*stuff about Edelweiss* ST: Sure, that could be fine. Satsuki had a Reality Marble called Depletion Garden that screwed up the local mana of a n area and its effect was probably greater. Me: Yeah, Reality Marbles are like 20-40 points though. Meddling Kids get 10 or 15 I think. ST: You can have more points by taking on Flaws. Those swap for Perks on a 1:1 scale. If you want to, that is. Me: Ah, I see. In the meddling kids package it said something like "10 quality points" and "up to 10 downside points". So I thought you were limited to the number of flaws you could take ST: I'm not a terribly mean ST; if you really had your heart set on "package Z" we could probably find some way to work that out. Me: Oh, that reminds me, Are you required to take a class package? ST: you don't have to, but they can be a handy way to bump up your primary statistics. They are completely optional. *more character specific stuff* ST: I welcome any questions you have. What about the skills was confusing? Me: Mainly the specialization part ST: Okay, how about some examples then? For example, Melee. let's say you have a Melee of 5 specialized in Japanese Fencing. Whenever you use a Katana/Odachi/etc., your skill is treated as a 7 (+2 for specialization). But if you try to use a fencing foil, you'd be at 5 for that skill Me: I see. ST: BUT. Certain skills force you to specialize. You can only roll when you're doing something in that area. For example, if you have Art and Crafts, you have to pick your muse. And if you picked oil painting, then you couldn't start chiseling a sculpture out of marble. Or if you had Academics with a specialization in East Asian Humanities, you couldn't use it to roll for American History. Me: Can you not have a specialization for a skill? ST: Yes, you can not have a specialization for a skill except for Arts and Crafts, Academics, Science, and Wild Card. If you choose those, you have to pick what you've been trained in. Me: So, if I want to have like Academics (Sociology) 1 and Melee (Short Sword) 1, that's 9 skill points ST: I think that'd be 1 for the academics and 3 for the melee with a specialization. Because you have to specialize to pick an area of Academics you don't have to pay extra points Me: I see. So, the six points for every extra specialization only applies when you want two specializations in the same skill ST: Right, if you wanted to have Security with (Alarm Systems and Surveillance) you'd pay whatever level for the skill, plus 7 for the two specializations. As your skill level rises, adding a new specialization can turn out to be cheaper than just continuing to buy new levels in the skill. But it also limits you to pick what you've learned instead of having it be a general category. Me: What's the scale for skill point increases? Like, at what numbers of skill points do you need more points to get the next one. ST: Do you mean when you are first building a character, or when you have some experience points to spend? Me: First build ST: Right, okay, to buy a skill up to level 5 is one point per level. After that it's three SP per additional level. Me: So, 5 is 5, 10 is 20, 15 is 35 ST: Yes, but you can also take some Flaws to get more Skill points on a 1:1 basis Me: So, when you take a flaw, you can use it for either quality points or skill points ST: Yes, and you can also take a Package with those quality points. Just in case you wanted to boff your primary stats. Sounds like you have the hang of it Me: Kinda, yeah. Question on Dodge. It has all of these specializations like leap and sidestep and duck and such. Do you have to dodge different ways for different attacks, or do you choose? ST: You just roll Dodge for the most part. If your specialization is relevant you'll get a bonus. Dexterity + Dodge + 1D10. The specializations are mostly there so that if you want to play a fencer with a specialization in dodge:sidestep you might get a slight bonus to getting out of the way of fencing foils (for example). Me: So, is a short sword a fencing weapon or some other kind? I didn't see one in the weapons list. ST: We could probably improvise a d8 x STR for your damage with it (Lethal). It could be an epee or saber and work fine for that. To hit someone with it, you'd roll DEX + Melee + 1D10. If you scored more success levels than his dodge or parry, you'd hit him. You'd roll 1D8 x STR for damage, and add any success levels of the attack to the damage. That would be subtracted from his life points Me: What's a success level? ST: Let me show you the character sheet for the game... Me: Oh, I have