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Author Topic: Combined Diceless Game (LoO, Log & LoA)  (Read 1869 times)

Rogerd

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Combined Diceless Game (LoO, Log & LoA)
« on: November 30, 2018, 04:01:15 PM »
This was posted in G+, so @RPGPundit kindly suggested that I post it here.

Has anyone given any thought to a combined Diceless game?

How would you do it?
What concessions would you give to powers and cosmology?
Would you shift the costs of some powers?

Panjumanju

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Combined Diceless Game (LoO, Log & LoA)
« Reply #1 on: December 05, 2018, 01:22:49 PM »
I looked into running a game where players could pick from both the Amber Diceless rulebooks and Lords of Gossamer & Shadow, and it looked to me like it would work without any restrictions. I was tickled at the idea of running what amounts to two different games at once, with different players having different rulebooks in the room. However, I ended up going a different direction...I don't remember why. Probably something else was shinier.

I haven't read Lords of Olympus as thoroughly, but as far as I can figure - it would work just to throw open the doors and let people pick from any and all of them.

It's a game where what passes for balance tends to rest on the GM, anyway.

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RPGPundit

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Combined Diceless Game (LoO, Log & LoA)
« Reply #2 on: December 06, 2018, 06:54:23 AM »
My current LoO campaign has elements from Amber in it, though that hasn't become obvious to the players yet.
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Headless

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Combined Diceless Game (LoO, Log & LoA)
« Reply #3 on: December 06, 2018, 11:28:05 AM »
I ran a game with elements from all three books as well as smy own stuff, and stuff the players came up with on their own.  I had one player with what amounted to pattern, but with out the Pattern of Amber, he had to face an ordeal that attached his being to the fundamental nature of reality, he interprited it as having to do with the constilations, I wasn't sure how that was going to go.  Like most powers it didn't come up often.  But he did summon Orion out of the sky to track and hunt down a shadowy figure who shot him with a crossbow.  If I remember correctly there were special circumstances, he was bleading out into a prepared circle in a special location at midnight durning the dark of the moon.  (They were trying to raise the dead so they could ask who killed her)

I figued with that set up I couldn't say no.

Rogerd

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« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2018, 05:55:34 PM »
I intend to run one fairly soon.

Now what I did was separate off the travel aspects of Pattern Imprint such that each faction has their own travel power.
LoG: Infinite Stair
LoO: World Walking
LoA: Shadow Travel

Pattern Imprint I renamed Shadow Magic, such that it allows the player to control various aspects of shadow.

I renamed Wrighting and Trumps as Communication. Then split it into Icons (individuals only), Trumps (people, items and places), which is far more expensive.

Olympian magic was split into Luck magic, and Old god magic (advanced part) which allows the user, as per rules, to make a rather large mess.

Logrus, and Primordial magic are basically the same thing.

Order, Chaos and Void I used, but I mined Superpower wikia.


These are split into-

Lesser-
Awareness: Sensing the particular primal power

Empowerment: The presence of chaos in their being fundamentally overrides lesser concerns and ailments, making them functionally immune to disease, illness, the effects of aging, as well as highly adaptive against poisons, radiation, or other such debilitating forces. Users become stronger, faster, more durable, possibly unlocking abilities related to the affinity and enhancing the existing powers. Some users may be able draw sustenance from the chaos energy to even slow or stop aging.

Inducement: Able to influence a person, object or area with a particular condition.

Infuse: The user can infuse primal energy into objects (usually a weapon), beings, or powers, empowering and energizing them and allowing the user to manipulate their qualities and efficiency.

Offense: The user can release/use primal forces for attacks of various shapes and/or intensities, either projected, used as a part of melee attacks, etc.

Weapons: They can create or wield weaponry with power derived from a primal energy, which grants the user a wide variety of abilities.

Intermediate-
Energy Generation: Create blasts of the primal force

Energy Manipulation: The user can create, shape and manipulate the primal energy in varying ways, allowing things such as energy projection, using the energy for various supernatural feats, to inducing effects of chaos, etc.

Greater-
Magic: The user can manipulate and reconstructing reality and the very fabric of existence, and bring about order to the multiverse.

Reality: The user can create, shape and manipulate order on a literal, symbolic, conceptual and physical level. They have ability to recognize, discern, envision and understand overt and/or underlying patterns and structure of anything physical, social, mental or natural and know their weaknesses, strengths and all other information and how to use them to reach the wanted goal.

Transformation: User is made up of or can transform their body completely into order/orderly matter/energy. Users transformed form can be either anatomically identical to their normal form, aside of being made of order, in which case it contains all to organs and is somewhat vulnerable to attacks. Alternately user can transform into homogenous matter, without any part of their form being more important than the other.

This is so that players can essentially be Nabu, Chthon dammit!

I keep cantrips, then added Power Words (basically like in DnD, and Ineffable Names) allowing the user to speak words that have an effect on the victim.
« Last Edit: December 08, 2018, 06:29:46 PM by Rogerd »

finarvyn

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Combined Diceless Game (LoO, Log & LoA)
« Reply #5 on: December 14, 2018, 02:43:50 PM »
Well, LoGaS is an official successor to ADRP and the mechanic is the same. LoO is sort of generic ADRP rules with the serial numbers filed off. From that perspective the rules are all pretty much the same.

