1) Lapeirda, yes, I agree, 4 credits seems good. Given that they don't even want us to shoot anything, that's seems good pay to just go take a look.
1.1. Does Lapeidra have a problem with just looking and NOT shooting at things? I assume yes, especially since there is now a cloud over if they are pirates or what.
2) @GM: They already said you can keep whatever salvage you find, so no need for the salvage roll.
2.1. Have we been paid for the last job, that was just finished? Or do we need to get back to the Jumpship for that?
3)
Jack Elroy Powers wrote:
And 2, we have too many mechs. Two too many infact. They are down two. As per the discussion above, I suspect they have more spare parts and weapons than us and will exchange them for two of our good, working mechs, because even two Wasps in a fight are better than nothing. We need, um, someone go check, I'm on my phone, but parts for the TB and BJ and a bunch of weapons for their load out.
Could someone please ask the Jannisaries if the have a spare Heavy Gyro and Heavy Leg Actuator? In three hours I might be able to get the T-Bolt up and running, but we need the aforementioned spare parts. If you wanna wait and do the major bartering after peace again reigns, that's fine, but I fear we'll just be right back here with too many mechs and too few parts. The RP we've been doing is great, but I fear what would happen if I start talking to people myself. (For starts, if I need to leave the repair area and go to the GJ's to ask for the parts, that's less time I have to repair things.)
GM quote:
Jumping ahead to repairing the T-Bolt: Yes, you need a Heavy type Gyro, and you need a Heavy Leg Actuator (because that got completely blown away between all the Internal Damage hits.). Then of course you need new weapon systems as the rolls for salvage on that front were pretty bad.
The Blackjack requires a medium engine, medium gyro, and then a full set of weapons.
Lapeirda: Imma quote the post I made where I detailed what we have and what we need here:
Post!:
1) Generalities
Gunny,
Seeing as how the GJ are a motivated buyer--they are a mech merc company in the middle of a hot contract and are badly in need of replacements of things that are hard to find in the best of times--and as an already successful company--they have a Union--I would like to hear their offer before rejecting it in favor of credits that we would first need to find a supplier for.
One thing I learned while playing the video game--merc companies always have a LOT of spare parts! =] I the same vein, I think they would be generous with their spare parts, as it does no good to have a Union full of parts with no mechs to put them on.
Hence, let us build an expectation based on the assumption that we will find an amenable deal with them. If the parts they offer fall short, we can always back off. They are doubly motivated to get back on their feet as they are major player, and have not upheld their end of the contract.
Hence, are we in agreement about my initial plan? At least in principle?
It looks like the only "part" we really need is a gyro for the T-Bolt. The rest--a rebuilt limb, and armor--I believe are hand-waved as "needed repairs". To have a game go so far as to keep track of individual armor points to be bought and kept track of would quickly devolve into Math: The Game. Let us assume that non-specific item can be repaired merely with elbow grease and dice rolls. FATE especially is about getting back to full health and getting back to the game in that there isn't even a need for the soft, squishy meat to heal. =)
2) Specifics.
So, what we have to trade is: Commando (currently free, without a pilot). If we can fix the T-Bolt then we have a Wasp to trade. If we can fix the BJ then we have...another WASP? (see above for discussions on that topic. i.e. If Lape wanted the BJ, then we'd have a Panther to trade, which would be worth something even if we kept the weapons to put on the BJ.)
So for a Commando and Wasp (45 tons of mechs) we need 1 gyro and weapons enough to fill a T-Bolt. Hopefully more, as I value working mechs more than loose weapons. Many of us have builds we would like to execute if we had weapons/heat sinks enough for it.
If we can trade the second WASP for an engine, a gyro, and weapons for the BJ, that would be an even trade. (Likely, as if we didn't trade the WASP I could take it apart for the gyro and engine, and put the weapons on it. It would be under-gunned, but still tougher than just a Wasp. Hence, if the GJs are flush with parts they'll take that trade.)
3) Going Forward
It's quite possible that we might stay put in orbit with the GJs for a bit while we repair, and then drop again with them. There's still a contract to fulfill so this might not be over.
