Action Chatroom Development Thread: Now with only 10% added sugar!
- Thread starter KaiserElectric
- Start date
Lighthearter
President of the United States
Unless it picks up 2 sign ups in the next 48 hours BoP is dead.
On the plus side, I have a brand new AC concept that I'll probably run next.
No, I highly doubt Agents or Atlantic Rim will be next(though it's possible) since the community's reaction to BoP has soured me on them. They're still on my list but I'll run them when I feel like it.
Which may after all be my next AC but at the moment Rise of the Scarlet Star is winning.
On the plus side, I have a brand new AC concept that I'll probably run next.
No, I highly doubt Agents or Atlantic Rim will be next(though it's possible) since the community's reaction to BoP has soured me on them. They're still on my list but I'll run them when I feel like it.
Which may after all be my next AC but at the moment Rise of the Scarlet Star is winning.
Daird
Warlord
Let's make it official: With two signups in two weeks, I think it's safe to call mine dead.
Spoiler :
SamSniped
DJ Goodboye
Can anyone give me an explanation of how an AC works?
A lot of ACs could be described as very simple homebrewed Dungeons & Dragons-esque games with heavy focus on the RP side of things. Or just RP games with stats. Sometimes even RP games without stats
bonefang
Emperor
When ever these are conducted, I am sleeping :/
Lighthearter
President of the United States
Yes, time is a key factor. When it comes to RPGs, I've been thinking about doing a play-by-post, it would involve less stats and more roleplay.
Spoiler :
In one community, for example, they have an RPG about ASOIAF. They have others too, but only that one has own forum. And also exist another community called Roleplayer Guild.
Arrow Gamer
America's Dictator
I am familiar with play by post, and I'd argue it works best when there's a large community because then something is always happening. Otherwise the thread just dies.
The closest forum games is probably able to support is Roll to Dodge, but even those die before ten pages on the norm.
The closest forum games is probably able to support is Roll to Dodge, but even those die before ten pages on the norm.
A larger community would be ideal. Still, I'm interested in trying.
I once attempted a similar concept, albeit with some major divergences, over on NES - if you can find the original game called Core in the archives over there somewhere, that would be it. Attempts at a reboot were less successful, unfortunately.
Kinich-Ahau
#JustGoomyThings
Looks interesting.
Lighthearter
President of the United States
In response to Defacto's AC:
The traits, I'm not so sure about. Why not just make them smaller bonuses instead of tradeoffs? If people want to trade STR for AGL, for example, they can do that when they assign points. I'd merge perks and traits.
Also I'm assuming "Start with 3 points" means "3 points in EACH" since because of that "Minimum 2 in each stat" thing having only 13 total points would really suck.
I like that resistances idea. I may steal that for my next stat-based game.
I see you're using the classic D&D Armor Class system. I look forward to seeing how that works - I'd been considering it but preferred a more random approach.
About my own work:
I'm currently tossing two or three ideas around. I'm going to put them(and all the necessary rules) in this thread, but I am firmly stating that the final choice of what to run is mine and mine alone. This is not a democracy. I'm inviting comments, preferences and constructive criticism, but this is not a vote. (Totally not still bitter about BoP.)
All three ideas are extremely low on stats because I don't feel like excel calculus. They use the same base system: Each skill has four levels, each giving a +2 bonus. At level four, in addition to the bonus, you get a special ability.
Idea 1: Kid Spies(Name WiP)
Very much like the classic Under the Masks, just in a thriller setting instead of superhero. You play as 15-16 year olds in an American high school, who are also members of a secret society dedicated to preserving order and advancing the development of human society. You fight one-off villains and maybe some longrunning enemies, depending on which of my ideas actually stick to the wall.
Skill list:
The Outriders(A new take on the TLPACs):
Kind of like the premise for Birds of Prey being that the players were Rangers who would have no contact with the actual protagonists of the series(since the game took place before it), the premise for The Outriders is that the players are members of the titular organization shortly after it was founded 1,300 years prior to the books. The Gyrean Empire, for seven hundred years the single greatest realm on the world of Haven, has collapsed after a race known only as the Vampyres cast a plague upon its people and shattered the royal family. As the sons and daughters of the once-great Gyrean noble houses, it's up to your group to avenge the lost nation and end the Vampyres once and for all so that future generations need not fear them.
