TG Chat Thread 2017

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Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Ferrinus posted:

Then those guys were loving up, because while you need to use a minor action to wield something new down the line you don't need to use one in the first turn of combat just to be armed at all. Imposing a minor action tax in the first turn of combat barely affects some characters but really fucks with e.g. rangers and warlocks.

You only get one action in the surprise round, so needing a minor to draw would lead to a lot of "Surprise! I'm holding my dagger!"

# ¿ Mar 27, 2017 23:07

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 21:45

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Brainiac Five posted:

It did on my Windows 7 machine. Haven't tried it on Windows 10.

I get reminded of this game every year or so and bust it out. I'm playing it on 10 right now!

Only problem is that visually it's kind of tiny.

# ¿ Mar 31, 2017 09:57

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Covok posted:

So, how do y'all deal with gamers who can find a problem with any trpg system and aren't afraid to complain about them in front of the entire group? I don't think there is anything wrong with not liking something or wanting to mention it, but I find bitching about it in front of everyone can lower people's fun in the title and makes my job harder when I'm the one who likes the game.

Why are they complaining? Please choose one or more:
1) They only want to play <favourite game> so they poo poo on everything else you bring up so you'll go back to running (let's face it it's D&D or something White Wolf based).
2) "any trpg system" actually just means a number of D&D flavours or White the Wolfenings, and they are completely justified in making GBS threads on your terrible taste in RPGs.
3) They only want to play <particular genre> and their complaints about other games are how they don't handle <particular genre which is very much not what that system is for> well.
3.5) "Verisimilitude"
4) They have stared too deep into the abyss of critique and can only see the flaws in systems.
5) They have stared too deep into the abyss of dissaffected youth and think enjoying anything at all is for dummies and lameos.
e: 6) The player does not exist, it's like fight club except instead of Brad Pitt trying to stop you sacrificing your life to capitalism it's Jessie Heimann trying to stop you spending too much time playing elfgames

Splicer fucked around with this message at 16:44 on Apr 3, 2017

# ¿ Apr 3, 2017 16:35

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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LatwPIAT posted:

9) Telling people about weird flaws and silliness in systems is a communal bonding activity that everyone participates in, sharing anecdotes about Exalted 2e's recession-blocking swords, peasant railguns, and football-throwing babies.

There's a tone difference between this and what Covok is describing. I love ripping games to shreds, especially ones I like, but as long as they're in any way functional I will I do that while also being excited to play elf with my friends. Usually I'm ripping them to shreds because it's easier to avoid the flaws the better you know them. Other times I'm ripping them to shreds because they're hilarious trainwrecks that should never have been put to paper. D&D 5E is a wildcard in that it's a non-functional hilarious trainwreck that should never have been put to paper for which my criticism is mean spirited (and accurate), but I still play it regularly and keep my bile-soaked vitriol away from the table (when possible).

Covok posted:

I'll pick option 1, and 7, and 8.

Option 7 and 8 are:
7) They have been hacking 3.5 for years and are now obsessed with finding flaws and broken builds and trying to break a system
8) Despite their initial joy at doing so, they quickly grow to hate the fact they managed to do so as it proves the system is flawed.

For option 1, I think its worth noting it isn't D&D or White Wolf (well, maybe. Wouldn't be shocked if he wants to do 3.5). In this case, it's 2.5 Exalted (I think: doing Godbound as an alternative to actual Exalted at the moment and he hates Ex 3rd edition for not being silly enough and loves 2.5 Ed for being silly and stupid like he likes it but hates it too for being broken game with turtle combat).

It's odd too because even games he likes he kind of hates because he broke them. Like, he likes Masks but also hates it a little because he broke it because he thinks the Doom track is a powegrab till you're on your last advance. Also, he hates how it is so strict in what genres it does that, if you're players don't have buyin, it breaks down so therefore it and a lot PbtA games are deeply flawed but is also interested in them but also wishes roleplaying games would stop simplifying and feels a return to crunch is inevitable.

