So this is really doing my head in, the line between staying true to Pokemon and creating my own campaign setting based off it is really starting to blur. I want to keep it OL style but stay true to Pokemon. The levelling table is done for now (for an alpha test anyway) basically they either level at 5,10,15 and HAVE to evolve or if they use an Evolution stone, they gain 5 levels or in Eveee’s case, change type. And the moves I am not writing up. Instead I’ll give a list of suggested actions that the Pokemon are capable of doing and the players can name the moves however they want. For example: Pickachu is an electric type So in the game he know Bite, Growl, Thundershock at level 1
In OL however this would translate to:
Bite (Might vs Guard),
Growl(Presence vs Resolve -> Demoralized Bane)
Thundershock(Energy vs Guard).
because of this, whats the point of learning moves like Thunderwave or Thunder when in reality its the same thing in OL?? because its an energy attack with more kick. The solution would be that by using the Feats, players can make their own attacks based around the IDEA/Flavour of the move rather than me tearing my hair out trying to replicate it.
Thundershock might be the standard version, where you upgrade to “thunder” as soon as you have advantage 2 on the attack. And thunderwave could be a an energy vs toughness to stun the target (thunderwave stunned right?).
I would totally leave figuring out the details for all the attacks to the players!
You could also leave it up to the roll if something is a thundershock of thunderbolt maybe. (if you roll higher than 25 its a thunderbolt otherwise its a shock for example)
Furthermore I on the charachter sheets you have a spot where you can quickly right down your main attacks. Just let that be the only attacks that the pokemon can use and limit it to 4, meaning that if they want to do anything else they will have to get rid of what they could do. Maybe let them only change on a level up.
The 4 favoured actions was always going to stay, cause that’s iconic Pokemon right there.and what I was thinking was that at certain levels it gains feats (thinking that it gets 1 feat point every level) so at level 3 from example, it gains bane focus (immobile) and the move name is thunder. When it evolves, it gains attack specialisation (energy-electricity)
Well, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything. Just been letting this idea simmer for a while until I had chance I write anything. But then it got like proverbial lightning. Instead of trying to create trainers and Pokemon NLCs… Why not have players BE the pokemon themselves?!?. So now it’s known as PokemonOL:the rebellion! This band of Pokemon have thrown off the shackles of the pokeball and now seek to free others from the oppressive regime of the trainer’s. Lead by a mysterious mouse pokemon of some renown, these rebel Pokemon will do what it takes to free them all.
I know OL is about minimising resource management… But I feel like using boons/banes/ special attacks should cost something… like stamina points, also HP shouldn’t auto regeneration to full. But I’m not sure at what rate
Ye gods it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here! This bastard of a project hasn’t left me alone don’t worry. I’ve been working on it here and there and hopefully soon have some basic Pokemon done with the initial concept of “Pokemon Pit brawl”. You control a Pokemon in a free for all battle Royale. This will serve as a tutorial of sorts that will lead into Pokemon: Rebellion
I am eagerly awaiting. I’ve been trying to build up my own Open Legend stuff, so I understand the time and effort this takes. I will definitely playtest this with some friends when you have a release for the pit brawl.
The playtest happened at last and I got 2 games. Apart from me screwing up the appropriate CRs and my dice exploding like crazy. The premise is sound. Now onto the next phase
I realize this is an old thread, but I appreciate all of the discussion. My daughter is still very much into Pokemon, and I had been thinking about how to entice her into role playing. I’m still on my first read-through of the Core PDF, but I’m really excited about what I’ve read so far.
One thing I like seeing in this discussion is how many different ways people have tried to adapt it to Open Legend. I favor using CRs for capture and focusing on boons, banes, advantages and disadvantages over custom formulas based on hit points.
@targ8practice I get wanting to model the concept of stamina, but I also agree that OL tries to minimize this. I see a focus on the story telling rather than modeling the mechanics of Pokemon’s battle. Perhaps focus on giving Flaws, such as short-winded, to Pokemon to which the player could decide to evoke and thereby receive a Legend point.
With respect to the fast recovery of HP, Lethal Damage should also come into play, which also gives importance to the NPC Nurse Joy! I’m getting a kick out of thinking about how Nurse Joy appears to be everywhere, in every town.
I admit that I’m not very versed in the Pokemon 'verse, but hopefully Pokémon Wiki | Fandom will help. I’d like to run something in a couple weeks, so any ideas on plot ideas for the first couple sessions would be very welcome? Maybe a template for a young trainer, CR1 adventure?
Also, I tend to see that most Pokémon fight until they faint, which I would interpret as reaching 0 (zero) hit points and falling unconscious.
If you are unconscious, you regain consciousness and all hit points after 2d4 hours.
Paired with Lethal Damage, and I think the standard OL combat mechanisms would be sufficient.
As a GM, to make the story a little more interesting, you could withhold the player’s battling pokémon’s remaining hit points a secret and simply describe their condition. It’s up to the trainer to recognize when to pull the pokémon from battle.
