#and also bounties and xp

[lunalunawillow]

Honestly I was about to come back to crk (again) because of White Lily releasing but then I saw what content the update and-

[hypnosiacon-archive]

Went over the board today. Time to add a first German Word into my name hoard. Idk when I will use it, but hey! It's there! Cool!

[cavegirlpoems]

So. Mechanics for this game I'm working on.

Start with a roughly OSR-shaped set of expectations. Classes, levels, XP-for-treasure, hit dice, etc. That gives you a good skeleton for what's here. There's some key differences.

HP is divided into Flesh and Grit. Flesh is your meat points, Grit your not-getting-hit points. Lose Grit first, then flesh. Then when there's no flesh left, take horrible wounds that might disable or kill you.

On death, you have the chance to come back as Undead. Take a level of Creeping Damnation, and switch your nature out to being undead. So long as body and soul are more or less intact, death is a choice to let go, not automatic. It has costs, though - that Damnation.

Speaking Of, Damnation. Creeping Damnation accumulates point-by-point as your soul is eroded. Each point reduces your Grit by 1. Extremely bad news when you've got no Grit left.

The Plague is a thing. It's extremely bad news. Reduce your healing each night (losing HP rather than gaining if its too bad), and your lost HP counts towards your encumbrance. Don't catch the plague, dumbass.

There's a system to track your reputation with various factions in the world. There's a system to track how much of a bounty the Beast's Empire have put on your head. These can fuck you over if you let them get too bad.

You get XP for rescuing people and for killing named, hated enemies. You get XP for treasure, and claiming bounties for capturing/rescuing people.

It's expected that you'll start hiring followers - mercenaries and servants - to accompany you and work for you. What else are you gonna do with all that cash? Long-term, you'll probably invest in building a stronghold somewhere. There's mechanics for pitched battles, for when those soldiers you've hired have to defend that stronghold.

True Names are a thing. Knowing somebody's True Name gives you power over them. In particular, a lot of magic requires the victim's True Name to work, or doesn't let them save to resist it if you use their True Name. You can also invoke it to make magically binding pacts with each other.

While only clerics can create observable miracles, anybody can try praying. A successful prayer does nothing in the game fiction, but can have useful results on the meta-game level, such as nudging random encounter results.

Magic comes in six schools of six spells - Necromancy (dead and undead things), Hypnotism (the mind), Goetia (true names and binding), Transmigration (the soul and the abyss), Alchemy (the elements and materials) and Hermeticism (raw magic and Wizard Shit). Other uncategorised spells are Hedge Magic.

A lot of mechanics - encumbrance, saving throws, shopping, memorising spells, encounters - are present but dramatically streamlined.

Technically it's race + class, but we're ditching the term 'race' and replacing it with 'nature'; it's about your spiritual nature (mortal, demon, undead, etc) rather than your ancestry. Twelve Natures (mortal human, petty demon, mimic, purified one, lycanthrope, ghoul, homunculus, wormwood grotesque, revenant, ghost, soulless waif, vampire). Eight classes (Cleric, Doctor, Knight, Libertine, Outlaw, Professional, Witch, Zealot). Mix and match and add equipment to create characters.

Anyway, I know visuals sell, so have some visuals.

[theresattrpgforthat]

hello! long time fan, second time asker! any fallout/fallout-esque ttrpg recommendations? esp. styled after 1, 2, and new vegas. could be recommendations based on setting, vibe, mechanics - whatever you like :) i did already get after the bombs fell by the illustrious aaron king on your recommendation, and am very excited to play! if you've already answered this kind of ask before, then maybe some recommendations for trigun-esque ttrpgs - i love the setting of trigun, and i think it would lend itself well to an rpg. anyways, thank you so much for all you do, and for opening my eyes to so many fun games! happy adventuring to you!

THEME: Trigun!

Alright so for Fallout games, I think I did a really good job in my Fallout Recommendation Post, and I also reblogged this post a while back that has a few more hits involved. I might also have a few more recs at the end of this post. So I guess what we’re going to try to do today is find some games that would lend themselves to running a Trigun-style game!

I haven’t seen Trigun, so I did some research about it. From what I understand, it’s about Vash, a superpowered outcast who’s being hunted by people for a big bounty, despite his vow to never take another person’s life. The series seems to be an examination about the choice to act or not, and the characters all seemed to be flawed or haunted in one way or another. What’s really interesting to me is that this feels to have a lot of overlap with the themes of Cowboy Bebop, especially since the creators of Trigun appear to be inspired by westerns as well.

With that in mind, I’ve got a lot of space - western ttrpgs here; the settings of all of these can probably be altered to reflect more closely the setting of Trigun, without doing that much harm to the way the rules work.

BXLLET, by Rathayibacter.

The world was broken, a long time ago. We've fought hard to build something better in the aftermath, but we're haunted by the ruins, weapons, and monsters of the past. Will you scratch out a corner of paradise, or will you give in to the temptations of the gun on your hip?

[BXLLET> is a game about systems of violence and power in a world rebuilding itself. As wandering gunslingers, you'll travel the world and do what you can to help the people you encounter. You'll become more powerful the more bullets you carry, but you'll also struggle with the responsibility that power carries with it. Violence will come easily to you, but can you feed crops with rivers of blood?

This game deals with issues of gun violence, exploitation, and apocalypse, and those sensitive to those issues should go into this fully aware. It's not a game for fascists, bigots, capitalists, or their lackeys, and shouldn't be approached from a perspective that boils the complexities of the world into "good guys with guns vs bad guys with guns."

If you want a game that directly tackles the uses of violence and the weight that comes with the decision to kill, I definitely recommend checking out BXLLET. One of the most poignant mechanics of this game revolves around the storage of bullets, and the way your bullet hoard gives you powers. If you spend a bullet, someone will die - you won’t have to roll for it. But if you spend your bullets, you’re also spending your XP. I think it’s very interesting that you only gain the use of special powers if you choose not to spend your killing resource - and by using your bullets to kill, you also lose special, very effective powers.

Even though BXLLET isn’t necessarily a space western, I think it definitely communicates the themes of Trigun in a very interesting way, and I definitely think it’s worth checking out.

Orbital Blues, by Soulmuppet Publishing.

This is the rock and roll future of yesteryear that never was—and nobody wanted.  It is an intergalactic age of cowboys, outlaws and bandits playing on an interstellar stage. It is a time of hyper-capitalism and a cut-throat gig economy. Unreliable trash-heaps carry scrappy underdogs to their next gig, and corporation freighters lumber across the horizon laden with an empire’s bounty. These are the music-fuelled, moon-age daydreams of a rebel space age.  These are your ORBITAL BLUES.

ORBITAL BLUES is a lo-fi space western roleplaying game from SoulMuppet Publishing, written by Sam Sleney & Zachary Cox.  A roleplaying love-letter to off-beat sci-fi, vintage music, and cooperative old-school styled roleplay, Orbital Blues allows you to play out rules-light tabletop adventures in the style of space westerns. Stepping into the shoes of Interstellar Outlaws, players band together to form Crews, and navigate a hard-going, gig-economy living on the fringes of a space-faring society.

Orbital Blues is more in the style of Firefly and Cowboy Bebop, but from what I gather about Trigun, that somewhat sad western feel rings true for that series as well. As sad space cowboys, each of the players chooses a Gambit - a special ability that is special to your character - as well as a Trouble - something that haunts your character, a problem that just won’t go away. Playing into your Trouble grants you a Blues, a measure of how much of your past sins weigh down on you. Should your Blues get too high, you’ll have to confront your Trouble, but this also allows you to spend your Blues like a resource, and at the end of the scene, you can gain new abilities, restore health, or increase a stat by 1.

