TRPG General Chat

Adeptus

00:00

@Miniman Hmm. I started to edit my answer, then changed my mind & made it a new answer.

BESW

00:17

Yeah, I strongly support avoiding changing an answer's content in ways that invalidate peoples' voting choices. (As opposed to improving an answer's existing content.)

nitsua60

@Miniman That's generally what I use my "favorite" stars for--to remind me to go back and bounty. But of course that only helps me get as far as the question....

@Asteria Just out of curiosity, what makes the DM amazing? (Always have my ear open for good tips!)

Asteria

00:40

@nitsua60 apart from that I have a soft spot for him, he's super expressive, both vocally and physically, when playing an NPC. He flings his arms out and walks around the room if he's NPC is in a huff, puts on voices, just gets really into it.
I think the thing that I like most is, rather than just saying "You notice Robert is constantly looking to the corner of the room" or giving verbal hints, he plays the character and just flicks his eyes to the left a lot. If we don't pick up on it, too bad, it means we're not paying attention to what the character is doing.

BESW

I.... used to do that more. Adding a Skype interface to the group means relying a lot more on verbal cues.

trogdor

yeah, our group can't always afford that kind of acting

Asteria

@BESW aye, we started playing on Roll20 since the rest of the group live 2 hours away, so most of them miss out on it too. I never miss out though, since I live with the DM and can just watch him :P

nitsua60

@Asteria Thanks for the observations. I know I do some of those things, but I also know I fall down on some of those things. (There are also location-issues: Organized Play with strangers in FLGS on Sat afternoon is very different for me than the standing adult group meeting privately.)

BESW

01:39

Hmm. Trying to come up with a good high concept for my game ranger PC.

nitsua60

@BESW hasn't everyone been trying to come up with a good ranger concept for twenty years?

=)

BESW

Ba-dum... tish?

nitsua60

I have so dearly wanted to like playing a ranger in every edition of D&D. And every time I come away thinking "wow, that's a really excellent NPC to have along in the party."

BESW

I made a few fun rangers in 3.5, but usually under mitigating circumstances.

nitsua60

??

BESW

01:50

And 4e rangers had some of the best effort-to-DPS ratios in the game.

(As well as the potential for being sick debuffers if you actually put in the effort.)

@nitsua60 Well, the catfolk ranger who specialised in shot-on-the-run and added Wisdom and Dex to attacks, and Wisdom to damage.

His policy was "I can shoot you from further away than you can cast fireball."

nitsua60

is catfolk a race, or just a lifestyle? (Like "oh, you remember the Joneses... they're cat people.")

3

[disappointment ensues for 8yo nitsua60]

BESW

It's a 3.5 race. Small level adjustment, high Dex and decent Wis bonuses, some fun little extras like high movement speed.

I added a level of Barbarian for the extra speed boost.

nitsua60

@BESW No CHA hit for being, well, hated by half the world? (Not me, mind you. I know we've got plenty of cat-lovers here. And I nap with mine every day.)

BESW

If he'd been a Fate character, these would be his aspects.

But my new PC for Fate is Thulani Daswa:

> A South African anti-poaching game ranger from a Zulu township, working with Amaterasu since post-Weirdness rhinos can deal with poachers themselves now. Thulani's friendly and sincere personality is tempered by his experiences on anti-poaching patrols.

Modes are Soldier/Banter/Science.

SirTechSpec

@Asteria If you're talking about my answer to your recent "difficult player" question (or even if you're not), don't feel obliged to accept it just because it's an answer, if it's not actually helpful/useful to you.

Last time I had a thorny issue, none of the answers really solved my problem - but in reading them and disagreeing, I got ideas that did appeal to me, which I submitted in my own answer. If a few more weeks of play bears out my strategy, I'll probably go back and accept it, which sounded weird to me but is apparently encouraged around these parts.

nitsua60

02:03

@SirTechSpec [encourages]

SirTechSpec

^Like so. :D

nitsua60

I guess I think of it through the lens of "it's not about who gets what points, but about solving people's problems."

SirTechSpec

That reminds me, @BESW, do you remember that comment you made on an answer that said "couples shouldn't game together", explaining why that was both bad advice and a really toxic attitude? I came across it a while back and wanted to link to it in my answer to Asteria's question (not because I think it's totally necessary in this situation so much as for thoroughness/posterity.)

