TRPG General Chat

12:03 AM

**Cool RPG/SE stuff:** [Bundle of Holding](http://bundleofholding.com "buy RPGs cheap in bulk, support charities & indie designers!");
[DSP expands](http://dreamscarred.com/dreamscarred-press-expands/ "grats @Lord_Gareth!");
[ScaleModeling.SE](http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/82797/scale-modeling "in the Definition stage");
[RPG pencil dice](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/d20e/rpg-pencil-dice "hit locations, NPC reactions, etc");
[Pathfinder spellcards](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/748035782/spellcards-for-the-pathfinder-role-playing-game-2 "improved design and expand…

SevenSidedDie

12:26 AM

@BESW I think your cut-and-paste broke the links' formatting.

BESW

@SevenSidedDie The in-chat post is doomed to failure; I format for the sidebar pin.

"Cool RPG/SE stuff" is an ongoing feature I've instituted because people often lament missing time-sensitive things like Kickstarters, so people bring the links to the chat and I pin 'em up in a single block.

SevenSidedDie

@BESW Cool. I don't know why the formatting breaks in the message but not the bar, but I see that it works anyway.

BESW

I could force the formatting to work in the chat message, but that'd make more work for me.

I'm not sure what to do with this.

It's not really covered by this meta post.

wax eagle

@SevenSidedDie line breaks.

if there are line breaks, formatting in chat fails, but they are ignored in the sidebar

BESW

Yup. (actually line breaks turn into single spaces in the sidebar.) I use line breaks to keep it orderly so I can easily clip stuff out and add new things, or find the right line to edit if there's an error. Since the chat message itself gets swallowed up in the natural course of chatting, there's not much reason to remove the lines when I post.

Joshua Aslan Smith

12:40 AM

@waxeagle we on for tonight or was this a break week?

wax eagle

@JoshuaAslanSmith on tonight

unless my internet sucks again

JohnP

@waxeagle !
Almost got a dell venue, 750.

SevenSidedDie

@BESW We can't see the future, and once we can answer it, the question is useless. So, close as "we're not fortune tellers"?

BESW

If there's an announcement or similar, we could cite that.

A quick Google gave me this.

SevenSidedDie

@BESW Even announcements aren't much good though. No lasting value, liable to change, and easily googled. It's an extremely low-quality question.

Also, we shouldn't feed the help vampires.

Grubermensch

1:18 AM

@waxeagle Definitely not gonna be on time. Might not be in time for anything. Probably not going to be in the mood for it if I am.

wax eagle

@Grubermensch sorry :(

hope things go better

Grubermensch

My afternoon rhymes with shmop shmatabase.

BESW

.@penguinrandom is not run by giant spiders.

Tweeted by maureenjohnson on March 5, 2015 at 10:49 PM

.@maureenjohnson *stares* *scuttles away*

Tweeted by penguinrandom on March 5, 2015 at 10:51 PM in reply to maureenjohnson

David Wilkins

@Grubermensch did you dropa database? Nothing good about that (if you are still working on it)

Adeptus

1:45 AM

Oh yay, chat is working for me finally! Work's internet has been flaky for the past few days

Shalvenay

o/ @waxeagle

and :/ @Grubermensch

databases don't like floor impacts sigh

Adeptus

I wanted to vent about undead in 3.5e... I'm prepping for a published adventure, and looking at the undead abilities. Level drain? Ability drain? As a player I hate these things. Even as a DM, I hate these things.

Miniman

@Adeptus Ability drain isn't as horrible

(Particularly if you target players who don't need the ability you're draining)

Adeptus

I can't just leave out those abilities, since in some cases they are their only form of attack. I'm thinking I'll either give Restoration potions in treasure, or make all drains temporary.

Shalvenay

yeah, higher level undead are the suck

@Adeptus -- do you at least have a cleric in your party?

BESW

1:56 AM

@Adeptus [patpat] I hear that.

Undead encounters in 3.5 tend to consist of each side firing save-or-suck at the other until someone fails the save.

wax eagle

@Adeptus note that this is why these things are removed in 4e and 5 :)

Joshua Aslan Smith

yep

David Wilkins

Who controls a ranger's companion or a mage's familiar, the DM or the player?

Miniman

@waxeagle Not entirely removed in 5, be fair

@DavidWilkins Edition?

wax eagle

plus.google.com/hangouts/_/g5pdjytg5baslebdj2qlgqpqrqa @JoshuaAslanSmith @Shalvenay

David Wilkins

2:02 AM

5e

wax eagle

@Miniman there are some rare abil drains, but level is completely gone

its more HP max drain

Miniman

@waxeagle And no one misses it

@DavidWilkins Ranger uses their action to control their animal companion, familiar is a little unclear

wax eagle

@Miniman nope, not a soul

Miniman

But probably still the player

David Wilkins

Ok. At least until the ranger tries to make the pseudodragon do something it doesn't want to do

Miniman

2:04 AM

@DavidWilkins Wait, you have a ranger with a pseudodragon animal companion?

