TRPG General Chat

JohnP

00:31

Evening/morning/afternoon/pick your time, all.

So, being the impulsive freak that I am, I went out and bought $100 worth of mini painting supplies today.

doppelgreener

@JohnP [picks heat death of the universe]

AgentPaper

Anyone have experience with creating new/modified monsters for DnD 5e?

Pixie

01:05

That sense of defeat when you overcook cupcakes... that batter was destined for great things, but its glory has been stolen from it.

@JohnP Heh, this is why I haven't allowed myself to start minis.

doppelgreener

@Pixie [sheds a tear]

Pixie

@doppelgreener I used the last bit of granulated sugar on that batter, too.

doppelgreener

@Pixie noooooO!!

Pixie

May they rest in peace. [looks to the stars]

Adeptus

@doppelgreener from almost 2 years ago, but this was still after the govt inquiry - gizmodo.com.au/2013/02/…

> It’s still cheaper to fly from here in Sydney to Los Angeles, buy it there, and come home. By doing that I’d save $601, and I’d get Virgin Australia frequent flyer points, too.

I once half-joked I was going to start a new business - fly to US, buy a suitcase full of Adobe software, fly home & sell at below local RRP. And still make a huge profit.

Pixie

01:19

I'm glad I'm not actually dedicated enough to digital art to need Adobe products.

doppelgreener

@Adeptus i had the same thought at the time ;)

@Pixie me2

Adeptus

My daughter is doing digital art at school this year, using Adobe software. Luckily, the school supply the software (at least until she finishes school)

Pixie

Clip Studio Paint is all I need for art, with GIMP for graphic design (my need for which is usually limited to slapped-together RP graphics). I don't do too much publishing stuff, and I do have the most experience in InDesign with that, but there are free programs out there I know I can use if I need 'em.

Adeptus

At home she mostly uses Paint.Net - it's easy to use & can do almost everything she wants. If it did animated GIFs it'd be perfect. (I use GIMP for animated GIFs, but it's a lot less user-friendly)

Pixie

@Adeptus I use PDN a lot too, when I don't feel like dealing with the bloat of GIMP.

And yeah, GIMP really is a pain for animated GIFs.

I've got to face the writing on the wall and get a new tablet, though. My dear Intuos2 still functions, but Windows 8 (for which it isn't supported) thinks it's a touch screen device when you try to use it, and it does weird things.

Shalvenay

01:53

yeah, digital art is something I'm not good at, sadly

JohnP

02:50

@Pixie I'm not generally good at art, but some of the minis that I picked up are REALLY nice. Some of the full size Ral Partha dragons, and Thunderbolt Mountain as well. I'm practicing on the small minis to get technique down before I start the big, really nice ones.

BESW

05:02

Today in "Why do I even bother making stuff up?" we have L’enfer Cabaret.

2

user61230

05:46

@Shalvenay I hate to sound harsh about this (re: previous conversation), but there's no way I can phrase this both bluntly and nicely.

user61230

The way you view the world is terribly incomplete.

user61230

I say this in the full hope that eventually you will understand what I mean by this, and I hope you will be better for it. Nonetheless, it needs to be said.

user61230

What you're seeing in role-playing games is symptomatic of a larger problem.

user61230

In order to address your problem in-game, you need to address it out-of-game first.

user61230

By all means, use games as a means of understanding it out-of-game, but acknowledge that the problem isn't a role-playing one.

BESW

06:12

**Cool RPG/SE stuff:** [Bundle of Holding](http://bundleofholding.com "buy RPGs cheap in bulk, support charities & indie designers!");
[GameMechanics.SE](http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/80264 "in the Definition stage");
[ScaleModeling.SE](http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/63543/scale-modeling "in the Definition stage");
[Coffee.SE](http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/61013/coffee "in the Commitment stage");
[IDOdds](http://idodds.org/ "What are the odds you've encountered an intellect devourer?").

3

Pixie

07:23

@JohnP I'm not great at it, but that's not what's stopping me. First, I have too many expensive hobbies. Second, I rarely finish art projects and don't have a good space to seal right now.

Practicing on minis first before I move onto my ball-jointed dolls and Pure Neemo/Obitsu mashups wouldn't be a bad idea (these dolls are... not something I want to mess up), but having somewhere to work is pretty important. If I were to seal inside, I'd be putting not only my lungs but my cats' lungs at risk.

