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EXCERPT FROM CLASSIFIED INTERVIEW OF HUNTER MURGATROYD

 

Murgatroyd: "Surviving the supernatural requires finding and exploiting just the right amount of stupid."

Interviewer: "Not all supernatural foes are stupid."

Murgatroyd: "Not all survival strategies are aimed at foes."

Interviewer. "Oh. [long pause] I see."

 

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19 minutes ago, Durzan Malakim said:

EXCERPT FROM CLASSIFIED INTERVIEW OF HUNTER MURGATROYD

 

Murgatroyd: "Surviving the supernatural requires finding and exploiting just the right amount of stupid."

Interviewer: "Not all supernatural foes are stupid."

Murgatroyd: "Not all survival strategies are aimed at foes."

Interviewer. "Oh. [long pause] I see."

 

 

A couple of past players took the time to write up Dossiers for their characters...you might have the start of one there...

 

http://www.killershrike.com/HereThereBeMonsters/Campaigns/WeTooUntoDarkness/JonBregg/Dossier.aspx

 

http://www.killershrike.com/HereThereBeMonsters/Campaigns/WeTooUntoDarkness/MilesHendricks/Dossier.aspx

 

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    DrewCloseup.jpg JoeyManegarmDayCloseUp_t.jpg Murgatroyd_t.jpg BarettaColtCloseUp_t.jpg JamesKillroy_t.jpg 

 

I'm using this thread to track the character's progress,  I'll be starting up a separate topic for the adventure itself. As people tell me what they want to spend their XP from last night on, I'll be using this post to keep track of the updated sheets...WilyQ and Scything told me what they wanted on the drive home after the session, so I've updated Joey and Drew.

 

After recalling that lack of  light penalties are a pain, WilyQ wanted Drew to have a flashlight or two, so we bumped up Drew's gear pool a bit to accommodate a cop-style flashlight and also an under-barrel mounted flashlight attachment for his pistol. He also recognized the threat of the pouncey-grabby behavior of the vampires thus far encountered, and thus Drew also recollected some old grappling training he hasn't had to use in a while but "used to be good at" (we added an escape maneuver to his CQB martial art, which he's "always known" but not yet had reason to demonstrate knowing...nothing to see here, just a bush, move along citizens... :)). We also swapped a maneuver he's never used (Nelson!) for a very similar maneuver which traded 1D6 NND for Target Falls (Ground & Cuff) which suits Drew's style better as actually played. Future XP will likely see Drew starting to carry zip ties or cuffs, but no room in the budget currently. @WilyQuixote

 

Scything was happy with finding a niche of being "the tech-savvy" member of the group, so he fleshed out Joey's Computer Programming skill. @Scything

 

Murgatroyd  mastered a new trick with his Ring of Arcane Blasts, tuning the beam of energy to take on other properties...such as emulating UV light for the pragmatic purpose of giving vampires sunburns. @Durzan Malakim

 

Baretta has a new fitness trick that allows her to push herself to a heightened response time, but it tires her out (limited SPD). {still under negotiation, so subject to change prior to her next appearance} @Steve

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2 hours ago, Durzan Malakim said:

Clarifying question: How do skill levels apply to the skill level cap of 14 or less? If I bought a +1 with all Knowledge Skills level would it apply to skills at the cap or would it essentially convert into a penalty skill level?

 

I allow All Skill and Overall Levels to be applied over Maxima up to 17-. At these point levels 10-12 points is a major investment so I make them worth it.

 

So if you have Hermetic Lore 14- and an Overall Level you can apply the OL to Hermetic Lore for 15-

 

If you had a All KS Level and Hermetic Lore 14- and were attempting a roll with no penalties, it would still be 14-; if there were a -1 penalty for some reason (perhaps doing a Hermetic Lore task in less time) you could apply the All KS level for a modified 14- (-1, +1).

 

I'm a reasonable guy; if Murgatroyd had an All KS level and wanted to switch spells in his VPP faster than normal, and you wanted to apply the KS level to offset a situational penalty for rushing, I'd let you do it with the understanding that if you fail the Hermetic Lore roll, you have to start over on switching out the spells...and as you've experienced I keep the pace rapid most of the time so you often wont have time to start over in practice. But 14- is 90.7% so odds would be in your favor.

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13 hours ago, Durzan Malakim said:

Clarifying question: How do skill levels apply to the skill level cap of 14 or less? If I bought a +1 with all Knowledge Skills level would it apply to skills at the cap or would it essentially convert into a penalty skill level?

 

@Durzan Malakim If you are looking for something to spend your 4 XP on, you might consider buying an ability something like this...

 

Ring Mastery:  Variable Special Effects (Limited Group of SFX; UV, Fire; +1/4) for up to 45 Active Points of Blast (11 Active Points); OIF (Ring; -1/2), Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Linked (Ring of Arcane Blasts; -1/2); Real Cost: 4

 

That would save you the hassle of wasting VPP space and action econ to cast a spell to get that effect. As time elapses, you could even dump more XP into that and upgrade it from Variable SFX to Variable Advantage.

