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Riversnake
Posts: 54
Joined: Fri 01 Nov 2024, 22:11

Re: Feedback Thread for Coriolis: The Great Dark Quickstart

Thu 14 Nov 2024, 23:14

Like people have mentioned in this forum and elsewhere, please use attributes up to 4 and talents up to 4. Instead of 5 and 3. Perhaps even a rare attribute can be raised up to 5. Having talents reach 4 works better for you if you plan to have players able to play another campaign after the one you are planning with the same characters, something I hope is very possible (and even designed for that.) More to develop.

Also, I am a bit hesitant about the delve use of supplies. A stretch is 15 minutes and supplies mostly consist of food and water (and air and electricity?). This only makes borderline sense to me. Characters would likely only need one meal each for such a delve and back up. And some water. That the supplies take up this much space is unlikely. This is why I think it should be connected to gear and all equipment as well, that can suffer accidents of failed rolls during events. These things actually matter according to me. I guess the exo suits could be heavy and more food and rest is needed. But these things need to be explained. How do you eat with an exo suit on? Do you take it off? Where does the food come from inside the suit if you don’t? Sometimes you can remove a helmet but under some circumstances surely you can’t. Questions like these are important for immersion because in a campaign these musings will come up and as a gm you need an answer or the game is pulpy the wrong way.
 
Riversnake
Posts: 54
Joined: Fri 01 Nov 2024, 22:11

Re: Feedback Thread for Coriolis: The Great Dark Quickstart

Sat 16 Nov 2024, 22:30

P.27 When you use an extra successes in close combat you should probably state other than damage to be clear. Or do they do both extra damage and an effect? I assume the full game will have a clearer table that will say that extra success can:
Give an extra damage.. and one of these:
Disarm blah…

The reason why this is unclear is that damage is described on the next page. So the success of an attack has to be read on two separate pages which is a disadvantage.

Either way, it could have been clearer because I remember reading in your other games iirc that it either does an extra damage or…

It is very strange ranged weapons doesn’t have these options.

Separating effects of extra successes for attacking and blocking - and - effects of weapons two pages later do you no favours, even though I like that extra blocking successes does more things and in THAT sense it belongs there. It makes blocking much more viable and interesting and even compared to dodge.

What does a grappling gun do and what does being grappled mean ruleswise? Surely it has something to do with grappling and not just damage? Delver character.

I still don’t understand what “in time” with broken neck and back means in the crit table. The recovery time is 3d6 days. Seems like time limit is missing, or rather a time it takes to try to heal it. Same with broken hand and the rest. Where does it say how long it takes to heal a non-lethal crit injury Also, does it mean that a logic roll is needed to heal it, and if successful, it takes 3d6 days to recover. I assume the injries

Perhaps it should just state “healing time” instead of “time limit” and recovery time as you have it on the right. With a lethal injury, the healing time is described like the death save (change name, dnd vibe) and is a good mechanic. But with a non-lethal injury, a healing time is instead the time is instead must dedicate to heal a broken leg etc. surely an hour at least, perhaps a shift. With non-lethal injuries you can probably use other time frames than round, stretch shift as they don’t use the death save mechanic (e.g. 1 hour). Then the recovery time after success is a number of days. Also, will a failed roll to heal a broken hand after a time allow a new one or can a permanent disability happen? Your rules state new rolls are normally not allowed. If a non-lethal injury can heal without a logic roll, that probably needs to be clarified as well. I’d say a new attempt should be able to be made after a shift or so. If the logic roll attempt for the healing time is the same on all healable injuries that are non-lethal, weirdly enough, that should be stated. I assume an ear can’t be patched back.

Healing critical injuries are only spoken of under broken and critical injuries. I think it would have been better to include healing of non-lethal critical injuries under the critical injury headline before the table and clarified recovery time there. And if the healing time with logic is the same with every injury, weirdly, that would be the place to put it.
 
Riversnake
Posts: 54
Joined: Fri 01 Nov 2024, 22:11

Re: Feedback Thread for Coriolis: The Great Dark Quickstart

Sun 17 Nov 2024, 22:29

Does armour protect after rolls for damage, blight, and despair on no supplies left table? I assume not, but it should be made clear.
 
Riversnake
Posts: 54
Joined: Fri 01 Nov 2024, 22:11

Re: Feedback Thread for Coriolis: The Great Dark Quickstart

Sun 17 Nov 2024, 22:51

Page 62: “unsettling in its otherworldliness” how? give us clues that are more specific as this is new to us (Lovecraft is good at this, describing feelings rather than absolute visual specifics, but it would be good to get some information to build upon at least).
“Hard to shake the structures was not built for humans” How? What do we notice than is weird? It doesn’t need to be precise, but there needs to be more than just that.
“Unsettling size of everything” examples? How big? I hope there is a development of this in the adventures so we discover structures possibly built by and for other sizes? So it’s not all the same size, same type of weirdness as we go through adventures, and that there is a mystifying and scary logic to it to eventually discover.
“Mind-boggling age of the structure” What would a scholar deduce of the age? A person taking samples? Soes it mean it looks both old and new? Specifics that are Lovecraftian in nature would help here to set the disturbing scene.
 
