PDA

View Full Version : "Over the top? Not nearly enough!!!"



Dante & Vergil
2010-09-14, 08:07 PM
Now I'm back again to ask what system is the most over the top?

The-Mage-King
2010-09-14, 08:30 PM
Anything that's been exposed to me, or that I've had access multiple splat books.

Or Anime d20 (http://www.faterpg.com/dl/animed20srd.pdf) with a high point buy. That works.

Knaight
2010-09-14, 08:33 PM
Exhalted, though Nobilis outmatches it in sheer ridiculous, power. There's a tone difference that gives Exhalted enough of an advantage to win the Over The Top contest against the contenders so far.

SurlySeraph
2010-09-14, 08:39 PM
Exalted has dinosaurs that piss heroin, ancient magitek mecha piloted by gods, reality-warping celestial ninjas who can punch you so hard that you turn into a duck, and everyone has names like The Unconquered Sun. Typical starting-level quests are conquering a nation. High-level opponents include the ghosts of dead gods who can slay you with a single thought - but you can beat them, because you can dodge. You can dodge their thoughts.

And that's before getting into the really cool stuff.

Knaight
2010-09-14, 08:44 PM
That would be said tone advantage. Its also why I don't play it, but I digress.

Urpriest
2010-09-14, 08:49 PM
Also, Exalted 2nd ed has social combat. Want to convince someone of something? Watch as they "parry" your remarks or "dodge" your implications! Use up your Willpower on winning arguments about pizza, then watch as someone convinces you to buy them the moon. It's great fun.

And yeah, check out the Exalted name generator. Some fun fun stuff comes out of that.

Esser-Z
2010-09-14, 09:01 PM
You could probably go pretty far with Mutants and Masterminds in Infinite Points Mode!

Kurald Galain
2010-09-15, 03:52 AM
Exalted, hands down.

Although depending on your DM, Amber DRP and Torg may come close, and possibly even Paranoia. Basically, any RPG that actually runs on the Rule Of Cool may qualify (there are also some RPGs that pretend to run on this rule but actually don't).

Then, for a slightly different meaning of "over the top", there's FATAL...

Psyx
2010-09-15, 04:44 AM
Rifts
Amber
Exalted
Toon
Nobilis
Fend Shui

Heliomance
2010-09-15, 04:56 AM
No votes for Scion?

Amphetryon
2010-09-15, 05:05 AM
Spawn of Fashan.

Greenish
2010-09-15, 05:10 AM
This "Amber" you speak of, it wouldn't happen to be related to the works of Roger Zelazny?

Kurald Galain
2010-09-15, 05:21 AM
This "Amber" you speak of, it wouldn't happen to be related to the works of Roger Zelazny?

The very same.

Still a contender for the best fantasy series ever, I'd say. The RPG is unique in that it's diceless, and that you can essentially shadow walk to obtain whatever resources or allies you need at the time (but then, so can your opponents).

Greenish
2010-09-15, 05:33 AM
The RPG is unique in that it's diceless, and that you can essentially shadow walk to obtain whatever resources or allies you need at the time (but then, so can your opponents).Ah, that sounds very loyal to the books. I've only read the 'first series', the ones narrated by Corwin, but I hear there are more. Once I have the time energy and money, I'll have to track 'em down.

[Edit]: Not to mention finding the RPG and a group for it. Eh, I should just drop out of school.

Kurald Galain
2010-09-15, 06:07 AM
Ah, that sounds very loyal to the books. I've only read the 'first series', the ones narrated by Corwin, but I hear there are more.

Yes. Five more books about Merlin; a handful of short tales that form the basis for Book Eleven which unfortunately never got finished because Roger Zelazny died; and a really really bad prequel series written by somebody else, that no fan would consider canonical.

Snake-Aes
2010-09-15, 07:02 AM
Exalted has dinosaurs that piss heroin, ancient magitek mecha piloted by gods, reality-warping celestial ninjas who can punch you so hard that you turn into a duck, and everyone has names like The Unconquered Sun. Typical starting-level quests are conquering a nation. High-level opponents include the ghosts of dead gods who can slay you with a single thought - but you can beat them, because you can dodge. You can dodge their thoughts.

