#science rpg

[science-rpg]

Glassware (Equipable item) (Consumable weapon)

A consumable weapon that generally increases Accuracy and Chemical type damage. Can be equipped by any class but are most proficient in the hands of a Chemist.

By equipping glassware, chemist are able to perform most of their class actions such as titration and compound production.

Allows the use of the glass shatter action regardless of class type. This consumes the item however.

Glass shatter (Physical Attack)

Type: Chemistry BP 5 Distance: 2 Tiles (Varies with cetain items) Singular Target

Research;

None (Requires Glassware Items)

Creates 1 tile of jagged terrain that last 2 turns. You ain't from the Lab if you've never done this before.

[devpalmer]

My game is out now!

re:curse is a surreal RPGmaker horror game inspired by the likes of OFF, Ib, LISA: The Painful RPG and Yume Nikki.

Play as distraction-prone researcher Linda Langley and explore as your laboratory distorts and degrades around you. Send emails. Grapple with your clown infestation. Face consequences. Maybe even survive!

This is a game about...

doors

screens

bitrot

self-fulfilling loops

computer viruses (not real ones)

trans-temporal communication software

gay subtext

surprises

secrets

re:curse was solo developed as a passion project, mostly between 2020-2021. I've returned to it and added the final touches necessary to make a finished game. Bundled with the game is a trove of bonus content for your perusal, including uncompressed source files, concept art, unreleased original music, 3d files, and more. I hope you enjoy!

Download for free on itch.io!

[prokopetz]

Do you ever have a passive gripe with the way trade is represented in medieval/sci-fi/post-apocalyptic fiction? I can't shake the feeling that those are societies that have moved beyond the need for abstract currency - that such forms of trade are more a concession for the viewer to analogize trade to our world instead of offering some kind of unique barter for a world.

A medieval peasant isn't gonna want gold coins for jack because the next trade caravan is two seasons away, they'd much rather a useful tool or some extra fertilizer. Credits in science fiction universes can become worthless due to Future™️ hackers setting their bank accounts to extraordinarily high values, so extra parts for firearms and spaceships are much more useful. Caps in Fallout just make no sense in a world where food and water are few and far between!

I feel unreasonably grumpy about this and I wanted to know if you have any kind of insight to this kind of thing.

There are a couple of only partly related problems here:

1. The idea that the economies of most sci-fi and fantasy settings, as depicted, don't make any sense. This is absolutely true, because most science fiction and fantasy authors don't really think about that sort of thing – their settings only have economies to the extent that the details of those economies are relevant to the plot, which they usually aren't.

2. The idea that it doesn't make sense for currency to exist in these settings because most of them logically ought to have barter economies. The trouble with this assertion is that there's no such thing as a barter economy. Yes, you can describe what one would look like, but no civilisation which has ever actually existed has operated in this fashion. It's a made-up idea – at best, a spherical-cow approximation of how the exchange of goods and services operates in a stateless society, and at worst, complete bullshit.

Consequently, whether or not it makes sense for anything like currency to exist is going to depend on the particulars of how the setting's economy operates (i.e., all the details that that are getting glossed over in point 1, above). About the most we can say in nearly all cases is that we simply don't have enough information about a given fantasy or sci-fi setting's economic structure to know whether it makes sense to have currency or not; we can't just assume in the absence of further details that things will default to a barter economy, because – again – there's no such animal.

[vintagerpg]

There is, I think, no arguing that contemporary genre art has a character distinct from previous decades. I also think that while there are big shifts in aesthetics somewhat aligning with each decade of the 20th century, here in the 21st things have definitely slowed down — I feel like the look of genre art has fossilized somewhat in the last 20 years. I don’t have a good explanation for why. Sometimes I wonder if I’m blinded by nostalgia, and that there really aren’t any obvious objective differences at all.

