tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12270132855904683882024-03-13T13:12:48.227-07:00Libris LudorumNemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-2603378557159756702018-01-20T21:45:00.001-08:002018-01-20T21:45:09.282-08:00Psi-Wars Tinker Titan Rebel Spy Session 3Player Characters<br />
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<b>Knight Commander Evander Rook</b>, Imperial Space Knight<br />
<b>Sherri Grace,</b> Slave-Soldier Bounty Hunter<br />
<i>Abbot Chance, Imperial Intelligence Handler</i><br />
<b>Commander Nal Aldru</b>, Imperial Black Ops Fighter Ace<br />
<i>Lieutenant Kyra Elso, Imperial Black Ops Handler</i><br />
<b>Commodore Sho-Taro Greaves</b>, Imperial Navy Officer, CO of the <i>Warmain</i><br />
<i> Commander Badri Hara, Imperial Navy Officer, XO of the Warmain</i><br />
<b>Agent Damari Nash</b>, Imperial Intelligence Spy<br />
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After hatching a somewhat convoluted plan in session 2, our group of Imperial agents finally made planetfall on Grist. The intention was simply for Nal, Nash, and Grade to drop off a team of investigators to stir up trouble, then make their way to our main objective in Director Thorn's dig site. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that plan started to run into problems even before the group's shuttle landed on the planet.</div>
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One Mr. Shin San Sage contacted our shuttle on the way down, claiming that he was a local businessman and that he'd like to show us the "curated" tour of the capital. Nal, being a suspicious sort, directly accused Mr. Sage of setting up a trap. At this point, Sage made it clear that he was not someone we wanted to ignore, and that he did have ties to the criminal element in the city. While we also have reason to suspect that he has ties to a rebellion on Grist, it was enough for Nal to agree to arrange a meeting with him at a later date.</div>
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Nal then called up his contacts with the Gaju syndicate to arrange said meeting, and while they were cooperative, they also made it clear that they expected some financial compensation to be forthcoming. Nal demurred on the details of payment for now, but did make it clear that he'd arrange something...once he was back on the <i>Warmain</i>.</div>
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At this point, the shuttle made its way down to its designated landing pad in the aptly named Heap. What a mess this place is, with what's likely centuries of construction over older construction over older construction, and with a rather ad hoc approach to maintenance. But smelly and messy as it is, it's also where the Imperial port is, and it's also where a welcoming committee was waiting.</div>
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One group consisted of local Imperial security agents and the governor's assistant, Tera Masterton, having an animated discussion that seemed to involve the shuttle and what exactly was to be done about it. The other was a not-quite-regulation Imperial having a lively discussion with his robot.</div>
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Seeing the reception, our team made sure that the Shinjurai princess, who Nash had previously snuck onto the shuttle, was properly disguised in case the inspectors decided to come aboard. I somehow doubt that Mina was keen on wearing the battleweave armor and helmet, but she did agree to it.</div>
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Our team then debarked to meet with the various people on the landing pad, and after seeing that they brought investigators and not a squad of soldiers, some of the tension went out of the security group. Nal very politely handed off the investigators to their "tour guides", making quite an impression on Ms. Masterton in the process. He then delivered Knight Commander Rook's request that he meet with Governor Voss and Subadmiral Starlane "at their earliest mutual convenience."</div>
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The news of a knight commander being in the system caused something of a stir, with Masterton going pale and Kyto Caster, Director of Security,starting to make what where likely urgent communications with his staff. Still, knowing that we were here to talk and not start making arrests/take over the planet seemed to relieve everyone involved, and our investigators went off on their very carefully managed tour. They likely won't find anything too interesting, but they're around to be visible, not necessarily to be effective.</div>
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That left the other pair on the dock to address, and the scruffy man turned out to be the very personable and direct Assistant Director Hal Stillwalker and his robot Pawn. He was particularly enthusiastic about meeting Sherri Grace, who wasn't quite as eager about it, and Nal was definitely not impressed. Stillwalker intimated that he knew Director Thorn had asked for help, and that he had made some important discoveries in the wilderness, but that they were matters of some secrecy.</div>
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While Nash, never one for operational security, would probably have asked for more information right then and there, particularly by revealing that we had an Imperial Mandate, more cautious minds prevailed, and Stillwalker was placated with assurances that we'd talk to him if anything came up. This was probably for the best, as Stillwalker's grasp of operational security seems to be about as good as Nash's.</div>
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With the welcoming committee sorted out, that left the question of how to get out to Director Thorn's camp without drawing attention. After some discussion, including it being pointed out that there was no way to hide the shuttle's departure, it was decided that our team would ascend to space, lose themselves in Grist's orbital debris belt, and then descend to the planet in stealth mode.</div>
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Nal, being a good pilot, handily made the necessary rolls. Unfortunately, the timing of his descent coincided with a major sandstorm hitting Director Thorn's camp. While this on its own wouldn't have been much of a problem, a figure in the storm spots the shuttle, and then something <i>strange</i> happens. The shuttle begins to rust and age rapidly, shorting out instruments and making a difficult descent even more challenging. Fortunately, the shuttle holds together, and while it won't go down as the most graceful landing, Nal brings it to the ground in one piece.</div>
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And as it so happened, the shuttle landed right where we wanted it to be: in the middle of Director Thorn's camp. Of course, no one told Thorn we were coming, and he was quite surprised to see us, but he wasn't too concerned about who we were at this point, because, oh yeah, <i>an attack was imminent</i>.</div>
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Thorn and his security forces were reasonably dug in, with a trench and a few heavy weapons emplacements to anchor it, and our team ran for the cover of the trench. At this point, the Ashwalkers attacked, with sniper fire taking out the gunners of the repeating blaster and the anti-vehicle blaster emplacements.</div>
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Despite the poor visibility, Sherri Grace was able to make out some shapes in the distance, and fired off a withering volley of surprisingly accurate shots in their direction. While the sandstorm made the results of that fire uncertain, it's probably safe to say that some targets were hit. Nash and Nal had less luck, and everyone else, not being PCs, were keeping their heads down after the sniper fire.</div>
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The snipers then returned fire, and Sherri Grace made a very fancy leaping, spinning dodge to get out of the way. Nal decided to make a run for one of the gun emplacements to provide suppressing fire, but unfortunately, this was when the Ashwalker's flanking force showed up. A bunch of unarmored combatants with vibroblades, one heavy with a Gatling blaster, and one really heavy monster with a giant vibroaxe.</div>
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Sherri, who hasn't spotted the flankers just yet, continued to fire on the sniper's position. Nal, thinking quickly, shot out the controls of the repeating blaster to prevent the Ashwalkers from getting to it first and using it against the group. Nash then tries to put down the monster by making some very nice shots to its face, but alas, his holdout blaster proves to be utterly inadequate for the task, and merely draws the monster's attention to him.</div>
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Nal failed to dodge the attacks coming his way, but as he's wearing heavy armor, they didn't do so much as tickle him. The impact did knock him down, however, which proved to be less of a problem than it could have been. Sherri dodged some more attacks, and Nash faced one very angry monster with an axe. He not only fails to dodge, but Luck fails him as well. Fortunately, the attack proved to be only a Flesh Wound.</div>
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I somewhat lost of track of what happened when after that, but Sherri proved highly effective, putting down more of the attackers, including two that had just realized that the unarmed Princess was hiding in the trench. Nal put down another attacker, and decided not to bother Dodging attacks that clearly couldn't hurt him. Nash, unfortunately, was still facing the monster, and barely survived another attack with an invocation of Flesh Wounds. Then he made a brilliant shot on the giant's hand, utterly destroying it and forcing the creature to go to hand to hand combat. Being a hulking brute, this still would have ended badly for Nash.</div>
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The Gatling heavy also managed to get into the trench at this point, and was all set to mow down everyone when Sherri put his weapon out of action. The security troopers recovered at this point, and started pouring fire into the monster, but even that didn't seem to faze the brute. Nal then called for Kyra Elso to take the anti-vehicle weapon, which she did, but not before Nash ended up pinned against the trench wall and soaked in some unpleasant stuff. Fortunately, before the monster could press its advantage, Kyra put it down with a well-placed shot from the heavy weapon.</div>
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The Gatling heavy, with his weapon out of action, tried to draw and throw a grenade, but Sherri put a stop to that with a burst of laser fire, and he ended up being blown to bits by his own grenade. With that harrowing fight over, the princess, who is alive but very much shaken, suffered a natural reaction to the violence and mess and, as Mailanka delicately put it, "added to the mess". Nal, being a rather outspoken sort, loudly complained that this is why he didn't want her here to begin with.</div>
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Director Thorn, on the other hand, seemed to be utterly unfazed by the battle, merely stating that it was "worse than normal". He then invited the group in to explain just who they were and why they were here. He was informed that we were responding to his request for aid, and the princess was rather disappointed to learn that he had not, in fact, sent out a request for her to meet with him.</div>
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The fallout of that revelation would have to wait for next session, though, for Director Thorn had important information for us. He had discovered a Titan, a vast warmachine of alien design, and with the arrival of the Marrowheart in the system, it had begun to stir. With that, the session ended.</div>
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<i>Thoughts</i></div>
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Due to our decision to split the party, I had to spend this session sitting on the sidelines, because Rook needed to be in the capital to meet with the Governor and Subadmiral. I'm not particularly bothered by this, because I had a lot of fun watching the sessions unfold.</div>
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Nal is probably the most entertaining player we have, and watching him interact with the various NPCs and PCs was good fun. Mailanka also has a pretty diverse cast, and while that means there's lots of people to keep track of, it also keeps things interesting.</div>
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Sherri Grace easily wins my vote for MVP in this session. If it weren't for her and her blaster pistols, that fight would have gone badly for the group. Not only were they outnumbered, but they were outmaneuvered. But even with the appalling conditions and long ranges involved, Grace still hit far more often than not, and since most of the opponents were mooks, that was enough to put them down. All in all, some very impressive work.</div>
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The group needs to rethink their loadouts. While Nal and Kyra were reasonably well protected and armed, Nash's holdout blaster proved entirely inadequate against an armored foe, and both Nash and Grace probably need to think about investing in heavier armor. Yes, it might be encumbering, but it will help keep them alive.</div>
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Speaking of which, Luck and Impulse Point expenditures played a big role in keeping the PCs alive. On no less than four separate occasions, using them meant the difference between life and death for the PCs. This is a testament to just how deadly that fight could have been, and even that wouldn't have been enough if Grace weren't putting down targets as fast as she could spot them.</div>
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Communications were a bit of a problem in this session, particularly with keeping track of turn order. A visual turn tracker of some sort would probably have been helpful in understanding who was supposed to go when.</div>
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<i>What-If</i></div>
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Two of our player characters, Knight Commander Evander Rook and Commodore Sho-Taro Greaves, didn't make the big fight. How would things have gone differently if they had been there?</div>
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For a start, it would have completely changed the numbers game. Between the two of them, they bring no less than fifteen competent troopers with them, and they probably wouldn't have frozen like the security troopers did.</div>
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Both Rook and Greaves have Tactics, and so they could have picked up on the enemy plan before the flankers appeared, giving at least a little more time to react.</div>
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Rook also has Leadership, and I think Greaves does as well, so they could have rallied the security troopers earlier in the fight, which would have partially offset the Ashwalker numbers.</div>
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Looking at what Rook in particular would have brought to the fight, one of his big contributions would have been a ludicrous Intimidate score. If he spent two FP on the long range Aspect technique, he could easily have rolled against 22 to scare off the attackers (base 16, +4 Aspect, +1 armor, +1 force sword). Even without those modifiers, a roll against 16 is pretty good.</div>
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Also important is that most of the combatants were melee, and Rook uses a force sword. Anyone who attacked would likely have had their weapon destroyed before being killed in the next attack. Even Umber, the big hulking monster, would likely have had a bad time of things. A destructive Parry would have deprived him of his axe, and Rook's force sword deals a terrifying 8d+24 (5) worth of damage. I don't know how much HP Umber had, but I doubt he'd have lasted long.</div>
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All in all, had either or both been in the battle, it would have been a lopsided curbstomp in our favor. As it is, it's a testament to just how effective PCs are that the three who were there managed to turn what should have been a massacre into a narrow victory.</div>
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<i>Plans</i></div>
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Next session, we need to find out just what it is that Director Thorn needs to safely remove the Titan from the dig site and bring it back to Sovereign, because then we'll finally have the concrete information we need to make proper plans for accomplishing our mission.</div>
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We also need to make sure that Princess Mina Shinjurai isn't too traumatized by her experiences, because she's potentially a very useful ally to have. Oh, and she's an earnest, naive young lady who's a little in over her head. You'd have to be heartless to not feel sorry for her.</div>
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Rook and Greaves need to have their meeting with Subadmiral Starlane and Governor Voss, mostly to distract them from our interest in the dig site, but I'm also hoping to come out of there with more information and resources to use. The plan is to convince them that we're here to investigate reports of Cybernetic Union activity on the world, which is a hostile power in this region of space.</div>
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It's not entirely misdirection, either. In the short time we've been in the system, we've accrued significant evidence that there's a major rebellion fomenting, and it's not unreasonable to think that the Cybernetic Union is involved. And since this rebellion would cause us problems, we need to investigate it anyway.</div>
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I doubt we'll be able to keep our interest secret for long, though. After the last session, I think we need to seriously consider dropping a company of troops and some prefab fortifications on Director Thorn's camp to defend against future attacks. We might be able to recruit some local resources to do so, but we'll have to consider how effective it would be.</div>
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I'm also going to try and start developing a network in the capital city, because we need as much information as we can get. Rook can get some contacts among high society without much issue, but unless Nash, Grace, or Nal returns to the capital, the commoners and underworld are more of a problem. Fortunately, Rook does have a lot of money to spend, so hiring agents is not out of the question.</div>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-17542949624455702192017-10-24T06:04:00.001-07:002017-10-24T06:59:55.953-07:00Psi-Wars Playtest Session 1 After-Action Report.Player Characters<br />
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<b>Knight Commander Evander Rook</b>, Imperial Space Knight<br />
<b>Sherri Grace,</b> Slave-Soldier Bounty Hunter<br />
<i>Abbot Chance, Imperial Intelligence Handler</i><br />
<b>Captain Nal Aldru</b>, Imperial Black Ops Fighter Ace<br />
<i>Lieutenant Kyra Elso, Imperial Black Ops Handler</i><br />
<b>Commodore Sho-Taro Greaves</b>, Imperial Navy Officer, CO of the <i>Warmain</i><br />
<i> Commander Badri Hara, Imperial Navy Officer, XO of the Warmain</i><br />
<b>Agent Damari Nash</b>, Imperial Intelligence Spy<br />
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This past Saturday we had our first Psi-Wars playtest session, one that I've been looking forward ever since it was announced back in August. The <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/09/tinker-titan-rebel-spy.html">scenario</a> in brief is that Director Thorn, an archaeologist notable for finding interesting artifacts, discovered something particularly interesting on Grist. For reasons as yet unknown, he appealed directly to the Emperor's Hand for assistance in securing his find and rooting out a potential traitor.<br />
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For reasons that also remain unknown, the Emperor's Hand chose to send a Commodore and a Knight Commander as part of his carefully chosen set of agents. However, the high rank of both of these characters illustrates the importance of the mission, as did the choice to assign the Empire-class Dreadnought <i>Warmain</i> to the group.<br />
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The session began with a briefing on Grist by the lovely Lieutenant Shao-Chan Sun<name>. The information given was...lacking in detail, and the carefully whitewashed nature of the reports gives the impression that someone, or several someones, are covering up the reality. Officially, the rebellion on Grist has been put down, the population is surly and disrespectful, but under control, and the local governor Gideon Voss and the military commander Subadmiral Shaw Starlane are doing at least a competent job.</name><br />
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Knight Commander Rook, not believing the reports given about the rebellion, had previously investigated the matter using the resources of the Order of Imperial Space Knights. This revealed that there were several potential leaders of the rebellion active on the planet.<br />
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The Order also underscored the importance of Director Thorn's work, with potentially mystical pronouncements about how he and his work would be vital in defending against a coming galactic invasion. Rook also received a prophecy of the usual vague sort, but it may prove important.<br />
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Nal, our Black Ops commando, received reports that the Cybernetic Union was likely working to foment rebellion and might mount an attack on the planet in the near future. Hardly the "everything's under control" that the local authorities want us to believe.<br />
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Of the Alliance, there were no indications that they were active near Grist, which is a long way from their holdings in the Light Arm.<br />
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As the briefing concluded, the <i>Warmain</i> exited hyperspace, only to be rocked by an explosion! As the alarm klaxons wailed, it soon became apparent that the explosion was caused by a collision with a fighter of an unknown type, and more of them were attacking a beautifully styled Taj Mahal class yacht. A yacht bearing the markings of the Shinjurai, a people who hail from Alliance space! Clearly, the news that the Alliance was not active near Grist was inaccurate.<br />
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Commodore Greaves, being the carefully prepared officer, was quickly able to respond to the situation (he has the Battlestations and Scramble! perks) by launching fighters and locking the yacht in a tractor beam. Nal and his handler Kyri jumped into fighters to join the fray, while Sherri persuaded her own handler to let her "borrow" a fighter as well.<br />
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Nal, as a Fighter Ace, performed well, severely damaging the enemy ace's fighter and narrowly evading return fire before destroying him the next turn. More interestingly, Sherri took down two fighters as well, though she was not a dedicated space combat character.<br />
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I don't remember what the <i>Warmain</i>'s fighters did in this fight, which probably speaks to how insignificant they were, since the unknown fighters broke and fled after their ace went down.<br />
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Meanwhile, Rook and Nash made their way to the <i>Warmain</i>'s hangar to oversee the boarding operation. The yacht possessed verification codes, but with a pattern that marked them as forgeries. Believing the yacht to potentially be involved in spying, Rook ordered that the crew be taken into custody. The space knight was greeted by a protocol droid, who said the "Princess" would meet him.<br />
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Rook and Nash followed the droid to the bridge, where they were indeed greeted by Princess <name> of the Shinjurai. She claimed that she was asked to come to Grist by Director Thorn himself, and that she had a recorded transmission from him to prove it. After letting the terrified crew play the message, Nash spotted it as a forgery. Rook, after both rolling a Very Good reaction from the princess (it helps that he has Aspect) and deescalating the situation into something more conversational, invited the princess on to the <i>Warmain</i> to "continue the conversation". Which is a nicer way of saying interrogation, but appearances matter.</name><br />
