While I don't have the time to open up another campaign YET, since I'm prepping for 2 campaigns I just took on, after I finish my initial preparations I should be able to open one more recruitment, since a campaign I was in seems to have died. And yes, I have that much free time where I can GM 6-7 campaigns now, especially since I have nearly regained my full mental faculties by keeping my blood sugar stable, a problem I've apparently had for some time and only recently discovered in the last few weeks!
Ok, now the 2 campaigns I would like input on are these two. The classes I speak of in the descriptions should be be put up in Google Docs for applicants to peruse (Though set to read-only to prevent copyright issues!) if at least one person shows interest. If enough interest is shown for these campaigns, I will work on compiling a list of purchasable equipment as well.
1. Against the Dead- Zombie apocalypse gestalt campaign. Players choose an anachronistic adventurer class (Which represents their natural talents,) and a special class (Representing their current profession,) as their gestalt classes. As a note, the special class is only 3 levels (Examples include Beat Cop/Military Grunt, Believer, Goth, Professional, Lowlife, ect.). Once the apocalypse progresses, their initial profession opens the way for a selection of other special classes containing seven levels which are better for surviving the undead (Such as the Zealot, Suvivalist, ect.). And from there, it's onward towards the penultimate, 10 level class which cements the characters place in the world (Messiah, Archmage, Zombie Master, New World Orderer, Doomsday Commando, Mad Scientist, ect.) From there, it's an over-the-top, gritty zombie apocalypse that has such things as magic, zombies who acquire unique mutations as the campaign progresses, various factions, crazy weapons, sinister organizations, crazed survivors, and more! There will be a system used for infection points as well. Ever wanted to play a gun-toting holy man that calls down divine flame on the heads of the undead, a rollerblading cheerleader with a magic chainsaw for slicing zombies apart, or even one of the undead who retains your mind, but must still feed on flesh and blood, dead or undead, to survive? This is the campaign for you!
2. East Texas University, Horror in Pinebox, Texas- Pathfinderized version of the ETU setting, recently released for backers. Basically, all of the PCs are students attending East Texas University, where the supernatural is present in seemingly every shadowed corner and a whole new meaning is given to 'surviving college'. This would be a low-magic campaign where each PC selects one of the anachronistic adventurer classes to form the basis of their character. Most magic would be learned from ancient tomes and most spells would carry some sort of mystical price or backlash. This setting is VERY reminiscent of Deadlands in feel: supernatural horror set in the west with some quirky or gonzo elements involved.
EDIT: 3. ExorSystems, Inc.: Pathfinderized version of ExorSystems, Inc., a Ghostbusters-style setting of whacky horror, where PCs play as enterprising franchisees hunters of the supernatural. In this setting, most supernatural creatures have weaknesses that MUST be exploited before they can be put down. Weaker creatures can often be put down with things like blessed weapons, ionic firearms, or ectoplasm-trapping grenades, but no 'boss' can be. This setting is the most light-hearted and goofy of the three, though there will be some elements of horror and tragedy that take place within the storyline to somewhat offset the more comical aspects of it.
EDIT: 4. Modern Arcana, Redux- The strangest of the 4 settings, blending traditional aspects of the modern world with high fantasy. Imagine a world with Bugbear bouncers, Drow socialites, Illithid mafiosos, Dwarven bikers, magical vehicles, a whole new plane of existence within the Aethernet, and things of that nature! Players could either be a core class or, if I decide to also make it a superhero campaign, a class/superhero class. Unsure yet of which direction would be better to take.
If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!
I think they all sound pretty interesting, but I'd most like to see scenario 1 or scenario 4, in that order.
A) Congrats on the blood sugar. Same thing happened to me recently.
B) I like the idea of Modern Arcana, Redux. It sounds a lot like shadowrun, but set in modern world instead of future. Would it be a setting with the existing world but multiple races, or are the other races newly arrived/awakened?
Redbeardredeyed, your interest has been noted!
MDT, thanks for the congrats! The Modern Arcana, Redux could go either way, depending on whether prospective players are interested in having the campaign setting be like classical Modern Arcana or have a more fantastical timeline.
