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Arglebargle III posted:He didn't just purchase an integrated auto cannon. He bought best quality power armor and a storm shield. And the cannon is a 6000 year old relic. He clearly just went through various source books and picked the most broken build and equipment he could find and then somehow successfully purchased all these things while nobody was looking. Other players are playing by the rules with acquisition and are somewhere on a reasonable power curve. And then there's this guy. He's got the armor and damage potential of a necron lord and I'm kicking myself for not shutting it down during the session. As others have said, you need to talk to him 1 on 1 about this. idk anything about 40k, but I would totally not allow this at all in my 5E game. Honestly, I'd almost retcon his equipment back to standard levels.
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Sep 25, 2023 22:31
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You should talk to the player if it's out of pace with everyone else and what everyone else is trying to do, but I must stress again: What this player is doing is extremely normal for this system and this system is, as designed, one that encourages it. E: It's part of why 40kRP is a bad system!
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Sep 25, 2023 22:32
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It's 40k also a huge money sink to play officially?
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Sep 25, 2023 22:36
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Vargatron posted:As others have said, you need to talk to him 1 on 1 about this. idk anything about 40k, but I would totally not allow this at all in my 5E game. Honestly, I'd almost retcon his equipment back to standard levels. I would also retcon it all out. It's a flagrant violation of table etiquette
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Sep 26, 2023 00:21
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Vargatron posted:It's 40k also a huge money sink to play officially? They are talking about the pencil and paper RPG, presumably Dark Heresy: Rogue Trader. And not the Inquisition one with the fancy models. Or Necromunda which is an RPG in spirit but in rules a model skirmish game. Or GorkaMorka etc... Though that would add an extra layer of dismay hearing that someone secretly modeled up this stuff too. Everybody else beat me to the need to fix this out of game. But I'll throw in that there are Chronos Inquisitors too if you really want to handle this in game. edit: Two groups of time cops, with rival ideas of how to resolve this mess. Time for social characters to shine after that big combat. Or they can just navigate away with ship skills... habituallyred fucked around with this message at 08:54 on Sep 26, 2023 |
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Sep 26, 2023 07:01
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I've never read the ruleset to 40kRP but it's encouraged to buy stuff out play without telling the GM or other players? If it is, then what the player did seems to be what the creators intended so I guess I couldn't knock it too much and sounds like the player is just a power gamer. In any game tabletop game I've played before, it's against the rules to just buy stuff out of game without telling the GM. If it is in this game as well then just tell the player they can't keep the items and you screwed up letting them use it last session. Take fault so they don't feel as bad about what they did. If they are still don't want to change the character to improve the experience for everyone than I would use in game measures to bring the player back to an appropriate power. Seems like the 40kRP game has a few in it so if a player wants to be a target then let them be.
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Sep 26, 2023 15:15
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gurragadon posted:I've never read the ruleset to 40kRP but it's encouraged to buy stuff out play without telling the GM or other players? If it is, then what the player did seems to be what the creators intended so I guess I couldn't knock it too much and sounds like the player is just a power gamer. I'm reasonably sure from the few times I've played the various 40k RPGs that this isn't true, and players are not actually encouraged to buy stuff outside of sessions. For a start, buying stuff requires Acquisition Checks based on their rarity, and I can't imagine that the game would just tell players to eyeball it and tell the GM the results after the fact? But I don't own any of the rulebooks myself, so maybe someone who does can point to where it says that.
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Sep 26, 2023 15:48
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gurragadon posted:I've never read the ruleset to 40kRP but it's encouraged to buy stuff out play without telling the GM or other players? If it is, then what the player did seems to be what the creators intended so I guess I couldn't knock it too much and sounds like the player is just a power gamer. You can also tell them no, and if they make a big stink about their superweapons being taken away, you can also just ask them to leave if they won't respect you or the rest of the table
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Sep 26, 2023 15:49
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It seemed like a pretty weird rule, but I'm not super experienced with a bunch of different TTRPG's and some of them are pretty different so I didn't want to assume. You could just also ask the person to leave, but I don't know the group dynamic and maybe they want to keep the person at the table. Some tables really hate retconning too, so a way to get out the situation in game could be beneficial. It kind of seems like Arglebargle feels bad about not stopping it immediately, so maybe they want a narrative way to deal with somebody strong. I would just ask them out of character first definitely though. Sometimes spreading blame around and saying you made a mistake for not shutting it down immediately can make the other person feel better about losing that gear. Note: I don't think Arglebargle is at fault and that player is playing correctly, but sometimes people read rules wrong.
