Barely Success

So Tim and I have been looking through the Doctor Who RPG (which also uses a 2d6 mechanic) and they had an interesting concept about degrees of success.  A lot of points below the DC means uber failure, a few points below is a normal failure, and a tiny bit below is a sort of failure (ie you convince the guards not to kill you on site, but they will throw you in the dungeon).  And similarly for successes (sort of success, normal, and super awesome success)

We've decided to add a new optional rule that says when you get exactly the Difficulty level, it counts as a barely success.  A few examples: John's character is trying to jump from rooftop to rooftop, John's roll plus his strength plus athletics is a 12, which is what the DL is.  The GM could say, "You make it to the other roof, but only barely, and you're hanging on by your fingertips."

Another example is if you're trying to pick a lock and you roll exactly the DL; it takes the character longer to pick the lock and therefore has a higher chance of getting caught.  Or, you pick the lock, but your pick breaks in the lock, leaving you without your pick and unable to relock the door.

Act I: EMERGENCY!

It started off as an ordinary day for the citizens of Earth. Zebbi was signing autographs for her adoring fans, George was blogging about the effectiveness of his antique tin foil hat, and Dr. Baiocchi was getting ready for work.

A mass announcement was proclaimed through everyone's blue eye and every holo-board. The white letters and automated voice said, "This is wide spread emergency, please head to the nearest Tele-pod station immediately. This is not a drill."

Naturally, people panicked. They collected their most valuable belongings and did just as the announcement told them. Dr. Baiocchi could not remember the last time a mass message was sent like this, not even tests, he concluded that this must be taken seriously and went straight for the New New York Telepod station.

Zebbi, who does not wear a blue eye was informed of the announcement by her body guard. She decided to pack up her luggage train, and set up shop, singing and selling posters of herself in the crowded station while everyone waited for further instructions.

George, who also does not wear a blue eye for fear of the government reading his paranoid mind heard of the emergency through his system of numerous holo-boards that he had set up in the basement. George felt it necessary to go and report back to his 3 loyal blog followers.

The station was packed, and the anxiety was tangible. Searching through the news channels brought nothing but the usual dribble, and did not speak of the mass announcement, though many underground channels did, each of them having their own idea as to what was going on. The intercom system switched on and told people to cram as many people into the Tele-pods, that they were to be evacuated.

A few minutes later, as Dr. Baiochhi was trying to decide what to do, the overhead sprinkler system went off. Normally a whiteish chemical is released, which puts out the fire, makes a mess but leaves everything else unharmed. (Can you believe they used to use water in these things?! Everything got destroyed!) However what came out of the valves was in fact an extremely fine green powder.

George pulled out a gas mask and a tarp from his trench coat and ducked underneath. Dr. Baiochhi and Zebbi found their way underneath as well. People that had breathed in the substance started coughing, and a dozen or so collapsed to the floor. The group grabbed who they could and escaped to an exit.

In the emergency stairwell, where the air was clean and circulated with the outside, they had time to think. Bianca, a 20 something attractive female clutching a black cat and a large suitcase and Johnny, an ordinary looking 12 year old as well as Zebbi both had inhaled quite a bit of that green powder and were bent over coughing. Dr. Baiochhi administered some stimulants which calmed down their coughing fits. Bianca seemed to recovered fully, but Zebbi and the boy noticed that their fingers were tingling.

Dr. Baiochhi went through his expansive knowledge of chemicals and knew of three green powders that were likely suspects. Though none of them fit exactly, the closest being an old style anesthetic, but he was pretty sure that it's paralyzing effects started from the spine and core of the body before moving to the extremities, and that it hadn't been manufactured for at least 50 years.

The group along with about 20 others who decided to use the emergency stairwell found themselves outside along next to the station's massive parking lot. Two people were bent over a young man who lay motionless on the pavement. "He had the North River Fevers. but I didn't expect him to go so soon." Dr. Baiochhi knew the North River Fevers was a terminal illness that has no cure, but if well treated, victims can live into their late 30s. The Chemist secretly drew a blood sample of the deceased and moved on.

Not 3 minutes after they had left the building, large military trucks entered the parking lot. Unaware of the military's intentions, Dr. Baiochhi, Zebbi, Bianca and Johnny tried to sneak their way out of the area while George hid in a nook in a wall to watch. The group was spotted quickly, though the soldiers only told them to clear the area which they were doing anyway.

Zebbi used her fame and womanly ways to try to get information out of one of the truck drivers and distract him enough her her to steal his RoboLabor Unit that had parts Dr. Baiochhi wanted.  The tingling in Zebbi and Johnny's fingers started to spread, and by the time the ambulance came, it had spread all the way up Johnny's arm.

Johnny and several others were taken to the hospital.  Zebbi refused to go.

The group, along with Mr. Sniffles (Bianca's cat) collected blood samples and took them back to Dr. Baiochhi's lab where they made some interesting discoveries.  The substance that came from the fire extinguishers was an extremely complex organic molecule whose atomic weight fluctuated so much that it was impossible to get an accurate reading.  Samples from dead subjects contained a similar molecule with a weight of 3,028, the people that seemed unaffected still had the substance in their blood but with a weight of 3,024.  And those that were tingling like Zebbi had molecules that varied in weight and were much lighter than the others (Zebbi was at 1,016)

Dr. Baiochhi tested the green powder on 100 lab rats with different genetic codes.  None of them died, and one rat acted oddly until the water container poured water all over the cage without anything touching it.  The Doctor terminated all the rats and uploaded all the data he had collected.

