TheRPGSite

Right now I have two hot projects I'm spending time on.

Number one is an update of my Sweet Chariot game from 2003. Sweet Chariot is - in the words of the web-page (http://jalan.flyingmice.com/chariot.html) blurb - "set on the world Chariot, where most of the atmosphere is a deadly narcotic and the people live only on the tops of mountains. The oldest Diasporan-settled world in StarCluster, Chariot was colonized when treachery was overcome by determination. Working within the limits of a hostile world, the Charioteers slowly overcame the natural obstacles in their path, and their culture now is based on steam and natural nuclear fission. The many scattered nations of Chariot are united only by the steam dirigibles that fly over the deadly Deathlands for trade and conquest."

This is an extremely setting-rich game. It is my favorite place to play games in, as the games just write themselves. Its a wierd, twisted setting with plot hooks littered over the landscape like chunks of uranium. Here's one of the 19 great nations of Chariot - Kukulkan (http://jalan.flyingmice.com/Kukulkan.pdf). That's a sample of the ideosyncratic-but-wierdly-familiar settings found in the game.
 
I'm reformatting the game into a much cleaner style - I was soo bad, and this is my oldest game - and updating the mechanics to StarCluster 2.5/Cold Space level, and putting in some more illos. That is not in question. What I'm wondering is should I do more? Should I drop random chargen entirely, like in FTL Now, or should I keep it? Should I continue to use the percentle task resolution system I used in StarCluster and Cold Space, or should I use the StarPool dice pool T-R system I used in Blood Games II, as this is a more gritty yet wild game? Should I use another T-R system entirely, like StarKarma diceless, or StarRisk risk dice, or StarJAG JAGs dice rollover? It's really a pretty simple matter to switch T-R systems. Choices!

The other game I'm working hot and heavy on right now is In Harm's Way: Wild Blue, about a modern day mercenary soldier/air combat outfit. It's an extension of Aces In Spades and Aces And Angels into the modern day, with jets, and the addition of small unit ground pounder infantry and spec-ops. It's perfect for an RPG - military organization without the military red tape and bureacracy. This one will write itself, I expect. :D

Just keeping folks informed, as per request!

-clash

thanks for the update, clash.  your posts are the only thing that drags me into the design/theory part of this site (then i quickly run back to the rpg area).

i'll have to totally check out the sweet chariot stuff.  may have to incorporate it into my current traveller adventures somehow!  :keke:

Quote from: beeberthanks for the update, clash.  your posts are the only thing that drags me into the design/theory part of this site (then i quickly run back to the rpg area).

i'll have to totally check out the sweet chariot stuff.  may have to incorporate it into my current traveller adventures somehow!  :keke:

Sweet Chariot is an awesome setting - the best I've ever done - but the system needs a lot of work. It's the last remaining vestige of StarCluster 1 left out there. Iused it to prototype most of the changes I made to the SC engine to get to SC 2, but they are... embryonic... in places. Using StarPool would make the game more gritty and pulpish, and using StarKarma would make it less violent, based on my playtests. Decisions! I could always use the percentile system most of my games use, but it may not be the best solution!

-clash

The decision on the system is a tough one. I'm kind of leaning towards percentile. I would keep random character generation, maybe as an option in an appendix.

Quote from: flyingmiceSweet Chariot is an awesome setting - the best I've ever done - but the system needs a lot of work. It's the last remaining vestige of StarCluster 1 left out there. Iused it to prototype most of the changes I made to the SC engine to get to SC 2, but they are... embryonic... in places. Using StarPool would make the game more gritty and pulpish, and using StarKarma would make it less violent, based on my playtests. Decisions! I could always use the percentile system most of my games use, but it may not be the best solution!

-clash

For some reason, percentile dice are starting to feel dated for me. I loved the % dice roll-over in Spacemaster and liked the roll-under from Star Frontiers, but lately in games (including one version of my own sci-fi homebrew), the percentile just felt a bit outdated and clunky. I'm starting to wonder if we really need more than 20 random points (i.e. should we just stick to a d20 or less). Why not convert all those d100 games to d20 by dividing everything by 5.

I like sci fi to be gritty and deadly. It doesn't have to be violence, but by that I mean it doesn't have to focus on combat, but if there is combat, it should be dangerous.

Whatever you do, don't go diceless! I still love dice. Cards don't cut it either.

Why not try something new altogether. Not SC2, not Starpool, not Star Karma - something fresh. What else have you had stewing around that you've been dying to try out? Die step mechanics? Other variations on the dice pool?

Those are a few off the cuff opinions, for what they're worth.

Cheers,
Jeff

Quote from: brettmbThe decision on the system is a tough one. I'm kind of leaning towards percentile. I would keep random character generation, maybe as an option in an appendix.

If I keep Random Generation, it would be best in chargen. I'm leaning towards percentile too, if only because that would be the least change, and I love this game so much as it is.

-clash

Quote from: GoOrangeFor some reason, percentile dice are starting to feel dated for me. I loved the % dice roll-over in Spacemaster and liked the roll-under from Star Frontiers, but lately in games (including one version of my own sci-fi homebrew), the percentile just felt a bit outdated and clunky. I'm starting to wonder if we really need more than 20 random points (i.e. should we just stick to a d20 or less). Why not convert all those d100 games to d20 by dividing everything by 5.

I like sci fi to be gritty and deadly. It doesn't have to be violence, but by that I mean it doesn't have to focus on combat, but if there is combat, it should be dangerous.

Whatever you do, don't go diceless! I still love dice. Cards don't cut it either.

Why not try something new altogether. Not SC2, not Starpool, not Star Karma - something fresh. What else have you had stewing around that you've been dying to try out? Die step mechanics? Other variations on the dice pool?

Those are a few off the cuff opinions, for what they're worth.

Cheers,
Jeff

Hi Jeff! Thanks for your opinion! I've been playing around with a few different T-R systems, but nothing too oddball. I really don't like complex dice systems - ORE is an utter nightmare for me - So they are all fairly straightforward implementations of already existing concepts.

The wierdest one is probably my own implementation of Kyle Aaron's Risk Dice called StarRisk. Roll as many six sideds as you want to, but the total has to be under the TN. If you roll a number of dice which can't possibly total the TN - for example rolling 1d6 to get under 13 - you get one success. That's an automatic success, but not a very good success. For each die over that number - say rolling 3d6 to get under 13 - you get an extra success. 3d6 under 13 would gain 2 successes, while 4d6 would net 3 successes. Like StarPool, the number of successes improves your quality.

I just asked my son Klaxon, who co-wrote Chariot with me. He said the best fit system to that setting is hands down StarPool, because it's gritty and flamboyant at the same time. I think I agree... The flavor of StarPool is very right.

-clash

The fun of designing Glorianna is designing a completely different society, wildly successful, yet distinct and nothing like what has gone before. The basis is Cultural Emulation, which is a concept that the Slowboats which came to the Cluster from Earth used to keep their people functional during the long (1200-1800) year journey from Earth.

The following is from Sweet Chariot:

The first slowboats packed a mixed colonist/crew from various ethnic and national backgrounds and assumed that they would work out any differences over the long voyage. This worked well for the first interplanetary colonies, and even for the Alpha Centauri colony, which was only a 40 year voyage at
0.1c speeds. When the colony ships left for more distant systems, however, there were several ugly incidents ranging from tensions between groups to bloody ethnic violence.

It appeared that under the pressure of very long voyages, the societies of
the ships were fracturing. Two factors seemed to be working against the colonists. The first was standard factionalism between non-homogeneous societies, each attempting to preserve as much of its own social processes as possible in the evolving shipboard standard culture. The second factor was
the evolving shipboard culture itself, which caused social trauma to those who were joining or rejoining the culture from decades in cold sleep. During the time they had been sleeping, their entire culture had been radically altered by those awake.