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Sep 26, 2023 16:02
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It’s been a while since I GMed. The only system I’ve run is Dungeon World, which seems to have mostly fallen off in use. That means I’m used to a variation on the Apocalypse World rules where the GM comes up with relatively basic threats plus their goals and how far along they are in achieving them, puts the party in a situation that demands action, and otherwise does a lot of short- and long-term improv in response to the players. This was fairly ascendant at the time since quite a few PbtA clones were popping up. Is this still an advisable, system-agnostic way to run a game or campaign? Or did we get a new hotness within the past 5 years?
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Sep 26, 2023 16:18
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If one of my cats steps on the play field or knocks over a player piece, they must roll a DC 13 Dexterity save or be knocked prone. If online, it happens if a cat steps into the dice tray. Our Tabaxi Rogue gets advantage because they are a feline. This is the type of game I run lol.
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Sep 26, 2023 16:51
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Pollyanna posted:Is this still an advisable, system-agnostic way to run a game or campaign? Or did we get a new hotness within the past 5 years?
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Sep 26, 2023 17:03
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PBTA and its philosophy of play is still super popular. I run and play PBTA and PBTA-style pretty much exclusively. Dungeon World definitely isn't as popular as it used to be (Thanks a bunch Kobel  ) but its influence is very, very still in effect.
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Sep 26, 2023 18:35
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In fairness, Dungeon World was falling off well before Koebel went shitheel as people generally decided it wasn’t a very good game.
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Sep 26, 2023 19:08
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There are a dozen Dungeon World hacks out there (many of which are improvements) if you don't mind still being one or two degrees from Koebel. But yeah, I think the blush is off the PbtA rose in general. It got so popular it FATE'd itself.
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Sep 26, 2023 19:33
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So we had that chat and it seems that since we're running this through roll 20 he had the impression that merely posting these purchases in the chat log during shopping were sufficient notice. I thought he was purchasing a cannon for his Skitarii vehicles and an MIU shoulder mount for his grenade launcher. It didn't occur to me that he wanted to mount an auto cannon on his shoulder and he didn't bring it up over voice. So I guess he was more bending the rules than breaking them. I've been pretty encouraging of players to roleplay as powerful leaders with lots of resources, but I had no idea there was an obscure rule that integrated impact weapons gain the Storm keyword, which doubles their damage, or that he thought mounting a heavy weapon on his shoulder was kosher. He did admit that the tech specialist also being the tank and the DPS was problematic, and one-shotting space marines at rank 2 wasn't ideal. In the end we retconned out the cannon and I think we'll revisit heavy weapons once he gets the spider leg harness he's building.
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Sep 26, 2023 21:36
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Is he a Techpriest? If so, yes, they can mount heavy weapons directly on their Machinator Array. Also, the Techpriest being that way is just, uh, that's how FFG built Techpriests. They're tanky and extremely powerful as far as mundane characters go. FFG loving loved Techpriests and they kept getting more and more powerful toys.
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Sep 26, 2023 21:40
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Pollyanna posted:It’s been a while since I GMed. The only system I’ve run is Dungeon World, which seems to have mostly fallen off in use. That means I’m used to a variation on the Apocalypse World rules where the GM comes up with relatively basic threats plus their goals and how far along they are in achieving them, puts the party in a situation that demands action, and otherwise does a lot of short- and long-term improv in response to the players. This was fairly ascendant at the time since quite a few PbtA clones were popping up. AW is great for GMs who like to improv and want a set of guidelines to work around. But if that's not your bag, there are more highly structured systems which reduce the demands of improv, like John Harper's AGON, a story of Greek heroes on an epic quest to roam the islands and find their destiny. People have made multiple different playsets to expand that story into other stories; here's the collection on itch.io. My favorite is Baka Mitai, the Yakuza-inspired playset where the gods are the local shopkeepers who do run-ins for you.
