TRPG General Chat

12:51 AM

Ok, so I've come up with a Personality/Background Feat for my "Green Power Ranger" Monk (dnd 5e)... Just wanted to see if anyone might be able to word it a bit better?

> To all others that have not specifically been told that he is the "Green Power Ranger", whenever he removes the mask, his identity changes. He is referred to as the "Green Ranger" or the "Green Power Ranger" or the "Dragon Ranger" while wearing the mask, but when it is removed, he is known by his actual name. This protects his identity when he is not the "Green Ranger" from unsuspecting enemy attack.

BESW

1:17 AM

Sounds like you're trying to say that "Tommy's" civilian identity can only be discovered while he's morphed, unless someone who already knows it chooses to deliberately reveal his identity to someone. Is that the case?

(People can find out the Green Ranger is Tommy, but they can't find out that Tommy is the Green Ranger.)

Ben

Yeah pretty much

BESW

> Tommy's identity as the Green Ranger is protected while he's in civilian mode. No one can discover that Tommy is the Green Ranger while he's unmorphed unless they're specifically told about his alter ego by someone in the know.

Something like that?

Ben

You reckon that's abetter wording for it?

It makes sense, and yes - it is exactly what I want it to do.

BESW

[shrug] It's 5e, right? I dunno how these things are phrased in that system.

Ben

I'm just thinking in terms of "flair" :p

BESW

1:26 AM

Flair's great, but it can't get in the way of clarity.

Miniman

@BESW Well, it can, but it shouldn't.

BESW

@Miniman Can't. Don't burst my utopian bubble!

Your first phrasing makes it unclear what effect you want it to have; by one reading, you could mean that people who don't know Tommy's the Green Ranger can't attack him while he's unmorphed--for any reason.

Ben

That makes sense, yeah. It's only in terms of identity.

BESW

"Protect his identity [...] from unsuspecting enemy attack" is super unclear.

"Unsuspecting" might mean his civilian identity can't be accidentally discovered, but enemies actively trying to figure it out can still do it.

Ben

If he is attacked as Tommy, it's against Tommy not the Green Ranger

and vice versa (unless they know)

trogdor

1:30 AM

well, how does secret identity matter in 5e?

Ben

@trogdor I really honestly don't think it does... other than perhaps a stealth mechanic?

trogdor

or an infiltration one at least

BESW

That's a good point. Murderhobos don't have aliases, they have a trail of bodies. This feat is only going to be useful in exceptional campaigns that deviate significantly from the D&D default.

trogdor

that is my point

you have to change the game as it is most normally played for a mechanical representation of an alias or secret identity makes any mechanical difference in D&D

Ben

@BESW Well it's not meant to be overly game-breaking... right? It's a personality feat. My understanding of this is little more than "how your character interacts with other characters"

trogdor

1:34 AM

or at least have said secret identity,... be accepted somewhere you normally are not accepted

Ben

I mean, for one of my personality traits I went with

> Whenever he wears a mask, he often uses wild gestures when he talks; to indicate to others that he, in fact is the one currently speaking.

trogdor

or, you have to be guaranteed at least one session where you could use your secret identity to infiltrate a place, and even then it is probably safer to make up a different alias

I have no experience with 5e specifically, but D&D in general doesn't support this kind of thing very well mechanically

BESW

Again, I don't know 5e. In the D&D editions I've played, "feat" means a limited resource that should be used carefully to mechanical advantage.

trogdor

@BESW yeah exactly

BESW

And in 4e, at least, "background" is a totally separate concept that's almost entirely flavour without a major mechanical impact.

trogdor

1:39 AM

this is true

Miniman

@BESW That's what we're talking about here

trogdor

you can use backgrounds however you want, as long as they don't suddenly give you resources you shouldn't have

Ben mentions a Feat though

Ben

I don't really want this to be something that gives him any kind of mechanical advantage.

trogdor

yeah, we know

Ben

@trogdor It's a "Personality/Background Feat"

trogdor

1:41 AM

uh, the term Feat is where we are getting stuck with this though

that means something very specific in both D&D editions I have played

Miniman

@Ben I think you mean a personality trait

trogdor

I don't know if 5e has more than one kind of Feat or what, but if it is the kind of Feat I am thinking of it shouldn't be spent for absolutely no mechanical advantage

Miniman

PCs have backgrounds, which include 2 personality traits, an ideal, a bond, and a flaw

trogdor

@Miniman I think you are most likely right

BESW

So...

