TRPG General Chat

nitsua60

12:00 AM

@Shalvenay wish I had anything to offer on that one... not my forte, though.

BESW

1:27 AM

New Doctor avatar is late because last night was kinda hectic, but she's up now.

(In honour of the Christmas episode not making me wish she wasn't on screen most of the time.)

trogdor

1:43 AM

eeerg

I am sorry, I can not look at that woman's face and be anything other than at least mildly put off

it isn't even really her fault either

but still

BESW

The episode was less a plot than a series of misunderstandings and random coincidences contrived to justify a character piece (ie, Moffat really enjoys writing dialogue), but the character bits were actually pretty good and the actors gave it more weight than it deserved.

River Song's become the punchline to her own joke, but this time around it was nice to see Moffat giving her an opinion about becoming that.

BESW

2:04 AM

(Also Capaldi actually sold me on the Doctor being genuinely, deeply in love with River.)

trogdor

hmm

to be completely honest, I am pretty sure I just don't want to be sold on that

her character, to me, is an affront

even actually swinging it around now doesn't change the fact that it happened in the first place

and Moffat is still in charge, swinging his ideas around wildly with no one to tell him to slow down a little

BESW

Agreed.

trogdor

don't get me wrong, if you liked it, to any degree, that is great

I just can't bring myself to watch this show anymore

BESW

I went in expecting to loathe every minute of it, and the last five minutes turned out to be some of my favourite Capaldi moments and gave me River Song moments that I enjoyed.

trogdor

if they get someone else to be in charge of stuff maybe I can come back to it, but I am sooo done with him

I mean, even he has made some episodes I liked

but the problem, for me, is that when he does something I don't like, it will jump all the way to something I despise

he has made nothing that counteracts that enough. Once he handled 11's regeneration the way he did, he cemented my idea of how he will handle things, so I rage quit watching his Dr Who

it isn't like that alone would do it either, it's just a straw camels back thing

if that was his only ever offense in my eyes I would still be pretty cool with it

it isn't even that bad by itself really, but he has set a precedent for a while where he has to keep one upping himself, and he keeps doing it in ways that, somehow or other, rub me the wrong way

nitsua60

2:15 AM

workshopping question: need a good supernatural companion for the character (Dwarven Ftr) played by my 7yo son. What would you have loved to have as a sidekick at that age?

BESW

Yeah. I've been consistently enjoying Capaldi, though. He's got the chops and professionalism to make the best of even really bad choices.

trogdor

maybe Capaldi would tempt me if I had seen all that much of him

but I really liked Matt Smith,... and that still didn't mean I could get over stuff that Moffat did with the show

an actor working past, around, or through bad choices and making it a little better isn't the same as those choices going away

I dunno, maybe I should really just sample some of it, but I am sorta afraid to do that

BESW

If you want to, I can put together a sample platter.

trogdor

that would work

I think, at the very least, your tastes run pretty parallel to mine

in this particular case, skipping chronology and just avoiding the worst offenders of episodes will definitely be less painful than raging at the TV every time Moffat decides to act like an ADD child

I mean for god sakes, he is a grown man

and I may be exaggerating a bit, but that is what he makes me feel like in regards to himself

Magician

2:46 AM

I come to you in my darkest hour of need. I'm preparing for a Sunless Sea/Fallen London game using Atomic Robo. Right now, I'm writing up a few sample stunts for the weird modes I mocked up, to get into the flow of it as much as anything. There are sentient rats in the world, and it's entirely possible one of the PCs will be one. Hence, a weird mode for them, hence sample stunts for it.

I already have a couple:

> Rattle: +2 to Attack with Provoke when you really get into someone’s face.
> Ratificate: +1 to CA and Overcome with Engineering when dealing with rat-made items.

And there's a third one, that lacks a name: "+2 to Defend with Combat when your opponent is larger than you." I need rat puns, basically.

Also, a stunt by the name of Gratuitous something-or-other would not go amiss.

BESW

2:59 AM

What's the mode?

