TRPG General Chat

trogdor

12:00 AM

@Miniman I assume you like 5 though,... Or pathfinder or wtv system you use

Miniman

@trogdor I like 5, but there's a lot about it that really bothers me.

trogdor

@Yuuki kinda sounds like a nightmare personally

@Miniman ah yeah I get that then

Miniman

@trogdor The same is true for 3.5.

trogdor

I have not played it yet still but from other peoples accounts of it it does not sound like a system I want to play more than the one time to try it out

@Miniman oh I can second that one

doppelspooker

> Dreamer (extra).
You gain the following Insomnia condition track: Tired (2), Exhausted (4), Barely Awake (6).
Whenever you roll with Hallucinations, you can tick off your lowest available Insomnia condition to add its value to your roll.
Ongoingly: Any Hallucinations roll with an outcome lower than the value of your highest checked Insomnia condition instead becomes that value. The Nightmare Creatures pursue you whilst you have any Insomnia conditions checked at all, and they add that same value to their rolls against you.

trogdor

12:04 AM

Except double dose on the stuff that bothers me about 3.5

doppelspooker

I done hacked a small DRYH extra for Fate.

Miniman

@trogdor Hey, I never said how much stuff bothers me :P

trogdor

Lol

BESW

Nice.

trogdor

I liked 3.5 when I played it, mostly, but when I look back on it the problems it had ate amplified by my 4e experience

And technically

BESW

12:09 AM

I've seen several folks on Twitter talking about using Fate for social scenes and D&D for combat. They seem happy with it.

trogdor

I always hated the ridiculously un-hideable imbalance between casters and non casters

@BESW fair enough but I still think it sounds like a nightmare

Yuuki

@BESW Do they do something to translate D&D's handling of social skills to Fate or is that just ignored?

BESW

I don't know the details, but I suspect they don't do transliteration.

Just take the narrative of your D&D PC and use that to make a Fate character.

Yuuki

Yeah, that makes sense. The less you have to homebrew, the less of a headache everything else will be.

BESW

Well, and wouldn't the point of using Fate be that D&D isn't working for that part of your game? Why modify the system that works for your goals to be more like the one that doesn't?

The western Pilbara spiny-tailed skink (Egernia cygnitos). (Photo: mocreptiles)

Tweeted by Strange_Animals on November 20, 2017 at 1:49 PM

Yuuki

12:21 AM

Well, I guess it's a holdover from thinking about skills but unlike 3.5e, 5e doesn't have skill points.

BESW

You mean, like, that skill numbers need to increase over time?

Fate can do that on its own, but doesn't need to and really probably shouldn't in most situations. Your competence increases narratively, letting you roll for increasingly awesome stuff rather than just having skill ranks and difficulty targets increase together for a zero sum result.

Yuuki

No, what I meant was that you get skill points to invest in certain skills in 3.5e which would be completely worthless for skills like Diplomacy or Bluff if you're going to use Fate to handle non-combat.

But 5e doesn't have skill points for you to pick and choose skills so that's neatly handled right there.

Shalvenay

@BESW -- sidenote: mind giving me a quick refresher on what being an adversary to one's character means?

BESW

Ahah.

Not sure what you mean, Shalv.

Also I'm on my phone so monographs aren't likely.

Shalvenay

ah, drat

because I recall its something that you folks brought up to me previously in our vast conversations here and in the NAB, and I kinda have an idea of what it means (i.e. creating problems for one's character) but I'm not sure how to explain it to others beyond that

BESW

12:31 AM

Who are you talking about? The GM? NPCs? The PC's own player?

trogdor

@Shalvenay OK so our group does not have the absolute best track record of it, but what that is boils down to self compels

Shalvenay

@BESW the PC's own player

trogdor

Yeah that is what I figured

Shalvenay

@trogdor yeah, and you're talking to someone who will need a lot more time/help to unpack the Fate point economy

trogdor

So the idea is that you should have agency, and even have fun deciding what kinds of complications crop up against your character

BESW

12:33 AM

You know how GMs in Apocalypse games are supposed to be fans of the characters, and that means giving them difficult situations to overcome so they can be awesome?

Shalvenay

@BESW kindasorta

BESW

Being a fan of your own character means a similar attitude.

trogdor

Yeah true

BESW

Writers are familiar with the idea that perfect characters who always make the best choices are boring and unrelatable.

