Dice Rifts - The Thirteenth Mystery - OOC

[Purr]

I hate to interfere with others having a good time, but I'm a bit concerned about the dynamic of three characters going way back and the rest being new associates. It can be very easy to feel on the outside.

Who said anything about your two characters being left out?

 

[Esbilon]

Who said anything about your two characters being left out?

I'm not saying you're going to do it intentionally, I am concerned that the dynamic will work out that way.

 

[Purr]

If our party was together at 5th level... how long had we been together prior to that? Just how tight or loose as a group were we? What did we go through together prior to The Split (sorry to sound like a broken record, but that's if Pips likes Chan-Chan's backstory)?

For all I know (and I kinda hope), perhaps the four of your characters started up together and picked my hatchling up along the way (that would account for any level difference, I'm sure).

 

[Purr]

I'm not saying you're going to do it intentionally, I am concerned that the dynamic will work out that way.

I think I get it. If I were in your shoes, I might feel the same way.

Above all, if we want our characters to be a party in the first place, I think we should get to knowing our characters (both ours and the ones others make). And that means fleshing them out a bit more. Because in order for our PCs to like each other, it's probably important that we've written something in those directions?

 

[Purr]

For all I know, Esbilon , your character might have been the one who got the party started in the first place? What if (my two favorite words in RP)... your CS Special Forces/Mind Melter (a great combination I have to say. Your sergeant to you: "You'll have to pit your brain against your enemy's!" You: "I GOT THIS!" 8D) maybe captured our characters? One by one? But then Eon's historian set your character straight with... gasp! ... knowledge and facts? Their conversation resulted in your not only freeing us, but joining us against something your character realized was Nazi-like all along?

Just throwing out ideas, really. =)

 

[Esbilon]

I need to figure out how my de-nazification will go, but it's not the kind of thing that's usually accomplished with facts and logic.

 

[Purr]

But instead with emotion and desires? What would take him over the edge? Maybe he had a... true SS goose-stepper as a commanding officer and that guy or gal just did the most heinous, evil stuff "in the name of duty?"

Edit: Just in case someone out there doesn't know what I'm referring to with the Nazi "SS" reference, its these guys. The Gestapo and more! (Yuck.)

 

[Esbilon]

I'll work on it when I'm not at work. And don't worry, I'm familiar with the basic nazi tropes.

 

[Purr]

If you'd like something closer to the party in terms of character origin, perhaps your guy was ordered to destroy a demon, who unbeknownst to him, had captured my character (in human form). Your guy kills the demon, saves the day, rescues the pretty girl, only to realize "she's clearly not from 'round here y'all." They get to talking and, my naive character, knowing (at the time) next to nothing about the Coalition brings your character to meet her--

I'll work on it when I'm not at work. And don't worry, I'm familiar with the basic nazi tropes.

Oh, I was certain you were. Didn't you, Eon, and Alex talk political science in here just a few days ago? I left that edit for the people who might not know (anyone else really who just comes across and reads this - there aren't that many Rifts games going on in RP Nation that I'm aware of). =)

Oh! You're at work! Hope you're having a good shift, Esbilon! =)

 

[EmperorNorton1]

Esbilon and- could we avoid having nazis? It just makes me realy uncomfterble. like- i mean, having a soldier who has engaged in "defence of the fatherland" is one thing, but an actual member of the SS... having a redemption arc is nice, but you cant just... participate willingly and gladly in genocide and get away with it. Im uncomfy playing alongside SSmen and brownshirts. Esbilon, you are free to have your soldier, i just get nausiated when people start spewing naziesque propaganda. if you want my rouge historian to talk your footsoldier through the process of denazification like Purr mentioned, thats swell with me. but i'd prefer that your charictar, who we are supposed to eventualy like, says as little of that shit as possible.

sorry, this is rambley, but "being on the same side as fucking nazis" is really my only trigger, but its a very hard no. I lost too much family in the Shoah. thank you all.

