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Old 05-26-2013, 08:08 PM   #11
samd6
 
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Default Re: [OCC]: Space Merchant

James Soltis grew up around ships, and grew up in ships. He spent the last few years working on in-system tramp freighters, but wants to go out exploring. He's happiest when he has a warm engine beneath his feet, a warm cup of coffee in his hand, and a good friend by his side.

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Last edited by samd6; 05-27-2013 at 11:04 AM.
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Old 05-27-2013, 12:45 AM   #12
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Default Re: [OCC]: Space Merchant

Still taking on players?

I'm thinking of a "face man" type, Diplomat/Merchant/(shhh Black Marketeer)
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Old 05-27-2013, 08:38 AM   #13
ericthered
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Default Re: [OCC]: Space Merchant

Matrix Walker
I am indeed still taking on players. You aren't accepted until I see a character sheet, So right now I only have two real submissions.

And yes, a face man black marketeer is an excellent choice.

Crretin:
I'd still like a way to make sure he VISITS every planet. Most the action won't take place on the ship. Also, having a garden planet to yourself is fairly rare. If a pilot saw it he would almost immediately spread word about it. If you want a planet to yourself, a crash works better than abandonment. (it can also explain appearance). Just trying to fit him into the world.

A description of what makes him so horrible looking is also appropriate. (right now I'm seeing a miniature Quasimodo). Hunchback here mostly just makes him distinctive as far as game effects go. (which is probably going to happen anyways, given that he has -4 on appearance).

Also, the character is better built by converting some of the points to IQ or more outdoors-man talent or,perception. you have 30 IQ based skill points providing a +1, which means you can drop all of them by 1, buy 1 IQ, and come out ahead 10 points. Outdoors man has 16 in the top layer, and per has 10.

9 ST is only -5 in this game. ST doesn't mean as much here, and so is cheaper.

Samd6:

I can't find suit familiarity. I assume it raises vacc suit skill by 1 in a specific suit. Thats... quite appropriate for a ships mechanic.

Hacking is considered a cinematic skill... I may allow it, but it won't allow cinematic hacking. It becomes "expert skill (hacking, human systems)", the knowldege of how to break into these things. It will work poorly on systems you're not familiar with. Luckily, most of humanity will use the same computer tech, despite their separation.

A little "physics: warp engines" will go a long way.
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Old 05-27-2013, 11:03 AM   #14
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Default Re: [OCC]: Space Merchant

Suit familiarity is from Power-Ups 2, and removes the DX penalty for a specific type of suit. However, skills are still capped by the Vacc suit skill.

Changelog:
Removed Hacking
Added Expert (Computer Security)
Added Physics (Warp Physics)
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Old 05-27-2013, 11:24 AM   #15
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Default Re: [OCC]: Space Merchant

Quote:
We are not using Hyperspace. You do need Navigation (interstellar), and warp piloting and normal piloting are two separate skills, though they default to each other at -3. Fighting occurs with both.

Former combat pilot is a good background. A pilot is good, but I once again need a reason for him to come 'ashore' on every planet.

Beam Weapons are used in ship to ship combat. Guns and beams are used on the ground.
Okay, so Piloting (Warp) in addition to High and Low Performance Spacecraft, Navigation (Space), and Navigation (Interstellar), right? Or is Piloting (Warp) specific to the type of craft? Or would High-Performance Spacecraft only mean fighters, and not even have interstellar travel abilities?

So for ship based combat, only Gunner (Beams) is relevant, correct? Gunner (Cannon, Machine Gun, Rockets) would be only used in Air/Ground/Naval combat? (Assuming the universe has fighter craft, the character was a fighter pilot for awhile, so the armament used by small craft is relevant too.)

I can definitely find a way to get him on the ground.
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Old 05-27-2013, 12:06 PM   #16
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Default Re: [OCC]: Space Merchant

Quote:
Originally Posted by samd6 View Post
Suit familiarity is from Power-Ups 2, and removes the DX penalty for a specific type of suit. However, skills are still capped by the Vacc suit skill.
Ok, that works

Quote:
Changelog:
Removed Hacking
Added Expert (Computer Security)
Added Physics (Warp Physics)
Looks good!


