TRPG General Chat

user530439

12:48 AM

If an obsolete answer is in the process of being updated and the update might take days, is it best to mark it as such to avoid people thinking it's correct/completed - eg write WIP in the title? Do we have a meta about the process?

Hot RPG Questions

3

Q: If a prone Echo Knight fighter makes a ranged attack from the echo's space, and the echo is not prone, would the attack be made without disadvantage?

The description of the Prone condition states, in part (PHB, p. 292; emphasis mine): The creature has disadvantage on attack rolls. The description of the Echo Knight fighter's Manifest Echo feature states, in part (EGW, p. 183; emphasis mine): When you take the Attack action on your turn, ...

TheDragonOfFlame

1:02 AM

Made a Monk archetype for a western game [d&d-5e]. Thoughts?

BESW

What kind of feedback are you looking for?

TheDragonOfFlame

Mostly balancing, though wording, naming and flavour are also appreciated.

BESW

1:28 AM

Well in terms of naming and flavor I'd recommend James Mendez Hodes' "Asian Representation and the Martial Arts" which talks about general context as well as issues with 5e martial arts in particular and some principles on how to deal with the subject more respectfully.

Personally if I were writing up this concept I'd ask "why is this -fu?" because unless my character is one of the Chinese immigrants who worked to build the trans-continental railroad then a mid-19th century gunslinger is probably more likely to know a martial art like North Country or Collar and Elbow or savate.

Any of which would be really cool to translate into fantasy firearm practices, more evocative of the setting, and potentially (I'd be particularly careful with Collar and Elbow) less fraught.

user530439

I suspect "Gun Fu" is a pun based on the popular (perhaps most popular?) type of martial arts "Kung Fu". I doubt it is a reference to mid-19th century trans-continental railroad workers as most D&D games take place in an alternate world entirely ^^

BESW

That's pretty much my point, yes.

user530439

Shaolin monks are undoubtable one of the inspirations of monks in D&D, and one of the styles they practice is Kung Fu

goodguy5

Gun Fu is a common substitute for Gun Kata (sp?)

user530439

I know D&D goes to lengths to not directly tie their world to ours, but there are certainly parallels

BESW

1:33 AM

...yes? I'm not sure what point you're making.

goodguy5

Maybe I misread?

Seemed like you were asking why they were using the term?

BESW

D&D's "monk" concept draws heavily on Orientalist stereotypes, and I see no particular reason to deliberately export that mistake to a new historical-inspired setting that already has its own martial arts to draw on in less problematic ways.

goodguy5

I'm very sorry, but I cannot parse that sentence.

BESW

I'm not asking what the references are; I'm asking why the references are being made.

user530439

I'm not sure it's a mistake? Gun fu is definitely popular in Asia and has been for the better part of 100 years.

goodguy5

1:37 AM

All of this aside, @TheDragonOfFlame I would simply say "Way of the Gun", as "Way of Gun Fu" is awkward imo

BESW

[shrug] Hodes has already done all the legwork here, I'm not going to repeat it.

user530439

Beware cultural imperialism and infantilization of Asian people. From a western (American?) perspective it may seem like a mockery of millennia of Chinese martial arts, but it's been part of both western and eastern cultures (separating mainland from HK) for generations.

linksassin

@ThomasMarkov How exactly did you manage to delete that answer on your own?

goodguy5

I'll need to look over it some more against established classes, but it looks good at first glance.

I need clarity on what guns you'll be allowing in this game.

And, just for curiosity sake, would a monk be allowed to use a hand crossbow with this class? (I ask because the wording would not allow it to work with several features)

BESW

@BardicWizard LHSrescue thread on framed fashion prints.

Thomas Markov

1:41 AM

@linksassin I'm filling out the contact form to SE now, pull me into a private room and I'll tell you.

BESW

"D&D 5E’s next adventure collection Journeys through the Radiant Citadel is the RPG’s first book written entirely by people of colour" article by Matt Jarvis for Dicebreaker. Anthology releasing this summer offers 13 standalone scenarios from 16 Black and Brown writers.

TheDragonOfFlame

@BESW it’s gunfu as gun fu is an actual name for gun martial arts in Hong Kong action cinema

BESW

Ajit George wrote a twitter thread about "Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel."

@TheDragonOfFlame Yes, I'm just... wondering why it's in a western game. You're already writing a whole new subclass for the new setting, why not go all the way and completely re-skin the "monk" to use martial arts that are more attuned to the campaign's aesthetic?

Cam Banks wrote a twitter thread about learning about GM styles and game design by "watch[ing] actual play of D&D 5e and see which skills get used the most"

TheDragonOfFlame

@BESW you mean like make an entirely separate ‘bruiser’ class or something?

Shalvenay

the idea of martial monastic sorts isn't uniquely an Asian flavored thing either! (why does everyone forget about Friar Tuck and his quarterstaff?)

