Strange Aeons question- BPs

[bc99]

Taken from the horror out of Nosorovyia thread:

Great game report! Looks like you did everything right and the good guys squeek by with a victory. Now that your Character has a new skill his Base Points will go from 5 to 6. You may still re-equip to the 15 BP maximum, but in time it will be harder to get back-up and you may need to use Special Agents where before you could simply hire a new Agent. Great stuff...can't wait for the sequal!!! 

Glad you like the game. 

So , there may be a time when you will have one character and maybe one or two agents/civilians with lots of skills+items.

I guess I'm having questions with the BP stuff. Base points/build points.

Total points (base and build) can go over 15, but you may never have more base points than 15? So character+ agents + civilians may never be greater than 15 points, but adding in guns, equipment, etc does not affect that as they are build points?

I'm just conjuring in my head a time when I get a new skill and have to "sell" or "discard" my tommy gun because now I don't have enough points.

Great game btw, looking forward to my first adventure.

On a side note, what scale are the SA miniatures? They're bigger than my Foundry Darkest Africa stuff. Do they stack well with Copplestone/Artizan/Pulp? Thanks!

[Breten]

Sounds like you got a handle on the BP's.  I'll let Mike clarify that rules question.

As far as the figs, they stack up next to Artizan/Copplestone/Pulp Figures as that is most of what we use in the game ourselves.  So they should be 25/28mm scale.

[Bako]

Exactly what Breton said.

The HPL miniature is very erect with legs together, so he definitely stands taller than other human miniatures. First thing I did upon getting my mitts on them was compare the cultists to the nearest Copplestone (European Advisor) and Pulp Figures (that scary uni-brow nurse) miniatures I had handy. Good matches they were.

[Uncle Mike]

Hey bc99,

The Base Point vs. Build Point thing can be a little confusing at first. Here goes...When building a starting Threshold list you may have Total BP of 15 (Build +Base). This is meant to represent a starting Threshold group, basic training and gear, little field experience. (See main rulebook pg. 25)
To clarify:
-BASE POINTS are Threshold Personnel initial cost and Skill Upgrades (when earned in the post-game Skill Phase...@ +1BP each).
-BUILD POINTS are all weapons and gear.
For an example read thru 'Building A Threshold List' on pg.29.

Easy so far right? Now, when you lose a model to a 'major injury' (pg.19,20) result of 'Dead', (11-15 for Agents and Characters and a 1-3 for a Civillian) you may re-equip your list in the post-game Re-Equipment Phase. Think of this as being resupplied by home base...getting new agents and weapons to replace those lost in the field. (...although if your Character dies its 'game over' and time to write up a better list. )
Total Base Points can now be raised to 15 and Total Build Points can be as much as you like. Just remember that the more points you are the bigger/better the Lurkers will get! You can go past the 15 Total Base Points by gaining skills after game but the canny player will notice that a maxed out Character will be 15 Base Points all by himself. This dynamic ensures that if you don't go crazy you should at least die horribly...and alone! How long can you survive? Oh! The Horror...!

Hope that answers your questions...and good luck Agent 99!

[bc99]

Thanks for the reply!

So potentially I could have several characters with skills, etc putting my base points over 15. This is great! Although I see that if it happens, you won't be getting any resupply/new characters until your total base points drops below 15.

So lets say I have my character, two agents, and two civilians with lots of skills, etc. They're base points are now 25, with my main character at 15. If I lose the agents and civilians I'm out of luck, I can't get any help because my character is already at 15 base points!

Okay I got it, had to type it out, but thanks.

We'll see what combo I come up with. The first game is scheduled for this weekend, look for pics and a report coming soon!

[Figouze]

Hello,


I just read the rules and actually, I have the same kind of problem with BP.

I begin the game with 15 BP, including equipement and character.

If I lost a character, I have to begin a new band.
If I lose an agent, special agent or a civilian, I could hire someone with his standard equipment for Base Point 15 for characters. The build point is static but only could decrease by the point lost with the died man.


