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12:47 AM
chuckles today's excitement fixed our stats
508
Role-playing Gamesrpg.stackexchange.com

Beta Q&A site for gamemasters and players of tabletop, paper-and-pencil role-playing games

Currently in public beta.

 
 
1 hour later…
2:02 AM
what in the world did we do differently today?
@Pureferret hey, he's not new :)
 
2:24 AM
1
Q: Should I buy a second hand core rule books?

bennygoldThe problem is that the particular game which I am playing (Star Wars Saga Edition) the books are out of print. I am relatively new to Star Wars RPG if the books were on shelves in stores I would buy them without hesitation. I cant say I have bought a second hand book before (ever, even novels) ...

 
 
3 hours later…
5:15 AM
hang on, where did "Featured questions" go?
 
 
7 hours later…
12:07 PM
@Sohum on the main page?
 
I don't see it
 
@Pureferret it's not there, but I was asking if that was the featured questions he was looking for
b/c there's a as well
 
Oooh
 
12:45 PM
Lunch time!
 
did anyone else suddenly get a ton of badges?
 
1:01 PM
I got one
I think it must check and assign periodically
 
1:18 PM
0
Q: I just got a fifteen badges, but I'm not bragging

C. RossI just got fifteen badges, about fifteen minutes ago, split between Announcer, Booster, and one Publicist. While I do pass links around ... it seems a little strange that I would get so many at one time. Can anyone check if there was a bug involved (that caused them to be added, or was previous...

 
@Pureferret it does, but ...
 
You have an answer to your Q
 
@Pureferret I see
woot first gold badge!!!
now back to work
 
Grats!
 
1:39 PM
Now I'm bragging :-)
 
@CRoss lol...just cuz they changed the rules :). Happy for you though. Surprised you don't have the voting one...
you are almost there...a solid day of voting on questions only would get you there...
make it 2
 
whick voting one?
 
@Pureferret electorate.
600 question votes with >= 25% of total votes on questions. Its the easiest gold badge to acheive
(can be done in about 15 days, provided a site has the content)
and here is pretty darn easy to find 600 questions worthy of an upvote...
 
I must be on my way towards that...
 
1:58 PM
@Pureferret you've got 217 question upvotes vs 544 answer upvotes. Watch your ratio...(if you are maxing your 40 votes per day the ratio takes care of itself)
 
Where did you find that?
 
@Pureferret on your user page
 
@waxeagle yeah, I should probably do that
 
towards the bottom
 
but I'll get there in a week anyway
 
1:59 PM
@CRoss yup
 
but I think I have more announcer/booster badges than anyone on the site
 
@CRoss 11/39 is pretty impressive...
 
@waxeagle I see it now
 
dude Haacked has a Booster badge..we need to get him to tweet more of our questions...
 
@waxeagle yep :-)
@waxeagle 80% stumble uppon
 
2:02 PM
@CRoss he is the kind of user that if we got him to participate on a regular basis it would be huge for us...
@CRoss I should do this...
I haven't stumbled in ages...
 
@waxeagle me either :-)
 
@CRoss Jeff tweeted the XP link, maybe that was our May 21 spike...
 
@waxeagle I think it was
 
@CRoss we need to figure out how to keep more of those eyeballs when they end up wandering over
 
now if we can just get five questions today ...
@waxeagle yes, we do
 
2:06 PM
@CRoss as with anything on the Internets its all about content...
we have a lot...now the question is whether its worthwhile content...
 
I think it is. Monte cook and Mike Mearls are both on twitter
if we could get a retweet from them....
 
@Pureferret seriously
best thing to do would be to engage them.
going to follow now..
 
Engage them in the site?
 
@Pureferret engage them in discussion first. ask them questions etc.
then start tweeting at them with links to the site...
 
@waxeagle agreed
 
2:11 PM
@Pureferret Does Chris Perkins have twitter?
 
Who?
Name Role Twitter
Mike Mearls Team Lead @mikemearls
Greg Bilsland Team Producer @gregbilsland

Monte Cook Design Team Lead @montejcook
Bruce Cordell Designer @brucecordell
Robert J. Schwalb Designer @rjschwalb

Jeremy Crawford Devevelopment Team Lead
Tom LaPille Developer @TomLaPilleMagic
 
@Pureferret he is a 4e designer...works (or used to work for wizards). He was the DM for some of the PA games that are on the wizards site
 
I have no idea...
 
