TRPG General Chat

Bardic Wizard

00:01

I finally managed to wrangle the scheduling dragon so that one of my rpg groups actually could get together for the first time in a month!!!!!!!!!!

BESW

@BardicWizard Woo!

Bardic Wizard

And then instead of playing an rpg we discussed how to take over the school and destabilize the student government, as well as the outcome of a fight between an ooze-dragon, a snail-dragon covered in mushrooms, and a half-Wizard-half-Tank

Which is probably par for the course for two days after finals

trogdor

lol

viva la revolution XD

Bardic Wizard

00:23

@trogdor the funny thing is that one player’s dad is a teacher at our school and heard our conversation. He said he’d totally support it as long as our history teacher (who’s got an interesting reputation) was the first under the guillotine when we take over

trogdor

Oof

Bardic Wizard

Or if we tell the history teacher after break that we spent our break plotting his downfall

trogdor

I liked my history teacher in high school

He was one of my favorites

Didn't hurt that I also just liked the subject a lot

It was mostly reading and I was proud of my reading abilities (guess I still am really) so I got almost perfect grades at it

Bardic Wizard

We’ve had this history teacher two years in a row, and he jokes about a lot of things, so we’re also probably going to tell him this just to bug him

The history teacher also has an actual (tiny) guillotine in his room, so we’re aiming to get the once-a-semester threat that we’ll get our hands chopped off over and done with early this semester

trogdor

00:50

Wow

BESW

01:58

Wandering Merchants Zine by theunburnedwitch. A system-neutral ttrpg zine of soulsborne-inspired wandering merchants.

AncientSwordRage

02:43

Today I learned about Solarpunk

Hot RPG Questions

2

Q: Evasion and Vulnerability to Energy precedence?

A creature has Evasion: 'If she makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage.' And also has Vulnerability to Energy: 'Some creatures have vulnerability to a certain kind of energy effect (typically eithe...

BESW

Oct 14 at 23:31, by BESW

Viditya Voleti wrote a twitter thread about how A Land Once Magic is designed to create solarpunk fantasy worlds.

AncientSwordRage

@BESW nice

BESW

And I recommend Okorafor's Binti and Zarah the Windseeker books as excellent examples of Africanfuturism in a solarpunk-like vein.

AncientSwordRage

I'll add them to the list

6 hours ago, by AncientSwordRage

What would Alan Parrish's high concept be, as a fate character

BESW

02:55

I like high concepts that define three truths about the character as broadly as possible. A good frame might be Attitude, Competency, and Context. Depressed Tarzan of Jumanji or Childish Jungle Survivor, for example.

(I'm going off wikia entries; pre-teen BESW left the theater during the giant mosquito scene and had nightmares for a week. Never finished the film.)

Shalvenay

@AncientSwordRage that actually reminds me of one of my headscratching questions: how small can you make a hydroelectric plant before you lose one of hydro's most valuable features, namely the ability to "black start" a dead electric grid?

AncientSwordRage

03:25

@BESW I forget how far through that scene is, but it's a good movie

@Shalvenay ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Shalvenay

@AncientSwordRage yeah, I might have to throw it on a suitable Stack sometime :)

AncientSwordRage

@BESW those are good takes, and I like that framing

However it's long past my bedtime, so I'm off

Ciao for niao

BESW

ttfn

Hot RPG Questions

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Q: Can a Way of Astral Self Monk use wisdom related scores for jumping?

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dnd-5e movement monk archetype

BESW

04:53

I'm watching The Ipcress File and thinking that Michael Cane would've made a better Albert Campion than Peter Davison did.

Davison's Campion was fun, but he was too sharp to be Allingham's Campion.

Bardic Wizard

06:59

I had a thought and a question, and I wanted to know if people here, especially people who are queer and/or work with teenagers, thought it might work.
The thought was that I wanted to help my school’s rpg club try to break from some problems it’s had with accepting non-cishet people, and maybe an rpg or something might help. The question was, is something like this likely to work, and does it already exist? To me I’m not sure whether it’d work cause I’m in the thick of the issues and not seeing outside perspective, and I’m not even sure what form it would take

5

And of course I come up with this thought when my phone is about to shut off for the night

I’m also not sure if an rpg is the right way to bring this stuff up or what goal I even want to accomplish

BESW

08:58

Note to self: Primeval: New World's version of Project Magnet is a great concept, steal it shamelessly for future campaigns.

It's a dingy forgotten walk-in closet of a government department staffed by one young very bored lieutenant, the remnant of a 1950s UFO research project that's officially dead but unofficially is where all the reports of Weird Stuff get funneled to, where they always turn out to not be Weird at all. Faction aspects could include Nothing is new except the staff, The codes still work, and Desperate to justify existing.

It's perfect for any kind of contemporary Weird Stuff campaign, either as the players' own faction, and allied faction, or a faction that keeps getting in the players' way.

