Playtesters Needed!

turgy22

turgy22

Nothing Special
When I was still in elementary & high school, my friend Dave (Rokapoke) and I used to spend a lot of time making up games, as well as playing them. So the other day I was going through some old files on my computer and found some very rudimentary drawings and instructions for an RPG I tried to design. I remember trying to playtest it with another friend at least 10 years ago, and it was pretty fun, although I still had some kinks to work out. I also tried it with my mom, but, well, that didn't get very far.

So anyway, I think the game could be really fun, but I don't really have enough regular friends who would be interested in this sort of thing. Then I noticed that D&D game that's been going on here for the past year or so and figured I'd see if any of you guys are interested.

So the basic premise is that it's an RPG, but it's set in outer space in the future (how original, right?) Most of the mechanics are like a regular RPG except there's going to be fighting done on planets and in space.

I've been updating and working out more of the math stuff over the past couple days and I really want to see if it can be fun and interesting. I also want to make it more flavorful since I'm really bad at coming up with alien names and stuff. Right now I have planets with names like "Planet Q-7", based on a spacial coordinate system.

If anyone's interested let me know and I can go over the basics and we can start creating characters. I'd like to get a crew of 4-8 people together, because I think that would be ideal. Much like the D&D game, it won't be a huge time commitment, plus I think it can move along a bit more quickly since a crew will have a dedicated "captain" who can make decisions for the group as long as he's in the party.

Thanks in advance to anyone who's interested!
 
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DarthFerret

Guest
Interested, and I would like to nominate anyone but me for captain!

:D
:rolleyes:
 
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EricBess

Guest
Interested, but no time, so count me out...

train - you been lurking? I would have expected you to get into the werewolf games.
 
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BigBlue

Guest
As long as it's a low key affair (which it sounds like it is), I'm also interested... Say as Chief Engineer.... or maybe security officer...
 
turgy22

turgy22

Nothing Special
Cool.

So train, DarthFerret, Oversoul, Spiderman, and BigBlue so far. That's enough to get started. Others can join in any time.

So Step 1: Creating a Character
Every character will have a class (occupation) and a race (human or alien).
There are five different classes (with pretty intuitive descriptions):
1)Captain: A Captain leads the crew in battle and on missions. His presence increases the crew's overall effectiveness. (Maximum 1 per crew)
2)Pilot: A pilot navigates the ship through space and maneuvers it in combat.
3)Technician: A technician maintains all electro-mechanical equipment, as well as the ship.
4)Doctor: A doctor provides the crew with medical attention, dressing wounds and healing injuries.
5)Soldier: A soldier is an exceptional fighter. Soldiers are trained in both ground and space combat.

There are four friendly races that can be members of the crew:
1)Human: Humans don't excel in anything in particular, but they don't have any glaring weaknesses. They are also effective communicators between the members of other races, who may not always see eye-to-eye.
2)Thinker: Thinkers are highly intelligent, living for the pursuit of knowledge. They have long been close allies with humans. Physically, Thinkers look like giant upright slugs that crawl around on six tentacles and have two arms with six small finger-like tentacles at the ends. On average, they are slightly shorter than humans.
3)Warrior: Warriors are the tallest and strongest of the intelligent races. They have a long and proud tradition of doing battle. On average, they are taller than humans and much heavier. They walk upright on two legs, have two arms, very thick bodies and almost no necks.
4)Rogue: Rogues are small, agile and cunning - the thieves of the game. They resemble rats and are about 4.5 ft tall. They have multiple joints in their arms and legs, providing great flexibility.


Like every RPG ever, each character has a set of skills and attributes that determine how they perform in the game. They are as follows:
Age
Height
Weight
-They're all pretty self-explanatory and determined somewhat randomly by race. The results may affect some of the following five attributes.
Strength: Ability to lift heavy objects and deal damage in hand-to-hand combat.
Agility: Ability to dodge and maneuver.
Speed: Maximum walking / running speed.
Stamina: Ability to stay active without rest.
Health: Amount of damage that can be endured (a.k.a. Hit Points)
-Finally there are seven skills
Combat: Enhances performance in combat situations
Medical: Ability to dress wounds and heal
Technical: Ability to solve technical problems and make repairs
Navigation: Ability to pilot ships effectively
Stealth: Ability to avoid detection
Leadership: Ability to lead and improve group performance
Focus: Ability to perform in intense situations


I'll wrap this up with an explanation of the effect class and race have on the skills and attributes.
Captains receive a bonus for Focus and Leadership.
Pilots receive a Navigation bonus.
Technicians receive a Technical bonus.
Doctors receive a Medical bonus.
Soldiers receive a Combat bonus.

