Suicide SlydeHaunts your dreamsof mountains sunk below the seaRegistered Userregular
Paul sighs, "I'm at a loss as to what I can do here, right now guys. If someone else wants to go or something?"
I can't come up with anything, not deliberately trying to stall here just can't think.
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GrogMy sword is only steelin a useful shape.Registered Userregular
edited December 2012
"Alright I got an idea" Jake taps his chin as if planning a grand strategy. "Telesto'll fly the chopper in low over the harbour, kick up a load of water and get hulk's attention away from the civilians. That way Row can fly in and use first aid or protect them with his powers."
Dice clatter across the table, one of which bounces off a soda can and comes up 1. "Eeesh, might have forgot to reel in the alien. Sorry James, looks like Saar might be getting dunked."
That's a Total of 13 with a d8 effect to remove a dice from the doom pool. Watcher can activate that 1.
@suicide slyde I figure since Dr. Row has a little more independent mobility than us chopper-bound lot he can get to work on damage control rather than focusing on Hulk.
The now soaked civilians scatter away from both the Hulk and the roaring SHIELD helicopter. Hulk, sensing that this might be the source of his newest irritation, grabs a gigantic cable spool and prepares to throw it at the helicopter.
@tzeentching You can roll a die from all applicable Power Sets, and I'd say that Obscura could use Telepathy to try and predict when and where the Hulk would throw! Roll another d8.
SFX: Area Attack. Against multiple targets, for each additional target add a d6 and keep an additional effect die.
SFX: Rage-Fueled Might. Add a die equal to your emotional stress to the doom pool to include your emotional stress in your next action. If your opponent includes your emotional stress in a reaction dice pool, step it up.
SFX: Healing Factor. Spend 1 PP to recover your physical stress and step back physical trauma.
SFX: Hulk Smash! Against a single opponent, double a Gamma-Charged Genetics die. Remove the highest-rolling die and add another die to your total.
SFX: Strongest There Is! In a reaction against an opponent with a Strength power trait, spend 1 PP or step up your emotional stress to add a die equal to the opponent’s Strengthto your dice pool.
Limit: Limitless Anger. When the doom pool includes at least 2d12 or you take emotional trauma, move all stress and trauma to the doom pool and activate Rampaging Hulk.
Limit: Puny Banner. When you recover all of your emotional stress and trauma, shutdown Gamma-Charged Genetics and revert to Banner to gain 1 PP. Take emotional stress to recover Gamma-Charged Genetics
Suicide SlydeHaunts your dreamsof mountains sunk below the seaRegistered Userregular
edited December 2012
Dr Row leaps from the helicopter at its lowest point, putting himself between the Hulk and the bystanders. He begins waving his arms frantically, "Get out of here go!" Realizing he can barely hear himself over the noise, Row takes a deep breath and shapeshifts his mouth into a loudspeaker.
Suicide SlydeHaunts your dreamsof mountains sunk below the seaRegistered Userregular
edited December 2012
Roll:
Get out of here!
Buddy d8, Fleeing Bystanders d4, Shapeshifting Unleashed d12, Psych Expert d8 1d8;11d4:31d12:101d8:7
So a 13 w/d8 effect I guess. One plot point for me; using a d4 on the Fleeing Bystanders because I assume they're in general panic mode and probably not going to pay attention to the man with giant hulk arms, and a loudspeaker for a mouth.
Also an opportunity for the watcher because what's a roll without an opportunity.
Despite being taken aback at the awesome sight of a man's mouth turning into a loudspeaker - or perhaps because of it - the dockworkers and bystanders file out of the area in a quick and ordered manner.
Standing in the center of a ring of devastation, the rage begins to drain from the Hulk's face. His hands unclench from fists, and he begins taking long, slow breaths.
The Hulk has calmed down to the point where he's approachable. You should be able to convince him to return to the Raft, or call Agent Nesler for a pickup.
SFX: Area Attack. Against multiple targets, for each additional target add a d6 and keep an additional effect die.
SFX: Rage-Fueled Might. Add a die equal to your emotional stress to the doom pool to include your emotional stress in your next action. If your opponent includes your emotional stress in a reaction dice pool, step it up.
SFX: Healing Factor. Spend 1 PP to recover your physical stress and step back physical trauma.
SFX: Hulk Smash! Against a single opponent, double a Gamma-Charged Genetics die. Remove the highest-rolling die and add another die to your total.
