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Old 08-08-2015, 02:01 PM   #231
Icelander
 
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Default Re: [WWII/TS/Covert Ops/Weird War II] Götterdämmerung on Walpurgisnacht

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Thanks for finishing your summary. Is the game ongoing or did you just not have time until now to write it up?
Last session yesterday, finished at 2 am.

There's a lot more to summarize, really, but I'm lazy.

There was a reluctant consensus that the astronomical power represented by such a huge Item of Power as the Amber Room (at least as represented by it linked to a Yaktovian Bell), with as-near-as-makes-no-matter infinite energy points available for tapping, was too much for anyone. Especially Stalin, but the PCs didn't want to place it in the hands of any other government*, either. So they destroyed the Amber Room, instead of trying to control and own it.

And the question remains, do the players want to wrap it up at destroying the Amber Room or do they want to know which Wales their characters emerge in?

If they elect to continue, there will be a new season set in Wales, but not, of course, Wales as we know it.

In that event, the beginning will be seven legendary warriors emerging from a ring of stones into a kingdom in need of heroes...

*There was a theory that placing it in the hands of the US government would mean that the individual pieces of the Amber Room would be placed in a gargantuan warehouse somewhere, with Top Men 'working' on it, so it would be safe enough for the foreseeable future. Bureaucratic inertia would secure it better than destruction. But against that possibility, they had to weight what Patton (in at the death) would want it used for...
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Old 08-08-2015, 02:04 PM   #232
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Default Re: Tally of Higher-Up Nazis (and Fellow Travellers)

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Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
villains succumbed to PC-related injuries...
I like that phrase. Our campaign appears to have destroyed the HQ of the SS-Ahnenerbe today.
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Three rifle bullets from PC Kharak Bahadur Rai to the weak point of the armour... Took a rifle bullet to the shoulder during a short sharp firefight in a hallway, from PC Kharak Bahaduir Rai
A Ghurkha PC of mine is applauding.
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Old 08-08-2015, 04:01 PM   #233
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Default Re: Tally of Higher-Up Nazis (and Fellow Travellers)

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Our campaign appears to have destroyed the HQ of the SS-Ahnenerbe today.
We have a tendency to go for the head. We once also took out a comparably problematic Russian HQ building in Stalingrad. (Yes, "allies". No, not allies we wanted doing what they were doing. At all.) Chicago wasn't our fault, though. Honestly.
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Old 08-09-2015, 08:26 AM   #234
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Default Re: Tally of Higher-Up Nazis (and Fellow Travellers)

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We once also took out a comparably problematic Russian HQ building in Stalingrad. (Yes, "allies". No, not allies we wanted doing what they were doing. At all.)
It seems PCs are not good at being allied with Soviets. My heroic Allied commandos shot up a platoon of Soviet frontoviki in the streets of Berlin, before entering their target area.

Of course, the PCs were dressed as Germans and it's extremely unlikely that the Soviets would have stopped and listened to explanations. And even if they would have, the PCs had no desire that Comrade Stalin should hear anything about the Amber Room.
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Old 08-09-2015, 01:50 PM   #235
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Default Issues with T 13 "Beano" grenade --

Saw a photo series on one of the few survivors.

Suffice it to say that NO veteran troop would want to haul one of these things around. (I suppose your veterans didn't have much choice . . . )

The activation mechanism is not the standard lever -- it's a spring-loaded disk not much bigger than a nickel you have to hold compressed to the body of the grenade Very Carefully.

If your sweaty palm slips, the disk will spring loose and arm the grenade. In which case you have three choices:

1.) Try to throw the grenade away -- and the now-armed inertia fuze makes it go off in your hand.

2.) Drop it -- and the inertia fuze makes it go off at your feet.

3.) Hold it -- and the time fuze makes it go off in your hand.

Notice the common element?

There's a reason the US military didn't adopt it -- and why no later grenades had this type of arming mechanism.
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Old 08-10-2015, 02:36 AM   #236
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Default Re: Issues with T 13 "Beano" grenade --

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Suffice it to say that NO veteran troop would want to haul one of these things around. (I suppose your veterans didn't have much choice . . . )
Well, I emphasised the risk inherent in the arming mechanism, but mentioned that these SOE grenades were small and easy to hide even in a pocket.

As the adventure was billed as a one-shot and the stakes were the fates of the world, most of the PCs were prepared to accept the risk of being blown up by their own grenades if it meant they could carry more of them, hide them better and, of course, use them as contact weapons.

Quote:
Originally Posted by fredtheobviouspseudonym View Post
The activation mechanism is not the standard lever -- it's a spring-loaded disk not much bigger than a nickel you have to hold compressed to the body of the grenade Very Carefully.

If your sweaty palm slips, the disk will spring loose and arm the grenade.
In GURPS, these grenades have Malf. 16 (and on a critical failure, they will explode in your hand). Do you think Malf. 16 is too high?