I've always kind of liked the idea that our world used to be part of others, and got sealed off (maybe humans were considered vermin by the older longer lived races), but then there's a disaster, and they have to come to the human realm to evade whatever catastrophe happened. Set it 20 or 30 years later, so there's time for people to have grown up with the 'older races' having showed up.
Of course, it wasn't just them that made it through when the barriers were removed, magic returned, lesser races managed to sneak through too, like goblins, hobgoblins, drow, etc.
The catastrophe instead, or in addition to, could have blown the barrier away, flooding the modern world with magic in say, 1980/1990. Huge population drop from it, but the human world survived much better (because of the barrier) so lots of refugees, and with the loss of population, there's less reason to fight over resources.
Classic Modern Arcana then, MDT?
That would be my vote. :)
I loved Modern Arcana back in the day! If that's what people pick, I will be converting some of the creatures to Pathfinder power levels. I also have a few cool PDFs with a non-vancian casting class, a grimoire of modern-themed spells, rules for modern weaponry and vehicles, and quite a bit more that I will put up on Google Docs if more people show interest.
If people want the Modern Arcana campaign, what are peoples preferences for the general 'mood' of the setting?
I really liked the Modern Arcana setting. Like Shadowrun without the retro 80s-future corporate dystopia. I don't really remember the campaign backstory, though- something about fighting a vague threat called the Shadow?
I played in a short-lived Urban Arcana game with an X-Files feel, FBI agents investigating mystical threats. I think there was a specific alternate setting idea about it. I'd love to see something like that, or maybe a Supernatural type campaign about monster hunters.
Agreed, the shadowrun without the dystopia sounds nice. Mix of magic and tech, but the two aren't really mixed together yet. Otherworldly threats, mundane threats, a nice mix.
I see laws against weapons mostly having gone by the wayside after magic flares back up. After all, you can't really regulate sorcerers with fireballs easily, and compared to that, who cares if someone has a semi-auto rifle?
A.
I also like the sound of the modern Arcana.
DoubleGold, A? As in 1?
Yes, I was interested in Fiendish Zen's game when she did the rerecruitment, but I ran out of time to get a character up.
I would be interested in Modern Arcana, Redux.
I'd like to do 3 or 4.
The current majority of people are going for Modern Arcana, Redux. What are some ideas regarding characters? Assume everyone starts around level 8, with almost any material allowed and PCs can even be monsters (Within certain limitations, of course!). All alignments are possible too, but remember: screw over other party members and you are in the GM's laser dot, so be anti-party at your own peril!
The Modern Arcana theme doesn't quite do it for me the same way that the zombie concept does, but a few choice character concepts do come to mind.
-A genius level intellect uber-hacker/techno musician with a particular taste for arcane magic. A bard-sorcerer hybrid could be utilized to run with a theme of sonic effects and hypnosis. Magical boombox for the win.
-...Basically the same concept as the first one, but with a more profane bent, a bass guitar, dark magic, cool ceremonial daggers, and other whatnots.
Are the 3pp psionic classes up for grabs? A soulblade could pretty easily be used as a jedi-type with the serial numbers barely filed off, and that sounds fun.
As I said, presume all 3PP books and 3.X books are allowed. After all, I have not flat disallowed anything regarding characters in my campaigns that I know of. There are things I was somewhat 'meh' about, but I generally LIKE 3PP stuff!
THIS IS NOT RECRUITMENT YET, SO ONLY PITCH SOME IDEAS FOR YOUR CHARACTER! NO STATBLOCKS OR LENGTHY EXPOSITION NEEDED!
ALSO, NORMAL OR SUPERHERO MODERN ARCANA?
Well, if it's a super-heroey Modern Arcana, I've had this idea kicking around in my head for literally decades about a character with high personal resistance to magic effects and the ability to manifest a 'spell-sword', a blade of energy that can 'cut-through' (ie. dispel) magical effects/spells, harms creatures of magical/supernatural nature, and does nothing against normal creatures/items.
