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Author Topic: Who wants to interview me about Lords of Olympus?  (Read 92452 times)

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Who wants to interview me about Lords of Olympus?
« on: June 06, 2010, 11:06:41 PM »
Here's the deal: you post your questions on this thread, for me, about Lords of Olympus.
Each week, I'll answer a bunch of them here and on my blog, and maybe they'll get posted on the Precis site too.

Along the way, you'll get all kinds of new info about the upcoming Lords of Olympus game.

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Simon W

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Who wants to interview me about Lords of Olympus?
« Reply #1 on: June 07, 2010, 12:27:15 PM »
Okay, how about starting at character generation?

Are there just stats, stats and skills, what are they and how do you generate these?

What about Powers/Special Abilities? How are they rated?

How do stats (skills, if any) and Powers interract?

That'll do for a start

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Who wants to interview me about Lords of Olympus?
« Reply #2 on: June 11, 2010, 10:42:06 AM »
Q&A About Lords of Olympus

So here is the deal: over on theRPGsite, you can post your questions for me (http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=17458) about the game I'm currently developing, Lords of Olympus.
Once a week, I will answer any questions posted there, and the answers will be posted both there and on this blog.

So here are this week's questions:

Quote
Q: Okay, how about starting at character generation?


A: Well, that's not technically a question as such. What did you want to know about Character Generation?

Quote

Q: Are there just stats, stats and skills, what are they and how do you generate these?


A: Lords of Olympus has four Abilities: Ego, Might, Fortitude and Prowess. They are generated in a bidding war where you compete against the other players, where the winner of a given ability's bidding war would end up with 1st Class (the highest level) in that ability; the guy who came in second would have 2nd Class, then 3rd Class, etc.
You can also choose not to bid, in which case you have Olympian Class, which doesn't cost any points.  This is the default level of an inhabitant of Olympus, and still makes you considerably more powerful than a normal Mortal.  In fact, there are two "underpowered" Classes (Heroic Class and Mortal Class) which give you points back if you lower your ability to that level.
There is also a fifth ability, Luck, which functions in a different way from the other four.
Skills are determined by your personal chronology, the background of what your character was doing before the start of the game; they are training and knowledge, and have no mechanical values; they are used to determine what your character would be capable of knowing or doing.

Quote
Q:What about Powers/Special Abilities? How are they rated?


A: There are a wide variety of powers in Lords of Olympus. Each power has a particular point cost, and gives the character special abilities. Some powers have other powers or a minimum ability Class as a prerequisite.  Some powers have "advanced" versions which are more expensive but represent a higher level of mastery.
Here's a list of the powers in Lords of Olympus:
Immortality
World-Walking
World-Walking Mastery
Promethean World Walking
Promethean World Walking Mastery
Olympian Magic
Advanced Olympian Magic
Primordial Magic
Advanced Primordial Magic
Scrying
Advanced Scrying
Metamorphosis
Advanced Metamorphosis
Ineffable Names
Elementalism
Enchantment
Glamour
Olympian Artificing


Quote
Q:How do stats (skills, if any) and Powers interact?


A: Skills have no direct interaction with powers, except in the sense that one might have lore about powers or that sort of thing.  The Abilities interact with powers in several ways: as mentioned, many powers have a prerequisite minimum Class in an ability to use the power.  Many powers also are more effective if the character has a higher Ego Class, and often a character's Fortitude Class determines how long they can maintain use of a power.



That's it for this week, please send more questions to the thread, and I'll be glad to answer them.
Note that all answers are based on the current work-in-progress, and may end up being changed in the process leading to the actual publication of the Lords of Olympus game.

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boulet

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Who wants to interview me about Lords of Olympus?
« Reply #3 on: June 11, 2010, 11:36:34 AM »
I don't know how confortable you are if I bring up Amber DRPG as a reference point in this thread but I think it's bound to happen anyway. Lord of Olympus' source of inspiration should be clear by now though I won't deny the originality of your creation. I think a few comparisons with Amber won't be detrimental and probably illustrate (to players familiar with Erick Wujcik's game) what are you intentions.

