Dice Mechanics, Combat, Skills, Magic, etc.
Which edition of DnD? Each version is its own game. Palladium Fantasy is near and dear to my heart. Dice mechanics work in the following way, for combat a roll on a d20 of 1-4 is a whiff. To properly protect your self is based on a active defense roll of either parry or dodge. If your character has a combat skill (these are more like a profficiency than a skill) that gives you automatic parries (parry every melee attack). Armor provides additional HP, if the hit roll is less than AR (armor rating). Skills are mostly percentiles based, except combat skills), roll under. Character creation is simple but wonky at first. First you choose your race as that establishes your stats. Then pick alignment then class, then pick the rest of the stuff. Attributes dont matter unless they are 16 or better. That said, the classes are really evocative and juicy as far as feel. For the most part characters are front loaded, ad the next 15 levels are incremental improvements. Late game play isnt really different, the chatacters are just better at it. Palladium is made with enthusiasm and love, it feels like ypur playing with action figures, and front loading abilities helps maintain that feel as showing up to the first scene tgat shows off your characters abilities is like tearing open the plastic of a new toy and choking down a giant bowel of sugary cereal on a saturday and binge some cartoons
I know Palladium goes way back.
Quote from: Razor 007;1099055I know Palladium goes way back.
Indeed it does. Personally, I like 1e Palladium Fantasy over 2e. 2e added too many elements to make it compatible with Rifts, including bloating the skill list to the point of ridiculousness, making it near impossible to avoid being hit by arrows, making armor nearly worthless because of inflated attack/parry bonuses yet also slowing things down by slapping on personal SDC which effectively doubled to tripled everyone's hit points without a corresponding increase in damage dealt. Oh, and swapped out the previous magic systems that made them distinct from each other for PPE.
Short version, find copies of the 1e material and skip the 2e version of Palladium Fantasy.
Palladium Fantasy = AD&D + RuneQuest + Kevin's Awesomesauce - Kevin's Rule Wonkiness
Quote from: Chris24601;1099060Short version, find copies of the 1e material and skip the 2e version of Palladium Fantasy.
Absolutely!!!
PF1e is awesome. PF2e is okay and I'd play it with a good group, but I'd jump to play some PF1e.
Palladium 1e is also closer to D&D.
Character Creation
3d6 on 8 stats, Intelligence, Mental Endurance, Mental Affinity, Physical Strength, Physical Endurance, Physical Prowess, Physical Beauty, Speed
if you roll 17 or 18 add 1d6 (no, you can't have a 17 it's against the rules)
Different races roll different amounts of d6 for stats, Trolls have 5d6 on Physical Strength
Attributes are mostly used to qualify for Occupational Character Classes, you need at least a 16 to get a bonus.
OCCs provide a couple career skills with a bonus to the base list percentage, a list of elective skills and a number of secondary skills, and a hand to hand combat skill with specific modifiers at each level.
Skills have a level by level percentage chance on a series of tables. Weapon skills give a bonus to strike, parry and throw which is used to differentiate their use in combat. A sword is +2 to strike at first level, a dagger +2 to throw, and a large shield +2 to parry. The bonuses top out at +6 at 15th level. I really like this set up. Also, bounded accuracy two decades before D&D 5th edition.
Magic comes in three flavours. Wizards know a number of spells and can cast a number of spells per day. Diabolists know a certain number of wards and circles and can activate a certain number per day. Summoners know a number of circles and can activate a certain number per day. Warlocks, clerics, and witches are granted a number of spells per day.
If I remember right Palladium had wizard levels providing a magic attack value that reduced saving throws from pretty much Mechanoid Invasion Book II forward.
Combat
d20 initiative, if you tie, you have to decide if you'll attack or parry you can't do both.
Multiple attacks are iterated at the end of the initiative sequence. So if you have 2 attacks you don't make the second until after everyone has made their first.
