Originally there was a Weapon Creation system in GGG, though it was at the very back of the GM's section. That would be because it was too crazy for its own good and using the default Weapons was almost never worth it once you figured out how to exploit it best. Given I would rather not include something than include it to the detriment for the game, it was axed. Things have changed since then, and I figure it is worth another shot.
There is a lot to be gained from including such a system after all. Most weapons can be easily reskinned into whatever it is suits your fancy, but there's still holes that make things difficult for certain character concepts. Sure, the freedom and creativity inherent to RPGs means people have been making up their own content since day one, but it never hurts to save them the work of coming up with supposedly balanced options beforehand - if anything it makes the job of creating more stuff later on easier for them!. There is also another bonus in that a lot of people enjoy the minigame of optimizing character performance, and customizable abilities are akin to taking them to the candy store and letting them pick anything but not everything.
But there are also reasons it wasn't the default system for GGG in the first place. For one, generic customizable options have even less flavor to them than effects-based ones, which might not seem like such a big issue but really hurts the game when you're first starting up and have no idea what everything is supposed to represent. This is why Weapons come separated into five types and why oh so many weapons are similar in concept but different in the mechanics, it helps make everything distinctive.
Furthermore by making every Weapon unique and balancing them by giving each of them a specific niche, I could afford to make them stronger without risking to make any one of them the "best" Weapon that can do everything better than others. Without weapon types or fixed weapons, the risk of a single combination of options outperforming all the rest is greatly diminished. Weapon Types and "Prebuilt" niche Weapons should, thusly, not only continue to exist but also need to be supported by (and ideally also support in turn) a generator instead of being counter to each other.
But enough theory, let's see some practice. The easiest method to see this goal is to make a template for each Weapon Type and assign points to the various modifiers and special abilities they can be granted, then let people take away or slap things to it as their UP allows. All I would really limit is to place a maximum of +10 to combined Accuracy or Penetration plus a hard cap of a 5 UP cost on things to prevent 10-point murdermonsters.
I started with the following templates and modifiers, using the game's current pricing system as guidelines, as an aside, I wish blogger allowed tables so this would be less of a hassle to read:
CQC
Areas: Arms or Legs
Base Cost: 1
Range: 1
Accuracy: +1
Penetration: +1
Energy: 0
Special: Melee
Vulcans
Areas: Any Non-Core
Base Cost: 1
Range: 1-3
Accuracy: +0
Penetration: +0
Energy: 0
Special: Ballistic, Mobile
Eye Beams
Areas: Head
Base Cost: 1
Range: 1-3
Accuracy: +2
Penetration: +0
Energy: 1
Special: Beam
Bombardment
Areas: Any Non-Core
Base Cost: 1
Range: 2-7
Accuracy: +0
Penetration: +0
Energy: 0
Special: Missile
Damage
Cost: +1
Effect: The Weapon gains a +1 to Accuracy or Penetration. May be applied up to ten times total.
Mobile
Cost: +1
Effect: As the ability of the same name.
Long Sights
Cost: +1
Effect: +1 to the Weapon's Maximum Range if it is Melee. +2 Otherwise. Cannot go higher than 7.
Versatile
Cost: +1
Effect: Enable the Weapon to be allocated in any Non-Core Area.
Blast
Cost: +2
Effect: As the ability of the same name.
Remote
Cost: +2
Effect: As the ability of the same name.
Chain Reaction
Cost: +2
Effect: As the Condition of the same name.
IFF Failure
Cost: +2
Effect: As the Condition of the same name.
EMP
Cost: +3
Effect: As the Condition of the same name.
Power Down
Cost: +3
Effect: As the Condition of the same name.
Immobilize
Cost: +4
Effect: As the Condition of the same name.
Expose
Cost: +4
Effect: As the Condition of the same name.
Reliable
Cost: +4
Effect: As the ability of the same name.
Hungry
Cost: -1
Effect: Consumes 1 additional Energy. Melee, Beam and Aberrant types only. May be applied up to five times.
Short Sights
Cost: -1
Effect: -1 to the Weapon's Maximum Range. Cannot go under the minimum Range.
Recharging
Cost: -1
Effect: As the ability of the same name. Ballistic, Missile and Aberrant types only. Cannot be combined with Technique or One-Shot.
Technique
Cost: -2
Effect: As the ability of the same name. Cannot be combined with One-Shot or Recharging.
One-Shot
Cost: -3
Effect: As the ability of the same name. Ballistic, Missile and Aberrant types only. Cannot be combined with Recharging or Technique.
And I took it out for a test ride, with the following results.
Stunlocker
Areas: Arms or Legs
Cost: 5
Range: 1
Accuracy: +2
Penetration: +2
Energy: 1
Special: Melee, Condition (EMP)
The Hit-n-Runner
Areas: Any Non-Core
Cost: 5
Range: 1-7
Accuracy: +1
Penetration: +1
Energy: 0
Special: Ballistic, Mobile
Stacking Funnels
Cost: 5
Areas: None
Range: 1-3
Accuracy: +2
Penetration: +0
Energy: 1
Special: Beam, Remote, Reliable
Missile Massacre
Areas: Any Non-Core
Cost: 5
Range: 2-7
Accuracy: +0
Penetration: +0
Energy: 0
Special: Missile, Blast, Condition (Chain Reaction)
There is no incentive to attach drawbacks to these things when you can just pay up more points instead, furthermore the lower average power encourages you to try and break them in weird ways - usually abusing Conditions. Evidently I still have quite a lot of work to do, but I know where to go from here.
-Weapon Types need more style and personality to them, having unique modifier tables for each would definitely help with that front, but the generic weapons still look same-y and bland. Not sure how that can be fixed though.
-Anything to do with Areas is pointless when it comes to custom-made Weapons, which does not help considering making all generics 'Areas: Any Non-Core' really hinders the personality thing from above.
-Drawbacks could increase the cap to 10 UP and enable the use of Conditions.
-More templates with different Ranges might be necessary.
And that is a wrap for now, the puzzle itself was more complex than I thought it would be (and when isn't it, really?) so it will be solved later. In the meantime, if you feel like using this despite the caveats mentioned, feel free to.
May 29, 2012
May 20, 2012
May I have an Update please?