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During this, Nal and Sherri were pursuing the fleeing fighters, and discovered that they were attempting to hide in the belt of debris surrounding the planet Grist. Sherri destroyed her quarry, so that was a dead end, but Nal was able to disable another of the fighters. After a bit of trash talking and rolling a 3(!) on Intimidation, he convinced the enemy pilot to reveal everything he knew. Apparently, he was hired for the attack on the yacht, but by whom? The plot thickens!<br />
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Still on the bridge, Commodore Greaves fielded a call from Subadmiral Starlane, who wanted to know just what the <i>Warmain</i> was doing showing up unannounced. He also demanded that the yacht and all aboard be turned over to him. Greaves, in response, showed Starlane the Imperial Mandate that gave him and the other PCs operational autonomy, then broke the call.<br />
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Now in a conference room aboard the <i>Warmain</i>, Commodore Greaves joined Rook in questioning the Princess, whose name we apparently never learned. However, we did learn that she was an admirer of Director Thorn and the Neo-Rationalist philosophy he espouses. When Thorn apparently asked her to bring an artifact from her family's vaults, the Princess jumped at the chance to meet her idol and followed the course that he gave without question.<br />
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Intriguingly, Thorn also asked that she bring an artifact, the Marrowheart, with her. Odds are that it's a power source or control device for something Thorn uncovered, and until we know more, it's going to stay safely locked up in the <i>Warmain</i>'s vaults. The director is probably loyal, but letting a scientist as enthusiastic as he is have everything he wants is not a wise course of action.<br />
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The session ended there, but with a great deal to follow up on for next time.<br />
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<i>Thoughts</i><br />
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The best thing about this session was that it got me excited about what was going to happen next. We've got a mysterious discovery on Grist, a Princess who's potentially the dupe of the traitor in Thorn's group, two major Imperial leaders who surely have secrets to hide, and a Gristian "rebel" pilot to interrogate.<br />
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I also had fun listening to Nal's player. He does the mindset of a gruff soldier well, and should prove very entertaining if I make good on my threat to pull him into a formal dinner.<br />
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On the downside, the session showed some of the weaknesses of a voice-only game. It's hard to know who's talking, but more than that, it's easy to overlook people who might want to have input or who haven't had a chance to speak. I think that this can be solved by doing a round-robin approach, where each person takes a turn in order to speak.<br />
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The space combat part went slow, and I think a large part of that is that no one is fluent with the rules yet. Mailanka, the GM, has examined them thoroughly, but it's clear that more practice, greater streamlining, or both may be needed to have them run smoothly.<br />
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For my character, Rook, having to ask what the range is for Aspect is annoying. The ability takes standard range penalties, but since it's often going to be used in non-combat situations, having to know just how far away someone is adds another detail. On the upside, it led to a Very Good reaction from the Princess, and I think that will be very useful going forward.<br />
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I was also disappointed that I didn't get a fight when Rook and his troopers boarded the Princess's yacht, but it was still fun to do the whole "We are the Empire and we are in charge" bit.<br />
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On that point, the group has a lot of power, in theory. They have the <i>Warmain</i>, which is a dreadnought and the most powerful class in the galaxy, a full regiment of ground troops, two hundred fighters, and two high ranking Imperial officers. They also have an Imperial Mandate that gives them free reign to accomplish their mission and orders everyone to cooperate.<br />
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That's the theory. In practice, the local governor and garrison commander could stall us using any number of procedural excuses, and if it came down to it, the subadmiral has more firepower than we do. More importantly, our objectives are to secure Director Thorn's findings and return it and him to Sovereign. We don't yet know what it is he's found, or what help he'll need to move it. Until we have more information, we need to tread lightly.<br />
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As far as character creation went, I found it to be a smooth and relatively painless process. In fact, the hardest part for me was learning how to use GCS. Oh, and picking gear. I still don't have a good sense of what equipment I should get, so while Rook has a very nice (and very expensive!) set of armor and a matching force sword, he still has more than half of his $1 million budget to spend. Note: Most characters don't have that much money. Rook is just Very Wealthy.<br />
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Everyone seems to have interesting backstories and motivations for their characters, but we didn't get a chance to explore that much this session. Hopefully the next one will allow for more intraparty roleplay.<br />
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Also, only one person in a group of five relatively high ranking Imperial PCs had Politics. I think we're all correcting that with our 3 points for the session. Heh.<br />
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<i>Plans</i><br />
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For the next session in November, we're going to do what I'm calling Operation Trojan Horse and see if we can lure the person the Princess was supposed to meet into a trap. I don't expect anything to come of this, since they probably know about the battle in space and went into hiding, but maybe we'll get lucky.<br />
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After that, I believe an immediate with Director Thorn is in order. We need to know what's going on, find out what the Director needs, and work to secure his findings. From everything we've heard so far, it's probably some large, powerful alien technology that could have major ramifications for the galaxy.<br />
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Rook now has two secondary goals. The first is to cultivate the Princess as an asset for the Empire. Since she has a connection to the royal family of Shinjurai, she's a link to a world deep in Alliance space. Since that world is also home to a population who may harbor separatist leanings, they have the potential to change the course of the war against the Alliance. Also, if her relationship with Director Thorn is as good as she believes, the Princess may help keep him happy and cooperative.<br />
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A little manipulative, isn't it? Well, Rook serves the Emperor first and foremost, and accomplishing the Emperor's goals is paramount. However, if the Princess is as sincere as Rook believes, he may be able to help her meet her idol, which would be good for her.<br />
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Rook's second goal is to see Governor Voss investigated for corruption, and if found guilty of that and collusion with rebels, see him strung up on the appropriate charges. It seems like Voss has been enriching himself at the expense of the people of Grist, and since that threatens the Emperor's order, Rook cannot allow it to stand.Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-68018946583681088472017-09-06T22:11:00.000-07:002017-09-06T22:11:39.795-07:00Psi-Wars: Ruminations on the Anti-Psi Space Knight<div class="MsoNormal">
Continuing my series on the Space Knight, I’m going to delve
into what they can do with their psionics, starting with Anti-Psi. For a more
general overview of what you can do with Anti-Psi, see the <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2016/06/anti-psi-in-action.html">Anti-Psi in Action</a>
post over on Mailanka’s Musings.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Starting Off</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A Space Knight has a minimum of one level of talent and 20
points in actual abilities. What does that get you with Anti-Psi? As a general
rule, this level of investment gets you abilities that only affect yourself,
need skin to skin contact to work, or need a god-like extra effort to pull them
off at range. Plan accordingly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Astral Blade 1 gives you an attack against things like Force
Ghosts, and against material targets you can drain Psionic Energy Reserves..
The latter ability is the more useful one, especially since it can’t be
detected, can’t be taken away from, and directly attacks Energy Reserves. However,
this is an extremely weak ability. Immaterial targets are rare, the psis you
face may not have energy reserves, and if they have any amount of armor it’s
completely negated.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Interruption 1 is the max you’re going to buy with 20
points, which means that it requires skin-to-skin contact with a subject to
work. Even with skill 17 and extra effort, you’re still only going to really be
able to do this at very short range at best. This isn’t all bad, though, since
it gives you a way to break the influence a psi might have on someone, and it’s
another avenue of resistance if a psi is trying to use them on you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Para-Invsibility 3 gives a -3 to a psi’s attempts to detect
you and anything near you with psi. This isn’t a lot, but it might make the
difference between a psi getting their Danger Sense off or not, and that could
make a world of difference in a fight. You’re also harder to see coming, which
can be useful. With extra-effort, that goes up to -6, which still won’t
guarantee protection, but it will help a lot!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Psionic Shield 10 should be read as “Immunity to Mind Tricks”,
among other things. Telepaths are going to have a very hard affecting you, if
they can do it at all. With extra-effort, you can extend this protection to
everyone standing near you, which can be very useful if you’re going after a
Telepath.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Screaming 1 may not seem impressive, but since you can buy
up to skill 19, you can do more with it than you might think. On its own, it’s
a potent defense against any psionics that would affect you or anything you’re
carrying. You can also reliably extend this protection to anyone standing very
close to you, and if you’re in melee with a psi, they’re going to have a much
harder time using combat abilities. With Tiring Scream, a psi will quickly
decide to leave you alone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Resistant to Psionics +8 is another very potent defence, and
is perhaps the most generally useful ability you can get with starting points.
No matter what the psi is trying to use on you, it’s going to be very hard for
them to make it work.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For Anti-Psi perks, Gaze into the Abyss will likely rattle
psis, especially if you have one of the defensive abilities. Hostile Dampening
is good for scaring psis and getting information out of them. Nonthreatening
helps you get close to your targets, while Personal Awareness helps you notice
when someone is trying to affect you. Simple Defense is good for making psis
regret trying to affect you, whether or not they succeed, and Tolerance makes
it more difficult to affect you with certain abilities.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In short, with one level of Talent, an Anti-Psi Space Knight
is mostly focused on defense against psionics. There’s variations in the
particular flavor you can get, but it all boils down into how you protect
yourself against psi.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>With 50-Points<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m going to preface this by noting that, no matter what
abilities you choose, the active ones are almost always resisted. Since any psi
worth their salt is going to have good levels of skill and Will in their
abilities, figure that you’ve got a 50% chance at best of pulling these off.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Astral Blade 7 is a very minor improvement over the base
version. If you’re regularly fighting immaterial threats, it would be useful,
but it’s just too narrowly effective to be worth the points otherwise.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cancellation is a very potent ability, <i>if</i> you can touch the psi. Even with Cancellation 3 [50], you still
need to make some contact with the psi. With extra-effort, you can do it at
range, and at significant range if you can hit level 5, but the penalty to your
skill from both range and extra-effort will make it difficult to affect the
psi. If you have Luck, this is a good place to use it! You can also use this as
Interruption, so keep that in mind.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Interruption 3 makes you <i>very</i>
aggravating for a psi to deal with. If you can recognize that they’re trying to
do something, you can try and shut it down, and the range penalties aren’t too
bad. You’re going to want to buy as much Will and Talent as you can, though,
because it’s all Quick Contests and psis tend to have good skill levels.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Para-Invsibility 10 means that you and anything near you can’t
be detected with psi. Period. They can’t see you coming, they can’t find you,
and they can’t use anything on you until they can physically see you. The
downside is that you need to roll every minute. Try and persuade your GM to let
you have No Nuisance Rolls for this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Psionic Overload 3 lets you use this at range, but arguably,
you’re better off just getting Psionic Overload 2 and using the rest to buy up
skill, Will, and Talent. This is cheaper than Cancellation, but it’s much less
predictable in its effects. The greater likelihood of affecting your target
should be weighed against the hazards of uncontrolled psionics. If you have
Cancellation, then using this becomes a 5 point upgrade to that ability.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Psionic Shield 25 is ludicrous. Psis won’t be able to affect
your mind, but you’re better off buying Psi Static. Still, something like
Psionic Shield 10 is pretty good, especially if you put points in Talent, Will,
and Skill to be able to use the techniques effectively. Expansion in particular
may prove important!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Screaming 3 lets you generate a 2 yard radius around
yourself where psis have a much harder time operating. With the extra points,
you can even buy up more skill to make it harder still. However, the drawback
is that you have to Concentrate to use this ability. You’ll need allies to
effectively use this ability.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
True Sight lets you see past psionic illusions, but how
useful this is seems rather dubious. Psi-Wars psionics include very little in
the way of illusions, and so it’s unlikely that this will come up much. Perhaps
against certain types of Broken Communion?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Psi Static is the ultimate in personal protection against
psionics. They can’t affect you, they can’t see you coming with psionics, and
there is nothing they can do about it. This is perhaps the best ability
Anti-Psi offers, because it’s guaranteed to work.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Conclusion</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The single biggest problem with Anti-Psi abilities is that
they’re almost always contested. Any competent psi is going to have good levels
of skill and especially Will, and since so many of your abilities work only at
close range by default, you can’t really sacrifice skill for range. Screaming
is an exception, but you still need to get close and you can’t do anything else
while screaming.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Really, if you want to go the Psi-Hunter route, take
Resistant to Psi +8 and spend your 50 Power-Up points on something else. Your
abilities are too unreliable and limited to do more as a 300 point character.<o:p></o:p></div>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-58219690785026790762017-09-05T16:59:00.000-07:002017-09-05T16:59:11.210-07:00Psi-Wars: Ruminations on the Basic Space Knight<div class="MsoNormal">
Jedi are some of the most iconic figures in Star Wars, and
fittingly, Psi-Wars has its own variation in the form of Space Knights.
However, it would be a mistake to directly compare the two. Where Force
wielders in Star Wars are essentially pretty similar, with the major
distinction being whether they’re the good guy Jedi or the bad guy Sith, Psi
Wars has far more variations. The type of psionics that a Space Knight uses and
the 50 point Power-Up lens they choose have a great deal of effect on just what
they can do. There’s so much potential variation, in fact, that this is only
going to be one in a series of posts on the Space Knight. Today, we’ll look at
the traits common to all Space Knights.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Space Knights</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The Basic Chassis</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All Space Knights come with ST 11, DX 12, IQ 13, HT 11, and
Will 15. Thus, like most action heroes, they’re going to be at least passably
competent in just about anything they choose to study. The high Will, in
particular, is important for many psionic abilities that are based on Will, and
is just a little shy of letting most abilities qualify for No Nuisance Rolls
with a minimum of point investment. It also means that Intimidation is going to
be your best social skill, which is handy for Contests of Will in a duel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Space Knights also come with Combat Reflexes and Weapon
Master (Force Sword). Combat Reflexes is pretty standard for any
combat-oriented template, but Weapon Master deserves some further
consideration. If you know the relevant skill at DX+2, you get +2 per <i>die</i> to damage with that weapon. Since
all Space Knights have this, your standard Force Sword deals a whopping <i>8d+16 (5) damage! </i>That’s enough to get
past up to DR 220 on average. Since the maximum protection personal armor offers
is DR 120, anyone you hit is <i>dead</i>.
Okay, some people will survive, but typically you’re forcing unconsciousness
checks and at least one death check.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a result, the moment you turn that force sword on, expect
to draw everyone’s attention. If you want to survive, invest in good armor or
your defensive abilities. Fortunately, depending on which force sword skill
package you choose, your parries start at 12 or 13, and your Precognitive
Defense starts at 13. Fast-Draw (Force Sword) also helps you get your blade in
your hand quickly, which begins at 13 as well.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Speaking of combat skills, depending on whether you fight
with one weapon, two weapons, or a weapon and a shield, you’re looking at 16 or
18 in your chosen weapon type (force sword or saber). This isn’t amazing, but
you’ll at least threaten hits consistently, and have a bit of skill to spend on
fancier tricks. Picking up a force buckler is great for your defenses, while
the Dual Weapon Attack package improves your offense. In any case, the net
result is that you’re very dangerous at melee range, and even shooting at you
is unwise unless you’re trying to deflect a lot of shots at once.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For other skills, you have Meditation-14, Philosophy-13,
Stealth-12, a choice of Brawling or Karate, and Wrestling or Judo. Meditation
and Philosophy are your mystic skills, Stealth is an everyman skill, and the
rest are back-ups for close-in fighting.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In conclusion, the basic space knight is a competent if not
outstanding melee fighter with a supremely dangerous weapon, and potential to
do well in other areas. Unfortunately, you’re also a very tempting target, so
try to avoid putting yourself in situations where you draw a lot of fire.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Advantage Options</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With only 20 points to spend, you’re not going to pick up a
whole lot here. Improved DX and IQ are both tempting, since either of them
applies to a lot of your abilities. IQ in particular is great, since it adds to
your psionics <i>and</i> your Precognitive
Defense. Devotion is good if you plan to focus on the mystic side of the Space
Knight, while Enhanced Dodge and Enhanced Parry may very well save your life in
a pitched battle.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Destiny and Luck are handy for getting out of a jam, but
they’re limited use and so are really emergency-only abilities. Wealth is
another interesting option, since good armor and weapons are expensive, and it’s
a lot easier to foot the bill if you have Wealth.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Disadvantage Options<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not much to say here. They’re all about what sort of a
knight you are. Are you the heroic, knight in shining armor sort? The wandering
beggar knight? Or a bloodthirsty dark knight?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Be careful choosing Vow (Poverty) and Wealth (Struggling or
Poor), though. Good armor can save you from the attacks you’re likely to face,
and forgoing it means relying on skill.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Skill Options</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Between your background lens and the secondary skill
options, you actually have a lot of options here. Acrobatics and Climbing are
suitable for agile space knights, Armoury if you want to tinker with your weapon,
and Literature, Law, History, and Intelligence Analysis for understanding what’s
going on. Intimidation deserves particular note for how well it synergizes with
your high Will, and again, it’s valuable in Contests of Will. Keep that in
mind.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Still, you’re not going to be particularly outstanding at
any of these, though your high attributes will give you a decent skill level
with anything you choose to take.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Martial Arts</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With only six points to spend and one those dedicated to a
Style Familiarity, you’re not going to get a lot out of this. Depending on your
skill choices, you may have to spend some of those points just for the buy-in
for the style. You can get a perk or two, and maybe invest in a style
technique. Your choices here are mostly a statement of how you’re going to
fight.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>More to Come…</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
By default, your standard space knight is a competent
combatant with a smattering of other skills and the beginnings of a distinctive
martial style. Where they really get interesting is in their choice of psionic
ability and 50 point Power-Up lens. However, each of these needs a post of
their own, since there’s so much to think about and choose with each. Stay
tuned for most posts on the Space Knight.<o:p></o:p></div>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-56556969392969073812017-09-03T08:52:00.000-07:002017-09-05T16:55:39.242-07:00Psi-Wars: Ruminations on Fighter Aces<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve been working on making a character for Mailanka’s Psi
Wars, and I’ve decided to share my thoughts on the character templates as I go
through them. Today’s entry is the Fighter Ace, the hot shot pilots of the
Psi-Wars universe.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Fighter Ace</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Core Activity<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fighter Aces have pretty simple lives. Their job is to be
the best starfighter pilots in the galaxy, and wow, do they ever succeed at it.
