Last time on Song of Swords:
Space Nazi Boarding Actions
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The perils of indie game design
Swords
Song of Swords is a realistic fantasy tabletop RPG that draws inspiration from historical fechtbuchs, weapons and armor. Its combat system is fast and it can be used for both fantasy and historical/mundane settings.
Call of the Void is a pulpy sci-fi tabletop RPG about fighting space-nazis and hunting giant whales with harpoons made out of the moon. Its combat system is more modern, based in the early 20th century, but can probably handle combat up to the present day.
Here's a .rar archive with the newest version of the rules as well as all related current working documents. At this time the latest version is v1.9.9:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/12xqm1p2q69m392/Song_of_Swords.rar
Here's a walkthrough on creating a character
http://paste2.org/aKfOBmWJ
Here's a walkthrough on weapon schools for SoS 1.9.9 with examples
http://paste2.org/6OyOsFM3
Here's Ballad of the Laser Whales' latest version: http://www.mediafire.com/download/xx124xua1bi8sfu/CoTV+Ballad+of+the+Laser+Whales+Alpha+1.1.pdf
Here's a wiki detailing SoS's fantasy setting, getting filled up bit by bit as Jimmy reveals more details:
http://tattered-realms.wikia.com/wiki/Tattered_Realms_Wiki
There's also a roll20 room where new players are encouraged to try the rules, test new rules, and find game breaking issues: https://app.roll20.net/join/346755/hRKd4w
The room might be empty, but the people who teach the game still browse the thread frequently. If you're looking to learn, post here in the thread. We also play Guy Windsor's card game Audatia in the room.
Let the Legend Come Back to Life
>>47274954
Might be kinder to just let it die until Jimmy has real progress to report. Or finishes that wargame thing he's decided to work on now.
I just finished running the first session of a Deluge campaign in SoS, using Ballad's gun rules. The first combat was avoided, so nothing much to report yet, but next time we'll probably find out how people deal with muskets.
I don't think it's possible for it to die. It's like cancer, you try to kill it and it just comes back stronger.
This had to stay under the heat lamp since the thread was gone for a few days, but it is nonetheless baked.
>>47275035
You're in luck. I intend to release Laser Whales rules for Casters sometime tonight.
I recently heard through word of mouth that Opaque has hired an actual shark to be part of their team.
Is this true? what does a shark even do for an RPG writing team?
>>47276420
Yeah, but when is Song of Swords? And when's Magic for Song of Swords?
>>47276433
They jump it, obv
Did burdinadin super faggot armor ever come out?
>>47276433
He puts things in perspective.
>>47276444
We're closer than before. A big part of magic for SOS was how it would integrate into the combat system. BotLW solves this problem handily, as seen with Void Magic.
So once the integration is complete, things will get a whole lot easier developing magic for SoS.
>>47276433
>>47276554
This is now a Shark thread
>>47276535
It's never going to come out, just like magic is never going to come out
>>47276554
>>47276554
>Shark
>Perspective
what
>>47276554
>He puts things in perspective.
>>47276667
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UruXWui1EG8
Welcome to California, fucko.
>>47277664
>Space Nazi HEMA thread
>Jimmy Buffet
I literally cannot
>>47278724
>Not being a pirate
>Not being 500 years too late
>>47278792
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL9O0B0gzZE
>>47279139
>They say you are a snow queen
>But I don't think that's true
>So why don't we get drunk and screw
Why do you like death so much?
>>47276554
So do you have any lore to divulge, or am I going to have to go hunt some mako for its delicious blood.
So, does anyone in Vosca know what happens to the Din who die, or the Humans who die and don't go the the Ziggurat or Ascend? Does Boccy do anything special for her audience beyond the Guard? I cannot recall.
>>47280364
>>47281710
While Dio is in fact moe, this doesn't answer my queries.
>>47277664
So Jimmy, about those caster rules you mentioned...
Jimmy when will SoS be done you lazy fuck
>>47281710
I wonder how that guy fits into his scuba suit, what with those giant balls he has.
>>47282960
Sharks actually love tummy rubs. They're very friendly to humans, because we don't look like seals at all.
>>47276554
So, while you and us normalfolk here waited for the others in the team to progress on their part of the game you made Ballad for shits n giggles and actually improved initiative and built a magic system that could be portet to sos?
Neato.
>>47284188
So void magic is what we can expect in SoS?
>>47282379
He said may 5th but he lied
He lied
>>47288244
Don't know, but I think we might see the mechanics behind the magic system of ballad, but not exactly void magic, like not the flavour behind it. I think.
Does anyone else think that the PCP skill category for Ballad is better than the SoS one?
>>47289121
The flavor is probably going to be really different, yeah. I'm mainly curious how the mechanics will differ between the three big magic types.
so, hows progress on melee combat versus more than 2 fighters? or 3:1 or 7:4.
in deference to the sharky nature of the thread, how do the combat mechanics work when submersed in water?
>>47289457
>namefags
>>47289457
Do you mean more than two fighters in a Bout, or more than two fighters in a larger combat?
>>47290267
first one then the other?
if the system can get this worked out then it's goes well with my homegrew setting which features tag-team monster hunters
>>47289457
>3:1
The 1 is very likely to lose even if he is very skilled and the 3 are poor-to-average.
>7:4.
Way too big, don't do it in SoS.
Current rules for multibouts are pretty shit. Supposedly Jimmy's adapting the Friday Night Firefight initiative system to SoS, but Jimmy says a lot of things.
>>47291362
It's already adapted. It's in Ballad now, and it works fine. It's just a matter of copy/pasting that into the core book.
>>47291983
No it isn't. Explain how it'd work in SoS. You do Charge maneuvers every phase to enter melee? That'd be awful.
