TRPG General Chat

Sandwich

00:20

And such an elegant solution it is

trogdor

hee

they are mercenaries after all

that is always an option

Sandwich

The boy has become a man

I really would like Ava's demon to update though

Its been on the same page forever

Ben

01:14

Morning guys.

BESW

[wave]

Ben

I have an interesting situation about the site, so Mods would probably be the ones to have a look at this:

5

Q: Unexplained reputation?

I recently received 50 rep, though having a look at where it might have come from, I have no idea. I am a member of multiple sites, and there is no indication of where the rep might have come from. The amount seemed slightly unusual too; 50 rep with no explanation. I know in some cases rep can...

I did post that a while back, but it happened again just today

BESW

Hmm. There's a workaround for seeing deleted posts, but it's not reliable... [pokes Internet]

Hmm. Okay, so I can pull the original deleted page out of the ether but it's not helpful in figuring out what happened.

Ben

Ok, well looking at it I don't see what it would have to with me :/ I have a comment on there but that's it. Nothing to do with rep :/

BESW

01:30

That is weird.

Pixie

@Magician So, thoughts about creating contexts for character interaction. First I should probably inquire a little more about your OOC situation. It sounds like your player will engage if someone else initiates, even if they won't initiate themselves. Is that correct? Additionally, are you the GM in this case?

BESW

01:49

Last night we figured out how to write aspects for Director Parrish without losing her mystique: rumours.

> CONCEPT: Director of Amaterasu
BANTER: I think she can read minds
DIRECTOR: I hear she's dined with every world leader
SECRET AGENT: They say she can turn invisible
OMEGA: Mother to the strange

BESW

02:21

"Scholar's Stairway" by James Gurney.

OMG. I just realized that Lasers & Feelings is the game engine for Fast & Furious. I AM SO DOING THIS

Tweeted by john_harper on April 7, 2015 at 4:50 PM

trogdor

@BESW eh, not so interested

lasers and feelings sure

fast and furious, meh

BESW

I think Car Wizards is probably a better fit, system-wise.

But it's interesting to me, at least intellectually, to consider other dichotomies than lasers/feelings.

Tritium21

02:44

Fortune not found. Abort, Retry, Ignore? ... with this fully armed and operational battle station!

BESW

03:23

"Your character would do almost anything to eliminate suffering with this fully armed and operational battle station!"

...is my character Thanos?

Pixie

"Your character's biggest wish is to get married with this fully armed and operational battle station!" The wedding was beautiful, the venue enormous.

trogdor

lol

BESW

"Your character badly wants to find artistic inspiration with this fully armed and operational battle station!"

"Your character desperately wants to solve an ancient mystery with this fully armed and operational battle station!" (the mystery is, "Will it blend?")

Pixie

@BESW This is always a mystery worth solving.

BESW

**RPG stuff:** [WIZARDS FORUMS GO DARK 20 OCT](http://community.wizards.com/forum/community-business/threads/4255901 "so grab anything you want to preserve before it's gone!"); [Bundle of Holding](http://bundleofholding.com "buy RPGs cheap in bulk, support charities & indie designers!");
[Transhumanity's Fate v2](http://ryanmacklin.com/2015/09/transhumanitys-fate-playtest-v2/ "new playtest for Eclipse Phase in Fate");
[Kaiju Incorporated early preview drawing](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/122Jec8d_LojM53yzJzLosNpGzxHeoeeIgRCnoHT0dOs/viewform "Pacific Rim meets Wall Street").

Shalvenay

03:43

@Pixie sounds like a wedding fit for a veteran capsuleer :D

BESW

Right behind you and one step ahead is a great aspect for a villain.

Pixie

Rivals, too, even if friendly. Someone you've always got to fight to keep up with.

Grubermensch

04:26

@BESW [steals]

DuckTapeAl

06:25

Anyone know of an RPG system for town/kingdom building that's any good?

I'd deeply unsatisfied with the PF one, and I'm trying to lighten my design load for this campaign by finding something I can convert, rather than rolling my own system.

Pixie

What qualities are you looking for, if you have any in mind?

DuckTapeAl

What I'm intending to do is strand the players on an unknown continent with a bunch of NPC explorers.

Their eventual goals will include making a functional town and dealing with the worst that this new continent can throw at them.

What I'm looking for in a system is something that lets me put numbers onto their townbuilding efforts, and gives them qualitative choices for what they choose to do.

As an example, they should be able to build a blacksmith shop to keep the town's guards supplied with good weapons, and have that decision cause systemic changes to reflect that.

doppelgreener

this sounds cool.