They have a bare minimum of 20 in Piloting (Starships) and Gunner (Beams), which
is pretty good. In fact, it’s so good that you can probably forgo spending any
more points on it and still do well. If you double down on piloting, get a
Higher Purpose, Daredevil, Enhanced Dodge (Vehicular), and more Gunner and
Piloting skill, you could easily hit total skills of 23, with a Dodge of 12 <i>before</i> starfighter modifiers. And this
is without spending power-up lens points on it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My suggestion, then, is not to worry about your piloting
skills, because you’re a great pilot already, and think about what distinguishes
you from other pilots, <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2016/09/starfighter-tactics.html">starting with how you fight</a>. Do you like to push the
limits of your starfighter and pull off reckless stunts to gain advantage? Then
spend points on the Maverick style. If you like missiles and other heavy
ordnance, Bombardier Is your go-to, and buy up your Artillery (Guided Missile)
skill.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What if you’re not just a great pilot, but a great pilot who
works well with others? Then get Leadership and the Starfighter Academy
Training style. In particular, Formation Flier is great because you can extend
some of your skill to the rest through ranged feints, while if there’s an ever
better pilot in the formation, you can substitute their skill for yours. I
kinda wish that it instead let you lead the rest of the formation in stunts
without them needing to make their own rolls, though. Wing Commander lets you
encourage your wingmates with Leadership at no penalty, which is nice. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Associated Activities</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before I go into the rest of the template, I’d like to talk
about what else the template is good at, based on just their core skills. `First
off, and most obviously, a hot shot pilot is the party’s designated driver. If
it flies or hovers, you can make it go. Whether it’s an aerospace fighter or a
hefty tub of a corvette, odds are you’re the best qualified to fly it, whether
or not you’ve ever trained on that model.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You’re also good with heavy weapons. This includes
vehicle-mounted weapons, of course, but if your Commando buddy is hauling
around missile tubes or squad support weapons, you’re a great back-up for using
them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With Navigation (Hyperspace), you’re also respectable at
making sure you end up at the right planet, though since you only have 13 by
default, I wouldn’t try and get <i>too</i>
fancy with your navigation. It’s not on the template, but Hot Shot Pilot also
adds to Navigation (Air) and Navigation (Space). Since daring raids through
canyons and other difficult terrain are very much in-genre, knowing how to get
through them really should be a template option.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Everyman Tasks</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the most part, you’re merely decent with anything that
doesn’t involve flying, though DX 14 helps with a lot of these tasks. For
weapons, your go-to is the blaster pistol or blaster rifle. Carousing,
Intimidation, Fast-Talk, and Sex-Appeal are your options for talking to people.
If you want to be good at talking to people, a level of Appearance and Charisma
will help out. With Savoir-Faire (Military), you can also work with military
personnel, which can be handy if your starfighter needs repairs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stealth is on the template, and you’re not half-bad at it with
a 14, but when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, your best advice is to just
stay out. Karate, Brawling, Judo, and Wrestling aren’t going to do much good
with ST 10.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You also have Electronic Operations (EW, Comms, or Sensors)
as options. The keyword here is SIGINT. If you’re trying to listen in on radio
communications, or you need to talk to someone, or you need to figure out where
those strange emissions are coming from, you’re a good stand-by option.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Backgrounds</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For Fighter Aces, the additional skills are invaluable. Your
template options are rather limited when it comes to out-of-cockpit tasks, but your
background will give you more options. Outcast gives you more street level
skills, Survivor is great for overland and wilderness adventuring, and
Aristocrat provides a gateway to high society.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wanderer deserves particular note as a Fighter Ace
background. Since a Fighter Ace naturally spends a lot of time on spaceships,
the skills and traits of this background synergize particularly well with the
template.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Power-Ups</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Experienced and Heroic are your clear go-tos for Fighter
Aces. Experienced lets you become an even better pilot, while Heroic’s Destiny
and other improvements are great for all-around competence. I’m going to delve
into Experienced more with the Upgrades discussion.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Martial Artist is an interesting option, since it offers
Weapon Master and proficiency with a style. With DX 14, you have the potential
to be fairly competent, too. Picking up a force sword may be a good idea. Too
bad Gunslinger isn’t an option in this Power-Up, or I’d suggest taking Way of
the Galaxy to get really good with that blaster pistol of yours!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Magnate also has potential, since with Very Wealthy, you can
afford a rather heavily customized starship, and probably more than one! It
also gives you more organizational pull, which is helpful for getting back-up
in combat and covering your lack of expertise in other areas. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cybernetic strikes me as rather marginal. Fighter Aces are
not physical combatants, and so most of the cybernetics aren’t useful to you.
Maybe the bionic eyes and their HUD and Telescopic Vision would be useful, but
I’m dubious. You flat-out don’t qualify for Communion, so no fancy miracles for
you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Upgrades<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You need the Experienced Power-Up to get any of these at
character creation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the moment, there are two options for upgrades for
Fighter Aces. Your first is the Evasion package. Its rationale is representing
the training or experience to survive getting shot down, and you’ll certainly
have that. With Navigation and Survival, you’ll have a decent chance of getting
back out alive. Lockpicking and more Stealth are great for getting into places
you really shouldn’t.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The other is Starfighter Tinkerer. As the name suggests, you’re
pretty good at working with your starfighter. If you want to be making custom
modifications to your ship, this is definitely something you’ll want to get. It’s
also surprisingly useful in other ways. Engineering (Starship) will help you figure
out where the important parts of ships are, Mechanic (Starships) is great for
hot wiring a new ride, and Armoury (Heavy Weapons) has a great deal of
potential. It’s not in the upgrade, but Mailanka agrees that Electronics Repair
(Any) is a natural fit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Summary</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fighter Aces are pilots, and if you left it at that, you’d
be right. But with so much skill to start with, it’s easy for them to take
their Power-Up and Background points and become respectably competent even when
they’re not in the cockpit, at least in a few areas.<o:p></o:p></div>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-79940363762766996092017-08-28T14:41:00.004-07:002017-08-28T14:41:40.529-07:00An Introduction to Psi-Wars<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.nl/2016/07/a-psi-wars-primer.html">It is a time of civil war</a>. The Federation, a coalition of
noble houses that have ruled the galaxy for centuries, has been overthrown.
Impoverished and alienated by increasing use of robotic labor, and incensed by
the execution of a populist war hero, the people revolted and overthrew the
aristocracy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The leader of the revolt, a former naval officer, has
declared himself <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/03/psi-wars-history-part-1-history-of.html">Emperor</a> on a promise to bring renewed prosperity to the
people. To crack down on dissidents and suppress further rebellions, the
Emperor has tightened his grip on the worlds of the <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/03/designing-organizations-overview-and.html">Empire</a>, giving agents of
<a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/03/imperial-security.html">Imperial Security</a> broad discretion in maintaining order. Abroad, the <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-imperial-navy.html">Imperial Navy</a> conquers worlds, ostensibly for their own protection, but also to obtain
their resources to feed an ever hungrier industrial-military complex.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The remaining <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/07/noble-houses-as-organizations-and.html">noble houses</a>, under the leadership of <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.nl/2017/08/house-sabine-part-1.html">Duchess Nova Sabine</a>, <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.nl/2017/08/house-grimshaw-part-1.html">Duke Bale Grimshaw</a>, <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.nl/2017/08/house-elegans-part-1.html">Marchessa Anna Elegans</a>, and <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.nl/2017/08/the-house-of-kain-part-1.html">Archbaron Kento Kain</a>, have regrouped and reorganized themselves into the <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-rebel-alliance-overview.html">Alliance</a>. Decrying the
Empire’s abuses of power and pledging to bring a return to the golden era of
the Federation, the Alliance stands in opposition to the Emperor’s increasingly
autocratic rule. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Following a period of rapid Imperial expansion, the war
slowed into a stalemate, and an uneasy détente has held for nearly a decade.
Now, with Imperial fleets marshaling at the border and fiery rhetoric holding
sway in the Senate of the Alliance, a new era of conflict is set to begin.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the ground, <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/04/imperial-navy-materiel.html">blasters</a> rule the battlefield, while soldiers
wear <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/04/imperial-navy-materiel.html">light nanoweave and heavier diamondoid armor</a> to protect themselves. <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2016/03/psi-wars-spaceships-simplified-space_31.html">In theskies above</a>, fighters swoop gracefully in intense duels, screening might
dreadnoughts as they trade broadsides, the light of laser cannons large and
small creating a dazzling display.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The galaxy stands at a crossroads, and the actions of a few
brave souls may all that decides whether the future will bring renewed
prosperity, brutal tyranny, or utter oblivion. Will you join the Empire in
their mission to bring order to the galaxy? Will you join the Alliance as they
seek to restore the Federation? Or will you be a free agent, charting your own
path through the chaos of this war-torn era?<o:p></o:p></div>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-50317987372641801622017-08-23T22:00:00.000-07:002017-08-23T22:00:12.246-07:00Psi-Wars: Ruminations on House Kain<div class="MsoNormal">
Completing my series on the noble houses of Psi-Wars, today's ruminations are on <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-house-of-kain-part-1.html">House Kain</a>, the independent minded rogues with a love of cybernetics and defying tradition.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>House Kain</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Who are they?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
House Kain is the great wild card of the Alliance, with a
tradition of proud, willful action and little concern about noble appearances.
This goes back as far as the founding of the Federation, for while House Kain
was not invited to the first conclave, Kaito Kain showed up anyway, saying that
“You’re not going to build an empire around me without me having something to
say about it.” No one could truly fault his logic, and since he came with
warships, just in case he was rebuffed, they decided to let him have his way.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This set the tone for Kain’s interactions with the rest of
the Federation. While they profited off of the trade that the Federation
brought to their territory, Kain made it clear that access to this route was at
their pleasure. Nor did they particularly care for the niceties of polite
Federation society, and while Kain never quite crossed the line into outright
war, their relationship with the other noble houses can be described as
“rough and tumble”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kain’s independent-mindedness served them well when the
Emperor led his coup, for they’ve long taken care to ensure the
self-sufficiency of their domain. Combined with the power of the alien station
in orbit around Caliban, House Kain solidly controls the primary route into
Alliance space, and is a major part of the Alliance’s military power. However,
the other houses have not forgotten Kain’s strong arming and disdain for their
tradition, and the house’s relationship with the rest of the Alliance is tense
at best.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>How do the common folk see them?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
House Kain is viewed with a mix of awe and fear by the
people of the Alliance. Awe for their martial prowess and ability to withstand
the Empire’s assaults and their willingness to break from noble traditions.
Fear, for their brutality in combat and their extensive cybernetic
modifications.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The people of Caliban, House Kain’s homeworld, have a more
nuanced view that comes of living with them for many generations. There’s a
certain pride in the independent mindedness of their overlords, and a desire to
see the house leave the Alliance and go its own way, like the days of Lothar
Kain before the rise of Alexus.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>How are they seen by the nobility in general?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a rule, the nobility does not like House Kain, who they
see as thugs with no sense whatsoever of aristocratic propriety. Unfortunately,
they’re also too useful to alienate. Without the military power of House Kain,
there’s a very real chance that the Alliance would fall soon after. Some of the
noble houses are willing to take that risk, but at the present enough houses
view Kain as too useful to lose, and carefully walk the line between giving in
to their demands and alienating them entirely.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the other hand, there’s a certain romanticism to House
Kain’s defiance of tradition and traditional authority, and not a few young
nobles fantasize about being spirited away by a dashing rogue to have grand
adventures through the galaxy. Even among the older and more restrained nobles,
there’s a grudging respect for Kain’s insistence on self-reliance and adherence
to their own traditions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What are the strengths of House Kain?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
House Kain’s strength is that it is a self-sufficient power,
as per very long standing tradition. If they were to be completely cut off from
the rest of Alliance space, Kain has the industrial base to build and maintain
their own warships, enough agriculture to feed its people, and so on. What they
don’t have themselves, Kain will gladly get through their equally long
tradition of raiding.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Knowledge of hyperspace routes is another asset of House
Kain’s, for while most of the Alliance and the Empire believes that the only
good route through the region is the one Caliban is on, there are more than
that. Using these byways is treacherous without the navigational data that Kain
jealously guards, however, and so the house has unparalleled mobility, allowing
it to slip past attacking forces to devastate their supply lines.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ancient, alien orbital fortress around Caliban is one of
House Kain’s great trump cards, for this vast battlemoon is capable of
devastating even fleets of dreadnoughts. Consequently, no attacking force has
ever managed to reach Caliban’s atmosphere.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What are the weaknesses of House Kain?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The foremost weakness of House Kain is their pride. Their
belief in their strength and independence, while well-founded, often leads to a
sense of invincibility, that no matter what happens, House Kain will not fall.
This leads them to underestimate the sheer power of the Empire, and to dismiss
evidence of weakness in their own preparations.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In particular, Kain’s self-sufficiency is not as absolute as
they would like to believe. Their industry relies on imports of key materials
not found within the space they control, and without it they could be worn down
by a long siege. If House Kain were to be cut off from the Alliance by an
assault that went around their space, they would eventually fall.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The orbital fortress above Caliban is another potential
weakness. It is an ancient, alien relic that not even they fully understand. A
concerning possibility is that the Empire will uncover other artifacts from
that civilization, ones that give them control over the battlemoon, and turn
its power against House Kain right in the heart of their territory.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Would House Kain go rogue?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is an additional question, but I think it’s an
important consideration, given House Kain’s traditional independent mindedness
and their ability to protect their own domain. While they may have the threat
of secession as leverage, in a larger sense House Kain isn’t likely to break
with the Alliance.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first reason is pragmatic. If House Kain steps back and
allows the Empire to defeat the Alliance, they’d end up surrounded by a power
with little love for them. This doesn’t greatly concern them, for they believe
that they can hold their territory against all comers, but they could still be
bottled up in the Caliban system, a prospect House Kain doesn’t care for.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The second is more ideological. Kainians don’t back down
from a fight, and the Empire is the biggest challenger they’ve had in a very
long time. Win or lose, how could they pass up the glory of such an epic
conflict? Even without the Alliance, House Kain would still be harassing the
Empire, raiding its shipping, razing outposts, and generally being a major
thorn in their side. How could they do otherwise?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That said, if their relationships with the other noble houses broke down and no reconciliation was possible, House Kain would go their own way and not look back.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>How can House Kain be the good guys?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
House Kain are not good guys in the traditional sense. They’re
too willing to get their hands dirty for that, and they don’t think much of the
gentle approach. What House Kain does offer, though, is the romanticism of the
outlaw and the renegade. They may follow Alliance law in principle, but in
practice they do things their own way, and don’t care much about what other
people think.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thus, you see in Kain not just defiance, but the ability to
get away with defying tradition and traditional authority.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>How can House Kain be the bad guys?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kainians are brutal, ruthless thugs without compassion for
those who oppose them. Their membership in the Alliance is solely a matter of
convenience, for it provides a convenient group keeping the Empire from simply
making an end run around their worlds.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If the rest of the Alliance is more idealized, they’ll want
to be rid of the Kainians, but they’re too essential for their defence. If the
Alliance is more cynical, then they tacitly condone or even approve of the
brutality, so long as it’s directed towards their common enemies.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Which Communion Paths do they follow?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
House Kain’s lack of psionics makes it more difficult for
them to follow Communion Paths than other houses, at least consciously. Despite
this, House Kain frequently embodies the Rebellious Beast, for they submit to
no authority but their own. If their defiance of tradition and authority is
channeled toward a cause rather than their own pride, then you may find
Righteous Crusaders.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kain’s heavy use of cybernetics, while acceptable and
encouraged by their traditions, nonetheless distances them from humanity, with
some falling into the Path of the Other as a result.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What role does House Kain’s cybernetics play?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since Kain does not have psionics, they rely on cybernetics
to augment their capabilities, especially when it comes to defending themselves
against the psionics of other nobles. Particularly important is the Psyber
Shield implant, since this guards them against mind reading and emotional
manipulation by Telepaths, while the improved HT of their cybernetics guards
them against Ergokinesis attacks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
More generally, Kainian cybernetics boost the user’s
physical capabilities. Most obviously, this lets them use heavier and more
equipment, especially in the area of weapons and armor. A Kainian knight in
full combat kit is nearly proof against man portable weapons, though squad
operated weapons may give him some pause, and that grand force sword will cut
through anything in his path.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, this ignores the utility of other cybernetic
implants. In particular, Kainian Eyes improve the user’s vision dramatically,
letting them see greater distances and in conditions that would blind anyone
else. This is invaluable for scouts, infiltrators, and the odd scoundrel
sneaking into noble palaces at night to woo the lord’s daughter. And with
Silvertongue for more favorable impressions, he might succeed!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cybernetics are also prime for individual tinkering and
customization, so each individual Kain likely has a few special tricks built
into their limbs. Of course, other nobles are well aware of this, and tend to
keep visiting Kainians under close (if discrete) observation.<o:p></o:p></div>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-26712280090321364342017-08-22T23:00:00.000-07:002017-08-22T23:00:06.968-07:00Psi-Wars: Ruminations on House Elegans<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The third of the Psi-Wars houses is that of House Elegans. Once proud, they've been laid low by the rise of the Empire. Let's take a closer look.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>House Elegans</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Who are they?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Never one of the most powerful houses, Elegans was
nevertheless beloved by the other nobility for their charm and flair (not to
mention their dueling prowess!). Their connections with the lost house of
Alexus lent them a further mystique, and their exploits and scandals were
favorite topics of gossip.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Then the Emperor led his coup, and Elegans found itself
trapped between the fledgling Empire and the treacherous, untamed wilds of the
galaxy’s Dark Arm. With much of the nobility fleeing into Maradonian space on
the other side of the galaxy, support and aid was nowhere to found, and the
traditional home of Elegans was captured, gutting the house in the process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The survivors of House Elegans have scattered widely, and
while many have made their way to Alliance space, evading Imperial pursuit
along the way, many others have not, either going into hiding in the Empire or
fleeing beyond its other borders.
