RPPR After Hours: Critical Grimdark Failures
Added 2015-08-13 02:41:37 +0000 UTCAaron, Dan, Tom, and I discuss an adventure for Rogue Trader. It's called Soul Reaver and Aaron has no knowledge of the 40k setting, which makes him the perfect reviewer for this adventure. We then devolve into madness, thanks to random roll tables in Mutant Chronicles, System Failure, Immortal: The Invisible War, and fan-created critical hit tables for Warhammer Fantasy.
Music: Evil is Coming by Azgard
Comments
main reason I'm here, sir! that and you know, general support of the guys
Sandy G
2015-12-25 02:58:16 +0000 UTCYour being up of fan created critical hit tables reminded me of a fan made project that took the 40k RPG rules to a setting that is truly even grimmer and darker than 40k... Evangellion. Look up the free supplements titled Adeptus Evangellion. Not only do they support their own critical wound tables (including the awful wounds they can suffer from a botched entry plug ejection) but they even have spooky scary rules for communication with Angels (Including but not limited to "You see an image of yourself but something is wrong: you find it hard to resist your feelings of sexual attraction to it."). I feel you guys would get a rather good kick out of it.
Zachary Felix
2015-08-30 13:54:08 +0000 UTCIf you were planning to run a Rogue Trader campaign Ross, there are two problems you may have to contend with. These came up in Grey Hunter's 47 episode Rogue Trader campaign over at Something Awful. I've listened to about 15 or so. Link: <a href="http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3503410" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3503410</a> First, fleet vs fleet combat are sort of difficult to balance. If memory serves, on three occasions the erstwhile members of the Bashura dynasty routinely failed their rolls (hilariously) while on planet missions, but when it came to ship combat they regularly would incapacitate the enemy ship's engines or bridge with a one shot critical, frequently on the first volley. Usually this resulted in the spoils of war being another mostly intact ship. Secondly, the rules as written for acquiring gear at Footfall meant that with a handfull of sessions and a few rolls the party were able to secure gear as exotic as bolt pistols, power armor, and shuriken pistols pretty easily. And at that point it an excess of powerful gear can make it difficult to determine if the party combat you planned for the evening will be challenging or a pushover. You might want to disallow the Rogue Trader's ability to influence a roll on gear acquisition, make the rolls more difficult or simply make the best gear the goal/reward for an adventure.
Twisting H
2015-08-19 01:15:24 +0000 UTCI'd enjoy an online 40k game
Travis Mayes
2015-08-18 22:52:10 +0000 UTCAlso, you should totally run some Black Crusade scenarios for backers, Ross.
Amelia Moss
2015-08-18 05:25:40 +0000 UTCAnother strength of FFG's RPG design is their simple, universal mechanics. Now, granted, this is certainly not as evident in the WHFRPG/WH40KRPG, but Black Crusade demonstrated the potential of a level-less, skill-based system to free the GM of rules memorization and focus on meaningful scenario and character preparation. This potential has, I feel, been fully realized in their Star Wars offerings, which finally eschewed the FFG compulsion to painstakingly plot out combat and form exhaustive, mind-numbing skill lists. Seriously, I'm looking at the DH 1e PDF - why would you have separate Swim and Climb as separate skills in a game about hunting down aliens, mutants, and heretics in the grim darkness of the far future? And why are the Medicae and Chem-Use skills distinguished from one another, when the latter is a function of training and knowledge of the former? At any rate, FFG severely trimmed down the skill list for Black Crusade, and it's definitely the 40K RPG I recommend to anybody interested in the setting.
Amelia Moss
2015-08-18 05:21:05 +0000 UTCEither at next Gen Con or if I ever end up in Springfield I will totally run a WFRP scenario for you guys.
