tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339892973761575862024-02-07T04:35:28.574+01:00Gaia GammaWhere an old school post apocalyptic role playing game is defined live...The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-74115393020977067682011-12-31T15:34:00.001+01:002011-12-31T15:34:57.806+01:00Have a great 2012!While all activity on this blog ceased suddenly and unexpectedly <a href="http://www.biskup.net/blog/2011/12/31/2011-in-review-2012-ahead/">the reasons for it where sound in retrospective</a>. I wish you all a happy and great 2012 and I promise: I'll be back at some point!The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-58929080761293250612011-06-13T18:17:00.000+02:002011-06-13T18:17:27.427+02:00Mutated Humans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIHonp5LQPZ5A_TXpm_Vx519ALH9jydTsPRaDW5erQ92OVBvP4gnVL-sSQ_gwaBieBNWTu9EL3QaziBtnGIuG5hsFBTyR0rzo4m1soReWbGTpH0X6-zVJpzRb1y17irdnfPdAVQqAgFA/s1600/TCP+Scary+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIHonp5LQPZ5A_TXpm_Vx519ALH9jydTsPRaDW5erQ92OVBvP4gnVL-sSQ_gwaBieBNWTu9EL3QaziBtnGIuG5hsFBTyR0rzo4m1soReWbGTpH0X6-zVJpzRb1y17irdnfPdAVQqAgFA/s1600/TCP+Scary+4.jpg" /></a></div>
This morning I finished the section on mutated humans. While writing it I noticed that mutated humans probably are the baseline of the game as their section is going to be the shortest.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Currently they are described like this:<br />
<blockquote>
<i></i><br />
<i>Mutated Humans (abbreviated as MH) probably in some respect are the truest children of the Ancients as they “enjoy” their full legacy. Strangely altered by the bionuclear weapons of the Final Wars they possess abilities that might by far surpass anything ordinary humans ever dreamt of being able to do. But at the same time they pay a high price - physically and mentally altered mutated humans no longer seem to be one race. They vary in appearance and many suffer from crippling deficiencies that haunt them all their lives. Nonetheless mutated humans band together in tribes and communities to rebuild the world and accept the legacy left to them. They abide by the following rules:<br />
</i><br />
<i><ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i><div style="display: inline !important;">
Roll 3d (in order) for each attribute during character generation.</div>
</i></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i><div style="display: inline !important;">
Receive a +1 bonus to one attribute of your choice.</div>
</i></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i><div style="display: inline !important;">
Receive 10 mutation points (MP, see ...).</div>
</i></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i><div style="display: inline !important;">
Gain the Mutation skill area at rank 1 for free (see ...).</div>
</i></span></li>
</ul>
</i></blockquote>
That's it. As they will be the mutation powerhouses I did not see much need to other special abilities.The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-79705012425548355112011-06-13T18:14:00.000+02:002011-06-13T18:14:29.557+02:00Another forgotten 'Gamma' game: Waste World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHBbjjXqQTfAqbfr0tZLaxDy1ifLR2vkZHCxf1DJy25Mn_ByKoPV8Ij2lSW9aM4oHWOcP9o8ByByCRjpIVcjTP9xZZtk6mgoBx7eTAvjycOPBzWMr3L99DoxEb33G5BZVIF3HdPYH8lA/s1600/wasteworld.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHBbjjXqQTfAqbfr0tZLaxDy1ifLR2vkZHCxf1DJy25Mn_ByKoPV8Ij2lSW9aM4oHWOcP9o8ByByCRjpIVcjTP9xZZtk6mgoBx7eTAvjycOPBzWMr3L99DoxEb33G5BZVIF3HdPYH8lA/s200/wasteworld.jpg" width="148" /></a></div>
<a href="http://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/2011/06/another-forgotten-post-apocalypse-rpg.html">Swords & Stitchery</a> just reminded me of another cool post-apocalyptic game I own but I currently do not have available in my games library and thus <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/04/gamma-games-overview.html">forgot to mention some time ago in my Gamma games overview</a> (it still must be hidden in some book stack in the attic of my mother... I finally need to get all those RPG boxes moved to our new home): <a href="http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13937.phtml">Waste World</a>. I just can second the opinion expressed by Swords & Stitchery: If you like post-apocalyptic games - get it!The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-24796609364388040402011-06-11T08:26:00.000+02:002011-06-11T08:26:20.740+02:00Mutational skills<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_x_Pyanqe0G_IUGnRN2LvX4melpAADhucUy4sU4OsAmJ0SaTUUYQr-DjtuVgCnXphBI2PWg6GkivQ_i8DtYW4JOJAW0jq5Ok5setXz4lcabQ-FhCVCoTRBXX0ZD0blQSq_LUtQoXuzFk/s1600/TCP+Scary+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_x_Pyanqe0G_IUGnRN2LvX4melpAADhucUy4sU4OsAmJ0SaTUUYQr-DjtuVgCnXphBI2PWg6GkivQ_i8DtYW4JOJAW0jq5Ok5setXz4lcabQ-FhCVCoTRBXX0ZD0blQSq_LUtQoXuzFk/s1600/TCP+Scary+6.jpg" /></a></div>
Gaia Gamma will make extensive use of so-called mutational skills. For each mutation that might allow for some variance (from telekinesis over flying to death field generation) there will be a skill. The skill will have major effects on actual game play.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>For some mutations a skill roll will be required to activate them. Thus the skill will be directly used. For most mutations that contain some kind of variable (e.g. the amount of protection they provide, the range at which they work, the damage they might cause) the mutation skill modifier will be used in order to find the level of effect for the mutation based on a universal quantifier table (UQT).<br />
<br />
The universal quantifier table takes a dimension (e.g. damage, distance, weight or area) and maps an abstract score to a specific value. E.g. the description of the "laser eye beam" mutation might indicate, that the character can shoot laser beams from his eyes at a range of (4 + MSM), causing (2 + MSM) damage.<br />
<br />
MSM here stands for "mutational skill modifier". The two abstract values are mapped to specific dimensions (for an example character with "Mutation Skill: Layer Eye Beams" of 16, garnering an MSM of +2):<br />
<ul>
<li>The abstract range value of (4 + MSM) equals 6, which might be mapped to a specific range of 50 yards.</li>
<li>The abstract damage value of (2 + MSM) equals 4, which might be mapped to 4d6 actual damage.</li>
</ul>
Note that I yet have to devise the mappings, but I like the idea that increasing ones mutation skill also increases the power of the mutation. While the formulas might seem complicated at first I probably will provide a couple of tables to easily see which powers a mutation has at which levels. Additionally mutations won't change all the time, so there is little actual calculation required and the current values will be noted on the character sheet. The basic idea behind such a score/value mapping comes from games like <a href="http://www.allenvarney.com/rev_02.html">DC Heroes</a> (which as far as I know was the first RPG to use that idea) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torg">Torg</a> (which IMHO was the best game to use that approach).<br />
<br />
As a side effect I BTW have created a <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/04/classes-or-skills-skills-or-classes.html">new Mutation skill area</a> for Gaia Gamma, which mutated humans receive for free at rank 1 and sentient plants and altered animals gain for free at rank 2 (see <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/04/replacing-classes-with-skill-areas.html">this older post</a> for explanations about skill area ranks).<br />
<br />
There is one feeling of doubt left with me, though. Is this too much for an old school game and am I introducing too much modern stuff into the game? Let me know your thoughts and help me to shape the game!<br />
<br />The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-56481943398001471702011-06-10T11:28:00.001+02:002011-06-10T11:28:33.987+02:00Inventing new mutations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RHrG3EfzbLKI6WBkx9EYgsTpWHHsriebWkJPZG6n-OnXdA8fPKxo3-UluRscKbSLe-FRnv0w69UljjnIB0_26SF1x1kjffBVHdOjQ5b88b6fkdUeOme7hjp6s-0bvo_vqUoYChykUVI/s1600/nexus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RHrG3EfzbLKI6WBkx9EYgsTpWHHsriebWkJPZG6n-OnXdA8fPKxo3-UluRscKbSLe-FRnv0w69UljjnIB0_26SF1x1kjffBVHdOjQ5b88b6fkdUeOme7hjp6s-0bvo_vqUoYChykUVI/s1600/nexus.jpg" /></a></div>
There never seem to be enough of them... mutations I mean. Although Gaia Gamma will contain many dozens (most likely far more than 100) mutations you probably will soon want to invent new mutations. Today I would like to present the simple rules I devised for that. They are inspired by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexus:_The_Infinite_City">Nexus: The Infinite City</a>, a roleplaying game I heartily recommend for anyone interested in strange parallel universes and genre mixes (and the precursor to <a href="http://www.atlas-games.com/fengshui/index.php">Feng Shui</a> - another great RPG).<br />