1
Q: Do magical weapons convey effects to magical ammunition?

dpatcheryLet's say I have a +3 Frost Longbow. Frost Weapon Power (Cold) · (Free Action) All damage dealt by this weapon is cold damage. Another free action returns the damage to normal. Power (Cold) · Daily (Free Action) Use this power when you hit with the weapon. The target takes 2d...

 
2:27 PM
Yesterday, I asked how the playtesting for 5e was going to work. This resulted in a Question and subsequent discussion about said Question.
That distracted me from my main point, which was: If we are able, it would probably be worth trying to run some games on chat during the play testing period.
 
@Aether concur
 
@Aether agreed. public forum, open to wizards to watch and see...
 
also people here could run local games ...
 
Similar to the point @CRoss made: "get it into users' hands early"
 
there is something that chat games lack ...
 
2:29 PM
@CRoss I intend to run it for my gaming group asap and report back here
 
It's not a replacement for live play testing, but a very nice supplement.
Hopefully the sessions would generate some questions as well as useful feedback for WotC
As well as maybe allowing passers-by to join in, and we could get some to stick around.
 
ick 4e magical ammo just got a lot less useful in my opinion...
 
combined with what @GraceNote said last night....
colour me excited
 
@Pureferret that was a long time ago...not sure if that means anything
 
@Pureferret Back from April?
 
2:35 PM
I assume it means if/when we get approval, the design will be ready (sooner) than otherwise
 
@Pureferret maybe, I wouldn't count on anything from that though
 
@waxeagle I know
hi @GraceNote
 
I heard from a little birdie that Jin might actually be working on RPG this very month.
2
No word on graduation but just some food for thought.
 
2:52 PM
@Pureferret is that better?
moved some sentences around and tried to clarify
 
@waxeagle I'll take a look
 
I will grab a few quotes when I'm not on an over aggressive net filter
 
Ok, cool. I'm just not sure how the Bow and Arrow score a critical, you only roll that d20 once (unless you use that arrow's power)
 
@Pureferret basically if both have a crit property it stacks
 
Right
 
2:55 PM
@Pureferret I'm not even sure if any magic ammo has a crit property, that was cribbed from the article...
 
"The critical effect from the weapon will stack with the arrow's effect." ?
Ahh I see
 
@Pureferret awesome great edit.
 
hi-five
 
@Pureferret :)
 
What do you mean by fore here: You can fore the magic ammo without "activating it"
 
3:00 PM
@Pureferret fire
 
D'oh
 
@GraceNote as long as he's working on B&CG too!
 
@GraceNote he worked on it almost a year ago, because he was gathering ideas
14
Q: Design Ideas for RPG Site

JinHi all. I'm Jin, and I'll be working on the designs for the Stack Exchange sites as they graduate from the beta phase. Each site will have its own unique theme that will reflect its topic. However, all sites will share quite a bit of common elements so they feel like they're part of the Stack Exc...

 
@CRoss This is a new working
 
@GraceNote otay!
 
Jin
3:38 PM
suddenly, a wild Jin appears.
 
@Jin yeah Jin!
btw Woot for 5k!
 
Jin
grats!
 
Oh my, another busy morning in here.
 
@jin I choose you!
 
@Jin I've heard you are working on RPG.SE design this month? Do you have any preliminary thoughts?
 
3:44 PM
@waxeagle Oi oi, I totally said "This month"
 
@GraceNote edited
 
Jin
@waxeagle yes. i actually have had the design concept for a while. I even contracted an artist to do the header art.
 
wow, people!
Also, on the sneaking penalties of plate: youtube.com/watch?v=zvCvOC2VwDc&;
 
Wait, are we actually talking about the vague possibility of going forward with this site?
 
Wow, art
 
Jin
3:44 PM
the header will be a vibrant one, but the content section visual is based on the pencil 'n paper theme.
 
@Jin awesomeness
@Jin excellent Glad to heard it (I actually sort of like the sketchy theme we currently have in some ways. If it wasn't the default beta theme...)
 
I believe this calls for an orbital bombardment of cookies and muffins to the staff that put the wheels in motion.
 
Jin
i think you guys will like it! :)
i'm glad i asked on meta a while back for design ideas... and i learned there's more to table top rpg than just D&D!
 
@Jin I hope so! Looking forward to seeing it. :)
 
It's pretty much anything where you pretend to be something alongside a little book of rules.
 
3:47 PM
@BrianBallsunStanton I love the combat roll in there
 
@BrianBallsunStanton jeez, its a wonder teh check penalty is only -2....
in 4e
 
@MadMAxJr don't forget LARP!
 
