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16
Graveyard / C.H.P.U. - Chaosforge Hackmaster Players United
« on: July 28, 2010, 14:05 »
I'm posting this thread so that players interested in playing some Hackmaster - which is currently me, Tavana and SKRen - can organize some things. For anyone who stumbles upon this and wonders what the hell Hackmaster is:
Hackmaster is an AD&D spinoff. It started off as a parody of D&D used in Knights of the Dinner Table comic. Some time afterwards creators of the comic managed to acquire license from Wizards of the Coast and created actual game under the name. The system is essentially AD&D 1e/2e with some interesting additions (like Honor system), good deal of humor and leads itself nicely to old-school(ish) gameplay of "go to the dungeon, kill monsters, take their stuff" (though it can be used for more... ah... elaborate adventures - as always it's up to DM)
There. That being explained some points up for discussion:
1) GMing - the current idea is of having GMs do short-to-medium length adventures/dungeon crawls in rotation so that everyone gets to act as player a bit. Tavana agreed to the idea, so currently it looks like me and him will be swapping places, though if someone else wants to step into the rotations (*looks at SKRen*) then it's good - the more the merrier.
2) Character stats - 3d6 in order stat rolling is a harsh mistress. We could do what HM promotes and "let the dice fall where they may" or alternatively we could try the following (my idea): give everyone ability to roll three times for stats BUT have the last roll taken stand (i.e. I'm rolling stats. First set is crap, second one is average... I risk rolling third set and get crap rolls = I'm stuck with them, at least until my character dies)
3) Definition of "session" - while reading through rules I noticed a few things ("mulligans", some e.p. awards) that are timed "once per session". Since in PBF you can't really measure these I have three proposals how to handle it:
- Such things are checked once per week flat
- Such things are checked after current adventure ends
- As above + also checked every time party bails out of dungeon or wherever they are and gets back to nearest safespot to rest and restock
That's all at the moment :P
Hackmaster is an AD&D spinoff. It started off as a parody of D&D used in Knights of the Dinner Table comic. Some time afterwards creators of the comic managed to acquire license from Wizards of the Coast and created actual game under the name. The system is essentially AD&D 1e/2e with some interesting additions (like Honor system), good deal of humor and leads itself nicely to old-school(ish) gameplay of "go to the dungeon, kill monsters, take their stuff" (though it can be used for more... ah... elaborate adventures - as always it's up to DM)
There. That being explained some points up for discussion:
1) GMing - the current idea is of having GMs do short-to-medium length adventures/dungeon crawls in rotation so that everyone gets to act as player a bit. Tavana agreed to the idea, so currently it looks like me and him will be swapping places, though if someone else wants to step into the rotations (*looks at SKRen*) then it's good - the more the merrier.
2) Character stats - 3d6 in order stat rolling is a harsh mistress. We could do what HM promotes and "let the dice fall where they may" or alternatively we could try the following (my idea): give everyone ability to roll three times for stats BUT have the last roll taken stand (i.e. I'm rolling stats. First set is crap, second one is average... I risk rolling third set and get crap rolls = I'm stuck with them, at least until my character dies)
3) Definition of "session" - while reading through rules I noticed a few things ("mulligans", some e.p. awards) that are timed "once per session". Since in PBF you can't really measure these I have three proposals how to handle it:
- Such things are checked once per week flat
- Such things are checked after current adventure ends
- As above + also checked every time party bails out of dungeon or wherever they are and gets back to nearest safespot to rest and restock
That's all at the moment :P
17
Graveyard / Starfire - interest check
« on: July 01, 2010, 12:34 »
Hmm, how to start... maby with this: I'm looking if I can find players victims guinea pigs voulnteers for a "learn-the-rules" game of Starfire. What is Starfire you may think? To quote the rulebook itself: "Starfire is a gaming system that simulates both tactical combat and empire building campaigns in space". Or in simpler terms imagine computer games like Stars!, Master of Orion or Galactic Civilizations... yeah, it's kind of like that only in form of boardgame. Worth noting is that the game is:
a) slow. It's not a fast game where turns would be going each day, and fact that rules will be learned as we go will probably make it even slower
b) complicated. As in complicated-complicated. That's why I'm looking to organize a game of it - Starfire looks like a game that can be awesome when you get the hang of it, but trying to learn it by sitting down and reading through the rulebook without any practical experience alongside of it went about as good as trying to learn math by jamming math book through your ear straight to brain.
So that would be it for the intro I think. If any potential cannon fodder is willing to try it out feel free to ask more questions.
PS. If anyone run into series of books under name of Starfire by David Weber and Steve White - yes, these are related.
a) slow. It's not a fast game where turns would be going each day, and fact that rules will be learned as we go will probably make it even slower
b) complicated. As in complicated-complicated. That's why I'm looking to organize a game of it - Starfire looks like a game that can be awesome when you get the hang of it, but trying to learn it by sitting down and reading through the rulebook without any practical experience alongside of it went about as good as trying to learn math by jamming math book through your ear straight to brain.
So that would be it for the intro I think. If any potential cannon fodder is willing to try it out feel free to ask more questions.
PS. If anyone run into series of books under name of Starfire by David Weber and Steve White - yes, these are related.
18
Graveyard / Chaosforge multiplayer games
« on: April 22, 2010, 15:51 »
This topic is a result of a discussion that happened on Irc. Apparently Gargulec is craving for some multiplayer gameplay. There were some ideas tossed around, and I was supposed to drop some info about Stars! but in the end decided to do a short listing of the games I mentioned on irc.
1) Stars!
What is it: A old 4x game (if you don't know what 4x games are - think Civilization or Master of Orion). Game generates a map full of planets (up to around 1000) in which up to 16 players fight for domination, researching technologies to build starships and conquer all. Simple, at least in theory. The game itself is turn based play-by-email.
How does it look:
Where to get it: There is an installer here http://www.sendspace.com/file/83c4ni - the game needs also a serial, and a unique one for each player. There are two ways of acquiring one - first is a site called Stars Autohost, whos owner sells serials cheaply (the game is pretty much abandoned by now, and that guy has a keygen someone created in past and blessing of original creators - requires paypal account and ~$5 though), second one is contacting me - I have twenty-some serials that some people "donated" on the internet. The catch is that you most likely won't be able play with anyone outside of chaosforge with these.
