Heroes Unlimited: World's Strongest 2

Alrighty, time to move forward to the next character type for Palladium's Heroes Unlimited. last post I built Impact, the Alien Renegade. I could probably go through all the options available to Aliens, but I think I went with the most alien form of alien, so it is now time to move to the next power category, Bionics. I gotta' come clean on this one. I kind of hate bionics/cybernetics in the Palladium system. It is fiddly, requires boatloads of calculation, and you come out of it far less powerful than you feel like you should. I also get the feeling, in reading through the games, that the personal group of Kevin Siembieda were quite abusive with cybernetics. It hinders magic, and psionics, and anything else. It costs a boatload to buy, and to maintain. I just kind of hate how bionics are done in this system. I will try and make the best cyborg though, so hang with me. We will get to more fun stuff soon.

Step 1: Attributes and Stuff
A reminder that all attributes start at 11 in this little game of mine. So no need for rolling or any of that.
Step 2: Education and skills
Heroes Unlimited is a bit different than other Palladium games. In most of their games yo choose an Occupations Character Class(O.C.C.), Racial Character Class(R.C.C.), or Psychic Character Class(P.C.C.) and that will give you your special talents and abilities as well as all of the skills and equipment you get. However in Heroes Unlimited the special abilities and skills are separate choices. So in this game you get to roll on a table for the type of training and number of skills, also the skills are arranged in packages, called skill programs. I really dig this concept, though I think it is hindered by the number of skills in the game.

There are one hundred and fifty-nine skills in the main book and a bunch of extra skills that get added in future supplements, and that also doesn't include special skills available only to certain power categories. I think I did a count once, for Rifts, and the total skill in all the supplements added up to 305 skills. Also bear in mind there are no social skills in the game, So all skills relate to a physical activity. That can get super specialized or repetitive. Another couple of oddities, first there is no description on how skills work in any palladium game I have ever read. Each has its own percentage, but they just sort of assume you will figure out how to roll for them and how they work. The second interesting thing is the lack of any awareness type skills. There are two, detect ambush and detect concealment. They are both in the espionage skill group and neither can be taken as secondary skills. Now, in Nightbane they eventually added an awareness roll to the game, and it is based on a bunch of factors, but for this game there is now awareness. It is up to the GM to let the players know what they might notice and that is interesting.

For this lets assume Trade school, this is not the best choice of skill programs, but it does allow for a decent bonus, as well as allowing for the choice of any program, even special military and espionage programs, so that is handy.  Now for this Bionic Hero we get two programs with a +15% bonus and eight secondary skills.  No I have to decide on some of the background for the character. As I went with a physical brute with the last character I made I think I will focus on ranged combat with this one. So I am thinking she will be a former spy and sniper who had some sort of awful accident and got bionics, sort of like Burn Notice, but with cybernetic parts. That in mind I will take the Espionage package and the Military program. Now I will not need physical skills as much, because PS, PP, and Spd will all be bionic, as she will have her limbs and the like replaced.

Espionage Program
H2H: Martial Arts +2 attacks/melee; +3 roll with punch/fall;+2 initiative; +3 pull punch
Detect Ambush(Yay! one of the only programs that grants this skill)
Intelligence(Not smarts, but knowing cool spy stuff)
Wilderness Survival
Sniper(grants +2 on aimed shots)
Interrogation
Military Program(Basic)
H2H: Basic(martial arts is better so we will use that instead)+
Running(don't need Spd bonus, but will gain +1 PE and +3 SDC)
Climbing
Military Etiquette(Yes, sir! No, sir! Three bags full, sir!)
Radio: Basic
WP: Rifle(which is not a skill, I think they mean automatic/semiautomatic rifle)
Secondary Skills
SCUBA/Advanced Swimming
Prowl
Language: Chinese
Language Russian
Language: Spanish
WP: Automatic Pistol
WP: Submachine-gun
WP: Bolt Action Rifle

Step 3: Budget
Now here you are supposed to roll for you budget, ranging from $7 million to $10 million. However I usually see results between $9 and $10 million, and rarely see anything else. I must have the luckiest players ever. I mean, what other explanation can there be for having every roll in the top fifty percent. And it has been a lot of players over the years. Its an oddity to be sure. Lets have fun with this character here, though. Lets give her the max budget, $10 million.

Step 4: Building a Cyborg
Now this step gets super fiddly and requires a lot of focus. I mean, you need to buy each limb's strength, prowess, and speed. This gets expensive and requires a lot of bookkeeping. There is a helpful bit at the beginning of the section, where they have packaged a bunch of stuff that you might need for a cool cyborg super. So I will start with one of these packages. I could go with a brain transplant model, but I think I like the idea of some organic bits still existing. To me that feels more like a cyborg, a fusion of person and machine. So I will start with a Full Conversion Cyborg, this will allow for a lot of enhancement while still leaving human bits. This has a base cost of $7.5 million, leaving me with 2.5 million to further enhance her abilities.

Full Conversion Cyborg
Bionic Arms and Hand(yes you need to buy hands and arms separately)PS 22; PP 18
Bionic Feet and Legs(Again you need to buy these separately)PS 24; Spd 77(53 mph)
Bionic Lungs with gas filter
"Full" Body Exoskeleton(Spine, arms, hands, legs, feet)(230 SDC)
Full Body Armor(AR18 900 SDC, this is removable and hinders movement and stealth)
Machine Pistol Implant(which does not appear in this game, far as I can tell)
Electrical discharge(can cover hand in electricity for extra damage, or shoot the energy)
Additional improvements
Increase PP to 24 $240,000
Amplified Hearing $350,000(+1 Parry; +2 Dodge; +6 Initiative)
Sound Filtration System(protect hearing and lets you do fun stuff with sound filters) $90,000
Night Sight(telescopic, both eyes) $110,000
Targeting sight $50,000 (+1 to strike)
Motion Detector $80,000 (+1 Initiative, +1 Parry, +2 dodge)
Radar $250,000
One hidden compartment in each limb to store spare magazines $32,000
Grapnel Launcher $45,000
Concealed Rifle Arm $300,000
And with that I am kind of out of things to add to her. I still have money left over, and I could buy extra speed or strength, but As she is going to using  guns for most of the game I have no really need to go beyond what the initial package grants me. 