SFX: Strongest There Is! In a reaction against an opponent with a Strength power trait, spend 1 PP or step up your emotional stress to add a die equal to the opponent’s Strengthto your dice pool.
Limit: Limitless Anger. When the doom pool includes at least 2d12 or you take emotional trauma, move all stress and trauma to the doom pool and activate Rampaging Hulk.
Limit: Puny Banner. When you recover all of your emotional stress and trauma, shutdown Gamma-Charged Genetics and revert to Banner to gain 1 PP. Take emotional stress to recover Gamma-Charged Genetics
If nothing else, the chopper dried Nell off. She followed Row's lead, nimbly descending from the helicopter. Maybe it was the fact that the Doctor had engineered an orderly evacuation of the area, but Nell's mind was starting to clear. She decided against telepathy; it had done nothing but make things worse for her all night. She approached the Hulk slowly, her palms wide open.
The steady whump-whump-whump of helicopters sounded in the distance, far to the southeast. Hulk looked that way, squinting at the noise, but made no effort to run. The green goliath simply sat down, albeit hard enough to shake the ground.
The creature in front of you began to melt away. Thick strands of muscle evaporated into a green mist that diffused into the air. Within moments, all that was left was a nerdy looking scientist in comically over-sized purple pants.
"I, uh," Banner began. But he never finished; he collapsed instead, falling unconscious.
He wasn't dead; far from it, his pulse was strong and his breathing was regular. If you were forced to guess (though a Medical expert could tell you conclusively), you'd say that he was just exhausted. The SHIELD helicopters landed in short order, taking him into their custody. There was no restraints, no fancy containment equipment; what would be the point? They loaded him on to a backboard, but more for his comfort than out of any worry that he was injured.
Agent Nesler approached your small group - or team, perhaps? "I need to debrief you. Mind coming back to my place?" He motions to a nearby helicopter, ready and waiting.
Kitty takes off her glasses, stretches, and yawns, arching her back for the full feline effect. "Speaking of which, guys, I am beat. This looks like an OK place to break for the night. What do you say to hitting the beach in the AM, and picking things up in the afternoon or evening?"
((OOC: Kitty's ready to crash, but that doesn't mean everyone has to. If there's some unfinished business you wanted to hit up before we move on to the second First World scene, now's the time. If not, no worries; think about where your crew wants to get lunch after a morning of relaxing in the sun: a burger place on the nearby pier, a pub just up the boardwalk, or something else? Maybe you guys have cold cuts in the fridge, or somebody wants to break out the grill?
It's late Friday night / early Saturday morning, so feel free to toss some ideas around through the weekend. ))
tzeentchlingDoctor of RocksOaklandRegistered Userregular
"Sounds good to me, guys. This was harder than I thought it would be!" says Lucy. "I think Obscura will try to get a bit of medical attention, and she definitely wants information."
0
GrogMy sword is only steelin a useful shape.Registered Userregular
"Well I wanna see what Agent Nesler's place looks like first. Probably something uptown, but not too fancy. Oh and Telesto'd be happy to use his medical expertise to help out Lucy."
((OOC: I think given the chance Jake would definitely want to start up a barbecue, which might necessitate getting some supplies?))
"Phew. I was pretty sure that Hulk was going to smear us all into super-paste there. I think that Saar will try to chat up the SHIELD guys. See if he can make some contacts who can help him get off of this rock."
((James could go for some food. If it looks like people are heading to bed, he'll pull out the ol' telescope and spend some time on the deck looking up at the sky. Tomorrow, he'd suggest a local historical site or a museum, but won't push it too hard. He's likely to enjoy a beachfront bar rather than a club.))
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Suicide SlydeHaunts your dreamsof mountains sunk below the seaRegistered Userregular
"Dr. Row feels responsible for the Hulk's rampage because he is, no way of getting around that. He'll go with the Agent Nesler to make sure Banner is taken care of."
((OOC: Paul is ready to hit the sack. A supply run for BBQ tomorrow sounds like a good idea.))
"Yeah, sure; a chopper ride sounds good; well, another one, I guess." Carmen said, absently spinning her character sheet between her hands on the table. "It'll probably occur to Nell in a couple minutes that she was trying flee the country a second ago, and that if she wants to pull it off, she should probably get back to that..."
(OOC: A beachfront bar would sound pretty good to Carmen right about now.)
