TRPG General Chat

Miniman

00:05

@ATaco Good luck!

Asteria

00:32

@ATaco good luck! You'll have a blast :) What type of game are you DMing?

ATaco

5e, generic dungeon run.

The party consists of a Cleric, a Ranger and a Druid, so they should be fairly rounded.

nitsua60

@ATaco have fun!

@BESW @SevenSidedDie @NautArch I do think it's largely a messaging problem. I think "we're instituting a $3 cover" with a footnote in small print saying "this can also be satisfied by making $5 in-store purchases" was pretty tone-deaf. I wish they'd considered, instead:
"hey, gamers: we love having you here *and* we love paying our rent on time. We've noticed that most of you spend a couple of bucks each time you're here, but that's not income we can count on. We're going to ask for $3 a head *or* $5 in purchases. This means 80% of you will be unaffected, since you already pick up snacks he…

Asteria

sounds good!

nitsua60

But maybe I'm too naive and optimistic, thinking something like that would cause less drama.

Miniman

00:48

@nitsua60 One of my FLGS does a booking fee for rooms and tables for free. I think it's a smart move, given how many groups are happy to pay for the luxury of getting a room to themselves.

nitsua60

01:04

@Miniman That would be cool. Ours is largely open and they need to keep it that way for all the Magic--I can't imagine partitioning would go down well.

It's an understandable bind for the store.

Miniman

@nitsua60 Yeah, it's a slightly unusual FLGS. There's a more standard one as well.

nitsua60

Today in "Good News for Michiganders": spearing frogs is now legal. (Tridents woefully unclear.)

Miniman

@nitsua60 Every so often I get a sharp reminder of just how different America is.

Although not as sharp a reminder as the frogs are getting, I guess.

nitsua60

I'm going to assume, based on stereotypes I have of Australia, that it's not the notion of spearing frogs you find unusual but rather the notion that someone outlawed it?

trogdor

@Miniman we don't all hunt frogs

I think one thing is,... we have a lot of different states, 50 is a lot, and they all like being different from each other

so even there in the U.S Mainland they get reminders of how different America is XD

and also here, obviously

nitsua60

01:38

Anyone good with Discord?

Shalvenay

@nitsua60 why do you ask?

hey there @MikeQ and @Asteria as well

Mike Q

We're basically regulars here. How did your session go?

nitsua60

@Shalvenay Earlier today I linked Discord and Patreon, I think, and I should have access to a server. But I'm not sure how to find it.

Shalvenay

@nitsua60 hrm

@MikeQ haven't had one since

nitsua60

The various "how do I get my Discord rewards" articles on patreon's site seem to indicate I've done everything, but the server ain't there.

Mike Q

01:45

22 hours ago, by Shalvenay

@Asteria -- if you want to try your hand at joining me and Nyoze in a 5e dungeon run, we're looking to start one up in ~30mins if you can make or grab a char now?

@Shalvenay I was referring to that ^^

Shalvenay

@MikeQ oh! wasn't able to get it in unfortunately

ATaco

Rolling a 5e character in 30 minutes seems impossible to me.

nitsua60

@ATaco I feel like it can be done in two minutes or two hours, but not much inbetween =)

ATaco

I spend too long thinking about character motivations and such.

"Sure I'm an Outlander Rogue, but what DRIVES me..."

Mike Q

@ATaco Same here, but for different reasons. I'm too accustomed to systems with more in-depth character customization, so I cannot help but consider all possible builds.

"I'm only level 4 now, but what about my level 12 choices?"

Miniman

01:54

@ATaco If you don't care much about the character, it's easy enough.

ATaco

I can't help but care :(

Joel Harmon

02:27

I think the level character you make is also very important to the amount of time you spend.

Shalvenay

hey there @JoelHarmon

Joel Harmon

hey @Shalvenay , how are things?

Shalvenay

@nitsua60 you around to talk on Discord some?

@JoelHarmon alright here, could use some help workshopping a potential Stack Q tho

Joel Harmon

@Shalvenay Shoot.

Shalvenay

@JoelHarmon "what are the advantages and pitfalls of presenting stereotypes to a new player, especially as a DM who prefers to not espouse those stereotypes?"

working on a 1on1 for a new RPer in D&D 5e, and was thinking about breaking the pastoralist Orcs out, but not sure if breaking that strongly with the stereotypes would be troublesome

Joel Harmon

02:36

I think you'd need a system on there at the very least

Shalvenay

@JoelHarmon in my instance, D&D 5e

Joel Harmon

Yeah, I see that now. Sorry.

I think it would end up too broad, because there are so many things to be stereotyped; race, class, monster, background...

