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Arthil posted:The maker of the sheet has gotten around everything fairly easily by simply allowing people to import custom data... which can include everything the old version of the sheet had, plus new stuff. That's the way my iPhone spell book app was, too. The app was blank but if you searched the name of the app you'd find all the needed XML files. I think Fight Club does the same thing but includes SRD content by default.
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Jan 24, 2018 04:12
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Soylent Pudding posted:I'd like advice with an encounters for this weekend's session. I I know generally what I want to set up but am struggling with the details. The party are patrolling part of the countryside at risk from orc raids. The come across another group of encamped adventurers who are secretly brigands. If the party continues on, they will find wisps of smoke that lead them off the road to a farmstead that has been burned down, and is still smoldering. Further investigation will reveal the inhabitants were brutally murdered and robbed. The intended outcome of these encounters is for the party to investigate and discover the inn was burned and people murdered by the brigands and go confront them. My questions: Make the brigands jumpy but casually affable - they seem like alright peeps, but the party can tell they're guarded and regard the PCs with suspicion and the occasional whispers between the more quiet members. Perhaps a bit of a standoff when they're initially encountered until they ascertain the party isn't immediately hostile, maybe strike conversation regarding the orc situation either thanking the PCs for helpful advise or just agreeing on how things are dangerous lately. Oh also, they have a girl tied up and gagged. She ran away from home, you see, and her parents hired them to bring her back to [not far away town]. And she's got a nasty bite - look at what she did to Bob! Give them a good face for that, and spin a tale with some factual errors if pressed - perhaps one brigand correcting another about the direction they came from (the farmstead) - but it's alright to make them seem legit by way of being personable with a dose of gruffness to it, as adventurers would be. But it's all in the details, like story inconsistencies as they improvise where they come from and where are they going, or Bob fiddling with a musical instrument he obviously has never touched before in his life while wearing a hat too small for his head. If ungagged, which the brigands would dissuade but their leader might give the go-ahead if the party is too pressing, the girl will obviously plea with the party but the brigands will discount her tale. Of course, if the party later finds the ruins it'll be the "oh poo poo" moment that sends them rushing back, and to try and follow the trail of the brigands who quickly packed up and got on the move as soon as the PCs left. I think it adds a nice sense of urgency to resolving the situation, and a couple alternate avenues to investigating the farm more carefully as a way of finding the truth. OTOH if the PCs bought into the brigand's story and didn't get to hear the girl, some stuff you can drop at the farmstead: - A piece of the girl's dress, easy. - It doesn't look to be caused by orcs, because orcs do x or y different or use different kinds of weapons. - Maybe to the keen eyes of your party, it looks like some of the killings were done by a big and conspicuous weapon that stood out among the brigands (owner was polishing his greataxe or halberd). - A guitar like Bob's, this one smashed up over the head of a poor fellow. - A dinner table set up for #, but they only find # minus 1 bodies.
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Jan 24, 2018 04:19
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kingcom posted:The brigands have loot from the farm, be it chunks of metal they've pulled from farming equipment, bags of food/crops, maybe even a family sword or something that doesn't spring up until you get to the farmstead and see the sword mounting over a fireplace that has a fancy carving on it matching the fancy sword the bandit leader had. I'm going to chime in that this is a good opportunity to practice providing critical clues to players without having them roll for it, particularly if they're Proficient in a relevant skill. Include in the description of the brigand camp some sacks of potatoes stacked up near a tent, and then when they get back to farm, whoever's got Nature Proficiency can tell that the farmers had a plot of potatoes. That sort of thing.
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Jan 24, 2018 04:19
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Conspiratiorist posted:
Could we just loving not? Like even read straight this is super gross.
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Jan 24, 2018 04:38
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Xiahou Dun posted:Could we just loving not? Ah yes, sorry I forgot that in tyool 2018, damsels in distress are and old and tired trope that just goes a step too far in elfgames about loving bandits brutally murdering innocent people in their homes. It's probably best to completely avoid the unfortunate connotations by switching the girl to a dude, and keeping everything else exactly the same. That way we don't risk offending anyone's sensibilities.
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Jan 24, 2018 06:24
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You went two or three steps beyond damsel in distress dude.
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Jan 24, 2018 06:29
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Man, way to prove Xiahou Dun right I guess.
Mr. Maltose fucked around with this message at 07:00 on Jan 24, 2018 |
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Jan 24, 2018 06:29
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Xiahou Dun posted:Could we just loving not? Other then the bite there is nothing really wrong with that. Brigands kidnap people.