 

[Esbilon]

Esbilon and- could we avoid having nazis? It just makes me realy uncomfterble. like- i mean, having a soldier who has engaged in "defence of the fatherland" is one thing, but an actual member of the SS... having a redemption arc is nice, but you cant just... participate willingly and gladly in genocide and get away with it. Im uncomfy playing alongside SSmen and brownshirts. Esbilon, you are free to have your soldier, i just get nausiated when people start spewing naziesque propaganda. if you want my rouge historian to talk your footsoldier through the process of denazification like Purr mentioned (Wait, eon is also playing a historian? i though i was the only rogue scholar), thats swell with me. but i'd prefer that your charictar, who we are supposed to eventualy like, says as little of that shit as possible.

sorry, this is rambley, but "being on the same side as fucking nazis" is really my only trigger, but its a very hard no. I lost too much family in the Shoah. thank you all.

This is why the timetravel story is nice. My character has already stopped being a nazi, barring infiltration missions, I'm not going to say or do anything beyond what's expected of a war time sci fi rpg.

 

[Eonivar]

Wait, eon is also playing a historian? i though i was the only rogue scholar

I am not playing a historian, but I can excuse Dann’s very full brain for the confusion

I am looking at some sort of magic user at the moment. Probably a ley line walker of some sort.

 

[EmperorNorton1]

I am not playing a historian, but I can excuse Dann’s very full brain for the confusion

I am looking at some sort of magic user at the moment. Probably a ley line walker of some sort.

Ahh, forgive me. a ley-line walker would be so so cool! I dont know what exactly it does, but given the way this universe's magic works, I can sorta guess. its gonna be neat.

This is why the timetravel story is nice. My character has already stopped being a nazi, barring infiltration missions, I'm not going to say or do anything beyond what's expected of a war time sci fi rpg.

Alright, and thank you very much. I just wanted to be clear on that line, but im glad we're post nazi.

 

[Esbilon]

Alright, and thank you very much. I just wanted to be clear on that line, but im glad we're post nazi.

Of course. Sorry about the confusion, but talking about the background I want to write which is in the future of the game, but also the past makes it a bit hard to keep the tenses straight

I'm not sure how all-in my character was in the past, but probably not too much. If you have any hard lines regarding past behaviour you'd like me to respect, please let me know.

 

[Eonivar]

Esbilon i think a redemption story is great here. Maybe he was initially brainwashed or something and when his powers came up, they wiped the brainwashing away. He was probably a deep cover agent at the time of the speech and now can undo all the harm he may have caused during the initial timeline with his intelligence. It’s possible too that in the initial timeline he started having a change of heart maybe part way into the conflict, maybe they found a new family they did not have back in Chi Town, maybe they fell in love, or maybe they just realized that most of the common folk are just good beings, either way, it will be an interesting story for your character, and your characters inside coalition knowledge will be invaluable to changing the timeline.

 

[EmperorNorton1]

No having worked in the camps, and no directing pogroms. That's my hard line. I dont want to control your character, of course, I just don't want.... that. thank you.
I would really love a redemption arc for him too. people can change for the better, but no crossing the genocide line.

 

[Purr]

ok, so tomorrow evening my time I will look at getting my character updated and determine what I want to do.

Let's see so far we have:
1. True Atlantian Undead Slayer
2. True Atlantian Cyber Knight
3. A Superhuman Rogue Scholar
4. A Chiang-Ku Dragon Grey Seer Mystic
5. A CS Special Forces Mind Melter (?)

Did I miss anyone else?

Given this comp, maybe I should go with some sort of Ley Line Walker here. I have not done Palladium Spell Casters in eons. I will ponder this further. Maybe I will make an elf or changeling or something. We have two Atlantians already, so some other race may work nice here for a variety. Can someone suggest some good races for my potential Ley Line Walker?

I am not playing a historian, but I can excuse Dann’s very full brain for the confusion

I am looking at some sort of magic user at the moment. Probably a ley line walker of some sort.

Eonivar Ah! I took this to mean that you were considering playing a Ley Line Walker (if you could find a good race to go along with it). I didn't realize you had already made the choice to not play a Rogue Scholar. Okies! I think I'm back on track now. Thank you for the correction! =)

 

[Epiphany]

Alright, some remarks for you, Dannigan!

• Chiang-Ku's attributes are universally underwhelming, literally across the board, to every other type of Hatchling. I suspect it's an attempt to 'balance' against Tattoo and Elixir magic, which is probably unnecessary. My proposed Attribute rolls would be:

IQ: 3D6+6, ME: 3D6+6, MA: 3D6+8, PS: 3D6+10, PP: 3D6+6, PE: 3D6+6, PB: 3D6+10, SPD: 3D6+6.