Marchessa Anna Elegans is now the Lady of the house, but her power is
tenuous at best, with the loss of territory and deep divisions among the
members of the house hampering her efforts to preserve what remains.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">How do the common folk see them?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ask a typical member of the Alliance what they think about
the Elegans, and the response you’ll most often get is confusion. With their
holdings so far from Maradonian space, the Elegans have not had much exposure
to the people of the Alliance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What the people do have opinions on are the individual
Elegans they’ve encountered, and these can vary wildly. Some see them as
drunken, belligerent rogues with too much provide to accept their current
circumstances. Others see the compassionate side of Elegans, and pity them for
the trials they’ve gone through. Still others see them as heroic, taking the
fight to the Empire where the rest of the Alliance sits around and bickers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">How are they seen by the nobility in general?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As a whole, the nobility tend to look on the Elegans with
pity. Here was a proud house laid low by the Empire, with only remnants to
carry on the name and tradition. But while many sympathize with their plight,
here their thoughts go in very different directions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Much of the nobility lost territory, power, and members
during the rise of the Empire, and they’ve rallied around House Elegans as they
call for revenge and a renewed effort to win back their lost worlds. They hold
up Elegans as an example of their plight, and warn that, if the Alliance does
nothing, the rest of the nobility is next.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Others detest Eelegans, for in Anna they see a firebrand who
would goad them all into a headlong confrontation with the Empire. While they
sympathize with the motives of Elegans, these nobles believe that such a
confrontation is premature, and that her constant calls for a fighter will
upset their carefully laid plans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A third group of nobles, partially overlapping with the
second, calls for a formal dissolution of Elegans, and incorporating their
remaining holdings into other houses, citing the house’s weakness and inability
to control its membership as reasons. Some are doing this for political
reasons, especially those who oppose Elegans’ populist and warmongering stance,
while others see opportunities for economic gain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">What are the strengths of House Elegans?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">With Elegans existing as only a shadow of its former self,
it can be difficult to say that they even have strengths. This is misleading,
for while they certainly don’t have the economic or military power they once
had, the house is not entirely without advantages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Foremost among these is the legendary Elegans charm. People
who meet the Elegans tend to like them, especially if they’re making an effort
to make a good impression, and so they find themselves willing to support the
Elegans, financially or otherwise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Elegans also has the support of large parts of the nobility
who also lost much with the rise of the Empire, and their very losses make them
a rallying point for those calling for revenge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On an individual level, Elegans have passion. The Empire may
have gutted their house, but so long as any of them remain, they will never
give up the fight against the Empire. They may not have the strength to stand
against the Imperial Navy directly, but they will lead insurgencies, wreak
havoc among the starlanes as pirates, and more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">What are the weaknesses of HouseElegans?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The greatest weakness of Elegans as a house is that they are
dependent for their very survival on the support of others. With the loss of
their worlds, their lord and his heirs, and their wealth, Elegans has very little
to draw on. Traditionally, a house that fell on such hard times would be
dissolved by the Senate, and Marchessa Anna Elegans is fighting hard to keep
her house from suffering the same fate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Marchessa is also faced with the daunting task of leading
a house whose membership is widely scattered, many of whom have their own ideas
on how to take the fight to the Empire. Worse still, Anna Elegans is several
steps removed from the previous lord of the house, and while those with a
better claim are either dead or in hiding, this undermines her authority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On an individual level, Elegans cannot count on the support of their house, for even if the Marchessa agrees with their goals and methods, there's not a lot she can offer them in terms of resources.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">How can House Elegans be the good guys?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">First, note that House Elegans is so deeply divided that the
house as a whole can hardly be said to be good or bad. Instead, what you’ll find
are individual members of House Elegans acting in either role, depending on what
motivates them and how they go about achieving their goals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Heroic members of House Elegans are out fighting the good
fight, opposing the oppression of the Empire and empowering the people they
meet. These are your Robin Hoods of the setting, to give but one inspiration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>How can House Elegans be the bad guys?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Villainous members of House Elegans chart a darker course.
Revenge against an Empire that cost them everything is their primary
motivation, and they will go to any lengths to see it destroyed. Cut-throat
brigands, assassins cutting a swathe through Imperial leadership, and
insurgents sowing terror among the Imperial populace are some of the
possibilities you’ll find here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
See also the discussion on Elegans psionics further down. Telepathy has some scary abilities in its list!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Which Communion Paths do they follow?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">By far the most common paths for Elegans are Righteous Crusader
or Rebellious Beast, depending on whether they fight for principles or for
revenge. Some, especially those with revenge as a motivation, turn to the path
of Death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Others have turned to debauchery as a means of coping with
the trauma of losing their house, and these walk the path of the Beautiful
Fool.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>What role does House Elegans’ psionics play?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The combination of Aspect and Emotion Sense means that people
tend to like the Elegans, and they’ve got a knack for reading people that lets
them navigate social landscapes readily. This is large of part why, even though
the house is facing hard times, individual members are often able to find
support wherever they go. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The more manipulative members of the house use Aspect and
Emotion Control to push people into doing what they want, and even heroic
members will use it to increase the impact of their inspirational speeches.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When fighting the Elegans, the battle is as much mental as
it is physical. Instill Fear makes it hard to stand and face them, while their
Emotion Sense lets them pick out those who are already wavering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">More subtly, Mind Clouding allows them to slip past living
guards (but not robots!) without being noticed, making them excellent at
infiltration and reconnaissance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The most gifted Elegans, with full access to Telepathy, are
some of the most feared psions in the setting. Mental Surgery lets them
brainwash people, Mind-Wipe to make people forget what just happened, and
Sensory Control lets them play games with what people perceive. More ethical
Elegans will still get a great deal of mileage out of Sleep, Telescan, and
Telesend/Telereceive.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-90884707668807708072017-08-19T22:00:00.000-07:002017-08-20T04:04:11.079-07:00Psi-Wars: Ruminations on House Grimshaw<div class="MsoNormal">
Continuing my series on the Noble Houses of Psi-Wars, let’s
have a look at the conservative, elitist <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/08/house-grimshaw-part-1.html">Grimshaw</a>, and why people see them as “obvious”
bad guys and how they can be much more than that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>House Grimshaw</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Who are they?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
House Grimshaw, one of the great pillars of the Federation,
was also one of the last to join. Following the execution of Shio Daijin,
Grimshaw distanced itself from the feuding that had enveloped the Galactic
Core, patiently watching over the Alexian homeworld of Maradon, the great
factory cathedrals of House Alexus, and the central archive held on the moon of
Atrium, waiting for a true successor to claim them once more.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the Federation arose, Grimshaw reluctantly admitted
that no such heir was likely to be found, and so as the last remnant of the
Alexian government, they gave the Federation the legitimacy of their approval.
Over time, they grew to become the great industrial base of the Federation, and
in the days before the rise of the Empire, Bale Grimshaw was counted as one of
the leaders of the noble houses.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite their prestige, the Grimshaw never truly considered
themselves a member of the Federation, and kept their power concentrated in
their homeworlds of Maradon space. This proved wise, for following the Emperor’s
coup, Bale Grimshaw was able to escape with a largely intact power base.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Disgusted with the petty squabbling and the erosion of
traditional noble values that they see as leading to the uprising, Grimshaw now
calls for a return to the ancient ways, with an aristocracy dedicated to the
duties their heritage brings. That this would also promote the power of
Grimshaw is a burden they are willing to bear.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>How do the common folk see them?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cold, distant, and ruthlessly efficient, there is little
love for the Grimshaw among the people of their worlds. Yet, they have also
maintained order in their region for centuries, and their government functions
with the regular, predictable pattern of clockwork.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While this desire for efficiency and order led Grimshaw to
be a leader in the adoption of robotic labor, they took great care to avoid the
disrupting effects found in other noble domains. Where they could, they
retained their current workforce as technicians and overseers, and where they
couldn’t, Grimshaw attempted to find new roles for them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The price of this order is freedom. House Grimshaw expects
that its people will know their place in society, and to keep to it without
complaint. In many cases, this place is also hereditary, where if someone’s
father was a factory overseer, it is likely that his children will eventually
assume oversight of that factory. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite Grimsahw’s best efforts, there is a growing
population of people without such a role. Use of robotic labor displaced more
people than they could accommodate, and addressing this is a primary concern of
the house, with the specter of another uprising haunting them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>How are they seen by the nobility in general?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
House Grimshaw’s position as the stewards of the legacy of
Alexus affords them respect by traditionalist, and their economic might draws
both admiration and envy. Their support for the traditional rights and
privileges of the nobility is another point in their favor.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, Grimshaw’s devotion to duty and order is seen as
insufferably self-righteous by many, and while other nobles respect their
traditionalism, their call for a return to the days of the Alexus and the
Oracular Order is considered terribly antiquated. Still, the stability of the
Grimshaw realm lends weight to their arguments, and some are starting to take
the idea seriously.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Others fear Grimshaw’s claim to moral authority as a cloak
for their political ambitions, and they see in Bale Grimshaw someone who wishes
to revive the Alexian Empire with himself at its head.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What are the strengths of House Grimshaw?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The economic power of Grimshaw is one of the keys to the
Alliance’s continued survival, for while not a match for the Empire’s full
power, it is sufficient to keep ahead of the losses in the ongoing conflict.
Without it, the Alliance would not collapse immediately, but attrition would
eventually force them to sue for terms with the Empire. House Grimshaw has
parlayed this power into influence, exchanging the output of their factories
for support from lesser houses.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
House Grimshaw’s continuity with the government of Alexus,
the stability of their realm, and their support for traditional noble privilege
affords them a moral authority. While this is denigrated by many who would
rather break from the legacy of the Alexian Empire, many others have come
around to Grimshaw’s point of view, and represent a growing bloc within the
House of Lords.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stewardship of the remaining holdings of House Alexus is
another asset, though it is one that Grimshaw, strictly speaking, cannot make
use of. But if an heir to Alexus could be found (or fabricated), then House
Grimshaw is in a position to support their claim to the throne.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What are the weaknesses of House Grimshaw?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Grimshaw’s distance from the people and their promotion of
traditional noble rights and privileges earns them many enemies in the House of
Commons. While much of the nobility is hesitant to undermine their own position
by backing the Commons, if Grimshaw looks to be growing too powerful, other
nobles may choose to do so.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The conservatism of House Grimshaw, while well-founded and
also one of their strengths, could also hamper them. The Empire is rapidly
developing new technology, and Grimshaw’s desire to carefully consider the
impact of technologies they adopt could leave them at a disadvantage in the
arms race.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>How can House Grimshaw be the good guys?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Grimshaw is right. The galaxy is meant to be ruled by the
aristocracy, who have been carefully bred over the years to produce better
rulers and a better fit for their Communion role. Their insistence on order,
while it may seem stifling, truly is for the benefit of those they rule. The
unbridled populism of the Empire and the slower egalitarianism of the Alliance
goes against the proper order, and will lead to a dark age.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The discovery of a true heir to Alexus would strengthen
Grimshaw’s position. A revival of the Oracular Order, perhaps precipitated by
the discovery of their lost lore, would also do much to enhance their position.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>How can House Grimshaw be the bad guys?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bale Grimshaw is cynically using the concepts of duty and
order and tradition as a means of promoting his own power. Under his rule, the
common people will be oppressed and confined to their prescribed roles, the
rest of the Alliance subjugated to his will, and a new Empire will take shape
under his direction.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Alternatively, Bale Grimshaw himself is sincere in his
beliefs, but he is being used by a resurgent branch of the Oracular Order, who
have promised him that following his path will lead to a new golden age for
humanity. This conspiracy seeks to topple the Empire, only to rule the galaxy
through their own puppet Emperor.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Which Communion Paths do they follow?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Grimshaw’s dedication to duty and the preservation of order
inclines them to follow the path of the Righteous Crusader, though more as
inquisitor and upholder of the regime than as a standard bearer of
righteousness. The Mystic Tyrant is another common path, stemming from their
distance from the people and their belief that only they have the vision to
rule.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Less commonly, Grimshaw’s isolation from people leads them
to fall into the path of the Other, becoming strange, distant monsters without
a shred of human empathy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What role does House Grimshaw’s psionics play?</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In many ways, Grimshaw’s psionic talents plays to a sense of
theatrics. With Light Amplification, Presence, and Flash, a scion of House
Grimshaw can make themselves very obvious, serving to both awe and intimidate
onlookers. Their most dramatic ability, Lightning, is as much a display of
power as it is a damaging ability.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
More than that, Grimshaw possesses the power of ergokinesis
in a setting dominated by technology. The implications of this become readily
apparent when you consider that all weapons in common use are susceptible to
it, droids and computer systems control the machinery that society relies upon,
and people routinely carry communicators and other devices on their person.
With a contemptuous wave of their hand, they can completely knock out all of
those.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With Electric Vision, you’re not going to sneak spy gadgets
past a member of House Grimshaw, nor could an Imperial Commando sneak up on
them in the dark. If they try, they’re going to be lit up like a beacon! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Those with an even stronger gift and access to the full
power of Ergokinesis are even more potent. They have no need for fancy gadgets
to compromise your computer system, for with Data Retrieval, I/O Tap, or Remote
Control, all they need to do is touch them to make it give up its secrets,
catastrophically compromise the systems they control, and more. Those with
higher levels of these abilities only need to be near it!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just imagine what they can do in the Empire, with all of its
highly centralized systems!<o:p></o:p></div>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-7569096023220183872017-08-19T09:02:00.001-07:002017-08-20T04:04:22.279-07:00Psi-Wars: Ruminations on House Sabine<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Over on <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/">Mailanka’s Musings</a>, we’ve seen posts introducing the
main noble houses of the Alliance, Sabine and Grimshaw, and we'll soon see Elegans and Kain. In my
discussions with Mailanka, I was struck by him mentioning that people tended to
see <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/08/house-sabine-part-1.html">Sabine</a> as the “good guys”, and <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/08/house-grimshaw-part-1.html">Grimshaw</a> as the “bad guys”. This surprised
me, because to my eye there was far more nuance to each house than that, and
there’s many ways that each house could be used.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, I’m going to delve into my views on each house, what I
think stands out about each of them, and how you might engage with them in a
game.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>House Sabine</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Who are they?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">House Sabine has been the guiding light of the Federation
since its inception. Even when they did not lead it themselves, they held
extraordinary insight, and it was common for the Federation’s leaders to
consult with them before major decisions. By the twilight days of the
Federation, though, their influence had waned, and their warnings of what was
to come went unheeded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When the War Hero was executed and the Emperor led the
revolt that decimated the senior leadership of the Federation, Nova Sabine was
ready to take action, rallying and organizing the remains of the Federation as
they fled into Maradonian space. They are now the leaders of the Alliance, but
are plagued by mistrust and resentment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>How do the common folk see them?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The people of Persephone love the Sabine, with their
willingness to mix with the common folk and their tradition of gentle, wise
guidance endearing them to many. Their guidance is eagerly sought, for their
insight and desire for fairness is well known. Yet, at the same time, the
Sabine are apart from their people, their distinctive appearance and
aristocratic breeding but one factor. The Sabine are unnerving, often seeming
aware of matters before they are told about them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The people of other worlds are less enamored of the Sabine,
but their push for more egalitarian policies is well-received in many quarters.
However, there are those who wonder about their motivations for doing so, and
what advantage they might be seeking to gain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>How are they seen by the nobility in general?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Sabine have a decidedly mixed reputation among the
nobility at large. Their decisive leadership during the rise of the Empire saved many who would have otherwise perished
in the coup, and when the Empire finally pursued, it was Nova Sabine who had
brought the Houses together to meet them in battle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yet, that very leadership leaves many skeptical of the
Sabine. They were too well prepared for it. Did they help the Emperor rise to
power? Or did they simply have advance warning, but chose to use the ensuing
chaos to improve their own standing?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Nova Sabine’s push for greater opportunity and protections
for the common folk fuel this mistrust, and much of the nobility resents the
erosion of their traditional privileges. In addition, some of the formerly more
powerful houses, those who lost the most in the coup, resent Sabine for being a
marginalized house that they must now follow. The Duchess remains the Speaker
of the Senate, but the suspicion and resentment of the rest of the nobility
threaten to undermine her position.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>What are the strengths of House Sabine?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks to their preparation, House Sabine weathered the rise
of the Empire with much of their assets intact, allowing them to form the core
of the Alliance forces. As other houses rallied, this prominence has
diminished, but they still contribute much to the war.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A less obvious strength is the ubiquity of the Sabine. While
the leaders of the Federation may have disdained them, the purity of the Sabine
bloodline, their beauty, and their excellence as councilors led to them
extensively marrying among the other houses of the Federation. Consequently,
they have an extensive network of contacts, including in the Empire, and are
well positioned to both gather and pass on information.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The greatest asset of House Sabine is its oracular ability.
On a grand scale, they have a greater understanding of the currents of history
and Communion than most, letting them take actions to direct it down the paths
they desire. On a more personal level, their insight and knack for finding
things makes them excellent guides.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Traditionally, they do not publicly use their oracular
abilities. Part of this is a preference to whisper a thought in the right ear,
and part of it is a Cassandra effect that plagues the house. When they attempt
to openly predict the future, their warnings go ignored.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>What are the weaknesses of House Sabine?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">While Sabine is a royal house, with strong ties to the
Alexian Empire, they lack a firm base of support among the other nobility, who
for the most part attempted to relegate them to a marginal role. Their
resurgence does not sit well with many.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sabine is also not a martial house, and while their holdings
have been buffered from the worst of the fighting, they stand to suffer greatly
if they are ever directly attacked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>How can House Sabine be the good guys?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Egalitarian and idealistic, the Sabine would love nothing
more than to guide the galaxy into an era of peace, prosperity, and equality.
They despise the Empire for how it oppresses its people, and if they can bring
together the other houses into a truly unified force, they would topple the
Emperor, dismantle his regime, and establish a democratic government.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Sabines need support, however, and player characters
could go out and work on each house, persuading them of the wisdom of their
vision. Alternatively, Sabine could provide them with cryptic clues leading to
the location of lost Alexian relics, with which they could legitimize their
leadership.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>How can House Sabine be the bad guys?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">House Sabine are master manipulators. Duchess Nova Sabine
saw the rise of the Empire coming, and so positioned her house to take
advantage of the chaos. Her egalitarian policies which empower the common folk
are a smoke screen, for her true goal is to bring the other houses to heel. If
left unchecked, she has the potential to turn the Alliance into another Empire,
using her oracular ability to identify and eliminate any resistance to her
rule.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Sabine also use their network of spies and contacts as
assassins, quietly eliminating those they deem a threat. Alternatively, their
use of Golden Whin can be used to coerce other members of the Alliance into supporting
their plans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Which Communion Paths do they follow?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">House Sabine exemplifies the Bound Princess, for they
strongly believe in the measured use of power for the good of their people.