I don't really have much to say so I'll let the list of changes speak for itself. Here are the links at the usual hosts:
http://www.mediafire.com/?g30sb0ag42oi4i4
http://www.4shared.com/rar/hdyDe0LR/GGG_v13.html
General Changes:
-Added a comprehensive Index to the back.
-Improved image quality maintaining low file size.
-Fixed yet another batch of generic errors like typoes, wrong fonts, etc.
Character Creation:
-Buffed Data Analyst to let you ask up to three questions while also giving you a +1 to Tension.
-Buffed Show some Mercy to let you use it multiple times at no cost while also giving you a +1 to Tension.
-Buffed Patience of a Saint to give you a Point every time you are targeted.
-Buffed With Extreme Prejudice to last three Rounds.
Mecha Construction:
-Clarified the wording on Gravagne Field, again.
-Nerfed Resupply to give back 1d5 instead of 1d10.
-Nerfed Special Modes so they can now only be activated once per Operation.
-Clarified some of the wording on Transform, again as well.
-Buffed Frames to be enhanced by default, enhancing them now lets you switch to another Frame mid-combat.
Playing the Game:
-Buffed the Disrupt Intermission Action to deal half the rolled damage in addition to its normal effect.
-Clarified that Engage uses the Enemy's position instead of your own to shift both of you in any direction.
-Streamlined Defensive Terrain to always protect from enemies at any distance, and double the number rolled when performing a Maneuver instead of giving an Advantage.
-Added a note to the Terrain sidebar suggesting 3d movement underwater and in space gives the side benefits of Anti-Gravity.
Running the Show:
-Fixed the old wording on Beam Reflector still referencing Derived Mechanics.
Simple one this month, no annoying large changes in red text even! I think we're getting closer to having fixed everything that does not require a major overhaul.
Now there are things that I would like to improve, but they are going to require changes of the "PCs have to be rebuilt" variety, and I loathe to do that to people with any sort of regular frequency, much less a monthly one. Hell, I cannot even guarantee the changes would be strictly better, since GGG is obviously very much a work in progress.
For this reason further updates will come in two parallel versions of the game. One without much fanfare (like this) that continues to polish what already exists and another version marked as Beta, with experimental modifications that require one or more major rules to be modified. Beta updates will be more sporadic, but would also include oft-requested goodies that I don't quite feel comfortable adding to the other version - I do not want to risk a bloat of options. Once things are proven to work in the Beta version, they will eventually be canonized all at once.
But what kind of things would I be changing? Well, here's a short list of priorities on my to-do list:
1) A Weapon Generator. One that is not broken beyond relief and does not make the entire point of weapon types obsolete.
2) Improving the way Genre Points link Intermissions and Operations. I want to encourage spending points to use powers instead of hoarding them up for a rainy day.
3) Reduction of combat math and streamlining mixed acc+pen rolls. Ideally this would not take away from the crunchiness, only do away with some of the inherent slowdowns it causes.
There's more, but that's a good place to start. In the following weeks I will be bringing up said major overhauls and my train of thought as I put work in them, while also discussing the things I do not want to change. You can rest easy knowing the core tenets at the front of the book won't be going anywhere anytime soon, and that the main challenge I will be facing is making things simpler and more elegant without losing depth.
The next few months should be interesting.
http://www.mediafire.com/?g30sb0ag42oi4i4
http://www.4shared.com/rar/hdyDe0LR/GGG_v13.html
General Changes:
-Added a comprehensive Index to the back.
-Improved image quality maintaining low file size.
-Fixed yet another batch of generic errors like typoes, wrong fonts, etc.
Character Creation:
-Buffed Data Analyst to let you ask up to three questions while also giving you a +1 to Tension.
-Buffed Show some Mercy to let you use it multiple times at no cost while also giving you a +1 to Tension.
-Buffed Patience of a Saint to give you a Point every time you are targeted.
-Buffed With Extreme Prejudice to last three Rounds.
Mecha Construction:
-Clarified the wording on Gravagne Field, again.
-Nerfed Resupply to give back 1d5 instead of 1d10.
-Nerfed Special Modes so they can now only be activated once per Operation.
-Clarified some of the wording on Transform, again as well.
-Buffed Frames to be enhanced by default, enhancing them now lets you switch to another Frame mid-combat.
Playing the Game:
-Buffed the Disrupt Intermission Action to deal half the rolled damage in addition to its normal effect.
-Clarified that Engage uses the Enemy's position instead of your own to shift both of you in any direction.
-Streamlined Defensive Terrain to always protect from enemies at any distance, and double the number rolled when performing a Maneuver instead of giving an Advantage.
-Added a note to the Terrain sidebar suggesting 3d movement underwater and in space gives the side benefits of Anti-Gravity.
Running the Show:
-Fixed the old wording on Beam Reflector still referencing Derived Mechanics.
Simple one this month, no annoying large changes in red text even! I think we're getting closer to having fixed everything that does not require a major overhaul.
Now there are things that I would like to improve, but they are going to require changes of the "PCs have to be rebuilt" variety, and I loathe to do that to people with any sort of regular frequency, much less a monthly one. Hell, I cannot even guarantee the changes would be strictly better, since GGG is obviously very much a work in progress.
For this reason further updates will come in two parallel versions of the game. One without much fanfare (like this) that continues to polish what already exists and another version marked as Beta, with experimental modifications that require one or more major rules to be modified. Beta updates will be more sporadic, but would also include oft-requested goodies that I don't quite feel comfortable adding to the other version - I do not want to risk a bloat of options. Once things are proven to work in the Beta version, they will eventually be canonized all at once.
But what kind of things would I be changing? Well, here's a short list of priorities on my to-do list:
1) A Weapon Generator. One that is not broken beyond relief and does not make the entire point of weapon types obsolete.
2) Improving the way Genre Points link Intermissions and Operations. I want to encourage spending points to use powers instead of hoarding them up for a rainy day.
3) Reduction of combat math and streamlining mixed acc+pen rolls. Ideally this would not take away from the crunchiness, only do away with some of the inherent slowdowns it causes.
There's more, but that's a good place to start. In the following weeks I will be bringing up said major overhauls and my train of thought as I put work in them, while also discussing the things I do not want to change. You can rest easy knowing the core tenets at the front of the book won't be going anywhere anytime soon, and that the main challenge I will be facing is making things simpler and more elegant without losing depth.
The next few months should be interesting.
