imurphy943
First Post
Encounter Critical was a science fantasy RPG published in the late seventies on a school mimeograph, and playtested and illustrated entirely by the authors' gaming group. The only reason anybody remembers it is this post. This play report caused the game to be blogged about by Jeff Rients and Berin Kinsman, got the rules uploaded to scribd, and gained the game a modicum of Internet notoriety. Those who love the game and those who hate it generally agree that it can match Synnibar and Senzar for stupidity; the game almost goes out of its way to avoid using round numbers in the skill tables and XP tables, Godzilla and Gamora are included in the two-page spread of monsters, and playable races include "Vulkins", "Wookys", "Klengons", "Frankensteins", and "Hoblings".
But beneath the light-sabers and Thompson SMGs is actually a decent game design- it isn't well-balanced, story-oriented, or particularly realistic, but it is extremely fun to play for a certain type of person. These are four of my favorite rules from the game- these are the ones that make me say, this is why I'd play this instead of RIFTS.
Weapon and Armor Restrictions if you're going to include a class that does nothing but fight, it had better be better at it than the rest. Also, single-classed mages with huge axes are kind of ridiculous. On the other hand, you don't want to pull limits out of your ass (no edged weapons, mages can't wear armor) or go with a feat system (let's face it, they bloat the character sheet). Encounter Critical pulls this off with two of the most elegant solutions I've seen.
Non-Warriors may use no weapon that can make a damage roll higher than (their level) + 5. This number is doubled for "weapons which make use of the laws of science" (shotguns, grenades, light-sabers). All armor has a minimum Strength stat necessary to wear it without penalty, and Warriors may add their level to their Strength stat for the purpose of wearing armor. These rules accomplish everything that weapon and armor restrictions are supposed to while taking up much less space than the relevant d20 feats and making more sense than the TSR D&D restrictions.
Spellcasters and Psionics a lot of the appeal of playing a spellcaster is that you get a tangibly different play experience. That it is nothing like playing a warrior. And let's face it, spells are impossible to balance without hampering this appeal. Encounter Critical knows this, and so does away with any pretense of balance and goes hog wild with the spells. For example, "Warlock Pit" creates a 15' by 15' pit in the ground, which may optionally be filled with "a substance such as lava, crocodiles, or acid". There are no spell levels, and only fifteen spells are detailed, with player-created spells being encouraged. Warlocks may also create minor magical effects (anything they could do normally, but faster) at the cost of draining their skill percentiles. The class can be a Wizard, Cleric, or Druid at player choice without any changes, which is nice.
The other nice thing is Psionics! Not an appendix, not a supplement, but actual rules for a psychic class known as the "Psi-Witch". It is noted that most Psi-Witches are female, but that there is rumored to be an order of Psychic Knights that are exclusively male. Another nod to Star Wars is that Psi-Witches have the ability to fight while blind, and indeed cannot go up a level until they win a battle blind. The Psionics system is also incredibly simple, and functions through the use of the standard percentile skills. A normal character could use the 'Read Minds' percentile to attempt to tell if someone was bluffing, but a Psi-Witch could use it to actually read minds. A normal character could intimidate someone, but a Psi-Witch could instantly, and without speaking, imbue the subject with an extreme fear.
Player Involvement and Advancement Encounter Critical is a chaotic mishmash of mid-20th century pop culture; it doesn't mind player-created content, it encourages it. Encounter Critical gets players involved through certain requirements for advancing a level- for example, Criminals must commit a new crime before advancing a level. You don't just say, "Cool, level five", you say: "Alright, I've got the experience for level five. Let's blow up the mayor's space-petunia patch". This leads to entertaining adventures on the players' initiative, even if they would normally just follow where the DM leads. These requirements also encourage player creativity; the Warrior requirement reads:
"The Warrior may not go up a level until he defeats an equal or more powerful foe using a new kind of weapon. This may be a weapon that the Warrior has not used to qualify for a level before, or may be a new weapon of the Warrior's own devising, in which case it is added to the list of available weapons for the scenario. The latter option is preferred and should be rewarded by the Journey Master".
Warlocks must discover or invent a new spell and add it to their grimoire. Pioneers must discover some new natural feature and describe it in an interesting manner. Doxies (the class of go-go dancers, gigolos, and prostitutes) must seduce a more powerful and influential client. The players have to get involved.
Setting the setting consists of a page of backstory on the land of Vanth, and a two-page map (poorly drawn). No further detail is given on any of the areas of the map, arguably rendering its inclusion pointless. Not so! The map gives you a feel for the land and gets you really stoked to do some adventuring while still leaving the details up to your group. Dinosaur Island. The Empire of Darth Viraxis. The lands of the Ape Sultans. What's there? Only the DM decides. Many times I've found myself stumped trying to come up with something new. But give me a simple name like "Isle of Blacksteel" and I can come up with something cool to fit it with relative ease. What makes The Shunned Towns shunned? I'd love to run a sandbox campaign wherein the players pick a different spot on the map at the end of each session and go there in the next one.
