[non d20] Buffy RPG

[Cor Azer]

I just don't find 'you take 10 damage' very horrific - "you take a severe wound to your right arm, crippling your hand..." would seem better for a physical horror game like AFMBE.

From that perspective, yes, a more detailed damage system might be interesting...

But if the Director/Game Master/Whatever it's called in AFMBE has to slow down the action during combat to figure out where the PC got hit, then you can lose a bit of the feeling of a mass of zombies swarming over you.

Again, fast and loose combat helps the cinematic feel that's almost necessary to get PCs worried about all the zombies that are everywhere, but I admit, that's just my opinion.

 

[Eden Studios Inc]

But if the Director/Game Master/Whatever it's called in AFMBE

Zombie Master

 

[Protosift]

I just don't find 'you take 10 damage' very horrific - "you take a severe wound to your right arm, crippling your hand..." would seem better for a physical horror game like AFMBE.

From what I've seen it's actually the fast and loose nature of the Unisystem which allows a Zombie Master or what have you to take the time to give more cinematic descriptions of actions, unless of course your characters aren't the types for descriptive combat in which case the complicated sort of system would most likely just irk them. This is of course an opinion based off a mere read-through of the Buffy game.
-Protosift
"Adaptation is the underlying strength of the human race"

 

[doctorjeff98]

Several people mentioned buying the game and converting it to a different system or just adapting the skills/magic etc. to their current game. Seems like a great idea; although, I get a lot of enjoyment out of learning a whole new set of rules.

 

[S'mon]

From what I've seen it's actually the fast and loose nature of the Unisystem which allows a Zombie Master or what have you to take the time to give more cinematic descriptions of actions, unless of course your characters aren't the types for descriptive combat in which case the complicated sort of system would most likely just irk them. This is of course an opinion based off a mere read-through of the Buffy game.
-Protosift
"Adaptation is the underlying strength of the human race"

Although the system (like D&D) allows for description, it doesn't (from my play experience) allow for degrading of abilities due to injury. I'm thinking of buying the book and making my own hit-location & damage system, maybe based off the Traveller: New Era one since that allows for PCs to be quite tough (unlike Runequest, say) and lets you use non-hit-location damage for disposable NPCs.

 

[Steverooo]

Re: Perhaps you guys could be of some help

Well, I am currently awaiting the Core Book's arrival, and would like to get a campaign going. Evidently we have some members of this board with Directing experience. would it be too bizarre to ask those with experience to give me some genral Buffy-specific advice on running the game, and keeping the feel right. i'm not completely sure, that anyone in my area would be interested in a agem with a typical Scooby gang, but i would like to maintain the feel of the series.
I would also appreciate if anyone could tell me what the supplements really add to the game-I'm not sure how much money I'm going to be willing to spend on another game right now, but our D&D game is on hiatus.
-Protosift

First of all, EVERY Director needs to decide how they are going to handle the "Uzi loaded with wooden 9mms", and the other such tricks the PCs will think of... and BELIEVE me, they WILL think of it! This tends to spoil the mood, but it is logical that if wood through the heart kills vamps, that the best way to GET it there is with a sub-machinegun!

(So, the easy answer is to say that - for some reason, the wood has to go all the way into, through, and out of the heart, and then STAY there in order to work - hence, it has to be at least the length of a pencil. Thus 9mms, and even 3" shotgun shells loaded with lonng "toothpicks" don't work, but arrows and crossbow bolts still do... if wooden!)

PS: Beware of modern composites! Not all pencils are wooden!!!

 

[Steverooo]

Heh - wait until you see Dark Willow's character sheet

I thought that was "Black Willow"!

 

[ToddSchumacher]

I thought that was "Black Willow"!

Or "Darth Rosenberg"?

 

[Cor Azer]

I thought that was "Black Willow"!

On the show she was never refered to as anything but Willow (except for Andrew's Darth Rosenberg), but to my knowledge has always been called Dark Willow when that story arc has be written about.

 

[S'mon]

Re: Re: Perhaps you guys could be of some help

First of all, EVERY Director needs to decide how they are going to handle the "Uzi loaded with wooden 9mms", and the other such tricks the PCs will think of... and BELIEVE me, they WILL think of it! This tends to spoil the mood, but it is logical that if wood through the heart kills vamps, that the best way to GET it there is with a sub-machinegun!

(So, the easy answer is to say that - for some reason, the wood has to go all the way into, through, and out of the heart, and then STAY there in order to work - hence, it has to be at least the length of a pencil. Thus 9mms, and even 3" shotgun shells loaded with lonng "toothpicks" don't work, but arrows and crossbow bolts still do... if wooden!)

PS: Beware of modern composites! Not all pencils are wooden!!!

The graphite bullets were used vs vampires in the UK Channel 4 series Ultraviolet. In Buffy, it seems like the tougher the vampire, the bigger the needed stake - eg Buffy needed a virtual telegraph pole to kill Kakistos, a Master-level vamp. So maybe graphite bullets would only be effective on lesser vamps. And unless you're the Initiative, it shouldn't be easy to acquire such things.

I'd think an Uzi would be the wrong gun for the precise shot through the heart, anyway. A spray is no good. Maybe an MP5 on single-shot.