Whereas the early 20th century saw Vampires being a horrifying personfication of anti-semitism, the late 20th and 21st century have made vampires cool. Vampire: the Requiem gives you the chance to play one of these bloodsucking monsters.
This is pretty much the perrenial World of Darkness game and chances are if you've heard of WoD, you've heard of Vampire. Vampire is a great game for anyone who loves Byzantine politics. The setup of Vampire puts you in the middle of a society in the shadows where numerous factions and shaky alliances bid for power.
In many ways, being a vampire sucks. They're vulnerable to many things, including sunlight, fire, their own blood and various forms of fear. They are, by far, the weakest of the supernaturals. Still, playing one is a bit of a blast and I for one love the political machinations of a Requiem game.
Randomly determining what my character is going to be will be rather difficult, considering this is essentially a point-based system with few random elements, so I've decided to do it this way. I'm rolling 1d6 to determine which of my ability (phsyical, mental and social) categories are primary and flipping between the remaining two to decide which of the remaining two are seconday and tertiary. Same goes for skills. My clan and covenant will be decided by a d6 roll (with a 6 on clan being rolled again). For virtue and vice, there's a fantastic section of the Ordo Dracul covenant book (I highly recommend it) that uses tarot cards to determine every single combination.
Okay, so I roll my two d6. My first comes up a 1, making my character part of Clan Daeva. Daeva are the beautiful monsters of the vampire world, compelling, yet ruled by their dark vices and passions. They can win a person over with their aura of powers (majesty) and can kick quite a bit of ass with their physical disciplines (celerity and vigor). They lose willpower every time they have an oppurtunity to indulge in their vice but don't. My second d6 also comes up a 1, making my character a member of the Carthian movement. Carthians are the revolutionaries of vampire society, struggling for a non-fuedal government (democracy or republicanism is the usual, but there are a number of fascist carthians). They have a large support network to draw form as well.
For my abilities, they've come up mental, physical, social in that order. My guy is pretty brainy and fit, but not amazingly social. Odd for a Daeva, but we'll go with it. For skills, I've got Physical, Mental and Social. So my guy is quite focused on physical ability and has a few mental skills, not too much in the social department. Interesting.
Finally, my virtue and vice. Using an internet card reading with the present card (makes sense after all), I get the Judgement card, making his virtue Justice and his Vice Pride. This guy has very little doubt about his actions, clearly.
Okay, I think I've pieced something together. Roseanne O'Donnel was once a Police Officer, the kind who throws themselves into their work, to be the best she can be, rarely socialising or "wasting her time". Her sire died before he had time to explain why exactly he embraced her, so she's fallen in with the Carthians, in this city some militaristic jackboot types that believe the current system of vampiric government is decadent and soft. Only hard order backed with military discipline can ensure vampire society doesn't collapse on itself and Roseanne has become a fierce supporter of the cause.
Roseanne O'Donnel, Carthian Soldier
Clan: Daeva
Covenant: Carthian Movement
Embrace: 2007
Apparent Age: Late 20s, early 30s
Mental: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 3
Physcial: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3
Social: Presence 2, Manipulation 1, Composure 3
Mental Skills: Investigation 3, Medicene 2 (forensics), Politics 2
Physical Skills: Athletics (chases) 4, Brawl 2, Firearms 3, Larceny 1, Stealth 1
Social Skills: Intimidate (staredown) 3, Streetwise 1
Merits: Contacts (law enforcement), Mentor 2, Haven (Size 1, Security 2) 3, Status (Carthian movement) 1
Willpower: 6
Humanity:7
Virtue: Justice
Vice: Wrath
Health: 8
Initiative: 6
Defense: 3
Speed: 11
Blood Potency: 1
Disciplines: Vigor 1, Celerity 2
Vitae/per turn: 10/1
Roseanne here is fairly suited for combat, with her decent physical abilities, skills and disciplines. Fortunately, daeva are just as good at being combat machines as they are social maniuplators. However, she's also pretty good at investigative scenarios, in both casing a crime scene, following up leads and interrogating witnesses. She's also held on to her own apartment as a haven when the sun rises and thanks to a superior officer in her covenant, has some pull within the Carthians as well.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
World of Darkness
Okay, the next phase of our journey is White Wolf's World of Darkness. WoD is probably the most well known RPG, or set of rpgs next to DnD and caters to all your horror needs. The basic background of the setting is placed in our world, except a bit 'effed up. There's more violent crime, corporations are even greedier, cities are more polluted, the country is dark and creepy and a few more people go missing every year.
