Welcome, welcome!
This is the discussion/ooc thread for the campaign. We can get things situated and squared away before the game begins, and make sure everyone is on the same page.
Yay! Looking forward to this.
Here I am, after much confusion
Whoops! Uh, here I am. Bonjour!
Greetings, fellow travelers. I am Kunga the Seeker, a bounty hunter specializing in capturing in robots and cyborgs, dead or alive.
Chaali, did you end up buying a lightsaber which you designate "energy sword"?
The ice queen is here, I have a general ranged/skill based build. Particularly technology use, astronomy, and some piloting skill. I can also serve as a party face when/if the need arrives.
I am running a single class that is more of a "monster" than a true class so there may be tweaks as we go.
I'm down to my last 5 credits and looking for work.
Party Roles:
I do close and ranged light fighting / party face and support when needed.
Generally I prefer if we know and have a reason to trust each other before the game begins. Anyone interested in having some shared history with me?
To throw some ideas out there:
- I have been a drifter for at least a few standard months, and have resume that means we could have crewed the same starship.
- We could have known people from my time in the Imperial Navy (7 years ago).
- We may have escaped "The Institution" together.
I could have easily been traveling with you recently. Fraejia has been traveling since arriving in this area of space and doing some work for the humans on occasion. She'd have been looking for a "native guide" until she got a general knowledge of this area, and if they were also a wanderer that would suit her all the better.
Reading your background, it makes lots of sense that we could be travelling together.
Xim is also detached and formal, with pale skin for a human and able to see in total darkness. I could imagine the two of them going whole days without either of us noticing and turning on the lights.
You would know that when no other humans are around, Xim stops showing much emotion and falls into a vacant feral expression.
The dark and lack of lighting is a very cool thought (pun intended) and you'd have gotten the sense that she is incredibly lonely at times.
I've got a compelling reason to trust one another when the game starts. You don't have to know each other.
That's good, still fun to make connections sometimes.
I could be a regular doctor to the Marjun reservation
Terz reporting for . . . is that a ball of string?
Okay.
Before we get started, I want everyone to decide whether they know each other or not. It doesn't really effect the storyline. If your characters don't know each other, or only 1 or 2 do, trust me, you will be getting to know each other fairly quickly.
Some things to note about your character sheets. Make sure instead of AC you have Defense. Your Defense is 10+Dex mod+Shield (if any)+class bonus (if any)+other mods. Also, start with max HP for the 2 levels.
Oh, and Terz, you need to come up with a really good reason you have a suit of Templar battle armor. They aren't very forgiving of others wearing them. I should have increased the price of them I think. The reason Chaali was able to get his energy sword at a cheaper price is because the listed price is the Black Market price. So, for future use, increase the Templar battle armors up to 1200 and 1500 respectively.
Also, please put an asterix next to the armor or weapon you chose to be Masterwork. If you missed my announcement about that, it's as follows: Pick a weapon or armor that costs below your starting credits. You get that item for free, and it is of masterwork quality. It's essentially something that you hold very dear to you, such as a family heirloom or whatnot. A reason you have that item would be nice to know in your backstory if you haven't already.
There got the masterwork item chosen, and the defense labeled correctly. My hp have been fixed as well.
Oh, might I suggest putting the links to the Campaign guide and other variant rules in the campaign Rules tab please? Make it much easier to find if we need to reference them.
I will. I want to find a different place to put them other than Google Docs. Using that stuff irritates me to no end.
Chaali, ever consider switching out the regular kilt for an Armored Kilt? I've always pictured them being fit for a martial 'jedi'-like character.
I paid for a masterwork autopistol according to the normal Pathfinder rules. It isn't a family heirloom just a really nice gun with a +1 to hit.
Clearly my Family Masterwork Rapier fits the your description of my masterwork item above. (also mechanically a Masterwork weapon)
I just want to make sure that is an option.
If you could afford it normally, it's fine. I figured your rapier was the heirloom. You went through all that trouble to get it back even.
Kunga's prized possession is a masterwork laser pistol. He had taken it off of the corpse of the first bounty he turned in as an independent agent - a smuggler wanted by his disgruntled former employer for jettisoning his cargo. The smuggler shot first, but Kunga shot best and lived to tell the tale.
Would that happen to be a BlasTech DL-44? That's considered a Heavy Pistol though.
My lightsaber is my prized possession.
Space Adventure! ... It's an adventure in space!
I did have Han Solo in mind, but this wouldn't be a heavy blaster since that would be too expensive. Let's make it a zero gun to be a little more different.
