Eosin

Re: [uF] Designing a campaign OK, I've thought this through a bit and want to propose a variation. Starting Wizardry: Arcanum Wizard: Variable Power Pool, 30 base + 7 control cost, (45 Active Points); all slots Spell (-1/2), Variable Limitations (requires -1 worth of Limitations; Increased END, Focus, Extra Time, Concentration; -1/2), Incantations (-1/4), Only two spells active at any time Prepared Spell: Variable Power Pool, 45 base + 8 control cost; all slots Spell (-1/2), Variable Limitations (requires -1 worth of Limitations; Increased END, Focus, Extra Time, Concentration; -1/2), VPP takes 6 hours to change (-1/2), Incantations (-1/4), The wizard must reallocate the slot after each use. That covers spellcasting on the fly. ____________________________________________ Each player would also pick a magic specialty that equates to a MPP of very specific attacks. Types of MPPs for Wizards Telekenetic Mind Control Fire Hellfire Biomancy Planetary Powers Etc... _____________________ Finally, there would be the catch all of Power Skills as I mentioned above. RITUAL MAGIC Warding Summoning Alchemy Astral Magic Grand Rites These Power Skills will represent things that will not happen immediately in game but with an hour or so they can be worked out with some items, a magic circle, and an obscure enchantment.

Re: [uF] Designing a campaign Thanks. I'll probably keep it all on my site since I plan on throwing up various webpages to use in the game willy-nilly.

Re: [uF] Designing a campaign More magic notes: Combat Spells will be purchased as above in the VPP but there is far more to wizarding than the ability to sling fire. RITUAL MAGIC Warding Summoning Alchemy Astral Magic Grand Rites These Power Skills will represent things that will not happen immediately in game but with an hour or so they can be worked out with some items, a magic circle, and an obscure enchantment. I'll probably make a list of "ritual spells" from each of these categories and assign them a strait modifier to the roll. Examples: Sanctum Wards (-5 to Warding) by etching, painting, or drawing arcane wards within your sanctum the wizard erects a steady defense against any supernatural creatures that might seek to trespass. Game effect: Hardened Force Wall that intrudes into the astral preventing desolid/teleportation coupled with a Suppression field versus supernatural abilities that affects creatures who bypass the Force Wall. Casting time: 1 day, cost $50 A wizard could easily add +6 to +10 to the roll by taking a few weeks to work the enchantment and lacing the exotic paints with silver and holy water. Additionally, he could purify the area before hand and extend the traditional wards with other words of power. By taking her time adding rare and powerful components and using extra preparations she has turned a difficult roll into an easy roll. I'll assign the modifier to each spell based on how hard I want the effect to be rather than active point costs. For example, it should be difficult to summon a creature but easy to enter the astral realm.

Re: [uF] Designing a campaign Magic Contemplations I am going for a Dresden-ish feel to magic. My ideas so far have boiled down to the following. All wizards have a 30 point VPP... that is what makes them a wizard. There won't be many restrictions on this "core" pool. Each PC will be entitled to 2-3 additional pools that can stack with the base pool. Take Bill the Fire Wizard, he might take Mastery: Fire Magic as his second spell pool. He'd get another 10 point pool but this pool would be limited to fire effects only [40 points total in fire magic]. He could go nuts and elect to spend his third magic pool on fire as well and purchase High Mastery: Fire Magic to net himself another 10 point VPP for fire effects only [40 point VPP total for fire magic] Or he might have selected Domination - a 10 point VPP for mental effects. If he did this Bill the Wizards power would break down as follows... 30 points Cosmic Mage VPP 40 points Fire Magic VPP 40 points Mental Magic VPP Does that make any sense? Part II Spells will be fairly basic in nature without many advantages. Foci will provide advantages and players will pay a set amount of points for each foci based on the total naked advantage that it offers. Most foci will be attuned to a specific magical element as well. For example, Bill the Fire Mage has a Brimstone Rod which adds Penetrating and 1/2 END to all Fire Spells cast with it. He also carries a blasting staff with AE: Explosion, NND [self contained breathing/immunity to fire]. The Wizarding World There will be a number of set effects that are simply part of the game world rather than things that must be purchased such as a promise from a supernatural being must be kept to the letter else it diminishes your power. Threshold magic, etc...

Re: [uF] Designing a campaign The first two hurdles... The campaign name 1. Crimson - vague but evocative. 2. Advent - religious connotations, means "coming" 3. Wayward Sons - includes the nifty lyrics to the song "Carry on My Wayward Son" which fits perfect for an arcane type of game. The campaign city 1. Hudson City - It probably should have been destroyed but I got the cool sourcebook and taking out the costumed weirdos is easy. 2. San Fransisco - oddest city in the USA with a metric ton of websites dedicated to the weirdness. I've been there. 3. Chicago - an odd city with a bloody history. There are more RPG books on Chicago than any other town which would allow me to poach off other settings.

