TG Chat/Cooking Thread 2016

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kaynorr: Dec 31, 2003

There doesn't seem to be a dedicated thread for that darkest of art, the play-by-post game, so I'll throw out here that Storium has launched today after a long Kickstarter beta. It's a web application designed to facilitate play-by-post games, and has a lot of the kinds of things I've been looking for in terms of using technology to improve the roleplaying experience.

I was a backer but have no particular skin in this game, other than I think Storium is cool and if you're a PbP junkie you should check it out.

# ? Mar 1, 2016 19:58

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# ? Jun 1, 2024 16:12

Evil Mastermind: Apr 28, 2008

LuiCypher posted:

That is something that can happen when you bring Greg Stolze in on a project.

It's like how bringing Cam Banks in on a project will result in a die-pool-assembly system.

# ? Mar 1, 2016 20:02

Pope Guilty: Nov 6, 2006; The human animal is a beautiful and terrible creature, capable of limitless compassion and unfathomable cruelty.

LuiCypher posted:

That is something that can happen when you bring Greg Stolze in on a project.

And really, why would you ever not bring Greg Stolze in on a project?

# ? Mar 1, 2016 20:09

unseenlibrarian: Jun 4, 2012; There's only one thing in the mountains that leaves a track like this. The creature of legend that roams the Timberline. My people named him Sasquatch. You call him... Bigfoot.

He might embarrass other team members by finishing and delivering like 3 kickstarters while they're still procrastinating on theirs or something.

# ? Mar 1, 2016 20:13

Evil Mastermind: Apr 28, 2008

I just saw someone on RPGNet say that he didn't like Strike! because "Rolling 1d6 for everything is aesthetically displeasing" and I honestly cannot understand what that means.

Like, I'm not upset that he doesn't like a game I like, but that sentence makes no sense to me.

# ? Mar 1, 2016 20:52

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

Evil Mastermind posted:

I just saw someone on RPGNet say that he didn't like Strike! because "Rolling 1d6 for everything is aesthetically displeasing" and I honestly cannot understand what that means.

Like, I'm not upset that he doesn't like a game I like, but that sentence makes no sense to me.

It's not that weird. Some people like a lot of clatter, and others (mistakenly) believe that a bigger die "rolls" better.

# ? Mar 1, 2016 20:54

potatocubed: Jul 26, 2012; *rathian noises*

I can sort of understand his point, but it can be resolved by getting a d12 that's numbered 1-6 twice.

E: Or just rolling 1d6. I mean, it's not that big a deal.

# ? Mar 1, 2016 20:56

kaynorr: Dec 31, 2003

Evil Mastermind posted:

I just saw someone on RPGNet say that he didn't like Strike! because "Rolling 1d6 for everything is aesthetically displeasing" and I honestly cannot understand what that means.

Like, I'm not upset that he doesn't like a game I like, but that sentence makes no sense to me.

Don't underestimate the experience of rolling & fiddling with dice as part of the game. It is a totally legitimate notion, for example, that rolling large quantities of dice in games where you are highly skilled or superhuman adds to the overall experience. Counterbalanced with the fact that looking for every dice that comes up 5 or better in a roll of 25 dice can equally detract.

# ? Mar 1, 2016 20:58

Kai Tave: Jul 2, 2012; Fallen Rib

Strike! has rules for using 2d6 instead btw, it's listed as an option in the rulebook. I'm not crazy about 1dX resolution either but that's because given a choice I prefer a distribution with a bit of a curve. Games that make you roll huge dice pools as an attempt to make you feel like your character is super powerful can gently caress right off though, been there done that.

# ? Mar 1, 2016 21:09

grassy gnoll: Aug 27, 2006; The pawsting business is tough work.

Zurui posted:

It's pretty okay. The setting stuff is fun and evocative for adventures. The system was more simplistic than I expected; task resolution is downright dull and if your players are into mechanics at all they'll quickly figure out which maneuvers are the best. If I were to run it again I'd use the rules from FATE Worlds instead of the system in the book.

That is a dire shame. Thank you, though.

# ? Mar 1, 2016 21:15

oriongates: Mar 14, 2013; Validate Me!

Indeed. I like my polyhedrons and while I certainly appreciate the elegance of d6 only games (one of my favorite is the simple 2d6+modifiers) I do really love playing with a range of dice (one of my other favorite system is Savage Worlds and a big part of that is the ability to use different dice).

Is there a logical or statistical reason for this? No of course not. But it is a desire that exists and its not exclusive to me.

