First impressions

By DarthDude, in Genesys

1 hour ago, ArtWend said:

Not to hijack this, but.... My google-fu is weak. I admit it. Where did you find the symbols/dice or did you just cut and paste from somewhere? Just curious. Um, asking for a friend. Yeah, that it! Yeah.

The symbols are on one of the product pages, but as handy as those are, you'll probably want a font. There are a couple posted in these forums and on reddit but the three versions I've seen are pretty much the same and none are without some under-the-hood errors that my mac complains about. So until there's a clear winner, it kinda makes sense to have all three. I took a stab at it but it turns out I don't really know anything about the theory and practice of fonts and fonting.

If one wants these fonts on an iOS device, the trick is to install AnyFont.

2 hours ago, 2P51 said:

Someone did them I think, but honestly they're all emulated in Google Doc, the shapes anyway. Then I just copy and paste what I need from previous entries and adjust the font color as needed. That's just dice silhouettes, the symbols are a font someone did on the Star Wars forum somewhere I think.

59 minutes ago, themensch said:

The symbols are on one of the product pages, but as handy as those are, you'll probably want a font. There are a couple posted in these forums and on reddit but the three versions I've seen are pretty much the same and none are without some under-the-hood errors that my mac complains about. So until there's a clear winner, it kinda makes sense to have all three. I took a stab at it but it turns out I don't really know anything about the theory and practice of fonts and fonting.

If one wants these fonts on an iOS device, the trick is to install AnyFont.

Thanks for the info!

So.... someone who has the book now, how much information is given for various settings/genres? Are they using a specific setting as an example of a genre (frex, using android as an example of how to use the system to do cyberpunk) or do they just talk about genres in general?

It's general, but in Android's case there is a section on Hacking included. They mention fluff about their own in house settings for a page or two. Give some basic 'species' for the settings as an idea. There are a few items/weapon as well.

Edited by 2P51
15 minutes ago, Forgottenlore said:

So.... someone who has the book now, how much information is given for various settings/genres? Are they using a specific setting as an example of a genre (frex, using android as an example of how to use the system to do cyberpunk) or do they just talk about genres in general?

10 pages per settings. A few pages are explaining the setting, then example settings using an FFG owned IP, setting specific Archetype/species options, gear, Adversaries.

The settings are....
1. Fantasy = Runebound
2. Steampunk = Sovereigns of Steam
3. Weird war = Tannhauser
4. Science Fiction = Android
5. Space Opera = Twilight Imperium
6. Modern day has no example setting.

4 hours ago, TheSourceHD said:

10 pages per settings. A few pages are explaining the setting, then example settings using an FFG owned IP, setting specific Archetype/species options, gear, Adversaries.

The settings are....
1. Fantasy = Runebound
2. Steampunk = Sovereigns of Steam
3. Weird war = Tannhauser
4. Science Fiction = Android
5. Space Opera = Twilight Imperium
6. Modern day has no example setting.

Are there any sources in the internet providing overviews to those settings? Especially interested in Tannhauser as I have a very soft spot for Hellboy and the like.

8 hours ago, tunewalker said:

to be clear on my concerns with Magic is I am a very new GM and while I like that its flexible to multiple systems the post seems to suggest that Magic is SUPER free form, as in not even guide lines to help you dependent on the level of magic you want in your game are in the book. That is a heavy concern for me as that means all balancing will be on me and I don't always trust myself even if my players have never had any complaints about the fun of the game. Now it may all be worrying for naught but I would still have liked SOME guidelines for magic whether it be making it easier or making it harder.

I’m sure there will be lots of discussion in the forum about how to build the feel of magic wanted for a specific game. And people will probably do fan-conversions of other game or literature magic systems, so there will be community resources once the system is more available.

Hannhäuser is interresting. I have the board game and all expansions and like the game and the setting :)

12 hours ago, tunewalker said:

to be clear on my concerns with Magic is I am a very new GM and while I like that its flexible to multiple systems the post seems to suggest that Magic is SUPER free form, as in not even guide lines to help you dependent on the level of magic you want in your game are in the book. That is a heavy concern for me as that means all balancing will be on me and I don't always trust myself even if my players have never had any complaints about the fun of the game. Now it may all be worrying for naught but I would still have liked SOME guidelines for magic whether it be making it easier or making it harder. I will say there was a complaint in the reddit post about not having rules to reduce difficulty of a spell by giving it penalties, but I figure you can always add a "slow firing" or even "Prepare" trait and lower difficulty by 1 and that would just be my ruling on most cases like that. Like if some one wanted to make a super powerful spell and spend like an hour to cast it I would allow him to basically get 5 things added (including range and other attributes) but have "prepare 5" on it to reward players who set up "traps" and the like with their spell casters, but that is of course setting dependent.

Tunewalker, you have the GM curse. You want everything to work and not be taken advantage of. I get it! I have been GMing for 40+ years and I still feel this way from time to time. It's the "I want everything right syndrome"! You have it going if your players are having fun, that is the key.

Genesys is the canvas, your imagination is the paint brush to place "your" colors upon it and this community is the easel for support. The great thing about a community like this is we share our knowledge and experiences. Fun is the key, so make this game what you and your group enjoy the most out of gaming sessions.

16 hours ago, Sturn said:

I'm glad to hear this. I would not want a set system of say, a basic Mana pool to cast spells that is hard to change without scrapping it and starting out with an entire new system.

My understanding is that the magic system is based on Strain cost, so it sounds very similar to a set mana pool system.

4 hours ago, DarthDude said:

Are there any sources in the internet providing overviews to those settings? Especially interested in Tannhauser as I have a very soft spot for Hellboy and the like.

