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Count Zero
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Post by Count Zero »

I know all the fiddly bits of this game can be a bit overwhelming and frustrating, but I really want to take advantage of the mechanics.

So I am starting to put together my characters for the game. I would like to get together and flesh out everyone's characters and make sure everything is in order (i.e. resources, relationships, etc.). I am mainly worried about beliefs and instincts but getting the numbers down is important.

I am going to set up some means for us to keep track of all this. A website maybe. A picture of everyone's character would be great. I am trying to use all photographs for the game. So an actor or similar photograph would be great.

Chris - We may need to ad a lifepath to your character or give you a couple of extra traits. Your character my be a figurehead on some level, but I would like to see him more "beefy" so that he is functional.

Eric - I would like to talk to you about heraldry sometime. I really liked your idea of the heraldry on this planet being corporate logos. That really sparked my imagination.

Albert - I wanted to talk more about your character's role in the game. He seems like a character that could go either way, being a capitalist and all.

Anyway, I know this is the secondary game, but I want it to run smoothly so we don't get frustrated and quit after the first few sessions. There are a lot of rules we have to deal with because the game is competitive.
Whenever I get confused about D&D alignment morality, I just imagine Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Ghandi arm wrestling shirtless on the back of a killer whale.

In other words, I remember that it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense and deal with it best I can.
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Post by cczernia »

Were you guys available to get together this weekend. Mord says he is out which means no Ptolus but we could do BE on Sunday. I figure it we get our Instincts and Beliefs done we will be good to go.

As for beefing up my character. I don't want another lifepath but if you give me more free points I'll spend them :mrgreen:
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Post by Count Zero »


[quote="cczernia"]Were you guys available to get together this weekend. Mord says he is out which means no Ptolus but we could do BE on Sunday. I figure it we get our Instincts and Beliefs done we will be good to go.



As for beefing up my character. I don't want another lifepath but if you give me more free points I'll spend them :mrgreen:[/quote]



The average character in Burning Empries is suppose to be 5-7 lifepaths, while in Burning Wheel it is 4-5. So your character is unusually weak.



I will have to look at your skills. I just don't want to have the Infection mechanics turn against you, because you are playing the character you want to play. We might look at beefing up Disposition (i.e. your sides hit points) in place of it. I already am ahead of you guys in that department.



Something I discussed with you but wanted to stress, you guys are the status quo, and there are a bunch of people trying to change that. This game's mechanics really encourage you to think about what you are doing on multiple levels. You are trying to beat my characters, and I am suppose to try and beat you. We will get into the mechancs itself this Sunday if we get together. They are really pretty easy, but you have to be thinking about them on some level.



I can already tell you that one of my FoN's (Daysun Cartwright) is trying to overthrow Chris's Forged Lord and plans to use the church and the Kerrn ghetto against you. The wild card is Citizen Hitachi and the Serfs. He is trying to completely change the government and start a popular revolt.



You have two FoN on your side, one is the Matriarch Pahlavi and the other is Ommjot, the leader of the Kerrn Ghetto. Ommjot wants to keep the ghetto free of outside influence, but believes Chris's character is the means to getting his people a better life. Matriarch Pahlavi wants to get Chris's character in a position to eliminate the influnence of House Cartwright. Make sure to use these people to your advantage and think about how you can reinforce your side with them.

Whenever I get confused about D&D alignment morality, I just imagine Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Ghandi arm wrestling shirtless on the back of a killer whale.

In other words, I remember that it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense and deal with it best I can.
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Post by jimmy corrigan »


hey guys. i'm looking forward to gaming on sunday.



but i have some concerns about this game before we get too far along. the quotes below seem to indicate something that i'll openly admit i'm worried about.



i'm a firm believer that the most meaningful parts of a story happens at the table [i]during[/i] play. personally, i have the most fun within character interaction and roleplay, in-game-- take ptolus for example. not so much with mechanics and conscious decision-making that take me out of the story-- the "meta," for lack of a better term. if i'm reading all of this right, it seems to me that there is huge emphasis on the the latter at the cost of the former, what with all the mention of "competitive play" and thinking about "what you are doing on multiple levels." if this is true, then i'd like to know. i'm not saying i'm not going to give it a chance, but i'd like to know either way.



if you recall, back when we played in count zero's kickass burning wheel game, all of the memorable (for me at least) stuff happened "on camera," instead of say, predetermined during character generation or in between sessions. mind you, i'm not say it isn't useful to build frameworks. i just want to avoid frontloading all of our time and energy inefficiently before we even start our first official session, thereby risking the possibility of binding ourselves to a premature premise or an ill-conceived objective.



as an aside, the reason i like spirit of the century is that you make up exposition a couple of sentences at a time that are open-ended. not all the villains and mysteries and set pieces are locked down. low commitment. that way, most of the revelations, and conclusions happen during the session.



in short, i like unpredetermined options and i can care less about whether we win or lose. i care about what happens at the table. that is what i'm trying to say here.
[quote="Count Zero"]I know all the fiddly bits of this game can be a bit overwhelming and frustrating, but I really want to take advantage of the mechanics...



