TRPG General Chat

user61230

12:50 AM

I wonder if it's possible to convert Gorgoldand's Gauntlet into a story game

user61230

1:02 AM

BESW

I dreamed I was a dwarf whose magic axe was broken in a battle with sea-elves: the ring on the pommel snapped off.

3

When I (shakingly) informed my god that his axe was broken, he was REALLY mad... until he learned it was in a battle with sea elves in which I summoned Lovecraftian horrors to battle on my side.

This was cool enough that he took the snapped-off ring and re-forged it into a metal dwarf to be my companion on my adventures.

user61230

That is beautiful.

user61230

Did he give you a new axe, or just a companion?

BESW

I kept the broken axe.

user61230

That makes sense. It's still a functional axe.

BESW

1:10 AM

Prior to that, there was a plot about my having amnesia and signing up to guard a caravan through dangerous underground passages, and then my friends showed up to help during the battle with the sea-elves.

Each of them was a different race whose god had given them a magic weapon.

user61230

That's awesome, and sounds like an intense dream.

user61230

I'm mildly jealous. I don't have dreams like that very often.

BESW

The SFX for the sea-elf battle were especially awesome.

We had to cross a bridge over their territory, and they lined up along the side of the bridge, several dozen of them with greatbows that looked like they were made of frozen seaweed.

The leader of our group invoked the peace treaty with the sea elves, that we were each sworn not to initiate violence against the other, and they echoed "Yes, the treaty! No violence!" in burbly voices.

So we started across the bridge, and halfway across one of the elves shouted "...treaty says nothing about stealing!"

And they surged up onto the bridge and started grabbing everything that wasn't tied down.

We tried to just get to the other side as fast as possible, but some of the caravan members drew knives to defend their goods, and then one of the sea-elves cut the ropes holding the bridge up over the water, and it was on.

I don't quite remember how the Lovecraftian horrors got involved, but there were tentacles and beaks and a lot of screaming and it was related to my amnesia.

I haven't had a dream like that for a long time... I should ask my mother about her dreams.

We seem to have a time-share on vivid dreams.

Raven Dreamer

1:39 AM

@BESW I know this is... a couple weeks later? But

I got a CSS template up and running for power cards!

BESW

Yey!

Raven Dreamer

@BESW Vivid dreams, you say?

I get those too.

Also sleep paralysis, which is about as fun as it sounds...

BESW

Ah, yeah, I'm lucky I don't get that.

My dad has the opposite, actually--the bit of your brain that keeps your muscles from acting out your dreams is overactive for you, but underactive for him, so if he dreams he's punching something... he throws the punch.

Raven Dreamer

Sleep X-ing.

Actually, I don't think that's right. Sleepwalking is unrelated.

BESW

Aye.

And I thrash around and throw everything out of the bed, but that's also a different thing.

Raven Dreamer

1:47 AM

I'm also a lucid dreamer. I don't use it for much other than waking up from nightmares.

Though come to think of it, vivid dreaming is one of the reasons I have the username I do.

BESW

I sometimes have a weird version of lucid dreaming where I know I'm dreaming and I can control anything I want to consciously... but anything I'm not actively controlling, the dream uses to negate what I'm trying to do.

user61230

I have these moments sometimes during dreams where I'll realize I'm dreaming, but also that if I disrupt the story I will defeat its entire purpose.

BESW

Like, if I'm being chased by a monster I can engineer a place to hide, or a weakness the monster has, so I can escape.

But the dream counters it by having something happen, or giving the monster a previously-unknown ability, to defeat my attempt.

Raven Dreamer

Probably the most impressive bit of dreaming I've done, is when I started dreaming in verse.

BESW

But a few years ago I discovered the Nuclear Option: summon the Doctor.

Raven Dreamer

1:51 AM

I woke up when I realized I didn't know the next line in the poem.

@BESW Doctor Who

BESW

@RavenDreamer Nice.

@RavenDreamer Exactly.

Alex P

So, a statement that may or may not be ridiculous, based on a discussion I'm having elsewhere: I think Fate is too literal for me.