Hey guys, I'm swamped with family holiday stuff - and I understand other folk are, too - so we're going to take a brief break until things calm down a bit. Next Action Scene goes up on the 1st!
tzeentchlingDoctor of RocksOaklandRegistered Userregular
I'm taking a week and a half internet break to focus for my dissertation. Assume I go along with whatever people want to do. People are welcome to play my character.
OK, we've been on break for like a month. Let's do a quick check in - are people interested in and available to start this back up? Has interest waned?
In fact, let's do a general assessment. Does this system work for PbP? How have the encounters been (aside from the Hulk, which I realize was stupid)?
Any other feedback, questions, comments, concerns?
GrogMy sword is only steelin a useful shape.Registered Userregular
Here and still interested.
In terms of the PbP format, I think things have generally worked well but we might need more turn structure. Something like block initiative, where there's a specific list but we can jump in or pass as is needed.
The only problem I've seen so far is that due to the mechanics of the system we (the players) don't know the results of our actions until you've made a reply post. It seems to force you (jdark) to make many more posts/turn than other systems might.
How are YOU feeling about it?
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tzeentchlingDoctor of RocksOaklandRegistered Userregular
Definitely still interested! I do agree that a more structured initiative might work well. It can be frustrating sometimes though when the Doom Pool gets too big - when that happens, I feel like whatever we try, the Doom Pool will likely shut it down. Maybe be more proactive in spending those dice? Activate our Limits or something?
I'm kind of unhappy with how MHRP runs PbP. I feel like it requires about twice the level of interaction of simpler (Apocalypse World/variants) or more pre-determined (d20) systems. The mechanics I really dig on the tabletop (escalation, dynamic difficulty) seem cumbersome here.
Is that going to be an issue with every Edge of the Empire, FATE (Dresden Files), or MHRP run here? Is there some way to avoid that? (Do we have any WHFRP games being run here? How do they do it?)
The big issue I see with increased interaction is on the player's side, because when you have time to sit down and want to post I also have to be available to respond to your action. And while I almost always either have my phone or are in front of a computer, I need to know that there's a pending request.
...which, actually, I can do. I can set Notification Preferences to email me any time I'm mentioned, and I can set my email address to something that dings my phone. Hmm. Still doesn't solve the problem of me sleeping though.
The other issue is that I feel like encounter difficulty is uneven. Maybe it's just that I'm fairly new to running the system, but putting together encounters that are challenging but not overwhelming seems like a matter of holding a couple villains in reserve if things get trivial, or a couple good guys waiting in the wings if the players get overwhelmed. And the giant opposed dice pools seem to make things more swing-y rather than less, which I can't really wrap my head around.
I feel like both those issues need to be solved somehow.
It can be frustrating sometimes though when the Doom Pool gets too big - when that happens, I feel like whatever we try, the Doom Pool will likely shut it down.
Yeah, that's something I don't like about this system. With the Doom Pool serving the double duty of "rising tension" and "villain resource", I feel like it shouldn't ALSO serve as opposition to a player's secondary actions (like interacting with non-villain objects or creating Assets).
I feel like Edge of the Empire does this more effectively with its Force Point pool. The players (randomly) generate the pool before an encounter, which sets the number of points in the pool and their initial disposition (Light or Dark). The players can spend Light points to make good things happen, but then they flip to Dark. And the GM can spend Dark points as a foil. So when you see that pool start to turn up all Dark... a string of bad luck is looming.
Do we really NEED a dice pool for opposition to every player action?
I think I agree with all of your points. Because every roll is opposed (or can be) there's no way for the players to just plow through their group turn even if we were to do clumped initiative. At every step we need to pause to see what actually happened -- and it quickly turns into a full-time job for the DM. I really enjoy the give-and-take nature of the play (and I love the character creation) but in the PbP format it all ends up being a bit stodgy.
In real life, where the DM rolling X*Y to oppose an action is a three second affair, it's a negligible delay. Not so in the PbP medium. Maybe it should be a Maptools game or... or something.
Re: Swinginess. I wonder if that would happen less as the players got better at things. Take actions that force the DM to spend down the Doom Pool early, so it stays manageable. I don't know, really.
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tzeentchlingDoctor of RocksOaklandRegistered Userregular
I feel like actions that create Assets or target the Doom Pool directly should simply have fixed difficulties, rather than opposed difficulties. This represents the fact that creating things or taking supplemental assets is hard, but shouldn't be impossible even as the main antagonist in the scene gets stronger. Maybe scenario-specific pluses and minuses for specifically difficult actions due to scene complications.