Before they could preform any more tests, a huge earthquake shook the ground, and dislodged several items from their shelves, and a minute later, another larger earthquake followed.  The Laboratory building creaked and groaned from the pressure, and they decided to get out.  Buildings fell around them, and then they saw it.  A shiny floating box about 8 feet tall was hovering around the huge terraforming machine.  Johnny left his hiding spot and claimed to call it with his mind, the cube rotated and then floated over to Johnny and the others.

On being a good player/nice person in general.

Inspired by an article posted on LRPGSW

I've decided to make a list of simple things players can do to improve games on a social level, many of which apply to outside the game table as well. Now some of these things may seem obvious, but trust me, I've seen them happen all the time. If you have more, post a comment!

1. Don't talk when someone else is talking. Not only is it rude, but it can't mess with the flow of the game. If you're in a big group, it's ok to have quiet conversations on the side while someone else is deciding what to do on their turn, but don't let it get out of hand. Sometimes when the GM is your friend, they may not be inclined to tell you to shut up because they don't want to abuse the power of being a GM, so do them a favor and shut up before they have to tell you.

2. Remember you are a guest in a person's home. Games are often held at someone's house. And I don't know about others, but my house is my personal space. If someone asks you to take off your shoes, don't complain. Don't touch the fragile glass trinkets without permission, and please don't go through the medicine cabinet (tempting as it is).

3. Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. Gamers are usually in close quarters around a table, please don't sneeze on them.

4. Keep away from controversial topics (unless you know the person's views and are close friends already) RPGers come from many walks of life and like everyone else in the world, can be extremely opinionated. Talking about real-life politics can make people very upset.

5. Be on time. It can get frustrating for the GM and the other players if they have to start multiple times. If you know you're going to be late or absent, call the GM and let them know.

6. Keep criticisms constructive. Most people don't mind getting suggestions on what to do or how to improve the game, however most people do mind being told that they suck.

7. Clean up after yourself. Please don't make the host pick up you banana peel or half eaten tuna sandwich.

Plastics

The guy from The Graduate had it right. Plastics. The way of the future. Plastics had become increasing popular, with better and stronger types coming out every year. Instead of needing fossilized organic matter, labratories developed ways of using corn and recently dead organic matter to turn it into plastics.

Plastech is a plastic that is capable of sharing electrons, and conducting electrecity faster and more efficently than copper.

Plastix is extremely strong, and is used to build buildings.

Plastik is the cheap stuff that many things are made of, it's more breakable but it has it's uses

Plastique is a term used for many different kinds of plastic, it can refer to gem-stone replicas, metallic-looking stuff uses for jewelery and decoration. Plastique is also used in cosmetic surgery and can very closely resemble human skin. Similar to modern-day piercings and tattoos, teenagers often get external Plastique implants around their ears, eye brows and wherever they can think of. These implants are removable without permanent scaring which makes them very popular.

The Hunt

Tim and I starting a new game between just the two of us. I'm not sure how long it will last, or if it will get off it's feet at all.

A man wearing an expensive suit carrying a large manila envelope walked up a set of wooden stairs. The stairs led to a balcony with several doors, he found apartment number 25 and knocked.

A woman of 26 years opened the door a few inches, the chain preventing it from fully opening.

"Lt. Commander Ashley O'Reilly?"
"Yes, what is it you want?"
"I'm here on behalf of my client, who wishes to offer you a unique opportunity."
"I'm not interested in buying encyclopedias, Avon, or a time share, thank you." Ashley closed the door on the lawyer's face.
"It's nothing like that, I assure you." He said loudly to the door, "It'll be a lot more exciting than staying in your run-down apartment."
Ashley paused with her hand on the door, either this guy knew more about her than she would like to think, or he was very lucky in his word choice. She opened the door, fully this time.
"I like my apartment, save for the leaks." Without a word, the man stepped into the small living room, opened the folder and handed the top sheet to the former Navy pilot.
"What the hell is this? Spend a month on an island with a bunch of people, and the survivors split 10 million dollars? Is this some kind of reality tv show?"
"Not at all, no part of your trip will be recorded. And you will not be held liable for ANYTHING that goes on during that month."
"So, what happens on the island, stays on the island?"
"Yeah, something like that."
"Who is your client exactly?"
"I'm afraid I can not tell you that. I'll leave these papers for you to sign if you decide to join, I'll be back in a week, so decide by then."

Character bio: Zebbi (Londa's character)

Zebbi is a famous entertainer. She has used her Dolly Parton like figure to rise to the top. She sings in a breathy voice, and relies on a kind choreographer to make her look good. Mostly she plays very small parts that are written especially for her, because she can only play one character; which is herself. What she is good at is using wigs, costumes, and make up. She takes trunks full of them everywhere “just in case.” She pretends to be dumb, but she is shrewd and relentless when it comes to getting what she wants.

Draft 7!

We've finally finished draft number 7. Some Combat styles have been changed, Tim has gone through and edited the whole thing, and best of all: it's got pictures now!!!

The magic combat style has been renamed "Special" because it doesn't have to be magical in origin.

Click on the link on the sidebar to get draft 7. If you want to print it out, print it double sided, and it makes a little booklet thing.