>>47292187
No? You make a regular movement or through some measure enter within two meters of an opponent (likely modified by range of the weapon though it doesn't specifically say), and elect to initiate combat, just like in Ballad. You can charge if you want, but it isn't mandatory.
Anyone have any recommendations for books on Polish history?
>>47292187
>>47291362
Ballad's rules are great, they work better than SoS.
>>47293314
But it has fewer polearms, so it's not as good of a game.
>>47294713
>[Templar] [Passive]: Both of these abilities apply against Blind Fire. If you have a melee weapon
drawn, both abilities of Love is Hate increase Base Defense by 2 per 3 points, instead of 1.
Does a bayonet count as a melee weapon?
>>47295197
I'd presume so.
>>47295197
Yes.
>>47291362
>The 1 is very likely to lose even if he is very skilled and the 3 are poor-to-average.
I'm asking cause I got a homebrewed setting where werewolf(and other monsters) hunting is best executed by 2 and 3-man teams
>>47295839
Probably Krajina, the military there is deep in bed with the various tailor's guilds.
>>47295871
For reference.
In general, it's a bit too early period for uniforms.
>>47295662
Well back in 1.7.X or 1.8.X We had two 12/14 characters go against a 22/26 character if memory serves. They cut him up badly.
>>47297451
neat, any chance that was the dice just deciding to FUCK the solo guy brutally?
>>47297473
It can help, but the fact he has to split his dice and rely on voids really sucks to fight with.
>>47297473
Nope. The two low guys had 11 and 8 respectively iirc, with the higher armoured guy having the 8. The solo guy had pretty much, if not completely, full armour and about 18-20 CP. He just couldn't keep up with both of them attacking him.
>>47297480
now the trick I'd have to work out for the 'Brew
how do I make the monsters so that a single man can, if he's lucky AND good AND prepared, kill them. but still a challenge for a 2 man team?
>>47297490
ew...not too good for me an my brew...
>>47297501
Monsters can use multiple "weapons", parrying each attack with those weapons. So big werewolf guy can rely on parries with his claws and not voids. They can also rely on maneuvers that may or may not be finished in the core game to maneuver and keep only one or two enemies against them at any given time. Apart from that, the way monsters take damage makes them really tough compared to a human, who can be reduced to almost death in one hit. This makes them way tougher, but doesn't preclude a guy with a bardiche from ambushing and beheading him with the half CP surprise penalty, or shooting the fucker.
>>47297568
Give them bonuses to Thread the Needle or equivalent. Make him hit like a fucking truck with some ablative AV at the start of the fight.
>>47297501
Lucky and prepared pretty much means an ambush, so make the monsters rely on maneuvers for defense and not armor and toughness.
>>47296526
Just noticed the falcon eating the eel. Seems like a really ominous symbol to emblazon just above your own dick.
Is anyone else getting really weird redirects when they open threads.
>>47297669
It is the state symbol. Patriotism protects his dick.
>>47297501
The monster hunting rules Jimmy showed off have a bit of that to them. It's not implausible that a guy with a ton of CP and a good weapon could scale one and fuck its shit up by himself.
For smaller monsters, I'd emphasize that once you've penetrated their defenses they can be wounded like anything else. So a guy with a silver sword can fuck a werewolf up even though it's much stronger than him, as long as he gets a good hit in.
>>47296526
>that helmet
Exquisite!
>>47299694
The Krajina is literally the most nightmarish society imaginable. It's the British Empire where the upper class... Are Slavs. God help us all.
>CHEEKI BREEKI guv'na
>>47299731
May god have mercy on their souls.
Are there any more pictures from Vosca?
Just looking over the rules for the game and I feel like I'm missing something.
What's stopping you from putting all your dice into the first move you do? If the enemy doesn't counter big he's fucked and if he does then he's out too.
>>47299970
This question is asked so often Jimmy should probably put the answer into the rulebook.
The short answer, IIRC, is stealing initiative trumps alpha strike.
>>47299970
Well, if he has a better block/parry/void than you have attack dice, or he has more dice, you're fucked. Or if he has a friend. Or he could Steal Initiative, and then ream your unpuckered asshole with an attack you can't avoid because you thought you'd be smart and go all in
>>47299995
>>47300008
But wouldn't he have to put almost all of his dice into void etc to have a good chance of negating the attack?
So stealing initiative is really the only counter?
All that talk about monster hunting and shit reminded me, that I'd like to run a Witcher game in SoS once the next version arrives.
HYPE
Y
P
E
Probably need to reread the books and more background lore until then though.
>>47300062
Total Block can help, weapons like the Main Gauche are better at parrying than most melee weapons are at attacking and combined with Riposte are very scary, longer weapons mean more of your dicepool goes to range penalties, and there's the fact that you generally don't know your opponents CP total.
>>47299970
My favourite thing to do is Weapon Throw with Steal the Initiative to negate any range issues though riposte at superior TNs is nice if you can; Steal then Beat can make people just fall over which is never not funny.
Jimbo it's Tuesday. Please give us what we're due.
>>47300124
Someone made a homebrew Witcher race. It's on the wiki.
>>47304678
Oh that's nice. Seems to be quite well done, as far as I can tell by glancing over it.
As a book fag my only qualm is, that 5 minutes seems to less for blizzard, since potions are used to prepare for a battle, not to adapt mid battle.
>>47300062
>But wouldn't he have to put almost all of his dice into void etc to have a good chance of negating the attack?
That's why >>47300008 said
> if he has a better block/parry/void than you
Going all-in is asking for your opponent to steal the initiative from you and stop you with a grapple or Beat. SoS makes it hard to steal initiative, though. Builder makes it a lot easier to steal initiative and counter an all-in.
>>47300585
Isn't lack of information about opp CP total just unnecessary randomness?
