Saturday, April 23, 2011

Version 1.3 Release

    Well it has been quite some time since I posted - nearly a week in fact. I've been hard at work with, well, frankly, Portal 2. Quite a good game, that. I have also been getting quite a bit of work done in adding more specific racial fluff and doing some spellchecks. And let me tell you, the spellcheck I had to use was pretty awful. I realize it's only really supposed to be a second-pass type of thing (not great when you write everything in notepad), but by god they had no heuristics or common sense in how they did it.
    Anyway, I got 1.3 finished. And when I say finished I mean I wanted to get it released so people could play with some of the changes made and provide feedback on it. There are some things that I wasn't able to finish in time for this - I want to add more fluff for Exalts and change around Artifacts a bit more.

    That's enough rambling from me. Here's the download link:
    http://www.mediafire.com/?ydapb3dt5jbtp2b

    Please, I'd love to hear any questions or comments here and I'll try to answer them.

57 comments:

  1. Well if autists on /v/ are anything to go by then playing Portal 2 instead of making games makes you a HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HUMAN BEING WHO IS SCREWING OVER THE FANS AT EVERY TURN.

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  2. I CAN'T HELP IT. THERE IS A GUN THAT MAKES HOLES IN THINGS. NOT BULLET HOLES, BUT... LOOK, IT'S JUST A GOOD GAME.

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  3. Aren't all fantasy RPGs basically racist? Hurp derp you're an orc, you're dumber, hurp derp you're an elf you're faster. They're balanced and predicated on assumptions that are absolutely repulsive IRL.

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  4. Clunker here.

    Lawful Nice, can you comment as to the low Promethean "Resource" (Pyro) limits? They 'only' get their "Power Stat" (Generation) x3;
    that seems to be the lowest of all the Exalted, by a good bit.

    Also, in one of the fluff chapter fics, a Promethean uses an internalized comm-bead; unfortunately, Prometheans can't normally integrate non-weapons. Would one use cybernetics to emulate that, or use the "Integrated Weapons" power, with the understanding that one device=one weapon slot?

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  5. I see the Tau are still there and with no immediately obvious changes. They just don't feel right to me, as yet. The rest of the races seem to be much more obviously fusions of several ideas and identities, concepts and existing and similar things.
    The Tau by comparison just seem to be the exact same Tau from 40k, with no real stand-out clever twist that I can see?

    Any plans to develop them further? I think they could benefit from it.
    Also, in a previous comment thread here, someone did ask about their fluff, how it almost seems like they shouldn't be in the wheel at all due to how isolated they seem to be? I'd be interested to hear more about all of the above. I don't really know where else would be appropriate to ask this, though, so I'm just going to leave it in this comment here. :)

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  6. The "races" in games such as these are different species. It's a fact that different species have different abilities and strengths. We're smarter than bulls, but they're stronger than us. "Race" in the real world is a bullshit construct based on culture and slightly different physical features such as skin color and skull shape.

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  7. Is there a changelog anywhere for those who are trying to convert a 1.2 game to a 1.3 game?

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  8. Flipping through the book, the first thing I noticed is that 1.3 still calls itself version 1.2 on the title/thanks page.

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  9. Ooh, I really like the new minion rules, very stream-lined. The new defense score also looks like it will do much better for keeping characters from becoming squishy paste-bits.

    I'm still looking for whether or not xp needs to be spent to increase a class level, beyond meeting feat & etc prerequisites . . errm?

    I like the expanded descriptions for racial choices . . still not sure if I'm going to throw in squats or halflings (Tolkien, feh) but this does give me more reason to.

    I'm considering a house rule to give a bonus to dodge or parry depending on size, it just makes sense that bigger characters can put more weight and cover up against blows, while small characters could dodge more easily.

    If I wanted to throw in advanced classes, should I post them up here? Or perhaps expanded sword skill options? I keep wondering how the paladin-ish classes from Final Fantasy Tactics would look under this system >=D

    Most of the test battles I've been running have been going swimmingly, with armor being an exception. We're looking at a typical reduction of only one or two points in hp damage after the size dividing math is included. Was that pretty much intentional?