<a name='more'></a>Here we go with the rules for inventing new mutations in Gaia Gamma:<br />
<blockquote>
<i>It’s up to the Mutant Master to invent new mutations. The following guidelines should be respected:</i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li><i>New mutations should not cause any existing mutation to become completely useless (for the same MP cost).</i></li>
<li><i>New mutation should be aligned to the damage potential of existing mutations.</i></li>
<li><i>New mutations should not enable time travel or other reality altering effects (such power was even beyond that of the Ancients - at least as far as character creation time goes... you never can know during the actual campaign).</i></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>The most difficult question probably is about determining the cost in MP for a mutation power. Use the following guidelines to calculate the total MP cost:</i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li><i>+1 MP if the mutation is very versatile (e.g. telekinesis)</i></li>
<li><i>+1 MP if the mutation causes damage or protects from damage (e.g. claws or armor plates)</i></li>
<li><i>+1 MP if the mutation has a ranged effect (e.g. laser beams from the eyes)</i></li>
<li><i>+1 MP if the mutation has an area of effect (e.g. fire breath)</i></li>
<li><i>+1 MP if the mutation is highly useful (e.g. telepathy)</i></li>
<li><i>+1 MP if the mutation works automatically without the need for activation</i></li>
<li><i>+1 MP if the mutation is associated with a mutation skill and thus can be improved</i></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<div>
Again that's it. Simple and straightforward as far as I am concerned. What do you think?</div>The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-61354787608136483202011-06-09T11:42:00.000+02:002011-06-09T11:42:07.470+02:00Attribute and skill modifiers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfo8oHVdNSHprBjgle0M1pzIfvp6yvpqMBRB0OPzYwDYCPR88pQ0wdYg-ucHZyJIHqkjMLgDxyKmiey3APu4LB7_Hw4mhk5s_HlHMeIgIMjKUeWG51R2KqVNpRysBtiliYUPI381VZIEY/s1600/tfssfca05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfo8oHVdNSHprBjgle0M1pzIfvp6yvpqMBRB0OPzYwDYCPR88pQ0wdYg-ucHZyJIHqkjMLgDxyKmiey3APu4LB7_Hw4mhk5s_HlHMeIgIMjKUeWG51R2KqVNpRysBtiliYUPI381VZIEY/s1600/tfssfca05.jpg" /></a></div>
Gaia Gamma will use direct attribute and skill values for tests, <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/04/die-rolling-in-gaia-gamma.html">as explained in an older post</a>. Nonetheless there also will be attribute modifiers that influence other areas in the game.<br />
<a name='more'></a>Examples include:<br />
<ul>
<li>Influencing secondary attributes (like the base movement rate which is affected by the dexterity modifier).</li>
<li>Influencing direct rolls (like the strength modifier that adds to melee combat damage).</li>
</ul>
Since skills and attributes <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/04/die-rolling-in-gaia-gamma.html">are ranked on the same scale</a>, it would be natural to also include skill modifiers derived from the current skill score in the same way that the attribute modifier derives from the attribute score.<br />
<br />
But why would you want to have them? Because they provide a neat and uniform way to describe the effects of skills based on the skill of the user. E.g. the jumping skill (if it existed) might allow to jump 3 yards plus (20 inches times the skill modifier). Now Gaia Gamma will not include such a fiddly skill, but it's easy to see how this could be used to find results for money earned by performances in taverns, how the time required to fix a machine could be calculated (base time plus machine complexity minus the skill modifier) and so on. So far these ideas are preliminary since I have one specific other use in mind that I will elaborate in one of the next posts.<br />
<br />
Before closing for today here is the table showing the modifier for a given score (the so-called universal modifier table or UMT for short):<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4soMR4naI51ig24AYx3wnCiiT_QloxfUQ8xDGwwJe41x2jE0T0ri-CCnMX644NpmLSGyO4rH-ie1ZY7YaNLH0h0SZaDh1JOeKLY2mfgw4XmLnboof0iIdjtsxQIFow5dsTeWU_cyqew/s1600/umt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4soMR4naI51ig24AYx3wnCiiT_QloxfUQ8xDGwwJe41x2jE0T0ri-CCnMX644NpmLSGyO4rH-ie1ZY7YaNLH0h0SZaDh1JOeKLY2mfgw4XmLnboof0iIdjtsxQIFow5dsTeWU_cyqew/s320/umt.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
Whether the above level of detail survives the design phase in this blog will have to be seen. Till then let me know your thoughts.The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-24767508723346113182011-06-08T10:38:00.000+02:002011-06-08T10:38:55.479+02:00Gaia Gamma ties as fastest growing OSR blog of April/May with Grognardia!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOqaNLwCgHwyljSWNLkTpcLShIHio_aDQelJlwEZe_vh0rA08xw9cg2roUa7ZcDtdXXwpcesfMm9mSBzjhW8CoAV269Tm62BfS5f67zXpwxm3aRyUFNI71J5gCfmBHSUEQRjZzwjJkRsA/s1600/dreamstime_12476050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOqaNLwCgHwyljSWNLkTpcLShIHio_aDQelJlwEZe_vh0rA08xw9cg2roUa7ZcDtdXXwpcesfMm9mSBzjhW8CoAV269Tm62BfS5f67zXpwxm3aRyUFNI71J5gCfmBHSUEQRjZzwjJkRsA/s1600/dreamstime_12476050.jpg" /></a></div>
Thanks to all readers of this blog for making Gaia Gamma a kind of success on Cyclopeatron's list of OSR blogs: <a href="http://cyclopeatron.blogspot.com/2011/06/fastest-growing-osr-blogs-of-april-and.html">Gaia Gamma tied with Grognardia for April/May</a> as the fastest growing OSR blog of these two months. While this does not mean much in reality I am very happy to see that Gamma games enjoy a certain fascination after all the time and I am looking forward to further growth.<br />
<br />
May the glow be with you!The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-65009828995013292682011-06-07T13:19:00.001+02:002011-06-07T13:19:32.281+02:00Preliminary list of altered animals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkAVGkpeZvvMOe4XPRSRkul9J0ehzfemuijNEcOP506kRxdSIEJVXG8wkWo5pZU3hv1PG7gtqK_rF2F85sN_nJwf4Qjhwt8E73u-1WZO9KvLz9X7v1iNg3ZhK2FBZVZZ-Ilhglaui62Fc/s1600/TCP+Armored+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkAVGkpeZvvMOe4XPRSRkul9J0ehzfemuijNEcOP506kRxdSIEJVXG8wkWo5pZU3hv1PG7gtqK_rF2F85sN_nJwf4Qjhwt8E73u-1WZO9KvLz9X7v1iNg3ZhK2FBZVZZ-Ilhglaui62Fc/s1600/TCP+Armored+6.jpg" /></a></div>
Sadly I currently have neither access to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/After_the_Bomb_(game)">After The Bomb</a> nor to <a href="http://www.metamorphosisalpha.net/Site/Welcome.html">Metamorphosis Alpha 4th Edition</a>, both of which I intended to mine for more interesting altered animal archetypes. Thus <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_World#Fourth_Edition_.281992.29">Gamma World 4th Edition</a> has to server as well as my own creativity. Here is a preliminary list of altered animal templates I am going to include in Gaia Gamma:<br />
<a name='more'></a><div>
<ul>
<li>Alligator</li>
<li>Ant</li>
<li>Armadillo</li>
<li>Badger</li>
<li>Bat</li>
<li>Bear</li>
<li>Bee</li>
<li>Boar</li>
<li>Bull</li>
<li>Camel</li>
<li>Cat</li>
<li>Chameleon</li>
<li>Cheetah</li>
<li>Cow</li>
<li>Crab</li>
<li>Cougar</li>
<li>Crab</li>
<li>Deer</li>
<li>Dog</li>
<li>Duck</li>
<li>Eagle</li>
<li>Elephant</li>
<li>Fox</li>
<li>Frog</li>
<li>Gnu</li>
<li>Gorilla</li>
<li>Grashopper</li>
<li>Hawk</li>
<li>Horse</li>
<li>Hornet</li>
<li>Kangaroo</li>
<li>Lion</li>
<li>Lizard</li>
<li>Lynx</li>
<li>Monkey</li>
<li>Mosquito</li>
<li>Octopus</li>
<li>Ostrich</li>
<li>Otter</li>
<li>Owl</li>
<li>Panther</li>
<li>Parrot</li>
<li>Pig</li>
<li>Porcupine</li>
<li>Praying Mantis</li>
<li>Raccoon</li>
<li>Rhinoceros</li>
<li>Sea Lion (Seal)</li>
<li>Shark</li>
<li>Sheep, Bighorn</li>
<li>Spider</li>
<li>Skunk</li>
<li>Snake</li>
<li>Spider</li>
<li>Squirrel, Flying</li>
<li>Squirrel</li>
<li>Termite</li>
<li>Tiger</li>
<li>Turtle</li>
<li>Vulture</li>
<li>Wasp</li>
<li>Weasel</li>
<li>Wolf</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
Tell me - are important archetypes missing? What else would you like to see? I'm pretty sure I forgot some obvious ones but hey, it's a start ;-)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I am BTW very happy to have a number of wonderful altered animal line art images that will be used in Gaia Gamma - the first of which you see to the top right. More will grace future blog posts about altered animals.</div>The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-60021192274328594262011-06-07T09:57:00.000+02:002011-06-07T09:57:44.272+02:00Selecting mutations for Gaia Gamma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw-_7zcVsbWXzDNT1V2szCrX48UpAfgJPC3EZpGt6EDWbBr4KAfUi6Qjq62AQmXMCQjghpd23GZpFR1PFIQzVcM6rK12a5hJ6rUG2snOjMq3Xz8Dh0kMP_a-oBSYJVzizZnzbajHogLBg/s1600/TCP+Hero+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw-_7zcVsbWXzDNT1V2szCrX48UpAfgJPC3EZpGt6EDWbBr4KAfUi6Qjq62AQmXMCQjghpd23GZpFR1PFIQzVcM6rK12a5hJ6rUG2snOjMq3Xz8Dh0kMP_a-oBSYJVzizZnzbajHogLBg/s1600/TCP+Hero+3.jpg" /></a></div>