>>47306119
Keeps players cautious, and there is the fact that it only takes about a round of combat to figure out an opponent's CP (unless they are holding back), it's good to keep it hidden.
>>47306119
If you're playing D&D, does the DM give out all the info on monsters that you are facing? You don't know that bandit chief's will saves or AC until you fire a spell at him or try to hit him.
>>47306119
I personally enjoy holding back my total pool if I can afford it. People come to assume my pool is x when it is really y. When they boast that their pool is higher I stay silent, and then randomly increase it to deck tougher opponents. It works out well and causes less experienced players to get hyper paranoid about your character's true power level. Once had a guy who assumed that my 16cp was in the upper twenties.
>>47306119
It adds a lot to mindgames in the system.
Does anyone have a clue how Bolas would work in SoS? Something like this?
Thrown | Range 10 | MTN: 7 | -1b | Hook | 4/10 | Wt: 0 | 3 cp
>>47303169
He's passed out drunk in a ditch somewhere
Try again later
>>47307734
Yeah, that sounds about right. I guess? It's a sort of unusual weapon.
>>47307651
Like what?
>>47308416
Makes feints a bit harder to predict, since the enemy doesn't know exactly what portion of your CP you're using. Deliberately throwing out low attacks to bait the enemy into a false sense of security. Never knowing exactly how threatening a combat is going to be, so always preparing for the worst.
>>47308416
Keeping people from doing all-out attacks.
>>47308457
Except feints, all that sounds like unnecessary random to me. Not trying to be rude rly but I see no point in it. I can understand not giving exact number but nothing? It does not seem realistic to me and and in any serious pvp game I played having incomplete information that is so vital is usually very very frustrating.
>>47308644
I usually give a descriptor. Observation checks while watching someone fight or during a fight can give an idea of how good they are, relative to the player.
So, if a player is watching a guy spar with someone and makes a roll, I can tell him "He's got very good form and moves with a lot of confidence. He seems to be a bit better than you with a sword."
Or if they're fighting some mooks, I can tell them "They're looking at each other nervously and wavering where they stand. They look unsure of what to do, and one guy is holding his spear incorrectly." This gives a good idea without using exact numbers, keeping at least a bit of uncertainty.
Plus, for my group at least, describing everything in game terms really brings them out of the game. Your group may be different. Go ahead and give exact CPs. It won't cause the game to break down completely or anything.
>>47308853
That is great way of handling stuff. Completely agree that describing everything in game terms is cancer. I asked cuz I'm really interested in some design decisions not cuz I got GM problems. So another thing that I'm interested in is why is combat round separated in 2 actions?
>>47309179
So you have a bit of back and forth, and a rationing mechanic. The way the game works in practice, combat pool is like a betting game. You're betting that if you put enough dice down to comfortably protect yourself, you have enough to actually hurt the guy next round. Or, if you go all in, which is a viable strategy, you're betting that they guy can't steal the initiative and ruin your evening. It makes choices in combat about give and take, not always operating at maximum power. You need to budget. This also has the effect of making the game a bit more skill based. You can can killed pretty easily, and it's a bit easier to swallow the idea that you put down too few dice to defend yourself or got outmaneuvered by some tricky action of the enemy. It provides an extra bit of control, apart from just selecting a maneuver.
It also, from what I understand, is an attempt to replicate the tempo of historical swordfighting. Hits can land, but the other guy can power through and hit you. Or you can use the other guy's momentum (him throwing a large amount of his pool and wiffing) and turn it against him in a counterattack.
If you're still reading, be sure to pretty much ignore the wider initiative system outside of individual fights. That version is super out of date, and a much better version that can be converted to SoS very easily is in the Call of the Void document. That's the version of initiative that will be going into the next version of SoS. Alas, we are forced to use two different PDFs until then.
Just to be sure you are talking about 3 phase initiative system from CotV?
Regarding combat poll it seems to me that whole system is a bit too gamist. Player skill carries A LOT of weight and complexity of managing pool optimally, will prolly, as you said it, bring a lot of people out of the game. Also from first glance it looks bloated with "trap" options.
>>47309898
Yeah, that's the one.
That's one way of looking at it. The intention is more simulationist. Get as close to historical fencing as humanly possible in a game. Everything stems from that, from pool management to maneuvers to all the different weapons and talents. It's all made to be able to make any sort of pre-modern fighter possible, using any sort of weapon you can think of. That's where most of the "trap options" come from. No attempt has been made to balance things against each other, only represent how they actually perform. This means that some options, like later forms of arms and armor, will simply be better. What options you have depend on when and where the game is set, and many of those options may not be available.
That may not be for you. It's admittedly a really niche game. I think there's room for a very, very simplified version with generic weapons and only a handful of maneuvers for people that aren't as into this stuff as people like me, but that's another matter.
Actually I think combat is pretty fun. Had around 20 duels with a friend in the past week. It's just that I was very confused about some design decisions after digging a bit deeper. I know that intention is simulationist but rules as they are seem complex enough to interfere with immersion. Maybe I'm just a pleb. When I said trap options I was focused solely on CP as mechanic not whole system. Again I can't be sure, severe lack of exp, but it seems to me that in most cases there is 2-3 optimal ways to spend dice.
>>47310368
>BEAT THE BLADE
>HOOK THE LEG
>BEAT THE BLADE
>HOOK THE LEG
>>47310368
>When I said trap options I was focused solely on CP as mechanic not whole system. Again I can't be sure, severe lack of exp, but it seems to me that in most cases there is 2-3 optimal ways to spend dice.
That's true, most of the time you can go with a simple defense and attack strategy, with the rest of the maneuvers being circumstantial. What maneuvers do you think are traps?
>>47310442
The most bully of maneuverer combinations.
Holy shit it's Tuesday. Better start drinking so I can come up with something good.
