Growing up on Guam is kind of like constant international travel and never leaving home; the world moves through Guam at a rather startling clip, but Guam sits pretty still.
Nearly any non-Chamorro friend I'd make would only stick around for a couple years, tops.
@BESW yeah, so you got the TCK experience without moving. That kind of sucks (and it's kinda cool, I enjoyed the continuously getting to start over bit of being a TCK)
His folks divorced and remarried when he was very young, and both new families relocated internationally every year or so. So he bounced between families who bounced around the world, and every six months to a year he'd get a Complete Reset on his life--including consequences for his actions.
He's never learned long-term planning or how to cope with the long-term consequences of his actions, because it was always pointless. Even if he wanted to plan something, his life was so completely out of his control that he just gave up trying.
He returns to Guam every couple years, because his mom's mostly settled here now and it's kind of a home base. "Hi, where've you been the last three years?" "China. I had to leave because they finally noticed I was working on an expired tourist visa."
Yeah. It's a problem here too; there's a "redneck" equivalent in terms of subculture and language.
On the other hand, I'm frequently told I don't have an accent, which is definitionally incorrect. People in college thought I might be British because I enunciated my syllables.
@waxeagle I quickly divided the southern accent into two schools: the drawl and the gabble.
After the Angry Fairy closed, it was the only place to get art supplies within an hour of the college. I always thought the school should have done some kind of arrangement between the professors and the school store....
I'm toying with the idea of trying to get my family (Ages 9-14) in to RPGs. I'm not currently in to them, but I've had some background in the area (Mostly the gold box video games, etc)
I'm trying to figure out how to get started, and specifically what I could try.
Off the top of my head I'd also recommend Fate Accelerated, but knowing a bit more about your desired gameplay experience would be useful in tailoring recommendations.
I like the idea of RPGs for my family, because they are always creative.
They really like the story telling type aspects. I like more of the advancing in level concepts, but I'm willing to push my own desires a bit in to a corner to try something with my family.
What style do you want to run? Fighting, social encounters, realm management, just about any experience you want could be catered to; the RPG closet is vast and deep.
Rules: On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is "just make stuff up" and 5 is "the manual has rules and systems to cover anything you could ever think of doing," how "crunchy" would you like the rule system to be?
Choices: On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is "I just make up rules as we go" and 5 is "the rules are written and must be followed at all times," how much do you want to feel the rules are under your (the group's) control?
Accelerated is basically Core with the complexity knobs all turned way down. You can dial them up individually (sometimes even per character, so the older kids can do more with the rules while still playing with the younger ones) as you like.
I suggest you start out with pure Accelerated to get everyone comfortable with the system, and then bring in elements from the Core as needed/desired to let people stretch their brains.
@PearsonArtPhoto there are literally 1000s of other options out there as well. FAE is probably a really good one. But if what you realize you're looking for is Dungeons and Dragons then I'd highly recommend the D&D Red Box as a start.
I would actually like to see that quiz in weighted percentage form. "Based on your answers, D&D 3.5e is an 80% fit, FATE Core is a 50% fit, and GURPS is a 12% fit."
Mathematically, there has to be a way to end up with GURPS... "On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being 'Uncle!' and 5 being 'Bring the embers!' how masochistic do you think you are ?"
@PearsonArtPhoto One of the cool parts of FATE is that worldbuilding is kind of built in, so your players can have a hand in creating the kind of story they want to tell.
@PearsonArtPhoto Figure it out with your players. I can't tell for Accelerated (not too fresh in my memory) but Core has excellent World creation mechanics based on basically just asking everyone what they want.
Alternatively, you could look at games like Spirit of the Century or Diaspora, which use Fate rules (core, though, not accelerated) for their settings.
@Problematic And it is, indeed, one of the coolest parts of the game. (Though I'd have to ask, is there any part that is actually cooler than the others when the whole thing is Superb ?)
