Post by Llyarden on Jan 2, 2016 22:45:09 GMT
Copy and paste go!
This is a contest-oriented game. Investing in the Coordinator and Style Expert classes is not mandatory by any means, but you should be willing to participate in Contests.
The game is set in a region of my own invention: Calladai. How much of that you want to read is up to you. I would suggest at the very least that you read the 'Mechanical Alterations' tab as those are actual houserules.
Tone
As noted above, this is a somewhat darker game than it might otherwise be. That's not to say that there won't be moments of humour or comic relief characters (if you know my writing style you'll know I have a habit of including little comments here and there), but I would rather not have 'joke' PCs. As noted below, Pokemon are used as food, and people will get hurt, or even killed. (Not PCs, obviously, unless something really odd happens, but plot fodder NPCs...yeah, they can die.) That said, the terms and conditions of these forums forbid anything too explicit, so there will be nothing like that. Kind of PG-13 would be the rough tone I'm aiming for.
Posting Requirements
I would like people to post once per day. Posting every other day is less ideal but also fine. After 48 hours, the PCs of anyone that hasn't posted will be temporarily NPCd if their response is important to the game (such as in combat) or just passed over in the background otherwise until their errant player returns. After two weeks with no response (without prior warning, of course), the player will be removed and a replacement sought.
Characters
PCs should be at least 18 years of age (younger children are not permitted to have Trainer Licenses.) Ideally characters should be 18, though a couple of years older is fine and an older character is acceptable with a good backstory. You do not have to be natives to Calladai. Your characters have been picked from the annual masses of new Trainers by the Calladai League's PR division to serve as symbols, for want of a better phrase, of the League: there should be a reason for this, though you don't necessarily have to be what one would immediately think of for a 'starlet' - shy, aggressive, and similar characters are perfectly fine. (This is essentially just additional impetus to not submit Blandy McBland.) The game will begin in Diamond City, where the four of you will be, along with the other eight Trainers selected to represent the League, receiving your starter and setting out on your journey to great media coverage.
From a mechanical perspective, characters should be TL1. Importantly, you should not choose a starter Pokemon. Make a list of five or so potential starters (Underdog, non-Psuedo, non-Legendary, and ideally not Ghost type) on your character sheet somewhere and you will be picking them IC. You will, however, get to fully build your starter as normal; they will be level 10 with an appropriate Egg move when you do. Your starter will be a Domestic Pokemon (see the houserules on the wikidot for details.)
In terms of allowed material...basically everything from the Core Book, the three supplements and the two playtests, with the exception of the Playtest Cheerleader; use the normal one. Speaking of Playtests, we will be using the adjusted rules for everything except capture rates (and Cheerleader.) Supernatural characters are not unheard of, though some people consider it an unfair advantage and some competitions forbid the use of supernatural abilities (and of course most League battles are...well, League Legal.) Anyone wanting to take a B&D Edge or Feature should read the 'A Word On Legendaries' spoiler below. Trainer Combat is not unheard of either, and with the agreement of both parties a battle can include Trainers too.
You will start with (or, at least, will receive along with your Pokemon) 5000 Pyen, 5 Basic Balls, a Pokedex, 2 Potions and a set of Bandages, as well as a 'goodie bag' which will hold a randomly determined small item.
Please note that Pokemon are used as food and to a lesser extent crafting materials in this setting. Playing a character who refuses to eat Pokemon (I seem to recall a previous game on the old forums using the term 'Poketarian' which seems fitting enough) is perfectly fine, of course, but it is a commonly accepted thing that happens.
Items
Expect to see a lot of custom items. Weapons, Arcane and mundane alike, cost 500/3000/6000.
House Rules & General Miscellany
A Word On Legendaries
In the transfer of my notes onto the Wikidot I have almost certainly missed something out somewhere, so please do feel free to ask questions. I will be setting a closing date of the 11th of January.
This is a contest-oriented game. Investing in the Coordinator and Style Expert classes is not mandatory by any means, but you should be willing to participate in Contests.
The game is set in a region of my own invention: Calladai. How much of that you want to read is up to you. I would suggest at the very least that you read the 'Mechanical Alterations' tab as those are actual houserules.
Tone
As noted above, this is a somewhat darker game than it might otherwise be. That's not to say that there won't be moments of humour or comic relief characters (if you know my writing style you'll know I have a habit of including little comments here and there), but I would rather not have 'joke' PCs. As noted below, Pokemon are used as food, and people will get hurt, or even killed. (Not PCs, obviously, unless something really odd happens, but plot fodder NPCs...yeah, they can die.) That said, the terms and conditions of these forums forbid anything too explicit, so there will be nothing like that. Kind of PG-13 would be the rough tone I'm aiming for.
Posting Requirements
I would like people to post once per day. Posting every other day is less ideal but also fine. After 48 hours, the PCs of anyone that hasn't posted will be temporarily NPCd if their response is important to the game (such as in combat) or just passed over in the background otherwise until their errant player returns. After two weeks with no response (without prior warning, of course), the player will be removed and a replacement sought.
