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  • File : 1250481591.jpg-(931 KB, 1280x1024, The_dreams_that_are_far_away_by_Mxtremeg.jpg)
    931 KB Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/16/09(Sun)23:59 No.5483589  
    The world of Berserk, as a setting for a Fantasycraft game.

    What do you think, /tg/? What might be the best way to go about this? My hope is to see some discussion on topics like campaign qualities, statting demons, story ideas, and so on.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)00:04 No.5483627
    I like the idea. Might I suggest Campaign Options? Rare Magic Items, Deadly Combat, Dead Means Dead, Hewn Limbs.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)00:08 No.5483666
    I wouldn't have them fighting Demons until about level 10. Have the Eclipse go down at about then. Then, just take the stats from any monster, describe it in a mutated, bastardized, and disgusting version of what its base creature is, call it a Demon.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)00:13 No.5483703
    the problem with berserk games is everyone wants to jump into fighting and raping demons.

    GUTS HAD LIKE 20 VOLUMES OF GRINDING.
    >> Arcbound 08/17/09(Mon)00:14 No.5483710
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    Can't wait until one of your players gets this.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)00:15 No.5483732
    >>5483703
    So don't tell them it's Berserk. Tell them it's, "Badass Mercenary Quest" or some shit. A little bit of foreshadowing with dark lore, one or two demons, more mercenary shit, then OH SHIT WHAT THE FUCK WHY?!
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)00:17 No.5483745
    >>5483732
    >>5483666
    >>5483589

    done, do it. /thread
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)00:17 No.5483754
    >>5483710
    And cursed items are pretty easy to houserule, too...
    >> Stranger 08/17/09(Mon)00:22 No.5483793
    >>5483732
    I'd play Badass Mercenary Quest most any day.
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)00:23 No.5483806
    One interesting thing about Berserk is that the setting has magic items, magic users, and monsters- but they're all hidden away, leaving a gritty medieval setting full of pain and suffering due simply to human nature.

    You could run a game in this setting where the party includes a houseruled version of a mage, or a game where the party will never ever get their hands on a single piece of magical equipment for them to use. And like Berserk, you could also start magic-less and let supernatural elements creep in over time, culminating with the event in the latest manga chapter with mythical beasts suddenly crawling out of the woodwork.
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)00:27 No.5483849
    >>5483732
    Also: Make sure PCs have grand ambitions or other heartfelt desires. Groom at least one in preparation to offer him the chance to sacrifice his fellow party members, probably along with some others.

    Then let things play out so that the party members actually have a chance to survive, and go on a badass quest to hunt their former comrade down.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)00:54 No.5484099
    Alternatively CLAYMORE EXPANDED

    -Hunt Demons, reveal conspiracies
    -Travel overseas, insert viking hijinks
    -Insert Berserk with an steep geographical obstacle
    -Fight Demon politics to stop/finish arms race
    -Campaign to cross the natural border of myth...
    - OH FUCK THEY HAVE DRAGONS AND ABOMINATIONS EATING EACH OTHER AND EVERYONE ELSE
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)01:10 No.5484232
    >>5484099
    >viking hijinks
    This is awesome and you should feel awesome. If I read Vinland Saga I'm sure I'd be plotting out some way to work parts of that story into the Berserk setup.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:12 No.5484245
    >>5483589
    The best system would probably be Warhammer fantasy altered... if you just want to be normal grunts...

    since everything is over the top and dead killy in fantasy.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:14 No.5484260
    >>5484245
    of course i meant warhammer fantasy roleplay, not the skirmish game.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:14 No.5484262
    >>5484245
    >since everything is over the top and dead killy in fantasy
    Have you seen Berserk? That's how it's supposed to be.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:15 No.5484267
    >>5484262
    And then come the demons...
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:15 No.5484271
    Riddle of Steel would be fucking perfect for this.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:25 No.5484352
    Berserk is awesome.

    I'm so happy to see people discussing Fantasy Craft.

