Drakeneisen
Rogue Scientist
Its the only way to be sure.
White Wolf's World of Darkness
Its the only way to be sure.
Generalissimo
Generalissimo of SufficientVelocity
- Location
- Tropico, Tropico
More interested by entire Village worth of Hunters!
- Pronouns
- They/Them
So, is this what happens when a Syndic gets too much paradox?
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I actually had a more specific question, but here's a more general one: how do the nine Attributes stack up against beings that have Power-Finesse-Resistance? Like, mechanically speaking, in general?
Also, for Mage 1e, did Mages who entered the Astral have all nine Attributes? I know that for 2e, they've made Mages play by the same set of rules (or rather same three Attributes) as other Astral beings, and I'm curious about what the meaning/good/bad of this is, mechanically, and how well either option (1E or 2E) functions.
...it's something I've been thinking about with the Demon-Spawn, but I decided that heck, I'd actually ask people that know about mechanics.
Also, for Mage 1e, did Mages who entered the Astral have all nine Attributes? I know that for 2e, they've made Mages play by the same set of rules (or rather same three Attributes) as other Astral beings, and I'm curious about what the meaning/good/bad of this is, mechanically, and how well either option (1E or 2E) functions.
...it's something I've been thinking about with the Demon-Spawn, but I decided that heck, I'd actually ask people that know about mechanics.
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA
Generally, creatures with P/F/R are going to rock the house compared to creatures with the normal spread, because they're consolidating the points that would normally be split between 9 categories into 3.
Honestly, I reached the point a long time ago that I decided that PFR-creatures were a fucking awful idea.
Want to make a big dumb strong truck spirit? Sorry, impossible. Making a creature strong makes them a genius and charismatic. Likewise, can't have a genius spider that's pulling everyone's strings without also making them super-swole.
Want to make a nimble but self-absorbed spirit? Sorry, high Finesse means it's quick thinking as well as agile.
Want to make a tough-but-pliable spirit that's easy to trick but very hard to fight conventionally? Sorry, if you're big and tough you're also good at keeping your composure and affirmative in your goals.
It produces dumb output and seals off a bunch of archetypes that spirits really should be supporting. So don't use it. Just give them proper Attributes.
- Location
- Denmark
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Honestly, I've been using the cWoD Spirit system for ages now, vaguely converted to nWoD and honestly it's a bit of a shame that this produces less stupid output.
- Location
- Denmark
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Besides, full-on precrime is an NWO/Iteration X thing; the Statisticians working alongside the Ivory Tower to create a perfect map of human behaviour so they can free the world of crime forever.
yeah yeah whatever problem of free will yeah yeah privacy give me my merit dots storyteller pls
vicky_molokh
Posthuman spidery thingy.
- Location
- Kyïv, Ukraine
The one with Gnossis, Willpower and Rage?
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Well, I could go with that, though I would have to rewrite the entirety of the Rank-to-Stat guide, so I have that going for me, which is nice.
I did like the way they didn't have Skills, at least. So...*frowns, it's too early to do any heavy thinking, will mull it over*
I did like the way they didn't have Skills, at least. So...*frowns, it's too early to do any heavy thinking, will mull it over*
- Location
- Brittany, France
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I have done a terrible thing.
So, @ManusDomine is going to be running an oMage game. Ish. It's sort of a Traditions game but we're using the Aberrant 2.0 rules by @MJ12 Commando as a baseline? Having never actually gotten to play oMage, or oWoD, or Aberrant old or new, this is beyond my full appreciation. But nonetheless.
My character is Esperanza Wu, a Hermetic mage, member of House Solificati, who was once a moderately wealthy businessperson until she began to see all her worldly possessions as things holding her back from some kind of true understanding she could not yet understand. She got big into martial arts, began seeing the honing of the body and the soul and the balance thereof as the only things that truly mattered in this world, and gathered a number of material belongings she saw as representing her worldly tethers - and melted them down into an Asura's Wrath-style "angry boddhisatva" statue.