Re: [uF] Designing a campaign Campaign Concept Players Information: Current date is 2021 In 2012 the world nearly came to an end. At least that is the view held in the United States after the detonation of the Zero Point Warhead in New York or Washington D.C. [the origin is still debated]. Even after years of speculation, the Zero Point Event is poorly understood and no one voice of credibility has risen to dispel the many rumors. Most citizens of the United States believe that the Zero Point Event was the detonation of an experimental weapon developed by North Korea or Iran with the aid of China. However, such a theory leaves many unexplained questions such as how it could have been developed in total secrecy and how was it deployed without any advanced warning. Another major theory is a meteor-strike on the Eastern seaboard. Historic impacts have incinerated hundreds of square miles and gouged massive craters into the Earth. A meteor laced with radioactive minerals or unknown items of stellar origin could explain many of the hazards and weird events since the Zero Point Event.Regardless of what caused the Zero Point Event, America was dealt a crippling blow that would bleed her strength for generations. Nine years later the world is a different place. America is different. It isn’t just the unprecedented loss of life, the world is truly different. The cable channels won’t run the stories but occasionally a story leaks into smaller – private – news channels about men and women who are more than human. Anyone who cares to peer deeply into the darkest alleys understands that things – predators – stalk the unwary. Some believe the predators are unfortunate victims of the Zero Point Warhead. Men and women warped and mutated by the unnatural energies released by the bomb but dozens of obsessive websites offer proof that something much worse lurks in the shadows. Conspiracy theories offer aliens, demons, vampires, even intelligent insects as the cause of the suffering during the last decade. No one believes their deluded tales but no one walks down the darkened allies of America without good reason and a large firearm. America is a dark and dangerous place. The shining beacon on the hill wavers and threatens to falter in the long, dark night. Key Concepts: • More than 40 million US Citizens are dead or missing. • The Eastern Seaboard is a wasteland. The following cities are assumed to have been completely destroyed; Washington D.C., Boston, Albany, New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, Richmond, and Annapolis. • Civil Liberties are not as civil as they once were. • The Military Police exist to control the population not provide justice. • Corporate powers employ their own security. • Private Security Contractors and mercenary groups have grown even more. • Violent crime has escalated beyond anything ever seen in the US. • Disappearances aren’t unusual, they are common. • History is close but not exactly like the real world. • Magic was once difficult to master but real. Now it has become far more common spawning covens and traditions as well as energizing older traditions. • Supernatural encounters have surged since the Zero Point Event but the general population still does not believe. The US government works through state run media and news outlets to keep it that way. • Tech level is slightly more advanced that the "now" but not as pervasive. Fewer people own computers, public internet access is filtered but a second freer internet has thrived. GPS and satellite technology has faltered and stagnated. The space program is dead. That kind of stuff. Player Character Keys: • Monster Hunters Campaign • Western Theme to the game [players are on their own] • Magic is Encouraged [Full Wizard, Magic Weapon, Arcane Background] • The Spirit world will be a moderate part of the game [ghosts, spirit world] • There will be numerous bad guys [spirits, demons, vampires, wizards, criminals, corporations]. Zero Point Event The most popular theories according to web traffic: • The event was a terrorist attack [North Korea, Iran, China, Islamic Extremists, Fundamentalists]. • The event was caused by a scientific experiment that accelerated out of control. • The event was caused by aliens [insectoids hibernating in brains, Hyper-intelligent spirit invaders, and classical greys]. • The event was caused by “god” and is the beginning of the “end times.” [or Shiva’s Rebirth] • The event is a hoax [uS government, Corporate Interests]. The theories have points that make them appealing to those with certain mind-sets, but they obviously have problems as well. Even the most reputable explainations fall short. Also, the rise of other phenomena poses a problem for the more rationale explanations. Far more people are willing to believe in supernatural powers and events than they were prior to 2012 but the true believers are still considered odd-fellows by much of the general public. Some believe that the Zero Point Event and the rise in supernatural encounters are connected at some fundamental level that has yet to be explained but just as many who claim to “believe” view the increased supernatural activity and the Zero Point Event as two separate events.