@waxeagle yeah. The gamisms are... interesting
@Jin whee :)
okay, is it bad that when I see him doing jumping jacks... I imagine that it's the fighter having just failed a stealth roll?
 
I may actually have to open a bottle of (admittedly cheap) wine if the site launches...
 
Jin
well, i'll give you a sneak peek.. like super sneak, 'n peeky.
for people in the chatroom only!
 
3:48 PM
oooh
 
Oooh, exclusive content.
 
@MadMAxJr I'm sure you could probably do away with a book of rules, too.
 
@Aether One of my more favourite games has... 4 pages.
 
Ooooh
 
@MadMAxJr I'd join you....although the only bottle I'm saving for a momentous occasion is the one I'm opening the first dinner we have in our new house...
 
3:49 PM
@MadMAxJr Could I have chocolates instead? ♪
 
Jin
disclaimer: it's only a small part of the header, there will be other elements. so this sneak peek doesn't represent the whole thing, obviously
user image
3
 
oh that's nice
 
It has a dragon!
 
Awesome!
 
it has a dragon and a light saber.
 
3:50 PM
@Jin I'm in love
 
Jin
i don't want to give you the idea that the header is on D&D only..
 
Jin
there are other stuff
 
He's not showing us the robot riding the dragon in a saddle, holding up a grenade launching lance.
 
3:50 PM
That is crazy awesome, @Jin
 
A dragon, a laser, and some nice drawing-on-grid-paper
I, also, approve.
 
If there's a dragon on the header, I wonder if there's a dungeon in the footer..
 
Wild speculation go-time :D
 
@waxeagle we have a bottle of sparkling cider for closing
 
3:52 PM
Is it wrong this is more exciting than the 5e announcement?
 
Not at all
 
Jin
and for the Meta site design
 
@CRoss awesome sauce. i will probably have to get some of that too....(preggo wife doesn't like red wine on a good day...)
 
Meta-dragons?
 
Jin
i'm thinking more than just a standard desaturated version of the main site
i'm thinking about the Meta will have a full pencil drawn effect
 
3:53 PM
@MadMAxJr orders of magnitude more exciting than the announcement of a desert topping and floor wax.
 
@waxeagle wife doesn't drink so shrugs
@Jin that would be awesome
 
That's probably a great way to think of it. Meta is a planning area just like how a DM would plan out material for a game.
 
@Jin full pencil is awesome.
 
@Jin I likes
 
@Jin A group of people arguing and shouting over an open book, with various gaming accessories on the table nearby.
 
Jin
3:53 PM
user image
3
 
@Aether Now now, we don't want it too realistic.
 
Jin
i specifically asked the artist to give me the pencil outlined version of the final rendering too
 
@Jin ... i kinda want that for the main site :)
 
@Jin awesome
 
You can show us things all day if you like, I'm sure we can keep giving you massive amounts of praise.
 
Jin
3:55 PM
the design concept is trying to capture the magic from pencil 'n paper.
 
@MadMAxJr +1 :)
@Jin you've certainly got the right asthetic
 
Jin
i think that's what table top rpg is about. the magic comes from our imaginations right?
the main site's header is about 80% rendered, but 20% pencil sketchy
 
@Jin yes definitely.
 
Jin
the rest of the site uses a faint grid pattern in the background
 
@Jin does it sort of fade into full color?
 
Jin
3:56 PM
yes
 
::clears throat:: Squee!
 
@Jin I can't wait...it sounds like it really captures what we do in our games...
 
@waxeagle You can see it a bit on the first image.
 
So long as someone doesn't petition that hexes are units of measurement too, we're fine. :D
 
Jin
also, for the user profile page, i'm thinking about adding visual elements so it looks like a character card
 
3:57 PM
@Jin YES!
 
Jin
it's basically a page of stats anyway
 
@Jin oh yes please!
 
I'm now imagining "rubbed-out" lines of previous numbers behind the numbers. :P
 
Jin
i'm aiming to post some initial mockups on meta.rpg in 2 weeks or so, or less. right now i'm tied up on some other design tasks.
 
Eraser marks around frequently changing numbers.
I wouldn't care if it took a month at this point, this is the first real feedback in about... what, a year? I'm all for whatever we get, whenever we get it.
 
4:00 PM
@MadMAxJr we're about to ding!
we need to find goblins!
and I really need some coffee.
 
I'm working on a red bull. Energy!
 
