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Post by ericfromnj on Dec 9, 2017 6:31:52 GMT -8
Tim your opening joke left something to be desired.
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Post by Probie Tim on Dec 9, 2017 8:01:33 GMT -8
Tim your opening joke left something to be desired. And how. It probably would have been better had I gotten the historical figure reference correct. I still hold that a flat-earther saying "the only thing we have to fear is... sphere itself" is funny as hell. Alas. As Primus once said, "They can't all be zingers!" On the show, though, the topic du jour was GM improvision. I was hoping it would get into NPC improvisation, but it didn't go that direction. I have thoughts in that area, though, so I figure I'll bring them up here. We briefly mentioned an empty warehouse that the PCs suddenly took an interest in, so we mentioned putting a security guard there. So how do you, as a GM, RP that security guard who didn't exist in your prep and wasn't even "a thing" until the PCs got the bright idea of checking out the empty warehouse? If you're like me, you don't want all your ad-hoc NPCs to just be... you, wearing different clothes in the PCs minds; you want your NPCs to all be different people... because they are. So here's what I do... but first and foremost, Stu's comment of "don't be afraid to look dumb" is paramount. The first thing I do is come up with a name. If the NPC is going to interact with the PCs, he or she deserves a name. Then I quickly come up with one to three physical descriptions: "tall", "pony tail", for instance. Then I come up with one to three, I guess, attitude descriptions: "gruff", "long winded". If I want the NPC to have a specific accent or something, I'll note that, too. This all happens in the moment an ad-hoc, improvised NPC is needed. It gives me a character sheet, of sorts: John McStorkson: security guard, tall, pony tail, gruff, long-winded, Scottish. From that, it's real easy to RP the NPC. I couple of different ideas that I've heard on past episodes of the show are animal features ("the security guard is like an ape") or actors ("the security guard is like R. Lee Ermy in Full Metal Jacket"). Anyway, that pretty much sums up my thoughts on GM NPC improvisation.
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Post by greatwyrm on Dec 9, 2017 11:05:50 GMT -8
Tim-splaining: (verb): It probably would have been better had I gotten the historical figure reference correct. I still hold that a flat-earther saying "the only thing we have to fear is... sphere itself" is funny as hell. I love you, man.
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Post by akavidar on Dec 9, 2017 18:50:07 GMT -8
I was great to see you on the show again, Tim! (Which one is Tim again?)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2017 23:49:34 GMT -8
On the idea of PbTA where player and GM roll one die each I could actually see that having some mileage. It could allow for some neat effects such as whoever rolled lowest getting to pick the result in a 2-6 or vice versa on a high roll. You could also add some other effects such as unexpected bonuses / penalties depending on who rolls a 1 or a 6.
Would take a lot of work to implement and shifts away from the core PbTA mechanic but I think there is potential there.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2017 0:07:27 GMT -8
What is it with America and alcohol? Bars at university are half the point to go to uni here in the UK. Hell at Oxford and Cambridge each of the individual colleges (halls if you wish) have their own bar just for the 100-300 students living there. Also necking a beer isn't just an Aussie phrase - www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=neck%20a%20beer
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Post by jonas on Dec 11, 2017 2:40:38 GMT -8
Did my ears deceive me? Did you say that there's going to be a Tales from the Loop actual play?
*blissful fanplosion*
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Post by uncommonman on Dec 11, 2017 2:59:55 GMT -8
Did my ears deceive me? Did you say that there's going to be a Tales from the Loop actual play? *blissful fanplosion* It's not Mutant but FINALY the happjackers will see the glory of Swedish RPG's.
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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 Dec 11, 2017 4:58:27 GMT -8
What is it with America and alcohol? Bars at university are half the point to go to uni here in the UK. Hell at Oxford and Cambridge each of the individual colleges (halls if you wish) have their own bar just for the 100-300 students living there. Also necking a beer isn't just an Aussie phrase - www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=neck%20a%20beerI had a colleague who, when he got a job that actually wanted to see his graduation certificate, had to borrow over £2000 to pay his wine cellar bill at his Oxford Collage. Understand - as a student, he’d been able to go in the college’s cellar, and pick any bottle he wanted, ON THE SLATE! And the only “credit control” they had was that the college would not give him his certificate until he’d paid the bill.
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clanhanna
Journeyman Douchebag
The Muffin
Posts: 221
Preferred Game Systems: Storyteller, O.R.E, Mongoose Traveller
Currently Playing: Vampire: The Masquerade, Vampire: The Dark Ages, D&D 5e
Currently Running: Vampire: The Dark Ages
Favorite Species of Monkey: Peanut-buttery Rhesus
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Post by clanhanna on Dec 11, 2017 8:22:40 GMT -8
What is it with America and alcohol? Bars at university are half the point to go to uni here in the UK. Hell at Oxford and Cambridge each of the individual colleges (halls if you wish) have their own bar just for the 100-300 students living there. As evidenced by the 18th and later the 21st Amendments to our Constitution, America has long had a tumultuous social relationship with alcohol. But while many colleges and universities are "dry," that's usually due more to the rules of the city or county they're in, as much as the campus itself. For instance, the University of Southern California, here in Los Angeles, has a bar on campus, appropriately called "Traditions."
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2017 10:05:09 GMT -8
Yeah as a Brit I just find it weird. In the US you can drive, own murder sticks and die for your country years before you're allowed to have a drink despite the fact home-brewing is ridiculously easy.
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Post by Stu Venable on Dec 11, 2017 10:14:21 GMT -8
We definitely have some puritanical tendencies, but then again, pot becomes legal here in 20 days.
And the drinking age depends on the state. Some states have a drinking age lower than 21.
Here's the real kicker: Before 1971, you could die for your country, but you weren't old enough to vote for the a-holes who'd send you off to die.
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HJRP 20-17
Dec 11, 2017 10:57:07 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by uncommonman on Dec 11, 2017 10:57:07 GMT -8
Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers
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Post by OFTHEHILLPEOPLE on Dec 11, 2017 11:00:34 GMT -8
You, uh, realize the message of that book, right?
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HJRP 20-17
Dec 11, 2017 11:12:00 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by uncommonman on Dec 11, 2017 11:12:00 GMT -8
You, uh, realize the message of that book, right? Kids are too spoiled? /s
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