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Stealth Train is a very clever adventure and an amazing journey. Inwards.
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Jun 13, 2014 14:58
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So it's awfully nice that Paranoia is the Bundle of Holding this week, but ... Well, Paranoia is awesome, so the rules and basics are good to have. And adventures are always nice, too. But campaign sourcebooks just seem like a waste. Has anyone run a Paranoia campaign where such a thing would be at all helpful? Because all I really use it for are (hilarious, awesome, fun, unforgettable) one-shots.
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Jun 13, 2014 15:28
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I've just cherry picked scenes from the campaign material for individual one-shots. But a Paranoia campaign could actually work really well if you focus on one sector or service group and a revolving cast of player characters, just the setting and NPCs are constants instead of the players.
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Jun 13, 2014 15:46
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XP actually has a lot of useful advice about making Paranoia "campaignable" by adjusting the game's tone. It lists out three playstyles (Zap!, Classic, and Straight) designed for different sorts of play. "Zap!" is how most people imagine Paranoia is played (everyone shoots everyone at the drop of a hat, terrible puns, cartoon logic and slapstick). It's more for one-shots, and is how most people play Paranoia the first time. "Classic" is a little more controlled. People pay more attention to the setting, actually try to complete missions, and termination is something that happens when you get enough Treason Points instead of mentioning a tree out-of-character. Basically more satire than slapstick, and is the default/assumed playstyle. "Straight" is basically Paranoia without the heavy humor. There's little to no comic relief, so the oppressive and paranoid culture doesn't have anything to break it up. This is probably the most long-term style since there's a greater focus on gathering evidence on traitors, blackmail, and politicking.
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Jun 13, 2014 16:55
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Straight is pretty much dark satire when played right; it can also be a bit of a mindfuck for the players. I ran a group through Hunger from WMD (RPGnet review with spoilers here). The situation spiralled out of control just how the mission predicted.
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Jun 13, 2014 19:03
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I gotta say that even if you aren't able to get a game of Paranoia out soon, it is a very worthwhile read. For instance, This spoiler is for individuals with Ultraviolet clearance ONLY. Looking at this spoiler without the proper credentials is TREASON. I laughed pretty hard at the surveillance chart that tells you how much various areas are monitored, and above everything else is the bathrooms. The bathrooms are the most heavily monitored places in Alpha Complex.
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Jun 13, 2014 19:36
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Rusty Kettle posted:I gotta say that even if you aren't able to get a game of Paranoia out soon, it is a very worthwhile read. For instance, The very first game of Paranoia I played, the first multi-fatality intra-party fight was in the bathroom. Almost everyone died.
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Jun 13, 2014 19:47
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Also, no joke, the adventure in Paranoia XP (Mr. Bubbles) is probably my favorite ever. And yeah, I know there's rules for campaign play in Paranoia. I was just wondering if anyone actually did it. 
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Jun 13, 2014 19:52
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In other news, this happened:waderockett posted:On the heels of an impromptu Twitter dustup between me, @13thAge and the Dungeon Bastard, we're offering 13th Age at $13 today at DriveThruRPG: http://www.dtrpg.com/browse.php?discount=9300c67d68. This discount expires on the 14th.
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Jun 13, 2014 19:57
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Also, to celebrate Friday the 13th, Accursed (Savage Worlds campaign setting) and all of its sourcebooks are 39% off: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/browse.php?cPath=19839_19846&src=dtrpgsaleguide
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Jun 13, 2014 20:00
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The Paranoia BoH added a few more books: Service, Service: Everything you ever wanted to know about Service Groups. Extreme Paranoia: Playing at higher security clearances. WMB: A collection of Straight missions. Includes "Hunger", which may be the darkest Paranoia adventure I've ever read.
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Jun 20, 2014 16:45
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Today is Free RPG Day! Head on down to your local retailer (found right here) and grab some sweet sweet swag. This years offerings:
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Jun 21, 2014 17:08
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The 4th Annual Wayne Foundation Charity Bundle has launched. $242 of RPG, comics, MP3s, and fiction for $20, and the proceeds go to help fight against the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children.
Evil Mastermind fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Jun 22, 2014 |
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Jun 22, 2014 05:05
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Evil Mastermind posted:The 4th Annual Wayne Foundation Charity Bundle has launched. $242 of RPG, comics, MP3s, and fiction for $20, and the proceeds go to help fight against the sexual exploration and trafficking of children. I'm not seeing where the $242 comes from given that almost everything in the bundle is listed as having a regular price between free and $5, skewing towards the low end of the scale. Edit: Actually, now that I look at a couple of affiliated items, maybe there's some bigger ticket items coming as part of the "remnants" listings? I guess that might explain that. It's...still not clear what they are, though. Maybe check back later. Of what -is- listed, I can recommend the Don't Rest Your Head fiction collection, and have no idea about anything else on the list.
