Posts made by ZombieGenesis

@runescryer I don't disagree with you in regards to crunch. The sad fact is, however, that most people look at those games(especially Champions) and just go on about needing an advanced math degree to play it. I find most people who say that have never actually played Champions(which is my personal favorite Hero RPG) but that's how people see it.

In regards to most of the crunch being in character generation, sadly that means most of the heavy lifting comes in coding that character generation in a suitable MU format. I did a M&M 3E system for TinyMUX and it was no mean feat.

For me, in regards to this conversation, as a coder, I'd have to weigh how much time, effort, and energy it would take compared to other systems that may work just as well but would be much easier to code.

I think some folk see Ares as an obstacle to creating a game using "system x" and I thought I'd address that for a moment. Anything you could do in TinyMUX or MUSH or whatever you can easily replicate using Ares. Ares gives you all of those tools plus other things.

I think the problem with Ares is that people expect FS3 level integration with any system plugin coded for it(web based character generation, full on systems for combat through the scene system, etc). That's where things get hairy. Those things would require a lot of effort and work and, in most cases I believe, are unnecessary.

Ares by itself is an amazing platform even if you only utilize it for the character directory and scene system. Ares is MUSH/X++. It just also gives you the tools to build on that to go even further(web based character sheets, web based c-gen, etc).

Ares is like a buffet table limited only by the talents and abilities of your chef(coder). By default you get everything you could get in a MUSH/X with the addition of a built in wiki, character profile system, and web based scenes. On top of that you can add other things as your desired or are capable of creating.

In short, Ares isn't the obstacle. The expectations of what it means to be an Ares game is I think.

@faraday When I mention what could be done in Ares I was stating what I could do personally based on my own skills and limitations, not necessarily what could be done in an absolute sense.

I think if people wanted a game combining or made exclusively of adult OCs then Masks is not the way to go. Masks does what it does well and what it does is teen heroes.

My suggestions for an aged mixed or adult exclusive game? All of these are low to medium crunch(so no M&M 3E or Champions or anything) and I've used them with my own group with at least some level of success.

1. If people really want PbtA I'd go World's Finest. Or a hacked version. You have some approaches and then your character is defined by(and I'm paraphrasing, my group used a hacked version of the core rules) what they can do easily, what they can do with difficulty, what they can do with extreme effort, and what they can do by pushing themselves to their limits.

2. If you don't want PbtA but want something quick and easy I might suggest FATE Accelerated. My group was able to make characters in 5 minutes and gameplay was super smooth. The problem with any version of Fate, however, is that it does require a certain level of buy-in by anyone playing it.

3. For some medium crunch I'd suggest a hacked version of the current version of Aberrant. It's a pretty slick system that could be hacked to be more generic than it is. Or leave it largely as it is(though I would streamline c-gen) if you want a game with a darker theme(your powers will corrupt you).

4. I think the easiest game to use would likely be Prowlers and Paragons Ultimate Edition. A D6 based system that plays very well, IMO.

I also think any one of these could be coded in Ares fairly easily(barring full on web/scene integration, which is the most complex part of Ares IMO). In-game character generation with in-game and web based character sheets and a basic dice system at any rate.

Those are my suggestions at any rate.

@paradox said in OC Superhero Discussion:

@headery

I think the issue is people enjoy the Ares and Evennia avenues, so doing it for those is a bit more work to develop the plugins and the like.

I could probably have a basic setup in Ares done in a weekend. Provided people were happy with in-game c-gen(that provides both an in-game and web based character sheet) and just using a basic dice system.

@runescryer Honestly, as a player for any OC game, mine will be a pastiche of some FC(probably the Hulk or Wolverine).

@gamerngeek I've been meaning to check that system out. Thanks for the recommendation.

So I thought I'd branch a thread off of a few others to focus on the idea of an OC superhero game. Hoping this maybe helps, in some way, show what people may or may not be interested in.

Is the system important? The talk seems to be about Masks, is that what people want, a Masks RPG? Or does the system not really matter? It seems, for an OC game, people would like to have one. Would Savage Worlds or M&M or whatever other system work just as well?

The conversation centering around Masks puts the theme squarely in the "teen heroes in training". Is that what people want? A Hero Academy game? Or would they like something with a bit wider scope?

I think the crux of the OC superhero game is that everyone is going to want something different. I've seen these discussions happen before and they've generally ended with "Oh, you had me till you said X" or "Well, if it wasn't for Y I'd play there!"

So what would you like to see in an OC superhero game?

@ominous said in Good TV:

Threshold.

That is all.

Hey, they can't all be winners.

I've actually been working on a Savage Worlds plugin for Ares. Been tempted to try it out using Deadlands or an OC superhero setting.

I loved Voyager. Actually started rewatching it last week to introduce my wife to it.

@lilli I actually got my copy of Aberrant a few weeks ago. I really dig it. Were I to do anything with it I'd probably simplify and streamline things a little but I think it works really well for high powered storytelling.

As someone who spent a good deal of their late teens and early 20's working as a stockman for Walmart, I have first-hand experience with this. While I had an assortment of duties, my primary duty was to make sure the cart corral was full. It was not to make sure the parking lot was clear of carts, I only had to collect carts from the parking lot in two instances; 1) when we were out of carts in the corrals and 2) at the end of the night to prepare the corrals for the morning.

That said, collecting carts from the parking lot was a regular thing. Now this was a while ago, but I can't imagine things have changed much, but most carts were not returned to the cart return areas scattered around the lot. They were left in empty spots or pushed up onto the median areas.

Most of the people who left them do it for one of a few reasons:

1. They did not care. They loaded their shit into the car and just walked away from the cart. This was honestly not the most common though.
2. They were a frantic mess getting their kids in the backseat, loading their stuff in the back of the car/SUV/ whatever, and then grabbed the cart, looked at the return stall, thought about it, and just decided they couldn't do it. More common than #1 but not as common as #3...
3. They were just going with the flow. Once one cart is left somewhere, it becomes the new cart return area. Most people stack carts on top of each other where ever they happen to be, a return stall or some random spot.

So, in my experience, most people who do not return carts to the store or the return stalls aren't doing it because they're assholes, most of them are doing it because there's a more convenient option presented to them in an unofficial manner. Some do it because they're jerks, sure, and some do it because a cart is just one more spinning plate they don't want to deal with, or it's raining/snowing and they don't want to deal with it, or whatever. But most, in my experience, are just going with the flow of what others have done before them.

Siegfried of Siegfried and Roy

@bear_necessities No one is saying it is. People are just having a conversation, dude.

My best guess is Stephen King, Lovecraft, and Dark Shadows. Beyond those two points, there's nothing you can do here in Maine that couldn't be done in Massachusetts or Vermont(well, no ocean) or even New Hampshire.

@krmbm As an honest criticism, as someone who lives in Maine, this actually takes me right out of it. Even more so than "cryptoids". The concept of a city large enough to support 1 million people in this state just asks too much from the concept of suspension of disbelief for me.

In my opinion, if you want to set a game in a city that can support a million people...set it in a state where it makes sense. That's just the singular opinion of a random dude on the internet though, so who cares?

A game where 75% of the entire population of Maine live in one city. Interesting.

Jeremy Bulloch - The Original Mando