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Halloween Jack posted:Dragon Union. Thanks! I had mostly given up past what seemed bad mentioned. Folks get so hung up on domain play but like…that’s just part of it. Stoked to read this.
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Jan 11, 2024 19:48
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| # ? May 23, 2024 10:59 |
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Halloween Jack posted:Dragon Union. My god, thank you so much for this, I just spent half an hour fruitlessly searching even though I knew it was on drivethru, possibly because I thought it was Swedish and not Finnish.
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Jan 11, 2024 20:13
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https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/181177/lohikaeaermeliitto I'm not pronouncing that.
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Jan 11, 2024 20:21
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It's pronounced "swords."
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Jan 11, 2024 22:12
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Just like how Ice-T says it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AszM1WPwOWg
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Jan 11, 2024 22:35
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Doctor Yiff posted:We've established a metaphysical rule that all paladins are good natured airheads. You can be a paladin in service of almost any concept; we've had Paladins of The Gym and a Paladin of Surfing (with a Beach Bully being the blackguard equivalent). Are you sure you're not thinking of Kens
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Jan 11, 2024 23:44
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GateOfD posted:picked up two boxes of Sorcery TCG beta boosters and the precons. this game is OUTRAGEOUSLY good
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Jan 12, 2024 00:21
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Ghost Leviathan posted:Are you sure you're not thinking of Kens Kens can be paladins. Just wait for the DND themed Barbie with Paladin Ken and Barbie, twin defenders of Justice.
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Jan 12, 2024 01:37
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1024x768 posted:this game is OUTRAGEOUSLY good It feels very dominated by collectors. It plays well?
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Jan 12, 2024 02:54
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Playing the Dumbest paladin ever was an absurd amount of fun and I recommend it so long as you don't be a cop to the other players. My experience was enhanced by absurd luck that made him into "what if don quixote absolutely kicked the windmill's rear end"
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Jan 12, 2024 03:29
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Wrestlepig posted:Playing the Dumbest paladin ever was an absurd amount of fun and I recommend it so long as you don't be a cop to the other players. My experience was enhanced by absurd luck that made him into "what if don quixote absolutely kicked the windmill's rear end" LMAO
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Jan 12, 2024 05:45
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My paladin was an absolute boy scout and a stickler for his moral code, and so incredibly naive that he would buy literally any explanation about why the underhanded thing the party were doing right now was actually okay.
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Jan 12, 2024 10:38
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Reminded of the 13th Age Necromancer who receives active penalties from having high CON, except it's paladins and INT. Wizards and CHA comes to mind for a further expansion of the idea.
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Jan 12, 2024 13:59
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I'm enjoying playing a paladin who always has an explanation for why this currently sketchy action is actually totally cool and good. It helps that he's a revolutionary with a completely different framework from the standard, which the GM is on board with. He has knocked out and thrown a fire mephit as a Molotov cocktail.
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Jan 12, 2024 18:41
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disposablewords posted:I'm enjoying playing a paladin who always has an explanation for why this currently sketchy action is actually totally cool and good. It helps that he's a revolutionary with a completely different framework from the standard, which the GM is on board with. He has knocked out and thrown a fire mephit as a Molotov cocktail. J'adore.
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Jan 12, 2024 20:40
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Ghost Leviathan posted:I still think that the ideal way to play a paladin is basically as a fantasy superhero. Whether they're Spider-man, the Punisher, or Adam West's Batman. There was a Paladin/Barb hybrid I played on 4E who was a meek-mannered, stammering and gentle monk most of the time but whenever he witnessed acts of extreme cruelty or evil would awaken a second personality that was a brutal murderous vigilante that would destroy evil with extreme prejudice. Ironically one of the newest Azrael comics from DC ended up to make him like that.