@PearsonArtPhoto cool. I started about 2 and a half years ago with a group of college friends who hadn't ever done it before. We've been playing weekly ever since and are having a blast.
are there any attacks set to trigger something based on how many enemies you reduce to 0 hit points? Something like that may have a wording that leans one way or another
On the other half of the issue, if a free action has to happen immediately after whatever gives it to you, then wouldn't you only ever be able to use one anyway?
you could get 7 of them, use one, and now you're after the free action instead of after the initial action
I mean, in all honesty I can't find anything definitive on how long you'd have access to those free actions
@Lunin you use it after the trigger. But in this case the trigger could be either the power or the creature death, and I'm truly not sure which it should be
@Lunin but the free action took no time, so you're still after the trigger ends.
in that case, what would be the difference between No Action and Free Action? Free Actions have the extra limit that you can only do one attack per turn and that they can be limited by DM fiat; but many of the powers that use No Action don't involve attacking.
There's ~184 No Action powers in the compendium, though I'm unsure how that number compares with other types
though I am unsure as to how much that factors in, I was mainly trying to use No Action to try to deduce what Free Action was not where the glossary was silent
@Lunin yeah, I have no compendium access here so it's all mobile which is useful if you know what you're looking for, but doesn't have the filtering I need
Hey guys, quick question. I'm starting a new campaign and I want to be something that isn't a Druid this time. I'm looking at being a Bard and multiclassing as a Rogue (I want to be a rapper, I thought it would be funny). If I multiclass as a rogue, though, do I really just get Thievery as a trained skill and one time use of Sneak Attack?
Ruthless Efficiency [Multiclass Rogue] Prerequisite: Str 13, Dex 13 Benefit: You gain training in the Stealth skill. You gain the Ruthless Ruffian class feature.
Sly Dodge [Multiclass Rogue] Prerequisite: Dex 13, Cha 13 Benefit: You gain training in the Bluff skill or the Intimidate skill. Once per encounter, when an enemy makes an opportunity attack against you, you can add your Charisma modifier to your AC against that attack.
Sneak of Shadows [Multiclass Rogue] Prerequisite: Dex 13 Benefit: You gain training in the Thievery skill. Once per encounter, you can use the rogue’s Sneak Attack class feature.
Twilight Adept [Multiclass Rogue] Heroic Tier Prerequisite: Dex 13 or Int 13 Benefit: You gain training in Stealth. Once per encounter, you can use a free action during your turn to gain the benefit of the rogue class feature Cunning Sneak until the end of your turn.
If you want to become more like a rogue, remember that the multiclass feat also lets you qualify for more advanced multiclass feats (which allow things like gaining a rogue power) and lets you pretend you're a rogue for all feat and paragon path/epic destiny requirements.
You might also find a D&D Insider subscription useful. I was suspicious of it at first, but it gives you access to a fully searchable database of all the crunch ever officially released for the game, as well as the ability to download all the magazines article by article, and pretty good PC/NPC building web apps.
If you find yourself wanting to blend two classes more, there are also the Hybrid rules from PHB3, you get class features from two classes, though they tend to be a little less powerful and/or a little more constricting than their single classed counterparts
@Truebrooks Yes, as @Lunin said, hybrid is also an option. Normally I wouldn't recommend it, since it takes a lot of system mastery to make a decent hybrid character, but skald + rogue is actually a fairly decent combo as long as you pick a dex/cha race. I would recommend going to the Character Optimization forums and asking for help with a build.
It's usually possible to build an at least OK single class character muddling through on your own, but hybrids tend to turn out somewhere between "unusually crappy" and "The Worst Character Ever(TM)" unless you yourself are an expert or you're getting (and following) the advice of experts.
Hi guys, I can't help but feel another of my questions needs some guidance as to what it really should be asking.
Is http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/26287/what-are-believable-combat-escape-plans-for-npcs too specific or too general? Is there a good question in there that needs an edit to bring it out?
@StuperUser Personally, I find that a combination of preparation, planning, and cunning item use is best: teleport is useful, but the ability to turn gaseous and vanish down the drain is memorable.
