TRPG General Chat

linksassin

00:13

@BlackSpike I think our "one-shots" have about a 15% chance of actually being a one shot. 30% of being two-sessions and 45% of being three. 10% chance it turns into a multi-arc campaign that outlasts the current players.

BESW

My group's getting better about being able to size our games to our available time.

C. Ross

That is definitely an art.

BESW

A big part of it is finding game systems that accommodate the sizing.

Like, Golden Sky Stories and Cthulhu Dark both have structures and story types that tend to reach satisfying conclusions within two to four hours.

In D&D 4e, a single conflict might last two or three hours and it wasn't very satisfying to spend a four-hour game session on one and a half battles where the big drama is how many daily resources we'll expend on winning.

trogdor

Yeah

I'm personally really glad GSS fits our time so well

It made it so I could run more of it

XD

BESW

Also:

Jun 14 at 9:33, by BESW

> Did you know that you can just put it in your rules? "When X happens, the session ends." Even Blades doesn't do that. Groups come up with ways to find an ending within the system, but the rules don't tell you how long you should play. (Dee Pennyway, Twitter link)

trogdor

00:28

True

I mean, we literally did that last time, technically

We stopped at a good stopping point because we needed to stop

Stop stop stop

XD

BESW

Oh, aye. Part of the skill of sizing games is recognizing the pacing points where you can stop early or go late, and choosing deliberately.

Dee's talking about game systems which bake session endpoints into themselves.

Like, compare Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple with Great Ork Gods.

Do says "When one player has eight stones, that triggers the epilogue and here's how to end the session."

There's a clear, inevitable countdown clock to the end of the session.

trogdor

Ah yeah

Great Ork God's doesn't really have a that

That I Know of at least

BESW

Right. Neither does Fate, or D&D, or Roll For Shoes, or....

trogdor

Yeah

BESW

One of the reasons our games are fitting our sessions better is that we're playing more games with clear session endpoints; even if it's not as precise as PotFT, Golden Sky Stories has a pretty solid session progression built in: meet someone new, identify their distress, have shenanigans, resolve distress.

InSpectres is cut up into jobs.

Cthulhu Dark progresses until everyone's dead or unhinged, or until the threat has been dealt with.

Lady Blackbird's lack of a session cut-off signal is one of the few problems I have with it.

trogdor

00:43

True

For all that stuff

Though I have not run LB so I never noticed that

BESW

The initial LB scenario, though, has a nice baked-in satisfying conclusion: escaping the imperial ship.

Atomic Robo is roughly divided into missions, but the pacing and duration of missions is left largely to the group.

It assumes that a mission will take one or two sessions. In practice it doesn't have any tools for making that happen.

C. Ross

One struggle I always had with timing sessions was anticipating player approach. Sometimes they want to cut to the chase, and sometimes they want to plumb the details. If I put in an NPC that pegs the party's interest, it can add half an hour to play time.

Hot RPG Questions

01:00

4

Q: Do I have to roll to maintain concentration if a target other than me who is affected by my concentration spell takes damage?

We had a little puzzling situation during the last session of our group (I'm DMing here), and would like an approbation/rebuttal on the rule interpretation: The Arcane Trickster of the team cast invisibility on himself and another member of the party. The group is then on the receiving side of ...

Black Spike

@C.Ross Half an hour?
Sometimes we "accidentally" spend a couple of session on incidental NPCs!
I try (no, I really do!) to drag players back to "What are you actually aiming for?"

I've prepped the Heist, the players are all ready to roll, and ... someone mentions one of their Back Story contacts ... can we get some more info? Does this Raid affect their agenda? Is there leverage against "3rd-Party"? Do we have time to do a quick side-quest?

V2Blast

01:30

@C.Ross Why not just ask? ;)

C. Ross

@V2Blast Lol, They don't know till they play. I don't either when I play.

@V2Blast Which games do you play often?

V2Blast

@C.Ross Mostly D&D 5e. Also recently signed up for a Lancer game. (And I signed up for a Starfinder game that seems unlikely to actually happen.)

Shalvenay

hey there @C.Ross

C. Ross

Hi there

David Coffron

@V2Blast You still in here? I just got back from vacation and couldn't access any of my D&DBeyond stuff. I did some searching in chat and seems like you mentioned something called Master Tier subscription? is that something I need to get to do the book sharing now?

V2Blast

01:45

a Master Tier subscription is a thing you need (and have always needed, as far as I know) to share owned content on D&D Beyond: https://www.dndbeyond.com/subscribe
As long as one person has a subscription, and content sharing is enabled, everyone in a campaign with them will be able to share the content they own with one another.