May 6, 2012
Back on Schedule
So I finished that simplistic card-based storygame/partygame/horrible eldritch beast hybrid thing I was doing. I am not sure if I will ever update or even play this (As, you know, a normal Player and not a GM) but it is done and my design muscles got to do some exercising.
Brofessionals v1.
In news someone might actually care about, I think I got enough practice in weirdness to go back to the familiar ground that is GGG. Expect a minor update this month, minor as in "correcting typos" and "making useless things not entirely suck", that kind of deal. Afterwards, we will get experimental with the system once again. I'm not sure how or even what will be undergoing changes yet, so stay posted..
Brofessionals v1.
In news someone might actually care about, I think I got enough practice in weirdness to go back to the familiar ground that is GGG. Expect a minor update this month, minor as in "correcting typos" and "making useless things not entirely suck", that kind of deal. Afterwards, we will get experimental with the system once again. I'm not sure how or even what will be undergoing changes yet, so stay posted..
April 29, 2012
Conventions of Genre (Points)
Genre Points are a social mechanic. Even though their benefits clearly involve the rules of the game, their origin lies in things that are not easy to define in a rules sense. Things such as good roleplaying, contributing to the game beyond the interests of their own character, and even paying up for the pizza that night. Because roleplaying is fundamentally a social activity, the default method of awarding Genre Points serves as a roleplaying aid and encourages people to play together nicely - as opposed to everyone trying to derail the game in a different direction.
From a GM's perspective, they also let you keep the field even between the entire group of PCs. You can be more generous with people who are not as naturally good athogging the spotlight making cool scenes, and you can easily counter a party that is too powerful by getting more strict with the Genre granted to them. At the same time, Themes make it easier for you as GM to railroad get the PCs involved with the plot and each other, with the Arc structure guidelines helping you break down your master plans into manageable chunks.
That said, as a GM sometimes you have a group of experienced players who don't need or want the nudging, or you prefer to reward people according to their effort and skill, or maybe you'd rather not risk Defenses and Initiative going up much higher from normal, or perhaps do not want to actually bother with all this Arc structure crap that makes you think way too much in advance.
Those reasons, as well as many others, are good enough to consider houseruling the way that Genre works. There's as many ways to do this as there's problems that you personally have with the current model. The three houserules below are made with different kinds of games in mind, and would be a good starting point for further modifications.
Fair and Balanced
Award Genre after each Operation depending on how difficult it was, as if it were XP. Points never reset, but no longer give a bonus to Defenses or Initiative. After around 15 XP everyone gains a new Power plus a static +1 to Defenses and Initiative. This method basically erases the need to hand off and track Genre individually and to plan out Arcs in advance, otherwise it does not change much about how both work in rules terms.
Gods of War
Award Genre as normal. Points never reset, but there is a hard cap of 10 non-Temporary Genre and Points earned beyond that limit are temporary and will vanish after the end of the next Operation. For every 10 (non-Temporary) Points spent a PC gains a new Power plus a static +1 to Defenses and Initiative. This method trades the usual benefits of Arc Progression for placing them in the hands of the Players. In addition, the easy stacking of Genre will let PCs regularly resist and overpower most threats on the ground, and making short work of anything they deem threatening while out in their giant robots.
Against all Odds
Award 1 Genre per Operation, and another for remarkable roleplaying - preferably of the variety that sets a considerable setback on the PC. Meant for the harder games out there, since Genre Points only come after a victory or when PCs complicate things for themselves, and only in low amounts, it is recommended these games don't focus too much on combat and have an Operation every few Episodes instead.
Again, those are only the three I had in mind as I made this post, there's other ways that help other kinds of groups and games more out there. Genre is one of the (if not the) softest rules in the game, and you can bend it around without breaking down the game into a terrible mess, so don't be afraid to play around with it if it does not satisfy you.
From a GM's perspective, they also let you keep the field even between the entire group of PCs. You can be more generous with people who are not as naturally good at
That said, as a GM sometimes you have a group of experienced players who don't need or want the nudging, or you prefer to reward people according to their effort and skill, or maybe you'd rather not risk Defenses and Initiative going up much higher from normal, or perhaps do not want to actually bother with all this Arc structure crap that makes you think way too much in advance.
Those reasons, as well as many others, are good enough to consider houseruling the way that Genre works. There's as many ways to do this as there's problems that you personally have with the current model. The three houserules below are made with different kinds of games in mind, and would be a good starting point for further modifications.
Fair and Balanced
Award Genre after each Operation depending on how difficult it was, as if it were XP. Points never reset, but no longer give a bonus to Defenses or Initiative. After around 15 XP everyone gains a new Power plus a static +1 to Defenses and Initiative. This method basically erases the need to hand off and track Genre individually and to plan out Arcs in advance, otherwise it does not change much about how both work in rules terms.
Gods of War
Award Genre as normal. Points never reset, but there is a hard cap of 10 non-Temporary Genre and Points earned beyond that limit are temporary and will vanish after the end of the next Operation. For every 10 (non-Temporary) Points spent a PC gains a new Power plus a static +1 to Defenses and Initiative. This method trades the usual benefits of Arc Progression for placing them in the hands of the Players. In addition, the easy stacking of Genre will let PCs regularly resist and overpower most threats on the ground, and making short work of anything they deem threatening while out in their giant robots.
Against all Odds
Award 1 Genre per Operation, and another for remarkable roleplaying - preferably of the variety that sets a considerable setback on the PC. Meant for the harder games out there, since Genre Points only come after a victory or when PCs complicate things for themselves, and only in low amounts, it is recommended these games don't focus too much on combat and have an Operation every few Episodes instead.
Again, those are only the three I had in mind as I made this post, there's other ways that help other kinds of groups and games more out there. Genre is one of the (if not the) softest rules in the game, and you can bend it around without breaking down the game into a terrible mess, so don't be afraid to play around with it if it does not satisfy you.
April 22, 2012
Live, Monster. You belong to this World.
Since the release of first version of GGG there has been a constant amount of new content for both pilots and mecha in each update, but the majority of it is not even meant for everyday PC use, in fact the grand majority of the time only antagonists will be making use of said new content; I am obviously referring to Aberrant options.
This might not seem like such a great idea at first. I mean, the GM already has lots more toys to play with and free reign to make up more of their own if the need arises, why are you giving them more than they need while I still get to keep the same boring old guns, GGG Guy? There's several good reasons for this, but the one that most concerns Players is that of Complexity Creep.
