The year is 2026. Despite major natural disasters tearing the less developed countries to shreds, and tossing the better off ones into high turmoil, not much has changed. Despite small technological advances being made, the overall scheme of things hasn't changed. Until today.
It is a bitter January morning in the streets of New York. You look out of your window to see a similar street to 15 years ago. Sure, the cars may be more economic, and the buildings may be more efficient, this is still the same old NYC. You look at your room. Amongst a clutter of scrap parts, a computer, a HD3DTV and a door, you see your Science Certificate, designed by yourself. You squat down to admire it for a second.
Suddenly, by pure stroke of luck, a strange beam of light hits your window, bounces of your most prized invention, catches your certificate and hits you square in the eye. You feel inspired enough to regenerate the blandness of modern life into something amazing! You grab your clothes, your tools, some parts and your prized invention, and head outside. You notice that five others seem to be inspired on a similar scale. Work with or against them, but you will craft the world again... with the power of Science.
So yeah, this is the birth of true science, and a sort of prologue to Mad Scientist RTD. It uses a similar rule set, with inventions, fighting and possible explosions. Except, you are the ones who will create the Golden Age of Progress.... by raising factions from ground up!
To make an Invention, you need a Blueprint the some materials. Blueprints can either be purchased at the Madd Sciense & Co. Shops dotted around town, or you can make them yourself via the aid of your jPad 3. With Madd Sciense & Co. Blueprints, you can see what the stats of the creation will be before you waste a turn making a blueprint, giving you a bit of knowledge. However, they will cost you 50 Achievement Points (More on those in the next spoiler), and there will only be 5 in stock at any time, which will change every time one is purchased. Your own blueprints are free, and can be a bit more limitless, but the stats are more random. Making is easy-just gather the needed materials and spend some turns making it, anywhere!
Power is how useful your invention is. For things like weapons, it's how lethal it is. For example, a [1] on a shotgun might make its rounds just tickle, while a [6] could result in DECAPITATION with every round. For other things, such as tools like an Automatic Collector, a [1] might make it only spew out a shoddy piece of work, while a [6] might be spewing out a masterwork scrap metal. It all depends on the thing you're using.
Size is how big what you're wielding is. AS a general rule of thumb, a [3] is a standard size item for what you're making, and a [6] on a spoon will not get bigger than a [1] Titanic. Also, rolling a [1] or a [6] may incur negative multipliers on certain items like weapons, because they're either to big or to small to use. Then again, a hilariously oversized robot won't deal negatives...
Functionality is generally how well your invention works, and how often it breaks down. For example, a [1] on the Automatic Collector will spew out an item every 10 turns or so, and is almost certainly going to break while doing so, while a [6] might be spewing out 2 items a turn, and will rarely need any maintanence.
Fuel is VERY IMPORTANT. It dictates what you need to power your epic inventions-you can't have a Super Colliding Super Collider without a pair of AA Batteries! The roll says what you will need, and how efficient it is with it. A [1] on a Car might require a fresh pair of Plutonium Rods every other turn, while a [6] would make it perfectly green and not need any fuel whatsoever.
Intelligence only applies to AIs, Robots and similar-basically, anything that needs to think. This stat is how clever the AI you design is. For instance, a [1] while designing a Robot might require the player to design a remote control to control it, while a [5] would make it perfectly obedient and capable. a [6] is like a [5], except it becomes self aware, and might refuse to do silly things.
When you perform certain epic actions, or hit certain milestones, you will unlock achievements. With every achievement you earn, you also pocket some Achievement Points. These can be traded in at any Madd Sciense & Co. stores to purchase blueprints and materials. You don't have to use these shops at all-blueprints can be designed on your jPod, and materials can be collected from lots of things, but if you need something in particular, then the shops are your best bet. They appear all over the place, so you probably won't be too far from them.
When you enter a Madd Shop for the first time, I'll quickly come up with 5 Blueprints and roll for them. At least one will be relevant to the situation, but you can buy any of them. They will always cost 10 Achievement Points, and on purchase, a new one will be made in its place ready for purchase for the next player. If you return to the same shop, the blueprints will still be there, but entering a new shop will generate new blueprints.
Materials are very important in this game, because you're not in a futuristic environment, so certain materials may not be as common. Luckily, you can buy anything you may or may not need at any Madd Shop for 1 Achievement Point per material. However, you can only purchase materials that have existed in the game up to that point, so no stocking up on unknown materials!
Every human has 6 limbs, each with 6Hp. This is standard and can no way be changed by hand. Your inventions can take a few blows for you if designed to, but you are likely to be hit at some point or other. This makes your Hp VERY IMPORTANT-you'll need to visit hospitals, invent Medikits etc. to keep your Hp high enough to not die by random ambush, because if your Torso or Head loses HP, you're out, and losing a limb will force you to roll to die every three turns. Hospitals will treat you at a rate of 1Hp/Turn on a random limb, and can even replace missing limbs. However, hospitals are rare, and you probably aren't going to get to one in a hurry.
Battles are resolved with rolls, as always. The attacker rolls 2 dice-one is a [1d6+bonuses], and the other a [1dtargetlimbs]. The defender only rolls a [1d6+bonuses]. If the attacker's first roll is higher than the defender's roll, then the difference is dealt as damage to the second roll's corresponding limb-a [6] on a human is a HEADSHOT, and a [1] the Left Leg. It's interesting.
When you are being targeted by multiple enemies, you only get one defensive roll-they get all of their rolls each. Any roll that beats yours will result in you being hit. Bring backup with you, however, and things get interesting. Your opponents now must take an extra [1dallies] roll, to target who they try to decapitate. Anything larger than a 5 On 5 conflict belongs in the Legions Fight System.
Players can raise Legions by amassing a group of loyal followers that are at least 5 in number, aside from yourself. At this point, you will have to name your legion and pick a colour for them. Congratulations, you're now the proud owner of a Legion! They're now a bunch of mooks at your payroll, who can be ordered to get you materials, build inventions etc. They can't invent stuff, mind-that's YOUR job! Also, PCs can be enlisted into your Legion-they can do as they please.
Some of your inventions will be handy for all of your Legion. However, they will need to be mass produced. If you can get a factory on to your side, and hand over a copy of a blueprint, they can make the invention in mass quantities, and supply them to your legion free of charge! However, each factory can only produce one Blueprint, and if the factory is took over by another legion, that legion also gains your blueprint.
Legion battles are a bit simpler than the large scale battles. Both sides roll [1d6+bonuses], plus one if your legion doubles the other in size, plus two for tripling, and plus 3 for being four times bigger. The difference is multiplied by [1d6] and the result is the number of mooks the lower rolling legion lost. If PCs are in the scrap, then all the PCs from both sides, and team up with some mooks to have a 5 on 5 scrap.
Hah, you thought that there would be a character sheet!
But no, all I need is the name of your starting invention. I'll roll for its stats, and give you the chance for ONE (1) reroll, which will then stay, regardless of the results.
Author
Topic: Roller's Block (RTD Brainstorming Thread) (HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY) (Derm is 5k) (Read 739721 times)