Like, I feel like the mechanics might as well be named Themes, Reincorporation, and Fictional Positioning.

(Also Plot Twist &c.)

Phil

I had a dream shower once. Woke up with wet sheets and clothes - was told I'd got up and had a shower whilst I was sleeping

user61230

@AlexP How so?

user61230

My dreams are typically... very odd. They're very rarely actual images and sequences.

Alex P

1:55 AM

I think I've only ever had one super-vivid dream. Like one that was awesome enough that it could be a story.

Phil

I've also woken up mid dream whilst having a tug of war with a dog, punched it on the nose in the dream only to find I'd actually given my wife a dead arm

Alex P

@Emracool Well, aspects are straight-up narrative objects.

I totes had an Inception dream once, of myself repeatedly waking up due to falling on the couch, in my dream. And then waking up from that dream in another dream.

user61230

@AlexP Not necessarily. The best aspects describe something in particular about your character without necessarily feeding into the plot.

BESW

@Emracool But if an aspect doesn't become important to what's going on at some point, it's dead weight.

user61230

Theoretically, one creates an aspect because it describes a facet of one's character, so yeah.

user61230

1:59 AM

Unless the character is dead weight, the nature of the character should be important.

user61230

Maybe I'm not totally clear what you're saying, @AlexP?

Alex P

I can totally imagine the things on your character sheet and the mechanics you engage in play as direct analogues to, like, TV-writing shorthand.

BESW

I think that's kind of the point.

Alex P

'Xactly!

Part of the charm is that you get stories that are straight out of your favorite TV shows.

BESW

Fate is explicitly a story-telling structure.

Since that's how I always approached RPGs anyway, it's what I like about the system.

Alex P

2:05 AM

That's what I mean, though: I feel like the mechanics are very explicitly the narrative substructure. I think they do a good job of it, overall! On the other hand, I'm not sure making something like reincorporation explicit gives me that much.

BESW

Fate is "narrative mechanics for narrative newbs."

Alex P

Sorta, yeah.

Though in games it pays to have shortcuts for things you know how to do anyway, since you're trying to do them extemporaneously and quickly.

BESW

The more that Fate's mechanics encourage things your group already does, the less Fate is going to satisfy you.

For me, though, I found that most of my groups focus on mechanics as the backbone of their storytelling... so storytelling-first mechanics work really well for us.

Raven Dreamer

2:26 AM

This is maybe the wrong crowd to ask...

Is there any program I can use to turn, say, a spell from D&D3.X into a JSON or XML object?

Since spells are listed as key/value pairs anyway'

i.e., Components: ZXY, Action: Standard, ... , etc.

user61230

@Raven I know of no such tool, and I have looked. That does not preclude one's existence.

Raven Dreamer

Eh. Maybe it's up to me to write one, then.

Probably do it in Ruby. I want to do more stuff in Ruby, because the language sounds so shiny.

@Emracool So I'll write it tomorrow and send it to you, eh? Haha

Alex P

If you know what the template looks like and it's applied consistently (say, on D20 SRD), then it should be easy to parse.

Raven Dreamer

Yup!

Alex P

I'd say the most functional representation is more than key-value pairs. For example, "Components: V, S" might easily become "<Components verbal="yes" somatic="yes" />"

Raven Dreamer

2:33 AM

Depends on your needs, I suppose.

Alex P

(Context for previous discussion: I think my mild discomfort with Fate has something to do with, erm, fictional positioning. I'm trying to pin down what exactly.)

Somebody has likely already done the work.

Also if you're slurping PFSRD or the equivalent, you might be able to make the task easier by just reading the HTML instead of the displayed text.

Raven Dreamer

2:51 AM

Well in my case, It's homebrew stuff, so I know it doesn't exist in that form currently.

Alex P

3:21 AM

Huh. I've changed my mind about "What is an RPG?" slightly.

BESW

Oh?

Alex P

I said previously that the defining aspect of an RPG as opposed to a traditional game is that players make decisions based on fictional results.

