#Prototype Pattern Groups

1 messages · Page 24 of 1

vagrant grotto
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Like look at SpecOps

ashen crown
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So like if only 1 has time stop then what’s the harm?

vagrant grotto
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It’s just a pseudo, limited-use second turn

cosmic bluff
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Yeah but it doesn't count as a turn so the enemy basically gets 2 turns in a row

vagrant grotto
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Aight, hit me with a playtest then

umbral sluice
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the reason is that it sticks around forever until it's cleared

vagrant grotto
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Mostly better duration yeah

umbral sluice
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vs base invade that is always EONT

vagrant grotto
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Aight well, thanks for the readback, please lemme know how it plays if you use it

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Noting the comparison to base invade is helpful

ashen crown
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Incorrect, they’re impaired so it’s at +1 difficulty

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Moreover, all bespoke tech attacks work like that

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It’s basically just Orator 1

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Fair point

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Put it on a witch see how it goes

opaque crescent
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isn't doomscroll a direct upgrade over npc fragsig?

vagrant grotto
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oh hey, yeah it is, minus the attack bonus

vagrant grotto
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btw, if anyone is running stuff with Limitless using the OC Reroll house rule: Try making the heat gain 1d3 instead of 1d6 and let me know how it goes

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1d6 has been pretty damn high for a single reroll, so I figured since NPC OC doesn't scale, it couldn't hurt to dial the heat cost down slightly

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cc @opaque crescent I suppose for the upcoming playtest

opaque crescent
muted blaze
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Mmm

vagrant grotto
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I feel justified in this

muted blaze
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Yeah

vagrant grotto
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a lot of my NPCs cook themselves a bit already too

muted blaze
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Limitless is hardly worht it for NPCs outside of massive heatcap NPCs with OC Reroll

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But I'm concerned how low the heat cost becomes before it can feel like the DND 5e legendary resistance problem

vagrant grotto
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it's still only a reroll

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sometimes you eat shit and roll low on the reroll

muted blaze
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True

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Like this is me remembering vibes from the one time I was Iskander and felt bad after I finally had a demo fail their roll and they rerolled it

vagrant grotto
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oh, as a reminder I added an optional rule for OC Rerolls, if you wanna run that in your games

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for forcing folks to reroll a save

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not that you needed my permission by putting it in PPG but it's there anyway

muted blaze
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I see

vagrant grotto
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I'm not personally using it but I know it was something you specifically requested

muted blaze
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I don't remember specifically requesting it but I implied it I assume, but my opinions on OC reroll have drastically changed since then

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(Positive)

vagrant grotto
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oh you definitely mentioned in the past how it feels a bit bad that Save Inflicters (and pacifist supports, tbf) don't get to enjoy the OC rerolls in the same way as Attackers do, like I'm positive of that

muted blaze
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Yeah I did

vagrant grotto
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but I'm glad that the existing rules have grown on you

muted blaze
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hehe

umbral sluice
vagrant grotto
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see the PDF for more details

muted blaze
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Sick

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I was gonna ask that

placid glacier
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I mean I did an oops all anomalies waaaay back when it was first introduced- unless you mean it hasn't been done in this version of PPG in which case ignore me

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I made that mistake. the CPR still did CPR things- videogames

muted blaze
muted blaze
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Turn 1, I aided an ally
Turn 2, Anchor
Turn 3, Everest who got aided pops !V! core immediately uses Barrages a vet Occultists with a CPR and structures it off the bat in hard cover with an OP round crit (nat 20) immediately destroying their Flock drones then reloaded their CPR crylaughing

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This is the 3rd combat of the campaign and a new player

vagrant grotto
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Third combat, new player, and they’re already a natural with Aid

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Love that for them and you

muted blaze
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Yeah, aid has been real fun for the new players CPR build

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Getting them to get more mileage out of their stuff and play the game more

ashen crown
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Oh waow. I was theorizing about pairing a Hatchet with an Iridian Weaponmaster Ronin. There’s a Weaponmaster Mod that 1/turn knocks back all character adjacent to the target. That pairs so well with the Hatchet as a buddy and I never even realized

vagrant grotto
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Nice

vagrant grotto
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Triangulate is coming together lol

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The "modularity" setup is proving useful; I define generalized Stakes, Duration, Map Layout, Enemy Forces, and Deployment ahead of time, meaning each sitrep has plenty of space for its Objective and any Modifications

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example in Transport

opaque crescent
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I like that triang has being a hybrid sitrep cooked into it

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but isn't restrictive as written into what sitrep it can move into

vagrant grotto
ashen crown
# vagrant grotto

So how to PCs “find” the objective in an official sense? As in- “meeting the victory condition.” As is they can be “near” it, possibly right on top of it and knowing fully where it is, but there’s no way to actually interact with it in a way that wins the Sitrep.

vagrant grotto
muted blaze
vagrant grotto
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glad you appreciated that lol

muted blaze
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Objective

vagrant grotto
harsh widget
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Super creative sitreps Valk, these look like they'll be a blast

vagrant grotto
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thank you! literally just have 1 more to writeup, Blitz

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once that's done I'm gonna be cutting a release with haste

vagrant grotto
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Transport, now with 2 more modifications lol

image.png
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"Escape" and "VIP", which are basically just "the objective doesn't exist" and "the objective has their own turn" respectively, leaning on the "all PCs must extract" clause

vagrant grotto
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welp, compcon doesn't support HTML rendering of sitrep descriptions, RIP

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all these bulleted lists are gonna have to go

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at least on compcon version, they're staying in the PDF

vagrant grotto
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Update to 1.17!!!

itch.io
Update to 1.17!

1.17.0 Some minor NPC Class + Template cleanup, a few new optional rules, and some brand new modular sitreps! NPC Classes Anchor Newtonian Amplifier Change to affect both allies and hostiles. Clarify...

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@muted blaze the sitreps, they're here

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as always, feedback welcomed

opaque crescent
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just in time for a playtest 🙏

vagrant grotto
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minor thing but this is like, the one update I had where I didn't touch Capacitor, Hatchet, Mesmerist, OR Zealot, which means that I didn't have to update my Itch.io screenshots 😌

muted blaze
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Yay

vagrant grotto
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I'm already finding typos in the writeups (specifically use of PDZ vs. ADZ, and how I said "EDZ" when I meant "ADZ" in the Holdout variant) but yeah, that'll happen

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I'll fix it next version

placid glacier
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oh shit ppg update glad I checked before I started my session

placid glacier
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What is there to test in this new update?

vagrant grotto
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Uhhhh lemme scroll up

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I think reckless dive got some testing at least

placid glacier
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ok so the same gotcha 👍

placid glacier
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RETURN TO SENDER FINALLY PROCCED

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(it twas on a basic hex charge but. still)

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(one day I will get my funny counter warp grenade shenanigan

vagrant grotto
placid glacier
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I will get proper thoughts down after I get some player feedback

vagrant grotto
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For reference: The Howler currently has 4 speed and 10 sensors

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very much debated whether Bloodhunt should be a base feature or an optional here, with a "breach ram" type ability as a base feature instead

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on one hand, this means that an Artillery NPC could turn the Howler online

on the other, this means that the Howler will struggle to initiate on its own

muted blaze
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Interesting

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I'd say "8 speed seems quite potent and easy to trigger" but like... It's a cool ability

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I wanna see this fool murder someone

vagrant grotto
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this is where I'm currently at

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moved Bloodhunt to optionals for now

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aiming for a more Agile-feeling tank here

muted blaze
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Oh yeah that looks much more refined on bloodhunt

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Rabid lunge is cool, it looks comparable to avalanche charge

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But better because it's flight, double speed and chooses it's target

vagrant grotto
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good point

muted blaze
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Oh fuck, ravage looks lethal

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Counterable but lethal

vagrant grotto
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just shoot the Howler 😏

muted blaze
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Can't, jammed

vagrant grotto
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better pack a buddy then

muted blaze
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:>

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Better hope your mainline DPS isnt jammed

umbral sluice
vagrant grotto
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everybody has a gun

umbral sluice
muted blaze
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I'm pulling out white room scenarios however

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It's probs fine

vagrant grotto
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yeah the numbers are still up in the air

muted blaze
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As is with first revisions

vagrant grotto
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as well as whether the OS goes on Howl or Lunge

muted blaze
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Most blinding thing is all optionals all being traits for the sake of system trauma IG

vagrant grotto
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yeah those are basically uh

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brainstorming at this point

muted blaze
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Fair

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Looks solid

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I'll silence myself for now and await further updates 👀

vagrant grotto
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⁨```
LUNAR SPLENDOR System
While the Howler has any OVERSHIELD, its attacks inflict an additional 1 Heat.

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ehhh maybe not

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⁨```
LUNAR SPLENDOR System
While the Howler has any OVERSHIELD, hostile characters within its Threat receive +1 Difficulty on attacks made against its allies.

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there we go

muted blaze
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This really is a melee taunt meat tank right?

umbral sluice
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so this is like, part Enkidu part Lycan type thing?

vagrant grotto
vagrant grotto
muted blaze
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Amazing

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Part of mes thinking purely in vibes if this guy needs armour. I have no reason for that outside of vibes and the big overshield health it gains

vagrant grotto
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it's got 1 armor

muted blaze
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Yeah ik, like how a goliath also has none

minor crest
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Finally getting a chance to check out the sitreps. Quick question Valk, for a Retreat to be successful do all the PCs have to succeed or is it a majority thing like group checks?

vagrant grotto
minor crest
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Ah makes sense

vagrant grotto
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"Regardless of overall success or failure, the PCs flee from the combat, treating it as a PC Defeat."

minor crest
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Ohhh okay I see now

vagrant grotto
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I wanted to make Retreat to be a viable option, plus like, every sitrep that the GM ends early lets the NPCs escape with a handwave

minor crest
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Right makes sense. I just wasn't sure if the group had to keep redoing the check each round, but this clears it up

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I guess PCs who fail the check just take the full consequences instead

ashen crown
placid glacier
# placid glacier I will get proper thoughts down after I get some player feedback

Sitrep: Triangulation-Escort (Cut short during the Escort Phase because of outside time restraints)

Players piloted a Caliban, Viceroy, and Manticore (LL6)

OpFor

Triangulate: 
2x Prototype Anchors (Magnetic Reversal, Overclocked)
1x Veteran Marine Engineer [K] (Mobile Turrets, Turret Nest [K], Deck Anchors)
2x Grunt Artillery (Mortar)
Reinforcements:
1x Veteran Prototype Hatchet (Reckless Dive, Return to Sender, Slip Drive, Lightning Reflexes)

Escort:
1x Prototype Sentinel [Tier 3] (Punisher Ammo, Overclocked) 
1x Elite Knight (Punishing Blow, Second Wind)
1x Prototype Witch (Chain, Overclocked)
Reinforcements:
2x Grunt Artillery (Mortar)
1x Prototype Sentinel [Tier 3]

Prototype
Overclocked: Unfortunately did not get to test out the additional heat application because of the Manticore capitalizing on the danger zone Anchors, but the free boost was a nice movement bump to the Witch and I will def be testing it more in the future next time I run a skirmish oneshot
Slip Drive: Used it again on the same hatchet as last time, this time tier 2, and I found myself ocing just for the qa to use it. Idk if this would be busted or anything but either a slightly further teleport (3-4 spaces?) or turning it into a free action could be nice.