that. Okay, I see. So you put the final result on this table. ST: You roll stat+skill+1D10 and then you look at that number on the chart. For instance, if your total was a 13 for the roll, you had a Good result (3 successes). If you rolled 18, that'd be Totally Sweet (5 successes) Me: So, since Totally Sweet is 17-20, if I get an 18 and my enemy gets a 17 it's still a tie ST: High roll wins. Me: Oh, okay. *other stuff* Me: The one thing I'm really worried about for a melee fighter character is that fear is based off of will. So if you have 1 will since you're not a mage, one thing can send you to the mental ward. ST: You could always take some levels of conviction Me: Conviction is for divine-types isn't it? ST: No, anyone can have it Me: Huh, okay. *character-specific stuff* *Random Yukari Yakumo vs Arcueid discussion* Me: Concept is like manipulator and judge and avenger and all those right? ST: Well not so much. What "image' do you have for this character? *stuff about typos* Me: Can nature and demeanor be the same? ST: That's not usually the way it works unless you're a small child who hasn't yet learned to wear a social mask. Nature is how you really are, demeanor is the face the rest of the world gets to see Me: Well, not everyone hides their true self that much. Eh, I'll have Child for nature and Caregiver for demeanor. ST: Interesting, that would be fine. Me: I'm not 100% sure how childish someone with the child nature is supposed to be. Is that like "jumping into a giant ball pit" childish or just more dependant on others than most people childish? ST: More dependant on other people than most childish. But that's okay too, no one is perfect. Me: So, do you start with any quality points or do you have to get all of them from flaws? ST: You start with some. Meddling kids get 10 quality points for free, and you don't have to take drawbacks/flaws if you don't want to. Me: Okay, I'm on stats now. I get 15 stat points right? ST: Yes, primary statistics. Me: Do you have to buy a stat up from 0? ST: Yes. Me: Can you have 0 in a stat? ST: I'm afraid not. Me: So, it says 15 but I really only get 9...5 seems optimal for dex, since it's the soft cap and the cutoff for 2 attacks/defenses per turn. So I've got 5 left... ST: 5 dex is a good thing to have for a fighter Me: How important is perception? ST: It's handy for noticing stuff. Me: Well yeah I figured that much. But I mean like, is it worth putting points into instead of str or con. ST: Well if you want to be a fighter type I'd focus on STR and DEX. STR is going to be very important because your damage is figured based on it. Me: I get +1 damage per point right? ST: Your sword is going to do 1D8 x your STR in damage Me: Oh. I thought it was 1d8+str. ST: If you have a 4 STR it'll cause 1D8 X 4 (your STR score) in damage when it hits Me: So how does melee fit into that. The skill I mean. ST: Okay, melee + dex + 1d10 to hit your enemy. Keep the success levels, then add those to the 1D8 x STR roll for damage. Example: you hit the guy with 4 success levels, so you roll 1d8 x str and then add 4. Me: So, I could be doing 5d8+4 twice per turn at 1st level? That sounds like it could oneshot a normal human, don't they have HPs around 30 or so? ST: Melee weapons can pwn a normal human pretty quickly. Me: Eeh, I wasn't expecting to be so powerful. ST: And it's not 5d8 + 4. It's 1d8 x 4 in that examle Me: Oh, I see. So you don't roll 4 dice, you take one die and multiply the result. ST: Yes. Me: Well, in DnD it takes like 5 hits or something to bring down the average enemy. In 4.0 anyway. Elites and soloes for boss types are a lot tougher. ST: A katana does 1d10 x STR; a competent guy could probably take me down in 1 to 2 hits. Big Bads have tons of little advantages like Damn Healthy, lots of levels of Hard to Kill, etc. We have survival tests and stuff so that even if you get taken out in a fight you won't automatically die Me: I see. Strength 5 Dexterity 5 Constitution 2 Intelligence 1 Perception 1 Willpower 1 That's what I have right now. ST: If that's what you have your heart set on that's fine Me: Well I'm asking for advice. ST: You can always use a Package if you like Me: Oh, I didn't look at the packages yet. Not in detail anyway... ST: They're on page 70. You don't have to take them if you don't want to. But if you want to use some of your quality points to buy up some statistics, this is a great way to do it Me: Oh, you can do that? ST: Because you are playing a normal human, getting a package is the only way for you to justify doing that Me: Ah, I see ST: We have packages