JAGS Blog

Update

2012-03-07T14:33:00.001-08:00

I'm almost done with the Innate Power's list of energy attacks. It's lengthy and fairly rich. I'm mostly pleased with it.

Once that is done I'll be putting together the rest of the abilities (senses, movement powers, etc.) and the largest and most complex part of JAGS Revised Archetypes will be done.

NOTE: Next most is Mind-Over-Matter abilities which is also a long list of complex powers.

Update!

2012-03-01T02:46:00.001-08:00

I'm back! I've been working my way through the Big List of Attacks putting them into the Innate Powers document. It's tedious work but having a good, solid, and hopefully colorful list of powers will be great. I've finished basic energy and "plasma" attacks, fire attacks, and am now on frost attacks.

Also: if you want to know what I think JAGS Have-Not looks like? It's like this:

Hiatus -- and A Quick Attempt To Answer Some Questions!

2012-02-17T10:44:00.001-08:00

So our family had our second son (Leo Chacon, welcome to the world!). Which has made blogging and JAGS a little delayed of late--and the hiatus might last a few weeks. However:

Right Now: I'm doing energy attacks in Innate Powers. So that's something.

To Answer Some Questions:

REACH and Movement
In JAGS you can't just "run in" on someone with a weapon. They get a 'zone of control' at their Reach and moving within it takes 5 REA Step moves. I think one of the things that was either incorrect or just not clear in the book is that if the target does not have a weapon you can move up to the reach of their arms right away.

That is, if someone is unarmed (Short Reach) you can move right up to short reach with a Step action. You don't have to stop at Long or Medium Reach. If that's not clear in the book (probably not)--it needs to be cleared up.

If someone did take a Step Action (3 or 4 yards) to "move in to Short or Close reach range" of someone with a sword, presumably the person moving in would get hit with the sword. The rules don't spell this out--but you could play it that way (maybe an advanced/optional rule).

Resisted Attacks Revised
The new rules for Resisted attacks are as follows:

The attack has an Intensity (which is a scalar number like number of DP is) and a POWER which is usually 12- for everything.
You compare the attack's Intensity to the target's DP+ADP (DP is their listed "undamaged" DP but ADP is whatever they have left). This gives a roll using the Resisted Attack Rules. NOTE: We are considering that it might be CON+DP+ADP for the target which would have some advantages (notably giving everyone a 20 to start with).
You then modify the roll based on the target's CON (or WIL for psionic Resisted Attacks) vs. POWER. So if I have a 13 CON I get +1 to my Resistance roll.
You then make the roll and apply the result to the effects table like it says in the book.

Example: Elephant Tranquilizer vs. Elephant and normal person.

An elephant tranquilzier has a Catastrophic Effect of death. It has an Intensity of 500. An elephant has a DP of 500. Both the Elephant and the tranq have a POWER and CON of 12. The tranq dart has a 10- against the elephant. Odds are of a Minor or Standard Effect (in this case: the target gets sleepy and drops after a few Rounds).

Against a person who is, unfortunately hit with the same dose: the roll is something like 400- for the tranq. Any roll results in death for the normal human as they don't have nearly the DP of the elephant.

Usually attacks will have an Intensity of between 15 and 25. A store-bought Taser might have like a 19 Intensity.

Fluidity in Battle

2012-02-01T12:32:00.000-08:00

In JAGS each combat round is six seconds--what's going on during all that time? Furthermore, I'd said, in a post, that movement 'with an attack' was quite possible. If I'm playing with a battle-map does that mean I get "free movement" with an attack--even though the rules say you need to make an Init Roll by 5+ in order to get a 'free step' with an attack?

What's going on?

What's Going On?
In short form: we want to acknowledge that the rules are not trying to be ultra-prescriptive and that sometimes the GM and Players will need to make decisions about what happens in the imaginary space of the game in order to fill in the gaps. However, the rules are expected to provide balance and a foundation for the imaginary action.

Consider this thought experiment: A "Dodge" action does not usually imply any movement at all. There is a Retreating Option that can be used for extra REA--but usually the Dodge action is pretty much silent when it comes to determining if you changed location.

What that "implies" is that all characters Dodging are kind of like Neo in The Matrix, who dodges bullets while his feet are stuck to the floor. Clearly that's not what most people probably imagine and it makes no sense to anyone with any experience dodging, well, anything.

So there's a disconnect.

Basically what this means is "The Rules Track Tactically Important Positioning." That's in quotes because it's still a guideline. We think the concept of a dodge implies some moving around and the rules are necessarily silent as to that because (a) there are a lot of different kind of dodges and the rules could get complex and (b) we think that's what you have a GM for, anyway.

In The Context Of An Attack
The rules in the book on Reach (pg 116) give specific yards-ranges for different reaches--but I had said, in another post, that an attack could have like a yard of movement one way or another. So Thomas asked, logically, how to reconcile the two (if I am understanding it). Here's how: barring any compelling reason not to, use the rules. If you are 3 yards away from an opponent then you're at Long Reach range and require a Step action to close.

But what about the yard?

Conceptually speaking you might "close the yard" and the opponent might "step back a yard" and that would not cost anyone REA or even be tracked at all--it just might be imagined. Or you might, if you were in range already, close a yard (again, in the player's imagination) and strike and then circle slightly, and then be back at roughly your starting distance (since no one paid REA to close--which would have tactical implications).

In other words, given the gray areas (six second rounds and the allowance of movement for things like blocks and dodges and so on) it is acceptable to, for example, slightly change the position of characters on a battle map so long as (a) no one objects to a change and (b) you keep the tactical situation roughly the same.

So All This Free Stuff Is Just Un-Important Imaginary Stuff?
Well ... no. Or rather, "Yes" and "No." As a GM I would, for example, allow a dodging character to move kind of randomly to one side or another or back "for free" as a result of the dodge and if that--later--became tactically important I'd be okay with that. I would not allow someone to always make their "dodging moves" so as to, for example, close distance with an enemy they wanted to hit in a dedicated fashion: dodging doesn't (to my mind) work like that.

In the case of HTH combat where Reach is important I'd enforce the rules for closing--but I very well might allow circling of a yard or so with both parties moving. So long as REA is being spent for the attack and the lateral movement is not tactically significant (in the immediate time frame) that's not a problem.

Why Do This?
Well, in the original JAGS we had 1-second rounds and did track movement to the yard at all times. This was good for battle maps but it was very bad for simulating combat. Watch a UFC? There's a lot of time where not much happens. JAGS combats were over in like 3 seconds ... always. That was a weakness of the system--you could say--but really, the "game time" it took to play it out was about right--it was satisfying to us.

So our choice was to keep the real play-time fixed and increase the imaginary time (a bit--now those UFC fights are all 18-24 second knockouts which is still ridiculous but not unheard of--and we have had plenty of battles that have, in game, lasted several minutes where tactical movement is involved or the PCs simply don't want to charge into combat).

How Do I Do This In My Game?
If the above isn't clear the answer is this: (a) you apply the rules and assume nobody moves unless they pay REA and then (b) you try to imagine what you think the action kinda looks like --without-- requiring everyone's feet be nailed to the floor and then allow for that motion so long as it isn't breaking the game.

We expect the GM to be able to go even further: there will necessarily be situations in the game we have not provided rules for (We're fighting on a quasi-open horizontal dimensional portal--WHERE ARE THE RULES!?) and we think that's fine. The GM can make judgements (and so can Players--the GM just has veto authority) to maneuver characters however is necessary. These can and will have significant tactical effects and that's, again, okay--just use your best judgement and if people at the table disagree work it out like adults. That's our best advice.

Slow But Steady

2012-01-31T14:23:00.000-08:00

I'm working my way slowly through Innate Powers--which is tough because there's a lot of stuff to review and try to get right. And the explanations of it all have to be at least decent if not actually "tight."

There is some question where to put standard blocks of rules. Take, for example, Charge Up.

Charge Up
Charge up means, in the simulator, that the ability (an attack) is not useful on Round 1 (or Round 2, for example, if it has a Charge Up of "2"). It generally does not cost REA to "charge" the ability (if it does that's a different matter) and, well, that's that. Contrast to Cool Down which means the ability is useful on the first Round of combat but then takes some "time off" after use.

These are simple rules--but the specifics get more complex. Let's take a look:

Charging an ability allows a Roll for Initiative by everyone who can sense it. It's presumed to have some audio component and it's unambiguously a readying for attack. You can't be facing down the enemy leader and "charge your fire blast" and have him 'not realize it.'
You can't "hold" a charged power. If you don't use it next Round it's inactive the Round after--in general--although the intent of the rule is take the ability out of play on the first Round of combat so there are some optional rules about "holding" the charge so long as "combat is still going on." This would, likely, be a GM call at some point.
Activation Abilities Work With Charge-Up. If the power has a Charge and an Activation Roll that's okay. The charge Round happens (there is no activation roll--the power simply isn't available) and then on the first Round where the ability is possibly active you start rolling. If you make the roll, the ability is online. If you miss it, the "charge" is saved until the activation roll is made. Then it's either use it or lose it.
Once charged an ability can be used for its entire Rate of Fire. If the Rate of Fire is Standard (two shots a Round for 5 REA each) you can Charge the ability, fire both shots (or however many), and then it's off-line after that until it charges again. Some abilities have both Charge Up and Rate of Fire of 1--meaning you must charge after every shot--but not all of them do.

Who knows, there might be some more.

Clearly this text, with an example or two, needs to go somewhere. But where? How many places? In the first chapter there will be some mention of these standard rules--and short descriptions.

In the back of the book there will likely be the full descriptions with all the caveats.

What goes in each section or each power description? That's not so clear to me. The obvious answer is to produce some boiler-plate that goes in the beginning of each chapter. However each chapter has multiple sections. Do I need a table or description there? It has been suggested that if I can get things short enough I could have like a "footer" on every page with some notes about the rules. That's interesting--but I'm afraid that very short descriptions may actually make things worse if they are not extremely clear.

And that's just one of the issues I'm struggling with.

Body Types

2012-01-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some notes on "Body Types." This is still under heavy consideration.

Robot Body
Tends to keep going after taking component damage

No biological weaknesses
Few Vital Organs: PEN Doubling on 6+
Must go to Injured before taking "Minor Wounds": No HURT, No MW until Injured
CON +1
Can be re-built if robo-brain is intact (limited true-death)
Component Damage: Damage results MAY be "capped" (Round 2, Fight-style) with limited results (the robot is cut in half and upper-body still functions fine)

Animated Material (Rock Body / Iron Golem)
Very hard to stop. Crumbles and cracks instead of bleeding

No biological weaknesses
Small-ish wounds have NO effect (chip-away/cracks): NO HURT, NO INJURED
Feels No Pain: +2 CON
Hard To Stop: No Stunned until Injured
No Vital Systems: NO PEN Doubling, No PEN
Limb-Loss Option: Can Round-2 Fight with limb-loss effect

Crystalline Body
Hard but fragile.

