Tweaking OVA for a more loot-friendly campaign...

Discuss rule quandaries, supplements, or anything else OVA related here.

Moderators: Clay, Jade

StarRaven
Worthy Tortoise
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 10:53 pm
Contact:

Tweaking OVA for a more loot-friendly campaign...

Post by StarRaven »

Link: a sample character, for fun! :D

While I have run more roleplay-heavy games, I use OVA a lot to play D&D-style fantasy games. Crawling dungeons, killing monsters, searching for treasure... it's a little tough when equipment isn't really a thing. So here are some tweaks I'm implementing for a more loot-friendly game.

(Note: to clarify between the Attack Ability and the Attacks characters use in combat, I'll try to always refer to the former as "Attack Ability" and the latter as "attack technique." Technique isn't a term from vanilla OVA, I'm just trying to keep my stuff straight, haha.)

Refining Rules for Item-Based Mechanics
Several of OVA's mechanics overlap on the subject of gear, and it's generally left up to the player or GM to decide what's appropriate. In order to streamline that process and give a little more consistency to the way those mechanics are used, here are some guidelines I've invented.
  • Attack: To clarify Attack's purpose a little bit, we're going to define it as a skill that the character has learned, like a martial arts style, that they use to attack with -- a type of character knowledge (like Combat Expert), as opposed to a natural ability (like Agile.) Because of this, it is probably no longer appropriate to be contained in a piece of Gear, which solves the "Gear or Weapon?" problem.
  • Gear: The Gear Ability is a container for other modular Abilities and Weaknesses. The primary difference between Gear and other mechanics is that the contained Abilities and Weaknesses are properties of the gear, so it can be used by anyone.
  • Focus: If a character has the Focus Weakness for an Ability or subset of Abilities, that character can't use those Abilities unless they have the required item. The difference between this and Gear is that the attached Abilities belong to the character and not the item. If the Focus is picked up by another character, they don't gain the Abilities. If a character's Attack Ability requires a focus, none of the attack techniques derived from it can be used without the focus, not even a basic one without any Perks, so take care. If a character's attacks could best be described as "needing a weapon in order to use" then don't use Focus at all, just put the Weapon Flaw on any appropriate attack techniques.
  • Weapon: Weapon is different from the other mechanics here because it is a Flaw rather than a Weakness or Ability. This means that it affects attack techniques on a case-by-case basis. Since neither Gear nor Focus should be able to unfairly overlap anymore, the Weapon flaw should now be able to go on any attack technique that requires a weapon to use. (It's still possible that attack techniques that require a weapon could also require a focus -- in most of such cases... probably it's best to simplify and choose one, but that's up to the GM. If they absolutely have to overlap, the focus and weapons should be different objects.)
Starting Gear
We can make Gear more ubiquitous by putting a focus on it during character creation. Disallow Gear from whatever character creation guidelines you're using and give the players a certain number of "gear points" to spend specifically on Gear.

Starting Gear rules for Abilities and Weaknesses:
Inventor -- for each level of Inventor, your character starts with an extra gear point for Gear that matches their Inventor theme.
Walking Arsenal -- for each level of Walking Arsenal, your character may start with an extra gear point for Gear that matches their Walking Arsenal theme if appropriate.
Wealthy -- for each level of Wealthy, your character starts with an extra gear point.
Poor -- for each level of Poor, your character starts with one less gear point.

The attached sample character is built with the Power Ceiling rules from the main book, with an additional 5 points for Gear.

Item Impermanence
Not everything is built to last forever! While there are a few mechanics in OVA that allow for limited uses of something, all of these assume an ability to recharge about once per day.

New Flaw:
One-Time Use (-10) This item can only be used once before it's gone. This can not be used with the Ammunition Flaw or on Gear with the Limited Uses Weakness.

Gear Damage: a character's equipment is assumed to get the regular necessary maintenance it needs to last as long as the character wants to use it, however if an item is attacked directly or otherwise specifically damaged somehow, it has Health equal to its level x10. When a piece of Gear reaches 0 Health, it is "broken" and must be repaired in order to use it again. Gear can be repaired by characters with the appropriate Inventor or Knowledge Abilities. (Roll as the Heal Ability up to once per day.)

