SyrianHamster

Where Angels Fear to Tread (Community Revived Edition)

Baalor Sewers,

Jazeer inspected the ancient stonework of his peoples' ancestral city. The architects of the time must have possessed skills long lost to the realm of men, for the gigantic structure of Baalor's sewer system was both immense and spectacular. Despite the grim use these long abandoned catacombs once offered to the topside inhabitants, their sheer complexity took the ailing Prince's breath from him.

"C'mon, human. You wantin' to be meetin' me master or what?" sneered Jakig.

The Prince smiled behind his mask, and nodded. The two walked on for some time, sloshing through foul smelling and discoloured water as they went. The filth squelching beneath their feet bothered neither; Jakig, because he was a Goblin, and crawling through grime was his livelihood. Jazeer, because he had ceased to care about most things.

"So these people in masks, like mine," Jazeer said after they paused at an intersection. "Who were they?"

Jakig shrugged his bony shoulders, "No idea. Just some arse hole humans lookin' to take a filthy Goblin's life."

Jazeer sighed. Whilst he admired the little green man for his casual attitude to life, the lack of wanting in the conversation department was proving a tiresome drain. "What did they wear?"

"Black. Black, with silver plates strapped to their chests," the Goblin spat, looking left and right in an attempt to gauge his surroundings. "Left, right, left, right, can never fucking remember. Urgh."

The Crown Prince thought about this. Eblistan's army did not rely on the colour of black, or masks, to convey its dominance in battle. Someone was topside, someone foreign, and it bothered him for reasons unknown. There were bound to be all kinds of strangers in the ruins of Baalor, seeking refuge from the war outside its crumbling walls. Perhaps the Goblin was right; just some cold bastards, seeking pleasure in the suffering of others.

"Said something 'bout there bein' no witnesses," hissed Jakig, "then they hammered in the stakes. I screamed the cunting life outa my lungs."

"Witnesses to what?" Jazeer said, curious now more than ever.

"Fuck if I know! why do you care anyways? You said they aint your people no more," Jakig shot back. "Anyways, it's left. I think. Yes, yes, left. Come on you saggy prick, let's get going before your nose falls off!"

---

The Elves advanced in groups of twelve; their movement shielded by the gathering mass of white-feathered arrows filling the moon-lit sky. They had learnt from earlier defeats, it had seemed, and were no longer willing to converge upon their enemy in one rigid formation.

Mundhir's Mamaluks, led by Captain Hazim, reacted dutifully to the changing situation. Their part in this battle was waning, and with steadfast professionalism they began to fall back. Arrows trailed after them, and they paused frequently to return the favour. They had lost few, as always, and the Elves were looking at three dozen burial mounds in the morning. More precious Elderborn blood, seeping into the earth.

---

War Room, Baalor.

"Brace the door!" Shouted one Mamaluk, fumbling for his sabre.

"They're getting in through the back," called another.

Mundhir lifted the steel mask covering the face of one of his would be assassins. Red eyes and gnashing teeth greeted him.

"What are you?" He wheezed, more than asked.

"Death," the assassin gurgled through bloodied teeth.

The Prince sighed, and then planted his sabre into the creature's chest. It let fly a screech, and then seemingly dissolved into nothingness. Like the rest had done.

The doors to the War Room shuddered violently; foreign tongues rose up in cheers of bloody murder. The handful of Mamaluks that had survived the assassins' onslaught threw their weight against them, hoping to keep the brittle wood from giving way.

A man screamed, and he fell through the doorway leading into the structure's back rooms. Mundhir turned, raising his sabre with trembling fingers. The Ice Venom had struck him with a severe fever, and his vision had started to fail along with his strength some hours previous. There was no worse time for it to have happened.

One of the Mamaluks at the doors left his brothers, and joined the Prince's side. "Get back, my Lord, I'll handle them," the soldier said.

Mundhir was not a fool though. "It's over, Basir, it's over," he groaned. "Our cause ends here, I end here."

Basir shook his head, "not until I'm in Duranar's arms."

