Yzalirk

@Classic_Spaceman I hate having to go through all those pages just for examples but here are my thoughts. You are assuming that the Sabrillo can only move in water and that Gnorra is mostly water. Unless I missed it nothing was stated by the MM to support that claim that Gnorra is indeed mostly water. Again, you are making more assumptions but this time about the Cydonians and claiming that the Cydonian System has five planets. Unless I missed it. And I have no idea how you came to the conclusion that they are a theocracy. Here I have no clue how you came to the conclusion on their fleet size. As far as I could tell nothing was stated previously that gave insight as to how many ships they have. Only some information was provided on their dreadnaught ship. Once again, more assumtpions. Maybe I am nitpicking here because how else would the most badass ship in a military fleet look like? Point is, the MM could have decided it was smaller, is red, and has maybe one weapon. I have no idea where you are getting this time frame from. And again, more assumtpions. This time on how the Cyndonians rely on cloaking technology to deceive enemies about the size of their fleet which was never revealed. I have no idea where you got the idea that the Cyndonians are compensating for low resources by showing how dangerous they are. From what I could tell, there are rebels and the attack from the dreadnaught annihilated a rebel fortification of some type. Something as simple as that. I also have no idea why you came to the conclusion that they have less control than what is to be led on. And having Yelana developed "anti-cloaking detection and defense grids" just seems crazy to me. Her having all this knowledge just seems to farfetched to even believe. I think this among other things is why we find Yelana to be a snobby know-it-all type. Having a backstory as elaborate as this just comes of as egregious in my opinion. This just feels like something an NPC would have accomplished, not an actual player. Again, probably me nitpicking here but saying the walls are soundproof seems like a detail you should not know unless you passed a proficiency check to actually prove that it is. Based on everything here, the biggest point I suppose I am trying to make is that you should let the MM world-build during their quest. The MM probably has other things in mind than you and it could pose problems very easily. All the details they could possibly provide are for only them to provide. And to some degree that applies to the world of Heroica 2.0 at large, like with how technology works or events that have taken place. I do not necessary want to say it is the MM's story because we influence events but yeah, details relevant to things in the quest should always be given by the MM. When you develop the backstory for your character, I think it is best to keep it somewhat vague. Coming across as a hotshot or someone who could be very important is honestly never a good idea. Why throw all of that away to become a Hero? You find yourself going down a rabbit hole that you cannot escape and have to justify reasons for everything to the point is becomes unbelievable.

Yeah that is a gripe I have too. Especially since there are proficiencies now that affect your knowledge, like Culture. How can one be so knowledgeable yet not be proficient? It just does not make sense with her character. She seem like a pretty typical bounty hunter or assassin type, not a scholar like Kleeck. If anything Igaz would be more knowledgeable about the world at large since he is 300 years old but I avoid it for pretty much the reasons I have stated. I get that the setting is extremely vast and there are infinite possibilities for things but to have other players expect to know what you are talking about with really no set lore is ludicrous. With that being said, I think the Dungeon Master / Mission Master should consult with players who are proficient in certain skills before or during the quest in a DM. For example, supposed my Arcana is 3 and no one else is proficient in that skill. I should be able to figure relevant things out with having to examine said magic based on that skill. Only some information would be revealed only to me and I am responsible on sharing that information or not. Hopefully you guys understand what I am getting at. I am guessing proficiencies are based on a scale of 1 - 10. @Classic_Spaceman I am not trying to pick on you or anything, I am just trying to help you out. A lot of us here have been participating since Heroica 1.0 so we understand courteous roleplaying. There are a lot of things I want to say but I just cannot express them right now.

