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I believe Keven Crawford wrote Scarlet Heroes and some of his other games with 1 player (and 1 GM) in mind, so you can run through traditional D&D adventure modules.
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Feb 17, 2022 20:29
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Zapf Dingbat posted:I've been looking for an RPG for my wife and I to get into. Could do something GMless? Polaris I think scales down to 2P just fine and is very structured. Some PBTA games are very structured but I don't think they scale down to 2 people very well. So much of what works about them is the relationships within the PCs. I have a fair number of games that are frankly kind of designed for 2P but I haven't played. They Won't Go When I Go seems cool, it's about being a ghost visiting a grave site regularly, but I haven't actually played it, for example. There's a person in the WOD thread who swears by Promethean as a great game for 1 player 1 GM. I will say that it while it provides a structure for making structures, it is not by default a structured game. If the GM is willing to put in a few hours of legwork pre campaign you can get it fairly structured by pre-designing every character's Pilgrimage, which I did, but it's not intrinsic to the system, plus the rulebook is a hot mess and the system is several times more complicated than it needs to be.
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Feb 17, 2022 21:02
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PBTA is not great with only one player because the most common trick in the book is giving multiple players different, conflicting relationships to NPC and then placing them in jeapordy.
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Feb 17, 2022 21:16
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Zapf Dingbat posted:I've been looking for an RPG for my wife and I to get into. You could adapt an existing game, but you'll want to really look at some of the assumptions. Combat is generally balanced around multiple participants and doesn't scale well to 1-2 characters. Past that, you'd have to on the lookout for "lose your turn" or instant death/paralysis type mechanics. They can be frustrating in a multi-player party but are no fun at all in single player. I think some PbtA games might work - maybe something like Fellowship (which is a couple steps removed from Apocalypse World itself) would work, especially since many characters can have companions to help out. It's very open ended by design, though. Fate might work but I'm not that familiar with it. And, in a one player game, death for the character doesn't work so well as a consequence, since that's just ... the end of that story. It's better to figure out story consequences - things like lasting wounds, things happening elsewhere, or consequences later. Pelgrane Press (mentioned below) has done a lot of work on this, but the basic idea in their Gumeshoe One2One system (used in Cthulhu Confidential) is this: 1.) Bad things (failed checks, etc) provide Consequence cards 2.) Dealing with Consequence cards takes an additional resource (usually time) 3.) As time passes, other things happen in the world 4.) Consequences can make things harder right away or can mean the character dies after addressing the main plot, but they won't end the game before a natural conclusion point. As you noted, doing one player games is taxing - as either GM or player, you are kind of "on" all the time as opposed to collecting yourself while others talk or plan. It's good to take a few more breaks for that reason. Leraika posted:There's a lot of Japanese games that are made to follow a pretty rigid structure; maybe looking at some of those? I'm specifically thinking of Floria right now, but I don't know how that works as a singleplayer game. I think there's a lot of potential here. I ran a game of Ryuutama for my wife as a one player game and it was a lot of fun. But I did have to gloss over or adjust many of the mechanics, because they were tuned for multiple players. I'd also highly recommend giving your one player an NPC buddy of some kind. In Ryuutama it was a cat-goblin, but regardless - it takes a little pressure off your one player and it's nice to have a friend. Other English translated Japanese tabletop games that might be worth a look: - Golden Sky Stories (heart warming stories of supernatural creatures helping people) - Tenra Bansho Zero - hyper anime type Warring States in a fantasy world. However, both of these have metacurrency from other players liking your actions/descriptions and I don't know how they would translate with one player. Golden Sky Stories is an unusual approach in tabletop games, with combat really de-emphasized. It has three little scenarios and a lot of examples to help get your head around it, though. I do not think Shinobigami would work, as it's very focused on player versus player dynamics. Double Cross seems dubious to me as well. I have not read Floria yet so I can't say. Siivola posted:Pelgrane publishes Cthulhu Confidential and Night's Black Agents: Solo Ops specifically for one player and one GM. If you are interested in mystery or spy games at all, these are great options. They have characters designed already, though you can make your own, too. They're almost like elaborate choose your own adventure stories, with really structured plots and scenes. If you're just starting out or otherwise felt a little overwhelmed with the level of improv and open-endedness before, I think they're worth a look. Cthulhu Confidential is the first version and is simpler. Night's Black Agents: Solo Ops adds a few more options as it came later. Both are still fairly straightforward compared to something like D&D. You can check it out for free with this scenario! https://pelgranepress.com/files/One2One/The_Red_Mist_linked.pdf I think they're working on a fantasy version but wouldn't expect it for a long time. But you could export the principle to any genre by rewriting the skill list. (Mysteries can be kinda hard to write, though.) Sionak fucked around with this message at 18:23 on Feb 18, 2022 |
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Feb 18, 2022 17:18
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Zapf Dingbat posted:I've been looking for an RPG for my wife and I to get into. I just published a 2-3 player game that has a bit more structure than Ironsworn. You can get it here Playing games made for groups with just 1 GM and 1 player generally doesn't work very well, so you're better off going with something designed for the player count you have.