Is there comparable light armor armor I could afford? I picked that because of the defense value. I figured I got it because at one point in my conscription I was able to get my hands on it after we killed the poor fellow. My thinking would be that conscripts are fodder and are not properly outfitted so there is a keep what you kill culture among the fighters.
Chaali- that is awesome I love Fineas and Pherb. The Star Wars episode was epic.
Kunga just make sure you shoot first.
Kunga, you can use whatever type of weapon you want, I was just making an observation.
Terz, if you claimed it from a fallen foe, then that's fine. For RP flavor you could always just 'repaint' it. It could be a requirement for conscripts. The Imperium has no qualms about their conscripts looting the enemy, actually encourages it. They do have to ensure they match Imperium colors.
Speaking of which.
- Imperium - Red with black highlights
- Confederacy - Blue with silver highlights
- Templars - Green with gold highlights
- Drow - Purple with black highligts
These are primary colors. Smaller units amongst them may, and usually do, have their own color schemes.
Do you have any pictures of what you would say that Templar armor looks like. I realized I did not do my full description yet and I am tying to get the right mix of a kid abducted from a near stone age culture and forced to live and fight in a super tech galaxy. I found a picture but it feels toooooo fantasy.
As for if we know each other. I wrote they history of Terz so that where he was flexible. If he has just been rescued or just dropped in space station. Though several of us have experience in Imperium space.
Okay, found a website to use for information. I've seen it in the past and forgot about it until just a short while ago... Obsidian Portal. I'll work on getting the Campaign Guide over there asap.
Google Jedi Battle Armor. Simple as that.
I can't remember, but what kind of game did you guys want with this? Like Firefly/Serenity, Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, Farscape, or Babydlon 5?
Each of those has its own unique 'feel' to it.
Kunga can be acquainted with Chaali through Chaali's brief medical service on the Marjun reservation. The rest of the characters can be strangers at the beginning of the game.
Don't recall really, I'm up for what ever. The sound of it to me was very much an amalgam of all of those. Don't recall whether a particular one was chosen.
I love all of those. I don't think we really need to be shoehorned into just one. Here are my preferences in order with comments about each:
1. Firefly:
This is the feel I was expecting with the space cowboy theme. Also my favorite of all time. I was assuming we were independent operators on the edge of civilization. It was a good mix of simple morality and complicated morality.
2. Babylon 5:
Loved the show, not sure what this has that makes it stand out as a feel... the meddling with ancient powers aspect I suppose. Another good mix of simple and complicated morality.
3. Battlestar Galactica:
I actually like the show more than B5, but it was too darn depressing. So I love the feel of it, but wouldn't want such constant "grittyness". Really like that EVERYONE on the show had a dark side. EVERYONE made bad decisions now and again, and even Baltar was not a simple mustache twirling villain.
4. Farscape:
Working my way through this right now on Neflix. It is darker than I remember. What I like about Farscape is that they went for that techno-organic thing. It feels far less mechanical. That's interesting.
5. Starwars:
Loved the movie as a kid. Too black and white, not enough moral ambiguity for my taste. Often feels like classic fantasy dressed up in lasers.
If anyone in the party already has a ship and is a decent enough sort they could have recently answered a distress beacon. Would have stumbled upon ole Lux, lucky kitty he is. Now he would be half crazed from delirium and under the antique space suit would be wearing a beat up templar style armor painted black and red (imperium colors) though any insignia have been removed. I think this sort of intro only really works if one of us has a ship or are on the same ship and perhaps Terz is a bit of a mystery who is this strange Imperium half savage cat thing in the brig or kept under anesthesia.
I like that list Lazarus though I have yet to watch a B5 episode. For whatever reason I never wanted to. I think I was too firmly a DS9 fan so I felt like it would be cheating.
I could be wrong but I picking up more space opera mash up more than space western (I too like the Firefly). But I think the feel I am picking up is cool.
I really enjoy the first four seasons of B5, wish they had ended it at the end of season four as that woulda been a great series finale. Always been a big star wars fan myself, and I agree the movies were generally very black and white, the books, especially the later ones, got much more into the shades of grey sort of thing.
I agree with Lazarus, I got a definite vibe of the Firefly/Farscape feel, with a sizable Star Wars/B5 influence to the galaxy in general mixed in. Ultimately I am not too particular about the exactness, long as it's fun.
I think the interest check thread started as straight space opera as one option, and fantasy western as the other... then they sort of merged for a while, space opera western... and then split into Warhawk deciding to run 2 games rather than one or the other when there was so much interest in the interest check thread.