GM summation:
DM - Tareth wrote:
But on a happier note, the T-Bolt wasn't completely Destroyed. You have a working engine and only a Damaged gyro, but its leg was blown off. Still it can be repaired given some time. The Blackjack does need a new engine and gryo as well as an entire upper torso and arm mount rebuild.
tldr: For two fully functioning and loaded Wasps and a Commando, we need parts and weapons enough to loadout an empty Thunderbolt and a Blackjack.
The parts that we need are a Heavy gyro for the TB, and a Medium Engine and a Medium Gyro for the BJ. (I think. The GM said something like this at some time but I can't find the exact quote right now.)
If you can get MORE weapons than the bare minimum needed, many people would like that because other people want to do specific builds for their mechs.
(We have one more mech than we need, so 3-2 gives us mechs for everyone. We'll figure out who pilots what later.)
Your orders from Captain Vikkhas are to scout the second location while the Golden Janissaires, a heavy mech outfit accompanying the mission to Stettin, hit the colony capital.
GM: Is Operation Flyswatter over?
We did our bit, it's the GJs that got kicked in their buttocks.
Was this a raid that is done, or are we being paid for more?
I feel like a light lance, the Stormhammers have performed admirably. If the GJs want to un-tarnish their name, that's on them.
Aplogies. It's comin' hot and heavy. It's not just that the dryer went, AND the kids start a new summer camp AND it's been too hot so very very hot AND the car is at the mechanics again AND I seem to have hurt myself somehow, but its all these things together.
So feel free to bot me until I can get things back together.
Tactically speaking, this is why I despair at scouting, either here or, say, a party going down a 10x10 hallway.
Wait, you despair at scouting? What happened to "bitty, bitty, bitty, bitty, bitty..."?
That was for the FULL party, Thereneger! Friends don't let friends bitty alone. When I wanna bitty, I bring da whole boys to da bitty. If'n a bro wants t' bitty, I'm all up for some bitty. If you can't bitty with a bunch of bitty, well that you gots no business to do da bitty.
I noted: That the commando's SRM 6 is a medium mount, which should be taking up two internal slots. The base sheet has it listed as only taking one slot. Unless there is something allowing this, it takes the Commando 1 point over its allowed internal structure. I suppose this might be justified by the "Punch above its class" description. If it is a typo, I will downgrade the SRM 6 to a SRM 4. That's assuming the Commando survives LoL.
Of note, in the 3025 Technical Readout all mechs 25 tons and under only had a 2 ton Gyro, when all other mechs had 3 tons.
Have lance? Nah, just some traditional Steiner recon! Now, lets do that scouting appropriately! Steiner Scout lance focus fire on the first hostile we see! I am keeping my large laser trained on the sensor spot.
Oh man such a great title. I haven't played it's sequel which I guess got a lot of attention, but if it was any better, I don't think I could handle it.
Yes! Let us again delve deep into that sweet, sweet giant fighting robotic nectar of BattleTech.
Hey did I ever tell you how I picked my handle? It was originally a way to make fun of all the random email addresses that were someone's name followed by a string of random numbers, like Bob4539@Aol.com (What? I never said this was a recent trend.)
I noticed the GM cited Sarna.net. Are you implying there are people out there that DON'T have Sarna in their bookmarks bar? I've always heard about people like that but I never thought I'd meet any. (Mine is right between Thesauras.com and Warhammer40K quotes--which I should really get rid of. It's a Russian site and it's been compromised so I've just copied all the text.)
Barring any earth-shaking revelations I'll be using Jack again because really, really, really and truly believe BT is a more logistical game than tactical.
Tech!:4d3 - 8 + 4 ⇒ (1, 2, 3, 1) - 8 + 4 = 3 SUPERIOR ARMOR PLATING
Superior Armor Plating: This Mech gains an additional 2 Armor Stress boxes.
Mech!:4d3 - 8 ⇒ (3, 3, 3, 2) - 8 = 3 HELD TOGETHER WITH DUCT TAPE ...okay this actually makes a lot of sense. It's like the mech is so old it's actually crap and only by living off the fat of my intellect is it still standing.
