TRPG General Chat

Brian Ballsun-Stanton

12:31 AM

@DampeS8N location

Brian Ballsun-Stanton

12:42 AM

@DampeS8N Well, when I played at Norita in Sydney, it was "everyone needs to buy a slightly overpriced drink"

Brian Ballsun-Stanton

1:13 AM

@DampeS8N but this is all about location location location

BESW

2:50 AM

....

I was a lot more sympathetic to this question before the "I think SE is stupid but I'm asking here anyway even though I know my question don't meet SE standards, so if you close my question you're just proving you're stupid" thing came into play.

Brian Ballsun-Stanton

...

BESW

Here, have some unintentional irony to cheer you up.

twitter.com/Operafloozy/status/307889091737944065

Brian Ballsun-Stanton

@BESW ?

is locked. Cannot see.

okay, really need to write turn today

BESW

Aw.

BESW

6:48 AM

@JonathanHobbs D&D today?

Avner Shahar-Kashtan

7:06 AM

So, another campaign winds down to a close. I'll be running a short FATE campaign afterwards, but then I'll be back to being a player. Brings up the standard character creation dilemmas.

I have several stereotypical character archetypes I like to play. I tend to return to them, in one aspect or another, in many of my characters.

On one hand, that's good, because I enjoy them. On the other hand, I have an urge to try other things, play other styles. But in the end, I usually don't enjoy them as much.

doppelgreener

7:21 AM

@BESW Not today - we weren't all free, so we're going to have our first online session soon.

BESW

7:55 AM

@JonathanHobbs Alas.

Have you done online D&D before?

@AvnerShahar-Kashtan I've found that I have to create PCs that are likely to take a certain set of actions because I can't stop myself from taking those actions. But within that limit, I have fun seeing how far I can push myself.

I'm exceptionally chatty (you may have noticed), so I usually have to play talkative characters.

But I once played a very quiet catfolk... who was always doing something, so I could narrate his actions instead of having his character speak. I got to be chatty, but the character didn't have to be.

Avner Shahar-Kashtan

@BESW I find that I can't keep up with my current character's religious zeal and rage.

BESW

@AvnerShahar-Kashtan Ah, that sounds like it might be tiring.

Avner Shahar-Kashtan

But it's not only the zeal. I find it hard to play characters that aren't light-hearted, at least partially.

BESW

Makes sense.

As my profile mentions, I prefer to play grumpy old people and characters with unusual superstitions.

Avner Shahar-Kashtan

And in high fantasy settings, I always gravitate towards bards.

BESW

8:01 AM

I always wanted to play a bard, preferably a poetic skald-type declaimer... never really got the chance.

Well, once on an online chat game. But declaimer + chat = Wall O' Text, and that wasn't going to go over very well.

Avner Shahar-Kashtan

BESW

heheh.

BESW

9:18 AM

@JonathanHobbs You're on fire tonight.

doppelgreener

@BESW I haven't done online D&D before.

BESW

What software are you planning to use?

doppelgreener

Roll20 seems like the best option.

1

Q: Opportunity attacks and immediate interupts per round

A fighter can only make one immediate interrupt per round, i.e. he must wait until after his next turn to perform a second. However OA can be made an infinite number of times during a round, as long as it is only done once per enemy's turn. As an immediate interrupt provided by combat challenge ...

dnd-4e

I really really want to edit this question but I am not sure what to do with it

There seems to be no particular question here

Is he asking about whether you can use an OA and CC at the same time? Is he asking about what would happen if the enemy moves twice? Is he asking if you can make OAs and immediate interrupts at the same time?

BESW

Well, first, your comment misses that the example is explicitly about a fighter.

So his OA does stop movement.

Second, what makes you think this is not exactly what he's asking, and/or what makes this question unclear?

> As an immediate interrupt provided by combat challenge is not an opportunity attack, does that mean you could make BOTH an OA and a combat challenge (CC) attack on the same target?

doppelgreener

I feel like the question is rambling a lot, is all.

BESW

9:28 AM

Okay, so can you shave it down?

doppelgreener

Oh neat, I never knew about the combat superiority class feature. I've never seen a 4e fighter before.

Actually, I think one of my friends played one for a couple of sessions, but I am not sure we ever noticed it or got into that situation.

