Newcomer seeks advice: Ravenloft in GURPS? - Page 4

Gold & Appel Inc · 06-04-2008, 07:45 PM

Hilda Hayfield (Talks to Dead People) [25]:

Culture: TL 3-4ish for Original Style, or 5ish for Masque of the Red Death [0]; Familiarity: The Core Domains [0]; Languages: Any Local (Native / None) [-3];

Attributes: ST 9 [-10]; DX 8 [-40]; IQ 11 [20]; HT 12 [20];

Secondary: Speed 5.0 [0]; Move 4 [-5]; HP 9 [0]; FP 10 [-6]; Per 13 [10]; Will 12 [5];

Advantages: Contact Group (Local Ghosts: 15, 12-, Somewhat Reliable) [20]; Danger Sense (Magical -10%) [14]; Eidetic Memory (Regular) [5]; High Manual DX +2 [10]; Medium (Magical -10%) [9]; Social Regard +1 (Feared) [5]; Spirit Empathy (Ghosts Only -50%) [5];

Perks: Classic Features (Disabled Waif) [1]; Attribute Sub: DX -> Per (Stealth) [1];

Disadvantages: Appearance (Unattractive) [-4]; Chronic Pain (Mild, 8 Hour Intervals, 9-) [-10]; Honest (12-) [-10]; Pacifism (Self Defense Only) [-15]; Social Stigma (2nd-Class Citizen) [-5]; Status -1 [-5]; Unfit [-5]; Wealth (Struggling) [-10];

Quirks: Careful [-1]; Distinctive Feature [-1]; Naive Idealist With Regard to Romance [-1]; Nosy [-1]; Responsive [-1];

Skills: Area Knowledge (E) (Village) IQ+2 [4]-13; Current Affairs/TL (E) (Local) IQ+2 [4]-13; Detect Lies (H) Per [4]-13; Diplomacy (H) IQ [4]-11; Expert Skill (H) (Ghosts) IQ [4]-11; Gardening (E) (Vegetable) IQ+1 [2]-12; Housekeeping (E) IQ [1]-11; Intimidation (A) Will [2]-12; Observation (A) Per+1 [4]-14; Scrounging (E) Per+1 [2]-14; Stealth (A) Per [2]-13;

Background: An original character for GURPS 4e Ravenloft: Hilda is the eldest daughter of a peasant in the war-torn borderlands of a central domain. She was born smart as a whip but afflicted with a spinal deformity that leaves her incapable of most farm work and unlikely to marry (because of the possible difficulties bearing children more than her looks). Her back doesn't "go out" on her (yet, anyway), but it pains her frequently, renders her slow and uncoordinated on her feet, and has the peculiar quirk of making her face slightly to the left when she walks. She first began speaking to the dead when her older brother died fighting off an invasion from a neighboring domain. With Hilda's aid he lead the family to his corpse and a box of looted silverware that he had liberated from a slain invader, laying his spirit to rest and ensuring the family's welfare through many hard times. She continues to make a decent living for her station (mostly in agrarian barter) helping her neighbors with their ghost problems, but she yearns for novelty and romance, certain that they await her beyond the killing fields she knows.

Notes: Intended as a "normal peasant" PC for the campaign HuManBing proposes above, but could also be used as a colorful NPC plot device / Ally / Contact / potential love interest for a PC.

~~HuManBing~~ · 06-06-2008, 05:30 PM

I like those! I think getting the players familiar with the villagers, with a few "training" tasks to acclimatize them with the GURPS system, is good.

Afterwards if the village comes under attack it'll lend them that much more emotional impetus to save the people they once knew.

Gold & Appel Inc · 06-10-2008, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuManBing

I like those!

Thanks. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuManBing

I think getting the players familiar with the villagers, with a few "training" tasks to acclimatize them with the GURPS system, is good.

Afterwards if the village comes under attack it'll lend them that much more emotional impetus to save the people they once knew.

So were you picturing more "heroic" villager PCs then, or is 25 points a good starting total for your campaign?

