Shadowsoul

Re: Help with theme archer Yes a metal bow made by Hephaestus sounds good. It'd justify high damage on the basic attack. Since Athene is wisdom and war combined "Find Weakness" seems reasonable and would be quite suitable to a ranged character. The Aegis shield would be very helpful as well mind you. An RKA with Autofire might work for Ares since he was more bloodthirsty and brutal than Athene. Or some kind of berserk ability. I'd agree that Poseidon should get in on the action. The earthquake suggestion was good. Though he was also the lord of horses so perhaps a summonable steed to carry her into battle and allow her to keep up with the speedsters and fliers. Hera was very big on faithfulness. (You can hardly blame her when you consider that she was married to a god who seduced or raped everything from his squire/cupbearer to his own mother). Perhaps a scroll upon which unbreakable oaths could be inscribed would suit her. (It would probably be a Drain or Transform that only kicked in if the target broke their bargain). Or an attack that only harms the unfaithful. A lie detector could be suitable as well. Or an arrow that will hit its target no matter where they are in the world, as long as they have been unfaithful or treacherous. Or just another summon, she seems to have been quite good at pitting people she didn't like against monsters. Perhaps she could give the archer arrows tipped with dragon's teeth that grow into armoured hoplites when they touch the ground. Dionysus is not as pleasant as you might think either. His female followers, the Maenads, had a nasty tendency to rip men apart witht heir bare hands. Borrowing from their power could give the archer a close combat ability such as enhanced strength, a HKA or a few Drunken Master style Martial Arts. Mind altering side effects should complete the package. Hades could provide arrows that strike Desolidified characters or 'ghost arrows' that pass through armour and strike the soul itself, (NND). Or perhaps an arrow dipped in the wine of the Underworld that when fired into a corpse prevents the target's soul from ever being resurrected.

Re: Oriental Dwarf Martial arts I think the sickle and chain weapon sounds the most interesting. Naginatas may be good for overcoming the disadvantages of short stature but that same lack of height will make the more impressive spear-stunts quite difficult. Unless they incorporate a lot of pole vaulting into their attacks, perhaps a double-bladed spear would work. A chain weapon on the other hand can swing and slash around a master while he stays calmly rooted to the spot. Also good for dealing with range issues and sweeping the legs out from under arrogant tall-folk, (literally cutting them down to size). D&D did adapt a race from Ainu mythology for their oriental dwarves and you might want to look at the source material for them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koro-pok-guru Their agility and low level of technology would suggest unarmed martial arts. But perhaps they interbred with Western Dwarves who taught them to fight with axes. The hybrid art that emerged would rely on speed and agility to avoid attacks followed up by blistering ripostes from the axe.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... A thought for AA's Things That Go Bump Campaign. Must remember never to send Louise food shopping with Penny. As a psychologist she'd have to report that kind of behaviour to someone.

Re: Magesight I'd probably write it up as Uncontrolled Telepathy. Don't forget that the target gets the same amount of information as the Wizard, it can be more of a hindrance than a help.

Re: Need help making this work True enough. You don't have to tell them what they are going to turn into but you should warn them that the power level is going to rocket up at some point. Players who have joined a game described as a low powered and gritty adventure involving a band of competent normals may not be too impressed when their characters are turned into all-singing all-dancing ultimate power wielders.

