Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

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Panzersharkcat
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Panzersharkcat »

(OOC: I suppose we could bring in one of my other hypothetical characters in the wings, James Hagen, as an NPC to fill Bryan's place. Almost all of my characters and character ideas have been expies of characters in my superhero universe, but with some alterations to their personalities. And if Alfred dies, I'll take control of James. James Hagen would, in a system with alignments, probably be chaotic good. Born to wealth like Alfred was but somehow ended up this world's bomb-throwing anarchist equivalent.)

He winces from being thrown by exploding squirrel and then getting zapped. He tries to plunge his maul into Dleam's chest.
"I'm just reading through your formspring here, and your responses to many questions seem to indicate that you are ready and willing to sacrifice realism/believability for the sake of (sometimes) marginal increases in gameplay quality. Why is this?"
"Because until I see gamers sincerely demanding that if they get winged in the gut with a bullet that they spend the next three hours bleeding out on the ground before permanently dying, they probably are too." - J.E. Sawyer
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Eleventh Century Remnant »

The first attack already happened, it was a mutual miss; then Larric's effect, which further reduces D's skill- his counter and own attack is directed against the meddling mage who keeps hampering him, hindering him; gathering the mist, he forces most of it in a stream towards Larric, intending to force it into the human and blow him up from the lungs outwards.

Then starts- doing a lot of things at once, too many to be really successful- throwing away what's left of his mana on making and covering an escape; a ring of power, a cyclone around himself, takes a step in the only open direction to him and begins to work his power...

and a orange-yellow-red flighted arrow comes winging in, too far ourside accurate shooting but good enough for an area, lances through the gathering tornado, just makes it over the barrier, flies true and steady through the gathering storm, lands in front of Dleamthayaran.

Explodes, in an inverted, photographic- negative, rainbow; overpowered, massively so, antimagic. Larric is trying to fight it off, trying to resist, and failing, the magic suddenly fades.

The gathering cyclone that was intended to sweep the characters all away- the howling wind, the loose debris, the twigs and drops of blood and one scared small furry animal- drops away to nothing.

he curses, bitterly, in elvish, as Alfred, William and Rohal move in to the attack. He can't parry everything at once; Alfred's maul crunches into his ribs, William's axe hits just too low to be a decapitation, As he staggers the wolf form leaps and tears at his throat.

Three serious wounds. He's going down. In the aftermath you have at least one (Alfred) who an angry sparrow- well, at least a sparrowhawk- might be able to finish off, two- Chiaela and one of the mined ones, Harath- seriously injured elves, a werewolf who the shock of a brutally abrupt transformation is just starting to catch up with, the healer is wounded- there's nothing of the elf worth hitting by the time Eliska gets there. And one, strangely, missing- must have been swept up in the cyclone.

What now?
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Kaelan »

Payday for pain & irritation.

What's on D, apart from dog hair.
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Panzersharkcat »

He kicks him where it hurts, assuming elves hurt a lot down there, too.
"I'm just reading through your formspring here, and your responses to many questions seem to indicate that you are ready and willing to sacrifice realism/believability for the sake of (sometimes) marginal increases in gameplay quality. Why is this?"
"Because until I see gamers sincerely demanding that if they get winged in the gut with a bullet that they spend the next three hours bleeding out on the ground before permanently dying, they probably are too." - J.E. Sawyer
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Eleventh Century Remnant »

Alfred kicks Dleamthayaran in the bollocks- he spasms, and the self destruct device embedded in his codpiece activates, and starts counting down in elvish; roll against education defaults to try to remember what "zero" sounds like...

Kidding, of course. (Although- would he have such a thing? Think about this for a second...there's a good chance the answer is Yes. Although probably in a less conspicuous place.) Pillaging the actually not quite dead, then- he's definitely dying, but not quite there yet- hm.

He does have a large flapped pouch, expensively decorated; runes on the flap. Sword, bow, both well ornamented and designed for magic to flow through them; a pendant, the twin of the one his sister was wearing.

Armour, roughly the equal of a suit of plate at maybe a quarter of the weight, although cut and fitted to him and requiring expensive alterations to fit anyone else. A roll of what look like engraver's tools, for scribing runes on things. A smaller pouch, containing a bread roll, a quill, a few oddly shaped silver coins and a couple of half written letters, one of them in such a full to the margins style, with too many long words, that it simply has the style of a manifesto.

