Author Topic: Tabletop Game Thread  (Read 63309 times)

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Offline Vypernight

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Re: Tabletop Game Thread
« Reply #60 on: April 08, 2015, 12:55:44 pm »
Okay, I'll bite.  How does a character die during character generation, and in what game? 

I mean, I've had characters slaughtered on the very first dungeon tile, but during generation?  I can't wait to hear (read) this!
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Offline Askold

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Re: Tabletop Game Thread
« Reply #61 on: April 08, 2015, 01:38:29 pm »
In the Traveller and 2300AD rulesets (Twilight 2000/2013 as well) the character is created by first rolling their stats and then setting them to a career. Or several careers. And you can't just decide to become a Marine or Merchant, you have to roll against a stat to see if you are qualified to join. Similarly during the career (which you progress in 4 year "terms") you roll for survival in the career and failure in that will have your character lose his job and may injure him and have their stats reduced permanently (unless they pay a hefty medical bill) and aging past the prime also forces the characters to check if their stats degrade due to old age. You can end the character creation at any point you wish, before it is too late, but continuing it longer and playing an older character means more skills, money and gear.

Though the injuries are rare. Most results from failing the survival roll will only have you lose your job and may even raise a random skill or add a new rival.  Having a stat reduced to zero will end the characters life before the character creation is over. (Twilight is slightly different but choosing a military/police career can cause characters to lose limbs permanently even before the game starts. Which is an issue in a rather realistic game without magic or bionics. First time I played an RPG game had one of the characters lose a foot during character creation.)

And the main incentive for playing old characters is that the writers HATED characters learning new skills or improving their old ones during the game. Those are really hard to achieve and skills and stats are more likely to go down than up during the game. So, risking the character before the game starts is lesser risk than starting with a "weak" character and wasting time on them.


...And apparently the older Traveller system was even more brutal and death was quite common during character creation. With the latest system it is only an issue if you play by "Ironman mode" which means that failing any survival roll will kill the character rather than simply have him lose his job and face a random penalty.

Mainly the problems for failing the survival rolls (like I did repeatedly) is that the character will be deep in debt due to medical bills and has less skill points than the more successful characters despite being old.
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Offline Second Coming of Madman

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Re: Tabletop Game Thread
« Reply #62 on: April 08, 2015, 06:53:21 pm »
Yes, that is a giant Plasma Cannon on a building. Your MEQs and vehicles can all start shitting red into orbit now.

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Offline Cloud3514

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Re: Tabletop Game Thread
« Reply #63 on: April 08, 2015, 07:24:43 pm »
Eh, it's still S7. My infantry, on the other hand, is shitting themselves now.
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Offline Random Gal

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Re: Tabletop Game Thread
« Reply #64 on: April 08, 2015, 11:52:33 pm »
Well, at least you didn't die in character generation- always hated whenever that happened.

Reminds me of that one gag RPG called "A Dragon Eats You," where all rolls are 1d6, and on every 1 a dragon eats you. Including the stat rolls during character creation.

Offline Cloud3514

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Re: Tabletop Game Thread
« Reply #65 on: April 09, 2015, 01:37:30 am »
With my dice I'd be getting eaten a lot in that game.
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Offline Vypernight

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Re: Tabletop Game Thread
« Reply #66 on: April 09, 2015, 06:15:51 am »
In the Traveller and 2300AD rulesets (Twilight 2000/2013 as well) the character is created by first rolling their stats and then setting them to a career. Or several careers. And you can't just decide to become a Marine or Merchant, you have to roll against a stat to see if you are qualified to join. Similarly during the career (which you progress in 4 year "terms") you roll for survival in the career and failure in that will have your character lose his job and may injure him and have their stats reduced permanently (unless they pay a hefty medical bill) and aging past the prime also forces the characters to check if their stats degrade due to old age. You can end the character creation at any point you wish, before it is too late, but continuing it longer and playing an older character means more skills, money and gear.

Though the injuries are rare. Most results from failing the survival roll will only have you lose your job and may even raise a random skill or add a new rival.  Having a stat reduced to zero will end the characters life before the character creation is over. (Twilight is slightly different but choosing a military/police career can cause characters to lose limbs permanently even before the game starts. Which is an issue in a rather realistic game without magic or bionics. First time I played an RPG game had one of the characters lose a foot during character creation.)

And the main incentive for playing old characters is that the writers HATED characters learning new skills or improving their old ones during the game. Those are really hard to achieve and skills and stats are more likely to go down than up during the game. So, risking the character before the game starts is lesser risk than starting with a "weak" character and wasting time on them.


...And apparently the older Traveller system was even more brutal and death was quite common during character creation. With the latest system it is only an issue if you play by "Ironman mode" which means that failing any survival roll will kill the character rather than simply have him lose his job and face a random penalty.

Mainly the problems for failing the survival rolls (like I did repeatedly) is that the character will be deep in debt due to medical bills and has less skill points than the more successful characters despite being old.

