@Sparks said in The litRPG thread:
@Runescryer said in The litRPG thread:
Also, if you didn't know, Excell Saga is sort of the sequel to SAO. Or SAO is the prequel to Excell Saga.
*whispers* I think you mean Accel World, not Excel Saga.
Yes, you're right...don't know why it's stuck in my mind like that 
@Ghost said in The litRPG thread:
@Auspice said in The litRPG thread:
@Ghost said in The litRPG thread:
@Auspice said in The litRPG thread:
I actually have never watched/read Sword Art Online. >.>
It's all on Nertflerx. It's pretty good anime. Thousands of people stuck in an online VR game where death in-game means death for real...and they can't disconnect.
Sooooo.... Reskinned .hack?
Kinda, but I think SAO is better by far. I also like that they change games between seasons.
I love SAO, but the biggest disconnect for me is that each season, the dangers of the interface tech are exposed and explored, and PEOPLE STILL USE IT.......smdh
Also, if you didn't know, Excell Saga is sort of the sequel to SAO. Or SAO is the prequel to Excell Saga.
LitRPG before there was LitRPG....
@Ghost Yeah. Although I think WildFire (publisher) is dissolved/out of business now. And I have all the books on PDF. So coding in all the splat and keeping it in a password protected game probably isn't going to be problematic.
@Sparks Funny thing...I've sort of been thinking along that line recently as well. Maybe it's just Season 3 of Stranger Things having an impact...
But, two ideas to throw into the ring here....
Occult Espionage. Sort of like the BRPD of Hellboy, only all humans fighting occult organizations; no 'monsters on our side' option. I've been thinking about modifying Top Secret: NWO for this theme in TT, since it's a very narrative-based system.
Cthulhu Tech. For those unfamiliar with the game, it takes the Cthulhu mythos and puts it in a near future, anime setting that combines a couple of story fronts. You have an overt war front, with humans piloting both mechanical & biotech Mechs against invading Mi-Go forces and Mechs (sort of an Evangelion feel). And you have a covert war front, with characters going after secret societies attacking humanity from within; traditional Call of Cthulhu investigator stories amped up with some Bio-Booster Armor Guyver action as some investigators are merged with monsters that they can transform into.
@vaermithrax said in What Types of Games Would People Like To See?:
What if Pathfinder kingdom-building in a persistent game-world, with time acceleration for one kingdom-building turn (one month) turned up to per-week? Players would form their own principalities and start building out. Civilization meets D&D?
The Birthright setting for 2nd Edition D&D is pretty much tailor made for this. And there's already a couple of fan conversions to 3E, so converting to Pathfinder wouldn't be difficult.
Pros
-System for 'Domain Turns' that involve various aspects of ruling, including espionage on other Domains, boosting the morale of your territory through fairs and festivals, diplomacy, military actions, and straight up taking the month off to go adventuring.
-Predefined world with dozens of domains available for PC's to rule/control, interesting takes on the 'stock' fantasy races (elves, dwarves, & halflings), multiple human cultures (Britton, Norse, Germanic Hansiatic guilds, Russo-Hun, and Moorish), Epic magic, heavy Arthurian Cycle influence (the Land and the King are bound), and lots of Epic Monsters to face at higher levels.
-Built in meta-theme of restoring/rebuilding a faded Empire (or creating a whole new one) through unification or conquest of other Domains.
-Empire building beyond physical territory rulership; a PC can build a Trading Guild dynasty, a Thieve's Guild that spans the continent, unification of all the Temples dedicated to a particular God/Goddess into a single Church, etc.
Cons:
-almost too much to choose from in regards to where to focus the game and prevent 'scattering'
-Staff heavy requirement, essentially 1 Staff member per Domain needed for oversight, running Events, and co-ordination.
It's very doable, but requires a lot of planning and dedication. Starting off with the Southern Coast area of the continent gives you 6 Player Domains (each with multiple options for gaining control/rulership points, such as Temples, Magic Sources, Guilds, etc.), and 1 NPC Domain ruled by a Monsterous threat to the area. Far more than enough to launch a Mush with plenty of room for growth and expansion for years to come.
Another thing that I've been pondering, and which goes to the concerns of @Arkandel regarding disparity in levels...