Hmm. It would be easier to pitch ideas if we had a campaign theme in mind. It would be for me, anyway. Like 'FBI supernatural investigators' or 'cyberpunk with magic' or something. Any thoughts along those lines, Prince?
Last time I played something like this, it was in GURPS. I played a street kid who was a savant with weapons. He could build his own, he wielded dual wielded pistols, and he had an IQ through the roof and was paranoid as all get out. :) He'd been orphaned by an attack on his family by 'monsters'. He lived in a giant junkyard that was all but abandoned due to tax and inheritance issues that had tied it up in court for years. He was a gun berserker (fired both guns until they were empty, then kept rapid-reloading and firing until anything he thought dangerous was dead or he was). :)
Something like that should work with pretty much any game and level of tech.
*Snickers* I know EXACTLY what I'd do with superhero stuff mixed in with zombies. Essentially, my character would be insane. Not in my usual "Lovecraftian Stuff Is Awesome" way, but completely delusional and thinking that certain television shows are an accurate representation of reality... hence a tendency to climb up to high places, launch into flying kicks, and loudly proclaim her dedication to justice!
Oh, and use a machete to behead zombies, for Reasons.
(Might be a bit too over-the-top, though... unless everyone else wanted to be ridiculous instead of gritty, in which case I'd be good.)
It would likely be 'cyberpunk with magic', depending on PC preferences. I could run anything from a Golden Age style to a Noir to a 70's to a modern to a cyberpunk to a space age theme!
Cyberpunk with magic works for me. Are we using d20 or something else?
I myself would prefer "normal" over superhero.
Cyberpunk with magic is a nice idea.
The ruleset we will all use is Pathfinder. If anyone is interested in using something from 3.X, as I plan on using a LOT of it, let me know what and I can convert it.
Some factions that will be in the campaign.
EDIT: Or not, since it cut the factions out...
Ok, so Johnny Mneumonic cyberpunk era. Corporate dystopia, societal utopia, or futuristic analogue of the 90's?
Futuristic analogue of the 90's.
D20 Modern and SciFi20 would both have stuff to use.
Where would everyone want the campaign to begin? A metropolis of some sort?
Probably a smaller city outside a metropolis or a metropolis. Either some place small enough to allow an odd group to end up together yet close enough to a major city to allow escalation (or moving further out into now magically active and depopulated lands) or in the city proper.
Vancouver would be perfect- small major Metropolis, coastal, weather matches the cyberpunk genre, William Gibson lives there, and many shows and movies that would be good inspiration are (or were) filmed there.
It sounds like most of the interest is now focused on the modern arcane campaign. (I did enjoy Shadowrun when I played it many years ago). The campaign ideas that really interested me were:
#3 ExorSystems, Inc., sounds like a lot of fun. I would love to join that campaign.
#1 Also has great potential to be a fun campaign, and I like the gestalt idea you mentioned.
Cool. So cyberpunk without the dystopia. Cyberware and the Net with ubiquitous wireless access sounds good to me.
For a concept I'm thinking a street bike riding, cybered gun-fu type character. Sort of a mashup of Akira and Equilibrium, with the addition of cybernetics. Could be a backup mechanic/techie, too, if we don't have a Shadowrun-type rigger on board.
I'd prefer a Sprawl/Neo Tokyo sort of metropolis- the endless urban jungle with both high tech, well protected, wealthy enclaves and poor, lawless/gang controlled regions is kind of central to the cyberpunk genre, in my mind. But I'm flexible and realize that may be more dystopian than we're going for.
Oh and everyone brace yourselves: the campaign will have cybernetic enhancements, necrotech, AND grafts!
Yep, you could play as a jacked-up Dwarf cyborg! How about an Elf with a full-conversion cybernetic body? Or a necromancer who fights in close quarters with two telekinetic necrotech swords made from human hearts called heart sabers?
Here is a basic analysis of all the enhancements.
Cybernetics- The most expensive but most powerful and least stigmatized of enhancements.
Grafts- Due to cloned body parts being available, these do not carry much stigma, and are of medium cost and average power.