Step 5: Background Data
So this is a bunch of information on character and background and will help flesh out the character and setting a little more. It has no real mechanical effects, but it does have a lot of interesting choices. First I need to establish the conditions required for needing bionic reconstruction. So lets go with paraplegic, she was out on a mission and something went wrong. Lets say she was betrayed to the enemy and ended up getting shelled by mortars which broke her lower back. She was then approached by some DARPA secret organization, lets call them Operation Longshot. She worked for them for a while but left because factions within the organization were doing sketchy things. She still maintains contact with the some of the better folks in the organization, but is disliked by the more morally flexible factions.

Step 6: Other Stuff
She starts off with two attacks per melee, as normal, and I will say I managed to wheedle the GM into allowing me to get a .50 Cal sniper rifle, and couple of pistols and an assault rifle as well as a TV style studio apartment, you know the huge empty warehouse looking kind in the "bad section" of town, with room for her motorcycle(she's a cyborg, of course she has a motorcycle). Also I will take a spin around the option character background and personality tables. She is the first born of Twins, and lets say her sister is her mechanic that can help her with repairs and upgrades, should that come up. Look its rough when you play a tech based character if you don't have established supply lines. She was average height and weight before the bionics, and now she still occupies the same volume, but weighs a whole lot more(robot parts are not light). She tends to be somewhat timid since her cybernetic conversion, she used to be super self reliant, and once she gets used to being a cyborg she may go back to her previous personality type. She was born in the US and grew up upper middle class in Coast City and has moved back after leaving Project Longshot. Alright lets put it all together.

Name: Min Zhang(grew up in america so orders surname last)
Super Identity: Calamity
Alignment: Unscrupulous

IQ: 11
ME: 11
MA: 11
PS: 22/24(arms/legs) +7/+9 dmg(think this is just normal not extraordinary, superhuman, or whatever)
PP: 24 +5 strike/parry/dodge
PE: 12
PB: 11
Spd: 77(53 mph)

HP: 15
SDC: 230(additional 900 addable with the armor, it has AR 18)

Skills
H2H: Martial Arts; Detect Ambush; Intelligence; Wilderness Survival; Sniper; Interrogation; Running; Climbing; Military Etiquette; Radio: Basic
WP: Rifle; SCUBA/Advanced Swimming; Prowl; Language: Chinese; Language: Russian; Language: Spanish; WP: Automatic Pistol; WP: Submachine-gun; WP: Bolt Action Rifle
Initiative: +9
Attacks Per Melee: 4
Strike: +6(+8 on aimed shot)
Parry: +7
Dodge: +9
Roll w/ Punch: +3
Pull Punch: +3

"Horatio" Barrett M82 .50 Cal Sniper Rifle 
She loves her gun, and her gun loves her. It brings death to her enemies and safety to her friends.

Range: 660 ft(which doesn't seem far enough...)
Dmg: 1D4x10
Magazine: 11 rnds

"Black & Blue" Twin Desert Eagles
If her enemies get close they will regret that decision in as loud and painful a way possible

Range: 165 fr
Dmg: 6D6
Magazine: 7 rounds

And there you go There are the basic stats and such for Calamity. She worked for the government as a spy and sniper. She was working cover for a convoy travelling through enemy territory when the enemy began shelling the area she was in. She made it out, but was crippled and was going to live the rest of her life in a wheel chair. While recuperating in the hospital she was approached by members of Project Longshot with a proposal that could give her the use of her legs once more. After nearly eight months of multiple cyber surgeries and physical therapy she was able to return to duty, only now working as a deniable asset for Project Longshot rather than the CIA. As time went on she began to regret her choices a little and began to notice that some groups within the project were acting in ways that seemed to go against its stated goals. She has since left the project and returned to her home back in Coast City. Her parents gave her an old warehouse they had converted into a rental property due to their guilt over their daughter's condition(its not their fault, but they feel guilty none the less). Her sister, Ling, is a gifted engineer and moved in with Min to serve as her chief mechanic. She is kind of reckless and dedicated to keeping her sister up and going, whether physically or emotionally.

Next post will be an experiment, That should be fun, because it is one of the categories that can grant the most raw power, and can really break the game. Don't worry, its going to be fun! I think it will be surprising the way I go with it, but I think it will be interesting.

Make sure to check out my Kickstarter

A Far Off Land

Take the roll of the Fated, Shapeshifting Demigods who seek to bring about or prevent the destruction of two worlds. It contains new magic systems and Factions Dynamics in play.