>>47311496
Jimmy. Jimmy. Jimmy.
Where are the caster rules you promised us?
>>47311496
>>47311553
Where's the update he promised us?
>>47306119
>unnecessary
Absolutely not. It's one of the most exciting parts about playing the game. You don't know how powerful someone is until you're fighting them for real.
>randomness
No, there's nothing random about it.
>>47311553
>>47311565
Oh, right. I held off because I wanted to do some random effects, but I wasn't sure how to do pricing.
Half of the fun with casters is that the shells are rare and you don't know exactly what you're getting, right? I'll see if I can polish those off real quick and release them.
>>47311553
>>47311565
>believing Jimmy's lies
>>47311603
Jimmy you asshole. If you're going to delay a release for some last-minute polishing, fucking tell us before the deadline. Or release it half-finished and re-release a polished version later. Don't just fucking vanish without a word.
>>47311603
Oh fuck off. You said it'd be ready on May 5th and it's still not here.
You know what, I don't think the game is actually in editing at all. This is probably just a longform joke to see how long this liberal Californian twat can keep these threads running.
>>47311781
>Expecting Jimmy to meet a deadline
>ever
>EVER
>>47311899
What? Caster rules? Or the actual book?
>>47311781
Alright, alright, jeeze.
>>47311999
>my pdf is marked 0.7
>this one's 1.2
hmmm, I think I missed something.
>>47312037
You missed a few versions namefaggy friend. It's even 1.1 in the OP.
>>47311999
That's laser whales. That's not song of swords. You said song of swords would be updated May 5th. You are a liar.
>>47311999
Have you fired your editor for not doing the job yet? There was a miscommunication, fine. It happens. But that was, according to you, fixed weeks ago. Why is there still nothing being done? Why haven't you called them and told the Kangaroo get to work? There was supposedly fonts being picked a fucking month ago.
>>47312138
>>47312092
>>47311899
>>47311781
>sudden influx of asshurt
>>47312155
I'm not mad at Jimmy. I'm upset that he's being scammed by a sentient kangaroo living in a fallout shelter somewhere in Brisbane.
Also, I'm a bit miffed that he's stopped telling us anything. It's cool, life happens, but people would be a lot less upset if they had some idea of what was happening and weren't just constantly told "soon".
>>47312092
Hey hey, I'm inept. That's a bit different from being a liar.
>>47288550
>>47311565
>>47311781
>>47311899
>>47312092
>>47312138
>>47312196
Literally who are you and why do you keep throwing out May 5th as a date
>>47312210
>everyone who's upset about being kept in the dark for weeks is one person
The other guy probably got it from some shitposter who impersonated Jimmy. I learned long ago that posts with dates and with his name are people who are lying. Remember Wednesday?
>>47312197
When are you actually going to fix it, though?
>>47312241
>he fell for the may 5th meme
I like to impersonate Jimmy and give off fake dates, how often I get away with it is astonishing
>>47312241
The Australian is actually living in this state now. Things are speeding up, but I've been saying that for N months now.
It'll be done when it'll be done. We did enter a content lock for SoS a few days ago, though. I think they've noticed me changing things.
>>47312278
Then why don't you tell us this stuff rather than waiting for us to scream at you? Just a quick pop in, tell us that content lock has begun, drop some lore since you never do that now. You never call, you never write. What am I, your Jewish mother from Brooklyn? Why didn't you settle down with a good doctor or a lawyer?
>>47312305
I've been a bit busy. Got a new job, always driving all over the place, oy vey.
But you're right lads, I've been neglecting the threads. I'm sorry.
>>47312360
So drop some Vosca lore you communist.
>>47312421
I will tolerate many things, but being called a communist is not one of them.
SEARING ENIGMA TUESDAY
To the South, in the Sea of Ghosts, there dwell a tribe of Zells who never leave the frightening transluscent sea, where the bottom of the ocean--and its terrible occupants--are visible from the surface.
This tribe, called The Laughing Zells, famously trade secrets for treasures. When approaching for a trade, a ship must fly a red and white flag. The Zells will draw close, and take one of the crew aboard to speak to them.
The secret told must hurt to tell. It is not clear what metric the Zells judge the value of the secret on.
The treasures they provide vary in value as well, but all are unique. A knife that can only cut wood, but which slices through it like butter. A piece of string that can never grow knotted. A lump of steel that can be molded like clay when submerged in water.
These treasures are mostly sought after by the wealthy as curiosities, as they only rarely have practical value. Venturing into the Sea of Ghosts is dangerous at the best of times, though, so few such treasures are in circulation at any time.
>>47313160
What happens if the secret doesn't suffice?
>>47313354
that's a secret
>>47313359
But is it a sufficient one?
>>47313160
Are the monsters at the bottom of the Sea of Ghosts really just warships in the Void?
>>47313386
>As one ventures deeper into the Sea of Ghosts, the chances of an attack by sea monsters rises exponentially, so few have dared to venture far. Zells avoid the Sea of Ghosts entirely--for it is the one place where their Friends in Deep Places hold no sway.
I don't think it links to the Void, I think it links somewhere else entirely.
>>47313462
That's pretty scary, actually.
>>47313462
>the one place where their Friends in Deep Places hold no sway
I'm more concerned that there's only one place where the Zellish gods don't rule the planet.
>>47314218>it links to the universe of Opaque Industries' third game Madrigal of Monsters
>>47313354
The Zells laugh, and send the whisperer away. They're very cheerful people, supposedly. Their ships are unusually built as well. The Sea of Ghosts has "light" water, it's almost impossible to swim through, and rumor has it you can actually breathe the water there, like air.
Their ships have enormous water displacement so as to stay afloat even in those strange conditions, and they almost seem to glide over the water, barely touching it.
>>47314256
I imagine it's less "god" more fundamental part of reality not working, like if gravity just didn't work in one geographic location.