So, in a few months I'll be starting up an Urban Fantasy campaign. This is the thread where I'll work up all the GM stuff and pan-handle for ideas and refinement. If you are a player in my game STOP READING NOW. This thread will spoil the game. I'd like to take this game to a whole level beyond what I normally do when I run. Fairly hefty challenge. It means that I will need to operate outside of my comfort zone as a GM and use tools that are unfamiliar or awkward for me. A quick brainstorm of those ideas include: Songs - either to set the mood or reveal a bit of foreshadowing. Webpages - find or design sites that will see direct use in the game. Pictures of real locations. Mood setting items [low light, voice, unusual snacks that appear in the game] DM dirty tricks to set the mood and/or increase the creep factor. Each of these will need to be planned and timed well and not overused to achieve the proper effect. I'm open for ideas here on things to use so offer them at any point in this conversation. Please.

Re: Sixth Edition Showcase #3: Area Of Effect And Damage Shield Excellent. Both the rules and the layout.

Re: [Campaign] The Last Dominion GM ADD. Responsible for the lifeless husks of healthy young campaigns dumped into alleyways and dusty binders all across America. A crime that eats away at the very core of the best and brightest story arcs. I call for the formation of an investigative committee - Gamers Requiring Ongoing Kampaigns [GROK!]. Together we can make a stand. Together we can make a difference.

Re: [Campaign] The Last Dominion Maniac - here is the deal. I haven't been in a position to run a game for a good spell because of my schedule but that will change in Aug-Sept. So, I'll start running a game sometime around there. The catch is that I haven't decided if I want to pick up where we last left out Heroes or if I want to run an Urban Fantasy game. I'll make a decision by next Saturday so that the group can all start getting things collected and orient themselves toward whichever campaign. I'm in an Urban Fantasy mood but I'd also like to advance this story some and I feel an obligation to run the game I have rather than make up a new one. We'll just have to wait and see [for a week anyway]. Tomorrow I re-build all the characters and start typing up the final campaign logs. I have a good idea on the first return adventure (if we resume) so it is just a matter of finding the spirit of fantasy and breathing it to life. I'll make sure that you get a story within the week one way or another just so you don't feel slighted by the bump.

Re: Finding something Hero System can't model... Wasn't it Archimedes who said, "Give me a large enough variable power pool and a place to stand and I can [mimic any effect] move the world."

Re: Urban Fantasy 'white event' idea

Re: Urban Fantasy 'white event' idea Yeap, if you are going to have nameless horrors it is best to defer to the master. The concept includes the possibility that the warring factions are Cuthulu Mythos. I'll go a step further and say why not make the hypercognition sentient weapon Narlythotep or Hastur? I was just looking for a different take on introducing magic, mythos, and monsters into a UF cyberpunkish game. The big reveal would be that mankind was using the powers of the BBEG to fuel their ability to combat it. That ain't going to work and so the ending is a return to the Mythos condition with futuristic trappings. Same story, different spin. Delta Green with more science & magic, less conspiracy. Cthulutech with less mecha & science fiction and more obliqueness & enlightenment. Mythos tastes great with anything, the key is spicing it correctly and the side dishes.

Re: Urban Fantasy 'white event' idea I've been thinking about these things myself lately. My White Event.... The Public Story In the not too distant future the Earth is struck by a meteor, which sets a chain of events in motion that leads to near global disaster. San Andreas quake. Rise of the seas. A nuclear winter and refreeze. Fast forward 100 years and humanity has mostly recovered although both poles are gone (not destroyed - gone). All the trapping of UF have emerged on earth; vampires, werewolves, demonic entities, wizards, the hole she-bang. There are also some technological-cyber elements. Technology is different but not too much further advanced than our own. The Real Story In 2012 the earth came under attack by a civilization that we cannot comprehend. They weren't actually attacking biological humanity they were seeking to wipe out an enemy who had escaped them via a transdimensional warp. The meteor was a space ship. They launched an attack with a transdimensional weapon - a hypercognitive sentient biological weapon possessed of reality warping powers. It destroys colors, concepts, and beliefs. It alters natural law. It was a weapon so powerful that it failed to sink to a level low enough to eradicate mankind but it did kill the survivors of the meteor ship. Instead of destroying us, it flooded the earth with a wave of pure subluminal power. Very few people understand the real story but those who do fear the hypercognitive weapon is still active and that whoever the enemy is they will soon return. The two interdimensional races may have agents on the earth. Some speculate that this is a war between the Kings of Edom and the Elder Gods while others wager that it is between the Lords of the Fae and the Angelic Host. Whoever is fighting, mankind is no more of a concern than an anthill is to a bombing run.

Re: Knowledge/Profession/Science Skill question In a case like that I'd devise a list of KS, PS, & SS and give them for free as background skills. They are not relevant to the game and exist only to flesh out the characters background. They would be his Everyman skills. Now, said person would need to buy TF cars, KS: TV, and CuK: Earthlings which no other player would have to buy. So it isn't free - it is just spent in less obvious spots.

