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Post by ironnikki on Feb 15, 2012 8:31:46 GMT -8
This is a pretty interesting topic, and you're right, something that I rarely think about when designing encounters. Anything that I can come up with to spice up what would otherwise be a derivative task is greatly appreciated, and this fits the bill perfectly. Unfortunately, the game that I'm currently running is set in an underwater colony, but for the next game it will definitely be something I take into account!
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Post by ironnikki on Feb 13, 2012 8:32:57 GMT -8
There's a billboard around here with a horrified cucumber and the phrase "Stop Vegetable Abuse!" Makes me laugh every time I see it.
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Post by ironnikki on Feb 13, 2012 7:50:02 GMT -8
This reminds me of a place near the UT campus in Austin called Posse. It was a bar rather than a cafe, and got pretty crazy with the college crowd at night, but they had a wall full of books and games that you could play while enjoying one of their several beers. Good times.
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Post by ironnikki on Feb 13, 2012 7:47:37 GMT -8
My thoughts are with you and your family. Keep your chin up!
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Advice?
Feb 11, 2012 8:44:06 GMT -8
Post by ironnikki on Feb 11, 2012 8:44:06 GMT -8
This critical fumble table is AWESOME. I can't wait to start incorporating this into our games! I know that my players will get a kick out of it. Thanks for sharing, forresst!
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Post by ironnikki on Feb 6, 2012 7:28:10 GMT -8
I've found that music is only particularly helpful for games that have a definite setting/feel and for groups that are interested in immersing themselves in the mood of the game. For example, playing music during a Pathfinder game that I was running didn't seem to help much, since I hadn't bothered to really flesh out the setting in many other ways, and there wasn't really a particular mood that I was going for. It was just a run-of-the-mill fantasy style game. On the other hand, when I was running nWoD for the same group, I dimmed the lights and played a spooky playlist in the background at a low volume (I think that most of the tracks were from Disparition). This really enhanced the mood, and I think that it overall added to the game.
As far as musical selection for a steampunk game, I don't have any suggestions. If I come up with something though, I'll be sure to let you know!
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Post by ironnikki on Feb 4, 2012 10:26:16 GMT -8
I seem to recall that large eyes signify innocence in Japanese culture, or something to that effect.
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Post by ironnikki on Feb 3, 2012 12:40:43 GMT -8
Not entirely safe for work, or anywhere outside of Japan, really.
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Post by ironnikki on Feb 3, 2012 12:31:33 GMT -8
Wait... today is 3 Feb. Did you mean 5 Feb? If so, I'll be sure to tune in!
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Post by ironnikki on Feb 3, 2012 12:28:41 GMT -8
I'll throw my vote in the right with JoeGun and JiB, as far as locations are concerned. I've designed far too many towns that never ended up seeing the light of day.
As far as having a reason to fight in the war, you can totally draw that information from their backstories. Maybe one PC has a family member who was living in one of the conquered areas, and they want to free them again. If another PC is deeply religious, perhaps they've heard a divine voice condemning the actions of your big bad. Nothing will make the PC's want to fight more than personal reasons, so if your players have already created backstories, they've done your work for you!
Re: missions for them to go on- It would be unreasonable for a unit comprised of new recruits to go on important missions right away. Something drastic would probably have to happen to for them to be elevated in a short amount of time. Maybe they go on what's supposed to be a recon mission, and come back with something unexpected, like a magical artifact or important captive. Or perhaps they just happen to be in the right place at the right time, and manage to save their superior's life? Try to think of some way to turn what might be a regular task into something not so regular, and you'll find a great avenue for your PC's to ingratiate themselves in with the higher ups, who might send them on more important mission better tailored to their skills.
Remember, these are only suggestions to give you a jumping off point. In the end, do what works for you and your group. Creating your own world for a campaign takes a lot of work, but it's definitely rewarding! Best of luck!
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Post by ironnikki on Feb 3, 2012 8:21:15 GMT -8
I've played Mage: The Awakening before, and found that I really enjoy it. I've never played Dresden Files, but I've read several of the books, so I have an idea of what you're referring to.
Mechanics-wise, I would imagine it's very similar to Exalted. I've never played Exalted, but I believe that most of WW's games are similar. You have 0-5 dots in skills and attributes, and to make any kind of check, you add your dots together (mostly skill+attribute for non-magical checks,) and roll that many dice. On an 8, 9, or 10 you succeed, and if you roll a 10, you get to roll those again (this is called "10-again".) You then add up all of your successes, and compare that number to the target or the contested roll. In situations where there is nobody contesting the roll, and the task is not particularly difficult, one success is enough to complete the task. Getting five or more over the target number is generally considered an exceptional success, and the effect varies based on what you're doing. If your total dice pool after penalties is reduced to zero or below, you still get to roll one dice, a "chance die," but you only succeed on 10's (10-again still applies.) If you roll a 1 on a chance roll, you get a dramatic failure, and the Storyteller gets to decide what happens >:-] These mechanics are common to all of the nWoD games. When you pick up a supernatural template, such as Mage, things are just added on to this.
(Warning: summarized setting info ahead! Don't continue if you're less interested in this aspect, or you fear the plethora of capitalized words!)
