TRPG General Chat

12:05 AM

@NautArch I do in fact, I was just making sure.

@ThomasMarkov So leave a comment, flag to have a banner added. Why are we deleting a new user's answer with no comments to help them improve?

@ThomasMarkov I don't see that as so definite unless you do the math to prove them wrong. The answer is un-cited yes. But it makes good arguments and could be salvaged by simply stating the method they used to come by the numbers. By instantly deleting their post you don't give them the information or the opportunity to do that.

Thomas Markov

@linksassin Yes, I should have left the comments I left later prior to the initial deletion.

linksassin

Can you see why I was confused to why it was deleted? None of the comments at the time gave any indication of what was wrong with the post. Therefore no guidance for the poster to improve.

FWIW I still don't believe it should be deleted. It is a genuine attempt to answer the question. If an answer can be saved by adding a single sentence "I calculated these number by X method" then is it really worthy of deletion?

Particularly with a new user's first answer. This is the kind of attitude that drives users away from our platform.

They come, see a cool question and think they can provide an answer. Spend time writing up that answer, only for it to be removed due to rules they weren't aware of and no explanation as to why.

Thomas Markov

12:23 AM

@linksassin that would not fix the post. That would just explain math behind made up numbers.

linksassin

What if that math is, "I used the stats from the monster manual and ran the numbers based on likelyhood to hit." Thereby citing the MM?

How does that not fix the post? Your only real issue is that you are certain the numbers are made up. But what if they aren't? Why don't we give the user the benefit of the doubt and give them a chance to show where they came from?

In fact the answer already says: "I'll spare you the math but I ran the odds vs an adult red dragon to see their hit chances with/without hiding, and how many hits it would take for them to kill a dragon." Why don't you believe they did that?

Thomas Markov

12:38 AM

The answer does not support such calculations being relevant or appropriate. Even if they did base the numbers and calculations on published stat blocks, which seems likely, there is no support given for such an exercise being relevant. Why are they making the assumptions they are making? They must demonstrate that the whole exercise is actually relevant to the question.

Sure, maybe their calculations are exactly correct given their assumptions, but they have to demonstrate that those assumptions translate into something consistent with the fiction of the setting, which the question asks for explicitly, but the answer makes no attempt to do.

linksassin

I really don't understand your argument there. The question is asking how a town could defend itself against a dragon. How is an answer that ran the math on a theoretical battle not a relevant answer?

Thomas Markov

@linksassin Because it makes no attempt to demonstrate that the premises of the theoretical battle are consistent with the lore or history of the setting asked about in the question. Yeah, this theoretical exercise is neat, but why am I supposed to believe that this is how it would go down in the 5th Edition Forgotten Realms?

Cool, you did all this math, is there anything in the history of the realm that reflects similar outcomes?

linksassin

Nothing in the question required a lore reference. Other than the presence of lore tag and that it has to be feasible in that setting.

Tags do not convey special requirements on answers and there is nothing in that answer that isn't feasible in that setting.

Thomas Markov

Did you even read the question?

“What methods are expected to be feasible in the combination of system (as of fifth edition) and setting (northern regions of Forgotten Realms), that towns employed to protect themselves against dragons?”

BESW

Adding that support would improve the question, but isn't it usual practice to assume an answerer is an expert who just left out their support, rather than assuming they have no clue what they're talking about?

There's an amount of aggro around this particular post that confuses me.

linksassin

12:52 AM

@ThomasMarkov Yes. And I find your tone rude. The answer is clearly using the 5e system. And nothing about the FR setting invalidates the math. I really don't understand why you think it isn't an answer.

Thomas Markov

@BESW You’re right. @linksassin I’m sorry, I need to chill.

linksassin

@ThomasMarkov Apology accepted. Thankyou.

I'm in the process of making a meta post to discuss the state of this answer. Probably best we leave off discussion here and move it to that post once it's up.

Thomas Markov

@linksassin Deal.

linksassin

0

Q: Does this answer really need to be deleted?