> Trait: Secret Identity. The Green Ranger can unmorph into his civilian identity, Tommy. While unmorphed, it's impossible to identify Tommy as the Green Ranger unless told by someone who already knows the secret.

trogdor

1:45 AM

and vise versa of course

Ben

@Miniman Using the Entertainer background as an example:

> F e a t u r e : By P o p u l a r D e m a n d
You can always find a place to perform, usually in an
inn or tavern but possibly with a circus, at a theater, or
even in a noble’s court. At such a place, you receive free
lodging and food o f a modest or comfortable standard
(depending on the quality o f the establishment), as
long as you perform each night. In addition, your
performance makes you something o f a local figure.
When strangers recognize you in a town where you have
performed, they typically take a liking to you.

BESW

Man, the 5e pdfs have awful typography.

Miniman

Ah, sorry. I forgot that each background has a feature (not a feat) as well

BESW

Okay, so that gives a social reward for a social connection.

Miniman

@BESW I suspect that wasn't the printer-friendly version

@BESW My bad, I should have said - that's not an official pdf, since it includes PHB-only material

Ben

1:47 AM

@Miniman lol no, direct cut/paste from the pdf

@Miniman Have I been using the term "feat" incorrectly then?

Miniman

@Ben Yep, you mean "feature". A "feat" is something quite different.

BESW

If this were Fate, it'd be a stunt that makes overcome actions to discover the Green Ranger's civilian identity impossible while unmorphed, and lets him defend against such attempts with Combat/Fight/Martial Arts/[whatever skill the PR hack uses] while morphed. But in Fate, secret identities can be super dramatic and whole plots could turn on them.

Ben

@Miniman And so "feat" in this case is not short for "feature"

BESW

Yeah. D&D takes its precise terminology seriously.

Miniman

@Ben No, a feat is a distinct word both in general usage and in this particular case.

Feats are described in the chapter after the equipment chapter

Ben

1:52 AM

I'm in a mixed mind then as to whether or not I should get rid of this then

It could be useful for anyone that doesn't understand it.

But the exact opposite is also true

Miniman

@Ben That's up to you; but it is likely to get downvoted

BESW

It's a valid question because you faced it.

Miniman

Relevant meta: meta.rpg.stackexchange.com/q/3505/15469

Ben

Already has :P But it's served it's purpose. Someone has answered defining the difference

BESW

Chances are high you're not the only one, too.

Ben

1:55 AM

I have contributed to society. My day's work is done

Ben

2:09 AM

@BESW The more I read it the more I find this to be a better wording for it.

BESW

Lots of practice writing Fate stunts.

Ben

Second Personality trait:

> Whenever he moves around, he often uses wild movements (flipping, jumping off or over things); puncuates it with noises of exertion like "Huu!" and "Ha!", and often commentates on his actions with phrases like "It's Morphin' Time!"

Nyoze

2:24 AM

\o

The Oracle

3:51 AM

0

Q: When editing, how drastic is too drastic?

This question looks like a duplicate based on its title, but it's content is about editing things out of answers rather than the reverse. Recently I've been seeing some fairly large edits made to answers. I'm concerned that some of them might be a little too much of an edit to make without any i...

Ben

Question - is ther a bond that is effectively "my bond in only to myself"?

Nyoze

I'm assuming you're asking about 5e?