Characters
PCs should be at least 18 years of age (younger children are not permitted to have Trainer Licenses.) Ideally characters should be 18, though a couple of years older is fine and an older character is acceptable with a good backstory. You do not have to be natives to Calladai. Your characters have been picked from the annual masses of new Trainers by the Calladai League's PR division to serve as symbols, for want of a better phrase, of the League: there should be a reason for this, though you don't necessarily have to be what one would immediately think of for a 'starlet' - shy, aggressive, and similar characters are perfectly fine. (This is essentially just additional impetus to not submit Blandy McBland.) The game will begin in Diamond City, where the four of you will be, along with the other eight Trainers selected to represent the League, receiving your starter and setting out on your journey to great media coverage.
From a mechanical perspective, characters should be TL1. Importantly, you should not choose a starter Pokemon. Make a list of five or so potential starters (Underdog, non-Psuedo, non-Legendary, and ideally not Ghost type) on your character sheet somewhere and you will be picking them IC. You will, however, get to fully build your starter as normal; they will be level 10 with an appropriate Egg move when you do. Your starter will be a Domestic Pokemon (see the houserules on the wikidot for details.)
In terms of allowed material...basically everything from the Core Book, the three supplements and the two playtests, with the exception of the Playtest Cheerleader; use the normal one. Speaking of Playtests, we will be using the adjusted rules for everything except capture rates (and Cheerleader.) Supernatural characters are not unheard of, though some people consider it an unfair advantage and some competitions forbid the use of supernatural abilities (and of course most League battles are...well, League Legal.) Anyone wanting to take a B&D Edge or Feature should read the 'A Word On Legendaries' spoiler below. Trainer Combat is not unheard of either, and with the agreement of both parties a battle can include Trainers too.
You will start with (or, at least, will receive along with your Pokemon) 5000 Pyen, 5 Basic Balls, a Pokedex, 2 Potions and a set of Bandages, as well as a 'goodie bag' which will hold a randomly determined small item.
Please note that Pokemon are used as food and to a lesser extent crafting materials in this setting. Playing a character who refuses to eat Pokemon (I seem to recall a previous game on the old forums using the term 'Poketarian' which seems fitting enough) is perfectly fine, of course, but it is a commonly accepted thing that happens.
Items
Expect to see a lot of custom items. Weapons, Arcane and mundane alike, cost 500/3000/6000.
House Rules & General Miscellany
This does not include the generic houserules for Calladai.
Injuries
Injuries inflict negative (randomly determined) combat stages. Sometimes, anyway. In general an owned Pokemon can hold back enough to not inflict the negative combat stages. Features like Taskmaster do not inflict these negative combat stages either. Wild Pokemon almost never bother to hold back.
Exploration & Movement
To have some semblance of order and sanity for the days when people don't do much but travel, when out and about on a route, each player each day should roll a 1d100. If anyone rolls a 100, a special event occurs. (This may seem overly unlikely, but the chance of an event for a four-player party is only just under 1 in 20. And everyone knows how often natural 20s come up. ) If an event does not happen, or the event does not interfere with the day, each player may take two actions while travelling, such as (but not limited to) looking for Pokemon, training feral Pokemon, dowsing, looking for Trainers to battle, or travelling. Travelling along a major road one block takes one action. Travelling along a minor road one block takes two actions. Travelling one block that doesn't have a road, or in a direction that the road doesn't go, takes four actions. You may choose to split up for these actions, reuiniting at the end of the day, or you may all stick together, although you must all take the same number of 'travelling' actions per day. Travelling actions may be split up over multiple days.
When in a point of interest, you instead get four actions per day, but you must use them all within the location (each action is assumed to take less time.) As well as the actions that can be performed in any location, you can visit a feature of the point of interest, which includes any Gyms or Contest Halls that are in the area. This takes one action. Visiting the Pokemon Centre to heal your Pokemon, or the Poke Mart to purchase basic supplies, does not take an action, though visiting markets, in the case of locations which have large numbers of shops, takes enough time that it consumes one action.
Starvation & Thirst
There are enough waystations and rest stops along all the routes that you can assume to be sufficiently fed and watered as long as you are on a route. If you aren't on a route, you need food and water. You can be assumed to have acquired, at negligible expense, enough food and water rations for four days (enough to wander off the route a short distance and back again). If you consume these, you will automatically resupply when you're next in a settlement. The fact that the size of your team might change over time is ignored by the magic of narrative convenience. If you want to go further than that, though, you need to supply your own food. Some Pokemon produce food or water innately, or Pokemon can be hunted for food, while a decent Survival check can usually scrounge up some edible plants. Basic Cooking and the Chef features can increase the amount of food or water that a Pokemon or plant provides.
If you don't manage, you start taking penalties. For the first day you go without water, you take a -1 to skill checks. For the second day, you take a -2 to skill checks and lose one CS in Speed. On the third day, you take -5 to skill checks, lost one CS in every stat and take an Injury that cannot be healed until you get food and water. On the fourth day, you take two further Injuries and lose another CS in every stat. On the fifth day, you take three further Injuries and lose two more CSs in each stat. And on the sixth day, you take four more Injuries. Going without food works similarly, except you take penalties for every two days you go without food instead of every day.
