[Orpheus] Houserules

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[Orpheus] Houserules

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Thread: [Orpheus] Houserules

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04-14-2011,

12:12 PM

#1
Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: and bullets are too slow Posts: 7,117

The Red Baron Because I gotta kill fast Validated User

[Orpheus] Houserules
So I'm starting a new campaign of White Wolf's Orpheus in a few months, and I'm hammering out some houserules. The characters will also have access to the expanded Backgrounds from Shades of Gray and the newer Stains from Shadow Games, as well as most Merits & Flaws (a couple, like "Natural Aptitude" apparently sided with Justin Achilli in the Experience Wars, and others like "Bright Hue" completely miss the point of a Merit or Flaw). Take a look, comment, discuss, suggest new houserules! Character Generation Ghosts cannot take Personal Trainer, Shield or Health Insurance (though beneficiaries may profit enormously from a change in Lament). Living agents cannot take Memorial or Reincarnate. Resources are minimum 1 for living agents, representing a small savings Orpheus pays agents an average starting salary of 60k a year, with benefits largely covered by the Health Insurance Background. Hues may instead access all of their Stains for a cost of two Vitality, rather than per Stain (for a net cost of six Vitality). Starting characters get +1 to any Attribute, +2 dots to Abilities, +3 to Backgrounds and +1 to Willpower (an equivalent of 15 extra bonus points). Keep in mind, you may also take on up to two extra Stains, gaining one bonus point for each (as per core rules). Actual Play All extra action effects primarily, Juggernauts Dexterity additions are removed from play. Each point invested into Dexterity for Juggernaut instead adds to initiative, as well as a die for dodge pools and an increase to your speed with a multiplier of (Vitality + 1). Example: Chet is battling a swarm of Lost Boys. Desperate to escape, he energizes his ghostly flesh with Vitality, spending 3 Vitality to activate Juggernaut. He moves up three rounds in the initiative order (having rolled 4 for initiative, he now has a 7), and he has three extra dice for all dodge rolls. His speed is now four times (1x + 3x Vitality) faster. He zips through the swarm, easily avoiding the now-slow attacks of the Spectres. Spite - and Spites relation to Stains and Starting Vitality - is changed to an absolute scale based on the Spite rating. Effects are cumulative; someone with a Spite rating of 7 suffers the 5 and 6 rating penalties. Spite 1-3: The character has no intentional access to Stains (unless they are a hue). Spite 4: Can bring out Stains intentionally. Spite 5: The anger within the character rises to the point where violent instincts are almost a second personality. The character is almost literally of two minds on most every subject. Whenever a characters Stains manifest or they tap Spite in a scene, they suffer an increased difficulty of 1 on all non-violent, nonreflexive rolls. Spite 6: The character begins hearing the buzz, the discordant strains of music and emotion that comprise the Spectral hive-mind. The first time in a scene they encounter a Spectre whenever they are using Stains, they must make a Willpower roll, at a difficulty of the character's Spite rating. Failure distracts them with the Spectre's individual humming mind-signature, increasing the difficulty of all actions against that particular Spectre by two. Spite 7: All the character's Stains manifest. Spite 8: The character gains an extra Stain, and all Stains manifest. Each extra stain imposes +1 difficulty to social rolls. Spite 9: The character gains two extra Stains (for a minimum of five and a maximum of seven), and all Stains manifest. If the character uses two or more Stains, or taps three or more temporary Spite in a scene, the local Spectres flock in and try to carry them away. Spite 10: The characters burgeoning dual personality erupts violently. If the character is a spirit, they meet their Spectral twin face-to-face and willingly merge. If a sleeper or a hue, the character simply becomes a Spectre. If a skimmer accumulates 10 Spite, their body dies, the Spite shredding the silver cord connecting body to soul. The body shines with malignant energy, beckoning to nearby Spectres for possession. The former skimmer - now spirit or hue, as normal - now has a Spite rating of (Nature + Shade + 1). If a sleepers body dies from shunting Spite, the character also becomes a ghost, with a similarly increased Spite rating.

1 of 4

10/9/2012 11:19 AM

[Orpheus] Houserules

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?571098-Orpheus-Houserules

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04-14-2011,

12:27 PM
Join Date: Posts:

#2
Jun 2005 4,117

Wolfgar Registered User Validated User

Re: [Orpheus] Houserules

Thoughts or solutions to those character backgrounds that will result in 0 Spite?

Also there is a question on infinitely tapping Spite for Vitality. Now doing so repeatedly would be the short road to spectrehood, but it seems to me it's very difficult to actually destroy any ghost so long as they have any Spite rating at all (and possibly enough self-awareness/Willpower be able). Do you think that needs to be addressed or should becoming a spectre trump the fear of destruction/death?

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04-14-2011,

12:35 PM

#3
Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: and bullets are too slow Posts: 7,117

The Red Baron Because I gotta kill fast Validated User

Re: [Orpheus] Houserules

Originally Posted by Wolfgar

Thoughts or solutions to those character backgrounds that will result in 0 Spite?

