[OOC] Legend of Renalta 2 (Dark Fantasy)

[LimeyPanda]

If we are starting again, I will probably end up rerolling my character.

Because Jelial spent a long time doing nothing...Yaaaaay

[Brovo]

GreenGoat said
So... we restart with a new one?

Yes.

[Maxim]

Eh, why are we restarting exactly?

[LimeyPanda]

Maxim said
Eh, why are we restarting exactly?

...Do you really need to ask that? Especially after the big wall of text that explained the advantages of the reset.

[Maxim]

Ack...sorry about that :(

[Tempest]

LimeyPanda said
If we are starting again, I will probably end up rerolling my character.Because Jelial spent a long time doing nothing...Yaaaaay

That is just as much my fault. *tips hat* As a GM, was getting back into the scene and was having trouble working with my players. I thought it would have been at least a little simpler to get things moving. And then things rose to get complex very quickly. *crosses arms* Learned some on what to do and not to do, but for Here Cometh, it was supposed to be a slower paced mission as things began to be revealed and unwinded. My lack of updates was unacceptable as well, and while I want to say I had my reasons, the pacing was indeed greatly upon my shoulders. I had ideas to begin to alter that, but I have quickly gotten burnt out on that mission due to a number of reasons I hope to avoid in the future.

I offer my sincerest apologies to everyone in my missions. I know it was hard enough to keep involved in the missions without my slow pacing. I hope to see many of you back in the relaunch, however. I have met several fine RPers here and, believe it or not, there have been several moments I have indeed enjoyed writing out and seeing from you all. :3

[KeysOfKayes]

Brovo said
This decision has been in the making for a while, as both Kadaeux and Tempest should be aware, but I've finally decided that due to a large combination of reasons, I'm going to be ordering a general hard reset on Legend of Renalta 2. [sic]

Good thing I only had the bare bones of a CS in place, then.

[Tempest]

[LimeyPanda]

Maxim said
Ack...sorry about that :(

That was slightly more aggressive than I needed to be, my apologies.

Tempest said
--Stuff that responds to me---

No issue Temp, real life is a thing that affects us all from time to time. We (I do, at least) understand that better than most. I know I'll be back, at the least.

[Brand]

I have military obligations from the 28th - 14th, but i'd like to reserve a place in case im not around when all this gets kicked off.

[Jorick]

Dibs on being one of the people with two characters. I wanna bring Kasim back and bring in a new character I've wanted to do for a long while. Time to see how a true pacifist fares in the world of LoR.

Also me calling dibs on it is a joke, just saying that I'd like to be one of those people.

[Brovo]

Brand said
I have military obligations from the 28th - 14th, but i'd like to reserve a place in case im not around when all this gets kicked off.

You'll have a reserve spot even if things fill up. (ex: If the limit is 15 people and we have 15 when you show back up, I'll have a spot for you anyway.) I can do at least that much for a member of the military--which admittedly isn't much at all.

First glance at new starting traits. Keep in mind that you grow these traits over time in whichever direction you choose, and that you're only liable to start with 2-3 of them.

Heavy

Endurance Training: After training out in the field for hours and hours on ending, you have come to realize the value of being able to simply last longer than your opponent. This translates into taking a couple more hits before you will go down, and having a higher tolerance to pain... Though, getting hit still hurts, quite a bit actually, and you’re no god. (Basics of taking more damage and resisting pain-related negative effects.)

Heavy Hitter: Where some would resort to flailing their arms about in an unsophisticated manner, you’ve decided that if you can hit something hard enough the first time that it stays down, that you can end fights before they can even really begin. Though, you’re still working on that “consistent” part, and not slowing down when you swing harder than usual. (Basics of doing more damage with each swing.)

Defender: You could take more hits to the face and become an unrecognizable, horrible mutilated piece of scar tissue on one and a half legs... Or, you’ve mused, you could probably just stop that by holding a shield and your armour correctly. This lets you absorb harder blows with your shield and armour. (Basics of wielding shields and armour (especially heavy armour) effectively.)

Charger: Something a lot of people don’t seem to realize is that the more muscles you have, the faster you are. Sure, perhaps not dexterous, but certainly faster. While you have only begun to learn the true meaning of land speed and would still be caught and killed by a tiger, you are capable of a short distance charge that can knock opponents down and catch the unwary by surprise. (Basics of dashing quickly and charging into opponents.)