Those dragons are great though... [sigh] Dragons.

Magician

09:05

@Pixie zomg end of season 2 of GW2.

BESW

10:01

@Magician I am going to pretend that is Gila-Wasp 2.

BESW

10:16

[pokes Adobe with a stick] I think they took MLK Day off. Which, fine, that's legit, but only further provokes the question of WHY an international online corporation that is the worldwide industry standard can't sell me something online during the weekend.

user61230

@BESW Each purchase must be manually approved by a gremlin, and everyone knows gremlins hide on prime-numbered days and even-numbered days that are multiples of five.

BESW

Just my luck.

user61230

Also, gremlins don't like bricks.

BESW

Well that's just tragic. It's hard to get cheese in wheels these days for decent prices.

user61230

the Cheese Gremlin is a rather modern invention, which hopefully will spread soon

user61230

10:25

I've heard they're more comfortable with brick-shaped cheeses

user61230

unfortunately, the Union of Gremlins for Cheese is up in arms over the innovation, saying it'll "undermine the workforce"

BESW

What about Nokia phones? How do they feel about those?

user61230

A little-known fact of the phone technology industry is that gremlins drove the Nokia brickphone into oblivion.

user61230

If you look at the market share of phones to race, gremlins made up a significant portion of Nokia's sales.

user61230

Even today, you can see gremlins waiting in line for Android releases. Curved corners are a novelty.

BESW

10:27

Interesting. I wouldn't have thought that, as brickphones were obviously the product of dwarven engineering.

Magician

@BESW You have headcannon of the chat. Of course.

3

user61230

They... well, they were... at least, until Nokia started laying off dwarves by the dozen.

BESW

10:57

[scribbles notes for campaign]

I mean, we already know amazon.com is working on fusion and force fields. No reason the phone companies can't be outsourcing to the fey realms.

Oh, hello, migraine headache.

user61230

12:00

@BESW It would be hilarious to play a dwarf conniving with gremlins to get back at Nokia for their terrible phone design choices.

user61230

Though the dwarves and gremlins might not be too happy about me doing so.

user61230

Has it ever occurred to you that if orcs were real, they'd be horribly offended by our continuously stereotyped representations of them?

user61230

"Orcs are vile! Terrible creatures! Deserve to die! Just want us dead!" - but no! All they want is to live in society, peaceful and happy, leading long and fulfilling lives. Who are we to deny them that right?

user61230

And who are we to stereotype them?

user61230

It's time for us to take a stand against anti-orc prejudice in modern media.

user61230

12:03

...though maybe after we confirm they're not here to kill us.

doppelgreener

@BESW yessssss

[also creates mental notes]

The Oracle

12:30

0

Q: How can I make this question any clearer?

What? What are some good Underdark modules? There are several qualifications in this question (including new ones, because BESW asked for them) and it was placed [ON HOLD.] I am no noob to this service, but I am baffled by this hold. How is it unclear, exactly? What, specifically, is ambiguous...

discussion

Shalvenay

@Emrakul -- no kidding! Orcs deserve better!

Aaron

13:27

Morning

Anaphory

Afternoon

BESW

Evenin'.

Magician

@BESW Them, you don't question on the veracity of their mornings. I feel my mornings are being discriminated against.

doppelgreener

@Magician We share your mornings, though.

We tend to be fairly confident of when they are not happening as a result.

Magician

My mornings! You can't have them!

Anaphory

13:33

You don't really need them all the time, do you?

Magician

I dunno. Doesn't seem like I get enough of them, honestly.

If I ever were to become a supervillain, though, stealing everyone's mornings is what I'd do first.

3

Anaphory

That sounds like a genius plan, much better than steeling chrismas or similar nonsense.

(Which is a particularly bad plan when you don't like Christmasses in the first place.)

The Oracle

0

Q: Massive edit to a question undercuts existing highly-upvoted answer

Simulate/Emulate 4th Edition Invoker in 5th Edition Per advice from doppelgreener, the OP has massively changed this question – do the question they meant to ask, no doubt, but existing meta opinion suggests that the OP should have asked a new question, since the change was significant and u...

discussion editing

Iron Heart

[wave]

Anaphory

[wave back]

Aaron

13:48

So I was thinking of performing some necromancy on some questions in the unanswered quo that are older than 3 months. Is there any reason I shouldn't?

