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Posts posted by BJ Back From the Beyond
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Oh, very cool. Unfortunately, it looks like all the links to BoA graphics are gone except for the portraits by Dahak (at least I have a credit for those now). All of them just loop around to the same page.
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1 hour ago, Kelandon said:
On the graphics, I have not been able to find the disappeared graphics either. Some were incorporated into scenarios, which are now the best source of custom graphics of which I am aware, but if anyone knows about a backup graphic archive, I'd be interested to hear about it.
Hmm. I smells me a side project... 😏
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(Wow. I mean, just wow. It has been a really, really long time since I posted anything on this forum. Good grief.)
Hey guys, long time no see. I've been taking a look back at my old BoA stuff. You know, recapturing the excitement of what was never released, and cringing at the thought of what was released. 😛 It's all gotten me thinking about starting a new scenario project. Before I get too far though, I figured I'd ask around to see if anyone can answer some questions I have.
First of all, I remember a 3D editor was in the works last I was here. I see I have the Eccentric Eyebeast release of that, but I'm wondering if more development has been done and if a new release has come out during my years of absence.
Second, I see many of the links to user-made BoA sites no longer work. That makes me very sad, and it makes me wonder if any of the custom graphics hosted on those sites have survived (I see Louvre is still around though. That makes me happy). I'm also remembering seeing a black sand terrain set somewhere that I would love to work with, but I can't seem to find it. If anyone has info on where those graphics can be found, I'd love to hear it. These works of art should not be lost.
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Has anyone ever run a tabletop campaign based off of the world of Avernum?
Short answer: yes. A few years ago there was a tabletop game run out of this forum set in Avernum during the events of the second game. The name of it was The Abyss, and the tread for it is probably still around here somewhere. That game used a set of homebrew rules, nothing nearly as complicated as DnD, so it's probably not what you're looking for. I'm not sure where you could find those rules, if you're interested. I don't think they made it to the AIMhack wiki, but Lilith might still have a copy.
I've been playing 5e myself recently. If you just mean combining the 5e rules and the Avernum setting, well how difficult it would be would depend on just how many of the rules you want to change. For instance, it would be pretty easy to make additions for the nephil and slith races (possibly a few others too, if you're feeling ambitions), but if you wanted to go so far as to address the discrepancies in the two magic systems, well then you've got your work cut out for you. My (free) advice would be to keep it simple and just focus on getting the flavor of the setting without messing with the rules too much. Now, if you're talking about actually making a whole new set of rules based on the Avernum games, well it could probably be done. Just take it from someone who has tried something similar: it's a whole lot more work than you think it will be.
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I would be willing to join up with you all over IM. As for finding a GM, I've done it before and have been planning to do it again sometime. I've been seriously working on a Zombies 3 campaign for a while now. The thing is, if I do run it (and that 'if' is more like a 'when') I'll want to use the "AIMhack variant" that I've been developing alongside it (how much can you change the rules before it stops being an AIMhack variant?), and I'd really like to use MapTool. I don't know how you feel about those.
I'm not sure about voice chat. I've never tried it before, but it really doesn't sound appealing to me.
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Whoa, yeah, I forgot about the advance. Bump my spellcasting to d12.
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I think Option 1 is slightly better. If there's a chance for us to rejoin the rest of the party, you can believe we'll take it.
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As far as I know, April 1st is fine. Hope you feel better soon.
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Oh, man, I forgot about this. Um, my advance... *goes to check character sheet*
Yeah, I'll take +1 Vigor, putting my at d8.
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I'll take Power Points, putting me at 25 total.
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I tried reproducing the error using the code you posted, but the creature was always able to use mage spells. As far as I can tell, there shouldn't be any reason why yours can't. Just changing the level doesn't affect the creature's mage spell skill. The Good Witch creature you imported has its default strategy set to 1, so it should try to use ranged abilities like mage spells whenever possible. The mage spell skill being high or low compared to the level of the creature should be irrelevant.
I can't fathom why cr_level should be causing this problem. You could try removing it from the data script and instead putting in a set_level call in the INIT_STATE of the creature script. It should look something like below.
beginstate INIT_STATE; set_level(ME,30); break;
Hopefully that will work.
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That still requires the party to travel to a set location to activate the move_to_new_town special. I can't be sure exactly what Excalibur wanted, but I don't think that was it. Yes, you could do things that way. It's still not something I would recommend.
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If you wanted to make it so the item worked everywhere in the scenario, doing it this way would require filling nearly every space in the scenario with such specials. I'm not even sure if BoA will let you place that many.You could have them use the item and then walk onto a placed special. Have the item set a sdf by calling a state in the scenario script.
If the flag is not set the special ends immediately, otherwise the move to new town happens. I don't know if this works in practice or not.
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Blew through it with a god-party last night, so no input on balance yet. From the look, I'll probably have a whole dissertation for you on that subject after doing it with a level 1. Anyway, the only bug I found was
Machrone's dialog intro in the third floor of the Town doesn't work properly. His personality is set to 0 in the editor, so that would be the cause.