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Jan 24, 2018 06:59
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It'd be great if we could agree that it's not ok to include a plotline about an abused teenager in your game unless you've discussed it with the group up front and everyone said that they were fine with it. e: Holy loving poo poo. MonsterEnvy posted:Other then the bite there is nothing really wrong with that. Brigands kidnap people. "The only thing I don't like about this is that the victim fought back". Seek professional help. Elector_Nerdlingen fucked around with this message at 07:55 on Jan 24, 2018 |
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Jan 24, 2018 07:27
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Haha Holy poo poo what a twist! Edit: wait what's the opposite of a twist
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Jan 24, 2018 08:23
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Cause you obviously do not tie up your prisoner or gag them so they cannot make a lot of noise to try and get help. Though to be perfectly honest, there's no real reason they'd leave anyone from the farm alive. No one to ransom a prisoner off to, and depending on your campaign setting there may not be slavers to sell them off to either.
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Jan 24, 2018 08:38
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AlphaDog posted:
I could see what you thought I meant there. But I was more or less talking about the tone with how he wrote it. If the Victim fought back thats fine. Maybe doing somthing state she managed to take out one of the Brigands before they captured her. And the thugs think as a result she would be good to sell to a fighting pit or something. MonsterEnvy fucked around with this message at 08:50 on Jan 24, 2018 |
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Jan 24, 2018 08:44
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Arthil posted:Cause you obviously do not tie up your prisoner or gag them so they cannot make a lot of noise to try and get help. Though to be perfectly honest, there's no real reason they'd leave anyone from the farm alive. No one to ransom a prisoner off to, and depending on your campaign setting there may not be slavers to sell them off to either. If it's a decently standard D&D setting there are probably slavers they can sell them off to.
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Jan 24, 2018 08:49
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You'd try to play to your players either way. Would a woman being a prisoner be a bigger push for them to be suspicious, or some other things which stand out in their camp? In the end you're wanting to paint this group of so-called "adventurers" as untrustworthy in some way, I would figure you'd know your players personally better than us.
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Jan 24, 2018 09:06
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Conspiratiorist posted:Oh also, they have a girl tied up and gagged. She ran away from home, you see, and her parents hired them to bring her back to [not far away town]. And she's got a nasty bite - look at what she did to Bob! MonsterEnvy posted:Other then the bite there is nothing really wrong with that. MonsterEnvy posted:I could see what you thought I meant there. But I was more or less talking about the tone with how he wrote it. Yes, I understand exactly what you meant. The image of a bound, gagged teenage runaway being dragged back to her parents by hired thugs doesn't bother you, but "she bit one of them" does bother you. That's what you posted on the internet, thinking it was a perfectly normal thing to say. What the gently caress is wrong with you? MonsterEnvy posted:If the Victim fought back thats fine. Maybe doing somthing state she managed to take out one of the Brigands before they captured her. And the thugs think as a result she would be good to sell to a fighting pit or something. What the gently caress? MonsterEnvy posted:If it's a decently standard D&D setting there are probably slavers they can sell them off to. What the loving gently caress?
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Jan 24, 2018 10:24
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MonsterEnvy posted:Brigands kidnap people. Conspiratiorist posted:Oh also, they have a girl tied up and gagged. She ran away from home, you see, and her parents hired them to bring her back to [not far away town]. And she's got a nasty bite - look at what she did to Bob! If you want to go the kidnapping route, have her be asleep but otherwise looking fine, telegraphing that they have a caster with them. Have them look kind of nervous with none of them wanting to sit nearest to her, have her start to wake up and get sleeped again by the wizard. When you get to the farmstead, one of the corpses is dressed in the remains of bandit gear and has been loving obliterated by whatever magic she has. Now there's a very good reason for her to be the only not murdered one other than "is young and female", and it's a neat plot hook for later. Splicer fucked around with this message at 10:57 on Jan 24, 2018 |
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Jan 24, 2018 10:54
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I'm literally not understanding your almost seemingly over the top and maybe faked outrage there. This is fiction, they're meant to be horrible people. Some games are more squeaky clean, but that isn't every game as some people can handle a dose of realism in a campaign. Either way what I said is important. A DM will likely know what their players can and cannot handle in a game, they will have gathered players who know the overall theme of the campaign. I do agree that making it seem rapey at all is a bad idea in what is meant to be a fairly light-hearted and over-the-top/high fantasy kind of game. But it could also be a really grim setting and the players are prepared for it. Arthil fucked around with this message at 11:00 on Jan 24, 2018 |
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Jan 24, 2018 10:55
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AlphaDog posted:Yes, I understand exactly what you meant. The image of a bound, gagged teenage runaway being dragged back to her parents by hired thugs doesn't bother you, but "she bit one of them" does bother you. That's what you posted on the internet, thinking it was a perfectly normal thing to say. What the gently caress is wrong with you?
