Messages

61

Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Dark Sun Campaign

« on: October 10, 2010, 04:23:10 PM »

it hasn't decided yet

there is a test underway

The Water Spirit lives in the artifact? How'd she get to Athas!? If she's anything like an Alien Intelligence or god in Rifts, then she'd have great difficulty since the world is not P.P.E. rich.

62

Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: The RPPR AP podcast site is now up

« on: October 10, 2010, 01:21:41 PM »

Arje: I will use my Catapault Turtle to propel my Dragon Knight at your castle, destroying its flotation ring and thereby causing it to crash into your monsters.

I was going to say that this sounds like a bad episode of Yu Gi Oh, and then I realized that this actually did happen on Yu Gi Oh.

Damn my brother for why I know that.

Don't worry, the Castle of Dark Illusions will only crash once the effect of the Swords of Revealing Light has expired.

63

Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Dark Sun Campaign

« on: October 10, 2010, 12:27:10 PM »

My guess is that either Tom's bug got fed up and ate Aaron's character, or Aaron's character snapped and ate Tom's bug.

Or Jason's halfling ate everyone and is now Fat Halfling, New King of Tyr.

64

RPGs / Re: I Drawed D&D Characturs

« on: October 10, 2010, 11:31:38 AM »

A Half Black Dragon Human Bard /w a Cello (European)

Sir, this is clearly impossible in the Science that is Fantasy Races. Reptiles and mammals can't make woodwind-playing babies.

... Well, an African Dragonborn can, but not a European Dragonborn, that's all I'm saying.

While this character is pretty impossible. A cello is not a woodwind instrument. It's like a really really big violin.

I lack levels in Bard.

65

RPGs / Re: I Drawed D&D Characturs

« on: October 09, 2010, 10:43:40 PM »

A Half Black Dragon Human Bard /w a Cello (European)

Sir, this is clearly impossible in the Science that is Fantasy Races. Reptiles and mammals can't make woodwind-playing babies.

... Well, an African Dragonborn can, but not a European Dragonborn, that's all I'm saying.

66

General Chaos / Re: What Vidja games are you playing?

« on: October 08, 2010, 08:45:19 PM »

I've been told of a game today which has potential to suck up a small part of my life; realmofthemadgod.com It's an 8-bit RPG which is sort of like a 1-shot. Pretty fun, imo.

There was so much pew-pewing going on that I couldn't even see myself. Pretty awesome stuff. I also had to laugh when somebody said on global chat "I'm Level 20. What now?"

Truly the dice-chucker's dilemma.

67

Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: The RPPR AP podcast site is now up

« on: October 08, 2010, 02:37:05 PM »

This might surprise you guys, but Aaron seems to enjoy Transformers.

68

General Chaos / Re: Minecraftian Stories

« on: October 06, 2010, 07:55:48 PM »

I would play this damn game if Java's applet didn't throw stack overflow exceptions on my computer.

69

General Chaos / Re: Cody's got a new website!

« on: October 06, 2010, 07:55:01 PM »

Read about my love for American Gladiators on http://www.popgunchaos.com

I can't say that I'm surprised that you wanted to be just like Malibu. You sound the type. (Like your pugil stick is pink rather than blue.)

70

Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: The RPPR AP podcast site is now up

« on: October 03, 2010, 03:38:11 PM »

The only thing I wish is that the game was about 3 hours longer.

I would say this about most of the one-shots that are showcased. There's only so many hours in the week and there's so many games to play, so it's not reasonable for RPPR to give full treatment to the games they play. I like to think that they're demoing the product and trying to get you, the window-shopping customer, to buy it and try it yourself.

I also think that something like Slender Man is only scary in still form with people making stories about him. Half the shit you saw in "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" wouldn't be remotely scary if played as an RP scenario. It's been mentioned before that something like Slender Man works best when you see him very little and know nothing about him or his motives.

But as Ross mentioned, cinematic monsters don't work that way.

Also... I keep imagining Slender Man without a face, so I have problems imagining him approaching a camera with frustration. He has no features!  