Heroes Unlimited: World's Strongest 1

H'okay so I have a fun little game I sometimes play and I would like to share it with you. Its a game where I make characters for Palladium's various games. See I love Palladium's games. One of my first games was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness which I still love to this day. I have done a very long read through of Rifts, which is super fun. Part of the fun of the Palladium house system is how byzantine and unbalanced it can be. You can end up with a incredibly different power levels within the same game system. I know in the last few decades it has been said that balance was never intended in the original design. I have often suspected this is not true, but that is neither here nor there. So here is the game I will be playing. I am going to try and make the most combat capable character for Heroes Unlimited I can for each power category. Here are the character creation rules I will be using:

1. I will be using the Main Heroes Unlimited book as well as the following additional books: Powers Unlimited 1-3, Armageddon Unlimited, After the Bomb(for mutant animal heroes), Ninjas & Super Spies(for martial arts, if it comes up), and maybe Nightbane(if I start digging into fun setting building stuff...and this is me so I probably will)
2. All percentile rolls with mechanical benefits or downsides get chosen rather than rolled. Other percentile rolls can be rolled or chosen as needed. 
3. Attributes all start at 11, unless something else is required for the power category
4. When rolling for any other non-percentile roll count the first die gets the low average, the second the high average and so on.
1. For example: If I were rolling 3D6, it would come out as ten, the first die would be a 3, the second a 4, and the third a 3.
5. Do not worry about the percentages of the non-combat oriented skills. They might be useful, but the nature of the palladium house system means they will take hours to properly fill out, and that is just a nightmare. The combat stuff will be complex enough on its own.

With those rules in mind lets get crackin' on our first superbeing, The Alien.

Step 1
This is rolling the attributes and hit points. I don't know why they have you roll HP here as it is based on your Physical Endurance, which can change as character creation moves forward, so I will leav that until last. So that is step one done.
Step 2: Alien Appearance
In this I will make the choice to make this character the toughest and the strongest. So I will be going with the humanoid Mineral Alien as they are ridiculously tough have a natural Armor Class and a solid increase to strength. If I wanted more onuses overall I would probably go with the humanoid Rhinoceros, but I will go with mineral for now.

Natural AR: 14(you need a 15 or higher to damage this character at all)
+180 SDC
+20 Physical Strength

Step 3: Physiological Modifications due to Unearthly Environments
For this one I feel the best in nearly every case is to take High Gravity. It increases Strength and speed as well as granting a really high bonus to your SDC. Another good one is Abrasive Atmosphere, as it adds a lot of SDC and grants a superpower. But for this one I will go with High Gravity.

Height: 5'3"
+70 SDC
+5 PS
x3 Speed Attribute
+1 initiative

Step 4: Determining Super Abilities
Aliens have one of the more interesting options available. They can have super abilities natural to their species. What makes this cool as that these abilities cannot be taken away by other superpowers. It can't be nullified. And that makes it the best option for me in this situation. So for this one I can take a major and a minor power, 4 minor powers, or I can roll on the random powers table, So I will take a look at that last one. I will roll up 2 Major Powers: Growth and Supernatural Strength. Growth is kind of overpowered, it lets you get bigger and stronger as well as faster. However it is limited by your Physical Endurance and so that will be a bit of a hindrance, but not so much.

Growth
PE moves up to 14
Maximum height: 33'3"(this may change if the PE Alters)
Maximum Weight: 2400 lbs(this may change if the PE Alters)
+20 SDC per foot gained(max +560)
+1 PS per foot(max +28)
+2 strike and parry, double speed(when over 20 ft tall)
Supernatural Strength
+37 PS
Can Carry 300xPS, Lift 500xPS
+2 pull punch

Step 5: Determine Education & Skills
As I am making a combat oriented character I will choose Combat Specialist of the options available. I get Four Physical Skills, Hand To Hand: Martial Arts, Six Weapon Proficiencies, One Pilot Skill and First Aid, plus six secondary skills. Physical skills are kind of where teh wheels fall off in this game, but they are also some of the most fun. They often do not have a percentile, but instead have a bunch of bonuses to your physical attributes. Its kind of cool, but way overpowered and leads people to taking a whole bunch of them.

Boxing(the best skill in the game): +1 attack/melee; +2 Parry/dodge; +1 Roll with punch/fall; +2 PS; +10 SDC
Gymnastics: bunch of percentile subskills; +2 roll with punch/fall; +2 PS; +1 PP; +2 PE; +7 SDC
Wrestling: grants some extra combat moves; +1 roll with punch/fall; +2 PS; +1 PE; +14 SDC
Running: +1 PE; +10 spd; +3 SDC
H2H MA: +2 attacks/melee; +3 roll with punch/fall;+2 initiative; +3 pull punch
Weapon Proficiencies: Blunt; Staff; Sword; Energy Pistol; Energy Rifle; Automatic Rifle
Pilot: Hovercraft
First Aid
Athletics: +1 Parry/Dodge; +1 roll with punch/fall; +1 PS; +3 Speed; +5 SDC
Body Building: +2 PS; +10 SDC
Radio: basic
Computer Operation
Computer Programming
Prowl

Step 6: Reason For Coming to Earth
This one is all background ans helps add some fun to the world. So for this one I will try and pick the option that seem the most interesting and will add the most to the world. I think I will go with the Outcast option, and this character will definitely get the option of being hunted by his persecutors and bounty hunters. This lets me play around a bit and have some fun. So the alien is being persecuted by his home government and fled to Earth because he got lost, and it seemed as a good place.
Step 7: Familiarity with Earth
I will go with No Familiarity with Earth, as that makes the most sense with the previous option. I kind of see Earth as being out in the wilderness of space. It gets ignored and is in a section of space few go to or even know all that much about this region. This means he can only read and write in English, and no other languages.
Step 8: Equipment
He has no earth clothes, as he has just arrived. Now I must choose a special weapon for the character to use. I will go with a melee weapon, as melee is a better choice in combat than ranged due the oddities of bonuses to attack in ranged combat. I will give him a Kisentite Sword, which is a sword that is invulnerable. This will be handy as the character is super strong, and it would suck to break my cool alien sword. I also have to choose a special vehicle, I will go with an anti gravity ring, that would allow my character fly, which should be handy. Though he can't use it when in full size state as he would be too heavy. The character also has $70,000 worth of precious metals and gems.

