TRPG General Chat

12:00 AM

Ironically, it was only after he had been upgraded, with infra-red, audio, and an auto uplink to the Techpriest. Originally all he had was visual feedback and basic recording.

Black Spike

Heh. but not the stealth options?

My players are uber-defensive about such things ... they have recently "recruited" a drone pilot, with a bunch of drones. First thing they ask: how stealthy? Are they armoured? can they survive being spotted/attacked?

No care for capability ... that's secondary ... they're no use if they got shot down!

Shalvenay

@BlackSpike LOL. and here I am, going "aren't drones basically throwaway to some extent?"

Black Spike

@Shalvenay it's gutterpunk, so these are a valuable resource

Shalvenay

yeah, I will admit that when everything's half broken, anything that works is valuable :P

Black Spike

:)

Shalvenay

12:04 AM

(my experience with drone-y things is from EVE Online, where some folks would carry ECM drones as, basically, chaff...)

Black Spike

You play(ed) Eve? Ever listen to Eve Radio?

Shalvenay

@BlackSpike played, yes, and yes I have

Black Spike

my gf used to DJ, a few years back

Shalvenay

Auger, HangedMan/SaucyMiso, and Astov were my jam there -- even put a few requests in with Astov on occasion

Black Spike

Not my scene, don't know details. I'll ask what her DJ-name was ...

Ben

12:10 AM

@BlackSpike Didn't have the points unfortunately. And to be fair, we were pinned down inside a building, and needed eyes on their location, so he was a small target (hard to hit), but they got a lucky shot off

Black Spike

I never got in to the big online stuff. a bit of NeverWinter Nights, back in the day

Shalvenay

@BlackSpike lulz, I'm actually playing that right now

Black Spike

heh

@Ben yeah, sometimes just got to roll with it. :(

Ben

He was replaced: Eli Mk.2

Black Spike

@Shalvenay I played quite a bit on Path of Ascension servers: Higher Ground, mainly. But don't have the time to dedicate to it now

@Ben excellent!

Shalvenay

12:13 AM

@BlackSpike ah

Black Spike

(well, I suppose I could, if I didn't spend all my free time smashing my head against Java/Android, trying to write apps!)

(and if my graphics card wasn't 10 yrs old!)

Ben

@BlackSpike You freelance?

Black Spike

@Ben kinda. I'm learning to write my own apps. very simple stuff

Ben

@BlackSpike Ahh fair enough

Black Spike

RPG Utilities, so far. Random Lists. Currently working on Random Dungeon Maker (maps and contents)

Ben

12:20 AM

@BlackSpike [Intrigue intensifies]

Black Spike

Ben

Oh cool!

Black Spike

https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Mad+Dwarf+Productions
(dungeons not published yet)

#PimpMyApp

Ben

@BlackSpike Actually... This might be exactly what I need

V2Blast

I'm listening to an outdoor Yo-Yo Ma concert via someone on my D&D server streaming a bit of the audio via discord :P

Ben

12:23 AM

For both recreational and professional ventures

Black Spike

Really? cool ..

Shalvenay

@BlackSpike mind if I link you an RPG.SE question?

Ben

@BlackSpike send me an email; ben.hall89@hotmail.com, if you're interested

Black Spike

thats's cool @Ben and @V2Blast

will be tomorrow, but will do!

Shalvenay

25

Q: How can I generate multi-story random dungeons without having to do the entire random gen process by hand?

I sometimes like to use randomly generated dungeons for short-form games or when I'm trying to design something that's more intended to be a speedbump than a showpiece, if you will. However, existing random generation approaches either require a large number of manual dice rolls, or cannot gener...

@BlackSpike ^^ this is something that I'm sure other folks probably run into as well re: random dungeons

Black Spike

12:26 AM

ugh. Node-mapping. Graphs. Struggling to understand that sh't

current algae-rhythm drops a bunch of rooms, makes sure they don't overlap, then draw "Z" corridors between them. (Extra-credit: if a corridor already goes through a room, no need to 'connect' it)

JohnP

@BlackSpike python?

Black Spike

Java (for Android)

Ben

@BlackSpike Can you (or are you planning to) hide rooms, to be revealed as they become relevant?

Black Spike

@Ben not yet, but that is on the "maybe, if I get a Round Tuit" list

Ben

So @BlackSpike @MikeQ, I have a friend in the US that would be interested in to joining a DH game :)

Black Spike

12:31 AM

fog-of-war, reveal as players explore .... not yet ...

Ben

All we need now is the DM!