Three assassins, dressed in tight black and glittering under steel shards, surged through the door. Basir crashed into one; the other two darted towards the Prince. He ran to meet them, and their sabres danced briefly. One of his attackers staggered backwards, reeling from Mundhir's famous speed; the other lunged, catching the Prince in his midsection.

Mundhir threw his face into the unfeeling and grizzly mask of the man who dared to harm him; there was an explosion of pain as his unprotected brow made impact with the smooth metal. Stumbling, the assassin tried to regain the initiative, but Mundhir's sabre had already found itself in his neck.

Basir fell, a small blade sticking from his eye; the third assassin screeched and charged the Prince.

Fire filled Mundhir's veins. A scorching pain, of the likes he had never felt, spread through every inch of his body. The assassin froze temporarily; unsure of what he was seeing. Mundhir screamed with a voice he never thought he owned, and with the sound of rushing water hammering his ears, his face exploded into a grim display of jetting black fluid.

Where Angels Fear to Tread (Community Revived Edition)

Holy shit, you people are alive? says the worst GM ever.

For some reason I had this consigned to the part of my brain that houses broken dreams and abandoned RPs. Yet, it's pretty much been alive the whole time. Now I feel bad.

One moment please.

*pulls Mundhir out of creepy puppet trunk*

Dungeon Stomp: Ruins of Ironshore

Zombehs said
Welp, this is a change. Still interested.

Sure is! Glad you didn't run off :D

Still got loads more to cover. If anyone has questions, shout 'em out, I'll answer them as I go.

Dungeon Stomp: Ruins of Ironshore

Ahem, hey it's me, the possible future GM of this train wreck.

I know you're all still hung up over my disastrous attempt at innovation, but if you refer to the first post, you'll see the RP has taken on a wholly different form.

It'll be getting bigger hourly, until I have the lore covered, along with the character sheets, the "rules", and other things.

Still retaining the dungeon exploring idea and fuck-yeah-adventuring mentality, but coating it with darker and grittier undertones.

Dungeon Stomp: Ruins of Ironshore

Lol.

No RP sponsored/endorsed mechanics. Reverting to traditional RP style; will be done at some point during this week, with a bit of luck.

But by all means skip right past this post, and carry on discussing whatever it is you're discussing. :D

Dungeon Stomp: Ruins of Ironshore

PhoenixWhite said
The very same thing I put into the debate earlier myself, ser Keia of house Vewyx.Ser Hamster and I seem to use dice rolls similarly xD I often use them behind the scenes when making roleplay decisions and whatnot, and I myself am surprised that it became such a focal point as well- but I can understand why. Even if used minorly, it's best to understand something rather than slam on brakes halfway through a post to go 'did I do that right?'

I think I might just torch that whole section of the RP, it's for the best. Peeps getting riled and it's distracting me from... you know, ironing this thing out.

Oh and Keia Vewyx, that whole mock fight was for lol purposes only and I in no way meant to convey any nastiness towards you. Just in case you're halfway through plotting my car "accident" tomorrow morning.

Anyway, must sleep. Speak to you all tomorrow.

Dungeon Stomp: Ruins of Ironshore

Keia Vewyx said
Have no fear, PhoenixWhite, for if I am not misreading / misunderstanding SyrianHamster, the stat systems is optional and can be used whenever one wants~!

I've said this about four million times.

Was thinking about paying the owners of this site for advertisement banners on getting the word out.

Anyway, I'm off to sleep. Happy trails.

Dungeon Stomp: Ruins of Ironshore

Keia Vewyx said
So basically the stats aren't so much "more X stat = noticeable increase in X" as it is "more X stat = better use of X," correct?That said, this really is about luck, huh? A goblin with 5 attack can hit anywhere between 5 HP (die rolled 1) and 30 HP (die rolled 6), the difference between a flesh wound and your arm missing~How would dual-wielding work?Say if Jane had a rusty iron sword and sharpened iron axe and, for simplicity's sake, the sword conveys a +1 attack bonus and the axe a +2.Jane attacks some poor goblin. Would her bonuses be combined to a +3, or would she make two separate attacks with their own respective bonuses (though that's essentially doing double damage every time you attack, so most likely not)? Perhaps it's a single attack that only uses the highest bonus, though that would make dual-wielding a nonviable style.Edit: This has already been answered, but I'll leave it up here as some food for thought.