A new user recently left this answer to How did towns mundanely protect themselves against Dragons or bring them to the ground?. The answer is currently deleted so is only visible to 10k users. However I would like to discuss what led to its deletion and whether it should actually remain deleted....

TheDragonOfFlame

Does anyone know if fudge dice are free use?

Thomas Markov

1:00 AM

@TheDragonOfFlame what do you mean

linksassin

@TheDragonOfFlame As in can you use them in a different RPG rulebook without copyright issues?

TheDragonOfFlame

You know fudge dice? The +, -, blank dice that are used in fudge and fate

@linksassin yes

linksassin

Hmm... no idea. But the concept is probably hard to copyright but you might not be allowed to call them Fudge dice.

TheDragonOfFlame

@linksassin I was just wondering because I know it’s used in a few different systems.

linksassin

Yeah, it's an interesting question. Just one that I have no clue of the answer for.

The Oracle

1:09 AM

1

Q: Does this answer really need to be deleted?

A new user recently left this answer to How did towns mundanely protect themselves against Dragons or bring them to the ground?. The answer is currently deleted so is only visible to 10k users. However I would like to discuss what led to its deletion and whether it should actually remain deleted....

discussion answers deleted-answers

Hot RPG Questions

4

Q: On a self-targeted spell like Spirit Guardians, can the caster change the intersection corner on a grid?

We're using a grid-based combat system for combat. The party cleric is learning the joys of Spirit Guardians, which has a range of Self (15-foot radius): You call forth spirits to protect you. They flit around you to a distance of 15 feet for the duration. Again, as we're using a grid, the cler...

dnd-5e spells movement area-of-effect battle-map

TheDragonOfFlame

@TheOracle just going to say I love that someone ran the numbers on a bunch of villagers fighting a dragon

However did the poster factor in that the dragon would be fighting too?

Why do almost all roleplaying systems have the chapter on character creation before chapters on game mechanics and rules? Every time I learn a new system I have to suffer through the character creation chapter with no idea what anything means or how abilities will help my character, then figure it out after reading the entire book and end up rereading the first chapter so I understand.

BESW

1:34 AM

@TheDragonOfFlame Fudge legal stuff

TheDragonOfFlame

@BESW great thanks

BESW

Fate uses the same dice, but during the Fate Core/Accelerated re-write by Evil Hat to break from existing text-IP restraints, they stopped calling the dice "fudge" and started calling them "fate."

I'm not clear on exactly how much of that particular change was a legal vs branding decision.

But you can also check out if Fate's legal stuff say anything about the dice.

Peter Cooper Jr.

If you just call them "1d3-2" dice then you would avoid all possible problems. :)

BESW

I've heard tell of a 2d8 variant with +3/+2/+1/0/0/-1/-2/-3

But yeah, the question's about terminology and I'm not digging up anything definitive quickly; I suspect that sifting through the legalese would be enlightening.

BTW, the Fate SRD has a section called Other Dice.

Ahah!

@TheDragonOfFlame This whole thread is fascinating, but here's a pull quote from the curator of the Fudge license:

> Because Steffan never patented Fudge dice (I would have been shocked if he had, given the whole "open"-ness of the Fudge project), and I chose not to trademark the term "Fudge Dice" when I trademarked "Fudge System" and the Fudge System logo, there are no legal impediments to anyone who wishes to make and sell Fudge dice.
I greatly appreciate those who, like Fred, /do/ contact me beforehand.

I'll point out that for the purposes of ease-of-acquisition by your game's audience, Fate-branded dice are regularly made and stocked both online and in physical game stores, while Fudge-branded dice are notoriously hard to find.

Personally if I were gonna write a game that uses those dice, I'd forefront an alternative using ordinary d6s in a quantity no greater than a Yahtzee cup, because one of my basic design principles is not making people buy specialized tools.