Hatchet
Reckless Dive: Having used it again this week, feels like its still in a very nice spot and players didn't find it too annoying.
Return to Sender: Surprisingly, taken well by my players, I was expecting this to be a real sticking point, but I suppose my players dont really use grenades, or weapons with applicable tags all too much. In a good spot, still hoping for the day I get to Return to Sender a Warp Grenade.

No testing info for the knight unfortunately, will try the "Knight and Witch" combo again next skirmish

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of note: I might have run the combined sitrep thing wrong as I did not put a rest in between the triangulation and escort

vagrant grotto
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Triangulation is a lead-in sitrep, its an example of how an objective can pivot mid-combat

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Like, it’s literally me saying “Recon is actually 2 sitreps stapled together and you can just as easily unstaple them”

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They are intended to share the enemy forces though, at least at a high level

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So you prep enemies for a Medium encounter but it’s just a Triangulate and Short Seize

placid glacier
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I did keep the enemy forces yeah

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so the survivors from the Triangulate were still around for the 'Escort'

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it did have a funny interaction with the Caliban Core and Pankrati tho

opaque crescent
# 
---
Initial Deployment:
- Ultra Anomaly Kensei
- Elite Anomaly Mesmerist
Reinforcements:
- Veteran Anomaly Specter[K]
- Anomaly Knight
- Anomaly Hive[K]
- Anomaly Assault[K] x2
- Anomaly Occultist x2

# Notes:
---
Auto-Coord:
- Really fun with Kidd (as expected) - GMS core bonus that isn't just "do damage better" (or unicomp).
- Feels actually usable on supports (good for having a universal core bonus that supports this)
- Adjacent deploy limit is restricting (good thing), makes it more interesting to play with
- This works with aid (noted as "Wild" by an observer)

Orator:
- Convincing Rhetoric change is good
- Two main uses seen: hitting a defender with it and ignoring them or hitting something with it right before a big save (See: Shiver Timbers)
- Orator 3 not granting extra dice is great, pseudo-stun round 2 from crb is a little much

Everest:
- So much nicer than crb Everest.
- Initiative on Core is good, it "doesn't really need anything else."
- The fact that it then combos well with unicomp solidifies it as "GMS's favourite child."
- Still very strong, not ridiculously over curve.

Unicomp:
- Side-note unicomp is kinda a massive attrition killer in campaign settings, specifically for Efficient mechs.
- Observer suggestion: "Just make UNICOMP 1/mission until you get a 20 on the check or if you get a core battery."

Exemplar:
- Didn't see use, but at least *feels* like a better pick.
- No range limit on OW looks really cool.

Heavy Melee Weapon:
- Threat 2 feels good.
- The name lol :crylaugh:

Goblin:
- Hor_0s1 - Network binding is really neat. Got them a turn away from the big scary ultra.
- Osiris - "Like it more than crb Osiris, leaves room for you to do other things and have more interesting turns." Feels like there's less obligation than crb.

Lesson of Disbelief:
- It's a buff, it made the player pick it. All good here :thumbsup:
- A player was initially surprised that the difficulty didn't affect self - disagreed with themselves on further reflection.

Prototype:
- Oops didn't mean to field this - worked out well though
- Really fun combos with slow framed (either low speed or self-applying slow)```
# 
- Metafold Hangar is cool
- Exactly what you expect from Anomaly both in flavour and gameplay
- Varies in effectiveness by what's using it - a little hard to determine balance on say a Cataphract vs an Anchor and then what it's deploying (see: Demolisher dropped on top of you artillerist)
- Not a problem, to clarify.
- -
- Entropic Corrosion hurts a lot
- "2d3 is a big number"
- High rolling this can vaporize players, especially in early LL
- It's also quite hard to actually get it land, so (in my eyes at least) it kinda earns this
- We're looking at a small numbers game when adjusting this though, combined with it's inconsistency in going off then it's quite difficult to look at how this should be balanced.
- Suggestion: "lower barrier of entry -> apply lower amount of corrosion" would feel less swingy
- Maybe something that ticks up over multiple hits?
- The people want more testing
- - 
- Awakening is fun, especially in a campaign setting
- Makes the player realise "oh I really need to not structure"
- Player says that they would prefer to see difficulty scaling rather than AI amount scaling
- Maybe no scaling? Just 1 AI and guaranteed difficulty on all cascades with no condition.
- Very compelling in combat regardless, (see: I can't "safely" structure anymore)
- Very good narrative consequence
- - 
- Blinkspace is fun for both sides.
- Can cut off key allies from a party (e.g. supports/defenders being taken off the field briefly).
- Sometimes allies just also want a down turn, though.
- Very niche, very strong in those niches, but maybe the use cases are a little limited?


Kensei:
- Mortal Draw is very hype when it goes off.
- The party misplayed by grouping up once and letting one go off, if the party had scanned prior they would have immediately split up causing a massive value loss. Once it's gone off a party would never group back up around a Kensei.
- Doesn't feel as sitrep defining for an Ultra trait (comparison made to Torrent's Split the Sea) - Maybe recharge 5+? Drop recharge altogether? 
- Volley Module (Ultra) is very similar with less restrictions.
- "Don't mess with damage effectiveness, just adjust how easy it is to pull off."
- I don't personally think I'd take it over a Ravager Turret or something similar.
- Observer says "Great flavour, just maybe needs an effectiveness bump"```
vagrant grotto
#

⁨⁨⁨RIP AND TEAR (VETERAN) Trait After attacking with RIPPER CLAWS, all hostile characters within Threat take 1/1/2 Energy AP.⁩⁩⁩⁩⁩⁨⁨⁨⁨⁨```
A BEAST UNCAGED (ULTRA) Trait
After taking structure damage, the Howler clears all effects caused by hostile sources, clears EXPOSED, and stands up from PRONE.

muted blaze
vagrant grotto
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kinda inspired by Ariana's take earlier but it felt right as an Ultra

vagrant grotto
muted blaze
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Just realised, a white witch can regenerate armour that's been hit by entropic erosion?

vagrant grotto
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Probably

muted blaze
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Sick

vagrant grotto
ashen crown
opaque crescent
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i think it means aided stabilize

ashen crown
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Ah ok

vagrant grotto
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Honestly @opaque crescent I'm surprised to hear Blinkspace Expulsion went over well, I was worried that as a save-or-suck it'd get panned. Glad that it still had some interesting applications

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wondering about making mortal draw "everything in Kensei's line of sight" but also "the Size of all terrain in LoS is reduced by 1 as it's cut down"

umbral sluice
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You've made it even more anime and I love that

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that being said,

vagrant grotto
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yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

umbral sluice
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everyone in LOS is spooky

vagrant grotto
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I mean that's just Volley Module for you

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granted there's range limits

umbral sluice
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I would really want to see how that interacts with bigger mechs specifically

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that tend to struggle to break LOS in my experience

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its absolutely terrifying but also, its an ultra trait

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they can have a little terrifying sometimes as a treat

vagrant grotto
muted blaze
gaunt heron
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"the Size of all terrain in LoS is reduced by 1 as it's cut down"
GUH

muted blaze
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Please keep this

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Prone or cover counterplay?

gaunt heron
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fuck you and your line of sight blocking terrain

vagrant grotto
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aight, your funerals

umbral sluice
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maybe it will end up busted but I almost dont care its way too cool

muted blaze
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Rn there's not much counterplay apart from exit Los

gaunt heron
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wait

muted blaze
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But now I can reduce my height 25 wall to height to height 24

gaunt heron
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you mean wait vertically right??

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shrinks your wall

muted blaze
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Me with my OWS rebake where I'm in a space elevator and I reduce the ceiling height by 1

vagrant grotto
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yeah the idea is height decreases to min 0

muted blaze
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My size 0 wooden crate with lid

umbral sluice
vagrant grotto
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aight aight aight I'll hammer something out

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I'll figure out the design

umbral sluice
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fuck yeah

muted blaze
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Art

gaunt heron
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Kensei : me and my 6 sniper wives saw you from accross the sitrep and decided no you dont deserve cover

vagrant grotto
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I think i'm gonna limit it to like, Burst 10

muted blaze
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Wise

gaunt heron
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ah yes limited to only 2/3rds of the map :)

muted blaze
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However there goes my plan for the 50×3 escort I was planning

umbral sluice
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thats still like half the map so the fantasy works fine

vagrant grotto
#

⁨```
MORTAL DRAW (ULTRA)
Trait, Recharge 6+

If the Kensei takes the final NPC turn of the round, for that turn the CHARGED profile of its “MINUANO” KINETIC SABER may attack characters in Burst 10 and line of sight but not in hard cover or PRONE. After the attack resolves, all terrain SIZE 5 and smaller is reduced in height by 1 as it is cut down.

gaunt heron
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based

muted blaze
#

Have a boss fight against "the gardener" in a hedge maze

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Wait, Kensei where their weapon is just a chainsaw

umbral sluice
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okay Prone is a good addition there

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with the drop prone action ofc

gaunt heron
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me looking at my Gardeners Union faction. Yes Yes this will do nicely

umbral sluice
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also thematicslly sound

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recharge gives it self heat so thats another way around it

muted blaze
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Pommel launches chainsaw

umbral sluice
muted blaze
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At Mach 3/5/7

gaunt heron
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nice fuel rod cannon

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however

muted blaze
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Each Mach increases knockback by 1

umbral sluice
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if it goes high enough it reaches Mach Parry, even

muted blaze
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cuts your bullets in half

umbral sluice
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to show you the power of Flex Tape "Minuano" Kinetic Sabre, I sawed this sitrep in half!

ashen crown
umbral sluice
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that being said, Intangible does stop you from interacting with like anytjing, which can absolutely be a problem if say, your striker gets shadowrealmed or the guy doing the escort gets vanished

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you make a fair point though

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...no way you could flip the effects right??