Why the hell would I play it: Well Gargulec mentioned he loathes 4x, but at the same time he said that he would play if I gathered players for it. So if you want to make him feel the paint this is your option ;P
2) Megamek
What is it: Megamek is a client that allows to play Battletech (board/minaitures-game that was the basis for Mechwarrior series) online. Plain and simple.
How does it look:
Where to get it: http://sourceforge.net/projects/megamek/ is the site of the project, would have to check and see what's more worthy of a download right now - stable or dev version.
Why the hell would I play it: It's battletech/mechwarrior, duh.
3) Netstorm
What is it: A less-known RTS game in which you become a priest for a tribe of people living on a floating island. You battle other priests for power - the game has nearly no "units" in traditional sense, instead you have to rely on building bridges and attaching destructive devices to them.
How does it look:
Where to get it: http://www.netstormhq.com/ - I think you have to register, though at worst I could drop the installer files at sendspace or something.
Why the hell would I play it: The idea of battling islands is novel, and the gameplay can be quite fun from what little experience I had with it.
4) Blood Bowl
What is it: Think american footbal, but in the world of warhammer, and with voilence being not quite contained. Scoring a touchdown with the ball is nice, but doing so with skull of an opposing player can do quite as well.
How does it look:
or
Where to get it: One version is to buy Cyanide's Blood Bowl computer game - it costs 40 euro, and gives nice graphics and handy UI, at the drawback of costing money and not having all the races available (there is supposed to come out an extended edition to come out this year). Alternatively there are out there some clients that allow playing the game online much the way megamek allows playing battletech games, and at least one of these is fully workable if outdated on rules. Of course they don't have shiny graphics, and control is going to be much more complicated.
Why the hell would I play it: Because Blood Bowl is the greatest sport ever ;)
1) Stars!
What is it: A old 4x game (if you don't know what 4x games are - think Civilization or Master of Orion). Game generates a map full of planets (up to around 1000) in which up to 16 players fight for domination, researching technologies to build starships and conquer all. Simple, at least in theory. The game itself is turn based play-by-email.
How does it look:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Where to get it: There is an installer here http://www.sendspace.com/file/83c4ni - the game needs also a serial, and a unique one for each player. There are two ways of acquiring one - first is a site called Stars Autohost, whos owner sells serials cheaply (the game is pretty much abandoned by now, and that guy has a keygen someone created in past and blessing of original creators - requires paypal account and ~$5 though), second one is contacting me - I have twenty-some serials that some people "donated" on the internet. The catch is that you most likely won't be able play with anyone outside of chaosforge with these.
Why the hell would I play it: Well Gargulec mentioned he loathes 4x, but at the same time he said that he would play if I gathered players for it. So if you want to make him feel the paint this is your option ;P
2) Megamek
What is it: Megamek is a client that allows to play Battletech (board/minaitures-game that was the basis for Mechwarrior series) online. Plain and simple.
How does it look:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Where to get it: http://sourceforge.net/projects/megamek/ is the site of the project, would have to check and see what's more worthy of a download right now - stable or dev version.
Why the hell would I play it: It's battletech/mechwarrior, duh.
3) Netstorm
What is it: A less-known RTS game in which you become a priest for a tribe of people living on a floating island. You battle other priests for power - the game has nearly no "units" in traditional sense, instead you have to rely on building bridges and attaching destructive devices to them.
How does it look:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Where to get it: http://www.netstormhq.com/ - I think you have to register, though at worst I could drop the installer files at sendspace or something.
Why the hell would I play it: The idea of battling islands is novel, and the gameplay can be quite fun from what little experience I had with it.
4) Blood Bowl
What is it: Think american footbal, but in the world of warhammer, and with voilence being not quite contained. Scoring a touchdown with the ball is nice, but doing so with skull of an opposing player can do quite as well.
How does it look:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
or
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Where to get it: One version is to buy Cyanide's Blood Bowl computer game - it costs 40 euro, and gives nice graphics and handy UI, at the drawback of costing money and not having all the races available (there is supposed to come out an extended edition to come out this year). Alternatively there are out there some clients that allow playing the game online much the way megamek allows playing battletech games, and at least one of these is fully workable if outdated on rules. Of course they don't have shiny graphics, and control is going to be much more complicated.
Why the hell would I play it: Because Blood Bowl is the greatest sport ever ;)
19
Modding / Modding wishlist
« on: February 27, 2010, 10:20 »
Kornel asked me recently to start writing up a wishlist for things in modding, so here it is. This will be updated when new thoughts come to me, feel free to add your own wishes, but remember - no guarantees are beeing made that anything on the list appears, unless Kornel says so himself ;)
Color map:
In release
In beta
In SVN
Impossible to add or denied feature
Duplicate
1. Make exotics available.
2. Make uniques available except the ones that *really* need to stay "behind the curtain" (a category occupied mostly by Dragonslayer I think :P).
3. An option to make "unmodable" content to either drop randomly as normal or not (i.e. if Dragonslayer gets hidden modders should have an option do they want it to drop as it does in regular game or not).
4. An similar option to block out "core" monsters and items from spawning
5. A teleport flag for monsters - makes them phase near the player when he gets in sigh
6. A flag or event that makes monster perform one final attack on death, provided that he is able to (player in sight/weapon range, enough ammo in magazine, etc.)
7. Ability to give the monster up to 3-4 weapons and have them switch between them (possibly flags for weapons to define on what range what weapon gets used?)
8. "Vampiric" flag for weapons and monsters
9. A flag that allows the weapon to gain ammo when it sits in alternate slot and monsters get killed by other equipped weapon (Denied)
10. A clearFlag hook for items. Come to think of it setFlag and clearFlag for cells might be of use
11. Way of clearing monsters or items on the map "on demand".
12. Hook that would allow weapon to do stuff on fire. Needs to be able to mess with wielder's stats using this, and ideally it would proc *after* creatures OnAction
13. Ability to tinker with how much "hp" armor has (Denied; EDIT: isn't this doable with maxdurability?)
14. Ability to set hp and armor durability to display actual hp rather than % (denied)
15. Reverse knockback flag - i.e. ability to have weapons that suck the target towards origin of attack/explosion rather than away from it (Denied)
Color map:
In release
In beta
In SVN
Impossible to add or denied feature
Duplicate
Spoiler: Aggregated Items (click to show/hide)
20
Modding / Q2 Demo - Sandbox example
« on: February 26, 2010, 12:42 »
With 0.9.9.1 there will come "sandbox" or ability to edit a single level. Modding version alpha so to say ;) Since I've spent some time today working on example of what can be done with it Kornel asked me to do a replay of the final product (yes, replays are coming back too) and post it here. So there you go - unpack and run replay.bat, space to start the show (the replay seemed a bit slow but maby it's just me). For the donators there is a "playable" version of what I did here for download in beta topic.
