Riversnake
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Wish List

Tue 12 Nov 2024, 15:47

Besides my rather comprehensive wish list baked into the quickstart feedback, I’d like to add these:

Difficulty levels:
Very easy +2 dice
Easy +1 dice
Medium
Hard -1 dice (min 1)
Very Hard -2 dice (min 1)
Expert Needs 2 successes

Perhaps the minimum one dice should go really. If you are -2 dice and you have two dice to start, maybe it is not possible. Anyway, that’s a different way to go that may be boring and doesn’t allow for pushed rolls.

The latter difficulty of two successes is important to distinguish experts from the dnd experience of everyone can succeed at everything

I would love to see the esoteric side developed more in a new campaign or rules expansion, that perhaps a ship is found that has old coriolites in it. With more powers.

Also it would be nice if the old coriolite beliefs have spread to some people in secret.

Bring in a bit more horror in campaign followups. You already have a system in place for it and why not have creatures with mental and blight thresholds in their attacks, effects or mere presence.

I’d love for Ship City to not feel stuck with the factions described in the quickstart. Surely there must be secret cabals within and outside each faction, vying for power or special interests.
 
Riversnake
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Re: Wish List

Tue 12 Nov 2024, 17:32

Crit table a bit more lethal. One step less lethal than Alien, but one step more lethal than is. A result that forces a death save per turn also please. Possibly an equipment or armour damage result? Or does that require more successes?
More results on the other two tables.
 
Riversnake
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Re: Wish List

Wed 13 Nov 2024, 13:04

Allow for more than four players with an extra “role” or two that is useful but not vital.

It would be sad if you can only have four players and if you have more they either occupy the same role in a delve or they are not useful. This would be a disadvantage for the success and popularity of the rpg.

Perhaps an esoteric could contribute in a couple of different odd ways during the delve mechanics, with interesting choices when. Perhaps another role could as well.

There’s also the question of encumbrance and some heavy piece of equipment could be used by some sort of other specialist during a delve.

Again, it would be nice if the campaign had adjustments ready that were challenging enough for 5 and 6 players as 6 players are generally more powerful than 4.

Also how would it work with supplies? Does the entire system collapse with more players as they can carry more…? I hope not.

I hope that with more players (say 6) buying supplies is more expensive and that 3 supplies take up 1 slot. A simple adjustment like that would fix it.
 
Riversnake
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Re: Wish List

Wed 13 Nov 2024, 13:13

But also suggestions how to make the delve and not just combat encounters more difficult for more players. Maybe mix in more people affected by results and one or more roles as options if there are 5-6 roles.

Don’t limit the game with roles or players even it means you have to wing it at times with more players.

Have events that affect more than one player but not the entire group or a random player. Have longer event tables because that would cater for a 5 or 6 party group in need of more delve events if the GM has to stick in one or two more at events to balance it out in difficulty. Also that means it is easier to extend events to not just the core four but rather for example: mystic or random player.

So one of the core four roles could be affected by the event but so could a lesser role be. Which means a party should always have the core four roles and other roles are bonuses for bigger parties.
 
Riversnake
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Re: Wish List

Wed 13 Nov 2024, 13:32

The game won’t work for more players unless it is capable of having more specific events for more and other roles.
Also the game probably needs recommendations around handling roles in larger parties. It should be fun even with more than four for everyone! Is it best to have two guards rather than two delvers and are the tables capable of handling that well?

I would say sticking in two extra roles with more events is the way to go, but having those events as either “ignore this result and take the next if you have no esoteric/mystic” or mystic or “random character” on some.

Perhaps another role is support. A character who is good at a bit of everything and is tested instead of the other roles and could fill in if someone dies. That would make sense. So an event could be “support or scout”, meaning the support character notices something on a scanner if and is in, otherwise it would be the scout etc.

My point is that travel is not a parenthesis like it is in The One Ring. And this stuff needs to be well implemented.