BESW

It was a bit confusing for players in my game because the fighter gets two very similar out-of-turn attacks that have different procs and different effects.

doppelgreener

Speaking of which: I need to come up with some squads my PCs will see. Like, for instance, an elemental controller combined with a pack of boulder dogs (I feel like I need a better name for those)

I can't shave it down, and I feel sick and have a headache so my brain isn't working totally excellently today, but I get the feeling he is just asking about the one thing in three roundabout ways.

BESW

Fair enough.

doppelgreener

Or, more or less, asking for us to confirm that the rules say what they say.

BESW

9:32 AM

@JonathanHobbs Diamond Dogs?

doppelgreener

@BESW That sounds a lot better

BESW

@JonathanHobbs It's also two distinct references depending on generation.

Diamond Dogs

Diamond Dogs is a concept album by David Bowie, originally released in 1974 on RCA Records, his eighth album. Thematically, it was a marriage of the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell and Bowie's own glam-tinged vision of a post-apocalyptic world. Bowie had wanted to make a theatrical production of Orwell's book and began writing material after completing sessions for his 1973 album Pin Ups, but the late author’s estate denied the rights. The songs wound up on the second half of Diamond Dogs instead where, as the titles indicated, the Nineteen Eighty-Four theme was prominent...

mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Diamond_Dogs

doppelgreener

Haha. I think one of my players will get the former.

BESW

You like the name because it's alliterative, and because even if you didn't recognize the reference it's part of the cultural landscape to the point that it's subconsciously familiar.

I'll get to work on that edit.

doppelgreener

@BESW I actually have no idea about the Diamond Dogs and know very little about David Bowie and his albums, but I agree I like it because it's alliterative.

BESW

9:44 AM

Heck, Ghostwriter made an entire story out of a Diamond Dog joke once.

Avner Shahar-Kashtan

Also, I always support more Bowie references, in general.

BESW

@AvnerShahar-Kashtan May I assume you've seen the Brows Held High musical review of The Man Who Fell to Earth?

Avner Shahar-Kashtan

@BESW You may not.

BESW

@AvnerShahar-Kashtan blip.tv/brows-held-high/…

Avner Shahar-Kashtan

googling

21 minutes. I'll bookmark it for later. :)

Seems cool, though.

BESW

9:51 AM

I like most of the Brows Held High stuff, but that one is the high point of the series so far, in my opinion.

@JonathanHobbs I think I managed to distill the question without changing it.

1

Q: Opportunity attacks and immediate interupts per round

I read this in an online article, which sounded incorrect to me. The Fighter takes his free attack and gets all the additional bonuses that come with Combat Superiority. Needless to say, my monsters get hit more often than not for taking this action. A hit inflicts damage and stops their move...

dnd-4e opportunity-attack actions immediate-actions

(I also tracked down the article for citation.)

...and in the interest of general knowledge, I'd like to point out that "scot-free" has nothing to do with the name Scott.

en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scot-free

I refrained from adding [sic] to the quote though.

doppelgreener

edit a (sic) onto the end of "Scott free"

oh

Ha. I'd do it

It is a way of quoting people accurately whilst not proliferating the wrong way to write something

Like: "wallah!"

BESW

Done.

With link to wiktionary page.

doppelgreener

If I were quoting someone who said "wallah" I would put (sic) after it so people would go "why does that have a 'sic' after it?" and look up how it's actually written.

Haha! Excellent. :)

@BESW I have this scene in my head now. Two people fighting side by side who get along sort of well. One of them is half-fire elemental, and he is more or less on fire during the fight, harmlessly for him (not so much for his enemies). They completely kick everyone's butt.

BESW

I built a monk like that once.

doppelgreener

Then his companion turns to him and says: "Hey, you're on fire today." He turns, stares dubiously for a very silent, awkward second, then grins and offers his fist for a fistbump.

BESW

10:04 AM

Heheheh.

My monk would've punched him.

doppelgreener

Haha!

That second would be one nobody would be sure if he would or not.

BESW

Her parents sent her to a monastery to learn to control her anger problems, but what she learned was how to use her anger to set people (and herself) on fire.

She was asked to leave the monastery soon afterward.

doppelgreener

LOL! I love it.

BESW

Between certain monk features, some items, and a particular background, she spent most rounds with auras that dealt fire damage to anyone adjacent to her.

doppelgreener

Background? Theme?

