Yesturday I ran my first OVA session in a Hyborian Age setting (the world of Conan the Barbarian).
The game went very well in my opinion. It was fun and extremely easy to create characters and NPCs. The story was smooth and there was little or no referring back to the book. The game session was very combat centered and yet there was no getting bogged down at all. -The whole game session lasted about 3 and a half hours, and within that time there was 4 combat encounters in which all but one, the PCs were outnumbered.
One change I did make was due to the setting. I took away the 'Weapon' ability and made a simple 'equipment list' of weapons that the character's may find or have available to them, also listing the weapons of their adversaries. I feel like this fit the Conan setting a lot better.
The only complaint I had from my players was that they felt like they were rolling defense all the time. I know the session I planned lent itself to this somewhat, most of the time they were outnumbered in their encounters. But I was wondering if anyone has thought about or tried a static number to represent a character's defense value. I was thinking of 4 being the average difficulty to hit an opponent, with every bonus from a defense ability adding 2 to that value. I haven't experimented with this yet, anyone else? Any thoughts?
1st Session
That's great! OVA does lend itself to a lot of genres as long as you're not emotionally attached to "crunch" and a roll and rule for everything. I'm glad it worked out for you.
Eliminating the Armor, Weapon and Power Move abilities, and creating a equipment list, was something I did in my current campaign. How did you handle magic, magical items, and treasure?
I like the defense roll as it is. I believe it keeps combat more unpredictable and gives someone with no combat abilities a fighting chance. A static defense would make defensive actions less effective and the dreaded Kamikaze Strike too devastating. However, if you tested it out in one of your gaming sessions, I'd love to read how it went.
Eliminating the Armor, Weapon and Power Move abilities, and creating a equipment list, was something I did in my current campaign. How did you handle magic, magical items, and treasure?
I like the defense roll as it is. I believe it keeps combat more unpredictable and gives someone with no combat abilities a fighting chance. A static defense would make defensive actions less effective and the dreaded Kamikaze Strike too devastating. However, if you tested it out in one of your gaming sessions, I'd love to read how it went.
I haven't worried about magic since its presence was very minor in the game session. I haven't had to deal with money yet since it never came up either. The PCs were issued weapons or could have picked them up off of fallen enemies. I was thinking of making money and treasure like an ability- "You find enough treasure to give you a +1 Wealth" (At which point 'Wealth' might be exhausted a point when they fail a transaction roll. -Just brainstorming on the fly here).
The only magic that came up was one major NPC had 'Mesmerism' which was a simple contested roll with the PCs (adding Willpower to defend vs. Mesmerism). This only happened at the end of the session in the last encounter. I think I will post the adventure on the forums, I enjoy when others do the same.
I may experiment with a static defense like I described, I'll post it on the boards if/when I do. However my players were only visiting out of state so I will need to get another group together.
Thanks for the replies.
The only magic that came up was one major NPC had 'Mesmerism' which was a simple contested roll with the PCs (adding Willpower to defend vs. Mesmerism). This only happened at the end of the session in the last encounter. I think I will post the adventure on the forums, I enjoy when others do the same.
I may experiment with a static defense like I described, I'll post it on the boards if/when I do. However my players were only visiting out of state so I will need to get another group together.
Thanks for the replies.
I never liked Wealth checks. I didn't care for it in D20 Modern, and I didn't like it being carried over into other D20 games like True20. My players and I prefer a hard currency system, because we find it easier. BESM Dungeon had an interesting currency system where X number of <type of> coins equaled a Major or Minor Item. For example: 100 gold coins of value equaled a Major Item of Personal Gear. It wasn't perfect, but you now had an economy to base things on. I just don't know how to translate that into OVA?I haven't worried about magic since its presence was very minor in the game session. I haven't had to deal with money yet since it never came up either. The PCs were issued weapons or could have picked them up off of fallen enemies. I was thinking of making money and treasure like an ability- "You find enough treasure to give you a +1 Wealth" (At which point 'Wealth' might be exhausted a point when they fail a transaction roll. -Just brainstorming on the fly here).
