Are there levels?

How do you gain new talents?

Can you gain additional Professions ala Warhammer?

If you are going to nuke skills (which is fine), then maybe weave them into additional ability scores.  Pilot, Medic, Engineer would be a good ones since every delver could have at least a +0 in these.   This might help to create more race / class options.

20 is the max health?  If so, how will damage work?  Just less damage per weapon?

Should there be a PSI defense? Maybe a Vigor defense?

Quote from: Spinachcat;404971Are there levels?

How do you gain new talents?

Can you gain additional Professions ala Warhammer?

If you are going to nuke skills (which is fine), then maybe weave them into additional ability scores.  Pilot, Medic, Engineer would be a good ones since every delver could have at least a +0 in these.   This might help to create more race / class options.

20 is the max health?  If so, how will damage work?  Just less damage per weapon?

Should there be a PSI defense? Maybe a Vigor defense?

Professions can be changed. They open up specific talents that one can only get if they change profession (Cost XP) things like a Pilot can get a ship, and an Esper gets Psionics. Some talents are available to everyone. Like "Two Fisted." for example. Talents can also be bought by experience. (Although not cheap since they make significant impact on play.)

Health will be fixed and weapons damage will be fixed except being modified by rolls (Partial Success, Full Success, Critical Success) and modifiers.

Health is based on Body+Profession Modifiers. It doesn't change much, but HP still does, and can soak damage. I figured everyone can fight a little (as per most pulp games.)

The idea is to make Profession+Race create a quick archetype, like Felinoid Scout, or Insectoid Engineer, and so on.

Of course I'm all for suggestions.  (I was tempted to make the second abilities Soldier, Scout, Scientist, Pilot, and Esper. Yet I wanted a bit more niche protection than letting people choose to be a little bit of everything.

Quote from: Silverlion;404980Professions can be changed. They open up specific talents that one can only get if they change profession (Cost XP) things like a Pilot can get a ship, and an Esper gets Psionics. Some talents are available to everyone. Like "Two Fisted." for example. Talents can also be bought by experience. (Although not cheap since they make significant impact on play.)

Health will be fixed and weapons damage will be fixed except being modified by rolls (Partial Success, Full Success, Critical Success) and modifiers.

Health is based on Body+Profession Modifiers. It doesn't change much, but HP still does, and can soak damage. I figured everyone can fight a little (as per most pulp games.)

The idea is to make Profession+Race create a quick archetype, like Felinoid Scout, or Insectoid Engineer, and so on.

Of course I'm all for suggestions.  (I was tempted to make the second abilities Soldier, Scout, Scientist, Pilot, and Esper. Yet I wanted a bit more niche protection than letting people choose to be a little bit of everything.

It seems to me you're no longer writing the same game. Whether that's good or bad is up to you.

Quote from: Narf the Mouse;404984It seems to me you're no longer writing the same game. Whether that's good or bad is up to you.

It's still old school. Just not "D&D is the only Old School." Pretty much the trap I was getting into was that a Sci Fi Version of D&D re-skinned was the only way to do a Sci Fi game written by the creators of our hobby. I don't think that's true. I sadly can't talk to them about it, but I can try my hand at something different.

If people think it should stay more D&D like it is possible to do that, I just think the cover art, the pulp space opera sensibilities, and the like, give me more room to maneuver good game material out of if I refocus it a bit.

Quote from: Silverlion;404987It's still old school. Just not "D&D is the only Old School." Pretty much the trap I was getting into was that a Sci Fi Version of D&D re-skinned was the only way to do a Sci Fi game written by the creators of our hobby. I don't think that's true. I sadly can't talk to them about it, but I can try my hand at something different.

If people think it should stay more D&D like it is possible to do that, I just think the cover art, the pulp space opera sensibilities, and the like, give me more room to maneuver good game material out of if I refocus it a bit.

Thought it should be said.

No problem, then. Rock on or something.

Quote from: Narf the Mouse;404995Thought it should be said.

No problem, then. Rock on or something.

 Would you prefer D&D as a Sci Fi game? I don't mind feedback/input and I very well be going the wrong direction. I can see keeping traditional stats, but I want to play up the pulp space opera/SF aspects. Another option I was contemplating when I was playing around was to keep the original stat line and making the classes a "stat" (really an ability tree.) You put a point in Soldier and have access to the soldier tricks. Yet that felt too much like 4E for me, which isn't a good thing for simplicity.  Example of new character creation (numbers subject to change)

Choose Race:

Insectoid:
Body 0 Mind 1 Senses 2 Health: 10

Roll (Choose) 3 Racial Traits: Flier Chitinous, and Long-limbed!

