Winds from the worsening storm blow in off the water. The rain pours down in sheets. Waves crash over the sea wall and spill water onto the street. On the side of a chain-link fence, a metal sign clatters in the wind. It reads, "Warehouse of Foreboding Atmosphere." The next sign reads, "NO TRESPASSING! Violators will be recycled."
Three cloaked figures (our Stars) slip through a torn corner of a chain link fence. They reach the front of the warehouse. An owl at the top of the building screeches and flies away. Burt knocks on the small door. Two huge robot eyes open on the wall. The building's mouth opens as robot speaks. The warehouse is a robot!
The robot asks, "Yeah, whadayawant?"
Stage: Warehouse of the Robot Mafia.
Motivation: The Stars are trying to get inside and find a specific crate
Duration: 3 actions per Star
Severity: 1
Difficulty: 6
Conflict #1: Getting past
Directions: Declare your action. I'll negotiate with you to determine what roll you will need. When we agree, roll a ten-sider. The goal will probably be the default difficulty of the scene (in this case, an easy 6) based on adding an attribute, skill, and the die roll together. Regardless of whether the conflict roll meets the difficulty rating, a natural 1 will result in a bad twist of luck (but still might successfully resolve the conflict). A roll of a natural 10 will give the Stars a new benefit.
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ReplyDeleteFurbopal pauses for a moment, this robot looks like The Farmer Brown version 1.2 (Deluxe Barn Edition) that kept all the stalls and pens of some of the animals there.
ReplyDelete"Farmer Brown!" exclaims Furbopal, then he anxiously continues, "Great to see you what brings you to the city! Well since your asking, I'd sure love a nice warm stall, a feedbag of grain, with that extra alge you always used to give me!"
Well, I wasn't expecting that. Okay, this is a conflict roll and an interesting action to boot. I see this as a Charisma roll. Roll 1D10, add Furbopol's Charisma & Mechanics. The goal is six (default difficulty for the scene). A tie is a success. A success means that Furbopol is correct and gets him inside. A failure means mistaken identity, he is embarassed in front of his friends, and he looses a point of Social Energy (Charisma). We can negotiate these terms. If these terms are acceptable, you may go ahead and make the roll.
ReplyDeleteOOC: Roger that Z-Man. I used the WOTC Dice Roller
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wizards.com/dnd/dice/dice.htm
Much to my suprise I rolled a Nine! Hoody Hoo!
Roll(1d10)+2:
7,+2
Total:9
NOTES
-------------------------
This field records your latest roll at its top.
Modified results that would produce a number less than one display as one.
'Ey, that you, Furbopal? How's my quadreped? I got foreclosed on by a bank. The repo bot carries me away, and before I know it, bod-a-bing, I fall off the back of truck. Now I work for the robot mafia. But hey,it's easy work, and I have time to focus on my sophisticated urban dialect subroutine. But enough about me, aight? You get in out of rain, my friend. I'll warm you some of that algae.'
ReplyDeleteThe warehouse's mouth-door opens wide.
Artemis' mouth just drops.
ReplyDeleteFurbopal Looks a bit surpised and trouble. He recovers quickly and then says, "Good to see you! I'm doing well! I'm in school - getting some learning. Yeah, Ma & Pa said they were having some trouble...but I didn't know it had gotten to foreclosure." He then says, "Well let me introduce you to my friends this is Artemis and this here is Burt!" After introductions Furbopal walks in.
ReplyDeleteTest
ReplyDeleteOur heroes proceed into the warehouse. Crates are stacked to the ceiling in every direction. It looks like a parody of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Deep down a twisted path, Burt Frugal finds the crate that they need. It waits in a dark corner, away from the other boxes. This large crate is covered with spiderwebs and nesting owls. In front of it, a pack of robotic guard dogs are playing poker. Artemis peers at them from around a corner of crates. "Hey, that short robo-guard is cheating," she whispers. The dogs have not noticed our heroes yet.
ReplyDeleteFurbopal, looks in wonder as he stares at the stacked crates and falls last in the file that Burt leads. He's slowly chewing from feedbag that Farmer Brown got him and says very softly, "This place looks like a parody of Raiders of the Lost Ark." He watches as Artemis peers around the corner at something, and he begins to hum to himself softly the following tune:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXGF8O-0bDg
A mumbled whisper emerges from the feedbag around the face of Furbopal, "Dogs? Ummm... so...what do we do?" Furbopals jaw slowly chews away at the alge as he looks back and forth from Burt to Artemis.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good question. Answers?
