May be starting a Numenera game in the future. Mind you, I have never GMed a game before. Don't know what Numenera is? It's a relatively new roleplaying game. Here's the official site: http://www.numenera.com/ It's a mix of a Fantasy and Science Fiction.
I can't really commit to this, but I did pass the link around to some other people here.
I'm browsing through the core book/player's guide. There's some things I like, some I don't... though on the things I don't like, to be fair, my biggest gripe is the fluff text. The core book did -not- need to be 400+ pages. The player's guide which crops a lot of that out is muuuuuuuch easier to swallow.
I'd be willing to give it a shot to playtest things as a player, depending on time availability. I'm in a couple of games, including Dune's, which pretty much takes up my evenings, unless you wanted to run second fiddle to Dune's schedule, which is fairly random.
Without evenings, then unless it was a board PBP game, weekends during the day/afternoon would pretty much be the only time I could put towards this.
(Also, belatedly, welcome to the board, yadda yadda, you've already gotten the welcome from Dune, Drac, et al)
Yeah I was thinking PBP. My schedule's too unorganized. and yeah, I agree with you on the whole text thing. But it's actually kinda cool if you just sat down and read it.
So yeah, I was thinking a PBP game playtest.
Not that you know me from your average sack of cheese, but I'm actually pretty curious about this myself. And PbP tends to be the only thing that works reliably for me of recent times!
Geez Merc, aren't you an engineer? Why hate documentation?
(I'll play!)
I don't hate documentation. I hate documentation that takes 3 pages to do what could be done in 1 page and still be perfectly clear. =p
I also object to sentences like: "For example, if a character is trained in climbing, she turns a difficulty 6 climb into a difficulty 5 climb. This is called decreasing the difficulty by one step. If she is specialized in climbing, she turns a difficulty 6 climb into a difficulty 4 climb. This is called decreasing the difficulty by two steps."
There's also something silly about the jumping around and inconsistent linking. For example, Effort is mentioned in page 16, and immediately there's a statement saying that it is described in more detail in chapter 8....and right next to it there's a sidebar saying to refer to page 21. If you go to page 21, there it is explained. Meanwhile in chapter 8 (page 86)...there's a quick blurb, and then another sidebar saying to go to page 21. Why was chapter 8 even mentioned again?
So my annoyance is more with the organization of said documentation than anything. It's so inefficient!
Which is perfectly engineer'ish of me, thank you very much! =p
...alright. That's pretty egregious.
...Yeah. -_-
Alright. I only need like 3-5 people. Anymore and I think that will over-stress my non-existent GMing skills.
Hmmm. I'm...prepping for another game at the moment. Am interested, and PbP fits availability at the moment, but not sure I'd find the time to read over that in the next couple weeks.
Maybe if there's a slot for a reserve to join in, after crunch quiets down a bit at the office. :) I'll start reading once I hop over the Shadows from Meatspace learning curve.
If you move past PbP (I am absolutely horrible with PbP), I'll give it shot. So I'm hoping this works out as a test run!
Quote from: Iron Dragoon on June 05, 2014, 07:14:47 PM
If you move past PbP (I am absolutely horrible with PbP), I'll give it shot. So I'm hoping this works out as a test run!
Really? I would think things would be better with PBP. It gives you more time to think out your actions and such.
It works great for some folks who are really busy, but for others its too removed. Having to wait minutes to hours to hold a conversation with another player can make things difficult. Most of the most successful PbP runs I've been in have included pitched overlap times where several players (and the GM) are all posting collectively, and usually sitting in a shared chat. The group and write a scene to post style works well too, but both get back toward having good shared time to do that with.
So who do I have so far? I count two yeses and three maybes.
Count means a yes, please. :)
I never really clarified, but PBP is a yes for me. Due to the the same unorganized schedule issues, that's perfect.
So in summary:
- Rez, Rat and I were a yes.
- Drac was a maybe, which might be a yes depending on game start date.
- Iddy was more of a 'No' than a 'Maybe' due to PBP format.
Indeed, I am a No to PbP. I meant to say that if your PbP game succeeds and you move into a IRC/Chat game, at that point I'd be a yes (depending on time slot and such).