Miniman

4:06 AM

There are certainly self-centred bonds; for example, "My honor is my life."

But a bond is generally something a bit more specific.

"I only care about myself" would be a trait, or a flaw.

The Oracle

0

Q: Are the game-rec guidelines strictly equivalent to GS/BS?

GS/BS applies to everything subjective all the time across all stack exchanges and is one of our most frequently linked posts, to the point that we have a highly supported proposal to get a shortcut bracket link to it. It was my impression that the game-rec guidelines (specifically "You may only...

support game-recommendation

Ben

4:23 AM

@Miniman that's true.

Would a bond be a vendetta for example?

Miniman

Yep, that would make a good bond.

"I will someday get revenge on the corrupt temple
hierarchy who branded me a heretic."

"Something important was taken from me, and I aim to
steal it back."

There's a lot of ones that are definitely vendetta-ish.

Sandwich

"I will someday get revenge on the corrupt temple
hierarchy who branded me a heretic." -Ramza Beoulve

Miniman

@Sandwich Who?

Sandwich

That's the background of Ramza Beoulve from Final Fantasy Tactics

Ben

@Miniman Awesome. "I will someday find and destroy Zordon!"

Miniman

4:30 AM

@Ben Zordon is a great villain name.

Sandwich

Zordon in Power rangers was secretly the Phylactery of an evil lich bent on subjutating the human race with colorful human crime fighters

Alpha was a robot controlled by an imp familiar

Ben

@Sandwich and incredibly racist

Sandwich

Well he is an imp

Ben

Zordon, not Alpha haha

Well, actually now that I think about it, maybe

Hey.

4:34 AM

Howdy Althis

Althis

Any of you know of any good guides on how to make realistic looking RPG maps?

Ben

[High 5]

Sandwich

I draw my own maps

BESW

@Althis Fantastic Maps.

Althis

Thank you sir.

Ben

4:35 AM

@doppelgreener high 5!

I remember what happened last time... I've prepared myself

BESW

High 5?

Ben

High 5!

Ok, so I need to come up with an ideal...

What is an "Ideal" (general explanation?)

Miniman

> Your ideals
are the things that you believe in most strongly, the
fundamental moral and ethical principles that compel you
to act as you do. Ideals encompass everything from your
life goals to your core belief system.

Nyoze

Ideal is usually something you strive for and try to live? I'm just guessing, completely out of my depth with everything after 2.5/pf :(

Yeah, what he said ^

Miniman

> Ideals might answer any of these questions: What are
the principles that you will never betray? What would
prompt you to make sacrifices? What drives you to act
and guides your goals and ambitions? What is the single
most important thing you strive for?

Ben

4:47 AM

That's tricky then

What's the Green Power Ranger's ideal?

(Prior to joining the Power Rangers)

Miniman

@Ben Well, you've said that your driving goal is to find and destroy Zordon.

Why do you want to do that?

Ben

@Miniman That's my bond

Miniman

@Ben I know, work with me, I'm going somewhere with this.

Nyoze

You might want a reason for your bond.

Ben

Ahh right

Nyoze

4:49 AM

Then your ideal could be related to the reason.

Ben

Well the reason is effectively because he was enchanted...

That might throw a stick in the spokes

Miniman

@Ben Ok, so your ideal could be something like:

> Freedom.
Chains are meant to be broken, as are those
who would forge them. (Chaotic)

Nyoze

So, if he has a geas or a compulsion as a bond, that's a whole other story. Does he know that he's being affected?

Ben

@Miniman Boom

Nyoze

@Miniman I like that.

Ben

4:50 AM

Nailed it

Miniman

Another one I stole directly from the rules, but it seemed to fit :)

Nyoze

Looks like they've done some things right.

Ben

I think I've pretty much got it...

I just need to pick a bonus feat and he's done :)

doppelgreener

@Ben i cannot do ultra-impressive high fives at the moment unfortunately, i need my hands injury-free to work on something

Ben

@doppelgreener Dang it

- Mobile, Savage Attacker, Skilled or Tough?

