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Alien Rope Burn posted:I don't think simulation is a problem, it's a tool. The main issue is just jerks that champion simulationism as a virtue. The big advantage of simulation is that, if done right, it lets player choices have more weight because the consequences of those choices become less about succeeding at an abstract die roll or having your idea approved by a GM and more about figuring out what would 'really' happen. It's really really easy to run wild with sim stuff, but as long as you're constantly asking yourself 'is this upping my player agency or lowering it?' as you implement it, I'm all in favor of it. Tollymain posted:ethics in tabletop games journalism This is super painful for me, since I know a decent number of the guys who worked on ACKS in various capacities, and they're all just a bunch of really decent guys who like older systems and maybe a bit of economics sim in their games (none of them are the Escapist people). On the other hand, the GG Escapist connection means that I really can't see myself supporting the system at all going forward. I haven't seen most of those people since ethics in games journalism became a thing (graduate school means I have zero free time these days), so I'm really dreading the topic of all this coming up next time I see them.
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Dec 16, 2014 20:53
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Even before the whole GG thing, the Escapist ran ad pieces disguised as interviews and articles , wherein the ACKS creator aimlessly attacks D&D a bunch while plugging his own system, pretending it was all just another news bit. It wasn't morally wrong, but it was disgustingly shameless.
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Dec 16, 2014 22:17
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Even aside from that, it bears repeating that The Escapist is a dumb site that smells like a butt.
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Dec 16, 2014 22:21
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As was the magazine that came before it.
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Dec 16, 2014 22:43
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Guilty Spork posted:No one would've really given a poo poo (because backing a crowdfunding thing isn't that big of a deal really), but GGers were making a big deal about a journalist writing about someone while pledging to their Patreon, yet silent about this thing because I don't know shut up.
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Dec 17, 2014 00:08
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I wrote another thing for GamerXP about history, violence and some elfgames too: http://www.gamer-xp.com/a-grim-of-thrones-rpgs-and-horrible-history/
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Dec 17, 2014 21:13
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I just saw the third Hobbit film and while it was ultimately mediocre in my opinion it was well worth watching simply for all the fantasy medieval warfare porn. Motherfucking dwarves riding goddamn wargoats and pigs! Also, I now know what my next Dungeon World character is going to be, and I know I can actually pull it off thanks to the excellent goonmade Dwarf class and Mounted Combat.
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Dec 17, 2014 23:06
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Ratpick posted:I just saw the third Hobbit film and while it was ultimately mediocre in my opinion it was well worth watching simply for all the fantasy medieval warfare porn. Motherfucking dwarves riding goddamn wargoats and pigs! I wish the whole movie had just been dwarf Billy Connolly cruising around the countryside on his big war boar kicking all the rear end.
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Dec 17, 2014 23:55
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Kemper Boyd posted:I wrote another thing for GamerXP about history, violence and some elfgames too: http://www.gamer-xp.com/a-grim-of-thrones-rpgs-and-horrible-history/ This is a good short essay on the errors of grimdark things--I am fine with them existing as mythologized fiction much in the way I am fine with romanticized medievalism in other fantasy stories, but it irks me when people claim they are superior because of 'realism'.
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Dec 18, 2014 01:31
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Ratpick posted:I just saw the third Hobbit film and while it was ultimately mediocre in my opinion it was well worth watching simply for all the fantasy medieval warfare porn. Motherfucking dwarves riding goddamn wargoats and pigs! Yeah, the set piece battles were amazing, if nothing else. While watching I ended up thinking about the final, climactic duels would have turned out in Fate Core. (Fighting on top of A Toppled, Crumbling Tower while it's set right over A Wide Chasm!)
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Dec 18, 2014 03:44
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Due to an amazon sale, I purchased a copy of FATE Core hardcover and FAE softcover. They came in good condition, but, man, is there a size different. FAE looks like a pamphlet next to FATE. It's was honestly kind of funny.
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Dec 18, 2014 22:36
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People tend to complain about the size of Core compared to FAE, but a lot of the book is how-to stuff about how to run and hack the game.
