#+1SP

[thescarletmansion]

As his back turned to flee, Dr Fuji was hit with a barrage of attacks, many very devastating. Yet he somehow slinked away with the little bits of himself that still remained under his control.

His head shot off, pink ooze exploding everywhere thanks to Wesker and Alistair. When he was grappled by Red, he detached parts of himself, truly revealing himself for what he was. Bits of him broke apart that he couldn't even maintain the fake colouring he had to resemble the younger Dr Fuji. Being struck at, stomped on and even having the current of sonic sound coursing through him, he broke down into smaller and smaller pieces.

Yet it was not enough to utterly undo him.

His beaked face was gone, just several splattered of pink goo all over the lab, one puddle possessing a face with a thin line for a mouth and two beady eyes. Pulling itself together, the Ditto that possessed the lingering sentiments of the former Dr Fuji slunk away, dragging the pieces it left behind with it, through the cracks of another door.

The spirit of Elrick glowed in a way you could almost imagine the man crowing. The spirit orb came back towards Giovanni, swirling around him approvingly. His own quick and efficient action impressing the former the photographer.

He had used a lot of energy though, so he returned to his place in the lantern held at Yuri's hip. His light blinked in morse and those who realized it or understood knew he was calling the facsimile of Fuji some very choice names, the man obviously possessing quite the sailor's mouth, though the blinking eventually ceased. He'd had enough excitement for a bit, though Yuri seemed to be eharing what he spoke, head tilted.

"Mister Elrick says 'Good job'. And I....thank you for driving him away...he....that person....to Mister Elrick...." Yuri trailed off, but the implications were clear as to what she meant. She shook her head and tried to put on a braver face. "He'll be back....he always comes back."

[littencloud9]

it just hit 12am here so happy birthday to nikolai bsd but also william mtp. id love to put them in a room together

[nommedtail]

more goat (and doggo) CC ohko fun. Free’s invul phase just helps Eben charge up lol. 

sadly no buffs for Free or Atk debuffs today (+90% max HP Envy gets ohko with Eben & one Windflit battery, Wind’s skill doesn’t even need to be activated)

bonus: s3m3 mod x3 goat with lvl 90 skalter s2m3, warfarin s2_7, eyja +14% atk boost, and 2 windflit (max pot) s2m3 active batteries

[hozion]

[echidna-table]

I think leaving it as it was would have been fine. Let arcane foci and component pouches be used as improvised weapons, they're not worth using even if they invest heavily with like. Tavern Brawler. Let them have it at that point, they're being silly on purpose.

Also let Monks do Green Flame Fist. It's not usually worth doing either (extra attacks are more value and consistency vs a cantrip and those key on the Attack action), but it's damn funny.

Greenflame blade, a spell introduced into D&D in 4e as a Spellsword at-will, is a really interesting microcosm of how D&D 5e's rules have lots of little interactions that really don't want to cooperate with those types of spells.

The spell effectively allows the caster to make an attack with a melee weapon they are holding that deals fire damage and that also deals fire damage to a secondary target next to the primary target.

Now, of course, in D&D 4e expressing this was simple. All powers, whether martial attacks or arcane spells, used the same formula. You would know that the spell required a weapon due to the Weapon keyword and the fact that the spell had 1[W] in its damage entry.

Fast-forward to D&D 5e and we need to communicate that this spell needs a weapon so it can be cast. If a character were to be holding a weapon, that would mean that they would need their other hand free for making the somatic components of the spell, unless they had an arcane focus in their hand. Could the sword somehow be made to count as an arcane focus? Well, sadly, no, because the types of items a character can use as a spellcasting focus is already prescribed by their class.

Now, it would be possible to introduce a new class that had a bit of text that they could use melee weapons as arcane focuses. Some kind of Swords Mage. But we can't have that. That sounds strange. Instead we need to make this spell work for already established classes somehow.

So the weapon was instead made a material component of the spell.

Now the problem, of course, is that a character with a material component pouch or a spellcasting focus didn't actually need a weapon to cast it now.

A character can use a component pouch or a spellcasting focus (found in “Equipment”) in place of the components specified for a spell.

By a strict reading, a character could whack enemies on the head with their greenflame pouch or focus in lieu of using a weapon.

Which is why they later corrected the spell to state that it requires a weapon of at least 1 sp in value to cast. Because if a price is given for a material component, then it can't be replaced with a spellcasting focus or a material component pouch.

Which is one of the most roundabout ways of having to go about creating a spell that requires a weapon to cast and where the caster can make an attack with said weapon as part of casting the spells. But it's basically because 4e and 5e are pretty much written in completely different languages.

