TRPG General Chat

BESW

00:16

@shatterspike1 Hi.

shatterspike1

Hello

I have the odd feeling I stumbled in on something weird. Is something weird going on?

Magician

Always

BESW

I dunno, nothing's happened since I got here.

shatterspike1

I feel like making a list of GM commandments as reminders for myself to follow when GMing

BESW

Such as?

shatterspike1

00:23

Thou shalt make the game enjoyable for everyone

Thou shalt either say yes or ask for a die roll

that sort of thing

Magician

Depending on your GMing style, AW GM principles might be a good place to start.

BESW

Thou shalt use a squeaky voice for at least one NPC every adventure.

shatterspike1

AW GM principles?

Magician

Here're the ones from Dungeon World, as that's what I have at hand. I'm gonna remove a few system-specific ones...

Draw maps, leave blanks
Address the characters, not the players
Embrace the fantastic
Give every monster life
Name every person
Ask questions and use the answers
Be a fan of the characters
Think dangerous
Begin and end with the fiction
Think offscreen, too

shatterspike1

@BESW maybe I should give the mass-murdering psychopath one of those...

@Magician I feel like some of those need a bit of additional description, but yeah, I can see a lot of that

Magician

00:28

book.dwgazetteer.com/gm.html - DW gazetteer has the entire rulebook online, including the GMing chapter that discusses each in detail.

shatterspike1

Oh sweet, I didn't know it was free

BESW

00:54

@JonathanHobbs I think the most common meaning of "GM fiat" is "because I said so."

GM fiat means you don't have to justify or explain, things just happen because you're the GM and you said they happened.

There is no conversation in GM fiat.

doppelgreener

01:12

@BESW pretty much.

@BESW is that something I need to add?

BESW

I'd suggest it. The idea that these choices are the GM's and the GM's alone is crucial to the concept of GM fiat, and is what separates GM fiat from, say, group-derived house rules.

doppelgreener

@JoshuaAslanSmith Minor GMPCs can be very helpful. In a D&D 4e game I ran, I had an inhabitant of an island invaded by monsters work with the PCs for a while and guide them through the island, help them fight, and so on.

@BESW Righteo!

Alex P

Burn GM fiat to the ground!

Burn GM fiat in some kind of elaborate Wicker Man construction, with some bees for good measure.

BESW

Heh.

Alex P

Just sayin'. It's not like I have a strong opinion about this.

BESW

01:17

I've had good results from moderate use of GM fiat, when I was regularly talking with my players about other aspects of the game and we trusted each other to be on the same wavelength.

BESW

01:48

Has anyone seen the new PPG episode? It looks like it's probably for the old fans, not too interested in attracting new ones.

Alex P

PPG?

BESW

Power Puff Girls.

►

Alex P

I was under the impression is was a quasi-reboot.

well, the kind of reboot where it's exactly the same as before

BESW

I haven't been actively looking at it, so I'm not sure.

I didn't pay any attention to the Powerpuff Girls until I learned that they were part of the legacy of the people involved in the DCAU and FiM.

doppelgreener

02:34

10

A: What is "GM/DM Fiat?"

In a large number of RPGs, the GM is positioned as the controller of the world, its NPC inhabitants, the items in the world, and their essential natures. They are also often positioned as the final arbiter of rules, and thus hold considerable authority. Hopefully, a GM imbued with such power will...

I edited this a bunch in response to your feedback, @BESW, and your comments, @KRyan and @SevenSidedDie.

Mainly the middle bit!

And now I lunch.

BESW

Very nice.

BESW

02:51

@DeleteMe Hi!

You'll need 20+ rep on any one Stack Exchange site to type in chat, but you're welcome to hang out until then.

doppelgreener

03:14

@BESW Argh! The sound is out of sync and this is influencing my entire perception of it!

BESW

@JonathanHobbs Aw.

doppelgreener

the entire thing is punchy and fast-paced; it needs audio to be in sync.

BESW

I didn't review it closely, figured Cartoon Network would have that sort of thing under control.

doppelgreener

@BESW nope, check right after the first cut. buttercup's mouth begins moving almost a second before you start hearing her talk.

all momentum is obliterated in the wake of the poor sync.

BESW

Aw.

BESW

03:41

@Problematic [wave]

Problematic

@BESW haroom

How are we doing this [time of day]?

BESW

Not bad.

Thinking about how to Core-ify DFRPG spellcasting, and trying not to think about my meeting tonight.

Yerself?

Problematic

In the midst of some long days at the office, so pretty much just staring slack-jawed into space.

BESW

04:36

@Magician I think your reddit post has garnered T2BC two new followers.

Magician

@BESW Sweet!

BESW

(And one strange comment.)

