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Kavak posted:Bring back the guys who did the Shoah book and give them subject matter that's just complex and morally gray rather than horrifying. Rich Dansky presents: Vampire: The Spanish Civil War
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Feb 11, 2015 22:49
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Mendrian posted:The issue is that in order to role play I need people to bounce stuff off of. I am completely willing to be an insufferable jerk if it creates drama and tension. Yeah, if you are the lone voice in the wilderness for drama/tension, it's very unsatisfying. Or worse, you get a bunch of bored white-knight players trying to kill you for being snarky or aggressive. One of the local games has a two-year cap on characters which I love. I think most people should be able to find an angle or arc to explore in two years, and if not they probably should try something new. It scuttles a lot of the power creep, and encourages somewhat reliable turnaround of new faces without additional recruitment. The massive XP games get hammered from both ends. The veterans outclass the new players. And often the veterans are afraid to lose all that dank XP and don't take many risks. That can be okay if they learn to delegate, but I do see it degenerate into plot-squashing by the 'elite-crew' or OOC rage when a character is actually lost. When everyone is on a timer, it mitgates those losses and I believe enhances risk-taking (either risking the character, or risking involving new players in your secret stuff). edit: that being said, the difference between a 100 point character and a 0 point character is massive. The difference between a 700 point character and a 200 point character doesn't feel as much. There's a 200-300 xp (pre-B&S) spot where you have a couple fair escapes and specializations that put you on the same level as the old guard. But you do have to suffer through that first year as a low-XP player. Barbed Tongues fucked around with this message at 23:07 on Feb 11, 2015 |
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Feb 11, 2015 23:04
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Every once in a while I think about starting a LARP game up again. I wouldn't mind experimenting with a few new concepts, for example a static XP game. In Chapter One, all characters get 25xp. Any character made in chapter one starts with 25xp. In Chapter Two, all characters get 50 xp. Etc. Basically divorce XP from attendance / seniority. Any variable XP would be generated by genre-pledges. Things like: Invictus get two bonus XP if they play a character that keeps their word. Sanctified get two bonus XP if they play characters who believe the Circle should be repressed. Small genre-appropriate tidbits that give you a small mechanical edge. And if you don't end up liking it or you character goes a different direction, you just buy it off. Attendance rewards would shift to mechanical bonuses. Extra Downtime actions and the like (and of course the fact that you are hopefully enjoying the game).
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Feb 11, 2015 23:15
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I tend to make characters who want things that other characters can facilitate and spend my time at game either working to get people to facilitate those goals or getting involved in plots that people want me involved in because they've learned that I'm somebody who they can work with and get poo poo done. If you go in expecting to be deeply embroiled in ST-led plot, well, go play tabletop. There's never, ever enough Storytellers to give that kind of personalized attention, and so you've got to assume that 99% of your interactions are going to be with other PCs and that ST-led plots are going to make up a minority of what you do. LARPs are like a sandbox video game with no overarching plot- If you can't figure out how to make your own fun you're not going to have any. And that's not to say that ST-led plots are wrong or bad- when I ST I tend to present problems and complications that everybody can contribute toward and work hard to keep private scenes as short as possible because I've been at LARPs where half the game and the STs disappear, and gently caress those games.
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Feb 11, 2015 23:21
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It's just now dawned on me how similar the issues I have with LARPing coincide with the same issues I keep finding myself trying to fix on the various Digichat sites I use.
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Feb 11, 2015 23:24
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The only thing more alienating than wizardchat - larp discussion.
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Feb 12, 2015 01:32
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One thing that I noticed about my Camarilla experience was that all of the high-XP veterans had most of the XP because they were Storytellers/Assistant Storytellers/Secretaries/Other Bullshit Titles. Or they had XP from bringing in new players. Or taking online tests. Or bringing snacks. So basically even if they killed their main guy and brought in a new character, he'd still have a few hundred XP. LARPing in general may not be poo poo, but the Camarilla in particular was absolutely total poo poo, and I sincerely loving doubt that whatever those same people are doing now is any less poo poo. I'd go so far as to say that a local, independant game that can actually exclude assholes and morons and can have actual change occur is probably really cool. I despair of finding 20 nerds in one place that aren't morons or assholes, so I'll stick to tabletop.
