Exploring the Savage World of Keltica

Game Master ZenFox42

A Savage Worlds campaign in a fantasy setting (Elves, Dwarves, magic, etc.) with pre-Civil War technology (steam engines, locomotives, but only single-shot guns and no electricity).

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Female Human Card: Bennies: 1 Parry: 5 [2 + 6(fighting)/2] Toughness: 5 [2 + 6(vigor)/2] (2) Armored Duster RATN: 4 Pace: 5 Notice: d6

K'Don/Kaboom. Not the best as puns go, but gotta give props for the attempt!

Regarding damage. My interpretation of how that happens is that the gun imparts a kind of bio-electric surge that causes shock, pain, and also disturbs the normal neutral pathways for voluntary muscle system. If a person is wounded but not incapacitated, I would interpret the effect as feeling pain all over, experiencing difficulty with normal thought processes, coordination would be reduced, and so on. This would explain the wound penalty that would make it harder to do things, parallel to the wound penalty due to actual physical damage.

Visually, I'd describe it as a kind of wave of sparks that would play over the surfaces of whatever it hits, with associated sounds of sparks and crackles of electricity. That said, it's not the same as a lightning bolt surge, which causes physical damage such as burns and which can cause damage to organs, stop the heart, etc. The bio-ergonic energy works more like a mild jolt of electricity consistent with something like a tazer or stun gun in the effects on the person: pain, difficulty controlling muscles, and so on.


I thought it was a pretty good pun, just don't get the context (why he said it when he did) - did I forget to do something with K'Don, was he just being silly apropos of nothing at all, etc.? K'Don...?

ALL - the "ripple" that affected Marko was K'Don taking over the character. Thanks for taking him off of my hands!

Marko, you can only cast your Bolt spell for the rest of the day, or until you can find a quiet 45 minutes to re-study all your spells.


Female Human Card: Bennies: 1 Parry: 5 [2 + 6(fighting)/2] Toughness: 5 [2 + 6(vigor)/2] (2) Armored Duster RATN: 4 Pace: 5 Notice: d6

My dad loved to make puns (it's where I inherited it by nature or nurture (or both)) and he often would use the flimsiest context for attempting a pun, even if it wasn't particularly clever or apropos. So I'm used to rolling with such things. Asking questions often only encouraged him (my father).


Just being silly for silliness sake. It was an obtuse way I got there. Not worth trying to explain.


Who is Faith Sierra?


Female Human Card: Bennies: 1 Parry: 5 [2 + 6(fighting)/2] Toughness: 5 [2 + 6(vigor)/2] (2) Armored Duster RATN: 4 Pace: 5 Notice: d6

Faith Sierra


She's a PC in a modern-day Savage Worlds PgP game.


Arabella wrote:
...if TN is 4...

ALL - FWIW, the TN is "always" 4, it's whether or not there are penalties to the roll, OR whether you need a Raise to succeed (I suppose you could think of that as a TN of 8, but that's not how SW ever phrases it...). :)

But I guess "needing a Raise" IS the same as "-4 to the roll".


Female Human Card: Bennies: 1 Parry: 5 [2 + 6(fighting)/2] Toughness: 5 [2 + 6(vigor)/2] (2) Armored Duster RATN: 4 Pace: 5 Notice: d6

I've place Arabella near the front in hopes that if we encounter orcs in a group, she has a chance to blast them with her burst gun before allies rush forward to engage the enemy in melee. A lot depends on the initiative order and if we have surprise, and where the orcs are in the order and so on, so just keep this option in mind when it comes to battle.

If the orcs are fighting mine-workers/slaves, she might still use the gun, since it won't do any permanent harm to the slave. It depends on how many there are in the mix.

ZF: let us know if we have any advance intelligence about what's going on via the WindDancer/Connor connection.


I placed Alexander right behind Arabella and beside K'Don - he's convinced himself that there will be a need for a Gallant Protector(tm) soon. ;P

Arabella, have you checked your PMs? I sent you something.


Male Human Wizard

So you settled on one bolt of 3d4 instead of 3d6?


I didn't, the original Marko did. I wasn't going to mention this, but since you noticed and asked...

