TRPG General Chat

MikeQ

00:27

Hello friendly friendlings

How are we all this morning/day/evening

BESW

Upsie downsie. Talking with a good friend that I haven't talked with much for a while. But talking with them about unpleasant but necessary topics.

Got a chance to suggest Pidj Sorensen's work to her, though.

nitsua60

01:08

@BESW I don't want to clutter the page by putting it into a comment, so let me say it here: I found your "answer" to @doppelgreener's resignation post moving and evocative and... just perfect.

V2Blast

@nitsua60 I was tempted to comment "same" on the answer ^_^

@MikeQ existing

BESW

01:30

@nitsua60 and green.

doppelgreener

02:14

@nitsua60 I agree ❤️

@BESW that hit me about an hour later lol

trogdor

lol

BESW

@doppelgreener Chaotic Amalgam would also be a good name for a band.

KorvinStarmast

03:08

@BESW Or at least the name of their first album ...

nitsua60

@V2Blast "My diamond for a comment-lock!"

Just finished mrs. nitsua's yearly mother's day painting--first time I've finished before midnight! (I start after she goes to bed so that she wakes up to a new one each year.)

Hot RPG Questions

03:39

3

Q: Can you cast Sequester on yourself after creating a Simulacrum?

Is possible to cast Sequester on yourself after having a Simulacrum? I can have my real body protected for years as my Simulacrum lives my life. Something like The Flesh from Doctor Who.

user15026

04:30

@nitsua60 That's lovely.

BESW

07:15

An acquaintance from my earliest days of D&D just gave me an invite to a Discord server called "RPG Adventure Time." Anybody know anything about it?

MikeQ

Is it a reference to the Adventure Time show, or is it declaring that it is time for RPG adventures?

BESW

I suspect the former, but I don't know anything about it except that it's supposed to be a place for isolated RPGers to play games together. I haven't clicked on it yet.

I'm a little skeptical because last time I checked in with my old group, they were still in the "Pathfinder is the best because it's like D&D 3.5 never died" mindset and that's... not usually the kind of space where I find a lot of people I'm comfortable around, these days.

V2Blast

Never heard of that server myself

Googling yields nothing of relevance, so it presumably doesn't have any big web presence or anything

how many members does the server have? (you can see that and the number of online users even without joining)

BESW

V2Blast

ah ok. fairly small, in the grand scheme of things

BESW

07:21

Points for Iguana Mouth's Potoo + Pallas Cat gryphon.

I'll join and check out their safety guidelines later tonight.

Hot RPG Questions

07:54

3

Q: What PHB weapon would be closest to a Patta (Gauntlet Sword)?

I found an image of various historical weapons and one caught my eye. It is a Patta from India between the 15th and 18th centuries. It is between 10 and 44 inches in length and is a slashing weapon. Obviously based on the construction it would be a one handed weapon and would not have the option ...

dnd-5e weapons

Carcer

08:59

@BESW one or two year term limits? I can see your argument though I'd worry about some stacks having enough good candidates to keep a team up

BESW

That'd be part of the system being designed from the ground up with it in mind.

The position would involve structured training protocols and other tools for creating qualified moderators instead of just magicking up the volunteers who are willing to sweat their qualifications out on their own with what support can be offered by the other equally self-made moderators and a negligent skeleton crew of paid employees.

@V2Blast No rules, no guiding principles, not even a place saying "behavior guidelines will be here once they're written."

Not even a landing zone or an intro room.

BESW

09:23

Wait, no, I found the behavior guidelines! Pinned in the general chat.

> Please be kind and respectful of fellow players.
> Ask for consent.

That's it, that's all.

V2Blast

09:43

Oof. At least it's a start, I guess?

BESW

10:19

Welp, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to introduce myself as "author of Goblin Court."

trogdor

10:36

lol

where did you do that?

BESW

Somebody from my early D&D days invited me to a new TRPG server.

trogdor

I labled myself a goblin mom on discord so I can understand the impulse at any rate XD

nitsua60

11:11

@Carcer You've also got to wonder if some places that've had a moderator serving for ten years at this point, if that person might have served a couple of terms during that decade under a term-limited system.

skullpatrol

Sir @nitsua60 could you check your room invitations please? I think I invited you to a room by accident.

nitsua60

@skullpatrol I don't see one.

