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[IronyOwl]

I would but I hold minimalists in deep contempt.

Heh.

Can anyone explain the basic rules of Perplexicon? I'm working on a variant of it that takes more of an influence from minimalists then arenas, but I can't find any good resources for gamemasters trying to run a spinoff.

I'm only familiar with an ancient version, and I'm pretty sure he assembled newer versions into a pdf or something.

But the basic idea is that you've got a book of words, and you don't know what these words mean. So you try them out by saying them, which forms sentences or combinations that then produce effects if they've valid. Also you're trying to eat everyone else's soul because that increases your own power.

That's basically it.

[Fniff]

I would but I hold minimalists in deep contempt.

Better description that only a limited number of people would understand: Welfare Wizards with ian actual magic system that isn't boring.

Can anyone explain the basic rules of Perplexicon? I'm working on a variant of it that takes more of an influence from minimalists then arenas, but I can't find any good resources for gamemasters trying to run a spinoff.

I'm only familiar with an ancient version, and I'm pretty sure he assembled newer versions into a pdf or something.

But the basic idea is that you've got a book of words, and you don't know what these words mean. So you try them out by saying them, which forms sentences or combinations that then produce effects if they've valid. Also you're trying to eat everyone else's soul because that increases your own power.

That's basically it.

I understand most of the basics. What I was iffy on was the pool system. It seems to be a limit on how many words you can say at once. Is that right? Thanks in advance.

[IronyOwl]

I understand most of the basics. What I was iffy on was the pool system. It seems to be a limit on how many words you can say at once. Is that right? Thanks in advance.

Ah, yeah. In the original, you regenerated one pool per turn, and each word cost one pool. So somebody with Pool 2 was physically incapable of saying "Flaming Iron Sphere," while somebody with 3 Pool could do it but would be left with an empty pool and thus be unable to do it again unless they went a few rounds without casting any magic.

I think that got altered somewhat later on, but I'm afraid I'm not familiar with much past the original.

[Dermonster]

Nah, that's still how it is.

[Empiricist]

I understand most of the basics. What I was iffy on was the pool system. It seems to be a limit on how many words you can say at once. Is that right? Thanks in advance.

I think that got altered somewhat later on, but I'm afraid I'm not familiar with much past the original.

Yeah in the new version, you are able run it without pool if you wish. Each word gets a potency score, and as long as your potency success count is equal to or greater than a spell's potency score, it gets cast. Otherwise, you start dropping words.

[Fniff]

I understand most of the basics. What I was iffy on was the pool system. It seems to be a limit on how many words you can say at once. Is that right? Thanks in advance.

I think that got altered somewhat later on, but I'm afraid I'm not familiar with much past the original.

Yeah in the new version, you are able run it without pool if you wish. Each word gets a potency score, and as long as your potency success count is equal to or greater than a spell's potency score, it gets cast. Otherwise, you start dropping words.

Now that gives me a neat idea... Thanks, Empiricist!

[Tsuchigumo550]

An RTD based somewhat off of Amorphous Plus mixed with the concept of a survival game. Each player gets to choose all kinds of options, determining how they attack, what specials they have, and what role they play in the party.

The first main choice is your Main Weapon: you can always take the gigantic sword from the original game, which is a versatile tool that lets you attack at close range and hit multiple enemies at once, however, opens up for counterattacks.
Other weapons may afford you some range or not stun you on swing, allowing you to keep your defense up at all times.

Three specials may be chosen, however, "specials" encompass not only active, summon-able benefits, but smaller boons that can be attached. You can bring a single turret- already powerful enough to kill things in one shot you need three or more hits with the sword to take down- and then choose to enhance its ammo storage and targeting software (The original turret can only take so many shots, and values every target to have equal priority, and is capable of hitting players who target the same thing as it does. Advanced targeting software automatically lets it aim at more threatening targets, and will never aim at something a player targets.)

Things can kill you easily- however, you have a system similar to HP in "Endurance". Basically, this is a measure of your luck- does that Biter lunge and come just shy of eating your shoulder, or hit you in the chest and maul you to bits? Each enemy attack reduces it, and it regains very slowly. If you are Stunned, however, you cannot react and your Endurance caps at 1, effectively making you a tasty, helpless morsel.