Anaphory

There is a lot of reason you should, because that's how this site works?

There is even a badge for that.

Aptly called “necromancer”.

And if there is a badge for it, that's generally a sure sign the site wants you to do it.

Aaron

Right.

Iron Heart

14:09

So what's up?

BESW

@IronHeart Massive meta posts of doom.

Also I continue to make futile gestures of alternate supplication and damnation in the direction of Adobe.

Anaphory

@BESW Most dark gods I know of appreciate worshipping and come down on those that damnate them. You might want to make up your mind.

BESW

Adobe is a cult dedicated to the worship of that distant and uncaring god, Stockholder Profits. Such a dispassionate beast cares not in what paroxysm its victims writhe.

BESW

14:55

Typo of the evening: "Giganotasaurus."

Mourdos

Yo all.

BESW

Yo, y'all.

JohnP

yo.

Mourdos

I've just been reminded of a Dwarven deity we created in our pathfinder game. I think we designed him to irritate our stoic cleric. He was approved by most of our players. I present Breer, the dwarven pain in the ass

I think its time to make a character around him that focuses on deity's favoured weapon...

JohnP

15:12

Just model him after Jackie Chan's character/god in The Forbidden Kingdom. That's essentially what Breer is.

Mourdos

I found a pathfinder feat that lets you use flurry of blows with your favored weapon

Now I just need to load grapeshot fast enough

Erik

a Dwarven Gatling-Culverin sounds like a plan

JohnP

@Pixie I won $360 playing blackjack Saturday, that helped. Still, I can't bring myself to spend $150 on a lighted magnifying mirror :/

Erik

I mean; they included the Repeating Crossbow, so why not?

Mourdos

The downside is that you have to go prone to fire it

but the 6d6 is worth it, especially since you only misfire on a scatter weapon if all of the attack rolls are misfires

which seems ludicrus

Erik

15:20

Just means you need a Feat/Item that lets you stand up from prone as a free action and you can hop around the battlefield while constantly firing a hand-held field artillery type weapon :)

Mourdos

Yep

Something that a monk is perfectly adapted to

It helps that we are playing with a weird gestalt

JohnP

With a rogue, is there a way to get around the 30 foot limit sneak attack, if you are using archery/crossbow feats?

Mourdos

once you hit 6, your next level start to gestalt you from first level

snipers goggles

lessor is 60 feet, greater is any range

A friend once made a psudodragon gestalt as rogue/sorcerer. Used reach spell to snipe people a mile away with ray of frost

Erik

it's the kind of thing only a Dwarf or Gnome can get away with, Mourdos

Mourdos

Hm? What part @Erik

I was thinking dwarf for the character

Though I'm tempted to go the cleric / monk route

JohnP

15:23

@Mourdos - Huh. Actually, it says lessor is any distance, but you don't get the +2 circumstance bonus. Greater you get the bonus regardless. Thanks!

Mourdos

Ah, misremembered, at least it was the right item

Man, improved crit on a scatter weapon.

Erik

wielding a Gatling-Culverin. It sounds like the kind of thing a Gnome would invent and a Dwarf would use

Mourdos

It does, doesn't it

d20pfsrd.com/races/core-races/gnome/…

^ Actually lets you do it

Expanded capacity twice

three barrel Culverin

Erik

Haha. Sounds like a plan.

Reminds me a little bit of a Gnome Artificer I played, except he didn't use blackpowder but rather a collection of wands on a spinning device to make a Gatling-lightning thrower of sorts.

Mourdos

I think you need to be 7th level, 5 levels in gunsmith for the extra, 1 level in cleric for channel energy, 1 level in monk for flurry

need a way to reduce that

Crusaders flurry says Melee weapon

Erik

15:38

Is there anything (other than weight/cost) that prevents you from using quick draw and multiple Culverins to resolve the attacks?

Mourdos

Back to regular ways of making multiple attacks

Don't think so

Alchemical Weapon with the Culverin

I have no idea how it works with scatter

Erik

"The alchemical item takes full effect on the next creature struck by the weapon, but does not splash, spread, or otherwise affect additional targets.", so I guess only the first creature you hit or something

Iron Heart

Thing about that is that the shots are all supposed to hit simultaneously...

or close enough to...