Since it takes place 1300 years in Haven's past, meeting the protagonists and feeling outshined by them, which has never actually happened in a TLPAC but I digress, is simply not possible. It operates on the same skill system as Kid Spies(and more or less the same skills) but due to being high fantasy quite a bit of things were reworked. Here's the list.
My other ideas are, in list form:
-Vampire/cryptid hunters during either WW2 or the Cold War
-A spaceship-based game with little to no off-ship elements
-A historical(WW2 or Age of Sail) naval game with little to no off-ship elements
-A brand new Superhero IP(However, with Knightfall running and since I just ended Scarlet Hand, I'm not too keen about this. If it's popular, I'll consider it, but I'm 90% chance going to change genres for a while.)
Let me know what you think of the skill list and of the concepts themselves. I'll make my final choice sometime soon - maybe as soon as this afternoon. Unless there's a lot of support for one of the other ideas, it'll either be Outriders or Kid Spies.
-L
The traits, I'm not so sure about. Why not just make them smaller bonuses instead of tradeoffs? If people want to trade STR for AGL, for example, they can do that when they assign points. I'd merge perks and traits.
Also I'm assuming "Start with 3 points" means "3 points in EACH" since because of that "Minimum 2 in each stat" thing having only 13 total points would really suck.
I like that resistances idea. I may steal that for my next stat-based game.
I see you're using the classic D&D Armor Class system. I look forward to seeing how that works - I'd been considering it but preferred a more random approach.
About my own work:
I'm currently tossing two or three ideas around. I'm going to put them(and all the necessary rules) in this thread, but I am firmly stating that the final choice of what to run is mine and mine alone. This is not a democracy. I'm inviting comments, preferences and constructive criticism, but this is not a vote. (Totally not still bitter about BoP.)
All three ideas are extremely low on stats because I don't feel like excel calculus. They use the same base system: Each skill has four levels, each giving a +2 bonus. At level four, in addition to the bonus, you get a special ability.
Idea 1: Kid Spies(Name WiP)
Very much like the classic Under the Masks, just in a thriller setting instead of superhero. You play as 15-16 year olds in an American high school, who are also members of a secret society dedicated to preserving order and advancing the development of human society. You fight one-off villains and maybe some longrunning enemies, depending on which of my ideas actually stick to the wall.
Skill list:
Spoiler :
The Outriders(A new take on the TLPACs):
Kind of like the premise for Birds of Prey being that the players were Rangers who would have no contact with the actual protagonists of the series(since the game took place before it), the premise for The Outriders is that the players are members of the titular organization shortly after it was founded 1,300 years prior to the books. The Gyrean Empire, for seven hundred years the single greatest realm on the world of Haven, has collapsed after a race known only as the Vampyres cast a plague upon its people and shattered the royal family. As the sons and daughters of the once-great Gyrean noble houses, it's up to your group to avenge the lost nation and end the Vampyres once and for all so that future generations need not fear them.
Since it takes place 1300 years in Haven's past, meeting the protagonists and feeling outshined by them, which has never actually happened in a TLPAC but I digress, is simply not possible. It operates on the same skill system as Kid Spies(and more or less the same skills) but due to being high fantasy quite a bit of things were reworked. Here's the list.
Spoiler :
My other ideas are, in list form:
-Vampire/cryptid hunters during either WW2 or the Cold War
-A spaceship-based game with little to no off-ship elements
-A historical(WW2 or Age of Sail) naval game with little to no off-ship elements
-A brand new Superhero IP(However, with Knightfall running and since I just ended Scarlet Hand, I'm not too keen about this. If it's popular, I'll consider it, but I'm 90% chance going to change genres for a while.)
Let me know what you think of the skill list and of the concepts themselves. I'll make my final choice sometime soon - maybe as soon as this afternoon. Unless there's a lot of support for one of the other ideas, it'll either be Outriders or Kid Spies.