@skullpatrol How's life going? Have you called your mother?

=D

skullpatrol

Nope, not yet :-)

How about you?

@nitsua60

nitsua60

@skullpatrol We've got a zoom planned ca. 10, so the kids can show grammie the cards they made.

skullpatrol

Coolio

Ben

12:05

Evening all

I have a question for the group.

My gf wants to watch star wars for the first time. What order should we watch them in?

nitsua60

I was a devotee of hatchet/machete (45236 then new stuff however you want). And I introduced my son that way. But my (younger) daughters ended up watching them in 123456 order, and I was surprised--watching that order through their eyes--how satisfying it was.

Hatchet preserves the 'I am your father' "surprise," and then you go back to get Anakin's backstory. But in-universe chrono gives you the "surprise" of Anikin going bad, which I hadn't really appreciated until I watched my girls be devastated by this kid--whom they'd identified with since they met him as a little kid--falling from grace.

Ben

Ok that's a good point.

(I noticed you missed one in your hatchet order, I assume it's 451236?)

BESW

@Ben No, strict hatchet order skips Episode 1 entirely.

Ben

Oh ok... Interesting. Why is that?

BESW

Episode 1 is the most out-of-place in terms of tone and content, and the most skippable in terms of story: everything you need to know about Anakin and his situation is re-established in Episode 2, with the actor you're getting invested in for 2 and 3.

Episode 1 can be treated as Expanded Universe material.

Ben

12:13

Cool, this is true.

skullpatrol

I would stick with the original order because that's how history gave them to us.

Ben

In all honesty, I think I'll do both. The hatchet looks interesting...*really* interesting

@skullpatrol lol yeah. I grew up with that order too

skullpatrol

:D

Ben

Could potentially do it 23456 lol

(I really personally don't like 1.

doppelgreener

@Ben you're not alone

Ben

12:18

Haha

skullpatrol

Let her decide, no?

Ben

Well, she's actually got very very little understanding of the star wars universe, she was already a woman by the time she watched Dr. Who

So when she told me she wanted to watch them she was very skeptical about the original trilogy because of their limitations of the technology they had at the time

BESW

I used hatchet order for my Double Feature run on Star Wars with a friend who hasn't seen a lot of pop culture staples because all the people who want to show them to her do the creepy "staring at her to make sure she's liking it properly" thing.

Ben

I.e. "they look crappy so I'm not going to be able to stay focused"

@BESW fortunately I'm not like that. Haha. It was sorta the same for GoT, but it's been so long since I'd watched it myself that I'd reinvested myself in the show, rather then other people's reactions

BESW

Yeah, we started watching a lot of films together and once she realized that we were gonna be analyzing and criticizing as much as celebrating and praising, she asked if we could do that with some stuff she'd been avoiding.

That's part of the purpose of the Double Feature; to pair up films that will bring out elements in each other by proximity.

Ben

12:26

Yeah I can see that appeal. I just don't have many film buff friends haha, and I personally only get into the whole critique thing if the movie is just that bad that it doesn't draw me in.

It took me 12 watches of Into the Spiderverse to even notice 1 thing that irritated me.

BESW

Omigosh I would be pausing Spiderverse every ten seconds to wibble about the art.

And the sound design.

And the script.

...and how it tries to buck the inherent fashyness of the superhero model, and where it succeeds and where it fails.

I wonder what would be a good pairing for a double feature with that? Hrm.

Ben

Contrast or compliment?

doppelgreener

the tobey maguire spiderman

Ben

I'd go with Amazing Spiderman 2.

doppelgreener

(that's not my final answer)

Ben

12:34

Garfield

MikeQ

lego batman? it's also self-referential toward both its source material and its own style

Ben

Or you could go with The Last Witch Hunter.

BESW

Not necessarily a direct comparison like Dark City paired with The Matrix, but something with a deeper reflection, like Richard III with Revenge of the Sith.

doppelgreener

emperor's new groove?

BESW

I'd pair Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead with Henry’s Crime because they're each saying different things about free will.

Ben

12:39

@doppelgreener uh-huh, uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh! moon walking llamas

BESW

The Hunger goes with Death Becomes Her because they're about people seeking immortality and the price that comes with it.