Mourdos

It is certainly... interesting

JohnP

16:20

@Mourdos - One wonders if the gun firing would be enough impact to break a bead of force? If not (Since it is an accceleration force rather than a deceleration force), you could include a bead of force or two in the shot mix.

Aaron

4

Q: How to make a great villain who your players hate more than anything else?

I'd love to hear from you guys what you consider to be the best way to make the motive that drives the players to defeat the villain to be something personal and even passional. I believe a villain has to have the following to be great Personal connection (not that he is close to the character...

gm-techniques system-agnostic story villain

I would be very interested in anyone's reply. I added a comment but can't make an answer right now.

Erik

Cool question indeed. Hopefully I can make an answer for it later in the evening :)

JohnP

17:37

@Mourdos At least as suggested here shot scatters 1" per yard of distance. What I think you could do is have a shot cup that doesn't split apart, and makes it more of a slug than a shot scatter, or splits apart later than right out of the barrel.

Iron Heart

Does anyone here happen to have experience with Anima Prime?

JohnP

@Erik - If I could write a good precis of Raistlin (From Dragonlance), that would be it.

@IronHeart - Sorry, no.

Joshua Aslan Smith

18:16

yo

IgneusJotunn

21:04

yo

Joshua Aslan Smith

yo whud up

need any help with any issues or with workshopping a question for the main site?

IgneusJotunn

Eh, not really. Got a Dungeon World front question, but it's a bit discussiony for the main site. You any good with fronts?

Joshua Aslan Smith

21:20

@IgneusJotunn Im no master but lets give it a go

IgneusJotunn

@JoshuaAslanSmith Party's been having a rough time hit point wise, getting mostly lucky every time they hit Last Breath and getting sevens. I think right now they have more bargains with Death going than they have players. Last session, one of them floated a clever new idea- That time the thief owed the mob boss, they wound up killing the mob boss. Can they kill/destroy/remove Death?

Any ideas on how you'd go about making killing Death into a campaign front?

So far I've come up with having the Wizard build up a really big Ritual, dangers in the way of Deathworshipping cultists, and threatening them with a Mathusian catastrophe with no outlet.

Also that I need to reread Sandman, but that's just on general principle.

Joshua Aslan Smith

@IgneusJotunn totally think its a great idea though id maybe not have them kill death so much as make him cry uncle in some way

killing death is sort of a world shattering thing

but forcing death to make a bargain with them to erase their previous bargains with him could be quite nice

one of the backer/if you buy the game rewards was prestige classes one of which was death touched meaning your character actually died of visited the deadlands (or whatever they were called) where death reigns and the dead and spirits go to linger after they depart

IgneusJotunn

@JoshuaAslanSmith I mean, I kind of assume Apocalypse World's "put a target on everything" is in effect in Dungeon World, and I did put Death in the world. I have no inherent reason they are not allowed to shatter the world. I just want to make it sufficiently problematic.

@JoshuaAslanSmith Yeah, I'm pretty sure I know which one you mean- two of them have moves from that class, and all of them have access.

Joshua Aslan Smith

21:35

@IgneusJotunn I do not believe that is part of dungeon world, as much as DW is an apoclypse world system in the legal sense it is also very much its own thing

part of it is you have to ask yourself is death just some schmoe that carries out a task in service to some wider cosmic order or is he literally the emodiment of the idea of death and if you destroy him you also destroy death itself

IgneusJotunn

I was leaning toward the latter? Saves me from having to come up with some wider cosmic order.

Joshua Aslan Smith

I mean the biggest stated monster in the DW book is the dragon I believe

Im not sure DW entirely holds up in the classic D&D your so powerful you go murder the gods and replace them epic campaign

IgneusJotunn

I'm not sure either :)

I told 'em I'd take a week and think about whether that'd be a thing they could do.

Joshua Aslan Smith

I think its totally fine to "defeat" him in someway but death is probably industructible, especially if you are saying you are leaning toward him being the personification of Death

By the way are they not fulfilling their bargains as-is? You should really be hanging albatrosses around their necks with these things and till they fulfill them.