Edit: Great, now me adding in an option 6 and 7 doesn't work. Got to make them 7 and 8.

Those are just subsets of 4 :colbert:

Sit him down, put on some very special episode music, and tell him to stop sweating the small stuff. No game is perfect, apart from our lord and saviour Paranoia. His "gently caress this busted poo poo" dial is all out of whack and he needs to recalibrate it ASAP. Refusing to acknowledge a broken system is broken and declaring a functional-with-flaws system unusable are two sides of the same coin.

Regarding defending the system: Sometimes a "flaw" isn't a flaw. Saying PbtA doesn't work without buy in is like saying it doesn't work without dice. "Yes that's true. So what happened to our buy in/dice" is a productive response. For things that are flaws, but can be worked around:

Yawgmoth posted:

Don't do that. Instead just say "yep those are flaws. Sucks, every game's got 'em, you either fix them or play around them." and if he's whining, break out the taser.

e: for flaws that are flaws and cannot be worked around, don't defend the indefensible. Friends don't let friends play dungeons and dragons fifth edition.

Splicer fucked around with this message at 19:18 on Apr 3, 2017

# ¿ Apr 3, 2017 19:15

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Mr.Misfit posted:

I don�t think there are any "Monstergirl RPG" games yet.

On another note, what is the design implication from "wounds systems" for games? I�m thinking of replacing the current hp with death spiral systems with a heavy, medium, light wounds system which would also force a rewrite of combat values and "combat abilities" but allows for a very different feel but I�m unclear about the effect on a design by itself and wanted to ask therefore, what Alpha Complex thinks about that

WFRP3E has an objectively good wound system and I would say more about it but I'm phone posting in bed. Also:

Tuxedo Catfish posted:

It's almost impossible to answer that without knowing what you're trying to achieve.

# ¿ Apr 6, 2017 00:05

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Countblanc posted:

Ok so, I think it's worth noting how much in this book relates to combat. It seems natural to me that players, when they see a book with a guy with a sword on the cover and a bunch of rules relating to fighting, are going to assume that they're supposed to fight or will be engaged in combat regularly and thus would be perfectly justified in taking precautions against getting instantly evaporated on the field of battle. You imply war is frequent in the introduction.

Look at the sample character you outline starting on page 16; all but two of their Talents are combat-oriented, and that's not even including Combat Styles! I also don't like "be better at persuading someone" using the same character resource as "go first in combat", but that's a different discussion and I suppose pretty standard for a lot of games.

Anyway, if you don't want people focusing on surviving in combat you should perhaps downplay the importance and ubiquity of combat.

Imagine presenting your players with a carrot hanging over a pit behind a man with a big stick. And not just any carrot, but a carrot carefully crafted by the players to the match their most carroty dreams. Are they going to say "I don't want that carrot", or are they going to say "How do we deal with the man and the pit (and also I want that stick)"?

_{The carrot is the big section of their character sheet devoted to combat}

# ¿ Apr 6, 2017 09:37

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Ominous Jazz posted:

Just use mechanical pencils like an adult

Still got the long sticks of conductive material in low gravity problem.

# ¿ Apr 10, 2017 10:03

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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It is a dark day when even Friend Computer has turned traitor.

# ¿ Apr 10, 2017 15:11

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Games Played On Tables Instead Of Computers Except For The Ones Being Played On Virtual Tables Simulated On Computers

e: And Also Some Games Are Computer Games Being Simulated In Table Form Possibly Also On Virtual Tables Simulated On Computers

Splicer fucked around with this message at 15:29 on Apr 11, 2017

# ¿ Apr 11, 2017 15:26

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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FMguru posted:

It has basically devolved to meaning "is a protagonist".

Is a female protagonist. Male protagonists are fine.

