Trinity Isles OOC

[Nioca]

Gah. I'll have a post up sometime tomorrow. Between having contracted some sort of respiratory infection and having an extremely demanding week, I just haven't had either the time or energy to put anything up. Sorry for being somewhat absent.

[M0rtimer]

Eh it's okay- A shame of course, but not too much of a bother.

Also, an topic to bring up- Does immunity to being slowed also mean you could not be slowed due to things such as speed combat stages dropping..?

[M0rtimer]

Irene/Tyke, do you two want to play by old contest rules, or have no problem beta-testing the design me and Burns have been working on?

Admittedly, more Burns than me at this point as I've been too busy for a little bit, but now that I'm done with that I'm gonna give it a stern looking over, and either port it over like that or make some adjustments of my own. I might just death stare the contest system so long that it crumbles into itself and becomes a better form.

[Arch Lich Burns]

Mort instad of putting A,B,C,d for contest order could you go by the trainer or pokemon name because it was really hard to follow who was going when with that. In battles you dont put enemy a, b, c so why contests?

[Synch]

I liked the story too

[SuperVaderMan]

Also, an topic to bring up- Does immunity to being slowed also mean you could not be slowed due to things such as speed combat stages dropping..?

Immunity to being Slowed means immunity from the Slowed condition. Having your Movement capabilities affected by negative combat stages would still act the same.


Now I just need to think of what to do with Koa... I was kinda counting on there being something to do today from the job board, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Ah well, guess I'll just have him do whatever until the mid-day Beauty contest, I suppose.

[Arch Lich Burns]

Yea why isn't there something on the job board today? apparently we can't go on adventures if other party members are injured. Well time for us to make one i guess.

[Donnigan]

I wouldn't mind testing it out...Although I haven't really been keeping up on what you guys have been doing with the contests.

On another Note, I really liked that Intermission Story thing, although I would have voted for Giovanni if I had had a chance to get on.

[Dusk9]

I'd also like to test out the new contest ideas. Mainly because I still don't really understand the old ones properly, and if I'm going to learn a new system, it might as well be the one we're going to use in the future.

Though, if we do use the new rules, could you make a post outlining everything? Currently it's all spread out over multiple posts between you and Burns, and it's confusing to look through and figure out what's actually going to be used.

[M0rtimer]

Yea why isn't there something on the job board today? apparently we can't go on adventures if other party members are injured. Well time for us to make one i guess.

Consider it like this: If I had provided a "proper" quest for you two, you would probably be the only two to take it, as no one else seems too interested in that, mostly wanting to rest up and prepare for the tournament tomorrow... And as you could get hurt, you'd end up being disadvantaged tomorrow at the tournament- And eventually we could end up with a flip-flop state unless one of both group eventually says that they'll either join or skip a day. Since I think we can all agree it'd be better if everyone (mostly) sticks together on these things, I'd like to prevent that.

On the other hand, if we go through this day relatively fast (I don't think anyone has something "big" planned) we'll have everyone on the same track again.

Technically I don't know if pokemon can grapple, but I figured that since Cris was humanoid, and strong enough, it wouldn't make sense for her not to be able to. Not that it helped anyway.

Grapples are a combat maneuver- Check the book. You need to roll an AC check with a penalty of 3, and then roll an opposed combat check.

Though, if we do use the new rules, could you make a post outlining everything? Currently it's all spread out over multiple posts between you and Burns, and it's confusing to look through and figure out what's actually going to be used.

Oh, that's definitely a thing that needs to happen first if we're wanting to use the new system.

Alex heads to the pokecentre to remove the final injury from Adrian, then... Does he know who he should report to, as a League Trainer? If not, I think there was some sort of message board added to the 'dex, right?

Not explicitly, but you know there's a league office somewhere in town.

[Arch Lich Burns]

Meh, I plan on not going to the tournament to fight. Maybe do contests but that is about it. Bjorn was also uninjured. Now I need to see what times you posted for the contests and hope I don't step on people's toes. But I guess it will be one way to try out the new rules.