(with a Master Tier subscription, you can share with up to 3 campaigns on D&D Beyond of up to 12 people each)

(I don't have a subscription myself)

David Coffron

@V2Blast So... I (and you from what I can see) are in the D&D Beyond chatizen campaign, and have accessed the books shared there in the past. Any idea why I wouldn't be able to anymore?

V2Blast

@DavidCoffron Not sure - @NautArch: Do you have a Master Tier subscription, or know who (if anyone) in the group does?

David Coffron

Well wait... That's weird. I can open the books in the Sources tab, but if I try to open any of the details pages it paywalls me

V2Blast

Weird. Googling suggested that if whoever has the subscription(?) disables and then reenables content sharing, it might fix it? (It looks like it might have to be the DM that enables/disables content sharing?)

linksassin

@V2Blast I've experienced that. My DM that has the subscription has to re-enable it every month or it stops working properly.

David Coffron

01:56

@linksassin I'll holler at NautArch at some point and see if that works

(although as far as I know, he hasn't had to re-enable it monthly)

Shalvenay

hey there as well @linksassin

linksassin

@Shalvenay G'day, how's it going?

Shalvenay

@linksassin OK here

Ben

03:04

Afternoon all

Sorry about the other day @Shalvenay, I messaged you then immediately fell asleep haha

Shalvenay

@Ben no problem :) how've things been otherwise?

also, if you're up for hopping on Discord, I'll be around for a bit longer at least

Ben

Had a very busy weekend. Helping out with a working bee at the archery range, moving, reorganising my storage, Doing my usual chores, and we played the Fury of Dracula, which was very fun though being the first time there were a few rules we weren't too sure of

Shalvenay

@Ben ah, what's a "working bee" btw if you don't mind me asking?

Ben

Volunteers come to help out to do some work.

Get rewarded for their time with free food & Drinks, etc.

collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/working-bee

It is an odd phrase lol

Shalvenay

oh XD

you wouldn't happen to be an archer, by the way?

Ben

03:19

I am indeed. Been doing it for 20 years.

Shalvenay

@Ben ah, maybe I'll have to bounce a thing or two off of you on Discord then if you don't mind even?

Ben

I can say that Legolas had good form, and so did Kat from Hunger Games

Haha sure

linksassin

@Shalvenay Huh... is this just an australian thing?

Shalvenay

@linksassin nah, just a turn of phrase that I hadn't heard before, I reckon. may be Commonwealth in origin at least, though

user15026

I extrapolated from knowing what a quilting bee was.

Miniman

03:34

@Ash "Quilting bee" taken literally is so much more awesome than "working bee" taken literally.

user15026

So true.

user15026

Tiny little bee quilts! And tiny little bee quilt auctions! And tiny little bees tucking baby bees into bed under tiny bee quilts made by revered queen bees

Ben

Crochet or knit?

Lol

BESW

That's... not how quilts work?

Ben

Sorry, that's blankets lol

Shalvenay

03:44

hey there @Luyw, welcome to the RPG.SE lair :)

trogdor

@Ash what is a quilting bee?

Ben

@trogdor a bee that knits/crochets quilts :P

trogdor

Lol

user15026

It's basically where a bunch of humans come together to make a quilt, either like making various bits of the top together or in a lot of Mennonite cases, knotting tops and bottoms together (literally tying knots of string in patterns on the quilt to keep the layers together)

trogdor

Ah ok

I figured it wasn't as simple as just a person who quilts

Or who is currently quilting

Ben

03:55

I think the "bee" part is basically just a community coming together to work toward a common goal.

which makes sense :)

V2Blast

@linksassin I've never heard "working bee" or "quilting bee" but apparently it's the same origin as "bee" in "spelling bee"

9

Q: What are the origins of using "bee" to mean a competition, as in a "spelling bee"?

I find it interesting that they decided to call a spelling competition a spelling bee. How did the word bee come to also mean a competition, not just an insect?

etymology

linksassin

04:22

Oh @BESW did you see this question on the use of the X card in games? It looked like something right up your alley.

BESW

yeah, I was in the chat when the querent asked for help making sure it would be taken as a good faith query.

I don't have a lot of useful experience to add yet, but I'm gonna use safety tools at a convention next month and will probably be able to spin an answer out of that.

linksassin

@BESW Excellent. Always enjoy reading your perspective on the issue.

BESW

→ 21 messages moved to Not a bar, but plays one on TV

I'm moving that because there are people who don't want to see it.

linksassin

@BESW That's fair enough. I don't think we intended for it to get so dark, etymology can take weird turns.

Ben

My SW character has developed regeneration.

This just got cereal. Lol

My character was very "glass cannon". He is hard to hit, and was able to hit very easily, and cause a lot of damage, but as soon as he did get hit, he went down very easily. So now he has the ability to recover much much faster than everyone else

Hot RPG Questions

05:06

7

Q: Does a centaur PC also count as being mounted?

