ezekiel Posted April 13, 2002 Share Posted April 13, 2002 K, this may sound silly...But what the heck is a VARG?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Posted April 13, 2002 Share Posted April 13, 2002 Vacuum Assault Reconaisance Gear. Think Mecha, only without all the missles. Generally. -Joseph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezekiel Posted April 13, 2002 Author Share Posted April 13, 2002 So THAT's what they are...Were they introduced in the tech manual or something? Maybe I should sacrifice a few meals and buy that too...Oh the pains of being a (poor) student... Thank god for free beer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alistaire Posted April 13, 2002 Share Posted April 13, 2002 I can't remember if they are refered to in the main book or not, but there aren't any in there. They have a -whole- section in the Tech manual though; two sections describing them in general, one in the color and one in B&W, and a section that lists several types, including bioVARGs, some even with pictures.Oh, and one of them is a walking missle platform (I forget the name). Wouldn't want that one up front. One hit in the wrong place and POW! Ka BLOOIE! BAM! (Ok ok, so my "flashbacks" are to 60's Batman... or Calvin and Hobbes, not sure which.)And players /really/ panic when you make experimental bioVARGS with Chromatic sensory brains in them, and Cromatic skin on them, then stick the whole lot on a remote secret research station out by Jupiter. "17 day?!?" Think Aliens meets Resident Evil. "What you you mean, /invisible/ bioVARGS that can shoot lasers out of nowhere?!?" Oh yeah, I said that the sensory brains made them act on their own on a purely instinctual level (TechnoDyne hadn't worked out all the bugs yet); all they wanted to do was eat. Of course, it was kinda gross watching one of these things pick up the guts of someone and try to put it in a non-existant mouth in its chest... Man those were great times... :sigh Heck, they're -still- chasing TechnoDyne trying to keep them from harvesting more Chromatic parts out at Karoo. Maybe I should write out that adventure. Must be going over a dozen sessions by now!M.I.A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHILL Posted April 13, 2002 Share Posted April 13, 2002 Yes! - you gotta write that one out!........ and contribute it to EON of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thingmaker Posted April 14, 2002 Share Posted April 14, 2002 VARGs were indeed introduced in the main book, but not as VARGS. They were origally called HARGS (Heavy Assault and Recon Gear.) It's on page 107 sidebar.As for missles, the ones on the Pulsar do 15[10]. Pretty #### beefey by Trinity system standards! Especially when the run of the mill squids only have sixteen health levels and four to ten lethal soak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breearg Posted April 14, 2002 Share Posted April 14, 2002 I especially like the intelligent, teleporting biovarg from the TPG-BreeargNo these are *mini* Tesser Coils! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VictorHFrost KSC Posted April 14, 2002 Share Posted April 14, 2002 huh? where is that in tpg? i wanna see i wanna see!victor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alistaire Posted April 15, 2002 Share Posted April 15, 2002 Chill:You'd actually want to see that if I wrote it?Heck, I could do that. Could take a while though; it's big, and I'm a bit of a perfectionist...I guess I just don't know what you guys take in terms of contributions. I'd already like to help with InUn, but you've pretty much filled all the positions that I could help with. If only I could draw (and I will, one day...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHILL Posted April 15, 2002 Share Posted April 15, 2002 Yes I would like to see that. We need contributions to keep EON afloat - no contributions = no EON.I really would like to see that on EON! :cheesy Bounce me over your thoughts to europnet@chill.uk.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Posted April 15, 2002 Share Posted April 15, 2002 In the Trinity Limited core, I recall them being VAS or something similar. I know that the soft cover core had a few misprints, namely in the weapons tables.Breearg, check under the Device background in the TPG. That's where the 'porting BioVARG is metioned. Perhaps at dot 4 or 5. :alien Them's some good ideas, Alistaire. Too bad two of my players are on this board, too.-Joseph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harlequin Posted April 15, 2002 Share Posted April 15, 2002 all of us are now joe, two of us just lurk... "we are gamers of borg, resistance is futile, your plotlines will be ignored."