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[Sorcerer SoC] OOC comment/discussion thread
So here's a place for us to talk about stuff as we go along as well as comment on what's happening. Though I invite everyone to put comments in the actual scene threads in some personal color Which you may want to claim now to distinguish it as your OOC voice. I'm reserving red for GM voice. Of course you can just type normally in this thread.
Remember thoughts are in italics and you are welcome to soliliquize (?) in character with them. Any intended actions not yet narrated into the story or anything else should be in OOC voice.
Question for Rugrsi and Yellow. Would it be okay for me to combine your backgrounds a bit and make the former Saar vassal state the same as Dalomo's home state? I can do it either way (and have notes to both) but I think it would tighten things a bit. If that's true Rugrsi do you want Ismene to be your pupil or a younger sibling of hers?
Remember thoughts are in italics and you are welcome to soliliquize (?) in character with them. Any intended actions not yet narrated into the story or anything else should be in OOC voice.
Question for Rugrsi and Yellow. Would it be okay for me to combine your backgrounds a bit and make the former Saar vassal state the same as Dalomo's home state? I can do it either way (and have notes to both) but I think it would tighten things a bit. If that's true Rugrsi do you want Ismene to be your pupil or a younger sibling of hers?
Comments
I'll edit my comments with my color.
I went with Maroon.
I'll use SlateGray.
Since he has a vow to regain his lost inheritance it makes sense that he should start impecunious.
With a past as a Stable Boy and a Warrior Monk his few possessions are likely to be simple but practical.
So with that in mind:
Demon staff.
Worn, flea infested, black kimono with belt. (Hmm scratching at Demon insects from staff, that would perhaps be a better tell tale than golden eyes)
Tetami Zori (japanese style sandals)
A wooden rice bowl & cup (Sorcerer and Sword recommends Humanity vs Will for relying on charity). So with his Humanity of 6, and the average for Will being 2 or 3, I doubt he's gone without food less than a 29% of the time and has resulted in him staying in the fishing village for a few days.
Charity roll (6 / 6+2.5)*100 = eating 71% of the time.
Yugagyo-ha manuscript
Small basic set of farrier and grooming tools wrapped in cloth
2 Cloths, small jar of bees wax for cleaning the staff and polish for cleaning statues.
Two heavy grey black metal (tungsten-carbide) religious statues resembling worry dolls. Virtually spherical except for a hoop made by the statues elbows.
Concealed Weapon: You can't always rely on your demon.
Spore Spider-silk line hidden in his kimono belt (stronger than Kevlar) with miniature clips at both ends.
When the two religious statues are attached to each end of the spider-silk cord they form a Meteor Hammer (an ancient Chinese weapon). Remember Gogo from Kill Bill?
The spider-silk cord can also be used on it's own as a garrotte.
Any objections or added suggestions?
I've got most of your scene written but I have a question. You're the only one in Genesia, everyone else is more or less centered aoround the Empire, Saar, and Jeddek. I don't necessarily want you dealing with the same people/places but it might be nice if you were more or less in the same geographical region. Perhaps you are just returning to the Empire and the periphery after your extended stay in Genesia? Perhaps your village is on the edge of one of these territories? It would also sort of set you more on your way to your intentions.
Rugrsi, did you say whether you wanted Ismene, daughter to your lord, to be your pupil or a younger sibling of hers? In which case you would be her former teacher.
Oh, one last thing. He's spent time chatting with the fishermen. He's had them teach him to tie the monkeys fist knot (they use for throwing a line). He's made a couple and cut these off the rope and is using them a practise weights for his meteor hammer (non lethal version).
I'm happy with leaving the entire backstory up to you. All of the options you provide sound interesting.
I think, for the sake of narrowing down the variables, have Ismene be the pupil who's just stepped out on her own. Give Dalomo a bit of the "empty nester" issue as well.
I love the title. "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Benjamin Franklin.
The baby twist on my kicker was great.
I've tried to describe where I'm going with the whole scene as this is a pretty slow way of gaming I guess.
I'm not sure how much director stance you want us to use. I've assumed stuff like what their armour looks like (I took it from the film and the Manga), what I can see from the roof, the wind direction and I've started one sided conversations to create some drama. I've not contradicted any of your text and I suppose you can always say the wind changes direction etc. Or tell me to change it.
But, am I on the right track? Or assuming too many things or too few.
I thought I'd take a Narrativistic stance and throw in fake Pirates into the mix. To give you a bone to chew on and foreshadow future events. I'm sure my demon would approve of the mischief, if he'd known about it.
