Post by logan9a on Apr 22, 2019 13:09:45 GMT
Wanted to give a quick write up as I was stating some NPC's and wanted to show how I do it. Since we've got other people who will be GM'ing in Season 5 (yea!) I figured this might help them out.
The easiest thing ever is the 30/60/90 rule. Hobbyist/does it as a living/expert. That makes stating super simple.
I don't stat to 'challenge' the PC's. If I want to give them a challenge, mental is better. Sure, sometimes they might stumble across say a tribe of 100 critters, half of which are 'combatants'. That is a type of mental challenge. If they try to 'Conan it' they have failed and Darwin is likely to come get them. If they say whip up some home made napalm and drop it from a flying saucer they repaired (ie using resources and skills from other zones) they can cruise around in comfort listening to Vietnam era songs while their enemies burn and burn and burn.
But - for the stats themselves. Here is an actual example of some generic goons.
Human, Goon (modern day)
GOONS
Travel rate: Normal
Maneuver%; Combat move: 30%, 3/10m
To hit/Damage: 40%, d8 (med pistol)
Armor/HP: None/ 13 HP
SANITY ROLL: nil
Special attacks:
Special defenses:
Special weaknesses:
Special other: Intimidation 40%
Diet:
Where/when found:
Default disposition toward PC's: Unfriendly.
Other notes:
It could be argued that since they are in the job of killing people, they should be 'do it as a living' but most people who carry guns don't use them all that often. Though the police have to qualify fairly regularly, goons don't. So I figure they might be slightly better than hobbyist.
The 40% can be for 'whatever' types of weapons. If they end up in a fist fight (unless I've advertised the guy previously as a bad ass MMA type) the 40% can also go for that. If I did, he might get a STR bump in damage (from d3 to d4) in fist and say a 60% in fist. But honestly, I don't get that 'crunchy' with my bad guys unless they're 'special'. These are just goons.
To give a pretty major beast (since it is dead) - the weird huge beast that the PC's found out in the Viip Forest south in a castle:
“Bear Thing”
It’s the size of a rhino, looks like a heavily scaled bear and has a horn on the top of it’s six eyed head!
Travel rate:
Maneuver%; Combat move: 40%; 6/18m
To hit/Damage: 60%; 2d8 (swat with paw, gore with horn, whatever)
Armor/HP: FOUR PLACES/75 HP
SANITY ROLL: Nil
Special attacks:
Special defenses: Tough as shit!
Special weaknesses:
Special other:
Diet:
Where/when found:
Default disposition toward PC's: Hostile
Other notes:
This thing was meant to be a real pain in the ass. I forgot that Doc Fulton has a special 'ignore armor' weapon. He sliced through it pretty quick and sicked a bear on Freddy which (to me) was the best part of the whole fight.
In conclusion, I recommend simplicity when going for stating monsters. Combat in this system isn't really something to concentrate on. Plots are. If you try to make a complex combat, you're not going to do well with this system.
If anyone has questions or observations, post em.
The easiest thing ever is the 30/60/90 rule. Hobbyist/does it as a living/expert. That makes stating super simple.
I don't stat to 'challenge' the PC's. If I want to give them a challenge, mental is better. Sure, sometimes they might stumble across say a tribe of 100 critters, half of which are 'combatants'. That is a type of mental challenge. If they try to 'Conan it' they have failed and Darwin is likely to come get them. If they say whip up some home made napalm and drop it from a flying saucer they repaired (ie using resources and skills from other zones) they can cruise around in comfort listening to Vietnam era songs while their enemies burn and burn and burn.
But - for the stats themselves. Here is an actual example of some generic goons.
Human, Goon (modern day)
GOONS
Travel rate: Normal
Maneuver%; Combat move: 30%, 3/10m
To hit/Damage: 40%, d8 (med pistol)
Armor/HP: None/ 13 HP
SANITY ROLL: nil
Special attacks:
Special defenses:
Special weaknesses:
Special other: Intimidation 40%
Diet:
Where/when found:
Default disposition toward PC's: Unfriendly.
Other notes:
It could be argued that since they are in the job of killing people, they should be 'do it as a living' but most people who carry guns don't use them all that often. Though the police have to qualify fairly regularly, goons don't. So I figure they might be slightly better than hobbyist.
The 40% can be for 'whatever' types of weapons. If they end up in a fist fight (unless I've advertised the guy previously as a bad ass MMA type) the 40% can also go for that. If I did, he might get a STR bump in damage (from d3 to d4) in fist and say a 60% in fist. But honestly, I don't get that 'crunchy' with my bad guys unless they're 'special'. These are just goons.
To give a pretty major beast (since it is dead) - the weird huge beast that the PC's found out in the Viip Forest south in a castle:
“Bear Thing”
It’s the size of a rhino, looks like a heavily scaled bear and has a horn on the top of it’s six eyed head!
Travel rate:
Maneuver%; Combat move: 40%; 6/18m
To hit/Damage: 60%; 2d8 (swat with paw, gore with horn, whatever)
Armor/HP: FOUR PLACES/75 HP
SANITY ROLL: Nil
Special attacks:
Special defenses: Tough as shit!
Special weaknesses:
Special other:
Diet:
Where/when found:
Default disposition toward PC's: Hostile
Other notes:
This thing was meant to be a real pain in the ass. I forgot that Doc Fulton has a special 'ignore armor' weapon. He sliced through it pretty quick and sicked a bear on Freddy which (to me) was the best part of the whole fight.
In conclusion, I recommend simplicity when going for stating monsters. Combat in this system isn't really something to concentrate on. Plots are. If you try to make a complex combat, you're not going to do well with this system.
If anyone has questions or observations, post em.