Oh, and vampires, werewolves and all manner of horrors lurk in the shadows of society.
Did I mention you're one of them?
WoD is supposed to be a "mature" game where if PCs aren't struggling against a multitude of enemies who want to kill them, or worse, they're struggling against their own dark natures. Of course, plenty of GMs just ignore this and play a guns blazing dark adventure game. Whatever floats your boat, I say.
It's based off D10s, specially a dice pool of them. You roll however many you're supposed to and every one that comes up 8 or better is a success, with 10s being rolled again. Character creation is point based and if you want to be good at anything, you have to sink a lot into it. Fortunately, failing or barely succedding fits right into the tone of the game.
I only possess the second edition or "new" Wold of Darkness stuff, so that's all I'll be making characters for. I'll make one character for each of the six major splats, and possibly a skinchanger if I feel up to it.
Coming up first, the guys every emo kid has ever wanted to be, namely, vampires.
Oh, and vampires, werewolves and all manner of horrors lurk in the shadows of society.
Did I mention you're one of them?
WoD is supposed to be a "mature" game where if PCs aren't struggling against a multitude of enemies who want to kill them, or worse, they're struggling against their own dark natures. Of course, plenty of GMs just ignore this and play a guns blazing dark adventure game. Whatever floats your boat, I say.
It's based off D10s, specially a dice pool of them. You roll however many you're supposed to and every one that comes up 8 or better is a success, with 10s being rolled again. Character creation is point based and if you want to be good at anything, you have to sink a lot into it. Fortunately, failing or barely succedding fits right into the tone of the game.
I only possess the second edition or "new" Wold of Darkness stuff, so that's all I'll be making characters for. I'll make one character for each of the six major splats, and possibly a skinchanger if I feel up to it.
Coming up first, the guys every emo kid has ever wanted to be, namely, vampires.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Character 11: Deathnet
Okay, we've come to the end of our Polyhedron characters with Deathnet, a D20 modern offshoot set in a virtual reality program the characters are all trapped in. Deathnet doesn't really bring much new to the table bar a couple of minor things:
It's one of the few D20 games that uses skills to determine how much damage you do. Apart from that, there's different character classes and it's one of the few games to not have a "pure human" option. Everyone is some form of "race" known in Deathnet as character models which in some cases force your class choices in some way. You start off with four levels, which as I've just mentioned, are generally partially determined by your character model, the rets being up to you. A hacking/programming system is also present which uses the point/day mechanic of D20 modern.
That's about all there is to Deathnet really. Powerups are kind of cool though, there's just something neat about grabbing the equalizer pill to crush spam (yes, spam is a montser in this game and they're really, really, REALLY annoying). It's essentially a quirky spinoff to D20 modern for those who really love cyberworlds.
Well, no tears for Polyhedron, let's get going with rolling:
15, 6, 17, 16, 13, 16
Rolling for my character model I get a Hacker. Hackers gte the hacking skill whihc allows them to do all sorts of fun things . However, they oddly get a penalty to the very skill that is the basis of their hacking abilities as a tardeoff for their bonus to strenght of all things. Strange, no? They're required to take two levels of Programmer to represent their abilities, so I thought I'd make this interesting.