JohnP

@MageintheBarrel assuming they make it adulthood. That status changes hour by hour 🤣🤣🤣

Ben

@BlackSpike Yeah that's fair. Would be a cool feature :)

JohnP

@Ben dh?

Dungeon hack?

V2Blast

Dark Heresy

MikeQ

12:32 AM

Dungeons Handdragons

V2Blast

Dark Heresy (role-playing game)

Dark Heresy is a role-playing game published by Black Industries in 2008 that uses the Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay system. A second edition was published in 2014 under Fantasy Flight Games. == Description == In Dark Heresy, the player characters are agents of the Inquisition. === Gameplay === The players assume the role of a group of Acolytes working for an Inquisitor, who sends them on various missions. Depending on the type of mission, the gameplay can involve investigation, combat, intrigue, or a number of other genres. Therefore, the Game Master can tailor his campaign to suit his player group...

Black Spike

The corridors are "tagged" by "room", so I theoretically could only show "visited" rooms and corridors ...

JohnP

@V2Blast ty

Black Spike

@Ben no time for DH at the mo :(

Ben

@JohnP Dark Heresy

JohnP

12:34 AM

I want an old fashioned 1st to 20th epic continuity 5e adve ture arc.

Ben

@BlackSpike Aww shame!

MikeQ

"Old fashioned" in what sense

JohnP

Or failing that, at least a game. 😉

Ben

@JohnP Me too actually. The highest I seem to get is level 5

Though, I did have one game @lvl 20. Which was fun

Shalvenay

@JohnP I've never done 1-20 myself for that matter

JohnP

12:35 AM

@MikeQ epic continuity. Major backstory involvement. Dragons and gods, planar travel and adulation of the masses. World changing awesomeness.

Other than that, not much.

Black Spike

OK, that's an idea. reveal-as-visited. I know Rooms, and can scan for Exits. Select an Exit and show corridor until Room ... needs work, but I'm sure can be done

MikeQ

@JohnP Frame challenge: Do stories need to be about cosmic-scale consequences in order to be awesome stories?

Ben

@JohnP You and your party are the epic-entre of world changing events

(Pun intended)

MikeQ

And 1-20 is easy. Start the PCs at first level, then give them each 355000 XP worth of roleplay experience after the first scene

Black Spike

Level 6 is our Nemesis. Rolemaster taught us that. Tough enough to find major Troubles. Not tough enough to beat it! Our "Good Guys", and "Evil guys" campaigns imploded at lvl 6

linksassin

12:38 AM

@JohnP I'm currently running and playing in my first games that I hope will make it to level 20. At level 7 currently.

Black Spike

Current game they are Lvl 5. Planning to end soon (level 6!)

JohnP

@MikeQ no, not necessarily. I just get tired of groups falling apart around lvl 6ish

linksassin

@BlackSpike There's a reason that E6 exists.

Black Spike

E6?

MikeQ

@BlackSpike It's when you have two E3 conventions back-to-back

linksassin

12:39 AM

86

Q: What is E6? Why would I use it?

I've heard a number of people reference an apparently common set of houserules for D&D 3.5e and Pathfinder called E6. What do these variant rules entail? What problems are they intended to solve? If there is an "official" ruleset for it somewhere, where can I find it?

pathfinder dnd-3.5e e6

Mark Wells

@BlackSpike 3.5e, but there are no levels past 6.

AKA "the Good Parts Version" :)

Black Spike

@linksassin @MarkWells aha!

linksassin

@MarkWells Basically this. @BlackSpike It's an attempt to keep the game interesting and balanced while still telling epic stories.

Ben

@MikeQ I think I need to re-do those recounts, they're very plain, compared to my main story. Earlier accounts, and primarily just factual.

Black Spike

It's where we play, usually! not so much zero-to-hero, as zero-to-notable :D

Ben

12:41 AM

Lacking a fair bit of context.

linksassin

@BlackSpike I think I saw a stat somewhere that that is where most people play. levels 3-7 are where the majority of play time is spent.

Black Spike

@linksassin sounds familiar.

Mark Wells

@BlackSpike D&D still lacks a proper "zero", IMO

Black Spike

@MarkWells 5e maybe. You ever play oD&D? 1st level is almost-zero! :D

MikeQ

@JohnP Perhaps try a more modular approach? Trying to write a single story arc to span 1-20 can be unmanageable, because it assumes everyone is consistently available, and can take odd turns when players join or leave. 'twould be easier to build for a sequence of adventures, each spanning 2-5 levels worth of play.

