TRPG General Chat

BESW

02:10

@mxyzplk I speculate it may be for similar reasons to why the Stack doesn't make the details of suspensions public.

nitsua60

03:23

@user507974 So, I don't see anything in what you listed that clashes with any class, to my mind. I mean, you've got "maybe pretty handy at mending people's wounds" which might have one lean cleric, but (a) cleric's kind of a strange class to expect a guest to just step in and play, and (b) that could just as easily be the Healer's feat. Huge bard? Sure: Meat Loaf. Huge Barbarian? Sure. Huge cleric? Friar Tuck. Huge druid? Why not, spirit of a bear and all. &c. &c. &c.

Shalvenay

hey there @nitsua60, how're things going?

nitsua60

@Shalvenay Good, thanks. Impressive AL session tonight.

Shalvenay

@nitsua60 cool, cool. things are alright here. hard to be bad when you got a chance to take a whirl at one of a rail grinder's water cannons ;)

@nitsua60 got a little time to talk further tonight btw, or is now not a good time?

nitsua60

03:40

@Shalvenay I'm beat, man. That's two nights running I've been up past midnight, and that's after a week of tending sick kids through the nights. I'm just trying to tie up a few loose ends before crashing right now.

Shalvenay

@nitsua60 gotcha. I probably won't be around tomorrow, but Friday night should be OKish

nitsua60

I've got a big (grad school) project due midnight on Friday. I put chances at "slim-to-none" that I'll be chatty that night.

Shalvenay

@nitsua60 gotcha, no worries

as long as said project doesn't eat Monday :P

welcome @sparrowhawk

sparrowhawk

04:17

Thanks, @Shalvenay...trying to get the hang of things

BESW

@sparrowhawk [wave] Hi! Anything in particular bring you to chat?

trogdor

@BESW what,... is this preparation for the apocalypses by destroying everything before it can even get here?

BESW

@trogdor Hipster apocalypse was destroying things before it was cool.

trogdor

apparently

BESW

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[BoH](https://bundleofholding.com "Buy RPGs cheap in bulk, support charities & indie designers!");
[playtest](http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/788/follow-needs-playtesters/ "Help playtest Ben Robbins' new game!");
[playtest](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0By3enwcFNlhKa0lpbXNjTFpWZkU/view "Help playtest an RPG for kids 4 to 7");

sparrowhawk

04:30

Hey @BESW, actually a person commented on my first post and asked if I was in some DM's dungeon in the late 70s--when I first began playing D&D as a kid. He told me to look for him here, so I have stopped in a couple times

BESW

Was that Nitsua60? You just missed him going to bed.

sparrowhawk

ah, that's cool. I'll be around. I was glad to find a board on D&D.

BESW

You can see charts of a person's typical chat activity on their chat user profile.

sparrowhawk

Wild. Thank you.

BESW

We're glad to have you!

sparrowhawk

04:34

Cool beans 😊

Ftr, @nitsua60 was the one who pointed the way to the room, but it was @KorvinStarmast who asked me about the dungeon Of Olde.

BESW

Ahah.

sparrowhawk

anyway, good night to all! I'll catch yaz in tha morrow.

BESW

ttfn

RollingFeles

06:54

"Why go all the way to the dungeon for enemies, when the other players are sitting right next to you?"

Great description for RPG.

BESW

@RollingFeles I want to see if I can run a Great Ork Gods game that pushes this concept harder than we've done in the past.

RollingFeles

That's actually description for Skulduggery.

I want to try Great Ork Gods too.

Lately, I'm eager to try new systems :)

We player RFS yesterday, while having our lunch. It was hillarious. Although game lasted only for 30-40 minutes.

trogdor

@BESW I did want to try PC vs PC stuff, but there always seemed like something more important to handle

RollingFeles

Have anyone tried Hillfolk ?

trogdor

plus, other orks didn't tend to have more oog than me for long

so no incentive was there, or if it was they often died before I could try something XD

BESW

07:18

@RollingFeles Trying new systems can get addictive.

But I've never felt more than idle curiosity about Hillfolk.