The most commonly used solution was proposed by Dr. Danielle Otukwe of the University of Padua. Dr. Otukwe was a sociologist, and she proposed that the shipboard culture be an artificial one, chosen by the crew from past cultures rather than living ones. This addressed the fractioning factors in several
ways:

• The cultures were equally alien to all the people, lessening the pressures between the Earth cultures present.
• The artificial cultures were intended to be nearly static, drastically lessening the culture shock to a community most of who's members were in cold sleep at any given time.
• The massive effort to learn a new language, new idioms, and new aesthetics served to unite the people of the ship in a common cause.
• Once in place, the artificial culture worked like a natural culture to keep the people united by shared commonalities.

Not all colony ships used the Cultural Emulation method. It was, however, quite commonly used, particularly on those ships with a culturally/ethnically diverse group of colonists, as tended to be the case with the UN launched ships. It seemed to be quite successful, and inspired a number of variants, such as Watch-based emulation rather than Ship-based emulation, where the watches were kept separate rather than blended, and each watch maintained its own cultural emulation.

Back to live typing!

So, in effect, a ship-bourne culture might be Meiji Japanese, or 21st century French, or 18th century British, or whatever, no mater what the passenger's ethnicity. It might also be a combination of several different cultures, which didn't interact much - the Watches, which are those people who are awake at one time. A ship might have had rotating Watches, where the composition of the ship was continually changing as people were put into and taken out of Cold Sleep, or static Watches, where the people were changed in batches after a decade of life awake. Ships with rotating watched used a single ship-wide cultural emulation model, whereas each static Watch could have its own culture.

Glorianna was settled by two slowboats which arrived in the Gloria system nearly simultaneously. While braking, they decided to join together and create a society, because they would have twice the recources, virtually guaranteeing a successful colony.

The ships were the HMS Royal George, owned by the British Royal Family. It carried 20,000 settlers from the UK, who had rotating Watches and a single cultural emulation model - Elizabethan England - and the UN ship Ostfriesland,
carrying 10,000 German, Argentinian, and French settlers, whose cultural emulation models were Frederick the Great's Prussia, Phillip I's Spain, and  France under the Sun King, Louis XIV, respectively.

That's the background of Glorianna. I'll be posting more!

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceI just asked my son Klaxon, who co-wrote Chariot with me. He said the best fit system to that setting is hands down StarPool, because it's gritty and flamboyant at the same time. I think I agree... The flavor of StarPool is very right.

-clash

Of the existing mechanics, StarPool would get my vote as well.

Quote from: flyingmiceThat is not in question. What I'm wondering is should I do more? Should I drop random chargen entirely, like in FTL Now, or should I keep it?

I'm not a fan of random chargen at all. At this stage I definitely prefer point-buy systems.

Quote from: GoOrangeI'm not a fan of random chargen at all. At this stage I definitely prefer point-buy systems.

That's not in question, Jeff. You will be able to create whatever character you want. Right now I have three ways to make a character, Random, Directed, and Template. It doesn't matter which way you go. In FTL Now I went to just Directed and Template, which reduced the page overhead. I also got requests from fans of Cold Space's random generation to put it back in the mix. I like all of these methods for different reasons.

-clash

Quote from: GoOrangeOf the existing mechanics, StarPool would get my vote as well.

Yeah, I'm thinking that. The game itself would best be served with StarPool. I do keep thinking "It's a StarCluster game, set in the Cluster! You should use the StarCluster percentiles!" Luckily, you can play any of my games with any of these mechanics, so it's really not so bad no matter what I eventually go with.

-clash

In the interest of balance: How do you guys manage to write so much?

Quote from: One Horse TownIn the interest of balance: How do you guys manage to write so much?

Coffee.

-clash

Quote from: One Horse TownIn the interest of balance: How do you guys manage to write so much?

Not to barge in on Clash's thread but I am an insomniac. I sleep about 4 hours a night and sometimes not for days. This makes for a lot of time to do things.

I wish we had a general thread like this for all the publishers. It would be neat to compare what is rolling around peoples production schedules.

Good luck Clash. I like the sound of Sweet Chariot. I am getting revved up about a very similar concept (Future Skein) that would be neat to run past you.

Bill

I'm sure there's room for a 'Games in Progress' sticky at the top of this forum.

Quote from: HinterWeltNot to barge in on Clash's thread but I am an insomniac. I sleep about 4 hours a night and sometimes not for days. This makes for a lot of time to do things.

I wish we had a general thread like this for all the publishers. It would be neat to compare what is rolling around peoples production schedules.

Good luck Clash. I like the sound of Sweet Chariot. I am getting revved up about a very similar concept (Future Skein) that would be neat to run past you.

Bill

I sleep about 4 hours a night myself. I once stayed awake for a week on a bet when I was younger. That plus I'm an old man and old men don't sleep well anyway, so I might as well be doing something! :D

Let me know about Future Skein, Bill! Sounds awesome already! :D

-clash

Quote from: One Horse TownI'm sure there's room for a 'Games in Progress' sticky at the top of this forum.

That's a very good idea, Dan! :D

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceThat's a very good idea, Dan! :D

-clash

Exactly! Inbetween writing up the stuff for the SH pbp, i readily admit that my mind is wandering to Ashphalt Horizons...Mad Max the world over! :o

Quote from: One Horse TownExactly! Inbetween writing up the stuff for the SH pbp, i readily admit that my mind is wandering to Ashphalt Horizons...Mad Max the world over! :o

Speaking of the SH PBP...

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceSpeaking of the SH PBP...

-clash

Yeah, i've been pulling double shifts lately. I'll be posting the grand opening tonight or tomorrow morning.

Here's the cover of the new Sweet Chariot:

(http://jalan.flyingmice.com/Chariot-2-cover-small.PNG)

I hope that gets the feel of the game across!

-clash

And this is my latest pic for Glorianna:

(http://jalan.flyingmice.com/Glorianna.jpg)

And yes, it's pure SF, no fantasy.

-clash

Quote from: HinterWeltI wish we had a general thread like this for all the publishers. It would be neat to compare what is rolling around peoples production schedules.

Bill, I don't think Pundit will have a problem with you starting a new thread like this for your projects. After all, it's not for swine purposes :)

Quote from: brettmbBill, I don't think Pundit will have a problem with you starting a new thread like this for your projects. After all, it's not for swine purposes :)

Haven't you heard of Bill's newest game, Hog Attack!?

:D

-clash

Clash, what's the girl with the wings supposed to be?

Quote from: brettmbClash, what's the girl with the wings supposed to be?

Gloriannans are masters of bioengineering. She's a 'fairy', a breeding bioconstruct, about 12 cm tall, that looks like a human with dragonfly wings. They were created at the expense of a Gloriannan Aristocrat and he released hundreds of them as local color, and allowed them to breed freely. They have sweet wordless singing voices, clever little hands, high Psionic potential, and are about as intelligent as a crow. They build big nests near human houses and make utter pests of themselves.

The Gloriannans often make whimsical and sometimes dangerous creatures for color. It makes life interesting.

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceHaven't you heard of Bill's newest game, Hog Attack!?

:D

-clash

O.k. Clash, for the last time man, I told you it is Hog Wars: The Last Bacon and it will be squirrels and pigs in space. I expect realistic scientific consulting from you on the book.

:verkill:


Bill

Quote from: HinterWeltO.k. Clash, for the last time man, I told you it is Hog Wars: The Last Bacon and it will be squirrels and pigs in space. I expect realistic scientific consulting from you on the book.



Bill

PIGS IN SPAAAACE!

Quote from: SilverlionPIGS IN SPAAAACE!

Where do I preorder this?

BTW, Glorianna will contain a new system for creating bio-constructs. Since most constructs will be asexual and do not reproduce, you can get pretty much exactly what you order. You can literally build your character. With the sexual bio-constructs, like the fairies, genetic drift comes into play. A few, a very few, fairies are more intelligent, and are sapient in the human range. There are certain widespread sapient constructs allowed to run wild like that - mermen, kobolds, gargoyles, and unicorns - as well as a few - like fairies - that can become sentient with the right combination of genes.

