Gotta Catch 'Em All!: Pokemon Tabletop Adventures

Since we don't have a thread for it...

Pokemon Tabletop Adventures (hereafter shortened to PTA) is a fan-made project by some members of /tg/. It is still going through Beta updates, but is definitely an interesting idea.

Any thoughts or interest in this particular project?

......I don't know yet just how this is supposed to work, but I LIKE this idea! I better download the beta and see if I can get some friends in on this.

Thanks for the link. I downloaded it, will check it out later for commentary.

I want to mention that the Anime RPG BESM put out a sourcebook specifically for playing Pokemon-like Campaigns ("Cute And Fuzzy Seizure Monsters") but obviously without any official Pokemon material. I have a copy but never did anything with it (I bought it around the last days of my P&P playing days.)

Also, the Third Edition of BESM (available for download online) also had a Character Template for monster-using kids.

edited 17th Sep '11 5:43:07 AM by Sijo

I just read through the GM guide and Player's Handbook. While I can see that the whole thing will involve a whole lot of numbers, it is still simply too cool for words. I was having a huge nerdgasm.

I'm going to try and recruit a few friends to get in on it. As I see it, having four players would get messy, three players would be ideal, two players good enough and one player would do in a pinch.

I just happen to know three guys that are either interested in Tabletop roleplay, Pokémon or both. Yay!

Since I just started university, I'm going to see if I can't find a small roleplaying group to play this with, as I have tried to start it online numerous times to no success (all have been Pb P which meant that we took a month to get to the second town (Cherrygrove equivalent))... Maybe a Skype one could work...

So what would be your favourite Trainer build? I'm a fan of Breeder/Medic/Move Tutor (I preferred when they called them Pushers in the earlier Betas...) as well as Researcher/Petrologist/Rune Master (because Petrologist can throw Devolution Stones with a slingshot and Rune Master can do the most insane stuff!)

A friend I showed this to who expressed mild interest had this to say: "Wait... So I can Ice Punch a Dragonite in the face while doing a backflip? That's insanely cool and it makes no sense."

If you ever get it underway, I'd love to see a liveblog of it.

edited 17th Sep '11 9:35:08 AM by EviIPaladin

Wow, now THAT is a summary for most Martial Artist builds. I am more a fan of Breeders, though. I remember playing pokemon White, and ending up with about 20 Panpour in order to get one knows Nasty Plot. After that, I managed to trade almost all of them away for mons that I wanted. When a friend asked why I look like a breeder on the WTC, I told him this and said "F*ck yeah, I'm a breeder!".

I'd probably go with a Breeder/Ace Trainer/Evolver: Combining the ability to raise incredibly strong pokemon with the ability to guide them to victory!

Such a shame that I'll probably end up as GM, though. I like playing way more then G Ming. (mostly because I suck at G Ming)

edited 17th Sep '11 11:28:46 AM by Kayeka

I probably won't run Medic anymore, since all of its abilities are banned for Official League Matches, which takes away the main reason I wanted to run it.

Rune Master is still the coolest class in my opinion just because you can teleport, cause EVERY SINGLE STATUS EFFECT AT ONCE, and send an opponent into a pocket dimension if they piss you off. Although my favourite antagonist build would be Mystic(Psychic)/Body Snatcher(Influential)/Influential (Body Snatcher); you possess people and control their thoughts. That is Complete Monster Big Bad territory right there.

Yeah, many classes feel like they make better NP Cs then P Cs. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but it tends to make things complicated when players want to play such a class.

Every DM knows that having a PC that can control the minds of those around him causes nothing but headaches. For the DM, that is. But having one as an NPC makes for some cool plots.

Also, one can only suffer from three different status effects at once.

Just downloaded it, can't wait to start reading. Sadly I have work to do for college -_-

Huh. Guess they changed that from the earlier Betas... Oh well...

As for mind-controlling P Cs, that is why it takes up health. Also, higher ranked NP Cs will be packing Voltorb Flip in my games, just to stop them from doing this constantly. Lower levels? Fair game. As long as it is interesting...

Ah, yes, Voltorb Flip. I already know what will happen when they try that trick on an Alakazam.

"The game you are thinking of is starting to rapidly solve itself. After getting a perfect win, the image disappears, and your thoughts lay bare".

Never play tricks on a mon with a brain like a super computer.

Yeah, I hate Voltorb Flip- the game, not the Feature. If I were a GM I'd allow players to replace it with something else that could replicate the in-game effect, if they wanted.

Also this sounds really fun. Thank goodness.

Well, now I have read absolutely everything that I need to know about the rules. And goddang, is this going to involve a whoooooooooole lot of numbers. And having that many different attacks and abilities won't help matters much either.

I better tell my players to jot down everything they know about their mons, or there will be a lot of looking-up to be done every single time they try something.