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Dec 18, 2014 22:39
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ProfessorCirno posted:Even before the whole GG thing, the Escapist ran ad pieces disguised as interviews and articles , wherein the ACKS creator aimlessly attacks D&D a bunch while plugging his own system, pretending it was all just another news bit. It wasn't morally wrong, but it was disgustingly shameless. Online Journalism, particularly entertainment online journalism is complete and utter garbage. gently caress even Jezebel isn't just clickbait rage, but native ad breeding group and it's feminist website meant to talk about issues not Hollywood Press Release site 2.0. With FTC actually clamping down on this, it's interesting to see what new form this is going to take because it's pretty much the bread and butter to these people. Guilty Spork posted:No one would've really given a poo poo (because backing a crowdfunding thing isn't that big of a deal really), but GGers were making a big deal about a journalist writing about someone while pledging to their Patreon, yet silent about this thing because I don't know shut up. There was some muttering about it, but they got mad about someone on their side lying about their girlfriend hitting them for supporting GamerGate. They also got pissy at Slate for not disclosing their affiliate links until the writer learned about it on twitter. EDIT This is why talking about GamerGate in any capacity is dumb because both sides only get mad at selective times about selective things, depending on were their internet attention is that day.
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Dec 18, 2014 23:21
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NutritiousSnack posted:Online Journalism, particularly entertainment online journalism is complete and utter garbage. gently caress even Jezebel isn't just clickbait rage, but native ad breeding group and it's feminist website meant to talk about issues not Hollywood Press Release site 2.0. It's still a part of Gawker, and Gawker is basically targeted clickbait. That's not to say there aren't good authors occasionally on Gawker sites, but they started out as an online scandal rag and have mostly just broadened their target audience.
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Dec 18, 2014 23:49
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Hi all, I asked in another thread about WW2-based RPGs and was told I might a more thorough reply here. Basically, I'm interested in something vaguely D&D in mechanics and non-supernatural WW2 in theme. The only one of which I am aware is a handful of supplement books for GURPS 3E, a system with which I am entirely unfamiliar, and would like to solicit opinions and recommendations about this and any other systems (as well as advice from anyone who has run a similar game) from those who may know. Thanks!
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Dec 19, 2014 10:31
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Seems like d20 Modern or d20 Past might be your best bet as far as that specific itch.
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Dec 19, 2014 10:35
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They're not terribly good games, though. Their age kind of shows by now, after years of better d20 implementations. If you're invested in the d20, I might go as far as suggest either Spycraft 2.0 (trigger warning: crunch) and hacking away all the modern-day superspy stuff, or picking up Mutants & Masterminds and only making reasonably competent people instead of superheroes. Basically, what I'm saying is, maybe look beyond d20. I think an important question (one I forgot to ask in the Historicals thread) is, what do you want mechanics for? Because if you want to shoot mans dead and maybe go through their pockets for change, GURPS might be your choice. It does the shooting and hurting and not getting shot bits pretty well, I'm told. If you want to feel bad about shooting mans dead, I might look into God-Machine Chronicle (which is the mortals book for the new new World of Darkness) and just ignore the supernatural horror elements in favour of war's natural horror elements. At the heart of it, it's a horror game about trying to make it as an insignificant mortal being, so it's pretty apt for a game about war. If you want to feel worse about it, hmm, maybe look up Carry and try to convert it from Vietnam to WWII? So if you just want to do "war things", pick up any generic ruleset like GURPS or Basic Roleplaying or whatever. If you want more storygamey mechanics, you'll have to hack off bits of other games.
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Dec 19, 2014 10:51
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oriongates posted:Seems like d20 Modern or d20 Past might be your best bet as far as that specific itch. Yeah, if you're insistent on D&D like mechanics I'd recommend d20 Modern, although there might be some other d20 based game specifically focused on WW2. If I may inquire, what do you specifically want out of this game? Grim and gritty realism? Action movie madness set in WW2? Covert ops behind the enemy lines? Because depending on what specific genre you might have in mind there are a number of systems out there focused on emulating different genres.