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Feb 19, 2022 17:40
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https://twitter.com/cubicle7/status/1494683870939205638 LOL LMAO
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Feb 20, 2022 03:57
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Psych out: the Vortex-based Doctor Who RPG would also be on its 5e.
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Feb 20, 2022 04:15
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Thanks for all the suggestions. I went ahead and ordered Cthulhu Confidential since she likes the theme and it seems pretty fleshed out. Hopefully it's a good jumping off point.
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Feb 20, 2022 04:37
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Making fun of this is bullying and disrespectful according to the line developer. Why can’t you just be nice!!! https://twitter.com/emmetation/status/1494969816591048709?s=21 Arivia fucked around with this message at 06:35 on Feb 20, 2022 |
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Feb 20, 2022 06:32
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Arivia posted:Making fun of this is bullying and disrespectful according to the line developer. Why can’t you just be nice!!!  They made a product using a popular IP using a system that's wholly incompatible with it, of course the backlash is going to be extreme.
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Feb 20, 2022 06:42
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Arivia posted:Making fun of this is bullying and disrespectful according to the line developer. Why can’t you just be nice!!! This Emmet Byrne character mentions their LotR line in comparison which I wouldn't because (a) I read some of Adventures in Middle Earth Player's Guide and they essentially had to entirely replace the progression of everything 5E and build entirely new procedures and it still looked clunky (b) they lost the license to Free League (c) FL just had a record-breaking Kickstarter for a second edition that is not 5E. Like, if this does as well as LotR did, they're, what 3-4 years out from losing the Dr. Who license to Free League, as well? Hell, could this be it? Is this a last-ditch cash grab before they lose the license in a few years? Maybe I should repost this in the Industry thread.
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Feb 20, 2022 06:45
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That's absolutely the worst setting/system match I've ever seen; I guess they wanted D&D alliteration that badly? 
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Feb 20, 2022 06:58
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Absurd Alhazred posted:Like, if this does as well as LotR did, they're, what 3-4 years out from losing the Dr. Who license to Free League, as well? I'm marking my calendar then.
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Feb 20, 2022 07:08
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Arivia posted:Making fun of this is bullying and disrespectful according to the line developer. Why can’t you just be nice!!! It's like that joke about people are asking me questions my shirt answers, except instead of a shirt it's slamming your own dick in a car door and being confused when everyone tells you it was a bad idea.
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Feb 20, 2022 07:10
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BattleMaster posted:That's absolutely the worst setting/system match I've ever seen; I guess they wanted D&D alliteration that badly? They wanted it to sell more - they even admit that in that long thread that there's already a Dr. Who game but this will get more attention due to slapping D&D on it.
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Feb 20, 2022 07:20
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yup, they just want to sell it to D&D people who might play it once just to see, then shove it on their bookshelf forgotten as they go back to normal 5e.
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Feb 20, 2022 07:22
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The actual win for them is pairing Victoriana with 5e because that game is cogservative crunchy dogshit with boring crap-rear end worldbuilding where Victorian Society Rules Actually and 5e would make it way more playable and actually sell.
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Feb 20, 2022 07:30
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Galaga Galaxian posted:yup, they just want to sell it to D&D people who might play it once just to see, then shove it on their bookshelf forgotten as they go back to normal 5e. Yeah I’m not surprised by the reasoning just the tone and way that particular thread is laid out. “How dare you be mean about my rpg brand THINK OF MY FEELINGS while I sell out”
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Feb 20, 2022 07:40
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https://mobile.twitter.com/Emmetation/status/1494969830004428801 I'm not selling out, I'm compromising my artistic principles to make more money. They probably should have doubled down on the "This D&D 5e hack job is basically advertising for our other RPG" justification and ditched the rest. I'd be surprised if the numbers gained outweighed the numbers lost though. Splicer fucked around with this message at 14:02 on Feb 20, 2022 |
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Feb 20, 2022 13:56
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The early 2000 d20 boom is back baby!
