hello i am new here and want some help to how to get started
I'm looking to create a character from the UK. He is an engineer and researcher type. How do I go about doing this?
Thanks.
I'm really sorry things got so bad for you man, I'm glad you're in a better position now. It was really run RPing with you, and I'll miss you. Best of luck in the future
I'm glad to hear you're doing better, DP. You've always been a cool guy in my view, and I've enjoyed the various runs you've done/the various characters you've played.
That said, could you try finding Daed after you leave? I mean, he's gotta be somewhere out in the real world, right?
bro i'm gonna miss you but i'm also happy you are doing much better outside of this
Everybody's favorite state of mind.
Hey everyone. It's been awhile.
I have to apologize for my very long span of inactivity. It has not been fair to the GM team or the playerbase. The lack of consistent leadership has always been an issue with Origins/Horizons and is just part of how life happens but regardless I feel the need to say I'm sorry especially because I have to announce that I am stepping down as owner of Origins/Horizons.
Way back when, when I had been basically selected as owner of Origins but not yet promoted my first legitimate act as owner was the banning of a player known as Talonair. Some of you know them, some of you do not. If you do you likely have feelings regarding them that can run both ways. Whatever the case, Talon was at the time a very close friend of mine, and having to ban Talonair (regardless of the reasoning behind it) was extremely traumatizing. It basically ruined the position for me before I even officially had it and is something I still to a degree struggle with.
Being owner of this place is hard. It's something that requires a lot of attention. A lot of being messaged while you're hanging out with friends when an emergency vote is being called for a ban, a lot of trying to be the face of the GM team and also the face of the change the players want to see. It's something I tried to keep up with for a time but it was never easy. I always remembered what happened right before I was promoted. Over time what was supposed to be my hobby just turned into something I had to deal with. I had to deal with this, I had to deal with that. Over time it turned into animosity; not towards anyone in particular but towards the position and myself. In November of last year, I started seeing a therapist and upon their recommendation I stopped coming onto IRC and if I did only to ensure we didn't lose the channels or if I was desperately needed.
It has quite honestly been the best eleven months that I've had in awhile. I just realized that I had basically cornered myself into thinking that I had to always be around to keep the show going. That things would fall to pieces if I didn't force myself to keep showing up. And while I understand things are tense, you all are still there.
I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with Origins/Horizons right when I was asked to take over. I knew that I had a dream for the place. I wanted it to be a place where people could have fun and make friends. Maybe not forever. I never envisioned Origins/Horizons as something that can last until the end of the century. For a lot of people they have a "time" when they joined Origins/Horizons. It's a time and a place that you remember while leaning back in your chair with a smile on your face. It's that laugh you get when you retell an old story to someone who's utterly fascinated by this place where we write dreams into reality. I realized that, even if Origins/Horizons was no longer my time and place, it could still be someone else's. Someone else could make friends and have fun like I did back when I was a lot younger.
The GM team is tentatively penning a new administration system with the hopes of it being able to work around the constant issue of the lack of admins and in the worst case, owner presence. Of course, I have to make *someone* the owner for the purposes of SynIRC channel administration, Wikidot administration, etc, but their title will be ceremonial.
After all is said and done I will be leaving both SynIRC and Origins/Horizons. I'm not sure if I'll come back and if I did I don't know if I'll ever put on another hat again. Whatever happens, I wish you all the best whether you're player or GM. Regardless of what happens, none of us would be here without one another. We would be a bunch of nerds who read a creepypasta website and wanted to tell stories in it. But together we're a community of players and creators who I love to death.
I'll catch you all on the flipside. Bye guys <3
First, thank you for your effort in providing a middleman-safe-space for people to share their thoughts without fear of backlash. It is no biggie for how long it took, as this is just a hobby for everyone involved. Thank you for also consolidating it into one place. This is very appreciated.
Once again, this is me, not the entire GM Team.
I apologize for coming off that way and will attempt to act more professionally according to the problems listed. I am sorry about the lack of effort coming in from this side. I haven't been able to really do much lately, because I've been out in Oceanside, helping my dad out with work since I got my certs finished. Usually, after our day is "done" I just play videogames to blow off steam, but I'll make a better effort to come on and see what needs to be taken care of. I've definitely been slacking.