Kisentite Sword: 2D6+3 Dmg
Anti-Gravity Ring: 100 mph; Max weight 500 lbs

Step 9: Other Stuff
Now I have to pick an Alignment, get my base SDC(20), mark down base attacks per melee(2). And that is that. Now to do some calculating and finish up the character.

Name: T'klas Ohv'yhin
Super Identity: Impact
Height: 5'3"(max 41'3")
Alignment: Scrupulous

IQ: 11
ME: 11
MA: 11
PS: 82(max 118) Supernatural Carry 24,600lbs/35,400lbs; Lift 41,000lbs/59,000lbs
PP:  12
PE: 18
PB:  11
Spd: 72(144 when over 20 ft)[63 Mph/94 mph at over 20 ft]

Natural AC: 14
HP: 21
SDC: 319(max 720)

Skills
Boxing; Wrestling; Gymnastics; Running; Hand to Hand: Martial Arts; WP: Blunt; WP: Staff; WP: Sword; WP: Energy Pistol; WP: Energy Rifle; WP: Automatic Rifle; Pilot: Hovercraft; First Aid; Athletics; Body Building; Radio: basic; Computer Operation; Computer Programming; Prowl

Restrained punch: 5D6
Punch: 2D4x10+67(103 max)
Power punch: 3D6x10+67(103 max)
Initiative: +3
Attacks per Melee: 5
Bonus to Strike: +2 when over 20 ft
Parry: +3(+5 when over 20 ft)
Dodge: +3
Pull Punch: +5
Roll w/Punch: +8

And their you go, the biggest brick I can make so far. A being that can hit like a meteor, and soak up massive amounts of damage. He can run as fast as a cheetah, and can keep the pace for far longer than most beings. He traveled into uncharted space fleeing from the hunter killer squads from the leaders of the Galactic Consortium, with a bounty on his head so high every bounty hunter is out looking. Lost and out of options he landed on earth as it seemed as good a place as any. He managed to save a bunch of people from a building fire and gained a reputation as a hero. For the last year he has been working as a hero in Coast City under the name Impact.

I now know that the world This hero inhabits has a large oppressive interplanetary political body.Also I have the name of the central city of the setting, Coast City. Nice and generic, but it says a little bit about what is going on. As this goes forward their will be some more hints at the larger world and maybe when I am done I will be able to put it all together into a unified setting.

I plan on continuing with the series in the future. The next will be a Cyborg, which I don't like because for whatever reason Cyborgs in Palladium games end up being somewhat nerfed. I have a feeling people in the play test abused the hell out of cybernetics. I guess that will be a bit of a challenge.

Make sure to check out my Kickstarter

A Far Off Land

Take the roll of the Fated, Shapeshifting Demigods who seek to bring about or prevent the destruction of two worlds. It contains new magic systems and Factions Dynamics in play.

My Issues with Fate

I know that title is a bit like click bait, but I do have a few niggling issues with Fate. The issues I have are nebulous and difficult to pin down. This is why I have been hesitant to bring these issues up so far. I play a lot of Fate. I have even designed games and systems for Fate. Heck looking through this blog's history is kind of like looking through my history with Fate. Needless to say I really dig the game. I think that is why I have difficulty nailing down what exactly my issues with Fate are. A lot of this is going to be stream of consciousness and me working through  these issues and trying to nail down what it is that I am really feeling. I apologize if it comes out a little garbled.

Compels
I think my issues with compels is this. They are individualistic in nature, yet they often affect more than one person. So you end up giving points to everyone hit by the compel whether they have the aspect or not. Which can make the character aspects feel less individual. I guess you could then only give fate points to the person with the aspect, but I could see that causing the others affected by the compel to get a little upset by having all the downsides of the compel with none of the upside. I am not certain if this is a real issue, or if it is just my brain going around in circles breaking things down to such a point that I get neurotic about piddly little things that no one else runs into.

Hostile Invocation
I am not of fan of GM side invocations. They make the game feel off to me. This is hard for me to properly express, so let me try and work through my issue with this. So when a GM invokes a player character aspect to add to an antagonist's rolls can feel...off to me. Sometimes(not always, just sometimes) it feels more like a tax on the players for taking their actions. I guess maybe its the GM scene fate point budget. Either it is too much or not enough. I am not sure. I know that a certain amount of hostile invokes are needed to balance in a conflict or contest. I am just not sure if I like this method. I think their might be a solution, though I am not fully sure of that. I think this could be reworked as a series of one use stunts that only NPCs can take.

Stress & Consequences
I think consequences are pretty spiffy in concept, but I have found that they can sometimes be an issue. I occasionally run into a situation where I have to get into a negotiation over a chosen consequence, as the GM will think it is not "bad" enough, or they think it is too "bad". This negotiation tends to take people out of the game and really feels awkward. It doesn't ruin consequences, i really like consequences. However it does occasionally come up in my games, and I am not sure if it is a big enough issue to really matter. I am becoming more and more fond of conditions as I go forward with Fate. They are more narrowly focused and predictable and I think are a really spiffy for a lot of situations I have run into in the past. I have kind been falling in love with conditions as the years have gone on. The other issue I have is Stress. Every time I see stress I keep thinking it needs to be more versatile, and I have the urge to make it do more. However each time I do that I end up using up the domain of fate points. SO my issue with stress is more an issue with me, I have an urge to fiddle with things and make them do other things. Not sure if that issue is fixable, come to that.

Concessions
I love the concept of concessions. I have never had them work in game in a satisfactory manner. I am not sure what exactly is the issue with concessions, but I know they are never satisfactory. This one keeps coming up in my game, and I have no real solution or even the hint of one. Of course I have yet to really nail down what feels off about concessions in play, I just know it feels off to me.

