Eran Aviram
Initiate Douchebag
I like to play, and playing's what I do
Posts: 3
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Post by Eran Aviram on Nov 26, 2017 4:46:08 GMT -8
Am I doing this right? Long time listener, several time email sender (not this episode, though), breaking all proper forum manners by shilling my own thing as my first post here, but it's just a perfect match to the subject of setting a scene. I think I hit some things that complement what was said in the episode, by focusing on the way you begin a scene. Also, magic is not a GM crutch; the best solution for the "I can't imagine a way to tell it"-ism, is to read/watch some non-fiction historical stuff, there are things that happened in our world that can blow a freaking mind. Find something that matches the sort of plot you're looking for, and use it as-is.
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Post by stork on Nov 26, 2017 7:48:12 GMT -8
Very nice article, and now Im going to have to read your comic!
By the way, somewhere on here, I think there is a link to a bunch of Scooby Doo backgrounds. If not, Ill see if I can dig it up. Talk about setting a mood!
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Post by stork on Nov 26, 2017 7:52:49 GMT -8
Though not the site I remember, here are 50 Scooby Doo background plates.
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Post by Linus on Nov 26, 2017 9:39:38 GMT -8
Kippis! to stork for nailing the finno-ugric linguistic roots. It's a deep cut, even for Nordic listeners.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2017 0:04:18 GMT -8
Eran Aviram - Since I won't be able to make Dragonmeet to say this in person next week - your comics are amazing and I'm loving how the Crystal Heart setting is developing. Looking forward to a setting book for it.
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Eran Aviram
Initiate Douchebag
I like to play, and playing's what I do
Posts: 3
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Post by Eran Aviram on Nov 27, 2017 6:29:40 GMT -8
Thanks Stork!
And thanks whodo! We started a new thing where we create a piece of RPG every month, to force ourselves to eventually create that setting book, piece by piece. And maybe we'll see you at UK Games Expo?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2017 13:03:59 GMT -8
Will hopefully make Games Expo but then again I've said that the past few years running. Gutted to be missing Dragonmeet but just wasn't feasible following a move earlier this year.
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tomes
Supporter
Hello madness
Posts: 1,438
Currently Running: Dungeon World, hippie games, Fallout Shelter RPG hack
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Post by tomes on Nov 27, 2017 15:33:18 GMT -8
Eran Aviram - Since I won't be able to make Dragonmeet to say this in person next week - your comics are amazing and I'm loving how the Crystal Heart setting is developing. Looking forward to a setting book for it. Oh, ditto by the way. I recently had a friend (nay... my actual boss at work), ask me about both Fate and Star Wars RPGs because he knows I'm a little more into the hobby then he is, and instead of just blabbing, I could point at the links for the SW dice and Fate dice comics. He was ecstatic.
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Post by chronovore on Nov 27, 2017 15:57:04 GMT -8
I once over-described they players' rainy trek through the woods so thoroughly that when we broke for a snack run, the players were stunned to find it hadn't been raining IRL outside. They were pretty tired of the description though, and made me promise to not run another one like that. ;-)
Reminded me of pressing Stu's arm, looking for the Fast-Forward button, which I'd forgotten about doing until finding it in this podcast.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2017 17:31:46 GMT -8
I once over-described they players' rainy trek through the woods so thoroughly that when we broke for a snack run, the players were stunned to find it hadn't been raining IRL outside. They were pretty tired of the description though, and made me promise to not run another one like that. ;-) Reminded me of pressing Stu's arm, looking for the Fast-Forward button, which I'd forgotten about doing until finding it in this podcast. I've had two weather-intrudes-on-gaming moments that I can't live down decades later, both in L5R. Both times, it had been raining in real life. First one, party was beating feet to escape town - they'd grown accustomed to one party member showing up in early hours, 'Guys, we have to go'. They'd been fleeing in a driving storm, and I said "After hours of hard riding, you have finally reached the imposing... BEIDEN PASS!" At which point, the loudest, most direct thunder in real life I think I have ever heard. Second time, same campaign, months later, basically they get to the villain right as he cracks open a Black Scroll. I describe the power rippling through him, the black energy, and begin describing him as he, and I quote, "... falls willingly under the sway of FU LENG!" Cue power going out in the apartment complex, right on the dot. Freaked me the hell out. Of course, the players still loved it/love it
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Post by chronovore on Nov 27, 2017 22:59:29 GMT -8
