Edgecrusher

Anyone here know how to speak/write Quenya?

I`d like to learn, but I don`t have the time. There is a grammar section in the appendix of the Lord of The Rings, but learning a language just by reading can sometimes be a bit difficult.

Oh yeah. Have played several myself. You could play MERP (Middle Earth Role Playing) but the system is very complicated. Lots of tables and stuff.

Another game would be Earthdawn. Quite good, but also has a bit complicated system, at least in the old edition. There is a newer edition out now, if i`m not wrong.

You could try Discworld. It is a GURPS game, so the system is ok, but the best thing is the setting. I don`t know if you`ve read any of the Discworld books, but it is really recommended.

Vampire: The Dark Ages is great if you like the Gothic horror genre, and the system is really easy, yet still realistic. Try it!  

I haven`t played MET, but it sounds like it can be a bit out of place in a Vampire game. You kind of lose that Punk-Goth World of Darkness feeling when people stand all around you playing Rock-Paper-Scissors and waving around paper card saying "longsword", or "big pistol"

It is very American, don`t you think?

(please adopt high-pitched whining and say: "Oh no, they`re gonna sue us `cause they thought that black-painted squirtgun was aimed at them, and they thought they were being robbed, threw down their wallets and ran away, never to see their money again, despite the LARPer`s best efforts to find them and return their wallet")

Back to the point...

We have now reached the part of chargen known as Backgrounds. Backgrounds are people you have met, allies and friends, resources, helpers etc. Each background has a rating from zero to five. You have 8 points to distribute among the following:

Allies

Contacts

Resources

Arcane (special mage power: you blend in, people don`t notice you, records of your existence have a tendency to disappear, and no one have ever any idea of who you are or where you went)

Mentor (kind of a teacher, probably a higher level mage)

Library (collection of scrolls, books and texts)

Chantry (kind of a gathering place for mages; a sort of home or locale)

Node (a place where the barrier between the material world and the magical spirit world is thin. Can be used to draw quintessence, or to travel between the worlds)

Wonder (some sort of magic item)

You have any character ideas? What do you want to play?

I know you have played Mage before, so feel free to answer some questions if I`m not present. The other two have never played any WW games.

For fun? No other reason except fun??!

Isn`t that a bit brutal?

It is ok if it fits the personality of your character, or if the other guy really pissed you off, but just for fun??

Not my idea of a funny game.

Please post here to verify your participation in the game. Please post character ideas and concepts here, as well as character questions. All other game questions not concerning character information should be posted under the Pre-Game Discussion topic.

Not everybody wish to buy the book for just one game, or at all. It isn`t very cheap.

"Hey, take it easy. It`s me, Kiro, your friend."

CJ looked suspiciously at him from the other end of the barrel, then lowered his weapon saying: "ok Kiro, but holster that gun of yours and tell me what the hell is going on up here"

"Yeah, the guy must be gone by now. But there is an injured woman in the room over there. I`ve calld for medical assistance" Kiro pointed over at the open door, then started walking. Entering the room, the two of them noticed the screeching engines of an AV landing outside the window.

He`d be a lot cooler if turned bad and started out like Boba Fett, a bounty hunter.

Actually, he is quite boring. He had the opportunity to destroy a Star Destroyer when the Millennium Falcon was attached to its rear. If he just fire his guns into the shield-generators, and then blew away the bridge, he`d become a REAL hero, not just some small wannabe goodguy. (Just kidding, he`s cool)

This is from a Vampire: The Masquerade game set in the CP 2020 universe. A player character, a vampire, ends up in combat with an ACPA, only armed with an axe. After a long and bloody frenzied battle, the vampire stands victorious on top of the pieces of the armor. (yeah, the axe was pretty ruined after that)

Must have been the time the players were inside a corp tower on a mission, and they came over info on the corp`s new Anti-Terrorist Rapid Response team, then letting them hear on the tapped radio "HQ, we have a situation. Send in the ATRR`s"

Most used sentence of the session:We`re screwed...

