Author Topic: Paranet Papers Preview  (Read 4665 times)

Offline wyvern

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Paranet Papers Preview
« on: November 04, 2014, 06:08:37 PM »
I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but it seemed the sort of thing people on this forum might want their attention called to: http://www.evilhat.com/home/the-fifth-day-of-halloween-week-and-treats/

Offline Hick Jr

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Re: Paranet Papers Preview
« Reply #1 on: November 04, 2014, 08:09:02 PM »
Oh god. This is incredible. I'm not even done with the chapter and I already want to play in a game set in this Vegas.

EDIT: I finished reading it. Yeah, if the entire book is this good, it's going to be well worth the wait.
« Last Edit: November 04, 2014, 08:44:56 PM by Hick Jr »
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Offline Theogony_IX

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Re: Paranet Papers Preview
« Reply #2 on: November 04, 2014, 08:52:02 PM »
I live in Las Vegas.  I haven't had a chance to read it all through in detail, but so far, I really like what they did with it.

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Paranet Papers Preview
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2014, 06:10:48 AM »
Yeah, this is definitely the kind of thing this forum ought to know about. Thanks, wyvern.

As for the actual content, well, I haven't read it yet. It's been a busy day.

Offline Cadd

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Re: Paranet Papers Preview
« Reply #4 on: November 05, 2014, 03:53:20 PM »

Offline Amelia Crane

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Re: Paranet Papers Preview
« Reply #5 on: November 05, 2014, 07:05:40 PM »
Hey!  I used From the Land of the Ice and Snow on my valkyrie.   ;D

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Paranet Papers Preview
« Reply #6 on: November 09, 2014, 10:44:53 PM »
Okay, finally read this thing. My (very nitpicky) thoughts, recording as I read:

The writing is really good. It's interesting, has a strong tone, and looks very game-able. And the side notes are both amusing and informative.

I'm curious what it means for the Accords to not be binding. My impression has always been that the Accords were enforced mainly by threat of violence, so...are Las Vegas-ians protected from Mab and company?

I'm disappointed by the approach to powerful characters here. With the exception of Fortunato and maybe Brianna, I don't think any of the characters written here are likely to survive more than a moment in a fair fight with Chest Deep or stronger PCs. And even Fortunato and Brianna could probably be taken out one-on-one by a Submerged character with a few FP to burn. This wouldn't be a real problem, except whenever someone's stronger than Fortunato Evil Hat leaves them stat-less.

Also, I wish they would list skills in the rating-first system they use on PC sheets. Much easier to read, I think. But that's just me being nitpicky.

Surprised that Corin doesn't have Rapport and Empathy skills listed. His description makes it sound like he should have high ratings in both.

Kinda neat to see a White Court Vampire with no Deceit skill to speak of. (I'm talking about Nelson.)

Wow, Arlene has a lot of skill points.

I don't get the animosity in the page 24 notes. Why is Murphy threatening Butters?

Freeing Hand looks like a decent custom Power. Maybe a bit on the weak side, but not useless at all.

Fortunato's description says that his Greater Glamours are of Legendary quality. But they're actually of Legendary + 1 quality.

Brianna's writeup should say Bows (Guns) instead of just Guns, like Fortunato's. Also, is her bow really weapon 4?

What foci do Brianna and the Ice Queen use?

I don't think a sword battle between Brianna and the Ice Queen is likely. Brianna's better with her bow, and they both have pretty strong attack spells. Also, I don't think much of the Ice Queen's chances in a fight with Brianna.

Silk's writeup is wrong. Lawbreaker's cost caps at -2. Unless there's some new rule in the Paranet Papers, of course. Also, enthralling people with Channelling seems a bit much. I wouldn't let a PC do that without Ritual or Thaumaturgy.

Bibliomancy is terrible. The flavour is there, but the power just isn't.

They should specify which Lawbreaker Power Moira has. I'm guessing First, since she killed that guy in her backstory. A bit indirectly, but it probably counts. Also, she needs at least Fair Lore for that focus. Unless they changed the rules, of course.

The Ghostly Concord stunt looks rather weak.

Not totally comfortable with the glorification of vigilante cops and hitmen here.

Not sure how Worldwalker is meant to work for Tommy. It almost looks like it's supposed to let him teleport from place to place, but Worldwalker doesn't work that way at all.

The idea of casinos making attacks to drain people's money is neat. Not sure if Resources is the best defence skill, though, it seems more like a stress track skill. Discipline could be used to resist temptation, or Empathy could be used to see through it.