BESW

2:18 AM

"“Why do we play games?”: DIE’s creators and Grant Howitt discuss adapting the comic into a tabletop RPG" article by Chase Carter for Dicebreaker. The tabletop team-up have planned more than a simple almanac for Gillen and Hans' twisted polyhedral world.

Alex Roberts wrote a twitter thread of ""ALL the places you can get Precious Little Animal, my one-player journaling game about enjoying the little things. All proceeds are now going to Victoria Community Food Support"

Yeonsoo Julian Kim wrote a twitter thread about the upcoming Women Are Werewolves Kickstarter, "to give folks a summary of what the game is about and what playing it is like"

Trish

@BESW That's why shadowrun used some 12d6 max in SR1... and went to need some 30ish in the worst cases-

BESW

And the kickstarter itself in a separate post:

Upcoming Kickstarter: Women Are Werewolves, a nonbinary story game by 9th Level Games. Play as nonbinary characters in a family where only the women transform into werewolves. On the next full moon, who will you be?

Clayton Notestine wrote a twitter thread of "my favorite logos in RPG-dom"

Trish

@BESW what about poker card sets?

BESW

"Why the Blade Runner RPG will stand apart from the cyberpunk crowd " by Alex Meehan for Dicebreaker. It might not last - but then again, what does? (BESW says: Meehan doesn't seem familiar with the many recent and amazing small press/indie cyberpunk games made by disenfranchised creators; Shadowrun and Cyberpunk aren't the edge of the genre and haven't been for a very long time)

@Trish Ooh, how do you represent a fudge-like curve with poker cards?

World Champ-oween 2021 a collection of horrors and haunts by World Champ Game Co.

Trish

@BESW red cards are minus, black cards are plus. You need ace two three of all 4 suits and all jacks as well as queens. Pictures count 0, Ace 1, 2 and 3 their face value. And there you go, a Fudge-Deck! improvised from a normal card deck

BESW

2:28 AM

Very cool

(At first I thought you were asking about limiting dice requirements to the 5d6 that often come with poker cards.)

Trish

the curve breaks down once you need to use more than 2 cards, but the probability holds up for drawing 2 cards without too much of a bork and needing to mix for the next. But you also can draw, evaluate, and put back to keep up the probability curves.

the fudge deck can be extended to go from -4 to +4 with 3 0s in the center even. :P

KorvinStarmast

@TheDragonOfFlame I see no purpose in applying an artificial label like that;

Trish

But in general, you can use poker ard for evaluation in any means. Like, have players draw a card and as long as the value is lower than their stat, they succeed. Aces are 1, pictures are 10, 11, 12. Or some other card resolution method... (if you are real mad: tarot cards offer lots of ways. See also: Engel.

BESW

I've always had a low-key desire to make a poker-deck-based game, but I keep overengineering it until the complexity is outside my capacity to manage.

linksassin

3:07 AM

@TheDragonOfFlame I've implemented a policy of letting players completely rebuild their character between 3-5 sessions in when playing new games for exactly this reason. They have no idea of the weight of their choices until they get more familiar with the system.

BESW

I’ve come around to feeling like there’s very few times when that shouldn’t be a totally normalized option.

NautArch

3:32 AM

@BESW Or really anytime during the campaign.

BESW

4:33 AM

That's what I said, yeah.

BESW

5:17 AM

Kickstarter: Iron Edda Reforged – Season One by Tracy Barnett/Exploding Rogue Studios. A cyberpunk Ragnarok. Zine, podcast, actual play. The fall of the gods begins in Jotunheim!

Ben

5:31 AM

[Irregularly intervalled pop in to chat]

Hurro

trogdor

6:19 AM

hrroo

Ben

How have things been?

HAven't really had the time of day to properly drop in and say hey

trogdor

well at least on my end I've been unfathomably busy doing every little thing

Ben

Omg, I have been unfathomably busy doing every little thing!

Coincidence?

