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Do you have a link to this? Now I'm really intrigued.
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Aug 3, 2016 08:23
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| # ? May 10, 2024 11:48 |
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Weaverdice is run on #weaverdice on irc.parahumans.net. GMs present in a couple of different timezones. Ask for details there to get started. It's got a trigger generator, involves collaborative power generation which is explicitly and purposefully involuntary (i.e. others debate what your power should be), and a stats system that kinda punishes munchkinning.
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Aug 3, 2016 08:36
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Pavlov posted:Do you have a link to this? Now I'm really intrigued. I'm pretty sure this is it.
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Aug 3, 2016 12:29
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What is it about Worm that provokes so much discussion/lovely internet arguments? Even now, years after it ended. Unrelatedly, I'd like to note that the hypothetical anime of Twig just had a fanservicey bath scene.
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Aug 13, 2016 23:38
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Dzhay posted:What is it about Worm that provokes so much discussion/lovely internet arguments? Even now, years after it ended. The people it's been most heavily marketed to.
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Aug 14, 2016 00:02
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Dzhay posted:What is it about Worm that provokes so much discussion/lovely internet arguments? Even now, years after it ended.
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Aug 14, 2016 00:14
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The western tradition of web based literature is mostly fanfiction based right? So you get a lot of the schlock from that too. I mean I originally learned about Worm from the website for cult leader Eliezer Yudkowsky's Harry Potter fanfic.
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Aug 14, 2016 00:24
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Pavlov posted:The western tradition of web based literature is mostly fanfiction based right?  what
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Aug 14, 2016 00:29
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I don't think he's wrong there... 
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Aug 14, 2016 00:33
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I guess I'm being too fancy. The poo poo people write and post online. It's mostly Fanfiction.net or the like. I know there's original work out there, but this is the thread for that and we still really only talk about Wildbow stuff.
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Aug 14, 2016 00:35
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If y'all haven't been following UNSONG then I don't know what to tell you.
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Aug 14, 2016 03:29
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Dikkfor posted:If y'all haven't been following UNSONG then I don't know what to tell you. This guy speaks the truth.
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Aug 14, 2016 18:07
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quote:People discovered the first few Names of God through deep understanding of Torah, through silent prayer and meditation, or even through direct revelation from angels. But American capitalism took one look at prophetic inspiration and decided it lacked a certain ability to be forced upon an army of low-paid interchangeable drones. Thus the modern method: hire people at minimum wage to chant all the words that might be Names of God, and see whether one of them starts glowing with holy light or summoning an angelic host to do their bidding. If so, copyright the Name and make a fortune. Where the gently caress has this been all my life?
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Aug 14, 2016 21:17
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Its solid at the start but frankly its kind of lost focus
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Aug 15, 2016 00:12
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I don't know if he has writer's block or what, but it seems like only half the updates are actually story. The other half are random back story tid bits. At this point, though, the story is dragging on and I'm generally more interested in the backstory updates. Basically, the world building is really interesting, but the actual story isn't very interesting. It's not really living up to the start of the story which seemed to promise a lot more than what's happening now.
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Aug 15, 2016 02:22
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I'm pretty sure he's correct? Most of the fiction people write online is probably fanfiction, and I imagine that a large percent of the people who end up reading web fiction like Worm (etc) come from that general community.
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Aug 16, 2016 20:59
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I've been reading original fiction online for years (in bursts) and friends who I met after they'd read Worm weren't fanfiction people until after they'd read it. Ditto for a number of my friends who I knew before they read it. I wasn't either, and read close to no fanfiction for nearly two decades despite being neck deep in the environment, and the media, and the fandoms that typically spawn the most fanfiction. Guess I'm an outlier. Doctor w-rw-rw- fucked around with this message at 09:13 on Aug 17, 2016 |
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Aug 17, 2016 09:11
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Alright so after reading the first volume of UNSONG, it feels very similar to Douglas Adams' books. Not a whole lot of cohesive linear narrative, tons of fluff and seemingly meaningless sidestories that build up to a punchline, the same kind of humor. I really, really like it. Especially Uriel, what a great character.