Things that target the opponent directly, however, or create a Stress of some kind, should still have opposing rolls, but even then failure shouldn't be "this action didn't work," it should do something besides - create a Distraction in the scene, or have some sort of roleplaying effect, or maybe a lessened effect of what it originally would have done. Failing forward, as it were. Of course, particularly dramatic failures might also cause an Asset for the villain too....
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Suicide SlydeHaunts your dreamsof mountains sunk below the seaRegistered Userregular
I'll be honest, I'm not huge on the technical side of things, but it does seem a little cumbersome for PbP. Is it too much for us, the players, to make the opposing doom pool roll? I know that as GM, you will still have to decide what happens but we can take some of the pressure off of you.
I can say I do like the characters made here. They all have a unique set of powers and abilities, and we all found a way to try to complement each other.
Posts
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Dice clatter across the table, one of which bounces off a soda can and comes up 1. "Eeesh, might have forgot to reel in the alien. Sorry James, looks like Saar might be getting dunked."
Get away from them you... big person: 1d10 7 1d8 5 1d8 6 1d8 1
That's a Total of 13 with a d8 effect to remove a dice from the doom pool. Watcher can activate that 1.
@suicide slyde I figure since Dr. Row has a little more independent mobility than us chopper-bound lot he can get to work on damage control rather than focusing on Hulk.
Geeze, I should be allowed to roll dice.
The now soaked civilians scatter away from both the Hulk and the roaring SHIELD helicopter. Hulk, sensing that this might be the source of his newest irritation, grabs a gigantic cable spool and prepares to throw it at the helicopter.
@Grog to decide who goes next.
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Team d8 + Darkforce control d8 + Magic d4 (+1PP) + Mystic Expert d8
Darkforce net!: 3d8+1d4 [3d8=5, 6, 5] [1d4=4]
11 w/d8 effect.
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Let's pretend I didn't roll that.
Close enough that I want to rule as a partial success. d6 Asset established for any creative use.
The net flickers in and out of existence, but enough of it holds to provide a credible deflection of any thrown object.
@tzeentchling to decide who goes next.
Nellie Cochrane
Obscura, d8 Physical Stress
Dr. David Row
Ranger Saar
Telesto
Rampaging Hulk, Anti-Gamma Nanites "poisoning" - d12 Complication
Scene Distinctions (d8)
Dock Detritus
Fleeing Bystanders
No One Likes Hulk When He’s Angry
Assets
d6, Darkforce Net
Doom Pool:
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Buddy d8, Fleeing Bystanders d4, Shapeshifting Unleashed d12, Psych Expert d8
1d8; 1 1d4: 3 1d12: 10 1d8: 7
So a 13 w/d8 effect I guess. One plot point for me; using a d4 on the Fleeing Bystanders because I assume they're in general panic mode and probably not going to pay attention to the man with giant hulk arms, and a loudspeaker for a mouth.
Also an opportunity for the watcher because what's a roll without an opportunity.
@sneaks for next
7 w/ d8 effect, success. Doom Pool steps down to 2d10.
Despite being taken aback at the awesome sight of a man's mouth turning into a loudspeaker - or perhaps because of it - the dockworkers and bystanders file out of the area in a quick and ordered manner.
Standing in the center of a ring of devastation, the rage begins to drain from the Hulk's face. His hands unclench from fists, and he begins taking long, slow breaths.
@Sneaks is up.
Nellie Cochrane
Obscura, d8 Physical Stress
Dr. David Row
Ranger Saar
Telesto
Rampaging Hulk, Anti-Gamma Nanites "poisoning" - d12 Complication
Scene Distinctions (d8)
Dock Detritus
Fleeing Bystanders
No One Likes Hulk When He’s Angry
Assets
d6, Darkforce Net
Doom Pool:
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
"It's okay; you have time. Just breathe."
The creature in front of you began to melt away. Thick strands of muscle evaporated into a green mist that diffused into the air. Within moments, all that was left was a nerdy looking scientist in comically over-sized purple pants.
"I, uh," Banner began. But he never finished; he collapsed instead, falling unconscious.
He wasn't dead; far from it, his pulse was strong and his breathing was regular. If you were forced to guess (though a Medical expert could tell you conclusively), you'd say that he was just exhausted. The SHIELD helicopters landed in short order, taking him into their custody. There was no restraints, no fancy containment equipment; what would be the point? They loaded him on to a backboard, but more for his comfort than out of any worry that he was injured.
Agent Nesler approached your small group - or team, perhaps? "I need to debrief you. Mind coming back to my place?" He motions to a nearby helicopter, ready and waiting.