I actually spent the last half hour of my day doing some actual coding for the first time in 3 weeks. Lol

How has it all been progressing?

trogdor

6:35 AM

well I've been doing a lot of busywork and a lot of waiting to see if anything I have done has any actual meaning and a lot of putting up with,.. let's call it the eccentricities of other people

Ben

Ahhh yup

The less enjoyable end of "productivity"

Hot RPG Questions

7:25 AM

3

Q: What in-game effect does this trap in the D&D vs. Rick and Morty adventure, "The Lost Dungeon of Rickedness", have on a character?

I was playing through the short D&D 5e adventure The Lost Dungeon of Rickedness: Big Rick Energy (from the Dungeons & Dragons vs. Rick and Morty boxed set), and encountered a particular trap: I'm wondering what in-game disadvantage (or other effect) this has on the character. I managed to get it...

dnd-5e published-adventures traps the-lost-dungeon-of-rickedness

trogdor

oh and of course

in the background I lost my cat

who I had spent a considerable amount of time with and who adored me more so than the entire rest of my family

as in she liked me better than them although other interpretations of that phrase could possibly be argued :P

AncientSwordRage

10:03 AM

@Ben A WILD BEN APPEARS!

It's been too long

@Ben part of being a member of the Tomorrow agency, right?

@trogdor I remember you said... this is still sad :(

doppelgreener

11:20 AM

A few things come to mind:
1. When you open a new game, the questions you have in order are: what is this thing, and how do I get started with it?
2. Knowing how characters get created is important context for understanding all the character content. What meaning does eleven pages of stunts have if I don't yet know what they're for, and that characters pick two during creation? If you go read the stunts before learning how characters work, you're almost certainly going to get the wrong idea about what a stunt is for.

BESW

Also, there's a lot more variety in order-of-presentation in small press/indie games.

Like, Wanderhome doesn't hit player character options until page 45, after talking about the shape of the game, how to get started, what long-form campaigns look like, and giving a quickstart list.

doppelgreener

11:37 AM

@Someone_Evil I raised a flag on meta, but needed to raise a second to actually fit the words I needed to write. Hopefully they make sense in combination.

@BESW Oh, yeah, that sounds like a good order of presentation.

I think the best order of presentation is to simply assume a totally new player will be reading the book in order, and use that space to introduce them step by step to everything they need to know in the order they need to be told it, leaving all the heavy detail (like all the lists of mechanical options) to the last pages.

BESW

I liked Evil Hat's Fate Core layout, where references to stuff came with a margin note about what pages explained it.

doppelgreener

Introduce them to the game, show them through the basics, then walk them through how to set up their game, set up their characters, and run the game together, with those last three thigns in whatever order makes the most sense for that game.

NautArch

12:38 PM

Always nice to start my morning hike off with a bear sighting. And by bear sighting, I mean to bear about 10 ft away climbing up a tree to get away from my dogs.

AncientSwordRage

@NautArch yikes

Thomas Markov

The druid rolled a nat 1 on his stealth check.

NautArch

TiL Mobile picture uploads don't work

Thomas Markov

@NautArch work on mine.

Send it to me on discord, I'll add it here

TheDragonOfFlame

1:30 PM

@BESW I thought about using d8s but I figured people don’t have as many d8s as d6s

@doppelgreener when learning 5e I wanted to know what armor class was and how you rolled ability checks while I was reading the character creation chapters

NautArch

@TheDragonOfFlame I always find myself flipping back and forth. You do need to know both.

doppelgreener

@TheDragonOfFlame I'm not going to accuse D&D 5e of being a good role model for anything

How to manage my character sheet was a struggle for me in D&D 3.5e that took so long to resolve I'd moved on to D&D 4e before I fully understood how 3.5e characters worked

KorvinStarmast

2:05 PM

@doppelgreener I concur

@TheDragonOfFlame There is an old writing thing (cf: below) that I don't see used any more but some little (see Ch 3) or (See "Armor, ch 5) notes or footnotes might be helpful. Or, as we did in training manuals, Don't Use Terms until you have introduced them.