No biological weaknesses
Turn 1/2 DP into Armor (4 DP : 1 Armor)
1.5x PEN Defense
No Minor Wound
No Hurt Condition
PEN doubles on 2+
Major Wound is 2/3rd DP (fracture)
At Injured Condition, Minor Wound *does* become Major Wound and is 1/3rd DP as normal

Energy Body
Protected by an energy field instead of skin

No biological weaknesses
Slow flight
No PEN Doubling / PEN Damage (all damage is impact)
Automatic Force Field
Automatic Recovery when paying REA for a Wound Effect
"Dispersed" (STUNNED) when Force Field is down. Recovers for the 5 REA
Normal Stunned effect is 3 REA.
Wound Effects allow some movement as the character re-forms close-by.
Hard to hurt (negative damage mods) when Dispersed.
Hard to mix armor with (armor is still "inside" the Force Field

Liquid Body
Easy to "splash" but hard to hurt really badly. Especially resistant to physical damge

No biological weaknesses
Impossible to hold/grapple (very high Def-Grapple and Auto Escape) (other L-bodies can grapple)
'Flow' movement form
Does not automatically stretch unless stretching is bought
Puddle defense move (10 REA for large negative damage modifiers)
Characters get 2x BLD in ADP against Physical Attacks
Hard to mix armor with: Armor does not apply to SPLASH threshold
No PEN Doubling / PEN Damage
SPLASH THRESHOLD: 1/3rd DP. Any attack that does more than that gets auto-Stun (NO Effect is Stunned)
SPLASH THRESHOLD: You can still get a Daze or "Unconscious" (splattered) which is 10 REA instead of 8.
You CANNOT get anything more than that.
Each SPLASH done in the same Round gives a cumulative -1 CON Roll towards Splattered
NO Hurt Condition
NO Injured Condition
At Serious Condition, any wound is a Major Wound and can take the character out
?Check how Force Field works with this (is it "too good")?

Gas Body
Very hard to damage, has trouble dealing damage.

Gas movement (float, go through vents, etc.)
Immune to most physical damage
-8 DM from Energy Damage
No Armor effects in gas-form (armor only applies in the physical form)
?Maybe Armor counts as ADP in gas form?
No PEN Damage / PEN Doubling (from energy)
Large Weapon bonuses DISPERSE. A hit is checked for damage. If damage is => Minor Wound,Disperses the gas body (Daze)
Can be grappled by vacuum cleaners and collected in force fields and so on
Character takes a -8 DM to any attack launched while in Gas Body against the physical world. This may/may not apply to Psi attacks (i.e. it doesn't if the GM rules there are enough Psi attacks to make the gas body vulnerable to those)

Update

2012-01-20T19:14:00.000-08:00

What I'm Working On Now
I am digging into the Innate Powers list. It's complex. I am now on Iteration ... 3.5 let's say. What's in Have-Not is 1.0. What's in JArch 1.7 is v2. I have an unpublished file that is good--that's version 3.0--but it was done before the most recent batch of simulation and the Big List of Attacks--which taught us a lot. So I'm using that to update it.

What's Interesting?
What's notable is that the file is interesting to me. Enough time has passed that it's fresh to me--so I can see all the errors. But there were interesting decisions made that I'd forgotten about--like how I handled water-movement. I'd looked up the speeds of various sharks and things and used them to calibrate my swim-speeds. That's always nice (Extreme swimming is, like, as fast as a submarine--super swimming is faster than anything we see on earth).

Balance Issues
The Extreme Body Types (Animated Material, Energy Body) have the biggest changes--since I actually simulated their components (or close to it) I can have a far more scientific cost mechanism than before.

Thomas' Questions
Thomas asked a few questions in his post. Let me follow up.

1. JAGS REA Economy
Thomas notes that JAGS's mania for charging for movement may result in stationary battles. What do I think?

We'll have to do a detailed deconstruction of the rules for me to be sure of this--but here's my intended position:

(a) Moves that give tactical advantage need to cost REA. If you close with a guy who has a ranged weapon--or even a longer reach one? That needs to cost you--he paid for his range/reach in damage.
(b) The rules do allow for more movement than it sounds like. Any strike may or may not involve a yard or two of movement of both parties--including moves to the left or right. If you are playing with a hex map, anyone taking a block or dodge action can move back in any direction and the attacker can follow. If you move two spaces that would require extra REA (a Retreating Block) and gets you a better block. This 'incidental movement' is in the rules, I'm pretty sure.
(c) There are some rules for Circling which you can invoke. That gives some fairly unstructured--but not exactly static movement that can be used.
(d) Let's face it: most of JAGS combat is going to be, unless strategy is in play, two people standing toe-to-toe and duking it out. This is because in many situations that's optimal--if people are not playing with a battle map and are just doing some D&D-style combat we don't want the rules to get in the way of that. It's still exciting and making tactical decision making required would be heavier weight than we want.

That said, the GM can go a long way towards making combat more dynamic by setting up situations where movement is interesting / required.

(e) In the Fast Company PDF there are some rules for "Stunts"--basically you can either "spend a stunt point" or make an Acrobatics / AGI roll to get some kind of advantage. Usually that "comes with" a movement effect. These rules are, to my read, not bad--but not heavily playtested. I'd advise taking a look at them. If you are going to play a free-wheeling swashbuckling style 3-musketeers game give everyone 8 CP in Acrobatics and have a go.

Finally: There are a number of things in the rules that can really encourage types of movement and strategic movement. Range-Mods for weapons (SMGs vs. Assault Rifles came up long ago in a game we played). So can the use of cover. In the more recent rules, having the PCs have SP Pools can further encourage defensive play since the SPs can negate or mitigate the "one good roll means I'm hit badly" effect. This may be useful in convincing players NOT to just go for broke.

2. 1 REA Moves vs. 0 REA Moves
Yes--we changed things that used to cost 0 REA to 1 REA. Why? Basically two reasons. (a) to make "weird" REA numbers useful and (b) because having some "skin in the game" playtested to be a good thing. Having a 0 REA Strike meant you always did it--and if you didn't you were really leaving money on the table. Having it cost 1 REA meant sometimes it wasn't worth it. Sometimes it was. This was very positive in our playtests. YMMV, of course.

3. Guns OR Melee Weapons At Close Range
One of the biggest things we worked on was giving people in close or HTH combat cover from each other vs. Ranged Weapons. Right now in our Have-Not game, my gunslinger often has cover-issues from the other 3 HTH characters running up and attacking a boss. I have to move around to a vantage point I can shoot from that doesn't risk hitting my team.

The flip side of this is what about guns in HTH Combat.

(a) You should be able to block a gun at HTH range--treat it as a Sharp / PEN weapon (so for most character's it's hard but not impossible).
(b) We are going to hamstring rifles in close combat--and make them a little harder to deploy than pistols if not already "ready" using two hands. We do have rules for this (I think they may even be referenced in the basic book somewhere). These are optional rules. In our Have-Not game there are definitely "slots" for handed weapons (I can carry two pistols--but would need to move to one two-handed weapon). The simulator doesn't really track that--but okay. In a grapple or grab a rifle would be pretty shut down.
(c) In a Grapple or, especially, a Hold situation you can block a weapon (gun or knife) at some bonus. A gun, probably at a bigger bonus than a good knife. These rules are not published yet--but they're not hard to figure out.

Equilibrium?
In the movie Equilibrium the main character uses Gun-Kata to deflect the barrel of a gun by slapping it away continuously during the fight. In Wanted the characters (Fast Company of some sort, for sure) can "hit a bullet with a bullet" to block during gun combat. How do you do that in JAGS?

Well, for just slapping it, as I said above, treat it as a Sharp Weapon--and, maybe you get pluses with some kind of Gun-Kata training package.

Blocking Bullets is a 1 REA power that enhances a Block you already have (if you wish to simply use Kung Fu to block bullets). There are some CP-only abilities that could be used too (these are less well defined right now) but would make blocking a bullet (or catching it in the teeth) much riskier. This is good for drama but not good for gaming since a PC who pays for that is taking a huge risk in getting shot every time they try to get value for their points. But, again, it's not hard to figure out.

On the other hand, having a reliable block against bullets based on your Skill Block is pretty cheap.

But Fire Arms doesn't give a Block. Does it?

The solution to the Wanted issue is to just give Fire Arms a block (probably "at skill level") for 1 AP and then Enhance it for 1 AP to work against Range.

These are all extrapolations of the rules and that's easy for me to do in a blog-entry as the game designer but harder for a reader to just do. I understand that--but it's the best answer I have right now.

Body Types

2012-01-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

I'm working my way through Innate Abilities--a mix of super powers, animal-style abilities, and "mutant powers." This is the compliment to the Generic Archetype Abilities as it is crucial to the rest of the book in complex ways. It is the base-line repository for many (albeit not all) unusual abilities.

It has to accomplish a few things:
1. List enough attack powers to make monsters (most monsters, anyway), all animals, and a decent number of "energy" or "mystical" attacks.
2. It has to have rules for playing very large and very small characters.
3. It has to have a wide variety of each category of ability--there will not just be 'Armor' but different kinds of Armor-plates and other rules around similar defenses to give the character and style.

Body Types
One of the first sections is "body types." I wanted to make sure that non-human animal-style characters would have some options that would give them basic templates to work from. For example: Quadruped (fast) gives the character superior stability and higher ground speed. They have a lower shoulder-height than a human of the same BLD and, unless they do something special, have no hands (but four legs!).

The Centaur Issue
I have a list of all or at least most of these abilities with "stat blocks" (although they are not "Complete and up-to-date"). One of the early ones is Centaur Body Type which is a humanoid torso (arms and head) and a lower body of something else (snake? horse? spider? etc.).

The purpose of the body-type is two-fold: (1) to let the character "play that thing" but secondly (2) to separate the JAGS-sian generalities around "Big things." JAGS is pretty dedicated to making big things "big." If you play an intelligent Elephant in JAGS you are going to have hundreds of Damage Points. If you play a "horse-man" you're going to have "a lot of DP."

And you're going to be big too. And bigger things hit harder in JAGS.

But there's a problem: in our formulation a Centaur with a sword who weighs 1500 lbs doesn't hit as hard as a 1500lb Giant with a sword--so says I. I mean, they could: and if you think they do, fine.

But they don't have to. The human torso's arms will not be as strong as the horse's legs. Presumably the arms can't lift a fraction of 1500 lbs as the legs can (and jump it). Furthermore, while a centaur might train to get their weight into a strike it seems unlikely that the kinematics of a horse will match up as well as those of a full on body twisting sword swing.

I mean--maybe not: I'm not an expert--but it seems to me that a centaur with a sword would strike like a very strong man--but not as well as a 1500lb sword using giant (although if you do assume weapons better created for the centaur they would get the advantage of their mass).