ReplyDeleteBurt, but announces he has a cunning plan! "I think if you guys walk over to the guards, start fight, then run off, Ill sneak in and steal the documents." Burt then proceeds to push Furbopal towards the guards.
ReplyDeleteArtemis grabs Furbopals arm before he can be seen by the guards. "Very funny." she says to Burt. "I got a better idea. How about you help us fight them, and then we can all go find the documents. They better be here, by the way. Anyway, we're not just going to charge headlong into a fight with reckless abandon. First we'll need some weapons. Burt, you're the acquisitions expert, check these crates."
ReplyDeleteBy the way Z, how many are there in 'a pack'?
I consulted with some classic dogs playing poker artwork. The standard seems to be seven dogs at a poker table. The Difficulty rating of getting past them will be the same regardless of the number. We might do a bar room brawl scene sometime later in which targets will have to be resolved individually.
ReplyDeleteTypically, actions in Project Chupa games happen simultaneously. When there is some doubt, we roll for intiative. Yeah, I could have ruled that Artemis catches Furbopal, but I felt that's Burt's plan was just too funny to not give it a chance. Everyone please roll 1D10 + Wits + Athletics. If Burt wins, his plan is inacted. If Artemis wins, her plan will be put into action. If Furby wins, he gets to choose.
OOC: Gotta love the dogs playing poker. The RIFTs version of though is probably my favorite, its called "Dog Boys Playing Poker - A Rifts Print" Here is the link if you want to see it:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.palladiumbooks.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PR806&Category_Code=
Anyway, quick question before we roll though. The list of skills you gave us was as follows: Mechanic, Genechanic, Academic, Combat, Diplomacy, Fitness, Non-Tech, Skullduggery, Uniqueness. As Athletics isn't on the list, I would hazard to guess you meant Fitness as you describe it as, "(health, endurance, athletic ability when used with the Body attribute; when combined with other attributes, represents instead a general resistance to harm such as a resilient mind or a good reputation)"
I'll be using 1d10 + Wits (1) + Fitness (1). Here is my roll from the WOTC Dice Roller.
Roll(1d10)+2:
3,+2
Total:5
If my assumption is wrong on the Fitness/Athletics thing just adjust my roll accordingly! :)
Burt has
ReplyDeleteAttributes
Wits 4 Fitness 1 +10d=9;
Artemis has
ReplyDeleteWits 1
Fitness 2
Roll (1d10)+3:
3,+3
Total: 6
For some reason my previous post isn't showing up, so sorry if I posted this twice, but...
ReplyDeleteArtemis has
Wits 1
Fitness 2
Roll(1d10)+3:
3,+3
Total:6
Thank you for decoding my instructions. The lesson for the day is this -- Directors should keep a cheat sheet handy, including a full skill list.
ReplyDeleteOkay, Burt twirls his fake mustach while plotting his move. Acting decisively, he shoves Furbopal out, requesting a distraction. Artemis tries to catch Furbopal but is pulled out into the open with him.
This is Burt's plan and he is playing to his own strength (being a sneaky s.o.b.), so I would like to see a Wits + Skullduggery + D10 roll from Burt.
Furbopal's new motivation is to survive unharmed. How he does this is up to him. He could run, fight, ask Farmer Brown for help, etc. Artemis gets to assist as she chooses (thus adding her relevant skill to Furbopal's conflict roll) or she may simply hide behind Furby.
The danger level of this scene is only 1, so no one will take more than one point of damage regardless of what happens.
Furbopal's feed bag spills open dumping the remaining alge onto the floor (there are only crumbs as Furbopal was rather hungry). He blinks once and then shouts, "Hey Artemis, you know your right that short Robo-dog IS cheating!"
ReplyDeleteBurt plan wheels in to action,
ReplyDelete(Rolling a 10d + wits ( 4) + Skull ( 5 ) = 19. (Lucky Burt). as the droids are distracted burt will nip in and steal the documents.
Wow, that is good enough of a roll that Burt gains an extra benefit...
ReplyDeleteThe robodogs leap from their table and point their weapons at Furbopal. In unison they say, 'lasers set for medium rare.' Artemis is still on Furpol's far side, meat shielded from harm.