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Feb 12, 2015 01:39
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So when are we getting a WoD UFO/Aliens book? I have been waiting for it since 2004.
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Feb 12, 2015 08:57
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Barbed Tongues posted:Yeah, if you are the lone voice in the wilderness for drama/tension, it's very unsatisfying. Or worse, you get a bunch of bored white-knight players trying to kill you for being snarky or aggressive. My LARP changes ST team, setting, plot, and has everyone make entirely new characters to fit the new setting every year. It's just a 10-session campaign with 30 or so people, really. Makes the fun very concentrated and the experience tight. Each game is intense and packed full of things happening. It's very friendly to newbies too, because they don't need to do nearly as much catching up. A lot of this is by necessity because of association with a college (need to accommodate freshmen every year and can't be devastated by the loss of graduating seniors), but most of the membership is veteran players--there's almost no overlap with the local networked games because they get enough of their fix. e: even without the university thing I just don't see why groups with bigger populations don't try this model out. It's a lot cleaner and gives a really strong incentive to having achievable character arcs play out in a reasonable amount of time.
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Feb 12, 2015 09:04
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Simian_Prime posted:Rich Dansky presents: Vampire: The Spanish Civil War This would own, but I'm not 100% sure how "morally grey" it is, unless you sympathize with facism. Incidentally I wouldn't play this on Spain since you'de be surprised how many people are basically neo-nazis around here. Hell I once GM'd D&D for venezuelan mulato nazis and I rather not promote them to share their ideas.
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Feb 12, 2015 09:21
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MonsieurChoc posted:So when are we getting a WoD UFO/Aliens book? I have been waiting for it since 2004. Demon
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Feb 12, 2015 09:29
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MonsieurChoc posted:So when are we getting a WoD UFO/Aliens book? Sometime after Otherkin and Doggie D&D, I imagine.
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Feb 12, 2015 09:44
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Hugoon Chavez posted:This would own, but I'm not 100% sure how "morally grey" it is, unless you sympathize with facism. You could play up the tensions between the Republicans, Soviet-backed communists, independent communists, and anarchists, though depending on your political inclinations you might already have very strong feelings on the matter.
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Feb 12, 2015 10:22
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Gilok posted:One thing that I noticed about my Camarilla experience was that all of the high-XP veterans had most of the XP because they were Storytellers/Assistant Storytellers/Secretaries/Other Bullshit Titles. Or they had XP from bringing in new players. Or taking online tests. Or bringing snacks. So basically even if they killed their main guy and brought in a new character, he'd still have a few hundred XP. I hate the prestige system so much. I think the uk cam spinoff is ditching it which is good because its such a bad system
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Feb 12, 2015 10:46
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Hugoon Chavez posted:This would own, but I'm not 100% sure how "morally grey" it is, unless you sympathize with facism. Nerds, man. Nerds loving love fascism.
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Feb 12, 2015 15:06
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Mors Rattus posted:Nerds, man. Why is that, I wonder? Is there something in the sort of thing that appeals to them that encourages that mentality? The fact that are pretending to be supermen set against a clearly defined enemy comes to mind, but that can't be all there is to it, can it?
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Feb 12, 2015 16:50
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paradoxGentleman posted:Why is that, I wonder? Is there something in the sort of thing that appeals to them that encourages that mentality? The Nazi upper echelon were all nerds who sold themselves as macho super men. They also all suffered from the same sense of inadequacy shared by most of the aggressive, conservative MRA strain of nerds.
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Feb 12, 2015 17:26
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paradoxGentleman posted:Why is that, I wonder? Is there something in the sort of thing that appeals to them that encourages that mentality? A nerd can be defined as a person who is bad at performing gender but very good at performing whiteness. Simultaneously creates their own identity entirely through recreational media consumption. So they're sort of extra alienated, bourgeois people with a bad or no experience with sex and race stuff, whose worldviews are heavily shaped by escapist or utopian media...