Kitty takes off her glasses, stretches, and yawns, arching her back for the full feline effect. "Speaking of which, guys, I am beat. This looks like an OK place to break for the night. What do you say to hitting the beach in the AM, and picking things up in the afternoon or evening?"
((OOC: Kitty's ready to crash, but that doesn't mean everyone has to. If there's some unfinished business you wanted to hit up before we move on to the second First World scene, now's the time. If not, no worries; think about where your crew wants to get lunch after a morning of relaxing in the sun: a burger place on the nearby pier, a pub just up the boardwalk, or something else? Maybe you guys have cold cuts in the fridge, or somebody wants to break out the grill?
It's late Friday night / early Saturday morning, so feel free to toss some ideas around through the weekend. ))
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
((OOC: I think given the chance Jake would definitely want to start up a barbecue, which might necessitate getting some supplies?))
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
((James could go for some food. If it looks like people are heading to bed, he'll pull out the ol' telescope and spend some time on the deck looking up at the sky. Tomorrow, he'd suggest a local historical site or a museum, but won't push it too hard. He's likely to enjoy a beachfront bar rather than a club.))
((OOC: Paul is ready to hit the sack. A supply run for BBQ tomorrow sounds like a good idea.))
(OOC: A beachfront bar would sound pretty good to Carmen right about now.)
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
OK, we've been on break for like a month. Let's do a quick check in - are people interested in and available to start this back up? Has interest waned?
In fact, let's do a general assessment. Does this system work for PbP? How have the encounters been (aside from the Hulk, which I realize was stupid)?
Any other feedback, questions, comments, concerns?
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
In terms of the PbP format, I think things have generally worked well but we might need more turn structure. Something like block initiative, where there's a specific list but we can jump in or pass as is needed.
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
The only problem I've seen so far is that due to the mechanics of the system we (the players) don't know the results of our actions until you've made a reply post. It seems to force you (jdark) to make many more posts/turn than other systems might.
How are YOU feeling about it?
Is that going to be an issue with every Edge of the Empire, FATE (Dresden Files), or MHRP run here? Is there some way to avoid that? (Do we have any WHFRP games being run here? How do they do it?)
The big issue I see with increased interaction is on the player's side, because when you have time to sit down and want to post I also have to be available to respond to your action. And while I almost always either have my phone or are in front of a computer, I need to know that there's a pending request.
...which, actually, I can do. I can set Notification Preferences to email me any time I'm mentioned, and I can set my email address to something that dings my phone. Hmm. Still doesn't solve the problem of me sleeping though.
The other issue is that I feel like encounter difficulty is uneven. Maybe it's just that I'm fairly new to running the system, but putting together encounters that are challenging but not overwhelming seems like a matter of holding a couple villains in reserve if things get trivial, or a couple good guys waiting in the wings if the players get overwhelmed. And the giant opposed dice pools seem to make things more swing-y rather than less, which I can't really wrap my head around.
I feel like both those issues need to be solved somehow.
Yeah, that's something I don't like about this system. With the Doom Pool serving the double duty of "rising tension" and "villain resource", I feel like it shouldn't ALSO serve as opposition to a player's secondary actions (like interacting with non-villain objects or creating Assets).
I feel like Edge of the Empire does this more effectively with its Force Point pool. The players (randomly) generate the pool before an encounter, which sets the number of points in the pool and their initial disposition (Light or Dark). The players can spend Light points to make good things happen, but then they flip to Dark. And the GM can spend Dark points as a foil. So when you see that pool start to turn up all Dark... a string of bad luck is looming.
Do we really NEED a dice pool for opposition to every player action?
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
In real life, where the DM rolling X*Y to oppose an action is a three second affair, it's a negligible delay. Not so in the PbP medium. Maybe it should be a Maptools game or... or something.
Re: Swinginess. I wonder if that would happen less as the players got better at things. Take actions that force the DM to spend down the Doom Pool early, so it stays manageable. I don't know, really.
Things that target the opponent directly, however, or create a Stress of some kind, should still have opposing rolls, but even then failure shouldn't be "this action didn't work," it should do something besides - create a Distraction in the scene, or have some sort of roleplaying effect, or maybe a lessened effect of what it originally would have done. Failing forward, as it were. Of course, particularly dramatic failures might also cause an Asset for the villain too....
I can say I do like the characters made here. They all have a unique set of powers and abilities, and we all found a way to try to complement each other.