As for those suggestions with involvement, perhaps we could come to an agreement about suggestions and proposals for mechanical changes. Some sort of date set for a discussion all around. I haven't discussed anything about it with the rest of the GMs, as it's currently 5am PDT on the 24th for me, so it's not even on the ballot yet.
I am not sure what happens about GMs targeting each other, although I have and always will believe seeing people as problems is not conducive to finding a solution that works out for all parties.
Roll results with attention are something I would like reported so we can figure out what to do about it. This is a serious matter, and one I will pass on right away to someone that I can believe will handle it.
Lashing out doesn't usually happen without a reason. I'm not excusing unprofessional behavior, but some GMs do expect you to take their runs or events with a modicum of seriousness. Even some veteran players lash out at foolishness during runs. They probably worked hard on it and wanted to enjoy it alongside the players, but they get frustrated when their hard work gets a little fucked up because someone does something dumb. Anyways, I feel as though no one's really unbiased. No matter what they do. Even if you are aware of a bias, it probably affects you in other ways. That's not to say targeting players isn't serious.
Please, if you have specific instances where a GM did something such as target, belittle, or be rude, log it. Disciplinary meetings can't happen without proof, because we abide by innocent until proven guilty. If you are afraid to report it by yourself, perhaps a middle man could for you.
The meritocracy is very disorganized. I think I have a few ideas as to how to tackle individual issues so things don't get muddled because we have very different schedules in different timezones, using glacon and gDocs.
The complaint about metagaming is a little vague and confusing, and I would like to hear more about it.
I addressed the system in my reply to klurg, if you want to read that.
Cliques form by nature. It's a side effect of community. You can't really stop it, but you can always make it feel less clique-y by being that person who asks around for RP. A lot of people throw characters into open scenes, myself included. Please don't hesitate to ask someone if you can join into their scene. Group dynamics can be fun! Just imagine all the love triangles :VVVVV As for toxicity, it might just be me, but I don't think the people here are naturally caustic. Something is probably bothering them, and asking why might not always hurt.
DP has been busy. He's an old fart so he's got life stuff to do, like college and shit. That life hustle stuff. And yeah, he's owner. Roget was owner before and we had a lot of the same struggles when he went off to college. DP is more a hands-off owner, trying to let us figure things out together, but if circumstances were different, he'd have a lot of motivation to be here alongside us. He's a good bean, but he has to focus on some other more important things for his own sake. Real life comes first, right?
I don't RP that often and don't know what's going on between people. Back when I first joined, open ICs were pretty much the standard, I think. You just asked first. And I have no problem with that system. I think true private scenes mainly took place in the secondary, tertiary and quaternary run channels. But the feelings may differ now from before. More people would have to input their feelings about it.
I would like for someone to elaborate on this as well, because I'm not entirely sure what it means and would not like to interpret it in a way different from what was intended. Thank you.
tl;dr not the GM Team's just my thoughts. I cannot actually tl'dr, I apologize ;-; you should be able to ctrl+f and find your issues by typing key words from your responses. Anyway, thank you for reading.
Everybody's favorite state of mind.
I am replying to this individually to let you know there are GMs reading all of your opinions and we will attempt to address what's going on.
I will try to address your points but bear in mind that this is just as an individual, not representative of the GM Team at large.
We want to include you. There are bad ideas and good ideas so we want to filter that out. However, with so many people practically AWOL due to life getting busier and keeping us tired and away, it's hard to do that. If you can devise a way to filter up the popular ideas reliably, then look at it with us, I'm sure we can discuss things. Do things like plug up holes together.
For the new system, it was really an attempt to get people to stop min-maxing and generalize a little more instead of specializing so much. That way we wouldn't have to make opposing rolls and DCs so high and everybody would get a chance to contribute to a run. Thus, leading to flavor stats having some function. However, somewhere along the line, hard runs and dumped combat stats joined hands and made life a little harder for everyone. Answering which came first is like asking the chicken or the egg question. RPGs just tend to have it happen, I suppose!
As for GMs behavior, I acknowledge that there's been some mistrust. Since we're the seats in power, of course the first steps for this GM-Player relationship rehab need to be taken by us. However, we're lost as to how we're supposed to go about doing that. Calling for heads will most definitely produce bad blood among the GM team. It might be stupidly optimistic, but I still believe reconciliation between these two groups can be attained. This goes both ways.
