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UNIFIED (Second Preview Thread)
Pony
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
What is Unified?
Unified is a forum-based multiplayer RPG. It is designed to accomodate a large quantity of players, of varying levels of involvement and interest.
It will be run in Of Dice and Men, Penny Arcade's tabletop/RPG forum, starting June 16th.
Is there a time commitment?
No, not really. The game is not "real-time", nor does it require you to be online at certain times, or adhere to a certain number of posts per week. A person can actively participate in the game with only checking in once or twice a week and making a handful of posts.
How many players will be involved?
That is still undecided. The game has thus far generated massive interest, far beyond what I expected at this point, so I'm still figuring out the number of players that I will have. Theoretically the game can have an unlimited number of players, but for practicality purposes I will probably have a hard cap for the number of players at the start of the game, and I will expand it later.
What is the setting like?
The setting of Unified is quite unique. It takes place in an alternate history, in the year 2019. Before the year 2000, the world of Unified was one similar to many other comic book superheroic settings: A world of powerful heroes and diabolic villains, with the fate of the world in the balance.
In the year 2000, that changed: A race of alien robotic creatures called the Anathema invaded Earth from another dimension, and it was only thanks to Earth's mightiest heroes that the world was saved. However, in the aftermath of this nearly-apocalyptic event, those same heroes decided that the best thing for the world's safety would be to take it over.
Now, 15 years later, the Singular Unified Nation (S.U.N.) is ruled with an iron-fist by the superhuman paragon Ultimatum. His superpowered army/police force, the Vanguard, maintain order and recruit nascent superhumans to their ranks. There are many other factions, powers, and stories at work in this world as well.
What game mechanics system does it use?
Unified uses it's own system, designed by me specifically for both this campaign and the environment it will be played in. It is designed to be optimized for forum-based roleplaying, and the combat system in particular is designed to be both dynamic and simple, allowing for a great amount of creativity while still maintaining a basic structure keeping it as an actual game instead of just a piece of collaberative fiction.
Where can I find out more about the setting and/or the game system?
A great wealth of info can be gained by reading this preview thread, and the one before it. There is no single summary post that explains everything. I am currently working on a PBWiki database, which will go up in a few weeks, and will allow you to search for any element of the game mechanics or setting you need to know about, in one easily referenced resource. When that wiki goes up, I'll relate an announcement to it.
How do I create a character? I see a lot of people have created characters already, complete with stats.
People are far more advanced and clever than I really had considered when I made the original preview thread. Based on the Q&A and previews I've posted sporadically through-out this thread, clever posters have managed to discern and try to intuit aspects of the game mechanics and in many cases have gotten a lot right.
Some posters have even created summary posts, trying to assemble a rough idea of how character creation works. Ultimately, I suggest that you don't worry about it too much. While it may seem some other people are way ahead of the curve than you, nobody is truly locked into the game yet and no character stats posted should be considered final, approved, or official.
So what's this thread for, then?
This is a preview thread. It's designed to create interest and drum up anticipation. Think of it like a movie trailer or a onesheet poster (many examples of which have been posted through-out the thread). I've engaged in Q&A about the game world and mechanics spontaneously through-out the thread, and if you just look around, you can find out all kinds of interesting information.
Pony on
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what are you guys looking forward to
From what I see, the government will be the easy part. After that, there's a high chance that we're utterly fucked.
Then again, we should probably figure out a way to banish the elder gods before taking out the government, because after the latter is gone, what's going to fill in the vacuum?
superhero RPG I'm running in a couple weeks. uses a system of my own creation and set in a setting i invented
interested?
cause man teleporters.
but i like the elementalist
Superhero RPG of Pony's creation. Possibly Lovecraftian in origin.
Not that I'm rushing, I just wanna know.
Me and Deemer just cooked up something awesome for the paper.
tomorrow i got other stuff i've got going and i'm going to bed soon.
