A spreadsheet is a tool that basically is a large grid of cells. Each cell can contain a number, a text-string or a formula. It originated within the business world as a way to build budgets, keep track of transactions and economics etc.
However, the structure of the spreadsheet also makes it a fairly good tool to use in RPG's. Especially for creating characters and other rule-bound artefacts.
To give you an example, a few years ago, I tried to challenge myself with building a spreadsheet to handle the vehicle creatoin rules in Gurps Vehicles. While the result was clumsy and not particulary elegant, it still helped me build a whole heap of nice vehicles (including a tank with a crew of 30).
One of my current projects is to build a character generator for the World of Darkness/ Storyteller-system by White Wolf. Due to copyright-infringement etc I can't publish it. I can, however, give you some hints and tips on how to build your own spreadsheet for use with roleplaying games.
While the core application will be Excell, I'll try to keep it as generic as possible (no scripts, for instance), so that you can do some migrating to Google Spreadsheet, Numbers or Open Office.
Tuesday, October 20
Monday, October 19
Advance over a field
One common occurance in wars is trying to advance over a field under enemy fire. To simulate this, the following rules are used:
A field has two values: How difficult it is to pass, and how dangerous it is (enemy fire, mines etc).
A field has two values: How difficult it is to pass, and how dangerous it is (enemy fire, mines etc).
Each turn, you roll 1D10 - danger. The resulting number is how far you advance along the field. If you get a negative result, that results in you getting hit.
When you have advanced along the field a number of steps equal the difficulty value, you have reached your destination, and the next scene starts.
The difficulty value is both a value of how hard it is to cross the field and how difficult it is to traverse.
Sunday, October 18
Damage in War: the RPG
When a character is hit and wounded within the game, several things can happen. Not only does a hit do bodily harm, it also affects morale/ willpower, the equipmant and the cooperation within the group.
Some of these aspects, I will deal with in a later post. In this post, I will mention a little about how to deal with bodily harm.
There are different intensities of weapons, and different levels of protection from armour.
If you are hit by a weapon that with a rank equal to your armor, you are wounded. One more wound or higher will kill you.
If you are hit by a weapon that with 1 rank lower than your armour, you are lightly wounded. This will stun you or slow you down a little, but will not stop you. Unless it's in the same round or the round after that you can take an infinite number of light wounds. Each wound adds to the time you are stunned. However, if you take more than Body number of light wounds while you are stunned due to light wounds, you become wounded.
If you are hit by a weapon with 1 rank higher, you are severly, mortally wounded. This means bodily trauma, mental trauma and technological breakdown (things will stop working for you). One more hit will kill you. Same goes if you are not treated within body number of rounds
Lower damage than that, nothing happens. Higher damage kills you instantly.
Some of these aspects, I will deal with in a later post. In this post, I will mention a little about how to deal with bodily harm.
There are different intensities of weapons, and different levels of protection from armour.
If you are hit by a weapon that with a rank equal to your armor, you are wounded. One more wound or higher will kill you.
If you are hit by a weapon that with 1 rank lower than your armour, you are lightly wounded. This will stun you or slow you down a little, but will not stop you. Unless it's in the same round or the round after that you can take an infinite number of light wounds. Each wound adds to the time you are stunned. However, if you take more than Body number of light wounds while you are stunned due to light wounds, you become wounded.
If you are hit by a weapon with 1 rank higher, you are severly, mortally wounded. This means bodily trauma, mental trauma and technological breakdown (things will stop working for you). One more hit will kill you. Same goes if you are not treated within body number of rounds
Lower damage than that, nothing happens. Higher damage kills you instantly.
Friday, October 16
A quick discovery about google wave
When I first heard about google Wave, I suspected that one of the first plugins to pop up would be a die-roller.
So, yesterday I finally got my invite to Google Wave, and lo-and-behold, when I look at the short list over plugins I find a bot (script) that can do simple die-rolling. You basically type xdy (x = number of dice, y = type of dice), and the bot gives you the roll.
Told you so! ;-)
So, yesterday I finally got my invite to Google Wave, and lo-and-behold, when I look at the short list over plugins I find a bot (script) that can do simple die-rolling. You basically type xdy (x = number of dice, y = type of dice), and the bot gives you the roll.
Told you so! ;-)
Saturday, October 10
Group combat
In most RPG's combat is treated as a number of individuals fighting another bunch of individuals. At times, there are things like aiding each other, but that's about it.
However, in War: The RPG, the aim is to simulate that the group is a group that has trained as a unit for a while. Even though it's not always explicit, when two group members are firing at a target, they are doing it in a way to maximise their fire. Also, they will always protect each other in small ways, give signs, shout out to each other giving each other clues to what's happening etc.
In order to simulate this, in each combat, there is a stat called Group Strength. In the beginning of the combat, it's at it maximum and will give bonuses to all the participants of that group. As combat goes on, due to fatigue, damages and stress, that value will go down, and after a while it'll be so low that it's actually a negative modifier to the members of that group, since they are loosing their ability to fight as a unit.
Also, whenever a single individual is hit, it can choose to take all damage on himself, keeping the Group strength intact, or choose to move some of it onto the Group strength. In other words, he can either take one for the group, or choose to live and be stronger by himself, but at the expence of the group strength.
However, in War: The RPG, the aim is to simulate that the group is a group that has trained as a unit for a while. Even though it's not always explicit, when two group members are firing at a target, they are doing it in a way to maximise their fire. Also, they will always protect each other in small ways, give signs, shout out to each other giving each other clues to what's happening etc.
In order to simulate this, in each combat, there is a stat called Group Strength. In the beginning of the combat, it's at it maximum and will give bonuses to all the participants of that group. As combat goes on, due to fatigue, damages and stress, that value will go down, and after a while it'll be so low that it's actually a negative modifier to the members of that group, since they are loosing their ability to fight as a unit.
Also, whenever a single individual is hit, it can choose to take all damage on himself, keeping the Group strength intact, or choose to move some of it onto the Group strength. In other words, he can either take one for the group, or choose to live and be stronger by himself, but at the expence of the group strength.
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