Re: Shadows Angelus III Campaign Logs I have to get it done while the wife and kids are at church... the cut points always occur as they are walking in the door.

Re: Character Concepts and Appearance, what gets your juices flowing? I have a billion inspired characters locked inside of my skull. Things that at one time I thought would be cool to explore (art, concepts, arctypes). From there I pick the one that I like best (at the moment) and see if it meshes with the genre and setting of the campaign, if not I pick #2 favorite. My current character is a mesh of several of these. The core concept was duality... warring aspects of his life. Bhuddism and Western Magic, an Orphan with a huge family, Sexual but Innocent, even my mechanics are dual... DCV with Half Move but magic that requires a half phase, no fast draw so that it takes a full round to use a weapon.

Re: [shadow Angelus III] Mirko's Journal The Queen Once I regained control over my urge to vomit there wasn't much time to take anything in. I could sense a powerful source of arcane energy in this place between places. It called to me. The monks did not raise a fool. Such easy paths lead to places best left unexamined. I'd need to be mindful of where I drew my magic from. JT recovered quickly, unsurprising since he is mostly machinery. His Mazer cannon shook the ether but dissipated and warped before actually striking the Entity. These amorphous creatures have no gender that we can tell (not that anyone digs too deeply there) but the way she hovered above the Animus Mortis protecting it was almost motherly so I'll refer to this powerful Entity as the Queen. The Queen had no such problems with her etheric blast. I'd seen what happened to Ti when he received one of those things and had no doubt that it would hurt JT. I hurriedly gathered my will into focus and pushed the resonance for the Reflections of Ragnar into this reality. The blast shot harmlessly off my shielding. The speed of the battle was blinding. My companions were falling - well, flying - with alarming regularity. Shilo, Rachael, and Rhonin were down before I could even move to an offensive posture. JT, Ti, and Myself focused on destroying the portal. Rhonin scrambled for his life on the ground, using that otherworldly sword of his to save his skin time after time. Shilo and Rachael were being carried off by lesser Entities - being swallowed in the grayness of eternity. I hesitated for a moment, unsure of my actions. Go after my team mates and save them from unspeakable horrors or attempt once more to destroy the portal. My moment of hesitation distracted me from the claws of the Queen. The mage shield buckled at her slightest touch. She slammed into with more force than I could have ever imaged was possible - a collision with the business parts of a particle canon might have hurt less. I rolled with the attack, maybe it is more accurate to say the blow hurtled me through the air for considerable distance. I remember thinking that I needed to break my fall. The only problem was that my body was no longer listening to my commands. I woke up on the cold steel floor of XSWAT HQ. My left shoulder was out of socket and I was banged up pretty good. The medic teams strapped me to a rigid board. Eventually I ended up here in room 1212 of Saint Francis Hospital. Shilo is in the room next door. She has had several conversations with the nurses and they are now on a crusade to have me walk more. I just wish I had some regular clothes instead of this open robe. I have no doubt that I'll be indecently exposed. Dad came by earlier. It is so alien to think of having a father besides Gyatsu. It felt good. The more I discover my family and my powers, the less of me I become. I sense the day is coming when I will have to choose between my life and my faith. Desire leads to Suffering. I know this but I cannot reject the desire to belong with my family or to continue with this job that places such a strain on me physically, mentally, and spiritually? I should reject this magic and this life. It is the right thing to do for my spirit. But is doing so not placing my needs above the needs of so many others? Would the rejection of my path be submission to the ultimate desire and also a rejection of my faith? There are no answers within this bed. There are only questions that I am not wise enough to answer.