Sorry for any confusion.
The Party so far: Merc, Rezantis, and Carthrat. I am willing to take on one more person, maybe two, so I'm going to leave the offer open while I brew and adventure up.
Well, I'm gonna play some kind of cyborg/robot since that's a thing in this setting. Probably a fighterglaive. One woken up by another PC! Perhaps.
Some kind of cyborg that was originally designed for entertainment/aesthetic purposes/childcare, which has since gone far beyond her original mission statement, perhaps. Amnesia seems like a given, but I'll dwell on that for a bit.
Quote from: Carthrat on June 10, 2014, 10:53:55 AM
Well, I'm gonna play some kind of cyborg/robot since that's a thing in this setting. Probably a fighterglaive. One woken up by another PC! Perhaps.
Some kind of cyborg that was originally designed for entertainment/aesthetic purposes/childcare, which has since gone far beyond her original mission statement, perhaps. Amnesia seems like a given, but I'll dwell on that for a bit.
That's actually a character descriptor. 'Fuses Flesh with Steel'. There are people in the ninth world who have replaced missing limbs and such with machinery. Or have experimented upon themselves to become that way. Not as rare as you'd think, but not quite common.
It's also typically a Nano descriptor. All Character Descriptors have a preferred class, then a secondary one, then the third. There are only a few descriptors that can't be paired with one of the classes.
Anyways, my point being, having that descriptor means you where organic to begin with. In my opinion, I'd modify your backstory or whatever and have that your character was kidnapped and experimented on, causing the amnesia. Now she searches for her captor in revenge while figuring out her new modified body.
I'd suggest downloading the player's guide and reading through it.
Already checked it out. (There's no full-on mecha setting. Sadly. But it's all good.)
My initial impression from Iddy/Rukatin was that it was going to be a setting similar to Battle Angel Alita/Gunnm. Then I got the book and found it wasn't.
Alas!
Quote from: Merc on June 10, 2014, 09:51:27 PM
My initial impression from Iddy/Rukatin was that it was going to be a setting similar to Battle Angel Alita/Gunnm. Then I got the book and found it wasn't.
Alas!
No, it's a fantasy world where the 'Magic' is a big unknown in the form of mysterious technology
I was going to aim for something Alita-ish. I love the endless junkyard chic.
It is okay! Less Blade Runner, more Esper.
What's Battle Angel Alita?
(http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Gunnm_2586.jpg)
"Battle Angel Alita" is the English title of a manga, GUNNM.
It's about this crazy mechanic/bounty hunter guy who finds the pieces of a cyborg left in a junk pile. He rebuilds her, and they team up to hunt down rogue cyborgs. She's a shy robot who's frighteningly strong.
I really haven't read it, though. But I like the idea.
From what I can tell, think more Shadowrun/D&D hybrid. Or maybe Rifts.
Alright, What do you guys want to see in this game? What are you hopes and wishes? Because I must crush them completely and utterly :)
I'd like to be heavily invested in a single city or town, so that we can get enmeshed in its social/political/criminal goings-on to a high degree. Maybe something like a giant, stratified hive city, with countless layers between the disease-ridden underclass that lives in the sewers and the highest tip of society where life is virtually unimaginable to those who aren't born there- and those who are may well not be anything we recognize as human anymore, communicating their edicts with the people below by proxies, holograms, and the occasional show of gratuitous oppression.
Also, I wish to find out what it means to have a heart, like every robot.
Sounds kinda like the Numenera RP i'm in right now. Uxphon, the city of pipes. Major center of slave trafficing in the Beyond. Or it was, until we staged a slave rebellion.
Then we can proceed with confidence, know you're on familiar ground?
Do you mind if I reuse the Idea?
I don't mind. Sounds interesting enough.
Just put your own spin on it. Or we will.
Alrighty then! nw that saves me a lot of planning, How about we start a forum and work on characters?
Send Dracos a PM (or just post it here and we'll prod him in IRC if he somehow misses it) to start up a new forum, telling him:
- The name of the forum
- Description (optional)
You probably won't need them, but you can also request for some child boards (again with optional description). We typically use them for IRC logs, but maybe you have another use for them? Only you'd know!