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Jan 13, 2024 00:33
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Plutonis posted:There was a Paladin/Barb hybrid I played on 4E who was a meek-mannered, stammering and gentle monk most of the time but whenever he witnessed acts of extreme cruelty or evil would awaken a second personality that was a brutal murderous vigilante that would destroy evil with extreme prejudice. Ironically one of the newest Azrael comics from DC ended up to make him like that. Nice concept.
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Jan 13, 2024 00:58
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It looks like Atlas is going to be Kickstarting an updated Definitive Fifth Edition of Ars Magica towards the end of this year. They also mention that they now have print-on-demand files ready for every single fifth edition book, although I'm not certain where these come from. Are the softcover books available on the Atlas site POD, or will they become available somewhere else?
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Jan 13, 2024 06:13
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Rand Brittain posted:It looks like Atlas is going to be Kickstarting an updated Definitive Fifth Edition of Ars Magica towards the end of this year. It's Amazon. I don't know if they explain it anywhere on their main website, there's probably a blog post about it somewhere in the past few years when they really got into completing the POD catalog, but its comes up on their forums every year when someone complains about printing errors.
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Jan 13, 2024 06:47
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My copy of Nyx arrived today, really nice book and just crammed full of really pretty art
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Jan 14, 2024 01:34
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In my game this week, I had the characters answering riddles and I needed a way to handle it mechanically. I didn't want to have riddles that had a specific solution because then the players would have to figure it out and the characters wouldn't matter. Or if the characters just roll well then I tell them the answer, which doesn't give any of the fun of trying to solve a riddle to the players. So instead, I made up poo poo that sounded like riddles with no particular solution in mind. (E.g. "what has 3 heads, 2 hands, and 1 foot?") Then the players came up with ideas and suggested them. Then, they would roll on appropriate skill (depending on what their answer was) and if they succeeded, that was the correct answer. If they failed then I would give my best answer that I had come up with while they were debating. If their answer was very good, I would give them advantage on the roll as well, so there was good incentive to try come up with a plausible answer. It worked out so well. The players were really good at coming up with plausible answers to my obscure bullshit. My favorite was when I asked: I gain in value as I age. I lose value when wet. I am most valuable when burnt. What am I? The players thought for a while and came up with a whiskey barrel, because they char them to improve the whiskey. That's a great answer! So I gave them advantage and they rolled a pair of 2s: a failure. So even though their answer was way better than mine, the sphinx asking the riddles had to reply "No. The correct answer was a property with fire insurance but no flood insurance," which left the characters very much bemused. Anyway, I highly recommend that method. The players get to have the fun of solving riddles, but the characters' skills are what determine in the end how well they do, so even if you suck at riddles, your character can pull you through. Plus, coming up with inscrutable bullshit is just fun as the GM.
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Jan 14, 2024 22:53
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They should have demanded the sphinx explain why the property was apparently overinsured for fire, since it gains value when burned, and ask whether it considered the deductible, and also point out that property can fall in value over time depending on local economic conditions
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Jan 15, 2024 07:24
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Leperflesh posted:They should have demanded the sphinx explain why the property was apparently overinsured for fire, since it gains value when burned, and ask whether it considered the deductible, and also point out that property can fall in value over time depending on local economic conditions Do you want to get eaten by the Sphinx? This is how you get eaten by the Sphinx.
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Jan 15, 2024 18:55
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The bullshit sphinx is the lawful neutral monster we didn't know we needed.
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Jan 15, 2024 19:20
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Sphinx has the power to see the metagame and is just asking bullshit nonsense questions then watching to see what the party rolls to determine the answer. If you cast Zone of Truth on it it just says "Answer ye now my riddle, what rolls a 13 or higher?"
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Jan 15, 2024 19:49
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13d6.
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Jan 15, 2024 21:12
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Rand Brittain posted:It looks like Atlas is going to be Kickstarting an updated Definitive Fifth Edition of Ars Magica towards the end of this year. I will be impressed to see if they can manage character generation not requiring flipping back and forth through like four different chapters.