Ben

12:45 AM

There are even some systems that require you to create several PCs, and the one that makes it, or survives long enough to get to level 1 is the one you play. Lol

Black Spike

@Ben yup! There was published oD&D adventure that started with a bunch of lvl 0 characters ...

Mark Wells

@Ben The Funnel. Best character creation method ever.

JohnP

@MikeQ possibly. I'm not a very good dm, it's hard for me to set environments

Mark Wells

I've run that with 5e, as "everyone is a CR 0 commoner"

Ben

@JohnP Less is more. Provide the facts first, then work on the details.

Black Spike

12:47 AM

For us, level 6 is about 18 months play, weekly. We're usually done with the campaign by then. Time to move on

linksassin

@MikeQ @JohnP This is how I am running it. There is an over-arching plot but it's more of a series of interconnected mini-arcs. Each "boss" lasts 2-3 levels and they gradually learn they are all working for the same BBEG.

Ben

@BlackSpike This

linksassin

If things change between arcs that's ok. As they are each self-contained but have hooks to the others if the players do want to go on.

JohnP

@linksassin that sounds like a good approach.

MikeQ

I wouldn't even plan for a single end-game BBEG, or any intended BBEG. Go for something more organic. Let the conflict change over time. Have NPCs who could become antagonists, and can be interesting antagonists on their own. If they go unused in an adventure, then weave them into the followup adventure.

Black Spike

12:50 AM

Current game (gutterpunk) they started as lowly street-gangers. now they (almost) run the gang, and have wiped out 1 rival gang, and have leverage with several other gangs. They've surpassed several of their initial Goals, made more goals, and well on the way to fulfilling those ... much further would be a completely separate Campaign ...

Shalvenay

@JohnP take it you still haven't been able to get to re-reading the transcript btw?

@Ben now a better time for Discord? :)

Black Spike

(we have considered going back to the previous campaign in the same setting ... 5 years on ... "Where Are they now?")

MikeQ

Also, changing the conflicts between chapters means you can easily change up the environment, set-pieces, and themes if/when they become stale

Black Spike

@MikeQ that's how I tend to run. lots of "People" out there ... is there a Big Bad? Maybe, depends what the PCs get up to ...

There is always -someone- who will challenge the PCs plans ...

BESW

There are some game systems which are set up with that kind of episodic/emergent play as the default. Atomic Robo, Golden Sky Stories, InSpectres...

linksassin

12:54 AM

@MikeQ Depends on the game. My players wanted that epic struggle against powerful evil forces type game. A BBEG controlling things behind the scenes fit that approach. Plus one of my players but the plot hook in their backstory.

JohnP

@BESW I enjoyed changeling and a couple other same Era story type games.

BESW

In our Atomic Robo-inspired Weird World game, one PC had a secret past as a cultist. Eventually we ran into an NPC that he decided was a friend-turned-rival from his cult days, and we clashed with that NPC several times trying to foil his doomsday-related plans.

Black Spike

Tag-line for current game is "Dirty, Used and Broken". People have reasons for what they do, and not always good ones. Everyone wants their piece of the action, and they might get it by helping the PCs, opposing them, (why not both!) ... Serial Antagonists appear organically ...

BESW

Then we went off to actually stop doomsday from happening, and we succeeded but it was a near thing and the world was dramatically changed... and when we got back the old cultist friend/rival was smugly holding things together because he'd been preparing for it all along, and now we had to get along with him because our goals were more closely aligned.

Black Spike

@BESW we tend not to have "Doomsday" plots. no room for side-plots. Oh, we could do this other thing, but DOOMSDAY!!! We do the STOP-DOOMSDAY thing!

MikeQ

12:59 AM

It's also hard to follow up doomsday plots

BESW

@BlackSpike In this case, doomsday was a moon-sized object hurtling toward the sun and causing massive solar flares that were wreaking havoc on the Earth. Our first five or so adventures were about getting together the experts and equipment needed to make a spaceship that could catch up with the object.

Then we had an adventure about getting to the object, a couple of adventures on the object, and then we returned to Earth with the object (which turned out to be a broken Atlantean generation ship) in tow.