-harle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alistaire Posted April 15, 2002 Share Posted April 15, 2002 Joseph:Yeah, that's part of the reason why I haven't told any of my players about this board yet, although I have wanted to. This is a cool site! That and I want to drop some Chib stuff on them eventually like a bomb when InUn comes out. If I showed them now, they would all expect it, and want to play Chibs themselves...I tell ya, being a Trinity ST is one lonely job. I guess this place helps a little. :bigsmile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHILL Posted April 15, 2002 Share Posted April 15, 2002 Glad we can be of help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Posted April 15, 2002 Share Posted April 15, 2002 I kept my players in the dark for years. It was good when I was the only ST. Since we round-robin now, I have to share my resources. ??? Also, since I'm an EON Staffer, I have to look like I'm trying to recruit people on occasion, or Chill gets huffy. This board is a great resource for ideas and talking things out. There's a lot of different perspective, and people are willing to help where they can. (Partly why Breearg's ebook teams keep growing.)To get bask to the subject of VARGs, I have a poll/survey coming up. It'll be posted soon.-Joseph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezekiel Posted April 16, 2002 Author Share Posted April 16, 2002 Wow, a lot of responses since I last checked...Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breearg Posted April 16, 2002 Share Posted April 16, 2002 "Breearg, check under the Device background in the TPG. That's where the 'porting BioVARG is metioned. Perhaps at dot 4 or 5. "are you telling me or just responding to my thing about the teleporting Biovarg. If the former, then--I know, heh, that's why I mentioned it. If the latter--yeah, level 5 defining backgrounds under Devices. Yup yupyup.-Breearg :alien :hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezekiel Posted April 16, 2002 Author Share Posted April 16, 2002 ahhhhYup, in my aeon book it says "BioVas" with SI under 5 dots of devices...theys must've changed it to Varg later on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alistaire Posted April 17, 2002 Share Posted April 17, 2002 Joseph,I was just thinking about it, and the scene I described was only chapter 3 of what is so far a 7+ chapter adventure (running an average of 3 game sessions per chapter). You may want to look at it first, maybe that wouldn't spoil it. I mean, that wasn't why they went out there in the first place. This is all assuming, of course, I actually do write it out. But with encouragement like that, how can I refuse? :bigsmile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thingmaker Posted April 21, 2002 Share Posted April 21, 2002 V37ZI glossed over that the first time through.I think I like it. Could you imagine a bunch of PCs in their VASes and VESes beign rescued by a sentient VARG?! Could you imagine them persuing it over the course of a few sesssions as it kept popping in to aid them and then out again?!Like something right out of a good anime...I've GOT to come up with some plausable motivation for THIS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezekiel Posted April 21, 2002 Author Share Posted April 21, 2002 It's VERY hard to implement well an NPC that helps characters out of rough spots. It usually looks like you've overestimated the player's powers and need a quick solution ("So you're all crippled and the Abbie cackles in laughter at your pitiful attempt to stop him when all of a sudden! [insert flashy description a the NPC saving the PC's])I usually try to avoid doing that. I'd probably try to introduce the NPCthrough some kind of ongoing investigation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VictorHFrost KSC Posted April 21, 2002 Share Posted April 21, 2002 i generally like to have at least two or three deus ex machina running around. its mainly a trick of making those reasons for that last minute save appropriate and plausible. and as for overestimating their powers, well, thats where you do the step up process, and whenever they get into heavy combat of whatever sort you already create an avenue for an npc to show up. they don't have to know the reason, in fact better if they don't, but so long as you have one to throw at the player who gets upity because he thinks your game doesn't make sense you're alright. "why was such and such the legionare bad@$$ around? well you're in a hospital he's been investigating recently, you knew that, he told you in your last conversation together" hehe, if you're really clever the players will start to leap at things they think are foreshadowing before you actually plan them fully and the players give you inspiration for added flavor in a game.jake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slagheap Posted April 24, 2002 Share Posted April 24, 2002 He has a point, what they know can't hurt you...