    I like Berserk, but I think it might be a little limited in what it can offer to PCs. They'd all have to be human, with no spellcasters, with almost no kinds of monsters unless they were somehow all magnets for awful shit like Guts. I'd worry about social-fu characters not having awesome opportunities to take the spotlight.

    Please do prove me completely wrong, /tg/, because I definitely agree that Fantasy Craft is an awesome system for high-adventure, low-fantasy, blood-and-rust mayhem.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:27 No.5484380
    >>5484352
    Social-Fu characters make armies, dude. You need those armies, as 5-person mercenary bands are not often sought after. Social-Fu is your party's Griffith.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:30 No.5484412
    >>5484262

    thats why i said warhammer fantasy roleplay would be a good system for berzerk, anything that isn't gutts dies in berserk. everything.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:31 No.5484428
    >>5484352
    Set it during Emperor Gaiseric's time. And no magic? What the 'ell? What about Shierke and Flora? There's more to Berserk than the cut-short Anime.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:33 No.5484446
    >>5484380
    Excellent point.

    Play Courtier, buy army.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:33 No.5484454
    >>5484352
    On the contrary: Characters with social skills can actually avoid fights that are potentially really really bad. Granted, people on the wrong side of the law who are instantly recongnizable like Guts are not talking there way out of anything, but more low profile people or the very skilled could bluff quite nicely.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:34 No.5484464
    >>5484428
    Well, extremely rare magic.
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)01:35 No.5484465
    >>5484271
    That'd be the other good system for this, especially to match the Golden Age arc. For demons and so on, you'd have to really know the system and invest the necessary work to do the crunch right.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:35 No.5484482
    >>5484352
    >They'd all have to be human
    Well, yeah. Big deal. Human's the most diverse race in Fantasy Craft. It's not like they're going to be starting off anything like each other.

    >with no spellcasters
    Difficult Magic, Lost Magic (EVERYTHING).

    >with almost no kinds of monsters unless they were somehow all magnets for awful shit like Guts
    GM rubs his hands....DONE!

    >I'd worry about social-fu characters not having awesome opportunities to take the spotlight.
    Griffith.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:38 No.5484509
    >>5484482
    >Difficult Magic, Lost Magic (EVERYTHING).
    Now that I think about it, since it's just the PCs, put up Potent Magic to make it where your one magic user isn't almost useless.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:38 No.5484514
    I call Judo.
    I call Pipin.
    I call Corkus.

    [spoilers]DEADDEADDEAD[/spoilers]
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:40 No.5484533
    >>5484465
    Riddle of Steel has plenty of stuff built into it to do supernatural creatures, and it's magic is so open ended you could duplicate basically any effect you see in Berserk easily.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:44 No.5484575
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    I don't care how powerful your character is.

    You are simply not going to beat this guy.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:45 No.5484581
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZWoRQNZBNM

    Don't forget blatant homosexual reference jokes and some such things.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:47 No.5484594
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    Also, if your character is not badass by the time they reach the demons, they're fucked.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:53 No.5484650
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    Also, plate armor.


    EVERYWHERE
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:53 No.5484654
    That's why at level 10 the eclipse happens, the army they've gathered all dies, the main characters survive. Social Fu character gets turned into demon prince. Gather new army. Replace Social Fu with Mage.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:55 No.5484677
    "Okay, so what have you guys got for backgrounds?"
    "You were raped? You were ALL raped? I mean, it's compelling stuff, but maybe you guys should have talked to each other a little bit during the character generation process."
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)01:58 No.5484702
    >>5484677
    You know, this is the one thing the man needs to work on. That and his love of penis.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:00 No.5484723
    >>5484702
    More tits are needed. More Farneze schlicking to fire or whatever.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:03 No.5484754
    >>5484723
    Honestly, tits just lead to more cock. Like horsecock.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:04 No.5484762
    >>5484702
    Well, it is Griffith. So it's perfectly understandable why every character in the series wants to ride his cock like a bronco.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:05 No.5484767
    >>5484762
    So Griffith and his horsecock will rule all, unless Farneze diddles her self on Gut's sword.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:05 No.5484771
    >>5484762
    That man being the author. And all the penises he draws when he doesn't really need too.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:06 No.5484780
    >>5484767
    >>5484762
    You guys haven't read Berserk, have you?
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:06 No.5484783
    >>5484677
    Who else was raped besides Guts?