And those are my big issues Fate. As I said at the beginning of this post I love Fate. I love it. However I have these niggling issues that I can't seem to shake. I think I have solutions for some of them, but I am not sure if they will make the game more to my liking or if they will make the game unplayable to those who like Fate as is. Maybe both. Anyway, I will keep tweaking, hacking and designing and maybe I will get to the perfect game for me and people like me, provided there are people like me. You can check out my latest Fate game design right now. Its a game all about demigods dealing with godly factions and the inevitable magical destruction of the world.

A Far Off Land

Celestial Jade: War In the Heavens

+Megan Bennett-Burks and I are a little over a week into our kickstarter for A Far Off Land, a project we have been writing for over a year now. As the tension is killing me I figured I needed something to take my mind off of it. So in the spirit of lowering my tension levels, here goes.

I was lurking over on rpg.net a few days ago and ran into a discussion about science fiction wuxia. In the thread Jadepunk was brought up as an option for running that sort of game. While +Ryan M. Danks  and I designed the game to be something like mystic cyberpunk we had also discussed the idea of doing a couple of different riffs on the game system. One of those(the one I was most interested in currently) was a space opera style Jadepunk game. The reminder in the thread led me to realize I could do a quick workup of the basics of the setting and maybe some cool assets that would fit in the setting. Thus do I begin the rough outline of a space opera setting for use with Jadepunk.

Far far into the future of Jadepunk...

Humans and their Autamatect creations long ago left their home world and traveled out into the wider universe. The jade drive allows for travel faster than light through some sort of alternative dimension not fully understood. Humans and their jadetech were first out and so dominate the heavens, though many other sophonts live within the human sphere of influence. 25 years ago the Great Interstellar War raged across the skies of countless worlds. Devastating weapons were unleashed and billions perished in blood and fire. Since the end of the war peace and unity have reigned. The unification of the Guild, The Church,  and the Major Powers into The Galactic Concordat led to a unified economic, political, and social system that dominates a majority of civilized space. 

Jade still stands tall as the most powerful and useful material in the universe. All intergalactic travel is dependent on it. The concordat control the largest jade resources in the known galaxy. The capitol was built in a vast asteroid field rich in multiple kinds of jade. The center of the Concordat builds and grows, as it does so too does its decadence and corruption. On the edges of civilization enemies, ancient and new, gather forces. The war is not over, it has just been in a long reprieve. 

Welcome to Kausao Station, the biggest, most wealthy mining colony in the 'verse, throne of the Galactic Concordat, and center of the universe. 

What do you do?
You play members of the Jianghu, rebels against the Concordat and defenders of the weak and helpless. The rules for characters remains the same as in standard Jadepunk. The technology is a little different, go more baroque and elegant in description rather than clunky and mystic jadetech normally described in the books. Autamatects work on the same rules as in teh previous Jadepunk setting hack.

The Basics
The Great Interstellar War: A conflict between the four major powers and many smaller polities that lasted for decades. Many great and terrible weapons were used. Planets were destroyed, Ancient peoples fell. The causes of the war are shrouded, the various stellar states were tied up in treaties with many smaller factions and causes and this became a tangled web of allegiance and enmity with no clear starting point. The war began as several smaller wars with the major powers supporting this faction or that. Eventually more than mere assistance was needed and the galaxy was at war in truth. It generally broke down into to two main factional sides, The Kaiyumi-Naramel Alliance and the Tuyang-Aerum Coalition.   It finally came to an end with the battle of Shui Xing 4. Due to a series of strategic mistakes nearly every major fleet ended up near the planet an surprised that the other fleets where there. Millions died in the first salvo. The strategists panicked and sent more fleets in, and more after that. What was an unimportant system became the center of the largest, longest, and most costly battle in the history of space. The battle lasted nearly a month, by the end billions had died. Within weeks what was left of the four powers had sued for peace. The peace accords were what led to an eventual unification of the Galactic Concordat out of the remaining great powers the church and the guilds.

Setting Aspects: Endless Scars of War; Old World Has Fallen, But Is Not Forgotten

The Galactic Concordat: In the wake of the Great Interstellar War the Guild and the Church combined forces to halt any future war of such magnitude. The gathered the remnants of the Major Powers and through political and economic pressure they pushed through the Concord forming the basis for a new government, a higher government. Each state within the Concordat can rule itself as it sees fit, but in terms of military or trade they must all follow the dictums of the concordat.

Aspects: Barely Unified Factions; Money, Power, and Security At All Costs

Kausao Station: The center of the Guild, it has rapidly become the center of all trade in the galaxy. When the Concordat was formed Kausao Station was chosen as the capitol for this new government. Now it stands not only as a center for trade, but for diplomacy and peace as well. With so much money and power the station has become a massive and complex web of interconnected factions and displaced peoples.

Aspects: Center For Trade and Politics; Too Big To Manage Properly

The Guild:  fractious and tenuous union between the six most powerful Mega Corporations in Known Space. Each has a near monopoly on a given Technology and so the Guild has a monopoly on everything the average person might need. Each Corp has a number of Nobles in their pockets which has lead to the

Aspects: We Make Everything; The Money Flows Like Water

The Periphery States: The various smaller states that exist outside of the Concordat as well as anything that might exist outside of known space are known as the Periphery States. Many of these are very upset with the Galactic Concord and the results of the Great Interstellar War. Now the region is too vast to properly patrol or maintain but rich enough to draw in colonists, miners, and traders. This has led to huge amounts of piracy and privateers.

 Aspects: Rogues States and Pirate Clans; Lawless Edge of Known Space

Ka-Dosh: Large six-limbed green skinned aliens, the Ka-Dosh were one of the first alien species encountered by humans. As such they are found throughout known space. They are known for their physical strength and desire for challenge. Many of the best and brightest in the galaxy are Ka-Dosh, as are many of the worst and most violent. Their culture was originally quite primitive when first discovered by outsiders, but in the centuries since have become as advanced as any other sophont.

