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Automata System
Curuinor
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
We should make a PnP system for, or bend an existing system for Automata.
The other contenders used what appears to be DnD and some urban fantasy setting, but Automata is set in a unique place.
So the first question can be: utilize an existing system or bend an existing one?
The other contenders used what appears to be DnD and some urban fantasy setting, but Automata is set in a unique place.
So the first question can be: utilize an existing system or bend an existing one?
That is not dead which can eternal lie.
And with strange aeons even death may die.
And with strange aeons even death may die.
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And with strange aeons even death may die.
Then again, it's got robot PCs built right into the system.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
Plus, Automata is awesome.
D20 Modern is about fantasy adventures, basically, plus guns. That no-one else knows about. A blatant disregarding of the total effects that the fantasy setting would have upon the world is masked by that veil phenomenon. Really, so dragons look like greedy people to normal people. Less thought than, say, Shadowrun. There is too much focus on combat, as with some other D20 things I could speak of.
Both M&M and Saga have a really low-consequences, adventurous sort of setting that does not seem dark or gritty.
We will need to flesh out new elements of the setting. Clickwise seems to be one of those. It is profoundly dense in information and only able to be spoken by robots. There seems to be non-humanoid robots.
Robot characters will probably be routine. And we see that they have superior abilities compared to humans. This may lead to munchkinism, and it leads to another question— why would one play a human in such a game?
And with strange aeons even death may die.
System suggestion 1: Call of Cthulhu - the noiriest game to have ever noired. But with sanity going to the wayside, the system might need to have alot of stuff added to it to maintain interest; this will be especially apparent in human characters.
System suggestion 2: GURPS - GURPS accounts for social leverage, and advantage in it's many form. Robots would get advantages in a lot of roboty things, special robot functions, immunities to drowning, higher maximums for physical stats and would have to contend with social disadvantages and programmed functions. Humans would have points free from not having to buy all those advantages to be more connected, have more money, more diverse training, etc. If there is a system you would have to do the least amount of bending for, it's GURPS. Unfortunately, it's GURPS.
Storyteller - Whitewolf's systems have long accounted for different realms of power, and allow entirely non-combat characters in a pretty good way. Plus I like rolling a lot of dice at once, so I find this, Cyberpunk, and Shadowrun pretty fun.
Hero - I've never played or read Hero system, so I don't really know. From what I understand though, everything I said about GURPS pretty much applies? I could be completely off base about that.
Call of Cthulhu would be gutted without sanity mechanics. It revolves around a central factor that lies coeval with health in determining the status of your character. Perhaps, since this seems to revolve around a detective novel of some sort, a legal mechanic?
Storyteller, compared to GURPS, may be the more tiresomely crunchy of the two. ST eschews the relentless numbers calculation of GURPS, yet ST has the more-tiresome masslistsofpowers, whether in the many ratings systems(you-have-5-dots-in-whatever-power?! you-can-do-this-and-this-and-this!) for WoD or the Charms(you have ninety charms, each of which has to be carefully memorized).
Both have too much crunch. Can we do gritty in broad terms? Can we do dark in broad terms?
And with strange aeons even death may die.
One obvious advantage of being a Human in this setting is the setting itself. There's an anti-robot sentiment, so being a human would allow you to go about your business without being harassed. Humans could have more contacts, an easier time getting things done/obtaining things, or just a higher base stat that those types of things would be based on.
I could see NPCs being more willing to work with Detective Regal than Carl, for example.
Not to specifically focus upon munchkins, but to discourage munchkins is usually to create a better gaming experience, in my opinion. There is a circumscribed maximum grip strength that a robot could have, apparently. Could this extend to other aspects of strength, to dexterity, to intelligence? There will be industrial robots who have no sentience(in addition to no heart and no soul), who make cars(or will they?) and stuff, and have strength above of normal humans or robots. But what we are interested in playing is the sentient robot. They don't need to breathe, but it strikes me that their maximum grip strength would probably be dictated by the law to a level below a strong human's. Same for dexterity? Same for intelligence?
What other legal discrimination do robots go through besides the identification and the limited grip strength?
And with strange aeons even death may die.
While I agree with your general points (I'm not even sure D20 Modern is the right system for D20 Modern), and it's good to have a solid sense of what style of gameplay you want/don't want to facilitate, can you elaborate more on what systems you do want, or have suggestions beyond what you don't want?
