Just purchased due to the update (since it bumped up the “Most Recent” list, and I’m too much a sucker for combat sports games to pass it up), and had an idea I wanted to share on the Discord, but the link expired - care to provide a fresh link?
EDIT - Found a still-working Discord invite - leaving here for anybody else who want a to join: https://discord.gg/86KBhESDwu
Just put the cash money down for “Society Mole” Tier. And as much as I like what I’ve previewed, I have a few ideas (mostly based on me trying to make Hand-to-Hand Melee builds, and none of the current Brands quite scratching that itch).
The first idea is a new Brand - The Tiger. Basically, the premise is that Tigers are the combat (particularly melee-combat)-focused class (based on Tony’s “Only Punches” gimmick from Hotline Miami 2, and to a lesser extent “tiger”-themed fighters from video games).
The lore I’m thinking of is that Tigers are - or perhaps “were” (depending on how the final take goes) - the disciples of The Society’s martial artist training program. How they got there depends - some were Foxes who “won” a game involving hand-to-hand combat (or other Animals who preferred melee combat, and were recognized by The Society for it), and “promoted” to the Tigers. Others were New Bloods who preferred to be “hands-on” on their Burn, and were shuffled to the Tiger program as their next step. No matter the path, the journey would lead to a brutally Spartan training regimen, that would kill most of the Tigers by deprivation or death matches, and drive most who survive mad with pain and grief. Those who lived long enough to escape to a Prey No More are brutal fighters, even compared to other Animals.
This then ties into my second idea, for another subfaction of The Society - The Draconic Order. Sometimes nicknamed “Redcloaks”, these feudalistic throwbacks literally Get Medieval On Your Ass - decked head-to-toe in plate- or chainmail armor, and trying to bisect you with a Zweihander, or bash your brains with a Morningstar. They are the ruthless “masters” of the Tigers (with those who “graduate” to the Dragon ranks ritualistically peeling and eating the chunk of flesh where their Tiger brand was burned), but the exact history between the two is shrouded in mystery. Some say that The Tigers used to be the leaders until a Dragon challenged and slew the Tiger Master, and enslaved their disciples under the prize. Others say that the Tiger and Dragon used to be co-rulers of The Society’s martial arts, until the Tiger Master betrayed The Society, damning their pupils with eternal punishment.
To say the Tigers and Dragons DESPISE each other is an understatement, and that goes triple for “Wild” Tigers who have joined Prey No More.
One last idea, based on the current Beta listing “Boxer” twice on the list of previous backgrounds. I’d swap it one of them out with either “Martial Artist” or “MMA Fighter”, thereby keeping three “fighter” backgrounds, and making them all distinct enough so that players can find different utilities from all three.
I was going through the rules, and I’ve already found an issue with character creation.
For Themes, it’s said that each is ranked 0 to 5. However, unlike Traits (which lists 10 points can be distributed, with each having a “starting cap” of 3), Themes don’t have a number of points to distribute.
Does this mean each Outlaw starts out with 0 in every Theme (and has to level up during play), or is there a process of spreading points across Themes that isn’t in the book?
Hey! Just snagged a community copy of the sequel, and looked this up on the backlog. For full disclosure, I’m not trans, but I’m a sucker for fighting game/beat-em-up flavored RPGs, so I may buy outright when I check over the rules, get a feel for the system, and have a bit more money.
Currently, I have a couple of questions:
1) Is there anything in TDL 1 that’s not in TDL 2? I definitely see there’s photograph cosplay visuals in the second one, but are there any substantial rule changes or characters/scenarios that makes the first different?
2) What’s the “something exclusive”, and what price point is it? Shoot me a DM if you can’t answer in the public comments.
