WHAT and the Mwangi Expanse

[atomicfloozy]

A look at using WHAT to play Pathfinder 2E.


WHAT & the Mwangi Expanse

[blacksmith]

That looks pretty intersting as I always wondered about try using WHAT with some D&D adventures or similar in LOTR world.

[atomicfloozy]

Just finished painting the mini for my Star Character - Taji Mbutzi:


Taji Mbutzi

[sp]

Jan 27, 2023 16:35:56 GMT atomicfloozy said:

Just finished painting the mini for my Star Character - Taji Mbutzi:


Taji Mbutzi

Awesome job--especially getting good definition and contrast out of a limited, unified color scheme!

Also, might be winning me over to clear acrylic bases. I didn't even realize she was based until going back over the images for a closer look.

[atomicfloozy]

I've opted for clear bases for figures I use in RPGs, since the locations change from indoors to outdoors and starships - just didn't seem right for these figures to have clumps of grass around their feet when standing at a bar.

I still do bases for my wargame figures.

[atomicfloozy]

A quick update on the project. There is a lot of Pathfinder stuff I'm having to work through before I can play the first encounter. Here's the next character for the party - Florinda Carriera.


Florinda Carriera

[sp]

I love the striped pants, and fully support the notion of starting with a low-rep party!

I'm curious how much you hack or mod the rules, especially playing Pathfinder characters and setting with THW rulesets. I'm not super-familiar with Pathfinder, but I gather there are more spells and feats and such than in WHAT... do you deal with that simply as narrative flavor? Use Challenges based on the crunchier rules where it feels appropriate? Just focus on the Pathfinder fluff with exclusively WHAT rules?

[atomicfloozy]

You hit the nail on the head with what I'm wrestling with. There are 8 classes in WHAT, there are about 30 in Pathfinder. There are 3 skills & 30 attributes in WHAT, there's at least a hundred skills & feats in Pathfinder. Spells - WHAT has 3 & I haven't even counted all of the spells a character can choose from.

Pathfinder is not only providing narrative flavor, but also helps build a character's behavior & motives. The challenge I have is choosing what Pathfinder game mechanics/elements are worth using as Challenges in WHAT.

I've been trying different things with a Chillin' encounter and hope to figure all of this out.

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

Loong, long time ago (WHAA) I used individual spells. Lot of detail, with similar results on most so wen to three types. "Yeah, but what about a summon spell to contact a Demon?"

Do a Challenge.

[sp]

Do a Challenge.

I've been trying to do that sort of thing more, since it seems like there's a pretty robust system built into the relatively simple rules.

Like that example, trying to contact a Demon... Maybe it's a Normal Challenge for a Sorcerer, and also a Normal Challenge for a Summoner, but the Summoner gets a +1 Profession bonus (assuming it works that way? I'm going off New Beginnings rules). And maybe for a Cleric it's a Difficult Challenge 'cause they're not meant to be dealing with Demons, and for a Rogue, it's not even an attemptable challenge.

Meanwhile, running across rooftops would be a Normal Challenge for a reasonably athletic character like a Fighter, but the Swashbuckler gets the +1 Profession bonus, and for a Rogue it's an Easy Challenge instead of Normal, and maybe the Sorcerer can't attempt it at all?

Just guessing here.

But especially in a low-starting-rep campaign that includes a magic user and a swashbuckler, I could see using challenges regularly to "shape the battlefield" and make the team more survivable against "higher-level" threats.

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

You're on the right track. Can't so it? Maybe drop Rep by 1 point. The cool thing is if you pass 1d6 you can choose not to do the Challenge.

[atomicfloozy]

That's what I like so much about the solo aspect of the rules, in the occasions where a GM makes a ruling, I can use a challenge & not be in the place of fudging the rules. Also, I'm finding with some of the Pathfinder rules, the GM determines the outcome, or degree of success or of failure. Something that is easily done by a challenge.

I've recently come to the conclusion that the whole XP system for advancing character levels can be done with WHAT's Increasing/Decreasing Rep d6 mechanic.

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

Feb 18, 2023 1:01:16 GMT atomicfloozy said:

That's what I like so much about the solo aspect of the rules, in the occasions where a GM makes a ruling, I can use a challenge & not be in the place of fudging the rules. Also, I'm finding with some of the Pathfinder rules, the GM determines the outcome, or degree of success or of failure. Something that is easily done by a challenge.

I've recently come to the conclusion that the whole XP system for advancing character levels can be done with WHAT's Increasing/Decreasing Rep d6 mechanic.

DM's back in the day could affect the outcome and not always in an agreeable way. After many, many years of playing D&D, Top Secret and others I wanted to design solo and side gaming system.

[atomicfloozy]

Finished painting the Barbarian for the party:


Goncalo Machado