CENTAURS IN JAGS
If you are buying the Centaur Body Type you have two options. The first is that you treat it just like a human. This is the case if you think that a Centaur with a sword hits as hard as the presumably optimized giant. In that case you just buy the stability / ground move. Maybe a Trample attack and hooves. And you're more or less good to go.

But if you take the other option then what? The other option is this:

You get a Centaur Body Type which limits the damage you do with punches and weapons to roughly that of the humanoid part (plus a bit) and you use your less optimized attacks (trample, mule kick) with your horse-portion. This means that the Centaur pays less for its size than a "Giant humanoid" of the same size since the horse-attacks (Trample, Mule-Kick) are less efficient in terms of REA and other things than punches or sword blows.

If you do that, then it is cheaper to be large like a centaur. This is good--there are all kinds of things out there that are not as efficient in terms of weapon usage as a human. Take, for example, a shark: it has a charge-in-and-bite attack. This is a powerful attack but the damage comes primarily from its jaw strength and not from the "ram attack" it does. A great white shark can weigh 4200 lbs. However if it swims up and bites you, while often fatal it is not always fatal the same way that JAGS would treat a human of that size swinging a sword at you.

What To Do?
What we are doing is this: providing a list of "body types" (Quadruped, Pisciform (fish), Avian, Insectoid, Serpent) and giving them some "basic attacks" that are usually less efficient than punches and human kicks. This makes their size and strength cheaper. If they do take something that optimizes their weight then they need to pay the same price as everyone else.

How'd I Come Up With Those Forms?
It turns out that there are (I checked) six phylum of animals--and under that a whole host of "orders of animals." I went through those and tried to get categories that made sense for the game. Especially since there will be some weird combinations (air sharks?) and the game categorization is not the scientific one (reptiles are a different phylum than mammals but crocodiles, cats, dogs, and horses are all four-legged creatures with different bio-weapons, skin-coverings, diets, and movement abilities).

Running JAGS

2012-01-01T11:57:00.000-08:00

Thomas wants to know if I have any advice for running JAGS for the first time doing a zombie-style game. This is a more complicated question than it might seem as I have to figure out not only what I want to tell people--but also what I, myself, know that everyone else doesn't.

Here's an attempt:

1. Don't Bog Everyone Down With Character Generation
When I have introduced people to JAGS I usually do it with pre-gen characters and have them pick them. In some cases I have a character with a couple of options (including gear) and let them spend a small number of points themselves. This is especially good with GATs ("Here is a list of 3 GATs for this character--you pick.")

2. Use The Character Generator. The one linked (or I can email you a file) is done in JAVA and produces HTML character sheets. It's not perfect but it's pretty good and should generate decent looking output. This will help players know how much damage they do and such without having to "do the math."

3. Have the Players Pick Gear from Lists. This is a best-practice for any game--but especially survival style ones. It generates excitement and energy (for reasons that I'll admit I'm unclear on--but I have some suspicions). Do I choose the blanket, flares, axe, and first aid kit? Or do I go with the shotgun and five shells? Do I get two walkie-talkies ... or a survival knife and flashlight? Stuff like that. That's less a JAGS thing and more a best-practice thing.

4. For Running Combat: Use a sheet of paper. Write everyone's name down the side including NPCs. Across the top is the Round number. When you roll Init you tell everyone to roll and then call out "+5!" ("I made my Init roll by 5") or "-3" or whatever. You write the numbers down next to their names and go in order of action. For groups of enemies just roll one for each group (say they are being attacked by 12 zombies, use groups of 3).

5. Use ADP for Foes. Keeping track of wound levels for lots of opponents is time consuming. So is keeping track of wound effects. If you give a Zombie nothing by 12 ADP it's either "fine" or it's "dead" (really and truly dead) and that's a lot easier.

For human opponents, a Major Wound, regardless of wound-effect, is enough to take most combatants out of the fight. Henchmen will be crawling away or surrendering if they're close to Injured or Serious condition.

6. Every Attack is 5 REA. This is a bit of a simplification but I'd use it to start with (exception: usually kicks stay at 6 REA). Don't load up on the Advanced or Optional Rules for a first time.

7. Use the Search Function and the PDF. If you own a printed set of rules? Great--but keep a laptop open with a PDF loaded and use the search function if looking for rules.

8. Avoid Grappling. The grappling rules are complex. Unless someone is really interested, don't worry too much. The one exception is, of course, zombie grabs. In this case pre-calculate grapple scores for the zombies and the PCs. As they are not action heroes their Defensive Grapple Scores will likely be around 12-16. If a Zombie has an Offensive Grapple of, say 14, that gives them a 12- to grab an ordinary character. Just have the table printed out so you can refer to it easily.

I'd even hand this out to them--the Zombie Stats:

INFECTED BITE: 13- to hit, 1 try per Round, Must Have a Grab, 3 PEN. If you take 1pt of damage you are INFECTED!
ZOMBIE GRAB: 13- to hit, 1 try per Round, Close Reach. Grapple of 14 (compare to your Defensive Grapple. If your Defense Grapple is a 12, it has a 12- chance of success if it hits).
ZOMBIE BILE: 14- to hit, every other round, Acid burns for 8 IMP damage. GROSS!

And let them puzzle it out (you could even add some really weird stuff like CLOUD OF PESTILENCE that might not appear but could weird them out. Don't forget about RADIOACTIVE or BURNING zombies ...).

Put the damage table for each attack along then bottom so you don't have to calculate it during the game either.

9. Explain How The Dice Work. Train everyone to ignore 6's up front. Do a couple of practice rolls to show how it works.

10. Explain How Made It / Missed It By Works: If I need a 14 or less to succeed and I roll a 10 I "made the roll by 4." Often that's important and it's something that a lot of people seem to have problems with. Likewise, if I needed a 14 and rolled a 16 I "missed the roll by 2." In some situations that might be important.

I'm sure I'll think of other stuff--but that's all for now. Good luck! Let me know how it goes.

Shock and Awe

2011-12-21T12:05:00.000-08:00

Our characters in the JAGS Have-Not game graduated from the academy, leaving it, in PC-fashion, a smoking ruin. We reported to the capital city in our new capacity as recently graduated Political Officers.

The GM presented us with these two documents.

I suggest clicking to take a look. They are, to my mind, an example of what Grade-A hand-outs to the PCs would look like. Furthermore, there is a lot of meaning embedded in them (we ran into someone with one of the guns in the Gift Catalog--which is essentially a treasure list and I was able to look them up).

Staff Officer's Handbook
Imperial Gift Catalog

This also shows what someone who is a professional with presentation software can do if they put their mind to it.

Recommended.

What These Are: Creating Player Agency
I closed this post too fast. Let me talk for a minute about what these are for. They're not just to wow us with the GM's PowerPoint skills. The goal of the GM here--and I am mind reading--but I am pretty sure I know--is to give us players a set of "hooks" or "levers" to use to take meaningful action on the world. In the game we are no longer being driven by missions where we are "sent into dungeons to get treasure and go up levels." We are now playing on a socially important playing field with a 'sand-box' style map and world.

To be sure we will still get missions (in fact there is a wheel of missions in one of the documents) and forces will act on us. There are NPCs waiting in the wings who are potential friends, enemies, and possible patrons. There will be a lot of forces at play.

However, these documents provide us with the information necessary to give us clues as to what avenues of action will be interesting and fruitful. This isn't to say we couldn't choose our own--but this sort of context is hugely important in giving us agency that fits into the world and each other's visions.

A Note On Railroading
I have seen people's "threshold" for "what constitutes railroading" vary from extremely sensitive (if the PCs have any forces acting on them it's GM-pressure and therefore railroaded) to the far more general ("It's railroading if the GM has a specific plot and absolutely forces it on the players"). I come down a bit in the middle with the note that "I know railroading when I feel it." I think that's the real condition that's important: if all the cards are on the table and it didn't bother me (or anyone else in the game) then it's not dysfunctional (assuming I don't like having my player-agency stripped--and I don't).

I also think that a good deal of the more finicky definitions are agenda driven (there was a lot of this in the Indie-game scene a few years ago).

That said, if the GM is going to provide a "sandbox" style environment where the PCs get to achieve their own goals is it railroading to give them a menu of goals as the document does? I don't think so--it's true that if the PCs decided it was their life's mission to "climb the highest mountain" and that's not on the list ... and our roles as officers of a dystopian post-bizarro-world-apocalypse would likely preclude going AWOL to climb a mountain, therefore bringing some consequences down on us if we insisted ...that the document would not support that nor would the current structure of the game*.

However, I submit that if the PCs, for no in-game reason, decided to do something totally outside the context of anything we were told when the game begin (that we were at the academy training to be military officers) then there would be some meta-level dysfunction that the wishes of the Players does not trump. In other words, while I wouldn't know exactly what's going on in that hypothetical, the fact that the PCs want to do something weird would, to me, indicate a breakdown where the Players might well be at fault (i.e. in passive-aggressive resistance to the GM's reasonable effort to entertain them and without making necessary efforts to communicate and resolve whatever problem is prompting the resistance).

-Marco

Fast Company: Moving Forward

2011-12-14T08:39:00.000-08:00

I've been doing a lot of work on Chi Martial Arts--but the fact is, without some playtests, I'm not willing to go beyond the Excel Spreadsheet Stage. So I've moved ahead to Fast Company, the (very short) chapter of which is below.

Fast Company

2011-12-14T08:37:00.001-08:00

Fast Company

Fast Company is the name we’re using for a set of abilitiesthat create “action heroes.” These characters are larger-than life heroes whomay not precisely have super powers (although they can) but are definitely farabove the capabilities of normal men. They can come through a hail of gunfirewith only grazes, fight with steel blades as effectively as with their barefists, and may well be super detectives, costumed crime fighters, orsuper-spies.

Fast Company characters have reflexes that are far abovethose of normal humans and may often have exotic training, equipment, andphysical toughness.

Covered In This Section

In this chapter we’ll cover:

1. The FastCompany Vibe: what are Fast Company games and characters generally like?How do you use them in a campaign and who has these Traits?

2. TheFast Company Traits (Levels 1-4): There are four “levels” of Fast Companyallowing the creation of characters from exotic to virtually super-heroic.

3. BulletTime (how it works mechanically) And Other Rules: Levels 3 and 4 of FastCompany have a special ability that gives them an “extra Round” for every round“normal people” get. This is called the “bullet round” and is a way of makingFast Company characters faster than mere mortals!

4. Some other notes around using Fast Company withother Traits.

The Fast Company Vibe

The world of Fast Company is that of cinematic super-spies,costumed crime fighters, and extreme martial artists. Fast Company charactersare designed so that:

v They’reFast: They have higher Initiatives, more REA, and sometimes even “extratime” that ordinary characters don’t get.

v TheyFight as Effectively Armed As Unarmed: At least against each other, using asword, your gun is a reasonably even decision. This is because Fast Companycharacters tend to take less damage from weapon attacks (PEN damage) and dealmore damage with unarmed attacks (even if they do not explicitly have martialarts). This makes, for many purposes, the decision to use weapons or not astyle issue rather than one of effectiveness.