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  10. The problem with Tau, I think, is that they have no one to hybridize with like many of the other races.

    Also, monstrous race: Tyrannid. :D

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  11. Clunker: Prometheans are by far the toughest Exalt by far, and they do recover one point per hour automatically. I haven't included a lot of cybernetic options yet (I'm saving them for when I've got a fun Techpriest class), but they'll show up there. For now, feel free to houserule, say, a good or best quality commbead as a surgical implant.

    Simon: I'd like to develop the Tau more. I'm considering just what to add to them. I tried to get in some of the 7th sea Cathay stuff with them, but it's actually hard to make it come across since they're already quite close to the normal Tau fluff. Maybe I just need to find the right DnD race to mix in there. (Suggestions welcome)

    Rwillard: Whoops!

    Benjamin: Your level is automatically the level of your highest, well, level class. I used the word level a lot there, forgive me. Once I get this stuff nailed down and solid, I'll post up something here for suggestions and ideas.

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  12. Err, that's not quite what I meant. Assume I'm paladin level 2 and have gotten all the necessary prereqs for paladin level 3, do I then just upgrade to paladin level 3, or do I need to spend xp to get there?

    Ahh, so there's still quite a bit left to create. Looking forward to it LN

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  13. Clunker again.

    Ah, that was the balancing point - no auto-death when one gains a 5th Critical Hit on anything but Head or Gizzards vs. higher Resource points. Do I understand that correctly? Makes good sense then. Sorry I didn't see it earlier.

    Semi-related question: CAN/should Prometheans use/take advantage of Cybernetics?

    And about the Tau material - brilliant racial ability; that plus certain talents/assets/feats means it can be a real bitch to 'nail down' a Tau in combat.

    Also, have you considered statting up the Tau's unique weaponry? I've attempted to convert Tau Pulse Weapons and the Rail Rifle from the WH40K RPG... would you care for a look? And, any ideas how to convert their armor?

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  14. Very nice! Thanks for all the work. Excited about a lot of the changes and extra fluff. Also, fuck yeah Power Fists! My group will most likely be sticking with 1.2 for right now, though, and my personal whining is as follows:

    -No artifact launchers (or even bolters?) is kind of a bummer
    -Artifact ranged ammo seems rather boring and not worth the background points/exp.
    -Damage bonus for full auto is extremely underwhelming and not worth using.

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  15. Any chance we could get how you formatted the PDFs so some of the more creative ones among us could work on splat books?

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  16. Ben - If you've finished Paladin 2, you can immediately start in on any class where you meet the prerequisites. There's no need to spend XP, just declare your intent to start in on a class (which also takes away your ability to use Free Study)

    Clunker - Prommies can take cybernetics. Just sometimes it's like adding a spoiler to a shit car - even if it improves the performance it doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. I was planning on doing more specific racial stuff - race-specific classes, more assets, etc, as small splatbooks. Tau weapons would be a part of that. Though the Tau weapons in the 40k RPGs are amazingly rape-tier.

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  17. Still a bit shocked to see the replacement of Conjuration for Necromancy on Cleric classes, but I think it's for the best. Some of the spells that involve summoning entities related to the deity you serve might be lost, but Magic-Users definitely work best with Conjuration.

    I'd think about providing the Paladin and the Guardsman with more sword schools. Guardsman only has Iron Heart, but the way the class is built seems no different from a Fighter, except probably better use of ranged weapons (but no nifty tricks with it). I know that you're still refusing to use some ranged versions of sword schools, but at least will you consider Falling Star and Black Rain? They're probably some of the most popular disciplines around, and they may work well as Guardsman-unique disciplines to give them a better niche.