Shalvenay

@JoelHarmon in this case it's race/monster stereotypes

Joel Harmon

If you keep it focused on your Pastorcs, then I think that would be narrow enough, sure.

And be prepared for questions about your friend's experience. For example, many more people have watched Lord of the Rings than have played D&D [citation needed], so that might be a good baseline to compare to.

Shalvenay

@JoelHarmon yeah, I'm kind of starting from a 0 here on that front

Shalvenay

03:00

hey there @Asteria

Asteria

Hey Hey @Shalvenay

Shalvenay

how're things going?

Asteria

Very TGIF in this part of the world right now....whats happening on your end?

Shalvenay

@Asteria not a whole heck of a lot. mulling over how much to stick to the stereotypes when introducing folks to RP (I'm using D&D 5e since that's what I'm comfortable running, but I suspect this is a problem that's not at all unique to D&D)

@Asteria also, kinda wondering about your genre tastes re: RP (given you mentioned that sci-fi freeform a little while ago)

Asteria

@Shalvenay well it would depend on the people playing, of course, but when I introduced new players I found that sticking to "stereotypes" allowed them to get a better grasp on what was happening, and what they should / could be doing.

Shalvenay

03:07

@Asteria yeah, I just have qualms about starting with the stereotypes in fantasy genres because of some of the uncomfortable narratives they tie into

Asteria

@Shalvenay I very, very much enjoy high fantasy, with modern fantasy also being a favorite. (99% of all books and manga I read is fantasy :P) I like sci-fi as well, but not nearly as much. If it involves guns though, I'm less interested. Can't stand them. 100% out as soon as someone mentions "mechs"

Shalvenay

hey there @Nyoze, how're things going? sorry if I missed you earlier

Nyoze

Nope, I just got on O_o

Things are busy lol

How about here?

Shalvenay

@Asteria ah, so sword and sorcery all the way, basically. I split between medium-to-high-fantasy and some SF stuff, can do modern-fantasy to some extent but can't stand supers, space-opera-fantasy (think SW), or postapoc

@Nyoze alright, quiet. take it it's not a good time for our session though?

trogdor

@Asteria I have the day off inexplicably, even though it is still Friday

Asteria

03:12

@trogdor I am jealous, from the bottom of my very soul, I am horribly, horribly jealous

trogdor

lol

Shalvenay

@Asteria I have very little exposure to literature/fictional media in general though -- which is part of the reason I prefer to establish my own path instead of sticking to the tropes

trogdor

I never used to get this day off before

Asteria

@Shalvenay I don't personally miiiiiind postapoc, as long as it's done right. I'm with you on the space opera though

trogdor

but at this current place I do

next Friday I rejoin the huddled masses though

so there is no true escape XD

Shalvenay

03:13

@Asteria SW bugs me to all heck because their view of space combat would get wrecked by anyone competent at electronic warfare

Because. Of. Falcon. 'nuff said.

Asteria

@trogdor we'll be awaiting your return.....to this miserable abyss..

trogdor

I dread it, and all is right

Shalvenay

@Asteria I'm used to a far less operatic approach to space if you will. playing (and RPing) a hardcore explorer in EVE Online for years will do that to you

Nyoze

Eve :\

Asteria

@Shalvenay oh man, yeah, those were years wasted

Shalvenay

03:18

@Asteria oh, I have some quite fond memories of those days. ran with a pretty fantastic bunch of folks on the whole. even got to make a couple of cameo appearances in blogposts, and "I was there" at footnotes in ingame history

@Asteria I don't really do mechs either, but that's because tracks tend to work better. modern-fantasy is interesting to me as sort of a "worlds collide" sort of thing, tho, btw -- I tend to be attracted to that theme in general

Asteria

@Shalvenay worlds colliding is a pretty interesting idea...unfortunately I don't have a lot of experience in similar areas. And I don't dislike mechs for any noble reason. Heck, they could be the most effective to battle / transport ect and I would still hate them.

Stupid robot monkey suits

Nyoze

Robot monkey suits are the best though :O

Shalvenay

@Asteria drops Daenrys and Drogon into the Orchard Field penalty box, in the middle of a "can't see your hand in front of your nose" blizzard

Asteria

@Nyoze nonononononono

Mike Q

@Shalvenay You can still expose yourself to the existing literature/media without falling into tropes. If anything, it can educate you on how to avoid tropes, and can make you more aware of unintentional cliches.

