TRPG General Chat

David Coffron

00:09

@MikeQ I did that so much when I first discovered it too. lol

It's a great resource

I hope they eventually allow for custom classes though, because my current ones are in a pretty mediocre formatting

Mike Q

00:24

@DavidCoffron Do you know if it's possible to share individual creations, or do I have to make it publicly available first

nitsua60

@MikeQ I can't tell if it's that statement making my eyes go crosswise or the painkillers....

@Pixie I'm a fan of the d30. I keep one in my dicebag for when I need a good bump to my likelihood of success but want to maintain my "I always roll in the open, no shenanigans here" image intact. Roll and read it quick enough and they usually just think it's a novelty-large d20 =)

Mike Q

00:58

@nitsua60 The d0.5 has a 50% of any outcome

Pixie

@nitsua60 Pff. I use d30 charts reasonably often, and I found some that were all sparkly. I cannot resist the sparkly.

The Oracle

01:35

1

Q: How can I ask this question in a 'stackable' format?

I'm really interested to know if there are any gaming systems in which a situation described in a meme would be possible. It seemed like something interesting to ask here, and like a clear question pointing towards a verifiable best answer. So I tried. And it got downvoted and closed. I have sin...

0

Q: Inquiring about creating an algorithm

Based on some questions I have been poring through lately regarding the usage of Insight and Deception rolls in D&D 4E, I came across the idea to add a sort of "gambling mini-game" to my campaign for my players. What I want to do is create a rather simple algorithm, primarily using a character's ...

discussion on-topic

trogdor

02:05

@Pixie wait are they like, big and heavy dice?

I guess they have to be a little big but I didn't think they would be too heavy

Pixie

@trogdor Yeah, the d30 is larger than a d20, and the d100 is...

trogdor

Oh yeah ok,... I think I understand now

That is bigger than I thought

Pixie

Affectionately referred to as golf balls.

trogdor

Not sure I ever saw it in comparison to a hand before

That would smart for sure

I'm used to a D20 being the biggest

And dropped from your own height it shouldn't hurt too much but that thing,...

It could probably work as a sub par golf ball

No pun actually intended but I did notice that as I was typing it

Pixie

Haha.

That's the size of a d30 vs the d20 there.

Unless you use d30 charts, it's pretty useless, but I do, so. :v

trogdor

02:19

What's the one in between them?

D24?

Wat

That is a weird number

Pixie

I think so. I'd never actually seen one of those before.

trogdor

Same

Never seen a d30 or a d100 in person either

But I never saw even a picture of a D24

David Coffron

03:34

@trogdor IIRC AD&D had d24 tables

trogdor

04:07

@DavidCoffron ah ok

I did not know that

The Oracle

05:17

0

Q: Why is my meta rep different to my normal rep?

Literally as I started making this question it changed, but I'm still curious as to why it was the case: I had two tabs in Chrome open, one on meta and the other on rpg.stackexchange, and the rpg one had higher rep. Confused, I closed the meta tab and in the rpg one, switched over to meta. My re...

discussion

Anaphory

06:24

@DavidCoffron I'm good at explaining, I think. It's just that I'm the only computational historical linguist in a group of people without any computational background.

@JuneShores Well, a d30 has an entropy of just below 5, while the d3 is above 1.5, so I would agree that the d30 ist more random.

kviiri

@MikeQ What went wrong?

Mike Q

@kviiri Basically, everyone being on board for an intrigue-heavy campaign, but using a system that struggles with noncombat interactions. I've mentioned it before.

There's sort of an assumption that NPCs exist to either 1. fight the PCs or 2. spoonfeed them lore or 3. tell them to fight something else in exchange for a reward

BESW

06:43

Yup, seen that in my games.

Mike Q

So I presented them with a powerful NPC who knows all the stuff they want to know, but with some mutual distrust. On paper, this seemed fair - "Ask the NPC what they know" is open-ended enough that it's not a guessing game challenge. But it fell apart and the players spent the whole time asking me if they were supposed to attack or if they were being attacked.

kviiri

@MikeQ It's a classic :/

Mike Q

If anything, I've learned that playing out a full conversation is no longer feasible. It puts too much emphasis on word choice, and tends to create a disparity where 1-2 players talk with the NPCs while the other players sit there waiting for something else to happen...

So now I'm looking for some method/system for social encounters, where I'll ask each player what their objective is for the next X amount of dialogue, maybe do some rolls, and then tell them the outcomes.

kviiri

07:26

How tactical / gamey do you want it to be?

Mike Q

Unsure. Enough to be fair. My DM goals for these dialogue encounters are to engage all the players, and to give them the opportunity to gain information, and possibly other stuff like affecting attitudes and gaining influence.