Humans can add a bonus to one attribute and one skill of their choice.
Thinkers receive bonuses for Medical and Technical, but have reduced Strength, Combat, and Health.
Warriors receive bonuses for Strength, Combat, and Health, but have reduced Medical, Technical, and Stealth.
Rogues receive bonuses for Agility, Speed, Stealth and Navigation, but have reduced Strength, Stamina, and Combat.


Just give me the class and race that you want your character to be and I'll be able to make a character. Also, any humans will need to specify where they want their bonuses to go.


P.S: In case you couldn't tell, I haven't put a whole lot of effort into the flavor aspect of the game, so if you can think of better names for the races, that'd be cool.
 
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BigBlue

Guest
I'll play a thinker Technician....

From Beta Aquarius - once an exclusively oceanic world... until a comet collided with one of the inner planets which perturbed our orbit enough to affect global climactic change... initially our race worried about extinction as the oceans dried up, but eventually we learned to adapt and through genetic engineering made land more and more livable to where we are now able to exist outside of water for much of our lives...

Mating still takes place underwater - where we are still comfortable and able to breath with our gills... Speaking to other races requires a translation device, mostly because our voices were intended to be communicated through water.

Edit -

A curiosity question does arrive from a playtester perspective... it appears to me that unless you give thinkers some other ability... say telepathy... I also could make a case for stealthiness with my backstory since they are very "octopuslike" - which have chameleon abilites which exceed the actual chameleon and also can squeeze their bodies through the tiniest of places... The reason is it seems unbalanced, for instance Warriors get more bonuses to skills which in most games are useful by any class - HP, Str, combat skills... and while medical & technical skills are typically more roleplay friendly they are gameplay weak (unless I'm expected to remain on the ship every away mission)...
 
turgy22

turgy22

Nothing Special
BigBlue,

Thanks a lot! That's exactly the sort of creativity I'm looking for!

As far as your concern about balance... I'd like to try it out the current way first. I've been working on a couple missions and I'm trying to make all the characters involved and able to use their skill sets fun and effectively. For example, there will be robots and remote-controlled weapons that Technicians will be most adept at using for combat while staying out of danger. Also, they may need to leave the ship to tap into enemy computer systems and retrieve information. And about half the combat will be taking place in space, where the technician will need to be going all over the ship, repairing damage, and boosting the shields and weapons. So I'm hoping that's enough to keep their job fun. Also, I didn't specify, but the bonus that Thinkers (Aqaurians?) receive in the Med and Tech Skills is much larger than the Combat, Strength, and Health losses (barring some unfortunate dice rolls, of course). They're slightly more fragile, but very essential.

Anyway, I suppose we'll have to see if I'm wrong. That's what playtesting is for. I'll be happy to make changes as the game progresses and you guys decide what's the most enjoyable.

EDIT - I just thought of something. Maybe Thinkers can suction themselves to walls and stuff. So they're attributes won't really change, but it gives them another useful ability. What do you think?
 
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BigBlue

Guest
Well, I'm not trying to burst any bubbles or anything.... but I am a control freak... (hence the name)... I was just thinking that getting poked in stats like combat, strength, and health was a little harsh... but if I'm more like a rigger (not sure if you know shadowrun at all) and use machines to do my bidding, that's cool... I sort of took a different angle with the race and was thinking more mental abilities given an oceanic background...
 
Oversoul

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
I'll play a Thinker (Aquarian?) doctor.

Sorry, but I don't know enough about roleplaying games to comment on what would be the best way to balance things. The suction thing does make sense though, and sounds cool.
 
S

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
Well, seeing as how the Captain moves things along and that's what we want and I'm on a lot, I'll be a Warrior Captain. Like Oversoul, I don't have a lot of suggestions either, but if the Warrior race is "one race" (as opposed to a collection of races who are all lumped in as "warriors", I suggest we come from some planet where conditions are fairly harsh and survival paramount, so there's no time to develop the arts or non-fighting stuff :) Can't decide whether it should be "brutal" fighting - survival of the fittest, or "ritualized" fighting where combat is "civilized", but still used to hone skills and reactions.
 
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train

Guest
I like the idea of a Rogue soldier...

EB - I've been lurking a little... As we prepare to open our third Ashley Furniture Homestore, things have gotten a bit busy... that tops off the end of year financials, finding a house, and school... So lurking is my best keep in "touch" method for now...
 
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train

Guest
yep.. still here... and it's almost easier to see by times, that morning is slowest...

of course the store is open until 10AM.. so it kind of makes sense... ;)
 
D

DarthFerret

Guest
I am thinkin that I will choose a Rogue Pilot. Kinda skirting the law at times, yet knowing the difference between good and evil...and MOST of the time following the good.....

I am from a planet that had somewhat poor technology, and happened to be able to pilot anything we had, then moved out into the universe and learned how to pilot the big ships, although the smaller ground craft are still my specialty
 
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