Ben

@AncientSwordRage something like that XD

Medix2

2:47 PM

Does Stack have a rule anywhere against suggesting actions that are likely to cause harm? I unfortunately can't find anything in the Code of Conduct

NautArch

@Medix2 My hunch is that is implied.

Medix2

I want to flag a post where my suggested edit to remove such a suggestion was rejected; but because it was rejected I feel I need to provide evidence that answers shouldn't suggest harmful actions

NautArch

@Medix2 I think just saying we shouldn't suggest harmful actions is enough.

Gonna be tough for someone to argue otherwise.

Medix2

And yet people already did XD

Thomas Markov

@Medix2 I tried to approve it.

Ive flagged for mods.

Medix2

2:50 PM

I was told removing it was "deliberately destructive" and "deviated from the original intent of the post" I guess I've now flagged it so I'm using the tools I can

NautArch

@Medix2 linky?

Medix2

It's this answer which suggests downloading an app that is known to be malicious

NautArch

Yeah, that's a very bad idea.

Just flag it like they said earlier.

AncientSwordRage

3:11 PM

@Slate you were talking about BW combat/mouseguard; I have had an RPG system where combat is based loosely on how mouseguard handles combat, I didn't get much further than that though...

Slate

I haven't actually read Mouseguard! Do tell, though, I'm very curious

AncientSwordRage

Jun 15 at 10:09, by AncientSwordRage

I've had a few more idea about my RPG Without A Name

last time I wrote about it ^

I have tried to rework MG's 4 action types into something like "Attack, Defend, Move, Control"

and then determine which of the two individuals actions go first based on that

but each of the actions are like D&D 4e powers?

Jun 15 at 11:00, by AncientSwordRage

It feels very 4e-esque, with a little bit of mouse guard/burning wheel thrown in

Jun 15 at 10:49, by AncientSwordRage

How action resolution works would be in order of Control, Defend, Move, Attack (similar to DWAITAS), unless specified elsewhere

Slate

I... actually haven't played D&D in a very long time, as a heads up. Like, since I was eight. So I'm not actually sure I understand the connection there.

Lemme skim Mouseguard real quick, I bet it's similar to BW since it's Luke Crane's

AncientSwordRage

@Slate in 4e D&D (which is pretty unique, so I shouldn't be assuming knowledge regardless), characters have 'powers' that are really well defined

the connection, is that where this block of text says 'martial, weapon' the equivalent in my RPG system would include 'attack' or one of the other three types of action

@Slate it is, but simplified

Slate

Hmm.

AncientSwordRage

3:19 PM

what did you think of Mouseguard?

from your skim

Slate

Seems like it suffers from the same problems Burning Wheel does - it doesn't have a crystal clear (or, at minimum, applicable-to-our-games) understanding of how combat can aid the story. For most of the folks I play with, MG would get a bit mired in its own detail.

AncientSwordRage

@Slate that's definitely true

I'm at the spit-balling stage atm, I'd hope to beat it into something clearer and narrative-feeling later on

Slate

Yeah, that makes sense!

What kinds of games / stories are you designing it for?

AncientSwordRage

@Slate ... I'm not D:

2 days ago, by BESW

> The big three questions are;
- What is your game about?
- How does your game do this?
- How does your game encourage / reward this?
John Wick likes to add a fourth question;
- How do you make this fun?

Not answered these yet ^

I really should, but I'm enjoying messing around with how it mechanically works right now too much ...

Slate

Ahah, understood!

I mean, making mechanics feel good on their own is its own art.

Ok, I think the way you've written this, the main point in its favor is that it gives players clear, defined actions that are not overconstrained. And the possible difficulty is that it still requires a table to resolve.

It's very neat, though. It's a solid step in the right direction distilling the complexity of Fight! to the important bits, which I very much appreciate about it.

doppelgreener

3:35 PM

Hi Slate!

Slate

Hi hey!