Let me explain: Everyone likes having options, being able to choose which brand of forcefield or missile launcher you will be using makes your own robot more unique and lets you tailor it to be good at the things you care about. If your robot has a dragon head for a chest weapon then you want to use an Incinerator instead of Scattering Beam because you want more than a reserve weapon to handle crowds - you want one that roasts them all to cinders because dragon breath is too badass for a lousy +0 penetration bonus. A multitude of options lets you represent a multitude of concepts better, so the more options the better, right?
Not exactly.
The more options you have, the more time you are going to spend fidgeting over which one works best. Right now there are 14 Melee Weapons for PCs, and they all amount to more or less the same idea: Punching, stabbing, or kicking another robot. If you only have enough points left for one backup weapon in case an enemy gets too close, it can be a problem to decide which one it is that you really want. Do you go for the one that does not use energy so you can save up for your long range beams? Do you take the general use one that will eat up the space you had remaining on your arms? Do you take a big flashy finisher and change your strategy to be more of a midrange combatant?
Sure, it is easy enough when there's only three or four real options that sound reasonable for your character, but imagine that every new update adds one new Melee option. In a few months you will be staring at half a dozen separate flavors of rocket punches that all do the same thing but with only minuscule differences you have to carefully balance against each other. If you are familiar with big line tabletop Roleplaying Games (the kind that have books numbering in the tens) you should have an idea of what I am talking about.
But there is another problem with having tons of options. Every time a new option gives you an idea for how to better represent something, it is also implicitly telling you that any other way of representing it is wrong, or at least not the optimal one.
Let's say that your character concept is that of a duelist, after a talk with the GM he informs you that this is a Clarke game and it will not feature many chances for duels because throwing half a dozen Cryptids against the group would be grounds for a trial against violations to human rights. You think that is fine, you can still make use of that bit of flavor text out of the battlefield so you keep your concept. But when it comes to weapon selection for your Gear you encounter a problem: One going by the name of Dueling Blade. You originally were going to take a Beam Saber for a melee weapon, but Dueling Blade just fits the flavor of your character so much better that you grit your teeth a little and take the option that makes sense over the option you really want.
While this is not an everyday scenario, it is not at all uncommon. Because GGG is primarily an effects-based game there is already an in-built way to circumvent problems like this, but they still happen. Many will shrug and take the 'good' option anyway, or ask the GM to rebuild later - but for every person for whom this is not an issue, there is another who has no idea which option works best, or one who wasn't savvy enough to ask the GM if their choice will work out in the game, or who completely missed that sidebar about getting mid-season upgrades. These people will screw themselves through no real fault of their own.
A wealth of options is a double edged sword, one that many games written by people with far more experience than yours truly have cut themselves with, and I would rather not take my chances if I can help it. This brings me to Aberrant options once again. Why does the GM get new toys, then? Because they need them.
The GM does not just need to make one character, they need to make dozens, and many of those are entirely different from PCs conceptually to the point they need uniquely tailored mechanics. Sure, the GM could make them up, but how do they know if they got them right? It is a designer's job to make the GM's life easier, not harder - they already have it hard enough running a game for the group, after all.
Incidentally, and as an aside, the more options you provide for the PCs the higher the chances that one of them will stumble into an unbeatable combination of abilities that forces the GM's hand to ban said combo. Usually this is only noticed after it has come into play and made an impact by breaking the game in half, its damage to the fun of the overall group already done. The more options the PCs have, the harder it is for the GM to keep them all in check with fair and balanced methods, as such I do not want to enable powergamers too much.
But wait, GGG Guy, were you not saying a moment ago that more options complicates things for people and that the GM does not need to have a harder time preparing their sessions? Yes, hypothetical critical reader of mine, you would be correct that this argument appears very contradictory. If not for your observant questioning I would not be able to proceed with my already overly-long-aside and would have to resort to a silly display of talking to myself just so I can continue to elaborate. Thank you for your earnest participation.
Obligatory Ahem.
You see, options for antagonists can come in pretty much any shape or form, this gives them a lot more variety than the kind of options that PCs would be allowed to have. By providing a number of abilities that are each very distinct from the other, choosing one of them is not made harder but easier, because they don't have to distinguish between three very similar upgrades but just go for the one that does what they need.With this aside clear, we can move on to the third big reason Aberrant options exist.
I am sure you are familiar with houseruling. Every group has their own set of things they change to the ruleset for their own games, and if yours does not have any yet, then it is only a matter of time until it does. Inevitably you will want to explore some of the weirder kinds of games that can be run with GGG, maybe the game calls for everyone to have psychic powers, or you want one of the Players to play the role of recurring villain and they need some unique abilities to be a match for the rest of the group.
Aberrant abilities are there to give the GM a starting point in regards to that. They are a building foundation for the GM to either make more things like them on their own, or an excuse to take it easy and use what is already there without having to do any homework.
That said, I am not only looking forward to giving PCs a few more trinkets in the future (there are a few holes that need filling as far as concepts go), but I also don't think I will be adding too many more Aberrant Options from now on - just a few more until I'm reasonably sure that all the bases are covered.
This might not seem like such a great idea at first. I mean, the GM already has lots more toys to play with and free reign to make up more of their own if the need arises, why are you giving them more than they need while I still get to keep the same boring old guns, GGG Guy? There's several good reasons for this, but the one that most concerns Players is that of Complexity Creep.
Let me explain: Everyone likes having options, being able to choose which brand of forcefield or missile launcher you will be using makes your own robot more unique and lets you tailor it to be good at the things you care about. If your robot has a dragon head for a chest weapon then you want to use an Incinerator instead of Scattering Beam because you want more than a reserve weapon to handle crowds - you want one that roasts them all to cinders because dragon breath is too badass for a lousy +0 penetration bonus. A multitude of options lets you represent a multitude of concepts better, so the more options the better, right?
Not exactly.
The more options you have, the more time you are going to spend fidgeting over which one works best. Right now there are 14 Melee Weapons for PCs, and they all amount to more or less the same idea: Punching, stabbing, or kicking another robot. If you only have enough points left for one backup weapon in case an enemy gets too close, it can be a problem to decide which one it is that you really want. Do you go for the one that does not use energy so you can save up for your long range beams? Do you take the general use one that will eat up the space you had remaining on your arms? Do you take a big flashy finisher and change your strategy to be more of a midrange combatant?
