Change in Gears: Time for Something Awesome

[Guu]

I've really been enjoying the 4th ed. D&D, but I'd like to play something more mature.  3.5 was easier to homebrew and add grittiness, but it has a real 'been there, done that' vibe.  I'm proposing that we abandon the current game and try something completely different.

At PAXeast I had an opportunity to meet Byron Hall and do a demo of a game set in his own world using his own rules:  F.A.T.A.L.  This is the kind of game I think we can all enjoy.  The default setting is dark and definitely adult, and I like the rules a lot.  It's kind of like Hackmaster in that it has more traditional RPG elements but manages to update them to make them feel more modern.  You might also compare it to Pathfinder (D&D 3.75), but I really think comparing it to Hackmaster and all its throwbacks to 2nd ed. AD&D is more accurate.

The best part about making the switch is the rules are all free.  Byron has a website with a download of the full rule set so that people can beta test and give him feedback while he awaits publication.  Not only are we finally getting a really good system that accurately depicts the gritty, sword-and-sorcery adult fantasy I think most of us want to experience, we get to have an active hand in developing and improving this game for its general release.

You can download F.A.T.A.L. here for free.  Just scroll down the page and click the downloads section.  If you can give the rules a lookover, the people who are coming to the game on Friday can discuss what they'd like to do with their characters before/after AJ's game.

[Lykosan]

Were we going to play the First Edition or the Second Edition of F.A.T.A.L. ?

[Guu]

Were we going to play the First Edition or the Second Edition of F.A.T.A.L. ?

Definitely 2nd ed.

[skavengear]

so is this friday the discussion? ill try to be there at least a little bit even with everyone up my you-know-what about taking things easy and blah blah

i got to read over a little of the pdf. looks frieakin awesome. id like to play an assasin.
my favorite moment reading was the part about having "retard strength"

[Guu]

Yeah, I don't think we'll roll any characters until next week at least, so you don't have to worry about coming Friday.

[THEgeek]

even though i havent finished reading this it sounds awesome

[skavengear]

ok everything seems good i read over the rules briefly enough id be able to play.

my only major complaint is that there is a 9 PAGE CHARACTER SHEET!!!
do these indy rpg companies realize computer paper costs money or do they just like burning trees

[Guu]

You guys are pretty open to trying new things, but you should look at my post date.

[Lykosan]

Gullible youngins, what's the world coming to now a days?

[THEgeek]

ouch, at first i thought it was a little wierd you said we where gonna stop, the game did sound pretty cool though

[Guu]

If the original rules weren't 900 pages long I'd think the whole thing was an elaborate troll.  I think they make it sound pretty nifty, but if you read through them some you'll begin to scratch your head.

The rules themselves are pretty infamous.

[skavengear]

you elaborate pranking bastard... i printed those damn character sheets and killed all the trees in rhode island!

so are we still playing dnd? if so when is next game?

if the group is down for it id kind of like to try a dark heresy campaign, i assume it is like 40k except one character which you roleplay? sounds fun but this 4e game is also very good

[Lykosan]

its a true percentile system it blows

[skavengear]

heresy or fatal? i dont think it seems like there is worse than this game, were probablly going to hell for reading it... if any of us werent already

i like 4e for the same reason alot of people do, it focuses at least 80% on combat. 3.5 always seemed boring to me because i wanted a combat focused character and every campaign i got involved in was either 50/50 or mainly rp. I dont know what 5e will bring but hopefully they find a blend. i think the lack of rp in 4e comes alot from the lack of the rp skills such as profession (x), sense motive, and the such which added extra fluff to a character even if he or she had little or no backround.

[Guu]

Dark Heresy is a percentile system, pretty sure that's what Steve was talking about.  Right when the books came out DH was super-popular at BGs but it dried up after about a month, as I understand.  There are one or two active campaigns going now, as far as I know.

I have a Dark Heresy book but I never played it.  I *did* play a Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying campaign for a few months, which is also a percentile system.  The percentile system is OK, to my mind...harkens back to an older time.

Regardless of whether you like the systems or not, those Warhammer books have really high production values.  They're pretty to look at and can give you lots of setting information and ideas regardless of whether you use them.

Anyway, like I said I'm planning to run this 4e game up until epic level or so, then we can revisit.  Unless of course people stop having fun, then we can stop.  In terms of RP in D&D I've said it a few times, but it's my opinion that if you want a system that supports deep roleplaying and elaborate storytelling there are better books out there for it.  Of course you can roleplay in D&D but the rules don't really support it.  There's no good reason to think through things or to get involved in storytelling/worldbuilding...the rules don't actively reward you for doing so.