[official1sp]

This is one of the poems called "AND THAT WOMAN IS YOU" from the book 'Act Like You Know: Pretrial + Poems' The release is in paperback, hardcover, & ebook.

In Memorium of Dafnia E. Brown 13 December 1946 - 9 June 2023

https://amzn.to/3uulpES

Act Like You Know : Pretrial + Poems

[nimbushobby]

Cessna Citation 1SP

[leithanienwnt]

Franka: kisses her wife

Liskarm: +1sp

[lilyblackdrawside]

IS4's Deep Investigations bring a bit of variation by making you take a kind of radar device at the start of the run. Regular EXP is replaced with Investigation Points. You gain these just by killing stuff, but the radar devices let you get more. Most of these can be killed and the ones that are placed on the ground have block. They're completely unhealable, even with regeneration effects. The ones that you deploy as a static object cost 0 to deploy and when they're destroyed or expired, they're just gone.

Details below. Kinda long.

This one scans its surroundings in a 3-range circle every 5 seconds. It has to be placed on ranged tiles and is very basic, but does a good job. I usually find a decent enough spot to put it on and it can take a good few hits too, so you don't have to be too worried about guarding it. You do have to guard it, but take it easy. Steady and reliable.

This one also goes on ranged tiles. When deployed, it does nothing until you've charged its SP bar by having at least one operator deployed on an adjacent tile. It requires 50 SP to activate, which charges at 1sp/s per adjacent operator or other deployable (summons, traps). Once the bar is full, it starts attacking and deals 2% max health arts damage to single targets in a 5x5 square minus the corner tiles with a 1.5s attack interval, while also generating Investigation Points on hit. Its hp steadily degrades, even while it's inactive, so you have to make the most of it. It does stick around for a long time unless you let it get attacked too much. This one has really good output, so long as you can give it targets. The range is very generous, you just have to charge it.

These go on either ground or ranged tiles and have 1 block, but they're not overly sturdy so don't use them for that unless you're in a pinch. Being adjacent to a mushroom gives an operator +150 def which doesn't stack with multiple mushrooms. Enemies killed by mushroomed operators yield more Investigation Points. They've got reliable output, especially when your strategy is centered on one or two major damage dealers. Pretty alright.

This is not a deployable. It locks onto the ally with the highest block count and "fires" at them every 10 seconds, though the very first shot goes off after 3 seconds. You can tell when it's about to fire by the intensifying reticule. When it fires, a random ally in a 5x5 square minus the corner tiles centered on the locked-on ally suffers a random effect and you gain some IP. The effects I've noticed include loss of current hp% (33, 50, 80), loss of current sp%, ~10s stun, ~10s freeze, full heal. There are without a doubt more effects that I haven't noticed and surely there are a bunch more positive ones in particular. I don't know how effective this is for the purpose of IP gathering. I never paid attention to that part. The effects can be pretty bad, but if push comes to shove you can just kinda deploy a high-block operator in a corner and let them suffer. I like this one.

This gives you 5 deployables that deal 500 arts damage in a cross-shape on and around the tile you deploy them on after a brief delay. Deploying them costs 5 DP and each enemy they hit yields 8 IP. Very hit or miss. If you get at least 1 enemy per cracker, you get 40 IP which isn't much. But that's pretty much the worst case. I didn't feeel good using them, but they're pretty decent, but the actual output is very map dependant. You need clusters of enemies or have to be willing to just block a bunch, but I think if you just manage to hit 1 to 2 per cracker you're fine. The damage is nothing, but you can use them to wake up enemies, which is particularly handy on F1 where you can use them to make Beasts to the Slaughter and Ghosts in the Attic a bit more comfy. Not too hot on these, but they're not bad.

This one goes on the ground and has 2 block. After charging for a bit, you can expend 3 DP and 200 of its HP to send out a car that drives in a straight line until it comes into contact with an operator, upon which it will continue moving in the direction the operator is facing, or upon colliding with a wall which will destroy the car. The car deals minor damage to enemies it hits and is quite cumbersome to use, as it kinda wants you to twist your setup to its will. I will not submit to car culture. I do not like the car. It's annoying and doesn't perform well. Its only merit is being able to field the deployable as a decently sturdy 2-block unit for free. Do not buy a car.