Sample Ka-Dosh AssetYotsu No-Kin: A martial art that use the unique physiology of the Ka-Dosh. It is focused around fighting using multiple limbs simultaneously and fight multiple opponents at the same time. The following asset is just an example of what assets in this martial art might look like.
Guiding Aspect: Something involving knowing Ka-Dosh Martial arts or Yotsu No-Kin specifically
Features: Focus 1(+1 Fighter), Harmful 1, Protective 1
Flaws: Situational(Only when facing opponents with fewer limbs than the user), Troubling(Collateral Damage)
Cost: 2

Bevrai: Quadrupedal shelled elephantine aliens of great intellect, the Bevrai are some of the greatest philosophers and theoretical scientists in the galaxy. They have more sensory organs than any other sophont in the known galaxy, which has given them something of a mystical reputation among many. They make extensive use of technology since their meeting with the galactic society. Their language is slow and lyrical in nature, much of it transmitted long distances  through ultra low frequency sound. Each Bevrai has a song they add to throughout their life. When they meet back up with family or friends after a long absence each will sing their song to the others. It builds into strange and alien harmonies that few outsiders have had the blessing to encounter.

Sample Bevrai AssetMechanical Waldoes: In order to use the technology of the external galaxy the Bevrai make use of mechanical arms designed to give them better ability with technology designed for sophonts with opposable digits. The Waldoes use black jade to read the desire of the wielder and translate that into mechanical movement. There are other types of waldoes that are designed for more specialized service, such as a rifleman mod for using guns.
Function Aspect: Black Jade Prosthesis
Features: Focus 2(+1 Engineer, +1 Scoundrel)
Flaw: Situational(Only when interacting with Technology that requires hands to use)
Cost: 1

Youxia: Ancient order or mystic knights who once defended an ancient stellar kingdom, now lost to history. The few remaining Youxia wander the cosmos as wandering troubleshooters and sometime heroes. Many a Jianghu Society has been led by powerful Youxia. The Shimah-Kan have a standing bounty on any Youxia brought in.

Sample Youxia Asset 

Blaze Edge: The weapon of a Youxia, spoken of in many legends. The Blaze edge uses multiple forms of jade to create an edge of pure plasma, capable of cutting through nearly anything. Youxia only attained the Blaze Edge upon mastering the martial arts ad mental disciplines of their order. Few remain, and few Youxia remain with the knowledge to make another.
Function Aspect: Multi Jade Plasma BladeFeatures: Exceptional(prevent opponent from checking stress boxes on a successful strike), Harmful 2
Flaws: Demanding 2(requires a turn and a Scholar roll against difficulty +2 in order to use it for the scene), Troubling(Wanted, For One Reason Or Another)
Cost: 1

Shimah-Kan: Chosen inquisitors of the Concordat. They have an edict to investigate any insurrection or disharmony. They are trained to be the best and most dangerous of all the forces of the Concordat. They have absolute loyalty to the state and are equal to any squad of lesser forces. Many of their techniques are expansions of Youxia martial arts. This has led to an enmity between these to forces. They often come into conflict with Jianghu Societies.

Sample Shimah-Kan Asset 

Inquisitor Armor: The Shimah-Kan have specialized suits of armor that grant them enhanced abilities and protection. Each set of armor is custom designed for each Shimah-Kan, and so each might have additional features beyond the basic set of features provided by the armor.
Function Aspect: Intimidating Inquisitor ArmorFeatures: Protective 1, Focus 2(+1 Explorer, +1 Fighter)
Flaws: Situational(only when facing enemies of the Concordat), Troubling(Iron Fist of the Concord)
Cost: 1

Jade Drive: the only known method of travel faster than light. To do this you must use all the colors of jade and pass a huge amount of electricity through it all at once. Ships use large capacitors to do this. The number of capacitors a ship contains alters the number of jumps a ship can rapidly make. The Jade Drive does not allow for slower than light travel, and so a ship must also have a normal space drive. To use the drive you must take a full scene and make a roll. First you must make a scholar roll based on knowledge and distance of of the location you are attempting to jump to(Nearby system +1, Mid Ranged System +2, Far off System +3, Well Known route +1, Somewhat Known Route +2, Briefly Explored Route +3, Unknown Route +4) Combine the difficulties from distance and knowledge to get the total difficulty of the roll. If you succeed with style you make the jump with no difficulty and you create a beneficial aspect relating to the new system you are coming into. If you succeed normally you arrive with no difficulty. If you fail your ship gains a primarily negative aspect relating to damage done by travelling faster than light.


And there sits the basics of a Jadepunk Space Opera Wuxia Setting. I hope you liked it. I would love any comments critiques or idea, so please share. Also please check out the new game I am currently Kickstarting, A Far Off Land. It is a game about people from our world who travel to another realm, a realm of myth and legend. Magic is real and you play those few who can use it in both worlds without terrible consequences. Check it out and spread the word. Thanks.

A Far Off Land

After Jade: An Alternate Setting for Jadepunk

I have been working on a project for a while now and so I have not been focusing on this blog. However I have had a real gut punch of news this week and I need to have something to distract me for a little bit. Help me calm down.

That in mind I am going to work up an old Idea I have had in the back of my mind for a few years now. Here is the basic pitch.