SyrianHamster pulls out a silver headed tiger cane, and attacks Keia Vewyx.

Keia Vewyx pulls out her (or his? her for this instance, I think) two rolling pins.

Fighting with two weapons requires balance. Hacking away crazily with both arms will more than likely cause you to lose your balance. Keia Vewyx has built a dual-wielding type character, and with this in mind, has her stats leaning more into agility, than strength.

SyrianHamster's strength is 10, because he's real angry. The cane adds a +5 because he is king of all. Attack = 15.

Keia Vewyx rolling pins both add +2, but because fighting with two weapons is all about balance, she's gonna lose one of those +2's as she relies on strength.

Keia Vewyx's strength is 8, +2 for the rolling pin after suffering the strength handicap.

Hamster rolls 3, because he's a middle road man when it comes to luck, giving him an attack of 19.

Keia Vewyx can't beat that, because she aint been to the gym pumping iron enough, off we go to wound roll.

Keia Vewyx dies.

... Alternate reality.

Keia Vewyx hunkers down; her apron of cupcake making cripples Hamster's attack by two thirds. She lives. Then she attacks.

4+ from her rolling pins, + 10 for her agility base rate, and HOLY SHIT Hamster is way too fat for that... or is he?

He could hunker down, be chicken about it, but he sees an opportunity.

He moves like Mcjagger on crack. Darting left and right; his agility is also 10, but he has no bonuses because his cane is a strength-related weapon, BUT he rolls a 6.

Keia Vewyx rolls a 1 because she sucks.

Keia Vewyx gets chewed up.

... seriously, it's a flexible system. I'm not moderating it for that exact reason. It's there for optional use - don't like it, then don't use it. I'm alarmed it's becoming a focal point of this whole experience!

Background story: Every now and then in RPs I roll to see if my character will do something out of my control. Thought others might appreciate the fun it brings.

Just let me get the final draft out before y'all go hating skating.

Dungeon Stomp: Ruins of Ironshore

Jivusa said
What if my character uses a ranged weapon, such as a longbow, crossbow, shortbow, etc. and the enemy isn't aware of an incoming arrow/bolt? Do they automatically gain awareness and deflect the arrow/bolt and charge down the field while my character waits to be countered, checking the local news on his/her iPhone? What I'm asking is about ranged bow attacks and sneak attacks. How are they implemented? What are the chances of a sneak attack successful, and how does a sneak attack differ from a normal, face to face attack?

You do not have to rely on the mechanics for your posts, nor would I expect anyone to use them for every monster encounter. I myself will likely use them from time to time, perhaps when dealing with significant enemies or certain situations, but not allllll the time.

That said, there'll be a little mention in the final draft of how to "combine" stats when you want to do something tricky. Basically though, it all comes down to common sense.

So in your example, your guy has a crossbow, and he's snuck up on some unsuspecting Orc from a safe distance.

Agility vs agility, for the Orc not noticing you rising from cover to shoot your cumbersome weapon.

Automatic wound roll would then follow, using agility (the stealth stat) to determine the effectiveness of the strike. Because the Orc isn't bracing - he hasn't seen you - and he can't fight back because he's too far away to do so. I guess because this idea of the attack may be to take him down quietly, you could make the hit an insta-kill. I'm not moderating the rolls, hell no, they're an aid to be used for the purposes of fun.

OR

The Orc sees you. Now he know's he's in trouble. What does he do? Run at you?

If he runs at you, you'd use your strength like you would normally. Whilst a crossbow doesn't involve much muscle mass to pull the trigger on, they're still heavy weapons and need to be kept steady. Automatic wound roll because he can't fight back - same result as sneaking up on him - except now he's real close if you haven't taken him down.