If you want a game where wrestling with your past and your worries is what fuels your character’s story, you want Orbital Blues.

Clink, by Technical Grimoire Games.

Clink is a tabletop RPG about drifters, the creeds that bring them together, and the history that drives them apart. This game uses coins to tell a story inspired by spaghetti westerns, ronin tales, and shows like Firefly or Supernatural.

Your past is a mystery, but your Creed drives you forward.

Characters begin as rough sketches of the shifty sort you’d see in an old Western or Noir film. They all start as blank slates, their histories unknown. Tell stories about their past and create your character as you play.

You can play Clink in the setting of your choice, but what remains true about the characters is that they are competent, and they drift from place to place. As a group, all of you have the same Creed, a commitment that the group promises to follow - perhaps that they will seek revenge, or that they will never kill someone in their search for peace. Your characters will also have personal Triggers - certain situations or actions that prompt them to do something that puts them and the group in trouble. Your backstory isn’t written at the beginning of the game, but rather unraveled through moments called Flashbacks, which do double duty as exposition as well as the reason why your Drifter is good at roping, shooting, piloting, and more.

Finally, Clink uses coins, two of which are flipped every time you attempt something difficult or dangerous. As long as one of those coins comes up heads, you’ll do alright - but get double tails and your success comes at a cost - a Scar. Scars are dark moments from your part, moments you wish you didn’t have to relive. Gain too many Scars, and your group may splinter, bringing the story to a bitter or sorrowful end.

Dubious Pursuits, by Nested Games.

Dubious Pursuits is a short, PbtA RPG  for 4-6 players about Bounty Hunters in pursuit of their target, emulated stories like Cowboy Bebop. Your pursuit will be propelled not by violence, but by learning personal details about your bounty and what brought them to this point. What will you do when you finally catch up with them? 

Dubious Pursuits credits Cowboy Bebop as a source of inspiration, but I think it has the ability of delivering an emotional story that challenges your players to face the complexities of chasing down someone while learning things about them that might make bringing them to justice harder and harder to do. I don’t own the game so I’m not sure how much control the table has over the truths of the target, but I wonder if it might be possible to use this game to approach a super-powered bounty from the perspective of someone like Meryl Strife.

24BB: The Mud, The Blood, & The Beer by Calvin J’onzz.

You are a sinner. You are wicked. You have taken human life, first in self defense but then because it felt good. You have stolen from those in need, first to survive but then because it was easy. You have treated humans as objects and property because they were less powerful and could not stop you. But now you have stopped doing those things. You are still that person—you still want to do those things—but you are trying on a different approach to life. You have realized a new ethos, and you feel deep camaraderie with any who share it.

A Western. The world presented here aims to reflect the weirdness of Trigun and the energy of The Mandalorian without losing the tension of For a Fistful of Dollars. The gravitas of Clint Eastwood's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly or the schlock of Patrick Swayze's Steel Dawn is optional. 

The rules for MBB are pretty easy to pick up - different size dice that scale up with your skill and a simple threshold of 4 to beat for any given roll - and the setting is minimalistic, allowing you to flavor or fill it as you like. Trigun is listed directly in the series of references for this game, which tells me that you’ll be able to create a character similar to Vash without any trouble.

A unique mechanic to this version of 24XX is your character’s edge. Edge is a meta-resource (that could have a physical manifestation) belonging to your character that can give you a boost when you need it, or that can help you avoid some kind of consequence. Edges are one-use items that are erased when tapped, although they can be gained again during play. You can take an edge when you play into your one redeeming virtue, such as never harming kids, taking others’ burdens, or aiding in forgiveness. The game comes with a whole roll table to inspire your personal edges, and I think these virtues make this game an homage to Trigun more than anything else.

Magitech Space Western, by ApexCity.

Welcome to the Beyond, pard. Beyond what? Beyond hope or help, beyond safety and security. Unfortunately, not beyond the reach of the Law or the Civ, or the ever avaricious Corporations. Beyond just about everything that you’ve been told is necessary to survive, though. But that’s ok. Dust yourself off, pick yourself up, and let’s take a stroll…

Magitech Space Western is a card-based hack of Powered by the Apocalypse, using a standard set of playing cards to determine the outcomes of actions instead of dice. It also includes variants of Poker and Blackjack to abstract player conflict and vehicle action, respectively.

While this game comes from the PbtA design school, the use of cards instead of dice leans into the themes of the genre, asking the players to build their characters according to two card suits of their choice. These card suits represent different aspects of a character’s personality. The staggered successes of PbtA show up here as the values on the cards you draw and play - 7-10 for a mixed success, Jack-Ace for a full success, and a 6 or lower for a a miss. However, since you’re playing from a hand that you might have, you may occasionally get to choose what you play - and playing cards that align with the suits you’ve chosen give you something extra to spend down the road.

Since you’re playing from a deck, you can to some extent plan around what’s already been drawn as you play. I think this might also allow an ebb and flow as you tell the story - a string of bad luck should lead to something good, and a string of good luck means that there’s trouble down the road.

When it comes to setting, you’re all existing in a capitalistic world that ignores the troubles of the marginalized and the backwater folks. Expect to attract trouble from the rich, the powerful, and the desperate - and expect that things are never going to go completely your way.

Other Games I Recommend….

Check out my Post Apocalypstic Community Recommendation Post!

I also did a Nuclear Radiation Recommendation Post a while back.

I’ve got a Space and Stars Recommendation Post that might have some funky settings.

I also have another Space Western Recommendation Post that have some overlap with what you see here, but also have more options!

[shynmighty]

After playing on Amelia Ragefire a bit today, my daughter had this to say: "It was cool to get 6 levels in 13 or 14 minutes!" And she is right. Bless you, double XP event.

The highlight of the day was was watching her pet stand on a corpse "like the littlest bounty hunter! A teeny tiny bounty hunter!"

During most of the battles, my daughter sang a song she made up about mowing the lawn.

Amelia Ragefire is light sided...so far.

My daughter was delighted to see the flirt option. A great deal of giggling was involved.

My daughter was also delighted for Amelia to get her taun taun! This one, she specified, was not going to be named Taun Taunington. It would be named after my husband... "so that when we talk about him Daddy will not know who we're talking about!" Very sneaky.

She is now absorbed with writing a book about Amelia's adventures... my little fanfic author! 🥰

[cincreblog]

My random thoughts on Isekai!Reader in Trigun

Would the food on No Man’s Land taste the same as our food on Earth?

I know the Plants can create practically anything from nothing, but I can’t help but wonder if the food they can create is same as food on Earth or if it tastes more…artificial?

It might just be something the reader notices since they didn’t grow up eating the food the people on No Man’s Land (& perhaps the people pre-Fall) did.

The flavor would be kinda (but also not really) subtle. The food is still good, but there’s just this…odd aftertaste that you can’t seem to describe (and if you tried to explain it to any of the characters, they wouldn’t know what you were talking about XP)

Reader would likely die unless they get taken in by a town or something.

I know this issue can be resolved through plot relevance (since you know, fanfic), but realistically a person from our world wouldn’t survive a day in the desert that is No Man’s Land.

Like we can barely handle it when the temperature goes above 100 degrees on Earth, I can only imagine how hot it gets on NML, especially with two suns.

Idk if evolution/natural selection works that fast, but how the hell did humanity not burn to a crisp over the past 150+ years??

On top of that, would reader even be able to live off of the air there? There’s not a single sliver of vegetation on NML, so how are people breathing? Is there a Plant that’s creating oxygen for the whole planet or is that just a detail Nightow disregarded when he created Trigun?

I feel like people would understand our slang, but it’s so old that they would wonder if we were nuts or something.