-Slag.... :withstupid What? You knew it was coming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thingmaker Posted April 25, 2002 Share Posted April 25, 2002 I've not had any problem with "saving the players" in the past. I've learned to balance things to where they get through by the skin of their teeth on a regular basis. (The trick is to make them think their PCs are going to die, and then let them squirm out of it. Cheap, yes, but they love it and keep coming back for more!) Having a session or three where they get their butts saved by a "mysterious faction" would indeed work for my group.Zeek's point is well taken, though. I've played under too many STs/GMs/DMs/Whatever that believe "role playing" means "watching my kewell NPCs." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alistaire Posted April 25, 2002 Share Posted April 25, 2002 I know just what balance you are talking about. I can't do it everytime, but when I do it looks cool. Plus I learned a few tricks on how to do "adjustments" on the fly. That's one reason I love Abbies, if the PCs start winning to fast, then it's "Oops! Now he's REALLY mad! Lookee at the neat new power(s)!" Last time my PCs managed to blow his head off successfully before I had bumped up his power level up so that they couldn't defeat him (I figure they're too young yet to take one on themselves). It was fun watching them speculate on how he survived it; in fact they came up with three viable theories, two I hadn't thought of myself!Which is another trick I found works well. Present the PCs with a mystery that you have no idea what the answer is. Watch them speculate like mad, then pick whichever one you like, or really mess them up and combine them! Trinity lends itself so well to this 'mysterious' style of play. So many fun head games! :devil And you're right, they keep coming back for it like crack addicts! "Makes my head hurt, but I want more..." :crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Posted April 25, 2002 Share Posted April 25, 2002 Watch them speculate like mad, then pick whichever one you likeIs there any other way to rn a game? I do this to my players all the time. Makes it easier than trying to guess how they're going to blow holes in my well-defined plot.And you're right, they keep coming back for it like crack addicts! Hm. Are Harlequin and Pax's Pimp in your games, too? -Joseph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VictorHFrost KSC Posted April 25, 2002 Share Posted April 25, 2002 heh, you and me alistaire, we are so totally on a wavelength. at this point there are actually portions of my games i leave deliberately unfinished because i can tell the players will do a better job than i ever could at such things. six brains working on a riddle that has no answer will indefinately fabricate some very unique yet plausible answers. hehe, personally i'm just a horrifically lazy gm and anything i can make the players do for me is better for me in the long run. keeps me from having to "force plot" as much since they determine such a large extent of it. its not that i don't have one, but i leave a lot of the connecting threads intentionally vague so they will fill in the blanks with ideas they like because they came up with them. oh and that bit about the mix and match, that is a golden technique, can't tell you how many times i've used that. jake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harlequin Posted April 25, 2002 Share Posted April 25, 2002 hmmm, all this is very useful, i'm learning joe, if you thought my last story hit you and your character hard wait for the next one... :devil -harle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Posted April 25, 2002 Share Posted April 25, 2002 What're you gonna do, kill him? :devil -Joseph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurnerMan Posted April 26, 2002 Share Posted April 26, 2002 Never a problem for our ST. We always recieved more damage from friendly fire than from the enemy, somehow. Then, by the time the law showed up, we were long gone and the bad guys followed us. We had to hide in dumpsters and stuff more times then I care to remember. No NPC ever showed up to save our bacon, I can tell you. :xmas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Posted April 26, 2002 Share Posted April 26, 2002 We always recieved more damage from friendly fire than from the enemyBoy does that sound familiar. ??? We've even had character death from friendly fire, er, foot.-Joseph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
André Posted May 14, 2002 Share Posted May 14, 2002 Well planning is the worst thing I can think of so most of the time I just set out a mission objective or so.Maybe I should let them do just what they want the next time. No mission, no enemies nada :sarcasm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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