Profile for Hegar T. Porisdei
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Hegar T. Porisdei |
| Member number | 5243 |
| Title | Apprentice |
| Postcount | 3 |
| Homepage | |
| Registered | Wednesday, December 1 2004 08:00 |
Recent posts
| Author | Recent posts |
|---|---|
| Geneforge Pen and Paper in Geneforge Series | |
|
Apprentice
Member # 5243
|
written Sunday, August 6 2006 21:34
Profile
I had an idea to run a Gurps Geneforge game, that I never got off the ground. Lately though, I've been looking at Sorcerer (www.sorcerer-rpg.com) and thinking it would be an interesting system to run geneforge in, since the entire system is built to explore the question 'How do you deal with morally questionable forms of power?' When I was thinking of Geneforge pen and paper though, I was thinking more about how the kind of shaping you'd want in a pen and paper world is very different from the (eseentially just combat based) shaping that works in a computer RPG. Here's some stuff I came up with, feel free to use as much of it as you want: Flying Shaping Tilka A Tilka tends to average a foot in length, with a slightly large head for it's body size and a pair of large, strong legs with powerful claws, which fold up into body-cavities when in flight, to allow for greater speed. It's head has three eyes, one on either side and one in the center, which allows for a great field of vision, depth perception, and ability to focus on a small area. The top half of it's beak is forked, the bottom is not; they curve inwards slightly at the ends, which are very sharp, though further back is quite dull. This gives the Tilka a great ability to tear things open, grab something, and hold onto it with it's beak. It's legs are very strong and flexible, with opposable claws for gripping. Walking it's long legs and almost hand-like claws make it somewhat clumsy, but in flight it can tuck them away and even use it's feet to assist in steering and climbing. Tilkas have slightly larger heads then most birds not just to accomodate the extra eye, but also to allow for better visual processing and memory. Shapers use these creations to find things they have lost, and retrieve them. Finding something that fell out of a backpack or was lost on a battlefield is a peice of cake for these creatures, and if they have seen and smelt the object before, and have a skilled trainer, they can find objects stolen and carried on another person. They can also be used to find a person, either returning to lead their master to the target or bringing back a peice of the target's scalp or eye. Tilkas, being slightly smarter than most birds, are at some risk of going rogue. They can be dangerous, especially if the attack is unexpected, but most rogue Tilka prefer to take a few swipes at their old master, then retire to a life of stealing shiny things and eating rodents. Cahrf The Cahrf is a creature that could only possible have come from Shapers; a small bird, about the size of a hand, with transparent feathers and semi-transparent skin. It has no legs, and thus requires a bit of a throw to get started flying. Alternately, it can shuffle along slowly using it's wings, and plummet off a drop of some sort to pick up speed, and hope for the best. Suffice it to say, the creature will not try this when it has much of a choice. It's eyesight is very poor, but it's senses of smell and taste are quite good. It's skin is also highly sensitive to touch (including pain) as well as environmental factors. Most interesting is that it's skin and feathers can change shade and pattern like an octopus. This occurs without concious control on the part of the animal, and reflects the environmental conditions around the animal. These can be 'read' and used by the shaper. There are various different varieties of Cahrf, to suit purposes. Some are very sensative, changing colours quickly; this kind are often carried with shapers. Others are less sensative, changing quickly only in extreme conditions; this enables them to hold their information for long enough to fly back to their owner. There are even some that remain highly sensative when touched regularly but lose their sensativity a certain length of time afterwards, enabling them to pick up subtle information, and hold it till they return. Cahrfs are a prized tool in the mining industry, and useful in surveying and scouting. The ability to accurately read subtle information from a Cahrf is a very marketable skill. Cahrf Rogues are thought to be non-existant: they are too simple to have much will, and have virtually zero self-sufficiency skills. The few unverified reports of Cahrf 'refusing' to change tones are dismissed as non-sense. SKIN Redish to Blueish Waves: Heat or Cold Frequency of waves: Humidity/Dryness Shades of Green: Poison FEATHERS Yellow: Sulfur Lime: Chlorine Grey: Carbon Dioxide Deev Flying, a Deev looks somewhat like a cone-shaped owl. It has a dispro-portionally large, slightly bloated lower half, with small legs which emerge from opposite sides of it's body. It's small head has two large, owlish, forward-facing eyes on top, giving it a keen vision of it's destination as it dives, and brilliant depth perception. It's beak, flat and round, is under it's eyes. Because of its shape it's a slow and struggling flier, but an accurate diver. When walking the Deev waddles like a cross between a penguin and a compass-needle, straining it's head down and forwards to be able to see where it is going. The reason for its rather distended belly is a huge digestive system, which processes the large quantities of food the creature eats and heats them significantly. This burning material can then be dumped on targets at the master's whim. If a Deev does not have enough food in it's digestive system it developes a terrible stomach ache – something not many Shapers care about, but a factor for those Deevs that go rogue. With their abilities they can hunt lone rodents or marsupials for food, giving a rogue some chance for survival. Because they are so clumsy at everything except diving and not very bright, a rogue Deev is not a difficult adversary though. A few different kinds of Deev have been