BESW

09:43

(I've also just always felt that Primeval is a franchise with great TRPG potential. It's got a lot of juicy ideas and no particular interest in getting bogged down in its own lore, with great setpieces and a solid monster-of-the-week hook that lends itself to natural character arcs, but the writing never quite kept up on the interpersonal front.)

AncientSwordRage

11:25

@BESW I didn't catch much of it, but it looked like a good premise

BESW

Execution is sketchy, and P:NW is even sketchier, but yeah, it's a really good setup for an episode ensemble-cast TRPG campaign.

And I gotta admire its concept as a Doctor Who rival show, too. Instead of traveling to distant times and nearly being killed by creatures from the past and future, creatures from the past and future travel to you and nearly kill you!

AncientSwordRage

not sure what if anything it has over Star gate, besides lacking some context/baggage?

BESW

Really cuts down on the price of setbuilding.

AncientSwordRage

true

BESW

A big advantage over Stargate, in my opinion, is that there's no inherent separation between "home" and "field."

AncientSwordRage

11:29

thats true

BESW

A lot more opportunity for things to be personal and get messy.

AncientSwordRage

@BESW what you said about Alan Parrish made me realise I hadn't really fleshed out my character I had been thinking of, because I was drawing similarities to Him, but only one small aspect.

BESW

And also less pricey setbuilding! Which in a TRPG means that the GM doesn't have to invent strange alien things and then explain them to the players. It's all contemporary or historical unless you go to the future, and then it's still rooted in Earth-recognizable concepts.

AncientSwordRage

@BESW true, some of the best SG1 eps were set on earth

@BESW I was going to ask how it translated, but that makes logical sense

BESW

It's easier for the whole table to be on the same page if most of the elements on the page are drawn from shared experience.

@AncientSwordRage Oh?

AncientSwordRage

11:40

@BESW very true, then it's just monster of the week, not monster/culture/planet/context of the week

@BESW so I had forgotten how Alan's past effected his character

BESW

Aye. Also makes it easier for people to miss sessions or come in partway through the adventure, as there's less lore to catch them up on.

@AncientSwordRage Ah, attitude.

AncientSwordRage

that he had family issues, that he had sabotaged someone's career

yes

15 hours ago, by AncientSwordRage

I'm thinking high concept: Fae trained warrior poet

doesn't have an attitude to it

SmokeDetector

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Bad ip for hostname in body, blacklisted website in body, potentially bad ns for domain in body (200): Is Gmail down message arising in light of interface issue? Use consultancy plans by Ella Mark on rpg.SE (@Rubiksmoose)

AncientSwordRage

@SmokeDetector 29 seconds.... nice

I don't think a lot of my past character (concepts) have an attitude, it's definitely a blind spot for me

which makes me feel like not specifying one and claiming amnesia is just too cheap a trick

BESW

You don't need an attitude in a high concept, but I find it's good to have it in some aspect.

I like to put it in the high concept, because my principle writing a high concept is that it should be invokeable for any action that's painfully in character.

AncientSwordRage

11:45

the trouble was going to be "Man out of time" where everything had progressed some number of centuries, but that doesn't cover it too

@BESW Mhmmm

AncientSwordRage

11:56

I feel a question brewing

@BESW where does "Attitude, Competency, and Context" come from?

BESW

Myself, but I'm sure it brewed up from collating a lot of different things I've read about aspects.

Hrm. I definitely learned a lot about it from Atomic Robo and how it uses broad scope of competency to define skill packages, and then has you write an aspect about how your character approaches each package.

But also, I think it was Masters of Umdaar which pointed out that you can often just take your highest-ranked Approach and make it part of your high concept.

And those together can make up Attitude and Competency in a pinch. If a character would be Flashy in an Accelerated game, and have the Science package in an Atomic Robo game, then they're a Flashy Scientist.

Then, what's the context? Are they a Flashy Scientist on the Run or a Flashy Black Ops Scientist or Flashy Scientist From Another World?

And then you can fiddle with it a bit if you like, or expand on details in other aspects. Maybe they're a Flirty Biologist on the Run or maybe they should get a whole aspect about how Flirting is second nature to me.

AncientSwordRage

12:11

scribbles down notes

BESW

I definitely learned the principle of writing a high concept so that it can be invoked any time you do something that's very in-character from several different places.

Basically, any time your character's in their comfort zone, you should be able to spend a fate point on their high concept. Some overlap with other aspects is fine because that represents specialization: you can spend TWO points, one on the high concept and one on the more specific aspect.

AncientSwordRage

Ok, so bear with me, but how are flashy and flirty comparable? Are they the same category of things? Based on what you says they're attitudes, but they seem very unrelated. Whereas the competencies seem related

BESW

Flirty is a way you can be flashy. If the character's most common use of Flashy is to flirt with people, then it's a more evocative concept.

