TRPG General Chat

Adeptus

00:00

@BESW Some of those look like Doctor Who monsters/aliens...

BESW

@Adeptus I actually came across that tweet when someone shared it to a Doctor Who fan I follow for exactly that reason.

Adeptus

Huh. Great minds...

Shalvenay

hey there @Erics

KorvinStarmast

@BESW I'll be keeping an eye out on your recipes, some of them fit into what the Missus has been moving our diet towards, a bit more fish and we both like a variety of veg.

OK, will work up one fifth and one seventh. Will try to be ready.

Erics

@MikeQ "My personal ruling, as just a player that has never been a DM, would be ..." ... doesn't have the same weight. And fails the Good Subjective test too, if I understand correctly.

@Shalvenay g'mornin' @Shalvenay

Shalvenay

00:15

@Erics how're things going?

Erics

Banging away on writing background material for new campaign. Rotmoss Grove, Hags End, Hags Hurt, Sorrows End, Chessminster Hold, Graykille Run

BESW

@Erics What did you use to make that?

Ryan

@Shalvenay hi

Shalvenay

00:31

@Erics ah. I'm actually pondering some campaign-background stuff myself, but more from a legal/governmental perspective. the basic form of government is somewhat clear in my head (monarchical executive checked by an independent judiciary and implemented through at least a quasi-professional civil service, although I'm not sure what my elves will have done with the legislative functions)

but trying to come up with an actual codified constitution and set of statutes for this is a much tougher task

@Ryan how're things going?

Ryan

@Shalvenay pretty good here. Reading the 5E DMG at the moment as I'm starting to think about giving it a shot, maybe after New Years

KorvinStarmast

00:49

@Shalvenay The PC's will both be ancients paladins, 5th level male, 7th level female, I think I'll go Half elf with the former and wood elf with the latter.

Shalvenay

@Ryan ah nice. got a group of ~~test subjects~~ potential players already?

@KorvinStarmast interesting :)

Ryan

@Shalvenay nope. not even sure ill do it yet.

nitsua60

Shalvenay

@nitsua60 xD

KorvinStarmast

afk for a bit

Shalvenay

01:05

@nitsua60 -- did you want to be part of a full-on playtest for my minotaur labryinth btw?

nitsua60

When?

Joel Harmon

Greetings and salutations, internet strangers!

nitsua60

@JoelHarmon Greetings and internet, stranger salutation!

2

Joel Harmon

I haven't seen many stranger salutations than that; well done.

nitsua60

Done well, the salutation was stranger.

=D

trogdor

01:28

Lol

Shalvenay

01:46

@nitsua60 ah, hopefully soon :) Korvin's making chars for it but his schedule's kinda hit or miss

so yeah -- have a 5th and a 7th level on standby if you want to be in on this

Shalvenay

02:07

hello there @Rissiepit

hey as well @JoelHarmon

Joel Harmon

hey @Shalvenay

how are things?

Shalvenay

@JoelHarmon alright here, LFP for a playtest, as for you?

Joel Harmon

I seem to have a whole hour with no solid commitments, which is weird, so I'm deciding between firing up a game of some kind or trawling a stack

Rissiepit

Good morning everyone, especially to you @Shalvenay :)

Shalvenay

@Rissiepit and yes...welcome to the RPG.SE lair :)

@JoelHarmon ah. re: the playtest -- it's a convention-dungeon I worked up for D&D 5e -- minotaur labryinth with a twist ;)

Rissiepit

02:10

I'm browsing around for a bit - too many interesting things on StackExchange - my head may well explode :P

Though this is the very first chat room I have wandered into (not a co-incidence :P)\

Shalvenay

02:35

hey there @RollingFeles

Erics

@BESW The content is entered into a wiki CMS - each item has a title and a description which can link to other items. I then use cytoscape.js to create the network graph. All custom code, nothing hosted anywhere just yet.

RollingFeles

@Shalvenay hello!

Shalvenay

@RollingFeles how're things going?

