TRPG General Chat

V2Blast

1:03 AM

@BESW Ooh, this is a good one.

@BESW If you want I could edit the link to point to the right tweet ;)

Sure.

Done

Thank you.

1:21 AM

@BESW interesting. One thing we do is that if we don't have enough people for our regular game, we play a one-shot. Often a board-game, but could be a one-session rpg

BESW

yeah, that's how my group started branching out.

Black Spike

But our (wider) group(s) have always been diverse, never got into the "Must be D&D" mindset (quite the opposite! Some players -won't- play D&D!)

But we were playing in the late 80s, early 90s. Cyberpunk and Vampire were hitting the scene, big!

@BESW I like the idea of dropping-in other games, as "D&D (or any game!) doens't have rules for this bit ... instead of some GM-fiat, here's a rule-set we can use"

BESW

yeah, I've done that a few times to good effect.

Black Spike

I've failed a few times :D

BESW

Did a session of DRYH in the middle of an ARRPG campaign.

Black Spike

1:32 AM

Don't know them. DRYH is horror?

BESW

Yeah, Don't Rest Your Head is about people who've had insomnia for so long that they've found themselves in a nightmarish alternate reality where they have strange superpowers, and they must try to return to the real world because if they go too long without sleep there they become nightmares, and if they fall asleep there they are attacked by nightmares.

The Atomic Robo RPG is a high-crunch version of Fate based on the comic franchise of the same name.

Black Spike

We have occaisionaly jumped across the world, played a separate set of characters ... for all intents it could have used a different system! "Lets put your Big Heroes aside for a couple of sessions, and see what a group of Minor 'heroes' are up to."

Ah, Atomic Robo. Only know the name

BESW

I used DRYH for a between-adventures session to delve into the PCs' concerns and priorities, because that's what keeps them awake--and what determines their superpowers.

Black Spike

Probably won't get our group to play either of those, as a full game ... but maybe as a Drop-In :)

BESW

We also played a game of Monster of the Week in the same setting with different characters, as a kind of "meanwhile..." intermission.

Black Spike

1:37 AM

(But we did recently do a Consent Thing, as we're starting a new game. My "X" was "Mental health issues". rather not delve too musch in that direction)

@BESW Yeah, they can be fun

BESW

Esoteric has the first example I've ever seen of implementing enthusiastic consent in an TTRPG.

Black Spike

I was quite interested in Vajra Enterprise's supplement: Behind the Eyes of Madness. Tries to include Mental Health as a thing. As you succumb to Trauma, your "Life Skills" drop. You can off-set Trauma with "Coping Mechanisms"

(As I see a lot on Consent discussions) we're a long-standing group of good friends ... we've worked out our own system (mainly involving dropping the GM a note between sessions "Didn't like that. Can we not do that?")

(Disclaimer: I'm a little 'tired and emotional' tonight. Had a lot of stress, which turned out to be nothing. Thought there was a Major Problem. Bu then I find everything is fine ... so, I'm just winding down, all is good)

nitsua60

1:59 AM

@BlackSpike Sorry to hear it, though glad it all turned out to be fine. Good luck flushing all those adrenaline/cortisol remains out of the system!

Black Spike

@nitsua60 thanks :)

nitsua60

@BESW This is awesome--thanks for the link.

BESW

@nitsua60 Dee is just generally a font of wisdom? There's a series of semi-linked tweets I'll try to corral some time, about why and how to revise the way our games deal with archaeological setpieces.

nitsua60

@BESW Like, maybe not treat them like we're trying to stock a museum back in our home country ca. 1890?

BESW

@nitsua60 yeah. But with actionable advice like--instead of having your PCs looting somebody else's cultural relics, have them visit places that have very personal cultural meaning to the PCs themselves.

And how to telegraph through description that not all locked doors need to be opened.

The thread was sparked by yet another news story about a foreigner barging into a tomb and eating somebody's burial offerings.

Black Spike

2:09 AM

@BESW IME that is a tough one ... players see 'locks' as a challenge

nitsua60

Excellent.

BESW

Also, and I love this: if your players want to find strange old objects and learn about other peoples' cultures... just have the PCs go to a flea market.

There's an established transactional expectation and you get to talk to the people instead of just looting their stuff. All kinds of amazing plots can happen inside a flea market, or begin there and spill out into the rest of the world.