BESW

10:08 AM

Theme, maybe. I get them confused.

doppelgreener

If it's the third major character thing you pick beside your class and race, it's themes

BESW

Ah, here's the pdf. Theme: Firecrafter. Background: Psionic Academy Dropout.

doppelgreener

(the thing that isn't skills)

Oh neat. :D

BESW

Tiefling with incendiary dagger, hellfire blood, and desert wind monastic tradition.

doppelgreener

"Desert Wind Flurry of Blows"?

BESW

10:11 AM

Yup.

And Blistering Flourish.

doppelgreener

"Effect: The target takes 2 + your Charisma modifier fire damage. If the target wasn’t targeted by the triggering attack, it also takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls for any attack that includes you as a target until the end of your next turn. You can then shift 1 square."

What's that mean? An attack that targets one person but splashes?

BESW

No, um. Flurry of Blows is a little weird.

It's a no-action non-attack "feature" power, usable 1/round, with the trigger "you hit with an attack during your turn."

You choose your flurry of blows power at character creation; each does something different, but the effect is always better if you use it against someone other than the target you hit to trigger the flurry.

Monks are designed to spread damage across multiple targets.

doppelgreener

Oh. You mean, standing next to two people, you can attack one, trigger your flurry of blows, and use it on the other?

BESW

Right.

doppelgreener

Aha, now I get it

I thought it meant: "If the target [of the triggering attack] wasn't targeted by the triggering attack"

BESW

10:15 AM

And note, flurry of blows is not an attack. It doesn't benefit from your enhancement bonuses or anything that grants effects or damage to attacks, but it never misses.

doppelgreener

i.e. something that incidentally just happened to hit someone I guess?

@BESW Sounds like a pretty good minion destroyer.

BESW

If you hit one target, you get your bonus flurry damage automagically. One popular monk trick is to use AoEs to make a lot of attacks, so you have a better chance of triggering flurry.

@JonathanHobbs It is. And there are two separate feats that let you make flurry attacks at range, and as you level up you get more targets automatically.

@ประภาพรพี Hi!

doppelgreener

@BESW Okay, that's pretty neat. I guess your fiery blast effects would help a lot in that regard.

BESW

Monks love crowd fights.

doppelgreener

Argh I need to go eat.

BESW

10:18 AM

Go eat!

doppelgreener

I will go do that thing you just said

Bye for now!

BESW

@JonathanHobbs The thing that Krang said is a thing you should do because you said that you should do the thing that Krang said you should do before Krang said you should do the thing that you said you should do, which is why Krang said that you should do the thing that you said you should do.

2

BESW

10:51 AM

@AvnerShahar-Kashtan Welcome back.

Avner Shahar-Kashtan

Not entirely back, just rebooted my router so it seemed like I disconnected and reconnected. :)

BESW

Hmmm. I wonder what in the Dresdenverse would talk like the TMNT 2012 Krang. Because I'd love to run something with that vocal tic.

BESW

11:20 AM

I do agree that media exposure is a very good tool, but I'm hoping for something a bit more; I've been a voracious reader of many different genres and styles my entire life, am fairly versed in television, and have been playing RPGs for nearly ten years, but I still feel like I've got an improv rut.

...and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the idea of "I have a whole list of things I'll improvise."

Avner Shahar-Kashtan

11:48 AM

I don't think there's some ideal of "pure improvisation". You always have go-to tools you can use.

BESW

Yeah. I'm just not sure a list is a tool I'd feel comfortable referencing on the fly.

Avner Shahar-Kashtan

Have it hanging from your GM screen, if you use one. Or just do it as a mental exercise. Close your eyes, think of three random adjectives, and go.

doppelgreener

12:59 PM

@BESW So you've got plenty of exposure, you're just not using it quickly and fall back to the very safe typical things when improvising.

@AvnerShahar-Kashtan This and creation never occurs in a vaccuum. You're always drawing on other sources of information.

Maybe you just panic and don't take a few seconds to really consider: ok, what's my options?

Or maybe you attempt to create a chef (and thus go straight to a cliche chef), instead of just attempting to create a person, who is also a chef.

BESW

@JonathanHobbs That seems accurate. I have a pretty standard set of patterns that I draw from when I'm on the spot.

Probably some of both.

doppelgreener

Well, work on tapping into that foundation. The artist of Dresden Codak made a post I can't find with some sketches: he was just drawing peoples' heads over and over, all of them extremely different

just to test his ability to imagine different faces

You just need to practice coming up with different people!

In neurological terms: the moment those "I need to come up with someone" neurons get hit, they go straight to the most obvious answer and then maybe you'll hit the brakes sometimes.

