OOC chat

OOC chat

Yay, it's operational.

And now onto the not quite yay parts. I read the threads and I'm . . . not very confident in my understanding of character creation. Here are some things that uncertainty for me:

- The recruitment thread mentions Lineages being optional Keywords. The Genre Pack thread lists Abilities within Lineages. Are those meant to be Breakouts under the Lineage Keyword instead, or are they actual Stand-Alone Abilities?
- What happens if a Lineage partially overlaps with another Keyword in terms of Scope, e.g. the Brawny Keyword (possibly with a Breakout such as Feats of Strength) and the Hidesato Lineage (whose listed Abilities also include 'Perform feats of extraordinary strength')? Should everyone just avoid Lineages that have overlapping scope with Distinguishing Characteristics, Occupational Keywords, and other taken Keywords? Or are they pretty much reserved for being Augments (and thus should be taken but not raised much due to rapidly diminishing returns)?
- Question similar to Lineages: is the whole Petalframe (e.g. Steel Lotus) a Keyword, and its listed Abilities actually Breakouts?
- I am immediately uncertain what to do with the fact that Petal Keywords start at 5M. There is mention that Petals allow using all of the pilot's skills applied to the Petal. So if I were to take, say, the occupational Keyword Sniper 15 (raised to 5M with Improvement Points) and Petal Keyword Silver Snowdrop (which includes a sniper rifle), am I being redundant? If it's redundant, then I'm not sure what to do - seems like a combat-suitable (both on-foot and in-Petal) Occupation is a wasteful choice of a concept. Or am I supposed to always Augment one with the other (in either direction), recuperating some of the investment thus?
- Character Advancement lists the following option for improving Keywords: ' 5 improvement points across keywords and increase an existing breakout ability by +5'. Does a Breakout that is mentioned in a Keyword, but not raised before (i.e. a +0) count as 'existing' for this purpose? Or do I need to ensure that I have at least one Breakout to spend these upgrades on I must only spend this on already-raised-and-separate Breakouts?

Ok; oh well, so much for being bent on finishing it before being allowed to finally sleep.

To start, yes: the abilities in the description of every keyword are to be taken as possible suggestions of breakouts (I should change that to be more clear). This also answers your last question: breakouts are just specializations under a keyword, and their appearance behind the description is just an extra help on knowing what that keyword can be used for. Breakouts on keywords are things the character could already do with that keyword, but with the breakout, they're better at doing that specific thing. About the Character Advancement, the option just below what you're referring says "Add a new breakout at +5" as an option.

Overlapping abilities aren't a problem at all, first off, at character creation, it doesn't costs anything, and can make your character more flavorful. Besides that, there's a use for them: you cannot ever retry a contest with the same tactic (I. e. with the same ability), so the most different abilities that can be used on the same situation you have, the more chances you got. In-game, you would describe your tactic with each ability differently too, enriching the story; despite that, augments must always feel fresh and interesting, so the size of the bonus they give decreases with subsequent uses of the same ability. In that case, having other abilities to cover for more augments can be a good idea. Also, sometimes you will have to roll for augments (using the augmenting ability) to determine if you can augment, and how much will be the bonus.

All that being said, it's totally viable to, feeling that your character is already covered by a keyword, not have a redundant ability; that's totally up to you.

Yeah, petalframes are keywords.

A character with a sniper ability and a petalframe with a sniper rifle in it would be capable of using well a sniper rifle on foot (which can come in handy), and she will be able to augment her petalframe's ability with it.

You should really focus on making a character that you find interesting at the end of the day.

You don't have to respond immediately next time.
Yes, there is the latter option. But it's ambiguous whether a Keyword with a bunch of explicitly-listed Breakouts but all at +0s count as 'having an existing Breakout' or needing to take the 'Add a new Breakout' option first.
Full disclosure: this is about the idea of prioritising character's Occupation Keyword (which would be combat-inclusive) over the Petalframe Keyword. Which, yes, goes hand in hand with the idea of being competent at fighting both on foot and in the frame. Now, clearly putting as many Improvement Points into an Occupation Keyword only brings it up to 5M, while Petalframe Keywords already start at 5M, so I'd be setting myself back compared to someone who puts the Improvements into the Petalframe Keyword. The long-term plan is to focus on spending XP/Advancements on the Occupation Keyword and not the Petalframe Keyword (since they both do the same-ish thing).