>>47305693
How does he have a better block without more dice though?
>>47315090
S/TTN of 8+ and some weapons have a parry TN of 6/7. Voids also used to be able to go to a TN of 5/6 through system buggery, though I'm not familiar with their current maximum. Total Block can you enough AV to soak pretty much any attack as it basically adds your Shield AV to your entire body, and if I read it right, 2x on the standard areas. Block TN's being 7 across the board is probably something that needs to change.
>>47315172
Oooh okay that's what I was missing. So you can have a 10-20% greater chance of a success on any given die when defending vs attacking.
>>47305693
>Builder makes it a lot easier to steal initiative and counter an all-in
Last time I checked it, character who attacked first received -1TN to his roll. So they actually made it harder than in TRoS with optional rule for initiative in the Flower of Battle.
>>47315172
Also, shields and other weapons can benefit from the Unarmored Noble school and recieve -1 BlTN.
>>47314382
Jimmy, are there Ghurkas in the Void?
>>47315406
A more telling question is where is Japan? We have our Germany in Chiron, and our USA, we have our brits too. But where's China, Japan? Where's our loveable retard Italy? Where's the Croats and the other Slavs? Where's Russia?
>>47315533
China's the Jinxing Group.
>>47315533
Japan has been sorta-mentioned as the Hiramoto, I'm not sure what their shtick is but I think they colonized Space California.
>>47315556
Just like real California then?
>>47315550
Venusians get out, reeee.
>>47315247
That TN difference doesn't help much on an all-in. The ability to add dice to your roll at a 1:1 ratio in Builder, rather than the 3:1 ratio of SoS, makes it much easier to counter all-ins with stealing initiative. The ability to stop any incoming attack with numerous types of Restraining moves, and the lack of any sort of Quick Defense, means you only need one succees on your attack to protect yourself. This lets you devote more dice to the initiative roll.
>>47315674
>The ability to stop any incoming attack with numerous types of Restraining moves
Mastercut deals damages and has Restraining quality on attack for 1CP.
>>47315740
Okay? So what?
>>47315826
Restraining
Certain offensive maneuvers are said to
restrain or having a restraining effect. In
practice this means that if the offensive maneuver
succeeds, it automatically negates
any offensive maneuvers by the target yet
to be used in that same tempo. If a parent
maneuver is restraining, assume all augments
beneath it are as well.
Depending on how you read this rule, it either negates all incoming attacks or only follow-ups which raises question why this shitty maneuver even exist.
>>47315992
> it automatically negates any offensive maneuvers by the target yet to be used in that same tempo
It negates all unresolved attacks from a single target. I suppose it exists for group fights.
>>47315533
It isn't an Opaque Game without Slavs, so don't worry. They're there even if they're hiding.
>>47318161
>The ability to stop any incoming attack with numerous types of Restraining moves
Apparently other guy believes Restraining maneuvers stop all attacks.
>>47319810
Then he's wrong, no ifs or buts about it.
>>47319910
Last bump from me for a couple months. I guess we are truly deserving of a shallow grave for a while. I hope we resurge with something to talk about soon.
>>47321955
Call of the Void Tournament?
>>47321989
I'd be down for that.
Problem is time zones.
>>47321989
Do you think the best format would be for each player to put together a squad of 3-5 and have a referee place them into a pre-draw arena?
>>47322407
I'd personally like it if it was 3 man squads each man being controlled by a seperate person until it went into 1v1's in an arena filled with obstacles and terrain. Such a thing would not be possible unless there was a large amount of competitors, so I image it would be either a battle royal in a large map, or a lot of 1v1's in a smaller one.
>>47322011
We made it work before.
>>47322830
Past results are not a reliable indicator of future performance. Particularly around these parts.
>>47323103
Quit with the negative vibe, man.
>>47322721
I think the population would require 1v1s from the start. But fuck it, it's something to do.
Reply to this post if you're willing to give It a shot, and what times you'd be able to do it, preferably in 4chan time.
I'd be willing, and I'm available from 5pm to midnight on all week days, and any time on weekends.
>>47324350
Alright, Alright. Here.https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GrFDhxzNwr_Y75lOyVUELlX9lUhKjEceHsEECx94nBM/edit?pref=2&pli=1#gid=0
Go nuts.
>>47319450
[Blyats internally]
>>47324559
There should be a policy on minmaxing. Is this a murderhobo campaign, where people are testing the theoretical limits of the system like the first tournament, or is it an actual character campaign, where people have taken skills, non-combat boons, and more than one or two Proficiencies?
>>47325438
I mean tournament, not campaign.
>>47318161
>>47315992
>>47319810
>>47319910
Restraining means their attack coming at you is stopped. I don't think there's more than one way to read it. You use Restraining, their attack is negated.
>It negates all unresolved attacks from a single target.
Yes, that's correct.
>Apparently other guy believes Restraining maneuvers stop all attacks.
It does, as long as it's unresolved.
I don't know where your confusion is. In Band of Bastards, against an all-in attack, one way to protect yourself is to steal the initiative and land a Restraining move. This negates their attack.
>>47325635
How many maneuvers can do this?
>>47314382
Jimmy
Kill them
Drink their blood
Inhibtions make of weakness
Jimmyness
>>47327460
What? Did you have a stroke?
>>47325635
"Restraining maneuvers stop all attacks" is a far cry different from "negates all unresolved attacks from a single target"
>>47325635
>unresolved attacks
Devs could say "follow-ups" and it would remove all the confusion. What is unresolved attack? Attack without initiative? Attack that you didn't rolled dice for? How is this Restraining maneuver with initiative different from defensive maneuver? It negates attacks based on MoS.
>This negates their attack.