There are a lot of rules we have to deal with because the game is competitive...



I will have to look at your skills. I just don't want to have the Infection mechanics turn against you, because you are playing the character you want to play. We might look at beefing up Disposition (i.e. your sides hit points) in place of it. I already am ahead of you guys in that department...



This game's mechanics really encourage you to think about what you are doing on multiple levels. You are trying to beat my characters, and I am suppose to try and beat you. We will get into the mechancs itself this Sunday if we get together. They are really pretty easy, but you have to be thinking about them on some level... [/quote]

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Post by Count Zero »


[quote="jimmy corrigan"]hey guys. i'm looking forward to gaming on sunday.



but i have some concerns about this game before we get too far along. the quotes below seem to indicate something that i'll openly admit i'm worried about.



i'm a firm believer that the most meaningful parts of a story happens at the table [i]during[/i] play. personally, i have the most fun within character interaction and roleplay, in-game-- take ptolus for example. not so much with mechanics and conscious decision-making that take me out of the story-- the "meta," for lack of a better term. if i'm reading all of this right, it seems to me that there is huge emphasis on the the latter at the cost of the former, what with all the mention of "competitive play" and thinking about "what you are doing on multiple levels." if this is true, then i'd like to know. i'm not saying i'm not going to give it a chance, but i'd like to know either way.



if you recall, back when we played in count zero's kickass burning wheel game, all of the memorable (for me at least) stuff happened "on camera," instead of say, predetermined during character generation or in between sessions. mind you, i'm not say it isn't useful to build frameworks. i just want to avoid frontloading all of our time and energy inefficiently before we even start our first official session, thereby risking the possibility of binding ourselves to a premature premise or an ill-conceived objective.



as an aside, the reason i like spirit of the century is that you make up exposition a couple of sentences at a time that are open-ended. not all the villains and mysteries and set pieces are locked down. low commitment. that way, most of the revelations, and conclusions happen during the session.



in short, i like unpredetermined options and i can care less about whether we win or lose. i care about what happens at the table. that is what i'm trying to say here.[/quote]



Don't worry about it.



The Burning Wheel game was competitive even though we didn't notice it. The Beliefs of all the characters drove it that way. Basically, imagine that game with some mechanics to drive scenes and such. The metagame wasn't really noticeable when I played it. All of the metagame aspects come at the beginning or end of a session. The mechanics provide story stucture and a clear beginning and ending for a chapter of the story.



When I say competitive, the mechanics are designed in push players to actually do something to be successful. This isn't a game that is designed for the "wallflower" player. If you are willing to put up a fight a flight like you did in Burning Wheel, then there shouldn't be any issues.



Don't be worried. If, after a few sessions, we realize it isn't what we want to do, then we dump it. I simply want to give the system a shot because I find the concepts very interesting. It might not work at all, but we won't know until I play it.

Whenever I get confused about D&D alignment morality, I just imagine Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Ghandi arm wrestling shirtless on the back of a killer whale.

In other words, I remember that it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense and deal with it best I can.
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Post by jimmy corrigan »

cool. i trust that we'll have a good time with this regardless. i just thought i'd put that out there. thanks for reading and responding.
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Post by jimmy corrigan »

larkspur von gelding

beliefs:
1. "a b c: a- always, b- be, c- closing. always be closing. always be closing!"-- finish the sale at all cost.
2. "i will one day be the number one arms merchant in the galaxy."-- promote the business everywhere.
3. "the only victor in war is the arms industry."-- never turn away a potential customer, regardless of what "side" they're on.

instincts:
1. in business negotiations i always know the shot. i know what/how my competition/clientele are doing (stock rating, corporate rumors, industrial espionage).
2. during a business presentation i am always prepared (dress to the nines, immaculately groomed, articulate, well-informed).
3. in dangerous environments, i always carry a demo model.
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Post by Count Zero »


[quote="jimmy corrigan"][b]larkspur von gelding[/b]



[b]beliefs:[/b]

1. a b c: a- always, b- be, c- closing. always be closing. [i]always[/i] be closing!

2. i will one day be the number one arms merchant in the galaxy.

3. the only victor in war is the arms industry.



[b]instincts:[/b]

1. in business negotiations i always know the shot. i know what/how my competition/clientele are doing (stock rating, corporate rumors, industrial espionage).

2. during a business presentation i am always prepared (dress to the nines, immaculately groomed, articulate, well-informed).

3. in dangerous environments, i always carry a [i]demo model.[/i][/quote]



With the beliefs, they need to be goals or things which drive action. So for number three it could be, "The only victor in war is the arms industry, incite conflict where ever you can."