David Wilkins

Yes

Miniman

@DavidWilkins I'm assuming you know that that's technically not allowed?

David Wilkins

How so?

Miniman

@DavidWilkins A ranger's companion has to be a Beast type creature, pseudodragons are Dragon type

wax eagle

@RobertF you around?

David Wilkins

2:11 AM

The PHB does use the word 'beast' but doesnt say it has to be the beast type...hrmmm...my ranger may have led me astray.....but....

Joshua Aslan Smith

@DavidWilkins did you see the question?

Miniman

@DavidWilkins It's probably not a huge issue

David Wilkins

@JoshuaAslanSmith no

I am inclined to allow it as an npc that counts as a companion

Joshua Aslan Smith

I am thinking of a druid question actually

ohhh

yeah I would say it needs to be beast

beast is a monster descriptor

David Wilkins

But does obey the pseudodragon fluff

Meaning if it doesn't want to do what you say, it retreats or holds...

wax eagle

2:15 AM

aren't psuedodragons supposed to be NPC/warlock only?

David Wilkins

They can be familiars

wax eagle

@DavidWilkins but not via find familiar IIRC?

David Wilkins

Right, and this one has chosen to befriend this ranger

Ranger being a lore master with dragon lore knowledge

There is an awesome backstory, and the player isn't the type to take advantage of mechanics

wax eagle

hmm I'd check it against things available as animal companions. I don't think it's too strong right off

David Wilkins

I will, and I will contrast the companion mechanics with the familiar mechanics

Worst case though, I feel this could work

wax eagle

2:22 AM

I think it's sufficiently thematic, not overly powerful (maybe actually quite under powered), and would work well

David Wilkins

I will even allow the magical resistance, but if the ranger lets it die, there will be serious consequences

doppelgreener

It is a certain sort of satisfying when a problematic question shows up in the feed already on hold.

wax eagle

@doppelgreener definitely

the feeling of not being alone :)

and of a strong community moderation effort

trust me when I say mods love it too

BESW

Well, that one got hit by Brian before anyone else could get to it.

wax eagle

ah well..alls well that ends well then :)

doppelgreener

2:34 AM

well, i still get to appreciate it that there are people moderating things that actively!

wax eagle

@Shalvenay chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/21698/side-session-3

Pixie

2:56 AM

Ooh man. Hillfolk looks interesting. So many games I won't get a chance to play anytime soon but want to, augh.

Shalvenay

o/ @Pixie

Pixie

Hey!

Shalvenay

how're things going for you?

BESW

[wave]

Pixie

Alright. Lots of snow, enough to cancel my work for the day. So... I mostly spent it dusting and rearranging ponies. :v The sky continues to fall, though, and I'm confronting the fact that I won't be making it to an interview tomorrow...

How are you?

SevenSidedDie

3:08 AM

@Pixie Are you looking at the Hillfolk Bundle of Holding?

wax eagle

@Pixie :( we've had something like 9 snowdays in the past 3 weeks. It's enough that our local school system actually announced that they were starting on time tomorrow

Pixie

@SevenSidedDie I am! Considering picking it up.

SevenSidedDie

@Pixie The >$17 donation extras are nice, but being able to get the core for very little helps on a small budget. It's worth it just to read. :D

And I am scheming hard to run Hillfolk after our Apocalypse World campaign comes to a natural conclusion. I think AW has primed them for something more emotional-drama like Hillfolk. ^_^

Pixie

@waxeagle We've had a lot recently too. There was one week that I only worked at the library 1 day out of a normal 4.

The interview I'm supposed to have tomorrow is at a school. It was closed today, I only have school contact numbers, and it's going to be closed tomorrow except staff are going to be there. Problem is... my interview is at 7:30 in the morning.

wax eagle

@Pixie yikes, probably gonna be quite icy at that time of day

Pixie

3:11 AM

@waxeagle Yep. It rained all day yesterday (so the creek nearly flooded), then it started snowing in the evening and is still snowing now.

Shalvenay

@Pixie -- OK here but having a bit of a bumpy time

Pixie

@Shalvenay Aww, hope it improves for you.

@SevenSidedDie I read some reviews, and it sounds like the kind of game my group might enjoy.

Certainly I would.

Shalvenay

RL's OK -- but RPwise, it can get very frustrating when it feels like your fellow players are wanting to disavow you

Pixie

@Shalvenay Ah, yeah, not fun.

SevenSidedDie

@Pixie There's a couple of SRDs for its underlying DramaSystem, but in my experience, it didn't make any sense without reading the actual game. It's the bare rules only, when the game really, really needs the explanatory text around it for the rules to make sense.

Pixie

3:17 AM

@SevenSidedDie Ahh. I don't know how much that would fly with my group... easy to pick up rules are best for us. But I'm still willing to give it a look.