The "poles" thing is interesting, but far too... stylised? for the kinds of games we usually want to play.

RollingFeles

"poles" ?

BESW

Each player defines their character's two dramatic poles, the two extremes that the character swings between.

Like, Leonardo might have poles of Leadership and Tyranny while Donatello's poles are Compassion and Detachment.

It's one of those games which has a very specific sort of theme/atmosphere/tone in mind (I've seen it described as "Kurosawa gaming") and dedicates all of its energy to creating a space through rules and presentation in which that theme/atmosphere/tone becomes inevitable.

Admirable if done properly, but Hillfolk strikes me as a little didactic in its execution and has its sights set on stories which are tangential to my group's goals.

RollingFeles

07:37

I see. Thanks for explanation.

BESW

If you can find somebody who's actually played it, I'd give their insight more weight than mine.

RollingFeles

I've stumbled upon reddit thread. I think this would be another game I will give a try. But it's not lightweight, so it will be much later.

I'm attracted by default setting: Iron Age, clans and the world, truly unexplored.

BESW

(I try to keep my RPG.SE user profile up to date with all the games I've actually played at least a session of, if you ever want to check what I can talk about from experience.)

Anaphory

The pitch of Hill Folk is very interesting, after reading the system I decided to try some other things first, and that list of other things isn't getting shorter…

BESW

....I should really formalise my list of games I want to try.

RollingFeles

07:45

@Anaphory Mine list is still small, but growing pretty fast.

Anaphory

@BESW I should take my list of games I played and my list of games I want to try from their respective random places (a Gaming Society forum post and a physical notebook page) and put them in one place for reference.

BESW

[scrolls through pdf collection]

I keep forgetting about I'm A Pretty Princess! even though it inspired the mechanics for one of the games I wrote myself.

...this is going to be a four-part list.

Games I really want to play for the first time; games I really want to play more of; games I enjoy playing but don't really burn to play; and games I'd like to experience but only if the stars are right.

Anaphory

08:09

@BESW Pretty much.

And, complementarily, there's a list of games I own but don't really need to play any time soon.

BESW

@Anaphory Oh, that's "the other 150 games in my RPG folder."

Anaphory

Yep.

BESW

(There was a year or so when the Bundle of Holding kept taunting me and I couldn't resist.)

Anaphory

I think I got most of those for solid reasons of prior interest.

Doesn't mean they would all land on lists 1–4 instead of 5.

Epimas is a different matter, most of those games are on lists 5 or maybe 4.

BESW

I also have a lot of free games, free starter packs, free intro adventures, etc.

I'm much less discerning about grabbing those.

Anaphory

08:14

Oh, right, I do have some of those.

Why even not! Hard disk space is cheap!

BESW

A surprising number of them make it to 2 and 3.

Anaphory

Cool! Who did you try them with?

BESW

My regular group.

I mean, it's Cthulhu Dark, Aeon Wave, Roll For Shoes, Great Ork Gods, Masters of Umdaar, Danger Patrol...

Anaphory

I still haven't played any of them. Not even Roll For Shoes yet.

BESW

One of the benefits of having a regular group with irregular attendance is it's easier to try something new because there's little expectation of regularity to disrupt.

Anaphory

08:29

Yep.

Still trying to get that thing.

BESW

It's tenuous. We've had maybe two RPG sessions in the last... three months?

Hit a perfect storm of everyone getting really busy, so @trogdor and I have been marathoning Gravity Falls, Korra, TMNT 2012, Twin Peaks...

Anaphory

Oh, that's a pity.

DuckTapeAl

08:44

@doppelgreener I agree with your comment on the scar question, but I really don't want to answer a question that I think is going to get closed.

That way lies downvotes.

DuckTapeAl

08:57

Interesting thing someone linked me today: tinyurl.com/x-card-rpg

BESW

Ah, yeah, the x-card is a good tool to have in one's arsenal.

doppelgreener

@DuckTapeAl that's a surprisingly big document for such a small tool, yet i can't argue with it covering all that it does.

BESW

We're trying to figure out how to replicate it in Discord voice chat.