Ben

@MikeQ You find a lone, solitary boot, full of old and dry dirt, but surprisingly, a small, vibrant green sprout is poking out of the dirt

Black Spike

Can be fun. Exalted had us running all over Creation trying to stop Doomsday, and often inadvertently speeding it up. My "Demons are Teh EVIL" monk ended up summoning the BIGGEST DEMON EVAH!", to try to stop DOOMSDAY! (Only sort-of worked)

V2Blast

@Ben WALL-E? :)

BESW

So when we got back, the Earth had changed dramatically because the solar flares had destroyed a lot of the chip-based electronic infrastructure and magic and mad science had emerged to keep things from falling apart: New York is now powered by fairy lights, Korea's been re-united under the rule of a benevolent vampire empire, Oregon is a glowing magical wasteland from which few return, etc.

So the post-stopping-doomsday plot is about finding our place in this new weird world that's still figuring itself out, and a second moon is hanging in the sky full of mutated Atlantean descendants and we should probably deal with that sooner rather than later too.

Black Spike

1:03 AM

So Oregon didn't change?

BESW

It's... probably less racist now?

user15026

@BESW I like that that's uncomfirmed

Ben

@BlackSpike Actually, our Savage Wolds adventure is along those lines. "Grainiac", an inter-galactic force is heading towards earth, to destroy the "toxic influence" that is poisoning the world (i.e. humans) and aims to restore its natural balance. We know it's coming, but we don't know what it is, what it does, how it works, any of that. All we have is (a now outdated) prophecy/time traveller's recount of the event.

Black Spike

My Exalted PC was always asking things like "How's the local blacksmith doing? i heard his kid was hanging with a bad crowd. Can we fix that?"

BESW

At any rate, the way to make "stopping doomsday" plots not interrupt side plots is to have side plots that feed into stopping doomsday; and the way to follow them up is by having a doomsday that changes the status quo even when it's averted.

Ben

1:06 AM

In the meantime, the world don't stop spinning, so we gotta take care of everything else in the meantime, as well as attempting to find some way to identify information about this creaute, and how to stop it

@V2Blast Hehe :P

BESW

@BlackSpike I love games about that, too. Our first Bubblegumshoe adventure was "A kid's bike got stolen because he forgot to lock it up, so we have to get his bike back without his dad finding out."

Black Spike

@BESW I ran a cyberpunk (gutterpunk) where the payer decided the plot was to steal some kid's new trainers, and then try to sell them!

BESW

That was high stakes, we liked the kid and didn't want him to get into trouble, so we were on our own getting him justice because if we involved any adults or authorities the kid's dad would find out.

Then it turned out the bike had been stolen by a teen to use in stunt videos for youtube, and it got broken. So we couldn't just get the bike back quietly.

trogdor

@BESW that was Soo much fun to play

BESW

Ultimately we blackmailed the teen into helping repair the kid's bike or we'd post his embarrassing wipeout videos for the school to see.

Ben

1:10 AM

@BESW Harsh/10

That's just... oof… I'm shaking my head so hard right now. Low blow

BESW

He stole a kid's expensive birthday-present bike and broke it, for his own glory. We didn't feel very bad.

MikeQ

Stories tend to be more compelling when the players have personal stake in the conflict, not necessarily when the conflict is very very big

Black Spike

Mixing the scales is the tricky bit. Having a BIG THING going on, but also keeping one eye on the Little People

BESW

He didn't have any money (hence stealing the bike), so we had him put in the labor at the repair shop and use his own bike for spare parts.

Black Spike

@MikeQ maiking personal is always a good plan.

BESW

1:12 AM

@MikeQ This is something Bubblegumshoe does really well.

Black Spike

It's how I get around the PCs being so powerful ... don't threaten them .. threaten what they care about ...

BESW

Also re: doomsday plots, take a cue from shows like Buffy and have doomsdays that you can see coming from a long way off.

That way there's a sense of impending urgency but you've still got time for slow days.

MikeQ

The players are your audience. The conflict doesn't need to threaten the whole world, just threaten what the audience values. And stories along the lines of "The big bad is going to destroy the multiverse, you adventurers better stop him!" tend to fall flat because you're threatening a world that doesn't matter. The audience does not grasp the stakes, so they won't care as much.

BESW

My Weird World doomsday had almost a year from "Hey we should do something about that" until "If we don't go now we'll miss the launch window."

@MikeQ This.

Black Spike

"The Big Bad is going to destroy the Corner Store, where Mr Singh does you good deals, and you like his cat! You adventurer's had better stop him!"

BESW

1:15 AM

That's what Tribute to the Dragon is built on.

Jun 21 '14 at 5:06, by BESW

I've played it with a dragon threatening a village; a galactic corporation wanting to tear down an asteroid diner; a carpenter saving his house from bandits...