He hasn't gone boom yet.
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Kaelan »

Strip (of armour & weapons, not all his clothes) and bind him so he won't bleed out or escape. We can sort thru the loot at town. Checking where Radulf is William will say "looks like we have another one for trial when we reach the city".
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Panzersharkcat »

He tries to keep D. down so that Larric can get over and search him, what with him being the most knowledgeable about magic.
"I'm just reading through your formspring here, and your responses to many questions seem to indicate that you are ready and willing to sacrifice realism/believability for the sake of (sometimes) marginal increases in gameplay quality. Why is this?"
"Because until I see gamers sincerely demanding that if they get winged in the gut with a bullet that they spend the next three hours bleeding out on the ground before permanently dying, they probably are too." - J.E. Sawyer
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Simon_Jester »

OOC:

Panzer- you seem to be misunderstanding the situation. D.'s taken too many injuries, throat torn up by a werewolf, sledgehammer to the chest, axe right around the breastbone. In this system, when you are described as taking injuries you really do take those injuries. His heart might still be beating, but I really, really do not think that there's even the slightest chance that the elf's rapidly expiring corpse can do anything other than twitch and blow up if he was cunning enough to boobytrap his own body.

IC:

Larric looks strangely at William when the rogue starts trying to improvise bandages (!), muttering and hating what he's saying. "I... I don't know if you can save him. Might be... better off if you didn't."

There's not time for him to explain all that goes through his head- Dleamthayaran, obviously, would be happier dead than captured. The elves themselves might be happier, in the long run, with him dead- he's a tremendous political liability to them in their hands, and an even greater one in human hands. Also a very hard prisoner to keep, seeing as how he's probably on the short list of the most powerful individuals in the barony, and much of his power comes from magical abilities that can't easily be kept away from him. Radulf is trouble enough, and he can't do kamikaze squirrels or limb-shattering shockwaves the way the elf can.

If he can keep his concentration up, the alchemist will take a careful look at the elf's pouch and the magic around the body- D. seems to prefer attack modes Larric can recognize by the distortions they make, so he's got a chance of spotting any nasty surprises left behind. He's keeping an eye out for any final tricks- death curses, runes of kablam inscribed on who knows what, and so on.

If he doesn't see anything in evidence, he zeroes in on the manifesto- rare documents! If only he knew how to read elvish. Darn.

Speaking of which- what are the elves doing? And what about Eliska? The elves' leader needs urgent medical attention if she's going to survive, and not having her around to explain matters would be a bad thing for everyone around.
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Kaelan »

I think William best keep clear of giving first aid to the elves incase any die, in light of the earlier conversation they were having
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Simon_Jester »

Well, aside from William not actually having any first aid skills as such, so far as I know...

I actually don't know what you mean about earlier conversations.
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Eleventh Century Remnant »

Shouting at Chiaela would be that, yes? The orc, who still hasn't formally introduced himself but it's fairly obvious, is heading for her and can probably be trusted not to dismember her; had to check, but he actually does have Life magic.

The other elves are tending their wounded- there are three left standing, one ripped open and could not possibly be still alive- Larric's avoiding looking in that direction- and two, Chiaela being one of them, who need and are still capable of benefiting from help.

Yes, there is a problem; the engraved pouch, the richly decorated one. That's probably his stash of interesting pebbles good for scribing runes of doom on; the runes on the pouch, if Larric's reading them rightly, and he almost certainly is, are of antimagic, containment and suppression.

Searching takes a little while; long enough for the orc to wander up and say 'You probably need one of the elves to put him out of his misery- Caeoindalbhainn, come here a moment. You speak political, don't you? If I finish him, he gets to be a martyr of the resistance.
If he just dies as is, or one of you-' looking at the humans, and at Rohal who is doing something wolvish not far away, 'gives him his end, he dies a hero of the coming war. Even- especially- if it's just symbolic, it has to be one of his own people who sends him on his way.'

Oindal looks as if he hates the idea.
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Kaelan »

William looks at oindal and says "I'll do it, and make it quick. You've just have to say he died at the hand of an elf."
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Panzersharkcat »

"And if the truth comes out? What then? Best to have his own kind end him."
"I'm just reading through your formspring here, and your responses to many questions seem to indicate that you are ready and willing to sacrifice realism/believability for the sake of (sometimes) marginal increases in gameplay quality. Why is this?"
"Because until I see gamers sincerely demanding that if they get winged in the gut with a bullet that they spend the next three hours bleeding out on the ground before permanently dying, they probably are too." - J.E. Sawyer
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Simon_Jester »

Larric points at the pouch. "Not to interrupt, but we should be careful of this thing- I think it's full of explosives, or might be. I'm nervous about checking."

[With all the magic in this setting, there have to be words in the language for "explosion" and "thing that explodes," even if gunpowder is considered a hazardous, dubious substance used only by those of questionable honor]
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Kaelan »

"who's the killer. The one who passes sentance, or the one who swings the axe?"
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Eleventh Century Remnant »

It is the orc who says 'In that example, the one who drafts the law. If it makes you feel better, I can try him by drumhead court- martial here and now. I don't recommend hanging around long enough for him to make a coherent plea, though- and again, my word might make him a martyr.

