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Author Topic: Games You've Heard Of But Know NOTHING About  (Read 6462 times)

obryn

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« Reply #30 on: September 07, 2006, 02:16:19 AM »
Quote from: Caesar Slaad

There's a variant called FATE that actually has its own spin on chargen that's pretty nifty. FATE is also a free download:
http://www.faterpg.com/

I'll just note that, after running a few sessions with it, I've come to the conclusion that FATE fucking rocks.  I'm using it for a modern-day Call of Cthulhu game at the moment.  The mechanics are downright clever, and character generation is brilliant.

I redid it to make characters more frail (only one box per slot on the damage track, absent extras) in order to fit the Call of Cthulhu genre.  I also retrofitted the original BRP sanity rules since I didn't want to fuck around with making a new, potentially stupid system.

That's it.  Just my testimonial.

-O
 

Lawbag

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« Reply #31 on: September 07, 2006, 03:55:15 AM »
HoL - Human Occupied Landfill - a deliberately off/funny RPG that I see no way of encouraging players to attempt - great for reading while on the crapper though...(Just my personal preference)
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ColonelHardisson

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« Reply #32 on: September 07, 2006, 10:49:49 AM »
Quote from: beejazz
Iron Heroes: Reeeeeally curious.


Iron Heroes is a d20 variant. The character classes are designed under the assumption that PCs will not be using magic items to increase their powers and abilities. So it becomes more about the character's inherent abilities rather than what stuff he has.

The combat system is designed so that characters can perform all manner of stunts and maneuvers. Stunts are things like throwing dirt in an opponent's eyes, swinging from chandeliers, etc.

Most - but not all - of the classes can accumulate tokens with certain actions. These tokens (an abstract concept, by the way, not actual game world items) are often required to perform some of the abilities and powers a given class has. Example: the armiger, a class that is focused on wearing armor, accumulates tokens as the PC's armor absorbs damage from attacks. These tokens can then be used to make the character harder to hit, or to be even more able to absorb damage, or to make devastating counterattacks - these are abilities unique to the armiger. Each class has its own set of powers and abilities that can be used by the accumulation and spending of tokens. Tokens must be used pretty quickly, so a character can't just hoard them.

Fighting classes are the main focus of the game. Magic is dangerous and unpredictable. There is a magic-using class, called the arcanist, which is there because, well, someone would've asked for it if it wasn't there. Skills and hit points are handled differently than in regular d20 - but, y'know, mearls, who posts to this forum, is the guy who designed the game. With any luck, he'll show up and explain things better than I could.
"Illegitimis non carborundum." - General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell

4e definitely has an Old School feel. If you disagree, cool. I won't throw any hyperbole out to prove the point.

jrients

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« Reply #33 on: September 07, 2006, 10:58:46 AM »
ColonelHardisson, Starfaring by Ken St. Andre of Tunnels & Trolls fame was a sci-fi RPG that preceeded Traveller.  It's a glorious mess of a game but it and MA pretty clearly place Traveller as the third sci-fi RPG.  IMHO Trav is superior to both (and better designed than many games since) but it wasn't the first sci-fi rpg.
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Andy K

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« Reply #34 on: September 07, 2006, 11:04:00 AM »
Quote from: obryn
I'll just note that, after running a few sessions with it, I've come to the conclusion that FATE fucking rocks.  I'm using it for a modern-day Call of Cthulhu game at the moment...  I also retrofitted the original BRP sanity rules since I didn't want to fuck around with making a new, potentially stupid system.

That's awesome. In fact, that's exactly what I did with it as well.

I used FATE to run a CoC Delta Green campaign (we basically went through 4 of the adventures in Delta Green and DG: Countdown), and at the same time implemented the BRP Sanity Rules "as is" (though psychology and counselling successes to relieve sanity worked out from my homebrew something like "Regain 10 points for each success level over 0").

FATE (and Fudge) is awesome precisely because you can graft on BRP sanity like a Frankenstein monster and it still works like a charm!
I've worked in film, television and advertising; I know evil.  -Luke Crane

Vellorian

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« Reply #35 on: September 07, 2006, 11:15:39 AM »
Quote from: Vellorian
Tell me of this ... Promethean? :)


Tell me of this ... Promethean? :)
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KrakaJak

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« Reply #36 on: September 07, 2006, 02:26:16 PM »
Promethean, to put it quickly is the Frankenstein's Monster Roleplaying game set in the World of Darkness.
 
I have read the book (you'll see in another thread that I'm waiting to play it..) But here it is Longly...
 