Fast Company characters usually know they are exceptionalbut will not generally believe they are “super human.” The standard conventionof the games we’ve used these in is that they still ‘fear’ guns but recognizethat they can handle themselves against a weapon (you will see how FastDefenses make guns far less effective against them than they might be).

Examples of Fast Company Campaigns (and Fiction)

Here are some ways you might use Fast Company in a JAGSRevised Archetypes game:

Game	Characters	Notes	Example Fiction
Costumed Crime Fighters	34 AP (L2) or (??) L3, 50 CP	The characters are costumed crime fighters who each have some kind of special origin and motivation (whatever caused them to become crime fighters). Some may have special gear or even unusual capabilities like (perhaps) low-level psionics—but none of them are flashy, car-throwing, ‘four-color’ super heroes	Watchmen, Batman, Blind Fury, Remo Williams
Super Spies	22 AP (L1), 50-75 CP	The characters are members of an elite secret government team who have extensive exotic training and weapons. They usually handle missions that even “ordinary” special forces can’t manage	Mission Impossible, Bourne Identity, Kim Possible (Family Friendly Fast Company!)
Super Warriors	L3 or L4, 50 CP	The characters are extreme examples of peak-human-performance and can, as a very small group, turn the tide of a war.	Captain America, The Matrix, Rambo

Fast Company Levels 1-4

We’ve broken the traits down into four basic levels from “verytough” (level 1) to “virtually super-heroic” (level 4). We’ll describe each ofthese Traits and what the specific abilities mean.

Bonus Type	Applying The Bonus
Dodge Ranged Attacks	Fast Company have extremely good senses, instincts, and reflexes when it comes to avoiding damage. They can dodge ranged attacks at no negative. NOTE: they also get 8 CP in Acrobatics (which will likely give them Level 3, 13- Acrobatics with which to dodge for only 3 REA instead of the normal 5 REA).
Full AGI Applies Vs. Ranged Attacks	Most characters only get half their AGI bonus rounded down against ranged attacks but Fast Company characters get their full AGI Bonus (AGI-10) applied to both HTH and Ranged attacks).
Fast Defenses	Fast Company characters are extremely good at avoiding damage and get negative damage modifiers applied against incoming attacks. These are: v Damage Mod -8 against PEN damage attacks (swords, knives, bullets, etc.) v Damage Mod -4 against IMP damage attacks (HTH, blunt weapons, falls, etc.) v Optional: Damage Mod -10 against long arms (rifles, heavy weapons) and explosions. These damage modifiers are applied before checking for PEN Doubling (so a gun shot that hits by 9 goes to a hit by 1 and does not double). The optional defenses make the character very resistant to heavy weapons and may be more suitable for L3 and L4 style games (where the characters may be literally expected to take on the army—although even then, probably, not directly).
Natural Acrobat	Fast Company characters have innate balance and reflexes and get 8 Character Points in Acrobatics skill. They are encouraged to buy Level 3 so as to take advantage of their Dodge vs. Ranged Attacks.
Extra Initiative	All Fast Company characters get +5 Initiative.
Extra REA	Some Fast Company characters get +3 REA as well as the +5 Initiative. Note that REA also adds to Initiative so a L2 Fast Company character with 13 REA would get +3 REA (total of 16 REA) and then +5 Initiative for an Initiative roll of a 21-!
Extra Damage Points	Fast Company characters are tough and get extra Damage Points.
Combat Techniques	Fast Company characters deal extra damage with unarmed combat. Note: this is Impact Damage that is added to unarmed blows. It does not add to any weapon attack (including clubs or staves).
Bullet Round	Some characters get a “Bullet Round.” This represents extraordinary speed and has several game effects. The short effect here is that characters with a Bullet Round get an entire extra round of action with full REA before each normal round in which characters without a bullet round may only dodge/block if they choose. We’ll explain how this works in more detail in a special section below.
AP’s in GATS	Fast Company characters are expected to be extraordinary in other ways too and most of these packages come with specific APs for the character to spend on Generic Archetype Traits. These may further raise the damage the character does (or increase speed, give 1 REA attacks, etc.) These GAT points are “built in” to the total cost.

Fast Company Packages

These are the four levels of Fast Company.

Fast Company Level 1

TAP [.50,.41,.38]

Description: You are an action hero of some sort! You are recognizably mortal but can probably handle two or three semi-trained opponent tough-guys without breaking a sweat. You might be an elite special forces agent, a wandering martial arts master, or an exotically trained assassin. Possible examples:

v Indiana Jones, John McClane, Members of GI Joe?

Bonuses

Notes

Dodge Ranged Attack

YES

Full AGI Bonus vs. Ranged Attacks

YES

FAST Defenses

YES

-8 PEN / -4 IMP

Natural Acrobat

YES

8 CP in Acrobatics

Extra Initiative

YES

+5 Initiative Rolls

Extra REA

No bonus to REA

Extra Damage Points

YES

+10 Damage Points

Combat Techniques

YES

+6 HTH, A-Cost +3 AP

Bullet Round

No Bullet Round

GAT APs

YES

4 APs in GATs

Trait

64+

Fast Co L1

N/A

Fast Company Level 2

TAP [.59,.56,.47]

Description: You are a superior action adventurer. You can handle multiple tough opponents and excel in “doing the impossible.” Possible examples:

v James Bond, Jason Bourne, Khal Drogo, most of the Watchmen

Bonuses

Notes

Dodge Ranged Attack

YES

Full AGI Bonus vs. Ranged Attacks

YES

FAST Defenses

YES

-8 PEN / -4 IMP

Natural Acrobat

YES

8 CP in Acrobatics

Extra Initiative

YES

+5 Initiative Rolls

Extra REA

YES

+3 REA

Extra Damage Points

YES

+12 Damage Points

Combat Techniques

YES

+7 HTH, A-Cost +4 AP

Bullet Round

No Bullet Round

GAT APs

YES

8 APs in GATs

Trait

64+

Fast Co L2

N/A

Fast Company Level 3

TAP [.81,.69,.59]

Description: You are nearing the level of super powered. At this level you get a Bullet Round which effectively doubles your REA! You are an elite fighting machine. Possible examples:

v Ozymandias of the Watchmen, V, The Bride

Bonuses

Notes

Dodge Ranged Attack

YES

Full AGI Bonus vs. Ranged Attacks

YES

FAST Defenses

YES

-8 PEN / -4 IMP

Natural Acrobat

YES

8 CP in Acrobatics

Extra Initiative

YES

+5 Initiative Rolls

Extra REA

No bonus to REA

Extra Damage Points

YES

+14 Damage Points

Combat Techniques

YES

+4 HTH, A-Cost +4 AP

Bullet Round

YES

Bullet Round

GAT APs

YES

12 APs in GATs

Trait

64+

Fast Co L3

N/A

Fast Company Level 4

TAP [.97,.81,.69]

Description: At level 4 you are the outer-limit of human potential (in fact, when this gets mixed with four-color supers the AP-cost chart will be extended out to 128 AP or more!). You are a blur of attacks and defenses. Possible examples:

v Neo, Batman, Doc Savage, The Shadow

Bonuses

Notes

Dodge Ranged Attack

YES

Full AGI Bonus vs. Ranged Attacks

YES

FAST Defenses

YES

-8 PEN / -4 IMP

Natural Acrobat

YES

8 CP in Acrobatics

Extra Initiative

YES

+5 Initiative Rolls

Extra REA

YES

+3 REA

Extra Damage Points

YES

+16 Damage Points

Combat Techniques

YES

+4 HTH, A-Cost +4 AP

Bullet Round

YES

Bullet Round

GAT APs

YES

16 APs in GATs

Trait

64+

Fast Co L4

N/A

Possible Examples

We’re aware that we could spend the rest of our lives arguing about whether the specific examples make sense (is James Bond actually a tough guy like Khal Drogo or Jason Bourne?). We picked these to be somewhat relevant (and some of them are showing our age) and to be interesting. If you don’t feel they belong there, that’s fine—it certainly isn’t scientific.

SomeAdditional Rules

Here are some additional notes to follow up with.

TheBullet Round

The Fast Company ‘Bullet Round’ capability requires somefurther explanation. Here is how it works:

Before each “normal Round” there is a Bullet Round (and, ifplaying with optional/advanced rules, possibly more than one). Anyone with aBullet Round can take a full Round’s worth of actions normally duringthat Round. Other characters can only take defensive actions: Blocks or Dodges.

If only one character in the battle has a Bullet Round thenit’s easy—they just get to take a full Round and then they roll Initiative likeeveryone one else for the “normal Round.”

If several characters have Bullet Rounds then there is aBullet Round Initiative and everyone with a Bullet Round rolls Initiative andthey all take their Turns normally and then they do it all over again for the “normalRound.”

The key thing to understand is that in terms of “in-gamereality” this Bullet Round happens ‘really fast’ in the same time frame as the ‘normalRound.’ This in effect can:

v Double weapon’s apparent rates of fire (if theBullet Round character fires both on the Bullet Round and the normal round)

v Double Bullet Round character’s movement rates(they can move normally on both rounds)

v Allow characters with Bullet Rounds to “getthings done” at twice the normal rate (at least in combat).

Things Re-Set During a Bullet Round

If I have a blast that requires a Round of Charge Up it’llcharge during my Bullet Round. If I throw a Cross during my Bullet Round I’lllose the negatives when I get to go on my normal round (and vice-versa: if Ithrow a cross on my Normal Round it’ll re-set during my Bullet Round nextRound).

You Don’t Fall Twice As Fast

You don’t fall twice as fast though—during a Bullet Roundyou won’t fall. Cars don’t move during Bullet Rounds (generally—that’s optionalif the driver has a bullet round and the game wants to make a distinction betweenFast Co drivers and normal drivers—but that means the car is “effectivelymoving twice as fast”).

Continuing Attacks Generally Do Go During a Bullet Round

Fire will “burn” during a Bullet Round and poison, if thereis continuing damage, will go during the Bullet Round.

As an advanced rule, however, the group can only run thoseeffects during a Bullet Round if theycame from a source with a Bullet Round. This gets complex. The rationalebehind having a continuing effect strike during a Bullet Round is because wethink it’s easier to play that away.

Explaining The Bullet Round

Bullet Rounds are a meta-game rule: there is no specificin-game explanation for them. Perhaps if the game is very metaphysical thecharacter is literally “outside of time” a bit—but otherwise the explanation issimply that the character is very, very fast and the game rules are constructedto support that. In other words, don’t get hung up on it.

Getting Caught Flat Footed

Fast Company defenses: the negative damage modifiers againstPEN and IMP attacks are meant to represent a combination of extreme mobilityand the ability of Fast Co characters to innately sense incoming damage. If thecharacter is caught “with a gun to theirhead” they might not get that bonus (same if they are held completely still).