Magician

> Rattus Faber
Burglary
Combat
Notice
Provoke
Stealth
Weird Skill: Engineering
Overcome: Make mechanisms work or stop working.
CA: Overcharge mechanisms. Prepare complex contraptions.

BESW

@Magician KaRATe?

trogdor

lol

BESW

> Brodents. You get +3 instead of +2 when invoking aspects created by other rats.

Magician

@BESW Is a good pun, but doesn't really fit the narrative.

@BESW Ooooh, that is good.

BESW

3:06 AM

> Piratical. +2 when using Provoke to create advantages based on your notoriety.

trogdor

I was going to make a Master Splinter pun,... but I honestly have nothing right now

BESW

> Curator. You can use Burglary instead of Lore to learn about (create advantage) valuable old objects.

Magician

@BESW !!!

trogdor

ooh

BESW

> Despite all my rage. You can use Combat instead of Physique to overcome physical barriers.

Magician

3:12 AM

Good stunt, though I'm not seeing the pun.

(Puns are not necessary, of course, just desireable)

trogdor

@Magician he's still just a rat in a cage

Magician

Ah. Not familiar with the song.

trogdor

I hang out with him too much

XD

BESW

The Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet with Butterfly Wings

►

> Counterattack. When you defend with style using Combat, you can inflict 1 stress on your attacker instead of getting a boost.

trogdor

hee

Magician

3:16 AM

Subtle!

BESW

> Mouseketeer. +2 when using Combat to attack with a bladed weapon.

Magician

Hah. Would fit even better when used with an actual gun, of which there are plenty.

BESW

> Cheese it! Once per issue you can concede a fight after rolling to defend against an attack.

Magician

Hahahaha

BESW

> Ratsputin. When taking physical stress, you can spend a Fate point to use a mental stress box instead.

trogdor

3:22 AM

you are too good at this

Magician

Scary good.

BESW

> Wrath. You get +2 to attack with Combat if you've crossed off at least one stress box this scene.

> Migration. You can move two zones instead of one as a free action on your turn.

Magician

Stahp!

:D

Gratuitous Puns: get +2 to Create Advantage with Provoke if you incorporate a rat pun in your insult.

BESW

> Title and Registration. You can use Burglary instead of Contacts to establish an identity, and you get +1 to do so.

> Penetrate. +2 when using Burglary to break into places (overcome). (This does not help you get out.)

> Modest Mouse. +2 when using Deceive to create advantages that blame someone else for your actions.

@Magician You summoned the rat puns without first looking up the banishing rite.

3

trogdor

that is a common mistake

Magician

3:30 AM

I feel there's only one way I can ward myself off. I present Rat-Sending Simulator 20XX.

BESW

> Lab Rat. You have a laboratory and can use Lore to analyse and create things in it.

> Regenerate. Once per issue you can spend a Fate point to reduce the severity of a consequence by one slot.

> Literate. +2 when using Lore to create advantages by studying written works.

> Rat Race. Absolutely faster (Athletics) than a human, but weak against open spaces.

> Liberator. +2 when using Burglary to free others from confinement.

> Desperate. When you gain a consequence you also gain the boost Desperate, which lasts until the end of the scene or until you use it.

Magician

Where is your crank and how do we turn it the other way??!

BESW

> Administrator. You get +2 when using Contacts to create advantages by working within the system.

@Magician The real question is, why would you want cat puns?

Magician

At this rate, a catastrophe is imminent.

BESW

> The Big Cheese. You get +2 when using Provoke to overcome opposition by invoking the name of your boss.

> Trapped Like Rats. The first time you're cornered or imprisoned in a scene, you get the boost Not my first rodeo.

> Like His Own Tail. You get +2 when using Notice to track someone.

> An Eye for Details. When you succeed with style using Notice to create advantages by looking for clues, you get a full aspect instead of a boost.

...I'm slowing down.

> Paws for Alarm. You get +2 when using Burglary to overcome security measures.

...okay, I'm dry for now.

I hope that was helpful. [grin]

Magician

3:48 AM

A lot of it was!