In <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/06/how-to-determine-mutations.html">yesterdays post</a> I really got confused by my own rules... <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B7g23pqorBbWZDRiNTEzZjQtNjIzZC00MDZmLTkxNjYtYTNmMTcyNWJmMGEw&hl=en">Gaia Gamma R6</a> already has rules for selecting mutations... at least optional ones. That's what you get for designing the optional rules before the actual rules... but sometimes I get ahead of myself ;-) So I decided to completely revise the mutation rules and here we go:<br />
<a name='more'></a><ul>
<li>Each genotype is limited by a number of mutation points (10 MP for mutated humans, 6 MP for altered animals and sentient plants).</li>
<li>Players can roll for mutations until they hit or surpass that number of MP.</li>
<li>To get extra mutations they need to suffer from defects (which garner additional MP).</li>
<li>Instead of rolling for mutations you can select them, doubling their MP cost.</li>
<li>Instead of rolling for defects you can select them, halving their MP bonus.</li>
</ul>
That's about it. All the optional rules have been removed and yesterdays variants are no more. Simple and straightforward. The only thing to toy with is the number of MP points but that will arise as a topic once I have finished (or at least mostly finished) the mutation lists.The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-69444297245697518242011-06-06T03:01:00.001+02:002011-06-06T03:02:10.175+02:00How to determine mutations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuBeM1SMa1fQtx0bql-EKFz-0nXd_Da5D8uq0KRSXMmifGoNEDyfc8VbFDrqP0A9-6WMyW9zxkBZ1g3AKfMe85_0d3q7gY3X3vAznDW3wAi8lKc9mZseLP7Cm0eZ-T2zKwv0AZdLzxFc/s1600/009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuBeM1SMa1fQtx0bql-EKFz-0nXd_Da5D8uq0KRSXMmifGoNEDyfc8VbFDrqP0A9-6WMyW9zxkBZ1g3AKfMe85_0d3q7gY3X3vAznDW3wAi8lKc9mZseLP7Cm0eZ-T2zKwv0AZdLzxFc/s1600/009.jpg" /></a></div>
While fiddling with mutated humans and altered animals I have been thinking about the topic of how to generate actual mutations. Various approaches seem viable but I currently am highly divided about which one(s) to support in Gaia Gamma.<br />
<a name='more'></a>Currently I see the following variants:<br />
<ul>
<li>Roll for a fixed number of mutations (e.g. maybe 7 in total, 1d6 of them physical, the other mental).</li>
<li>Roll for a completely fixed number of mutations (e.g. 2 physical, 4 mental or vice versa).</li>
<li>Rate each mutations according to its power and roll for mutations until you reach a certain power limit (e.g. 10 for mutated humans, 6 for altered animals).</li>
<li>Select mutations instead of rolling.</li>
<li>Select one or two mutations, roll for the rest.</li>
</ul>
And then there is the topic of deficiencies: Should they be included in the mutation lists or should they be gathered on an extra list? So that you can decide to roll for deficiencies if you want to have more or other mutations?<br />
<br />
What do you think - should I support all these variants or just one? Which one? Which do you like best? Which did you prefer from earlier editions of Gamma Games?The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-14937901364495507522011-05-24T07:11:00.001+02:002011-05-24T07:15:03.399+02:00Introducing... the Ancients?I'm not sure whether the Ancients ever played a direct role in any Gamma campaign but to me it always seemed pretty obvious that there should be some place in Gaia Gamma, where enclaves of Ancients still survive. Probably even in a pretty unaltered form, sheltered by ancient fortresses from the havoc they caused. Maybe working on rebuilding the world, maybe trying to alter it even more and maybe following some ultimately extremely sinister scheme far beyond the grasp of Gaia Gammas new inhabitants.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>In case the Ancients were still surviving in some form I always envision some kind of remote high tech guarded by robots of the latest model series, something like:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseZgGEk_y7F8CboF6hge9tOTKCm812NryFpGQqGquxcOQRIOz15E2KPa9CyLTkbcj_OM4sSO076yg7mxoy206GcmbUGeQyFyrSUrY1vKBTsDnevhhJxyIZx9eF5rO4zAuGIWdnO0gtnw/s1600/dreamstime_5994592.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseZgGEk_y7F8CboF6hge9tOTKCm812NryFpGQqGquxcOQRIOz15E2KPa9CyLTkbcj_OM4sSO076yg7mxoy206GcmbUGeQyFyrSUrY1vKBTsDnevhhJxyIZx9eF5rO4zAuGIWdnO0gtnw/s400/dreamstime_5994592.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And in case the characters manage to overcome the outer defenses (which should be extremely hard), find an entry point (which should be even harder) and finally overcome the inner defenses (which should be possible only to the most competent and lucky adventurers) they might meet something unexpected.</div>
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Beings long believed to be eradicated.</div>
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Only remaining as a dim memory.</div>
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Surviving in the genes of their children, the pure strain humans.</div>
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Old.<br />
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Nay...<br />
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Ancient...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfgtU-_JPAjhB9nh79jPx5HzeWg3On_Ii-C4ygSNROpd4Y6UxKvWnKx8Z9oY4dB_gY2MjJcY81s34tGwS3osI2UhXJk8L9eaCSkO29bHjeStLiD01CUhHuqAEUXKiAWQG0hPvNCn-HWpU/s1600/dreamstime_4089410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfgtU-_JPAjhB9nh79jPx5HzeWg3On_Ii-C4ygSNROpd4Y6UxKvWnKx8Z9oY4dB_gY2MjJcY81s34tGwS3osI2UhXJk8L9eaCSkO29bHjeStLiD01CUhHuqAEUXKiAWQG0hPvNCn-HWpU/s400/dreamstime_4089410.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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What happens next is truly up to the Mutant Master. But judging from the look of that guy (which I totally love - he is so far from the frail and degenerated scientist you might expect to meet!) he is not overly concerned about a riff raff of pets entering his compound. And probably has some backup guards to discuss things from a position of strength.</div>
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Maybe he'll just do away with the intruders, maybe he'll offer them a job as agents for his mission based upon their extreme display of competence of valor, maybe he puts them in a zoo. Or asks them to travel back into time into the last days before the Final War in order to prevent it. Who knows...?</div>
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There are endless possibilities and Gaia Gamma will not give a definite answer as I strongly believe that each Mutant Master should decide whether the Ancients are just a story hook or a more active part in his campaigns. In mine there will be <i>something</i>.</div>
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How do you feel about the Ancients in a Gamma campaign? Post your thoughts and let me know!</div>
<br />The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-70041060227116514632011-05-16T06:06:00.002+02:002011-06-07T18:45:35.556+02:00Starting to work on altered animals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9oXeHgwQRU5ZDT3K5Hj7DO_gGX8FtV7zrtDsTsYWFgGJm2_mq7TzFh54ADwaPIYp39fXP0kc04zMiefwUg4mTUfZPExwwMeq144dVYe-UUw9XlT-8zgym1P5-6VNcf8J4oCotBOH8Qw0/s1600/CAC_wererat_feeding-Final-BKM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9oXeHgwQRU5ZDT3K5Hj7DO_gGX8FtV7zrtDsTsYWFgGJm2_mq7TzFh54ADwaPIYp39fXP0kc04zMiefwUg4mTUfZPExwwMeq144dVYe-UUw9XlT-8zgym1P5-6VNcf8J4oCotBOH8Qw0/s1600/CAC_wererat_feeding-Final-BKM.jpg" /></a></div>
After a week-long hiatus from Gaia Gamma I am slowly recovering from my conference week. While all the evenings of this week again already have been taken by various business appointments I nonetheless slowly will restart my work on Gaia Gamma. At the weekend I procured quite a number of beautiful new images for my RPGs in progress and among them were a decent amount of pictures that depict altered animals. The image to the right is done by Bradley K. McDevitt and it is one of several beautiful pictures I am going to use in Gaia Gamma.<br />
<a name='more'></a>Altered animals to me always have been about choice. I never imagined my Gamma settings with only a few animal genotypes but my campaigns always teemed with a huge number of variant races.<br />
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How they were used was a different matter in any case. Usually genotypes were distributed in various ways. Some genotypes just survived as small tribes, others were kind of nations (much smaller than today) with various villages and holdings, some even seemed to exist only in very low and distributed numbers.<br />
<br />
But the theme of being able to choose (from the view of a player) was always important to me and I also always felt that altered animal genotypes should feel somewhat different from genotype to genotype. Just stating "you are an altered rhinoceros" wouldn't do it for me without being able to dice for big strength and toughness scores and getting the <i>Horn</i> and <i>Thick Skin</i> mutations as well as the <i>Near-Sighted</i> defect. These details provide the "rules color" to a fascinating genotype.<br />
