Nile Empire Preview #10 - Adventuring in the Nile Empire

[TorgHacker]

Posts link, grabs popcorn, leans back.

https://www.ulisses-us.com/nile-empire- ... le-empire/

[utsukushi]

Looking forward to that DSR example based on, I assume, Jackie Chan? <grin>

On the Giant Boulder Trap, there is a typo. "..and are only activate when some other..." either needs a d on activate, or to drop to 'are'. Probably the d, since the other way sounds less like the trap is primed and more like it starts immediately. I'm not sure why, but at least to me, it feels more confusing like that. ... Actually, given that you already used "active" in the sentence, just making it "primed" might be even better.

Out of curiosity, why would a be pendulum ignore armor? That seems like much the kind of "swinging sharp thing" situation armor was invented for. Also, can I have a handful of that popcorn? It smells really good.

[TorgHacker]

Looking forward to that DSR example based on, I assume, Jackie Chan? <grin>

On the Giant Boulder Trap, there is a typo. "..and are only activate when some other..." either needs a d on activate, or to drop to 'are'. Probably the d, since the other way sounds less like the trap is primed and more like it starts immediately. I'm not sure why, but at least to me, it feels more confusing like that. ... Actually, given that you already used "active" in the sentence, just making it "primed" might be even better.

Out of curiosity, why would a be pendulum ignore armor? That seems like much the kind of "swinging sharp thing" situation armor was invented for. Also, can I have a handful of that popcorn? It smells really good.

The text is in editing at the moment. As for the 'ignore's armor' TBH I don't recall a reason, and there's a good chance that I accidentally left that in from a copy/paste. Good Q.

[Spatula]

Though with the pendulum blades, one could argue that, depending on the position, they might ignore Torso armor. Maybe treat it as a called shot to the head or legs.

Cool stuff. I like incorporating the find test as just another means of avoidance to cut down on the rolling.

[TorgHacker]

Cool stuff. I like incorporating the find test as just another means of avoidance to cut down on the rolling.

Perception checks might be one of my biggest gaming pet peeves.

Maybe.

[JohnK]

Hullo, TorgHacker,

Cool stuff. I like incorporating the find test as just another means of avoidance to cut down on the rolling.

Perception checks might be one of my biggest gaming pet peeves.

Maybe.

I don't have players make Perception checks to sense what the character can sense with their five senses. Perception checks should be used in all game systems to sense the unusual or the not obvious. Ymmv, of course.

[utsukushi]

Maybe treat it as a called shot to the head or legs.

I see what you mean, but I don't like the idea of a present thing like that being able to make a `called shot'. That's a lot harder than just aiming high or low, which is mostly what they can really do.

The text is in editing at the moment. As for the 'ignore's armor' TBH I don't recall a reason, and there's a good chance that I accidentally left that in from a copy/paste. Good Q.

That's all fair, though! I'll relax on the typos - I do know these are previews, I'm just... I do that. I did want to apologize if my first post came out a little brief, though - I was using my phone, and was too excited by a new Preview to wait. <grin> But seriously, thank you for once again baring a small piece of your soul for us!

SO glad you guys decided to relax on the schedule going forward. Waiting for the Nile Kickstarter to launch is just killing me!! (Um, not literally. If you put it off another month, you're not going to get rid of me. Just... for the record.)

[TorgHacker]

No worries.

[Fuzzy]

So, first the good:

It's really, really nice that the team is taking time to explain why things make sense - why heroes are in Cairo, why Mobius doesn't wipe the floor with Alpha clearance storm knights, etc. A little of this conversation goes a long way toward internal world consistency. Huge fan of using some space in the book for this.

OK, now the negative (asking forgiveness in advance): traps are a great addition to the repertoire in Torg, but these traps seem really absolute, and don't give much agency to the players to think about creative alternatives. I get that they are death traps, and it's supposed to be dramatic, but I also personally love when players break the genre because THEY CAN (unlike someone who is bound to the genre itself). For example, the holy Aylish knight in Orrorsh, or the Nile hero in Tharkhold.

Example:

Giant Bounder - disable, No... So, if a storm knight sees the tunnel is shaped in a particular way and constructs a giant metal wedge to block the boulder, then nothing? What if the storm knight sets several blocks of C-9 charges, then trigger the boulder and detonates the C-9 on the boulder?

Also, maybe the Mishap defeat test is a bit harsh in ALL cases... A pendulum trap failure is getting hit with a massive blade. It probably isn't worse than taking a 20MM cannon shot to the chest. Image I do an active defense and mishap... Does that justify an auto-defeat (i.e. you just died)?

I imagine there's a pit trap in there somewhere. So, if you fall down the pit (mishap on the jump across) does that do more damage than falling out of an airplane?

In any case, none of this is game breaking in the slightest. Just worth thinking through a bit.

[Gargoyle]

So, first the good:

It's really, really nice that the team is taking time to explain why things make sense - why heroes are in Cairo, why Mobius doesn't wipe the floor with Alpha clearance storm knights, etc. A little of this conversation goes a long way toward internal world consistency. Huge fan of using some space in the book for this.

OK, now the negative (asking forgiveness in advance): traps are a great addition to the repertoire in Torg, but these traps seem really absolute, and don't give much agency to the players to think about creative alternatives. I get that they are death traps, and it's supposed to be dramatic, but I also personally love when players break the genre because THEY CAN (unlike someone who is bound to the genre itself). For example, the holy Aylish knight in Orrorsh, or the Nile hero in Tharkhold.

Example:

Giant Bounder - disable, No... So, if a storm knight sees the tunnel is shaped in a particular way and constructs a giant metal wedge to block the boulder, then nothing? What if the storm knight sets several blocks of C-9 charges, then trigger the boulder and detonates the C-9 on the boulder?

Also, maybe the Mishap defeat test is a bit harsh in ALL cases... A pendulum trap failure is getting hit with a massive blade. It probably isn't worse than taking a 20MM cannon shot to the chest. Image I do an active defense and mishap... Does that justify an auto-defeat (i.e. you just died)?

I imagine there's a pit trap in there somewhere. So, if you fall down the pit (mishap on the jump across) does that do more damage than falling out of an airplane?

In any case, none of this is game breaking in the slightest. Just worth thinking through a bit.

I think if you were to try to quantify this stuff in rules, you'd end up with a 1000 page book. Nothing wrong with your thoughts here, but this is what GM rulings are for. The rules are for giving you a start on it, and it seems that is working.