• Chiang-Ku vs. other species mostly otherwise seems like a wash. Let's put Nightvision out to 200 feet instead of 90. Loses teleportation and breath weapon but gains Metamorphosis which is vastly better than conventional shapechanging.
• For magic, it looks like Chiang-Kus have dual RCC/OCC built into their design, so going Grey Seer looks viable. If you're not a tattoo master, you still gain some tattoos and can still give them, good to know.
• Bonuses are pretty underwhelming compared to literally every other hatchling. My proposed bonuses are:

+1 attack/action per melee round, +2 on initiative, +3 on Perception Rolls, +2 to strike, +2 o parry and dodge, +1 to pull punch, +1 to roll with impact, +4 to save vs. horror factor, +3 to save vs. psionics and mind control, +2 to save vs. all magic, +1 to all other saving throws.

• Grey Seer and Mystic look like a wash. Mystics have more flexible psionics, no locked spell choices, and gain a bit less psionics and magic over time. In exchange, they have a few more senses and some neat combat bonuses including automatic dodge.
• I'm definitely going to need a sticky note to remind me of all the things a Grey Seer can sense when encountering NPCs.

Now some broader remarks:

• This makes 3 of the 6 player characters uses of Tattoo magic. It gives me a bit of the vibe of a large D&D party where half the party are tanks who all specialized in the same weapon. My first instinct is to do what I did when Psychie pitched her Atlantean Cyberknight; Sherwood Psychie will a third character who can not only use tattoos but create them step on your niche or make you feel your character's less unique for you?
• This group is going to need some serious stealth, if your group's plan ends up trying to go behind enemy lines.
• If you're playing the token non-time traveler, going Grey Seer (or Temporal Wizard) give you something to contribute in a group that is otherwise going to have a lot of 'in group' knowledge. Looks good to me.

 

[Epiphany]

And now some broader group remarks:

• I'm all for characters having preexisting relationships. Siblings, spouses, allies/enemies, it's all good. I often find it's a better 'hook' for players and adds to their investment in the game (unless the player is me and I convince Sherwood to play my spouse and then drop the game before it even starts, sorry buddy!).
• That said, I hadn't necessarily intended or expected you guys to be an 'adventuring party'. You can, if you want! My default was "Allies, partners or just fellow fighters, you remember who was around you when the end came. Now you're back in the past and when your eyes spot the people you remember there at the end, their eyes look as haunted as yours, did they come back with you too?" but you guys do what you'll enjoy.
• I share Esbilion's concern. Half of the players have known each other for years. Their characters likewise all sharing a common history prior to the war runs a higher risk of changing the potential "six people with six ideas on how to fix the future" to "half the party becomes a single voting bloc and thus dictates the direction the group goes". Esbilion and I suspect AngryAngryAnarchist's characters are unlikely to have prior long-term relationships with Atlanteans, I really don't want folks feeling left out. For Purr in particular, if you'd like a preexisting tie, it would be nicer if it was with Eonivar or AngryAngryAnarchist, pairs are less majority-threatening than trios in this case.
• Given Esbilion's playing a Coalition character, their past is likely to be contentious with the other characters but ideally everyone's players should be good with it. No Death Camps seems good. No ordering people to commit war crimes seems good. I have quite a bit of trust that Esbilion will thoughtfully engage with the material in a way that'll be good dramatic material instead of an exercise in frustration for others. Once the sheet and the backstory become available, though, I'd encourage you all to look through it and talk to me (privately if you prefer) if there's any part of it that's going to be triggering or a sore spot for you, so everyone ends up comfortably OOCly before mixing it up ICly. Sound good?

 

[Purr]

Esbilon and- could we avoid having nazis? It just makes me realy uncomfterble. like- i mean, having a soldier who has engaged in "defence of the fatherland" is one thing, but an actual member of the SS... having a redemption arc is nice, but you cant just... participate willingly and gladly in genocide and get away with it. Im uncomfy playing alongside SSmen and brownshirts. Esbilon, you are free to have your soldier, i just get nausiated when people start spewing naziesque propaganda. if you want my rouge historian to talk your footsoldier through the process of denazification like Purr mentioned, thats swell with me. but i'd prefer that your charictar, who we are supposed to eventualy like, says as little of that shit as possible.

sorry, this is rambley, but "being on the same side as fucking nazis" is really my only trigger, but its a very hard no. I lost too much family in the Shoah. thank you all.