Quote:
Originally Posted by Talosian View Post
Okay, so Piloting (Warp) in addition to High and Low Performance Spacecraft, Navigation (Space), and Navigation (Interstellar), right? Or is Piloting (Warp) specific to the type of craft? Or would High-Performance Spacecraft only mean fighters, and not even have interstellar travel abilities?

So for ship based combat, only Gunner (Beams) is relevant, correct? Gunner (Cannon, Machine Gun, Rockets) would be only used in Air/Ground/Naval combat? (Assuming the universe has fighter craft, the character was a fighter pilot for awhile, so the armament used by small craft is relevant too.)
Warp piloting is the same for all ships, unless you're using a special variant (you're not). You should specialize for either "hard" or "smooth" space. You probably want "hard" (off of established routes) which is what humans specialize in anyways.

Only Gunner (Beams) gets used in Warp combat. Small craft do indeed use machine gun, but not rockets. Fighters are used both in and out of warp, though they are different ships. In fact most dedicated combat ships won't be able to fight both in and out of warp, so navies are built with carriers to ferry the dedicated ships around. Yet another reason why your ability to run will be as important as your ability to fight.

Quote:
I can definitely find a way to get him on the ground.
good! lots of the action will take place there. I'm thinking that part of the pay for the crew is a small allotment of cargo space. This gets everyone on the ground and gives room for black market dealings. Or badly chosen cargo.
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Old 05-27-2013, 06:33 PM   #17
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Default Re: [OCC]: Space Merchant

Alright how about this instead

Alex “The Wretch” Mason
ST 8 [10]
DX 10 [0]
IQ 13 [60]
HT 10 [0]
Advantages
Pitiable [5]
Healer 1 [10]
disadvantages
Hunchback [-10]
Skinny [-5]
Hideous [-16]
Code of honour (professional) [-5]
Skills
VH Surgery/tl 10 IQ+2+1 16 [16]
H Diagnosis /tl 10 IQ+2+1 16 [12]
E First Aid / tl 10 IQ+2+1 16 [4]
H Physician / tl IQ+1+1 15 [8]
A Streetwise IQ+1 14 [4]
E Scrounging per+0 13 [1]
A fast talk IQ+0 13 [2]
A holdout IQ+0 13 [2]
E Brawling DX+3 13 [8]
H Tactics IQ+3 16 [16]
A cooking IQ+0 13 [2]
E Crewman/tl 10 (spaceship) IQ+0 13 [1]

Same backstory as before except he was abandoned on an off world city, he grew up as a member of an illegal fighting tournament and then later became a street docter. Now he works as a physician for hire. As for what he looks like, imagine Quasimodo, now imagine him with a ton of battle scars.
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Old 05-27-2013, 07:03 PM   #18
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Default Re: [OCC]: Space Merchant

Cool beans, I'll submit something as I get a little closer to finished. I have a few questions that will help...

What was the year / TL of Earth before the attack?

Are there any non-humans at these settlements and whatnot? Have we seen the "destroyers of earth that was" since they blew up our blue marble? Any other intelligent species humans interact with?

Did humans develop the tech we currently use, or did it come from more advanced aliens?

Should we expect to encounter various earth languages or does everyone speak "human"?

Quote:
Originally Posted by ericthered View Post
I'm trying to fix that this time. Sorry about previous games. Cyber or Bio tech skills are legal, appropriate, and potentially useful, (human bio-engineering is not) but almost all applications are not. Nothing built into the character.
I kind of wanted a bionic limb or two... is it possible if they are just simple (human capability) advanced prosthesis?

Thanks!

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Old 05-27-2013, 09:13 PM   #19
Talosian
 
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Default Re: [OCC]: Space Merchant

Quote:
Warp piloting is the same for all ships, unless you're using a special variant (you're not). You should specialize for either "hard" or "smooth" space. You probably want "hard" (off of established routes) which is what humans specialize in anyways.
Should specialize raises the question of whether or not this is an optional specialization, or a mandatory one... (Doesn't bother me either way, but it's an important distinction in game terms.)

Quote:
Only Gunner (Beams) gets used in Warp combat. Small craft do indeed use machine gun, but not rockets. Fighters are used both in and out of warp, though they are different ships. In fact most dedicated combat ships won't be able to fight both in and out of warp, so navies are built with carriers to ferry the dedicated ships around. Yet another reason why your ability to run will be as important as your ability to fight.
So beams for large ships, machine guns for fighters, no rockets. No cannons either?

