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Xiahou Dun posted:It's totally a niche inside of a niche inside of a niche genre. I'll defend the game to hell and back cause I love it, but if you don't want what it's selling you will have a very bad time. I've just bounced off of it. Again, it's a brilliant system. My party saw a tree in the distance, and a tower in the other direction. We couldn't split up to figure out which one we wanted, because rolls trigger the grind as a group, and that kind of artificial constraint on actions felt very out-of-sorts with the narrative kinds of games I prefer. Due to a few bad dice rolls, you can get assigned Angry for long stretches of a campaign (like, easily three sessions), even if you don't envision your character as angry. I like mechanical weight to social/emotional aspects of a game, but having them be hardcoded can lead to character definition in a way that I don't enjoy. It's probably that I don't enjoy the style of play - I find having character motivations and ambitions being circumscribed by the rules to be uncomfortable, but yes, I totally get why Torchbearer is an appealing game to a lot of people. I probably wouldn't turn down a non-Middarmark game of it, but I don't think I'll ever push for it.
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Apr 23, 2020 14:31
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Humble Bundle has 23 Forgotten Realms novels for $15. Most of them are Drow related. I'm sure this is a guilty pleasure for someone. https://www.humblebundle.com/books/dungeons-dragons-read-realms-wizards-coast-books
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Apr 23, 2020 17:05
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mango sentinel posted:Can you explain a little more of this? I actually think lovecraft is kinda a poo poo writer, so I'm curious to know what's being stolen here. TK_Nyarlathotep posted:Excellent Summary I agree with everything TK_Nyarlathotep posted. In addition, Stealing Lovecraft not only remixes Lovecraft, but other Mythos authors as well: Campbell, Wilson, Blackwood, Chambers and Lumley. So if you think Lovecraft is sort of a poo poo writer, there are other examples in the text. Also, Stealing Lovecraft comes with annotations and comments by Kenneth Hite, Gareth Hanrahan and Jason Morningstar. It's more than just Graham Walmsley book. From the Table of Contents you can get an idea of "what's being stolen" in the book. It describes how to break down Mythos stories into fundamental story components then mixes and matches those ideas:   In addition, in the Mythos section of the book, there are non-canonical alternate takes on Lovecraft's classical gribblies.
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Apr 23, 2020 18:10
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thinking about kenku plague doctors rn
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Apr 23, 2020 18:47
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Squizzle posted:thinking about kenku plague doctors rn Doing medicine while sucking on a packet of aromatic herbs like the world's worst breath mint.
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Apr 23, 2020 20:12
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CitizenKeen posted:I've just bounced off of it. Again, it's a brilliant system. Yeah this is definitely a thing - TB has some major constraints on the kind of adventures you can run and on the characters actions in the fiction. A town adventure just doesn't really work for example - if you do it it's going to be pure freeform.
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Apr 23, 2020 22:19
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CitizenKeen posted:
This happened to me and I really enjoyed it. Bad poo poo happened and dude got mad about it. He didn't want to, but he can't just turn it off and now it's loving everything up.
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Apr 24, 2020 00:22
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Hello, I hope this is an ok place to ask. I'm interested in trying play-by-post stuff. I've played D&D and Pathfinder with some irl friends semi-regularly, but don't really have any experience with other games. Lately we haven't been able to play because of covid, of course, so I'm missing it quite a bit. Ok questions. Am I going to have to use Discord? I'd prefer to avoid it, but I'm not looking to die on that hill or anything. I'm guessing D&D/Pathfinder aren't great choices for play by post. Is there a game you'd recommend me to read up a little? I sort of prefer a fantasy setting I guess. What's popular? I've never done any online RPG stuff, so I don't really know where to look.
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Apr 24, 2020 01:41
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Galaxander posted:Hello, I hope this is an ok place to ask. I'm interested in trying play-by-post stuff. I've played D&D and Pathfinder with some irl friends semi-regularly, but don't really have any experience with other games. Lately we haven't been able to play because of covid, of course, so I'm missing it quite a bit. There’s a lot of games! And welcome to tradgames, people love recommending things. However, my first question is: have you and your existing group tried Skype or voice chat gaming? Play by post is a very different beast from IRL play, but teleconference play is basically the same. It might require using a service like Roll20, or you might want to move to a system that doesn’t require the maps D&D/PF requires. You and they presumably have a lot of free time now, and I find that playing with a group you know and vibe with is the single best starting point for any TTRPG. Good luck!
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Apr 24, 2020 02:05
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I loving hated Skype, or roll20, or any other kind of online based video call gaming the first couple times I tried it. Got used to it within 4 sessions and have been doing it several times a week for more than a year now. It's not the same as in-person, you have to adapt to it, but it's fine.
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Apr 24, 2020 02:09
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Sarx posted:I didn't know until just now that you could charge to DM/GM on Roll20 now. So I was looking through games and I saw that people were charging to run Curse of Strahd for 8-person groups of players and I feel like that must be the D&D equivalent of hiring a dominatrix to step on my genitalia and tell me I'm pathetic. As someone who is paid to GM, think more "the D&D equivalent of babysitting kids."