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Feb 20, 2022 14:56
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Splicer posted:https://mobile.twitter.com/Emmetation/status/1494969830004428801 At least that would have been honest.
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Feb 20, 2022 14:59
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Yeah, I think if they'd just been up front and said "the amount of cash in 5e's walled garden absolutely demolishes what we can make with indie games and we might bring some of them out of the D&D box" I'd have a lot more respect for it. There's some famous quote from an actor, I think, which goes something like "Sometimes you're making great art. Sometimes you're doing poo poo to pay the bills." which I think about often. There's a similar interview answer from Timothy Olyphant about why he was in the Hitman movie: Timothy Olyphant posted:“What we have to thank for this is the villain in [‘Live Free or] Die Hard’ and a f–king bald head in Bulgaria shooting ‘Hitman,'” he told Rolling Stone. “That’s what that phone call led to. ‘How about the villain of “Die Hard?”‘ I said, ‘Sure.’ And they’re like, ‘Do you want to read the script?’ I said, ‘I get it. I’m in. I just bought a house. Did you not hear? They just canceled my loving show. Yes, I’ll do it.’ ‘What about this video game adaptation?’ ‘Yes to that too. I’m in. I’ve got to make up some TV money.'”
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Feb 20, 2022 16:28
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Michael Caine on Jaws: The Revenge: "I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific!"
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Feb 20, 2022 16:34
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"I made a picture called Super Mario Bros., and my six-year-old son at the time — he's now 18 — he said, 'Dad, I think you're probably a pretty good actor, but why did you play that terrible guy King Koopa in Super Mario Bros.?' and I said, 'Well Henry, I did that so you could have shoes,' and he said, 'Dad, I don't need shoes that badly.'" -Dennis Hopper In all seriousness I feel for them, indie work is hard, they're a well-established business in an industry where they're like C-list even though they're handling some beloved nerd media properties because they're not owned by Paradox or Hasbro and, y'know, yeah, you have to make some business decisions that make money. I understand that. 5e will make you money. And maybe you're not happy with the fact that you basically have to sell out in order to keep the lights on and keep the company going, and I understand that too! No ethical consumption or production etc etc.! And sometimes you have to just serve up your product with a smile that you did the best that you can and again a third time I say I get it. And your audience will probably get it too, I agree with everyone here who's like "just be some kind of honest about it" but like. Man it sucks to have to take the L and the ire in order to stay in business. Putting the entire RPG community on blast is a bad way to deal with a bad situation. Also everyone who is disdainful of it from the word go is already not going to be your customer for this product, that happens sometimes, but a whole-hearted full-throated "please just give it a chance we swear it's good even though we're doing to sell out and also maybe try the thing before making GBS threads on it" statement is both further alienating and also the latter part is a line of rhetoric being thrown around by a bunch of vocal bastards these days who are demanding you engage in horseshit in good faith. It sucks. Less is more sometimes or maybe companies should just inherently hire more community managers to make statements and not let heads of studios pop the gently caress off online. Vox Valentine fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Feb 20, 2022 |
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Feb 20, 2022 17:16
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Hostile V posted:"I made a picture called Super Mario Bros., and my six-year-old son at the time — he's now 18 — he said, 'Dad, I think you're probably a pretty good actor, but why did you play that terrible guy King Koopa in Super Mario Bros.?' and I said, 'Well Henry, I did that so you could have shoes,' and he said, 'Dad, I don't need shoes that badly.'" -Dennis Hopper Of course even if they had been honest they'd still have people blasting them so it's a bit damned if they do etc. Still, it'd be better.
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Feb 20, 2022 18:37
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MonsieurChoc posted:The early 2000 d20 boom is back baby! It came back when 5e launched the DM's Guild stuff, yeah. It's just as dogshit now as it was back then!
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Feb 20, 2022 19:20
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I am a little peeved at comparing Super Mario Bros., an imaginative and fun movie, to Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition
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Feb 20, 2022 19:22
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Someone should make a D&D movie that treats its source material exactly the same as the SMB movie treated the games.