One of the biggest political issues on Glorianna now is the issue of "downshifts". These are constructs designed to be just slightly below the edge of sapience. They breed sexually, so they are cheap, and play the role of peasants to the Lords. Each batch is a different species, and they cannot crossbreed. They are designed to skirt - or perhaps subvert - the SaVaHuTa anti-slavery laws, and are considered animals, property. If one appears who is sapient, due to the vaguaries of genetic drift, by law they are segregated out and freed. Of course, they have no-one to breed with, so that potential dies out genetically.

-clash

One of the cooler ideas to come along for a game in ages, Clash :)

Quote from: brettmbOne of the cooler ideas to come along for a game in ages, Clash :)

Thanks, Brett! :D

-clash

Glorianna strikes me as Flashman in Space . . . on acid.:D If this is the setting for the recent installment of the StarCluster game you're running, I have to say it's your coolest concept since Cold Space. And you know how much I love Cold Space.

Quote from: JohnnyWannabeGlorianna strikes me as Flashman in Space . . . on acid.:D If this is the setting for the recent installment of the StarCluster game you're running, I have to say it's your coolest concept since Cold Space. And you know how much I love Cold Space.

Yep! You guys are on Glorianna. I'm glad you're enjoying the setting. It's wierd with a beard. :D

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceI'm reformatting the game into a much cleaner style - I was soo bad, and this is my oldest game - and updating the mechanics to StarCluster 2.5/Cold Space level, and putting in some more illos. That is not in question. What I'm wondering is should I do more? Should I drop random chargen entirely, like in FTL Now, or should I keep it?

Holy fuck no!
You should definitely keep random chargen.  I mean shit, almost always when the question is "can I give my readers/GMs one option or two?" the answer should be two.
Why the hell would you choose to intentionally limit options?
I for one vastly prefer random chargen in almost any circumstance.

RPGPundit

Quote from: flyingmiceThat plus I'm an old man and old men don't sleep well anyway, so I might as well be doing something! :D

"I had to get up to piss so I wrote this rpg."

Quote from: Kyle Aaron"I had to get up to piss so I wrote this rpg."

Hahahahahaha!!!:D

When women ask me "Boxers or briefs?" I answer "Depends..."

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceWhen women ask me "Boxers or briefs?" I answer "Depends..."

I say "Let's find out"

Regards,
David R

HI David! :D

Quote from: David RI say "Let's find out"

Regards,
David R

I used to, but now I'm married... AND old! :D

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceSweet Chariot is an awesome setting - the best I've ever done - but the system needs a lot of work. It's the last remaining vestige of StarCluster 1 left out there. Iused it to prototype most of the changes I made to the SC engine to get to SC 2, but they are... embryonic... in places. Using StarPool would make the game more gritty and pulpish, and using StarKarma would make it less violent, based on my playtests. Decisions! I could always use the percentile system most of my games use, but it may not be the best solution!

-clash

Hmm, if the setting's that good then why no go with systemless core setting book and make companion books for the various systems you wish to support (or even get other publishers to support with their system of choice) kinda like Green Ronin is doing with the new Freeport stuff?

Quote from: SirKerryHmm, if the setting's that good then why no go with systemless core setting book and make companion books for the various systems you wish to support (or even get other publishers to support with their system of choice) kinda like Green Ronin is doing with the new Freeport stuff?

Because systemless books don't sell well for tiny little publishers like me. Green Ronin is no giant, but they are at least a couple orders of magnitude larger than Flying Mice. Anything they release will get noticed, and if they pull it off, which they have a good track record for doing, that will result in sales. Setting plus system in one book is the way to go for little companies like mine.

Besides, I've pretty much decided on StarPool. I've been testing it out, and it works like I thought it would. :D

-clash

Sweet Chariot 2nd Edition is almost finished. Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow. I've just got to finish the Professions now. :D

Oh yeah, I kept random chargen, and am using StarPool. :P

-clash

Sweet Chariot 2 (http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=51607&src=FrontPage) is up!

Next Lulu!

-clash

Sweet Chariot 2 (http://www.lulu.com/content/1772734) is finished at Lulu now!

:D

-clash

Here's the new Sweet Chariot page (http://jalan.flyingmice.com/chariot.html) at the Flying Mice Site. I still have some housecleaning to do, but it's not too bad! :D

-clash

So, now that Sweet Chariot is finished, here's what I'm working on:

At a fairly high state of completion

Commonwealth Space for Cold Space/FTL Now. This covers the Commonwealth Colonisation Authority, the third independant colonizer after the US and USSR.

Glorianna. This game will cover an extremely high tech neo-Elizabethan society. A central issue will be bioconstructs, and there will be rules for making them. I may use the StarKarma diceless rules for this one.

At a lower state of completion

In Harm's Way: Scum of the Earth. This game covers Napoleonic land warfare.

In Harm's Way: Pigboats. This game covers WWII Submarine warfare.

StarCluster: In Harm's Way. This game covers military service in the Cluster.

Anything sound interesting? I can elaborate on any of these games.

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceIn Harm's Way: Pigboats. This game covers WWII Submarine warfare.

Hmm, this sounds interesting. Some more info would be nice.I don't think anyone has done a submarine warfare rpg. I suppose there will be some attention paid to the psychological implications of working in a submerged tin can....

Regards,
David R

Quote from: David RHmm, this sounds interesting. Some more info would be nice.I don't think anyone has done a submarine warfare rpg. I suppose there will be some attention paid to the psychological implications of working in a submerged tin can....

Regards,
David R

When you think about it, though, it works wonderfully, especially with Troupe play. There are the right amount of officers for a party size, the missions are varied and the right length, the personnel are confined to the boat yet the settings vary, and the submariners get regular R&R. It's pretty much ideal for translation to RPGs.

As for the psychological end, I'll be working up a stress meter system, for the individuals, and for the crew as a whole. R&R can relieve some stress, but getting depth-charged can eat that up fast... :D

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceAs for the psychological end, I'll be working up a stress meter system, for the individuals, and for the crew as a whole. R&R can relieve some stress, but getting depth-charged can eat that up fast... :D

-clash

on that alone (mostly)--SOLD!  

fookin' brilliant! [/oasis]

Quote from: beeberon that alone (mostly)--SOLD!  

fookin' brilliant! [/oasis]

Thanks, beeber! I think this means I'm heading in the right direction. :D

-clash

Oh! Almost forgot! I'll be making up a pdf release called the StarCluster System Toolbox, which will have all the various options for the system - StarCluster-Percentile/StarPool/StarKarma/StarRisk/Star20 task resolution systems, plus random/determined/template/point-buy chargen, plus all sorts of options to make play grittier, more wide open, more whatever, plus commentary on why these things work the way they do, plus a commercial development license for anything covered in the pdf which will require a no-charge registration if you want to charge for your product. I'll be charging a buck for the pdf, simply because people tend to actually read what they pay for. I'll give it out for free to anyone who actually takes the time to ask me for it. I'd love to see what other folks do with the system, and I'm not worried about making money on it.

That all might be cool for some folks, and some people might enjoy just tinkering.

-clash

I'm also working on the last component of the In Harm's Way: Aces trilogy. The current code-name is In Harm's Way: Wild Blue, and it covers modern era jets. The PCs are part of a mercenary company/squadron/wing with air and/or ground components. They play troupe characters consisting of any combination of fighter pilots, attack pilots, staff, and/or special forces/commandos. They players and GM create the mercenary organization, budget for various areas, and secure a contract with a host nation. They also may create a home base, with ties to another nation. They can even purchase a carrier to operate from.