Shalvenay

03:26

@MikeQ no, that's not the reason I don't have much media exposure -- I have trouble setting aside reality-rules for story-genre-rules, and that makes me have trouble understanding how fictional characters behave

Asteria

@Shalvenay I recognize the names, but I can safely say that I've never read GOT and I only watch half of the first episode before being grossed out

Shalvenay

@Asteria trust me -- Daenrys and Drogon would be most confused at what was going on around them

Mike Q

Spoiler alert for worlds colliding: Jon Snow's mother is actually EVA unit 01

Shalvenay

considering what Orchard Field actually is...xD (tip, plug it into Wikipedia :)

Asteria

@MikeQ flips table

Shalvenay

03:33

@Asteria -- did you figure out what place I was referring to, btw?

Asteria

@Shalvenay no :c I am le silly

Mike Q

59

Q: Why does Chicago O'Hare have a penalty box?

I was reading this post: What information does a pilot have about aircraft operating on an intersecting runway? and noticed this on the map: (airnav.com) Why is a "penalty box" marked on the map? What is it? What is it used for?

airport

Asteria

@MikeQ oh my

Shalvenay

@Asteria -- one of my other strong traits in fantasy work is to "normalize the supernatural"

the dragon that just walked into the cave you're camping in for the night might just be trying to sit out a line of storms while headed to visit their best friend's hatchling-shower :)

Asteria

@Shalvenay Pictures of said hatchling required by uhh....law....for cuteness...purposes.

ATaco

03:46

Do... Do the hatchlings have stats..?

Shalvenay

@ATaco ...why do you ask? :P

ATaco

Clutches +4 sword of dragon slaying behind his back

Shalvenay

:P

hey there @GreySage

@Asteria :D

Mike Q

@Shalvenay I would half-agree. The supernatural doesn't need to be "normalized", depending on the setting, but at least it should be somewhat consistent

Shalvenay

04:01

@MikeQ yeah, the way I see it is more that "dragons, lycans, etal have lives too :)"

Mike Q

So no incredulous comments of "Dragons? In Skyrim?" by the immortal council of cat-man wizards

Shalvenay

"You come across Mama Werewolf taking her puppies out hunting deer in the forest"

Mike Q

Ah, you mean as in fleshing them out and giving them functional lives

Shalvenay

@MikeQ yup

Mike Q

As opposed to the standard full-time job of standing idly in locked dungeons and waiting for heroes to come and kill you

ATaco

04:03

It's easy to normalize the same way you normalize other races

Shalvenay

@MikeQ exactly

Nyoze

Do Werewolfs actualy have puppies? O_o

Shalvenay

@Nyoze that's the term I use for "what you get when mommy werewolf and daddy werewolf get together and have kids" :)

ATaco

I have no idea where werewolves come from in forgotten realms.

Other than by the curse.

Mike Q

@Shalvenay It's all part of making the world dynamic and interesting, as opposed to a video-game world of static characters, where only the players are capable of any form of action

Shalvenay

04:07

@MikeQ aye :)

ATaco

Would a Werewolf (In human form) and a human create a cursed child?

Shalvenay

@ATaco interesting point -- I generally see lycanthropy as "it is what it is" more than a curse even

Nyoze

Dynamic and interesting is great and fantastic, but when you're a PC roaming through a world of supernatural beings who we've been trained to believe just want to kill us... Providing children of creatures you would assume you would want to kill could be... Weird.

I don't know... I get that Werewolves have to come from somewhere, but my understanding of werewolves is as bloodthirsty killers when shifted. Running into a werewolf child in a game would not be comfortable for me.

Shalvenay

@Nyoze yeah, whereas I'm uncomfortable with going that far in denying a sentient free will in that way, basically

Nyoze

Werewolves have always been a sore spot with me though... I understand that while human, they have no idea/no control over their wolf form, but... Something has to be done to protect people. If we've got wolves running around murdering who they see fit, what's to stop everyone else?

Mike Q

04:13

Alternatively @Nyoze, introducing were-kids could be a neat way to humanize some of the "monsters", and normalize them as regular ol creatures -- it makes the PCs hesitate before defaulting to murderhobo mode

Nyoze

As long as I'm not expected to kill mommy and daddy werewolf latter, and leave the children stranded with no one to teach them not to eat people... Maybe.

Shalvenay

@Nyoze the way I see it, werewolves would be going after easier things to eat than humans, or "Why aren't you after me?" "You see, stags don't exactly going around silvering their antlers..."

it's also more in line with what wound up happening to the wolves who weren't afraid of humans way back when IRL...

Nyoze

Honestly, are stags really easier then humans? I mean... I get, the average adventurer would be enough to scare off a werewolf, but how many villages have adventures just laying around?