I think it's actually more important that we generate results based on fictional positioning.

Also, I think this partially explains my Fate discomfort.

BESW

Interesting. The thing is, Fate Core accommodates both.

DFRPG was pretty firm on resource->effectiveness as The Only Way.

But Fate Core tells players to spend currency to get bonuses and tells GMs to increase or decrease difficulties because of circumstance.

user61230

3:55 AM

@Raven Sure, actually! I'd be curious to see it. I haven't worked much with Ruby, though

BESW

Not to change the subject or anything, but this had to be shared:

(To the tune of "It's a Small World")
There is just one moon and one golden sun,
Whether forged or flesh, shared by everyone.
So we mindwipe the past
For the treaty must last
We all live in a world of love.

I'm thinking "MLP setting, slight AU."

detly

4:30 AM

Heya, I need a little help understanding the rules around D&D 4e mage spellbook powers

It's really just how to tell what's a cantrip and what's a "utility" for the purposes of the spellbook selection thing

For example, "mage hand" is listed as a cantrip in the CB, but nothing on the card says that. It says "utility"... so does it count towards one utility a mage can use?

Raven Dreamer

Do you mean the essentials Mage? Or are you using the term to mean Wizard?

detly

I think mage is from essentials, but you can use it in regular 4th ed

But I definitely mean "mage"

Oh wait

it looks like 4E regular regards mage as a subclass of wizard, is that right?

Raven Dreamer

Yes.

I can't tell if your question is essentials specific or not.

If it is, I can't help you. (I don't like essentials / don't have the books)

detly

It's not essentials specific

BESW

@detly Is it "wizard (mage)"?

detly

4:37 AM

That's the one

BESW

Okay, one moment.

"Cantrip" is a class feature description, not a power description.

Raven Dreamer

I think, that all wizards get cantrips, no questions asked

They shouldn't be in the spellbook at all.

detly

That's what I tought

thought

Raven Dreamer

The mage may or may not get them, however.

detly

I'm pretty sure the mage does

Raven Dreamer

4:38 AM

Like, I feel that there was a feat Mages could take to get them back.

But I may be misremembering that.

detly

You might be thinking of rituals?

BESW

"Cantrips" are a way to describe the subset of (utility) at-will utility powers wizards get. For a mage...

detly

Mages give up "default" ritual casting

Raven Dreamer

Ah, then you're probably correct and I have it backwards.

detly

They can take "ritual casting" as a feat

BESW

4:39 AM

Mages get to choose three cantrips from this list:

detly

@BESW - yes, exactly

BESW

ghost sound, mage hand, light, prestidigitation, suggestion

detly

But my problem is this...

Raven Dreamer

It doesn't go in the spellbook.

You just know it.

Always.

detly

I want my player to be able to decide which powers to prepare, without too much effort

But take mage hand... there's nothing on the power description that actually says, "cantrip"

BESW

4:41 AM

@detly Then don't go with a wizard of any sort.

detly

Hmm

BESW

Find a wizard-like class which doesn't require daily power selections.

detly

All I want to know is, is there a way to tell at a glance which powers require selection and which are automatically known?

I mean, I think the player can tolerate leafing through whichever book has the list (or cracking open the CB)

BESW

@detly Not built in, no. That's a class feature thing, not a power thing.

detly

Ah

Raven Dreamer

4:43 AM

Yeah, you may want to tell them just to play a sorcerer.

Or warlock

Hm. I just thought of an interesting 4e house rule I'd like to try; "Daily Powers" are usable once / encounter, but you can only use one "Daily Power" per encounter, even though you may know up to 4.

detly

Yeah, warlock's a good one for that

So a power might be a cantrip for a mage, but a utility for an arcanist (or whatever)

BESW

@RavenDreamer Isn't that almost exactly like Channel Divinity?

detly

No, they can stick with mage, I'll just ask them to mark their cards/sheet/list appropriately beforehand

Raven Dreamer

@BESW Having never played a divine class... I have no idea. But possibly yes.