created, most notably a variant which, rather than heating the material in it's digestive tract, processes it into a corrosive liquid. Though more dangerous than the regular kind, these Acid Deev are also less stable, both in terms of their digistive systems and mentally. Recently, an Ur-Deev has been created, which is said to have a less clumsy design and be more internally stable. Peiok Hawky like attack bird. Fire Shaping Synasher Synashers are small, slug-like retilioids. The tend to be about 4-5 inches long, tapering off to a forked tail at the end. They have a thick, often brightly coloured skin which protects them from all but the most intense of heat, and are capable of great bursts of speed when they are hot. Synashers are used as practice for Prentices, allowing them to experiment with the internal heat shielding necissary for more advanced Fire Shaping, by applying it to the outside of these creatures. Their only other real function is to amuse children, as they are often considered fairly cute. Battle Shaping Bruzh The Bruzh is a thin snakelike creature with no teeth, usually between 18inches and 2 feet in length. It gets created with many different skin shades and patterns, to match different types of terrain. Bruzhi get used to trip or entangle opponents, hopefully hiding in grass or something similiar so they are not seen, and then slithering around legs in either a figure 8 or 'O' shape. Not being very smart, a Bruzh will often just entangle the first person who stumbles near it. Bruzhi have fairly weak bones, and are often crushed when being forcably removed from their targets. Because of their lack of teeth it is fairly difficult for them to find food if they escape and go rogue. The worst that can happen from a rogue Bruzh is that they fail to entagle when their enemy approaches, which can be quite a problem if it was integral to an ambush or escape. Magic Shaping Blinker Blinkers, a difficult creation with a lot of essential shaping practises incorporated into them, are a kind of baptism by fire for Magic Shaping. A blinker is mostly animal, though part plant. It has 3 legs that sink into the ground and branch off into roots. They join together at a central stem which leads to a single eye. When this eye blinks, the Blinker is seen to disappear – it actually activates a layer of camouflage, blending into its surroundings. From it's rooted position it watches and remembers all that it sees. When touched by a Shaper, it dumps all of it's memory, 'downloading' it to the Shaper. As this is usually a month's worth of memories, most Blinkers are created to just remember specific things. Occasionally this is as broad as recording any changes to the area of view, but most often it is to remember when certain things move past the blinker; Shapers, humans, creatures, creations, etc. If left for long periods of time without dumping it's memories, a blinker can start to forget things. This rarely occurs before a month or two, but since it is dependant largely on how much the Blinker has been created to remember, it can happen earlier. It is also possible that a particularly large download can temporarily confuse and disorientate a Shaper, and there are rumours it can cause memories problems or loss. A rogue Blinker is annoying at worst, confusing a Shaper or refusing to download memories. Their only form of protection is to keep their eye closed, retaining camouflage, but since they are so curious – and their only other real sense is vibration – a very still Shaper can usually wait till the eye opens. Tool Shaping Living Torch Fairly self-explinatory. Simple Warning Sensor Another half living device a simple warning sensor is a living sensor rod attached to one end of a small base, with a small crystal attached to the other. If the sensor rod is animal, it lights up the crystal if it detects unsuitable temperature ranges for humans nearby. If the sensor rod is plant, it lights up the crystal rod if it detects pollutants unsuitable for humans nearby (noxious gases, poisons, the like). Obviously they do not indicate exactly where the source of temperature or pollutant is, though it may be obvious from the placing, and the brighter the crystal, the closer it is. A source of nutrients is often built into the base of the device as well, so that it will last. Depending on the length of use, this may need to be replaced. Living Tool Living Mine A living mine is a small, sensative blobby creature that is dropped into a small hole at the top of an empty crystal ball on a tripod. The creature is fed until it fills the ball, and roots begin to grow out of the legs of the tripod, and the ball is then placed on the ground. The roots grow into the ground, and the mine is activated. Once activated the mine needs a constant source of nutrients or it dies instantly. If anyone approaches the mine, it senses the movements, and begins to swirl around, exploding within around 10 seconds. This does give someone time to reach down to the legs of the tripod and try to disconnect it from the ball. This will kill the mine without it exploding. Living mines have been known to explode at random when young. Plant Shaping Flower As well as being pretty took look at, flowers can have many beneficial effects. Sweet smelling blossoms can be used to cover up unpleasent odours – not to be underestimated in world without sewerage pipes. Beyond these kinds of mundane uses, shapers have found a variety of additional properties to give flowers. Effects: Drowsy, Sleep, Itchy, Poison As well as these properties, the ability to release pollen into the air is a vital part of much living machinery. Sensor Mine A Sensor Mine is one of the two types of mines that shapers use. It is a small pod about 9 inches in diameter and about 6 inches high which sits a few inches off the ground, suspended by roots which dig into the ground. On top it has a thin sensor. Through pollens they are 'programmed' to have a target. This could be something like 'Shapers', 'Serviles', 'Creations', 'Humans', 'Non-Shapers', 'Everyone'. If the Creator has something with the DNA of a specific person the mines can target just that individual. Mines can also have 'exceptions', be they individuals (subject to the condition above), entire species, or any being holding, say, a rose. It is even possible to except specific groups, by creating a living object which emits a particular scent which grants exception – just hope your enemies don't find one of the tokens! It is rare, dangerous and forbidden to create mines that have the ability to target their creator or that lack a 'disarm' scent, so that at least someone can 'disarm' them easily. If a target approaches within about 2 or 3 metres, the sensor will point to them, and the mines usually explode at about 1 metre from a target, though these values are changable. The point of these mines is primarilyto protect an area from certain beings, not necissarily to hurt them. Turrets Posts: 3 | Registered: Wednesday, December 1 2004 08:00 |