-clash

Ooo, this sounds like the nasty version of IHW:Aces. The PCs are unscrupulous mercenaries (probably from the Eastern Bloc) flying surplus Cold War era fighters (definitely purchased on the black market). They conduct air strikes on "insurgents" - i.e. "undesirables" trying to overthrow the dictatorial government of the day. :haw:

Quote from: JohnnyWannabeOoo, this sounds like the nasty version of IHW:Aces. The PCs are unscrupulous mercenaries (probably from the Eastern Bloc) flying surplus Cold War era fighters (definitely purchased on the black market). They conduct air strikes on "insurgents" - i.e. "undesirables" trying to overthrow the dictatorial government of the day. :haw:

Yep! You can play it either way. That's up to the gaming group. The group establishes what it is doing and what it is trying to accomplish. :D

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceI'm also working on the last component of the In Harm's Way: Aces trilogy. The current code-name is In Harm's Way: Wild Blue, and it covers modern era jets. The PCs are part of a mercenary company/squadron/wing with air and/or ground components. They play troupe characters consisting of any combination of fighter pilots, attack pilots, staff, and/or special forces/commandos. They players and GM create the mercenary organization, budget for various areas, and secure a contract with a host nation. They also may create a home base, with ties to another nation. They can even purchase a carrier to operate from.

-clash

sounds like the perfect thing with which to run area 88
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_88

Quote from: beebersounds like the perfect thing with which to run area 88
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_88

Never heard of it, but it looks perfect, actually. :D

-clash

I think you need a land-based mercenary component in this book.

Quote from: JohnnyWannabeI think you need a land-based mercenary component in this book.

There is - definitely Commandos/Special Forces. Probably light/mechanized infantry as well.

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceThere is - definitely Commandos/Special Forces. Probably light/mechanized infantry as well.

-clash

[Rubbing hands together] Excellent!:hehe:

Quote from: JohnnyWannabe[Rubbing hands together] Excellent!:hehe:

I won't be including options for armored or artillery - That's going further than needed. There will be attack aircraft available, and, if necessary, liaison with the host nation's armed forces. It's extremely likely that the mercenaries will be working as members of the host nation's armed forces. If not, they will be working as members of an ally's armed forces. The current rules of war are slanted against mercenaries, and leave no other option. Think the Flying Tigers here. They were ostensibly members of China's air force.

-clash

The setup phase of Wild Blue is going to be a game-within-a-game. Like all In Harm's Way games, the players play Troupe characters - in the setup phase, they'll play the department heads/staff of the mercenary company. Their characters have a budget, and they have to contact various arms dealers to purchase their equipment. Each dealer (NPC) will have a randomly generated list of available equipment they have on hand or can broker. The PCs have to assemble the equipment they need to perform their contracted mission while staying under/on budget. The dealers will be able to offer price breaks to buy more than one type of item in a lot, so it won't be just choosing from a list. While they shop, they'll have to learn about the capabilities of the different hardware so they can optimize their force.

-clash

sounds like that may work for an x-com game, too :keke:

Quote from: beebersounds like that may work for an x-com game, too :keke:

I know nothing of x-com, but since it's using real-world stuff, it should work for any military-oriented game.

-clash

Wild Blue has a CharGen system that's a bit different from the other IHW games. Like the others, you get background skills that take you up to the age of 18. From there you can go on to college, or join the services. Some professions within the services will required a college education. while others won't. Colleges give you skills, as do professions. There will also be specialized schooling available from within the military. Taking the specialist schools is free, but you are obligated to stay within the service for a number of extra years before leaving, and you have to have left the service to join the mercenaries.

The Specialist Schools give you a package of skills, as well as a new concept called "edges." Edges are free-floating bonuses the players can invoke if they can relate their edge to the situation to the GM's satisfaction, each edge woth 5 points. For example, an ex-SEAL is evading pursuit. Seals have Escape and Evasion as a skill, so the PC makes a skill check and fails, barely. Since they are near a river, and SEALs have an edge of Water 2 - most people think of water as a barrier, but SEALs think of water as a highway - the PC can get a bonus of 10 to his E&E roll by using the river to hide in, which allows him to make his check. The pursuit doesn't see him under the water, and continues on past.

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceAnything sound interesting? I can elaborate on any of these games.
-clash

You already know my opinion on this clash ;)

...and just in case I have to remind you - IHW:Scum Of The Earth!

Quote from: beebersounds like the perfect thing with which to run area 88
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_88

Area 88 is exactly what I was thinking of too!

So now I'm looking forward to IHW:Scum Of The Earth and Wild Blue

Quote from: gale_wolfArea 88 is exactly what I was thinking of too!

So now I'm looking forward to IHW:Scum Of The Earth and Wild Blue

Hmph! The only anime I ever liked was Cowboy Bebop, but maybe I'll have to research this Area 88... :P

-clash

OK! Prodded by Old Geezer, I've gome up with an adaptation of Aces And Angels to Star Wars type space dogfights, which are - of course - based on WWII dogfights:

Those tight turns starfighters make without air to brake them? They all have "Inertial Accumulators" which can be charged with a certain amount of inertial energy (Max Potential) which can be discharged as needed allowing quick maneuvers.

Change the Potential box from height to total energy in your Inertial Accumulators, change the Climb Rating to "Charge Rate" and the Dive Rating to "Discharge Rate."

Everything else should follow, as it's all abstract anyway.

• The energy in your Immediate Box is your speed
• The energy in your Potential Box is your Accumulated Reserve
• The maneuvers cost what they say they cost
• You can discharge as often as you need from your Accumulators
• You can charge your Accumulator only once per turn
• The turn ends when you run out of energy or charge your Accumulators.

Change the names of the planes to more space-like names, and you are good to go!

-clash

Continuing with the ideas in my last post, if we link the Inertial Accumulators to mass on a cube basis - i.e. the cost/mass of the IA varies as the cube of the mass affected - it also defines why big wallowing ships don't use Inertial Accumulators, and why little fighters are effective. I like self balancing systems!

-clash

Here's the yearly cycle I came up with for my Wild Blue modern Mercenaries game:

I   Process:
II   Create the Staff Characters*.
   A   GM plays the Ops Manager
   B   Players play Department Heads
   C   Staff Characters are much less detailed than PCs
III   Establish Home Base based on Base Budget.
   A   Base Budget determined by GM to start
   B   Some profits may be allocated to increase Base infrastructure
IV   GM determines the available contracts either by choice or randomly.
V   Staff Characters choose from among available contracts.
   A   Terms in contracts can be negotiated
VI   Staff Characters decide on Operational Budget
VII   Staff Characters purchase necessary equipment as outlined in OB
VIII   Create the Player Characters
   Players have as many PCs in their troupe as there are Operational Departments - possibilities are:
   A   Fighters
   B   Attack Planes
   C   Helis
   D   Light/Mechanized Infantry
   E   SpecOps
IX   Play out year
X   Determine whether contract will be extended for next year
XI   Accept, Reject, or Renegotiate Contract
   A   If contract is accepted, go to IX
   B   If contract is rejected, go to IIIB
   C   If contract is to be renegotiated, got to VA

* The reason I put creating the Staff Characters first is so that the players can argue the contracts in character, from the viewpoints of their departments. The Staff characters would be part of the players' troupes, but wouldn't be going out on adventures.

Sound interesting?

-clash

If you are interested, the draft chargen for Wild Blue (http://jalan.flyingmice.com/WildBlue-CharGen.pdf) and the character sheet and worksheet (http://jalan.flyingmice.com/WildBlue-Charsheet.pdf) are available by clicking on the links. Don't worry about the blank places - they are set aside for illos.

Feedback is welcome! :D

-clash

Here's the cover for Wild Blue:

(http://jalan.flyingmice.com/WildBlue-Cover.PNG)

-clash

killer cover.  shiny!  :win:

Quote from: beeberkiller cover.  shiny!  :win:

Thanks, Beeber! :D

-clash

The cover looks great Clash! Try dropping the BMT box down a touch, so it's off the main pic.

Quote from: JohnnyWannabeThe cover looks great Clash! Try dropping the BMT box down a touch, so it's off the main pic.