-L
SamSniped
DJ Goodboye
mechaerik
Tuturuu!
Dragon Age: The City
Hello friends and welcome to the newest AC developed by me, Dragon Age: The City. As you can probably guess, Dragon Age: The City is based on Dragon Age (Dragon Age 2 to be precise, the best one). It will focus on the revolutionary and astoundingly deep and meaningful plot of the second game. The titular City is Kirkwall, torn between two factions as the Templars and Mages do battle. You can choose to fight alongside one of those two factions, serving under either Anders or Fenris (the two best characters in the game ofc).
The game has a pretty standard mission structure. For characters you have your standard warrior rouge and mage, and you can pick any side with any class.
STATS
STRENGTH
DEXTERITY
MAGIC
CUNNING
WILLPOWER
CONSTITUTION
Theyre all pretty self explanatory.
CHARGEN
Step 1: pick a class
Warriors get +10 to STR and CON, Rouges get +10 to DEX and CUN, ang mages get +10 to MAG and WPR.
Step 2: assign stats
You get 19 points to assign. Assigning a point to a class stat costs 2 points while putting a to point into a cross-class stat costs 3.
Step 3: derived stats
Dodge: (DEX*1.5)
Health: (STR/4+CON/3)*2
Energy: √(STR/3+CUN/2+DEX²)
Magic: MAG + 14sin(WLP*π
Step 4: feats
You can select lim(n->infinity) [2n^(CUN)/3n^12(Energy*n/WLP)] feats at level 1.
Step 5: name
Pick a name and you are done!
Feats:
Ancient Mastery: Change hair color and length at will.
Battle Continuation: Automatically crit against dead bodies. Enemies get a -1 to hit against your own dead body
Evil Eye: Get a +24 on intimidate rolls done between the hours of 3am and 6 am on the third Tuesday of every month.
Independent Action: Get Action Movies(Indie) as a class skill.
Just Some Guy: Get a free bonus feat
One Thousand Times: Gain a free Katana weapon dealing 32d10 damage with a 17-20x6 crit.
Mad Enhancement: Once per day you can use the Improved Anger ability. When you trigger this, you roll 1d6 and take that much damage. In exchange, you pick a feat you do not have and can use it for that many rounds.
Magic Resistance: If affected by any spell, roll a 1d4. If your number squared is more than the square root of their roll, their spell fails.
Mysticism: When casting a spell, roll 1d20. Multiply the spells effects by that number. If your roll is a prime number, divide instead and roll again.
Presence Concealment: Get a +73 on Stealth rolls.
Riding: Get a +4 to being able to ride horses.
Lighthearter
President of the United States
FantAC Announcement and Dev Diary #1: Classes, Conversion from DnD, and World-building
FantAC is a system I am creating for anyone who feels like running DnD without actually having DnD. When I'm finished I intend to stick all of the spreadsheets(yes, PLURAL) and other data up in this thread. I've got a plan to make the first game of this type, which will have the same title as the system unless I think of a better one.
So, for Dev Diary #1(typed as I sit in the Library waiting for my ride to my first martial arts class of the year) is going to focus on the element that I haven't used before in any AC: Classes. They're an integral part of actual D&D, but since my books were stolen years ago, I've had to remake the system from scratch. They don't work exactly the same, and I've cut a good deal of them.
The classes are as follows:
Fighters are powerful hand-to-hand combatants, with Talents and free Feats focused on melee combat and battle. They have the highest starting Hit Points(2-12+CON). Their Talents lead up to massive Armor Class buffs and a higher Critical range with melee weapons.
Rangers are another good class if you want to be a mortal warrior. Their combat abilities are centric around fighting with bows of any description, and they have substantial skill bonuses when in the wilderness. They have good starting HP and some excellent Talents for supporting allies, eventually leading up to being immune to Attacks of Opportunity and running no risk of friendly fire when shooting into melees.
Rogues are a support class, much like actual DnD. They have low starting HP, and no weapon proficiencies, AND no magic, so their combat style is to try and not die. However, they have Scoundrel's Luck and/or Sneak Attacks, both of which provide excellent boosts in specific areas. They're also the designated "Charisma" Class.