BESW

@MikeQ Instead of a mechanic, I suggest trying a slightly zoomed-out technique.

Mike Q

Maybe something close to turn-based, where each "turn" represents some amount of passing conversation, rather than RPing out the entire conversation line-for-line

@BESW How so?

BESW

Apply the same logic as you do in fights: characters are often better at things than the players are, so the player describes what they're doing rather than acting it out.

kviiri

For comparison, not really as a suggestion, AW and DW have a system where to get NPCs to do something, first you consider whether they would just do so. Maybe what you're suggesting is a great idea, so the NPC goes along, no roll required. But if the NPC is hesitant, you need leverage - something that the NPC wants, needs, craves or fears.

BESW

07:37

"I greet the bouncer cheerfully."

Secespitus

@MikeQ Like in the Protocol series where each player is allowed to run one "scene" of roughly 1 to 3 minutes (depending on the amount of players) going round the table?

BESW

You don't need to bring out the dice to resolve abstracted roleplaying unless you want to.

kviiri

You make a promise regarding the leverage, and make the roll - on a hard hit, the NPC just expects you to go along with the promise. On a soft hit, they want concrete assurance first. On a miss, things can get more interesting. (eg. the NPC decides that the thing you're offering should be theirs without any strings attached and pushes for that)

BESW

"The bouncer says 'Hello,' warily. You can tell he's not sure if he should know you."

Mike Q

@Secespitus I don't know. I was thinking more like, I ask each player what they do, or try to learn, during the next [unspecified quantity] of conversation. Maybe use dice if they're attempting something difficult. Then the NPC(s) get a turn. Repeat a few times, and that's the encounter.

BESW

07:40

"To help convince him I'm someone he's forgotten, I ask a personal question. It's a guess, but something reasonably safe like 'How's your mother doing?'"

kviiri

That's very well geared towards the style of gameplay that AW does best - problems get born fast and resolved fast. The promise you make (and may opt to not keep) is fertile ground for spawning further drama. It's probably not a good fit for your game if you want the social mechanic to be more of a means towards an end instead of a branching point in the story.

Mike Q

@kviiri It can be both. My main problem is that my players and I seem to get hung up on wording or individual statements, which means I don't get to communicate the important points, or my players may interpret things that were not intended

BESW

"At this point I'm going to ask for a Rapport roll to overcome the bouncer's suspicion, difficulty +2."
"I get +5!"
"Okay, the bouncer lights up and says that his mother's doing much better, thanks, and he waves you on in before the conversation can reveal he still doesn't know exactly who you are."

Mike Q

@BESW Right, that's what I'm considering now - Summarize rather than act out a full dialogue

BESW

Yeah, and there's no need for formalized mechanics.

I try to only bring in mechanics when there's more than one outcome that'd be interesting/dramatic.

Mike Q

07:45

Well, I was hoping that some kind of mechanic would address the issue where some players dominate the conversation and others get bored

BESW

Mechanics are, for me, usually tools to resolve situations where there's not an obvious "this will be the best for the story" thing to do next.

Mike Q

Maybe I'm misusing the word then. Ruleset? System? Structure?

BESW

@MikeQ Ah, that can be an issue. There are some systems which help, but it's very subjective depending on exactly why the problem's happening.

For me it's often easier to resolve through strategic spotlight management, like...

"Captain Hollas turns to Naomi and says he recognizes her from the fighting pits. He'd like to know if she has any opinions on the tactics they're working out."

And sometimes I just take the Lady Blackbird approach directly: "Alex, your character hasn't been saying much. What does she think about all this?"

That's an invitation for contributing something to the narrative even if the player thinks it'd be inappropriate for the character to join the conversation, or can't think of a way to, because now they can offer some great noir-style inner monologue commentary.

Mike Q

@BESW Right, and that's what I've tried, but usually they say (that their character says) nothing and lets the others retake the spotlight

BESW

Hmm.

Maybe the problem is in character design and encounter hooks.

If you're playing a system that doesn't put much emphasis on making sure characters have stakes or passions, it's hard for players to engage with scenes.

And it's hard for GMs to know how to design encounters that will encourage engagement.

There are a lot of motives/stakes design systems which could be lifted and added to most other systems.

kviiri

07:59

@MikeQ One trick you could try is to have an NPC initiate conversation with a particular PC instead, for whatever reason. (and since that effectively gives the spot to that PC, keep it relatively short lest the others get bored)

BESW

I like how Masters of Umdaar asks everyone to pick another character and say if their relationship is sibling-like, parent-like, lover-like, or rival-like, and give one detail about how that's working out for them.