Our general ruling is that if a character is “caught bycomplete surprise” they lose their negative Damage Modifiers and AGI Bonus against1 shot until there is some kind of diversion. This construct allows Fast Cocharacters to be captured until they can come up with a distraction to escape.

This works well so long as everyone involved understands theconventions at play: in a gritty more realistic game where capture is going tolead to swift execution we would expect the GM or Players arranging “completesurprise” so they can shoot other Fast Co characters in the head to beextremely difficult.

Similarly, if the character hugely restrained (under a pileof security guards or ankle cuffed with hands also locked behind their back?)then they would likely lose the bonus—but, again, this is intended to supportgenre conventions and we think the group needs to be on the same page withrespect to what everyone thinks is fair (the GM will make the ultimatedecision).

Fast Company and Gear

Super Spies and costumed crime-fighters may have things likespecial weapons, exotic security-defeating devices, or even things likeultra-lightweight body armor. It is certainly acceptable to use the GAT pointsfor this buying off the gear list or buying other abilities and making theminto gear.

However, in many games characters will have the choice of whether or not to carry “normal”weapons. In these games the characters are generally not paying AP for weapons but might pay APs (or Mod Points) forexotic or upgraded weapons.

In these cases the character will get to carry a 4 AP weapon(a hand gun, a sword, a staff?) for ‘free.’ If they wish to spend APs (throughMod points or building on the 4 APs) to upgrade their weapon, that’s fine. Theymight also be allowed to carry exotic weapons or have other 4 AP attacks (solong as they don’t add to the unarmeddamage).

Chi Moves -- First Draft

2011-12-06T07:35:00.001-08:00

Here's a list of Chi Moves in first-draft form. Let's review how this works:

1. You buy your HTH damage with GATS or some kind of Super Strength or whatever.
2. You buy Chi Focus which costs exactly 1/3rd (round normally) of your A-Cost (so if you have 6 AP spent on HTH Damage you pay 2 AP for Chi Focus).
3. You buy the Chi Focus Skill which costs 4-8 CP (I have not decided yet)

You Then Buy Chi Moves
4. These are bought using Character Points.
5. You can get 4 CP just to buy moves for 1 AP

NOTE You may also buy standard AP-based abilities like Vital Strike, Focus Punch, Hard To Block, Damage Point Pools, and so on.

Some Thoughts
Right now these cost (CP cost) are roughly eye-balled. I have some thoughts behind how it works but they're not concrete yet. There are a few basic kinds of "strategies" to building these guys that I need to figure out.

The ability to have all kinds of abilities that are normally reserved for AP bought with CP is breaking the rules. So is having Chi Focus add to HTH damage without having it add to A-Cost. Quite a few things in here run backwards. What does all this mean?

Chi Fighters Might Often Be More CP Than 'Regular Characters'
Most JAGS Revised characters will be around 50 CP to start. Chi Fighters might be 75 or even 100 CP. This makes sense as they are expected to be "extensively trained" (you'd do the same for a Navy SEALs game). The second thing it means is that they will have a lot of powers--but the intent is that these powers somewhat "crowd out others."

What do I mean by this? Well, you should only be able to use one Chi Attack at a time. Thus, having a lot to choose from isn't worth that much. As for the Defenses? Most of them will cost REA or some other currency. You generally won't get DP or Armor without paying REA for it, and so on.

A Note On JAGS Standard Magic
This is all similar to the way that JAGS Standard Magic works. We wrote the first draft of Magic to be similar to a computer game in feel (and not all that dissimilar to AD&D in its way). It uses spell points to power spells and you get a small number of them.

In the Revised Version this is still going to be similar. You are going to pay CP in order to get spells and AP for the ability to cast magic at all. The amount of AP you spend on casting magic will determine the power of the individual spells in a similar fashion to the way that your A-Cost determines the damage done by these Chi Moves.

Also Note: I haven't covered edge conditions such as what happens if a character has an A-Cost of 0. There are probably some minimum rules floating around about how these characters need to be constructed that we'll lay out in more detail given time.

Style

2011-11-30T10:42:00.001-08:00

So here's the deal with Chi. As I said before we're looking at 16 AP (could be more or less--but I want the characters to work at 16 AP) and we start with the basic guy and work out from there.

Here's how it looks

If you scroll down you can see several things.

The first is that the Chi Fighter spends 2 AP and gets extra damage (+2) with every strike but it does NOT add to his A-Cost total. That's a great deal even though the simulator suggests that it isn't worth the blast (I don't believe that--but it's where we are for now).

When we get to the guy paying REA for armor we are somewhat outside of the simulator's ability to simulate. But we've gotten close with some clever manipulation.

Then we get to Round 2, Fight! and "Style." What is that?

Round 2, Fight!
This is an ability to heal a Major Wound's worth of damage and ignore any damage result. This represents a second-wind, if you will.

In the Chi section activating this (or a second one: Round 3, Fight!) will also unlock some more advanced abilities (in this case the Dragon's Breath attack).

Style
There are some problems with charging AP for special moves. For one thing, while someone could theoretically spend all their offensive AP on the move it would make for a bizarre and probably unbalanced character. On the other hand, most of these moves aren't really worth the points even at the reduced AP purchase--and since they do, technically, add to damage, they'd increase A-Cost rather than being reduced.

And how many AP is someone going to pay for Harmonic Palm, anyway if it requires that they pay several AP in order to get the Ignores Armor effect: 2 AP? 3 AP? At that point it's almost definitely not worth the points.

So Style is a way of spending Character Points for Chi moves where the damage is based on your A-Cost (the cost of your otherwise highest attack). We think this'll work and it means that the character does need to "train" to use the moves--which is in keeping with the theory.

This also echoes the classical Magic system where mages spend CPs for spells in some senses.

In this case, each AP buys 4 CP worth of "Style moves" although the character could theoretically spend their own CP as well.

Ramifications
This method breaks some of the rules and conventions but I think it may work pretty well and it will not rely on the character spending small numbers of APs that are, almost certainly, more effectively spent on straight up damage.

Okay, screw it ...

2011-11-25T06:43:00.001-08:00

As the game designer I can do what I want, right? If I want Chi Focus to be one way or the other, who's the simulator to tell me otherwise.

I'm Making A Command Decision
I am pretty sure that the weirdness we're seeing with Chi Focus has to do with the fact that the bolt doesn't draw a block from the 2:1 fights. Thus they use their REA for an extra attack, making an armor ignoring blast less effective in the long run. My attempts to prove this haven't worked too well but I'm still pretty sure.

But it doesn't matter: Chi Focus breaks a lot of rules anyway and I want to make headway. So here's what we've got thus far.

Chi Focus
Chi Focus is bought as an attack that:

Gives a 1x ROF Charge-Up (ever round, every other, or every three) armor ignoring long action 5 REA Blast.
Gives a 1x ROF, Charge Up (As above) Chi Power Punch which adds to a regular punch's damage.
Gives extra damage every round but not "that much"--it doesn't really compete with flat-out damage but it doesn't make you a sucker to buy it either.
It allows you to spend Character Points for some "special Chi Moves" such as making your blast burn or shock or knock people back (these special powers line up, kinda-sorta, with "elements").
It requires a Chi Focus skill which is probably expensive--but might not be.

And Then Here's the Kicker

It doesn't add to A-Cost. So you will almost always buy it as a separate power in addition to whatever normal attack you have. It breaks the rules--but it should work and be a somewhat "superior" combat form (albeit not /that/ superior and it will cost CPs).

What the Heck!?

2011-11-21T12:22:00.001-08:00

I'm testing Chi Focus. The basic idea is that you start with a guy (for a 16 AP character) like this:

8 AP in HTH damage (+16 HTH damage)
8 AP in Damage Points (+32 DP)
Character points in building a martial arts bad-ass

And that's your basic "super-charged" (because of APs) martial artist. Compare to someone who has:

6 AP in HTH Damage
2 AP for 6 AP worth of Chi Focus
8 AP in Damage Points
Character points in building a MA bad-ass with the Chi Focus skill

So these guys should either be:

(a) About the same -- or --

(b) The Chi guy should be a little better because he has mystical martial arts training.

Now, remember: Chi Focus gives you:

Chi Blast (Long Action 1x per round charge-up "Chi Fireballs"). Oh, and it ignores armor.
approximately ever-other-round 1x Rate of Fire Chi Punch for some extra damage
Some other stuff that isn't too important here.

So, okay: how much does that Chi bolt need to do to make them "about equal"?

Answer: A lot. The simulator says like 30 IMP Ignores Armor Damage. That's too much. I was like: that's wrong.

But Then It Hit Me

This is going to get a bit complex, so bear with me.

The "A-Cost" (Attack Cost) rules state that you pay full points for your most expensive attack (in this case the HTH damage) and 1/3 the cost for any others (the Chi Focus). Unless the attacks add together in which case you just pay full cost (like how super strength and claws are cumulative but psionic blast and poisoned spikes aren't).

Now, although Chi Focus can add to HTH Damage with it's Chi Punch, for the points that's a losing move--so I was just testing the blast part. This is, technically, an exception to the rule--but that's okay for now.

So it hit me: the way the Chi guy is constructed, he's not supposed to be better--or even "as good." Since he is splitting his attack points (between ranged Chi Bolts and HTH damage) he should be "more versatile" which ought to be okay.

If I wanted mystical martial arts training to be "as good" it needed to add damage to every attack the guy did with his fists to bring it up to -- not as high as the straight up damage guy -- but not quite that far away. You know, closer.

This would make Chi Focus statistically the most desirable expenditure of points possible. Which is bad. But I would mitigate that by requiring several CPs in Chi Focus (which is good)--and also having some restrictions on how it's usually sold and what's available with it it (which is bad--we usually don't want to rely on those rules) and it would give us reasonable Chi Martial Arts rules. Which is good.

The Frogurt is also cursed.

So anyway. I was set. I just needed some testing.

So I Tested

I tested the basic guy and got a base line. Then I added in the once-every-other Round AP blast. And his Percent of Victory (PoV) went down. This is baffling to me. What. The. Fuck?

So check this out: our Chi guy hits on odd turns for +16 damage. This is a total of 18 Damage with STR (no factor for martial arts here). On ever other round he blasts once for 17 IMP damage. This blast:

Can't be blocked by the Herd (it's ranged)
Hits at +1 since their defensive AGI doesn't fully apply (ranged)
IGNORES ARMOR (Which 2/3rds of them have)
Works, uhm, at range (should they somehow be at range by Round 2)

And yet, the character gifted with this attack wins 4% fewer battles than those without it.

This makes no sense to me. Something must be wrong with the simulator.

But if something is, it's not happening often: I've looked in detail at five or 6 fights--and these are complex and as far as I can tell, everything is working.

A Clue!