Or should one just reduce Malf. for blood or other fluids on hands or the grenades?

Maybe Malf. is also one step worse if the grenade is Readied from a bag or pocket instead of purpuse-designed load-bearing equipment.

Quote:
Originally Posted by fredtheobviouspseudonym View Post
Notice the common element?

There's a reason the US military didn't adopt it -- and why no later grenades had this type of arming mechanism.
To be fair, a lot of things that are regarded as too risky to be worth it in the real world might be reasonable to risk for RPG adventurers trying to save the world.

And from a min-maxing point of view, grenades that explode in the same turn that they are thrown and can easily attain contact explosions for maximum damage are such a brilliant weapon that it quite makes up for a minor chance of having them go off in your hand...
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Old 08-11-2015, 02:31 PM   #237
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Default Celtic Mythology (Brittonic /in Dyfed, Wales around 500 AD) 50-point Advantages

If the players vote to continue playing these characters and this one-shot adventure turns into a campaign, I thought that for the next adventure, the heroes might receive a bit of a Celtic Myth power-up.

After all, if we continue, the adventure begins in a fantasy version of Dyfed, Wales, somewhere around 450-500 CE/AD.

There are analogues to Gaels, Britons, Saxons and Picts around, but the minor linguistic and cultural differences of our world have been exaggerated for fantasy adventuring purposes. The cultures have different 'racial' Templates and different access to supernatural gifts, with some of them probably using different magic systems. There are Saxon Dragonlords and Herewulvos; Briton Bards and Dyn(es) Husbys; and Gael Filid; among other things.

The PCs emerge from circle of sacred stones in a kingdom in need of heroes...

What I want to do is to be able to steal from any Arthurian source that takes my fancy, as well as drawing on inspirations from Bernard Cornwell's excellent Warlord Chronicles. That includes presenting not just Angle/Jutes/Saxons vs. Britons vs. Gaels vs. Picts conflicts, but also Christians vs. Germanic pagans vs. 'the Old Faith'.

To that end, I'd like the PCs to be perceived as servants of the Old Faith, even if they don't neccessarily see themselves that way. There will be a faction of anti-Christian pagans who see the arrival of the PCs as a response to their own prayers or rituals and the manner of their arrival will length weight to that argument. As will the fact that the PCs will have supernatural gifts that suggest blessings from Celtic gods or incarnations of Celtic heroes.

I'd thought I'd give each player a choice of two or three power packages that suit their characters.

As an example, here are some of the notes for a power I'm pondering as an offering for Jock Sweeney, the former marine engineer and current explosives expert:

Blessing of Gofannon. Will include at least 4 levels of a Talent that covers crafting and smithing; several Craft Secret Perks like Crucible Steel, Graceful Blade, Masterwork Blade and perhaps more.*
One suggested build:
Gofannon's Favour (Armoury; Carousing; Engineering; Metallurgy; Professional Skill: Brewing; Smith) Talent 5 [25].
+ Strength of the Smith [8] {Arm ST +1 [5]; Lifting ST +1 [3]}.
+ The Riddle of Steel [17] {Craft Secret Perks (Crucible Steel, Graceful Blade, Masterwork Blade) [3]; Higher Purpose (Work Iron) [5]; Single-Minded (Aspected; Crafting -20%; Environmental: Iron -20%) [3]; Visualization (Aspected; Crafting -20%; Environmental: Iron -20%) [6]}.

Other ideas I have are:

Son of Sucellus: Happy Hammerer (Axe/Mace; Carousing; Erotic Art; Sex Appeal; Thrown Weapon (Axe/Mace); Two-Handed Axe/Mace) Talent 3 [15].
+ Master of Feasts [-1] {Charisma 1 [5]; Chummy [-5]; Compulsive Carousing (SC 12) [-5]; Drunken Fighting Perk [1]; Gluttony (SC 12) [-5]; Higher Purpose (Feast and Celebrate) [5]; Serendipity (Accessibility: Only to discover food and drink -60%; Aspected: Feasts (doesn't work unless found bounty is shared with a group in a convival atmosphere) -20%) 1 [3]}.
+ Hearty [36] {Alcohol Tolerance Perk [1]; Extra HT +2 [20]; Extra ST +2 [20]; Resistant (+3) to Poison [5]; Increased Consumption [-10]}.

Warrior of Belatucadros:
Bright-Killer's Regard [35] {Extra Attack 1 [25]; Striking ST +2 [10]}.
+ Battle-Spasm [30] {Damage Resistance (Berserk Only -40%; Tough Skin -40%) 3 [3]; Extra Action Points (Berserk Only -40%) 5 [6]; Extra Attack +1 (Berserk Only -40%) [15]; Striking ST +2 (Berserk Only -40%) [6].
+ Love of Slaughter [-15] {Berserk (SC 15) [-5]; Bloodlust (SC 15) [-5]; Compulsive Behaviour: Melee Combat (SC 12) [-5]}.