@MikeQ I know that I had a lot more success getting @trogdor involved in D&D RP sessions when I started asking what his character was thinking rather than what the character was saying or doing.

trogdor

yeah

BESW

His characters always had very strong opinions about whatever was going on, they just often were willing to sit back and let everyone else make fools of themselves.

trogdor

I have a little trouble getting prompted to speak in character

Mike Q

@BESW That's a good suggestion, I'll try that too. Even if they don't want to change the scene, it does keep them engaged.

BESW

08:01

Games like Bubblegumshoe and InSpectres mechanize that style nicely.

Bubblegumshoe gives rewards to players who deliver noir-dectective-style one-liners to the "audience," like "I knew she was playing me, but I'd never had a dame like that play me before. It was thrilling and I wanted to play too."

trogdor

oh

I don't remember us doing that

BESW

We never really did, no.

trogdor

ah

BESW

InSpectres has a reality-tv-show-style "confessional" mechanic where a player steps away from the group and says the sort of thing a contestant in a reality TV show would say, when they cut away from the action to an interview recorded later.

This lets them establish things about other characters ("Roger's a massive comics nerd, which is just what we needed right then") or details about the scene ("I'm a girl scout, so I had a flashlight") or just dish about what's going on ("Oh my God, did you SEE what he did? I thought he was gonna get us killed for sure").

Secespitus

@BESW In Black Monk one player chooses another player, draws a card from a standard card deck and the suite and value give a prompt for how the relationship could be. The details are then up to the player.

BESW

08:08

My favorite use of the confessional is "establish the end of the scene."

"We got out okay, obviously, but only because Erica had a stopwatch." And now the group has to play the scene to that ending.

Isaac Reefman

I just edited a link into a question and had it edited back out because the link was to a non-legal site. I didn't think about whether there may be non-legal dnd wiki sites! How can I find out if a site is a legal one and therefore worth linking to?

Sorry if this is the wrong chat... I'd have chatted with the high-rep user who fixed my mistake, but I don't think I can open up custom chatrooms yet!

Secespitus

@IsaacReefman This is the main chat room, so it's a good place to ask such questions. Meta might also be a good place for something like that, I don't know if there is anything like it already. Basically DnDBeyond is official and everything else is not for the most part. It's better to just state the important bits from the books and cite them if you want to be safe.

kviiri

We have a blacklist (I've never triggered it myself but I'm under the impression it automatically prevents edits that would introduce a blacklisted URL) but it only covers the most popular offenders, of course (whitelisting is impossible here).

Secespitus

@IsaacReefman The SRD (everything in the free basic rules) is fine of course, too.

kviiri

Yeah, basically it can be hard to know whether a wiki site or such illegally hosts copyrighted content, so I'd look out for sources elsewhere - the SRD, the handbooks, DnD Beyond.

Secespitus

08:14

22

Q: Stance on using D&D Beyond for references?

With the release of dndbeyond, and seeing it used a few times around the site, I wanted to ask if we have (or should have) a policy regarding using direct links to a paywall shielded website, instead of referring to physical books. Naturally, we encourage pasting in the relevant text in case of ...

discussion answers citations

kviiri

(as an added benefit, the wikis are not reliable and often feature a mish-mash of homebrew along with official rules)

Secespitus

That meta discussion mentions quite a few things about how to use DnDBeyond and the books.

Isaac Reefman

Yeah, I tend to use the books, but often back them up with dndbeyond links for ease of reference. Only gets harder when something isn't in the free to access SRD, and therefore won't turn up on dndbeyond. Does that mean those things just aren't available to hyperlink?

Secespitus

@IsaacReefman Someone else might be able to link to them. If you have the books and can cite them everything should be fine. Adding hyperlinks is only a nice-to-have.

V2Blast

I do have access to everything on DNDBeyond (someone shared the Legendary Bundle with me) and so I usually edit in both DNDBeyond links and page numbers from books (for non-SRD content). If you don't own/have access to the content on DNDBeyond, it'll still show up in search results and (spell/monster/item) listings on the site, but you won't be able to view the full details without owning the content on DNDBeyond or having it shared with you.

That said, even without viewing the full details, you can still find the link to the page from the listing (e.g. you can see that the Abominable Yeti entry on https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters links to https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/abominable-yeti even without owning the Monster Manual on DNDBeyond), though you'll only be able to actually view the entry if you own it or have it shared with you

unrelated:
Jeremy Crawford replied to some Twitter comments about the revised ranger here: https://www.sageadvice.eu/2018/07/29/revised-ranger-there-is-one-ranger-the-one-in-the-players-handbook/
His perspective is somewhat understandable, but I find his tone is at least a little too dismissive.
(Much of /r/dndnext was not happy: https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/92tq6s/revised_ranger_there_is_one_ranger_the_one_in_the/)

3

My own perspective:
If you make a level 1 PHB ranger character, you need to coordinate with your DM and "metagame" - or hope and pray for the best - in order for your choices to make your only two class features at that level useful *at all*. And that idea doesn't really appeal to me. Those "too specific" features continue to have impact throughout the ranger's progression, since some levels (e.g. ranger 6) simply grant an additional choice for those features. And the fact that they are both level 1 features, and the *only* level 1 features, really makes the ranger an unappealing choice for…

kviiri

08:33

@V2Blast Oh yeah, we discussed that yesterday, too. Should've maybe starred it because it was rather interesting

I feel Crawford is somewhat defensive on the whole issue.