For any incidents involving my part, I apologize. If you want to talk about it, I will be free Monday 8/26/2019, 5am PDT, if not then the following Thursday and weekend throughout to talk about it. If you want to message me, please do, and hopefully there will be personal growth involved.
tl;dr these are my words, not the GM Team's, cooperation is good but hard, new system is far from perfect but happened for a good reason, i hope our relationships can mend for the better
Everybody's favorite state of mind.
Sources are from multiple people and numerous individuals echo the others so no one person alone gave a point.
As stated in the post I am open to all individuals that wish to leave nameless feed back be they GM or player.
Well to begin, nobody truly believes the GM team is actually listening to player feedback. The GM group has had years and years of offenses of never actually listening to players. Hell even this update that's supposedly run on player feedback you guys are working on without really telling us much other than 'we're using this system and trying to refine it'. To quote Veiedhimaedhr "Can I be there? Unless you're on the GM team, no." This is exact problem us players have been having with you GMs, we want to be involved in the game that we play as well.
Not only that, but at the beginning of this new system, we already saw that the point buy system we use forces you to specialize and suck at everything except a certain category, or generalize and just suck at everything. Yet the GMs insisted on using it, saying it was fine and realistic, when the majority of the player base disliked it. The majority of the new system just felt incomplete in general. Contacts and training was put in, but other than some vague lines, nobody really knew what it did, mechanical or otherwise. The best way to describe this system and the way the GMs have been behaving with it is Fallout 76 and Bethesda's customer service. Incomplete game and nonexistent help from the ones in charge. It took years and the game dying out as well as people complaining about it for the GM team to do anything about it.
Finally there's the biggest offender: the GM's behavior towards players. The GMs (with some exceptions) have been mostly dismissive towards any feedback, hostile towards the complaints of players, and generally have given off that they feel like they're superior to players and know better about the system than the players. That as well like past behavior, such as dogpiling on certain players, targeting them IC and OOC, and general hostility. Examples include: Taylor and Klurg and being dogpiled for the slightest thing, to the point Taylor left most likely because of it. Marshall and targeting their spy PC with no real evidence, then subjecting them to a NPC with maximum sense motive. DSJ targeting Janelle with made up mechanics and flagrant disregard for both mechanics and player consent, with the GM team backing him up. DSJ purposefully giving harmful advice on where to go on his runs, and immediately punishing player for following it (not against the rules but a dick move and doesn't foster good player-GM relations). Other players might be able to find more offenses the GM team has perpetrated IC or OOC that I haven't been around for. And instead of punishing the GMs and players involved in dog piles and such, they promoted them. And then there's the case of the owner of the server. Diepotato almost never comes on, and when he does he doesn't get involved with or see anything, yet he still makes decisions for the RP while never actually being in it anymore.
The tl;dr is that GMs have been obstructive, dickish towards certain players, flat out break Rule 0 with no repercussions, and ignoring the player base for far too long and the toxic behavior and atmosphere it's created is killing the RP.
We change a lot over time, but there's always a little of our old selves in us. Never forget your old self, they're one of the most important parts of you.
https://forms.gle/VBU2D4AMfG1vj5mv8 can also be used for feedback.
Hi all,
Recently, we've seen some concerns about the lack of activity we've faced this summer, as well as some feedback from my fellow staff with respect to making sure we're genuinely listening to player feedback.
In the case of the lack of activity, I'll be the first to admit I could easily be more active outside of just doing runs and events, but I think the issue at large isn't as easy to deal with. That said, we think if we went over the reasons people feel less interested in the RP, and how to deal with that, we'd be in a better place.
This does sort of blend into the second point, which is feedback. We understand that it isn't always easy to say how you really feel, or easy to draw together ideas in the generally rapid-paced environment of IRC. So, We would like to encourage you all to provide more feedback, on any and all things. We've tried to be better about working with you, but we can always be better.
As to how to provide feedback, you can make comments on this post, on the forum, or talk to anyone on the team you feel comfortable with.
With all this said, we would like to thank you all for sticking around. Without you, we don't have a player base, and people who ultimately improve our runs and events by making them more than what they are on their own.
-DSJ
Heavy Weapons
- Heavy Weapons remain unchanged for now. 1.02 will include total weapon system overhaul and introduction of gunsmithing mechanic.
- (previously, Heavy Weapons were easily exploitable and easily the best weapons in the game, especially combined with improved weaponry.)