One of our characters created a centaur Eagle totem barbarian (level 3) - which I thought was a good idea. But to duck and weave in tight spaces, she'd need high AC, so she came up with a character wielding a lance in one hand and a shield in another. Whilst wearing scale-mail, she'd have a total...

dnd-5e weapons mount mounted-combat centaur

Ben

05:34

Ok, my questions about incorporating the SW Card Draw Initiative and Benny System into 5e were closed as opinion based/unclear, and have gone through some clarification edits.

I am of the inclination that at this point they would be better presented as "Is this homebrew balanced". Should I edit the existing questions, or re write them as new ones?

kviiri

I don't have enough expertise to comment, but I'm a bit curious: why do you want to incorporate the card draw into DnD?

linksassin

The Card Draw one I don't understand why it is closed. Akix thinks it's too broad.

Ben

@kviiri The way it works is instead of using one value to determine turn order for the entire encounter, each round your initiative is determined

Which really changes up the way combat happens. One round you're first, the next you're last

linksassin

The Benny one is currently open so I guess it is ok. But I think it would be better if you could provide a clearer definition of exactly how it would be used.

Ben

It also affects "this effect lasts until your next turn"

linksassin

05:41

@Ben Wait is the intention for initiative to be re-draw each round?

Ben

@linksassin Yes

linksassin

In that case I would break it into two questions. One focusing on the card-draw system with normal once/encounter drawing.

Then a second focusing on the effect of drawing each round.

Ben

@linksassin ?

Personally I'm not really interested in that. It's not overly different from just rolling a dice

IMO

linksassin

@Ben The card-draw initiative question is too broad because you are asking people to determine the effects of your card drawing method and the effects of re-drawing initiative every round. If you split that it would make two valid questions.

Personally I thought it was fine as is. But the community disagrees so that is my suggestion to try to fix it.

That you intend for players to re-draw every round isn't entirely clear in the question either (my fault I did the edit and didn't realise you wanted that)

Ben

Ah right.

I suppose my issue is that I don't see one half without the other?

linksassin

05:50

@Ben Would separate answers to the two halves not still be useful? Otherwise try to clarify further and narrow down the kind of feedback you want.

"What effect will this have?" is pretty broad. Do you care about balance? Exploits? What are you hoping to get from answers?

Ben

Ok, so I guess it would be simply a case of splitting the question into the two sub headings?

I think my brain has decided to go on lunch. Lol

One question is just about using the card draw - the only main "wild card" in that system is the wild card. I.e. the joker. The first question I just about using this as an initiative system, in place of the d20.

The second question is taking that a step further, instead talking about a round-by-round baiss

V2Blast

Yeah, I think you really just need to clarify what exact kind of "effect" you're focused on - not just "what is every possible consequence of using this system"

honestly I think it is probably answerable, but it's a big question so it helps to narrow the scope at least a little

linksassin

@Ben You could do that. But you would need to justify why you weren't breaking it into two questions. People will see two headings and go "one q per post"

kviiri

06:05

@Ben I've played SW and found the card deck thing a bit fiddly, wouldn't that be easier just rolling over each round?

V2Blast

on a different note

3

Q: If the same attack that causes a druid to revert from Wild Shape also reduces their maximum HP, what happens?

I am aware of Jeremy Crawford's ruling that maximum HP reduction applied to a Wild Shape form does not apply to the druid's true form when Wild Shape reverts. However, this doesn't answer the question of what happens when the attack that causes the maximum HP reduction is also the attack that cau...

dnd-5e damage wild-shape hit-points simultaneous-effects

do you guys think this question is a duplicate of/meaningfully distinct from the two I linked in a comment?

11

Q: How does Max-HP reduction affect wild-shaped/polymorphed creatures?

Certain creatures have abilities which can reduce a character's maximum HP, and usually if it gets reduced to 0 the character dies outright. Suppose a HP30 PC is wild-shaped/polymorphed to a creature with 50HP, they get into a fight with a Wraith and take a few hits dealing a total of 30HP. If t...

dnd-5e wild-shape polymorph hit-points

31

Q: In what order should one apply max HP reduction and damage?

A character at 10/26 HP is hit by a Wraith and fails the Constitution saving throw. They take 21 damage and their maximum HP is reduced to 5. Are they unconscious because the 11 excess damage is less than 26 or dead because it's greater than 5?

dnd-5e monsters hit-points

Hot RPG Questions

7

Q: Which centaur is more 'official'?