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that would probably not work

ashen crown
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If you pass the save enemies can hit you even harder. If you fail the save you can’t hit anyone but they can’t hit you either so you get a bit of a breather

muted blaze
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I mean, if you wanna stick around and suffer shred and slowed you can try make the check. If it's safe to dip... You can fail the save

ashen crown
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I can honestly see you removing the save entirely and making it a Drone Barrage situation but that puts it too much in the PCs favor.

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Also, if you keep it as is, it’s like… weirder in a good way

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It leans into Anomaly’s weirdness by making succeeding on the save worse in most contexts

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Even if going intangible is brutal

umbral sluice
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I guess how I'm envisioning it right now is only using it on targets that removing them from the sitrep would outweigh the benefit of getting to chill for a round

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so in a way it is sort of a decision since you can choose to fail

ashen crown
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Yeah voluntary failure of saves is a common houserule anyway

umbral sluice
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oh its not even a houserule, thats just RAW iirc

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you can choose to fail checks or saves any time

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(theres an argument that this is meant to be like, for narrative play, though)

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its in the part of the book that defines checks and saves so shrug

vagrant grotto
#

⁨⁨⁨```
ENTROPIC CORROSION
Trait

Upon hitting with a weapon attack, the Anomaly may force the target to pass an ENGINEERING save or lose 1 ARMOR, with repeated failures causing additional loss of ARMOR. This can cause the target to have negative ARMOR. Therefore, incoming damage increases by the negative ARMOR value instead. The AP tag does not affect targets with negative ARMOR. The target can regain all lost Armor by STABILIZING and choosing to restore HP.

gaunt heron
#

reading this thinking about the wording then watching change in real time is very satisfying

vagrant grotto
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yeah sorry about that, found weird wording to fix/remove/etc, but I think this is good for now

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yes it's on-hit now (scary on Vanilla folks) but it still needs an Eng save and it's 1 point at a time and can be cleared with Stabilize

gaunt heron
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yeah this works. its clear for the lycan and WW cases

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I think I like this more. an incremental problem that punishes you the longer you put off dealing with it is fun

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enemy does have to live long enough though

vagrant grotto
#

⁨```
Awakening
Trait, Full Action, 1/scene
The Anomaly targets a mech in SENSORS. Up to 1 random system without the AI tag installed on the target becomes an NHP system, gaining the AI tag and the ability to cascade. This may exceed the maximum number of AIs that can be installed on the mech, but while the mech exceeds its maximum AIs, it has +1 Difficulty on cascade rolls (to a minimum result of 1). These NHPs may be safely removed during a FULL REPAIR.

minor, dropped to 1 NHP
#

⁨```
NPC TEMPLATES FAQ
ANOMALY

What does the effect of ¡@;!EXTR?UDE KNIFE mean?

It means that there are always more [KNIVES] (to throw).

What does second paragraph of MEMENTO CULPA’s effect mean?

There’s a second paragraph to MEMENTO CULPA’s effect?

dusk zodiac
#

perfect lmao

ashen crown
# vagrant grotto ⁨⁨⁨``` ENTROPIC CORROSION Trait Upon hitting with a weapon attack, the Anomaly ...

IMO, I’d limit it to 1/turn or 1/round so Barragers like Assaults/Sentinels or multi attackers like Breachers/Rainmakers or AoE users like Pyros/Bombards or Limitless users aren’t favored too heavily + don’t force a metric butt ton of saves. That, and it plays nicer with the core NPCs- even if the Kai rebakes are preferred unfortunately one still needs to keep the core NPCs in mind for balancing v_v

vagrant grotto
# ashen crown IMO, I’d limit it to 1/turn or 1/round so Barragers like Assaults/Sentinels or m...

⁨```
At the end of the Anomaly’s turn, it may force all targets it hit with a weapon attack to pass an ENGINEERING save or lose 1 ARMOR, with repeated failures causing additional loss of ARMOR. This can cause the target to have negative ARMOR. Therefore, incoming damage increases by the negative ARMOR value instead. The AP tag does not affect targets with negative ARMOR. The target can regain all lost ARMOR by STABILIZING and choosing to restore HP.

ashen crown
#

That’s not the change I expected but it is the change we needed, love it

vagrant grotto
#

my job here is done

ashen crown
#

Also allows you to do the Ronin “slashes. A pause. The enemy’s armor is suddenly cut into an oragami model of the Empire State Building.”

vagrant grotto
#

added the specification that the "weapon attack" needed to happen on the same turn

ashen crown
#

This is change is great in so many ways- it stops the saves from interrupting the Anomaly’s actions, it stops a character from losing multiple armor in one turn, it maintains the ability to corrode multiple character’s armors in one turn, it bundles up the saves to one full round so everyone rolls at once making things faster, and it stops the Anomaly from benefitting from the armor drop during the turn it drops armor

vagrant grotto
#

Back to the Howler, I'm not sure I'm feeling this Optional anymore:
⁨```
Bloodhunt
System, Recharge 5+, Quick Action
Hostile mechs in SENSORS (ignoring line of sight) under half their maximum HP gain LOCK ON, and they immediately lose INVISIBLE and HIDDEN and cannot regain either status until the end of the Howler’s current turn. The Howler moves up to twice its SPEED towards an affected mech with the lowest HP as directly as possible.

#

Sensors 10, Speed 4

#

I need to brainstorm a few more things for Howler, I think. It's rich in design space/thematics, so I'm cheating myself if I stop at the first 5 features I think of

#

like, a different weapon or tech could be useful

ashen crown
ashen crown
vagrant grotto
#

I'll remember that next time you're in a playtest 😉

ashen crown
#

Yaaay ^v^

vagrant grotto
#

⁨```
Viral Bite
Auxiliary Melee, +1/+2/+3
Threat 1, 2/3/4 Kinetic damage + 1 Heat
On Hit: All characters treat the target as hostile, and the target treats all characters as hostile. This lasts until the target clears all Heat, and can only affect each character 1/scene.

#

this might be clever but I don't think it's "Tanky" enough

ashen crown
#

A weird idea I had that’s probably bad would be a “Danger Zone Optional.” Like a Heat Weapon that gains extra effects while the Howler is in DZ. The problem is it throws in a whole danger zone gimmick with only one optional, which feels like a bad idea

Idk why I mentioned this

ashen crown
#

could be interesting if the on hit effect only worked on DZ characters

vagrant grotto
#

⁨```
Bloodhunt - System, 1 Heat (Self), Protocol
Until the start of the Howler's next turn, it ignores Invisible and Hidden on characters at or under half their maximum HP.

Simple, clean, idk if it needs to be a Protocol though

Point of this is that I removed Reliable from the claws ATM so Invis and Hidden are actually potential issues for hitting targets
ashen crown
#

I like it

vagrant grotto
#

could also expand it to cover DZ if I wanted

ashen crown
#

And if you don’t make it a Protocol then you remove the heat cost so

#

Eh

ashen crown
muted blaze
#

Why is the round count tied to PC count?

vagrant grotto
muted blaze
#

Objectives can be scored 1/round and victory is tied to PC count

vagrant grotto
#

That’s what I tested, and what worked

#

Pc count doesn’t determine round count, round count determines multiplier on pc count

muted blaze
#

Fair... I think I bought it up a while back when it happened but I did a 5 player, 15 points with 4 objectives

vagrant grotto
#

It’s roughly assuming it’ll take 1-2 rounds for each PC to score a point once

vagrant grotto
muted blaze
#

The PCs deemed it was easier to just kill everyone than play the objectives

vagrant grotto
#

How many enemies were on the map

muted blaze
#

1x opfor

vagrant grotto
#

Single budget altogether? Yeah make sense they’d just do that instead

#

How long did it take for them to wipe the map

muted blaze
#

I'll start from the top

vagrant grotto
#

I’ll also say that these sitreps are also up for playtesting, to be clear

#

If something is way off I’ll change it

muted blaze
#

Ofc

vagrant grotto
#

My brain was a little fried going through the numbers (esp Transport) so I may be off in several cases

muted blaze
#

I introduced my players to a seize, there were 4 objectives and all forces were deployed in the map like a regular control. It was 5 PCs with 4 objectives and 15 points. They started trying to get the points but because they could only be scored the PCs were bottlenecked to a max of 4 points per round if they got all 4 points, so on average it was closer to 2 points per round because the enemies would play well and capture their points. They realised it would be easier to out kill the NPCs at some point because it would take 7-8 rounds of contesting points otherwise. I consulted the players due to time and intent and said "yeah 15 sounds like a lot, would it be wise to reduce it to 2× objective count (8)" and they agreed. So I did that and they played the objective and finished the game quicker. This was an actual play campaign so I didn't stick to the rules like I would in a playtest

#

The point is, when I have 3 (or 4) objectives. And 3-5 PCs, the points per round is capped to the number of objectives but player count increasing increases the score limit. It's only bottlenecked by PC count if there's more objectives than players (3 PCs Vs 4 objectives)

vagrant grotto
# muted blaze The point is, when I have 3 (or 4) objectives. And 3-5 PCs, the points per round...

So, yeah I see where you’re coming from.

But also, you mention yourself that there’s a chance of failure for contested points. Which means that additional PC count can help “retry” an objective as well?

For this specific case, it looks like it largely falls under a Long fight:

  • 3x pc count = 15 points
  • 4 scorable objectives
  • therefore minimum 4 rounds to complete

But there was no accompanying 3-4x player count enemies prepared, so killing everything would be definitely quicker

I get where you’re coming from on the bottleneck. In my testing thus far, having 1 fewer objective than the PCs isn’t usually doesn’t throw off the round count, but noted on this. Usually the rounds taken is about 1-2 longer than the minimum, in my experience?

#

This is all noted, regardless

#

I do think you made the correct call on reducing points to win in this situation

#

Partly because there may not have been enough NPCs and partly because long fights are heckin long

#

Because bottlenecking has been limited in effect on scoring objectives in my experience, I opted to scale the sitrep primarily off of player turns available to do stuff (like scoring the objective) and letting the objectives themselves be a GM-defined quantity

#

I’ll say that if there’s like, 1-2 objectives, ditch the 1/round limit on each of them

muted blaze
#

As per the gauntlet sub objective

vagrant grotto
#

Yeah yeah

#

Or double it, I’m not anyone’s dad here

muted blaze
#

I could also see the player count being the cap too if I implemented like 6-8 objectives or something sadistic

vagrant grotto
#

Yeah I’ve done seize with 5 obj vs 4 players

#

That’s Kill the Noise

muted blaze
#

Honestly sounds fun

vagrant grotto
#

Works great tbh

#

NPCs aren’t beholden to sit on every obj

#

More fluid rotations

muted blaze
#

I think another better example is 3-5 players and 3 players. All white room scenario, so grain of salt but I'm doing theoretical maths. Assuming the PCs are Enemies are even and competent. It should be on average scoring 1.5 per turn for either turn.