The big handful of dice is also extremely satisfying, I just prefer differently shaped dice a bit more and unfortunately the two don't really combine (or at least I wouldn't want to try and work out a functioning system which changes both the quantity of dice and the sides on the dice).

# ? Mar 1, 2016 21:15

Countblanc: Apr 20, 2005; _{Help a hero out!}

Strike's 2d6 rules are quite good, I used them recently and was rather pleased with the "safer" curve they offered (fewer strikes and crits). The only real issue is that they don't translate perfectly for the new Rogue class which deals special effects on a 5-6 a lot of the time, but we've already brainstormed some solutions in the Strike thread and I'm sure it won't be hard to convince Jim to include them in the errata'd Rogue pdf he's putting out soon.

# ? Mar 1, 2016 21:16

kaynorr: Dec 31, 2003

You know who is good with dice tricks?

Greg Stoltze. Just sayin.

# ? Mar 1, 2016 21:18

theironjef: Aug 11, 2009; The archmage of unexpected stinks.

Evil Mastermind posted:

I just saw someone on RPGNet say that he didn't like Strike! because "Rolling 1d6 for everything is aesthetically displeasing" and I honestly cannot understand what that means.

Like, I'm not upset that he doesn't like a game I like, but that sentence makes no sense to me.

Sounds like dogwhistle grog to me.

Then again one of my favorite games used D8s instead of D10s expressly because D10s aren't platonic solids.

# ? Mar 1, 2016 21:33

LuiCypher: Apr 24, 2010; Today I'm... amped up!

Pope Guilty posted:

And really, why would you ever not bring Greg Stolze in on a project?

unseenlibrarian posted:

He might embarrass other team members by finishing and delivering like 3 kickstarters while they're still procrastinating on theirs or something.

No joke. The Delta Green Kickstarter concluded at the end of October. Greg already had a scenario ready for playtesting by then, I think, and it was released to a bunch of people to playtest in early November. And it was a really good scenario that my players and I enjoyed a lot that you could easily run in a single session. I just hope they found our feedback useful enough to include our names in The Star Chamber :ohdear:

# ? Mar 1, 2016 21:34

Evil Mastermind: Apr 28, 2008

oriongates posted:

Indeed. I like my polyhedrons and while I certainly appreciate the elegance of d6 only games (one of my favorite is the simple 2d6+modifiers) I do really love playing with a range of dice (one of my other favorite system is Savage Worlds and a big part of that is the ability to use different dice).

Is there a logical or statistical reason for this? No of course not. But it is a desire that exists and its not exclusive to me.

The big handful of dice is also extremely satisfying, I just prefer differently shaped dice a bit more and unfortunately the two don't really combine (or at least I wouldn't want to try and work out a functioning system which changes both the quantity of dice and the sides on the dice).

I mean, I get all that. My 13th Age group loves rolling their 10dWhatever damage when they were epic tier last season.

It's still strange to me, though.

# ? Mar 1, 2016 21:42

spectralent: Oct 1, 2014; Me and the boys poppin' down to the shops

I have played warbirds and I found it fairly low on decision points; it was indeed a pretty "solved" system within a few test games and I think it was probably for the best we didn't take it further. Getting a little more involved with manuevers and energy might have been good.

# ? Mar 1, 2016 22:18

Illvillainy: Jan 4, 2004; Pants then spaceship. In that order.

d6s are for the flatscans, not for the superelite minds that partake of the wonders of tabletop roleplaying action

# ? Mar 1, 2016 22:27

Zurui: Apr 20, 2005; Even now...

Evil Mastermind posted:

I just saw someone on RPGNet say that he didn't like Strike! because "Rolling 1d6 for everything is aesthetically displeasing" and I honestly cannot understand what that means.

Like, I'm not upset that he doesn't like a game I like, but that sentence makes no sense to me.

This is actually one of the chief reasons I don't like Strike! The resolution mechanic is...flat (literally and figuratively). I compare it to FATE: it's fun to roll more dice (or bigger dice). Unless you have one of the dice with round edges, a single d6 can't bounce in your hand and doesn't roll much on the table.

The 2d6 rules are definitely an improvement. Weighted distributions are better.

# ? Mar 1, 2016 23:08

oriongates: Mar 14, 2013; Validate Me!

Evil Mastermind posted:

I mean, I get all that. My 13th Age group loves rolling their 10dWhatever damage when they were epic tier last season.

It's still strange to me, though.