DuckTapeAl

Discord has text chat too, right?

RollingFeles

@BESW "X" in chat? I'm thinking about the same for roll20+skype.

BESW

09:10

One of our players is visually impaired and can only vaguely see that the text chat is being used; in order to know what's being said in text she has to use a text-to-speech tool.

RollingFeles

Also, Discord supports bots, so use or implement one, if chat message is not enough - is easy task.

BESW

Hence my specifying "in Discord voice chat" rather than just "in Discord."

DuckTapeAl

What if you just say "x"?

RollingFeles

There are bots that can use voice chat, so it won't be a problem to let everyone know about "X-card being lifted". The question is how to make this convinient for VI to use, because bots are controlled via chat commands.

DuckTapeAl

If the primary way that you're all communicating is voice, is there a reason you couldn't just say "x card" instead of tapping the card, or sending a message?

doppelgreener

09:13

have a bot that listens out for anyone saying just "x" in chat (if applicable) and plays a buzzer noise in voice.

that's assuming just saying "x" isn't enough.

(because it's just one syllable and could really easily get talked over or missed due to a mic glitch? other potential reasons?)

RollingFeles

@doppelgreener I'm not sure if bots can listen. They can "speak" - that's for sure.

BESW

Replacing the card with personal speech is worth a shot, but I think a primary virtue of the x-card is that it doesn't require active interruption.

doppelgreener

@RollingFeles i presume they can 'cause we have a bot that'll roll dice whenever you just say (xdy) in any of your messages in parentheses.

DuckTapeAl

I guess it's not very clear to me, since I've never seen it in play, but I would think that any use of the x card needs at least a short interruption to determine what the card was for.

BESW

Also, I'm not sure how bots' tts works, but the built-in Discord /tts command seems to be totally overridden by the NVDA screen reader.

RollingFeles

09:16

@doppelgreener I missed "in chat" part from your message.

doppelgreener

@RollingFeles ah, that'd do it

RollingFeles

@BESW bots can playback some sound.

BESW

@DuckTapeAl Page 15:

> What if you don't know what was X-Carded?
Call for a break and have the person running the game or a close friend speak privately with the person who used the X-Card. In general, we tell people that no explanations are needed, but if they want to share, they are welcome to. It's their choice.

RollingFeles

So, it may be possible to implement this without tts.

BESW

This... might be worth a mainsite question.

RollingFeles

09:17

As @doppelgreener suggested some buzzer noise is good solution.

BESW

Last session there was at least one moment where an x-card would've been VERY useful.

doppelgreener

@BESW the card does need active action from the player, and it is intended to result in interruption to whatever was happening (because things stop, rewind, etc). it's performing an action over a medium everyone can perceive, sight, and conveniently this medium doesn't tend to interrupt the medium of sound.

BESW

@doppelgreener Right. It doesn't require interrupting in order to trigger--it interrupts by triggering.

doppelgreener

ok. in this case, your medium must be either sight or vision again.

the safest bet is sound, because people can hide the chat.

so, it has to be spoken, a noise, etc.

BESW

I kinda like the buzzer idea. Just speaking up would be simplest, and I usually go for the simplest solution to a problem especially when tech is involved, but I really think some people in the group might find the "speaking up to interrupt with my own voice" bit is more of a barrier than it might at first appear.

(As usual, I'm focused more on the social space than on the practical mechanism. Yey tunnel vision.)

doppelgreener

09:25

i've a friend with selective mutism (there's times they just cannot bring themselves to speak; they can open their mouth and still not be able to force the words out) and it's especially prone to occurring when they're anxious; being able to type is no problem though.

and i know if something gets brought up and then a couple of people pile on it loudly and boisterously, someone trying to say "x" nervously will be drowned out totally.

but people hear buzzer noises.

that's why we use them!

DuckTapeAl

In this particular case, does VI have a problem typing in Discord chat? I'm wondering if there could be a one-way message thing.

Like, rather than some kind of buzzer, you (as the GM) just keep an eye on chat, and anyone who feels the need to use the x card can just say "x" in chat.

