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Post by WildKnight on Jan 28, 2015 10:58:05 GMT -5
This is still far, far back in the "idea" stage, but I'm working on putting together some rules for a Star Wars game that I'd really like to run. murpg.proboards.com/thread/19577/star-wars-ideas(In case you can't tell, a basic element of my philosophy here is that since the MURPG system doesn't really offer any way to make "normal" characters equivalent to "powered" characters, I'm instead focusing on making Force Use very expensive so that a player who wants to go that route will have to actively choose the role over initially more powerful options). Aside from just poking around about general interest, I'm looking for ideas for a few things. First, how to make non-Force Users more dynamic (so that they don't all end up being the same mix of RC, CC, Social Skills, & Vehicle), and also ideas on how to keep vehicle combat simple, but make it feel like it actually matters because, y'know... Star Wars w/o ships is kind of meh. |
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Post by Gris on Jan 28, 2015 18:10:51 GMT -5
Aside from just poking around about general interest, I'm looking for ideas for a few things. First, how to make non-Force Users more dynamic (so that they don't all end up being the same mix of RC, CC, Social Skills, & Vehicle), and also ideas on how to keep vehicle combat simple, but make it feel like it actually matters because, y'know... Star Wars w/o ships is kind of meh. The way I see it and how my friends played it, Star Wars works pretty nice when you play it somewhat close to the adventure feel of 7th Sea (if I'm not mistaken you know and like that game). What I mean with this doesn't extend just to the general adventuring thing, it has also its kind of mirror on the rules issues you are having. 7th Sea already made the magic crazy expensive and powerful (and in the reach of few people ingame) not unlike that approach to the Force you are talking about. That made me thing that maybe (just maybe) some of the other kind of approach could be also translated to a Star Wars game with the MURPG system. Well, I don't think that a version of the Swashbuckling Schools have a real place on Star Wars, but maybe creating bigger combat actions with different advantages to pick from (for both RC and CC) not unlike a Master of Elements could maybe spice things up. 7th Sea also had a billion of "Civil Skills" and it was near impossible having them all. Maybe splitting Social Skills, Black Ops and Thieving (to enumerate the most common ones) into more than three actions would allow the characters to differentiate. That or giving more weight to the specialties, don't know. 7th Sea (to keep using it as frame of reference) didn't have much of ship fight rules (and the ones it had were pretty terrible, adding more noise than story to the game) but I always found entertaining and interesting (in the games that it was important) to create, add (dis)advantages and name the ship itself. Maybe we didn't roll for it much, but it felt ours and mattered. Don't know if all of this has been of any help, but I hope that you got at least some spark of an idea to solve those issues. |
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Post by Pope Mega Force on Jan 31, 2015 0:15:26 GMT -5
Glad to see people still wanting to run Star Wars games. I have to complicate the simplicity. Rather than having a dozen actions or one all powerful action, you've narrowed down what Force Users can do and consolidated in a really intelligent way. The only thing I would like to see done differently is style. And please take this with a grain of salt. I imagine not everyone would agree with this. But bringing in the different forms for lightsaber combat could avoid exactly what you were saying with everyone being a basic combination of a few actions. I also can't agree with Gris more with the ships. Focusing on what the ship itself is capable of and simply using the pilot's vehicle operations skill as his/her ability to access those capabilities would more likely set the vehicles in a better light. Some time ago, someone started a Star Wars game (I think it was browwiw) and he actually did a pretty good job of making sure people's skill sets were varied. He gave the scenario/setting and what he expected and then chose the characters based on that. As a result, we had a politician, a clone soldier, a Jedi padawan, a mercenary (I think), and maybe another person or two. It was a while ago so my memory is fuzzy. At any rate, while I would definitely encourage ways to introduce variety, I wouldn't stress it too much. Variation in skills will come about by what players want their characters to be. Again, Gris was right here. Put the emphasis on specialty and the manner by which a character approaches something. A soldier responds to an ambush in a radically different manner than a politician would to give an extreme example. All that said, I'll be keeping an eye out for when you actually post the recruitment for the game.  |
