I'd like to seriously suggest you look into a game called "Battlelords of the 23rd century" by SSDC.
It has some of the gonzo, over the top aspects of rifts but doesn't go to extremes like rifts does, and it has a lot of character types, races and such. There is enough weapons, armor and gear to satisfy any "gun porn" urges and the system is a little crunchy but much, much more realistic than palladium.
I seriously recommend people who like some aspects of palladium but are turned off by the unrealistic simplicity of the system to look into battlelords, just go to //www.ssdc.com and check it out.
I checked it out long ago, after finding a mint copy on a used rack for a few pennies.
The system is a baroque, overcomplicated mess that makes the Palladium system look like TFOS or Risus. Other than that, it's a book with lots of entertaining bits. Rifts gunporn fanatics will find many of the futurisitic weapons to be roughly on the same die range as Rifts weapons, so could be directly ported over. The backdrop, what little there is, is easily portable to Phase World or Manhunter settings.
Quote from: GabrielI checked it out long ago, after finding a mint copy on a used rack for a few pennies.
The system is a baroque, overcomplicated mess that makes the Palladium system look like TFOS or Risus. Other than that, it's a book with lots of entertaining bits. Rifts gunporn fanatics will find many of the futurisitic weapons to be roughly on the same die range as Rifts weapons, so could be directly ported over. The backdrop, what little there is, is easily portable to Phase World or Manhunter settings.
What version did you get? The current one is a lot cleaner, and has a lot of background material, in fact there are whole sourcebooks now.
Quote from: Dominus NoxWhat version did you get? The current one is a lot cleaner, and has a lot of background material, in fact there are whole sourcebooks now.
I have no way of knowing. It has a black cover and the front has an image of a futuristic cityscape. It says it was published by ODS.
It's definitely a fun little game. I remember not having ship/vehicle rules/guidelines in the version I looked at, though, which bugged me.
Quote from: GabrielI have no way of knowing. It has a black cover and the front has an image of a futuristic cityscape. It says it was published by ODS.
OK, you've got yourself an OLD copy there, the current edition is done by a company called SSDC and is much cleaner, better produced, neater and better organized, plus it has a art that's a far cry better.
Why not go to //www.ssdc.com and check out the current product line?
Quote from: Zachary The FirstIt's definitely a fun little game. I remember not having ship/vehicle rules/guidelines in the version I looked at, though, which bugged me.
They are working on a vehicle supplement called "Engines of war" which is in the final edit stage, a starship system in in the works.
Quote from: Dominus NoxThey are working on a vehicle supplement called "Engines of war" which is in the final edit stage, a starship system in in the works.
Good to know. Thanks!
Quote from: Zachary The FirstGood to know. Thanks!
If you want up to date info on BL, feel free to c'mon down to //www.ssdc.com and see for yourself.
According to a guy who is familiar with BL and D20, there are major differences in the current BL system and d20, here's what he had to say basically:
Basically I'd say, overall, that BL has a more complicated armor and damage mechanic (AR, THR, IN, SMRS, etc.) and D&D has a more complicated resolution mechanic(s).
That was a quote from on eof the guys there who ha some experience in the game industry.
BL has a very detailed combat system, yes, and the rules for armor are far more complex than d20, but they yield more plausible results and allow a wider variety of damage typoes that are affected by armor in different ways. One thing to remember in BL is that some damage is considered to be
translational, in that it goes thru rigid armor with little reduction. So, for example, if you're wearing a hard breastplate and I whack you with a sword or slash you with a dagger, you may be safe from that type of damage, but if I connect with a good swing from a heavy club, mallet, etc, the impact damage is going pretty much right thru that rigid piece of steel and is going to knock you on your ass and maybe break some ribs too.
Damage like that needs a padding type material to absorb the impact, and BL armor has that factored in as well.
In BL combat, there are various types of damage and it often takes well designed, multipurpose hight ech armor to stop different types. Lasers, for example, burn straight thru the absorption rating of armor, which is the padding that absorbs impact, and anly the armor threshold stops laser damage, but you can buy ablative liners to decrease laser damage. Meanwhile, thud guns do damage by projecting what amounts to a battering ram of pure kinetic force, kind of like a rod shaped forcefield that is like being hit by a solid wall moving at high speed. That kind of impact goes thru the rigid threshold of armor and is only affected by the absorption factor.
