| Welcome to Pokemon Tabletop. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
| Could use some advice for how to handle Pokemon in my setting | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 15 2017, 03:08 PM (786 Views) | |
| OniLink64 | Jan 15 2017, 03:08 PM Post #1 |
|
Pokémon Trainer
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
So I am currently creating a setting to run some of my IRL friends through and I could use some help working out how exactly I should treat Pokemon. The Illumia Region is a very dangerous place where humanity is limited to relatively small towns and cities that have walls and automated defenses on them to keep the citizenry safe from the monsters lurking beyond. Trainers in this setting are similar to the concept of mercenary knights. They take on jobs to protect the people and are paid for it, but are trained by the local governments to be able to handle Pokemon. Aura is a major factor in my setting and what sets a trainer apart from a regular person. It's the justification for why a trainer can theoretically tank a hyper beam, but a hyper beam can still take down a building. By utilizing aura and charging a Pokeball with it the trainer can make a link with a Pokemon they are trying to catch by binding a bit of their souls together. My question is how should I have wild Pokemon act vs trained Pokemon given the setting? Wild Pokemon need to be dangerous enough to warrant the level of caution and training, but trained Pokemon need to be something that my players can still bond with. Any suggestions? |
![]() |
|
| Professor Scamander | Jan 15 2017, 03:29 PM Post #2 |
![]()
Pokémon Trainer
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
This sounds like something of a mix between RWBY and Beet the Vandel Buster. In any case, just use Aura. The charged Aura inside the Pokeball is attuned to the trainer who used it. Being held inside what is effectively a sea of their trainer's aura, a Pokemon's aura/spirit/mind/emotions to the trainer's aura, which over time makes it more and more loyal and domesticated. Also explains why a rando nontrainer can't just put a chain on a rattata and start giving it commands. This can either have an immediate effect (for relatively loyal pokemon right away) or you could say that traienrs have to work with them a bit to get them out of the wild 'kill everyone' stage as they gradually become saturated by the aura of their trainer. Hell, you could even go so far as saying the Pokemon gradually take on their owner's personality. Edited by Professor Scamander, Jan 15 2017, 03:30 PM.
|
![]() |
|
| Inksword | Jan 15 2017, 03:32 PM Post #3 |
|
Pokémon Trainer
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Well, if they're binding parts of their souls together when they capture the pokemon, why not say that once captured, the trainer's influence gives the pokemon greater intelligence and compassion, aligning them slightly to the trainer's values? Wild pokemon can still just be animals, but once bound by a pokeball to a human soul, they can understand speech and morality and make more intelligent descisions. You can leave it at that, though it might be interesting if you include that the trianers themselves also have the same effect happen in reverse. High level trainers can tank those hyper beam and have cat-like reflexes because they're soul linked to tanks and cats. There's a reason why water trainers tend to swim a lot and electric trainers hang around power plants and technology, they gain the same affinities as the pokemon and it becomes overt if they're all the same type. Could also encourage your players not to go overboard on catching pokemon they don't use as you can rule the more pokemon you have the more feral you are, and that aura also assists in fighting back the wild urges having a pokemon's soul connected to yours is. A every day person catching a pokemon would drive them mad and/or feral but trainers can withstand the soul strain. |
![]() |
|
| OniLink64 | Jan 15 2017, 04:02 PM Post #4 |
|
Pokémon Trainer
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I will admit that the application of Aura is definitely inspired by RWBY. I'm not familiar with Beet the Vandel Buster though. I'm thinking that I am going to make it so that my players will have to work a little bit to get a Pokemon to be loyal to them. If they have a high enough command skill they will listen to orders easier at lower loyalties than otherwise, but they should have to work for it. It also has occurred to me that it should probably be frowned on for Pokemon to be out of their balls in cities because citizens would most likely be terrified of them. EDIT: Though speaking of the general populace being afraid of Pokemon. Since regular animals would have a... hard time to say the least competing with Pokemon for survival out in the wild that would mean that there wouldn't really be any regular animals in this setting, which means by extension people would have to eat Pokemon. Should there be species of domesticated Pokemon to serve this purpose? Edited by OniLink64, Jan 15 2017, 07:23 PM.