Gold & Appel Inc · 06-13-2008, 05:45 PM

Grayden Vörst III, Itinerant Mortician [100]:

Culture: TL 3-4ish for Original Style, or 5ish for Masque of the Red Death [0]; Familiarity: The Core Domains [0]; Languages: Any Local (Native / Native) [0]; Two Other Local (Accented / None) [4];

Attributes: ST 11 [10]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 12 [20];

Secondary: Speed 5.25 [-5]; Move 5 [0]; HP 12 [2]; FP 12 [0]; Per 12 [0]; Will 13 [5];

Advantages: Ally (Johan, 25-Point Coachman/Assistant, 15-) [3]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Contact (van Richten / Monster Hunting: 21, Available 6-, Usually Reliable) [4]; Fit [5]; Reputation +3 ("Bold Funerary Adventurer," Regional Peasantry, 10-) [5]; Social Regard +1 (Respected) [5];

Disadvantages: Appearance (Ugly) [-8]; Bloodlust (9-) [-15]; Charitable (9-) [-22]; Code of Honor (Professional) [-5]; Pacifism (Can't Harm Innocents) [-10]; Status -1 [-5]; Wealth (Struggling) [-10];

Quirks: Careful [-1]; Intolerance (Cannibals, Ghouls, and other Sapient Eaters of Man Flesh) [-1];

Skills: Area Knowledge (E) (Domain) IQ+1 [2]-13; Axe/Mace (A) DX [2]-10; Carpentry (E) IQ [1]-12; Crossbow (E) DX+2 [4]-12; Current Affairs/TL (E) (Headline News) IQ+1 [2]-13; Detect Lies (H) Per-1 [2]-11; Diplomacy (H) IQ [4]-12; First Aid/TL (E) IQ [1]-12; Hazardous Materials/TL (A) (Biological) IQ-1 [1]-11, (Magical) IQ-1 [1]-11; Herb Lore (VH) IQ+1 [12]-13; Naturalist (H) IQ-1 [2]-11; Navigation (A) (Land) IQ-1 [1]-11; Occultism (A) IQ+1 [4]-13; Pro Skill (A) (Mortician) IQ [2]-12; Public Speaking (A) IQ [2]-12; Riding (A) (Equine) DX-1 [1]-9; Stealth (A) DX+1 [4]-11; Survival (A) (Plains) Per-1 [1]-11; Teamster/TL (A) IQ-1 [1]-11; Wrestling (A) DX+2 [8]-12;

Techniques: Arm Lock (Wrestling) Def+3 [3]-15; Eternal Rest (Herb Lore) Def+2 [3]-13;

Background: An original character for GURPS 4e Ravenloft: Grayden Vörst is a traveling mortician just like his father and grandfather before him, riding from town to town in his rickety black wagon during the winter months when bodies will keep a bit, and settling temporarily in the hardest-hit regions during the plague months and times of war. He is a consummate professional dedicated to the peaceful rest of the dead, and carries out scholarly correspondence on that topic with the famous monster hunter Rudolph van Richten when their schedules permit. Newcomers to Ravenloft may be startled to learn that an embalmer and funeral director would need to be such a sharp-witted, hardened, and battle-scarred individual, but in a land where the dead sometimes have to be convinced to attend their own funerals by negotiation or force it is not a career for the uncreative or faint of heart.

Notes: Intended as a colorful NPC Patron / Contact / plot device, but could also be used as a PC in a higher-power campaign.

~~HuManBing~~ · 06-13-2008, 09:12 PM

I started puttering around with the powers that Azalin Rex receives from Ravenloft, more as a systemic exercise than anything else. I was delighted to see that I really could express something fairly broad and arbitrary in the d20 system as something that was clearly allowed for in the GURPS system.

However the character points involved are pretty intimidating to say the least. :)

As an example, Azalin has a power whereby he can command any corpse to rise as a skeleton or zombie. This is at-will and instantaneous in the d20 system and the rules don't even try to rationalize it. It Just Happens And We Accept It, Lo.