However, there is a clue to what's going on: the guy with the attack does, it's true, win more often against the 1:1 fights. It's the 2:1 fights that he loses substantially more. I still can't figure out what's going on here. I haven't seen anything in the battle logs that make sense.

Huh!?

Damage Field

2011-11-04T06:50:00.000-07:00

JAGS Chi Martial Arts introduces several concepts that we'd had in previous versions--but were afraid of. One of these is the "Damage Field" (named from the Champions concept). Basically an attack that auto-hits anyone who hits you. There are a few variations on this theme:

The basic Damage Field. It costs 5 REA to activate and while it's up, every time you are struck in HTH combat it hits your attacker. Usually it does this at a negative modifier (because it's attacking their fist instead of, like, their face ... unless they hit you with their face or something). However, if they grab or grapple you they get hit for more damage--also: if you are grabbing or grappling them, you can pulse for 5 REA to do damage with it.
The "Ranged Damage Field." This could just be Medium Reach spikes (which can hit people trying to sword-attack you) or even some kind of "return fire system" which would do ranged attacks at people shooting at you.
Block-Damage-Field. Out of Street Fighter II (for example). You crackle with electricity when you block--and only if you successfully block does the opponent take damage.
Partial Coverage Damage Field: Like a coat of spines or something--but they can hit around it the same way they hit around armor.

These are "scary" because: (a) it's hard to tell how often they'll be used. They cost 0 REA to use so if you have a good damage field and are attacked by a bunch of goblins or something you might kill them all before you even get to act! Secondly because there are some questions and variations around whether / how you can attack with the damage field outside of pulsing it: if you are covered with fire and punch with "flame hands" does your target take an extra damage field hit or not? (Answer: if you buy it that way).

So it was complex--but we can simulate it. So: complete success, eh?

Not So Easy

I've written on this topic before but I'll revisit it here because I'm doing it for Chi Martial Arts. When there's a power that only effects 1/4 of our target characters in the simulator (The Herd) it gets "under reported." The basic damage field, which I tested, shows something like a +10% advantage. That looked pretty minimal to me. But, of course, I knew why: when I counted only the empty-hand targets it was more like +45% Percent Chance of Victory. That's huge.

So what to do?

Who Has This Stuff?

It's true that having a no-range damage field wouldn't be worth that much in a wild-west campaign where everyone is armed and they all want to shoot you. Sure, it'd take the bar-room brawls up to the next level but even there, even the densest NPC would stop trying to break a chair over your back and start shooting ... 'cause he'd have a gun. They all do.

No, the answer to "Who has a Damage Field" comes in about two flavors: Super heroes and martial artists. And we can sub-class Super Heroes to "those who plan to fight hand-to-hand." In short, the thinking is that the kinds of people who will buy Damage Fields are the ones that will most leverage it. That means it should be costed higher than it tests in the simulator--especially if you think it'll be held by offensive grapplers who will use their high grapples to overcome the low-damage-modifier issue.

So What'd I Do?

The first thing was "balance" the attack just for unarmed punch damage. That was pretty severe though--the Damage Field guy was losing badly to everyone else. So I walked it back up a little, aiming for a moderate advantage if the person with the damage field is fighting a pure hand-to-hand person and substantial but not huge disadvantage.

Results:

A HTH-Impact Attack is 16 (L1), 10(L+). The multiplier for making it a damage field is .625 making the damage-field equivalent (which can also be used to strike) 11, 6.

Chi Bolt!

2011-11-01T10:32:00.000-07:00

What I'm Working On
The Chi rules as informed by the Generic Archetype Traits.

The Chi Rules
As said, these are the mystical martial arts powers. In this case we will be looking at Chi Bolt--the ability to throw Chi "Fireballs" from your hands!

How Does It Work?
Well, the Chi attack power is pretty unusual by JAGS standards. Here's how we want it to work:

It's a ranged attack--Impact damage, 5 REA to throw, Rate of fire 1x per Round
Any round you don't use it you can for "0 REA" charge it. So if you throw it on Round 1 it does X damage--but on Round 2 it'll do 2X (not really--just for ease of thinking about it) and on Round 3? Almost 3X! So the more you hold it in reserve, the better!
You can use your "1 shot" to improve damage done with a strike. Not by as much--but it'll add. This has the same effect: the more you hold it in reserve, the more it adds.
If you have invested enough Character Points (CP) in Chi Training you can do some tricks such as area of effect attacks (Chi Bomb) and Chi Power Blast which is a higher-damage 8 REA version.

Why So Complex?

Well, it's so complex because it does a lot of things we like. It meets the Chi Battle criteria of having you not do the same thing every Round and having strategies that go from one Round to another. It also gives you the option to use it in a few different ways which is unusual for a JAGS power but works for what we're trying to do.

So How Does This Work?

Right now? Uhh .. okay: Here's the charts.

The RED is the costs in Damage per level (8 APs). So if I spend 8 AP I get 10 IMP damage every Round, 22 if I fire every other, and 32 if I fire every third.

If I spend 16 APs (two levels of Chi Attack) I get 17 damage on Round 2 I'd get 33 damage (22+11) and on Round 3 I'd do (32+21) 53 damage.

So anyway. Then in PURPLE you see the other attack types. Forget the %'s for a second--you wouldn't see that in the book per se. You'd see tables that, if I did the math right, lead to the below numbers.

Why Ever Use A Chi Punch Instead of A Chi Bolt?

So we can see that a Chi Punch (or kick) does +X damage where X is less than the bolt does. This is partly because the punch adds to your martial arts damage and the bolt doesn't. However, there's another possibility: what if throwing a Chi Bolt is a long action?

What Would That Mean?

Typically taking a Long Action means the target can respond by taking a Medium Action (any regular attack) to hit you before your Long Action ends. If you are in close range to a hand-to-hand fighter you wouldn't want to do that (although, with a Long Attack, there's a trade off: if they hit you, they can't block or dodge--but neither can you).

So that would relegate the move to being a long-range style deal. Which is good. The bad side is that a cop (a mundane cop) could shoot you while you're throwing a Chi Bolt at them--it'd be "slower than a gun." I'm not so sure I like that. But I kinda do.

In any event: it's on the table.

-Marco

Chi Armor!?

2011-10-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

What I'm Doing Right Now
Waiting for a conference call to start--but if I wasn't, I'd be testing CHI ARMOR! Chi Armor is a kind of defense where you pay 5 REA and get some Armor (or ADP) for that Round only. Now, exactly how much you get, how often you can buy it, and so on ... that's kind of up in the air. Also: It's a "bad power." What does that mean?

It's a Bad Power
So the first thing I do is take our 32 Archetype Point characters in our computer simulator (there are a bunch of new readers for the blog) and I deduct 5 REA from them, keep Initiative the same, and then "spend" 2 AP's on ... +12 Armor. That seems about right for a first run and I test it.

The Percent of Victory (POV) should come out to about 55% or so for our test characters--could be as high as 60% and it's okay. But when I test it, here's what I see: we have 4 "Test characters" who fight a bunch of "Herd characters" of the same approximate points. We have four modes of test character:

Mixed Armor and DP (MX)
Full DP (DP)
Force Field (FF)
Full Armor (FA)

When I give these guys power-up armor it's something like this:

MX: 75% POV (too high)
DP: 23% (way too low)
FF: 18% (way too low)
FA: 89% (way too high)

Now, on the balance--if you average them--the average isn't all that bad (the exact average varies by total AP Cost and so on) but what this means is this: if you have a lot of armor and you buy charge-up armor you rock out. If you have some armor and you invest in it, you're just "way ahead of the curve." If you have some other form of defense? It's a sucker-buy.

Now, that's assuming you have 12 REA and otherwise fit the profile of our test-characters: that's probably not the case--especially for Chi guys who will have all kinds of Flurry of Strike stuff and quick-blocks and extra REA and whatever. But still: baseline? This ability is either too good or it sucks and that category depends on who buys it.

So What Do We Do?

Well, before I discuss that, let me tell you something else: I'm doing this not just with Armor--but with Ablative Damage Points (each point of damage removes one). The way this works is you have a reserve of ADP that gets hit when you pay the 5 REA but is "transparent" if you didn't. So, okay--what do we see with that?

The same thing. The same thing because: when you knock off an attack and you double-down on defense fights take like 6-15 Rounds (too long) and your ability to absorb damage through armor (which does not degrade) is really, really important.

So? So What Do We Do?

I don't know yet. It's a nice power--and one we want to promote--but it looks like we have some thinking to do in order to make this balance. Here are some thoughts:

The armor doesn't stack with anything else. This seems pretty safe. We'll have to cap how much of it you can have too because the "going rate" (4 Armor for 1 AP) is a sure-fire winner if you sink a bunch of your AP in it. Still, this is better than nothing and most Chi characters won't be armored to begin with.
Give out ADP--but not that much. Assume that any character who buys it will have more than one attack to stack on top and work accordingly. It's a very bad deal for the wrong guys--but it is good for the right ones--just not overpoweringly good.
Give out Power Field instead of ADP. Power Field has PEN Defense--but it also goes before armor rather than after (unlike ADP) and degrades whenever it's hit. That should be safer. I'm testing that. Plus, you glow (probably) so that's like The Last Dragon!

Chi Questions

2011-10-19T08:47:00.000-07:00

With a cut of the GAT rules off to some review (and posted here--feel free to review) I'm turning back to Chi: mystical martial arts moves. The idea is to be able to play Mortal Kombat / Street Fighter type guys while amping up to the Hero-style Kung Fu army-fighters (at higher power levels).

Mechanically we want:

A rich variety of fighting styles and strategies available
Rules that ensure you don't just do one thing (throw a Chi Fireball) all the time over and over
Encourage strategies that carry over from Round to Round rather than having very little bearing from Round to Round
Don't get bogged down with complex rules or "Chi Points" or other Chi-only mechanics.

As expected, we learned a lot from the GAT creation--and I'm now applying that learning to the Chi rules. Here's the outstanding issues and questions for now:

We presently don't simulate "unlocks"--that is powers that can only be used when some event has passed (such as "I took a lot of damage" or "I successfully blocked six strikes" or "I knocked out one opponent" or whatever). As such we either have to change the simulator (and that would be a pretty big change) or estimate. We also don't simulate large battles so the "I knocked someone out" unlock would only apply in a minority of the fights in our line-up and thus wouldn't tell us everything we'd probably want to know.
We don't do strategy around fire decisions. A Chi Bolt or Chi Punch can be "charged" by not using it each Round of a fight. If you unleash it on Round 1 it doesn't hit that hard. Wait for Round 2 and you get your money's worth. Wait for Round 3? It hits pretty darn hard. Round 4? I'm not sure we're going to track that far--but still: we can simulate each attack but not the decision making as to whether the combatant holds off or not. I'm not sure we need to--but it factors into the costs.
Use Only If Last Attack Hit. Combos and certain other attacks are slated to be useful only if each attack in a chain hits--so I declare "Three Chain Punches for 12 REA!" If the first two hit (and are not blocked/dodged) I get to throw the third one--but if the first two miss or get blocked the rest of the REA is wasted--so it's a risk. We don't simulate that. We could--but it's a bit complex. Some moves, likewise, will only work after another attack has hit ("Finishing Move") but don't need to be declared up front. Is this really a defect? I'm not sure.
Charge-Up-Armor: We can allow characters to pay REA for defenses (to keep a Force Field up or to have Armor so long as they pay REA for a step--but don't really move). The simulator doesn't track that. If they lose the REA the armor won't go away. It also will never make a decision to dump the armor (represented as a 0-damage attack that costs REA) and go for extra attacks--something a character might well do.