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Dec 19, 2014 10:53
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I was thinking something gritty with provisions for the occasional covert operation. My rough idea for a setting would be following a group of Russian soldiers as they're pushed back during Barbarossa and through the siege of Leningrad. So, a bit like a zombie survival game but the Nazis aren't actually zombies for once.  I'm not beholden to d20, but it's the only system I have experience with. The bit of mechanics that I've seen looking at this Red Tide rulebook is making my inner grognard purr, though. 
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Dec 19, 2014 11:11
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TehKeen posted:I was thinking something gritty with provisions for the occasional covert operation. My rough idea for a setting would be following a group of Russian soldiers as they're pushed back during Barbarossa and through the siege of Leningrad. So, a bit like a zombie survival game but the Nazis aren't actually zombies for once. Hmmm... GURPs could definitely work, it just depends on whether or not you like GURPS. For some it can be a bit of a chore, but it can be tweaked to do pretty much any sort of game you like and realistic war games are one area where you probably wouldn't be overwhelmed with options. Unknown Armies could be good if you enjoy its particular style, it's quite gritty without being obscenely lethal. It has a heavy psychological focus as well so if you're interested in exploring the horrors of war it could work very well. Savage Worlds is, by default, more of an "action movie" game but with some of the optional rules engaged it becomes a lot grittier and it has a lot of the tools you need for a good, gritty war game (injury mechanics, fear system, mass combat rules) without being overcomplicated.
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Dec 19, 2014 12:08
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Just came up with a really good first adventure idea: the party is told that there's a secret dungeon under the castle, which turns out to be the place the city keeps criminals,and the party's hosed everything up bigtime. Maybe the rightful prince could be locked inside if you don't want a total farce.
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Dec 19, 2014 12:08
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oriongates posted:Savage Worlds is, by default, more of an "action movie" game but with some of the optional rules engaged it becomes a lot grittier and it has a lot of the tools you need for a good, gritty war game (injury mechanics, fear system, mass combat rules) without being overcomplicated. Doesn't savage world have a setting that is literally all about world war 2 + supernatural? You could cut out the "+supernatural" part and use that. While it isn't out yet, I remember seeing a kickstarter that was all about playing a Russian night witch, a female only division of pilots from world war 2. It isn't out yet, but you could look into it. Both of these comments are if you're willing to go for something a little different from D&D. Personally not a big player of D&D so I couldn't give you advice on games that have similar mechanics and fit that role.
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Dec 19, 2014 12:26
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It's from the age of early D20 shovelware, but Pinnacle had a D20 WWII setting called "Weird War II" which was historical WWII but with magic and zombies and werewolves and such.
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Dec 19, 2014 14:31
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Covok posted:Doesn't savage world have a setting that is literally all about world war 2 + supernatural? You could cut out the "+supernatural" part and use that. Weird War 2, released for the d20 System. The next game in the Weird Wars series was Tour of Darkness which used Savage Worlds and was set during the Vietnam War.
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Dec 19, 2014 14:32
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Isn't there some older game called Platoon or something which is just War: The RPG? Apart from that, The Regiment is a pretty cool rules-lite war simulator, and it's free.
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Dec 19, 2014 15:04
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TehKeen posted:I was thinking something gritty with provisions for the occasional covert operation. My rough idea for a setting would be following a group of Russian soldiers as they're pushed back during Barbarossa and through the siege of Leningrad. So, a bit like a zombie survival game but the Nazis aren't actually zombies for once. You want GRUNT. It's a Vietnam RPG but the mechanics would work great for this sort of thing.
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Dec 19, 2014 17:41
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Grunt's the game that has the "only one PC can die in a session" rule, right? I guess that might work?
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Dec 19, 2014 17:53
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Yep.
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Dec 19, 2014 18:15
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Possibly relevant to people's interests: http://www.patreon.com/different_play "Different Play is about supporting diversity in analog games, from the people who make them to the play experiences we create. This Patreon pairs fresh, new designers with mentors, playtesters, artists, graphic designers and editors."
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Dec 19, 2014 20:16
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NutritiousSnack posted:
MadScientistWorking fucked around with this message at 20:21 on Dec 19, 2014 |
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Dec 19, 2014 20:18
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potatocubed posted:Possibly relevant to people's interests: http://www.patreon.com/different_play This looks really good, but I don't know any of the names listed. James Stuart, Mark Diaz Truman, Jessica Hammer, Lillian Cohen-Moore, and Lizzie Stark. What should I know about them?
