If you missed this post by Christopher Rice . . .
. . . you missed him announcing that his upcoming GURPS book is a DF Denizens book.
Is it Bards?
Is it Druids?
Is it Holy Warriors?
Is it Knights?
Is it Martial Artists?
Is it Scouts?
Is it Thieves?
Is it Wizards?*
* You know, they've got no love. None. None at all. Aside from like 600 spells and lots of open-ended perks and a pile of energy-expanding items and abilities? Oh, wait . . . ;)
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
War in the East - Ooops
So I finished turn 2 of WitE, and then wrapped up Turn 3.
And I found a big issue.
"Ve have broken railroads all over zee place!"
And headquarters all over zee place.
Except . . . not right behind the front.
In my haste to get through my next turn, I forgot to do an important wrap-up to my turn - positioning my HQs and rail-repair units to, you know, support my advance.
It's not like I forgot to move them, or forgot a unit here or there. Nope.
I started my next turn and moved units around in the north, then center, then got to the south and found units out of gas, low on ammo, out of easy command, broken rails . . . I'd totally forgotten to go back and finish arranging the rear of my front.
Gah.
Basically, I lost a whole turn's worth of movement, and would need to expend precious resources to make up for it. And time, which I can't get back.
In the end I just went back to my save game and re-did the turn. It was painful, to say the last, and long. I'd swallow a few units forgotten here or there, or a rushed-too-far tank unit running out of gas. But basically crippling Army Group South because I totally forgot about a section of it? That's a bitter pill to swallow. So I went back and I'm re-doing the turn. There goes about 2 1/2 hours of play because I wasn't thorough.
I created a little checklist for myself, since the game lacks a "cycle through units with MPs left" command that I can find. I'm trying to see if I can use the in-game drawing tool to loop around units I need to go back and do housekeeping on - move up HQs, assign to different HQs, put into Refit or Reserve mode, un-assign support units no longer directly needed, etc.
A painful lesson but at least it's not as painful as the first few games when I ran my panzers empty and watched them sit there for 2-3 turns as victory slipped away. There is a steep, steep learning curve on this game.
And I found a big issue.
"Ve have broken railroads all over zee place!"
And headquarters all over zee place.
Except . . . not right behind the front.
In my haste to get through my next turn, I forgot to do an important wrap-up to my turn - positioning my HQs and rail-repair units to, you know, support my advance.
It's not like I forgot to move them, or forgot a unit here or there. Nope.
I started my next turn and moved units around in the north, then center, then got to the south and found units out of gas, low on ammo, out of easy command, broken rails . . . I'd totally forgotten to go back and finish arranging the rear of my front.
Gah.
Basically, I lost a whole turn's worth of movement, and would need to expend precious resources to make up for it. And time, which I can't get back.
In the end I just went back to my save game and re-did the turn. It was painful, to say the last, and long. I'd swallow a few units forgotten here or there, or a rushed-too-far tank unit running out of gas. But basically crippling Army Group South because I totally forgot about a section of it? That's a bitter pill to swallow. So I went back and I'm re-doing the turn. There goes about 2 1/2 hours of play because I wasn't thorough.
I created a little checklist for myself, since the game lacks a "cycle through units with MPs left" command that I can find. I'm trying to see if I can use the in-game drawing tool to loop around units I need to go back and do housekeeping on - move up HQs, assign to different HQs, put into Refit or Reserve mode, un-assign support units no longer directly needed, etc.
A painful lesson but at least it's not as painful as the first few games when I ran my panzers empty and watched them sit there for 2-3 turns as victory slipped away. There is a steep, steep learning curve on this game.
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
GURPS Books That Weren't - GURPS Difference Engine
I re-read The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. I first picked it up when it was new, because of the authors. I'm reminded of its connection to GURPS.
At one point, it was going to be a GURPS book. I can't lay hands on any of the notices for it, but Roleplayer magazine had at least one. "Coming soon!"
It never came.
