Re: [BNW] Re: bnw-digest.19990308

[Mark Kilfoil <kilfoilm@nbnet.nb.ca>]

Lane Pearson wrote:
>         You know, although some people really hated the game (I'm not
> one of them), the game as desribed so far sounds very similar to the
> CyberGeneration supplements for CP2020, insofar as it involves certain
> classes of superhero versus a fascist government.

Ah.. fond memories of my Wizard...  CyberGeneration was Cyberpunk,
through and through, IMHO.  

I'm wondering whether BNW has a fascist government that is actually
*liked*, tho..

I mean, it may be a very well-working society that just has no
tolerants for Deltas...  Or sees Deltas as a threat to the established
order, which the average joe on the street might well agree with.

It may only *really* be fascist from the point of view of the Deltas...

Then again, from the web site:

"The America of Brave New World is a fractured place in which deltas 
are required to register themselves as lethal weapons and to report 
their movements no matter where they may go. The entire country's 
been under martial law since the early '60s, and it doesn't look 
like things are going to get better any time soon."

Hmm... actually the "martial law since the early '60's" would suggest
that a) the people are oppressed; b) the country is under a form of
military rule; c) there was such a great threat in the '60s (that
perhaps continues today?) that they felt it was necessary for the
country to go on martial law...

So, speculation on what happened in the '60s?  Alien invasion?  Attack
by a United Europe?  Too many "love drugs" imported from Russia, which
cause babies born to stoned parents to have "super powers"?

> I seem to remember the classes in that game being pretty detailed.

Yes, although they were mostly stereotypes from cyberpunk brought to
visceral reality with a set of special abilities.

(I shiver at the term "classes"...  Reminds me too much of the all-too-
strict D&D version...)

> Although its similar in content, I believe BNW will probably be a 
> better game simply because it can avoid the flaws CG had built in, 
> like the inability to take any real direct action against the
> government, 

From the web site again:

"The players' heroes start out as members of the Defiance Movement, 
a loosely organized delta resistance organization dedicated to 
restoring the America they love to the democracy its Constitutional
founders intended.  Some are actively involved in creating positive
change.  Others are just doing their best to not be hauled in before
the draft board and get either tossed into jail or pressed into 
military service."

Well, that certainly sounds like the player's are placed in an 
active role..

And more:

"It's a world in which basic human rights don't get much more than 
lip service, and you play one of the few people with the power to do
something about it. Do you become an active Defiant, working against 
the militaristic state? Or do you join up? Or do you try to live a 
quiet life of your own, helping out innocents whenever you can?"

Y'know, this is what I like the most:  this sounds like an approach
which takes both parts of the term "superhero" and uses them; not
only are the characters "super", meaning they are above the 
capabilities of normal human beings in some way, but they are set
in a universe where there is a need for a "hero".

Sure, you can do this in any system;  it's just nice when the 
universe supports it easily.

> or the lack of useful information in the sourcebooks, or 

Well, just about everything else Pinnacle has put out seems to be
chock full of "kewl" information and stuff, so, no worries there..

> not being able to decide if it was deadly serious or light hearted.

That's the CyberPunk part of CyberGenerations:  a guy in a silly
happy-face-on-a-paper-bag mask -- weilding a submachinegun.

BNW sounds... well.. "heroic".  It sounds quite a bit less tongue-in-
cheek as Deadlands is (supposedly) supposed to be, and a little less..
"angry"(?) as Hell On Earth is supposed to be.

It sounds like you get to play the oppressed good guys, trying to stay
alive and help out the little guys.

[I expect there will be a split in the Defiance Movement, too... 
probably there are a significant number of Deltas who just want to 
wipe the oppressing Normal off the face of the planet, or at least
believe themselves to be "superior" to the rest of humanity.  (Think
Magneto from X-Men, I understand..)]

>         It also sounds a little like Underground, 

<SNIP>

Not familiar with that one.  Heard about it, never saw it around
here, never picked it up...

> All told, I'd advise you to describe the game as more of a freedom
> fighting game on the back cover. Make it seem like a freedom 
> fighting game that just happens to have superpowers, not a game 
> where the powers are the be all and end all.

"Superheroes" -- where the "hero" is as important as the "super".

>         That said, if I were you, I'd personally keep the Deadlands 
> dice rolling system. Open ended dice rolls are very appropriate to a
> superheroic setting, and the combat system is pretty much the best 
> one I've ever seen.

Yeah, it's a good system, but the Initiative is card-based, which 
wouldn't work in BNW.  Perhaps it would fall back to the more
traditional "highest goes first" method.  (Extra actions when you get
a raise on your opponent? Hm...)

> The only foreseeable problem would be the need to rework and clarify 
> the hand to hand combat system as it pertains to superstrong 
> characters and to decide how hand to hand damage works against armor 
> in definitive way,(Why does a punch hurt people in armor when a 
> sword doesn't?) I'd suggest two kinds of armor, soft, which is like
> kevlar and provides less protection in HtH, and hard, which is like 
> tank armor and totally blocks any HtH damage unless the weapon is 
> strong enough.

Why not just armour rating for Wind and for Wounds?  As in, kevlar
gives 1-2 levels of Wound protection, but no Wind protection (and
no protection from wounds due to wind -- broken ribs from a 
pummellin').

Tank armour would have "absolute" Wind armour and high Wound armour.

Then, define hand-to-hand damage in terms of Wind and Wound; a punch
does wind, a sword does wound, a gun does wind and wound (impact
damage & piercing damage)..

Just some thoughts...

MK (BTW: going to be away for a week, so if don't respond to other
speculation, it's not because I'm ignoring you! ;)
-- 
the encaffeinated ONE -- LIVE! from minbar!
Mark K.  <kilfoilm@nbnet.nb.ca>