"Flashy" is one of the Approaches used by Fate Accelerated in place of skills, alongside Careful, Clever, Forceful, Quick, and Sneaky (or Dresden Files Accelerated's Flair, Focus, Force, Guile, Haste, and Intellect, which are the same things under different names).

> A Flashy action draws attention to you; it’s full of style and panache. Delivering an inspiring speech to your army. Embarrassing your opponent in a duel. Producing a magical fireworks display.

Rolling to flirt is almost always going to mean adding your Flashy modifier, because flirting is definitionally "drawing attention to you."

So, Flirty is a kind of Flashiness, like Biologist is a kind of Scientist. It narrows down the things your high concept can be invoked for, creating a character who is drawn with more defined lines.

I might instead have a Brash Geologist or an Fashionable Herpetologist.

I usually use approaches to get the skeleton of an aspect, then narrow in for the final one. A Flashy Scientist just isn't very evocative of a specific character, but it's a great prompt to start asking myself questions about them which WILL produce an engaging high concept.

And if I don't come up with anything, well, I'll just pencil in Flashy Scientist and re-write it as answers come during play.

AncientSwordRage

12:46

@BESW that clicks

BESW

Nifty trick: If you're not getting anything from your highest approach, consider what the opposite of your lowest approach might be.

AncientSwordRage

@BESW that is nifty

looks like Dresden is using nouns and not adjectives

Focusful doesn't sounds quite right

Carcer

"Focused"

AncientSwordRage

@Carcer thats good

sounds of mental gears turning

BESW

13:02

"His Mind Raced" by Ursula Vernon

AncientSwordRage

13:34

I've got a bunch of adjectives now, thanks gang!

BESW

Woo!

One note of caution: never overload an aspect.

Three, maybe four distinct qualities go into a high concept; other character aspects should have one or two, maybe three qualities apiece. Otherwise it's just like having to keep track of too many aspects, but even more confusing.

AncientSwordRage

gotcha

going to pick the best adjective rather than go too crazy on it

doppelgreener

14:15

My understanding is there's friction between lgbt and cishet members of the club stemming from a lack of understanding of the lgbt members' worldviews (or lack of willingness to understand). As a generality, out-of-game social problems do not get solved by RPG gameplay. You mention being uncertain what you want out of this. It's definitely important to work out your goals and the issues you're facing that obstruct you from meeting those goals. That will help clarify for yourself the actions available to you that will get you there.

@BardicWizard @nitsua60 might have some relevant experience; he's spoken about running a school RPG club but I don't know whether he's run into any friction between lgbt and cishet members.

Bardic Wizard

@doppelgreener (funnily enough it’s a different group but several people still don’t understand bc my school in general sucks; this was provoked cause one kid went “hah you play a girl character when you’re actually a boy you must be [transphobic slur] or [homophobic slur]” and I couldn’t stand it)

doppelgreener

Hmm.

Bardic Wizard

I think the goals you list there are pretty good, and I would also add “lgbtq players don’t feel that they are the butt of the joke all the time” cause that’s one specific thing that bugs me

doppelgreener

I'll write something out that I was writing, but also add something for what you've just described

Personally I'd work on basically two bases:
- In the long term, focus on an environment in which people can support and be comfortable around each other and communicate effectively. Support and understanding often tend to come from developing normal human relationships with each other.
- To meet the long term goal, the short term goals: identify the specific flare-up issues and work out ways to resolve them. For example, when a queer person is not treated as authoritative, have a way to talk this over: let the queer person use queer traits, and have a way to navigate others needing to under…

Now for the added bit

NautArch

I very much lean to getting some admin help on this. Having a teacher support all this in a school environment is likely necessary.

but it also seems like having one do that would just mask a problem

doppelgreener

14:25

The group should generally be on the same page that slurs are not okay, and that making fun of LGBT people is not okay. What I described above assumes that this is already the case. If you're dealing with slurs, you need to resolve that issue first.

Bardic Wizard

The problems you list are probably most of the problems, and I’d also add “it’s not exactly a lgbtq-friendly school as a whole” and “we’re high schoolers” (which on its own is a bit of a problem)

@NautArch The school doesn’t even acknowledge that lgbtq stuff exists beyond letting us have a gsa that doesn’t do anything, so getting an admin or a teacher is sometimes not the best option

doppelgreener

This is not good

NautArch

@BardicWizard Yeah :( I was typing that I was remembering what you were telling us.

but this really makes mean start thinking "is this really worth it?" But that's easy to say as an outsider.

doppelgreener

GSAs being ineffectual is something I've heard from a number of people

Bardic Wizard

@doppelgreener I think that might be the crux of the issue: nobody but the lgbtq kids actually care about making it a safe space for lgbtq students

doppelgreener

14:28

@MikeQ o/

AncientSwordRage

@doppelgreener are double quotes preferred?