like Battle Cleric if you want to play as someone like Kotomine or Ciel. You could also take Dilettante if you wanted to play someone like Akiha and so on. You could also take Dilettante if you wanted to play someone like Akiha and so on Me: Eh, I was actually thinking of taking something around the Hurting part of the economical perk/flaw. ST: Sure, that would be fine. True life story: I was a graduate student and had that. Not much fun. Me: My character would technically be a student, but the package doesn't really help her at all as a physical fighter... ST: You don't have to take the student package if you do not want to Me: Also does str affect appearance? Or can you like bench press 400 pounds and still look cute. ST: No, Appearance is either a perk or a flaw. This is anime, sure you can Me: Hurrah. *character-specific stuff* Me: When Monster Hunter says "+1 to 3 attributes", does the soft cap at 5 apply? ST: You can go up to 6 that way, but no higher if you are playing a plain human. Me: The benifit from the jump of 5 to 6 dex doesn't quite seem worth it...You still have 2 attacks and 2 defenses. ST: It might come in handy when you are rolling initiative. Every little bit helps. Me: I suppose. Your Head A Splode is when you have madness points equal to your will x 7 right? ST: Indefinitely insane Me: Conviction helps a bit with the actual fear save rolls, but doesn't do as much for me when the roll fails... An extra point of will seems more helpful than the dex so that I don't go totally crazy. ST: Well in old d&d, that'd be like being in ravenloft and failing a fear save. Me: Never played old dnd. 4.0 is the first version I played. ST: Ah. Well, even if you have some mental flaws and madness points, you could always put your character through therapy. Me: Well yeah, but I remember the highest fear fail being 1d6+penalty/2 madness, which is enough to push you totally over in one go if you cap out at 7 ST: The madness point thing is fairly optional and depends on how mean the ST is, how unwholesome/unearthly the scary thing is, and what kind of personality the character has and how close he is to the subject. It's sort of hard and loose. When Gilles de Rais (4th Heavens Feel Caster) started whistling up non-euclidean creatures from an insane dimension that did not follow earthly laws, seeing them and failing a fear save might have necessitated taking some Madness Points. I don't think you have to worry about it that much. Me: I see. So, having intelligence and willpower at 1, aside from fear, doesn't really affect a non magic user that much? ST: Not really. You won't be winning any science fairs though. Me: Didn't plan to. *end of that session* Me: Question on conviction. It says 1/day you can get it as a temp boost to STR. Can that push a human over 6? ST: Temporarily yes, for a very brief period. So if the jack falls out from under the car and your wife is pinned beneath it, for a round or two you could get that bonus and spend a luck point to try to lift it off of her, after which time the bonus would be gone. Me: I see. Also, do I get any bonus for using a one-handed weapon like increased parrying or something, or is it basically the exact same as having a two-handed weapon but with less damage, assuming I'm not dual-wielding. ST: A two handed weapon gives you +1 to your STR for damage purposes. Me: Well I meant the weapons themselves, like short sword is 1d8 but like a katana is 1d10. ST: That's about the only mod to the roll one gets for the two/one-handed business. Dual wielding is pretty hard to pull off unless you pick ambidextrous. Even then multiple action penalties start to stack up. Me: I'm just asking if there's any point to using a 1h weapon instead of a 2h one. Aside from dual-wielding. ST: Well there's the whole concealability issue. A small dirk is easier to hide than a broadsword. That's about it. Me: =/ ST: This is a mystery/action/fantasy game, so it's not quite as action-based as d20 or 4th ed d&d is. There aren't any character levels. Sure, there are experience points, but you get to spend them the way you want to develop the character the way you want. I try to include a cool fight scene or two in every game I run, but the Nasuverse is basically earth with some extra additions... *character specific stuff* Me: I've also got some questions on some of the Honorable traits ST: Okay, each level of honorable you take means that you must follow two "laws" which are your inner code. Saber follows the code of chivalry so she has a lot. You can make up your own. Me: I get that part. It's just some