Valerian & Laureline. And M-SPACE

[clarence]

The Valerian movie by director Luc Besson is almost here! To celebrate, we have added the spatio-temporal agent’s spiffy Astroship xb982 – both M-SPACE stats and deckplans – to FrostByte’s webpage.

 

Check it out here: http://www.frostbytebooks.com/#_blog

[lawrence.whitaker]

You should probably stat-up Valerian and Laureline too...

[clarence]

Haha, yes I probably should. Where do I start? Valerian having a DEX of 16?

Edited July 12, 2017 by clarence

[clarence]

Ok, here’s the first part of Valerian. Please chime in if any of you disagree with my design choices.

 

Valerian

STR 13
CON 15
SIZ 12
DEX 17
INT 14
POW 13
CHA 16

Action Points: 2
Damage Modifier: –
Experience Modifier: +1
Healing Rate: 3
Initiative Bonus: 16
Movement Rate: 6 m

Hit Points: 14
Power Points: 13
Luck Points: 3

Culture: Urban
Career: Spatio-Temporal Agent

Next step, skills...

[Raleel]

I'll have a better opinion next week!

[Mugen]

7 hours ago, clarence said:

Valerian

STR 13
CON 15
SIZ 12
DEX 17
INT 14
POW 13
CHA 16

Which Valerian are we statting ?

SIZ 12 seems a bit too much for Dane Dehaan, but not enough for the comic character, which deserve 13 or 14.

I would not give the comic Valerian such a high DEX either.

My take on Laureline:

STR 12
CON 13
SIZ 11
DEX 16
INT 17
POW 15
CHA 21

Culture : Rural (medieval France, actually)
Career : Thief

Edited July 13, 2017 by Mugen

[Raleel]

1 hour ago, Mugen said:

 

Culture : Rural (medieval France, actually)
Career : Thief

what I am hearing here is that I should use M-Space with Luther Arkwright's culture/career table.

[clarence]

2 hours ago, Mugen said:

Which Valerian are we statting ?

SIZ 12 seems a bit too much for Dane Dehaan, but not enough for the comic character, which deserve 13 or 14.

I would not give the comic Valerian such a high DEX either.

I'm thinking the comic book version, mostly because I haven't seen the movie yet. SIZ 13 sounds ok : ) 

Regarding the high DEX, it's partly an attempt to model his seemingly endless capacity for using new weapons and piloting strange vessels. So, either a high DEX or some kind of Traits – like Weapon Mastery (no penalties for using unfamiliar weapons) and Pilot Ace (can pilot anything).

I like your take on Laureline. I would probably have lowered STR, CON and DEX one step each, but YMMV.

[Mugen]

39 minutes ago, clarence said:

I'm thinking the comic book version, mostly because I haven't seen the movie yet. SIZ 13 sounds ok : ) 

Regarding the high DEX, it's partly an attempt to model his seemingly endless capacity for using new weapons and piloting strange vessels. So, either a high DEX or some kind of Traits – like Weapon Mastery (no penalties for using unfamiliar weapons) and Pilot Ace (can pilot anything).

I like your take on Laureline. I would probably have lowered STR, CON and DEX one step each, but YMMV.

I originally put a 14 in DEX, but I thought it was not in line with Laureline's origins, and the fact she was a natural archer.

[Raleel]

1 hour ago, clarence said:

I'm thinking the comic book version, mostly because I haven't seen the movie yet. SIZ 13 sounds ok : ) 

Regarding the high DEX, it's partly an attempt to model his seemingly endless capacity for using new weapons and piloting strange vessels. So, either a high DEX or some kind of Traits – like Weapon Mastery (no penalties for using unfamiliar weapons) and Pilot Ace (can pilot anything).

I like your take on Laureline. I would probably have lowered STR, CON and DEX one step each, but YMMV.

Or just very broad weapon groups and piloting groups. then again, I have no experience with it really.

[clarence]

23 minutes ago, Raleel said:

Or just very broad weapon groups and piloting groups. then again, I have no experience with it really.

Yes, that would do it!

Combat Style: STS Agent Training (Firearms, Energy Weapons, Melee Weapons)

 

1 hour ago, Mugen said:

I originally put a 14 in DEX, but I thought it was not in line with Laureline's origins, and the fact she was a natural archer.

Sounds good!

I will be back tomorrow with a set of skills for Valerian.

[g33k]

2 hours ago, clarence said:

Yes, that would do it!

Combat Style: STS Agent Training (Firearms, Energy Weapons, Melee Weapons).

