Dice Rifts - The Thirteenth Mystery - OOC

[Purr]

It has not escaped my notice that most players have removed the backstory tab from the template.

Anyway, I'll take a look at sheets in the morning. It's late o'clock for me and I have work calls starting in 7 hours that I need to actually be conscious for. Cheers!

Rest well and have happy dreams, Pips!

 

[Purr]

Yeah, you're right. Maybe I had too strict a definition of "believable."

Someone whose loyalty was ensured by a threat to their family, but who later found out that said family had already been murdered would open up basically every archetype.


I'm glad you like it

Esbilon Who and what did you want to play? May I help somehow?

Edit: I mean, beyond the details you have already supplied. =)

 

[Eonivar]

I must say I am having second thoughts on this. I am having trouble wrapping my head around my characters involvement in this conflict, and the prospect of tracking everything she did is a bit daunting. I am not sure if I want to do the lost lover plot as I initially thought at this point, it was an interesting thought but I am not really feeling it the more I have thought about it.

So I am thinking that my character was born in Tolkeen, and maybe left for a time to train and learn her stuff and then came back maybe a few years before the speech. She would have very close ties to Tolkeen and very much care as to what happens to it. Beyond that I am drawing a blank. I do not know where she would fit in the leadership of things or how her expertise would work, that kind of thing. I want her to be human-ish, right now I have her as a Psi-Ghost of which I really like the powers and skill set of, but I am open to other suggestions as to what she could be and some potential stories.

I guess I feel a bit overwhelmed at this campaign and what kind of detail I need to go into for it.

 

[EmperorNorton1]

Hellooooo everybodyyyy! Finals are finaly done!!! I’m free. Freeeeeeee!!!!!! Which means I can start working.

Reading through all the messages- there are a lot. I love puns, and I will be making them. the "polyhamourus" one made me laugh (i am poly myself).

Ok, so I have my backstory figured out, and I know what im gonna be, a rogue scholar with superpowers to make up for my lack of combat abilities. I'm thinking of being level ten because i am not playing the biggest punchy class. is that cool with yall?

 

[EmperorNorton1]

My main specification was aiming for characters between 5th and 10th level, with a view that the less powerful the concept, the more appropriate higher levels would be.



From the point of view of the characters involved, one moment they were fighting to the death in the streets of Tolkeen. Rifts surging out of control, a nearby hospital being blown up, another surge of death-driven-P.P.E. spiked the ley line and...

Hence, I am thinking of a tenth-level Rogue Scholar, and I'll take fire-themed powers, because what else is more fun than a little bit of arson? A Scholar who has ties to Erin "iloveher" Tarn, who learned from the best idealism, that the world can be kinder. who watched as millions died, as hospitals exploded, who should be dead, only to find themselves eight years younger, and eight years in the past, right as it all went wrong. is their spirit broken, have they lost their idealism? they have this foresight, will they be able to change the past/future? can i roll on the madness table? I think that witnessing a war, and having a hospital come crashing down around them killing so many would cause some ptsd.

Chan-Chan is just a daydream I made up last night that I felt might add to Pips's game. =)

Pips can feel free to use Chan-Chan as an NPC or, perhaps if I can come into an agreement here, I may join. But please don't feel obligated to have me just because I put a character into a thread. I'm still not certain conditions are right for me to join.

I just felt creative and felt like sharing something with all of you. =)

Dann's got a character!!! I love Chan-Chan! Of course, if you're to busy and are unable to join, thats alright and we dont want to pressure you.

 

[EmperorNorton1]

i just have no idea how to mechanically make any of this happen. what the fuck am i doing- backstory is easy but there are so many numbers and i have dyscalculia and i can only get the pdfs on my sad tiny phone. does anyone know where to go with this next?

 

[Epiphany]

I must say I am having second thoughts on this. I am having trouble wrapping my head around my characters involvement in this conflict, and the prospect of tracking everything she did is a bit daunting. I am not sure if I want to do the lost lover plot as I initially thought at this point, it was an interesting thought but I am not really feeling it the more I have thought about it.