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Post by WildKnight on Jan 31, 2015 15:03:29 GMT -5
Glad to see people still wanting to run Star Wars games. I have to complicate the simplicity. Rather than having a dozen actions or one all powerful action, you've narrowed down what Force Users can do and consolidated in a really intelligent way. The only thing I would like to see done differently is style. And please take this with a grain of salt. I imagine not everyone would agree with this. But bringing in the different forms for lightsaber combat could avoid exactly what you were saying with everyone being a basic combination of a few actions. I get what you're saying, but I have two issues with the "lightsaber forms." First, and foremost, introducing them means giving more advantages to force using characters, when a huge part of my intended purpose is to avoid the "force users are the best and most interesting characters in the game" mentality that most Star Wars RPGs seem to have. I never want to leave a player feeling like they wanted to do a different concept, but weren't interested in being outshined by the obviously superior force users. Second, it violates one of my most basic RPG principles... keep it simple. |
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Post by Pope Mega Force on Jan 31, 2015 15:47:57 GMT -5
Thus me leading with the simplicity compliment and the secondary grain of salt comment. Really am looking forward to what you put together. |
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Post by WildKnight on Jan 31, 2015 17:17:53 GMT -5
Thanks both of you. I'm interested to see what I come up with too... because I'm really drawing a blank.
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Post by shazam on Jan 31, 2015 20:29:50 GMT -5
Thanks both of you. I'm interested to see what I come up with too... because I'm really drawing a blank. You can always "liberate" a module from the SW D6 system. |
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Post by WildKnight on Jan 31, 2015 22:49:51 GMT -5
Thanks both of you. I'm interested to see what I come up with too... because I'm really drawing a blank. You can always "liberate" a module from the SW D6 system. I have no lack of story ideas. Its the system that stymies me. I won't deny that the old D6 material is a huge part of my inspiration for and love of Star Wars though 8) |
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Post by Rinjo on Feb 4, 2015 14:50:48 GMT -5
I think something akin to what Dionin and I came up with for our D&D system would be cool.
Give "action points" to certain actions which would represent unique ability. For example a Tera's Kasi zabrak would get action points to close combat they could use to buy advantages each panel.
Perhaps smugglers get a discount on a "ninja" action that combines black ops and ranged combat"
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Post by Rinjo on Feb 4, 2015 14:52:31 GMT -5
Are you familiar with the rule set I'm talking about?
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Post by WildKnight on Feb 4, 2015 14:54:59 GMT -5
Are you familiar with the rule set I'm talking about? No, but again, it sounds like it runs really counter to my desire to avoid complicating the system, and I REALLY dislike the idea of creating de facto character classes. |
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Post by roxolid on Feb 10, 2015 9:02:06 GMT -5
Are you familiar with the rule set I'm talking about? No, but again, it sounds like it runs really counter to my desire to avoid complicating the system, and I REALLY dislike the idea of creating de facto character classes. It would be simple enough to cook up your own system with bits borrowed from others. 