Topics

91

Play by Post / Hair and Glasses

« on: July 26, 2009, 01:54:46 PM »

Well, listened to the Age of Maskes. Finally watched Watchmen on DVD. And I'm a gamer.

None of my RL players want to play Mutants and Masterminds or Watchmen so I'm doing it online.

Lookin' for 1-3 players who would like to play a Watchmen inspired game focusing on street level plots.

Normal Mutants and Masterminds rules since I don't have the Iron Age sourcebook. Not going to put alot of restrictions on powers and gear and such, just asking everyone to keep is reasonably in-line with the Watchmen style heroes.

http://www.rpol.net/game.cgi?gi=37961&date=1248630874

92

RPGs / First time with ShadowRun

« on: July 05, 2009, 01:17:13 AM »

So, I'm going to be getting the chance to play in my first Shadowrun game.

We're playing 3rd edition because that's the version the game master likes best and I just picked up a copy of the core book the other day to get started. The other players are in a similar boat having never played a full game before. Two others have made characters before but not played, the other player and the game master have both played the game several times so they have a leg up on us.

The game is set in Seattle, the year is 2060, and the style is going to begin as an episodic saga (shorter, seperate and distinct storylines).

My character concept is a Troll who specializes in Structure Hit jobs.

Really I'm just looking for any advise for a first time player to try and avoid dying in my first session.

93

Play by Post / Eberron without d20s

« on: June 28, 2009, 04:08:56 PM »

I want to run an Eberron game because I love the setting.

I don't want to deal with the heavy 4E rules and grid focused system in a PbP game.

Would anyone be interested in a Play by Post game, using the Eberron setting for DnD, but played using a lite system (either Risus or Wushu)?

94

RPGs / "Iconic" NPCs

« on: June 20, 2009, 01:03:22 PM »

A thread for personal examples of ironic NPC usage in established settings, as inspired by Episode 33.

Alternativly, this is where you can bitch about your GM throwing big name Mary Sues at you.

95

RPGs / Awesome set ups

« on: June 12, 2009, 04:50:30 PM »

When I start my Eberron game of DnD I'm going to find a way to put this place in it:

http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=160

96

General Chaos / Signs you might be using the Internet too much

« on: June 08, 2009, 11:14:57 AM »

I was crusing the web last night and the thought occured to me: I have nothing to do, I'm not looking for anything, I've checked the same set of websites like three times now. Why am I even using the internet?

So, rather than consult my local addiction counciler I thought I'd make a forum topic about it and maybe think of a few good jokes.

Mine mostly relate to forums but any internet warning sign is welcome. Since this was last night and it's now this morning I am tired and don't remember all of my hilarious, sleep deprived humor so these little ones'll have to start the roll balling.



Your total time logged in has to be measured in weeks.

Your post count uses scientific notation.

97

Play by Post / Dark Heresy Play by Post: House of Dust and Ash

« on: June 02, 2009, 02:35:04 PM »

I'm taking another shot at a play by post now that I've been introduced to RolePlay Online and I have a ready adventure to try out.

I'd like to run a game with RPPR members on the outside forum using this forum as the review and commincations area so we can share the joy with each other and everybody else.

It's a mid-powered adventure, tier five in the game's mechanics, and throws everybody right into the deep end, making it perfect to continue into other stories, assuming we don't have a TPK.

So, it can be played with between three and six players. Once I get three confirmed I'll start the creation process on RPOL and the count down to game time begins.

People can make their own characters if they have access to the books (I can provide a disk with an electronic copy to players who would like one) or I can create a character for the player. The options are equally acceptable to me, though I would like everyone have access to the game rules so that they can be fully aware of their very wide range of options at all times.

Post interest or spew bitter hate here.

98

RPGs / Your Favorite Die

« on: June 02, 2009, 12:23:27 PM »

Gamers and dice have a long, intimate relationship. Some of us are commited to a single set while others like to play the field and some live off of the harems of their friends.

I myself have four seperate dice sets for my DnD games, 3 player sets and 1 DM set which are mine and mine alone, along with the motley collection of generics I offer to others.

There is also a personal connection to shapes and styles. Solid colored dice with some shading appeal to me which is a problem because recently there's been a rash of two color swirled dice in my local shop.

Dispite 8 being my favorite number I dislike d8s. I find them flat and dull.

My favorite die type at the moment is a really sharp edged d20. I love the definite feel they have to their edge, unlike the rounder edged ones that make up my older collection. Nothing makes me more confident in my attack rolls than feeling that bold, firm, triangular edge around the number 20.

99

RPGs / What does you have at the table?

« on: May 28, 2009, 01:55:36 PM »

This last episode reminded me of something I've been meaning to bring up:

What do you have at the table during your games?

With me, different games require different equipment since I'm nearly always the GM. But players bring things or the owner of the table leaves things there and that stuff mixes with your stuff and you end up with this strange geography of stuff in your gaming space.

I think knowing what gamers have at the table with them will tell you alot about them. Like, if they have manuals for games that your not currently playing, they might be bored or disinterested. Did they bring their own dice? What drinks and snacks do they have, if any?

Consider it another entry in our gamer sociology discussions.