I don't mind the embellishment at all, it's a pretty good entry. Descriptions and all that stuff are pretty open and make great opportunities for bonus dice. The only point I'll throw is that you can't narrate something that requires a significant decision from someone not under your control. Can we back your post up to your conversation with the girl? Give me a chance to respond with that one. I think a roll might be involved to get her to go along with you.
I'll post Ignotus scene later today along with responses to tass and rgursi. I apologize that the takeoff has been so slow. I know what it's like to keep checking a game for updates and being disappointed when they aren't there. Once everyone is rolling I'll do my absolute best to maintain that three post per week goal (for each of you.) and I hope you'll do the same.
Yellow you haven't posted to yours yet, do I need to do something more?
Yeah that makes sense. I'll edit the post shorter to finish after my question. I hope I speed up at posting after I get used to this medium of roleplaying. I guess the first entry of each scene is the longest.
A few things have come to mind:
Do Briseis and Ismene know each other? They're close in age, and Briseis spent quite a bit of time in Jeddek, not too long ago. I think it might be interesting if they don't know each other (could be a source of friction there, if Briseis had been 'like' a daughter to Balun while Ismene was away), so maybe Ismene happened to be away from home when Briseis was there ... she was betrothed to Lorasai at some point, right? Maybe she was in Teutomekian court, and returned when the empire absorbed Jeddek?
Before this scene, not too long ago, the Throne went into Need out of its efforts to participate in the fight against an imperial task force. It might have done so by creating spawn (to repel boarders, say), which might leave one or two battle-damaged war machines moving around inside the Flower, which could be fun.
How does damage work in vehicle-scale combat? I don't see rules for that in the core book, but it might be in one of the supplements ... I wouldn't know. My guess is: damage penalties get applied to the vehicle, and any rolls made to control the vehicle take those penalties. However, since the ship doesn't have a Stamina score (unless it does), how do you figure out where the damage thresholds are (normally 'greater than Stamina' and 'greater than 2x Stamina'). Use what the pilot is using to control the vessel? I'm realizing I don't really know how that works, when it'll almost certainly come up with the Flower of Remembrance.
As far as I know there is nothing in any of the supplements regarding ship combat. However there was this article on the Forge called: So, I'm Flying a Spaceship...
Basically it's Sorcerer is space. And Ron talks about how you would use ship to ship combat. Which is almost as you described it, I think may work in this case too.
http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?topic=26693.0
In summary he said: There's more in the discussion, but the above is Ron's input.
What do you think Trevis, could this work?
BRIGS
Genasian Monitor
Genasian Monitors are the stock ships of the Genasian Air Forces, some consider them city or city-state ships, with sometimes entire tribes being held in only one or two the massive behemoths. While Monitors have a half decent top speed, their acceleration and maneuverability make them incredibly vulnerable to any form of aerial attack, long as it is strong enough to penetrate the hull.
Vehicle Type: Destroyer/Personnel Carrier
Crew: 23 (1 captain, 1 pilot, 1 co-pilot/navigator, 10 gunners, 10 mechanics) standard. The ship can also hold up to 200 other people, be they soldiers or civilians. It is not uncommon for Tribe Elders and their entourages to also be aboard. CARRYING STAMINA: 670
Armour: 3
STAMINA: 12
Areas:
Front Section
Mid Section
Rear Section
Thruster Units (6; 3 on each side)
Hull
Bridge
Cannon Batteries (several)
Hatches (many)
Speed:
Hover stationary while positioning to land. Has vertical take off and landing (VTOL) capabilities. Thruster Units (6; 3 on each side)
Flying: The Genasian Monitor can travel at up to 150kmph (90mph), but general cruising speed is 100kmph (60mph). Can reach cruising speed in approximately one minute, but takes five minutes to reach top speed.
Statistical Data:
Length: 100m (300ft)
Height: 45m (135ft)
Width: 30m (90ft)
WEAPON SYSTEMS
1. Cannon Batteries (12): The only weapons on Genasian Monitors are huge cannons. This is one of the strengths and weaknesses of Monitors. While they are able to deliver punishing salvos, hitting fast moving targets is a difficult task. Only two batteries can be brought to bear on targets in front or behind of the monitor, and four can be targeted at anything to either side of the Monitor.
Primary Purpose: Bombardment
Damage: Canon
Rate of Fire: Each battery has two cannons, and each cannon can fire once every other melee.
Payload: Each cannon has a one shot payload, then it requires one melee to reload, then the cannon can be fired the following melee.
NOTE: These cannons are 2 to strike against any target moving faster than 160kmph (100mph).
Teutomekian Bumblecrow
The Bumblecrow is the workhorse aircraft of the Teutomekian Empire. Designed to transport a large amount of fully equipped front line soldiers, just fast enough to make a difference, is this ships most common assignment. It is rarely used as a stand-alone attack craft, the multiple auto-cannon turrets most commonly used in self-defense, or for suppressive fire.
Vehicle Type: Armoured Personal Transport
Crew: Essential personal: 3 (pilot, co-pilot, navigator). Troops are commonly used to man the turrets, though in some cases, professional gunners operate them. The innards can also transport up to 40 fully equipped Teutomekian Knights, with mounts, or 60 infantry.:CARRYING STAMINA: 190
Armour.: 2
STAMINA: 8
Locations:
Main Body
Wings (2)
Guidance Flaps (4; 2 left and right)
Thrusters (4; 2 on each wing)
Tail Wings (2)
Front Loading Doors (2)
Turrets (4)
Bridge
Speed:
Flying: The Bumblecrow can travel at up to 100kmph (60mph), but general cruising speed is 80kmph (48mph). Can reach cruising speed in approximately one minute, but takes five minutes to reach top speed.
Statistical Data:
Length: 15m (45ft)
Height: 7m (21ft)
Width: 25m (75ft)
WEAPON SYSTEMS
1. .50 Machinegun Turrets (4): The only weapon systems mounted on a Bumblecrow are four double-barreled .50 Cal Machinegun turrets, two mounted on each wing, and two more mounted near the cockpit. They are mainly for defense.
Primary Purpose: Defense
Damage: Big auto-gun
Gunships
Saar Gunship
The Saar Gunship is the only gunship equal to the Jeddek gunship in overall capabilities. With a lighter frame, thus greater agility and speed, and rapid-fire auto-cannon, the Saar gunship is an accomplishment in hit and run aerial attack.
Vehicle Type: Fast Attack Gunship
Crew: One pilot. A passenger can sit in the pilots lap, but all piloting actions are therefore reduced penalized by 1 CARRYING STAMINA: 9
ARMOUR: 1
STAMINA: 4
Locations:
Main Body
Wings (2)
Speed:
Flying: The Saar Gunship can reach speeds of up to 250kmph (150mph), but general cruising speed is 200kmph (120mph). Can reach cruising speed in less than one melee (15 seconds) from take-off, and top speed in another melee (15 seconds, 30 seconds total).
Statistical Data:
Length: 4m (12ft)
Height: 2m (6ft)
Width: 8m (24ft)
WEAPON SYSTEMS
1. 20mm Auto-Cannons (2): The only weapon systems mounted on the Saar gunship. Two heavy auto-cannons, with massive rate of fire and payload.
Primary Purpose: Assault
Damage: Short Burst = Rifle
Medium Bursts = Big auto-gun
Rate of Fire: Can perform 6 short bursts or 3 medium bursts before needing to reload.
Jeddek Gunship
The Jeddek Gunship is a powerful all-out assault craft. With incredible speed and a sturdy frame, this vehicle is very well capable of downing a Genasian Monitor with two shells from its massive nose cannon.
Vehicle Type: Heavy Assault Gunship
Crew: Two, one pilot & co-pilot. A passenger can sit in the pilots lap, but all piloting actions are therefore reduced penalized by 1 CARRYING STAMINA: 15
ARMOUR: 1
STAMINA: 5
Locations:
Main Body
Wings (2)
Speed:
Flying: The Jeddek Gunship can reach speeds of up to 200kmph (120mph), but general cruising speed is 150kmph (90mph). Can reach cruising speed in less than one melee (15 seconds) from take-off, and top speed in another melee (15 seconds, 30 seconds total).
Statistical Data:
Length: 5m (15ft)
Height: 2m (6ft)
Width: 9m (27ft)
WEAPON SYSTEMS
1. 80mm Nose Cannon (2): The only weapon systems mounted on the Jeddek gunship. Two cannons which fire heavy explosive shells.
Primary Purpose: Assault
Range: 2km (6600ft)
Damage: Cannon
Rate of Fire: The cannons can be fired simultaneously or independent of each other.
Payload: Each cannon has one shell. Once both are fired, the gunship must land and reload.
Miscellaneous
Genasian Flying Jar
The Flying Jar is an odd Genasian hovercraft, able to carry up to three people over vast distances by simply going over any obstacle. When expecting combat, the craft can mount a machinegun on the top.
Vehicle Type: Transport Hovercraft
Diameter: At the widest area 2.5m (8¼ft).
Height: 3.5m (11½ft).
Weight: 200kg (¼ ton)
Crew: One pilot, and able to carry up to two other people, generally one gunner at least.
ARMOUR.: 0
STAMINA.: 3
Maximum Speed: 64kmph (40mph).
