Smyrna speaks Greek, is that also Greek?
Oh shoot. Lemme think about it.
Probably should change Kasathan to a different language :)
Hey, I should ask:
Do you guys have Lines or Veils?
Lines being: Do not address this topic. We do not bring it up during the game.
Veils being: Do not explicitly describe this thing. The most-used veil is probably sex, where you just say something like "we had sex, it was great" or whatever. It is allowed to be part of the story, but no description or focus is given to it.
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I also want to ask about encounter difficulty.
My goal as DM is to make you feel fragile (as in, if you make the wrong mistake, you could die) but also powerful (as in, your choices matter and you can make changes in the world). I generally plan to make encounters quite difficult.
However, what do you think? How often do you want to accept character death and disability?
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I should further bring up: Player absence and botting.
I like to be able to bot people in combat if they are absent, to keep the game moving. However, I will usually not bot you out-of-combat and you will be assumed to be silently following the party.
If somebody is absent for a significant period of time, how long do you think is long enough to be kicked or replaced?
What do you think about being botted? Can I use resources? Would you guys be okay with putting up "tactics" spoilers in your profiles so that I can bot you accurately when you happen to not be able to be here?
Hey, I should ask:
Do you guys have Lines or Veils?
Lines being: Do not address this topic. We do not bring it up during the game.
Veils being: Do not explicitly describe this thing. The most-used veil is probably sex, where you just say something like "we had sex, it was great" or whatever. It is allowed to be part of the story, but no description or focus is given to it.
I have no specific lines or veils outside of general good taste. I also do not have an issue with anyone needing theirs to be considered.
I also want to ask about encounter difficulty.
My goal as DM is to make you feel fragile (as in, if you make the wrong mistake, you could die) but also powerful (as in, your choices matter and you can make changes in the world). I generally plan to make encounters quite difficult.
However, what do you think? How often do you want to accept character death and disability?
Keeping it balanced should be a goal. I often say that tabletop games are not DM vs players so much as cooperative storytelling. Making sure our actions have consequences (both good and bad) is distinctly important. Granted, my character is likely at less of a risk of permanent disability than many others.
I do love a good cinematic feel to a game and players should be encouraged and rewarded for thinking outside of the box to solve problems.
I should further bring up: Player absence and botting.
I like to be able to bot people in combat if they are absent, to keep the game moving. However, I will usually not bot you out-of-combat and you will be assumed to be silently following the party.
If somebody is absent for a significant period of time, how long do you think is long enough to be kicked or replaced?
What do you think about being botted? Can I use resources? Would you guys be okay with putting up "tactics" spoilers in your profiles so that I can bot you accurately when you happen to not be able to be here?
I think botting someone who is holding up a game by not responding for more than four days after the last post is entirely reasonable. S~$% happens in RL, but more than two weeks at most without a post seems like plenty of opportunity to get a message in. I'll think about putting up some emergency tactics in my profile.
Hey, I should ask:
Do you guys have Lines or Veils?
Lines being: Do not address this topic. We do not bring it up during the game.
Veils being: Do not explicitly describe this thing. The most-used veil is probably sex, where you just say something like "we had sex, it was great" or whatever. It is allowed to be part of the story, but no description or focus is given to it.
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I have no specific lines or veils outside of general good taste. I also do not have an issue with anyone needing theirs to be considered.
+1. Good taste seems like a reasonable fetter for your muse.
I also want to ask about encounter difficulty.
My goal as DM is to make you feel fragile (as in, if you make the wrong mistake, you could die) but also powerful (as in, your choices matter and you can make changes in the world). I generally plan to make encounters quite difficult.
However, what do you think? How often do you want to accept character death and disability?
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I'm an old school player. I won't enjoy a party kill fest, but do like a challenge, and although I am fond of Amaryst, should she buy the farm, I'll be ready to roll a new PC with no hard feelings.
I should further bring up: Player absence and botting.
I like to be able to bot people in combat if they are absent, to keep the game moving. However, I will usually not bot you out-of-combat and you will be assumed to be silently following the party.
If somebody is absent for a significant period of time, how long do you think is long enough to be kicked or replaced?
What do you think about being botted? Can I use resources? Would you guys be okay with putting up "tactics" spoilers in your profiles so that I can bot you accurately when you happen to not be able to be here?
I will try to notify you ahead of time if I know that I'll be incommunicado for a period of time. 36 hours seems like a reasonable period for combat botting. Unannounced absence for two weeks seems a reasonable period to begin thinking about replacing a player, although I have occasionally seen someone run into a silent period for health or technical reasons for as long as a month.
