OK. So I'm a big fan of BESM 3e. I love the revised system, and I was so disappointed to see GoO go. I was about to design a game in the 3e when I came across OVA on RPG Now. It peaked my interest, and every review I read had nothing but good things to say about it. I was skeptical at first. Most "rules-lite" indie games lack the crunch that I and my players enjoy, but I'm always looking for that easy and flexible system that will allow me to run the games that I want without the rules getting in the way. My local gamestore couldn't get the printed version in, so I broke down and purchased the pdf. Wow! Very impressive! After reading it through I couldn't believe that the system seemed well thought out and was very... versatile. But I needed to put it to the test. I sat down and gave myself only ten minutes to create one of my favorite video game characters, Lara Croft. She is built on the Ground Zero rule.
Lara Croft [Heroic / 13]
(from Tomb Raider Legends)
Abilities
Acrobatics +3
Beautiful +3
Combat Skill +1
Defense +1
Filthy Rich +4
Hobby (Ancient Languages) +2
Hobby (Archeology) +2
Hobby (Climbing) +2
Hobby (Firearms) +2
Hobby (Motorcycles) +2
Hobby (Swimming) +2
Human Arsenal +3
Twin Pistols (Ranged, Multiple Targets)
Shotgun (Ranged, Armor Piercing, Extra Knockback; Inaccurate)
SMG (Ranged, Rapid Strikes)
Assault Rifle (Ranged, Accurate x2)
Grenade Launcher (Ranged, Area Effect, Extra Knockback; Inaccurate, Slow)
Pilot +1
Quick +1
Special Ability (Magnetic Grapple) +1
Weaknesses
Bad Reputation (Tomb Raider) -2
Compulsion (Doing Things The Hard Way) -3
Impulsive -2
Ineptitude (Domestic Chores) -2
Obsession (Ancient Relics) -2
Overconfident -1
Pacifist -1
Rival (Amanda Evert) -2
Soft Spot (Ancient Ruins) -2
Special Weakness (Sexism) -1
Special Weakness (Unlucky in Love) -2
Interesting, I thought. Then I put her through a mock combat against Miho. She got her butt kicked, but I was still very impressed at how well the Ricochet system worked! I love anime, and I'm pretty sure I'm using OVA for my next campaign. Now I just need to convince some players. In two weeks I'm going to run an OVA demo at the gamestore using the Starstone Treasure. For the group that has already signed up, I'm pretty sure they're going to like it. I can't wait for the Mecha and Fantasy supplements. Keep doing a great job.
Now I have a question. What is the advantage of taking Weapon over Human Arsenal? I see the Miho has both? Why? And what is a lock gun anyway?
OVA N00B And Loving It
Re: OVA N00B And Loving It
Human Arsenal needs to be "funneled" through another Ability, like Weapon. From my read of Human Arsenal, you can modify how the other Ability behaves. For example:calibur1 wrote:Now I have a question. What is the advantage of taking Weapon over Human Arsenal? I see the Miho has both? Why? And what is a lock gun anyway?
Take your Assault Rifle. Your Lara is actually missing Weapon. So to get the Assault Rifle to have Ranged and Extra Accuracy x2 would require Weapon +3. Most characters would only have that one weapon. But, linking Weapon +3 to Human Arsenal allows Lara to modify how the Assault Rifle works ... with Weapon +3 she can produce a new firearm with 15 points of Perks. Ranged, obviously, but now it's a Shotgun: Ranged and Area Effect. Still Weapon +3 but with different Perks.
That's just how I read it, though.
Oooooohh! <slaps self in the forehead> Now that makes more sense! See, I didn't catch that at first. And that explains why Miho has both now. Interesting. When I get a chance I'll have to go back and rework Lara.Human Arsenal needs to be "funneled" through another Ability, like Weapon. From my read of Human Arsenal, you can modify how the other Ability behaves. For example:
Take your Assault Rifle. Your Lara is actually missing Weapon. So to get the Assault Rifle to have Ranged and Extra Accuracy x2 would require Weapon +3. Most characters would only have that one weapon. But, linking Weapon +3 to Human Arsenal allows Lara to modify how the Assault Rifle works ... with Weapon +3 she can produce a new firearm with 15 points of Perks. Ranged, obviously, but now it's a Shotgun: Ranged and Area Effect. Still Weapon +3 but with different Perks.