So I am thinking that my character was born in Tolkeen, and maybe left for a time to train and learn her stuff and then came back maybe a few years before the speech. She would have very close ties to Tolkeen and very much care as to what happens to it. Beyond that I am drawing a blank. I do not know where she would fit in the leadership of things or how her expertise would work, that kind of thing. I want her to be human-ish, right now I have her as a Psi-Ghost of which I really like the powers and skill set of, but I am open to other suggestions as to what she could be and some potential stories.

I guess I feel a bit overwhelmed at this campaign and what kind of detail I need to go into for it.

When I put the game pitch together, here's how I envisioned the background stuff to go:

1. A few players had likely read the Coalition War Campaign books. For them, this pitch would be an excuse to reread and then live out vicariously some of the adventures and scenarios they'd read about but probably had never gotten a chance to play in an actual game. And then bring that to the table in terms of deciding what plot to chase.
2. A few other players may not have read the Coalition War Campaigns but might get a kick out of having an in-game excuse to read them (for those people who enjoy reading RPG materials, myself among them). They'd likewise use that material to build their backstory and figure out what plot to chase.
3. A third group of players aren't particularly up for reading half a dozen books (Although arguably Book 1 and 5 give you the most bang for your buck readingwise). For these folks, I hoped the Lore section and particularly its Timeline would be useful for building out backstory, figuring out plot to chase, etc.

How much or how little backstory you want to create, though, is up to you. The pitch you gave in your last post is just fine! If you want to go lighter on detail, it just means less opportunity for me to pencil in game events that might be hooks unique for your character, that's the main consequence. But if you're up for the ride, I am too. It's why I also mentioned the 'Introduce Fact' idea. If, during play, you get into it and do some reading after the fact, or if the group is in a situation that you think your character had been in 'last time around', you're welcome to work that out with me and then we run with it. It's up to you what you want to do.

 

[Epiphany]

i just have no idea how to mechanically make any of this happen. what the fuck am i doing- backstory is easy but there are so many numbers and i have dyscalculia and i can only get the pdfs on my sad tiny phone. does anyone know where to go with this next?

If it's helpful, I (or one of the other players who has time and/or enjoys making sheets) could take a stab at putting together a rough draft character sheet and then letting you tweak, swap to customize to your preference. Just bear in mind, if it's me, it's going to take me most of the week to do. I'm not the fastest at character creation.

 

[EmperorNorton1]

If it's helpful, I (or one of the other players who has time and/or enjoys making sheets) could take a stab at putting together a rough draft character sheet and then letting you tweak, swap to customize to your preference. Just bear in mind, if it's me, it's going to take me most of the week to do. I'm not the fastest at character creation.

thank you so so much! you can take as much time as you need, I have the dice rolls, I just need the mechanics. backstory, flavors, and skills i can try and handle, there are just some areas that stump me. i'll fill in what I can in a few hours, and then let you take a swing at it.

 

[Esbilon]

Epiphany has graciously allowed me to treat Mind Melter as an RCC and let me apply an OCC. I'm leaning towards CS Special Forces (from Worldbook 11) since they're the type of CS soldier most likely to operate so far behind enemy lines. For a high level character, it even makes some sense to operate completely alone, though probably with some reporting to a handler somewhere. The first time around, that handler got good info for at least the first few years, but this time around, they'll be bamboozled from the get go.

I need to read a bit more setting and hash some things out before I start building a character sheet properly, but that's where I'm at.

 

[Epiphany]

So, for the Sherwoods, Psychies and Dannigans here: How have you guys typically seen RCC/OCC crossovers handled? Roll RCC attributes, use OCC skills, pool RCC and OCC 'other abilities', if both RCC and OCC give a level-up bonus to the same trait apply the highest bonus?

What's best practice been from your experience?

 

[Purr]

So, for the Sherwoods, Psychies and Dannigans here: How have you guys typically seen RCC/OCC crossovers handled? Roll RCC attributes, use OCC skills, pool RCC and OCC 'other abilities', if both RCC and OCC give a level-up bonus to the same trait apply the highest bonus?

What's best practice been from your experience?

Epiphany For me, the short answer is - it all depends on what the final result turns out to be.

Spoiler: But if you would like the long answer, here it is.

I have seen crossovers (or as some people call them, "multiclass") handled poorly in which the GM simply wanted to get the characters made quickly, and then finds out later to their shock and dismay just what they have agreed to allow in play.

