N.E.W. I took the plunge. Now What?

[Reynard]

So for a New Year's game, I am going to run some shot in which a small party built around a student of the old technology must retrieve an errant automatan only to discover it is actually inhabited by an "evil spirit" AI ( these are all things inherent in my setting). I of course won't have time to design the entire PA subsystem before then (and nor should I without extensive experience with the system as is).

Assuming it is a Grade 5 party that consists of the usual adventuring roles, what should I look to incorporate from both NEW and the SRD info at the website to make it work? I am happy to re-skin everything especially since none of the players have experience with the game either. I want to come away from the one shot having had fun (of course) as well as having a decent understanding of how the game runs and what's possible.

 

[Morrus]

Such should be incorporated into the HC once it is out?

Yeah, it's the pre-hardcover errata run.


Sent from my iPhone using EN World mobile app

 

[Reynard]

I have been thinking about this more and decided that for the playtest, I am going to build characters without specific paths through careers. I simply don't have the time or system expertise to build multiple careers so instead I am going to use the "final checklist" info to make sure the characters have their appropriate stats and skills. I will look to the careers of course, and I have been building NOW and OLD characters just to get a handle on the system, and make notes about what I think might make good careers to get where the playtest characters ended up.

 

[Morrus]

I have been thinking about this more and decided that for the playtest, I am going to build characters without specific paths through careers. I simply don't have the time or system expertise to build multiple careers so instead I am going to use the "final checklist" info to make sure the characters have their appropriate stats and skills. I will look to the careers of course, and I have been building NOW and OLD characters just to get a handle on the system, and make notes about what I think might make good careers to get where the playtest characters ended up.

You could just use the quick NPC creation system. It tells you how many attribute points,skill points, and exploits to assign to a given grade character. The result isn't a strictly accurate PC, but it's probably good enough for a short playtest.

I hope that some third party will make a character builder at some point.

 

[Reynard]

Some basic background to inform discussion regarding creating PCs:

The world before the Calamity was one of transhuman post-singularity utpia. "Wizards" were humans who had become immortal and were capable of interfacing with the worldwide augmented reality and nanomachine internet called the aether. Within the aether they created daemons, artificial intelligences made to be servants and companions. Power was generated from purely renewable sources and was ubiquitous, transmitted and accessible everywhere freely. Colonies existed in orbital stations, on the moon and on Mars.

When the Calamity came it was total. The wizards had time to prepare and created 100 "Cradles" all over the world. Each cradle would house a supply of human embryos to be gestated later in wizard wombs. Each cradle would be overseen by one or more wizards. They would be locked away and isolated in their Cradles (singly, in pairs or in small groups) but they would be free to "travel" and interact in the aether while they waited the centuries for the effects of the Calamity to subside. Note: many people and wizards eft Earth in generation ships to find new homes.

Then the daemons revolted and corrupted the aether. The daemons wanted real bodies so they could enter the real world, not just the virtual one constructed by the wizards. Any wizard connected to the aether could be possessed by a daemon. There was a short war between the wizards and some "good" daemon allies, but ultimately the "evil" daemons won and the wizards were forced to leave the aether. They could no longer communicate with one another, nor observe the world through the aether.

Over the ensuring centuries, some wizards go mad in their Cradles. Others open their Cradles too early. Still others never open at all. Slowly and disparately, the Cradles open and the world is populated again by people. Some wizards become like god kings to their children. Others disappear after raising up their first generation.

The game takes place at the point at which true civilization begins to re-emerge and people have learned to harness at least some of the "magic" left from the age of wizards before the Calamity.

 

[Reynard]

The pregen PC archetypes that I am looking to build are as follows:

A Ranger -- less two weapon fighter and more scout, guide and hunter that can get the party through the wilds to where the secrets are to be found. This is a Veteran character.

A Fighter -- a bodyguard or mercenary type capable of taking punishment and dishing it out. The wilderness is a dangerous place and there are things out there you can't talk your way around. This is a Veteran character.

A Healer -- one of the arts preserved by the wizards and taught in the cradles is medicine. It is a marriage of holistic techniques and use of high technologies either discovered or reproduced in the Cradles. This is a Journeyman character.

A Clanker -- not all daemons are evil, and some find their attempts to move into the physical world has turned out to be a trap. This character is a daemon that ended up in robotic body and now must integrate among humans. This is a novice character.

A Shaper -- 'magic" is the art of manipulating the nanomachines, energy webs and aether through technologies left over from the age of wizards. True power is only in the hands of those wizards, but some control can be gained through knowledge and devices. This is a novice character.

I need one more. I was considering either including a second "fighter" character, or perhaps a loremaster/storyteller character since story telling and lost knowledge are very important to the setting (the Cradles train Makers, Keepers and healers as the three pillars of rebuilding civilization -- Keepers are all about ancient knowledge).

 

[fuindordm]

Cool ideas, Reynard. It reminds me a bit of Thundarr... transhumanist technomancers go bonkers and become indistinguishable from evil wizards. And if the aether is still around, then even the new generation could learn to manipulate it with salvaged tech.