MikeQ

Ahoy. Some very impressive hats and masks all around.

AncientSwordRage

@MikeQ \oo//

I just got Samovar from self answering

but I don't know what that is

NautArch

@AncientSwordRage a russian tea pot

Someone_Evil

Answer within a very short timeframe (and score 1+)

doppelgreener

14:30

@AncientSwordRage i changed the quotation marks in the title just because the site automatically turns "double quotes" in titles into “smart quotes”, but it doesn't do the same for 'single quotes'.

Thomas Markov

I got the carnival hat this morning.

No idea how.

NautArch

@ThomasMarkov great answer to that dragon question

Someone_Evil

Correction, self answer and q and a has score 2+

doppelgreener

@BardicWizard I don't know what to do in such an environment. There needs to be willingness, or at least someone above to provide enforcement.

NautArch

^^

Bardic Wizard

14:32

@doppelgreener The GSA tries, but posters reminding people of basic tolerance got torn down (we don’t know by whom), any time we go to the administration it makes things worse, and last year our pride week got canceled because “it wasn’t a safe space to have a pride week” which, hello, is the point of a pride week, to make a safe space and to show that lgbtq people exist

AncientSwordRage

@doppelgreener oh... are smart quotes preferred? I like single quotes, but I'm not too fussed

@BardicWizard sounds awful :/

@NautArch ahhh thanks

NautArch

@BardicWizard no cameras in the school?

Bardic Wizard

@doppelgreener yeah. The teacher does his best to try to stop the slurs but he doesn’t really listen to our meetings anymore, he just works through them

doppelgreener

@AncientSwordRage smart quotes are more legible overall, because they're directional and clearly indicate a start/end as a result. whether they're single or double smart quotes isn't so important.

as long as they won't be confused with a possessive apostrophe

Bardic Wizard

@NautArch all club meetings are virtual now, but only teachers can record the meetings and the teachers only do that for actual classes and not clubs

Oh I just realized you meant the posters

NautArch

14:34

@BardicWizard i meant the public spaces where posters are torn down

ha!

Ultimately, I guess the question is are you looking to play games and have fun, or are you trying to elicit change amongst your peers through RPGs? I don't think you can do both simultaneously at this school. I'm not even sure you can do the latter.

doppelgreener

@BardicWizard Can you ask that teacher what you should do when someone's just said a slur to get them to stop happening? Alternately, is there an LGBT-friendly teacher you could talk with about administrating a new supportive RPG club?

Bardic Wizard

@NautArch as far as I know there’s a couple but not in any of the places clubs/student govt are supposed to hang posters (the stairwells, between blocks of lockers, off the second story hallway)

NautArch

you should ask to hang one up where there is a camera

AncientSwordRage

@doppelgreener I hadn't thought of that. I always disliked how they're not identical, but if it helps readability I'm all for it

BESW

I tend to use undifferentiated quotes, but that's because I turn off smart quotes so that I don't have to wrestle with them every time I need to type a glotta.

NautArch

14:40

@BESW do you type a lotta glottas?

BESW

Aye, it's a common letter in CHamoru.

AncientSwordRage

Looks like it's analogous to an okina?

doppelgreener

On the mac keyboard there's a native way to type out “” and ‘’ separately from " and ', and i have my autohotkey set up to give me the same setup on windows

Bardic Wizard

@doppelgreener I could try that. If I talk to him, I worry that he’ll say something derogatory or that he’ll say that he can’t do anything, but I think if I phrase it less as “this hurts me because I’m queer” and more “this is concerning in general” I can probably protect myself.

There’s only a handful of teachers that have said they’re a safe space for lgbtq students, and all of them run clubs already, but I’m not sure I’d want to try to start another club because it requires me to say that this club doesn’t work for me and others because of the attitude, and even though I personally would be safe physically because I’m all-online for the year, I don’t think others would be safe physically and none of us would be emotionally safe, and stepping up makes us big targets

@NautArch that’s the question. I’d like mostly, until the end of high school, to play games, but without feeling like an outsider that is always the target of teasing even when it’s not directed at me (every time I hear someone use a slur, it feels dehumanizing and affects me emotionally)

I think change has to wait until after I graduate

Or at least until I’m not worried about the administration so much

doppelgreener

14:59

@BardicWizard Standing up to change things can do that and not everyone is in a position they're able to do so, and that is okay. Evaluating that is important too. It sounds like you may be unable to make effective change, which sucks. Would you all have the option or preference of creating a club outside the school to do this?

It's clear the priority is for you all to feel safe at school, so an overall net loss in that area would be bad.

nitsua60

@BardicWizard I'm not sure my experience helps much. I *think* we're a pretty welcoming group: we have a queer table, for years the head of the club was a trans girl who was also head of our school's student council, my co-advisor has a trans child, we have a couple of out, gay teachers.... I know that trans- and homophobia exist on campus--we dismissed a couple of kids this fall for an utterly loathsome incident--but I think our rpg club is pretty well to one side of that conflict.
Then again, I might just be oblivious =\

Our GSA advisor has a board game, "Consentacle," that's got roleplay elements and which is explicitly about understanding oneself in unfamiliar contexts. I haven't played it myself, but he says it's great for getting straight kids to think about being gay, cis kids to think about being nonbinary, &c.