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Dec 19, 2014 20:25
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potatocubed posted:Possibly relevant to people's interests: http://www.patreon.com/different_play Oh, this is awesome, thanks for linking it! Looks like they just put up the Patreon a few days ago. I pledged at the lowest level for now.
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Dec 19, 2014 20:38
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inklesspen posted:This looks really good, but I don't know any of the names listed. James Stuart, Mark Diaz Truman, Jessica Hammer, Lillian Cohen-Moore, and Lizzie Stark. What should I know about them? James Stuart is the guy who runs story-games.com now that Andy K stepped down and I think he also organizes the S-G news mailing list that sends things out periodically about ongoing stuff in (indie) gaming, like KS projects, interesting blog posts, etc.. He's also done some game design, apparently, but I don't know much about what that entails. Mark Diaz Truman (Magpie Games) has done fulfillment for a lot of Kickstarters and also has done his own games but he is likewise involved with other things, such as the Fate Codex, which is a Patreon he himself does. He has also been credited as doing Fate conversions on a lot of projects for Kickstarters where Fate Core was added later as a conversion stretch goal. I haven't seen much in the way of design credits from Lillian Cohen-Moore, but I have seen her mentioned as an editor on several projects, and she has been listed a few times as a stretch goal writer for a few Kickstarters but I don't know how often those were reached. I believe she is also on the Storium staff somehow. Lizzie Stark writes about LARP stuff, as far as I've heard. I don't know much about Jessica Hammer other than she seems to be an academic who knows some stuff about games and is connected to people like the others on this list. I see her come up in a fair bit of G+ conversations.
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Dec 20, 2014 01:09
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I was pursuing drivethrurpg when I saw Designers & Dragons: the history of tabletop roleplaying games. It sounds intriguing, but expense. Anyone know if it is any good?
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Dec 20, 2014 01:56
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Covok posted:I was pursuing drivethrurpg when I saw Designers & Dragons: the history of tabletop roleplaying games. It sounds intriguing, but expense. Anyone know if it is any good? It's the only attempt at a full history of the hobby, and the original version was four thick volumes. You can probably ditch the first volume for Jon Peterson's Playing At The World, which covers a lot of 70s designers as part of its history of D&D up to AD&D, but there really aren't any equivalents out there for the second through fourth volumes.
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Dec 20, 2014 02:02
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Effectronica posted:It's the only attempt at a full history of the hobby, and the original version was four thick volumes. You can probably ditch the first volume for Jon Peterson's Playing At The World, which covers a lot of 70s designers as part of its history of D&D up to AD&D, but there really aren't any equivalents out there for the second through fourth volumes. So, it does a good job of cataloging the history of the hobby then, I presume? Might be worth a read then.
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Dec 20, 2014 02:34
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I haven't read them, but the author Shannon Applecline clearly goes to a lot of work putting together stuff like that. He puts out a "year in review for RPGs" every year for RPGnet. Watch out for fascist mind control revisionism in the books, according to our good friend who never read them, the Pundit. That Old Tree fucked around with this message at 02:55 on Dec 20, 2014 |
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Dec 20, 2014 02:53
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Plague of Hats posted:I haven't read them, but the author Shannon Applecline clearly goes to a lot of work putting together stuff like that. He puts out a "year in review for RPGs" every year for RPGnet. What, does Shannon say that Unknown Armies was a good RPG or something?
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Dec 20, 2014 03:13
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Mormon Star Wars posted:What, does Shannon say that Unknown Armies was a good RPG or something? I think they're very focused on being informational, not editorial. Which surely means their Marxist influence must be very insidious indeed.
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Dec 20, 2014 03:17
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Covok posted:I was pursuing drivethrurpg when I saw Designers & Dragons: the history of tabletop roleplaying games. It sounds intriguing, but expense. Anyone know if it is any good? I loved it because I finally got to get a glimpse at the companies and games that filled up Dragon ads and distributor catalogs back in the early 80's. Plague of Hats posted:Watch out for fascist mind control revisionism in the books, according to our good friend who never read them, the Pundit.
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