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Jan 15, 2024 23:20
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Leperflesh posted:They should have demanded the sphinx explain why the property was apparently overinsured for fire, since it gains value when burned, and ask whether it considered the deductible, and also point out that property can fall in value over time depending on local economic conditions 
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Jan 16, 2024 00:13
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Rand Brittain posted:It looks like Atlas is going to be Kickstarting an updated Definitive Fifth Edition of Ars Magica towards the end of this year. I'm sure they will finally make an Ars edition that isn't a nightmare to track and play but also keeps everything that the players love about the systems and setting :clueless:
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Jan 16, 2024 01:18
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(This is legit my favorite TRPG by vibes alone but I cannot for the love of me keep myself committed to play for long)
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Jan 16, 2024 01:19
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I played Ars Magica back in 1st and 2nd edition. I may need to get in on that kickstarter just for nostalgia.
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Jan 16, 2024 02:48
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Rand Brittain posted:It looks like Atlas is going to be Kickstarting an updated Definitive Fifth Edition of Ars Magica towards the end of this year. With an open license, most likely CC. That’s the exciting part, although I don’t imagine the world will be covered.
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Jan 16, 2024 04:52
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Jimbozig posted:In my game this week, I had the characters answering riddles and I needed a way to handle it mechanically. I didn't want to have riddles that had a specific solution because then the players would have to figure it out and the characters wouldn't matter. Or if the characters just roll well then I tell them the answer, which doesn't give any of the fun of trying to solve a riddle to the players. i threw this one at players today and they said "a dry-aged steak"
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Jan 16, 2024 06:03
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Good answer good answer
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Jan 16, 2024 06:09
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The Mona Lisa
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Jan 16, 2024 11:15
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SPHINX: "I gain in value as I age. I lose value when wet. I am most valuable when burnt. What am I?" VALDUBOR THE BRAVE: "...oh! A Sphinx!" SPHINX: "Hmm. OK, I agree on valuing as I age, and I do hate getting wet. But how am I most valuable when burnt? That makes no sense!" VALDUBOR THE BRAVE: <I cast Fireball!>
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Jan 16, 2024 20:35
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Got a chance to try the playtest for the as-yet-untitled MCDM RPG, playing the Dwarf Tactician premade character alongside the psionic Elf Talent. I know there's been some discussion of the game as a maybe-heartbreaker that only seems to be in conversation with D&D, and I'm here to tell you that, yeah, that's *absolutely* what it is. But! Even though it isn't breaking new ground in any respects, it still does have some fun ideas. I'd play this over 5e in a heartbeat, and given Matt Colville's audience, maybe that's all it needs to be: approachable heroic fantasy that doesn't waste your time like a lot of 5e does. Mechanically it's very straightforward, all tests are 2d6 + stat (yes, there are 6 stats, which is too many in my book but they are at least better-conceptualized than the D&D core 6) and maybe a boon (+1d4) if you have a relevant skill. Usual target number is around 9, with 7 being an easy test and 12 a hard one. There's a negotiation system: NPCs have Interest (how likely they are to give you a good offer/help you) and Patience, both ranked from 0-5. You're trying to make good arguments by appealing to their weak spots (auto-success), avoiding their pitfalls (auto-failure), and generally making a good point (making a standard test to see how the argument goes). It felt pretty clunky in play, especially once we hit the points we knew were gonna work and then were left trying to think of a third good argument to get the Interest up to 5 before their Patience ran out. I'm not opposed to the concept, and it'd probably be smoother after a few attempts (there's only one negotiation in the playtest adventure) but it didn't feel particularly interesting, either. Combat is where a lot of the more clever ideas are. All attacks (2d6 + stat + weapon damage) effectively auto-hit, just like in Into the Odd. That game has a much harsher, scrabble-in-the-dirt kind of vibe, so it's interesting seeing the same mechanic be applied to a much more heroic game with larger health pools. For my money, it worked