With 3 players, objective limit is 9. Which takes 3 rounds minimum if the PCs pop off. If the PCs do better than the NPCs on average and get 2 points per round that's 4-5 rounds which is also reasonable. If it's neck and neck it's 6 rounds which sounds good.

Now if the PC count is 5 the the average points per round are still 3 on a perfect, 2 on a good game and 1.5 if neck and neck. But with a point limit of 15 now it becomes 5 rounds in a perfect game, 7-8 on a good game and 10 rounds on a neck and neck game

#

I think

vagrant grotto
#

More chances to succeed

muted blaze
#

True

#

But also enemies can cap them

vagrant grotto
#

Or means of guaranteeing success

muted blaze
#

Idk the maths on the more chances to cap tho...

vagrant grotto
#

That’s on Control specifically at least

muted blaze
#

yes this is control seize I'm talking about

#

Wait I'm silly and should learn how to read

#

Sorry upsidedowncry

vagrant grotto
#

Wait what did you read wrong

#

What was the misunderstanding

muted blaze
#

Control wasn't the default

vagrant grotto
#

Oh yeah no

#

Feedback is still valid for the variant and most all you mentioned before is still valid for regular seize

muted blaze
#

And because I thought control wasn't the default I thought the 1/round limit on the points was also in general not 1/round per team which is how I ran it the prior time

vagrant grotto
#

Oh

muted blaze
#

Which keeps the 3 player count stats similarish... But 5 player should probably be about 3-2 points per round anyway

vagrant grotto
#

Looool yeah no

muted blaze
#

Which does cap at 5 rounds still so is still on the longer side

#

My maths doesn't hold up as well but it's still long just not as extreme as 10 rounds

#

Sorry about that 😭

vagrant grotto
#

All good all good thank you for the feedback

vagrant grotto
#

Just counted up my sitreps + modifications and I’ve got like 18 distinct forms of sitrep out of 5 baseline sitreps

#

The only one I don’t count is “Escort” because it’s basically just “more specific Transport” that I only included for the sake of saying “if you were looking for Escort specifically, here it is”

sullen citrus
vagrant grotto
#

Maybe I’ll figure out some novel modifications to Blitz and Seize that aren’t just “huh could damage thresholds as an alternative scoring action be the key to Demolition not being so damage centric?”

#

Anyway, hope that folks get use out of these sitreps and their variants

ashen crown
#

Now that they're actually written up (and have unique names too) that genuinely goes a long way to making them more appealing to me

vagrant grotto
#

That’s the power of publishing: it feels much more real that way lol

vagrant grotto
#

I’m gonna make a controversial optional rule

Dense
Size 3 mechs take up the same space as Size 2 mechs. They still are treated as Size 3 for other effects.
#

“What about Size 4 mechs” “they get a pass” “videogames”

#

But nah I’d probably clump size 4 down to size 3 instead

ashen crown
#

I can see some people enjoying that rule

vagrant grotto
#

It’s going in the issue tracker to remind me

ashen crown
#

So they basically have the footprint of a size 2 but the elevation + other benefits of a size 3, right?

vagrant grotto
#

Yeah

ashen crown
#

Or are they also 2 spaces tall?

vagrant grotto
#

I might make them 2 spaces tall

vagrant grotto
#

To think about later: Better EDEF on some NPCs to reflect Smart weapon defense

#

I think Prism’s edef is too low, for example

ashen crown
#

Sometimes I wonder if Smart as a tag should even exist in the first place

vagrant grotto
#

I think it’s valid

ashen crown
#

Unrelated, but can’t wait for the release of the Howler, it’s a very fun and cool NPC imo <3

vagrant grotto
#

Soon™

ashen crown
#

Also after thinking about it, Bloodsense working on both 1/2 HP and Danger Zone would be worth any potential tracking complications, half due to fitting the flavor too well and half because Danger Zone users need to be punished harder

vagrant grotto
#

Tag thoughts:

Arcing always has +1 difficulty and always targets Evasion (loses Smart tag if present)

Seeking always targets Edef (gains Smart tag if not already present), supersedes Arcing

#

This is modifying crb. Not my houserules

ashen crown
#

My NucCav player keeps going “oh you’re giving me more heat/I can’t clear heat? Uh? I don’t care?” Too often for my liking, and my players who ride the redline without any Danger Zone related stuff are too ambivalent to stabilizing

umbral sluice
#

give NPCs the Rebake witch thing of being invisible to danger zone

ashen crown
ashen crown
umbral sluice
#

this is true

umbral sluice
#

then i can see using certain weapons to just be a massive pain

ashen crown
#

I should remember that problem NPCs in modules are not employed very often because they’re the CRB problem NPCs and I should add them in as a homebrew rebake change more often

vagrant grotto
placid glacier
muted blaze
muted blaze
#

Hey Valk, I'm here to be a nuisance

#

So I uuuh, found out today... after playing Lancer for so long... Barricade cubes are basically objects with guardian, they don't block LOS and they only provide hard cover... They are just objects

#

This rocked my world... And whilst I was figuring it out I went to

#

Wait I might be dumb

#

Ok I thought I found a Caveat with prisms deployable wall

#

I was wrong

vagrant grotto
muted blaze
#

Wait no I'm getting so caught up in rules... IDK what does and doesn't block LOS

vagrant grotto
#

It’s a size 2 cube it certainly blocks line of sight

#

It’s an object of that size and it’s substantial enough to grant hard cover

muted blaze
#

I hate this game

vagrant grotto
#

As opposed to a size 2 soft cover field

muted blaze
#

It never declares what blocks line of sight

vagrant grotto
#

Like you could say it’s missing the words for “blocks line of sight” but like cmon

muted blaze
vagrant grotto
#

Do you really need the book to tell you a fuckin huge ass cube that can be used for hard cover can’t be used to block line of sight

muted blaze
#

Yes. Because I'm trying to find out what the fuck an "object" is

#

I think I'm just dumb and reading into this too much

umbral sluice
vagrant grotto
#

You are absolutely reading into this too much

#

Usually it’ll say if something “doesn’t block line of sight” as an exception

#

See FIREBREAK shield

muted blaze
#

This isn't PPG talk... I brought it up because I wanted to mention prism's wall but then that sent me down another tangent

#

I was confused about the Prisms thing because it just says "it deploys a line" but that matches other wording of other deployables as it has the deployable tag and deployables ARE objects

vagrant grotto
muted blaze
#

I have been

vagrant grotto
#

If it’s not possible to trace a line to some part of a target – perhaps because it’s completely blocked by cover or terrain – then they can’t be attacked.
Emphasis mine

muted blaze
#

Guardian

vagrant grotto
#

That’s worded differently

#

Adjacent allies get hard cover

#

guardian itself isn’t hard cover

umbral sluice
#

I think Guardian works differently since it's a Mech and those by default dont block los??

vagrant grotto
#

And also that

muted blaze
#

I admit I have just had a midlife crisis for no reason because I was confused and thought the barricades cube wording felt similar to guarian

#

So yes I'm reverted to before but now hate Lancer's wordingg ever so more than before

vagrant grotto
#

Pathfinder 2e definitely does this better

muted blaze
# umbral sluice I think Guardian works differently since it's a Mech and those by default dont b...

The wording for LOS is "Characters can only attack or take action against targets that they can see, at least partially. If it’s not possible to trace a line to some part of a target – perhaps because it’s completely blocked by cover or terrain – then they can’t be attacked."

It doesn't state what blocks out... Never mentions characters can't block LOS... If this was a 3D game with 3D miniatures and 3D terrain it would imply that could easily mean that characters CAN block LOS

#

I think!??!?!

umbral sluice
#

damn,

#

this hurts to think about!!!

vagrant grotto
#

Take this over to #rules-questions , great clown pagliacci is in town

muted blaze
vagrant grotto
#

Hope this helps

#

But also, videogames the FAQ strikes again videogames

#

In any case: The object that says it’s hard cover will also block line of sight if you’re shorter than it, by merit of being called “hard cover” (thank fuck)

#

So Prism wall is a LOS blocker

#

And Seeking needs to respect it 😤

harsh widget
#

Sometimes I get the feeling Tom and Miguel intended a lot of lancer to be very laissez-faire and up the the GMs to decide the nitty gritty stuff. I really appreciate the extra clarity of PPG

vagrant grotto
#

Yeah no that wouldn’t surprise me; it seems to me like Tom’s gotten frustrated with how folks came to him instead of just making a ruling at times

And like, the book calls for GM adjudication in the face of uncertainty at least once

#

“Action Resolution”, p. 68

ashen crown
#

I got more fan Prototype Optionals:

Magma Armor
System, Shield
The Prototype has resistance to Burn. Additionally, at the end of the Prototypes turn, the Prototype clears all Burn and causes all characters within Burst 1 to take Burn equal to the Burn cleared.

Blast Shields
System, Reaction, Shield
The Prototype has Resistance to Explosive Damage. Additionally, as a reaction to taking damage the Prototype does not resist, the Prototype may deal 4/6/8 AP Explosive Damage to all characters of its choice within range 3. This Shreds the Prototype until the start of its next turn. The Prototype may not take this reaction if it is already Shredded.

Ferrostasis Armor
System, Protocol, Shield
Until the start of the Prototype’s next turn, the Prototype is Immobilized, gains resistance to Kinetic Damage, and gains 1 Stasis Die. During this time, whenever the Prototype takes damage, it gains another Stasis Die, up to a maximum of 4. At the start of the Prototype’s next turn, all characters within burst 2 of the Prototype must make an Agility save or take a number of d6’s of Kinetic Damage equal to the number of Stasis Dice and be Shredded until the start of their next turn. On a successful save, they take half damage and are not Shredded.