Paladins are much as you might know them in DND: warriors of the light, half-magic and half-mundane. They can use a few spells, as long as their alignment remains pure, and have the second-highest starting HP. Their Talents lean toward free anti-evil Spells and favored enemies.
Sorcerers start with three spells available, and can use three spells per day. As situations change on the battlefield, a Sorcerer can adapt and pick a spell from their arsenal on the fly. They have low starting HP. Their Talents lead toward gaining massive amounts of new spells and a few new ones per day.
Wizards are the counterpart to the Sorcerer: they have the same "three spells per day" limit, but they start with four Spells to choose from. They also have to prepare their spells when they wake up each day, and can't adapt on the fly. However, the higher levels of their Talents can see them with up to eight Spells per day and a massive arsenal of choices.
Talents themselves are an even split: either unique bonuses, or effectively functioning as free Feats. You start the game with one Talent and one Feat, and at Level Two you choose which one you want a new one of. At that point, you begin alternating Feats and Talents every other level. Each Class has 11 Talents, in addition to the Training Montage Talent, which functions the same as the Feat of the same name, giving you a +1 to a stat of your choice.
The Human Race gets a free Talent at character creation. The Half-elf Race gets a free Feat.
As I developed the Class list and the abilities thereof, I had to do away with a lot of DnD staples. The first Class to be confirmed as removed was the Barbarian, followed by the Druid and the Monk. I seriously considered keeping the Cleric and the Bard, as two more variations on supporting characters, but in the name of simplicity(this is already a very expansive and ambitious system and ruleset for the resources the AC community has) I removed both. I owned(and I believe I still do) an expansion book that added the Ninja, Scout and Spellthief as classes, but I never seriously considered adding them to this system.
On the reverse side, Fighters and Rangers were the first two classes I decided I could not reasonably leave out. Fighters became the "muscle" class and Rangers the "snipers", though both would have the ability to work in the other's chosen field. Next came Sorcerers and Wizards, and for a time the Cleric was alongside them. I liked the difference between the two spellcasting Classes, and that became a cornerstone of the magical system: the trade-off of more spells, and a wider selection, versus the adaptability of choosing your spells in reaction to battlefield circumstance. Clerics originally would have formed a third "Divine" kind of magic, just like the source game, but I never played Clerics in the past, don't have the books, and wasn't sure how to make it different. Clerics were out.
The fifth Class I pulled into FantAC was the Paladin, mainly because I felt it simply wouldn't be DnD, or any derivative, without them. Lay On Hands and Detect Alignment were the first two abilities I knew the Paladin would have to have, and I had most of their Talent list planned out before I decided on the sixth class to feature. Obviously, that wound up being the Rogue, filling in the "support and sneak" role that none of the other classes quite filled.
The Classes, Talents, Feats, Languages, Races and Spells are all done and waiting for deployment. At this time, I have to figure out costs for the weapon and armor lists(and starting gold), the XP counts to level up, the weights for weapons and armor(and a given character's carrying capacity) and the entire non-weapon/armor inventory list. In addition, I need to assemble the Favored Enemy table(primarily for Rangers and Paladins) and then the tables for Familiars, Animal Companions, and Paladin Mounts. Once all that is done...
Well, once that is done I can start working on the world map, local maps, and the actual plot.
What I know of the plot is limited at the moment, and what I'm willing to reveal is less than half of what I do know. I know that unless a better idea strikes me, the game will begin on a ship, traveling from the lands of men to islands off the western coast. I know that the conflict between High Elves, Dark Elves and the humans will be a major element in the game. I know the ultimate villain and more or less how they factor into the story from the start. I know there will also be conflicts with tribes of goblins, kobolds and/or lizardmen.
Unfortunately, I pretty much have to stop right there, as details are sketchy. I'm not sure how the Dark/High Elven conflict will be handled or shake out, I'm not sure whether the goblins/kobolds/lizards are in the islands you are sailing to at the start, or back on the mainland, or both. I'm not sure what the journey to the elves will entail at the moment. I have about six different ideas for the clash with the villain, and all the technical variations thereof. I don't have a GMPC in mind, or any major NPCs. Most of the world is unplanned. I know the dwarves and the humans(and the half-elves) will have a role, but I don't know what. However, I've always been creative, and gifted with making things up on the fly(as many of you have seen). Once I finish The Heirs Dufonse, which should be before my birthday, I'll be able to turn my eyes toward assembling the world of FantAC.