The basic premise of Mage: The Awakening is based on the tale of Atlantis. This lost city was a haven for the Enlightened, but was eventually lost after a group of Mages ascended to the Supernal Realms (where magic comes from.) Sleepers, i.e: normal people, can be Awakened by traveling to one of the Supernal Watchtowers in their dreams and leaving their name upon it's surface, which creates a tie between themselves and the Supernal Realm. From then on, they can practice magic. There's a lot more to it than that, and I won't get into that, but it's really interesting, and is mostly detailed in the core Mage book. Check it out if you're interested.
Mage-specific mechanics are really interesting. Spells are classified into one or more of several Arcana. These are classified by 0-5 dots as well, where a mage with 0 dots in an Arcanum has no control over it, and a mage with 5 dots has complete control in it (and is probably world famous.) So long as a mage has the requisite dots in an arcanum, he or she can do anything they want with it; spells are not limited to what you find in the book, though those are a great place to start. Mages also have a few spells that they're particularly good at casting, called rotes, which are easier to cast. Mages have to be careful when they're slinging spells around though, because casting spells that defy natural laws (termed vulgar magic) can causes Paradoxes, dangerous rips in reality.
Whew. Sorry for all of that! I hope I haven't scared you away yet. There's a lot more to the system and setting than that, but that's a very brief introduction. Mage can be played at any time period, though I always preferred a modern setting. Although mages command great power, they're still human, and are pretty squishy when it comes to other supernatural baddies, so one of the main themes of the game is pride, and knowing when you've gotten over your head. It can make for some very interesting game play.
tl;dr: a condensed list of pros and cons:
Pros
-Expandable to any time period -Base game mechanics are relatively simple and easy to learn -Great for imaginative playing; coming up with interesting solutions is one of my favorite parts -Huge potential for strong roleplaying -Doesn't typically suffer from hours upon hours of combat
Cons
-Mage has several oddly specific rules that will require a book close at hand most of the time -The freedom of the magic system can allow PC's to take advantage of it -Storyteller and players really need to read the book to understand the history -Seriously, like, cover to cover
If anyone has anything to add, please do. I've got relatively limited experience of the game, so I could be off on a few things, or forgotten to add anything. If you've got any other questions, please ask, and I hope this helped!
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Post by ironnikki on Feb 3, 2012 7:36:28 GMT -8
I've never run a game for children before, but I would think that hyvemynd's suggestion sounds pretty spot on. I'm surprised to hear him tout SW, but he makes a good point. It's easy to strip out complicated rules from Savage Worlds, and even easier to tailor it to fit any setting the kids might be interested in.
I believe that there was a Pathfinder module made for kids (something about goblins, I think?) but I've got no experience with it. Pathfinder may be a bit complicated for kids that age anyway, but it might be something to keep in mind if their interest in RPG's is kindled.
On a side note, one of my friends used to work in a daycare, and was trying to find an activity for older kids (5th grade) to do while the younger ones were absorbed in story time/playing outside/smearing paint on the walls. He decided to try to DM a very watered down version of 3.5, being more focused on narratives rather than rules, and surprisingly, the kids LOVED it! Unsurprisingly, their parents weren't so keen on it, and their little gaming spree lasted about a week. I suppose that's only one of the consequences of living in good ol' Texas.
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Advice?
Jan 31, 2012 8:51:17 GMT -8
Post by ironnikki on Jan 31, 2012 8:51:17 GMT -8
After trying the Kindle Fire for a while in game, I've come to a couple conclusions:
1) Why the hell can I not find an app to open, create, and edit RTF's on Android? That's beyond silly to me.
2) I had the same experience as you, shortbus405- I was able to read the PDF's without too many issues, but the software was prohibitively slow. Using the Fire to check things in PDF's just doesn't make sense, because it will take me 5 mins just to get to the right page.
3) Once I converted most of my game files in my Dropbox from RTF->TXT (grumble grumble), I was very pleased to discover that the Fire would be able to serve as a convenient tool after all. I've got a couple files that are relevant to the game, but don't require constant checking (i.e: Locations of vending machines and contents, a list of enemies and pre-made stat blocks, etc.) I can pull these files up quickly, and if necessary, edit them slightly without much fuss.
Luckily, I've found several more uses for the Fire outside of gaming, so it's not just a slab of plastic/glass at this point. It's nice that it has at least some utility at the game table, even if it isn't everything that I had hoped for.
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Post by ironnikki on Jan 31, 2012 8:43:56 GMT -8
I've seen the Irondie dice before. They're pretty cool, and the actual game that they're meant for sounds interesting to boot. I've just realized that there's a retailer near me who sells the dice; perhaps I'll be paying them a visit this weekend once my paycheck goes through.
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Post by ironnikki on Jan 31, 2012 8:38:42 GMT -8
When I play with my group, we don't typically play with minis. I had a small collection of minis so that we could use them in particularly tactical combat situations, but I've moved places of residences more than once a year over the past few years, and somehow, the totally secure, ironclad shoebox that they were stored in managed to disappear (I blame my gerbils, but they don't seem to care.)
The free form style of combat that we use now is nice, because it's definitely faster than using minis. I prefer to let the PC's get away with cool stuff, and it's easy to fudge combat parameters when they're not staring you in the face. I'm starting to realize that it's harder to make really interesting and cool combats without coming up with details ahead of time and sticking to them, though, so it might be time to dust off that mat again...
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