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Post by ProfGremlin on Jun 19, 2009 14:03:09 GMT -5
I want to keep the negative Stability makes firearm combat more difficult, but I need to make gun combat easy enough that 1st level characters aren't helpless. I haven't been following all the arcane nuance here so I may be throwing a monkey in the wrench works (hmmm... how many dice does a monkey get when used as a missle weapon?) but why not give characters using firearms a bonus equal to their level. That way it would reflect their growing experience in using the weapon as well as their growing ability to handle/compartmentalize the horrors they deal with. This way a higher level character is more accurate with a weapon and can handle the shock of a gibbering monstrousity better. Just an idea... (Spider Monkey, Ho!) Edit: Ragnorakk, I think your right about the combat styles, even and odd are probably less confusing than alternative levels. If it's an option I would vote for odd levels thus giving a first level character a little bit of a boost before they plateau in their second level and then their training/experience gives them another boost at third level... Ok, I'm putting my monkeys away now.... |
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Post by Toad-Killer-Dog on Jun 19, 2009 14:27:15 GMT -5
Prof. I'll give a thought to the level to firearm proficiency bonus. Apparently they had something similar in the previous Lovecraftian variant.
Right now I'm thinking of either going with a version of the modified 4th edition missile rules or perhaps a more forgiving version of the 5th edition missile rules.
Anybody wants to chuck their 2 cents into the ring on the issue I'm still open to suggestions.
Anyway here is the Coping Mechanism Beta table.
Coping with Stability Loss in Tunnels & Terrors
Heroes in Tunnels & Terrors can regain lost Stability by using Coping Mechanisms chosen during character generation.
Characters may choose their Coping Mechanism from the following table or develop their own with the GM consent.
Each Coping Mechanism is a part of the character and each one has it's own unique advantages & disadvantages. Coping Mechanisms don't exist simply to help characters regain Stability, but to help flesh out their personalities.
Coping Mechanism Table:
Weapon fondling: A trusty gun a steady hand & I'll take on the world. Be it a gun, a knife or a stout hefty stick if I'm armed at least I have a chance. If this character is able to clean, maintain, check or simply find comfort in the presence of their weapons they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However this predilection can lead the character into hasty decisions to keep ahold of their weapons. Also the characters obsessive behavior in regard to weapons will strike many people as a sign of deep psychological problems.
Research: If I can just understand, get a mental grip on the how and why, I can make this make sense. The love of learning the sequestered nooks and all the sweet serenity of books. If the character can take active steps, wether through investigations, book or computer research, or informed speculation they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However the character is consumed with a need to understand that can lead them deeper into danger on their personal quest. Also the character may feel the need to take critical time to understand a problem when action is needed.
Rationalizing: I can explain this, there is a rationale explanation for everything! If the character can construct a mundane explanation for the events that are unsettling them no mater how far fetched they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However this may lead the character to make foolish conclusions and underestimate the true extent of the happenings that they find themselves entangled in.
Drinking: Liquid courage is the order of the day and have a drink on me my friend. If this character is able to get a stiff belt they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However characters that overindulge can be left debilitated and in seeking their beverage f choice they may make foolhardy decisions. Also few people are willing to believe the wild stories of inebriates.
Drugs: Name your poison & pay your price. From cocaine to prescription tranquilizers, if you can snort it, inject it, swallow it or smoke it this covers it. If the character can engage in the use of their chosen substance they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However this is illegal in most cases and can leave a character disabled if over indulged in. Most people will not take a drug addled character seriously and many will actively hold them in contempt.
Smoking: When the chips are down nothing soothes like a good nicotine fix. Smoke 'em if you've got 'em. If the character can indulge in their habit they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However some people will react negatively to a smoker, the characters habit will give them away on dark nights, they can be smelled more easily than normal & if deprived of nicotine the character can get nervous & irritable.
Flirting: The chase is the thing & wether it is a subtle batting of the eyelashes or a direct pickup line this character is on the prowl. If the character can practice their charms on another or talk about love & relationships they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However this character will quickly be known as a bit of a hound dog and a letch and more conservative NPC's may react badly to the characters amorous advances.
Lucky Item: Be it a religious icon, a coin, a rabbits foot, a picture or even a stuffed animal this character places great significance in a "Lucky" item or token. If the character can hold or concentrate on their "Lucky" item they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However people sometimes look askance at the characters predilection and if they lose their "Lucky" item they will be desperate to regain it.
Joking: Laugh & the world laughs with you, cry & you cry alone. A little levity can make even the bleakest situations livable. If the character manages to make a joke or pun to diffuse a bad situation or lighten a dark mood they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. In stressful situations some people will react badly to your levity and many people have a hard time taking you seriously.
