First Blush

Information and discussion for players of the game. No spoilers here please!
mictrepanier
Posts:5
Joined:Mon Dec 14, 2020 5:12 pm
Location:Montreal, Quebec, Canada
First Blush

Post by mictrepanier » Mon Dec 14, 2020 5:22 pm

Hi!

I'm a old RPG tinkerer, always trying new games.
1879 seems to be an ambitious game, a mix between old FASA Shadowrun game system ( I own 1st edition), savage worlds (the d4,d6,d8,d12 steps) and d&d levels and classes character progression.

I'll like to know if some of you ever considered a play-per-post Demo. I'm still wondering what should be a combat, per exemple, using 1879 rules.

ex: I created a troll, 5th level, able to hit an elpephant for 30 damage, same as a small cannon.
It seems quite impossible to kill the elephant right away, just to hurt enough to cause -3 or 4 on action rolls.

I'm not used to savage worlds. is it fun to roll only one die ex: d8 to bypass a low number ex:7 ? Seems quite... weird.

Slimcreeper
Posts:1061
Joined:Mon Nov 28, 2016 11:44 pm

Re: First Blush

Post by Slimcreeper » Mon Dec 14, 2020 10:46 pm

It is actually built on the Earthdawn 4th edition CoreStep system, adapted to skill-only. I'm sure the developers can speak to other games - I don't have any experience with Shadowrun itself or savage worlds

I don't think I'd be willing to run a PbP. I'm in a couple Earthdawn PbP, and I'm into it because I'm into Earthdawn, but if I were going to run a PbP it would involve way fewer rolls and stats.

I'd be happy to run the free adventure, if you have a group. No promises I could do it in one session though! I also run a game bi-weekly Sunday afternoons EST on discord, and we welcome guests at the top of every arc. It is deliberately episodic in nature, so that it's easy to have people come in and out. We just started a new arc a few weeks ago, but I usually advertise it on the Discord channel when it opens up.

The power level is lower than either Earthdawn or Shadowrun, so it's pretty tough to do things like 1-shot elephants. I like it for putting mostly normal people in highly perilous situations.

mictrepanier
Posts:5
Joined:Mon Dec 14, 2020 5:12 pm
Location:Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Re: First Blush

Post by mictrepanier » Tue Dec 15, 2020 12:06 am

The elephant was my test, because I tried to asset the Difficulty level. An elephant is Novice Tier encounter. Supposed to be on par with 1 novice 50% win, or maybe a fair match for a journeyman, I guess 80% chances to win.

The elephant has 3 attacks, high damage. If I don't get initiative, my journeyman will get hurt badly.

I like the way pacifists have an edge with social interaction. I didn't see any immunity- monsters that don't give a damn about social defense because they're immune...

I 'm running 8 games (gurps and d&d) online + 2 (almost real with Covid) IRL games, so I was thinking about running a 20-30 posts solo online...
Is the free game Trouble in little Soho ? Do you have a URL ?
Last edited by mictrepanier on Tue Dec 15, 2020 11:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Slimcreeper
Posts:1061
Joined:Mon Nov 28, 2016 11:44 pm

Re: First Blush

Post by Slimcreeper » Tue Dec 15, 2020 1:29 am

https://shop.fasagames.com/index.php?ma ... ts_id=1298

I actually really like the adventure in it. I'd run it even if it weren't the Quickstart. I have done Trouble and it is pretty interesting, but more combat than I usually run in 1879.

The creatures aren't suuuuper well balanced in that sense. It was sort of written at the same time as CoreStep was being ironed out, so there are some weird wrinkles. The Gruv creatures in particular, well, this is the player side so I won't go into it too much.

As far as rolling low steps against low target numbers, that's not a large part of the game, with the possible exception of Interaction Tests. And if you have a good face with the party, that's not even the case.

At the same time, the game isn't really a fight monsters game. I mean, it comes up. My bunch did fight some mysterious mutated gruv mosquitoes (http://fasagames.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=1741) in one adventure, and it was pretty fun, but the main point was the bizarre alien mysteries, some of which they could solve and some of which they couldn't. My longest running conflict, though, is with a Secret Society, based on something in the GM Guide, that I tweaked to place very nearly zero value on a human life. Everyone else in setting treats killing as murder. The secret society, on the other hand, will just kill anyone if they think it will benefit them in some modest way. It's pretty disconcerting. For the most part, the secret society isn't even targeting people that the party is close to. The party just comes across people that are just casually and brutally murdered. The players have had a string of victories, but the problem with a society is that there is always another layer to the onion ...

