Topic: A question about weapon crafting\customization... And some thanks.

[Kasdaye]

Hi to all

After playing HARP for about a year I've only just stumbled accross this board (A tragic oversight on my part I know!). After reading the backlog of threads I've picked up on some good ideas to help my game. So thanks to all

I particuarly like the ideas of being "attacked" by a rough river, and the stats for the uber-giant spider (Thanks to Jasonbrisbane on both accounts!)

Next time I GM (We alternate GM's after each campaign to mix up the types of story and to give everyone a chance to use their characters The remaining characters stay back at the guild) rest assured that the rest of my group will be subject to both a scenario where:

1. they are almost inevitably thrown off a cliff into a raging river.

and

2. Will encounter a small yet rich town of merchants who specialize in the export of fine silks. However, seem to take all their orders from a high priest who lives underground and asks for only the occasional sacrafice in return for the towns continued prosperity (So sayeth the spider!)

I also liked the look of jurasketu's SPAR combat system, however unfortunately it'll be difficult to intergrate into my game as I believe my players will fear a change such as this (While some are very tactical thinkers, others are still not past the tactic of Chargy-Chargy Choppy-Choppy!... needless to say these particular characters have to be sewn back together often!)

I would also like to know how much other player use the rules for crafting their own weapons? We have a lvl 11 thaumaturge and most of our characters have at least one high level crafting skill so we have a tendancy to sell or melt down big weapons we find in favour of making our own individual ones for each character.

Has anyone else made any interesting custom arms and\or armour etc?

[Right Wing Wacko]

Welcome to the forums!

[Ecthelion]

I would also like to know how much other player use the rules for crafting their own weapons? We have a lvl 11 thaumaturge and most of our characters have at least one high level crafting skill so we have a tendancy to sell or melt down big weapons we find in favour of making our own individual ones for each character.

Has anyone else made any interesting custom arms and\or armour etc?

Not yet. Do you think it is worthwhile?

[Karizma]

Unfortunately, not to my recollection.  My group is limited to semester-blocks in university, and we've been rotating campaigns so we've never been stable enough to have characters that good at crafting.

[Puin]

Hello Kasdaye and welcome to the forum.

As you have already stated it's a must if you play HARP. This Forum has helped me in a lot of nonofficial doubts and almost all of my official doubts.

I'm sorry I can't answer you, I'm planning our first HARP campaign for our group and we haven't started yet.

First we ended a veeeery 2 years long RM quest (around 500h of rplaying), that brought my Wizard from 1st lvl up to 15 !!! My most (seriously playing) powerful PC in all my 25 years of rplaying. Now we are in a SM (IMTU background) that can last until Xmas, and then comes HARP !!!

I'm planning ... (not for my players eyes obviously)

(click to show/hide)

Well I'm planning to use The Echoes of Heaven setting and adventures but heavily changed. Well it will be mostly inspirational, more seeing that it has stopped at chapter 5 of 8. But it will be a quest against evil and it's ulcers seeking the 8 parts of a divine weapon that should end, at least for a while, the threat of evil 

I used ICE's RM Arms Companion heavily when it was published. I tried with a mercury filled war hammer and spiky armors for my dwarf (who had lots of smithing) and different arrow heads (armor piercing, flesh tearers (so to say), slashers, ... for my non-magic ranger) but my master discarded them for being vs simplicity and a bit powermonger.    My advise is to check for that game aid and see if it pleases U. Remember is RM based !!

Just my 2 cents   

[Kasdaye]

Sounds like you have a busy schedule! We can only dedicate a few hours a week to the game so we've played some shorter campaigns so far. However I'm planning a fairly epic one at the moment.

I'm not sure why we got into crafting. I think it was when I made the mistake of saying my character carried his fathers sword (The Hellbringer). So even when better weapons came along I was reluctant to give it up, so instead I just craft new blades for it. Currently it's a +15 Katana that acts as my Warrior Mages focus / Mage staff, can be used for a scaled up elemental weapon spell twice a day, and makes my character's eyes glow red (Just for effect!).

It seems that other players have now decided they want their own customized weapons (Even our warrior has requested an even bigger stick with an even shinier nail through it!... some people are easier to please than others! ). It's becoming a bit like the fantasy version of pimp my ride. Which is why I was curious if anyone else had delved into this area.

[Puin]

I think it was when I made the mistake of saying my character carried his fathers sword (The Hellbringer). So even when better weapons came along I was reluctant to give it up, so instead I just craft new blades for it. Currently it's a +15 Katana that acts as my Warrior Mages focus / Mage staff, can be used for a scaled up elemental weapon spell twice a day, and makes my character's eyes glow red (Just for effect!).

Hey, that wasn't a mistake! That was part of your characters background !! And THAT weapon will be the best you'll ever have. And you will fight for it if you lost it or if it was stolen.
(hey, that could be a minor plot in your games, you know, big city, lots of thieves, one night partying and drinking and gaming and .... in the morning your katana has disappeared ) Someones roars and shouts VENGEANCE !!  )

Some of us once traded theirs chars for their sons (the fathers had visited half ME by then) and the sons didn't get the uber weapons of their fathers, those where their fathers weapons and they didn't lend them so easily. The child get nonetheless some great weapons from their father's stock. So to say, sometimes we used less powerful items but that where closer to the char. Some say it's stupid, some say it's roleplaying 

Who hasn't looked for pictures or drawings that matches his char. Or, those that have the touch, drawed themselves their chars. Detailing your char is giving him live. The more detailed the more it's yours or the more it's you ...well at least it's what we see it in our group. We tend to begin with low lvl chars, a swift increase to higher levels until we reach the competence needed for the adventures/campaigns to come. That way the chars get a very nice background in short time, as well as a some team background also. In the meanwhile the players get inspirations for their chars background that helps roleplaying him that as we roleplay him give ideas and .... it's like a loop. Once a char ended with 90 pg background. It was in fact a short novel and nice writed I must say !!

Well that's getting tooooo long and off-topic.  Just some thoughts

[Kasdaye]

I completely agree with fleshing out characters as much as possible. It makes the whole experience more vicarious. My char had a (mere ) 5 page back story from his childhood, supplamented by a few more things I threw in about his past at various points. In fact his personality constantly grew and changed right up until the point he suffered an unfortunate case of decapitation. However next time I GM he'll be returning as a bad guy so he'll develop even further.

I like the idea of carrying of characters through their children (Just make sure your character has a small army of children \ bastards to take over their legacy .) It gives new characters a good start point for their story as everyone knew their parents and where they came from.