Choose Class:

Soldier:
Fisticuffs 1 Arms 1 Knowledge 0 Charm 0 Dodge: 10 HP: 10 Talent: Heavy Weapons



MERGE!

Insectoid Soldier Archetype
Body 0 Mind 1 Senses 2 Fisticuffs 1 Arms 1 Knowledge 0 Charm 0 Dodge: 12
Health 11  Talent: Heavy Weapons


Add 2 points to stats of your choice and choose talent. Recalculate changes to Dodge (Senses) and Health (Mind/Body)
and choose a talent!

Rixella the Insectoid Soldier
Chitinous, Long-limbed, Flier
Body 1 Mind 1 Senses 2 Fisticuffs 1 Arms 2 Knowledge 0 Charm 0
Health: 12 Dodge: 12  Armor: 4 (Caraprace+Spacesuit)
Heroism Points: 10 Talents: Heavy Weapons, Engineer

Gear: Demolition Kit, Spacesuit (Armor 3), Beam Rifle (Damage: 20)

Rixella is a dragonfly like soldier trained in her planetary military engineering corps. She's turned her skills to work for ARCHIVE

My advice? Write the game you want and like. Otherwise, it'll always come out bad.

Quote from: Narf the Mouse;405100My advice? Write the game you want and like. Otherwise, it'll always come out bad.

That's my aim. I just like lots of stuff

Spinachcat's Demands!!!

• I want to play a kewl retro-scifi RPG where I wander around space hulks and shoot critters that scare the bejezus out of the players.  


• I want the Dungeon-In-Spaaaace feel that I got from playing the Space Hulk boardgame, but in a RPG form.  


• I want retro-50s sci-fi of the future that never was instead of another Star Trek, Star Wars, Serenity retread.   Have you read the Metabarons comics or the RPG?  I want a sci-fi RPG that looks, feels and plays differently than the rest of my shelf.

If you can do that, Derelict Delvers would rock!  At least for me!

BTW, if you want to talk to OD&D guys you can find Mentzer and Kask on the Dragonsfoot forums.  Both are approachable dudes.   Sure, not the Founders, but they can answer questions without you flying to New Orleans, getting mixed up with some hot voodoo witches and bothering the dead during their Cyborg Commando campaign.  Again!

However, I do think that if you nuke skills you need more ability scores.   And I want cooler names with more flava than Partial / Full / Critical for success.

I am working on a sci-fi RPG too.  Mine is focused on planetary invasion, ala Mechanoids, and I've wrestled with the New School / Old School whatever and in the end, I hope I'm happy with it.  I got happier recently when I made a list of "what I really want" in the game versus "what I think players need" and X'd out anything that conflicted with my wants.   I decided I don't want a universal/generic/open setting and I do want a very focused RPG that is about these heroes on this planet during this invasion...and perhaps its coming and aftermath.

I really hope that in the end, DD is about DD primarily and adventures beyond the spaaace donjons are cool and possible, but not the core focus.  AKA, I want talents that really rock when used in the core concept.  And nope, I have no idea how that's fully achieved.

X-plorers seems to have covered Swords & Wizardry in space and that's cool.  There is plenty of room in the far future genre for lots of other RPGs.

Quote from: Narf the Mouse;405100My advice? Write the game you want and like. Otherwise, it'll always come out bad.

The Mouse narfs much wisdom.

Quote from: Spinachcat;405227Spinachcat's Demands!!!

• I want to play a kewl retro-scifi RPG where I wander around space hulks and shoot critters that scare the bejezus out of the players.  


• I want the Dungeon-In-Spaaaace feel that I got from playing the Space Hulk boardgame, but in a RPG form.  


• I want retro-50s sci-fi of the future that never was instead of another Star Trek, Star Wars, Serenity retread.   Have you read the Metabarons comics or the RPG?  I want a sci-fi RPG that looks, feels and plays differently than the rest of my shelf.

Oh yeah that's the aim. All of that.

QuoteCyborg Commando campaign.  Again!

I am pretty shore that there is no Cyborg Commando in heaven. Despite it might be fun to play (with improved rules.)

QuoteHowever, I do think that if you nuke skills you need more ability scores.   And I want cooler names with more flava than Partial / Full / Critical for success.

I assumed professions would cover that. A Solder can do soldier stuff--use and maintain weapons, drive military vehicles. Blow shit up. That sort of thing. They get access to more dangerous weapons all through the free talent Heavy Weapons. A Scientist can do scientist stuff. (Of course that depends on the talent they take. I mean I will offer more than one for each profession.)

So you'd have
Soldier: Heavy Weapons, Armor Trooper,
Scientist: Medic, Engineer, etc.
Scout: Explorer, Sniper, etc.