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Aug 17, 2016 18:58
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The Shortest Path posted:Alright so after reading the first volume of UNSONG, it feels very similar to Douglas Adams' books. Not a whole lot of cohesive linear narrative, tons of fluff and seemingly meaningless sidestories that build up to a punchline, the same kind of humor. I really, really like it. Especially Uriel, what a great character. I love Uriel, really I do, but sometimes his hopeless autism thing annoys me a bit. But I feel like it's actually something plausible - he really can't relate to the humans around him, they have literally nothing in common and they're on so different a level that the concept of levels is irrelevant. In many ways I feel sort of sorry for him but I don't think he'd understand why. I think Uriel is in many ways a homage to Death in the Discworld books, and not just because he only speaks in small caps.
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Aug 22, 2016 17:12
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Mad Hamish posted:I love Uriel, really I do, but sometimes his hopeless autism thing annoys me a bit. But I feel like it's actually something plausible - he really can't relate to the humans around him, they have literally nothing in common and they're on so different a level that the concept of levels is irrelevant. In many ways I feel sort of sorry for him but I don't think he'd understand why. On the plus side, he's finally figured out Knock-Knock jokes.
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Aug 23, 2016 06:30
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Dikkfor posted:On the plus side, he's finally figured out Knock-Knock jokes. gently caress
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Aug 24, 2016 05:15
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Dikkfor posted:On the plus side, he's finally figured out Knock-Knock jokes. Well, it could have been worse. What if someone had been boiling a calf in it's mother's milk?
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Aug 25, 2016 15:30
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So, one thing I liked about Worm is how most of the combat-related powers are sufficient to more or less make the person immune to conventional forces, like the police or military, without making them into ridiculous demigods like you tend to see in Marvel/DC. Either the person can deal directly with being shot with a gun, or they can avoid being shot entirely (like how Skitter doesn't actually have to be physically nearby to use her power, or how Grue can hide in his smoke). Marvel/DC heroes tend to be either one extreme or the other; either they could easily be dealt with by a bunch of guys with guns (Spiderman or Cyclops, for example) or they're absurdly powerful like Thor or Superman, with very little in between. It's actually kind of funny that Glory Girl - one of the characters that's touted as being a top tier badass hero - is probably one of the most vulnerable to conventional weapons. Like, a single person with an automatic weapon could easily beat her, since one bullet knocks down her shield and makes her vulnerable.
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Aug 25, 2016 22:39
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dunno about 'immune to conventional forces'. more like most of them survive by planning around their weaknesses, but if it were a straight up slug fest the vast majority would be blown to pieces.
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Aug 26, 2016 13:55
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Yeah, that's kind of weird. A whole lot of Worm capes are incredibly vulnerable to some regular guy with a handgun. Wildbow handwaves it a fair bit (as does most superhero fiction) with some stuff about how no one kills and stuff, but that fails to account for people who just don't give a gently caress. Sure, Skitter can be elsewhere to use her powers - but what if someone like Assault had whipped out a Desert Eagle during the gala? Sure, Grue can hide in his smoke, but that won't stop a bunch of people who shoot into it. The heroes who can laugh at firearms are the top tier. We're talking Alexandria and the like. But I think most Worm capes would be stopped with a shot to the chest and, those that could shrug that off (Lung, maybe) wouldn't be able to take one to the head. The strength of Average Joe with a firearm, and what that'd mean for people trying to be superheroes, is basically ignored by a lot of superhero fiction simply because it kind of prevents what people expect from it.
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Aug 26, 2016 14:26
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I always assumed that was why the PRT was so top dog. Not because of the Triumvirate or the massive numbers of capes, but they are essentially the military vs untrained civilians. I believe the very first superhero in the wormverse was actually killed by a blow to the head with a club from a random person in a crowd/riot? A lot of powers have secondary still make it harder to just shoot someone though. Grue? Yes, you could spray the area with bullets, but realistically, who except in a very serious we-want-this-person-dead-now scenario would do that? From the law enforcement side he is still very much on the petty-criminal side (you could argue that with threats like Nilbog and and the like robbery is a bit culturally downscaled in severity). Arrest an E88 cape? You could ask as well why the police doesn't 'just arrest' biker gang lieutenants. Or why one mafia group doesn't 'just kill' the competitiors. That said, most are indeed really vulnerable to walk-around-the-corner-into-a-guy-with-a-handgun-and-intent-to-kill-you.