So we need to decide what to do about these things ... and a few others.

-Marco

Buying GATs

2011-10-18T07:31:00.003-07:00

Generic Archetype Abilities

Generic Archetype Traits (called GATs) are unusual, special,or exceptional abilities that are both not specific to any particular genre andfall into the category of not-quite-super powers. As a general rule they areavailable in any game where you have APs although checking with the GM andother players is always a good idea.

GATS And Super Powers (And the Meta Game)

Generic Archetype Abilities are meant to be used to build“heroic” characters for various genres of fiction (for bullet-dodginghigher-powered ‘action heroes’ also look at the Fast Company chapter). Usingthese rules, and with enough APs you can be quite a bit more than humanlypossible.

This raises some questions about what exactly a GenericArchetype Trait is. In this section we sell:

v Extra size and strength. If you buy enough of ityou will be stronger than any human who has ever been measured.

v Extra Toughness and actual armor. If youinterpret this literally as an innate ability it would mean, for example, armoredskin or that the character is able to absorb bullet fire without (much)consequence.

v Abilities explicitly described as equipment(“Chainmail”). This could mean paying APs for “mundane equipment”—somethingthat usually doesn’t happen for mostgames.

v Extreme abilities such as the ability to unleashflurries of attacks or a “hail of bullets.” You can also buy the ability toapply your full Dodge roll against ranged attacks (bullets and lasers)—this islikely to fall into the category of a “super power” in many people’s minds.

So what does this all mean? Are GATs super powers or not?Are they equipment? Can you actually have a “normal person” being armored with the GAT “Tank”?

Here is our thinking:

1. One of our goals with GATs was to take a set ofabilities that many games would liketo use (and which didn’t have a specific flavor) and put them all together inone place for convenience. We left actual super powers (like “teleport”) forthe Powers chapter—but even so, some things (such as Armor as given in theability “Tank”) are listed here because there are a lot of conditions where acharacter might have the Armor ability, you might want to track it with APs,and we wanted a “Generic” version of Armor in a centralized place where youwould likely go looking for it.

2. The interpretation of a GAT is left up to theplayers and can change from game to game or even between characters in the samegame. Take a character with 8 / 40 Armor bought as a GAT. In one game thatwould be a literal super power (armored skin!). In another game it might bethat the character is just “really, really tough.” In yet another game, thearmor-effect could be defined as luck—attacksalways seem to “miss” or “don’t get a good hit” or whatever. In many games thatability wouldn’t be legal if the characters aren’t allowed to have abilitieslike that. Finally: it might be worn armor if that piece of gear was notnormally available to the characters without their spending APs for it. How thein-game fiction treats things can be quite different from how the mechanicstreat these. That said, we expect more literal game than a less literal one—the“luck” interpretation could get hard to explain after a while. Also note: we have specified some GATs as extreme meaning that they are notavailable when playing with either low numbers of APs or more “mundane” games.

3. A GAT canindicate equipment. We included GATs that read like equipment even thoughcharacters don’t usually pay APs for mundane equipment and even though thereare more detailed equipment rules later on. We did this because of the way thatweapons work when they are bought (The “Level 1” vs. “Level +” Costs fordamage). We wanted a (small) section of GATs that would buy damage at the Level1 cost so that if players were playing a game where they were expected to payAPs for weapons the rules would be centralized. We described these as weaponsand armor even though they could represent other things in a given game.

A Final Note On GATNames: We’ve tried to give the GATs somewhat colorful names because it’smore interesting and they are “generic” already. Just because a GAT has aspecific name doesn’t mean that’s the only way it can be interpreted. Usuallythe mechanical effect can be attributed to many different things. Work with theGM and other players to determine what is appropriate for a given game.

Covered In This Section:

Here’s what this chapter covers:

v CombatGATS and “Non-Combat GATS:” We have divided the GAT list into two basicsections called Combat GATS (abilities that primarily improve your ability tofight or physical prowess) and Non-Combat GATS which do something else (likelet you find clues or be a super scientist). The complexity here is that even“Non-Combat GATS” often have someelement that can improve your ability in a fight. Many give extra Damage Pointsand some give Success Point Pools that can be used in combat as well as forother things. The distinction is usually around how dedicated the GenericArchetype Ability is to improving your combat ability and not “whether itimproves it at all.”

v How GATsAre Described: How GATS are described and what specific GAT notations mean.This section covers the two basic ways GATS are sold. The first is simply a fixed AP cost of, usually, 4 or 8 APper level of the GAT. The other is a “Total Archetype Point” Cost-table wherethe cost of the GAT is based on the Total AP of the character (so a 40 APcharacter pays more than an 8 AP character).

v GATBonuses: The different things a GAT may provide and how to manage them.

v EquipmentGATS: We spend a bit of time talking about Generic Archetype Abilities thatare described as equipment (so you might see a GAT listed as “Chainmail.” MostGATS are simply innate abilities and, depending on how the game is beinginterpreted, even something described as “Gun and [Bulletproof] Vest” might, insome games, be, like, a super power or something. However we have included ashort list of equipment-style GATS (especially for weapons) because it’ll helpget some games going faster. There are more extensive equipment rules later inthe book that you should look at if you are having trouble deciding if acharacter or game ought to have Equipment GATs in use.

v SpecialGAT Rules: This section covers some specific GAT rules such as:

o Buffs: GATsthat improve other character’s abilities. You “aid your party members” withthese.

o CombatEnhancers / Unlocks: Some GATS don’t take effect until certain conditionsin combat are met such as you block someone a few times (to learn theirstriking style) or you take damage, or so on.

o The 8 APGame: Although almost all GATS are legal when other Archetype Traits arelegal that doesn’t mean all GATS are legal in every game. Some GATS are labeled“Extreme” and should be prohibited if the flavor of the game is meant to begrittier or more mundane.

Combat GATs and Non-Combat GATs

The two major sections of this chapter are Combat GATs andNon-Combat GATs. As the names imply, Combat GATs are primarily concerned withphysical toughness, combat ability, and so on. They represent things likespecial training, extreme physical prowess, unusual toughness, special moves,and so on. It should be noted, however, that even “Non-Combat GATs” often giveextra Damage Points (which are certainly useful in combat) or even SuccessPoint Pools (see below) which can be used in a fight. Some even primarily give what could be consideredcombat abilities (such as extreme vehicular skills which could be applied toflying a fighter plane).

What gives?

The distinction is important because Non-Combat GATs usuallyhave a primary focus that isn’t onCombat or, if it is, it is usually for a very specific element of combat (suchas in the vehicular example). When Non-Combat GATS grant some “combat ability”they usually aren’t as good as the Combat GATs for the same points (forexample: a Combat GAT Success Point Pool is usually full charged at thebeginning of every combat—aNon-Combat SP Pool might only charge up once per game session).

If you are playing with optional rules about APs that can“only be spent for Combat things” vs. APs that will be spent on “Non-Combatthings” (see Point Partitioning in the back of the book) then Combat GATSalways count as Combat-abilities and Non-Combat GATs, even if they help withCombat in some ways, don’t.

How GATs Are Described

The basic GAT formats look like this

Vital Strike		Level [8,4 AP]			L+
Description: You’ve been trained to strike vital locations (veins? nerve clusters? Vital organs?). On a hit by 6+ you add the listed damage to your attack! On a hit by +0 to +5 the vital-strike has no effect.
Trait	Buy		Cost	A-Cost		Damage
Vital Strike – Punch (HTH IMP)	M		8 AP	+8 AP		+18 IMP
Vital Strike – Sword (HTH PEN)	M		8 AP	+8 AP		+13 PEN
Vital Shot – Gun (RNG PEN)	M		8 AP	+8 AP		+10 PEN
Vital Shot – Blaster (RNG IMP)	M		8 AP	+8 AP		+12 IMP
Vital Strike – Punch (HTH IMP)	1		4 AP	+4 AP		+9 IMP
Vital Strike – Sword (HTH PEN)	1		4 AP	+4 AP		+7 PEN
Vital Strike – Gun (RNG PEN)	1		4 AP	+4 AP		+5 PEN
Vital Strike – Blaster (RNG IMP)	1		4 AP	+4 AP		+6 IMP

Name (Vital Strike): The name of the GAT. Note that many GATs have colorful names but the actual in-game representation could differ greatly.

Purchase Type (Level [8,4 AP]): This is a Fixed Cost GAT. It is purchased in Levels costing either 4 or 8 AP and the character can buy multiple levels.

Attack-Buy (L+): This GAT (and, indeed, all GATs other than the yellow ones) buy damage at the Level-Plus Rate rather than the Level-1 rate. This means that the damage added by Vital Strike can be added to whatever attack is appropriate.

Buy Column (‘1’, ‘2’, or ‘M’): This column indicates how many times the trait can be purchased for a given character. Usually the numbers are ‘1’ or ‘M’ where ‘M’ indicates Multiple (the character can have as many levels of the GAT as they have points for).

A-Cost Column (+X AP): Attack Cost is explained in detail in Chapter 1. In this case the ‘+’ means that the attack adds to a chain of attacks (Vital Strike must be paired with another attack of the appropriate type—even if it’s just a regular unarmed punch) and adds the listed AP cost to the “total cost” of that attack.

Unarmed				Level [8,4 AP]			L1
Description: You can kill with your bare hands! This GAT allows you to buy L1 “weapon” style damage for barehanded attacks. This is probably due to extreme training of some sort but could be natural talent or something even weirder.
Trait	Buy		Cost		A-Cost	Weapon
My Body Is My Weapon		1	8 AP		+8 AP	+16 Unarmed (HTH IMP) Damage
Deadly Hands!		2	4 AP		+4 AP	+8 Unarmed (HTH IMP) Damage

Purchase Type (L1): This (and the yellow color) indicates that the damage done is bought at the Level-1 Rate. Any attack the character launches can only have one Level 1 set of damage in its Chain (see Chapter 1).