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Sep 26, 2023 22:03
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Night10194 posted:Is he a Techpriest? If so, yes, they can mount heavy weapons directly on their Machinator Array. Also, the Techpriest being that way is just, uh, that's how FFG built Techpriests. They're tanky and extremely powerful as far as mundane characters go. FFG loving loved Techpriests and they kept getting more and more powerful toys. Yeah I think allowing tech priests to acquire bionics without spending xp is a glaring problem, but not one I was aware of when I started this game. So for now we'll have to play it by "GM says not yet" instead of a transparent advancement system.
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Sep 26, 2023 22:06
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Youremother posted:PBTA and its philosophy of play is still super popular. I run and play PBTA and PBTA-style pretty much exclusively. Dungeon World definitely isn't as popular as it used to be (Thanks a bunch Kobel admanb posted:In fairness, Dungeon World was falling off well before Koebel went shitheel as people generally decided it wasn’t a very good game. Mirage posted:There are a dozen Dungeon World hacks out there (many of which are improvements) if you don't mind still being one or two degrees from Koebel. I heard something or other about Koebel at some point but by then I had already ended my campaign and took a break from RPGs so I was like, sure I’m happy to ditch this dude seeya. I barely even remember him. Glazius posted:AW is great for GMs who like to improv and want a set of guidelines to work around. But if that's not your bag, there are more highly structured systems which reduce the demands of improv, like John Harper's AGON, a story of Greek heroes on an epic quest to roam the islands and find their destiny. People have made multiple different playsets to expand that story into other stories; here's the collection on itch.io. My favorite is Baka Mitai, the Yakuza-inspired playset where the gods are the local shopkeepers who do run-ins for you. Yeah, one of the reasons I dropped my DW campaign was because I simply didn’t have the mental or physical energy to run sessions after work. I am not a quick thinker. That’s why I’ve been eyeing some 5e adventure modules recently. Either way it sounds like I’m not that out of date or anything so yay!
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Sep 26, 2023 23:33
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Pollyanna posted:I heard something or other about Koebel at some point but by then I had already ended my campaign and took a break from RPGs so I was like, sure I’m happy to ditch this dude seeya. I barely even remember him. i strongly recommend running some 1e modules like slavers, white plume mountain or tamoachan. it's almost system free apart from spell descriptions and is extremely relaxing and refreshing. motherfuckers open the door, you read the description in the box.
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Sep 27, 2023 05:30
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Glazius posted:AW is great for GMs who like to improv and want a set of guidelines to work around. But if that's not your bag, there are more highly structured systems which reduce the demands of improv, like John Harper's AGON, a story of Greek heroes on an epic quest to roam the islands and find their destiny. People have made multiple different playsets to expand that story into other stories; here's the collection on itch.io. My favorite is Baka Mitai, the Yakuza-inspired playset where the gods are the local shopkeepers who do run-ins for you. If you want to experience AGON without running it, Realms of Peril and Glory did a very good short campaign with it. https://www.realmspod.com/series/agon
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Sep 27, 2023 08:23
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I am having my 1935 pulp group return to Hawaii. Last time we had so much fun I published the adventure (https://docs.google.com/document/d/15dBlW-5WhIKtVb3I4BrsOOpYzw24__XOReQFyZ6yQWs/edit#heading=h.9gcornnva0ee), but this isn’t really a sequel. I want to do different stuff. Last time was a mystery on Oahu. The players worked at a two star motel, then went to Pearl Harbor and investigated the Navy. They sailed ineptly to Molokai, investigating the leper colony, and eventually tracked a Japanese by two and escape route in the volcano park. The main focus characters this week is going to be Penny An’Te, the gambling prodigy. I’m thinking of having her host an (illegal) gambling tournament and see what the players come up with. I’m also thinking there could be an exciting chase starting with a snowboard trip down the mountains, biking through the jungle and possibly ending with canoes in the surf. Penny has the following Aspects: an inability to “ stop until [she says].” She’s known as ‘the ice queen of Ka’uai’ so I definitely want that island to feature in. She’s a former hotel lifeguard (although she was an NPC in the last adventure). Her nemesis is a black liberationist who studies duality, named “professor paradox”. The last time they clashed, paradox tried to get Penny killed during a Civil War reenactment. She then followed his scheme to Washington DC, where he had put a radio-exoskeleton around the Lincoln statue, trying to use it to destroy the Jefferson memorial. Her top skills are gambling, underwater swimming and rescue, empathy and emotional assessment, and pistol shooting. Thank you kindly for whatever you guys come up with!
