Ocelot

I've been kicking around the idea of starting an online game of Blue Planet.  I'm wondering if anyone here would be interested in joining in?  Mostly, this is to see if there is an interest, and if there is, I'll see about getting things moving.

I used to do a lot of GMing in email, and before that, on local BBS's (including my own, back in the early 90's -- oh, the humanity!).  It's been a while, I admit, but I figure it's like riding a bike.  Plus, if it doesn't pan out, well...we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

So, any takers?  I'm figuring on a couple of different ideas right now, depending on what the interested parties are, well, interested in.  So do me this favor when you reply: Give me a brief idea of the kinds of games/plots that interest you: paramilitary, intrigue, etc.  General stuff.

If you're not sure what Blue Planet is like, there's a preview of the Player's Guide available here.  It's a 1.6mb PDF document, FYI.

Once I see if there's any interest on your end, I'll go forward with my mad schemes...er, I mean, the game.  We'll work out how we'll do characters, and go from there.

Cheers!

Gary

You betcha, have a good one.  Enjoy yourself, make the day memorable.  I can't for the life of me remember what I did when I turned 23.  Sizeable amounts of alcohol might have had something to do with that, though...

Gary

I liked Metallica when I was in high school, but that was 13 years ago.  Back then, radio stations would play Metallica late at night, like it was a dirty secret.  After "black" was released, all we heard around here were endless renditions of "Nothing Else Matters" and "Enter Sandman."  That got boring real quick.

After they released "Load," I picked it up to see what the sound was like.  I ended up pawning it off on one of my friends whose tastes were, shall we say, less refined than my own.

That's not to say that Metallica is a bad group.  I'm sure they work well together.  But the music they're making now is not the music that they were making when I was growing up, and I don't care for it.  Give me "Ride the Lightning" over the new stuff any day of the week.

Gary

A little scruffy right now, but I usually shave every other day.  Alas, I've been letting myself go.

Gary

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The only game console I have ever owned (well, shared with my brothers) was the 2600. And yes, it was second hand...

Kids today, they got it too good.  Back then, I didn't know anyone who could afford a 2600 outright; they were all second-hand by default.

One thing I do remember, those horrible Atari 2600 joysticks were compatible with my Commodore 128; long after that 2600 had gone into a dumpster or been sold off at a garage sale, I still had those bloody joysticks.  They must have done something right, though, because they never broke.

If I'm this bitter now, I can't imagine what I'll be like when I'm sixty.

Gary

Your multipliers are way too low, in my opinion.  That's just me, though.  Just to conserve game balance, you need to keep in mind that raising an attribute, even by one point, improves all skills that use that attribute as a base.  In effect, you're raising every single skill that uses that attribute by one point.

For statistics that have a lot of skills (Reflex, Intelligence, Tech), making the IP multipliers too low will effectively break the game, and turn it into a twink's Nirvana.  After all, why should I bother to raise my Thai Kick Boxing skill (Ip x4) when I can instead raise my Reflex (Ip x3) instead, which has the benefit of raising all my Reflex skills (including Thai Kick Boxing)?

Like I said, I think you're aiming too low.  The IP multiplier to raise any attribute should be a minimum of x5, simply because that's higher than the highest IP multiplier of any skill.  Any lower than that and you're asking for trouble.

Gary

I agree with Wilphe, definitely.  About the highest IP multiplier you'll see for skills is x4, so making the IP multiplier for stat improvement x5 (or higher) is probably more than acceptable.

If I were doing it, I'd likely set the IP multiplier for most attributes at x5, allow a character to raise a single attribute only once (or, at most, twice), and never to a score higher than 10.  This would need to be reflected in some sort of intense training, too -- bodybuilding for Body Type, running for MA, gymnastics for Reflex, etc.  This sort of training would have to be continued, or the player might end up losing these extra points over the course of a game.  There's a reason that star atheletes have to train all the time.

I'd have to say that certain attributes probably can't be raised through any sort of training, since (IMO) they represent fixed aptitudes at birth: Intelligence, Tech, Attractiveness, and Luck.  Attractiveness can be raised via cosmetic surgery, of course, but I think a character with a low IQ is probably stuck with it.

Cool and Empathy can likely be raised, but only through intense psychological and emotional therapy (probably including drugs).  People can learn to cope, and personalities can change.  I'd probably raise the IP bar on these two statistics to x6.

Just my two eurobucks.

Gary

Was born in the year of someone's Lord 1973, and will turn 30 in less than two weeks.