Under GURPS, I decided to replicate this by giving him so many skill ranks in the "Zombie" spell that it costs him nothing to cast, and takes the bare minimum of time (1 second). If my calculations are correct, he needs to have a base skill of at least 59 in that spell. I haven't started statting his INT and Magery yet so the actual CP value of that may be somewhat less intimidating, but not by much!

As another example, Azalin has a power whereby he can simultaneously animate all undead within a large distance. (The normal rules say it's limited only by the borders of his kingdom, which is several hundred if not thousand miles to a side.) However, one special module states that if he were taken out of his domain, the power spreads only across a 2-mile radius. This is also instantaneous and costs him nothing.

The "Mass Zombie" spell allows for a caster to define a radius in yards. After setting this to 2 miles, I then pared the casting time to 1 second. If my calculations are accurate, Azalin has a base skill level of at least 114 in this spell, as a gift from the Dark Powers.

:)

Of course these are just mathematical trivia exercises to get acclimatized with the system. But it does bring up a salient question. What is "base cost" for Magic, and how does it differ from standard cost? Take a look at the Mass Zombie spell (in the Magic 4E add on book) - what should the calculation be for cost? Does it scale to radius?

Gold & Appel Inc · 06-14-2008, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuManBing

As an example, Azalin has a power whereby he can command any corpse to rise as a skeleton or zombie. This is at-will and instantaneous in the d20 system and the rules don't even try to rationalize it. It Just Happens And We Accept It, Lo.

Under GURPS, I decided to replicate this by giving him so many skill ranks in the "Zombie" spell that it costs him nothing to cast, and takes the bare minimum of time (1 second). If my calculations are correct, he needs to have a base skill of at least 59 in that spell.

Are you sure you don't want to do this guy with Magic-as-Powers?

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuManBing

What is "base cost" for Magic, and how does it differ from standard cost? Take a look at the Mass Zombie spell (in the Magic 4E add on book) - what should the calculation be for cost? Does it scale to radius?

Yes. Area-effect spells are listed with a "base cost" instead of a cost, which scales linearly to radius.

PS- Answer the point question so I can make you more peasants. ;)

carllarson · 06-14-2008, 08:51 AM

Using spells, it may be easier to boost his energy reserve to where such an expenditure for casting doesn't have effects. Although, his abilites as bestowed as Domain Lord could be built as Powers, leaving his spells and ER as any simple lichlord.

This is one of those places where convert to the concept, not the exact mechanics, is key.

~~HuManBing~~ · 06-16-2008, 12:54 PM

Okay, you talked me into it. I shelled out for an electronic copy of the Powers book, which I'll flip through and see what I can do for Azalin.

I might also get a paper printout of this at Kinko's later on.

~~HuManBing~~ · 06-18-2008, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

PS- Answer the point question so I can make you more peasants. ;)

I think I'm going to make the PCs start off as low-powered yokels and as they learn more stuff, they increase rapidly in power. So 25 points should be fine as I can arbitrarily speed their progression to a standard 100 point character.

Gold & Appel Inc · 06-18-2008, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuManBing

I think I'm going to make the PCs start off as low-powered yokels and as they learn more stuff, they increase rapidly in power. So 25 points should be fine as I can arbitrarily speed their progression to a standard 100 point character.

Thanks! In celebration we bring you:

Gregor Bean (Tries to Maintain a Positive Outlook While Surrounded by Freaks and Calamities) [25]:

Culture: TL 3-4ish for Original Style, or 5ish for Masque of the Red Death [0]; Familiarity: The Core Domains [0]; Languages: Any Local (Native / None) [-3];

Attributes: ST 15 [50]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 9 [-20]; HT 11 [10];

Secondary: Speed 5.25 [0]; Move 5 [0]; HP 16 [2]; FP 11 [0]; Per 9 [0]; Will 10 [5];

Advantages: Charisma +1 [5]; Fearlessness +4 [8]; Fit [5]; Hard to Subdue X1 [2];