Seriously though, you have created something beautiful here.
eventually there will be a wiki and with the current participation it should exhaustive enough for your needs
That will probably come later. As far as character creation goes, it's extremely flexible when it comes to powers. You can pretty much just think of the guy's powers and backstory, and then build a character sheet to match.
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?p=1728905#post1728905
Let me look for more.
EDIT:
Some FAQs answered by Fedora:
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?p=1729227#post1729227
Is there a time commitment?
The Daily Sentinel
First Issue on Stands....soonish.
I think that's TBD, but I would expect it to be pretty flexible.
Heh, that's the name of my local paper, down to "The Daily" part.
not really
the game's not real time and it's not like "EVERYONE POST BY THIS DATE OR YOU ARE OUT" or anything.
you play pretty much as much as you want.
if you want to pop in and make a couple posts a week, that's your perogative.
Alrighty, cool.
But is it gonna move really fast that if I'm not reading every post every day that the thread is gonna grow 20 pages and then I'll have no idea what's going on?
But I don't know how.
Does this make me dumb?
make a character.
think up powers weaknesses and a backstory.
more to come later
So pretty much if you only feel like doing only one Issue a week, or one every once and a while, that's your deal.
Hm. Perhaps we should have a daily recap of what happened during the day?
everything you need to know we can cover in detail if you are genuinely interested
I am genuinely interested.
I already have a character thought out.
The only real thing I'm missing out is level, stats and skills which I understand will be covered later in the OP.
Name: Wordsmith
Name: Nicholas Smith-Harding
Place of Birth: East London, South Africa
Age: 31
Height: 5' 11”
Weight: 156 lb
Hair: Copper
Eyes: Hazel
Biography:
He was helping clear the national museum out for use as an emergency garrison when an Anathema scouting party attacked. A tablet in the crate he had been packing began to glow and Nicholas heard a voice, speaking simultaniously in every language that Nicholas understood and several that he did not. “Nabu's blessing is upon you. You have been chosen to be His champion. Cry out for the death of His enemies, so that they may die.” Power rushed into his body, and Nicholas cried out in pain. He could feel a force lash out from him and tear the hapless invaders to piece. Then he blacked out, and when he came to, he found himself being carried out on a stretcher by UAE soldiers. They were trading fearful conversation back and forth in their tribal dialect, but Nicholas could understand them clearly. Then he opened his mouth to speak, and was shocked to hear the same language come out.
He was studied by dozens of scientists, but they could not find anything physically different with him. During the tests, it was found that not only could Nicholas comprehend and utilize both written and spoken forms of virtually any language, but that he could use words themselves as weapons. By saying words or phrases with a clear intention of action in his mind, the mystical force that he had been inbued with could undertake any number of physical actions, from allowing him to punch through steel or jump twenty-foot walls to protecting him from damage and even striking at an enemy from afar. It was also discovered during this period of time that despite the ability to activate the power with any language, the same trigger phrase could only be used twice in a twenty-four hour period, and that the force's (affectionately dubbed “the Lexicon”) field of effect extended to thirty feet from his body.
Nicholas spent the remainder of the war defending the UAE from the Anathema, and was invited to join Vanguard shortly after the foundation of the SUN. He has no set base of operations, moving from hotspot to hotspot as needed, but he secretly wishes to return to his boyhood home in South Africa and live quietly, translating whatever obscure texts he can get his hands on.
Abilities:
The effects of the Lexicon vary depending on the word or phrase spoken, the volume of the voice, and most importantly, the intention behind the words themselves. The power's effect must manifest within a 30 foot radius of Wordsmith, and the farthest his ranged attacks can travel is 300 yards. The manifestations are invisible and emit no sound, but Wordsmith knows the exact location of any Lexicon effects at all times.
A side-effect of the Lexicon is that Wordsmith's thoughts are comprised of hundreds of languages, which renders him highly resistant to telepaths.
Limitations:
In the heat of battle, he finds it hard to think of more complicated words that he could use. He tries to counter this by carrying lists of convenient words in pouches on his person.