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Jun 22, 2014 06:59
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quote:After seventy-six percent of the world’s population was destroyed, the two remaining nation states of Europe and Japan had joined together as one unified government and set to the task of repopulating the Earth. Jesus. When they're arranging these things, do they just hold a bag open and hope that someone won't inevitably take a dump in it?
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Jun 22, 2014 10:06
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Bieeardo posted:Jesus. When they're arranging these things, do they just hold a bag open and hope that someone won't inevitably take a dump in it? What product is that? Sounds ripe for a FATAL and friends review.
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Jun 22, 2014 17:50
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Evil Mastermind posted:The 4th Annual Wayne Foundation Charity Bundle has launched. $242 of RPG, comics, MP3s, and fiction for $20, and the proceeds go to help fight against the sexual exploration and trafficking of children. I am assuming you mean "exploitation"?
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Jun 22, 2014 18:37
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We pay people to just burst into middle school class rooms and shout "DON'T FUCKIN JERK OFF"
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Jun 22, 2014 18:40
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homullus posted:I am assuming you mean "exploitation"? ...well, poo poo.
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Jun 22, 2014 21:24
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Tatum Girlparts posted:We pay people to just burst into middle school class rooms and shout "DON'T FUCKIN JERK OFF" You've clearly been to a religious school, then.
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Jun 22, 2014 21:25
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My catholic school told us of the health benefits associated with masturbation. It was just premarital sex that they were super down on.
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Jun 22, 2014 22:09
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PresidentBeard posted:What product is that? Sounds ripe for a FATAL and friends review. That would be the bafflingly named The Schwartzentoten-Moonbeam Device, which seems to be somebody's lovely fic and fortunately not an actual RPG. Still looks to be in the bundle, despite no longer showing in the main listing, oddly enough.
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Jun 22, 2014 22:26
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Things that are good in this bundle: Argyle & Crew: A RPG where you and your child, niece or nephew make sock puppets and they go on adventures. The stuff you put on your sock puppet is their stats. It's extremely cute and kids love it. Enter the Shadowside: Okay, I like World of Darkness games. So I like that these people are trying to "do their own World of Darkness!!" but trying not to copy too much. There's enough weird stuff in here to be worth trying. Hope Prep: This is a "super kids at school" game, and it's fun. The people involved in the game seem to get the point of teenaged supers (which is to manifest teenaged anxieties literally in the form of supervillains or strange situations) The stuff in here is the ICONS stuff, so you probably will want that too. Aeternal Legends: An urban fantasy game with a cool system. I have this one in print. Accursed (I think): (Edit: This wasn't what I thought it was. It's a Savage Worlds fantasy adventure, and no, the corebook isn't in the bundle.) I do think this bundle fares a little worse than previous years, but it's still got some good things. JDCorley fucked around with this message at 05:03 on Jun 23, 2014 |
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Jun 23, 2014 04:43
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JDCorley posted:Hope Prep: This is a "super kids at school" game, and it's fun. The people involved in the game seem to get the point of teenaged supers (which is to manifest teenaged anxieties literally in the form of supervillains or strange situations) The stuff in here is the ICONS stuff, so you probably will want that too. I just want to point out that Icons itself is PYWY on DriveThru too.
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Jun 26, 2014 03:09
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Bundle of Holding is doing a bundle of Scarred Lands. It's a setting for Sword & Sorcery. All I know is that S&S is a 3e derivative. Could be good, could be Scheiße.
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Jun 26, 2014 19:58
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You could do a lot worse for a setting for a 3E game. Scarred Lands mostly floats above the vast mass of D20 shovelware.
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Jun 26, 2014 20:09
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FMguru posted:You could do a lot worse for a setting for a 3E game. Scarred Lands mostly floats above the vast mass of D20 shovelware. How is the system itself, if you happen to know? It's 3.X(5?) derivative, what does it do differently?