SevenSidedDie

@Pixie They're pretty straightforward actually, but how and why to use them isn't obvious until you already know how and why. I expect I'll tell my players how the rules work on the fly; they're simple enough. But they're unusual and unintuitive. Plus, the SRDs lack the setting. :)

Pixie

@SevenSidedDie I totally make up most of my settings, so that's not a big hindrance, though examples are nice. xD

SevenSidedDie

Or maybe not unintuitive, so much as really different from most other games out there. Without explanatory text, expectations imported from other games will mess things up.

@Pixie It's well suited to alternative settings. The default one has some advantages for learning how to play well, but could be skipped if players were already keen on the dramatic scenes.

Pixie

Tempted to get the full bundle though. Some interesting-looking books. Art and Murder seems awfully... Hannibal-y.

Well, not after reading the description. I forgot one could do that. But the cover and title totally remind me of it. xD

Magician

4:08 AM

I wasn't very impressed with Hillfolk, at least its kickstarter preview version. Which may have changed! I'd be interested in hearing from someone who read the new rules and my (p)review of the system.

My thoughts on Hillfolk/DramaSystem, in case anyone cares.

It remains one of the more consistently accessed posts on the blog, after the few that still get routinely linked here to my amazement. I guess reviewing a relatively obscure system means you'll get hits from people looking it up.

And the current Bundle of Holding obviously contributed. When I say "it gets hits", I mean once a week or so...

Pixie

I might weigh in after I get through all of the rules.

Right now I am trying to make a wordpress forum work the way I want it to. [grumbles]

Magician

Wordpress... forum...

I've set up a few wordpress blogs, and it's always been straightforward. No idea about forums though.

Pixie

I had issues skinning PHPBB the way I wanted. Wordpress is nice and easy to skin. But you need roughly 3 million plugins to make a BBpress/Buddypress work like a conventional forum.

But I think I'm mostly there. The one thing I'd really like to be able to do is have multiple themes that people can choose from, but none of the handful of plugins meant to do that work very well.

BESW

Urgh, I'm totally helpless with that sort of thing.

I couldn't get Wordpress to do a thing.

Pixie

4:24 AM

I mostly have it the way I want it to be. Some things are a bit annoying and I feel like maybe I'd be better off with an actual forum software, but they are all just really annoying to style in my experience.

Aside from aesthetics, color schemes and font size are pretty important. My boyfriend and I both have eye issues, his far worse than mine. So if I can't easily figure out the template, it's a big problem.

I like the way vBulletin sites look usually, but it's also like... $200. Wordpress is free.

JohnP

@DavidWilkins From the Paizo page on pseudodragons: They are wary of evil folk but can bond with sorcerers and wizards as familiars, and some have befriended druids and rangers or partnered with good dragons as scouts.

So I'd say as a companion, it's not out of line at all.

Miniman

@JohnP 5e, not PF :P

JohnP

@Miniman Oh, sure, play the 5e card.

Miniman

Sorry

Incidentally, oh gawd

JohnP

@Miniman Yeah, that guy is a hot mess with his questions.

Pixie

4:37 AM

@Miniman [squints]

JohnP

When a pseudodragon finds an agreeable companion, it
bonds with that person as long as it is treated fairly.

That's from 5e. While there is a box that delineates the familiar part, that sentence would seem to allow the ranger bond as well.

Miniman

@JohnP Relevant.

(Rather than repeating myself)

Grubermensch

@Miniman Spelled that wrong.

Miniman

4:55 AM

@Grubermensch Sorry, my bad.

BESW

It's "relephant," obviously.

Tritium21

6:08 AM

Welp, took the dive, and am now a roll20 mentor

The Oracle

6:48 AM

0

Q: How much pedagogical detail is legit in student-oriented game recommendation?

I'm thinking of asking and self-answering a game-recommendation question. I teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL/ESOL) at a foreign university. I had a great experience last semester running a simple rpg for several groups of college-aged students as part of their English-language tuition, an...

Althis

7:51 AM

Anyone here?

Althis

8:03 AM

Hm...

Not even people from semi-imaginary islands...

Ok.

Bye then. o/

trogdor

8:32 AM

@BESW I am glad I thought of something before he did

or at least before he tweeted it

more or less

BESW

9:30 AM

I think this question needs a "System mastery doesn't mean min/maxing; it means being able to hit any goal you happen to have" answer, but I'm not feeling up to writing it.

If the player can be persuaded to express his system mastery by hitting the power levels of the rest of the group, that might be good.

Miniman

@BESW I think there's a very similar question with that answer on it, but I'm on mobile so I can't find it.

BESW

I'll dig for it later.

In other news: "Crystal Clump" would be a good name for a band.

BESW

11:14 AM

And to conclude, the world's best post-it. http://t.co/npZK257d6x

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