TRPG General Chat

Thomas Markov

01:32

BESW

01:57

HOW TO MAKE YOUR RPG/STORY GAME MORE HEALING/ THERAPEUTIC by Maria Mison. y'all keep talking about TTRPGS bein therapy but w no methodology let's fix that Now with adventure modules!

BIPOC Vamp Jam A game jam hosted by Huetopia, Burstofhope, drnsain & morgan.nuncio. We invite any BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) designers to submit a vampire related game!

Ben

02:17

Quick question... this answer on my post is the only one that addresses the rule stating that it cannot be the same Fighting Style. Should we suggest that the other answers add that clarification, or add that ourselves? Cos the post that does mention it is not really helpful.

Trish

09:58

does someone have the 25th anniversary edition of Paranoia handy? I need the print year... I am fairly sure it should be 2009? I can't remember the correct title of the book I had quoted here

BESW

Amazon.com says October 6, 2009. I'm gonna check if I can find a "LOOK INSIDE" version on a different national site.

Goodreads says September 7, 2009.

Wikipedia agrees that it's 2009.

Akixkisu

Hm, mine says Published August 2009. Printed In USA.

But it is the pdf version

"TM & Copyright © 1983, 1987, 2009 by Eric Goldberg & Greg Costikyan. All Rights Reserved. Mongoose Publishing Ltd., Authorised User. Based on material published in
previous editions of PARANOIA.
ILLUMINATI is a registered trademark of Steve Jackson Games, and is used by permission.
The reproduction of material from this book for personal or corporate profi t, by photographic, electronic, or other means of storage and retrieval, is prohibited. You may
copy character sheets, record sheets, checklists and tables for personal use.

But it also seems wrong?

It is the one that I got from drivethrough, I assumed it is the anniversary edition, but maybe I'm wrong.

BESW

Is it called Troubleshooters?

Akixkisu

yes

BESW

That's the anniversary one, Paranoia: Troubleshooters.

Akixkisu

10:10

drivethrurpg.com/product/64605/Troubleshooters

You should be able to doublecheck.

BESW

Aye. "The 25th Anniversary of Paranoia is celebrated by this marvellous tome..."

Akixkisu

That is the product link.

It also has a reading sample, I double-checked and it is identical - so no mix up.

@Trish ^

doppelgreener

10:45

Jan 19 '13 at 8:25, by BESW

Player: [points at brown 3x3 square on the grid] "Is this a wall?"
Me: "That's a tree."
Player: "Oh."
Me: "It's round."
Party: [falls out of chairs]

BESW

11:05

Apr 23 '14 at 14:46, by BESW

Circles are squares, squares are circles, and don't think about triangles too hard.

Sep 17 '13 at 1:13, by BESW

But given that 4e topology turns squares into circles with a whole-number pi value, I'm all for waving my hands to avoid the hounds of Tindalos.

trogdor

lol

Trish

12:48

@Akixkisu roger

Thomas Markov

@KorvinStarmast Did you intend to reopen vote that game rec question?

KorvinStarmast

14:08

@ThomasMarkov Yes. I agreed with the comment fectin made. @Trish Thanks for that question, the answer grew as I dug up more details. I think my second citation is a more direct answer to where one could find it (in volume III).

Trish

@KorvinStarmast yep. I love those obscure "Where the hobby came from" question, and often it is actually "It was there in the grey dirt at the start... just not all did pick it up"

@KorvinStarmast (but I will leave it open a few days, that keeps interest coming in)

KorvinStarmast

@Trish when I get back to my old closet, I'll check out the original edition Traveller books and see what I can find in there. Not sure if they went along with that or not.

doppelgreener

14:58

@AncientSwordRage which fillum is this?

BESW

@doppelgreener The Thing (1982)

Cat of doom2

hello hello hello

BESW

[wave]

Cat of doom2

Can tell me what makes a good boss?

