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tigerguy786
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Joined: 26 Nov 2011
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 Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 7:36 pm Post subject: Mass Effect Conversion My first attempt at such a thing! |
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Starting with the Races
do these seem balanced to you guys? Would you make any changes?
EDIT: Hopefully the link works now.
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| Clint wrote: | | Common sense always trumps anything pretending to be an "overarching" rule. |
Last edited by tigerguy786 on Thu Apr 05, 2012 8:37 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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peregry
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tigerguy786
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| Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry about that. It should work now.
_________________
TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
| Clint wrote: | | Common sense always trumps anything pretending to be an "overarching" rule. |
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peregry
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Location: Manassas, VA, USA, North America, Terra, Inner Sphere, Milky Way Galaxy
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| Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 10:04 pm Post subject: |
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Ok, looked em over, notes by race:
Asari - Looks good overall.
Batarian - Need to note whether Greedy and Vengeful are Major or Minor (numbers wise they are clearly minor, but that's not stated). Why the d6 in Spirit and Persuasion?
Drell - Kepral's Syndrome is hard to place as a penalty. It will either never come up in a campaign, or be something that constantly screws over the character, depending on the GM.
Elcor - Clinical Observation: The racial bonuses total to +3, so they are slightly overpowered as written. Enthusiastic Suggestion: You should add a Quirk reflecting their unique speech pattern, which would bring them into line. Thoughtful reflection: Brawny is probably the wrong Edge to use to reflect their great size, it would be better to simply give them a +1 size increase.
Geth - Overpowered overall, if allowed for a PC more hindrances should be added (Outsider seems like a solid place to start).
Krogan - Balanced, but I'm not entirely sure I agree with the stats. My big suggestion here would be to remove their Vigor bonus and instead increase their size by one, or perhaps have them start with the Brawny edge.
Quarian - As best I can figure, they total to a +1 race, so slightly underpowered. Confined to Suit is a very harsh penalty, and is not exactly reflective of canon, as suit breeches are more of a long-term health issue rather than an immediate problem. I think slowing their natural healing speed (due to weakened immune system) might be a better than choice than something that can take a Quarian out. Quarians might also be suited for the Outsider hindrance, as they have some stigmas attached to them in the setting (being space gypsies).
Salarians - Mathematically balanced, but We Do Not Hold the Line is a very stiff penalty due to how important vigor is in SW. You might want to consider Cautious as a racial hindrance for them somehow.
Taurians - Mathematically balanced, but feels overpowered due to using to purely RP edges (Loyal and Code of Honor) to balance them. You might want to consider giving them a slight bonus to armor (+1) as it has been noted in canon they are slightly tougher than humans and the like.
Volus - Looks good.
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tigerguy786
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| Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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| peregry wrote: | Ok, looked em over, notes by race:
Asari - Looks good overall. |
Good.
| peregry wrote: |
Batarian - Need to note whether Greedy and Vengeful are Major or Minor (numbers wise they are clearly minor, but that's not stated). Why the d6 in Spirit and Persuasion? |
Yeah, I know about the hindrances, I figured it's a rough draft so something like that could be added later. As far as Spirit and Persuasion go...I really didn't know what else to give them. I mean, the Spirit makes sense I think. I don't remember seeing any Batarians that were weak willed. The persuasion was a nod to their reputation as negotiators.
| peregry wrote: |
Drell - Kepral's Syndrome is hard to place as a penalty. It will either never come up in a campaign, or be something that constantly screws over the character, depending on the GM. |
Any suggestions for that I can replace it with? I don't think I would unless there was a really good reason, it is a core aspect of their biology after all.
| peregry wrote: |
Elcor - Clinical Observation: The racial bonuses total to +3, so they are slightly overpowered as written. Enthusiastic Suggestion: You should add a Quirk reflecting their unique speech pattern, which would bring them into line. Thoughtful reflection: Brawny is probably the wrong Edge to use to reflect their great size, it would be better to simply give them a +1 size increase. |
I see what you did there and now that you've said it, that makes much more sense.
| peregry wrote: |
Geth - Overpowered overall, if allowed for a PC more hindrances should be added (Outsider seems like a solid place to start). |
You're right, I guess I didn't finish them. I will do that.
| peregry wrote: |
Krogan - Balanced, but I'm not entirely sure I agree with the stats. My big suggestion here would be to remove their Vigor bonus and instead increase their size by one, or perhaps have them start with the Brawny edge. |
I'll consider it as that makes lots of sense. I think the argument could be made for any of those. Considering what I know of what I want to do with the other mechaincs, I think I'll likely go with Brawny.
