Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

[Feralgnoll]

Lol, I guess a Werewolf is using a Human Base. And if its too unreasonable or hard to do, I do not mind playing a normal Human.

[Simon_Jester]

Well, I for one don't know how it would work- just a thought, since the main reason ECR keeps saying "if you want to be human" before rolling up stats is that he doesn't use the same "2d6+3 across the board" rolls for anything but humans. So it's not quite like D&D where you can just slap a template onto any of several existing playable species and have it work automatically.

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Yes, Kaelan, yes we can.

It would be good to have a werewolf, just to get the rules nailed down and working correctly (and if alarm bells aren't ringing in old gamers' heads at this point, they should be.)

I've actually made the rules more complex than they need to be and want to prune them a bit; what happens is that when you transform, and with three moons in the sky- didn't I mention there are three moons, which is why the calendar doesn't have anything to do with any of them? It can get quite complicated, biorhythms in particular are a bugger- you lose points off your mental and social attributes and have them added to the physical, is the numbers core of it.

Take were-ism as a disadvantage, how much the balance of body and mind shifts, and how much control of yourself you lose, is determined by how severe it is. The character will be noticeably twitchy near any of the full moons, which come and go on nineteen, twenty-three and thirty-five day cycles respectively, and probably can be forced to transform- or prevented from doing so- by someone with sufficient mastery of the appropriate magic.

Being a werewolf is not illegal as such, but the loss of self control it involves almost certainly means something bloody and illegal will happen, so you can expect to be an outlaw very soon.


Simon, Larric's magic is going to have to come out of the traditional forms to begin with, which means the old air-earth-fire-water business, because that's how it's officially taught and that's all there's enough stray information about to start learning from; other traditions and combinations are possible, (including deciding not to worry about it because it's a resonable approximation of the states of matter anyway), but some of them have a strong smell of the bad old days about them and are best left until the character gets very good at hiding.

He'll start with Passions 6; Water 4 Insight 8,
Wits 8; Substance 9 Air 7- which is as close as the thaumaturgical standard model can get to his interests. Air because most electromagnetic phenomena, following the example of lightning, are there if anywhere, Insight because it is the usual probing and revealing talent, Substance because it is the standard magical take on the alchemical nature of things, and used both to sense and alter them.

You'll be starting in one of the major market towns, incidentally, some time not long before the story in UF begins- lords still missing. Only really waiting on Feralgnoll to finish setting up, really.

[Agent Sorchus]

ECR do you think you have enough players? Cause while I could join up Im not on top of the thread and don't know how well I will stay. I can but try though if you want one more.

[Simon_Jester]

Thank you, ECR. That's a good starting point. How long ago was the devastation caused by the Twentieth?


A few side notes, just to help settle the man in people's minds:

Larric's aspiration, in this sense, would be to redraw a map of magic a little, to more accurately fit what he sees when he approaches nature without preconceptions, and with the intellectual humility to admit that he wasn't born knowing what was going on. Something which might be lacking in the average thaumaturge, but which is very present in him. I wonder how he'd get on with the druids- probably depend on the druid.

For choice, his main offensive and defensive magics would be various forms of high-tension electricity- ball and bolt lightning in place of walls and blasts of fire. That's what he's comfortable with because he can visualize what he needs to do- ties into Insight and Substance, which talents would probably have developed first.

Also, idle question: do compasses work in Kuquan?

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Compasses (thinks; magnetic field, planetary core, nothing particularly wierd's happening to that, there's no reason they shouldn't, why does this smell like a leading question?)- mostly, yes. There are anomalies on Earth where they don't work properly and there are going to be at least as many here, but broadly yes. The few places where serious infrastructural magic has bent space sufficiently that they don't are fairly obvious, and usually elvish, and if you're there without their consent and guidance you have other problems.

Tides, now, they are seriously chaotic, and small boat sailing not a hobby for the faint of heart. Auvaine county basically is the fertile valley where two major rivers come down off the mountains and join, you do get tidal bores on the river but usually not this far up. The capital of Kuquan- Jaenthal in modern Kuquani (taken and renamed by earlier settlers form the far north, it's essentially a linguistic- drift corruption of Jotunhallr) is right on the river mouth, on the islands in the delta, and is the capital largely because after the original inhabitants had built the levees tidal barriers and harbours, the place was essentially fortified anyway.

The Authrani Imperial Army Twentieth (Cataphract) Cavalry Regiment attacked just short of midwinter, far out of the normal campaign season, judging correctly that they could weather it better than the defenders and it gave them an additional edge. The precise whys and wherefores of it- how and why they were not only allowed but encouraged to it, what end the unit was actually meant to serve- are high politics indeed. I plan to start a little short of the cusp as winter starts to turn into spring, as travel becomes possible again, with all three barons still missing.

Agent Sorchus; yes, and what did you have in mind?

[Simon_Jester]

Compasses (thinks; magnetic field, planetary core, nothing particularly wierd's happening to that, there's no reason they shouldn't, why does this smell like a leading question?)- mostly, yes.

It is a leading question- but it leads only to compasses, so there's no deep scheme there. More of a cul de sac question, really.

[Agent Sorchus]

I'm thinking a mix of Rasputin and Stalin. Female who went to the Warrior Goddess's Seminary but hated it (probably on the fault of the feuds between the different followers). Left prior to finishing, with the intent of using those skills she did learn to con her way through life. Not really a worshiper of the Trickster god, mostly because as a trickster you can't trust him.

Mechanically built to tank, with Rasputin's own luck.

Name: Eliska Klements

[S.L.Acker]

This thread seems to have a ton of interest already, but if you have room for another I would like to try jumping in.

My concept is that of a zwiehander wielding Elf Dopplesoldner, a second son of a Baronet, who had earned a name for himself by guarding important people on the battlefield. He's not the traditional image of a guy with a massive sword making a heroic charge up the ranks, instead he was happiest defending his charges or leading a pike formation from the middle. When he isn't on the battlefield he can usually be found living it up with the nobility as while he isn't in line to get much by way of inheritance he has the upbringing, coin, and personality to fit right into gatherings of the upper class. If I had room after giving him the stats needed to pull of this background I might give him some magic related to skill at arms and minor illusions.

[Simon_Jester]

My impression is that there are enough takes on Krylanya that hating the institution of her church doesn't automatically preclude worshipping or being affiliated with her- one conspicuous example of that is currently rampaging around the kingdom.

But it's reassuring that we've got another tank in the party, although for a formerly honest merchant the sheer number of con men is a bit staggering.

[Agent Sorchus]

What sort of "races" are there? Because if the party is out of balance I could work with that to fix it.

[Simon_Jester]

The last party was human except for one orcish knight (yes, you read that correctly). I don't think racial 'balance' is a major issue in this setting; it's not like every party needs an elf for some reason.

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

I've gone more or less with the standard fantasy races, because they're also the standard mythological races- they have some root in the, european at least, collective imagination. Although my own take on them.

Orcs are playable, and tend to make ideal givers and withstanders of heavy punishment, although it's the clever ones you really have to watch out for- they are essentially a plains and steppe people, what humans call the wastelands at the edge of civilisation and they call room to breathe. Hara's brother, the one she came looking for- not much of a spoiler because it's very hard to hide what he's up to; Simon, you could have used him in BARIS.


Dwarves emerge from myth, traditionally, as makers of wonders and smiths of grand renown, and occasionally are to be found holding up mountains- sometimes the world. Not, however, in their own vernacular, in which "holding up the mountain" is a fancy way of saying dead.
Orcs generally don't care, but dwarves have very strong opinions on who they are and how they got to be that way- as far as their histories are concerned they were driven to the mountains, not in search of wealth but in search of nice, deep shelters. They claim to have already survived one supposed "end of the world", and it may be true- they are extraordinarily tough, because they have been pushed hard and everyone who couldn't make it is long since dead. Quite a lot of them have large granite chips on their shoulder about this.
Strangely they are an almost entirely illiterary people- they have chosen to cling to an oral tradition, despite being much more generally literate than humans, partly because it's portable and compact and doesn't take up valuable living space, but also so that nothing is just dead information, everything's in somebody's head where it can be thought about and connected to everything else. So much of their wondrous craft is directly down to the fact that they are in a place that gives them no second chances, so it has to be done right.
Kin- bonds are strong, and many human kings would give their firstborn to learn the secrets of dwarven kingship; supposedly one did, and was told to make enemies that would break his kingdom, burn his people, devour most of his own family, and to lead the survivors out of the maelstrom across lands that offered no sustenance or shelter, with demons in hot pursuit, out of emptiness to confront hostility at every turn, have his people start to come apart in fear and despair, have to hold them together as they turned on each other, survive assassination attempts by his own son, and come to a halt when they could go no further, halfway to the end of the earth- make it through that and he would be ready to come back for the second lesson.
They are more able to spread out now, and some of them do- but not many, and not by much.


Oh, elves. There's something like them in many, many myths, and in some of them they are actually quite pathetic- ranging from what are now leprechauns, fairies and santa's little helpers, to the terrible Sidhe of celtic mythology, living emblems of mastery yet harmony over a nature not yet clearly distinguished from magic, a spark of the divine immanent in everything and rarely friendly.
I tend to go for something closer to the latter option. They are the people of the complex, the idea that they can remake the world to be the way they see it comes naturally to them (would they be able to exist without magic? Some say no)- some are just, some are wise, some are illimitably patronising, and some are manipulative and grasping.
Forest dwellers not necessarily because they like trees, but because they like the intricacy of so many entwined living systems, and the biggest single division in their cultiure is how much they are stewards and how much makers and reshapers. Some of them have gone urban very successfully, but there is always a touch of the gardener in them.

They are the one people for whom race and racism and recent history is an extremely hot topic. Kuquan is tolerant, more or less- some of the most xenophobic actually being the elves, a superiority complex is one of their characteristic flaws- but the nations to the south are not. Pogroms and cleansings have occurred, much blood shed on both sides but more easily replaced on the human, so they were always bound for demographic victory.
Recently, it finally happened. The last remaining large elvish kingdom within the territory of the five states of Zarthan was overrun and it's inhabitants scattered, and they- dedicated for over three hundred years to war, obsessed with it, cultured for it, knowing nothing else, with every man, woman and child in the nation armed and knowing their part, brimming over with hate and unable to cope without an enemy.

This is the threat that the king tried to mobilise against, and failed abysmally, although most of the nobles' dissent was directed at the person of the king. It hasn't gone away.


I'm prepared to take a stab at statting up and going with most mythological races; minotaurs have been done, once, as have goblins, halflings, snotlings (a collective swarm of twenty- seven, yes I know they're not proper mythological but it was funny, OK?), demons, and given the games club a lot of this was done at, idiots. Never had a medusa or a naga, although I suppose it's possible- they would be a stretch for a beginning character. A dragon on reasonable stats for a beginning character, not too far out from the rest of the group, would probably actually have to start as an egg and hatch in play.

Worth noting for anyone who still has difficulty spending points- Culture skill covers basic facts about and the language of a place, race or people.

[Agent Sorchus]

Now I do like the Idea of Naga, but that is mostly just because I have fond Dwarf Fortress esque memories of snakemen terror missions in XCom. Only Idle curiosity, but what would you draw for inspiration for the Naga?

Nah, I'll just be a mean ol' human.

(Simons I was talking balance of sneaky gits to straitmen, but the vission of elves in a DMs mind gives you a good idea of the world they are building.)

I'll stick to my original idea, with perhaps a hint of healing magic. (Though I haven't found magic in my less than full read of the prior thread.)

[S.L.Acker]

Due to needing to wait for a mod to approve my first post in this thread I'm just going to repost it here hopefully in order.

This thread seems to have a ton of interest already, but if you have room for another I would like to try jumping in.

My concept is that of a zwiehander wielding dopplesoldner, a second son of a Baronet, who had earned a name for himself by guarding important people on the battlefield. He's not the traditional image of a guy with a massive sword making a heroic charge up the ranks, instead he was happiest defending his charges or leading a pike formation from the middle. When he isn't on the battlefield he can usually be found living it up with the nobility as while he isn't in line to get much by way of inheritance he has the upbringing, coin, and personality to fit right into gatherings of the upper class. If I had room after giving him the stats needed to pull of this background I might give him some magic related to skill at arms and minor illusions.

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Because of the moderation I didn't notice it until now; right- doable, start by arranging 15, 13, 13, 13, 12, 11, 11, 10, 10.

[Agent Sorchus]

Oi who do I need to swindle to get a dice roll?

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Are you sure you haven't got one already? (checks)- oh, right, haven't done that yet because I wasn't sure if you were going to be human. 15, 14, 13, 13, 11, 11, 10, 9, 7.

[Agent Sorchus]

Physical
Strength 13
default values of 4
Axe 12
Shield 13

Endurance 15
default values of 5
Resist Injury 20
resist survival 10

Agility 11
default values of 4
Dodge 15
Stealth 8

Social
Temper 11
default values of 4
Determination 13
Resist Persuasion 10

Fellowship 14= 13 +1ap from ad/dis
default values of 5
Oration 12
Politics 12
Con 12