21
0.9.9.1 / [0.9.9.1|M|100%|YAVP] Hail to the King!
« on: December 03, 2009, 14:18 »Code: [Select]
--------------------------------------------------------------
DoomRL (v.0.9.9.1 BETA 1) roguelike post-mortem character dump
--------------------------------------------------------------
Malek, level 9 Cacodemon 2nd Lieutenant, defeated the Cyberdemon
on level 25 of the Phobos base.
He survived 95722 turns and scored 76813 points.
He played for 1 hour and 11 seconds.
He didn't like it too rough.
He killed 430 out of 430 hellspawn. (100%)
This ass-kicking marine killed all of them!
-- Awards ----------------------------------------------------
Medal of Prejudice
-- Graveyard -------------------------------------------------
###########################################################
...........................................................
...........................................................
...........................................................
.........................................###...............
...###...................................###...............
...###..............###..................###...............
...###..............###...........###......................
....................###..###......###......................
.........................###.}X...###......................
.###......##.............###|..............................
.###.......#...............||..............###.............
.###.......#...............................###.............
................###................###.....###.............
................###...........###..###.....................
................###...........#>#..###....................#
..............................###.........................#
..........................................................#
...........................................................
###########################################################
-- Statistics ------------------------------------------------
Health 24/50 Experience 33146/9
ToHit Ranged +0 ToHit Melee +0 ToDmg Ranged +1 ToDmg Melee +1
-- Traits ----------------------------------------------------
Tough as nails (Level 3)
Son of a bitch (Level 1)
Reloader (Level 2)
Badass (Level 1)
Shottyman (Level 1)
Army of the Dead (Level 1)
Rel->Rel->SM->TaN->TaN->Bad->MAD->TaN->SoB->
-- Equipment -------------------------------------------------
[a] [ Armor ] modified red armor [4/4] (91%) (B)
[b] [ Weapon ] modified double shotgun (9d3)x5 [0/2] (F1P1)
[c] [ Boots ] gothic boots [10/10] (200%)
[d] [ Prepared ] modified combat shotgun (9d3) [5/5] (P2)
-- Inventory -------------------------------------------------
[a] blue armor [2/2] (84%)
[b] blue armor [2/2] (88%)
[c] blue armor [2/2] (79%)
[d] modified blue armor [4/4] (53%) (P)
[e] modified blue armor [2/2] (182%) (B)
[f] shotgun shell (x24)
[g] shotgun shell (x50)
[h] shotgun shell (x50)
[i] small med-pack
[j] large med-pack
[k] large med-pack
[l] large med-pack
[m] large med-pack
[n] large med-pack
[o] large med-pack
[p] large med-pack
[q] phase device
[r] plasteel boots [4/4] (100%)
-- Kills -----------------------------------------------------
92 former humans
55 former sergeants
15 former captains
67 imps
48 demons
82 lost souls
19 cacodemons
4 barons of hell
1 Cyberdemon
5 hell knights
20 arachnotrons
4 former commandos
5 pain elementals
2 arch-viles
2 mancubi
9 revenants
-- History ---------------------------------------------------
He started his journey on the surface of Phobos.
Then at last he found Phobos Arena!
On level 25 he finally defeated the Cyberdemon.
-- Messages --------------------------------------------------
The Cyberdemon hits you.
Fire -- Choose target...
The Cyberdemon hits you.
You use a phase device. You feel yanked in an non-existing direction!
You use a large med-pack. You feel fully healed.
1 1
The Cyberdemon reloads his rocket launcher.
Fire -- Choose target...
Fire -- Choose target...
1 1
Fire -- Choose target...
The Cyberdemon dies. You feel relatively safe now. Congratulations!
-- General ---------------------------------------------------
Before him 131 brave souls have ventured into Phobos:
106 of those were killed.
7 didn't read the thermonuclear bomb manual.
And 9 couldn't handle the stress and committed a stupid suicide.
Some rumours though, say that the Cyberdemon was killed already!
Is he immortal? 9 souls claim to have killed him...
1 sacrificed itself for the good of mankind.
7 killed the bastard and survived.
1 showed that it can outsmart hell itself.
--------------------------------------------------------------This run wouldn't be remarkable at all if it weren't for the weapon I wielded - joking attempt to mod the weapon I held at the moment with newly found firestorm pack resulted in (8d3)x5 which got quickly power-modded to (9d3)x5. There were some doubts on wether it worked or not with DS' two-shell mag (in fact one person on IRC doubts if "vanilla" x3 doubleshotty works... oh ye of small faith) but I think it does - at least I don't remember regular DS chewing through revenants in two blasts. Regardless, this (as in DS beeing modded with firestorm pack) is most likely a bug, so off I am to the beta-thread.
22
Graveyard / Campaign Journal... sort of
« on: December 02, 2009, 13:44 »
Soooo... yeah. As some know I'm a bit of RPG person, and my latest favourite system is 4e. Over half a year a go (hot damn, that much time passed already?) in attempt to sate my thirst for 4e I've offered (on another board) to do something I normally don't do - DM a game, a pre-made module to be more specific. It turned out better than expected and few days ago it got resurrected after a month of break I took.
Now by this point you're probably wondering where all is heading - to put things simply I've seen people do "journals" from their games a few times and decided to do something similar for sake of lulz. So be prepared for seeing some comments and rant on how my "party" is doing... at least as long as I can manage to care :P Maby something good will come of it...
0) Some general info
Like I said I for most part don't DM. I personally feel I don't have skills to be a "proper" DM... but at the same time from my point of view 4e is easier on newbie DMs and the deal was running a module - a game that has most stuff made ready to go. As most of 4e pre-mades this one is, errr, classic in feel - in other words it offers much dungeons and much combat. I know there are people that scoff such kind of game, but the people who play PBF in question took it with good humor - they treat the game lightly and don't seem to mind the combat - and I in turn try to make as much of non-combat encounters as I can.