I've got a player in my campaign and she's an equestrian, so naturally she likes centaur characters! She wished to use the centaur character race from Unearthed Arcana (UA), but I realize that there is a similar race described in Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica (GGR) which has subtle differences (...

dnd-5e races unearthed-arcana centaur

Ben

@kviiri Potenitally. You could simply replace the "joker" with a nat 20.

That was the main part of the card draw system that I wanted to incorporate

@linksassin I think I meant the reverse - there are two sub headings, which could be come individual questions

linksassin

@V2Blast I think that it's not a duplicate. Particularly the last case about reducing max to zero before form change. Though I wouldn't vote to reopen if it was closed as dupe of the first link you posted.

@Ben Ah, yes that was basically what I was suggesting except that the current two subheadings wouldn't make sense to be split. I suggest making this question solely about the draw card system as a direct replacement for the d20 system. Then ask a new question about using it to re-draw every round and link them together.

Ben

06:22

@linksassin So effectively this means leave the existing question as-is (with some clarification to get it reopened)... then ask another about round-by-round initiative.

linksassin

@Ben Correct. That would be my approach. I think it's most likely to get your questions reopened and get good answers.

Ben

Ok. Now the problem is that I don't see how this is too broad. Lol

linksassin

34 mins ago, by linksassin

"What effect will this have?" is pretty broad. Do you care about balance? Exploits? What are you hoping to get from answers?

Ben

Ah

linksassin

28 mins ago, by V2Blast

Yeah, I think you really just need to clarify what exact kind of "effect" you're focused on - not just "what is every possible consequence of using this system"

Ben

06:27

So basically just asking "Is this initiative system balanced" is clear?

Miniman

@Ben "What is the effect of X?" questions are functionally equivalent to "analyse this entire system in light of this change". The reason we don't close all of them as too broad is that experts can generally determine the approximate scope of the effects just by looking, and use that expertise to not VtC.

So when one of them gets closed, it generally indicates that the closers think the scope of the effects is too broad to be meaningfully answered in a single question.

linksassin

@Miniman Well said.

Miniman

(Or at least, that's my take on it. Obviously I don't speak for everyone.)

@linksassin Thanks!

Ben

@Miniman Not to be ignorant, but my brain is on leave currently. My current issue is I can see what is unclear/too broad, but I'm not sure what the opposite is

It's been a long day. Lol

linksassin

@Ben You need to clarify what you are looking for in answers. Do you want them to discuss the balance issues of this? Or identify flaws that would allow players to game the system?

Even just listing your concerns about using the system. "Rogues will be too strong" for example would help answerers to know what you are looking for.

Ben

06:37

So for example I have asked for how the Benny system affects difficulty (i.e. CR)

linksassin

@Ben That's a good start yeah. "How would this system increase my players combat power?" or something.

Ben

Right.

Ok brain... get your butt into gear... gotta think for a minute

linksassin

Ask about the issue you are having rather than just putting your idea on the post and asking people what they think.

Ben

Ahhhh there's the issue.

I don't know what the problems are

linksassin

@Ben And so you fall into the case from NautArch's meta post. Your homebrew isn't really ready for review yet.

Miniman

06:42

Hmmm. You could potentially ask about the scope of the effects, then, rather than asking what the effects actually will be.

"What things will be affected by changes to the initiative system?"

linksassin

Take some time and think about the issues that it could have, or take @Miniman 's idea of asking for a broad overview of the the changes.

Miniman

Then answers can talk about stuff like 1-round durations, Dexterity becoming more or less important, and so on.

Not sure how the site will react, but it's certainly a question I wouldn't VTC on.

linksassin

@Miniman I think he would need to be very clear that he wants generalisations with that version or it would still likely be too broad for some.

Ben

At the moment it does already have one answer, and there are some metas about changing a question so that answers are no longer relevant.

The answer currently is about "what changes this would have", so I think Miniman's approach would probably be best

V2Blast

Personally I'd vote to reopen the question, but now my vote is magical and I don't feel strongly enough to override the community... one of those reasons it'd be nice to say "I think this should be open but I'm not confident enough to say the community is wrong" situations

linksassin

06:49

@Ben Make the best effort edit you can and I will nominate to reopen. I didn't agree with closing it in the first place.

Ben

@V2Blast ULTIMATE COSMIC POWER … Itty bitty living space

V2Blast

Hehe

speaking of which

anyone been to see (the new) Aladdin?

Miniman

@V2Blast Nah, I only watched it on VHS.

linksassin

@V2Blast Not yet. I'm hesitant to see it but everyone I know that has liked it.