Adrenaline: The only thing scarier than a fit man, is one with the determination to live. You realize now that a single moment can change everything, and in your most desperate moment, you can tap into hidden reserves of energy through adrenaline. It doesn’t last long and you feel tired afterwards, but it sure beats dying, and that temporary burst of speed and strength definitely isn’t anything to complain about either. (Basics of “last stand” mechanics.)

Light

Acrobatic: You understand the basics of climbing ropes, ascending walls, jumping across rooftops, and rolling when you hit the ground. On the other hand, you’ve only really grasped the basics of it, so jumping a twenty foot chasm while being shot at is not recommended. (Basics of acrobatics: Climbing, falling gracefully, etc.)

Slippery: You are fully aware of what happens if that war hammer the size of a small child hits you square on the chin. You’ve decided to make it a priority to learn how to never let that happen, and while you’re still learning, you understand at least enough to jump back from a blow before it takes off your head. (Basics of dodging and evasion.)

Stealthy: Every journey begins somewhere for the avid stealth expert, and yours is about on par with that of a cut-purse or a minor bugler. You have the basics down, but to learn more will take time and practice. (Basics of stealth-oriented tasks and escaping.)

Rapid Blows: Sometimes, it’s just better to hit something several times in quick succession, instead of trying to hit something really, really hard, and you understand this. Though you aren’t too good at hitting specifically vital points with it yet, or keeping it up for very long. (Basics of attacking rapidly in an effective manner.)

Sharp: You’ve started to notice how certain people stand, and how others try to keep certain parts of themselves out of harm’s way, or try to cover up certain not-so-good looking pieces of armour. Given more time, you could manifest this into a real talent for assassinating even the most armoured of targets. (Basics of weakness-finding and lie detecting.)

Magic

Raw Talent: After a few (or perhaps several) failed attempts at magic, you suddenly found yourself able to bring a raw spark of power to life in your hands. After being awed by it, you found that you could consistently control and contort this power to your will. You could conjure subtle things, flashes of light or wreathing your hands in fire. (Basics of casting magic power-wise.)

Apprentice: Combined with Raw Talent, you’ve learned how to harness that raw magical power into a consistent train of thought. Through studying a few tomes and, possible, learning from the Mage’s Guild, you’ve focused yourself onto a single school of magic. This will help focus your power into something consistent and tangible, but it’s only the beginning... (Basics of understanding magic. One school of magic unlocked.)

Wells of Power: Having been born with this talent or having artificially acquired it later on in life, you’ve connected your mind and soul to the five ethereal Wells of Power, the sources of all magic. You can subtly feel nearby mages and places of magical power, though this isn’t precise yet. The more powerful it is, the more likely you will detect it. (Basics of detecting magic and mages.)

Fortitude: Whether or not you are a mage, you can learn how to defend yourself from one, and that is just what you decided to do. After all, how else are you supposed to save the world if you can be cooked in a fireball by a pissed off mage? (Basics of resisting magical spells. NOTE: This is all magic--good, bad, and neutral!)

Awakened Meditation: Through great discipline you have figured out how to tap into the natural magic in the air all around you. It will still take time and practice to master, but nonetheless, this has increased the amount of spells you can cast before you fatigue yourself, and increased the rate at which you regain your energy to cast more spells. (Basics of increasing your magic limitations, and recovery speed from casting magical spells.)

Might undergo a couple more changes to them before I finalize. Tempest and Kad need a look at em' too.

Further updates will come out as more gets done.

[Elendra]

Draza 2 will sing and gift give us to victory.

[Maxim]

At risk of sounding like a moron again...

While I like at least a few of the changes here, I'm sorta worried that this new system is sacrificing a bit too much flexibility and complexity for simplicity. Essentially I think there really need to be more of the old system of traits.

Perhaps the biggest example I can think of is Leadership, or really conversation skills in general, seems to be nearly non-existent in the new system. None of those three (except maybe magic with charm spells and such) trait groups have anything that really help with speaking and conversation.

Now, before this get's pointed out.

Brovo said
--Diplomacy, while it may be influenced by traits, will be up to you--not a dice roll--to decide. Ex: If you're built like a tank, you can intimidate better, but you--the person playing the character--still have to pull that off yourself.

While it's a valid point, I feel like there isn't going to be enough help at this point for those who want to play charismatic characters, but are somewhat limited by irl skills.