IgneusJotunn

Most of them are either "You live until you do X" style things or "You have Y days to accomplish task Z." The thief dies if he ever steps into sunlight, and right now the barbarian has 4 days left to kill a shark with his bare hands or he dies. Trust me, the reason they came up with this plan is because they're running out of neckspace for additional albatrosses.

I uh, assumed the penalty for defaulting on a bargain with Death is death. That might have been unwarrented?

Joshua Aslan Smith

21:45

I mean its your call as The GM

doesnt have to be death

Ive always interpreted death's bargains as a way to get some essence of greatness or longing or emotion that death cannot obtain himself

So "You'll live but you can never go back to your wife again" basically incredibly costly bargains from a characters perspective

youll live but I'm taking your strength

the barbarian now has an 8 for str

The Oracle

0

Q: Does our canonical "Where can I find other RPG players" question serve online players well?

We have a question that we treat as the canonical duplciation-target for "where do I find players?" questions: Where can I find other RPG players? Today we got Where's a good place to play D&D online? and I VTC'd as a duplicate of the our canonical question. I voted out of lack of certainty tho...

discussion duplicates canonical-questions

IgneusJotunn

Hrm. My first question with "You'll never go back to your wife again" is what happens if they go back anyway?

Joshua Aslan Smith

totally up to you

maybe she dies

maybe the PC dies

all depends on how you want to work it

Id be sure to telegraph this to the players

obviously that approach only works with solid roleplayers though

while the 8str is the perfect bargain for a munchkin

I mean you make these physical and pscyhologically so compelling that players cannot break the bargain

that would obviously need to be discussed out of session

IgneusJotunn

22:02

I've been shying away from mechanical penalties- nothing wrong with them, but mini-adventures and weird restrictions are really fun.

Joshua Aslan Smith

gotcha, as with anything in DW its ultimately your call

IgneusJotunn

Yeah, I like how the bargains have been working up until now.

At least for us it's solid.

Joshua Aslan Smith

gotcha

IgneusJotunn

22:17

I like the idea of twisting Death's arm somehow. I just want to make sure it's at least as interesting as fulfilling all the bargains they've made I guess. (Maybe that's the wrong train of thought?)

Joshua Aslan Smith

its never wrong to want to make gameplay/story interesting

doppelgreener

Coffee.SE is 3 committed users away from private beta.

Joshua Aslan Smith

@doppelgreener I have joined the cause

or did I should say when you last shared it

IgneusJotunn

@doppelgreener Unfortunately, I consume maaaybe a cup a month.

Joshua Aslan Smith

gotta put my sodajerk knowledge to use

doppelgreener

22:18

@JoshuaAslanSmith \o/

@IgneusJotunn that's fine; I am confident it'll make it on this site connected to one for millions of programmers, this is more for the sake of anyone else who might want to jump in before it launches.

or as Kings of Chaos says, a programmer is (n.): a machine for converting coffee into code.

Joshua Aslan Smith

get that beta user badge

doppelgreener

@JoshuaAslanSmith hey that's a good point, i forgot about that. a beta badge on a coffee site would be pretty cool. :)

Joshua Aslan Smith

it baffles me that alcoholic beverages gets no traction

14

Alcoholic beverages

Proposed Q&A site for people who love alcoholic beverages

Currently in definition.

doppelgreener

27

Wine

Proposed Q&A site for Oenophiles and Sommeliers

Currently in definition.

1533

Homebrewing (Beer, Wine, etc.) – homebrew.stackexchange.com

Beta Q&A site for dedicated home brewers and serious enthusiasts.

Currently in public beta.

4

Mixology

Proposed Q&A site for those interested in making excellent cocktails or ingredients for cocktails

Currently in definition.

363

Beer – beer.stackexchange.com

Beta Q&A site for beer aficionados and collectors

Currently in public beta.

it is getting traction, but a lot of really disparate odd traction

Joshua Aslan Smith

I thought homebrewing was already a go

I think homebrewing makes sense on its own

theres a whole subculture and very specific information related to it

so that makes sense

but wine mixology and beer should all just be 1 big SE

doppelgreener

22:29

@JoshuaAslanSmith homebrewing is a go, but it's been in beta since december '09 and has a really low question rate. this is a concerning thing.

