G is for Gear and Gizmos and Gadgets Galore

This A to Z challenge really let's me go nuts with alliteration... I am going to need an intervention before the month is up. Okay... On to gear. In my last several game designs, I have endeavored to limit gear and its impact on the game. I felt that the purchasing of gear, especially during character creation, often slowed things to a crawl in needless ways. I would spend valuable play time trying to decide whether to get ten or fifteen torches, how many days' worth of iron rations to procure, and whether my deity would respond better to a silver vs. wooden holy symbol. I wish I could say I was kidding. For Mythweaver, gear faded to the background. However, for an army ant, your gear is a large part of defining your character, and the clout mechanic, which sets stringent limits on your available 'cash' to purchase upgrades, makes the spending decisions matter. Since gear also becomes a fundamental way to differentiate characters of the same specialty, it is important to have a relatively robust and well-rounded gear section. You should be able to invest a large chunk of you clout into the finest rifle known to insect kind, or you should be able to purchase a serviceable albeit unremarkable weapon, picking up a bevy of tools, gizmos and sundries to make your character more versatile dependent on the situation. I also like the expanded view of the importance of gear because this becomes fertile ground for later game expansion. You can always add some funky new technology into rotation without breaking the game or layering in a 'must have' character element that supersedes the core rules.

F is for Funky Dice (or lack thereof)

Michael Radzichovsky (and by the way... I want to list this as a + to him, but I have no idea how to do this... suggestions would be welcomed! I just created a hyperlink to his Google + profile...) suggested doing away with the D16 altogether (and even the D20) and capping the progression at D12. Since (as I talked about two days ago) I have layered in multiples of dice, this wouldn't be too difficult of a feat to accomplish. I don't love the idea of the ants and their ilk having the potential to be as strong/quick/intuitive as a comparable predator, but it's not terrible. 

 

Look at it this way... in an analog to 'our world', D12 body would be a bear or especially powerful crocodile. That's not over the top for what a human with maximum potential could achieve, although it's pretty close. However, what we're doing with predators is saying that you can be as strong as a big crocodile (the 'medium' predator) but not nearly as strong as a good-sized dinosaur (the 'large' predator) and nowhere in the same league as Godzilla (the 'huge' predator). You are supposed to need an army to take down Godzilla. That's the concept with the biggest of the predators - you call in your entire tank division.

 

Michael also brought up the problems with multiple dice exploding, and I agree that this could be an issue. I'm toying with having only a second die (instead of multiples of the same die)... so a large predator would get (for instance) an extra D6 (that could not explode) with its Body Damage and Hits rolls, while a huge predator would get an extra D12 (again, that would not explode) with its Body Damage and Hits rolls. Grenades and larger explosives could work under similar principles - a grenade always gives an extra D6 alongside its basic damage/effect, and this extra die could not explode (sorry, but the pun of exploding dice while throwing a grenade is just too much for me). 

You could then rate all explosives/heavier weapons systems by their primary and secondary dice ratings - and that second die would always be a D6 (for personal or mediums-scale things) or D12 (for the big stuff), with the primary die delineating the subtler differences between a grenade launcher (maybe D8 primary + D6 bonus) vs. a mortar (maybe D12 primary + D6 bonus). In either case, only the D8 or D12 could explode, but the 6 is just taken at face value...

As a matter of fact, you could use the second die to help determine the area of effect... this really randomizes area of effect considerably (which I like to a point, but don't like to be this extreme). I was toying with diminishing damage over area, but I don't know that the level of realism/interest this brings to a fight is worth the increased time/energy spent doing the math. Here's a for instance of how this could work... 

Your fragmentation grenade deals D10 (primary, can explode) + D6 (secondary, will not explode) damage. All targets within 1 cm of the grenade's detonation suffer the full wounds; each 1 cm beyond this cuts the damage in half, up to a total number of cm equal to the result of the D6 roll. If I roll 7 on the D10 and 4 on the D6, all targets within 1 cm take 11 Hits; all targets within 1-2 cm take 6 Hits; all targets within 2-3 cm take 3 Hits; all targets within 3-4 cm take 2 Hits; targets beyond 4 cm take no damage.

However, if you roll 10 on the D10 (exploding) +8 on the second roll, +2 on the D6, you have a grenade that deals 20 Hits to all creatures within 1 cm; 10 Hits to all creatures within 1-2 cm, and no damage to creatures beyond 2 cm.