    Casca was almost raped when Griffith saved her.
    Griffith gave up his supple boy-body for cash willingly.

    Who am I not thinking of?
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:08 No.5484793
    Your protagonist needs to be raped as a child
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:08 No.5484803
    >>5484783

    Guts was raped twice. Once by a man (Eww), once by Slan (thumbsup).
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:09 No.5484810
    >setting for Fantasycraft

    No one will know until you /rs/ the book, asshole. B|
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:11 No.5484825
    >>5484783
    the princess chick who was kinda raped by griffith
    Griffith raped casca,
    Trolls raped all sorts of chicks.
    I'm sure theres about another hundred dozen instances of background girls getting raped by men, demons or other things.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:13 No.5484839
    >>5484783
    If Casca was ALMOST raped, explain Demon Baby.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:16 No.5484864
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    Dat Ass
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:17 No.5484878
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    With all this rape, I think you could easily run another system besides FC.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:17 No.5484882
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    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:19 No.5484902
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    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:22 No.5484932
    Personally I'd take Exalted and use only the rules for mortals, Even infection from a scratch can be lethal.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:23 No.5484935
    >>5484825
    >>5484839
    I was talking about in their backstories.
    It's kind of hard to miss the whole "Casca getting raped by demon Griffith" thing.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:26 No.5484966
    >>5484780
    Oh, I have. And there's no sense in denying that every single person who ever encounters Griffith falls in love with him. I mean, it pretty much is his defining trait.

    Besides, there's also some naked women in it too, you know.

    And how do you know the rampant penises aren't actually a subtle way of injecting even more horror into the manga for the average reader?
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:29 No.5484995
    If you're going to do Berserk, don't forget half-demon babies.
    Helpful half-demon babies, but half-demon babies nonetheless.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:37 No.5485084
    >>5484966
    Because of how lovingly and realistically he draws them.

    I wish I had that picture.

    I mean, I love Berserk to death, but the penis is kind of hilarious after a while.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:37 No.5485096
    Really, the problem is that the tone of Berserk has changed so much that it's practically become an entire new series.

    It's lost a lost of what used to make it so damn good.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)02:39 No.5485125
    >>5485084
    >Because of how lovingly and realistically he draws them.
    I can only imagining you coddling and rubbing your face across the demon horse's cock, and it's hilarious.
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)03:02 No.5485362
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    >>5485084
    Miura draws anything sordid in a sensational manner, wangs included. Small girl getting splattered with the remnants of several grown men crushed by a demonic tree? Well, we can't forget the brain chunks and eyeballs!

    >>5485096
    I can respect it as the story steadily evolving over time, same as the characters. For me, the best arcs are the Lost Children and Millenium Falcon bits. My only complaint with the recent sections is that it's frustrating to see Guts' armor constantly make him hold back in a fight. Hampers the action.

    One thing that really helps is going back and reading an arc all in one go. I see alot of fans whose favorite manga sections are everything up until the point where they caught up and started reading one release at a time.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)03:09 No.5485420
    >>5485362
    I just want more Farneze nudity
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)03:14 No.5485465
    >>5485420
    . . .Didn't she just give Caska another bath? And Roderick could be boning her before the week's out.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)03:34 No.5485669
    >>5485362
    Well, the purpose is that it's become very generic fantasy world, and the biggest, strongest theme of the story, that of a man making an impossible quest of revenge, has basically gone out the window.

    It was so interesting to watch Guts struggle against demons when he should have been dead long, long ago. He fought, and defeated, demons using nothing but his skill and training. It became even more powerful when you started to learn that Griffith might be the person to save the world, to bring peace to it. Even if he successfully killed Griffith, he'd be fucking over the world in doing so.