 

 

It would look something like this (quick pass):

 

http://www.killershrike.com/HereThereBeMonsters/Characters/durzan/Murgatroyd/159/Murgatroyd.HTML

 

 

 

 

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Consider it bought. I like spending XP based on actual character experiences. If I understand the Extra Time requirement correctly, Murgatroyd would have to use the Variable SFX first as a Full Phase, and then on another phase actually cast the spell it applies to. Is that the intended mechanism?

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27 minutes ago, Durzan Malakim said:

Consider it bought. I like spending XP based on actual character experiences. If I understand the Extra Time requirement correctly, Murgatroyd would have to use the Variable SFX first as a Full Phase, and then on another phase actually cast the spell it applies to. Is that the intended mechanism?

 

Nope, its not a spell...it's a learned ability. You can use the ring normally OR as a full phase action and +2 END you can use the ring w/ Variable SFX applied.

 

As a side note, I let you get away with a free Invisible Power Effects with the UV is not visible to the human eye bit as it was fun in the moment, but it isn't completely invisible to sight...the black light effect on everything in its path is visible. However, it is certainly much less visible and "wow that's obviously supernatural" than a ray of magical energy would normally be, so it also offers a sort of stealthy ghetto IPE in a pinch...particularly in daylight and particularly particularly in California where most people wear sunglasses with UV filters during the day...even vs targets that are not vulnerable to UV.

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24 minutes ago, Killer Shrike said:

As a side note, I let you get away with a free Invisible Power Effects with the UV is not visible to the human eye bit as it was fun in the moment, but it isn't completely invisible to sight...the black light effect on everything in its path is visible. However, it is certainly much less visible and "wow that's obviously supernatural" than a ray of magical energy would normally be, so it also offers a sort of stealthy ghetto IPE in a pinch...particularly in daylight and particularly particularly in California where most people wear sunglasses with UV filters during the day...even vs targets that are not vulnerable to UV.

 

Thank you. I got carried away in the moment, but yes, I agree that characters have to pay points for the game effects they use. It's a good thing we gathered up the recorded evidence after the fact, since it would clearly show a beam of light striking someone and then that person taking damage and dying. At best, it might have been misidentified as high tech laser weaponry or a weird new taser rather than magic. At worst, I'd have created another mess needing clean up. Perhaps there is a mess to clean up? We'll find out next time on... Here There Be Monsters [cue theme music].

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I'll read up on Variable SFX, but perhaps I should consider a spell to create Images around the blasting ring. The intent would be an illusion/glamor on the ring so that people mistake the type of Blast as something actually possible in the real world like a gun. Until I have enough XP for Images all the time, I can add Images (gun in hand) to any spell I want to mask. Adding Images as a Naked Advantage could then be Murgatroyd's next XP expenditure.

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You could do that, but IPE would be more direct. If you upgraded Variable SFX to Variable Advantage w/ Arcane Blasts over time, you could swap out for whatever was most useful in the moment...IPE, 0END, AoE, Variable SFX, whatever...it's in the future at any rate, so we can figure it out when / if it becomes relevant. I wouldn't worry about it in the meantime.

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Would this be acceptable?

 

A Perfectly Rational Explanation:  Invisible Power Effects (Magical SFX to Mundane SFX; +1/4) for up to 45 Active Points of Blast (11 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1), OIF (Ring; -1/2), Linked (Ring of Arcane Blasting; -1/2), Incantations (Appropriate FBI Deadly Force Warning; -1/4), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4); Real Cost: 3

 

I believe I have the XP to purchase it and take me to 159 points total.

 

Murgatroyd_159_ks.hdc

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I thought I had enough unspent XP to purchase both. See the attached HDC file above for the accounting. If the HDC numbers are wrong and I only have enough XP for one or the other, then I want the Variable SFX and will pick up the IPE naked power advantage later.

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I can't look at the file currently (working) but off the top of my head you had 0 XP in the tank (we spent your remaining 3 points from last go around on +1 Supernatural Resistance), and you gained 4 XP in this last session, so...you can't afford a 4 point and also a 3 point power.

 

Now, if you like, given you haven't actually used that +1 point of SR as it did not come up in the session, I'm ok with bumping your SR back down to 5 to free up 3 points, leaving you with 7 XP to spend...your call. I want you to be happy with where your character is at.

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I also like the bond that Murgatroyd and Drew are developing, and the same thing goes for Beretta and Killroy too. I enjoy the relationships between characters because it adds a more fun role playing aspect to the game. Some of our characters used the abilities they just got, or ones that they hadn't used before in this session which I thought was cool as well. On the combat side, I feel like everyone who got a chance to fight did their job, and nobody has taken body yet. Overall, after looking at the overall session, I believe we all played our roles in the expected and unexpected ways which just allows our characters to show their true colors. Had Lots of Fun!

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12 minutes ago, Killer Shrike said:

Ya, it's interesting to me as the GM to see relationships between the characters form over time. Adds a lot to the interplay.

From a players standpoint it's also cool to see as well, especially when the relationships are comedic and productive. 

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