Slush Post 1
That Terrible Trumpeting, That Questing Beast
What am I pursuing in all this writing and re-writing?
There is a noise, a call, the sound of laughter and a tale well-told. It looms just over the horizon, taunting me ever on. As soon as I crest the hill... gone.
There is joy in planting a tree, in watching it grow, but what a tragedy to let the fruit rot on the limb.
These games are meant to be played.
Folks of Lune
Old Ideas...
Tinfolk - People of clockwork and churning gears. They often adventure to find new parts in the ancients' wreckage. Once a year, they must be oiled and rewound at their great waterwheel.
Frogs - Sentient humanoid frogs. Incredibly loyal, but they never forget a broken oath.
Dreamers - Elves fresh woken from a dream they cannot recall. Half-mad, ever seeing two worlds, unable to focus on either.
Strangers - Folk from over the mountains.
Monster Parts
I like class features that steal rampantly from monsters.
My fighters take trophies.
My witches can give monster features to their summons.
But this raises a question: what is a monster feature?
I have a solid formula for monster stats, and a lot of player features, so there's probably something we could try here.
Borrowing Magic
Magic is the domain of spirits. Therefore, to perform magic, mortals must gain power from spirits.
These beings are rare, though more common in dungeons and so-called "uncivilized" places.
There are 3 common ways to gain power from a Spirit, Naming, Bargaining, and Binding.
Naming: The first time you speak a Spirit's true name, it appears before you at a point of your choosing. Note that it is not in your control, and will act according to its will. A ring of salt or silver will contain it. The spirit is dismissed when the summoner speaks its name in reverse or dies.
Bargaining: Spirits cannot break their word. Convince a spirit to make an oath, and it will follow it to the letter. However, spirits are savvy, and usually include a release clause if you perform—or fail to perform—certain actions.
Binding: Certain devices have been known to bind spirits summoned within them, allowing the summoner to fully control them. This allows great power over a spirit, but take caution, for it will surely also drive them mad.
Ponderings from Echo Deep
I've been playtesting Echo Deep with some friends from the GLoG server recently, which is fun and complex! I don't think I've ever run a proper pvp before, so I'm trying to be incredibly fair, but in tactical infinity that does feel somewhat difficult. Some players have played defensively, some offensively, and thus far one Dark Lord has died following an absolute bloodbath of units and lieutenants dying horribly as their Lords smashed into each other.
Some thoughts.
Stark Procedures Save Minds
- The Turn Begins.
- Notify all dark Lords in the announcement channel, and on their personal channels.
- Dark Lords activate.
- They may also activate units in the same area they started their turn in.
- Sending a messenger is a free action, but messengers move at the end of the round.
- Other Units activate.
- Units always spawn a report after their turn. Reports move at the end of the round.
- Messengers move 2 spaces towards their named destination.
- Inform Dark Lords of all messages they receive.
- Alter units orders according to messages received.
- Messengers wait in their named destinations until units arrive.
Exceptions
- Meetings: Units follow orders if they have any, or instincts if they have none. Units moving slowly have a 50% chance to escape notice.
- Impossible Orders: Units follow instincts.
Unit Types
At this point, the lieutenants and units are somewhat difficult to track. In the future, I would start each Lord with only 4 units, 2 of which may be "Special Units." Dark Lords themselves would also qualify as Special Units. Units could be further buffed through Magic, Alchemy, or Artifacts.
A unit is about equal in strength to a mid-level adventuring party in a traditional Dungeon Delving Fantasy Adventure Game. It may be a single massive creature, or a band of a dozen smaller creatures.
Special Unit Types:
- Deadly: +1 to Hit.
- Swift: +1 Move
- Heavy: +1 Wound
- Skilled: +1 to a specific non-attack action such as Engineering, Stealth, or Alchemy.
- Arcane: 1 MD, 1 Spell (See below)
Dark Lords are doubly special, choosing two different bonuses from above.
Instincts
Each unit has an instinct, chosen by their Lord. Lords may swap a unit's instinct via message or order.
- Cautious: flee from all danger.
- Aggressive: attack equal dangers head on, flee if outmatched. Claim artifacts if possible and return them to the sanctuary.
- Herald: attempt negotiations, present an offer and a price, send a message if an accord might be struck, flee if attacked.
Dziadek's Magic
It would be interesting to develop domain level GLoG magic for Echo Deep.
Each Caster has 1 MD. They must rest a full turn to regain spent MD. Echo Deep spells are Rituals which take several hours to perform (i.e. one per turn per caster.)
Casters acting together may share MDs and Spells between eachother. E.g. if three casters in the same area all use their action to cast, one spell from a single caster can be cast with 3 MD, or each can cast their own spell at 1 MD, etc.
