[OOC] The Inter

[Raylorne]

I hadn’t even thought about what to do next. Cap if you’ve got an idea I’m happy to do it. Otherwise I’ll need to think.

[Cap Ut]

So, this is new last background paragraph to better reflect the "new" Agni:

And Agni was born to be a force of fury and destruction. Or at least that seemed to be the case until he crossed paths with the veteran explorer and jaunter Hypatia Drakontos.
During a mission on his homeworld, she ended up taking the troubled kid under her wing. She taught him many things, including how to create rather than destroy, and as the years passed, she made that singularly diverse and dynamic world somewhat of a home for herself too, a now regular stop between one adventure across the omniverse and the next. Until the day it wouldn't be anymore, the day she told her protégé she would have to leave, for reasons she couldn't fully explain, but with the assurance that they would meet again, that in the meantime, the young man he had grown up to be would do well even without her.
Of course, as understanding and trusting as Agni could be, this separation was painful and being excluded like so didn't really sit right with him, nor his fiery temperament would let him simply stay put; he wanted to follow the footsteps of the only mother he ever knew and prove that he could help her face any challenge out there. Thus, once his mind was made, he adjusted a prototype jauntbox left behind and performed his first jaunt. His journey through alternate realities just began.

I think the new Mastery motive could fit well, since Agni is now aiming to reach Hypatia's level, however I find the second energy-earning choice a little unclear.

Also, since this is still technically a playtest, a couple other notes about the new changes and things I caught after going through the rules again:

• Warrior: the way this and the related archetypes are worded is very focused on "harming" and "injuring", but it kinda feels like certain tropes are left out, like a skilled martial artist or sharpshooter who neutralizes or disarms the opponent without physically hurting them directly.
• Swaps and Refunds: This information box is not clear on what it is intended with refunding, especially because losing Method/Energy boosts (bought at an earlier point in the progression) can give rise to some... quirks; for example, if I take an Archetype A that boosts Intellect when I have X-1 Intellect, I must pay 2X on top of the base cost, but let's say that later on I increase Intellect by itself to Y > X, now, if I swap A for another Archetype, I lose an Intellect point whose value is actually 2Y > 2X.
• Archetype Pricing (again): I don't remember if I already tackled this at the beginning, but the way the price of Archetypes currently works, a fitter/smarter/suaver character will have a harder time acquiring a body/intellect/presence focused Archetype than someone you'd expect to be less inclined, simply because they need to spend more to increase the linked stat.
• 5 Strength factor: I'm not sure yet how to feel about this one; one the one hand, multiples of 5 fit more naturally with the Methods/Utilities caps, on the other you lose a lot of fine-graining this way, as well as possible different outcomes for the same move (3x2 factors = [fail,fail] or [fail,pass] or [pass,fail] or [pass,pass] vs 5x1 factor = [fail] or [pass]); furthermore, compounded with this change, quirks would seem to affect moves somewhat disproportionately, especially when compared with main mechanics such as Utilities and Methods—1 relevant quirk is worth a capped Utility or Strength, that is, the highest proficiency gap possible!

Originally Posted by Raylorne

Cap if you’ve got an idea I’m happy to do it.

Not yet

[HotsuSama]

• Warrior: that's fair, and the intent is really more 'a legitimate attack' rather than specific injury, so rewording that to include nonviolent intent is no problem.
• Swaps/Pricing: actually, this feels familiar enough that I feel like we did indeed talk about this before, and I must have forgotten to follow up on it in game updates. I'll have to review my notes and the thread, and see what I might have left behind.
• Factors: The raised factor cost is a trial. I tend to agree that having smaller factors allows more nuance, but I'm also looking for a happy medium between that nuance and having a reasonable volume of factors that doesn't leave a Guide fumbling to improv too many extra factors. My fallback is factors with varying costs based on significance, but my instinct has been to avoid that level of number-setting. You might be right about the quirks though. In retrospect, starting with 2 is pretty powerful mechanically speaking even if they can be turned against you. Perhaps we just start with one quirk each and see how they fire off in-game?

[Cap Ut]

@Hotsu, what would the "You sacrifice something of your array or expertise" option of the Mastery motive entail exactly? Like sacrificing things one created or worked on?

Originally Posted by HotsuSama

My fallback is factors with varying costs based on significance

That may be an interesting idea worth investigating if 5 strength factors turn out too clunky. Two different degrees could very well be enough, and many "weaker" factors could automatically combine into a "stronger" one to avoid the potential issue of too many factors.

Originally Posted by HotsuSama

Perhaps we just start with one quirk each and see how they fire off in-game?

Sounds good.

[Raylorne]

I haven’t even checked out the new pdf yet. Should probably get on that.

[HotsuSama]

@Hotsu, what would the "You sacrifice something of your array or expertise" option of the Mastery motive entail exactly? Like sacrificing things one created or worked on?

Don't worry, the spirit of it isn't meant to be that you have to literally burn Utilities or key tech for it. They'll be narrative choices, like abandoning a chance to gain some special jaunt-tech. Needs to be worded better, I'll admit that.

[Cap Ut]

Okay, so the 2 options basically boil down to:

• Sacrifice something for utility/understanding
• Sacrifice opportunity for utility/understanding for something else

On another note, would something like "Fighting Spirit" be fine as a Quirk?
EDIT: Or even better, "A God of Fury within"!

[HotsuSama]

Sorta. But I can see how the execution would feel too similar. Alright, maybe go with this choice:

• your pursuit of knowledge creates a clear setback
• You turn away from a key opportunity to expand your mastery

Yeah, I think that can work as a Quirk.

[Cap Ut]

Originally Posted by HotsuSama

You turn away from a key opportunity to expand your mastery

I thinks this is clearer than the wording in the current version, thanks.

Anyway, @Hotsu, would you like us to choose the reality truth/objective before reopening the recruitment?

[Raylorne]

I vote we do recruitment. Get the newbies onboard and acclimatized. Then figure out what’s next.

[HotsuSama]

I'm dragging my feet on the recruitment anyway, so no time like the present to at least bump the ad. But I'm happy to hear preferences in the meantime.

[Raylorne]

Something historically wacky is my vote. Lighthearted and fun.

[Cap Ut]

Originally Posted by Raylorne

Something historically wacky is my vote. Lighthearted and fun.

This sounds good for a first adventure.

Anyway, another couple quirks options I've been thinking about (hopefully I'll manage to settle on one soon enough ): A Fiery Demigod, Fierce as the Storm/Elements, or just Fierce.

[Mindsiege]

Originally Posted by HotsuSama

Thanks for keeping me in the loop. Unfortunately, I've been dealing with a major depressive episode for the last few months, which had caused me to disappear from the scene for a prolonged duration. Further bad news, I'm taking a real long time to get myself back into working shape. So because I don't want to overpromise anything, for now I think it would be better for you to plan without me. Sorry for letting anybody down, it's been causing me a lot of grief.

[HotsuSama]

All good Mindsiege. You're not letting anyone down, you're taking care of yourself. That takes priority.