Indeed. It's purely a matter of taste.

As much as it's kind of of a snobby thing to say, calling it "aesthetically displeasing" is probably actually the best description (albeit a personal one). Aesthetics are large subjective and based on personal tastes and enjoyment which has nothing to do with function.

Just like some people enjoy a device or machine for elegance and simplicity, others take joy in weird fiddly bits and stuff that just looks or feels "neat". The only problem is claiming that one or the other is ZE ONLY VAY! to design something.

For instance, in a game I'm working on currently I designed it purely from the Id. I looked at what I personally enjoyed from different games...not what was most functional or even the most useful, just what personally made me go "I like that". Things like exploding dice rolls, multiple die types, player-created attributes, etc. I kludged them all together and it's been the smoothest and easiest bit of game design I've ever done. Surprisingly, I also consider it one of my best bits of work so far. That's not to say I didn't have to make some concessions for playability or smooth off the rough edges, but ultimately it was a game designed purely to appeal to me and hopefully others will enjoy it as well.

oriongates fucked around with this message at 23:34 on Mar 1, 2016

# ? Mar 1, 2016 23:28

Helical Nightmares: Apr 30, 2009

Sine Nomine Publishing has another Kickstarter.

Godbound

Covok beat me to the punch :negative:

Covok posted:

Also, this is the second game to come out on Kickstarter that looks like it was inspired by Exalted...

Godbound: A Game of Divine Heroes has launched. It's an OSR game so interest in that subsection of the hobby is necessary. Kevin Crawford has consistently released on time in the past, his products have high quality and production values, and have been pretty fun. Also, to my knowledge, he isn't "outdated" is his views like some of the OSR, if you know what I mean.

If you want to try before you buy, he has put up a link to the game that he wanted backers to share.

The art budget has clearly increased.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1637945166/godbound-a-game-of-divine-heroes

quote:

Godbound is a tabletop role-playing game of newborn divinities awakening to unimaginable power. These men and women find themselves bound to the Words of Creation, the primal powers of a fallen cosmos where the Throne of God stands empty.

The world is shattered, its scattered realms racked by the aftershocks of the Last War and the final terrible struggle of the Made Gods who strove to replace the vanished Creator. Some realms have been reduced to nothing more than blasted wastelands and silent bones, while others still endure in faded splendor and growing hardship. Their natural laws flicker, for the great engines of Heaven have begun to fail from lack of care. Their angelic guardians were long ago dispersed by the Made Gods and now nurse a bitter hatred of humanity's usurpation.

There are heroes still, and shining cities, and peaceful villages where a son may grow old in his father's trade, but these things darken with each new year's passage. The world winds down by slow inches. Into this twilight age have come the Godbound. Some say that it is the decaying husks of the Made Gods that give them their power, gobbets of divinity falling like rot to congeal about the souls of humankind. Others believe that it is the work of the Creator, reaching out from Their silence to touch Their creations with new light. Most do pretend to know why it is that a common peasant girl should ignite with the sun's own brilliance, or a grizzled old soldier should suddenly find half an army falling before his notched blade.

The Godbound bring hope and terror in equal measure. Even the freshly-awakened among them have incredible powers, able to hurl thunderbolts like lesser men throw stones, or spit curses that kill five generations of their enemy's kin. They are burnt to ashes, and rise anew. They are buried under hillsides, and shout the stones apart. They sing up gold from barren earth or pour out an autumn harvest from their saddlebags. They work miracles, and men tremble.

Yet they are men and women, with the dreams that men and women dream. Some are saviors, determined to lift their people from their hardships and lead them to a better day. Others are mercenaries, lending their aid to whatever lord or sorcerer-prince can pay them in suitable coin. And some, of course, are blind fools who wield their powers with the recklessness of children, building their dreams on the bones of the poor mortals around them. There are few who can gainsay a Godbound's will.

Even so, such terrible powers do exist. In the wilderness the wretched parasite gods swell on stolen celestial power, sucking the world's blood from its wounds. Grim eldritch adepts plumb nameless secrets and forge pacts with the monstrous Uncreated for power enough to tax even a divinity. Hulking Misbegotten shamble from the darkness and bring their numberless spawn behind them. These and other foes can force a Godbound to flee or perish if the newborn wielder of the Words hasn't the help of a faithful pantheon of allies.

The heroes of Godbound are hurled into a world unprepared for their coming. They will shake the pillars of fallen Heaven and scar the thrones of the kings of earth. Some will seek adventure, others the pleasures of rule, and a few no more than the small and homely things that fate would conspire to deny them. Yet what they will find, in the end, only you can say.