EDIT: Also-also, I just noticed the post about the Little Fears: Night of the Squashed Cat game, which in the synopsis says that it's based on several of the "Scary Stories" stories. I gotta hear this now.

71

RPGs / Re: System/Setting Intimidation

« on: October 01, 2010, 10:12:52 PM »

Totally not a nursery rhyme fairy tale or anything, but do you think anyone has ever made Fiddler on the Roof, gameable?

The father could talk to 'God' and God could say "Kill your daughter. How dare she marry that man." And people can investigate it. And there would be singing!

72

General Chaos / Re: What Vidja games are you playing?

« on: October 01, 2010, 03:18:44 PM »

I don't think anyone has mentioned "Amnesia" yet. It's an interesting game that seems like it'd be right up Ross' alley. You play a character who wakes up in a spooky castle. The game explains that it isn't about winning or losing, but experiencing the game.

You have a sanity meter, but you wouldn't know it if you just started playing like I did. Sanity loss sounds like crunching bugs and it happens when you walk around in pitch black or experience something scary. You regain sanity by basking in light sources (like candles, sunlight, or your lantern with its finite oil supply) or by progressing the story.

And there's a nameless shadow trying to kill you that apparently has the power to smash parts of the castle (blocking your path) and make flesh walls.

It's on Steam right now for PCs and Macs. I haven't gotten very far in it, but it's pretty neat. Come join the fun!

Free Tip: Use Tab to bring up your inventory. Otherwise you won't be able to refill your lantern.

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73

Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Cody Fan Club

« on: September 30, 2010, 09:32:46 AM »

Lets take comic books seriously guys!

Let's take your mom seriously. (Ohhhhh...)

_{^{(That's all I got.)}}

We could talk about Ed Benes and all the cold showers he needs.

74

Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Cody Fan Club

« on: September 29, 2010, 09:18:02 PM »

My understanding of comic books is that the best heroes have the epic qualities that make them fantastic and interesting, but they also have very human qualities that make it possible for the reader to identify with them. It's easy to identify with farmboy Superman despite the fact that he's fucking God in tights. It's not so easy to do so with Wonder Woman, who by definition is hardly human at all... although the Circe-curse-of-transformation thing is supposed to help her feel mortal. Or something.

I would say a "hero" is just a man or woman who makes decisions in the interest of virtues and other things people consider 'good' - love, justice, honor, etc. Villains make decisions out of vice - selfishness being the most popular. "Super" heroes or villains are called such because they can affect huge changes with their decisions, but the types of decisions aren't all that different from their mundane counterparts.

In that sense, I think guys like Lincoln or Ghandi would be Super Heroes and guys like Hitler would be Super Villains, even if they don't wear tights. They aren't called such because "superheroes" refers to a genre nowadays. The word itself doesn't mean what it says.

Analyzing human-like superheroes is viable for the same reasons that people can and should analyze characters out of Shakespeare. People can learn a lot about the human condition by studying fictional characters, because those characters typically reflect the natures of real people.

I personally think a Code with Exceptions, be they one man's code or an entire nation's code, is not desirable but also a necessity. Even in things built on absolutes, like Mathematics, you have to account for edge cases. It's just a question of (1) how many edge cases you have, and (2) can you defend them logically. If you can, then it's okay to have them.

So I have no problem with a Batman or Superman that doesn't kill unless he has to. It's a human thing to do, and there's plenty of drama to be had by testing the limits of what such men are willing to do in (often contrived) circumstances. It makes me think of whether I would do the same thing or not. And I usually come out of the thought process knowing more about myself. Which is good!

Tangentially related: my favorite depiction of what a "real world" of superheroes would be like is the Rising Stars series. Good stuff.

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Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Cody Fan Club

« on: September 29, 2010, 05:17:39 PM »

killing off supervillains as the rule not the exception would cause a lot of problems - we wouldn't have iconic villains like the Joker or Lex Luthor because Superman would eyeball lazer them sooner or later.

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(I'm just going to spam videos in lieu of words from now on. Forever and ever.)