GM's Guide -- Anything you would like to see?

[kosmit]

I would like to see average wages of guards, scribes etc.

[Qui_Revient_de_Loin]

And i would like to see lists of names for the different races, it would greatly help gming by naming NPC on the fly !

[peterjk3]

[Sangeet]

[Kasbak]

Since the topic has been brought back up, I will mention something I was kicking around at Gencon. I've been considering writing up a fan-made rule set to run Call of Cthulhu in Corestep. The idea I came up with to handle sanity there would be to use the same formula from Toughness that derives Wound Threshhold, Uncon, and Death, instead based off of Willpower to generate a Temporary Insanity Threshhold, a Long-Term Insanity Rating, and a Permanent Insanity Rating.

Your Temporary Insanity Threshhold works like mental wounds, so sanity damage taken all at once creates a temporary effect (duration determined by GM, probably not more than a day at this level) and cumulative -1 penalty to action rolls.

Long-Term Insanity rating represents increased mental destabilization from repeated exposure over time. You might reduce your sanity back below the rating, but every time you cross it, you gain a long-term, sometimes permanent, effect, again determined by the GM.

Permanent Insanity rating would be the point where the mind breaks, and there's nothing left for the victim but a straight jacket and a padded cell.

Healing sanity damage would be more difficult than regular damage, since you wouldn't just get daily recovery tests. The GM might grant a Willpower test to recover sanity after things like defeating a Horror/powerful supernatural being or completing a month of psychotherapy.

These same rules could also easily be applied to Earthdawn, since it operates using existing Corestep mechanics. It's still an idea in development, so any thoughts on the matter would be welcome (though probably best sent in a PM or perhaps another thread so that this one isn't derailed).

[Sangeet]

I think it hightens the perceptive importance of this mechanic (when we discuss it here), and of course it will make the world a bit more gritty íf such a rules system would be present, i could of course make up such a "house rule" easy by myself, as its just another point value, which could be triggerd by horrific events or creatures. I think when it get´s into official canon, it would add a great amount of storytelling possibilties and atmosphere to the game.

Probably heroic actions could act to cure sanity , either with generating confidence in the person, or in the persons witnessing these actions of the player characters. I dont think such a system should drive the player characters into an asylum or turn them permanently into effectivly unplayable characters, it could work just as system to make the narrative feel more real by adding consequences. (Pulp style.)

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Im not sure if its mentioned already, but the GM guide, would need a section about poison , with prices - availability etc.
A general goods and services table is also expected, what does airship travel cost, boat travel, a night in a tavern, what is the cost of living for a commoner in a city, in a rural area. What does local hierarchy look like in a standard town, is it anarchic, as everyone is just out of his homeley kaer? Building a kaer was a major effort, did the local rulers stayed mostly in their position?#

A quick system to build NPC, and monsters would also be appreciated.

An enhanced system to scale a group of monsters vs a group of circle X adventures would also be nice.

[Utsukushi]

I'm still dead against Sanity mechanics in Earthdawn. It doesn't add storytelling, it reduces it to numbers on your sheet. There's no Horror in, "You get -1 Step to all your Action rolls until tomorrow." You already get that with Wounds and... how many people actually pay attention to Wounds as anything more than a number? You might sometimes, when it's easy, describe where a Wound is, but most of the time you just jot down, "1" on your sheet and move on. They're not part of the story. I can't envision a table that could encompass Chantrel's Horror, Joie, Giftbringer and Yrsgrathe.

Giving it a system turns it into, as you say, just another point value. Another point value does not excite me.

[etherial]

[Mataxes]

I have no plans to add any kind of official sanity mechanic to Earthdawn. It goes against what I feel is the 'heroic' nature of the game, and adds a mechanical aspect to something that I would really rather be left mysterious and in the hands of individual gamemasters and players.

That said, general advice on incorporating madness and insanity into a game is a good idea.

[Qui_Revient_de_Loin]

Something I'm thinking for my play, but it's an alien house rule, is to use the solar system key (Shadow of Yesterday, Lady Blackbird) for corruption. ()

For example (its crude, the real key can be better build), a PC whose sanity have been shaken, would gain the Key of Horror sequela: You have been shaken by what you have seen, activate this key when you are haunted by these visions. Gain 100 LP or 5 KP, double it if that puts you in danger. Buy-off: Attuned or search comfort.

For a PC marked, he would gain Key of the Horror marked : You have been marked by a Horror, activate this key whenever you use a Horror power or follow one of its suggestions. Gain 100 LP or 5 KP, double it if that puts you in danger. Buy-off: Kill that Horror.

The idea of these key is to put a mechanism controlled by the PC (he choose when activate the key, he take the LP/KP (with GM agreement), he choose when he wants to abandon the key if the story permits it) and to encourage/tempt him to act following specific behavior, duty, and so on.

It's just to add to the debate on sanity by showing alternate mechanism than those of Call of Chtulhu, not a demand for the 4th edition