IF THIS MECH TAKES INTERNAL STRUCTURE DAMAGE IT GAINS
THE ASPECT CAN’T TAKE MUCH MORE WITH ONE FREE
INVOKE FOR THE ATTACKER.
I don’t know if it is needed, but Aterro’s first attack should be at advantage (from Gunnar’s help). I think Reckless Attack for Ingryd is for all attacks, too (if needed).
Whoopsy! In my tired mind I saw Shocking Grasp and just thought that, yeah, that's a cool wizard attack to do. I should really read more. (Or first learn how to....)
Hello! Heard you were looking for meat. What roles do you need filled?
cheers
Hi Jubal!
I'll let the players chime in on that question, but divine magic and versatile arcane magic seem to be lacking. I'm sure our fighter would be upset by another front liner...
So, with the existing party being a magic knight, a rogue and a warlock, and the two newcomers of a Druid and Barbarian, then, yep, it looks like an Int-based spell slinger would be most welcome!
A druid would be fine, with the caveat mentioned above. You will be one if the Cynidiceans. Your race is essentially human, but have 120 ft darkvision. Your race as been trapped under the sands for a couple thousand years.
If you are still interested, please build a character with point buy (30 pts)
Excellent!
Are you able to also post some lore on the Cynidiceans? How long have they been emerged from the sand? Are they still mad about it? Do they have any racial-wide goals?
I have the basic outline in my mind:
Outline of character!:
S:8
D:16
Con:16
I:11
W:16
Cha:8
Human: +1 to Con and Dex.
Variant human Feat: Telepathic. +1 to Wis.
Skills: Perception. Survival
Background: Acolyte: Insight, Religion
Two Languages: TBD
Human skill: TBD
I saw the new DnD movie yesterday. It's quite good and I recommend anyone see it, even if you are not a fan of the game system.
Much todo was made of the writers saying "We love emasculating leading men because it's fun and funny and fresh."
The scuttlebutt also was that Chris Pine only got the role because 1) They asked several people before him and they all said, "Nope. It's way too ridiculous. I'm out." and 2) Chris Pine wanted to "rehabilitate" his image after doing the stereotypical misogynist role in "Don't Worry Darling" so he willingly leaned into the silliness part and, in fact, had to be steered into being heroic when he was supposed to.
Having seen the movie, how would you respond to that? Is it more of a comedy or comedy/action? Does it in fact down-play the leading men to the point that they are the continuous butt of the jokes, and they are laughed -at- and not -with-?
Hey Reckless, I've got this conversation (and character idea) in my head that will just -not- leave me alone. I'll just throw this out there and...well let's see how it strikes us. =}
"There are risks involved," I conceded, poring myself a glass of his good stuff. Tony didn't drink like he had, but he still kept a fine board, and I respected a man strong enough to keep his demons in their cage. "And we are out of time."
He stayed silent. That meant I had to press the attack.
"With Sinister on one side and mutants on the other, what choice does Humanity have? You've made progress in your Man Of Steel program, and the Mark I is ready for human trials. All we need is a candidate with the intelligence to respect it for what it is."
I finished my drink and put the glass down with a little bow. He hadn't stopped me. That was that.
"So you are Tony Stark and the program is Man Of Steel, but then what am I? I. I? I...."
I'm meditating on what kind of character to submit, but a question does present itself.
Exactly how much of the "Wild West" are we leaning into?
I was planning on my first lines of the character being, "Howdy cowpokes!" and then quickly following up with a line denigrating "all that namby pampy book-learnin'!"
Is that appropriate or is this more a "D&D but with guns!" kinda thing?
Tumbler is one of the nicest guys on these boards. For anyone to lose their poop at a polite reply like that is just inconceivable.
FWIW, as much as I feel bad that this opportunity blew up, it looks like we dodged a bullet in not sinking any more time and resources into what was always a losing proposition.
As always the question is "now what?"
At the very least I'll try and find a way to mark this as inactive. I owe you guys at least that much.