The fond memories of my youth include playing "Combat" and "Pong" on a second-hand Atari 2600, and standing in line to see "The Empire Strikes Back" the night it opened in Panama City (with Spanish subtitles).  I even remember seeing the original "Star Wars" when it came out, sitting in the front row because we got there late and it was the only place that had any seats left.  I was four years old, and that movie still blew me away.

Gary

The rules under "Three Round Burst" specify that a three round burst is made as one action.  So, theoretically, you can make several three-round burst attacks in a single turn so long as you take into account the penalties for multiple actions (-3 per additional action).

The point of the three round burst is to conserve ammunition.  It also gives you a +3 bonus to hit the target you're shooting at.  In my experience, weapons that are capable of three round bursts have a setting for that option (just as they have settings for single shot and automatic fire).  Even though a weapon may be capable of firing 35 bullets in one combat turn, that wouldn't necessarily apply to a weapon set to fire three round bursts.

Yep.  You add (or subtract, in the case of a negative value) the Weapon Accuracy from your to-hit roll.

Blackhand's Street Weapons 2020 is probably something you'd want to pick up.  Not only does it contain statistics for just about every boom stick ever published in the Cyberpunk game line, it also includes rules for special ammunition types and recoil.  I'm pretty sure it's still available in print, but don't quote me on that.

If you can find it, Listen Up You Primitive Screwheads contains a lot of tips for running (and playing) in the Cyberpunk genre, as well as a set of alternative combat rules and expanded rules for using explosives.

Gary

I haven't played in a while, but I'm pretty sure I remember the answers to these questions.  Anyone here with a fresher memory who spots an error in my advice, jump in.

Hit location, damage, stun/shock, and death saves (if applicable) for each bullet are determined separately.

That means that you can fire up to 35 rounds in a fully-automatic burst.  For every ten bullets in a burst, you gain a +1 bonus to your to-hit roll at Close range, and a -1 penalty to your to-hit roll at Medium, Long, and Extreme ranges.  For every point that you beat the to-hit number by, one of the bullets in your burst hits the target.

Though the rules don't seem to specify it, I grant the +1 bonus for every ten bullets in a burst at Point Blank range, as well.

By the book, you'd have to roll and risk a "1."

In my games, though, if a PC meets or beats the difficulty of a skill roll with only his stat and his skill bonus, success is automatic as long as the situation is not a stressful one, ie, the PC is under fire, hanging by his fingernails from a sixteenth-story ledge, or being chased by a group a nihilist gangers.

By the book, the IP is applied to a specific skill.  You can generally spend the IP between sessions to raise your skills.  You can save the IP up if you prefer to do so.

Some people find that awarding IP to individual skills can be cumbersome.  I, for one, award lump sums and let my players spend them as they see fit (within reason).

Gary

Christ on a crutch, I'm starting to have flashbacks.  Talking about this is like dropping acid, only it's much less humane...

Gary

You're showing both your age and mine, since I distinctly remember BBS's and 2400 baud modems, too.  Hells, I remember 300 baud modems and Commodore 64 computers.  So long as I drink my Ensure every day, my happy memories of yesteryear should remain fresh and crisp.

On the other hand, maybe senility will be a sweet mercy...

Gary

Let me know if you hear back from them.  Should be interesting...

Gary

Hey, no sweat.  I figured you knew it was bogus.  Gods, I hope I didn't sound condescending in my reply!

Gary

I hate to say it, being that I used to despise d20, but the cinematic style of the game seems to work pretty well in the new edition of the Star Wars RPG.

I guess I've changed a bit over the years.  I used to hate the cinematic themes in the original Star Wars RPG, to the point that I beefed up the stormtroopers so that they weren't such pussies.  I figured, "Hell, these are the elite of the elite in the Imperial war machine, so why can't they hit the broadside of a barn?"  My old Star Wars games had a much higher casualty rate.

I even converted some of the Star Wars information into Interlock and ran a game of that for my group.  The casualty rate went through the roof.  I think maybe two (of five or six) PCs managed to live through that game.  I thought it was pretty cool, but it didn't exactly fit the dynamics of the typical Star Wars movie.

These days, I guess I've loosened up.  I don't so much mind a little cinematic action, though I'm always careful not to let it get too far out of line.  The stormtroopers in d20 are still push-overs, but they make their D6 counterparts look like infants by comparison.

I still like D6.  I'm not sure if I'll ever run it again (I probably will, if my players browbeat me enough).  My quibbles with d20, as opposed to D6, come down to the class- and level-based mechanics inherent in the former.  Past that, I have no problems with d20 Star Wars.  It works pretty well for what it's designed to do (which is a total reversal of my feelings on this topic a little over a year ago).