Riversnake
Posts: 54
Joined: Fri 01 Nov 2024, 22:11

Re: Feedback Thread for Coriolis: The Great Dark Quickstart

Sun 17 Nov 2024, 23:42

If you lose one blight (or one damage) on the delve table, does armour protect?
It doesn’t seem like it because the effect would be weaker. But nice if this would be explained in the rules. General rules: In delve tables, unless otherwise stated, armour does not protect against…

P.64 suggestion: search - finds the body automatic but roll Perception +2 with each success (help actions are good here) you find either supplies and signs, decide who would find what if only one success (a scholar finds patterns another would find rations)

“The patterns on the wall are different from the tunnel” i can’t see the tunnel patterns described earlier. You need to give us a clue to how they can have a function potentially without luring players in to solve the problem. Are they like ridges forming different patterns with handles that don’t seem to fit a human hand etc? Need a bit more than this to have the scene come alive. But not as specific as in a movie. Or are they some form of rune like patterns in a circle with a center? Etc it could be vaguer than this, but as a GM I need to describe something and the adventure should give me a little more but also give a clue why it might be unsolvable so they don’t fuck around there.

P.67 some weapon attacks can be dodged, others cannot. Previously you have told us that in general creature attacks can be dodged but not blocked. Are we to make this is a mistake or can one of these attacks not be dodged?
Can a blight attack be dodged? Like number 5. It feels like maybe it could? It would be great if the rules stated clearly, “unless the creature description states otherwise, when a creature attacks with damage, a character may dodge, but never from a creature blight attack unless stated. If an environment effect attacks with blight, the creature can never dodge or block either..” Or perhaps better, only dodge with damage attacks, but in the description of number 5 an exception is that the blight may be dodged etc.
The way it is presented it becomes unclear because you feel a mistake may be behind it.
If characters can dodge creature attacks, then the dodge need not be described in any of the attacks or it creatues confusion.
 
Riversnake
Posts: 54
Joined: Fri 01 Nov 2024, 22:11

Re: Feedback Thread for Coriolis: The Great Dark Quickstart

Mon 18 Nov 2024, 14:14

Social conflict and the over-use of Empathy in it pointed to a larger issue. I could see one player being a bit frustrated by only being able to roll 2 dice all the time for her tests, when during an otherwise great role playing heavy session 1, everybody was enjoying it.

Having long role-playing sessions that are interesting with some mystery and intrigue just elevates a gameplay compared to dungeon crawling and combat focused scenarios, or rather, they make it much better. Again, the simplicity of just using Empathy from 2-5 points to a larger issue that dnd actually got right.

I think having attribute numbers from either 2-4 or 3-5 and talents ranging from 0-4 make characterisation more unique. Or even 2-5 but 5 being at the cost of one attribute point in total, or something in the vein of that (point buy system), so that it is unusual. And let different archetypes at least have a shot at developing on talent cheaper in social conflict a bit, like intimidation or deception. This makes the characters feel more unique, and less streamlined and hopeless. In the later case I guess more checks needs to have a -1 or -2 modifier, or even the dreaded 2 successes demand for an actual success.
-1 dice
-2 dice
-1 success (ugh, the third degree of difficulty)

Could there also be bc a talent that allows a character to substitute their EMP for STR or INS when making an intimidation check? That could really make characters stand out. They are normally shy or introverted but could be imposing through physical power or nasty insightful observations. Expensive talents of course. This could individualise the characters more. There could be a set of these types of talents to allow characters some leeway to be good at something at a narrow level where their attribute is low.

Perhaps someone has a talent that makes them able to swap their empathy in resistance rolls in social combat, for say insight. I guess this would rarely be useful for a player though, depending on how many opponents use empathy to cause despair. Or like a talent for warriors and police types. They are good at threats and resisting persuasion but may not always be good at persuading themselves.

I suspect experienced characters need more room for talents and gear than current sheets allow.
Last edited by Riversnake on Tue 19 Nov 2024, 17:53, edited 1 time in total.
 
Riversnake
Posts: 54
Joined: Fri 01 Nov 2024, 22:11

Re: Feedback Thread for Coriolis: The Great Dark Quickstart

Mon 18 Nov 2024, 23:37

I admit I may have missed it, but it was somewhat unclear to me if the bird can help in combat on its own or if it always requires an action. From the rules, I guess it acts on its companion’s initiative and do nothing if he doesn’t use his action to command it.

It creates a bit of a weird situation as anybody can command it, and if two commands it to attack with its beak the same round, well I guess it can’t.. However, the nature of the bird could also be that it is living and allied with the party and can make a beak attack each round even on its own or if it just receives one command ….??
 
Riversnake
Posts: 54
Joined: Fri 01 Nov 2024, 22:11

Re: Feedback Thread for Coriolis: The Great Dark Quickstart

Tue 19 Nov 2024, 02:08

P.69 What does a blight surge of 8 dice look like? How is the experience both visually and psychologically? Do some sort of flakes come from somewhere and as they lay on the exo suits there’s a crackling sound?
It’s all a bit too general and mechanics focused as it is. Because there are few references for the average GM to draw from, we need a bit more to offset the workload to come up with a visceral experience.
 
Riversnake
Posts: 54
Joined: Fri 01 Nov 2024, 22:11

Re: Feedback Thread for Coriolis: The Great Dark Quickstart

Sun 24 Nov 2024, 10:55

If you get extra successes on an attack, choose to reach the critical threshold, you must choose other effects before rolling?

Also rules should probably state opponents always try to reach the critical threshold threshold first.
 
Riversnake
Posts: 54
Joined: Fri 01 Nov 2024, 22:11

Re: Feedback Thread for Coriolis: The Great Dark Quickstart

Sun 24 Nov 2024, 22:39

P. 40 Creatures themselves never wait, but Explorers can switch initiative with one of the creature’s initiative cards.

? Surely a mistake, though I guess in the core rulebook abilities may allow for such an overpowered move, possibly..
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