NMA PnP: The Ruleset Collection Thread

Sorry for double post but you can get the online retroapocalypse simulator from steam for free.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=630004220&searchtext=
I'll put a better link later if this doesn't work.

 

Thanks for going through the effort to find and link it .
I can't run steam at the moment because it won't run on this ancient and broken machine, but I can still check the store using a browser so I will look at it

 

I really want to see if this could work and if we could play an online Fallout RPG together. The No Mutant Chronicles anyone?

 

You need to buy the tabletop simulator... AHHH, all this commercial investing. Ah well, here goes 20 dollars.

 

I heard good things about tabletop simulator. I think @Hassknecht mentioned it a few times.
I hope others will join in with you. I can't because like I said I don't have a computer at the moment I can use, but it would be nice if people joined in and would play together and see how it goes.

 

The good thing about PnP:
Written rules are just suggestions! WE make the rules as we play!
If you like your vault dwellers to be deathclaw scientists with a spleen for romantic picknicking, go for it!

 

For now I'll just try this out with my role playing group. I'm pretty excited because this makes free roam easy cheese, thanks to environments. No more annoying hand drawn maps are necessary, no more awkward conversations and trying to remember where the people are and if they can reach them...

 

Tabletop sim is on sale over here so I may pick it up within the Week.
Have we got a DM, I don't mind DMing.

 

I need to get it first, but I mean I also don't mind.

A point in favour for Retroapocalypse, they said that the NMA was a good place to find information.

Actually, now I think of it... maybe we could make a new area of the forum, where we can ask about lore and get responses from the community?

 

I think I've said it before, but I think it would be best to keep things simple in a PnP system. One of the nice things about having a RPG video game is that the computer can do all of the dice rolling for you in real time. Players on tabletop do not have that luxury. If you don't keep the turn short, then everyone is going to get bored. I have mostly given up on adding anything to the PnP because I am lazy and add nothing to the creative pool anyway, but I would love to see a Fallout PnP that any Fallout fan can pick up and enjoy with friends. I am still very interested in playing once it is completed, but I don't think I could stick with it if combat turns take 20 minutes due to excessive dice rolling and rules reading. The Fallout titles are games that you can play at your own pace, especially the classics, but PnP games are the opposite. It is important to keep it brief so that the players stay engaged. I don't have too much experience with tabletops, but I am currently playing a custom system and pacing is usually a problem. Every time we play we have to be reminded of certain rules because the system is clunky. That's just how I feel anyway.

And yeah, we already had to modify some aspects to fix the combat and character creation. Don't feel bad using in-house rules so long as it makes the experience better for the players.

The system is called Adeptus Evangelion if you're curious.(I know, I'm a weeb for liking anime)

P.S. Retrocalypse looks alright. I wouldn't mind giving that a go with someone willing to GM. I'm not so sure about the combat, though.

 

What's the problem with the combat? It's fast and simple.

 

Although I said I prefer things quick, it looks over-simplified to me. If I'm reading this right, weapon damage and armor DT/DR is based on the item class. I would much prefer items to have individual values.

 

Ahh... to me that's a stroke of un-original genius. Frankly, what slows down combat in my games is flicking through the rulebook looking for weapon damage and gear rules. But honestly, this kind of combat can be done in several minutes. It's supposed to be fast and something about guns only really differentiating by name and appearance... I don't why but I like that... though I understand why others wouldn't.

 

You would prefer to play a Fallout RPG where your loadout means next to nothing?

 

A computer RPG, no, because the computer automates a lot of it. But pen and paper... yes, because fun is more important then having minor gun differences.

 

Wouldn't that mean that most of the progression would be character/plot progression? I feel like that would take too much away from the combat.

 

It really doesn't. You can get perks and traits that affect combat, making you better at some combat roles then others.

 

That is what I meant by it being a bit simplified. I like weapons and armor to work like the ones you described. I also like when races are separated from professions/backgrounds/classes (for example I can't be a Ghoul Follower of the Apocalypse, or a Super Mutant Raider). I would have liked if there was DR and/or DT, but there is only AC.

I have played P&P RPGs which are not simple at all but the combat still flows fast because all the info needed for it is right there condensed on the players character sheets. All in one place. After a couple of combat turns the player already knows all there is to know about his attack and damage and just needs to roll the dice. The thing that takes longer is when there is a player that is very indecisive and doesn't know if it should attack or do something else...
Another way of making the combat faster is to roll all the dice at once. In D&D you roll the d20 to hit and then the weapon damage dice for damage. If you roll the d20 and the damage dice all at once you save some time, in a big battle that shaves off several precious minutes .

I like RPGs because they are complex and due to that complexity we can control characters in a world that makes sense. If it is too simple it doesn't feel like a RPG, it feels like a board game instead. Which is fun for a short time but then it gets boring if the session drags for too long.

For example this simple and fast system seems quite good for a 30 minute session, but I doubt it would be much fun for a 4 or even more hours session like the D&D ones I used to have back in the day.
It's different styles for different fun . And that is why I would love to try this and see if I like the fast paced shorter sessions this system allows.

 

Umm... Super Mutants are a form of raiders by default and yes, you can indeed be a Ghoul Follower of the Apocalypse. Just get a Follower trait when you level up. As long as you have more ghoul traits then other background traits you're fine. One of the reasons I love the combat is that's it's simpler, faster yet MORE tactical then DnD. Guns are good because they shoot pretty early (and can shoot outside their enviornment), and roll two critical dice but have a pretty limited environment in which they get a bonus. Try to escape? Well you can get shot first. Unarmed and melee are later and need to be in the same environment, but their environment is a lot more common and unarmed can make the opponent have a negative modifier. Doing trait abilities and impeding is great, however you're left vulnerable and can be targeted by others. Karma also adds another level of tactics.

 

That's what I feel as well... In my opinion PnP systems have to be really simple with only the most essential rules, like Fate, and focus on storytelling or they have to be fleshed out and focus on detail. Nothing in between... There is no good compromise between the two I think.
If you have a problem with slow combat it can be a problem of the system, but as Risewild pointed out, it is much more often the players that slow everything down, especially because of lack of knowledge of the rules. If, as the GM, I ever have to look anything up for one of my players, especially when it is a rule that only affects that one player because it is about his weapon etc. I tell him to learn his own f***ing rules or he will not apply them next time.
Unfortunately in many groups there is the idea that the GM has to know and process everything and the player can lean back and be entertained. But that is absolutely not how it works. When my D&D players don't know the rules, they won't use them and they will lose. I don't care! I will use all the combat rules to my NPC's advantage... ^_^
No ruleset is so extensive that 4 to 5 people can't learn and use it fluidly. But if you still have to look up rules all the time, it is probably because the rules are made like this.
Any system with a lot of tables for example! Hate that! Throw it in the fire! ^_^
Rules can be detailed and even complex, but the general mechanics have to be somewhat generic so they apply to most rolls and things have to have an inner logic so you can easily adapt rules to any situation or easily remember rules because they are only variations of that logic.

As for Retrocaplypse, it has some nice ideas and some interesting approaches, but I wouldn't wanna play it ... it lacks too much substance for my taste.