I think that the biggest question would be whether or not the three settings can mix well or not, and I really haven't played enough LoGaS or LoO campaigns to really answer that one.
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Headless

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« Reply #6 on: December 16, 2018, 04:57:20 AM »
I like what you have done.  But I worry that it might be to rational, structured and orderly for Amber or amber like games.

Rogerd

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« Reply #7 on: December 16, 2018, 04:08:08 PM »
Quote from: Headless;1068867
I like what you have done.  But I worry that it might be to rational, structured and orderly for Amber or amber like games.

Thank you. Are the powers are too orderly? Or the structure of beings?

If it helps I am heavily influenced by both DC & Marvel cosmology. At least before the Lords of Order and the various pantheons became higher dimensional beings like in current DC.

Essentially the feel I am after is the pantheons are like in Marvel comics.
Amber / Rebma etc is similar to the Lords of Order and Chaos from DC (whether Nabu, Mordru etc).
And to for fun why not stick in the Monitors somewhere?
 
That way Amber-esque players are literally Nabu or someone similar. Anyone related to a pantheon would be like Thor or Hercules. A Lord of Gossamer - well I don't have a good parallel for them yet.

I am literally attempting to write up some Amber stuff right now.
« Last Edit: December 16, 2018, 04:10:50 PM by Rogerd »

Headless

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« Reply #8 on: December 17, 2018, 01:10:11 AM »
I think its important for the powers not to be codified, and ordered.  There should be no periodic table of powers.  They should not be predictible.  Their should not be an underlying system that the players cand discover.  

It should seam like it, a lot of it should makes sense, but there needs to be a few things that are like, WTF?  Where does that fit it?  

Thats just how I have been thinking about it personally.  Latly any way.  Ask me again in a year or two.

Rogerd

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« Reply #9 on: December 17, 2018, 06:13:10 AM »
Quote from: Headless;1068967
I think its important for the powers not to be codified, and ordered.  There should be no periodic table of powers.  They should not be predictible.  Their should not be an underlying system that the players cand discover.  

It should seam like it, a lot of it should makes sense, but there needs to be a few things that are like, WTF?  Where does that fit it?  

Thats just how I have been thinking about it personally.  Latly any way.  Ask me again in a year or two.

Excellent, I like it, and i do tend to mirror this is some fashion.
Here is how I tend to look at powers-

Quote from: Disciplines
Cantrips-
This is lesser magic involving the shaping and manipulation of reality are used throughout the Gossamer worlds. These powers do not involve tremendous changes in the nature of reality, but instead are minor adjustments, little tweaks to the temporary state of things. These subtle manipulations of pure will are less complex than actual spells, are always instantaneous lasting anywhere from a split-second to several seconds.

Examples: Chill, Clarity, Dampen, Dim, Draw, Flare, Focus, Fracture, Glitch, Grasp, Heat, Invigorate, Jam, Loosen, Mend, Nullify, Open, Purify, Reveal, Smack, Spark, Surge

Common-
All are only a single function and require only a basic structure. It consists of spells and that manipulates the natural order with varying degrees of subtlety. What is unique is that it is capable of utilising spells from any School, Circle or Sphere. Thus the spells can still be very powerful, if used carefully and thoughtfully. Unfortunately these are simple spells with two states, on or off. However the nature and effects are visible to all.

L0 (1): Low: These are level 0 spells and consist of utility spells almost like a hedge mage.
L1-3 (2)
L4-6 (3)
L7-9 (5)

Circle- (30 pts)
These are certain areas or circles of magic that can be researched and learn to enhance already existing magical knowledge. As such the title exactly reflects the subject matter, ways to enhance and deepen your understanding of magic.

Deep- (40 pts)
These are areas of magic which contain many different disciplines, whether it is schools, or various spheres of knowledge that can be researched and learn to enhance already existing magical knowledge.

Schools- (15 pts)
These are areas of magic that stem from basic knowledges and abilities.

Spheres- (30 pts lesser, 50 pts greater)
They grant the ability to accomplish great things that would otherwise be impossible.

So yeah, you're right in that it allows the players some form of creativity to choose what they want their characters to do.
But there also needs to be some important powers players can pick and choose from from, e.g. Icons or Trumps,

In fact I went even further with magic.

Quote from: Magic 2
Universal Energy-
This originates from the material planes, and varies with every timeline, born with the big bang. This is the source of the Force, Wielding (Alpha Omega), Ka (Godsend Agenda), Harry Potter, Seaia, and many, many others. This quite often flows in currents, or rivers, creating what are known as ley-lines. There are a variety of ways in which this can be cast-

Arcane: This is acquired through study and research, consisting on common magic.
Innate: They are born or altered such that the knowledge is instinctive.
Mysticism: Those that take this path try to form
Sorcery: Unlike arcane, this is acquired through transcendent knowledge and learning.

Dimensional-
This is the act of drawing upon energy from other dimensions, although this is restricted to those relating to a particular timeline. It is the source of spirits and souls.

Examples: Aether, Ascended, Astral, Divine, Dream, Elemental, Negative, Positive

Trans-Dimensional-
This is drawing energy directly from the multiverse itself. It is a purer form of energy, able to work in every single timeline. It is the most powerful type of magic, and not hindered by either the lesser forms of magic. It enables feats that are normally beyond the power of the user's native mystic energies. They can also magically manipulate extra-dimensional elements, forces and/or substances. This is what most Lords of Gossamer, Amber or Olympus use.

Let me know your thoughts?
« Last Edit: December 17, 2018, 06:34:05 AM by Rogerd »