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Aug 26, 2016 15:31
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Note also that the PRT goes light on containment for all but the worst - villains with some resources are virtually guaranteed to break out of lightly-secured prison. In the "bad old days" things were a bit more violent, but the unwritten rules came about to rig the game with, essentially, Tattletale's cops-and-robbers game, because villains greatly outnumber heroes and are needed for Endbringer battles. The leniency with which villains are treated is to incentivize them to attend; villains who don't get less leniency; villains who do also get the protection of the Endbringer truce, and they also self-police to an extent to maintain the status quo. Villains who kill with their powers, especially capes, are not treated as well. Slight exception - Lung gets away with it because he is so hard to catch, and his lieutenants and gang members are doing a lot of the violence (well, and he contributes a lot to Endbringer battles). Pretty sure most of this is stated in story.
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Aug 26, 2016 16:40
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Namarrgon posted:I always assumed that was why the PRT was so top dog. Not because of the Triumvirate or the massive numbers of capes, but they are essentially the military vs untrained civilians. the reason people don't 'just arrest' bikie lieutenants is the rule of law. much as people make fun of it, it is still a thing. that is much less of a thing when there is no standard of human, and you really do have to react with a horrible display of force to enforce public order. given how downright post social breakdown a lot of worm feels, i have to think many of the capes would have long been gunned down before they appear in worm. but wildcat in dc keeps appearing in events despite being an old guy who took some roids, so it should be expected. edit: also, lung is a major, major threat. i suspect he could survive a shot to the head. he's gotten better at transforming into a giant loving dragon, too. would he survive an aerial bombardment? probably not. but he's being set up as a huge thing for worm 2, where he probably could do that.
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Aug 26, 2016 18:02
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I don't think he'd necessarily survive a shot to the head without his power active, depending on how exactly his power works, but once it kicks in and gives him a bit of a boost I doubt conventional arms are gonna do anything to him.
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Aug 26, 2016 18:41
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The Shortest Path posted:I don't think he'd necessarily survive a shot to the head without his power active, depending on how exactly his power works, but once it kicks in and gives him a bit of a boost I doubt conventional arms are gonna do anything to him. he always has some level active. he can do pyromancy without any prompting whatsoever.
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Aug 26, 2016 18:48
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Doctor w-rw-rw- posted:Slight exception - Lung gets away with it because he is so hard to catch, and his lieutenants and gang members are doing a lot of the violence (well, and he contributes a lot to Endbringer battles). As I recall, Lung doesn't do Endbringer battles. He 1v1'd Leviathan in his youth and then decided it was a waste of time?
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Aug 26, 2016 19:54
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mossyfisk posted:As I recall, Lung doesn't do Endbringer battles. He 1v1'd Leviathan in his youth and then decided it was a waste of time? I seem to remember his power capping out or something during his fight with Leviathan. I can't remember if it was actually his cap or if there was some other reason he stopped getting stronger. Milky Moor posted:Yeah, that's kind of weird. A whole lot of Worm capes are incredibly vulnerable to some regular guy with a handgun. Wildbow handwaves it a fair bit (as does most superhero fiction) with some stuff about how no one kills and stuff, but that fails to account for people who just don't give a gently caress. Most aren't immune, but they have some way to avoid it (or aren't combat-oriented, like Tattletale). I mean, obviously if you had like 100 dudes with automatic weapons they'd be hosed, but against several people they have ways to come out ahead. I mean, off the top of my head: Skitter - doesn't have to physically be nearby Clockblocker - I think he can freeze bullets as soon as they touch him? Narwhal/Shielder/Lady Photon/everyone else with forcefields - presumably can block bullets Genesis - doesn't have to physically be nearby Sundancer - I don't think she has to be immediately nearby when using her ability, though I could be wrong Weld - made of metal Grue - Can't really shoot him without just randomly spraying a bunch of bullets everywhere Regent - pretty vulnerable, but could easily disarm a handful of people Browbeat - local telekinesis that can probably block bullets + ability to control his own body which probably means he can easily heal from things Satyr - creates copies, doesn't have to expose himself ...the list goes on. Obviously there are exceptions (and those exceptions can usually compensate through teamwork), but "someone could just whip out a gun" is not as much of a plot hole as it would normally be, especially if heroes/villains are working in teams. Regarding something like your example (Assault shooting Skitter at the Gala), keep in mind the fact that villains choose what do under the assumption that heroes won't use lethal force. If they knew lethal force was on the table, they could just have Skitter attack with a bunch of insects from a distance or something.