Each spell has its own Mishap // on doubles.
- Scry: See the actions of [dice] named targets. // They see you as well.
- Curse: A named target rolls all dice this turn with -[dice] // One caster suffers a wound.
- Bolster: A named target gains +[dice] to all rolls this turn. // It also takes one wound as you push it too hard.
- Mask: A touched target changes its appearance for [sum] days // It takes on the instincts of its new appearance for the duration.
The Privateer
When the gears slip and grind, a professional should be hired to align them properly. In a house full of gears, a professional should be kept on retainer to solve problems at a moment's notice.
Gear: A pair of flintlocks (d10, loud, action to load), a roll of lock-picks, a folding knife (d6, hidden), and a vial of powdered adder's venom (kills in d4 turns upon inhalation or introduction to the bloodstream, harmless if swallowed).
Skill: Street Rat, Dandy, or Sailor
Inisval
The isles at world's end.
It is said that the spirits of Inisval warned us away when we first arrived. They begged us with quiet voices to leave and never return, lest we wake them. Kel'shar.
Firstborn.
Of course we ignored them. We had our own worries, our own wars to flee, and here laid a green and peaceful land. We cut its timbers. We hunted its beasts. We found its very bones.
White monuments hid within the woods, doorways open, inviting.
The spirits hissed, and fled.
The Kel'shar woke.
For centuries all the world was caught in tyranny. We were their play-things, their slave armies, their larder.
What evil a mortal can dream of, can dare to imagine if she spends all her days at it, from cradle to gasping last breath. Such was child's play to the Firstborn.
At last they tired of their games, their mock-wars with living pieces, their insatiable appetites.
Away they've gone, back into the bones of the earth.
The gods sleep, and we are free.
But what shall we make of this freedom?
Magic
Magic runs through the world like blood. Everyone has a little.
Grand Spells are arcane things that write themselves on their caster's mind. One who finds a tome of magic may test their Mind, -3 per spell they have memorized. On success, the spell is transferred from the tome into their mind, waiting to be cast. On failure, you must wait another day to memorize that spell.
Casting a spell always works. They want to be free of you. Test Mind to force the spell to return to you. On failure, the spell returns to its tome.
Dziadek, Beginnings and Paths
D12 Beginnings
Roll a beginning, and choose one skill from its list to gain a +3 bonus, and 1 to gain a bonus of +2. Skill bonuses are added in addition to your attribute bonus.
- Forgotten Waif: Theft, Stealth, Street Smart
- Dock Worker: Muscle, Shanties, Gamble
- Engineer: Iron-working, Mechanics, Architecture
- Rat-catcher: Animals, Disease, Sewer Crawling
- Plague Doctor: Healing, Bedside Manner, Alchemy
- Thug: Intimidate, Brawling, Theft
- Priest: Religion, Occultism, Oratory
- Scholar: Spellcraft, Wands, Languages
- Noble: High-society, Language, Swordplay
- Soldier: Rifles, Swords, Medicine
- Cavalier: Pilot, Rifles, Survival
- Fanatic: Occultism, Stealth, Knives
Paths
Choose two paths and roll to gain an ability from each path. On each following level, you may choose a path amd roll to gain a feature from it.
Also gain d6 HP with each level. Level cannot exceed 5.
Umbral
Darkness surrounds you, seeps into your pores, claims you, serves you.
- Whenever you roll on this path, gain +1 to a Stealth or Deception skill.
- Vanish [Day], While concealed in shadow, turn invisible for an hour, or until you touch another being.
- Death Rattle [Day], touch a dead being and ask it a single question. It answers truthfully.
- Shadow Step [Watch], while hidden in shadow, teleport into any other shadow you see as your movement action.
- Through Umbra [Watch], an attack you witness ignores all armor and deals +d6 damage, or +2d6 if the attacker was hidden.
- Shadow Hand [Action], a shadowy hand appears at a point you can see. You may control it as an action. It uses your Will for any tests it makes.
- Blind [Action], a creature you touch becomes blind for ten seconds. Tests made against it gain advantage.
Starlit
- Whenever you roll on this path, gain +1 HP.
- Shooting Star: [Daily], starlike energy explodes from your hand, dealing 3d6 damage to all creatures in a zone, or 1/2 as much on a save.
- Heavenly Tear: [Daily], a creature who died within the last hour is restored to life. It lowers its maximum HP by d4 points.
- Starsong: [Watch], roll 2d6. Divide the result as healing among your allies.
- Gravity: [Watch], an object or creature falls toward another object or creature of your choice at full speed for 10 seconds.