Beyond the Supernatural

Omega · February 28, 2016, 02:21:17 AM

Quote from: Certified;881798Have to agree here, my dislike for Palladium comes from the games I've played. My 90s were littered with Ninjas and Superspies, TMNT, Rifts and Heroes Unlimited. The engine got more than it's fair chance to impress me.

Also, Nightspawn... damn it.

1: Indeed. But there is a faction of haters against Palladium simply because someone said so rather than actually playing it and forming their own opinion.

2: Damn it indeed.

Omega · February 28, 2016, 02:29:24 AM

Quote from: Ddogwood;881859I remember the book almost came across as a slightly-more-serious Ghostbusters game,

except for the sample adventure which had the players taking on the role of a group of pubescent girls in a horror movie scenario.

1: Yep. It could well handle that sans the comedy. Or better yet Night Stalker style investigation. Which bridges between Cthulhu-esque horror and Ghostbusters not horror. Surprisingly versatile.

2: It was actually a separate setting and playstyle from the main game. It states so in the intro. And as noted in the other thread. Its a bit jarring a change. Like finding Ghostbusters in the back of Call of Cthulhu.

Simlasa · February 28, 2016, 06:18:51 AM

Quote from: Omega;8818951: Indeed. But there is a faction of haters against Palladium simply because someone said so rather than actually playing it and forming their own opinion.

My own distaste was for the man at the head of the company. Not the games. I made a it a point to never buy any Palladium stuff new, only second hand.
But BtS preceded my adoption of that policy.

Omega · February 28, 2016, 12:13:45 PM

So true.

Malleustein · February 28, 2016, 03:20:55 PM

I liked the first edition of Beyond the Supernatural quite a lot.

It was a functional (if hardly elegant) set of rules attached to a minimum setting information with some interesting character options not normally available in a horror role-playing game.

It allowed us to play scenarios inspired by the horror movies of the day that we enjoyed... Tremors, Fright Night, Critters, Lost Boys, etc.

The second edition is a different beast. It develops the setting more, gives more comprehensive rules for psionics and more character options, but is less complete, lacking a proper bestiary and magic system for well over a decade. So while I own this edition, I have never put it to use.

kosmos1214 · February 28, 2016, 05:18:14 PM

Quote from: Omega;881785...That, Night Bane, and System Shock are three settings overlooked due to people seeing "Palladium" and walking away in moral outrage. Hating it because someone told them to....

is this the same system shock im thinking of

??
http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/562684-system-shock/images/128783

Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;881829Did Palladium players not know from reading the rules if they would hate the system or not before ever playing a game?

i dont know about every one i know reading it is what turned me off of useing it for macross

Malleustein · February 28, 2016, 05:54:16 PM

I suspect Omega means Systems Failure, Bill Coffin's millennium bug apocalypse game that Palladium published but no longer support. It is generally acknowledged to be one of the better iterations of the Megaversal rules.

Omega · February 28, 2016, 07:32:11 PM

Quote from: Malleustein;882028The second edition is a different beast. It develops the setting more, gives more comprehensive rules for psionics and more character options, but is less complete, lacking a proper bestiary and magic system for well over a decade. So while I own this edition, I have never put it to use.

When did they put out a second edition?

Omega · February 28, 2016, 07:39:20 PM

Quote from: kosmos1214;882060is this the same system shock im thinking of ??
http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/562684-system-shock/images/128783

oops! Meant System Failure.

kosmos1214 · February 28, 2016, 08:44:43 PM

Quote from: Omega;882116oops! Meant System Failure.

oh thank heh now im sad i had my hope up

Malleustein · February 29, 2016, 03:27:52 AM

Quote from: Omega;882113When did they put out a second edition?

2005, there was a limited edition hardcover and a retail softcover that remains on sale. Unfortunately, the core book contained only a small handful of supernatural entities and no arcane magic, only psionics.

The planned sourcebooks Tome Grotesque and Beyond Arcanum remain unreleased to this day, though sneak previews have appeared in The Rifter. Both books are occasionally mentioned in Siembieda's weekly updates but always pushed back in favour of RIFTS, Robotech and other more popular lines.

Warboss Squee · February 29, 2016, 06:38:08 AM

I've got a first printing of the 2nd Edition signed by Captain Ego himself, but that's about the only noteworthy thing I can say about it. It's got some decent ideas, but the system itself made me never want to try it.

Malleustein · February 29, 2016, 08:04:48 AM

Quote from: Warboss Squee;882233I've got a first printing of the 2nd Edition signed by Captain Ego himself, but that's about the only noteworthy thing I can say about it. It's got some decent ideas, but the system itself made me never want to try it.

While I have yet to use it, I like many of the ideas in the game. I particularly like the way psionic energy diminishes under scientific scrutiny (so no-one can ever prove psychics are real) but multiplies when a player character confront supernatural creatures.

The more powerful the entity, the more power you get to fight it! That is a very cool idea. It means mundane threats (cops, cultists, etc.) can be a threat to player characters, but only the player characters themselves can confront demons and elder evils.

Warboss Squee · February 29, 2016, 08:28:34 AM

Quote from: Malleustein;882247While I have yet to use it, I like many of the ideas in the game. I particularly like the way psionic energy diminishes under scientific scrutiny (so no-one can ever prove psychics are real) but multiplies when a player character confront supernatural creatures.

The more powerful the entity, the more power you get to fight it! That is a very cool idea. It means mundane threats (cops, cultists, etc.) can be a threat to player characters, but only the player characters themselves can confront demons and elder evils.

And that would be the decent ideas I'm talking about. You only being the Slayer around vampires is a cool idea, cause you're just Joe Average the rest of the time, and neatly sidesteps the Mage problem of "I have infinite cosmic power, screw everyone beneath me".

Daddy Warpig · February 29, 2016, 01:08:41 PM

Quote from: Malleustein;882247While I have yet to use it, I like many of the ideas in the game. I particularly like the way psionic energy diminishes under scientific scrutiny (so no-one can ever prove psychics are real) but multiplies when a player character confront supernatural creatures.

That is a cool idea.

Does Palladium sell in PDF?