Thanks
That would be awesome. I'm also pretty new to OVA, as in less than a week, but I've read through the system a couple times and am simple floored by how easy it is to revise characters and fit them to a particular feel. I think OVA is quickly becoming a system I think I'd run consistently.
Now if I can convert DA: Werewolf and Vampire to OVA, I would be most happy.
Now if I can convert DA: Werewolf and Vampire to OVA, I would be most happy.
That's so easy! As I flip through abilities and weaknesses, I've come up with over a dozen campaign ideas and conversions. Another perk is that the system lends itself to templates too! So if you wanted to create a werewolf, vampire, elf, or android race, that's pretty easy. And I've been kicking the idea of class/proffesional templates too.Now if I can convert DA: Werewolf and Vampire to OVA, I would be most happy.
Glad to see new players having a good time with it! The idea was to make it easy and fun to create new characters, and also simple to make quick encounters and templates. It's really nice to see people taking advantage of this.
Sorry to hear about poor Lara, but Miho is the ideal robot fighting machine, after all!
Sorry to hear about poor Lara, but Miho is the ideal robot fighting machine, after all!
Here is the corrected version of Lara Croft. I decided to forgo with the Human Arsenal.
Lara Croft [Heroic / 13]
(from Tomb Raider Legends)
Abilities
Acrobatics +3
Beautiful +3
Combat Skill +1
Defense +1
Filthy Rich +4
Hobby (Ancient Languages) +2
Hobby (Archeology) +2
Hobby (Climbing) +2
Hobby (Firearms) +2
Hobby (Motorcycles) +2
Hobby (Swimming) +2
Pilot +1
Quick +1
Special Ability (Magnetic Grapple) +1
Weapon +3 (Twin Pistols; Multiple Targets, Ranged)
Weaknesses
Bad Reputation (Tomb Raider) -2
Compulsion (Doing Things The Hard Way) -3
Impulsive -2
Ineptitude (Domestic Chores) -2
Obsession (Ancient Relics) -2
Overconfident -1
Pacifist -1
Rival (Amanda Evert) -2
Soft Spot (Ancient Ruins) -2
Special Weakness (Sexism) -1
Special Weakness (Unlucky in Love) -2
I'll let you know how the demo goes
Lara Croft [Heroic / 13]
(from Tomb Raider Legends)
Abilities
Acrobatics +3
Beautiful +3
Combat Skill +1
Defense +1
Filthy Rich +4
Hobby (Ancient Languages) +2
Hobby (Archeology) +2
Hobby (Climbing) +2
Hobby (Firearms) +2
Hobby (Motorcycles) +2
Hobby (Swimming) +2
Pilot +1
Quick +1
Special Ability (Magnetic Grapple) +1
Weapon +3 (Twin Pistols; Multiple Targets, Ranged)
Weaknesses
Bad Reputation (Tomb Raider) -2
Compulsion (Doing Things The Hard Way) -3
Impulsive -2
Ineptitude (Domestic Chores) -2
Obsession (Ancient Relics) -2
Overconfident -1
Pacifist -1
Rival (Amanda Evert) -2
Soft Spot (Ancient Ruins) -2
Special Weakness (Sexism) -1
Special Weakness (Unlucky in Love) -2
I'll let you know how the demo goes
While I'm waiting and putting together the demo for next week, I quickly drew up a classic Lara Croft adversary for your enjoyment.