I will, Rich! And thanks! :D

-clash

Beautiful cover, Clash. A blinder! The only weirdness is your logo, mate. Is there any way of making it look more in keeping with the cover? Much like the Better Mousetrap Game logo.

Quote from: Rob LangBeautiful cover, Clash. A blinder! The only weirdness is your logo, mate. Is there any way of making it look more in keeping with the cover? Much like the Better Mousetrap Game logo.

I tried making the background black, but the bat disappears into the murk. I tried fading it in, but it looked cheesy. How about this? Refresh your browser and look at the cover again. I painted a white outline around the bat and roost, and reset the lettering in white.

-clash

Much better, mate. :-) You could always make a new logo, of course. :)

Something bold and two tone perhaps?

Quote from: Rob LangMuch better, mate. :-) You could always make a new logo, of course. :)

Something bold and two tone perhaps?

Bah! I like my logo! Nothing says "typical fly-by-night game company" like a bat.

:D

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceI tried making the background black, but the bat disappears into the murk. I tried fading it in, but it looked cheesy. How about this? Refresh your browser and look at the cover again. I painted a white outline around the bat and roost, and reset the lettering in white.

-clash

Put a moon behind it, white to yellow fade. It will allow it to contrast with the black.

Bill

Quote from: flyingmiceNothing says "typical fly-by-night game company" like a bat.

Aha! I get it now.:duh:  


After so many years of wondering.:ponder:

It finally makes sense.:rimshot:  

:D

Quote from: HinterWeltPut a moon behind it, white to yellow fade. It will allow it to contrast with the black.

Bill

Like this?

(http://jalan.flyingmice.com/WildBlue-Cover.PNG)

I tried the yellow fade, but it didn't go as well as the blue.

-clash

Quote from: JohnnyWannabeAha! I get it now.:duh:  


After so many years of wondering.:ponder:

It finally makes sense.:rimshot:  

:D

Are you serious, Rich? I would never pick a name without multiple levels of pun in it. That's one. :D

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceLike this?


I tried the yellow fade, but it didn't go as well as the blue.

-clash

We are getting there. Now, if you have the original art for your bat, overlay it on your bat and play around with some contrast so we can see it is a bat and not just a blob of black ink. It does not have to be much at all. I would suggest a red tint. The effect we should go for is to accent the shadows of the bat so that you can just make out the shape of the body, head and face. It should probably be dark red or even burgundy.

Does that make sense?

Bill

Quote from: HinterWeltWe are getting there. Now, if you have the original art for your bat, overlay it on your bat and play around with some contrast so we can see it is a bat and not just a blob of black ink. It does not have to be much at all. I would suggest a red tint. The effect we should go for is to accent the shadows of the bat so that you can just make out the shape of the body, head and face. It should probably be dark red or even burgundy.

Does that make sense?

Bill

Yep, but the original is at home, not at work. I'll play around with it tonight.

Thanks, Bill! :D

-clash

hey - clash - just thought I'd let you know I ran across one of your games (Cold Space) in the FLGS here in town.  This was momentous because this place is no Games Plus - it's pretty good in some ways, but they just don't have the stock that someplace like Games Plus has.

And I showed it off to my kids - "Daddy knows the guy who wrote this.."

They still behaved like shit...little bastards...

But the cover looked different - or my migraine is worse than I thought...

Quote from: James J Skachhey - clash - just thought I'd let you know I ran across one of your games (Cold Space) in the FLGS here in town.  This was momentous because this place is no Games Plus - it's pretty good in some ways, but they just don't have the stock that someplace like Games Plus has.

And I showed it off to my kids - "Daddy knows the guy who wrote this.."

They still behaved like shit...little bastards...

But the cover looked different - or my migraine is worse than I thought...

Most of my games have different covers for the print versions. Cold Space is the only one of my games that went into distro, so if you were going to find anything in a regular shop, that'd probably be it. I do sell direct to a few game shops, and hope to do more.

Here's the CS Print cover (http://static.lulu.com/items/volume_3/162000/162761/1/preview/zoom_162761.jpg), and here's the pdf cover (http://jalan.flyingmice.com/coldspace-fing.JPG).

-clash

Loving the addition of the moon, Clash. Great work!

Why did you use different covers for the print/pdf? They're both cool but it seems a bit like doing twice the work.

Quote from: Rob LangLoving the addition of the moon, Clash. Great work!

Why did you use different covers for the print/pdf? They're both cool but it seems a bit like doing twice the work.

Hi Rob!

The illos are just the inside illos, so it's not twice the work. Just a little bit more, and they look cool. Besides, front covers have to be of a higher resolution than the inside illos, and at the proper resolution the pieces I do for the covers of the pdfs are too small for the print covers.

-clash

LOL, now you put it like that... makes sense!

I ran an adventure last weekend using Wild Blue. The
PCs were all new employees of "the Company" and all
SpecFor guys. We had a SEAL, a Green Beret, A Gurkha
(Ranger), and a Marine Recon/Infantry guy. The
contract was counter-insurgency on New Britain, part
of Papua New Guinea, and the rebels funded by mining
and mineral concerns.

The mission was a sweep for prisoners and intel,
hopefully nabbing some boss types. There were three
platoons, each one to its own slick and guarded by a
gunship.

The PCs' platoon (Platoon B) and Platoon C had their
slicks shot down by stingers, B sustaining 50%
fatalities, and only one guy from C survived. They
attempted to complete the mission anyway. Play ended
with them about a third of the way to their pick-up
point, with 3 prisoners.

Reaction was extremely positive. The players want to
continue the campaign as our main game as soon as our
current Aces And Angels game stops - which will be
very soon. When we resume, aircraft should be
operational, and hopefully helos as well.

We didn't do Staff Characters yet, as I just gave them
the situation rather than them choosing it, because I
was intent on trying out the chargen rules. When we
start up again, they will make Staff and Troupe
Characters, and design their Mercenary Company and
their home base.

-clash

This one is looking really great.

Quote from: JohnnyWannabeThis one is looking really great.

Thanks, Rich! :D

Here's a example aircraft sheet from Wild Blue:

(http://jalan.flyingmice.com/WildBlueDogfightingSheet-Example.JPG)

It's much simpler than the AIS or AAA sheets, because modern jets are simpler. Note the Damage Tack - this is new. Each empty box is worth 10 points of damage. You take damage off Armor first, then Full, then Hindered, etc. A lot easier to track than subtracting large numbers.

-clash

Nice work, there Clash. How does the jet sheet work out when it's printed? Does the grey make it difficult to write on with pencil?

I didn't think I'd have much interest in Wild Blue....but now I'm thinking(and I know this is sooo out there ) maybe a post apoc setting where an aircraft carrier commanded by a Gene Hackman type from Crimson Tide wages a final battle against a religious cult...hell maybe after my Aces & Angels - Redtail Blues campaign...

Regards,
David R

Quote from: Rob LangNice work, there Clash. How does the jet sheet work out when it's printed? Does the grey make it difficult to write on with pencil?

Hi Rob:

With a standard #2 pencil, everything is visible. Harder pencils may be less visible. Most of the data would be permanently written anyway.

-clash

Quote from: David RI didn't think I'd have much interest in Wild Blue....but now I'm thinking(and I know this is sooo out there ) maybe a post apoc setting where an aircraft carrier commanded by a Gene Hackman type from Crimson Tide wages a final battle against a religious cult...hell maybe after my Aces & Angels - Redtail Blues campaign...

Regards,
David R

By coincidence, one of the options for home field is an older aircraft carrier... :D

-clash

Quote from: Rob LangNice work, there Clash. How does the jet sheet work out when it's printed? Does the grey make it difficult to write on with pencil?

Michael Scott, my co-author, suggested putting them in mylar protective sheets and using dry erase markers. That's another way to go, but pencils work fine. :D

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceNote the Damage Tack - this is new. Each empty box is worth 10 points of damage. You take damage off Armor first, then Full, then Hindered, etc. A lot easier to track than subtracting large numbers.