Superhero stories are naturally geared towards characters of different levels and capabilities. For the Avengers, You have power levels ranging from Thor and Hulk, to Iron Man and Vision, to Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. Everyone contributes according to their capabilities. Same with the JLA, same with the X-Men, same with the Titans. Having Thor and Hulk on the team doesn't make Hawkeye underpowered or unnecessary in a story/plot/event. It does, however, make good planning of a plot a necessity to make sure there's a variety of challenges to suit a variety of potential participants. And if you do plan on having a group of flunkies that the 'lower powered' characters will take care of while the big guns engage the Boss and now Hawkeye or Batman types show up, one of the Big Guns can easily sweep the board clear of the flunkies in a round or two, then get back to the Boss fight.
@Arkandel My approach/solution is to adapt the idea of 'spheres' from WoD games. Have one Storyteller per 'sphere'. In fact, it's modeled to resemble a comic book bullpen. One 'Editor-In-Chief' (headwiz) and one Editor per 'title'. They don't have to run every story for a 'sphere', but would be responsible for approving a PRP or another member of Staff running a plot in their 'Sphere' to ensure there's no or minimal conflict with the overall current story arc. So, for a 'traditional' supers game:
Editor-In-Chief/Headwiz
-City Level (run/oversee general Events & Plots involving the city)
Metropolis Editor
Gotham Editor
NYC Editor
-Line/Team Editors
JLA Editor
Avengers Editor
Fantastic Four Editor
Titans Editor
X-Men Editor
BatFamily Editor
Yes, this is very ancilliary Staff heavy, but it's also heavy with a number of Teams, each demanding attention. And, this can be a good starting point for people interested in Staffing, but with no previous Staff experience. Sort of an 'Intern' position.
Now, let's apply this to the game being proposed by @Atomic; an Academy game that doesn't necessarily deal with 'outside' characters & teams (at least not yet)
Editor-In-Chief (still the Headwiz)
'Academy' Editor
That's all you need to start, aside from the usual support Staff (building, coding, wiki, app, etc.)
As the game grows and stretches out beyond the original premise (if it does), you add in more Editors as needed.
Start with a City Editor for the city the Academy is based in/near and start bring in independent supers.
Add in a Team Editor when the individual supers decide to form an initial team. Add in more Team Editors as new teams start to form from newer solo heroes working together..
It's not just a matter of having Staff with lots of stock story ideas for running plots. You figure out/scale the plot idea to be challenging to the lower level, then increase the difficulty based on who shows up. Surprise villains suddenly popping up and increasing the challenge to the heroes is a standard superhero trope; it's not like you can run a WoD plot of servants of the Prince going after the Sabbat, a more powerful character falls into the plot and joins the group, and then just spring a surprise Black Hand/Antideluvian on the party to make things more challenging because of the added PC.
@Arkandel We absolutely are trying to solve problematic social behavior through mechanics. But, there aren't many choices for trying to be pro-active about it. The only other option is a wait-and-see policy where you strip the player of the character after they've been a disruptive a-hole for however long. And I also don't like the wait and see because it smacks too much of wrongfunning and 'You're not playing the character how you should/how we want'. Banning for being an abusive creep in Chat is one thing; banning for playing a character to it's ultimate potential is an entirely different matter, IMO.
@Arkandel I totally get what you and @ZombieGenesis are saying here; I even agree to an extent. My opinion is just that no matter what system is used, someone is going to come along and abuse the Hell out of it, because that's their thing. Not necessarily doing it so that they have a massive advantage over others, but because of the challenge of the build. Even if it doesn't make logical sense, it's a challenge that they engage in, a puzzle to solve. There's a thread on an M&M Facebook page right now about 'how to build Gambit at PL 5'. Most of us are going '....Why?', but that's the challenge and attraction for that player; how to build a character he enjoys with sub-optimal limitations placed on it.