DuckTapeAl

The PF kingdom building stuff tries to do exactly what I want, but is built too poorly to actually accomplish that.

Pixie

Don't tell me that, we're about to start Kingmaker. xD

doppelgreener

06:30

fate will give you the tools but not the structure and guidance, so that one is probably out.

DuckTapeAl

@Pixie Sorry to hear that. :P

From what I've heard, the campaign itself is fine, and works decently well with the system.

It's just trying to use the system without a campaign explicitly built to back it up is difficult.

Pixie

Heh, at least that, then.

DuckTapeAl

@doppelgreener I think of Fate a lot now whenever I come up with an RPG design problem that can't be solved by 5e or PF. It seems super versatile, but it's never been just the right tool for the things I want.

Like, it's an awesome multi-tool, but what I need is a machete.

trogdor

yeah

Fate is great for doing something no other system can do

but a system specialized for something will probably blow it out of the water

BESW

I'm pretty sure there's at least one game-rec question on that topic.

DuckTapeAl

06:43

Oh, there definitely is.

Finding it, now that's the trick. :P

Pixie

If Make You Kingdom were officially released... it still wouldn't be what you need, but now I'm thinking about it, and they are taking way too long. :I

Also this question maybe?

10

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

BESW

21

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 kingdom-building

DuckTapeAl

This is the only one I could find, and the answers aren't very good:

BESW

11

Q: Are there any systems similar to Pathfinder's Kingmaker that are more complex and realistic?

I'm looking for systems similar to Kingmaker (where the PCs rule and expand a kingdom), except I want it to be much more realistic and complex. A few examples of what I mean: Instead of 'Building Points', actual resources are required (ex: wood, stone, ores, etc.) Instead of the king and his ...

game-recommendation realm-management

22

Q: Rules system for playing out the details of founding and developing a city?

I want to run a campaign in which the players control individual but influential characters (maybe heads of families), with the main focus of play on the PCs building up a city over time, starting from its founding as a village. I plan to do this over voice chat or a play-by-post forum. What I'm ...

game-recommendation campaign-development realm-management simulation

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...

game-recommendation realm-management reign

DuckTapeAl

22

Q: Rules system for playing out the details of founding and developing a city?

I want to run a campaign in which the players control individual but influential characters (maybe heads of families), with the main focus of play on the PCs building up a city over time, starting from its founding as a village. I plan to do this over voice chat or a play-by-post forum. What I'm ...

game-recommendation campaign-development realm-management simulation

I'll check those out.

doppelgreener

06:45

So many!

Pixie

Ah, there's a whole tag, the realm management one.

BESW

(I searched "[game-rec] town is:question")

DuckTapeAl

I think my mistake may have been saying "city" instead of "town".

Because my search was pretty much exactly that. :P

Pixie

I searched for kingdom myself.

BESW

I admit, my first search was for "building."

Effective searches are the result of the process of using ineffective searches to find more effective phrases.

DuckTapeAl

06:48

I'm pretty sure there's a game on Steam based on that premise.

Pixie

Yep. Just have to keep refining things.

DuckTapeAl

store.steampowered.com/app/368370

BESW

...I have this problem where I'm reactively critical of anything that looks like it might have been born from watching the Broadway version of Rashomon.

(I just realised: one of the most faithful Western interpretations of Rashomon was Twelve Angry Men. Huh.)

doppelgreener

07:10

PSA: Many things are made better with googly eyes.

.... such as an advertisement outside my local mall a couple of weeks ago.

DuckTapeAl

Lol.

doppelgreener

one googly eye (as became the case a few days later) can also be perfect.

DuckTapeAl

i.imgur.com/96eVKGK.gifv

...it's possible that I have too many reaction gifs.

Does Fate have a concept for something giving a constant bonus? Sort of like an aspect that you can always tag for free?

BESW

DuckTapeAl

BESW

07:18

@DuckTapeAl That'd be a stunt, wouldn't it?

trogdor

@DuckTapeAl stunts

DuckTapeAl

Hmm.

trogdor

technically, they do a very specific thing

and you shouldn't be able to spam them

but when they apply, you can use them for free, usually

if it is an especially powerful one it may require a fate point spent, but usually they do not

DuckTapeAl

So like, if I have a town with the "Armed Guards" stunt, which gives the town a bonus whenever the guard can be mobilized against a threat, would that make sense, systemically?

BESW

Sure. It's a pretty narrow scope: only when the guard is available and the situation is threat that the guard can reasonably be expected to help with.