Clash, that's a huge improvement that ought to speed up gameplay.  Nice.  

Pete

Quote from: pspahnClash, that's a huge improvement that ought to speed up gameplay.  Nice.  

Pete

Thanks, Pete! I like it so much I'm thinking of putting it into Aces And Angels and Aces In Spades retroactively. :D

-clash

The rules for creating your own mercenary outfit are done, and In Harm's Way: Wild Blue is now a viable game. The current package has everything necessary for play. Michael and I have done an enormous amount of work on the game in the last week or so. Now comes the playtesting! Then comes the fiddly stuff of honing and touching up the game, but I think it's now solid.

-clash

Do you want me to put an ad in the back of the CC book? If you do, then send me the files.:haw:

Quote from: JohnnyWannabeDo you want me to put an ad in the back of the CC book? If you do, then send me the files.:haw:

And send ME the file for CC! :D

-clash

Will do. It's the same dimensions as the new Boomtown Planet, so same ad specs. Also, I have the Sweet Chariot file. At first glimpse it looks awesome, a veritable 313 page tour de force.

Quote from: JohnnyWannabeWill do. It's the same dimensions as the new Boomtown Planet, so same ad specs. Also, I have the Sweet Chariot file. At first glimpse it looks awesome, a veritable 313 page tour de force.

I'll send it right along!

And glad you liked Chariot! It kind of got lost in the shuffle. :D

-clash

Here's the section on Contracts (http://jalan.flyingmice.com/Contracts.pdf) from Wild Blue. Whaddya think?

-clash

That's cool clash. Is there room in the tasks section for a few more specific things or is that covered elsewhere?

I was thinking along the lines of;

Extraction/Insertion/Rendition
Demolition/Sabotage
Surveillance/Intelligence
Training an indigenous armed force
Military Engineering

These are smaller contracts, but ones that i expect most merc companies get quite a few of.

Clash, as soon as I have your files, I'm ready to go.

Quote from: One Horse TownThat's cool clash. Is there room in the tasks section for a few more specific things or is that covered elsewhere?

I was thinking along the lines of;

Extraction/Insertion/Rendition
Demolition/Sabotage
Surveillance/Intelligence
Training an indigenous armed force
Military Engineering

These are smaller contracts, but ones that i expect most merc companies get quite a few of.

Hi Dan!

The first two are, I think, more missions than tasks, things that are part of the larger whole.

Surveillance/Intelligence is a task, but not one the more combat oriented Companies we cover would be interested in or qualified for.

Training and Military Engineering are excellent, very appropriate tasks though. I will add them to the lists!

Thanks! :D

-clash

I haven't completely lost my mojo then - just for my own projects! :D

Quote from: JohnnyWannabeClash, as soon as I have your files, I'm ready to go.

Was that 8.5 X 11, 300 DPI?

-clash

Quote from: One Horse TownI haven't completely lost my mojo then - just for my own projects! :D

/me ties Dan to a rocket and lights the fuse!

:D

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceWas that 8.5 X 11, 300 DPI?

:banghead:

:p

The file dimensions are 6 X 9, 150 DPI, Grey Scale.

Quote from: JohnnyWannabe:banghead:

:p

The file dimensions are 6 X 9, 150 DPI, Grey Scale.

Got it, and sent, Rich! :D

-clash

Received. Thanks.

My group set up their mercenary company on Saturday.

First they named their Company - the Red River Rangers.

Then they created their Staff Characters, the people who control the company. There were:

A Russian Admiral - Ludmilla Korochevsky - Methodical 2, Arrogant 1, Loyal 2, and Feminist 1, with areas of expertise in Logistics and Command, in charge of Base Operations and Logistics.

A Japanese General - Torimoto Nakamura - Off Kilter 2, Iconoclastic 2, Audacious 2, Carefree 1, with areas of expertice in Spec Ops and Airlift, in charge of Special Forces and Light/Mechanized Infantry.

An American Air General - Chris Fury - Jumpy 2, Likeable 2, Lazy 3, with areas of expertise in Fighter Combat and Sealift, in charge of Fighter and Strike Aircraft.

A Lithuanian General - Julius Simas - Stubborn 2, Paranoid 3, Caring 2, with areas of expertise in Helicopters and Airlift, In charge of Helicopters and Security.

Then they rolled their funding. Their funding was Moderate, so they hashed out a budget, and decided to  purchase an old fighter strip and army base in Nepal, and a small Argentinian carrier. Logistics and Maintenance split a quarter of the budget.

The Fighter/Strike arm got two flights of older aircraft - F-4 Phantom IIs and F-8 Crusaders - for dual strike/fighting - both able to use the carrier.

They also bought a flight of OV-10 Broncos for Counter-Insurgency work, and liasing with their Spec Ops forces.

They then purchased ordinance for their aircraft.

The Helicopter arm was two flights, one of Russian Mil-8s, the other of Hueys, They decided against buying any gunships as of yet.

The Ground Pounders elected to get a company of SpecFor troops, a company of Mechanized Infantry, and a company of Security troops.

They then considered their first full contract - their original contract was Counter Insurgency in New Britain, which was winding up, There were two offers:

A Corrupt Authoritarian Regime asked for aid in their war against a Third World Junta in Micronesia. They offered a Poor Profit.

The second contract offered was from Ethnic Separatists who asked their aid in a Civil War against a Dictatorial Regime in the Indian Ocean. They offered a Poor profit and Local Servants.

The group debated, and chose to negotiate the second contract. They asked for Bounties and Death Benefits - Mercs get no insurance. The negotiations were hard, and they finally settled on Bounties and Sweet R&R on the beaches.

Then we finished up the New Britain Contract. :D

-clash

Back to New Britain!

SpecFor B Platoon had lost about half its men when a stinger shot down their Mil-8, and A Platoon had lost almost all their men. the remnants formed together and pushed towards the coast, sleeping in the light and moving at night. From their prisoners, they got some good HumInt on the leader of the rebels. He was supposed to be holed up in an abandoned resort on a lake well inland. They turned their course towards it, as their intended path would have missed it.

As they neared the lake, they discovered an ambush set up on a narrow place in the trail, meanwhile, a platoon sized group was coming up the trail behind them, obviously trying to drive them into the trap. Simultaneously, they sent their four best shots up the trees with IR imagers to snipe the ambushers while the tail of the unit set their own vee ambush on the trail behind. The snipers took out all but one of the original ambushers, while the tail group shot the hell out of the trailing platoon. There was one survivor, who confirmed their intelligence.

They called up on their computer a plan of the resort, noted it was a large one, with an airstrip for light planes to the north. They made plans to take out the resort, one squad taking the main building while the other hit the power generators and the airfield. The first squad captured eight German and American businessmen on the deck outside the main building. From them they learned that the leader was in his private bungalow up the beach. They headed off, taking out three sentries along the way.

The second squad skirted the second large building which was full of guards, and a long low garage with several jeeps armed with 50 calibre HMGs, which they took out by removing the distributor caps. They found the generator shed, and set up to take them down on signal. The rest of the squad headed out to the airfield. The lights went off.

The second squad took out the sentries on the planes, two to each of three  business prop planes, by sneaking up and cutting their throats. One jeep was roaring around the field, fireing into the jungle. They sniped driver and gunner, an the jeep crashed. They send a man into two of the planes to take them out of action. One was disabled and another was almost disabled when the civilian pilot woke up in the back and tried to take the plane back. The guy taking out the plane was able to disarm her and tie her up. Three more jeeps came up to the airfield with spotlights swinging. The squad took out two of the jeeps with grenades, but the third shredded one of the SpecOps guys, and wounded two others. This one they finally silenced with gunfire. The third plane started to take off, but was stopped by the captured jeep and .50 cal tracer fire across its nose.