And when that comes up, you can say that someone raised the x card, and that you need to rewind a bit to remove the offending element.

BESW

VI's typing can be slow, but it's definitely a possibility.

doppelgreener

that also works, but can be hard to miss. would be aided by something hard to miss.

i'm thinking someone says x, bot posts X card image.

BESW

(I'm not the GM, @nitsua60 is, but I tend to take on the role of "GM's extra set of hands and eyes" whenever I'm a player.)

doppelgreener

the X card image will be more visually startling and hard to miss.

BESW

09:29

With proper selection of the image (size and contrast), VI could see that.

doppelgreener

big white rectangle image with a big bold black X? probably!

you couldn't really ask for a more accessible image

BESW

I'd probably test some colors too, depending on exactly what VI's impairment impairs

But yeah, details.

doppelgreener

you just solved another problem, i think

here's the problem: let's say nobody's using chat. someone x-cards. that flashes up in chat. ok, play continues, still nobody's using chat, someone x-cards again, that flashes up in chat too. alright.

your chat view is now two isntances of someone saying X followed by a big X card image. it fills your screen. someone x-cards again. you don't notice this because when it happens, chat still looks exactly the same. you glanced away during the second it took for the bot to post the image, or you looked at it and went "huh that's weird i thought i saw something, oh well, i must just be tired."

the chat looks the same before and after, after all.

so, solution: have like 3-4 different x card images and have the bot cycle through them. then something definitely changed. i think that'd help anyway.

light blue with black X, dark red with white X, dark green with white X, light pink with black X, yellow with black X come to mind.

DuckTapeAl

Oh, god, it's five thirty.

G'night!

doppelgreener

night!

BESW

09:40

ttfn

RollingFeles

09:58

There is airhorn bot for discord. It's open source. Maybe I'll give it a look.

trogdor

10:23

@BESW hehehe, it's a decent substitute for when our group isn't available

I would still prefer to see them all more often and get some RPG stuff done, but se la vi

BESW

oo la la.

trogdor

lol

RollingFeles

10:54

feat-qualifications looks like not very useful tag.

BESW

It's got no tag wiki, so if it doesn't get used by more questions it'll die on its own.

Leave it alone and see if it can prove itself.

Miniman

@BESW It's on 17 questions, so...

BESW

Hm, so it is.

KorvinStarmast

12:07

@sparrowhawk Your screen name took me back to the 1970's and a friend who played a thief in OD&D/AD&D1e games when I was in college, but he graduated in 1978. John Winters was Sparrowhawk and was really fun to play with.

@sparrowhawk When I reviewed your profile, it occurs that you aren't quite as old / of that vintage. No worries, glad to see another oldster pick up 5e: it brought me back to the game.

S. ten Brinke

15:09

Is anyone here! :)?

RedRiderX

@S.tenBrinke No

S. ten Brinke

I would like to have feedback on my new D&D 5e campaign/first session:
https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/53z9gm/how_would_i_make_a_pc_running_a_restaurant/

RedRiderX

@S.tenBrinke [removed]?

S. ten Brinke

Removed? Really?

Oops! Wrong link

Wait,no. The link is correct

Why has it been removed.. Weird :/

RedRiderX

Hmm, reddit moderation is a little strange at times.

S. ten Brinke

15:12

Yea :/

Well, here is a new link

reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/comments/53zf2n/…

Hm, I guess my post broke rule 5 (Do not ask for general feedback like, "Is this ok/good enough?". Take a chance and run your session. Experience is the best feedback.)

sparrowhawk

15:36

@KorvinStarmast ah ok! I suppose that could not be me-- although I did used to play a thief! Yes it's good to return.

The Oracle

17:01

0

Q: When a Question Changes Completely, Should it be a New Question?

I understand that at time questions are unclear, vague or unanswerable in their original state and need to be edited. I also see the value in the questions changing so much some of the answers don't answer the question anymore. However, there comes a point where we loose a good question, and it...

discussion

The Oracle

18:02

0

Q: What software does the WOTC design team use to layout the rulebooks?