Bardic Wizard

@doppelgreener we kinda did that accidentally; me and two other students took our rpg group to video call on our own last year when everything was up in the air and online learning was strange, bc the club as a whole wasn’t doing anything, but we kept it going when the club actually got back to meeting as a whole group; it’s only the three of us though it is a safe space

@nitsua60 I haven’t heard of that before; I’ll look it up

nitsua60

It might be a little risque for some crowds. Like, it works for us here in a private school, but I'd never have mentioned it to a student when I was a public school teacher.

RevenantBacon

@BardicWizard They must never have watched Monty Python skits

Hot RPG Questions

15:17

3

Q: Are the consequences of this Magic drug balanced with its benefits?

I'm planning to have my players deal with a drug ring in a city with a prominent magic university. I wanted to have a drug that would make sense as a drug to be a problem in this particular city and be tempting for my players to use it, but still have potentially serious consequences. Majup Tak...

dnd-5e spells homebrew

RevenantBacon

Random side adventure thought: Players have to fight some sort of eldritch Elder God that warps reality, and for the adventure, I provide the players with versions of their characters converted to a different edition of D&D

kviiri

16:18

I think someone asked about a concept like that in a question on this site

It rings a vague bell

rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/112562/… this is one such idea

RevenantBacon

16:51

Oh, I'm not concerned about the mechanics of it or it being from a module, I just thought it would be an interesting idea for a side quest.

Also I'm more concerned on if it would be fun for the players

MikeQ

You'd have to consider the logistics overhead of asking the players to learn another system and undergo character creation for what is essentially a throwaway character

Might be more feasible for a rules-light system, e.g. the PCs get polymorphed into bears and they must Honey Heist their way out of it

GcL

17:52

@RevenantBacon I found the conversions to be difficult. AD&D and 2nd ed had not concept of feats and translating str scores to the 18/XX system is a bit wonky. Going from 3.5 was an issues as those chars had much higher scores and many more feats. The prestige class didn't translate at all. In short, found converting characters between versions the opposite of fun.

RevenantBacon

No, I would be doing the conversions myself. I'm talking about fun to play

JohnP

@RevenantBacon Possibly, if your players are versed in the previous versions and the differences in the mechanics. Unless you want to spend a lot of time saying "Just tell me what you want to do and I'll let you know how/if you can"

RevenantBacon

These are experienced D&D payers, they're familiar with most every edition of D&D and systems based on it, like Pathfinder, or DCC

ACuriousMind

"experienced D&D payers"...typo or Freudian slip? :P

RevenantBacon

18:10

can't spell :p

(or maybe it's a pun)

GcL

I'm not saying I wouldn't go back and play some ThAC0 again, but those old school saves were pretty brutal.

AncientSwordRage

18:31

@GcL I remember THAC0 from BG I && II..... never again

GcL

It wasn't really a bad system. A bit on it's head, but just depends on if you want to count up or count down. Most people like counting up, apparently.

RevenantBacon

I was thinking more along the lines of "this 3.5/pf1e game has suddenly become 5e because weird space magic!!!"

@GcL counting up is more intuitive

Hot RPG Questions

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Q: Cast shatter on the other side of a wall

I was wondering if you could cast shatter on the other side of a wall or on a point that you can't see. The spell description for shatter says that it is cast on a point that you choose. Other than that it does not say anything about how it's cast aside from it erupting from a point, so it seems ...

dnd-5e spells targeting line-of-sight

SmokeDetector

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Link at beginning of body (43): Thoughts on Monster Class Homebrew (pokemon trainer) by Alan Busca Pe Huynh on rpg.SE (@Rubiksmoose)

AncientSwordRage

@SmokeDetector false alarm

RevenantBacon

18:46

@HotRPGQuestions This is 100% a duplicate question

Thomas Markov

@RevenantBacon Link?

RevenantBacon

to the dupe target?

Thomas Markov

I see now.;

RevenantBacon

I'm sure there are other, even better, dupe targets out there too

This may be a better dupe target, IDK

39

Q: Is it possible for a swallowed caster to cast Fireball outside of a Giant Toad?

I had a situation last week where my DM and I completely disagreed how the following situation should have been ruled: I'm a Circle of the Moon druid wild-shaped into a Giant toad and I had swallowed a mage. The Swallow attack description says "(...) The swallowed target is blinded and res...

dnd-5e spells targeting cover blind

Thomas Markov

Youre right.

I dont know about that being a better dupe target, but I closed it for now.