Meet Cassie Walker, aka Blu_AngL. In the real world, she was a wallflower, a geeky teen obsessed with computers. Now that she's stuck in one, she's a little more formidable
Cassie Walker/Blu_AngL:Hacker Programmer 2/Twitch 1/Wargame 1; HD 2d10+1d8+1d10+4; hp 31; Init +3; Spd 30ft; Defense 19, touch 19, flat-footed 16 (+5 class +3 dex); BAB+2, Grap +6; Atk +6 (1d10+4 bludgeoning, fists); FS 5ft/5ft; Reach 5ft; SQ Advanced melee combat, Evasion, Viruscan ; 14 cycles/day AL None; Reputation +1; Svs Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +0; str 18, dex 16, con 13, int 15, wis 4, cha 16
Skills:Combat Code (melee) 7 ranks, Computer Use +7, Disable Device +7 , Engineering +6, Hacking +7, Jump +7 Search +7
Feats:Expert programmer, Improved Defense, Improved Processer Melee Combat code
Blu_AngL here can do a bit of everything. Lucky hp rolls and her ranks in combat code make her a really good hand to hand combatant, while her feats and model make her an excellent hacker which gives her access to a few nifty benefits. Overall not too shabby.
Anyway, that's it for D20! Next stop on the character cration train, World of Darkness!
It's one of the few D20 games that uses skills to determine how much damage you do. Apart from that, there's different character classes and it's one of the few games to not have a "pure human" option. Everyone is some form of "race" known in Deathnet as character models which in some cases force your class choices in some way. You start off with four levels, which as I've just mentioned, are generally partially determined by your character model, the rets being up to you. A hacking/programming system is also present which uses the point/day mechanic of D20 modern.
That's about all there is to Deathnet really. Powerups are kind of cool though, there's just something neat about grabbing the equalizer pill to crush spam (yes, spam is a montser in this game and they're really, really, REALLY annoying). It's essentially a quirky spinoff to D20 modern for those who really love cyberworlds.
Well, no tears for Polyhedron, let's get going with rolling:
15, 6, 17, 16, 13, 16
Rolling for my character model I get a Hacker. Hackers gte the hacking skill whihc allows them to do all sorts of fun things . However, they oddly get a penalty to the very skill that is the basis of their hacking abilities as a tardeoff for their bonus to strenght of all things. Strange, no? They're required to take two levels of Programmer to represent their abilities, so I thought I'd make this interesting.
Meet Cassie Walker, aka Blu_AngL. In the real world, she was a wallflower, a geeky teen obsessed with computers. Now that she's stuck in one, she's a little more formidable
Cassie Walker/Blu_AngL:Hacker Programmer 2/Twitch 1/Wargame 1; HD 2d10+1d8+1d10+4; hp 31; Init +3; Spd 30ft; Defense 19, touch 19, flat-footed 16 (+5 class +3 dex); BAB+2, Grap +6; Atk +6 (1d10+4 bludgeoning, fists); FS 5ft/5ft; Reach 5ft; SQ Advanced melee combat, Evasion, Viruscan ; 14 cycles/day AL None; Reputation +1; Svs Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +0; str 18, dex 16, con 13, int 15, wis 4, cha 16
Skills:Combat Code (melee) 7 ranks, Computer Use +7, Disable Device +7 , Engineering +6, Hacking +7, Jump +7 Search +7
Feats:Expert programmer, Improved Defense, Improved Processer Melee Combat code
Blu_AngL here can do a bit of everything. Lucky hp rolls and her ranks in combat code make her a really good hand to hand combatant, while her feats and model make her an excellent hacker which gives her access to a few nifty benefits. Overall not too shabby.
Anyway, that's it for D20! Next stop on the character cration train, World of Darkness!
Character 10: Hijinx
Up next is a game idea that really tickles my interest even if the implementation is wonky. Today we have Hijinx, a game inspired by those crime-solving musician cartoons like Josey and the Pussycats or Jabberjaws. The game is split into two parts, performing at ggs and solving crimes.
The solving crimes bit is fairly well done (I particularly love the rules for chase scenes in which you can set up an elaborate trap for the villain) but the main drawcard here are the shows the characters play in. Hijinx replaces combat with performances and thus the classes are all different types of musicians. Rather than killing foes, your job is to win over those audience members who are too bored, angry, distracted or jealous of your awesomeness to enjoy your show. Reduce an opponent to 0 "cool points" and you've got a new fan. Get reduced to -10 cool points yourself and you're so bummed out by the haters harshing your mellow you quit the music business.
This all sounds really cool, however there are a few wierd things about it that worry me. The main thing is movement, where you move your focus to hostile audience members. You only have a certain range you can switch focus, but they can do it at will, which seems really unfair. Also, I have no damn idea how flanking is supposed to work in this game. I've looked at it over and over again and it still stumps me every time.