| Wut do u luv most about Geneforge 2? in Geneforge Series | |
|
Apprentice
Member # 5243
|
written Sunday, December 5 2004 21:40
Profile
quote:Really? In what ways? If you think it would be too contentious to post publicly, perhaps you could privately reply to me? I don't think it's worth listing features of the game such as the way poison is handled as things that are best about the game. For me, what is so good about geneforge is that it (while being a downright fun game) it has a moral dimension. Your beliefs and actions have consequences, power has corruption, and little is black and white. Obviously this is not possible in a two dimension setting, it requires a fleshed out story line and world. That's what I like most about the game. Posts: 3 | Registered: Wednesday, December 1 2004 08:00 |
| Wut do u luv most about Geneforge 2? in Geneforge 2 | |
|
Apprentice
Member # 5243
|
written Sunday, December 5 2004 21:40
Profile
quote:Really? In what ways? If you think it would be too contentious to post publicly, perhaps you could privately reply to me? I don't think it's worth listing features of the game such as the way poison is handled as things that are best about the game. For me, what is so good about geneforge is that it (while being a downright fun game) it has a moral dimension. Your beliefs and actions have consequences, power has corruption, and little is black and white. Obviously this is not possible in a two dimension setting, it requires a fleshed out story line and world. That's what I like most about the game. Posts: 3 | Registered: Wednesday, December 1 2004 08:00 |
| GURPS: Geneforge in Geneforge Series | |
|
Apprentice
Member # 5243
|
written Wednesday, December 1 2004 01:08
Profile
One of the things I enjoy most about spiderweb software games is the storylines. The emphasis on choice, morals, and interesting background stories is what I believe makes their games different, better. This is also why Geneforge would have to be my favorite series: I think the world it is set in has the most potential for interesting stories and situations. I don't know how many tabletop roleplayers subscribe to these boards, but I'm hoping there are a few. Does anyone out there know of anyone who's tried to run an RPG set in the world of Geneforge? Personally, I plan on creating a Geneforge setting for the GURPS system to run with a few friends. To keep the computer game exciting, it has to be set in the backwaters of Shaper civilisation, a place where rampant violations of the harsh Shaper laws are possible for anything more than a short period of time (though I suppose we have to see what #3 brings). But with a table top RPG, the game could be set easily in a large shaper city, and get into intrigue and really flesh out the story in a way that can't happen in a computer game. So in case you hadn't guessed, I think an pen and paper RPG version of Geneforge would be a great idea. They did it for Myth: The Fallen Lords, which also had a pretty cool storyline, but Geneforge's is better. Obviously I'm not gonna try to give Jeff business advice, but an official GURPS: Geneforge would be pretty neat... In short: If you have any ideas for the wider world of Geneforge feel free to post them here so I can use them in my game, or just so we can discuss what we think the wider world would be like. [ Wednesday, December 01, 2004 01:19: Message edited by: Hegar T. Porisdei ] Posts: 3 | Registered: Wednesday, December 1 2004 08:00 |
| GURPS: Geneforge in Geneforge 2 | |
|
Apprentice
Member # 5243
|
written Wednesday, December 1 2004 01:08
Profile
One of the things I enjoy most about spiderweb software games is the storylines. The emphasis on choice, morals, and interesting background stories is what I believe makes their games different, better. This is also why Geneforge would have to be my favorite series: I think the world it is set in has the most potential for interesting stories and situations. I don't know how many tabletop roleplayers subscribe to these boards, but I'm hoping there are a few. Does anyone out there know of anyone who's tried to run an RPG set in the world of Geneforge? Personally, I plan on creating a Geneforge setting for the GURPS system to run with a few friends. To keep the computer game exciting, it has to be set in the backwaters of Shaper civilisation, a place where rampant violations of the harsh Shaper laws are possible for anything more than a short period of time (though I suppose we have to see what #3 brings). But with a table top RPG, the game could be set easily in a large shaper city, and get into intrigue and really flesh out the story in a way that can't happen in a computer game. So in case you hadn't guessed, I think an pen and paper RPG version of Geneforge would be a great idea. They did it for Myth: The Fallen Lords, which also had a pretty cool storyline, but Geneforge's is better. Obviously I'm not gonna try to give Jeff business advice, but an official GURPS: Geneforge would be pretty neat... In short: If you have any ideas for the wider world of Geneforge feel free to post them here so I can use them in my game, or just so we can discuss what we think the wider world would be like. [ Wednesday, December 01, 2004 01:19: Message edited by: Hegar T. Porisdei ] Posts: 3 | Registered: Wednesday, December 1 2004 08:00 |