The story is, the author died before the book could be completed. I think Matt Riggsby knows more of the story than I do, and I'm sure Sean Punch does (but why bother him, this isn't an investigative piece on GURPS history.)
It wasn't passed on to another author to complete. That makes me think the m.s. wasn't recovered or wasn't far along enough, but I'll admit right now I don't know.
Years later we got the excellent GURPS Steampunk by Bill Stoddard, who is such an O.G. of gaming that he's mentioned in Playing at the World.
It's a very cool book, though, and it makes a great introduction to the idea of Steampunk and potentially a good, gameable world. It has a lot of color and flavor to it, too, especially the gear. It makes me want to play some kind of 19th century strange-tech campaign, even if not "steampunk" as it is now. Still, it's the kind of fiction you can use in a gameable way, and it's sad that it didn't come along as a predecessor to GURPS Steampunk and has such a sad event tied to its name.
At one point, it was going to be a GURPS book. I can't lay hands on any of the notices for it, but Roleplayer magazine had at least one. "Coming soon!"
It never came.
The story is, the author died before the book could be completed. I think Matt Riggsby knows more of the story than I do, and I'm sure Sean Punch does (but why bother him, this isn't an investigative piece on GURPS history.)
It wasn't passed on to another author to complete. That makes me think the m.s. wasn't recovered or wasn't far along enough, but I'll admit right now I don't know.
Years later we got the excellent GURPS Steampunk by Bill Stoddard, who is such an O.G. of gaming that he's mentioned in Playing at the World.
It's a very cool book, though, and it makes a great introduction to the idea of Steampunk and potentially a good, gameable world. It has a lot of color and flavor to it, too, especially the gear. It makes me want to play some kind of 19th century strange-tech campaign, even if not "steampunk" as it is now. Still, it's the kind of fiction you can use in a gameable way, and it's sad that it didn't come along as a predecessor to GURPS Steampunk and has such a sad event tied to its name.
Monday, June 8, 2020
War in the East - Barbarossa - Off I Go East
I decided to give it a go - the whole 244-turn Grand Campaign in Gary Grigsby's War in the East.
I spent today tidying up a bit and getting Turn 2 rolling. Here is where I started turn 2:
It took three screenshots to show you most of it. The Romanians in the south haven't moved yet (they start turn 2) and the Finns in the north, either (turn 4) so I didn't include them. Or it would have been 5 screenshots.
I did okay with Army Group North, punching a hole in the front and seizing Riga (pro tip - spend the movement points to go around it and come at it from the east to avoid a contested river crossing.) I cut off some Soviet units and I've gotten a big chunk of my infantry moved up.
Army Group Center did great - I broke the defenses of Brest-Litovsk (historically, it held out for a week, which is 1 turn . . . in-game that's taking it on turn 2.) With that hole in the front I rushed through everything I had, and pushed two Panzer armies up and just about took Minsk, which the Soviets have abandoned. I could have consolidated my armor around Minsk better, but I didn't want to leave my supply lines open to a suicidal stab west by the Soviets. I have a full load of fuel, which probably won't last after this turn. So I expect turn 3 to be sitting in place building up supplies. My goal is to smash into the so-called Smolensk land bridge, between two major rivers, the Dvina and the Dnepr. It's barely doable but I have to try.
I put a lot of Soviets into one big and two small cauldrons (kessel) here. I'll destroy those units in the next week or two as reinforcing units come up. I'm not in a hurry to smash them unless they're in my way operationally.
You can see the big split of the Pripet Marshes, inspiration for the Cold Fens in DF Felltower.
Army Group South was also a good go - I made a run for the Romanian border and reached it, cutting off some Soviet troops to the west. They'll get ignored until the Hungarians and Romanians can mop them up. They'll fall eventually and I don't want to spend time and casualties dealing with them. Meanwhile, it's panzers east from here.
I followed up on the advice of an experienced player and chopped most of my German division down to a maximum of 80% of their TOE (table of equipment.) That'll mean the ones out of combat will send some of their troops to the replacement pool; the ones in won't get as many reinforcements. But the idea is to have a larger pool of infantry, especially, for dealing with the grinding assaults of the Soviets during the winter. I hope it helps . . . this is a campaign easily lost. Hopefully I won't do that.