Tell you what, Caeoindalbhainn, if you don't do it,' the orc is at least three inches taller and twice the weight of the elf, and looms deliberately over him, 'I'll tell you, and them, exactly why Alavanirimire came apart so quickly at the end.'

'You barbarian, murderous, cultureless, vile- hearted bastard.' Oindal spits at the orc. That touched a nerve.

'Striking Phoenix.' the orc points out, as if it was the same thing.

'I won't stain my blade with the blood of one of my kin.' Oindal says. 'One of you must have a knife, something.'
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Panzersharkcat »

Alfred hands him D's sword.
"I'm just reading through your formspring here, and your responses to many questions seem to indicate that you are ready and willing to sacrifice realism/believability for the sake of (sometimes) marginal increases in gameplay quality. Why is this?"
"Because until I see gamers sincerely demanding that if they get winged in the gut with a bullet that they spend the next three hours bleeding out on the ground before permanently dying, they probably are too." - J.E. Sawyer
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Kaelan »

"Here", william hands over his hunting knife.
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Simon_Jester »

I think Alfred's gesture is better.
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Eleventh Century Remnant »

Oindal is now a very unhappy elf; takes the sword- grimaces as he does, to someone attuned to that it's wielder's warmth is still in it, it feels very odd and very wrong; the orc gestures that you should probably all stand well back, just in case. Looking at the pouch as he does.

Glares at the orc, at you all. Lays the blade across Dleamthayaran's throat, and presses it down. He dies.

Nothing much happens after that; no boom. No soul transference, no transmute to earthworm, no strange escape- as far as you can tell.


'We'll inter him. Leave.' Oindal says over his shoulder, not looking at you, venom in his voice.

What's the plan from here? The orc wants his rune- things back, starts collecting them in- Bryan's is missing with him, which he grumbles about a bit. Actions, discussions?
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Panzersharkcat »

Alfred's for giving the orc his stuff back. More importantly, healing. He has got to be hurting badly.
"I'm just reading through your formspring here, and your responses to many questions seem to indicate that you are ready and willing to sacrifice realism/believability for the sake of (sometimes) marginal increases in gameplay quality. Why is this?"
"Because until I see gamers sincerely demanding that if they get winged in the gut with a bullet that they spend the next three hours bleeding out on the ground before permanently dying, they probably are too." - J.E. Sawyer
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Feralgnoll »

Rohal tucks and runs away. If he has enough sense left in him... before he does something he may regret.
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Agent Sorchus »

Time to do some simple post battle cleanup. First of all some Life magic on my own injuries so that any other healing isn't compromised. Actually scratch that. First triage of the worst cases. The post healing fugue state won't help any more than having the injuries in the first place. The first person is getting magic assisted healing. Everyone else is getting the normal rough old healing for now.

Also Can someone go checkup on our prisoner?
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Simon_Jester »

Larric hands the suspected propeller blade +3 back to the orc.

"I can think of good reasons to have something spinning at, what, 'four hundred revs per minute?' Maybe more... but from the look of it, that's not what you have in mind. I hope some day I find out what it's all about, I gather you don't want to go into it too much right now. And... I'm not sure what you need crazy people for, but-" he nods in the direction of Eliska- "you might ask her. She's some sort of Krylanyan. I don't know what kind of red meat they feed their acolytes where she comes from, but... well. I saw her jump off a cloud this morning. And I don't think that got it all out of her system, either."
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Re: Homebrew tabletop game system thread the II

Post by Eleventh Century Remnant »

Much bandaging, splinting, cleaning out of wounds with alcohol, etc, occurs. Alfred needs the most, after that Eliska should look to herself; William's all right, Larric's more or less all right, Rohal's howling somewhere- and the adrenalin's worn off and the shock's set in, he really is. There are a couple of answering howls, too, from far up in the woods.

Chiaela is trying to sit up and talk, really shouldn't be, she's a mess- a patchwork of burns and frostbite. Oindal's tending to her, but he's also trying to get her to shut up and don't ask.


The orc says to Larric 'You can? Good, any branch- off ideas can only help, I need the money. I'll be here for a while, I have a fair amount of metal- bashing to do, I think you'd probably be safer somewhere less rural and I can't really do anything about that, weight not volume, hm, you don't suppose that roof comes off? Make too much of a scene arriving anyway, and the turbulence would be a problem, something the right shape, hm-

a thing to think about eventually, and Krylanyans- don't get me started. Fine as long as they're on the field doing something useful, but off the field, always scheming, always conspiring; everything is directed, everything for something, some kind of ulterior or hidden motive. You're probably going to end up with one on the throne, if you don't do something about it.

Still I suppose one who jumps on clouds can't be all bad. Staying up there is the tricky bit though.'


He's prepared to wander off after that, if Larric doesn't say anything more- tending the injured takes a little while, the elves will be ready to leave before you are, and will head north into the woods; Oindal supporting Chiaela, she looks a bit glassy and distant.
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