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Feb 12, 2015 17:37
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As opposed to other groups of white people (all nerds are white, now? oookay), who are noted for not spending much time on recreational media consumption and have great attitudes on sex and race stuff. I think you're following this rabbit hole too far down. (Also the irony of talking about nerds as a 'them' in the World of Darkness Megathread is something else, let me tell you) Adept Nightingale fucked around with this message at 18:02 on Feb 12, 2015 |
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Feb 12, 2015 17:59
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My understanding is that, when someone mentions nerds in the SA forum, they are referring to the sort of fedora-wearing, trans-bashing assholes whose exploits are described in gamers.txt and grognards.txt. I agree that the DOCTOR's definition seems somewhat off, at least the first part. paradoxGentleman fucked around with this message at 18:42 on Feb 12, 2015 |
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Feb 12, 2015 18:40
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I always thought it was the lack of moral equivalency that attracted nerds to fascism. Nerds don't generally hold very nuanced views — witness the grognard's inability to realize that his opinion about a game is in fact an opinion and not incontrovertible truth. And of course fascism's personal message is basically "You're a member of a special chosen race and all of your failures are because the world has become degenerate and hosed up and must change," which is a pretty attractive message for someone trying to reconcile their high view of themself with their low circumstances.
Baby Babbeh fucked around with this message at 00:56 on Feb 13, 2015 |
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Feb 12, 2015 19:51
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paradoxGentleman posted:What sort of high schools do you have in the USA, that gives people PTSD like that? After a month I was vomiting daily from stress and the loving churchies man. Hygiene would fail and I smelled like an abused animal by noon no matter what. People also thought I was gay and tried to convert me to hetero/get me to kill myself. Others would ruin my few happy moments by interpreting them as the sign that I had finally snapped, was going to make all those motherfuckers pay. The funny thing is that due to a declining student body, the high school poached me out of homeschooling and made all kinds of bullshit promises in order to cover the kids lost to homeschooling. They also lost funding despite faking my grades. So I got the last laugh.
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Feb 12, 2015 20:06
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paradoxGentleman posted:What sort of high schools do you have in the USA, that gives people PTSD like that? Our high schools are basically prisons with worse food.
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Feb 12, 2015 20:11
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Attorney at Funk posted:Our high schools are basically prisons with worse food. It frightens me how much truth there is to this. At least prisons here in the States get funding.
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Feb 12, 2015 21:05
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Attorney at Funk posted:Our high schools are basically prisons with worse food.
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Feb 12, 2015 21:12
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paradoxGentleman posted:Why is that, I wonder? Is there something in the sort of thing that appeals to them that encourages that mentality? The core philosophical element of fascism is the belief that the state of humanity will become pure and good if only all the untermensch would die. The "clearly defined enemy" part is just that fascism also asks there to be a state-run war machine for the pure and good people (aka those that survive) to seize resources for the coming golden era. This also explains why nerds love zombie survival fantasy, it stokes their fash-loving souls without also including a pesky monolithic state that they would have to obey.
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Feb 12, 2015 21:46
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paradoxGentleman posted:My understanding is that, when someone mentions nerds in the SA forum, they are referring to the sort of fedora-wearing, trans-bashing assholes whose exploits are described in gamers.txt and grognards.txt. Fedora wearing is such a lame insult nowadays. The same opinions goons get upset over, are the same thing that's said and criticized about "jocks" (whatever the gently caress that means) lockerooms and stuff. See the tolerance for wife and child beating in the NFL. This poo poo is sadly extremely mainstream, it's just funnier coming out of stuff about elves and mutants.
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Feb 12, 2015 21:54
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NutritiousSnack posted:Fedora wearing is such a lame insult Post a picture of your fedora.
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Feb 12, 2015 21:59
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Gerund posted:This also explains why nerds love zombie survival fantasy, it stokes their fash-loving souls without also including a pesky monolithic state that they would have to obey. As a D&D nerd zombies are a great modern-day monster you can kill without remorse. As a World of Darkness nerd, (you or your loved ones) turning into a zombie is a great piece of horror. As an anti-social and hide-and-seek enjoying nerd, 90% humanity extinction games could be fun.
