This is my thread for signing up for my game

[Astral Harmony]

Alright, I'll use that sheet and create a character today, then edit it into this post.

But man, 1/1 HP? I hope the enemy doesn't get the first attack.

EDIT 1: Edited the character sheet's Abilities section to Nique's specifications.

CHARACTER INFORMATION
Player: Armored Bishoujo
Level: 1
Character Name: Cecilith Varren
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Height: 5' 6"
Weight: 103 lbs
Build: Slightly Athletic
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Hazel
Dom. Hand: Right
Occupation: Beast Culler ~ "I head out to the less defensible towns and villages and deal with some of the predatory beasts to keep the ecosystem in check."
Hometown: Heilenheim, the massive Thule Capitol, Middle Class Quarter
Backstory: An attraction to money led the young Cecilith into the soldiering life very shortly after becoming an adult. She wanted tasty food. She wanted her own house. She wanted fashionable clothes. But more than all of those, she wanted her parents to get off her ass about this or that stable husband prospect. Unfortunately, fate decided that it didn't much care for Cecilith's hopes and dreams. After an uneventful and boring four years of scaring bandits and dealing with dangerous wildlife that were getting too brazen to remain in their own territories, Cecilith ended up leaving the army to...well, scare bandits and deal with dangerous wildlife that were getting too brazen to remain in their own territories. Maybe she should've gotten married after all. Her younger sister Miriel seems to be getting along really well with her man.

But Cecilith was just too stubborn for her own good. She didn't care about being famous or having her absurd name go down in legend, she just wanted to earn her own damn living in this world and then some. Was that really just too much to ask? Fortunately or unfortunately, perhaps fate was trying to tell Cecilith through her boring, uneventful young adulthood that maybe she should watch what she asked for.

CURRENT STATUS
Stat Pool: 0 Pt(s)
Str:
Vit:
Dex:
Spr: 1
Wit:
Int:

ENERGY POINTS
BP: 1/1 -or- (Dex+Spr)
AP: 1/1 -or- (Str+Int)
HP: 1/1 -or- (Vit+Wit)

ABILITIES
Advantages/Disadvantages:

Melee ~ (Str+Wit) Equip Bonus: 0
Grapple ~ (Str+Dex) Equip Bonus: 0
Finesse ~ (Dex+Wit) Equip Bonus: 0
Perception ~ (Spr+Wit) Equip Bonus: 1
Charm ~ (Spr+Int) Equip Bonus: 1
Knowledge ~ (Wit+Int) Equip Bonus: 0

Defense ~ (Str+Vit) Equip Bonus: 0
Endurance ~ (Str+Spr) Equip Bonus: 1
Evasion ~ (Vit+Spr) Equip Bonus: 1
Speed ~ (Vit+Dex) Equip Bonus: 0
Will ~ (Dex+Int) Equip Bonus: 0
Reason ~ (Vit+Int) Equip Bonus: 0

PROFICIENCIES
Proficiency Pool: 0 Pt(s)

Proficiency: Snipe
Ability: Perception
Description: Represents training in sharpshooting, gives a bonus when making ranged attacks from great distances.

EQUIPMENT
Weapon(s)
Item:
Weight:
Durability:
Ability / Bonus:
Power:

Armor
Item:
Weight:
Durability:
Ability / Bonus:
Power:

Accessory(s)
Item:
Weight:
Durability:
Ability / Bonus:

Pack
Item:
Weight Capacity:
Durability:

POWERS:
Power Pool: 0 Pt(s)
Power Type: Transformer
Effects: Burst Shell ~ "Upon impact with the target, the bullet explosively fragments and the razor-sharp shrapnel violently erupts in all directions, dealing more damage to the initial target and perhaps wounding nearby enemy units."
Multiplier: 1
Range: 1
AoE: 2
Duration: 1

INVENTORY
Item:
Description:
Weight:

MONEY
Currency Type:
Amount:

Hopefully I understood the whole "Powers" thing correctly. Also, I made the backstory assuming that I start the game by joining the Arm of Arden rather than already being in it based on how low level I am.

[Nique]

I assume this is standard practice but let's go ahead and say now that all changes and updates to character sheets should be edited into their original post.