Overall I really do love Hijinx, and it would be great for a one-shot or even a short campaign arc (interestingly, hitting level 10 is the "end-game" of Hijinx, sginifying you've sold a platinum record and made it into the big leagues) but I'd definitely iron out a few kinks. In fact, I'd probably knock out the crime solving part altogether and run it in a more "serious" style. But to each their own.
Time to roll those dice again! My scores are:
10, 11, 16, 8, 15, 14
Okay, next up we have music style, basically the band's genre. There are 6 to choose from, so it turns out my band is a Hip-hop band (*shudder* I'm really not a hip hop fan), giving all the band members a +1 to reflex saves. Then we roll 1d8 (rolling 8s again) for class for whihc we get a Bass player. Bass players have a couple of abilities that allow them to heal other band members, sending good vibes their way, later using their mellow to resist hostile vibes.
Okay, so a bass player for a hip-hop band is a bit odd. However, a bit of tinkering and Leon is ready to set down the rythm for his band Vain Station (yeah, I'm not the best hip-hop band namer, so sue me)
Leon: Bassist1; Init -1; CD 1d8+3; cp 14; Defense 15 (+2 class, +2 wis, +2 threads); Vibe +3 (1d8+3, used bass); Range 15ft,; SQ Good vibes 4/set; Saves Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +4; Str 11, Dex 8, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 15, Cha 14
Skills and Feats Animal Empathy +6, Diplomacy +6, Knowledge (politics) +7, Knowledge (pop culture) +7, Read Lips +6, Spot +6; Songwriter (Political), Too cool
Equipment: Used Bass, Lucky shirt, Fan Club, $80
Leon is a tough guy who would work well in the background of a performance. He can sit there and scout out hostile audience members with his hefty spot bonus and back up bummed out band-members with his good vibes ability. If necessary, he can even take the lead on a song and use his decent Defense, hefty number of cool points and songwriter ability (dude knows his subtext) to both take a hit and dish it out again.
I was tempted to do up the entire Vain station lineup, and perhaps one day I will. Alas, the show must go on and I'll be finishing up the Polyhedron characters with Deathnet next installment.
The solving crimes bit is fairly well done (I particularly love the rules for chase scenes in which you can set up an elaborate trap for the villain) but the main drawcard here are the shows the characters play in. Hijinx replaces combat with performances and thus the classes are all different types of musicians. Rather than killing foes, your job is to win over those audience members who are too bored, angry, distracted or jealous of your awesomeness to enjoy your show. Reduce an opponent to 0 "cool points" and you've got a new fan. Get reduced to -10 cool points yourself and you're so bummed out by the haters harshing your mellow you quit the music business.
This all sounds really cool, however there are a few wierd things about it that worry me. The main thing is movement, where you move your focus to hostile audience members. You only have a certain range you can switch focus, but they can do it at will, which seems really unfair. Also, I have no damn idea how flanking is supposed to work in this game. I've looked at it over and over again and it still stumps me every time.
Overall I really do love Hijinx, and it would be great for a one-shot or even a short campaign arc (interestingly, hitting level 10 is the "end-game" of Hijinx, sginifying you've sold a platinum record and made it into the big leagues) but I'd definitely iron out a few kinks. In fact, I'd probably knock out the crime solving part altogether and run it in a more "serious" style. But to each their own.
Time to roll those dice again! My scores are:
10, 11, 16, 8, 15, 14
Okay, next up we have music style, basically the band's genre. There are 6 to choose from, so it turns out my band is a Hip-hop band (*shudder* I'm really not a hip hop fan), giving all the band members a +1 to reflex saves. Then we roll 1d8 (rolling 8s again) for class for whihc we get a Bass player. Bass players have a couple of abilities that allow them to heal other band members, sending good vibes their way, later using their mellow to resist hostile vibes.