What Does Godbound Offer?

Godbound is a tabletop role-playing game from Sine Nomine Publishing built specifically to support the tremendous deeds and realm-changing ambitions of demigod PCs. Forget zero-to-hero; characters in Godbound start off as legendary powers. From the very first game session they have the gifts and abilities necessary to fulfill their role as throne-shaking wild cards in a world that is slowly crumbling around them.

Yet this support isn't just for the players. Godbound is built in the classic Sine Nomine Publishing style, fabricated from the very start with the tools, techniques, and resources a GM needs to actually support demigod PCs and their doings. Godbound doesn't leave you alone to guess at the sort of things these heroes might be challenged by, or invite you to handwave the results of their deeds and ambitions. It gives you solid mechanics and clear tools to make a GM's job a pleasure rather than a grim test of ingenuity.

Godbound's mechanics are inspired by the classic old-school role-playing games of the early eighties, streamlined in ways informed by more modern design trends. While the single core book contains everything you need to play a campaign, you can also pull in content from these other old-school games and slot it swiftly into your campaign. You won't run out of content for your far-faring heroes when you can draw from forty years worth of creative effort to flesh out your campaign world or divert your players.

Even those GMs who don't actually want to use the mechanics that Godbound provides can get value from the book. The faction system that handles PC interaction with kingdoms and cabals and the change-creating system that manages their efforts to induce large-scale alterations in a place are both easily lifted and exported to other gaming systems. There are dozens of pages of GM tools for building noble courts, perilous ruins, or interesting obstacles to a goal, all system-neutral as well, and all meant to be slipped in conveniently into almost any fantasy role-playing game.

While I'm proud of the playability and flexibility of Godbound, I recognize that some GMs will want to use other systems with the tools I provide. In the traditional Sine Nomine Publishing fashion, I've made a point of building the book so it's still useful to people who prefer to use other systems, and still gives them their money's worth in resources and toolkits.

The funds raised with this Kickstarter will support the creation of a free PDF version of Godbound containing everything necessary to play the game, much as I have done with my award-winning Stars Without Number sci-fi RPG. This free version will help ensure that you have an easy time picking up additional players for your table. Beyond this, there will be an additional deluxe version that backers will receive as part of their pledge. In this deluxe edition are about 40 more pages of content, including:

Rules for creating mortal PCs, both common men and women struggling to survive and those heroes who can threaten even the Godbound.
Guidelines for the theotechnical cyberware of the Bright Republic and the enchanted clockwork augmentations of Vissio.
The terrible godwalkers of the Last War and the rules for building and running these titanic humanoid engines of sorcerous war.
The dread Witch-Queens of the Ulstang Skerries and their draugr thralls, both as opponents for your Godbound PCs and examples of how to create major enemies.

The True Strifes, divine martial arts patterned on the primordial conflicts of nature and passion. A half-dozen styles are described for the use of PCs and enemies, with each style trimmed with a premade NPC nemesis for easy campaign use.
Rules for building divine Paradises as citadels and soul-refuges for the Godbound and their worshipers. Defend your heavens against the machinations of your immortal foes!

Themed Godbound, for campaigns and settings that have particular flavors and styles to individual types of Godbound. These rules help you build your own types for your campaign, or use pre-made varieties for heroic paragons of human capability, primordial shapeshifters, refugees from hostile destinies, or elemental scions.

Helical Nightmares fucked around with this message at 01:03 on Mar 2, 2016

# ? Mar 2, 2016 00:59

Countblanc: Apr 20, 2005; _{Help a hero out!}

Helical Nightmares posted:

The art budget has clearly increased.

I never realized Ken Masters had such a nice rack

# ? Mar 2, 2016 01:05

Helical Nightmares: Apr 30, 2009

I appreciate the pilot's head is the third boob. :neckbeard:

# ? Mar 2, 2016 01:06

Helical Nightmares: Apr 30, 2009

Ah poo poo It's march isn't it. Do we keep this thread or make a new one?

# ? Mar 2, 2016 01:06

Plutonis: Mar 25, 2011

This thread takes months to get the number of posts other forum chat threads get in a week or even a day.

# ? Mar 2, 2016 01:09

Helical Nightmares: Apr 30, 2009

Mods please change thread title to something better than "March Madness".