Grittier Attack Rules
(These tweaks aren't inherently about Gear, but are still built to interact with Gear.)

Thematic Attack: If we define a character's Attack Ability thematically (like the sample characters in the rulebook) we can rule that if an attack technique doesn't match the character's Attack theme, they don't get any bonuses from their Attack Ability. If a player wants their character to have varying levels of skill for different types of attacks, wants to start using a new type of Attack later on, or wants to apply Weaknesses like Focus or Endurance Use to only certain attacks (for example, if the character's attacks are explicitly magic), there's no reason they can't take more than one Attack Ability with starkly different themes.

Limited Attack Techniques: Having a large pool of varied techniques to deal with any situation can be a powerful asset. As OVA is, there's really no limit to the number a player can make, so what if we change that?
  • Characters can have a number of additional attack techniques (past the first one) equal to their their level in Attack. (If they have more than one Attack Ability, they can have more attack techniques.) These attack techniques should ideally fit the themes of the Abilities they come from.
  • Characters can have an additional attack per level of Combat Expert. These attack techniques don't have to fit any theme.
  • Characters can have an additional attack per level of Walking Arsenal, where appropriate. These attacks must fit their Walking Arsenal theme.
  • Characters don't have to have this many attack techniques -- and shouldn't, in fact, if they want to learn more attacks during the course of a game session.
Learning new attack techniques:
Attack techniques (like their mother Ability) are a type of character knowledge. In order to use an attack technique in battle, the character should first learn it. This could be as simple as picking up a new weapon and using its basic attack or as complicated as seeking out a legendary swordsman for training.
  • Characters should probably only be able to learn about one new attack technique per game session unless there's specifically a period of training or something.
  • Characters can spontaneously learn or invent an attack during gameplay as long as they aren't at their maximum number of known attacks. (Some tweaks don't need to be considered learning a new attack -- for example, the Adjusting Attacks section on page 108 of the OVA book.)
  • A player can choose to have their character "forget" an old or seldom-used attack technique between game sessions.
Notes:
  • I'd really only use different Attack Abilities if the two are significantly different skills that the character is developing separately.
  • "But Laura, how will I get MORE DAMAGE out of these weapons if I'm not allowed to put Attack on them??? Strong doesn't work for that!" Option one: accept that the amount of damage a weapon does is largely based on the skill of the character wielding the weapon rather than the weapon itself. Option two: make a new (or unique) Ability (called Power maybe) which does nothing but raise the character's DX and is intended for use on container Abilities like Gear or Transformation or as a buff from Arcane Magic. Option three: no judgement but stop trying to weasel out of paying Endurance costs for strong attacks. Just give your giant laser cannon an Endurance Reserve lol.
  • "Why is One-Time Use a Flaw instead of a Weakness?" By definition, anything that's "one-time use" needs to be used or activated, which means it can be altered with a Flaw.
  • If you're going to allow players to come up with attack techniques during combat, there should be rules in place to make sure they can't disrupt play. A player who wants to invent a new attack should say so at the beginning of the round, and if the attack isn't ready to go on their turn, they should act at the end of the round (or lose the turn, if it's already the end of the round.)
  • I wanted to make a couple more sample characters but honestly this draft has been sitting in an open tab for like a month. If I don't hit submit I'm never gonna.
Last edited by StarRaven on Sun Oct 01, 2017 10:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Malancthon
Exalted Amphibian
Posts: 279
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2015 4:55 pm

Re: Tweaking OVA for a more loot-friendly campaign...

Post by Malancthon »

I'll need a bit more time to read all the details. The only thing that I immediately noticed is that "One-Time Use" is already in the book as Ammunition 3 (which is worth -15).
StarRaven
Worthy Tortoise
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 10:53 pm
Contact:

Re: Tweaking OVA for a more loot-friendly campaign...

Post by StarRaven »

The Ammunition Flaw (and the Limited Uses Weakness) can both be recharged -- either under particular circumstances or after a day of rest.