And my party aside the big amount of combat in 4e isn't a bad thing. 4e is all about combat and doesn't try much to hid it - instead it focuses about making combat fun. If you prefer other styles of play, and dislike 4e for that don't go out of your way just to post "4e sucks", "4e is WoW" or something like that - just enjoy games you play ;)
But I am rambling, moving on...
...
Oh, and for the record the module in question is "Keep on the Shadowfell" - a freely downloadable introductionary 4e module
1) Meet thesandvitch party
A word on the players and their characters. There were some changes in their ranks, I'll try to describe both present and past members a bit
Current roster
Amber (Race: Shadar-kai. Class: Rogue. Player: Irinka) - Party's "female factor" - she's quite a good roleplayer and takes a humorous approach at her roleplaying which is nice. Originally she was the person with most problems with mechanic side of play, she has shown much improvement since then - she still gimps herself a bit here and there but a gentle nudge or two should eliminate the problems... I hope. Iri has fell in love with deity calledEmo Raven Queen a goddess of fate, winter and death hence the race - shadar-kai are a 4e race with close relations to Raven Queen. This character is relatively new to the group, she previously played Rahimat, but dropped the character as apparently she herself didn't like how Rahimat played out.
Karras (Race: Warforged. Class: Warlord. Player: Xander_Morhaime) - our very own X is taking part in my game as a slightly frustrated tin-can of a warlord and party's first and for long time only healabot. I don't think I need to talk about Xander's RP-ability - just check out Machine Spirit or Morey if you need to. Skill aside Karras has a bit trouble with his party - for one others seem to have issues with wrapping their minds around a "living golem" as part of the group, and the tactical coordination in the group so far isn't which leaves Xander with limited combat options most of the time. Still he's there and he's doing a good job whether they like it or not. And he's the only one to ever express interest in carrying the monetary gains (nobody cared about splitting so far), which might lead to interesting consequences in future.
Racimir (Race: Human. Class: Paladin (of Kord). Player: popkiev) - Sir gets-ganged-upon-a-lot, whifs-a-lot, and main speaker of the party (though the last might change with coming of Ragenthank). That one is a bit odd - his grasp on the rules is fluid sometimes (one time he gets stuff right from the start, other times I have to remind him the basics). Likewise with RP - some of his posts are quite goods, but he a few not so good (the most memorable being his first post, and first PBF post in general which went more or less like that: "So I'm marching ahead with steady stride". End.). One thing is sure, he still has much to learn about beingmeatshield defender - for one he never used his Divine Challenge feature, even once (a power that is supposed to make monsters keep on him rather than squishies) - though to be honest he takes most damage on him anyway :D Wielder of team's first magic item - the "mighty" Reproachful Warhammer +1
Ragenthank (Race: Goliath. Class: Cleric (of Kord). Player: Kuge) - second of my close friends (Xander being the other if you haven't guessed), another good roleplayer, much needed second healabot and master powergamer in one. He's the kind of guy that could make a broken character in a system that uses rock-paper-scisors as combat resolution, but at the same time given enough motivation he could probably write a 10-page background for a chesspiece. He's been the highest damage dealer in the party since he arrived, and due to some ungodly luck barely taken any damage himself so far. He also livens up the roleplaying, and helps me push things right way sometimes :P Trivia: He was originally called Ragentak, but added the second "n" as *everybody* misspelled the name.
Wilfire (Race: Human. Class: Ranger. Player: Verdin) - my personal headache. It's not like I have something against the guy, but his entry post (which included roleplaying other characters for them), unexplainable tendency to always make human ranges (there have been a few side games in the meantime) and the horrible, horrible name make me uneasy. At least he seems to know his mechanics fairly well - not much more to add now as he just entered.
Past members
Leif Erikson (Race: Human. Class: Wizard. Player: wenanty) - nicely played character. Wenanty knew what he wanted to do mechanics-wise and used his character effectively in combat, and roleplayed quite nicely. Sadly he disappeared at one point from the forums and haven't been seen since. Replaced by Ragenthank.
Rahimat Nazarbajew (Race: Half-elf. Class: Avenger (of Raven Queen). Player: Irinka) - Irinka's previous character. She had some problems with mechanics, mostly due to Iri insisting on using basic attacks instead of at-wills (for those unfamiliar - base attacks use strength or dexterity depending on whether they are melee or ranged for determining accuracy and are just that - basic "hits" to use when you *can't* use anything else. At wills use the stat that is considered "main" for the class and usually provide additional benefits. Since Avenger "works" of wisdom and thus the character had minimal strength the result was that Rahimat couldn't hit a broad side of barn). Character wise Rahimat was high-and-mighty, arrogant and annoying so much that Iri herself decided to stop playing her. Replaced by Amber.
Tello (Race: Elf. Class: Druid. Player: Telp) - hard to say much here. The character was built fine, and worked quite well, but the player had limited "online" time and when he was on to post he usually posted... little. In other words his posts were minimal even by my standard. In the end he also disappeared from face of forums. Killed off and replaced by Wilfire.
Closing note: If you haven't figured it out by now the players are mostly new to this and the party as it is still has major teamwork issues... and some bad luck too. Anyway hopefully somebody finds my ramblings bearable, or even interesting - more (as in actually rambling about the sessions themselves) when/if I feel like it.
Now by this point you're probably wondering where all is heading - to put things simply I've seen people do "journals" from their games a few times and decided to do something similar for sake of lulz. So be prepared for seeing some comments and rant on how my "party" is doing... at least as long as I can manage to care :P Maby something good will come of it...
0) Some general info
Like I said I for most part don't DM. I personally feel I don't have skills to be a "proper" DM... but at the same time from my point of view 4e is easier on newbie DMs and the deal was running a module - a game that has most stuff made ready to go. As most of 4e pre-mades this one is, errr, classic in feel - in other words it offers much dungeons and much combat. I know there are people that scoff such kind of game, but the people who play PBF in question took it with good humor - they treat the game lightly and don't seem to mind the combat - and I in turn try to make as much of non-combat encounters as I can.