T-Rex [Heroic / 19]
(from the original Tomb Raider and
Tomb Raider Anniversary)
Abilities
Armor +3
Combat Skill +3
Heightened Sense +2 (Keen Sense of Smell)
Quick +1
Strong +5
Tough +3
Weapon +4 (Massive Jaws; Armor Piercing x2, Extra Knockback)
Weaknesses
Bizarre Appearance -3 (Monster)
Clumsy -3 (Poor Manipulation)
Dumb -3
Easily Distracted -2
Short Temper -2
Size -3 (Dinosaur Size)
T-Rex [Heroic / 19]
(from the original Tomb Raider and
Tomb Raider Anniversary)
Abilities
Armor +3
Combat Skill +3
Heightened Sense +2 (Keen Sense of Smell)
Quick +1
Strong +5
Tough +3
Weapon +4 (Massive Jaws; Armor Piercing x2, Extra Knockback)
Weaknesses
Bizarre Appearance -3 (Monster)
Clumsy -3 (Poor Manipulation)
Dumb -3
Easily Distracted -2
Short Temper -2
Size -3 (Dinosaur Size)
***WARNING: This post contains spoilers to the Starstone Treasure.***
OK. So last night I ran an OVA demo game using the Starstone Treasure. In preparation I created five PC’s in reminiscent of Cowboy Beebop and Burst Angel, along with their respective IoP’s (that’s Items of Power for you non-BESM fans). I was able to find and purchase a print copy of the rulebook (which made me very happy), and I printed out the demo adventure. Reviewing all this material in advance several times, I was very well prepared.
I had four players show up. All of them are fans of anime, and they started off very enthused… until they saw the character sheets and what made up a character. All of them are familiar with BESM, and its various incarnates more-or-less, and OVA appeared to be just one of those cute little indie games that would be good for an evening’s distraction. I’m not a great teacher, but I went through the basics of taking action, combat, and how some of the various abilities and weaknesses worked. They all kind of nodded their heads at me, and I knew I was losing them, so I quickly jumped into the first scene at Glass Kat’s.
The bar/club scene was a good opener, because it allowed them to relax and get into character. Once I felt that they were comfortable, I introduced Arianna and started the ball rolling. It was so easy, it was almost a scripted anime show. I sat back and watched as the PC’s climbed over and distracted each other in order to get the purple-eyed girl’s attention. And once one of them finally came out on top I sprang the MIBs. Up until now they got to practice with some non-combat abilities and weaknesses, making a few rolls and getting a feel for the system. It didn’t impress too much upon them until combat started. Once they had to face real opposed rolls, their interests perked. No joke, they put the Ricochet combat system through the test using every offensive and defensive maneuver in the book at least once. And they did it with anime panache too, describing each fancy and outlandish move. There was a specific reason for this… BESM 3e has a remarkably simple resolution system, almost too simple for a Tri-Stat game. It is loved for this simplicity, but its lack of flare kind of loses that anime feel. The players felt that the Ricochet mechanic was simple, yet a lot more exciting. Now they were starting to get it.
Because of all the testing, combat took a lot longer than I expected. That was fine. No one really noticed, because we were all still learning and having fun. After the five MIBs dropped from the skylight they threatened Arianna. She grabbed her hostage (Lina), and that’s when Grant Zurkrieg (now and forever know as Dr. Zoidberg) made his entrance. After some more outrageous combat, Arianna flees, and so do the PC’s with Grant and Luna.
The adventure actually ended in scene two. This was not a terrible thing. The players were just really hot with the rolls, and I’m not the type of GM that uses fiat often or lightly. The PC’s were really anxious to get on the trail of Lady Tempest, so it didn’t take us long to get to the meeting at Metelix. It couldn’t get any better then when they got their new toys. Although, in retrospect, I might have made them too good (each one was worth 4 points). On queue, Lady Tempest attacks the lobby of Metelix. They took her down fast! By this time it was getting late, so I decided that this was a good place for a finale. Lady Tempest was dead! Grant goes ballistic, because now he’s lost the location of Lina with the crucifix. He orders Luna, security, and the MIBs to finish off the PC’s while he retreats into his bunker to brood and plan his next move. Another long detailed battle ensued with the PC’s victorious. But before they could pursue Grant, or cause any more mayhem, the police arrive. So they decide to flee. One of the PC’s actually deduced that an aquarium would have been a perfect hideout for Lady Tempest, so the adventure ended with them going to Aqua Marina and finding and rescuing Lina.