Bluff & Bluster: If you can't dazzle them with dexterity, baffle them with bullshit. Sometimes if you can talk the talk you can fake the walk. If this character displays bravado to others or blusters their way through a difficult situation they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However while some people find your posturing harmless others will take it as a direct challenge or an affront and may seek to do something about it.
Preparations: Be prepared, it's not just the Boy Scouts motto it the first step to survival. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and never leave home without a plan. If the character can plan ahead, gather equipment or evaluate the situation they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However this character can feel naked if they have to wing it, tend to over prepare and can be a bit of a pack-rat if given the chance.
Hysterics: Unreasoning fear, panic and raving, sometimes are your best defense against a too harsh world. If this character indulges in an episode of panic or raving they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However this may brand the character as unreliable, unstable or at least earn them a hardy slap to snap them out of it.
Brooding: When things go bad you turn inward, inward lays safety and answers that can't be found in the outside world. If the character can take time to be with themselves or ignores others to think they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However this behavior comes across as moody and dismissive and NPC's won't react well when treated like a minor annoyance.
Comfort Eating: Fatty, sweet, salty or fried, food is always there. Wether from boredom or fear, this character likes a good nosh. If the character is able to indulge or even better over indulge their personal eating preference they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However this character will occasionally make bad decisions to gratify their appetites and some people react badly to your peccadillo.
Superstitions: Wether it's throwing salt over your shoulder, not putting your hat on a bed, always having a red string around your wrist or never walking under a ladder this character collect superstitions. If the character is able to practice one of their personal superstitions they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However this behavior can sometimes lead to bad decisions & some people take your habit as a lack of intelligence or sophistication.
Self-Pity: Nothing ever goes right & even worse it never goes right for you. The grass is always greener wherever you are not. If the character takes the time to whinge on about how unfair the situation is for them or takes the time to mope they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However in life and death situations this attitude can make you enemies faster whistle dixie, learn to keep it to yourself.
Optimist: Every cloud has a silver lining and tomorrow is another day. If you just keep a positive attitude things will work out. If the character can share their positive attitude with others or prove to themselves that everything is for the best they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However the characters constant chirpy sunniness can grate on even the hardest character and may raise tensions more than it defuses them.
Pessimism: If something can go wrong it will, that is the way of the world. Bad things happen & it does no good to be surprised when they do. If this character can favor others with their negative world view or prove to themselves that entropy rules the universe they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However this attitude can rub people the wrong way and makes forming new bonds or friendships difficult.
Artistic Creation: To paint, to write, to sculpt or photograph is the true passion of life. Art defines this character and this character uses art to define their world. If this character can work on an artistic project or finds artistic inspiration they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However the characters artistic pretensions can rub some hard minded individuals the wrong way and pursuing art can get you in trouble.
Stoicism: Life is tough & you have to be tough to make it through all the hell it throws at you. Tough it out and make it through are the watch words for this character, If the character is able to tough it through an obstacle or ignore a privation they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However this character can come across as grim, humorless and generally no fun, don't expect to be invited to a lot of parties.
Hedonist: Life is short & mysterious, so lets have a good time while we can. The best of everything is the motto of this character, wether it be clothes, dancing or fine wines all pleasant experiences are welcome. If this character can pamper themselves even in a small way they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. While not obsessed with pleasure this character can come across as self-centered and shallow and may have trouble with serious minded individuals not valuing their ideas & opinions.
Mother Hen: As long as you take care of everyone else things will workout all right. This character will fuss and fret over others, even if their attentions are unwanted. If the character is able to aid or fuss over someone they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However this can lead to nagging or dominating behavior and treating other like unruly children, not the best plan to win friends.
Religious Fervor: God ( or Gods ) is in his heaven and all is right with the world, your character can draw inner strength through the faith they have in their religion. If the character can focus on or call on their religion they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However the faith they have in their religion can blind them to facts outside their accepted cosmology and lead them to place faith in powers or beings that may not be there when called upon.
Denial: If something threatens you it must be a mistake, a coincidence or simply not happening. If the character is able to deny a threat or uncomfortable fact they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However this blind denial can lead the character to make rash decisions and be oblivious to the seriousness of a situation.
Adrenaline Junkie: When the world is a scary place you have to throw caution to the wind and show it who's boss. Taking an unnecessary risk can allow a character to recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However this can lead to rash behavior, a lack of foresight and a general difficulty in being taken seriously.
Sarcasm: When the chips are down the snark comes out for this character. When engaging in sarcastic banter they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However this habit can be grating and may rub some NPC's the wrong way.
Gambling: A shuffle of the cards, a roll of the dice or a spin of the roulette wheel can set this characters heart afire. If the character engages in gambling or gamesmanship they can recover 1d6 stability once an adventure. However the temptation of gambling can sometimes overcome the characters good sense and chances can have an unhealthy fascination for them.