Black Spike

The Big Bad is going to CHANGE the World, and that probably won't turn out well for Mr Singh, or anyone you know. Things will still carry on, but it will be WORSE ... that can make a better Threat

BESW

And lately we've been playing Golden Sky Stories, where the stakes are things like "will the kid get the homework that he forgot at school?" and "can the new policeman from the city adjust to rural village life?"

MikeQ

As a concrete-ish example of when the stakes do and don't matter: The audiences of Infinity War aren't expected to care that half the universe got erased, they care that half the characters got erased. Scale is irrelevant.

BESW

(Or, in my character's case, the eternal question is "Will someone play fetch with me?")

linksassin

@MikeQ With some parties this kind of threat leads to the players finding a nice viewing spot and making popcorn while they watch the world burn.

trogdor

1:23 AM

@BESW the answer may surprise you :P

Black Spike

OK, time for me to go. it's "Already?!?" o'clock

Cool chats. See ya'll again (probably not 'till after the weekend, it HorrorCon!)

Ben

@BlackSpike [wave]

Until next time

linksassin

@BlackSpike Enjoy!

Black Spike

Have fun! Save a Universe fro me (or at least some kid!)

linksassin

@BESW Play fetch with you, or play fetch with you? Those are very different campaigns.

BESW

1:25 AM

@linksassin Pochi would be game for either, I think.

JohnP

@linksassin some men want to watch the world burn

:50759281 working on it. Harder on mobile

MikeQ

@linksassin Or, if the threat is too big, particularly oddball players might ignore your content, and instead try to get assistance from the strongest NPCs they can theorize. Because if the world's at stake, and there are level 20 wizards in the world, then convincing them to help shouldn't be too difficult!

[angrily shakes fist at myself]

linksassin

@MikeQ Yeah my current DM is good but new. He was having trouble getting engagement so he threw a world ending plot on a timeline at us. We very nearly went "that's nice, we're going to sit on this island and do nothing". But that wouldn't have been fun.

Ben

1:43 AM

@JohnP Lol

I feel that :P cc @trogdor

Hot RPG Questions

2:06 AM

2

Q: What is the mechanical difference between the Spectator's Create Food and Water action and the Banshee's Undead Nature Trait?

Inspired by What is the lore-based reason that the Spectator has the Create Food and Water trait, instead of simply not requiring food and water? The Spectator has the Create Food and Water action (Monster Manual, p. 31): Create Food and Water. The spectator magically creates enough food and...

dnd-5e monsters food-and-drink

trogdor

@Ben XD :P

Phones == evil

Ben

@trogdor Have you seen "Mother" on Netflix?

trogdor

No I have not

What is it?

Ben

It looks interesting. It's Skynet-esque… the robots have taken over... and ine robot has been separated from the network... She finds a human baby, and raises it under the pretense that "The world is dangerous". Then a human survivor finds the bunker, and needs to save this girl from the robot... cos you know... Skynet

It looks interesting

I Am Mother*

I AM MOTHER | Official Trailer | Netflix

►

trogdor

Hmm

user15026

2:24 AM

I watched the trailer and the robot just has a normal people voice so that's nice. Although I suspect it still isn't gonna be something I watch, it leans too far into the thriller sort of genre and that isn't my favourite.

Ben

@Ash Yeah. It's my level of thriller. I'm not normally a horror person, so thrillers have to be the right kind for me to enjoy

The other one I really liked was Extinction

trogdor

I think I'll like it actually

Because it seems like all the fear is based off of "who actually should the daughter trust"

Rather than stupid jump scare stuff

Probably

user15026

I just suck at handling tension :P

Ben

@Ash Haha. It has to be done properly

Jump-scares are just frustrating, and don't really hold any value. They just get annoying after a while.

Mind-game tension on the other hand is something I enjoy. Plot twists and hidden secrets, etc

trogdor

@Ash I'm pretty good at handling tension if I trust it not to hold 20 jumpscares

But unfortunately most people making horror take the jumpscare shortcut

X(

user15026

2:34 AM

Horror movies are right out for me, most psychological thriller type stuff is out as well

Ben

@trogdor I really liked Cabin in the Woods

@Ash What sort of movies do you normally enjoy?

Thriller is edge case, and only some horror is acceptable for me lol

trogdor

@Ash ditto to the first one, it's complicated to the second one XD

user15026

@Ben Cute things, fluffy things, some romances (but honestly movie romances are usually like SO badly done), animated things, chick flicks, stuff with good stories about people

Ben

@Ash Run Fatboy Run

It's my go-to haha

user15026

I watched the movie Chef the other night and really liked it because it was so low stakes? Like it was just a dude with a food truck getting to nkow his kid, at the core.