Maybe he braces for impact? Diminishing your strike, and then sprinting at you whilst you fumble to reload?

Picture it in your head, think about what would happen, and try to fit it loosely with the available input.

Dungeon Stomp: Ruins of Ironshore

Zero Hex said
Just so we have a slight context to the stat numbers, what is 2, what is 8, what is the max? Assuming 2 is the nontrained but moderately healthy human average, 8 would be quite outstanding even amongst adventurers and 10 be demigod tier and max, yes?

Missed this fellah.

Your ave- *sigh* alright, let me post an example of the mechanic. It's not eye-friendly though, because I was hashing it out for trials. So far, it seems fairly balanced and adequate for the optional system I had in mind.

Combat Mechanics

Example

John walks into a cave, and see’s a Goblin. John is racist against Goblins, and decides this little green fellah has to go meet his maker. A fight ensues.

John is making the attack, therefore he has the initiative and can decide what sort of attack he wants to make.

Attacks come in three forms:

Physical (Strength): John swings his sword as hard as he can at the Goblin.

Speed (Agility): John moves his feet, does a little jig to cause confusion, then swings his sword as fast as he can at the Goblin.

Magic (Wisdom): John casts magic missile at the Goblin.

Now, the Goblin aint into giving up without a fight. So he has a choice here, he can fight back, or he can rely on his armour to absorb the attack. What’s the difference?

Fighting back will pitch the Goblin’s stat against John’s chosen attacking stat. So for example, if John chose a physical attack, his strength would go up against the Goblin’s. The idea being that the Goblin will try to meet his attack, and whoever strikes the hardest, breaks the other’s guard and injures them.

So then we get to the rolling side o’things. John’s strength is 6. A Goblin, being smaller, carries a strength of 4. John’s rusty iron sword conveys a +1 attack bonus, making his total attacking strength 7. The Goblin, with his wooden spear, also gains a +1 attack bonus, giving him a total of 5.

So stat + weapon bonus = attacking number.

Then we grab a six sided dice, and roll for each combatant.

John rolls a 3, giving his attack a total number of 10.

However, the Goblin being the cheeky prick he is, rolls a 6, giving him a total attack of 11. Therefore, the little green critter’s attack powers through John’s, and injures him.

Now comes the wounding roll. Throw another dice, to determine how many hit points John is going to lose. Hit points = Vitality x 10. So John has 40 hit points BUT he is also wearing a flimsy leather vest, that grants him 1 additional vitality, so in total he has 50 hit points.

The wounding attack = Goblin’s attacking strength x six sided dice roll.

Goblin rolls a 6 again, dealing 30 damage (6 x 5). John is severely hurt, with just 20 hit points left, but he’s not out of the fight.

This goes on until the fight ends. However, the nature of the following attack will be decided by the Goblin as he won the first round, who’d then likely go for his highest stat. In their case, it would be agility. John’s agility would then go up against the Goblin’s, in a similar fashion.

OR

The Goblin could have hunkered down, and bore the brunt of John’s attack if he thought he wasn’t strong enough to meet him in battle. This would then fast forward to John wounding the Goblin, however this time, because the Goblin is bracing for impact, the hit points dealt would be divided by the Goblin’s armour. Always round upwards.

Bracing for impact automatically conveys the next round of the battle to the defending player, so he/she can make their counter attack.

In this example, the Goblin is wearing some studied leather with an armour value of 2.

So, John’s strength = 7, he rolls 5, 5 x 7 = 35, 35 / 2 = 18 damage.

So what’s the difference between attacks?

Speed and physical are to be treated the same; however, magic can be used to counter both. In this case, the defender using magic cannot cause an injury (presumably because he’s using his magic to deflect the attack, or stun his opponent, or something to negate their assault.) Wisdom vs Wisdom is to be treated the same as strength vs strength, and agility vs agility.

---

Starting a stat at 2 has nothing to do with a race's average.