Re: Need help making this work This is how I see it. You're aiming to get the players interested in their characters as people. So get them to focus on a detailed personality concept rather than a character concept or skillset. The first session should not only provide a mild challenge of some sort but also create plenty of opportunities for non-combat roleplaying. If this game is to work then each PC should be interesting and/or fun to play regardless of whether or not he or she is slaughtering enemies left, right and centre. Encourage the players to create in-jokes amongst the group and relationships between their characters such as romances or rivalries. Splitting the party from time to time and giving each sub-group a different goal might well help with the power issues and keep the players interested. And I should point out that some of the bumpkins in Wheel Of Time already had some abilities. One of them was quite strong for example and another was quite cunning. They aren't going to start off as completely blank slates. As long as they are all thinking along different lines strategically then the others shouldn't feel useless even when one of them turns into a world shattering mage or inhuman hero. You could also mitigate this problem by giving out XP at an unusually fast rate and allowing characters to develop quite quickly even before they discover that they are the Seeker Of Truth or the most powerful Wild Mage ever born. I'd agree with GA that it might be good to give the players a vague idea of what they are shooting for but if you can get them to agree to the original concept then good luck to you. All in all this is going to be difficult but sounds like it could turn out to be a very interesting and satisfying rping experience. I salute you for attempting this thing BTW. I'd recommend David Drake's Lord of The Isles series for source material. It also has a bunch of young nobodies ending up as kings, wizards, time-travellers and so on. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Isles_(David_Drake)

Re: Byronic Hero I'd have to give players leeway to break out of the Byronic mold to some extent. Or even to go in a completely different direction as long as they fitted into the period.

Re: Freeport Resources? I looked Freeport up to see what all the fuss was about and although I didn't notice any Hero resources I did stumble across this site which may be of use. Dreams Of Freeport.

Re: Anyone run a Starcraft setting

Re: My Bodyguard Guarding his back is always useful. If it's not then you could always try making their world more dangerous and/or expanding the bodyguard's role. How are you on magical transformations? In a high magic world the first thing that a bodyguard should give up is sleep. Either by having a mage transform him so he doesn't need sleep or by providing him with an artefact that achieves the same. That way he can stand over his sleeping master with a drawn sword and wait for the assassins to come. It does, after all, take some time to get into armour. In combat terms there are plenty of things that can get through armour. Magical weapons wielded by a cult of assassins. Spells. Armour piercing crossbows designed to bring down heavily armoured opponents. Aside from running off and killing people who are shooting at his charge the bodyguard could buy a limited Arrow Cutting (Missile Deflection) ability, only to defend his master of course. Then there are healing abilities which he could learn to help his master recover from the effects of a dangerous world. Curing magical or real diseases, purging poison, knitting flesh and removing curses. Alternatively the bodyguard could expand his protective role into areas that a heavily armoured and highly visible knight is going to struggle with. E.g. Spy, Assassin, Investigator. Skill sets could include. Stealth, Climbing, Acrobatics. Abilities which will allow him to chase after assassins or sneak into the houses of his master's enemies in order to spy on them. Or to quietly murder an enemy before he threatens his master. High Society for finding out which noble house is about to cause trouble. And perhaps for spotting less obvious dangers to his charge's wellbeing such as predatory females hoping to seduce him into a disadvantageous marriage or foreign spies looking to extract information from him. Seduction might also be useful for this kind of thing. He could also go for a more enforcer style approach, Interrogation, Streetwise, Acting, Persuasion and so on which would allow him to test the mood of any place they visit and extract information from any potential hostiles amongst the commoners or criminal elements. If none of this suits and the two characters are close then perhaps the nobleman might contrive to have his bodyguard ennobled, (legally or illegally). If he can get away with it then the bodyguard can be turned into a squire and get access to heavier armour while suddenly having to deal with a whole new range of social and physical challenges. This might justify learning some of the social skills I mentioned above as the bodyguard tries to accomodate himself to the elite society that he now finds himself in.

Re: Byronic Hero Anubis Gate certainly looks interesting bigbywolfe. It certainly seems to be very complicated, which is always a plus. Maybe I'll check it out once I get through my current load of books. Nice to know that someone would actually play this game if I did run it Lucius. To be honest I think it would only work online but I understand if you're not interested in pbp. I have plenty of more mainstream ideas for my next campaign if this one doesn't turn up much interest. And to be honest my life is about to get a lot busier so maybe I should think of toning down the gming rather than dialling it up. Eh, let's see if there are any other responses.

