- The GLOW 1996: Psychic Eustace Delmont Intermission #4 – Finishing Checking in with Rules and Such
- Credits
The GLOW: 1996 Psychic Eustace Delmont. Intermission #4 – Finishing Checking in with Rules and Such
Finishing Up the Check In
A week or so ago — in blog time, more like 2 weeks ago in real time — I got through the first 147 pages of the Outgunned book to tighten up the rules, figure out stuff that I might need to change, and generally plot out ways to make the story feel a bit more Outgunned. Since then, Episodes 5, 6, and 7 have been played and I’m getting ready for Episode 8 which will definitely increase some pressure. Assuming Eustace doesn’t score a Jackpot and take down a boss in a single roll. Which might happen.
At any rate, it’s a good time for me to finish out the re-read. Especially since my general understanding of those first five chapters was already pretty close to correct but the last chapter is where I only have the vaguest notion of things. I also need to finish out the last bit of Chapter 5. Then, getting that done, I’ll move on to Action Flicks and just touch base a little there. Come up with some ideas for opponents that better use the Cyber/Super vibe.
Rereading “Need for Speed” (from Chapter 5)
We had a very short chase/race that was almost for comical effect. I’m not 100% sure there will be much chance for another but I can always force one in if I want.
The basics I get. You have two general numbers: “Need” and “Speed.” The Need has a story-element — where you are trying to get or what you are trying to achieve — and a numerical element — a number of Grit-esque boxes ranging from 6 to 18 [page 154] with the note that Need 6 chase might be a bit too short while Need 13+ chases are likely to be too difficult. The recommended rage on page 154 is 8 to 12. In multiplayer games, the Need can be kept a secret.
Speed is the other quality. It is more straightforwardly mechanical in that it is established by known equipment. Rides have a starting speed — Eustace’s bike is up 2 as a starting speed since he rewrote it during his Soulburn berserker-y. The story element of speed is a bit abstract and is more about your ability to get out of the chase successfully. No matter where the ride starts it eventually gets up to Speed 5 or Speed 6. On page 154 (again), it notes that at Speed 5 the chase’s Action Rolls become a Gamble. Presumably the Reaction Rolls remain merely dangerous [if that]. Then at Speed 6 you start taking -1 to all rolls because you are at Top Speed. There is at least one Feat to counter this but none of my characters have that Feat and it does not seem likely they will get it during this Campaign.
[page 152] At the end of the ACTION Turn, before you check Reaction, you fill a number of Need equal to your current Speed. This is after you calculate changes to your speed. If — and only if — your action would increase your Speed then you get +1 Speed for Critical successes, +2 for Extreme, and +3 for Impossible. A Jackpot means the chase is over. Characters can do other actions instead of trying to focus on increasing their Speed, or just essentially skip their Action turn. If you fail to get any successes, Speed drops by 1. If you have a 0 Speed and this happens, you actually lose a filled box on your Need.
You can choose to skip increasing your Speed [to avoid getting faster than 4, for instance].
The jazz of the chase sequences is the Reaction Turns. This is where the characters — the driver and the passengers — tend to have to do various things to avoid getting hit or tossed around or losing control. It tends to be Dangerous + Critical but can be +/- based on circumstance. On page 153 it points out that you get -1 Speed per person who fails (passengers and driver) but if the driver fails, you also lose one armor.
There are several examples given for types of roll. Here’s one: You need to make a sudden turn. The driver rolls Nerves+Dexterity, the others roll Brawn+Force. I like that sort of vibe, truly.
If the ride blows up — runs out of armor and takes more damage — you lose the chase. Makes sense. On page 155 it also has other loss conditions like a minimum speed, a countdown, or having to bail out of the chase. Of course, if everyone loses Grit [possibly just the driver depending on the ride] then the chase is over.
There is the option to having hot boxes on the Need track similar to how they are in combat [page 160]. Then, for Adrenaline, you get a few fun things like “old woman cross the road” or “rush hour traffic…” I like the theme of those.
There are rules for chases on foot [page 159] — similar mechanics but no ride, no driver, and starting speed is 0. Presumably the main loss condition for that would be running out of Grit [with the countdown, minimum speed, and giving up possibly taking place in some situations]. Rules for multple rides on page 158 — if destination is the same, treat it as one chase while if not then treat it as separate chases.
With the comment that there is likely enough data and rules here for this to have likely deserved its own chapter, I think I got the general idea of how to keep chases fun.
Rereading “Mission Start”
When you’re playing Outgunned, you always have a mission to carry out. + Every mission comes with very high stakes. If you and your fellow Heroes don’t get to work, the bad guys will win, and many innocents will pay the price. Both on page 164. Early on, this was definitely a bit of a problem for the campaign. I think with the introduction of the most recent twists in the game, the campaign/arc more re-aligns with the vibe at the core of Outgunned. There is a definite badness that is a core badness. Magnus Odinson — real name not yet released —, Dave Akari, and Roger Patel are all part of an attempt to try and destabilize the Order. Does it make sense? I mean, yeah. It makes enough sense for me to have a good time.