And on a different track - Are you wanting to only use the Core/Player's Guide books, btw, or would you allow things like the Character Options book?
You might have to explain the whole forum mechanics thing to me.
Just the Player's guide for now, seeing how I don't have The extra options. It can't seem to find a download without spending money I don't have...
I sent you a PM with a mediafire link to a lot of Numenera books, including the Character Options, Cypher Collection, and Artifacts & Oddities. I included Rez and Carthrat on the PM, in case they want the books too.
I'll note that most of the other books can be skipped, the core book/player's guide and the three I mentioned above are generally the useful ones for character generation.
The adventures (Devil's Spine, Nightmare Switch, Vortex) might be of use to you as GM, as well as the Bestiary.
In Strange Aeons - Lovecraftian Numenera also has some lovecraftian themed monsters (though otherwise there's not much there, and some of it is repeated in the Character Options book). Lastly, Injecting the Weird and Taking the Narrative by the Tail might be useful for you as a GM.
As to forum mechanics, there really aren't any. Structure a board however you wish (feel free to look at current games and old ones for ideas, though by and far you will find IRC games and only a few PBP). As mentioned before, all you really need to do is just send Dracos a request for the board with the details of board name for your game, description, and number of child boards you require (if any) along with their names and descriptions. He'll set it up in the Thunder of Gaming section, probably right under the "Final Fantasy D6" board.
Rezantis and Halbarad -might- be able to set up boards too. I'm not a hundred percent sure, honestly. Drac's the more accessible of the three anyway! =p
I haven't seen any messages, but glad to set things up :)
Classically, most games have a main board and a logs board if they're IRC. Same can easily work for a play by post, with each thread being a scene, but whatever setup makes things easy for ya.
I feel dumb for asking this, But what's IRC?
I was thinking of a main Story forum, a OOC thread, One to post characters, and maybe a few others I can't figure out off the top of my head.
IRC = Internet Relay Chat. There's various programs that let you connect to servers, or you can just use Mibbit (http://www.mibbit.com/) to do that.
The simplest program to use is mIRC, which is shareware, and there are a bunch of free program or fancier ones out there as well.
Our server is irc.lunarnet.org, with the main channel being #soulriders
Thread Title is going to be 'Uxphon: City of Pipes'
Also, yes, you can use the extra character options now that I've read it. Just run it by me okay?
Board made, give it a spin :)
So I assume 'Add new topic' adds a place where people can comment?
This is now the basic chat thread.
I'll do my sheet on friday or saturday likely. Since I'm looking at the Character Options book, running thoughts here by you first on what I'm considering.
In order of priority:
1) Cruel Nano who Fuses Mind and Machine
2) Clumsy Jack who Needs No Weapons
3) Mechanical Jack who Focuses Mind Over Matter
The descriptors Cruel / Clumsy are from Character Options. So are the foci of Fuses Mind and Machine / Needs no Weapons. Option 3 is more of a backup if Options 1-2 fail to get approved.
Are we a cyborg army? I'm down for that.
I may not be getting a Gunnm game, but I'm getting my cyborg! =p
Cyborgs are cool.
Unless Rez picks the focus "Battles Automatons" or some such. That'd be awkward.
He can be our mechanic.
Can the descriptor be something else? I don't think I'd be comfortable with an evil character to be honest.
Cruel doesn't have to mean evil! Why, I'm being cruel to the new GM by giving him hard choices, but that doesn't make me evil! =p
I'll probably go with option #2, or replace Cruel with Mechanical though.
A mechanical Nano who fuses Mind and Machine? Accepted.
I'm just wonder what time zone everyone is in. I'm in the Central time zone GMT - 6.00
I'm central as well. Rat and Rez are both down under and on the opposite side of the globe. At a guess, they are GMT+10.
I also haven't seen Rez around anywhere. Alas.
...Yeah. If any of you are going to be gone for long periods of time, try to let me know ahead of time. I understand that 'life happens' (I've been in that type of situation before) but try not to leave me in the dark.