What I'm uncertain about is how much I'm shooting myself in the foot if I decide to go ahead with this idea.
I do have a good idea what concept I want to play, but I'm contemplating how to make that concept fit well into both the campaign/setting and the system/sheet, as sometimes there's more than one way to mechanise the same idea (but some ways may be unwise compared to others).

(I think I already gave some glimpses of what I'm aiming for by listing the actual concept phrase and influences; the examples in this thread so far have been deliberately steering away from that concept to avoid further 'contamination' of the discussion. If this is a problem, I can stop and 'steer back' again.)

Oh, I was talking about having written most of the stuff in this forum and the recruitment post at 3am fighting to keep my eyes opened; figured some stuff was written less than optimally.

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I don't think you can shoot yourself in the foot here. The system is designed specifically so that hurdles over the system don't happen. In the worst case scenario where you somehow distribute your points unwisely, that means more failures, which means more XP, which means quicker advancement.

And you're free to discuss anything in this thread!

Edit: and yeah, the abilities listed under a keyword are merely suggestions, if I wasn't clear in the previous post.

Thanks for the invite! I'm thinking of playing with the Joanine lineage, but my overall character concept is still forming.

Great! Take your time.

I haven't quite figured out how I want to assign abilities, but here's a summary of my character concept:

Chimera Roosevelt (real name: Princess Juliana Jacoba Catheline Elizabeth Alexander Wilhelmina) is the princess of the Netherlands and a shameless chuunibyou. Possessing a sparkling admiration for anything "cool", Chimera has taken it upon herself to become "cool". Despite her predilection for sagacious declarations, Chimera is quite youthful and naive in many aspects (including romance, much to the consternation of her mother) and considered cute due to her relatively diminutive figure (much to her own consternation).

I also figure that she would have a couple of relationship abilities (ex. cool person that she strives to be on the same level as, declaring herself the rival to someone because they're that cool, the royal family, etc.)

As for her combat capabilities, I'm not too sure. I figure that she'd think magic is cool, but I think it's funnier if she can't do magic despite her efforts (at least not yet). Ideas I have:
- pugilist (maybe with a pilebunker)
- some esoteric weapon like a rope dart or a scythe
- various gadgets that she bills as "secret techniques"
- sniper (partly because the idea of a sniper wearing an eyepatch is mildly amusing to me)

Oh, that's an amusing concept! I think you could lengthen it a little bit to include more aspects of her.

About the relationship abilities, that just had me come up with a rule to help you guys out like stuff like this, the prose method where you write this text to describe the character is considered the 'advanced' method, while there's also the 'as-you-go' method, where you assign abilities on the fly during the game, up to 12 slots.

So, let's do this, to help out people that are unsure: if your character ends up with less than 12 abilities and 3 flaws, you can hold up to those slots for use during play.

In this way, princess chimera can decide on a present character to be her 'role-model' as the game start, either a frequent NPC or even some other PC!

Since we're sharing drafts, here's a bit more of what I have on the drawing board:

