TRPG General Chat

12:00 AM

haha - that would work better for a being that was beautiful to begin with -- but perhaps the medusa figured she was beautiful other than the snake thing... :D

I like the goblin meeting that legendary medusa

Lord_Gareth

@Julix Nah, she just figured that even a goblin was more beautiful than her

Julix

medusas are hot!

other than the snakes :D

or I'm weird

nevermind

just most are

that one is intense :D

though most seem to look more like d2tq98mqfjyz2l.cloudfront.net/image_cache/134437731460990.jpg from what I found so far in google images

or just with normal human face

Alright so @Lord_Gareth sofar you gave me the idea curse - and actually meeting the legendary Medusa - perhaps the curse is part of a transfer of the energies... power for even more ugliness... something like that

BESW

Technically, "Medusa" is the name of a particular Gorgon.

Julix

oh!

that explains why people keep saying Gorgon

Lord_Gareth

@Julix Or it could've been a loophole in the pact. The Medusa took on the goblin's 'beauty' and exchanged it for her 'power' - her sorcery, and the snakes

But without the medusa's hideousness behind it, the goblin cannot petrify

BESW

12:07 AM

The Gorgons were women with snakes for hair.

Originally they seem to have been hideously ugly, too, but the more well-known versions of the stories have them being very beautiful except for the snakes.

Metool

@Aaron There is a monster feat for that, I think.

BESW

Commonly there were three of them, sisters, named Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale.

Julix

these three? images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120815032436/warriorsofmyth/…

[mildly graphic I guess - not sure if that's okay here]

BESW

Sure.

Julix

the word means dreadful!

haha

BESW

12:11 AM

As with all real-world mythology, there's no standardised version of the characters or the stories; it varies wildly from age to age and place to place.

Julix

"living, venomous snakes, as well as a horrifying visage that turned those who beheld her to stone"

Metool

Wow, I just slept for 12 hours.

Julix

right on

BESW

And more modern attempts to pretend that mythologies are static haven't done them any favors.

Julix

@Metool welcome back Meetool

WHAA!? in D&D a gorgon is a bull creature

Gorgon (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the gorgon is a magical beast that resembles a bull, covered in dusky metallic scales. Even though they are named for the three humanoid Gorgons of Greek mythology, they much more closely resemble the Khalkotauroi of the same, and to some degree the Catoblepas of Ethiopia legend. Publication history Dungeons & Dragons (1974-1976) The gorgon was one of the first monsters introduced in the earliest edition of the game, in the Dungeons & Dragons "white box" set (1974), where they were described as bull-like monsters with a breath capable ...

BESW

12:13 AM

Welcome to D&D.

2

Julix

haha, thanks

and in D&D Medusa is in fact the race of things that are like the original Medusa character

BESW

Yes.

Julix

in pathfinder not though, right?

BESW

In one supplemental book, the males of the species turn stone to flesh.

Lord_Gareth

Pathfinder retained it

PF is a lot like 3.5

Alex P

12:15 AM

@Lord_Gareth This is good. I like this.

Lord_Gareth

@AlexP \o/

Alex P

On the whole medieval fantasy biz: if you want medieval fantasy, you're gonna have to scale back a lot of stuff in D&D. Like play E6 and cut a few spells.

If you want medieval fantasy, start from scratch.

2

Well, really start from the middle ages.

Which is what we did with our BW game.

Julix

I don't, no worries :-P

I like my venemous snake hair :D

BESW

There are medieval-fantasy settings. D&D is not one of them.

Alex P

"Refluffing" tip: whatever ability you're using to represent most of something, rename it. So change "Prehensile Hair" to "Awesome Badass Snake Hair." How does it work? Just like Prehensile Hair.

Julix

12:18 AM

So D&D is pure fantasy then?

Lord_Gareth

@Julix D&D is its own freakish mutant genre

It fits into none of the others.

Julix

that explains a lot

Alex P

D&D is a mixture of things that Gygax liked, some of which were medieval-inspired and some of which purposefully had only the vaguest dressings of anything medieval.

Also some were plastic toys or cult movies or a sci-fi short story.

Julix

I hated running into werewolfs just randomly

BESW

D&D borrows from science fiction, horror, real-world mythologies from around the world...