This works just fine for bullets (which can be "recharged" at any place where bullets can be bought) or effects that can be used once per day (which are recharged after 24 hours or so) or spells that must be prepared before use, D&D-style (which can be prepared whenever the wizard has some down time.)

However, it doesn't work for a one-time use potion of invisibility that your character buys from a merchant, or a couple of grenades they pick up off a dead enemy, or a ring that grants a single wish, or a magical arrow imbued with the light of the sun goddess, or anything else that a character might reasonably pick up but that they can't expect to have a continuous stream of.

Essentially, there needs to be a way to distinguish actual one-time-use items from daily items.

At any rate, I wanted to clarify that it wasn't something I forgot/didn't notice. I'm pretty sure I mentioned it in the original post. Now that I think about it though, Ammunition and Limited Uses probably do need sorting out. Added an additional note to the original post.
StarRaven
Worthy Tortoise
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 10:53 pm
Contact:

Re: Tweaking OVA for a more loot-friendly campaign...

Post by StarRaven »

I ran the first session (introduction + character creation) of my new OVA game using these tweaks!

The character creation tweaks worked really well! Players had fun designing their character's starting gear. Everyone took a different, interesting approach. One guy made a mage with few points' worth of standard stuff he hoped to replace as he went, one made an inventor with some gear she could upgrade later, and one dumped all his points into one amazing magic staff that was important to his backstory.

It's great -- all of them basically gave me different ways I can feed them loot to upgrade their characters. They can all get typical rpg loot of all types, but I can also give them spare parts with interesting effects for the inventor to use to make new things, I can give the mages spellbooks full of attacks they can learn, etc.

I will do plenty of experimenting. For science. :3
Clay
Dangerously Sane
Posts: 1282
Joined: Sun Jun 27, 2004 4:32 pm
Location: Nowhere-land
Contact:

Re: Tweaking OVA for a more loot-friendly campaign...

Post by Clay »

I hope you've continued to have fun with your experiments! You should share when you have time...for SCIENCE!
FrankJScott
Exalted Amphibian
Posts: 2517
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2024 7:26 am

Recommended Product Guide

Post by FrankJScott »

Please try Google before asking about Great Product Guide ea681_5
FrankJScott
Exalted Amphibian
Posts: 2517
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2024 7:26 am

High Rated Product Guide

Post by FrankJScott »

Please try Google before asking about New Product Website ab6dc37
FrankJScott
Exalted Amphibian
Posts: 2517
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2024 7:26 am

Updated Product Site

Post by FrankJScott »

Please try Google before asking about Useful Product Info 8fdd0a4
FrankJScott
Exalted Amphibian
Posts: 2517
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2024 7:26 am

Excellent Clothing Store Simulator Blog

Post by FrankJScott »

In reply to the man asking about variety of clothes, all cloth store, all things fashion, variety in fashion, the designer store, fashion help, homegoods clothes, clothing boutiques, unique clothing store, top clothing, I highly recommend this sell on simulator forum or one clothing store, clothing boutiques, we are clothing brand, all clothing websites, by design clothing brand, clothing home, with clothing brand, for clothing store, you store, variety in fashion, and don't forget this awesome clothing store simulator link as well as a fashion store, fashion clothing, the store fashion, clothes clothing, lof clothing, new clothing websites, clothing departments, our store, the womens store, branded clothing shops, alongside all this more about simulator advice which is also great. Also, have a look at this additional hints for fashion simulator tips as well as clothes new clothes, clothing brand, designer clothes for, at home clothing, clothing accessories store, fashion & fashion, a brand store, homegoods clothes, perfect clothing store, as you are clothing, not to mention this total stranger on fashion simulator tips with perfect clothes, clothing home, i fashion clothing, all fashion, the perfect shop, & clothing brand, cloth ing, touch clothing, fashions on the go, options clothing, for good measure. Check more @ Awesome Clothing Store Simulator Site 7a38ea6
FrankJScott
Exalted Amphibian
Posts: 2517
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2024 7:26 am

Updated Human Composting Site

Post by FrankJScott »