Adding this to the rules.
Rez is probably celebrating local good news. I was catching up with him yesterday night. I'll poke him if I see him tonight.
Could I recommend deleting/moving the three posts between Rat's sheet and mine so that the character sheet thread only has sheets, and discussion is handled here?
I've posted a preliminary sheet.
Still have to distribute 6 points for stats, figure out area of knowledge to focus training on, and as mentioned, background/appearance.
Also undecided between Ward esotery and Push (or possibly Onslaught). Don't really expect to make a really combat-centric character, unless the game calls for it.
Quote from: Merc on June 21, 2014, 03:50:38 PM
Could I recommend deleting/moving the three posts between Rat's sheet and mine so that the character sheet thread only has sheets, and discussion is handled here?
I've posted a preliminary sheet.
Still have to distribute 6 points for stats, figure out area of knowledge to focus training on, and as mentioned, background/appearance.
Also undecided between Ward esotery and Push (or possibly Onslaught). Don't really expect to make a really combat-centric character, unless the game calls for it.
Do whatever you want man. But Onslaught is a good ability to have. Also, you put everything into your intellect pool? Give yourself some hitpoints man!
Well, if you think that combat's a large enough part of the game that a straight out combat ability is needed, I'll go for Onslaught. Push seems more fun, but I can always grab it with experience points later on.
And I didn't put -everything- into intellect pool! I put some into speed too!
Also, resonance field should help with the survival, since I can make intellect-based defense rolls while that's up.
You realise that with 7 Might, it takes exactly two hits from a medium or heavy weapon to kill you, sans armor?
Combat's a part of every game, even if you only stick around for one or two rounds whilst trying to run away from it.
There will be combat. I'm not saying there won't be other things, but yes, you're going to be in combat a lot.
I think I'd misunderstood Resonance Field. I had thought it'd take points off intellect pool instead of might pool if I was hit, but it only lets me use intellect for defense rolls/edge/effort. I'd still take damage off might. Insert sadface for that.
Rat's misunderstanding something too though, as getting might to zero doesn't kill me, it just impairs me. Enemies would still have to go through speed and intellect to actually kill me.
He -is- right that it takes only two hits to do the deed though, but on the other hand...
Well, boosting might to 8 does nothing (still takes only 2 hits from a medium or heavy weapon).
Boosting it to 9-12 increases the number of hits from medium weapon by one, but does nothing for a heavy weapon.
...and boosting it further, well, that just starts getting silly and I might as well have just made a glaive or a jack, with entirely different descriptor and focus. I can't just put all my points into might because I'm afraid of getting impaired.
I probably will increase it at least to 9 by lowering intellect to 21, but committing further just starts really feeling silly, and against concept in my head on top of everything else.
My improvement goals will just have to focuse on getting trained/specialized in intellect defense and getting assets for those, armor bonuses, and more intellect edge. Once I hit tier 2 (if that should happen), THEN I might worry about investing a 4 point boost on might.
If I die? Oh well, lesson learned, and reroll something new. I'm trying a new game system and seeing what works and what doesn't! Sacrifices might be made!
As an FYI, it's totally fine if we're not in combat a lot. It does take ages in a PbP format.
Merc, seeing how you have the skill 'knowledge: Uxphon' I'm assuming youre native to the city or have been in it for some time. Because of this, I'm going to update the setting knowledge thread.
I'm not going to dictate your character. That would be a big mistake. I'm just suggesting you might want to shift your points to have your might pool at 10 points. But feel free to ignore me!
I'll update my sheet this coming week (I have a four day weekend for the 4th of july weekend, so for sure I'll have background by end of monday 7th).
Any sightings of Rez? Or going to try to dig up any other PBP players/just use what you have?
That guy. Drac, go yell at him.
Still waiting on Rez, unless you guys can find someone willing to play.
That guy vanished from the nets. :(
So it seems.
Sadness. Yeah, haven't been keeping an eye out as work has buried me. Too bad Rez missed out here.
Officially closed?
Yeah, didn't take off.
Alas!
Kinda want to re-start this...any interest?