All in all, I quite like this. It's fun to mess around with the deployables and the Deep Investigations themselves give you some fun challenges. Each of these radars is styled after a past mechanic. The Altar-type is a Sarkaz Originium Altar, the Portable Gramophone is a gramophone from the Dossoles Water Gate annihilation map they've never shown up anywhere else trust my word I'm not doing some joke, the Ornamental Giant Mushrooms are like the mushrooms from Great Chief Gavial, the Field Device is akin to the Londinium Defense Cannon, the Two-step Firecrackers are from Who Is Real where they played an integral role on any map you had access to them and the Self-Driving Recon Cart is from Ideal City where you committed vehicular durinslaughter via unmanned vehicles which I am loathe to admit was reasonably amusing. I like this. I hope they do more stuff like this. As is, there's not much you can do with them because the Deep Investigations are locked at Difficulty 0 and so far the stipulations only served to make me stronger.

[tainbocuailnge]

my favourite nicheknights move I've seen in general while going through arkrec is that for supporters without summoners the big dick dps move is to put stainless s3 turrets in the didi microwave because each tick from both didi and her seaborn gives 1sp to the turrets. both of those skills cost 35sp and if you're playing this category you've got suzuran there to cut that down to effectively only 25sp so it cycles crazy fast for the amount of damage it does too

[tajcox]

The people were required to refrain from worldly labor and care, and to possess devotional thoughts. God required them also to wash their clothes. He is no less particular now than he was then. He is a God of order, and requires his people now upon the earth to observe habits of strict cleanliness. And those who worship God with uncleanly garments and persons, do not come before him in an acceptable manner. He is not pleased with their lack of reverence for him, and he will not accept the service of filthy worshipers, for they insult their Maker. The Creator of the heavens and of the earth considered cleanliness of so much importance that he said, “And let them wash their clothes.”

– {1SP 233.2}

[thescarletmansion]

Giovanni glances around the library, noting all the various tomes of research- from medical texts that were outdated even before he was born, to the occult, and finds himself drawn to examine the typewriter in the northeast corner, looking over everything to see if there was any paper over the platen and if there was any text to read, or if there was anything of note in the general area.

There was a single sheet of paper inside the typewriter.

Text had been flowing from the top and stopping halfway. However, it was not the haunted talk of the ghosts or even the mad ravings of a scientist in grief.

What awaited for Giovanni was a glib bit of writing from the last source he'd expect.

Hi, this is Yuri. I am using a typewriter. This is so cool. Why the heck is there even a typewriter in this place? Seriously guys, you trying to make this a haunted Johto Mansion, but you give me a type writer? Not sure how this all ties in, but I'm not complaining. Elrick's making me sit in here and think about what I did. OK, taunting the crazy evil scientist about how his dead daughter would hate him was not smart. I admit it. You wouldn't judge me right Mr Typewriter? You're my new friend in this old place. I miss home. I wonder if Sakaki-sama is OK? Is my mom treating him nicely without me being there? I know he's actually in hot water with the cops, so I'm a bit worried for him. I think I'll tease him a little to cheer him up! And maybe pray a little to the gods so maybe people can forgive him. He's not all bad. I wanna actually talk to his nephew, too. Oh, and I heard he has a friend moving in to Kanto, I should send a gift. I should probably burn this later. I wish I had a hambur

The sentence was cut off. She must have been pulled away from whatever time out Elrick had put her in. Tugging it out, the paper was caught in the mechanisms, as if the paper was too thick. Carefully examining it, there was something caught in between the paper and the rest of the machine. Working it out carefully, it was a photo of Yuri playfully sticking out her tongue and doing a victory sign, her other hand pointing towards the other side of the room they were in, but unfortunately at what exactly they were cut off from.

[lizzy-frizzle]

Ok, so, to explain my logic behind my new squad:

Flagpipe(myrtle and bagpipe) - deployment point generation, bagpipe on skill 3 could be used instead of skill 2 (I'm on the fence)

Mudrock - her job is to block enemies and stay alive, skill 2 or 3 are being considered with a lean towards skill 2

Saria - slows movement and increases arts damage taken by the enemy by +55%, while healing all allies in range for 35% (sarias attack) per second

Ptilopsis - charges auto recovery skills faster (an increase of 0.3/s - 0.35/s if they're in range of ptilopsis)

*considering ptilopsis, perfumer, or shining for this slot, ptilopsis for skill charge, perfumer for global heal, or shining for defense boost and solid healing*

Warfarin - increases the attack of an allied operator by 60% for 15 seconds

Ch'en - deals 410% arts damage for her skill 2, also gives offensive/defensive recovery skills 1 SP/5s (with module can be 1sp per 3 seconds)

Lappland - silences enemies, wolf spirit increases her attack by 120% and deals arts damage

Angelina - global heal (heals mudrock), slows enemies down during her skill while dealing arts damage