Give me a while on tactics. I'd kind of like to see how the first combat with Amaryst feels.
1) I'm against explicitly evil things. Yes, there are horrible things that happen - even in games - but we don't need to revel in it. So, for example, I don't mind some minor sexual details of an encounter, but we can stop short of porn-lit. Abusers and predators will be shot on sight. (I feel this is generally what is meant by "good taste" but figured a line should be readily identified - like an electric fence. minor jolts if you get close, and a big punch if you touch it!)
2) Agree with all, but especially Cross post here. Our collective story should make an epic tale of trials, triumph, and perhaps even tragedy. I really like my character, but if there isn't a real chance of dying then you're not really living! (so to speak...)
3) Agree with 36 hour limit for botting. I like the "In case of emergency, do this..." spoilers to help you out. I've also seen GMs ask a player to write an action for a missing comrade. That helps keep GM neutrality. I also will provide notice of planned absences, but sometimes things happen!
I think this is a great game and I like how we're all contributing to the movie in my mind ;-)
1) I'm usually against grim-dark and low-budget romance novel, unless it's for an awesome reason. I'll just ignore it though, so it's fine.
2)I've been through enough with your games to just trust you at this point. I think you have a good sense of my characters and play style :)
3) I like what everyone else has said about absences.
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Hey, I should ask:
Do you guys have Lines or Veils?
Lines being: Do not address this topic. We do not bring it up during the game.
Veils being: Do not explicitly describe this thing. The most-used veil is probably sex, where you just say something like "we had sex, it was great" or whatever. It is allowed to be part of the story, but no description or focus is given to it.
Line: Slavery (I've never seen a single person pull it off well, it's always just sorta sucked).
I also want to ask about encounter difficulty.
My goal as DM is to make you feel fragile (as in, if you make the wrong mistake, you could die) but also powerful (as in, your choices matter and you can make changes in the world). I generally plan to make encounters quite difficult.
However, what do you think? How often do you want to accept character death and disability?
I would be VERY careful as, in my and from what i see other player's experience the system makes you very fragile as is.
Frankly, in my experience the fights are already super dangerous (in my other game we nearly got wiped by 4 space goblins just due to sheer damage and difficulty hitting) and i would really very much prefer to not have Jin die (because it takes quite a lot of effort on my part to make a character i like, and i also get attached to the ones i do like).
I should further bring up: Player absence and botting.
I like to be able to bot people in combat if they are absent, to keep the game moving. However, I will usually not bot you out-of-combat and you will be assumed to be silently following the party.
If somebody is absent for a significant period of time, how long do you think is long enough to be kicked or replaced?
What do you think about being botted? Can I use resources? Would you guys be okay with putting up "tactics" spoilers in your profiles so that I can bot you accurately when you happen to not be able to be here?
36 hours like the others suggest sound good, when i have the time ill throw up a little tactics blurb for Jin.
Hey, I should ask:
Do you guys have Lines or Veils?
Lines being: Do not address this topic. We do not bring it up during the game.
Veils being: Do not explicitly describe this thing. The most-used veil is probably sex, where you just say something like "we had sex, it was great" or whatever. It is allowed to be part of the story, but no description or focus is given to it.
I don't really have lines or veils so to speak, but I am also a fan of "scenes fading to black" for the sake of good taste and making sure everyone is comfortable.
I also want to ask about encounter difficulty.My goal as DM is to make you feel fragile (as in, if you make the wrong mistake, you could die) but also powerful (as in, your choices matter and you can make changes in the world). I generally plan to make encounters quite difficult.
However, what do you think? How often do you want to accept character death and disability?
If there isn't risk, there really isn't much point to playing the game in my opinion. That being said, it shouldn't be a blood bath/meat grinder situation either. Particularly in PbP, people take time and effort into trying to breath life into their characters, with distinct quirks and personalities, it can be rather demoralizing if you find yourself on you 3rd character by the 5th encounter ;)
I should further bring up: Player absence and botting.I like to be able to bot people in combat if they are absent, to keep the game moving. However, I will usually not bot you out-of-combat and you will be assumed to be silently following the party.
If somebody is absent for a significant period of time, how long do you think is long enough to be kicked or replaced?
What do you think about being botted? Can I use resources? Would you guys be okay with putting up "tactics" spoilers in your profiles so that I can bot you accurately when you happen to not be able to be here?
36 hours seems like a reasonable amount of time. I'll get some preferred tactics for Korvan into his profile in the near future.
I don't have any lines or veils. Pretty much anything allowed on these forums will be ok.