No having worked in the camps, and no directing pogroms. That's my hard line. I dont want to control your character, of course, I just don't want.... that. thank you.
I would really love a redemption arc for him too. people can change for the better, but no crossing the genocide line.

EmperorNorton1 Alex, my man! Smile!

I know what you're saying is in Esby's direction (yes, that's right! I called Esbilon Esby! What'cha gonna do 'bout it? Ha ha!), but just in case you have any doubts, you can trust him! I know you are new and that we are all friendly strangers, but RP Nation is a safe haven. For what my word is worth, I have roleplayed with every person in our group here, and I vouch for each of them! If I thought there were "problem people" in here, I would not join. Esbilon and I shared a Scions game run by Sherwood years ago. I felt and still feel Esbilon is a straight-up, very smart dude who walks the walk.

So... in other words... Throw those Nazi-feelings aside! Replace 'em with something better. There is nothing but fun here! In fact... I'ma help you right here by replacing those bad vibes... with Jamaican vibes! (/silly mode on)

"Alex, you ain't got nuttin' ta worry 'bot, mon! Lay yo' worries aside You know why? 'Cause (repeat afta me!) 'It Ain't No Ting But A Chicken Wing!' Now wot's a chicken wing? De most itty-bitty, teeny-weeny part of de chicken! Ya mon! Don't be givin' dem negative vibes any more dan dat! Not de breast, not de thigh, not even de leg! Just dat little wing, mon! You want proof?

Spoiler: Peek in here for some irie, Alex!

YA MAN! Ha ha ha! =)
"Bob Marley Every Little Thing Is Gonna Be Alright LYRICS"

(/silly mode off - at least I think it is)

Oh, Lord, I haven't even had breakfast yet! Man, life is good! =) Seriously, Alex. Don't worry about a thing, man. You're in good hands here with these people, friend! =)

Honor and fun,
Dann =)

 

[Eonivar]

Well if we want stealth, I can just go with my initial idea, the Psi-Ghost, who is extra, extra stealthy. She was going to be an infiltrator, sniper type.

I was considering a caster of some sort because I know there is a lot of flexibility in the spells , maybe some ways to help the group stealth better.

So I am leaning towards caster still. I am leaning towards temporal wizard but I cannot find my Rifts England book or my Book of Magic. So it may just be Ley Line Walker from RUE or one of the Magus Classes from the Federation of Magic or something from Phaseworld.

 

[Esbilon]

Mind Melters have psi invisibility and Special Forces have *really* good prowl. My character's gonna be pretty good at the whole stealth thing, but that of course doesn't help the rest of the group very much

 

[EmperorNorton1]

I share Esbilion's concern. Half of the players have known each other for years. Their characters likewise all sharing a common history prior to the war runs a higher risk of changing the potential "six people with six ideas on how to fix the future" to "half the party becomes a single voting bloc and thus dictates the direction the group goes". Esbilion and I suspect AngryAngryAnarchist's characters are unlikely to have prior long-term relationships with Atlanteans, I really don't want folks feeling left out. For Purr in particular, if you'd like a preexisting tie, it would be nicer if it was with Eonivar or AngryAngryAnarchist, pairs are less majority-threatening than trios in this case.

ahh, call me alex, my freinds.and its true, likley not. But I dont know where Erin Tarn has been, but as our wonderful dm has permitted, my character will be having ties to her, and that means joining her on some segment of her travels. I dont know when she has been where, but she's been just about everywhere, so it's possible that when she swings by Atlantis, my yet-unnamed character will be with her at that point in time.

This group is going to need some serious stealth, if your group's plan ends up trying to go behind enemy lines.

I got you! i have plenty of bluff powers, if we can play it that kind of stealth.

