TRPG General Chat

12:00 AM

@Glazius That's moving the goalposts, since you originally said that taking the class means it's reasonable to assume that the player cares about the IWA staying safe.

(And again, if the player took the class for mechanical reasons then the RP of it only matters if the GM ties the IWA's continuance to continued access to the mechanics of the class.)

Real-life example: I've taken classes with very specific lore attached to them, but knew the GM wouldn't care and neither did I, I just liked the mechanics and we ignored the setting lore for the class entirely.

In general, it's better to have direct conversations between game participants than to try to guess what each other wants based on our game choices.

Every choice can have any of a myriad motives behind it.

trogdor

12:18 AM

Yeah it's much better, gasp shock, to talk to the real existing person about what they want rather than assuming you can look at the fake character in some way to figure it out

XD

KorvinStarmast

@Xirema That ruling makes the most sense to me

Shalvenay

1:09 AM

@BESW yeah -- unfortunately, some environments discourage that sort of metadiscussion

BESW

I discourage those environments.

user15026

1:53 AM

@Shalvenay That sounds like the opposite of fun, to me

2

trogdor

I 20000010 percent have to agree with that statement

What someone wants out of thier game really shouldn't be determined solely from what mechanical choices they have made

BESW

Been there, done that, the T-shirt doesn't fit.

user15026

Pretty much.

trogdor

@BESW Same

Like I said, pretty sure I did used to do that and I don't want to go back there

Well I didn't do it deliberately but

user15026

That would just add so many awful layers to my already knee deep piles of "oh god I have to choose things and create things and stick things together" anxieties that RPG stuff tends to give me

trogdor

2:00 AM

I did make the assumption that mechanical choices encompassed what I wanted

BESW

You were definitely in games where the DM acted like that, because I was that DM.

trogdor

@Ash and it's a problem easily fixed,once you know you are doing it you can just stop by not making the assumption

user15026

nods As long as you get to that point, yeah

trogdor

@BESW I didn't know any better either though

user15026

But there has to be room for that sort of discussion

nitsua60

2:02 AM

One of the best pieces of advice I received, while engaged (from a long-married couple who were at the same tux shop as us): "never ask anyone else for advice. If you two can't figure it out yourselves, you're done anyway."
I'm not saying it's an absolute truth, but it's been a really useful *mindset* for me and the missus.

trogdor

@Ash yes but,... I wouldn't want to join a group where there wasn't room for that discussion

user15026

@trogdor Agreed, 100000%

trogdor

Hehe

Yes let the irrational percentage flow through you

user15026

@nitsua60 I think a lot of that sort of questioning is like...people just being so terrified of communication. :(

Peter Cooper Jr.

I have the challenge of DMing where a player (my 10-year-old daughter) isn't good at verbalizing what aspects of gaming she's having fun doing, even when I try to ask "What was your favorite part?" and "What do you want to do more of next session?" We're certainly willing to have the discussion, but not everyone is good at self-analysis and figuring out why they're having fun.

And while some of that may come with more maturity, I suspect in general a lot of adults aren't the best at self-analysis either

trogdor

2:04 AM

I always thought my stereotypical gym teacher who used to be a drill sergeant wasn't taking it far enough with just 110%

@PeterCooperJr. but at least it sounds like you are trying

user15026

@PeterCooperJr. Verbalizing that stuff is hard. (Mind you I find verbalizing what I liked hard all of the time, which is why my SO and I tend to do "what didn't you like" instead or "what don't you want" because somehow that is easier?

trogdor

I admit maybe I assume it's easier to accomplish than it actually is for some people, but that doesn't mean you just shouldn't make any effort right?

nitsua60

@Ash You mean the people who ask such questions? Yeah, could be.

user15026

@nitsua60 yeah, like...fear of "what if I say the wrong thing" sorts of wobbles

nitsua60

Though I'm also sensitive to the approach "this has really high stakes, lemme poke around and see what the universe of possibilities looks like."

user15026

2:09 AM

(which can come from all sorts of places)

nitsua60

(Even though it's not, personally, for me.)

user15026

@nitsua60 yeah, I tend to think of these more as "I am not sure how this could go, so maybe I will ask for ideas of that thing"

nitsua60

@Ash The one thing I've found gets rid of that fear: taking a job where you have to speak in front of people all day, every day. (Because you will make mistakes, and eventually you either get over the fear or wash out.)

user15026

@nitsua60 I work in mainly phone based tech support, so that's helped some

trogdor

@nitsua60 urg I would haaaate that

@Ash also that

user15026

2:11 AM

@trogdor I don't love it per se but right now, it pays the bills, so it does well enough.

trogdor

I can hardly hardly phone calls or the occasional presentation

@Ash tis fair

I definitely don't like a whole room full of people paying exclusive attention to me though

Glazius

2:29 AM

@PeterCooperJr. Deliberately echoing roses and thorns/stars and wishes there, or just covergent evolution?