Worlds Beyond Time: Sci-Fi Art of the 1970s (2023) is a compelling argument, I think, that there ARE definite differences. The book, by Adam Rowe (and spinning out of his social media accounts dedicated to, well, ’70s science fiction art) looks at both artists and thematic categories of art from the period, mostly from paperback covers, and offers commentary and historical context in the text. The result is startling: a body of work by a variety of artists working in their own styles that nevertheless seems visually unified. With the exception of a couple outliers, this stuff all feels of the ’70s. The fact that there are some inclusions from both the ’60s and ’80s makes this even clearer.

I think the most interesting thing about this is how bizarre some of the ’70s art seems to be. A lot of these artists appear to be entirely off the leash, delivering work they WANTED to produce rather than what they were directed to produce (you can see a shift toward clearly pairing the cover art with the content of the book in the later part of the decade). There was also more money in the work, then, so speed wasn’t quite so big a part of the equation as it is now.

And, greater questions of genre art aside, Worlds Beyond Time is still a mesmerizing collection, worthy of your time even if you just want to feed pictures to your eyeballs.

[zhjake]

Michel Ney Lancer comm

[christiansorrell]

Massive TTRPG Bundle: Games for Gaza

Games for Gaza, an Itch megabundle raising funds for Medical Aid for Palestinians, is now live! It features 256 games from 140 creators, including over 190 TTRPGs and 40 video games (and more)! Just a $10 USD minimum!

Check it out HERE!

A Sunless Space, my micro-TTRPG inspired by Andor, is included as are loads more thematically appropriate games of pushing back against the endless encroach of empire.

Other TTRPG highlights (for me): Beam Saber, i'm sorry did you say street magic, The Ground Itself, Anamesis, Monster Care Squad, Cybermetal 2012, and Apocalypse Frame. These are just the bigger/more well known ones, but there's so much variety and lots I'm excited to dig into!

The bundle will be available for a little under two weeks and all proceeds are going directly to Medical Aid for Palestinians. It's been great to have a very, very small part in this and do something, anything, in the face of such reckless hate. Go get it if you can, spread the word, and do whatever you can in your sphere of the influence to aid the cause.

Once again, you can find the bundle HERE.

[joriboltonpainting]

Shadowrun: Final Bets is out today! I can finally share this illustration I was working on last year with the stairwell perspective.

AD: Ian King

©Catalyst Game Labs

[cookiecrumbconundrum]

the pariah // "fuck your idols; we make our own fate"

a webweave for an npc from my sci-campaign who never wanted to be saving the universe but she wasn't going to sit around and wait for some bs chosen one

blythe baird, if my body could speak | kim dorland, night swimming | adrienne rich, planetarium | josé saramago, cain | susie benes, from blood, wings | ocean vuong on earth we're briefly gorgeous | susan smith, wych elm | tory adiksson | becca stadtlander | ask polly | richard siren, war of the foxes | esa/hubble & nasa, m. sun, hubble views an active star-forming galaxy | euripides (tr. anne carson), grief lessons: four plays by euripides | fyodor dostoyevsky, the brothers karamazov | @/inkflowergarden, eclipse | anne carson | mira lightner, when i met you | neon genesis evangelion | tennessee williams, notebooks | amy schmidt, abundance | @/astrono71153462 | fadwa tuqan

[wealmostaneckbeard]

The politics in Lancer the mech pilot TTRPG seems center left to me. A good way to explain what's going on in that game's universe is with this overly long metaphor:

Imagine an alternate history where Nixon somehow beat JFK Jr to the white house, and once in office he lets Kissinger go nuts setting fascists up on an accelerated schedule. That's what Union's Second Committee was like. Then Tricky Dick procedes to nuke Vietnam a couple times. That's the Hercynia Crisis and that FTL Piston weapon launch. JFK and company ride the shock and horror of approaching nuclear war into office on the promise of de-escalation and enforcing civil rights, and they deliver. That's the coup that formed Union's Third Committee. Kissinger, Nixon, and the entire pentagon/raytheon corp take over NASA in Cape Canaveral, Florida where they form a tolerated corporatocracy in exile. That's basically Harrison Armory on the planet Ras Shamra. Now a United liberal-leftist front of America is actively trying to tear down dictatorships around the world that Kissinger set up (he got assassinated at some point in this time line) and replace them with socialist democracies. That is Union's Justice/Human-Rights Department and a few other government branches. So far they've had some success although people are pointing out that it's a bit hypocritical that the liberators are using weapons from corporate conservative states where civil rights are discretely curtailed. That's what's driving political discourse in 5016u in Union's legislative body, the Central Committee and it's myriad political parties.