Mind you, my Muse won't be quite about a quick little adventure to at least do a think in this world. IF I have time, I'll write it out. That's not the most likely thing, tho, so in the near future either this game'll disappear or there'll be a gameplay post.
I had just asked this of Lord Hralgar Stonebeard, an Elder of the High Council of the Ironhand clan, who had called me into his chambers for an individual meeting. I knew what this was about and he knew I knew. I decided to get in the first shot.
He looked at me with all the affection one gives to a rust beast who just destroyed your grandfather's favorite suit of mail. This all came down to one basic flaw.
I was being a bad dwarf.
"There you go again, young John," he said in a way both grandfatherly and patronizing. Perhaps it was impossible to separate the two. "We do not think trees are evil, per se, but it is not trees that provide what is necessary for us to live. Can one mine gold from a tree? Can one find a vein of precious sapphires or luscious rubies in trees? Of course not. Now perhaps they are pretty to look at, and of course the best trees make good lumber once they are cut down, but we must not let their welfare be our cheifest concern."
And there you had it. You could not sell a tree.
"Then I know what I must do, Lord Stonebeard. As I am of the age for the Rite of Walking, I see no reason to add a slight modifier on top of it."
He sat in silence. He knew what was coming as well as I did.
"I invoke the Oath of Gain. We shall see who can out-sell who."
"You are of an age to take up thy quest. Many of thy brethren have already left. I See and Acknowledge thy Oath. May you Return in Glory."
To "Take a Walk" was nothing new. Many young dwarves either not suited or ready to settle down to the important and ever-lasting tasks of the clan left into the World of Men to see for themselves what lay beyond the stone walls. Many returned and were usually happy to settle down. The ones that did not return were thought of as good riddance.
However, as I was on the verge of Deportment--to be kicked out with no right of return--I took the Oath. Basically it meant that I could return, and if I did so with sufficient riches and coin, I would be hailed as a conquering hero. More so, my ideas would be given more weight! With high status I could lead the clan out of their grey and stolid ways and into a new age of prosperity and advancement!
You said you guys need some meaty meat front line meat so I already know what Imma gonna do. Druid! No wait, here me out! =) Hill Dwarf.
Free Feat is Dwarven Fortitude. Circle of the Moon. I'm going to be a furry, angry, yelling ball of hit points!
"Oh, yer an ugly one, ain't ya? Come here and taste me Shillelagh ya daft boot!"
Alright, it looks like my Necro idea just isn't quite gonna pull it off. No worries, I'm a man that can admit when an idea isn't going to work.
Time to change tact.
To that end, since we're looking for a fit for a pre-existing party, I'd like to explain a bit in my thinking for this next character. I do go on a bit so I'll spoiler it so as not to take up too much space.
Philosophy!:
Looking at the melee heavy party, the one word that is needed here is "support". Now, what does that even mean? It can mean many things, mostly healing (including damage mitigation), damage from range, and buffs.
So too, the line goes to play what you want to play. And for me often that is something that I've not. And I've always wanted to try a character that doesn't use weapons. Or at least rely on them, and at the same time isn't a mage.
So how to marry these two ideas?
Cleric of the Light subdomain. Or, as I call them, a LightCleric. (I find it a quick and easy way to refer to a class and it's domain since often it can mean a big difference. i.e. LifeCleric, WarCleric, etc...)
The LightCleric gets all those nice things that Clerics do AND gets access to some _sick_ support spells. Do you really need a mage when your cleric can cast Fireball?? =]
Also, and I'm just speculating here, theoretically, maybe if a certain hill giant has Faerie Fire on it, then a certain fighter wouldn't go unconscious. Theoretically. =]
AND!
Speaking of making sure people don't go unconscious, I'm going with Inspiring Leader as my Human feat. Nice! With a bunch of temp hp my healing can go a long, long way.
Yes, that means I'll have a passible Cha, and even Persuasion, but with so many Bards and even a Sorlock in the offing, I'm assuming one of them will be the main Face. Of course it never hurts to have another person studying new ways to be nice to people. =}
I personally have no problem with a necromancer PC but in general play, I’ve never seen it work out well. There has consistently been friction between other PCs that cannot be reconciled.