Pokemon Roleplay
I will control your Pokemon outside of battle. Barring low loyalty or untrained ferals, you can control them in battle and they'll obey your characters outside of it, but the way they'll obey may vary.
Block Initiative
A compromise between full initiative, which is slow, and the 'everyone post every which way' method, which is confusing, block initiative works exactly as it sounds; people post in blocks. I will let you guys know when it is your turn to act. Obviously, Priority and Interrupt moves ignore initiative as normal.
Injuries
Injuries inflict negative (randomly determined) combat stages. Sometimes, anyway. In general an owned Pokemon can hold back enough to not inflict the negative combat stages. Features like Taskmaster do not inflict these negative combat stages either. Wild Pokemon almost never bother to hold back.
Exploration & Movement
To have some semblance of order and sanity for the days when people don't do much but travel, when out and about on a route, each player each day should roll a 1d100. If anyone rolls a 100, a special event occurs. (This may seem overly unlikely, but the chance of an event for a four-player party is only just under 1 in 20. And everyone knows how often natural 20s come up. ) If an event does not happen, or the event does not interfere with the day, each player may take two actions while travelling, such as (but not limited to) looking for Pokemon, training feral Pokemon, dowsing, looking for Trainers to battle, or travelling. Travelling along a major road one block takes one action. Travelling along a minor road one block takes two actions. Travelling one block that doesn't have a road, or in a direction that the road doesn't go, takes four actions. You may choose to split up for these actions, reuiniting at the end of the day, or you may all stick together, although you must all take the same number of 'travelling' actions per day. Travelling actions may be split up over multiple days.
When in a point of interest, you instead get four actions per day, but you must use them all within the location (each action is assumed to take less time.) As well as the actions that can be performed in any location, you can visit a feature of the point of interest, which includes any Gyms or Contest Halls that are in the area. This takes one action. Visiting the Pokemon Centre to heal your Pokemon, or the Poke Mart to purchase basic supplies, does not take an action, though visiting markets, in the case of locations which have large numbers of shops, takes enough time that it consumes one action.
Starvation & Thirst
There are enough waystations and rest stops along all the routes that you can assume to be sufficiently fed and watered as long as you are on a route. If you aren't on a route, you need food and water. You can be assumed to have acquired, at negligible expense, enough food and water rations for four days (enough to wander off the route a short distance and back again). If you consume these, you will automatically resupply when you're next in a settlement. The fact that the size of your team might change over time is ignored by the magic of narrative convenience. If you want to go further than that, though, you need to supply your own food. Some Pokemon produce food or water innately, or Pokemon can be hunted for food, while a decent Survival check can usually scrounge up some edible plants. Basic Cooking and the Chef features can increase the amount of food or water that a Pokemon or plant provides.
If you don't manage, you start taking penalties. For the first day you go without water, you take a -1 to skill checks. For the second day, you take a -2 to skill checks and lose one CS in Speed. On the third day, you take -5 to skill checks, lost one CS in every stat and take an Injury that cannot be healed until you get food and water. On the fourth day, you take two further Injuries and lose another CS in every stat. On the fifth day, you take three further Injuries and lose two more CSs in each stat. And on the sixth day, you take four more Injuries. Going without food works similarly, except you take penalties for every two days you go without food instead of every day.
Pokemon Roleplay
I will control your Pokemon outside of battle. Barring low loyalty or untrained ferals, you can control them in battle and they'll obey your characters outside of it, but the way they'll obey may vary.
Block Initiative
A compromise between full initiative, which is slow, and the 'everyone post every which way' method, which is confusing, block initiative works exactly as it sounds; people post in blocks. I will let you guys know when it is your turn to act. Obviously, Priority and Interrupt moves ignore initiative as normal.
A Word On Legendaries
Legendaries...kind of come in two forms. The first sort of Legendary is the Avatar of the second. Avatars are Pokemon. They’re often powerful, but they are, at heart, regular Pokemon. They can be caught and trained. Full-blown Legendaries, on the other hand, are...kind of not. Though they might physically look identical, a Legendary could never be mistaken for its Avatar. They have an array of abilities normal Pokemon don’t, and they are scary strong, to the point that if a Legendary attacked a settlement, the military would be deployed not to drive it off but to try to slow it down. Fortunately, Legendaries tend to keep to themselves, helped by the fact that they can travel between regions at a whim. There’s the occasional mention of someone running into a Legendary out in the wilderness, but for the most part - Entei made a noticeable appearance during the war at one point - they remain the stuff of fiction. Legendaries aren’t innately hostile, though, as the existence of Touched individuals demonstrates. Because of the sheer power of Legendaries, however, those with the blessing of a Legendary tend to be treated...warily to say the least.
Oh, and Legendary Pokemon, Avatars and full Legendaries alike, have genders. I've never really been sure why they don't.
Oh, and Legendary Pokemon, Avatars and full Legendaries alike, have genders. I've never really been sure why they don't.
In the transfer of my notes onto the Wikidot I have almost certainly missed something out somewhere, so please do feel free to ask questions. I will be setting a closing date of the 11th of January.