Peter Cooper Jr.

@Glazius I'm not catching whatever reference you're making.

Glazius

...that's not right.

@PeterCooperJr. Roses and Thorns, Stars and Wishes

Peter Cooper Jr.

Not intentionally from any formal "structure" like that, though I'm sure I was significantly influenced by a suggestion I'd heard (probably from some friends at church?) that a good question to ask children at the dinner table to spur conversation is "What was your favorite part of the day?", rather than something more generic like "How was your day?"

As rather than a generic answer, it helps direct toward something specific that can inspire further discussion & conversation

Though one can get just as much "I don't know"s either way :)

More a trying-to-get-something-out-of-my-kids technique rather than a how-to-get-something-out-of-my-players technique, though I suspect that there can be a lot of overlap.

Glazius

2:51 AM

@PeterCooperJr. Roses and thorns seemed pretty standard when I was running Games on Demand, which is why I asked.

BESW

May 11 '16 at 2:30, by BESW

- What do you want to see more of?
- What don't you want to see again?
- What would you like to add?
- What would you like to change?

trogdor

@PeterCooperJr. yeah I was going to say, I doubt it has as much with how you asked the question as with wether the kid in question has anything to talk about or is in the mood to

Peter Cooper Jr.

Well, right now my D&D group consists of my brother, my oldest child, and my wife.

trogdor

Nor that I disapprove at all with trying to ask a less generic question than "how was your day"

XD

Peter Cooper Jr.

With the other kids running around causing chaos the whole time. :)

nitsua60

2:56 AM

@trogdor I think the one that would even get me would be conducting an orchestra: eighty people staring and hanging on every tiny motion and microexpression and twitch.

Peter Cooper Jr.

When a bit over a year ago I thought "Hey, I should get back into D&D", my theory was that it'd be a way to get me out of the house every once in a while. Somehow, instead I got my family hooked, and it's just a way to spend time as a family every once in a while.

trogdor

@nitsua60 I'm gonna blow your mind here, I wouldn't mind that as long as I was any good at it

nitsua60

@PeterCooperJr. We often go with "what's a kind thing you did today" or "what's something kind someone else did for you" or "what's a time today you felt sad." Partially as a directed prompt like you say, partly to try to highlight emotional (self-)awareness, partially to set the norms that yes, you will do kind things or yes, you will feel badly some times.

trogdor

There's no need for me to open my mouth, just hand and possibly small body movements

And I would get to have my back to the larger audience

nitsua60

@trogdor That's true.

trogdor

3:00 AM

For me it's eye contact and the expectation that I speak that gets me

But those musicians shouldn't be trying to hold eye contact

Peter Cooper Jr.

Though I wouldn't mind getting out of the house every once in a while either, if anybody knows of a group looking for a player in Southern Worcester County of Massachusetts. I did try going to nitsua60's place once, which was awesome but more than bit further away than I'd like for a regular group.

trogdor

If they look at me at all they should be worried about where my hands or the baton thing is

nitsua60

@PeterCooperJr. And currently my RL game's running about an hour south of me =\

If only we got one going around the centroid of you, me, and @NautArch =)

trogdor

Centroid you say

nitsua60

(It's my favorite center!)

Peter Cooper Jr.

3:05 AM

Centroid based on road-driving-distance, not actual geography or anything. Where's NautArch based out of?

trogdor

Sounds like an Android made exclusively out of the smelted remains of old coins

nitsua60

@PeterCooperJr. I forget.

Glazius

No help here, I'm Pittsburgh.

nitsua60

@PeterCooperJr. Though I'm in Shrewsbury right now--should have thought ahead and we could have met up for milk and cookies.

Glazius

At most, we've all got a common timeline to shout at each other over the internet.

..zone. Time zone.

Also hopefully timeline - Hillary's still president for you two, right?

Peter Cooper Jr.

3:07 AM

@Glazius I thought the current Open Lord was Volo something-or-other

KorvinStarmast

4:10 AM

@nitsua60 Agree with that advice.

Ben

Shalvenay

4:56 AM

hey there @MarkWells, welcome to the RPG.SE lair :)

BESW

11:08 AM

Tonight's dinner is what's-about-to-expire casserole: garlic mashed potatoes with walnuts and onion, topped with shredded cheddar and breadcrumbs, baked until the crumbs are toasty. Served with a salad of sunflower seeds, apples, and local lettuce. And for dessert, smoothies: frozen strawberries, freshly squeezed local lemons, Greek yogurt, fruit juice, and a dash of honey.