Maximum Altitude: Up to 303m (1,000ft).
Cargo: The Flying Jar can carry up to CARRYING STAMINA 56, whether inside it or being carried by a tow cable.
Gliders
Gliders are quickly becoming more and more popular modes of transportation within the Periphery States, especially so in the Jeddek. In some skirmishes, they have been known for combat use, as they are extremely agile, of course firing from them is a bit tricky. There are two types of gliders, powered and non-powered. Powered gliders are like Mehve, the glider used by Nausicaä, with engines to provide quick thrust. Non-powered rely solely on the wind, and are cheaper and much easier to maintain. Gliders are primarily manufactured and sold in the Periphery State.
Non-Powered Glider
Weight: 20-50lbs(8-20kg)
Width: 6-12ft (2-4m)
Length: 2-3ft (0.6-1m)
ARMOUR.: 0
STAMINA.: 2
Maximum Speed: 40-50mph (64-80kmph). By jumping from a high area, or when flying with a good tail wind, the glider can reach speeds of up to 120mph (192kmph).
Maximum Altitude: Up to 1,500ft (500m).
Cargo: The glider has very low capacity for holding weight. CARRYING STAMINA 4, and thats on the top, any force pulling down from the bottom exceeding Stamina 1, will cause the glider to lose altitude at a rapid rate, eventually crashing.
Powered Glider
Weight: 40-100lbs (16-40kg)
Width: 9-15ft (3-5m)
Length: 3-4ft (1-1.1m)
ARMOUR.: 0
STAMINA: 2
Maximum Speed: 80-90mph (128-144kmph). By jumping from a high area, or when flying with a good tail wind, the glider can reach speeds of up to 160mph (256kmph).
Maximum Altitude: Up to 3,000ft (1km).
Cargo: The powers glider has a low capacity for holding weight. CARRYING STAMINA 6, and thats on the top, any force pulling down from the bottom exceeding Stamina 1, will cause the glider to lose altitude at a rapid rate, eventually crashing.
Giving ships Armor and Stamina of their own gives them added weight in the game rules, on par with minor demons (but without any particular personal cost, like you'd have from binding an actual demon). I mean, as the only PC with an airship (and it being a rather nice one), that can only be to my advantage, but still.
I know it looks complex above. The only Stat a vehicle really replaces is your Stamina. Which is an advantage if it's higher than yours but not if it isn't.
It has additional armour, weapons and a carrying capacity. The rest is colour.
Your could describe the Jeddek Gunship simply as:
Stamina: 5
Armour: 1
Weapon: Cannon (2 shots)
Stamina it can carry: 15
Note: The only one that feels wrong is Big handgun/Rifle which the lasting penalty which would be X, seems too much compared to Big auto-gun, so I've used 2 lasting penalty for Big handgun/rifle. For larger Vehicles like spacecraft another table would need to be devised.
Special damage Demon's power could be replaced with just 2 + (1/2 Demon's power) depending on how powerful you want them to be against vehicles.
Vehicle Damage Chart
Damage Type_________________Penalties (where X = number of victories
Fist/bludgeon_________________No damage
Edged Weapon/Small handgun___X for next action; 1 lasting penalty
Nasty big handgun/Rifle________X for next action; 2 lasting penalty
Big auto-gun__________________2X for next action; X lasting penalty
Cannon______________________3X for next action; 2X lasting penalty
Special damage Non Lethal_____Demon's power for next action; 1 lasting penalty
Special damage Lethal_________X for next action; Demon's power lasting penalty
ps. You could add cannon to the normal damage table (If fired on by a vehicle)
Cannon______________________4X for next action; 3X lasting penalty
That's it.
What do you think Yellow? And Trevis it's up to you decide at the end of the day?
For me it was just fun it create it and I'll keep it in mind for future if I run a game with vehicles.
We're not really worried about scaling the ships relative to people, I don't think. If you think of the standard scale, a normal person is a 2 or 3 stamina, a good strong person is 4 or 5, and an exceptional person is 6 or 7 (6 is the highest I've seen a sorcerer score.) I'm not sure defining carrying capacity is critical. I'm gonna call bullshit on you if you try to pulll the freinds in a volkswagon trick on a powered glider. Still it's interesting and appeals to my old skool gaming stat instincts.
Another option is to treat a ship (and a bunch of other stuff) like a demon. Just give it a power and stamina and assign the rest as demon abilities (big, armor, special damage) Course I would be tempted to give it just a power. (It was an option I saw a while back where demons only had a power score, which was used for everything. I liked it, it was elegant.)
Hmm...it's interesting too b/c it makes me think of the Throne a posessor, having to have a technological host of some kind.