@JoshuaAslanSmith i agree

Joshua Aslan Smith

ah I didnt realize it had been so long

I think its an issue of there are already sizeable and good communities on other sites, that we dont have a dramatic enough pull to move those people onto brewing.se and that there arent enough SE users of other sites that would also be for that site

doppelgreener

(brb, need coffee!)

Joshua Aslan Smith

lol

might join you in that

working on job hunt stuff again after being laid low by a cold for the past 2 weeks (plus wife got a leg fracture)

Anaphory

I can very rarely stand bitter in any food, so coffee's not mine.

Joshua Aslan Smith

its the most adult of flavors

though to a certain extent aversion to bitterness can be like an aversion to funky flavors as a way to avoid harmful foods and substances

Anaphory

22:42

It may well be.

Joshua Aslan Smith

many toxic substances taste very bitter

Anaphory

I assume that's what it is evolutionary.

Joshua Aslan Smith

I think of myself as a foody, but I cant get into hardcore cheeses or charcuterie because I can't stand barnyard smells and flavors, it triggers all my warnings that this is spoiled food

so I can never eat goat cheese or enjoy a terrine

@doppelgreener is it not allowed to go trolling for users in other SE chats?

like could we go in SO's main chat and be like yo join the coffee beta

The Oracle

0

Q: 'Homebrew a class for me' questions

We have 2 questions (this one and this one) that are asking for answers to homebrew up a class for them. To me this seems like it's both very broad and entirely opinion-based. I can't see a way to judge answers objectively. Since there's 2 of them, I figured it was worth checking with meta. Are...

discussion questions

Shalvenay

23:01

o/ @JoshuaAslanSmith

doppelgreener

@JoshuaAslanSmith i think it's game as long as it's related and might be of interest

going to history.se and advertising the VIM proposal would be inappropriate

BESW

Yeah, there has to be a reasonable expectation that the chat you show up in would be interested, otherwise it's just random solicitation.

doppelgreener

but i know people here like coffee and might like to know about the proposal.

Joshua Aslan Smith

@Shalvenay yo

doppelgreener

... one day I might make a character called Rogue, the Rouge

Joshua Aslan Smith

23:05

lol

who wears lots of rouge

Shalvenay

how's it going?

Joshua Aslan Smith

and belts on her hips

doppelgreener

they will insist their class is not a typo, and in fact the most sanguine of classes: red, happy, and, point of order, bloody.

Joshua Aslan Smith

haha

@Shalvenay okay working on job stuff and generally stressing out about it

doppelgreener

@JoshuaAslanSmith best of luck to you

Shalvenay

23:11

@JoshuaAslanSmith -- thinking about what you said about the issue my character faces being an ethics issue...

Joshua Aslan Smith

@doppelgreener I still have a job im just trying to find gainful work with my new masters and sorta having a quarter life crisis about it

@Shalvenay indeed

BESW

[flails madly]

"Hey, we processed your order, you can download it at X page!"
[fails to include link to page]
[site navigation structure is a total mess; X page is actually called Y page]
"Welcome to Y page! We're still processing your order. This could take up to 24 hours."

Anaphory

Adobe, still?

BESW

Yes.

BESW

23:39

Fantastic Maps has started updating regularly again, with a series on drawing mountain ranges.

2

Shalvenay

23:52

am I correct in saying that the ranger/scout/hunter class-archetype is more stealth-focused, while the rogue/thief class-archetype is more guile focused?

Anaphory

@BESW: Nice thing, bookmarked.

Joshua Aslan Smith

@Shalvenay youtalkin bout a specific system or in general as an archetype

Shalvenay

@JoshuaAslanSmith as an archetype, although my views of them probably are somewhat colored by D&D...

Joshua Aslan Smith

I think the wider rogue archetype encompases both

but that the ranger definitely leans toward stealth

Shalvenay

yeah -- the way I see it, rogue/thief chars are urban characters at heart, which also means that they're more or less at home in the confines of a dungeon

Joshua Aslan Smith

23:59

the second part of that statement I dont know about

Shalvenay

while rangers are much more wildland-focused, at their best in the great outdoors

Joshua Aslan Smith

I see as approaches vs. specific areas

I could easily see a ranger doing physical stealth across rooftops to track a foe

whereas the rouge would use crowd surveillance techniques to blend in with people

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