Sure, it is easy enough when there's only three or four real options that sound reasonable for your character, but imagine that every new update adds one new Melee option. In a few months you will be staring at half a dozen separate flavors of rocket punches that all do the same thing but with only minuscule differences you have to carefully balance against each other. If you are familiar with big line tabletop Roleplaying Games (the kind that have books numbering in the tens) you should have an idea of what I am talking about.
But there is another problem with having tons of options. Every time a new option gives you an idea for how to better represent something, it is also implicitly telling you that any other way of representing it is wrong, or at least not the optimal one.
Let's say that your character concept is that of a duelist, after a talk with the GM he informs you that this is a Clarke game and it will not feature many chances for duels because throwing half a dozen Cryptids against the group would be grounds for a trial against violations to human rights. You think that is fine, you can still make use of that bit of flavor text out of the battlefield so you keep your concept. But when it comes to weapon selection for your Gear you encounter a problem: One going by the name of Dueling Blade. You originally were going to take a Beam Saber for a melee weapon, but Dueling Blade just fits the flavor of your character so much better that you grit your teeth a little and take the option that makes sense over the option you really want.
While this is not an everyday scenario, it is not at all uncommon. Because GGG is primarily an effects-based game there is already an in-built way to circumvent problems like this, but they still happen. Many will shrug and take the 'good' option anyway, or ask the GM to rebuild later - but for every person for whom this is not an issue, there is another who has no idea which option works best, or one who wasn't savvy enough to ask the GM if their choice will work out in the game, or who completely missed that sidebar about getting mid-season upgrades. These people will screw themselves through no real fault of their own.
A wealth of options is a double edged sword, one that many games written by people with far more experience than yours truly have cut themselves with, and I would rather not take my chances if I can help it. This brings me to Aberrant options once again. Why does the GM get new toys, then? Because they need them.
The GM does not just need to make one character, they need to make dozens, and many of those are entirely different from PCs conceptually to the point they need uniquely tailored mechanics. Sure, the GM could make them up, but how do they know if they got them right? It is a designer's job to make the GM's life easier, not harder - they already have it hard enough running a game for the group, after all.
Incidentally, and as an aside, the more options you provide for the PCs the higher the chances that one of them will stumble into an unbeatable combination of abilities that forces the GM's hand to ban said combo. Usually this is only noticed after it has come into play and made an impact by breaking the game in half, its damage to the fun of the overall group already done. The more options the PCs have, the harder it is for the GM to keep them all in check with fair and balanced methods, as such I do not want to enable powergamers too much.
But wait, GGG Guy, were you not saying a moment ago that more options complicates things for people and that the GM does not need to have a harder time preparing their sessions? Yes, hypothetical critical reader of mine, you would be correct that this argument appears very contradictory. If not for your observant questioning I would not be able to proceed with my already overly-long-aside and would have to resort to a silly display of talking to myself just so I can continue to elaborate. Thank you for your earnest participation.
Obligatory Ahem.
You see, options for antagonists can come in pretty much any shape or form, this gives them a lot more variety than the kind of options that PCs would be allowed to have. By providing a number of abilities that are each very distinct from the other, choosing one of them is not made harder but easier, because they don't have to distinguish between three very similar upgrades but just go for the one that does what they need.With this aside clear, we can move on to the third big reason Aberrant options exist.
I am sure you are familiar with houseruling. Every group has their own set of things they change to the ruleset for their own games, and if yours does not have any yet, then it is only a matter of time until it does. Inevitably you will want to explore some of the weirder kinds of games that can be run with GGG, maybe the game calls for everyone to have psychic powers, or you want one of the Players to play the role of recurring villain and they need some unique abilities to be a match for the rest of the group.
Aberrant abilities are there to give the GM a starting point in regards to that. They are a building foundation for the GM to either make more things like them on their own, or an excuse to take it easy and use what is already there without having to do any homework.
That said, I am not only looking forward to giving PCs a few more trinkets in the future (there are a few holes that need filling as far as concepts go), but I also don't think I will be adding too many more Aberrant Options from now on - just a few more until I'm reasonably sure that all the bases are covered.
April 15, 2012
Now Printing
Edit: There was a major error in the version linked in the original post and some minor ones. If you have version 1.2 please get version 1.21 from the link below.
Here is that one thing I promised months ago: a GGG you can print out and actually use. This required a lot of changes, mainly because the new page size means reformatting everything, but it also came with yet more improvements to the system in general. There is some new content, and I also took the chance to explain better a few things I felt were not too clear before, but the funniest thing is that even with that the book is only 204 pages long.
Well, I guess it would be funny if you're the kind of person who laughs at anything. Imagine a punchline about genitalia or airline food here. Point is, nothing too big has been changed, an update from 1.1 to 1.2 should not require you to rebuild your character, and only a few choice upgrades/weapons had their costs modified in the first place.
Linky
With no further ado, here is the changelog:
General Changes:
-Multiple layout and redacting improvements throughout the entire book.
-Actually printable and usable in the flesh.
Introduction:
-Removed Derived Statistics as they caused more confusion rather than dispelling it. The typos did not help either.
Character Creation:
-Disarm Buffed to last the rest of the Operation now.
-Certain Coordinator Powers referring to Derived Mechanics reworded and rebalanced.
Mecha Construction:
-Buffed Learning Computer, Mass Produced, Hidden Power and Internal G-Field.
-Buffed Mental Link and updated it to the new version of Remote Weapons.
-Nerfed Security Escort.
-Buffed Sharpshooter and lowered the enhancement costs of all Exceptional Aptitudes.
-Buffed Trick Dodges and updated after the removal of Derived Mechanics.
-Buffed Gravagne Field.
-Terrain Adaptability upgrades revamped and more or less boosted.
-Buffed Potential Upgrades once again.
-Rebalanced Transform, it now can only go into the Core but you may now have different Upgrades in the Torsos of your various Transformation Modes. Issues regarding the functionality of Costs and Maiming were clarified.-Remote Weapons modified, buffed considerably.
-Conditions buffed by fixing a typo.
-Gallant Kick made a Cost 6 finisher.
-Heavy Machinegun made a Cost 6 repeatable use weapon.
-Slight buff to Incinerator.
-The use of Giga Blaster has been clarified.
-Buffed Disturbance Cloud and Reaction Weapon.
Playing the Game:
-You can now spend 1 Energy to move forward once with any non-Offensive Action, not just Boost.
