A new Decepticon rises! I will run him by my kids today, see what they think :)

But on a serious note, i like the format, his background, and of course the cherry...braggart.

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I have differ with you in opinion. I grew up with the Transformers and while I agree that the animation, plot, and production value were terrible, the show brimmed with potential. The factions can be endlessly rewritten and revamped, and terms like mature and intellectual have no place in the original show. It was made and marketed to boys 5-10 years old. The new Michael Bay movies are little more than mindless explodium and slow motion boob running intended to play off of a generation that grew up with the old cartoon, slathered with cgi and equally bad plots. I have no desire to do anything with the new transformers movies. Go to Comment

Wow.

 

Once you're done with the foundation, brainstorming, format and logistics, I'd like to PLAY this game! :)

 

And once youre done with this, please consider...Thundercats, He-Man, Space Ghost, etc

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"Each transformer needs a size.

Size does not mean more power or more gadgets. It usually means that the bot is stronger, tougher, and more intimidating though. "
Size is included in the power rating, i understand what you mean about power not being size and i think the difference here is just word choice. As I have it here (or will have it here, every time I edit this something else is lost, its F**KING wit me ed.) Power is related to size, base damage done and base damage absorbed. Here is the listing of the size/power choices. That I can't to go into the main post.
A: Mega: Pretty self explanatory, if you turn into something that holds multiple other transformers. Omega Supreme, Metroplex, Scorponok
B: Max: These are like front lines units but for some reason in the toys and the in the narrative of the show they were just a little more robust and powerful. This includes the leaders, Galvatron, Megatron, Optimus Prime, Grim Lock
C: Front Line: These would be units such as Hound, Wheeljack, Hoist, Soundwave,
D: Secondary Unit: Smaller but still effective transformers: Bumblebee, Cosmos, Powerglide, and the Insecticons
E: Extension Units: These are transformers that don’t exist without another transformer. All the transforming cassette tapes would fall into this category and maybe Reflector.


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"Each transformer should have a motivation in addition to a purpose. This will help explain why they make each decision. Optimus leads the autobots, but he is willing to die to save one transformer. Starscream wants to please or overthrow Megatron, but he usually just obeys his orders."

I have a step D to character creation, I called it the character's Quirk or Bugs/disadvantages. Every transformer has one. Maybe the character has to speak in rhyme, maybe the character has constant ruthless ambition or maybe the character has a "simple brain". Go to Comment

"Some transformers can also have multiple alternate forms. One alternate form option is the ability to combine with other transformers. These combiners, like Devastator, have a new arsenal and abilities when combined."

I tried to deal with this also is character creation. So the player rate the relative importance of the various character aspects 1-5 or A-E. If you put a rank of A in power, then get to play a mega transformer-like a transforming aircraft carrier. If you put a rank E in power, then you play a transforming side car to somebody else's motorcycle.
The 5 aspect you rank are POWER, WEAPON, SKILLS, VEHICLE FORM, AND ADVANTAGEs.
ADVANTAGEs would deal with the issues you bring up.
I have yet to assign value to the different advantages but I brainstormed some above. One of those would be noncybertron construction, no prime directives, Examples of this would be the Combaticons and the Dinobots. Another advantage would be part of connector unit. So if you wanted to play a Combaticon type unit you would have to spend a enough focus you priorities on advantages. Go to Comment

"Each transformer should have a power rating for the power of their Spark"

Yes they should! could this be like experince, could extra spark be an advantage you buy? When you have a spark of five do get to the hold matrix? This particular point needs work. Go to Comment

What do you mean dull, an SUV with ramming armor and Futuristic Space vehicle with a multitool sound awesome!! They are way cooler than say a mini-van with a glue gun.

"I am looking at you G1 one Ironhide....there was reason you got it worst of all in the movie."

What were your character's personality like? If I am going to make tables that for people to roll up G1 characters, then they have to except that Bumblebees will happen. More than that if you are going to play with tables based character generation, then you have to commit to playing a random character.
Of course you can always leave the table behind. Just say I am putting A in alternate form and playing a robot that turns into shark.