But man, 1/1 HP? I hope the enemy doesn't get the first attack.

There's a good chance you won't be losing HP at all on easy encounters, and 0HP does not equal a 'KO' or 'Dead' status - I'll drop in rules for recovering HP.


I'll edit the character sheet model to reflect how this should look, but let's go ahead and change the format of Abilities, and also make sure we input the values. Your Abilities should currently look like this;

ABILITIES
Advantages/Disadvantages:

Melee (Str+Wit): 0
Equip Bonus:

Grapple (Str+Dex): 0
Equip Bonus:

Finesse (Dex+Wit): 0
Equip Bonus:

Perception (Spr+Wit): 1
Equip Bonus:

Charm (Spr+Int): 1
Equip Bonus:

Knowledge (Wit+Int): 0
Equip Bonus:

-

Defense (Str+Vit): 0
Equip Bonus:

Endurance (Str+Spr) 1
Equip Bonus:

Evasion (Vit+Spr): 1
Equip Bonus:

Speed (Vit+Dex):0
Equip Bonus:

Will (Dex+Int): 0
Equip Bonus:

Reason (Vit+Int): 0
Equip Bonus:

Hopefully I understood the whole "Powers" thing correctly.

Burst Shell ~ "Upon impact with the target, the bullet explosively fragments and the razor-sharp shrapnel violently erupts in all directions, dealing more damage to the initial target and perhaps wounding nearby enemy units."

So, your description is basically one way that you can utilize your power type, as long as that's clear then yes you pretty much have it.

This sounded like a Shooter at first, but it sounds like you are transforming your bullets before shooting them which is similar to what Lumen proposed for his Transformer. 'Explosive' or 'Burst Shell' as you put it, being your 'Effect'.

Also, I made the backstory assuming that I start the game by joining the Arm of Arden rather than already being in it based on how low level I am.

Yes. This initial Adventure we'll run will basically be a 'new recruit' scenario where PCs have received an invitation to join the Arm of Arden.

[Lumenskir]

Proficiencies are exactly 24 areas of special experience or training (2 for every Ability). They are mostly geared towards PC vs DC situations rather than combat (except for that one 'Melee' based Proficiencies which is essentially for players who want a martial artist of sorts).

Hmm, if there are only 24 I think it'd make more sense to make them more like general tool sets rather than discrete actions. For instance, the "Slight of Hand" Proficiency seems like it'd be something fun to take, since it's a general ability set that you can apply in a bunch of situations. While I take your point about climbing and its inherent rigors, it feels limited as a Proficiency to take and (worst case scenario thinking) would lead to either the character trying to climb everything just because, or the DM having to throw walls in everywhere to make it seem like a not wasted point.

Also, as a recommendation for a Knowledge Proficiency, instead of spending one point to "Know ____" and then hoping that that subject pops up, you could do something like:

Proficiency: [High Arde] Training
Ability: Knowledge
Description: All languages on Arden are understood to descend from the same common root language, [High Arde/whatever]. Although now a dead language, the character knows all of the linguistical tricks inherent in this seed tongue, and this knowledge allows the character the most basic ability to converse/read/translate any other language derived directly from [High Arde], provided the roll succeeds. Cannot enable fluency in foreign languages, and the DM should feel free to supply amusing mistranslations in cases of failed rolls.

Powers

So, just so I'm clear: At character creation, you choose your character's Power Type. This is the Type you'll have throughout the character's life. Power Points represent refinement of that Type. There aren't distinct 'Powers' in the sense of named, singular, uses; Rather, you look at the various categories you have access to and then declare the expression of that power each time.

So, for instance, a Shooter doesn't have "Long Range Blast", "Shotgun Blast" or "Grenade Blast" powers. He just has his Shooter designation, his PP assigned to various categories, and declares what each use of his power will look like (within the bounds of what he has assigned so far).

Is that more or less right?

Effect: Effects are the types of energy or matter you control. Players can identify the element(s) they wish to purchase control, accetable 'Effects' are adjudicated by the GM. Players can purchase Effects for 1 Power Point.