To the guy talking about funeral home technology, funeral home usa, burial for cremation, natural burial washington, cremation embalming, funeral info, green burials, people's memorial cremation, cheap funeral directors, plant green cremation, cremation services washington state, ways to be cremated, tree planting funeral, funeral wake service, planning funeral arrangements, cremation society locations, all about cremation, buried without embalming, funeral organization, funeral process, I suggest this this hyperlink on human composting advice for human composting vessel, after memorial service, funeral how much, the average price of a funeral, funeral cremation, prepaid funeral arrangements, cremated body, green funeral homes near me, cremation mortuary, funeral home options, burial to become a tree, cremation number, prepaid cremation plans, funeral homes and crematories near me, going home cremation & funeral care, funeral homes that do cremation, county funerals, low cost funeral services near me, green burial portland oregon, resting places for ashes, cremation eco friendly, composting burial, funeral organization, also. See More High Rated Ligmar Website ea683_2
FrankJScott
Exalted Amphibian
Posts: 2517
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2024 7:26 am

Excellent WIN1000X Guide

Post by FrankJScott »

To the man talking about link main slot gacor, bandar game slot, game slot idn, judi slot gacor, mpo judi slot, net net slot, http slot online, web game slot online, rtp mpo slot, situs bandar judi slot online, I highly recommend this recommended WIN1000X blog or slot gacor hari, indonesia slot online, bandar slot xyz, indo judi slot, agen situs judi slot, slot game, raja judi slot, slot game slot game, pm slot, slot mobile casino, alongside all this on the main page on WIN1000X forum not to mention slot gacor habanero hari ini, website judi gacor, link game slot gacor, slot new member maxwin, dunia mpo slot, new slot online, slot classic online, sandi bet slot, link game judi slot online, habanero gacor, as well as this updated WIN1000X link which is also great. Also, have a look at this great WIN1000X blog not to mention link main slot gacor, win bet slot, cuan judi slot, slot game link, game judi jackpot online, slot games slot, bandar slot login, indo judi slot, nama slot online, game slot yang gacor, alongside all this consultant for WIN1000X details with maxwin casino, slot game link, nama nama slot gacor, dunia win slot, link judi, bet game slot, indo judi slot, login judi slot, slot dunia, bandar slot vip, for good measure. Check more @ Updated Car Rental Blog b6dc37a
FrankJScott
Exalted Amphibian
Posts: 2517
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2024 7:26 am

Cool Aman88Slot Info

Post by FrankJScott »

In response to the people asking about cuan slot gacor, link alternatif slot online, slot olympus online, taruhan slot online, jackpot 88, ninja slot link alternatif, slot play, link slot live, slot online poker, nice 88 slot, I highly suggest this updated Aman88 forum or id pragmatic, slot hoki, game slot cuan, slot88 net, download slot88, url slot gacor, logo rtp slot, slot mobil, game 88 slot, slot pragmatik play, and don't forget this useful Aman 88 Slot forum not to mention slot 88 rtp, online slot gacor, slot 88 gacor, cuan slot login, slot rtp, link pragmatic slot, logo slot login, slot ol, live slot88 login, sumber slot, on top of this excellent Aman88Slot details which is also great. Also, have a look at this more hints about Aman88Slot url on top of pragmatic 88, game slot aplikasi, slot88 pragmatic play, mega jackpot 88 login, rtp cuan88, cuan88 slot, download permainan slot, link jackpot, slot masuk, togel cuan 88, on top of this recommended Aman88Slot blog with credit slot, situs slot cuan, slot online logo, slot online 2023, slot play, situs pragmatic4d, panduan slot, situs online, olympus 88 login, slot arcade, for good measure. Check more @ High Rated WIN1000X Blog 8fdd0a4
FrankJScott
Exalted Amphibian
Posts: 2517
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2024 7:26 am

Updated Low-code Platform Blog

Post by FrankJScott »