-Moved Terrain Rules to Playing the Game, Defensive Terrain buffed.
Running the Show:
-Modified several Aberrant Options, and added a load of new ones.
Only one change important enough to be in red this time? Why yes. It wasn't that huge an update, though I think GGG is now shaping up to be a lot closer to its intended final form. Inevitably, things will need to be balanced further but we are getting there.
But who knows, maybe I'll end up revamping it and making a whole new edition in the future, instead of quick system updates.
April 12, 2012
Today is not even Sunday.
And yet here I am making a post, because I obviously have no respect whatsoever for structure, deadlines and myself. But fret not! The next GGG update is pretty much done and I'm only looking for potentially lethal mistakes in it right now.
In the meantime, I'm continuing this other side project thing. Which I more or less rewrote after it didn't work out as intended.
Brofessionals Draft v0.9
PC's are competing to get the least work done while making sure they can't be blamed for it.
Now with a helpful checklist of things it is supposed to be!
-Brofessionals is a competitive game about shirking responsibility.
-It is meant to be a beer and pretzels type of roleplaying game with minimal rules.
-Tone is casual and party friendly, hence the use of cards instead of dice.
-It encourages temporary cooperation and inevitable backstabbings.
-The use of d6 tables for flavor, because everyone loves tables right?
Theme and Mood
Some games are about valiant acts of heroism whose characters always aspire to rise towards greater heights, other games are about overcoming your worst flaws and the evil that men do, and then there's the games about incompetent jerks who can barely scrape by in spite of all common sense saying they shouldn't. Brofessionals is one of those last games, where slapstick is at the order of the day and disbelief is not suspended but retired altogether.
You're all horrible people and it is a wonder you get along as roommates at all, maybe you have remarkable teamplay when you need to stick together, maybe you actually really get along in spite of being at each other's throats so often, or maybe you're just so awful that no one else can tolerate you for long but each other.
Whichever it is, you don't have time to find out, because the Landlord wants the rent and they want it now. You must concoct filthy get rich quick schemes and somehow get around your own laziness to put them into action, but can you actually play nice with each other long enough to meet your goal while avoiding the landlord's terrible wrath?
Character Creation
Each PC has 3 Vices. These are things that are both descriptive of your particular brand of ineptitude but can also somehow help you during your quest for shinies. Examples of Vices are Really Into Videogames, Check Out My Abs, and I Only Listen to Underground Bands.
The GM is the Landlord and will be in charge of narrating the game and keeping track of things as normal, every Landlord has one Authority Power that strikes terror into your very heart and compels you to get your ass moving. An example Authority Power would be Trained Dobermanns. The Authority Power is how the Landlord's Wrath comes into play when he's had enough of your crap.
Tables of randomly generated Vices and Authority Powers are provided for maximum wacky hijinx potential. Said tables may or may not actually exist as of yet.
Setup
You need a deck of cards and poker chips, the Landlord should deal 3 cards to each other Player face down and 3 poker chips. These poker chips will be referred to as Effort Points.
Everyone also has two tracks called Drudgery and Blame, they both start at 0 and the Landlord should be the one noting down the increases to each as the game progresses, they may choose whether or not to inform other people of how much Drudgery and Blame they've got at their own vindictiveness.
Finally, every PC has a Secret Goal.
Goals
The PC's win condition is to be the one with the least Drudgery Points by the end of the game, and they gain Drudgery by pretending to be productive members of society and succeeding at it, all while trying not to pick up the Blame for the group's inevitable failure.
Roleplaying
Play begins as normal with any roleplaying game but with less adventuring in dungeons and more being useless goons in your apartment watching animal planet or being stoned, until the Landlord barges in and tells everyone that they better have their money ready soon, or else. At that point everyone must come up with one or more plans to raise money feeding off their own Vices while at it, because otherwise work would be like, work, man and that just won't do.
Things proceed as in any roleplaying game, the game may be freeformed without ever using conflict resolution rules until someone attempts to actually work. What passes for Work, however, may vary. The Landlord can decree that even going to the shopping mall is a difficult task, after all a PC could totally get lost on the way there, or be robbed on the way back, or they spend the money on a new TV instead of supplies they needed for a baking sale, or a goddamn meteor crashes down on their car changing the plan of action to getting the insurance people to give you the money you need.
Players should be outlandish and entertaining with their descriptions, because the more they make people laugh the more effort points they're given - from 1 to 3. Either way, at some point they will have to attempt something difficult. That's called Working and is where the cards come into play. Everyone MUST attempt to Work at least once.
Conflict Resolution
The Landlord sets the difficulty of Working by placing one or more face up cards from the deck on the table depending on the craziness of what the PC is trying to do, and the player(s) involved try to match the number in the face up card to succeed. You can add, subtract, multiply or even divide the cards you have in your hand to match the face up number. Face cards cannot be matched and are sent to the discard pile, necessitating another card to be flipped over to replace them. Whenever a Face card is revealed this way, a random event happens, if this card is the Joker then you will be the victim of the Landlord's Wrath in addition to that, you poor bastard.
Unfortunately whenever you succeed at Working, you gain a point of Drudgery because you'd much rather be playing videogames than doing any of this crap. On the plus side you now have gained money! Money has no use whatsoever by the rules of the game so I hope that was worth it.
Playing Face Cards
Face Cards cannot be used to Match, instead they are used for any of the following effects when you're in the middle of attempting work:
-Discard it to draw another card.
-Steal a random card from another player then have them steal a random card from you, the card you stole is eligible.
-Trade hands with another player.
-Cause a random event from the optional tables, according to the type of face card, flipping over a new card to Match as circumstances change.
A special case is the Joker card. The Joker cannot be played, and in fact you do not want to be the one holding it when the game ends, as it will double the amount of Drudgery you possess, as the whims of fate conspire to make you seem way more competent than you are.
Effort Points
You can spend your precious Effort Points to help you succeed at being competent. By spending 1 Effort point and handing the chip back to the GM before playing your cards you may:
-Draw 1 additional card.
-Add or substract 1 to the number you must Match.
-Make another PC lose 1 Effort Point, said Effort Points may not be spent in reaction to this. This costs 2 Effort Points.
-Passing the Buck. This costs 3 Effort Points.