Furbopal's bag drops to the floor. He blinks once and then delivers his line. The robots look to each other. I'd like to see a D10 + Wits + Engineering roll from Furbopal, please.
Meanwhile, Burt drives a fork lifting hoover vehicle behind the robots, directly through the laser bars, and away with the entire large wooden box. Once away, Burt prys the top off the box and peeks inside. I will send a PM on the DLI forums telling Burt what he finds.
OOC: Ok, this will be bit of a long post as I've got a few questions. Furbopal's profession is a Genegineer not an Engineer. That being said As Engineer (and Genegineer) is a profession not sure what to roll for the Engineer (or Genegineer) bonus. If it is a skill your looking to add, then maybe mechanic or genechanic, but I'm not sure what I'm rolling for. Is it to try to convince the robo-dogs? If so, other options might be:
ReplyDeleted10+Wits+Charisma (Furbopal is just being honest about what he saw!)
d10+Wits+Diplomacy (Furbopal is trying convince them)
d10+Wits+Skullduggery(Perhaps Furbopal is trying to use subterfuge as be he can!
Since Skullduggery and Diplomacy are both 0 it won't matter! :) If it's Wits & Charisma then it's a total of +2
On another note, I looked over my character sheet (just click link on my name) If you want me to use the Genegineer skill. On the DLI forums I had my Genegineer skill as a 1, but this doesn't seem right as my profession gives me +2 Gene, and my passion gives me +1, and I IIRC that I bought an additional point so it should be +4. If not let me know and I'll correct it on my blog or make note of it on the DLI forums.
If you want me to roll d10+Wits+Genegineer then it would be d10+1+4.
Just to speed things up, I'll go ahead and roll the d10 with a +1 for Furbopal's Wit attribute. Just add (or not) any other bonus you think appropriate based on this post. Here is the roll from the Wonderful Wizards of the Coast Dice Roller:
Roll(1d10)+1:
8,+1
Total:9
Next thing. Uniqueness - is this a Skill? It's not on the list but you mention it under Racial Talents as one, I put it on my sheet as a skill. But I'm not sure if it is. As Furbopal species has tails that they can fly with (think the Tails character in Sonic the Hedgehog) unless their constantly docked (Furbopal is not)
"Alien Traits: Your species came from somewhere other than Earth. This talent is only available at character creation. You gain +1 to Uniqueness as a free skill bonus. Use Cost: 1 energy (usually physical) for a handy or funny usage, or 1 Story Point for a game-breaking munchkin usage."
I ask because if I'm about to get "Cooked" I may spin my tail to sail up into the air to attempt escape. But don't know if I simply use a point of Physical Energy, Uniqueness Skill and a Roll.
Last thing, As Furbopal is looking down the barrel of several laser blasters the potential for him to be turned into a canned dog food. I'm been pondering the Mechanics of Physical Energy and Energy in general. The example you give in the rules is Fry with Charisma 4. This translates into a Social Energy 2. Does one point of Energy equal two points of Talent as your wrote? or is it a one for one exchange? So in terms of Physical Energy of 1, does that mean I have .5 or 1? If I use Physical Energy to do this then I'm at 0 or at a negative so that would make Furbopal unconcious.
I hope you don't mind my questions, I just pointing some stuff out as we test out the Chupa Engine!
Burt Pick up the crate with the fork lift, and makes a dash to the exit!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the feedback. It does help. I definitely need to be holding a cheat sheet when I ask for conflict. My Madness of Cthulhu game uses a different skill list, and I confuse myself.
ReplyDeleteI meant 'Mechanics,' not 'Engineering.' Burt was playing to his strengths earlier, so he got to apply his best stats whereas Furbopal is a little out of his element, so his bonuses aren't as good. Suggesting a different attribute + skill combination is both allowed and encouraged. I asked for Mechanics (or I meant to do that) because Furpobal is interacting with mechanical characters. As was pointed out, these other skills would also make sense but wouldn't really help Furbopal in terms of the numbers. If Furbopal were performing an action which involved genetic engineering, then he could instead use his Genegineering Skill which offers much a better bonus.
More to follow...