    On the side of Paladin, though, and even Fighter, I find odd they have access to so few schools while Barbarian has access to a whopping three. Namely, I find odd that Paladin lacks at least Stone Dragon. Allowing Paladins to have a 2-hander build, Foot-Trapping Blow (phenomenal for tanks) and Stone Skin Concentration definitely works for the class. That, or grant them access to Abjuration/Healing magic, but that would be going too far. Fighters could use a third school, though (I'd say either Stone Dragon or Diamond Mind), if not four to make them the "weaponsmasters".

    Related to the Tau: for some reason, Genasi come to mind. Consider there are five castes, each one related to one element plus Aether, so you could make Tau part-elementals or something. Play with their caste thing. The big thing is that they're the race that has a noble purpose but an alien understanding of things, where they're actually willing to fight for a Greater Good but they believe subjugation and domination are fair tools for government. They're the Well-Intentioned Extremist class; play on those lines (in the same area, the Aasimar play this trope, Knight Templar or Knight in Sour Armor).

    That's as much as I've seen, but I'll point it again: Armouring Aura still IS the only ability that provides Aura to a creature, aside from Wraithbone armor (again, may be forgetting one thing or another), so the info is redundant. I'd go a bit further; since HP is not so scarce anymore, Ox Body Technique seems a bit weak for a 4th level Devoted Spirit Mastery. I'd grant an Aura bonus whenever you make a Devoted Spirit maneuver, probably Aura 1, and perhaps a few more things that provide this important benefit. Since it won't grow and it's situational, it allows the character to have some protection from energy damage but not overwhelming protection.

    That's as far as I've gone on the read, actually. Maybe you could expand the Alignment section a bit and indicate more stuff regarding the gods; the proselytizing method of Vectron's followers is sure to give a good chuckle.

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  18. LN, I think you need some guys to eventually help you on this like how P:TA had a few guys working on it. you seem like you might need the help given how much ideas you want to put in and.

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  19. Related to the Paragon Exaltation:

    With Excellence, I note the powers one acquires start at 2 Excellence. Most other Exalts gain something at 1 of their Power Stat, but Paragons seem to be the exception. Is this intentional?

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  20. On the character sheets, you forgot to change the Static Defense formula...

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  21. on Paragons - the pressure points thing is their one-dot power. It's just a bit too complicated to put into a table.

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  22. I feel like the book would be better if the Mental Defense was listed in the Finishing touches section in the Char Gen chapter and Static Defense was explained in the Combat section in addition to the Glossary.

    I'd like to see this book not have the organization of a typical White Wolf book.

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  23. Clunker once again.
    Noted a discrepancy in "The Attack" attack resolution section.
    "Step One" is word-for-word still as it was in 1.2, while "Step Two" is changed.

    This looks odd, as Step One says that melee attacks are made with Dex+Weaponry (along with a similar ranged item), where in Step Two it says that one rolls Weaponry/Ballistics/Brawl, adding in "Level" if one has a Weapon Proficiency in the used weapon.

    I take that Step One needs revising?

    Still, using Level instead of Dex is an interesting idea; has your gaming group tested it yet, like in those IRC games you posted earlier?

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  24. Clunker: Yeah. I haven't done any real in-game testing yet, just some maths. It works pretty well in most cases, though it does penalize multiclassing a bit since someone can spend a lot of XP without increasing their level... but it's hardly the only thing that's level-dependent, and it's certainly better to design around level than around a single stat.

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  25. Oops, just fired off an email full of suggestions and THEN noticed I could just post them in comments. Oh well.

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  26. How do Hindrances work? It's implied by the example character that they give 100 XP per Hindrance, but I can't find rules for them.

    The Artifact section on Necrodermis has "Ranged Weapon: Opponents get -2k0 to attempts to parry or dodge this weapon and it deals +1k0 damage." Is this an error or intentional?

    Do Hearthstone Bracers stack with Integrated Armor? The entry specifies worn armor.

    Can Paragons select multiple Exaltation assets? Most of the other Exaltations seem limited to one, despite the apparent absence of rules on the topic (How can you have multiple Gods' marks?), but there is no such conceptual barrier for the Paragon assets. What of Daemonhosts and Prometheans?