I'm tempted to say they start with five temporary Spite. Also there is a question on infinitely tapping Spite for Vitality. Now doing so repeatedly would be the short road to spectrehood, but it seems to me it's very difficult to actually destroy any ghost so long as they have any Spite rating at all (and possibly enough self-awareness/Willpower be able). Do you think that needs to be addressed or should becoming a spectre trump the fear of destruction/death? I might be tempted to acknowledge it as a viable - if short-sighted - tactic for PCs, and simply disallow NPC ghosts from being able to use that tactic. Things get dicier when the option to steal Spite comes up.

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04-14-2011,

12:37 PM

#4
Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: and bullets are too slow Posts: 7,117

The Red Baron Because I gotta kill fast Validated User

Re: [Orpheus] Houserules

I'm also looking at the Stains from Shadow Games, and they're pretty powerful - far more so than the corebook. I'm given to understand this is intentional, since the power level ramps up considerably in Shadow Games. So, perhaps characters are able to select a maximum of one Stain from Shadow Games, out of their starting 3-5. And Stains that develop from high Spite may be chosen freely.

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04-15-2011,

09:01 AM

#5
Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: and bullets are too slow Posts: 7,117

The Red Baron Because I gotta kill fast Validated User

Re: [Orpheus] Houserules

bump!

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06-18-2012,

02:32 PM

#6

2 of 4

10/9/2012 11:19 AM

[Orpheus] Houserules

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?571098-Orpheus-Houserules

The Red Baron Because I gotta kill fast Validated User

Join Date: Location: Posts:

Aug 2004 and bullets are too slow 7,117

Re: [Orpheus] Houserules

So, a year later, and this campaign is finally getting off the ground. Here's what I've got with a month to go before the proceedings: Character Generation, General Rules and Clarifications Starting characters receive Backgrounds of 4 Standard + 4 Orpheus (rather than 2 for each, see below). Additionally, they receive either +1 to an Attribute of their choice or +1 to Vitality (which is still capped at 7 for hues). If a characters Nature and Shade do not make them Mirage-class (Vitality 6+), they must put this +1 bonus into Vitality. Hues may access all of their Stains simultaneously for a cost of two Vitality, rather than per Stain. Spirits with a Spectral evil twin within a five-block radius see their twin summoned with any Vitality expenditure, rather than just large expenditures. The stronger the characters Spite rating, the stronger the evil twin. Merits & Flaws may be bought at character creation only. Flaws may be bought-off in play at a rate of (bonus points x 2) experience per point of Flaw. Crucible Merits & Flaws are an exception, and my be purchased at the same rate later (representing the crucibles evolving spirtual matrix). As a clarification, Starting Vitality is simply your characters permanent Vitality rating. If this rating is raised via experience or Nature change, your characters Starting Vitality changes. In general, it is not possible to use Horrors while in the meat. That is, characters who are not projecting may not use Horrors. Of course, one Horror in particular (Forbode) doesnt always play by the rules... Dead-Eyes is not always on, but may be activated while in the meat with a Perception + Awareness roll, difficulty 8. A single success activates the ability for the scene. Failure on this roll doesnt render you unable to see ghosts, but you may be subjected to...other things...and they might know youre watching them. Linguistics is covered by a Merit, rather than a Talent. Language (1pt. Merit): You know a language in addition to your native one. You can take this Merit multiple times, each reflecting a different language. Specialties are still free for traits of 4+, but do not provide exploding dice; instead, any 10s rolled on specialty situations provide two successes. If a dice pool involves two specialities, then any 9s or 10s rolled provide two successes (even on a task of Difficulty 10, heaven forbid). Due to their higher power level, starting Stains taken from the Shadow Games list are at the Storytellers discretion. If a sleepers body dies from shunting Spite, the character becomes a ghost, with an increased Spite rating as if they had died from reaching Spite 10. Characters start with two temporary Spite. Characters may only tap a number of points per turn equal to their Spite rating; tapping a full Spite rating is still equivalent to 10 Spite points. Horror Houserules Spending two or more Vitality points on Wail allows the character to use this Horror to physically wound one or more people directly in front of her, and within ten yards of her (roughly in a cone). If attacking a group of people, she may not distinguish between them; everyone in the group risks taking damage, since they are all within range of her scream of fury. Victims may roll Stamina to soak damage, with an appropriate soak roll at a difficulty of (Vitality expended + 3). If they fail, the targets suffer lethal damage equal to the number of successes scored by the character. All extra action effects primarily, Juggernauts Dexterity additions are removed from play. Each point invested into Dexterity for Juggernaut instead adds to initiative, as well as a die for dodge pools and an increase to your speed with a multiplier of (Vitality spent + 1). Example: Chet is battling a swarm of Lost Boys. Desperate to escape, he energizes his ghostly flesh with Vitality, spending 3 Vitality to activate Juggernaut. He moves up three rounds in the initiative order (having rolled 4 for initiative, he now has a 7), and he has three extra dice for all dodge rolls. His speed is now four times (1x + 3x Vitality) faster. He zips through the swarm, easily avoiding the now-slow attacks of the Spectres. Backgrounds Standard Backgrounds represent links to the wider world, may be taken by anyone (who qualifies), and often are. They include Allies, Anchor, Arsenal, Contacts, Destiny, Fame, Fast Reflexes, Haunt, Influence, Library, Mentor, Memorial, Patron, Reincarnate, and Resources. Orpheus Backgrounds represent links to the organization itself, or specialist training only available from the premier ghostbusting corporation. They include Detective License, Health Insurance, Ghost Insight, Passion, Personal Trainer, Shield, Status, Veil, and Visage. Ghosts cannot take Anchor, Health Insurance (though beneficiaries may profit enormously from a change in Lament), Personal Trainer, Resources, or Shield. Living agents cannot take Haunt, Memorial, or Reincarnate. Resources are usually minimum 1 for living agents, representing a small savings Orpheus pays agents an average starting salary of 60k a year, with benefits largely covered by the Health Insurance Background. Ghosts see their salary paid to recipients or charities of their choosing, along with DVD Nights in the companys employee lounge (ghost movies are considered to be in poor taste). Its difficult to qualify for new Backgrounds if youre dead. Detective Licenses cant be granted to those with a legal status of deceased. However, characters with Detective License, Fame, Library who die during the course of gameplay may retain the benefits of these Backgrounds after death, provided they keep their demise a secret and roleplay their efforts to maintain a link to their breathing days. The following Backgrounds were made available in the Shades of Gray book. Projector-only Backgrounds are restricted to living operatives, while ghost-only Backgrounds are restricted to dead ones. Anchor Physical links to your past that hold a repository of Vitality. Anchor is projector-only. Fame A degree of acclaim and household recognition. More varied (but less useful) than Status. Fast Reflexes A measure of your quickened reaction time. Ghost Insight Innate understanding of the motivations and psychology of spirits.