Re: [shadow Angelus III] Mirko's Journal March 24th I should have plenty of time to catch up with my writing and studies, they don't let you do much else in the hospital. I've tried to get out and walk some but the robe they make you wear is awful. The nurses are amazing. I've had a steady line of bubblegum smacking female nurses coming in since I got here to check my wounds, even though they are not that extensive. Doctor Mardi, a plodding man of Mediterranean descent, just left. He thinks I'll be fine, just some cracked ribs and an unidentified inflammatory response. He really had no idea how to quantify the Entity Sickness. I can leave in the morning but he told Kelly, my nurse, that I could stay an extra night if the nurses thought it would be good for morale. Anyway, it has taken me a few days to get around to updating the journal. We got the Animus Mortis back to XSWAT headquarters without too many problems. There was an incident involving some Christian knights in powered armor but I was too busy containing the Animus Mortis to pay much attention. Rachael went out and spoke with them and before long our caravan was on the move again. I don't remember falling asleep that night. ****** The next two days were a blur of activity. Tiberius called me every ten minutes to ask bizarre questions. People think magic is strange, wait 'til they get a hold of some of this guys theories. Science is his magic and he is a master at the craft. He is frighteningly smart. I've never thought of myself as slow but it isn't hard to make that assumption when one stands next to titans. I sat with the sutras for several hours. It seems so difficult to liberate myself from worldly concerns these days and I am not sure if it is right to do so? Do I believe that we face creatures from some extra dimensional space - a non-euclidean hell or are these asura, fallen spirits from my faith? How do I maintain a posture of non-violence against writhing horrors from another reality? One would think that magic would answer more questions about religion and the afterlife than it raised, but such is not the case. Magic proves that there is more than a mind-body duality. There is a middle road. A left handed path. There is a soul, but is it an accident of nature or our true shining self seeking perfection? Is it the by-product of dimensional engineering or the true heart of all realities? Science, Magic, Religion... definitely not chocolate and peanut butter. Such thoughts are unworthy and do not lead to enlightenment. I have acknowledged them but I will not give them power over me. I will not wander down paths that lead me further astray. After deciding to reject the arguments of logic, I felt better and in need of activity to purify my body with sweat. This seemed as good an opportunity to visit Rhonin's Dojo as any. We spent the evening mixed with students at various levels learning throws and flying kicks. For many hours I simply was. The worries of Mirko were washed away in the moment to moment drills. I slept in the dojo with the Sensi's blessing. ***** Ti called before dawn. His voice was thick with caffeine and lack of sleep. He was talking about phase particles and something called the doorway dimension. Lunatic or genius? It is such a fine line and I felt that we were about to find out, if we survived. We met in the afternoon. Ti had been to Angelus University where he had discussed his theories with several scholars (who studies dimensional engineering?). They were confidant that the device he had built would shift us out of phase with our reality and into phase with the Animus Mortis where we could destroy it. I am too honest to pretend that I even understood a third of what he said but it sounded exceedingly dangerous. If he was wrong in the slightest, whoever went might be stranded in some nether realm. I felt it most prudent that I go alone since I would have the best chance at survival and perhaps even the chance to return home. While I had been meditating and practicing martial arts, the science team and Tiberius had theorized that the Animus Mortis was like a tube connecting two separate realities. Those realities don't physically touch so they were connected through a third reality. The middle dimension - so to speak. Ti felt we could get behind the Animus Mortis and from there it would be vulnerable to our attacks. It could be destroyed forever. It was worth any risk. That's important because we really had no idea what the risk was. We rested for the evening and prepared to leave (would we really leave? What do you call it?) ***** Deep in XSWAT HQ several ready teams stood by in Blue Steel Power Armor. Other experts were on standby. Alice Cadbury came by and spoke to me for a minute. She provokes something in me that is hard to quantify. She makes it easier. Rachael says she thinks Alice is an angel from the Christian God; however, Rachael thinks everything is from the Christian God. The beliefs of a zealot require scrutiny before acceptance. Still, she may be closer to right than usual. Tiberius had his device. I wondered, in a morbid fashion just before he flipped the switch if this was how the Omega Sector was created? Surely, someone back then sought something much as we seek now. Did Van Goren know what he was risking? Did he factor in the death of thousands as acceptable? Tiberius activated the device. The lurching stillness of the non-movement forced me to retch. We were standing on an infinite gray plane. The Animus Mortis was before us. All we had to do was kill the enormous tentacled thing between us and the picture and survive the attacks of a dozen other horrid creatures. Next Up: Battling the Queen and her Minions

Re: Shadow Angelus We had an interesting and successful game last night but for a little while it looked grim.

Re: Voice of the Ancestors

Re: Naming the baby But 6E will have two core rule books...

Re: Voice of the Ancestors Uncle It: Mindlink - No Conscious Control, Side Effects (physical manifestation of dirge, subject to PER modifiers), Only with Ancestors Detect Ancestors 11- Trigger - when Ancestors play dirge All of the build should go on Uncle It's CS. The players don't spend a point. You can get more specific about the powers of the ghost as needed.

Re: Shadow Angelus I'm trying to beat the 90 all by my lonesome Watson - I'm not sure if you've seen Mirko's Journal. I need to send the updates to Susano but the up-to-date version is here.

Re: Character advancement When we run an X-Man or Avengers game there isn't any XP. When a character has changed enough, in a way we all like, a new character sheet is generated and considered the default. I like it. So, I'd argue that XP need not be a factor for a successful game but that such a game would require characters to be built to design. PCs could evolve over the course of the campaign but only when story line dictated.