My guess would be something akin to FATE/FUDGE or a relative to Pendragon. My instinct is to recommend D6 (like D6 Adventure), as it's not at all crunchy or high-adventure. But it's still a rather traditional wargame-inspired resolution system of initiative and rolls to hit/damage, and no specific rules for 'grittiness' built in. It'd take some alteration to add that sort of thing in.
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If this were a D&D-esque system, I would simply make "Automaton" a race, supported by specific character options (feats/perks/whatever) for automata that would allow for individual customization.
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
M&M does superheroes. It gets weird if you use it for anything else.
FATE is neat, but the problem with using generic systems for specific settings is (dun dun dun)... they feel generic.
What exactly is "GURPSy horribleness"?
Hell if I know, but those who dislike GURPS seem to do so with a passion. I think it's mostly a crunch-preference thing.
INNS is pretty much right about D20 modern. Plus, it doesn't fit at all I think the goals of the setting. Speaking of which, let us reiterate: What do you hope to accomplish using the setting?
cj: I think Shadowrun would need more. Strip out cyberware, magic, and race, and add in an optional robot component only some people would have, and I worry you end up with sort of samey characters. It would need a few more layers. I suppose the same thing could be said about Storyteller, however.
Curinor: We definitely need to know what you want out of the system, because right now everybody's guessing in the dark (especially if the complaint is that Storyteller is too crunchy) and it's sort of almost a poll thread.
Frankly, I think the issue with GURPS is that it is overly complicated for the setting. About 3/4 of the character creation material in the core rule book wouldn't apply. Plus, generic systems always run into the problem of having to make all systems work under the same ruleset, so that magic == superpowers == high tech. When you have to do the above and try to keep it crunchy (as opposed to, say, FATE), it can add unnecessary complication in a game that doesn't incorporate all those elements.
At least it's not Rolemaster, though: where characters in dark places light themselves on fire, because all monsters can see in the dark and the penalties for fighting while on fire are less than the penalties for fighting in darkness.
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
High-five.
Granted, Risus works for everything, so that's not a surprise.
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Dark Heresy is interesting in the grittiness and in the investigation. For a setting supposedly set in the grimdark vastness of 40k, I think it's interesting in that: 1. It could easily, easily remain completely local, 2. It has a built-in GMPC(the Inquisitor), and 3. No Space Marines. 1 is good, 2 is bad, and 3 doesn't matter here. Perhaps all PC's may be robots, and the GMPC could be their human supervisor.
We may need to see some combat before deciding on the complexity imagined. Given Gabe's drawing style, I have a suspicion that it will not be depicted as too complex.
And with strange aeons even death may die.
A purely robot based campaign would give it an interesting twist. The players would be (at least to begin with) quite strongly disadvantaged. Set to tasks that require their superior processing speed but still very restricted in other terms. Then maybe as the game progresses they could become increasingly autonomous through certain events or perhaps go completely rogue (which would give them vastly superior capabilities but at the same time bring down the full force of the law ion them forcing them to act incognito).
Human PCs could essentially be modern characters with modern skill sets and perhaps a few bionics. In addition they would probably be assigned a type of robot servant/companion whom they can upgrade and mold into what they want (legally and illegally). That would give the game more of a mecha-esque feel where it's all about building a unique custom robot. That in combination with a noir detective plot where the PCs have to use their investigative smarts could also be interesting...
Robots are, indeed, used for ridiculously specific capacities. They do come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but they all normally have blue eyes. They get red eyes, sometimes, for some reason, perhaps when they get into a murderous rage. Certain things can control them, probably resistible.
Robots are very segregated. There do exist certain bars where only some clickwise can get you in, presumable. Which may mean that they get free time, still, or that some robots get free time. Robot slavery abolitionists? Perhaps the detective is one, by the way he treats Carl.
And with strange aeons even death may die.
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As for balance between Robots and Humans, I see no reason to limit the choice to one or the other. Robots are 'legally' hardcapped at certain strengths or levels, which could extend to any basic stat or skill list. What's more, depending on how the setting is worked, humans might even have access or perhaps just bonuses to skills that robots do not. Fast Talk? Maybe robots are not as social as humans, and thus unable to squeeze human NPCs for info? Intuition? Humans have the gut instinct that robot AI simply cannot realize.
The way I see it, the social divide between robots and humans, plus a few bonuses to each on either side of the fence is enough to encourage players to pick either as a character.
Gumshoe is an interesting idea, as are most detective games of this sort. But what detective game also has robots?
And with strange aeons even death may die.