Just so I'm clear, each PP spent on Effect means you have access to one more "ele?ent" in your Power library, so to speak. Or does it mean that you can stack one more element with each use, but you always have every element available.

My current inclination is to make a Transformer who uses a sling as a weapon. He carries around rocks or what have you and imbues them with an effect before he throws them. If I wanted him to throw one stone with "Fire", then load another stone with "Ice", would that need Effects 1 or 2?

[Nique]

Hmm, if there are only 24 I think it'd make more sense to make them more like general tool sets rather than discrete actions. For instance, the "Slight of Hand" Proficiency seems like it'd be something fun to take, since it's a general ability set that you can apply in a bunch of situations. While I take your point about climbing and its inherent rigors, it feels limited as a Proficiency to take and (worst case scenario thinking) would lead to either the character trying to climb everything just because, or the DM having to throw walls in everywhere to make it seem like a not wasted point.

You bring up a good point. I think some of the given proficiencies meet this criteria but for now let's consider the given list of proficiencies a work in progress and suggestions for replacements will be taken under advisement.

Proficiency: [High Arde] Training

Arrrgggggghhhhhhh screw your fantastic ideas!!!!

Is that more or less right?

You're right on. To clarify effects - you are adding effects to your character's Library, at this point I'm not prepared to allow stacking multiple elements within a single use.

[Lumenskir]

There's a good chance you won't be losing HP at all on easy encounters, and 0HP does not equal a 'KO' or 'Dead' status - I'll drop in rules for recovering HP.

Would I be wrong in guessing there's going to be separate tracks for "damage" and HP-loss? Just going by the status effects we've seen so far.

This sounded like a Shooter at first, but it sounds like you are transforming your bullets before shooting them which is similar to what Lumen proposed for his Transformer. 'Explosive' or 'Burst Shell' as you put it, being your 'Effect'.

Since there's already a Transformer I think I'm leaning towards mixing it up a little, after I get a little more clarification.

First, is there going to be a list of Effects to choose from, or is it going to be more that the players propose an Effect and the DM decides on whether to include it?

Are all of the Effects physical/visible? Could "Mental" or "Faith" or stuff like that be viable?

Would I be off base is presuming that Boosters can function as the buffers of the group (with Takers being debuffers). Like, if a Booster had a "Harden" Effect, could he apply that to other group mates, in addition to simple objects?

[Nique]

Would I be wrong in guessing there's going to be separate tracks for "damage" and HP-loss? Just going by the status effects we've seen so far.

Yes. I've slacked a little on editing the main guide with gameplay information like this, but I'll give a sample scenario that should clarify some things:

Enemy NPC Melee attacks PC. Their Melee score is 3 and they roll a 4, for an attack of 12.

The PC has a Defense score of 2 and rolls a 6, equaling a defense of 12, which blocks the attack.

If the defensive roll fails to meet or exceed the offensive roll, the attack lands and does 1 HP damage. If the attack roll exceeds the defensive roll by 20 or more, in addition to losing HP, a status effect partially disabling the PC will be incurred. These 4 steps of status effects act as a separate damage tracking system from HP.

You can think of losing HP as becoming exhausted from the energy spent defending yourself, and status damage as receiving immediate physical damage (bruises, cuts, sprains, broken bones etc)

First, is there going to be a list of Effects to choose from, or is it going to be more that the players propose an Effect and the DM decides on whether to include it?

Are all of the Effects physical/visible? Could "Mental" or "Faith" or stuff like that be viable?

Would I be off base is presuming that Boosters can function as the buffers of the group (with Takers being debuffers). Like, if a Booster had a "Harden" Effect, could he apply that to other group mates, in addition to simple objects?

Not all effects are visible. Abilities and Energy Points can be taken as examples of non-visible 'Effects' that would be excellent choices for Boosters to purchase, though they can also enhance other 'keywords' like fire, ice, wind, etc. Boosters can only enhance something that is present in a measurable way - I would not accept buffs to PCs that did not specify an Ability, though identifying a 'Will' buff as a 'Faith Technique' or something would be fine, just for flavor.

Something like 'Defense' as your effect with sufficient AOE could allow you to buff your whole group's defense during or before a combat encounter.