Miniman

4:54 AM

@Ben Bonus feat? I thought you were normal human, not variant human?

Ben

(5e feats)

@Miniman Hm... It might be from his background actually. I originally chose "Hermit"

So since I went with a custom background, that's irrelevant

Miniman

@Ben No background gets a feat, not even hermit.

Ben

@Miniman Oh right, yes I did go with a variant human

Hence the +1 stat mods

Miniman

@Ben To 2 stats, right? Not all stats?

Ben

....no.

I did not apply the additional +1 two the extra two

Miniman

4:59 AM

Ok, so: Default humans get +1 to all stats. Variant humans get +1 to only 2 stats, as well as a skill proficiency and a feat.

This is an either/or proposition.

Ben

Yes, sorry, just re-read that

Miniman

You generally want to go with the variant, since the most stats you really need is 3.

As for feats, Savage Attacker is an average 0.75 damage increase on a d6. Personally, I don't think it's worth a feat.

Mobile is really minor or really major, and it's difficult to predict which. Some players would never really get any benefit from it, others might use it all the time.

Ben

Question: the additional feat isn't a class feat is it? I'd be surprised if it was

Miniman

Skilled is pretty good, but you have to consider how much you want it. You should already have 5 skills, so adding 3 more you might not be able to find 3 that matter enough to spend a feat on.

@Ben No such thing as a "class feat".

They're called "class features".

Ben

Yes... mixed that up again

Emrys Ternal

5:08 AM

[PF] I can't seem to find an answer to this, but it's a quick question, so are there any Pathfinder aficionados in here?

Sandwich

Yo

Whats up @EmrysTernal?

Ben

@Miniman so Tough is sounding like the best bet?

Miniman

@Ben I think it has to do with background. Most D&D players are coming from a long history of the word "feat" having a very specific meaning.

Emrys Ternal

I just want to know whether PF has any "fixed list" casters / psionicists akin to D&D 3.5's warmage, nightstalker, etc

Miniman

@Ben That's the one that makes short rests slightly better, right?

Sandwich

5:09 AM

You mean like a fusion of melee and magic?

That isn't a gish build?

Emrys Ternal

No, I mean "you get all of the spells on your spell list and you can cast them all spontaneously, but you still use spell slots as ammo"

The 3.5 warmage was an example of this

Ben

@Miniman Your hit point maximum increases by an amount equal to twice your level when you gain this feat. Whenever you gain a level thereafter, your hit point maximum increases by an additional 2 hit points.

Not so great after all

Emrys Ternal

fixed list spellcasters are the easiest spellcasters to play in 3.5

Miniman

@Ben OHH! Right. Better than the one I was thinking of.

Emrys Ternal

So since I'm used to playing casters in 3.5 I want to see if I could play a fixed-list caster in PF

Sandwich

5:11 AM

I don't think I understand what you're referring to Emrys. You mean like bards?

Emrys Ternal

No

Sandwich

I don't understand what you mean by Fixed-list, every caster is stuck to their spell lists

Emrys Ternal

A part has a specific set of "spells known" that he picks permanently from his spell list

Sandwich

Wizards cant just take Cleric spells, can you elaborate

Miniman

@Sandwich He means classes that get access to every spell on their list, like a cleric

But cast them spontaneously, like a sorcerer

Emrys Ternal

5:12 AM

A fixed-list caster is a spontaneous caster that knows EVERY spell on their spell list, it's just a very small spell list

Sandwich

Oh alright that makes more sense

Ben

@Miniman which would you suggest?

Sandwich

Hmm

Emrys Ternal

So is there anything like that in PF?

Sandwich

Fixed list casters..

Miniman

5:13 AM

@Ben The popular ones for melees tend to be things like Mage Slayer and Sentinel.

Especially Sentinel.