Hot RPG Questions

5

Q: We know someone is scrying on us. Is there anything we can do about it?

It would be unusual, to me, if there were no spell in the world that could "feedback" (as my DM puts it) on the scryer. We're usually really creative about this sort of thing, but on this we have no ideas. Otherwise, besides continuing to try to detect the scrying orb and then casting a spell (o...

BESW

See also craft fairs, etc.

Black Spike

I'm waiting to see where our new Campaign goes ... "dungeons" (ancient tombs, etc) have been replaced by "spontaneously appearing Labyrinths", created by The Fae.

BESW

2:14 AM

Note to self: The Goblin Flea Market.

Black Spike

@BESW <3

we must not look on Goblin men. we must not buy their tat.

MikeQ

2:33 AM

@BESW What about narratives where the PCs protect and restore cultural relics or sites? Does that veer too much into the "civilized" or "modern" savior trope?

BESW

Depends on context.

A foreigner making the decisions about what protection and restoration mean and how to do them? Not a great look. A foreigner working to support Indigenous-led action? That's pretty cool.

jgn

2:57 AM

You could just play it straight and lampshade anything problematic. There is no need to avoid situations where the PC can make bad choices, let them do it and let them taste the consequences.

Glazius

Hmm. Is there a way to break a > quote block in the middle? I'm using <br/> in an answer I'm typing but that's leaving a lot of space.

jgn

I have used "> ..." before, would that work? I tried a lot of things but couldn't figure anything else out.

MikeQ

Yes. From the first blockquote, enter newline, a > , another newline, another >, and continue with the second blockquote

Like this:
> ...
>
> ...

jgn

MikeQ, whenever I tried this the ">" didn't quote

When I did "> " it collapsed the line.

Glazius

3:24 AM

No, those are just part of a single continuous block. I'm trying to get it to break in the middle without skipping a whole paragraph.

Ah!

<!> as a comment between the two creates the small blank space I want.

Shalvenay

3:54 AM

@BESW yes, this XD

@BlackSpike yeah, there are cases, esp. in modern/cyberpunk/... settings, where doors are locked for YOUR PROTECTION

usually accompanied by bigtime signage

your PCs don't want to be like a certain idiot who got himself fumigated

V2Blast

6:40 AM

Hot RPG Questions

10:57 AM

3

Q: By RAW, can you use your free object interaction while taking the "Use an Object" action?

There is a drinking contest between a Dwarf and a Halfling to see who can drink flagons of ale the fastest. Normally one would assume the Dwarf would have an advantage at drinking, but unbeknown to them the Halfling is a Thief. From the rules for Interacting With Objects Around You Here are ...

dnd-5e actions objects

Hot RPG Questions

11:57 AM

2

Q: Can Mending (spell-cantrip) affix any surface to any other surface?

Mending (5e cantrip-spell) has these limits: that the damage must be a break or tear the damage cannot be any larger than 1 foot in any dimension the spell cannot restore lost magical properties One (entrepreneurial) player of ours suggested that ANY two unrelated surfaces can be seamlessly b...

dnd-5e spells cantrips

Someone_Evil

12:32 PM

Is there actually guidance on what to do when a non-English answer is posted anywhere?

BESW

250

Q: Do posts have to be in English on Stack Exchange?

Otherwise known as 必须用英语吗？(is English required?) ¿Necesito hablar en inglés? ?אני צריך לדבר באנגלית Do I have to use English when posting a question, an answer or a comment on a Stack Exchange site? Return to FAQ Index

support faq languages non-english-speakers english

Someone_Evil

Type out a comment just as a diamond deletes the answer doesn't seem like a super applicable stategy going forwards

BESW

Since Google Translate suggests it was low-quality enough to warrant deletion in any language...

Someone_Evil

Ah... flag as very low quality according to that meta. That's not obvious from the flag description.

@BESW That was part of why the comment was so long

Zachiel

1:57 PM

It's the first time this happens to me, but I really regret not having forced the Same Page Tool with this group where I am a player, because now I have no idea about what the proper response to what is happening is.