Disadvantages: Chummy [-5]; Duty (Family Farm, 12-, Nonhazardous) [-5]; Duty (Militia, 6-) [-2]; Honest (12-) [-10]; Incurious (15-) [-2]; Pacifism (Can't Harm Innocents) [-10]; Sense of Duty (Personal Acquaintances) [-10]; Status -1 [-5]; Truthfulness (12-) [-5]; Wealth (Poor) [-15];

Quirks: Broad-Minded [-1]; Dull [-1]; Incompetence: Intimidation [-1]; Mild Gluttony [-1];

Skills: Animal Handling (Equine) (A) IQ-1 [1]-8; Area Knowledge (E) (Village) IQ+2 [4]-11; Carousing (E) HT [1]-11; Dancing (A) DX-1 [1]-9; Detect Lies (H) Per-2 [1]-7; Diplomacy (H) IQ [4]-9; Farming (A) IQ+1 [4]-10; Games (E) (Competitive Eating) IQ [1]-9; Hiking (A) HT [2]-11; Lifting (A) HT+1 [4]-12; Sex Appeal (A) HT-1 [1]-10; Shield (E) DX [1]-10; Soldier/TL (A) IQ [2]-9; Spear (A) DX [2]-10; Stealth (A) DX-1 [1]-9; Teamster (A) IQ [2]-9; Wrestling (A) DX [2]-10;

Background: An original character for GURPS 4e Ravenloft: Gregor is a middle son of a peasant farmer in the war-torn borderlands of a central domain. He's a big, friendly galoot who loves his community and enjoys the unsophisticated pleasures of the agrarian life when he can get them. In particular he is passionate about robust country food and excels in contests of eating and drinking ability at harvest time, but he feels terrible shame about his appetite during famine. Though he is a trained and stalwart militiaman, his temperment is not warlike in the least and he couldn't make a convincing threat if lives depended on it. He also has a powerful moral compass, which usually does him more harm than good in this setting all things considered.

Notes: Intended as a "normal peasant" PC for the campaign HuManBing proposes above, but could also be used as an NPC Ally / Rival / potential love interest for a PC.

06-04-2008, 07:45 PM	#31
Gold & Appel Inc Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: One Mile Up	Re: Newcomer seeks advice: Ravenloft in GURPS? Hilda Hayfield (Talks to Dead People) [25]: Culture: TL 3-4ish for Original Style, or 5ish for Masque of the Red Death [0]; Familiarity: The Core Domains [0]; Languages: Any Local (Native / None) [-3]; Attributes: ST 9 [-10]; DX 8 [-40]; IQ 11 [20]; HT 12 [20]; Secondary: Speed 5.0 [0]; Move 4 [-5]; HP 9 [0]; FP 10 [-6]; Per 13 [10]; Will 12 [5]; Advantages: Contact Group (Local Ghosts: 15, 12-, Somewhat Reliable) [20]; Danger Sense (Magical -10%) [14]; Eidetic Memory (Regular) [5]; High Manual DX +2 [10]; Medium (Magical -10%) [9]; Social Regard +1 (Feared) [5]; Spirit Empathy (Ghosts Only -50%) [5]; Perks: Classic Features (Disabled Waif) [1]; Attribute Sub: DX -> Per (Stealth) [1]; Disadvantages: Appearance (Unattractive) [-4]; Chronic Pain (Mild, 8 Hour Intervals, 9-) [-10]; Honest (12-) [-10]; Pacifism (Self Defense Only) [-15]; Social Stigma (2nd-Class Citizen) [-5]; Status -1 [-5]; Unfit [-5]; Wealth (Struggling) [-10]; Quirks: Careful [-1]; Distinctive Feature [-1]; Naive Idealist With Regard to Romance [-1]; Nosy [-1]; Responsive [-1]; Skills: Area Knowledge (E) (Village) IQ+2 [4]-13; Current Affairs/TL (E) (Local) IQ+2 [4]-13; Detect Lies (H) Per [4]-13; Diplomacy (H) IQ [4]-11; Expert Skill (H) (Ghosts) IQ [4]-11; Gardening (E) (Vegetable) IQ+1 [2]-12; Housekeeping (E) IQ [1]-11; Intimidation (A) Will [2]-12; Observation (A) Per+1 [4]-14; Scrounging (E) Per+1 [2]-14; Stealth (A) Per [2]-13; Background: An original character for GURPS 4e Ravenloft: Hilda is the eldest daughter of a peasant in the war-torn borderlands of a central domain. She was born smart as a whip but afflicted with a spinal deformity that leaves her incapable of most farm work and unlikely to marry (because of the possible difficulties bearing children more than her looks). Her back doesn't "go out" on her (yet, anyway), but it pains her frequently, renders her slow and uncoordinated on her feet, and has the peculiar quirk of making her face slightly to the left when she walks. She first began speaking to the dead when her older brother died fighting off an invasion from a neighboring domain. With Hilda's aid he lead the family to his corpse and a box of looted silverware that he had liberated from a slain invader, laying his spirit to rest and ensuring the family's welfare through many hard times. She continues to make a decent living for her station (mostly in agrarian barter) helping her neighbors with their ghost problems, but she yearns for novelty and romance, certain that they await her beyond the killing fields she knows. Notes: Intended as a "normal peasant" PC for the campaign HuManBing proposes above, but could also be used as a colorful NPC plot device / Ally / Contact / potential love interest for a PC. Last edited by Gold & Appel Inc; 07-31-2015 at 11:01 AM.