D&D 3E, while being an overall improvement on AD&D 2nd in most areas, still feels wierd to me.  I think it's the fact that it's been homogenized so much.  The standard D&D setting (be it Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, or Dragonlance) is so cliched as to be completely uninteresting.  The good D&D settings have either been put out to pasture (like Dark Sun), farmed out to third parties (as with Ravenloft), or integrated with the overall whole (ie, Planescape).

What saves these games for me (and my players) is that we try and make the stories we tell character-driven.  In my experience, you can play the crappiest rules set and still have a wonderful time so long as the GM knows what he's doing.  I've been involved in several Shadowrun games that were excellently executed by their respective GMs, and I had a good time even though the system mechanics made me want to peel the skin from my own feet.

Eh, well.  I've caught myself babbling again.

Gary

Ahh, looks like you've gotten a version of the famed "Nigerian Scam Letter."  Normally, the letter details a sob story, and the author requests that you furnish them with your banking information so that they can transfer a large sum of money into your account temporarily.  You'll get a sizeable cut of this money, they say, but at what cost?

Details of the Nigerian scam can be found here.  It should tell you everything you want to know.

Several example of these letters can be found here, if you're interested.  Come to think of it, these letters (taken in any context) might be useful for Cyberpunk adventure seeds.

Prior to these things showing up in email, they were being mailed out via snail mail from Africa.  We got a couple of them in the office where I work, and my wife kept one due to the novelty value.  Now it seems that the operation (or operations) are totally email-based.  I suppose it saves them postage.

Gary

If it came via email, you can pretty much guarantee that it's probably not.  Check  this out for the origin of the killer biscuit legend.

That one is also false, with the origin being available here.

Your best bet when getting email or spam messages (especially ones that are funny or seem unlikely) is to check out Snopes to see if it's a myth.  Enter a few keywords and do a search.  If you've got time, check out the rest of their archive.  Some of the stuff is pretty amusing.

Gary

Welcome on-board.  I'm Gary (otherwise known as "Ocelot"), and I'm in gloomy Southern California.

Gary

It's been a long time since I've attempted running a game online.  I suppose it's possible, though I wouldn't know where to go with it just yet.  Let me mull over the possibilities, maybe read over the games that are going on around here to get an idea for how things might be done.

Gary

Sounds like you want to play "The Price of Freedom."  TPOF was put out by West End Games in the late 80's (I think), and it was a total take on "Red Dawn."  The Soviets had invaded the USA, and the players were freedom fighters and rebels working to make a difference and take back America.

The funniest thing was that the game catered to players taking on the roles of their avatars.  That is, you'd create a character based on yourself (with a touch of artistic lisence, of course), and then you'd be cut loose to blast communists.

I remember a lot of right-wing, anti-communist slogans in the book's margins.  I'm pretty sure it was done with tongue firmly planted in cheek, and it was pretty amusing.

Gary

You can't blame me for trying to be diplomatic...can you?  

Gary

Snowdog and Thumper have covered it pretty well, but I'll just add a little trivia.  Fuzion is supposed to be a combination of the Interlock and Hero System mechanics; hence, a fusion of the two systems.  As far as the game designers are concerned, Fuzion IS Interlock, but many gamers don't completely agree.

Gary

I had no idea that there were so many distinguished Cramps fans in these here parts...

My wife, brother-in-law, and I saw them play in Santa Ana last October.  I'd always made it one of my "life goals" to see the Cramps live, and I wasn't disappointed.  They just played down in San Diego, but I didn't go (not too hip on the venue they were playing, so I'll wait for them to play a better location).

Gary

Star Wars d20 has some interesting mechanics that allow you to avoid high hit point bad guys.  Characters get both Wound Points (equal to their Constitution) and Vitality Points (which are based on class and level).  Only "Heroic" classes (such as those played by the PCs) gain Vitality points, while the NPC classes only get Wound points.

Vitality is defined more as luck and skill in avoiding serious injury, and Vitality damage represents cuts, bruises, and exaustion (kind of like SDC in Palladium).  Weapons in Star Wars d20 do a lot of damage, and getting shot at is something to avoid, even at higher levels.  Critical hits apply their damage directly to a character's Wound points, which makes them much more deadly than their D&D counterparts.

Don't get me wrong, I don't support the idea of a d20 Cyberpunk game at all.  I'm not a big fan of classes or levels, but having playing Star Wars d20, I have to say that it isn't all that bad a game.

Gary

Off-topic, yeah.  

If the material sees publication, online or otherwise, I'll let you know.  As far as this writing crap is concerned, I often feel like a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.

Gary