Was "Mesmerism" an ability you created, or were you using Psychic? I'm only asking because for NPC villians (ones I know are there for just the short term) I don't bother with the Magic abilities. I just give them the powers that I know they're going to cast in combat and be done with it. I'm really interested in how you're going to handle magical items without unbalancing the game? I'm having a tough time with that one myself. On one hand you want to reward them, but on the other, it's hard to give them something better than what they already have without making them too powerful.The only magic that came up was one major NPC had 'Mesmerism' which was a simple contested roll with the PCs (adding Willpower to defend vs. Mesmerism). This only happened at the end of the session in the last encounter.
When I first joined the forums I posted the results of a demo game I ran. You can check it out here, if you're interested:I think I will post the adventure on the forums, I enjoy when others do the same.
viewtopic.php?t=1945
Calibur, I appreciate your comments and posts, glad these forums are alive. (Also, your demo playtest is one 'review' that really encouraged me to play OVA).
About money and treasure, I understand why people wouldn't like 'wealth checks'. But to me, I just don't like keeping track of coinage/currency. But since you posted about how money is used in BESM Dungeon, that seems pretty simplified. I'll have to think about that one. In my session with OVA, my players just trust me enough to leave it up to GM fiat:
"You find a chest about half-full with an assortment of silver, gold, and precious stones." They don't ask me how much that is, they understand it is a small fortune, when they want to spend it on something I tell them if they can afford it or not. I know that is probably unique with my group though and won't work for all gamers.
The NPC just had 'Mesmerism' as an ability. I pretty much gave NPCs abilities in much the same way you describe.
With Magic items, I'm not too worried about it really. One thing I loathe about D&D is the proliferation of magical items, I think it's downright goofy. So as far as putting them in my Hyborian Age setting, they won't be so abundant, and will likely be very specialized. If a player wants a magical weapon or something that will be part of his character for the long-term, he can buy it as per the Weapon Ability- perhaps learning a power move with it. The same goes for sorcerers who wish to create magical items, they can buy it with xp.
In most of the Conan stories there are magical items, but they are very specialised in that they are only useful within the context of the particular story being told.
About money and treasure, I understand why people wouldn't like 'wealth checks'. But to me, I just don't like keeping track of coinage/currency. But since you posted about how money is used in BESM Dungeon, that seems pretty simplified. I'll have to think about that one. In my session with OVA, my players just trust me enough to leave it up to GM fiat:
"You find a chest about half-full with an assortment of silver, gold, and precious stones." They don't ask me how much that is, they understand it is a small fortune, when they want to spend it on something I tell them if they can afford it or not. I know that is probably unique with my group though and won't work for all gamers.
The NPC just had 'Mesmerism' as an ability. I pretty much gave NPCs abilities in much the same way you describe.
With Magic items, I'm not too worried about it really. One thing I loathe about D&D is the proliferation of magical items, I think it's downright goofy. So as far as putting them in my Hyborian Age setting, they won't be so abundant, and will likely be very specialized. If a player wants a magical weapon or something that will be part of his character for the long-term, he can buy it as per the Weapon Ability- perhaps learning a power move with it. The same goes for sorcerers who wish to create magical items, they can buy it with xp.
In most of the Conan stories there are magical items, but they are very specialised in that they are only useful within the context of the particular story being told.
Glad to hear about your success with the system, and even more happy to hear about you doing well with something decidedly non-anime.
Wealth checks or no, I do like the idea of an abstract amount of money. I've never been fond of the whole "you have to buy a lantern, a rope, a flint, some leather boots, a sack, a backpack, oil for the lamp, a torch if your lamp breaks..." sort of gameplay. The group's thief is going to have rope and thieving tools and such. The leader will likely have the lantern. So forth. I've rarely found the "you forgot to buy flint!" sort of scenario conducive to an exciting story.
As for equipment, things will work similarly in OVA: Fantasy. Your quick fix works. Using XP for truly rare magical weapons is a nice take on it.