The normal Bolt does 2d6 for one Power Point (PP), or 3d6 for 2 PP. FWIW, 3d6 does an average of 4 points more damage than 2d6 (what with Acing and all).

Find "Trappings and Effects" in the Powers section of your manual (page 106 in mine), and read the Light section - that's what Marko used.

Light "reduces the damage by one die type, but adds AP [Armor Piercing] 4 to the effect".

That means 2d4 or 3d4 damage. But if the target is wearing armor (as most humanoid targets do), up to 4 points of it is *ignored*. So if an Orc has natural Toughness 6 and wears 2 points of armor for a total Toughness of 8, your damage roll is compared to 6 instead of 8. Makes sense?

However, if you run up against a creature with a naturally high Toughness, then the AP 4 does nothing.

Since you're taking him over, you can decide whether to use the "normal" Bolt or the Light-trapping. Just let me know.


Marko (from PM) wrote:
Marko's bolt, is it a line of sight beam (I assume) or something different? Can I shoot through the group?

ALL - notice that its Range is 12/24/48 - that means it acts exactly like any Ranged weapon (as does any Power with an X/Y/Z range) :

-No penalty for targets within 12 squares
-A -2 penalty for targets within 13-24 squares
-A -4 penalty for targets within 25-48 squares
-There are penalties to hit if the target is Crouching, Prone, or has Cover
-There are penalties for the amount of light and visibility (fog, smoke, etc.) - so it IS line-of-sight
-And finally (best of all), if you fire into a crowd and miss, AND the "main" die (not the Wild die) is a 1, then you have hit someone else in the crowd
For Marko, that's about a 10% chance every time you fire into a crowd.

Ranged Powers have an additional complication : you make your "spell goes off" roll (Spellcasting for Marko), and if that's a 4 or better, the spell goes off.
But THEN you subtract all of the ranged penalties listed above, and if THAT total is 4 or better, the Bolt actually hits the target, otherwise it missed.

If you really meant "thru" a group instead of "into" it :
1. The group provides a Cover penalty of -1 to -3 (depending on circumstances) to your "to hit" roll
2. If the attack would have hit except for the Cover mod, then you've hit someone in the group.
Ex : you're firing thru a large group close to you, so the attack penalty is -2. You roll a 5. Since a 5 hits, but a 3 doesn't, you hit someone in the group.

P.S. - Powers with a range of Smarts *ignore* all the above penalties - they basically always hit.


I'll be AFK most of tomorrow, as I'll be at a birthday. Alex will attack the orcs (hopefully ganging up on them) once the long-range blasters have had their attacks. ...Actually, what's the range penalty on his pistol, again? He'll probably use that first.


I just had an interesting thought - in any TV/movie/cartoon fight, people are constantly getting knocked back by punches.

In SW, past the first Raise you get on your attack roll (which gives you the extra d6 Damage), extra Raises do nothing...well, extra.

I'd come up with some rules long ago about things you could do with 2 Raises or 3 Raises, but I couldn't even remember them myself.

But what about this : for every Raise *past the first Raise*, you get to push your opponent 1 square in a direction away from you. It can't do them extra damage (by running into a wall or something), or make them go prone.

Simple, easy, and it has some tactical advantages, like maybe reducing gang-up bonuses for a round, or putting them next to a comrade with more hitting power.

Thoughts? Comments?


Female Human Card: Bennies: 1 Parry: 5 [2 + 6(fighting)/2] Toughness: 5 [2 + 6(vigor)/2] (2) Armored Duster RATN: 4 Pace: 5 Notice: d6

Sounds reasonable.


K'Don is all about knocking people around.


PP 15/15 | Bennies 3/3 | Venom Strike 1/1

As long as it's away/back from the punch rather than some random direction, it sounds good to me.


You get to choose, but it must be away or to the side of you.

And you don't *have* to move them if you don't want to (like just happened in the fight right now).


I'm going to be AFK tomorrow, so feel free to bot Alex if necessary. He intends to attack the nearest orc, preferably one that K'Don is also attacking - did he get to shoot last round? I didn't see it described anywhere. If not, he'll shoot this round. If he shot last round, he'll close with his rapier.