BESW

You mean this comment on the site's most downvoted answer ever to remain undeleted?

nitsua60

Well, I guess you've got to admire his commitment? (To the answer, that is.)

SirTechSpec

02:14

@BESW The very same! Thanks.

BESW

@nitsua60 I think it's a good thing to have sitting there with all those downvotes.

nitsua60

Yeah, it sure sends an unambiguous signal about what we (mostly) don't agree with.

@BESW what do you call that thing where you make a mashup of images to try and capture the feel/setting for a game/adventure?

BESW

@nitsua60 An influence map.

2

nitsua60

thanks!

BESW

...I need to add that to my profile's link list.

SirTechSpec

02:20

Ohhhh, that is awesome! (I was going to say "montage" so glad I didn't butt in, haha.)

nitsua60

Anyone remember what is called the string of signal fires employed in Lord of the Rings? One of the hobbits sneaks up to start it up? (And, yes, I'm picturing them from the movie rather than remembering reading about them.)

BESW

@nitsua60 The generic term for that kind of system, or the specific name for that set of signal towers in the story?

SirTechSpec

I'm not sure it had a proper noun, though the response was The Red Arrow.

BESW

@nitsua60 The warning beacons of Gondor.

nitsua60

@BESW specifically that set

@BESW ty again!

SirTechSpec

02:24

File under: jobs I'm really glad I don't have - both boring and high-pressure/responsibility.

nitsua60

@SirTechSpec manning the beacons, you mean?

SirTechSpec

@nitsua60 Yeah.

And with that I'm off - night all!

BESW

ttfn

Asteria

@SirTechSpec I do mean your answer, since it actually gives advice and doesn't just say 'DM rawr'. I'm going to give your advice a shot this Sat, during our next game. Hopefully it helps out and I'll be able to accept your answer :P

SirTechSpec

@Asteria Best of luck and do let us know!

nitsua60

02:34

@Asteria I had a similar quandary with this AL+RP question. Lots of good advice in the answers, but very little that actually addressed the situation I raised (in my opinion). And now AL's effectively dead....

BESW

If an answer didn't actually help solve the problem, there's absolutely no pressure to accept it.

You can still upvote, or even bounty it, to show your appreciation.

...I think Thulani's high concept might be Sanguine game ranger.

BESW

02:48

@nitsua60 I had a few questions go off-topic before I could get any actionable answers...

Asteria

@nitsua60 after reading through that question & answers, I have developed an appreciation for "SIR GALAHAD THE MIGHTY" and his bristling mustache

nitsua60

@Asteria I really appreciate the distance Galahad had to go to get Faramir's back =)

Asteria

@nitsua60 Galahad rolls attack and swings his mighty sword rolls a 1 right in to Faramir's back

nitsua60

03:04

quick question: at an altitude where even scrub gives way to just lichen/mosses (say, 15-20K ft), what sort of fauna might we find? Anything substantial?

BESW

...what continent?

nitsua60

I'm picturing Himalayas, but am pretty ignorant on the subject. Both subjects, actually: altitude and Himalayas.

BESW

ForestryNepal on high altitude wildlife.

Adeptus

@nitsua60 Yeti.

nitsua60

[facepalm] how could I forget the yeti!?

Adeptus

03:11

nitsua60

@Adeptus "That's lame. It's totally just the same guy doing voices for a bunch of different movies."

BESW

Alpine tundra is very complex and quick to change.

Just a foot or two might totally change the environment; you're not going to find many places that just plain don't have grass and scrub at all.

The roof of the world might be a good place to start.

nitsua60

(I'm taking furious notes, btw.)

(That forestrynepal guy is pretty awesome for this)

BESW

If you really want no plants more advanced than lichen, you want the snow line.

nitsua60

True, so how about above the snow line?

Birds seem to do alright. Some hyper-adapted rodents and their predators, too.

BESW

03:23

Lots of thrushes, apparently.

Article about life above Australia's snow line

nitsua60

Speaking of Kashmir, someone mentioned cashmere at lunch the other day. I started humming the beginning of "Kashmir". Except what came out was the beginning to "Back in Black." Not my finest reference-moment.

BESW

Panda-Wrestling has a general article about high-mountain fauna.

nitsua60

[never going to keep up... I'm still on the 22 species of thrush... it's no fair, there's four of him....]