You get to add all sorts of options to your armor, even a newbie can usually afford a few goodies like an arm mounted grenade launcher, anti-missile system, extra absorption polymers, ablative linings, camo units, IR dampers,etc. Likewise there are lots of weapons to defeat those defenses with.
it's a little more work that d20, but you can customize a pretty individual character thru careful allocation of his starting resources, and picking out the goodies can be a lot of fun.
Sre, the damage and armor rules are more complex and detailed, but then again a good hit will generally end a fight so they don't drag on forever. I mean, if you hit a guy wearing a flak vest with a good grenade or even a good burst from an assault weapon, chances are he's dead.
Thanks for the tip, Dominus!
Memories....
Good stuff in that book. Bad stuff to, but if you wanted to run a head banging session of sci-fi gun-fu, Battlelords was it!
Wish I still had it, but the SSDC stuff wasn't selling itself to me last time I checked in...
Quote from: SpikeMemories....
Good stuff in that book. Bad stuff to, but if you wanted to run a head banging session of sci-fi gun-fu, Battlelords was it!
Wish I still had it, but the SSDC stuff wasn't selling itself to me last time I checked in...
Padron me, but :confused:
You can find BL at some gamestores, order it online or direct from SSDC, so what's the problem? :confused:
No. I looked as SSDC and their options on buying it were not attractive to me, so I didn't purchase it. It failed to sell itself, where sell is a verb, not 'It wasnt selling' where sell is transposed for 'able to buy'.
Well, I will say this for the current version of BL: It is the only game I know of that has a table for farting. Seriously. One of the races views farting as a religious exercise and they have a table to roll on that gives you the type of fart thye let during their "chunga rite". It can be anything from SBD to musical to poured mud.
I couldn't believe it when I read it.....
QuoteIt is the only game I know of that has a table for farting. Seriously.
Ok, but billing it as Fatal-lite isn't helping you, shillboy.
I looked at the info on the website. I even downloaded the character sheet and looked it over.
To me, it looks like a much more complex system - kind of like Rolemaster - with lots of fiddly bits. I would actually want something more streamlined.
Quote from: jgantsI would actually want something more streamlined.
My fantasy oriented Palladium material has all been translated to Unisystem, and I switched to Tri-Stat's d10 level for the science fiction/space stuff.
What I've seen of SSDC's stuff (though I admit that hasn't been much), it looks mediocre at it's best.
Quote from: PhishStyxOk, but billing it as Fatal-lite isn't helping you, shillboy.
The game is not very self concious, and the original text was over the top, in your face enthusiastic fanboy writing from the word go. I gather the SSDC version toned down the original text in a few places.
One of the races finds humans tasty and there are many cannibalism jokes. Another are little psychic dudes with big heads, called melonheads by all and sundry. The farting thing I personally don't remember, but I could probably guess the race if I had to (the big lizard dudes that are stupid but tough enough to theoretically shrug off plasma grenades...referenced once in one of the supplements as an example of grade dummys).
Fatal is a horse of another color, taking itself far to seriously, and being sick rather than juvenile humor.
Quote from: SpikeThe game is not very self concious, and the original text was over the top, in your face enthusiastic fanboy writing from the word go. I gather the SSDC version toned down the original text in a few places.
If this is the case, then I definitely wouldn't care to see the new version. The exuberant style of the older version I have is the game's sole saving grace.
Actually the phentari still enjoy eating humans, and packaged snack made from human flesh, called "Phent morsels" are still for sale.
The farting bit has nothing to do with fatal, and any comparision between the two games is unwarranted.
The game is still pretty over the top, space opera meets south park in some ways and is written with fun, action and humor being it's holy trinity.
At the end of the day, I'm just not a huge fan of the system used for B23C. My players can't stand the system but they don't like any kind of math. But I also have almost all of the books for the game, and even though we don't like the system a whole lot, we've always had a blast playing the game. Ram pythons running through walls, people getting giant holes blown through their armor, mortars hitting the wrong targets, Fotts on an egg hunt dragging everyone with them. . . good times. :D
It's actually not very difficult to cut some stuff out of the mechanics to sreamline play, and a good CRS helps also. And if you like gear, it's quite possibly a game for you.
If you like man-sized genetically engineered redneck bunnies, it's pobably calling out to you right now. ;)