BESW

**Cool RPG stuff:** [Bundle of Holding](http://bundleofholding.com "buy RPGs cheap in bulk, support charities & indie designers!");
[Fantastic Locations](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1298145716/sly-flourishs-fantastic-locations "Fantastic locations to drop into your fantasy roleplaying game");
[Calidar "Beyond the Skies"](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ambreville/calidar-beyond-the-skies "Calidar Compendium of the Gods").

I'm not sure some of the weirder stunts up there are balanced, but most of them are good.

The Oracle

4:11 AM

0

Q: Should an old, upvoted, well-answered question be closed?

As a GM, what minimal geographic knowledge should I have to make realistic maps? was recently flagged for closure. Looking at it in vacuum, it appears (to me) to be off-topic: it doesn't seem to require any particular knowledge of RPGs to answer, even if its answers might be particularly useful t...

nitsua60

@BESW @Magician Fleeing a Sinking Ship? (Of course, I don't know enough to craft the appropriate stunt. Just saw a small gap in BESW's coverage...)

BESW

> The Ship's Going Down! When conceding, you get an extra Fate point if one of your allies has already conceded.

nitsua60

Can there be one each for Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Frank Sinatra, &c.? And then again for Emelio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall, &c.?

Shalvenay

6:41 AM

@WrongOnTheInternet -- btw, are you the one formerly known as Ben around these parts?

WrongOnTheInternet

Naw, that's a different guy

I used to have the username shatterspike1, though

Shalvenay

@WrongOnTheInternet aaah. similar looking avatar

WrongOnTheInternet

Ah, mine's an allosaurus though, if you see it up close.

trogdor

9:40 AM

huh, just got some random up vote on an old answer, that doesn't tend to happen

at least to me anyway, seeing as there are only so many I have ever posted

The Oracle

10:43 AM

0

Q: Can we agree to stop downvoting non-opinionated, factually correct answers?

I can only guess, but for me it looks like people put their own playstyle as a measurement what is good and what is bad for this site. Wake up. Your playstyle is not the only playstyle. Stop being so close-minded. This site is used to create a knowledge base on roleplaying games in general and no...

discussion

Miniman

12:27 PM

@doppelgreener Without the comment that troubles you, there'd probably be a bunch of "explain downvotes please" comments, and maybe a meta question to match. It's not the kind of comment you're meant to leave, but it's the kind everyone is always asking for.

doppelgreener

@Miniman I'd prefer the "explain the downvotes please" comments, those situations tend to work out better.

Miniman

@doppelgreener I dunno, as soon as someone did it'd be exactly the same situation, wouldn't it? Seems like this just saves a bit of time.

doppelgreener

@Miniman They tend to go smoother. Someone invites criticism, and either an argument starts (about as bad) or someone takes reasonably helpful guesses. There's rarely a meta post about it, and usually that can be settled more sensibly. In this case, people are just arguing and upset.

2

Neither is good, but one is less bad.

BESW

[backs away slowly]

doppelgreener

@BESW fair choice

Wibbs

1:16 PM

Flagged comments threads on that question for moderator attention - getting too heated and unpleasant

doppelgreener

1:53 PM

I now realise a full hour and a half later how he could have validated nvoigt's concerns in the beginning while responding.

(which tends to help; receiving a contrary response feels better when you also feel validated and heard)

doppelgreener

2:15 PM

Has anyone here ever played Toon or Cartoon Action Hour?

I'm curious about the cartoon-logic RPGs available for... reasons.

I might run a one-shot. I don't know much about CAH. Toon's by SJG, and I'm not totally impressed by the other games of theirs I'm aware of (Munchkin and GURPS) so I'm not sure whether they'll pull off the cartoon thing in a fun & effective way.

Reviews of both seem sparse.

Shalvenay

6:44 PM

hey there @nitsua60

Shalvenay

7:36 PM

hey as well @Alyksandrei

BESW

11:02 PM

trogdor

just no respect for a vigilante these days

Transcript for