How are you planning to fight?

Ben

@Miniman True. My Fighter has that

@Miniman Like a monk? lol

Miniman

@Ben As in unarmed, quarterstaff, shortsword, throwing daggers...?

Emrys Ternal

I plan to fight like a traditional caster, just with a fixed list so there's less in the way of rules to know

I would be very surprised if there are literally no fixed-list casters in PF

Miniman

@EmrysTernal Ah, sorry. That was talking to Ben about his character.

Emrys Ternal

ah

Sry

Anyway

Sandwich

5:15 AM

I can't think of any @EmrysTernal, Those kinds of classes were kind of a 3.5 staple

Emrys Ternal

Phooey

Sandwich

You could just convert one of the classes you were referring to over to Pathfinder

Ben

@Miniman Unarmed/dagger

Miniman

@Ben Ok, so you're going to be in melee, and none of the weapon-specific feats are going to be good for you.

So I'd definitely recommend something like Mage Slayer, Sentinel, or even Grappler to make that a viable option.

Ben

@Miniman Purdy murch

Emrys Ternal

5:18 AM

What kinds of considerations would I need to take into account for converting a class to PF?

Ben

@Miniman I have 11 str

So Grappler's out

Sandwich

Just compare the spells to other class abilities available at that level, standardize skills based on pathfinder by converting the class skill list

Like if you're converting level 1 warmage, you would normally have the following spells:

Miniman

@Ben Off the top of my head, I'd probably go with Sentinel, but I'm away from my PHB right now, so I might be forgetting something.

Sandwich

Accuracy, Burning hands, Chill Touch, Fists of stone, Hail of stone, Magic Missile, Orb of xxxx; Lesser, Shocking grasp, and True strike

For the most part most of those spells exist in Pathfinder, aside from the orb spells

Which aren't all that broken in the first place

Just standardize their damage and run them by your GM as a 3.5 to PF conversion to make sure he's cool with it

Ben

@Miniman That's proabably the best one

Sandwich

5:25 AM

Except for True strike

No wait

Pathfinder kept True strike

Nyoze

@EmrysTernal Most 3.5 classes are compatible straight into PF just run it through with your GM. Make sure you run through any feats that you would want to take as well though, as there have been a few changes which can catch you off guard.

Emrys Ternal

5:42 AM

Thanks

Miniman

We do actually have a question for this:

5

A: Are there rules creating/rewriting/converting classes for Pathfinder?

Yes, but they require quite a lot of experience with the games in question. But there are a depressing number of conversations here. Unfortunately there's a whole book that attempts this discussion -- your mileage may vary. Needing to do this level of homebrew is likely a sign of insufficient sys...

But Brian's answer is somewhat coloured by issues not obvious in the question.

(Essentially, the user who asked it had asked a bunch of questions around the same time that made it very clear that they didn't really know what they were doing.)

Ben

On what page can I find the "Monk Table" that has the Martial Arts column?

Miniman

@Ben Should be on the first or second page of the Monk class

Ben

6:09 AM

Ok well I'm away from my book now. I was just trying to find the dice used to determine unarmed damage? (It starts on a d4)

BESW

6:25 AM

The last dialogue bubble of this comic strip would be a great opening line for a scifi novel or rock ballad.

Nyoze

Hey people familiar with PF: Outside of a DC20 UMD check on an appropriate wand/staff/etc, is there any way for my fighter to be able to cast/be affected by a spell with a target of you?

BESW

...or the opening narration for a Deathlok film.

@Nyoze Potions.

Nyoze

Potions only go up to level 3, I need a level 5 spell :(

@BESW Thanks though.

Sandwich

@Besw Only if the Software was named Scrambles the Death dealer

Oh man that would be a great name for a firewall

Scrambles the Death Dealer

SQL Injection? Scrambles please.

Miniman

6:41 AM

@Nyoze Ring of Spell Storing is the shizz.