1. Fantasy = Runebound
2. Steampunk = Sovereigns of Steam - New Setting
3. Weird war = Tannhauser
4. Science Fiction = Android
5. Space Opera = Twilight Imperium

1 hour ago, CitizenKeen said:

1. Fantasy = Runebound
2. Steampunk = Sovereigns of Steam - New Setting
3. Weird war = Tannhauser
4. Science Fiction = Android
5. Space Opera = Twilight Imperium

Thank you very much :)

I don't know about all of you, but the artwork in Genesys is AWESOME!!! :D

I really like how they adapted the artwork to fit the different settings in the book too.

It's the little things, but the white-on-green text in the SWRPG line was always hard for me to read. I am having zero problems with any of the dressing in this book.

Speaking of the dressings, the fact that it looks like a technical manual is pretty cool!

We've got the first part of our review here , covering Parts I and II. Aaron will be covering Part III on Wednesday.

Short version: the changes they've made to the basic core mechanics of the system are generally pretty good, particularly the Talent Pyramid and the lower characteristic cap, and while Aaron will be the one doing the deep dive on the toolkit portion so far it looks like it's fitting decently well into that middle ground of universal games between, say, Fate and GURPS.

Part II: Settings is by far the weakest section, in that they're more jumping-off points for making your own setting than something that can function on their own. They're useful jumping-off points, but the name of the Part is a little misleading, and maybe it would've been better to have fewer examples that had more depth.

1 hour ago, Cannibal Halfling said:

it's fitting decently well into that middle ground of universal games between, say, Fate and GURPS.

This is an astute observation and exactly where I was hoping it would fit. Just enough crunch to add some texture, but not enough to cut one's mouth.

Midway between F and G ( a new letter of the alphabet?!) is where I want to aim, too.

In terms of your review @Cannibal Halfling , I think perhaps you were expecting too much in the settings. What we seem to have got (my book arrives next week...) is pretty much exactly what I was expecting in terms of breadth vs depth, and is a pretty good start point for a generic system. You would get less in most other books, in my experience. The approach in Cypher System seems comparable, and I thought that was a good and modern handling of the topic. Savage Worlds has almost nothing on this, one page on types of campaign and three on building a campaign world. GURPS has more pages (25+), but to be honest they address a whole bunch of stuff like defining the economy which is interesting to some people, I’m sure, but not useful in games I have run.

The alternative is creating a bunch of stuff that many people wouldn’t use, increasing cost and delaying release for no real benefit. I think FFG’s approach is a good one for a generic system that is intended to be flexible and more ‘playable’ as opposed to a ‘hard simulation’.

Can we finally divide all the XP costs/award by 5 now?

2 hours ago, dbm_ said:

I think FFG’s approach is a good one for a generic system that is intended to be flexible and more ‘playable’ as opposed to a ‘hard simulation’.

And the way it's described, any actual setting examples they provide are one big teaser trailer for the splatbooks they've announced are coming.

I was a little disappointed that you can only increase an attribute one through dedication

I was hoping for a polymorphism spell,

I love how magic can go horribly wrong with comical effects, but unfortunately magic rings are the only way to upgrade your own difficulty.

I'd like to play a sort of reckless somewhat immature mage who got kicked out of wizards school because he played one magical prank too many (like turning the headmaster into a low int high presence nymph for an evening and leaving "her" at a fraternity party)

24 minutes ago, EliasWindrider said:

(like turning the headmaster into a low int high presence nymph for an evening and leaving "her" at a fraternity party)

I reckon I'd have a ಠ_ಠ for that.

1 hour ago, themensch said:

I reckon I'd have a ಠ_ಠ for that.

Half the prank would be against the person whose bed the headmaster (no longer a nymph) woke up in the next morning... it should definitely be cause to get the youngish character expelled "totally worth it though to see the expression on their faces the next morning when I was scrying on them, besides if overcoming the headmaster's wards were that easy, they obviously didn't have anything left to teach me" and having a reason to be adventuring at such a young age (probably 16, he would have been the youngest to graduate from the school and would have been valedictorian if he hadn't gotten expelled). I was thinking starting as an int 4 cunnin 3, presence 3 intellectual.

Edit: Think Tony stark as an even more immature teenage mage in a high fantasy world and you'll have the essence of the character.

Edited by EliasWindrider

So, question for those of you who have the book. When Magic has a consequences list for when you roll threat and despairs, does this mean the magic dice pools are modified by adversaries? I wasn't sure how we were ever going to possibly roll 2 Despairs and turn into frogs unless that was the case, just want to confirm that the rules state magic effects are still modified by outside sources and the environment.

26 minutes ago, GroggyGolem said:

So, question for those of you who have the book. When Magic has a consequences list for when you roll threat and despairs, does this mean the magic dice pools are modified by adversaries? I wasn't sure how we were ever going to possibly roll 2 Despairs and turn into frogs unless that was the case, just want to confirm that the rules state magic effects are still modified by outside sources and the environment.

A magic ring will upgrade the difficulty too

1 hour ago, GroggyGolem said:

So, question for those of you who have the book. When Magic has a consequences list for when you roll threat and despairs, does this mean the magic dice pools are modified by adversaries? I wasn't sure how we were ever going to possibly roll 2 Despairs and turn into frogs unless that was the case, just want to confirm that the rules state magic effects are still modified by outside sources and the environment.

You're making a check so the pools are modified by whatever you are making the check for based on use. So just like combat, if you target an opponent and it has adversary or whatever you're going to have Difficulty upgrades. Using SPs as well obviously. The negative results are pretty harsh also.

Edited by 2P51