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0.0
Don't want much, do you?
Well, since move_to_new_town doesn't work unless you move onto it and as far as I know there's no way to place special nodes or terrain scripts from within the game, you'd have to have a space set up where the party could step to activate the move_to_new_town function in advance. You *could* set up a place in each town in the scenario where you can teleport the party upon using your special item, then have that place move them to the new town when they move. It would probably work okay, but I don't think it would be easy to set up or very smooth looking.
As far as teleporting directly into a town from the outdoors, I don't believe it's possible. You *could* do something like what I mentioned above using town entrances instead of the move_to_new_town function, but it still wouldn't look very good.
My advice: just scrap it.
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I believe Tyranicus still keeps an up-to-date database of BoA scenarios. You could try dropping him a line.
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I'm in my basement right now, where we keep most of our games. Let's see what we've got.
Best
Scotland Yard: in my opinion, one of the best strategy games out there. Some may disagree with me as the actual gameplay itself is pretty simple. I just think playing Mr. X is so much fun.
Axis and Allies: I've never actually completed a game, but I've played enough to know I like it.
Good
Settlers of Cattan
Clue:the thing about clue is that you need to be paying a lot of attention to what's going on to really succeed. Even if it's not your turn, there's still information that you can record and use later on. I should probably not go into detail. I don't want to spend the whole post talking about Clue note-taking strategies.
Sequence
Broadway: this is an older game, so I'm not sure anyone else here has seen it. I've only ever seen the copy that my dad has. It's kinda like Monopoly for show business, except with more strategy (and dice that have zeroes on them).
Forbidden Desert: the 'sequel' to Forbidden Island. A recent addition to our collection which I have enjoyed immensely.
Apples to Apples: I find the quality of the game fluctuates depending on who you play it with. I've played in a few games that nearly left me hoarse with laughter.
Average
Risk: the last game I played was with my sister and one of my friends. It took us all week.
Scrabble
Mille Bornes
Mancala
Carcassonne
Stratego
Poor
Trivial Pursuit
Life
Monopoly
I won't say I've played any truly bad games. Usually whatever I play is good enough to keep me somewhat entertained.
As for traditional card games, I do like poker and such, but ultimately my game is Mexican shuffle.
I play Magic: the Gathering as well, though not much in recent years. I haven't known anyone else who plays for a while, so my participation has waned. I think the last time I was serious about it was back when Shards of Alara was coming out. I can't even remember when that was.
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Yeah, sure. 30th is fine.
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Take a look at the Tropics Data Script on Ephesos's site. It has some graphics that look very much like palm trees.
http://ephesos.webs.com/scripts.htm
EDIT: For the ship graphic, there's one in the Louve. Look here. Credits go to Pyrulen.
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As far as I know, the 23rd should be fine.
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Ooookay, getting back to this took longer than expected. Let's see if I can clear some things up.
If you like aimhack, why not just fork off a variant and go from there? Its simple enough that you can learn it quite quickly, and unless you go with a big name they'll need to learn a system anyway, right?I'd prefer to go with something someone else has made, for a couple of reasons. It will probably be better balanced than anything I could come up with, and it would be better tested. I'm not sure I'm really up to the task of even making an AIMhack variant (every time I try to make something like that, it just seems to wither and die ) That's not to say I'm not willing to try. It's looking more and more like a variant is exactly what I'll end up with.
I'm actually curious to know what seems slow and difficult to implement. And, for that matter, what implementing means here.What I mean is that some of the things that require back-and-forth discussion between the GM and player look like they would take much longer in online play than they would in person. I can't remember what they're called (Compels? Was that one?) and I really don't feel like looking right now. And sorry if some things I say are confusing. It happens more often than you might think.
Anyway, on the subject of the current AIMhack variants, I can honestly say that I've played with most if not all of them (Classic AIMhack, Zombiehack, Creepinghack, and Quadhack; note that Nibiru never left development). Each of them has features that I like. Each of them has features that I don't like. Every other person who has played with them can probably say the same, but for me the bottom line is this: given the option between using one of the per-established variants and making my own, I'd rather make my own.
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Bumping Smarts and Fighting.
Stats
Name: Leila Rithorn
Race: Elf Female
Occupation: Traveling Necromancer
Wounds: 0
Fatigue: 0
Power Points: 20
Experience: 45
Agility: d6
Smarts: d10
Spirit: d8
Strength: d4
Vigor: d6
Fighting: d6
Riding: d6
Stealth: d4
Spellcasting: d10
Notice: d6
Investigation: d6
Knowledge (Arcane): d8
Persuasion: d8
Pace: 6''
Parry: 7
Toughness: 5
Charisma: 2
Powers
Rend Life (bolt w/ necromantic trappings)
Rank: Novice
PP: 2
Range: 12/24/48
Duration: Instant
The caster gestures toward the target and a part of their life-force is ripped away. This deals 3d6 damage and has AP 4. This spell is indirect and cannot miss if successfully cast or benefit from called shots, but the damage is halved if it fails to reach or exceed the TN. If the damage from this spell would incapacitate the victim, instead of rolling on the injury table the victim’s Vigor die is reduced by a die type (to a minimum of d4). The effect of this spell cannot be perceived except through magical means and has no effect against non-living targets (undead, constructs, etc.).