| peregry wrote: |
Quarian - As best I can figure, they total to a +1 race, so slightly underpowered. Confined to Suit is a very harsh penalty, and is not exactly reflective of canon, as suit breeches are more of a long-term health issue rather than an immediate problem. I think slowing their natural healing speed (due to weakened immune system) might be a better than choice than something that can take a Quarian out. Quarians might also be suited for the Outsider hindrance, as they have some stigmas attached to them in the setting (being space gypsies). |
Hmmm...I always got the impression that a suit breech was an immediate big deal, though maybe not deadly. I'll work something out. I think I counted it as a -3 but I don't remember. I'll dial that back, and redo the math to see if I can make them a +2
| peregry wrote: |
Salarians - Mathematically balanced, but We Do Not Hold the Line is a very stiff penalty due to how important vigor is in SW. You might want to consider Cautious as a racial hindrance for them somehow. |
It is a really harsh penalty, but it's made clear that Salarians are NOT tough. Mordin goes on about that, and he is the easiest squadmate to lose in Mass Effect 2. Would it be better to change it to double the cost?
| peregry wrote: |
Taurians - Mathematically balanced, but feels overpowered due to using to purely RP edges (Loyal and Code of Honor) to balance them. You might want to consider giving them a slight bonus to armor (+1) as it has been noted in canon they are slightly tougher than humans and the like. |
Good point on the toughness, now that I think about it I may just do Size +1 on them since they are very tall. As far as Hindrances, you have a good point. I'm not sure what else I'd give them, though. I'll think about it.
From what I remember in the games and have read on the wiki, they don't have an particular physical weaknesses to account for, maybe ugly, but most people don't react poorly to a Taurian's appearance.
| peregry wrote: |
Volus - Looks good. |
Good. Now I hope someone plays a Volus "Biotic God" :p
_________________
TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
| Clint wrote: | | Common sense always trumps anything pretending to be an "overarching" rule. |
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peregry
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| Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 10:35 pm Post subject: |
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On Quarians: Suit breeches are a big deal, as a suit breech increases the risk of death by a massive amount...
...But it is death by infection and immunology response. It's not an immediate thing, it's a long term health hazard. Take a look at the first planet you go to in ME2 (where you encounter Tali the first time), the Quarian there was suffering from multiple suit breeches. He was delusional, barely conscious and fading fast due to sever fever, but had been doing things for days or longer since the Collectors had raised the world.
In other words, it is a campaign level hazard, but it is not an encounter level hazard. It should be a danger to the character, but not one that takes them out of the fight. The way you did the Suit for Volus is actually closer in my mind to what the level of threat should be, perhaps with a risk of them getting progressively worse over time.
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ValhallaGH
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kreider204
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| Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 10:41 pm Post subject: |
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Ignore that first one (v.2.2), stick to the second one (v.5.1).
Version 6 due at the end of the summer - once I get around to playing ME3 ...
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tigerguy786
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| Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 11:55 pm Post subject: |
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| peregry wrote: | | On Quarians: Suit breeches are a big deal, as a suit breech increases the risk of death by a massive amount...But it is death by infection and immunology response. It's not an immediate thing, it's a long term health hazard. |
Good point. I'll make it the same as the Volus' hindrance then
[quote=ValhallaGH]First, I'll mention the half-dozen existing Mass Effect conversions. Why? Because there are some lessons there for any conversion (Example: one guy gave Krogan's the Hardy special ability and an Outsider hindrance - and it worked perfectly in his game)[/quote]
That's a good point and I've looked over a couple. My goal is to largely keep everything as simple as possible but still replicating the feel of the world (not the game, but what I imagine the world would be like). I'm okay with a little more complication, as long as it makes the game more like Mass effect.
So Shields are mostly going to just add extra armor (someone posted recently about kinetic barriers, that's similar to how I'm going to do it) Weapons...I haven't decided yet, but I will likely just make the ammo unlimited. Powers are going to be based on the Superpower background as presented in SWD, but I don't think I'm going to make it an arcane background. I also am determined to use only the powers in the core book with appropriate trappings (For example, I am not going to use Slam, Push, Throw, or Lift, I'm just lumping them together under telekinesis since I think the intent within the world is that Biotics have telekinesis and those things just happen to be how it's applied)
The one big change I am thinking about is making a series of Professional edges to represent the classes in the game (I know SWD is anti-class, but I think it's largely just to determine who gets Biotic, Tech or Combat abilities and how many also to determine weapon specializations)
_________________
TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
| Clint wrote: | | Common sense always trumps anything pretending to be an "overarching" rule. |
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peregry
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| Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 12:05 am Post subject: |
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I actually looked through all those, and in general I prefer the races presented here as in the other ones they are not nearly as distinct enough to feel like alien species to me.