Mike Q

It would be a unique diplomacy/intimidate opportunity. "Look, if you try to eat me and my friends, your kids will probably get hurt in the process, and we don't want that. How about we instead team up and hunt some wild boars?"

Shalvenay

@Nyoze well, maybe not adventurers, but hunters, guards, those sorts of folks

Nyoze

04:15

Unless human's are expecting trouble, they've got a much better chance of catching/eating a human then about 80% of other animals in the forest.

A stag with those wicked antlers is going to hurt. A human out picking berries on the other hand?

Mike Q

@Nyoze Except most other forest animals don't have swords, armor, and fireballs. Or silver.

Shalvenay

@MikeQ exactly -- and they aren't going to adapt nearly as rapidly as humans can

(or any other humanoid specie for that matter)

Nyoze

Again. How many humans have swords, armor, and fireballs? I guess it all depends on the campaign and the world.

Mike Q

Actually, instituting any sort of survival instinct in hostile NPCs can result in atypical encounters. Instead of mindlessly fighting to the death, they may try to flee or negotiate. It would at least be a cool change of pace from the regular combat rhythm.

Shalvenay

@MikeQ yeah, I remember the "get out of Dodge gobbo" quite well from one dungeon I ran for Nitsua :)

(it was a goblin in a random gen dungeon -- instead of wanting a fight though -- it just wanted out of the place, and took off as soon as it had the chance)

@Nyoze you're forgetting about the zillion and two ways one can improvise weaponry

or traps of various sorts for that matter

Nyoze

04:20

Yeah... That's true.

Shalvenay

again, something your average forest animal isn't going to be up to

Mike Q

Unless the forest animals are actually balefully polymorphed sorcerers

Shalvenay

@MikeQ hahaha :P

Mike Q

Funny story about that, actually...

Miniman

@Shalvenay You can improvise as much as you want, whatever you cobble together out of sticks is not going to be as dangerous as an animal defending itself with hooves and horns.

Mike Q

04:27

Dunno if you're familiar with the spell Baleful Polymorph from 3.5/PF @Shalvenay

Shalvenay

@Nyoze interestingly enough -- modern-fantasy type stuff is actually less favorable to supernatural creatures basically having the run of the place and picking off humans at will

@MikeQ a bit, go on

Mike Q

It's slightly different than the 5e equivalent. The important part here is, there's two saves. The 1st save is for whether or not the target takes the shape of an animal. If they fail, then the 2nd save is for whether or not they maintain their mental and spell-like abilities.

And that the caster doesn't immediately know whether or not the target fails the 2nd save.

So I'm in a game where we're on this island of horrific ethereal creatures that like to assault our minds and cast insta-kill spells

We realized that, rather than try to defeat them with conventional weapons, it was much easier for the party druid to Baleful Polymorph them into little forest critters

Shalvenay

@Nyoze the environmental threats in a modern-fantasy setting are far less favorable to the supernatural creatures, basically -- a werewolf is not going to have happy time of things if they wander onto the local airport ramp and find themselves getting sucked uncontrollably towards the engine of a 777 sitting there waiting for a gate...

Mike Q

The end result being a forest of cute chipmunks and raccoons and baby deer etc., each of which could be capable of magically killing you, but there was no way to tell in advance

Shalvenay

@MikeQ oh dear

never mind walking into a humped railcar...

Mike Q

04:34

The point being, it would make sense for predators to target human(oid)s if the other wildlife was an even bigger threat

Shalvenay

@MikeQ yeah, that'd be a pretty crazy island to be on in general

Mike Q

Oh. Huh. Apparently the GM missed this tidbit: "Incorporeal or gaseous creatures are immune to baleful polymorph"

Shalvenay

@MikeQ oops!

Nyoze

05:09

Huh...

I've never actually played in modern fantasy before come to think of it

BESW

Welp, Worlds of Adventure for Fate may fall victim to The Great Patreon Flat Fee Fiasco.

trogdor

yeah Just read that

just so cool, yep

BESW

05:47

These underwater 'crop circles' (found in the waters off Japan) are caused by male pufferfish trying to attract mates. (Photo: Yoji Ookata)

Tweeted by NaturelsWeird on December 7, 2017 at 6:00 PM

Fan Michael Wolf blogs about his experience picking up Fate Accelerated again and using it to run a Fallout game. You can read a bit about how it went, and download a cool Fallout-skinned character sheet here: http://www.stargazersworld.com/2017/12/06/fate-accelerated-and-fallout/

Tweeted by EvilHatOfficial on December 7, 2017 at 5:22 PM

doppelgreener

09:19

@BESW @trogdor Sleep has been good this week; I can join you tomorrow if geek night's on. :)

BESW

09:44

@doppelgreener Hooray!

