MossyMorel
Merchant
Hey folks, controversial announcement incoming-
We're adding a rule for black powder weaponry because we feel as a whole that trebuchets, ballistae and catapults are more the sort of aesthetic we'd like to have on the server. We're not just outright banning cannons, don't worry, but at the moment they're a little too convenient/safe to use and really, why would you make one of the three alternatives when a cannon is so powerful? A perhaps ham-fisted comparison is that it would be like allowing new characters to start off with steel plate armour. It should be noted that if your character doesn't know how to create black powder equipment, these new rules do not replace the experiment mechanic (sending in what your character does to the lore team and getting a response back for the sake of self-teaching and skill progression).
All black powder weaponry (cannons, bombs, fire-rockets etc) now comes with a roll system. When your character attempts to use this equipment, you roll a d20 and the results are:
1-4: an explosion centered around the launcher proportional to the amount of powder used and also subject to the effects of rolling 5-8. Specifically, this means the equipment detonates before launch.
5-8: launcher breaks in a way that requires extensive, long-term repairs (unusable for the rest of the OOC day).
9-12: a dud-shot, requires cleaning out and reloading (in the case of explosives, the bomb just doesn't go off and needs re-ignition).
13-20: the machine/weapon works as intended. This doesn't replace any rolls needed for aiming.
Another restriction that is effective as of this announcement is that cannons can no longer be wished into existence. Consider the plate armour comparison from before. If you want to acquire cannons you must first either build them or buy them. This involves RP contact with a faction, town or forge that is capable of creating cannons (such as Blackstone's cannon-works) and organising a commission. You can also, if you own a forge equipped and manned well enough to justify it, create your own.
Honestly if the entire server cries out in anguish and raises a shit storm we may revoke this as at the end of the day we want you guys to have fun, but we feel like this will lessen the incentive for building Victorian battleships and lining the walls of keeps and castles with what is essentially a very large gun. If you have any ideas on how to further improve this system or if you have a complaint about this announcement give me a PM because I'd love any input for brainstorming improvements to the server.
Thanks!
We're adding a rule for black powder weaponry because we feel as a whole that trebuchets, ballistae and catapults are more the sort of aesthetic we'd like to have on the server. We're not just outright banning cannons, don't worry, but at the moment they're a little too convenient/safe to use and really, why would you make one of the three alternatives when a cannon is so powerful? A perhaps ham-fisted comparison is that it would be like allowing new characters to start off with steel plate armour. It should be noted that if your character doesn't know how to create black powder equipment, these new rules do not replace the experiment mechanic (sending in what your character does to the lore team and getting a response back for the sake of self-teaching and skill progression).
All black powder weaponry (cannons, bombs, fire-rockets etc) now comes with a roll system. When your character attempts to use this equipment, you roll a d20 and the results are:
1-4: an explosion centered around the launcher proportional to the amount of powder used and also subject to the effects of rolling 5-8. Specifically, this means the equipment detonates before launch.
5-8: launcher breaks in a way that requires extensive, long-term repairs (unusable for the rest of the OOC day).
9-12: a dud-shot, requires cleaning out and reloading (in the case of explosives, the bomb just doesn't go off and needs re-ignition).
13-20: the machine/weapon works as intended. This doesn't replace any rolls needed for aiming.
Another restriction that is effective as of this announcement is that cannons can no longer be wished into existence. Consider the plate armour comparison from before. If you want to acquire cannons you must first either build them or buy them. This involves RP contact with a faction, town or forge that is capable of creating cannons (such as Blackstone's cannon-works) and organising a commission. You can also, if you own a forge equipped and manned well enough to justify it, create your own.
Honestly if the entire server cries out in anguish and raises a shit storm we may revoke this as at the end of the day we want you guys to have fun, but we feel like this will lessen the incentive for building Victorian battleships and lining the walls of keeps and castles with what is essentially a very large gun. If you have any ideas on how to further improve this system or if you have a complaint about this announcement give me a PM because I'd love any input for brainstorming improvements to the server.
Thanks!
I'm up for editing these rules to suit the community, so what would be helpful is if people continue saying what they like/don't like in this thread. I'm getting a general vibe of "having a roll system is acceptable but the brackets are bonkers" from the folk that have commented so far. If you're a part of the silent majority and don't fly with this, please speak up so that we don't just end up with a new set of rules and a new set of people unhappy with them.
On rolling: while I'm against rolling for combat RP in general, for black powder weapons (including cannons) the roll is there to 1. represent the danger of black powder and to (perhaps clumsily) factor in the operator's chance of fumbling the process of operating the engine and 2. to nerf their effectiveness in-game. In this case I find a roll reasonable because personal attributes don't play as big a part as they do in skill-based acts. If a DM is present, it's up to them to add modifiers to the roll as they see fit.
On the brackets: hokay, 20% chance to blow up is a little hardcore. The "proportional to the amount of powder used" bit was supposed to limit the failure's effect with cannons and mostly screw over people trying to throw hand-grenades or use fire rockets. For example, 4lb of powder blowing up in your hand = no more hand. 4lb (assuming you're using ~16lb cannon shot, which is on the heavy side afaik, someone correct me if I'm wrong) of powder going wrong in a cannon just means lots of smoke and a broken cannon, depending on its construction, not necessarily death (unless you're unlucky). It means you're better off using less powder with lighter shot.
Anyway, down to what matters. How about this:
1: 5%. An explosion centered around the device proportional to the amount of powder used and also subject to the effects of rolling 2-4. Specifically, this means the powder ignites before launch.
2-4: 15%. Device breaks in a way that requires extensive, long-term repairs or reconstruction (unusable for the rest of the OOC day).
5-10: 30%. A dud-shot, requires re-ignition (DM's discretion on negative effects if applicable).
11-13: 15%. Device works at 50% effect.
14-20: 35%. Device works as intended.
This means that the chance of a catastrophic failure is reduced from 40% to 20%, while the chance of a perfect shot is reduced from 40% to 35%, with the addition of Polo's half-strength detonation making an at least semi-successful operation a 50% chance. What do we think?
Last edited: