Posts made by Misadventure

Question and a note.
It sounds like you are speaking about MUD level automated combat (which is the same as many MMORPG games, with complex many step resolutions and factors) either real time, or with a potentially complex turn system when referring to dice. Contrast with systems usually mean to be simple enough to play "quickly at the table" like your typical RPG e.g. Vampire, RuneQuest, ShadowRun. Is that what you mean?

Also, so note that having ratings for things doesn't require dice. You just need a statement of how much better one rating is than another, to give you an idea of how the narration should go, and what is a concession, compromise etc. A simple example of this would be a proportion system, where your chance to win is rating A/(Rating A + Rating B). Anything outside about that rate of success should be paid for or discussed. So two matched opponents should discuss, and describe it as a close match. If someone clearly outmatched is posed as dominating, there should be a reason beyond "I didn't feel like losing despite being outmatched".

What?
Authority + Resources + Responsibility =- Results?

Somewhere is the many prior books of the Pendragaon RPG, there are mechanisms that detail the running of your manor, allowing you to apply treasures from adventure and war to upgrades etc. Related to that is the idea that a Wife might have some special feature. Some are excellent Stewards of your household, some have healing knowledge and so on. To me it's not much of a big deal, BUT some folks, when running female knights, have been denied the access to such benefits because its only for wives according to some. So I asked. It certainly doesn't matter if no one has access to spouse blessings.

Change your requirements to "has strong performance in the specific areas desired for this position". It is perfectly okay to tell a nice person, who writes up their actions, does +jobs, is easy to get along with, and who does nice small scenes that the position needs someone who is strong with large public scenes, or strong with creating and maintaining antagonism between minion factions. Same with Staff. You can be good at many parts, but not strong at a specific aspect of a given role.

For example I like to think I am good at reviewing rules, doing +jobs once I am set up with notes etc (shush Arkandel), have decent ethics, and patience to explain things to players, and a willingness to deal with unpleasant tasks. However I am not strong at playing NPCs to generate long term RP. I would be a terrible choice for a ST or head ST position.

I suspect that part of the issue is that sometimes it's this person, or nothing. That lends strength to the whole inexperience and concern about telling someone that is otherwise a decent person to work with that you need someone who excels in an area, not just can limp along.

@TNP That is some terrible logic there. Argumentum ad ignorantiam.

A similar phrase would be many books are not reviewed, and so we can assume that they are good books, and that good writing has dominated the field of book writing for the past century.

What if the fair approach is you have to convince me you get the key element that makes this restricted concept restricted?

If you allow female Knights, will you allow their husbands to potentially have the wife's blessings? Or perhaps alternate Husband blessings?

And so it is proven that it doesn't take much to leave a place up for a month or so. Cuz it happened.

It doesn't take much to leave a place open for a month just to let folks pack up, make contact outside the MU* with one another etc.

Quitter.

"A new life awaits you in the Off-world colonies! A chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure!"

Always worth looking into. Just double check. I wanted to run a small mecha/powered armor game, and the war game rules for Cyberpunk seemed pretty close. However the conversion to the RPG scale and mechanics they had was crippled. They didn't just do something like replace set damages with a die that averaged what the set damage was, they used dice that couldn't ever reach what the set damage could So a small mecha killer weapon couldn't hurt a small mecha in RPG scale.

I may have missed that initial comment. Good enough isn't a negative.

There are lots of games with some sort of lifepath or templates to them: cyberpunk, traveller(!), shadowrun, runequest (and related systems such as Ringworld).

I think f some one has a love of something they will put the work in to make it work. EG I added the traveller life path stuff to Space Master to give some details to folks careers.

As to a better core engine for a FS setting? I personally would look at Shadowrun or Cyberpunk or Mekton Zeta depending on wat you want the system to do, and how much you want to rip off. Magic from Shadowrun could help with powers for FS, cybernetcs from Cyberpunk, vehicle design from Mektok Zeta.

I would focus on large scale systems, the military, citizen loyalty and faith, trade, either by stealing a board game or large scale rules set from RPGs, or from a board game. Reign's company system might do it quickly yet with flavor.

And I do think many FS books are in pdf form.

Old school is more an approach to what the system does, and what is the responsibility of the players and GM. FS is certainly not an early RPG design. Many modern game (indie in particular) focus on getting to "the meat" of the story/situation/drama, whatever that given game thinks the meat is.

(For instance a magical girls game based on the Apocalypse Engine has one or two rolls total per participant in a battle. Choose a tactic, roll, accept the consequences, and get on with the story itself. It finds no interest in whether you should have used your piercing three shot area effect 2 meters attack before or after the takes three actions, costs health, once a day attack or the other way around. it expects you to define that detail and drama as flavor only.)

I've only read the John Carter series and perhaps Triplanetary counts, so I can't say i am an expert on planetary romance, but FS does not remind me of either. I think the goal of Adventure! fits, less sure about the execution.

Is there a game where it is easier and more effective to be a generalist? Even games with increasing cost curves only de-incentivize being a generalist, but you still benefit if you can do everything a little bit. I suppose you could drop below the threshold of usefulness for adventuring purposes (high difficulties).

I think that for the most part you can use FS, or many other similar systems without issue in the setting. It is convenient that there is a game (FS) already used to describe the setting in some detail, and your players won't care as long as you allow all the gear, or n one of the especially weird/difficult to defeat without a specialist item stuff.

If you want a more mechanically satisfactory experience, you have a huge task no matter the system chosen.

I'm glad it works for you. I only say anything because I don't think the game as written does anything in particular, and if you think so, you may be one of the few , and want to double check. If you are sure, then get on with making/supporting/calling for what you want, and pay me no mind!

It feels like you are shifting your terms as each issue comes.

I've read FS, and it is not a stand out system to me. I do not even see anything in particular about it that supports the "feeL" of Fading Suns. It does have the skills and ratings for the rolls and gear/technology for the setting, so it is convenient.

Most "old school games" would not do a better job with the theme. There might be one that handles grappling, or combat moves, or whatever better, but in a generic way instead of a thematic of strong appropriate feel way. Most games have stats named in a good way, classes or archetypes that carry flavor, and maybe even focus of rules (say on duels, or political actions) that fir the thrust of play desired.

I can say that I personally feel that it would be a mistake to try a very complex or simulationist system to the setting, so no GURPS, or Phoenix Command. I do think that various board games that have economics and warfare elements could be adapted to give better playability and depth to those topics.

TLDR; There is a difference between a good game as an absolute threshold, and good enough. For instance, market penetration is about good enough.

I do think that if a given game was focussed on something specific, some of the more modern games could serve better, such as the offered example of FATE.

Including common mistakes is not the sign of a good game system. Good enough, perhaps.

Well, since it isn't about registration exactly, and certainly doesn't have a zillion supers to chose sides, the trailer might not hurt your feelings.

Gotta get my Black Panther fix.

They have until about 25 or so to fully develop their prefrontal lobe. In theory this is when they will have a full human conscience and sentience. I'm good with assuming that they won't be worth the risk to others though, because I am evil like that.

@alzie I am fairly sure that in that context sex counts as a bribe or a trick. Or a "trick".
I r so funnay.