06-06-2008, 05:30 PM	#32
~~HuManBing~~ Banned Join Date: May 2008 Location: TIE pilot aboard the ISD Butterball	Re: Newcomer seeks advice: Ravenloft in GURPS? I like those! I think getting the players familiar with the villagers, with a few "training" tasks to acclimatize them with the GURPS system, is good. Afterwards if the village comes under attack it'll lend them that much more emotional impetus to save the people they once knew.

06-13-2008, 05:45 PM	#34
Gold & Appel Inc Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: One Mile Up	Re: Newcomer seeks advice: Ravenloft in GURPS? Grayden Vörst III, Itinerant Mortician [100]: Culture: TL 3-4ish for Original Style, or 5ish for Masque of the Red Death [0]; Familiarity: The Core Domains [0]; Languages: Any Local (Native / Native) [0]; Two Other Local (Accented / None) [4]; Attributes: ST 11 [10]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 12 [20]; Secondary: Speed 5.25 [-5]; Move 5 [0]; HP 12 [2]; FP 12 [0]; Per 12 [0]; Will 13 [5]; Advantages: Ally (Johan, 25-Point Coachman/Assistant, 15-) [3]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Contact (van Richten / Monster Hunting: 21, Available 6-, Usually Reliable) [4]; Fit [5]; Reputation +3 ("Bold Funerary Adventurer," Regional Peasantry, 10-) [5]; Social Regard +1 (Respected) [5]; Disadvantages: Appearance (Ugly) [-8]; Bloodlust (9-) [-15]; Charitable (9-) [-22]; Code of Honor (Professional) [-5]; Pacifism (Can't Harm Innocents) [-10]; Status -1 [-5]; Wealth (Struggling) [-10]; Quirks: Careful [-1]; Intolerance (Cannibals, Ghouls, and other Sapient Eaters of Man Flesh) [-1]; Skills: Area Knowledge (E) (Domain) IQ+1 [2]-13; Axe/Mace (A) DX [2]-10; Carpentry (E) IQ [1]-12; Crossbow (E) DX+2 [4]-12; Current Affairs/TL (E) (Headline News) IQ+1 [2]-13; Detect Lies (H) Per-1 [2]-11; Diplomacy (H) IQ [4]-12; First Aid/TL (E) IQ [1]-12; Hazardous Materials/TL (A) (Biological) IQ-1 [1]-11, (Magical) IQ-1 [1]-11; Herb Lore (VH) IQ+1 [12]-13; Naturalist (H) IQ-1 [2]-11; Navigation (A) (Land) IQ-1 [1]-11; Occultism (A) IQ+1 [4]-13; Pro Skill (A) (Mortician) IQ [2]-12; Public Speaking (A) IQ [2]-12; Riding (A) (Equine) DX-1 [1]-9; Stealth (A) DX+1 [4]-11; Survival (A) (Plains) Per-1 [1]-11; Teamster/TL (A) IQ-1 [1]-11; Wrestling (A) DX+2 [8]-12; Techniques: Arm Lock (Wrestling) Def+3 [3]-15; Eternal Rest (Herb Lore) Def+2 [3]-13; Background: An original character for GURPS 4e Ravenloft: Grayden Vörst is a traveling mortician just like his father and grandfather before him, riding from town to town in his rickety black wagon during the winter months when bodies will keep a bit, and settling temporarily in the hardest-hit regions during the plague months and times of war. He is a consummate professional dedicated to the peaceful rest of the dead, and carries out scholarly correspondence on that topic with the famous monster hunter Rudolph van Richten when their schedules permit. Newcomers to Ravenloft may be startled to learn that an embalmer and funeral director would need to be such a sharp-witted, hardened, and battle-scarred individual, but in a land where the dead sometimes have to be convinced to attend their own funerals by negotiation or force it is not a career for the uncreative or faint of heart. Notes: Intended as a colorful NPC Patron / Contact / plot device, but could also be used as a PC in a higher-power campaign. Last edited by Gold & Appel Inc; 06-13-2008 at 07:17 PM.

