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Messages - malyss

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271
RPGs / Re: A Study in the Logic of Gaming
« on: August 25, 2009, 02:21:39 PM »
Why, is that what English majors do? I don't know any English majors. Well, I suppose I might and they just won't admit it...

They outrank English captains and don't have to admit shit.

Meh.

272
RPGs / Re: A Study in the Logic of Gaming
« on: August 25, 2009, 08:31:25 AM »
New example of gamer logic from the game this week:

Possibly cursed weapon. Can't identify its abilities without actually using it. So, give a street kid a silver coin to swing it around a little.

Can anyone say "alignment shift"?

What if that is actually a step towards good for him...

"Well, Jim, normally you would have just slashed the kid yourself, but hey, you gave him a chance - good on you. You are now no longer make pit fiends look like sweet grandmothers."

273
RPGs / Re: A Study in the Logic of Gaming
« on: August 25, 2009, 08:00:45 AM »
Changing the subject, here's a nice commentary on the logic of a player as pertains to dice. It's written by the Irregular Webcomic guys as a commentary on this Darths and Droids strip.


"One possible superstition about dice, subscribed to by many gamers, is that if a die rolls badly (for some definition of "badly"), then it is obviously "tainted" and cannot be trusted when the chips are really down. There's also the idea that some dice are "hot" or "lucky" and will have a better chance than others of giving you the results you want. If you are lucky enough to possess such a hot die, you must be careful that nobody else ever uses or even touches it, as that will "rub the luck off". Gamers can have many quirks about how they treat their dice.

As pointed out so clearly in this essay on dice superstition, if dice are random, then it doesn't matter if you're superstitious about them. But if they're not... well, you better make sure you do the right thing and treat them properly. No use taking risks now, is there?

Pete, being the highly logical, calculating person he is, rejects all of that as superstitious nonsense. He instead applies the scientific approach. Over the years, he's collected somewhere around a thousand twenty-sided dice. Every so often, he gathers them all together. He sits down at a table and carefully and individually rolls each of the thousand dice, once. Of course, roughly a twentieth of them will roll a one. He takes those fifty-odd dice and rolls them a second time. After about an hour of concentrated dice rolling, he'll end up with around two or three dice that have rolled two ones in a row. He takes those primed dice and places them in special custom-made padded containers where they can't roll around, and carries them to all the games he plays.

Then, when in the most dire circumstances, where a roll of one would be absolutely disastrous, he pulls out the prepared dice. He now has in his hand a die that has rolled two ones in a row. Pete knows the odds of a d20 rolling three ones in a row is a puny one in 8,000. He has effectively pre-rolled the ones out of the die, and can make his crucial roll with confidence. Furthermore, being scientific about it means he knows that it doesn't matter who rolls the die for the third time, so he has no qualms about sharing his primed dice with other players, if that's what it takes to avoid disaster."


Genius. Sheer genius.

274
RPGs / Re: Bad GM habits
« on: August 21, 2009, 09:51:00 AM »
Sentinel, I suggest you listen to the RPPR podcasts if you don’t already do so. Especially the new world campaign.

Ross switches characters without necessarily switching voices and it works well. They have their own personalities, and feel distinct.

He doesn’t go over the top with acting (which might not work for him as it can work for others) but I seldom have any difficulty determining who is speaking. It’s not easy to do, but I’m sure with some practice you will be able to get it.

Some of the best NPC’s I’ve encountered in games I’ve played in were the characters with a few, predictable traits. They are easy to remember and relate to, help with the distinction of who is doing what, allow for some predictability and are effective in their roles. An example would be the one guard in town who is always looking out for the kids – he/she would be predictable in that they will always do what is best for the younger members of the community. A trait they would have is that they are gruff, but always well-meaning. Then there is the letch. A nice lecherous bastard makes a good NPC. Anything that is pretty is fair game to them. Every line they utter has a connotation to it. Their eyes are always following the tail…

Maybe for the guards in your settings you could have one that is always a bit lazier, and everyone around him seems to know it. He walks slower, does a half-assed job of checking the doors, is always texting on his cell-phone when he should be looking around. Then there is that hard ass – the one who kicks peoples feet off the table, checks every door twice and seems to run to everything. If the PC’s watch for even 10 minutes, they can notice these traits.

None of these are complex characters, but fill a role. PC’s will remember someone who is different from the background in some way.

As for names, make a list; keep it on hand and cross names off as you go. Just write the name next to the stat block of the NPC (if you bothered to make one – most of the time I don’t even bother – only a true ass of a pc will do the math on AC if you describe them as wearing some armour or not and how the hell are they to know what the attack bonus should be…)

275
RPGs / Re: What do you want RPPR to check out at Gencon?
« on: August 19, 2009, 09:36:53 AM »
The muzak that you linked to in the other post. Scary.