Ben

@V2Blast Apparently it is a "kids movie" and nothing more. If you watch it with anything more than that point of view (i.e. with any kind of criticism outside of "how magical was it?" you will be disappointed

And Will Smith does not try and create a Genie that is in Robin William's footsteps - he simply does a "Genie" that is the one in the script

V2Blast

06:55

tbf I'd hope for Will Smith to do his own thing, not try to copy Robin Williams

but that is unfortunate

BESW

May 28 at 0:03, by BESW

@Aza Hey look, I just found an article about Aladdin 2019 on "Muslim Impossible."

Ben

@V2Blast Oh that's what I'm saying. He doesn't try to copy him

linksassin

I was hoping for a genie like the stage show. Which was excellent but then I heard they cast Will Smith and I can't see how he could be anything other than Will Smith.

Ben

He just plays the role that was presented in the script

Ok, so; What effects will be affected incorporating the Savage Worlds "Card Draw Initiative" into 5e? […] This system provides a more variable initiative, and the "Wild Card" is a major twist on the existing initiative system. What aspects of the 5e Initiative and combat system will this mechanic affect?

I changed the title, and then changed the last paragraph

linksassin

07:13

I edited your title again. Effects are affected was a bit confusing.

Apparently I already voted to reopen.

Ben

Haha fair

Affect of effect

Or is it effect of affect

V2Blast

a fect of fect

Luyw

07:59

@Shalvenay hi!

V2Blast

08:14

@Luyw Hi!

welcome :)

BESW

[wave]

Ben

08:37

Heaya

Luyw

@V2Blast I was answering your other welcoming x) Hi ♥

BESW

Hey, @Luyw, what's new?

Luyw

me in this room ~

BESW

Fair play. What brings you here?

V2Blast

@Luyw glad to have you here!

Luyw

09:09

@BESW curiosity

@V2Blast :)

BESW

Excellent! We're glad to have ya, feel free to chat or lurk as you like. We're coming off the weekend so chat activity should increase soon.

Do you play any tabletop roleplaying games, or are you just curious about them?

BESW

09:24

Does anybody here have experience using safety tools at conventions? I've been asked to run a table at our local con but I'm not sure what it looks like to have safety tools in a con setting.

3

Akixkisu

Yes

It is pretty easy, you prepare the cards and go into the gist of the basic rules (see the document). It takes about 5 minutes and doesn't cut into game time. It increases the focus on the table and has a high signal to noise ratio.

(I use blank cards and print the shorthand on them)

So instead of arguing you are spending more time on playing, also seems to raise awareness that there are common triggers (but that is more speculative).

BESW

What safety tools do you use? It sounds like maybe you're using the XNO cards. Do you do any calibration or aftercare?

Akixkisu

Not at a con.

XNO>> are the cards I use

BESW

Do you offer the Luxton technique for people who find the XNO tool is bad for their PTSD?

Akixkisu

Nope, but thought about it.

The issue is that that cuts into game-time, but I offer feedback sessions (instead of aftercare), I have yet to experience someone talking about it.

BESW

09:40

How did you choose the XNO cards as your sole tool?

Akixkisu

It is difficult to judge whether that causes more harm or not. Frankly I don't know.

Their are not my sole tool.

I also communicate, the cards XNO>> are for shorthand.

Immediate signal without interruption.

Helps keeping the narrative intact.

BESW

What does your conversation consist of? script change, lines and veils?

Akixkisu

To make it more distinct, I offer communicating about issues when they are part of the play (I ask for comments), but usually, they don't want to talk about their triggers.

BESW

How did you choose the XNO cards over something like the script change cards?

Akixkisu

Tapping as tool, boundaries prior to the event.

Because a lot of people don't set their boundaries and notice that they are uncomfortable later.

I came across it, tried it and thought, yup this is working and saves me time and others pain.

BESW

09:49

What does it look like when it's being used in the game? Do you have a social script for it?

Akixkisu

Roughly, I always have a mini Session 0 that I adjust to the event ( I plan 15 minutes for the segment), most of the time it is shorter, sometimes it takes 20 minutes.

Hello this is me- who are you, This is what we are going to do and what you can expect, these are the tools at your disposal if anything goes wrong, these are the breaks that we will do.

BESW

What games do you use this with at cons?

Akixkisu

Currently I run primarily Splittermond, DnD 5e and 8 Steps at cons.

BESW

Interesting. What kinds of challenges do you encounter at the table, in terms of safety?

Do you think different kinds of games or groups merit adjusting the safety tools being used?

Akixkisu

Mostly phobias - spiders are a big one. Too graphic descriptions of material and sensetive topics like slavery (Splittermond has a region where slavery is common part).

Adjust at discretion they are good guidelines, but shouldn't be read like rules.

The audience changes depending on con.

Some cons are adult themed others are family themed.

So that changes a lot in how the details play out, but there isn't much difference in the shorthand.

BESW

10:00

How long are your table times?