BESW

@detly No, cantrip is not a power type. Mage Hand is always a utility power.

detly

4:45 AM

mage hand is listed in the CB as a mage cantrip

Oh wait, I see what you're saying

It's always a utility power, but a mage can learn it as a cantrip

BESW

4:58 AM

"Cantrip" is the name of a class feature which lets a mage choose from a selection of utility powers. Those powers, in that particular context, are also called cantrips (in addition to all other keywords/descriptors).

detly

AH

Aha

light bulb

I see the dual use of the word now

BESW

5:27 AM

@RavenDreamer If you have the Channel Divinity class feature, you start play with two encounter powers that have the "channel divinity" keyword and you can learn more by taking the appropriate feats. But you can only use one channel divinity power per encounter.

Channel divinity powers tend to be only useful in very specific kinds of situations--but you stockpile them so that most encounters ONE of them will be useful.

user61230

Call of Catthulu kickstarter. 'Nuff said.

2

Magician

7:56 AM

Does anyone recall the name/link where a world that functioned according to 3.5 rules was described?

BESW

@Magician Probably you don't mean this.

Magician

Hah. Sadly, no. There was a thread, somewhere. I've seen it relatively recently, perhaps even linked here.

BESW

Functioned in what way?

Social constructs, physical laws?

Magician

Social constructs mostly, I think.

BESW

afk for a bit but I'll take a look later.

Magician

8:13 AM

Ah, found it. Not quite what I was remembering, though has its elements. More of a rationalization of D&D: Dungeonomicon

Zachiel

2:09 PM

@Magician And now I want to play a thief acrobat from the Charactonomicon. Nobody will let me.

BESW

@ProfessorLokiCaprion Hi!

Professor Loki Caprion

Whoa, hey! Hi!

BESW

I'm sorta fumbling in the dark with that answer since I don't know Torg, and Fate doesn't take kindly to mechanics without narrative.

I've got a decent amount of experience fiddling about with Extras and tacking on stress tracks, though.

Tynam

I think you made a good first shot, @BESW, and I hope my answer expands yours to fill the gap.

BESW

Thanks! Reading it now.

Professor Loki Caprion

2:16 PM

Oh, I understand! And new answer? Let me go take peek.

Tynam

You had the right basic start; I've added Torg world assumptions.

BESW

@Tynam Please notice in my edit I made the stress track "Reality" and the skill "Possibility," mostly to make it less confusing for myself.

Professor Loki Caprion

I've been playing Torg since it was new, and I'm so glad to bring new players into it... though I've had to add some thematic changes already because of things WEG didn't forsee happening back in 1990.

For example, in the Destiny Map trilogy, there's a "high tech" spy who transmits photos back to his superiours... by using a Polaroid camera and attaching a portable fax machine to a pay phone.

Tynam

@BESW I noticed, but that's a little non-intuitive to a Torg player, so I stuck with the original terminology myself. (Although now I think about it, making the skill "Reality" and the track "Possibilities" was a better solution. Damn it.)

BESW

BTW, @ProfessorLokiCaprion, if an Ord (someone without a Reality stress track) takes Reality-type stress, they either are automatically taken out, or are forced to use consequences to stay in the fight.

Professor Loki Caprion

2:19 PM

I'm actually toying with the idea of just calling Fate Points "Possibilities" and leave it at that.

Tynam

Makes sense.

Professor Loki Caprion

Ah, I'd say automatically taken out, though an Ord taking Reality-type stress at ALL would be a relatively rare occurrence. The main issue I need this whole mess for is a concept called "Reality Storming," which can't be done to Ords.

Tynam

Professor, thanks for a *great* question. I'm all enthused about running FATE-Torg myself now.

The *real* bugger is going to be implementing Torg's *Magic* system in FATE. Other than Ars Magica/Mage, it's hard to think of a game whose magic mechanics are more intimately tied with it's world.

Professor Loki Caprion

Oh, I VERY much simplified Magic for Torg, which may be a mistake as I have two spellcasters; we'll see when I test it tomorrow.

