Markdoc

Re: Does anyone have any idea why this is legal?

Re: Does anyone have any idea why this is legal?

Re: Catgirls (and Catboys) for Fantasy From Girl Genius: "This is an ethical question, right? Because I'm a cat and we don't do well with those." cheers, Mark

Re: Need a resource idea Or, look at the reason that real colonials put ports in pestilential swamps and then subjugated the locals. Off the top of my head: gold, slaves, wood, spices or because it was a handy (and defensible) staging post for either protecting or attacking shipping going somewhere important. cheers, Mark

Re: Fantasy Art Thread Here's one from me. It's not any particular place: I just felt like making a big castle. cheers, Mark

Re: Make a Zodiac based Magic System I hadn't really thought about it, but I have a magic system (which is certainly workable, since it's been in use in the current FH game for 2+ years now) that has a zodiacal component. It's here: http://www.geocities.com/markdoc.geo/Gaming_stuff/Grimoire/magic_systems.htm#Medieval%20Magic In this case, magic is done by summoning and persuading or compelling "spirits" which do the actual magic. The various spirits are associated with various zodiacal signs and that gives them periods of strength and weakness. So you can still use water spells in a period when the sun is in Leo - a fire sign (Jun-July) but you will be at a disadvantage - even more so if you are casting it midmorning, around midday, or mid-afternoon, which are the hours associated with fire signs at that time of year. You could do something similar in the proposed system making spells stronger or weaker rather than accessible or nonaccesible, so mages wouldn't feel the need to cover every aspect of the Zodiac - which otherwise would make playing a mage fairly unattractive. cheers, Mark

Re: Move or Shoot Weapon The way I usually do it is simply to add the limitation "requires full phase" (-1/2) which means you have to actually spend a whole phase doing nothing else but aiming and shooting. If you move, you can't use it. cheers, Mark

Re: How Much of a Limitation

Re: Your "2008" Pet Gaming Projects Mine is simple - keep the 2005 pet project going. I started two games that year. One of them (victorian-era wierd occult science pulp campaign) died in the early stages. I may revive it in the future now I know a bunch of Girl Genius fans. The other one (a fairly standard Fantasy Hero game) is still running, though we only get to play about twice a month. Shouldn't be a problem though - at this speed, it's gonna take up 5 years to play through the story arc I have planned.... cheers, Mark

Re: What is Your Favorite Item?

Re: What is Your Favorite Item?

Re: Has anyone done a skilled normals game I've played in a game with a similar premise (Susano was in it too, so he might like to comment) where we designed two character sheets: a competent normal and a full-fledged superhero, which we going to evolve into. We also gave the GM our origin story, so that he could "set up" the character's transition. So our XP was based on story progression in the initial phase of the game. Since it was a superheroic game, we paid points for ordinary equipment, but you could easily do it heroic fashion (where normal equipment is bought with money, not powers) because - you're right - in a superheroic game, mundane equipment is generally no substitute for powers. cheers, Mark

Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so

Re: Rail gun damage?

Re: Rail gun damage?

Re: Do any of you still play 4th edition and FH Circa 1990? Yep, you could basically do it like that. The rules I drafted are here: http://www.geocities.com/markdoc.geo/Gaming_stuff/Runequest/heroquest.htm and are pretty RQ specific, but could easily be amended in the way you describe. IIRC correctly, the skills were: Intensity (make more powerful: ie - increase active points) Range (self 'splanatory) Duration (self 'splanatory, though this was also used for adding modifiers like persistent, continuous, etc) Multispell (in the original for combining the spells you know: in Hero system, for adding power modifiers to make "new spells")

Re: Magic Systems I'd add my voice to "yeah, you can use multiple magic systems in one game and have them balance." In my current FH game, I have three systems. One of them is temple magic, using a VPP: it gives access to a broad range of effects, but none of them can be hugely powerful unless you are a kickass mage - and you have to spend a fair amount of time and some XP helping out the temple if you want access to the best spells. The two dedicated spellcasters in the party have used this system and a third PC, who was primarily a sort of fighter/ranger is now learning it. The second type is essentially "folk magic" - what are called Gifts. These are bought straight up, though with some limitations that help lower the price. Of those people with gifts, few have more than 1-3, but since they're bought straight up, price balance isn't an issue. Lots of people have just 1 - but that means it can be really powerful. Nearly half the party has a gift (including one quite powerful one) and one of them has two. The third kind (cult magic) uses a multipower. It lets you get the most bang for the buck, but like the magic system in the Valdorian age, can accrue a magical debt when used, which can lead to nasty side effects. That makes it potentially both flexible and powerful - but also dangerous to use. So far, one player has shown interest in this system, but no PCs are using it as yet. cheers, Mark