And what are your group sizes?

Akixkisu

4-6 players (I allow guests to watch and try to give children something to do when they aren't part of the game, so there are more people in the vicinity). Games are from 90 minutes to 5 hours with breaks.

BESW

Thank you for sharing! I think that's helpful.

I hope other people can share their experiences with safety tools at cons, too--from the player's perspective as well as the facilitator's.

Akixkisu

I haven't done a really long session with the tool yet. Not sure if I will do those again, maybe if the right person asks very nicely.

Sure, glad to help.

BESW

I ran a Lady Blackbird table last year without any formal tools and although I'm not aware of any problems I was very much on my toes about it.

vicky_molokh

@Akixkisu What do you do you do if unexpectedly (i.e. by card and not by a pre-session discussion) an important element gets marked for complete removal, but either a large/important part of the setting or of the campaign hinges on that element? (Of course this question is in the context of settings and campaigns that are written up in higher detail/in advance and with a regard to what depends on what.)

BESW

10:09

And for my particular case, I've been specifically asked to run a table that introduces people to an RPG experience outside traditional-style D&D. In that context particularly, I feel like safety tools are an important thing to be demonstrating at my table rather than just using.

Akixkisu

@vicky_molokh I prepone a break and improv.

@BESW that sounds like a sound idea. I made bulletpoints before I first used the tool (I do that for most of the things, reduction makes readily visible where the core of the principle lies).

@vicky_molokh I also structure my sessions to allow for non-linear play from the get-go, while I streamline for cons I am very much a sandbox GM.

BESW

My references for safety tools to choose from are the Support Tools Compilation and Safety Tools Toolkit.

(The compilation includes the Flower without commentary, which makes me read the rest of it a little more skeptically, but most of it seems reasonable.)

Akixkisu

@BESW that is very similar to the cocept I read about, looks much more polished though.

I assume that they have the same origin.

Some of the description is identical.

BESW

You mean the X-Card bits? Yeah, they both attribute the original author.

Akixkisu

Yup, I saw the concept in the SPIEL 2014, and have used it since.

There was a place were you could read about techniques.

Had lots of great material.

BESW

10:20

The X-Card has been the most well-known safety/support tool for several years, so far as I can tell, and unfortunately it sometimes gets treated as a one-size-fits-all solution rather than a tool in a toolkit.

So far the only tool I've encountered which I feel would never be useful to have in my toolkit is the "Support Flower."

kviiri

Hey, can I ask for a bit of brainstorming help? I pitched a very rough scenario concept to my friends and they seemed interested enough for me to start working on it, but I'm not exactly sure what I want out of it myself, what rules to use and what exactly I want to include.

BESW

Shoot!

Akixkisu

@BESW Hm yes, but inadvertently they mix and some of them are shorthand and others are more of a sidenote/integrated. For Cons, you have to be very careful with the time limits. It isn't exactly easy or obvious to see what actually helps.

kviiri

Loosely based on the computer game Faster Than Light: The players are the crew of a research space ship that has been struck by a massive howitzer shot, tearing a gaping hole in its hull. Equipment is malfunctioning, life support gauges are slowly creeping from "CAUTION" to "CRITICAL" and the electric locks containing three extremely ravenous, hostile and vacuum-tolerant alien specimens have gone offline. The objective is to get out alive.

(since it's not a combat scenario, but more akin to Titanic in space, I've considered replacing the howitzer shot with an asteroid or something, but seems unlikely a space-faring civilization would blunder that bad)

Akixkisu

Horror/survival/action/puzzle focus?

kviiri

10:29

In my mind it's something like survival, with hints of horror and a hefty side of MacGyver.

vicky_molokh

@kviiri I must say the introduction reads more like Tharsis than FTL.

I mean the mood/description, not the setting.

kviiri

FTL does get a bit like when you get hit badly enough :)

(although the hostile aliens are enemy boarding parties, not accidentally loosed captives)

Akixkisu

Are the aliens immune to the biohazrad?

(aside from oxygen)

BESW

I'm going to assume the alien specimens are bear-sized tardigrades.

kviiri

Yeah, the intent of the aliens being that there's a lingering feel of terror even in places previously established safe

BESW

10:35

What kind of brainstorming are you looking for?

kviiri

Suggestions for rules, mechanics, and maybe help me better define the setting and tone

vicky_molokh

I'm about to go AFK, but others may benefit from your answer: but have you picked a base system on which to build rule/mechanics additions/changes?

kviiri

@vicky_molokh Nope, that's actually one of the things I've been thinking about

My group's liked the dice system from Lady Blackbird, so I think that might work

I understand it's a decision I can't really make without thinking about what exactly the game should be like, though. As in, is it a drama-oriented disaster flic or a challenge for the players, or something in between.