As I said yesterday, I also think that his take on beast masters or animal companions is rather bizarre. "If you want an animal companion, just work it out with the GM and do some animal handling or persuasion, anyone can do it" sounds incredibly sloppy, lazy and careless to me.

BESW

@IsaacReefman Pretty much, yeah. If it's not in the free-to-share material and it's not on a Wizards of the Coast page.... it's probably not supposed to be shared freely.

kviiri

DnD beyond is safe in the sense that you can access the free content freely.

And Crawford suggested giving animal companions gained in-play class levels. Game design by secret tips.

V2Blast

@kviiri Yeah. That method also doesn't work for AL (not that I've ever played in AL). Crawford's suggestion is to use the "give NPCs class levels" guidance from the DMG for "pets" as well.

kviiri

And as someone who is really skeptical of NPC allies in DnD in general, I find his approach feels... neglectful at the balance and pacing ramifications.

V2Blast

Yeah... It's basically offloading the design work and balance ramifications of doing that onto the DMs. And not all DMs are experts at knowing what's balanced and what's not.

kviiri

08:46

Yuh

BESW

Jul 10 at 22:18, by BESW

It's not broken if you tell the end user to fix it.

V2Blast

I've heard it called the Oberoni fallacy: 1d4chan.org/wiki/Oberoni_Fallacy

kviiri

I've heard of it being referred to as the Rule 0 fallacy

Oh, it's also given as another name there.

BESW

I tend to avoid giving formal logic labels like "fallacy" to things that... aren't formal logical fallacies?

But yes, it's gone by several names and I'm a little disappointed that D&D 5e seems to consider it a feature of their system--especially since they accomplished their stated reason for doing it in 4e, without doing it.

kviiri

What was the stated reason?

@BESW Can you retag the room, I think birds are definitely passé now :>

BESW

08:58

@kviiri To reinforce that the game is ultimately in the hands of the groups playing it, particularly the GMs, and groups should customize the system to meet their needs.

4e managed this by being explicit about explaining how the rules are supposed to work and why, so that GMs can go into customization armed with knowledge about what they're changing; and by focusing on inconsistent design in lore material so that the setting's broad strokes are consistent but the details are contradictory to give the setting a "legends and myths" feel and create spaces for GMs to make the world their own.

kviiri

Ah, right. The problem with DnD's approach there is manifold, in my view... they're usually rather opaque on how they want the game to play out, and traditionally reinforce the mindset that the GM can do no wrong with a heavy hand

"The GM is always right" is a bad meme. People should embrace something like "When in doubt, ask your players" instead.

BESW

I like that one, for sure.

But yeah, 4e's (relative, let's not get carried away here) clarity on design intent probably contributed to the backlash against it: by comparison both 3.5 and 5e are written so groups can read their own intent into the text and play as if the system were designed for their own style.

So having an edition that says "This is what we're doing" must've been a shock to everyone who'd spent seven years with a system that said "We'll do what you want."

kviiri

Yeah.

V2Blast

another thread about the revised ranger dealio in /r/dndnext: reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/92xs13/…

BESW

Like, the D&D 3.5 manual explicitly said that if you felt like the playstyle they were designing for wasn't what you wanted that was okay: you could use D&D for your playstyle too, no matter what it was!

kviiri

09:11

"yeah just make it happen you're the GM"

BESW

(There was very limited advice on HOW to do this, most of which boiled down to "ignore any rules that aren't rel🐘 and replace them with free-form RP.")

kviiri

People in my party are still true believers about that :<

BESW

I just dug into the 3.5 DMG and found such brilliant insights as the revelation that "deep immersion storytelling" means "expect long digressions from each player about what his or her character will do, and why" and "don't expect the PCs to fight the orcs at all unless their characters are motivated to do so."

Those are actual direct quotes, DMG 3.5 , page 8.

> Rules become less important in this style. Since combat isn't the focus, game mechanics take a back seat to character development. Skill modifiers take precedence over combat bonuses, and even then the actual numbers often don't mean much. Feel free to change rules to fit the player's roleplaying needs. You may even want to streamline the combat system so that it takes less time away from the story.