And my party aside the big amount of combat in 4e isn't a bad thing. 4e is all about combat and doesn't try much to hid it - instead it focuses about making combat fun. If you prefer other styles of play, and dislike 4e for that don't go out of your way just to post "4e sucks", "4e is WoW" or something like that - just enjoy games you play ;)
But I am rambling, moving on...
...
Oh, and for the record the module in question is "Keep on the Shadowfell" - a freely downloadable introductionary 4e module
1) Meet the
A word on the players and their characters. There were some changes in their ranks, I'll try to describe both present and past members a bit
Current roster
Amber (Race: Shadar-kai. Class: Rogue. Player: Irinka) - Party's "female factor" - she's quite a good roleplayer and takes a humorous approach at her roleplaying which is nice. Originally she was the person with most problems with mechanic side of play, she has shown much improvement since then - she still gimps herself a bit here and there but a gentle nudge or two should eliminate the problems... I hope. Iri has fell in love with deity called
Karras (Race: Warforged. Class: Warlord. Player: Xander_Morhaime) - our very own X is taking part in my game as a slightly frustrated tin-can of a warlord and party's first and for long time only healabot. I don't think I need to talk about Xander's RP-ability - just check out Machine Spirit or Morey if you need to. Skill aside Karras has a bit trouble with his party - for one others seem to have issues with wrapping their minds around a "living golem" as part of the group, and the tactical coordination in the group so far isn't which leaves Xander with limited combat options most of the time. Still he's there and he's doing a good job whether they like it or not. And he's the only one to ever express interest in carrying the monetary gains (nobody cared about splitting so far), which might lead to interesting consequences in future.
Racimir (Race: Human. Class: Paladin (of Kord). Player: popkiev) - Sir gets-ganged-upon-a-lot, whifs-a-lot, and main speaker of the party (though the last might change with coming of Ragenthank). That one is a bit odd - his grasp on the rules is fluid sometimes (one time he gets stuff right from the start, other times I have to remind him the basics). Likewise with RP - some of his posts are quite goods, but he a few not so good (the most memorable being his first post, and first PBF post in general which went more or less like that: "So I'm marching ahead with steady stride". End.). One thing is sure, he still has much to learn about being
Ragenthank (Race: Goliath. Class: Cleric (of Kord). Player: Kuge) - second of my close friends (Xander being the other if you haven't guessed), another good roleplayer, much needed second healabot and master powergamer in one. He's the kind of guy that could make a broken character in a system that uses rock-paper-scisors as combat resolution, but at the same time given enough motivation he could probably write a 10-page background for a chesspiece. He's been the highest damage dealer in the party since he arrived, and due to some ungodly luck barely taken any damage himself so far. He also livens up the roleplaying, and helps me push things right way sometimes :P Trivia: He was originally called Ragentak, but added the second "n" as *everybody* misspelled the name.
Wilfire (Race: Human. Class: Ranger. Player: Verdin) - my personal headache. It's not like I have something against the guy, but his entry post (which included roleplaying other characters for them), unexplainable tendency to always make human ranges (there have been a few side games in the meantime) and the horrible, horrible name make me uneasy. At least he seems to know his mechanics fairly well - not much more to add now as he just entered.
Past members
Leif Erikson (Race: Human. Class: Wizard. Player: wenanty) - nicely played character. Wenanty knew what he wanted to do mechanics-wise and used his character effectively in combat, and roleplayed quite nicely. Sadly he disappeared at one point from the forums and haven't been seen since. Replaced by Ragenthank.
Rahimat Nazarbajew (Race: Half-elf. Class: Avenger (of Raven Queen). Player: Irinka) - Irinka's previous character. She had some problems with mechanics, mostly due to Iri insisting on using basic attacks instead of at-wills (for those unfamiliar - base attacks use strength or dexterity depending on whether they are melee or ranged for determining accuracy and are just that - basic "hits" to use when you *can't* use anything else. At wills use the stat that is considered "main" for the class and usually provide additional benefits. Since Avenger "works" of wisdom and thus the character had minimal strength the result was that Rahimat couldn't hit a broad side of barn). Character wise Rahimat was high-and-mighty, arrogant and annoying so much that Iri herself decided to stop playing her. Replaced by Amber.
Tello (Race: Elf. Class: Druid. Player: Telp) - hard to say much here. The character was built fine, and worked quite well, but the player had limited "online" time and when he was on to post he usually posted... little. In other words his posts were minimal even by my standard. In the end he also disappeared from face of forums. Killed off and replaced by Wilfire.
Closing note: If you haven't figured it out by now the players are mostly new to this and the party as it is still has major teamwork issues... and some bad luck too. Anyway hopefully somebody finds my ramblings bearable, or even interesting - more (as in actually rambling about the sessions themselves) when/if I feel like it.
23
0.9.9 / [M|AoB|90%|YAFW] Man and a half...
« on: October 15, 2009, 17:53 »--------------------------------------------------------------
DoomRL (v.0.9.9) roguelike post-mortem character dump
--------------------------------------------------------------
Longinus, level 9 Cacodemon Sergeant Major, nuked the Cyberdemon.
on level 26 of the Phobos base.
He survived 77268 turns and scored 89835 points.
He played for 58 minutes and 37 seconds.
He didn't like it too rough.
He killed 421 out of 466 hellspawn. (90%)
He held his right to remain violent.
He was an Angel of Berserk!
