Megalosaro
Banned
Twitch chat. Not to mention them constantly gIving huge gifts. Some serious notice me sempai stuff going on
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Twitch chat. Not to mention them constantly gIving huge gifts. Some serious notice me sempai stuff going on
Bear Force One
Banned
So nothing worth worrying about. I thought there was an issue. Why do people read Twitch chat?
The show remains the best Actual Play.
I am enjoying Nerdist's Force Grey and Dan Harmon's DND campaign more than Critical Role these days, Matt Mercer is always great and Critical Role production is insane, but I've been wanting that balance of in-character influence/growth and player impulse/ingenuity and all the good and bads with it. Critical Role has been feeling more and more like another Drama class script as episodes go on and unfortunately the magic has been fading.
Anyone have recommendations for campaigns similar to these? Also any DMing aid videos would also be awesome although Matt Colville's Series has been awesome.
Anyone have recommendations for campaigns similar to these? Also any DMing aid videos would also be awesome although Matt Colville's Series has been awesome.
Megalosaro
Banned
Scene from last night's game. The throne room of the wind echo cave.
The human fighter, king of the north, engaged the black spider, who cast invisibility and fled after taking heavy damage.
The party wizard, Dingo the White, spent the battle dueling Iarno Glassstaff. Iarno had been an on again, off again ally(prisoner) after being captured at Castle Cragmaw. Dingo had been his keeper and torturer and before the battle, Nezznar had convinced him to rejoin him. The duel was close. Dingo was almost brought down. But in the end, Iarno fled. As he was fleeing, Iarno was brought down by a headshot by the Ranger Enalys. The arrow pinned him to the side of the dungeon walls.
Enalys and his wolf companion spent the battle killing spiders and bugbears. The brute strength was draining on him, though, and eventually Enalys was rendered unconcious. As he fells, his wolf came running to his aid. He was running blindy and got hit by an attack of opportunity, rendwring him unconscious. Eventually he died.
Earlier in the dungeon, they had encountered a doppelganger who had taken the form of gundren, their friend. In the battle he turned on them, but retreated when the black spider fled.
Oh man, I never support anything on Kickstarter (because I am a cynical curmudgeon), but this dice set looks amazing.
I'm not a huge fan of either of the color choices currently available, but they have different colors and materials as stretch goals, so maybe they'll come out on top. Their gray Warrior Set dice looks better color wise, but the sculpting isn't as cool for me.
I'm not a huge fan of either of the color choices currently available, but they have different colors and materials as stretch goals, so maybe they'll come out on top. Their gray Warrior Set dice looks better color wise, but the sculpting isn't as cool for me.
Bear Force One
Banned
Pretty but I'd never use them in game. There no way I'd trust.the rolls.
Speaking of amazing looking stuff.
Monte Cook (the Numenera creators) have launched their latest Kickstarter for a new RPG called Invisible Sun and the box looks freakin' insane.
That price tag though, 197 USD.
Monte Cook (the Numenera creators) have launched their latest Kickstarter for a new RPG called Invisible Sun and the box looks freakin' insane.
That price tag though, 197 USD.
Megalosaro
Banned
Looks like a lot of work
Are there any good tools out there for generating custom monster stat blocks for DnD 5th edition? Back when I was playing 4e, the DnD Insider tools were a life saver for my custom campaign since just tell the program to generate the appropriate stats for a minion/monster/boss to go up against X number of Y level players, and then just fill in the details myself. But so far all of the DM tools I've seen for 5e have just been a lookup for pre-existing monsters by their challenge rating.
Hmmm, closest I've seen is this encounter generator. Maybe just set it to one monster and take that stat block to apply to something custom?
JetBlackPanda
Gold Member
Do you guys like Mouse Guard? Im looking for a role playing game that I can play with some family and a few kids age 8+
TonkatsuAddict
Member
Friend of mine is starting up a Pathfinder game that I've rolled up a Gnome Oracle of Flame for. Really looking forward to this, since I've been the Designated DM for D&D-style games for the last ten or so years now. The guy who's running it always kept me on my toes when I ran games for him, so I'm looking forward to what interesting stuff he has planned for this campaign.