I brought Mastercut because it has Restraining quality and should be bonkers in your interpretation. You need to steal the initiative first and then beat attacker's roll. Maneuver is cheap and attacker will have more dice than you after preemptive attack attempt.
>>47325438
>>47325484
Made some changes to the Doc. Acceptable? Also, you know you could've done this too y'know?
>>47315406
Yes. Presumably. The CIS still draws some manpower from warrior-societies in distant parts of the Void. A difference would be that these groups are divided into many smaller island nations, and thus would have a less consistent naming scheme than the Gurkhas alone.
>>47315533
The Hiramoto Empire is our stand-in for Japan, but with colonial possessions on the mainland of Rahoo. "California" is not theirs, per-se, but what we might call the Bay Area is.
The Chinese are colloquially called The Hive by everyone else, though they have their own name. More early adopters of the Collectivist Jingxing ideology than they were historically, they were recently beaten by the Hiramoto in a war over a large island with considerable reserves that had traditionally been considered part of their territory. Despite that, they are rapidly industrializing, and most consider a war between the Hive and the Hiramoto to be the next "big thing."
Not-Italy is called Lucani, and was a bit less of a screw up this time around, In part this is because the Chironites pressured them to hold off on their military endeavors until they could further industrialize (something that Chiron largely funded and organized, leading to a now-entrenched Ximbri middle class in parts of Lucania itself, which is rubbing some people the wrong way but at least there are no shortages now.)
Because the war ended fairly quickly, the Lucani didn't have a chance to get shitstomped in Not!Africa, so their spirit isn't broken yet.
These days they're pursuing some imperial ambitions with some old colonies, and are known for having very capable light infantry, though they are still notoriously timid around machineguns--preferring to spread out and fire accurately with rifles than focus firepower into a heavy gun--something that frustrates the Chironic officers who have to work with them sometimes.
>>47331405
Oh fuck me, it's not Jingxing, it's Yikong. One-Sky, or Single-Sky. That is the political ideology that is essentially Hard Socialism in this setting, but it first took root in Not!China rather than Russia.
Are there any official (or drawfag fanart) for ballad of the laserwhales yet?
>>47333910
Not yet. I assume Jimmy & Co. are still in the hole from all the stuff they got for SoS.
>>47333989
shame
>>47333910
Coffeemancer kind of implied he might do some drawfaggotry, but he hasn't been back lately.
>>47335403
Couldn't we just request shit on his tumblr? Is that allowed?
>>47335919
Yeah, I guess. He's always replied to my questions.
If you do, tell him to keep going on the comic too. I believe in him.
>>47332283
What's the !Russia like? Still Tzarring it up?
>>47339923
They could be the UC.
>>47339923
>>47341321
nyet, Not!Russia are the Volgins.
>This hope proved damningly naive. The Hive began to expand, aiding "the revolution" in several nearby countries, and eventually bringing them into its sphere of influence.
>One such target was the Volgin Empire, one of Chiron's neighbors. The Hive and the UC cooperated in their attempt to bring a similar revolution to the Volgins, in the hope of eventually undoing the UC's colossal fuckup in Chiron.
>This was the root of the "White War," in which the Chironites assisted certian radical Royalist factions among the Volgins, while the Hive supported revolutionary collectivists bent on bringing the aforementioned royalist faction down.
>Ultimately the war became a stalemate, and it continues to this day, called by some "The Volgin Quagmire."
>>47341379
>Russia becomes the Space Balkans
Th-then what happened to the actual Space Balkans?
>>47342670
Probably absorbed into Chiron alongside Not!France and some other nations.
>>47342670
It's also Space USA.
>>47343977
Everyone is so balkanized already, nobody can tell who the actual Balkans are.
>>47346211
Didn't somebody explain the setting/system as Slavpunk a while back?
Because that's accurate
>>47346303
That's more SoS/Vosca. Chiron is more like Jackbootpunk.
>>47346340
just look at those adorable little murder-machines!!!
Hey fuckos, today I'm going to talk about our upcoming Ship Combat rules for Balled of the Laser Whales.
>Wait we already had those
You already had a limp framework I wrote on a caffeine high many months ago. Now we have a coherent damage system, actual mechanics, weapons with a degree of balance, and a much more coherent system for determining the size and dimensions of ships.
Don't get me wrong, I still want, as I'm sure all of you do, a fully customizable ship design system with multiple decks and placeable facilities, to harken you back to your days designing snow forts on graph paper as a child. That will come later.
For now, or rather, soon in the future, you will enjoy ripping enemy vessels in half with the Moonstone Cannon, or melting their bows like candles beneath a blowtorch with your Annihilator Lance.
Will you duel for position to avoid your opponents' Void Shields while using your own to repel enemy spinal cannons? Or, will you build a monster of broadsides and pivot-guns, to circle your clumsy opponents and drill them until their systems fail and they plummet into the Unterwelt?
Call of the Void: Ballad of the Laser Whales: Das Boot. Coming soon.
>>47347975
What's a void shield and how does it work?
>>47348120
A Void Shield is a field of energy created by a Whalebone Latticework that is charged with certain energies, that essentially creates an invisible but hard surface several meters out from the vessel. This surface can halt projectiles, absorb the effects of explosions, kinetic weapons, etc.
Void Shields can be overloaded, which can cause them to shut down temporarily, and severe shocks can "break" them for a period, until they can be re-magnetized by the crew. They are normally arrayed in "banks" on the sides of a ship, and only protect its flanks, so larger ships tend to avoid facing the enemy except for brief moments, so that they can fire their spinal guns at the enemy, in the hopes of catching them on the nose or another weak point.