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Sep 28, 2023 08:08
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If it was a 1934 game you would have some options, especially if you add an excursion to the smallest Hawaiian island: Niihau. The county clerk's office in Ka'uai is held by an unapologetic royalist. Roosevelt is visiting the area and would later propose turning Niihau into the UN headquarters. Niihau itself is owned by mainlanders and has become known as the "forbidden island." That island will pass to the next generation in a few years. Going into Pearl Harbor the Japanese navy designated the island as an uninhabited place for planes to crash land and wait for rescue. Obviously this lends itself to a high stakes gambling tournament for ownership of the smallest Hawaiian island. Timeline be damned. Thinking about setting a game in a pulp version of pre WWII Hawaii makes me nervous. Make drat sure any spies are properly registered as diplomatic personnel.
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Sep 28, 2023 22:05
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Other responses I’ve gotten: https://issuu.com/tgifriday/docs/kauaiislandhistory010519p1 > Mt. Wai' is often cited as the wettest spot on earth, although this has been disputed. Based on data for the period from 1931 through 1960, the average yearly precipitation was 460”. > Waimea Canyon, also known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, is a large canyon, approximately ten miles (16 km) long and up to 3,000 feet (900 m) deep, located on the western side of Kauaʻi in the Hawaiian Islands of the United States. Golden Bee fucked around with this message at 07:27 on Sep 29, 2023 |
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Sep 29, 2023 05:30
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Golden Bee posted:Other responses I’ve gotten: Waimea Canyon is incredible. There’s a parking lot up there now, but it is very rewarding to hike the six miles from the shoreline to the top and the watch the afternoon clouds roll up the valley behind you. If you want a cheery setting in the morning that turns serious and elemental and gloomy by the evening for some witchdoctor shenanigans with your PCs then this is where to have it.
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Sep 29, 2023 22:32
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I'm trying to come up with a plot outline for a starting adventure for Stars Without Number and I've got a bit of writers block. I have a setting but I'm just not able to connect the dots and move from there.
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Oct 10, 2023 03:17
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What's the setting
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Oct 10, 2023 03:29
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What are the PCs you have? Playing off their concepts is probably the best place to start.
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Oct 10, 2023 03:29
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sebmojo posted:What's the setting Posted elsewhere quote:I am actually going to be running Stars Without Number some time in the coming weeks. I am using a setting inspired by Stellaris's endgame, in a galaxy that has been ravaged by crisis after crisis and had Earth's government become the Galactic Custodian only to become the Galactic Empire only to fall due to a psychic war with an empire that made a Faustian bargain with The End of Cycles. Megastructures lie in ruins and the gateway network is in pieces. The largest polities remaining are system wide at the biggest: pirate fleets, local governors, with the occasional mega corp providing services. We have PCs now. One is a cybernetic fox girl, another is a cult leading priest from a reptile species, a beautiful gun slinging courtesan, and a psychic vagabond. Maybe the first bit will have them meeting on a tramp freighter that finds itself grounded upon arrival to the local starbase.