BESW

10:09

This question assumes that the only way for an elf's environment to give them fire resistance is to live on a forested volcano.

I suggest a frame challenge in the form of eucalyptus elves.

doppelgreener

10:21

@BESW That would be quite a good frame challenge.

BESW

I don't know anything about the setting, so I couldn't speak to the plausibility of eucalyptus trees in it.

But now I kinda want to have eucalyptus elves in one of my games.

I assume that they set themselves on fire before entering battle.

...and possibly also at birthdays.

doppelgreener

For those who might want to write such an answer: the Australian bushlands are one of a few ecosystems around the world (from what I gather) that include totally burning down as part of an annual renewal cycle. Plants grow to a great extent, then start shedding loose dry bark, leaves, and branches; grass turns brown and keeps all its nutrients deep in the roots; Eucalyptus trees themselves are absolutely full of highly flammable oil.

The end goal of all of this is to maximize the chance that the ecosystem is maximizing its chance that the hot summer sun and dry weather conditions will start a fire that burns everything down. Then after the fire's swept through, the plants start regenerating again and the cycle begins anew.

BESW

There are other plants with "burning" as a necessary part of their life cycle, but eucalyptus forests are the best at it.

doppelgreener

These ecosystems rely on fire so much that, really, if the fire never sweeps through, plants like that grass will never regenerate. They'll just stay brown, waiting...

BESW

Fire ecology

Fire ecology is a scientific discipline concerned with natural processes involving fire in an ecosystem and the ecological effects, the interactions between fire and the abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem, and the role of fire as an ecosystem process. Many ecosystems, particularly prairie, savanna, chaparral and coniferous forests, have evolved with fire as an essential contributor to habitat vitality and renewal. Many plant species in fire-affected environments require fire to germinate, establish, or to reproduce. Wildfire suppression not only eliminates these species, but also the...

doppelgreener

10:25

Meanwhile the animals just high-tail it out of there.

BESW

There's a pine tree in southern California whose seeds are trapped in resin that needs fire temperatures to melt and release the seed.

doppelgreener

Whoa, impressive. So whenever the seed actually gets released, it'll be released into a bed of dirt and ash.

BESW

Yeah. A lot of plants do that, actually.

(Also, the resin helps them avoid being eaten by beetles.)

In many places, low-growing plants rely on fires to keep shade trees from stealing all their light.

trogdor

Yep heard of this stuff before

Nature be weirding

@doppelgreener far as I know it is :P

doppelgreener

and D&D be in need of elves that for some reason have decided to live in a place that burns down every few seasons

BESW

10:40

@doppelgreener The Eucalyptus Elf anthem is probably Beso Negro's "Burn it Down" (NSFW language).

trogdor

11:03

Burn it Down is pretty sweet

doppelgreener

I prefer Burn Down For What by Siz'l John

kviiri

11:20

This Elf is on Fireeeee

BESW

BTW, don't forget our marathon of fire stunts.

kviiri

> You're fired! When someone is On fire, you can spend a Fate point to have them leave the scene in a manner of their choosing.

I didn't find anything glittery to put on for today's pikkujoulu party, so I bought a set of LED Christmas lights and will wear them under my jacket. When the time comes, I'll open my jacket and light up like a Christmas tree.

> Fire in the Disco! You can dance to set your immediate surroundings On fire. When Creating an Advantage with this ability, take +2 to your roll.

doppelgreener

11:36

> Danger! High Voltage! Because you have superpowers to channel lightning, each scene, place a free invoke on your superpower aspect. As long as it has two or more free invokes, you can be compelled to have your powers start discharging on their own and doing bad things.

(Free invokes on a superpower aspect in this theoretical supers game would only be useable in an action actually involving your superpower.)

trogdor

@doppelgreener hehehe

kviiri

Is naming stunts an actual Fate thing or just a meme here? (I like it a lot and will adopt it when I get to play)

trogdor

oh naming stunts is a thing

BESW

Well, you need some way to refer to the thing you're talking about at the table.

trogdor

I was going to say you have to name stunts, but that isn't the right thing to say

BESW

11:42

The Fate Core rules don't say anything specific about naming stunts, but all the example stunts in every version of Fate I've ever seen are named, and it's obvious the designers have as much fun naming them as we do.

trogdor

more like,... I don't know what else you would do for stunt shorthand

kviiri

@trogdor I was thinking along the lines of "I have this stunt that lets me..." but that's a bit unwieldy if one has a large amount of stunts.