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Apr 24, 2020 02:22
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Joe Slowboat posted:There’s a lot of games! And welcome to tradgames, people love recommending things. I've been looking at and fiddling around with Roll20 a bit. It's a lot to take in, but it definitely seems promising. I don't have a mic, though I suppose I could get one. I was actually sort of interested in trying play by post before corona hit the scene. There are things about it that seem appealing, plus on a more selfish note I would enjoy a chance to play a character. I've been the only DM for my pals for a long time (although one of them is looking to try it "soon"). Elector_Nerdlingen posted:I loving hated Skype, or roll20, or any other kind of online based video call gaming the first couple times I tried it. I really should try getting into Roll20 some more. Thanks for the responses.
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Apr 24, 2020 02:26
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The big thing with r20 is that logs are a pain in the loving rear end to deal with and that's a big problem if you're running a pbp game. You'd also definitely want to do text, not voice, because the big draw of play by post is that not everyone has to be on at the same time. If by pbp you mean "session-based, but online", then yeah, r20 works just swell.
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Apr 24, 2020 02:30
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Bliss Authority posted:As someone who is paid to GM, think more "the D&D equivalent of babysitting kids." Oh, I agree. I've been paid to GM before in real life. I just mean that paying to be in an 8 person group, when D&D is just miserable at that player count, feels like some form of purchasable masochism.
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Apr 24, 2020 02:35
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Galaxander posted:I don't have a mic, though I suppose I could get one. You don't even need to buy a mic. If you've got the kind of headset that comes with a phone, just buy something like this and use the standard mic/phones jacks in your pc. Elector_Nerdlingen fucked around with this message at 02:40 on Apr 24, 2020 |
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Apr 24, 2020 02:38
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Leraika posted:The big thing with r20 is that logs are a pain in the loving rear end to deal with and that's a big problem if you're running a pbp game. You'd also definitely want to do text, not voice, because the big draw of play by post is that not everyone has to be on at the same time. This was my thinking as well. Not needing everyone present simultaneously is a big benefit.
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Apr 24, 2020 02:44
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Also re: memorable character deaths: Playing a Paladin trapped with a party in the Underdark. They were getting harried by Drow using the overland rules, so my character, who is already wounded, goes, "gently caress it." Turns to fight them so she can slow them down. She gets zapped with an improbable number of arrows immediately. But the rest of the party gets away. Worth. Sarx posted:Oh, I agree. I've been paid to GM before in real life. I just mean that paying to be in an 8 person group, when D&D is just miserable at that player count, feels like some form of purchasable masochism. Yeah, I tend to have a 6-player limit at my tables. 5 if I'm running Valor.
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Apr 24, 2020 02:47
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I like groups of 3-5 and I really enjoy running one on one games, too. My main group is 4 players.
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Apr 24, 2020 02:49
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8 players would be terrible but I imagine it's the sort of thing where even if people are paying there's a high chance several will flake out so you over-enroll for a higher chance of having enough players for a decent game.
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Apr 24, 2020 02:49
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My personal sweet spot for running a game is GM + 3. In anything I care to run I'll do a maximum of GM+5, or GM+4 if it's online. I think 5 is pushing my limits of being about to pay/hold attention with people equally and engagingly. Online I find that it's harder because people talk over each other more and you can't body-language "knock it off" by (eg) standing up. GM + 6-8 is ok if you're running something like level 1-3 basic D&D and having beers but it sucks for anything much more complicated, and also sucks for anything without a turn structure. GM + 2 is ok but I feel like it misses out a lot of the more fun group interactions. Elector_Nerdlingen fucked around with this message at 03:05 on Apr 24, 2020 |
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Apr 24, 2020 02:59
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 This is in answer to a comparison pic of several dnd player races naked with dicks out and the half orc is the only one who got rid of his foreskin (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Apr 24, 2020 03:07
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Plutonis posted:This is in answer to a comparison pic of several dnd player races naked with dicks out and the half orc is the only one who got rid of his foreskin You know what, gently caress it, good for him for having an answer to this.
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Apr 24, 2020 03:25
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TK_Nyarlathotep posted:You know what, gently caress it, good for him for having an answer to this. "It's my fetish art and I'll draw the naughty bits how I please" probably would've been better than "The savage races mutilate genitals, you see"
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Apr 24, 2020 04:31
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Galaxander posted:This was my thinking as well. Not needing everyone present simultaneously is a big benefit. roll20 probably isn't the best choice, then; I'd suggest Skype if you absolutely had to use a messenger program and didn't want to use Discord, or you could start up your own forum?
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Apr 24, 2020 05:14
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You could go super old school and do play-by-email. Just have everyone on a mailing list and email the game back and forth.
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Apr 24, 2020 07:29
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Something about play by post and even ascyhnronus discord is that they require massive amounts of motivation to keep up. Even just putting off replying to a post for a day can kill a game dead, especially if everyone is too polite to ping people to remind them to post.