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How the genotypes actually co-exist and behave, what their cultures are and how they view the other races is something that should be left up to the mutant master. The rules IMHO need to provide a framework leaving the detail stuff up to the mutant master so that (s)he can integrate altered animals in any way deemed appropriate into the campaign.<br />
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The rules framework for Gaia Gamma will thus provide the following grit:<br />
<ul>
<li>special dice rules for the attributes of each altered animal genotype</li>
<li>pre-selected mutations and defects</li>
<li>special sizes</li>
<li>adjustments to secondary attributes</li>
</ul>
Additionally the rules will provide some statements on how to handle certain benefits common to all altered animal genotypes:<br />
<ul>
<li>How to decide if an altered animal has fully functioning appendixes.</li>
<li>How to decide if it can speak.</li>
<li>How to determine if it is bipedal (and thus might be able to wear standard armor) or not.</li>
</ul>
Thus sums up the post for today and I will close with a short table. Use 1d to determine for your campaign where altered animals stem from originally (which in turn might influence their outlook on the other races of Gaia Gamma):<br />
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<i>Altered Animal Origins (roll 1d):</i><br />
1 - Uplifted by the Ancients as servant and pleasure races. Still feel like lesser beings when facing pure strain humans. Some react with deference, others with violence.<br />
2 - Mutated spontaneously by alien invaders. Their masters have disappeared in the Final Wars but they still feel a latent aggression towards all other species of Gaia Gamma and some harbor the distinct belief that Gaia Gamma is theirs to rule.<br />
3 - Changed by the terrible weapons and mutagens employed in the Final Wars. Confused, insecure about their place in the world and shaky. Altered animals are looking at other species as exemplars o templates for their own destiny.<br />
4 - Evolved by the Ancients as brothers and sisters shortly before the Final Wars. They never managed to achieve their destiny as the Final Wars destroyed everything. Now they are trying to make sense of the plans of the Ancients and view themselves as the last hope for a better future... because what other reason might there have been for the Ancients to create them?<br />
5 - They always have been there. But before the Final Wars they saw no reason to show themselves to the other species. Crazy talk?!? No, don't you think so! The altered animals <i>are</i> the Ancients (or so they believe).<br />
6 - Created by Gaia in order to eradicate earlier follies (especially pure strain humans and mutated humans). The Ancients ravaged Gaia and they need to be punished for it. They need to disappear. Forever. The altered animals are preparing for the very final wars in order to initiate a truly new age on Gaia Gamma.<br />
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Have fun!The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-7694815193415704522011-05-08T13:29:00.002+02:002011-05-08T13:30:19.573+02:00Naming the genotypes (part II)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrLIAac8n8xt6LecyhmvgMIviLfHz5OFsQNS2htMrpr5WkLcdWWHz3Hu6ZJwduVqS3o2vwIvTM78Iai6CapUoJaKoqah6_722drvqm5NU_ehambAs-0Z65FB-F7Z0m4wHrPCfXfCGYt7I/s1600/dreamstime_8235032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrLIAac8n8xt6LecyhmvgMIviLfHz5OFsQNS2htMrpr5WkLcdWWHz3Hu6ZJwduVqS3o2vwIvTM78Iai6CapUoJaKoqah6_722drvqm5NU_ehambAs-0Z65FB-F7Z0m4wHrPCfXfCGYt7I/s1600/dreamstime_8235032.jpg" /></a></div>
While doing various minor things I am <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/05/naming-genotypes.html">still wrestling with the best names</a> for the planned genotypes. After some pondering I am currently stuck with the following setup:
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<a name='more'></a><ul>
<li>Pure strain humans, robots, cyborgs (unchanged)</li>
<li>Mutated humans (they definitely are mutated versions of purer human genotypes so this seems appropriate)</li>
<li>Altered animals (this leaves open whether they were mutated due to random effects of the Final War, consciously uplifted by the Ancients or the result of "something else" - maybe even an alien invasion)</li>
<li>Sentient plants (which sentience is a matter of discussion for animals for plants this IMHO is out of doubt - so this sentience attribute is a great differentiator here)</li>
</ul>
Addtionally I fear that updates during the next week will not manage to keep up the "at least one update per day" rate I planned for myself as I will be visiting two conferences, speaking on both them and "doing the booth" at one of them - so my guess would be that there will be not enough time for regular updates. I'll try my best but it might take until next weekend for the next update. See ya!The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-15209744366380460752011-05-07T00:27:00.000+02:002011-05-07T00:27:09.444+02:00Metamorphosis Alpha: To the stars and beyond<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkksZ6ipB2PxknDP2KiuTibPnH8VxzYoN3jOGFd_hKj1a-C-314gWfF57qMO9nx8EcghLp7O6fgK0VLqYSFHitIfKrXl-2KPfT-ez6NaLblnFw41WOoqI5XU2gqRYluLtyQkJ3RE1hEow/s1600/MetamorphosisAlpha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkksZ6ipB2PxknDP2KiuTibPnH8VxzYoN3jOGFd_hKj1a-C-314gWfF57qMO9nx8EcghLp7O6fgK0VLqYSFHitIfKrXl-2KPfT-ez6NaLblnFw41WOoqI5XU2gqRYluLtyQkJ3RE1hEow/s200/MetamorphosisAlpha.jpg" width="153" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.metamorphosisalpha.com/">Metamorphosis Alpha</a> for a long time has been a distant dream for me. I totally loved <a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/07/retrospective-metamorphosis-alpha.html">the idea behind the RPG</a> since I first ever read about it. But that was a long time ago and there was no Internet, no eBay and I was in Germany. Far away from TSR and its games.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>For many years (over 10) I searched for the game and finally in 1994 I managed to get my hands on it. At a special place. I visited the US for the first time and I visited <a href="http://www.gencon.com/">GEN CON</a> for the first time. After we already had met <a href="http://www.facebook.com/joseph.k.adams">Joseph K. Adams</a> in SF (all around <a href="http://www.jorune.org/">Jorune</a> guy and a truly great chap) we travelled through the south west and finally flew to Chicago to travel to Wisconsin from there. And visit GEN CON. There I met <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Miller_(game_designer)">Steve Miller</a>, TSR designer at that point and big fan of <a href="http://www.dlnexus.com/">Dragonlance</a>, creator of the <a href="http://kuoi.com/~kamikaze/Nuelow/">NUELOW games</a> and much more. We had known each other from various conversations on Usenet and had collaborated on writing a couple of RPG manuals for the NUELOW line. Also I wrote <a href="http://kuoi.com/~kamikaze/Nuelow/nl5_hominids.html">NUELOW Hominids</a> which I enjoyed greatly. He invited me to Lake Geneva and we had the chance to visit the holy halls of TSR, various offices and even the warehouse (and I curse myself till today for not picking up more of the amazing treasures there as we were asked... but we were too awed in that moment). And finally in the Lake Geneva RPG shop I discovered Metamorphosis Alpha. And bought it for a then murderous price.<br />
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Only to discover (back in the hotel room) that a whole page was missing. I was destroyed. And brought it back the next day. And it took me another five or so years to finally get a complete copy. Which I love till today. So Gaia Gamma will at least need to provide a campaign option to be able to play a Gamma game on a generation ship. The setup is just too amazing.<br />
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Yesterday I purchased a piece of art that will be the frame for the generation ship campaign option in Gaia Gamma. Naturally the campaign option will be only an outline - maybe I will do another sourcebook later if I feel like it. But the idea of being the inhabitant of an unknown area and strange wilderlands that in reality are the innards of a damaged generation ship, with crazed bots, dangerous aliens and maybe even a chance to find a window to a mysterious orb shimmering in the darkness below... is just too wonderful. Thanks, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Ward_(game_designer)">Jim Ward</a>, for imagining it as an RPG in the first place!<br />