For example:

Tarasque

The Tarasque is a fearsome legendary dragon from Provence, in southern France, tamed in a story about Saint Martha. On 25 November 2005 the UNESCO included the Tarasque on the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Legend Legend reported among others by the Golden Legend has it that the creature inhabited the area of Nerluc in Provence, France, and devastated the landscape far and wide. The Tarasque was a sort of dragon with six short legs like a bear's, an ox-like body covered with a turtle shell, and a scaly tail that ended in a scorpion's sting. It h...

Alex P

12:20 AM

But one of the big inspirations is sword-and-sorcery fiction, which is not really "medieval" in most ways.

Metool

It doesn't borrow enough from the Celts, I feel.

Julix

for me behind every werewolf there's a story. and just running into one on the road, killing him (surprisingly easily) and moving on felt wrong :D

BESW

@Julix You've identified one of D&D's weaknesses.

Julix

randomness

BESW

No, actually: not understanding what kind of stories it can tell.

The primary response D&D mechanics allow is to fight.

Alex P

12:22 AM

@Julix Throw out the idea of "here's how much fighting/encounters there are supposed to be" and you're much freer to explore the details of each thing.

Julix

right, randomness is more it's strength - for that same reason

BESW

A werewolf story isn't about defeating a werewolf: it's about the curse's victim and his struggle to retain his humanity.

Julix

yeah!

BESW

It's about the fear and despair of a village beset by a monster they cannot find.

Julix

I (chaotic good) wouldn't kill a werewolf if I can avoid it - he's just a thing too...

BESW

12:22 AM

It's about what makes humanity bestial.

Julix

It wasn't even full moon or anything - I'm not 100% sure it was night

I've seen daytime werewolfs in Baldur's Gate

BESW

But since the thing a werewolf does--kill indiscriminately and without remorse--is exactly what the player characters do every day, there is nothing to explore.

2

Julix

so I didn't think about it

BESW

D&D stories have no space for the themes that werewolf stories are about.

Julix

We did try to talk with the guy... we just didn't happen to have high quality meat rations :D

I don't know - I'd say that depends on the DM

surely you could make space

BESW

12:25 AM

@Julix Ah, now we get to what some people like to call the Oberoni Fallacy.

2

Julix

if you were masochistic enough to put in all the work to come up with stuff for all encounters :D

BESW

The notion that if a GM can, with sufficient skill and effort, fix a system's flaws, those flaws should be dismissed as non-problems.

Not that D&D's inability to run werewolf stories true to the genre's themes is exactly a flaw.

D&D shouldn't be expected to be able to run every kind of story equally well.

2

No RPG should have that kind of pressure, and the fact that people (including and especially D&D's developers) think the game ought to be so broad is one of the reasons the system is laden with poorly implemented and contradictory subsystems.

Julix

I'm not sure what you're saying

The Oberoni Fallacy I get

but it's only a weak point of the system if it is part of it's goals right?

BESW

Right.

Sadly, for D&D, it is one of the system's goals (barring 4e).

Julix

Does D&D intend to make it easy or to "allow for" good story telling with many themes?

BESW

12:30 AM

@Julix It feels the obligation to, largely for financial reasons.

Julix

haha

BESW

Hasbro owns Wizards of the Coast.

Hasbro has a policy: if a franchise makes a certain amount of money, the franchise lives and its developers have a pretty free rein.

If the franchise doesn't hit the income threshold, it's canned.

Lord_Gareth

Pathfinder continues that expectation, because Paizo is run by subhuman apes who wouldn't know proper design or RPG theory if you tattooed it into their flesh.

Julix

Part of me was thinking of pathfinder as basically the mechanics-only for story telling --- this part of me is willing to refluff anything as I see fit always.

BESW

D&D makes money hand over fist because it's the flagship RPG system. It is the default game that people go to when they think about RPGs.

Julix

12:32 AM

Part of me sees the D&D universe as an equivalent to the lord of the rings universe (which is very false)

BESW

But the wider RPG market is changing drastically: the emphasis now is on systems with specific, narrow experience goals.

Julix

and that causes all kinds of expectations

like things making sense

BESW

D&D can't admit that it's also a niche experience system, because that would reduce the sales below the Hasbro threshold.

Julix

In lord of the rings you never ran into an ork somewhere unless A. the Ork was sent there and people know where you are or B. the Ork had other reasons to be there. If you were all knowing you could track the biography of that Ork pretty far back

BESW

So the game is forced to try to cover more kinds of game experience than it's actually able to, or it'll get junked... but the process of doing that makes it increasingly junky.