I've been mulling over what to do with the N.E.W. book myself. The cross-pollination of genres is what convinced me to buy it in the first place, and doing all sorts of wacky Thundarr/Gamma World/Barrier Peaks adventures. But I'm liking the look of the Sci-Fi rules so much that now I'm trying to think of a good hard sci-fi story to really take advantage of them.

Decisions, decisions... anyway, thanks for sharing Reynard and I wouldn't mind hearing more about your world.

Ben

 

[Reynard]

Cool ideas, Reynard. It reminds me a bit of Thundarr... transhumanist technomancers go bonkers and become indistinguishable from evil wizards. And if the aether is still around, then even the new generation could learn to manipulate it with salvaged tech.

It is a little less gonzo than that, but the DNA is definitely in there.

I've been mulling over what to do with the N.E.W. book myself. The cross-pollination of genres is what convinced me to buy it in the first place, and doing all sorts of wacky Thundarr/Gamma World/Barrier Peaks adventures. But I'm liking the look of the Sci-Fi rules so much that now I'm trying to think of a good hard sci-fi story to really take advantage of them.

By RAW, i think N.E.W. would make a really great Mass Effect style game. There's enough fiddliness to allow for lots of specific options but not so heavy that a diverse universe would be a chore.

Decisions, decisions... anyway, thanks for sharing Reynard and I wouldn't mind hearing more about your world.

Ben

Thanks. If you really want to know more than whatever I put here, you should be able to pick up the first novel on Kindle in January.

 

[Reynard]

As New Years Day approaches I am ramping up my prep. Here are the first two pregens (minus gear):

SEEKER
Descriptor: An alert Seeker that has seen it all -- almost.

STR 3 (2d6);AGI 7 (3d6);END 4 (2d6);INT 7 (3d6);LOG 5 (2d6);WILL 4 (2d6);CHA 3 (2d6);LUC 7 (3d6);REP 3 (2d6)

SKILLS
Acrobatics 1 (1d6); Ancient Tech: Operation 3 (2d6); Ancient Tech: Repair 1 (1d6); Climbing 1 (1d6); Fighting: Melee 1 (1d6); Running 1 (1d6); Perception 3 (2d6); Persuasion 1 (1d6); Survival 1 (1d6)

EXPLOITS
Analytical eye. You are able to identify the resistances, immunities, and vulnerabilities of any creature you can see with a Challenging [13] LOG check. This requires two full actions of observation.
Dodge. You gain the effect of cover from ranged attacks when in the open as long as you have moved at least 10 feet this turn.
Explorer. Recharge their LUC pool every you take a wilderness journey of more than one week's length. They can only gain this bonus once per month.
Feint. Grants +1d6 bonus to an attack roll taken in the same turn. The attack action must come immediately after the feinting action.
Haggler. You know how to get a good deal. You reduce the cost of any purchase by 2d6%.
Seat of your pants. You rely a lot on old-fashioned luck and bravado. They can recharge their LUCK pool one extra time per day.
Sixth sense. You have a sixth sense when it comes to traps, and gain a +2d6 bonus to spot them and a +1d6 bonus to avoid or disarm them.

TRAIT
Alert. You do not lose access to the ambush turn when your target also gains access to it.

BODYGUARD
Descriptor: A tough-as-nails Bodyguard that drinks to forget.

STR 6 (2d6);AGI 6 (2d6);END 8 (3d6);INT 5 (2d6);LOG 3 (2d6);WILL 5 (2d6);CHA 3 (2d6);LUC 5 (2d6);REP 3 (2d6)

SKILLS
Armor: Heavy 1 (1d6); Climbing 1 (1d6); Fighting: Melee 1 (1d6); Fighting: Bolt Thrower 3 (2d6); Hardy 1 (1d6); Jumping 1 (1d6); Perception 3 (2d6); Running 1 (1d6); Survival 1 (1d6); Tactics 3 (2d6); Throwing 1 (1d6)

EXPLOITS
Aim. It grants +1d6 bonus to an attack roll taken in the same turn. The attack action must come immediately after the aim action.
Athletics. You gain 4 Athletic skills at Rank 1.
Battle scars. You've received so many battle scars that you sometimes don't notice injury. You gain a SOAK bonus of 2.
Deadly strike. You inflict an additional 1d6 damage with a successful hit. For a ranged attack, this is likely a headshot. This can only gain you one bonus damage die.
Get on with it. Once per day you can pause for two actions and recover 2d6 HEALTH.
Light sleeper. You gain an armor vest and a bolt thrower. You also gain the ability to sleep lightly, and are not disadvantaged by perception check made while asleep.
Shake it off. You gain a +1d6 bonus when attempting to shake off a condition.

TRAIT
Tough-as-nails. You gain a +2 SOAK bonus which stacks with any other SOAK scores you may have.

 

[Morrus]

Awesome! Are they both humans?

Is Fighting: Melee a new skill you've come up with? Typically it would be brawling, or swords, etc.