In short, social combat system exist to inform roleplaying, and provide mechanical advantages and disadvantages to mechanical acts. If you choose not to invest in Willpower and face someone with a high Intimidation skill, that choice should have consequences; likewise, if I choose to invest in Willpower, it should give me a meaningful advantage when facing interrogation over Bob, who has no Willpower... Bob shouldn't be able to say "Well, my character wouldn't be scared, no matter what the dice say!" and then do as Bob pleases anyway. I paid for my character to not be scared; Bob is just declaring his immunity by fiat.
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Thursday, December 22, 2016
D6 Social Combat [d6]
These rules are somewhat inspired by Savage World's social conflict rules. Why Social Combat rules? While one might argue that people should be willing to play the rolls against them (acting intimidated when they fail a Willpower v. Intimidation check, or falling for it when someone Cons you, the fact is that success in Star Wars is largely binary. HOW do I act intimidated? What is the effect of being intimidated on interactions with the aggressor? Is there a difference between falling for a Con by 1 point, and falling for it by 20 points?
In short, social combat system exist to inform roleplaying, and provide mechanical advantages and disadvantages to mechanical acts. If you choose not to invest in Willpower and face someone with a high Intimidation skill, that choice should have consequences; likewise, if I choose to invest in Willpower, it should give me a meaningful advantage when facing interrogation over Bob, who has no Willpower... Bob shouldn't be able to say "Well, my character wouldn't be scared, no matter what the dice say!" and then do as Bob pleases anyway. I paid for my character to not be scared; Bob is just declaring his immunity by fiat.
In short, social combat system exist to inform roleplaying, and provide mechanical advantages and disadvantages to mechanical acts. If you choose not to invest in Willpower and face someone with a high Intimidation skill, that choice should have consequences; likewise, if I choose to invest in Willpower, it should give me a meaningful advantage when facing interrogation over Bob, who has no Willpower... Bob shouldn't be able to say "Well, my character wouldn't be scared, no matter what the dice say!" and then do as Bob pleases anyway. I paid for my character to not be scared; Bob is just declaring his immunity by fiat.
Monday, December 19, 2016
White Box Hero
Another of my filks, that someone reminded me of:
Standing in the rain, with his head hung low
Couldnt get a copy, it was a sold out sto'
Heard the roar of the game, he could picture the scene
Put his eyes to the glass, then like a distant scream
He heard one combat, just blew him away
He saw games in his mind, and the very next day
Bought a beat up dee ten in a secondhand store
Didnt know how to play, but he knew for sure
That one combat, seemed good in his head
Didnt take long, to understand
Just one dee ten, swung way down low
Was a one way ticket, only one way to go
So he started gamin'
Aint never gonna stop
Gotta keep on gamin'
Someday hes gonna make it to the top
And be a WHITE BOX HERO, got orcs on his mind
Hes a WHITE BOX HERO
He took one dee ten, White Box Hero, orcs on his mind
WHITE BOX HERO, hell come alive tonight
In a town without a name, in a heavy downpour
Thought he passed fourth level, by the tavern door
Like a trip through the past, to that day in the rain
And that one dee ten made his whole life change
Now he needs to keep gamin'
He won't get bored
Gotta keep on gamin'
That boy has got to be a Lord!
'Cause he's a white box hero, got orcs on his mind
He's a white box hero, got a plus one sword
Yeah, white box hero, just four levels more
With that one dee ten he'll come alive
Come alive tonight
Now he needs to keep gamin'
He won't get bored
Gotta keep on gamin'
That boy has got to be a Lord!
And be a WHITE BOX HERO, got orcs on his mind
Hes a WHITE BOX HERO, got a plus one sword
Just one dee ten, put stars in his eyes
He's just a white box hero, aah aah aah
White box hero, white box hero, hes got orcs on his mind
Orcs on his mind
Standing in the rain, with his head hung low
Couldnt get a copy, it was a sold out sto'
Heard the roar of the game, he could picture the scene
Put his eyes to the glass, then like a distant scream
He heard one combat, just blew him away
He saw games in his mind, and the very next day
Bought a beat up dee ten in a secondhand store
Didnt know how to play, but he knew for sure
That one combat, seemed good in his head
Didnt take long, to understand
Just one dee ten, swung way down low
Was a one way ticket, only one way to go
So he started gamin'
Aint never gonna stop
Gotta keep on gamin'
Someday hes gonna make it to the top
And be a WHITE BOX HERO, got orcs on his mind
Hes a WHITE BOX HERO
He took one dee ten, White Box Hero, orcs on his mind
WHITE BOX HERO, hell come alive tonight
In a town without a name, in a heavy downpour
Thought he passed fourth level, by the tavern door
Like a trip through the past, to that day in the rain
And that one dee ten made his whole life change
Now he needs to keep gamin'
He won't get bored
Gotta keep on gamin'
That boy has got to be a Lord!
'Cause he's a white box hero, got orcs on his mind
He's a white box hero, got a plus one sword
Yeah, white box hero, just four levels more
With that one dee ten he'll come alive
Come alive tonight
Now he needs to keep gamin'
He won't get bored
Gotta keep on gamin'
That boy has got to be a Lord!
And be a WHITE BOX HERO, got orcs on his mind
Hes a WHITE BOX HERO, got a plus one sword
Just one dee ten, put stars in his eyes
He's just a white box hero, aah aah aah
White box hero, white box hero, hes got orcs on his mind
Orcs on his mind
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Tirolian Space and the Flower of Life [d6 Star Wars, Robotech]
This is a bit of explanation fitting the Robotech universe into the broader Star Wars galaxy. As I get time, inspiration, and boredom, I intend to write more along this line, regarding the technology brought to bear on the world of Aeolis III.
Zentraedi [d6 Star Wars, Robotech]
Zentraedi
The Zentraedi are a race of Near-human clones, created by the Robotech Masters from Tirolian stock, first as miners, then as warriors. Traditional Zentraedi life is strictly segregated by sex, with female Zentraedi having their own separate units and command structures, and only their top officers interacting with males, while only top males would interact with females. All Zentradei are extremely limited of technical ability; a conditioned programmed into them by the Robotech Masters. Their equipment is designed to be simple to maintain and long-lasting, forcing Zentradei to rely on Tirolian scientists and droids for repair and resupply.
Savage Scrolls: Elder Scrolls Savage Worlds Hack
I've been playing around with a few things, and, while I've managed to land a freelance job converting some material to Savage Worlds, I've also done my own thing. In this case, a Savage Worlds hack of the Elder Scrolls series of games, below the cut.
For the most part, I have based this on Skyrim and, to a lesser extent, Oblivion and Morrowind, as these are the best known of the games these days. I did hearken back to Daggerfall for some things, and relied heavily on the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages and Elder Scrolls Wiki to create useful and usable PnP rules. They don't slavishly reproduce Skyrim, but seek to make Tamriel work like a PnP game world.
For the most part, I have based this on Skyrim and, to a lesser extent, Oblivion and Morrowind, as these are the best known of the games these days. I did hearken back to Daggerfall for some things, and relied heavily on the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages and Elder Scrolls Wiki to create useful and usable PnP rules. They don't slavishly reproduce Skyrim, but seek to make Tamriel work like a PnP game world.