|
![]() |
|
| Goliathus | Jan 15 2017, 05:02 PM Post #5 |
|
Pokémon Trainer
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I personally see two ways of approaching this: 1. Like others said, make up some fluff that explain how Pokemon and the trainer bond together, become domesticated and so on. 2. Homebrew some mechanism on the whole "taming" process. Maybe every captured Pokemon start with loyalty 1 and only after X amount of daily training(so it will take a couple sessions, assuming a session only has 1-2 in-game days) that they can be domesticated into a typical loyalty 2 Pokemon. The number of X can be reduced by high Command or being in some classes like Mentor. Or instead of "X amount of daily training", have an "EXP to tame". Rarer, higher leveled Pokemon will have a larger "EXP to tame" value. Before hitting that EXP capstone, the Pokemon will not follow all command willingly and so on. Following RAW, that would be a Command check to follow command but given your setting, I think you can make up more rules and be slightly harsher than that. Edited by Goliathus, Jan 15 2017, 05:08 PM.
|
![]() |
|
| OniLink64 | Jan 16 2017, 01:35 AM Post #6 |
|
Pokémon Trainer
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Would trainers be driven feral be more of a mechanical thing or a more fluffy type of thing? I have to say I really like the concept, just not 100% sure how I would implement it. |
![]() |
|
| l33tmaan | Jan 16 2017, 12:46 PM Post #7 |
|
Pokémon Trainer
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
If they have a full party of pokemon, they attain an insatiable craving for flesh... depending on what their party is, obviously. Your Bug or Dragon Ace is going to be far more feral than the guy with a bunch of plants and fairies on his team. Spoiler: click to toggle
|
![]() |
|
| Inksword | Jan 16 2017, 12:52 PM Post #8 |
|
Pokémon Trainer
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
You can go either way honestly. It's probably easiest to handle as fluff, though you'd need players who were on board and willing to roleplay it and not try to skirt around it because they're too lazy to take it into account or want to have a million pokemon but don't want the consequences. I can give a shot at a kind of system. You could do a point system, where 1 pokemon = 1 feral point or something, and then maybe if one of your players decides to pull a classic trainer move and catch that big bad boss monster you designed it's worth 3 points. Maybe use it sort of like a sanity meter gets used in a lot of games? Decide exactly how your trainer is going feral and maybe some things that trigger it. Then, when they're faced with the trigger, roll a 1d20 and if they roll UNDER the amount of feral points they have their feral side is activated? For example, player decides that their trainer is turning feral by becoming possessive of food and always hungry. They have 8 pokemon. After a long trek the party's running low on supplies and they haven't eaten in a while, suddenly they stumble upon some other trainer's camp, and they happen to have a big pot of yummy stew on the fire. Food when he's hungry is the trainer's trigger for his feral effect, so he rolls 1d20. If he rolls a 14, he's cool, he can handle it and act politely and approach as a person. But say he rolls a 5. 5 is less than 8 (the number of pokemon aka the number of feral points he has) so he rushes over and begins gobbling the stew down, and will fight anyone who tries to part him with it. Maybe you could get a bonus equal to your focus ranks or something too. Rolling a 1d20, that means with just a party of 6 you have just over a 1 in 4 chance of triggering a feral moment. You may want to up the die if you want a more classic pokemon experience where they can have a solid team in the box back home. 1d100 might be too much, if you're doing it on the computer you can have the computer roll weird dice like 1d50 or 1d75 to tweak this as you'd like. This also opens up the ability for you to create interesting magical items that help reduce feral points, or perhaps ones that give a really nice effect or bonus, but increase your feral pool while equipped. |
![]() |
|
| The Black Glove | Jan 16 2017, 02:04 PM Post #9 |
|
A Man Of Heart
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I like the idea of a feral-ness mechanic, or of Pokemon influencing the trainer through the link, but I don't know if having a save check is the best plan of attack. At the very least, the things that should trigger saves should be the same across all party members, and the effects should also be the same as well for the sake of fairness. Mechanically speaking, whatever they do shouldn't force a player to act a certain way in roleplay or cause a player to lose control of their character because that's just no fun. On the idea of Pokemon triggering the save, you could set it up so that it only effects Pokemon in the user's party, and unconscious Pokemon don't raise the DC; you have a save of 6 at a full party, and a save of 1 at one Pokemon. If you want to raise the danger, count every Pokemon as +2 to the save DC, meaning you have to make save checks at a DC of 12 with a full party. |
![]() |
|
| Kajhera | Jan 16 2017, 02:33 PM Post #10 |
|
Pokémon Trainer
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Plants and fairies... like Victreebel and Mawile... Edited by Kajhera, Jan 16 2017, 02:34 PM.
|
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Pokemon: Tabletop United · Next Topic » |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
| Track Topic · E-mail Topic |
5:23 PM Jul 10
|
Pokéball created by Sarah & Delirium of the ZNR





![]](http://z4.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)





5:23 PM Jul 10