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Aug 26, 2016 22:11
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mossyfisk posted:As I recall, Lung doesn't do Endbringer battles. He 1v1'd Leviathan in his youth and then decided it was a waste of time? I think his power started petering out for some reason, he nearly drowned then didn't try again because he knew he couldn't win?
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Aug 28, 2016 08:13
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Ytlaya posted:Regarding something like your example (Assault shooting Skitter at the Gala), keep in mind the fact that villains choose what do under the assumption that heroes won't use lethal force. If they knew lethal force was on the table, they could just have Skitter attack with a bunch of insects from a distance or something. Sure, but the question then becomes: why would you ever assume that? You have to ignore Worm's whole infalliable precogs designed a gang cold war MAD scenario to stop god-beasts that couldn't actually every be stopped because they have a galaxy's mass of matter in them so cape stuff could work in-setting but people IRL get shot for way, way less. If your average street criminal could also shoot fireballs from his hands, I'd expect law enforcement to be much more heavy-handed.
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Aug 28, 2016 08:55
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mossyfisk posted:As I recall, Lung doesn't do Endbringer battles. He 1v1'd Leviathan in his youth and then decided it was a waste of time? Wildbow commented on this (although I know his direct commentary has fallen out of favour in this thread recently). 1. Lung is wrong how his power works. It has absolutely nothing to do with adrenaline. Because his power is apparently pretty energy-intensive, his power decides when to kick in (this is why he can 'store' transformation in anticipation of a fight). He has no real upper limit (except the energy-related), but his power decided that the Leviathan-experiment was no longer worth the invested energy. Remember, for powers it doesn't really matter too much if the host dies, it can always hop to another. 2. From Lung's perspective, after the fight he started considering Leviathan less of an enemy as a force of nature. He refused to go to Endbringer under the same logic that trying to physically fight an earthquake is pointless.
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Aug 28, 2016 10:01
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Namarrgon posted:Wildbow commented on this (although I know his direct commentary has fallen out of favour in this thread recently). And stuff like that is exactly why commentary has fallen out of favor. Point 2? Fine. Cool. It's a decision arising from characterization. Someone fighting as near as he can find to a god and going "You know, this is pointless. I can't win, and even if I did, it wouldn't care." can shape a lot of future interactions in a way that's pretty interesting. Point 1, though... Lung's powers as initially presented? They're a classic. The more the dude fights, the fightier the dude gets, with adrenaline as a paper over any objections. It makes a character a potentially terrifying powerhouse, while giving a clear weakness (take him down before it becomes a fight, and he's done.) The replacement explanation is just shard bullshit, and shard bullshit is boring because it's fundamentally arbitrary. Magic space whales play by magic space whale rules, and if anything doesn't make sense, it's because the magic space whale rules are different from normal person rules because Reasons. You might as well blame things on a wizard. gently caress reasons. Stick with fighting spirit. At least that doesn't pretend to be logical.
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Aug 29, 2016 00:32
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Yeah that sounds like a classic case of midi-chlorians right there.
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Aug 29, 2016 01:55
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Pavlov posted:Yeah that sounds like a classic case of midi-chlorians right there. This is my (and I imagine many others') biggest issue with Worm, really.
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Aug 31, 2016 21:56
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I really did not like the 'shard drives you to conflict ' part. Seems like you could remove it completely and nothing in the story changes.
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Aug 31, 2016 23:15
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Milky Moor posted:Sure, but the question then becomes: why would you ever assume that? You have to ignore Worm's whole infalliable precogs designed a gang cold war MAD scenario to stop god-beasts that couldn't actually every be stopped because they have a galaxy's mass of matter in them so cape stuff could work in-setting but people IRL get shot for way, way less. Yeah, it makes zero sense that so few powered criminals are violent in the Worm universe. While non-violent crime is also more common in the real world, in the Worm universe the main motivation (economic stress) is completely removed for powered individuals, who have the option of easily getting a job as a hero. You could argue that villains might avoid this because they don't want to risk their lives, but the fact that the vast majority of villains volunteer for Endbringer fights contradicts that. Namarrgon posted:I really did not like the 'shard drives you to conflict ' part. Seems like you could remove it completely and nothing in the story changes. Yeah, this doesn't really explain why some powered characters aren't remotely violent (like Parian or something). I guess they wanted some excuse for why nearly all powered people end up as heroes or villains (which, by the nature of their jobs, fight one another).
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Sep 1, 2016 00:25
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