12

Q: What is an easy to learn and teach combat-focused game set in the Lord of the Rings series?

I want to get started with RPGs and I want to play the Lord of the Rings and Middle-earth stories. I'm looking for a system which is: Cheap Simple to learn for noobs like me, and easy for a noob to teach to other noobs combat-focused LOTRisable (for example, works well in a low magic setting) ...

game-recommendation

Julix

12:34 AM

So instead of the system doing theming work for you that is put mostly on the DM - but to increase sales further they take that work back make modules and sell those to the DMs

BESW

@Julix Indeed, the notion that D&D is largely based on LotR has led to a lot of frustration.

@Julix Right.

And the modules don't fit together nicely, creating both mechanical and setting contradictions.

Julix

A lot of those modules try to make sense in their sub world - providing less broad random encounter tables etc

oh! that leads to between model dissonance

because the larger system doesn't have a theme each smaller system makes up their own - and sometimes they conflict

BESW

Which leads to encouraging specific styles of play (because there are optimal mechanics for builds and everything else is relatively trashy) instead of expanding into new styles.

Julix

or most of the time minorly

@BESW expand on that please - what styles are encouraged?

Zachiel

Solving all problems with force, because if it has stats, it can be killed. We call that "being a murderhobo".

4

BESW

12:40 AM

@Julix Because some mechanical choices (classes, feats, spells, etc) are obviously superior to others in making an effective character, the superior choices --and the playstyles associated with them-- are encouraged and the inferior choices (and their playstyles) fall to the wayside unless a group consciously abandons mechanical effectiveness.

Julix

oh man this debate is soooo satisfying for me

Lord_Gareth

@BESW There's a middle ground.

Julix

it makes sense of a lot of things I've been told at different times

Lord_Gareth

A point at which characters can handle 70% of published monsters while retaining strong mechanical variance

Julix

like when people say "you can't do that because you won't be powerful enough for your level" bla

Lord_Gareth

12:41 AM

Admittedly most of the PHB is still dragged out back and shot that way.

BESW

@Zachiel Has the right of it: the way to be effective is to gain XP and wealth as quickly and efficiently as possible for the minimum expenditure of resources.

Julix

I'm like - for my level? I just go somewhere where I can do something that is on par with my strength - but not in unmodified D&D - random encounters would increase with level etc

BESW

Since, for example, D&D 3.5 puts a hard cap on role-playing XP per session, RP-based features and abilities are not as valuable.

@Lord_Gareth It is very very hard to find that balance point, not least because --as you point out-- many of the most prominent and widely-supported options (those in the core books) need to be nuked from orbit.

Julix

interesting. never heard of xp for roleplaying - or at least not as part of the inplace system

BESW

@Julix That right there is one of D&D's problems.

Lord_Gareth

12:43 AM

@Julix It's in the DMG for Asmodeus' sake, how the hell did you miss it?

Julix

@Lord_Gareth sorry, the what/

Metool

Dungeon Master's Guide

Alex P

@Julix I think XP for roleplaying doesn't really work.

Julix

yeah, it puts extrinsic incentive on something that they already ought to like to do

thus killing intrinsic motivation

(I study psychology)

Alex P

It doesn't form a cycle. You "roleplay," you get some XP, and then you get... more hit points and spell slots and class abilitiies. Which are almost all for fighting.

Zachiel

12:46 AM

@BESW In Belkar's words "Run, my pretty little chunks of XP, run!!"

Julix

haha

It would be nice if you could spend XP to buy feats etc. - INSTEAD of leveling up

Lord_Gareth

@Julix Play E6, done

Julix

that way your level would be low but you could buy stuff that isn't combat effective

E6?

Lord_Gareth

@Julix Level caps at level 6, each "level" gained thereafter is a bonus feat

Julix

@Lord_Gareth haha cool

Zachiel

12:48 AM

@Julix No that would be the same. You'd need to be able to buy things that let you roleplay better, like tokens you can spend to modify the story.

Julix

@Zachiel there are many feats that are near useless in combat, no?

Zachiel

@Julix yes but, since you get a single type of slot for both kinds of feat, the vast majority of feats gets spent in staying alive. Killing faster and being more effective at combat.