(Note I’m basing this off of the Plant twins’ birth year, which is 2455 in the wiki)

For all I know the history of Earth was completely different in Trigun, but for the sake of this question imma say that our time predates the entirety of the story.

I know in my previous Isekai!Reader post I said that the characters wouldn’t understand our memes/slang, but the more I thought about it I think they actually would (kinda).

But since we’re like 4-5 centuries from the past, they would wonder why we’re using language so ancient (assuming memes are even a thing on NML)

What if we switched up how the reader gets isekaied into Trigun?

In all the fics I’ve seen so far, we always die and wake up in the middle of the desert XP

Why not pull an Owl House and have the reader find some kind of portal thingy that brings them to the Trigun universe (mainly thinking Tristamp, but any iteration is fine too)

Also give the reader a different place to appear, like Ship 3! The people there seem like they’d be the safest to approach compared to the rest of NML.

(Also coming from someone with health conditions, I feel like Ship 3 would be the safest location for an Isekai!Reader since they’ll likely have advanced medical equipment that can help treat the reader for anything they may have. I don’t know what the doctors are like on NML, but I feel like they wouldn’t have the technology or medicine that would work

And since reader is (kinda) from the past, people will wonder why they use medicines that either don’t exist or are very, very old.)

You think the reader would end up getting a bounty of their own just by how they talk?

I’ve only just realized how people in our generation  talk about violence and barely bat an eye since people don’t mean what they say (or not most of the time at least).

And considering how trigger happy people in Trigun are, I think the reader would end up getting in a lot of trouble by trying to scare someone off by threatening violence that they aren’t capable of committing.

Like people are struggling to survive in No Man’s Land. If they hear a threat they’re going to take it seriously.

Reader carries a notebook/sketchbook where they write down any kind of unconfirmed lore they learn about while traveling w/ the characters.

When I find something I’m interested in, I intend on becoming nearly an expert on it.

Like I have to know every little detail about the subject, even the stuff that would serve absolutely no purpose other than being interesting.

And I have so many questions about the lore in Trigun. There’s so much we don’t know about the Plants that I really really want to.

But as much as I’d like to list them all here on a whim, that isn’t what this section is about X(

I imagine myself in reader’s shoes; whenever they hear about/find something about the universe that was never confirmed/revealed before, they would jot it down on a page (or maybe on their phone if it works) so that they don’t forget it.

On the off chance they reveal who they really are to the characters, they would write down as much about them & the universe as they can.

(The main cast might become a little concerned with how curious reader is about their lives & the things they experienced)

I feel like reader would have a blast listening to Vash tell stories about his adventures around No Man’s Land (at least the less traumatizing ones 😅)

(Bonus to this one, when reader gets back home, they post about their discoveries online, but since people would think they’re just joking/delusional, they disguise them as merely extremely detailed headcanons.

(This one applies to Tristamp specifically) They’d have to be careful tho, bc when the next season comes out & a majority of (if not all) their “headcanons” end up being canon, people will become suspicious (or just think of reader as some kind of fandom wizard idk))

That’s about all I have for now. If I come up with more, I’ll make another post :P

[sreegs]

Kenshi is the GOTY imo, incredibly engrossing. If you don't know what it is, it's a post-apoc other-world survival game. The gameplay is a combination between Fallout and Rimworld, but the "build a base" part is optional. It's unforgiving and has no quests or goals, like Dwarf Fortress, so the fun comes in what you set out to achieve.

The setting is on an alien planet divided up into regions that are hostile to live in by natural flora and fauna, and also by lack of resources (or only one specific resource in abundance). You have warring major powers and minor factions and their affairs play out with you or not.

There are multiple ways to start, but the recommended start is a solo adventurer at a crossroads town with no governing authority. From there you, do what you want. You start as a weakling so pretty much everything can kill you, however you can scrounge by and scrap with weaklings to get a start. And when you lose a fight, it's not always the end. Many times losing a fight is a way to gain XP in skills that increase your survivability. Losing a limb is just an opportunity to replace it with a better, artificial limb.

From there you can do what you want. You can be a loner and roam from town to town collecting bounties, or stealing things, or trading for money. You can do the same thing but recruit a group to do it with you. You can build a settlement and try to be self-sustaining. You can build a settlement that is an industrial manufacturing base that sells their wares to sustain itself. You can venture into ancient ruins to find old tech from before the apocalypse that you can either use, keep, or sell. Up to you.

It's definitely got a learning curve. It's hard. But if you like Rimworld, Dwarf Fortress, or Fallout (especially the 2D Fallouts but it's got New Vegas vibes as well) then you might like it. Another thing that I personally like about it is its grunge and clunkiness, because its interface makes it feel like a game from the 90s.

Their website is https://lofigames.com/, there's a demo there. They link to Steam but it's also available DRM-free from GOG. (as of this post, August 14, 2023, it's on sale for $14 USD)

[thefirstknife]

I have half the season pass to grind out in under two weeks because I am not feeling Destiny but I Really Want the mermaid ornaments. I've been doing bounties in strikes. Please does anyone know a more efficient xp/time option 🥺 I don't want burnout before new season but I'll be so sad if I don't finish.

Finishing seasonal challenges is a huge boost! If you just want the experience, focus on that: everything else story-wise and all missions and activities are staying after the season ends anyway so you can focus on that later! Doing the seasonal challenges is a big xp boost and there's a lot of them that overlap so you can do a few of time in a single sitting in a playlist.

Braytech website is really neat for this, it lets you track this stuff outside of the game so it's easier to make checklists. You can check all the seasonal challenges on there in the "Weekly" tab and then seasonal challenges. They have them week by week but also by playlist as well so you can organise how to do multiple at once.

Weekly bounties also help, especially if you do them on all three characters. Making sure you do the big weekly ones for all playlists and vendors that have them should help. Also playing in a group with at least one person! This + seasonal challenges should give you a big boost in xp over the next two weeks.

If you end up feeling like it's too much, definitely prioritise not getting burned out. You might feel sad about the ornaments if you don't get them, but it'll be worse if you burn yourself out and then don't even want to play with them once you get them.

Also Bungie please. Let us level our season passes after the season ends. Let us pick which season pass to level and finish those we didn't have time to finish previously. Please please please.

Also if anyone else has any other advice, feel free to share!

[thecreaturecodex]

Tatane

"The Gaunt Man" © deviantArt user "Doomsplosion", accessed at their gallery here

[It's a monster from Easter Island! AKA Rapa Nui, to give it its local name. I discovered this monster on bestiary.us, a Cyrillic website that does a good job of covering a lot of sources obscure in English with... mostly competent Google translate coverage. The stuff about them flying like whirlwinds and courting humans in disguise (very common spirit/fey/otherworldly people behavior) comes from The Mystery of Easter Island, which is conveniently in the public domain.]

Tatane CR 4 NE Monstrous Humanoid This being could be almost human, if not for its skeletal thinness and exaggerated facial features. It wears little clothing, and carries a club and a brace of short spears.

The tatane are human-like creatures notable for their skeletal forms and their mastery over air. Tatanes usually live near beaches on islands, where they get most of their food through fishing and harvesting the other bounties of the sea. In order to reach difficult prizes, or when raiding their neighbors, a tatane can transform into a living whirlwind, although it can only assume this form for short periods. This also helps them to pass through walls and doors, as they can squeeze through tiny cracks.

Most tatanes are evil in nature, believing in a self-centered version of social Darwinism. Weakness is to be punished and strength and cunning rewarded. Their leaders are often divine casters, such as druids or clerics, that exploit their lessers in order to ensure their own comfort and pleasure. A tatane is close enough to humans in appearance that, as long as they wear clothing that hides their ribcages and bony limbs, they can pass as a human. Some tatanes enter human civilization as spies or thieves, and some subset of those fall in love with the culture and stay behind. The children of a human and a tatani are fully human, although they usually are unusually thin and may have an affinity for air magic.