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Oct 10, 2023 03:35
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A mix of debt and greed can be a fun mechanic. Maybe the rustbucket puddlejumper they all booked passage on gets attacked by scavengers, and the captain and crew are all killed. By local law, all of the passengers can jointly claim the right of salvage to the ship, but they'll have to pay off thousands of space bucks in damage first. The ship, damaged and poo poo as it is, is worth a hundred grand or more; if they can pay it off they'll get a huge return on investment. And hey, maybe they'll find a reason to keep the ship and keep going on adventures together. Structurally, I'd open with the captain and XO idly gambling with the players for stale rations. Give the players a chance to do some RP and intro their characters to each other. Roll some arbitrary dice to see who wins the extra chocolate bar; but before they can claim it, pirates board the ship! The pirates shoot the captain and space the XO, and gloat they can now legally claim the ship as salvage. Make sure the pirate leader eats the chocolate bar the player just won to make them hate him. The pirates take the player's gear, force them into a cargo pod at gunpoint, and sneer that they'll sell the PCs to "Mr. UV," a mysterious figure who's paying exorbitant prices for offworld travellers. Let the players easily escape the pod and get their gear back, and do a pitched gunbattle to retake the ship. The uncontrolled ship is careening down towards the stardock, and let the players figure out a way to get it down safely. Meanwhile, it turns out the spaced XO has been clinging to the ship's hull with the aid of some archeotech, and has seen one of the twin engines is about to explode. She sacrifices herself jettisoning it, and tells the PCs that the ship is theirs now. She makes them promise to take good care of it, and then vanishes in a blaze of glory. I feel like that could make a fun opening session, take maybe four hours or so.
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Oct 10, 2023 04:06
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Not sure if this is the right thread, but does anyone know of any books or other sources of good puzzles or other room challenges?
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Oct 10, 2023 04:19
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I haven't used it myself ( I have strong feelings about puzzles in tabletop ) but a good friend made this: Mastering Riddles, Puzzles, & Mazes.
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Oct 10, 2023 04:26
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Squidster posted:A mix of debt and greed can be a fun mechanic. Maybe the rustbucket puddlejumper they all booked passage on gets attacked by scavengers, and the captain and crew are all killed. By local law, all of the passengers can jointly claim the right of salvage to the ship, but they'll have to pay off thousands of space bucks in damage first. The ship, damaged and poo poo as it is, is worth a hundred grand or more; if they can pay it off they'll get a huge return on investment. And hey, maybe they'll find a reason to keep the ship and keep going on adventures together. Sounds great! I'll use it! Thank you.
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Oct 10, 2023 04:35
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Happy to help, hope it goes great! Actually, it occurs to me that rather than having the pirates take the player's gear ( negative, feels like DM removing agency ) before locking them in a cargo pod, maybe their weaponry and gear is just stashed in their cabins waiting for them ( easy first objective, sweet reward for exploration ). Same mechanic but different presentation. It makes sense that from a polite society standpoint, the captain wouldn't allow people to wander around carrying weapons on a week-long routine puddlejump. EDIT: "Ah named the ship after mah daughter, Marabelle. You keep her safe for me now. Mama's coming, darling..." :sweet_explosion: Squidster fucked around with this message at 05:06 on Oct 10, 2023 |
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Oct 10, 2023 04:55
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Squidster posted:Happy to help, hope it goes great! Gear locked up in the ship armory, instead. Let's the players get an easy early treat instead as well. And as a small rinkydink puddle jumper, the quality can be tightly constrained.
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Oct 10, 2023 08:23
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Definitely want a sealed lock box or two with some plot hooks in it
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Oct 10, 2023 09:22
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sebmojo posted:Definitely want a sealed lock box or two with some plot hooks in it Zoeb, do let us know how the session goes!
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Oct 10, 2023 15:40
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So now I’m envisioning some-shot where we GM by committee. Sort of a “what good luck what bad luck” or choose your own adventure.
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Oct 10, 2023 16:05
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Post-crisis Stellaris is a great kitchen sink setting. You could have anything from psychic energy beings to genetically engineered plant humans to nanobot swarm characters.
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Oct 10, 2023 22:34
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