Overall, everyone had a good time. The players left the game with much more respect and admiration for OVA. We discussed me running a full-length campaign, or at least a few more adventures in OVA, and we’re now thinking about genres. We did run into several glitches during play. They weren’t game-stoppers, but we would like some clarification, because we believe they were important:
1. How do Miracles affect combat? It says that for 30 Endurance you may guarantee the success of a single action. Assuming that attacking is an action, how does this work when combat is reliant on opposed rolls?
2. Rapid Strikes seems like a very powerful perk? “These attacks come so fast that your opponent must spend his action to even be eligible for a defense roll.” Does this mean you have a choice not to spend an action and take a defense of 0 (zero)? “If he has already acted this round, he loses his next action.” This makes this perk better than Knockback, since just by its use (not even hitting or doing damage) you’re forcing a loss of the next action? And can you use Countering, Don’t Hurt Me!, or Protect against a Rapid Strikes attack? BTW: This is how they took down Lady Tempest really fast. Even a weak Rapid Strikes attack, or multiple ones on the same target, will quickly take down the toughest of opponents. In theory a character with a Weapon +1 (Ranged, Rapid Strikes; Inaccurate, No Knockback) can just stand there and blast at Azag all day while the rest of the party get free attacks on him.
3. Can Multiple Actions or the Multiple Targets perk be used against the same target?
4. I noticed that damage from melee attacks was potentially higher than damage from firearms (barring Power Moves)? Since speed and range are not huge considerations here, as in most other systems, was this intentional or an oversight?
5. I noticed that Flight is actually a nuisance to its user overall, but abilities like Heal, Incorporeal Form, Invisibility, Teleport, and Time Freeze are really powerful outside of combat? Again, was this intentional or an oversight? In theory a +1 in any of the abilities above would allow you to do phenomenal, almost game-breaking, things outside of combat, but it’s a chore just to take off or land?
6. After character creation, and once play begins, do Hobbies still cost half the amount of points to raise with XP?
7. Who is Lady Tempest’s fiancée? She is wearing an engagement ring! And yes, the PC’s did ask that question multiple times, because it was a legitimate lead.
OK. So last night I ran an OVA demo game using the Starstone Treasure. In preparation I created five PC’s in reminiscent of Cowboy Beebop and Burst Angel, along with their respective IoP’s (that’s Items of Power for you non-BESM fans). I was able to find and purchase a print copy of the rulebook (which made me very happy), and I printed out the demo adventure. Reviewing all this material in advance several times, I was very well prepared.
I had four players show up. All of them are fans of anime, and they started off very enthused… until they saw the character sheets and what made up a character. All of them are familiar with BESM, and its various incarnates more-or-less, and OVA appeared to be just one of those cute little indie games that would be good for an evening’s distraction. I’m not a great teacher, but I went through the basics of taking action, combat, and how some of the various abilities and weaknesses worked. They all kind of nodded their heads at me, and I knew I was losing them, so I quickly jumped into the first scene at Glass Kat’s.
The bar/club scene was a good opener, because it allowed them to relax and get into character. Once I felt that they were comfortable, I introduced Arianna and started the ball rolling. It was so easy, it was almost a scripted anime show. I sat back and watched as the PC’s climbed over and distracted each other in order to get the purple-eyed girl’s attention. And once one of them finally came out on top I sprang the MIBs. Up until now they got to practice with some non-combat abilities and weaknesses, making a few rolls and getting a feel for the system. It didn’t impress too much upon them until combat started. Once they had to face real opposed rolls, their interests perked. No joke, they put the Ricochet combat system through the test using every offensive and defensive maneuver in the book at least once. And they did it with anime panache too, describing each fancy and outlandish move. There was a specific reason for this… BESM 3e has a remarkably simple resolution system, almost too simple for a Tri-Stat game. It is loved for this simplicity, but its lack of flare kind of loses that anime feel. The players felt that the Ricochet mechanic was simple, yet a lot more exciting. Now they were starting to get it.