BESW

Yeah, 'cause I could play that in Cthulhu Dark or Dread or Lovecraftesque or Atomic Robo or Danger Patrol or...

Hmm. I'd probably wanna use something with clocks.

You've got a lot of "hurry up before the thing happens" elements.

kviiri

Yeah, clocks are cool. I could probably have some dashboards displaying them on a screen or something

Y'know, as if it was an in-universe interface

BESW

10:45

Fate sometimes uses stress tracks as countdown clocks.

kviiri

I think I'm actually leaning a bit towards a more board-gamey implementation since my group has a history of liking "disaster management games" like Eldritch Horror or Pandemic. Y'know, games where a million things are going wrong at the same time and you need to pick your battles carefully to win

V2Blast

now I want to play FTL again

it's been too long

BESW

I suggest you take a look at Danger Patrol: Pocket Edition.

It's a bit confusing to read, there's bits that reference each other on each side of the card without being obvious about it.

kviiri

@BESW Ha, I actually thought of Danger Patrol for this :P

This might be a good excuse to run it

Akixkisu

I'd probably use freeform events based on narration, no dice included. I'd Draw a map of the ship, establish rooms - how traversable they are, things that the pcs can do to prolong their life, define solutions that could solve the issues and showcase that brute force is not the solution (perhaps by showcasing the demise of a weapons officer on the ship prior to the surveillance system going offline). I would need to know the layout, the time that the aliens require to breach the next room, and loosely the objects that are available to the pcs.

(Or invite them to a round of SS13)

kviiri

10:52

The idea is that the ship is pretty much doomed anyway, but the players will have to keep it "afloat" so to say for long enough to make their escape --- or perhaps crash land it. They'd be able and required to temporarily fix (or destroy) things to survive (eg. blow open a blast door to eject an alien from a room)

BESW

@kviiri One of my way backburnered project ideas is to hack Danger Patrol for a Thunderbirds style emergency rescue game.

Akixkisu

@kviiri I'd still recommend having a gander at spacestation13.com/about

kviiri

@Akixkisu I'll take a look, thanks

Carcer

SS13 is good fun but the nature of the game's evolution is that it's a very comedic take on the premise

and it really needs more than a handful of people to be a properly working game

BESW

Hmm. [rummages] It's nothing like what you've got in mind, but there's this game I'm being reminded of...

Alone in the Station Remnants is a single-player RPG about walking through an abandoned space station that was your childhood home long ago.

More r🐘, Psi*Run is a game about fleeing from an implacable force while struggling to remember who you are and why you're running. There's a Terminator hack.

kviiri

11:10

I've been eyeing Psi*Run for a long time but my group is generally quite cold towards "hey, let's try this system"

Seems like presenting them with a scenario first is more effective

BESW

Let's do a Twitter check.

twitter.com/KiennaS/status/1142093473484562433

goodguy5

Congratulations! My wife and I just had our 6 year marriage anniversary (\*cough* plus 5 years together \*cough*) and I can't imagine living apart from her.

I wish you joy ^_^.

3

BESW

11:46

@goodguy5 Grats on your anniversary!

goodguy5

11:59

We're going to have to have a do-over soon, because wife was sick, but thanks :D

trogdor

@BESW I feel as though it will never work again

goodguy5

phew. altf3 doesn't do anything, especially not anything horrific. I found out because I was trying to close a window and missed.

kviiri

@BESW This is admirable btw

BESW

@kviiri Thanks! It seems like a thing I should be doing. Got any thoughts on how?

kviiri

@BESW Sadly, no --- I have practically zero experience with safety tools. Insert here the usual bit about me being the avant garde member of our otherwise fairly typical DnD group

BESW

12:13

Well, what about what you'd like to see?

kviiri

I don't really feel qualified to comment. I don't really understand PTSD, strong enough phobias to trigger off fictional depictions or similar content well enough to really grasp what exactly is the fundamental thing of various safety tools

That's not to say I don't support their use, of course. I just mean, I know of their value principally from other peoples' accounts, such as ones linked by you, and therefore I don't think I have anything new to offer

BESW

Fair enough.

user15026

12:51

@goodguy5 awww, thanks. I have no idea what living with my husband long term looks like because we have never done it but I am excited to find out! (and congrats on your anniversary, that's very cool)

Carcer

partner and I will be coming up on 11 years together this november

it's very good but establish firm policies about dishwashing before that gets out of hand

user15026

Hahaha that I do know the answer to - he does not like how I wash dishes, so he washes, I dry.