I spent today tidying up a bit and getting Turn 2 rolling. Here is where I started turn 2:
It took three screenshots to show you most of it. The Romanians in the south haven't moved yet (they start turn 2) and the Finns in the north, either (turn 4) so I didn't include them. Or it would have been 5 screenshots.
I did okay with Army Group North, punching a hole in the front and seizing Riga (pro tip - spend the movement points to go around it and come at it from the east to avoid a contested river crossing.) I cut off some Soviet units and I've gotten a big chunk of my infantry moved up.
Army Group Center did great - I broke the defenses of Brest-Litovsk (historically, it held out for a week, which is 1 turn . . . in-game that's taking it on turn 2.) With that hole in the front I rushed through everything I had, and pushed two Panzer armies up and just about took Minsk, which the Soviets have abandoned. I could have consolidated my armor around Minsk better, but I didn't want to leave my supply lines open to a suicidal stab west by the Soviets. I have a full load of fuel, which probably won't last after this turn. So I expect turn 3 to be sitting in place building up supplies. My goal is to smash into the so-called Smolensk land bridge, between two major rivers, the Dvina and the Dnepr. It's barely doable but I have to try.
I put a lot of Soviets into one big and two small cauldrons (kessel) here. I'll destroy those units in the next week or two as reinforcing units come up. I'm not in a hurry to smash them unless they're in my way operationally.
You can see the big split of the Pripet Marshes, inspiration for the Cold Fens in DF Felltower.
Army Group South was also a good go - I made a run for the Romanian border and reached it, cutting off some Soviet troops to the west. They'll get ignored until the Hungarians and Romanians can mop them up. They'll fall eventually and I don't want to spend time and casualties dealing with them. Meanwhile, it's panzers east from here.
I followed up on the advice of an experienced player and chopped most of my German division down to a maximum of 80% of their TOE (table of equipment.) That'll mean the ones out of combat will send some of their troops to the replacement pool; the ones in won't get as many reinforcements. But the idea is to have a larger pool of infantry, especially, for dealing with the grinding assaults of the Soviets during the winter. I hope it helps . . . this is a campaign easily lost. Hopefully I won't do that.
Sunday, June 7, 2020
Felltower Healing Costs
I'm posting this because I keep needing to refer to a .doc or a printout for this information. This is much easier all involved.
These are taken from, and modified from, this post by Dr. Kromm.
These supersede the rules in DFRPG Exploits.
Temple of the Good God Y'all!
—Required Donations—
—Results not guaranteed. No refunds.—
—Excommunicated Are Not Eligible—
Minor Prayers
Awaken . . . $1
Minor Healing . . . $3
Major Healing . . . $4
Neutralize Poison . . . $5
Cleansing . . . $6
Instant Neutralize Poison . . . $8
Major Prayers
Cure Disease . . . $100
Dispel Possession . . . $100
Stone to Flesh . . . $100
Restoration* . . . $750
Great Healing . . . $1,000
Regeneration* . . . $1,000
Remove Curse . . . $1,000
Instant Restoration* . . . $2,500
Instant Regeneration* . . . $4,000
Resurrection* . . . $15,000
***
Note all spells are rolled against skill 15. Spells marked with * are one try.
These are taken from, and modified from, this post by Dr. Kromm.
These supersede the rules in DFRPG Exploits.
Temple of the Good God Y'all!
—Required Donations—
—Results not guaranteed. No refunds.—
—Excommunicated Are Not Eligible—
Minor Prayers
Awaken . . . $1
Minor Healing . . . $3
Major Healing . . . $4
Neutralize Poison . . . $5
Cleansing . . . $6
Instant Neutralize Poison . . . $8
Major Prayers
Cure Disease . . . $100
Dispel Possession . . . $100
Stone to Flesh . . . $100
Restoration* . . . $750
Great Healing . . . $1,000
Regeneration* . . . $1,000
Remove Curse . . . $1,000
Instant Restoration* . . . $2,500
Instant Regeneration* . . . $4,000
Resurrection* . . . $15,000
***
Note all spells are rolled against skill 15. Spells marked with * are one try.