Julix

right - I meant spending special kind of XP for special kind of traits and feats etc

Lord_Gareth

Skill tricks can help with RP

And they're a lot cheaper than feats

BESW

@Julix I'll track down the citation.

Julix

12:51 AM

@Lord_Gareth skill tricks?

Zachiel

@Lord_Gareth I don't know. They can only be used once every while and buying ranks still seems better to me

Lord_Gareth

@Julix Complete Scoundrel, very nifty and interesting system. Not taken nearly far enough but them's the breaks.

Metool

@Julix Instead of buying a skill with your skill points, you buy a neat little ability. It's like a slotless feat, sort of.

BESW

> Roleplaying Awards
> A player who enjoys playing a role well may sometimes make decisions that fit his or her character but don’t necessarily lead to the most favorable outcome for that character. Good roleplayers might perform some deeds that seem particularly fitting for their characters. Someone playing a bard might compose a short poem about events in the campaign. A smart-aleck sorcerer might crack an in-game joke that sends the other players to the floor laughing. Another player might have his character fall in love with an NPC and then devote some portion of his time to playing out…

Alex P

Also, a problem with the way most people do "roleplaying XP" is that now you're stuck with individual XP.

BESW

12:53 AM

Personally, my biggest problem with XP for RP is that it makes the GM the RP Police.

Julix

yeah - and GM got better stuff to track anyways

Alex P

@BESW That is also terrible, yes.

Metool

You took spotlight the most, have a level so you can do more stuff!

BESW

If I'm handing out XP for "good roleplaying," that means everyone starts trying to conform to my ideas about "good roleplaying" instead of RPing the way they think will be best.

Julix

and I didn't get XP updates frequently - so no instant reinforcement

BESW

12:55 AM

It actually reduces the potential for truly good spontaneous RP.

Julix

agreed.

chocolate! alternative source of reinforcement with no ingame consequences - still rp policing but you don't have to track it through out the game and award later - just give a player a tiny bit of chocolate when they "performed" their character

BESW

On an entirely different note, why do people keep thinking Equestrian ponies are herbivores?

Lord_Gareth

@Julix - Honestly bro, try playing some Legend

Metool

@BESW What makes you ask that?

BESW

3

Q: If the ponies are vegetarian, why do they raise pigs?

From everything I've seen so far, the ponies seem to be herbivores. We never see them eat meat products of any kind. But the Apple family raises pigs in their farm (Season 3 Episode 10 "Spike at Your Service"). It makes sense for ponies to raise sheep (for the wool), cows (for the milk) and chick...

my-little-pony-fim

Alex P

12:57 AM

@Lord_Gareth How does Legend handle advancement / reward cycles?

@BESW Because ponies, and it would be creepy otherwise?

BESW

@AlexP Eh, the big hurdle is that the meat talks.

Lord_Gareth

@AlexP XP is an optional rule; advancement is by-default done at plot-appropriate times (as judged by the GM). Rewards are primarily RP-based, but for loot-inclined groups Consumables are available, as are additional Items which can be used in place of the ones you picked up during the leveling process.

More Items means more options, not more power.

BESW

Equestrian ponies are obviously unlike real-world ponies in so many ways, being omnivores isn't a big stretch.

2

We already know they're made of balloons stuffed with coffee beans.

Julix

@Lord_Gareth How is more items not more power?

Metool

@BESW Coffee grounds.

Lord_Gareth

1:04 AM

@Julix Legend defines a specific number of items slots for each character. To use an item, it has to be attuned to one of those slots, and you can only change the items you have attuned up to once a [Scene], at the beginning of the [Scene].

So you can't problem solve on the fly by altering items.

Alex P

@BESW I'm not saying it's a big stretch. I'm saying the answer to "Why don't people want them to be omnivores?" is because it seems a bit creepy and confusing to a lot of people.

BESW

@AlexP Fair enough.

I'm more disturbed by Rainbow Dash's alcoholism.

Metool

Drinking and flying is a real concern.

Julix

►

Metool

See the episode where she starts off in the hospital.

Zachiel

1:06 AM

@Lord_Gareth I have a shirt sporting Legend's name on it now - and several other RPGs to be true. But Legend is down there on the right, next to Trollbabe.

BESW

Metool

Apparently my chat indicator is green. A refresh solves that.

BESW

@Metool Oh, the typing indicator?