Ben

2:38 AM

It's a "chick flick" from the guy's perspective haha

@Ash Yeah :D

user15026

Plus it made me SO hungry

Ben

Hahaha. Yeah I avoid food-related videos unless I am eating. Even if I have already eaten, all it does is make me frustrated that the thing I ate wasn't the thing they're showing hahaha

trogdor

I mean it's a chef's job to make you hungry (wait what?)

Ben

I also really like Hector and the Search for Happiness (also Simon Pegg), which is about a Psychologist that gets lost in the day-in-day-out repetition, and loses what it means to be "happy".

user15026

I don't think I've seen either of those, I will add them to my list.

V2Blast

2:53 AM

@Ben Great movie :)

Ben

@V2Blast Did you know you can see the Zombies from Left4Dead in there?

V2Blast

I didn't... but I'm not surprised

it's full of references

Ben

Yeah :D

V2Blast

Tangerine : Fall On Your Sword

►

for your viewing pleasure

(there's one swear about a minute in, and another about 20 seconds later)

> "I saw a ruby, playing with a child, the size... of a tangerine."

Ben

For those that have not seen it, It's the standard "Creepy Cabin in the middle of nowhere" trope, with the "College teens on summer camp" theme. However, the idea is that this Cabin is actually rigged with all sorts of traps and tools, so that the teens actually choose which monster chases them, and they have neurotoxins to make them make the bad choices to ensure their demise, etc.

It puts a really good twist on the classic tropes of the horror movies

Oh, @Ash "Tucker and Dale Vs Evil"

That's another really good one

V2Blast

2:58 AM

another great movie

love Alan Tudyk

Ben

@V2Blast He is great

EA Surprise Mechanics UK Parliament

►

(Unrealted) EA Lootboxes are linked to problem gambling in young Adolescents

V2Blast

Yeah, saw that in a Kotaku article: EA: Our Loot Boxes Are Actually 'Surprise Mechanics' That Are 'Quite Ethical'

an alternate version of the video I linked earlier:

The Tangerine Knight

►

Shalvenay

@Ben takes the werewolf out for picnics in the woods

Ben

@V2Blast These are fantastic lol

V2Blast

they still hold up a decade later, thanks to their sheer absurdity

Hot RPG Questions

3:06 AM

14

Q: Is adding a new player (or players) a DM decision, or a group decision?

We are a party of 5 (not including our DM) and we have been playing a campaign for about 2 months. The DM has mentioned the idea of adding some new players (potentially 3). He mentioned that he knew some mutual friends that wanted to start so he just brought it up in group text without asking. I...

dnd-5e group-dynamics

trogdor

@V2Blast the internet is the one who just wants to watch the world burn

V2Blast

@trogdor the internet is a tangerine?

trogdor

Among other things

It's a lot of things

user15026

Unrelated to everything but I am super excited and y'all are my friends - in one week my husband will be here for real and for always, he will be claiming his Canadian permanent resident status and we won't have to do the long distance thing anymore!

8

Ben

@Ash Oh yaaayyyy!!!

user15026

3:09 AM

I am so so so so full of joy.

V2Blast

@Ash Congrats! :D

MikeQ

Note that both Cabin in the Woods and Tucker and Dale, while very entertaining, are still gory slasher-esque films

V2Blast

true

MikeQ

Cabin does much lampshade-hanging, and T&DvE does trope subversion, but that doesn't change the genre or style

Ben

@MikeQ Yis. Howeer the story isn't based on this. It's simply the setting.

trogdor

3:12 AM

@Ash oh nice!

Ben

Unlike most horror/slasher movies, which are all about murdering and slashing.

MikeQ

Cabin has that. A lot of that.

BESW

Ahuh. We aren't talking about whether something's technically not a straight-played horror film, we're talking about recs for people who don't want any of that horror stuff no matter how it's packaged.

The themes don't change the content.

MikeQ

Exactly. Yes, these films are parodying the genre in clever ways, but that doesn't make them not gory slasher films.

Ben

No. I guess what I'm saying is "nightmare on Elm Street" or Friday the 13th are just an hour and a half of people running away from the bad guy. That's the extent of the plot.

Rubiksmoose

3:15 AM

@V2Blast Are you able to/ have you watched Doom Patrol?

MikeQ

@Ben And I agree. They're not written with genre-awareness in mind.