Coffin Reactor
System
The Prototype has resistance to Heat from Hostile Characters, but takes 1 Heat at the start of each of its turns. Additionally, whenever the Prototype would clear Heat, it clears half the amount.

vagrant grotto
#

Hm, funky stuff

ashen crown
#

Blast Shields is just my best attempt at what Sundowner has

#

Lightning Rod really inspired me :3

#

Plus I like damage type specific interactions but energy seems to hog most of them on the NPC side

vagrant grotto
#

Valid indeed

#

That said, I do think Energy should be punished at times (looks pointedly at the Nuclear Cavaliers)

ashen crown
#

Ofc- that’s why (almost) all of these come with downsides + friendly fire potential

#

It’s a lot easier to treat energy as an Opt In/Out thing than any of the other damage types

muted blaze
ashen crown
#

Isn’t that just worst Deathcounter?

vagrant grotto
#

It’s more specific Deathcounter

muted blaze
#

Yes and no:

  • Immune
  • Only energy damage
vagrant grotto
#

Also immunity better

#

Sidesteps paracausal

muted blaze
#

Could be reduced to 0 and should probs be disabled on shred

ashen crown
muted blaze
#

Death counter has more counters than outright immunity

#

A ram turns off deathcounter

#

Deathcounter is damage from the first attack is reduced. Even if no damage is dealt

vagrant grotto
#

Deathcounter is so funky

vagrant grotto
muted blaze
#

Yeah I realised when it triggered something from my last playtest

vagrant grotto
#

“What do you mean????”

muted blaze
#

:>

dapper goblet
#

Huh. How does fabim interact with rams/Grapples?

umbral sluice
#

including rams crylaughing

umbral sluice
vagrant grotto
#

That feel when adding the word “weapon” once could do so much work

umbral sluice
#

I know that sounds horrific and that's because it is

ashen crown
#

Tbh I think Deathcounter being dissipated by any attack is on purpose

#

It gives a good counter to it

vagrant grotto
#

It’s fair yeah

muted blaze
#

Death

vagrant grotto
#

Part of me feels DC should just be immunity to the attack and its effects

#

But

#

That’s me

umbral sluice
#

Deathcounter being broken by a Ram is likely intentional imo

#

now FABI being eaten by it feels wrong

dapper goblet
#

Yeah im red penciling fabim

muted blaze
#

Fabi improvised attack

#

The field approved brass ignorant steel chair

dapper goblet
#

Feels incorrect and while the system doesnt need a buff at all, im not going to tell my blackbeard they never get to use fabim.

umbral sluice
#

for lack of better words, it feels like a bug while Deathcounter being broken by rams feels like a feature

muted blaze
#

Wait, fabim only fades on hit, but it keeps paracausal on reliable

umbral sluice
#

"haha you grappled so your FABI is consumed" jsut feels bad?

muted blaze
#

Just miss with reliable fabim weapons for paracausal reliable wtf

umbral sluice
#

this does work yeah

#

paracausal dd288 reliable 8

vagrant grotto
#

Yeah no Maria takes FABIM to task

umbral sluice
#

could you enlighten those of us who arent aware

vagrant grotto
#

Cuts that shit out

#

Hang on

umbral sluice
#

oh it ends on attack vs on hit

#

very good

ashen crown
#

Also also, FABI knocks you away and knocks the target prone so like… functionally you get a free ram from it anyway so why ram first?

umbral sluice
#

i'd assume accuracy

dapper goblet
#

Less ram more grapple tbh

steel apex
#

deathcounter being so counterable is 100% by design

#

it's unfortunate that a lot of GMs misinterpret how it works and then double down on that when it's pointed out

vagrant grotto
#

Yeah, I’m walking back my kneejerk

steel apex
#

I have seen a lot of "yeah our GM makes it only proc on the first attack that deals damage" which DRASTICALLY increases its frustration value

#

the "not showing that Deathcounter is there" thing isn't something I can really fault GMs for given nothing really says you should do so, but that one ability really does seem to be subject to Natural 1's Must Be Critical Failures On Skill Checks syndrome

tame wharf
#

My GM wanted to let you know Valk: The Kensei is wonderfully built and she really likes it

vagrant grotto
tame wharf
#

Shes been running PPG foes against us decently consistently in her campaign

magic rover
vagrant grotto
#

I will say that I basically made “Immunity to first hostile action” on Ghost’s base kit and it seems to work fine

magic rover
#

I am because one of my players has been putting a paracausal siege cannon to rather annoyingly good effect and any way to just say 'no' would be incredible

vagrant grotto
#

Your call then

#

Give them HyperDeath Counter if you want

#

I’m just one guy hacking a system into a pleasing shape, nothing stopping you from doing the same, besides maybe sportsmanship depending on context

magic rover
#

all g, it's fun to see all the third party stuff flying around

muted blaze
vagrant grotto
#

The one thing Paracausal cannot stop is Overshield

muted blaze
#

Gee, if only there was an NPC that could help with that

#

5 NPCs that interact with overshield you say!

#

Is Mach parry inspired by the shield block reaction from PF2e?

vagrant grotto
vagrant grotto
#

I just wanted Mach Parry to be different enough from Ronin rebound

vagrant grotto
#

Just generally concerned about refreshing OS every turn like some Regenerator thing

muted blaze
#

To me from vibes alone. Os is risky on NPCs that aren't balanced around having OS in their kit. If the kit is oriented around then having OS and balanced around it it's... Fine

vagrant grotto
#

I just remember how I kept driving Capacitor’s and Zealot’s OS down and down lol

ashen crown
#

In First Party Only I think the only way for an NPC to reliably access Overshield is a Priest with Empowered Shield, and its Shield is a Recharge ability

#

Oh wait Leech

vagrant grotto
#

Yeah

#

Basically those two yeah and they’re both selfless

#

Well, “selfless”

ashen crown
#

Well no they both can give Overshield to the,self, but Leech needs to be grappled + take 2 heat to do it regardless

vagrant grotto
#

Built for use on other targets not just themselves

#

As opposed to Mach Parry or Feral Howl

ashen crown
#

Typically the overshield granting comes at a cost too

#

Priest with Recharge, Leech with Heat

#

Definitely still possible to balance tho, but if it’s going to be “free” it’s tricky to balance and typically needs to stick to low values

#

Vulture and Occultist for example are fine because they have to do quite a bit to get + give their overshield. Zealot, Capacitor, and perhaps Howler? Maybe not so much- it seems the balance should be like how the Kensei’s Mach Parry is effectively just temporary armor more than anything

#

… as a guess I mean

vagrant grotto
#

Anyway I need to take another look at howler optionals

#

And if there’s something more interesting I can do with Lunge

ashen crown
#

It also just occurred to me that in 1st party only only one NPC has a base kit way to provide overshield, and yet the Support has 1-2 ways to just restore HP which is arguably worse when it comes to balancing lmao

vagrant grotto
#

• Viral Bite - Auxiliary Melee, Danger Zone, +1/+2/+3, Threat 1, 2/3/4 Kinetic damage + 1 Heat
○ On Hit: All characters treat the target as hostile, and the target treats all characters as hostile. This lasts until the target causes the Howler to lose any HP (not including Overshield).
• Bloodhunt - System, 1 Heat (Self), Protocol
○ Until the start of the Howler's next turn, it ignores Invisible and Hidden on characters in the Danger Zone or at or under half their maximum HP.
• Grounded Prey - Trait
○ Standing up within Threat of the Howler’s weapons triggers its Overwatch.

image0.jpg
#

Current state of optional ideas

#

I think I’m gonna use Viral Bite instead of Ravage

#

Protocol Bloodhunt feels better than trait bloodhunt

#

No escape feels good, and I think Lunar Splendor also feels appropriate

#

Grounded Prey has potential but I think it over encourages Howler to force Ram into its action rotation

#

Like yeah buddies can help, but also

#

Though tbf like, I could add Prone on Rabid Lunge

#

If I wanted it to be Assassin Leap instead of Berserker Avalanche Charge lol

#

I don’t know, right now Longclaw and Grounded Prey feel weakest

#

I’m liking the potential of Viral Bite and anti-invis Bloodhunt

#

I kinda sorta wanted an “Infinite Duress mauling jump” effect but that may be something that gets relegated to veteran/ultra (though I’m pretty satisfied with my current plans there)

#

In any case the optionals are feeling a lot more Tank oriented now

#

I may shift attention to Boombox/Drummer soon

ashen crown
ashen crown
ashen crown
ashen crown
vagrant grotto
vagrant grotto
vagrant grotto
vagrant grotto
ashen crown
vagrant grotto
#

I’m dead on ideas for it though sooooooooo

#

Gotta brainstorm

#

It’ll likely have Lucio, Sona vibes

#

And maybe this guy

ashen crown
#

You got any role preferences? I assume Support is a given but I’m curious if a secondary role is in mind

#

I do wonder what your approach is gonna be because Zealot already fills out the Aura Support role quite handily

vagrant grotto
#

Step To Me - Quick Tech
• The Drumbeat and all allies in Range 2 move up to 1 space in the same direction, ignoring engagement and reactions.

Waveform Nexus - Main Nexus, Smart, +1/+2/+3, Burst 2, 3/4/5 Explosive Damage
• This weapon ignores allies.
• On Hit: The target gains Lock On.

Soundboard
System, Quick Action
The Drummer starts playing music in a Burst 2 area until the start of its next turn. Upon activating this system, the Drummer chooses one of the following effects:
• Uptempo: Allied characters that start their turn in the area may Boost once as a free action on that turn.
• Lofi: Hostile characters that start their turn in the area or enter it for the first time in a round must make a Systems save or become Slowed.

Optionals

Boombox
System, Deployable, Limited 1, Quick Action

Deploy a boombox to a space in Sensors. While it’s there, force saves vs prone

Just Dance
System, Recharge 4+, Quick Tech, +1/+2/+3
Make a tech attack against a character in Sensors. On a hit, they are knocked Prone and become Impaired until the end of their next turn.

vagrant grotto
muted blaze
#

Oops misclicked enter

vagrant grotto
#

Subscribe too

opaque crescent
#

Don't forget to comment and hit the bell

ashen crown
#

I like it

opaque crescent
ashen crown
#

Personally, I like the vibe of Step to Me a lot more than Soundboard - Uptempo. Zealot and other NPCs occupy the niche of “big movements to allies” pretty handily, so one that focuses more on en-masse micro movements sounds more fun to me.

#

Just my initial thoughts however who knows

umbral sluice
ashen crown
#

I also like Boombox more as an NPC name than Drumbeat personally

vagrant grotto
#

Welcome to the Jam
System, Recharge 5+, Quick Tech
The Drummer creates an area of deafening noise in a Burst 2 area until the start of its next turn. Hostile characters are Jammed while within the area.

vagrant grotto
umbral sluice
#

(i love this)

ashen crown
vagrant grotto
#

Thinking of pulling the Prone and Jam effects into soundboard instead of lofi and uptempo

#

And then boombox becomes a deployable that also echos Soundboard

ashen crown
#

More fun deployables please

#

Welcome Back Jamming Pylon

ashen crown
vagrant grotto
# 
Jukebox Hero
Heavy Melee, Loading, +1/+2/+3
[Cone 7][4/6/8 Explosive damage]
This weapon does not attack allied characters. Instead, it clears Jammed and Impaired from them.