I'll have a world map assembled in an hour, and local maps of at least the major areas within a day. Lore will take longer, but not too much. The remaining inventory work will only take a day, perhaps less. Animal Companion/Familiar tables will be an hour if that.
Expect FantAC to launch sometime around Monday the Nineteenth of January. Two weeks should be enough time. At the longest, this game will fire sometime in early February. If I run into major difficulties, I could see myself starting a different game(with a relatively short runtime) while I put the last bits of FantAC together.
If you want to express a preference for that "filler" game, here is the place to do so. My only considered options are The Outriders and Kid Spies(which are already outlined earlier in this thread) and my Sidekick SuperAC, which is a SuperAC where you play as Sidekicks.
I will only launch one of these if I believe FantAC will not be ready by the first of February and am willing to spend 1-2 months with another game. If you don't care, that's fine too - I don't imagine I'll need to fill in the gap.
Expect the next Dev Diary to talk about Spells, Feats, Races and maybe more details on the Talent Lists for the various classes.
FantAC is a system I am creating for anyone who feels like running DnD without actually having DnD. When I'm finished I intend to stick all of the spreadsheets(yes, PLURAL) and other data up in this thread. I've got a plan to make the first game of this type, which will have the same title as the system unless I think of a better one.
So, for Dev Diary #1(typed as I sit in the Library waiting for my ride to my first martial arts class of the year) is going to focus on the element that I haven't used before in any AC: Classes. They're an integral part of actual D&D, but since my books were stolen years ago, I've had to remake the system from scratch. They don't work exactly the same, and I've cut a good deal of them.
The classes are as follows:
Fighters are powerful hand-to-hand combatants, with Talents and free Feats focused on melee combat and battle. They have the highest starting Hit Points(2-12+CON). Their Talents lead up to massive Armor Class buffs and a higher Critical range with melee weapons.
Rangers are another good class if you want to be a mortal warrior. Their combat abilities are centric around fighting with bows of any description, and they have substantial skill bonuses when in the wilderness. They have good starting HP and some excellent Talents for supporting allies, eventually leading up to being immune to Attacks of Opportunity and running no risk of friendly fire when shooting into melees.
Rogues are a support class, much like actual DnD. They have low starting HP, and no weapon proficiencies, AND no magic, so their combat style is to try and not die. However, they have Scoundrel's Luck and/or Sneak Attacks, both of which provide excellent boosts in specific areas. They're also the designated "Charisma" Class.
Paladins are much as you might know them in DND: warriors of the light, half-magic and half-mundane. They can use a few spells, as long as their alignment remains pure, and have the second-highest starting HP. Their Talents lean toward free anti-evil Spells and favored enemies.
Sorcerers start with three spells available, and can use three spells per day. As situations change on the battlefield, a Sorcerer can adapt and pick a spell from their arsenal on the fly. They have low starting HP. Their Talents lead toward gaining massive amounts of new spells and a few new ones per day.
Wizards are the counterpart to the Sorcerer: they have the same "three spells per day" limit, but they start with four Spells to choose from. They also have to prepare their spells when they wake up each day, and can't adapt on the fly. However, the higher levels of their Talents can see them with up to eight Spells per day and a massive arsenal of choices.
Talents themselves are an even split: either unique bonuses, or effectively functioning as free Feats. You start the game with one Talent and one Feat, and at Level Two you choose which one you want a new one of. At that point, you begin alternating Feats and Talents every other level. Each Class has 11 Talents, in addition to the Training Montage Talent, which functions the same as the Feat of the same name, giving you a +1 to a stat of your choice.
The Human Race gets a free Talent at character creation. The Half-elf Race gets a free Feat.
