Game Idea(s)

[GreenKarl]

So I have been playing back and forth in my brain another game. On one hand I want to do something really different, and on the other hand I want to do another D&D 5^th game hehe

So forever now I have wanted to do a Monster Hunters style of game. I have been batting around in my head what system/setting I want to do and right now I am heavily leaning towards a really weird Victorian/Western Steampunk/Crazy Tech & Magic setting. I think that I would use the Radiance system as it is free. I have a few houserules that I would use but basically…

The sun never sets upon the Empire of her Most Revenant & Eternal Queen Morgan le Fay, Fairy Queen of the Sidhe Court, Empress of India, Queen of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the Colonies of America, High Elector of Iran, Royal Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, Her Worship of the Union of South Africa, and Queen-Protectorate of the Isle of Japan and lands of Manchuria. Her Royal Airships cast shadows on every continent, her Royal Navy sail upon every Sea, her Royal Army stride across every Land. Thousands of souls bend knee to her Holy and Just Rule. She has reigned upon the Eternal Thorn for 1889 years. All races recognize her power and influence and even her enemies tread lightly in her presence.

But all is not well in her lands. For in the shadows monsters creep. Beings of intelligence and malevolence so powerful that all of her military and magical might can do nothing to stem their tide. The only light holding them back are the small Cabal of dedicated warriors known as the Order of Shadow, or simply the Order. These brave men and women swear eternal vigilance to the Queen and to the people of the Empire, to protect them from these horrors unto their dying breath.

This game starts in the ancient city of Londinium with the characters all being newly sworn in members of Order of Shadow, a semi-secret group of dedicated monster hunters. The setting contains Magical (everyone knows about magic, divine, arcane and psionic, powers, etc.), Steampunk (in the technology not really the ‘punky’ part) and Electro-technology (although the world has not reach the Rocket Age yet so no space travel… at least none that you know of), almost all the races and classes listed in the Radiant Player’s Handbook, etc.

The monsters the Order has dedicated themselves to fighting span the globe and includes facing off against all kinds of EVIL monsters. There are creatures that in a normal fantasy style game would be considered monsters but not here. Things like owlbears and dire animals. These are just treated as normal animals, dangerous but nothing that the normal mundane world can’t handle. Others like dragons often interact with the various races on the world and may or may not be treated as treats by the Order.

The OTHER idea I have is a D&D 5^th ed. game based on the Dwimmermount. There is an ancient dungeon that has recently started “opening” again. The dungeon had been sealed for the last hundred years AND most of the magical items that are found in the region came from this dungeon. Now there is a rush by many forces to seek out new treasures within its walls. The shanty town of Muntburg has opened its gates to supply these fortune hunters. And while there are not many who would dare the dark halls of this ancient tomb, there are others like the heroes seeking fame and fortune within its walls. Some might even be plotting to stab others in the back to steal their ill-gotten gains…

The heroes have come to seek their fame here. Do they seek a sponsor to fund their expositions? Will they try and go it alone? Do they make allies with the other fortune hunters here or enemies? There are those seeking specific artifacts or items whom will pay mounds of coin for them, but can they be trusted? And why do the rats in this shanty town seem so intelligence?

So this is mostly an interest thread. I don't think I want to start more then one additional game so I want to see what has the MOST interest for people. As I am already running a D&D game here I am leaning towards the Monster Hunters game BUT I really am digging Dwimmermount. It is a cool old school dungeon.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

I'd be interested in Dwimmermount

 

[KahlessNestor]

Both sound cool. I don't know anything about Radiance though. Can you give a rundown?

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[TallIan]

I was going to have a quick look at the rules for radiance but then realised that it's late, so maybe tomorrow.

Dwimmermount sounds fun though.

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[tglassy]

I looked Radiance over. It looks like they use the 3.5 OGL, only they change up the classes so you cherry pick features from a list as you level up, including maneuvers or spells. Some interesting new races and classes, such as a Vampire class and a Werewolf class. They've got rules for magic, steampunk and high tech gear, which you can use all together or separately. All in all, fairly interesting I'd be interested in playing a Warmech Gunslinger, or a Psion of some kind. Or a Necromancer. One of the Paragon Skills, which I assume is like an epic boon, you can choose from for Necromancers is a Lich Phylactory, which literally turns you into a Lich. Nice to see an actual game mechanic for that.