Alex attacks after the Orcs, and I won't be able to handle their (ok, his) attack until tomorrow.

You did shoot your gun, so use your rapier.


"Going K'Don on him" is now officially a thing. ;)


PP 15/15 | Bennies 3/3 | Venom Strike 1/1

And I can already hear the theme song. Whomp 'em K'Don Style!


Yeah, I like that


"Upping the game"

First off, I realized in this combat that I had forgotten to summarize each round at the end, and wanted to know if anyone missed it - shall I start doing that again?

Having just started participating in a game where the players describe in detail their PC's *thoughts* as well as actions and talk (see HERE for an example, just skim the page), I'd like to see if everyone here is willing to try the same. (NOTE : for those of you also in that other game, I am NOT going to insist on "past tense" typing!). I think it gets you more in touch with your PC, and makes for a richer game, more like a novel.

Please note, I'm NOT saying anyone has not been doing this, or is not doing a good job at it, I'm saying let's all try to do *even more*.

I will try to provide more detailed descriptions of your surroundings, and the bad guy's actions, too. Of course their thoughts need to remain known only to me... :)

And, as long as it's just "fluff", every player should feel free to "write in" aspects of the world on their own. In other words, "co-create" the world with me. An excellent example in that other game is where the PC's had to fill out requisition forms, and then one PC said, "oh, you need to fill out the *pink* requisition forms for 24-hour turnaround", and all the other players ran with that, and their PC's reacted accordingly.

Finally, it seems we spend a lot of time in the Gameplay board discussing game mechanics. What if we posted questions, answers, and comments about in-battle rolls here in Discussion instead?

Whatdayathink? Sound interesting?


As to your first query, if you want to enrich the game with more detail than you have answered your own question. Yes, summerize the rounds.

As to the second, I will do my best. I have been trying to do that, but it looks like more detail would be good, even if I have to make it up.


Again, not saying anyone has been doing a bad job. What you last typed for both K'Don and Marko has been fine - it shows off the kind of persons they are - K'Don roars and Marko laughs nervously. Just asking for even more of that (from everyone)!

Maybe it's just that we've been in combat for weeks and weeks of real-time, without much chance for PC-PC interaction lately.

And making stuff up is what it's all about, as long as it's consistent with your PC concept.


I'd appreciate the end-of-round summaries. I'll try to be more descriptive as well. :) Moving discussion to the Discussion thread makes sense to me, though notes or comments might sometimes be better kept in OOC remarks on the main thread?


Female Human Card: Bennies: 1 Parry: 5 [2 + 6(fighting)/2] Toughness: 5 [2 + 6(vigor)/2] (2) Armored Duster RATN: 4 Pace: 5 Notice: d6

All good suggestions. More details about the environment from the GM, more comments that reveal what characters are thinking is also good, perhaps with the occasional reference back to something in his/her background for color.

More game mechanics discussion in the discussion board would help, although the occasional OOC reminder is not too distracting in gameplay.

The main thing I find distracting about the SW PBP is that dice rolling tends to be much more involved. Sometimes, it is distracting to wade through the dice and OOC comments about the game mechanics to get to the descriptions of what's happening as a result of all that dicery.

First thought suggestion would be to relegate all such dice rolls to the start of the post, using the OOC tags when discussing game mechanics. Then start a new paragraph and write the part that contains the meat of what the character does or tries to do, his/her reactions, etc.

Edit: Another option to keep the dice and game mechanics stuff less of a distraction would be to enclose it in a spoiler. GM mentioned this was a distraction when typing a complex reply and using the preview function, since it requires re-opening the spoiler each time. That could be covered with a second browser open to the gameplay page that can be kept open while the post previews are done on a second browser window. I've used that trick in another game I'm in with a lot of spoilers to keep track of.


Female Human Card: Bennies: 1 Parry: 5 [2 + 6(fighting)/2] Toughness: 5 [2 + 6(vigor)/2] (2) Armored Duster RATN: 4 Pace: 5 Notice: d6

When I was first starting PBP, someone recommended a link that had some good tips on effective posting styles for players. The one that stuck with me was something like this:

Always do something that advances the action and/or gives someone else something to respond to.