Just an idle thought inspired by a misreading of a post in the thread 'how do you like your fantasy games.' Snapdragon made a reference to a Byronic Hero and for a moment I thought someone had actually created a Hero setting based around Lord Byron. (Silly really because I've come across the term before). But now I'm wondering if it might not be such a bad idea. The setting would be Europe in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The plot would be a departure from the norms of Fantasy Gaming in which the players play dilettantes who move carelessly through a world of adventure, romance and perhaps even supernatural horror. They may worry only about the obstacles in their path or they may be riven by internal doubts, fears and obsessions, it would be up to the individual players to decide how 'Byronic' their characters would be. The setting draw upon a mixture of contemporary romance and adventure tales as well as gothic stories such The Monk, Mysteries of Udolpho and Byron's own writings such as The Vampyre and The Giaour. The players are out for themselves and do not have to work together, in an online version they may even be rivals from time to time. They may encounter mysteries and supernatural events but they do not make a living from solving such problems. Instead they pursue the dictates of their own natures, searching for love, excitement or fabulous wealth. The characters do not have to be amoral or even immoral but there would be a strong element of romantic goals and self oriented adventures. You might do something to help a friend but you probably wouldn't do it for a stranger. Freedom and player input would be very important. Player characters can travel around Europe at will, limited only by their desires and their means. You might choose to start alongside another PC and play a couple of young aristocrats sowing some wild oats while taking the Grand Tour of Europe or throw yourself into the deep end by playing the part of a Radcliffesque heroine trapped in a gothic castle by a malicious relative or cruel kidnapper. Or if that doesn't appeal then you could always be the handsome young rescuer hoping to free said heroine or perhaps a dissolute Byron clone looking to gain a little fun from the situation. You could spend time as a mercenary in Italy, then try your hand at being an amateur vampire hunter Germany before travelling to France in search of the perfect mistress only to escape the wrath of a jealous lover by fleeing to London and funding your attempts at breaking into the business world by moonlighting as a highwayman. There would be plenty of human enemies such as angry husbands, fathers and brothers, creditors, agents of the law, romantic rivals, bandits, soldiers and so on. But characters might also encounter the supernatural foes, devils in disguise, seductive vampires such as Lord Ruthven or Carmilla and perhaps even the hideous creature build by Doctor Frankenstein. While there would be a supernatural element this setting would stay reasonably close to its historical origins. So although players wouldn't have to know anything about Eighteenth Century Europe they'd have to make some effort to fit in e.g. speaking politely while in polite society and not using modern standards of morality, (always tricky). On the other hand pointing out flaws in the GM's depiction of Eighteenth Century history might result in a dragon eating your character. In the tradition of the less scandalous books of the age the results of any succesful seductions would be kept tastefully off camera. So, would Byronic Hero actually appeal to anyone else? Or am I just blowing smoke here?

Re: how do you like your fantasy games Mid to high with an emphasis on 'Kewl Powerz'. Heh, maybe I'll mature with age.

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy That's fine to. You can have 5 point mail btw. Jacket, trews, gloves and a hood. You can have a pair of trollskin boots as well to complete the look. Or you can stick with mail all the way, it's the same armour value either way. Anyway. You're up. Your character has just been summoned to join the Darkstalkers.

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy That's all fine. However, you have two levels with ranged combat. Don't you want a ranged weapon of some kind? A bow or crossbow? Javelins or throwing blades. Something like that?

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy There are a couple of things we do need to sort out before you hit combat or start discussing philosophy with anything. What religion do you want? Only three members of the old pantheon are still alive these days. The goddess of honour and just war. The god of death, (now styled the preserver due to his attempts to save both the mortal world and his own realm of death). And the trickster god, patron of the cunning, the stealthy and the mad. There is one new goddess who has arisen during the years following the Fall/Final Wars. She is the goddess of new life, change and chaos and is the patron of mutants. She is rumoured to be opposed to the god of death. And what are you equipped with? You can have your pick of weapons but you should go easy on the armour. It's hard to find decent stuff these days. You can have some other stuff like rope and the like as long as you don't get too carried away.