Gwydion's Get: Born Entertainer Talent (G:PU3 p. 6) 1 [5]; Extra DX +1 [20]; Extra IQ +1 [20]; Higher Purpose (Break Enchantments) [5]; Impersonator Talent (G:PU3 p. 11) 2 [10]; Stalker Talent (G:PU3 p. 15) 1 [5]; Trickster (SC -12) [-15].

Seán** of the Skilful Hand (Lugh/Lleu): Higher Purpose (Show Off) [5]; Luck [15]; Perk: Flourish [1]; Versatile [5]; Visualization (Reduced Time +140%, {not included is Reliable +50%}) [24].***

Brigid's Gifts: Bard Talent (G:PU3 p. 6) 2 [10]; Gifted Artist Talent [+Smith; -1 Photography] (G:PU3 p. 10) 2 [10]; Healer Talent [+Herb Lore] (G:PU3 p. 11) 2 [20]; Higher Purpose (Tradition: Healing) 2 [10].

Daughter of Rhiannon (Epona): Animal Empathy (Equines -40%) [3]; Animal Friend Talent 3 [15]; Equitae Talent (Acrobatics; Animal Handling (Equines); Broadsword; Riding; Shield; Spear; Tactics (Cavalry) and Throw (Spear); as well as Leadership, Operations (Land) and Teaching when commanding or training cavalry) 2 [20]; Striking ST (Only While Mounted on Equines -40%) +1 [3]; Higher Purpose (Female Empowerment) [5]; Increased Move (Granted to Mount +0%; Equines Only -20%) 1 [4].

Touched by Ceridwen: Insight Talent (Pyramid #3/66 p. 19) 2 [10]; Magery 2 [20]; Occultist Talent (G:PU3 p. 14) 1 [10]; Poet Talent (G:PU3 p. 14) 2 [10].

Comments? Other suggested power packages?

*Technically, in Irish mythology at least, Goibniu is one of three craftsman gods and specifically represents blacksmithing, with the other two being a goldsmith/silversmith (and bronze) and a carpenter. That may end up being too specialised, though. If not, I'll allow a choice of specialising in one aspect or taking fewer levels of Talent that includes all the potential skills.
**Dyfed Irish equivalent to the name of a PC, Jean-Marie.
***On checking it, adding ten levels of Reliable to Visualization with Reduced Time 7 is a shameful munchkin exploit and the sort of thing up with which I will not put.
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Old 08-11-2015, 05:43 PM   #238
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Default Re: Celtic Mythology (Brittonic /in Dyfed, Wales around 500 AD) 50-point Advantages

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Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
If the players vote to continue playing these characters and this one-shot adventure turns into a campaign, I thought that for the next adventure, the heroes might receive a bit of a Celtic Myth power-up.
If I was one of the players, I'd be feeling a bit paranoid right now. We're here because of a portal opened under Berlin, yes? Why could it be opened to here? Is that connected to the Nazis coming to this world and time to learn magic? Are there any Nazis around?
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Old 08-11-2015, 06:37 PM   #239
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Default Re: Celtic Mythology (Brittonic /in Dyfed, Wales around 500 AD) 50-point Advantages

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If I was one of the players, I'd be feeling a bit paranoid right now. We're here because of a portal opened under Berlin, yes? Why could it be opened to here? Is that connected to the Nazis coming to this world and time to learn magic? Are there any Nazis around?
Lizzie St. Clair opened the gate, deliberately seeking to use a fragment of the Pentre Ifan to open a 'fairy road' into the stone circle, where she had been present at an archeological dig in 1936-37.* She tapped the near-inexhaustable power of the Amber Room to power her ritual, so opening the gate was no problem.

The PC suceeded at the ritual, but given that there might be infinite echoes of our Earth somewhere and there was no time to gather information or formulate theories about the nature of the multiverse, success merely meant reaching a Pentre Ifan in a Wales.

It's actually a very close echo, apart from that whole time thing and the presence of the supernatural. On the other hand, considering that the fairy road was opened from an echo of our world where magic worked and the German landscape outside the castle they had emerged in looked a whole lot more forested than at any post-medieval time in our world, maybe it was spot-on exact and they just travelled in space, not time or dimensions.

Also, there was the fact that she was using a TL2 Graeco-Celtic-looking brooch from yet another fantasy echo (or a different spot in the same world) and a talking snake to help her with the ritual, so if the end point was TL2 and mythic Wales, maybe it was to be expected.

*Serendipity, b----es. The player asked if he could have something sufficient for Magical Correspondence for a safe target area that suited his character's Celtic magic, speciality in fairies and Path of Crossroads.
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