Tatane     CR 4 XP 1,200 NE Medium monstrous humanoid (air) Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +10 Defense AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 Dex, +3 natural) hp 39 (6d10+6) Fort +3, Ref +8, Ref +5 DR 5/bludgeoning Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee masterwork club +9/+4 (1d6+3) or slam +8 (1d6+3) Ranged javelin +9 (1d6+2) Statistics Str 14, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 12 Base Atk +6; CMB +8; CMD 21 Feats Alertness,Flyby Attack,Skill Focus (Survival) Skills Disguise +6,Fly +11 (+19 in elemental form), Perception +10, Sense Motive +3, Stealth +15, Survival +11, Swim +10; Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth Languages Auran, Common SQ elemental form Ecology Environment warm and temperate coasts Organization solitary, pair, band (3-6 plus 0-2 3rd level rangers) or village (7-24 plus 50% noncombatants, 1-8 3rd level rangers and 1 5th level cleric or druid) Treasure standard (masterwork club, 3 javelins, other treasure) Special Abilities Elemental Form (Su) As a standard action, a tatane can transform into a form like that of an air elemental, or revert to its normal form. In elemental form, it gains a fly speed of 50 feet (perfect), and gains immunity to bleed, critical hits and sneak attack. It can also move through cracks and crevices as if under the effect of a gaseous form spell. The tatane loses its damage reduction during this time, and takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls made with manufactured weapons. A tatane can remain as an air elemental for as many minutes as its Hit Dice, and can divide these minutes up as it sees fit.

[terrors-and-tables]

As a way to give this blog some purpose, and give myself something to do, I’ve decided to start writing out my RPG musings in my spare time. I’ve been slowly working on a campaign setting for several years now, and it’s become a little creative space for me to hammer out a hypothetical kitchen sink to throw my fantasy ideas in. I’ll probably end up using it for a Pathfinder game (where I’ll finally get to use Spheres of Power/Might, and maybe even Guile), but I’ve thought about running it with an OSR game as well. Who knows, maybe I’ll run it over several different systems. Without further ado, here’s the first installment!

Post #1: The Ottoguard

This idea was created using Ultimate Engineering, the most recent (and final) Pathfinder product for Spheres of Might from Drop Dead Studios. I contributed a bit to the playtesting and had a great time, and its author spent two years fine tuning it, so if you're interested, go support them and take a look. At the time of writing, it should also be on the SoP wiki any day now.

In the core of the setting, the city of Scalmoor treats scientific advancement like its own fom of magic. They build marvelous contraptions of steel and glass, whether powered by tightly wound clockworks or by burning coal and spewing black smoke. In this city, the law is kept by those with the most money to build the biggest toys, and one such toy is the Ottoguard.

Standing at eight feet tall, an Ottoguard is a hollow sort of mechanical construct, but bears no magic or animating consciousness like a golem. Instead, a trained fighter pilots it, wearing it as a sort of incredibly heavy armor that carries itself. Ottoguards don’t do all of the policing, usually accompanied by a few regular guards who can do things like fit into buildings, move obstacles aside, bully civilians up close and personal, and so on and so forth.

Ottoguard CR 1 XP 400 Human Warrior 3 LN Medium Humanoid (Human) Init +2; Perception +5

Defense

AC 17; Touch 12; Flat-Footed 15; (+2 Dex, +5 Chainmail) 21 HP (3d10+6) Fort +5 Ref +3; Will +3

Offense

Speed 20ft. Space 5ft; Reach 5ft Melee Sap +4 (1d6+1 nonlethal) Ranged Light Crossbow +5 (1d8/19-20) Special Attacks Snag (Swift action, render target battered as melee touch attack)

Statistics

Str 13, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8 Base Atk ; CMB ; CMD ( vs. trip) Feats Extra Combat Feat Skills Craft (Technology) +6, Intimidate +5, Perception +5, Sense Motive +5; Racial Modifiers Languages Common SQ Gear: Mwk Chainmail, Light Crossbow, Longsword, Large Crossbow, MwK Large Sap, Potion of CLW, 8 gold pieces, 13 silver pieces. Martial Tradition: Mechaguard* Martial Talents (2 talents from progression, 1 talent from feat)

Equipment Sphere: Bounty Hunter’s Tools Armor Training Tinker Sphere: Transportation Package Mechanical Arsenal Transportation Mastery Wrestling Sphere: (Constrictor Drawback) Hammerlock Clinch Strike

Those stats above are for if our unlucky Ottoguard pilot is caught… off-guard. They’re there to represent what’s inside the fantastic mech and what he’s trained to do in a fight, particularly specializing in nonlethal capture- even when fully kitted out he’s here to apprehend criminals, not brain them. The crossbows are just for emergencies. So let’s break down what he’s capable of as a third level warrior, namely his talents:

His Equipment Sphere talents are there solely for proficiencies, for the Sap and for medium/heavy armor. The Athletics Sphere lets him run pretty quick (five times his speed in medium armor, at a hundred feet per round)- he won’t be able to outrun most people, but he won’t fall too far behind either. Tinker is much more complex, opening up an entire subsystem, but the bulk of why it’s there is to build and maintain his precious Ottoguard, with Mechanical Arsenal allowing him to outfit it with custom-crafted plate-mail for free, and Transportation Mastery allowing him to make an immersive cockpit that responds to his movements with a complicated array of levers and pulleys. Wrestling is there so that he can tackle a criminal and, if needed, beat them unconscious. It’s alright though, because even if it’s scaled up to be sized for an ogre, a lead rod wrapped in leather will still deal nonlethal damage.

Mechanoid Statistics: 4th level Mechanoid N Large Construct Init +2; Perception +5

Defense AC 24; Touch ; Flat-Footed ; (+9 Full Plate, +1 Dex, -1 size, +5 NA) 27 HP (3d10+12) Fort +5; Ref +3; Will +3 Defensive Abilities ; Immune Construct Traits

Offense

Speed 20ft. Space 10ft; Reach 10ft Melee MwK Large Sap +8 (1d8+5, Nonlethal) Ranged MwK Large Light Crossbow +5 (2d6/19-2) Special Attacks Snag (Swift action, render target battered as melee touch attack)

Statistics

Str 20, Dex 14, Con --, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8 Base Atk +3; CMB +9; CMD 21 Feats -- Skills Perception +5, Sense Motive +5, Intimidate +5; Racial Modifiers SQ 6 Upgrades (Arms, Legs, Cover*, Focused Design (+2 Str), Immersive Cockpit, Armor Slot, Alternate Size) *Free upgrade Gear MwK Large Sap, MwK Light Crossbow,

The Ottoguard, while piloted, can benefit from its pilot’s skills, feats, saving throw bonuses, base attack bonuses, et cetera, while keeping its own physical ability scores, armor class, and better weaponry, while also having its own pool of hit points. The pilot isn’t totally sequestered, however, and some parts of him are still visible, even if they’re behind hatches or a visor, and he may be attacked separately from the Ottoguard- though he benefits from Cover, gaining a +4 bonus to Armor Class.