(and that's the end of that section, so no actual suggestions on how to DO any of that.)

I think these are particularly revealing in terms of sketching out the negative space which defines what their default expected playstyle IS.

Apparently in-character motives for lethal combat are optional, and talking about why characters do what they do is a "digression."

kviiri

09:42

@BESW "How to do it, you ask? Well, of course!"

I'm super frustrated at the idea that the GM should just "make it so". It's never worked for us, and I don't understand why people still believe in it as a sort of actionable suggestion.

BESW

> THE BOTTOM LINE
You're in charge. This is not being in charge as in telling everyone what to do. Rather, you get to decide how your player group is going to play this game, when and where the adventures take place, and what happens. That kind of being in charge.

...That is what telling everyone what to do is.

Secespitus

@BESW Wouldn't that be "You are the ranger, so you go out there hunting." instead of just saying "None of you have any rations. What do you guys want to do?"

BESW

They're very (deliberately? I'm not sure I want to give them that much credit but it's possible) vague about what they actually mean.

But certainly dictating the playstyle to the group falls firmly into "telling everyone what to do" territory.

I mean. "you get to decide how your player group is going to play this game."

In the context of being at the end of a session about playstyle, in a book that finishes its introduction with "You are the master of the game--the rules, the setting, the action, and ultimately, the fun."

kviiri

Yeah

BESW

> You're a member of a select group. Truly, not everyone has the creativity and the dedication to be a DM. [...] You're the lucky one out of your entire circle of friends who play the game. The real fun is in your hands. [...]
It's good to be the DM.
The DM defines the game. A good DM results in a good game. [...] If you're the sort of person who likes to provide the fun for your friends [...] then you're an ideal candidate for DM.

This is the same attitude that gave us "healers need to be OP or nobody will heal."

The Oracle

10:04

0

Q: What's the difference between the [damage-resistance], [spell-resistance], and [resistance] tags?

Related meta: Merge [resistance] into [damage-resistance]? There seem to be three closely related tags on RPG.SE at the moment: damage-resistance, spell-resistance, and resistance. However, at the moment, it's not clear what exactly the difference is, or when each tag should be applied. The l...

discussion tags

V2Blast

👀

KorvinStarmast

12:53

I am concerned that this question has spoilers a plenty and no spoiler format is being used. Am I over reacting?

doppelgreener

I'd suggest adding them

KorvinStarmast

@doppelgreener will do, thanks for the second opinion. :)

arggh, my browser is doing that stupid thing again. Will reboot ... arrgh.

KorvinStarmast

13:18

@doppelgreener Nothing like a good old fashioned reboot to clear out sludge in the browser, I guess...

Rubiksmoose

@KorvinStarmast Ewww is browser sludge worse than keyboard gunk?

The Masked Rebel

@doppelgreener o/

Sir Cinnamon

13:36

@KorvinStarmast That title could use a little more obfuscating right?

Rubiksmoose

@SirCinnamon I thought about that too, but wouldn't that make it basically impossible to search for?

David Coffron

@Rubiksmoose I mean we have very few questions on specific monsters.

Sir Cinnamon

@Rubiksmoose The search works for body text

David Coffron

But this old question doesn't

Sir Cinnamon

Maybe something like "Does Acereraks ability function this way Spoilers"

Rubiksmoose

13:42

Oh we shouldn't have edited this at all actually honestly. We already triggered the post's one automatic reopen queue thing.

But that ship has already sailed.

David Coffron

@Rubiksmoose I mean it's a matter of what matters more. Blocking spoilers or watching for OP edit.

Rubiksmoose

@DavidCoffron I suppose that is a good way to look at it as well.

Sir Cinnamon

Spoilers are the more urgent concern IMO, we can solve the posters problem when they're ready

Rubiksmoose

Sure that makes sense.

Sir Cinnamon

I'm just imagining a worst case where theres a spoiler laden question that is left unedited and the OP never comes back

Rubiksmoose

13:47

That is avery good point. I'm trying to think about how to phrase the title though.

@SirCinnamon This is pretty good and would be fine as a stopgap I think?

It is also a bit confusing what the actual question they want answered is so the broadening of the title helps with that anyways (though not help in the sense that it actually fixes any of the Qs issues)

Sir Cinnamon

No but as you say, stopgap

Rubiksmoose

I'd say go for it with that. It can always be improved further.

Sir Cinnamon

Edited

NautArch

howdy howdy

@Rubiksmoose agreed that it's better to hide the spoilers while we wait on OP.

Rubiksmoose

howdy :)

So Friday I did my 3rd session of Masks. And, boy does my group love RP. I think I didn't have anything I needed to do for a solid hour at one point except enjoy what they were doing.

NautArch

14:03

@Rubiksmoose that's awesome!