Because of all the testing, combat took a lot longer than I expected. That was fine. No one really noticed, because we were all still learning and having fun. After the five MIBs dropped from the skylight they threatened Arianna. She grabbed her hostage (Lina), and that’s when Grant Zurkrieg (now and forever know as Dr. Zoidberg) made his entrance. After some more outrageous combat, Arianna flees, and so do the PC’s with Grant and Luna.
The adventure actually ended in scene two. This was not a terrible thing. The players were just really hot with the rolls, and I’m not the type of GM that uses fiat often or lightly. The PC’s were really anxious to get on the trail of Lady Tempest, so it didn’t take us long to get to the meeting at Metelix. It couldn’t get any better then when they got their new toys. Although, in retrospect, I might have made them too good (each one was worth 4 points). On queue, Lady Tempest attacks the lobby of Metelix. They took her down fast! By this time it was getting late, so I decided that this was a good place for a finale. Lady Tempest was dead! Grant goes ballistic, because now he’s lost the location of Lina with the crucifix. He orders Luna, security, and the MIBs to finish off the PC’s while he retreats into his bunker to brood and plan his next move. Another long detailed battle ensued with the PC’s victorious. But before they could pursue Grant, or cause any more mayhem, the police arrive. So they decide to flee. One of the PC’s actually deduced that an aquarium would have been a perfect hideout for Lady Tempest, so the adventure ended with them going to Aqua Marina and finding and rescuing Lina.
Overall, everyone had a good time. The players left the game with much more respect and admiration for OVA. We discussed me running a full-length campaign, or at least a few more adventures in OVA, and we’re now thinking about genres. We did run into several glitches during play. They weren’t game-stoppers, but we would like some clarification, because we believe they were important:
1. How do Miracles affect combat? It says that for 30 Endurance you may guarantee the success of a single action. Assuming that attacking is an action, how does this work when combat is reliant on opposed rolls?
2. Rapid Strikes seems like a very powerful perk? “These attacks come so fast that your opponent must spend his action to even be eligible for a defense roll.” Does this mean you have a choice not to spend an action and take a defense of 0 (zero)? “If he has already acted this round, he loses his next action.” This makes this perk better than Knockback, since just by its use (not even hitting or doing damage) you’re forcing a loss of the next action? And can you use Countering, Don’t Hurt Me!, or Protect against a Rapid Strikes attack? BTW: This is how they took down Lady Tempest really fast. Even a weak Rapid Strikes attack, or multiple ones on the same target, will quickly take down the toughest of opponents. In theory a character with a Weapon +1 (Ranged, Rapid Strikes; Inaccurate, No Knockback) can just stand there and blast at Azag all day while the rest of the party get free attacks on him.
3. Can Multiple Actions or the Multiple Targets perk be used against the same target?
4. I noticed that damage from melee attacks was potentially higher than damage from firearms (barring Power Moves)? Since speed and range are not huge considerations here, as in most other systems, was this intentional or an oversight?
5. I noticed that Flight is actually a nuisance to its user overall, but abilities like Heal, Incorporeal Form, Invisibility, Teleport, and Time Freeze are really powerful outside of combat? Again, was this intentional or an oversight? In theory a +1 in any of the abilities above would allow you to do phenomenal, almost game-breaking, things outside of combat, but it’s a chore just to take off or land?
6. After character creation, and once play begins, do Hobbies still cost half the amount of points to raise with XP?
7. Who is Lady Tempest’s fiancée? She is wearing an engagement ring! And yes, the PC’s did ask that question multiple times, because it was a legitimate lead.
Glad to see you had fun with the adventure! Being that it was a freebie, and not designed in house, I had no idea how well it'd do against a real squad of players. They have the darnedest ability to do the unexpected, you know. 