DuckTapeAl

07:21

I'm going over how the town system I want would work in various systems. Sort of a vertical slice kind of thing.

Okay. So like, if bandits are attacking, Armed Guards applies, but not if there's a firebreathing dragon.

BESW

Yeah.

Alternately, Armed Guards might be a skill the town has.

DuckTapeAl

Ah. And getting better weapons increases the skill value.

BESW

Or increasing the quality of training, etc.

trogdor

stunts are typically something an actual character would have

a town is more likely to have an aspect or skill

BESW

Eh, either way. The fractal doesn't usually give inanimate stuff stunts, but I'm not sure why. There's no reason it can't.

trogdor

07:25

no reason it can't sure, but I imagine it being slightly harder to craft

Grubermensch

Doesn't gear usually get represented with stunts?

BESW

Often.

Depends on its role in the narrative: if gear is primarily a tool for making you better at what you do without complications or drawbacks, that's a stunt.

If gear is complicated, then it might be more appropriate as an aspect.

If gear creates new avenues for action, rather than reinforcing old ones, that's a skill, perhaps granted by an extra.

DuckTapeAl

08:27

I think I'm going to end up just rolling my own thing in PF. My recent experiences with other systems make me wary to start building stuff in systems that I don't have a lot of experience in, and no one around here will run anything else.

Pixie

09:03

Heh. I know the feeling. My regular group tends to wind up back on Pathfinder. They're willing to try other things, but ultimately, we will probably settle back on PF. Which is fine, but... I'd like to play other things more often than I do, and I don't have anyone to play 'em with. P:

DuckTapeAl

Well, if you ever end up with an online game that needs an extra player, send me a ping. I'm only in one twice-monthly game now, and I usually have some space on my RPG dance card.

Pixie

Will do. I'm currently trying to convince myself to go back out into the (digital) world and seek RP, but so far I have not quite. xD

DuckTapeAl

Yeah, it's definitely a risky proposition.

I tried to set up a game here a little while back and it fell aparet before it started.

Pixie

That's common in freeform. Between that and not really having a place I felt at home in, I haven't had a freeform game in a whiiile. I've not really tried online tabletop much outside people I know, which is what I'm thinking about now.

But I guess the downside of having people I'm really comfortable with makes the alternative (floundering around and maybe having some lackluster if not bad experiences for all my effort) that much less appealing. I never have to worry about anything at all with this group.

DuckTapeAl

09:23

Yeah. Though there's also less permanence to a lackluster experience in a web game. Like, if you have a crappy experience in a face-to-face game, you presumably still keep being friends with those people and can't just leave, where it's easier to walk away from a 'meh' situation online.

I had a problem like that earlier this year. I was playing a PF Mythic game with a couple friends, and one of the guys was super toxic to the table. It got really bad, and eventually I left and told them that I wasn't going to play in any game with him anymore.

Which basically meant that I lost a group of RP buddies.

When the PF game I played here started being less fun, I just left. It wasn't even really a big deal.

Pixie

People wandering off is the #1 killer of online games in my experience. I can't get too down on people for it. Sometimes there are good reasons, and, y'know, I've done it too. But that doesn't change the fact that it makes the lifespan of an online game... volatile.

DuckTapeAl

That's sort of my pitch statement for joining a game.

Pixie

@DuckTapeAl That is really unfortunate. :(

DuckTapeAl

DuckTapeAl: I won't leave without telling you first, and I respond to emails.

Pixie

That is a good thing. xD

The only thing I'm really interested in (at least right now) is one-shots because my availability is kinda unpredictable, and I don't wanna risk letting anyone down.

DuckTapeAl

09:36

IMO, "reliably answers email" is way more important than "predictably available". Life happens to everyone, and it's totally normal to have to reschedule stuff.

I've got a every-other-week game right now that has missed like three sessions in the past 4 months due to unpredictable schedules.

But that's okay, because everyone knows when the game is or isn't on, and we acknowledge that the game is pretty low on the list of priorities for everyone.

And of course, there's always Western MArches.

Pixie

It can be a bit stressful for me to schedule live-participation things longterm. We manage in my main group, but I wouldn't want to do it a lot.

DuckTapeAl

Mm.

BESW

I've discussed my struggles with regular gaming schedules, and my current solutions.

DuckTapeAl

@BESW Got a link? :P

BESW

Nah, it's scattered across the chat.

Basic idea: I've got a lot of very busy friends and our schedules don't reliably fit together much at all.

So I cleared out my Saturday nights, and all my friends know that if they're ever free on a Saturday night, my place is open.

Most of the folks who show up like to do RPGs, so that's what we do most Saturdays.