@BESW

doppelgreener

@BESW aha! thanks

KorvinStarmast

15:13

@Catofdoom2 Fair pay, no yelling in the office, holds employees to consistent standards, communicates requirements clearly. That's part of what makes a good boss.

doppelgreener

@KorvinStarmast Can fend off a party of adventurers of lower level and ensures their minions can stand up to a good fight

KorvinStarmast

@doppelgreener That too. And can tactfully tell corporate stuffed shirts how to get stuffed ... 😁

AncientSwordRage

@doppelgreener highly recommend, but uh... major content warning on body horror

doppelgreener

@AncientSwordRage oh yes, i'm very aware lol

AncientSwordRage

@KorvinStarmast Corporate Stuff Shirts are at least a CR 20 Abberation, right?

KorvinStarmast

15:33

@AncientSwordRage Yeah, depends on position and the size of the corporate ... 😋

Axoren

I feel like an Intelligent Barbarian would make a great Civil Engineer.

Thomas Markov

Michael Scott is the World's Best Boss

KorvinStarmast

15:54

@Axoren Heh, get a bigger hammer so maybe not the best airplane mechanic

Thomas Markov

I'm a bit disappointed that we haven't gotten an answer in favor of preserving the DGtS policy. We had a lot of discussion about how a shift in the voting should be one of our markers for considering another revisit. Now a potential shift in votes has no destination.

Axoren

@KorvinStarmast This area doesn't have enough drainage? makes a crater How about now?

"DGtS"?

Dogs Get to Swim?

Thomas Markov

@Axoren Don't Guess the system

Axoren

@ThomasMarkov Oh wow.

I'm in favor of this revisit. I'm glad it has so much support.

Without a Status Quo answer, wouldn't that mean that the votes in favor of the revisit are going to be Supporters minus Opposers anyways?

Because wouldn't they downvote in disagreement? Or am I misunderstanding you?

Thomas Markov

16:11

@Axoren People tend to upvote what they are in favor of more than they downvote what they oppose.

Axoren

Well, if they don't oppose it enough to make a counter-answer or downvote it, then they don't strongly enough care about the DGtS policy.

I would consider that evidence enough after a few weeks.

A sizeable vocal presence in favor of the Revisit and an undetectable silent presence of people in favor of DGtS.

Trish

17:00

VTC: rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/190845/… - Opinin based par excellence, unsalveageable without OP input.

Thomas Markov

@Trish Maybe unsalvagable with OP input.

Trish

@ThomasMarkov that too. Certainly not a fit to the stack.

Thomas Markov

Love their profile picture though.

Also VTC, same poster

Deleted right after I commented.

Trish

I hate how people think "balanced" is a qualifier for deciding stuff. Most players actually mean it as "Most effective". I have met GMs that deemed builds that were not optimized in some way to be unbalaned and pushed players to optimize characters claiming that it would balance the game better.

Someone_Evil

"Balanced with what?" seems to come up as a clarification request quite often

MemeMan

17:14

When I see balanced I think something equal to level or power of our character

Someone_Evil

Homebrew review for magic items perhaps most often

MemeMan

True

Medix2

@Someone_Evil Yeah it's an odd case because almost every single time they mean "balanced against similar available options in terms of damage"

MemeMan

@ThomasMarkov Thanks, glad you like it, I made it myself... yes I have the free time to do dumb stuff like that XD

MikeQ

The question mentioned that the character has the Sentinel feat and the Dueling fighting style. So to make use of that, you'd want a 1-handed weapon. A whip would give you 10 ft reach, and more easily threaten creatures. Otherwise you'd need any other 1-handed weapon with a 5 ft reach, and would want to stay very close to allies. Beyond that there's no issues of "balance".

Thomas Markov

17:16

@MemeMan I dont understand.

Someone_Evil

@Medix2 Not strictly damage I find. Damage is just the easiest comparison

15 mins ago, by Thomas Markov

Love their profile picture though.

I assume

MemeMan

Yep

Thomas Markov

Oh, you changed your name on site.

MemeMan

Yep

Someone_Evil

@MikeQ In this case it's what magic item, though, isn't it?

KorvinStarmast

17:18

@ThomasMarkov I think that the lack of an answer shows that the policy was ill-considered in the first place, and that people are beginning to see that. I could be wrong, as there are some down votes.

Someone_Evil

Wait, do you have any rarity restrictions on what you choose?

Thomas Markov

@MemeMan i was horribly confused for a second.

