"Bulldogs!"

[BumblingBear]

Sooo.....

My DFRPG group is going to start a Bulldogs! campaign now.  After reading some hype about the game, reading something Fred said about it, and now having seen the book... I am stoked.

What is even cooler for me is that the issues I was having with equipment and resources (read:loot) have been addressed in this FATE game.. and I like how it was done.

So my question is this:

Is anyone else who has read the Bulldogs! book going to adapt any of the rules to the DFRPG?  I even think that some of the racial traits/powers would transfer over seamlessly.

[JediDresden]

I had never heard about it before now, thanks for putting me on to it.  I too have the same concerns about rewards (ahem.. I mean loot) in the DFRPG.  I will have to look into it.

Thanks again.

[BumblingBear]

I had never heard about it before now, thanks for putting me on to it.  I too have the same concerns about rewards (ahem.. I mean loot) in the DFRPG.  I will have to look into it.

Thanks again.

No problem.

In Bulldogs, resources is not a normal stat, but a stat by itself that everyone has.  Raising it requires actually working, getting a temporary aspect reflecting money from the job, and trying to raise resources with a roll or using that tag to buy something.

Loans can be taken out as well to buy gear, and gear can drastically make a character stronger.

Last but not least, fate points cannot be used on resource rolls and the first die roll is the one that counts.  As such, characters can really amass a lot of wealth by smart play and savvy investments.  On the other hand, it's really easy to lose every dime you have - especially if a player gives up a point or two of their resources stat to make up for the difference on a bad gear roll should they still want to buy the gear.

It's really interesting.

[JediDresden]

I will definately have to take a look. I am a Star Wars Fan and a die hard Browncoat as well and so they had me ad the mention of Firefly and Han Solo - how awesome is the game going to be! 

[EldritchFire]

I will definately have to take a look. I am a Star Wars Fan and a die hard Browncoat as well and so they had me ad the mention of Firefly and Han Solo - how awesome is the game going to be!

Than Bulldogs! is for you!

I am also a Star Wars nut, and love the Firefly 'verse. As it so happens, I'm BumblingBear's GM in said Bulldogs! game  ^_^

It's shaping up to be awesomesauce!

-EF

[Lanir]

Can someone provide a link? Just curious enough to look into it and the game info on the publisher's site doesn't really tell much of anything. So far what has been said here about the resource system actually makes it sound really bad... Items are powerful? But getting them can be really random? Yeah... that sounds amusing for short games, nightmare-ish for longer running ones. But I may have just misunderstood.

[BumblingBear]

Can someone provide a link? Just curious enough to look into it and the game info on the publisher's site doesn't really tell much of anything. So far what has been said here about the resource system actually makes it sound really bad... Items are powerful? But getting them can be really random? Yeah... that sounds amusing for short games, nightmare-ish for longer running ones. But I may have just misunderstood.

Item creation is similar to character creation where various attributes cost points (like refresh for character).

The more powerful the item, the more it costs.  It's more similar to a standard RPG that way.

[EldritchFire]

Can someone provide a link? Just curious enough to look into it and the game info on the publisher's site doesn't really tell much of anything. So far what has been said here about the resource system actually makes it sound really bad... Items are powerful? But getting them can be really random? Yeah... that sounds amusing for short games, nightmare-ish for longer running ones. But I may have just misunderstood.

The official page can be found here.

Via RPGNow.com.

As for the resources and items, I think there may be a misunderstanding.

Resources is a stand-alone trait. Unlike DFRPG where it's all rolled into your resources skill, or Diaspora where it's a stress track, Bulldogs! has it stand alone. Roll resources to buy something. If you succeed, congrats, you buy it! If you fail, you can reduce your resources to represent spending more than you have, it may have a negative aspect that's free taggable once per session (buying a knock-off), settling for a lower-cost item ("I have X amount what can I buy?"), or you just don't have enough cash on hand to buy it. Also, for really expensive things like starships, you can take out a loan.

Items are "powerful," yes...but not that much more than the weapons you'd find in DFRPG. A "regular" pistol is still damage 2, you just have the option of buying an auto-pistol that has the autofire upgrade, and maybe additional range (yes, range is a stat for weapons).

I'm not sure where you got that "getting items can be random." You go to the store, you buy stuff. Simple.

-EF

[devonapple]

I'm not sure where you got that "getting items can be random." You go to the store, you buy stuff. Simple.

Having to roll to see how easy it is to get what you get does add some chaos to the mix. I liked the option to take negative Aspects to make up for a low roll, indicating a knockoff, finicky or otherwise complicated version of the item.