DuckTapeAl

09:47

Interesting.

BESW

But exactly who's going to show up each week is uncertain, so continuity is hard to maintain.

So we're using a combination of one-shots and episodic narratives.

DuckTapeAl

Cool.

BESW

Our main campaign is effectively a series of one-shot sessions in the same world with a lot of the same characters, but exactly who's on the team for each mission changes.

DuckTapeAl

That's sounds very Western Marches-y.

BESW

Over time, the episodes add up to form a story arc, but there's absolutely no pressure to come regularly because you can come for one session a year and each time your story will be complete.

Sometimes, especially if an episode goes long and we want to complete it in another session, we'll break until the same people come back, and play actual one-shot games like Cthulhu Dark or Great Ork Gods in the meantime.

It's very much a "See who shows up and figure out what system/story to play based on that" scenario.

DuckTapeAl

09:51

Cool.

BESW

Trogdor shows up pretty much every week. I've got two other players who come when they can (averages out to every-other-week most of the time, with occasional barren patches for a few months), and Doppelgreener and one of his friends Skype in most weeks.

I'm the primary GM, but Trogdor and Greener GM semi-regularly and everybody's run at least one session.

trogdor

well, not everyone

we have 3 people who have not GMed

BESW

Dan ran a game of Roll For Shoes once, Raycia ran a Cthulhu Dark game, and Ben... I think he did something. But at the very least he's planning to GM that zombies game some time.

trogdor

oh

well Ben has run AFMBE

I think that was him

BESW

I wasn't there for that one, but yeah.

trogdor

09:58

yeah

Pixie

We haven't managed anything like that yet, but I did bring up some of your ideas with my group. I think it would be a workable solution in an environment I was comfortable in (though I cannot clear my schedule in the same way).

Another reason I tend toward one-shots online is that I like to know who and what I'm dealing with before I commit to something long term. I know myself. I can easily get into a situation where I stop having fun but feel compelled to continue because (again) I don't want to let anyone down. This is Very Extra Not Fun.

BESW

Yeah.

My situation works not least because we work hard to keep communication channels very open. If something threatens Fun, we need to talk about it before things Stop Being Fun.

Pixie

10:12

Yeah. In some environments, I can do that. In casual internet environments where I have no idea what to expect and can't count on communication to work both ways, not so much.

Zachiel

13:24

@BESW > Whereas Moffat episodes feel like some guy nudging me in the ribs going "Hey get it, get it, do you get it?"

BESW

Hmm?

Zachiel

Wasn't that a thing you kind of said yourself?

I liked the way this guy put it.

BESW

Yeah, seems similar.

Sorry, I'm trying to make this art not suck, kinda distracted.

Haven't found brushes for FireAlpaca that work for me yet.

doppelgreener

14:10

@Pixie BESW's explained to me he approaches our games with two priorities: First, everyone must feel safe. Then, as long as everyone's feeling safe, everyone must be having fun. That unbending priority for safety makes a big difference, I think.

It assures that everyone must be feeling OK with being there, for starters, and leads to the conscious and unconscious construction of an atmosphere where everyone can say if they're not OK.

doppelgreener

15:29

Fan theory: Neo isn't The One in the Matrix Trilogy.

Film Theory: Neo ISN'T The One in The Matrix Trilogy

►

2

The Oracle

16:23

0

Q: How to handle an excellent answer to not-quite-my-question?

Still fairly new, need advice on this one: @Jack Lesnie posted a great answer to How do I, as a player, encourage more role-playing in Adventurers League? Unfortunately, I think it's a great answer to the question "How do I, as a player, encourage more role-playing?" As well-written and useful a...

discussion answers

Althis

18:46

@doppelgreener That is actually rather plausible.

Pixie

@BESW Brush settings in SAI are some kind of devil magic, to hear people talk. Some artists are kinda guarded with theirs, but some share them. I wonder if Firealpaca is the same.

Ah, Firealpaca's brush control is considerably less complex than SAI's. Lots of stuff done through bitmap brushes instead of settings.

Sandwich

19:04

SAI's brushes are crazy

Same with photoshop

@doppelgreener Good close man

Pixie

@doppelgreener Yeah. This is ideal. It's also much easier to do when people are familiar with each other and invested in a relationship, not just a game (and maybe not even that invested in the game). I try, but ultimately, there's usually not enough communication.

I often feel rushed online when people want to jump straight from "we could play [insert system or vague theme]" to a game. If it's casual and short term, that's more okay. I'm up for a lot of things. But if the game is meant to last for any length of time, I need to talk things out a lot more up front.

