Octane rules question and possible new themes

[morien]

Hem. Hem.
First post... Forgive me for my present and future broken english posts.

Greetings all,

When Octane was released, I quickly paid for it. This is the third game by Jared that I buy and have to say that I have never been disappointed and that these games offered me some cool moments with friends or triggered many ideas (thanks for the subsequent insomnias, Jared).

The first one was Schism as I wanted to see what could be done when one wants to push the limits of Sorcerer. The next was Inspectres as I was very curious to see how this approach could really work (BTW, I have to find the time to report my first experience with two different groups…).
Then came Octane. And one more time : congratulations !

Honestly, I am not fond off the theme and I fear that my fellow gamers will not apply to it.
But one more time, your design rocks and I feel the urge to design my own variants or mini-supplements using Blood & Steel approach, for instance.

But before hinting the themes I would like to treat, I’ve got one question about Octane Mechanics.

How to use skills ? My understanding is that you roll 3 dice when your character is involved in a  conflict in which one of your skills is appropriate (better have to choose wide skills in this case !). If not, you apply the “unskilled case”. Am I correct ?

I am sorry if this question seems short-sighted, but I didn’t see any mention of this rule in the Game Mecanics section. Only in Custom Roles section… This is not made to clarify the rules which are nevertheless an example of daring, ingenuity and craft ;-).

To finish this short post, I am excited by the idea of a swashbuckling version of Octane/BS (Panache as a style seems obvious and mandatory) or a Arthurian one (perhaps with inspiration from TQB as the two approaches are quite close. I really like the idea of Accord and Motifs).

Any comments to trigger the discussion ?

Stef.

[Jared A. Sorensen]

How to use skills ? My understanding is that you roll 3 dice when your character is involved in a  conflict in which one of your skills is appropriate (better have to choose wide skills in this case !). If not, you apply the "unskilled case". Am I correct ?

Si, you're correct. If a character attempts something s/he isn't skilled at doing, you don't get the three free dice (they must be paid for on a 1:1 basis with Plot Points). This is also the case if someone "holds" their action and doesn't react right away during a scene (to my surprise, I found that I did this a couple times during Todd's octaNe game at GenCon -- I kinda wanted to see what other people would do and then I could add something if it felt right -- in music terms, we kinda "broke it down").

To finish this short post, I am excited by the idea of a swashbuckling version of Octane/BS (Panache as a style seems obvious and mandatory) or a Arthurian one (perhaps with inspiration from TQB as the two approaches are quite close. I really like the idea of Accord and Motifs).

Me? I'd just transplant the swashing & buckling to octaNe's setting (which is why I included the nautical/piratical Roles and Stamping Grounds). Ditto Arthurian. But also, I could just as easily picture a "period" piece using octaNe. The trick to remember is that everything in octaNe (no matter what the setting) should be done with panache...with Style. And the action should be over-the-top. So historically accurate swashbuckling? Eh, I'd use something else. But crazy action (Zorro, the Gay Blade comes to mind for some reason)? That'd rock.

And welcome, Stef. :) Thanks for checking out my games.

- J

EDIT: Oh yeah, if you want to write a Swashbuckling supplement for octaNe, go for it! My standard rules apply but I'm all for it. In fact, there are a few people out there working on octaNe supplements RIGHT NOW. :)

[morien]

Thanks, jared for this quick clarification about skills and conflict resolution.

Talking about possible variations around Octane mechanics and tone...

I feel that these elements fit for variants outside the psychotronic "setting" and I agree that styles make the difference and should be the focus of the system. This is why swashbuckling seems so appropriate.

The kind of swashbuckling I had in mind was something flashy and slightly humorous instead of historically accurate. If I had to tell about a good reference, I would point "de capes et de crocs" (of cloaks and fangs ?), a french graphic novels series which is a pure delight (witty dialogs. This won't certainly not help you as this is not translated in english... But have a look...

http://capecrocs.free.fr/cc-fonds_ecran.php3

Mix this with the kind of High Weirdness found in Kenneth Hite's Supressed Transmission ("weekly" column in Pyramid Online) and it should rock.

Does this make a mini-supplement ? Perhaps not... I will continue to examine the issue and will post my further thoughts. I feel that a bag of plug-in rules, genre and setting comments could do it well.

On the other hand, the arthurian mod could need more changes. more on this later.

Best regards to all :))

Stef.