Bear Force One
Banned
Really fantastic game.
I am blown away. I wish there was a translated version.
These are some really old quotes (and I hope krypt0nian is still out there reading this) but I just wanted to inform you, and anyone else interested, that Riotminds, the creators of the old classic Swedish RPG Drakar och Demoner are having a Kickstarter for a translated edition called Trudvang Chronicles (the name of the Scandinavian inspired world).
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1256540796/trudvang-chronicles
One of the translated books is the venerated classic Jorgi's Bestarium! Which I've gushed about before.
Another thing they are translating is a classic hallmark of Swedish RPG adventuring Vildhjarta, a adventure that plays out in the titular deep forest where adventurers enter, few come out. It is a lovely adventure that plays out in a setting inspired by the deep, thick forests of northern Sweden where trolls and other terrifying beasts lurks, mysterious places and more.
I am so excited and happy to see that they are spreading Drakar och Demoner out internationally, its been one of my all-time favourite RPGs and one of the best RPG settings. The world is just so absolutely wonderful with its dark and mysterious setting that sets it apart from old school dungeons to crawl, with a focus on thick forests, intelligent and cunning trolls inspired by painting legends like John Bauer and old Nordic folk lores and so much more.
I hope this leads to a reprint of the Swedish copies as well.
Megalosaro
Banned
On saturday, my party members were introduced to damage immunity.
They were fighting a Flame Skull. They deduced that since it was on fire, it was weak against ice. So the party mage cast ray of frost.
Natural 20 on the attack roll.
Oh how excited they looked. All the whooping and hollaring. All the patting on the backs.
The mage rolls 2d8. 6 and 7. "Nice hit, Mage!" They're jumping around.
"A surge of icy cold energy gathers around Dingo. It burst forward in a ray and hits the flame skull dead on. A beautiful hit. But after a moment, you notice there was no effect on it. It's completely unharmed."
They were so sad
They were fighting a Flame Skull. They deduced that since it was on fire, it was weak against ice. So the party mage cast ray of frost.
Natural 20 on the attack roll.
Oh how excited they looked. All the whooping and hollaring. All the patting on the backs.
The mage rolls 2d8. 6 and 7. "Nice hit, Mage!" They're jumping around.
"A surge of icy cold energy gathers around Dingo. It burst forward in a ray and hits the flame skull dead on. A beautiful hit. But after a moment, you notice there was no effect on it. It's completely unharmed."
They were so sad
Cool. A few if my friends have been interested in playing a RPG so I was thinking of trying out CoC since I'm a big fan of Lovecraft. I have a coupon for the hardcover rules book so I may order it and set up a scenario to see how we like it
On saturday, my party members were introduced to damage immunity.
They were fighting a Flame Skull. They deduced that since it was on fire, it was weak against ice. So the party mage cast ray of frost.
Natural 20 on the attack roll.
Oh how excited they looked. All the whooping and hollaring. All the patting on the backs.
The mage rolls 2d8. 6 and 7. "Nice hit, Mage!" They're jumping around.
"A surge of icy cold energy gathers around Dingo. It burst forward in a ray and hits the flame skull dead on. A beautiful hit. But after a moment, you notice there was no effect on it. It's completely unharmed."
They were so sad
Oof, that's brutal! I'd be careful about doing that kind of thing too much because the players might start mistrusting what you do or present to them.
In our game (Dungeon World) one of the things a Paladin can do is declare a holy quest and state the objective. Then his chosen god will grant blessings to him as long as he's on the quest, such as immunity to fire, immunity to spears, or other things like an "unwavering sense of direction". Then the DM chooses some tenants or other practices he must uphold or he loses the boons, like "never suffering a monster to live" or other things that might be troublesome.