Goldenglow - attack range goes global during skill, attack +80% hits enemies with 3 drones, slows enemies hit, drones have 10% chance to explode dealing 300% aoe arts damage

Dorothy - on her bind skill, lets me put traps next to each other, deals arts damage, binds solo targets for 6s, binds aoe for 3.5s (still on the fence between this and her slow skill, but I think bind is better for this team)

Amiya - arts damage dealer, 7% attack and defense buff (doubled during skill)

So, the whole theme of the squad is dealing a shit ton of arts damage, with several operators being able to shift to a less arts focused mindset if needed

[hozion]

[official1sp]

This is one of the poems called "I LIKE" from the book 'Act Like You Know III: Verdict / Variorums'  the release is in paperback & ebook.  

https://amzn.to/3cU3yDy  

[roadandruingame]

RaR Musings #14: Spheres

As I continue to try to build out my extensive list of possible ability influences in Road and Ruin, certain spheres begin to emerge, which helps to recognize what might need a sub-resource.

In the first place, Road and Ruin operates on associations. Where other games ask that you make up the circumstances, twists, or even whole setting out of whole cloth, the aim, at least, is for Road and Ruin to appeal to each player's personal experience of popular culture, in a part-tarot, part-rorschach test. The pros of this is that mechanics will assist in players getting to experience what they've come to expect of a story from their genre, with some twists along the way, as well as fulfill any genre. The cons, of course, are if people aren't already familiar with a genre, or have any desire to recreate the tropes from one, then they won't be learning about them here except from other players.

Because Road and Ruin operates on associations, there needs to be certain tropes and recognizable themes in play. The sphere of [ANIMALS] might mean a pet dog, birds, or a tiger, or hunting; in fantasy, it might mean speaking to animals, gaining their powers, or transforming into one, or omens, and in sci-fi, it can mean alien creatures. The sphere of [ELEMENTS] means a lot more to a fantasy player than to sci-fi or the unfamiliar, but likewise, [TECHNOLOGY] can be an entire sci-fi story with very little fantasy applications.

The sphere of [COMBAT] having sub-categories, [FIREARMS], [SWORDPLAY], [MARTIAL ARTS], and [TACTICS] mean a wider variety of playstyles for players who are interested in those, but overly fixating on that sphere means an equal drop in features that don't involve combat in some way. But, if non-combat can lean on what's quickly ballooned out to 60+ proficiencies and counting, for a system where skill checks use up to two in combination, then perhaps combat does need the lion's share of "I use this special ability".

Spheres of [CRAFTING] are both unlikely to be widely used, while also extremely popular for a small niche of players who actually like that sort of thing. Such action can mean anything from specific crafting stations, to sourcing and processing high-quality materials, applying techniques, repair and upkeep, having a catalogue, and simply being able to avoid the service costs of having someone else do it, or making sure it's done right the first time. This sphere relies heavily on the 'associations' of people interested in such things already; rather than have unique recipes for everything that ever has, does, or could ever or never exist, we reduce components and projects down to properties. We don't need specific instructions on how to craft rope, just that if we need something long, flexible, and strong, we need something with the [[Strands]] property, of a certain durability. [Twining] as an action involves weaving things together, to increase durability. People can figure it out from there, twining hemp, vines, even the hair of giants or spiderweb to make ropes. It doesn't matter if it's possible or makes sense, all that matters is the players understand how to come to those conclusions.

________________

I run into the issue of cost.

I run into a very tilted problem where another, 'better' game might have universal 'Special Points', that you can use on any ability. Fireball? 1SP. Fist Flurry? 1SP. It'd allow players to pivot from their otherwise heavily-invested build, as well as be only a single resource for new players to learn, but it comes at a price.

Having multiple difference resources helps to keep divisions between spheres in a way that simply learning new abilities doesn't breach, but it also makes it harder to learn. The connective tissue between different kinds of resources is vast and sprawling, such that a player might not understand what their options actually are, but it also indicates visible connections that are easily searchable with CTRL+F. Not having universal points means the existence of a Battery to power electrical devices, without worrying about a packet of SP being sucked up by a monk looking to punch an extra ten times. In fact, those "what if" scenarios give me the benefit of design space, where "what if a monk COULD absorb the energy from a battery? That's something out of 40k or something" actually becomes a fun and unique ability combo.

I feel like I can use the mentality of a universal ability currency, and have conversions between skills, without actually having a universal currency. Such an 'apples to apples' conversion chart is a little unfortunate, because I have to make sure that there isn't a feedback loop where someone can spend 1MP to earn 3SP and 2SP to earn 1MP, but I think that's something I can chart out early and then balance for account.