TRPG General Chat

Ruut

5:00 AM

Ever been in a room where you felt like dumbest guy there, but no one regarded you in that way?

Lord_Gareth

@Magician Yes?

Ruut

That was that conference. Then I spent the months afterward wondering how on Earth could I ever have an inkling of brain power as the people on that stage.

Magician

@Lord_Gareth Writing RPGs is something I'm interested in. Obviously, you'd know better who you want and etc.

Lord_Gareth

@Magician At the moment everything is extremely up in the air, but if you wanna kick me a gmail address I'll poke you.

doppelgreener

@Ruut Read this: 99u.com/articles/32985/…

Magician

5:04 AM

@Lord_Gareth magbonch@gmail.com (it's actually in my user profile).

Lord_Gareth

@Magician Like I investigate those >.>

Aight, I'm there whenever you are. Playing details close to the chest, for now

doppelgreener

(There is also another way to consider it: you are comparing your own behind-the-scenes to their highlight reel.)

BESW

@doppelgreener I consider about 1/4 of xkcd to be a reassuring monologue on this topic.

doppelgreener

@BESW Hey, I guess it is. :)

Magician

@Lord_Gareth I'm currently at the computer and can (more or less) chat. If that was addressed to me.

Ruut

5:10 AM

I remember with playing some ebberron for the first time, I was looking at some of the constructs, and due to my engineering background, I kept telling the other players of how impractical or how impossible most of the designs, as pictured, were.

Lord_Gareth

@Magician Indeed. I poked you over Gmail and am waiting for a reply of some kind

Ruut

I was told to quit psychoanalyzing fantasy and have fun.

doppelgreener

@Ruut ahaaaa, the engineer's curse, I know this too XD

Ruut

It was actually fun for me to try and explain the fantasy using real world phenomena.

doppelgreener

@Lord_Gareth if you need my email, @BESW ought to be able to give you it over secure channels

Lord_Gareth

5:12 AM

@doppelgreener Excellent, thank you

Magician

@Lord_Gareth Weird, I'm not seeing anything.

Lord_Gareth

@Magician I'll revert to a traditional chat

Ruut

@doppelgreener I remember the very first dwarf I had. I took crafting to an extreme. I drew out schematics for bound ice and air elementals to provide air conditioning throught a keep.

4

though out*

Lord_Gareth

@Magician Chat invite sent

doppelgreener

@Ruut You can tap the up key to edit a message you've just set (and esc to cancel), or hover the message and click on the bar that appears on its left and hit 'edit'

@Ruut That sounds like brilliant engineering, if a little diabolical!

Ruut

5:19 AM

@doppelgreener Oh ok. Hell, look at my ignorance involving this chat room. I am embarrassed.

doppelgreener

@Ruut It's fine, chat is full of lots of little secret features

@doppelgreener like how to reply to your own posts >8D

Ruut

@doppelgreener Diabolical indeed. I was duergar.

doppelgreener

@Ruut I have no idea what that means, but it sounds friendly, and I am presuming it is not

Miniman

@doppelgreener Wait, what? I've wanted to do that before

@doppelgreener ~~Never mind, I just worked it out~~ No I didn't

Ruut

@doppelgreener Duergar are the dwarves of the Underdark. Like Drow are the elves of the Underdark. Duergar is actually Old Norse for Dwarf. Just consider them sinister dark dwarves.

Miniman

5:22 AM

@Miniman Is this it?

Ruut

@Miniman Huey Lewis song?

Miniman

@Ruut Huh?

doppelgreener

@Miniman replies to other posts are just : followed by the post number. If you get to the drop-down menu for a chat message, copy the permalink - the number at the end after the # is the post number. :)

Miniman

@doppelgreener Yep, I worked it out. See above. I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP :P

doppelgreener

@Miniman aha 8)

Ruut

5:29 AM

Another invention my duergar had was a log transportation system that carried logs from the surface world into the underdark. We had skeletal squirrels running on wheels that turned the cogs to make a conveyor belt run nonstop. We had a contract with a treant that selected naturally fallen trees for us to utilize. Wood is a hot commodity in the underdark.

doppelgreener

that must be a long conveyor belt system

Ruut

@doppelgreener It was a work in progress. The problem was trying to defend it. It was not as profitable as planned. My dwarf was an inventor - not a saavy businessman.

Miniman

@Ruut Failed your Appraise check on hugely elaborate timber transportation systems? It's happened to all of us...