So here I go:
- Amber comes with a corpus of fiction and canon that's been one of its most distinctive features. Zelazny's books are the reference for a majority of players, whether it means following the genre, exploring alternative plots or just exploiting the shiny cool powers and create new ones. Greek mythology isn't centralized this way. Several contradictory versions of every tale might exist somewhere. How would you say Lord of Olympus will relate to mythology? Will the setting be widely modular? Or will you narrow down to something like a canon, retaining your favorite aspects of mythology? What role actual ancient Greek history might have in the setting? How much metaplot will we find baked in the game?

- Amber comes with its handful of vibrant characters that are usually treated as NPCs and are very important to the game atmosphere. Some might prefer to play without them (hi Jibbajibba) but usually they're at least part of the game. What will player play in Lord of Olympus? The main gods (like Zeus, Poseidon and Hades)? Secondary gods (equivalent of the 2nd generation of princes for Amber)? Something else?

- Are there specific elements of Amber DRPG that you wanted to correct, or do your own different way that will appear in Lord of Olympus? If yes what are those?

I think it will do for a start.

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Who wants to interview me about Lords of Olympus?
« Reply #4 on: June 11, 2010, 12:45:10 PM »
How will interactions with NPCs be reconciled with the bidding system? e.g. Having 2nd class in Might makes you stronger than the character with 3rd class and not as powerful as the character in 1st class, but how would that stack up against, say, an angry, methed-up kyklops? (ooh, look at me using old Greek spellings!)
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Who wants to interview me about Lords of Olympus?
« Reply #5 on: June 11, 2010, 05:35:58 PM »
Why did you choose the Greek mythos?  What does it bring to the table as a setting for multi-world play that's better than the others available?
Warning, Warning - The above text contains opinions. If these cause consternation, stress, mild headaches, hair loss, or poor performance, you should immediately log off the web, go outside, and get some fresh air. Not intended for use by small children. :)

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Who wants to interview me about Lords of Olympus?
« Reply #6 on: June 11, 2010, 08:57:54 PM »
As the idea was mentioned on your blog, what are your thoughts on using the word "Fortune" instead of "Luck"?
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Luck and Olympus
« Reply #7 on: June 11, 2010, 10:23:29 PM »
Pundit,

Over on your Xanga page, I asked,

"Luck" sounds weird to me. Have you considered "Fortune" instead? The connotation might be really off since it's Latin, but it carries a note of changeability that luck doesn't get across as well. Luck also just sounds really Teutonic."

Later today, I had a lot of thoughts on how Luck, or Fortune, or Chance might apply in-game to a Greek mythic setting. I posted separately in the ADRPG forum here: http://www.therpgsite.com/showpost.php?p=386998&postcount=1

Thanks!

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Who wants to interview me about Lords of Olympus?
« Reply #8 on: June 18, 2010, 05:17:00 PM »
Here's this week's update:

Lords of Olympus Interview Pt. II

Continuing to answer the questions presented in the Q&A Thread; I will remind everyone that if you have a question for me about Lords of Olympus, post it on that thread and I'll answer it to the best of my ability here.

Q: Greek mythology isn't centralized. Several contradictory versions of every tale might exist somewhere. How would you say Lord of Olympus will relate to mythology? Will the setting be widely modular? Or will you narrow down to something like a canon, retaining your favorite aspects of mythology? What role actual ancient Greek history might have in the setting? How much metaplot will we find baked in the game?