RevenantBacon

18:51

Well, one is more about line of sight, the other is more on line of effect, which aren't always the same thing.

But either way, definitely a dupe

Akixkisu

Does anyone know from the top of their head whether the "votes cast" lists include votes that are technically held by the community user?

RevenantBacon

Do you mean total votes cast on a Q or A?

Users can't vote on their own submissions, so they aren't included

Akixkisu

No, I mean the votes cast lists that you access via your user id/profile.

Someone_Evil

Can't you just see a list of your own spam flags on your flags page?

Akixkisu

Yes, but would they also be listed in those lists?

I'm curious about ratios.

Someone_Evil

19:01

Your votes page doesn't include votes on deleted posts, does it?

Akixkisu

I think it shouldn't but I'm uncertain.

RevenantBacon

OOOHHHHHHHH

I get what you're saying now

the user @Community

like any votes that have been transferred to them for whatever reason

No, I think they are cleared from your votes cast list

Someone_Evil

AFAIK the only way votes are transferred to them is if your account is deleted (and your votes preserved).

RevenantBacon

I'm like 50% certain you even get rep back from downvotes that get moved

Akixkisu

@RevenantBacon ypu do, in case of lq deletion votes.

Someone_Evil

19:05

But at least spam flags (and RA?) apply a downvote from the community user

Akixkisu

But that is due to the nature of deletion, not transfer.

Thomas Markov

I have 715 rep tied up in downvotes.

Akixkisu

Good.

RevenantBacon

@ThomasMarkov how do you check?

Akixkisu

I think people tend to downvote too little.

Thomas Markov

19:06

Activity tab

you can see votes.

309 delete votes cast.

RevenantBacon

Ah, gotcha

Let's see...

Thomas Markov

Oh, I guess it isnt 715 rep cuz some of that is question down votes.

David Coffron

@Akixkisu I concur. I often times get roped into trying to argue an answer when I need to just downvote and move on.

Akixkisu

Me looking at vote stats and seeing that someone has cast 5066 votes in the last 365 days O.O

Thomas Markov

@DavidCoffron I live my best life now by downvoting first and arguing second.

Gotta send a strong message up front.

David Coffron

19:09

@ThomasMarkov I do that on poor quality answer (and then send a helpful message in the comments). If the answer is improved I reverse my vote

Thomas Markov

@Akixkisu And has posted exactly 0 times.

RevenantBacon

116 downvotes cast

David Coffron

@Akixkisu That's almost exactly as many votes as I have cast in the 3 years I've been here (5065)

Akixkisu

@DavidCoffron which still is a lot of votes.

Thomas Markov

why would someone downvote this?

Unupvote now?

RevenantBacon

19:19

@ThomasMarkov Well, I didn't downvote, but I also don't think you're correct

Thomas Markov

what is happening?

What? Why?

RevenantBacon

You aren't casting the spell into the scroll, you're copying it from your spellbook

Someone_Evil

Magic missile is a 1st level spell, when counting as one level higher than normal it is 2nd level

Thomas Markov

ooof youre right.

RevenantBacon

And Magic Missile is only a second level spell when you cast it with a level 2 slot

Thomas Markov

19:20

@Someone_Evil delet my ANSWER

RevenantBacon

RIP

Someone_Evil

Oh, right it's accepted so you can't do it yourself. I got you

Thomas Markov

@RevenantBacon go answer it so I can upvote it

@Someone_Evil "requestion"?

Someone_Evil

Thankfully I can edit comments on deleted posts :)

Thomas Markov

If there's a dunce cap for hatmas, I deserve it.

RevenantBacon

19:25

Done

@ThomasMarkov Double-RIP

Wow, my answer for "Is dealing 0 damage the same as not dealing damage" is drawing a lot of contention. 21 up 9 down

Thomas Markov

@RevenantBacon You and I are pretty evenly split on that one.

RevenantBacon

AS is yours, 19 up 8 down

It's neck and neck

Thomas Markov

At least my "how to rule" section is the same as yours.

RevenantBacon

true

Akixkisu

Maybe I should manipulate the vote by putting on a bounty to change any onlookers perspective.

RevenantBacon

19:33

We basically just disagree on whether the rules are actually making a distinction between "dealing 0 damage" and "not dealing damage"

Akixkisu

I know.

If I were to do that I'd bounty this answer rpg.stackexchange.com/a/178754/44723

RevenantBacon

20:04

Am I just being trolled? rpg.stackexchange.com/a/178793/53087

> I read your comment, but it doesn't say that in the ability, so I ignored it"

like, what? Do you not understand how explanations work?

Akixkisu

@Someone_Evil that was quick.

RevenantBacon

I'm like 100% certain that that guy is trying to troll me

MikeQ

They're probably expecting you to back up your claims using the source material.