See, that is the problem. The world does not revolve around Yelana. And I mean that literally. I have no problem with establishing lore and world building but I feel like someone else should when it comes to the world at large. A lot of the information Yelana gives seems too big for it to be passable background information. For me, it just gets overwhelming and I question whether I should care or not. It comes off as forced and makes me almost feel like we are living in Yelana's world. Look, I will never tell anyone how to play their character but you have to realize that every mission is a group effort. If Yelana is more familiar with working alone that should reflect in what she does - does things by herself without consulting the group if she feels confident with doing so. Eventually Yelana becomes more comfortable with working in a team and does just that. That is something that should not happen in just one quest but happens over time because she realizes how more efficient teamwork is and keeps her lone world tendencies in check. The reason I decided that Igaz kills Jek is mostly because I did not want to spend like two days trying to figure out what to do with him. Maybe it was just me being eager to see what happens next in the story. That is why I think there should be more consequences for actions. Had we continued to debate on what to do with Jek, what if someone else took the egg and we failed or more goons showed up? Maybe I am just being cynical but I think time should be a factor when determining events granted it would not actually be two days "in-game" but with a high value target you can never be too careful.

Not that I can think of. Honestly I think you have been doing a great job so far. I really enjoyed the creative freedom when it comes to actions, like with the goo disguise and killing Jek. Allowing stuff like that really changes up the quest and I think that is really interesting. Maybe a butterfly effect sort of thing would be interesting? I would like to hear alternate outcomes for some of our actions we have done, like what would have happened if Jek was left alive. That sort of thing. I am interested in hearing your other thoughts too. And now that I think about it, I never cleaned the goo disguise off...

Yeah, of course! Igaz strikes me as an antihero of sorts, almost like Deadpool in a way. He means good but has a rather brutal and rather untraditional way about accomplishing deeds. From his view, he is just annoyed with Yelana and feels no one understands that the egg contains the very last Sabrillo. He just views her as "unprofessional" if you will. He disapproved with Yelana threatening to reprogram Tester-Three, asking every new face questions relevant to the mission, and interrogating Jek during the battle. He just kept his opinions bottled up until he snapped. Being 300 years old that is I how I imagine he would cope with his feelings. This is all in good fun. I am in no way mad. Not every character should act the same. We are not Borg, we are individuals! Everyone should cope with things differently and have different opinions. It makes roleplaying that more interesting! Edit: Though I will admit that I am just getting to the point where I do not even want to respond to Yelana because most of the things she says I have no clue about. It just seems like lore and setting details were just created by her and not actually established by you, @Endgame, or anyone really creating the setting. I feel out of the loop and trying to keep up with it is getting a bit frustrating. If it is not canon why should I care? It is just useless fluff at that point. And her constantly telling everyone to do this and that is kind of annoying. I get that having a team leader is good and all but she should chill with the commands. I just do not find her charismatic. I am just not a fan of having things be dictated by one player, that is all. I just want to have fun and not have everything taken 100% serious. Again, I am not mad but it makes me less enthusiastic to log in and participate.

"Like what? Ask him questions until he eventually died?" Igaz says sarcastically while shooting little miss know-it-all Yelana a dirty look. By the tone of his voice, you can tell it was not playful sarcasm. "Don't think I haven't been paying attention. You ask too many questions. Quite frankly, I'm surprised we got here without our cover blown. Asking everyone we come in contact with about Jek and the underground criminal auction. You are in no position to give me orders. You're careless. Anyone else that is a threat to us and this egg will be shown no mercy. Don't like it? Go back to daycare and color pictures." He snatches the Emerald Blaster from her hands while still scowling.

"He deserved it. When your intentions are to sell out the last of a species so someone can have a nice breakfast deserves nothing but death. Imagine that - being known for making a species go extinct for greed. Do you honestly think he would not have retaliated had we let him live? He was simply a lose end that needed to be dealt with. Immediately. So please, continue with your judgements. The galaxy needs more people to be the voice for the voiceless. The Sabrillos didn't deserve what happened to them but at least with this egg there is hope."

"Yeah, let's find that egg. Hopefully it's still here somewhere."

Without further hesitation, Igaz moves over to Jek's unconscious body. He lifts his foot up and stomps his head in.