As explained in Chapter 1, 8 AP spent on Unarmed will yield more damage per AP than 8 AP spent

Hard Core			TAP [.08,.08, .07]+3AP
Description: You are tough! You double your Hurt Condition. This does not affect Minor Wound Score. v The character gains +12 DP
Trait	8	16		24	32	40	48	56	64+
Hard Core	4	4		5	6	6	7	7	7

Total Archetype Point Cost (TAP [.08,.08,.07]+3): This (and the red color) indicates that the GAT’s cost in APs is based on the character’s Total AP cost. If the character is built on 40 AP’s, “Hard Core” costs 3 APs. If the character is built on 16 AP’s, though, it only costs 1 AP. What, exactly, the numbers mean is detailed in the back of the book.

Note: TAP cost items can only ever be purchased once.

Buying a Level GAT

A wandering swordsman has 24 APs to spend and decides spend 12 APs on Sword Saint. The Type is listed as Level [4 AP] meaning it is sold at 4 AP per level. Each level gives +3 Sword Damage and +6 ADP. The character will deal +9 PEN damage with a sword blow (above whatever they get for their STR and the sword itself) and has +18 Ablative Damage Points.

Buying a TAP GAT

The wandering swordsman then decides to buy some Expertise GATs. The player selects Level 3 Expertise (+3 Skill, +3 Init) and checks the Cost Chart for 24 AP: 9 AP. The character has spent 12 AP on Sword Saint and now has spent 9 AP on +3 Expertise. The player applies the +3 Skill to their Melee Weapon skill moving it from a respectable 14- to an awesome 17- ! The character now has spent 21 AP and has 3 AP remaining.

The character invests the remainder in ADP, getting +18 APD for 3 AP.

Applying GAT Bonuses

Most a GAT may be bought is based on the GAT Type in theheader. Here’s what they mean:

Bonus Type	Applying The Bonus
The Four Basic Damage Types: ‘Sword,’ ‘Gun’, ’Blaster’, and ‘Punch’	Often you will see combat GATs that give a bonus to a specific “Damage Type.” There are four basic types—the names here are descriptive only (‘Sword’ could be knife, claws, teeth, pincer, etc.): v Hand to Hand PEN Damage (Sword) v Hand to Hand IMP Damage (Punch) v Ranged PEN Damage (Gun) v Ranged IMP Damage (Blaster) When buying a damage bonus you get the listed numerical increase (e.g. +2 Ranged PEN Damage per level) with the listed damage type (Guns, thrown knives, lasers, any Ranged attack that does PEN damage). This damage bonus can be used with any attack the character has of the appropriate type (so +2 RANGED PEN will help with thrown knives or guns but not with a blaster or a punch or a sword-blow).
STR, BLD, DP, Armor, ADP, Damage (any sort)	Each level of a GAT that increases these adds its increase to the character’s stat. If you have a GAT that gives +2 STR, +5 BLD, and +8 DP per level and purchase 3 levels of it, the character has +6 STR, +15 BLD, and +24 DP.
CON, AGI (Bonus), Initiative, Negative Damage Modifiers (-DMs), or REA, Perception Modifiers, Extra Attacks	When a GAT or any other archetype ability increases one of these you only use the single highest increase from any source. Furthermore, if a GAT increases one of these (as Built gives +1 CON), even if you buy more than one level you only get the bonus once. So if you have a Cyber Heart (+2 CON) and you want to buy Built (+1 CON) you will not get the +1 CON Bonus for Built and should probably look into some other GAT. NOTE: The bonuses are added “after” all figured stats are computed. Getting extra CON from a GAT increases your CON Roll but will not also increase your Damage Points the way it would if it were purchased using Character Points and the Resilient Trait.
Pluses to Skill Rolls	Some GATs give +1 or more to Skill Rolls. These bonuses are added to a specific skill (i.e. a combat skill or, perhaps, a science skill, etc.) and may only be added to one specific skill. The plus to the roll is added “after” the roll is purchased (so the cost to increase the skill roll is based on the level the character paid for in CP and not the combined roll of CP + Bonuses)
Success Point Pools	Success Point Pools (SP Pools) are listed in the form of X/Y [Type]. The value ‘X’ is the total-points in the pool when it is full. The value ‘Y’ is the “threshold” or number of SPs from the pool that can be spent on any one roll. The TYPE is usually OFFENSIVE, DEFENSIVE, EITHER, or NON-COMBAT. An example is 10/4 Offensive—the pool has 10 SPs when full, the player can spend up to 4 on any given roll that is being modified, and they may only be spent on OFFENSIVE rolls.
Special Bonus	A listed Special Bonus (such as extra CP for Appearance) is handled by the specific rules (no more than L4 appearance for Bronzed, for example).
Damage Points/ADP	Many GATs give extra DP or ADP even if they are not a Combat GAT and even if they seem to have nothing to do with being physically tougher. This is done for various reasons (such as rounding out the point values).
Extra Attacks	If a GAT gives “extra attacks” (+1 Attack, +2 Attack, etc.) that means a 5 REA attack (strike or shot) may be launched for 1 REA. Special moves that increase the REA cost of the attack may be launched for 1+the extra cost. Kicks can be launched for 2 REA.

Back of The Book - Success Point Pools

Characters with SP Pools can use them in a few specific ways if you are employing the advanced rules. In the back of the book we go into this in detail. Here are some of the basics.

Bidding Wars: If several characters with a stake in a die roll have SP Pools they may all spend SPs against (or in favor of) each other. When this is the case, the player making the roll will start by declaring an SP point spend (“I increase by Armor Save by +2, spending 2 SPs”) and then other players may spend for or against going around the table. If the asking goes around once with no one changing their spend then the roll happens. All SPs declared are spent and once a spend is declared you can’t get them back if someone out-bids you.

When You Spend: Usually you have to “make your roll” to be able to spend SPs on it at all. There are a few exceptions to this (Armor Save spends). It’s also the case that sometimes you have to declare before the roll is made but other times you can declare after it is made. Here are the basics:

Armor Save: Spending 1 SP before an Armor Save is made can increase the Armor Save roll (Defensive spend) or reduce it (Offensive Spend). Usually only characters who are involved in the attack (the attacker or the target) can spend SPs on an armor save unless someone has a special ability “lend points.” If characters are working against each other this may result in bidding.

Initiative: If an un-modified Initiative roll is made successfully then SPs can be spent to increase the amount it was made by, thus making the character go faster in the Round order. These points are spent after the roll is made and may result in bidding.

Block/Dodge Rolls: Characters with Defensive Pools can spend SPs to increase their Block/Dodge rolls. The roll must have been made—but, if it was not made by enough the player may spend SPs to increase the amount made by in order to successfully avoid the attack.

Hit-By Rolls: After a to-hit roll is made, if it was made as an un-modified roll, the player can spend SPs to improve the amount hit-by. This adds to the Damage Modifier roll and counts for getting around blocks/dodges.

Equipment GATs

There is a section of combat GATs called “Weapons and Armor”which provide weapon-like effects (“Broadsword, 6 PEN HTH Damage”) and haveequipment-like names. Here is what you should know about these:

1. They are included here for simplicity if you areplaying a game where you are expected to pay AP for weapons and armor (such asa super hero, super-martial artist, super-spy, or similar game). There is amore complete weapons listing in the back of the book.

2. They mayrepresent some kind of paranormal or mutant ability (especially the armor) ifyour character is allowed to have those: we usually don’t say how a specific effect must be portrayedin the game so if you buy “Sword” but work with the GM to allow it to be amartial-arts ‘spear hand’ that’s okay (note: there may be some better moves forthat sort of thing in the Chi Martial Arts section—but, again, we’ve listedthese here for simplicity).

3. Weapon GATs buy L1 Damage (and can usually onlybe bought once). Other GATs buy at the L+ rate (fewer points of damage per AP)and can be bought multiple times. If you are using the GATs to createcharacters who will use APs for their attacks, you should consider investing 8AP in one of these GATs so as to take advantage of the L1 damage rate.

Buying Equipment GATs and Other GATs

A player is making a 32 AP “gunslinger” in a post-apocalyptic game where most people don’t have any access to firearms. The players are told the rules for the game require them to pay APs for attacks if they wish to have them. The character pays 8 AP for the Equipment GAT Magnum which gives an 11 PEN gun (buying at the L1 cost) and then buys two levels of Gunslinger for an additional 8 AP getting +2 PEN damage (at the L+ rate) per level of Gunslinger as +4 ADP per level for a total of +4 PEN Damage (final damage with the gun: 15 PEN per shot) and 8 ADP.

Success Point Pools

Several of the GATs provide Success Point Pools (SPs). Theseare groups of SPs that can either be used for a specific purpose (as noted bythe rules) or anything the character wants (some can even be given to otherPCs—a violation of the “generic” Success Point rules!”). The specific GAT willtell when these pools refresh: usually either every combat or once per gamesession. In the latter case, the GM can declare that the pool has refreshed ifa sufficient length of time has passed in the game (a day, usually).

Meta-Game: How Supernatural are GATs?

One of the things your group may want to think about is how “supernatural” GATs are. Certainly at high enough APs (24+) you start seeing characters who can easily absorb a bullet without too much trouble. We also don’t say precisely what certain things represent (ADP could be raw physical toughness, reliable luck, a convention where the character just “isn’t hit directly,” and so on). We don’t go into detail on this because different games, even with the same participants, will often work in different ways.

Success Points are usually not something a character will be aware of (unless the character is in a ‘video game’ reality or some such). They may, of course, ‘feel lucky’ or the in-game effect of loaning another character Success Points could be handled by the character shouting advice or even just being moral support—but however it is handled the specifics are up to the group.

As such it is possible to take two characters with exactly the same list of GATs (such as the gunslinger in the example above) and interpret them in two different ways. When the PC pays APs for an ability the convention is that it can’t be permanently removed and won’t be duplicated by others without the points. If, in the above game, the characters are captured they can temporarily take the PCs gun—but the character can’t permanently lose it. If they throw it off a cliff they’ll get another one somehow and the GM and player should work together to have that make sense.

It could also be interpreted as a mystical ability (even though there is a separate magic section and that would be a better choice for games where magic is an option). In this case the ability to project damage is innate. Our take on these abilities is that they are usually on the ‘mundane’ side but don’t have to be.

Buffs and “Unlock” GATS

Some GATs allow you to “lend” your bonus to others as wellas yourself. These are called Buffs (they “buff up” your teammates). Othersonly take effect when they are ‘triggered’ or ‘unlocked.’

Buffs

Buff GATS can give bonuses to “everyone on your team,”characters who you lend the bonus to for no REA cost, or characters who you“lend the bonus to” for a listed REA cost. Exactly how these work “in game”will be up to the players. Lending SPs could be in the form of yelling advice,training, etc. Usually the effect is limited to less than 10 people and thedistance that the advantage can be loaned is usually limited to a single fieldof battle. If playing with armies or the PC is a commander of troops thenspecialized GATs for that purpose will be more appropriate.

Unlocks

Unlocks, as stated above, are bonuses that only come intoplay after some condition is met (such as a number of Rounds of combat havepassed or the character has been damaged, or so on). Usually an Unlock abilityis usable immediately when the condition is hit and remains for the rest of thecombat.