Sometime after the time Jadepunk is set in, something goes wrong...very very wrong. It has been over a hundred years since the fall and the world is a very changed place. It is a post apocalyptic wasteland filled with Jade. Clouds of mystic jade dust roil across the world and has been bound into everything on the world. Some people have been able to harness this omnipresent jade to become Jadecasters, manipulating the elements and the raw forces of nature. Beyond that humans now are not alone in the world. Automatects, clockwork beings with jadetech minds from before the Fall, wander the world doing their inscrutable duties for unknowable reasons; Kymiirs, uplifted animals, have formed their own communities in the Waste; and Mootares jade tainted mutations with strange powers and beliefs wander the land.  Despite the problems, despite the danger, life continues. The Jianghu travel the land and help those in need. Named after ancient legends of heroes of old, they wander the land and help people rebuild. 

Setting Aspects
Shadows of the Old World
Jade in Everything Now
Leftovers of A Fallen World

New Asset Types

Assets after Jade are different than in standard Jadepunk. The standard three types(Allies, Devices, and Techniques) still apply as normal, but there are a couple of other types of assets in this hack.

Automatect: If you take/make an Automatect asset it you use the device features list, but it must have a Guiding aspect related to your mechanical nature. These assets represent jadetech or clockwork abilities or additions to the mechanical frame of the core Automatect or its jadetech mind. 

Mootares: Mootares work the same as Automatects but the assets represent mutations and jade in the blood. The guiding aspect is related to their altered nature and can be compelled due to obvious jade markings or mutations making them stand out in the world. 

Kymiir: Uplifted animals created through Chymeric engineering before the Fall. You must have a guiding aspect related to your semi animal nature. Any asset created in this way represents your animal abilities or further understanding of your inhuman nature. 

Sample Assets
Here are some sample assets that fit within the wasteland that is After Jade.

Returner Staff(device)
The Returner movement began nearly immediately after the Fall. The desire to return to what was before. They see the glory of the past and minimize the faults. The Returners travel the Waste preaching of the glories of the old world and seeking jadetech to help rebuild. When they are initiated into the order they are granted a book and a staff. The book is empty and must be filled with knowledge from the past, the staff will help them in their travels.

Function aspect: Blue Jade Staff of the Return
Features: Exceptional(On a successful defense, deal shifts of harm equal to your margin of success), Focus 2(+2 to Fighter)
Flaws: Situational(may only be used in defense), Demanding(Must take the whole turn doing nothing but defending)
Refresh Cost: 2

Jadecaster(technique) 

When the old world fell it fell in jade-laced fire. now the winds themselves carry massive quantities of jade. it is in everything, even if only in small quantities. some folks have learned to perceive these forces in the world and manipulate them. These people have become mystics and sages deep in the Waste, controlling forces beyond the ken of most. Jadecasters can call up temporary assets related to the elements, or controlling/creating emotions.

Guiding aspect: Must have an aspect relating to your training as a jadecaster.
Features: Flexible(may use Scholar in place of Engineer)
Flaws: Situational(only when creating temporary assets related to manipulating the jade in the environment)
Refresh Cost: 1

Sample Jadecaster Workings
Call Fire
You draw out the red jade in the world around you and pull fire into existence, damaging your target.

Function Aspect: Fireball!
Features: Harmful 2, Focus 2(fighter +2)
Flaws: As per the creation roll

Wind Walker
You change to shifting motes of dust and can swiftly move through the air travelling from your current location to any nearby location not completely airtight.

Function Aspect: White Jade Transformation to Dust
Features: Exceptional(Instantly leave or appear in a scene, as long as air can get in or out)
Flaws: As per creation roll

Dangers of the Waste
In the waste there are many dangers, great and small. The world is changed and not for the peaceful. Even the very air has turned hostile.

Devil Winds: On occasion the winds will whip across the Waste in such speed that they will pull up vast amounts of jade dust. When the devil winds sweep down experienced travelers know to get to shelter and sit tight. The wind can strip the flesh from unexposed flesh to the bone. Their are rumors that the winds do more than harm flesh, that they can strip soul from a person and ensure their is no afterlife.

System: This is a series of rolls brought on by a compel(either against the characters aspects or against the setting aspects). Roll against explorer to find a good spot to hide out in(difficulty will vary based around the location).  If you succeed with style you find shelter and take no damage. If you succeed you take one harm before finding suitable shelter. If you fail you will take 2 harm and must roll again to get to shelter. Two rolls are all that will be needed in most circumstances in order to get to shelter.

And there it is, a rough outline of an alternate campaign and setting for Jadepunk. I hope you like it. Let me know what you think. 

The Far Marches: Stunt Trees

Moving forward with this project I am definitely getting a better sense for how things will look and what I am aiming for. I think I have a few ideas on fixing the unique skills from the last post, as well as a few clever ideas for down the line(at least, I hope they are clever ideas...we'll see). Now we will begin with how I see stunts working in this hack.

I wish to use stunt trees that fall into the general categories of the classic OSR roles of Fighter, Rogue, and Magic User. I will probably also do a few other stunt trees for other roles and maybe even a couple of smaller stunt trees for the different fantasy races, but I mustn't get too far ahead of myself. Right now I have worked out the basics for how I want the stunts to play out, and I have one complete stunt tree. I would love to hear any thoughts on how it could be improved or ideas for what to put in further stunt trees. My goal with the stunt trees is to have each stunt further down the branch be a little more powerful than the previous stunts.

My hope here is to incentivize specialization and thus allow for something that feels like a class without forcing that specialization. With these trees one could be a magic user and a fighter and a thief, but you would end up without a to of the cool fiddly bits that come later in the stunt trees. If that makes sense. Here, let me show you the stunt tree I currently have fleshed out, maybe that will make it make a little more sense.

Fighter Stunt Tree

A rough map of the stunt tree.

