The Pen & Paper RPG Thread

[Ultimate Houde]

I played a game way back when (about tne years ago) where every character was from a different WoD book.

It went pretty good, but the power scales where way off.

 

[Zombipanda]

I played a game way back when (about tne years ago) where every character was from a different WoD book.

It went pretty good, but the power scales where way off.

See, for me, it's more an issue of theme.

 

[Lynx]

Really? Was your game a motley of different WoD characters? I'm curious about seeing how different games like that are run.

I've always been of the mind where I try to keep groups homogenized to one particular game line, with antagonists sometimes trickling in from other books, but retailored to fit the themes of the game in question.

But I'm interested in seeing how other people pull a more hodge-podge game off.

Easy. You run it like a mortal game. "Dark Mystery" theme. Instead of fear of the unknown, you have fear of what you do know. You know what the supernaturals of the world are capable of. And, if you really want to throw your players off, throw in some eldritch horrors. And then, interspersed with all of that, have personal conflicts. The Vampire needs help controlling his bloodlust which is rapidly spinning out of control, and the local Vampire court has left him for dead. Your Mage is in some kind of trouble with his former master. . .and the Mages of the city are on the master's side. Your Changeling wasn't accepted into the local freehold because her fetch is a person of importance in local government. They band together because they're outcasts of their already secret societies.

The current game I'm running has all of the characters as outcasts or loners from their specific societies, but they were brought together for a purpose. The city (Orlando, in this case) just finished a long and bloody secret war between the Werewolves and the Vampires/Mages of the city. The Werewolves lost and were pushed back to Tampa. The Vampires and Mages are now squabbling over control over the city, but there's a lot more going on behind the scenes. A local and very powerful Hunter wants to find out what exactly is happening without bringing unneeded attention onto himself, so he assembles a group of outcasted Supers to dig deeper, promising to settle all debts and reward them accordingly. And so, they begin to unravel the secrets of the city (And eventually, most of the state of Florida). Just to give an example.

I played a game way back when (about tne years ago) where every character was from a different WoD book.

It went pretty good, but the power scales where way off.

It's not that bad in nWoD, but it can be noticeable. Especially Werewolves, Mages and Prometheans.

 

[Friday]

Really? Was your game a motley of different WoD characters? I'm curious about seeing how different games like that are run.

I've always been of the mind where I try to keep groups homogenized to one particular game line, with antagonists sometimes trickling in from other books, but retailored to fit the themes of the game in question.

But I'm interested in seeing how other people pull a more hodge-podge game off.

The people I'd been playing with had been doing it for years. They had everything down pat, including the political landscape of Pittsburgh and the surrounding regions into who controlled what.

As for people working together, that was a disaster. It was pretty much kill or be killed inside the party. The first session we had, starting as a Wild West Werewolf game that eventually got the character transported into the present ended with one of the old hats killing everyone but my character and a friend of mines. and we weren't wise on it, we just got lucky.

...my poor Shadow Lord. He went crazy after all that... and some else. In fact most of my characters ended up insane... huh.

As for power level problems they were few. Most of the games have abilities that can be used to hose out the others. You just needed to look for them and start building your characters to play with the other games.

Oh, and no one was from Changeling.

 

[Ultimate Houde]

I was in a Mage game that was intense way back when. One person in the game was a werewolf, we didn't find out till the end, when he was forced to transform due to story circumstances.

But the story was insane, the person did a great job with it. My character was some sort of angel hybrid, who was manufactured by the Technocracy to hunt down and kill the Anti-Christ. I overrid my programs, and ended up protecting teh Anti-Christ, took on the rest of my team and kick their asses only to be killed by the one of us who was a werewolf.

That bastard.

But yeah, it was a great game.

 

[Zombipanda]

So, all this roleplaying talk and that thread mole posted up has me chomping at the bit to revive one of my old WoD games, forum-style.

Would anyone be interested in rocking a casual, forum-based, dice-light or dice-absent game? For instance....

Werewolf: The Apocalypse Now (five players)
with a unit of werewolves dropped into the jungle in the midst of the jungle to recover a Silver Fang golden boy who's become corrupted by a Wyrm spirit? The team would have to contend with both werewolf and international politics, the local "Beast Courts" of SE Asia, and the elite paramilitary unit that surrounds the corrupted general.

or....

Changeling: Runaways (6-7 players)
Where (using a dramatically revised version of Changeling), a group of kids find out that they're the manifestations of mythical archetypes, and their parents are near-godly creatures with their minds set on conquest of LA?

They'd be rules light, with revised systems, accessible to people who aren't really familiar with the games in question.

Is a forum game something we feasibly have an audience for?

 

[Zombipanda]

I just got an e-copy of Adventure!

I don't normally read RPG stuff anymore, but this game is awesome.

And Warren Ellis apparently wrote all the fiction in it.

 

[Friday]

I picked up the D&D 4th Edition Players Handbook last week in anticipation of Living Realms. I grew up playing in Second Edition Forgotten Realms and loved it so I'm really hoping LR doesn't suck.

Please don't suck.

 

[Lynx]

I picked up the D&D 4th Edition Players Handbook last week in anticipation of Living Realms. I grew up playing in Second Edition Forgotten Realms and loved it so I'm really hoping LR doesn't suck.

Please don't suck.

Tell me how it is. I'm really curious. . .

Recently, I started a Vampire game. The mixed game wound up being a disaster, so I figured I'd stick to the basics. It's going pretty damn well, so far.

Also picking up the new Hunter this week. It looks badass. It also revealed that the next WoD game is called Geist, which looks to be some sort of Ghost game.

 

[AnTwan]

I am really happy with how Fourth Edition turned out. It seems to be a great system, and as a DM I am so excited for school to start so I can get cracking with it.

 

[Friday]

Tell me how it is. I'm really curious. . .

Recently, I started a Vampire game. The mixed game wound up being a disaster, so I figured I'd stick to the basics. It's going pretty damn well, so far.

Also picking up the new Hunter this week. It looks badass. It also revealed that the next WoD game is called Geist, which looks to be some sort of Ghost game.

So far the system is fine but the quests are extremely linear and fairly repetitive.

 

[Grocer Man]

I tried to get into this, but failed.

Of course, the fact that I could find no one to play with other then my dad might have something to do with it.

 

[Friday]

We've decided that the Living Realms campaigns are too boring and will be trying Champions next week. I will be playing a John Constantine-esq character, but using tech instead of magic.

We also have a Lawyer who was turned into a plant and a tank of a modified human.

 

[Ultimate Houde]

Just started up a new D&D game, using 3.5 rules.

The theme is Hard Times, all the characters are basically out for themselves. I'm the most decent, with a Neutral Good rating, though I'm more like Dirty Harry than a true Neutral good character. Then we have a Neutral, Neutral Chaotic, Lawful Evil, and a Neutral Evil.

We are so going to kill each other. It's going to be awesome.

 

[Friday]

So we've been playing Champions based off the early Marvel Universe. Everything was fairly on track until Kang showed up. He completely out classed us until I got a lucky roll on a mind control and told Kang that somewhere other than America was the seat of power in the world of the time. Do I think ahead and send him to Latveria? Do I send him to Wakanda where they have a shot at matching his tech? Do I send him to some *** backwords nation that doesn't have a pot to piss in? Nope. I send him to Russia. The Black Widow has alread screwed us over twice. :?