# ¿ Apr 18, 2017 21:57

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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One of the base set powers is giving someone the stink eye so hard they take penalties from it. A possible crit failure was they stink eye you back so hard you take penalties from it. Because awesome dice you could have two people stare down and both come away scared as poo poo if each other.

# ¿ Apr 19, 2017 12:04

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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The penalties are combat suitable so a non combat character with that power can spend a chunk of combat weirding out strategically important opponents, and being extremely useful because of it.

# ¿ Apr 19, 2017 13:08

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Countblanc posted:

I want to live in your era

Oh god not this poo poo again. I thought they'd learned their lesson with the Cthulhu and Ice and Fire LCGs.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2017 10:47

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Tuxedo Catfish posted:

sounds like the only rational response to a business model like that is not to buy in at all

This is why I, a giant fan of the Call of Cthulhu CCG to the degree that I still have a few of my decks hanging around over a decade later, never touched the LCG.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2017 10:51

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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JBP posted:

Kubik

eh close enough

# ¿ Apr 24, 2017 15:23

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Evil Mastermind posted:

I wish I could find it again, but Spencer said on twitter that he doesn't like Nazi-punching because he doesn't like the idea of people just getting to decide who they're allowed to punch, and someone else comes back with "dude, you literally just described superheroes."

Nick Spencer retconned nearly eight decades if comic book continuity to win a Twitter argument.

Impressive.

# ¿ Apr 24, 2017 16:05

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Oodles posted:

At the age 18 my kids are going to hate me, it comes with the territory of being a parent.

Yes, but they'll be justified.

# ¿ Apr 25, 2017 20:23

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Gau posted:

My eleven-year-old daughter now loves regular Catan

Oodles is now only the second cruelest parent in the thread.

# ¿ Apr 26, 2017 11:31

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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gradenko_2000 posted:

https://twitter.com/matttomic/status/859117370455060481

Where does the double down fall on this

# ¿ May 2, 2017 14:32

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Plutonis posted:

Male Circumcision. Yay or nay?

Not a sandwich. Uncircumcised, arguably a sandwich.

# ¿ May 2, 2017 17:44

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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FMguru posted:

The presence of cheese certainly indicates towards that.

Dude, wash your sandwich.

# ¿ May 2, 2017 19:27

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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P.d0t posted:

Tagging forums-poster Error 404 with "True Steake"

I wanted to be true steake

I picture it summoning the platonic form of steak. You don't even eat it, you just bask in its perfectly seared magnificence.

# ¿ May 11, 2017 10:43

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Countblanc posted:

Star Trek

TNG and DS9 and make me want to agree with you, but Voyager, Enterprise, and most of the films make it a tie.

# ¿ May 13, 2017 18:00

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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gradenko_2000 posted:

They merge CHA and WIS into INT, but they still have STR and CON as separate stats?!

Exactly what I thought :v:

# ¿ May 14, 2017 13:32

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Halloween Jack posted:

Oh man, I thought I was the only one beating the "STR and CON should be merged in most old-school games" drum. Thinking about doing it for a game of Silent Legions when I can get around to it.

I've been shaking my fist at this in the 5E thread recently. I wrote up a huge screed a few years ago about why an ability score needs both active and passive/reactive uses, but it got eaten by the archive glitch.

SW:EOTE merges them into Brawn and it is Good.

# ¿ May 14, 2017 16:11

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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DalaranJ posted:

Are these the rumored 'rules of nature'?

Nice

# ¿ May 16, 2017 19:05

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Good thread title

# ¿ May 18, 2017 14:13

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Cease to Hope posted:

whichever. probably DM ettin before making a thread though

Full campaign or will a oneshot do?

# ¿ May 21, 2017 18:52

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Read that as linguinemancer, currently writing up my master of telepennesis

# ¿ May 23, 2017 19:23

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Cassa posted:

So this looks amazing

But how does it play?

