Stormfalcon
First Post
trancejeremy said:
Thanks. Yeah, that is pretty problematic, and I'm surprised that WotC hasn't called them on it yet.
Anyway, back on topic.
Stargate SG-1 First Impressions
- Thread starter Korvas_Senn
- Start date
Thanks. Yeah, that is pretty problematic, and I'm surprised that WotC hasn't called them on it yet.
Anyway, back on topic.
One thing I'm surprised you DIDN'T note in the combat section. For those unfamiliar with the Spycraft system, it does not use attacks of opportunity. Which, I can tell you, makes combat a LOT cleaner.
As for Trick, essentially it is a complex feint. You're drawing people out, putting them off-balance, forcing them to move their attention and stance around, and generally tiring them out. The Concentration skill allows you to blithely ignore such prancing about (assuming you succeed in the check). The result of getting tired is subdual damage. The trickster is never actually hitting their opponent, just wearing them down and waiting for the adrenaline buzz to wear off, leaving them vulnerable.
As for Trick, essentially it is a complex feint. You're drawing people out, putting them off-balance, forcing them to move their attention and stance around, and generally tiring them out. The Concentration skill allows you to blithely ignore such prancing about (assuming you succeed in the check). The result of getting tired is subdual damage. The trickster is never actually hitting their opponent, just wearing them down and waiting for the adrenaline buzz to wear off, leaving them vulnerable.
trancejeremy
Adventurer
Ha! Finally got my copy today. (I shouldn't complain about the delay, it only took 2 weeks, and I saved $10).
Got book a few days ago, and Isabel might give me some extra time to digest it.
Overall impression is that while it is the most expensive rpg book i have ever bought, it was a bargain. The background info is great, the rules i have read so far look great with a few exceptions, and overall the quality is every bit what i would love to see in other products.
Just the early bits of the combat system including fluid initiative and the way they represent cover fire and such seem great! They seem to have hit a good mid-point dancing-on-head-of-a-pin between "simplicity" and "feels right."
But...
Ok, does anyone else but me not like their approach to the hit points = vitality system. i mean, basically it looks like standard dnd hit points with an added batch of "wounds" hit points shoved in between hit points and -1 to -9. The only thing differentiating it from the typical "wall of hit points" DND notion is that criticals go against wounds.
I was hoping for something more, in my view, reflective of the quick action in the show. I was even looking forward to something like the stun/body we saw in Traveller D20.
Anyway, as work begins in earnest for my Stargate campaign, I am already planning to replace the whole hit points thingy with a damage save mechanic akin to MnM... where any hit can KO and most hits will impact you in some way, even if only briefly. (There is some of this in the fluid init system.)
Anyway, just curious of what people thought of the way they did VP/Wp and "damage taking" in SG-1 RPG.
Overall impression is that while it is the most expensive rpg book i have ever bought, it was a bargain. The background info is great, the rules i have read so far look great with a few exceptions, and overall the quality is every bit what i would love to see in other products.
Just the early bits of the combat system including fluid initiative and the way they represent cover fire and such seem great! They seem to have hit a good mid-point dancing-on-head-of-a-pin between "simplicity" and "feels right."
But...
Ok, does anyone else but me not like their approach to the hit points = vitality system. i mean, basically it looks like standard dnd hit points with an added batch of "wounds" hit points shoved in between hit points and -1 to -9. The only thing differentiating it from the typical "wall of hit points" DND notion is that criticals go against wounds.
I was hoping for something more, in my view, reflective of the quick action in the show. I was even looking forward to something like the stun/body we saw in Traveller D20.
Anyway, as work begins in earnest for my Stargate campaign, I am already planning to replace the whole hit points thingy with a damage save mechanic akin to MnM... where any hit can KO and most hits will impact you in some way, even if only briefly. (There is some of this in the fluid init system.)
Anyway, just curious of what people thought of the way they did VP/Wp and "damage taking" in SG-1 RPG.
That's how the VP/WP work in the revised Star Wars, and I think that's how it also works in Spycraft, so they just used the same thing used in the other games. It's a hell of a lot better than using straight out hit points...at least this way, when somebody does take vp, we can assume they just got out of the way, and when somebody does take wp, we know they really got hit, and hit hard.
Using just hit points is inferior and I'm glad they didn't use them.
Using just hit points is inferior and I'm glad they didn't use them.
The VP/WP system is licensed from the Star Wars RPG for use in the Spycraft products. I prefer it over hit points as it adds a more lethality without making the system too lethal. I am not familiar with the rules presented in Traveller d20 so I cannot compare the two rulesets.tesuji said:
The VP/WP is a well known hit point alternative that is used in several products, thus it has an established base of players who already understand the rules for it. This is an advantage to it.
The damage save system in MnM is a brilliant system but drifts very far from the d20 standard. Using such a different system would invalidate the use of any Spycraft books with Stargate as well as require substantial adjustments for any future Stargate supplements.
trancejeremy
Adventurer
Actually, it almost seems that the VP/WP system is less deadly than the HP system, at least in Stargate (I don't have SW Revised or Spycraft).
Why? Because you only can score a critical hit if you want to spend an action die (not by making a second roll, like in regular d20). You only get 3 action dice a session, so you will have a max of 3 critical hits. So you have to go through someone's VP, then their WP, to take them down.
Why? Because you only can score a critical hit if you want to spend an action die (not by making a second roll, like in regular d20). You only get 3 action dice a session, so you will have a max of 3 critical hits. So you have to go through someone's VP, then their WP, to take them down.
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