Yeah, sometimes the script seems to pick up on when I'm typing and broadcast that to my screen as well.

Julix

When I designed my first character for pathfinder I went through the rules and looked at all the possible options for a human rogue, it was quite overwhelming -- but it was top down. I'd find a trait that I liked and then build that into the story to get that bonus. --- wouldn't it make much more sense to design a character from story to rules? - i.e. make up some character and then find rules that make that possible and when ever there isn't something try to come up with something fair

Metool

@BESW No, I mean when my chatbox is empty and unfocused.

Lord_Gareth

1:13 AM

@Julix Legend's good for that too.

BESW

@Julix You could also try Fate. [grin]

@Metool Ah, fair enough.

The script definitely has some bugs.

Julix

in my past game that wasn't possible because the GM trusted the rules a lot, and seemed hesitant to make stuff up

why is that?

Alex P

@Julix In my opinion: combine them. The two should weave together. As opposed to just going story->rules or rules->story.

Julix

I don't mean why was she - but why is it that GMs in general could be hesitant to make up their own feats etc

Zachiel

@Julix Stuff easily breaks. Handle with care, especially if you don't know why it breaks.

Metool

1:15 AM

(Legend has been kid-tested.)

Zachiel

Another reason I named before: sometimes the players just assume things are the ones they know about. For example, introduce lots of house rules and you can't use the guides on the Internet.

Julix

kid tested?

BESW

@Julix Fate is strongly narrative-first: The Golden Rule is "Decide what you’re trying to accomplish first, then consult the rules to help you do it." The Silver Rule is "Never let the rules get in the way of what makes narrative sense."

Metool

Child-proofed, I should say.

Julix

so was it tested on kids or no?

Metool

1:16 AM

At some point.

Julix

you mean the Rule of cool guys's thing right?

Metool

Yes.

Julix

I can't remember was it you that recommended it yesterday or someone else?

Metool

Myself, yes.

Julix

haha - I was starting to feel like everyone keeps telling me to try that system :D

still I'll check it out

what's up with the 2 player minimum?

Metool

1:26 AM

GM + player.

Julix

oh!

hahahaha

I once saw an amazing video of a GM introducing his GF to pathfinder - she didn't know most the rules nor had to - but gradually learned them anyways as a side effect of doing stuff

kind of how it worked win my one shot modules

►

I really enjoyed the part where they get to the actual game experience. - because it's just her and the gm it's like reacting to the environment directly and it to her

I would love to play a thief game with only 1 or two players - perhaps actual people for some of the NPCs if I can find volunteers for different voices and stuff :-)

but that wouldn't be necessary at all. just the thief and world (GM) would be fine

I have no idea though how I'd design a good thief game with pathfinder

I guess it would depend on the target

Alex P

I think that depends on how well you can hack the system to support failure and graduated outcomes.

Julix

good point!

make it not all or nothing - steal or die :D

Zachiel

@Julix It's all about how you can hack the system - but you need to hack it somehow, because all or nothing is bad for finding clues and many other now-or-never things

BESW

This is a good example of how some systems are better at certain kinds of experience than others are.

Julix

1:39 AM

gradual outcomes are much more realistic too... - I hated it soo much in games like Baldurs gate where taking something small makes everyone go hostile on you right away, even if it's only commoners etc. - I would accept them refusing to talk to you or something but go "hostile" to run away is just strange :D

What system would you use for simulating thievery?

BESW

4e tried to mitigate the all-or-nothing nature of skill checks by making them more like combat: a series of d20 rolls, where no single success or single failure would determine the outcome.

Alex P

@BESW What's the final outcome, though?

BESW

@Julix There's no single answer to that, because it depends on what you want to model.

Julix

I want to model pickpocketing and breakin-and-entry

BESW

@AlexP Depends on the deftness of the skill challenge designer. I made them "success," "failure," or "success at cost of resources."

(And potentially "failure at cost of resources.")

@Julix Yes, but how much time do you want it to take at the table? How complicated or simple is the process? Can any PC try it, but some are better at it, or is it something you have to build for?

What's the relationship between skill and random luck?

Julix

1:43 AM

Very good points... --- my original thought was something for 1 thief build and 1 GM to do in a secondary session

Alex P

@Julix Also, do you want the success or failure of the challenge to be its own thing, or is this just background on top of larger themes and goals?