Ruut

5:46 AM

@Miniman Ha ha. Indeed I did.

Miniman

@Ruut A guy I play with is still firmly convinced that tanglefoot bags are worth several thousand GP each and has insisted on getting them as his share of the reward. Oddly enough, he hasn't managed to sell any of them yet.

Ruut

@Miniman I can't think of one instance where a tanglefoot bag ever came into play in any game I have played/dm'd.

Miniman

@Ruut They're actually kind of overpowered in low-level play.

But they get weak very fast.

Ruut

@Miniman I won't doubt its application. My players are typically conventional I suppose. The only time they ever seen anyone ever use splash weapons was when one of the other guys dm'd and I felt it necessary to show them a "dirty fighter." A rogue that had lots of sneak attack feats that punched casters in the throat and crafted his own molotav cocktails filled with oil, marbles, and caltrops.

Miniman

Time for me to head home, ttyl

BESW

7:10 AM

@Emrakul Oh hi.

user61230

7:26 AM

@BESW Oh hi!

Metool

... why does Google synonymize necklace of adaptation and necklace of fireballs?

(Pathfinder)

user61230

Because chameleons are fireproof.

BESW

If RPGs have taught me anything, it's that with enough fire, you can adapt any situation into submission.

trogdor

what about fire elementals taking over the world?

BESW

What part of 'enough fire' are you missing, here?

trogdor

7:41 AM

pretty sure "enough fire" doesn't cut it if what you are throwing fire at either does not take damage or is actually healed by it

XD

user61230

Consume the fire. Become the fire-lord.

trogdor

that application of fire was not listed as an option

however, it does make sense

seeing as the context is RPG's in general

BESW

Sometimes you have to be... creative... about exactly how you apply fire to adapting the situation.

trogdor

quite true

BESW

7:56 AM

[note to self: Action Scientist with the Science aspect If fire doesn't work, you're not using fire right.]

trogdor

8:11 AM

lol

please no :P

doppelgreener

0

Q: A user script for hiding comments and answers until you want to see them

I've created a user script that hides comments and answers on Puzzling.SE's main site by default, and reveals them only when you want them revealed. I've done this because I'm the sort of person who dislikes having potential spoilers or answers in view or at risk of being in view whilst I'm mull...

discussion

I like being able to write user scripts.

3

BESW

We like you being able to write user scripts, too!

trogdor

yes we do

doppelgreener

d'aw :)

BESW

8:59 AM

> Robo: I didn't start this company all those years ago to not nuke things!
Action Scientist: They didn't even have nukes when you started this company.
Robo: Yes, but shut up.

trogdor

lol

currently I am messing around with possibilities for Dr Light (RNP) and I have a slightly reworked version of the aspects he might end up having on Notepad

lisardggY

Hola.

@doppelgreener Yeah. Userscripts are life hacking.

BESW

9:23 AM

@lisardggY Hey.

BESW

9:40 AM

@Ruut Please don't give answers in comments; it bypasses the voting system which keeps this site a pile of neatly-sorted answers which others can refer to, and it enforces bad habits about the expected quality of contributions. (And in this case, if he hasn't done basic reading then he shouldn't be bringing the question to us--so we should be assuming he HAS read the content of your link, but is confused by it and wants our help understanding it.)

Mourdos

I keep forgetting that Chat is also the non private messaging system.

lisardggY

Non-private and unreliable. Not everyone can be pinged in chat.

BESW

Ruut can, because he's been in here recently.

Mourdos

Ah.

I'm looking for a guide (Pathfinder) on ways to improve your staying power other than boosting AC.

I don't think the above is a valid RPG.SE question, so asking it here :P

BESW

Step one: boost your Int to 38 or better.

Mourdos

9:48 AM

I'm up to 27 :P

BESW

....do better.

Once you've done that, Step Two: get an Amulet of the Planes.

Mourdos

I don't know how to get up to 38. Base 16 and I'm a tiefling for 18. 3 ability points take me to 21, Int +6 takes me to 27, Tome of clarity +1 to 28

BESW

Step Three: create a chain of clones, contingent spells, and simulacrae, defended by the most powerful ambient protections and obfuscation you can find (such as placing your clone body in a popped bag of holding), so that your death is Merely A Setback.

Step Four: use astral projection to accompany your foolish minions on their adventures.