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy Ok then. I'll accept your application and then you can upload the character. I'll introduce you once you do that. Just let me know if there are any problems.

Re: Help build Sin Eater Well I guess the gaining of the memories would look like this. Sin Eating 1: Retrocognitive Clairsentience (Mental Group), Discriminatory, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (67 Active Points); Gradual Effect (1 Week; -2), Retrocognition Only (-1), Limited Power Target's Sins/Emotions Only (-1), Conditional Power Must Kill Target In Ritual Fashion (-1). 11 And the actual transfer of sins, (presuming that it actually happens and is not a delusion), would look something like this. Sin Eating 2: Minor Transform 8d6 (Sinful Person Into Innocent Person), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (120 Active Points); Conditional Power Must Kill Target In Ritual Manner (-1), Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Transfers Sins To Character; -1), All Or Nothing (-1/2). 34

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy No serious problems with the build. You won't find a lot of use for Mechanics however and you might want to change Streetwise to the setting specific 'Roadwise' skill which is more applicable to nomadic encampments, chance meetings in the wilderness and the like. The origin story looks to be set in the time of the Final Wars. This would unfortunately make the character over a hundred years old and since he is a vanilla human he really shouldn't be breathing at his age, let alone adventuring. Otherwise this character is perfectly acceptable. He's less colourful than your first two options but he will encounter less social difficulties, (or roleplaying opportunities as I like to call them). You are, of course, welcome to write up your original ideas or any other concepts that come to mind before you commit to this concept. I assume that you're happy with the build as is but have no problem with hanging on if you choose to tweak him before joining the game. If you're happy with him then we need only edit his origin story a bit before he's ready to play. The crudest way to make him fit would simply be to say that he was caught up in a Wyld Magic storm and was eventually dumped many years in the future. But you may well be able to come up with a less heavy-handed edit. I suppose a rogue-type who grew up in this Post-Apocalyptic world would be more of a treasure hunter than a thief. Even after decades of looting dead people still seem to have the best stuff if only you know where to look. BTW. Once you join the campaign in character you'll gain four 'latecomer's bonus' XP to spend as you wish.

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Avenging Arrow's Urban Fantasy game. The game is about a private organisation created to remove supernatural threats that have invaded earth from other worlds/dimensions. Best without context. Stephen. (NPC and one of the party's superiors). "Ummm ... ok. A fuzzy spot in reality could be bad." And one from a while back. Greg. (A hardened ex-mercenary type with various military skills and a talent for ruthless interrogation). 'Having told the others that he's going to get gas for the oven' "Let's see... I'll take two of the small camp stove cannisters, a plumber's torch, and where do they keep the vice grip pliers..."

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy Cheers. Will do.

Re: A New Dawn. 'Post-Apocalyptic' Fantasy It's always nice to have a player who wants to suit the character to the background rather than the other way around. Unfortunately I have received interest from another potential player so I can not promise you the one free place as he did respond first, (just about), and I work on a first come-first-served basis. I'm sorry to slam the door so soon after opening it but that's just the way things worked out I guess. Nothing is confirmed as of yet so I will certainly let you know if the other potential drops out, breaks contact, insults my mother, demands to play a Terminator or loses his place in some other way. But for the moment he has first priority. The campaign does have quite a high rate of changeover so it is not impossible that another place will open up at some point even if you don't end up taking this one. This has happened several times before when the campaign was overbooked. Therefore it might be worth your while to reserve a place in the queue or even throw around a character concept or two. Thanks for the interest and please do watch this space.

Re: Weapon Look-a-likes A boomerang style weapon might fit the prevailing theme. Particularly because with a sharpened inner edge it could be used as a sort of crude kukri or falcata.

Re: Weapon Look-a-likes Is there a particular reason for why they like curvy weapons? Perhaps a Xena style chakram would be suitable?

Re: Weapon Look-a-likes Some sort of military scythe? Ancient Scottish War Scythe. Fantasy War Scythe. Eighteenth Century War Scythe. Also. Found this while looking for scythes. Eighteenth Century Glaive.