Being a fan of your character also means liking their foibles and flaws.

trogdor

But I think Shalv is saying he might have trouble understanding why, as a fan of my Dr Light, I would throw him in a time vortex

And in that context it is a little screwy sounding I admit

@BESW this is a good explanation though

A perfect flawless character is boring

Miniman

12:37 AM

@trogdor See, this is where invoking examples from fiction would normally help with the conversation.

trogdor

@Miniman lol

Shalvenay

@trogdor but at the same time, you can get into pickles where a character's flaws are actively repulsive, not relatable

BESW

To put it very simply, getting lost in time and space was cooler than not getting lost in time and space, because it gave Dr Light and the rest of the party new unexpected challenges to overcome.

Miniman

@Shalvenay Characters like that are generally villains, because the audience is supposed to dislike them.

trogdor

@Shalvenay but why would you specifically give your character flaws you find repulsive?

Miniman

12:40 AM

If your character in an RPG is repulsive, people aren't going to be happy about playing with that character.

BESW

They were the kinds of challenges the group wanted to explore, and getting lost made sense in character and was actually kind heroic for him.

Shalvenay

@trogdor I don't find the flaws repulsive -- its others that do

Miniman

@Shalvenay Then those are probably not flaws you should be giving a character, unless it's a character you want people to dislike.

trogdor

@Shalvenay do they find any and all flaws repulsive? Because that is a major issue there

BESW

I made a PC who disturbed the other players enough that I was asked to retire him.

trogdor

12:42 AM

@BESW I mean,.. You sorta modeled him after a cat

Soooooo

Yeah

Miniman

@trogdor That doesn't sound disturbing...

Shalvenay

@trogdor hardly. I think they mostly find a combination of strong to overwhelming socioemotional ineptitude with a rather glaring lack of obvious flaws re: physical conflict to be problematic

Yuuki

@Miniman It might be an-nya-ing though.

trogdor

@Miniman excuse me? Are you a cat in disguise?

Miniman

@trogdor Not that I know of...I guess if it was a good enough disguise that even I didn't know, I could be.

trogdor

12:44 AM

@Miniman a human doing cat stuff ( like causual murder and mutilation) is disturbing, trust me

Miniman

@trogdor Ah, right.

trogdor

I mean the character concept was not " he will be like a cat but in a human body" exactly but he had magic he activated the same way cats in secrets of cats do magic

Which is killing a critter and leaving the body somewhere

So he killed a talking lab rat in front of the group

That was at least the part I found disturbing at any rate

BESW

Yeeeah, that was some epic failure to communicate.

trogdor

I mean, I think part of the blame could be put on me for providing the sentient rat, to be fair

BESW

The other players decided that the rat was intelligent, knowing that my character intended to kill it, but made it so my character couldn't know.

trogdor

12:53 AM

But I had thought it would be enough to maybe make people think twice and find some critter outside

BESW

If I'd been more on my toes I might've been able to finesse my way out of it but I misread the room.

trogdor

Mm I sorta wish I had just not come up with the rats playing chess in the lab

It seemed like such a good idea until that point

BESW

Yeah, the group wasn't on the same page much that session.

A big part of the problem was that I made my character on my own rather than with the group.

trogdor

A fair assessment

Mm I guess so

That could be a factor

BESW

Let's continue. Gladiopycnodus is probably the best #fish when you search for some alien spaceship inspiration, the armored belly and back, long rostrum and of course the huge anal spines can't be ignored. #SundayFishSketch #Paleoart

Tweeted by JoschuaKnuppe on November 19, 2017 at 9:42 PM

I realized this weekend that for the people I play with, one of the main value of systems is not to curtail success, but rather to put a limiter on how many awful things they do to themselves.

Tweeted by rdonoghue on November 20, 2017 at 2:22 PM

Yuuki

1:02 AM

@BESW Ignoring anal spines is probably the last mistake anyone wants to make.

"Death by anal spines" definitely sounds like an embarrassing way to go.

BESW

1:18 AM

We just started advertising the "Far Off Land" Kickstarter, which is a FATE game set in two different worlds, a kind of intriguing premise: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/8614065/a-far-off-land-a-fate-rpg-in-two-worlds

Tweeted by Appelcline on November 20, 2017 at 6:18 PM

BESW

1:50 AM

The awesome looking Andros Island iguana is an endangered species. Only 3,500 individuals are left on the island. #IguanaAwarenessDay

Tweeted by Strange_Animals on September 8, 2017 at 9:45 AM

trogdor

What handsome lumpy faces

Adeptus

Lizards are awesome. I'd have some as pets if they weren't so expensive. Plus I think you need a permit here.