KamenOtaku
2015-08-17 13:05:21 +0000 UTCFrom what I recall, the strength of Fantasy Flight's Warhammer 40K rpg line is not it's adventures. I don't remember if I ever thumbed through "The Soul Reaver", but the Dark Heresy adventures such as the "Haarlock Legacy" were written less as an adventure than a tour through the 40K universe with moderately railroady plots leading to lavish set pieces with lots of combat and not a lot of character investment in the outcome other than "for the Emperor." The strength of the Fantasy Flight line I think is in their creation of interesting settings and worlds to play in rather than adventure design. Take for example the Core books of Black Crusade, Rogue Trader or Deathwatch. All of these detail interesting planets with exciting conflicts and adventure hooks. The real jewel in the crown of the Rogue Trader line is "Stars of Inequity". Not only are there well thought out and creative random tables for designing worlds and dangerous creatures, it also has a system for colonizing a world and growing/maintaining it over time. It is so good I would put it next to Sine Nomine's "Silent Legions" and "Suns of Gold". As I recall, the one Fantasy Flight adventure that impressed me with it's construction was the Black Crusade book "Hand of Corruption" where the players are given a prison planet to subvert with details on factions, strengths and weaknesses and consequences if they take too long or screw something up. Railroading from scene to scene was thankfully absent and the adventure was reactive to the players, encouraging investigation and planning.
Twisting H
2015-08-15 21:59:51 +0000 UTCDo you have a link to those medically accurate critical hit tables? Those sound fantastic.
Twisting H
2015-08-15 21:52:34 +0000 UTCI enjoyed playing a psyker. I tried to heal a teammate in a firefight and summoned a vortex that nearly caused a party wipe and barely touched the enemies. As it should be.
Twisting H
2015-08-15 05:32:47 +0000 UTCYay Warhammer 40k. :) Way too expensive for me to ever actually play, but I love the ridiculous over-the-top lore. The thing about random tables is that they're only as good as the entries on them. I love the tables-within-tables for Eclipse Phase character generation in Transhuman, because they mostly make sense and can create really interesting roleplaying hooks. These Palladium ones...well, they seem to be a bit more Paladiumy.
Ethan Cordray
2015-08-15 04:07:10 +0000 UTCAlso, you should pick up the 2E professions compendium for Warhammer Fantasy 2E. In playing it, I find that the concept is more compelling than traditional DND fantasy. Playing as peasants who can be crippled and maimed while just trying to get out to catch rats or burn charcoal makes the character more than just a murderhobo.
Harry Rhodes
2015-08-14 19:22:48 +0000 UTCFrom memory, the number in the critical hit table for Warhammer Fantasy is produced by how far below zero your strike takes their Wounds value. That's why it's a weird number, because it's unlikely to get lower than negative fifteen. Love the inclusion of Mutant Chronicles, which shares some monsters with the even-more-grimdark Kult.
Peter Robson
2015-08-14 01:36:06 +0000 UTCDark Heresy is a good way to get to lunch early. make em all play psykers without the optional rule where psykers don't die 10% of the time they use their powers.
sevrl bats
2015-08-13 17:13:49 +0000 UTCAlso I love Dark Heresy and I'd love to play Only War! I've always played it the way Ross described somewhat reasonable people trapped in a screwed up system faced with even worse consequences. Big old Space Goth Baroque cake covered in black icing and skulls- On Fire! As someone who grew up with warhammer it's always fun to get an outside perspective.
Adam Makey
2015-08-13 11:19:24 +0000 UTCIt certainly seems you've found another market Patreon Backers want Ross!
Twisting H
2015-08-13 10:48:48 +0000 UTCseconded.
Ray Cox
2015-08-13 07:30:52 +0000 UTCI would strongly support this move. Just the mention of chainswords still sets my heart beating a bit faster. FOR THE EMPEROR!
Darth
2015-08-13 07:29:37 +0000 UTCNow that I've actually listened... Ross, please run ANY of the 40k games for one of the backer games. I'll move Holy Terra itself to make it to one of those.
Gary R
2015-08-13 05:55:18 +0000 UTCHow many money units to sit in on these After Hour sessions live? These are rapidly becoming one of my favorite parts of the Patreon.
Gary R
2015-08-13 05:45:07 +0000 UTCAaron has been waiting to play a W40K Tau for his entire life.
Harry Rhodes
2015-08-13 04:06:09 +0000 UTCWarhammer 40K: Where the shortest distance between any two points is through hell.
Timothy Connelly
2015-08-13 03:10:44 +0000 UTCThanks, Ross (and crew)!
Jonnygadfly
2015-08-13 02:45:08 +0000 UTC