On Hit: The Target is Shredded until the end of their next turn.
#

Hoping someone catches the pun

ashen crown
#

I was hesitant about Cone 7 until I noticed the Loading, so it should be fine

vagrant grotto
#

But the pun, you got the pun right

muted blaze
#

Haha

dapper goblet
#

Jammed. Shredded. V funny

muted blaze
#

Shredded

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awwwwwwwwwwwww

#

Oops

ashen crown
vagrant grotto
#

Anyway, proud of that one

#

I admit I’ve been avoiding giving this NPC Knockback

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Mostly because Anchor and Torrent already do that

#

But also I’m reminded of a physics simulation I did freshman year of college

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Something like “can you fire an object with a sound wave”

#

And the answer was “yes if your speaker is fucking huge, but at that point you might as well just use the speaker’s physical oscillation as a catapult”

#

Like as if it were a spring or something

ashen crown
#

I feel like that’s more of a reason to not give it Knockback

vagrant grotto
#

In order to be propelled by a sound wave you’d have to “ride” the high pressure wave and not let it pass you, otherwise it’ll counteract the “push” with a “pull”

#

Yeah exactly

#

I mean, thematics aside

#

This isn’t exactly hard scifi over here

#

But yes

ashen crown
#

Even if a lot of sound based stuff in media tends to involve Knockback, going counter to that trope is in and of itself interesting

vagrant grotto
#

Except for the part where folks ask “it’s sound based, where’s the knockback???” lol

#

Anyway

#

The brainstorm continues

ashen crown
#

Well so long as you save a message link to this conversation you can just send this to them and move on

#

I feel like in terms of inspirations Rhythm Games like Unbeatable, Hi-Fi Rush, or Crypt of the Necrodancer could be useful

vagrant grotto
#

If only I played literally any of those

#

I played like 2 hours of Necrodancer lol

dapper goblet
#

If theres not a defensive system called Sound Barrier im rioting

vagrant grotto
#

I’m out of my element

vagrant grotto
dapper goblet
#

Im not correct about much but sometimes...

vagrant grotto
#

Gonna also give it an Explosive Resist/immunity trait called “Under Pressure”

#

Maybe

ashen crown
#

And it’d fit super well

vagrant grotto
#

Read that as “please do not” instead of “please do” lol

#

It’ll happen

ashen crown
#

I shoulda included a comma

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IMO- Explosive acts as a sort of “Artillery Defense” since most explosive weapons are range 10+, which for a support/control NPC that likes getting up close and personal that is useful

#

Most AoEs are also Explosive I suppose

vagrant grotto
#

Soundproof - Trait
The Drummer and all allies within Burst 2 have Resistance to Explosive damage.

ashen crown
#

Curious

muted blaze
#

Barbarossa stocks in shambles

ashen crown
#

Explosive is also the most niche damage type imo, which is a different thing entirely but feels noteworthy

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Yeah explosive has about 17 weapons to its name- which is significantly less than Kinetic or Energy

#

Separate weird thing- only 3 Grenade systems in Lancer deal explosive damage

#

Out of 11

vagrant grotto
#

Funky lol

#

Not all nades deal damage tbf

dapper goblet
#

And then you have clamp bombs which are NOT GRENADES?!

vagrant grotto
#

But yeah that’s a weird tag omission

#

Esp on Iskander

#

Yeah yeah Iskander is the Mine Lad but also

#

90% of mines are also nades

ashen crown
#

But yeah, after a quick skim, the general niche of explosive is either “big damage possibly from a long range and with AOE” (Howitzer, Hurricane, Siege Cannon, Pinaka), or Chip Damage (Vijaya Rockets, Sharanga Missiles, Concussion Missiles, Stub Cannon, Bolt Thrower’s d6 of explosive), Sometimes they do both (Missile Rack, Demo 3, Siege Spec 3), and Knockback is often involved

vagrant grotto
#

It’s like how Raleigh is secretly the Reliable mech

dapper goblet
#

Im trying to rework my iskander alt so ive been looking at the license recently and its just... weird. Its a weird grab bag

ashen crown
#

All of this makes sense for the Boombox to want to resist

vagrant grotto
vagrant grotto
ashen crown
#

I forgot what the name was tbh

#

Drummer is the name my b

vagrant grotto
#

It was that or Drummer at the moment and I’m not married to either

dapper goblet
vagrant grotto
#

Tbf in many cases I think the community did

muted blaze
#

Honestly wouldn't hate it if that was the case

ashen crown
#

In terms of name, Drummer feels less sci fi and more specific than Boombox. The NPCs vibe feels not just concussive but also tech interference, and Boombox fits the techier vibe better in my opinion

vagrant grotto
#

Yeah no Boombox is stealing my heart tbf

#

But what do I call the deployable now???? 😩

#

Rhetorical, don’t answer

ashen crown
#

DAC Relay

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Oops

vagrant grotto
#

Subwoofer, got it

#

We’re back in it

ashen crown
#

Oh that’s good

#

Gives the Boombox a Tempest Charged Blade, call that Electroswing

vagrant grotto
#

Debating shoehorning the name “Planet of the Bass” into one of the optional/vet/ultra features

ashen crown
#

Home Bass as a trait name

vagrant grotto
#

Booooo

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lol

ashen crown
#

If you’re making an NPC like this, the question isn’t “should I make on the nose music references?” It’s “how many can I get away with?”

#

I believe in your ability to make literally every one of these trait names a reference to something

vagrant grotto
# 
Sound Barrier
Trait
Allies that start their turn in the area of Soundboard or enter it for the first time in a round gain Overshield 3/5/7.
#

Phoned it in a little bit, hm

#

Needs a limit

ashen crown
#

I feel like you could make it a deployable wall or something without making it too similar to the Aegis

#

if you wanted it to be that

vagrant grotto
#

Yeah thinking too Lucio

muted blaze
#

What size is this NPC and can it wall run?>

vagrant grotto
ashen crown
#

If you wanted to limit it you could restrict it to just starting turn, entering the area doesn’t trigger it

vagrant grotto
ashen crown
#

Maybe throw in Jam clearing perhaps

vagrant grotto
#

Aight lemme cook

ashen crown
#

Fair fair

vagrant grotto
# 
Sound Barrier
Trait
Soundboard’s area becomes an area of soft cover. When an ally starts their turn in the area of Soundboard or enters it for the first time in a round, they gain Overshield 3/5/7 and the Boombox gains 1 Heat.

Iterating

#

Also subwoofer may be the Veteran ability

muted blaze
#

What's the HC?

vagrant grotto
#

8 probably

ashen crown
#

Weird idea for Boombox homebrew (I am by no means saying this should be written up it’s way too specific), but a fun Commander Interaction where Commanders can draw LoS + adjacency from a Subwoofer or Boombox for Commander abilities. Because… sound

#

ooh wait Boomboxes would be right at home with Impact Dynamics

muted blaze
#

It sounds very easy to trigger mass overshield application compared to other of your supports overshield application

vagrant grotto
#

I’m also thinking of adding 2 heat self to soundboard… unsure actually about that

#

It should probably inflict 1 heat to itself every time it forces a save instead

muted blaze
#

Examples:

  • Capacitor: Line 15 (AOE but more limiting) requires a skirmish to grant 2/3/4
  • Occultist: ORDNANCE QA with an adjacent drone to ggive 3/5/7 to an adjacent character, drones cost 2 heat to deploy
  • Vulture: 2 Heat QA, requires a wreck, or system, grants 3/5/7 OS to a character in rangge 3 and a condition clear
  • Rebake priest: QA, single target 5/6/7 (Holy moly) and resistance, recharge 5+ single target
  • Sound barrier: Passive, 1 heat to a burst 2 on a size 2 for 3/5/7 OS

This is telling me 2 things, the ease of use for sound barrier seems like incredible results for a passive aura at the cost of 1 heat. And the Vulture and Occultist could probably have a minor OS boost due to the cost compared to the priest

#

2nd point I didn't even realise huh...

#

Uncertain about that point, recharge 5+ is played around "just get lucky lol" whereas occultist and vulture can be spammed at a cost, alas I was just pointing out sound barrier looks quite potent

ashen crown
#

Occultist I disagree with since it can hit multiple characters at once, but Vulture I agree with

muted blaze
#

Yep you're right

vagrant grotto
#

Vulture also unconditionally clears a condition

muted blaze
#

Tru

ashen crown
#

Priest shield also gives resistance to the next attack

muted blaze
#

Probs fine as is then

ashen crown
#

So it’s not like it lacks a follow up affect in addition to the overshield

muted blaze
#

It just exemplifies the strength of the OS

ashen crown
#

The difference between the Priest and the PPG cast is that the Priest can’t spam without luck.

vagrant grotto
#

Yeah Priest has recharge 5+ at least on that

ashen crown
#

But if we compare to Leech’s Purge, which can do what Vulture does (unconditional condition clear + overshield at the cost of 2 heat, which means it can be spammed for a price just like the Vulture), it has the same overshield numbers as the Priest

vagrant grotto
#

3 Overshield nullifies the better part of a single Main attack

ashen crown
#

So I think Vulture could comparatively get an Overshield buff

#

It’s a small numbers thing and involves direct comparison to an existing first party NPC so maybe that’s why it’s gone under the radar, idk

vagrant grotto
#

Most of the time folks have claimed that it makes way too much good use of its Armor when it shields itself

ashen crown
#

Hm

#

Should the Vulture be able to Overshield itself then?

vagrant grotto
#

Yes

ashen crown
#

Fair enough

vagrant grotto
#

I’m not carving out an exception

#

The thing was meant to repair its own shit

#

I’m fine with it being a weaker effect because it gets 3 other effects to make up for it

ashen crown
#

The Vulture having lower OS numbers due to being bulkier seems like a valid reason for its overshield dispensing to be lower than its competition.

vagrant grotto
#

vulture has a golf caddy full of valuable options that nobody else offers

ashen crown
#

Also fair- it sacrifices quality for quantity

vagrant grotto
#

This is like Magic the Gathering here

#

Where you get Charms that have 3 options but they’re low efficiency for the cost

#

Unless it’s Boros Charm for whatever reason, I guess lol

ashen crown
#

Funny idea- Vulture tags along an Eye of Midnighted Sentinel, and wrecks it when there’s just not a lot of Overwatch targets to clear the slow immediately

vagrant grotto
#

Sounds good yeah

vagrant grotto
#

I’m likely gonna bump the numbers on Howler’s OS since last I shared

#

@dapper goblet I also might bump Kensei parry back up to 5/7/9 Overshield, I know you mentioned that at one point

If you test Kensei with those numbers before I make the bump, lemme know how it plays please!

dapper goblet
#

I can work a kensei in probably... a week or two from now?

