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Author Topic: Crux Ultimum - The Inquisition Wants YOU! (Turn 10, page 9)  (Read 15507 times)

_DivideByZero_

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Inspired by Perplexicon

Welcome to a battle-torn continent ravaged by frequent attacks and conquests from the surrounding evil powers.
Humans have been pressed into a refuge far into the mountain. Here lies Scoria, the last remaining human nation, ruled by the dwindling Carolean dynasty. The rest of the world is filled with all manner of wretched monsters. Yet despite the worsening situation, the last archbishop of the Catholic Order gathered enough support for one last crusade against the dark menace. An army of paladins rose to the call with a zeal like none other.

This crusade has since branched out into a campaign to reclaim the entire continent, after an astounding victory in the Onyxian lands. In the meantime, however, an organization has been formed to aid in the reintegration of (formerly) demonic entities into society, known as the Scarlet Inquisition. In all honesty, nobody expected it.

Spoiler: Maps (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Basic Mechanics (click to show/hide)

Hidden Powers...

In these lands there exists a power source just as mysterious as it is dangerous and unpredictable: the power of Sparks. These are glowing motes of power that, among other things, are able to induce currents in a magnetic coil. As a free source of heat, these led to the construction of the Spark Engine, which is basically a fuel-free steam engine powered by high-resistance coils. Sparks are mainly procured from the deepest mines in the mountains, trapped underground in ancient constructions of lore.

Not all sparks, however, exist in this form. Humans have an Inner Spark of varying intensity, which is quiescent unless activated. Both external Sparks and Inner Sparks can be activated to cast what are known as spells. However, to activate a Spark, one must know a Command Word, or just Word. Different combinations of words can be combined into different spells, which will trigger all Sparks currently bound to the caster's will.
See the magic mechanics section below.

Combat Mechanics

Damage is chunky salsa, you get penalties for taking hits, and your attack will never do more damage than is physically possible for that attack (unless you roll an overshoot).

When you are in combat, you should specify how much luck you are willing to put into defense, whether that takes priority over attack, and so on. The default is that anything you specify (such as attack) takes priority over anything you don't specify (if you don't specify defense allowance), and defense will be rolled randomly if unspecified (that is, you haven't specified your approach earlier).

For any attack, there is an [attack roll] from the attacker and a [defense roll] from the defender. If the attacker rolls higher, the difference is the attack power (ranging from 1 to 5). If the defender rolls higher, he gets the difference in bonus Luck for the next turn only. That means he can attack multiple times during that turn.
[1] Scratch damage
[2] Minor damage (bruise, pain, etc)
[3] Moderate damage (applies status effect such as stun, bleeding, etc)
[4] Heavy damage (applies a much worse status effect like breaking bones)
[5] Critical Strike (can remove limbs and cause other forms of major damage)

Magic Mechanics

Spells are cast using Spell Chains, which are a series of Words, each of which have a unique form of grammar.
Verbs are words that specify what is being done. For example, Implode causes a drop in pressure at a targeted location. Burn causes the effects of burning to take place (with no fire, however). Ignite starts a fire, etc. A verb does not cast a spell right away. It requires a Location and a Magnitude.
Adjectives are words that modify a Verb. You can attach a string of Adjectives after a Verb before the Location to change its effects. For example, if you say Petrify/until sunrise, you will turn something to stone but only until sunrise.
Locations are words that assign a target for previous words. Remember that you cannot target specific people because their names are not in the Ancient language. Instead a Location specifies a means of targeting. For example, the Location Looking specifies whatever target you are looking at, which is reliable until you lose line-of-sight to your target. There are other Locations, such as Seek Metal and Omnidirectional.
Magnitudes are words that specify the power of the spell. This ranges from "capable of being felt" to "knocking down houses" and everything in between.