So, a typical game of Dungeons and Dragons with my main group has the following:

• Massive battle mat laid out first so everybody doesn't have to move everthing later.
• Players Hand Book and relivent source books.
• Monster manual securely in the hands of the GM and the GM only.
• My big pile of seperate dice I only use when I GM.
• The big blue bag of assorted dice I keep on hand for players who need them to play or who needs to throw down extra dice for a big attack.
• My printed notes and monster modifications, normally tucked into the monster manual.
• The dice piles of players A, B, and Y (when he's there).
• The few dice taken from the big blue bag by players C and D (and any others who might be gaming that day) because even after eight years, Player C has never bought a single die.
• The Player's minitures.
• Box of character minis for NPCs.
• Box of monster minis for NPCs.
• Second box of monster minis.
• Box of wooden pieces used for terrain effects and structures.
• Bowl of whatever snack is being eaten this week.
• Water bottles.
• Ice tea bottles.
• My cell phone, on silent.
• Pencils, paper, character sheets.
• The pile of unsorted, mismatched note cards that pass for Player B's power cards.
• My sheets, printed from the Character Creator listing stats and powers in neat block lettering.
• Player A's 'spell book' with all of her powers, the flavor text, mechanics text, and a chart of attack and damage bonus based on common circumstances and projected out for several levels.
• Player C's seething contempt for all things that I create and whatever paper he happens to be sketching things on at the moment.

100

RPGs / Can they be taught?

« on: May 21, 2009, 01:00:43 PM »

Players, in my singular experience, have a tendancy to stay the way they are when they join a group. They may develope a new understanding of the rules or they might agree to attempt new games but do any of them really change who they are?

My rules lawyer demi-munchkin is the same as he ever was, my old school player hasn't updated more than to take alot of notes, and my slightly disinterested passive gamer is still passive and only slightly less slightly disinterested.

I like to think I've grown as a GM (my rules lawyer says I've changed in a bad way, I am disinclined to believe him) but I don't know if I really have. Perhaps my stories and plots are better, more fully understood, but have I really changed the way I run a game in the last ten years?

Do gamers change?

101

RPGs / Monster Manual 2

« on: May 20, 2009, 11:46:25 AM »

MM2 for Dungeons and Dragons Fourth Edition hit streets yesterday. I'll be grabbing my copy at the game shop after work today.

More interesting is that D&D Game Day is this weekend. Anyone else hitting a shop for the delve?

102

General Chaos / Lessons Learned at RPPR

« on: May 13, 2009, 07:13:38 PM »

So, we all like the show, or we wouldn't be clogging the forums with our random advise/stories, am I right?

But what have we really learned from Ross, Tom, and the freakish Carebear Cousins who form the RPPR cast? Have we actually used anything they've tried to teach us?

I've been trying to run a League of Extraordinary Gentleman game for months with no luck getting players who'll get off their lazy asses and try.

103

RPGs / Hunter the Vigil Discussion Thread

« on: May 13, 2009, 12:36:38 PM »

A thread for discussing Hunter: The Vigil, the New World of Darkness hunter game.

For Old World of Darkness players, Hunter the Vigil is the New World counterpart to Hunter the Reckoning. Vigil Hunters are not inherently supernatural and possess no inborn supernatural powers, rather gaining limited use of special powers through their organizations.

The game is played on three Tiers: alone, compact, and conspiricy, each progressivally larger in scale.

The game's focus is light and shadow. The suggested imagry is a candle in a dark room, providing just enough light to see shadows. This is to represent Hunters having had personal experiences without truly knowing what was responcible.

Hunter can primarily be run as an action game, an investigative game, a horror game, a pulp adventure game, a mystery game, or combinations of the above.



I am currently beginning one Hunter the Vigil game and preparing for a second, using two very different groups of gamers.

104

RPGs / Red Flags of Gaming

« on: May 12, 2009, 06:30:57 PM »

When a player or DM is turning on you, there's usually signs.

If the adventure is spiraling into bullshit land, there where probably indications of that along the way.

Should your group shatter between sessions, maybe you should've seen something going on.

This thread is deticated to the warning signs that spring up to alert you of approaching danger. Some signs are widely known while others are lesser or even unique to an individual group or gamer.

Knowledge of these signs can help you get ahead of danger and prevent disaster, or at least make sure your not at the session when everything explodes.

Important notes:

1) These red flags don't always come before a total and complete melt down of gaming, they might just be a good warning sign that your about to waste time.
2) Not all red flags apply to all groups. Some people will have these flags present but have worked around them to the point that they aren't in real danger of harming the game.

Some examples include:

The environment- No table; unproductive music selection; distractions abound (like shinny objects).

The players- Didn't bring essental supplies; one of them is that guy you hated in high school because he was a dick (and probably hasn't changed); two or more players are involved in romantic relationships with each other.

Or the GM- Is a Grognard; not focused on players and game; is a relative.

105

RPGs / Selective Morality

« on: May 04, 2009, 02:58:43 PM »

This is something that is closely linked with Gamer Logic but I think it deserves it's own section.

Players, and by extension, their characters, do horrible things that normal people would never do. They also form bonds with other characters (usually NPCs) that are very strong and they can refuse to take what you consider to be reasonable actions.

This thread is to explore the mentality of a character (and player) who is fine with killing but will refuse to steal.

This is also to consider examples of straight up bad players who's selective morality is a tool they use to justify their choices.

Examples from RPPR would include:

• Ross's players in Age of Masks being unwilling to steal a library book.
• Jessica's Paladin refusing to save a fellow adventurer.
• Tom's cannibal character in Stray Dogs' treatment of the young boy (not a straight example, as argued by Tom in a later episode).

Exceptions include such moments as:

• Tom's anal rape of Chi Chi in the DBZ game.
• The existance of former president Martin Van Buren.

So, list things that you or other players who know have done that seem like strange morals.