BESW

The one that's sleeping doesn't really count.

nitsua60

@BESW I'm not buying anything I read there. There's not one mention of a thrush.

BESW

03:31

@nitsua60 Actually, if you look at the individual thrush articles, a lot of them top out around 11 or 13k.

The Oracle

0

Q: What exactly is the problem-player tag for?

Looking through the meta, I can only seem to find posts about people dissatisfied with problem player questions. I've always understood the problem-player tag as the tag you use when someone at the table is being...well, a problem player. "That guy" or meta-gamers or what have you. While reading...

BESW

> The African elephant is found in all types of habitats ranging from the savannahs to marshes and deserts and even in mountains above the snow line. (source)

> [The common wombat] is one of the few marsupials that will venture above the snowline in some of the mountainous areas of New South Wales and Victoria. (source)

nitsua60

I can't put elephants up there... but the Goliaths would love them....

BESW

Maybe the Goliaths imported them.

(Any time you want to put something ridiculous and illogical into an ecosystem, just find a humanoid group to blame it on.)

3

nitsua60

Or vice-versa? The elephants wanted some big-company?

BESW

03:35

> Land snails have been found above the snow line; species of Vitrina crawl on snowbanks in Alpine meadows. (source)

nitsua60

Caterpillars and spiders, too.

BESW

> The Abominable Snowman is said to inhabit the mountains of the Himalayas above the snow line. [...] alleged Yeti tracks found above the snow line have also been pointed to other animals living in the Himalayas: such as goats, wolves and snow leopards. (source)

> the African wild dog [...] has been reported from deep in the Sahara, from the montane forests of Ethiopia and from over 19,000 ft (5,790 m) above the snowline on Mt. Kilimanjaro. (source)

Okay, I'm done for now.

nitsua60

I can't even comprehend the list of animals you're providing as fast as you're providing them!

@BESW [whew. I've got about seventeen tabs open to catch up on.] Thanks!

'night, all.

BESW

ttfn

nitsua60

and just to make everyone feel good about prospects for life, in general...

Magician

04:03

@BESW are "wizards" a humanoid group?

BESW

@Magician Frequently!

...at least, they often start out that way.

Magician

Work emails get way more eldritch when you read I.T. as IT. IT IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM IT HAS ISSUED A TICKET IT IS WAITING AT YOUR DESK

Tweeted by emilyhughes on April 19, 2016 at 1:55 PM

2

@BESW Not at all octopuses in robes with ill-fitting masks, then?

BESW

@Magician Studies have shown that only one in seven wizards starts their career as an octopus in a robe with an ill-fitting mask.

Magician

I wonder who conducted those studies...

BESW

This is surprising to many people, who usually meet wizards who have advanced on their career paths.

Magician

04:09

Magic success at a major cost: you grow a tentacle. Minor cost: a small tentacle.

BESW

Wizards without tentacles are either very new, very bad, or have a very good plastic surgeon.

Sejanus

04:24

o/

BESW

Okay, I think I've got my next PC ready to hit the table (lots of blanks to fill in during play, obviously).

Thulani Benedict Daswa, Sanguine game ranger.

trogdor

nice

BESW

04:44

Thank you again to @Magician for your mode-to-skill calculator.

Magician

I'm glad you find it useful :D

BESW

06:31

"A post-apocalyptic funscape, now with fewer crocodiles."

doppelgreener

@Magician I've used this thing several times now. We recently used it to play some very quick mix-and-match: "What does this character's skills look like if we put the modes in THIS order?" Thanks again.

Magician

:D

BESW

Magician

Have you found any more bugs, or feature requests?

doppelgreener

@Magician I think I may have found a bug. If you have time to repro I could describe it. Otherwise I'll repro later this evening then show you.

BESW

06:32

A few days ago it just sort of froze on "calculating." I could change anything in the blue boxes, or wait a long time, and the "calculating" bar would just sit there like it was doing something.

Magician

@doppelgreener I have to run a game in a couple hours, but happy to talk about it tomorrow.

doppelgreener

@Magician sure thing!

Magician

@BESW I suspect that could be google spreadsheet thing, solved by reloading.

BESW

I did refresh, but didn't force a cache dump.

