SLAOTD - Concept Books

What is a 'Concept Book'? I recently picked up two new sketchbooks for nWo. With a little pre-planning, these are going to become a Grimore and an Atlas, sourcebooks with art and rules.

How is it set up? The first page is the title page, followed by a table of contents, and at the back, an index is set up. These are left blank, slowly being filled in as pictures are drawn for easy reference. Each picture will be accompanied by rules, description and other pertinent information. Setting runes are used like in Zero Terminus to help organize things.

The Grimore will contain all manner of beasts, adversaries, associates, armour, tools, vehicles and robots. Things and persons who are unique will have their profiles kept up to date, the Grimore will be a 'living' sourcebook. The Atlas will contain all manner of maps and scenery sketches from all over the dominions.

As a SL, these books will be invaluable to illustrate the world the victims live in as well as making me more prepared for encounters and other such stuff. For the victim these will assist in formulating plans, and the Grimore might have some goodies...

I recommend a concept book to all players, regardless of the game you play, sink a little deeper into the realms. Keeping an index will help keep track of what/where immeasurably. And, don't forget, art = xp!

I have a collection of entries from other sketchbooks, I would like to compile these along with entries from other SL's to make a tome of knowledge. Does anyone have some of these?

Until next round, be well.

Scene Lord's Advice of the Day: To Catch a Thief

It may seem easy for a credit-thief, one can get a cardswipe for a mere Mid credit on the 'market, so what is a SL to do?

The Corporations can't monitor everyone, but they can make random looks, and the credits still go through them. If a victim you know is emptying stolen cards (and leaving bodies), or simply running a lot of cards through a 'market 'swipe, there might be a chance they will get busted. The chance of getting caught can be steep, add the victim's status to the credit levels being transferred (credit threat). Roll for each transfer on a 10 they are watching. Then roll equal or lower the 'credit threat' to catch an illegal transfer.

Ricalope, SL

Scene Lord's Advice of the Day: Population

A SLAOTD for SL's...

Any place that one goes, there are many other things that inhabit that place. So, it at once seems odd when a victim finds itself alone.

Specifically, the tendency to subject players to large tracts of nothingness, takes away from any believability of the setting. Granted, it can be hard to populate every square inch of a Dominion, but there are some "easy" ways to do it (like random charts or on-the-spot monster generation). There is a need for roaming beasties, and the things that eat them, in the wastes. A forest should be alive with critters, and the things that eat them. Cities should be filled with all manner of people, and the things that eat them.

Why? Some games only have encounters every measured amount of time (or distance) but that is not realistic. Other entities can be used by players as tools, sources of info, and an infinite amount of other uses. And, like I said before, it adds to the believability. Players want to interact with stuff, so let them.

Ricalope, SL.

A Webbed Update

The nWo website is currently under construction. This will feature all things nWo; pictures, blog rolls, q&a and comment forum, and (of course) the most up to date rules for the nWo system. The rules published on the site will be taken from the zero terminus project, almost as fast as they are printed.

Yes, the project known as "zero terminus" is still under way, and is a complete re-write of the current World of Damnation book. This does not mean that the rules are changing and you have to go get a d8, the rules are getting clearer and more concise. The first 'chapter', the Book of Laws, is being finalized and proofread, with a couple of tweaks here and there. The main difference you might notice is the division of knowledges and subtle change in MS, just to start you salivating....

I must smash more keys now...until next we meet,
Ricalope, SL-0.

Scene Lord's Advice of the Day: Guerrilla War

Guerrilla War might be a better knowledge than you thought it was. This knowledge is one of those few who can apply to other skills, here is how.

The basics: Guerrilla War is the knowledge of finding battlefield positions that provide better cover and firing positions. It can be used in any type of environment without penalty. During combat, a victim may make two actions per turn (usually one check and one war), often the Guerrilla War check will be the most important.

Using your DoS: The degree of success (DoS) of a Guerrilla War check gives a value for how well the victim uses cover to their advantage. Once a position has been taken up the DoS may be applied to other checks and wars. The DoS may be applied to a single roll, after which it is "used up" and may not be used until after the next Guerrilla War check.

Stealth: The victim may use their position to hide, apply the DoS to their next Stealth check. This would apply to planning a route which provides cover as well as finding sniping positions.

Sniper and Marksmanship: Once a good firing position has been found it can be very difficult to avoid any fire originating from a hidden point. If the victim wishes, they may add the Guerrilla War DoS to their next to hit roll, providing it is at range. Once the first shot has been fired the position has been given away and a new check must be made.

Soaking: A good position can be the best defense against incoming fire. Against the first ranged attack (by a weapon or magic) the victim may add their Guerrilla War DoS to soak the damage.

Sharing Your DoS: Any of the above uses can be applied to multiple victims. This represents the victim sharing their knowledge and leading their group. Simply make a Guerrilla War check, then divide the DoS by how many victims will be benefiting from the skill (round down to a minimum of one). The other victims may use the bonus modifier any legal way they see fit (even if it differs from how the other victims use theirs).

I hope that helps, happy sniping!
Ricalope, SL.

Scene Lord's Advice of the Day: Totals

Hey out there, thought I would like to pass on some modifiers to your next game.

Lets look at something that will help make game go faster and more seamlessly, knowing your victim's totals. What I am talking about are the to hit, dodge and soak totals primarily as they often get altered each turn. Scrap paper! If you write down all your base totals on a spare sheet, and keep track of temporary modifiers there, life might get easier. As a SL, I often do this for the various adversaries I toss at you, this way I can keep track of multiple spells and creatures/people. The various things I find to be important to note during combat are:

Weapons to hit
Weapon damage
Pool to hit
Soak damage
Magical Stamina (MS)

Some victims find that they use knowledges like stealth, guerrilla war and the like, if so add those to this list. I hope that helps out your next round of combat.

Ricalope, SL.