For example, with the example page 29.
I earn +4 BP with experience for my characters and one special agent sniper for +6 BP.

So my base points is 9 and my build point increase to 6+4+6=16.

So, if Winfield Ashton died, I lose 2 base point and a tommy gun stay on the band ? (question 1)
My new base point is 9-2=7.
I could hire for 15-7=8 point of character (civilian, agent, civilian) ? (question 2)
So, I could never buy some other weapon because it is build points and not base point ? (question 3)

My new Total BP may be : 15+16=31 point ? (question 4)

[Uncle Mike]

So, Base Points are the total of model and skills, build points are gear and extra equipment. Once a model dies it is removed from list as well as any gear it has. Base points can reach as high as you can make 'em go...but you can only re-equip up to the 15 Base Point cap. Essentially you can only add guys until you get to the 15 point cap...then any increases will come from winning games and gaining skills (1 Base Point each). After your first re-equip (a.k.a. someone dies...) you can add as many Build Points as you like. Hope this helps.

[gauntman]

I reedited some of Mike's Posts regarding this to print an insert in my rulebook for future reference for the Re-Equip Phase.  It occurred to me this might be of some use to others so...Here it is...
This should be correct as I only reedited comments from Mike himself.  Please correct me if my understanding is wrong.

----------------------------------------------------------------
When building a starting Threshold list you may have Total BP of 15 (Build +Base). This is meant to represent a starting Threshold group, basic training and gear, little field experience. (See main rulebook pg. 25)
To clarify:
-BASE POINTS are Threshold Personnel initial cost and Skill Upgrades (when earned in the post-game Skill Phase...@ +1BP each).
-BUILD POINTS are all weapons and gear.
For an example read thru 'Building A Threshold List' on pg.29.


Re-Equip Phase
Whenever you lose a model to a 'major injury' (pg.19,20) result of 'Dead', (11-15 for Agents and Characters and a 1-3 for a Civillian) you may re-equip your list in the post-game Re-Equipment Phase. Think of this as being resupplied by home base...getting new agents and weapons to replace those lost in the field. (...although if your Character dies its 'game over' and time to write up a better list.)

Total Base Points (character+ agents + civilians + skills) can now be raised back to 15 and Total Build Points can be adjusted up or down as much as you like (as equipment is discarded or added). Just remember that the more build points you add, the bigger/better the Lurkers force will become!

NOTE: You can go past the 15 Total Base Points by gaining experience skills after game but the canny player will notice that a maxed out Character could be 15 Base Points all by himself. This dynamic creates a phenomenon in which the most experienced characters become so estranged and individualistic they end up working and dying alone or in the company of one or two of their most steadfast friends by their side.

[Uncle Mike]

Couldn't have said it better myself! Guess your finished reading the rules then?  Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on them already. That is a much needed clarification. Thanx. 

[gauntman]

 
I must say I'm very impressed by the rules and the quality of work that has obviously gone into this.  Well done to all involved.  There are so many aspects of this system that provide a solid foundation for an ongoing pulp horror game with interesting character development. 

The Re-Equip Phase - was the only aspect I wasn't completely clear on.  Now that I have a grasp on it, it seems to add even more interest to me. -- As character grows in experience and their sanity begins to wane, seeing their comrades die in unspeakable ways - the characters become reclusive and only their most steadfast companions remain to stand beside them... -- that is in essense the result of your Re-Equip Phase ---How lovecraftian..

I have three other different Miniature Wargaming Rulesets at home...this system is by far the best for Pulp Horror and what I love best of all, is that it requires only 6 sided dice.
   

[bc99]

Great that helps too, a good summary.

I think the problem for me comes from "build points" and "base points" both being "BP" and they are rather generic names. After re-reading and consulting though I came to the same conclusion. You'll most likely end up a lonely, barely sane, bad ass with few friends or perhaps a hired-hand to help you out.

We played a game, and I have another question, but I'll get to that on a new thread.