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Here we go with a different type of generation ship:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ZS9tT0aV3G_D-VMUSR0sSMS_BeVs4PseHiRMpSOEK-39bn6K1jgbTLp2pyPbJ5prnoxZ8z7AugL3RQsTBqVxjkguAjJPGytcyj3xfEpebss9nltZWTz0isFRKHawsap-fscmDI9qsg0/s1600/dreamstime_15084583.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ZS9tT0aV3G_D-VMUSR0sSMS_BeVs4PseHiRMpSOEK-39bn6K1jgbTLp2pyPbJ5prnoxZ8z7AugL3RQsTBqVxjkguAjJPGytcyj3xfEpebss9nltZWTz0isFRKHawsap-fscmDI9qsg0/s400/dreamstime_15084583.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-16653424550559929052011-05-06T06:34:00.001+02:002011-05-06T06:34:58.930+02:00Cryptic Alliances: The Harbingers of DoomSometimes images are bad, sometimes images are decent, sometimes images are good and sometimes images are... <i>images</i>. That blow you away. That spark your creativity and that blow your nerve fibres into a state of total exhilaration. For me this happened a couple of days with the picture depicted below.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj29uf2I7Oe-fLDfVjwt3scMqZIRbILjeijg5G4g-XXADDY2HdkFDB7J_ASA35RySfdPHRN6b77N592rcC-8JXLAWVEUc6H2cila3YgzLfj2FwTj1m_ERdbDXAAo8JQUiW9Fozy-nAQe-Y/s1600/dreamstime_17584465.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj29uf2I7Oe-fLDfVjwt3scMqZIRbILjeijg5G4g-XXADDY2HdkFDB7J_ASA35RySfdPHRN6b77N592rcC-8JXLAWVEUc6H2cila3YgzLfj2FwTj1m_ERdbDXAAo8JQUiW9Fozy-nAQe-Y/s400/dreamstime_17584465.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Harbingers of Doom</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Brought to you by Dreamstime.com and Jesse-lee Lang. I totally love this image and for me it oozes mood. Really spooky mutant cyborgs on the top of some skyscraper in front of a ruined city of the Ancients. And you know you are in trouble. <i>In real trouble</i>.<br />
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I immediately had to start writing the entry for "The Harbingers of Doom" - one of the cryptic alliances that will be included in Gaia Gamma. Here you go (although it is not yet complete):<br />
<blockquote>
<b><i>The Harbingers of Doom</i></b></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>This sinister cryptic alliance is feared throughout Gaia Gamma. Its membership seems to consist of imhuman cyborgs or mutants, radically altered to represent the worst traits devastated Gaia has to offer (see the image above for a tactical Harbinger strike team). The sole goal of the Harbingers of Doom seems to finish what the Final War did not manage - to utterly destroy every living being on Gaia Gamma. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>While bent on chaos and destruction this brotherhood operates far from mindlessly. Its agents tend to infiltrate communities by preying on the greedy and mentally weak, promising them great gains, power and might, in exchange for their service. Whatever the detail deal, the Harbingers always seek new ways to destroy life. Usually they operate by indirect means, poisoning wells, convincing living beings to seek the blessings of the Glow (thus puttting them into a strange position towards the Church of Oppenheimer, which sees the Harbingers as misguided children - telling you a lot about the Church of Oppenheimer itself) and so on.</i></blockquote>
The Harbingers of Doom will probably be the one truly evil cryptic alliance of which characters might be able to become members (officially I will not support the Army of Purity as an organizations for PCs but they make for wonderfully stupid and evil villains) and they harbor a number of dark secrets concerning Gaia Gamma.<br />
<br />
BTW I just noticed that I occasionally find it oddly unnerving how much James over at <a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com/">Grognardia</a> tends to think in similar lines than I do. This has <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/05/gamma-may-glowing-near-future.html">happened a couple of times</a> since I started Gaia Gamma and I find his <a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2011/05/open-friday-gamebook-art.html">Open Friday's post on the use of art in games</a> a very appropriate match to this one. See my opinion on the general topic in the <a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2011/05/open-friday-gamebook-art.html#comments">comments to his post</a>.The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-72251037699966702342011-05-05T00:06:00.001+02:002011-05-05T00:06:52.161+02:00Archetyping with boons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMYT8KwJ9Gy_TDvYXHuHWXkPyGknsxt8YkxbOLAFUZQhiobf-VXEqRn1K593ln-zw-wuPaZnv8amqCkgF6Pk6GgY6rrfYU3KhiehVZEB094BNWFxPV6ifFQXUyOg5rn_2uQ_xWAEtv3Y/s1600/dreamstime_16912903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMYT8KwJ9Gy_TDvYXHuHWXkPyGknsxt8YkxbOLAFUZQhiobf-VXEqRn1K593ln-zw-wuPaZnv8amqCkgF6Pk6GgY6rrfYU3KhiehVZEB094BNWFxPV6ifFQXUyOg5rn_2uQ_xWAEtv3Y/s1600/dreamstime_16912903.jpg" /></a></div>
My most recent <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/04/replacing-classes-with-skill-areas.html">ideas concerning character classes</a> were running along the lines of strengthening archetypical concepts with <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/04/classes-or-skills-skills-or-classes.html">skill area specializations (then called talents)</a>. I have renamed talents to boons (mostly for abbreviation purposes - a talent level (TL) would have conflicted with a tech level). Now we will have boon levels (BL) which are calculated by an easy formula and specify the detailed effects of boons chosen.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Here is the text from the rules section on boons:<br />
<blockquote>
<i>Boons provide special advantages to characters. Boons are only available for skill areas ranked at 1 or 2. In each such skill area the player chooses one boon for his character. Skill areas with rank 1 grant a major boon, those ranked at 2 grant a minor boon. Major boons are more powerful than minor ones and really can shape a character concept, while minor boons usually only provide some flavor. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>Each boon has a boon level (BL) that determines the specific advantages granted. The BL for major specialization equals </i></blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>2 + Experience Level</i></b></blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;">
<i>while minor boons it is equal to</i></blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>Experience Level / 2 (rounded up)</i></b></blockquote>
<blockquote style="text-align: left;">
<i>Boons never change once chosen. The Mutant Master checks if the chosen boons fit the character concept.</i></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Based on these definitions I have defined three boons for each skill area. <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/04/pure-strain-humans.html">Pure strain humans</a> receive two major and one minor boon (all from different skill areas), all other genotypes will receive one major and one minor boon. Robots (and maybe Androids) might be a special case - I'm still undecided about those character types.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Here is the list of potential boons - you might want to guess there functions (as those are not yet written up - the next release will have more details):</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Combat Boons</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Brick </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Mauler</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Sharpshooter</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Interaction Boons</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Connector</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Nobody</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Racketeer</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Knowledge Boons</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Gossiper</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Jack of all Trades</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Sage</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Roguery Boons</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Acrobat</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Bounty Hunter</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Slayer</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Science Boons</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Genius</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Inventor</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Preserver</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Wilderness Boons</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Guide</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Explorer</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Beastmaster</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Basically a boon will provide a narrow advantage in some area. A brick e.g. might receive additional hit points equal to (BL)d6+BL. A guide might receive a bonus of +BL to all wilderness skills when leading others through areas that he travelled at least once and his survival skill might be so good that he can provide the upkeep for (BL squared) others. And so on.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My only concern is that character creation slowly starts to get bogged down in details (rolling for attributes, rolling for mutations, selecting skill areas and skills, rolling for skill scores, selecting boons, ...). Maybe this is overkill and I should try to tune things down a little bit.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