Wealth checks or no, I do like the idea of an abstract amount of money. I've never been fond of the whole "you have to buy a lantern, a rope, a flint, some leather boots, a sack, a backpack, oil for the lamp, a torch if your lamp breaks..." sort of gameplay. The group's thief is going to have rope and thieving tools and such. The leader will likely have the lantern. So forth. I've rarely found the "you forgot to buy flint!" sort of scenario conducive to an exciting story.
As for equipment, things will work similarly in OVA: Fantasy. Your quick fix works. Using XP for truly rare magical weapons is a nice take on it.
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Joe_Mello
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Unless it is pitch dark and you are likely to be eaten by a grue.Clay wrote:The leader will likely have the lantern. So forth. I've rarely found the "you forgot to buy flint!" sort of scenario conducive to an exciting story.
I like the idea of XP buying items because it strangely complements the idea of abstract dollars. If you consider XP as a measure of the passage of time, buying stun batons, better armor, or the magical eleven-foot pole with XP symbolizes how hard the character had to work to earn (enough money to buy) that item.
/Two obscure RPG references in one post! Woot!
Joe_Mello: Could you make a common sense roll, please, Ryu?
Ryushikaze: With Smart?
Joe_Mello: Sure
*Ryushikaze rolls*
Joe_Mello: SHE'S DEAD!
Ryushikaze: With Smart?
Joe_Mello: Sure
*Ryushikaze rolls*
Joe_Mello: SHE'S DEAD!
Like I said earlier, it depends on the setting. Even in Fantasy there are settings and moods which greatly differ.
Obviously, I'm a huge Fan of Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age. While not necessarily 'gritty' (for the PCs anyway), it is grim. Howard's Hyborian Age is what spawned 'Sword & Sorcery'.
For story arcs in this type of campaign PCs are likely to be robbed, imprisoned, doing the robbing, and looting the bodies of people more than monsters (actually monsters in the Hyborian Age are REALLY monsters, they rarely have 'loot'). I'm not gonna make my player's spend xp when they break out of prison, sneak into an armory, and arm themselves. (As an interesting aside, Conan NEVER carried a magical weapon in the original Howard stories).
As for how to handle currency I have an idea that I will just make 'Loot' like a temporary and mutable ability. The PCs will just be able to trade 'Loot' for 'Weapon' or 'Item of Power' (or even 'Position of Power') when they have an opportunity in-game to do so (making a trip to see a merchant, for example). Instead of a 'wealth check' I think I will be more realistic and have the PC's try to cajole the merchant down with a 'Beautiful', 'Charisma', 'Intimidate' check vs. the Merchant's abilities. Lifestyle resources can just be roleplayed.
Another Idea is to use Exalted's 'Resources' trait. Rated 1-5, character's can afford anything less than their Resources trait without the trait going down. For an item or expense equal to their Resources Score, they may purchase the item but their Resources goes down one.
Perhaps these two ideas can be combined.
Obviously, I'm a huge Fan of Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age. While not necessarily 'gritty' (for the PCs anyway), it is grim. Howard's Hyborian Age is what spawned 'Sword & Sorcery'.
For story arcs in this type of campaign PCs are likely to be robbed, imprisoned, doing the robbing, and looting the bodies of people more than monsters (actually monsters in the Hyborian Age are REALLY monsters, they rarely have 'loot'). I'm not gonna make my player's spend xp when they break out of prison, sneak into an armory, and arm themselves. (As an interesting aside, Conan NEVER carried a magical weapon in the original Howard stories).
As for how to handle currency I have an idea that I will just make 'Loot' like a temporary and mutable ability. The PCs will just be able to trade 'Loot' for 'Weapon' or 'Item of Power' (or even 'Position of Power') when they have an opportunity in-game to do so (making a trip to see a merchant, for example). Instead of a 'wealth check' I think I will be more realistic and have the PC's try to cajole the merchant down with a 'Beautiful', 'Charisma', 'Intimidate' check vs. the Merchant's abilities. Lifestyle resources can just be roleplayed.
Another Idea is to use Exalted's 'Resources' trait. Rated 1-5, character's can afford anything less than their Resources trait without the trait going down. For an item or expense equal to their Resources Score, they may purchase the item but their Resources goes down one.
Perhaps these two ideas can be combined.