Post originally by Dan Davenport at 2004-10-29 06:51:21
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Thanks for the thorough review, and you certainly get points for using the term "zappy zap".
As to faith in horror games, though: I don't see that as being particularly uncommon, and I don't think the "any faith'll do" approach is all that daring.
Post originally by Kyle Schuant at 2004-10-29 07:09:22
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Faith's notably absent in any kind of detail in the two main games which deal with the supernatural: Call of Cthulhu, and the World of Darkness (though I'm not familiar with the latest incarnation).
The first is understandable, as the Lovecraftian mythos specifically says, basically, all of ideas are silly illusions, and here's the nasty truth, now lose 1d10 SAN. Nonetheless, when confronted with such things, many people would fall back on their faith. When a Deep One's striding over to give you a good rogering, you'll be clutching that crucifix, I reckon.
The absence of Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, etc, in the core WoD stories is stranger, though. It always seemed strange to me.
It's not a big thing, really. You can do without it. This "Blood Games" just gives you that option. I like games that give you options in how to play.
Post originally by Dan Davenport at 2004-10-29 07:14:51
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Well, as we just discussed via mIRC, it's my understanding -- 2nd hand, mind you -- that toward the end, the oWoD finally established that the Judeo-Christian God (or some reasonable fascimile thereof) was an objective reality. And from the beginning, True Faith could affect vampires, at least.
At any rate, if you like this approach, you'd probably like <b><i>WitchCraft</I></b> as well.
Post originally by Patrick Riley at 2004-10-29 08:13:15
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Kyle Schuant wrote:
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When a Deep One's striding over to give you a good rogering, you'll be clutching that crucifix, I reckon.
Of course you will. And it bats it away with one hand and pops your head with the other. It 's a classic.
The question seems to be if faith gives any mechanical advantage; otherwise, it is best left to roleplaying. Personally, I think the best approach would be to leave any mechanical advantage from faith completely up to the GM and hidden from the players. That way, they don't really know of faith helps... they just have to have faith that it does.
Post originally by Kyle at 2004-10-29 08:26:42
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I like the cut of your jib, Mr Patrick! That's a truly evil GM approach!
But really, what I enjoyed was not the religion in itself, but just that it was there as an option, at least. Other horror games haven't even given that option.
And I think a lot of options are a good thing in a game. If some of those options are ones that don't appear in games much, even better.
Post originally by clash bowley at 2004-10-29 08:29:23
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The problem with this approach is that it is limited by the GM's knowledge of religion. If a Jewish character is wearing Teffilin, what is the GM going to rule when the GM is a Baptist from Missouri who's not real sure if he's ever met a Jew, and has no clue what Teffilin are. In this case, the teffilin have description and a stated effect. The GM is free to ignore the effect, but at least will know what is supposed to happen instead of giving a wild guess.
Most people have no idea of the magical implications of the rituals of their own religion, let alone someone else's religion. We tried to give a basic understanding of the religions we covered, doing the research for the GM.
Post originally by clash bowley at 2004-10-29 08:43:05
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Hi Kyle:
You are the second reviewer to have a problem with the StarCluster 2 combat system, (see Kester's review of StarCluster 2) which suprised me, as the playtest reacton was that the system was dead simple. I am going to have to rewrite that section, as soon as I get some time, but combat is just standard skill checks and quality of success, with the addition of initiative, which is rarely used outside of combat.
The reason we use big numbers in initiative (the 01-120 stuff, which seemed to throw both you and Kester for a loop)is to be using the same scale as chance of success (to hit) and quality of success (damage,) allowing the player to shift points at will between them.
The actual initiative numbers aren't very important, just the eventual order things go in. Aside from the fact that players can trade points between initiative, to hit, and damage, it's essentially the same as old AD&D.
Anyway, as a stopgap, I've put up a quick combat rundown on our site, at http://jalan.flyingmice.com/Combat.html
Post originally by Matthew Mather at 2004-10-29 08:58:03
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"As to faith in horror games, though: I don't see that as being particularly uncommon, and I don't think the "any faith'll do" approach is all that daring."
Three games immediately come to mind:
All Flesh Must Be Eaten, in which a character with faith p0w0rz is principle character type alongside Normal and Warrior types. I don't have it, but it was the first one that sprang to mind.
Deadlands (duh!). Really: whether you're a fan or not, how can this be ignored? DL has been pretty influential and the "Blessed" are an indespensible character type.
World of Darkness. Kyle's point notwithstanding(that faith isn't particularly overt in *most* White Wolf Games), Hunter and Dark Ages Inquisitor are full of Faith p0w0rz.
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