Jin
oh funny story
i went to a local Game workshop a while back, to research on rpg games
turned out they dont' do rpgs, just strategy games
 
A Games Workshop battle bunker?
 
Jin
i got conned into playing a game of Warhammer 40k, which I ended up loving.
 
As in a GW branded store?
 
Jin
4:03 PM
and walked out with a 100$ kit.
 
Yeah, they're trained to do that to you.
 
Jin
to be honest i was more attracted to the lil model figures than the game itself.
i've always loved plastic modeling
 
I enjoy working with model miniatures and paints as well, I've hit 'table quality' in terms of skill. Looks good from 2-3 feet away.
The masters are 'historical' quality, where you see the whites and iris of the eyes.
 
Jin
i haven't painted mine yet. i'm waiting to move to the new house 'n set up my lil workshop. my airbrush set is in the storage right now.
 
40k requires way too many models for my taste, I enjoy one called Warmachine. Steampunk robots and heavily armored battle mages.
 
4:05 PM
@Jin sounds awesome
 
I only need 12-20 models or so for that one.
 
I really need to finish off my tau
 
Ah yes, Tau. The 'greater' good.
And tanks that draw fire from everything on the table.
 
Jin
@Pureferret i used to build gundam models, a lot.
 
@Jin Quite a few similarities in design I see....
 
4:09 PM
.... That's a lot of kits.
I still have an MG Sazabi and MG Kampfer to build someday.
Need to replace my PG Wing Zero. He was my first and I did a crap job on the metallics that make up the central skeleton.
 
Jin
i have about 300+ kits.. i only built a tiny fraction of it
i collected most of them 10 years ago, before the wife 'n kids came along :)
 
Also HLJ has great rates on the products too...
 
Jin
@MadMAxJr i love HLJ... for 2 years straight, i received a package from them every week... it was like nonstop Christmas
i mostly bought gundam model kits only MG/PG. but i also collected anime action figures
 
And this conversation reminded me to buy a figure I almost waited too long to buy...
 
4:16 PM
rpganswers.com is available...hmmmm
 
Okay, overpriced Revoltech Gurren Lagann purchased... Right, back to business.
 
@waxeagle why do we want one ofthose?
@waxeagle for conventions, www.stumpthestack.com is available too
 
@Pureferret not saying we would. SE doesn't do unique domains...but nothing stopping site users from setting up a redirect...
 
fair enough
 
Jin
got these two for xmas twitpic.com/7yngx3 twitpic.com/7ynb27
 
4:21 PM
This was my big xmas present store.qmxonline.com/…
 
Jin
@waxeagle very nice
 
Oh, a Sazabi kit.
I regret not buying the B-Club parts for the Sazabi kit when I had the chance. Extra long boosters and the really big rifle.
 
@Jin Yeah my only disappointment is that it isn't numbered...not sure why, the rest of that collection has been....
 
Do we have any pressing matters on the site today? Flipping through my last few questions...
 
@MadMAxJr get to 5+ questions again today?
 
4:29 PM
@waxeagle I was actually hoping for answers on Meta regarding questions that showcase the site.
 
@GraceNote any chance you guys can do an RPG.SE community review like you did on Gardening? I'd be very interested in that.
6
Q: Gardening self-evaluation: how ARE you doing?

Shog9Here in the secret Stack Exchange bunker (somewhere deep beneath the endless wind on the Great Plains) we like sit down now and then and do a quick check on various sites, to see how they stack up against the wisdom of The Greater Internet. This gives us a pretty good idea of which sites are prog...

 
@waxeagle I thought I already said that I'd give it some priority after Boardgames
 
@GraceNote missed that yesterday. Thanks :)
 
I'm more likely to do it in the style I did for UX, though.
 
@GraceNote so posting y'all's evaluation?
 
4:39 PM
@waxeagle Not entirely like that but close enough. Basically I'll do the review and post my results.
 
She's going to demand a sacrifice.
 
okay, someone get a goat :)
 
@GraceNote & @MadMAxJr Seems reasonable
I say we pick the person with the most rep
will have the biggest effect
won't it?
 
@Pureferret is this like in nethack...the better the sacrifice the more likely we are to get a wish?
 
Nethack? In that case I just need the magic marker...
 
4:43 PM
@waxeagle I guess? I have no idea what nethack is though
 
You don't know what.... Nethack... is?
 
@Pureferret ooh you are about to waste so much time
 
Quick, direct Pure to Gaming's corpse question!
 
Nobody can tell you what Nethack is. You have to experience it for yourself.
 