Trish

@Someone_Evil exactly my point. If I put my balance up with "cat" on the one side, something entirely different comes out than if I put "tucker's Kobolds with molotovs" on it.

MemeMan

@Someone_Evil, Kind of. Self judgment really. Do you think a level 6 should have a legendary weapon or uncommon. Mostly that

Thomas Markov

@MemeMan uncommon most likely.

MemeMan

17:21

Yeah

Thomas Markov

I think the published distribution in the DMG would give 1 rare item to the party.

KorvinStarmast

@Trish only if it weighs as much as a duck

Someone_Evil

@ThomasMarkov The starting at higher levels suggests an uncommon, no?

Thomas Markov

@KorvinStarmast Trojan Kobold?

@Someone_Evil Checking.

Someone_Evil

That's certainly what we've used when starting at 8, so I wouldn't go higher/rarer

KorvinStarmast

17:22

@ThomasMarkov I was thinking something Romanesque, like Trajan's Kobolds. I think they built the sewers for one of the cities ... 😎

Someone_Evil

There's probably a number of rare items that wouldn't be a problem, but that's kinda running against trying hard for the best

Trish

@KorvinStarmast 1 cat is a lethal opponent for commoners and wizards. N Tucker's Kobolds (which use book values!) are lethal enemies for a party of N heroes.

MemeMan

What is you favorite 5e offical quest?

official*

Thomas Markov

Starting at 5th-10th in a high magic campaign, the DMG recommends one uncommon magic item.

MikeQ

23 hours ago, by MikeQ

To seek the Holy Grail!

MemeMan

17:24

Cool!

i.sstatic.net/N1mlJ.png?s=64&g=1

Thomas Markov

@MemeMan Curse of Strahd is pretty fun.

MemeMan

I played that one

KorvinStarmast

@MemeMan To find the two adventurers in Sunless Citadel. My players really enjoyed that one.

MemeMan

We missed almost the whole thing because we were basically speed running it

I also played sunless citadel but it was only half

MikeQ

Waterdeep Dragon Heist looks very neat, although I hear it has many structural issues

MemeMan

17:27

Yep

My party accidentally beat the game in 5 hours

:D

Thomas Markov

I've always wanted to play Descent into Avernus.

MikeQ

I ran Sunless Citadel, it was ok. Getting to voice all the wacky goblins and kobolds was fun. I also changed the story to fit the players' character choices.

MemeMan

I don't want to spoil Dragon Heist

But we stopped the villan

So there was no point of going on

We are currently playing a custom quests called Rise of Asmodeus

Medix2

5e side question, is there a rule that says your opportunity attack must use the weapon whose reach the target exited? Basically, can you use a reach weapon when somebody moves out of your unarmed strike reach?

MemeMan

We have to stop Asmodeus' Rise to god hood

rbrb

Someone_Evil

17:29

@Medix2 I'm sure we have a question about this

MikeQ

@Medix2 I remember making a houserule about this, so I think the RAW says you can use one weapon to attack even if the target left a different weapon's reach

Thomas Markov

5

Q: Do you get an Opportunity Attack with an unarmed strike at 5ft. when holding a 2-handed reach weapon?

A reach weapon adds 5 feet to your reach making it 10 feet. If you are holding a 2-handed reach weapon (eg a glaive) with 2 hands and someone moves from 5 feet away to 10 feet away do you still get an opportunity attack? Or because you are holding the weapon are you unable to use an unarmed stri...

50

Q: When are Opportunity Attacks provoked while holding a reach and a non-reach weapon?

Assume I wield a Whip in one hand and a dagger in the other. If a creature moves from 5ft to 10ft it has technically moved out of my reach (dagger), but at the same time it is still inside my reach (whip). When does it provoke opportunity attacks from me? I am fully aware that this would not en...

dnd-5e opportunity-attack reach

Medix2

Oh we have a question on this

Neither of those answer my question

And neither does mine actually XD

Someone_Evil

8

Q: A foe leaves the reach of my 5-foot reach sword. Can I make an Opportunity Attack with my 10-foot reach whip?