Attack Rolls are 1d20 + bonus to strike over Armor Rating. No armor is AR 5. If you roll between 5 and the target's AR the armour takes SDC damage. Creatures with natural AR only take HP damage if you roll over their AR and take no armour damage if they don't
You can parry or dodge attacks. Roll 1d20 + mods, if you roll over you avoid the hit. Normally parrying and dodging cost an attack but men at arms get an automatic parry.
Quote from: Spinachcat;1099062Palladium Fantasy = AD&D + RuneQuest + Kevin's Awesomesauce - Kevin's Rule Wonkiness.
Which is, of course, why 1e is, as you say, awesome. Palladium 1e is the best because most of Kevin's Rule Wonkiness came from later systems.
He started by adding personal SDC, increased attacks per round and physical skills buffing your attributes to fit the superhero genre for Heroes Unlimited and TMNT, added PPE to create more unity between magic and psychic powers in Beyond The Supernatural, added MDC to handle mecha in Robotech... then threw it all together to create Rifts; which included giving all sorts of monsters enough MDC to compete with mecha.
Which brings us to Palladium Fantasy 2e... which was an effort to retrofit the system to be completely compatible with the flagship title Rifts had become, but in the process diluted the initial Undiluted Kevin's Awesomesause with all those wonky rules, including things like demons and dragons bringing back so much SDC from their conversion from the high MDC Rifts versions that they became essentially unkillable (we're talking multiple thousands of SDC for many of the dragons).
So yeah, Palladium 1e is epic. I'm not an OSR fan. I could live the rest of my life never playing O/1/2/B D&D. But Palladium 1e is like my crack. It's basically my second choice fantasy system after my own personal ruleset which is, not coincidentally, also able to handle things like dwarven cyborgs and PC giants, dragons, sprites and talking animals.
Quote from: Razor 007;1099033Dice Mechanics, Combat, Skills, Magic, etc.
Mistwell, on another thread, linked to Jester David's review (http://www.5mwd.com/archives/5692). It is very informative.
Edit: That's Pathfinder 2E, not Palladium 2E.
Quote from: Aglondir;1099067Mistwell, on another thread, linked to Jester David's review (http://www.5mwd.com/archives/5692). It is very informative.
Thats not a review of Palladium.
Quote from: Chris24601;1099066So yeah, Palladium 1e is epic. I'm not an OSR fan.
Every Palladium fan is as Old School as they get!
Most especially for us PF1e fans!
BTW, hope you've checked out Palladium's original Mechanoids RPG. It's got proto-PF1e rules, but for gritty sci-fi with psionics. I'm a huge fan as its got that Undiluted Kevin Awesomesauce.
PF1e really is crack. I can't verbalize exactly why, but among all my RPG experiences, so many games of PF1e stand out with great powerful moments. It's a crazy combination of the rules + setting + the wild imbalance of things.
Quote from: Shasarak;1099072Thats not a review of Palladium.
True, I misread it as Pathfinder. Corrected the post.
Quote from: Aglondir;1099067Mistwell, on another thread, linked to Jester David's review (http://www.5mwd.com/archives/5692). It is very informative.
Edit: That's Pathfinder 2E, not Palladium 2E.
Totally different system. I've already passed on PF2E. It's all about Feats, Feats, Feats. It's not evocative of the simple awesomeness I desire. I did like the UTEML concept from the 2E Playtest. Those small -2 +0 +1 +2 +3 modifiers are totally usable, in systems that don't require a 47 to hit a big bad.
You can get Palladium Fantasy 1e for $20 on eBay.
Quote from: Spinachcat;1099074Every Palladium fan is as Old School as they get!
Most especially for us PF1e fans!
BTW, hope you've checked out Palladium's original Mechanoids RPG. It's got proto-PF1e rules, but for gritty sci-fi with psionics. I'm a huge fan as its got that Undiluted Kevin Awesomesauce.
PF1e really is crack. I can't verbalize exactly why, but among all my RPG experiences, so many games of PF1e stand out with great powerful moments. It's a crazy combination of the rules + setting + the wild imbalance of things.
Not only do I have the Mechanoids, I have other early crack like "Justice Machine."