of the specifics. Like, "Always protect the weak", does that apply to everyone or just allies/innocents? It would kind of suck to be unable to kill a zombie because it's weak. ST: I think the fact that it is a zombie means it would be an exception. And we can interpret weak to mean "the defenseless/innocent" Zombies aren't innocent because they want to kill/eat people. Zombies are also pretty strong. Me: The ones in Tsukihime that Shiki ran into on Arcueid's route looked super weak. Like, one of them tried to bite him and it just lost all of its teeth. And they had a lot more lines than most anything else he'd ever seen. ST: Those were probably Ghouls or the Dead. You wouldn't feel any moral compunction about dusting those guys. You'd probably be doing them a favor. Me: Heh. Does "Never Accepts Rewards for Service" include non-monetary or sentimental rewards like medals or stuff like that? ST: Yes it does... Me: Hmm...Also, it said something about a skill challenge if you acted against your honorable stuff. ST: A will save. Me: Does that include involuntary (hypnosis) or if you don't remember the incident at all (fugue)? ST: I doubt it, but if they tried to get you to act against your code you might get a bonus to resist. You'd still be horrified if you wake up inside of a bus full of dead people who all died by your hands though. That'd be a roleplaying detail. Me: Pain Resistance says it reduces the wound penalty, how much exactly does it reduce by? Is it the same as the consciousness save bonus? ST: It generally gives +1 per level to the save. Me: It says it adds Will + Con to the save. And "reduces wound penalty". No +1 per level to anything. ST: Ah yes. On the back of the character sheet it lists penalties to actions for wounds you take. As you take more and more damage, you'll find it harder to do stuff. Having pain resistance lets you resist torture and also shrug off those penalties to doing things. Me: So, one point in pain resistance eliminates wound penalties completely? ST: Only the first -1 penalty. Me: I see. Also, Why is Soft-Hearted a flaw that gives a bonus? ST: It doesn't give a bonus to you, it gives a bonus to people who are trying to appeal to your good side. For insance, if someone wants to ask you to donate to a charity, they are at a +2 to their roll for Influence. Me: Ah, makes sense. Can you make a roll in a skill you have no points in as just a blank 1d10? ST: Attribute +0+ 1d10 yes. But it depends on what you are trying to do. Me: Oh, stats are included in skills? ST: For sciences and academics that can not work well at all. You wouldn't even get to roll without the skill. To answer your question on the stat + skill thing, it depends on what you are trying to do. Per + alertness to notice someone sneaking up on you, dex + alertness for initiative, will + influence to intimidate someone, int + influence to persuade someone, int + security to crack an electronic lock (maybe an int+technology roll to get access to the controller first). *end of that session* Me: I remember there were rules for Noble Phantasms, how the rank affected the stats and such. Why isn't there anything like that for other conceptual weapons? Or are they just normal other than vampires don't like them or whatever. ST: You can build a conceptual weapon with the existing rules for superscience and enchanted items. Noble Phantasms are their older, more rad cousins. As a certain magic item is used by a hero almost exclusively it comes to be associated with his legend and it is enhanced by the lore surrouding that hero, almost like the principle behind consensus reality. Which is not to say that it would mpossible to get one of those relics if you were a mortal (kitisugu got Avalon during HF4), but that I haven't yet figured out the point cost for that yet *character specific stuff* ST: Here's the thing about that; if things happen that raise your Adversary level after character generation, the level goes up but you don't get the ponts Me: Oh really. ST: Yes. If someone lopped off your leg, you'd take the disability flaw but you'd get no extra points for it. Maybe you could ask Touko to make a replacement for you or something. Me: Limbs can't be regrown with Chiurgury? It heals lethal damage right? ST: When Shiki (both R.Shiki and Tohno Shiki) used it in the past, they were able to heal ailments such as a burst appendix, the spreading taint of vampirism,and other 'whole body' stuff. I doubt you could use it to ''cut'' a limb back on. Me: I'm probably going to need to re-do my skills, I have 1 int, and my character is in