An Ottoguard isn’t cheap, of course, but by the rules of Ultimate Engineering, Project Materials (for things such as mechanoids) may be acquired freely with time and successful crafting checks (DC 15 for 50 gold worth of material, +50 for each increase of 5, gathered over the course of 4 hours per check), meaning that by carefully sourcing and repurposing parts, the Ottoguard may be constructed from scratch by its pilot for free. This process of assembly and subsequent maintenance are drilled into pilots’ heads from day one. At a cost of 500gp for the average Ottoguard (100 per level, +200 for being large size), and about 100gp of Project Materials being acquired per day, this means an Ottoguard can be fully constructed in a week’s time (not counting the weekend of course). If in a proper settlement and in a real emergency, 500 gold pieces can be paid outright to acquire exactly what is needed almost immediately, after which construction of the Ottoguard takes 1 hour. All of this means that while Ottoguards are probably extremely similar on the outside (serving as somewhere between uniforms and police vehicles, they probably should), a pilot knows their machine inside and out, and there may be differences in the internal construction.

Ottoguard Adventure Hooks

1. A pilot’s Ottoguard has been stolen, likely to be reverse engineered by some enterprising criminals.

2. A pilot has been found guilty of illegally modifying his Ottoguard with blades, flame projectors, and stronger leg actuators. After causing several fires and deaths, he’s gone on the run with his new death machine.

3. A chaotic druid has caused trees and vines to grow over all of the city’s Ottoguards overnight, and has ruined the Ottoworks. With the city’s strongest defenders disabled, and Scalmoor’s stingy oligarchy unwilling to fund that many replacements immediately, the city is in shambles!

4. A mad tinker wizard has stolen the blueprints for the Ottoguards, creating one with an integrated Artificial Intelligence. It’s been going on its own patrols, blending in perfectly and disappearing before it can be apprehended. What is its purpose?

*New Martial Tradition

Mechaguard Equipment Sphere: Bounty Hunter’s Tools Armor Training Tinker Sphere: Transportation Package Wrestling Sphere: (Constrictor Drawback) Hammerlock

Inspirations:

FantasyNameGenerators is a wonderful site, and I used it to come up with the name Scalmoor

Appleseed (the 1988 OVA) is what really inspired this idea, bringing that movie's Landmates into a technologically advanced fantasy setting

[comradeboyhalo]

Do u think with the new no enchants agreement the totem is also out? Or maybe blue will go for more totems since they seem to get fairly regularish pillager spawns? Also how do u feel about this agreement cause on one hand if every creator on a meta level agrees and actually sticks to it I can see it but on the other hand I feel like blue keeps nerfing themselves and extending olive branches (only for them to be snapped in half) and this is just another thing… like blue had the obvious advantage with forever spending all day making another xp farm and him and bbh working on armor sets for the team plus blue has mending while red still doesn’t (I think?)… like yea I see their point about it but like blue had a massive advantage in terms of infrastructure that they just gave up? But if it makes all the CCs have more fun then all good I suppose? IM CONFLICTED AAAA

i think with the new bounty system (so more pvp) its ultimately the way its gotta go, and i think the server will be better off. because if they keep enchanted pickaxes, then itll be far less aggravating to make more diamond armor. and maybe we'll see some cooler plays from ccs now!

as for totems: i dont think theyll be banned if golden apples stay. chugging gaps is honestly a better play than stacking up on totems, just because you have to quickswap to the totem and they take up inventory space. imo totems are only really broken when theyre paired with autofill.

it does suck that blue gets nerfed for what they do best (being sweaty nerds) but i also think that they still got good use out of the xp farm and everyone came to this agreement for good reason! it does (hopefully) benefit everyone.

[middletone]

Introduction Post

Spring – Year 1: Week 1 - Week 2 - Week 3 - Week 4

Summer – Year 1: Week 1- Week 2 - Week 3 - Week 4

Current Goals:

Fast-track Blue Chickens

Fishing Level 10

Weekly Summary: Provide for the land and the land provides; Leander has made great strides in building all but one of his skills! The Valley is so peaceful that we have had no need to take up the sword... for now. Now, Leander spends most of his days gathering the land's many bounties (why do so few in the Valley appreciate Salmonberries; I'm with you Linus); we even found a hat for dear Steve at the end of a rainbow.

Great progress has also been made in befriending the townspeople, even with the more prickly occupants of Pelican Town. Leander was able to mediate and help settle a sisterly dispute between Haley & Emily. Shane, too, has warmed up to our Farmer; sharing a drink with Leander by the forest pond.

The town's resident chicken-whisperer appears to be having a hard time, however. It was difficult for Leander to find Shane passed out in his bedroom and speak so candidly of giving up after waking; the pain it caused him when he realized he had scared poor Jas... and all on his birthday.

This man needs someone who will support him and Leander will make sure Shane knows that he has at least one friend in his corner, blue chickens be damned.

Daily summary & donation checklists under the cut; mod list in the Introduction post.

Day 15:

Bad luck today

Spent the day foraging, collecting lumber, and gathering Salmonberries

Day 16:

Spent the day foraging, collecting lumber, and gathering Salmonberries

Found and read Mining Monthly; gained Mining XP

Egg for Shane

Completed Shane’s 2 Heart Event

Forgot to buy & plant cauliflower on today, the final day to plant cauliflower harvestable BEFORE the end of Spring

Hit Foraging level 4 & Mining level 2

Day 17:

Found a rainbow with a Pot o’ Gold near Hat Mouse; promptly put the Leprechaun hat on Steve

Spent the day foraging, collecting lumber, and gathering Salmonberries

Pierre’s is CLOSED. ON. WEDNESDAYS.

Bought & planted Cauliflower from Joja Mart

Made donations to the Museum & Community Center

Day 18:

Bought & applied Speed-Gro to the cauliflower; they will now be harvestable Spring 27

Completed the Morris Joja Coupon cutscene

Bought the Large Pack backpack upgrade from Pierre's

Spent the day fishing; treasure: deluxe bait

Cleared some of the farm before heading to bed

Day 19:

Letter from Mom

Nothing good at the Traveling Cart

Gave George a delicious, locally grown potato for him to enjoy

Bought Grass Starter recipe from Pierre’s

Completed Haley’s 2 Heart Event

Spent the day fishing; treasure: geode, deluxe bait

Day 20:

First round of Strawberries; we’re rollin’ in it now, boys

Got Greenhorn achievement

Egg for Shane’s birthday

Completed Shane’s 4 Heart Event; he’s having a rough birthday (lol I didn't realize I had triggered it on his BIRTHDAY until just now)

Spent the morning fising; treause: amethyst, deluxe bait

Spent the afternoon clearing & refreshing level 1 of the Mine

Gathered stone for Robin

Cleared some of Cindersnap Forrest before heading to bed

Hit Farming level 3

Day 21:

Nothing good at the Traveling Cart

Egg for Shane

Spent the day fishing; treasure: magma geodes, rice shoots, Amphibian Fossil, fish roe, frozen geodes, iron ore, wood

Hit Farming level 4 & Fishing level 9

Donations:

Community Center - Crafts Room 1/6:

4/4 Spring Foraging: Wild Horseradish, Daffodil, Leek, Spring Onion

0/3 Summer Foraging: Grape, Spice Berry, Sweet Pea

0/4 Fall Foraging: Common Mushroom, Wild Plum, Hazelnut, Blackberry

0/4 Winter Foraging: Crystal Fruit, Snow Yam, Crocus, Holly

1/5 Exotic Foraging: Coconut, Cactus Fruit, Cave Carrot, Red Mushroom, Purple Mushroom, Maple Syrup, Oak Resin, Pine Tar, Morel

2/3 Forest: Moss (10), Fiber (200), Maple Seed (10)

Community Center - Pantry 1/6:

4/4 Spring Crops: Parsnip, Green Bean, Cauliflower, Potato

0/4 Summer Crops: Hot Pepper, Blueberry, Melon, Summer Squash

0/4 Fall Crops: Corn, Eggplant, Pumpkin, Yam

0/1 Rare Crops: Ancient Fruit, Sweet Gem Berry

2/4 Garden: Tulip, Summer Spangle, Fairy Rose, Blue Jazz, Sunflower

0/4 Brewer’s: Mead, Wine, Juice, Pale Ale, Green Tea

Community Center - Fish Tank 0/6:

