[OOC] Above Board: The OoC Thread

[kaiser6012]

D20Modern sheets will share the same ability scores and that's about it. As classes are rather strange when it comes to D20Modern as compared to pathfinder, they don't really play well together. Feats, skills and such should be analogous to your Pathfinder character, but some things (knowledge in arcane matters over scientific ones, for example) won't carry over, so in such cases make the best parallels you can.

[Aosaw]

A quick modification to Colin and Derek:

Derek is no longer 19, but 24. After high school, he took a couple of years off to work and to figure out what he wanted to do with his life - and then when their parents disappeared, Derek took guardianship of Colin, and it wasn't until just this past year that he was able to apply to schools and get accepted. He is currently a Freshman at Boston University, living in Brighton with Colin in a spacious 3-bedroom apartment on Beacon.

The change was a necessary one, primarily because with the old ages, he would not have been an adult when he and Colin were orphaned and therefore would not be legally able to take guardianship of his own brother. There are other reasons as well, but they don't concern any of the other players.

[BadBasset]

Er... it occurs to me that Akilah, being muslim, might not have packed ham sandwiches. Let me know if you want me to modify my last post, Jondera.

EDIT: Actually, I'm just going to edit it. Makes more sense to do so.

[Fragmaster01]

I dramamatically return! My spine turned traitor earlier in the week. It has been Dealt With.

And Derek's age changing doesn't change anything on my end(yay). Even if he's not in school with Cajun, school is still the reason Cajun keeps having to show up and talk to this person.

[Aosaw]

Right - I didn't think it would really affect anyone. He's still in college, so any of his friends and acquaintances would be the same. The only thing it alters is the dynamic, really, because he's now about five years older than the rest of the Freshmen.

[BadBasset]

Originally Posted by Aosaw

Right - I didn't think it would really affect anyone. He's still in college, so any of his friends and acquaintances would be the same. The only thing it alters is the dynamic, really, because he's now about five years older than the rest of the Freshmen.

I think it's a wise change, Aosaw. His taking care of Colin seems totally reasonable with Derek being a little older.

[BadBasset]

Well... looks like it's time for me to finish up the Pathfinder version of Gus' character, and quick too!

[kaiser6012]

Did I give a warning yet? Relax. Everything's fine, just roll with it.
On a side note, I'm really impressed with the interaction between all of you. I've got a good feeling about this game.

[Fragmaster01]

...and lo, did Cajun set out to convince the people of the 'new' virtues of the Avatar, among them Snark, Irreverence, and Poor Posture. Since he wasn't going to qualify for the normal set, he'd have to make do with what was available. Still, methinks making it a live game rather than a CRPG would make QotA far better. I haven't actually played any of them, though a few of the references in the bundle made it obvious.

[kaiser6012]

Aye, it appears the jig is, indeed, up. I won't deny that this has been adapted from the Ultima series for a "real" experience in Pathfinder, with a few of the most vital serial numbers filed off. It was always my intent to tell you if/when anybody figured it out, but to not mention it to the casual observer, due to the fact that saying a game is based on a video game seems to draw a different crowd.

So, in short, I won't deny that the game is based on the Ultima series. I also won't deny that everything I've said so far is true and that, if you're willing, this will be an experience unlike any other. I've been running this game with some real life friends for about a year now and they all think it's the best game they've ever been a part of.

[BadBasset]

If the campaign is to follow the narrative of a game and some of the others have already played it, that would be awkward. On the other hand, if you're just using the setting and flavour of the Ultima series, I can't see that being a problem. As I'm not familiar with those games, this doesn't have much impact on me. More importantly: I enjoy your writing and really appreciate the personality of the characters my fellow players have created.

[Fragmaster01]

BadBasset: While I haven't played it, all sources point out that QotA is profoundly different from what you're expecting in a classic RPG. Far less about "go stop this Bad Person who's out to Destroy the World", and much more about your interactions with the world at large. In more modern terms, it'd be akin to someone firing up Morrowind and wandering off at random, rather than focusing on the main quest.

[Jondera]

I haven't played any of the Ultima games, so no risk here.

Honestly, though, that last exchange was a bit confusing. I made my post on the assumption that the portal was actually going to take Colin somewhere. Unless it was a lot further away than the description implied, then Colin would have been through it before Akilah was even finished standing up, much less said anything or grabbed her stuff.

[kaiser6012]

Precisely. I stand by everything I've said before - this game is going to be about the characters interacting with the world, not interacting with the world via the characters.
I'd like to say, at this point, that I'm sorry for not telling the whole truth right from the start. As I said before, stating that a game is based on an already established game tends to attract fans of the series, and this is something I wanted to avoid at all costs - the events of the games thrive on not knowing what's coming next.

Finally, one thing - despite all the regulations on taking the story from CRPGs and applying them to Pathfinder, I still submitted this game and it got accepted, which means the Admins of the site have faith in me. I've seen how you guys interact and I have faith that you'll be able to turn this into something special. Please trust me on this one.

EDIT: Oh. Ooooh. I had assumed...
Okay then, I'll head back and edit my post. I had hoped to get in before the second person tried to go through, but by the time I had made the post you had beaten me to it. As I said, I'll go back and see what I can do.

[Jondera]

Oh, I have no doubt that it's perfectly doable. Borrowing story ideas from other mediums (books, movies, games, whatever) is a classic method for developing interesting plots. I'm in the planning process for an Iron Heroes game loosely based on Tales of Symphonia at the moment, myself.

This game may be a stricter interpretation, but that's fine too. You're a pretty good DM, and we're pretty good players, so we'll all make it work.