I can't comment much on system specifics for difficulty, since this is my first Starfinder game, but I do like a fair bit of challenge and I think consequences are important. Outright death should be a last resort, thought. I think other consequences are far more dramatic; scarring, limb loss, capture, loss of a beloved piece of equipment, getting tied to a chair and forced to watch every episode of Yo Gabba Gabba without being high, etc.
I think botting after 36 hours is reasonable.
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Outright death should be a last resort, thought. I think other consequences are far more dramatic; scarring, limb loss, capture, loss of a beloved piece of equipment, getting tied to a chair and forced to watch every episode of Yo Gabba Gabba without being high, etc.
Agreed, death is no fun, all you do is remove a piece from play, so much more fun to gain scars and such as a result of our close calls (with the knowledge that death IS a possibility) rather than lose a character just to prove a point.
getting tied to a chair and forced to watch every episode of Yo Gabba Gabba without being high
Jesus christ, that's sick. Let's not get too drastic.
Nice one, Em...the one-liners coming out of this bunch are awesome!!
So I've been toying with the idea of using modified starship rules for my custom ride but there seems to be no way to price that and we already have a starship.
The motorcycle?
There's vehicle rules, aren't there? Or can it... fly in space?
There are vehicle rules but the list of vehicles is very limited and there are not motorcycle-like vehicles above tier 1 and no rules for modifying and improving existing vehicles in any meaningful way.
Well, if there's anything that you want, but it doesn't exist within the rules, feel free and let me know.
This applies to everyone, of course.
So... how 'bout you describe Cross' bike to me?
Amaryst: Checking your bank account, you notice that you've been wired 50 credits from the Simon Home Protection Agency with a note: 'Cleaner's fee deducted from your paycheck. No violence reported, so no bonus.'
I had told them I'd be in the next day to pick up my pay.
BUt I'll take the credits.
Yeah, but going in to get paper checks is certainly a thing of the past.
I've adjusted Kasathan to Yiddish.
There are links under the language spoiler in the Campaign Info tab that should lead to the correct Google Translate language so you don't have to do any cross-referencing. Just go to the Campaign Info tab and click the link.
There's also a budding "contacts" spoiler there, which I will separate by planet and includes descriptions of people who have resources that they can offer you.
Does anybody have any contacts, anywhere in the galaxy, that they'd wish to add?
Well currently what I had in mind was the Enercycle from the core rules for now. I just want a way to keep it mechanically relevant at later levels.
Oh, don't worry about that. If you have vehicles, we can go ahead and improve those as long as you have access to shops and mechanics and parts. It gives me something to reward you with other than just credits or loot, too!
Does anybody have any contacts, anywhere in the galaxy, that they'd wish to add?
I have Larry, the loveable sock puppet that lived under my bed and only came out when I was pretty sure no one was watching the security cams. He was a plain sock, and his eyes were just circle bandaids, but he kept me company... I hope he got out ok.
Smyrna has an Uncle, Martin Scry, the Sci-fi PI, who could have some police contacts to help things out a bit. I imagine she'd also know quite a few people working on the edge of legality from her work as a receptionist at his private investigation firm.
I imagine Amaryst's old friends on Castrovel never amounted to much. Captain Roth was able to get her younger brother a job with the Roth family's corporate interests on Castrovel. I'll leave it to you to decide the fallout of her fight with the family over the ship.
Otherwise, most of her contacts probably consist of various wildly scattered servants or agents of Jin's and Captain Roth's social set. I don't expect her to have had any clients who are more extraordinary than them, and none who would have substantial personal loyalty.
And on earth, her contacts would largely be acquaintances or friends from work like Smyrna and Korvan and employers who again wouldn't have any substantial personal loyalty.
Within those frameworks I can come up with a few NPCs if you wish.
Edit: Maybe some mechanics/technicians on various stations or planets where her ship needed repairs. A few contacts in shipping or courier companies.
Maldor only has Korvan from his past - although his younger sister and dad could potentially enter the picture at some point...
Emily is his only current friend. Not like a normal friendship - mostly because he at least recognizes her from the institute and they were successful on a few exercises / training missions together. And people who share hardships and challenging circumstances share a unique bond that is often interpreted as friendship. =)
Cross I forgot about your money question and it's too late to edit. I'll just pretend like it's a character choice.
No problem. Depending on how the next day plays out, Cross may insist on her helping him pay off the deposit on his cycle.
Outside of Maldor the only people that would a connection of any sort other than acquaintance would be his mother (should she find herself out of prison) or his old "mentor", Drayven.
@Maldor that song is old in the current day lol.
So am I, my friend...so am I. =)
Well played, sir.