Maybe I should get them to chip in for printer ink and paper, so we can print the books for easy reference.

Finished reading the Player's Handbook and I've got to say: ...Whoa! I've seen other fan-made RPGs and this one stands out, it's so well-written and researched (and illustrated!) it's almost like a professional product! (well there are a few spelling mistakes but hey it's a Beta.) Also the art sometimes looks a little blurry (or is that my screen?) like it needed better inking. But these are peeves, overall it's amazing.

I mean sure, basically they're just adapting what is already an RPG of sorts, but still, there are plenty of original ideas (not to mention the research needed must have been staggering.)

The character classes are particularly inspired. I thought they were going to limit themselves to the ones you run into in the games, but there are some that just plain make sense, like Egg Hatcher or Cryptozoologist. (Some, like the Snagger, surprised me though- a PC class that is about stealing pokemon from other trainers? That is just not possible in the games, though of course it can happen in the Anime (it's probably what Jesse and James are- and wasn't it cool that THEY show up in the artwork but not Ash or Misty? )

Oh, and big question I had going in- what would *the humans* be able to do in this game? I was amazed to discover that yes, some characters CAN learn Pokemon Moves!! (or similar ones.) You know that's something many pokefans have always wanted. It does bring the question of Game Balance, though: are a Breeder and a Psychic equal in play terms? Only if the GM is careful enough to provide chances of play for every player (and it might get boring for the player who just wants to fight to wait until another gets an egg hatched...)

I also like the character advancement system, where every class has several possible specializations, and you CAN take multiple ones. My only complaint is that it can get very convoluted that way.

In fact, my only problem overall is how long and numbers-heavy this game is. This is more Dungeons and Dragons than BESM. It can get tiring to read all the details, or remembering all the rules. OTOH there is material here for pretty long campaigns.

So, overall I'm pretty impressed with this and I hope more people get to enjoy it. Will give my opinion on the other "books" later.

edited 24th Sep '11 3:52:28 PM by Sijo

..."Advance Class: Massage Therapist"?

I'm sort of reminded of Red Mage's Character Blog, where he said the best Call Of Cthulu character class would be a coal miner, because they don't participate in the sanity-blasting mythos at all.

edited 24th Sep '11 4:30:43 PM by mrsaturn

Breeder has the advantage of raising stronger Pokemon from low-levels while Psychics have to sacrifice their health if they want to use their powers.

Massage Therapist is useful both as support or on the offense for mezzing your opponent.

Also, new update. Sadly, they ditched Trader for Botanist (bleh) and made plenty of other changes. Here's the link.

Actually, you play a 'snagger' in Pokemon Colloseum, where you spend your time stealing pokemon away from evil trainers.

As for balance between classes: psychics, mystics and martial artists can use those moves, but they are still not quite as good at it as actual pokemon, and they can't use them during official matches. To top it off, since they won't be getting as many features as the other classes to support their mons, their Pokemon Battle game will be quite a bit weaker. They'll probably do pretty good in wild fights (in my definition, 'wild fight' means any fight outside the rules), but will get creamed during official matches.

My gaming group comes together next friday. Fingers crossed that they'll take the bait. I've already got a few awesome plans ready. I even figured out most of my gym leaders, the Champion and the leader of the local evil Team, plus a few sidequests.

One of the sidequests I'm planning happens to involve a Snagger. I plan to give one of my PC's a mon with three evolutions, and after the first evolution (AKA, after my PC got attached to it, and starts dreaming of it's huge potential), this NPC will steal it. I can only imagine the look on my players face once that happens.

Oh OH, they use Pressure Point manipulation. If the class was named "Acupuncturist" or something, I would have got it. "Massage Therapy" on Pokemon brings to mind a chiropractor kneading a Jigglypuff with a rolling pin or something.

^^ That sounds like fun...

They can do that too. They are one of a few classes who have uses both inside and outside of combat. Also, lovin' the buffs to Rune Master in the most recent update.

Obviously, they will get it back. After a very long sidequest with an epic fight against a local evil Team coordinator powered by the Power of Friendship.

It's going to be so awesome. That's one thing I learned about Gming: Make the players really hate the enemy, for whatever reason.

I really wanna play this sometime >.> sadly I don't really have anyone to play WITH, and play by post is never a good option...

Okay, looking this system over I can see at least one awesome combo. Breloom, Toxic Orb held item, Poison Heal and Quick Feet abilities. Then you take the advanced class Cool Trainer and use Cool Entrance to give it the Guts ability. Turn One, you've got 2-stage boosts to Attack and Speed, health regeneration, and the Breloom hasn't even taken its turn yet.

edited 25th Sep '11 6:50:50 PM by Muramasan13

I'm not sure if that is an awesome combo, or just plain broken. This game is still rather beta, so there will be a lot of balance tweaking on the fly.