Good to see ya.

doppelgreener

I've seen you in the user list but this is the first time I've seen you chatting here :D

at least while i'm in the room

Good to see you too!

Slate

yeah, haven't been able to stop by as much as I'd have wanted :(

doppelgreener

only tangentially related: I really like Mouseguard despite knowing very little about it, for the simple fact that it's telling a story from a completely different scale and perspective to normal, and I appreciate it existing just for the purpose of reminding us we can do that

Slate

it is also very cute

AncientSwordRage

3:41 PM

@Slate (this game boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2284/fight ?)

@Slate extremely

Slate

@AncientSwordRage (Fight! is what MG Conflict is called in Burning Wheel.)

AncientSwordRage

@Slate oh right! I'm not very familiar with Burning Wheel

Slate

Oh, my bad!

I should be using less jargon anyway though, it's a good reminder.

AncientSwordRage

no worries

I have probably forgotten what little I did learn about it

@Slate I want to give the feel of being tactical without being overwhelming

so yeah, I'm hoping you're right in what you said

Slate

:> I think it looks good! I hope it gets to the point where it can be playtested

AncientSwordRage

3:56 PM

me too : )

Slate

Update me if you ever get to :D

AncientSwordRage

I'll try and remember, thanks :D

NautArch

4:09 PM

@linksassin @Someone_Evil Would one of you mind taking a look at a recent flag of mine?

NautArch

4:37 PM

I'm back on an old idea - has anyone done 3D combat in a way that felt really good?

KorvinStarmast

4:59 PM

@NautArch In D&D?

I have a few props that help with it, but without props it's kinda hard.

NautArch

@KorvinStarmast I'll likely be using it for D&D, but I think I can pull ideas from anywhere.

KorvinStarmast

(I've had little luck on my roll20 stuff with getting the vertical element integrated, as evidenced by our underwater battles in saltmarsh)

NautArch

What sorts of props?

KorvinStarmast

@NautArch I'll send you pictures when I get home. :) By email.

NautArch

If you have another one of those, can I join one day to observe?

KorvinStarmast

5:01 PM

@NautArch We used to use dice (the mini would stand on a die when elevated) and I've used little castles and trees, and I've got a few other props recently that I have not gotten to use as a DM but those are pretty neat.

NautArch

@KorvinStarmast How did you portray the water column below?

Or did you assume a 'floor' that you started from?

KorvinStarmast

@NautArch Uh, we didn't? That's part of the issue, in roll20 I have not come up with a good tool to apply yet.

NautArch

@KorvinStarmast Ah! :D

KorvinStarmast

What I want to do is have a little notation with a number to give for depth/altitude

@NautArch MY DM who uses the Foundary has that utility enabled in his game. We have used it sometimes for differences in altitude, sometimes for hit points (Temp) it's a number applied to a corner of the char token

NautArch

@KorvinStarmast I'll take a look at that module, but I'm thinking more for the ever elusive in-person game.

MikeQ

5:29 PM

@NautArch From various experiences and experiments, I think the best overall solution is to restrict to a 2D map but allow for various elevations, which are clearly labeled. Trying to have overlapping layers (e.g. upper and lower floors) makes the map cluttered. Trying to separate the layers into multiple maps is likely to confuse people.

NautArch

@MikeQ How do you handle the negative elevations, though?

MikeQ

The same way I'd handle a vertical column. It's a 2D space like any other on the 2D map, with a separate elevation.

2D maps get really bad when things are directly above or below each other.

NautArch

But what about two creatures in the same vertical column?

It doesn't seem like there's a 2d solution here for something that feels more immersive.

no pun intended (or was it? muhahahahahah)

MikeQ

Try to avoid it. I'm in the aforementioned Saltmarsh game, and there have been many occasions in underwater combat where the GM and players have a different understanding of what the map means, especially when creatures try to swim above/below other creatures/things.