BESW

@ProfessorLokiCaprion Most NPCs don't have consequences unless they're major in the narrative, so that works out!

Professor Loki Caprion

2:20 PM

Right! :D

Sorry, I'm still not used to the @name thing; I'll get it, I swear!

BESW

@Tynam I think you misplaced a footnote.

Tynam

@BESW: Torg's Magic system is sort of unique in that the characters are aware of the game mechanics. There are universities studying them, etc.

Oops, and an asterisk. That's what I get for writing three pages while reading character sheets.

BESW

@Tynam I remind you of one of my pet peeves about 3.5's insistence that HD are a meta-level conceit.

Professor Loki Caprion

Basically, for Magic, I reduced all spells to two skills; "Invocation Magic" and "Divination Magic". I put all Psychic abilities under the same umbrella, so if you hurt people with psychic abilities, it's Invocation, but if you use it for knowledge, it's Divination. It may be too simplistic for people who liked the meat of the State Paths and Arcane Knowledges and stuff.

Tynam

@ProfessorLokiCaprion: I loved the meat of the paths, but they're just not FATEable.

Professor Loki Caprion

2:23 PM

(Side note: I'm absolutely thrilled I can access this chat from work, as being in the office on a Saturday is dreadfully boring)

BESW

One of the things I've found very cool about Fate is that you don't need to make universal magic systems at all.

Each player can invent his own extras and stunts that define his magic ability, and it doesn't need to be anything like how anyone else does it.

Professor Loki Caprion

@Tynam - I'll be honest in that I always found the whole magic system to be overcomplicated. Another friend of mine converted it into a Torg-system equivalent of the Magic from Mage: the Ascension. I simplified it even further.

BESW

It's perhaps simpler if you provide a set of premade extras and stunts for people to start with.

Professor Loki Caprion

I did provide some sample stunts; I printed out an entirely new Skills set with some skills dropped, some added, and it made my final skill list at 21 skills.

For Magics, I require that you take a skill and have an Aspect slot for it.

BESW

But I've run a game with one person who made an extra for skill-based magic, and another who just stacked up a lot of stunts that each said "once per session I can do X awesome thing."

Tynam

2:26 PM

Works OK for most things, but Torg's universe has some... inherently elaborate... magic. What's hard to do in FATE is *limit* people, which makes Torg's all-important Axioms an issue.

On the other hand, World Laws work way better in FATE than they ever did originally.

The feel of Torg magic is going to take a little work, though.

Professor Loki Caprion

World Laws almost all become Aspects, now! I greatly look forward to compelling the Law of Morality on the Nile Empire PC.

Tynam

Exactly.

Professor Loki Caprion

The Law of Honor and Corruption, though... THAT is a tough nut to crack. I pretty much dropped the Honor/Corruption skill system entirely and replaced it with the ability to generate Aspects and be used for Compels.

Tynam

About three different Cyberpapacy world laws simply nicely into the Aspect "Magic serves the Devil"

Yep. You don't need Honor/Corruption skills.

Just suitable aspects.

And a World Law aspect "I can hide my evil in the land"

Professor Loki Caprion

Though it means no more "I'm honorable enough to ressurect people once a day!" Not that any of my PCs have come CLOSE to being that virtuous...

Tynam

2:29 PM

You only ever needed that one for major NPCs anyway. Reproduce the lesser effects with stunts and skills, and give "My Virtue Brings People Back" to Tolwyn.

Professor Loki Caprion

Thankfully, they've done well to get on Tolwyn's good side! They did some impressive things for her during the Destiny Map trilogy!

Basically, Fate has become my new favourite system, so I thought it would make sense to use it for my favourite setting.

Tynam

I've long argued that Torg is FATE's predecessor.

BESW

@ProfessorLokiCaprion I hear ya.

Professor Loki Caprion

And I agree with you. Also, in my very, very first inklings of the Torg-Fate conversion, I was thinking that Reality Duels would drain Fate points from each other... then realized how horrible that could become.

Tynam

Subplot cards are the big-budget-RPG start of the narrative-driven-play revolution.