You may spend Effort for the sake of others this way, if you so desire, and other people may also begin to spend Effort on whatever it is you are doing to further their own agendas in a very silly war of Passing the Buck around and playing with the number that must be Matched. You do not draw cards back to your starting hand size after using them, however, so keep in mind that you must work smart, not hard, lest you run out of Effort. If you use at least one of your Vices while you are doing this, then you gain 1 Point of Effort after succeeding.
Failure
If you cannot Match the face up cards, don't wish to spend Effort to do so, and cannot be arsed to beg others to help you out, you may Shirk Work altogether. Whenever you Shirk you gain a point of Blame, becoming an eligible scapegoat for the Landlord to elicit their terrible Wrath upon, but you are also now are facing a wholly different problem altogether. Maybe you got lost in the city, you may have been robbed of your precious possessions, or the Landlord now wants your TV as payment, or your car is a pile of useless scrap metal.
This new problem may require a new attempt at Work, which would also require the Landlord to flip over another card, one that hopefully is easier for you to Match. If you really don't want any Drudgery or blame at all, you may Pass the Buck to another Player by spending three Effort, this will get another PC of your choice involved in whatever shenanigans you are part of and force them to solve this problem for you - unless they choose to Shirk themselves.
The Secret Goal
The Secret Goal is a top-notch secret the PC knows about the Landlord and can exploit. Maybe they like to collect tea sets, or they've got an addiction they're trying to hide, or they really want to attend a recital but don't have anyone to go with. If you could obtain the item they need, or proof to blackmail them with, or arrange a way for them to do what they want, then you will have a lot of leverage to earn their favor when the game ends. If you have completed your Secret Goal, you halve your final Drudgery (rounding down), making it super unlikely for you to 'lose'.
The Landlord is well aware that they hold more power over you than you hold over them, so it will not be enough on its own, and if you are not discrete enough in fulfilling your Secret Goal other Players may become aware of it.
Card Tricks
Instead of Matching numbers as normal, you may play a Straight (of at least three cards) of the same Suit, or the mythical combo of three Sevens to succeed at Work without gaining any Drudgery and gaining three Effort Points for it. You may also combo enough cards to form the number 13, or play three Sixes you may Pass the Buck to another making them the target of terrible misfortune as destruction rains from the heavens, automatically summoning the Landlord's Wrath on them in addition to now having to deal with your crap.
The Landlord's Wrath
Eventually the Landlord will have had enough of your asinine tomfoolery and decree you've had enough time to get them their money. You don't have said Money. You don't even have enough Money to sate their bloodlust, in fact, chances are you don't have any money at all. And so one of the PCs must be the sacrificial lamb offered to the Landlord's Wrath.
Whomever has the most Blame will be chosen as the guilty party and will lose three Effort Points and gain that much Drudgery as they're forced to work for them by cleaning up the condos, give them the TV they bought in payment, be sent to jail, or suffer other form of suitable punishment. If multiple people are tied for most Blame, they suffer the Landlord's Wrath together like good partners in crime do.
The game may end at this point, or continue until the next Landlord's Wrath strikes, at the group's own discretion. Basically get to the climax and end with a bang when things stop being fun. When the game ends, the PC with the most Drudgery is agreed to be the one closest to competency and is forced to get a part time job, everyone else gets to narrate how much fun they're having now that they don't have to work any longer, except for the guy who must make money for the rest of them whose life is pain and suffering until they're inevitably fired before the next session.
Background/Secret Goals/Event Tables and Charts
Oh God so much to write, I will have to leave this for later. For Backgrounds and Secret goals they can probably be replaced by traditional GM assignment. As for random events, the idea is that every face card has its own table of random events to use.
In the meantime, I'm continuing this other side project thing. Which I more or less rewrote after it didn't work out as intended.
Brofessionals Draft v0.9
PC's are competing to get the least work done while making sure they can't be blamed for it.
Now with a helpful checklist of things it is supposed to be!
-Brofessionals is a competitive game about shirking responsibility.
-It is meant to be a beer and pretzels type of roleplaying game with minimal rules.
-Tone is casual and party friendly, hence the use of cards instead of dice.
-It encourages temporary cooperation and inevitable backstabbings.
-The use of d6 tables for flavor, because everyone loves tables right?
Theme and Mood
Some games are about valiant acts of heroism whose characters always aspire to rise towards greater heights, other games are about overcoming your worst flaws and the evil that men do, and then there's the games about incompetent jerks who can barely scrape by in spite of all common sense saying they shouldn't. Brofessionals is one of those last games, where slapstick is at the order of the day and disbelief is not suspended but retired altogether.
You're all horrible people and it is a wonder you get along as roommates at all, maybe you have remarkable teamplay when you need to stick together, maybe you actually really get along in spite of being at each other's throats so often, or maybe you're just so awful that no one else can tolerate you for long but each other.
Whichever it is, you don't have time to find out, because the Landlord wants the rent and they want it now. You must concoct filthy get rich quick schemes and somehow get around your own laziness to put them into action, but can you actually play nice with each other long enough to meet your goal while avoiding the landlord's terrible wrath?
Character Creation
Each PC has 3 Vices. These are things that are both descriptive of your particular brand of ineptitude but can also somehow help you during your quest for shinies. Examples of Vices are Really Into Videogames, Check Out My Abs, and I Only Listen to Underground Bands.
The GM is the Landlord and will be in charge of narrating the game and keeping track of things as normal, every Landlord has one Authority Power that strikes terror into your very heart and compels you to get your ass moving. An example Authority Power would be Trained Dobermanns. The Authority Power is how the Landlord's Wrath comes into play when he's had enough of your crap.
Tables of randomly generated Vices and Authority Powers are provided for maximum wacky hijinx potential. Said tables may or may not actually exist as of yet.
Setup
You need a deck of cards and poker chips, the Landlord should deal 3 cards to each other Player face down and 3 poker chips. These poker chips will be referred to as Effort Points.
Everyone also has two tracks called Drudgery and Blame, they both start at 0 and the Landlord should be the one noting down the increases to each as the game progresses, they may choose whether or not to inform other people of how much Drudgery and Blame they've got at their own vindictiveness.
Finally, every PC has a Secret Goal.
Goals
The PC's win condition is to be the one with the least Drudgery Points by the end of the game, and they gain Drudgery by pretending to be productive members of society and succeeding at it, all while trying not to pick up the Blame for the group's inevitable failure.