After finding out a vampire had taken over the town, his first quest was to "kill the vampire who had taken over the town" and he chose "immunity to undead" as a boon. A little on the nose, but whatever. We agreed to scale that back to "immunity to vampires", but I'll admit, as the DM, it was very tempting for me to circumvent this with a surprise reveal (It's secretly an Ithillid in control!) or something of that sort to "get around" his power. But then I thought, "what the hell, he's just doing something cool with his character, no need to pull one over on them". Even with the vampire unable to directly fight him, we still got some cool things out of the encounter like the vampire throwing minions at the party to fight on his behalf, or offering bargains in an attempt to work his way out of the situation. When the players have some sort of advantage or power that only works in certain situations, I actively try and work those situations in (if it makes sense for the encounter) to let them use those abilities!
Of course there's nothing wrong with an unwelcome surprise every once in a while to keep them on their toes, but I've found too many times and it can backfire. But if you have players who are into those sorts of reveals, then of course hit them with everything you got.
Megalosaro
Banned
I can't vouch for the adventure. I've only skimmed it, so I haven't read it or run it yet. But from what I've seen, it seems to be a step down in terms of production values from Strahd, or even Princes of the Apocalypse and Out of the Abyss. It takes a lot of work to prep, from what I can tell. Too many times it says "Consult Sword Coast Adventurers Guide for more details on this location", so basically if you're going to run this campaign, you're going to need that book too. Which kind of sucks.
It has a lot less artwork and maps than the other campaigns I own, but what stuff is there looks as great as always (two full page spreads look particularly nice).
There IS a pretty nice flow chart that shows the branches of the adventure. That's kind of nice.
It has a lot less artwork and maps than the other campaigns I own, but what stuff is there looks as great as always (two full page spreads look particularly nice).
There IS a pretty nice flow chart that shows the branches of the adventure. That's kind of nice.
Armoured Priest
Member
These are some really old quotes (and I hope krypt0nian is still out there reading this) but I just wanted to inform you, and anyone else interested, that Riotminds, the creators of the old classic Swedish RPG Drakar och Demoner are having a Kickstarter for a translated edition called Trudvang Chronicles (the name of the Scandinavian inspired world).
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1256540796/trudvang-chronicles
One of the translated books is the venerated classic Jorgi's Bestarium! Which I've gushed about before.
Another thing they are translating is a classic hallmark of Swedish RPG adventuring Vildhjarta, a adventure that plays out in the titular deep forest where adventurers enter, few come out. It is a lovely adventure that plays out in a setting inspired by the deep, thick forests of northern Sweden where trolls and other terrifying beasts lurks, mysterious places and more.
I am so excited and happy to see that they are spreading Drakar och Demoner out internationally, its been one of my all-time favourite RPGs and one of the best RPG settings. The world is just so absolutely wonderful with its dark and mysterious setting that sets it apart from old school dungeons to crawl, with a focus on thick forests, intelligent and cunning trolls inspired by painting legends like John Bauer and old Nordic folk lores and so much more.
I hope this leads to a reprint of the Swedish copies as well.
Backed this today. I've always loved picking up and checking new RPG systems, and its been a while since I've been able to do it. I used to do it at GenCon, but I haven't gone since it moved out of Wisconsin.
Also, with the new unlocked easter egg being music for the game...
I'm a sucker for music add ons for kickstarters.
Armoured Priest
Member
You kind of need the base rules as unchained replaces only part of those rules. It also builds upon them.
I ran a COC game a few years ago I liked it, warts and all.
Some of its problems can be resolved with the scenario design. I prefer to run TOC now, as I think it suits my group and the pulp style better, although it has a purist option.
The Haunting:
The Haunting is a perfect first adventure for COC. There are some great handouts for it. COC is all about the props.
Some of its problems can be resolved with the scenario design. I prefer to run TOC now, as I think it suits my group and the pulp style better, although it has a purist option.
The Haunting:
While investigating the house one of the group got possessed and pulled out his handgun and shot another member of the group point blank in the back of the head. Against the odds he survived and they brought him to hospital. They reluctantly returned to the house and found Corbitt in the basement and managed to set the whole place on fire and escape.
The Haunting is a perfect first adventure for COC. There are some great handouts for it. COC is all about the props.
Haha, that's crazy. Not sure when my group will start playing probably in a month or so. This will be my first time running a game.