Yep; seems obvious, breaks FATE rapidly.

BESW

2:32 PM

Soon as my player and I got our teeth into Fate, we dragged out his favorite PC that never worked in D&D, and mine, and worked out settings for them.

Professor Loki Caprion

Oh, yes! I think I've mostly figured out how to use the Drama Deck Cards for Fate, too! I may actually print out my own drama deck for Fate rules, if this works out.

@BESW - I'm hoping my players will take to the system with such gusto!

BESW

I just wish I could've made it fit my My Little Psyche system goals.

Professor Loki Caprion

Not familiar with that one!

BESW

I'm working on designing a game based on the TV show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

Professor Loki Caprion

Oho! Go on!

BESW

2:39 PM

For a while I thought I could just make it a Fate hack, but it's not working out and so I'm designing a new system.

Working title, My Little Psyche: Friendship is a Fragile Barrier Holding Back My Seething Neuroses.

Professor Loki Caprion

Oh, dear god, I have to tell my wife about this!

BESW

The central conceit is that ponies are unusually susceptible to mental breakdown when things they care about don't go the way they expected, and my main design goal is to have a tripartite conflict resolution system.

Professor Loki Caprion

Though the acronym MLP:FIAFBHBMSN isn't quite as easy to manage! XD

Tynam

Sounds awesome.

I'd gladly discuss Torg/FATE/Ponies all day, but sadly I have to go in a minute - emergency LARP fill-in after a cancel. I need to change costume for 1888 and be on time for the funeral Lady Quinn is hosting.

Both of you feel free to copy edit my answer if you see anything.

Professor Loki Caprion

Oh, like when Pinkie-Pie went nuts and her hair fell flat?

BESW

2:42 PM

@Tynam ttfn!

Professor Loki Caprion

@Tynam See you!

Oh, there's a link BUTTON in the chat. I'm learning.

BESW

@ProfessorLokiCaprion Right. Or when Twilight didn't have something to write to Celestia about, or when Applejack insisted on doing all the farm's chores by herself... it happens pretty often.

Professor Loki Caprion

@BESW Now that you mention this... it's more of a theme to the show than I thought!

BESW

@ProfessorLokiCaprion This is largely because ponies wear their hearts on their sleeves. They overreact to things as a method for the show writers to discuss important topics transparently.

Professor Loki Caprion

I have too many games to run/play, and not enough time!

BESW

2:44 PM

What would seem embarrassingly obvious and trivial to discuss in a show with life people actors can be addressed seriously when it's ponies doing it.

Often what we regard as obvious and trivial needs to be talked about.

In most RPGs, conflicts have dichotomous resolution options: someone wins, and someone loses.

An MLP game needs a second resolution axis: everyone wins, or everyone loses.

So I'm working on a dice mechanic that can reflect this.

It's still in the very early stages of development, and I've got no real experience as a game dev, so it's slow and silly.

Professor Loki Caprion

This Fate conversion is my first attempt at any sort of developing, though Fate makes it easy for the majority of "traditional" games. It sounds like your idea breaks out of the box a little, so it will take some real work!

BESW

I want it to be a game with simple rules that allow for complexity and depth, which is a hefty order.

One practical design goal is that it uses only d6s, and never needs more than 5 at once. That means anyone with a handful of board games or a Yahtzee set can play.

Also, no map and no minis.

Are you familiar with the game Do: Temple of the Flying Pilgrims?

Professor Loki Caprion

That is a big factor for me, too.

@BESW I am not!

... why did I link that? You're the only one here.

BESW

@ProfessorLokiCaprion It helps clarify which statement you're responding to?

Do is a fun little game, and I'm ripping off some of its ideas.

Professor Loki Caprion

That makes sense! But no, I've not heard of Do, and I also don't like using minis and maps.

BESW

2:51 PM

Primarily, in Do each turn involves figuring out if your character gets in trouble or helps someone, or both.

(Each PC's "game stats" are nothing more than a statement of how they help people, and another of how they get in trouble: "I help people by being really loud," and "I get in trouble by eating.")