Roleplaying
Play begins as normal with any roleplaying game but with less adventuring in dungeons and more being useless goons in your apartment watching animal planet or being stoned, until the Landlord barges in and tells everyone that they better have their money ready soon, or else. At that point everyone must come up with one or more plans to raise money feeding off their own Vices while at it, because otherwise work would be like, work, man and that just won't do.
Things proceed as in any roleplaying game, the game may be freeformed without ever using conflict resolution rules until someone attempts to actually work. What passes for Work, however, may vary. The Landlord can decree that even going to the shopping mall is a difficult task, after all a PC could totally get lost on the way there, or be robbed on the way back, or they spend the money on a new TV instead of supplies they needed for a baking sale, or a goddamn meteor crashes down on their car changing the plan of action to getting the insurance people to give you the money you need.
Players should be outlandish and entertaining with their descriptions, because the more they make people laugh the more effort points they're given - from 1 to 3. Either way, at some point they will have to attempt something difficult. That's called Working and is where the cards come into play. Everyone MUST attempt to Work at least once.
Conflict Resolution
The Landlord sets the difficulty of Working by placing one or more face up cards from the deck on the table depending on the craziness of what the PC is trying to do, and the player(s) involved try to match the number in the face up card to succeed. You can add, subtract, multiply or even divide the cards you have in your hand to match the face up number. Face cards cannot be matched and are sent to the discard pile, necessitating another card to be flipped over to replace them. Whenever a Face card is revealed this way, a random event happens, if this card is the Joker then you will be the victim of the Landlord's Wrath in addition to that, you poor bastard.
Unfortunately whenever you succeed at Working, you gain a point of Drudgery because you'd much rather be playing videogames than doing any of this crap. On the plus side you now have gained money! Money has no use whatsoever by the rules of the game so I hope that was worth it.
Playing Face Cards
Face Cards cannot be used to Match, instead they are used for any of the following effects when you're in the middle of attempting work:
-Discard it to draw another card.
-Steal a random card from another player then have them steal a random card from you, the card you stole is eligible.
-Trade hands with another player.
-Cause a random event from the optional tables, according to the type of face card, flipping over a new card to Match as circumstances change.
A special case is the Joker card. The Joker cannot be played, and in fact you do not want to be the one holding it when the game ends, as it will double the amount of Drudgery you possess, as the whims of fate conspire to make you seem way more competent than you are.
Effort Points
You can spend your precious Effort Points to help you succeed at being competent. By spending 1 Effort point and handing the chip back to the GM before playing your cards you may:
-Draw 1 additional card.
-Add or substract 1 to the number you must Match.
-Make another PC lose 1 Effort Point, said Effort Points may not be spent in reaction to this. This costs 2 Effort Points.
-Passing the Buck. This costs 3 Effort Points.
You may spend Effort for the sake of others this way, if you so desire, and other people may also begin to spend Effort on whatever it is you are doing to further their own agendas in a very silly war of Passing the Buck around and playing with the number that must be Matched. You do not draw cards back to your starting hand size after using them, however, so keep in mind that you must work smart, not hard, lest you run out of Effort. If you use at least one of your Vices while you are doing this, then you gain 1 Point of Effort after succeeding.
Failure
If you cannot Match the face up cards, don't wish to spend Effort to do so, and cannot be arsed to beg others to help you out, you may Shirk Work altogether. Whenever you Shirk you gain a point of Blame, becoming an eligible scapegoat for the Landlord to elicit their terrible Wrath upon, but you are also now are facing a wholly different problem altogether. Maybe you got lost in the city, you may have been robbed of your precious possessions, or the Landlord now wants your TV as payment, or your car is a pile of useless scrap metal.
This new problem may require a new attempt at Work, which would also require the Landlord to flip over another card, one that hopefully is easier for you to Match. If you really don't want any Drudgery or blame at all, you may Pass the Buck to another Player by spending three Effort, this will get another PC of your choice involved in whatever shenanigans you are part of and force them to solve this problem for you - unless they choose to Shirk themselves.
The Secret Goal
The Secret Goal is a top-notch secret the PC knows about the Landlord and can exploit. Maybe they like to collect tea sets, or they've got an addiction they're trying to hide, or they really want to attend a recital but don't have anyone to go with. If you could obtain the item they need, or proof to blackmail them with, or arrange a way for them to do what they want, then you will have a lot of leverage to earn their favor when the game ends. If you have completed your Secret Goal, you halve your final Drudgery (rounding down), making it super unlikely for you to 'lose'.
The Landlord is well aware that they hold more power over you than you hold over them, so it will not be enough on its own, and if you are not discrete enough in fulfilling your Secret Goal other Players may become aware of it.
Card Tricks
Instead of Matching numbers as normal, you may play a Straight (of at least three cards) of the same Suit, or the mythical combo of three Sevens to succeed at Work without gaining any Drudgery and gaining three Effort Points for it. You may also combo enough cards to form the number 13, or play three Sixes you may Pass the Buck to another making them the target of terrible misfortune as destruction rains from the heavens, automatically summoning the Landlord's Wrath on them in addition to now having to deal with your crap.
The Landlord's Wrath
Eventually the Landlord will have had enough of your asinine tomfoolery and decree you've had enough time to get them their money. You don't have said Money. You don't even have enough Money to sate their bloodlust, in fact, chances are you don't have any money at all. And so one of the PCs must be the sacrificial lamb offered to the Landlord's Wrath.
Whomever has the most Blame will be chosen as the guilty party and will lose three Effort Points and gain that much Drudgery as they're forced to work for them by cleaning up the condos, give them the TV they bought in payment, be sent to jail, or suffer other form of suitable punishment. If multiple people are tied for most Blame, they suffer the Landlord's Wrath together like good partners in crime do.
The game may end at this point, or continue until the next Landlord's Wrath strikes, at the group's own discretion. Basically get to the climax and end with a bang when things stop being fun. When the game ends, the PC with the most Drudgery is agreed to be the one closest to competency and is forced to get a part time job, everyone else gets to narrate how much fun they're having now that they don't have to work any longer, except for the guy who must make money for the rest of them whose life is pain and suffering until they're inevitably fired before the next session.
Background/Secret Goals/Event Tables and Charts
Oh God so much to write, I will have to leave this for later. For Backgrounds and Secret goals they can probably be replaced by traditional GM assignment. As for random events, the idea is that every face card has its own table of random events to use.
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