2/4 River Fish: Sunfish, Catfish, Shad, Tiger Trout

3/4 Lake Fish: Largemouth Bass, Carp, Bullhead, Sturgeon

1/4 Ocean Fish: Sardine, Tuna, Red Snapper, Tilapia

2/3 Night Fishing: Walleye, Bream, Eel

2/5 Crab Pot: Lobster, Crayfish, Crab, Cockle, Mussel, Shrimp, Snail, Periwinkle, Oyster, Clam

0/2 Master Fisher’s: Lava Eel, Scorpion Carp, Octopus, Blobfish

Community Center - Boiler Room 0/3:

0/4 Geologist’s: Quartz, Earth Crystal, Frozen Tear, Fire Quartz

0/5 Treasure Hunter’s: Amethyst, Topaz, Emerald, Diamond, Ruby, Aquamarine

0/3 Engineer’s: Iridium Ore, Battery Pack, Refined Quartz (5)

Museum - Artifacts 7/42:

Dwarf Scroll I, Dwarf Scroll II, Dwarf Scroll III, Dwarf Scroll IV, Chipped Amphora, Arrowhead, Ancient Doll, Elvish Jewelry, Chewing Stick, Ornamental Fan, Dinosaur Egg, Rare Disc, Ancient Sword, Rusty Spoon, Rusty Spur, Rusty Cog, Chicken Statue, Ancient Seed, Prehistoric Tool, Dried Starfish, Anchor, Glass Shards, Bone Flute, Prehistoric Handaxe, Dwarvish Helm, Dwarf Gadget, Ancient Drum, Golden Mask, Golden Relic, Strange Doll, Prehistoric Scapula, Prehistoric Tibia, Prehistoric Skull, Skeletal Hand, Prehistoric Rib, Prehistoric Vertebra, Skeletal Tail, Nautilus Fossil, Amphibian Fossil, Palm Fossil, Trilobite

Museum – Minerals 5/53:

Emerald, Aquamarine, Ruby, Amethyst, Topaz, Jade, Diamond, Prismatic Shard, Quartz, Fire Quartz, Frozen Tear, Earth Crystal, Alamite, Bixite, Baryte, Aerinite, Calcite, Dolomite, Esperite, Fluorapatite, Geminite, Helvite, Jamborite, Jagoite, Kyanite, Lunarite, Malachite, Neptunite, Lemon Stone, Nekoite, Orpiment, Petrified Slime, Thunder Egg, Pyrite, Ocean Stone, Ghost Crystal, Tigerseye, Jasper, Opal, Fire Opal, Celestine, Marble, Sandstone, Granite, Basalt, Limestone, Soapstone, Hematite, Mudstone, Obsidian, Slate, Fairy Stone, Star Shards

[darkcloud-kcalifornia]

Okay, saw the first episode of Konosuba season 3, and I had a question pop into my head. One that involves stuff the show hasn’t gotten to yet, so here’s a break for spoilers.

So… that mallet was new. And given how Chris made a beeline straight for the thing, that was definitely a Cheat Item. Which in turn at least implies that dead body belonged to another isekai hero (though it’s possible they weren’t the original owner). So assuming that’s the case, Kazuma just solo’d a monster that took out an isekai hero. Which leads me to my question:

How much XP did that boy just gain?! Also kinda wondering what the bounty on it was if the Guild wanted it dead and was passing out warnings.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Mint Reviews: Huckleberry

This is a review for Huckleberry, a Wyrd West RPG by Steven Alexander. I received a copy of the Early Access version of the game in exchange for a review.

Huckleberry is a game about the dark and weird parts of a fictional Wild West, in which gunslingers and outlaws roam freely, supernatural creatures haunt the desert, and gold is earned through feats of derring-do.

The Setting

The game begins with a legend that appears to be inspired by Navajo mythology, including a reference to the myth of Spider Woman and a world that exists beneath ours, closed 30 years ago forever to the inhabitants of the Fifth World, which appears to be the setting of the book. There is a supernatural force of nature called the Wyrd, touching everything around it and corrupting it. This dangerous element of the surrounding environment has made living difficult and dangerous, with palatable drinking water hard to come by, hoarded by water barons.

Your characters are occult bounty hunters called Mavericks, earning a living (and access to Cool Water) through hunting supernatural monsters. Because of the pervasiveness of the Wyrd, you characters might also be touched by the supernatural, giving them special abilities that help them survive in the harshness of the desert.

The Rules

Huckleberry uses a combination of dice and cards to represent obstacles and conflict resolution, as well as a player resource called Aces. The dice vary in size, and will increase or decrease to represent competency or difficulty. The cards are primarily used to determine the kind of challenge will face the player, but the suits of the deck are also thematically tied to character abilities, as well as potential effects from attacks coming from monsters.

Similar to what you might find in traditional roleplaying games, Huckleberry expects players to make both skill checks and attribute saves, representing a game that’s about combat and conflict with the world around you. Your character will have skills and attributes that can be mixed and combined however you like, reminiscent of the way you combine two stats in Chronicles of Darkness to give you a dice pool. Your character will also have a Wyrd die, a d10 that can be optionally reduced in size to re-roll checks or saves.

Additionally, characters have the ability to earn Aces, tokens or some other physical counter that can be spent in order to Sweeten the Pot (improving a potential success) or Sleeve the Ace (saved for later). A Sleeved Ace can be spent to add positive modifiers to your rolls, thus increasing your chances of success. Most of the time, in order to gain an Ace, your character will need to play according to type, but Aces can also be gained as bonuses when using certain abilities or special items.

Your character is built out of Attributes and Skills, but also a series of Traits that tell us something about their relationship to the occult, their personality, and their job. You also start with a special piece of equipment called a Big Iron, which is a legendary weapon with special abilities. You can modify your Big Iron over time, giving it mechanical bonuses that make them easier or more efficient to use, typically in combat. Your non-weapon items are represented by Kit, which is a limited inventory meant to represent the scarcity of the world you live in, and your wealth is abstracted to Wyrd-touched Chips, which also double as your XP.

The Gameplay

Huckleberry moves between two phases of the game, called Drives and Pastimes. Drives are investigative and action-heavy phases, often missions that the players will choose and then have to finish in order to get paid. Pastimes are moments of downtime, where players can heal and pursue advancements for both themselves and the town that they build as their home base.

One unique element of Huckleberry is the way the card deck is used in the Drive phase, especially during combat. When it is time for the GM to respond to the actions of the players, they do something called Ante Up, which involves drawing a card from the deck. The suit on the drawn card determines something about the upcoming obstacle, and also defines associated Attribute required for the challenge. Face cards are especially lethal, reflecting a consequence inflicted by the word. The Ace & Joker cards represent a moment of reprieve, with the Wyrd acting in the character’s favor, and dealing each player a Sleeved Ace or an increase to their Wyrd die.

Sensitivity

Thematically, the setting plays up the tropes of Western fiction while including specific references to groups of people who live in the areas that are often referenced in these events. This includes the Hopi, the Diné/Navajo, the Nʉmʉnʉʉ/Comanche, and the Gáuigú/Kiowa peoples. There are references in the book to creatures and imagery that may have originated in these people’s mythologies, although I think that many of the common names have been changed or replaced with autonyms in an effort to respect the people who claim these stories. I’m personally impressed that the author has made an effort to recognize the authority and autonomy of the peoples whose stories have often been mangled or poorly represented by Western media.