This is a follow up to the question: When are Opportunity Attacks provoked while holding a reach and a non-reach weapon? The answers establish pretty solidly that if I hold a weapon with a reach of 5 feet (say, a sword) and another weapon with a reach of 10 feet (say, a whip), an adjacent foe st...

dnd-5e weapons opportunity-attack reach

?

Medix2

So when a creature leaves your unarmed strike range you do get an opporty attack, yes. But does it have to actually use your unarmed strike?

Ooh, yeah, that'll do it

MemeMan

17:33

I made a 261 page google document of 5e dnd stuff

MikeQ

That sounds difficult to organize

MemeMan

oh it is very disorganized

KorvinStarmast

@MemeMan Declare victory and move on 😁

MemeMan

lol

BESW

Aug 9 at 7:11, by BESW

Rob Donoghue wrote a twitter thread about the question "What are you balancing and why?"

MemeMan

17:38

Midas’ Golden Touch
6th level conjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V,S
Once you cast this spell you may touch one creature or object that has a volume of no more than 10 cubic feet and weighs no more than 300 pounds, and turn it to solid gold. The spell varies depending on the target. If you target a creature it takes 6d12 force damage, and if this damage kills the creature it becomes an inanimate gold statue. If you target an object it instantly turns to gold and the AC and hp of the object change to AC 10, hp 12. The gold can be sold for 12d12 x charisma modifier gp.

This is one of my spells

MikeQ

No save or attack roll? Seems awfully powerful. Also the clause about selling it is very ambiguous. Could someone else (other than the caster) sell it?

MemeMan

?

o

KorvinStarmast

@MemeMan how to unbalance a loaded cart or row boat with one spell casting.

MemeMan

lol

Take wish for example, now does it seem unbalanced?

You can cast it once per short or long rest,

MikeQ

Wish isn't supposed to be balanced. It's notorious for breaking campaigns altogether.

MemeMan

17:41

lol ikr

MikeQ

Have you playtested the material in your 261 pages of homebrew content?

MemeMan

Some

KorvinStarmast

The wonkiest favorite part about wish is that it can let the caster use any spell in the book without providing components - but it can provide (a lot of) beer money. You create one object of up to 25,000 gp in value that isn’t a magic item Granted, you may never cast wish again if you do that ...

MemeMan

How should I convince my DM to give me 3 sun blades?

At level 1

?

MikeQ

Depends on the campaign. If the players are expected to have superpowered weapons at 1st level then it could be reasonable. But otherwise it seems like a lot to ask for.

AncientSwordRage

17:46

Is dndbeyond down for anybody?

MikeQ

In practice, "balance" mostly matters when closing power gaps between players in the same group. Because a large disparity between player characters can seem unfair. So starting out with extra powerful items and abilities may seem unfair if the other players get the normal 1st level stuff.

Someone_Evil

@AncientSwordRage Not for me

MemeMan

I made a joke to my friend, he thought I was being serious, asked our DM, and now... I can turn stuff to gold...

"You can turn inanimate small objects to gold and they are only worth 5gp each. You can do this 3 times per long rest."

Someone_Evil

There's a Transmuter wizard feature which does (something like) that, already isn't there?

AncientSwordRage

@Someone_Evil odd, but thanks for letting me know

Someone_Evil

17:56

@AncientSwordRage What kind of error are you getting?

Thomas Markov

Creation bard has a similar feature

AncientSwordRage

@Someone_Evil it gave me a long error code, and told me to take a long rest

Trish

@MemeMan Unlikely to work unless the others get likewise magic items that level... or you bribe the GM.

AncientSwordRage

Seems ok now

KorvinStarmast

@Trish he'll have 15 gold per long rest to do that with 😊

Trish

18:09

@MemeMan Artifact Rush.

@KorvinStarmast If I get 15 Kruger Rand per long rest, sure, you can have those. Let's start. you need 10 long rests to get from the inn to the dungeon. :P

(Artifact Rush is one of the Shadowrun 5th edition mission line. He never specified it to be D&D 5E :P )

KorvinStarmast

18:25

@Trish He did post a level 6 spell in roughly D&D 5e format here

Trish

@KorvinStarmast 10 minutes after asking which is the best 5E campaign ;)

KorvinStarmast

@Trish reading the whole conversation for context is often useful, see the Curse of Strahd reference and the Waterdeep reference. 😉 I might keep those krugerrands.