"Excellent. Here." Igaz hands Dunola the Key. "I suppose it may come in handy, thanks." He accepts the pistol. "We should just put him out existence. What if he pursues us? Or lies to the authorities and we have to fight our way off this planet?" He pauses, remembering something. "Didn't the Cydonians lose a weapon or something that is supposed to be auctioned off here? If we can find it, we should leave Jek tied up by it and tip off the Cydonians before we leave. But we should do it anonymously, we don't need more trouble here."

That was an assumption on my part. First thing that came to mind was explosives. Not really a fan of the idea. I might as well just throw the Bomb myself and not have to waste an action swapping weapons. The only thing that would make that weapon worth while in my opinion is if it improves the hit chance over a basic toss. That is assuming Bombs have a hit chance. But if you just choose a spot and throw your Bomb I have no idea. That might work? Perhaps a Melee user can move 3 spaces, a Short Ranged user can move 2 spaces, and the rest move 1 space? Or Melee can move 2 spaces and the rest stay the same? Obtainable loot could also affect such things too.

Igaz stretches out. "Well, that was quite the battle. Good work everyone." He distributes the loot as following: 20 Credits each to Kleeck, Enson, Dunola, Tester-Three, and Yelana. Energy Cell to Dunola. Samba Stalk to himself. "Hope everyone is happy. Who wants to hold onto the key?"

The reload mechanic suggestion is specific to Artillery Weapons only... as I stated, as a way to balance out the superior range it has currently. And I do think that splash damage needs to be addressed at some point. They are explosive weapons and should act accordingly to a degree. If they can be found later on with that effect than that is perfectly fine. It certainly is not something needed immediately. What about Bombs? If Heroica 1.0 had Bombs that literally anyone could access, how would they work here? Maybe it is just me but Long Range Weapons do not feel very long range. When I think Long Range Weapons, I think of high powered rifles and rail guns. Weapons that require pinpoint accuracy. When I think Short Ranged Weapons I think of shotguns and even pistols. What about basic rifles and the likes? Weapons that are not as accurate as Long Ranged Weapons but more accurate than Short Ranged Weapons. They do not fit either category. At least I am coming up with ideas and possible solutions. The quicker we address these things the faster we hammer in the rules. I could get behind this. I actually like it a lot the more I think about it. My only gripe is the hit chance success for Long Ranged Weapons. I feel they should at least follow the same chances as Short Ranged Weapons. What is the point of a marksman who misses more often than not? Unless... unique loot can be found to make your chances better? And if Medium Ranged Weapons become a thing I would just group that with the other ranged weapons.

Excellent visualization, @Lord Duvors. Honestly I think that helps the argument on using the first set of combat rules @Endgame has shown. Based on that grid, the player could attack two more spots with Short Ranged Weapon and four more spots with Long Ranged Weapons if those rules were applied. But because the range is far superior to all other weapons there should be a penalty for attacking too close. Such as sustaining splash damage like I suggested. Or, as unpopular as this may sound, you have to take a turn to reload your weapon. Unless we can all agree to give Long Range Weapons one more attack range and add Medium Range Weapons and set that range to the current Long Range Weapons range. It would at least close the gap a bit. I am personally for this solution.

Actually, you might be on to something. I just had the thought of some sort of emitter gun. Think along the lines of the Mesmetron from Fallout 3 or Lucio from Overwatch. Something like those could cause bleeding but they might be better suited for Energy Weapons. However, if something were to shoot hail or small sandstorms those could cause bleeding! Something like that could work but I think Artillery weapons should follow that principle. If you attack someone within melee range with an Artillery weapon it would probably hurt you too. Unless you choose to go for a build that involves doing that?

Igaz moves to A3.