They are also prone to fall into Madness, both for genetic reasons and because
of their oracular power, where the weight of their visions overwhelms them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">They do not typically fall into Paths of Dark Communion, but
those who break from the House’s traditions often take to the Beautiful Fool,
casting off their house’s restraint to indulge their own desires and using
their oracular ability to manipulate others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>What role does House Sabine’s psionics play?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As noted in Strengths, their tendency to oracular abilities
makes the Sabine unparalleled guides, whether as prophets or as seekers. When
they make a suggestion, or claim that something will happen, you’d do well to
listen. They’re quite likely right!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">More generally, Sabine are espers. They know things, and for
the gifted (or foolhardy) among them, this can manifest as a blind faith in
their own ability. They know what’s going to happen, and have an intuitive
sense for what’s going to happen, so why should they follow anything other than
the first thing that occurs to them?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">While this is often true (Sabine don’t get lost much!), the
truth is that their abilities are still fallible. This is one of the reasons
behind the restraint that Sabine traditionally have. If they’re mistaken,
following their impulses could do more harm than good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another consequence is that Sabine value knowledge quite
highly. Their upbringing includes an extensive education in history, politics,
economics, and many other areas, for these are also used as tools to predict
the future, and they can corroborate a vision or a hunch. They also possess some of the most extensive
libraries in the galaxy, and are always looking to expand their collection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The most gifted among the Sabine, those with Bloodline
Purity 4 and unrestricted access to ESP powers, are spies, scouts, and treasure
hunters extraordinaire. Clairaudience and Clairvoyance are invaluable tools for
snooping around without people realizing it, Retrocognition gives glimpses of
what happened in a place, and Seekersense is endlessly useful for finding
people, places, and things. You can run, but you can’t hide from the Sabine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, I’ll also note that the Sabine aren’t telepaths.
They sometimes give that impression, but they just have high ranks in
Observation, Body Language, Current Affairs, and other such skills. What looks
like mind reading is really just well-informed guessing!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-1856079071337615682017-06-24T19:56:00.002-07:002017-06-24T19:58:19.639-07:00Review: Pyramid #3/104 Dungeon Fantasy RPGLast September, SJ Games ran a Kickstarter for the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/847271320/dungeon-fantasy-roleplaying-game-powered-by-gurps">Dungeon Fantasy RPG</a>, a standalone version of their <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/dungeonfantasy/">GURPS Dungeon Fantasy line</a>. As part of that Kickstarter, they promised to release three issues of Pyramid focused on Dungeon Fantasy.<br />
<br />
This month, <a href="http://www.warehouse23.com/products/pyramid-number-3-slash-104-dungeon-fantasy-roleplaying-game">Pyramid #3/104: Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying</a> game was released, representing the first of these three issues. So, what do we have in here? Let's take a look.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Trapped in the Living Tomb</span></b><br />
<i>By Steven Marsh</i><br />
<br />
This is a solo adventure geared for new players, and as such, I'm going to be circumspect about spoilers. However, I will say that it's a fun little adventure, and reminds me of old-school text adventure games. The included character sheet is comprehensive, but too detailed for the adventure, which only involves a small subset of the traits listed on it.<br />
<br />
It also serves as an introduction to GURPS, and while it doesn't go into detail, it provides you with enough mechanics to get by. After playing through this once, a new player should have at least the basic concepts for playing through a full game.<br />
<br />
And again, it's fun. Even if you're experienced, just playing through it is a fun experience, with danger and puzzles and mysteries. But for new players, it's a great way to introduce them to GURPS. If you know someone who wants to try out GURPS, start here.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">It's a Quest!</span></b><br />
<i>By Christopher R. Rice</i><br />
<br />
One of the most challenging aspects of running a roleplaying game is taking disparate events, places, and people, and tying them all together into a coherent, engaging adventure. In this article, Christopher takes a look at how to do just that.<br />
<br />
It begins with a section on sandbox play that is, honestly, out of place. Since the focus of the article is on narrative play, it's necessarily short, and so doesn't offer more than some abbreviated advice on how to keep the GM's workload from becoming too taxing.<br />
<br />
The next section, Railroads and Hell on Wheels, briefly discusses what a railroad is, why players react poorly to an adventure with a structured plot, and then offers some advice on how to preserve players' feelings of choice. The advice it offers is sound, including presenting players with options, taking player ideas and incorporating them into the game, and including elements that the players enjoy. Still, it's brief, and a discussion of how to give players a feeling of choice could easily be an article in its own right.<br />
<br />
Prodding the Quest, though, is the real meat of the article. There's some advice about how to learn what your players learn through running short, single session adventures, followed by guidance on how to organize and link the elements you're using to build longer adventures. The part on building a Game Clock, where you map out roughly how much of a session your players want to spend on combat, social interaction, puzzles, and so on, is a great idea. Knowing how much time you're going to spend on something will, with some experience, let you know just how much of that sort of material you'll need to prepare for the session.<br />
<br />
Finally, you have the Random Quest Generator. This is valuable, and could accurately be called the GM Writing Prompt Tables. The best part about them is that you can use the tables independently of each other, so if you're at a loss for where the adventure should be, roll on the Place table. Not sure what kind of monsters live there? Roll on the Monster table, and so on.<br />
<br />
In the worst case, where you're at a complete loss for what to do, then you're covered as well. By rolling for Touchstone number and then for Tile number, you know how many important elements are going to be in your quest. Then flesh them out by rolling for type on the Keystone table, and continue rolling on the appropriate tables until you've filled everything out. It's quite likely that you'll have a spark of inspiration while doing this ("I've got a Knight and a Faerie involved? Hey! What if the Knight is sworn to the service of the Faerie?"), and then you can play off of that to fill out the rest of the structure.<br />
<br />
I suggest liberally crossing over between the tables in this article and the Heroic Background Generator. Sure, one's meant for quests and the other's meant for people, but every adventure will have both, and you can use both sets of tables for filling out details.<br />
<br />
Overall, this article has some good advice on how to build adventures, and an even better set of tables to do it with. Even if you're not running Dungeon Fantasy, they're broad enough to be used in any fantasy-esque setting.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Eidetic Memory - Heroic Background Generator</span></b><br />
<i>By David Pulver</i><br />
<br />
So who is your delver? For most Dungeon Fantasy games, it's sufficient to say that they're a Knight in search of treasure and glory, but what if you want more detail? Well, that's where the Heroic Background Generator steps in.<br />
<br />
This article is a large number of tables that, when used in order, gives you a more or less complete outline of your character's past, from birth to why they took up delving in the first place. The one drawback is that it's designed to start before you've decided on the sort of character you make. However, this isn't a big issue, because you can go through the steps, picking something appropriate for your character, and then rolling for those things where you don't know or want more detail for it.<br />
<br />
And there are a lot of details to be found in these taables. You've got tables for families, ghosts that might be haunting the character, tables for other supernatural entities, prior experience, and many more. While this may sound like a bit much, the purpose of tables like these is to help you answer questions that you're not sure about, and so the best way to use it is to roll on the tables you want and then ignore the rest.<br />
<br />
Even after character creation, it's useful as a GM tool. Need to flesh out an NPC's background? This is a great resource. Need to pick out monster types for something? That's in here, too. Bored and need ideas? Just start rolling on tables and see what pops out.<br />
<br />
It's tuned for use with Dungeon Fantasy, but like It's a Quest!, you could make use of it in any fantasy-esque setting without much trouble.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Random Thought Table - Preparing for the Hero's Journey</span></b><br />
<i>By Steven Marsh</i><br />
<br />
This is a fairly short article, offering various tidbits on how to build a Dungeon Fantasy character. It's general advice, including figuring out what your skills let you do and what will hold you back, but it's useful food for thought.Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-73879209644652029622017-04-03T21:00:00.000-07:002017-04-03T21:00:22.322-07:00Review: Psi Wars End of March Patreon<h1>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">The end of the month has come and gone, and it's been a busy time for <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/">Psi Wars</a>. The foundations of the Empire have been laid, with the Imperial Ministries and the Senate making their debut. Imperial Security has dominated the last week, with the <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-imperial-ministry-and-senate.html">organization</a>, its <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/03/imperial-security-materiel.html">tools</a>, its <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/03/imperial-security-personnel.html">personnel</a>, and its <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/03/imperial-security-spaceships.html">spaceships</a> all getting their own posts.</span></h1>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
It's also been a busy month for Patrons as well, most of which I've covered in my previous post. Today I'm going to cover the results of the Emperor poll, and the new Patreon posts that have come out since then.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
Like before, I'm going to break down my review by support level.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Dreamers ($1/month)</b>
</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
There's two new posts at this level, one covering the process of designing vehicles in GURPS 4e and another introducing the Security Agent template.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/grav-cars-in-4e-8092015">Modeling Vehicles in 4e</a> comes in two parts. Grav Cars outlines the struggles that Mailanka experienced with trying to reverse engineer GURPS 4e vehicles to build new ones, and is interesting to read if you want to gain an appreciation of the challenges and limitations that GURPS imposes. The second, Guide to Vehicle Design in GURPS 4e, is the more directly useful of the two, since it explains how to actually build new vehicles. While it requires GURPS Classic Vehicles and some judgement on how to use it, this is as good as it's going to get, barring the release of a 4e version of Vehicles.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
The <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/security-agent-7994811">Security Agent</a> is a standard 250 point professional template, with three 25 point power-ups to further customize the character. The signature of this character is his power to enforce the laws of their society, with many Security Agents choosing to do so through their combat prowess. The Riot Trooper power-up doubles down on this by improving their hand to hand skills. The Interrogator is more subtle, focusing on manipulating others psychologically. Finally, the Special Agent brings the full institutional weight of his organization to bear, with broad enforcement powers and increased rank.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Fellow Travelers ($3/month)</b>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
There's one new offering at this level, a preview of <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/imperial-and-8649351">Imperial Personnel, Materiel and Spaceships</a>. The bulk of it is dominated by the technology of the Empire, with sections on weapons, armor, vehicles, and spaceships. These are interesting because they help to characterize the Empire, with its expensive, difficult to maintain, but high quality personal equipment, disposable fighters, and massive dreadnoughts.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
Furthermore, the existence of the Overtech Corporation, which makes weapons and armor for the Empire, gives a prime target for adventures, since their R&D division could contain secret projects to improve Imperial technology or to build weapons of terror.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
The personnel portion is mostly a collection of minions that have already been released, but the Imperial Pilot, the Black Ops Commando, and the Black Ops Demolitionist are all new. The pilot gives opposition for space battles, while the Black Ops soldiers are scarily competent soldiers that player characters will dread to face.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
Imperial Personnel, Materiel, and Spaceships is an excellent addition to Psi Wars, giving a player-facing side to the Empire and many tools for the GM to build scenarios with.
</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Companions ($5/month)</b>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
The polls on the Emperor have closed, and it was just as much fun as I thought it was going to be. Watching the other Patrons post their ideas and then offer new ideas in response is a fascinating process. My personal favorite part was how the Emperor's role as a Mystic Tyrant turned out. Initially, I didn't favor the idea of him following the path of the Mystic Tyrant, but upon seeing how popular it was, I offered the idea of styling him as the Futurist, based on one of the alternate names for the path. The Emperor as a visionary trying to build a better future stuck, especially as it tied in nicely with the Empire's Neo-Rationalist philosophy.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
Mailanka hasn't yet had the time to develop the Emperor based on these polls, but he has posted a <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/emperor-poll-8513640">Results</a> document summarizing the outcome. This is another part I really enjoy, because he is skilled at taking the many ideas people offer and synthesizing them into a whole. This is especially evident in the Emperor's origin, where he neatly takes all of the suggestions people had and weaves a cohesive narrative out of them.
</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Disciples ($7/month)</b>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
Nothing here yet, but later this month, there's going to be a call for the Empire's signature characters! Mailanka has said that he'll be offering prompts similar to the $5 polls, with many options for people to mix and match. I'm certain that this is going to be just as much fun as the rest has been, and I'm looking forward to making iconic characters for Psi Wars. I even have a few ideas in mind already!
</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Conclusion</b>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
March has been a very good month for Patrons of Psi Wars, and April looks to be just as promising. Besides the opportunity to create signature characters, there's also going to be releases on the scale of the Empire, Imperial tactics, and the names used by humanity's sub-groups. There's even going to be polls on the Tactics to determine which parts will be part of the final Psi Wars document. For more information, see <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/04/state-of-patreon-april.html">this post</a> on Mailanka's Musings.
</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
If you like Psi Wars, consider supporting it on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mailanka/">Patreon</a>. It's been great so far, and there's still so much more to come. </span>Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-35765870055556768852017-04-03T05:35:00.001-07:002017-04-03T05:35:35.047-07:00Ravens N' Pennies April Patreon Review<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-8fdde3f4-33c1-5c63-e8f6-04d1631f8cd3" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Another month, another couple of specials for Patrons from the ever prolific Christopher R. Rice of <a href="http://ravensnpennies.com/">Ravens N' Pennies</a>. This time, there’s a trio of items. The first is the<a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/patreon-surprise-8649560"> Mahotsukai variant of Ritual Path Magic</a> that I’ve already reviewed in my guest post on Christopher's blog. You can find that review <a href="http://www.ravensnpennies.com/2017/02/carpe-blogeim-patron-reviews-patreon.html">here</a>. The two new items are Japanese-themed Ritual Path Magic spells and a fighting style for whip users. Let’s take a closer look.</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Melee Academy: Whip Fighting</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The whip is a versatile weapon, and in the hands of a cinematically skilled wielder, it’s capable of amazing feats like pulling weapons out of someone’s hands or swinging across large gaps. <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/melee-academy-8649013">Whip Fighting</a> caters to those who’d like to pull off stunts that would make Indiana Jones proud, and provides the basic skills, the advanced tricks, and advantages suitable for stylists.</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">All in all, this seems like a fun style use, and it’s available for $1 and up Patrons.</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Boil and Bubble: Shinto Ritual Path Magic Spells</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">In this offering for $2 and up Patrons, <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/boil-and-bubble-8649014">Shinto Ritual Path Magic Spells</a> provides four spells designed for Ritual Path Magic practitioners from Japan, especially in the Edo period. Two of them, Chains of Heaven and Chains of Hell are binding spells, flavored just as their names suggest. A third, Summon Kinzoku Samurai, brings forth a suit of animated armor to do your bidding.</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s the fourth and last spell that’s most interesting. Summon Greater Kami is a ritual for contacting powerful spirits, and notably, it doesn’t give the caster any control over the spirit. No, these are spirits too powerful to be compelled, and instead the caster must make a Reaction roll, which determines what aid (or punishment!) the kami provides. This is a great idea, and captures the potentially mercurial temperament of such beings nicely. Even if you don’t use Ritual Path Magic, the reaction table can be used on its own.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Conclusion</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">This is a solid pair of offerings, so if you’re interested, go support Christopher R. Rice over on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/Ravenpenny">Patreon</a> before the end of April.</span></div>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-28691399318397391422017-03-29T17:28:00.002-07:002017-03-29T17:29:33.664-07:00Psi Wars: Environments of Broken Communion: Sensations of Death<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-a07187ac-1c9b-edd7-78c9-7af98483836f" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Following up on my <a href="http://librisludorum.blogspot.com/2017/03/psi-wars-environments-of-broken.html">last post</a>, I have suggestions for imagery, sounds, and other sensations that you can use to describe an environment of Deathly Broken Communion. Enjoy!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Vision</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ruins, wrecked starships, other human constructions in a state of disrepair</span></span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Iconography of death (skulls, bones, decaying flesh)</span></span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lack of color, stark whites and stark blacks</span></span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Broken down machinery (vehicles, computers)</span></span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dust, mold, and rot, especially covering artifacts of civilization</span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sounds</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Silence (including natural sounds, like animals and the wind)</span></span></div>
</li>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Howling or moaning winds</span></span></div>
</li>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Calls of carrion beasts, like jackals and vultures</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Phantom battle sounds, screaming, and other sounds without obvious source</span></span></div>
</li>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Crunching and snapping sounds, like breaking bones</span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Smells</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rot and decaying flesh</span></span></div>
</li>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Formaldehyde and other embalming agents</span></span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sulfur, rotting eggs</span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Touch</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dry, crumbling textures, like dust</span></span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Soft, easily torn textiles</span></span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hard, brittle bones</span></span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Soft and wet slimes, rotted wood</span></span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;">Icy chills</li>
</ul>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-52723125606586354642017-03-27T17:24:00.000-07:002017-03-27T17:24:06.373-07:00Psi Wars: Environments of Broken Communion: Death<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-197538e0-1247-9d1e-7e68-5aa04ec17a80" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">One of the most fascinating aspects of the Psi Wars setting is Communion, the gestalt super-consciousness that influences the world in ways both subtle and grand. Of the three major strands of Communion, Broken Communion is particularly interesting to me, since it touches on aspects of the world that humans find disconcerting and alien to their experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">This naturally leads to the question of what you find when an environment is particularly strong in Broken Communion (High or Very High Sanctity in game terms). Some answers may be gleaned from Mailanka’s posts on <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2016/07/broken-communion.html">Broken Communion</a> and <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-paths-of-broken-communion.html">Broken Communion Paths</a>, while others can be found in the <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2016/07/psionic-resonance-and-relics-of.html">relics</a> such places produce. Further insights can be found in the <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/01/planetary-environments-introduction.html">Planetary Environments</a> series.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The limitation to all of these is that places of Broken Communion are more of a sidenote to the main point of the post. This is fine, but it also whets the appetite for more details and a deeper look into what these environments are like. So, in this series of posts, I’m going to delve into Broken Communion environments, and describe how they can be created, what phenomena occur in them, and why you might want to visit them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">First on our tour are environments of Death, places of destruction, mass deaths, and extinction of humanity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Creating a Place of High Sanctity to Death</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">It takes more than simple death to mark Communion so strongly that it begins to resonate with the path. Even a graveyard that has seen many generations buried there is not going to be high sanctity to Broken Communion, because these are </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">natural deaths</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">. Growing old and dying are simply part of the cycle of life, and the pain of these losses heal in time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Places sacred to the path of Death are places of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">unnatural death</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">. The mass graves of a terrible war, the burned out cinder of a world ravaged by nuclear fire, and other places of large scale death are the most common locations for a place sanctified to Death. These events cause so many deaths that each one is meaningless, and it’s this lack of meaning that fuels Broken Communion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Smaller scale events can also create places sacred to death. The room where a noble hanged herself is a prime example, especially if her servants then shunned it for fear that it was haunted. Over time, this belief would feed on itself, until the room became a place of poltergeist activity and disturbing visions. Left unchecked, it might even spread to the whole building or the surrounding estate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Sites of particularly gruesome deaths are another candidate. The place where a whole family was slaughtered and torn to pieces would leave its mark on Communion, for one example. For another, you have a ship lost in space, low on supplies, and its crew forced to turned to cannibalism to survive. When the last of them dies, all that remains is a place strong in Broken Communion and Death.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Phenomena of Death</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">Communion Voids</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Nothing sears Communion like death, for Communion of all types comes from the minds of sapient beings. When they die, especially in large numbers or in horrific ways, Communion itself begins to break down. This often takes the form of Low Sanctity to Dark or True Communion, but in severe cases you instead find Communion Voids, which are places of No Sanctity to Dark and True Communion, and even Broken Communion may be at Low or No Sanctity in such a place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Attempts to use psionics are at -5 or worse in such place, and any failure counts as a critical failure. Instead of the standard critical failure table, use the rules on page 422 of the Basic Set for Duration of Crippling Injury, substituting Will for HT. This represents how long it takes for the power to recover after having its energies drained by the Communion Void.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Some psionic abilities are hazardous to use inside a Void even without a critical failure. Any attempt to use ESP powers within a Void causes a Fright Check as they can only see the empty nothingness of the Void around them. At the GM’s discretion, other psionic abilities that involve sensing the environment may also cause a Fright Check.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Even if you wisely refrain from using psionics within a Void, such places are draining. Every hour, make a Will+5 roll, at -1 for every hour spent within the Void. On a failure, lose 1d of energy, taken first from any Psionic Energy Reserves, then from FP. While inside a Void, you cannot recover either FP or Energy Reserves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">Sensory Deprivation</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Places of death are oppressive and can dull the senses.At the low end, they mute colors, dim the light, numb touch, and dampen sound. At the high end, they extinguish even the concept of sensation, making it impossible to recall speech or remember the path you took to reach the place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">This phenomenon encompasses a spectrum of possible Broken Communion miracles, a few of which are listed below:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Obscure 1 (Hearing; Stealthy, +100%; Broken Communion, -20%; Requires Concentrate, -15%) [4]</span></div>