Several thoughts raced through Kiro`s now confused mind. Feeling a drop of sweat trickle down his forehead, he bent down beside the bathtub and took the woman`s limp hand.

"Are you ok," he asked softly. She didn`t answer him, but her eyelids were now slowly closing. She coughed, and it seemed to cause her great pain. Clearly trying to say something to him, Kiro leaned closer to her face, but she only managed to get out a wheezing sigh. More blood mixed with the small pool of crimson water at the bottom of the tub, apperently coming from her back.

Kiro gently lifted her up trying to get a closer look. A large gash, several inches long covered her right upper back. Probably punctured her lung. Easily picking up her frail body, Kiro carried her over to the bunk bed in the room next door, then got out his wallet, flipped it open and grabbed his Trauma Team card. Quickly snapping it, he put it next to her, whispered softly "you`re gonna be all right. I`m gonna find the guy who did this!", and sprinted for the door, gun in hand.

Gandalf was dragged down by the Balrog`s whip as it fell into the chasm. Gandalf didn`t actually sacrifice himself, but the balrog lashes out as it falls and hits Gandalf.

Trust me, I`ve read the book four times and have seen the movie two times.

(Just to keep up the tradition of drooling in this forum: "drool")

Standing up, Kiro quickly walked across the creaking floor and headed for the staircase behind the counter. Slipping his hand inside his Gibson BG jacket, he firmly gripped his battered old Colt, ran around the counter while CJ looked another way and started up the dirty concrete stairs.

The sound suddenly stopped, and Kiro thought he heard a low moan followed by a door slamming shut.

Picking up speed, he raced up the final steps and drew his gun, quickly scanning the hallway in front of him.

A dusty old carpet covered the floor, and here and there chips had fallen off the walls. The right side was lined with windows overlooking the junkfilled backyard, while the left wall contained two old doors, one of them half open.

Hearing another moan from the nearest door, the closed one, Kiro slowly gripped the doorknob and gave it a sharp twist.

Edgecrusher is actually the title of a Fear Factory song from the Obsolete album. The album is kind of a theme record about the war between man and machine. The Inlay in the cd cover included a short "story" reflecting all the lyrics in the songs, and the main character of that story was named Edgecrusher, a rebel fighting for humanity against the machines.

I only have one story, Survival of The Fittest, but that inspired me to combine White Wolf games with Cyberpunk. I also based large part of an entire campaign on that story. It is quite interesting.

I would...

First of all, you should check out the character sheets at that page. You could download one of them to have a look. It will be a bit easier to understand what I`ve posted above if you have a sheet in front of you.

There is very little information on character generation, as it is mainly a page on White Wolf products. If you check out the Mage: The Ascension part, you`re bound to find something of interest.

Next, we`ve come to Talents, Skills and Knowledges.

Talents are mostly "natural" skills, like Alertness and Empathy. These are things you don`t just learn, but have a special knack for.

Skills are things you learn, like Firearms, Drive and Security. They aren`t stuff you know from birth, you have to learn them.

Knowledges are the intellectual and "slow" skills, like Linguistics, Computer, Academics

You have a total of 30 points to distribute among Talents, Skills and Knowledges, but contrary to Abilities, you don`t start out with a rating of one.

There is a list of all these stats, but I will not include it here. Just think out what you want, put it in the right category, and use your points.

Havin decided a Tradition, it is time for stats for your character. There are three Abiliy categories: Physical, Mental and Social. Each category consists of three different attributes.

Physical: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina

Social: Charisma, Manipulation, Appearance

Mental: Perception, Intelligence, Wits

Each attribute starts with a rating of one, but you have a total of 16 points to distribute among these nine.

A rating of two is average for a normal human, while a rating of five is maximum.

The problem of Time Travel is no problem since no players will be able to cast magic of such power. Problem solved.

Now, back to the Traditions:

The Akashic Brotherhood: A group of mages centering on physical development, and through that enlightment.

Verbena: A Tradition centering around magic based on life energies, these mages often use sacrificial rituals and many have been called witches and hags throughout history.