Okay, so a bass player for a hip-hop band is a bit odd. However, a bit of tinkering and Leon is ready to set down the rythm for his band Vain Station (yeah, I'm not the best hip-hop band namer, so sue me)
Leon: Bassist1; Init -1; CD 1d8+3; cp 14; Defense 15 (+2 class, +2 wis, +2 threads); Vibe +3 (1d8+3, used bass); Range 15ft,; SQ Good vibes 4/set; Saves Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +4; Str 11, Dex 8, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 15, Cha 14
Skills and Feats Animal Empathy +6, Diplomacy +6, Knowledge (politics) +7, Knowledge (pop culture) +7, Read Lips +6, Spot +6; Songwriter (Political), Too cool
Equipment: Used Bass, Lucky shirt, Fan Club, $80
Leon is a tough guy who would work well in the background of a performance. He can sit there and scout out hostile audience members with his hefty spot bonus and back up bummed out band-members with his good vibes ability. If necessary, he can even take the lead on a song and use his decent Defense, hefty number of cool points and songwriter ability (dude knows his subtext) to both take a hit and dish it out again.
I was tempted to do up the entire Vain station lineup, and perhaps one day I will. Alas, the show must go on and I'll be finishing up the Polyhedron characters with Deathnet next installment.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Character 9: V for Victory
Okay, so we go back to the Polyhedron magazines with March 2003's V for Victory, which as you might have guessed is an RPG set in Wordl War 2.
There really is not much to say about this game. It's really not that amazingly interesting mechanically and is essentially a cookie-cutter level based D20 game. You get your pre-war background as a substitute for race, your training instead of class. One interesting bit is your specialty, which gives you an area of expertise such as amphibious invasions or mounted warfare. Unfortunately, all it does is give you a bonus feat, so there's really not much to it.
On top of this, I really don't think a level based D20 game captures the grittiness of a WW2 game properly, bar perhaps 1st level, where the tissue paper fortitude of your characters gives the right sense of vulnerability. Honestly, were I to run this, I think I'd tweak the hp a bit so that you absically only got a few hp per level, meaning combat remains dangerous throughout. But really, this is one of the last games I'd run, not because i hate it (it's very rare to find a game I hate) but simply because of it's mediocrity compared to other games covering similar territory.
Anyway, let's get those 4d6 rolling!
12, 8, 14, 14, 12, 8
No heights of brilliance there and a couple of peanlties, but I guess we'll have to see what we can work with. Rolling for pre-war background, it seems my character is a revolutionary with intelligence training
Bit of tinkering around and we have something. Andre Benarious left the small rebel groups of the Spanish Civil war when he found his homeland had been taken over by the Nazis! Fortunately, his espionage and sabotage training will be put to good use!
Andre Benarious
1st level, Intelligence training
Hit Dice: 1d6+1 (7 hp)
Initiative: +1 (dex)
Speed: 30ft
AC:11 (+0 Defense, +1 Dex)
Attacks:+1 Browning High Power pistol
Damage: Browning High Power pistol 1d10
Face/Reach: 5ft by 5ft/5ft
Career Ability: Inspire
Specialties:Combat Engineering
Saves: Fort +1 Ref +1 Will +0
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 6, Cha 16
Skills: Bluff +9, Decipher script +7, Demolitions +9, Diplomacy +4, Disable Device, +4, Gather Information +6, Hide +4, Innuendo +2, Move silently +4, Research +4, Sense Motive +2
Languages: French, English, German, Spanish
Feats: Skill Focus (demolitions) (B), Skill Focus (Decipher script), Skill Focus (Bluff)
Equipment:Forged ID papers, Browning Higher Power Pistol, microcamera, German currency
Yeah, Andre is far better off the battlefield than on. Thus, I put everything into skills, the things intelligence types specialise at. Unfortunately, apart from skills, everything else about him sucks. Ah well, it's not like I'll ever play him anyway.
There really is not much to say about this game. It's really not that amazingly interesting mechanically and is essentially a cookie-cutter level based D20 game. You get your pre-war background as a substitute for race, your training instead of class. One interesting bit is your specialty, which gives you an area of expertise such as amphibious invasions or mounted warfare. Unfortunately, all it does is give you a bonus feat, so there's really not much to it.