Grenades/Explosives
- Grenades and explosives in Horizons now take up an equipment slot, just like XCOM 2. Instead of relying upon the ENGINEERING stat for damage, Engineering instead affects how many grenades a PC can carry. Specializing in Engineering grants one more, spending two stat points in education AND specializing in Engineering grants another, and spending a third stat point in education while also specializing in Engineering increases grenade damage by +1.
- Preset Arsenal added to the game.
- (previously, explosives were dreaded, convoluted, unrealistic boss-killers which could easily be added to any character with no cost or penalty whatsoever)
Rewards
- Training rework to involve using a tier system with generalist skills. Will be rolled out with 1.02.
- Contacts will be reworked to include Normal and Special Contacts. Will be rolled out with 1.02.
- (previously, training and contacts didn’t exist)
MTF Gear
- Improved Weaponry removed from the game and replaced with TDC-450 “Firewire.” Characters with improved weaponry will be allowed to keep them for now provided they pay an EP fee. Switching to Firewire has no charge.
- Firewire is a long, explosive cord that can be set off with gunfire or heavy impact. While traditional use is involved in wrapping this around pillars for demolition, creative uses include setting up explosive trip-wires and spooled bombs. Attempts to use this as a garotte or whip are as suicidal as they are ill-advised.
- (Previously, Improved Weaponry was outrageously overpowered, much less far better than every other starting gear in the game)
Miscellaneous
- Staff involvement/activity will be given more scrutiny moving forward
- Erotic Roleplaying (ERP) will be monitored much more closely, and the GM Team will step in should we deem it overly unrealistic, awkward or immediately should someone in OOC complain about it being so.
- Rerolls of the Day, or just rerolls, are clarified to be at the discretion of the GM. Demanding them from the GM, or attempting to pressure them into providing a reroll, will be treated as unsportsmanlike behavior and dealt with appropriately.
- 1.02 Established as being dedicated primarily to Stats and Perception. Implementation of the relevant above issues will be developed by 1.02’s meeting. Other issues are present for the 1.02 meeting but classified.
Unless stated otherwise, all above changes go into effect NOW.
Contents:
- Plot Summary
- Anchors
- Karma
- Arc Structure
- Characters
- Runs and Arcs
Plot Summary
The Anchored World is a parallel dimension first visited by agents Eliza Angelo and Nova in Call From Beyond as well as agent Wolfgang Striker-West of Site-19. Nova and Wolfgang were both asked for help by an individual now known as 'Gerald', who gave them rings which are the basis for the technology used to access the Anchored World.
Upon her return, Eliza found a man next to her which turned out to be none other than Alexander the Great of Macedon, in his prime. With his last memory being that of aiding Lacey Sturbanks in defeating THE CREATOR in Final Call years ago, he is as confused about he's gotten there as anyone else. Soon after on a mission to a gold mine in Nevada the team encounters Julius Caesar in much the same situation, who joins Alexander in containment.
In UnRepent the team consisting of August, Tally, Wolf and Alexander head into the Anchored World for the first time properly. They discover that, along with some wardrobe changes, they now possess the ability to summon anchors - manifestations of ones soul taken physical form. The team first winds up in the woods outside of the town of Alexandria. After discovering that the words spoken and written by the people here translate to their native tongues, they decide to stop for some food at a cafe/restaurant by the name of Red Orchid.
Mistaken for loyalists, the team is drugged by Michael Lagorio of UnRepent before the misunderstanding could be cleared up. After learning - though indirectly - of the fact that Gerald did, in fact, send them there to help, UnRepent takes to explaining to them their situation.
Their world was conquered over two thousand years ago by one called Alexandra the Great. Aided by a faux deity known as THE CREATOR she enslaved all of humanity and built cities in her name across the globe. Just a hundred years ago she seemed to have gotten bored of the whole thing, cutting off all connections between towns. Alexandria can be considered lucky as life was able to keep going on as it had before, while many other towns became personal playgrounds for Alexandra and her underlings.
At the center of each town stands a Dark Pylon, as they are commonly referred to. Dark Pylons are structures towering over the tallest mountains and reaching into the skies, ebony black in their entirety. They are said to house both a means to travel between any towns in the world and Alexandra's palace - rumors say THE CREATOR himself resides inside as well.
UnRepent has formed a network of resistance with some of the other towns, but they are still underpowered. They lack funds, equipment, and most importantly, support of the people in Alexandria. They have asked for The Foundation's help in organizing the resistance, securing supplies, recruiting new members and crippling Alexandra's communications. Wolf and Alexander have remained at the Red Orchid as liaisons, and the rings have been calibrated to bring anyone going through the portal to the resistance HQ.