Also, I want to order the Keeper rulebook. Looks beautiful.
First time running any RPG? If so: don't get bogged down with the rules. Focus more on the storytelling etc. Get to know the scenario, read it a couple of times, but if things go off script or you make a mistake just roll with it. I sometimes I make up a filler encounter to give the players something to do while I flick through my notes to get my bearings when things go pear shaped.
I'm gearing up myself for tonight: 4e DND starting Cairn of the Winter King.
Thanks for the advice. Probably will start with The Haunting. I want to get Doors to Darkness when it comes out.
Armoured Priest
Member
So apparently roll20's soundcloud API had to be shut down. So there's no longer an option for streaming music into roll20 games.
Anybody know of a program or app that a DM could copy music to the cloud (preferably private and without the hassle of soundcloud's DRM), or even stream directly from his PC, and push it out to client players on the player's PCs?
Like a streaming DJ program or something? Preferably inexpensive buy-in.
Anybody know of a program or app that a DM could copy music to the cloud (preferably private and without the hassle of soundcloud's DRM), or even stream directly from his PC, and push it out to client players on the player's PCs?
Like a streaming DJ program or something? Preferably inexpensive buy-in.
Megalosaro
Banned
Amy explantain on why they shut down the api?
Armoured Priest
Member
Soundcloud is in the process of monetizing their service. A lot of people using SC use the free service, so that's a lot of bandwidth with little return (in their eyes). Also, policing music under copyright (similar to youtube, a lot of people post stuff that's under copyright, and they get around Soundcloud's DRM by pitchshifting a couple cents...maybe as much as a semitone. Also speeding up or slowing down the run time of the tracks by 0.5-1%. The vast majority of people don't have perfect pitch and so don't notice (and depending on how good someone's "perfect pitch" is might not be noticed anyway).
So soundcloud forced roll20 to not use the api anymore. You can get more info on the roll20 forums.
FUBAR McDangles
Member
If my wife and I wanted to get into Dungeons and Dragons, I am guessing the Starter Set is really all we need?
Neither of us know anything about it. I have dismissed it since forever thinking it was kind of lame, and she never really even heard of it. But then there were the kids playing it in Stranger Things and it looks like it could be a lot of fun. Something non-electronic that both of us could do together.
I did some brief searches online and saw you can play with two people but should have more. There is a local place that has board game nights every once in a while I think, so I suppose if we need more we could just go join them but I'd like to have a basic grasp on things before something like that.
So what should we do before we try to dig in?
Neither of us know anything about it. I have dismissed it since forever thinking it was kind of lame, and she never really even heard of it. But then there were the kids playing it in Stranger Things and it looks like it could be a lot of fun. Something non-electronic that both of us could do together.
I did some brief searches online and saw you can play with two people but should have more. There is a local place that has board game nights every once in a while I think, so I suppose if we need more we could just go join them but I'd like to have a basic grasp on things before something like that.
So what should we do before we try to dig in?
The starter set is basically a demo, you'd want to get the Player's Handbook too. If you're thinking of *running* a game, then you'd be looking at the Monster Manual and Dungeon Master's guide to boot.
I'd definitely check out a session at the game store.
It's also worth noting that you can very easily start with the free basic rules which gives you four races and four classes (albeit with just one subclass for each, versus the selection you get with the paid book) and otherwise the full rules for actually playing the game.
Remember that for both of you, playing AND dming is a learning experience but learning is also part of the fun, here's a post I gave regarding a guy wanting to learn to DM, yes the normal starter kit is enough to play, gives dice quick rule book, and a starter adventure right off the bat.
First is basically a DND orientation, go ahead and watch.
Second one is a learn to DM playlist.
First is basically a DND orientation, go ahead and watch.
Second one is a learn to DM playlist.
FUBAR McDangles
Member
I think I'd have to play for a while before getting into running a game, but that sounds super interesting as well.
Definitely going to read some more into this to get started, thank you.
Videos seem very helpful and definitely convinced me that this will probably be something I enjoy.