On top of this, I really don't think a level based D20 game captures the grittiness of a WW2 game properly, bar perhaps 1st level, where the tissue paper fortitude of your characters gives the right sense of vulnerability. Honestly, were I to run this, I think I'd tweak the hp a bit so that you absically only got a few hp per level, meaning combat remains dangerous throughout. But really, this is one of the last games I'd run, not because i hate it (it's very rare to find a game I hate) but simply because of it's mediocrity compared to other games covering similar territory.
Anyway, let's get those 4d6 rolling!
12, 8, 14, 14, 12, 8
No heights of brilliance there and a couple of peanlties, but I guess we'll have to see what we can work with. Rolling for pre-war background, it seems my character is a revolutionary with intelligence training
Bit of tinkering around and we have something. Andre Benarious left the small rebel groups of the Spanish Civil war when he found his homeland had been taken over by the Nazis! Fortunately, his espionage and sabotage training will be put to good use!
Andre Benarious
1st level, Intelligence training
Hit Dice: 1d6+1 (7 hp)
Initiative: +1 (dex)
Speed: 30ft
AC:11 (+0 Defense, +1 Dex)
Attacks:+1 Browning High Power pistol
Damage: Browning High Power pistol 1d10
Face/Reach: 5ft by 5ft/5ft
Career Ability: Inspire
Specialties:Combat Engineering
Saves: Fort +1 Ref +1 Will +0
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 6, Cha 16
Skills: Bluff +9, Decipher script +7, Demolitions +9, Diplomacy +4, Disable Device, +4, Gather Information +6, Hide +4, Innuendo +2, Move silently +4, Research +4, Sense Motive +2
Languages: French, English, German, Spanish
Feats: Skill Focus (demolitions) (B), Skill Focus (Decipher script), Skill Focus (Bluff)
Equipment:Forged ID papers, Browning Higher Power Pistol, microcamera, German currency
Yeah, Andre is far better off the battlefield than on. Thus, I put everything into skills, the things intelligence types specialise at. Unfortunately, apart from skills, everything else about him sucks. Ah well, it's not like I'll ever play him anyway.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Character 8: Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition
Wow, it's been a while since my last post! However, here I am again, making yet another character. Unfortunately most of my RPG stuff is in my other house (insert long, boring, moving out story here), including my Dungeon magazines, so I'm going to divert our course and skip right ahead to Dungeons and Dragons, 4th edition.
Once again, the cornerstone of the RPG world has undergone an edition change. I could go into great detail about the changes, the incessant bitching of nerds everywhere about how WoTC has ruined their game and how apparently the WoW hordes shall descend upon us like a plague of locusts, thus causing the end of Wester Civilisation itself. But really, that stuff is just boring.
I like 4e. Yes, it's a bit combat focused, but I don't care. If you play D&D, yuo should expect a certain kind of experience, mainly revolving around killing orcs and stealing their pies. Whatever else can be said of 4e, they've made combat fun again. Straight off the bat, your character can take on small hordes with a variety of interesting powers that encourage you to come up with your own flavour. Also, there's a new emphasis on team building, rather than character building, so you no longer have that one guy who basically does the job of the entire party by themselves.
Anyway, let's skip to the character making, shall we?
4e encourages point buy to ensure balanced characters, but I think I'll stick with the random roll method. After rolling 4d6 6 times, dropping the lowest, my results are:
10, 12, 14, 14, 13, 17
Could be better, could be a lot worse. Seems the dice gods are happy that I've returned to this holy quest, but aren't just going to give things to me on a silver platter.
the 4e Player's Handbook has eight races and classes, which made randomly picking what race/class combo a simple matter. After rolling 2d8, it was determined that i create a Human Warlock
Humans in 4e fit far better into their "second best at everything" schtick they were supposed to have in 3 and 3.5, which actually turned out to be "that extra feat just makes us really kickass at everything". There are very few classes humans are bad at and they are really awesome at others, wizards in particular.
Warlocks are possibly the most flavourful class in 4e. You're basically the dude who gives up your soul for some arcane power. There are three pacts to choose from, so in the interests of randomness, I roll 1d6 and it turns out my warlock made a pact with things beyond the stars, aka, is a Star Pact Warlock.