A: Its true that Greek Mythology isn't centralized; I'm using one particular version of the mythology, the one that is essentially the most recognizable, though taking a few snippets from others.  Hesiod would be my main source as far as the whole super-structure of my setting is concerned.
So yes, there'll be a kind of canon, and it will be the one that most people think of when they think of Greek Mythology; but if someone is a really serious student of mythology I don't think they'd have much trouble changing things around.
Ancient Greek History, on our Earth, played out the way we think it did. The great mythological heroes and events which we now think of as mythical were not in fact events in our world's past. They were events on a different world: "Classical Earth"; one of countless infinite earths that exist in the multiverse.  In Classical Earth, most of the Greek Legends actually happened in one form or another.
By "Metaplot" I suppose you don't mean "ongoing storylines for future products" (there won't be ANY of that); I assume you do mean "built-in setting in the mechanics".  The answer to that is that the mechanics do have a lot of built-in setting to them; but most of it has nothing to do with the individual deities or my treatment of mythology, and everything to do with the particular cosmology I created for the setting. The only real mythological elements that are hard-wired into the setting is that Zeus, Poseidon and Hades exist and that they are the masters of the three Divine Roads that crisscross the multiverse. There is also (as shown last week) magic that is special to the Olympians, and magic that is born from Khaos, the first Primordial.

Q: What will player play in Lord of Olympus? The main gods (like Zeus, Poseidon and Hades)? Secondary gods (equivalent of the 2nd generation of gods)? Something else?

A: Although the game could be modified "up" to play the main Olympians, or "down" to play great mortal heroes in the style of Achilles, the default is that the player characters are new and original 2nd generation deities, sons or daughters of the Olympians or Titans (or possibly the Primordials). In general, the PCs are assumed to be "young" gods, relatively new to the multiverse.

Q: Are there specific elements of the Diceless RPG that you wanted to correct, or do your own different way that will appear in Lord of Olympus? If yes what are those?

A: The Diceless RPG is certainly an inspiration for Lords of Olympus.  Erick Wujcik was, in my mind, an unparalleled genius of roleplaying, who I certainly wouldn't dare to think I could surpass. That's why, in general, I'm not trying to re-invent the wheel with Lords of Olympus, but rather to base the game with direct inspiration from Erick Wujcik's ideas about how a diceless game can be effectively designed.
That said, Lords of Olympus is not a carbon-copy of any other game, though gamers will no doubt find that it is full of compatible ideas.
One thing where I wanted to have Lords of Olympus stand out is with the Powers.  Readers will find that the powers in Lords of Olympus have certain parallels with the powers in other games, but they are also redone in a fashion unique to the context of the game and the setting.
I've tried to be more careful in defining how some of the powers work, and what some of the limits to those powers are. In particular, in Lords of Olympus there's practically no power that's "instantaneous"; the Powers can do spectacular things, but you have to have them prepared for use, whether its a Probability-Altering Spell with Olympian Magic, trying to mentally contact someone with Scrying, Casting an Elemental spell or crafting a Geis with Enchantment, these things all require time and forethought, meaning that the powers-heavy character is not going to automatically dominate on the field of combat.
Another thing I considered quite carefully was the magic items and artifacts. I had briefly considered getting rid of these as an options for players altogether, knowing that they are often prone to abuse. In the end I chose to have two different optional systems for items: one is Olympian Artificing, and the other is Daemonic Artefacts.  In both cases, rather than try to break down a point-by-point cost of what each effect does (which is what I think can be prone to abuse), I've created a more abstract system that has fixed point costs for a few very common concepts and then guidelines for what costs the GM should set for other ideas the players might come up with.  You can use one or both systems for items in the game; but I personally like the Daemonic Artefacts better, I like the idea that all powerful magic items actually have intelligences of their own.

Q: How will interactions with NPCs be reconciled with the bidding system? e.g. Having 2nd class in Might makes you stronger than the character with 3rd class and not as powerful as the character in 1st class, but how would that stack up against, say, an angry, methed-up kyklops?

A: The Cyclops would have its own level of Might; being a Cyclops it would probably be fairly strong, so it would likely have a Might Class on the low end of the Class "ladder"; in your theoretical example it might be 3.5th Class Might.

Q: Why did you choose the Greek mythos? What does it bring to the table as a setting for multi-world play that's better than the others available?