The other minor gripe I have is that, at least from what I'm getting, you have to spend 2/3 traits in order to be a mage at all. My issue with this is that it tends to make those who want to me a mage "on the side" (such as a battlemage) too focused in magic. Specifically, it seems like you have to take these two skills in tandem in order to be a mage of any effectiveness.

Brovo said
Raw Talent: After a few (or perhaps several) failed attempts at magic, you suddenly found yourself able to bring a raw spark of power to life in your hands. After being awed by it, you found that you could consistently control and contort this power to your will. You could conjure subtle things, flashes of light or wreathing your hands in fire. (Basics of casting magic power-wise.)

Apprentice: Combined with Raw Talent, you’ve learned how to harness that raw magical power into a consistent train of thought. Through studying a few tomes and, possible, learning from the Mage’s Guild, you’ve focused yourself onto a single school of magic. This will help focus your power into something consistent and tangible, but it’s only the beginning... (Basics of understanding magic. One school of magic unlocked.)

Just voicing some minor concerns I have. Please don't hurt me

[Tempest]

Maxim said
At risk of sounding like a moron ...While I like at least a few of the changes here, I'm sorta worried that this new system is sacrificing a bit too much flexibility and complexity for simplicity. Essentially I think there really need to be more of the old system of traits.Perhaps the biggest example I can think of is Leadership, or really conversation skills in general, seems to be nearly non-existent in the new system. None of those three (except magic with charm spells and such) trait groups have anything that really help with speaking and conversation.Now, before this get's pointed out.While it's a valid point, I feel like there isn't going to be enough help at this point for those who want to play charismatic characters, but are somewhat limited by irl skills.The other minor gripe I have is that, at least from what I'm getting, you have to spend 2/3 traits in order to be a mage at all. My issue with this is that it tends to make those who want to me a mage "on the side" (such as a battlemage) too focused in magic. Specifically, it seems like you have to take these two skills in tandem in order to be a mage of any effectiveness.Just voicing some minor concerns I have.

Diplomacy:

That is one of the biggest concerns with diplomacy and largely something on my part the effects things. There will be minor bonuses, however, for the sake of realism... Which is really something Renalta does try to keep to in regards of people and such... It makes sense for GM calls on interaction. It makes no sense to have a massive bonus indiscriminately regardless of what you say or do and punish those who actually think out what they are saying and play their cards right simply because they failed to take points. And, at the end of the day... I'll be honest, diplomacy has the least amount of dice rolls. If we were to have massive amounts involved, chances are you are all going to experience severe levels of bipolar, schizophrenic behaviors from NPCs. *shakes my head* If you are wanting to play a charming character who -knows what to say- you should probably have the rough idea of how to be charming. IRL skills are negligible in the fact that I'm sure everyone knows someone in some manner who just radiates charisma and can emulate in their writings. That's what writers do, you know. Draw from inspiration.

Mages:

In Legend of Renalta, being an actual mage requires dedicated training and training. The same goes for those under the heavy (warrior) and light (rogue) classes. If you cross-class, you are not going to be as effective as those more dedicated to the field. Especially starting out where all you have is the basics and are just starting out. If you have a character concept you have in mind, start with the basic outline. Then build towards it and branch out. Just because you are not the biggest and strongest at the beginning does not mean you are limited by any means. This goes for all classes.

If you want a solid example of a cross-class character starting out... Taigyn of the Templars. He was an party defender character with some anti-magic capabilities. This was a character in LoR1. When he entered the game, he was only able to create small orbs of light as an ability. It took a massive power-boosting AoE from an ancient spirit for him to be able to temporarily blind people with his talents. Given advanced training and exploration through story and time, he's actually a very strong character now.

Cross-classing in general implies you are less capable in both fields at the expense of being more rounded in skills. If you spread yourself too thin at the start... Of course you are not going to have much strength in any one field. If you somehow manage to live through that... Congratulations, you can begin to grow stronger and more capable. This all ties back to the most basic of concepts. Jack-of-all-Trades, Master of None.

[Elendra]

I feel as if characters are going to have to start younger too, to make sense of them being so much worse at things. Older characters with longer histories but no skills seems... not so good.

Also, I disagree with you on "IRL skills are negligible" with regards to social characters. Even if we have people we know are social IRL, that doesn't mean we can still properly convey it. It doesn't take a mastermind to have a sword swing with a few words in a RP, but if you want all socials based on your ability to RP then some characters are going to be more powerful by virtue of their player just having a better way with words.