    Now he's going to the land of the fairies with his pet magician and his magical armor, and he's not even after Griffith anymore.
    >> Blackheart 08/17/09(Mon)03:39 No.5485717
    >>5485669
    You'd think. If we'll (or the writer) live long enough, we'll see what a massive apocalyptic crap is going to happen. Kind of like in the newer chapters, the sultan dude going into the Avatar Of Doom and all that, world ending, etc.
    I don't think the fairies will do much shit, its already been said that the main reason is to get back Caska's memories, which isn't all that of an good idea.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)03:45 No.5485777
    Berserk's really lost it's edge. I mean they have not one, but two female characters who haven't been almost-raped even once! And when was the last almost-rape huh?
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)03:49 No.5485813
    >>5485777
    Giant clusterfuck rape with the goblins, which wasn't really that long ago.

    And all the implied rape the bad guys are doing.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)03:52 No.5485841
    >>5485813
    The loli (because I can't spell her name) almost raped Guts.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)03:53 No.5485852
    >>5485841
    That scene was really disturbing. For all sorts of reasons.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)03:56 No.5485872
    >>5485852
    >That scene was really awesome. For all sorts of reasons.

    Fix'd.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)04:05 No.5485923
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    >>5485125
    Well he's the horse penis you ordered.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)04:07 No.5485938
    >>5485923
    To be fair dicks probably scare him, he was raped by some guy at college.
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)04:18 No.5486019
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    >>5485669
    >very generic fantasy world
    In my eyes we obviously aren't getting that. We're going to get some kind of epic deconstruction- probably one hinging on how utterly fucked humanity in the middle ages would have been if all those legends of theirs had really been true.

    That and it's going to be completely hilarious to spring this on your Badass Mercenary Quest guys without warning.

    "As you're walking down the road towards the town, everything just seems to go white for a second."
    Players: Oh crap, this doesn't sound normal, it might be another supernatural thing like that monster who killed half the party back when we were level 12.

    60 seconds later: "Goblins are attacking."
    Players: "Don't think we've ever heard of that mercenary band before."
    "No, Goblins as in creepy waist-high green men with spears who are coming out of nearby warrens in the hills."
    Players: Buh?

    5 minutes later: "Harpies are flying in, attracted by the smell of goblin blood."
    Players: man what

    5 minutes later: "Dragon."
    Players: WHAT IS GOING ON
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)04:25 No.5486073
    >>5486019

    I wanna be in Badass Mercenary Quest... ;_;
    >> Mr. Horse !!taqDd9490Ip 08/17/09(Mon)04:31 No.5486116
    >>5486073
    Me too..
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)04:36 No.5486143
    >>5486116
    Only if we get to see tits.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)04:50 No.5486225
    >>5486019
    I'm sure, but the fact still remains that the entire tone, plot, and literately even the setting has changed enormously in the recent chapters.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)04:53 No.5486245
    >>5486225

    Yes, this. It used to be an amazingly non-stereotypical dark fantasy setting and now guts is gonna go become the best pokemon trainer on earth with his stock cast of upbeat tweens.
    >> Fuuka ♥ 08/17/09(Mon)05:17 No.5486427
    >>5485923
    Dammit, guys.

    I was over my darker self abusive fantasies.
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)05:20 No.5486446
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    >>5486245
    I just feel that the changes in tone are inextricably tied to Guts' character development. This is the story of an extraordinary man's extraordinary life, and the life we live is never going to stay the same. As mentioned above, my favorite story arcs are the ones where that original dark/demonic fantasy flavor was probably strongest; but unlike, say, Bleach, I welcome Berserk's tone shift because it's clearly key to this epic story Miura's always intended to tell.

    That and you're an idiot if you really think the manga's going to become generic. I give you this page from the latest chapter wherein a demon lord appears to be manifesting himself as a freaking Dali painting.
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)05:21 No.5486457
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    But let's get back to business. At the moment all the ideas we're discussing are dependent almost entirely on which kind of setup you use for the game, so we could stand to nail that down. Since Badass Mercenary Quest is the idea that's resonating most, let's run with it and use Berserk to model the escalation of things.