I like the way everyone reacts to this talk of a demon and a seal. After all, if someone tells you their evil is necessary they're probably lying...but you can't just assume that they are. Wonder if this is gonna come up in the novels later...I mean, Jim is involved with the RPG to some extent. Maybe he shares plot seeds.

Offline Hick Jr

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Re: Paranet Papers Preview
« Reply #7 on: November 11, 2014, 05:41:46 AM »
Yeah, this shares some issues with OW in that Evil Hat doesn't really know how to build powerful NPC's. They're certainly interesting and flavorful, but if I wanted to run, say, a Submerged game in this city, I would have to rebuild pretty much every NPC just so they were a threat/challenge. And the thing where "they're so powerful statting them is pointless!" continues to be annoying.

Most of my issues with this are stuff regarding the NPCs. Besides that, this is shaping up to be a great gamebook.

Bibliomancy is awful, yeah. Like, stunningly awful. Flavor of it fits the NPC like a glove, but mechanically, it's garbage.

Looks like we've got semi-confirmation that mental attacks with Spirit are kosher. Chilling. Spirit was already the best element.
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Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Paranet Papers Preview
« Reply #8 on: November 11, 2014, 06:17:14 AM »
She uses maneuvers. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Anyway, I'm actually okay with Submerged parties stomping all over 90% of the things that go bump in the night. So it doesn't bother me that someone like Tommy could get crushed by the PCs in a one-sided battle.

It's on the high end that I start having issues. Like...why not write up the Cowboy as a 40-Refresh monster who can challenge/defeat an entire party at once? I'm pretty sure GMs need more help making 40-Refresh characters than 10-Refresh ones. And if you want a proper boss fight, you often need that kind of power.

Offline PatchR

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Re: Paranet Papers Preview
« Reply #9 on: November 11, 2014, 02:59:51 PM »
She uses maneuvers. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Anyway, I'm actually okay with Submerged parties stomping all over 90% of the things that go bump in the night. So it doesn't bother me that someone like Tommy could get crushed by the PCs in a one-sided battle.

It's on the high end that I start having issues. Like...why not write up the Cowboy as a 40-Refresh monster who can challenge/defeat an entire party at once? I'm pretty sure GMs need more help making 40-Refresh characters than 10-Refresh ones. And if you want a proper boss fight, you often need that kind of power.
I agree entirely about needing more Refresh 30+ Characters for a group of PCs to face.
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Offline WadeL

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Re: Paranet Papers Preview
« Reply #10 on: December 02, 2014, 02:30:26 AM »
We're now getting lots of non-Wizards with more than one point of Refinement, aren't we?

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Paranet Papers Preview
« Reply #11 on: December 02, 2014, 03:49:22 PM »
As I understand it, the 1-Refinement limit was only for Sorcerers. Focused Practitioners can have as many Refinements as they want.

Offline WadeL

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Re: Paranet Papers Preview
« Reply #12 on: December 02, 2014, 04:24:54 PM »
As I understand it, the 1-Refinement limit was only for Sorcerers. Focused Practitioners can have as many Refinements as they want.

Rereading it, it looks like Focused Practicioners are only allowed to take Refinement for Item Slots, not for enhancing their own specializations. Although now that I look at, I think only Orpheus breaks that particular rule, and Orpheus obviously has a different set of permissions than just Focused Practitioner.

Offline g33k

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Re: Paranet Papers Preview
« Reply #13 on: December 03, 2014, 04:32:51 PM »
It's on the high end that I start having issues. Like...why not write up the Cowboy as a 40-Refresh monster who can challenge/defeat an entire party at once? I'm pretty sure GMs need more help making 40-Refresh characters than 10-Refresh ones. And if you want a proper boss fight, you often need that kind of power.
Can I queue this up as a request for (at least) 2-3 characters in the "40-refresh, +/-5" range when you get back to your "Request a Character" thread... http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,43164.msg2097764.html#msg2097764

I've got some concepts, if you'd like, but really I'd be happy with any exemplars at this power-level...

Should I request them here?  There?  Or wait 'til you indicate you've got the itch?

Thanks!

Offline bobjob

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Re: Paranet Papers Preview
« Reply #14 on: December 03, 2014, 05:11:36 PM »
I'd throw the concepts you'd like on the appropriate thread. When Sancta gets his round to it, he'll work on it.
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