Althis

20:09

I don't know why, but SAI's brushwork always seemed more realistic to me than any regular photoshop brush.

They just look more like graphite on paper for whatever reason.

Despite being really old.

doppelgreener

22:10

@Pixie One of the artists I know is reluctant to share hers if people ask, but that's because she believes they should be figuring out what works for them, and her brush settings are not that.

BESW

I'm starting to suspect that what I want, FireAlpaca can't deliver.

BESW

22:30

....FA brush scripts are saved as ".bs" files.

This makes sense, and yet.

doppelgreener

Another option would have been ".fabs" or ".fab"

BESW

.ffs

Pixie

@doppelgreener Yeah, I can understand this point of view. People can get a bit hung up on an artist's settings, really.

Pixie

22:55

@BESW I sat down and tried MediBang, and I had trouble with short strokes with the pen tools. It didn't seem to be picking them up very well.

BESW

Aw.

I'm looking to duplicate my scribbly style.

In Photoshop I used brushes that made three to five parallel strokes together, but so far FA can't do that. I'm gonna try script brushes today.

Pixie

Like a hatching brush?

BESW

Yeah, kinda.

But the hatching brushes I've found so far don't create continuous lines of length determined by my pen stroke.

(In particular, they have a hard time making curves.)

Pixie

Ah. Yeah, a script brush is probably what you will want.

BESW

[tries to find a script brush tutorial that's not in German with Japanese screenshots]

Pixie

23:15

Yeeeah... that will be the biggest problem. It's a simpler program to begin with, and it doesn't have the community support that more popular ones do. P:

I just wish it would pick up my strokes. I thought it might be my stylus settings, but Clip does fine.

BESW

...okay, yes, brush scripts CAN do what I want.

Pixie

Good! :D

BESW

But the only broken link on this resource page is the brush I want!

Pixie

... aww.

BESW

@Pixie What brush are you using?

I found that in FA the "fade in/out" brush behaved the way you're showing.

Pixie

23:18

@BESW It does this with pen, fate in/out pen, g-pen... every pen tool I've tried.

BESW

Aw.

Iron Heart

I make a brief reappearance to tell you all: Undertale is good.

Pixie

That was just the normal pen.

BESW

link so I can right-click to download and maybe this one works.

...yes. The brush settings include a "number" slider.

It's not ideal--the sliders are clumsy and I can't set them by digits--but it works.

doppelgreener

@Pixie I can get this when I have a very low (e.g. 0) brush sensitivity. Except... not that bad.

The lightest touch of the pen won't register.

BESW

23:24

Any time you run into a really irrational bit of worldbuilding in a book or movie, pause and remember: the Electoral College is a real thing

Tweeted by wintersweet on May 26, 2015 at 3:34 AM

Pixie

@IronHeart Neat. =o I am digging that music.

@doppelgreener This is just their standard pen tool on out of box settings. Not sure what's going on. No way I can use it like this, though. P:

Althis

23:45

@Pixie, isn't custom brushes something almost anyone can do with marginal variations in the degree of success?

Pixie

@Althis Hmm? Depends on what program you're talking, but yeah, it's usually not that hard to make a custom brush (a useful one, on the other hand...).

Althis

@Pixie That is what I meant, I thought it wasn't supposed to be difficult to make a useful one.

That they were all pretty similar since in the end, they are still just brushes.

BESW

[is unreasonably proud of his Photoshop tentacle brush]

Althis

@BESW Could we see it? Sounds amazing.

BESW

Lessee.... [digs around]

Pixie

23:51

@Althis Again, it really depends on what program you're talking about and also what you need your brush to accomplish.

In SAI for example, if you're just tweaking the basic tools, you'll probably find something you can use. There's ~15 different settings to play with, though, and it's not always easy to guess how to manipulate them. The behavior does vary quite a bit based on what you select. If you're totally making a brush from scratch, that's harder (unless it's just a stamp brush).

Althis

Also, how is Alpaca's brush compared to SAI?

BESW

(I remembered wrong, it's an Illustrator brush.)

That's the spine label for my campaign binder.

Althis

That is a brush?

BESW

That is a brush.

Althis

You made the individual tentacle sucky things.

And made them so they would grow as you drew.

Correct?

BESW

23:57

Roughly.

[pops open original file]

Althis

Naisse.

BESW

It's actually a lot simpler than that.

Pixie

@Althis A lot simpler. With the regular brushes, there's very little to tweak (on the pen brush, you get size and opacity, that is it). Script brushes are more complex, but I haven't used them yet.

BESW

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