BESW

Our chat stunts do tend to be over-elaborate, both in names and in mechanics.

kviiri

Ah yes, now that I checked again the FAE example stunts are also named.

BESW

@kviiri Most Fate games give each PC between three and five stunts.

trogdor

11:43

@kviiri yeah my point is exactly the unwieldy part

doppelgreener

@BESW that's part of what makes them so fun to make 8)

My last couple of fate characters have been made with no more than maybe one stunt though, so I fill them out as I go. It's remarkable how few stunts I actually need to do ... anything at all that I'd want.

BESW

Aspect permissions are pretty cool.

kviiri

@BESW They're also very inspiring now that I understand Fate a bit better myself.

BESW

...I really do want to try running that TMNT skill-less game.

kviiri

> Best served cold. When you have a consequence, gain +2 to all Attacks against anyone who you hold reasonable for causing them.

doppelgreener

11:51

I made an alchemist character and we talked a lot about what kinds of stunts we might need to make it work before we got into the game -- then BESW and I decided to just go with this: "let's just say you're an alchemist, and you have an alchemy skill, which means you can do anything alchemist-y as long as you have a minute or so to draw the transmutation circles." Then there was fate points for other stuff (can't recall).

kviiri

@doppelgreener Sounds cool!

doppelgreener

But between an aspect, fate points, and a single skill, I didn't run across any need for stunt support.

kviiri

Alchemy is one of those hard things for me, traditionally. I don't know how I'd implement it in a DnD-like game at all.

...without it being "just another spellcaster X" type.

...or maybe worse, "best when not on adventures at all".

BESW

We did stuff like "Spend a fate point to say that you have the right alchemical object in your satchel" and "Roll Alchemy to understand the metaphysical logic behind this magical nonsense."

kviiri

In Dungeon World, there's the Wizard who has ritual magic (similar to AW's Savvyhead) - basically "you get to do anything, but the GM tells you the cost involved".

That would work for an alchemist, but it's already taken :)

So if I were to implement one in DW or AW, I'd probably borrow Apocalypse World's 1e's extended playbook Hoarder instead.

BESW

11:56

A lot of it was about how an alchemist is a polymath chemist who pushes the edge of the supernatural, so she had good logic and science skills that she could apply to things that would normally make scientists weep.

So she could do things like apply the Greek science of the humors to a situation to achieve actual results.

kviiri

Nice!

Fits well with that thing I often mention, "IRL wizards in fantasy universes" :)

BESW

That campaign had a broad aesthetic notion that magic was nonsense, but logical nonsense.

kviiri

@BESW That sounds awesome :)

> Roast me. When you are insulted as a part of a mental attack and your mild consequence slot is empty, you can take Roasted as a mild consequence. if you do so, gain one free invoke on it.

(yes, I'm coming up with stunts for a combat chef superhero)

BESW

For example, we discovered that portals in time and space are created wherever there's a particular combination of crystalline vibrations and electromagnetic fluctuations intersecting with leylines.

So we had our psychic swordsman meditate on the ornamental crystal rocks embedded in the golf course to change their vibration frequencies, and the portal closed. The tricky part was timing it so he closed the portal immediately after the rest of the party shooed the pteronodon back to its own time.

kviiri

I like the tropes that in worlds with magic and other forces we'd consider supernatural, mathematics and astronomy are ways to approach the magic.

BESW

12:07

The Atomic Robo comics were a big inspiration for our campaign.

Later on in the same campaign we explored a setting that's basically an homage to He-Man and the Masters of Umdaar... which we justified as the remnants of an ancient Atlantean outpost left to itself for thousands of years, where "magic" swords are used to interface with outpost's mechanical systems.

eg, "Sword of Omens, give me sight beyond sight!" is how you interface with the security surveillance systems.

Also it was all USB/Linux compatible because Trogdor's PC had spent a while lost in time and space during the previous adventure, so he spent a fate point to say that he'd done some time in Atlantis and consulted on the outpost's design.

(That way our PC who specialized in modern tech could still be useful for that adventure.)

One of the big showdown moments was a fight between the tech-specialist PC and a technomage ghost, for control of the outpost's AI.

@kviiri I've got an idea for a PC that I've never had a chance to play: she's an astronomer who's convinced she's discovered how the alignment of planets and stars relates to dark matter so that seemingly impossible micro-events can be predicted and taken advantage of.

So she studies the stars and planets and manipulates local situations so that the dark matter effects make Weird Things happen according to her desires.