Necrotech- Highly stigmatized due to the use of reanimated tissues and Frankenstein technology, these enhancements are almost as powerful as cybernetic enhancements, as well as being extremely cheap (Especially if you can 'find' a corpse and a black market necromancer to 'tech you up'...).
Karlprosek, if this is a cyberpunk analogue of the 90's, I'd say it wouldn't be too dystopian. I grew up during the 90's, so I know there was a good bit of divide between social classes. However, the middle class is definitely the largest class in the campaign world.
Fbdaury, Vancouver? I'd have to research it, but I'll consider it.
One thing, every country has Common (Sort of like English,) as the baseline language. Other languages are secondary because, like the real world, English is the number one trade language.
Are people interested in new races and classes? Anyone want to play a genetically-engineered human, an A.I. 'inhabiting' a synthetic shell, or something like that? Anyone want to have skills as a Hacker, Necrotech Engineer, or something like that? Throw out some ideas for me so I can help you find rules for it!
I MAY open up the zombie apocalypse campaign too, but I need some time to decide.
As I went looking for gun-fu clips on Youtube I found clips from Ultraviolet, which I've never seen before. Milla Jovovich's character in that looks pretty much like what I'm going for. I think she's a vampire (nevermind the fact that she's walking around during the day); she'd be very well summed up as a genetically-engineered human with some cyber implants or tech toys.
When super heroes was still on the option wall I had an idea for a character that would for all intents and purposes seem like your average wired up slicer/street samurai, but with a twist.
The twist- no actual cyberware! His body had mutated the otherwise functionless appendix in his body to produce worm-like organic 'wires' that could move to through the human body to various sites to provide enhanced reflexes or strength, sensory upgrades, etc.- all naturally. What's even crazier? By releasing these creatures out from his mouth and then putting them into others, he could enhance them as well, for 1-2 hours before the worms would die out- the ones in his body were maintained and/or replaced as need be by his mutated appendix.
I guess the same thing could be done as a GELF character or he could have an experimental genetically engineered appendix replacement.
I'm probably going to be the odd man out. I'm thinking a normal kid (random gender), maybe human, maybe not (after all, humans are pretty monstrous) who, as I said earlier, was orphaned at an early age. I'm thinking Urban Barbarian with a full on gun savant (some feats to be able to craft firearms and other weapons). Focus on perception and intelligence. Probably superhuman reflexes, mostly from insane training. Kind of like Batman crossed with Punisher. Maybe a multiclass with Martial Artist Monk.
Alternately, if you're going that route on power level, you might consider gestalting.
One thing, every country has Common (Sort of like English,) as the baseline language. Other languages are secondary because, like the real world, English is the number one trade language.
You're awesome, the American attitude. We shouldn't have to learn other languages, everyone else learns our language.
To make things easier, you might consider giving everyone an evolution pool from the Eidelon table. Then they can use those to represent Cybernetics, Genetic Engineering, Mutations, Cross-Breeds, Demonic Possession, or Hyper Training. Plus it would make it easier to keep everyone in the same power range.
You're awesome, the American attitude. We shouldn't have to learn other languages, everyone else learns our language.One thing, every country has Common (Sort of like English,) as the baseline language. Other languages are secondary because, like the real world, English is the number one trade language.
Well, if you move here to live, yes you should. Just as you should learn English if you move to England, or learn Japanese if you move to Japan, or Mandarin if you move to China, or Spanish if you move to Mexico or Spain, or learn French if you move to certain portions of Canada or France.
If I'm visiting Hong Kong, I don't learn Mandarin, and I don't expect people to speak English. I specifically stay in hotels that say 'We Speak English', and I go on tours that have that modifier, but I don't expect everyone to speak English. I take my little phrase book and do the best I can when buying cheap junk to bring home. :)
I think what he meant was, each country has it's own language, and because of the influx of non-humans there's been a polyglot language that's heavily influenced by English that's risen up. It's not unreasonable.
Karlprosek, I liked the Ultraviolet movie! I'm something of a sci-fi nerd though lol.
