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D&D Subforum / Pen & Paper RPG Discussion Thread

Fourier

Posted this in the tabletop forum, but it was suggested some here might be interested:

Anybody interested in an online play-by-post game of some tabletop RPG. I've been finding Roll20 difficult to schedule as most players are in different time zones and so would prefer an Irish crowd.

No experience required and it'd be relaxed enough in pace.

Games I'd be interested in running:

1st Edition D&D, but with one of the modern adventures (award winning ones published in the last few years).

Cyberpunk 2020 Blade Runner-ish, also going to be made into a game by the lads who made the Witcher games

Rippers Resurrected High action Victorian horror, like a lighter Penny Dreadful

All of these have very cheap pdf options.

EDIT: Another possibility is Vampire: The Masquerade.

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Fourier

Ah don't worry it'll be grand.

Baggly

Return of The Negotiator, so.

Banjo

I haven't read the rules, but what's the incentive to play a "not a Witcher" in The Witcher?

Also, any scope for being a sexually aggressive teenage girl with an animal companion and some kind of speech-related abnormality Witcher? I'm ...uh... asking for a friend.

Necro

Banjo wrote:

I haven't read the rules, but what's the incentive to play a "not a Witcher" in The Witcher?

Trying to work that out myself tbh.

Was asking Four about the female Witchers before as they aren't technically in the 'lore' but according to the rules it's at the DM's discretion.

So brush down the pigtails, pick out your fave dress... and butter up Four :pac:

Evade

I haven't read the rules either but playing a sorcer/ess would be pretty cool, Witcher 3

the battle at Kaer Morhen would have been very different without them.

Fourier

Off for the night

Fourier

Won't be around tonight, but I'll have D&D on Wednesday.

Fourier

Banjo wrote: »

I haven't read the rules, but what's the incentive to play a "not a Witcher" in The Witcher?

As a mechanical note, in the game Witcher is both a race and a class. Though they must be selected together.

Essentially you are a novice enough Witcher. Looking at some of the "famous" NPC stats, yes Geralt absolutely destroys most people, but you're a recently trained witcher. Depending on the fight you're not much better than a mage or man-at-arms, though you are better against monsters.

The system is basically the one from the Cyberpunk 2020 RPG, where combat is a good bit more realistic than in D&D, so fights are rarer and more lethal. Also the game seems to be going a bit more with the books view of the world, in that monsters are almost extinct and fighting them is uncommon.

For this reason there are many non-combat classes who basically shouldn't be in a fight at all.

That said, it's a new game even though it's not a new system. It could be the case that being a Bard or Merchant is simply crap, there isn't enough word of mouth reviews yet.

For that reason I'd be doing a test case. Village with a few problems in a forest clearing. If it turns out everybody needs to be a maxed out Witcher or Mage and all Merchants can really do is play Excel Warrior with stock prices we can move on to something else or just everybody play as them. As of yet, even being a Witcher might be crap.

(I'm making a great case here!)

Banjo wrote: »

Also, any scope for being a sexually aggressive teenage girl with an animal companion and some kind of speech-related abnormality Witcher? I'm ...uh... asking for a friend.

Well you could be a Bard, that way you'd even get to play a banjo.

Banjo

If you fancy giving your brain a break for a while or buying some time to set up the next game, anyone up for a quick game of Icons run by the 2nd best DM from the Beginners D&D Game, not including players, bystanders or Barfas (he was running a successful Shadowrun game before the party showed up but alas, José Mourinho killed him before it could be discovered or joined by the gang) ?

Icons is a superhero game, Golden/Silver Age style, decent mix of creativity and dice rolls to drive it forward. If a couple of people wanted to play we could start off with an isolated module, small scale while I iron out any wrinkles and see how it goes?

I can't promise the epic scope or expert crafting of one of Fours games, the regular schedule and merciless gut-wrenching engagement of a Werewolf week, the thrilling highs and lows of a round of Codenames or the stripped-back pleasures of I Spy. But I can promise this. Post. Which I've already delivered. You're welcome.

(Just running through a test module to get through the "How hard can it be" and "Oh ****, what have I done" phases, but character creation is a game unto itself and has a collaborative impact on any wider world that the game might come to be set in, so no harm putting the feelers out there)

Fourier

That sounds great Banjo, I'll play.

Fourier

I meant to say, Sci-Fi game is very open to the type. Could be Cyberpunk, Space Opera, Post-Apocalyptic, etc

More so I want to give the Powered by the Apocalypse rules a try.