3 of 4

10/9/2012 11:19 AM

[Orpheus] Houserules

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?571098-Orpheus-Houserules

Haunt A spiritual haven, protected against Spectres and hostile entities. Haunt is ghost-only. Library Collections of reference materials on a variety of topics. Passion Focus on the positive aspects of your life, providing a bulwark against Spite. Shield You maintain an awareness of the physical while projecting, and your body defends itself. Shield is projector-only. Veil Control the brilliance of your spiritual aura, masking yourself from Spectres and drones alike. Visage Conceal your Stains and shape your spiritual features, regardless of Spire rating. Visage is ghost-only. Spite Spite and Spites relation to Stains and Starting Vitality is changed to an absolute scale based on Spite Rating. Effects are cumulative; someone with a Spite rating of 7 suffers the 5 and 6 rating penalties. To date, no Orpheus operative has perished from reaching Spite 10. One PLE agent attained that rank, but the details of that incident are still classified (and all but one of the agents crucible are MIA). Spite 1-3: The character has no intentional access to Stains (unless they are a hue). Spite 4: The character may bring out Stains intentionally. Spite 5: The anger within the character rises to the point where violent instincts are almost a second personality. When their ire is raised, the character is almost literally of two minds on most every subject. Whenever a characters Stains manifest or they tap Spite in a scene, they suffer an increased difficulty of 1 on all non-violent, non-reflexive rolls. Spite 6: The character begins hearing the buzz, the discordant strains of music and emotion that comprise the Spectral hive-mind. The music is dark and haunting, the emotions a twisted current of love and hate. The first time in a scene they encounter a Spectre whenever they are using Stains, they must make a Willpower roll, at a difficulty of the character's Spite rating. Failure distracts them with the Spectre's humming signature in the hive-mind, increasing the difficulty of all actions against that particular Spectre by two. Spite 7: You cant hide how much hate youre carrying around in you. All the character's Stains manifest whenever they project. They may not retract their Stains without the Visage Background. Spite 8: The scars of loathing become even more pronounced. The character gains an extra Stain, and all Stains manifest whenever they project. Each extra stain imposes +1 difficulty to social rolls. Spite 9: The character gains two extra Stains (for a minimum of five and a maximum of seven), and all Stains manifest whenever they project. If the character uses two or more Stains, or taps three or more temporary Spite in a scene, local Spectres on the scene will cease their activities and attempt to carry the character away. Intelligent Spectres may be nonhostile, warmly greeting the character as a new brother or sister. Spite 10: If the character is a spirit, they meet their Spectral twin face-to-face and willingly merge. If the character is a hue, their burgeoning dual personality erupts, their ectoplasm violently fraying and physically linking the character into the hive-mind. In either case, the character is now a Spectre, forever. If the character is a skimmer or a sleeper, their body dies, the Spite shredding the silver cord connecting body to soul. Their corpse shines with malignant entropy, beckoning nearby Spectres for possession. The former projector - now spirit or hue, as normal - now has a Spite rating of (Nature + Shade + 2).

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10/9/2012 11:19 AM