1) Choose mechanic for success. Dice? Ok, which type, how many, what is the target number to beat. No dice? Ok, energy stones? Do they add to stat/skill/power or multiply? Energy recovers... how? Fixed (MURPG) or Random (much better imho) 2) Is combat fast and deadly or cinematic? That determines how much damage (Cinematic = higher HP or lower weapon damage, Deadly = lower hp/higher damage/critical hits) 3) Skills. Do they increase rolls like a stat does, or do they give you extra dice to pick from (Roll and keep, so if you say roll 3D6 for task resolution and have Skill Blasters +1D you roll 4D6 and pick 3 dice, discarding the other) 4) Powers/Abilities. Are they one shot, require powering (energy points/hit points/their own separate pool or a roll for success) Balance is the tricky thing I reckon. A jedi up close with a lightsaber is going to give a non jedi nightmares. Even then, an aware Jedi can hold off attacks from a distance with them pesky glowrods, but that is the only way of blunting the close up threat. In a Star Wars game Jedi vs non Jedi is the hardest thing to juggle. 5) Ship combat. Generally you can leave capital ships to go at it. They won't blow the other up for a while. Starfighter combat should come down to. Stats/Skills/Ship Type/Luck/Support from others/Crazy Maneuver. Take a number from those categories and roll a bunch of dice. Highest wins and inflicts damage on the loser. 6) Other races/robots. Should be a simple matter of establishing a baseline (Humans all stats=2 for example, or ability Bonus 0) and working up/down from there. 7) Character Classes? I dislike them too. What happens if the Jedi is a great pilot? The Smuggler also a brilliant diplomat? Funnelling down one path sets characters into a rut they can't or find hard to get out of. Forget classes go action based. If you need to, have a lifepath system (like Traveller) to explain how the character go to that point in time. Example: Roll 1D6 1) You are from a backwater planet, grew up a farmer looking up at the stars then getting on with digging in the dirt. +1 Endurance for hard work, +1 will for wanting to better yourself 2) Born of a well to do family your education and breeding marked you for great things. That other people wanted for you, not you. The Rebellion interests you, and pisses your overbearing father off, so you sign up. Intelligence +1, Charisma +1. 3) A soldier, tired of endless drilling and soured on politics as you fight in one meaningless war after another. You sign up for the Rebels, because the cause of Freedom is greater than that of slimy politicians lining their pockets. Endurance +1, Blaster Rifle +1D 4) Pilot, though every chance you got to get into a Starfighter was blocked. You know you have the talent, you just need a chance to prove it. The Rebel Alliance needs you, so you sign up. But are you ready for an X Wing? Pilot +1D, Perception +1 5) Smuggler. You have debts coming out of your ears, and every legitimate business you had was ruined by the empire. Now its payback time. You have a ship, and a crippling loan to pay off, but if you can stay just one step ahead... Pilot +1D, Agility +1 6) Jedi Trainee. Order 66 ruined everything. As a frightened youngling you hid as others died. Now 20 years later the force is still with you, but you don't feel worthy. You couldn't do anything when younger, but now? Well, maybe you can. FORCE ABILITIES (Choose one, Control/Sense/Alter and treat as a branch of magic, with each new ability paid for separately. No one said being a Jedi would be easy) and you have a lightsaber - but without training its not an easy thing to use. If anyone fancies cooking up an easy to use play by post specific set of rules with a hotchpotch of ideas from various games, I'm more than happy to pitch in. If using MURPG (or some of it) my current theory is that energy multiplies stats and gets you an action total. Then add skills (value of +1 up) and equipment to that total. Also energy stones determined by dice to keep things unpredictable, and the dice have an explode mechanic to make things go 'leftfield' every once in a while. Example: The young Jedi hid in the forest, knowing stormtroopers were close. The player spends 5 energy on hiding using Agility 4 so 4 x5=20. The character also has Hide skill (+2) that brings the total to 22. The Stormtroopers must exceed the target number of 22 (so get 23 or more). Chances are they won't but they get a bonus from the equipment that shows up heat sources, and there are a lot of them... will they discover our hero?
The GM rolls energy for the stormtroopers. They are searching as a group so get a bonus of their perception scores like a skill (2 each). The highest perception makes the check with a score of 3. 3 Energy is spent, getting up to a total of 9 and +2 from each trooper gets up to a total of 17 (4 other troopers). Then the heat signature thing adds +5... total... 22
The Stormtroopers pause, our hero reaches a thumb for the lightsabre, determined to go down fighting and...
They walk on. They were close, but he breathes a sigh or relief and heads for the crash sight of the downed rebel fighter. |
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