Mourdos

We have an alchemist who uses Doppelganger Simu-things. Seems easier :P

BESW

If your projection is slain, cast it again and use the Amulet to plane shift unerringly to the exact location of your party.

Your only danger is having your real body get found, or your astral cord cut, which is why you have the backups. But otherwise, your death is just a delay of two standard actions.

Bonus points: become a lich, live inside a popped bag of holding.

Mourdos

9:53 AM

Seems a little overkill at the moment.

I might aim for that at higher levels.

BESW

Well, then get protection from death effects, spell resistance, and the highest miss chance you can.

Mourdos

Sounds like a plan.

Ruut

10:25 AM

@BESW My apologies. I thought something as simple as what I did didn't really fit the bill as an answer.

BESW

@Ruut Well, it'd be a really bad answer because it's just a link, so you're right in that.

But it's more like an answer--albeit one which just says "RTFM"--than anything a comment should be doing.

If you don't have enough content to make it a proper answer, don't leave a half-answer lying around. Let the question get fixed and re-opened so a full answer can be given. If a half-answer is provided, that reduces the chance the person will feel any need to fix their question.

trogdor

hmm, I dunno if I did it wrong or it just ended up that way, but it looks right now like Dr Light might have 4 or 5 stress in both categories

BESW

@trogdor Ooer.

To the Fate room!

Fate chat and game room

Good questions raised here should hit the main site too! Fudge...

trogdor

yep

Phil

11:58 AM

0

Q: Occurrence of Magic in Middle Earth

Our group is regularly playing in Tolkiens Middle Earth universe, and we use a combination of MERP extended with Rolemaster as our system. And from what I gathered online, this seems to be a populare choice for fantasy RPGs which takes place in Tolkiens universe. Now, both MERP--up to some degre...

rolemaster merp tolkien

VTC as opinion based?

Aaron

Morning

Ruut

12:12 PM

@BESW Understood. I don't even see the question anymore, must have been deleted.

BESW

It's on hold, and your comment was deleted.

Ruut

@BESW I agree with @Miniman that it is a possible duplicate - assuming it is 3.5

BESW

Oh, yes. It's absolutely a dupe if it's 3.5.

Aaron

12:34 PM

doppelgreener

@Aaron I am impressed :)

BESW

12:54 PM

We've been hashing out Trogdor's Atomic Robo plant mutant PC, and I have to share these aspects!

> Concept: Tesladyne's best photobotanist
Mutant: It looks worse than it is
Science: Energy And You!
Action: I AM science!
Omega: My work is too important!

Magician

1:27 PM

Asking for trouble. http://t.co/2Ch14tMvHT

Tweeted by tdawks on July 18, 2014 at 10:49 AM

BESW

Oh, man. Never let monkeys anywhere near an arts and crafts show.

Mourdos

Heh

Is that near fleet?

I think it is.

Magician

Once you let them near tanks, they'll let themselves near arts & crafts.

Mourdos

Yep, I know where that place is.

The Oracle

0

Q: Worldbuilding tag vs Site

Can we get a clarified difference between world-building and World Building SE. I personally feel that they're probably different in scope. The reason I'm asking this, is I've asked a couple of questions (really it was the same one clarified) trying to get help in the process that comes with rea...

discussion

Mourdos

1:41 PM

I think someone posted in the wrong place

Apparently not.

BESW

2:47 PM

It's time to light the candles/It's time to kill the sheep/It's time to wake the Muppets from a thousand years of sleep

Tweeted by EllisLal on October 5, 2014 at 5:05 AM

.@EllisLal It's time to put on death masks / it's time to fear the worst / It's time to worship Muppets in the hopes they'll eat us first!

Tweeted by inurashii on October 5, 2014 at 6:07 PM in reply to EllisLal

Goodnight, sweet dreams.

Joshua Aslan Smith

3:12 PM

yo

Mourdos

Nice

Joshua Aslan Smith

7:25 PM

@waxeagle I believe ken and I will both be good to attend tomorrow night

wax eagle

cool

Aaron

7:59 PM

First one(The big one) Nat 20 you are a little overzealous in your ketchuping. Second one Nat 1. You fall and get ketchup everywhere.

BESW

10:27 PM

It took me an insanely long time to realize that these were in fact not tiny brontosauruses http://t.co/YBpLdixWSH

Tweeted by DrScienceCat on October 8, 2014 at 4:02 PM

4

Adeptus

@BESW The tiny brontosauruses have disguised themselves well! They are fooling even the skeptics!