RevenantBacon

Doubtful, they keep parroting the same thing at me even after I explain

If they wanted a source, they would have asked

Thomas Markov

Youre being trolled.

Well, sort of.

RevenantBacon

20:12

yeah

Thomas Markov

That user has a history of being aggressively contrarian.

RevenantBacon

I've noticed. This isn't the first answer I've posted that they've disagreed with

Akixkisu

@ThomasMarkov It is more of a bad faith stance than trolling.

Thomas Markov

@Akixkisu The line is blurry.

NGL, everyone disengaging is probably the right move there.

Akixkisu

@RevenantBacon reading that exchange I'd advise you that few things get people to reject your view more than you telling them that they are "obviously" wrong in a manner that leaks exasperation :)

RevenantBacon

20:27

Doesn't matter, I'm done with interacting with him. pretty sure he's trolling or being contrary on purpose. Or possibly trying to munchkin. Either way, done.

Thomas Markov

Fight fire with fire? Repeat question without answering questions

Someone_Evil

Please don't

Thomas Markov

Mark Wells is my hero.

Mark Wells

haha

RevenantBacon

LMAO, nice

Mark Wells

20:36

So I'm looking for a dungeon crawl to play with my regular group over the holidays. Something old-school-ish that we could finish in 1-2 sessions. Suggestions?

Akixkisu

Multiplayer Crawl via peer to peer ;)

NautArch

@MarkWells system?

Akixkisu

(While meant as a joke, this game is fun store.steampowered.com/app/293780/Crawl )

Ryan Kinal

@MarkWells Sunless Citadel?

Mark Wells

@NautArch Probably (to quote my con game listing from last year) "D&D 5e, with an attitude of amused disdain for the concept of 'rules'"

Ryan Kinal

20:40

Sounds like you need some Dungeon World in your life

Akixkisu

@MarkWells Death House maybe? (Introduction to Strahd)

NautArch

@MarkWells Are you in any of the chatizen for access to adventures?

and what level?

so confused about that mage hand question

Akixkisu

media.wizards.com/2016/downloads/DND/… it is also available via the wizards media thing - and a lot of fun.

Mark Wells

@NautArch Don't think so. And, level 1-3. The fun levels.

NautArch

@MarkWells ha! I definitely don't find 1 or 2 very much fun. 3, tho.

Akixkisu

20:44

^ also level 1-3 which is most fun.

Thomas Markov

@NautArch Dont be surprised if they revert your edits.

NautArch

@ThomasMarkov oh, i won't be.

i got even more confused when they said Darth's answer was helpful.

Mark Wells

Really I've had the most fun at level zero, but not sure the rest of the group would go for that

Akixkisu

Maybe you could convince your group to play something that isn't dnd ;)

NautArch

Do you/your friends like Rick and morty at all @MarkWells?

Mark Wells

20:47

@Akixkisu The group plays lots of stuff. We've got a Blades in the Dark campaign, a Star Trek Adventures campaign, previously played some Savage Worlds, some Tails of Equestria (heh), and about to start a Feng Shui campaign. At the moment I want my dungeon crawl, though.

Akixkisu

@MarkWells hm, I still think that Death House is a good idea, unless you are looking for a very specific kind oif crawl.

Mark Wells

I'll look at that.

MikeQ

I recently finished running 5e's Sunless Citadel, from the Yawning Portal book. It's very okay, although it required a good deal of modification the more we got into it.

Medix2

21:08

@ThomasMarkov I wonder where the idea of "somebody edited my post, they must be a mod" comes from... Actually, that's how many many other forums and social media sites work. Guess I answered my own question there

Perhaps I'm just used to Wikis and Stack both of which are edit-heavy

Thomas Markov

Im up to 20 hats now in rpg.se

Medix2

Ooh, another "is it history or designer intent" question... I wish my Meta made it any clearer for me XD

NautArch

@Medix2 that question has other issues

Bardic Wizard

21:24

@ThomasMarkov sheesh. How much time do you even spend chasing hats?

I’m just realizing that could have come out insulting, sorry. I should say “how do you get all the hats?”

Akixkisu

For some reason I have 15 hats.

Thomas Markov

@Akixkisu You're killing it in the review queues

RevenantBacon

21:51

@ThomasMarkov All I can think about right now is how the definition of what counts as "life" had to be adjusted specifically to exclude fire

kviiri

Happy Winter solstice

Let the lights come back on

(except in the Southern hemisphee, pls give sun back)

TheDragonOfFlame

This was actually wish #406. Wish #2 was for him to lose the ability to remember that each new wish wasn't my first.

RevenantBacon

That's a super troll wish. I love it.

TheDragonOfFlame

I showed it to like 6 friends and none of them got it

xkcd is great

Hot RPG Questions

22:22

8

Q: What is the "strange platypus-like creature" referenced in abberant mind's origins?