    You start the game with players grouping together to go earn their way as mercenaries, largely as they choose. Campaign qualities include Deadly Combat, Dead Means Dead, Hewn Limbs, and probably a couple others as well; players need to understand that their characters have been born into a war-torn medieval shithole and they're gonna die there too. This is your chance to drive home the integral lesson to any Berserk-based game: that the GM is a hardass who won't hesitate to throw unbalanced encounters at you.

    Over time the players level up, eventually making a name and group for themselves; maybe they were their own group from the start, maybe they decided to join another band initially and either wind up in charge or split off on their own again. You could give them a growing body of followers tied to a shared group stat, with any followers gained by player abilities being special subgroups the PC personally manages. Player deaths means a new character who was promoted to a leadership role, hopefully one who had previously been established as a capable NPC.

    All of this, we'll call Phase 1.
    >> Abaddon 08/17/09(Mon)05:23 No.5486471
    this game is going to end badly for your players.

    beginning arc
    PC1: what happened to your fighter last night?
    PC2: he was raped by the man who taught him how to fight.

    Second arc
    PC1:dude what happened here?
    PC8: everybody except you was either eaten or raped then eaten we are here to replace the party wipe.
    PC1: man that sucks

    second arc 3/4 complete
    PC254: hey whats going on...
    PC1: I'M DANGEROUS STAY AWAY!
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)05:27 No.5486497
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    you guys do know he's completely abandoned berserk right? he's lost all intrest in everything but niconico douga and idolmaster freak.
    >> Fuuka ♥ 08/17/09(Mon)05:30 No.5486513
    >>5486497
    And yet everyone claims NO IT WAS HIS PLAN ALL ALONG BERSERK WILL TOTAL SUDDENLY FLIP IN MEDIEVAL MONSTER SMACKDOWN EVERYONE DIES!

    He's been swallowed by the moe.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)05:38 No.5486581
    >>5486446
    It's not an issue of it becoming generic. But the character development of Guts himself is what bothers me as well, and the direction he's taking it.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)05:45 No.5486643
    >>5486446
    >epic story Miura's always intended to tell.

    I bet he still has no idea where is it going. This is just like LOL toneship, cos I sterted playing D&D.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)05:52 No.5486676
    >>5486643
    My bet? He knows exactly where it's going.

    He just has no fucking idea how he's going to get there.

    Still, the story has shown to have enough foreshadowing and development to have actually been planned, at least a little.
    >> Fuuka ♥ 08/17/09(Mon)05:59 No.5486715
    >>5486676
    I've had at least some experience writing.. so...

    I'll just tell you it ain't THAT hard to make shit up as you go and look like it was planned all along.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)06:03 No.5486740
    >>5486715
    So do I. I'm also familiar with the idea of making shit up as you go along and making it looked planned, because that's my primary writing method.

    But at the same time, even that takes you having a general idea of knowing where you're going. You don't have some story set in stone, you have landmarks, events you want to happen as the story goes along. Berserk offers evidence of that happening in a lot of ways.
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)06:24 No.5486886
    >>5486740
    I'd guess that the landmark we just passed with Griffith remaking the nature of the world has been set in Miura's mind at least since the middle of the golden age arc, and the part where he does it using the Kushan Emperor probably since before the Kushan invasion started driving all the refugees to take refuge around Mozgus' inquisition tower. Since that arc culminated with (among other things) the barrier to the fairy-tale world being weakened, we can be pretty certain that at that point he'd also decided just what Griffith was going to remake the world into.

