07-25-2017, 02:37 AM | #21 | |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: my new campaign ideas
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---- Also, as for MtA magic, personally right now I find the rolling and rolling and rolling tedious. I'd much rather have a system where a single roll per spell would be sufficient. I like the thinking about the how and why of spells, but the how and why of spells can be easily applied to Realm Magic in Thaumatology as much as to MtA. ---- Another topic of RPG system comparison: what exactly went wrong with Nobilis? I once tried reading it, but found it less approachable than the other (infamous) system of the same author. |
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07-25-2017, 08:27 AM | #22 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: my new campaign ideas
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Are you doing a lot of extended casting? That's the only thing I'm familiar with that requires multiple rolls for a single effect.
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07-25-2017, 08:36 AM | #23 | |
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: my new campaign ideas
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07-25-2017, 08:43 AM | #24 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: my new campaign ideas
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1. You're all being overambitious about what you attempt 2. Your GM is imposing excessively difficult tasks that require too many successes 3. Your GM is not enforcing time limits appropriate to an action-focused campaign I'm sure that I did have extended castins in my campaign. But most of what happened in it was resolved with quick casting, sometimes opposed. So what you're running into isn't inherent in the game mechanics; it's a choice of play style. Mind you, there may be other valid concerns about MtA or about OWoD. I get, for example, that having from one to five dots doesn't give you high resolution in character definition—though they equate roughly to stats of 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 in GURPS terms, so unless you're going for really high-end characters GURPS has about twice the resolution (classic FUDGE, with seven values from Terrible to Superb, is kind of in between). I didn't find that crippling, but the system does go for broad strokes rather than nuances.
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Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more. Last edited by whswhs; 07-25-2017 at 08:54 AM. |
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07-25-2017, 08:56 AM | #25 | |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: my new campaign ideas
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The GM and I are occasionally discussing houserules that would trade multiple rolls for one at the cost of each roll taking significantly more time. As it stands, RAW seems to perversely incentivize casting in full time otherwise. |
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07-25-2017, 09:28 AM | #26 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: my new campaign ideas
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A skill buff requires three successes for three levels and one for a scene duration—but you could go for a modest buff of one level and only need two total successes. So I'm calling that "overambitious" too. As for mind reading, deep reading someone's mind is specified in Mage 2/e as three successes. I would take it that reading surface thoughts is easier, maybe two successes. And deep reading someone's mind in a single action really seems like it's getting into "impressive feats for powerful mages." As for mind changing, I'm fine with that being hard to do; I've seen too often how easily cheap mind alteration can wreck a scenario. A newly Awakened mage, with maybe three arete max, will need to exercise ingenuity, to come up with ways to gain an edge rather than driving over the scenario in a steamroller or a main battle tank. And I think that's what the rules system is optimized for. Though presumably you can play a Deeply Scary Sorcerer if the Storyteller lets you have more freebie points or higher starting levels.
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Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more. |
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07-25-2017, 09:37 AM | #27 | |||
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: my new campaign ideas
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07-25-2017, 09:44 AM | #28 | |
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: near London, UK
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Re: my new campaign ideas
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Having smaller numbers may well make the game seem simpler, but when I've played it there was much more more arguing over / discussion of / trying to understand the mechanics than there was with the same group playing GURPS, because those mechanics didn't seem to have any usable real-world referents.
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07-25-2017, 10:21 AM | #29 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Earth, mostly
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Re: my new campaign ideas
In Waldo and its followup, Magic Inc, the introduction of magic didn't eliminate technology, or cause civilization to crumble - it supplemented technology, enabling devices to do things they couldn't do before (like the flying cars, using an antigravity spell). And honestly, I think I'd rather play in a campaign where magic is supplementing and replacing tech, not causing it to fail - there are still going to be those opposing the process, those seeking to accelerate it, and those who just haven't adapted yet to, say, spies who use crystal balls and have to be stopped by antimagic spells. (Just avoid the high levels of pessimism that permeated Shadowrun... :) ) Oh, and occasional surprises as someone combines things that haven't been combined before, like say a Fireball spell imbued in a BB to give you the world's smallest grenade launcher.
Which also reminds me, that was my only issue with oWoD - it was so very pessimistic. Every metastory in the entire line seemed to be bending toward the End Of the World - which was coming Very Soon. I far prefer nWoD's meta, where there's hope for the future even if you're undead - sure, as a Kindred you're living a life of despair preying upon your former loved ones and only ever able to experience shadows of the emotions you once felt, but there might be a possible way out, and if you want to pursue it you've got centuries to work with (as long as you can avoid Final Death).
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07-25-2017, 12:05 PM | #30 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: my new campaign ideas
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For example, the writeup for Intelligence says that 4 dots is IQ 140 and 5 dots is IQ 160+. If you take that literally, I'm at 4 dots, and I think a number of the people I know are as well. Likewise, 4 dots of Stamina lets you run a marathon; 4 dots of Charisma means that large numbers of people are drawn to you; 4 dots of Wits is enough to be a standup comedian. Even if you don't take those literally, they are clearly trying to indicate things that are exceptional but not impossible.
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