Shalvenay

@Adeptus -- I'm surprised you folks down under don't have a go at having pet spiders xD

Miniman

2:11 AM

@Adeptus Same here!

@Shalvenay Some people do. But they don't make great pets.

Shalvenay

@Miniman yeah, I suspect they might get a bit boring after a while

hey there @Nyoze

Nyoze

Hey, what's going on?

Miniman

@Shalvenay I mean, people have pet snakes, and that works, because snakes are very affectionate. But with spiders it seems like the best you can hope for is that they'll be happy to crawl on you.

Shalvenay

@Nyoze not a ton here

Nyoze

I would so have a pet Huntsman if the rest of the family would let me :(

Shalvenay

2:15 AM

@Miniman that is a point. if I had an exotic pet, I'd actually be looking at a capybara xD

@Nyoze -- how goes getting back settled in to the D&D swing of things?

Nyoze

It's going good actually :)

I keep thinking maybe I should try and find a game of 5e to get into, but... :\ I don't know, learning a new system scares me lol

Shalvenay

@Nyoze good to hear.

@Nyoze I can run a 5e short-form game with you if that'd help?

Miniman

@Nyoze If it helps, it's very easy to learn. Especially as, IIRC, you're a Pathfinder guy - that's a very smooth transition.

Nyoze

I like Pathfinder, it's got numbers for everything :)

Shalvenay

@Nyoze ah. 5e dials back on the "numbers for everything" approach just a wee bit, but gains a lot in terms of simplicity and architectural orthogonality as a result

Nyoze

2:20 AM

I should really look into it one day.

Shalvenay

@Nyoze let me know if you want to try -- I have a couple of short-form 5e dungeons laying around, including one that's designed to be a L1 short-form/campaign-teaser

Nyoze

I can't think of a good reason not too.

:)

Miniman

@Nyoze That doesn't mean you have to do something :P

Nyoze

@Shalvenay Did you want to do it here, or did you want to find a forum, RPOL or similar?

@Miniman When I'm not able to find an excuse not to do something, it usually means it's at least worth a try :P Maybe you should join us :)

Shalvenay

@Nyoze we can use The Back Room, or Discord for that matter

Nyoze

2:26 AM

I'm happy with anything. Just let me know where and I'll be there. Fair warning though, I'm usually at work when I'm online, so can be slow to reply

Shalvenay

@Nyoze if you can get your paws on a character sheet, the 5e Player's Basic Rules, and the 5e System Reference Doc...we probably could start now even?

Miniman

@Nyoze Not a good time for me, unfortunately.

Nyoze

@Miniman Another time maybe. @Shalvenay Give me 30 minutes or so? I'll see what I can put together.

Miniman

@Nyoze If you need any help, you know where to ask :)

Shalvenay

@Nyoze sure

KorvinStarmast

3:00 AM

I so had an answer for this question

10

Q: What happens to a Revenant that loses its purpose?

In my campaign, one of my players used a wish granted to him from a god to get forgiveness from someone he had killed who had become a revenant. I really didn't want to say he can't so I'm trying to figure out now what happens with the Revenant. What happens to a Revenant that can't(or won't) co...

The answer is "It becomes a congressional staffer" but I don't think it would fit the problem the question presented. :)

Shalvenay

@KorvinStarmast LOL!

hey there @KorvinStarmast

KorvinStarmast

Hola, Shalvenay, how are things tonight?

Miniman

@KorvinStarmast I'm amazed no-one mentioned the UA Revenant race, actually.

Shalvenay

alright here, as to you?

KorvinStarmast

our D&D games are quiet.

Miniman

3:03 AM

Oops, a later answer did mention it.

Shalvenay

ah. hoping to start up a short-form game here soon actually :)

KorvinStarmast

@Miniman It wasn't a question on ua, so the ua revenant would not be on topic as I saw it. But I staeyd out of that one since all I could think of was smart alec replies ...

When? I think the Missus has me painting the kitchen tomorrow night when I get home from work.

We did a bunch of prep work yesterday ...