Ben

These movies have more plot than that - character development, etc.

MikeQ

(weak shrug) I guess?

V2Blast

@Rubiksmoose I've heard of it, never watched it

Rubiksmoose

@V2Blast If you like superheros, and Alan Tudyk I highly recommend it.

user15026

3:17 AM

@MikeQ thank you, I was wondering.

Rubiksmoose

@Ash That's awesome! Congratulations to both of you!

MikeQ

@Ben Broadly speaking, horror narratives can have simple plot structures, but still be decently crafted if the writers know why the content should frighten the audience (the secret sauce is knowing how to poke at social fears)

user15026

@Rubiksmoose thanks! And to make it even cooler, the day he arrives is our second wedding anniversary!

Ben

@MikeQ I can agree that the central idea is just about people dying. But it focuses on why the "run away from the bad guy" is such a weak plot, and it adds extra levels to it. E.g. Cabin is all an elaborate set up to explain why they make bad choices, and character tropes, etc. T&D V Evil is a reversed idea of the original trope - the College teens are meant to be the good guys, but because they decide to "defend themselves", it turns out that they are the "Evil"

Rubiksmoose

@Ash Well that is a neat coincidence :) Sounds like it is going to be a very very happy day.

user15026

3:19 AM

@Rubiksmoose yeah it's gonna be great. (it honestly wasn't planned that way, the 27th just had the best flights for price and schedule of any day that week)

trogdor

@Ash ok that's just ridiculous XD

Ben

@Ash I am actually giddy to hear this haha

V2Blast

Stranger Things 3 | Final Trailer | Netflix

►

linksassin

@Ash I like that this is getting starred! Jokes, entertainment and rpgs are one thing. But actual human interaction and life are far more important. Congratulations!

user15026

@Ben I can't explain how delighted I am.

user15026

3:21 AM

@linksassin aww, that's sweet of you to say!

Ben

@V2Blast Is it weird that I liked El with no hair more than I do with hair? XD

user15026

@trogdor we didn't even plan it on purpose it just worked out that way and I laughed so much when I noticed. (I am bad at time, calendar's, and math and. I am most forgetful bean so I didn't realize until I was adding it to my calendar and then saw my reminder of our anniversary and was like oooooh hey)

V2Blast

@Ben Nah, she looked good even with short hair

trogdor

@Ash wow

Rubiksmoose

@linksassin Hey you can keep your silly human interaction out of my tabletop RPGs thank you very much.

Ben

3:23 AM

@Ash Reasons Why I would be a terrible spouse #34 XD

Rubiksmoose

@Ash Thank goodness for digital calendars right?

Ben

I too am terrible at dates

user15026

@Ben my phone is my external brain. I would be lost without things like Google Calendar!

user15026

@Rubiksmoose sooooo much.

Ben

So true lol

trogdor

3:24 AM

Google Calendar is the best

linksassin

@Ash Wasn't google calendar down the other day? I'm surprised the world didn't end.

user15026

I like that I can do things like "remind me at 9 pm that I wanted pancakes for dinner"

Ben

@V2Blast She also did really well in The King Of Monsters

Rubiksmoose

For some reason we have the anniversary of the date we bought one of our tiny fig trees in GCal today. Cool I guess?

trogdor

@Ben yep

Also that movie was like

Made specifically for me or something

XD

user15026

3:26 AM

@Rubiksmoose yay trees

Ben

user15026

@Ben I have no context for this but I like it.

trogdor

@Ben hey no pictures of me allowed!

XD

linksassin

@Ash On thing Cortana could do on windows phones that I don't think Google can yet is contextual reminders. "Remind me when I am at the Grocery store to buy milk" then when your location aligns with a store you get a reminder. Super useful but a feature lost to a lack of adoption

trogdor

@Ash it's Godzilla doing a Sailor Moon transformation

That's about all it is

But it's great

user15026

3:28 AM

@linksassin I can say remind me at home to do something or remind me at work to do something but it's not always good at those if my location data is wonky

user15026

@trogdor this is where I admit I haven't ever watched Sailor Moon or a Godzilla film

user15026

But I am gonna try to at least fix the Godzilla film thing soon.

trogdor

@Ash I actually have not seen any Sailor Moon either, but I've seen clips where one or other of them holds up a wand thing like that to start the transformation thing they do

Ben

@Ash I was going through an old USB and dug this up. Since we were talking about the new Godzilla movie I figured "Why not" haha

user15026

@trogdor that's all I know too.

user15026

3:31 AM

@Ben I like it.