    My personal impression, going off the latest chapter's narration of the events (especially the bit about this being a "world made from illusions") is that the shift to a fantasy setting is going to be key to another landmark that we saw back in that chapter during the Eclipse (the one that Miura withheld from the published volumes because he decided it gave away too much, too soon). This is the epic story I'm referring to- not Guts getting revenge on Griffith, but the underlying themes of human nature and the vital ways Guts goes against the grain.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)06:32 No.5486912
    I have a feeling that Guts will be offered demonhood in the end on the same terms as Griffith... he is supposed to take it and crush the "hawk of light" destroying hope. Will he refuse? I think the whole point of this "merry band of adventurers" is to set him up for that decision.
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)06:32 No.5486914
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    >>5486457
    Phase 1, it should be mentioned, has zero magic. You tell the players that given the era, their characters could certainly be superstitious, that they've probably seen things which they assumed to be magic in action but from a metagame view had a simple rational explanation.

    The part of Phase 2 that you'll tell the players something about involves you toning down or removing some of the lethality-adding campaign qualities for the PCs, one at a time, to represent them proving themselves as being extraordinary individuals in the same sense as, say, Simo Hayha. The catch is that they aren't gonna prove themselves just by leveling up. Instead, they have to come out on top in some ridiculously tough challenge, a step above the maximum recommended ECL- Guts killing a hundred men, that sort of thing. As GM you can secretly set them up for this by setting up encounters that have believable ways to escalate to a Ridiculous challenge or play out as a normal one, based on whether the player characters are performing well enough to stand a chance- reinforcements that could turn out to be on either side, for example. These challenges only come up once every few levels; they start in Phase 2, but they'll last through the end of the game.
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)06:36 No.5486933
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    The other catch, the one you don't give the players any metagame hints about, is that demons start getting involved. Unlike berserk, you can start this a little more subtly- nothing clearly supernatural as transformation or wounds healing before their eyes, but start with several cases where there enemy is inhumanly strong in ways they can't explain. The big example I have in mind is when Wyald and another prisoner are told to fight before the king for the right to lead the Black Dog Knights, and five seconds later his challenger is impaled on a steeple four stories above the palace grounds. The king immediately grants Wyld leadership, leaves, and from then on tries not to think about the incident while making sure Wyald is kept busy elsewhere.

    At the start, these'll be more brief encounters- the first one would just seem like some particularly mighty opponent, and none of the early battles should see an apostle being pushed hard enough to transform. Any prolonged battle with an Apostle ought to count as a ridiculous challenge.

    And then you hit phase 3.
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)06:38 No.5486948
    >>5486912
    Agreed.
    >> Fuuka ♥ 08/17/09(Mon)06:46 No.5486985
    >>5486886
    >another landmark that we saw back in that chapter during the Eclipse (the one that Miura withheld from the published volumes because he decided it gave away too much, too soon)

    TELL ME MORE.

    RIGHT FUCKING NOW.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)06:48 No.5486994
    >>5486985
    You've never read that?

    Really?

    Man, summarizing it would be kind of annoying though. I think you can still find it online if you know where to look.
    >> Fuuka ♥ 08/17/09(Mon)07:00 No.5487057
    >>5486994
    I might have, but I wouldn't know to what you are refering if you did.

    QUICK SUMMARY?
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)07:02 No.5487067
    >>5486985
    It shows us what Griffith experiences while he's transforming into Femto inside that shell.

    Specifically, he meets God. And God explains just what it is, and how its relationship to humanity works.

    If you want to know the full details, there's a transcript at http://skullknight.net/idea/. Just know that the author thinks the story is better for you if you don't read it.
    >> Fuuka ♥ 08/17/09(Mon)07:06 No.5487091
    >>5487067
    Oh that.

    Thank you, but thats sad he left it out of the published version. That was kinda cool.
    >> Fuuka ♥ 08/17/09(Mon)07:27 No.5487191
    >>5487067
    Reread it for kicks.

    Man.