As I developed the Class list and the abilities thereof, I had to do away with a lot of DnD staples. The first Class to be confirmed as removed was the Barbarian, followed by the Druid and the Monk. I seriously considered keeping the Cleric and the Bard, as two more variations on supporting characters, but in the name of simplicity(this is already a very expansive and ambitious system and ruleset for the resources the AC community has) I removed both. I owned(and I believe I still do) an expansion book that added the Ninja, Scout and Spellthief as classes, but I never seriously considered adding them to this system.
On the reverse side, Fighters and Rangers were the first two classes I decided I could not reasonably leave out. Fighters became the "muscle" class and Rangers the "snipers", though both would have the ability to work in the other's chosen field. Next came Sorcerers and Wizards, and for a time the Cleric was alongside them. I liked the difference between the two spellcasting Classes, and that became a cornerstone of the magical system: the trade-off of more spells, and a wider selection, versus the adaptability of choosing your spells in reaction to battlefield circumstance. Clerics originally would have formed a third "Divine" kind of magic, just like the source game, but I never played Clerics in the past, don't have the books, and wasn't sure how to make it different. Clerics were out.
The fifth Class I pulled into FantAC was the Paladin, mainly because I felt it simply wouldn't be DnD, or any derivative, without them. Lay On Hands and Detect Alignment were the first two abilities I knew the Paladin would have to have, and I had most of their Talent list planned out before I decided on the sixth class to feature. Obviously, that wound up being the Rogue, filling in the "support and sneak" role that none of the other classes quite filled.
The Classes, Talents, Feats, Languages, Races and Spells are all done and waiting for deployment. At this time, I have to figure out costs for the weapon and armor lists(and starting gold), the XP counts to level up, the weights for weapons and armor(and a given character's carrying capacity) and the entire non-weapon/armor inventory list. In addition, I need to assemble the Favored Enemy table(primarily for Rangers and Paladins) and then the tables for Familiars, Animal Companions, and Paladin Mounts. Once all that is done...
Well, once that is done I can start working on the world map, local maps, and the actual plot.
What I know of the plot is limited at the moment, and what I'm willing to reveal is less than half of what I do know. I know that unless a better idea strikes me, the game will begin on a ship, traveling from the lands of men to islands off the western coast. I know that the conflict between High Elves, Dark Elves and the humans will be a major element in the game. I know the ultimate villain and more or less how they factor into the story from the start. I know there will also be conflicts with tribes of goblins, kobolds and/or lizardmen.
Unfortunately, I pretty much have to stop right there, as details are sketchy. I'm not sure how the Dark/High Elven conflict will be handled or shake out, I'm not sure whether the goblins/kobolds/lizards are in the islands you are sailing to at the start, or back on the mainland, or both. I'm not sure what the journey to the elves will entail at the moment. I have about six different ideas for the clash with the villain, and all the technical variations thereof. I don't have a GMPC in mind, or any major NPCs. Most of the world is unplanned. I know the dwarves and the humans(and the half-elves) will have a role, but I don't know what. However, I've always been creative, and gifted with making things up on the fly(as many of you have seen). Once I finish The Heirs Dufonse, which should be before my birthday, I'll be able to turn my eyes toward assembling the world of FantAC.
I'll have a world map assembled in an hour, and local maps of at least the major areas within a day. Lore will take longer, but not too much. The remaining inventory work will only take a day, perhaps less. Animal Companion/Familiar tables will be an hour if that.
Expect FantAC to launch sometime around Monday the Nineteenth of January. Two weeks should be enough time. At the longest, this game will fire sometime in early February. If I run into major difficulties, I could see myself starting a different game(with a relatively short runtime) while I put the last bits of FantAC together.
If you want to express a preference for that "filler" game, here is the place to do so. My only considered options are The Outriders and Kid Spies(which are already outlined earlier in this thread) and my Sidekick SuperAC, which is a SuperAC where you play as Sidekicks.
I will only launch one of these if I believe FantAC will not be ready by the first of February and am willing to spend 1-2 months with another game. If you don't care, that's fine too - I don't imagine I'll need to fill in the gap.
Expect the next Dev Diary to talk about Spells, Feats, Races and maybe more details on the Talent Lists for the various classes.