I once over-described they players' rainy trek through the woods so thoroughly that when we broke for a snack run, the players were stunned to find it hadn't been raining IRL outside. They were pretty tired of the description though, and made me promise to not run another one like that. ;-) Reminded me of pressing Stu's arm, looking for the Fast-Forward button, which I'd forgotten about doing until finding it in this podcast. I've had two weather-intrudes-on-gaming moments that I can't live down decades later, both in L5R. Both times, it had been raining in real life. First one, party was beating feet to escape town - they'd grown accustomed to one party member showing up in early hours, 'Guys, we have to go'. They'd been fleeing in a driving storm, and I said "After hours of hard riding, you have finally reached the imposing... BEIDEN PASS!" At which point, the loudest, most direct thunder in real life I think I have ever heard. Second time, same campaign, months later, basically they get to the villain right as he cracks open a Black Scroll. I describe the power rippling through him, the black energy, and begin describing him as he, and I quote, "... falls willingly under the sway of FU LENG!" Cue power going out in the apartment complex, right on the dot. Freaked me the hell out. Of course, the players still loved it/love it
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fredrix
Master Douchebag
Posts: 2,142
Preferred Game Systems: Fate, L5R, Pendragon, Gumshoe, Feng Shui
Currently Playing: Pendragon, Song of Ice and Fire, L5R, Feng Shui, Traveller
Currently Running: Fate, Coriolis, Nights Black Agents
Favorite Species of Monkey: 1970's NTV, dubbed by the BBC (though The Water Margin beats it)
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Post by fredrix on Nov 28, 2017 0:48:14 GMT -8
Will hopefully make Games Expo but then again I've said that the past few years running. Gutted to be missing Dragonmeet but just wasn't feasible following a move earlier this year. Sorry I won't see you there whodo.
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Post by chronovore on Nov 28, 2017 0:49:03 GMT -8
Is Magic a Crutch?
Short answer: Yes.
TL;DR answer: If the core mechanic of a game involves leveling-up, that implies an escalation, and continuous escalation is more easily managed without a real-world driven power cap.
Long answer: No, why do you ask? And what is WRONG with you?
There's a bunch of references from the hosts about different media and what about the Fellowship of the Ring and Seven Samurai — but not everyone who plays roleplaying games is bringing Toshiro Mifune-like acting and character depth, nor are GMs even really encouraged to bring LOTR-style narrative arc to bear, lest they steal player agency. We douchebags have been fond of telling those GMs to write their own book, and let the players play the damned game.
And I mean this as a sincere compliment, I don't really care who is undermining Pornvale or seeking control of The Mote of Sin, because I am tuning-in to listen to the fun and dramatic interactions between the coven of bloodsuckers! I enjoy how much Stu sits back and lets the players Do Their Thing. And no-one is just sitting there, lethargically. That's rare! Characters gaining new abilities has featured in the game, but has probably been less than 5% of what drives the players.
The typical group of players has maybe half the members who have a different goal than improvised, collaborative theater. Some of them want to roll-to-hit, cast their big spell, and get their Feats off cleverly; they're happy at the end of the day. Those players tend to want to get the next level, choose their Spells and Feats. They also tend to want more equipment or better items. They want to ascend to the next level of power, and are looking forward to bigger-and-badder Big Bads.
If there's only a base set of mundane items, it seems to me that when the best rifle and body armor available at that tech level are acquired, those players will be bored.
This assumes that combat is the modus operandi of the game, so maybe if it was Ikebana: The Flower Arranging RPG, access to the "best" items would be determined by season, location, and cultural appropriateness. Maybe if we're dealing with perishables as the primary source of drama in the game, things are different?
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Post by OFTHEHILLPEOPLE on Nov 28, 2017 11:16:11 GMT -8
Stu is talking about the Adepta Sororitas or "The Sisters of Battle". They're fun in the RTS game but apparently they're one of the factions that just gets looked over when rules updates are happening.
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Post by joecrak on Nov 29, 2017 4:28:53 GMT -8
I gots to say. The Stu, Stork and the rest gave some advice during the "players dictate the results" discussion that just made me groan and roll my eyes.
It was even more frustrating because in so many episodes past y'all say the opposite sort of thing.
The story of the game is not the gms story! Y'all said this so much, and it seems every so often you start saying the opposite, and it's a might be confusing.
If you ask the players what happens when they crit hit that dude and the player describes a bunch of tanks blowing up. Let them blow up! That clue you thought needed to be in a tank, does not need to be in a tank! Change the story with your players!
Y'all know This! Y'all have said This! Come on! Remember your words!
Also, to the gurps sale. Not knowing what types of games the question asker normally plays, I wouldn't recommend buying a bunch of books with no prior experience with them. But this is well past the sale period, so probably not useful.
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