So yeah Lancer's political intergalactic landscape is a bit like modern day? Except also cthulhu is giving out reality-breaking tech to militant civil rights advocates and random civilians? That's what HORUS basically is, btw.

Now that I've written this out, it would make for a good american alt-history with mechs campaign in Lancer...

[jazz-dude]

Harrison Armory mainly feeds their stormtroopers with nutrient paste. Coming in various flavors, they are often used as a base for sauces for more filling meals.

[peekaboorpg]

Idées de métiers originaux pour vos personnages de rpg

Pour aller au-delà des habituels vendeur·se·s, serveur·se·s, journalistes, écrivain·e·s, tatoueur·se·s et autres métiers que l'on voit régulièrement en forums rpg, je vous ai fait une liste de métiers originaux avec, je trouve, un certain potentiel.

Sage-femme, accoucheur·se

Couturier·e

Cultivateur·ice, fermier·e, pêcheur·se, jardinier·e, vigneron·ne

Éleveur·se

Explorateur·ice

Boucher·e

Humoriste

Chirurgien·ne

Cocher·e

Fléchier·e, arbalétrier·e

Gardien·ne de prison

Majordome

Médecin légiste

Facteur·ice

Conseiller·e funéraire

Souffleur·se de verre

Vitrailliste

Thanatopracteur·ice

Restaurateur·ice de livres

Tailleur·se de pierre

Comédien·ne de doublage

Chauffeur·se de salle

Pilote de voitures, de drones

Ingénieur·e, analyste, technicien·ne

Community manager, rédacteur·ice, conseiller·e en communication

Archéologue

Luthier·e

Taxidermiste

Palefrenier·e, cavalier·e, soigneur·se, maréchal ferrant

Croupier·e

Météorologue

Secrétaire, hôte·sse d'accueil

Comptable

Dentiste, ophtalmo, pharmacien·ne

Marin, baleinier·e, gardien·ne de phare

Vétérinaire

Éditeur·ice, imprimeur·se

Mineur·se

Historien·ne

Cartographe

Apiculteur·ice

Parfumeur·se

Garde-chasse

Acupuncteur·se

Conseiller·e immobilier

Guide touristique

Masseur·se

Pompier·e

Toiletteur·se animalier

Mime

Coiffeur·se

Inspecteur·ice de l'hygiène

et des plus fantasy/médiévaux

Fabricant·e de baguettes

Explorateur·ice

Ménestrel, conteur·se

Fou·Folle du roi

Cartographe

Percepteur·ice

Prophète, chiromancien·ne, cartomancien·ne

Valet

Héraut

Arcaniste

Chasseur·se de sorcières

Griffonier·e

Faux-monnayeur·se

et des plus SF

Animatronicien·ne

Aéronaute

Concepteur·ice de droïdes

Cosmonaute

[science-rpg]

How do subsections of zoology work? Are they elite classes obtainable only by someone with zoology levels? Subcalsses? If so how do you handle further specialization, like an entomologist who specializes in ants?

My gosh so sorry being so late with the reply!

 Like the fool that I am I picked up more projects after making this one and I forgot about this and got lost.

So before I get into zoology, I'm going to try to explain my half baked game mechanics of how skills and classes work. My apologies also if I switch back and forth between terminology, such as Class = Science = Field of study or Discipline = Skills or Skill specialization.

 I also just noticed I put Zoology as a required field for summoning the Salmon Shark, which I don't think really works anymore, I'd rather just use Biology at the moment.