(At the end of each session you change one or the other to reflect character growth.)

Each turn, if your character helps someone, you write a sentence describing that. If your character gets in trouble, everyone else works together to write a sentence describing that.

(No GM.)

I'm going to do something similar for My Little Psyche.

Professor Loki Caprion

Ah, and I can see how you thought Fate may work, at first!

BESW

At the moment, the mechanic is: each character involved rolls 2d6 and chooses which is the "help" die and which is the "hinder" die. Whoever has the highest "help" die helps the other character, and whoever has the highest "hinder" die hinders the other. They each write a sentence describing how they do it.

If the "help" or "hinder" dice are tied, both characters help or hinder each other.

So if Babs wants to tease Apple Bloom, she'll roll

2d6

Dice Service

•

BESW

She chooses the 3 for help and the 5 for hinder, because she wants to hinder, not help.

Apple Bloom also rolls

2d6

Dice Service

•

Professor Loki Caprion

2:57 PM

Ah, so you choose the help/hinder dice AFTER rolling!

BESW

Apple Bloom can't avoid being teased, but she could choose to help Babs by making the 4 her help die.

Professor Loki Caprion

I was thinking you made the dice different colours, which could mean accidental helping or harming.

BESW

But if Apple Bloom doesn't want to help Babs, she'd make the 1 her help die so that Babs teases her, but also does something which helps Apple Bloom.

No, the randomness is in limiting the options you have available, not in forcing options against your will.

Professor Loki Caprion

So how does each action affect the long game, so to speak? Is this meant for any sort of campaign with advancement and such?

BESW

I have no idea!

Professor Loki Caprion

3:00 PM

Haha!

BESW

I want each "episode" to last one session.

Professor Loki Caprion

It seems like it could work pretty well as a sort of group semi-RP game like "A Penny For Your Thoughts".

BESW

@ProfessorLokiCaprion I should probably get my hands on that...

Professor Loki Caprion

But you could expand on it; like have characters get bonuses for certain types of actions or certain sitatuions. Like Apple Jack could be better at helping in a physical manner, or Rarity could hinder more with a scathing insult.

BESW

Right. I want something to do with cutie marks.

Professor Loki Caprion

3:01 PM

@BESW I confess; I have purchased it, but not had the chance to sit down and read it thoroughly.

@BESW Ah, so the cutie mark could be a sort of symbol of power/detriment?

BESW

For example, when Pinkie is trying to make someone happy, she can choose before rolling to make her help die a 6 instead of rolling it.

(Think Fate stunts, but with pre-setting or re-rolling dice.)

Professor Loki Caprion

Oh, nice! An auto-6 seems rather powerful, though.

4dF

Ah, just wanted to see if that would work.

BESW

Or when Applejack is doing something physical by herself, she can re-roll one die if it's below 3.

@ProfessorLokiCaprion One moment, let me dig up our script....

Professor Loki Caprion

Thank you! And the Cutie Mark system would take quiet a bit of care to balance and tweak, it seems.

BESW

This script will make d6 rolls look like Fudge dice, but only in the Fate game room.

Fate chat and game room

Good questions raised here should hit the main site too! Fudge...

Professor Loki Caprion

3:06 PM

Ah, makes sense!

BESW

We've also got a typing indicator script which puts a green line around the user icon of anyone who's typing if they've also got the script installed.

It was useful when we were running chat games.

Professor Loki Caprion

Looks like I can install it on the work PC, but I'll have to dig into it when I get home.

*can't install on the work PC

BESW

Both scripts were made by our own citizens for the Fate game we ran a few months ago.

Professor Loki Caprion

With two meatspace tabletops in my life right now, I don't know if I have time for a third; even online!

Though there's so many I want to run and play, I don't want to drop either current Campaign.

BESW

That one fizzled because what started as an excuse to give someone access to my Kickstarter copies of Fate turned into a game with a dozen players across multiple time zones and only one regular GM (me).

Professor Loki Caprion

3:10 PM

Goodness, I guess that wouldn't work!