I kinda love the high-techy-ness of the body armor AR in Mechanoids acting like natural/robotic AR did in later works. No, you can't bypass it with a high enough roll, you can't even damage it without a high enough roll... unless you're using a particle beam; which is lost in later rulesets like Heroes Unlimited which switched to the armor AR being the value to bypass, but left the P-beam rules unchanged.
That resulted in P-beams seeming wonky and underpowered there while in the Mechanoids their wonky needs an 11+ to hit but does full damage if it does was really about "this bypasses the usual AR 14-18 entirely" which made them terrifyingly effective; particularly if you had to go up against one of the stronger Mechanoids and lasers and such were needing a 16+ on the die to even damage them.
My understanding is that primitive armour is damaged by rolls that hit and are under AR and advanced armour is damaged by hits that exceed AR but the concept was somewhat fluid between Mechanoid Invasion book 1 and 3 and The Palladium Fantasy Roleplaying Game first edition.
Quote from: Razor 007;1099033Dice Mechanics, Combat, Skills, Magic, etc.
Simmilar. Yet... Different.
8 attributes. Some map to D&D, some do not. 3d6 in order. Some races roll more or less dice. If a 3d6 stat roll is 16-18 then roll an additional die and add that in. And if it is a 6, then they get to roll again one more time. So stats were normally 3-18. But could go as high as 30. But rarely did.
Somewhat like AD&D, stats over 16 got increasing bonuses. Either a + or a %.
HP is the PCs CON equivalent, Physical Endurance for Palladium, +1d6.
SDC is 3d6 for fighter types and 1d6 for everyone else. You take HP damage once all your SDC are gone. For living things its exhaustion, dazed, shaken, whatever and wears off with rest. HP damage takes longer. Also once you take HP damage you bleed out 1 HP/Round and pass out or enter a coma at 0. And can go to their PE in negative damage before death.
Classes are rather different from D&D and is very skills driven. Magic and psi powers are case from PPE points or equivalents.
As for rolling. Attack rolls use a d20, skills are percentile.
Combat rounds are 15 seconds. Combat itself is different from D&D. Roll a d10 and you hit on a 5 or better. Any armour worn will absord damage up to its SDC. If the attack roll is better than the armours AC then the attack bypasses the armour and damages the character directly. Otherwise the armour soaks the damage till destroyed. Combatants can also try to parry or dodge as allowed. And can try to roll with the blow even.
Say what you will of Palladum systems but their combats were very dynamic!
Skills are as noted, percentile based and there is a very broad selection.
Magic as noted is point based to cast usually. Characters with spell powers usually start out knowing and able to cast a few spells of levels 1-3 or equivalents. Also
TWO spells of level 1-8 can be cast in a single round! Higher level spells will take 1 or more rounds to cast. There are also runes and magic circles on top of everything else.
Theres more but that is the general gist of it.
1st Ed, which is what I have was not changed too much really. Mostly spellcasting moving from spells per day to ISP points.
Overall it is the same, with some notable differences. I honestly prefer it over 2nd ed which one of my players has. Mainly because 1e feels more complete somehow.
Notable differences are. No SDC except on armour. Combat works pretty much as in 2e now.
No PPE/ISP for most of the caster classes. Healers seem to be the only ones using ISP to power spells. So essentially no psi classes except for the Healer. Caster classes have a total number of spells they can cast per day. But can cast those from any spells they know. Even higher level spells.
Alot more races to choose from! The land, gods, races, etc feel a little better detailed. YMMV on that.
SDC for people has annoyed me since the first edition of Heroes Unlimited. Seriously, why would it be a sin to call them "stun points" or "fortunate mischance" points or something and keep SDC for structures?
Quote from: David Johansen;1099311SDC for people has annoyed me since the first edition of Heroes Unlimited. Seriously, why would it be a sin to call them "stun points" or "fortunate mischance" points or something and keep SDC for structures?
Especially when SDC means two different things. For a person or creature it is mostly stamina, being worn down, whatever. But for items it is the objects HP.