You will need to put a mega post up of all the rules we came up with.


....And not everything has to be deadly.

[M0rtimer]

Alright, let's make a general overview here... I've changed some stuff either because I think it fits better, not sure what was meant and adapted what I thought it was, or it didn't mesh well with already existing game mechanics. Also made some Anyways... A bit barebones, but here you guys go.

Also Don, you should probably be aware- As the new system directly relates to the combat build of a pokemon, Crackle with mostly special and status attacks would fare better in a cute or beauty contest. (With that being said, cool would align with your status moves, so it's not too bad.) Irene would probably face a similar issue.

Contests
Overview

A contest generally exists out of three stages- The introduction stage, during which a trainer presents himself and his pokemon, the appeal stage which forms the main brunt of the contest and we'll go into later. Following this is the final point tally which decides the winner. The final goal in a contest is to gather as much appeal points as possible- With those having attained the greatest total in the end being declared winner.

Set-up
Prior to beginning a contest, one should tally the bonuses he will be getting in the contest. This mostly relates to bonuses gained from poffins and stats, but bonuses may also come from certain pieces of equipment.

Contest dice are gained through two methods - Poffins and combat stages. Up to three contest dice can be used with a move of the same contest type during the contest stage, each contest dice granting +1d6 to the roll. Note that while a physical move can be both cool or tough, you may NOT for example use it as a cool move and add tough dice! The move must be of the corresponding type.

Poffins
Poffins each raise one Contest Stat by +1 Dice. Additional Poffins past the maximum of 6 have no effect.

Combat stages
For every 10 points in a matching combat stat, a pokemon has +1 contest dice in the correlating contest stat.

Type bindings
The type bindings are as following. Also note that each of the contest types correlates to a social skill- These are used by the trainers during the contest.

Cute - Speed - Charm
Beauty - SATT - Intuition
Smart - SDEF - Guile
Tough - DEF - Intimidate
Cool - ATT - Command

Introduction stage

During the introduction stage, the trainer introduces himself and his pokemon- He makes a social skill check to generate Trainer Points, hereafter referred to as TP. TP is used during the appeal stages for extra effects.

If you choose to roll the skill correlating to the contest type, add 1 TP. If you roll an opposing skill, deduct 5 from the final result. Roll the appropriate check, and divide the result by 5, rounding UP. The result is the amount of TP you gain.

Appeal stage

The appeal stage holds the main brunt of the contest. A contest exists out of a number of rounds, which should be at least equal to the amount of participants, but preferably more. The order the participants take (Very important, as some move effects differ based on your position in this order!) first round is based on the rolls during the introduction stage, the highest results going first. The following rounds are determined by the current amount of appeal points- Once again, the highest amount beginning first and going down.

Trainer action
Prior to the pokemon taking an action, the trainer may opt to use TP for various effects. He may roll any of the contest-related skills for these effects- When rolling the matching contest skill, he may roll an additional +1d6. If he rolls an opposing skill, -1d6.

One of the more important actions a trainer can take is fighting for the spotlight- Which can be done only once per contest per trainer.

Additionally, one may sacrifice 1 additional TP to add +1d6 to any of the rolls.

2 TP: Fighing for the spotlight: A trainer must declare his intent to use fighting for the spotlight before the round start. If only one person wishes to gain the spotlight, his pokemon gets the center of attention that turn with no issue. If multiple trainers wish to fight for the spotlight, they must make contesting contest rolls- Only the trainers pokemon with the highest roll gains the center of attention. The other contestants lose neither TP or the chance to fight for the spotlight, but may use no other Trainer action that turn.
1 TP: Supportive act: Roll a contest skill check, and divide the result by 6, rounding down. Add the result to your appeal points.
1 TP: Saving the show: Roll a contest skill check, and divide the result by 5, rounding down. Remove the result from your fumble points. You cannot remove more fumble points than you have.
(The idea here is that coordinator would be given features that could give additional methods to use during the trainers turn)

Pokemon action
For the pokemons action, select one of the moves out of the pokemons movelist- Choose which type of contest you wish to use based on type of attack, and the effect as one of the elements bound effects. Roll the amount of dice as mentioned by the effect, and perform any additional action that needs to happen. If you want to apply contest dice, now is the time.