- Concept (Characteristic+Occupation): Charismatic Swashbuckler (alternativvely, Suave Swashbuckler), with Breakouts being either Allure or Magnetic Presence and either Combat Prowess or Agility respectively.
- Other, +0, Breakouts under the Charismatic (Suave?) Keyword: Persuasion, Magnetic Presence, Leadership, Allure, Public Speaking/Performance.
- Other, +0, Breakouts under Swashbuckler: Combat Prowess, Quickness and Agility, Showing Off, Being Stylish, Taunting and Teasing, Flashy Entrances and Daring Escapes, Karma Houdini, Smile in the Face of Danger.
- For the deductive side, I am inclined to take the Keyword Astute Mind with the likely Breakout being something like Get Into Someone's Head (in both senses, unless that's too broad).
- I'm undecided between taking the Cleopatric Lineage (which would mean French-and-Greek roots), no Lineage (likely French), or a homebrew Lineage based on the real and mythic exploits of La Maupin (French). I'm somewhat wary of investing into a Lineage because it's likely to overlap a lot with the Concept Keywords and since repeated Augments are discouraged (and it would likely become relegated to Augmenting most of the time it's used). Hypothetical Breakouts for the Maupin Lineage: Fencing, Singing, Dancing, Epicene Appeal, 'Reports of my Death Are Greatly Exaggerated', Evading a Manhunt, Disguise and Impersonation, Basic Academics, 'Corrupting' the Pious, First Aid, Defying Conventions and Getting Away With It.
- I'm not entirely sure how Community is meant to be chosen, but if I understand it correctly, something like Cosmopolitan Aristocrat is the likely demographic of origin and group to hang out with before joining the academy.
- I'd spend one Ability slot on having a valet.
- For the Petalframe, I'm thinking either Crimson Rose or Emerald Fern. I generally like the Rose better as a platform, but I'm ambivalent about the weaponry. I feel vulnerable without having a (secondary) ranged weapon, so the Fern has that going for it with the vines. I think I'd prefer a sabre and sidearm both in and outside the cockpit, which doesn't fit either Frame's default style.
- I like my swashbuckler to do some flash-steps (both inside the Frame and on foot) and maybe the occasional Batman-style disappearance from behind the corner, so I think I'd invest in the Blink Teleportation Konsha.
- Regarding Flaws, I would rather not bite more than I can chew, as I'm not yet confident in my understanding of how they work in this system: I see that they are assigned a rating starting with the highest Keyword+Breakout of the PC, which seems like a lot and that seems to escalate as the character grows. I'm wondering if the heavy mechanics might mean I'm better off taking some flaws as 'just colour' (along the lines of the box on page 102 of the corebook).
- Of the flaws I'm considering, a rival is likely to be interesting, and something like a penchant to seek glory and/or show off might be too.

Please help me out in resolving the uncertainties (e.g. when I'm unsure what to factor when choosing out of multiple similar phrasings) and fixing things that are inappropriate or wrong (e.g. things that are too narrow, broad, or just incorrect).

Abenanka "Chizuru" Kim'unko - Current Draft

Abenanka is the first daughter of the illustrious Kim’unko family, who lived as the guardians of the land long before Japan formally existed. She embodies her ancestors spirit; tall, strong, fearless and skilled. She does not shy away from her duties, nor from her training. She engages in both scholarly and martial pursuits, and strives to excel in everything she does. Only, excel she doesn’t.

While it’s certainly true that she’s a cut above average at the unique fighting techniques of her family, and that her historical knowledge is extensive, her tendency to distraction and weakness to pressure stop her from being the true best she strives for.

Even still, she strives to be earnest and straightforward. She doesn’t hide what she likes, what she strives for and what motivates her. This attitude tends to lend her an endearing charm, and helps her keep her head in a fight. After all, the bear lives in her blood.

For the record, I think samurai (traditionally a subdued, prim-and-proper, disciplined archetype) vs. swashbuckler (flamboyant and over-the-top) is a sufficiently contrasting duo that there wouldn't be much risk of toe-stepping. But you seem to be doing fine with the other concept too, so do whatever you would enjoy more.

I apologise that I didn't telegraph enough of my concept early enough to prevent the false start on the other concept without being informed about the parallels and contrasts; I did mention a swashbuckler somewhere in the interest check thread in broad strokes.

No, it's fine. Honestly it was an idea that popped into my head the moment I saw the game being advertised, but not something more fleshed out than that. No hard feelings!

I've got my draft together! I wasn't sure if Flaws scale after you assign your points, so they're currently based on the three highest abilities before I assigned them.