Ben

@Ash Good haha

MikeQ

@trogdor But is it pre or post transformation?

trogdor

@MikeQ I have no idea

Ben

@MikeQ During

trogdor

XD

That's an excellent question

Ben

3:32 AM

It's the initiation

MikeQ

If it's post, then the sailor scouts can turn into kaiju. If it's pre, then the kaiju turn into... kaiju in sailor uniforms?

trogdor

@Ben I guess that's technically probably true

@MikeQ the second one

That one

Ben

@MikeQ Godzilla in a tutu <3

trogdor

That one is perfect

MikeQ

I'd watch it, or at least try to keep up with the manga

trogdor

3:33 AM

The first one is ok too but I'd pay more for the second one

user15026

@MikeQ either is good

user15026

@trogdor same.

Ben

trogdor

Mothra is already really close to a magical girl anyway

Ben

KoM in a nutshell

Rubiksmoose

3:34 AM

@trogdor @Ash OK I don't know either of you, but somehow I am very surprised neither has seen sailor moon.

MikeQ

I am only partially surprised, maybe 11-12%

trogdor

@Rubiksmoose I'm interested but,... I wasn't when it was showing

Ben

@Rubiksmoose As a child of the 90s, I share this feeling

trogdor

Unfortunately "show for girls" bothered me a lot more back then

Ben

Pokémon, DBZ, Digimon, Sailor Moon, Card Captors...

Rubiksmoose

3:36 AM

Though I guess didn't watch it when it aired either despite being a child of the 90s as well, but my wife and I watched the whole first series together.

user15026

@Rubiksmoose we only got 3 channels for most of my growing up if that helps

MikeQ

@Rubiksmoose You're not a real Sailor Moon fan until you've seen the American version

Rubiksmoose

@Ash Pretty much the same for me honestly. I remember WB coming in through a crazy amount of static only in good weather and I'd attempt to watch or mostly listen to Pokemon regularly.

trogdor

And right atm I'm still trying to watch all of Star Trek DS 9

BESW

As a child of the late 80s and early 90s, I was watching grainy PBS broadcasts of Ghostwriter and Square One TV and Long Ago And Far Away.

Ben

3:39 AM

@MikeQ I was not expecting this...

Rubiksmoose

Watching Sailor Moon as an adult was an interesting experience.

Ben

I still need to rewatch Zoids, actually.

Rubiksmoose

@MikeQ oh no.

BESW

Location, culture, and economic status are generally more influential than generation in terms of exposure to pop media.

We couldn't afford cable so I was getting the local public broadcast of whatever VHS tapes their mainland provided decided to ship overseas to us--which also meant I was getting the stuff years late most of the time.

Rubiksmoose

@BESW I've never seen any of these!

BESW

3:44 AM

As a kid most of my book and TV and movie exposure is equivalent to what people five to fifteen years my senior would've been seeing at the same age.

@Rubiksmoose They're all great! I knew James Earl Jones as the guy who sat in half a living room floating through space reading books to me, long before I knew him as Darth Vader.

Rubiksmoose

@BESW Dang! I want JEJ to read stories to me while floating through space!

BESW

Ghostwriter was an "edutation" series about tweens who solved mysteries with the help of the ghost of a runaway slave who could only interact with the physical world by manipulating written letters and digits.

Square One TV was a variety show about mathematics that did lots of pop culture parody songs and skits, like "Casablanca" but instead of not having enough tickets for everyone, the airline guy said they couldn't all get on because he was rounding everyone's weight up too generously. And every episode ended with a short serialized "Dragnet" parody about mathematicians solving crimes.

(And James Earl Jones cameoed as the mathematicians' chief of police, because why not)

user15026

@trogdor ds9 is my favorite trek

user15026

@BESW I loved that show. So much.

trogdor

@Ash it jumped pretty quickly to that position for me too

TNG is now my second favorite

Original is fine too

But I think Voyager would probably make me start breaking things

Enterprise is at the bottom of the barrel in terms of what I've watched

And Discovery seems like it would be a mixed bag

At best

user15026

3:58 AM

I could never get into voyager

trogdor

I watched a review of the first episode,...

V2Blast

I've only actually watched Discovery (the others I've only watched bits and pieces of/am aware of the characters... and I played a DS9 computer game)

I've enjoyed Discovery for the most part so far, though it's far from perfect

trogdor

I didn't like how they apparently (according to the reviewer) set the entire premise of the show up in Voyager

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