Quote:
good! lots of the action will take place there. I'm thinking that part of the pay for the crew is a small allotment of cargo space. This gets everyone on the ground and gives room for black market dealings. Or badly chosen cargo.
Gotcha.

-

Also, how big of a ship are we talking about? Firefly-ish? Crew size?

Last edited by Talosian; 05-27-2013 at 11:13 PM.
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Old 05-28-2013, 01:46 AM   #20
ericthered
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Default Re: [OCC]: Space Merchant

Quote:
Originally Posted by crretin View Post
Alright how about this instead

Same backstory as before except he was abandoned on an off world city, he grew up as a member of an illegal fighting tournament and then later became a street docter. Now he works as a physician for hire. As for what he looks like, imagine Quasimodo, now imagine him with a ton of battle scars.
I'm not quite sure why you changed, but its fine with me. A physician is a useful concept. Street doctor is... unusual. I'm not sure how one becomes a doctor without a massive amount of education, particularly at TL 10. I suppose he can get it by reading, but such dedication should be indicated else where in the character description. More will follow later on optimization.

Quote:
Originally Posted by the_matrix_walker View Post
What was the year / TL of Earth before the attack?
Earth was attacked around 2150. I should probably give a date. They had a series of wars versus transhumanists shortly before discovering a much faster version of the warp drive. the TL was early 10. Most improvements since then have been power and warp based, and many technologies have been lost. The bio and cyber tech of the Trans-humanists were quite good, but most of that has been lost.

Quote:
Are there any non-humans at these settlements and whatnot? Have we seen the "destroyers of earth that was" since they blew up our blue marble? Any other intelligent species humans interact with?
All aliens are very different, and humanity's experience so far is most aliens are quite xenophobic. The "destroyers of earth" are a particuarly intolerant breed, and have a nice tech edge on everyone else, but are quite rare, quarrelsome within themselves, and seem to have been forced out of this area of space. Their legacy is technology: a few artifacts are left, mostly ships and weapons. They have a "ghost particle weapon" no one else seems able to make.

Two other types are around. Some interaction happens, but its wary and violence is common. The Lichanen has several different six-legged forms that they use, and lots of different castes, which seem to be different species. They are experts at biological and chemical warfare.

The other is series of aliens engineered for a wide variety of environments that look like 10 limbed starfish. They have various names, including "rotaliths" referring to the most common type encountered, a silicon based form that can survive in hard vaccume. Strains that can live on Garden, Ammonia, and Greenhouse worlds are also present. they are slow and spend much of their time hibernating.

Quote:
Did humans develop the tech we currently use, or did it come from more advanced aliens?
Humans built our tech from scratch, with a touch of reverse engineering. Human warp drives are simply superior to Alien drives when not using the well worn network of "smooth" routes established by Aliens. Details on that network are fuzzy, but traveling them is the best way to run across aliens, who tend to be hostile. Some other pieces have been stolen on each side.

Quote:
Should we expect to encounter various earth languages or does everyone speak "human"?
You will encounter various earth languages, but most colonies will speak english. I The exceptions will mostly have english speakers, and be confined to: Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and French. Interpreters (both human and electronic) will be available. Yes this means computers use weak AI interfaces.

Quote:
I kind of wanted a bionic limb or two... is it possible if they are just simple (human capability) advanced prosthesis?
hmm... yeah, thats well within earth's original tech base, and an application that would become quite common.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Talosian View Post
Should specialize raises the question of whether or not this is an optional specialization, or a mandatory one... (Doesn't bother me either way, but it's an important distinction in game terms.)
Its mandatory. You have to learn somewhere. In fact, I should probably outlaw smooth space for PCs. Its not in your system, and humans avoid it.

Quote:
So beams for large ships, machine guns for fighters, no rockets. No cannons either?
I'm not distingushing between an autocannon and a machine gun, and anything slower than that isn't too likely to hit anything is these battles. They may get used on strafing runs, but not in fighter combat.


Quote:
Also, how big of a ship are we talking about? Firefly-ish? Crew size?
I'm working that out. Crew size will be small: the players and three or four others. People will come on and go off though. The Ship is mostly cargo space, and should be about SM +10. When unloaded it drops a size class and becomes a MUCH faster ship.

I have sadly seen only one episode of firefly. I believe thats the crew size we want though.
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