As a system add-on to 2e it works. But for non-objects it should have been called something else. Or folded into HP as STUN or whatever.
SDC works okay for modern games where you want a difference between "flesh wounds" and "bloody wounds".
In RIFTS, I find it useless. MDC is really all that matters. Once you're out of MDC, you're toast.
SDC just adds too many extra hit points to everyone causing combat to drag to a stand still. House rule I've often used when I had to run 2nd ed was if you hit and rolled over the foes Natural AR (remember if not listed it is a default of 5) then you do damage direct to HP. If below damage goes to SDC. This helped keep the toughness of dragons and such (they were a bit to squishy in 1e) while helping to avoid the 1st level troll merc with 100+ "hit points" issue.
Quote from: Spinachcat;1099588SDC works okay for modern games where you want a difference between "flesh wounds" and "bloody wounds".
In RIFTS, I find it useless. MDC is really all that matters. Once you're out of MDC, you're toast.
This. Once you have full-auto fire weapons, 100 SDC melts like ice in the sun. I wrote a homebrew version for RIFTS that converted the MDC of armor into a a threshold for attacks to punch through the armor. Then I added a random damage table you roll on whenever MDC damage gets through and affects your MDC body. In short, 1 point MDC damage didnt translate into 100 SC damage anymore but varied between... I don't remember.... 5 SDC per MDC point up to full 100 SDC points (the idea being that there might be grazing hits, etc). Not exactly up to canon but it made SDC matter if you had enough and it created scenes in which SDC creatures were bleeding or having other serious wounds underneath their armor but still fighting on.
It all just made for more dramatic fighting and imagery. Oh, and armor started with high anti-penetration values but decreased with each hit, depending on the size of the area being hit.
That was fun.
As for Fantasy, I only played 2E two times, ages ago, and it was kinda alright. It has active defenses, which is a substantial plus for me. I think skills had, as usual, fairly arbitrary probabilities assigned but even those work better imho than D&D 3.x or D&D 5E. It doesn't have Vanican magic. It has pretty nifty alignments. It isn't up to modern standards anymore though, regarding clear, unified rules (if that matters to you).
I'd probably play it rather than any D&D edition but I'm not the biggest D&D fan anyway. Or maybe I have too many fond memories in the Palladium system. (I wish I had played more Beyond the Supernatural though.)
Quote from: lordmalachdrim;1100062SDC just adds too many extra hit points to everyone causing combat to drag to a stand still.
Welcome aboard Lord Malachdrim!!
You're right about the SDC inflation slowing down combat. Same issue with MDC inflation in Splicers and Chaos Earth.
My solution is usually to hack NPC's SDC or MDC by half and often double the number of monsters. I prefer glass cannons to lengthy combats.
Own both of those but never ran them.
My preferred palladium games to run are Palladium Fantasy 1st, Robotech (first time they had the license), Macross II, and of course a mix of Heroes Unlimited/Nightspawn(bane)/Ninja's & Superspies.
I got to say Palladium 1E sounds amazing. I'm having trouble finding the books online though. Could someone maybe post a list of Palladium Fantasy 1E books? This thread has honestly got me hooked and now I want to track this stuff down.
Quote from: Spinachcat;1100203Welcome aboard Lord Malachdrim!!
You're right about the SDC inflation slowing down combat. Same issue with MDC inflation in Splicers and Chaos Earth.
My solution is usually to hack NPC's SDC or MDC by half and often double the number of monsters. I prefer glass cannons to lengthy combats.
I usually halve MDC/SDC and double damage.
If you play RAW with the original auto-fire rules a Jucier JA-11 (among others) does 3d6 x10 or x7 for a full clip, depending on which version of full-auto you use. I don't think you need to half MDC under these circumstances, as there are several full-auto energy weapons which dominate the game underneath the heavy MDC weapons.
Quote from: Alamar;1100257I got to say Palladium 1E sounds amazing. I'm having trouble finding the books online though.
eBay is your friend. I saw two corebooks in good condition last week for $25 each.