David Coffron

Have any of you come across a playgroup that plays like this. It kind of struck me, not that it's "wrong" to play that way but I've never seen it

Rubiksmoose

They ended on a pretty fun note too by the Beacon (think Tim Drake Robin in this case) taking out my villain of the week, which I had planned to be very physically and strategically tough for them, in one scene by activating their moment of truth and working as a team. Didn't even get a hit on them.

David Coffron

@Rubiksmoose masks is the superhero rpg right?

Rubiksmoose

@DavidCoffron Yup! Young superheroes specifically.

David Coffron

@Rubiksmoose seemed pretty cool on my first look down a few months ago when someone brought it up :)

NautArch

14:05

@DavidCoffron Not sure I even get it..how doyou determine what they are?

David Coffron

@NautArch I don't know... I mean background gives you 2 specific ones but that's about it

Rubiksmoose

@NautArch Presumably the DM would determine what lore says about a race's skills? IDK I don't see how it would really work at all or at least not towards any kind of fun enhancement.

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose Might as well hand out character sheets to everyone

@Rubiksmoose While I get how it could be frustrating to have your players circumvent a BBEG, doing what you did and reward clever and reasonable ideas can still make it memorable.

Rubiksmoose

@NautArch Yeah and it just really doesn't even feel right to me beyond the fact that it is restricting player choice and not getting any gains out of it that I can see. Like, in your lore is every character of that race really identical? The skills list already has arestricted list to choose from depending on class so that really seems to be the lore speaking on the matter.

@NautArch Actually I loved it even more!

I just wished they had given me a chance to show them how tough it was actually going to be before going that route lol.

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose One of those "welp! I didn't think of that. Congratulations!"

Rubiksmoose

14:10

@NautArch It is actually interesting. Masks has this thing where a character can use what's called their Moment of Truth. Essentially, it allows the character to completely control the scene. As in the GM steps back and hands the reigns completely to them. No input. The Beacon's specifically says that they take down the enemy no matter how big or bad.

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose How often can it be used?

Rubiksmoose

So it was perfect. And the way they did it (basically by coordinating the entire team and taking charge for the first time) was brilliant and perfect. And it just happens to dovetail perfectly with the next scene I have planned for them.

@NautArch Well it can't be used until it is unlocked (which you do through the Masks version of leveling essentially which comes from failing rolls). And then you can use it once. Some characters have a chance to unlock it again later through further advancement as well if they wanted.

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose once ever?

Rubiksmoose

@NautArch Correct. Until and if you unlock it again. In which case it can be used another one time only.

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose ooh, that's pretty cool.

It's a massive get out of jail free card

Rubiksmoose

14:21

@NautArch It is certainly that. But interestingly in Masks since it is superheroes, generally there is less risk of death (the way I run it/have seen it run). The really sweet thing about MoT is that they tie in wonderfully to the core of the characters and give them the opportunity to advance/highlight their character development. In this case, the Beacon (a character without superpowers at all, again like Robin) was able to show that they belong in the group and why.

Other Playbooks' MoT are similarly suited to the motivations of the character. Nova's allows it to literally rewrite reality as they see fit.

In one actual play they wrote one of the big campaign threats out of the picture which had really interesting repercussions.

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose Very cool. Massive historical rewrites do make things interesting for you. What seems like a good idea could easily turn into something worse.

Rubiksmoose

@NautArch definitely. Anyways. Enough about my stuff lol.

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose moar stories!

Rubiksmoose

14:37

@NautArch hahaha that was probably the most cinematically dramatic things that has happened thus far. We did have our Outsider (think Starfire/Miss Martian) take our Beacon to space without telling him first. Interfaced him with the biological tech of their ship and had him drive it. Which went completely and surprisingly south.

The Beacon was nervous and terrified the whole time. Failed to pilot the ship or have enough time/mental capacity to be amazed by the fact that they were in space, with a hot alien woman, and driving a spaceship.

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose Sounds very Flight of the Navigator

Rubiksmoose

I knew the scene was coming up but it was not at all how I or the Outsider imagined it would go down. Like not at all.

And as a side note, nobody's "ships" are going nearly as planned in very teenagery and expected ways lol

@NautArch I was not aware of this before! But it seems very much like that lol

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose oh man! You should watch it. Nostalgia for me :)

David Coffron

@NautArch such a great film. Dated a bit but I still love it

Rubiksmoose

15:00

@DavidCoffron It looks so 80's lol

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose easy now :P

Rubiksmoose

@NautArch :) Of course I am also of the 80's so there is that.

