Subset Games Forum

Wiseacre wrote:Ok, so I'm kind of inept at art and art based computer programs and I printed out my character sheets and they appear smudgy and the words have a grey pixel cloud around them for some godawful reason. Is there some way they can be cleaned up and made easier on the eyes?

Those images are saved as .JPEG files, which I believe are the lowest quality picture file. You should probably use .PNG instead.

Would changing how they are saved immediately effect the quality? Or do I need to start over?

Wiseacre wrote:Would changing how they are saved immediately effect the quality? Or do I need to start over?

I am not sure, I haven't saved a picture file as a JPEG in many many years.

Wiseacre wrote:Would changing how they are saved immediately effect the quality? Or do I need to start over?

You would need to start over. The 'artifacts', as those smudges and things are called, are already in there.

I could probably do something up in inDesign for you (I enjoy desktop publishing), but it would probably have to wait until Sunday/Monday.

You would need to start over. The 'artifacts', as those smudges and things are called, are already in there.

I could probably do something up in inDesign for you (I enjoy desktop publishing), but it would probably have to wait until Sunday/Monday.[/quote]

That would also be great! (In addition to the ships.) I might try to do it again if I get antsy, but if you had an easier way of cleaning it up that would be appreciated. Also ,while on the subject, what do you think of the sheets? Do they need to be changed? Are they too cluttered?

man i would really like this

Sorry about the silence for a day or so, I'm working up a basic form of the rules that I have lying around for playtest purposes. I'll post it here ASAP.

I searched the whole forums for this and was surprised that it only appeared 3 times.

FTL was in part inspired by the Battlestations board game/rpg that's been out for years. Some stuff was almost directly taken from it, including the Rock race and the torus shaped ships. You should really check it out. It's a pretty unique game in that it's a total hybrid of an RPG and board game.

http://www.battlestations.info/

This is a pretty brilliant idea, although I'd like to suggest that it would make a really strong candidate for a board game, rather than a pen and paper game. There is some merit for both, but a board game could probably capture a lot of the spirit, moreso than a pen and paper game.

Build event decks around the structure of each sector type.

Each player controls a crewmember and can spend experience gained where they choose, but I'd divide the skillgain into more discernable and smaller bite-sized chunks: 5 levels, each level giving a smaller bonus for the same net total of a full xp level 2 guy.

Each sector would have two store events thrown into the deck that connect with a deck of random items, mods and crew which are drawn every time you get to a station and then you roll to see which two of (weapons, mods, crew) you get access to at this station.

Turn based action would need a bit of play, but generally the system could be really well represented in a board game engine, the most complex part coming down to the fact that boarding parties and enemy weapons targeting would have to be dice randomized or work on a rather hard to predict regulated system.

The board itself would just be boards of the different ships to play with and the different ships to combat.

Thoughts?

Instead of "roll to hit" and "roll for damage", how about "attempt to kill" and "attempt to survive"?

The attacker attempts to kill the enemy.

The enemy could trust to luck to survive (unlikely, unless attacker is incompetent), or attempt to defeat the attack.

Rocks might use their "tough hide" feature to defeat the attacker's damage. Mantis might use their "ridiculous speed" to avoid the attack. Someone in battle armor might use it to prevent death.

Another form of resources would be wounds. If you lack the ability or desire to spend more of your other resources, you can take a wound, which causes longer-term problems. But a lethal attack can't be completely soaked by a human using a wound -- weapons just kill. You'd have to first reduce the lethality of the attack with a (failed but partial) defense.

Defences would then be pools (of points or dice), which you expend to keep yourself alive in a non-reliable manner.

These pools might be recovered through a number of methods -- taking a break to recover, luck, achieving something, repairing your gear, etc. Or, if you want the ragged edge to be really bad, maybe once your pool is empty you can try to use it in desperation and roll a check to see if you get a single defense attempt out of it...

The attacker's weapon's attribute and skills would then be the challenge that the defender is trying to survive. Instead of peeling off "wound levels", you'd peel off defensive skills until the defender is left exposed.

Ship to ship combat could be similar, with defenders dodging attacks, using shields to deflect attacks, intercepting attacks with drones or point defence lasers, etc. And partially successful attacks would cause hull breaches, system damage, etc.

As a system sketch...

Your character is a collection of attributes and skills. These are represented by dice.

Skills are small die sizes that are "always on". If you have a 1d4 pilot skill, you get +1d4 on all pilot checks. Skills are always a single die, and higher skill levels give you a bigger one.

Attributes are pools you burn through in a scene. A rockman's toughness might be a pool of 3d12.

Equipment is like attributes in that it is a pool of dice that is expended when you use it. Some of it has "easy" reload criteria, like weapons which recharge every round, and others are harder to reload.

A Flamer:
Accuracy: 1d4 (Auto, Splash, Suppress +2d4), Damage: 2d12 (Fire), Reload +1d12

Splash is a keyword for how it attacks -- in a relatively large splash. Suppress +2d4 means you can lay down suppressing fire. Damage 2d12 (Fire) means if you try to soak the damage, you have to soak 2d12 fire damage. Now, Rocks are immune to fire, so they can soak it's attack pretty easily... for anyone else, you probably want to dodge the flamer rather than trying to walk through it! Reload +1d12 means that each action reloads the damage pool by +1d12 if you expend these dice. Auto means that the pool auto-refreshes, like a skill.

A Blaster Pistol:
Accuracy: 2d8 (Aim 1d8/round), Damage: 1d10 (Energy, Auto)

Blaster Pistols have 2d10 worth of accuracy, but require you to burn actions aiming at 1d10 per action to get it. Their damage is 1d10 energy damage, and it is auto-fire (no actions required to refresh it). Dodging an unaimed blaster attack is pretty easy, but if they take actions to aim you might have a problem!

Powered Encounter Suit:
Armor: 1d8 (Auto) Oxygen: 3d6 (recharge: 1d6 per round in breathable air)

While wearing your Powered Encounter Suit, you can roll 1d8 to soak damage against any attack. It also has 3d6 worth of oxygen, which recharges at a rate of 1d6 per round in breathable air. An environment without breathable air will attack you, and you'll use your suit's oxygen to defend yourself, or take damage.

Bob:
Human
Luck: 2d10 (scene)
Adaptability: 1d4 (recharge: 1d per action)
Toughness: 1d4 (recharge: medical treatment)
Skills:
Combat Training: 1d4
Blaster: 1d6
Ship's Weapons: 1d4
Shields: 1d6

The idea of wounds is that you can take a failed defence, and double it, in exchange for taking a "random" wound of some kind. Wounds would persist into future scenes, but the alternative is death (or capture, or whatever the other guy is trying to do do you), or burning more dice from pools you might need later in this fight...