But of course in reality she's just channeling Cthulhuian powers and unwittingly becoming a priestess of Beings From Beyond Time And Space.

in Fate chat and game room, Dec 19 '14 at 2:34, by BESW

She had no idea that she was a warlock, instead believing her powers came from her understanding and manipulation of practical astrology. The quirk where she occasionally says "fish" instead of whatever she means to say? What are you talking about? She's perfectly fish.

kviiri

Heh

My favorite warlock concept is a somewhat gimmicky person who believes they (and everyone else) are just characters in a tabletop role-playing game and that they receive their powers from the player and their GM, who act as their joint patrons.

BESW

12:24

> Fishful thinking. You get +2 when casting spells directly related to sea life.

kviiri

Hmm, note to self: run a horror game where a villain uses vile magic to teleport to our world. Describe their approach to the game room. Have some accomplice knock on the door right when I describe them arriving.

BESW

@kviiri Check out Uranium Chef.

The Tarot Card Deck Designed by Salvador Dalí https://goo.gl/eF7J08

Tweeted by openculture on December 7, 2017 at 8:39 PM

kviiri

@BESW Looks nice!

Jeez, I've been trying to learn Arimaa but I keep losing to bots.

Playing against humans is so much easier somehow.

BESW

The amazing larvae of the trilobite beetle! (Photo: Nicky Bay)

Tweeted by Strange_Animals on December 7, 2017 at 8:00 PM

trogdor

13:22

@BESW this exists ?!?!?!??!!

ATaco

14:21

Setting up a gauntlet of traps encounters and puzzles is just so much fun.

GreySage

16:17

I got 200+ rep yesterday, but unfortunately they were spread across the date change so no badge progress for me :(

Mike Q

16:36

@GreySage Is that for the legendary badge?

GreySage

Epic first, but yes

Right now I'm at 1/50 :(

Mike Q

Considering how most users are at 0/50, a 1/50 isn't something to be ashamed of

GreySage

Interesting, the only badges never awarded are tenacious and unsung hero

Mike Q

When it says total, does that mean total answers of the user?

nitsua60

17:06

the user's total

Alphaeus

Afternoon folks

nitsua60

@MikeQ description here:

222

A: List of all badges with full descriptions

Answer Badges Return to Top Enlightened silver; awarded multiple times Be the first person to answer a question, and receive a score of at least ten for that answer. The answer must be accepted by the question owner, and it mustn't be a self-accept. Explainer bronze; awarded once Edit...

Alphaeus

18:21

@MaikoChikyu WEW Finished with the first run.

docs.google.com/document/d/…

Comments are enabled on here

Empires Arising -- Tabletop Pseudo-RTS Game

Btw, ANYONE who wants to take a look I ask to do so for feedback

I kept it simple, and the biggest concern I have is making sure things are clear.

Maiko Chikyu

19:52

Looks awesome

Alphaeus

Just started, or have you been reading it?

Maiko Chikyu

I am reading it atm

Alphaeus

Cool Cool

Any thoughts/questions just toss into comments

I think guests can do that too

A_S00

@GreySage I don't really understand why these badges exist. Under what circumstances would you accept an answer and not upvote it? Is there a different culture around upvoting on other stacks that makes these relevant?

...wtf Unsung Hero has been awarded 17k+ times on SO. Do people there not believe in upvoting?

BESW

20:13

@A_S00 "Zero score" is not the same as "never upvoted."

A_S00

Yeah good point. I wonder if most of them are never upvoted, or like, slightly controversial?

GreySage

@A_S00 Like someone said, they probably are in obscure tags where people lurk with vendettas

If only 3 people see your answer, and one downvotes you no matter what, it would be easy to be at 0

A_S00

oh god

Alphaeus

Blegh

BESW

21:09

Did you want a hard copy of Bluebeard's Bride, but missed out on the Kickstarter? YOUR TIME HAS COME. Grab the most gorgeous RPG book ever made. http://www.magpiegames.com/product/bluebeards-bride-hardcoverpdf/

Tweeted by the_strix on December 8, 2017 at 6:23 PM

Miniman

22:11

@A_S00 On SO it's common enough for the only person who sees an answer to be the one who asked the question, and it's extremely common for the people who ask questions to not have enough rep to vote.

Nuloen The Seeker

22:38

Hello, I have a question. - If a creature (a fext for example) is weak against a weapon from unusual materials (glass in my example). How can I explain this weakness? Where do these weaknesses come from? (how are they created in folklore?)

Alphaeus

^^This question might be better asked in the RPG.Stackexchange itself

Since you can get more detailed answers from more people there

Nuloen The Seeker

I looked for glass, weakness, vulnerability, special materials, still no luck

And the question is opinion based and its more than one question...