#

Will report.

vagrant grotto
#

I’m obviously gonna have a few more balance cycles as I add yet another 2 NPCs to the roster lol, so there will be time

vagrant grotto
# 
Reverb Feedback
Trait
Allied characters in Soundboard’s area gain the following benefits when the Boombox activates it:
    • Rumble: Clear Immobilized and Slowed, and stand up from Prone.
    • Welcome to the Jam: End one ongoing effect upon them caused by a tech action.
vagrant grotto
#

Next two features are gonna be Spotlight (blast in sensors: applies lock on and clears invis + hidden on failed save) and Featured Artist (Ultra) (upgrade similar to Occultist’s Greater Good (Ultra))

#

Here’s what I really wanna know: How many folks actually read my NPC lore blurbs?

If you do, have any feedback?

ashen crown
#

I think the Kensei could be cornier

#

Plus most lore blurbs tend to not mention things even synonymous to trait names

vagrant grotto
#

Tbf many crb NPCs lack such references too

ashen crown
#

That's... my point

vagrant grotto
#

Oh

ashen crown
#

The Kensei description does and that feels weird for some reason

#

I have no idea why it just does

vagrant grotto
#

I thought you were asking for that lol

ashen crown
#

No the exact opposite

vagrant grotto
#

“More trait references in the lore please” “got it boss”

#

Oh

ashen crown
#

Okay I should say it cleanly: Little to no explicit trait references in the lore please

#

The tactical descriptions + trait names cover that well enough imo

vagrant grotto
#

I mean for Kensei I say it’s a mag-accel saber because some folks might not know what a mass driver is

ashen crown
#

Fair enough

#

I still stand by the fact that the Kensei lore blurb could be cheesier even if you kept that element in

umbral sluice
#

...wait a mass driver is a real thing?

vagrant grotto
#

Noted regardless though

#

Yes

ashen crown
#

But that's how Railguns are made so

vagrant grotto
#

Railguns, coil guns, etc

umbral sluice
#

ohhhh

#

so it doesnt exist yet but it's a theoretical thing

vagrant grotto
#

Well…

ashen crown
#

I'm pretty sure people have made real mass drivers before

vagrant grotto
#

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_driver

Mass driver

A mass driver or electromagnetic catapult is a proposed method of non-rocket spacelaunch which would use a linear motor to accelerate and catapult payloads up to high speeds. Existing and proposed mass drivers use coils of wire energized by electricity to make electromagnets, though a rotary mass driver has also been proposed. Sequential firing ...

ashen crown
#

Technically that's just what a bullet train is

vagrant grotto
#

Meaningfully weaponized: no

#

Experimentally tested: yes

ashen crown
#

I do think the Lore blurbs connect to the wider Lancer lore in fun ways though

#

It does feel like there's a gap where- to put it bluntly- you shout out OCs of yours/others in a rare few of the Lore Blurbs, but those were there in the CRB because of Kickstarter Goals anyway so there's no practical reason for you specifically to actually do that

vagrant grotto
#

Yeah I didn’t want to invent proper nouns wholesale

#

Usually I try to ref existing lore entities, but yeah

ashen crown
#

Makes perfect sense

vagrant grotto
#

I was thinking of referencing the planet from my module Kill the Noise for the Boombox though

ashen crown
#

Be self indulgent and do it my guy

vagrant grotto
#

Have no fear, it will be done lol

#

What is this project if not an experiment in self-indulgence lol

ashen crown
#

I also think the Knight lore blurb is too close to its Tactical description, so it feels a tad redundant

#

Makes it sound more like a glory hog than something "chivalrous" so to speak

#

The second and third sentence could outright be part of the tactics to be specific

#

In a contrast, the tactics stating that "the Knight challenges an opponent to a Compelled Duel" in the tactics segment feels less like a tactical highlight/suggestion and more just a statement of what Compelled Duel is

#

I think you could rephrase that sentence to slip in what a good target to engage in a duel would look like- perhaps even outright moving the "high value targets" part of the flavor text to the tactics

vagrant grotto
#

Yeah it blurs together sometimes

#

Noted noted

ashen crown
#

Speaking of which, I think you could axe the last sentence of the Mesmerist flavor text since the same thing is stated verbatim in the Tactics, and it's stated better there. If you wanted to keep the line count the same I think it'd be a great place to drop either a Proper Noun or a weird sci-fi-horror note

#

I really like the Napalm Flavor text. It has a strong opening statement about it's past, dedicates one sentence to evoking the tactical flavor of the Napalm, and then ends with an interesting lore connection about the Napalm in the near future

#

I like the Occultist flavor text, but I think the last sentence could be rephrased to have a bit more personality to it. Like "Most squadmates tend to have complaints about their mechs being a part of their flock however," as an example of what I mean by "more personality"

vagrant grotto
#

Emphasize the human aspect, as it were

ashen crown
#

I think the biggest change I can recommend for the Torrent Flavor text is adding another word to describe which Union agents have identified the Torrent Pattern Group (USB, UIB, Economic Bureau, etc). Gives a little extra context as to the environment it was initially discovered in

#

I like the Vulture's flavor text, particularly the first sentence and the scrappy pseudonyms its equipment is given

#

And Zealot I also have no notes on in terms of flavor text

vagrant grotto
#

Oh lol the “autonomous” manipulators is a bit of a holdover from when Magpie was a protocol lol

ashen crown
#

I forgot the Zealot had 12/15/18 HP jeez

vagrant grotto
#

Yeah it’s frail

ashen crown
#

No I meant that as forgetting it was that tanky

#

12/15/18 is not frail when most small NPC classes start at 8 HP

vagrant grotto
#

12 hp is like, the low end for a front liner tbf

#

Or front-to-mid liner

ashen crown
#

Technically Hornet is a frontliner

vagrant grotto
#

Hornet has a billion evasion

umbral sluice
#

Evasions Georg is an outlier adn should not be counted

vagrant grotto
#

And “you miss” effects

ashen crown
ashen crown
vagrant grotto
#

Yeah, its current stats reflect what it needs to survive when it can’t meaningfully take cover (as a size ½ in a world full of size 1 cover) without blocking off its aura against its friends’ targets

#

Anyway

muted blaze
#

My hornet experience is wild. My hornets are frequently eviscerated lmao

vagrant grotto
#

Lore!

vagrant grotto
#

Dodge tanking is infamously tricky in this game

muted blaze
#

You can dodge many shots, but they need to only get lucky once

umbral sluice
#

yeah that's my hornet experience too

#

players tend to get one lucky shot and its over

dapper goblet
#

Irish flag reacting that is VERY funny

gaunt heron
#

Based

vagrant grotto
#

Starting to fiddle with a new layout

image.png
#

the veteran/ultra features are getting crowded in the back now that I'm introducing 4 new features lol

#

problem is, now I have a huge amount of page space lol

ashen crown
#

Well for one you can maybe let optionals spill over the first page.

vagrant grotto
#

Absolutely not

ashen crown
#

You could also go the way of Kai and include more detailed designer notes

#

Oh wait you have that

vagrant grotto
#

and I might but I'm thinking right now that I'll get more into "how to use this NPC in encounter building"

ashen crown
#

You could move tactics from the first page to the second so you can get into the weeds of the tactics

#

And give you more space on the first page should you need it

vagrant grotto
#

I'll be honest that I'm not really interested in writing out detailed design notes, tbh. I don't have any justifications to change things like Kai does, if that makes sense

#

I'd rather give context through opfor pairings

ashen crown
#

Fair enough

#

Aegis + Anchor + Boombox, aka “I love burst areas!!!”

vagrant grotto
#

but yeah, huge design goal/restriction that I refuse to abandon is "everything about the normal NPC must fit on the first page"

I can move to spreads, sure, and there can be value in letting the pages breathe with some whitespace, but that restriction is the strongest control I have against making shit too complicated

#

If I cannot fit everyting on one page, I have too much material

ashen crown
#

Oh I never considered that second bit, clever!

vagrant grotto
#

I've already "cheated" a bit with some smaller gaps between features here and there (mostly because I refused to edit down some lines just because the footer flipped orientations) but I will only tolerate that from myself so much

ashen crown
#

I’m not even suggesting anything it’s just that the mention of NPC pairings has got me brainstorming more it’s a fun activity

minor crest
ashen crown
#

Avenger-Anchor maybe

vagrant grotto
minor crest
#

Open source art, not commissioned art haha

ashen crown
#

You’ve made at least $2 from this project you can commission something (joke)

#

Hm. I wonder if Bombard-Napalm would be too mean

vagrant grotto
#

I could potentially itchfund some art but also, that's like, 15 pieces of art for something that has been PWYW for so long

ashen crown
#

Ooh Zealot-Prism for Remote Zeal Benefits

vagrant grotto
#

like yeah I think I plan to slap a price tag on this thing in the undefined but near-ish future, but like, art would be gilding the lily at that point

ashen crown
#

Bastion-Vulture because Bastion has a couple ablatives to let the Vulture eat

minor crest
ashen crown
#

Mesmerist-Knight to make one guy have a really bad day

Sniper-Knight for the same thing

Kensei-Seeder to take an area and then lock it down

Ghost-Barricade to let allies pass through the obstructions the Barricade makes

Ghost-Archer to make grapples less debilitating by making them easy to escape

Ghost-Scourer to make overheating less of a risk due to being Bolstered

Torrent-Barricade to make blocks then knock folks into them

Sentinel-Zealot to really seize control of a zone

vagrant grotto
ashen crown
vagrant grotto
#

thanks, it'll help me fill up these pages

ashen crown
#

Also they’re very basic ideas

vagrant grotto
#

yeah, exactly, but I wanted to check regardless

ashen crown
#

Torrent-Mirage- for when you want no one and no thing to stay still for even a second

muted blaze
vagrant grotto
#

I'd rather present something gameable like a faction that features the NPC

muted blaze
#

Valid

vagrant grotto
#

like one of the irritating parts of writing Mechanized Chassis: Advanced Paradigms was every little lore bit for each NPC build. It all blurred together as I worked through all 60

#

alright if I do the spreads the project balloons to 54 pages

ashen crown
#

I mean you do have 15 NPCs (if we include Howler and Boombox)

#

That’s a lot of NPCs

muted blaze
#

Increase the font size crylaughing

vagrant grotto
#

absolutely not lol

#

nothing will fucking fit then lol

ashen crown
#

You’d be turning 3 pages into 15, but that’s not including the pages you would’ve had to add in order to fill out the NPC pairings

#

You’ll probably just have white space on the second pages but that’s probably fine

vagrant grotto
#

example

ashen crown
#

Oh I adore Advanced Variants as a concept

vagrant grotto
#

pulling out the "Advanced Paradigms" I did for the CRB NPCs

ashen crown
#

Suggested usage is also handy and notably distinct from tactics too

#

Do you think you’ll include map design considerations with some of the Suggested Usage Blurbs?