I don't recall any “strange platypus-like” creature in D&D, let alone one appropriate for the Aberrant Mind. I can only think of Perry the Platypus from the Phineas and Ferb cartoon. Nevertheless the Abberant Mind's origins describes such a creature: As a child, you had an imaginary friend that ...

monsters dungeons-and-dragons lore

NautArch

@Someone_Evil im not sure hammering a question reopen and hiding the discussion about it is the right thing to do. Especially without explaining why you think it should remain open.

Someone_Evil

I thought I did explain that. Is there some part of it that's missing?

NautArch

Was there a comment I missed?

Someone_Evil

Ok, there's a voiced concern that this will attract opinion guesses on developer intent, however it asking for the historical context of the terms, so answers should provide that, with support (ie. citations). Answers which don't are subject to downvotes and removal, and if the question attracts nothing but such answers it'll need to be closed and/or revised. For now, I suggest we give it the benefit of the doubt. — Someone_Evil ♦ 4 mins ago

NautArch

Ah. Do you understand what they're asking? I don't.

Mark Wells

22:33

Aren't they asking about the history of the terms used in the game, as such? It's basically a textual history question, like asking about the origin of the term "saving throw".

Someone_Evil

I mean, I think I do. They are asking about the history of a specific set of terms used in rpgs. I don't know whether History.SE would be better suited to it (I have no idea what their question standards are) them having the experts, but I don't thinks inherently off-topic here

NautArch

What do you mean by the history of those terms? Like how were they used across editions? Or why did those terms get used?

The former seema fine the latter does not.

Someone_Evil

I would assume starting from their use in real world/medieval times, and if there are notable shifts within use as it moves to fiction (up to use in D&D 5e I suppose)

I believe there are similar questions for chain mail, and leather and/or studded armour somewhere, but haven't found them yet and don't know if it's us or history who has them

NautArch

That seems fine. But that's not what I'm reading. An edit that focuses on that would help.

But we all seem to be guessing and assuming intent. Closing for clarification would be helpful, no?

Mark Wells

"Guessing intent", or as I call it, "reading for comprehension"

Thomas Markov

22:40

I don’t see how it isn’t a developer intent question. The second anyone connects any historical information to D&D they are imposing an assumption of developer intent upon the answer.

It’s either a history question and not an rpg question, or it’s a developer intent question.

NautArch

@MarkWells If more than one person comes up with a different interpretation, clarification is needed.

@Someone_Evil Why does historical use matter here? Isn't it just about the use of the term and it's meaning in D&D?

Mark Wells

@ThomasMarkov We can trace the origin of the terms to particular authors or sources without speculating about the authors' reasons for using them.

NautArch

But again, do we want users having to assume a meaning about a question, or should we be asking users to be clear in their intent?

Thomas Markov

@NautArch Exactly. If the question is just “what’s the history of breast plates” it’s doesn’t have anything to do with RPGs.

NautArch

@ThomasMarkov and i'm pretty sure that isn't what they are asking.

Thomas Markov

22:44

@MarkWells We can, and such questions are closed as opinion based.

NautArch

But that's why im trying to find out what they are actually asking and wanting to know. But OP said they weren't interested in that.

so if OP isnt interested in clarifying, then close it.

Thomas Markov

@NautArch Yes, and so to make it about RPGs, an answer must make a case that the designers of the game were influenced by particular historical facts, which is off topic.

NautArch

I dunno. I just hope the mods watch this closely and shut down bad answers. If they're gonna open it, they need to watch it.

and remove answers when they do what we're worried about.

Mark Wells

@ThomasMarkov That is absurd. "What's the origin of the title of GURPS Japan?" "Heck if we know. Maybe it reflects some historical facts we're not allowed to talk about."

AncientSwordRage

@Someone_Evil based on my experiences OP is in for a rough time if they try. Let time I asked they didn't like the vagueness of RPG term/concept → history

Thomas Markov

22:48

@MarkWells Absurd? It’s just an observation.

The Oracle

0

Q: What is this question actually asking and is it on topic?

This question on the history of the use of 'plate' terminology in D&D has created some concern about what is being asked and if it's on topic. I'm still unclear as to what OP actually is asking about and therefore can't even make a judgement on topicality. A discussion to help clarify and then de...

discussion specific-question vote-to-close

kviiri

23:50

2

Q: "Escalate" the other way around

Can escalation go the other way around? such as from gunshot to melee or from melee to just talking? For example, two players were having a shooting contest, and I called for acuity + will, at some point the losing player decided to "escalate" and punch the contender on the face. Other example: T...

dogs-in-the-vineyard

I'm off to bed, can I get eyes on this? It's a rules question (escalation is a game mechanic in DitWy and a rather significant one at that) but the sole answer treats it essentially as system agnostic story question

BESW

@kviiri That answer is useless as a DitV answer, yes.

Escalation is a specific game mechanic.

kviiri

Thanks, now I'm going to sleep with a restful mind ^^

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