I also get what you're saying about 'wasting plot'. But, strictly my own opinion, comics and superheroes aren't as 'plug and play' for plots in the same way, say, a fantasy RPG or science-fiction RPG, or WoD. Comics & Superhero plots are not solely defined by their scale/power level, but by the villain behind the plot, and Supervillains tend to stick to one hero or group the majority of the time. The Fantastic Four go up against Dr. Doom all the time because of that initial point of contact between Reed and Victor in college, which has blossomed into rivalry. There's no logical reason why the Avengers don't square off against Doom and his latest plan to conquer Earth/the Universe/Whatever, but there's not as much tension, history, and connection there, so it's a rare occurrence. Same with Magneto & the X-Men. Even after Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were in the Avengers and discovered he's their father, Magneto is mostly the X-Men's foe to deal with. In other games, you can have personal vendettas between protagonist & antagonist, sure. But mostly, you have a generalized situation with an all-purpose Antagonist/Villain/Challenge because you don't know which players are showing up to the Event.
And, again IMO, this is another point in the favor of an OC's super game over an FC game: no established relationships going back decades of comics history, either between protagonists or between a protagonist & antagonist. It's a clean slate. So, your Dr. Doom expy can be a full-on global threat fought by whatever hero group happens to be on hand. Your metahuman supremacist is fair game for any group to foil, rather than just one particular group of metahumans trying to show a positive front to humanity that they're not all threats and would-be conquerors.
In regards to disparate levels of power being more lethal to less 'experienced' characters, that's true. But, nowhere does it say that the less-powerful characters are required to square off against the Big Bad directly. Time and again, the Justice League face Darkseid. Batman is completely outgunned by a character who is more powerful than the team's heavy hitters of Superman and Wonder Woman. But, Batman still either wins, or contributes to the group win. He takes down Paradeamons that are slightly more powerful than him but still manageable so that the big guns aren't swarmed while concentrating on Darkseid. He feints and uses attacks that have no chance of damaging Darkseid, but open him up to other attacks from teammates that can do real damage. He stealths off and attaches explosives to Darkseid's stockpile of planet-destroying artillery, then threatens Darkseid into ending the fight and giving up, or having Apokalypse blown to atoms.
In other words, Batman's player knows his character's limitations in a fight and figures out how to contribute accordingly.
The same goes in the opposite direction: the hero that's way overpowered for the situation/event. GM's/Event runners can use distractions to prevent the Kryptonian from wrapping up a scene in a single round. Superman or Thor shows up to stop a bank robbery; gang leader says something to the effect of 'Boss thought you'd show up. So we took precautions..' then activates a series of explosions on a bridge, forcing the OP character to save lives instead of bust some easy skulls. A stray blast sets off an explosion and the OP character has to concentrate on rescues & evacuations & crisis management while the others fight. Or, the 'precaution' that the bank robbers take is a more appropriate powered thug/villain (like Rhino) bursting out of a nearby van they were waiting in just in case Superman/Thor tried to stop the robbery; the OP character now has an appropriate challenge to be focused on while the others deal with the robbers and maybe help with the new bruiser. Is it as satisfying? Depends on the player. When I've played Kryptonians on freeform games, I've voluntarily taken my character out of the battle by these methods so that the other heroes in the event/scene get equal time to shine.
@ZombieGenesis The truth is, any system can, and has, been broken by players that know it inside and out. The only real remedy is Staff-review of characters, which can take a long time. Another point for the Quickstart system: it creates well-balanced characters as well. So, a player could create a character via Quickstart and get playing almost instantly, while their uber MinMax PL 14 character goes through CGen and the approval process, with Staff evaluating strengths & flaws.
So, for those unfamiliar with M&M's PL system, it sort of acts as a combination of guide for how many points your character is built on & and upper limit check for 1) your To Hit bonuses & amount of damage you do with the attack, 2) your defensive bonuses and the amount of resistance to damage you have, 3) Fortitude & Will saves (for resisting physical & mental effects), and 4) Attribute & Skill bonus.
Example: If you have a PL 10, your Attack Bonus and Damage for any attack is capped at 2 * PL, so a total of 20. That means you can have a Strength of 10 and a total Attack Bonus on Unarmed Attacks of 10, or a Strength of 12 and a total Attack Bonus of 8, or a Strength of 6 and a total Attack Bonus of 14; any combination that totals 20. Averaging out (Strength 10, Attack Bonus 10) means that at that Strength level, your character can lift 25 Tons. With Strength 12, you can lift 100 tons (each point is double the value before it). At Strength 6 (minor superhuman level), your character can lift 3,200 lbs. So, the system ensures that your character doesn't have an overwhelming attack with lots of damage and lots of Attack Bonus. Same with the Defense/Toughness cap; it ensures that the better you can dodge an attack, the less capable you are at shrugging off the attacks that do land.