I may swing by my local game shop on the way home today to pick up a hard copy of Fate Core.

Even though I printed out my PDF copy, I'd like to have the pretty one.

BESW

But you can dig into the history of the game in our conversation tab and on this forum.

There are also some other shorter games, or parts of ones.

We mostly used FAE, rather than Core, just for simplicity.

Professor Loki Caprion

Oh, my, there is a lot more to this site than I'd thought!

I came across it looking for a general Fate FAQ (which I still haven't found).

BESW

You might try wading through this list of links.

Professor Loki Caprion

AHA! This could be most useful!

Chrome's nice feature of saving bookmarks across PCs is also useful.

BESW

You might take a glance at the links in my profile too; I try to collect some exceptionally useful/interesting things there.

Professor Loki Caprion

3:19 PM

So you do! I wish I'd have come here two weeks ago!

BESW

[bow and a flourish]

Pay it back in activity on the site, eh?

Professor Loki Caprion

Oh, I plan to! Especially after my first Fate session and all the cracks in my system show.

BESW

You've already got enough rep to upvote, flag posts that need attention, and participate in the site's meta discussions.

Professor Loki Caprion

What are the meta discussions, anyway?

BESW

And What is "meta"?

Professor Loki Caprion

3:28 PM

Ah, it's the site about the site! I get it.

BESW

Indeed.

Zachiel

Are you sure about the tag, @BESW?

BESW

@Zachiel It looks like 3.5 or 3.0, and I've been told quite firmly by other citizens recently that quibbling about the difference between them is unnecessary.

I'll leave a comment.

Zachiel

might also be PF

BESW

Welcome to the site! I added the 3.5 tag because it looks like that's the system you're using. If I'm wrong and you're using something like (like Pathfinder), please edit it with the right tag so we can be sure we're answering the question in a useful way. — BESW 7 secs ago

Zachiel

3:38 PM

@BESW I had already seen it in its place.

Professor Loki Caprion

3:52 PM

Oh, hi, @Zachiel!

Sorry, talking to my coworker about RPGs, now; he apparently used to play them and I never knew until he looked over my shoulder at what I was doing.

Zachiel

Hello.

@ProfessorLokiCaprion That's like what I wish could happen to me.

Unfortunately I don't have a job now.

BESW

@ProfessorLokiCaprion Turns out one of my clients plays D&D 3.5, but she's still in the D&D bubble.

Professor Loki Caprion

Aw, I'm sorry, Zach. :(

BESW

"Fate is a totally different kind of RPG, with radically different mechanics from D&D."
"Oh, like Pathfinder!"

Professor Loki Caprion

@BESW One of my players is of the Exalted ilk, and I'm trying to move her away from the "must fight and do flashy stuff with lots of special powers all the time!" mindset.

BESW

3:54 PM

Next time around I brought in some Fudge dice and blew her mind.

Professor Loki Caprion

@BESW "How do I know if I crit?!"

BESW

@ProfessorLokiCaprion Ah, I had a White Wolf guy come into a D&D game once. Took a special "let's have tea" meeting to get him to stop fighting the other party members.

Zachiel

I also have this strange fantasies about being approached by people because they recognize I'm whistling songs from LastExile or Trigun or (...) and they start whistling along. It never happens.

Professor Loki Caprion

@BESW I love old WoD, but the player base got under my skin...

Mage: the Ascension is one of my favourites.

BESW

@Zachiel The first time that happened to me, it was Phantom of the Opera and I got myself a stalker for my troubles.

Professor Loki Caprion

3:56 PM

@Zachiel I've been there, too! I hope people recognize my TARDIS text alert or my (insert fandom here) shirt.

Zachiel

@BESW >_< so here's another possible socializing activity I'll refrain from in thee future.

BESW

@Zachiel Eh, my other stalker was because I started smiling at the guy I saw in the hall every other day for six months, so it's not like you can control that sort of thing.

Professor Loki Caprion

@Zachiel If it makes you feel any better, I cosplayed as Nicholas D. Wolfwood back in my younger days.

Fate chat and game room

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