Then you gain the following:
Every roll of 1 gains 0 appeal points.
Every roll of 2 to 5 gains 1 appeal point.
Every roll of 6 gains 2 appeal points.

This changes while in the spotlight however, which can be attained by fighting for the spotlight. The gained appeal points are then as follows:
Every roll of 1 gains 1 fumble point.
Every roll of 2 gains 0 appeal points.
Every roll of 3 gains 1 appeal point.
Every roll of 4 or 5 gains 2 appeal points.
Every roll of 6 gains 3 appeal points.

Additionally, the type of move determines some additional effects. If you roll the corresponding contest type, you gain 1 appeal point and the judges voltage rises with 1. If you roll an opposing contest type, you gain 1 fumble point and the voltage is lowered with 1. Rolling an aligning contest type does nothing special.

The judges max voltage is usually 5, starting with 0 current voltage and is changed with the use of moves, and some effects target this voltage level as well. If a move raises the current voltage to or above max voltage, this move may roll an additional +5d6- The voltage is then reset to 0.

Final point tally
When the final round is over, or someone has gained X amount of appeal points depending on the contest type, the amount of fumble points are deducted from the appeal points. The trainer and pokemon with the highest amount of appeal points at that time wins!

Contest stats
The contest stat of a move is determined by the kind of attack- Physical attacks may be either cool or tough. Special attacks may be either beauty or smart. Finally, status moves are always cute.

Each contest stat has an opposing and a aligning stat, with the exception of cute which aligns with both physical and special attacks. When using an opposite action in an action, a fumble point is added- The order of the contest stats is:

Cute-Beauty-Smart-Tough-Cool-Cute

So for an example- As Smart is next to Tough, and a physical move could be used as a tough move, physical moves can be used in a smart contest without penalty (but no bonus either)- However, as it does not align with cute, using status moves would gain a fumble point.

Contest effects
The contest effect is determined by the type of the move- Check the contest chart to see which effects are bound to which elements. Each round, when utilizing a move, you may choose one of the effects.

Type matches
Bug: unsettling, desperation
Dark: tease, sabotage
Dragon: seen nothing yet, catching up
Fairy: special attention, saving grace
Fire: special attention, distraction
Fighting: incentives, good show
Flying: distraction, excitement
Electric: seen nothing yet, excitement
Ghost: unsettling, gamble
Grass: saving grace, safe option
Ground: get ready, desperation
Ice: tease, insentives
Normal: reliable, steady preformace
Posion: sabotage, gamble
Psychic: good show, get ready
Rock: reliable, mirror act
Steel: steady preformace, catching up
Water: safe option, mirror act

Effects

Unsettling: 4d6 ÔÇô Each adjacent competitor gains 1 fumble point.

Desperation: 5d6 ÔÇô All results of 1 grant you +1 Fumble, and all results of 6 grant you +1 more Appeal Point. This stacks with being at the Center of Attention.

Tease: 4d6 All results of 5 or 6 gain only 1 point, but all results of 6 ALSO are able to be distributed as fumble points however you desire.

Sabotage: 3d6 ÔÇô All dice rolled this round do not give points; instead they give all competitors in front of the user that many fumble points.

Seen nothing yet: Xd6 ÔÇô All voltage is lost. For each point of Voltage lost this way, roll +2d6.

catching up: 1d6 - Roll an additional +2d6 for each spot you are removed from first place.

special attention: 6d6 - All following participants gain +1 appeal.

saving grace: 1d6 ÔÇô You lose 1 Fumble Point and cannot gain other fumble points this round.