I do not know if the author is Indigenous nor, do I know if they have hired a sensitivity reader for the indigenous themes in this book; a sensitivity editor is named, although the specific areas that the editor was responsible for are not made clear. The book does come with a land acknowledgement of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band of Popeloutchom, where I assume the author resides, as well as a public acknowledgement of the harm the mythologizing of the American West has done to indigenous peoples and other people of colour. I’m not Indigenous myself, so I’m curious about how some of the subject matter within the book would be received by members of the Hopi and Diné tribes.

Summary

Huckleberry embraces the harshness and fickleness of the setting by using a randomizer like a card deck to determine the specific challenges and benefits that come the players’ way, while still ensuring that at some point, the players will come across a challenge that suits them. The book gives the reader a taste for the setting and then moves on to explaining how to play and how to build a character, leaving plenty of the story-crafting up to the group.

The playing cards are exceptionally thematic, as are the mechanical terms used to describe different actions in the book, such as Ante Up, Sweeten the Pot, and Sleeving an Ace. Combat is definitely the most fleshed-out part of the book, with various kinds of injuries and ailments that can negatively affect your character’s skills and abilities, and a drawn-out health track represented by Scars. I can see a lot of similarities between this game and Blades in the Dark, such as the phases of the game, the Deal with the Devil (free healing at the cost of agreeing to a bargain), and forcibly retiring your character should they take too many Scars.

That being said, I don’t think this a Forged in the Dark game in the slightest. The different dice sizes feel more akin to 24XX and the Wyrd die reminds me of the Plot Die in Rotted Capes. This game feels like the designer has taken some of his favourite pieces of various different games and combined them to deliver a Wild West experience that embraces unique, dynamic characters and dangerous bouts of conflict.

Pros

The game understands and resonates with much of it’s source material, and knows exactly what kind of experience it wants to deliver. Fans of the Wyrd West will probably find a lot to like about this game.

The game provides structure in the phases of play, which I find can make it more approachable to players who don’t know where to start. A straight-forward mission/downtime cycle can give the group a good idea of where the story is going next.

The Sleeved Aces give the players a unique resource to help them give them a better chance at rolls that mean a lot to them.

The card-drawing mechanic in conflicts changes the role of the GM a little bit; they are less of a movie director and more of a game facilitator. Adding a form of chance when it comes to determining what exactly is challenging the players means that the GM doesn’t have to plan quite as much, and also reinforces the wildness of the Wyrd.

Cons

There’s a lot to keep track of. The consequences that can be inflicted upon your characters all work slightly differently, and there’s different categories. I'm slightly worried that a lot of play time might be eaten up by having to reference the book multiple times to look up different ailments and how they affect your character.

The unique language also requires some acclimation to a new system, which (to be fair) is a common struggle for someone picking up a new game, but I found myself having to re-read special mechanics more than once to understand what they were used for.

My biggest struggle has to do with understanding a specific ruling in the part that talks about Sixes & Sevens, which is meant to be the combat part of play. Sixes & Sevens is meant to make the game-play feel “cinematic” and therefore is meant to streamline combat. However, in Ailments & Inflictions, the writer recommends that the game should remain in Sixes and Sevens while the Mavericks still have life-threatening ailments. I’m curious as to how you would narrate a play-by-play of someone struggling with an illness and still keep the gameplay ‘cinematic”.

If you want a game that demonstrates a lot of love for the Weird West genre, you enjoy games that can beat your character up a little bit, and you like the thrill of not knowing what’s coming up next, then you might like Huckleberry.

You can check out the early access version of Huckleberry on DrivethruRPG.

[fizzycarbon]

Expanding on my previous post

This AU is a fantasy world. Basically where monsters exist and you gotta fight them off for loot and that stuff.

You start off as a playable character which is Souichi. In one timeline, you start out as his child self where he's a low level mage. You later work your way up to becoming a sorcerer by taking quests from his grandmother, casting beginner curses, etc. Timeline skips and you get a cutscene where his grandmother mysteriously disappears. He doesn't know how or why, but he demands to know why. Souichi then begins to work his way up the magic ladder. You control him as he fights demonic monsters, takes on more tougher quests, etc. Although he is stronger than before, he isn't fine with just himself (which he doesn't like) so these are the defeated characters that become unlocked as members of your team!

Some gore ahead

Chizumi's character:

She's a little demon that Souichi stumbles upon in a forest. He was there to perform some practice but got found by Chizumi, and boy was she hungry.

She's not a high level boss. Mostly considering that she's the first soon-to-be playable character added to your team.

Skills:

Maul

She's more hands on compared to Souichi. She can lunge at the enemy and maul them to death which gives her XP to which her other skills get unlocked.

Teleportation

This makes her boss fight to be a pain in the ass. Not because she's strong, but because she keeps teleporting which makes it take longer than necessary to defeat her. She can only teleport small distances in battles. Nothing crazy like the next town over.

Strength

I need like- something else other than Maul as her defense, so why not have her grip strength to be crazy enough that she's able to snap bones?

Cutscene:

Chizumi is sitting in the living room of an abandoned house she and Souichi broke into to look for loot. A low level demon was spawned, but she easily lunged at it with the right timing, and distraction from Souichi. She sits on the floor, she snaps the arms, and eats the flesh.

Souichi walks in, coming from the basement where he found a bag of gold coins.

"Gross.." He says, as Chizumi aggressively makes a mess.

End

The two travel together, occasionally fight and banter, get along, and stuff as they set trail. They both enter a town and decide to take on a bounty. This 'Pretty Boy' seems to be driving the town folk mad. The reward for him is quite high. Cha-ching! He's located at an empty Intersection which many tourists and wannabe-heros gravitate towards.

Skills:

Hallucination

He can make any species hallucinate into despair. They go absolutely mad. Insane to the point they'll gouge their eyes out. -But! He needs some more XP in the battle to do that. His early XP hallucinations make the player see several of him which 'Pretty Boy' blends into, making it harder to strike him.

Possesion

This is coming from his paranormal abilities. For a couple seconds, he can possess a teammate, or you into getting closer to him, which allows him to attack close up. It makes a character do like a zombie walk to him, showing that they aren't controlling their own body.

Fog

A more melee style of attacking yet it also reaches far range. Up close, especially when using 'Hallucination', 'Pretty Boy' can shift the fog that he emits into sword like blades. He does a short wind up motion (warning the player) and can swing his forearm in a motion as to where the fog hits. If it's longer distance, the winding up is slightly longer, and the fog can keep travelling until it hits someone or an object/wall.

Cutscene:

Rain falls heavy, wetting the pages of Souichi's spell book. It's not looking good so far. They are barely reaching halfway on 'Pretty Boy's' health and he's already being rendered useless.

While Chizumi uses her teleport to get closer to maul at him, Souichi stands there, still. Can he feel despair without 'Pretty Boy' using a direct hallucination on him..?

Chizumi gets more injured. Her arm is heavily wounded, and bleeding heavy. That makes it harder for her to lunge. Refusing to be weak, Souichi stretches out his arms, and spread his fingers. The sound of the harsh rain helps him concentrate.

Grandmother used to love the rain.

A purple light starts to flicker at the center of his palms. Squinting his eyes, he aims for the chest of the poltergeist. 'Pretty Boy's' heart begins to glow purple.

Souichi lets go of the breath he was holding which triggered a curse to strike at the heart of the poltergeist. The wind shrieks as his health goes down heavily.

Chizumi flinches, but gains her feral composure quickly. She dashes at 'Pretty Boy', jaw stretching open, ready for a bite.

End

To make possible confusion clear, 'Pretty Boy' takes form of being semi humanlike in the aspect that he has a body. He can just phase in and out, and fog appears around him. If his guard isn't up, then he starts to fade in opaque, showing that he's back to having a penetrable body.