My goal here is to get simple system that 5 people could make 5 characters in under half an hour and which uses intuitive rules. So I was toying with a different alternate form table for each power rating. So if you were a power A, you would roll on a different alternate form table for each rank you put into alternate form. But that would be too many tables. But unless we choose to just ignore mass as an issue like they did in the G1 cartoons, then we can't have a Mega transformer playing turning into a chainsaw. I think if we only gave A/5 power and an E/1 power have different table.

But as hybrid and multiple forms, burrowing, that is why a put mole in there, that is why I put advantages in there. You will get advantage points to spend on stuff, and then you can take disadvantages like "simple minds" to get more advantages.

How about this? If you are rank A or B alternate form you vehicle or animal has some sort of device or weapon it. So if you transform from those forms you get to keep the vehicle weapon, like the wrecking ball?


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The assumption was every transformer has an energy weapon, and can brawl "in all that". I think I say that in the write up but that needs to be more clear. But if you think we should take that out, I could see that, just give a weapon chart D-E and as you say allow players with weapon rating of C or higher to get two rolls. That could be fun, you'd get some more personalized weapons then the basic blaster for everyone. If we go with basic blaster idea, the power of that energy weapon is linked to your primary power rating. The Weapon chart is only for bonus weapons and doesn't necessarily mean offensive weapons. Then if chose alternate form RANK A or B. You also get a "primary" weapon or utility. Why don't you write up the weapon chart you think best fits.

As for the rationale why the "cost" for playing an animal. Well that is based on what I envisioning for the alternative form in game mechanics. In the robot form you have based power rating, this effects your speed, your resistance to damage and all types of attacks and your ability to dish out damage. Then in your alternate form your base rating is increased. For example in the system I am going to post, Grimlock in robot form would roll 4d10 for everything (except Skills). The strength of his actions would be based on the final number rolled, then in T-rex form he would either roll 6d10 is one thing I am considering but I inclinded to having it be 4d10+16 for Level 4 Transformer in alternate form. It is my belief that the animal forms are less specialized then the vehicle forms and are more versitile. An Ape may not have as big a gun as tank, but can it carry out a wider range of actions and it will be just as strong.


What we really need to work are the skills. How important do we want them to be? How specific do we want them to be? How much variation in skill levels do we want to have?
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I didn't mind the first M. Bay transformers movie with its "A Boy and his robot" plot. The two stories of the militaries exploration of the robots and the boys exploration. But you are right though they did not have the depth of the original G1 story line, which is saying a lot. Why did the writers have the Transformers come here looking for an artifact? I could get that they are looking for megatron, I could swalllow that Megatron is in some X-file/National Treasure like military facility, I could accept the kid and bumblebee form an ET-ELIOT bond, and that the "The Jesus" (his character was so over the top he might as well have been wearing that purple jump suit under clothes) was working for a secret government agency. could be made to accept that the boy might have some clue or item that would help the transformers. But it was amazing that after all that stuff they put in the film that there was no depth to the film at all. All of that and what story was left for us fanboys to expand on?
There were some very odd choices made in that movie, for example why the scene with Jon Voight and John Turturo trapped in the room with the little transformer? Did we need to redeem their characters? Go to Comment

All that movement and the movies still didn't go anywhere. Go to Comment

All flash and CG dazzle, who needs plot or dialog when you have Optimus Prime rendered with 10,000 moving pieces (nicked from the special features, not an exaggeration)

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Honestly I'm not a big fan of the old cartoon Transformers, mostly becuse the concept of shape shifting robts that mimic everyday vehicles never really stuck me as "fun" or engaging/realistic on a "mature intellectual level." (The movies were good however, but nothing like the old school cartoon.)

With that said, the way you lay this concept out makes it sound really fun, and makes me want to roll up a bot and give it a go, not something I was expecting when I began to read the sub!. 8)

I guess perhaps its the way the Artifical intelligence programming is laid out in the rules that make it sound more appealing, and gives some structure to the concept making ti less of a "make stuff up" feeling and grounds them a bit more firmly in pusedo science.

Regardless, I'm looking forward to seeing more of this, great work so far!