The other thing is the 'scale' of each PL. The general 'starting point' for M&M is PL 10. That gives you a character on par with (using the DC characters) Booster Gold, Cyborg, Batgirl, Beast Boy, Kid Flash, Mera, Cosmic Boy, and Brainiac 5. So, an average member of the Titans or Legion of Superheroes. Superman & Wonder Woman are at PL 15, Robin & Arsenal are at PL 8
Now, mentioned in my earlier post above, the new Quickstart CGen for M&M speeds up the process and simplifies it for players new to the system by a phenomenal degree. It's actually quicker to make a M&M character using Quickstart than it is to make a character in 5e D&D now, IMO. So right there, you're lowering the learning curve of the system by giving new players a highly accessible way of creating an effective character and letting them see what the values mean through gameplay experience, rather than having to read through the rules and make the calculations themselves.
Finally (sorry for the length here), ideas from my own long-gestating plans for an M&M OC game in regards to CGen:
-Players are limited to a maximum of 1 PL 14 character, 2 PL 12 characters, and 4 characters of PL 10 or less; total of 7 alts. If a character reaches PL 12 or 14 through experience and the player already has the maximum number for that slot, they need to drop one of the characters or put one in storage. I think this allows for a good balance between maximum number of alts and room for character growth.
-Players are limited to 1 Legacy Character and 1 Homage character. The Homage character is fairly obviously based off of a major Comics character, but has some unique changes to make them slightly distinct. A Legacy character has some form of heroic legacy tied to them; either the Legacy has been handed down to them (Captain America passing on the shield and name to...) or they're starting a Legacy that's defined by the player getting to craft specific lore around their character (Atlantis, Amazons, Super Soldier programs, alien species, mystic traditions, 'fictional' nations, ect.).
@Bad-at-Lurking The new 'Quickstart' system for M&M 3e is...
Choose a base archetype: 20 choices like Paragon, Powerhouse, Mystic, Speedster, Energy controller, etc....
Make 4 or 5 choices to refine your character idea.
Example: The first choice for the Battlesuit Archetype is defining how you got the suit, which in turn define some of your basic Abilities. The choices are:
-Genius: (Tony Stark) You invented the battlesuit you wear. Your physical Abilities are pretty average, but your Intellect is near superhuman
-Military: (War Machine) You are the pilot of an experimental military battlesuit. Physical Abilities are a little bit above average, average mental Abilities
-Accident: (X-O Man O War, Armadillo) You found the battlesuit by chance/accident. All Abilities are average to slightly above average.
Based on your choice, your initial Abilities block is chosen.
Next, you choose 2 Advantages packages. The choices are:
-Combatant: You're trained in fighting using the battlesuit. You get the Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Improved Initiative, Interpose, and Move-By Advantages.
-Inventor: You have a gift for making technological innovations. You get the Eidetic Memory, Improvised Tools, Inventor, Ultimate Effort (Technology), and Well Informed Advantages.
-Lucky: You're well intentioned, but a good part of your success boils down to sheer luck. You get the Beginner's Luck, Luck (2), Redirect, and Teamwork Advantages.
-Scientist: You're a highly trained scientist with your own research lab. You get the Equipment (3; Headquarters), Skill Mastery (Expertise: Science) and Skill Mastery (Expertise: Technology) Advantages. Your Headquarters comes pre-defined.
-Wealthy: You're rich. You get the Attractive and Benefit 4 (Multi-Millionaire) Advantages.
And so on for Skills and Powers. All the choices have pre-set values as well as assigned Random Numbers so you can completely roll your way through CGen if you want.
You then add in a pre-set Defenses stat block, choose your Complications, and you're done.
Just with those few examples, it's easy to see that there are a multitude of possibilities, styles, and character themes that can be created with the Quickstart system. You can create a classic Tony Stark Battlesuit character, or a rich CEO with no technical experience themselves that has his company's R&D team create a battlesuit for him, or a mechanic in the US Army or Air Force that becomes the test pilot of an experimental battlesuit, or dozens of other concepts.