The exception to this rule is the Chironic Babel Tower, a rarely-seen but terrible permutation on the Void Shield powered by Babel Tar. Mounted along the spine of a vessel, it produces a field of dark energy before the ship that creates an envelope of darkness around it, and misdirects projectiles and explosions alike that pass through it. It is also often used to "ram" enemy vessels, flooding opposing ships with swarms of furious, ghostly energy that fuse flesh and bone to steel and wood at random. This is the only current method that has been found for protecting the nose of a vessel besides additional layers of armor.
This is because regular Void Shields are actually created every few seconds by their generators--meaning that the old ones trail a bit behind the vessel itself before fading. If conventional Void Shields were energized in front of a ship, the ship would run into them as soon as it attempted to move forwards at anything slower than a crawl's pace, which would probably smash in the bow of the vessel and sink it after a short time. The many downsides of a Babel Tower (increased crew paranoia, hallucination, occasional possession) are sometimes considered acceptable in the face of an unprotected bow.
>Because the war ended fairly quickly
>Born too late to fight space WWII for Chiron
>>47332283
Oh cool. Because Jinxing when fed through a single language filter means "Venus"
>>47348788
In my defense, you can combine literally any two chinese sounding syllables and you will find a real world.
Here, watch, I'll bet XuKang means something.
>>47349185
I was close.
Do the CotV civilisations have antibiotics Jimmy? As a pharmacist this interests me.
>>47350087
Sahaquiel's tears are inimical to life. Including bacterial life.
>>47350087
Presumably, since they're past WW2.
>>47350406
well they dont have nukes though, for example
>>47350087
Yes. We plan on including rules for them, too, to ease some of the danger of Sepsis.
Pistols are the only guns that can be operated in one hand effectively right? SMGs already require two hands to use effectively?
How does it work with the Weapons that are listed as "Pistol, SMG" do I decide in what manner I use it? More specifically: For Chironite Style, do they count as Pistols, and can I use them effectively in one hand? (I'd guess the Range would fall from 30m to 10m in that case)
>>47350747
How many cones cells are in the eyes of Din? Do they see the same world of man, or are there a million more shades of the red blood pouring from man than a human can see? What about rod cells, I figure Ohanedin at least have a significantly larger amount for night hunts right?
>>47351688
This seems fairly reasonable. Any automatic pistols would require bracing in two hands to fire fairly accurately.
So I made (most of) muh First character in the SoS/Ballad system ever. I built it with the tournament in mind. Just how quickly would I die? How bad is this character? Like, Is Pistol+Shield even a good Idea?
Have not done the Skills and Arcs yet but even though they are required for the tournament, they are not changing the characters fighting I think.
I should be Lightly encumbered, since I still am below 2xCarry, rigth?
This is something another anon made, the rules for the Tournament characters: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GrFDhxzNwr_Y75lOyVUELlX9lUhKjEceHsEECx94nBM/edit?pref=2&pli=1#gid=0
Also: sorry for the horrid layout, but I try to cement some LaTeX basics into my brain, so I used that with not much fancy stuff.
Well, I just though of trying to build Sword and Pistol rather than Pistol and Shield. And I just noticed that Dual-Wielding with pistols incurs a -4 MP Penalty. So I guess that Build is beyond salvation, at least in regards to dual Pistol + X builds, since my MP for pistols is only 4. Or is that -4 MP penalty only explicitly for handling two pistols at once? Maybe because when shooting with both you can't concentrate on/aim with them properly, whereas having sword (or shield) and pistol, you'd usually focus on one or the other at most times.
>>47356723
>And I just noticed that Dual-Wielding with pistols incurs a -4 MP Penalty
I think it only applies to simultaneous attack with both sword and pistol. If you stab one guy with a sword and shoot his buddy at the same time, penalty will kick in.
>>47354664
Not too bad. You might want to drop some of the armor, or you'll be too exhausted to move. Also, you can take more Banes in order to buy Boons. That might be good for you.
Also it's proficiency, not profession.
>>47356723
Is that from the Ballad book or the SoS book? Holding a gun in your offhand doesn't have penalties, if I remember correctly, only using two at once.
>>47356780
Ah alright, that makes sense. Thanks
>>47356794
Yeah, made a few changes. My carry is now 16 and my encumberance at 15.5
Then I took Prejewdiced and Ambidexterous to better fit the Pistol + Sword
I could take Demi-Zell (would make a fun combo with Prejudiced kek) and Secret Agent Bad guy, but I gotta look for some Boons to go with that first.
>Profession
Oops, had my brain on autopilot while typing I guess.
>>47356807
From Ballad. Yeah, that's how the other anon explained it too.
Thanks Y'all
I also somehow took 10 Proficiency points instead of 9. Now I have 1 that I don't know what to do with. Maybe go 5 and 3 or take three profs at 3 or something.
Heres the new one, If anyone wants to look at it.
>>47347975
>Don't get me wrong, I still want, as I'm sure all of you do, a fully customizable ship design system with multiple decks and placeable facilities, to harken you back to your days designing snow forts on graph paper as a child. That will come later.
I have wanted that, and there are many traditional games that provide it. Why would I use your system instead of those?
>>47356943
Ah just noticed that I forgot to change to the normal Kriegsmesser, so my enc would be at 14.5
I now also took Secret agent, Demi-Zell and Facial Deformity Banes for a total of -24 points and got myself Natural Born Killer and Crack shot in their 12 point variation each. so +2 MP and +2 CP
>>47357101
Well, what do you want out of a system?
>>47357252
You've gone too far into Banes. You can only get 15 additional points in Boons after you pay your debt. So you can afford NBK or Crack Shot but not both.
>>47354664
>>47325438
>>47322011
What with the extra luck and magic categories, I think the 25 PCP category would be best.
I'm more in favor of an actual character style tournament myself.