A: The Greek Mythos brings a great deal to the table in general. For starters, its the foundational mythology for our civilization. That means that even among the truly ignorant who couldn't tell you who Zeus is, they are still bound to relate to the overall concepts and themes of the Greek mythos that are completely impregnated in our culture. The very essence of legend comes from the Greeks.  This is vastly superior for setting purposes to using some kind of alien pantheon or to try to (almost always severely imperfectly) base your setting on foreign foundations that will not culturally resonate with the players.
Moreso than any setting from modern sci-fi/fantasy novels, players will start playing Lords of Olympus and will immediately "get" who the NPCs are and what is going on.
As for specifically "multi-world" play, the Greek setting is full of fantastic mysterious places and realms that aren't always explicitly "other worlds" (though Olympus or the Underworld basically are) in the myths, but that feel utterly otherworldly. Its an easy step from there to suggesting that they are in fact other planes.

Q: As the idea was mentioned on your blog, what are your thoughts on using the word "Fortune" instead of "Luck"?

A: I like the sound of "Fortune"; and honestly I thought about a lot of possible names for that fifth ability, but I think luck will do. Its careful not to overemphasize its significance. The luck attribute isn't supposed to be Fate or Destiny, nor is it supposed to represent a force (like the Roman Fortuna, embodied in an actual deity).  So choosing an unremarkable word like "Luck" was a way of making sure that the ability is kept in its correct context, as basic chance.
Fate is a different kind of force in the game, not represented by mechanics exactly but by the elements of the setting itself.

Please keep sending me these excellent questions, and I'll keep trying to answer them!

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Who wants to interview me about Lords of Olympus?
« Reply #9 on: June 18, 2010, 06:28:10 PM »
I am big fan of Greek Mythos RPGs, but I am still waiting for an Amber game that uses dice.   And I am far from alone.

And yes, I've tried Amber and I'm a fan of the Wuj, but I didn't grok the system and wondered why we weren't just LARPing.

Why should we unwashed hordes consider looking at Lord of Olympus?

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Who wants to interview me about Lords of Olympus?
« Reply #10 on: June 20, 2010, 05:36:32 AM »
Hi RPGPundit,

Greek Mythology has a lot of characters. Roughly how many characters do you plan to write up for Lords of Olympus?

Gods often have specialties (Music, Wine, Fertility, Metalworking, Marriage, etc). How do you plan to handle this in the game?

Do worshipers matter in Lords of Olympus? If so how do you plan to handle them in the game?

Can characters with the Immortality power die?

How powerful do you plan on making the Main Olympians gods relative to the power level of starting player characters?

Thanks,
Lorrraine

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Who wants to interview me about Lords of Olympus?
« Reply #11 on: June 25, 2010, 01:22:24 PM »
Lords of Olympus Q&A Part III

Continuing our Friday series, where I answer questions from this thread on theRPGsite regarding my plans for the Lords of Olympus RPG.

Q: I am big fan of Greek Mythos RPGs, but I am still waiting for a game that uses dice. And I am far from alone. Why should we unwashed hordes consider looking at Lord of Olympus?

