TRPG General Chat

nitsua60

12:27 AM

@doppelgreener Ty! Started to catch up on the week's news... thought better of it. Heading back to Joseph Campbell.

doppelgreener

12:38 AM

Stewart Wieck, cofounder of White Wolf with his brother Steve Wieck, passed away on June 22nd.

3

trogdor

1:54 AM

@doppelgreener I didn't even know it was founded by brothers

BESW

2:09 AM

We're having a blast playing #FateAccelerated from @EvilHatOfficial in #Roll20CON! Watch & help a great charity! http://www.supergeekedup.com

Tweeted by Knightsfall on June 25, 2017 at 2:00 AM

Shalvenay

2:26 AM

hey there @MikeQ

Mike Q

Hi all! Good morning/afternoon/evening/night

Shalvenay

how're things going?

Mike Q

I recently mauled my campaign plans with a hammer, and now I have something that is more flexible in terms of story (player and GM perspective) but potentially open to hard-to-manage combat encounters.

Prior to that, the campaign's structure was too much like a video game. So I scrapped most of it.

Shalvenay

2:52 AM

ah

as to my hobgoblins and elves campaign -- I'm kinda wondering what system it'd be good in

Mike Q

Pick from 3.5, PF, or 5e?

BESW

It's a realm-management theme, right?

There's gotta be better systems than D&D for that.

3

Shalvenay

@MikeQ no, my options are much more open than that.

@BESW there are some of those aspects in play, yes

BESW

I suspect you'll wind up hacking a few systems together for different zooms.

Shalvenay

@BESW that...could very well be

BESW

3:03 AM

Finland definitely not covering up atracks by vengeful celestial reindeer no siree https://twitter.com/awwcuteoverload/status/878788129716670465

Tweeted by saladinahmed on June 25, 2017 at 2:39 AM

Shalvenay

should we start from the top down or the bottom up?

Mike Q

I don't know anything about realm management, so... no ideas here.

BESW

It's not a section of the gaming landscape I have much interest in.

I know D&D 3.x tried to cover it with splat material, so it's gotta be done better by someone else.

11

Q: Realm Management Rules That Work

I have been searching for years for a good realm-management rule set for RPGs. By "realm management," I mean a system that tracks the fortunes of large areas and / or groups in the way that most RPGs track the fortunes of individuals. For example - A fighter grows rich enough to build himself a...

11

Q: What rpgs are focused on kingdom building and what sort of mechanics are used in each system?

I've read Kingmaker, and I've heard of Birthright. I'm wondering what other rpgs are out their in that vein as those are the two I keep stumbling upon. I'm interested more in the type of mechanics and activities each system focuses on. What are the rewards for the players to spend time building...

realm-management

Shalvenay

yeah -- the 3.x lineage is probably not a good idea for this campaign anyway -- system breakage issues (unless I went E6) + I don't think it'd be good enough at the small-scale logistics (survival checks are way overboard for instance) for what I want to deal with anyhow

BESW

23

Q: RPG system for "town management"?

I have an idea for a campaign in which my players will go with a "colonisation" mission. They will be responsible of exploration and making settlement on unknown land. My question is, if there is any RPG system that got some built in complex resource system and/or something related to buildings,...

game-recommendation realm-management

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Q: Game Recommendation: Tribe/Kingdom management (King of Dragon Pass)

I have been (re)playing the PC and mobile versions of King of Dragon Pass. I am really falling in love with the concept of the game, and I would like to give it a try at a table with some friends. I'm looking for a system where: Players would be in charge of the tribe/clan/kingdom/whatever as...

game-recommendation realm-management

11

Q: System or resources for a campaign about governing a city/village

One of campaigns I used to GM was centered around governing a small, elven village (it was D&D3.5 campaign but it shouldn't really matter). I thought about rules as they were needed, but it was too crude to work in a long campaign. Are there any systems that concentrate and/or elaborate on this m...

game-recommendation realm-management civilisation

And so forth, there's a lot of good stuff (albeit a lot that needs close votes) in the realm-management tag.

A Google for tabletop RPGs with the word "infrastructure" yields little that looks helpful, but this Reddit thread has a suggestion or two.

InSpectres has a solid foundation of abstracting gaining and expending an organization's resources.

Ben

4:33 AM

SO... I had an idea and I need help coming up with implementation

Shalvenay

@Ben ok, shoot

Ben

I am part of an archery club, and we want to do a "DnD themed" event

So I want to come up with ways for a group of some people to have an "Adventure".

Mike Q

What sort of "events" does an archery club typically do?

Ben

@MikeQ Walk around and take turns shooting at cardboard targets. Lol

For example, the general idea I had is that a party (3 or 4 people) might choose their classes, (Fighter, spellcaster, etc) and then each target might have a special challenge tied to it.