Name: Homura Kusakabe

Concept: Fiery Model

Homura is a model that left her hometown of Osaka to pursue greater opportunities in the Imperial Capital of Tokyo. Her incredible looks and force of personality quickly made her a sensation that has even gained some international fans. This has caused her to gain the ire of Yuki Adachi, a fellow model that is being pushed aside in favor of Homura. Yuki often tries to sabotage Homura.

Above all else, Homura is an idealist that refuses to let despair overcome her or the people around her. She possesses a hero complex, being quick to spring to the aid of others. If she can't help for whatever reason, it eats away at her. When she feels she is 'right', it can be difficult for her to compromise. Her temper can get the better of her at times.

In a fight, she relies on the power of pyrokinesis. She pilots the Sunrise Flare, which specializes in wide area flame attacks and interference.

Abilities
Joanine Lineage 3M
= Unshakeable Hope +5
= Rallying Cry +5
= Protected by Providence +5
Model 3M
= Stunning Looks +5
= Force of Personality +5
Wealth 10
Idealist 10
Pyrokinesis 10
🌸Sunset Flare 9M
= Flamethrower +5

Flaws
Hero Complex 5M
Reluctance to compromise 20
Adversary: Yuki Adachi 10
Ill-Tempered 10

Improvement Points Allocation
4 to Sunset Flare
8 to Joanine Lineage
8 to Model

Sunset Flare
Sunset Flare is a unit equipped to cover large areas with attacks and support its allies. It carries a large flamethrower fueled by a pack on the back of the petalframe. Thrusters in the legs and back allow it to achieve flight and attack from above, though the flight speed is nothing remarkable. The mecha can launch holy flares that are blinding and damaging to shamons but harmless to allies. It carries smoke bombs that can provide cover. Lastly, it is highly resistant to high temperatures.
Abilities: Flamethrower, Flight, Holy Flares, Smoke Bombs, Heat Resistance

Great, more character concepts out of the oven!

Well, let me start from last to first:
Eltesla's character seems fine and done, that's about how it should be made. There's just one thing: you assign a rating of 15 to your most important ability, then 15 to your distinguishing characteristic. By definition, the distinguishing characteristic is what makes your character unique, it can't be an occupational or lineage keyword, as those are general stuff that wouldn't make her unique. By the rules, the occupational keyword is taken from the noun on your concept (model, in this case), and the distinguishing characteristic from the adjective (in this case, 'fiery'); so normally your distinguishing characteristic would be fiery. I suspect that means more than just her pyrokenesis and has to do with her personality (in that case, Hot-temperate seems a better wording for her flaw); If that's the case, she could maybe have a Fiery keyword as her distinguishing characteristic (rated at 15) and then have Pyrokinesis as a breakout from it. In that case, the less defining of the other two keywords (I suspect it to be the Joanine lineage) would start at 10, not 15.

Also, yes, the flaws scale with the highest, second highest and lowest abilities.

With all that said: loved the character!

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As for Tickettbror's draft, I think all is well for now; please feel free to ask about any doubts you have concerning abilities. If you're unsure on how to word it all, Eltesla just offered a good template to follow~

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As for Vicky, to start off, I think using the term '+0 breakouts' could produce some confusion; also, most ordinary keywords (like Model), wouldn't need a description with breakout ideas. That being said, if she's going with Swashbuckler for her occupational keyword, some describing would be fine, though I suspect that would be made clear by her character description.

Your wariness to 'invest' in a lineage probably comes from the fact that you're doing the reverse order of things (which isn't necessarily wrong), thinking of specific abilities first. If you came up with your character concept first, adding a lineage keyword (should you think it fits your character) wouldn't cost anything, you'd just have to write it into your description.

Community mostly has to do with the main community in the game, I. e. the Steel Petal Division. you mostly shouldn't worry about this one, unless you want your character to have a relationship with some other community (E. g. some fencer's guild, the mafia, stuff like that).