Magician

It's second-most popular post I've ever done there, I think. All of my blog posts have fared worse.

Narrowly beating it is the album of a mega 3d dungeon we've used. Which says a lot about reddit.

And yes, that commenter appears to not have clicked the link. Which happens.

BESW

Heh.

Magician

Actually, happens quite a lot. Every time, there's someone who just posts something so random, I don't know how to respond. Kinda throws the "respond to everyone who took the time to write to you" maxim out of the window.

BESW

05:10

@Magician That really was the worst possible time for his powers as salamander king to kick in.

Magician

@BESW Joke's on you, I'm gonna star the "things get weird here" quote as my response.

Alex P

06:15

I think I find it harder to appreciate Dungeon World than the other Apocalypse Engine games. I guess it's because I feel like the choice to go for D&D-isms over fantasy per se is kinda crowding out cooler options.

Then again I really like some of the classes and such. And the basic moves.

While disliking the idea of using those particular classes, a bit.

But, like, DW druid and barbarian are things of beauty.

BESW

06:56

Can someone familiar with PF alchemy look at this?

2

Q: Alchemist starting formulas

An alchemist begins play with two 1st level formulae of his choice, plus a number of additional forumlae equal to his Intelligence modifier. Just want to make sure I'm getting this right. I have bonus extracts/formulas I can prepare each day due to my int, so that means I can prepare a l...

I can't tell if it has enough info in it or not.

Metool

07:11

I think I understand what they're asking, enough to form an answer.

I find it strange that there's a typo in the Advanced Player's Guide.

I'm not sure why.

lisardggY

07:43

Guten morgen.

Metool

Heyo.

Inbar Rose

08:23

Good Morning.

trogdor

08:50

@BESW huh, that is a drastic animation change

other than that, 40 seconds isn't much to base a conclusion on

at least for me anyway

lisardggY

09:21

@Metool As per your comment on some Pathfinder answer, do you think we should encourage linking to the Paizo PRD rather than to the open D20PFSRD?

I find the S20PFSRD to be more convenient (or at least it was, I think Paizo fixed the layout of the PRD a while back). But I don't know of any actual errors in the SRD.

Metool

09:50

Heck, I don't know.

Inbar Rose

10:04

Question - I am about to start a new campaign today as the GM - one of my players says he will only be able to arrive mid-way through due to unforeseen delays... First session is character/world building so its not like he will be missing out on actual gametime - but the question is, should I wait for him? (or reschedule the whole thing) or just go ahead with the rest of the players and he can join later? (There are 2 other players)

My concern is that he might miss valuable information.

lisardggY

Information can be filled in later, but I think he'll miss the feeling of starting a new campaign. It can be a bummer feeling like he's joining a campaign where the others have a head start on him.

Inbar Rose

But its just character creation.

lisardggY

And world building.

Inbar Rose

And probably some world-building (ie: telling them about the world and stuff)

Yes.

lisardggY

That's the main bit, I think.

Shared world building?

Inbar Rose

10:07

Fate

There is already the main ideas plotted out. But the characters creation influences the world around them.

lisardggY

Doesn't Fate, or at least Fate Core, ask the characters to write small scenes with each other as part of character creation?

Will he miss that too?

Inbar Rose

no

Because I am going to have them figure out their characters / who they want their characters to be before he arrives. and then they will write taht all together.

It is a shame he will be coming late - but I don't want to punish the other players or delay the game. And rescheduling is a b****

It's only like an hour or two late... So.. its not crazy.

lisardggY

In any other game, I'd probably say go forward with it, but in a game where the players are so involved in creating the world, I'm afraid he'll feel like he has less say about the world.

Inbar Rose

I just can't reconcile within myself what to do about it.

If I would have known ahead of time he would not be making it on the time we agreed - I would delay/reschedule... but now its last minute...

And he was the last addition to the game. One of the other players asked me to include him, it was originally going to be just 2 players (and myself) ... For just the reason that It is easier to organize less people...

BESW

Suggestion:

At the worldbuilding session, carve out a section of the world for him.

Leave it a big blank for him to fill in later.

Not necessarily geographically; maybe it's a group, or a mysterious event, or a prophesy.

Phil

10:14

Agreed

BESW

I agree, don't delay the game for him, but the worldbuilding should involve him and this is a good way to make sure his membership in the group isn't marginalised.

lisardggY

Perhaps also start an out-of-band conversation with him via SMS/email during the day about some of the ideas he has for his character and the world, so you can gently prevent the others from stepping too much over his ideas.

Nothing detailed, just to get the general idea of stuff he'd like to be a part of.

Inbar Rose

Those are great ideas.