SmokeDetector

11:51 AM

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Link at end of answer (60): How can I make my broomstick fly? by Admin on rpg.SE

trogdor

12:08 PM

@BESW nice

sounds pretty good as long as it wasn't already starting to taste funny

The Oracle

12:57 PM

1

Q: How to improve/mainitain quality-of-life of small fandoms in the face of a dominant big fandom on an open Stack Exchange?

Back when I joined RPGSE, I of course noticed how big the D&D demographic is here. And at first I thought, 'Hey, I can just Ignore all the AD&D tags and Watch tags of my games and everyone has fun without negatively impacting the other'. However, then I noticed that there are effects whose source...

Xirema

3:28 PM

For some reason, reading this question, I assumed the OP meant to attack their own friend to break the charm effect, and not just, you know, attack the Vampire.

KorvinStarmast

4:27 PM

I love a happy ending

Yuuki

@KorvinStarmast General Kenobi?!

The Oracle

6:05 PM

0

Q: For general 'universe' questions, should we keep a generic 'universe' tag or tag all the various systems available for the game?

This question was spurred by an edit to this question: Avoiding plot pitfalls in Star Trek RPG which consisted solely in adding the star-trek-fasa tag. While I see why this tag was added, the OP said in a comment in one of the answers that they are using FASA's rules, the question in itself is ...

discussion tags editing

V2Blast

9:02 PM

@Yuuki Hello there!

Glazius

So there's this site called jugonestop.com that is apparently scraping and machine-translating RPG.SE. Is this a known thing?

GreySage

@Glazius By machine-translating you mean something akin to google-translate?

Glazius

Yeah.

Yuuki

You could always just post about it on the main Meta.

Or post about it on RPG.SE and see if the site goes into a recursion loop and melts.

Anaphory

9:29 PM

@Glazius It's got a serious problem, in that it does not mention the CC-BY-SA license anywhere. Without the ShareAlike part, it would be no big issue, because they attribute us on here.

@Yuuki It's definitely worth a meta post because of that.

GreySage

They also seem to scrape Arqade.SE

Anaphory

@Glazius Can you post about it on Meta? All I know is that you pointed to it, that a random post does list authors, but that I cannot find any mention of a license in their Aviso legal, but then my reading Spanish is mostly guesswork.

Glazius

@Anaphory Can do.

GreySage

I don't see anything relating to where they get their content, besides linking to users here in the SE, and claiming they're not responsible for externally created content. But then again, my level of fluidity in Spanish is mostly conversational, not legal, so I could be missing something.

It is funny to see the same expression mistranslated in multiple different ways in the same post though. "The rocks of autumn: All the world dies!"

Glazius

10:19 PM

@GreySage Yeah, conversational language doesn't go through machines too well.

RyanfaeScotland

10:50 PM

Folks, mind answering a quick question I don't know if it merits a proper Q or not (possible dupes).... (I'm away to ask it on the assumption you all say "Yeah sure, can't wait to hear it!")

Anaphory

@RyanfaeScotland Yeah sure, can't wait to hear it!

RyanfaeScotland

I've wrote my own character sheet which lays things out a way I prefer, very tabular, one of my columns for Skills is 'Passive'. Since it is a table I've calculated it for everything, but is there ever a call for everything in a passive way?

@Anaphory - nice :D

Passive Sleight of Hand? As a kleptomaniac perhaps?

Anaphory

That's not a thing I know. Are you talking D&D5e or something else?

RyanfaeScotland

I reckon the Q is a dupe because of the likes of this question: rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/50313/…

Oh yes sorry, exactly that D&D5e

(I forget this isn't just DnD exchange!)

GreySage

@RyanfaeScotland Everyone knows it is, no worries.

@RyanfaeScotland Personally I've seen Stealth and Acrobatics used passively, in addition to Perception of course. Not very often though.

RyanfaeScotland

10:59 PM

I know, but I'm courteous enough to keep up the pretence it isn't.

Oh wait, you were talking about my question... ;)

Cheers @GreySage, I kinda figured they exist in at least a theoretical way but I'm unlikely to ever need them.

Shalvenay

hey there @RyanfaeScotland, welcome to the RPG.SE lair :)

GreySage

11:18 PM

@RyanfaeScotland They are also super easy to calculate on the fly, since you just add 10 to whatever your bonus is.

RyanfaeScotland

Thanks @Shalvenay, pleasure to be here.

Ah yes @GreySage, but that relies on one remembering that that is all you do! And I assure you as someone new to DnD there is a lot of calculations that are super simple if you can remember them! :D

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