</li>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">At this level, it’s enough to deaden sound in a small room.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Cannot be detected outside its area of effect</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Counts as a Minor Blessing and lasts as long as you Concentrate as a General or Specific Prayer</span></div>
</li>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">1 point as a Learned Prayer</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Obscure 5 (Hearing; Stealthy, +100%; Broken Communion, -20%; Requires Concentrate, -15%) + Obscure 5 (Vision; Stealthy, +100%; Broken Communion, -20%; Requires Concentrate, -15%) + Obscure 5 (Taste and Smell; Stealthy, +100%; Broken Communion, -20%; Requires Concentrate, -15%) + Obscure 5 (Touch; Stealthy, +100%; Broken Communion, -20%; Requires Concentrate, -15%) [68]</span></div>
</li>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Applies a -5 to all mundane senses within two yards</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Cannot be detected outside its area of effect</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">As a general or specific prayer, lasts as long as you Concentrate</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Requires Broken Communion 10 to learn</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Costs 14 points as a learned prayer.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Obscure 10 (Vision; Cosmic, Affects Memory of Vision, +50%; Area Effect 16 yards, +150%; Stealthy, +100%; Requires Concentrate, -15%; Broken Communion, -20%) [73]</span></div>
</li>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">All vision within 16 yards fails.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Recalling vision-based information requires an IQ-10 roll.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Cannot be detected outside its area of effect</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">As a general or specific prayer, lasts as long as you Concentrate</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Requires Broken Communion 11 to learn</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: circle; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Costs 15 points as a learned prayer.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">Visions</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The lingering trauma of death can easily push itself into the minds of those who enter these places. While this is normally good for a Fright Check, make it more interesting and pull the players into a scene from the place’s past, probably the one that led to it becoming sanctified to Broken Communion. Use this as a way to teach them a little more about the place, and perhaps give them a hint for the quest that brought them here to begin with!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">The Restless Dead</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">This is a broad category, and too big to contain within one post. I’ll revisit this topic later, but for now, you can use creatures from <a href="http://www.warehouse23.com/products/gurps-zombies">GURPS Zombies</a>, Mailanka’s <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/02/space-ghost-psionic-space-monsters-in.html">Space Ghosts</a>, and any of the undead from <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/dungeonfantasy/">GURPS Dungeon Fantasy</a> as seeds for what players might find in Deathly areas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">They shouldn’t just be opposition, though. Consider what motivates them, and how it ties into the events that created the area of Broken Communion to begin with.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Deathly Adventures</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">What would bring a bunch of player characters into an area sanctified to the Path of Death? There’s many possibilities, but here’s a few:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Relic hunting: Tombs and battlefields are major places where Broken Communion can arise, and these are prime territory to find artifacts from a bygone area. PCs could be searching on their own or racing rivals, and the artifacts they seek need not be sanctified to Broken Communion…</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The Gauntlet: There may not be anything in the area that the PCs want, but a haunted battlefield might be the only route of escape they have! Can they elude their pursuers and survive the horrors of the Graveyard of Starships?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Rituals: Symbolically, sites with high sanctity to Death are linked with the Underworld, and it’s common for heroes to have to travel through it, emerging in a metaphorical rebirth. Thus, this can be a milestone for characters walking a path of Communion. Alternatively, they may be trying to stop someone who’s trying to use the site to support their own journey on the path.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-30574583168322308392017-03-19T20:53:00.000-07:002017-03-19T20:53:05.913-07:00Impulse Control in Psi Wars<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-e27f0fa9-e9d3-c537-5bec-206a0ccacbe5" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">In <a href="http://www.warehouse23.com/products/pyramid-number-3-slash-100-pyramid-secrets">Pyramid #3/100</a>, Christopher R. Rice of <a href="http://ravensnpennies.com/">Ravens N' Pennies</a> wrote the excellent Impulse Control article, which expands on the concept of Impulse Buys from <a href="http://www.warehouse23.com/products/gurps-power-ups-5-impulse-buys">Power-Ups 5</a> and extends it to other narrative-influencing traits like Luck and Serendipity. This is an excellent system to use in a cinematic game, where the power of plot favors the characters except at those dramatic moments where it turns against them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">As a highly cinematic game, Impulse Control is a natural fit for Psi Wars, especially since it already features Destiny points. In fact, you could just rename Destiny to Impulse Points, use Impulse Control as written, and call it a day. But Impulse Control has so much more to offer than that, so let’s run down the options that fit in a Psi Wars game.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Using Impulse Points</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Both Impulse Points and Villainous Points fit, since while the former represents the advantage that heroes have, the latter represent bad luck and dramatic twists against the player characters. Enhanced Refresh for both IP and VP are appropriate, as is the optional rule for faster refresh rates on page 5. Game time refresh rates are not, given the genre’s tendency to gloss over travel time, down time, and other intervening gaps.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">For Gaining Points, dramatic in-character actions, staying in-character and in-genre, and trading IP for VP are all appropriate, since they encourage players to do cool, in-genre stuff and offer a chance to succeed at something </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">now</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> that they’ll pay for later. Likewise, Losing Points is all valid. Use the table on page 7 to guide IP awards and penalties.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Since Psi Wars uses the Action framework, including BAD, Really Bad Impulses is quite suitable. Better watch out when accumulating karmic debt, or things may get a lot worse for a while!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">For Spending Points, use the rules on page 6 as is. Appropriate expenditures of points include:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Big Entrance/Exit (Pyr. 3/100 p. 8)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Buying Failure (Power-Ups 2 p. 4)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Buying Success (Power-Ups 2 p. 4)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Cursing Mooks(Power-Ups 2 p. 6)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Deflecting Disadvantages (Power-Ups 2 p. 10)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Dooming Foes (Power-Ups 2 p. 5)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Favors in Play (Power-Ups 2 p. 8)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Flesh Wounds (Power-Ups 2 p. 10)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Lucky Break (Pyr. 3/100 p. 8)</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Perking Things Up: Buying Success (Power-Ups 2 p. 6)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Player Guidance (Power-Ups 2 p. 7)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Power Boosting (Pyr. 3/100 p. 8)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Roll Bonus (Pyr. 3/100 p. 9)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Trading Points for Money (10% of starting funds) (Power-Ups 2 p. 8)</span></div>
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</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Divine Intervention (Power-Ups 2 p. 9) is also appropriate, but it can only be used by player characters with Communion and uses the rules for influencing Communion rolls given in Psi Wars - Heroes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Modifying Templates</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Using The Buck Stops Here (Pyr. 3/100 p. 8), any Destiny, Luck, Serendipity, or similar traits are converted to the appropriate form of Impulse Points. While Daredevil is included in this list, I suggest leaving it unmodified.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">All non-psionic templates have Luck, which becomes either IP 3 (Aspected, rerolls only, -20%) [12]. Add 3 points to be spent on optional advantages. The options to upgrade Luck become Remove Aspected for 3 points, Enhanced IP Refresh (Per Session) 2 or 3 [10 or 20], and Enhanced IP Refresh 1 (Per Hour) [20].</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">For all templates, Serendipity 1-2 becomes IP 1-4 (Aspected, Player Guidance Only, -20%) [4/level].</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">In Disadvantages, add Villainous Points 1-3 [-5/level] to the list of options.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">For the Con Artist, the prerequisites for Fool’s Luck become IP 3 and Enhanced Refresh 1 (Per Hour). Improve Extreme Luck to Ridiculous Luck becomes Improve IP 3 to IP 5 [25] for 10 points and improve Enhanced IP Refresh 1 (Per Hour) Enhanced IP Refresh 1 (Per 30 minutes) [40] for 20 points. Destiny 1 (“The Price of Fortune”) becomes Villainous Points 1 [-5].</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">For the Mystic, Psi-Hunter, and Space Knight, Destiny and Luck become IP [5/level] and Enhanced IP Refresh 2 (Per Session) [10].</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">For the Heroic Lens, Destiny 3 becomes 15 points spent on additional levels of IP [5/level] and Enhanced IP Refresh (Per Session) [10/level]. Alternatively, remove 5 points from the list of advantages and spend 20 points on Enhanced IP Refresh (Per Hour) [20/level].</span></div>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-27637956807792964892017-03-19T16:21:00.000-07:002017-03-19T16:21:12.691-07:00Psi Wars: Gotta Collect Them All: Relics as Sets<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-191d5b31-e8de-0271-fc61-656036d1f353" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">A common convention in fantasy literature and tabletop games is the idea of items that are part of a </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">set</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">, where the individual pieces may have power in their own right, but the full collection is more potent still. But why would you do this?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">One answer lies in the way it lends itself toward a meaningful narrative arc. The desire or need to collect all of the lost regalia of the First Emperor means that the story doesn’t stop with the first piece to be recovered. Instead, there’s more to follow, as the heroes and their rivals race each other to be the first to retrieve the next piece. It also lets the heroes fail occasionally without bringing the tale to a grinding halt, since their rivals may beat them to one piece, but next time will be better!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Taken to an extreme, this sort of collection quest can form the basis of an episodic narrative, where the heroes are trying to find the most recently discovered treasure from the Ancient Starfarer’s lost Ship of Wonders, and perhaps piece together the clues to discover the location of the ancient vessel itself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Another answer is the way that power grows slowly, a consideration important both for dramatic tension in literature and balance in tabletop RPGs. Instead of immediately gaining access to all the power of the Great Usurper, the treacherous councilor who supplanted the dynasty the First Emperor founded, they instead only gain a fragment of it when they take up the tainted blade he wielded, still burning red with the blood of those he betrayed. For the rest, they need to seek out his scepter, cloak, and mask, each with their own powers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Given this utility, I would like to propose a few guidelines for creating sets of relics in Psi Wars.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">When is a Set a Set?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The first question is what defines a set of relics, and the answer is ultimately “Whatever the GM says it is.” But that’s unsatisfying, and so here are a few questions to ask yourself when considering whether relics are standalone or a set.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Do the relics have a shared story?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Are they better known as part of the collection, or do their individual stories stand out?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Could they reasonably be used together at the same time? Alternatively, are they mutually exclusive, where drawing on the powers of one limits your ability to use the others?</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The first question is quite natural, since if the relics don’t share an origin, a wielder, or something else to bind them together, they clearly aren’t a set. The second addresses whether people talk about the Regalia of the First Emperor, or if the First Emperor’s Scepter is something of note in its own right.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The third question is more subtle. A force sword and buckler can clearly be a set, since they’re meant to be used together, especially if their bearer favored that style of combat. The Ten Rings of the Dark Reaches, made as gifts for the queen of a depraved, hedonistic society, might also be a set, even if the power each possesses prevents the others from being used.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Ultimately, these are suggestions, and you’re free to decide what qualifies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Power Divided</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Now that you’ve decided what counts as a relic, you need to decide what fraction of the power of the whole they possess. First, consult my previous posts to determine the point value of the set. Then, take 1/2 of that value, and distribute it evenly among the component relics.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">This means that relics of a set are much weaker on their own, but if they’re very old and storied, that can still be a significant amount of power. If you have a 200 point relic, divided among four pieces, they can each have 25 points worth of abilities, enough for a single psionic ability or several levels of Destiny.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Combining Powers</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">What happens when you start to bring relics together? The number of points that you have for abilities grows, with every piece of the set past one unlocking a number of points equal to the value of a single piece.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">There’s several possibilities for how you can use this points and how they interact with existing abilities:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">New abilities are unlocked</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Existing abilities become stronger</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Existing abilities become alternate abilities</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Identical abilities add their point value to the total</span></div>
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</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">At its simplest, you can add new abilities with the new points. More levels of Destiny or Higher Purpose, new powers, and so on are all appropriate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Alternatively, you can improve an existing ability, like adding additional levels to a leveled psionic power (Surge, Psychic Hunches, to name a few).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">If individual pieces of a relic set have the same ability, and it doesn’t meaningfully add to itself or has a cap on how many levels it can have, then add the value of extra copies of the ability to the point pool.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The most interesting possibility is that the pieces have abilities that can’t be used simultaneous. If you can only use the Aspect power of the First Emperor’s crown or the Suggestion ability of his scepter, but not both at once, then that’s an example of them being alternate abilities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">To decide how many points can be used on alternate abilities, total the number of points in abilities that are mutually exclusive, add in any amount of additional points, and then take 2/3 of that number. Each piece can have alternate abilities worth a maximum of that value.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">This is a quick and dirty way to calculate the maximum value for most small sets of relics (2-6 pieces). For a more exact way, determine the total number of points available for alternate abilities. Then, for a set of relics with N pieces, the maximum number of points each relic can have in its abilities is:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">(Total points * 5) / (5 + N - 1)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">This reflects the fact that the first set of abilities is full cost, while each subsequent one only costs 1/5 of its regular value.</span></div>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-66684582551692545182017-03-15T18:36:00.000-07:002017-03-15T18:36:15.273-07:00Review: Psi Wars February and Mid-March Patreon<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-32aa8a39-d4bf-7ab5-6665-65c2f26f34a5" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Daniel Dover at <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/">Mailanka’s Musings</a> runs a <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mailanka">Patreon</a> for those wishing to support the Psi Wars project, and over the past month and a half he’s released quite a bit of material to backers. Like his blog, it shows careful thought and a great deal of skill in roleplaying game design, setting building, and creative writing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">There’s four tiers of support, and since each level gives access to progressively more material, I’m going to cover them in order from lowest to highest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Dreamers ($1/month)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">There’s three posts at this level, covering behind the scenes thoughts on running capital ships, expanding on Communion, and the design of two power-ups for Psi Wars characters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Rethinking Capital Ships starts with the premise that an Officer should be able to stand on the bridge of a capital ship, and have her abilities make a meaningful difference in the battle. The new rules deliver on this in spades. Building off of his revised system for spaceships, Officers can now use their Leadership and Tactics to bolster the performance of their crews and outmaneuveur and outwit their foes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">You’ll also find rules on how to handle large squadrons of fighters, which is absolutely essential when commanding dreadnoughts, who could easily carry hundreds or even thousands of smallcraft within their cavernous hangars. These rules have yet to make it into a public release, but add quite a bit for these large ships!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Rethinking Communion outlines the design for social engineering campaigns that give bonuses to Legendary reputation, and is interesting as a window into how Mailanka works. The actual rules and the 24 (!) new Communion miracles are included in the Psi Wars Iteration 5 documents as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Power-Ups: Conspirator and Magnate introduces two new power-ups, with the first focused on characters who don’t have a direct connection with Communion but are so favored by it that things tend to go along with the story that Communion has for them. With a good reaction roll, this support can take the form of very dramatic Communion Miracles! The second, Magnate, is for those characters who have so much wealth or pull within their organizations that they have access to the biggest and best toys, and influence on a large scale. This is where you’ll find your dreadnought captains and influential senators. Again, what you’re mainly getting here is the design process, since the rules are in Iteration 5.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The discussion of the thought process behind these design choices is quite valuable in and of itself, since it will help understand why they were made and how you can use them in your game.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Fellow Travelers ($3/month)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">At this level, you get to see early drafts of Psi Wars material. At the moment, this includes drafts of the Patron-designed Trader alien race, the history of the Psi Wars universe, and an early peek at the Empire!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">I’m going to cover the Traders in more detail when I get to the Companion tier, but seeing how Mailanka takes the ideas and votes of his Patrons and weaves them into a cohesive whole is absolutely fascinating. The Traders themselves are pretty neat, walking a line between attractive and unsettling, with an ancient, proud culture that has seen better days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Psi Wars History 1.1 is an overview of Psi Wars history extending back almost 6000 years. It paints a picture of a deeply cyclic universe, where empires rise, prosper, decline, and then fall either from internal crises or the pressure of external forces. It also gives a glimpse at the major civilizations that now coexist with humanity, which I’m not going to spoil here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Hot off the presses as I write this is the first draft of the Empire! Here, we have our first look at the force dominating the Psi Wars setting, and while it naturally has echoes of the Star Wars empire, it is very much its own entity. Part 1 provides new options for creating Imperial characters, ranging from simple Citizens to commandos working for the dread Imperial Black Ops.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The history of the Empire is light on details, but this is mostly because the key figure of the Emperor is a current topic for Companions and up to vote on (More on that later!) The structure of the Empire is fascinating, since while there’s a strand of meritocracy and the benefits of technology, the whole system is shot through with corruption, oppression, and fallout from those advances. It’s founded on good ideals, and is actually nice if you’re a member of the privileged classes in the core worlds, but that polish is quickly stripped away once you move out of the public eye.