The Sword stun is a special case that simply cuts back on Endurance, as it would be useless otherwise.

Lastly, you gain an Ability. An Ability is some innate skill you have- a common one is Revive Teammate, but it should be noted that a good portion of deaths are nonrecoverable- acid will end you. Others, such as Hercules, negate weapon drawbacks, or Technician, which increases the speed that specials regen and gives you a free upgrade slot.

---

I'm not sure how this would work in tracking the actual beasts- a 2D map is a great function but may be too involved for the likes of an RtD, but it would nonetheless be very fun. A simpler option may be gladitorial-style fights in sequence?

I may or may not try to rig up a roll20 map for something like this- all you really need is four colored player markers and some blobs.

[flabort]

I've been wanting to see someone run a game where distances are measured in px.
Yes, in pixels.

I would love to see your game happen, Tsuchi, and would suggest making the pictures in Paint.net or GIMP for the layers. Make sure to turn OFF anti-aliasing, and to define hitboxes ahead of time; Actually, drawing the hitboxes around the characters would work well, and there's the move-selection tool in Paint.net to rotate individual goos/players/sprites, which will rotate the hitboxes too!

[piecewise]

Hello all. I'm just gonna post these here, for anyone to use.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mjeqjxsem6uz6bg/AABb758Z5mjzg1Z8IckXPko5a?dl=0

Thats a folder with three HTML based random generators. They are:

Automorphica: Ever heard of the giant mutation roll table collection thing called the Metamorphica? This is an automated version of that. You might still need dice occasionally, but this greatly reduces the amount of work you'd need to do by connecting you to all the info and rolling 99% of the stuff for you.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Cult Generator: A generator that creates cults. May or may not be hilarious.


Mechanical Muse: A generator intended to break writers block by giving you several evocative bits of text without context. Works for me, it might work for you.

[Parsely]

Hello all. I'm just gonna post these here, for anyone to use.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mjeqjxsem6uz6bg/AABb758Z5mjzg1Z8IckXPko5a?dl=0

Thats a folder with three HTML based random generators. They are:

Automorphica: Ever heard of the giant mutation roll table collection thing called the Metamorphica? This is an automated version of that. You might still need dice occasionally, but this greatly reduces the amount of work you'd need to do by connecting you to all the info and rolling 99% of the stuff for you.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Cult Generator: A generator that creates cults. May or may not be hilarious.


Mechanical Muse: A generator intended to break writers block by giving you several evocative bits of text without context. Works for me, it might work for you.

Heyyy nice work Piece, I'll try these when I get home.

[AoshimaMichio]

Automorphica: Ever heard of the giant mutation roll table collection thing called the Metamorphica? This is an automated version of that. You might still need dice occasionally, but this greatly reduces the amount of work you'd need to do by connecting you to all the info and rolling 99% of the stuff for you.

A bug found: Detrimental Physical Mutations displays entire table at once.

[piecewise]

Automorphica: Ever heard of the giant mutation roll table collection thing called the Metamorphica? This is an automated version of that. You might still need dice occasionally, but this greatly reduces the amount of work you'd need to do by connecting you to all the info and rolling 99% of the stuff for you.

A bug found: Detrimental Physical Mutations displays entire table at once.

Should be fixed now.

Ah the damage a single misplaced comma can do.

[Parsely]

I've been wanting to see someone run a game where distances are measured in px.
Yes, in pixels.

What do you mean?

[flabort]

Such as say the average person is represented by a circle with a 40 px radius, and the average move speed per turn is 90 px, and then their shield and weapon is displayed too and the shield might be a hitbox that is 14 px by 5 px, their sword is a 29 px by 6 px sprite with a "swing" style  arc hitbox for attacks; if the shield's hitbox intersects the hitbox for an attack, it absorbs the attack.

For example (Made in MS Paint, so rotating tools not availible):

Where the shield would obviously stick itself to one of the green edges and the sword to the oposite sides, the black circle is the player's icon, so hitting there with an attack would hurt them, etc. Obviously the sword should be a lot bigger, but that was an example.

[Parsely]

Oh wow. Hm. I might actually do something like that if I gave it some more thought. I think something like a tank game might be more fun, where traverse is vital and moving/turning speed and such can easily and sensibly be measured.