Not sure if this is the right place for this, but I'm curious what software programs the WOTC design team uses to layout the D&D 5e core rulebooks? I'm presently writing a setting sourcebook for my own campaign, and I'd like it to look at least somewhat like the D&D 5e books, but I'm finding mos...

discussion design wizards-of-the-coast

nitsua60

19:01

@SevenSidedDie @mxyzplk would one of you mind migrating comments on this answer to chat? The flag-box isn't long enough to leave this comment: The question's not about fireball, it's about how a mouse might survive combat. There's nothing in these comments I intend to use, and there are some flat-out incorrect statements that I don't really want readers seeing. I'd like to correct some misconceptions, but don't want to feed the thread on mainsite.

mxyzplk

20:02

@nitsua60 done

BESW

20:22

Thought about how to run a game based on the film National Treasure last night and decided the Atomic Robo RPG is perfect. @EvilHatOfficial

Tweeted by PaulStefko on September 22, 2016 at 7:03 PM

nitsua60

20:47

@mxyzplk Thanks. I wasn't sure about it, but figured neither of you would be shy about telling me if you disagreed =)

nitsua60

20:57

@BESW that's... a strange commentary on my life. I'm going to have to digest that one for a bit =|

BESW

@nitsua60 Compare.

nitsua60

the thing that--I think--makes it interesting is that at the table the X card manages to be unobtrusive because it's occupying only one of four or five active communication channels. (General conversation, body language, main visual (central focus of visual field), off-to-the-side visual, &c.) If it's employed and there's no need to elevate the topic to a "major" channel then it's served its purpose with little disruption. And if it needs promotion, it gets it.
But in the game we're discussing multi-channel communication is a particular challenge. It's my understanding that to the extent we…

BESW

@nitsua60 Yes, this is what I was trying to get at with too little sleep and a lot of other stuff going on. Thanks.

nitsua60

I agree that simply voicing "X" would be easiest, but I also think that it's a non-starter. Because that's already the easiest solution at a traditional table, after all--it doesn't require an index card, a marker, and 15 in^2 of table space. But we are reluctant sometimes to interrupt the "major" communication channel out of <whatever>, where we will interrupt in a "minor" way.

Which is running into the problem of our current virtual table having (I believe) a strong reason to prefer single-streaming communication.

BESW

21:13

mmm. The other value of a tangible x-card is that it sits there as a reminder of its own existence.

There's no way I can think of to replicate that in voice/text chat.

nitsua60

@KorvinStarmast sorry to be unclear: my comment was triggered by your second blockquote. I don't see why the way one interprets the sarcophagus vis-a-vis cover matters, because the mummy isn't the target of the spell. A point in space is.

(I do think one's interpretation of the sarcophagus matters vis-a-vis the whole "fire flows around things" clause of fireball, 'cause in my mind that's what gets the fireball flowing around the sarcophagus without getting in.)

I think the meat of that question's answer is (a) the origin of the fireball is outside the sarcophagus, (b) the fire doesn't pass through the sargophagus. We know (b) to be true w.r.t. substantially-fireproof objects, otherwise we wouldn't need the clause of fireball telling us that the fire will flow around corners.

Whoa. First dupehammer.
Think I'm gonna feel it tomorrow. I probably should've stretched.

4

KorvinStarmast

21:34

@nitsua60 My whole answer is about rulings, not an attempt to construct a RAW case. Cover in plain language sense is a good way to approach this. Cover, in rules, is a bit messy. The reason I cited making an attack was for the advantage / disadvantage theme I picked up on in the text of his question. I moved the cover rules to the back, since they are IMO a bit sticky for a situation like this.

@nitsua60 It's about rules as guidelines, not as a constraint on the DM.

@nitsua60 My larger point is that his instinct to go with advantage was a good one, which is why I cited advantage examples to underscore "your ruling is what counts." I also cited the Restrained as it's a reasonable was to describe a mummy in a sarcophagus.

nitsua60

23:35

@KorvinStarmast that all makes sense. I'm probably getting wrapped up in the context of the three or four recent questions that all touch on the same theme.

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