Each word must come from your characters Dictionary (which is written in a spoiler below your status sheet). Non-Magnitude words have a Luck cost associated with them subtracted whenever you say the word, while Magnitudes generate Entropy, a mana-like value specific to each Spark (including your Inner Spark). Different magnitudes have different Entropy costs associated with them.
Every time a Spark is used for a spell, it generates Entropy equal to the attack roll of your spell times the Magnitude's own multiplier (specified like a Word cost). For each 6 Entropy on a Spark, you must spend 1 Luck to cast another spell. The only way to reduce Entropy is to engage in a non-magic action (reducing Entropy by 1 per luck spent), which unfortunately affects only your Inner Spark. External Sparks are thus limited in their number of uses barring a method to reduce their Entropy. However, high-Entropy (past 3 Entropy) Sparks start to emit heat, which makes them useful in Spark Engines.

Words must be said aloud to trigger a Spark, even internal ones. Since they're spoken in the Ancient language, they are only rendered in English for convenience. Words should be italicized in dialogue.

Whenever a magic user casts a spell, his Inner Spark fires it in addition to all [/b]Bound Sparks[/b] attached to his will. To bind a spark, one must use a special Binding Word which has its own specified duration, as well as a second word to specify targeting. Some Binding Words can steal Sparks from other mages, while others are limited in both number and uses per Spark.

Technology Scale

Technology has no rough correlate to reality since Sparks tend to screw with the natural progression of tech, but for the most part it can be considered steampunk with pikes and tanks, muskets and rifles, flying machines and mounted units.

Spoiler: Details (click to show/hide)

Code: (Charsheet) [Select]
[b]Name: [/b](can be from any nationality as many refugees have fled to Scoria)
[b]Appearance/Preferred Dress: [/b](generally Victorian fashion)
[b]Interests: [/b](what does your character do/study?)
[b]Focuses: [/b](On a scale of 1 to 5, rate how focused your character is in each of the categories. Your points aren't limited or anything--it's only a relative scale)
>Diplomacy: Persuasion and impressions
>Martial: Warfare and combat
>Stewardship: Administration and finance
>Intrigue: Plotting and deception
>Learning: Scholarship and magic

I will pick 5 players after some time to start the game. I'm leaning toward a mission-focused game and so I may swap players around between missions, but things are subject to change based on time constraints and whatnot.

Current Players:
H4zardZ1
Wunderkatze
HighEndNoob
Cheesecake
Spiderking50

Waitlist:
The Moonlit Shadow
« Last Edit: September 04, 2015, 07:08:36 pm by _DivideByZero_ »
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Caellath

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Welp. Sheet coming if I find the time to do so. Maybe a Russano-like person.
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"Hey steve." You speak into the air.
>Yes?
"Could you guys also make a hamburger out of this arm when they cut it off? I wanted to eat it just for the sake of tasting it."
>That is horrible and disgusting. It will no doubt set you apart and create fear in your team mates. So of course.

_DivideByZero_

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I put the tech part in a spoiler and shrunk the maps. I didn't realize they were so huge. Whoops.
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Pencil_Art

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Going to get a sheet up soon.
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Cheesecake

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Reserved!
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I wish I could unwatch a thread because every time I look at this I can feel myself dying faster
Dying of laughter?
Dying of pure unbridled hatred, actually.

WunderKatze

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Is this ok?

He's a disgruntled prince, very Hamlet like.

Name: Raioyris Carolean (disloyal to family, not direct heir)
Appearance/Preferred Dress: Black and purple western formal wear.
Interests: Renaissance activities (arts, fitness, scholarly), Avoiding formal duties.
>Diplomacy: 4
>Martial: 5 (in mind as much as in flesh)
>Stewardship: 1 (such things bore him)
>Intrigue: 5
>Learning: 5 for scholarly aptitude, 3 for magic (which he makes limited use of)
« Last Edit: July 23, 2015, 05:00:00 pm by WunderKatze »
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Sigh, they always said that junk food was bad for you. I guess that leaves us with canabalism.