The power's effect must manifest within a 30 foot radius of Wordsmith. The power has been known to be activated by others' voices, when Wordsmith was rendered unable to speak. It does not, however, work with 100% efficency, and recorded voices do not work with his power at all.
He cannot use the same activation phrase more than twice in a twenty-four hour period.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
right.
if you want us to know what he looks like/ link him in your sig
http://www.ugo.com/channels/comics/heroMachine2/heromachine2.asp
click the link in most of our sigs, it will give you a good example
Here's a sample Character sheet, just to get a feel of what your character will look like on paper (though he probably won't be this tough):
Age:15
Level 8 (40 points)
Faction: Vanguard
Powers: 20 points
Core attribute - Prophesized Human
Type: Major
Rank: 9
Feats (18):
Unparallel Leap (Movement)
Superspeed (Movement)
Enhanced Durability (Defense)
Superior Strength (Alteration)
Superior Sight (Sensory)
Unequaled Hearing (Sensory)
Temperature Resistance (Alteration)
Energy Resistance (Alteration)
Mystical Resistance (Alteration)
Empathatic Regeneration (Alteration)
Focused Breathing (Alteration)
Overpowering Strength (Offense)
Unerring Courage (Alteration)
Unstoppable Hope (Alteraion)
Immune to Pressure change (Alteration)
Poisonous Purity (Alteration)
Radioactive Resistance (Alteration)
Neverending Stamina (Alteration)
Strength of the Mother Earth
Type: Minor
Rank: 2
Feat: Enhanced Strength of Gaia (Alteration)
Traits: 20 points
World Renown Vanguard Agent
Type: Major
Rank: 7
Modifier: Major Versatility Reduction (-2)
Feats (12):
Vanguard Protection Uniform (Defense)
Universal Popularity (General)
vanguard Comrades (Offense)
Vanguard Library (General)
Combat Experiance (Defense)
Inuitative Magical assessment (Sensory)
Vanguard Combat Training (Offense)
Vanguard Issue Restraints (Alteration)
Vanguard Quick Strike Transportation (Movement)
Vanguard Issue Detection Equipment (Sensory)
Ultimatum's Protege (General)
Optimism (General)
Multi-lingual
Type: Major
Rank: 3
Modifier: Major Versatility Increase (+2)
Feats (7):
Spanish
Japanese
Chinese
Russian
French
Latin
Korean
Flaws:
Type: Minor
Rank: -2
Feat: Naitivty (Alteration)
Swashbuckler, Level 5 Hero (25 points)
Name: Reginald Ynigo
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 140 lbs
Hair: Short, Black
Eyes: Brown
Alignment: Vanguard
Powers
Rank: 6
Modifier: Minor Reduced Versatility
Feats:
Evasive Maneuvers (defense) - dodge attacks from multiple foes
Safe fall (defense)
Wall Climbing (movement) - needs handholds though
Acrobatics (movement) - easy movement across difficult terrain
Coup de grace (offense) - generic painful attack
Minor Attribute: Spatial Awareness
Rank: 5
Feats:
Bank shot (nonfirearm weapon) (offense)
Reflex Catch (thrown melee weapon) (defense)
Blindfold maneuvering (movement)
Perfect Balance (defense)
Keen observer (alteration) - works only on environment
Traits
Rank: 5
Type: Minor
Feats:
Self defense (defense)
Good shot (offense)
Call for Back up (alteration)
Basic Criminology
Police Clearance
Celebrity
Rank: 3
Type: Minor
Feats:
Minor Contacts
Charisma
VIP treatment
Devices
Modifier: Device
Type: Minor
Rank: 1
Feats:
Gunshot (offense)
I've been working on the campaign setting for six months. It was originally going to be for a tabletop campaign with my D&D buddies, but then that didn't pan out, so I decided to run it online and make it larger in scope and scale. I also decided to turn it into a comic series, and that's one of the things I hope to come out of the game. I've spent the past month working on and privately playtesting the game system to be optimized for what I have in mind.