A valet is totally fine.

If none of my petalframe examples fits your idea, you can always make one from scratch, there's on limitations on having secondary weapons for them, though having them specialize in a combat style would be better.

You wouldn't necessarily need the teleportation power to do that dramatic vanishing, as far as the system is concerned, a teleportation ability and a 'dramatic vanish' one would be just as effective to create that effect.

Flaws serve to color your character, be used to create interesting scenes and give you experience points; you shouldn't be wary of taking them. The ones you suggested are good ones.

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After some thought I think I'll expand on Chizuru's Ainu heritage a bit more and make her more on the spiritual and magical side, while keeping the core tank in mind. I'll try and get a reworked / finished character sheet up soon!

I'm fine using whatever term you suggest. The concept I'm trying to convey with that term is a subset of a Keyword that has not been improved above the Keyword's level (i.e. things that the Keyword covers, but that haven't been invested in separately from the Keyword investment). What do you suggest?
For starters, I did start with the concept early on (though I only wrote down two words initially). What I'm doing now is making sure the mechanics reflect the concept and help its key points shine. That being said, I'm increasingly warming up to the idea of taking the Maupin Lineage (probably has something to do with being a major influence on the concept in the first place). What do you think of the description of what the Maupin Keyword covers in an earlier post (above)? It's based on all the noteworthy events attributed to Julie in the Wikipedia article; should it be trimmed down or is it fine?
So we should all just take the Division as our Community? If yes, what do I think I should do with the 'cosmopolitan aristocrat' descriptor? Should it be broken into two separate traits? Does it interact with the Culture slot? I think if I try to break it, I'll exceed the 12-slot norm on Abilities.
Style-wise I still want to stay close to the Crimson Rose with some fraction of the Emerald Fern thrown in. Could be named Rose Verte or Rosa Monstrosa as a result, I suppose.
Is it bad that I'm considering taking it because it's meant to be very rare? (Or maybe because I played a teleporter before? I do understand in Steel Petals teleportation is more limited.)
I think there might be a misunderstanding going on. I like the flaws conceptually. I'm wary of how they're game-mechanised in this system, which is why I am looking longingly at the box on page 102 and wondering if it's better to apply the same principle to some of the characterisation flaws.

Right now it looks like Flaws automatically grow with the top two Abilities of a PC, which means so does their Hindrance and the odds of them overcoming attempts to Resist (since under most circumstances, the resistance score doesn't grow unless very specifically prioritised). I'm wary of my PC becoming more and more of a caricature throughout the campaign due to the way that works. At best that encourages picking the kind of Flaws that can be pitted against the character's strong points, and that feels more limited than the 'just for colour' variant.

I'm not sure on a specific term or the necessity of one. It's just important to have in mind that the abilities listed in a keywords description are merely suggestions and PCs aren't limited to them.

The lineage keyword description seems perfectly fine. I'm just not sure where 'basic academics' come from, then again, I didn't research on the character, but I don't think that academic knowledge would come naturally just because you're descended from someone (I may be contradicting myself here with the example lineages I made, don't know).

I'll probably give everyone the community keyword mid game. There's no 12 ability limit with the prose method, in fact, I just established 12 abilities as the minimum free slots.

Rose Verte is a nice name :)

Yes, flaws scale with the abilities, meaning that the odds against them keep more or less the same. There's also no limit to them, with most flaws above 3 scaling with your lowest ability (probably being a consistent 10).

I must add that I wouldn't see any problem on we changing some parts of your character during the game, should we feel displeased. So you mustn't worry too much about it.

Ah, okay, I'll fix that then. I'd taken the concept part as just a guideline. I'll make Pyrokinesis a breakout from Fiery, and while I'm at it, Force of Personality would make more sense as a Fiery breakout too. I'll also make Wealth a breakout of Model.Should be good now!

I took the 'Protected by Providence' breakout because I liked the sound of it, but what does it mean exactly? Is it essentially luck? A form of divine intervention?