Wow! this question has 16 deleted answers. [whistle]

That looks like it was a bit of a nightmare to handle moderation-wise lol

kviiri

@Rubiksmoose I earned a gold medal from that ^^

Yea, it was temporarily closed

@Rubiksmoose The original inspiration for that was a gimmick game I planned for my usual group (and then spoiled prematurely, much to my regret)

Rubiksmoose

15:16

@kviiri Well it seems like it was a really good and intriguing question! I can see why!

@kviiri Awww. How did that happen?

kviiri

The idea is that the PCs are a generic bad guy terrorist group that wants to steal and destroy things. They've just convened to plot their future evilness, after their previous leader was offed for being a double agent.

However, the PCs know that an evil organization is always under watch by sleeper agents. In fact, some of the PCs can be secretly working for the forces of good...

...in fact, all of them are.

They just don't know it - everyone starts the game with a briefing from a random three-letter-agency saying that they're in too deep to pull back now - "play along, don't get your cover blown, and whenever possible prevent whatever scheme they're planning!"

Some sleepers would know, in addition, that another lawful agency has an agent in there, so they'd have an incentive not just to screw up the plots, but to defend anyone else who does :>

Anyway, I dropped this idea out a bit too soon and realized that ok, while it's possible to run it as a comedy regardless, what I really wanted to try was keeping it as a secret from the players too.

Rubiksmoose

Well I love that setup.

kviiri

Feel free to use it :>

Or not use it. Everyone's time is valuable!

Rubiksmoose

I may at some point. Filing away for future campaign.

Sad it didn't work out the way you wanted though.

nitsua60

@MikeQ I will often take RP conversations in four- or six-line exchanges, then step out of character for a sec to say "what's your intent here" and then either dive back in to character, ask for a check, try to draw in another PC.... I don't know if it's good or not, but I find that about 30-60 seconds of IC conversation tends to be where my internal timer goes off and says either "I don't know what's going on here" or "other people need to come in, too."

Yuuki

15:26

@kviiri I feel like I read this in a news story somewhere.

nitsua60

I also feel like switching from 1st-person to 3rd-person with some regularity (maybe) makes it easier for players who are comfortable with one but not the other to engage where they're comfortable. Or to engage where they're not comfortable, knowing it's not going to be a ten-minute commitment =)

Yuuki

A bunch of different law enforcement agencies had sent in undercover agents to infiltrate this criminal organization and 10 years down the road, the organization was comprised completely of undercover agents.

And of course, they still did crimes because they had to protect their covers.

nitsua60

@BESW that's a pro tip!

Rubiksmoose

@V2Blast Yeah previous discussion here if you were interested: chat.stackexchange.com/transcript/message/45898215#45898215

nitsua60

@IsaacReefman One thing that isn't obvious is that we intentionally don't publicize what's on the blacklist: we don't want to end up playing whack-a-mole with pirate-providers. (Not that we think it's a huge risk in such a niche space, but it's something that SE more broadly has experience with.)

kviiri

15:36

@Yuuki That's also touched upon in this rather good short story based on a classic inductive problem of blue eyes: slatestarcodex.com/2015/10/15/…

doppelgreener

@nitsua60 Also because if we publicised our blacklist we'd ironically be assisting people in pirating content: any "don't post links to these sites" list would also be a "go here for all your piracy needs" list.

KorvinStarmast

@Rubiksmoose Because I was unsure, I posted here in Chat and doppel suggested the edit, so I did. I hope that hasn't made it worse.

Sir Cinnamon

@KorvinStarmast I think it was pertinent to try and shield players from spoilers. Even if it it came at inconvenience/confusion being directed to the asker

David Coffron

Does anyone here know the line between a plot building question (off topic) and a world building question on Worldbuilding.SE? I couldnt find a good meta for it on their site. Is it more of a case-by-case like with our charop questions?

I have a question I want to ask over there but don't want to mess it up. Do they have a general chat?

Rubiksmoose

@KorvinStarmast Nope no worries. I was convinced otherwise. It was a good edit and suggestion.

BESW

16:26

The Factory Floor

Main chat room for worldbuilding.stackexchange.com

3

David Coffron

@BESW I found it

Forgot there was a chat link, but thanks anyway

BESW

16:48

(I was involved in wb.se during the beta, but I don't pretend to understand the direction their culture and topicality took. I bailed when it became clear they believed story is irr🐘 to worldbuilding.)

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose I think this quesiton is looking for the optimal build and not the optimization of their current build?

Rubiksmoose

@NautArch I mean I was taking "my character" to mean the idea of the character not the current build (since the character is already level 20 there is not really anything further to be optimized right?)

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose ah, gotcha. I wasn't sure.

Rubiksmoose

@NautArch Feel free to modify as you see fit though. I didn't give it that much thought. It is just the original title was not very good at all.

@NautArch ACtually I just went ahead an modified it.