Next step was to truly earn the resistance's trust in order to make use of their aid in Alexandria. Joshua and Little Bird entered the Anchored World to aid the resistance diplomatically. Accompanied by Wolfgang and Alexander they set off to The Alley, an underground club run by one Valerie Mitrovitz, to propose a cease-fire between the underground criminal organizations and the resistance. They managed to do so with the promise of aiding Valerie in a prison break in the future, and after showing off their dance moves the team was able to return to the HQ.
With the Foundation on their good side and Valerie's men out of the way, the resistance can continue consolidating their forces - next up on their agenda is making contact with the Trader and the resistance in the nearby town of Wisdol.
After a bumpy ride in Driver's High, Maddy and Zack made it to Wisdol where they were able to locate a safehouse. With the rings calibrated for arriving at Wisdol if need be now, all that's left is to make contact with the resistance in the town itself.
While the resistance prepares themselves for greater missions, Ricorda has enlisted the foundation's help with a more personal problem - remembering who she was. Bringing along Zack and Wolf to the woods in Breakout, they found a locket with a picture of a woman and a note inside, the note bearing an address in Wisdol.
In Mentai Cosmic Zack and Tally join with Richard and Wolf to investigate a shipwreck on the shore of Alexandria. After infiltrating it, Tally and Richard meet a small party of rebels - Yume Kitai, Dae Gangjeon and Cheonsa - who join them back at the rebel HQ.
Through interviewing them the Alexandrian rebels find out that Yume left her homeland with a group of guards years ago in order to find allies with which they could defeat THE CREATOR - many back home believed her anchor held the key to beating him. Only time will tell if this holds true.
<TO=BE=CONTINUED=
Anchors
Anchors are physical manifestations of one's soul, imbued with THE CREATOR'S corruption which supposedly emanates from the Dark Pylons. The smaller part of the population which are not vampires are anchor wielders, capable of summoning these manifestations. On top of being much more resilient than a mere man, they possess various abilities which often play off their wielder's own abilities and personality. A side effect of the anchors is that their wielders are capable of understanding any language spoken to them, effectively translating it to their native tongue - likewise, their words will always be understood, even by the vampires.
The anchors are tied to their users and have a half-shared health pool. Half-shared in that they do not have MHealth, but have PHealth which is generally higher than their wielders. Damage sustained by anchors up until they hit the same HP as their wielder is usually not too bad for the wielders themselves, though it can manifest in cuts and bruises. After it hits the same PHealth level as their wielder, however, they will actively get damaged and lose PHealth along with their anchor.
PCs heading into Alexandria will receive an anchor and outfit based on responses to a survey about the character.
Anchors can be summoned in three ways, each with a different level of difficulty.
1) An anchor may be summoned purely with thought. Base DC for this is an INT roll of 10 (Any INT skill can be used), making it damn difficult and almost impossible without a spec. It's the hardest way to summon an Anchor, though it can be made easier through training and peace of mind (See KARMA).
2) Calling it out with it's name. The anchor's name is innately known to the wielder, and calling its name can often help bring them out if only as a sort of instinct. The base DC for this is 5, making it much more plausible than option 1. The roll will also succeed with an ace, if Karma allows it.
3) POSING. Yes, many anchor users have adopted a pose they closely relate to their anchor, basically training themselves to summon their anchor when certain physical conditions are met. No DC, but impossible if physically restricted. Negative karma can add a DC to this.
Karma
This is going to be a big thing in the arc. Both the team as a whole and each character individually will have karma which carries over from run to run and from event to event. This is done to prevent people from just killing willy-nilly and ruining the entire concept like that, on top of making the final mission that much more difficult on themselves.
Karma is gained and lost depending on actions. Everyone starts at 0 karma, and it goes up to a 100 but goes down /infinitely/. Yeah, there's a hole you can fall in.
Karma determines, for the most part, three things - DC on any sort of mental or perception check including DC on summoning your anchor, luck and NPC trust.
For each 25 in either way, the DC either goes up or down by 1. Karma of negative 50, for example, will result in a +2 to the DC. A karma of 50 would respectively lower the DC by 2.