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Jan 24, 2018 10:59
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Arthil posted:I'm literally not understanding your almost seemingly over the top and maybe faked outrage there. This is fiction, they're meant to be horrible people. Some games are more squeaky clean, but that isn't every game as some people can handle a dose of realism in a campaign. AlphaDog posted:It'd be great if we could agree that it's not ok to include a plotline about an abused teenager in your game unless you've discussed it with the group up front and everyone said that they were fine with it. This is too high a bar to clear for you? Or is it that you can't see how anyone might be bothered by what's being presented there? Splicer posted:Nah, monsterenvy is saying that if she bit one if them it implies she was in a position that biting was possible, which ups the "yeah she's totally been and will continue to be raped" feel. Maybe he should have said that then, instead of saying that there was nothing wrong with anything except the bite, then jumping to "sell them to slavers", as if that's also something that wouldn't bother anyone. Elector_Nerdlingen fucked around with this message at 11:03 on Jan 24, 2018 |
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Jan 24, 2018 10:59
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I think what's trying to be conveyed here is that there's a limit to "show, don't tell" as far as depicting people who are intended to be Bad Guys. They already burnt down the farm and the stole crops, so it shouldn't really take much more prodding beyond that to convince the players that they're not good.
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Jan 24, 2018 11:02
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AlphaDog posted:This is too high a bar to clear for you? I actually added to my post talking about the tone of the game so we seem to actually agree on that point. As the DM, they should be able to know whether any ideas given here are appropriate for their campaign.
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Jan 24, 2018 11:02
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AlphaDog posted:Maybe he should have said that then, instead of saying that there was nothing wrong with anything except the bite, then jumping to "sell them to slavers", as if that's also something that wouldn't bother anyone. e: edited to be less pointlessly mean to ME Splicer fucked around with this message at 11:25 on Jan 24, 2018 |
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Jan 24, 2018 11:17
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Arthil posted:I actually added to my post talking about the tone of the game so we seem to actually agree on that point. As the DM, they should be able to know whether any ideas given here are appropriate for their campaign. Yeah, sorry. I think you edited after I replied. What I'm saying is, there are some topics that you should definitely get a firm agreement on before including in your tabletop roleplaying game. Child abuse is one of them*. You almost certainly know someone who was abused as a child or teenager, even if they've never mentioned it to you. How sure are you that that doesn't apply to anyone in your tabletop gaming group? *And yes, "teenage girl, gagged and bound, being dragged back to the home she ran from by people her parents hired" definitely counts. I'm sure I don't have to explain why. The same scenario but ending "sold to slavers" or "sold to the fighting pits" is not any better. e: For people who think there's nothing much wrong with this stuff: You're DMing an AL game at your store. Or a game at a con. Or a game where a friend has invited their friend. Or for people from your work who you only know from interacting with them at work. You include the scenario that's being discussed. Someone says "Wait, can we not do this? It's pretty gross". What do you do? Elector_Nerdlingen fucked around with this message at 11:39 on Jan 24, 2018 |
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Jan 24, 2018 11:28
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Also make sure all your players are cool with there being criminals that kill innocent people in your elfgame.
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Jan 24, 2018 11:33
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Didn't know that you could only bite people as a defense against rape and absolutely no other form of physicality, thanks d&d thread.
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Jan 24, 2018 11:41
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I honestly didn't think about rape or child abuse until people started bringing it up; I thought the complaint was just a misogyny "oh look another woman to stuff in the fridge" thing. You people have issues.
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Jan 24, 2018 11:45
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Conspiratiorist posted:I honestly didn't think about rape or child abuse until people started bringing it up; I thought the complaint was just a misogyny "oh look another woman to stuff in the fridge" thing. Conspiratiorist posted:Oh also, they have a girl tied up and gagged. She ran away from home, you see, and her parents hired them to bring her back to [not far away town]. And she's got a nasty bite - look at what she did to Bob! Do you not consider this scenario to be a depiction of child abuse?
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Jan 24, 2018 11:48
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Arthil posted:I'm literally not understanding your almost seemingly over the top and maybe faked outrage there. Conspiratiorist posted:Ah yes, sorry I forgot that in tyool 2018 Even as someone that avoids those kinds of plotlines so as not to bother anyone, this is still the more correct response(s): AlphaDog posted:What I'm saying is, there are some topics that you should definitely get a firm agreement on before including in your tabletop roleplaying game. Arthil posted:A DM will likely know what their players can and cannot handle in a game, they will have gathered players who know the overall theme of the campaign. AlphaDog posted:Do you not consider this scenario to be a depiction of child abuse?
