But either way, the most concerning thing is: the people who want to pay extra to support the club negatively impact the people in the club, or joining it.
More than X also sets an expectation though. I forgot the details but in social psych I remember reading research on that, and how it affects how much people give. I'd recommend having a second bracket for something cool, like with kickstarter donation brackets. Not sure what you could offer though that wouldn't be unfair to others. Maybe buttons? Like the little pins? Nothing too obvious that people would feel uncomfortable wearing (and thus buying) for fear of showing off though...
Maybe a button with different fantasy creatures on them and lower amount gets to pick at random, slightly higher gets to draw 3 at random and chose one to keep and a higher one gets free choice?
When I create characters, even before I started with the more interesting system that include mechanics for flaws etc, I would always include something negative about my character, something to keep it "human" and interesting.
@lisardggY or break it. I go look up definitions, and share those and if others aren't on the same page sharing the official definition gives them incentive to explain themselves, and define their terms, showing how they mean the word --- which would get lost if I just assumed I know what they mean based on the connotations I'm used to
Incidentally - in the world of precious gems and diamonds it is the flaws that makes them "perfect" (even though that is kind of a contradictory statement)
Diamonds without any flaws at all would not shine, the shining is a result of a flaw letting light into the diamond to bounce around and light it up so brilliantly.
"a mark, fault, or other imperfection that mars a substance or object." -- I don't know if flaw is really what makes normal diamonds shine. they're cut in certain perfect angles...
Fair enough. I guess everyone is familiar with them, just some aren't with the name. - I mean we use them all the time, right? "I have to go use the washroom" is in effect a euphemism for I have to shit in the toilet... :D
@JonathanHobbs In a given context. What's the context here? Flaws are things that are wrong with something. Character flaws are things that are wrong with something in a way that helps the story, or makes the character more interesting.
Drawback from a pathfinder perspective is the same thing - just instead of being the opposite of a feat (i.e. something you're good at) it's the opposite of a trait. It's like having half a flaw :D
I think it's more like.. a "Flaw" can be interesting as well as negative, whereas a "drawback" implies dissadvantage, and negative, but does not imply interesting.
@InbarRose Vain is a Drawback in Pathfinder. Fluff: You are sensitive about the way others perceive you. Effect: Whenever you fail an opposed Charisma-based check, you take a –2 penalty on all Charisma-based checks for the next 24 hours.
so you're not really having trouble with the denotation of drawbacks. instead you have a positive connotation of flaw
relating to the entire discussion over whether they're getting called 'drawbacks' is a bad thing, if 'flaws' has about the same meaning in the dictionary.
I just think D&D has way too much compartmentalization going on. Each concept gets a word, and a rule list, and mechanics of its own, and it all gets confusing and convoluted to the point where people are arguing on the internet about the use of which word for what.... damn... :P
And - btw - I started this by joining in simply to say that I prefer the use of "flaw" over "drawbacks" when discussing negative character traits in role playing games. I don't care about what system we are discussing. That is of no importance to my argument.
@JonathanHobbs All I'm saying it is this way, and it's not going to change, and there's nothing wrong with it being the way it is. :-) D&D established Feats and Flaws go together. Pathfinder added Traits and Drawbacks go together. Too convoluted? Maybe. Entirely optional?
@InbarRose In your own games you can call em what ever you like :)
One of the best things about these roleplaying games, is that everything is optional, a guideline, and a suggestion.... "rule books" is just a fancy word.
@InbarRose I disagree to some extent. You can make it that of course, but it's not quite that by default because of expectations players will have when they come together to play a game. If you call the game Inbar Rose's game loosely based on X - you can quickly shift their expectations and hopefully make them more open to the system being flexible - but some people come in with quite strong expectations that the game is going to react to their choices in a certain way.