Luck will determine how bad/good crits/critfails/aces/acefails are. A higher karma means they'll generally be better, a lower karma means they'll be worse. At -25 karma you no longer get benefits from aces, at +25 you no longer get any additional harm from acefails.
Most NPCs will be much less likely to trust you if you're a mass murderer, for whatever reason. Defending against charisma rolls becomes easier for them.
Arc Structure
The Anchor World arc is very open-ended and not rigorously scheduled - generally speaking, a run can happen whenever people want it and I have the time. Different, specific runs are unlocked after completing certain requirements in previous runs, or by exploring Alexandria outside of planned runs.
You can check the 'Runs and arcs' section to see what runs and events have already happened and to see which are available now. You can also choose to explore the town freely, but doing so might mean stumbling into a proper run with less people on the team than would be ideal.
You can also enter the anchored world for semi-soft RP at any time. When doing so, you won't be allowed to leave the safe house, but you will be able to interact with NPCs staying there and testing out your anchors outside of runs. Aggression towards and attacking the NPCs in the safe house is not allowed unless otherwise stated.
Characters
NPCs can be brought along on runs and interacted with in soft RP, so long as they are available. Below is a list of groups and characters met so far in the story. If their status is marked as 'available', they can be brought along on runs.
Runs and Arcs
Arc | Run/Event Title | Player Count(+NPC) | Difficulty | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Main Plot | Call From Beyond (DONE) | 2(+0) | None | Nova and Eliza are transported to the Anchored World for the first time. |
Main Plot | UnRepent (DONE) | 2(+2) | Normal | August, Tally, Wolf and Alexander arrive in Alexandria and encounter the Resistance. |
Main Plot | The Alley (DONE) | 2-3(+1-2) | Easy/Normal | In order to prove their competence, the resistance has tasked the team to head over to a club known as "The Alley" to negotiate an alliance, or at least a truce, with the criminal underground operating from the club. |
Main Plot | Driver's High (DONE) | 1-4(+0) | Normal | With the Alexandria underground no longer working against them, the resistance can make contact with the resistance in the town of Wisdol again. In order to do so, they send a small team out to meet a man who can supposedly take them there past Alexandra's roadblocks. |
Main Plot | High School | 2-3(+1) | Normal | The resistance is short on equipment and supplies and with all of Alexandria's supply lines in control of Alexandra, there aren't many options. An anchor wielder is said to possess an anchor which allows creating supplies, for a price - nobody knows where they are, but it's said that they have a relative in high school who just might know something. |
- | The Track | 2-4 | Normal/Hard | Jake has made contact with the resistance, offering further assistance if they have some agents come over and help with a plan concocted by him and his friends to get rid of the Alexandra's vehicular supremacy in Alexandria. |
Ricorda's Memories | Breakout (DONE) | 1-2(+2) | Normal/Hard | Just like the agents, Ricorda found herself one day in the middle of the forest with little to her name. Matter of fact, she couldn't remember her name, or anything else. She was lucky enough to find the resistance, but the question of her identity still remains - and she would like to find some answers. |
Welcome To Wisdol, Now Stay Out | Let's Go To The Mall | 2-3(+1) | Normal/Hard | With access to Wisdol established, the team needs to meet the resistance, but that is easier said than done. Most of it is a ghost town with few proper landmarks, but the mall could be a good start. |
The Hidden Side of Alexandria | Prison Job | 2-3(+1) | Normal/Hard | Valerie has called in for UnRepent's assistance to cement their alliance. A friend of hers has been imprisoned by Alexandra's forces, and she'd like to get them out - by any means necessary. |
Main Plot | Mentai Cosmic (DONE) | 2-3(+1) | Hard | Every town in the world had been cut off from the rest around a hundred years ago. Or so it had seemed. A large ship bearing an unknown flag has crashed on the shores of Alexandria, now swarming with Alexandra's goons. Investigating it is a top priority mission. |
Ricorda's Memories | Memory Trail | 1-2(+0) | Very Easy | Inside of a locket laced with Ricorda's aura was a photo of a young woman and an address. Ricorda has asked the Foundation to visit the address and see if they can discover who she actually is. |
Richard's Arc | The Hidden Church | 2-3 (+1) | Normal | As the Foundation has proven themselves to be worthwhile allies, it seems Richard has chosen to reveal a bit more about the rebellious underground church he himself is a member of. |
Main Plot | Radio Star | 1-2 (+1) | Hard | One of the biggest obstacles standing in the resistance's way is the radio tower in Alexandra's control. Run by a disk jockey known as Melko Rewitz, the radio station is a constant stream of pro-TC propaganda. Taking him out and replacing his broadcast with a pro-resistance message would do wonder for its popularity. |
- | Meat Plant | 1-3 (+1-2) | Hard | Rumor has it that a convict has managed to escape from the prison in Alexandria and has taken refuge in the old abandoned meat processing plant in the industrial district. Perhaps it would be wise to investigate before the authorities do. |
Round 2 of voting for Rewards. Click this
Our first round of voting focused on preset options discussed by the GM team while also leaving open the floor for player suggestions and feedback. The GM-provided options were 1) a transhumanist system, 2) an MTF-unique skill tree system or 3) killing the training mechanic entirely. Only the first two will be advancing as killing the mechanic entirely received no votes in Round 1. In regards to player-sourced alternative training systems and alternatives to the preset options, we received 4. Of them, 1 was an alternative training rework and the other 3 built upon the presets. Obviously I wont name who provided what, but I will explain why 3 of them didn't make the cut and why 1 did.