They are available as PDFs from Drivethrurpg
Books:
Book 1 - Core Book https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/60661/The-Palladium-FantasyR-RolePlaying-Game-Revised-Edition--1st-Edition-Rules?cPath=4816_5192
Book 2 - Old Ones https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/60660/Palladium-RPG-Book-II-Old-Ones--1st-Edition-Rules?cPath=4816_5192
Book 3 - Adventures on the High Seas https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/60659/Palladium-RPG-Book-III-Adventures-on-the-High-Seas--1st-Edition-Rules?cPath=4816_5192
Book 4 - Adventures in the Northern Wilderness https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/60658/Palladium-RPG-Book-IV-Adventures-in-the-Northern-Wilderness--1st-Edition-Rules?cPath=4816_5192
Book 5 - Further Adventures in the Northern Wilderness https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/60677/Palladium-RPG-Book-V-Further-Adventures-in-the-Northern-Wilderness--1st-Edition-Rules?cPath=4816_5192
Book 6 - Island at the Edge of the World https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/60657/Palladium-RPG-Book-VI-Island-at-the-Edge-of-the-World--1st-Edition-Rules?cPath=4816_5192
Book 7 - Yin Sloth Jungles https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/60656/Palladium-RPG-Book-VII-YinSloth-Jungles--1st-Edition-Rules?cPath=4816_5192
Monsters & Animals
The Arms of Nargash-Tor https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/60667/The-Arms-of-NargashTor--1st-Edition-Rules?cPath=4816_5192
Quote from: Spinachcat;1100352eBay is your friend. I saw two core books in good condition last week for $25 each.
That's more then the original cover price of $19.95. The only good thing about PDF copies of Palladium's book is since they are all black & white interiors they're pretty easy to just print and put in a binder for those of us who prefer hard copies.
Quote from: Alexander Kalinowski;1100351If you play RAW with the original auto-fire rules a Jucier JA-11 (among others) does 3d6 x10 or x7 for a full clip, depending on which version of full-auto you use. I don't think you need to half MDC under these circumstances, as there are several full-auto energy weapons which dominate the game underneath the heavy MDC weapons.
I usually added multiplier together. So a full burst would be x8 or x11 damage (After the Conversion book came out, we used the lower value) and a crit would be an additional x1, for a total of x9 or x12 damage.
An average dice roll would give 72 damage from a JA-11 full burst. Even after halving the MDC, that wouldn't one-shot a SAMAS. (250 MDC reduced to 125 MDC)
But yes, a GM shouldn't double multipliers! :D
Also, a full burst requires the character to fire the whole clip, and take (IIRC) two melee actions. It's kind of an alpha strike option that usually leaves the character weaponless until they reload or switch weapons.
Quote from: Ratman_tf;1100558Even after halving the MDC, that wouldn't one-shot a SAMAS. (250 MDC reduced to 125 MDC) [...]It's kind of an alpha strike option that usually leaves the character weaponless until they reload or switch weapons.
Fortunately everyone on the team comes equipped with full-auto MDC weaponry. :D
Or worse.
Quote from: Alexander Kalinowski;1100567Fortunately everyone on the team comes equipped with full-auto MDC weaponry. :D
Or worse.
And the Coalition tend to deploy in squads, or larger units. :)
Just a note for the guy that was asking about Palladium FANTASY. They are talking about RIFTS.
Quote from: lordmalachdrim;1100681Just a note for the guy that was asking about Palladium FANTASY. They are talking about RIFTS.
We have drifted into RIFTS. Palladium Fantasy doesn't use MDC that I'm aware of.
How is Palladium Fantasy for SDC inflation?
Quote from: Ratman_tf;1100699We have drifted into RIFTS. Palladium Fantasy doesn't use MDC that I'm aware of.
How is Palladium Fantasy for SDC inflation?
First Edition... ZERO personal SDC. Your Hit Points are Physical Endurance score (with no physical skills to add to it) + 1d6 per level. Armor ranged from AR 12, 20 SDC for the lightest padded armor to AR 17, 140 SDC for full plate.