A bit of picking and choosing, and here is what i end up with:
Mayloke, Lady of the Pearl Alignments
Female Human Star Pact Warlock
Strength 10 Constitution 16
Dexterity 12 Intelligence 14
Wisdom 13 Charisma 17
HP 28 Bloodied 14 Surge Value 7 Surges/Day 9
Init: +1
AC: 14
Fortitude 14 Reflex 14 Will 15
Feats: Action Surge, Improved Fate of the Void
Skills: Arcana +7 History +7 Insight +6 Intimidate +8 Religion +7
Equipment: Leather Armour, Rod, Fine Clothing, Silk Rope, 23gp
Powers
At Will: Eldritch Blast, Dire Radiance, Hellish Rebuke
Encounter: Dreadful Word
Daily: Dread Star
Ta da! I'll admit, this character isn't exactly going to be the most powerful, but eh. I envisioned her as the sort of high-class, slightly insane yet incredibly charismatic oracle. She charges high prices for her services!
Stay tuned for the (hopefully soon) return to Paizo characters!
Once again, the cornerstone of the RPG world has undergone an edition change. I could go into great detail about the changes, the incessant bitching of nerds everywhere about how WoTC has ruined their game and how apparently the WoW hordes shall descend upon us like a plague of locusts, thus causing the end of Wester Civilisation itself. But really, that stuff is just boring.
I like 4e. Yes, it's a bit combat focused, but I don't care. If you play D&D, yuo should expect a certain kind of experience, mainly revolving around killing orcs and stealing their pies. Whatever else can be said of 4e, they've made combat fun again. Straight off the bat, your character can take on small hordes with a variety of interesting powers that encourage you to come up with your own flavour. Also, there's a new emphasis on team building, rather than character building, so you no longer have that one guy who basically does the job of the entire party by themselves.
Anyway, let's skip to the character making, shall we?
4e encourages point buy to ensure balanced characters, but I think I'll stick with the random roll method. After rolling 4d6 6 times, dropping the lowest, my results are:
10, 12, 14, 14, 13, 17
Could be better, could be a lot worse. Seems the dice gods are happy that I've returned to this holy quest, but aren't just going to give things to me on a silver platter.
the 4e Player's Handbook has eight races and classes, which made randomly picking what race/class combo a simple matter. After rolling 2d8, it was determined that i create a Human Warlock
Humans in 4e fit far better into their "second best at everything" schtick they were supposed to have in 3 and 3.5, which actually turned out to be "that extra feat just makes us really kickass at everything". There are very few classes humans are bad at and they are really awesome at others, wizards in particular.
Warlocks are possibly the most flavourful class in 4e. You're basically the dude who gives up your soul for some arcane power. There are three pacts to choose from, so in the interests of randomness, I roll 1d6 and it turns out my warlock made a pact with things beyond the stars, aka, is a Star Pact Warlock.
A bit of picking and choosing, and here is what i end up with:
Mayloke, Lady of the Pearl Alignments
Female Human Star Pact Warlock
Strength 10 Constitution 16
Dexterity 12 Intelligence 14
Wisdom 13 Charisma 17
HP 28 Bloodied 14 Surge Value 7 Surges/Day 9
Init: +1
AC: 14
Fortitude 14 Reflex 14 Will 15
Feats: Action Surge, Improved Fate of the Void
Skills: Arcana +7 History +7 Insight +6 Intimidate +8 Religion +7
Equipment: Leather Armour, Rod, Fine Clothing, Silk Rope, 23gp
Powers
At Will: Eldritch Blast, Dire Radiance, Hellish Rebuke
Encounter: Dreadful Word
Daily: Dread Star
Ta da! I'll admit, this character isn't exactly going to be the most powerful, but eh. I envisioned her as the sort of high-class, slightly insane yet incredibly charismatic oracle. She charges high prices for her services!
Stay tuned for the (hopefully soon) return to Paizo characters!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Character 7: Omega World
Name sound a little familiar? There's probably a good reason for that. Omega World is the Polyhedron mini-adaptation of Gamma World, D20's game of crazy mutations and survival in a post-apocalyptic world. It debuted in Polyhedron #153 and unfortunately saw no further expansion, probably due to the fact that it was based on an existing game.