This feels weird... I don't mind (in fact, I like) that damage diminishes over a wider area of effect. Maybe just say that it goes halves automatically until you get to 5 or less, and then it's done. A grenade dealing 14 Hits deals 14 for 1 cm, 7 for the next, and 4 for the last, then it's done. This is easier to remember, but doesn't necessarily rely on the second die to set the area of effect - the total damage does that for you.

Hmmm. This ended up being F + G(renades), but I'll still give you a new G entry on Monday anyway!

E is for Enemies

At the moment, I am leaning towards groups of six for the various allies, enemies, neutrals and predators that the ants could encounter. The ladybugs, crickets and beetles outlined a few days ago would end up in the allies section – the core rules assume (unlike previous editions) that you are going to play an ant. If you want to play something else, the allies and neutrals sections will have rules for player characters of those species. The allies and neutrals sections are likely to include:

Allies: Aphids, Beetles, Crickets, Ladybugs, Potato Bugs

Neutrals: Butterflies, Dragonflies, Fireflies, Grasshoppers, Moth, Stone Fly, Water Strider  

However, for enemies, the list (and the accompanying complexity) is bigger.

Enemies: Ambush Bugs, Ant Lions, Assassin Bugs, Bumblebees, Centipedes, Cockroaches, Fleas, Flies, Fruit Flies, Gnats, Hornets, Horse Flies, Lice, Mantis, Millipede, Mosquito, Scorpion, Spider (Black Widow), Spider (Daddy Longlegs), Stink Bug, Termite, Tick, Yellojacket

The organization of this section becomes the trick… for example, the Wasp Empire. The empire consists of wasps, bees, hornets, yellowjackets; an affiliated network of insects that work together. Does each get a separate listing? Do I create one section for the Wasp Empire? The other issue is the idea of larger infrastructure: the wasp empire includes not only the servants of the empire, but the vast technological war effort of tanks, planes, fortresses and weapons. These things must at least be granted an overview.

Really, the wasps and the flies, as the two major powers, need their own sections (maybe 6-8 pages for each of these ‘groups’ of species) while the minor species then get a page apiece. Hmmm. There’s probably a third logical grouping, which is the shadowy brotherhood of centipedes, various spider races, and assassin bugs. These guys should probably be grouped together. Then, I can have a one page overview of the various ‘minor species’ like gnats, mosquitoes, termites, etc… most of the minor species end up with fly technology anyway. After the fall of the Fly Kingdom, a huge quantity of military hardware fell into the black market, and into the hands of a wide range of would-be-armies and minor warlords.

So, this becomes a 6-10 page overview of the wasp empire, a 6-10 page overview of the Fallen Fly Kingdom, a 6-10 page overview of the Order of Shadows, and then each minor species gets its own page.

Whew… this book is growing quickly! It’s going to be a challenge to get it in under 200 pages!

D is for Dinosaurs

The idea of predators is the place where Army Ants as a concept diverges markedly from a traditional military RPG. There are big monsters in the natural world that want to eat you!

Rather than having the dice continue to scale beyond D20 (which I’m not a big fan of), this is going to be much simpler:

- A Large creature (considerably larger than the ants and their ilk) adds another die of the same type when rolling damage and hits. Such a creature is considered 5 levels higher than its level would be otherwise. A Large creature takes +1 to all Feat rolls beyond its actual level.

- A Huge creature (far beyond the scale of an ant) adds two dice of the same type when rolling damage and hits. Such a creature is considered 10 levels higher than its level would be otherwise. A Huge creature takes +2 to all Feat rolls beyond its actual level.

This means that a chameleon (as a for instance) might have Body D12. A standard chameleon rolls D12 for its hits and for its melee damage; a Large chameleon rolls 2D12 for its hits and melee damage; a Huge chameleon rolls 3D12 for its hits and damage. This keeps the resistant rolls from scaling beyond the ants’ abilities to hit or deal damage. You use the same fundamental build for creatures of different scales… Here’s a work through for a Chameleon:

Chameleon (43 CPs, Level 7)

Body D12; Prowess D10; Spirit D10

Bite +5; Melee +4; Stealth +4

A small chameleon has an average of 46 hits; it rolls D12+5 for bite damage; it has a Feat bonus of +4; it is considered Level 7.

A large chameleon has an average of 91 hits; it rolls 2D12+5 for bite damage; it has a Feat bonus of +5; it is considered Level 12.

A huge chameleon has an average of 137 hits; it rolls 3D12+5 for bite damage; it has a Feat bonus of +6; it is considered Level 17.