HEAVY DAMAGE
OPERATION MARKET STORM

HighEndNoob

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Name: Varl Kantor
Appearance/Preferred Dress: Black tunic with a dark blue half-cape
Interests: Stealth and thievery, attending formal gatherings, croquet.
>Diplomacy: 3
>Martial: 4 (For stealth actions)/1 (In traditional combat)
>Stewardship: 2
>Intrigue: 5
>Learning: 3
« Last Edit: July 23, 2015, 09:44:23 pm by HighEndNoob »
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Quote
(5) You manage to struggle free of the guards and sprint to a safe distance before tossing a knife at one! (5 + 1 = 6) The throwing knife zips through the air, slitting a guard's throat! It then travels around the group of guards like a boomerang. It (5) Slits another throat, (Three 6's in a row!) decapitates three more (!), (4) slices open the last guard's arm, and (2) narrowly misses a random bystander. It then flies back into your hand. Holy crap.

Tomasque

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Name: Jasper Jones
Appearance/Preferred Dress: The "Invisible Man" outfit (minus the bandages)
Interests: Weapon invention, and peace prevention. (After all, it's because of the war that he gets funding)
Focuses:
>Diplomacy: 1
>Martial: 5 (theoretical aspect)/ 3 (practical aspect)
>Stewardship: 3
>Intrigue: 3
>Learning: 2 (unless weapon invention would go under here, for he is not otherwise "scholarly")
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The quantum cannonball hits you in the face and misses!
Money!
GENERATION grisha5: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation. Social experiment.

_DivideByZero_

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Name: Jasper Jones
Appearance/Preferred Dress: The "Invisible Man" outfit (minus the bandages)
Interests: Weapon invention, and peace prevention. (After all, it's because of the war that he gets funding)
Focuses:
>Diplomacy: 1
>Martial: 5 (theoretical aspect)/ 3 (practical aspect)
>Stewardship: 3
>Intrigue: 3
>Learning: 2 (unless weapon invention would go under here, for he is not otherwise "scholarly")
Name: Varl Kantor
Appearance/Preferred Dress: Black tunic with a dark blue half-cape
Interests: Stealth and thievery, attending formal gatherings, croquet.
>Diplomacy: 3
>Martial: 4 (For stealth actions)/1 (In traditional combat)
>Stewardship: 2
>Intrigue: 5
>Learning: 3
Is this ok?

He's a disgruntled prince, very Hamlet like.

Name: Raioyris Carolean (disloyal to family, not direct heir)
Appearance/Preferred Dress: Black and purple western formal wear.
Interests: Renaissance activities (arts, fitness, scholarly), Avoiding formal duties.
>Diplomacy: 4
>Martial: 5 (in mind as much as in flesh)
>Stewardship: 1 (such things bore him)
>Intrigue: 5
>Learning: 5 for scholarly aptitude, 3 for magic (which he makes limited use of)


These three are accepted and will be in the first turn (kudos for posting sheets quickly). Here's a first draft of how they'll appear in game. Tell me if it fits what you were looking for:



Raioyris Carolean, AKA Wunderkatze
Luck: 6/12
Traits:
*Princely Wisdom: Gain 1 Luck at the end of each turn if you have less than 6 Luck
Prodigial Son: Each item you buy or sell costs 1 Luck

*Since you put most of your stuff at 5 or 4 I figured your character would be pretty good at mostly everything except money and magic. Thus I gave him a trait which helps with mostly anything.




Varl Kantor, AKA HighEndNoob
Luck:
Traits:
xDreadcloakx: -1 Luck cost per turn for staying hidden
xDarkbladex: All stealth attack targets (including Cautious ones) roll a 1 for defense
xJokerx: Lose 2 Luck whenever you are attacked
xSinisterx: Bartering NPC's get a +1 to their dice rolls





Jasper Jones, AKA Tomasque
Luck:
Traits:
*The Art of War: Once a turn, you can make a single allied attack Piercing lvl 3 (ignores any modifiers by worn armor or magic, up to 3), but not your own
**The Gift of Silence: Flip a coin. If heads, the NPC you are persuading gets a +1 to its die

*I figured "theoretical" implied that you're a good leader, so I gave you a powerful supportive trait that lets you crack heavy armor.
**I figure this applies to discussions with potential learning options (teachers, mentors, etc) so you won't explicitly be worse at magic, you just have a slightly harder time finding new Words.