What do you think? Both about boons and the growing complexity?</div>
</div>The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-16426588101528277982011-05-04T06:02:00.001+02:002011-05-04T06:03:00.456+02:00Naming the genotypes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhDNc6ozJtmzel4A4jfG7Flg0V2RMaGEa_ejFfuTgcHx6Iy3Hm2poYzfYRBnlS1Io-CdrFXSI_VDrRgQp-xMkBdxuAzojdeoTaUaskt363OaxNcyqkjV8JHMhofby4_JCzVB8OVFrj6k/s1600/dreamstime_15553871.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhDNc6ozJtmzel4A4jfG7Flg0V2RMaGEa_ejFfuTgcHx6Iy3Hm2poYzfYRBnlS1Io-CdrFXSI_VDrRgQp-xMkBdxuAzojdeoTaUaskt363OaxNcyqkjV8JHMhofby4_JCzVB8OVFrj6k/s1600/dreamstime_15553871.jpg" /></a></div>
While working on the character background options for Gaia Gamma I noticed that I'm not yet happy with the names of the genotypes available to the player. Some sound very similar and I would like to have more distinct names.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Let's look at the current setup - we have:<br />
<ul>
<li>Pure Strain Humans</li>
<li>Mutated Humans</li>
<li>Sentient Animals</li>
<li>Sentient Plants</li>
<li>Robots</li>
<li>Cyborgs</li>
</ul>
I like the pure strain humans and - if they are kept - also can live with robots and cyborgs. I'm not yet happy with the other three.<br />
<br />
Concerning <i>Mutated Humans</i> I'm constantly switching between <i>Mutants</i> and <i>Mutated Humans</i>. On one hand I would like to have them a more distinct feel (thus just Mutants, on the other hand I kind of like to imply the similarities between two of the six races, namely at least being basically human). Do you prefer one or the other or do you have a better suggestion?<br />
<br />
Concerning <i>Sentient Animals</i> and <i>Sentient Plants</i> I'm not happy about both sharing <i>sentient</i> in their genotype name as that IMHO implies too many similarities - and I envision plants and animals as being quite different in culture and behaviour. I have been considering <i>Uplifted Animals</i> (but I'm not sure if I'm misusing any trademarked terms and I'm also not too sure I like it). So this also is not perfect. But I'm totally at a loss for an even better idea. Suggestions?<br />
<br />
While this might seem like a minor point I strongly believe that such naming issues are important as names are an important messenger in conveying the basic nature of a game and the game environment. So I really want to get this right. I'm looking forward to input!The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-55772821529733327402011-05-03T08:24:00.001+02:002011-05-03T08:25:04.402+02:00Going even more old school...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGh3YfvN5YCXDVqph2eS_w-7-3IgLdwW7eHVwdyDXiv4aptY7cbnWEzPLaZn9PDewebMjB-EXrs571acJKlvl3yhcOpFtuYDZlsioyEMGu7HoPNNICuvPvfJfFkvMu_f-B6QkvP8qGgRE/s1600/The+Fantasy+Game+-+Cover+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGh3YfvN5YCXDVqph2eS_w-7-3IgLdwW7eHVwdyDXiv4aptY7cbnWEzPLaZn9PDewebMjB-EXrs571acJKlvl3yhcOpFtuYDZlsioyEMGu7HoPNNICuvPvfJfFkvMu_f-B6QkvP8qGgRE/s200/The+Fantasy+Game+-+Cover+1.jpg" width="140" /></a></div>
Just as a quick mention I have created yet another blog. While thinking about the Gaia Gamma rules I really noticed my growing interest in finally understanding the feel and the philosophy of the first RPG rules ever published, especially to better understand the improvements brought to the world by both Metamorphosis Alpha and Gamma World 1st edition. The result is <a href="http://www.thefantasygame.org/">The Fantasy Game</a>, a blog researching the OD&D rules. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
(And no: The Gaia Gamma blogging speed should not deteriorate - this still is priority one and as the goal is finite I hope to continue with at least one post per day).The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-28781593501566809942011-05-03T07:46:00.000+02:002011-05-03T07:46:20.847+02:00Lores as skills or additional talents?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh467JkxmO3OnulYdAo_UzG00dQ2oD0Vza4e8TgJKl6EOt4onQUh4fTI30xOUsykMDXRVI6Ed-dL0sznIXA6lXqVme-IQcRI8IU9Cxl-KVR_vhlw_8vVJcCGIwJQADl0qCdn5nw6-2kJck/s1600/Kolyarut-Final-Dupuis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh467JkxmO3OnulYdAo_UzG00dQ2oD0Vza4e8TgJKl6EOt4onQUh4fTI30xOUsykMDXRVI6Ed-dL0sznIXA6lXqVme-IQcRI8IU9Cxl-KVR_vhlw_8vVJcCGIwJQADl0qCdn5nw6-2kJck/s1600/Kolyarut-Final-Dupuis.jpg" /></a></div>
In one of my initial posts on skills, skill areas and character classes <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/04/replacing-classes-with-skill-areas.html">roguewombat proposed to use a system of wises</a> inspired by the <a href="http://www.mouseguard.net/">Mouse Guard</a> <a href="http://www.gnomestew.com/reviews/mouse-guard-rpg-review-want-to-play-a-mouse-with-a-sword">RPG</a>. Wises modify the use of other more active skills by providing bonusses in appropriate situations. I have given this some more thought and now have a stance concerning using the approach for Gaia Gamma.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>I will use a twofold approach for Gaia Gamma:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/04/skill-list.html">Lores basically will remain as initially laid out</a>. I'm (until presented with even more reasons for it) not remove the various lore. The reason for this mainly is that I see post-apocalyptic games as games centered around the rediscovery of knowledge. Effectively this makes knowledge something extremely valuable and not just a byline to other skills. Thus the central lores so far defined will be kept (and maybe even expanded). This allows to have <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/04/replacing-classes-with-skill-areas.html">skill area selections</a> that make characters "wise people" which seems appropriate for a society trying to rediscover knowledge.</li>
<li>I will add some kind of cultural specializations to Gaia Gamma. Maybe wises are a good name for them, maybe something else. The main idea here is to be able to mirror more specialized knowledge usually gained from having been raised in a particular area or culture. Such specialized knowledge might include wilderness specializations for specific terrain types (<i>Naarak, a raider from the clan of the swamp maulers</i>), for specific cultural contexts (<i>Mook, born in the bowels of the city of Gran Junkshion</i>) or technologies (<i>Laas, first engineer of the eternal iron train</i>). Such specializations never replace existing skills but rather provide something like a <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/04/handling-difficulty-modifiers-in-2dx_07.html">-1 DL bonus</a> in highly specific situations. Additionally they help to differentiate characters even more. </li>
</ul>
Characters will only receive something like two such tagline specializations in order to be able to focus on the core concepts of their characters. I probably also will add some kind of random tables to again speed up character generation. Therefor the tables probably will provide specializations together with tag lines that elaborate the underlying character concept. <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/05/elaborating-pc-backgrounds-in-gaia.html">Background points</a> might help to increase the number of these specializations in some way.<br />
<br />
To me this seems like a good compromise between a highly flexible skill system and the kind of background skills first popularized by Shadowrun (as far as I know).<br />
<br />
Over the next days I will write down all the things that slowly come together in order to describe a character even better without sacrificing too much speed.<br />
<br />The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-88811320683691242232011-05-02T00:01:00.001+02:002011-05-02T00:01:59.974+02:00Elaborating PC backgrounds in Gaia Gamma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXdmbmHFm4_bR4iyh2-UW2DJNYg8T-6T6OpY3BRI7QN1lXUHvEnmSQXLibJdCL3ijEaJ2088NLuK8kILAYI7iSm99ghne6Ms3RI5NMJqJQxZno3Ybkwap9w0u79hGZ8wgOmwj1BQYWfxU/s1600/dreamstime_18624761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXdmbmHFm4_bR4iyh2-UW2DJNYg8T-6T6OpY3BRI7QN1lXUHvEnmSQXLibJdCL3ijEaJ2088NLuK8kILAYI7iSm99ghne6Ms3RI5NMJqJQxZno3Ybkwap9w0u79hGZ8wgOmwj1BQYWfxU/s1600/dreamstime_18624761.jpg" /></a></div>
On Grognardia James <a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2011/05/gamma-world-cover-to-cover-part-i.html">raised a very interesting point concerning the cover of Gamma World</a> 1st edition: The cover shows a situation that is not possible given the rules provided in the book - a group of pure strain humans with high tech equipment is preparing to explore a ruined city. Such a setup is not possible with the given rules, which IMHO is a shame.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Gaia Gamma has been prepared to handle such things. Since <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B7g23pqorBbWMDM2ZjQxYjAtNTY2Ny00Y2I5LWI3YWYtMTJkMzRiNDMxMDYx&hl=en&authkey=CKXKwrQB">release 3</a> there has been (a so far empty) chapter titled "Character Background". So far I never elaborated my ideas for this chapter. Now seems to be a very good time.<br />