Indeed, if I tell someone "come lets play D&D 3.5" then the expectation is to use the rules from D&D 3.5. But I don't have to play like that, I can also invite friends over "to play a role playing game"
I've been listening to some American podcasts lately, and they seem to put a focus on this sort of standardization. They talk about pick-up games at gaming stores, organized play (like Pathfinder Society) and convention play, where they stress the importance of having a set of shared mechanical expectations.
But I really haven't seen too much of that in my experience, which is based mostly on established groups who stabilize on their own house rules or general expectations rather quickly.
@lisardggY I can agree with that. If you're playing with strangers you don't otherwise know it's good to have something in common (like similar expectations of what flies in this game)
Was great fun. The large number of people was because another, cancelled game was joined to mine. Half the people only wanted to blow things up. Half wanted to roleplay. We zigzagged a lot between the two.
Haven't run con games in a couple of years. I do intend to do more RP stuff in Icon this year.
I'm pretty sure Eran Aviram is planning to run (or at least organize) a few Indie Marathon sessions, for people to come and try out short 1-2 hour games with new systems.
One thing (I don't know if you noticed this since you mentioned you are mostly on the Sci-Fi part of Icon) is that the Arrow of Time system (the new Israeli one) is taking over everything... frustratingly.
Hmm. I sometimes wish I'd taken the opportunity to go to an RPG con when I had the chance in college, but I'm not sure how I would have handled sudden immersion in the wider RPG culture at the time; my RPG sphere at the time was effectively "Me and my group and the White Wolf group next door."
I was opening my eyes to the wider RPG world for a year or so before I wandered in here, but even then I never found any part of the community I had any interest in associating with. It was still "me and my group," but with more than just D&D as potential systems.
@InbarRose Dawn of Worlds? It's a cool concept, but the execution seems clunky. I suspect that's its strength, though--it's unwieldy enough that each group will feel free to modify it as appropriate.
For me, the entering the "wider" D&D community (which at the time was basically one BBS with a handful of enthusiasts) was my gateway into online communities and getting out and having a real, actual social life, so conventions hold a place in my heart.
Anyway - it certainly seems a "rough" game. And I can see many easy improvements, but all of them detract from the genericness and start to go in directions of specific settings/games etc... though it is already somewhat towards the classic fantasy world with gods etc.
@lisardggY Conventions are indeed awesome. I really hate missing Icon (and I don't think I have since I was 16)
@InbarRose Umm. There's a "sweet spot" where a system is well-rendered enough that its goals are clear but it's still got enough obvious rough spots that a group has no sense of encroachment or assumed privilege when they modify it--on the contrary, such a game invites house modification.
@InbarRose You probably never got the chance to go to the pre-IGOR conventions. 500 10-12 year old kids in a huge hangar screaming their lungs out as bored teenagers ran pre-written modules half-assedly in return for D&D merchandise.
I found SE because one of my players who frequented the programming side of things noticed an RPG.SE question he thought I could answer, and linked me to it.
Prior to that my exposure to the RPG community was mostly limited to brief scrolls through forum static trying to find build info.
The only fan convention I've been to was Anime Boston, and I went there primarily for a handful of specific friends.
@JonathanHobbs I can see the logic here. I intended to break this down monthly, so swings like this would not be instantaneous. I'll put some thought into setting that figure. It would also help to designate a place to start for valuation of membership.
> Disarming presence: when you want to disarm a charged situation, start speaking or singing and roll+hot. On a hit, no one present can commit violence while they can see you or hear your voice. On a 10+, furthermore, if any of your fellow players’ characters leave the situation peacefully, they mark experience as well. On a miss, no one present can commit violence against anyone but you.
They don't have to do violence to you. But eventually they'll choose to.
> The D&D players' rulebook that was current in the '90s featured a group of characters and a great big honkin' idol. For that reason, some preacher or other who was big(gish) back then announced that it was a manual of pagan worship. Never seen an act of worship that involved rappeling down from the ceiling and prying all the jewels off the idol while your buddies kept watch for the temple guards, but whatevs.