That being said, if you want to pitch the idea, I’ll run it by the current players when considering applications and we’ll see how they respond.
That is very interesting. Do you mind if I explore that further?
I've not had much experience with seeing necros played (it does seem an unpopular choice, for obvious reasons) so do you mind if I ask what problems occurred? Since forewarned is forearmed, hopefully if I am aware of prior problems, I'll be able to avoid such pitfalls.
Oh my this is certainly an august crowd of people gathered! I shall have to bring something very special to try and fit in!
To that end I have one question two questions!
Question the First: Are there any optional rules at character creation we should know about? I know that there has been a lot of backlash against Customized Origin rules, so I just wanted to verify that it is still Verboten.
2) I have a character idea that's been rattling around in my brain-pan, but I'd like some feedback to make sure that it's viable? No, no, it doesn't make the rules scream or do anything like that, but it is a bit of a different social take on something. I know I do go on so I'll spoiler this so it doesn't take up more space:
The Benevolent Necromancer:
There's been a trend in recent editions, and 5E seems to have capped this at de-evilifing necromancy. To wit, the "Evil!" descriptor is no longer included in Necromancy spells, and so the only thing standing in the way of the Necromancer is the social stigma.
That is to say, society looks at undead and thinks it evil. However this character would reject all of that, and would counter with many of the arguments made by current-day pro-2A or certain dog breed advocates.
That is, skeletons are not evil, the people who control them are. One could tell a created skeleton to "stand there and do nothing" and it will. One could tell it to carry water to a sick old man just as easily. Thus it has the same morality as any man, or even a sword. It has no intrinsic evil value, it simply reflects the values of the wielder.
So too, the Benevolent Necromancer believes that there is still some thread of a soul tied to the animated bones, and treats them as if they are a passed on soul that now gets to play in the playground of the living for a time, and is that not a good thing? Indeed, were you to miss a departed relative, would it not be a kindness to see their body up and about. Were they an adventurer in their life? Now they can be again! No longer do they need to lay in the ground, forever motionless. Now they could walk and fight and bring down forces of evil that would enslave those they cared about in life!
A quote:
"Ah, my child, no, there is nothing unnatural going on here. There are like my children. Nay! They are better than children. Take George here. George! See you this cord of wood? Carry it over by the fire pit and wait for further instructions.
There! You see? Show me the child that will do such a thing without a word of grief and with absolute certainty that it will do the thing, and not get bored and run off to do some time-wasting frivolity, or dump the whole thing for some glee from a playmate. Later I will laden down George with a backpack full of cooking supplies and we will march through hot sun and cold mountains and he will give me not a word of complaint! Nor will he require an ounce of sustenance or a coin of pay. Tell me, who among the living can give you such labor of such quality and at such a cost?
Nay nay, a Necromancer is the most benevolent thing in this world, akin to a wheel-maker or a blacksmith."
Despite StarFire being one of the more popular DC heroes, the book I am not starfire is only liked by 3% of reviewers.
For something from history, back when video game makers had no market and they really, really needed people to buy their stuff, often there were such things like Curse of the Azure Bonds that slid in a little cleavage to make sure that an extra million units would move.
Sorry, I've never read Dying Earth, but ain't that what we're talking about?
I don't even understand this statement. All sex appeal is needed.
Arianna Moonwood wrote:
Maybe I'm naive, but I'd rather be entertained by a tale of heroism than have the joy sucked out of me by a story that wallows in needless nihilism and hedonism while telling me I'm an idiot for believing that people on the whole want to be good, honest people, rather than self-serving sociopaths.
I also think this.
Right now the bookcase to my direct left groans under the weight of almost every Conan book made. If I want escapism, I want escapism. I don't want to be punched in the face and told I'm a bad person and -then- told I'm an extra bad person for not liking being told that I'm a bad person.
Yeah, if I play a evil character, it's because I'm good, but in the looong-term view. That is to say, I'll say that the ends justify the means.