# ? Mar 2, 2016 01:12

Ominous Jazz: Jun 15, 2011; Big D is chillin' over here
Wasteland style

Marches and Madness, second edition

# ? Mar 2, 2016 01:46

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

I do pretty much all my RPG-ing online, so I have zero sentimentality for the physical act of rolling dice. Part of why I liked Strike's design is that the chance to get a 3+ on a d6 is a 66.67%, which is just about the same as what you'd get with 4e's number math if you had done all your homework.

theironjef posted:

dogwhistle grog

That's the name of my high school country band.

Helical Nightmares posted:

Mods please change thread title to something better than "March Madness".

March Mechanics

_{(credit to inklesspen)}

# ? Mar 2, 2016 02:07

inklesspen: Oct 17, 2007; Here I am coming, with the good news of me, and you hate it. You can think only of the bell and how much I have it, and you are never the goose. I will run around with my bell as much as I want and you will make despair.; Buglord

kaynorr posted:

There doesn't seem to be a dedicated thread for that darkest of art, the play-by-post game, so I'll throw out here that Storium has launched today after a long Kickstarter beta. It's a web application designed to facilitate play-by-post games, and has a lot of the kinds of things I've been looking for in terms of using technology to improve the roleplaying experience.

I was a backer but have no particular skin in this game, other than I think Storium is cool and if you're a PbP junkie you should check it out.

I backed Storium and I have literally no idea how to use what got built to do a viable PbP. Any advice?

# ? Mar 2, 2016 03:09

kaynorr: Dec 31, 2003

inklesspen posted:

I backed Storium and I have literally no idea how to use what got built to do a viable PbP. Any advice?

I haven't had time to look at the release feature set but I'll give it a spin and post a write-up, maybe as an odd kind of FATAL & Friends.

# ? Mar 2, 2016 03:19

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

inklesspen posted:

I backed Storium and I have literally no idea how to use what got built to do a viable PbP. Any advice?

Storium would be at its best in an eFed or Pokemon RP forum kind of setting. It doesn't do anything about tactical dice very well, but is big on writing stories/downtime actions. If I were to run an eFed again (shudder) I would use Storium 100%

# ? Mar 2, 2016 03:23

Plutonis: Mar 25, 2011

Pokemon RP forums are badass

# ? Mar 2, 2016 03:35

kaynorr: Dec 31, 2003

Everblight posted:

Storium would be at its best in an eFed or Pokemon RP forum kind of setting. It doesn't do anything about tactical dice very well, but is big on writing stories/downtime actions. If I were to run an eFed again (shudder) I would use Storium 100%

What is an eFed?

# ? Mar 2, 2016 03:42

Alien Rope Burn: Dec 5, 2004; _{I wanna be a saikyo HERO!}

kaynorr posted:

What is an eFed?

Somewhere between fantasy wrestling and roleplay, as I understand it. Heavy PvP elements, basically, much like Pokemon board RP.

# ? Mar 2, 2016 03:53

Plutonis: Mar 25, 2011

# ? Mar 2, 2016 04:00

iccyelf: Jan 10, 2016

Alien Rope Burn posted:

Somewhere between fantasy wrestling and roleplay, as I understand it. Heavy PvP elements, basically, much like Pokemon board RP.

Plus creative writing. There are two kinds of efeds. Angle, which is basically two people get together and plan out the storyline for their wrestlers and write the storyline in instalments. climax and resolution comes on the card or where you write a match. A Role-Play thread is where a "booker" matches you up against another person and you both write some prose. The better story wins the match which is written by a guy who only writes matches...ugh, not that I would know or anything.

# ? Mar 2, 2016 04:54

kaynorr: Dec 31, 2003

TheLovablePlutonis posted:

Well that's just terrible. Awful, even.

# ? Mar 2, 2016 04:56

theironjef: Aug 11, 2009; The archmage of unexpected stinks.

kaynorr posted:

Well that's just terrible. Awful, even.

Yeah, but I want to see what happens next. Also that Tails has some stones going for the hologram gambit.

# ? Mar 2, 2016 05:45

My Lovely Horse: Aug 21, 2010

theironjef posted:

dogwhistle grog

grogwhistle

# ? Mar 2, 2016 07:10

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# ? Jun 1, 2024 16:12

Drone: Aug 22, 2003; Incredible machine

Paizo is really going whole-hog on the whole Humble thing. Today's newest book bundle has a bunch of Pathfinder comic books.

Do people even like... read Pathfinder comic books? I honestly didn't know they existed.

# ? Mar 2, 2016 20:08

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