Shadow Bolt (bolt w/ dark trappings)
Rank: Novice
PP: 1
Range: 12/24/48
Duration: Instant
A small bolt of elemental darkness flies from the caster’s hand. Upon impact, it deals 2d4+1 damage and envelopes the target in a cloud of darkness, giving a -2 penalty to the target’s sight-based skill rolls (Notice, Fighting, Shooting, etc, assuming the target uses sight to perform these tasks) on their next action. Up to three bolts can be fired at once at 1PP each, or one bolt can be fired that inflicts an additional d4 damage for 2PP.
Deathly Presence (fear w/ necromantic trappings)
Rank: Novice
PP: 2
Range: Smarts x 2
Duration: Instant
The chilling terror that mortals feel when in the presence of ghosts can be recreated and directed by necromancers. With just a few small, subtle pulses of necromantic energy, they can instill great dread in others. Everyone in a large burst template must make a Fear check, at -2 if the caster got a raise. The spell is also imperceptible except through magical means.
Animate Dead (zombie w/ necromantic trappings)
Rank: Veteran Novice
PP: 2/corpse
Range: Smarts
Duration: 1 hour, 1d6 hours with a raise, 1 day with two (Spending double PP makes it 2d6 hours, 2d6 days with a raise, permanent with two)
Though a few gestures and some chanting, a necromancer can imbue a corpse with unnatural life. The resulting undead is bound to serve its creator for as long as it exists.
Spectral Servant (zombie w/ necromantic trappings)
Rank: Veteran Novice
PP: 3/spirit
Range: Smarts
Duration: 1 hour, 1d6 hours with a raise, 1 day with two (Spending double PP makes it 2d6 hours, 2d6 days with a raise, permanent with two)
This spell calls a minor ghost to appear and binds it to serve the caster for the duration of the spell. The resulting spirit is an ethereal creature capable of limited interaction with the physical world (move small objects, turn door handles, etc.). It remembers little to nothing of its former life. Once the spell expires the spirit is sent back to where it came from.
Grave Speak
Rank: Seasoned
PP: 4
Range: Touch
Duration: 3 (1/round)
This spell allows the caster to contact a departed soul. To do this, the spell must be directed at a particular soul and the caster must either know the name of the deceased or have access to a personal item (part of their corpse, a treasured item, etc.). If the spell succeeds, a ghostly voice makes itself known and may be questioned. One question may be asked for each round the spell is active. The spirit is not necessarily friendly and may lie, but it cannot refuse to answer or make guesses. The spirit only knows whatever it knew in life.
Shadowstep (Burrow w/ dark trappings)
Rank: Novice
PP: 3
Range: Smarts x 2
Duration: 3 (2/round)
The caster steps into the shadows and vanishes. While merged in this way, they are able to transport themselves to any area covered by darkness within range as a movement action. They may step out of the shadows at their current location as a free action – making a Stealth roll opposed by the opponent’s Notice if attempting to ambush someone. On a raise, this gives the benefits of the Drop (+4 attack and damage), and gives half the benefits for a success. The spell requires shadows of at least human size to work, and if the shadow currently being used ceases to exist, the caster (and anyone else in it) instantly reappears and the spell expires. The spell can affect up to five targets, at 1 PP per target beyond the first.
Undead Roster
Servant Ghost:
Quantity: 1
Duration: permanent
Agility: d4
Smarts: d6
Spirit: d6
Strength: d6
Vigor: d4
Stealth: d8
Notice: d10
Pace: 6”
Parry: 2
Toughness: 6
Ethereal
Undead
Zombie Roc:
Quantity: 1
Duration: permanent
Agility: d6
Smarts: d4
Spirit: d6
Strength: d12+9
Vigor: d8
Fighting: d10
Intimidation: d8
Notice: d4
Pace: 6”
Parry: 7
Toughness: 16
Huge
Flight
Fearless
Undead
Weakness (Head)
Talons d6, AP 4
Blessed Zombie:
Quantity: 5
Duration: permanent
Agility: d6
Smarts: d4
Spirit: d4
Strength: d10
Vigor: d8
Fighting: d8
Intimidation: d6
Notice: d4
Pace: 4”
Parry: 7
Toughness: 7
Small
Evasion
Limited Flight
Fearless
Undead
Weakness (Head)
Claws d6
Beechford
in Blades of Avernum Scenario Reviews
Posted
Narrative Design: Minimal
Setting Design: Minimal
Encounter Design: Minimal
Technical Design: Includes game-breaking bug!
Summation: I don't want to hate this scenario. And I don't. Really. It clearly was a first effort by a designer not used to the role, which makes me want to give it some leeway. It's short. It's very simple. It's quirky in some places, for good or for ill. But there just isn't much here to play, and what is here is only superficially amusing.
Rating: Poor