Charm 9
Default values of 3
Courtliness 6
Persuasion 12

Mental
Logic 14
Default values of 5
Physician 12
Rites and Rituals 14
Runes 10

Creative 10
Default values of 3
Surgeon 12
Preaching 7

Education 7
Default values of 2
History 8
Culture (human) 5

Advantages/ Disadvantages
dis- 3ap Enemy of the the common (honest) workers
dis- 2ap Secret Kicked out of the seminary for walking too fine a line of worship to the god of rebellion
dis- 1ap Exile Will not return to family or relatives who did not appreciate her breaking with the church
ad- 2ap Wealth from living off the backs of more honest people. Could be substituted for patron potentially
ad- 2ap +1 damage reduction
ad- 1ap Attuned ...

remaining ap (1) used to bump fellowship

[Simon_Jester]

Attuned to what, Sorchus?
Spoiler

Hara's brother, the one she came looking for- not much of a spoiler because it's very hard to hide what he's up to; Simon, you could have used him in BARIS.

If Njal Strong-arm is mad enough to get into an untested lunar lander and balance her down, then hell yes.

That's what did me in, at the end. The Murcans had the sheer titanium testicular fortitude to try landing on the lunar surface without the equivalent of the LEM tests done on Apollo 9 and 10...

[S.L.Acker]

Bryan Wright

As far as he and anybody outside of his family and their staff are concerned Bryan is the second son of a proud, but not particularly wealthy or influential Baronet. In reality he was adopted in secret to replace a still born second son. There were a few reasons for doing this, but the main reasons were the desire of his adopted father to have a legitimate line as well as to avoid any questions about his virility.

As the second son Bryan was given a fair education in many subjects but the ones that really stuck were those related to dealing with people of proper nobility and the history of the land. The other training that stuck was his skill with two-handed swords that many deemed impractical and needlessly flashy. Those around him didn't realize that was why they appealed to him. For unlike many he knew that skill alone could only carry him so far, thus he groomed himself to be a gentleman's guard.

Temper 13
Determination 12
Resist Persuasion 11
Intimidate 8

Fellowship 13
Carousing 10
Human Perception 11
Politics 10

Charm 13
Allure 8
Animal Handling 8
Banter 6
Courtliness 10
Persuasion 10

Logic 12
Debate 8
Evaluate 8
Perception 14

Creativity 11
Dance 12
Inspire 11

Education 10
Culture (Nobility) 10
History 9

Strength 10
Brawl 12
Shield 7

Endurance 11
Athletics 9
Resist Injury 12
Resist Disease 8

Agility 15
Arming Sword 10
Dodge 11
Riding 7
Two-Handed Sword 15

Advantages:

Allies: -2 AP
He has many acquaintances throughout the lower nobility as well as people that owe him favors, yet he has very few people that he would actually call friends. His world is really a house of cards that will last only so long as his repuation holds out.

Attuned (Upper-class life): -1 AP
His reputation has been forged less by his skill at arms than it has by retelling his stories around the right people. This skill at getting near those in a position and with the wealth to hire him seems to steam from his natural ability to fit in at court.

Rank: -2 AP
Bryan is the second son of a Baronet and a well respected mercenary in his own right and is treated with a level of respect equal to that of a true knight though he holds no official rank. His effective rank is based entirely on his reputation.

Wealth: -3 AP
Thanks to his skill at arms Bryan has a rather large amount of real wealth. However the people he spends time with expect a certain level of dress and he is also, through a combination of saving and making friends, looking to become a landowner someday.

Disadvantages:

Code of Honour: +3 AP
Obsessed with maintaining the image and airs of a courtly gentleman even though he works outside the system of knighthood as a bodyguard for hire to the rich. He will do his utmost to keep this image up, but in life or death situations he's not above doing things the lowbrow way.

Exile: +2 AP
Though he doesn't know the reason why his family is more than happy not to have him around. They don't mean to be cold to him, but they also can't forget why he became a part of their life.

Secret: +3 AP
Doesn't know that he's actually not the real son of the Baronet. Instead he was adopted in secret to cover up the fact that the actual second son was stillborn in such a way that his adopted mother was left barren. The head of the household wanted to have a second son as insurance that the line be passed on.

[Panzersharkcat]

Another illegitimate son of a nobleman. And a tank, too! Yay! We'll have much fun keeping my honorless character from trying to smash everything with his hammer.

[S.L.Acker]

This party is really going to be something else, I don't think we have a selfless bone between us.

[Simon_Jester]

[waves hand]

I think Larric's going to turn into the party's superego here, while the id wavers between "what's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable" and "hit things with a big hammer."

[S.L.Acker]

My character is at least superficially nice and honorable when concerned with things that nobles consider important. So I won't generally be an active dick, more passive things; like leaving a person in danger if nobody's around to see him do it.