276
RPGs / Re: pee pee doo doo 4E is a bad game
« on: August 18, 2009, 08:28:43 PM »
Pathfinder goes that route but to a lesser extent.

You can also restrict the players to just the core book or just the paizo stuff.

I am really enjoying the new pathfinder.

277
RPGs / Re: What do you want RPPR to check out at Gencon?
« on: August 18, 2009, 08:25:01 PM »
I just want to point out that I listened to that little cd you used.

You are not a nice man.

Seek help.

278
General Chaos / Re: NEW MOVIES!
« on: August 12, 2009, 08:39:47 PM »
I hate people who say "oh well this is a good popcorn movie where you don't have to think and there are explosions and boobs and shit" ...
If you can't make a movie in that league then fuck you and go home. Your shit is weak and isn't worth the price of a ticket.

I do so like it when you hold back on how you really feel...

279
RPGs / Re: Bad GM habits
« on: August 12, 2009, 08:35:54 PM »
We frequently have scotch and cigar breaks... they aren't scheduled, just whenever seems like the right time. Usually though, we keep role-playing while having them, we just don't bring any dice with us.

280
RPGs / Re: Bad GM habits
« on: August 12, 2009, 08:37:27 AM »
Oh yeah, there will be repercussions. I already have some of them planned.

They were holding a couple of the PC's associates hostage for supporting them, but now they will just have to kill them. It was a relatively benign invasion to this point...

The whole campaign so far has been taking place in the border kingdoms of 3.5 forgotten realms, and this is a little town called Telchyrn (not sure of spelling right now).

Part of the challenge I am running into though is that the PC's are mercenaries... and they are playing them pretty rough. They just won't care that much that the people are suffering. This campaign is heading for a dark conclusion at this point. They know who their main adversary is to this point, and he has been pulling strings to make things happen in this area of the world. From his point, he has tried to fight them, work around them, have them killed, have them arrested, and none of it is working. His next step is to try and buy them. And I have a bad feeling it will work. Which will make them working for the enemy... which turns the campaigns original premise on its arse. Don't you just hate it when your players play their characters too true to their characters' personalities?

As a little note about the names, all I have done is before I start any session, I make a list of 10-15 acceptable names and jot them down on a piece of paper - 7-10 male names, 2-5 female names. I never have to scrounge again. And believe it or not, when all else fails, name them after body parts. Left & Right are my favourite bodyguards; Blackeye is a favourite stooge; Fingers is a classic thief; Skully is a great cook or enforcer; Toes is a runner or sneaky guys; Toothless is a wimp; Knuckles... what an awesome name. Anyway, even silly names can be good and they only don't work if there is no character behind the name. They are somewhat timeless as well - we have always had people nicknamed after body parts. I'm sure even the romans had a "Smiley."

If you want some awesome names, and don't mind borrowing, take a look at any of the Malazan books by Steven Erikson. He has a cast of characters in the back of all of them, and he has some awesome names. Awesome books too - best I have ever read honestly.

281
RPGs / Re: Black Ravens assult the Gray Fangs pics
« on: August 12, 2009, 08:19:52 AM »
Minor side compliment: awesome idea to use Jenga blocks for terrain. I could easily see getting enough cheap jenga blocks to use to outline whole dungeons at a time.

I do that with cheap lego knockoffs

Since I have two young boys, and one large boy (me) I have access to tons of lego blocks - I usually call them "My First Caltrops," but I will have to try using them for a dungeon.

I try to use the tiles or various paizo maps when I can, but sometimes they aren't as convenient as I would like. I can see building a dungeon with my kids in advance and then just transporting the blocks to the table when the time comes.

Great ideas guys, thanks.

282
RPGs / Re: Worst PC death
« on: August 12, 2009, 08:15:56 AM »
It was 3.5 - I was pretty sure that killed you. Maybe it had to do with the particular monster - some monsters that reduce stats cause you to die and rise as undead. All I remember was my character was dead... it was kind of a death knell for the whole campaign since we stopped playing a session or two after that.

283
RPGs / Re: Bad GM habits
« on: August 11, 2009, 10:00:50 AM »
One thing I don't like from one of the best DM's I've played with is his expectation that players have the same knowledge as their characters. When you are playing a high-level character, they should have a certain grasp about things in their world that you being a lowly human just couldn't understand.

Like when you waste a day chasing something that your character would clearly know you can't catch (as a result of your fantastic knowledge check and the fact that it seems to be outpacing you) - this is exactly like the waterpipe.

I like role-playing - but I put points in social skills because they should have an impact on more than just the price of the sword you are bartering for. I feel that there are three proper ways of handly social interactions:
1) You have the player roll, then you tailor the conversation and the responses of the NPC based on their roll. If the players get a high diplomacy roll, and the NPC didn't, then the players should have the upper hand in the discussion and forgiveness should be given when the players slip up in the speech or start to go off-course.
2) You role-play and then give the player a bonus based on how well they did. This is a more advanced method, but still utilizes the system for its intended purpose.
3) You role-play and if you think the players did great, you just leave it at that. But if they didn't do great, you need to give them a roll, because they are playing a character - and the character can have skills the player does not. Even the most socially inept player should be able to have the opportunity to play the suave seducter of women if his character has the right skills (see Gamers 2 - Dorkness Rising and watch the bard).