Fbdaury, there are grafts available, and there are several biomechanical classes I have access to: Fleshwraiths (Basically a biological version of the Machinesmith,), Primal Hosts (Those infected, willingly or otherwise, by a body-mutating symbiote,), and several more. I know, I have WAY too many books!
Does everyone want me to ATTEMPT to create a map, hex-style, detailing districts in the city and number-coding some of the commonly known places in it?
And, as a note, it will probably be a day or so before I open recruitment, because of some news I received the other day. Don't worry, probably nothing really bad or anything, probably just an inconvenience requiring surgery or medication.
One reason I'd suggested standard classes (gestalted) plus evolution points was, they're all available to everyone, so it cuts down on people needing extra books, or you having to type up everything to them. :)
No problem on the time thing Silver- right there with you, might be getting my meds changed but they need to run me for an EKP first and I'm waiting on news of that...
MDT, that's what Google Docs and the 'read only' settings are for! :)
By the way, does everyone want the classic Modern Arcana or would you prefer something more like [url=http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/114369/NeuroSpasta--PathfinderNeurospasta[/url], but with things like gene-modded human subraces available to represent the fantasy races, with a fully non-magical setting? In the latter case, Hackers replace traditional casters (Every person is implanted with SEED wetware in their skull, which basically gives them a mini-computer in their brain with full wi-fi connection! Problem is, it can be hacked! >:) ).
EDIT: The race options of the latter option would be: Human, Prosthetics (Human brain in a synthetic body or mostly synthetic body,), Nugenics (Humans genetically altered in the womb to be 'near-perfect'), Virtuants (A.I.'s that 'synch up' with a mobile humanoid chassis,), True Synthetics (Actual robots, but not full constructs, because their delicate wiring makes them subject to critical hits and their constant connection to the Net allows them to be hacked which negates mind-affecting immunity,), Mutants (Like X-Men, but not as drastically powerful. There will be a Mutant Paragon class if you want to expand on this,), and a few near-Human engineered species (Like a genetically created humans with a silicon-based physiology that allows them to shapeshift,).
I ask, of course, because it seems most people are shying away from the sci-fantasy blending aspects of Modern Arcana.
As for the neo-Common English, I use the logic that in our own time, English is becoming a near-necessity in most countries of the world as a second language because of the whole thing with globalization. Therefore, by about 2077 (Because I just watched the Cyberpunk 2077 trailer!), I would say that English is the primary language in a lot of countries and is considered a near-equal to the native language in many other countries. Not trying to all 'Murican about everyone needs to speak English, just advancing the timeline to a logical conclusion. Make sense?
Oh, and the campaign will be gestalt regardless! :)
Enemies, in true gamer fashion, will be TRIPLE-gestalted (Three classes blended as opposed to two!) AND a few levels above PCs, so having a 4-on-1 would be viable and not just 'NPC gets massacred'.
Oh, and everyone PLEASE check out the Cyberpunk 2077 trailer! I'm so happy that someone is making a sandbox cyberpunk RPG game for consoles! I haven't been this excited about the concept since Deus Ex: Human Revolution and, if this thing has full character creation, I'm breaking out some money for a PS4, despite the fact that I told myself that I was not going to buy a next-gen! (Sorry Microsoft, all those 'features' you proposed when designing the X-Box One soured me to you! >:P).
Seeing that the other concepts seem to be leaning toward the kung-fu fighting gunslinger type I can switch to another idea I had. A B&E specialist who has enough hacking skill to spoof alarms and sensors and enough magical skill to breach magical wards. She wouldn't be throwing fireballs or slicing black ICE, but could climb up the side of a building, use a diamond-tipped glass cutter, hack the ultrasound motion sensor, crack the safe, unravel the ward designed to make the thing she's stealing invisible, dispel the ward designed to burn it to ashes, then escape down a zip line to the roof of the neighboring building.
So from bike-riding cyber-samurai to uber-thief who dabbles in tech and magic with a focus on cracking security. Not good enough in either field to be the team hacker or the team mage, but she's the one to call in when it comes to beating security systems. Concept could work in a no-magic world just fine, too.