Wheel of Time MU(SH|X)
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Not overly familiar with ares but and deferring to fara in this would it be possible to write a module that was fantasy oriented?
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@BobGoblin With the changes to FS3.3, Ares is actually pretty neatly set up for general fantasy. Melee combat is no longer totally awkward, there's no Dodge/Defense skill necessary (I'm sure Fara works very hard to ensure that, given her hate for the concept), you can have mixed armor... it's pretty solid, really. A good system for cavalry and a way to enable "weariness" or something like that from magic use is... most everything necessary with a little imagination.
On the cavalry question, I've been pondering it myself, and there are a couple of semi-awkward solutions, but nothing really elegant. Those semi-awkward solutions should be plenty, really. They're just not pretty.
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@BobGoblin What @Seraphim73 said, pretty much. 3rd ed (in Ares when it's eventually released) is better but still a bit awkward. That said, you can do whatever you can imagine if you're willing to carve up the code enough.
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Based on what I'm reading about GURPS, I'd want to stay far away from it.
The system Cuendillar used was more of a ranking system. As an example, one of my characters had a 4 in Sword. Going by the files on that talent - and the classifications were similar whether it's Sword, Bow, and so on - it broke it down like so:
1 - You know how to keep from cutting off your foot. Better keep clear of your comrades, though, just in case.
2 - You're good enough to use a sword in battle without injuring yourself or your comrades.
3 - You're starting to look like you know what you're doing.
4 - Wielding a sword is like walking to you now.
5 - Not many people can use a sword like you.
6 - Your sword is practically a part of your body.
7 - Your sword is a part of your body.
8 - You might be able to hold your own with a Blademaster.
9 - You can probably hold your own with a Blademaster.
10 - You probably have the qualities to become a Blademaster.They also used an optional Dice system, explaining the average difficulty for a task was to roll a stat or skill at 6. 7 would be tougher, and 8-9 would be really hard with 10 reserved for nearly impossible tasks. Then you could have a variety of success (or fail/botch) results to help determine how well you did or didn't do at what you attempted. A few examples:
COMBAT SKILLS:
*Attack/defend against target with a weapon about the same size as yours: 6
*Attack/defend against target with a larger weapon (Sword/Hands vs Staff): 7-8
*Attack/defend against target while doing some acrobatic, dramatic move: 7-9DIPLOMACY:
*Deal peaceably with a neutral party: 6
*Deal peaceably with a hostile party: 7-8
*Deal peaceably with an enemy who hates you: 9-10MUSIC:
*Perform a normal piece: 6
*Perform a complicated piece or perform cold: 7-8
*Perform while under threat of death by a Cairhienin Lord: 8-9These things could also be used in tandem with an attack by one person and a defense, and their newsfiles had some examples based on what one person might be attacking with and how someone else might be defending, so difficulties could vary. When I played there, I thought it all worked well if people wanted to leave things up to chance instead of simply coming to an agreement about what would happen.
Obviously just taking that entire CG/Skill/Dice/Etc. system wouldn't be reasonable for a new game, but from a personal POV I found it to be simple, easy to follow, and useful for the sake of comparison. Improvement was encouraged through IC interactions, with EXP earned from a weekly nomination system.
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@Wolfs Cuendillar's system... when it was used... was pretty similar to FS3. FS3 just has the benefit of coming with completely coded combat (including weapons or armor), and not having the automatic successes mechanic or the variable TN mechanic.
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@Seraphim73 Ah. I wouldn't really know, as I'm pretty unfamiliar with just about every system out there. I just know it worked fairly well for me.
Blood of Dragons uses something that's not all that different, though most of their stats go up to something like 60-70 capped for normal characters, higher for the more special ones. Of course, they also had benchmarks to help people understand how good or bad their character was at a thing.
They have a sort of rudimentary roll system for jousting and combat, though the combat system was always designed with a character's riding ability factored in and that didn't always work too well considering most combat in the game was on foot.
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@Wolfs Yeah, I vaguely remember that from my short period of time on BoD. Definitely janky. FS3 is smooth and pretty seamless, except when you use it for uses for which it is not intended. With FS3.3 (Ares), that's really only mounted combat and magic. And you can fake magic a bit.
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@Seraphim73 The problem with BoD is neither of the people who run the game are all that good at coding stuff like that, and they have far too much going on to really focus on game improvements. There are numerous things that have never been put in place over the years for those reasons.