Then she had someone transfer her soul into that statue, and she Awakened.
Esperanza Wu's Paradigm is "I am a literal bronze statue and an alchemical crucible." She's a practitioner of internal alchemy, and her body is an actual crucible in which she burns magical reagents to induce change in her body, or in the world around her through her breath or touch.
So she has a custom 10-point Enhancement representing being a Literal Living Statue. And she has flaws to match it. Life magic doesn't affect her, Matter does, and she does not heal naturally anymore but can literally solder her wounds close. And her punch has stats slightly superior to that of a sniper rifle, and her natural soak is about equivalent to full plate armor. Also the magical effect that diguises her features as being flesh-and-blood is... Imperfect, and she went overboard on the artificial beauty of said features.
She also has five points of Permanent Paradox. Oops.
I am terribly glad of my character concept, and in its honor I will thereby answer MJ12's Three Questions:
Of course, that is assuming Esperanza has a case of the smarts. She's just the kind of person who might decide to go Trinity on the cops breaking down her door.
So, @ManusDomine is going to be running an oMage game. Ish. It's sort of a Traditions game but we're using the Aberrant 2.0 rules by @MJ12 Commando as a baseline? Having never actually gotten to play oMage, or oWoD, or Aberrant old or new, this is beyond my full appreciation. But nonetheless.
My character is Esperanza Wu, a Hermetic mage, member of House Solificati, who was once a moderately wealthy businessperson until she began to see all her worldly possessions as things holding her back from some kind of true understanding she could not yet understand. She got big into martial arts, began seeing the honing of the body and the soul and the balance thereof as the only things that truly mattered in this world, and gathered a number of material belongings she saw as representing her worldly tethers - and melted them down into an Asura's Wrath-style "angry boddhisatva" statue.
Then she had someone transfer her soul into that statue, and she Awakened.
Esperanza Wu's Paradigm is "I am a literal bronze statue and an alchemical crucible." She's a practitioner of internal alchemy, and her body is an actual crucible in which she burns magical reagents to induce change in her body, or in the world around her through her breath or touch.
So she has a custom 10-point Enhancement representing being a Literal Living Statue. And she has flaws to match it. Life magic doesn't affect her, Matter does, and she does not heal naturally anymore but can literally solder her wounds close. And her punch has stats slightly superior to that of a sniper rifle, and her natural soak is about equivalent to full plate armor. Also the magical effect that diguises her features as being flesh-and-blood is... Imperfect, and she went overboard on the artificial beauty of said features.
She also has five points of Permanent Paradox. Oops.
I am terribly glad of my character concept, and in its honor I will thereby answer MJ12's Three Questions:
Esperanza swallows a mixture of Edelweiss petals (the flower that grows in the highest heights) and aluminium (a peculiarly light metal), then jumps. The fall hurts, but she survives it, after which she goes on the run. Some hours later, she can be found in a metalworking shop, putting herself back together.
A mixture of mandrake (a plant associated with men condemned to death) and lead (the basest of elements, heavy and earth-bound), which she quickly swallows. When the SWAT team breaks through, they find what is by all appearances the body of a dead woman. Later, she wakes up in the morgue and makes her daring escape.
Of course, that is assuming Esperanza has a case of the smarts. She's just the kind of person who might decide to go Trinity on the cops breaking down her door.
It is a new body, forged of better, more noble materials with the use of Esperanza's enlightened knowledge, and likely using at least one powerful magical artifact melted down to construct it. It is the new vessel of Esperanza's soul, free of the flaws of her first prototype, and her next step on the path to final enlightenment.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Okay, so, let's say I go with this. How would I calculate/convert this kind of thing?