@RDC I think the best option is to have 2 'forms' of CGen for a M&M game.
First, the 'classic' freeform point-build.
Second, code in the new archetype CGen system from the newer Basic & Deluxe Hero's Handbook. You have a quick, nicely varied, effective PL10 character within minutes. Setup a BG, finger entries, and descriptions, and you're good to go.
The accessibility issue goes both ways. I know a dozen or so online M&M players that would be interested in joining a MU using the M&M system, but have no idea how to play on one in terms of a client, commands, etc.
Maximum Mike himself comes to the defense of CP2077 and CDPR...
I am very much down for this. Especially if it's M&M 3e. I'd be happy to chip in to get this going, however I can; including paying for host space.
@BlondeBot : The newer Deluxe and Basic Hero's Handbooks have optional character generation where you pick a basic Archetype, then go through a quick 4 or 5 choice decision tree to flesh out the character & powers. And you're done in about 20 minutes real time or less. It's a very simple system to get you a fairly unique character that you want to play and fits your style/vision, getting you into the game quicker. Later, as you're more familiar with the system, you can go full point-buy on character generation, or just use the rapid generator system again; whichever you're more comfortable with.
@Ghost said in What Types of Games Would People Like To See?:
@TNP said in What Types of Games Would People Like To See?:
I'd love a Valdemar game. But Mercedes Lackey has forbidden them. Not sure if that's changed at all.
It hasn't.
Which is why we have Blue Rose as an option. It has all the elements and style of Valdemar, with a greater assortment of animal companions and the option of playing one of the intelligent animals, including spellcasting.
@ZombieGenesis said in What Types of Games Would People Like To See?:
Torg could be really cool. Also, I was a huge fan of the Masterbook series back in the 90s. So could a game like Aberrant. I love the idea of your powers slowly corrupting you. It's one of the things I really liked about Ravenloft too.
The new edition, TORG Eternity, really did a great job of cleaning up some rules/system issues and re-presenting the setting.
-Die roll bonus only applies to hit; exceptional successes grant 1 or 2 bonus D6's to damage, with 6's 'exploding'. No more glass-jaw ninjas (Applying the Bonus Number both to hit and to damage, so any roll high enough to hit does massive damage)
-Separating the card deck into 2 decks; Drama for the player bonuses and Destiny for the Initiative system. No more seeing a Glory card wasted on an initiative draw.
-Kanawa/Nippon Tech re-imagined as Pan-Pacifica, merging with a 'Resident Evil' style virus outbreak, instead of the generic High-Tech Corporate Espionage setting.
-Smoother integration of Pulp Powers & Weird Science Gizmos
-Streamlining of the magic system
-Edienos are now legitimately impressive-looking in the art; no derp-dinos.
-Core Earth characters get a huge boost in they're the only characters that can take Reality perks, including the ability to summon Reality Storms.
-Tharkold from the start, but changed from Terminator-inspired to Mad Max/Metro/Hellgate. Also, the Putin expy Russian President ordering a nuclear strike on Moscow to take down the initial Tharkold Maelstrom Bridge....
They're just about to announce the Aysle expansion Kickstarter in the next month or so, after doing the Core Set, Living Land, and (most recently) Nile Empire Kickstarters.
@Auspice said in What Types of Games Would People Like To See?:
@Runescryer said in What Types of Games Would People Like To See?:
@Auspice Setting pitch:
California, post Independence Election. A Boomtown in the Great Maze, about in the middle of California. The town is spread over two islands connected to each other and the mainland by bridges. North island deals with the Union, south Island deals with the Confederacy. Mainland has the rail connections to the rest of the continent.
My idea had been to take a real life town from the western expansion, study its history, and fold those events in alongside the usual Deadlands wackiness.
Sort of my idea, also. Adapting what would have been Bakersfield into the Deadlands setting. The idea was to include as much variety in theme and adventures as possible. So, you have Ghost Rock prospecting, ranching, North/South drama, a few days ride to Shan Fan or Lost Angels, a coalition of California native tribes, the Railwars, piracy, and 'usual' stuff like bandits, rustlers, ect.
Personally, I'd be fine with an all Union setting, just to avoid some of the potential drama, but the Rangers are so vital to a Western mythology and much better than the Pinks, IMO.