there).

Does that mean I can't ever roll+weird for the psychic maelstrom? Does that move always come into effect because I am opening my brain?

Or is it a case of to do it, you have to do it, and dependent on me using some sort of sixth sense in the fiction, and if, for example, a machine opens my brain and projects the psychic maelstrom into it, I would roll+weird?

Can I choose whether or not to use Sixth sense as I see fit?

Is there a concrete answer or am I (we) supposed to decide during play?

If you aren't Vincent: I just want to know what the text means, I don't need suggestions on what I should do.

Thanks.

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