Ummm... does that leave out ANY weapons?  I'm not quite down with something that amounts to "Combat Style: Anything" (or even "... Almost Anything").

To be clear:  I have no problem with the concept, but as a "Combat Style" mechanic that is b0rked!  As you noted, that's a good thing for a "Traits" or similar mechanic ...

 

[Raleel]

1 hour ago, g33k said:

Ummm... does that leave out ANY weapons?  I'm not quite down with something that amounts to "Combat Style: Anything" (or even "... Almost Anything").

To be clear:  I have no problem with the concept, but as a "Combat Style" mechanic that is b0rked!  As you noted, that's a good thing for a "Traits" or similar mechanic ...

 

crossbows, bows. atlatls, bolas, darts, discus, javelins, staff slings, slings. arguably heavy/vehicle weapons and grenades of a variety of types. Largely mechanically propelled (vs chemically propelled or energy projection) and thrown weapons.

edit: it seems like if Loreline is called out as a natural archer, this distinction should be made.

Edited July 14, 2017 by Raleel

[Mugen]

7 hours ago, Raleel said:

crossbows, bows. atlatls, bolas, darts, discus, javelins, staff slings, slings. arguably heavy/vehicle weapons and grenades of a variety of types. Largely mechanically propelled (vs chemically propelled or energy projection) and thrown weapons.

edit: it seems like if Loreline is called out as a natural archer, this distinction should be made.

Note that this is a skill she learned before she met Valerian, and before she got proper Agent training.

[clarence]

10 hours ago, g33k said:

Ummm... does that leave out ANY weapons?  I'm not quite down with something that amounts to "Combat Style: Anything" (or even "... Almost Anything").

To be clear:  I have no problem with the concept, but as a "Combat Style" mechanic that is b0rked!  As you noted, that's a good thing for a "Traits" or similar mechanic ...

 

Good point. How about this:

Combat Style: STS Agent Training (Energy Weapons, Unarmed). Weapon Mastery Trait: Can use any personal weapon, regardless of Tech Level and culture, without skill penalties.

[Raleel]

2 hours ago, clarence said:

Good point. How about this:

Combat Style: STS Agent Training (Energy Weapons, Unarmed). Weapon Mastery Trait: Can use any personal weapon, regardless of Tech Level and culture, without skill penalties.

I'm not sure how this is different  

Personally I have little problem with this, particularly if combat is not a focus. The combat style section even suggests a style that includes all melee and ranged weapons for a certain style of campaign.

Also note, depending on how you want to go about it, most weapons he is using could well be similar to other weapons he is proficient with, and thus not subject to any penalty. 

[clarence]

1 hour ago, Raleel said:

I'm not sure how this is different  

Not much different, really : ) It's mostly a matter of taste and style, I suppose. To me, using a Trait signals that a character does not have actual training in all weapons, but has a knack for figuring them out on the fly.

Here's an updated version. Let me know what you think.

Valerian

STR 13
CON 15
SIZ 13
DEX 17
INT 14
POW 13
CHA 16

Action Points: 2
Damage Modifier: –
Experience Modifier: +1
Healing Rate: 3
Initiative Bonus: 16
Movement Rate: 6 m

Hit Points: 14
Power Points: 13
Luck Points: 3

Culture: Urban
Career: Spatio-Temporal Agent

Combat Style: 
STS Agent Training (Energy Weapons, Unarmed) 90%. Weapon Mastery Trait: Can use any personal weapon, regardless of Tech Level and culture, without skill penalties.

Normal Skills: 
Athletics 80%, Drive (Vehicle) 90%, Endurance 80%, Evade 90%, First Aid 70%, Perception 70%, Ride 80%, Stealth 70%, Willpower 100%

Professional Skills: 
Acrobatics 80%, Astrogation 70%, Demolitions 80%, Knowledge (Galaxity Law) 80%, Knowledge (Time Travel) 90%, Language 70%, Mechanics 70%, Medicine (Genetic Engineering) 90%*, Pilot (Spaceship) 80%, Pilot (Airplane) 100%, Research 80%, Sensors 70%, Science (Physics) 70%, Track 80%

*= Only in his own high-tech lab.

Traits: 

Language Mastery. Knows hundreds of languages.

[g33k]

3 hours ago, Raleel said:

I'm not sure how this is different  

Personally I have little problem with this, particularly if combat is not a focus. The combat style section even suggests a style that includes all melee and ranged weapons for a certain style of campaign.

Also note, depending on how you want to go about it, most weapons he is using could well be similar to other weapons he is proficient with, and thus not subject to any penalty. 