    As Benjamin Gold said earlier, armor provides the equivalent of 1 or 2 points of protection per blow; is this at your intended balance level?

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  27. As it says on page 102 under Exalted Assets, yes, Paragons can buy as many Exalted Assets as they like, and can even buy up Legendary Trait post-creation. It also says that non-Paragons can only take one Exalted Asset - Daemonhosts can only be aspected to one Sin, and Prometheans can only be built with one Material.

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  28. Not sure if this is mentioned anywhere, but if you get artifact ammunition from the Artifact asset, are you also assumed to have that weapon, or do you have to acquire it through other means? Also, if you do have the weapon, what quality is it?

    Currently I'm assuming yes, and that it's Best quality, but I just want to be sure.

    Also, for Combat Advantage, would the free raise enable you to hit a target you would normally miss, or is it only for the purpose of auto-firing?

    Thanks, keep up the good work!

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  29. The setting is hard for me to get a firm grasp on. All I can see is AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME and it's confusing my head.

    I eagerly await cleaner/expanded cybernetic rules. I was dicking around with them when I was unsure how to best use the Inheritance background, and they're wonderful (especially Cybernetic Senses. Oh exploitable) but rather underdeveloped.

    Just generally great. Nothing you haven't heard before, but there's nothing else to say. Masterful.

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  30. Question: Are there any special rules for thrown weapons? I assume it works like any other melee weapons.

    2nd Question: Will there ever be any Exalt that resemble Changelings?

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  31. Question: Let's say I finish a first level class, say, Fighter 1, and enter the class Fighter 2.
    Am I immediately considered to be 2nd level, or do I have to complete that level before my overall level goes up?

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  32. "How do Hindrances work? It's implied by the example character that they give 100 XP per Hindrance, but I can't find rules for them."

    The rules for hindrances are under page 102, right between exalted assets and feat descriptions.

    - -

    "Also, for Combat Advantage, would the free raise enable you to hit a target you would normally miss, or is it only for the purpose of auto-firing?"

    The rules state that "when you have combat advantage against a target, you get a free raise to hit them." That combined with the additional rules for combat advantage seem to suggest the free raise applies to your hit test as well, the rule seems applicable to more than just auto-fire.

    - -

    So has anyone started writing up a proper adventure yet? I'm in the middle of converting a 3.5 Planescape adventure, but have been having difficulty with the characters. The big things are I have no idea how much of an edge the powerstat is going to grant the characters, and on what sort of scale the npc's should be compared to the PC's. Perhaps is it's just something that I'll get a handle on after more experience running the game.

    On a similar note, exactly how rapidly and dependently should Exalts be spending their resource stat? Is it something that they should be using all the time (like say, Exalted) or is it much more of a limited thing? I realize this is really up to the SM and group in question, but what were you envisioning for the game as far as how rapidly the powers are called upon? How about other posters, do you see the motes/blood/etc etc as being used for nearly every roll or only during important stuff?

    Lastly, please-please-please call the arcana powerstat for Atlanteans something other than arcana. We already have the skill arcana, and the powerstat for Daemonhosts is Arcanoi. It's getting kinda jumbled =).

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  33. "On a similar note, exactly how rapidly and dependently should Exalts be spending their resource stat?"

    Well that partly depends on the Exalt, but things are definitely easier for them if they aren't afraid to spend them. For some Exalts, Vampires especially, a lot of the oomph in their abilities is supposed to come from having the ability to dump resource points in combat and easily get them back later.

    And don't worry. I've already changed the Atlantean power stat. Right now it's called Gnosis (a good suggestion someone tossed my way).

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  34. Something that's been confusing me. If I am CURRENTLY taking fighter 3 - that is, that's my current class, I haven't completed it yet - am I level 3? Or am I level 2 until I complete fighter 3, at which point I can be considered level 3?