Necro

Sign me up

Baggly

I'll play, banjo

Banjo

ok, let's not stink up Fourier's thread with me shilling for guinea pigs. I'll post a separate one in a mo-mo.

also : thanks

Baggly

Fourier, any objection to me including 'discussion' in the thread title here, so that we can use this as a general discussion thread for the D&D subforum?

Fourier

Pter wrote: »

Fourier, any objection to me including 'discussion' in the thread title here, so that we can use this as a general discussion thread for the D&D subforum?

Would it be possible to merge it with the previous discussion thread here:
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057804489

So that would reflect all discussions thus far on RPGs.

Baggly

Indeed it will!

Necro

Fourier wrote: »

Would it be possible to merge it with the previous discussion thread here:
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057804489

So that would reflect all discussions thus far on RPGs.

20 questions may yet be smited upon the hillside :pac:

Fourier

Necrominus wrote: »

20 questions may yet be smited upon the hillside :pac:

My motivation is innocent and pure!

The 20 questions are a beast whose growth cannot be checked, it will consume us all. Pter save yourself! Bump it not lest ye rouse it from its slumber!

Fourier

Off now

Fourier

I'm actually back early!

Banjo

Hope this is the right thread now, with its new title.

Pen and Paper RPG - Icons

So as mentioned....

It's a superhero-themed game, very much in the spirit of the Golden and Silver age, with lots of pants outside leggings, people getting bitten by radioactive kangaroos and catchphrases like "I will not be flushed!" - That's not to say that you can't be a 'gritty' Image style 90s antihero but the character you start with is not entirely in your own hands

!

Mechanically it works a little bit like Traveller where most things are a test of (1d6 + your skill) vs (1d6 + Difficulty or opponent's skill), but a whole lot sillier and with the ability to jump over buildings. You have 6 stats governing your mental and physical attributes, specialities that give you bonuses in very specific situations and powers that put the soup in your superhero.

Character creation is done via a Random Roll system which could spit out a being with ultimate cosmic power or a bed-ridden janitor with a magic bucket. From playing around with it, the worse or more incongruous your rolls are the more fun you're likely to have struggling to make it work. If Nebelwerfer joins the fray with his hero "Dirty Joe" you'll see what I mean. So you might *want* to be a gritty Image two-guns-blazing punch-a-lady-in-the-face-then-love-her-hard kind of character, but if you roll a flying 60 year old transgender native american who shoots lighting out of their face, better get used to being the Squall Squaw!

It's a modular system, based around the idea of "Issues" and "Chapters" just like comic books, so you can have a 1-shot adventure or one that spans multiple issues with cliff-hangers and twists and turns. In that sense it lends itself well to drop-in drop-out play.

That said, I have about a week and a half's GMing experience filling in for Necro on the 1st Edition game, and given how much this game relies on the GM's abilities (and how that game went after I got on board!), we might not have to worry about issue 2

Scale
The scale would be extremely small - assuming there's any interest at all! - I'd only be looking for a tiny handful of players in a very limited module, at least until I find my feet and figure out how it all works, and then realise that I have only designed one building and street and you might want to walk around a corner. Then I'll panic and we'll see how it goes.

Honestly I don't think I'm doing you or me any favours if I take on more than 4 players at the start. Realistically I'll be happy with one signup!

Pace
I could say "2-3 posts a day 4 days a week" but really, it'll run as fast or slow as it runs and no faster. In my hectic life as a working commuter and doting father, I basically log on when I can. So I'll respond as often as I can as many days a week as I can get away with. Fri, Sat and Sun nights will usually be out but otherwise, we'll go as slow or fast as the slowest poster who might well be me.

Character Creation
This is something of a collaborative process owing to the system of Qualities which I'll attempt to explain if there's any interest in the game. These are what set your character apart. It all starts with some random rolls though - Easiest thing to do is I get you to do 2 sets of preliminary rolls, you send me the output and from that we start getting a picture for what you're going to end up with.

Source
There's an OGL version of the game rules browseable here :
https://ogc.rpglibrary.org/index.php?title=Icons
However, I'm using the revised Assembled Edition with the Origins and Great Power supplements, so while it's *mostly* correct and gives you a good flavour for how it works, some of the rules have changed and tables been both expanded and rebalanced.

So, if you want in :
Rolz room
https://rolz.org/dr?room=Boards.ie%20Icons

Paste the two rolls in italics into Rolz. Post the result or PM if you prefer to keep your character under wraps while you chisel them out. Note, while high numbers are mostly good, a roll of 12 for Prowess does NOT mean you have a Prowess of 12! It's all tabulated.