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OSIAdept
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shockvalue1138
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| Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 11:20 am Post subject: |
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Asari- Not sure why they get the -1 Toughness or the increased Str cost. I don't think they were ever portrayed as inherently weaker than humans. Of course, I'm also not sure what penalty they should get, so...
Drell- Do all Drell have Thane's illness? (I really like photographic memory represented by the Common Knowledge bonus. Totally stealing that for my own Mass Effect homebrew.)
Turian- I'd give them some radiation resistance. Maybe instead of their pace bonus? More balanced that way, perhaps?
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tigerguy786
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| Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 1:08 pm Post subject: |
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| shockvalue1138 wrote: | | Asari- Not sure why they get the -1 Toughness or the increased Str cost. I don't think they were ever portrayed as inherently weaker than humans. Of course, I'm also not sure what penalty they should get, so... |
That's what I was thinking. Looking at Asari vs Humans, they're all slightly smaller and more slender, that made the most sense to me.
| shockvalue1138 wrote: | | Drell- Do all Drell have Thane's illness? (I really like photographic memory represented by the Common Knowledge bonus. Totally stealing that for my own Mass Effect homebrew.) |
Yes, as far as I can tell all Drell have the potential to get it. I think I'll just make it some kind penalty to resist environmental effects anywhere but in a desert climate. I'm taking some artistic license here, but I think the disease would imply that they don't generally do well outside the desert (too much adaptation to one climate makes them weak to all others). Also, it's a simplicity's sake sort of thing.
| shockvalue1138 wrote: | | Turian- I'd give them some radiation resistance. Maybe instead of their pace bonus? More balanced that way, perhaps? |
that might work. What made you think of radiation resistance specifically?
_________________
TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
| Clint wrote: | | Common sense always trumps anything pretending to be an "overarching" rule. |
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OSIAdept
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mindtakerr
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| Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 1:37 pm Post subject: |
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| kreider204 wrote: |
Ignore that first one (v.2.2), stick to the second one (v.5.1).
Version 6 due at the end of the summer - once I get around to playing ME3 ... |
It says 5.1 is in your trash. Does that mean that there's a new version out? |
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kreider204
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| Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 3:02 pm Post subject: |
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| mindtakerr wrote: | | kreider204 wrote: |
Ignore that first one (v.2.2), stick to the second one (v.5.1).
Version 6 due at the end of the summer - once I get around to playing ME3 ... |
It says 5.1 is in your trash. Does that mean that there's a new version out? |
Sorry, I forgot about this thread. Ya, just a minor tweak, version 5.2:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4Nf1fUxRi-LN2RRMzk0S3hTSnlYekExeXREQVVjUQ
Basically, I just simplified the power system (no more levels of each, just one basic version of each) and the shields (basically just absorb wounds like the force belts in NE).
Version 6 will come out sometime after I've played ME3, probably not for a few months. I'll add some playable races and expand the bestiary, but I suspect that's about it.
Thanks for your interest. </hijack>
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mindtakerr
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| Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 3:12 pm Post subject: |
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| kreider204 wrote: |
Sorry, I forgot about this thread. Ya, just a minor tweak, version 5.2:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4Nf1fUxRi-LN2RRMzk0S3hTSnlYekExeXREQVVjUQ
Basically, I just simplified the power system (no more levels of each, just one basic version of each) and the shields (basically just absorb wounds like the force belts in NE).
Version 6 will come out sometime after I've played ME3, probably not for a few months. I'll add some playable races and expand the bestiary, but I suspect that's about it.
Thanks for your interest. </hijack> |
Sure, is there an official thread for your conversion?
Also, yeah, as I'm playing ME3 now, I want to run a game in that same timeline. I've got a player who is considering playing a Geth. I think it'd be really cool to do. |
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kreider204
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| Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 3:17 pm Post subject: |
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| mindtakerr wrote: |
Sure, is there an official thread for your conversion?
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Oh, somewhere around here. Once I do have version 6 up and running, I'll probably start a new one.
| mindtakerr wrote: |
Also, yeah, as I'm playing ME3 now, I want to run a game in that same timeline. I've got a player who is considering playing a Geth. I think it'd be really cool to do.
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Ya, I'll probably add geth as a PC race at some point. When I do get around to it, I'll definitely be open to requests and suggestions.
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