high school, if I don't pump academics she's gonna be failing all her classes. ST: Eh, you could probably finish high school with a 1 INT. That's like a 9 or 10 INT in AD&D. Me: I see. So if you had to make a roll for a test, an A would be one success level or something? ST: Depends on the test, finals and midterms are harder. I think 1 success level is either a high c or a B, two success levels is a high B or an A, and anything above that would be an A. Me: So with 1 int and no academics, my roll would be 1d10+1. ST: Thing is, academics are for a background you developed in school. When you get your master's or ph.d (or the equivalent amount of studying) you'll have academics Me: Ah. Where are the rules for conceptual weapons? The superscience or whatever. ST: Ah yes, that would be in the Unisystem Magic Box. That's a separate rulebook. Me: I see. *end of that session* Me: 2 more questions. 1) The 1/day str boost in Conviction, it says to escape a dangerous situation involving something supernatural. Is that like in chess, where as long as you're not in check at the end of the turn you "escape", or does it specifically have to be running away? ST: Okay, holding a door shut would count. Lifting off a car you're pinned under would also count. Running away would count too. So as long as the action promotes your flight from a supernatural threat, I'd allow it. Me: And do you have to do the str boost before or after the original rolls? ST: Before, but I'd allow it as a free action Me: Alright. 2) Where's the magic system unibox thing that has the conceptual weapon rules in it? ST: They don't call them conceptual weapons but their magic items creation rules work for what I'm trying to do. http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=709&it=1 Me: Thanks. Oh, one more thing. For the Deep Sleeper flaw, is that like Nayuki from Kanon or just lots of snooze button mashing ST: Either or, so people with it are not morning people. I'm sure Rin would have that given how out of it she is in the morning. I think there'd be some diminished alertness until they had coffee and something to eat. But being in actual life or death combat would also wake them up in a jiffy Me: I see. Another thing. In the nasuverse, everyone has at least one magic circut right? It's just that mages have more of them or something. Or is it something different? ST: Not everyone has a magic circuit to speak of. Some people have it and others don't really have enough of one to count. That's why it's measured in ranks. Some folks like the Aozakis have a bad 'number' of magic circuits but are able to accomplish a lot, which is why I fudged that by listing magic circuits in terms of rank. They'd have a high rank (high quality circuits) despite having a low number. *end of that session* Me: So, can you make a melee roll to defend against a weapon when you don't have one, or make a brawl to block a punch while holding a two-handed weapon? ST: Okay, it works like this. With brawl, you could catch an arrow out of the air if it is being shot at you (at a penalty). Melee could, WITH a weapon, parry another weapon, brawl could parry another brawl attack. You could use melee with a shield to parry a brawl attack. Not sure about the logistics of parrying a brawl attack with a sword and such Me: There are shields? ST: Sure, Riesbyfe Stridberg had one. They're not so common nowadays though. Me: Ah, I see. *end of that session* Me: There's a perk that cost 1 point until level 5 that says it boosts attributes. Is that like STR and CON and stuff or is that something else? ST: By attributes I mean primary statistics. Me: Holy crap awesome. ST: Derived statistics already have lots of Perks that buy them up. Say you want more Life Points, you take some levels in Hard to Kill. (which is a good idea because it gives a bonus to saves vs death). Or if you want more Mana, you can take levels of Extra Energy on top of Magic Circuit Ranks. Remember that the max for a human being in Primary Statistics is six, and stats become more expensive to buy after 5. Me: I see. That actually kind of ties in with my next question. Can a human mage buy "Supernatural" perks if they don't specifically say no humans? I assumed mages were supernaturals but I wasn't sure. ST: There certainly are examples of mages that have those kinds of gifts, like Touko's body-hopping or Souren's Immortality. I think that's kind of a case by case deal. Me: I see. So can a mage take enhanced attribute? ST: Thinking back to the knok films and fsn, I really have to say I doubt it (for the most part) *end of