Yes, Uniqueness is a skill. It's the most experimental aspect of this particular game, and I'm not pleased with it. The concept was borrowed from another sci-fi game. It refers to the likelihood of not encountering a copy of yourself through time travel, parallel dimensions, cloning, etc. Mutants and experiments tend to have high Uniqueness whereas robots and clones tend to have low uniqeness. Bender runs into other Bending Units like Flexo from time to time, and it's always a bad thing in Futurama to have a doppleganger. Anyway, Uniqueness is a nice idea, but I don't see it as adding any fun to the game, just more complexity. If I ever renovate this Screenplay setting, I think that I will axe Uniqueness.
ReplyDeleteMore to follow...
OOC: Roger that. I guess then with the Mechanic skill added in, which is a +1 my total for the conflict roll is a "10"
ReplyDeleteSo as far as Uniqueness, I think there are a lot of good story elements with it - doppleganger, robots, replicas - might work very well in a Blade Runner game. I'm trying to figure out how it would work out into a conflict though. I can see it being used to convince discernment in a twin scenario. But not sure how else you'd use it. Maybe the uniqueness of a talking Space Bull might come into the play on a regular basis I suppose. Any thoughts? Also do you want me to post this stuff here or would it be better to do it on the New New York thread over on the DLI forums?
Concerning that talent, you are understanding the usage correctly, Rob. The ratio of points ina Body Stat to Physical Energy to spend (or lose as damage) is 1:1. If Furbopal flies away to escape, he would be spending that one point. There is no penalty for reducing energy to zero. That just means that a Star is out of energy to spend and gets no attribute bonus to add to conflict rolls. Dropping below zero is dangerous, resulting in incapacity.
ReplyDeleteSince Furbopal rolled well, it isn't an issue. Had that conflict roll failed, Furbopal would have lost his point of Mental Energy (wits energy). He still could have used his Physical Energy to escape or he could have chosen to suffer the damage, making him slightly cooked and unable to use his tails to escape. We could have explained this as too much bio-energy being focused on regeneration.
Furpobal has earned some Story Points (a.k.a. XP). His talent does allow him to do crazy stuff -- like using his tail to assume command of the robot mafia -- if you figure out a way to explain it, spend a story point, and make the appropriate conflict roll.
Boy, that took a while to post. Anyhow, discussions are fine in either place.
ReplyDeleteFurbopal blinks again, glances at Artemis for support and then looking at the Robo-dogs blasters, gulps, and manages the courage again to say, "Yeah, that one right there (this time pointing at it) the short one, he was passing a card."
ReplyDeleteFurbopal inwardly smiles as he sees Rush off with the crate.
'Objective: redesignate target. Target designation: cheater. Setting: maximum kill.'
ReplyDeleteZap! 'You should have just shot instead of announcing it first, 404.'
Then all of the robodogs shoot at each other. Emerging from the carnage, Burt's forklift breaks through a wall, followed by Furbopal flying out of the hole, and Artemis holding his rear leg for life. An explosion tears out from the back of the warehouse. Flaming crate pieces and robodog collars mix with the falling rain outside.
The warehouse says, 'Oh, excuse me. Somebody crack a window.'
This brings Scene 3 to a successful end, give or take some funny dialog you guys may still plug in if you like. Burt gets a looted forklift as a reward for his perfect 10 roll. Enjoy your fly ride.
Where next, guys? Someone needs to pick a safe place to open the crates.
Artemis says "So, Burt, you're a shady guy. Got a hide out or something where we can crack these babys open?"
ReplyDeleteFurbopal whispers to Artemis, "ummm... You know Artemis, don't ya think that we ought to bring it back to the Office, the Doctor needed whatever it was before 7AM? Plus I have to get up early to practice my Kendo."
ReplyDeleteArtemis nods to Burt. "You're right. Actual we probably don't want to do it on his turf anyway, and I wouldn't want to keep you from Kendo. We can do it in the office, but I'm not sure we should let Burt in there."
ReplyDeleteHere are the current totals.
ReplyDeleteArtemis: 1 Story Point.
Burt: 2 Story Points.
Furbopal: 2 Story Points.
Story points may be used in a variety of ways. They may be spent to save a character by reducing damage received. They may be added to any Conflict Roll as extra dice, even after the initial roll has been made; each Story Point adds +1D10. Story Points may be used by the mutant or alien characters to enhance empower their unusual traits for story-changing effects. Story Points may be used to bribe me for better rolls. Lastly, Story Points may be used for character growth after the Episode is completed or during a Training Montage Scene.
I'll see you all in Scene #4.