Carcer

heh, okay

getting a dishwasher was probably the best marital investment we ever made

NautArch

13:21

@Carcer until you have the argument on proper loading strategy

Hot RPG Questions

13:35

8

Q: If the same attack that causes a druid to revert from Wild Shape also reduces their maximum HP, what happens?

I am aware of Jeremy Crawford's ruling that maximum HP reduction applied to a Wild Shape form does not apply to the druid's true form when Wild Shape reverts. However, this doesn't answer the question of what happens when the attack that causes the maximum HP reduction is also the attack that cau...

dnd-5e damage wild-shape hit-points simultaneous-effects

goodguy5

to Ash and anyone that has a relationship of any kind, romantic or otherwise.

The most helpful "hippy-dippy crap" book I've ever come across is The 5 Love Languages. It's a pretty obvious concept and I don't think one needs to buy or read the full book, but mentally recognizing that everyone can have different ways of feeling appreciated/cared for/loved can have a big impact.

bah, I hate linking things in text in chat

Sdjz

I think that was just the usual multi-line problem

Mage in the Barrel

hey i'm looking for a specific type of class in 5e but web searching hasn't turned up any useful results.

i want a class that has a humaniod partner

goodguy5

The 5 Love Languages

G. Moylan

switch the brackets

Mage in the Barrel

13:46

sort of a dual character class

goodguy5

I can neverever remember which order

Sdjz

the syntax of the link itself was fine but when you insert line breaks the formatting does not work

goodguy5

@MageintheBarrel doesn't exist. you're into homebrew, reskinning, or cohorts

kviiri

@MageintheBarrel There isn't one, the closest you can have is some sort of summoner mage, ranger with an animal companion, hirelings or such... or ofc just playing two characters.

G. Moylan

I'm picturing the Ice Climbers in D&D

Mage in the Barrel

13:48

sorry i meant as a homebrew

i fully aware nothing exists in 5e base

kviiri

What's the idea of such class?

Mage in the Barrel

something like ice cilmbers?

kviiri

I mean, it's clearly meant to be something distinct from just playing two characters at the same time?

Mage in the Barrel

yes because their sopposed to attack together as a pair

goodguy5

@MageintheBarrel You might want to consider the beast master and just literally have a human instead.

of course, the DM will keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get op, but should be fine enough, I think.

Carcer

13:51

D&D's mechanics do not well support the idea of two distinct creatures performing primarily combined actions

goodguy5

tell that to Find Steed.
"seemless unit"

Carcer

or being represented in a combined way.

well, except as mounts, sure

Mage in the Barrel

what about a race that's two people?

goodguy5

@MageintheBarrel someone asked something very similar. *rummages\

Mage in the Barrel

like the race is split into pairs via some weird magic?

goodguy5

13:53

2

Q: Can a character have two pasts?

I have a character in mind that has two pasts. Basically I want to create a character that has the memories of two other people in her head. Somewhat like split personality but more like a fusion of the two characters, she has her own thoughts and personality only retains the skills and memories ...

dnd-5e character-creation time background

not quite the same

Carcer

what do you actually want out of it - something with mechanics that represent a character actually being two distinct creatures?

Mage in the Barrel

like that @Carcer

Carcer

that's complicated as heck

goodguy5

ah, here is what I was looking for:

23

Q: How to balance “one” PC that is two weaker characters combined?

One of my players has requested that his next PC actually be two characters, similar to "Ferra & Tor" from Mortal Kombat, essentially a small wizard (or other magic user) riding a big barbarian (or other "tank" charactor). He proposes that in order to not seem OP “Every time I get hit, roll a d10...

dnd-5e character-creation homebrew

Yuuki

3.5e had a template for something like that.

G. Moylan

13:54

the Neptunians from Futurama are kindof like two people in one. They pair off and are bonded for life and join hands for the rest of their existance

Mage in the Barrel

brb gotta grab something

Yuuki

I can't remember what it was called.

Carcer

@goodguy5 good find

noting the top answers are either "just treat it mechanically as one character and describe it narratively as two" or "just make two actual characters and play them together"

Yuuki

I've found the first option to be incredibly versatile.

Carcer

trying to write mechanics for one creature actually being two creatures is an exercise in pain

goodguy5

13:57

@Yuuki dvati?

Yuuki

@goodguy5 It wasn't that.

IIRC, it was actually two characters in one body rather two characters working together.

Mechanically, one character represented the mental attributes while another represented the physical attributes.

kviiri

Apocalypse World 1e has an extended playbook called the Macaluso which is for reals several people. I mean, one consciousness but several bodies.

Yuuki

"Just do mechanical things as normal and describe it differently" works really well for a lot of things.

kviiri

I dare say this gimmick is much better suited for AW than DnD although I have my doubts even there --- said playbook was not included in AW 2e unlike some other extended ones.

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