-- Awards ----------------------------------------------------
Grim Reaper's Badge
Berserker Silver Badge
Berserker Gold Badge
Longinus Gold Badge
-- Graveyard -------------------------------------------------
###########################################################
.................................B........%%..............#
..................................B.......................#
..........................................B...............#
................................................B.........#
..........................................%...............#
..............................................B...........#
..........................................B...............#
................................................B.........#
..........................................}.......B.......#
................................%.........X||.BB..B.......#
..........................................%%%...B.........#
.................................................BB.......#
............................................B.............#
..........................................................#
..........................................................#
................................................B.........#
..........................................B......%........#
..................................B.......%...............#
###########################################################
-- Statistics ------------------------------------------------
Health 28/50 Experience 32114/9
ToHit Ranged +0 ToHit Melee +6 ToDmg Ranged +0 ToDmg Melee +9
-- Traits ----------------------------------------------------
Tough as nails (Level 3)
Brute (Level 3)
Berserker (Level 1)
Badass (Level 1)
Vampyre (Level 1)
TaN->TaN->Bru->Bru->Ber->Bad->MVm->TaN->Bru->
-- Equipment -------------------------------------------------
[a] [ Armor ] Angelic Armor [0/7] (0%)
[b] [ Weapon ] Longinus Spear (8d8)
[c] [ Boots ] modified plasteel boots [4/4] (60%) (A)
[d] [ Prepared ] nothing
-- Inventory -------------------------------------------------
[a] blue armor [2/2] (72%)
[b] blue armor [2/2] (100%)
[c] red armor [4/4] (100%)
[d] red armor [4/4] (100%)
[e] red armor [4/4] (100%)
[f] Baron Armor [3/6] (44%)
[g] modified chainsaw (5d6)
[h] phase device
[i] phase device
[j] phase device
[k] phase device
[l] phase device
[m] homing phase device
[n] power mod pack
-- Kills -----------------------------------------------------
62 former humans
46 former sergeants
24 former captains
45 imps
50 demons
61 lost souls
46 cacodemons
26 barons of hell
1 Cyberdemon
18 hell knights
24 arachnotrons
1 JC
1 AoD
1 pain elemental
7 arch-viles
8 revenants
-- History ---------------------------------------------------
He started his journey on the surface of Phobos.
On level 4 he stormed the Chained Court.
On level 16 he invaded the Unholy Cathedral!
On level 16 he found the Longinus Spear!
He then destroyed the Unholy Cathedral!
On level 17 he found the Baron Armor!
On level 22 he was foolish enough to enter the Mortuary!
On level 22 he found the Angelic Armor!
He managed to clear the Mortuary from evil!
Then at last he found Phobos Arena!
He nuked level 25!
He defeated the Cyberdemon and found the TRUE EVIL!
Then finally in hell itself, he killed the final EVIL.
-- Messages --------------------------------------------------
You use a small med-pack. You feel healed. JC hits you. The baron
of hell fires! The missile hits the baron of hell.
Unknown command. Press "?" for help.
The baron of hell dies. The baron of hell dies. The baron of hell dies. The
baron of hell dies. The baron of hell dies. The baron of hell dies.
The baron of hell dies. JC hits you. The baron of hell fires! You
dodge! The missile hits the baron of hell.
You use a large med-pack. You feel fully healed. JC hits you. The
baron of hell fires! You dodge! The missile hits the baron of hell.
The baron of hell dies. The baron of hell dies. The baron of hell dies. The
baron of hell fires! You dodge! The missile hits JC. The
baron of hell fires! You dodge! The missile hits JC. The baron of
hell fires! You dodge! The missile hits the baron of hell. The baron
of hell fires! You dodge! The missile hits JC.
You hit JC. JC dies. Congratulations! You defeated JC
-- General ---------------------------------------------------
Before him 67 brave souls have ventured into Phobos:
49 of those were killed.
5 didn't read the thermonuclear bomb manual.
And 7 couldn't handle the stress and committed a stupid suicide.
Some rumours though, say that the Cyberdemon was killed already!
Is he immortal? 6 souls claim to have killed him...
1 sacrificed itself for the good of mankind.
5 killed the bastard and survived.
--------------------------------------------------------------What I can say, my most likely first AoB win, and absolutely first time wielding LS. The RNG was toying with me - several Cacodemon caves, some Arach caves, berserk pack right before UC stairs (not that it lasted until AoD, but it probably saved me some HP... and AoD himself goes down very easy if you have 'zerk on).
Cleared Mortuary somehow (the first part isn't a problem... it's doing the second side once your 'zerk runs out is the issue), LS alt-fire was godsent - AA got shredded soon on next level but left it on in hopes I still get the set bonus (I think I did, but...).
And then there was an I-globe lying just a space above the Phobos Arena stairs. As for JC - he's hard, damn hard. Short of LHP+LS-alt spam like I did or generous application of rockets/BFG shots from good range I don't think it's possible to take him down without resorting to another nuke (anticipating Dervis disproving my assumption in 3... 2...)
...
If I never play another AoB game it's still going to be too soon.
24
Forum / Small plea regarding the forum
« on: October 14, 2009, 04:59 »
Dear Kornel. I know this is a hard and busy time both with your PC dying and last DoomRL betas going on before the release, but I have a thing to ask:
Could you please, please, please remove the fixed forum width that came with forum upgrade/new theme? It's annoying even on my 1280 screen width (partly because I have right part of the screen taken by tabs), and I suspect that people with non-widescreen monitors aren't too happy about it either.
Thank you.
Malek "And I'm Stabbing My Own Eyes With A Spoon" Deneith
Could you please, please, please remove the fixed forum width that came with forum upgrade/new theme? It's annoying even on my 1280 screen width (partly because I have right part of the screen taken by tabs), and I suspect that people with non-widescreen monitors aren't too happy about it either.
Thank you.
Malek "And I'm Stabbing My Own Eyes With A Spoon" Deneith
25
Requests For Features / RFE: Make the uniques fully bindable
« on: September 23, 2009, 17:22 »
As some of you might know I'm a bit of freak when it comes to ability to bind sounds. I managed to make Kornel redo soundbinds into awesome, flexible system that exists now, and for a time I was content.
But there still is a snag...
That one itch I can't scratch... You see all the uniques use "missiles" of their non-unique counterpart. What this means is that you *can't* bind "fire" and "explosion" sounds for any uniques (so no Q2 blaster sound for you Super Jamie I'm afraid).
And that makes Malek a sad Inquisitor.
Now the obvious fix would be to give the uniques their own missiles - but that rises another problem: unless sound.ini will contain new soundbinds for uniques they'l go "silent". Yet, there exists a way around this problem still - since we now have player.wad (in betas at least) with the capability of keeping track of found uniques it is possible to have the game present you with bindings for uniques once you find them - for example by adding them to player.txt that gets generated every time you view player stats.
And that's the resolution I'm going to promote. And since someone mentioned it would be fun to see "pestering for all eternity" this post is going to get bumped every week or two, or reposted as needed until said "someone" caves in.
PS. Be nice K, and cave in soon and I'll make you a new sound.ini - commented and ready for easy cutomization so that those that wan't to will need only to replace the soundfile paths.
Partia na Rzecz Pe?nych Soundbindów walczy!!!