Wow, harsh.  "I just spent a half hour creating my character.  i'm ready to take on the galaxy!"  *Fails Survival roll before adventure even starts*  "$%%#%^&%^##%%!"

I used to pride myself as a DM/GM because, in all the years I've run games (and I'll admit I can be an evil DM/GM at times!), only 1 character has ever died, and he was killed post-adventure by another character.

Then I started playing Two Hour Dungeon Crawl and Nuts (WWII) and watched in shock as my characters were mauled left and right.  And the since games were played solo, I have no one to blame but myself, and the dice.  In fact, I'm blaming the dice more so.  That's the only explanation I have for a low-level goblin single-handedly slaughtering 3 of my teams.
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Offline Askold

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Re: Tabletop Game Thread
« Reply #67 on: April 10, 2015, 03:14:32 pm »
Honestly, I like games where characters can die. Even when I have grown attached to a character I would rather have him/her die in the RPG if that is where the rolls (and all associated mistakes) lead the character than have a game where the GM creates a deus ex machina just to prevent deaths.

And now for comparison... The stats of my character in 2300AD:
Strenght: 5 (Dice Modifier -1) Negative strength modifier means that he gets recoil penalties even from weapons that DO NOT HAVE recoil!
Dexterity: 10 (DM +1)
Endurance: 9 (DM +1)
Intellegence: 10 (DM +1)
Education: 8 (DM +0)
Social: 7 (DM +0) (The equivalent of Charisma and also the character's social standing. 12 or more makes them nobility.)
Three of his stats went up during the character creation as bonuses from careers.

Meanwhile my friends character:
Strenght: 6 (DM 0)
Dexterity: 12 (DM +2)
Endurance: 13 (DM +2)
Intellegence: 13 (DM +2)
Education: 12 (DM +2)
Social: 15 (DM +3)

Note that most of these stats have grown during the character creation as 12 was the highest you can get from rolling. Social, for example rises with every promotion from the "Noble" career.

If nothing else at least my character knows a lot about deception and has several contacts that he can call for assistance. I'm trying to make him the "Face guy" in the team.
No matter what happens, no matter what my last words may end up being, I want everyone to claim that they were:
"If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."
Aww, you guys rock. :)  I feel the love... and the pitchforks and torches.  Tingly!

Offline Second Coming of Madman

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Re: Tabletop Game Thread
« Reply #68 on: April 15, 2015, 08:34:50 am »
My god, the new Eldar codex. I'll just let this Dakkadakka thread title sum it up:

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And that's only on Jetbikes. Emperor preserve us, what can stop this scourge?
« Last Edit: April 15, 2015, 08:45:42 am by Second Coming of Madman »
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Offline Cloud3514

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Re: Tabletop Game Thread
« Reply #69 on: April 15, 2015, 02:17:30 pm »
So, on other words, more power creep.
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Offline IanC

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Re: Tabletop Game Thread
« Reply #70 on: April 15, 2015, 02:26:34 pm »
Well it sounds like my most hated unit ever, the Wrathknight is getting turned into a Lord of Ward? Hope so, it is becoming a gargantuan creature at last.

Offline Cloud3514

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Re: Tabletop Game Thread
« Reply #71 on: April 15, 2015, 06:02:16 pm »
I still absolutely fucking hate the idea of Super Heavies, Gargantuan Creatures and D weapons in standard play. 40k is seriously starting to go back to 2nd edition when it was about putting together the right combination of obscure White Dwarf rules to blow up your opponent's force in two turns and I fucking hate that.
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Offline Second Coming of Madman

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Re: Tabletop Game Thread
« Reply #72 on: April 15, 2015, 08:37:20 pm »
33 marines in one turn with a troop choice, goddamn. D-weapons everywhere, goddamn. Wavespam uncorrected, goddamn. STR D weapons fucking everywhere, goddamn!

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Offline IanC

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Re: Tabletop Game Thread
« Reply #73 on: April 16, 2015, 03:13:27 pm »
I only play casually, so ill just refuse to play against Eldar then. Oh well. Shame that I'm going to have to blacklist an army due to bullshit.

(also on the bullshit list, Imperial Knights, well anyone that uses a fucking Titan in a standard game really)

Offline Cloud3514

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Re: Tabletop Game Thread
« Reply #74 on: April 16, 2015, 04:14:22 pm »
Eldar isn't the first, nor do I think they'll be the last we'll see this from. Imperial Guard can bring a Baneblade, Orks have the Morka/Gorkanaut, Khorne Daemonkin have the Lord of Skulls, as well as the aforementioned Wraithknigt and Imperial Knights. We've already got Super Heavies in Codices. I fully expect Tau to get one of their Super Heavy flyers and I would expect Necrons to get their Super Heavies in their next Codex, even if that is likely a few years down the line.

Not to mention that rules are being printed in White Dwarf again, plus the numerous dataslates. It really isn't making me want to keep playing this game.
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