>>47357364
>You can only get 15 additional points in Boons after you pay your debt
ah, alright, thanks. Current Boons/Banes are:
Fucking Nazi! -15
Secret Agent (Bad Guy) -10
Prejewdiced -4
Unhappily Married -1
Ambidexterous +3
Crack Shot +12
>>47357499
I don't quite get what you mean with
>I'm more in favor of an actual character style tournament myself.
I mean the google doc thing says minimum 3 PCP in skills and filled out arcs, that would be an actual character, roght?
>>47357574
Yeah, I read the question and typed that before reading the whole document.
>>47357574
Also, I was totally wanting to do a pistol+shield guy, way to ruin my fun.
>>47357674
Do it famalampai, I switched to Pistol + Sword
How does layering armor work? If I wear a Snapcoat Coat under my Full Flowerpot armor for example?
>>47357802
Whatever the highest AV is among all your layered armor pieces applies to any attack. So if your cutting is higher on one piece it'll apply against swords while another piece of armor that has higher AV vs piercing will apply against guns. Some pieces of armor have layer as a special quality, which means they apply additional AV if layered with a stronger form of armor.
Are there no Double-Action revolvers in the Void?
>>47354664
I haven't played enough ballad to accurately judge this, but I would be concerned with just using a pistol because range is good. That being said, I am super proficient at SoS characters and would be able to comment on those down to the nitty gritty.
>>47358150
Yeah, the low Range on Pistol only is also worrying me a bit. That's why I had the C6 in that build, it's a rifle. But something like that is missing in the current build, since I don't have enough proficiency points to split it up between pistol, rifle and 1H sword.
Hmm, but now that I have Crack shot I think it may work actually.
If I took away 1 point from pistol, I could put that and the one that I got unspent into rifle, having effective MP of 5 for pistol, 4 for Rifle and an unchanged CP for 1H Sword.
But I'd need to adjust to the new encumberence then. Well, I'll see what I can get up with today or tomorrow.
Thanks though.
end of the stream of thoughts dump.
My tentative character is, I must admit, a murderhobo. But he's a murderhobo for a purpose. I'm going to try and see how viable it is to play Song of Swords in Ballad of the Laser Whales. No guns, no grenades, just a melee weapon, armor, and maybe throwing.
I'll try and build him tonight.
>>47356943
You might want to check the math on your Attributes, I came up with 144 points spent when you had 124 to spend.
>>47358241
Keep in mind I have done only a few sessions of ballad. It's been a bit heard since I'm used to having sos levels of starting co rather than 4-6 mp. Just not used to so few dice and haven't played enough to see how well it works.
>>47348197
Hey Jimmy, question for you when you get back.
What's with the prevalence of spinal guns? Why do they seem to be so common in the Void, when maybe three experimental naval vessels on Earth used it?
>>47363775
http://sfworldbuilding.blogspot.com/2016/02/space-combat-part-2-spinal-broadside.html
I'd just like to point out that the wiki has red links on literally the first page. Specifically, Kurtiye and Berkukha.
And there are a bunch of stubs: The Tatters, Lendian Commonwealth, Iber, the Slivers, Geárloch, Thanemarch, Svitgard, Paladin, and Gods could all use some work.
The front page itself could also probably use a drop or too of help, since although the links are good, it just looks like a big old list.
>>47364567
>implying anyone cares
Song of Swords is old and busted. Ballad of the Laser Whales is the new hotness.
>>47324559
Here's an entry.
>>47365194
http://paste2.org/KcejcMvk
>>47365209
>>47365194
Which brings up us to a total of 2 whole entrants. Getting there
>>47365348
And we both still need our ARCs.
>>47365348
Wait, so, CotV, Battle Royale, 22 PCP? 22 PCP is a bit slim for CotV.
>>47365500
That's what I said
>>47357499
>>47365535
>>47365500
Then use 25? We aresadlydemocratic here. You set the rules to be whatever you wish.
>>47365635
Well the Doc said change was subject to Collective Decision, and two people hardly seem like a collective.
>>47365764
When you have a tentative two players, it sure is. The more the merrier, and also the more likely we'll all get to shoot each other in the dick
>>47365773
25 it is then.
>>47359779
well ... fuck. When did that happen. Thanks for pointing out
God damn, why are all but the Snapcoat Leggings so fucking Heavy?
Anyhow, here is the new one. 2 of the new PCP still unspent, but I'm not sure what to do with them. I guess getting at least one more in profs might not be too bad.Sorry for shitting the thread up with my shitty pdfs
>>47365916
It's not like anyone else is doing anything Your coumpound attributes round down, as with everything else whether you want to change it or not is up to you. I should point out you get skill points equal to your INT by the way, so you have 16.yenruot eht nioJ
>>47363775
One of the differences between The Void and our own world--all of the ships travel in 3-dimensional space, and there are no waves. It's easier to aim such weapons than it is in our own world.
Also they're cool. The ship-combat system needs a lot of work, but at least we've got a prototype now, we can improve from here. In particular I feel that the whole thing is too limiting.
>>47366087
Why no double-action revolvers, Jimmy?
>>47366257
>that face of the white guy in the middle
>>47365962
Yeah, I do plan that once I'm done. Maybe ...
Holy fug. I always had one unspent PCP I think. Put it into Profs
Welp, I think I'm done.
>>47366273
You know it's gotta be his buddy, and he's the one that hid the guy's clothes.
>>47366273
>"Wow, they weren't kidding."
>>47366257
Are there not? I'll have to review it with our gun guy.
>>47366327
It'd be nice if he adds miniguns too. I want to make buff zell girl with racially compatible machinegun.
>>47364567
Unlike everyone else I don't care about ballad. I'll fix it.
>>47366900
>buff zell girl
Well, I can't deny that.
>>47367713 You're actually probably in the majority. We're working on something big for you guys soon.
But if time seems to be standing still for you, just remember that it is useless.
Useless useless useless useless.