The term "hook" came up as a concept to include in your post, so that others get some kind of prompt that encourages a flow of posts that move toward something effective. Asking another PC a question is an obvious one. Suggesting a plan of action could be another, inviting comments. I could look through some of the games I'm in for examples.

[Note: I'm not saying that has been lacking in our game, just something that I try to remember as I'm posting.]


Female Human Card: Bennies: 1 Parry: 5 [2 + 6(fighting)/2] Toughness: 5 [2 + 6(vigor)/2] (2) Armored Duster RATN: 4 Pace: 5 Notice: d6

While we're on the topic, there is one other device other GMs have used which I think adds to the coherence and the immediacy of the gameplay:

The GM creates an alias for each important NPC. When posting what that NPC says/does, the GM posts using that alias. It makes the character seem more a part of the game because we see a picture and it stands out from the GM's normal alias image.

For what it's worth, the GM doesn't need to work up anything at all in the profile except perhaps what shows up with the icon, like gender and race. And they can be deleted later if the GM is worried about clutter in his own profile section.

So, for example, Katana would have her own alias and when describing her actions or words, the GM would post with that Alias. One advantage is that if I'm trying to remember what Katana said or did a while back, it's easier to scroll up to find the post or even click on the alias profile and then on the "posts" tab to find the post I'm looking for quickly. Gerta would probably rank one as well, although probably not orcs who only stand around being guards.


Regarding the last, maybe for a long-term NPC like Katana, but not for each and every NPC the players run into in the game. Too much work. And I haven't been in *that* many PbP games, but I've never seen it done, either.

Regarding die rolls inside Spoiler boxes, how about rolling the dice in the text box and Previewing as normal until everything's done, THEN surrounding the rolls in the Spoiler text just before the final post? That shouldn't change any of the rolls...

And I like the idea of putting the rolls at the top, then describe what happens because of them after, but remember in SW you have to at least declare everything you're going to attempt first, in order to determine penalties and such. So you'd end up doing 2 descriptions, one short and one long. Not trying to nix it, just pointing out consequences for people to think about.


I don't have any problem skimming over the dice rolls and the oocs to read the "Story". Its like were writing a novel, if you remove all the dice and oocs, it should read like a novel.


A d4 is 25% of an ace, a d6 is 17 %, a d8 is 12.5, d10 is 10% I'm slow I know, the larger the dice, the less chance of rolling an ace.


PP 15/15 | Bennies 3/3 | Venom Strike 1/1

K'Don: That's true, but also read this:

Dice That Ace More Do NOT Roll Higher

Helps keep perspective. :o)


Female Human Card: Bennies: 1 Parry: 5 [2 + 6(fighting)/2] Toughness: 5 [2 + 6(vigor)/2] (2) Armored Duster RATN: 4 Pace: 5 Notice: d6

Also keep in mind that you've got the d6 wild die, which improves your chances of getting a result over 4 when the main die is a d4.

The chance of an ace on a d8 is lower than for a d4, but the chance of getting a result higher than 4 is 50% while it's only about 25% for a d4. Getting aces is not the key, but getting a high roll is.

Taking all the possible results, including aces into account, your chance of getting a result of 4 or better with a d4 + d6 (wild) is 63% while the chance of same result with a d8 and d6 is 81%.

That's one drawback of Savage Worlds: it is much harder to perceive the chance of success without some kind of chart to look up your chances.

With Pathfinder, you can tell the percent chance just by knowing the bonus added to the d20 and the target number.


When including the d6 Wild die, the chances of rolling a 4 or better are :
d4 : 62%
d6 : 75%
d8 : 81%
d10 : 85%
d12 : 88%

It may seem like diminishing returns to go past d8's, but the higher dice let you succeed more often with greater penalties (so you can do multiple actions, or take a called shot, and still have a good chance of success).

AND the higher dice result in Raises more often - the chances of 1 or more Raises is :
d4 : 19%
d6 : 26%
d8 : 25%
d10 : 40%
d12 : 50%

So going from a d8 to a d10 dramatically increases your chances of a Raise (recovering from Shaken AND acting, getting the extra d6 Damage, etc.).

P.S. - no, that's not a typo going from d6 to d8 - because of the Wild die and Acing, the percentages stay the same!