FYI, this is the new structure for determining levels based on CP totals:

0 to 3 CPs = level 0

4 to 9 CPs = level 1

10 to 15 CPs = level 2

16 to 21 CPs = level 3

22 to 27 CPs = level 4

28 to 33 CPs = level 5

34 to 39 CPs = level 6

40 to 45 CPs = level 7

46 to 51 CPs = level 8

52 to 57 CPs = level 9

58 to 63 CPs = level 10

64 to 69 CPs = level 11

70 to 75 CPs = level 12

C is for Cybernetics

Well, well, well… it’s about time to deal with cyborgs. I have worked out psionics and mysticism in ways that I’m pleased with, and that fit with the rest of the system well without creating a major subsystem to track. That’s one of the biggest concerns with bringing in disparate elements to the core system: that the new element will require a fundamental change to the rules or will force the creation of a new sub-system in order to allow its inclusion.

Enter cyborgs, stage left.

The easy fix for cyborgs is to say that a cyborg gets a pool of bonus character points to spend as desired. This is the simplest, and also my least favorite, option. It doesn’t bring any flavor or uniqueness to cybernetics if they do exactly what going up a level would do.

However, if we go to the other mechanic – clout – and built from there, we end up with some cool possibilities. I’ve endeavored to avoid using gear to upgrade your natural attributes and traits. It’s in the best interests of the game (it seems) if you can’t get the same stealth bonuses from a camouflage suit and a pair of high-tech boots as you can from training.

Cybernetics should, on some level, supersede that thinking.

So let’s say that each cybernetic device you link grants a +1 shift in a circumstance… here are five examples of cybernetic upgrades:

- Cybernetic Arm (50 Clout). Take a +1 die shift to Body rolls when using upper body strength; this includes rolls to force or bend objects, for melee damage rolls, or for Feats to break free of binds or constriction.

- Cybernetic Leg (50 Clout). Take a +1 die shift to Body rolls when using lower body strength; this includes rolls to lift or shove, for melee damage rolls from kicks, or for leaping rolls.

- Cybernetic Eye (50 Clout). Take a +1 die shift to Spirit Feat rolls to notice things requiring vision; you have night vision to 6 cm (as per night vision goggles); take +1 to the range rating of all weapons you use.

- Cybernetic Weapon (as per weapon +10 Clout). Hard-wire a weapons system directly into your exoskeleton. However, you are allowed to purchase weapons rated one die higher than your Body; with Body D6, you may upgrade weapons requiring up to Body D8.

- Cybernetic Armor scales from +1 to +5 Invulnerability: +1 (10 Clout); +2 (25 Clout); +3 (50 Clout); +4 (100 Clout); +5 (175 Clout). You can upgrade armor, so moving from +3 to +4 rated armor costs 50 Clout (since you already spent 50 Clout to get to +3).

***

Or… we could say that cybernetics give you a bonus die to add… this way, you could scale your cybernetics bonuses with increasing value. The cybernetic device, when it applies, gives you a second die to add. Even if we just go with designations of Lite (D4) Medium (D6) and Heavy (D8), we could have:

A cybernetic arm gives you the bonuses as outlined above. A lite arm (30 Clout) gives you an additional D4 (added to your Body roll) in the situations outlined above; you could upgrade this to a Medium Arm D6 (50 Clout) or a Heavy Arm D8 (100 Clout). This keeps things from scaling too crazily, but gives a greater variety to your options for cybernetics. All of the other options above would work in the same ways.

This last option is slightly more complex, and does use a sub-system with 2 dice, but I’m already using such a system for vehicles and larger creatures anyway, so it’s not a new system, just a re-purposing of one that will show up in other places…

Lastly, I think that as a cyborg, you can elect to take some risks in order to get more clout. The rules will assume that the whole thing is hardwired to your central nervous system, meaning that your body powers the suit, or that the power systems are so ingrained as to be inaccessible by foes. However, you can elect to have a power system that can be overrode, disabled, or temporarily shorted. You have three different levels for power source options:

- Internal Power: As above.

- Minor External Power: You supplement your cybernetic systems with external power packs and batteries. By taking a Minor external power source, you get 50 bonus Clout points to use in purchasing cybernetic systems. Your source can be shorted for D6 rounds (DT 12) or overrode/disabled entirely (DT 22).

- Primary External Power: Your power primarily derives from external power packs and batteries. My taking a primary external power source, you get 100 bonus Clout points to use in purchasing cybernetic systems. Your source can be shorted for D6 rounds (DT 8) or overrode/disabled entirely (DT 18).