Smyrna can take that opening, or see what else our GM has in mind to get us all together.
;-)
Nice!!
Sometimes I think that the best thing for Rollo would be to leave him naked bound and gagged in Jin's basement.
Leinathan, not that we'll be there soon, but I've a couple questions about Drift travel in your universe.
1. Is it reliant on drift beacons?
2. If so, how are they being distributed?
3. If not, is drift flight duration still essentially random, or is duration strongly linked to the real space distance between departure point and destination?
Next subject, 'cause Amaryst has got to be thinking about it now -- her ship is built for a maximum crew of 4. With NPCs we are 8. You've said it will be uncomfortable, but will life support hold up? For how long -- roughly, I realize this may be a plot point so I don't expect an exact answer.
Next question is a meta question. If the ship is designed for a max crew of 4, will all 6 PCs still be able to take shipboard combat roles?
Drift travel is not reliant on Drift beacons. It is not directly tied to physical distances, but it is fixed between locations.
Each location has a corresponding location in the Drift, but the Drift is both smaller and a little warped compared to the Prime Material. Generally travel inside the sphere of highest population density takes between 2 days and a couple of weeks, divided by the quality of your Drift engine. More distant locations take a month or two.
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Life support won't be in jeopardy, and neither will water supplies, but food supplies might and power might as well. Your life support will hold up for as long as you have food and power. The ship probably operates for a couple of weeks without needing to be re-fueled at a fueling station.
The ship has four bedrooms and a vid-lounge with a couch, so 2 people per room will be enough to house everyone. Only the common areas (like the dining room for dinners) will be crowded.
And no, no more than 4 of you can control the ship's systems at a time. However, you can still do other things if you have Computers and a broadcasting system, like hack the enemy ship.
This deficiency is part of what should drive you to pursue a different ship later on, and what highlights this ship's shortfalls. That, plus its obvious lack of weapons, armor, and shielding.
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Rollo has a lot to offer - I plan to have him offer that if you can get him to a comm system, he can signal his allies to cover your retreat if necessary. You can also ask him if you can go to where he is going to have a safe environment...if you want to.
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Just so that I can plan ahead of time, do you guys have ideas for where you might want to be warping to? Even just vague "a place kind of like this" can be helpful.
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Since the location of Cyrune is a very well-guarded secret (only witchwyrds and people under contracts with some very NASTY penalties know where it is) i figured it would be safe to bring the party there to hole up for a short while with Jin's parents (he'd just have to pass them off as his employees) and then maybe we could get some work from them once the coast is clear.
Edit: It'd also give us the chance to retrofit the ship a bit so we have something a bit more viable to ride around in.
Thanks, Leinathan. I was half wondering if we should just try to jack a different ship, or a second ship.
In terms of where we want to go --
Amaryst is thinking about little out of the way backwaters. "If there's a bright center of the galaxy, the system farthest from it' kind of place.
She's of two minds about going with Rollo to wherever Rollo's group was going to take Em and Maldor. Rollo's 'need to know' response earlier has her thinking he's a mindless drone who they didn't bother informing with important information.
The first place you go could determine the course of the rest of the campaign, but Cyrune would definitely be a good place for some R&R and some safety. It's probably pretty far, which means an extended trip in the Drift.
Out-of-the-way backwaters are a good, but entirely different choice. I can detail a few options for you to choose from, for sure.
I just realized that Amaryst got asked two questions each by two people and answered all 4 of them simultaneously, nice.
Can't take much credit. The stars aligned.
The first place you go could determine the course of the rest of the campaign, but Cyrune would definitely be a good place for some R&R and some safety. It's probably pretty far, which means an extended trip in the Drift.
Out-of-the-way backwaters are a good, but entirely different choice. I can detail a few options for you to choose from, for sure.
If Cyrune is a long drift trip, maybe we'd leapfrog our way there from backwater to backwater.
This kid is just along for the ride - our education in the Institute didn't involve galactic geography or space travel...but I'm still here and enjoying the trip!
=)
Anywhere outside of human and lashunta space would be good to Cross.
If they have taco bell, Smyrna's good there.
Amaryst's ship has four fully stocked kitchens and the best ingredients from all over the galaxy, so... you can make your own damn tacos.
When we get there, there may not be too much time to debate about where you want to head (and I also need time to prepare!) so i'd like some kind of vote on where you'll be heading before we get there.
There's probably... two big quests you need to do before you can get off-world, though.
Also, congratulations on uniting the party!
You realize as soon as we touch down in the next port, we're probably going to split up, right?
Oh, of course. There's adventuring to be done in between now and then, though.