Meanwhile, the first squad hit the bungalo front and back simultaneously. In the front were five guards watching TV when the lights went out. They tossed in a flash-bang grenade, and three of the five were blinded. When the men burst in one was taken out by a guard, and a second was hit five times, but due to amazing Dash rolls ended up with one wound and four bullet holes through his clothes. The group took out both gunmen and secured the blind ones. The men in the back had a better time of it, blinding all four men with a flash-bang, and took it with no trouble. The squad captured the leader in bed with his girlfriends.

They called in support, and it was all over - Contract fulfilled, mopping up takes the rest of the year.

Players had a blast, lots of fun had by all.

-clash

Scum of the Earth?  Is that the Sharpe variant?

Quote from: BalbinusScum of the Earth?  Is that the Sharpe variant?

Yessir! Napoleonic Land battles. :D

-clash

I intend to playtest the setting as my next campaign, if my players at the time will let me foist it upon them.

"Can I buy you drink, good man?"
"Why yes, sergeant major, I'll have an ale."
"Excellent - now you've taken the King's shilling, you're signed up for twenty years. Now come with us, and we'll kit you out."
"But lieutenant sir, I -"
"That's leftenant, soldier - we are not bloody Frenchmen!"
"What's wrong with the French? They've got nice postcards and everything."
"Soon you'll learn to hate the French like poison, lad."

Quote from: Kyle AaronI intend to playtest the setting as my next campaign, if my players at the time will let me foist it upon them.

"Can I buy you drink, good man?"
"Why yes, sergeant major, I'll have an ale."
"Excellent - now you've taken the King's shilling, you're signed up for twenty years. Now come with us, and we'll kit you out."
"But lieutenant sir, I -"
"That's leftenant, soldier - we are not bloody Frenchmen!"
"What's wrong with the French? They've got nice postcards and everything."
"Soon you'll learn to hate the French like poison, lad."

I'd play that in a shot.

But then I'd play In Harm's Way in a shot too, are there any actual plays for it about?

Quote from: BalbinusI'd play that in a shot.

But then I'd play In Harm's Way in a shot too, are there any actual plays for it about?

There's my own over on tBP - lord is that site s   l   o   w! - here (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=281242). Kyle is in it for a while as Midshipman James Robert. I never finished the AP, but the game went on quite a while after that. Right now it's holding, but will be resumed in 1797.

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceThere's my own over on tBP - lord is that site s   l   o   w! - here (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=281242). Kyle is in it for a while as Midshipman James Robert. I never finished the AP, but the game went on quite a while after that. Right now it's holding, but will be resumed in 1797.

-clash

Cool, thanks :)

Quote from: BalbinusCool, thanks :)

That is a Middie game, and as such it's much less action-packed than a Lieutenant level game, let alone a Captain level game. I've run long campaigns on all three levels, and they each have their own flavor.

-clash

In Harm's Way: Wild Blue is almost done. Michael Scott and I have done a heap of work over the last couple of weeks, adding in whole new chunks of stuff to emulate modern warfare. Let me tell you, I yearn for the simple, straightforward days of WWII. With Beyond Visual Range combat, Air to ground and ground to air missiles, smart bombs, super-maneuverable planes and pervasive computing, it's a very different world.

Luckily, mercenary companies aren't going to be fielding F-22s and Eurofighters, and neither are their opponents. What they will  have is a mixture of Vietnam-era to eighties equipment, retrofitted to the best munitions they can afford, and nursed along by the best mechanics available.

The fact that you can create and run the mercenary Company you want, with a budget, competing department heads, and responsibility to shareholders, is alone a big complication. Add in the use of ground vehicles, Infantry, Special Forces, and Brown Water naval units, and I'm surprised at how compact the game is. Right now it's about 230 pages.

The process of setting up a company and creating the contracts lets you as GM know what the players are interested in doing. I let my players give a Staff briefing where they had to answer the questions of the assembled mercs - in other words me as GM - and all they had towork with was this contract: "Ethnic Separatists asked their aid in a Civil War against a Dictatorial Regime in the Indian Ocean. They offered a Poor profit and Local Servants, Bounties, and Sweet R&R." What's the name of the country? What languages do they speak? How many forces are we facing? What are the ethnic differences and why do they want to separate? And lots more. The Staff Officers had to think on their feet, and give answers off the top of their heads. Here's (http://jalan.flyingmice.com/Dutakopia.pdf) what they came up with - that is I prepared it from their notes. :D

Another playtester generated the whole scenario himself and presented it to his players, exactly the opposite of what I did. Either way is fine! They both work. His scenario is more consistent and tight, but he doesn't know the extent of the players' buy-in. It's a trade off.

-clash

Work is also progressing on the Cold Space/FTL Now supplement Commonwealth Space. Commonwealth Space covers the Commonwealth of Nations/CCA colonies in the Oikumene. It will contain Commonwealth style education tables and chargen, Commonwealth and CCA projects and their fallout, in-depth descriptions of the colonies, commonwealth-specific equipment and descriptions of post-Comet Commonwealth nations on Earth.

-clash

Clash, I was wondering how you price the books. Do you have a page-count-to-$ ratio, is it down to costs or is a feeling thing?

Quote from: Rob LangClash, I was wondering how you price the books. Do you have a page-count-to-$ ratio, is it down to costs or is a feeling thing?

Generally it's a feeling thing, but costs come into it as the baseline. Generally, the bigger the book, the bigger the bargain it's going to be for the customer, because I don't like pricing the books over $30. I'd rather take a hit on profit. I don't generally buy paperbacks over $30 myself, and I'd rather not ask the customer to do something I wouldn't.

-clash

Star20

Star20 is a roll over task resolution system designed to be used with the StarCluster and Powered by StarCluster games.

Dice used:

4d6-4 AKA JAGS dice, giving a bell-curve range from 0-20.

Attribute Bonuses are +1 per 2 points over 7 - i.e. +1 at 9, +2 at 11, +3 at 13, and +4 at 15

Chance of Success:

Chance = Die Roll + Attribute bonus + Skill Rank
If the result is greater than 13, the action is successful.
If the resut is less than six, the action is a critical failure.
If the Result is greater than 19, the action is a critical success.

Initiative:

Roll dice, adding higher of either AGY or COOR modifier. Highest goes first, and count down.

Quality of success:

Add weapon modifier to Chance dice roll for success.

Add double weapon modifier to Chance die roll for critical success.

Failure:

Simple failures just don't succeed.
Critical failures involve bad things happening. This is adjudicated by the GM depending on the circumstance.

Comments?

Deleted and reposted! This bizarre quirk happened again, truncating a post I tried to edit!

VariableStar

StarCluster Task Resolution Sub-System

Basic idea:
Roll under 3+skill rank+stat bonus, Max 17, on a variety of different dice. Quality is far less variable, and depends mostly on skill. This gives a system a low skill-high stat character will get lots of low-quality successes, and a high skill-low stat character will have fewer but better successes.

Stat Bonuses are +1 per point over 7 - i.e. 1 at 8, 4 at 11, 6 at 13, and 8 at 15

TNs

Typical TNs range from 4 to 17.

Dice

Any of the following dice systems are acceptable, and each will have it's own flavor:

Dice Systems
Dice    Range    Average    Remarks
3d6    range 3-18    average 7-8    strong bell curve - lower numbers, more successes
4d6-4    range 0-20    average 10    strong bell curve - higher numbers, grittier
1d20    range 1-20    average 10    linear distribution - equal probablilities
2d10    range 2-20    average 10    weak bell curve, fairly flat distribution
2d8+d4    range 3-20    average ??    ??distribution??


Initiative

Initiative is rolled using whatever dice system is in use, highest going first and counting down.

Chance

Chance TN is the character's skill rank + attribute bonus + 3, plus any points moved from Initiative or Quality. PCs may move points from Chance to Initiative or Quality which are then subtracted from the Chance.

Example: Joe has a skill of 1 with Blade, and a STR attribute bonus of 4. He normally has a TN of 3+1+4=8, but he added one from Initiative for a total of 9.