Shalvenay

we'll see if it actually starts up tonight, Nyoze is pulling stuff together for it

KorvinStarmast

We'll see how long I am allowed to stay up. . Early rise for work in the am. (0500)

Shalvenay

ah

KorvinStarmast

3:07 AM

Got to sneak on to hearthstone and got a 5 win arena run, which was nice. I don't usually fare so well in arena runs, have trouble making decks ...

afk for a bit, will check back in shortly

Nyoze

3:21 AM

Hmm... Making a character is harder then I thought.

Do I need a background, or can I just skip it?

Shalvenay

@Nyoze a background is not mandatory but does provide helpful stuff :) and they aren't that hard to pick, or I can work with you on a customized one

KorvinStarmast

Aah, I am off, summoned. Failed the save. Best wishes and happy gaming.

Miniman

@Nyoze If you want to shortcut backgrounds, just pick 2 skills and 2 languages/tools.

Shalvenay

@Miniman that does work, yes :)

Miniman

Everything else is just stuff to help you come up with a personality and backstory.

Nyoze

3:42 AM

Fair enough. I'll have a look when I get a chance then, thanks.

Shalvenay

@Nyoze okiedokie

Adeptus

4:59 AM

@Shalvenay Not intentionally. They live with us without asking. I had to evict a big mother last week...

big spider, busy getting evicted

BESW

Jeez, put that behind a warning link.

I'm inoculated but some of us aren't.

Miniman

@BESW At this point, he can't - you'll have to.

(Or just delete it, but that's up to you.)

BESW

I can only move, I can't delete or edit. That's a blue privilege.

Miniman

Hence the Trash chatroom, I guess.

BESW

Some volunteer tenants I'm okay with, like geckos. Some spiders I'm okay with, but I have guests who aren't.

Miniman

5:06 AM

@BESW I imagine the geckos are okay with the spiders, though XD

BESW

Yes, it all works out nicely.

Roaches and centipedes, though, are very unwelcome.

Also whatever fat spikey grub comes in on Home Depot plants.

trogdor

Mmm not a huge fan of pictures of big spiders not as bad as actual spiders by a long shot though

BESW

And snakes. Not welcome at all.

trogdor

Lol snakes can go die

BESW

Happily we haven't had any since moving from South to Central.

trogdor

5:10 AM

Any that are here at least

Same

BESW

Guam would not say no to a Saint Patrick.

trogdor

Though a very close neighbor seemed to get a lot more than we did

Adeptus

@BESW Sorry... move it to trash if you think it needs to be

trogdor

My father had to go over there to kill them practically every week

BESW

I don't think I can even do that on mobile.

Been on my phone all day, waiting for my car to get fixed.

Miniman

5:13 AM

It's off the screen now, anyway.

Nyoze

This is true.

trogdor

Definitely an improvement for now

Magician

DON'T SPIDER
SCROLL UP

4

SmokeDetector

6:10 AM

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Email in answer: Strategic play elements for Microscope by Keith J on rpg.SE

trogdor

6:36 AM

@Magician always a card this one

BESW

7:56 AM

Nyoze

Demo-dog!

BESW

8:33 AM

@Nyoze I'm sorry, it's a democorgon.

Nyoze

I stand corrected :)

Still cute though

The Oracle

1

Q: Is there a way to thank/upvote someones edits on your Question/Answer?

Just a quick bit of backstory. When I'm posting on Stack sites, I'm typically at work, so unable to devote my entire attention to the post. Quite often, small typos/errors in maths/etc will slip through my fingers. Often this is picked up by another member of the community, who'll go through a...

discussion editing voting

trogdor

8:50 AM

@BESW bad dog bad XD

doppelspooker

11:03 AM

@Nyoze demo-doggo

kviiri

11:19 AM

Hellspaww'n.

SmokeDetector

12:08 PM

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Bad keyword in answer, bad keyword with email in answer, email in answer, pattern-matching email in answer: What other ways are there to make a Wizard more intelligent? by Sandra Williams on rpg.SE

doppelspooker

12:46 PM

TIL there's a renaissance art exhibition which conveys the value of its art pieces in cows

BESW

@doppelspooker Now I'm sad that the Size of Wales unit conversion site is dead.

It would take your measurements and convert them to units of area (the size of Wales), mass (the size of whales), or distance (the size of the Prince of Wales), as appropriate.

It also had options for Nelson's Column, double decker buses, and so forth.

doppelspooker

@BESW awww. That sounds fabulous.

trogdor

1:10 PM

lol

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