Obsession: The character has an overriding obsession, it could be romance books, old movies, opera or gourmet cuisine. If they indulge themselves in their obsession they recover 1d6 Stability once an adventure. However the character may also do stupid things to follow their obsession and they have a tendency to ramble on about it if given the chance.
Important Notes:
Your players may try to get you to allow Coping Mechanisms like "Bully" or "Sadism", however anything that will be abused to the detriment of the enjoyment of the game or the players should not be permitted.
Players who seek to ruin the game for others are asking for adventure point penalties & may well find themselves the primary target of monster attacks.
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Post by ProfGremlin on Jun 19, 2009 15:12:47 GMT -5
... & may well find themselves the primary target of monster attacks. See: Appendix B - GM Coping Techniques ;D |
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Post by feldrik on Jun 19, 2009 15:37:46 GMT -5
I think this is great stuff, it put me in mind of something I found on line that could make a good milieu. They demonstrate several of these Coping Mechanisms Warning, the following link has some nasty depictions of undead violence and other gruesome stuff. www.warofthedead.com/episodes.htmlIf this stuff bothers you don't go past the home page. |
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Post by Toad-Killer-Dog on Jun 19, 2009 16:14:40 GMT -5
I am working on Resources in prelude to doing the Tunnels & Terrors Armory. However I am considering how best to allow for raising the Resource score. I don't want to simply give a per level raise to Resources and it seems unfair to make a player spend their level gain bonus on increasing Resources. In horror games money is simply not the main focus of play like it can be in fantasy RPG's. I want Resources to make keeping track of little amounts of money expedient and making large purchases quick and simple. Significant influxes of cash or finding new jobs or patrons may raise the characters Resource score. Which is pretty much how it works in T&T. So am I over thinking this ( I have a tendency to do this you may notice  ) or should I just keep Resource score increases as a GM fiat. P.S. I'm doing the Armory first because the damage from firearms will greatly effect how I deal with firearm and missile combat in Tunnels & Terrors. |
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Post by Toad-Killer-Dog on Jun 19, 2009 16:37:14 GMT -5
I think this is great stuff, it put me in mind of something I found on line that could make a good milieu. They demonstrate several of these Coping Mechanisms Warning, the following link has some nasty depictions of undead violence and other gruesome stuff. www.warofthedead.com/episodes.htmlIf this stuff bothers you don't go past the home page. I just watched the first episode ( being the good Romero fan that I am ;D ) and "Oh my Goodness" yes I would say that indeed that is a plethora of Coping behaviour. Excellent call Feldrik, have an exalt on me for the smiles! Now I'm going to watch episode 2! |
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Post by feldrik on Jun 19, 2009 20:23:52 GMT -5
For rescources you could make it a save vs IQ and/or CHA plus level to see if they have the cash or credit fo an item.
The save level would represent the expense of the item.
What is the mechanism you are going to use for your sanity and coping mechanisms? I was thinking that both Sanity an Coping could decline. Lose Sanity and make a Coping save, fail the save and loose Coping points. If you can make a save on Sanity you can regain Coping, fail and loose Sanity.
The SR level based on the horribleness of the encounter the character is in.
It could make the whole thing a vicious circle and be its own form of insanity.
And check out the time line on the ZERO site, it could make a decent game milieu..its a pity they did not make any more episodes.
Thanks for the exalt!
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Post by Toad-Killer-Dog on Jun 19, 2009 22:00:31 GMT -5
For rescources you could make it a save vs IQ and/or CHA plus level to see if they have the cash or credit fo an item. The save level would represent the expense of the item. What is the mechanism you are going to use for your sanity and coping mechanisms? I was thinking that both Sanity an Coping could decline. Lose Sanity and make a Coping save, fail the save and loose Coping points. If you can make a save on Sanity you can regain Coping, fail and loose Sanity. The SR level based on the horribleness of the encounter the character is in. It could make the whole thing a vicious circle and be its own form of insanity. And check out the time line on the ZERO site, it could make a decent game milieu..its a pity they did not make any more episodes. Thanks for the exalt! Check on the previous page on this thread and you'll find the "Shock & Stability" rules I've outlined. If you go back a little further you'll find the modifications I made to the three basic character types. I'm a big zombie fan myself, the first game I ever wrote was my own zombie holocaust scenario "World of the Walking Dead". I must have been 12 when I wrote that, I came up with a bunch of zombie types, psi power options for PC's and even free willed zombie PC's. I have not thought about that in years. ;D |
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Hogscape
11th level Troll
Stalwart of the Trollbridge
It's not the years, it's the mileage.