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@Wolfs said in Wheel of Time MU(SH|X):
@Seraphim73 The problem with BoD is neither of the people who run the game are all that good at coding stuff like that, and they have far too much going on to really focus on game improvements. There are numerous things that have never been put in place over the years for those reasons.
It's less that and more of the fact their entire RPing culture is descended from Elendor, and they want the RP to be consent anyway so the combat code doesn't matter. On the other hand, giving people stats when you don't care about giving stuff to do with them is, I think, somewhat sad.
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@Auspice
I will give GURPS credit, I enjoy a lot of their settings, especially Infinite Worlds. But like Savage Worlds I buy books for the settings and than run games set in those settings in different systems. -
@deadculture I would say it is primarily due to a lack of time and coding experience on my part. I have copious notes and ideas for the system, but have never found the time or energy to devote myself to it. But we don't see a conflict between having combat code and being consent based. By participating in fighting, you do consent to some damage, though yes, you won't be killed or maimed against your will. Elendor was rather harsher in that regard as you had no say in what happened if you were knocked down to 0 health.
The 1-10 scale for skills on Cuendillar was the original, home made system. Some years after Tales of Ta'veren shut down, Nynaeve implemented the CharGen and skill system from Tales of Ta'veren instead of continuing with the old system. I believe the ToT system was based on Ars Magica.
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@Balerion said in Wheel of Time MU(SH|X):
@deadculture I would say it is primarily due to a lack of time and coding experience on my part. I have copious notes and ideas for the system, but have never found the time or energy to devote myself to it. But we don't see a conflict between having combat code and being consent based. By participating in fighting, you do consent to some damage, though yes, you won't be killed or maimed against your will. Elendor was rather harsher in that regard as you had no say in what happened if you were knocked down to 0 health.
The 1-10 scale for skills on Cuendillar was the original, home made system. Some years after Tales of Ta'veren shut down, Nynaeve implemented the CharGen and skill system from Tales of Ta'veren instead of continuing with the old system. I believe the ToT system was based on Ars Magica.
Well, I definitely hear you on time constraints.
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@ixokai said in Wheel of Time MU(SH|X):
Re: GURPS
My understanding is you're not allowed to use it on a MUSH. Or at least that was the case years ago.
The language in the books is really weird. It specifically mentions finding games online in chat rooms, but on the website, poops on muds.
I'm not sure what they mean by property, I'm guessing setting stuff. Maybe running a game using GURPs is fine because of the second question? We'd probably have to hire Gany to parse this up.
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That language makes me wonder what they would think about places like Roll20 since I would consider that "more than a character creation game aid" given it's dice and mapping tools.
I wonder if anyone has asked about that? -
@ThatGuyThere It might be worth an email? I would love a GURPs based mush install.
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Speaking as someone that once worked on a game that used the GURPS rules, I can guarantee that the answer will be "no" and if you do it anyway, you will get a Cease and Desist letter from their lawyers.
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If there's two ways to do things...
- Stupid;
- Really stupid;
...Steve Jackson will pick the third option:
- Really fucking stupid.
This is true every time. It covers game design, marketing, customer relations, legal interpretations. You name it. He will invariably pick "really fucking stupid" as the way to go ahead with things.
As far as I can tell the entire purpose of having staff at Steve Jackson Games is to get Jackson as far away from actually touching things as is humanly possible.
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It's funny because it's true.
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@SG said in Wheel of Time MU(SH|X):
@ixokai said in Wheel of Time MU(SH|X):
Re: GURPS
My understanding is you're not allowed to use it on a MUSH. Or at least that was the case years ago.
The language in the books is really weird. It specifically mentions finding games online in chat rooms, but on the website, poops on muds.
I'm not sure what they mean by property, I'm guessing setting stuff. Maybe running a game using GURPs is fine because of the second question? We'd probably have to hire Gany to parse this up.
I think the IP they are referring to is the text from their books, including whatever setting stuff there is. I have good friends who have worked with SJG on intellectual property stuff (they produced a movie and the scenes shot in a game store had shelves full of GURPS books because that was what they could get liscencing for, even though the movie itself is clearly about D&D). They are down to share In Nominae for MU* because they (whoever 'they' is I dunno, whether its just Steve Jackson himself or some other 'theys' also) have the complete rights still. They don't for other stuff. There were multiple steps and approvals required to show the GURPS books in a for profit movie. That is all I know, and in rereading it is really not anything but I'm hitting submit anyway.
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The reason I think In Nomine is considered a different beast is that it is based on a French game published by Siroz (a French gaming company) so likely has other issues attached to things as well.