Erics

@BESW The custom wiki software is designed specifically for quick entry of small connected notes - so edit multiple items at once, auto-display of linked items, etc.

Joel Harmon

@Erics What's the name of that software? Or did you say "custom" to mean "I wrote it"?

Erics

03:01

@JoelHarmon I wrote it. Three weeks ago had the itch of the idea, two weeks ago mocked a paper prototype, and now it works (after a fashion)

It's all javascript in the browser, with data persistence via browser.localStorage()

Joel Harmon

@Erics Cool. Is that chart a graphviz output, or am I mistaken?

likely not graphviz, then :)

Erics

js.cytoscape.org

Joel Harmon

Thanks, that's really cool looking.

I may be misinformed, but I think BESW is passively looking for software he can use himself. His normal use case would be relationship graphs featuring metadata like "friendly", "wealthy", "blue team", etc.

RollingFeles

@Shalvenay I'm fine. Working from home today. How're yours?

Shalvenay

@RollingFeles alright here. recruiting ~~unsuspecting subjects~~ playtesters for a convention-dungeon I whipped up :)

RollingFeles

03:09

@Shalvenay another dungeon? :) You should be a professional dungeong architect!

Shalvenay

@RollingFeles hahahaha

I might have already mentioned the minotaur labryinth with a twist to you actually :)

RollingFeles

@Shalvenay I'm not sure. I was out for a long time and I think last time I was in this chat(prior last 2 days) was somewhere in June.

Shalvenay

@RollingFeles ah :) yeah, the dungeon I worked up is a minotaur's labryinth with a twist ;)

RollingFeles

So, is that the one you offered me to playtest in spring?

Shalvenay

no, different one :)

RollingFeles

03:16

I see.

Shalvenay

@RollingFeles if you still want to run through the one from spring though, I'm still down for that

RollingFeles

Thanks for the offer =) I'd like to, but I don't think I'll be able to in near future.

Shalvenay

@RollingFeles ah, lack of time?

RollingFeles

@Shalvenay yeah. Heavy workload. My own tasks + I have a team of interns under my supervision.

BESW

03:59

@JoelHarmon Yes, but unfortunately I don't know how to use a Cranky Magician Syndicate.

Erics

@BESW I am working towards making my snippy-wiki into a hosted solution. I'll be looking for beta-testers soon enough

@JoelHarmon @BESW in snippy-wiki, if I write [[Some Title]] it's just a normal link. If I write [[#Some Title]] it's a tagged link, and [[=Some Title]] is a categorising link (i.e. sets the entity-type for that note. Entity types can be anything, but for me I'm using Places, Regions, Routes, Settlements, Ruins, People, Faction, etc.

In the cytoscape graph I then look for specific type-values and change the node symbol. Regions are hexagons, ruins are triangles, places are crosses, nations are squares, settlements are stars, etc.

btw, the grey nodes in that graph are those which are mentioned but don't yet have notes created/written. Helps me spot where I've misspelled a title, or see that a note has lots of other referenced but unwritten notes.

Adeptus

06:07

A while ago I asked if anyone knew of a "character planner" for D&D 3.5... I had no luck finding one, so started making one myself in Excel. It doesn't automatically check if you meet requirements for a PrC, but it does autocalculate total BAB, saves, etc at each level, which can help. And it will show requirements, at least.

I've also put it on Google Sheets (which after a couple of tweaks to get working, does some things better and others not as well...)

Adeptus

06:48

kviiri

07:34

I made a spreadsheet char generator for Deadlands classic once. Wasn't really worth it (we never wound up playing it)

Iirc it's one of those systems with an annoyingly complicated point buy where fiddling around with one's options is NP-hard.

BESW

09:16

Ursula Vernon is taking a hunter safety course online.

THERE ARE CHARTS ABOUT CHOKE AND CYLINDERS AND SHOT STRINGS THIS IS WORSE THAN SHADOWRUN 2ND ED

Tweeted by UrsulaV on October 25, 2017 at 3:50 AM in reply to UrsulaV

Holy god, they have charts showing the difference in maximum range between sea level and at altitude. This is worse than Battletech.