My point is twofold:

• if Combat-Styles are so comprehensive that all (or virtually all) weapons are included, then they become irrelevant -- either "this PC is a combatant, and knows all weapons" or "that PC is a non-combatant, and knows no weapons".  As a "Combat Style" rule, this ... isn't a "Combat Style" rule, it's an all/none binary.  It renders the idea of a "Combat Style" irrelevant.
• If only some (or only a few) Combat-Styles are so comprehensive -- and it matters to play-of-game -- then that represents such a substantive mechanical advantage that it should be mechanically different (for one example:  as a relatively-rare "Trait," rather than a relatively-common "Skill" ) .

Either way, I see "CS:Everything" as b0rked.

Of course, Your Mythras May Vary !   

If combat is a rate/incidental/unimportant event in the campaign, it may not matter much (or at all! (but to judge from the movie-trailers, combat is important in that campaign)).

 

[clarence]

@Mugen Are you taking a shot at Laureline's skills?

[g33k]

BTW -- I only became aware of this movie (and thence the source material) a 2-3 months back.  I haven't seen anything but the trailers, and discussions on geek/gamer fora...

But I'm kind of getting the vibe, from those trailers, that I really SHOULD get the source matter first; that the movie may be terribly heavy to inside-jokes, fanservice, and in general to stuff that's not terribly meaningful without that deeper context.

Can anyone who's more familiar with Valerian&Laureline and with the movie-project, tell me if it seems likely that I'm right, or not ... ?

[clarence]

I haven't seen the movie but my guess is you can enjoy it without having read the comic. That being said, the albums are well worth reading. They have aged surprisingly well and is up there with the greatest Franco-Belgian comics like Tintin and Asterix - but targeted more at an adultish audience (not because of nudity, but the slightly more complex stories and concepts). Not least, it's interesting to see how much it has influenced Star Wars. 

If you've got the chance to read a couple of the comic books before you see the movie, I would recommend it. You can dive in almost anywhere. There is a metaplot, so grab the early ones first, but the exact reading order isn't that important. Apart perhaps from 'The city of shifting waters' and 'The living weapons', I find them all very enjoyable. 

[Mugen]

On 15/07/2017 at 9:35 PM, clarence said:

@Mugen Are you taking a shot at Laureline's skills?

I won't have time to do it properly, I'm afraid. 

Characteristics are easier to generate

[clarence]

No problem. I'll see what I can come up with. Do you mind if I borrow your characteristics?

[Mugen]

14 hours ago, clarence said:

No problem. I'll see what I can come up with. Do you mind if I borrow your characteristics?

Please do. It will be a pleasure.

[clarence]

Here are Laureline's stats finally. Let me know if you have any objections. I will post the final versions on FrostByte's webpage in a few days.

 

Laureline

STR 12
CON 13
SIZ 11
DEX 16
INT 17
POW 15
CHA 21

Action Points: 2
Damage Modifier: –
Experience Modifier: +2
Healing Rate: 3
Initiative Bonus: 17
Movement Rate: 6 m

Hit Points: 12
Power Points: 15
Luck Points: 3

Culture : Rural (Medieval France)
Career : Thief & Spatio-Temporal Agent

Combat Style: 
Thief (Medieval Longbow) 90%
STS Agent Training (Energy Weapons, Unarmed) 80%

Normal skills: Athletics 70%, Drive (Vehicles) 60%, Endurance60%, Evade 70%, First Aid 80%, Influence 100%, Insight 90%, Locale (Arelaune Forest) 90%, Perception 90%, Ride 80%, Stealth 70%, Willpower 90%

Professional skills: Astrogation70%, Courtesy 90%, Demolitions 70%, Knowledge (Alien Psychology) 90%, Knowledge (Animal Handling) 100%, Knowledge (Fashion) 80%, Knowledge (Galaxity Law) 60%, Mechanics 70%, Pilot (Spaceship) 70%, Research 90%, Science (Astronomy) 70%, Science (Time Travel) 70%, Seduction 90%, Sensors 70%, Survival (Temperate Forests) 90%, Track 80%

Traits: 
Interspecies Charm. Strangeness penalties do not apply when social skills are used on alien species.
Language Mastery. Knows hundreds of languages.

Passions: Love (Valerian) 90%, Loyalty (Galaxity) 60%*

*= Waning as the comics develops over the years.

Equipment: Blaster, Disintegrator Rifle (3d6, Range 30/100/300), Stunner (1d8 stun only, see M-SPACE p 190. Range 5/10/30), Ultra-Light body armour/vaccsuit (AP6), MedPak