That's a heavy gaming schedule! I only play once a week, with a couple PbP. I don't know if I'm jealous or if I'm glad there aren't that many entries on my calendar!

mictrepanier
Posts:5
Joined:Mon Dec 14, 2020 5:12 pm
Location:Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Re: First Blush

Post by mictrepanier » Tue Dec 15, 2020 12:01 pm

Fine!

The setting looks like Victoriana, another fantasy steampunk victorian era, and a little bit like 7 Seas, both from competitors ;)

I don't care a lot about setting, I'm able to figure out a fantasy steampunk victorian era all by myself, with 10+ sourcebooks from several games on hand.
The theme is there, lost worlds with ancient cultures, soon the faerie veil (with companion books), weird science, caste society....

I'll take a look at the free adventure. I'm just lacking people wanting new game systems...

Slimcreeper
Posts:1061
Joined:Mon Nov 28, 2016 11:44 pm

Re: First Blush

Post by Slimcreeper » Tue Dec 15, 2020 2:04 pm

That's always the challenge, finding the players! I've been finding them on the discord server.

The thing that I like about the setting is the emphasis on alt-history, and of course the links to Earthdawn. The thing I like about the system is that it has pretty robust socio-economic mechanics (and they are expanded in the companion - I wrote some of them!) and I think the Step system scales pretty well from man-on-the-street, and I like the drama of exploding dice.

mictrepanier
Posts:5
Joined:Mon Dec 14, 2020 5:12 pm
Location:Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Re: First Blush

Post by mictrepanier » Tue Dec 15, 2020 2:57 pm

Slimcreeper wrote:
Tue Dec 15, 2020 2:04 pm
That's always the challenge, finding the players! I've been finding them on the discord server.

The thing that I like about the setting is the emphasis on alt-history, and of course the links to Earthdawn. The thing I like about the system is that it has pretty robust socio-economic mechanics (and they are expanded in the companion - I wrote some of them!) and I think the Step system scales pretty well from man-on-the-street, and I like the drama of exploding dice.
True. It is more intuitive and fun than plain d20 roll from Torg, another game using logaryhtmic scale. 5 points of damage kills a squirrel, 30 crush a wall. The real impact is more than 6x in Newton/Kj.

Here, in 1879, the hit points system (recalled "unconscious threshold" or so) is the most unrealist issue. it works for the elephant, less for the high-level humanoid. One gets hurt 6 times, minus 6 in tests, enough to kill 2 elephants and still stands up! The game is supposed to be more realistic...

One side: d&d. All abstract
Other side: realistic. Rolemaster, Hero, Gurps

In between: I like... quite less such games with a simulation level in between... I know dozens of such games. I never played them...

mictrepanier
Posts:5
Joined:Mon Dec 14, 2020 5:12 pm
Location:Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Re: First Blush

Post by mictrepanier » Tue Dec 15, 2020 4:49 pm

Punch’d or The London Chiaroscuro

This adventure should be run in 3-4h. It should earn how many AP ? 200-300 AP to each player ?
It is a strange scenario... It will make the players humble... Your characters are overwhelmed and need help to save the day...

I'm afraid my friends are french... they can hardly follow-up on discord or skype...

flower
Posts:4
Joined:Tue Jan 12, 2021 12:40 pm

Re: First Blush

Post by flower » Tue Jan 12, 2021 12:46 pm

its look like very difficult. :(

Slimcreeper
Posts:1061
Joined:Mon Nov 28, 2016 11:44 pm

Re: First Blush

Post by Slimcreeper » Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:34 pm

I am happy to run a short-shot (1-3 sessions) game for a group that wants to try it out. My High School French is long faded, unfortunately. The only thing I can still say in French is "I do not speak French." But I'm happy to do so in English. I actually have a certificate in teaching ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Language). I'm willing to work with some limited English, as long as we have enough in common to play. It's probably a lot easier to run the game if you've played it. Practically speaking, there are only a handful of 1879 GMs in the world! So there's the bottleneck for increasing the reach of the game; I'm doing my part! If you have any questions, I'm happy to help.

Being able to increase the health ratings of a player character is definitely unrealistic. If that is a problem for your table, I think you could simply leave it off or cut the bonus in half. I think it would really limit the reach of your characters, but that's a matter of taste. The game is set to medium on the pulp-realistic dial, and this is the place where it takes some liberties.

Doesn't bother me personally - as the heroes interact more with the world and the magic therein, it strengthens their patterns. Durability, to me, is a magic skill, but you could definitely tweak that scale if you like.

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