 

[GreenKarl]

Radiance is kind of a straight forward and simplified 3.5 rules with some 4th ed stuff. It has Wounds and Vitality (from the old Star Wars d20 games first version) but you don't suffer wounds until all your Vitality is gone (it SWd20 you suffered wound damage from critical hits also). Skills are dependent on what things you invest in, not your level. Saving Throws are static, instead of being rolled. Each level you pick some abilities and these can boost things like skills or give you various powers (like in 4th ed). There is a bunch more though...

 

[GreenKarl]

Yea you have the tier system in Radiance must like 4th ed. They start out at 'Basic', Intermediate, Advanced and Paragon Tiers. As you go up in levels you can chose different abilities, etc. Spells are just selected Abilities so they are also very similar to how you got your 'powers' in 4th ed.

 

[KahlessNestor]

Cool. Downloading Radiance to check it out (it's free, after all!)

 

[GreenKarl]

So a bit more of the set up for each game.



For the Radiance game, your characters will all be young idealist who have recently been sworn into the Order of the Shadow or simply the Order. The Order is a semi-secret group that have offices and members spread throughout the Empire. They are troubleshooters and monster hunters for the Faire-Queen, the ruler of the British Empire of 1889.

You will be starting at 2nd level and NOT expect to go out and fight the true horrors that face the subjects of the Empire, but sort of in training and sent out on less dangerous missions to not only test yourselves but also as tests within the Order.

The true "monsters" of the setting are the alien aberrations, wild vampires and were-creatures, demons and devils from beyond the Veil, Void (Outer space) invaders, monsters from the deep ocean and from the depts of the earth, undead outbreaks, etc.

The first "mission" that the group is assigned, a few days after their swearing in, is to investigate the disappearance of the corpse of a recently deceased mother of a Lady whom is a 'friend of the Orders'. Your new masters are worried that it might be crypt eaters or something similar...

[sblock=HOUSERULES & CHARACTER CREATION]MINOR HOUSERULES
Characters gain their Highest Attribute as a bonus to Vitality and gain ½ (round down) their Constitution bonus to their base Wound points. You also recover your (level +1) x Constitution modifier (minimum ½ your level, round up) back in Vitality point after a day of rest. Instead of a Nap, change any one of those conditions to a Short Rest of 30-60 minutes time.

Firearms and the technology to build them is very common, and everyone is assume to be proficient with Firearms (without need of the Firearm ability, which still grants bonuses to Mechanics). Muskets costs a third of their listed price in the book and found mostly in the developing world. Standard Firearms within the Empire are as follows (updated from the rules book a bit)

Army Revolver – this heavy pistol is was used exclusively by the old world armies. It sports a revolving cylinder 5-round magazine and is still a favorite weapon for use in close range combat of many officers in military units. It requires either a move action to load 1 bullet or one’s entire turn to reload all 5 bullets. Army Revolvers are noisy. (Price: 60gp, Rating: Medium, Damage: 2d8, Range: 40ft, Weight:, 5lbs, Type: Piercing)
Army Rifle¹: This is a heavy round, one-shot rifle used mostly by large armies but also big game hunters. It holds one round that is reloaded with a trapdoor spring magazine, requiring a move action to reload. Army Rifles are noisy. (Price: 80gp, Rating: Heavy, Damage: 2d10, Range: 120ft, Weight:, 12lbs, Type: Piercing)
Derringer: A light, concealable two-barrel pistol often carried by ladies and gentlemen who do not wish to wear a pistol at their hips. It takes 1 round to reload 1 round or a Standard action to reload both chambers. Derringers are noisy. (Price: 15gp, Rating: Light, Damage: 1d10, Range: 20ft, Weight:, 2lbs, Type: Piercing)
Repeating Rifle¹:: This firearm helps when you need to quickly hit multiple far targets. It holds 5 rounds at a time and requires either a move action to load 1 round or one’s entire turn to reload all 5 rounds. Repeating Rifles are noisy. (Price: 40gp, Rating: Medium, Damage: 2d8, Range: 80ft, Weight:, 8lbs, Type: Piercing)
Revolver: A moderately weighted pistol favored by many individuals for personal protection. It sports a sports a revolving cylinder 6-round magazine. It requires either a move action to load 1 bullet or one’s entire turn to reload all 6 bullets. Revolvers are noisy. (Price: 35gp, Rating: Light, Damage: 2d6, Range: 30ft, Weight:, 3lbs, Type: Piercing)
Shotguns¹: This muscular firearm performs best at close range and uses explosive shells rather than rounds. The shells usually contain small metal balls, whether lead, cold iron, silver, or adamantine. Shot may also be salt, holy wafer bits, or similar materials harmful to certain creatures. A shotgun holds 6 rounds at a time and requires either a move action to load 1 shot or one’s entire turn to reload all 6 shots. Shotguns are noisy. (Price: 50gp, Rating: Medium, Damage: 2d8, Range: 30ft, Weight: 7lbs, Type: Piercing)
¹ - These firearms require two-hands to fire effectively.