And that's before getting into the really cool stuff.

Don't forget the Mexican mummy sorcerer wielding soul-encrusted chainsaw katars.
And the fact the system encourages you do to awesome stuff because the more awesome it is, the better your odds at succeeding (<3 stunts)

TricksyAndFalse
2010-09-15, 07:21 AM
Exhalted, though Nobilis outmatches it in sheer ridiculous, power. There's a tone difference that gives Exhalted enough of an advantage to win the Over The Top contest against the contenders so far.

Why are you saying it that way? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9u-yx53YRI)

panaikhan
2010-09-15, 07:30 AM
I like the Palladium series of games, but agree that Rifts(tm) is pretty out there.
Any game where a first-level character can take a multi-warhead nuke to the teeth while he's asleep and without breaking a sweat gets my vote.

kestrel404
2010-09-15, 11:25 AM
Warhammer, all versions. Especially if the Orks are involved.

+1 votes for Exalted.

Earthdawn, when played right (It's a post-apocalyptic high-fantasy horror adventure game geared towards drama and epic battles - so it was basically Exalted before Exalted came out)

Gametime
2010-09-15, 12:13 PM
The very same.

Still a contender for the best fantasy series ever, I'd say. The RPG is unique in that it's diceless, and that you can essentially shadow walk to obtain whatever resources or allies you need at the time (but then, so can your opponents).

I just bought the Great Book of Amber yesterday, having not read the books since my childhood, and this sounds incredibly interesting. Probably not a game that would actually engage my group, but worth tracking down just to see what they did with it.



Then, for a slightly different meaning of "over the top", there's FATAL...

I think "under the bottom" really describes the phenomenon that is FATAL better. No pun intended.

Psyx
2010-09-15, 12:16 PM
"There's a tone difference that gives Exhalted enough of an advantage to win the Over The Top contest against the contenders so far."

Sorry, but Rifts has still got it for me. I appreciate that Exalted is completely mental, but Rifts is like Exalted on PCP. With nukes.


Warhammer? The RPG?! It's a decidedly gritty low fantasy system. I don't really see what's OTT about it at all. Unless you mean the wargame... which doesn't really count... because if it does then Battlefleet Gothic, Adeptus Titanicus and every Corps-level wargame out there really ace it in the awesome firepower stakes.

BRC
2010-09-15, 12:18 PM
Paranoia is so over the top that-*terminated*
*New clone arrives*
Yeah, it's one of the most over the top games I've ever played. It's not as generic as some of the other games here, but *terminated*
*next clone arrives*
Sorry, I had to kill him before he bad-mouthed Paranoia, and by extension, our friend the computer *Terminated*
Sorry, he failed to capitalize Friend Computer. Also, he was probably a commie mutant traitor.

Kyeudo
2010-09-15, 12:27 PM
Now I'm back again to ask what system is the most over the top?

As everyone has already said, Exalted. Heroic Mortals in the setting do stuff out of Devil May Cry. Heroic Mortals on Exalted's power scale rank slightly above wet tissue paper.

Drascin
2010-09-15, 01:02 PM
As everyone has already said, Exalted. Heroic Mortals in the setting do stuff out of Devil May Cry. Heroic Mortals on Exalted's power scale rank slightly above wet tissue paper.

Well, except the surviving being impaled thing Dante keeps insisting in. Characters in Exalted are rather made of glass, and any turn you decide to use something other than a perfect defense, is a turn you're risking being obliterated off the face of the universe (no resurrection, do not pass go, do not collect 200 obols) by anyone in your same Essence level :smalltongue:.

Kurald Galain
2010-09-15, 01:19 PM
Paranoia is so over the top that-*terminated*
*New clone arrives*
Yeah, it's one of the most over the top games I've ever played. It's not as generic as some of the other games here, but *terminated*
*next clone arrives*
Sorry, I had to kill him before he bad-mouthed Paranoia, and by extension, our friend the computer *Terminated*
Sorry, he failed to capitalize Friend Computer. Also, he was probably a commie mutant traitor.