These are four reasons that I prefer Encounter Critical for my go-to gonzo RPG.
But beneath the light-sabers and Thompson SMGs is actually a decent game design- it isn't well-balanced, story-oriented, or particularly realistic, but it is extremely fun to play for a certain type of person. These are four of my favorite rules from the game- these are the ones that make me say, this is why I'd play this instead of RIFTS.
Weapon and Armor Restrictions if you're going to include a class that does nothing but fight, it had better be better at it than the rest. Also, single-classed mages with huge axes are kind of ridiculous. On the other hand, you don't want to pull limits out of your ass (no edged weapons, mages can't wear armor) or go with a feat system (let's face it, they bloat the character sheet). Encounter Critical pulls this off with two of the most elegant solutions I've seen.
Non-Warriors may use no weapon that can make a damage roll higher than (their level) + 5. This number is doubled for "weapons which make use of the laws of science" (shotguns, grenades, light-sabers). All armor has a minimum Strength stat necessary to wear it without penalty, and Warriors may add their level to their Strength stat for the purpose of wearing armor. These rules accomplish everything that weapon and armor restrictions are supposed to while taking up much less space than the relevant d20 feats and making more sense than the TSR D&D restrictions.
Spellcasters and Psionics a lot of the appeal of playing a spellcaster is that you get a tangibly different play experience. That it is nothing like playing a warrior. And let's face it, spells are impossible to balance without hampering this appeal. Encounter Critical knows this, and so does away with any pretense of balance and goes hog wild with the spells. For example, "Warlock Pit" creates a 15' by 15' pit in the ground, which may optionally be filled with "a substance such as lava, crocodiles, or acid". There are no spell levels, and only fifteen spells are detailed, with player-created spells being encouraged. Warlocks may also create minor magical effects (anything they could do normally, but faster) at the cost of draining their skill percentiles. The class can be a Wizard, Cleric, or Druid at player choice without any changes, which is nice.
The other nice thing is Psionics! Not an appendix, not a supplement, but actual rules for a psychic class known as the "Psi-Witch". It is noted that most Psi-Witches are female, but that there is rumored to be an order of Psychic Knights that are exclusively male. Another nod to Star Wars is that Psi-Witches have the ability to fight while blind, and indeed cannot go up a level until they win a battle blind. The Psionics system is also incredibly simple, and functions through the use of the standard percentile skills. A normal character could use the 'Read Minds' percentile to attempt to tell if someone was bluffing, but a Psi-Witch could use it to actually read minds. A normal character could intimidate someone, but a Psi-Witch could instantly, and without speaking, imbue the subject with an extreme fear.
Player Involvement and Advancement Encounter Critical is a chaotic mishmash of mid-20th century pop culture; it doesn't mind player-created content, it encourages it. Encounter Critical gets players involved through certain requirements for advancing a level- for example, Criminals must commit a new crime before advancing a level. You don't just say, "Cool, level five", you say: "Alright, I've got the experience for level five. Let's blow up the mayor's space-petunia patch". This leads to entertaining adventures on the players' initiative, even if they would normally just follow where the DM leads. These requirements also encourage player creativity; the Warrior requirement reads:
"The Warrior may not go up a level until he defeats an equal or more powerful foe using a new kind of weapon. This may be a weapon that the Warrior has not used to qualify for a level before, or may be a new weapon of the Warrior's own devising, in which case it is added to the list of available weapons for the scenario. The latter option is preferred and should be rewarded by the Journey Master".
Warlocks must discover or invent a new spell and add it to their grimoire. Pioneers must discover some new natural feature and describe it in an interesting manner. Doxies (the class of go-go dancers, gigolos, and prostitutes) must seduce a more powerful and influential client. The players have to get involved.
Setting the setting consists of a page of backstory on the land of Vanth, and a two-page map (poorly drawn). No further detail is given on any of the areas of the map, arguably rendering its inclusion pointless. Not so! The map gives you a feel for the land and gets you really stoked to do some adventuring while still leaving the details up to your group. Dinosaur Island. The Empire of Darth Viraxis. The lands of the Ape Sultans. What's there? Only the DM decides. Many times I've found myself stumped trying to come up with something new. But give me a simple name like "Isle of Blacksteel" and I can come up with something cool to fit it with relative ease. What makes The Shunned Towns shunned? I'd love to run a sandbox campaign wherein the players pick a different spot on the map at the end of each session and go there in the next one.
These are four reasons that I prefer Encounter Critical for my go-to gonzo RPG.
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