06-13-2008, 09:12 PM	#35
~~HuManBing~~ Banned Join Date: May 2008 Location: TIE pilot aboard the ISD Butterball	Re: Newcomer seeks advice: Ravenloft in GURPS? I started puttering around with the powers that Azalin Rex receives from Ravenloft, more as a systemic exercise than anything else. I was delighted to see that I really could express something fairly broad and arbitrary in the d20 system as something that was clearly allowed for in the GURPS system. However the character points involved are pretty intimidating to say the least. :) As an example, Azalin has a power whereby he can command any corpse to rise as a skeleton or zombie. This is at-will and instantaneous in the d20 system and the rules don't even try to rationalize it. It Just Happens And We Accept It, Lo. Under GURPS, I decided to replicate this by giving him so many skill ranks in the "Zombie" spell that it costs him nothing to cast, and takes the bare minimum of time (1 second). If my calculations are correct, he needs to have a base skill of at least 59 in that spell. I haven't started statting his INT and Magery yet so the actual CP value of that may be somewhat less intimidating, but not by much! As another example, Azalin has a power whereby he can simultaneously animate all undead within a large distance. (The normal rules say it's limited only by the borders of his kingdom, which is several hundred if not thousand miles to a side.) However, one special module states that if he were taken out of his domain, the power spreads only across a 2-mile radius. This is also instantaneous and costs him nothing. The "Mass Zombie" spell allows for a caster to define a radius in yards. After setting this to 2 miles, I then pared the casting time to 1 second. If my calculations are accurate, Azalin has a base skill level of at least 114 in this spell, as a gift from the Dark Powers. :) Of course these are just mathematical trivia exercises to get acclimatized with the system. But it does bring up a salient question. What is "base cost" for Magic, and how does it differ from standard cost? Take a look at the Mass Zombie spell (in the Magic 4E add on book) - what should the calculation be for cost? Does it scale to radius?

06-14-2008, 08:51 AM	#37
carllarson Join Date: Feb 2005	Re: Newcomer seeks advice: Ravenloft in GURPS? Using spells, it may be easier to boost his energy reserve to where such an expenditure for casting doesn't have effects. Although, his abilites as bestowed as Domain Lord could be built as Powers, leaving his spells and ER as any simple lichlord. This is one of those places where convert to the concept, not the exact mechanics, is key.

06-16-2008, 12:54 PM	#38
~~HuManBing~~ Banned Join Date: May 2008 Location: TIE pilot aboard the ISD Butterball	Re: Newcomer seeks advice: Ravenloft in GURPS? Okay, you talked me into it. I shelled out for an electronic copy of the Powers book, which I'll flip through and see what I can do for Azalin. I might also get a paper printout of this at Kinko's later on.