I played earlier in the playtest, we ran into some GM issues but the system itself seemed solid. It's a very fail forward system and the GM didn't seem to "get" fail forward. The mechanics for me and the pilot getting into an argument about whose fault it was that we crashed the ship were pretty decent. Definitely going to eyeball that box when it gets an actual price.

# ¿ May 31, 2017 07:48

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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That cube thing from earlier is over 400 bucks :stare:

# ¿ Jun 8, 2017 11:43

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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g0del posted:

Also, the character talents don't exactly seem balanced:
Momentum is the currency used to (among other things) buy extra dice, and is evidently easy to keep filled if the players want to play that way.

Threat is unlimited, you can always take threat if you want. Momentum is limited by circumstance. The threat ones all have more limited focus but the momentum ones have less mechanical availability.

Assuming this was sorted out anyway:

g0del posted:

I haven't read enough of the test version rules to fully explain the problem, but there's a thread on their testing forums where a group of min-maxers managed to completely break the system their first try. Something about being able to buy extra dice and re-rolls in such a way that they could also immediately refill the pool used to buy extra dice/re-rolls, meaning that they could throw max dice at every single task and never failed. The designer was kicking around ideas on ways to prevent it, but I have no idea if any fixes made it to the final version.

Link? I played a whole one sessions so clearly I am qualified to comment on this.

# ¿ Jun 8, 2017 17:27

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Drone posted:

What was your impression?

Splicer posted:

I played earlier in the playtest, we ran into some GM issues but the system itself seemed solid. It's a very fail forward system and the GM didn't seem to "get" fail forward. The mechanics for me and the pilot getting into an argument about whose fault it was that we crashed the ship were pretty decent. Definitely going to eyeball that box when it gets an actual price.

I am no longer eyeballing the box but definitely still eyeballing the regular core book if I think I could scrounge up some players and free time.

# ¿ Jun 8, 2017 17:31

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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One thing is that their momentum dice thing is doing something like EotE/WFRP3 thing except without funny dice (1234 added to our rolls, 56 added an effect but no raw numbers). It worked well as a mechanic but it felt less good with boring regular dice, further cementing my pro-funny dice position.

E: I misremembered, 12 add successes, 34 do nothing, 56 adds effects

Splicer fucked around with this message at 18:01 on Jun 8, 2017

# ¿ Jun 8, 2017 17:38

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Lemniscate Blue posted:

I've been intrigued by the kingdom-builder aspect of Kingmaker since it was an adventure path, and the only way I'd be willing to deal with Pathfinder is if I didn't have to screw with the math and fiddly rules, so I find myself thinking more and more about backing this one. Go figure.

Sure as poo poo ain't going in for $100 though.

A lot of words to say "I'd like to play Reign".

# ¿ Jun 9, 2017 15:04

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Father Wendigo posted:

Elaborate on this, please.

Get me pictures of drider-man!

# ¿ Jun 9, 2017 23:52

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Evil Mastermind posted:

Duh, yes, 20. Sorry.

fake edit: oh poo poo I just realized this is a universal stat modifier chart

It's neither. Look at the 0 - 60 range. Look at it

# ¿ Jun 11, 2017 20:28

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Doodmons posted:

Reign's rules for languages are pretty good, imo. There's explicitly no 'Common Tongue' in that game and languages and translation are meant to play a big part of it. Literacy is a relatively big deal, too.

It helps that there's actual usable mechanics other than "Do you speak <language> y/n"

# ¿ Jun 11, 2017 23:13

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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FMguru posted:

An excerpt from Gary Gygax's FBI file that somone FOIA'd.

The caps and block outs makes GYGAX look like the name of a corporation with a basement full of psychics.

# ¿ Jun 15, 2017 09:04

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 21:45

Splicer: Oct 16, 2006; from hell's heart I cast at thee
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Halloween Jack posted:

A game where you figure out how a guy was killed by trained hyenas and plant monsters and poo poo would probably be fun.

Not quite what you're describing but check out Mutant City Blues.

# ¿ Jun 17, 2017 00:41

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