Magician

Incidentally, what's a good name for an Obsessed Pirate's ship, in the late 19th century weird almost-England?

BESW

06:39

What're they obsessed with?

Magician

The PC captain, as of a few games back. It was a thing.

BESW

..the Kweepod.

Magician

Their ship would have been named way before that, while they were Affluent Pirate, but if it can creepily echo the obsession, so much the better.

doppelgreener

What's the captain's obsession?

Magician

@BESW google tells me nothing.

BESW

06:41

@Magician Captain Ahab's ship was the Pequod.

Magician

1 min ago, by Magician

The PC captain, as of a few games back. It was a thing.

@BESW Ah. One of the PCs is already a quasi-Ahab, but I'll keep this in mind.

doppelgreener

So we have a pirate obsessed with another captain?

Magician

Other ship names we've had so far were Fallen Star (PCs), Inconstant, Unquenchable, Gotcha (pirates, eh).

doppelgreener

Is it a big ship?

Magician

@doppelgreener They had a misfortune of drinking a very nasty love potion-like substance.

Probably, yeah.

doppelgreener

06:43

Call it the Subtle.

Big, noisy, blunt, like the effects of a love potion too.

BESW

The Imminent Domain.

Magician

Heh

BESW

Or... hm. I have a big book of pirates. [goes and gets]

Google's great and all, but it's hard to beat A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates.

Okay, so brilliant names of actual ships, to get the creative juices flowing.

Happy
Squirrel
Lime
Adventure
Phoenix

Greyhound
John and Mary
Prudent Hannah
Delicia

King Solomon
John and Martha
Protestant Caesar

Magician

Lots of personal names, huh.

BESW

Also a TON of place names.

More personal names...

Elizabeth and Katherine
Charlotte
Sarah

Oh, here's a cluster of great names.

Coward
Victory
Revenge

A ship called Duke whose longboat is referred to as Dutchess.

Hink, Buck, Morris, John, Princess, Royal John, Tantalus, Rover...

...if it'd make a good name for a dog, a pub, or a parody prostitute, there's been a ship with that name.

4

Queda Merchant, Resolution, Anne Bonny, George Gally, Triumvirate, Lewis and Joseph, Delight, (Squirrel again!), Good Fortune...

Magician

06:59

The popularity of Squirrels is confusing.

BESW

At this rate you can call your NPC ship the Bad Fortune in Love and it's totally plausible.

Swallow, Royal Fortune, Little Ranger, Porcupine, Love, Sadbury

Magician

Unlucky in Love, then. By implication, lucky at cards.

... Unfortunate Implications.

BESW

Or invent some little town it's named for, like Badlov.

I skipped the nearly half the ships which were named Suffolk or Surrey or Hardley or any other place name.

BESW

08:53

> she's currently incarnating as a Warlock High-Half-Elf True Neutral Good Warlock who uses a Sword and a Shield for some bizarre reason I don't understand

What part of "half high double warlock" doesn't explain that?

eimyr

yo

BESW

Yow.

eimyr

What's new?

BESW

Getting carry-out because we're all very tired and have run out of veggies in the house.

eimyr

Carry out?

BESW

09:02

Mm. Call up Arashi Bowl, order food, by the time I drive over it's ready.

eimyr

is that a fancy way of saying it's takeaway?

BESW

Yes.

trogdor

lol

BESW

Carryout, takeaway, to-go...

eimyr

seems like carry-out is more like ordering for collection

while takeaway for some reason often delivers

BESW

09:05

Regional variances.

There aren't a lot of delivery services here.

trogdor

yeah, most of them are really cheap pizza places

not the best

BESW

Back later.

eimyr

One would think delivery over the island would be a huge competitive advantage

trogdor

well for whatever reason, practically no one delivers here

Ahriman

probably no good roi

trogdor

09:11

I am inclined to think the pizza places only do it because it's basically traditional

Ahriman

cost of fuel vs profit on delviery

trogdor

well, it isn't a huge island

that being said, someone from too far away for delivery could still order stuff

eimyr

How about drone-based delivery?

trogdor

we aren't that hip, plus I would think there are still plenty of people who wouldn't be too ok with that

and not just here

Polyducks

09:36

@Sejanus basically a world creation game that I wrote. Sorry for late response, and it'll be delayed while I'm holidayyying

Morning all!