I rolled to purchase an item that gave a +1 to my diplomat robot's Athletics skill (bought as "tactical evasion software") and had to give it several deficits in order to buy it. We also determined that it was sponsored by Zynga, came with ads, projected a holographic "+1" whenever it was used successfully, and scored the user.

[BumblingBear]

Having to roll to see how easy it is to get what you get does add some chaos to the mix. I liked the option to take negative Aspects to make up for a low roll, indicating a knockoff, finicky or otherwise complicated version of the item.

I rolled to purchase an item that gave a +1 to my diplomat robot's Athletics skill (bought as "tactical evasion software") and had to give it several deficits in order to buy it. We also determined that it was sponsored by Zynga, came with ads, projected a holographic "+1" whenever it was used successfully, and scored the user.

That's awesome.

I love that gear is so versatile and money actually matters in Bulldogs.

That said, as I was telling my gf, I am fully expecting to lose my gear on a fairly consistent basis just like characters do in any other space opera.

If characters could amass gear uninterrupted and intelligently in Bulldogs, with no mitigating factors, a character could conceivably gather enough personal items to do everything with one skill roll... which is shenanigans.

I plan on asking the gm in our next session to implement a rule that characters can only buy gear that fits their character concepts.  For instance, it would make no sense for a warrior to buy medical gear to heal themselves.  One would probably have to know at least something about a skill in order to even buy an item for that discipline.

[admiralducksauce]

I plan on asking the gm in our next session to implement a rule that characters can only buy gear that fits their character concepts.  For instance, it would make no sense for a warrior to buy medical gear to heal themselves.  One would probably have to know at least something about a skill in order to even buy an item for that discipline.

I disagree.  Business is built entirely on trying to sell shit to people who don't know any better.    What I would do is make the Resources roll modified by the most appropriate "usage" skill.  If you don't know cars, you can get taken for a ride (I'm sorry, I don't usually pun like that but it was too good to pass up) when shopping for one.  Likewise, a gunman is probably going to know where to get deals on the good gear.  The "probably" in that statement refers to the dice. 

[EldritchFire]

Having to roll to see how easy it is to get what you get does add some chaos to the mix. I liked the option to take negative Aspects to make up for a low roll, indicating a knockoff, finicky or otherwise complicated version of the item.

I rolled to purchase an item that gave a +1 to my diplomat robot's Athletics skill (bought as "tactical evasion software") and had to give it several deficits in order to buy it. We also determined that it was sponsored by Zynga, came with ads, projected a holographic "+1" whenever it was used successfully, and scored the user.

That....is...EPIC!!!! I'd love to be in your party with stuff like that going on!

That's awesome.

I love that gear is so versatile and money actually matters in Bulldogs.

That said, as I was telling my gf, I am fully expecting to lose my gear on a fairly consistent basis just like characters do in any other space opera.

If characters could amass gear uninterrupted and intelligently in Bulldogs, with no mitigating factors, a character could conceivably gather enough personal items to do everything with one skill roll... which is shenanigans.

I plan on asking the gm in our next session to implement a rule that characters can only buy gear that fits their character concepts.  For instance, it would make no sense for a warrior to buy medical gear to heal themselves.  One would probably have to know at least something about a skill in order to even buy an item for that discipline.

Instead of asking, I'll just answer you :p

The rules let you start with one item per "usage skill" as well as an armour/shield item. So if you don't have the medicine skill, you can't start with a med-kit. However, if you want to buy a med-kit after being beat up a few times, who am I to say no? Survival of the fittest, after all. If you're not smart enough to get some medical gear, it's not my fault when you take that extreme consequence and just to stay alive.

Than again, you already know that I only talk a mean game. I haven't killed any of you. But, I didn't step in to stop the self-inflicted TPK. ^_^

-EF

[devonapple]

Ultimately, gear is just a form of plot armor or agency, its worth governed by Reliability, sometimes broken into Frequency and Strength. Some games will break that up into situational plot armor or agency (like Bulldogs) while others (DFRPG) abstract it out.

[Masurao]

Okay, this post has peaked my interest and I ordered Bulldogs! immediately. You people better not had let me down!

[BumblingBear]

Okay, this post has peaked my interest and I ordered Bulldogs! immediately. You people better not had let me down!

It's seriously pretty cool.

I like that it's such a small book too.  The rules and such are condensed down a bit from other rpg books I've read.

But that said, I think that an understanding of fate like from the DFRPG is good to start out with.

But seriously - just the inclusion of a whole race of psychopathic, chain smoking killer teddy bears makes this game /win.