Character roll #1
Origin [2d6] - Prowess [2d6] - Coordination [2d6] - Strength [2d6] - Intellect [2d6] - Awareness [2d6] - Willpower [2d6] - Powers [2d6] - specialities [2d6]

Background roll #1
Background - Gender [2d6] Ethnicity [2d6] Age [2d6] age mod [2d6] Manner [2d6] Value (who) [2d6] Value (what) [2d6] Attitude [2d6] Birthplace [d6] Status [2d6] Tragedy [d6] Past 1 [d6] Past 2 [d6]

If you have set ideas, the background roll can be fudged, it's purely flavour. From these we'll see how many powers
and specialities you have, there are separate rolls for those which we'll get to in good time, then you'll have a better idea of what you can do and can work towards a name, costume design, catchphrase, origin story - go as deep as you want. But baby steps first!

DO NOT PICK A CHARACTER NAME until you get your powers. That road only leads to disappointment when it doesn't suit and me stealing the name when you discard it.

Fourier

Off for the night, one more post for OldGoat

Banjo

OK, I have 5 applicants which is probably more than I can comfortably handle, so consider the game full and thanks to all who applied
sKeith
Fourier
Nebelwerfer
Necrominus
Pter

I'm processing the rolls as fast as I can. While I'm waiting, a brief explanation of what I'm sending back.
If you got a PM last night, it was sent from my phone so the format is pants. I'll rejig it to make it readable asap.

First - your Stats :

Prowess - This is a measure of your melée fighting ability. It's used to hit people, it's used to dodge/counter punches. The higher this is, the better you are at fisticuffs.
Coordination - this is a measure of your grace and dexterity - it's used for ranged attacks, dodging things, not falling off things, that kind of thing. Directly affects your Initiative for Combat Order.
Strength - Literally how strong you are. It defines the damage you do in melee and how much you can lift. You do lift, don't ya bro? It's also a measure of your physical ability to persevere and directly affects your "Stamina" - your health or hit points.
Intelligence - your smarts. How much you know or can figure out.
Awareness - perception and alertness
Willpower - A combination of your courage, your charisma and your determination. Directly affects your Stamina.
Stamina - A derived stat, the sum of your Strength and Willpower. When you hit someone, this is what you're whittling away. When this hits zero you're unconscious.
Determination - A Derived stat. 6-(number of powers)-(number of abilities at 7 or higher), minimum of 1. This is the stat that lets you pull crazy one-off stunts and feats that can turn a situation around.

Fourier

D&D is on tonight still

Banjo

So if you've been reading all these walls of text, you may be asking what Determination Points are. And why I'm answering that question instead of talking about Origins like I promised.

DPs - DeePs, because DeePee makes connoisseurs of hardcore giggle and then drool - represent opportunity. Everyone starts with at least one. The fewer powers you have, the more DPs you start with, because if you have no powers or superhuman abilities there must be something that sets you apart. And DP is just that - when the chips are down you dig deep and make something special happen.

On the other hand, if you have a lot of powers and/or superhuman abilities, you probably don't need to dig deep quite so often, and perhaps don't have the same grit as the more limited normies who stride with gods.

You spend DPs to gain Advantage. Heros, Villains, NPCs, objects, even locations have "Qualities" - which we'll talk about in more detail later - that you can leverage to help you achieve your goals.
It could be a simple as Wolverine saying "I'm the best there is at what I do, bub, and what I do is cut building-sized robots' head off with my claws!", spending a DP to get a bonus against a building-sized robot's head. Or that terrible scene in the first Spiderman (tobey) movie where that inherent New York Spirit of Defiance lead a bunch of hapless citizens facing certain death to throw their hotdogs and spare change at the Green Goblin buying Spidey enough time to get his **** together. Spoiler Alert! Maybe you might spend one criticising the over-romanticisation of the russian revolution, because it drives your arch-nemesis Dr Zhivago mad, and while he's distracted USA Lad can clobber him with a wrench and some good ol' fashioned american know-how. The possibilities are endless, and usually more sensible than that last one. Usually.

You earn DPs by accepting Trouble. Best you are at what you do, Mr Wolverine? I know you're busy applying for a mortgage in a crowded midtown bank, but Captain Ninjafist wants your title and is taking it by force right now! Hai-ya! (slides free DP to Wolverine for accepting the Trouble). I mention this because you need to know the basics before we talk about Devices and Origins.