Then it's "oh my gosh what have I done?!" time. No bueno. Watching this embarrassing sort of thing happen to other people is just one big reason why I'm a huge proponent of doing your homework. The lesson I pulled out of this is, "the lazy person ends up working four times as hard." (That's why I can't bring myself to be lazy.)

At every table I can remember, if the table has done its homework, I have seen multiclass work very well because they have a clear and honest idea of what is coming into the game. Even better, they have a much better idea of what to expect as the game goes on. I consider this to be satisfaction taking the place of anxiety. Muy bien.

When it comes down to the numbers, this might mean giving the character the best of either Attribute options, or the worst. If the group is powerful, let them add their P.P.E. and skills and abilities all together. Go for broke! If the group isn't, they can select one or the other. If I'm running the game, you can bet your morning cup of coffee or tea I am comparing the multiclass PC to all of my other PCs including my NPCs.

Finally, my first incarnation of Snowfall was a positively-nerfed Kitsune combined with an vanilla Atlantean Tattooed Voyager. It worked very well for that game. In terms of power, Snowy was not as powerful as the Tattooed Slayer I had just retired (Gradicus), but the Snowfall 2.0 now, wins over both because he is granted everything from both classes. In terms of his support role, I feel he's a true powerhouse with lots and lots of options!

I carefully fine-tuned each PC to be right for our game at the time it was being played. I gladly echo the statement that the more you put into a game, the more you tend to get out of it.

Honor and fun,
Dann =)

 

[Esbilon]

Alright. Let's roll some dice.

I have the usual 8 stats, each at the measly human 4d6k3 with extras if I roll high enough.

Well, that was underwhelming:
12
13
12
12
14
10
14
13

I also get some ISP and PPE
ISP: 150 + ME
PPE: 5

EDIT2: Per Dannigan's comment, I've rerolled some 1's and moved a 12 to a 13...

 

[Purr]

Alright. Let's roll some dice.

I have the usual 8 stats, each at the measly human 4d6k3 with extras if I roll high enough.

Well, that was underwhelming:

Esbilon Hey, man? If memory serves, Pips is using the same dice-rolling method as Sherwood. That means rerolling ones on Attributes?

=)

 

[Esbilon]

Esbilon Hey, man? If memory serves, Pips is using the same dice-rolling method as Sherwood. That means rerolling ones on Attributes?

=)

Ah! Forgot that part. THanks.

 

[Purr]

You're welcome! =)

 

[Esbilon]

By the grace of our noble GM, I've gotten permission to roll again. A third time. We'll see if this one helps. If it doesn't, I promise I'm done.

SUCCESS!
13
13
19
15
11
13
14
20

 

[Purr]

Hooraaay! 8D

That's just great! =)

 

[Epiphany]

I've attempted to compile the various house rules discussed in this thread in the House Rules section of the Character sheets thread. By all means, feel free to ask questions, provide suggestions or even recommendations for anything you find makes for a smoother Rifts game.

 

[Psychie]

I still have a backstory to put up, but most of the work of the character is done. Still need a good name and character pic, but I'm in no hurry for those.

 

[EmperorNorton1]

hey, this is totaly random, but do any of you guys have a scribid account? I'm trying to get at a pdf, and I was wondering if one of you lovely people would be willing to nab it, should you have the ability, thank you very much

 

[Epiphany]

hey, this is totaly random, but do any of you guys have a scribid account? I'm trying to get at a pdf, and I was wondering if one of you lovely people would be willing to nab it, should you have the ability, thank you very much

I don't believe Scribed lets you download titles, only view them...

 

[Sherwood]

hey, this is totaly random, but do any of you guys have a scribid account? I'm trying to get at a pdf, and I was wondering if one of you lovely people would be willing to nab it, should you have the ability, thank you very much

What is scribid? I'm not familiar with that.

 

[Epiphany]

What is scribid? I'm not familiar with that.

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I have it, actually. All the audiobooks and books I could ever want to read.

 

[EmperorNorton1]

actualy, I found a way to cheese it and get what i needed. thank you all so much and sorry about the non-sequitar. yall are great!