Trish

@KorvinStarmast 15 Rand per long rest for overpowered gear at level one seems like a good rate, don't you think? ;)

KorvinStarmast

@Trish I agree, and even renders one of the motives for adventuring moot, if you are still talking about the krugerrand. 😮 Interestingly, I learned today that Visitors to South Africa can export up to 15 coins by declaring the items to the South African Revenue Service = hmm, that same 15 gold coin thing ... correlation? Coincidence? Conspiracy? 😮

Trish

@KorvinStarmast well, that are 15 fine ounces gold in the value of 27k USD. For that ammount, I'd let a player be a reality warper. Especially if they pay that whenever their character rests! I wasn't kidding when I said bribe the GM might work.

KorvinStarmast

18:38

@Trish giggle Korvin Travels 5 days toward dungeon, and five days back, and end up with 150 GP in one's pocket. Walks into the tavern tells other prospective adventurers "Look at what I was able to recover by myself. Just think of what you all can recover as a team!" tells tall tales of the dungeon, all of which are total rubbish since he never entered it. 😁😀

@Trish Oh, yeah, though bribing with pizza or beer is what I am used to seeing IRL.

Trish

@KorvinStarmast yep, which also is usually more effective. Especially if the table partakes - less bad blood. Though does not yield you a nuke.

KorvinStarmast

@Trish It might get a fudged roll, which is worth more than gold in some cases ... 😉

Trish

@KorvinStarmast a fudged death saving throw can be worth hundreds of coin :)

KorvinStarmast

@Trish yeah - though it just occurred to me that @MemeMan 's DM is creating an inflationary spiral. 15 GP per day times 365 is 5,475 GP injected into the local economy. In one year. And if the king's tax collectors hear of this, trouble can't be far behind.

therefore, @MemeMan needs to keep moving about, spread that gold around. Allay suspicions better that way.

Stay one step ahead of the tax collectors ....

Trish

@KorvinStarmast Advenurers are in general a havoc upon the local economy. And weapons are underpriced.

KorvinStarmast

18:45

@Trish Or, King's agents pursue @mememan, capture him, and he is stuck in a cell to produce 15 GP per day. Goose that lays golden eggs and all that. There goes the adventuring career, up in smoke

@Trish concur

@MemeMan what level was Luke Skywalker when Obi Wan Kenobi gave him a light saber? Level 1? 😁

Trish

A medieval archer got 6 pence a day. A sword cost 20 shilling or 240 pence. That's a war campaign of 40 days to pay off your borrowed sword. the next 40 are to pay of your helmet. Another 40 for your gambeson and then you are out 120 days on campaign.

@KorvinStarmast actually... level 2 rogue in the d20.

KorvinStarmast

Really? Oh, that's interesting.

@Trish Need to make up the rest in loot and pillage ...

Capture a knight and ransom him off: Profit

Trish

@KorvinStarmast that was royal british army. No loot privilege, in fact: looters got hanged.

Cat of doom2

!

KorvinStarmast

@Trish Killjoys. 😋

Cat of doom2

18:51

what makes a good D&D boss

Thomas Markov

Fair compensation for freelance content authors.

Trish

@Catofdoom2 The answer is always a Lich.

KorvinStarmast

or a Rakshasa

Cat of doom2

thats not what i meant

AncientSwordRage

Or things go the way of Mansa Musa and the local economy tanks.

Cat of doom2

18:53

like whats somthing that every good boss has

Someone_Evil

@KorvinStarmast A lich rakshasa seems like the obvious solution

AncientSwordRage

@Catofdoom2 minions?

Legendary Monsters in Dungeons and Dragons 5e

►

Dungeon Dudes videos tend to be good

KorvinStarmast

@Catofdoom2 minions and an escape plan

Cat of doom2

okay

taking notes here

average armour class you recommend?

KorvinStarmast

@Someone_Evil a lichshasa or a Rakich

Someone_Evil

18:59

@Catofdoom2 That feels like sort of the wrong question. What level/CR are you aiming for?