Nyoze

@Miniman That's a point actually, thanks.

Next question - Is there any way for a human fighter get get a third hand without multiclassing Alchemist?

Miniman

@Nyoze I know of some 3.5 tricks, but none that seem likely to have made it into PF

Nyoze

I'll lose a feat, and 1 BAB, but I'll get a nice +3 bonus to my Fort and Reflex saves, and be able to threaten reach and adjacent at the same time... That's almost tempting.

And probably better off for me then 50k GP...

Miniman

@Nyoze You don't need extra limbs to threaten reach and adjacent at the same time, though

Sandwich

You can wield a spear with two hands and a sword with the other :P

Nyoze

6:50 AM

I guess I could use a spiked gauntlet, but my GM is very strict, so I'm worried he won't let me attack with my gauntlet while wielding a two-handed weapon.

Miniman

@Nyoze Spiked armour is the usual go-to, unless PF nerfed that too

Althis

Wait...

I have one...

Two...

Three hands?

Nyoze

Yeah... Runs into the same issue again though.

If I'm wielding a polearm in 2 hands, and a creature moves from my threatened area to adjacent to me, I won't be able to let go of the polearm to attack them...

I may be imaging a problem which really won't affect me too much, but wait and see I guess.

Miniman

@Nyoze The whole point of armor spikes is that they don't require your hands to use

Nyoze

Oh, well, that changes things...

Miniman

6:53 AM

Without that, they'd be exactly the same as spiked gauntlets

Althis

Can't you just grow a tail?

Characters in Mice & Mystics can do that.

Miniman

@Althis There's a bunch of ways in 3.5, but I don't know about PF

Nyoze

@Althis I thought about growing a tail, but... The only way I can find is a 5th level spell that would cost 50k :\

Miniman

@Nyoze No more draconic feats, aberrant feats, or vile feats?

Nyoze

Nope :\

Miniman

6:59 AM

:(

Nyoze

I need too many feats as it is :(

Miniman

Said every mundane ever :P

Nyoze

Do you think it's worth taking greater sunder when I'm using a weapon which after I get improved crit will have 15-20 crit range?

Miniman

@Nyoze What does greater sunder do?

Nyoze

Whenever you sunder to destroy a weapon, shield, or suit of armor, any excess damage is applied to the item's wielder.

Miniman

7:04 AM

@Nyoze [shrug] Doesn't seem like a big deal to me. Any prereqs?

Nyoze

Imp Sunder and Power Attack, both of which I'm planning on getting anyway

I realised that in an area setting, sunder is a lot more useful then I ever thought it was.

So the idea of if I hit a crit while sundering and the extra damage still going through is tempting, but... I just don't know if it's worth a slot I could be using for something else that will let me hit more...

Miniman

@Nyoze It's pretty nice.

@Nyoze Most optimizers (I'm not one of that group, I'm bad at optimizing) strongly advise against building around crit

Nyoze

@Miniman Yeah... I'm sure I could of gone for a great sword and had better overall damage, but... I like hitting big lol. I'm not as bad as the Antipaladin we have that relies on getting the x4 from his Scythe and dies without it lol

Sandwich

Scythes are the bomb

Nyoze

I thought about a scythe but...

a 1/4 chance of hitting x2 is better then a 1/20 chance of hitting x4.

Sandwich

7:20 AM

Depends on whether or not you have Improved critical

And the 1/4 crit chance is better if you have "xxxx burst" enchantments

Nyoze

True, it's actually a 3/20 vs 1/20, or 3/10 vs 1/10.

And I was thinking of getting an acid burst, though it's going to cost a bit.

Sandwich

Two +1 Acid burst Scimitars will run you somewhere around 40,000gp if my memory serves

If I recall its 2,000, 8,000, 20,000, 48,000, and so on

Nyoze

@Sandwich Using a Fauchard, so only need one. could dual-wield but... I went for 2handed instead so I can trip with reach.