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  35. "Something that's been confusing me. If I am CURRENTLY taking fighter 3 - that is, that's my current class, I haven't completed it yet - am I level 3? Or am I level 2 until I complete fighter 3, at which point I can be considered level 3? "

    If that was the case, beginning characters would all be level 0 until they finish level 1. Fairly certain that your level is the highest level class you have, or the current class level you're taking, whichever one is higher.

    @Benjamin

    Thanks, it's just a bit confusing since the rules for Raises/Checks say:

    "If a feat or ability would give you a
    free raise to a Test, that free raise only applies if the Test is successful."

    Also, bump for my Artifact Ranged Weapon question above.

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  36. >BenjaminGold

    In regards to regular dudes vs exalts, look at NPCs listed in the Dramatis Personae section for examples of mortals. A squad of trained soldiers with good equipment are certainly a threat to low level exalts. Random thugs though are equivalent to so many armless children when compared to an Exalt.

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  37. I believe you should add more alignments. For Chaos, perhaps the Ebon Dragon or Malfeas. For the Grey Council, an Autocthon/Omnissiah hybrid. For the gods of order, I dunno.

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  38. @LordA: Maybe the UCS for the Blessed Pantheon to balance out the Ebon Dragon.

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  39. ^ on a close reading of Pelor, you can tell that he is TUS, it's in a couple of places

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  40. @Benjamin Gold: Also the Unconquered Sun is actually a place on Celestia, where I think Pelor lives.

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  41. @LV, huh, you're right. Whoops, what I get for spewing what-I-belive-to-be-facts without the book at hand.

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  42. @ Benjamin Gold
    I've begun writing my adventure. It essentially makes the Pcs a sort of Delta Force, working for a little-known, but very powerful, Faction.

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  43. A suggestion for changing Charisma to something like Presence and Fellowship to Charisma. I think those labels might their actual description better.

    Thanks and keep it up. This is rocking my fricking world and I don't normally like nkn systems...

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  44. You level up when you get all the necessary feats, right?
    Well, Assassin 1 has Catfall as a feat. But so does Assassin 2. But you'd already have that, right?

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  45. These are the feats that you can take while you are in that class. I am not sure, but I think you have to have all of those feats in order to finish you level. I am really not sure at all. =(

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  46. Lots of improvements all around, so thanks a ton!

    going back to 1.2 for play, though, until full auto gets fixed to be remotely useful. Would prefer to-hit and ranged artifacts go back to how they were as well. Everything else is glorious.

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  47. You know what? This game needs a forum for us all to chat on.

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  48. you know, that is not a bad idea... Hope lawfulnice makes one at some point.

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  49. Oh man. I just had a great idea for an adventure module. I am currently in the process of "fusing" three epic modules together to run for my group.

    The Haarlock's Legacy (Dark Heresy)
    Chaos Factor (World of Darkness)
    Die, Vecna, Die (AD&D 2nd Ed)

    Will my players find a way to stop the legacy of Erasmus Haight before he can awaken a great Shaitan in the warp? What is the truth behind the prophesy of the Black Star called Ravenloft? And can they unlock the secrets of those legendary artifacts, the Hand and Eye of Vectron? From the cities of the Sabbot to a battle for Sigil itself, dark forces are massing and only the party stands between them and calamity. If only they could answer one question:

    How do you kill a god, when that god is [Edited: Totally real and not made up!]?

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  50. @ t-wanderer:

    You just made my day.

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  51. A forum is a good idea. =)

    Thanks again for all the work so far.

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  52. @ Ben: Thanks.

    If we can get a forum running, I'll post all the material I came up with.

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  53. Heck, just post it on /tg/ and get it archived. Works just as well with instant feedback and gets more people to see this.

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  54. Bunch of quibbles, mostly typos, to make.
    The Overwatch action is described in the table as giving a -2k0 to Ballistics, but not in the action description.
    In the Full Auto Burst description you misspelled may; "she MAT fire both"
    In the social attacks section, you left out most of the word persuasion; "Any
    further attempts at pe automatically fail"

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  55. Also forgot to say this:
    AWESOME.

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