Mirror act: xd6 - x is equal to the amount of dice the effect of the previous move had.

incentives: 3d6 ÔÇô If this Move matches the current contest Type, gain an appeal point.

good show: 4d6 - Roll -1d6 for each level of voltage.

excitement: Excitement: 3d6 - This move gains an additional voltage. Can trigger ultimate move.

gamble: xd6 - all result of 6 gain + 1 appeal, x is result of 1d6.

safe option: 4d6 - Rolls of 6 during this round only grant 1 Point, but you cannot gain Fumble Points from rolling a 1.

get ready: 1d6 ÔÇô Double the number of Dice from your Move next round. Bonus Dice from Contest Stats and Voltage are not doubled.

reliable: 3d6 - this move may be repeated without penalty.

Distraction: 3d6 - The voltage meter may not be increased by the following participants.

steady performance: 5d6 - No special effect.

If something is not clear, please say so.

[Donnigan]

It looks Doable. A little annoying that None of My moves that are "Cool" under the previous system are Cool now, and that My only Cool move is Tackle...

What was the Design decision behind Correlating the Contest Type of Moves to Which Stat it uses? I can sorta see what you were going for, especially with the Stats, but it also hoses a lot of what I was going for with Crackle. He's Supposed to be Cool, not Smart and Beautiful.

Edit: Also, can we use other Skills related to Performing in the Intro/Trainer Point Stage? Tyke has Charm, but is Much better at Focus, and that's what I usually roll when she's playing her Music.

[SuperVaderMan]

What determines Turn Order, both at the start of the Appeal rounds and throughout the contest?

Derp, nevermind, I missed the part where it was explained.

[Dlover]

Alex heads to the pokecentre to remove the final injury from Adrian, then... Does he know who he should report to, as a League Trainer? If not, I think there was some sort of message board added to the 'dex, right?

Not explicitly, but you know there's a league office somewhere in town.

In that case, after getting the injury taken care of, he'll be tracking down the office.

[Arch Lich Burns]

It looks Doable. A little annoying that None of My moves that are "Cool" under the previous system are Cool now, and that My only Cool move is Tackle...

What was the Design decision behind Correlating the Contest Type of Moves to Which Stat it uses? I can sorta see what you were going for, especially with the Stats, but it also hoses a lot of what I was going for with Crackle. He's Supposed to be Cool, not Smart and Beautiful.

Edit: Also, can we use other Skills related to Performing in the Intro/Trainer Point Stage? Tyke has Charm, but is Much better at Focus, and that's what I usually roll when she's playing her Music.

That is what Grace is for. To allow you to use other skills

[M0rtimer]

What was the Design decision behind Correlating the Contest Type of Moves to Which Stat it uses? I can sorta see what you were going for, especially with the Stats, but it also hoses a lot of what I was going for with Crackle. He's Supposed to be Cool, not Smart and Beautiful.

The idea behind it was that, in order to allow anyone to play contests without being gimped, the contest system needs to be inherently linked with the way you'd set up a good combat build. And this is the method we thought of to achieve that- Since I believe most "ideal" build a trainer would go for would fit this template. Mixed sweeper? Tough or smart. Focusing on one type of attack, maybe with some status effects? Cool or beauty, depending on what the type would be. This is also the reason that cute, aka status moves doesn't really have "opposing" moves, as most builds hardly specialize in dealing status effects. (Though you technically could, if you really want to reduce that voltage...)

Also, can we use other Skills related to Performing in the Intro/Trainer Point Stage? Tyke has Charm, but is Much better at Focus, and that's what I usually roll when she's playing her Music.

Afraid not- I mean, next thing I'd have Drake ask me if he could use poke edu,since he could use his knowledge to provide a good show.

And it doesn't burns- Grace only allows for more poffins to be used, and to use any contest stat during the introduction stage without penalty- Not other skills.