Sandwich

7:38 AM

Kukri with improve critical crit on 14-20

No wait I'm wrong

Belay that

15-20

Nyoze

Hah

I was about to say... If anything critted on 17-20 naturally, I'd be all over that, and it would improve to 13/20 anyway

@Sandwich Do you think I should grab greater sunder on my fighter?

Sandwich

If you're going to be shattering a lot of weapons

Nyoze

Hopefully.

Sandwich

Given that wizards can normally take out enemy goons in a round

You might get to sunder a weapon before combat ends

Nyoze

Lol

Arena game, so the only wizards will be trying to kill me usually, unless we're doing a boss fight.

But sunder really helps vs Melee classes

Miniman

7:42 AM

@Nyoze Don't forget component pouches, holy symbols, and so on.

Nyoze

That's always true :D

I wonder if I can sunder a familiar being carried :P

Sandwich

You can really inconvenience a wizard by sundering their bound item

Nyoze

Wow... Dilbert goes back ages and ages and ages....

Miniman

@Nyoze It's still a creature. That's a really mean tactic, though.

Sandwich

"If a wizard attempts to cast a spell without his bonded object worn or in hand, he must make a concentration check or lose the spell. The DC for this check is equal to 20 + the spell's level. If the object is a ring or amulet, it occupies the ring or neck slot accordingly."

Probably arguably the worst class feature

Nyoze

7:44 AM

Easiest to exploit, anyway.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work vs Sorcerers.

But, thats why I can trip on a charge!

Charge -> trip, AoO from Greater Trip. Next turn, AoO on Stand, then I can trip and repeat.

And, I figured out what to do vs flyers. Tanglefoot Bags

For people with wings anyway... Still need to find some way to cancel out the fly spell.

Miniman

@Nyoze A net might work

Nyoze

@Miniman Then I'd need a one handed weapon while holding the net... Or a 2 level dip in alchemist for a third arm. That's actually not a bad idea though.

Miniman

Does your arena have a roof?

Nyoze

I need greater trip, but if I go alch on level 6 and 7, then I've got the 6BAB I need to qualify, and I can grab vestigial arm to hold a net as well. I won't be able to get an adamantime weapon yet, but...

@Miniman 25-50 ft, depending on size.

Miniman

@Nyoze Hmmm, that's awkward.

Nyoze

7:55 AM

Yeah. Even enlarged with reach, I still can't reach them in a small arena lol

All right, thanks for the help guys

See ya tomorrow :)

Althis

8:56 AM

@BESW, did I remember to thank you for showing me the map site?

I kept thinking back to it as I worked and the more I thought the more nebulous my memory got.

Regardless, I will thank you again!

BESW

You're welcome!

It's a great site.

Althis

Thank you for the link @BESW, it was extremely helpful.

Now. If only I could figure out whether I am mad or not...

I wonder what other memories I could have blacked out...

BESW

If you thanked me earlier, I didn't notice either.

eimyr

9:35 AM

Hello

BESW

[wave] What snoo?

Tashio

9:52 AM

Anyone else get the urge to want to reply to this rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/67278/when-can-i-draw-my-weapon with something about grabbing pens/pencils and paper and drawing it at any time you like?

BESW

Well, it'd be rude to draw your weapon during combat. Really, you should be paying attention to what's going on, not doodling.

Ben

11:27 AM

Acrobatics is a Dex skill yeah?

Yes.

BESW

11:50 AM

Anybody here have experience with DRYH?

eimyr

DRYH?

BESW

Don't Rest Your Head.

Magician

@BESW I suppose I do.

BESW

Two big questions that I'm not sure if I should main-site:

First, how tied is it to the Mad City setting? How much effort would it take to use the idea of the Awake and its mechanics with a different "alternate reality" than the Mad City?

Second, does it handle one-shots well?