The other thing that drives me nuts is how the NPC spell casters always have the right spells memorized... even though you surprised them in their lair, and they just got out of the bath, and they are nursing a hangover from the sacrificial after-party, and... you get the point.

For myself though, I have found that I am having a hard time balancing expectations from players some times. In one situation, I had most of the party locked in a jail cell in a stone building. It was up to them to either talk their way out or wait for another PC to bust them out. I explained that this building was made of stone, had a slate roof, and only a very large support beam running across under the roof to hold it up. He decided that the beam would catch fire if he through alchemist's fire at it and the guards would let everyone out. He through the fire in, and sure enough it dripped into the cell where the other PC's were and caught their bed on fire, but since the beam was so thick, it didn't burn. A lot of smoke was created and the guards ran out because they wouldn't just try to free the PC's to save them. The fire went out soon enough and other than being dirty and warm everyone was ok, but the PC who threw the fire wasn't happy with the result. He still thinks it should have worked. I normally will let any decent idea work, and just modify my plans, but I tried to make it clear, even to the point of telling him it wasn't going to catch fire, but he still did it. So this time, he wasn't satisfied with the result.

Another time, they were doing some reconnaissance on an enemy occupation of a town. The PC's that went in are very stealthy, in about the +14 range, and they knew the town better than the occupiers. They were sticking to the roofs of all of the nearby buildings and discovered what building it looked like the enemy commander had taken over to make his own for the duration. This is not a big town, nor is it a rich town. Most of these buildings have poor locks if any. And the windows don't even have any as a rule. Sensing an opportunity, the PC's decided to see if they could get inside. They proceeded to roll nothing under a 15 on the die the entire time. They get in, find the commander sleeping and coup-de-grace him. We are using the pathfinder system, which is basically 3.5, so if you are familliar, you know how easy it is to kill someone in their sleep. Needless to say, I hadn't anticipated them rolling so well, and I don't like to allow basic guards who are 20 feet away at night with no light source (cloudy sky) and at most a perception bonus of +6 to see players when they are tolling over 30. It makes the players feel like their skills don't matter. But this outcome was not one I had anticipated fully. The players were happy (they had to leave behind almost all of the possessions since they wouldn't carry them back out the second story window) as they had just decapitated the enemy, but I was dissatisfied with the result as I hadn't really anticipated them being able to pull it off. It was an excursion that didn't involve the whole party so that is my main problem with it - the battle with the big bad guy was denied to half the players.

284
RPGs / Re: Anecdote Megathread
« on: August 09, 2009, 07:44:15 PM »
This little anecdote is about how sometimes the DM is too good of a story teller...

Our brave band of merry folk, having defeated several challenges that faced us, were feeling quite good about ourselves. We had defeated a couple of sub-bosses and uncovered some of the larger plot (at least we thought we had) and were on our way on the next leg of our adventure.

We were merely travelling from point A to point B at this time, with nothing planned by us in between. The next part of our quest awaited us in a defined place (at least to our characters) and we were promptly heading there by the most direct route - which happened to be a main road between two towns. We started feeling ill about something in the environment, but even in our alerted state, we could detect nothing.

We travelled on several more hours and were getting near dark. This is when most groups of adventures would pull of the road at a safe place and make camp. So we started to look for a good place. We noticed a road heading north into a small valley, and with the sun setting decided this might be a good place. Except when we reached the road, our eerie feellings intensified and we looked up the road to see... mist.

Our nature savvy ranger decided that a good roll would be able to tell us whether this mist was a natural occurrence based on the prevailing wether conditions or something else. He rolled rather well and it was determined that this could not possibly be "normal" mist.

It was getting dark. Our options were limited. But there might be xp down that misty trail...

Or there might also be something more sisnister than xp - the things you have to defeat to earn it.

We had defeated everything thrown at us. We weren't on a serious in-game time crunch. This should be a piece of cake. A no-brainer decision.

And we definitely fit that description.

It was clear from the description that our DM had given us that this was some serious mist.

So we ran away.

From mist.

And the DM took a pile of papers from behind his screen and promptly threw them over his shoulder.

Most PC's at least look at what is out there before making the decision to cut and run... heck, some of them even get into the fights that are over their heads. We need no such lessons - we clearly know when we are outmatched...

285
RPGs / Re: Anecdote Megathread
« on: August 09, 2009, 07:17:15 PM »
Generally my parties run away from anything we can't easily understand...

(see anecdote - "The Mist")

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