vagrant grotto
#

probably not

#

I mean, I mention Chokepoints

ashen crown
#

I was imagining stuff like “struggles around size 2+ cover” or “likes dangerous terrain” but yeah that’s fair

vagrant grotto
#

I think "Suggested Usage", "Advanced Variants", and "Opfor Pairings" are about as much as I'm willing to do right now in terms of fields

ashen crown
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Valid

vagrant grotto
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it'll cover the top half of the second spread, at least

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if I decide to add more, I'll have space

ashen crown
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Also I just read the FAQ, did not know the Prism Burst Area was around both locations

vagrant grotto
ashen crown
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Also has the Shardsplitter Shotgun had much testing?

vagrant grotto
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yeah, folks like it

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there's been note that folks kinda wish it was on the main kit

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but I'm committing to it as an optional

ashen crown
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Huh, my first thought looking at the additional effect was “that seems unnecessary considering the projector” but if it’s thoroughly tested it’s thoroughly tested

vagrant grotto
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it's tested, it's good

ashen crown
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Also wow Scintillating Beam covers a huge footprint

vagrant grotto
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yeah...

ashen crown
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Prisms have huge stage presence I never realized

vagrant grotto
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Scintillating Gleam is one of those things where I wonder if I should've reduced the burst to 2, but that means that everything else with a range of 3 should likely follow suit

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which means Refracting Armor, Omniglass Barrier's deployment range, Shattered Glass, and Shardsplitter's threat

ashen crown
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Makes sense

vagrant grotto
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that said: It's basically Sniper/Assassin Shroud Charge/Cloud Projector, just 2 of them and non-selfish

ashen crown
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When you put it like that it sounds way stronger than it actually is

ashen crown
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Sniper + Vulture for quick reloads

Hatchet + Hive for a good amount of forced movement and movement harrying

Ronin + Hatchet mixed martial arts

Bombard + Capacitor. Siege Armor and Artillery means clearing overshield will be hard, and blast 2 long range w/ cluster munitions obtaining reliable and AP means more high and consistent damage hitting a lot of guys. Makes friendly fire less viable however

ashen crown
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Why is its HP so low?

vagrant grotto
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i'm gonna delete that one, realized I didn't touch the stats

muted blaze
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Did you axe the passive OS aura?

vagrant grotto
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yes

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it's just Soft Cover and nothing else now

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undertuned maybe

muted blaze
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Eh?

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NPC side HoG

vagrant grotto
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my brain is oof right now

muted blaze
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Soup?

vagrant grotto
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hang on lemme rough up some numbers

muted blaze
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Oh featured artist is sick

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Question tho, do they come with a vet optional?

vagrant grotto
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up to GM, I recommend doing so though

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Legendary by default

# 
The Boombox chooses one ally in SENSORS. They gain the VETERAN template if they did not have it already, in addition to one Veteran feature (by default, LEGENDARY or LIMITLESS). The target then regains all HP and clears all Heat, conditions, and hostile tech action effects.
muted blaze
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Sorry to be pedantic yet again, prone, exposed and overheated?

vagrant grotto
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alright time to word it like "they stabilize immediately"

muted blaze
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Solid

vagrant grotto
# 
The Boombox chooses one ally in SENSORS. They gain the VETERAN template if they did not have it already, in addition to one VETERAN feature (by default, LEGENDARY or LIMITLESS). The target then regains all HP, STABILIZES (without requiring a reaction), and clears all conditions, Burn, and hostile tech action effects.
muted blaze
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"GET THE FUCK UP!"

vagrant grotto
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aight take 2

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might bump speed to 5

muted blaze
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Cone 7 melee is cursed

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This isn't a bad thing

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Oh I like spotlight

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Arcing quick tech is

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It can be parried by an 4th gate Hatchet

vagrant grotto
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lol

muted blaze
ashen crown
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Looks good to me

vagrant grotto
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doing a couple tweaks here and there but I think it may actually be solid

vagrant grotto
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Aight, Boombox and Howler have been added to the LCP

Only things missing from them are Lore and Tactics, LCP-wise

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they're gonna drop next version

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still have a lot of writing to do wrt suggested usage, opfor parings, and advanced variations

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I'm anticipating that this may be the release that puts a pricetag on PPG, as a result

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I did have a thought about Power Chord: Instead of Shred, it could Stun until Start of Target's Next Turn

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makes them easy to hit and turns off reactions but doesn't fuck over their turns

ashen crown
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“Until start of next turn” is a fun duration, as Miss Data Moth has said before

vagrant grotto
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Only problem is I lose the fun pun 😭

ashen crown
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Hm, yeah

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Well if Jamming is already aplenty in the kit I don’t see why you’d need to incorporate this form of stun over shred

vagrant grotto
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Holdup… what other Shreds do I have in PPG

umbral sluice
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Kensei shreds on hit with the charged sword

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off the top of my head Xnopyt Potato and that one anomaly one that does Intangible on a failed save shred too

vagrant grotto
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The only other one I’d be willing to touch is Knight sword

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The rest feel appropriate enough as Shredded

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So if Knight Sword stunned the duel target until start of their next turn…..

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It’d be potentially quite strong with Punishing Blow

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Otherwise though…

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That’s worth testing

vagrant grotto
umbral sluice
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not at my PC right now but I imagine Shredding Claws does Shredded too

vagrant grotto
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It does yes lol

vagrant grotto
# 
Offspring of leaked ENKIDU-pattern blueprints and the emergent LYCAN pattern group, the Howler PG melds the aggressive tendencies of its forebears with novel, viral liturgicode that induces a “fight-or-flight” response in its prey.

TACTICS
Howlers open combat with a Rabid Lunge towards the enemy frontline before taunting everyone in reach with a Feral Howl. They then liberally Overwatch with Ripper Claws to punish the victims who refuse to stand and fight them. Though fearsome at close range, Howlers are dependent on Rabid Lunge for reaching opponents; they can be declawed by effects that Immobilize and Slow them.
static kernel
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@vagrant grotto re: the knight - if a character passes their save on compelled duel, are they considered 'affected' for the case of greatsword/templar's shield?

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either way, i'm trying one out for the first time and champion's greatsword seems really hot - knockback, shred and lock on on the same attack with pretty decent damage

static kernel
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yeah, my players and i do feel that dropping the guaranteed lock on (or making it conditional somehow) is probably warranted for the greatsword tbqh

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with the 8 hc, the 2 heat on templar's shield feels a bit toothless as well btw. potentially might be worth adding a self-slow or something to it?

static kernel
vagrant grotto
vagrant grotto
# static kernel ah, i see i was using an older version. Still, it's basically a marker rifle tha...

I’ve discussed this before, but Scout Marker Rifle has several legs up:

  1. It’s Range 15, which grants it huge targeting flexibility compared to Threat 2. “Choose 1 Target in burst 15” vs “choose 1 Target in burst 2”
  2. It can Shred anything, not just a single target marked permanently with no takebacks
  3. It has twice the accuracy and to-hit bonuses and Smart making it very likely to hit
  4. It also peels off Hide and Invisible, while it’s at it

This isn’t even going into CRB Scout’s permashred, which I think is excessive.

If you wanna compare to Kai’s rebake Scout, the only things that change are that the innate accuracy is reduced to 1 and point #4 above is removed.

Knight Sword as of v1.17 is Threat 2, 1/2/3 +1 acc, and applies lock on on hit + shred if it’s actually fighting its intended target. It deals 5/7/9 in exchange for covering a tiny fraction of the area Marker Rifle controls.

So, I do not think Champion’s Greatsword is quite as overtuned as you might think. That said, I am currently considering changing its effect, and would welcome feedback if you tried it:

replace the on-hit effect completely with:

On hit: If the target was the Knight’s duel opponent, they are Stunned until the start of their next turn.
vagrant grotto
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I had the shield at Heat 3 at one point, and it was way too easy to disrupt. I considered Heatcap 6+2heat on shield, but decided that this is a Tank trying to draw aggro, and it should have a little extra heat cap to compensate

ashen crown
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And good shout to what defangs them in the tactics section too

ashen crown
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While also allowing the Knight to disengage from Duels unpunished

vagrant grotto
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As an aside to all this: I realized that all the extra stuff like suggested usage, advanced variants, and opfor combos is actually heavily dependent on the existing kits… which means I may leave the Boombox and Howler fields empty for those, at the moment

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And if I change how Knight works to not apply lock on, that means that interactions like Ace, Prism, and Rainmaker all break

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Basically: I think adding these tips and tricks is a sign I’m entering the endgame for PPG

vagrant grotto
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Same testing deal for Kensei’s Posture Break, actually? No save, just on-hit Stun until start of their next turn

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@static kernel regardless, thank you for the feedback, I’m gonna make note of it

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I’d love to hear more info like the Sitrep, the rest of the opfor, and the player team comp if you’re willing to share them

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Extra context will be super helpful

tame wharf
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I'd need to play with it to see how it feels

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But I do like it

vagrant grotto
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It’s a design space I wish I was aware of sooner

tired drum
# vagrant grotto I’ve discussed this before, but Scout Marker Rifle has several legs up: 1. It’s ...

Speaking as one of the players - with scouts also in the opfor - I don't think it's quite right to compare the two in a white room as they aren't completely analogous. You can't really stick a marker rifle on any other npc class and say that's the same as sticking one on a scout, part of the power budget is incorporated into the rest of it's traits and such, right? Plus a scout statline is a very different cry from the Knight's here, they can fall over from a single HMG shot each.

The knight is very sticky and if you have a low systems, you can't move away - i'll note this is different to player exemplar where a quick attack would let you move away from it, hit or miss vs the start of turn save that if you fail, you cannot deal with at all other than stay close, pushes, and similar (size 2 though).

I do wanna say I liked it and it was themed really well. I think I would like to see it again.
Disinteger might be able to share more from GM side, I was playing an ll4 Balor and I personally was relatively unfazed by it in a control sitrep. Other players were Blackbeard (most pain), Salamander (Enhanced Combat?), Medea (homebrew), Spectre (homebrew) (I apologize, I don't have the sources with me currently)
edit: included ll4, salamander homebrew source

vagrant grotto
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Thanks for the extra context!

vagrant grotto
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Something to think about for Start of next turn stuns is that they do disrupt certain effects that end on stun

muted blaze
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Also Eva 5

vagrant grotto
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Oh I’m counting on that

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That’s why I’m considering it for support-adjacent NPCs

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“Make this fuck easier to hit”

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Im more concerned with “wtf GM you turned off my symbiosis with that stun” or the like

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Which, tbh that’s a fault of Symbiosis if anything