It was nice to see you wing it, too, and not have to adhere directly to the intended script. Sounds like it's leading into new and exciting territory!
...but let me try to answer your questions.
1. Hmm. Good question. There is nothing in the rules clarifying this, but A miracle only means a guaranteed success, not an overwhelming one. In the case of opposed rolls, I'd give them the option to roll 30 Endurance worth of dice and use the result from that. If you think it's unfair that this introduces a possibility of failure, just guarantee success. ...just by one point.
2. Rapid Strikes is indeed very powerful, and perhaps warrants a stiffer Endurance cost. But something you didn't notice are the "Take Multiple Actions" rules. You cannot take another action if you are knockedback or stunned. However, it says nothing about losing an action due to Rapid Strike. So characters can, if they like, take a -2 penalty and get around the "lose action" part of Rapid Strikes. For Countering and Don't Hurt Me, simply take the Multiple Actions penalty. For Protect, the person protecting must take the multiple actions penalty.
3. Multiple Actions can. Multiple Targets cannot.
4. They shouldn't be more powerful unless the character has "Strong." And that only makes logical sense. Strength rarely has any bearing on ranged damage. Conversely, Weak also affects melee attacks.
5. Abilities in general are not terribly balanced. However, your Flight might be outdated. In newer editions of the game, Flight is simply an opposed roll against a difficulty chart, and generally 3 dice (+1 in Flight) is more than enough to do simple flying.
6. Yes.
7. You'll have to ask the writer. I have no idea. I assume it's only part of her "cover" and not an actual true statement.
It was nice to see you wing it, too, and not have to adhere directly to the intended script. Sounds like it's leading into new and exciting territory!...but let me try to answer your questions.
1. Hmm. Good question. There is nothing in the rules clarifying this, but A miracle only means a guaranteed success, not an overwhelming one. In the case of opposed rolls, I'd give them the option to roll 30 Endurance worth of dice and use the result from that. If you think it's unfair that this introduces a possibility of failure, just guarantee success. ...just by one point.
2. Rapid Strikes is indeed very powerful, and perhaps warrants a stiffer Endurance cost. But something you didn't notice are the "Take Multiple Actions" rules. You cannot take another action if you are knockedback or stunned. However, it says nothing about losing an action due to Rapid Strike. So characters can, if they like, take a -2 penalty and get around the "lose action" part of Rapid Strikes. For Countering and Don't Hurt Me, simply take the Multiple Actions penalty. For Protect, the person protecting must take the multiple actions penalty.
3. Multiple Actions can. Multiple Targets cannot.
4. They shouldn't be more powerful unless the character has "Strong." And that only makes logical sense. Strength rarely has any bearing on ranged damage. Conversely, Weak also affects melee attacks.
5. Abilities in general are not terribly balanced. However, your Flight might be outdated. In newer editions of the game, Flight is simply an opposed roll against a difficulty chart, and generally 3 dice (+1 in Flight) is more than enough to do simple flying.
6. Yes.
7. You'll have to ask the writer. I have no idea. I assume it's only part of her "cover" and not an actual true statement.
Sorry it took so long to get back; work has been a killer.
1. I believe it to be fair by giving them the options of either a +6 (30 End worth of dice) or a automatic success by 1.
2. Now that you've explained it, I believe the End cost to be adequate (at least until I get to play test it some more). See, I glossed over that "Take Multiple Actions" clause. It kind of puts Rapid Strikes on the same level of Extra Knockback again, and that's fine by me.
4. Point taken.
5. Both of my copies (PDF and print) have the flight chart. I just thought it unusual that Flight and Teleport require ability checks, and the others are only End expenditures? Out of combat, this makes the others quite powerful, especially Heal and Time Freeze. But you explained that they were not intended to be balanced. I guess it all depends on the type of game you're running and the availability of these abilities?
Thanks for the clarifications. My group and I are still discussing what type of game they want me to run. It's a toss up between Appleseed, Dominion: Tank Police, and Rock & Rule (bonus points if you remember that movie).