Try to do something similar with all of them. Keep in mind these are how you get experience and with these you are telling me what you want to see in the game, so give me the ability to know where you want to go with those beliefs.

Whenever I get confused about D&D alignment morality, I just imagine Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Ghandi arm wrestling shirtless on the back of a killer whale.

In other words, I remember that it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense and deal with it best I can.
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Post by jimmy corrigan »

made some edits. howzat?
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Post by Count Zero »


[quote="jimmy corrigan"]made some edits. howzat?[/quote]


Perfect.

Whenever I get confused about D&D alignment morality, I just imagine Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Ghandi arm wrestling shirtless on the back of a killer whale.

In other words, I remember that it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense and deal with it best I can.
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Post by jimmy corrigan »

ahem. what time are we getting together? and where?
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Post by Count Zero »

I'm not sure. We can't play at my place. Michelle doesn't want to have a bunch of smelly gamers at the house today.
Whenever I get confused about D&D alignment morality, I just imagine Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Ghandi arm wrestling shirtless on the back of a killer whale.

In other words, I remember that it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense and deal with it best I can.
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Post by jimmy corrigan »

hey, as a courtesy, can we let folks know of a game cancellation well beforehand? say 48 hours in advance? that would be ideal. thanks in advance.
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Post by Count Zero »


[quote="jimmy corrigan"]hey, as a courtesy, can we let folks know of a game cancellation well beforehand? say 48 hours in advance? that would be ideal. thanks in advance.[/quote]


Sorry about that. Things were a little chaotic Sunday, so I meant to call sooner, but things got in the way. I realized pretty quick we were short on a place to play.

Whenever I get confused about D&D alignment morality, I just imagine Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Ghandi arm wrestling shirtless on the back of a killer whale.

In other words, I remember that it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense and deal with it best I can.
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Post by jimmy corrigan »

no worries. thanks.
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Post by Count Zero »

What's our next few weeks look like, so I can see when we can get together to take a shot at this.
Whenever I get confused about D&D alignment morality, I just imagine Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Ghandi arm wrestling shirtless on the back of a killer whale.

In other words, I remember that it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense and deal with it best I can.
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Post by cczernia »


[quote="Count Zero"]What's our next few weeks look like, so I can see when we can get together to take a shot at this.[/quote]

This weekend I think JC is out of town. So, the next game will either be Nov 4 or Nov 11 depending on when we can do Ptolus.

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Post by jimmy corrigan »

that's right, i will be gone from friday through sunday.
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Post by Count Zero »

Hey Eric... what is your character's name? Also, could everyone please provide a picture of your character?
Whenever I get confused about D&D alignment morality, I just imagine Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Ghandi arm wrestling shirtless on the back of a killer whale.

In other words, I remember that it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense and deal with it best I can.
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Post by Count Zero »

Hey Eric... I found your character. Apparently I had it...
Whenever I get confused about D&D alignment morality, I just imagine Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Ghandi arm wrestling shirtless on the back of a killer whale.

In other words, I remember that it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense and deal with it best I can.
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Post by cczernia »

Corin Abernathy

Image
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Post by Count Zero »

He's suppose to be 12....wait... how old is your character again?
Whenever I get confused about D&D alignment morality, I just imagine Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Ghandi arm wrestling shirtless on the back of a killer whale.

In other words, I remember that it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense and deal with it best I can.
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Post by cczernia »


[quote="Count Zero"]He's suppose to be 12....wait... how old is your character again?[/quote]

I'll bump him to 14.

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Post by Count Zero »

Okay.. good, because I was thinking that is a pretty old looking 12 year old... he passese for 14... I already have that picture on file... :P
Whenever I get confused about D&D alignment morality, I just imagine Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Ghandi arm wrestling shirtless on the back of a killer whale.

In other words, I remember that it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense and deal with it best I can.
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Post by jimmy corrigan »

larkspur von gelding

Image
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Post by Count Zero »

Harmony Favors Discord

I posted the stuff to the Burning Empires Wiki. Most of it isn't really done, but I am in the process of getting everything posted. If you want to make an account and write up your character that is fine. I am posting images to my webhost.

I was also thinking that maybe Eric's character might make a good figure of note. I wouldn't mind having all the characters be figures of note, but I really like Ommjot, but Farah Pahlavi feels rather forced as a figure of note. I was thinking she could be a fully developed relationship with Eric's character. I have decided she has a relationship with him. Court romance anyone?
Whenever I get confused about D&D alignment morality, I just imagine Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Ghandi arm wrestling shirtless on the back of a killer whale.

In other words, I remember that it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense and deal with it best I can.
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Post by Count Zero »

by the way... I managed to create an image for Ommjot:

Image
Whenever I get confused about D&D alignment morality, I just imagine Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Ghandi arm wrestling shirtless on the back of a killer whale.

In other words, I remember that it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense and deal with it best I can.
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