Second Edition... uses personal SDC and the same physical skills as Rifts with class bonuses for Men-at-Arms, but typically in the 14 (low end for a non-man-at-arms) to 40-ish (high end for a man-at-arms), plus whatever physical skill SDC you piled onto that. The armor was the same as in first edition.
Also worth mentioning is the scaling of attacks per round. In 1E, non-warriors got 1 per round (some spellcasters could cast two spells per round at high level though) and warriors capped out at 2 or 3 per round. In 2E the default of two if unskilled, plus two more than another two or three as you level up from the other systems was in full effect.
The inability to pump your scores with physical skills also meant that using more than just the base hand-to-hand and weapon proficiency bonuses was the norm for hit and damage... Two attacks per round at +2 to hit (vs. the AR's above) and for 1d8+2 damage in 1E is a VERY different scenario than six attacks per round with +6 to hit for 2d6+10 damage in 2E.
An average PC could actually survive pretty well in the first because they'd have about 14 hp at first level and even in the lightest armor, half the attacks either miss or be taken by the 20 SDC of the armor first... and they were only taking 1-2 attacks for an average of 6-7 damage per hit. Medium and heavy armor with the ability to actually parry as a free action was HUGE for Men-at-Arms despite their Hit Points being identical to those of an unarmored wizard.
Indeed. From all I have seen the shift in SDC combined with the shift in attacks in PL2e do seem to skew things differently.
Add to that the overhaul of the spell casting system.
I wanna add that at least 2E is not a game for combat optimization because combat optimization, at least skill-wise, always looks the same - across all later Palladium games: You take the WPs you need and then you take Physical Skills in a fairly typical order of usefulness: first skills you absolutely need (like Prowl, Climbing, Swimming), then Boxing for the extra attack, then (if you have good PP aka Dexterity) any Physical skills that buff PP and finally everything else that adds to strength and gives you extra SDC.
SDC are pretty low by Palladium standards but that's hardly surprising since we're not dealing with superheroes, cyborgs or mutated turtles here.
I STRONGLY recommend playing without psionics though because with psionics, especially the more advanced powers you're entering save or die territory, probably even fairly on. I played in RIFTS an Undead Slayer (an Atlantean with magic tattoos that replicated some magic/psi powers)... he ended killing up one of the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse by first paralyzing him (a psi power-equivalent) and then Death Touching him. Hilarious at the time, preposterous in after-thought. Oh yeah, and he was trained in Ninjitsu, of course (hey, it was the 90s, gimme a break).
Without going back to Rifts, Paralysis psi powers (Bio-Manipulation), Hypnotic Suggestion and stuff like that are totally OP powers that are present in Fantasy as well. Even if you don't allow Super Psi powers, the Sensitive Psi powers basically kill all whodunnit scenarios and stuff like that.
Just leave it out of fantasy and you can have a fun game. Just tell your players you don't think it's thematically appropriate and be done with it.
Or maybe 1E? Never played it myself.
I liked 1e's magic system.
No spell memorization.
May cast X number of spells per day.
Any spell counts as a single casting.
Any spell can be learned and cast by a character regardless of their level. (when leveling up there are limits, but there are no mechanical restrictions on being taught between levels)
So a level 1 wizard might only be able to cast a total of 2 spell, but they could be any spells he knows in any combination. This also applies to a level 15 who can cast 23 spells per day.
Quote from: lordmalachdrim;1100800I liked 1e's magic system.
No spell memorization.
May cast X number of spells per day.
Any spell counts as a single casting.
Any spell can be learned and cast by a character regardless of their level. (when leveling up there are limits, but there are no mechanical restrictions on being taught between levels)
So a level 1 wizard might only be able to cast a total of 2 spell, but they could be any spells he knows in any combination. This also applies to a level 15 who can cast 23 spells per day.
That's the only mod I've done to DCC: changing the magic system to Palladium Fantasy 1st edition! Except the higher the level of spell, the more difficult it is to cast. Because, ya know, spell misfire and corruption and all that are fun.