Basically, we are raiding a place and there's two factions of the same guild fighting each other, and my character tried screaming "Bad Guy sends his regards". It worked. the guy I just hit told me "you're hitting the wrong ones!". So we kept fighting them. And the wizard then proceeded to magically roast people from both factions, and now it's hard to stop our own allied faction from shooting crossbow darts at us.

Shalvenay

@Zachiel "WATCH WHAT YOU'RE FIREBALLING, YOU DOPE!"

Zachiel

Then some other enemies came from a different direction and the wizard made the floor slippery and flammable under their feet (and under a downed person we want to save) but the enemies just saved against the effect and actually put the slippery pavement between them and us, proceeding to peeper our whole party with bombs and crossbow bolts.

And finally the wizard, who for some reason has the highest modifier to bluff and diplomacy, is controlled by a player who has no idea why she should try to convince people to stop shooting at us, let alone how.

Shalvenay

@Zachiel Town guard: "Miss, do you have some sort of deathwish or something?"

Zachiel

While the rogue is dying, I'm down at 6 HP, the ranger is at 4 and I have no idea if the wizard hgas ever been hit buut it's a spiral of panicked "They hit me again, what can I do?"

So it's me with my charisma 10 trying to tell people "we're on the same side!" and failing twice in a row.

BESW

2:13 PM

yeah, I'd want to hit pause and say "This is not what I expected from this game."

Zachiel

And I want, if we ever survive, to in-character call her out on all the risky things she did that almost lead to our demise and asking her to "change for the good of the party, or she's out, or I'm out". But I'm not sure that's what she wants from the game.

And I'm the new one to the social group

I want to have a session 0 now

I'm not the DM.

And I fear asking for one because if the consensus is "we're fine with our characters staying the same despite life lessons, because we don't want to deal with character growth and other gloomy issues", I'm not sure I can properly roleplay my character.

Shalvenay

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

BESW

It sounds like if you don't ask for a calibration, that's probably what will happen anyway?

Zachiel

@BESW yeah, probably. I should probably talk to the DM. Or amybe to the player first?

BESW

That'll depend on social dynamics.

Joshjurg

2:26 PM

Ha thanks! (Was back-reading to catch up with what is happening. Sounds like a real yikes-fest.)

Zachiel

It hurst to be telling her "you're playing this game with the wrong expectations, we're way more vulnerable than in 4e and we should be smart about how we approach combat-as-war"

BESW

I'd be inclined to make it a whole-group thing, to start the entire discussion on the assumption that everyone in the group is on an equal footing when it comes to determining what the game will be like.

I'd be worried that singling out one person, even the GM, would send the wrong message about where the power in the group should accumulate.

@Joshjurg [wave] Welcome!

I'm heading to bed now, though. Good luck, @Zachiel!

ttfn

Zachiel

@BESW Thanks for the insight.

Rubiksmoose

I found this article about somebody getting comfortable with their actual gender through RPGs fascinating and educational: washingtonpost.com/outlook/…

(Apropos of nothing in particular)

V2Blast

4:00 PM

@Joshjurg Hello!

MikeQ

Another sleepy Sunday, it seems

nitsua60

@BESW How much I love this sentiment. If I had a magic RPG wand my one wish might be to somehow sever the notion that just because many RPGs feature asymmetric play (one GM, others playing PCs), those RPGs' GMs must also be "in charge" socially.

(But I don't want to come across as disparaging *all* groups that have settled into that mode: it seems that plenty come by it naturally. In a group of people one may be most motivated/energetic when it comes to making the regular get-together happen. And that person's personality may also be well-suited to learning more rules and doing more "work" away from the table, so they gravitate toward GMing.
Not a bad thing, in isolation. it's when the assumption is that one type of leadership *must* be coupled with the other that I start to break out in hives.)

Shalvenay

4:18 PM

@nitsua60 yeah, I'm more than happy to offload the social gathering stuff onto another player when I DM :)

(or take at least some charge of it when I'm a player, even if I don't always remember)

nitsua60

@Shalvenay Also plenty of the social-game hybrid stuff, too: do we want to do adventure of the week or a long AP? What houserules make sense for our enjoyment? Those conversations are good to have, and don't need to be just a GM laying down their law.

