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Swords Against Chaos: Here It Begins...
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 10:44 am
by Barrier Peaks
To be more apt: when it begins, it will begin here. Ahem.
So I've got the forum up thanks to Wintermute, and I'll have a companion web log coming along shortly thereafter. I have no timetable for the game; I have nothing more than a basic premise in mind. It's all very embryonic at this stage (or "foetal" as my British friends might say).
I've seen some interest in this game already, so let's start up a roll call of sorts: who's on board?
I reckon we can start with one "turn" per week, and ramp that up if it seems like things are moving along at a spiffy pace.
For those who wish to play, there is the question of character. WFRP's character gen system is, by and large, a crap shoot. It's very random. As such, I'm considering two methods by which to generate characters.
1.) Each player can choose their race (human, Elf, Dwarf, or Halfling), and I will generate two career choices for them based on their choice of race. They pick a career, and I'll roll all the particulars in a completely random manner.
2.) I can generate X number of characters, post the basics (ie, name, race, profession, etc.), and let everyone choose the one that sounds most fun for them to play. This will either be on a first come, first served basis, and/or we can manage some manner of "auction" using Fate points as currency if a specific character is contested by two players.
So...step up, chime in, and make yourselves known. Chaos waits for no one...
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 10:49 am
by devlin1
I'm in-- what the hell. It'll be my summer gaming while abroad. I'm going to learn a bit about the system, though, and make a ratcatcher of my very own.
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 10:54 am
by BlanchPrez
I'm in!
I'd be up for playing a dwarf.
Chris
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 11:02 am
by Barrier Peaks
[quote="devlin1"]I'm in-- what the hell. It'll be my summer gaming while abroad. I'm going to learn a bit about the system, though, and make a ratcatcher of my very own.[/quote]
You'd like a rat-catcher, hm? As mentioned (or, perhaps, implied), I'd prefer to do the specific character generation myself, but I don't mind creating it to your design. If you're set on a rat-catcher, I have no trouble allowing you to play one.
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 11:21 am
by devlin1
[quote="Barrier Peaks"]You'd like a rat-catcher, hm? As mentioned (or, perhaps, implied), I'd prefer to do the specific character generation myself, but I don't mind creating it to your design. [/quote]
Just out of curiosity, is it a concern that I'm going to cheat or something?
[quote="Barrier Peaks"]If you're set on a rat-catcher, I have no trouble allowing you to play one.[/quote]
Gotta have a ratcatcher in the party. What other game has "ratcatcher" as a class?
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 11:53 am
by Barrier Peaks
[quote="devlin1"]Just out of curiosity, is it a concern that I'm going to cheat or something?[/quote]
Not so much. I'm trying to be fair. Each player isn't going to have an opportunity to create their own character "hands on," and I wanted to make sure that the entire group gets the same sort of treatment.
If the rest of (potential) group has no problem with you creating your character on your own, then I have no problems with it, either.
Gary
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 8:04 pm
by smartmonkey
A human. Roll what you will.
Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 8:17 pm
by smartmonkey
So... we still up and running, or...?
Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 10:09 pm
by Barrier Peaks
Yep, I've just been busy busy busy. Give me until about the middle of this week to get things more or less established. I was also waiting to see if there were any other interested parties hereabouts.
No worries, no worries.
Devlin, are you still on board?
Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2006 10:27 am
by devlin1
[quote="Barrier Peaks"]Devlin, are you still on board?[/quote]
I am, but by the middle of this week I'll also be on board an airplane. I may not have much in the way of Internet access from Wednesday until I get to my dorm (actually, it's a three-story, 12-bedroom house) next Sunday.
Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2006 1:20 pm
by smartmonkey
[quote="devlin1"]I am, but by the middle of this week I'll also be on board an airplane. I may not have much in the way of Internet access from Wednesday until I get to my dorm (actually, it's a three-story, 12-bedroom house) next Sunday.[/quote]
Did I mention I hate you with the passion of a thousand fiery suns?
Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2006 2:30 pm
by Barrier Peaks
So, the roster looks thusly:
Smartmonkey: Human something or other.
Blanzprez: Dwarf something or other.
Devlin: Something or other ratcatcher.
That about sums it up, hmm?
Any other players who want in, this is the time to step up. I shouldn't have trouble incorporating folks later.
Do either of the non-Devlin folks mind if Devlin puts his own character together?
On my end, I'll need to generate characters, and finish putting the weblog together. URL TBA.
How familiar is everyone with the setting? For example, if I say you'll be starting in Nuln, does that mean anything to you? I'd like to get a feel for how well-versed you are with the WH world. If you know next to nothing, that's fine: you'll fit in with about 95% of the world's population...
Gary
Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2006 4:56 pm
by smartmonkey
Nuln would be cool - I've read the new edition of the corebook and the bestiary, so I have a -vague- idea of the geography. Beyond, y'know, Holy Roman Empire on PCP.
Be utterly ruthless generating my character - thats half the fun of WFRP.
Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 5:02 pm
by devlin1
[quote="smartmonkey"]Did I mention I hate you with the passion of a thousand fiery suns?[/quote]
I'll make a note of it.
BTW, I'm assuming that we're using the WFRP published by Green Ronin. Right?
Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 5:24 pm
by Barrier Peaks
[quote="devlin1"]BTW, I'm assuming that we're using the WFRP published by Green Ronin. Right?[/quote]
Right you are.
Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 5:28 pm
by devlin1
[quote="Barrier Peaks"]Right you are.[/quote]
Good! I just bought it. I have a 20-hour layover in Calgary. Seems like as good a time as any to familiarize myself with the system.
Twenty hours! I totally didn't notice that until yesterday. Sheesh.
Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 6:27 pm
by Barrier Peaks
Twenty hours, ouch. And here I whined about a two hour lay-over in Chicago last year while on my way to Indianapolis.
When will you be available to start playing?
Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 7:44 pm
by devlin1
[quote="Barrier Peaks"]Twenty hours, ouch. And here I whined about a two hour lay-over in Chicago last year while on my way to Indianapolis.
When will you be available to start playing?[/quote]
Well, I'll have Net access through Thursday afternoon, but I'm not sure where in my three days (!) of travel I'll have it again. Sunday I move into my housing, so that's probably the best bet.
Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 7:44 pm
by smartmonkey
Dude, if you'd had had some dice, WFRP chargen could have -easily- filled that layover. It takes like, 20 minutes to make a PC, but holy crap it's fun.
Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 7:50 pm
by devlin1
[quote="smartmonkey"]Dude, if you'd had had some dice, WFRP chargen could have -easily- filled that layover. It takes like, 20 minutes to make a PC, but holy crap it's fun.[/quote]
I [i]will[/i] have some dice, because you never know when you'll need them, and believe me, chargen is one of the ways I intend to occupy my time.
Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 8:24 am
by mordraine
The Calgary airport may have wi-fi, if you're willing to pay the $6 or so bux for it.
Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 8:29 am
by devlin1
[quote="mordraine"]The Calgary airport may have wi-fi, if you're willing to pay the $6 or so bux for it.[/quote]
For 20 hours, it may be worth it. What airport was I in that had free wifi? Chicago? Now [i]that's [/i]the way to do it.
Coming back I have a layover in Toronto, but only for two hours. Why couldn't it have been the other way around? I'd be down for spending 20 hours in [i]Toronto[/i], but Calgary...?
Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 8:46 am
by mordraine
Last time I was in Chicago, the wi-fi wasn't free.
The Clock is Ticking
Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 5:25 am
by Barrier Peaks
Alright, I intend to get the game started this week, probably Wednesday night. Anyone who wants to earn 100 XP, complete the 10 Questions and let me know if you'd like to spend the XP on an advance, and if so, where you'd like it to go.
Those of you with books, check your character's advance scheme. Those of you without, let me know who you are and I'll give you some options.
Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 10:16 am
by mordraine
I'm definitely going with an advance. Don't have my book with me so I'll choose later tonight.
Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 6:17 am
by Barrier Peaks
Expect some movement on this by this evening, and then we'll be starting up by this weekend. It's been a busy week. I'm still waiting on the 10 Questions from Verminary.
More later...
Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 6:34 am
by BlanchPrez
[quote="Barrier Peaks"]Those of you with books, check your character's advance scheme. Those of you without, let me know who you are and I'll give you some options.[/quote]
I have no idea how to use an advance. I'd like to, but I need some help.
Chris
Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 6:48 am
by devlin1
The short version: you spend XP to improve your character, and each career has an "Advance Scheme" that tells you in what ways you can improve. E.g., Servants can't improve their Weapon Skill, but Outlaws can.
The long version: See Gary.
Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 10:12 am
by Barrier Peaks
[quote="BlanchPrez"]I have no idea how to use an advance. I'd like to, but I need some help.[/quote]
My book's at home, so I'll send you your options tonight/this afternoon.
Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 11:29 am
by mordraine
I still haven't made up my mind on my advance yet. What's the in-game impact of advancing my Toughness? Do I get additional wound capacity? Or what? I haven't read through the combat portion of the book yet.
Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 2:01 pm
by smartmonkey
I'll take another point in attacks, thank you. I think my career allows that.
I picked up a copy of the Life of Sigmar for like 2 bucks today. Expect some mangled quotations comin' from Hildred.
Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 6:53 pm
by Barrier Peaks
[quote="smartmonkey"]I'll take another point in attacks, thank you. I think my career allows that.[/quote]
Bounty Hunter doesn't grant an advance in the Attacks characteristic. Options for advances amongst the present careers are:
[b]Bounty Hunter[/b]
WS +5% (0), BS +10% (1), S +5% (0), Ag +10% (0), WP +5% (0), W +2 (0)
[b]Hunter[/b]
BS +15% (1), T +5% (0), Ag +10% (0), Int +5% (0), W +3 (0)
[b]Initiate[/b]
WS +5% (0), BS +5% (0), T +5% (0), Int +10% (0), WP +10% (1), Fel +10% (0), W +2 (0)
[b]Jailer[/b]
WS +10% (0), S +10% (1), T +10% (0), WP +5% (0), W +3 (0)
[b]Rat Catcher[/b]
WS +5% (0), BS +10% (0), T +5% (1), Ag +10% (1), WP +10% (0), W +2 (0)
The percentage is the maximum amount you can raise the specified characteristic over the course of the career. The number in parenthesis is the number of advances you've had in that characteristic.