I like the Palladium Fantasy classes. Longbowman (personal favorite), Merchant, Noble, Peasant, Squire... just some oddballs that make it interesting.
I haven't noticed anyone mention the playable races. Palladium differs from DnD in that basically any race is a playable character. Goblins, Orcs, Trolls, Giants, Faeries, Kobolds (another personal favorite), and like a hundred others as well as the boring dwarves and super-boring elves. There is also the canine races of Wolfen, Coyle, and Kankoran.
Is there a significant difference between 1st ed, and 1st ed revised? Revised is a little easier/cheaper to find on ebay.
Quote from: Brasidas;1101637Is there a significant difference between 1st ed, and 1st ed revised? Revised is a little easier/cheaper to find on ebay.
I think the book's organization (i.e. which order you found things in) was changed along with some different artwork, but otherwise the rules are unchanged. You should be A-okay going with Revised 1st Edition.
Quote from: Chris24601;1101651You should be A-okay going with Revised 1st Edition.
Okay, thanks.
I don't think 1e revised (especially the ones with the red dragon on black art) are any different rules-wise from the original 1e.
However, I can't speak to the 1998 and later printings with the bluish pegasus vs. dragon cover. As its Palladium, I would assume all the 1e printings would be 90% identical.
Psioncis especially in Rifts are just too unbalanced imo. With the power category having some really weird powers such as being able to mind control or possess robots and power armor with no good reason given. Yet magic has Negate mechanics which is a joke of an ability.
Quote from: everloss;1101576I like the Palladium Fantasy classes. Longbowman (personal favorite), Merchant, Noble, Peasant, Squire... just some oddballs that make it interesting.
Agreed and seconded. Espcially being able to play a Merchant, Noble, Peasant. PF was a welcome change from D&D
Quote from: everloss;1101576I haven't noticed anyone mention the playable races. Palladium differs from DnD in that basically any race is a playable character. Goblins, Orcs, Trolls, Giants, Faeries, Kobolds (another personal favorite), and like a hundred others as well as the boring dwarves and super-boring elves. There is also the canine races of Wolfen, Coyle, and Kankoran.
Following PB usually lack of balance some of the non-human races are way too powerful imo to be allowed at the table. With good rolls a Troll could start with a 34 PS. Made worse that the more non-standard races above are mainly evil and hated by almost everyone else. What made me laugh was that the Wolfen method of conquering is much more humane than the other fantasy races. They allow the conquered race to keep everything they own, their gods, pretty much everything like it was before `just pay taxes and send able bodied men to join the army. Yet no one wants to join them. As well the setting suffers from the overused trope of "humanity and only humanity is at the top food chain" like too many existing fantasy rpgs.
All printings of 1st ed are identical in text and mechanics with the exception of the removal of the sexual deviance tables from the insanity section.
Quote from: sureshot;1101673Following PB usually lack of balance some of the non-human races are way too powerful imo to be allowed at the table. With good rolls a Troll could start with a 34 PS. Made worse that the more non-standard races above are mainly evil and hated by almost everyone else. What made me laugh was that the Wolfen method of conquering is much more humane than the other fantasy races. They allow the conquered race to keep everything they own, their gods, pretty much everything like it was before `just pay taxes and send able bodied men to join the army. Yet no one wants to join them. As well the setting suffers from the overused trope of "humanity and only humanity is at the top food chain" like too many existing fantasy rpgs.
I disagree about balance. The balance is in the role play. Sure the Troll or Wolfen is strong, but they also aren't allowed into town, no one makes armor or weapons big enough for them without being relly expensive, etc.
Humans in the Palladium Fantasy setting are going downhill. The Western Empire has fallen into decadence and self destruction. The Timiro Kingdom is about to have a massive slave revolt. Byzantium is insignificant. And the Eastern Territories are going to fall to the Wolfen eventually (at least the northern part).
The setting makes it pretty clear that the canine races are the future of the world.
Puppy Overlords!!