Cat of doom2

a kind spinned devil

Someone_Evil

Why does a devil need a different AC just because it's nice?

Or am I misunderstanding you?

Cat of doom2

king

i meant king

@@Someone_Evil

Thomas Markov

Do you own the Dungeon Master's Guide?

Someone_Evil

Ah. That makes a lot more sense really

Thomas Markov

19:02

It explains how to do this with step-by-step guidance.

Someone_Evil

That doesn't tell me what CR you want though

Cat of doom2

i own all the main 3 books now

KorvinStarmast

@Catofdoom2 what level is the party?

Cat of doom2

5 or 6

AncientSwordRage

I'd recommend not making the boss until your players are nearer the level you expect them to be when they face it

Cat of doom2

19:04

i want them to fight it really soon though @AncientSwordRage

all it is is a stronger spinned devil

Someone_Evil

Number of PCs and general power level?

And how many minions will be fighting alongside it?

MikeQ

Every boss has hit points, and a name. Bosses have layers. Like ogres, onions, and layer cake.

KorvinStarmast

@MikeQ and a parfait

Cat of doom2

okay i think the number of minions wil depend on the players actions previouly

they'll be around level 6 when this happens with 5 of them

MikeQ

From a player's perspective, a satisfying boss is typically some sort of capstone, at the end of a narrative arc. Could be a short arc, but there should be building tension in advance. Boss fights are expected to be more challenging than most fights, but still fair and fun.

Of course, the entire notion of "boss fight" makes more sense in video games, where the level-to-boss structure is strongly enforced. Video game bosses are typically meant to test skills that the player is expected to develop and master in the prior gameplay section. Whereas TTRPGs are completely different, and the order of progression is player-driven, so it's hard to ensure that structure without railroading.

KorvinStarmast

19:13

@Catofdoom2 Minute Sixteen on the Dungeon Dude's video includes my point on "Has An Escape Plan"

Cat of doom2

well the whole boss won't exist in the campign if the players just protect the artifect like their supposed to. its more a conqunce for lazyiness

KorvinStarmast

At minute 18, minions

@MikeQ he pronounced sahuagin "suh Hay Gwen" ?? odd

Cat of doom2

so it's back to my preivois discussion yesterday

it has to do with the devil's skull

when a high level fiend makes contact with it. it'll asorb the skull and become a boss monster

Thomas Markov

Arent they level 6?

How high level of a fiend are thye going to encounter?

Cat of doom2

i don't know yet

but it won't be crazy

Trish

19:26

@Someone_Evil A Rakshasa-Lich with a Demon-Lord on a chain and a dragon ride!

Cat of doom2

i think it'll depend when and where they let their guard down. maybe they'll have to kill a king spined devil or a queen succubus or a king borthomat

AncientSwordRage

@KorvinStarmast it's right based on that page

bobble

@AncientSwordRage methinks you have a stray space in your link formatting

Medix2

19:48

Wondering if a mod can shed light on why the comments under this question feel out of order

Thomas Markov

@Medix2 Miva's initial comment contained an errant link

AncientSwordRage

@bobble mod "abuse" to the rescue!

Thomas Markov

So miva deleted and reposted

Medix2

Ah that makes sense, glad I'm not going crazy XD

KorvinStarmast

20:14

@AncientSwordRage not quite; he pronounced a long a, not an ah.

and gin is not gwen

MikeQ

Forgotten Realms wiki says it's "sah-hwah-gin", which is how I first heard it in a PF1 adventure

KorvinStarmast

20:42

is that g as in gin alcoholic drink or g as in gift?

Hot RPG Questions

21:12

7

Q: When was the first instance of "If you don't like the rules, change them." in a rulebook?

In the past, we determined that The GM is Always Right is stemming from the early heydays of Dungeons and Dragons and its origin in games like Chainmail, though the Braunstein games might also be a way it came to be. In either way, many of the more modern editions of games have lines that account...

history-of-gaming terminology

AncientSwordRage

21:23

@MikeQ that's what I linked to above (unless there's another wiki)

Trish

21:58

I claim, that makes a perfect hook for an adventure invoving insurance fraud...

trogdor

22:20

lol

Transcript for