A foe with an advanced communications kit (or comparable technology) may, once per encounter, use 1 turn to attempt to short, override, or disable your cybernetics. If the foe scores one success (DT 12 for minor external power source; DT 8 for primary external power source), the foe disables all of your cybernetic systems for D6 rounds as your pack re-powers. If the foe scores a critical success (DT 22 for minor external power; DT 18 for primary external power), the foe can EITHER disable your cybernetics entirely for the rest of the encounter OR can elect to take total control of you for D6 rounds. An electrical surge can also short out your systems as above…

Whew… I think we’ve solved cybernetics! I’m giving you air knucks right now (do NOT leave me hanging here).

B is for Beetles

Beetles, and the other allied species (Crickets, Ladybugs, Potato Bugs) present a small design challenge, insofar as the way I've assigned racial bonuses in Mythweaver is through granting a trait shift. However, in the Army Ants rules I've assigned the trait shift to the specialties, so assigning trait shifts to species would be redundant - and I don't have enough traits to spread the wealth.

However, seeing as there are four core allies species, and there are four core attributes, I can assign a shift bonus to the Feat linked to the attribute in ways that logically represent the way I see these species operating...

Beetles, as big, hardy and durable insects, take a +1 shift to Body Feat rolls.
Crickets, as quick and agile insects, take a +1 shift to Prowess Feat rolls.
Ladybugs, as intelligent and strong-willed insects, take a +1 shift to Mind Feat rolls.
Potato Bugs, as spiritual and intuitive insects, take a +1 shift to Spirit Feat rolls.

This makes perfect sense within the context of the four species, and also aligns nicely with the rest of the game system. It's hard to poison a beetle; crickets dodge enemy attacks more readily; good luck mind controlling a ladybug; supernatural powers are less effective against potato bugs. All of these work exactly as I envision them in the world of Army Ants, and the system reflects this directly.

FYI, I'm torn on ants... while my instinct is to give them a +1 shift to Moxy (since I see Moxy being the trait that defines Army Ants against all other species - their tenacity and inventiveness are their defining characteristic as a species), I am also tempted to break ants up into four sub-species, and have them overlap with the other species... red ants might get the +1 Prowess Feat shift, while black ants get the +1 Spirit Feat shift... fire ants get the +1 Body Feat shift and leaf cutters get the +1 Mind... these don't align quite as intuitively, and the game world has predominantly been about red ants (with one notable black ant thrown into the mix). I'd almost rather keep the other sub-species of ants out of the core rules and leave them for further development later... I'll be thinking more on this as I go. For now, I'm going with the +1 shift to Moxy for ants.

A is for Army Ants Adventures

I'll be trying out this A to Z blog posting for April and see how I do... I haven't officially signed on with the various blogs participating, but I like it as a way to keep me focused for the next 30 days. I have been working diligently on Ants stuff, but I haven't been posting about it ('today I re-worked how to do tanks for the third time!' doesn't really lend itself to snappy updates) but I'm going to endeavor to be more on top of that... however, I'll start with a bit of an announcement that links to the letter A:

'Army Ant Adventures' the webcomic will launch June 1. I've worked out a format for the strip, written scripts for the first 8 strips, and drawn the first one. The plan is for this to be a weekly webcomic. I've been reading through classic Prince Valiant strips from the 40s, and have been inspired by the format/dedication/craftsmanship of the strip. I would like to emulate something on that order for Army Ants. I see the serialized stories covering small, medium and large chunks of story, with a series going anywhere from a handful of strips to a few hundred.

Out of the gate, I plan a series that will take several months to get through. I realized last night as I was inking the page that this was the first actual page of Army Ants comics I've done in over a decade. It was a little like riding a bike, and I lot not like riding a bike. I'm finding that I spend much more time on composition and organization that I used to - I revised the script for this one page a half dozen times, did a mockup, and then re-drew half of the panels on the page because I didn't like the layouts or flow of the narrative. It's definitely still a work in progress, and I have accepted that I am never going to 'master' storytelling in the comics medium, but it's a worthwhile goal. My plan was to spend about 2-3 hours per page, and I've already nearly doubled that (I'm somewhere near 4 hours on this one, and I still have about an hour left on it).

I'm off to keep working on specialties (where I ended my writing this morning) and to start thinking about what B stands for exactly... probably 'Big Enemies', but maybe something else will pop up in the next 24 hours...