Are you implying that Paranoia is not Fun, citizen?

BRC
2010-09-15, 01:20 PM
Are you implying that Paranoia is not Fun, citizen?
No, He was *Points to previous clone of self*, so I had to terminate him.

Kyeudo
2010-09-15, 02:32 PM
Well, except the surviving being impaled thing Dante keeps insisting in. Characters in Exalted are rather made of glass, and any turn you decide to use something other than a perfect defense, is a turn you're risking being obliterated off the face of the universe (no resurrection, do not pass go, do not collect 200 obols) by anyone in your same Essence level :smalltongue:.

True, but Dante in Exalted would be an Infernal and I'm sure you can find a Charm to do that somewhere.

And the perfect defense spamming isn't as prevelent as some make it out to be. That only happens in the hard fights (Celestial Exalts or similar). Anything else, you can skate by on a Melee Excellency.

Knaight
2010-09-15, 04:48 PM
"There's a tone difference that gives Exhalted enough of an advantage to win the Over The Top contest against the contenders so far."

Sorry, but Rifts has still got it for me. I appreciate that Exalted is completely mental, but Rifts is like Exalted on PCP. With nukes.


Rifts was introduced after that statement, and may well top Exalted. Synibarr may well do the same.

Cubey
2010-09-15, 04:57 PM
And the perfect defense spamming isn't as prevelent as some make it out to be. That only happens in the hard fights (Celestial Exalts or similar). Anything else, you can skate by on a Melee Excellency.

Speaking of other things that aren't as prevalent in Exalted as people make it seem to be:

Heroin dinosaurs. It's an extremely minor element of the game, and the animals dwell only in a single location that has barely anything interesting other than them, so high chances are players will never, ever see them. And yet, everyone mentions it like if Exalted was Pissing Heroin the RPG. It isn't. That and other similar descriptions make it look like some underaged kid's Rule-of-Cool-gone-bad fantasy setting. T-rexes in F16s, indeed.

While the actual Exalted is more like if Greek mythology, Sanskrit epics and Journey to the West impacted each other at terminal velocity. Still incredibly epic and over the top (if played correctly), but in a more mature way.

Sorry about ranting. But judging from reactions of a few people in this thread, some got the wrong idea about the setting which I needed to correct.

Drascin
2010-09-15, 05:14 PM
True, but Dante in Exalted would be an Infernal and I'm sure you can find a Charm to do that somewhere.

And the perfect defense spamming isn't as prevelent as some make it out to be. That only happens in the hard fights (Celestial Exalts or similar). Anything else, you can skate by on a Melee Excellency.

Eh, an Infernal is equally made of glass, unless he stays on the defensive with the Charm ready, in which case, he's not using those cool twister sword moves and such. The whole "everything cool needs a Charm, and Charms are at a huge premium" business is my main beef with Exalted's otherwise fine game.

(Also, not just Celestials - at starting level, a starting Dragonblood can give you a a nice new ventilation system pretty fast, actually, if you try to go for any of your fancy charms. Why do Terrestrials always get so maligned? :smalltongue:)

Really, Exalted seems to have pretty over the top in individual elements, but doesn't really get all that out of hand in actual gameplay, and most of the descriptions are really rather exaggerated - it's rather over-the-top, yes, but I've played a little bit and read a bit on actual campaigns, and it's not quite the "Universe-Kicking: The RPG" that seems to be touted around. Besides, I'd put a M&M level 12 character a couple orders of magnitude in terms of general ability above most Essence <5 Exalts - the ability to retune your powers on the fly according to necessity instead of being reduced to When All You Have Is A Hammer is neat :smalltongue:.

EDIT: Ninja'd by Cubey on the last bit.

Dante & Vergil
2010-09-15, 06:44 PM
Exalted, hands down.

Although depending on your DM, Amber DRP and Torg may come close, and possibly even Paranoia. Basically, any RPG that actually runs on the Rule Of Cool may qualify (there are also some RPGs that pretend to run on this rule but actually don't).