For the person talking about low code native app builder, no code software builder, driver jdbc, no code app development open source, jdbc driver for sql, low code expert, android splash screen generator online, open source no code platforms, app modernization, native cross platform app development, I highly suggest this cool Low-code Platform details or best nocode, low code dev, legacy app modernization, open source cross platform app development, mobile app development platforms, multiplatform mobile, nocode ui, forrester wave low code, azure active directory sso integration, about mobile app development, on top of this see for Low-code Platform site as well as rapid app development platform, rapid application development framework, oidc azure, hybrid mobile frameworks, camunda open api, web application platforms, debugging mobile apps in android, hybrid app framework, low code banking, camunda process engine, not to mention this top rated Low-code Platform details which is also great. Also, have a look at this discover more here for Low-code Platform link as well as application modernization software, application modernization meaning, pega low code no code, rapid application development model example, apa itu rapid application development, low code example, mobile application framework, rapid app development, rad software development model, nocode opensource, and don't forget this more info for Low-code Platform info with hybrid mobile app development company in india, explain rapid application development, java rapid application development, low code android app, benefits of application modernization, native web and hybrid apps, develop web application, driver sql server jdbc, best low code development platforms, low code course, for good measure. Check more @ Updated Garden Summer Houses Tips dab6dc3
FrankJScott
Exalted Amphibian
Posts: 2517
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2024 7:26 am

Awesome WIN1000X Blog

Post by FrankJScott »

For the people talking about situs 2023, slot olympus online, slot gacor slot online, masuk slot, famous slot, 88 slot login, selalu slot, cuan gacor, logo rtp slot, login casino88, I highly suggest this helpful hints about WIN1000X forum or permainan sweet bonanza, pengaturan slot online, official slot, slot poker, link alternatif slot 88, fortune slot 88, unduh slot, thor 88 slot login, slot play, net slot88, alongside all this weblink about WIN1000X blog not to mention olympus gates slot, playtech slot online, rtp slot88, sports slot, hoki slot login, permainan slot pragmatic, game hot hot, game mahjong slot, situs slot pragmatic play, logo gacor slot, as well as this helpful site on WIN1000X forum which is also great. Also, have a look at this top rated WIN1000X blog on top of aplikasi olympus slot, web slot online, heat slot, slot virtual, slot nexus, slot hoki cuan, slot kode, slot twins, thor slot88 link alternatif, ini slot, on top of this weblink about WIN1000X link with permainan casino online, link slot rtp, slot cc, slot 88 apk, rtp slot indonesia, nex4d slot, pragmatic play adalah, slot b88, logo slot, rtp slot hoki, for good measure. Check more @ Cool CUANSLOT Tips c37a38e
FrankJScott
Exalted Amphibian
Posts: 2517
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2024 7:26 am

High Rated Buying Gold Site

Post by FrankJScott »

For the lady asking about výkup zlata praha 5, pražská mincovna recenze, burza mincí praha, 1 oz zlata, investi?ní zlato ostrava, graf vývoje ceny st?íbra, gram st?íbra, zlate mince, zlato historie, banka zlato, I highly recommend this link for buying gold url or cena zlata za gram v k?, výkup zlata argor heraeus, koupit zlato v praze, 1 kg st?íbra cihla cena, cena unce zlata, zlatá cihla prodej, investi?ní zlato cihla, zlatý dárek, cena 1 kg st?íbra, ?nb mincovna, not to mention this recommended buying gold url and don't forget investi?ní mince ?eské mincovny, cena zlata 10g, mince investi?ní, zlata investice, svetove mince, nákup investi?ního zlata, výkup mincí brno, vyrocni mince, zlato gram, zlato eshop, not to mention this excellent buying gold blog which is also great. Also, have a look at this continue reading this for buying gold advice alongside all výkup zlata v praze, vykup ceskych minci, cena vykupu stribra, mincovna cz, zlato obchod, výkup zlatých mincí praha, cena zlata cz, investice kovy, st?íbro graf, zlato kov, and don't forget this made my day on buying gold link with prodej drahých kov?, obchodování se zlatem, mincovní st?íbro, zlato koupit, cena vykupu zlata, heraeus cz, zlato váha, pam?tní mince cnb, cena zlata oz, ?nb cena zlata, for good measure. Check more @ New Aman 88 Slot Blog 8fdd0a4
Post Reply