Hmm. Spiderverse.

doppelgreener

hmmmm, that gets me thinking about what things into the spider-verse is about

BESW

I'd probably be inclined to lean into the themes around mentorship, self-acceptance, and not trying to become your heroes.

doppelgreener

love and trust, family, healing, coming of age stuff, choosing the destiny you've got ahead of you,

that self-acceptance one is good

BESW

But that doesn't mean it has to be paired with another movie that says the same thing. That'd be boring.

doppelgreener

12:43

kubo of the two strings?

BESW

A movie that touches on the same subjects but has something different to say, would be even better.

[squints] Maybe that's what I should pair with Johnny Mnemonic.

(1995 Keanu Reeves cyberpunk film about a guy who desperately wants to not be a hero. The big mid-film speech is about how he just wants to be rich and have somebody iron his shirts and be able to order room service.)

doppelgreener

kubo of the two strings is a lot about a kid struggling with loss of family (cw: he's supporting his mother who isn't entirely there but she gets better at night), and winds up in a story about trying to find his place in the world

also, totally makes me cry

like bittersweet good and sad tears

BESW

Kubo's great.

doppelgreener

i have an important question and this will be graded, have they seen thor: ragnarok?

Ben

@doppelgreener "they"?

BESW

12:50

For pairing with Kubo, I'd be inclined to look for a Japanese film that uses European fantasy tropes.

doppelgreener

@Ben i am being nonspecific as to who's involved in double feature

Ben

My gf or the critique crew?

doppelgreener

oh sorry, this is at BESW

Ben

Ah fair :)

BESW

I think the person I mostly design my Double Feature nights for has probably not, pretty sure the only Marvel film she's seen is Black Panther. Same problem: doesn't wanna see films alone, but also doesn't want to see them with people who will be focused on her reactions.

doppelgreener

12:53

that is a flipping good film and better yet doesn't need external context

thor ragnarok is ... kind of dependent on having seen Avengers and Thor

BESW

We might do a supers run some time, and Thorgnarok will be on that list.

doppelgreener

yassss

@Ben if your girlfriend expresses interest in supers films i totally suggest thor ragnarok should be on whatever list you work out

BESW

Blade, too.

It's a dang shame they never made a film with Kirk Jones.

Hmm. I wonder which supers film would pair best with Bolt?

doppelgreener

not entirely related, I've just recently watched Get Smart, the 2008 film with Steve Carell

it's one of my friend's favorite movies and it was a night i really needed a pick-me-up and boy it delivered. it was a blast

just, gorgeous silly spy hijinks

Ben

@doppelgreener thankfully she has seen it. I'm yet to convince her of Taika's genius though.

Since that's the only one of his pieces that she's seen thus far

BESW

13:12

I mean, nobody else managed to turn an episode of Disney's most profitable franchise into a biting commentary on the hypocrisy of claiming innocence from colonial exploitation while benefiting from its generational wealth.

And Ryan Coogler tried.

kviiri

13:43

@Ben In addition to what BESW says, my personal perspective for episode 1 as someone who only saw the films for the first time fairly recently is that it is that Episode I is really disjoint from the rest of the films, story-wise. It establishes background information for a few important characters, but nothing really significant. It feels like it could be a later prequel to the other two prequels that stand alone :)

It's also considered, usually, to be inferior in terms of quality but that might not matter that much.

nitsua60

@kviiri Was my impression, too... until I saw how much 6- and 8-yo children latched onto Anikin in episode 1.

For me, growing up with "Darth is darth, okay, turns out he's Anakin, here's Anakin's story, what a tool" I'm just not engaged by that storyline. My kids have had the complete opposite experience. They identify with Anakin, they're angry at him during Mustafar, every bad thing Darth does wounds them, they're cheering for Ani when Darth saves Luke from Palpatine, and they're crying happiness when Ani's a force-ghost.

Shalvenay

14:13

hey @Ben, mind if I ping you on Discord with a question? got a rather odd head-scratcher on my hands

doppelgreener

@nitsua60 that's impressive, I had no idea kids responded that way to it

BESW

Yeah, hatchet order is... not the right order for everybody.