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Apr 24, 2020 07:38
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Leraika posted:Can we talk about our favorite ways our characters have gotten killed? Shadowrun: My street sam lost a firefight, woke up with a cranial bomb he couldn't get rid of without it going off. Was sent to go steal a thing in exchange for it being deactivated, with full knowledge that they were going to kill him when he was done. He stole the thing all right, and then kidnapped a local media personality and their camera crew to broadcast him destroying it and the personal details of the guy who set him up on national trid, Sure, he got blown up, but he was going to die anyway, so might as well go out in style.
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Apr 24, 2020 10:44
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Night10194 posted:I like groups of 3-5 and I really enjoy running one on one games, too. My main group is 4 players. Agreed. 4 is about the sweet spot. I'm currently running a six player WFRP 4th game, but that's pretty much CVirus.txt and I didn't want to turn people away. It's real easy to miss a player or have them basically sitting there be an observer with that many online players when you're just looking at tiny images on a splitscreen. Still having fun though.
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Apr 24, 2020 11:32
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Leraika posted:roll20 probably isn't the best choice, then; I'd suggest Skype if you absolutely had to use a messenger program and didn't want to use Discord, or you could start up your own forum? Well using a forum was my expectation from the start. When I made my first post, part of what I meant to be asking was: is there a forum where I could potentially join a low-stakes game to get a feel for how it all works. I've been watching the recruitment thread a bit and I've looked at The Game Room here on SA, but I thought there might be a broader site or sites fully dedicated to TTRPG stuff. Or am I off base and play by post is more a thing people do with groups they're already familiar with?
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Apr 24, 2020 14:22
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PbP games are normally open recruitment, i.e. you post a character (that fits whatever the GM's declared in the OP) and hope you get picked. RPG.net has an active PbP forum as well and is probably the closest you'll find to a broader hub, but IIRC their culture is first come, first served, which produces the results you'd expect.
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Apr 24, 2020 14:49
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There's myth weavers and giant in the playground too, but I don't know enough about their board culture to comment.
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Apr 24, 2020 15:41
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RPOL exists but it's a mixed bag
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Apr 24, 2020 15:43
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Lemon-Lime posted:PbP games are normally open recruitment, i.e. you post a character (that fits whatever the GM's declared in the OP) and hope you get picked. Yeah. There's nothing against doing applications on RPG.net. I've done it, some far better GMs than I've done it it, but a lot are first come and it it can often lead to people just dropping out. They're the worst for the games sometimes never even starting because a person just squatted on a slot and never even showed up for the first post in the actual game. (This is why they started the PbP Blacklist so you can spot flakes easier.) Honestly character submission I prefer just because it feels like it shows they want to be there more. Which doesn't mean people don't bail, but it usually takes longer.
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Apr 24, 2020 15:51
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Ilor posted:Word. Burning Wheel is almost goddamn near useless as a reference book when learning or actually playing the game. Man I can't agree with this at all. My Burning Wheel book might be the only one I own with an actual functional loving index.
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Apr 24, 2020 16:30
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Reene posted:Man I can't agree with this at all. My Burning Wheel book might be the only one I own with an actual functional loving index. Why are those so rare?
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Apr 24, 2020 16:41
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Len posted:Why are those so rare? 2) The number of book sales the presence (or absence) of a good index drives is functionally zero There's really no business justification for putting more than the bare minimum effort into making an index
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Apr 24, 2020 16:47
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There's also rpol.net which is pretty good for running games on. Each game gets its own sub forum created automatically.
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Apr 24, 2020 16:48
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FMguru posted:1) It takes a lot of effort (and some specialized book-production knowledge) to make a good index Lemme preface this by saying I'm not getting lovely at you, I'm getting lovely at people who suck at layout - It super doesn't! Modern desktop publishing software makes it incredibly easy to make an index and a table of contents! You set a flag on a particular term or section, which you can do through a right-click menu right there at hand, and it'll auto-populate the ToC and index for you. It'll even update your pagination if you add or remote content and it gets shuffled around, so none of that pp. XX poo poo should ever show up in your books. Unless you are Kevin Siembieda and you are still literally gluing your layouts together, there's no excuse for a lovely index these days.
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Apr 24, 2020 17:19
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Reene posted:Man I can't agree with this at all. My Burning Wheel book might be the only one I own with an actual functional loving index.
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Apr 24, 2020 17:22
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Leraika posted:Can we talk about our favorite ways our characters have gotten killed? A 3e DM hosed up the rule about mixing potions and decided well after the fact that two healing potions drank 3 rounds apart had fatally poisoned me. Party members put me in a portable hole to rez me later. I used the off-time to pore over my own DMG to show him the mistake, and he decided "well okay you weren't killed, you were just knocked out, so you're still in the hole with no air but now you're awake. Go." "Can I see a list of the other things in here with me? Oh, a mirror of life-trapping. Well I mean technically yeah it's an extradimensional container inside of another one, but the hole didn't explode when we put it in here the last four times, so I guess it's okay. I turn the mirror around and gaze intently into it." DM: "The portable hole explodes, irrevocably destroying all of its contents. Mage make a death save, everyone else take 8d8, con saves for half."  Dude. If you want a player or his character out of your campaign, just say so. It's fine.
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Apr 24, 2020 17:31
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