Rank Descriptor Attribute Dots: Attribute Limit: Max. Essence: Numina
1 Squire/Page, Lesser Gaffling 5-8: 5: 10: 1-3
2 Knight, Greater Gaffling 9-14: 7: 15: 3-5
3 Baron, Lesser Jaggling 15-25: 9 20 5-7
4 Count, Greater Jaggling 26-35: 12 25 7-9
5 Marquis, Minor God/Incarna 36-45: 15 50 9-11
The number of Attribute dots is, as you might guess, based on the idea that they only have three Attributes, and so translating it to nine would make most of the beings here sorta...not working? Note, for people who prefer 1e, I'm reasonably sure that this is a part that hasn't changed much. I remember seeing a spirit chart somewhere that was basically the same as this, so.
Also, just to check, is using Attribute+Rank still a good way to do skills if we go with the full-nine spread? Since I *don't* want to give Spirits and other beings Skills. Both because it doesn't fit them, and because it'd create mechanics clashes if I had them. And it does seem to make sense that instead of skills, it'd be, "Is it in their nature? If yes, they can roll Attribute+Rank (or something else if this breaks it) for it, only suffering unskilled penalties for things outside of their baliwick." Which seems like, instead of skills, you'd just list the kinds of things that 'fit' with them. Either way, I just want to make sure I can use this. But yeah, going full-Attributes isn't necessarily a bad thing, since I do have a pretty decent grasp on Attributes. Obviously, I'm going to stick with the nine at the moment, so one reform at a time.
Sorry ahead of time for dropping a big mechanical question and all.
Rank Descriptor Attribute Dots: Attribute Limit: Max. Essence: Numina
1 Squire/Page, Lesser Gaffling 5-8: 5: 10: 1-3
2 Knight, Greater Gaffling 9-14: 7: 15: 3-5
3 Baron, Lesser Jaggling 15-25: 9 20 5-7
4 Count, Greater Jaggling 26-35: 12 25 7-9
5 Marquis, Minor God/Incarna 36-45: 15 50 9-11
The number of Attribute dots is, as you might guess, based on the idea that they only have three Attributes, and so translating it to nine would make most of the beings here sorta...not working? Note, for people who prefer 1e, I'm reasonably sure that this is a part that hasn't changed much. I remember seeing a spirit chart somewhere that was basically the same as this, so.
Also, just to check, is using Attribute+Rank still a good way to do skills if we go with the full-nine spread? Since I *don't* want to give Spirits and other beings Skills. Both because it doesn't fit them, and because it'd create mechanics clashes if I had them. And it does seem to make sense that instead of skills, it'd be, "Is it in their nature? If yes, they can roll Attribute+Rank (or something else if this breaks it) for it, only suffering unskilled penalties for things outside of their baliwick." Which seems like, instead of skills, you'd just list the kinds of things that 'fit' with them. Either way, I just want to make sure I can use this. But yeah, going full-Attributes isn't necessarily a bad thing, since I do have a pretty decent grasp on Attributes. Obviously, I'm going to stick with the nine at the moment, so one reform at a time.
Sorry ahead of time for dropping a big mechanical question and all.
Chehrazad Homebrew: The Crucible of Talos
- Location
- Denmark
- Pronouns
- She/Her
It's custom because I wouldn't use the canon Enhancements system and the Aberrant 2.0 Enhancement system is (as pointed out by @Havocfett) designed for the assumption that everyone are superpowered Quantum demigods and that Enhancements are supposed to give you an edge so that mere mortals can attempt to come closer to the heights of the Novas.
So instead I wrote this thing:
The Crucible of Talos
Named so for the automaton of bronze that once patrolled the island of Crete from pirates, invaders and worse. The automaton was built by the spiritual ancestors of the House of Verditius, and the techniques used to build it continues to serve well in the house that Hermes built. From medieval cataphractii to the devices and tricks of Ancient Rhodes, this reliable design has been improved age upon age with the solid work of crafty Hermetics and even early Daedalans of the Order of Reason in a show of uncharacteristic cooperation and fellow appreciation of the most noble mechanical art. Unlike the soulless machines of the Technocratic Union, the Crucible of Talos is designed to contain the bright soul of a human magus, turning them into a living alchemical crucible.