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Feb 12, 2015 22:08
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Barbed Tongues posted:As a World of Darkness nerd, (you or your loved ones) turning into a zombie is a great piece of horror. Watch Return of the Living Dead 3 sometime, it's WoD as gently caress.
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Feb 12, 2015 22:12
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Pope Guilty posted:Post a picture of your fedora. Post your pink hair Seriously, it's the most vague overused insult on the forums and the internet, and it's almost used exclusively by nerds to other nerds. It's a go to favorite on grog sites for a reason.
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Feb 12, 2015 22:30
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NutritiousSnack posted:Post your pink hair I'm pretty sure the top three most vague, overused insults are "gay", "SJW", and "Tumblr" in no particular order.
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Feb 12, 2015 22:45
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I once asked a nerd why he wore a hat almost all the time and then he reminded me that he was white, balding, and living in a sunny country. I let him off the hook. Longhairs have no excuse. On-topic WoD question! How do you deal with books at the table? Does only the GM have the books? Do the players own them too? If only the GM owns the books, how do you handle character creation, especially when it comes to power-picking? Do you do it pre-game, maybe online to save time?
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Feb 13, 2015 00:30
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bewilderment posted:I once asked a nerd why he wore a hat almost all the time and then he reminded me that he was white, balding, and living in a sunny country. I let him off the hook. When I've STd (lol), my players never had the books. For PC creation I had individual sessions with every player where they would read the things that were available to them. When playing, it's always handy to have a tablet around so you can have the PDF open if someone needs to search something, while you use the paper version (or the other way).
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Feb 13, 2015 00:52
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bewilderment posted:On-topic WoD question! How do you deal with books at the table? Does only the GM have the books? Do the players own them too? If only the GM owns the books, how do you handle character creation, especially when it comes to power-picking? Do you do it pre-game, maybe online to save time? Having a copy or two of each book you're using in hard copy and in PDF form can be super helpful, especially when multiple players need to look up different things at the same time, as my old Apocalypse group was prone to (mostly because nobody could remember what loving stats our Gifts rolled from). Personally, I've always found hard copies easier to search through, but then again I've never owned a tablet, so I'm not exactly one to say how useful they are.
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Feb 13, 2015 01:37
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bewilderment posted:On-topic WoD question! How do you deal with books at the table? Does only the GM have the books? Do the players own them too? If only the GM owns the books, how do you handle character creation, especially when it comes to power-picking? Do you do it pre-game, maybe online to save time?
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Feb 13, 2015 01:51
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bewilderment posted:I once asked a nerd why he wore a hat almost all the time and then he reminded me that he was white, balding, and living in a sunny country. I let him off the hook. I game online and tend to have everyone hang out in a chatroom while making characters when not doing it here on SA so they can bounce ideas off each other or interweave stuff.
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Feb 13, 2015 02:07
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My group has, between it, three iPads of various makes, an old Kindle, and a new Kindle Fire or whatever it is. So we all sit with a tablet sitting next to us with our charsheets, etc, loaded on it, any relevant books, and just use those. Very handy things.
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Feb 13, 2015 03:34
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Now I wish the people I gamed with had money for tablets and e-readers and actual books and nice things instead of being poor students who can barely keep going with their shitbox laptops.
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Feb 13, 2015 04:08
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We usually have a relevant corebook to hand, two players have tablets with their sheets and some books relevant to them on it, and if we really need it I can grab my laptop from the other room and search through a pdf library for things. Most of the time we get by with me and one other player's breadth of knowledge from reading all the books, copious bullshitting/houserules, and the backs of all character sheets either being printouts of useful tables/data for that character or becoming covered in scrawled pencil notes. Off the top of my head, one current vampire sheet has a list of weapons and Path of Blood sins on the back, my Etherite sheet lists current resources and income plus specific foci/rotes, and I can't remember anything else. I think one of my players has expanded background detail on the back of their sheet, and another has weapons or a list of the people they have blackmail on? I also wish I had a nice tablet so I could effectively carry around books with me whenever gaming in other places, dead tree versions are heavy whenever you have to walk everywhere.
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Feb 13, 2015 06:32
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