Tweeted by UrsulaV on October 25, 2017 at 3:55 AM in reply to UrsulaV

Kickstarter: A Far Off Land, A Fate RPG in Two Worlds. An RPG where modern meets mythic fantasy in two imperiled worlds, where the intrigues of the Courts & Factions play out.

kviiri

10:36

@KorvinStarmast Just for the record, I didn't mean hirelings, but rather NPCs who do things the PCs don't do. Eg. having a dedicated researcher or supplier to interact with, rather than just a bunch of free or cheap meat shields.

kviiri

11:09

Or a noble, a mayor of a prominent town, a merchant who owns a lucrative fleet of galleys etc.

Shalvenay

11:40

hey there @nitsua60

KorvinStarmast

12:35

@kviiri In our games, if you merely treated your hirelings as meat shields, you earned a rep as deadly to work for and suddenly hiring became difficult. Henchmen were a different class of NPC, like a retainer, the castellan, the steward, etc. (Or t hey could be fighters or whatever).

The other thing that happened was the at name level, you could expect (that with the building of your castle, tower, temple/shrine that NPCs would begin to arrive and desire to serve you ... another case of henchmen.

Loyalty of NPC's was not guaranteed. There was a simple rule in Men and Magic that I used for years on gauging loyalty ...

nitsua60

spoiler block: not >!?

KorvinStarmast

"Non-player characters and men-at-arms will have to make morale checks whenever a highly dangerous or unnerving situation arises. Poor morale will mean that those in question will not perform as expected. Periodic re-checks of loyalty should be made. Length of service, rewards, etc. will bring additional plusses. Poor treatment will bring minuses." Men and magic p. 13. Simple, and clean.

nitsua60

hiya shalv

kviiri

@KorvinStarmast That sounds a bit like the Pack Alpha move from Apocalypse World playbook Chopper.

KorvinStarmast

When the Fighter got to 9th level or above, they could start a barony. "Base income for a Baron is a tax rate of 10 Gold Pieces/inhabitant of the barony/game year." A cleric could tithe for double that at name level.

@kviiri So AW copied from a great original source(1974). Works for me. :)

The nice thing about starting a castle/temple deal if one was a cleric was the following: "Finally, "faithful" men will come to such a castle, being fanatically loyal, and they will serve at no cost. There will be from 10-60 heavy cavalry, 10-60 horsed crossbowmen ("Turcopole"-type), and 30-180 heavy foot." (M&M p. 14) The problem would be surviving to name level in the first place, and spending the gold to establish the stronghold.

It was a different base assumption than being a murder hobo for 20 or so levels.

ZwiQ

13:10

@Shalvenay: hi

kviiri

13:27

When a Chopper imposes their will on the gang, they roll+Hard. 10+, they get all three of the following list, 7-9 and they get one of their choice: 1) no one fights back over it, 2) the Chopper doesn't have to make an example out of anyone, and 3) they do as the Chopper asks.

KorvinStarmast

D&D isn't quite that mechanical, but the 2d6 rolls on reaction and morale give the DM a pointer to how to role play the NPC actions and reaction.

kviiri

I haven't ever seen a Chopper played (I play a lot of AW one-shots and usually I disallow Chopper because its mechanics seem like they only shine in longer campaigns)

No wait, actually I have. But that move doesn't come into play very often. The Chopper was a rather timid guy and avoided imposing their will on their gang, only using volunteers for anything.

For a Chopper who ruled with a more iron grip, that'd come into play far more often I think.

kviiri

13:52

@KorvinStarmast Things could've been a lot different if this thing had been improved and fleshed out instead of being phased out :<

DForck42

14:09

mornin

kviiri

Hiya!

DForck42

14:31

@kviiri how goes it?

kviiri

14:45

@DForck42 Pretty good. About to wrap up work for today, going to spend the rest of the week studying. How about you?