Posts: 2,126
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Post by Hogscape on Jun 19, 2009 22:51:26 GMT -5
I prefer Resources to be a separate attribute that is influenced not by levels but by circumstance: Sell your car and resources take a bump up; get your tax bill, the reverse is true. Tough to write a rule for though...
Coping mechanisms - just awesome.
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Post by Toad-Killer-Dog on Jun 19, 2009 23:07:17 GMT -5
I prefer Resources to be a separate attribute that is influenced not by levels but by circumstance: Sell your car and resources take a bump up; get your tax bill, the reverse is true. Tough to write a rule for though... Coping mechanisms - just awesome. Thank you! ;D Yeah I want to keep Resources seperate, this may call for that most powerful of all GM elements "Handwavium". |
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Hogscape
11th level Troll
Stalwart of the Trollbridge
It's not the years, it's the mileage.
Posts: 2,126
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Post by Hogscape on Jun 20, 2009 0:36:40 GMT -5
Swordbearer had a great resources system - items to buy had a numerical value if your 'wealth' level was higher you could buy it with no problems. If it was equal to your wealth score you could still buy the item but ran the risk of losing a point (or more?) of the attribute. If it the item cost more than your wealth you needed some jiggerypokery to get there (can't remember) but it was good!
Treasures had values as well - if the value exceeded your rating, your wealth went up by a point, otherwise the rating stayed the same but you enjoyed a period of economic comfort.
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Post by feldrik on Jun 20, 2009 4:04:06 GMT -5
Ok, I am a bit more upto speed on your project now. I did not realize how much I had missed!
I noticed that there was some debate on including war/wiz. My memory was sparked and I dedeged up a few notes I have on a similar thing I toyed with, I called it Dark Delving, it never got past one page of random ideas.
I called the War/Wiz an Archanist but in keeping with your theme you could call them Kanes (ie, Solomon Kane) if they are part of the game.
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Post by Toad-Killer-Dog on Jun 20, 2009 16:59:16 GMT -5
Here are some sample character sheets.
Name:
Type: Howard
Level:
Adventure Points:
ST:
IQ:
WIZ:
LK:
CON:
DEX:
SPD:
CHR:
Personal Adds:
Missile Adds:
Stability:
Stability Bonus:
Hardened : Howards get a +6 die total bonus to any Shock SR against dead bodies, gore or danger
Steady Hand: Unlike other Types Howards only suffer half the standard Missile accuracy penalty for losing Stability
Resources:
Coping Mechanisms:
Unarmed Combat: 1D6 + adds
Hard Style: 1 melee armor point every odd level starting at 1st & +1 unarmed combat add every even level
Soft Style: +1 point every odd level to dodge & evade ( non-firearm attacks ) starting at 1st & +1 unarmed combat add every even level
Weapons:
Armor:
Languages:
Equipment:
Weight Possible:
Weight Carried:
Description:
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Post by Toad-Killer-Dog on Jun 20, 2009 17:01:52 GMT -5
Name:
Type: Lovecraft
Level:
Adventure Points:
ST:
IQ:
WIZ:
LK:
CON:
DEX:
SPD:
CHR:
Personal Adds:
Missile Adds:
Stability:
Stability Bonus:
Mental Adaptability: Lovecrafts get a +6 die total bonus to any Shock SR against forbidden knowledge, spells & magic
Magus: Lovecrafts only suffers half the normal Stability loss ( round up ) for casting a spell or performing a ritual
Skill Bonus:
Lovecrafts receive a bonus of their level number to all knowledge SR's
Resources:
Coping Mechanisms:
Unarmed Combat:1d6 + 1/2 adds ( round up ) in unarmed combat and full dice & 1/2 adds in armed melee combat
Weapons:
Armor:
Languages:
Spells:
Equipment:
Weight Possible:
Weight Carried:
Description:
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Post by Toad-Killer-Dog on Jun 20, 2009 17:03:31 GMT -5
Name:
Type: Adventurer
Level:
Adventure Points:
ST:
IQ:
WIZ:
LK:
CON:
DEX:
SPD:
CHR:
Personal Adds:
Missile Adds:
Stability:
Stability Bonus:
Thrill Seeker: Adventurers have a +6 die total bonus to all Shock SR's that deal with mundane danger or peril. Such as hanging off of cliffs, jumping a car over a bridge, being trapped in a death trap or walking a tight-rope
Skill Bonus:
Daring Do: Adventurers add their level number to any SR to leaping, scaling, evading, stunt driving or other adventurous activity
Resources:
Coping Mechanisms:
Unarmed Combat: 1d6 + 1/2 adds ( round up ) in unarmed and full damage + adds in armed melee combat
Weapons:
Armor:
Languages:
Spells:
Equipment:
Weight Possible:
Weight Carried:
Description:
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) or should I just keep Resource score increases as a GM fiat.