- [CUSTOM REWORK] This alternative to reworking training focused on turning away from adding mechanics to the game and instead focusing on working on stats while training became a way to use EP to purchase both equipment and abilities. Because Patch 1.02 is already slated for stat reworking, and the simple EP-only purchase of abilities was an explicitly avoided goal of the training rework, this will not be in Round 2.
- [SKILL TREE ALTERNATIVE] This proposal involved implementing not a MTF-unique skill tree system, but a universal skill tree system combined with a 'corruption' system that would affect players on a PC by PC basis (no two PCs would have the same corruption factors, for example). Ultimately, while the idea of a corruption mechanic has merit, the current administrative strength of the GM Team is not at the capacity required to micro-manage corruption balancing for each and every character. For this reason, it will not be in Round 2.
- [SKILL TREE ALTERNATIVE] This proposal also involved using a universal skill tree but proposed having all MTFs starting at potentially different locations on the tree, or having an MTF-specific skill tree where the skill tree rewards were so small there was no threat of one MTF being overpowered. Ultimately, we want training rewards to be at least valuable so the second option is out. A skill tree with multiple start points is not a skill tree since those are bottom-up progression systems, but rather a skill network. This doesn't solve the issue of furthering the uniqueness of the MTF choice beyond some stats and starting gear, and making a network of the size required to provide long-term use between 4 MTFs is also a logistical problem. For these reasons, this proposal will not be in Round 2.
- [SKILL TREE ALTERNATIVE] This proposal involves implementing a tier system and 'generalist' skills. It proposes that characters who go on enough runs can invest an appropriately large amount of EP to advance up a tier in training. Upon doing so, they gain access to minute, but effective skills (such as rudimentary first aid) which can be used in a pinch. Some generalist skills will be hidden behind high tiers in accordance to power and cost. There will likely be some form of limit to prevent accumulation. Because this is a fairly simple system, this option WILL be in Round 2.
Take the time to look over the options. Round 2 will be a simple vote and is upcoming.
1.01 Rewards information. Read this carefully, and then complete this form.
Still on the docket before 1.01 implementation:
1. Improved Weaponry Voting Session.
2. Rewards Rework finalization.
Click here for adobe PDF of the changelog
Note that the patch isn't implemented yet. 3 things must be done first.
1. The 'free gear' menu that will hold grenades must be created.
2. The alternatives for Improved Weaponry must be created and submitted for player vote.
3. The rewards refinements must be consolidated and then submitted for feedback.
This post is dedicated to Horizons 1.01.
As most of you are now aware, there are some shortcomings with the current, overall system of mechanics. To address them all in one quick swoop is demanding too much, and is more vulnerable to failure than not. So, as the chief author of 1.01, I'll be briefly going over what this particular patch covers, and why. First, 1.01 is focused on quickly removing some of the more broken exploits present in the game that clash with gameplay or the game in general. These are explosives, heavy weapons, and the Improved Weaponry gear present in MTF Psi-7. Also addressed in this patch is the reward system, and MTF assignment in general. Other minor issues may be brought up, but these are the central ones for 1.01.
Other minor topics to bring up in discussion include game difficulty, character immortality, deathclock, character creation, and anything else the participants feel can be brought up quickly and resolved just as fast. Obviously there are questions.