NautArch

@MikeQ :(

The Oracle

5:38 PM

0

Q: Question and Answer textareas remain blank even as the preview updates with what I typed (Win 10, Firefox 92.0.1) (fixed in FF 93.0?)

I cannot see what I am typing right now: Bizarrely, after adding that image I have some “bad character” boxes: This is on Windows 10, Firefox 92.0.1 Comment boxes are fine. Other textareas on other sites are also fine. This behavior is new since yesterday. I have not updated my browser (or anyt...

bug

KorvinStarmast

@NautArch muahahahaha ... wait, sounded like an Aboleth laughing again ...

@MikeQ Yes, and it's something I need to get better at since we will have more underwater scenes. I have a clear picture in my mind, but I am not communicating it well, and, in some cases I had not even thought about the 3d implications until something came up. In one case, the monk didn't see that going above is the same as going next to as she argued about an opportunity attack .... and I did a crap job of explaining it.

:( not my best moment as a DM

MikeQ

@NautArch It might be juggle-able if there are only a few places where 2 creatures share a vertical column. But it's a mess when there are many things moving around. This particular section of Saltmarsh involves maybe a hundred NPCs, all moving around in underwater space, and we definitely lost track of some of them due to the overlap in a 2D map.

NautArch

You lost me at 100s of NPCs.

MikeQ

6:00 PM

Even with fewer NPCs it can be confusing. Once I tried to impress my players with a 2-story mansion dungeon with interconnecting floors. Fights in stairwells, enemies firing bows from balconies, etc. This meant jumping between 2 maps. We all hated it.

Another time I ran an encounter in a spiral staircase in a cone-shaped lighthouse. Curved, angled, overlapping elevation. It was several years ago and the players have yet to forgive me for this.

Akixkisu

6:17 PM

@linksassin I asked earlier about that in chat chat.stackexchange.com/transcript/message/59289568#59289568 though chat replies pretty much were what the answers on meta suggest.

bobble

@doppelgreener "Looks OK" is an improvement over the previous... meta.stackexchange.com/q/143015/1017231

KorvinStarmast

@MikeQ That works OK when using props and minis, it's a bit tougher with just a 2d battlemap or VTT.

@NautArch They were enemies, and they came in waves.

Lando

6:52 PM

Hello everyone, I was told my question was too broad for the Q&A formums and they suggested I try here...

This is my first game of D&D or any other tabletop role-playing game. I get the general idea of the mechanics from games such as Neverwinter Nights so I can understand dice rolling, spells, leveling, etc.

I have been asked to join a game of D&D by the DM. They are currently playing Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden an my role will be embodying Vellynne Harpell. To my knowledge from what the DM told me, everything seems to match with what I could find about her.

Akixkisu

@NautArch You can use an API script that allows a player to set their Z-height on their token nad macro it, but depth seems neigh undoable on roll20.

Thomas Markov

@Lando Are you going to create a player character necromancer wizard, or use the NPC statblock?

Lando

@ThomasMarkov So far the DM has given me a general idea of the world and the story, a general idea of who my character is and walked my through building the character sheet.

MikeQ

In a solo computer RPG, the goal is generally to get the best rewards and win at all costs. In a social tabletop RPG, the point is for you and the other players to all have fun, so it's important to be the type of player that others would want to invite back to the table. Instead of a precise computer program handling the game logic, humans are driving the game logic, and there may be house rules or social nuances that are specific to your gaming group.

Akixkisu

@NautArch Generally, I completely try to avoid it on the board. It is exceptionally difficult if you aren't doing theatre of mind - and I always suggest doing theatre of mind for those sections. You amplify the z-axis script by using a second depth map on the side of your map by sectioning that of, removing the fog of war for that section and then adding a second token for the players to control depth.

Thomas Markov

7:03 PM

@Lando My advice would be to use what you do know about Vellynne as a template and make the character yours

What you do know about Vellynne from the module should be a skeleton of a backstory, you should flesh it out however you like (working with your DM to do so)

MikeQ

Neverwinter Nights used the D&D 3/3.5 systems. Rime of the Frostmaiden is D&D 5e which is not as number-crunchy or complicated, and has less character customization, but ultimately it's a very similar type of gameplay.