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose mo betta

doppelgreener

16:59

@BESW you mean the way I build a world has a material effect on the message and substance of my story and can make or break its themes in the large and small details which can either support or undermine them!?

Rubiksmoose

In reality, any such builds are almost certainly going to be based off of what they already have (half-orc barb) but it was a good suggestion

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose and most likely the zealot as well

Rubiksmoose

@NautArch I would guess so as well.

The Oracle

17:15

0

Q: Is there guidance on when we should vote to delete posts?

So I recently triggered the 10k threshold and gained access to some moderator tools, but the only thing of real note seems to be the ability to cast Delete votes. Per the moderator tools guidance, it just says: Closed questions that are of no lasting value whatsoever should be flagged and del...

discussion moderation

nitsua60

@doppelgreener Thaaat's the reason I was actually fumbling around for. (I knew there was something better when I wrote the like to Isaac, but my brains a bit scrambled right now and I couldn't grasp it.) Thanks!

David Coffron

17:44

Policy on capitalization IIRC? Dont want to edit without double checking @doppelgreener @nitsua60

NautArch

@DavidCoffron Do we have a policy in chat regarding capitalization/leetspeak etc?

David Coffron

@NautArch in chat in not sure we have any policies

Except like spamming

And Be Nice always applies

Mike Q

Or ending a sentence with a preposition, improper use of the oxford comma and incorrectly using parallel structure

NautArch

@MikeQ Death Penalty. Looks like you will be arrested for improper use of the oxford comma.

Sir Cinnamon

the end of the sentence is where prepositions should be at

Mike Q

17:53

Ending a sentence with a preposition!? I don't know what you're talking about!

Improper use of... punctuation: What ever do you, mean.

Sir Cinnamon

Just who do you think you are‽

@MikeQ This is an interesting example. Would the correct structure be "I don't know what about you are talking?"

David Coffron

@SirCinnamon Interrigative sentences ruin sentence structure all over the place

GreySage

Is the Eaglecam down or retired?

Sir Cinnamon

18:08

I bet its retired

Mike Q

@GreySage Retired after the eagle baby flew away, I think the nest fell apart too

Sir Cinnamon

the nest collapsed shortly before the eaglet learned to fly

GreySage

@MikeQ Aww, good for the beagle, bad for me watching birds at work

So many things change after taking 3 weeks off

Sir Cinnamon

looduskalender.ee/n/en/taxonomy/term/11

news list about the eagles nest is there (no comments about it being retired but likely thats the case)

looduskalender.ee/n/en/node/2609 Here is a slideshow of interesting moments

GreySage

Eagle flew away the same day my son was born. It feels like there should be some symbolism or something in there.

NautArch

18:15

@GreySage Did you name your son Eagle?

GreySage

@NautArch I did not

NautArch

@GreySage Hmmm

Rubiksmoose

18:28

@GreySage Missed opportunity there.

David Coffron

18:42

This is why joke components are dumb (one of the reasons)

NautArch

@DavidCoffron and possibly component management itself.

doppelgreener

@DavidCoffron No specific policy. We have a policy on respecting peoples' writing styles. However we also have a policy supporting making edits that improve formatting and communication. In this case, we have actual formatting tools for conveying emphasis, meanwhile all-caps conveys LOUD NOISES (like SSD pointed out) so there's a better tool available for the job.

David Coffron

19:07

@doppelgreener that's what i was remembering. Thanks.

Sir Cinnamon

That Q about find familiar using en existing pet - seems like a pretty harsh DM that wouldnt allow that

but somehow would allow a wizard to get metamagic?

NautArch

19:27

@SirCinnamon isn't it the player who is saying that they don't want it to be a spirit and working fine familiar?

David Coffron

@SirCinnamon wait. Really? That's weird

Rubiksmoose

@NautArch That is them.

Anybody want to throw another delete on this?

David Coffron

@NautArch but the spirit works virtually the same as an animal with some benefits (and no attack). I don't see any problem with co getting a real creature as long as the creature is comparable to the familiar list

@Rubiksmoose the question or the answer? Is the site linked pirating?

V2Blast

@Rubiksmoose Thanks!

Rubiksmoose

@DavidCoffron The answer has now been deleted. It was an answer intended to be a (bad) comment.

David Coffron

19:37

@Rubiksmoose ah. Forgot that I don't see deleted answers on mobile

Sir Cinnamon

19:55

@NautArch Their character essentially has a small animal familiar, they just want it to be the focus of the effects of find familiar. I don't really see any problem with that, I can understand a player getting attached to a characters pet

@DavidCoffron He mentions something about it in the comments. Kind of odd. Sounds like a houseruled "take a single metamagic as a feat" sort of deal?

The Factory Floor

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