Some mechanics to clarify:
Stealth: Once you enter hiding, there will be an upkeep cost (usually 1 per NPC, called Alertness) at the end of the turn, BEFORE all other Luck contributions (traits, the standard d6, etc). If an NPC is alerted in any way, his upkeep cost will increase. If you run out of Luck, you are revealed next turn and must enter hiding again.

NPC's, depending on their level of Caution (different from their Alertness, which is their upkeep cost), will autoroll a certain number. Cautious NPC's that autoroll higher will have less luck to spare in the ensuing battle.


Bartering, persuasion: The difference is that Bartering applies to shops and any sort of monetary or other compensation (such as labor), whereas Persuasion involves  convincing an NPC to do something without compensation. The mechanics are the same for both, but the prerequisites are different: some characters will never accept bribery, while others are more susceptible to a bribe than they are to an honest plea.

In short, both the player and the NPC roll, the NPC using a die. If the player is higher, he wins. If the NPC is higher, then it will have ramifications on the rest of the conversation (such as a higher price point or a reluctance to give you more information).
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Cheesecake

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Name: Desiccatus Morbid
Appearance/Preferred Dress: Dirty smocks and apron, bloodstained gloves.
Interests: Medicine, anatomy, and the human mind and body.
Focuses:
>Diplomacy: 2
>Martial: 1
>Stewardship: 3
>Intrigue: 4
>Learning: 5

Sorry this took so long...
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Dying of laughter?
Dying of pure unbridled hatred, actually.

Tomasque

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Jasper Jones, AKA Tomasque
Luck:
Traits:
*The Art of War: Once a turn, you can make a single allied attack Piercing lvl 3 (ignores any modifiers by worn armor or magic, up to 3), but not your own
**The Gift of Silence: Flip a coin. If heads, the NPC you are persuading gets a +1 to its die

*I figured "theoretical" implied that you're a good leader, so I gave you a powerful supportive trait that lets you crack heavy armor.
**I figure this applies to discussions with potential learning options (teachers, mentors, etc) so you won't explicitly be worse at magic, you just have a slightly harder time finding new Words.

I like it.
Socially-awkward, weapon-inventing, war-profiteering leader. What could possibly go wrong?
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Money!
GENERATION grisha5: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation. Social experiment.

Spiderking50

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Name: Rob Grey
Appearance/Preferred Dress: Dresses in typical mage robes
Interests: Rob studies biological magic, the changing and healing of flesh
Focuses:
>Diplomacy: 2.5
>Martial: 4
>Stewardship: 2
>Intrigue: 2.5
>Learning: 5
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Currently on vacation. I have internet, but will update sporadically due to vacation.

_DivideByZero_

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I like it.
Socially-awkward, weapon-inventing, war-profiteering leader. What could possibly go wrong?

Oops. I forgot the "weapon inventing" part. Is it alright if I change the traits to:
The Art of War: Once a turn, you can make a single allied attack Piercing lvl 3 (ignores any modifiers by worn armor or magic, up to 3), but not your own
The War Machine: +1 to upgrade rolls
The Gift of Silence: The NPC you are persuading gets a +1 to its die


Crafting:
When crafting weapons/armor, you must first have a Base (which you make by successfully turning a resource into an item), and then you can add Upgrades for a fixed cost based on the difficulty of upgrading the weapon (written on the weapon itself). Upgrading outcomes are random.

Name: Rob Grey
Appearance/Preferred Dress: Dresses in typical mage robes
Interests: Rob studies biological magic, the changing and healing of flesh
Focuses:
>Diplomacy: 2.5
>Martial: 4
>Stewardship: 2
>Intrigue: 2.5
>Learning: 5

Will translate this sheet shortly.
« Last Edit: July 24, 2015, 04:41:28 pm by _DivideByZero_ »
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Tomasque

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I like it.
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The quantum cannonball hits you in the face and misses!
Money!
GENERATION grisha5: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation. Social experiment.

Delekates

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if not dumb (for me) mechanics with words mixing would join. Hf gl here peeps
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my main lang is russian. Still i hope we understand each other :3
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