20:14, Today: Anupama Sivapathasundaram rolled 12 using the Unisystem system (1d10+3) with rolls of 9. Will Roll.

DC 9 out of 10 doesn't seem like a simple check?
This message was last edited by the player at 19:26, Sat 07 May 2011.

If I'm right, and I'm often not, you add your attribute. Pam has a WP of 3 so she needed to roll 6+ to pass, still tough but not unachievable (as her roll suggests: teh roller hates me and I think I passed).

The soldiers all have +4's at this point, but even then, no one passed.  A check isn't "simple" if there's a 70%-80% chance of failure for the average person with an attribute of 2.  Simple checks should be DCs of 4-6, as simple implies ease of success.

Plus 4 in all attributes! Impressive, Geoff's been playing for years in the game and is no where near that. I think Simple is a description of how you create the score as in Attribute+Roll rather than Attribute+Skill+Modifiers+Roll.

Most people appear to get turned into raving zombies by this stuff so it's likely that it is hard to pass.

The soldiers had Willpowers of 3, Tara had 4 ideally to represent the struggles of being a female officer with combat roles.  The rain boosted Willpowers across the board except for Tara, which put em all at 4.  Abe might've had a point lower 'cause of all the stuff he was going through in his family life.  I probably shouldn't be rolling for everyone anyhow, considering there was a lot of activity inside the boat.

Hrmm, I don't recall you guys rolling vs the rain at the end of '08 in your thread where it all goes awry, and ya'll were on a roof or something weren't you?

You're correct we did roll, I'm not sure how but I distinctly remember getting a boost to INT. Form what you said I thought your characters had a minimum of 4 in all attributes, not merely Will, it's entirely reasonable for them to have a 4 in a single Attribute, or even more than one.

As an aside, I've checked the rules and for a Simple Check, the Attribute is doubled so if the character has 4 or more then they have to roll a 1 or more to pass. Doesn't seem so hard now.

Also, the GM might rule that you need to roll on the attribute before the effects of the rain as the rage may take effect before the attribute boost, GM call on that one.

Ha, no, certainly not 4's across the board on all characters, I only meant across the board in Willpowers.  You guys rolled for stat upgrades, but did you roll against going insane like the rest?  Thank you Geoff, if that's the case, then everyone passed.  Glad I voiced my concern :P

As per the how and when of the rain and what it does, if it's effecting people by bolstering deep rooted tendencies to draw out the worst in people, the Willpower boost is actually quite accurate for my group of dedicated and disciplined soldiers.  The part of the brain that might normally be attacked to send people into overdrive, only stiffened the focus and resolve of this group of mentally honed and tempered individuals.

Alright then, guess we're back to waiting for descriptions of what's going on out there if my group isn't effected.

Yup, we rolled to see if we went mental, a few of us did some strange things.

Gotcha.  Well it's good you found the doubling of the attribute thing, otherwise Tara would've been tackled back into the cabin, and who knows what would've happened to Pam with Jake & Abe, certainly the end results would barely be covered by an Adult rating, if at all.  Although, I suppose 2 9's would've passed, but I didn't really track well who rolled what, just rolled a bulk to see how fucked we were gonna be.

Sorry, I'll clarify: SIMPLE Tests are so called because you add twice the relevant attribute (average human with value 2 succeeds on a 5 or better, so 60% of the time, and one more point brings you to 80% success chance). Difficult Tests add only the base value.

I guess there is no reason to keep this detail secret: it's not the rain that makes you roll for craziness, it's the smell.

And finally, I shall once again repeat that rules are applied consistently across the board to all players and all characters. I hope this is the last time that particular subject comes up, as being accused of playing favorites tends to grate on my nerves.

OTOH, being told by a first-time player that I don't understand a system I have been using for 10 years is merely amusing, so feel free to keep that up.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:08, Sun 08 May 2011.

Man, you sure jump at every chance to take offense don't you?  Even if you have to fabricate the affront :P  I was personally expressing my opinion on the counter-intuitiveness of the term "Simple" at first glance.  As you mentioned, I'm new to Unisystem, and it also wasn't clarified that the attribute was doubled, and you can see is evident, lack of that clarification had both players who were rolling unaware of the doubling.

Well, since we discussed advanced topics, like rewriting the entire skill table, or changing the point-value of Qualities, or whether or not Specializations should be allowed for Skills that are not part of the character's inventory but default to different ones at a penalty, I admit that it did surprise me that Simple Attribute Test would blindside you, but that is why I apologized. And besides, that would probably count as telling me that I don't understand a system I've been using for ten years - like the Resources discussion whereby 50,000 really means 250,000.