DForck42

@kviiri fun. not too bad, gearing up for the wedding

kviiri

@DForck42 Your wedding, I recall?

DForck42

@kviiri yes

kviiri

Congratulations :)

KorvinStarmast

@DForck42 Grats. Hope all goes well.

DForck42

14:54

@KorvinStarmast thank you, me too

@kviiri thank you

kviiri

15:19

@DForck42 When's the big day?

DForck42

@kviiri nov. 11th (11/11)

they're not unique, but the date can be expressed as 3 primes, 11/11/17, which amuses me

kviiri

@DForck42 Cool! I hope the preparations are not too stressful :)

DForck42

also to play up the nerdiness we're planning on doing a toast at 11:11pm

@kviiri it's more keeping the fiancée from over stressing herself

kviiri

@DForck42 On the 17th second?

DForck42

15:34

@kviiri probably not, that'd be a bit too much, lol

we'll be doing good to remember it's 11:11

GreySage

@DForck42 Out of curiosity, is Nov 11th an important date where you're from? Here in Canada it's big because it's the date WWI ended.

DForck42

@GreySage it's Veteran's Day for us

Veterans Day

Veterans Day is an official United States public holiday, observed annually on November 11, that honors military veterans; that is, persons who served in the United States Armed Forces. It coincides with other holidays, including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, celebrated in other countries that mark the anniversary of the end of World War I; major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. The United States previously observed Armistice Day. The U.S. holiday was renamed Veterans...

basically, we chose the 11th cause we had a three day weekend

GreySage

@DForck42 Logical

DForck42

and it'll be super easy to remember

GreySage

When we got married I had an exam 3 days after. That was not fun.

kviiri

15:48

I once told some American friends that on my birthday, the school day ended at noon, the lunch was better than usual, everyone wore their best clothes and the flag was raised while the school choir sang. They asked me if I'm a prince or something.

DForck42

@kviiri lol

kviiri

...I was just C-sectioned by some really sweet people who gave me the gift of being born a day before the Independence day :P

(the actual day is a public holiday)

GreySage

@kviiri My step-brother was born on July 1st, aka Canada Day, also a public holiday.

DForck42

@kviiri lol

kviiri

16:17

A friend had an excellent idea for a Warlock Great Old One patron: the player of the character. The Warlock alone knows they're but characters in a game, and that they receive their powers for naught but the amusement of a group of greater-order beings who like to bring various perils into existence only to have the characters face them.

This is such a good idea someone probably has done it already, though.

DForck42

@kviiri i mean, you can still have fun with it

kviiri

@DForck42 Sure, no good idea should be locked up and left unused :)

DForck42

@kviiri agreed

kviiri

I wonder if that could be spun into a larger game concept... a game within game.

Yuuki

18:22

@kviiri We need to go deeper.

That many games within games is too unstable.

That's why we use a sedative.

Would we even feel a kick with a sedative this strong?

That's the clever part, I customized the sedative to leave inner ear function unimpaired.

So yeah, I've watched Inception a few too many times.

Mike Q

You mean, you've watched yourself watch Inception a few too many times

Zachiel

18:57

I tried the old and tested way of doubling my monster's damage and halving their HP to speed up D&D 4e encounters.
The result is: enemies benefit twice from resistances, players half. Recharging an encounter power is really powerful. Character healing feels halved. Enemies with area spells feel unfair.

Yuuki

Doubling damage is dangerous because you run a higher risk of OHKOs.

I mean, I guess that technically speeds up an encounter if you full party wipe in the first round.

3

Mike Q

Double seems like too much. Maybe 1.5x is more reasonable?

Zachiel

19:22

@MikeQ calculating 1.5 on the fly actually slows down the game

Shalvenay

23:30

@ZwiQ hey there, sorry about the latency

hey there @Quentin

Anaphory

23:59

Hey folks!

Shalvenay

hey there @Anaphory

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