Interesting


Sorry for the quiet on my end - I'm visiting family for Easter and don't have a lot of net time.

Alex will pat Connor's shoulder in praise and follow Arabella's lead.


PP 15/15 | Bennies 3/3 | Venom Strike 1/1

Enjoy your time with family and don't sweat it. We'll be here when you get time/get back.


Yeah, I can see the merit in having a "character" for Katana - it's just that I've never been sure how long she was going to be sticking around (and still am not)...


Female Human Card: Bennies: 1 Parry: 5 [2 + 6(fighting)/2] Toughness: 5 [2 + 6(vigor)/2] (2) Armored Duster RATN: 4 Pace: 5 Notice: d6

Regarding an alias for Katana, remember it doesn't have to have anything more than a name and an image to serve the function of an NPC posting tool. So it's not a huge investment in time to create one.

Hope everyone who celebrates Passover or Easter has/had a meaningful day. I'm most excited that spring is finally emerging from the slumber of winter with blossoms and flowers and warmer weather. I consider it the resurrection of the earth and the emergence from the wilderness of winter.


Happy post-Easter, everyone!

DM, is it possible to shoot Gerta behind the orcs? If not, is there a gang-up bonus for shooting the orc K'Don charged? Or is there a penalty for firing into melee?


Female Human Card: Bennies: 1 Parry: 5 [2 + 6(fighting)/2] Toughness: 5 [2 + 6(vigor)/2] (2) Armored Duster RATN: 4 Pace: 5 Notice: d6

My schedule changes to night shift starting today, so my posts will mostly be in the morning (Eastern U.S. Time). Today I may not get a chance until late night.


#Shooting THRU crowds (according to a game developer)
1. The group provides a Cover penalty of -1 to -3 (depending on circumstances) to your "to hit" roll
2. If the attack would have hit except for the Cover mod, then you've hit someone in the group.
Ex : the attack penalty is -2, and you roll a 5. Since a 5 hits, but a 3 doesn't, you hit someone in the group.

Until your comrades get mixed up with them, it's a win-win situation... :)

Since this is a solid line of side-by-side big Orcs, I'd say the cover penalty is -3.


#Movement (RAW)

You can move up to your Pace (6 squares for most) at any point in your action, including splitting it up : move, shoot, move.


Arabella, about your shot :

Arabella wrote:
I guess I will keep the burst gun using shooting (not weird science) roll for agility check TN.

So you needn't have made the Weird Science roll at all. You just make the Shooting roll and if it's >= 4, at least it goes off.

But then, just a few posts back here in Discussion (dealing with Marko and his Bolt)

ZenFox42 (emphasis added) wrote:

Ranged Powers [ones with a Range of X/Y/Z] have an additional complication : you make your "spell goes off" roll (Spellcasting for Marko), and if that's a 4 or better, the spell goes off.

But THEN you subtract all of the ranged penalties listed above...

So you take your Shooting roll value, subtract any penalties (listed above), and for that shot THAT becomes the TN the targets have to meet or beat.

That's for future reference - the snake eyes is a *whole* other situation...


K'Don's situation

I *think* I recall K'Don saying that he has no Bennies right now. Is that correct?

But way back when we started, I gave a Benny after every fight. Usually that didn't matter when fights were far apart in time (because then everyone re-started with 3), but here it does. So K'Don has at least 1 Benny.

So you can :
-Spend the Benny to recover from the Shaken, but that would still leave you with 4 Wounds, and you'd still be Incapacitated.
-Spend the Benny on the last hit, make a Vigor roll at -2, and HOPE to lower the number of Wounds inflicted by that hit. Iffy at best, but the only way to possibly stay up and fighting.
-Save the Benny to re-roll your Incapacitation roll, which can't keep you in the game, but maybe lessen the permanent damage.

Remember, Incapacitated doesn't mean DEAD. Unless you roll a snake-eyes on your Incapacitation roll.

So, what do you want to do?


Save the benny


Ok Fox, I think you have provided a challenge for the group. Since we have been playing this campaigne, this is the first time I have felt really challenged. There is a good chance we may not come out of this unscathed, we may very well loose a person or two.

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