QuoteI decided I don't want a universal/generic/open setting and I do want a very focused RPG that is about these heroes on this planet during this invasion...and perhaps its coming and aftermath.  

Are they giant aliens engineered to be bugs?  I'd play it..

I love space invasions. They work great for superhero games.

I am of two minds. The Archetype building system is one.

It gives you a stat profile for species Strength, Agility, Intellect, and Spirit, and Health. This is modified by the racial traits that add +4 (Rare) a +2(Uncommon) and+1 (Common) modifiers you get to pick to describe your characters race.

Then this is modified by Profession template which gives basic Fisticuffs, Arms, Knowledge, and Charm Skills, as well as Heroism Points and Professional Talent.

Then PC's get a free talent etc, etc as above.

The end result would be a quick PC that has mechanical strength.


The other idea is that all characters have 3 traits from 3 categories. Giving them 9 descriptors for their character.

Things would be like "Trained by the Mystic Monks of Pao Sha" "Master of the Silver Saber Fencing Style," and "Has reached the Seventh Sphere of Telepathic Communion.."   Each of these things can be activated to use in a roll that they of course make sense in, Heroism points remain much liike Fate from Fate games, but they don't need to be used for doing something the character already knows how to do, or can do. Instead its for spinning up something new.

Like "Ahah, you didn't know I was also a Prodigy in the Psychokinetic Martial Art of Kinja-Kense!"  and of course it is then written on the sheet with a mark next to it indicating it is "new" and not shown up in play enough to be used without HP expenditure. Of course everyone can do special maneuvers, combat tricks, and the like to enact a few common things. Such as holding back enemies with machine gun fire, or pinning someone to the wall with a knife throw, or the like.

Every character would have 3 Profession based statement, 3 species statements, and 3 generic stuff I wanted to have statements.

The traits idea looks more fun, the archetype build is more old school but doesn't grab me - I already have systems that do that thing.

Quote from: Sean !;407340The traits idea looks more fun, the archetype build is more old school but doesn't grab me - I already have systems that do that thing.

What about a hybrid form?

Someone with a high Strength must have at a tag that describes the reason for it, like Strength 3 Winner of Homeworlds Earthshaker Contest. Then you have Stat+Skill+Device for result tallying? In this case a Insectoid Beetle (2), Winner of Homeworlds Earthshaker Contest (1) gives us the 3, Master Scientist-Archivist Awarded the Silver Atom of Brilliance (Knowledge 2), using a Steel Lever (1) gets to roll 7d6 to beet a target number...?

I like both ideas too much, and hybridizing them sounds off a bit.

Just to let people know. I'm still working on the new direction. I'm primarily reading a lot of old and new space opera and general pulp science fiction.

I've got a pretty good plan but this is the research stage.

I think the hybrid form is the way I'm going. (Think of it more as the more traits you have in an area, the better you are at doing stuff in that area.) Although in this case we're writing the number first. It just indicates how many traits you'll need to pick or create.

Yet the focus will be interesting as their will be examples for each general physiotype. (Humanoid, Insectoid, Felinoid, Reptiloid) and then a set of examples for each "profession" someone might choose to take, but being as this is pulpy one can take choices from Soldier list, Agent list, Scientist list, or what have you.

Want a scholar and scientist who lettered at football before becoming a pilot of superluminal rockets? Prefer a former scientist turned spy, who is a  knockout in more ways than that long Farisian silk dress gives away?

I've got a plan, and I think its a good one.


Oh, even gear will work similarly Beam guns might be stock beam guns, uninteresting things pick up in some space emergency kit, or they can be Four Ringed Atomic Disintegrator, with scope!

Anyone up to brainstorming some generic trait lists to append to base attributes?


Derelict Delvers needs "General" lists, then race specific ones: Humanoids, "Insectoid" and Reptiloids, as well as profession based ones.

I'm  expanding Insectoid to cover all "Arthropod like" beings. They bear a strong semblance to them. (Size is a factor in Sci Fi, I'm not sure if I should make it one in DD or not. If I do I may just have them evolved from Arthropod ancestors and still have chitinous outer shells, but internal support as well.)  I'm also rolling Felinoids into Humanoids. Cat-people are humanoid enough, same goes with Dog-men, and Hawk-women.


In addition to the trait lists, I'm planning on generating some cultural lists as well.

Examples
Brawn Attribute
   Big as a planetoid
   Hideous Alien Might
   Three Time-Medal Winner in Archive Interplanetary Games
   Species X is from a High Gravity World
   Stronger than it/he/she looks


Soldier Profession
   Trained by Monks of X
   Warrior Species from ....
   Deadliest Shot in the Greater Ezzem Cloud
   

and so on..