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Jan 24, 2018 11:54
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AlphaDog posted:Do you not consider this scenario to be a depiction of child abuse? People getting kidnapped by bandits is a pretty common trope, even in lighthearted stuff. It’s really not a stretch that many people would not see anything weird there. I certainly didn’t before other people brought it up.
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Jan 24, 2018 11:55
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AlphaDog posted:Do you not consider this scenario to be a depiction of child abuse? Child abuse in the sense of home being an abusive place that required running away from, I'm pretty sure is what was intended. "A girl that ran away from home and so mercenaries were hired to bring her back and they imprison her on the way because she is capable of fighting back" is literally a thing that happened in an acclaimed children's cartoon. It just happens in a steel box instead of ropes.
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Jan 24, 2018 11:56
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AlphaDog posted:Do you not consider this scenario to be a depiction of child abuse? Not as something warranting of a trigger warning, no. Young people run away all the time, for all sorts of reasons. The idea that a group would be hired to find them and bring them back is supposed to be eyebrow rising, but plausible enough in a faux-medieval fantasy setting to not trigger a violent intervention by the players in of itself. We're dealing with a plot point here about innocent people assaulted and murdered in their homes. This is pretty loving tame by comparison.
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Jan 24, 2018 12:02
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if it works for your group, it works for your group. but this is an issue with knowing your players' boundaries more than anything else. like i wouldn't use child abuse in a game because i wouldn't feel comfortable doing so. its a tough subject and not everyone is gonna want it suddenly popping up in their hobby time. but if you think they'll be cool with it, then go for it. you know the tone of your game and the people at the table better than we do.
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Jan 24, 2018 12:03
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So there's plenty of people who don't really see anything wrong with springing this scenario on their group, right? Can you please answer my question from the quote below?AlphaDog posted:You're DMing an AL game at your store. Or a game at a con. Or a game where a friend has invited their friend. Or for people from your work who you only know from interacting with them at work. You include the scenario that's being discussed. Someone says "Wait, can we not do this? It's pretty gross". What do you do?
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Jan 24, 2018 12:04
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FRINGE posted:I strongly suspect if it had been "their teenage son" no one would have pushed the IM OFFENDED button so vigorously E: ooh av/post combo
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Jan 24, 2018 12:05
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AlphaDog posted:So there's plenty of people who don't really see anything wrong with springing this scenario on their group, right? Can you please answer my question from the quote below? "Then I'm sorry, but I already planned out this scenario, so if it's something you're not comfortable with it might be best for you to leave this table."
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Jan 24, 2018 12:08
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AlphaDog posted:So there's plenty of people who don't really see anything wrong with springing this scenario on their group, right? Can you please answer my question from the quote below? Based on what I know - "What's the issue you're having trouble with? Do you need something overwritten or dealt with in a certain way?" That's based on both X-Card as well as Ben Lehman's essay on how that's sometimes insufficient or harmful and it is instead more helpful force a certain outcome, e.g. "I need this person to apologise/be proven wrong/be punished".
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Jan 24, 2018 12:09
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AlphaDog posted:So there's plenty of people who don't really see anything wrong with springing this scenario on their group, right? Can you please answer my question from the quote below? seems like a good opportunity to test your improv skills. you can be accommodating and learn to be a better gm in the process
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Jan 24, 2018 12:10
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AlphaDog posted:So there's plenty of people who don't really see anything wrong with springing this scenario on their group, right? Can you please answer my question from the quote below? I’d probably change it since there is no point in being an rear end in a top hat to someone who isn’t comfortable with it. Seems like a pretty easy scenario to change too.
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Jan 24, 2018 12:11
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Allstone posted:it's almost as if violence towards women has a different context within society
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Jan 24, 2018 12:14
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FRINGE posted:I strongly suspect if it had been "their teenage son" no one would have pushed the IM OFFENDED button so vigorously, despite both scenarios depicting harm against a fictional construct, whatever that means in fake medieval world.) Conspiratiorist posted:Not as something warranting of a trigger warning, no. Young people run away all the time, for all sorts of reasons. Conspiratiorist posted:I honestly didn't think about rape or child abuse until people started bringing it up; I thought the complaint was just a misogyny "oh look another woman to stuff in the fridge" thing. Splicer fucked around with this message at 12:21 on Jan 24, 2018 |
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Jan 24, 2018 12:16
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