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Jun 26, 2014 20:15
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Covok posted:How is the system itself, if you happen to know? It's 3.X(5?) derivative, what does it do differently? Its a campaign setting mostly, if not completely, and not a system. I don't think they introduced new mechanics, just the usual raft of setting specific things like feats, spells, monsters, etc. Seconding that its one of the better third party settings. I owned Hollowfaust: City of Necromancers and remember thinking it was better than most of the product being put out for 3.0 at the time (2001?). Depending on your point of view the authors either went in for gimmicks or were willing to try non-standard D&D approaches; City of mostly well adjusted non-evil necromancers, Theocratic Lawful Good City State with a Kaiju sized mithril golem. It also had a sort of Greek myth feel to it, with a Titan/God war in the back story and pretty much a single pantheon.
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Jun 26, 2014 21:02
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Covok posted:How is the system itself, if you happen to know? It's 3.X(5?) derivative, what does it do differently? S&S was the White Wolf version of 3e, and probably even worse when it came to things like "balance" and "equal narrative control." On the other hand, I don't think there were many mechanics in the scarred lands stuff, and the setting itself was better than most of the other mostly generic fantasy settings.
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Jun 26, 2014 21:03
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As a warning, Scarred Lands does introduce one 'unique' mechanic: a side effect to arcane spellcasting is that it causes the caster's body to radiate extreme amounts of heat. This is, naturally, used as an excuse to have scantily clad wizards and sorcerers running around, even in cold climates.
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Jun 26, 2014 22:07
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Paper Kaiju posted:As a warning, Scarred Lands does introduce one 'unique' mechanic: a side effect to arcane spellcasting is that it causes the caster's body to radiate extreme amounts of heat. This is, naturally, used as an excuse to have scantily clad wizards and sorcerers running around, even in cold climates. But yeah, most people go right to the 'fur bikini/loincloth' thing.
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Jun 26, 2014 22:16
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FMguru posted:It also explains why wizards don't wear metal armor. I know it probably ends up being the worst sort of cheesecake, but I have no problem with shirtless muscle wizards.
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Jun 26, 2014 22:31
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Swords & Sorcery wasn't the White Wolf version of 3E, it was their brand for OGL d20 content. And Scarred Lands is one of probably the top three D&D campaign settings for me, up there with Dark Sun and (2nd edition) Ravenloft. I think my favorite bit was that since the setting's "scarred" due to a relatively recent and brutal war between the titans and the gods they spawned (very Greek mythology, although the divinities themselves are different), clerics - even of the evil aligned deities - are societally acceptable. But druids? Druids are titan worshippers, and pretty much kill on sight crazies. (Though one titan did side with the gods, so her followers are a little more acceptable.)
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Jun 27, 2014 01:02
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How awesome, I was just looking to see if DTRPG sold Scarred Lands stuff last week. To echo what others have said, it's a setting for 3.x and doesn't really introduce any new mechanics, just lots of spells and feats and such. I dig it quite a bit mostly because it's a fantasy post-apocalypse that's not Dark Sun. Of course I never intend to run another 3.x game, but I could always use this setting for DW or something else.
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Jun 27, 2014 01:18
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The new Bundle of Holding is a re-offering the Unknown Armies bundle from October. Base is UA, One-Shots, and the Godwalker novel. BtA is Break Today, To Go, Statosphere, and Weep. If nothing else you want this bundle for the novel and One-Shots, which contains "Jailbreak" (one of the best horror adventures ever written) and "Fly to Heaven" (one of the most disturbing-in-retrospect).
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Jul 7, 2014 20:04
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I still think In Media Res is the best horror adventure ever written, but Jailbreak is really close.
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Jul 7, 2014 20:31
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Humbug Scoolbus posted:I still think In Media Res is the best horror adventure ever written, but Jailbreak is really close. I haven't heard of that one. What's it for?
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Jul 7, 2014 20:33
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Evil Mastermind posted:I haven't heard of that one. What's it for? Call of Cthulhu. It was in one of the Pagan Publishing adventure collections, but I forget which one. :/ Edit: The Resurrected, Volume 3. http://www.yog-sothoth.com/wiki/index.php?title=The_Resurrected_Vol._3:_Out_of_the_Vault&redirect=no Cannibal Smiley fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Jul 7, 2014 |
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Jul 7, 2014 20:42
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I was wondering if someone would bring that up...it's for Call of Cthulhu, was published in The Unspeakable Oath #10. I still have my copy of it.
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Jul 7, 2014 20:43
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According to the Bundle of Holding newsletter, the next bundle after Unknown Armies is a collection of "...many of the groundbreaking indie games that revolutionized the tabletop roleplaying field in the late 1990s and the first few years of this millennium."
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Jul 7, 2014 20:45
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