[Elendra]

Further, by the same logic, there shouldn't be skills for picking up on lies or the like. Players are already capable of trying to figure out when something another character says is a lie based on their own skills. Further, this also restricts you from making characters that are more intelligent than yourself too.

I heavily disagree with the notion of physical abilities (magic, sword play, w/e) having stats and things tied them while other important things don't.

Just because they may not be rolled as often, doesn't mean they shouldn't still be there as a mechanic.

[Tempest]

Elendra said
I feel as if characters are going to have to start younger too, to make sense of them being so much worse at things. Older characters with longer histories but no skills seems... not so good.Also, I disagree with you on "IRL skills are negligible" with regards to social characters. Even if we have people we know are social IRL, that doesn't mean we can still properly convey it. It doesn't take a mastermind to have a sword swing with a few words in a RP, but if you want all socials based on your ability to RP then some characters are going to be more powerful by virtue of their player just having a better way with words.

I meant someone's personal skills there. If you can't play a character and don't know how to work them... Maybe its not the character you need to be playing... Common sense plays into this. What you say is the foundation of diplomacy. Insult a character in your speech? Yeah, they aren't going to react well. Play to their interests? Okay, nice. The rolls are going to be taken out largely, from what I understand. If you try, its not that hard to get across. And as far as combat abilities, if you have not noticed, they are not directly tied to any one capability like weapons. Armour. Etc. Its just... how well you can utilize it. *shakes my head* There's more factors that come into play here than you may know. There are some bonuses that can apply to what you try. But, really, common sense calls by the GMs here make the most sense. You don't have to be a social genius. You don't have to be flashy, know big words or anything else. Not all characters react to the same type of people or interactions. Its not really a matter of being more powerful or not... Its not a stat. Its a character's basic ability to play nice with others. If you can't play a character without handicaps and hand-outs from a GM... then it doesn't exactly make sense for you to be playing it... *shrugs*

Elendra said
Further, by the same logic, there shouldn't be skills for picking up on lies or the like. Players are already capable of trying to figure out when something another character says is a lie based on their own skills. Further, this also restricts you from making characters that are more intelligent than yourself too.I heavily disagree with the notion of physical abilities (magic, sword play, w/e) having stats and things tied them while other important things don't.Just because they may not be rolled as often, doesn't mean they shouldn't still be there as a mechanic.

I'll talk to Brovo about the lies things. Personally feel it can work into the system, but maybe it does need a second-pass.

Also, if your character is meant to be more intelligent than yourself... And you can't write it... Then they do not exactly come off as intelligent... Do they?

Physical abilities have no stats. You have trained skills. Abilities. Think of it like a skill-tree in a game. You can unlock an ability and suddenly, you can preform it. This is not tied to any weapons. Weapons are now open. It is more tied to ability styles. Last Stand, increased mobility, little tricks and cantrips. Stats are no longer in this system. These are just small bonus abilities you can utilize in game.

If you need an example of why the diplomacy is the way it is... Look at it more this way.

You have done nothing to this NPC to have them act in any particular way to you. You begin to talk to you and they interact well, you have said plenty of reasonable things and they logically have no qualm. It works out... But suddenly have to do a success roll. You fail. Suddenly, everything you did doesn't actually matter. You don't get the information you needed. Because a roll dictated that as opposed to basic interaction skills.

Another situation, a player walks up and starts talking to an NPC trying to get closer to them. They out that they killed the last person who rebuffed their affections. Suddenly, alarm bells are going off in their head. By sheer luck, the player rolls a success. Guess what, the NPC goes completely against character and accepts this and happily deals with the player.

These are highly illogical situations that highlight the problems with a roll system for diplomaxy. You don't have to be a master of words as a character to have a chance. It follows the same rules a lot of the RP tends to go along. Be smart, use common sense. Chances are, you'll be fine. *shrugs* If you go full-on durp... Of course the interactions are likely to sour. Here's the deal... Trust your GMs on this one. We know how to write characters and do interactions. Unless you're acting like the guy who tries to force his will upon a character and goes crazy stalker insane person, it'll be fine. *shrugs*

[Gat]

tempest said Unless you're acting like the guy who tries to force his will upon a character and goes crazy stalker insane person, it'll be fine. *shrugs*

Ahh, good times....

[Maxim]

When you put it like that, I guess it does make a fair bit more sense that way.

Although, if we really are that weak at the beginning, shouldn't we start with "Slay x Sewer Rats" instead of "Solve murder mystery for highly suspicious country."? :P