In Promethean your are a corpse returned to life by the Divine Fire called pyros through the ancient art of alchemy through the tradition of 1 of 5 lineages.
 
Still with me?
 
Your Ultimate Goal (the Great Work) as a Promethean is to refine your Pyros into a Soul using Alchemy. This will result in you turning into a real human.
Part of the great work is creating another Promethean. Your lineage determines how you would go about doing this. It's also how the Prometheans greatest threat comes to be.
 
If you try and fail to create a Promethean the corpse (or corpses) rips apart into Pandorans. Pandorans are created through Flux instead of the Pyros. Because of this, they hunger for Pyros and therefore hunger for Prometheans.
 
The appear as inaninmate objects (trees, manikins, logs, books) until a Promethean comes near. Then then will slowly try to hunt or trap the Promethean.
 
The other great enemy affecting Prometheans is themselves. Due to their unatural nature, they generate diquiet. People, Animals, Vampires, Werewolves and even Nature itself ultimately reject the Promethean. If they stay in a populated place to long, eventually the people around will grow to distrust the promethean until it escaltes to the point they are chasing him with pitchforks and burning down his windmill.
 
It seems like a pretty cool heavy concept game. It's different from other WoD games in that Prometheans have an End Game so to speak. They can become humans, and when they do they forget their life as a Promethean.
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ColonelHardisson

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« Reply #37 on: September 07, 2006, 04:02:37 PM »
Quote from: jrients
ColonelHardisson, Starfaring by Ken St. Andre of Tunnels & Trolls fame was a sci-fi RPG that preceeded Traveller.  It's a glorious mess of a game but it and MA pretty clearly place Traveller as the third sci-fi RPG.  IMHO Trav is superior to both (and better designed than many games since) but it wasn't the first sci-fi rpg.


What year was Starfaring published?
"Illegitimis non carborundum." - General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell

4e definitely has an Old School feel. If you disagree, cool. I won't throw any hyperbole out to prove the point.

jrients

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« Reply #38 on: September 07, 2006, 04:11:38 PM »
Quote from: ColonelHardisson
What year was Starfaring published?


1976
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obryn

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« Reply #39 on: September 07, 2006, 04:41:19 PM »
Quote from: Andy K
That's awesome. In fact, that's exactly what I did with it as well.

I used FATE to run a CoC Delta Green campaign (we basically went through 4 of the adventures in Delta Green and DG: Countdown), and at the same time implemented the BRP Sanity Rules "as is" (though psychology and counselling successes to relieve sanity worked out from my homebrew something like "Regain 10 points for each success level over 0").

FATE (and Fudge) is awesome precisely because you can graft on BRP sanity like a Frankenstein monster and it still works like a charm!

Ha!  No kidding!

Wow, and here I thought I was being original. ;)  Prepare to have your brain picked!

Did you find it worked well overall?  Did you tweak the damage track like I did, or did you find the lethality was sufficiently high to keep players on their toes?

Anyway, that kicks ass. :D  Small world.

-O
 

Caesar Slaad

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« Reply #40 on: September 07, 2006, 04:47:27 PM »
Heh... I just realized that I confused Obryn and Andy K because of the FATE CoC.

Well, I'll relay here what I did in the thread where I confused y'all. I think that a great way to simulate fear in horror games would be to give players a default "fear" aspect and award them fate points for acting on fear.
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Vellorian

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« Reply #41 on: September 07, 2006, 11:06:54 PM »
Quote from: KrakaJak
Promethean, to put it quickly is the Frankenstein's Monster Roleplaying game set in the World of Darkness.


Whoa.  That sounds very, very intriguing.  

In fact, I may have to look into it.

Just please tell me it's not another goth masturbation fantasy mixed in with the cool...
Ian Vellore
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blakkie

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« Reply #42 on: September 10, 2006, 04:00:51 AM »
"The Wildside Gaming System: Fantasy Role-Playing Edition"

http://www.wildsidegame.com/
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hgjs

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« Reply #43 on: September 10, 2006, 04:06:09 AM »
Quote from: ColonelHardisson
Damn! It'd be nice if more games had names that were instantly evocative. None of these titles I've mentioned have told me a damned thing about the game they're attached to.


There's a law somewhere that hobbyists can't come up with names worth shit.  (See open source software for the best examples of this.)
 

Zachary The First

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« Reply #44 on: September 10, 2006, 10:04:24 AM »
Quote from: blakkie
"The Wildside Gaming System: Fantasy Role-Playing Edition"

http://www.wildsidegame.com/

Hmm, looks somewhat crunchy from the examples.  That looks interesting.
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