A: Well, let me be frank about one thing: when it comes down to it, there are some people that just don't like diceless games.
There are some that THINK they can't possibly like diceless, even though they've never actually tried; they can't imagine that the game would be satisfying without those little polyhedrals to chuck around.  These people, if they gave Lords of Olympus a chance, might change their mind.
There are some who say they don't like diceless, but their real problem is that they never played a GOOD diceless game. I would hate diceless games too if my entire experience of them was with Nobilis, for example. In your case, you mentioned to me that you played Erick Wujcik's Amber Diceless, so clearly you are not one of the people who fall into this category.
Finally, there going to be some people for whom diceless play just didn't convince them. You mentioned in your post that you "wondered why we weren't just LARPing".
What strikes me about that statement is that you may be feeling like diceless games are too freeform.  Lords of Olympus certainly won't be GURPS; and its purpose is still to have a game where from the point of view of the player, it all but is a LARP in the sense that they do not need to keep track of points and numbers or resources, they just have to know what their character is good at and bad at, and what they can do in a general sense.
So if you are a player who really loves doing lots of mechanical things with the system itself, Lords of Olympus may not end up being for you.
On the other hand, some people had issues with a game like Amber, for example, in that it seemed like there was far too little definition in the rules, too few structures of how to arbitrate things, and this seemed to leave everything up to the GM.
If that is your issue, Lords of Olympus may be, for you, an improvement over that kind of design, since I've gone to some lengths to try to create more structure in how things like Powers are managed, giving specific rules for just how much Ego is necessary to make certain effects, and how much Fortitude is needed to keep going with powers. In combat too, I am more explicit than in certain other games, when it comes to how to judge in the comparison of ability scores and how certain environmental influences should affect modify ability Classes.
So yes, a little more structure than previous successful Diceless games; which might be enough to move you and others to check it out; but I also don't want to be deceptive and pretend that its something other than what it is.
There is one final point here: you say you love Greek Myth; well, I think that honestly this is going to be the most complete treatment that the Greek pantheon and mythology has ever received in an RPG to date. So maybe that too will overcome your other doubts.



Q: Greek Mythology has a lot of characters. Roughly how many characters do you plan to write up for Lords of Olympus?

A: Here's the list of all the actual deities that will get a full entry in the book (in cases where they're mentioned as a group, ie. "the muses", that means they're treated as a group within a single entry):
Khaos, Phanes, Erebus, Tartarus, Nyx, Aethyr, Hemera, Momus, Nemesis, Eris, Moros, Thanatos, Hypnos, Morpheus, Phobetor, Phantasos, Uranus, Aphrodite, Eros, Harmonia, Gaia, the Cyclopes, the Hecatoncheires, Typhon and Echidna, The Furies, Pontus, Eurybia, Nereus, Amphitrite, Thaumas, Iris, Mnemosyne, the Muses, Coeus, Phoebe, Asteria, Hecate, Leto, Apollo, Asclepius, Artemis, Crius, Pallas, Perses, Themis, The Fates, Thea, Eos, Helios, Selene, Japet, Tethys, Tyche, Metis, Athena, Clymene, Atlas, Prometheus, Epimethus, Menoetius, Phaeton, Styx, Nike, Kratos, Zelus, Bia, Oceanus, Rhea, Cronus, Zeus, Dionysius, Hermes, Pan, Heracles, the Graces, Hera, Hephaestus, Ares, Phobos, Deimos,  Eileithya, Hebe, Pasithea, Hestia, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Persephone.

Apart from these, several of the lesser gods and demi-gods are detailed in specific entries (for example, the Hesperides, Hyades, Pleiades, Hyas, and Calypso will all be covered in the entry on their father Atlas).  There will also be entries on a variety of non-divine monsters that are well known in Greek Mythology (centaurs, nymphs, fauns, sirens, giant creatures; and specific creatures like Ladon, Scylla, Charybdis, the Kaukasian Eagle, etc).

I hope that's a good number for you...


Q: Gods often have specialties (Music, Wine, Fertility, Metalworking, Marriage, etc). How do you plan to handle this in the game?

A: There are a set of optional rules for having a "divine theme". I was uncertain how would be the best way to handle this, so I ended up creating three different optional rules for how to handle these themes; one where the theme is just window-dressing, one where the theme you choose makes a slight difference in terms of your handling that theme, and one where its a major defining element of your character.  All three are presented equally as optional rules for the game.

Q: Do worshipers matter in Lords of Olympus? If so how do you plan to handle them in the game?

A: Worshipers do not matter in terms of game mechanics, no.


Q: Can characters with the Immortality power die?

A: Yes; they can die by extreme violence, just as some gods did. Its just very difficult, between Immortality, the natural regeneration that high Class in Fortitude confers, etc.  Someone has to really want you to die for you to die in the game.