Origins

Wait! First you need to know about Devices! All powers are either Innate - like, say, Cyclops shooting red beams out of his eyeballs - or Device-based, such as Lion-O who's a big pansy when you take away the Sword of Omens.
Devices can be anything - weather it's a gun or a mystical amulet. If your powers come from Devices of some kind - which is a choice for most, but can be a requirement of your origin, hint hint, there's a reason I'm telling you all this - then those devices may require a power source or ammunition where appropriate (guns, lazer swords, jet packs) and are subject to creating Trouble if they run out of juice or break or are taken from you.

There's more, much more, but I'll get back to this in a bit. Remind me!

So….
Gimmick: The character’s powers all come from devices of some kind (see Devices in the Powers chapter). One of the character’s mental attributes (willpower, intellect or awareness) of your choice is increased by +2, to a maximum of 10.

Trained: The hero is a highly skilled individual; any “powers” actually come from superior training or specialized equipment (Devices). The character gains two additional specialties, and can choose to trade a power for two more specialties.

The Gimmick and Trained heroes should probably give me an idea of how any of their Device based powers work, so I can appropriately nobble them for dramatic purposes, earning you the owner some delicious DP.

Unearthly: The character is an alien, elemental, angel, devil, or even deity—a being from another world or dimension. Increase two of the character’s abilities of your choice (attributes or powers) by +2. Alternately, roll twice on this table, ignoring duplicates and results of 11-12. The character gets the effects of both origins. Apply the modifiers of the rolled origins rather than the Unearthly modifiers.

Transformed: The hero was a normal human but became superhuman through some outside agency, often an accident or experiment. One of the character’s abilities of your choice (attribute or power) is increased by +2 to a maximum of 10.

Don't forget to submit any adjustments you want to make to based on your Origin entitlements.

Some of you may have Speciality choices - you probably want the full list of Specialities.... isnt' this post long enough yet?
Soon, my pets, soon. But know this! You can also spend those choices on existing specialities, raising them from +1 specialist to +2 Expert or even +3 Master.

A Master can perform Stunts based on their Specialities as well as abilities (7 or higher) and powers.

Also, I'm waiting on Power rolls from 2 of you.
For each of your powers roll this :
Power class [2d6] type [d6] specific [d6] level [2d6]

For each of your Specialities roll this :
Speciality d1 [d6] d2 [d6]

____

Still here?
Back to Devices. If you got what you consider a duff powerset - maybe you have very specific powers that only affect evil squirrels, who probably won't feature much in the first Issue - bear in mind there are "Common Devices" - non-exotic things you could reasonably expect to be able to get. Take a look at those background roll results.

Depending on your Status, you can reasonably expect to have access to a scooter or bike or car to get around (maybe a Jet if you're super-rich), a registered fire-arm if you have no other offensive capability (but discharging that is going to bring traceable Trouble...), a torch, a cell phone. You can get a lot further with a kind word, Super Jump and a Gun than just with a kind word and super jump. If there's something you feel your guy should have that isn't in his toolkit as rolled, and they couldn't reasonably get based on their background and status, maybe you can work it into a Quality, as mentioned waaaaaay up above? Let's talk!

Fourier

As explained on thread summary posts that close out the campaign tomorrow.

Off for the night

Baggly

Not rushing anyone, but is there a target date we want to start icons? Maybe one that suits you Banjo so that we can have our origins names etc ready by?

Banjo

Dude, we're in mourning! Have some respect! You don't try to **** the widow till the body's in the ground!

Still waiting on final Power rolls from some of you. Also, most of you have choices regarding origins, powers, Extras and specialities to look at. Then we can look at Qualities once you know who your character is, roughly.

I should probably come up with content too... yeah... maybe I should have started with content... ah you live, you learn.

Since you brought it up :

Character Adjustments

You are allowed to swap 1 pair of Ability stats around, e.g. if you have Prowess 7 and Intellect 4, you can switch that pair for Prowess 4, Intellect 7 if it helps fit your character idea better.
Extras - For those of you who've rolled you powers, bear in mind that you can swap out any rolled power for an extra of another rolled power.
e.g. if you rolled Fire Control at 6 and Aquatic at 3, they're not very compatible, you could take the Flight extra for Fire Control, dropping Aquatic completely, and you get that Flight extra at power level 6, not 3.
If your DP are low, consider applying Limits to your power(s) - this negates their impact on your starting DP.
Everyone gets at least 1 point of DP at the start of an issue, and if you finish on less than your starting max of (6 - number of powers - stats 7 or higher) then it resets to your max at the start of the next
Common limits are listed with the powers.

If you have any questions about the powers or specialities you've rolled, fire 'em over.

Putting Stats aside, let me ask you this - do you want to start as a team, or start as individuals?

Baggly

What fantastically terrible timing on my part. Soz gang didnt spot the end of the other game.