Saturday, June 6, 2020
Rulings update
As I noted in the original post, I'm going to keep updating the Felltower Rulings to Remember.
Since I last posted to it, I added:
- our house rule on Missile Shield and some slap-downs to "but isn't that now a missile?"
- rulings on potions. We don't use the Potion Miscibility Table, to my regret, which is why you see people drinking a ST potion, a DX potion, a Speed potion, etc. etc. in the same fight. I waffled back on forth for a while on "replacing" rolls with new potions but I decided it's cheesy, and doesn't work well with multiple doses of hostile potions - hey, at a steep penalty for some hostile effect? Get doused again and odds are you're better off! Ugh, no.
- remembered to add our Staff rulings.
- added some notes on spells that drop Invisibility. We have a very strict interpretation of what counts as a combat action.
- rule search order of operations.
I have more to come, as I remember to write them down, so you might want to bookmark that post and drop in occasionally.
Since I last posted to it, I added:
- our house rule on Missile Shield and some slap-downs to "but isn't that now a missile?"
- rulings on potions. We don't use the Potion Miscibility Table, to my regret, which is why you see people drinking a ST potion, a DX potion, a Speed potion, etc. etc. in the same fight. I waffled back on forth for a while on "replacing" rolls with new potions but I decided it's cheesy, and doesn't work well with multiple doses of hostile potions - hey, at a steep penalty for some hostile effect? Get doused again and odds are you're better off! Ugh, no.
- remembered to add our Staff rulings.
- added some notes on spells that drop Invisibility. We have a very strict interpretation of what counts as a combat action.
- rule search order of operations.
I have more to come, as I remember to write them down, so you might want to bookmark that post and drop in occasionally.
Friday, June 5, 2020
Random Links for 6/5
Links to entertain you for a few minutes on a Friday.
- There is a Tunnels & Trolls-based app game. I've downloaded it but I haven't tried it - I have a smartphone and a Kindle, and it's tricky at best to get Android apps downloaded to a Kindle and I hate reading off of my phone.
- Akratic Wizardry post about my friend Ryan's gaming group as "Elite." Now all I can think of is that What's New with super-rich gamers.
- Sometimes I amuse myself and others - check the Troy McClure reference in this Battletech summary and then my comment.
- Speaking of Battletech, GOG has it on sale for 75% off - $9.99. I'm really, really tempted, but I've gotten sucked in War in the East and I don't like to set down a prior purchase for a new one, or buy a game to play "later." I bought Tides of Numenera (or whatever) on that principle and I've gotten about 3 minutes in the NPE and given up.
- Two looks at experience - one for D&D based games, and one (well, one article and two systems) for GURPS DF.
- How to win the heart of a dryad? Not by cutting her up looking for it. Geez, delvers are horrible.
- There is a Tunnels & Trolls-based app game. I've downloaded it but I haven't tried it - I have a smartphone and a Kindle, and it's tricky at best to get Android apps downloaded to a Kindle and I hate reading off of my phone.
- Akratic Wizardry post about my friend Ryan's gaming group as "Elite." Now all I can think of is that What's New with super-rich gamers.
- Sometimes I amuse myself and others - check the Troy McClure reference in this Battletech summary and then my comment.
- Speaking of Battletech, GOG has it on sale for 75% off - $9.99. I'm really, really tempted, but I've gotten sucked in War in the East and I don't like to set down a prior purchase for a new one, or buy a game to play "later." I bought Tides of Numenera (or whatever) on that principle and I've gotten about 3 minutes in the NPE and given up.
- Two looks at experience - one for D&D based games, and one (well, one article and two systems) for GURPS DF.
- How to win the heart of a dryad? Not by cutting her up looking for it. Geez, delvers are horrible.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