Q:How powerful do you plan on making the Main Olympians gods relative to the power level of starting player characters?

A: Its my intention that the PCs start out as fairly powerful, comparable to the other "children of" Gods.  They will start out less powerful than some young but famous gods like Heracles, and significantly less powerful than the major players of the universe like Zeus, Poseidon or Hades. These special NPCs are going to have "Above 1st Class" abilities; but in general the PCs will be very competent.

Please keep posting the questions in our Q&A thread, and I'll keep answering them every Friday!

RPGPundit
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Simon W

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Who wants to interview me about Lords of Olympus?
« Reply #12 on: June 26, 2010, 10:11:51 AM »
I'm looking forward to this, a lot.

What do characters do in the game?

Will there be an over-arching plot of some sort?

Are there any adventures in the book?

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« Reply #13 on: June 26, 2010, 11:27:01 AM »
Hi RPGPundit,

Nice list of deities.

How do you plan to handle Allies?

How do you plan to handle contributions and advancement?

How do you plan to handle personal realms/worlds?

In terms of power level how do Lords of Olympus characters compare with Amber characters of Similar point values?

What do you think will surprise or intrigue an Amber GM when she reads the Lords of Olympus rulebook?

Thanks,
Lorrraine

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Who wants to interview me about Lords of Olympus?
« Reply #14 on: July 02, 2010, 05:07:52 PM »
Lords Of Olympus Q&A Part III

Today again I answer questions posted by you, the fans, in the thread created for that purpose.  Remember that if you want YOUR question about Lords of Olympus to be answered, all you need to do is post it on that thread, and you will get (some kind of) an answer every Friday.

Ok, on to this week's questions:

Q: I'm looking forward to this, a lot. What do characters do in the game?

A: Characters are the children of the Olympians or the Titans. Most of them will be immortal gods in their own right, albeit lesser-known demigods. But essentially, what the characters do depends a great deal on what kind of a campaign the GM wants to run. The guidelines in the rules present a number of possible options for campaign structuring; in a standard Lords of Olympus game, the PCs would spend their time traveling through the multiverse, accomplishing great quests and adventures for their own purposes or in the service of their more powerful relatives. They would get caught up in the elaborate conflicts and relations between the divine family, sometimes being manipulated and hopefully sometimes manipulating others; they would scheme together or against each other to win the favour of Zeus (or another powerful god) because it is the only way to gain for themselves a place of authority in the multiverse.
It is possible to also start the game from a different perspective; characters could begin as mortals with the blood of the gods, and have to work in the campaign to earn the gift of Immortality. Its possible for some or all players to begin with no idea of their heritage, as mortals on Classical Earth, or Modern Earth, or some other place, only to have the truth revealed to them by good or bad means.
Beyond that, which is kind of the default game, there are about a half-dozen campaign seed scenarios that will be presented in Lords of Olympus as ideas for particular campaign situations; including the idea of a war in heaven (a revolt against Zeus, or the escape/return of the Titans), or even the possibility of a campaign where the Greek Pantheon are not the only Pantheon of Gods out there...

Q: Will there be an over-arching plot of some sort?

A: No, not an over-arching plot as such. The game supposes that the campaign would normally begin a long time after the Titanomachy (the war between the Olympians and the Titans), and even quite some time after the adventures of Heracles.  There will be plot seeds (like those mentioned in the answer above) but not a specific over-arching metaplot.

Q: Are there any adventures in the book?

A: There's going to be so much material in the book that while there will be campaign seeds and such, there's probably not going to be room to put a full-blown adventure in there.
In any case, the good news is that Precis Intermedia plans for Lords of Olympus to be an Open Game, so hopefully people won't have to wait for me to get around to it for there to be adventures for Lords Of Olympus...

Q: Nice list of deities. How do you plan to handle Allies?