@Shalvenay Speaking of which, my crazy summer-into-fall seems to be slowing down a bit. I'm a little rejuvenated. I think the back room can count on my Saturday presence pretty regularly for the rest of the academic year (barring T'day/Christmas shenanigans). (cc: @KorvinStarmast @MikeQ @V2Blast @trogdor and anyone I'm forgetting)

Shalvenay

@nitsua60 good to hear, glad to have you back around :) we've missed you

nitsua60

Thanks. Me, too.

MikeQ

4:44 PM

@nitsua60 Nobody's offered to run anything in 1+ month, so I feared interest had fizzled out. Good to have our sheep back.

nitsua60

I'll run something. Still am not quite feeling ToA, though. Not really feeling anything published, actually. 5e's good, DW's good, I'd be happy trying something else PbtA, or something supers or scifi. I haven't yet run Tales from the Loop and would enjoy giving that a whirl. I grabbed Fria Ligan's Forbidden World on KS and don't remember why: it might be nice to crack open the shrinkwrap =)

MikeQ

I'd be up for those other systems. Some of the other players have mentioned not liking the supers genre, so I dunno if folks would be responsive to that.

Zachiel

Have I really spent 2 hours crafting a single telegram message that I will probably be too chicken to actually send?

Carcer

5:01 PM

@Zachiel I suspect you are the only person here with enough information to answer that question

nitsua60

5:12 PM

@Zachiel Dude, I've got a whole folder of those in my email client. Though, in many cases s/chicken/sensible.

Zachiel

5:23 PM

@Carcer it's called a rhetorical question

Carcer

@Zachiel that makes a lot more sense

Zachiel

It's been 3 hours now.

Shalvenay

5:38 PM

@MikeQ yeah, I'm not a supers type

@nitsua60 I did quite enjoy the demo game of Fellowship Glazius ran for me, Mike, and Korvin

KorvinStarmast

6:01 PM

@nitsua60 Ok, glad to hear that. @MikeQ @V2Blast @trogdor

@MikeQ I was prepped to run something last n ight but the last few posts in BR got no reply, so I went to go and visit a sick friend.

And now off to mow the sick lawn so I can fertilize it, adios amigos.

RedRiderX

7:17 PM

@nitsua60 What is ToA?

nitsua60

@RedRiderX Tomb of Annihilation.

Temple of Assassins.

Thorns on Asparagus.

Taking out Anglers.

Triple our Assets.

RedRiderX

@nitsua60 Oh that's the one with Dinosaurs right?

I feel like I should give prewritten D&D modules another shot.

Part of me feels like I need to have every aspect of the adventure memorized though and I just get overwhelmed.

V2Blast

9:09 PM

@nitsua60 Cool cool, thanks for the update. I'd be down for whatever.

@RedRiderX Yep, it's set in Chult.

@RedRiderX Definitely don't need to memorize everything about a published adventure to run it - it's good to skim it first and have a general understanding of how it's structured/what happens, but beyond that you only really need to prepare in detail for wherever the PCs can end up next.

If it's a linear adventure like Hoard of the Dragon Queen, that's relatively easy (though the adventure itself could use some revision, as is happening with the Tyranny of Dragons reprint); with something more open-ended like early ToA or Storm King's Thunder, it's good to structure sessions such that you resolve one location at the end of a session and then ask the players where they intend to head next (so you have time to prepare it).

RedRiderX

9:33 PM

Yeah that makes sense as an approach.

Oh yes and if we're talking about games we want to run, my shortlist of pitches to my local group are Mouse Guard, Tales from the Loop, and Blades in the Dark

BESW

9:46 PM

DungeonCommandr talks a bit about the need to identify what people like in D&D, if you want to get them to play other games; they identify individual exceptionalism as an element commonly missing from modern indie titles, and Jamila R. Nedjadi picks up the torch with a list of indie titles with individual exceptionalism.

KorvinStarmast

@nitsua60 I am not allowed to post my version

Carcer

@BESW speaking of, has anyone tried Lancer? Big stompy robots and crunch seems like my kinda thing

V2Blast

@Carcer I've been playing it!

Posted about it here a few times

Carcer

oh neat

how do you like it?

BESW

A quick glance at chat history suggests V2 is the only regular chatter who's got experience with it.

MikeQ

10:00 PM

I've played a Lancer one-shot, although the characters were at minimum level (rank? tier? whatever it's called)

BESW

Thoughts about TTRPG play styles specifically for performance: A thread for players by Surena Marie.