pretty well. It did mean that basically all of the hero attacks dealt more or less the same damage (as did enemy attacks) but the riders on the abilities made them still feel pretty differentiated, and cutting out the to-hit roll and the "did I hit" pause to ask the GM really does massively speed combat up. I hope to see other games on this side of the crunch spectrum adopt a similar mechanic, it feels great in play. As a corollary to the auto-hit mechanic, a lot of abilities don't give a chance to save (to use D&D parlance). It feels great to use my taunt ability and have it just *work*. A lot of statuses and riders from attacks work like that, with only some stuff (grapple-type abilities, generally) giving you a chance to resist. They also aren't afraid of giving you strong abilities, as my front-line Tactician had a free once-per-round parry which just halved an incoming attack, full stop, no roll needed. Recoveries (healing surges) also heal you for 1/3 of your max HP, which makes healing mid-fight feel really impactful. Another cool mechanic: Victories. Every completed battle (and major roleplaying scene/difficult obstacle) grants the players a Victory. Each Victory grants class-specific effects: my Tactician got to start fights with Focus (her class resource, used to activate abilities) equal to her Victories, and I also had a few once-per-fight boosts I could give that keyed off the number of Victories. The other player, playing the psionic Talent, got direct damage boosts and more capacity to take Strain (their class abilities inflict Strain, which they assign to Body/Mind/Soul and suffer debuffs as a result). This was really cool, and they only go away when you take a full rest (at which point they turn into XP) - incentivizing you to keep pushing on through multiple battles. The playtest was too short to really have us weigh the need to keep going vs. getting our healing back, but getting stronger and stronger with each subsequent fight was a genuinely fun experience, and one totally different from the usual D&D dynamic of being worn down and losing access to abilities over the course of the day. There's a few other clever innovations, but the last one I'll mention is that when you hit 0 HP, you don't get knocked down or go unconscious - instead, you're Unbalanced, which means that any time you take a physical action (aside from basic movement), you suffer 5 damage first. You only die at your negative bloodied value (so for me, I was still up and active until I hit -30HP), but while you're in the negative, you can't heal yourself with the standard Recover action. It imparts the feeling of being on the edge of death but still pushing yourself to fight, while also limiting exactly how much you can do before you just take yourself out. Overall, I had a fun time with the game. I think that after trying out a variety of different tactical RPGs (most recently, ICON) I just think highly tactical grid combat isn't my bag, but this one came closest to being simple and quick enough that play doesn't feel too slow or rules-intensive. I'm interested to see the future playtest packets, as this feels like a pretty solid foundation on which to build a larger game.
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Jan 16, 2024 20:38
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Leperflesh posted:SPHINX: "I gain in value as I age. I lose value when wet. I am most valuable when burnt. What am I?" The Sphinx: "Fish want me. Women fear me. What am I?"
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Jan 16, 2024 21:57
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BinaryDoubts posted:Got a chance to try the playtest for the as-yet-untitled MCDM RPG I'm very interested in having my 4E-loving heart broken, so I appreciate the write up. Thanks!
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Jan 16, 2024 22:01
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| # ? May 23, 2024 10:59 |
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BinaryDoubts posted:Got a chance to try the playtest for the as-yet-untitled MCDM RPG, playing the Dwarf Tactician premade character alongside the psionic Elf Talent. I know there's been some discussion of the game as a maybe-heartbreaker that only seems to be in conversation with D&D, and I'm here to tell you that, yeah, that's *absolutely* what it is. But! Even though it isn't breaking new ground in any respects, it still does have some fun ideas. I'd play this over 5e in a heartbeat, and given Matt Colville's audience, maybe that's all it needs to be: approachable heroic fantasy that doesn't waste your time like a lot of 5e does. Yeah this is really interesting to hear, its low bar to be just 'less poo poo than 5e' but unironically that may be all it needs to be in the current environment. The idea that they've made some attempted to deal with or at least think about the adventuring day and resting in and of itself is motivating because at the very least there is consideration that the heartbreaker exists because there are genuine design flaws in the original.
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Jan 17, 2024 00:00
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