[b]Cost[/b]: Improvement
[b]100xp[/b]: +5% Advance to Main Profile Characteristic
[b]100xp[/b]: +1 Advance to a Secondary Profile Characteristic
[b]100xp[/b]: Buy a Talent
[b]100xp[/b]: Buy a Skill
[b]100xp[/b]: +10% Skill Mastery (ie, taking the same skill twice)
[b]100xp[/b]: Enter a New Career
[b]200xp[/b]: Switch to a Non-Exit Basic Career
In the case of starting characters, you have all the Skills and Talents of your starting career automatically, so you've no reason to buy Skills or Talents. If you had entered a new career, you'd need to buy all the skills within that career's profile in order to advance to a new career later on.
You can, however, pay 100xp for Skill Mastery. This adds a +10% to your Skill. You can take Skill Mastery in a single skill no more than [i]twice[/i], for a maximum Skill Mastery bonus of +20%.
Does that make sense?
Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 7:02 pm
by Barrier Peaks
[quote="mordraine"]I still haven't made up my mind on my advance yet. What's the in-game impact of advancing my Toughness? Do I get additional wound capacity? Or what? I haven't read through the combat portion of the book yet.[/quote]
Raising your Toughness [i]may[/i] raise your Toughness Bonus (TB), since your TB is derived from your Toughness (basically, it's your T divided by 10, dropping fractions). In the case of your character, it would take your Toughness from 37% to 42%, which has the side-effect of raising your TB to 4.
Mechanically, your TB is subtracted from any damage that is inflicted on your character. If damage rolled is reduced below 0 in this way, then you take no damage.
Damage is a big deal. When rolling damage, you traditionally roll 1d10 and add the damage bonus of the weapon or attack to the total. In the case of a generic hand weapon (sword, axe, club, etc.), the bonus is equal to the Strength Bonus (SB) of the character wielding it.
So, a beastman armed with a club with a couple of nails through it inflicts his SB of 3 + 1d10 whenever he hits you. Each point of damage you take is deducted from your Wounds. This should give you some idea of how deadly the system is, especially when your typical character will have 10 Wounds.
Still, damage subtracted from your Wounds isn't actually [i]damage[/i]. What your Wound stat represents is the number of points of damage that you can take before you begin to suffer [b]Critical Effects[/b]. Critical Effects are [i]bad things[/i].
Anyway...that should give you some idea how important Toughness is.
Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 8:54 pm
by mordraine
Yeah, okay then. I'm taking my advance in Toughness.
Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 9:35 pm
by Barrier Peaks
Fair enough.
So, anyone else? Let me know where you'd like your Advances to go, and I'll apply them. I'll post the first scene this Sunday, 7/2.
Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2006 11:37 am
by BlanchPrez
I think I'll take +3 wounds, thanks.
Chris
Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2006 1:07 pm
by mordraine
[quote="BlanchPrez"]I think I'll take +3 wounds, thanks.
Chris[/quote]
The way it works is you can only get +1 for the 100xp:
[quote="Barrier Peaks"]100xp: +1 Advance to a Secondary Profile Characteristic[/quote]
Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2006 2:10 pm
by BlanchPrez
[quote="mordraine"]The way it works is you can only get +1 for the 100xp:[/quote]
I see... I think I missunderstood his original lines about what was available.
In that case, I'll take the +5% to toughness.
Chris
Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 6:08 am
by Barrier Peaks
Apologies, but I'm running a bit behind right now. I'll get the next turn posted relatively soon, but I wanted folks to know I hadn't forgotten the game.
I know it's early, but if there are any comments, let me know.
Also, this gives a couple of people time to post responses if they wish to.
Gary
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 3:18 pm
by devlin1
I don't want to sound like a poopy head, but what gives, fellow players who aren't Mord? Let's get this show back on the road! I got skill rolls to fail here!
Crazy!
Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 6:52 am
by Barrier Peaks
I have to say, my life has devolved into insanity.
As a PSA, I just want to say that I'd like to pick this PbP up again after 8/1. Is everyone still interested in going on? I know that at least two PCs didn't reply to the initial post, but I don't know what the reasoning behind that is/was.
If you're still up to playing, shout it out. I've got several thousand words I need to have done by 8/1, which is what's keeping me up at night and away from my other responsibilities.
Gary
Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:35 am
by mordraine
I'm still up for it. Heck, I bought the book and everything (not specifically for your game, mind, but I'd like to get some use out of it anyway).
Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:42 am
by BlanchPrez
I'm still up for it.
Chris
Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 2:19 pm
by devlin1
Oh, we have to continue! We can't let all this momentum go to waste!
(Yeah, I'm in.)