BESW

09:46

A number of places in Hagatna or Dededo deliver in their immediate local area, but island-wide delivery can mean drives of an hour or more (just one way!), and a lot of very confusing addresses.

And, well, I wouldn't want to be the guy who gets lost in the middle of the night trying to make a delivery in rural Agat.

trogdor

neither would I

eimyr

What's wrong with Agat?

Ahriman

Or with teh night?

Or is it the rural part?

BESW

Agat, especially rural Agat, is one of the more aggressively territorial villages.

Ahriman

I don't really now how to parse that

is it like various gang turfs?

BESW

09:54

That's probably the easiest, though not the most accurate, comparison, yes.

Village rivalries, especially in the south, can get physical.

trogdor

yeah, people can get sorta violent here, but it generally isn't a gang thing

it's more about where you are from or who your family or friends are

Ahriman

So, if village A & B don't like each other and I try to deliver something coming from village C, how is that going to complciate my work?

I get that delivering something from B to A (or vice versa) is a no go

But C should be okay(ish)

BESW

Well, if you're white in Agat after dark, there'll be folks who don't care where you're from or why you're there.

But in, say, Agana Heights, there wouldn't be much problem.

Some groups are laid-back, some will escalate in response to overt offences, and some are looking for excuses.

Agat, Umatac, Malesso, Yona, those are the kinds of places where you're liable to run into someone looking for an excuse.

But again, mostly at night unless you're really sticking your nose where you don't belong.

And in that case, well, even Haganta has families that'll shoot you if you trespass.

trogdor

@BESW which I do not tend to do anyway, hooray,... I guess

BESW

So if you're poking around at night trying to deliver Thai food to somebody's unmarked ranch, that's kinda setting yourself up for staring down a shotgun.

eimyr

10:04

I see.

That sounds pretty awful.

trogdor

technically I wasn't being shot at,.. but once when I was really young and not quite as bright as I am now I was taking a shortcut to a freinds house,.. someone or other shot into the air

I still don't know if that was some kind of warning or if someone was just really drunk or something

but I never took that shortcut again

that is for sure

this WAS during the day though

I don't think I would have been doing that at night for any reason whatsoever

BESW

If you go in announced, though, the same people will be as hospitable as can be.

If I was in Agat with an Agat boy, I'd be pretty safe.

trogdor

yeah, it shouldn't sound like you will get shot just for being there, a majority of the people who live here are known for being generous and hospitable

BESW

...so long as I don't mention Malafunkshun or anything like that.

Golokopitenko

you guys talking about Guam?

BESW

10:08

Aye.

trogdor

turns out that way yeah

Golokopitenko

I would have never thought that it has this sort of problem

BESW

Feel free to change the subject.

A lot of people who move here remain largely unaware of it too, just by virtue of not going to the south much.

Trogdor and I, despite being non-Chamorro, grew up in the mid-to-deep south.

(In particular, I lived south of the ex-pat community which Troggy's family lived near/among.)

trogdor

lol

BESW

There are a lot of settled American families in Ipan and Talofofo, but a white family south of the Talofofo River raises eyebrows.

trogdor

10:14

you did live pretty far that way

Golokopitenko

7% of whites on Guam

eimyr

@Golkopitenko Hello.

Golokopitenko

ey sup my man

doppelgreener

13:50

(in my headcanon, @Golokopitenko is still sitting there happily twiddling thumbs waiting calmly for a reply from @eimyr)

Golokopitenko

heheh we talked on the Bar channel

but I do twiddle my thumbs from time to time

doppelgreener

Oh :D

Golokopitenko

I should avoid sullying the sanctity of this cannel's category

doppelgreener

either way :) as long as off topic chat is able to give way to on topic chat

I'm off, good night!

Golokopitenko

sweet dreams, my prince

doppelgreener

13:53

aw shucks.

And a good day to you :)

Golokopitenko

[T]/

nitsua60

14:22

hey everybody

Golokopitenko

ey0 wassup my man

eimyr

hey

wazzup?

and now we wait...

Golokopitenko

14:54

The advantage of being a player is that I don't have to worry about prepping

the disadvantage of being a player is that I have to worry about prepping my character

eimyr

Why worry?

Prep or prep not but worrying is a path to the Dark Side.

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