Re: Retiring a Character So, easy-peasy. Call in your favours, accept your elevation to the nobility and ask for - as a fief - a chunk of the Black Woods and some adjacent land. Build a keep and start subduing the lands about. Your neighbours will like you for killing the horrors, the nobles will be happy because you are out of play - doing something useful in plain sight, but not meddling at court. Send out (subtly) a call for Elves to come and help you. That way you integrate them slowly into the local power structure, and give them a place to live, while at the same time training up a loyal powerbase if you ever need it. And while the menfolk are out fighting horrors in the woods, you can console the hawt elf widows.... Sounds like a pretty good retirement to me. cheers, Mark

Re: Rail gun damage? First Mate: "Captain, sensors have located the Voltroid ships emerging from the Oort cloud at hyperlight velocity and heading for the orbital. What are your orders?" Captain: "I want full power on the port deflectors! We'll cross their T, give them a full broadside and then turn hard to port and accelerate to ramming speed!" cheers, Mark

Re: Pet Powers I like to play one of two things. either the Pro from Dover: a character who's really good at something (usually only one thing) or the generalist: a character who's not the best at anything, but can turn his hand to everything. So in the current DnD game (all I get to play these days, sob) I'm playing The Scout: I want to be able to, you know, actually scout - which means moving ahead of the group, which means, in turn, being a bit of a jack of all trades in a game designed for specialists. Interesting design challenge. His predecessor was The Killer" - a magically-amped barbarian designed to wade into the middle of a mass of foes and kill everything in reach, whilst being as hard to kill or immobilise as possible. In Champions, my last character was Phayze - a teleporter. That was his powerset basically. He could teleport himself, or other people, or things. But boy could he teleport - literally anywhere in the world. Actually much more fun to play than he sounds and a real game challenge to keep alive. Prior to him, another Pro - a brick called Valiant! He was fast, strong and tough. That was it. He pretty much blew all his points on being really fast, really strong, and really tough. Oh and a little on being good-looking to help bring in that advertising revenue Very simple character to play: run up and punch your opponent, but also very flavourful. I loved Valiant! but I think everybody else in the group hated him. Prior to him, I played Kenji: a generalist. He was an armoured suit guy with an ECM multipower, so he was a backup fighter, and stealth guy plus the team's backup IT/ hacker. He also had enough social skills/contacts to function as a backup frontman for corporate work. But he wasn't the best in the team at any of those things. cheers, Mark

Re: Rail gun damage?

Re: Rail gun damage? Yeps. It's why I'm such a grouch, when the perennial discussion of new railgun weapons and new laser weapons do their annual tour through the discussion boards. Both them will make awesome new weapons as soon as we solve the materials science problems that have prevented them becoming awesome new weapons since the 1960's. I'm an old science grognard, so I remember all the artist's impressions of flying laser weapons that were "under development right now!" from the 1970's. The only difference today is that they come with nifty computer-generated movies. And what's happened in between, is that the technologies that were seen as wanting 30 years ago have been pushed to their (admittedly technically impressive) limits - and are still wanting. cheers, Mark

Re: Do any of you still play 4th edition and FH Circa 1990? Yeah - the first of those options is actually an oldie: it's exactly how magic in C&S worked. Unfortunately, magic is C&S was almost unplayable - we had to call Emergency more than once when a player collapsed, barely breathing after trying to read the magic rules*. But I actually like the basic idea: letting players master "elemental forces" which they then combine to make "spells". I had one shot at such a system in my Hero version of Runequest sorcery, where sorcerors started with a little VPP and then a "two powers at a time" Aid that let them bulk up their VPP and one power - so that they could take their puny little "create flame" spell and pump it up to make a powerful EB, or one that was long ranged, or could shoot round corners, or area effect, etc. Or they could just turn it into a long-burning lamp. Sounds cool, but I have never actually played it, so I dunno... cheers, Mark *OK, not really. It just felt like that....

Re: FRPG Ideas from D&D that ain't necessarily so

Re: Turakian Age Q: Gunpowder? Having SEEN this technique in use, a more usual result is gasp, wheeze collapse with streaming eyes in extreme discomfort, then cough mucus (occasionally admixed with blood). As a way of generating income for the faith healer, it's an old standby. As a way of relieving asthma, it works every bit as well as a kick to the 'nads: by instantly generating more discomfort, it makes the patient feel slightly better when the worst of the discomfort has passed. cheers, Mark