Akixkisu

@NautArch So they can move up and down the depth section, which makes everybody understand where exactly their tokens are on that scale - but it is still messy and in the heat of battle a lot to track (I use 1 square width, for the depth section, per player and copy the creature tokens when visible)

@NautArch For a regular encounter, you can expect an additional 30ish minutes spent tracking everything on those scales.

Lando

So far I have chosen sage as a background. https://www.dndbeyond.com/backgrounds/sage

This is one of the phrases I used to identity my character: "Most people scream and run when they see a demon. I stop and take notes on its anatomy."

MikeQ

Note that the 5e wikidot site has some unofficial 3rd party content. You may want to double-check with your GM whether certain character options are allowed in their game.

Thomas Markov

@MikeQ Poorly identified 3rd party content

Lando

7:11 PM

I did everything with the GM, he is walking me through the process :)

I just want to do my own research (without spoiling myself) and be able to role play my character in a way that is positive to the rest of the party.

Thomas Markov

We have had users ask questions on the main site assuming they were looking at official content when they were actually looking at really sketchy homebrew

Lando

@MikeQ To further clarify, he gave me the links as he was walking me through the process

MikeQ

Oh I see. Do the other players/GM want you to play this Vellynne character to adhere to the established lore? Are you just trying to pick out character traits that match her canon personality?

Lando

@MikeQ You could say I share some of her traits in real life (not the necromancing part :P), I like knowing about stuff, so I figured sage would be a match for her traits and a match for my personality.

doppelgreener

@bobble fair point

Lando

7:22 PM

The GM has a role for my to play in the adventure, he told me I spoted a dragon in one of the Ten Towns, and that I will go looking for the current party, save them from some peril and ask them to help me with the dragon in return.

So far to my knowledge they already know of the existense of Velynne, in fact she gave the party some quests in the past and they have received some items in return for the service.

MikeQ

So the GM is giving you a character who was originally an NPC? I'd expect the GM to guide you through this character creation process. They already know the character and the system. Seems odd to ask you to research it on your own when you have little prior experience with the story.

Lando

7:47 PM

Yes, we did the character creation together. Perhaps I'm just getting ahead of myself because I'm new to the game.

I thought because it is a pre-made world, there was something I should read / know about it.

Perhaps I should be looking for more general D&D new player stuff instead.

Or perhaps just wait for the first session and go from there.

MikeQ

A common technique is to have a "session zero" before starting a campaign, where players talk to each other, talk about their characters, about the game, and their expectations about it. What playstyles do they prefer, what adventures they want and don't want, etc. Since this is an existing campaign, you should ask to have that discussion as part of your introductory session.

KorvinStarmast

9:09 PM

@Lando Not really. Each instance of the Forgotten Realms is unique to the table it is being played at. 😉

Lando

9:27 PM

@MikeQ That is a great idea :)

BESW

11:44 PM

"Old stories, new forms: Rewriting folklore as RPGs brings fresh perspectives and cultures to the table" article by Linda H. Codega for Dicebreaker. “What is an RPG, but a seed of imagination designers give to players and game masters so they can grow gardens of their own?

Royal Rumble by Nana. A solitaire TTRPG set in an alternate medieval universe

HOUNDs by Tyler Crumrine. A Dice-Stacking RPG

(don’t) fight Suzanne (twitter link) by SmoreOfBabylon. probably the best game I will ever write

Tabletop Games by Global South Designers A collection by Cezar Capacle. Every tabletop game I can find by creators from the Global South.

Kickstarter: Mecha & Monsters: Evolved - A TinyD6 RPG by Gallant Knight Games. A new edition of the minimalistic, rules-light Mecha and Kaiju TinyD6 roleplaying game. #Get Stompy!

@BardicWizard Another thread of old textiles!

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