The Crucible of Talos is a package of Enhancements (10 points) which has the following functions:
- The character deals lethal damage with her unarmed attacks (1 point).
- The character adds four dice to all her damage rolls (2 points).
- The character adds four points of bashing and lethal soak (4 points).
- The character adds two points of aggravated soak (2 points).
- The character can soak lethal with her full Stamina trait (1 point).
You can probably figure out how the point system works if you're familiar with the Revised spellcasting system.
Basically, though it's a heavily modified version which I will post later.
Yes. This is a good thing.
Aberrant 2.0 came out of basically me realizing that no matter what kind of terrible fantasy heartbreaker rules I made
They would be better than what Aberrant actually had.
- Location
- Denmark
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Please continue writing them @MJ12 Commando; they are amazing and also extremely useful in case you need to say, do a Mage game which requires not using the actual cWoD rules.
- Location
- Brittany, France
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Tragically, the part of your terrible fantasy heartbreaker rules that I can't use is the part where I can have 200xp worth of superhuman biomods at chargen, because @ManusDomine is a big meanie
NonSequtur
a body
Well, since we're sharing stuff from the Mage game...
He cuts a shallow gash across his upper chest while recounting the tortures of Saint Agatha. He then walks out of the building slowly and calmly, reciting the Great Litany.
A purple stole, for the purpose of exorcism, which he uses to cast out the demons of ill-will in these men. They find the thought of violence disgusting, and repent.
His own canonization.
ganonso
Compulsive Quest Starter
- Location
- PACA France
Templar?
NonSequtur
a body
Ish? He's Catholic with Hermetic influences. Politically he's technically a Hermetic, but barely.
ganonso
Compulsive Quest Starter
- Location
- PACA France
Yeah, no offense this does not feel hermetic at all, just standard Christian mysticism a bit like the Messianic Voices or the Gabrielites
Bro. Hermeticism is pretty damn Christian. Certainly as historically practiced. John Dee and Newton were both Christians and Hermetics. Invoking angels and saints is totally in scope for Hermetics when you don't just depict them as D&D wizards but actually look at the historical beliefs
NonSequtur
a body
The Hermetic influence is how he views emulation of Saints as an avenue for repeatable miracles, and also because, while it didn't show up in the three questions, a lot of his more offensive practices are basically Christian-flavoured goetic magic from Awakening where he exorcises his own demons and commands them to do something.
Politically he's a Hermetic because we nuked the old Traditions structure and he was found by a Hermetic first, and the game is street level so ideological sorting and politics haven't hit as hard. Also because there are a lot of Christians and Christian practices in the Hermetic order.
ganonso
Compulsive Quest Starter
- Location
- PACA France
Bro, I played Hermetics, I know they are not D&D wizards. I'm more aware Hermeticism fondness of angels than use of saints however.
I blame Crowley for that, Angel and Demon summonings are the most eye-catching thing in his works.
I stand corrected it is proper Hermetic, thanks for the precision.
I take my golden parachute out of my briefcase. It is a literal parachute, painted gold - not made from it. I don the parachute and leap out the window. I have a couple of bruises from the rough landing, but don't let them show, and simply power-walk away, briefcase in hand.
A brown envelope containing banded stacks of non-sequential $50 bills. I calmly hand it to the leader of the SWAT team, who apologizes for the mistake and leads his team out.
A 1979 United States quarter that will always be carried back to me by the chains of commerce, usually within a week. This effect is a double edged sword, as the coin can always be used to track me down. But it also means that no matter where I am, there will be someone willing to buy what I'm selling. This is a useful thing, if you're lost at sea, or on the moon.
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Quantumboost
Now with 50% more dots in Dimensional Science
- Location
- Ensemble Space
This can also backfire entirely without Paradox due to attracting alien moon fairies. Buyer beware.