I feel like some of it would be questionable though. I just have no idea how an Elemental Weapon would cause Bleeding. How is melee useless? If anything ranged weapons would become less useful with the battle format you favor. Melee users have no "blind spots" so to speak whereas ranged users do. Just as an example, based on the battle grid we are using for our battle, suppose I was using a Short Ranged Weapon and am at D1. An enemy moved to C3. I would not be able to attack the enemy because the combat rules dictate that I cannot though technically it is within two spaces, my attack range. Sure I could move but if there are other players using Short Ranged Weapons it seems like we almost have to compete for positioning. And if we fight on larger battle grids, the "blind spot" situation will just get much worse. And I have no idea where you are getting this notion that artillery weapons are overpowered. They have not been put on display yet...

I think for the sake for simplicity we should use your second battle grid. It makes sense overall too. Otherwise position management will bog down combat way too much and make it last much longer than it needs too. If combat takes up a majority of the mission I think that is problematic. That is actually a really good question. I think the advantage Melee users should get is that they cannot be attacked by Artillery and Long Range Weapons if they are right in front of an enemy yielding said weapon. Otherwise they would take damage I assume. As for Ranged combatants who are immune to Melee attacks until the gap is closed. Every playstyle should be viable otherwise Melee will just be there but never used.. I think only Short Ranged Weapons should be able to counter Melee enemies. I am thinking along the lines of Pistols and Shotguns here. Artillery and Long Range Weapons should not just because of the overall size of these weapons. Having a long barrel is not convenient at shooting close range because you would smack the enemy with the barrel. I think you are misunderstanding. There are the three weapon categories: Kinetic, Energy, and Elemental. Later on in the game, these weapons can be found or obtained with bonus properties depending on the type or what the same says. For example, Solar Cannon (+1 Energy Artillery, +1 Incinerate). A basic variant of that weapon could be something like this, Shoulder-Mounted Cannon (+1 Kinetic Artillery). The whole point of the system is so players do not rely on the same weapon and armor every mission. I mean, you still could in theory but it would be ill advised. Suppose you go against enemies immune to Energy-based weapons, you would want something to counter that otherwise you are doing the least amount of damage possible. If enemies can be resistant to weapon types, I would imagine they would be resistant to certain status effects too.

I agree that the latter example should be what we use otherwise combat will just become incredibly tedious and more complicated. Not to mention that not every battle grid is going to be the same. What fun is it if the players cannot attack and have to continuously move? I think that is a good idea and something @Endgame has put thought into. One of the key talking points was to have multiple bits of gear rather than relying on the same. So, what if the certain weapon categories can have certain effects? For example, Kinetic weapons can Lacerate / cause Bleeding and Poison whereas Elemental weapons can Incinerate, Shock, and Freeze enemies? Just a thought but I have no idea how to work in Energy Weapons because arguably they could do the same thing. Suppose you have a Energy Weapon that shoots extremely hot plasma, you would think that would Incinerate the target, yes? Also I disagree with your point on the battle grid. You would still be able to hit a target for any of the positions. In reality you would just have to adjust where you are facing. Would you not do that? There are no obstacles obscuring your line of sight. I would find it absurd to only be able to attack from two different angles with ranged weapons. It just makes no sense to me.

Igaz attacks Trips.

I posted a spoiler just before I read this! Just in case you are not able to see it, I basically said that I would attack Trips if moving does not count as a single action. I forgot if moving counts as an action or not but my assumption is that it is.

Confident that Tester-Three while finish off Drone A, Igaz moves to B2.

Igaz moves to C1 and attacks Kibosh Drone A.

I agree but I think we should still use creatures established from Heroica 1.0 and even Dungeons & Dragons. I got a feeling that Mind Flayers could be something fun to play around with in Heroica 2.0. I believe they were established in Heroica 1.0 but I do not think they were used very much. I actually have an idea for a character that is a Mind Flayer. If we can have a second character, I might use him as my alternate or I could think of some fun quests involving him. Demons could work similarly as they do in Dungeons & Dragons but I have been watching a lot of DOOM videos too so maybe some inspiration can be drawn from that source material too.

Igaz lifts his visor making it more evident that he is undead. "I'll just come back again and return the favor." He says blithely and winks. Was that a joke or was he trying to intimidate her? "I like it."