Before I get too far into thinking about a character, is there any guidance on what sorts of things our characters will be doing. I've had some bad experiences in the past with making a character who doesn't fit at all in what the GM is wanting to do. Like twice I've made a full conversion cyborg heavy weapons guy (once with Rifts rules, once in SW) and both times the campaign took place largely in cities where heavy weapons (and even cyborgs) were illegal.
I'm happy to play anything from a scientist who drives an old pickup truck to a dragon hatchling, but I want to play something that isn't hamstrung by the campaign and that helps the story along.
Also, I don't know much about Rifts Australia. Anything important in there related to characters?
Ha! I remember that! I talked about making a Robot Armor Pilot piloting a giant robot. Then I asked about stats for my giant walking robot, then I rolled up my pilot for my giant fighting robot and I asked the GM about particulars about me and me piloting a giant robot.
Just as I was about to post I was told "oh, yeah, we're all in a city and they don't let in giant robots."
Thanks guys. Super.
We'll try to avoid pitfalls like that! I await with baited breath the answer to that question. Hey, I'm just the numbers guy. I'd say I'm the CFO to Sebeclocki's CEO. ^_^
Yes, all that has been said is true. With the Recent Unpleasantness of WOTC playing fast'n'loose with the OGL, I realize that we need to get serious about exploring options that are not D&D. Seeing that this goal can intersect with bringing the AMAZING world of Savage Rifts into greater exposure can only be a good thing!
Now some of you have lots of Savage World experience, some of you are less so, and some have never played SW at all. That is good and as it should be. The only way we can expand something is by making it friendly to new experiences. Hence, among all the rules, there is one that is chiefest:
If you have a question ASK IT.
I know I'm going to be asking a lot of questions (mostly along the lines of "Um, are you sure your character can do this?" =) but SW is a bit different than most d20 based games. Better, IMHO, but different. And Rifts is different in itself, but the only way to get to the rich succulent fruit at the heart is to dive right in!
There's a scene in the Masters of the Universe live action movie where the good guys are holed up in some department store, and a trio of the Drones of the bad guys line up and straight up jump -through- a plate glass window to get entry in force.
I always that was so cool. Glad I could pay homage here.
(Of course it was also the coolest scene about the movie because just before they were ready to start shooting the execs said "Surprise you have no budget!")
Serious question for the people saying OSR: Why do you prefer OSR?
To me, IMHO, the system can't not be boring. The fighter is literally just a d20 roller. No customization, nothing special, no independency.
The Magic-User has all the drawbacks that made 3.0 needed. At first level he gets his one Magic Missile...and that's it. No cantrips to get you by, no racial feats to get you a matial weapon.
And the cleric doesn't even get spells at first level.
*heh* I mean, I understand that Pathfinder might've taken it too far and made for too much optimization, but I think that 5E solved this and, by welding all classes to a common progression line, has kept customization without letting the beast out of the cage.
I mean, of course there are things to watch for, no system is perfect. But 5E is as close to a perfect system as I've found.
(Well, Savage Worlds is close. But that that is another story....)
You sure you don't wanna have jewelry fit for a king surrounding your person? Then your rings and pectorals could be of heavy worked gold and precious gems imported from far off lands. (The R. E. Howard in me is salivating just at the description!)
Also I think wearing your entire starting funds as bling would be awesome. :)
Bennies: That is an idea worth thinking about. I'm thinking it might reset too frequently
Idunno. I still play IRL with a monthly group of other "adults" and it seems that between the social catching up, the debates about rules, the ever-present need to show the wives what their bonuses are and which dice to roll (nothing against gaming chiXorZ) and telling the kids to stop...whatever it is they are doing, that one "session" is pretty much one combat encounter and, maybe, one non-combat interaction.
If bennies are truly meant to be refreshed at a session, I'd even say every 50 posts is slow. Remember that 50 gameplay posts include ~25 Discussion posts, which represent OOC discussion that also happen during a gaming session, which also take up time, and that babysitter is leaving when she's leaving so that couple that just had a baby better be home by then 'cause time don't wait.