Note that Gunslingers only start with 150gp for firearms and ammo because of the reduced cost across the board.

Almost all physical attacks (Firearm shots, Melee Weapon Attacks, Punching, etc.) are now against the target's Reflex Defense. Heavy melee weapons do not attack against a foes Fortitude (this is just a personal bias as the characters with the highest Fortitude saves also tend to have the highest DR, etc. Its just easier on my mind).

CHARACTER CREATION
1. Assign Attributes – 16, 15, 14, 13, 11, 9
2. Pick a Race and note the Attribute modifiers, and racial basics – Size, Speed, Vision, Wound Points, Comeliness, Base Age, Languages, Typical Deity, and Multiclass Options. Then pick two Racial Abilities from a menu of options. You have the option of forfeiting one racial ability for a lesser Noble Title, which grants you a monthly income and other perks. (Note that Dromites are not an allowed race)
3. Starting at 2^nd level. Select a Class (and 2^nd class if multi-classing) and note its’ Core Abilities. At 2^nd level you gain 4 Basic Abilities from the class OR if you are Multi-Classing you gain the 3 core abilities of that class plus 1 Basic ability of the class). Note you can’t take an evil-only class for this game (Black Guard, Necromancer or Warlock).
4. Select a Theme and add two Minor Boon from that Theme (one for 0-level and one for 2^nd level).
5. Calculate Skills – adding Racial, Class and Minor Boon points with Attribute bonuses to all skills.
6. Calculate Hit Points – Wounds are based on your Race and Vitality at 1^st and 2^nd level is 5 + your highest attribute modifier (add them together).
7. Calculate your Attack – based on your Classes Primary Attribute + ½ your level (round up)
8. Calculate Defense – 10 + ½ your level (round up) + class bonus + defense’s attribute modifier
9. Determine Starting Gold – gain the Average x2 (or the Average of both classes if Multi-Classing)
10. Determine Alignment – any non-evil.
11. Pick a Deity whom you most favor. You can switch out a class Ability for a Religious one if you wish (but you are not required)[/sblock]
[sblock=Character sheet]NAME:
RACE:
CLASS/LEVEL: /level
ALIGNMENT:
---
SENSES:
PERCEPTION +0; STELATH +0
LANGUAGES: Common
INITIATIVE: +0
---
SPEED: 30ft
ATTACK: d20+ (special)
WEAPON:
DAMAGE:
---
ARMOR: ; DR:
WOUNDS:
VITALITY:
FORTITUDE 10, REFLEX 10, WILL 10
---
STR 10 (+0), CON 10 (+0), DEX 10 (+0), INT 10 (+0), WIS 10 (+0), CHA 10 (+0)
PRIME ATTRIBUTE:
SKILLS Acrobatics (Dex), Appraise (Int), Arcane (Int), Athletics (Str), Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Dungeoneering (Int), Endurance (Con), Handle Animals (Wis), Heal (Wis), History (Int), Insight (Wis), Intimidate (Str), Literacy (Int), Mechanics (Dex), Music (Cha), Nature (Int), Nobility (Cha), Perception (Wis), Pilot (Dex), Religion (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Streetwise (Cha), Survival (Wis), Trick (Dex), Warcraft (Int)
---
AGE:, COMELINESS:
MULTICLASS OPTION:
DEITY:
THEME:
---
EQUIPMENT:
ENCUMBRANCE SLOTS:; MAX:
COIN:
---
RACIAL ABILITIES:
CLASS ABILITIES:
MINOR BOON:[/sblock]

Dwimmermount info to come next...

 

[GreenKarl]

Oh I should note that for the Radiance game I would not want Evil characters. If you want to play a Black Guard, Necromancer and Warlock, you have to come up with an in-game idea on why you are not evil AND then have to come up with some way around your 'evil advancement requirement' (cause killing an innocent to appease your dark patrons is a no-no for the Order hehe).

Also I don't think I am going to allow the Dromite race and their is also a Medium sized version of the Grippli called a a Bullywug. The have no penalty to STR, are Medium Sized Creatures and have 9 Wound Points. Otherwise all other stats and abilities as the Grippli (collectively, Bullywugs and Grippli are called Bog Trogs)