A: In Lords of Olympus, there are two possible purchases related to relationships that a character can have at the moment of character creation: Patrons or Enemies.  The player can spend a certain number of points in exchange for having a deity who is their Patron. Players won't know who this deity is; it could be a close relative or a more distant one that has for some reason taken an interest in their character. Allies will always be working for what the ally considers to be the best interest for the character (but not always what the character would necessarily like); an ally will always be willing to put themselves on the line to protect and aid the character.
In exchange for a certain number of extra points for spending elsewhere, a player can also choose to have an enemy. This enemy will also not necessarily be known immediately to the player, he or she may even appear to be a friend at first.  The enemy hates the player character, either because of something the character did, or because of the mere fact of the character's existence (that somehow insults or inconveniences the deity). Depending on who this enemy is, the player character might find himself the victim of vicious assaults or of careful and elaborate schemes against him.


Q: How do you plan to handle contributions and advancement?

A: There will be guidelines as to how to handle Player Additions, which are things that players can do, to add depth to their character, or to the campaign as a whole, or to be helpful to the GM or the group; in exchange for some extra points (usually 5 or 10 points) for the construction of their characters. GMs are free to determine what kind of actions they want to allow for Additions; they can reject any potential addition, and they have the choice not to use these at all if they so wish.  Guidelines will include some examples of recommended Additions, as well as some helpful hints (from experience) of what kind of things are not really good Additions.


Q: How do you plan to handle personal realms/worlds?

A: Players can purchase their own Realm for as little as 1 point. There will be extensive rules and guidelines for creating Realms, and the various potential costs involved.  Realms can be more costly if they are close to certain key Realms, particularly the three principle realms of Olympus, Atlantis or the Underworld.  There is also a lesser cost if the player wishes for his world to be close to another specific world but not one of the aforementioned.  Players can also spend extra points to allow their Character to have control over the world's structure, to be able to change its laws and form. Other costs are involved if he wishes to have guardians at the entrances to his world, or to limit the possible accesses to the Divine Roads of the multiverse. Players can also choose to restrict the force of certain powers in his Realm.


Q: In terms of power level how do Lords of Olympus characters compare with characters of Similar point values from other Diceless Games?

A: That would be difficult to answer, because while Erick Wujcik's diceless RPG is certainly a major influence on Lords of Olympus, the games are not really the same. Also, everyone knows that in other Diceless games, the power level of characters tends to vary wildly depending on the preferences of the GM involved. I would say that in Lords of Olympus, as you are playing deities, the player characters have a fairly high power level, comparable to the higher end of the typical Diceless spectrum. It is possible in Lords of Olympus for a GM to shift some of the assumed values of abilities and powers, to make the power level of his characters lower if he wishes, or similarly to make power levels somewhat higher than the assumed default.


Q: What do you think will surprise or intrigue a fan of other Diceless games when she reads the Lords of Olympus rulebook?

A: I think there could be quite a lot of that. The setting is new and I think very exciting, it has some similarity to other games (dealing with the subject matter of a vast and very dysfunctional family of powerful multiversal rulers), but it is in no way a copy of any other setting; its one and central inspiration is the Greco-roman myths. I think just about anyone (whether they are fans of other Diceless games, or fans of Greek mythology, or neither in particular) will be very entertained and impressed with the gaming potential of this setting.
System-wise, fans of other diceless games may appreciate that, while remaining a toolbox, Lords of Olympus has more detailed outlines of how to use abilities and powers, and how the different ability Classes work in power-use and combat. The powers are based on certain principles, allowing for a lot of interesting variations without making powers too dominant over high ability Classes or player ingenuity:  there are relatively few powers that can be used quickly without advance planning, meaning power-based players have to be thoughtful about how they prepare themselves for a situation. The powers may sometimes seem familiar but they are also all original and have significant differences from other games, they are in no way just carbon-copies. The rules for things like artefacts, daemons, lesser magic, and NPC abilities are all original and innovative.  Lords of Olympus is a labour of love that is the product of my knowledge and passion of 20 years as a GM of Diceless campaigns and a lifetime of admiration for the Greek Pantheon.

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