Class Mechanics

What determines classes is mostly skill ratios that effect certain move proficiencies and allow one to change from one class to another.

Units below a certain threshold at the start of the game (say, below lv 10) are classified as students.

 After overcoming a certain threshold (for now say max skill level) for a skill, that skill get added to their skill ratio pool. So for a unit to become a Marine Biologist, you need to reach your max level in Biology & Hydrology.

By maxing out that unit's Hydrology, you become a hydrologist. Following that, maxing out the Biology skill level the unit will get the option to add Biology to their skill ratio and become a Marine Biologist. The cost of which is halving their proficiency in hydrology. 50% Hydrology , 50% Biology. Each specialization equals 100%, as the scientist can only hold onto so much info at a time.

How skill ratios change and how units change class are currently undetermined, but at the moment

 I'd like them to involve battling (debating?) alongside allies and defeating certain enemies like EV's in Pokémon (my main exposure to RPG's are Pokémon, Fire Emblem and Baldur's' Gate so I'm aware how these mechanics are laid out might be scuffed from the norm).

Now onto Zoology and other Biology classes.

The specializations of Zoology are all treated as a equal subsections of Biology (including Zoology itself).

Biologist that study extant, land based macro-organisms don't need specific specializations mostly because creating classes, moves and abilities for a myriad of specific clades don't seem feasible in a video game setting about various kinds of science, although for a Tumblr setting (I might make exceptions here and there because I'm somewhat making this up as I go and forget stuff sometimes.)

So you've got the three "default" biologist that broadly study extant, land based Eukaryotic Phyla.

    Zoologist, Botanist, Mycologist

(I don't really know atm what would determine someone becoming a Zoologist vs Mycologist as they would probably have the same skill ratios as each other).

Power wise they'd ideally be on-par with the more specialised classes, and be more desirable in certain circumstances. The biologist that are more specialized are so because they require more discipline in other fields to study their subjects.

  So to study Marine Biology, you're going to require hydrology since the most of the biology in which that scientist studies is evolved for life engulfed in ocean water.

A Palaeontologist is going to need Geology because they need to know about taphonomy and similar geologic forces.

A microbiologist is going to require more chemistry since the lifeforms they're studying directly interact with molecular forces more often and use similar equipment as chemist.

Theses scientist classes are usually summoners that let said organisms attack or defend or support for their team. (Marine/Paleo/Zoologist = Attack orientated with varying stat spread trends, Botanist = Wall/Defenders, Micro/Mycologist = Passive ongoing support).  These aren't strict rules but are more the general trends for each kind of summon.

And that's about all I got so far. Sorry if this answer is disappointing or confusing.

 Like I've said, things aren't really set in stone and this is just a little side project for fun.  I haven't forgotten about this, I'm just distracted and lazy depressed at the moment and am putting my energy into other things. I'll still be making post on here in the future!

  That being said if you or anyone has got better ideas, want to make your own rules or just go on with your own take on the science rpg idea, that's totally fine with me! I just wanted be a bit creative and get people invested in science in a fun, gamey way!

[andysuriano]

Shreddy or not.. here we come!! Remember to follow @lostcompanyofficial , we might post the full piece...

Kickstarter launching real soon, make sure to follow to get notified!! Link in bio

[blogfanreborn777]

Nameless Land, L'Ordine dei Corrotti by Biagio D'Alessandro

[thehauntedrocket]

Call Of Cthulhu

Beyond The Mountains Of Madness by Charles Engan And Janyce Engan

Chaosium (1999)

Little by little they rose grimly into the western sky; allowing us to witness the various bare, bleak, and blackened summits . . . in the reddish Antarctic lights against the provocative background of iridescent ice-dust clouds. In the whole spectacle there was a persistent, pervasive hint of stupendous secrecy and potential revelation. . . . I could not help feeling that they were evil things - mountains of madness whose farther slopes looked out over some accursed ultimate abyss.

—H. P. Lovecraft

[zhjake]

Hell’s Gate interior for In Golden Flame