But there still is a snag...
That one itch I can't scratch... You see all the uniques use "missiles" of their non-unique counterpart. What this means is that you *can't* bind "fire" and "explosion" sounds for any uniques (so no Q2 blaster sound for you Super Jamie I'm afraid).
And that makes Malek a sad Inquisitor.
Now the obvious fix would be to give the uniques their own missiles - but that rises another problem: unless sound.ini will contain new soundbinds for uniques they'l go "silent". Yet, there exists a way around this problem still - since we now have player.wad (in betas at least) with the capability of keeping track of found uniques it is possible to have the game present you with bindings for uniques once you find them - for example by adding them to player.txt that gets generated every time you view player stats.
And that's the resolution I'm going to promote. And since someone mentioned it would be fun to see "pestering for all eternity" this post is going to get bumped every week or two, or reposted as needed until said "someone" caves in.
PS. Be nice K, and cave in soon and I'll make you a new sound.ini - commented and ready for easy cutomization so that those that wan't to will need only to replace the soundfile paths.
Partia na Rzecz Pe?nych Soundbindów walczy!!!
26
Discussion / On DoomRL and monster/weapon sounds
« on: September 16, 2009, 04:41 »
So a simple question to sate my curiosity: I know that probably everyone has swapped his music files for better ones but what about monster and weapon sounds? Is there anyone that meddled with them or am I the only one?..
27
Off Topic / D&D 4e - interest check (closed due to lack of interest)
« on: August 30, 2009, 14:41 »
And so it came to be that I'm starting to get bored... again. And when I get bored I do to myself things I wouldn't consider otherwise. Add to that the fact that I've been amassing large amounts of bile lately, and trying to beat the living s*** out of my current group of "players" just doesn't occupy enough of my free time, on weekends especially and the end result is that I'm considering DMing of another Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition campaing. There are no more specific details at current as: A) this is a interest check for now and B) I'm still looking into options, but it should suffice if you know the following:
- This will be a pre-made module of some sort - I've yet to come upon an idea of my own that I culd turn into a campaign/adventure (assuming such thing ever happens to me). Depending on some stuff it might be one-shot or it might start a longer cycle (I have at least one adventure chain... well two actually, but the other one is reserved for the "other" group... and some other adventures could possibly be tied together with liberar amounts of hand-weaving)
- Thou should not have exceeding expectations of my RP-abilities. I do what I can, but I know my abilities are limited, and my DM experience is limited (actually, if it wasn't for the fact that D&D 4e is easy on DM I probably wouldn't even consider doing this)
- There will be combat, and probably quite a lot of it. That doesn't mean that RP will be non-existant, but don't be surprised if the game ends up combat-heavy (one reason is that WotC modules are made like this, the other is that 4e does really, really good job of making combat fun)
-The intended number of players would be 5
Aaand I think that's it for now. As for looking into D&D 4e if you haven't seen it before, it's "out there" if you know what I mean (and it's not just the books) and it's quite easy to learn. As a help I'm quoting below some wise person's "minimum read" list for PHB:
- This will be a pre-made module of some sort - I've yet to come upon an idea of my own that I culd turn into a campaign/adventure (assuming such thing ever happens to me). Depending on some stuff it might be one-shot or it might start a longer cycle (I have at least one adventure chain... well two actually, but the other one is reserved for the "other" group... and some other adventures could possibly be tied together with liberar amounts of hand-weaving)
- Thou should not have exceeding expectations of my RP-abilities. I do what I can, but I know my abilities are limited, and my DM experience is limited (actually, if it wasn't for the fact that D&D 4e is easy on DM I probably wouldn't even consider doing this)
- There will be combat, and probably quite a lot of it. That doesn't mean that RP will be non-existant, but don't be surprised if the game ends up combat-heavy (one reason is that WotC modules are made like this, the other is that 4e does really, really good job of making combat fun)
-The intended number of players would be 5
Aaand I think that's it for now. As for looking into D&D 4e if you haven't seen it before, it's "out there" if you know what I mean (and it's not just the books) and it's quite easy to learn. As a help I'm quoting below some wise person's "minimum read" list for PHB:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
28
Requests For Features / Change of skill rank requirements idea.
« on: August 30, 2009, 07:27 »
My idea on redefining skill rank requirements is to ditch predefined requirements. Instead of them put in sort of pseudo-achievements grouped by difficulty (such as: easy skill achievement: go to level 5 in Aob, medium: go to level 15 in Aob, ..., blade: beat AoB on N! etc.) and have the ranks require some number of achievements of difficulty X or lover (i.e. captain: get 2 easy achievements and 1 hard or something like that). The benefit of such thing would be avoiding the old "I can't beat AoB to get more goodies" problem.
29
Off Topic / Dark Heresy, eh?
« on: August 24, 2009, 16:22 »+++ Thought of the day: Through the destruction of our enemies do we gain our salvation +++
As those that paid attention, might have noted reading yesterdays chat log Generic has kindly posted, Gargulec had been inspired by the Emperor to mention Dark Heresy PBF, which led into him being goaded into DMing one. And since he asked me to post a relevant topic for him, even though I do not understand why didn't he do so himself, in my unending kindness I posted one (yes, the very one you are reading) in attempt to get more meat for the grinder, or as some call it - players.
For those of you maggots that don't know: Dark Heresy is a RPG... no, not that kind of RPG, put those Baldur's Gate discs down, we're talking real RPGs... that has been sanctioned to be used for representation of Warhammer 40.000 world (those that don't know what WH 40k is shall report to nearest Ecclesiarchy station for purification... with promethium), and PBF means Play-By-Forum, or a game in which players write posts describing their actions, while DM post's the results. It's really almost like normal RPG session, only doesn't require to all participants to be in same place in same time, but is slower in exchange.
Either way, our would-be DM has stated that he will be allowing material from core rulebook, and Inquisitor's Handbook, as well from things he called "Astrates supplement" and "Sisters of silence supplement". Since he made me post this topic, I'll take the liberty of stating my opinion and saying that I would advise against those last two supplements: while playing Space Marines might seem fun, it also runs into hight risk of unbalancing the game - as does using other unsanctified third-party material. I know I won't be touching anything except core and inquisitor handbook. As for those, they are readily available at amazon and RPG related places... for those more desperate of you there are other ways, but I won't discuss such heretical methods here - just don't let me chatch you. Also there is a handy Errata here, read it.