Ben

@Shalvenay sure, I'll see what I can do

kviiri

@nitsua60 aye, well... I do lack the 8yo perspective for sure x)

Hot RPG Questions

14:52

2

Q: After I True Polymorph myself and concentrate for the full duration, how can I get back to my normal form?

After 1 hour of concentration on the True Polymorph spell, the transformation lasts until it is dispelled. If the target is myself, how can I get back to my normal form?

dnd-5e spells polymorph

nitsua60

15:14

@doppelgreener Filed it away in my ever-growing list of "things my kids have taught me."

user15026

15:41

@BESW I tried warching that movie! I wanted to watch it so bad. I struggled.

Shalvenay

hey there @KorvinStarmast, how're things today?

kviiri

@nitsua60 relatedly, a common (and IMO fair) defense of Episode I is that it's an adventure flick aimed for young audiences, just like the earlier installments.

KorvinStarmast

@doppelgreener The TV show that came from (60's) was one of the few shows my parents would let us watch if we'd behaved that week. Sorry about that chief has been a throwaway line my brother and I've used ever since. Chaos versus Control ... and good clean silly fun.

@Shalvenay heh nice day, great weather and I got to go to church today. They were limiting it to the first 200 people, but only about 65 showed up. It was nice to get a small step toward normal again. Wife didn't go: she's still wrestling with the various rules and "suggestions" on dental hygiene safety equipment at work, so she said "lower risk to not go"

Which IMO was a good call. They are still trying to get enough n95 masks for their office ...

Shalvenay

yeah, I've been pondering a lot of homebuilding lately. today: foundation waterproofing. (aka "building a basement that doesn't leak")

KorvinStarmast

@Shalvenay Heh, basement leaks are awful. The first place we rented in CT had leaks in the basement. We eventually moved out.

Shalvenay

15:58

@KorvinStarmast we've only had serious issues once in our basement; thankfully, we spotted it quickly and got a wet-dry vac, which let us clean it up before it did any lasting damage

as that's the key with water

if you get on it quickly and get the wet stuff dry before the mold has a chance to show up to the party, you're good

KorvinStarmast

@Shalvenay The root cause in our case was a clogged sewer drain line. The landlord eventually had to bet a new PVC pipe put in to replace the 1920's era clay pipe ...

Shalvenay

@KorvinStarmast yeah, seen that happen before, where the sewer lateral caved in

KorvinStarmast

@Shalvenay yep, and the roots start to grow in there too ...

Shalvenay

@KorvinStarmast yeah, the good news is that PVC pipe shouldn't need to be replaced for some time, at least

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

16:48

@nitsua60 Even without the 8y.o. perspective, there's some of that. The 123456 order makes Anakin's return to the [Light Side of] the Force a bigger deal. Because if starting 456123, we're engaging with many of Vader's Dark Side acts told-not-shown. Conversely, starting from the beginning (123456) ensures seeing the pretty much the whole darkness, not just being told about half of it by the questionably-reliable narrator Obi.

nitsua60

@KorvinStarmast We've got a problem with that right now. (Actually, we've had a recurring problem with it for years.) =(

Hot RPG Questions

17:58

3

Q: Does the Mage Hand cantrip pass through solid surfaces?

Last session, my Arcane Trickster was faced with some murky water and we needed to know how deep the bottom was. I decided to use mage hand to try to locate the bottom of the water without putting my own hand in there, but then we were stuck with the question: would my mage hand just float straig...

dnd-5e spells cantrips

Hot RPG Questions

21:04

7

Q: How can i make GURPS less intimidating for my friends?

I am a huge fan of GURPS due to the customization options as it has a lot of customization options but the mechanics boil down to 'Roll 3d6. If it is below your modifier then you pass. 17 and 18 are critical failures. ' but whenever I bring it up my friends say it is way too complicated. So my qu...

new-players gurps-4e system-introduction

A. B.

23:36

Well, speak of the devil.

KorvinStarmast

23:56

@nitsua60 Our landlord found out that a plumber using a snake/drill was a temp solution that would not last. The ole pipe had to be dug up and replaced with a PVC line to the city sewer system ...

@vicky_molokh-unsilenceMonica The core problem was Jar Jar Binks. Stolen from Snarf Quest.

Transcript for