You just need to practice taking a moment to think of an interesting person.

BESW

@JonathanHobbs Don't you use your fancy sciences on me!

doppelgreener

@BESW I am a sciencomancer, I can't help it

It's like asking a sorcerer not to fiddle around with creating little sparks and stuff

> Of course, there's an admission fee. And membership dues. And obligations to be fulfilled. But it's very prestigious and members get discounted services at participating locations!

@BESW I wonder if the party has an accountant

BESW

1:15 PM

I love giving discounts to parties that throw gold around.

It makes them feel cool and special and like they're getting something, but has absolutely no impact on their expenditure.

doppelgreener

"We are saving, on average, on all our services, about... three thousand gold a month. And our membership costs, counting in all the things we need to buy for our obligations, are about.... four thousand gold a month. Hmmmmm..."

BESW

Heheh.

Intangibles are always nice, though: contacts, access to unusual quests, and so forth.

doppelgreener

Rather :D

BESW

I once had an adventurer's club with a branch in every major town.

doppelgreener

@BESW Was that 4e?

BESW

1:18 PM

3.5

In addition to discounted room and board, the branches had quest billboards, accorded neutral ground, and a guy who could evaluate your magic stuff.

The guy also had a small cache of commonly-used spells on scrolls.

Yeah, in 4e it'd be a lot harder to justify such a wide-spread and organized group.

doppelgreener

@BESW Unless they were like... people who wander five miles out of town to sight-see and give everything they can a wide girth

and then these four guys walk through the door with giant swords and heavy armour and wizards' staves

BESW

That would be amusing.

....heh. Now I've got this idea for a game where the party finds a podunk little explorers' club in a rinky-dink town, and turns it into a sprawling franchise.

Sort of like McDonalds', but for adventurers instead of hamburgers.

Simon Gill

2:17 PM

Going back a bit in the log now - but I'd expect to pay a monthly membership for anytime access. Maybe a discounted rate for one night a week access.

Going from the experiences of Manaleak in Worcester and Chimera in Nottingham - people buy food and drink more regularly than they do gaming product. You can use that to help deal with the costs associated with renting the space.

Zachiel

4:36 PM

@BESW You mean... people goes there to eat adventurers? XD

The Oracle

5:49 PM

0

Q: Worth of "GM" and "players" tags

On the main site, we have a [gm] and [players] tag. However, these seem like they are vague. For GMs we have [gm-techniques] and [gm-tools], and everything else I can find that's tagged [gm] seems to boil down to one of those. Similarly with players we have [problem-players] but not really [pl...

discussion tags

DampeS8N

7:27 PM

@SimonGill Doing monthly anytime memberships is a great idea! How much would you expect to pay for this?

Avner Shahar-Kashtan

7:59 PM

Woohoo! 3k! I can now vote on Votes to Close.
Yay.

Brian Ballsun-Stanton

11:11 PM

@DampeS8N Depends on what we get, where the location is, and what kind of food is being served.

@DampeS8N What location do you have planned?

BESW

There's a free-for-use gameroom in my area. It's got tables, chairs, computers, is comfortable, well-lit, and friendly. Good parking, a cheap if limited selection of RPG materials to buy. We use our homes instead of that place because: a) it's about a 45 minute drive from some of our players; b) the only nearby food is a sub shop that gives indigestion; c) we like the experience of being hosts; d) the main use of the place is TCG play, which tends to get louder than we want to compete with.

Brian Ballsun-Stanton

11:28 PM

There's a decent boardgame restaurant in Sydney called Norita. I used it for a few years because it was centrally located in the city and they were cool with us gaming there. The requirement was to buy a drink per person, and w eusually ended up buying some food. The trick is that you have to outcompete people's homes, which requires stupidly good location for the gamers in your area. Frankly, asking on here is pointless as every area has a different gaming culture.

BESW

The main reason I would want to use a game boutique is if my group composition is such that I don't feel comfortable asking anyone to host; either I don't know the players very well yet, or the group size gets too large for anyone's house to handle, that kind of thing.

I did that once with a large and unpredictable group. We met in a classroom at the local U.

Simon Gill

11:45 PM

@DampeS8N I paid £10 a month at Chimera - that was something I was happy with. It was pretty much just table space though - no lending library unless you count the D&D Encounters packs and the collection of D&D plastic minis that you could borrow by asking nicely.

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