Don’t be lazy and restrict it ;-) It is quite an easy fix for a lot of gain. Groups with 5 or more players may otherwise opt to buy other games if this isn’t added, balanced and streamlined. Since delving is so important - it is something that will be critiqued online in reviews and youtube videos and drive less than ideal sales otherwise. As a severe downside. If we were 6 or 7 friends wanting to play a game, we would want the variation of more roles as well. Fortunately blight can (potentially) interact with mystics/esoterics more (I assume) and attack them or the party unless they ward it off, and a support role would make sense.
 
Riversnake
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Re: Wish List

Wed 13 Nov 2024, 19:01

A worry: that the blight is a lot of weird stuff and gets a bit repetitive with no development to its powers and doesn’t lead to a place where it gets more interesting.
I suspect Free League has this covered though.
 
Riversnake
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Re: Wish List

Thu 14 Nov 2024, 17:33

I hope the full game have stunts for skill checks so that especially combat but also other checks become more interesting.

There is a point where a combat system simply is too simple, when I played several players voiced concern over this, and loses interesting choices in play. But I also like the alien use of stunts in other skills, or rather talents. There could be general use of stunts for groups of talents, like knowledge talents etc. and some few special uses for certain skills/talents. All these extra uses of stunts, exceptions, like a mechanic fixing a certain thing need never roll for that particular fault again, should be on the same page or spread, for ease of use, and not for each skill. Groups of talents with added exceptions.
 
Riversnake
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Re: Wish List

Thu 14 Nov 2024, 20:17

Please have images of all new creatures. It is an advantage for the GM. The best GMs play theatre of mind with the players anyway.
 
Riversnake
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Re: Wish List

Thu 14 Nov 2024, 22:16

I forgot: Like most people here I prefer the fast/slow action system.
The system is already simple but having a fast/slow system and using stunts for skills make for interesting decisions, something most players love!
Stunt usage for opponents could at times be resolved by rolling a D6 (after always prioritising to crit), with stunts where equipment and armour could be damaged, enhancing the feel of the system:

Bad guy extra success after crit is reached, a gm may opt to roll D6:
1-2 extra damage
3 Random piece of equipment destroyed (important that is random)
4 Armour damaged
5 Disarmed (this could possibly destroy or damage a weapon)
6 Fall prone

I am glad some people have noted the board gamey aspect of the delve that fitted LOTR but doesn’t quite fit a delve where a room by room experience would be more powerful.
A room by room experience allows for specific experiences be played out with room and mood descriptions that have to be too improvised otherwise. That is much more haunting.

You can still use supplies, and should. Depths and extra time spent should decrease supplies. Personally I think that supplies should be tied to potential gear damage as well, as I suggested before.

And please! There must be more roles than 4 if you keep the system. If 5 players have to share a role that is a disaster. Of course a room by room approach solves all of it and instead of having a table, you can write longer texts with events with specific problems that have follow-up consequences. It will be a more powerful experience. And roles are not necessary, archetypes with different skills are enough.
 
Riversnake
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Re: Wish List

Thu 14 Nov 2024, 23:13

The use of stunts above related to human opponents. I see that some light rules are extra successes are covered though they sound as if they only relate to melee attacks.

I admit I have limited experience with the alien system but the dragonbane system strikes me as too simple, suited more more children starting with roleplaying games. Like, they are board game simple. Also, as I mentioned, people at my table were concerned the combat system was too simple. Everyone have played dnd and while some may want a simpler experience, rules wise, everyone wants a richer experience with interesting decisions.

Like many have said, it is a massive turnoff if the attributes to go 5, but the talents are only going to 3.
Make the attributes go to 4, and the talents to 4. This change would reflect life better as well.
It made for a too general dnd feel where everyone has a great chance on all skills.
This is why it is important to have difficulties of -1, -2, 2 successes to succeed as well.

To clarify from earlier, the rules says an NPC will die on a crit iirc but what about a creature or a swarm? Maybe those weapons harming them don’t have crit thresholds? But that doesn’t make sense to me, especially with explosives.

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