Euthanatos: A group of mages centered around reincarnation and existential cycles, these mages have been known to kill a lot to help their victims further through the reincarnation cycle.

Order of Hermes: Hermetic mages are often those mages people think of when they think of wizards. They are masters of Forces and are often very powerful.

Celestial Chorus: Mages who center their magic around and base it upon some religion.

Sons of Ether: A pre-technocracy Tradition, the Etherites meld magic and science to create improvements for mankind.

Virtual Adepts: These guys are Mages equivalents of Netrunners. They use a network much like Internet, but meld it with Magic.

Dreamspeakers: Based on spirit magic, these Mages are often shamans, seers and other mystical guys.

Cult of Ecstasy: They use magic through different rituals like sex, music, drugs etc.

Hollow ones: Not really a tradition, these mages are outcast goth-mages with a belief in a dying world.

The next thing to do is to choose a Tradition to follow. Traditions are sort of like Character Classes, or Roles. Most Mages belong to some Tradition. Belonging to a Tradition marks you as one of them, and they are a kind of Order, or almost like a big family. Others can be only a loose term to determine one particular sort of mages. There are also those who don`t belong to a Tradition, like the Technocracy or the Hollow Ones. There are a total of nine Traditions, and following will be a short list of all. If you see anything you like, I`ll be happy to give more information on that particular Tradition.

Next step is to determine the Essence of your Avatar. The Essence is the same as a Nature, except it only comes in four different forms:

Dynamic: This Essence is based on change, and it pushes the Mage in new directions constantly, unable to settle and simply interested in the raw creation of new ideas, experiences and horizons. The paths taken by such Mages are many and varied, and they often defy conventional wisdom.

Dynamic Mages  are true heralds of randomness and inspiration, as they bring forth concepts never before imagined. Though powerfully unpredictable and often moving "outside the box," the Dynamic Essence also finds it difficult to focus on a single task or goal.

Pattern: This Essence is more of a constant way, contrary to the Dynamic. When other mages create new methods, Pattern mages  refine and reuse these methods  until they become stable and welldefined. The Pattern Essence  cements magic into reality, gives shape to the poorly executed and repairs the flawed. Instead of seeking new and dynamic ways of change, Pattern Essences stabilize existing elements or methodically build on solid foundations. Naturally, such Essences are vital to stability, learning and society. As the Essence most driven by a need to form connections, the Pattern Essence fits naturally into such a role.

Primordial: All things came from a great morass of unformed creation at the birth of the universe, be it emptiness before a divinely inspired genesis or swirling chaos before a big bang.

The universe will return to such a state ultimately. Primordial Essences reflect the raw elements of such creation and destruction. Driven to seek new experiences, yet always comparing them to the past, these Essences resonate with the humming vibration that underlies all creation. Conscious of the keystones of the universe, the Primordial Essences thus seek the root of all things. This Essence often takes on a strong archetype, and such mages are driven by deep and overwhelming emotional urges or needs, but they also seem to experience the heights of grand passion more powerfully than anyone else.

Questing: A sort of balance between other Essences, the Questing  Essence seeks knowledge and new frontiers with purpose and with a final goal in mind. Not content to rest on foundations already laid, the Questing Avatar pushes to some goal and does not flag or change direction. Once a destination is reached, the Questing Avatar sets a new goal and headas off again. Mages with this drive find themselves consumed by the need for a journey, the need to be in motion with a goal to achieve. These Essences seek a union of the other elements, and they strive to find a wholesome balance by treading the roads that lead between other Essences` paths.

Here comes step by step character generation:

The first thing to do is to figure out a concept for your character. The concept is a short description of your character, often a profession or something similar. The concept could be Cop, or maybe Prostitute, or Occult Scholar. Anything you come up with can do (with a few exceptions, of course)

Second, you figure your Nature and Demeanor. These are just words or short sentences to describe your character`s inner nature, and the way he/she acts and appears to others.

A Cop could for example have a Nature like Fair and Just, but have a Demeanor like Violent and Asocial.

Nature and Demeanor are quite different most of the time, even though there are some persons who are what they appear to be.

This step is very important.