After defeating him, 'Pretty Boy' tags along with them since the town folk had finally managed to put up some talismans to ward him off. The gold coins Chizumi and Souichi were rewarded helped them stay at an Inn for the time being.

Tomie's character:

She's definitely a godlike character. I don't want to have her be such an OP character when playing as her, so she definitely gets a bit nerfed.

Skills:

Cloning

Her clones are one of her skills obviously. She could summon them to fight alongside battles, but when placing one hit, they disappear. Multiple could be summoned at once.

Regeneration

This is like a huge part of her. She can regenerate limbs, but not just the normal amount for a woman, but multiple arms, heads, etc. She becomes this monster form which installs Fear into your characters, making them more vulnerable to ambushes of her clones.

Fear

Her terrifying appearance and aura make the team heighten their fear, causing their vision to be only black a couple feet ahead of them, and making it difficult to see Tomie. Their blocked vision helps her clones take them by surprise and slash at them.

Cutscene:

Souichi can hear his own breathing in his head. He's scared out of his mind as if he were a little child again. He hates that. It's so dark that he can't even see the main body of- what's this damned monsters name?!

He hears the faintest step before he feels the skin on his shoulder blade open. He hisses, clenching his teeth. Whipping his head and body around, he sees nothing.

A pained cry comes from his far left.

Chizumi.

She stumbles into Souichi's view, limping, and gripping her shoulder which has been dislocated.

Running to her aid, he casts a small forcefield around them as he gives her a potion that mends her flesh back together, and snaps her arm back in place.

'Pretty Boy' was across from them, hidden by the Fear around them. He casts a Fog to make the clones stagger.

Sensing a gloomy presence, he slides to the right, narrowly avoiding an attack from a left over clone that snuck up behind him.

Forming the fog he emits into sword blades, 'Pretty Boy' forces them to pierce the body of the replica.

As he runs forward, Tomie comes into view. Her back is turned on him, but the extra heads on her nine foot body spot him and shrill.

Black goopy liquid spreads on the ground, forming more clones.

Chizumi runs up, better than her previous state, and begins to make her way towards Tomie, the main body. Souichi runs opposite to her side. He readies up a curse that will temporarily blind the monster, making her eyes bleed in the process. He shoots out the purple light, successfully causing damage. It buys time for Chizumi to snap the extra arms, and bite at the extra faces.

Tomie's health is low now. They spent too long fighting her that she's one heavy blow away.

'Pretty Boy' casts Hallucination, making the main body scratch at her skin with her claws, furthering her health down bit by bit until she causes her own demise.

Tomie bleeds out into the ground, but it's not log until she is regenerated. It's a disgusting sight to behold. Her bones snap in place, flesh sows itself together, nails grow from her fingertips too fast, and her eyes roll as they get placed correctly.

It's somewhat like Souichi's 'healing' potion.

'Pretty Boy' throws up behind a tree while Chizumi salivates at the blood.

Finally, Souichi's turn for his skill showcase.

Summary: He's a human yet a strong sorcerer. He's practiced since he can remember which gave him an upper hand on starting out early.

Skills:

Heart's Curse

With the palm of his hand, Souichi can link the enemy's heart to his spell. The curse contains of sharp ritual daggers, stabbing into the heart.

'Healing' Potion

From a recipe book his grandmother gifted him. It's a grueling spell in a form of a liquid. Drinking it at a wounded state will heal you, but with a cost. Your injured bones? Snapped back in place. A gash in your leg? Your flesh slowly mends together. In the short aftermath, your body will feel lightweight and sore.

Forcefield

A bubble made of purple glasslike gloss spreads around him. It lasts quite a bit. He can extend it to a degree, place it close, or far.

Thanks for coming to my hyperfixation tedtalk.

[runemyth0]

Fire Red Z, Part 5: Rainbow

Last time, on Fire Red Z! I had just arrived in Cerulean City for the second time (more like tenth) and prepared to head east.

Let’s see what misfortune befell our protagonist on their way through Rock Tunnel...

Route 9 was a breeze, with plenty of trainers to keep my team nice and healthy. We caught a new Rattata, “Spruce“, who immediately got boxed. Spruce will survive, mark my words.

After getting through that maze of rocks, it was off to Route 10, where we caught Sycamore the Spearow (grumble grumble wish it was a Voltorb), then took a nice rest in the conveniently placed pokemon center. After that, it was off to Rock Tunnel. Who needs Flash, anyways?

Banyan the Mankey was caught, placed in the party to level up, then immediately died to a Magnitude 8 Geodude. Banyan is definitely going down in the record books for quickest death.

It was at this point that I realized my team was horrendously underleveled and I had essentially suffered a Cerulean again. But I knew grinding wild pokemon would take forever (and was starting to grind my nerves). Thus, I returned to places I had visited before, to seek out trainers who would be worthy to face me again.

After much searching, I came to the realization that the best XP was right in front of me, in the rocks of Route 9. Me and the trainers, especially that fellow with the two Beedrills, battled for endless days and nights (a long morning). Lotus evolved into Gyadrados and was taught Water Pulse, giving me some relief (and type coverage) for the long trek ahead.

With the team prepared, Wheat was placed at the front, Repels were stocked, and we ventured into Rock Tunnel. We fought out way through with bountiful caution, eventually making it out the other side in one piece. The team had gained some good XP in the tunnel, especially Wheat, putting them in the 26-28 level range (except Wheat, who was level 31).

We stopped in Lavender Town to heal up, then headed to Pokemon Tower to pay our respects to the dearly departed members of our team. Rose, Juniper, Wisteria, and now Banyan. Lost, but never forgotten. While there, we ran into Green, who didn’t disclose his reasons, but was missing his Raticate...

Regardless, we battled, as we always do. Ginger took down Pidgeotto, as usual. Meanwhile, Catnip took out both Kadabra (again) and Exeggcute with Bite. Lotus cleaned up Charmeleon. Gyarados, as it turned out, was tougher than I expected; I lacked any electric moves to take it down quick. Ultimately, Wheat outlasted it.

We headed west from there, as I wasn’t about to go grave-robbing right now, heading onto Route 8 and dealing with its deluge of trainers. Also, the rarely seen pure poison types they carried! We almost had a Growlithe, but it Roared and got away. Not wanting to lose my second chance at a Growlithe, we pushed on through Route 7 to Celadon City.

As trainers, there’s only one place we’re interested in, above department stores and slot machines: the gym! Willow was raring to go as we entered, but I had a bad feeling.

A good chunk of my team was underleveled for the strongest pokemon I’d be facing and I wasn’t bringing any fodder or backup like another flying type or a fire type. Had I gotten that Growlithe, you’d better believe I’d have ground the heck out of it in prep.

But Willow Wing Attacked his way through all the gym trainers, one and two shotting everything he came in conflict with. I don’t even think he took damage before we faced Erika.

The bad feeling came back as we stood across the room from Erika, as if she was daring me to come at her with my overconfidence. Two of her three pokemon had access to poison moves, which made me worry more, since Willow had a bad track record when it comes to fighting grass/poison types. He always ends up poisoned if they get a chance to pull off a turn.

I put on Wildfire and said “Fuck it!” and challenged her.

I really don’t know why I was so worried. Willow had gotten a bunch of levels from fighting the rest of the gym, which meant all three of Erika’s team were two shot by his Wing Attacks. All he took in return was a couple hits of Acid, which barely bothered him. Rainbow Badge acquired!

Now that that’s taken care of, I hear there’s shopping and video games in this town! I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to at least check it out...

I wonder what all these Rocket grunts are doing in town, anyways?