But it's true you could rule by just scaling weapons to a human scale and think of the vehicle as a human scale and using the current chart. But how would you scale a demon special damage?
But the fact remains that if I was in a tank as opposed to a car. I would expect it to take more damage before it exploded. I suppose you could rule that a person so unphysical as to have stamina 1 would be so useless a tank driver that it would be highly vulnerable compared to a very physical stamina 6 person driving. But I think that would be evident in the pilots defensive and offensive abilities. Not it's hardiness.
So would you use the drivers stamina? What about copilots, gunners etc. If they have a higher stamina do they survive the crash? It gets a bit weird.
Perhaps I wasn't being clear initially.
The way I usually do it I don't bother to stat things except characters and demons, b/c Sorcerer isn't really a modeling type of game. The Stamina score is a representation of how much narrative influence a character has over the physical realm, not a direct representation of muscle/fitness. Will works the same way. It's more about story power if you will.
An airship fight isn't really about the airships, it's about the people driving them. If someone has an exceptionally big/powerful airship I'd just give some bonus dice on the appropriate rolls attack and defense. How to handle survivors? If they are even people we care about and not mere mooks then they can make a stamina roll vs an on the fly estimate of the explosion. You see what I mean? The question at hand isn't really how much punishment can a ship take, it's does this guy manage to do what he intended or not?
Now the Flower might be a special case simply because it is an extension of the demon.
If necessary I think I would represent some significant thing like a demon with a power/stamina score and the appropriate powers, selecting the powers first as shown in the thread that Rugrsi linked..
It's still hard for me to get out of my old rpg experiences with everything having stats and trying to simulate everything. So I think it's best I just sit back and watch the game play unfold and see what you mean. Yeah that was an interesting link.
If you read the BIG power it says 'A parasite demon is defined by the size of it's host.' Is it that, which got you thinking of the ship being the technological host? Object demons like my staff feel like technological (very basic technology) parasite demons too, but without the power to Hop. So if that is the case then like my staff the flower is the demon stat wise as long as it is possessed.
Besides, dogfights in the manga (and in the movie, for all one of them) tended to have the skilled pilots really rocking, regardless of what they were flying, so basing it off of skill works best in comparison to the source, as well.
I don't think there's really a need to make an exception for the Flower, incidentally. The Throne can exist separately from the Flower, by ending its Big power and leaving behind the systems connecting it to the Flower, so Briseis can rescue it if the Flower goes down at some point. And the Flower already has some protection for as long as the Throne can confer Vitality to it.
The part where the Throne fuses to the Flower is largely just color ... by the rules, it's an object demon that can confer Vitality to adjacent technology when its Big. I just stuck in a restriction saying that it has to connect itself to the technology when becoming Big in order to do that - it seemed appropriate, but I could've also described it (for instance) as releasing a swarm of little bug-robots that conduct repairs, and it would've fallen under the same rules.
I suppose a film example of this is Luke Skywalker in his X-Wing vs Grand Moff Tarkin and the Deathstar.
Technologically the Deathstar should destroy him hands down. I'm sure Tarkin got lots of bonuses for spending the time to construct a Deathstar for the purpose.
But really it's about Luke's, how did Trevis put it, narrative influence vs Grand Moff Tarkin's. Obviously Luke's is stronger. Goodbye Tarkin and his Deathstar!
There's just one thing I don't get about your Vitality power. I thought the power has a user and that user is either the demon (the throne) or the sorcerer (Briseis). So either the demon has vitality or the sorcerer. Is Conferring it to adjacent technology possible? Is the adjacent technology classed as the user?
I've just read over Demon Types and Inconspicuous and Object demons can confer their abilities upon themselves or to another (as defined by ability). Can that another be adjacent technology or someone other than the master for that matter?
I'm not questioning you doing it, I just questioning my understanding of the rules.
I've just read The Training Run. And blow me, the Object demon ie. the House confers its power: Travel to unsuspecting users!
Just found these posts:
[Sorcerer] Cure light wounds and other "white magic"
[Sorcerer] Question About Demons Conferring Abilities.
[Sorcerer] Range of Conferring Usership
I guess I've answered my own question by now. But I'd like to find some post to say that inanimate objects can be users, to deny my last reservation.
Well it doesn't actually say that the user has to be a sentient being. I'd be willing to make the stretch. Handling the Flower without any stats means the Vitality works mostly in color mode anyway, mechanically applying to Briseis herself when she's in combat using the Flower (since it's her scores getting penalized).
Tass I totally get you on statting stuff. I do it too and it's fun. I also trip over old gaming habits a lot so no worries.