I leave the rest of the talking to our GM, and in the meantime...
* Malek Deneith pulls out a bolt pistol and grins sadisticly
...do I see volunteers?
+++ Addendum +++
Oh, I almost forgot - I highly reccomend Invisible Castle for die rolls.
30
Pre-0.9.9 / [M|AoMC|YAVP|YAAM] Shotgun'd!
« on: July 05, 2009, 12:22 »--------------------------------------------------------------
DoomRL (v.0.9.8.11 BETA 4) roguelike post-mortem character dump
--------------------------------------------------------------
Shottyman, level 10 Cacodemon Major, defeated the Cyberdemon
on level 25 of the Phobos base.
He survived 100275 turns and scored 85955 points.
He didn't like it too rough.
He killed 389 out of 389 hellspawn. (100%)
This ass-kicking marine killed all of them!
He was an Angel of Max Carnage!
He saved himself once.
-- Graveyard -------------------------------------------------
###########################################################
#..........................................................
#..........................................................
#..........................................................
#..........................................................
#..............................###.....###...........###...
#................###.....###...###.....#>#...........###...
#................###.....###...###.....###...........###...
#................###.....###...............................
#.......###................................................
#.......###................................................
#.......###...###.......................................###
#.............###..............................###......###
#.............###..............................###......###
#........###...........................###.....###.........
#..........#............###............###.................
#.......................###............###.................
#.......X.......|.......###................................
#.............||}..........................................
###########################################################
-- Statistics ------------------------------------------------
Health 47/70 Experience 40106/10
ToHit +12 ToDmg Ranged +0 ToDmg Melee +0
-- Traits ----------------------------------------------------
Ironman (Level 2)
Tough as nails (Level 3)
Reloader (Level 2)
Badass (Level 1)
Shottyman (Level 1)
Army of the Dead (Level 1)
TaN->Rel->Rel->SM->TaN->Bad->TaN->MAD->Iro->Iro->
-- Equipment -------------------------------------------------
[a] [ Armor ] modified red armor [2/4] (41%) (M)
[b] [ Weapon ] Jackhammer (8d3)x3 [3/9]
[c] [ Boots ] plasteel boots [4/4] (65%)
[d] [ Prepared ] modified combat shotgun (8d3) [5/5] (S1)
-- Inventory -------------------------------------------------
[a] green armor [1/1] (100%)
[b] blue armor [2/2] (76%)
[c] modified red armor [1/4] (17%) (M)
[d] red armor [1/4] (10%)
[e] shotgun shell (x50)
[f] shotgun shell (x50)
[g] shotgun shell (x50)
[h] shotgun shell (x50)
[i] shotgun shell (x50)
[j] shotgun shell (x50)
[k] shotgun shell (x50)
[l] shotgun shell (x50)
[m] shotgun shell (x50)
[n] shotgun shell (x50)
[o] shotgun shell (x50)
[p] shotgun shell (x50)
[q] shotgun shell (x27)
[r] small med-pack
[s] large med-pack
[t] envirosuit pack
[u] modified protective boots [4/4] (66%) (P)
-- Kills -----------------------------------------------------
51 former humans
83 former sergeants
33 former captains
64 imps
31 demons
21 lost souls
23 cacodemons
12 barons of hell
1 Cyberdemon
2 hell knights
8 arachnotrons
8 former commandos
4 pain elementals
7 arch-viles
4 mancubi
13 revenants
-- History ---------------------------------------------------
He started his journey on the surface of Phobos.
On level 3 he found the Blaster!
On level 16 he found the Jackhammer!
Then at last he found Phobos Arena!
On level 25 he finally defeated the Cyberdemon.
-- Messages --------------------------------------------------
footsteps...
Boom!
The Cyberdemon reloads his rocket launcher.
Fire -- Choose target...
The Cyberdemon fires! You are hit!
Fire -- Choose target...
The Cyberdemon reloads his rocket launcher.
Fire -- Choose target...
The Cyberdemon fires! You are hit!
Your weapon is empty.
The Cyberdemon reloads his rocket launcher.
Fire -- Choose target...
The Cyberdemon fires! You are hit! Your red armor is damaged!
Fire -- Choose target...
The Cyberdemon dies. You feel relatively safe now. Congratulations!
-- General ---------------------------------------------------
Before him 397 brave souls have ventured into Phobos:
370 of those were killed.
4 of those were killed by something unknown.
7 didn't read the thermonuclear bomb manual.
And 9 couldn't handle the stress and committed a stupid suicide.
Some rumours though, say that the Cyberdemon was killed already!
Is he immortal? 7 souls claim to have killed him...
4 sacrificed itself for the good of mankind.
2 killed the bastard and survived.
1 showed that it can outsmart hell itself.
--------------------------------------------------------------Well after a long period I finally got another win. And it's the best kind of win - shotty-only win :D (Yup, used shotguns exclusively since I got one) Also this is my first sucessfull attempt at "Yet Another Asskicking Marine". And last but not least I did it on Angel of Max Carnage - I don't think I saw post mortem of that one yet. Only medium difficulty though - my experiences with trying shotgun games on anything harder were less then pleasant.
Thoughts:
- Jackhammer is awesome, I was really lucky to get it. Don't think I could pull this off otherwise, not with 100% kills anyway.
- Got Army of Darkness trait - I think it helped those last few levels (and Cybie probably too - he died very quick), ut considering I've een running around with Jackhammer it's hard to tell how much it helped.
- Angel of Max Carnage seems the best challenge game for shotguns so far - yes the amount of damage you take on later levels is horrid, but at the same time it helps to maximize shotgun's efficiency.
- I still don't think shotguns stand up in power to other weapons when it comes to end-game. Untill I got Jackhammer I had serious problems with some monsters - Revenants and Former Commandos mostly. Easy and medium are doable but I wouldn't run going shotgun on hard and above.
- New barrel types are nice, but in my opinion acid and lava types should be a bit less plentifull - they become a real pain sometimes, blocking off only ways of going through level, and mass-barrel special levels become a nightmare due to them. Also I got the impression that there were too much barrels generated near-end levels in general, though that might be just me.
Spoiler: "Bonus (click to show/hide)
Hail to the king, baby!