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">This is a very long document, and outlines all of the major organizations, capabilities, and philosophies of the Empire. Standard operating procedure for the Imperial war machine, the interplay between the major organizations, and the difference between ideals and reality in the Empire are all laid out in detail. While there’s no way to fully cover an entity as vast as the Empire, this is a very good start and gives you plenty of material to play with.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Companions ($5/month)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">This is where the real fun of being a Patron begins, since not only do you get to see Psi Wars as it’s being made, you’re given a voice in the process!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The first round of polls focused on the alien race known as the Traders. Starting from the simple concept of an alien race that used to hold power in the galactic core, but was defeated by humanity and now roams the stars, they quickly evolved through several rounds of polling into a distinct culture and personality. They are now an ancient race, proud of their traditions and valuing honest dealing, with the ability to quickly process information and a talent with robotics that far surpasses the rest of the galaxy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The reason that this is so fun is that each poll serves as a writing prompt as well, and Patrons (include myself) are enthusiastic about jumping in to offer their own take on the options presented. The fact that Mailanka then takes these ideas and weaves them together with the poll results to create a cohesive whole is impressive, and end results are a delight to read.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">For one example, the votes to decide on the social structure of the Traders were fairly evenly split between Family, Trade, and Patchwork. But in the comments, you could see a strong preference for a blend of these ideas, where the Traders were organized into fleets that were nominally familial, each with their own craft, and the occasional meeting to swap ideas and members. Mailanka then took all of that feedback and created the Kin-Fleets, the descendents of old corporate fleets that became refuges for the Traders. Over time, the bonds took on a familial status, with the leader of each fleet being called Grandfather.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s just so much fun to watch this process in action, and now we get to do it again, this time with one of the most important figures in the Psi Wars universe: the Emperor himself! Over the next few days, Patrons can vote on his origin, abilities, agenda, and heirs. I’ve already posted some of my own ideas, and I’d love to see what other people want.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Disciples ($7/month)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">There’s nothing yet at this tier, but it comes with the right to a place in Mailanka’s game when he runs one, and I’ve been told that there’s plans to let this tier write up signature characters for the setting, which I think will be an absolute blast.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Conclusion</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Mailanka has put out a lot of good content on his Patreon, and the opportunities to be a part of the creative process are more fun than I thought they would be. So, if you like Psi Wars and want to support its creation, join in. If you want to add in your own touches to the setting, now’s the time to join in!</span></div>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-53566695073926088942017-03-13T00:29:00.000-07:002017-03-13T00:29:51.889-07:00Review: Pyramid #3/98 Introduction to Dungeon Fantasy<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-253a3d96-c68f-1dbc-c38b-d77cd0b9ed3e" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Back in September of 2016, Steve Jackson Games ran a Kickstarter for their <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/847271320/dungeon-fantasy-roleplaying-game-powered-by-gurps">Dungeon Fantasy RPG</a>, which is a standalone version of the GURPS Dungeon Fantasy gameline. One of the stretch goals for the Kickstarter was a promise to release three Dungeon Fantasy themed Pyramid articles over the next year. <a href="http://www.warehouse23.com/products/pyramid-number-3-slash-98-welcome-to-dungeon-fantasy">Pyramid #3/98: Introduction to Dungeon Fantasy</a> was the first of these to be released, and as the name suggests, it’s all about helping new players and GMs get started with Dungeon Fantasy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Let’s take a look at what’s inside, shall we?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">You All Meet At An Inn</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">By Matt Riggsby</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Meeting in an inn has long been a cliche of fantasy tabletop roleplaying, but Matt Riggsby offers a fresh spin on the concept. Instead of the party all meeting and deciding to adventure together, in this scenario adventure comes to the inn instead! Can chance-met travelers band together to fend off and then put a stop to the danger?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The article starts with a brief description of the inn that the adventure starts in, and while short, it provides enough detail to run it without issue. It even comes with the HP and DR of various parts of the inn’s construction, which is a welcome touch for any group of delvers inclined to smash their way out of problems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The action kicks off as the delvers are settling in for the evening, with a zombie attack! The initial group of zombies should be an easy fight for the delvers, but there’s more on the way, with no end in sight. Now, they could try to escape, or they could try and find the source of the attacks, which just so happens to be beneath the inn itself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">I think that realizing where the source of the zombies is may be a potential point of failure for the adventure, since it requires that the delvers make a roll or look in the right spot. A few more hints would not have gone amiss, especially as the adventure makes it clear that escape is a much more dangerous approach.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The search for the source of the zombies takes the delvers on a short dungeon crawl, which is sufficient to introduce them to most of the ideas of dungeon fantasy, like traps, puzzles, and monsters. At the end, they face off against the source of the zombies, and upon its destruction, all of the zombies deanimate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Several maps are included, two of the inn’s levels, one of the temple. They’re simple but functional, but the floor textures in some places make it hard to see the hex grid. Also, it’s unclear what size the maps are meant to be, and there’s very noticeable compression artefacts at higher levels of zoom. There’s no key, either, which is a mixed blessing, since it means you can reuse them elsewhere, but you need to do a bit of work to match the descriptions with the places on the map.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">On the whole, this is a solid intro adventure, with plenty of potential for DMs to add in their own touches. The inn’s location, the temple, and more are all deliberately kept generic, allowing you to easily drop this into any suitable campaign.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The one potential drawback for new DMs is the need to get Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 1 and Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 3 in addition to DF1 and DF2, but those books provide a wealth of monsters and are worthwhile in their own right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Using this Article</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">As Written: It’s an intro Dungeon Fantasy adventure. Round up some players, make characters, and go.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Monster Hunters: The same general premise could just as easily be used in Monster Hunters as well, and if your campaign is in a sufficiently remote, old-time area, then the inn can even be used as is. You might want to beef up the monsters, though, since 400 point champions should make light work of foes built for 250 point delvers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">The Monstrous Monstorum</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">By Christopher R. Rice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">One thing that Dungeon Fantasy DMs can never have too many of is ideas for monsters, and Monstrous Monstorum adds fifteen more to the menagerie. They range from nuisances like the bandit snatcher to the terrifying stone sharks, and from mundane pack hunters like the bouda to the eldritch grü. Whatever your needs, you’re likely to find something of interest to torment your players with in this article.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">A common thread among many of the monsters is that they’re likely to have lingering effects that will make delvers regret running into them, above and beyond any damage they may take. Curses and diseases are regular occurrences, and what the excremental can do is just plain wrong.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">All in all, Monstrous Monstorum has something for everyone, and if you’re at a loss for ideas, then you’re likely to find one (or more!) within this article.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Using this Article</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">As written: These are Dungeon Fantasy monsters. Drop them in and go!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">After the End: Some of these creatures would be very appropriate in a post-apocalyptic setting, like the excremental, though you may need to tone them down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Monster Hunters: Another genre where having a variety of creatures is useful. Just remember that 400 point champions are likely to stomp on these monsters if you don’t buff them first.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Grave of the PIrate Queen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">By David L. Pulver</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Another short intro adventure, this one takes adventurers on a romp through a network of seaside caves containing the grave and treasure of pirates and a temple to a nasty old god of the sea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">As adventures go, this one is pretty straightforward. The adventures roll into town for one reason or another, hear about a seaside cave complex that’s recently been uncovered by an earthquake, and off they go! Once there, the delvers find a combat-heavy series of encounters within the relatively small series of caves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">One downside of Grave of the PIrate Queen is that it’s light on non-combat challenges. There’s no interesting traps or puzzles for the delvers to contend with, so thieves and the like will lack for things to do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">On the upside, this adventure gives a nice selection of hooks for further adventures. As the name suggests, only the pirate’s queen is buried within the caves, and the fate of her crew is left unstated. Perhaps they left more buried treasure somewhere? Alternatively, the delvers may find themselves contending with the cults of Tentacle Beard.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">This adventure also comes with a map, and unlike You All Meet At an Inn, this one is keyed, making it easy to reference in play. Unfortunately, it also suffers from compression artefacts at reasonable levels of zoom. There’s also a nice, unlabeled sketch that you can give out to the players as an in-game map. It’s accurate, but gives no information beyond the layout.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Using this Article</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">As written: Another intro Dungeon Fantasy adventure. Drop your players in and have at it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Variants: You could just as easily use the concepts of this adventure in a swashbuckling high seas campaign, or perhaps a Monster Hunters game with a nautical focus. Just make sure to tune the challenges accordingly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Building a Long-Term </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Dungeon Fantasy </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Game.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">By Peter V. Dell’Orto</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">This is an excellent collection of advice for anyone looking to run a Dungeon Fantasy game, including suggestions on how to keep it easy for players to pick up, how to make some of the more situational classes useful, and how to keep the game’s scope from expanding if you don’t want it to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">While mainly useful for new DMs, there’s enough in here that’s worth a peek for the more experienced folk as well, especially if this is their first Dungeon Fantasy campaign.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">For people wanting more, I recommend also checking out Dell’Orto’s excellent <a href="http://dungeonfantastic.blogspot.com/">Dungeon Fantastic</a> blog, which chronicles his on-going (and long lasting!) campaign.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Back to Basics</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">By Steven Marsh</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">This is a short article on mundane but potentially useful prep work that you can do for a game, whether you’re a player or a game master. Advice on building cheat sheets and useful props is included, and the uses for items like glass beads and dice in tracking game information could be quite handy.</span></div>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-26806389570293954412017-03-09T19:11:00.000-08:002017-03-09T19:11:21.989-08:00Ravens N' Pennies March Patreon Review<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-a9c45237-b625-29c3-8984-11834f985949" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Every month, Christopher R. Rice over at <a href="http://www.ravensnpennies.com/">Ravens N’ Pennies</a> releases a selection of goodies for his <a href="https://www.patreon.com/Ravenpenny">Patreon</a> backers. Befitting the blog’s namesake, they are an eclectic bunch, and no two months see quite the same things covered. So, what do we have this time around?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Hurt Locker - More Psi-Tech I</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/8327407">In this article</a>, you’ll find a collection of gizmos that are either useful for psis or make use of psionic phenomena to operate. This first issue gives you the Obfuscating Material Coating for the sneaky sorts, Telekinetically Bouyant Textiles that gives psychokinetics a way to carry loads more easily, and the Sonokinetic Sound Baffler that, funnily enough, muffles sounds in its area of effect.</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the whole, this is a neat collection of useful toys, and if you’re making use of <a href="http://www.ravensnpennies.com/">GURPS Psi-Tech</a>, these will fit right in. If not, then reflavor them for your preferred brand of paranormal phenomena and use them anyway.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Boil and Bubble: Thaumaturgic Ritual Path Magic</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Christopher loves creating variant forms of <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/ritualpathmagic/">Ritual Path Magic</a>, and they’re always interesting to read. <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/8327470">Thaumaturgic Ritual Path Magic</a> is no exception, which reflavors Ritual Path Magic and tinkers with its rules to suit a form of Christian magic that invokes angels to power its spells. It’s well worth a look as a basis for spirit-invoking Ritual Path Magic as well as an interesting variant in its own right.</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The one disappointment I have is fairly minor. While it lists patron angels for a few of the Paths, it doesn’t do so for all of them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">GURPS 101: Alternate Alternate Form Rules (June 2016 Special #1)</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A guest entry from Emily Smirle, <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/8327512">Alternate Alternate Forms</a> is one of the most elegant rules I’ve ever seen for GURPS. Treating alternate forms as alternate abilities is a simple yet brilliant idea, and there’s a good bit of advice on how to use this variant. If you have shapeshifters in your campaign, this article will be very helpful, especially if you’re running a high point total game with correspondingly powerful alternate forms.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">GURPS 101: More Telepathy Powers for Psionic Powers (June 2016 Special #2)</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As Christopher notes in the intro, there’s never enough powers for Psionic Powers. So, <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/8327512">this article</a> presents two more Telepathy abilities. Affinity gives you a telepathic bond with a person of your choosing, while Telelinguism lets you learn any language given enough exposure to it. Both come with suitable techniques that increase the usefulness of the two powers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you’ve got telepaths or telepathic creatures in your game, give this a look. They’re very thematically appropriate and have many applications for the creative.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">GURPS 101: Dungeon Fantasy Styles - Zodiac Styles</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A long guest piece by Hal Batty, <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/8327512">Zodiac Styles</a> details six martial arts for Dungeon Fantasy, based on animals of the Chinese Zodiac. To say that this is a fun article is an understatement. Each animal style comes with its own set of skills, perks, and power-ups, perfectly suited to the animal in question. The strong, tough Ox, the fleet-footed Rabbit, the cunning Snake, and more all make an appearance.</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My favorite of the styles may be the Snake, with their focus on cunning, sneaky tricks, and rapid, precise strikes that leave their foes unable to effectively strike back.</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you have martial artists in your Dungeon Fantasy, this will give them some fun options to play with. If you don’t have martial artists, make a few as adversaries so that you can play with these. And if that’s still not an option, consider allowing other characters to learn these styles. That’s just how much fun they are.</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In fact, the only real downside is that the other half of the Zodiac doesn’t get their own styles. On the upside, that gives you room to create your own styles, using these as inspiration.</span></span></div>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-81874407011515258442017-03-08T08:11:00.001-08:002017-03-09T05:49:29.313-08:00Psi Wars: Balancing Player-Created and Found Relics<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-4a354071-aea2-0d5f-61a4-fb2d33143f41" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After sharing my <a href="https://librisludorum.blogspot.com/2017/03/psi-wars-empowering-artifacts-in-play.html">previous post on empowering artifacts</a>, Mailanka noted, quite correctly, that an artifact should have the same point cost to possess, regardless of how it was obtained. I’ll counter by noting that the point cost for player created artifacts is spread out over the course of play, while a found artifact has to be paid for all at once, and a player created artifact ends up being much more fine tuned for their character.</span></span></div>
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</span> </span><br />
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That said, this is still a fair objection. Let’s take a look at the existing rules for artifacts in Psi Wars and see how we can adapt them for use in play.</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The ground rules for buying relics (which I’ve been calling artifacts for some reason) as Signature Gear are quite simple. For every character point you spend on Signature Gear, you can have a relic with a cost of up to $25,000. The cost of a relic is determined by the base value of the object, plus its value as a self-powered psychotronic generator based on the rules on Psi-Tech p. 13-14.</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To buy a player created relic with points, you still need the “Relic of Communion Perk”, but now the relic’s point cost is based on its dollar cost. Since a relic can start with up to 2 points of abilities, you must spend at least enough points to cover that amount. For example, a force sword costs $10,000 on its own, and as a Small, self-powered psychotronic generator, it costs an additional $3,750 per point of abilities it possesses. Thus, 1 point of Signature Gear lets you have a force sword with up to four points of abilities, more than enough to cover a starting relic’s two points.</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Make a note of that maximum value, though, since relics grow in power over time, using the rules in my previous post. If they exceed that maximum, the player must spend additional points on Signature Gear sufficient to cover its full value. For convenience in determining the number of points of abilities each point in Signature Gear gets you, see the following table.</span></span></div>
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<table border="1"><tbody>
<tr>
<td>Size</td>
<td>Points of Abilities Per Point of Signature Gear</td>
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<td>Mini (SM-6)</td>
<td>6</td>
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<td>Small (SM-4)</td>
<td>7</td>
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<td>Portable (SM-2)</td>
<td>9</td>
</tr>
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<td>Semi-Portable (SM 0)</td>
<td>12</td>
</tr>
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<td>Large (SM+2)</td>
<td>17</td>
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</tbody>
</table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">If this kind of book keeping seems more trouble than it’s worth, assume that the initial investment in Signature Gear covers up to 4 points worth of abilities and each additional point of Signature Gear allows up to 8 additional points in abilities. This reflects the likely bias towards portable, personal objects as player-created relics.</span></span>Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-88214057156423288652017-03-07T12:55:00.000-08:002017-03-07T12:55:30.774-08:00Psi Wars: Empowering Artifacts in Play<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-4b72229d-aa89-6cad-d892-40cdede93a83" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://librisludorum.blogspot.com/2017/03/psi-wars-empowering-artifacts.html">Last time</a>, I looked at how to assign point values to Psi Wars artifacts on the basis of their age and significance. A player may look at the Recent Events modifier and say, "Hey! I'm part of recent events! Can I say that one of my things is an artifact?"</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To which I say: Sure! If you've bought the item in question as Signature Gear and buy the perk "Relic of Communion", then it can have up to 2 points of powers, no questions asked. Since a player character is by definition a Major Free Agent, their possessions have a base value of 4 points, modified by 1/2 for being part of recent events.</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This represents the beginnings of a player character's legend, and the investment of power by a Communion that is just now taking an interest in their deeds. Which form of Communion powers their artifact is up to the player to decide, though be warned that artifacts of Broken Communion are always corrupting!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Milestones</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, what if players want to increase the power of their artifacts? Two possibilities are using the rules for Named Possessions from <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/Fantasy/">GURPS Fantasy</a> or enchantment in <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/thaumatology/">GURPS Thaumatology</a>. Unfortunately, I don't have either book myself, so I can't comment on how useful they would be.</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What I do have is the concept of milestones from Mailanka's <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2016/07/building-paths.html">Building Paths</a> post. These are significant events that represent important parts of an archetype's legend, and after achieving one, the character can investment more points in path-related abilities. Extending the concept to player created artifacts, a milestone is an event that reinforces the object's legend.</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The question then becomes: What qualifies as a milestone? The paths have examples already given, but what's a suitable milestone for the scavenger's favorite pistol that they've modified time and again over the years? To judge whether an event qualifies, use the following criteria:</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Is the event significant?</span></span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Does the event fit with the character's concept and story?</span></span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Is the artifact's presence important to the outcome?</span></span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If it's something that people will be telling stories about for years or generations to come, then the answer to the first question is yes. For the second, a character using their template's abilities to accomplish a major plot point in a way consistent with their personality and stated goals counts. For the last question, the artifact's role may be active or passive, but either way, it must have meaningfully contributed to the outcome.</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To continue the example of the scavenger, using their pistol all the time doesn't count as a milestone, since that's not what people will tell stories about. Using it in a climactic duel with the marshal who's been hounding them for years, resolving the conflict once and for all? That definitely counts!</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For another example, a spy may have a necklace handed down from her mother. If she was wearing it as she charmed her way into gaining access to Imperial archives and then stealing the blueprints for an Imperial superweapon, that would count as a milestone for the artifact.</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The effects of a milestone are several. First, the player may spend character points up to half the artifact's base value per milestone achieved to improve its abilities, to a maximum of twice the artifact's base value. Second, if the milestone impacts events on a planetary level or greater, it may increase the base value of the artifact accordingly. Third, if the milestone belongs to a path and the artifact is part of the character's regalia, then the artifact becomes aligned to the path and the player may spend an extra 2 points.</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, after their duel with the marshal, the scavenger can spend 2 points to improve the powers of their pistol, since the event was primarily of personal significance. Our spy, on the other hand, has taken part in events that have ramifications for at least an entire planet! Accordingly, the base value of her necklace rises to 6 points, and she may spend 3 points on its abilities.</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The intent of these rules is that after three milestones, an artifact can be considered to be of historical significance, and so can have abilities worth up to twice its base value. Those will also be more significant to the player, since they earned them through play and the artifact is specifically suited for their character.</span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A final note: at the GM’s option, the character points spent on artifacts can be given as a bonus for the session in which the milestone is achieved. This allows them to be much more immediately impactful, without having to worry about whether you have enough points saved up to take advantage of it.</span></span></div>
Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-34308127048682086262017-03-07T02:17:00.000-08:002017-03-07T02:55:41.570-08:00Psi Wars: Empowering Artifacts<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-58d04ad5-a830-7822-b157-1a11d3dcae06" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">There's been a <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-history-of-psi-wars.html">discussion of history</a> over on <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/">Mailanka's Musings</a> for the Psi Wars setting, focusing on determining an appropriate span of time and how to break that down into manageable chunks. One of the measures that Mailanka used to set bounds on the stretch of history was based on enchantment through age from <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/thaumatology/">GURPS Thaumatology</a>. This turned out to be a difficult measure to use, since it either gave rather small stretches of time or it allowed for artifacts of absurd power.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">This led me to wonder: why bother with using the exact age of an artifact in years to determine its potential growth? Instead, since Psi-Wars is conveniently broken up into eras, you can use the number of eras that the artifact has been around for to guide its growth.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">However, simply assigning a point value to each era would give unsatisfactory results as well, since it's not just age that determines whether Communion will invest a given artifact with power. No, artifacts that gain that power are always significant in some way, whether because of the events they're involved with, the individuals, organizations, or families that owned them, or the path of a legendary archetype that it's associated with.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">In that vein, I would like to propose a system that takes into account an artifact's age, its historical significance, the length of time it was in continuous use, and whether it was associated with a legendary archetype.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">In brief, the concept is:</span></div>
<ol style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Determine the base point value from the most significant person, event, or organization the artifact was involved with.</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Add modifiers for continuous use and legendary archetype as appropriate</span></div>
</li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Apply the multiplier for the artifact's era of origin.</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Base Value</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Galactic - 10 points</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Sector/Large Galactic Region - 8 points</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Planetary - 6 points</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Major Free Agent - 4 points</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Modifiers</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">+0 for 0-5 years of continuous use, +2 for 6-75 years of use, +4 for 75-200 years of use, +6 for 201+ years. Use only the highest applicable value. Add an additional +4 if it is part of the regalia for a path.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Era of Origin</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Recent Events - x1/2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Living Memory - x1</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Recent History - x2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">National History - x5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Dawn of the Current Era - x10</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Mythic History - x15</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">It's important to note that the final point values for artifacts are guidelines, and that it would be reasonable to vary the value by up to 25% either way. If you have a good idea, don't let yourself be constrained by a budget, or feel obligated to use every point that it could have if this means adding abilities that doesn't fit the concept.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The first table is derived from the Admistrative Ranks that Mailanka uses for Psi-Wars, since that acts as a reasonable proxy for how important the artifact's associations are. The artifact's owner need not have any formal rank for this to apply, like a notorious bounty hunter famous for their use of an archaic vibrosword. Since they're known on a galactic level, but actual impact on events is limited to a more individual level, their signature possessions have the potential for power investment, but it's limited to 4 points of base value.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Use some discretion here. Just because an artifact was involved in a battle for the galaxy doesn't mean that it itself is of galactic significance. Save the full value of such events for the major leaders and items that played a pivotal role in the battle, without which it would have gone very differently. Other notable figures like famous aces and commandos should use smaller values, down to free agent for those known to be involved in a significant way but who didn't direct the course of events themselves.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The modifiers come from my desire to make heirlooms and national (galactic?) treasures more significant than an artifact that's only had a single notable owner. The scepter of a planet's royal family, handed down from generation to generation, carries with it the stories of many individuals, and so is correspondingly more powerful.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The final modifier for being used as part of the regalia of someone following the path of a legendary archetype represents the power of Communion that already exists around those paths. This deep connection means that they gain power much more quickly than an otherwise similar mundane artifact.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Finally, you have the crux of my system, and that's the multiplier for era of origin. An artifact that's only recent begun to build a reputation hasn't had the opportunity its legend to spread or for Communion to invest power in it, and so it only has half the base value. As it ages, the multiplier increases, roughly doubling each time, tapering off in the mythic era to keep them from growing too extreme.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">So how well does this work out?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The good luck charm of an ace pilot who played a key role in a battle for the fate of a sector a few years ago has a base score of 4, divided by 2 for recent events, and so could have up to 2 points of abilities. Since she was a notable figure of the battle, but didn't lead it herself, this is quite reasonable.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The personal blade of the First Emperor, who united the galaxy under one banner in the Mythic Era, established one of the paths, and was then lost shortly after his death has a base value of 10. Adding +4 for being the regalia of a path and +2 for 40-50 years of use gives 16. Applying the x15 for a mythic era artifact gives a final value of 240. Powerful, but appropriate for an artifact of this age.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The crown of the leader of a house that eventually helped to found the Federation originates in the dawn of the current era, and has likely been handed down for several generations. As leaders of a large region of a galaxy, the base value is 8, plus 4 for 150 years of history, and then multiplied by 10 for dawn era. This gives 120 points. Again, this is powerful, but it has great historical significance.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The founding of the Federation was commemorated with the creation of a set of ceremonial regalia. Unfortunately, it was stolen shortly afterwards. Since it marks an event of galactic significance, it has a base value of 10, and a multiplier of 10. Thus, the regalia could have 100 points of powers.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The rifle used by the assassin to kill a sector governor in an incident that would help to lead up to the conflict that birthed the Empire is from Recent History. Since it's of sector significance and was only used briefly, it has a base value of 8, multiplied by 2 for recent history. This gives 16 points of powers.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The dark throne of the Emperor himself, said to sap the will of any who would even think of defying him, is an artifact of living memory. Its owner has Rank 10, and has likely been using it for more than 5 years, but much less than 75. Base value is 10, plus 2 for period of use, and x1 for living memory. This gives a final value of 12 points.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">On the whole, I'm satisfied with these values. I think that they need some more tinkering, but it gives a solid basis for building artifacts from all eras of history without them being ridiculously powerful or unreasonably weak.</span></div>
<br />Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-90240006264519211472017-02-26T10:17:00.000-08:002017-02-26T10:18:32.903-08:00Review: Psi WarsOver the years, I have to say that I've spent more time in the Star Wars universe than in any other, watching movies, playing video games, and reading books. Something about the combination of intense action and epic scope, perhaps.
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When I learned that there was a Star Wars conversion for GURPS in the works, I was naturally quite excited. But then I began delving into it, and what I discovered was something far more interesting than a mere conversion.
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<a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-psi-wars-primer.html"><br /></a>
<a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-psi-wars-primer.html">Psi Wars</a>, by Daniel Dover (aka Mailanka), is an ambitious project to take the tropes and conventions of Star Wars, existing GURPS material, and his own experience to build a space opera campaign framework perfect for high action roleplaying and mythic world building. And while it is still a work in progress, it succeeds admirably at these goals.
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The core gameplay is based on <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/action/">GURPS Action</a>, adapted for the advanced technology of a Star Wars-like setting, with twelve character templates perfectly suited for the larger than life adventures. But this is just the foundation, and Mailanka quickly expands from that beginning to touch on just about every element of setting design.<br />
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To better model the World War II-esque combat of Star Wars space battles, Mailanka revamps the combat system introduced in <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/spaceships/">GURPS Spaceships</a>. Now you can have grand capital ships engaging in stately duels while clouds of fighters swarm around them. Fighter aces square off as bombers dive in to cripple engines and weapons, and officers bark orders from the bridge of their ships, commanding it as if it were an extension of their own body.
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On the ground, you have teams of commandos going up against Imperial soldiers using top of the line equipment, while out on the rim you frontier marshals, smugglers, and bounty hunters clashing, where law and order run headlong into the demands of survival. And all of these use combat styles carefully devised or modified for Psi Wars.
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Naturally, you'll also find Space Knights, force sword wielding champions of either righteousness or villainy, while Mystics serve as guides in their mysterious ways. But it is here that you find the biggest divergence from Star Wars, for they do not draw on the Force, but psionics drawn from <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/psionicpowers/">GURPS Psionic Powers</a>. And these abilities are not the sole purview of mysterious, secretive orders, for anyone can unlock the powers of the mind.
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No, the true mysterious power of Psi Wars is that of Communion, the gestalt super-consciousness that embodies the wishes, dreams, desires, and fears of sapient life. Those who learn its ways may petition it for miracles, from minor and subtle guidance to the history shaping primordial avatars.
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These avatars are linked to another manifestation of Communion, the recurring stories and archetypes known as paths. Whether it be the Righteous Crusader bringing justice to the world on behalf of their community or the transgression of the Mystic Tyrant in search of forbidden power, those who follow the strictures of these paths gain power, for the collective will of sapient life is to see these stories told again and again.
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Not only does Psi Wars give you these frameworks for capturing key elements of the Star Wars genre, there's also a wealth of game and setting design notes captured in Mailanka's blog. In my view, these represent the most valuable part of Psi Wars, for it explains the philosophy behind his design, how he adapted GURPS to capture his vision for Psi Wars, and and then lays the groundwork for building your own organizations, worlds, and cultures.
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The one drawback of Psi Wars is that, as a third party project, it cannot be used on its own. At a mimimum, you'll need <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/Basic/">GURPS Basic Set</a>, <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/ultra-tech/">Ultra-Tech</a>, <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/action/action2/">Action 2</a>, <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/psionicpowers/">Psionic Powers</a>, <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/divinefavor/">Divine Favor</a>, and <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/spaceships/">Spaceships</a> to make use of 90% of its material, and there are many references to other books. However, with just the books I listed, you can pick up the <a href="http://mailanka.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-psi-wars-primer.html">Psi Wars Primer</a> and start running it.
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Of course, I also have to repeat that Psi Wars is a work in progress, and there are many points for editing to clean up. But as of Iteration 5, it is a solid reference, and Mailanka is not only working diligently on improving it, he is also very receptive to feedback and suggestions. So, go take a look at Psi Wars. It's free, and even if you never play it, you can learn a lot about designing games for GURPS, how to build a space opera setting, and more.<br />
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If you like it, consider supporting Mailanka on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/mailanka">Patreon</a>. You can get access to behind-the-scenes looks at design notes, early access to Psi Wars material, or even the opportunity to contribute your own ideas to the setting.Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227013285590468388.post-64813079998520586672017-02-20T13:21:00.000-08:002017-02-20T13:21:34.995-08:00Review: Star Wars: Shadows of the EmpireStar Wars holds a special place in my heart, since I loved the movies and the expanded universe when I was rather young. Naturally, I also played many Star Wars video games, and in total I've probably played more Star Wars games than games set in any other universe.
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Recently, Humble Bundle offered their Star Wars III bundle, and as it contained some of the games I played growing up, along with many that I hadn't played, I was quick to snap it up. Among those games was Shadows of the Empire, which is one of the leading candidates for the first Star Wars game I ever played.
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How did this childhood memory stack up after all these years? Well...my experience was decidedly mixed. It was nice to revisit Shadows of the Empire, but the game has aged poorly, and I'm forced to admit that it probably wasn't all that great a game even back in its day. But, let's break it down:
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Graphics
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These have obviously not held up well over the course of time. Textures are simplistic, models are low polygon count, there's heavy use of fog to reduce draw distances, and lighting is strictly ambient. But for their simplicity, they are functional, and you'll never have any trouble distinguishing enemies, terrain, and the various pick-ups.
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The repetitive textures have the potential to contribute to disorientation in some of the more maze like levels, but since none are very large, you won't get lost for long.
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Controls
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<b><br /></b>
If you come into this game expecting it to play like a modern FPS, you will be in for a rude awakening. The controls are, to be generous, quirky. Most notably, under the default controls, your mouse both moves your character forward and backwards and rotates the camera side to side. But wait! What about looking up and down? For that, you have to press and hold a button to enable the mouse to shift your view up and down. By default, your camera will return to the default position when you release the key. I suggest switching the controls to one with view lock, since there's a few sections where looking up or down is important.
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The other major quirk with the controls is that the game autoaims for you to a certain extent, which partially compensates for the difficulty in adjusting your viewpoint. This causes problems when it's trying to hit the wrong target, or if it locks onto an enemy that's just out view instead of one you can see. Since you generally only face one or two enemies at a time, this isn't too much of a problem.
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Quirks aside, the controls are largely solid once you've gotten used to them, though you have to take care not to move when you're simply trying to look to one side. Jumps are floaty, but that's also something you can adapt to.
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The biggest actual problem I had with the controls was in the early section of the Gall Spaceport level. There, I found some of the ledges you have to traverse to be rather slippery, and downward slopes were treachorous. Since this level also takes place in a canyon with steep drops, this led to many unnecssary depths. Take it slow, make sure you're moving directly to your destinations, and you'll mostly be okay.
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Finally, there's no in-game tutorial for the controls, so you'll have to consult the pause menu frequently until you memorize them.
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Gameplay
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For all the faults I just mentioned, Shadows of the Empire is actually fun to play. It offers a good mix of level types, with some having you piloting vehicles, while others have you making your way through facilities on foot.
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The first level has you piloting a speeder in the Battle of Hoth, facing four increasingly difficult waves of Imperial forces. You even get a chance to trip up AT-ATs with a tow cable, which is the first time you could do this in a Star Wars game. In fact, this level was so popular that it led to the creation of the Rogue Squadron game, which remains one of my favorites. The only weird thing is that, despite destroying all Imperial forces sent against you, the shield generator is still destroyed through the power of plot.
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A later level has you chasing speeder bikes through a city and out into a canyon, and while I found the controls for the swoop to be very sensitive and difficult to control, it has the potential to be a lot of fun once you've gotten a handle on them. Also, I remember this being the hardest level for me when I played it years ago, so finally getting it and successfully pushing enemy speeder bikes into walls and such was a great experience.
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The foot levels are, on the whole, less interesting. If you take your time, attack enemies as soon as you can see them, and make sure to grab health pick ups, there's little challenge to them. The exception is the high speed train level running through the Ord Mantell junkyard, where you have to leap from car to car as you run through a landscape littered with the detritus of the Empire. The floaty controls make it more difficult than it strictly needs to be, but it's still a fast paced, intense experience that contrasts nicely with the other foot levels.
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Each foot level has one or more bosses, and these represet a real challenge. You'll need to learn and respond to their patterns if you want to stand a chance of surviving, let alone defeating them. It's immensely satisfying the first time you bring down an AT-ST without damage, too, and the challenge only grows from there. You end up facing two of the bounty hunters from Empire Strikes Back, two different combat droids, and a giant sewer monster the size of a building.
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The game is also short, with only ten levels in total. This is something of a mixed bag on its own, since while it means that you can get through the game in a few hours of dedicated play, it also means that it doesn't overstay its welcome.
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That said, Shadows of the Empire does offer you reasons to go back and replay each level, since there's a number of Challenge Points hidden in them, and it can take some real thorough exploration to get them all. Also, your starting lives on a level depends on how you did on the previous one, so the fewer times you die and the more Challenge Points you collect, the more you'll have for the next level. This can help make some of the later levels easier, too.
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Music
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Shadows of the Empire has an excellent soundtrack, and consists of tracks taken from the films with new ones composed specifically for Shadows of the Empire. They're all well suited for the levels they appear in, and help set the mood of each appropriately.
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Story
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I've left this for last because, while Shadows of the Empire does have a story, it's fairly thin. The player character, Dash Rendar, is essentially meant to be a cooler stand-in for Han Solo while the latter is frozen in carbonite following the events of Empire Strikes Back. There's also glimpses of a plot by the crime lord Prince Xizor to kill Luke Skywalker and discredit Darth Vader in the eyes of the emperor, but it comes up so briefly that it's hard to make sense of what he's trying to do.
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Also, there's a weird moment where you chase down and defat Boba Fett, the bounty hunter that takes Han Solo to Jaba the Hutt. But because the canon requires that Han get to Jabba's palace, Fett somehow gets away with the aid of local Imperial forces. Oh well.
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Summary
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So, would I recommend this game to people? The answer is, unfortunately, an unequivocal no. Between the dated graphics, quirky controls, generally lackluster levels, and excuse of a story, Shadows of the Empire has little to offer today. If you played the game and want to revisit it, or if you want to see a glimpse into this era of Star Wars game design, it might be worth a quick playthrough. But otherwise, there are better games, both in the action/FPS genre and in Star Wars in general.<br />
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However, there's some interesting moments and ideas in the game, and I plan to make use of them in the future.Nemoricushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155029548689539557noreply@blogger.com0