Okay, I sent him a message (and to the whole group) that they should start thinking a bit now about what they wanted to do, so that when we meet we can do more than just wait.. etc etc... :)

So.. atm I will wait and see what happens. If I don't learn more by the evening then I will have to decide exactly what I am doing... :s

Phil

Cool - I rarely find it worth delaying a session for one player, no matter what is going to be covered or what system is being used. There is always a way of dealing with their absence without having to reschedule

2

BESW

I once ran the farewell session for a character after the player had left island.

lisardggY

10:20

@Phil That's one of the basic Table Rules that have to be established for any new campaign. I've had games where we set a minimum player limit (or a maximum absentee limit), and games where we wouldn't play without everyone present.

Depends on the group and the feel of the game.

BESW

He left very suddenly, so I just chatted with him about ideas for the farewell session and then I ran his PC as an NPC.

Tweets to Campaign By knows how hard it is when your gaming group dissipates.

Wednesday. There's no one following you. There's no one watching you. There's no one listening to you. The loneliness of freedom. Wednesday.

Tweeted by TlfTravelAlerts on January 22, 2014 at 8:34 AM

Phil

@lisardggY That's a fair point. I do always have that discussion with players at the beginning of a new group, but the types of players I have there are always likely to be absences, and not running when a single player isn't there would mean we'd only run every other session

Inbar Rose

Absentee players are so annoying/

lisardggY

@Phil That's good policy for many games, but I've played games where the narrative and plot were very tightly coupled to the characters, and not having one player would seriously mess everything up.

(Of course, I wouldn't run that sort of game with more than three players)

BESW

I've run games where we know going in that not everyone will be able to come all the time, and I've had a lot of fun inventing in-game justifications for it.

lisardggY

10:24

@BESW I had a campaign a few years back which was all a sort of playtest for a new system our GM was half writing/half improvising, and one of the central goals was to allow switching characters in and out easily.

BESW

In my 4e game, I did two things: first, I tied the main plot arcs most tightly to the player I knew I could count on (@trogdor) to be there every week; second, I designed a campaign story about a Far Realm incursion that would culminate in a 30th-level battle to preserve the integrity of the fabric of time and space.

lisardggY

The concept was a meta-universe organization that recruited people from various alternate realities and time-streams on their death-beds (so we could play characters from all sorts of genres) and sends them as commando teams into various universes.

Inbar Rose

@lisardggY Arrow of Time?

lisardggY

So the very loosely defined tech behind it could (for reasons known only ot the Powers That Be) pull a character out in mid-mission.

Inbar Rose

It's that new System right?

lisardggY

10:25

@InbarRose Nope. Haven't actually read that.

Inbar Rose

Oh, Sounds familiar to that. (I haven't played/read it either.)

lisardggY

It was about 3-4 years ago, and a system (and setting) tentatively named Dozens that never actually made it past our playtest.

BESW

This meant that from level 1 onwards, whenever someone couldn't make it, their character no-clipped out of reality, spent a few seconds in one of a half-dozen locations which would be important to the plot later on, and then clipped back in next to the group whenever the player showed up again, having lost whatever time elapsed from the POV of the rest of the party.

It was foreshadowing AND convenience.

Inbar Rose

@BESW That is very rough.

BESW

XP and loot wasn't a problem because I've never been interested in penalising someone mechanically for not showing up; it just encourages them to quit if they can't come every single time.

Inbar Rose

10:27

In my werewolf group some sessions we HAVE to all be together, since our characters are all together at the time and in the middle of something... but sometimes we have more down-time, and if a player can't make it then ST just makes a private session with that player of "what he was up to meanwhile"

BESW

So the no-clipping was basically an excuse to not have to pretend the PC had been there but had no agency, or constantly invent new things they'd run off to do.

If a player can't make the game time regularly, they usually can't schedule extra time to do minisessions on the side.

Inbar Rose

In fact, he always runs private sessions for characters before he enters them into the game world. And every once in a while tries to arrange private sessions regardless of missed time in the game. Which makes for a very interesting world.

Phil

In my zombie game, characters whose players are not there simply fade to the background no matter what the situation.

BESW

@InbarRose I did that a few times back in college. It was fun.

The torture sessions worked that way.

Inbar Rose

@BESW Sounds kinky.

BESW

10:30

@InbarRose Not at all.

Inbar Rose

BESW Having private torture sessions in college... sounds kinky....

BESW

description starts here

Inbar Rose

Cute.

But.. I am still calling Kinky.

Phil

Starting to think you're the kinky one, not BESW :op

Inbar Rose

He had his friends go into spread eagle positions on the carpet of his dorm room and roleplay having snakes strapped to them... that is pretty kinky

Phil

10:36

'No, no it REALLY is kinky!'

;op

Inbar Rose

Meh. Whatever.

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