[Arch Lich Burns]

Grace
Prerequisites: Novice Charm, Command, Guile,
Intimidate, or Intuition
Effect: Your Pok├®mon may consume and benefit from
2 more Poffins each. If this Pok├®mon is traded to a
Trainer without the Grace feature, these extra dice from
additional Poffins are not lost, but a Trainer without
Grace may not benefit from more than 6 Dice gained
from Poffins. You may always use any of the Skills that
are prerequisites for Grace in the Introduction Stage of
a Contest to roll for Contest Stat Dice of any kind.

This means I can use any of the skills that grace uses as a prereq for any contest insted of the normal skill. Because of the change, the way grace works should also change so that it has any of grace skills can be used in replacement of the normal skill.

[M0rtimer]

Grace
Prerequisites: Novice Charm, Command, Guile,
Intimidate, or Intuition
Effect: Your Pok├®mon may consume and benefit from
2 more Poffins each. If this Pok├®mon is traded to a
Trainer without the Grace feature, these extra dice from
additional Poffins are not lost, but a Trainer without
Grace may not benefit from more than 6 Dice gained
from Poffins. You may always use any of the Skills that
are prerequisites for Grace in the Introduction Stage of
a Contest to roll for Contest Stat Dice of any kind.

This means I can use any of the skills that grace uses as a prereq for any contest insted of the normal skill.

Don was asking if he could use focus though...

[SuperVaderMan]

As for thoughts on the new system, I'm a little less enthused with it. Though, that might mostly be me having a good strategy to win in the first system and not this one

Idk, though. This new system resembles the games a lot more and has depth and more choices to be made, to be sure. It still seems to be largely luck-based, however. Both systems rely on you maximizing the number of dice you're rolling for more Appeal points. The difference being that you can't as reliably increase your dice rolling under the new Voltage rules.

This is a point of contention I had with the game contests, too. Whoever pops the Voltage meter gets a big boost and a better chance at winning, and it seems mostly based on luck whether or not you're going to be the one to get that bonus.

I'd have to try the system out to be sure, but my first impression is that Contests it seems to be anyone's game. It seems like you can vaguely manipulate what's going on turn-to-turn, but you just gotta hope you get lucky.

[Arch Lich Burns]

You have to be more tactical than normal. This is also why I wanted a person to choose what contest type, and effect it has. It is not purely luck when voltage pops, you have to read your opponets to see what they go for. I had no trouble reading opponets in the games to tell when it pops and use it to my advantage. And to purposely use opposing moves to make sure opponets do not have it oppose.

[Dusk9]

Okay, I think I understand how the new rules work? Some parts are still confusing to me, but I'll probably learn them relatively easily with a bit of practice.

One thing I'd like to clarify though - under these moves rules, Ember and Fire Blast are basically functionally identical because they're both SATK Fire moves, yes? While, for example, all Normal Physical would have the same effects, and so on? Is that how it's intended to work, or am I missing something there?

[Dlover]

Welcome to my world, Dusk. Except I have that with anything that has rules, and I never finish learning them. The nightmare never ends.

[Arch Lich Burns]

Okay, I think I understand how the new rules work? Some parts are still confusing to me, but I'll probably learn them relatively easily with a bit of practice.

One thing I'd like to clarify though - under these moves rules, Ember and Fire Blast are basically functionally identical because they're both SATK Fire moves, yes? While, for example, all Normal Physical would have the same effects, and so on? Is that how it's intended to work, or am I missing something there?

Yes that is how they are intended to work... And why I wanted somone to choose when they get the move.

[M0rtimer]

Okay, I think I understand how the new rules work? Some parts are still confusing to me, but I'll probably learn them relatively easily with a bit of practice.

One thing I'd like to clarify though - under these moves rules, Ember and Fire Blast are basically functionally identical because they're both SATK Fire moves, yes? While, for example, all Normal Physical would have the same effects, and so on? Is that how it's intended to work, or am I missing something there?

Yes. The idea behind that is that, eventually, a trainer would look for more than just fire moves on his pokemon- Not much use having 5 fire moves after all, best to at least have some variety to counter other types...