Fighter Basics: Gain a 3 Stress Box. This may be taken a second time to gain a 4 Stress Box.
Bend Bars Lift Gates: (requires Fighter Basics) Once per scene you may automatically succeed at a physique roll to destroy an inanimate object or lift a heavy object.
Weapon Mastery: (requires Fighter Basics) When using a specific weapon type you will deal an additional 2 stress on a successful attack action. You may take this stunt more than once. Each time you take it it must be for a different weapon type. Weapon Types: Swords, Pole arms, Clubs/maces, Chain Weapons, Bows and Crossbows, Daggers and Knives.
Leadership: (requires Fighter Basics) In combat when you use uplifting or inspiring words to aid your others with the create advantage action the subsequent use of that created aspect will grant a +3 on an invoke rather than the normal +2.
Powerful Physique: (requires Bend Bars Lift Gates) You may use your physique for defending against attacks by weapons. If you succeed with style on this defense you may choose to take one stress to destroy the weapon that just struck you.
Intimidating Presence: (requires Bend Bars Lift Gates) You may use Physique in place of provoke when attempting to be physically imposing or physically terrifying.
Counter-strike: (requires Weapon Mastery) When using a weapon type you have mastery in, when you have succeeded with style on a defense action, you may choose to do the difference in success level in stress to the attacker.
Extra Range: (requires Weapon Mastery) You may use a weapon type you have a mastery in as a ranged weapon even if it is not normally a ranged weapon. These weapons now have the ability to attack up to two zones away. If you have mastery with a ranged weapon you may double the normal range(out to four zones, normally)
Armor Specialization: (requires Weapon Mastery) You gain an additional condition when wearing armor, called Broken. This can be used to negate any single physical attack , however it does mean that you can no longer use your armor until you repair it or buy new armor.
Trusted Ally: (requires Leadership) You gain an ally who follows you around and will be of use, this ally has a +1 in three skills, two aspects(high concept which you create and trouble which the GM creates) and it has two stress boxes. You may take this stunt a second time to either increase one of their skills to a +3, or add another stress box to the ally.
Inspiration: (requires Leadership) Once per scene you may place an inspiring aspect on all allies in the scene and they will each get a free use of that aspect. This is very powerful and I am not sure I like it.

There you go, my first stunt tree for The Far Marches. I also have some ideas on how the other stunt trees will look. Here is the rough ideas for how those are going to look:

Rogue : Lucky Bastard; Assassin; Thief : Impossible Luck; Walking Curse; Sneak Attack; Ghost The Walks; Master of Poisons; Second Story Man; Friends In Low Places; Low Knowledge

Magic User : Conjuration; Evocation; Abjuration; High Knowledge : Familiar Strength; Familiar Endurance; Familiar Connection; Magic Missile; Shield; Blessing; Curse; Healing; Book Learning; Theoretical Magic

As I said, I would love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or critiques on how I am going about the stunt trees. I really like how they are turning out but it may be that I am not seeing the long term effects or short term flaws.

Previous: Skills
Next: Gear and Stress

The Far Marches: Skills

Before we get started on skills in this post I would like to point out that I have had a number really good comments on my previous posts in this series so far. Some people agreed with the decision I made and made some good points on them. Others disagreed with my decisions and called out flaws that they saw. It has been a good conversation overall and it has given me a lot to think about. So, thanks guys I really appreciate the back and forth of it all. In fact I think you have convinced me to work the reputation aspects a bit differently. I will get into that in a future post where I will talk about the Party Sheet.  And now, without further ado, lets dig into skills in The Far Marches.

Skills

Skills in the Far Marches will be the same basic skill list as in standard Fate Core. I am considering adding in Survival as a skill. I would also probably want to combine burglary and stealth into a single burglary skill. I always felt that stealth was pretty darn narrow in focus for a specific skill. Though I am not sold on that idea yet, and so I could easily be talked back from the brink on merging those two skills.

Another issue I have with skills is the importance of Will and Physique in relation to stress tracks. I have never been all that pleased with the way stress works in standard Fate Core, so do not be surprised if I make some changes in stress when we get to that. As a bit of a precursor to that Physique and Will will not add stress to the tracks in this hack.

The final issue with skills comes to the pyramid and the alternatives therein. I really like the skill pyramid, however I have noticed certain trends in games I have played and ran that lead me to look for an alternative. I have noticed a trend where people tend to work very hard to only have to roll there top three skills in the pyramid. I do not know if this is a good, bad, or neutral thing but it is something I noticed and I am not sure what to do about it. As of this moment I am still planning on using the skill pyramid, though I am very open to interesting alternatives.  

Unique Skills

Each player gets access to one additional, player designed, skill. These unique skills represent abilities, professions, unique traits, or your fantasy race. While not all elves will have the Elf skill, having the Elf skill would represent your character really focusing on his peoples history and traditions. Your elf would be more elfish than some other elf who did not have the elf unique skill. How you make unique skills is pretty simple. The skill will have access to all four basic actions, however you won't be able to use those basic actions in all circumstances. For example:

Elf: When in the forest you may use the elf skill to gather information about the natural surroundings and identify natural dangers. You may use the elf skill in place of social skills when dealing with eleven court. And you may use the elf skill in combat when using an elven bow or Shamshir.  

While the unique skill is powerful you must make sure that it does not overpower the game. The basic rule of thumb here is this: If everyone at the table agrees that the skill is over powered then it is probably overpowered. I am looking to make these skills a big part of the game without overpowering the game, so if you have ideas for improvement please let me know.

There you go. That is the very basics on how I see skills working in this hack of Fate. I know it is probably not different enough for some of you, and for others it is probably a step too far. I would love to hear your thoughts on this as this is the area I have gone back and forth on the most over time. I will probably go back and forth on it a bunch more moving forward. 

Previous: Aspect Creation
Next:  Stunt Trees