Agreed. I am good with classic space opera. Heck, I am more classic space pirate than space cowboy. Part of the fun of space opera is that you can just push a little bit, or go to a new planet or sector and change the feel of the game for an adventure... and when you are bored of that, go somewhere else.
I loved B5 and DS9 is my favorite star-trek. I really think B5 being on at the same time and being so similar pushed DS9 to be better than it would otherwise have been.
To be fair... the first season of B5 is basically unwatchable.
Yeah, the first season is a bit rough, but a number of things that happen there are very important later, so you really have to watch almost all of it for things to make sense later.
Also, a good point about the space opera, it does lend itself to a regular change of feel if so desired.
The real b5 Season 5 problem is that they were canceled as far as they knew in the middle of season 4, (I think their distribution company was folding or something) so they tied the whole thing up at the end of season 4. Then TNT picked the show up because Ted liked the show... and suddenly they had to fill the final season. My favorite episode of the whole show is in season 5... Day of the Dead.
Season 3 and 4 were my favorites, with Season 4 being the best.
My favorite moment of season 3 was the Battle for B5, when Delenn and the Minbari cruisers show up and she tells the attacking forces that the only one who has ever defeated one of their cruisers is behind her, under their protection.
Favorite episode of season 4 was the last one. I still think New Earth was the Vorlon homeworld.
Only episode I liked from season 5 was the series finale. Seeing the decommissioning brought tears to my eyes.
Well I think looking at the setting documents there are several borrowed from other sources elements but some fun differences. I could be wrong but this is how I am reading it.
The Imperium comes off something like a fascist militarized government with a healthy dose of the sort of neo European elements from the Dune noble houses perhaps that comes from the name Imperium which has that feel. I can see from some folks history they got that feel too. Cheliax in space.
The Alderani as the name seems to suggest are similar in spirit to the rebellion in Star Wars perhaps with more resources but they are a counterpoint to the Imperium.
The Templars are like jedi but no Jedi/Sith Dualism the're neutral so that is kinda interesting.
The Drow are just bastards money making techno bastards.
Another possible faction from Kunga's backstory: Android / Robot pirates. They could be part of a union of AI's that believe in Technological Supremacy, like the Cylons. Freeing computers / Androids from the domination of the organics. They seem like commerce raiders, because to us they are stealing stuff; but they see themselves as freedom fighters. They aren't pirates, they are rescuing the AI navigation program that is in your starship from slavery.
The Imperium are the Empire, Peacekeepers, Covenant (Halo), and Dominion (Wildstar Online) all rolled into one.
The rest are pretty much spot on. The drow, well, those were Viluki's contributions. Kind of a third power out there to keep the Imperium from becoming too powerful.
I was wondering how to implement the robot pirates... Thanks Lazarus!
My preference would be for a kind of Firefly/Farscape hybrid, but with choice aspects of the rest thrown in, sometimes existing in the background, sometimes in the spotlight. Not too dark, not too black and white, hints of epic goodness, a little gritty.
Singing and dancing robot pirates would also be good. "I am a cyborg king. And it is, it is a glorious thing to be a cyborg king."
You guys think energy-based firearms should react with resistances as normal? So essentially Freija would be immune to zero or cryo weapons, but take 150% damage from lasers?
Even though it will hurt me a lo with so many fire based energy weapons around, I think personally that makes more sense to me, I mean, fire is fire is fire, the only difference is how it is made. It also saves potential confusion on trying to keep track of what source the damage comes from.
Energy is energy I think the source scientific or magic should not play. Its going to create additional pockets of unintended resistances that will effect how hit monsters.
I think it makes sense to minimize complications, so I will vote for Energy always bypasses Dr. That's what resistances are for... it will put a premium on even small energy resistances.
When it interacts with the Strain/Wound system, as I understand it there is a difference because attacks that force a saving throw cause wounds and attacks against defense as a rule don't. So you can "dodge" a laser and take the "hit" as strain damage. But a monster breath weapon that forces a reflex save is Wound damage whether you make the save or fail it.
The way we have set this up, Guns and Lasers are deadly. As players we need to look for cover rather than stand an slam. When I played SW Saga edition, making sure the combat maps had lots of opportunities for cover did wonders to make encounters survivable.
One other variant to consider (I am not advocating, I am brainstorming here):
DR/armor only protects from wound damage. Not strain damage. That way the first couple hits will get through and eat up your strain HP cushion, but when the going gets really tough you have extra protection. Complicates the gameplay, and I don't like to do that; but I like it as a thought experiment.