No, the relevant bits are:





Hector's gunshot in the middle of the shop was the first sign that all was not well, and Geoff and Jane's scene where they jumped each other (messages 106 to 113) was the result of two (successful, even) Willpower rolls.

There are various rules and conditions on who and why and how rolls, and the scene plays out differently for each character depending on why and how it happens, with the goal of creating an interesting story.

With a 60 to 80% success chance, I was expecting maybe one character to actually go insane. They will probably still snap at each other at some point in the thread, but they are now unlikely to resort to physical violence.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:05, Sun 08 May 2011.

Yeah, see, that's why I asked, because the rolls weren't publicized in the thread you had me read, and their responses seemed like normal character interaction, rather than a forced incident.  I was doing my due diligence in making sure everything was still being done the same after two and a half years.  More so, I was just following up on an observation, it wouldn't have mattered too much to me if they hadn't rolled similarly, but one likes to know.

I know I am occasionally not very clear, but this does not normally happen to me.

Rules discussions moved to PL for brevity, and that's hopefully the last discussion on game mechanics.

Shall I now move on to the apparent feeling of "the ZM is trying to screw me over"? I keep getting that vibe...
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:36, Sun 08 May 2011.

I haven't seen anyone giving off that vibe yet, but I also haven't read every thread fully.  It's a cataclysm setting, bad things are going to happen, and so long as they develop realistically and aren't altered on the fly to be abusively difficult/impossible to overcome, I doubt there'll be much call for paranoia.  I figure I have enough tactics, equipment, transportation, and manpower at my disposal that I should be reliably responsible for being able to maintain some form of survivability.  If I decide to step into the Chamberlain Hotel alone with a pistol, I deserve what I'd likely get coming :P  I think everyone's well aware, and agreed, that one reaps what they sow.

Because nobody has given it off except you. In the past three years, nobody, and I mean nobody, in this game, has ever debated whether or not the target for their roll was too high, or whether or not the cost for a Quality was fair, or asked if/why their character was being asked to roll a die where nobody else was.

May we please stop having those discussions? I don't think they are conducive to good roleplaying.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:36, Sun 08 May 2011.

I debated the term "Simple" for the roll because the methodology for the roll wasn't spelled out like it should've been so it seemed off at first glance, and it certainly was.  You're going to complain about me thinking your Rank quality might be worth more points than it's currently set at?  Seriously?  And yes, I'm going to question things that observances display a gap of some sort in, that's how I stay an educated and involved player.

All this self-victimization, the OOC whining, and the off-focus PMs is what's not conducive to roleplaying.  For every post that could've been an in-game post, I get back 2-5 posts whining about something instead.  I'm not sure what your actual life is like that you think you need to come here and throw your supposed weight around like it's some sort of god-given right to hold us down under your thumb, but you'd best keep in mind that we're all the same type of people, playing the same game, all potentially equally invested and laboring upon this campaign.  Your players are partners, not underlings/commodities/slaves/lesser-people, etc etc.  The game ceases to run without them.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:51, Sun 08 May 2011.

Apparently we may not.

As you may have noticed, Monica has been offline for about two weeks. I have no information as to what happened, but I've known Monica's player as a reliable person for several years now, so I shall have to presume that it is something important.

I really wanted to have a post from Monica before continuing in the main IC thread: she had originally tried to put herself between Hector and the bullet... And then he had gone and switched places with her (gotta love Drama Points). Unfortunately, it seems I will have to take over the character :(

I shall post in the main IC thread within a day or two. Yes, I am still holding on to hope, I am hopelessly hopeful, that's me.

Well the game is a bit long in the tooth, but it still has steam, and as we've talked about at length, it has great plot potential with the direction it's going.  Fresh blood might be the solution to any stagnation.  I know Geoff is still eager and active, 'having made that new character just to keep going.  I'm here & willing to do my part.  I've enjoyed the gameplay so far, it's pouring out my fingertips quite fluidly right now, so obviously the inspiration within the scenario is at hand and being readily deployed, and based on compliments, apparently at high quality.  So there's something there to definitely continue on for awhile.  I'm just waiting to continue onwards.

*Adds* Have you Rmailed the inactive players?  PMs also put the game back in their list if they've removed it.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:14, Mon 09 May 2011.

Speaking of which, if any of the players, new or old, want to take over one of the NPCs in John's background cast, by all means, I welcome it!

I am obviously unaware of some backstory lol!

Growing antsy, twins are due in 3 days :|

Twins!? Oh man... Congratondolences. Your first?