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Post by muntjack on Aug 1, 2013 19:27:25 GMT -8
Anyone else not have any luck getting the message for the pdf from DriveThru today? I did everything in Monte's last message, but I got nothing. Also sent him an email. I really wanted to check it out tonight, too! I can imagine how tough it is getting the pdfs to 17,000+ people, though.
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Post by ayslyn on Aug 1, 2013 21:06:47 GMT -8
I got mine, but I had to search my whole library, rather than just the new additions.
Just double checked the download and yup. Got the whole book.
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Post by greatwyrm on Aug 2, 2013 5:15:56 GMT -8
From what I've been able to find out, it depends if you were on the Kickstarter or pre-ordered at rpgnow. I preordered and the core book pdf became available in my library on its own. If you were in the Kickstarter, I think you have to wait for a coupon code. Reports are that most of the 17k have been worked out, but their system can only handle about 1,000 an hour. They have to handle problems one-on-one and even if that's only 1%, we're still talking about 170 people to take care of and probably one or two people working on them.
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Post by ayslyn on Aug 2, 2013 6:37:36 GMT -8
Ah. I pre-ordered.
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Post by ericfromnj on Aug 2, 2013 11:09:23 GMT -8
ooooo.....I want to know how this system is!
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Post by greatwyrm on Aug 2, 2013 15:00:17 GMT -8
ooooo.....I want to know how this system is! I've only been able to give it a quick once over, but I like what I see in it. It reminds me of the good parts of a few other games I've liked. I hesitate to say more until I can really go into detail. It's definitely not a d20/3.X, even though there are bits that will remind you of it as well.
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juberberry
Journeyman Douchebag
Posts: 132
Preferred Game Systems: Traveller, VANGUARD, Shadowrun 4, CP2020
Currently Playing: Traveller - rarely
Currently Running: Traveller, Shadowrun 4, VANGUARD
Favorite Species of Monkey: Ressus
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Post by juberberry on Aug 3, 2013 4:39:27 GMT -8
I'm waiting on my printed copy with baited breath. Very eager to read through this.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2013 9:12:28 GMT -8
I had to not only check that DriveThru was allowed to send notification email to me, but I also had to recover the emails from my spam filter.
I read the playtest documents and a lot of basic things stayed the same through the final. I was busy and didn't get into the minutia, but the core mechanics stayed the same. It is a very elegant core mechanic in my opinion. The game is fairly crunchy, about as mechanically complex as core 3.5 D&D, or core Gurps, or Savage Worlds. It is more gamist than narrativist (if you'll forgive my using those terms).
The attributes/feats are all hard-coded, in other words, a given power is going to always work the same: You cannot make up an attribute like "Former cop" and then any time a situation arises that you could argue to the GM seemed like you could use your "cop" abilities, you get a bonus. In other words, this is like a classic game like D&D or Gurps or Savage Worlds, and not a hippy game where players have huge narrative control or world-building authority.
Each character has an descriptor a class, and a focus: It reads like "My character is a [descriptor] [class] who [focus]".
There are 3 classes (fighter/rogue/wizard) called Glaive, Jack, and Nano respectively. There are about 12 descriptors, which provide some abilities and bonuses to stats, these are things like "Charming", or "Stealthy", or "Graceful". These are kind of like feats or edges in other systems, and they also provide some background information, some disadvantages, and some hooks. There are about 28 Foci, which provide a suite of special abilities. These are the really crazy abilties like "bears a halo of fire" or "speaks with machines" or "Controls Gravity".
So putting these together, your character is described as something like "A stealthy glaive that controls gravity" or "a charming nano that bears a halo of fire".
The core mechanic is that you have 3 abilities (might, speed, and intellect), and each ability has a pool that you can draw from to power specials abilities. You also get an "edge" rating, which is a discount that you apply whenever you draw from a pool. For example, getting a bonus on an attack might cost 3 points from your "Might" pool, but if you have an edge of 1, then you only spend 2 points from your pool. If you have an edge of 3, then you get the bonus for free. For another example, if you have the "Bears a Halo of Fire", you can spend 2 points of your pool to throw a fireball from your hands. If your pool is 8 and your edge is 0, you can throw four fireballs a day. If your edge is 1, you can throw 8 fireballs. If your edge is 2 or higher, you can throw fireballs at-will as much as you want.
I frankly think that the system of building characters and the core mechanics (pools/edges) are outstanding, and the strongest part of the system. Very elegant.
The game is focused on "discovery", you don't get XP for fighting monsters, only for discovering things or wrapping up adventures. You usually get 1-4 XP rewarded at the conclusion of an adventure. It takes 4XP to increase an edge or gain a new power (from within your focus). It takes 1 XP to increse your pool. You need to spread the points around though, so you cannot just crank up your edge time and time again without also increasing your pool and abilities. The nifty hippy-style mechanic here is called "GM Intrusion". The GM can periodically add a complication, based on a character's focus or descriptor... like having a bow break in the middle of combat, or having one of your fireballs start a fire burning more scenery than you intended... if the player accepts the intrusion, they get a free XP and another XP to share with another player, but they have to deal with the complication. The player can refuse the GM intrusion, but they lose 1 XP.
My only complaint so far is that the world really bizarre... there is just not enough similarities to our current world that I have trouble connecting with the setting or the inhabitants. "Reach into the dust, and you’ll find that each particle has been worked, manufactured, or grown, and then ground back into drit—a fine, artificial soil—by the relentless power of time."
The sample adventures are similar to the kinds of things written for the Planescape campaign setting... a lot of bizarre gonzo stuff, a little bit of combat, and a focus on trying to solve problems by negotiation or thinking outside the box.... In planescape, there were always bigger and tougher entities, and your best bet was to go about your business and try not to get in the way.
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Post by ironnikki on Aug 7, 2013 12:16:16 GMT -8
I've been wondering how this game would turn out for a while. I didn't get in on the Kickstarter, nor did I pre-order it, but I was really interested to see how it worked things out. Thanks for writing that up, olshanski! I typically won't buy physical books for a game that I've never played before unless it's pretty cheap, but the art that I've seen so far for this makes me think that perhaps I can afford to splurge this time.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2013 4:52:12 GMT -8
Aha, I wanted to correct my own error before someone else does. Numenera has a skill list, about like D&D 4E or Savage Worlds. The skill are either untrained, trained, or specialized. If you are trained you basically get +15% bonus, and if you are specialized you get +30% bonus.
I had always thought the skills were defined, but reading closely last night I see that it says these are "suggestions", and that if someone wants to make up their own skill like "baker" or "sailor" they can do it with the GM permission. In other words, it is slightly hippy, so my "former cop" example in the previous post was exactly wrong.
Personally, the pre-defined skill list is comprehensive and pretty well documented, so I'd probably just go with the basics.
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Post by stork on Aug 24, 2013 21:57:32 GMT -8
"I was told there'd be no math on this exam." Troy Dyer
Still....I want to play it
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dnddad
Journeyman Douchebag
They're bullywugs aren't they Pat...
Posts: 200
Preferred Game Systems: WEG D6 Star Wars, Shadowrun 2nd, Battletech 3rd, Mechwarrior 2nd, AD&D 2nd, AFMBE rev, Savage Worlds Deluxe, Usagi Yojimbo, Marvel Super Heroes Advanced
Currently Playing: Frostgrave & Boltaction
Currently Running: from my problems
Favorite Species of Monkey: Spong
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Post by dnddad on Aug 26, 2013 18:09:24 GMT -8
I think Monte made a different game just to be different, but is it really? It's d20 has modifiers and seems like a lot of loading and spending. Maybe too much...
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