For example, one target might be a puzzle solve: pick the right target, or you trigger at trap, and one party member loses a turn on the next target.

Or, face away from the target, and when told, turn and shoot at a target as quickly as possible, otherwise they get charged by a boar.

Then to add another touch, depending on their classes, one might get a small bag of tokens to use as potions, to assist the party.

Mike Q

So is it a LARP thing or a modified archery contest? Also, what is the audience?

Ben

4:42 AM

@MikeQ Modified archery contest. These guys have actual weapons, so there will be no shooting at other people. lol

Mike Q

What sort of experience do these people have with class-based games? I can imagine that throwing a lot of rules at once could be overwhelming and overcomplicated.

Ben

@MikeQ Very little to none

Mike Q

Could you give some background/detail on how the "we want a DnD themed event" discussion actually went down?

Ben

@MikeQ "We should do a D&D themed event"

This is very preliminary.

At this stage, I'm just trying to come up with what sort of things I can do with the targets. E.g, create a variation of targets that people can stand, and shoot at, but with different challenges, to simulate a "D&D" style adventure

Traps, enemies, times events, that kind of thing

Mike Q

From a mechanics standpoint: On one hand you have "shooting a target from far away", and on the other you have "rolling dice and adding numbers". So... no obvious connections. This will require a lot of thought...

BESW

4:50 AM

Mmm, sounds like a flavour thing rather than a rules thing.

So, don't think "D&D." Think "pop culture understanding of D&D."

Look to depictions of D&D in shows like Stranger Things and Community for inspiration.

Mike Q

Agreed with BESW. Archery rules question: Do all targets need to be the standard bullseye thing? Or can you use other things as targets, such as "this tiny piece of paper" or "between those branches on that tree"?

Ben

@BESW Yeah, along those lines

@MikeQ Well, any style of archery essentially revolves around "aiming at a specific point"

BESW

Obviously flavoured targets like dragons are a must.

Ben

What the target is specifically doesn't make much difference. There are targets that are just the coloured rings, targets of animals, 3D models of animals, so yes

BESW

Consider also team competitions where each member of a team has a different objective.

Ben

4:54 AM

@BESW I feel ashamed I didn't even think of that

Mike Q

For shooting at monsters, maybe the closer you hit to the target's center, the more "damage" you deal to it

Ben

@BESW That was one plan I liked. A "Fighter" class does extra damage, or a "caster" class has the ability to use spells to help the party/hinder the target

BESW

A distance/speed/accuracy trifecta might be interesting.

Mike Q

Yeah, I would say use the class names, but mechanically they should deal mainly in terms of archery contest mechanics

A rogue can take people's arrows, a healer can give people arrows or something

Ben

@MikeQ Primarily, yes. But we want it to be more than just "see how good you are at shooting at targets."

We want it to be a team-driven event. "The fighter missed the charging boar, and is wounded, so he misses a turn on the next target. Or, the Caster can choose to heal him, and let him particiapate"

@MikeQ Ohhh! I like the rouge idea!

At the end of the day, yes, there are going to be some people that want to know what there "Score" is, but if they don't care about that, it's even better.

Mike Q

5:01 AM

How many people do you expect to attend this?

Ben

@MikeQ In truth, no clue. Anywhere from 3 to 30

@MikeQ At the moment we are only a very small, family-run club

@MikeQ Or how about they might have an ability to take more shots? Like "quick reflexes"?

Mike Q

As someone who knows very little of archery contests other than "try to hit the target", I don't think I can make very good suggestions here.

Although I will say that if you give "special abilities" to different "classes", then try to keep them balanced, so that there are no bad options.

Ben

@MikeQ That's a good suggestion. Figuring out what the "classes" are capable of can help determine what kind of targets they need to shoot at.

@MikeQ There's really not much more to it. All I'm trying to think of is how to make "hit the target" a bit more challenging/more fun

Mike Q

5:20 AM

Have you planned/attended/heard of other "themed" archery contests before?

Ben

@MikeQ We have had "fun" shoots before, but really all they have been is just shooting at different targets, or using old equipment. There hasn't been anything with any kind of "system" before

Mike Q

5:38 AM

@HeyICanChan My earlier comments on this question regarding feat prereqs were corrected by @ShadowKras and so I deleted them.

Anyway @Ben, for now all I can really recommend is "archery contest with a narrative where the target represents a _____" and "a lightweight system of additional rules"

ShadowKras

6:21 AM

@MikeQ you are actually partially correct. There is a comment from Jason Bullman about that, but no final answer on the faq request about it.