Omega world is great if you love random character generation, thanks to the mutation tables. It's quite possible to create a walking god with almost 50 strength or an armless, clumsy moron with fur who can see in the dark. It's definitely not a game that lends itself well to party balance, but roleplaying a party of freaks as they trek across America could be good for an evening where you've got nothing better to play.
You've got five kinds of character. Pure strain humans are better with tech and start of with more levels but don't get the fun mutations (or defects for that matter). Mutated humans are probably the most common characters while furries, clickies and scalies get ability score adjustments and stock mutations as well as standard mutations.
I rolled 1d6 to determine my race and got a Furry. Furries get the free fur and low-light vision mutations and bonuses to con and dex, though they aren't very intelligent. My ability scores were as follows:
9, 14, 16, 18, 12, 13
Now, let's hit those mutation tables!
Snoople;Furry explorer 2; Medium humaoid (furry); HD2d10+6; hp 24; Init+2; Spd 50ft; AC 17 (touch 12, flat-footed 15); Base Atk +1; Grap +3; Atk +3 melee (3d6+3 vibro blade), +3 ranged (1d6+2 spear); SA telekinesis 5/day (CL 5th); SQ low-light vision, cold resistance 5, extra arm; AL Curious; Svs Fort+13, Ref+3, Wil+4; str 14 dex 14 con 16 int 7 wis 13 cha 16
Skills:Jump+32, Psychic attack+8, Survival+6
Feats:Superior mutation (telekinesis)x2, Relic weapon group proficiency (melee weapons)
Mutations:Amazing fortitude, Extra arm, Fur, Low-light vision, Spring legs, Telekinesis
Defects:Poor respiratory, Sensetivity to fire, Reduced dexterity, Heightened metabolism, Partial actions only
Equipment:Vibro blade, 2 good spears, Leather armour, Small shield, Camping gear, 3 weels rations
Poor Snoople here had better hope any fights he gets into don't last long. He gets fatigued after 5 rounds thanks to his poor respiratory system and can only take partial actions! Fortunately, he's lucky enough to possess a kickass relic weapon, and has the power of telekinesis to back him up!
Omega world is great if you love random character generation, thanks to the mutation tables. It's quite possible to create a walking god with almost 50 strength or an armless, clumsy moron with fur who can see in the dark. It's definitely not a game that lends itself well to party balance, but roleplaying a party of freaks as they trek across America could be good for an evening where you've got nothing better to play.
You've got five kinds of character. Pure strain humans are better with tech and start of with more levels but don't get the fun mutations (or defects for that matter). Mutated humans are probably the most common characters while furries, clickies and scalies get ability score adjustments and stock mutations as well as standard mutations.
I rolled 1d6 to determine my race and got a Furry. Furries get the free fur and low-light vision mutations and bonuses to con and dex, though they aren't very intelligent. My ability scores were as follows:
9, 14, 16, 18, 12, 13
Now, let's hit those mutation tables!
Snoople;Furry explorer 2; Medium humaoid (furry); HD2d10+6; hp 24; Init+2; Spd 50ft; AC 17 (touch 12, flat-footed 15); Base Atk +1; Grap +3; Atk +3 melee (3d6+3 vibro blade), +3 ranged (1d6+2 spear); SA telekinesis 5/day (CL 5th); SQ low-light vision, cold resistance 5, extra arm; AL Curious; Svs Fort+13, Ref+3, Wil+4; str 14 dex 14 con 16 int 7 wis 13 cha 16
Skills:Jump+32, Psychic attack+8, Survival+6
Feats:Superior mutation (telekinesis)x2, Relic weapon group proficiency (melee weapons)
Mutations:Amazing fortitude, Extra arm, Fur, Low-light vision, Spring legs, Telekinesis
Defects:Poor respiratory, Sensetivity to fire, Reduced dexterity, Heightened metabolism, Partial actions only
Equipment:Vibro blade, 2 good spears, Leather armour, Small shield, Camping gear, 3 weels rations
Poor Snoople here had better hope any fights he gets into don't last long. He gets fatigued after 5 rounds thanks to his poor respiratory system and can only take partial actions! Fortunately, he's lucky enough to possess a kickass relic weapon, and has the power of telekinesis to back him up!
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