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Feb 20, 2022 19:24
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My Lovely Horse posted:Someone should make a D&D movie that treats its source material exactly the same as the SMB movie treated the games. Didn't they already do that with the movie that had Jeremy Irons as the villain and one of the Wayans as the zany sidekick?
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Feb 20, 2022 19:29
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Asterite34 posted:Didn't they already do that with the movie that had Jeremy Irons as the villain and one of the Wayans as the zany sidekick? yeah and it owns
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Feb 20, 2022 19:31
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Nickoten posted:I am a little peeved at comparing Super Mario Bros., an imaginative and fun movie, to Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition
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Feb 20, 2022 19:33
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When I was young, hating stuff was always cooler than liking it. That was stupid, and I grew weary of it. But now I think the pendulum has swung too far the other way. I think it's time to OMG Just Let People Dislike Things.Nickoten posted:I am a little peeved at comparing Super Mario Bros., an imaginative and fun movie,
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Feb 20, 2022 19:49
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Asterite34 posted:Didn't they already do that with the movie that had Jeremy Irons as the villain and one of the Wayans as the zany sidekick? Didn't that zany (massively obnoxious) sidekick character get killed off overdramatically in that? I seem to recall one of the character's screaming "NO!!!" while I was cheering "YES!!", but most of my memories of that movie are blessedly suppressed. At least I went into it expecting a horrorshow so I didn't have any disappointment.
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Feb 20, 2022 20:40
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Halloween Jack posted:When I was young, hating stuff was always cooler than liking it. That was stupid, and I grew weary of it. But now I think the pendulum has swung too far the other way. I think it's time to OMG Just Let People Dislike Things.
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Feb 20, 2022 20:46
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MadDogMike posted:Didn't that zany (massively obnoxious) sidekick character get killed off overdramatically in that? I seem to recall one of the character's screaming "NO!!!" while I was cheering "YES!!", but most of my memories of that movie are blessedly suppressed. At least I went into it expecting a horrorshow so I didn't have any disappointment. This is not the original soundtrack and editing of the scene in question, but maybe it should have been. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44XvJ4q-eCw
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Feb 20, 2022 20:48
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MadDogMike posted:Didn't that zany (massively obnoxious) sidekick character get killed off overdramatically in that? I seem to recall one of the character's screaming "NO!!!" while I was cheering "YES!!", but most of my memories of that movie are blessedly suppressed. At least I went into it expecting a horrorshow so I didn't have any disappointment. It's been a while, but yeah that sounds right. It wasn't like a clean death either, the blue-lipped bald guy works him over for a couple minutes til he's a bloody crying mess, it's the most brutal fight scene in the movie watching this chump sidekick try and put up some feeble resistence. They tried their best to eliminate any sense of catharsis or satisfaction seeing this annoying character finally die
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Feb 20, 2022 20:49
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MadDogMike posted:Didn't that zany (massively obnoxious) sidekick character get killed off overdramatically in that? I seem to recall one of the character's screaming "NO!!!" while I was cheering "YES!!", but most of my memories of that movie are blessedly suppressed. At least I went into it expecting a horrorshow so I didn't have any disappointment. It gets undone at the end with a glow effect and a character just saying "Oh, Snails is alive." Also having seen all three live action D&D movies, the first one is definitely the closest to a SMB thing. You ever wanna see something truly fuckin' dire, try watching the second one. The third is low budget but someone actually read the PHB. The second is the nadir. theironjef fucked around with this message at 21:20 on Feb 20, 2022 |
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Feb 20, 2022 21:17
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Marlon Wayans is the best part of that movie. They cast him as a thief, and he proceeded to steal everything he could get his hands on. The second best part is the beholder guard dogs.
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Feb 20, 2022 21:19
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theironjef posted:It gets undone at the end with a glow effect and a character just saying "Oh, Snails is alive." The third one is great for perfectly capturing "babby's first villain campaign," including min-maxed lich who gets too into being an edgelord, sexy goth chick, and paladin of Pelor who's just in it for the deep moral conflict rp. It also had a big guy with a lightning spear and a bunch of blue makeup and to this day I don't know if he was supposed to just be a guy in facepaint or if he was supposed to be a fantasy fish-man and the makeup effects just weren't up to the task.
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Feb 20, 2022 21:29
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The second one hits the median of being simply competent and D&D-esque to such an amazing degree your eyes slide right off it.
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Feb 20, 2022 22:28
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