BESW

I'd suggest a narrative-clad set of triggers and responses whereby one archer's choices and success/failure influences the next archer's options/requirements.

doppelgreener

12:51 PM

Good afternoon, friends!

doppelgreener

1:07 PM

@trogdor I found out only with that announcement

Zachiel

1:17 PM

@doppelgreener Good Afternoon to you!

doppelgreener

\o/

Zachiel

@Ben Have a regular D&D game. Instead of rolling d20s, have contestants aim at a target with concentric areas numbered 1-20.

Shalvenay

4:46 PM

hey there @Anaphory

Zachiel

hey there @Shalvenay

Shalvenay

@Zachiel how're things going?

Zachiel

Not bad

Shalvenay

alright here

Zachiel

I have just started a new adventure for my P&P group and it looks like it will be a blast

the only part that worries me is going to start two weeks from here, it is an organizational mess of moving parts and NPCs and factions.

Shalvenay

5:25 PM

sounds kinda like some of my campaign worlds :P

I'm scratching my head at what system(s) would be good for my hobgoblins-and-elves campaign concept

nitsua60

6:20 PM

@Ben I'd hack "amazing tales" (linked in the star board). Instead having d4, d6 ,d8, d10 as you play through the narrative, give your archers 4, 6, 8, 10 arrows to complete each successive challenge?

Shalvenay

7:23 PM

hey again @Anaphory

Zachiel

@Shalvenay what's the concept?

Maybe some system comes to my head if you give me some base to work upon

First thing that comes to mind with a fantasy world with a few, very distinct races, is the Burning Wheel (but it's quite heavy)

and maybe not what you're looking for.

@Shalvenay OTOH, I could use some pointers as to how I might organize the concurrent plans of several factions

Shalvenay

@Zachiel elves get hammered by a natural disaster that crushes their towns and ruins their food supply -- hobgoblins find out about it and send their army out on a relief mission

party is two scouting parties (one elf, one hobgoblin) that join together and are surveying the devastation

Zachiel

@Shalvenay mmmh so it's basically a matter of getting two distinct approaches to the problem

do you feel there's a need to mechanically reward adeherence to "how my people would tackle this problem" - I mean, is this why it's interesting that they're elves and hobs?

Shalvenay

@Zachiel probably only lightly -- the prime conflict is party vs. environment, with intraparty conflict strictly secondary (there will also be a few non-environmental villains, such as profiteers and suchnot)

Zachiel

@Shalvenay If so I don't see any particular system being better than others.

Shalvenay

7:38 PM

@Zachiel what would be your choice for the contrary assumption, by the way?

Anaphory

But now! Heya!

Zachiel

@Shalvenay I'd look for a system that gives you point for having done certain things during a session, e.g. the Burning Wheel or a PbtA

Shalvenay

@Anaphory how're things going?

Anaphory

Good!

How about yourself?

Shalvenay

doing alright over here -- got any system ideas for the campaign idea I posited above?

Anaphory

7:47 PM

@Zachiel @Shalvenay I think the point mentioned there matters – hwat makes this a “hobgoblins-and-elves campaign” and not a “disaster relief campaign”?

Shalvenay

@Anaphory hrm...I'll have to chew on it some more

maybe I can throw my other campaign-design headscratcher out here though, if you two don't mind?

Zachiel

8:09 PM

I don't mind, but I'm not going to follow it very closely

Shalvenay

basically -- I'm trying to figure out what zoom level/level of abstraction the party should be engaging with a legal-interpretation narrative at

basically, the party discovers that a recent decree hosed part of the tax laws

and is helping a coven of witches get it straightened out in court

but it's not something that really fits into the normal courtroom drama genre as its an issue of legal interpretation not a factual dispute where the laws are clear

Anaphory

8:28 PM

You mentioned that before several times, was it a thing with specific players in mind? It sounds impossible to solve in the abstract.

Shalvenay

@Anaphory yeah -- I don't have particular players in mind yet unfortunately -- is it something that I should just keep a range of abstraction levels in mind for?

Anaphory

I don't know, it just sounds like a hard problem even if you were able to specify “Player 1 loves to dig into handouts, player 2 is dyslexic but likes to think consequences through and player 3 likes to get into character and make big speeches.” If you don't have something like that, it sounds nigh impossible to me.

nitsua60

10:19 PM

Alright... four days out, and I'm starting to get new-group/-campaign jitters. It's like the first day of classes in September: no matter how many times I do it, it never seems to get better =\

BESW

10:32 PM

Miniman

11:43 PM

@nitsua60 Just remember, you can always have your sharpshooter kill them from 600 feet away, and if they complain, just point out that it wasn't even a deadly encounter by the CR guidelines.

godskook

@BESW, if a weeping angle believes I can do a thing, I will not do that thing.

BESW

11:58 PM

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