Making it up ingame

wuxiasnake · Post by **wuxiasnake** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 4:15 am

Hi, new to OVA, so new my copy hasn't even arrived

Got the .pdf though and must say I am really impressed by what I've seen so far.
One thing I am curious about though is how quickly can you make up a character?
If you had a group that likes to ignore the giant neon sign saying "adventure hook here" and they will just wander over elsewhere and have a look. Of course you could just steer them back towards that neon sign but I don't consider this to be good GM'ing. Railroading sucks.
So if I used OVA could I make up NPC's real quick during a game or would it be necessary to keep extensive list of various NPC's and cannon fodder on hand during play?
It looks easy but since I hate reading off the screen I haven't investigated character creation or any other aspect of the game extensively yet.

Siroh · Post by **Siroh** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 8:47 am

If it was me I'd spend enough time making throwaway bad guy stats that it wouldn't matter. Does this badguy also have a specialty skill or a bump in the health or damage departments, then I modify my base. You could easily wing it, but then you stand the chance of starting the combat saying they have a +2 in Toughness, and forget by the end of the fight. If you jot these levels down then there should be no real problem, other than players may feel like the random encounters are really uneven compared to the pre-planned ones. Good luck either way.

TheBouncyPherret · Post by **TheBouncyPherret** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 4:27 pm

As Siroh said, all you need are basic stats for mooks, and you're basically all set.

If you want, it's not too hard to modify the stats on the fly. Want these mooks to be better armed?? Give 'em Weapon +2 (Ranged). Now they have pistols. Want 'em to take more punishment? Armor +3. Now they have body armor on.

All in all, OVA is very easy to make-up on the fly...unlike most other "Generic" RPGs....too much crunch, and not enough "close enough."

TBP

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 7:31 pm

True. Not all NPCs require a ton of stats too. Sometimes it helps to follow the rules of KISS or Keep It Simple Stupid.

wuxiasnake · Post by **wuxiasnake** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:45 am

Siroh wrote:If it was me I'd spend enough time making throwaway bad guy stats that it wouldn't matter.

This used to be me too but these days I don't have enough time. I've been a GM for over 15 years now, all I need to run an enjoyable game are a few bullet pointed sentences outlining key plot points and I can build everything around that as I go along. Ideas have never been a problem - the rules can be.
In the past I've used fairly hefty systems like AD&D 2nd and GURPS - designing a major NPC can take upwards of an hour. BESM was little better. FUDGE was getting close but its really more of a build your own system kit than a system per se.
The more I'm learning about OVA, from this forum and by skim reading the pdf, the more I'm liking it. The characters seem to be described by their stats, and the characters stats are easy to derive from a description. I'm chomping at the bit for my print edition to arrive.
Thanks for your input all, seems like you have a small but good community going here. And big ups to Clay, Brett and everyone else who helped design and playtest this sexy little beast.

Post by **Clay** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 4:12 pm

As mentioned by several other folks here, OVA is very apt for this sort of "on-the-fly" gameplay. If you need a quick baddie, all you have to be is familiar with the handful of attributes that link to combat, rate them on a simple scale, and you're done. Need quick, nimble ninjas with katanas? Give them Quick, Agile, and Weapon. Need a tough but slow iron golem? Give him Tough and Slow. You can always flesh them out later, or if need be, bump up and down their stats in the middle of combat till it feels right.