    That is depressing. I'd go on a philosophical rant, but I realize that all that might very well be a lie by that thing. Though it could honestly THINK it is God and isn't. It could be the big G, but telling a big fat lie to Grif to manipulate him toward a goal. It could not be God and still doing that. Only the creator knows where his story is going.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)07:28 No.5487192
    >>5486446
    >Dali painting

    fffffffffffffffffffffffFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

    HIERONYMUS BOSCH, MOTHERFUCKER. MAN'S NAME IS HIERONYMUS BOSCH. BEST FUCKING ARTIST EVER. BAR FUCKING NONE. EVERY OTHER ARTIST CAN FUCK EACH OTHER'S CUNTS AND GO TO FUCKING HELL.
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)07:31 No.5487206
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    For phase 3, you give the players a chance to have a meaningful effect on the setting. This is the part where the Badass Mercenary Quest premise is really coming to fruition. They've become the best mercenaries around, they're winning the war for their side, they're a part of something grand and glorious.

    And lurking at the back of their minds is the one part that doesn't fit, the mystery that defies explanation- the existence of those inhuman beings, who seemed to casually do as they wished. Take them into account, and the dream the players are living feels hollow- because there's the sense that for all they accomplish, they're still just playthings in the eyes of some*thing* that's far more powerful. That this supernatural factor could easily bring all of this crashing down.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)07:33 No.5487214
    >>5487192
    >>herp derp
    people like you are the reason 'modern art' thrives
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)07:34 No.5487221
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    And that's what you do, in the method of your choosing. They lose their mercenary band, the thing that their PCs having been risking and laying down their lives to build since level 1- all ripped away, likely in a single marathon session of blood and tears when the supernatural element finally rears its head and makes its move on them.

    Now it's just the players. They aren't in this to achieve greatness and fame, not a noble's title or a comfortable estate. All of those things to do with human society have lost their meaning now that they've seen the terrible truth of the world.

    Now, they hunt monsters.

    So yeah, that's about that. Anything you guys would be inclined to do differently?
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)07:35 No.5487225
    >>5487192
    That who it is? Thanks. I was disinclined to try and research western surrealist artists to make sure I was crediting the right one as the primary inspiration.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)07:57 No.5487343
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    >>5487221
    superior.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)08:10 No.5487433
    >>5487225

    oh, shit! man, I didn't realize I was bitching at you, Dagda. Man, now I feel all bad and stuff.
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)08:21 No.5487502
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    >>5487343
    Superiest.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)08:23 No.5487526
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    >> You a Busta. Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)08:30 No.5487575
    >>5487433
    While I think it is lovely that you apologized, I doubt it was necessary. Dagda is a namefag after all and has thus, I would not doubt, quite a thick skin.
    >> Dagda !hTbo821v7U 08/17/09(Mon)08:36 No.5487606
    >>5487502
    You know, now that I really look at this, I have the urge to take the idea of a bait-and-switch Badass Mercenary Quest and do a bait-and-switch Weeaboo Kingdom Hearts game instead.

    "Hooray! We've found King Mickey!"
    "What was that he said before he turned away right then?"
    "I dunno, something to do with a sacrifice or HOSHITOSHITOSHIT"
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)09:12 No.5487811
    Someone for the love of god, please archive this shit.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)11:22 No.5488782
    >>5486446

    Ahahaha Ubik I see you there.
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)14:37 No.5490517
    >>5487526
    The other one is far funniest.

    "Don't you mean "when"?"
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)16:04 No.5491487
    This shit is awesome. Why is it not back on the front page?

    Anyway...

    By system:

    Riddle of Steel- A bit of a pain to learn, rare to find. Does grim/gritty and fihtan styles pretty well. No hit points, you get hit and bad things start happening.

    Artesia- Does a hell of a job with subtle magic. Also does a good job with the division between a spiritual world and a physical one- handled explicitly. You could easily start off with no magic, but then you have their prayers start putting small bonuses on their activities.

    (in the setting, powerful and obvious magic is rare, but everyone has at least priestly magic- you'd have to be an atheist living in a cave far away from civilization to avoid inadvertently doing something magical)

    Exalted- Running an exalted game with mortals is already most of the way there...
    >> Anonymous 08/17/09(Mon)16:15 No.5491624
    >>5491487
    Riddle of Steel is far, far easier to learn if you've got a DM who knows what he's doing.

    That goes with any system, but with RoS it's especially noticeable.



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