V2Blast

@BESW It looks like you've shared this one before - it seemed familiar. Good thread though :)

Sep 14 at 23:06, by BESW

Surena Marie has thoughts about TTRPG play styles specifically for performance: a thread for players. CarlosCrits adds "You don't need a reason to feel or show emotions. They are the quickest way to the truth."

Definitely brings up important points

@MikeQ License Level 0 :)

BESW

Agent 000: license to chill?

V2Blast

@Carcer I've been enjoying it quite a bit. I like that the rules are mostly simple, but there's a ton of customization options

lol

MikeQ

The basics are pretty easy to learn - there's little ambiguity about how things work, no "what is an attack vs Attack" stuff - although the more complicated rules come into play very quickly. Like heat and structural damage.

BESW

10:08 PM

....Five hundred eighty-six pages.

MikeQ

I think there may be some issues with balance and trap options. Certain playstyles are presented but just don't work as advertised.

V2Blast

@MikeQ I don't have enough experience to really know about that

But yeah, it's a long book - but that's combining player stuff and GM stuff

1-325 is player stuff, 326+ is GM stuff

MikeQ

And from what my DM said, balancing encounters can be odd, since NPCs don't have any sort of challenge rating. The DM had to consult forums and such.

V2Blast

yeah

MikeQ

@V2Blast Certain weapons and devices required a huge cost and setup, with comparatively little payoff.

V2Blast

10:11 PM

ah

If you haven't already joined the Lancer discord server, the designers are active there and that sort of feedback is probably appreciated :)

They just put out a new mech - the SSC White Witch - for playtesting

MikeQ

Also, stealth just didn't work. One player invested in a "rogue" sort of stealth build, and expressed frustration because their character didn't (and couldn't) do anything, while another character was somewhat optimized (even at license level zero) and dominated the entire session

BESW

@V2Blast Atomic Robo is 322 pages and includes a lot of how-to-hack guidance as well as player and GM resources, and a worldbuilding chapter summarizing the franchise so far, and an entire chapter of NPCs from the inspiring fiction. Sundown is 262 pages and is also a setting guide and adventure prompts and has several short stories to set the tone.

V2Blast

@MikeQ Yeah, invisibility seems... underwhelming

I've been going for a stealthy sniper sort of build. Leaned towards stealth earlier, but it seems like the sniper side will be more fun/meaningful

MikeQ

@BESW A good chunk of that is lore. Like, galactic-scale timelines of lore.

V2Blast

first 3 licenses were in the SSC Metalmark, and we just hit LL4 so I chose to take 1 license level in the SSC Death's Head

The number of choices is a bit overwhelming and I haven't really looked through all of them in detail so I don't have a good sense of what will synergize well

BESW

10:16 PM

I know doorstoppers are something a lot of people really like but it's a massive obstacle to me personally.

MikeQ

Doorstoppers?

BESW

A book so big and heavy you can use it to prop a door open.

MikeQ

Ah. Yeah. Navigating the source book was a pain. We ended up using some app for character creation and character sheet management.

V2Blast

@MikeQ That I agree with. I assume you're using COMP/CON. It is a phenomenal piece of software. It lets you create and manage your character (including keeping track of stuff in combat, including action options/action economy).

The Oracle

10:59 PM

0

Q: How to correctly suggest changes to a post?

You see an answer, it has some problems. It makes incorrect assertions, it makes assumptions, it isn't logical, it doesn't have quotes, there are some other issues. How can you communicate problems with an answer without implying that you are disagreeing with the poster? It doesn't make sense t...

discussion comments

Hot RPG Questions

11:42 PM

8

Q: Are there any spells that aren't on any class's spell list?

Chapter 11 of the 5e Player's Handbook has a list of spells each spellcasting class can learn, followed by a description of all the spells in the game. I am wondering: are there any spells that are described in the second part of the chapter that aren't in any class spell list in the first part ...

dnd-5e spells

V2Blast

11:55 PM

Is the Champion in Pathfinder 2e a modified version of the paladin concept, as some googling suggests? I ask because I recently saw the champion tag added to a few recent PF2e questions.

MikeQ

@V2Blast Yes, it replaces (well, more like encompasses) paladin

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