[UA] UA with OTE (was Fudge ?)

[Fabrice Gdak]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Lake" <mdlake at well.com>
To: "The Unknown Armies RPG Mailing List" <ua at lists.unknown-armies.com>
Sent: Monday, February 21, 2005 4:12 PM
Subject: Re: [UA] Fudge?


> For the most part, your first guess is correct: I just used the OtE rules
> for the UA background, but I am a hopeless tinkerer with RPG rules, so
some
> UA rules bled through.  While each individual UA die convention (damage
> rolls, flip-flops, cherries, hunches) is cute, I don't like taking the
whole
> package, so I didn't bother preserving any of them.  Nor did I apply
> passions, though there's nothing wrong with this.  If you would like to,
> award a bonus die every time a passion is invoked, but be prepared for the
> players to have plenty of bonus dice to spend if you do.  I did use the
> madness meters and stress checks: when someone faces a stress check, have
> him roll any helpful trait like "cool under pressure," "iron will," or
> "open-minded," or use a 2d default.  The nastier the stressor, the higher
> the target number they must match.  (How about stress level +2?)


Indeed, going for the whole OTE rules with some tweeking seems the more
"resonable" way to go. I like your use of the madness meter, it's simple
and, IMO,  keeps with the spirits of both games. The level +2 may be a
little low, but I should go back to the UA rules and see again how the soul
check works before.

Well, thanks anyway as I'm not much of a rules tinkerer, and it helps me a
lot to see how other people (in this case, you) may have done things.


> Note that the two worlds are entirely compatible; The Edge is a place,
while
> UA revolves around a global subculture.  Al Amarja must surely have a
> branch.  One of my adventures had PCs pursuing an NPC trying to ascend
under
> the Snake avatar--someone who can't help but bite a helping hand, and
> therefore spirals down into increasing desperation until he has nowhere
left
> to run and no one left to call upon.  When one of his former friends hunts
> him down, this can complete the ritual ascension.  The PCs were various
> people wronged by the godwalker, and the central dilemma was how to punish
> this most deserving worm when a final, horrible retribution was just what
he
> was seeking in order to ascend.  Guess which Mediterranean island he fled
to
> for his final, wretched moments?

Sweet... That's just sweet.

I guess we agree on the compatibility thing. For my game, I envision to
begin in the US (well, for me it's exotic, as I'm french) in a town very
much like Bangor, in Maine. Something inspired by both Twin Peaks and
American Gothic... And to introduce the Al Amarja side of thing more like
Burroughs' Interzone. So, it has many element of UA (the surrealism, that
kind of Lynch's weirdness), but lacks the whole urban horror that looks so
present in the line. Also, as I want some pretty free "special powers" for
the weirdness and surreal parts, I guess that OTE will suit my need with
it's very open system about psychic powers and magic.


Well, thanks again.

Fabrice