<br />
My idea for this chapter is to provide an additional option to customize characters. I will be using an idea inspired by the character generation process of later editions of Shadowrun: Each PC receives a total of 10 background points (BPs) that can be distributed among several options:<br />
<ul>
<li>the tech level of the community from which the character hails (from I to V - the technology of the Ancients at level VI probably won't be available)</li>
<li>the size of the community from which the character hails (which will influence the availability of items, etc.)</li>
<li>the wealth of the character (and his parents), which again influences his starting equipment and further options</li>
<li>the inheritance of the character (he might own very special artifacts usually not available, etc.)</li>
<li>special benefits (followers, land, a mutation of particular strength, membership in a cryptic alliance, etc.)</li>
<li>great genes (more attribute points)</li>
<li>excellent education (higher skill points)</li>
</ul>
Higher point values in a background category will yield greater benefits and each category can receive between 0 and 4 points. Effectively this should move Gaia Gamma characters out of the rather limited background options effectively supported by the rules of earlier editions. While these editions also allow to "handwave" character backgrounds personally I am a fan of more complete rules systems that give GMs more tools to build a campaign according to his whims.<br />
<br />
I also believe that this rather modern approach does not conflict with my goals of creating an OSR game. Although it poses one problem: Character generation probably will take somewhat longer. To compensate for that I probably will also include a random variant of this so that your background options can be determined with a couple of quick die rolls.<br />
<br />
I'm currently also not quite happy with the categories mentioned above and suggestions for better / other ones are very welcome! Basically the categories should allow for a wide variety of character options without overpowering individual characters.The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-51863142077502492882011-05-01T22:45:00.001+02:002011-05-01T22:49:15.368+02:00Gamma May: The glowing near-future<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWJfdq24FZszYg-R2tk2mXF311ZLuvfoTtrJQ5kP9PMS9wGKFVlAeFxsKKHzNf5r7n4c-gkVveHNpLx1C5WaWb7HAb422tu8Zn6OqZdJCyJAIEAvtGsrxeAlquuxAuzm-xkVe34Z3wieQ/s1600/dreamstime_17057323-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWJfdq24FZszYg-R2tk2mXF311ZLuvfoTtrJQ5kP9PMS9wGKFVlAeFxsKKHzNf5r7n4c-gkVveHNpLx1C5WaWb7HAb422tu8Zn6OqZdJCyJAIEAvtGsrxeAlquuxAuzm-xkVe34Z3wieQ/s1600/dreamstime_17057323-1.jpg" /></a></div>
May seems to be becoming a very good month for Gamma Game afficionados. Besides me trying to keep up with the post rate of "at least one per day" for May, too, <a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2011/05/may-is-for-gamma-world.html">James over at Grognardia announced to dedicate the month of May towards a Gamma World retrospective</a>.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>I absolutely love this announcement since it nicely coincides with my attempt to bring Gamma World even more back into spotlight by providing an OSR alternative to the nice <a href="http://www.goblinoidgames.com/mutantfuture.html">Mutant Future OSR clone</a> of Gamma World.<br />
<br />
In order to support the current Gamma World revival I am going to try to provide a Grognardia commentary by aligning my current Gaia Gamma design efforts with James' thoughts on Gamma World. Hopefully this will provide an influx of ideas for Gaia Gamma and help to spur Gaia Gamma towards completeness.<br />
<br />
Consequently I also added Grognardia to the blog roll to the left. If you are not yet reading it (but who isn't already?) you really should add it to your regular list. I love it for it various positions on everything old school, even if I don't agree all the time. And I'm continuously bewildered by James constant output rate.<br />
<br />
BTW, for new readers of this blog: <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/04/rewards-for-7-of-first-100-followers-of.html">You still have a chance to win a completed version of Gaia Gamma if you become a follower of this blog</a>.The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-69061101246672375832011-05-01T00:10:00.000+02:002011-05-01T00:10:30.112+02:00Abbreviations for primary and secondary attributesToday's post probably will be one of the stranger ones in this blog. But I'm feeling like having a zen moment of game design right now. While paging through release 6 of Gaia Gamma and fiddling with stuff for release 7 I noticed a minor detail that I subconsciously had been following in order to make the design even smoother.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>What I am talking about - as funny as it may sound - is the harmonious alignment of one- and two-letter-abbrevations used for primary and secondary attributes.<br />
<br />
Let me explain: All the primary attributes (strength, intelligence, will, dexterity, toughness, charisma, perception) use exactly one letter as an abbreviation (S, I, W, D, T, C, P). All the secondary attributes (hit points, gamma points, physical defense, mental defense, movement rate, size) use two-letter-abbreviations (HP, GP, PD, MD, MR, SZ).<br />
<br />
This recognition gave me above-mentioned "zen moment of game design" as the alignment of attribute categories with abbreviation lengths seems wonderful. But maybe I'm just a little bit tired ;-)<br />
<br />
In any case I believe that it is helpful on a subconscious level for players in the game if a design takes into account such peculiarities. Ok, enough rambling for today - this was a really strange post.<br />
<br />
BTW, does anyone think that "willpower" might be a better attribute name that just "will"?The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-22339715219912275792011-04-30T00:35:00.001+02:002011-04-30T00:37:34.436+02:00Gaia Gamma release 6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwVEHPx_u_rPjf7VyAMpgupM1L8LT5VFhwayko_ExjIS_xZKbdTWlw8BT7H0Wdvz1QX5wfO_n5jK1YzC4ZevcsAXTe7nJD0bYG2E1TEgtg-LLEm1_KAPM85tiiHTgvs28E_uj7IHWX9A0/s1600/tfssfca03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwVEHPx_u_rPjf7VyAMpgupM1L8LT5VFhwayko_ExjIS_xZKbdTWlw8BT7H0Wdvz1QX5wfO_n5jK1YzC4ZevcsAXTe7nJD0bYG2E1TEgtg-LLEm1_KAPM85tiiHTgvs28E_uj7IHWX9A0/s1600/tfssfca03.jpg" /></a></div>
I'm happy to announce release 6 of the living Gaia Gamma rules. As usual you can find the download in the navigation to the right. Release 6 represents an important step in the development of Gaia Gamma as it contains a number of widespread improvements.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The most important additions and changes include:<br />
<ul>
<li>The various rules discussed in the past two weeks in the blog have been added (adjustments to pure strain humans, revised skill scores, the foundation for artifacts, initial skill descriptions, sizes, etc.).</li>
<li>Lots of artwork, credits for contributions and the official OSR logo for Gaia Gamma have been added.</li>
<li>The table of content has been structured in more detail. As a consequence it has grown by about 30%. The layout of the table of content also has been refined.</li>
<li>An opening chapter about the end of the world (together with vivid imagery of the Final War) has been added to introduce players to the background of Gaia Gamma.</li>
<li>The dice rules have been expanded by more die notations and explanations about how to handle modifiers.</li>
<li>The character generation chapter now contains more details and references to the actual content chapters.</li>
<li>The section about secondary attributes slowly is getting into shape. The images for size comparisons are one of the major additions (together with the size rules).</li>
<li>I have started writing the skill descriptions. For now this has been stalled as comments to earlier blog posts about skills suggested that it might be a good idea to add a system of "wises", basically knowledge areas (instead of knowledge skills) that add modifiers to active skill rolls. I'm not yet sure about how to proceed with this and will post my thoughts about it in a future blog post pretty soon.</li>
<li>Work on the combat rules has begun, again with sections about size and another new part about split, swipe and stomp attacks. The ideas behind these rules will be discussed in an upcoming blog post.</li>
<li>Rules for the changes that happen when advancing a level have been added. Again these will be discussed in another blog post.</li>