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I like the character creation that you did, however, anything that I got from the random charts was both dull and strange (I got an autobot SUV with raming armor or a Decepticon futuristic space vehicle with a multi-tool). It seems like the system could benefit from a few more tables for each of the 5 features.

For example, the Weapon feature should instead be the Armament feature. No matter what rank you select, you get some level of tool (most tools like a hammer or wrecking ball could double as a weapon, but it's not as effective).With a rank of D or better, you get to roll on the random weapon table. With a rank or B or better, you also get to roll on the defensive equipment table (including armor and other defensive measures). So with rank B, you would roll three times for armament: once for column B on the Tools table, once for column B on the weapon table, and once for column B on the defensive equipment table.

The Vehicle feature could instead be the Protoform feature. This is a measure of your size (A being Mega, E being tiny). Each size category has random transformations suitable to that size with 2 entries: one for autobots and one for decepticons (and maybe a third for beast form). With a rank of D or better, you get to roll on another table for additional transforming features like hybrid, multiple forms, additional environment capabilities (underwater, space, etc.), silent transformation, etc.. With a rank of B or better, you get to roll on another table for awesome transforming features like extra weapons, drones, burrowing, flight (or space flight), etc.

Skills, Power, and Advantages all could have additional tables and benefits. While this does mean a lot more work coming up with features, it would impart much more meaning to assigning the power levels. 

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I like the high rank bonus idea. Ranks A and B from the vehicle table can give an extra rank D or E bonus (respectively) from a different table. I really like that you get a bonus weapon (stinger) if you are a scorpion, but I don't really like that an ape is a rank higher than a vintage heavy tank. What is your rationale for putting animals higher than big vehicles?

For the Weapons part, is it assumed that every transformer has a basic weapon such as a pistol/blaster of some sort, or do you only get a weapon when you roll on this chart? All decepticons had weapons, and only the "civilian" autobots were unarmed. Suppose we add a column D to your existing weapons chart. This column will allow for basic fist-fighting, small pistols/machine guns, and basically anything that would only annoy Grimlock. Column C could keep the bigger guns, the swords and axes, the rockets, and drones. Column B would contain utility upgrades like you've currently got. X-ray vision, radar, shielding, etc.. Column A would contain weapon upgrades like energon weapons (Optimus' energon swords and ax come to mind), seismic shock, long-range weapon, EMP charged weapon. etc.. Now the fun part, if you select a high weapon rank, you get an bonus roll on the weapon chart at two ranks lower. So if you are rank B, you get a utility upgrade and a basic weapon. If you are rank A, you get a weapon upgrade and an advanced weapon. If you are rank C, you only get an advance weapon. Rank E means no weapon (decepticons can not have weapons rank E).

For the other three features, let's try to work in additional bonuses for having a rank of A or B. Go to Comment

I'm guessing that these are ment to harvest energy from a star, placed somewhere in the orbit of a planet, or perhaps arranged in a dyson sphere around the star itself, but this isn't made very clear. I see a lot of interesting science, I'm especially intrigued by the phospholipid discs. I wonder why manufactured cells would be more efficient than their biological analogues. Hopefully that's something we'll see expanded in the future.

I think there's a strong, innovative idea here, but right now it looks more like just that, an idea, rather than a post. Perhaps this is just too technical of a subject to encompass in a 100-word post. There's some awesome hard sci-fi here, it's just waiting to happen.

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After editing, this is lot more streamlined and coherent of an idea. It's clearer what the sleeves are for and how they are used, but enough room is left for the imagination. Revoted.

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Pretty cool sci-fi for a 100 words. Sounds like something from a book or movie.

the protaganist is being escorted around the facilities by the aging, shock-haired professor type...Professor: "And now I'd like to show you the famous Green Sleeves system. We---" Irreverant Protaganist: "Green Sleeves? Thats what handkerchiefs and tissues are for professor, hahaha--" Professor: "yes, yes. Very clever. --eye roll-- Its all in the tubing you see--" Irreverant Protaganist: "Tubing?..."  Kind of like a Bond and Q encounter.

Like Roack, I'd like to know more!

 

 

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I just don't think flat floating greenhouses are worth more than 100 words.
-Axle
Strangely I think this was too long...
-Montreve

I love this place! lol Go to Comment