1. I believe it to be fair by giving them the options of either a +6 (30 End worth of dice) or a automatic success by 1.
2. Now that you've explained it, I believe the End cost to be adequate (at least until I get to play test it some more). See, I glossed over that "Take Multiple Actions" clause. It kind of puts Rapid Strikes on the same level of Extra Knockback again, and that's fine by me.
4. Point taken.
5. Both of my copies (PDF and print) have the flight chart. I just thought it unusual that Flight and Teleport require ability checks, and the others are only End expenditures? Out of combat, this makes the others quite powerful, especially Heal and Time Freeze. But you explained that they were not intended to be balanced. I guess it all depends on the type of game you're running and the availability of these abilities?
Thanks for the clarifications. My group and I are still discussing what type of game they want me to run. It's a toss up between Appleseed, Dominion: Tank Police, and Rock & Rule (bonus points if you remember that movie).
You're gonna love this...
One of the players from the OVA demo I ran related this story to me over the weekend. He joined a D20 Modern wǔxiá-like/Urban Arcana/cyberpunk game last week. His character, along with the rest of the party, were ambushed in a warehouse by a gang of cyber-mobsters. He crafted his character to be a dual-pistol wielding gunslinger, much like his character in my demo. He wanted his gunslinger to jump into the middle of four mobsters and blast all four, or at least two. His GM said his character couldn't do that. Neither his Jump or Tumble were sufficiently high enough, and he would provoke four attacks-of-opportunity.
"Are you kidding me?" He looked at the GM and blinked. "I thought this was going to be a wǔxiá-like game with over-the-top martial art stunts?" His GM said it was, but he wasn't high enough level yet to pull off stuff like that. "Have you ever heard of OVA?", was his response. This lead into a discussion about how his character took out four MIB's in the demo, using the same tactic. This annoyed the GM (and I don't blame him), but afterwards it lead into a explanation and discussion about OVA.
The player caught a lot of flak as the GM and other players kept attacking and criticizing OVA for being a fly-by-night pdf game that might be good as a diversion, if they weren't playing their "serious" game. The player explained that he could do everything and anything D20 Modern could do, and faster and eaiser, and then showed them how without even having a rulebook handy.
About half of them were interested, while the other half couldn't let go of the almighty D20 system. The player ended it with this response, "It might not have the exact description of a skorpion machine pistol, but I was still able to take out four minions with my guns, in melee, without getting four attacks-of-opportuity. And that's wǔxiá!"
One of the players from the OVA demo I ran related this story to me over the weekend. He joined a D20 Modern wǔxiá-like/Urban Arcana/cyberpunk game last week. His character, along with the rest of the party, were ambushed in a warehouse by a gang of cyber-mobsters. He crafted his character to be a dual-pistol wielding gunslinger, much like his character in my demo. He wanted his gunslinger to jump into the middle of four mobsters and blast all four, or at least two. His GM said his character couldn't do that. Neither his Jump or Tumble were sufficiently high enough, and he would provoke four attacks-of-opportunity.
"Are you kidding me?" He looked at the GM and blinked. "I thought this was going to be a wǔxiá-like game with over-the-top martial art stunts?" His GM said it was, but he wasn't high enough level yet to pull off stuff like that. "Have you ever heard of OVA?", was his response. This lead into a discussion about how his character took out four MIB's in the demo, using the same tactic. This annoyed the GM (and I don't blame him), but afterwards it lead into a explanation and discussion about OVA.
The player caught a lot of flak as the GM and other players kept attacking and criticizing OVA for being a fly-by-night pdf game that might be good as a diversion, if they weren't playing their "serious" game. The player explained that he could do everything and anything D20 Modern could do, and faster and eaiser, and then showed them how without even having a rulebook handy.
About half of them were interested, while the other half couldn't let go of the almighty D20 system. The player ended it with this response, "It might not have the exact description of a skorpion machine pistol, but I was still able to take out four minions with my guns, in melee, without getting four attacks-of-opportuity. And that's wǔxiá!"