that session* Me: How exactly do attack rolls for magic work? Do they use Magic Circut instead of melee or in addition to another skill? ST: Will + occultism + magic circuit if memory serves. melee is for hand weapons. brawl is for your head, hands, and feet. Me: I see. So what is Int for? It doesn't seem to help much. ST: Finding a spell will require you to roll int + research. Building magic/superscience items certainly requires int. INT is handy for other skill tests like computers, technology, repair, occultism, and so on. Me: I see. So int is for occultism skill checks, will is for occultism attacks. ST: That'd be right. INT is one of the most-used stats in this system. It's good to have a nice level in it Me: Oh, can magic do bashing/lethal/aggrivated? ST: Depends on the kind of spell it is. A fire spell would do aggravated damage because fire does that. Knocking someone across the room with an invisible piledriver would do bashing. Turning the air into a slashing blade would do lethal. Me: Does it multiply the damage or just tag it with the damage type? ST: Lethal is always multiplied. Me: Does improving damage type increase the power level of the spell or is it just included in the Harm parameter? ST: Just included in the harm parameter. Doing 10 points of damage from bashing or lethal would be about the same in terms of cost. *end of that session* Me: Anyway my question is about the fight scene in KnK 6. The highest number of defensive actions a human could have in a turn is 2, but Ouji had around 80 fairies. Obviously each fairy can't have its own offensive action, so how would a battle with a swarm like that be worked out in the RPG battle mechanics? ST: That's an interesting question. Swarms of things like that have an "area" of hit points and several attacks. Essentially the group is treated as one large critter. *end of that session* Me: For stuff like Good Listener, does -X difficulty subtract that from the number I need to roll, or the amount of success levels I need? ST: Number you need to roll. *end of that session* Me: It said in the book that you needed a storyline reason to spend XP on a perk, and that the buy rate was 1:1. Does that just apply to like plunder and stuff or do I need a storyline reason to bump up Combat Reflexes from 3 to 4? ST: Yes, but after several game sessions I'd allow it. "Hey, I got into a fight last week and this week I was thrown through a plate glass window. Can I take a level of Hard to Kill?" "Sure, why not." Me: Another question: Mad Skillz can't be taken except in the initial character creation right? ST: Yes, that's right. Me: Okay, next question. The example in the book said raising a stat from 1 to 2 was 10 XP. I didn't quite get whether it was always 10 XP or if it varied depending on the stat number. ST: Desired stat level x 5 xp = total cost in xp. 1 to 2, 10 xp. 6 to 7, 35 xp. Me: Right, next. Round down or up? ST: .5 higher is up, .4 lower round down. Me: Alright. One more. You can take multiple levels in one resistance right? Like, level 5 pain resistance? ST: Yes, sure. Me: Alright. *end of that session* Me: Just like one or two more questions. First off, the Bloodline flaw. I'm not sure if I'm entirely eligible for it or how many points it would be. ST: You can take that if you want to play a half-demon character. It allows you to pick supernatural perks like Damn Healthy, etc. Me: Aah, okay. Secondly, are the bonuses from class packages added to the base stat or is it a seperate bonus? Like, if I had 1+1 willpower, would raising my willpower be 10 or 15 XP? ST: They are added to the base stat, so if you have 1+1 willpower, you have a willpower of 2. If memory serves, raising a stat is desired level x 5 in XP, so going to 3 from 2 would set you back 15 xp. Me: Alright. Oh, the dual-wielding rules said you took a -2 penalty in your main hand and a -3 penalty in your offhand. Does Ambidextrous change that to -2/-2 or 0/0? ST: I think it'd be the first one you mentioned. Me: Kay. Also, my character's speed is 10, so when she's running full speed she moves 10 spaces per turn. So, if she's walking, what fraction of that does she move instead? ST: Most of the time we don't move at full speed, so it's not necessary to know that. Sure, we need to know what your top speed is on foot, but if we micromanage we have to divide it into strutting, power walking, etc. Me: Ah, yeah. So if I gotta move somewhere but I don't want to run, as long as I move less than 10 squares I'm good. ST: Yeah. //--------------------------// // END OF LINE. // //--------------------------//