Julix

i.e. something that happens while the characters are in a town sleeping in a tavern and the rogue goes out to have some fun instead (in a separate game session so you can make it take all the time it needs)

BESW

These are just some of the considerations that go into choosing or designing a mechanic, because the nature of the mechanic will change the kind of story it's being used to tell.

Julix

Mostly the stealing is not for anything in particular

say they go to the local wizard and see a hat of desguise - the thief loves it but is broke

BESW

And if it's a subsystem tacked onto a pre-existing game system, you have to consider how it will interact with the rest of the system.

Julix

1:45 AM

so he sneaks back in at night to take it

it would be like a mini-game within normal pathfinder for me

BESW

Is it attached to the thief's Pathfinder stats, skills, and features, or is it mechanically unrelated?

Julix

It could be separate but I'd still make the char spend skill points on the pathfinder skills as well (so they can't abuse the minigame for free skill points)

BESW

If it has to be attached to PF's core system, I'd be inclined to see if there's a PF version of skill challenges, or modify Stalker0's Alternate Core Skill Challenge System myself.

If it's not attached to PF's core system, I'd probably do a very lightweight Fate Core system.

Julix

like I said it could be a separate system if there's a great thieving simulator out there

BESW

And again, what kind of thieving are we talking about? Is it based on personality skills, or physical skills, or gadgetry?

Alex P

1:49 AM

Well, a lot of thieving is inherently risk-averse and rather unheroic.

A lot of fictional "thieves" are just greedy adventurers having adventures.

Julix

that depends on the target. all of those things!

gadgetry not so much

"thief tools" is good enough for me :D

@AlexP exactly. and I want to allow them to have the occasional solo experience where they can be thieves not rogues

I'm just really worried about how much effort it would be to prepare the thieving scenario

what NPCs are where, city guards roaming streets in the evning?

BESW

Personally, when I was in the 3.5 environment, I'd just free-form it and call for a roll when either failure or success seemed interesting.

Alex P

@Julix Even in solo stories, though. Conan is a "thief." Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are "thieves." Their "on-screen" thieving mostly involves sneaking into a dungeon-type setups and then eventually fighting a demon or something.

BESW

But I was big on doing a lot of setting prep pre-campaign, and then just using the general setting knowledge to improvise specifics as needed.

Julix

right, that would be cool

I think thieving could be simulated with pathfinder - but I really wouldn't know how to prepare the target.

BESW

1:53 AM

Not the GMing style for everyone, but it worked well for me.

Julix

Example I gave was the wizard's magical gear shop.

Thief wants to steal hat of disguise

he had visited the shop a few days before and seen it

BESW

First thing: how hard is this going to be? This should be a meta choice about the kind of experience you want to provide the player, not a choice based on anything about how hard you think a wizard's shop should be to break into.

Julix

now I'm thinking I'd have to come up with some kind of personality for the wizard that runs the shop - where does he keep his stuff, how paranoid is he? is there actual protection or is local people knowing he's a wizard enough protection? - do I have to think about that every time he wants to steal anything from a magic shop?

BESW

Second: define the wizard. Not mechanically, but personally, and in a way that justifies the kind of experience you want.

Julix

I don't want to make a meta choice - I want it to depend completely on the target. whether or not it's doable depends on who that wizard is :D

right.

BESW

1:57 AM

@Julix I understand, but I think that's silly.

Julix

yeah... it is.

how would you do it?

BESW

You're still the GM making the decision, but if you based it on the imaginary character you thought up instead of on the kind of experience you want to give your friend... you're just ducking responsibility if the friend winds up having a bad time, because you can blame it on your imaginary character.

2

Julix

Is there a way I could standardize it?

Zachiel

> I like wizards. What I don't like is my mother's obsession with feigning interest in them to antagonize me.

3

BESW

@KarlBielefeldt Hi!

Karl Bielefeldt

1:58 AM

Hey. Just peeking in.

BESW

@Julix Sure, but I wouldn't. I'd tailor each encounter to challenge the PC and make him use his abilities, and to provide the kind of story the player will enjoy.

Julix

I don't have a player wanting to be a rogue. I'm trying to think about it from a GM perspective so I can describe the how to a friend and have them GM my thief :-P

BESW

Otherwise... well, to be a little extreme: if you just have a formula you're following, what's the difference between having a living GM at the table and playing a programmed computer RPG?

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