GreySage

@NuloenTheSeeker This sounds like a WorldBuilding.SE question to me

BESW

22:56

Mythology for real-world origins of the folklore; Worldbuilding for inventing new internally consistent justifications.

A_S00

23:12

@Miniman makes sense, I forgot there was a rep requirement for upvoting.

Maiko Chikyu

Guys have you guys ever built an intelligent item character in D&D 3.5

Nuloen The Seeker

How is that different from other RPGs?

GreySage

@MaikoChikyu I've never run or run into an intelligent item in my games, but honestly they just sound like extra complication.

Nuloen The Seeker

The most important thing about any magic item is its lore.(otherwise players are not interested, at least from my experience). What item are you trying to make?

Maiko Chikyu

A magic staff. Also it's not for DM'ing. I will be playing the staff

Nuloen The Seeker

23:27

Ohh, thats different then :D

BESW

I've done a few things like that, but not for a very long time.

Especially in D&D 3.5, that was a good while ago.

Umm. Had a bard with intelligent bagpipes. A lich who used silent and still spells to cast while confined to her phylactery.

Maiko Chikyu

I was inspired by a villain in my friends campaign.

BESW

Ran a whole campaign where the main goal was to create an intelligent sword by trapping a sorcerer's soul in it.

Maiko Chikyu

Imagine losing a fight and having your weapon looted but then the weapon starts flooding your bedroom with summoned monsters.

BESW

(Well, the original goal was to use an archon, but the PCs flubbed that mission and the sorcerer was the next best target. So they spent the whole campaign grooming him for compatibility, and the final confrontation was to kill him in a way that got the soul into the sword.)

(Unfortunately they didn't count on the sword immediately dominating the warlock who wanted to wield it, and forcing the warlock to attack the rest of the party while calling fireballs down on himself.)

Maiko Chikyu

23:30

XD

My friends group killed the evil wizard and took it's staff as loot. They placed in their fort's armory and later that night they woke up to find their armory flooded with monsters.

BESW

More recently I statted up the Bowler's Ball using Atomic Robo rules.

> THE BOWLER'S BALL (hardware)
Function: Magical bowling ball
Flaw: Haunted by a recalcitrant ghost
Effect: You must use Rapport instead of Athletics to bowl with this ball, but you may also use it to attack with Rapport as if using Combat. Any successful roll you make to use this ball gains 2 shifts of effectiveness.

Nuloen The Seeker

@Maiko Chikyu Well, did your DM approve it? Did he told you about any limitations? will you be able to move? speak? otherwise interact? Will you need to feed somehow?

Maiko Chikyu

He approved of it. He also allowed me to have a level 1 commoner as my cohort.

Nuloen The Seeker

So the commoner allows you to move?

Maiko Chikyu

He said my cohort could do the gestures and words part of spells for me but i'm trying to find a solution where i will be useful even if he is killed.

BESW

23:33

I'm not sure D&D 3.5 is really a system which can effectively support that character concept.

Nuloen The Seeker

Or you could go the other way and make him your apprentice :)

BESW

Not unless the whole campaign is designed around the conceit, like the time I ran a "misfits and dysfunctionals" campaign.

(It featured the dwarven bard with negative charisma and his intelligent bagpipes, the wizard who wanted to be an archer so badly he developed a mental block and could only cast spells by imbuing them into arrows, the raised-by-wolves ranger who only knew a number of words in Common equal to his Intelligence score...)

Maiko Chikyu

Lol

Nuloen The Seeker

@MaikoChikyu I would not see a problem with allowing you to cast the spells yourself. But if you would not be held, you would probably have a disadvantage, or a highter chance to hit something else.

BESW

Anyway:

- Some intelligent items can speak out loud, which would let you use verbal components.
- Not all spells require verbal *or* somatic components, much less both. Focus your spells known on those.
- Spell-like and supernatural abilities, even those which mimic spells, do not require somatic, verbal, or material components.

Nuloen The Seeker

23:45

Or there could always be a quest that allows you to do new stuff (or should i say staff ;) ) Did you figure out what will be you primary motivation as a staff? Magic items only have a few motivations/purposes they follow.

One of them could be to make yourself more independent.

Maiko Chikyu

Well my character was created by an evil necromancer but before he could dominate the world he was killed by the heroes so his main purpose at the moment is to find a purpose.

Nuloen The Seeker

OH, just wanted to mention this.

you could use raise dead, so your minions could carry you around

you are a necromancers staff after all

GreySage

@NuloenTheSeeker Create Undead!

Nuloen The Seeker

Have not seen those books in a while, sorry

... or was that a response from somemone who thinks dead carcases have some value? (well other than being very convenient soul containers)

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