At the beginning of a Turning Point, Heat rises and the Heroes Advance. From then on, you can set Goons aside and start bringing in Bad Guys and Bosses. [page 166] Oooooopsies. Looks like Heat went up. That won’t impact too much but it is up to 6, now. Actually, no, there are seom conditions to up Heat [Page 181]: A point of no return (Showdown or Turning Point), when someone is left for dead which the characters have not done, a major defeat, a major failure, or taking too long. The latter is up for debate but since the storyline as a whole has been going for around two days and only the last twenty-four hours has really been a major impact I’d say it’s ok. The initial rise was due to the attack in the mall but frankly that’s the establishing shot that explains why the heat would be at 4. The Turning Point of stuff going down at the compound would be what gets it to 5.
One thing I am still slightly struggling with is the Villain. Roger Patel is a likely choice but I think more and more it will be Doctor Roman Patel. Roger is kind of a right-hand man to his dad. Roman will be the core of the secret sects and crime family power. By focusing on Roman it makes it less about a one-on-one and taking down a villain that is an older man, though still fit, who deals with everything through layers of subordinates. His daughter somewhat turned on the family — less here than in the Alabama Weird — and the plot line to rescue her is still on the books. Maybe right after the compound. Eustace has slightly forgotten about the disk but that can be soon.
Going with Roman, we get Roger as the main subordinate, and Amy is Roman’s weakness. His strong spots will be Organized Crime, Cutting Edge Tech, and Secret Organization. In fact, the fight with the compound is slightly biting into Roman’s control of hidden psychics.
I’ll save going into the rest of the Villain stuff until we are closer to the Showdown, but the important thing for me to remember is that rolls against the Villain are at -1 until the Showdown and basically stuff like Spotlights can’t be used to beat the Villain until the end.
Next significant element in this chapter is Support Characters. Right now there is basically two: Libby and Genny. Libby is help with Hacking. Genny is help with shooting. A few other people might make good ones. One of the goofier street gang members like the ShaoDra or Fractals. Julian. I like the idea of the silly little bike racers to show back up and help since Eustace deeply impressed them. We’ll start with the two and I’ll build them up as characters with actual stats when it is time.
There are three Plans B per campaign/arc: Bluff, Bullet, and Backup. We can say for sure that Hitomi has used up the Backup by calling in folks to help take the compound once I made the compound more complicated than initially intended. On page 183 it goes into details on the others. Bullet and Bluff are basically what they say on the tin.
And then with rest of the chapter it’s a mixture of stuff that seems perfectly fine — like Advancements — and stuff that is mostly ok — like Experiences. Though the attack on the Rambler which may or may not occur is a lot like a Heist, it’s not exactly how I’m playing it so I can skip it.
This wraps up the core book which takes us to Action Flicks.
Rereading “Great Powers” and “Neon Noir”
I think most of it is just flavor and feats and such. But starting with “Great Powers” the main thing I see, on page 71, is “Plan B: Blast.” In most ways it is just like the Bullet — where a single bullet rewrites the scene to be more positive — only it involves your super powers. Eustace has kind of already ued this trick a couple of times but I’m not counting it because both times it was kind of just of flavor.
Then there are a few important things with “Neon Noir.” Use Streetwise in the Sprawl, Style in the Top. This is on page 178. You also have a new rule about using a Gamble. You get +2 to your roll instead of +1, but you take 3 Grit per Snake Eyes. Yowza.
When you lose on the Death Roulette [page 179] you can’t use a Spotlight but also can be revived for $3 at a cyberdoc. Makes sense.
There are also some specific rules for cyberwear that I am partially ignoring because Eustace has something slightly different. As the story progresses, we might think more about that.
Switching to One Per Week
At this point I also want to try switching the let’s play to a slightly different format where I play throughout the week (a scene or two per mini-session) and then hit post just once a week for the actual plays [with things like intermissions being on a second day, etc]. The overhead for the Outgunned THE GLOW posts is enough that any time saved will be helpful to getting to actually play more. The idea is that I spend the same amount of time working on the playthroughs and the blog, essentially, but rather than 3-5 scenes aim for more like 5-10 scenes per week with a bit more time spent building up and actually playing each scene.
It’s not necessarily a guaranteed thing that will stay. For one, it does screw up my “episode format” where there will be more shifts in the middle of each post. When I was doing 3/week then I could run a little long or cut a little short. Only stuff in real life — I have largely lost a lot of mental capacity to play on the weekends so it is much more like an hour here or there throughout the week — kept me cutting stuff shorter and shorter to get the three out. Not all game systems or campaigns require as much overhead so it can vary per campaign.
CREDITS
The GLOW 1996: Psychic Eustace Delmont is played using Two Little Mouse’s Outgunned and Outgunned: Action Flicks (especially, but not limited to “Neon Noir” and “Great Powers”). It uses Larcenous Designs’ Gamemaster Apprentice Deck: Cyberpunk 2E as its main oracle.
Other sources used include:
- Zach Best’s Universal NPC Emulator.
- Cesar Capacle’s Random Realities
- Kevin Crawford’s Cities Without Number
- Matt Davis’ Book of Random Tables: Cyberpunk 1, 2 and 3.
- Geist Hack Games and Paul D. Gallagher’s Augmented Realities.