Lord_Gareth

@BESW Legalities email sent, fun times all around.

BESW

10:52 PM

@Lord_Gareth Hobbs expressed positive interest when I gave him a quick overview of the situation last night.

Lord_Gareth

11:04 PM

@BESW Excellent :D

Adeptus

I am intrigued by the secret planning...

BESW

18 hours ago, by Lord_Gareth

@doppelgreener I want you and @BESW to write an RPG, potentially

trogdor

very very secret

that's why it's posted here

2

Bradd Szonye

Just earned the Peer Pressure badge. Woohoo?

I should have known better than to touch a question related to GNS or Threefold.

BESW

Grats!

Miniman

11:22 PM

If an asker hasn't specified a system, we're not meant to make assumptions no matter how obvious it seems, right?

trogdor

oh jeez

BESW

Mmm. Thing is, it's sometimes not as obvious as it seems.

trogdor

I got stared for that

BESW

We recently had a question that turned out to be some unholy hybrid between 3.5 and 2e, for example.

(And, looking at the post you're talking about... it's that guy again.)

Miniman

Yeah, someone tried to tag it as 3.5. First time I've used my new power over suggested edits

Bradd Szonye

11:31 PM

Which post?

Lord_Gareth

@BESW - Get you and hobbs sendin' emails back to the boss confirming consent; that's for the legalities

BESW

0

Q: Making a ranged rogue

So, I just started my first dnd session a couple weeks ago. The party needed a rogue, so I made a melee guy who used two-weapon fighting. As with all melee rogues, he was supposed to deal damage in combat by flanking and getting his sneak attack bonus. Except now, after just having reached 2nd le...

house-rules rogue ranged-attack

Bradd Szonye

He’s talking about flank attacks, so it’s probably not D&D5.

And different XP totals for classes ... wow.

Miniman

@BraddSzonye And his previous question on exactly the same topic was 3.5, so it is almost certainly 3.5

Bradd Szonye

He might be playing D&D3.5, but his DM is almost certainly playing AD&D2.

3

Miniman

11:33 PM

But there's a very established precedent for requiring users to specify the system themselves

BESW

@Miniman Did you read the answers on his previous question?

Bradd Szonye

I wonder if the DM is literally playing a different edition of D&D from the players.

BESW

5

A: Closing questions instead of fixing really minor issues

The point, besides getting correct answers to an accurate question, is to teach the user how to use the site. "Please clarify what game system you're using" is not a high bar. If they are unable/unwilling to do that, then are they even going to come back to see the answers? Frankly, we aren't i...

Miniman

@BESW Yep, it's a pretty bad situation

BESW

The general precedent of "Please tag your system" has a lot of good social-construct/habit-forming reasons behind it.

In this particular case, it's also a great example of how our assumptions can miss the nuance of the querent's situation.

Bradd Szonye

11:42 PM

By the way, does anybody even still use GNS Theory?

GNS Theory

The GNS Theory, as originally developed by Ron Edwards, is a relatively amorphous body of work attempting to create a theory of how role-playing games work. Primarily, GNS Theory holds that participants in role-playing games reinforce each other's behaviour towards ends which can be divided into three categories: Gamist, Narrativist and Simulationist. Strictly, GNS theory is concerned with players' social interactions, but it has been extrapolated to direct game design, both in and outside the world of RPGs. A game can be classified according to how strongly it encourages or facilitates players...

Wikipedia says that Ron Edwards abandoned it almost 10 years ago.

BESW

It's still used in casual conversation and archaic corners.

It's a quick, simple way to jumpstart thinking about that sort of thing, but it's a lousy place to stay.

Bradd Szonye

Yeah. Back in the day, it was essentially a flaming cesspit.

Everybody had their own One True Threefold Model which was basically a collection of things they liked and straw man versions of things they didn’t like.

I mostly saw the original RGFA Threefold Model version of things, which was a bit different from Edwards’ version. The whole thing was just toxic.

Miniman

On a completely off-topic note, every time a comment of mine gets starred in chat, I feel like 'That was the least funny thing I said that day, why the hell are people starring that?'

4

BESW

11:58 PM

Oooh, I got an undownvote on an answer.

Bradd Szonye

Nice!

Miniman

@BESW [looks around shiftily] No idea who would've done that, the voting system is anonymous.

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