TheDragonOfFlame

1:47 AM

@Shalvenay Eh, he’s a fighter, not a monk. That’s actually my beef with monk overall: it feels like a subclass to me.

It’s just significantly more specialized than all the other classes

Honestly, d&d would benefit from having less classes and more options IMO

Yuuki

there are two classes: fighter and ~~not-fighter~~ caster

BESW

That's one way to do it. But you could just re-skin "monk" mechanics (or any other class) to reflect savate or Collar-and-Elbow or North Country style or Capoeira or any of the other traditional martial arts that los vaqueros and their associates might have learned from their own communities.

TheDragonOfFlame

@Yuuki I would suggest more fighter (rolled up Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin and Ranger), mage (rolled up bard, sorcerer, warlock and wizard), and cleric (Druid and Cleric)

oh and rogue

but maybe rogue is rolled into fighter

Yuuki

clerics are just mages with a code of behavior

TheDragonOfFlame

And like non-novelist said the game is more of a western style game then an actual western, with mages and elves allowed…

BESW

1:52 AM

Again, it's not about realism, it's about combining the aesthetic considerations of the campaign with pushing against the distinctly unfortunate choices made by D&D when rolling Asian media inspirations into itself (see Hodes linked above for details).

TheDragonOfFlame

I’ll check out those links for flavour. Maybe reskin the base monk class as collar and elbow, or savate or one of those others, then keep the gun fu (restyled slightly) as a subclass.

MikeQ

@TheDragonOfFlame The 3rd level feature is very underwhelming, since unarmed strikes can already be made with feet, elbows, heads, etc. I'm also not seeing any mechanics to make reloading more efficient (e.g. reload as part of a flurry)

TheDragonOfFlame

@MikeQ I thought you still need an empty hand?

MikeQ

@TheDragonOfFlame In D&D 5e, unarmed strikes can be made with any body part. So there's no benefit to making unarmed strikes with a hand that holds a firearm (unless you want there to be a benefit for this subclass, but currently it's not written that way).

TheDragonOfFlame

@MikeQ thanks. I’ll check that.

MikeQ

2:02 AM

@TheDragonOfFlame The 6th level ability to push enemies away is also odd, considering most of the other class benefits only apply in melee range (I suppose it could be a method of "prioritizing" enemies?)

TheDragonOfFlame

2:18 AM

@MikeQ I mean, true but other monks have similar features and also are mainly melee

linksassin

→ 15 messages moved to Discussion on answer by Non-novelist: How much gold per level?

user530439

@linksassin I think one got skipped (not sure if you noticed)

linksassin

→ 2 messages moved to Discussion on answer by Non-novelist: How much gold per level?

Glazius

2:51 AM

@doppelgreener Put out something substantial for your citations query. Let me know if it helps?

Hot RPG Questions

2

Q: I just burned my bag of holding. Did the thing in it die?

In my campaign I had a bag of holding with a live creature inside of it. I poured oil on the bag and lit it with flint and steel, and let it burn up. Did the creature inside it die? I don’t know if any of this matters but I might as well just put it down just in case. The only thing inside the ba...

dnd-5e magic-items

TheDragonOfFlame

3:07 AM

Me, trying to think of a way to improve the d&d class system: “what if- no, that’s just GURPS. Or what if- ahh, GURPS again!”

Shalvenay

@TheDragonOfFlame heh. btw: if you ever want to take that epic magic vs. anti-magic duel for a spin sometime, just ping me

Bardic Wizard

5:51 AM

@BESW yes this is a wonderful thing and just what I need today

Also how’s things around here? I got busy this week and haven’t had a chance to check in lately

I’m writing protest songs (okay, rewriting Solidarity Forever) to match the SCTA/SEIU strike that started today but that’s pretty much all I’ve done today

(For example: Aguilar took the money that he never toiled to own, but without their brains and teaching not a single class will run! They can break the district’s power, gain their freedom as we learn! For the union makes them strong! Solidarity Forever! Solidarity Forever! Solidarity Forever! For the union makes us strong!)

(Aguilar is the overpaid local superintendent)

Hot RPG Questions

6:19 AM

3

Q: What spells take away an enemy's Reaction?

I know the cantrip Shocking Grasp removes an enemy's ability to use its Reaction if you hit: ... On a hit, the target takes 1d8 lightning damage, and it can't take reactions until the start of its next turn. I am not very familiar with the spells available but am theory-crafting a caster. Assum...

dnd-5e spells reactions

BESW

@BardicWizard Very civic-minded of you!

I'm trying to figure out why so many of the games I come up with turn out to be best with card mechanics, when that's not a medium I'm any good at playing, much less designing.

Gontijo started a blog to post reviews of TRPGs off social media.

V2Blast

8:04 AM

@Non-novelist If it's obsolete, and the update will take a while, it may be best to delete it until it can be updated.

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