So my friends and I want to run a Pokemon Conquest like game. But having played PTU before...

So my friends and I want to run a Pokemon Conquest like game. But having played PTU before, he's not sure he can really balance it very well.

Is there a better system for it?

Question, how do modern pokemon, like Mewtwo, Voltorb, Polygon, and such exist in this setting?

I assume they don't.

I'm clearly seeing Mewtwo in OPs pic.

I mean the setting the DM is using. I don't know how Mewtwo exists in Conquest.

A lot of modular systems could be good. BESM, Mutants & Masterminds, GURPS. Any generic system of your choice, really.

You're correct to stay away from PTU.

Celebi fuckery I'd assume.

But then again, Pokemon is full of ancient advanced technology and actual magic.

Well, we had an experience where a blackbelt trainer almost got one hit KO'd. So I'm not entirely convinced that you could have people fighting hand to hand against pokemon.

And this is supposed to be set before pokeballs were invented, so pokemon trainers are very rare.

You can fight Mons in a system like Mutants & Masterminds. It doesn't have HP, each hit can inflict dice penalties and when you accrue enough to basically never be able to succeed, you faint. People vs. Mons can very much be a thing, and they'll be roughly on even footing.

I tried to run this once using PTU, and I have to say there are technical issues with the system and running without pokeballs.

In my experience, the farther you get away from a "core" pokemon setting (main series games or the anime), the harder it is for it to work thematically with polemon in general and PTU mechanically.

Friend of mine has tried his hand several times at "grittier" settings, the most recent being a blend of that duel island thing from yugioh and hunger games with pokemon being the main medium of fighting. I won't pretend like schedualing and player drama didnt help end those games, but theres always something that clashes between the mechanics of PTU and the tone/gameplay he wanted to set up.

Main thing I've always noticed, is the combat slog put on by these settings 'demanding' the players to take part in combat themselves in an active role. In a pokemon setting TTRPG, each player has multiple pokemon to fight with, and multiple trainers in a said group. Youre already dealing with on average 8 or so active comabtants pokemon wise, with trainers adding in minor buffs. Making a setting where you heavy handedly imply players NEED a fighting class kicks that number up to around 14 (considering 2 trainer groups and pokes). It also adds in a ton more corner case rules of when a player already acted, but their poke fainted but didnt act, etc. Most groups can have their game survive this combat slog, because their entire campaign is grounded on the fact that "There's gonna be mass pokemon vs human combat!". There are ways around this, like how the books mention encounters being mostly 2-3 different species so you dont need as many sheets, or using the boss template, but its difficult for those encounters to be strategically deep and not every GM can perfectly play every ability of things he's only had a hold of for a couple hours at most (and thats if you even stat by hand like my group did).

In nearly any other pokemon setting, you can get by without going overboard with the combats, or at the very least have less combatants to work around.

grow up losers

Smell ya later dweeb

You're on a board about what is effectively playing pretend and collecting/painting small pieces of cardboard and plastic.

What exactly was your goal?

I'd rather play something else but the DM loves him some pokemon, so...

In our other PTU game the DM limited us to having one pokemon at a time out, so that helped slightly.

I'm not all that big on PTU myself. It seems massively overdone and suffers the 3.PF problem of having rules for fucking everything.

Make up a reason
Deformed offspring of the legendary Mew
God dammit user get creative

Honestly I'd excuse it with time fuckery.

Say Dialga was acting up or something.

That's why I mentioned Celebi.

One Pokemon out per player? What, were you sending out multiple?

No, but the thought had crossed our minds. It was more of an underground type thing.

Strike! could be good for this, just build your player 'mons as characters. Could even copy the elemental system from the games.