138
Q: How can I tell if a corpse is safe to eat?

Kaestur HakarlI am playing a human wizard, and I just killed a monster, leaving a corpse on the ground. How do I tell whether it is safe to eat this corpse? I leave the monster unspecified because I am interested in "how can I figure out whether this is edible," rather than whether any particular monster is e...

 
4:47 PM
Those games frustrate me...
nm
back to work
 
@MadMAxJr this is too true. I prefer Rogue or ADOM myself...but nethack is nethack
 
I play Dungeons of Dredmor these days. Graphical and humorous.
 
@Pureferret lol sorta the point I think...they are ridiculously hard...
 
I mean, I played that sort of game, but if you walked into people you attacked them
it used vim-like commands ::shudder::
 
@Pureferret probably rogue :)
 
4:49 PM
Ah
 
although nethack can feel an awful lot like vim too...
 
Echh
Is it like nano?
I like nano
 
5:01 PM
0
Q: How aggressive should I be with elective pulls?

AceCalhoonI'm slowly gearing up to run a one-shot of Dread, but I'm finding myself a little wary of the elective pull rules. They feel a little "cheap" to me, and I'm not quite sure how often I should be bringing them up. Here's the example given in the book: A trained surgeon [...] may not know that ...

 
5:16 PM
yeah Dread question!
@AceCalhoon I may have just typed 300 words to say "its up to you"
 
Woo!
 
I just threw a Dark Heresy question in too, one that's bothered me for a while.
 
2
Q: How is threat determined in Dark Heresy?

MadMAxJrIn Dark Heresy, you can gain a bonus to your melee attacks if you outnumber an opponent two to one or three to one. Are opponents threatened if a player is next to them or do they have to have previously taken a combat action against that foe? (Threat does not seem to be well defined from what I...

1
Q: What is a good first heroic campaign for D&D 4e, levels 1-5

F. Randall FarmerI'm a very experienced AD&D GM, and have run levels 1-5 in 4e: Red Box + Reavers of Harkenwold. I want to start a new mixed-experience group (some 4e, some 3.5/Pathfinder, and no experience at all) group through levels 1-5 in 4e so that I have a large enough pool of players I know and trust t...

 
5:33 PM
@Waxeagle You at least gave me some guidelines for how to make the decision. Which is pretty much what I figured I'd get. Gonna hold off on voting/accepting for a bit as usual, but I think it's a good answer.
 
@AceCalhoon definitely, there are some folks here with more dread experience than I have (i've run it 3 times)
@AceCalhoon have you run/played it before?
 
Did I go to far on editing this? rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/11847/…
 
@Pureferret I don't think so...still not sure its a great question, but its way better than the first draft.
 
Ok cool
 
Hmm.
Unsure.
 
5:38 PM
@Pureferret you're doing the right thing though trying to help it be a real question rather than just vtcing and possibly driving off a new user
 
...
oh gods. Hybrid.
 
Seemed like a better thing to do
 
btw if you guys use [-FAQ-] if will link the faq automagically. (skip the dashes)
2
 
::shudder::
oooh.
 
I did not know that.
 
5:39 PM
and you can link specific sections with a #section name
 
low level effective hybrid.
::starts giggling::
 
@BrianBallsunStanton don't use a hybrid is the real answer to this question...
 
@BrianBallsunStanton be nice!
auto-magic!
 
5:41 PM
@waxeagle Nope, just picked up the book. It sounds pretty interesting, though.
 
someone's beaten me to the answer
oh.
::grumble:: @Pureferret -1 due to not nearly enough answer
fix it before I actually click -1 :)
 
I am fixing!
 
Hush
 
oh, and if you're going to link stuff, link my constrained opt paper :)
 
5:42 PM
@AceCalhoon I love it as a change of pace/party game
 
cause that's what he's really asking for.
 
0
Q: Tips on making a unique hybrid character in 4E?

RussellI have been using Wizards' character creator, but I can't come up with anything unique. I would very much like to use a hybrid, but I've had trouble making one that would work at early levels (we are starting at 1). I know there are many ways to have unconventional characters (such as a ranged ...

 
@BrianBallsunStanton is that a little too much? I've not even read it all the way through....
 
@Pureferret harumph! :)
 
@waxeagle That's about how I was planning on using it... So that's good to hear :)
 
5:49 PM
@AceCalhoon dramatically different from our normal fare (4e). its good to get the guys to RP a bit more and have to think a bit harder. although its sometime a challenge...
 
Done all I can tonight
 
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