<li>Work on cryptic alliances has started, with the Church of Oppenheimer being the first one to receive some attention.</li>
<li>Optional rules for distributing mutations have been added.</li>
<li>A bibliography has been begun, influenced by the recent posts about Gamma Games and Gamma Movies.</li>
</ul>
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In total the rules manual has grown from 24 to 41 pages although many of the pages still are just empty frames with headlines, preparing the manual for the next additions to come. Overall I intend to focus on character generation for now in order to be able to create characters as soon as possible. Pure strain humans will be the first genotype that can be used completely (as I don't need to write up the many mutations for them) with robots and cyborgs probably going last as I still do not feel very inspired about them - maybe they even will have to go as player genotypes. We'll have to see.</div>
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So that's it for today. Enjoy the new version of the rules and let me know what you think. Now is the time to shape Gaia Gamma!</div>The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-68155057980195559332011-04-29T00:06:00.000+02:002011-04-29T00:06:47.276+02:00Fiddling with the base skill scores & pure strain humansI have decided to adjust <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/04/replacing-classes-with-skill-areas.html">the base skill scores of skills in a given skill area</a>. To repeat: Skill areas collect a number of related skills and each skill area is ranked from 1 (best) to 4 (worst) with 4 being the only rank that occurs more than once. Base skill scores are determined randomly.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>While my initial proposal used base scores of 4d6-L (rank 1), 3d6 (rank 2), 4d6-H (rank 3) and 2d6 (rank 4) this seemed somewhat strange to me... especially as I am not too sure about whether 3d6 really is better than 4d6-H (and so far I had been too lazy to do the calculations).<br />
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For the next release I wanted clearer and better separations between the ranks. Thus the new base skill scores are determined like this:<br />
<ul>
<li>5d-2L for rank 1</li>
<li>4d-L for rank 2</li>
<li>3d for rank 3</li>
<li>2d for rank 4</li>
</ul>
Clearer, better and definitely more distinct.<br />
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Additionally I toyed around with <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/04/pure-strain-humans.html">pure strain humans as a character race</a>. I decided to give them an additional advantage: Pure strain humans receive two <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/04/replacing-classes-with-skill-areas.html">skill areas</a> at rank 1 (expert) while all other races just may rank one skill area at 1. Reminder: <a href="http://www.gaiagamma.com/2011/04/classes-or-skills-skills-or-classes.html">skill areas give benefits when starting out but also will provide extra abilities when increasing in level</a> and the latter fact is the reason for this further increase in power. I want every character to be exciting to advance through the levels and pure strain humans - lacking mutations - need some compensation for that. So they now receive extra education and have two areas of expertise that increase whenever they advance a level. Sounds fair compared to one area of expertise and potential increases in mutational power for the other races.<br />
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As for robots and cyborgs we will have to see ;-)The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933989297376157586.post-20630131998580330572011-04-28T05:46:00.002+02:002011-04-28T05:53:12.279+02:00Gamma Movie: The Road (2008)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7KZAcb6xQoy4g2VGPPYGREYZY-adcaD5MJ0LjX8LJozwcaKr34lK8JqLx-DqbCWsGQnhb5KDbl7VeMGHWFuhv_PbnatJJIZYDEWDBI-4KCPJOqiSfftT_m37ti8_vJ6IFHnRZd4s4RI8/s1600/the-road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7KZAcb6xQoy4g2VGPPYGREYZY-adcaD5MJ0LjX8LJozwcaKr34lK8JqLx-DqbCWsGQnhb5KDbl7VeMGHWFuhv_PbnatJJIZYDEWDBI-4KCPJOqiSfftT_m37ti8_vJ6IFHnRZd4s4RI8/s200/the-road.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
A couple of days ago I watched<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gaigam-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001FB5634&camp=217145&creative=399349" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FB5634/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=gaigam-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B001FB5634">The Road on DVD</a>. Being a filmed version of the bestselling book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OI0G1Q/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=gaigam-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B000OI0G1Q">The Road</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gaigam-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000OI0G1Q&camp=217145&creative=399349" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />by Cormac Mccarthy (a book I not yet have read but which is standing in my library - but these days I prefer watching movies first and then reading the book because it's usually less frustrating).<br />
<a name='more'></a>As far as I am concerned The Road is not a good template for Gamma games, as the world is just to low tech, too dark and bleak and survival is much more "down to earth brutal" than I would expect for my usual Gamma campaigns. Nonetheless the movie IMHO is a great postapocalyptic movie with a very believable depiction of the travels of a father and his son through a devastated United States with cannibals and everything else one would expect in a world going down the drain.<br />
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I loved the visuals of the movie as everything is believably dirty and destroyed. Characterization focusses on the two main persons, Viggo Mortenson playing a great main character.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskA74jt4rVvXTsMcCvfgwmojJEvPCOEOKVwwMUIfdIx4dMOzEkxIqg17FqpEKR0FbZ-Ry1W6ROXblPhVoCHgiHvM9wJN56l6w6UgaVzY0-AMPvsXC-2iLXzbetVuo1cZ4o02JS9Y9-Yc/s1600/morrow-project.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskA74jt4rVvXTsMcCvfgwmojJEvPCOEOKVwwMUIfdIx4dMOzEkxIqg17FqpEKR0FbZ-Ry1W6ROXblPhVoCHgiHvM9wJN56l6w6UgaVzY0-AMPvsXC-2iLXzbetVuo1cZ4o02JS9Y9-Yc/s200/morrow-project.jpg" width="156" /></a></div>
I don't want to spoil the story and will keep it at a "it's a very dark journey" level. You probably won't feel good after seeing the movie but rather be left with a sense of the lingering depression of a ravaged world and ravaged people. Not much is left after the final wars and short flashbacks give an impression of the brutal initial days after "it" happened. The movie really is pretty depressing in that respect. And it doesn't get much better - don't expect too much shiny heroism or much hope of any kind. While the movie IMHO is a much better inspiration for campaigns using either <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Morrow_Project">The Morrow Project</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aftermath!">Aftermath</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_2000">Twilight 20XX</a> it's nonetheless a great inspiration for imagining the initial days after the Final Wars... in remote areas not quite overrun by mutants and high tech effects.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpf5HfNK5B1dCjClliJlxWD207UuxBKktWpARkK47KvG1HC4F0UwURG13GMXB7JklKaYuiABtBGvvEoQgKu_kMSFfqrW3dQ7n1hHY7kNzOQxiPYOyc_Sh9jodkqHk9pdbm1vK8apIJCI/s1600/aftermath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpf5HfNK5B1dCjClliJlxWD207UuxBKktWpARkK47KvG1HC4F0UwURG13GMXB7JklKaYuiABtBGvvEoQgKu_kMSFfqrW3dQ7n1hHY7kNzOQxiPYOyc_Sh9jodkqHk9pdbm1vK8apIJCI/s200/aftermath.jpg" width="154" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi30mMMP9srAOlOCLPE5VgmnUxDHWjpZI-WwAFw_l7AO2bK-clhe4fNjVqbWNE5lp31dKeAVNO885QhfOM3NLvImqUqChEQRy1WRqzvZyPNorgGHCw6V3yXkxfnnr3myu8cx2qEBlGBXRY/s1600/twilight2000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi30mMMP9srAOlOCLPE5VgmnUxDHWjpZI-WwAFw_l7AO2bK-clhe4fNjVqbWNE5lp31dKeAVNO885QhfOM3NLvImqUqChEQRy1WRqzvZyPNorgGHCw6V3yXkxfnnr3myu8cx2qEBlGBXRY/s200/twilight2000.jpg" width="150" /></a>As far as I am concerned I'm giving this movie five out of view nukes as it managed to move me on an emotional level, had great characters, believable visuals and a decent plot. I was hoping the best for the characters and got some nice ideas for more down to earth campaigns. Therefor I can recommend watching the movie to anyone interested in more believable apocalyptic scenarios. As I have not yet read the books I can't comment on how well the movie holds up to the book but I will get back to that when I have read the book at some point.<br />
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Now go out and rent or buy the movie and enjoy it ;-)The Creatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906302439863860854noreply@blogger.com2