Quality

Quality is the measure of how good a success is. Quality is equal to the skill rank +1, plus any points moved from Initiative or Chance. This number is multiplied by ten and added to any modifiers to give a result.

Example: Jane succeeds in striking Joe using a machete in combat. Her blade skill rank is +2 and she added one from Chance, totalling 4. This number is multiplied by 10 to give 40 points, which added to the +20 bonus for the machete is 60 points.


Comments?

Clash. I received the Wild Blue proto-type. I love the concept, I dig the execution (for the most part), and the information is thorough. I'll post my concerns on the BMT forum later today.

Quote from: JohnnyWannabeClash. I received the Wild Blue proto-type. I love the concept, I dig the execution (for the most part), and the information is thorough. I'll post my concerns on the BMT forum later today.

Cool, Rich! :D

-clash

Quote from: JohnnyWannabeClash. I received the Wild Blue proto-type. I love the concept, I dig the execution (for the most part), and the information is thorough. I'll post my concerns on the BMT forum later today.

You got 8 minutes by my clock... :D

-clash

For those two systems, Clash, do you intend on using or, the other or both? Both seem pretty obvious to get along with (hang on, is the second a generalisation of the first?). I'd stick with the first, makes life easier for the GM.

Nice bell curve. I'd modify the bit about 'weapon' to say 'equipment' and then you can use it for any kind of stuff they characters pick up.

How easy are attributes to raise? They seem pretty powerful compared to the dice.

Quote from: Rob LangFor those two systems, Clash, do you intend on using or, the other or both? Both seem pretty obvious to get along with (hang on, is the second a generalisation of the first?). I'd stick with the first, makes life easier for the GM.

How easy are attributes to raise? They seem pretty powerful compared to the dice.

Hi Rob:

Both systems are plug-in TR sub-systems for the StarCluster meta-system. The meta-system is designed so that you can swap out TR systems if you prefer. They are different from each other, designed for different feels. Star20 is a roll over system. For a success you need to roll 13+ on 4d6-4, adding in skill rank and attribute bonus. Attribute bonus is at most 4, so that means with the highest possible attribute, you still need a 9+ with no skill. Also, note that there is no chance of a fumble once your skill+attribute bonus = 6. A GM could optionally rule any roll of 0 is a fumble. Assume reasonable competence (+3 skill rank) and a mildly good stat (+1 attribute bonus) and you need to roll a 9+ on the dice. That's very close the the center of the bell curve.

VariableStar is very different in feel. For one thing, you can change the dice you use to whatever you are comfortable with. If you want a more than human scale, you can use different dice - 2d12, or 3d8 or even 3d10. Since it's a roll-under system, increasing the scale this way allows for supers/metahumans/alien creatures/whatever, because the TNs will also rise with higher stats - the Max of 17 is for humans. It also allows the group to go for the feel they want. With strongly bell-curved dice, you tend toward the average, for a grittier feel. With a flat, linear distribution, any number is equally likely. This gives a more pulpy feel. A weak bell curve, like 2d10, gives you something in between. As for the TN, a mildly above average attribute (10) gives a +3 bonus, with a competent skill (+3) and the +3 always added, that gives you a TN of 9, about the center of all these distributions.

I've already published games using the standard percentile StarCluster (http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=28894&it=1) and the StarPool (http://jalan.flyingmice.com/PlayingStarPool.pdf) d20 dice pool, and I've released the StarKarma (http://jalan.flyingmice.com/StarKarma.pdf) diceless/randomless mechanic. These two are being worked on. I'm intending to write a meta-system guide and sell it for a buck along with a commercial development license, but if folks want, their free to snatch ideas to their heart's content.

QuoteNice bell curve. I'd modify the bit about 'weapon' to say 'equipment' and then you can use it for any kind of stuff they characters pick up.

Thanks! Since combat is a subset of TR, not a sepatate system, it all works the same way.

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceCool, Rich! :D

-clash

I'm having trouble accessing the forum. :confused: I'll try again this morning.

Quote from: JohnnyWannabeI'm having trouble accessing the forum. :confused: I'll try again this morning.

Just shove that big heater upside its head and ask it politely just who does it think OWNS it!

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceJust shove that big heater upside its head and ask it politely just who does it think OWNS it!

-clash

I did that. And it worked!:eek: Anyhoo, I posted my two cents over there.

Quote from: JohnnyWannabeI did that. And it worked!:eek: Anyhoo, I posted my two cents over there.

Gotchyer comments, buddy, and replied to 'em. I also forwarded them along to Michael Scott, my co-author. Good stuff!

-clash

Clash, my replies to your replies are posted.;)

Oh yeah, I got my site back up, too. So when Wild Blue is released, I'll post it.

Quote from: JohnnyWannabeClash, my replies to your replies are posted.;)

Oh yeah, I got my site back up, too. So when Wild Blue is released, I'll post it.

Awesome, Rich! I've also got replies to your replies! :D

-clash

I'm having trouble getting on the forum again. As soon as I do, I'll let you know.

The latest version of Wild Blue has a lot of changes, many due to JohnnyWannabe. :D

I've added Light Armor, Security, Surface Navy, Combat Engineers, and Intelligence options to the Company creation rules to go along with the original Light Infantry, SpecOps, and Mechanized Infantry ground pounders and the jet and helo jockeys.

I've split the planes up, moving all the planes that Mercs couldn't get their hands on into an Appendix.

I've added SpecOps slang into the glossary.

I've got a whole section on vehicles and brown/green water navy craft.

I've got three sample Companies, of varying Capital.

The list of munitions is well organized and exhaustive.

Vehicles use a limited subset of the Airplane rules, with their own maneuvers.

There's a Vehicle Control Sheet as well as an Aircraft Control Sheet for vehicle combat.

I've also tidied up the rules and presentation.

This is probably the best layout I've ever done.

-clash

With the various feedback on the Final Playtest Document we've been getting from our playtesters, I have released Yet Another Final Playtest Document. Playtesting won't be finished 'til the end of the month, so I have time to release Still Another Final Playtest Document if needed! :D

-clash

I had a revelation this past weekend. When I wrote Book of Jalan and put the Magic section first, I was hammered by reviewers. "Always put CharGen first" said most of 'em, "there's a reason all the good games do this!" I agreed, and since then have always put chargen either first or right after the intro, and all was well with the world.

But there was something wrong with Wild Blue CharGen. It wasn't clicking, and I didn't know why - until this weekend. I realized that Players didn't know what kind of characters would be needed until after they created the Company and accepted a contract. So, I should put the Company Creation and Contract-design sections first!

But wait! There is another type of player character - the Staff Character. These guys never see danger, as they are the planners of the Company. They are the oned who decide the funding for the various departments. The players first needed to create their Staff Characters, then let their Staff Characters create the company and negotiate the first Contract.

So the order now runs: Intro, Staff CharGen, Company Design, Contracts, Chargen.

It works, I'm happy, playtesters are happy, let's go! :D

-clash

One of the problems with core play-testers is you never present them with a fait accompli until the end. By then, they gloss over all the stuff because they have a thorough comprehension of the game. As a result, they miss glaring errors.

P.S. I'm not saying your games have any glaring errors. Some of mine do!:D

Quote from: JohnnyWannabeOne of the problems with core play-testers is you never present them with a fait accompli until the end. By then, they gloss over all the stuff because they have a thorough comprehension of the game. As a result, they miss glaring errors.

P.S. I'm not saying your games have any glaring errors. Some of mine do!:D

One of the interesting things about Wild Blue's playtesting is that it came from a merger of two groups - Michael Scott's Wild Blue group and my Aces group. Some of the Aces guys have been with me since In Harm's Way. They know the system, so the differences stand out. The Wild Blue group didn't know me from Adam. They were playing with EABA, a very different system. They see the basic system as different and new. I have gotten excellent feedback from both sides this way. Besides, working with Michael is a joy.

-clash