• Given Esbilion's playing a Coalition character, their past is likely to be contentious with the other characters but ideally everyone's players should be good with it. No Death Camps seems good. No ordering people to commit war crimes seems good. I have quite a bit of trust that Esbilion will thoughtfully engage with the material in a way that'll be good dramatic material instead of an exercise in frustration for others. Once the sheet and the backstory become available, though, I'd encourage you all to look through it and talk to me (privately if you prefer) if there's any part of it that's going to be triggering or a sore spot for you, so everyone ends up comfortably OOCly before mixing it up ICly. Sound good?

Sounds perfect. Charictar=Pissed, but I'll be just fine. (also i just realized that you dont have to quote the whole message if you only want a part-im dumb lol)

 

[EmperorNorton1]

EmperorNorton1 Alex, my man! Smile!

I know what you're saying is in Esby's direction (yes, that's right! I called Esbilon Esby! What'cha gonna do 'bout it? Ha ha!), but just in case you have any doubts, you can trust him! I know you are new and that we are all friendly strangers, but RP Nation is a safe haven. For what my word is worth, I have roleplayed with every person in our group here, and I vouch for each of them! If I thought there were "problem people" in here, I would not join. Esbilon and I shared a Scions game run by Sherwood years ago. I felt and still feel Esbilon is a straight-up, very smart dude who walks the walk.

So... in other words... Throw those Nazi-feelings aside! Replace 'em with something better. There is nothing but fun here! In fact... I'ma help you right here by replacing those bad vibes... with Jamaican vibes! (/silly mode on)

"Alex, you ain't got nuttin' ta worry 'bot, mon! Lay yo' worries aside You know why? 'Cause (repeat afta me!) 'It Ain't No Ting But A Chicken Wing!' Now wot's a chicken wing? De most itty-bitty, teeny-weeny part of de chicken! Ya mon! Don't be givin' dem negative vibes any more dan dat! Not de breast, not de thigh, not even de leg! Just dat little wing, mon! You want proof?

Spoiler: Peek in here for some irie, Alex!

YA MAN! Ha ha ha! =)
"Bob Marley Every Little Thing Is Gonna Be Alright LYRICS"

(/silly mode off - at least I think it is)

Oh, Lord, I haven't even had breakfast yet! Man, life is good! =) Seriously, Alex. Don't worry about a thing, man. You're in good hands here with these people, friend! =)

Honor and fun,
Dann =)

Thank you so very much for your kind words. I trust you, and I trust Esby, and the whole lot of yall! If anything, I'm the newbie, the stranger to your group. You guys have been nothing but warm and kind, and I do need to take a breather and smile sometimes. and we all love bob marley, so thank you for the song, i'll listen to it when I can. RPNation is such a great site, and I am so glad I am here.

You had better believe im smiling right now. also, eat breakfast. food is important. (I need to eat lunch ha ha).

 

[Epiphany]

Well if we want stealth, I can just go with my initial idea, the Psi-Ghost, who is extra, extra stealthy. She was going to be an infiltrator, sniper type.

I was considering a caster of some sort because I know there is a lot of flexibility in the spells , maybe some ways to help the group stealth better.

So I am leaning towards caster still. I am leaning towards temporal wizard but I cannot find my Rifts England book or my Book of Magic. So it may just be Ley Line Walker from RUE or one of the Magus Classes from the Federation of Magic or something from Phaseworld.

"If we want stealth" is the operative question.

I can set up some rails if this kind of open planning is blocking creativity at all but otherwise I really want you all to feel like your characters are the decision makers in what happens next. They alone have this evaporated lived experience that will nonetheless be the future, unless you take steps to change it. There are many points along the timeline where things could have happened differently (and this is a bonus of reading the Coalition War Campaign books, there really are a whole bunch). Your characters may have lived through them. They may simply know about them. But this gives you a unique position to be in, that forms the premise of the game.

If you want to sneak into the CS, I will run that adventure/campaign.
If you want to stay and take on Tolkeen military/politics, I will run that adventure/campaign.
If you want to go overland and adventure into the Xiticix Hivelands and find a way to get them to go after the Coalition, I will run that adventure/campaign!

Anything you can think of, I will run it. I just ask your player characters decide between each other (and if there's disagreement and/or debate on what to do, that's fine!). Nothing stops you from doing several strategies at once, or sequentially, for that matter.