Magician

@BESW It's not really tied to the Mad City. Mad City is very... pun-oriented. Tacks-Men and all that. I've run the game in Russian and had to strip out specifics entirely. I've kept the overall sense of it, though.

I've also adapted the system to run Portal games.

So no, Mad City itself is not at all necessary.

Most of my games with it were one-shots. It's kinda hard to make them go longer, honestly. You run out of creepy dreams.

BESW

11:55 AM

My ARRPG campaign has an upcoming session where we'll be subjected to the mind-bending horrors of travelling through space beyond the Earth and Moon. I was planning to use Cthulhu Dark for that session, but I think DRYH might be better if it can do a one-shot well.

Magician

There is in-built pacing in DRYH, where exhaustion and madness grow to a climax, making PCs so much more powerful but so much more in trouble. It's very reachable in a session.

BESW

I'm thinking about something sorta Event-Horizon-y.

Magician

...it's also interesting that the easiest way for me to find a post on my own site is to google it.

BESW

I'm thinking about something sorta Event-Horizon-y.

Magician

Haven't watched it.

BESW

12:06 PM

It's a film about a spaceship that, because of The Reason, is also a portal to hell--or some roughly equivalent dimension. The ship seethes with madness, changing shape like a lethal labyrinth, causing hallucinations, and warping characters' minds.

Magician

Sounds like a good fit.

BESW

I want the ship to become a terrifying technojungle populated by the PCs' fears.

Whether that's literally true, or all in their minds--I'm content to leave ambiguous.

I've been thinking about this concept for the last few days, and I think Horror In Space with DRYH will be a good test run for it.

Magician

It's interesting how he mentions many Forge-related games need formalized scene setting to function. Even Fate mentions something like this (though GM does scene framing there), and it did make me curious to play that way.

We normally just have action flow without solid scene breaks, which does mean that sometimes things drag on.

BESW

My group's been very good about scene breaks most of the time.

Earlier this summer I ran a session for a couple friends from my college RPG days, and their scenes just kept going and going and going.

They explicitly said, "No, we'll just keep on with this scene, we don't want to move forward."

Magician

Which is sometimes great, we got fantastic roleplaying out of this approach.

BESW

12:22 PM

Yeah. They were having fun with the RP, but it wasn't.... going anywhere? Like, not just the plot, but the characters were re-affirming the same traits repeatedly without us learning anything new about them or them changing at all.

Magician

Ahh. Yeah, can happen.

A friend ran a horror game recently from a printed module, Bryson Springs. He said he'd finished it before in a single evening, maybe 5 hours. It took us two games, with the second one going way overtime.

BESW

My group's getting really into "skip to the next good bit," including negotiation about what the next good bit is.

I think part of it is that our sessions often only last two or three hours.

And we like us some story advancement with our characterisation.

Magician

I'd be interested to try that. Maybe when I run my next game, which should be next week.

Speaking of which, it's hard and terrifying to run games, why did I ever do that.

BESW

heheh.

Example: when I ran Great Ork Gods, an Ork was swept downriver on a raft crowded with gnomes, and went over a small waterfall.

I suggested that, given his success on the rolls, the gnomes perished and the Ork would wade soggily back up to join his fellows in the carnage at the camp.

The Ork's player said, rather, that he wanted to rise, Jaws-like, from the water and strike down the straggling gnomes attempting to flee the wreckage.

And so we did that, and it was glorious.

Magician

I think a part of this is scene resolution vs task resolution mechanics.

BESW

12:30 PM

Then he considered grinding their bones in the nearby mill, but we agreed that was a little more gruesome than our session wanted to be, so we cut to someone else's glorious Orkyness and the wet Ork joined the frey at camp on his next turn.

doppelgreener

(his Ork was named Bone Grinder or something after all)

wax eagle

@Grubermensch @JoshuaAslanSmith @Shalvenay No game this week, my IRL D&D game has become a 2 night affair this week as a friend from out of town is driving in on a whim.

BESW

oooer.

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