What games run by "rule of cool", other than Exalted? Any of them already mentioned?


Then, for a slightly different meaning of "over the top", there's FATAL...

No, never. Never played it and know little of it, but I know enough to stay away from it. Stuff that this http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s78/Anubis89_2007/th_wha.png (http://s149.photobucket.com/albums/s78/Anubis89_2007/?action=view&current=wha.png) describes or "rule of cool" is pretty much it.

Heliomance
2010-09-15, 06:47 PM
What games run by "rule of cool", other than Exalted? Any of them already mentioned?
it.

TTGL d20.

Okay, this doesn't actually exist, but if it did there would be a way to roll 30 on your d20.

Urpriest
2010-09-15, 06:51 PM
Doesn't Risus basically work on rule of cool? Or rule of cliche anyway?

Gametime
2010-09-15, 10:10 PM
TTGL d20.

Okay, this doesn't actually exist, but if it did there would be a way to roll 30 on your d20.

Since Gurren Lagann is basically Evangelion but with all the angst replaced with MIND BLOWING AWESOME, and Bliss Stage is basically Evangelion: The RPG, there's probably some way to reverse engineer Bliss Stage into GURREN LAGANN: JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK THIS GAME IS?

As a general rule of thumb, every time you're about to blow up from love, yell "GRIT THOSE TEEEEETH!" and punch someone in the face.

Knaight
2010-09-15, 11:05 PM
Since Gurren Lagann is basically Evangelion but with all the angst replaced with MIND BLOWING AWESOME, and Bliss Stage is basically Evangelion: The RPG, there's probably some way to reverse engineer Bliss Stage into GURREN LAGANN: JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK THIS GAME IS?

As a general rule of thumb, every time you're about to blow up from love, yell "GRIT THOSE TEEEEETH!" and punch someone in the face.

Except for Bliss Stage being incredibly, incredibly dark and creepy. Its doable, to be certain, but it doesn't seem the best system. Now, Mecha Aces, that could do wonders.

Arbane
2010-09-15, 11:10 PM
What games run by "rule of cool", other than Exalted? Any of them already mentioned?

Feng Shui's usually pretty good about keeping it cool, being based on Hong Kong action movies and all.

Psyx
2010-09-16, 05:09 AM
^And there are a couple of other HK action film games out there that have a similar ethos. And Wu Shu, of course.

Toon is VERY silly. Moreso than Teenagers from outer space.

Gametime
2010-09-16, 11:21 AM
Except for Bliss Stage being incredibly, incredibly dark and creepy. Its doable, to be certain, but it doesn't seem the best system. Now, Mecha Aces, that could do wonders.

Yeah, but what's a reconstruction without the ruins of the deconstruction it's building on?

SurlySeraph
2010-09-16, 12:23 PM
Speaking of other things that aren't as prevalent in Exalted as people make it seem to be:

Heroin dinosaurs. It's an extremely minor element of the game, and the animals dwell only in a single location that has barely anything interesting other than them, so high chances are players will never, ever see them. And yet, everyone mentions it like if Exalted was Pissing Heroin the RPG. It isn't. That and other similar descriptions make it look like some underaged kid's Rule-of-Cool-gone-bad fantasy setting. T-rexes in F16s, indeed.

While the actual Exalted is more like if Greek mythology, Sanskrit epics and Journey to the West impacted each other at terminal velocity. Still incredibly epic and over the top (if played correctly), but in a more mature way.

Sorry about ranting. But judging from reactions of a few people in this thread, some got the wrong idea about the setting which I needed to correct.

True, but the Beasts Of Resplendent Liquid are so bizarre and memorable that it's hard not to mention them. Same with Warstriders, Alchemicals and most of the non-typical-mythology-sounding elements. Legitimately important points like the number of powerful beings that PCs are unlikely to be able to outcompete, the rampant distrust and/or hatred the different castes have for each other, the thorough horribleness of life for mortals, and the assorted heroic flaws resulting from the Great Curse are the kind of things you bring up once you've hooked people in to the setting.