I used to RP on forums back in high school and stuff on theforce.net so this seems to be very similar but addresses the things I didn't like about doing it all online. Mainly, waiting so long for other people and the limitations of only being over text.
I don't go to that game store here very often but I suppose next time I go in I'll ask them how and when they do their game nights and all that.
Thanks for the help guys!
I'm reading up on spooky RPGs to play around Halloween! Currently looking at least running Ten Candles. There's a lot of cool mechanics in there for coming up with story on the fly. Might also try and make Dread happen.
I played "Society" Pathfinder for the first time this past week. It was interesting, but still felt different than DnD, despite being based on its 3.5 rule set.
The cool thing is that I can take this character I started (Warpriest) and play in other society games and progress him. I like the idea of an achievement system, you play and unlock benefits through completing certain tasks through your adventures.
I still think I prefer DnD, but I'll need to play more Pathfinder to really say for certain.
Anyone else play Pathfinder?
The cool thing is that I can take this character I started (Warpriest) and play in other society games and progress him. I like the idea of an achievement system, you play and unlock benefits through completing certain tasks through your adventures.
I still think I prefer DnD, but I'll need to play more Pathfinder to really say for certain.
Anyone else play Pathfinder?
Megalosaro
Banned
There was an interesting discussion at my table last night.
I've felt that the current campaign has been too easy. The party had been able to handle everything pretty well.
But then last night the players were talking and they mentioned they feel like they are skating by the skin of their teeth.
What does this mean
I've felt that the current campaign has been too easy. The party had been able to handle everything pretty well.
But then last night the players were talking and they mentioned they feel like they are skating by the skin of their teeth.
What does this mean
Jest Chillin
Member
Perhaps the style you're aiming for and the style they're expecting are just slightly misaligned.
You can always have a direct talk with them to find out how they feel about the campaign and adjust from there if necessary. If they're feeling pressed something as simple as a light side quest or some non-combat character development could give them a short break to recharge.
Megalosaro
Banned
That is perhaps true. I guess I should be happy they feel challenged. I've worried they were getting too much success and felt too too succussful.
Maybe the difficulty is abut right.
Maybe the difficulty is abut right.
Jest Chillin
Member
Yup. It's a hard role that you're filling as DM but it's a good sign that you took note of their comments and took them as a sign to consider. Balancing difficulty is no easy feat but the fact that they're succeeding while feeling that pressure means you must be doing a pretty good job.
And so, I died a messy death. Fortunately that did save two party members, allowing them to finish a quest of great importance.
I took some three times damage i have health (homebrew system). Hilariously my party wanted to loot me while running away from an explosion, almost dying in the process since it was a reaction roll.
And now, the difficult process of creating a new character. I have some ideas but nothing concrete... usually i'm full of ideas.
What would cyan and brown fit? My newest dice have those colors.
I took some three times damage i have health (homebrew system). Hilariously my party wanted to loot me while running away from an explosion, almost dying in the process since it was a reaction roll.
And now, the difficult process of creating a new character. I have some ideas but nothing concrete... usually i'm full of ideas.
What would cyan and brown fit? My newest dice have those colors.
Polygon did a write up on the upcoming 5e Volo's Guide to Monsters, featuring an interview with Monte and lots of previews.
http://www.polygon.com/features/201...-monsters-monster-manual-beholder-mind-flayer
Also, amazon just now marked it down to 40% off. I had a price alert set for when this happened. Good time to order!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786966017/?tag=neogaf0e-20
/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7301913/Screenshot%202016-10-18%2015.37.45.png)
http://www.polygon.com/features/201...-monsters-monster-manual-beholder-mind-flayer
Also, amazon just now marked it down to 40% off. I had a price alert set for when this happened. Good time to order!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786966017/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Bear Force One
Banned
Excellent news!!! I kinda wanted the limited game store cover but 40% is 40%.
Had a bit of a blitz of roleplaying this weekend, both the Dungeon World ruleset.
Played a bit as a player (well, we made characters and some of the map), which was awesome. I have been DMing for so long it was great to settle in with a cool character concept of my own and see where it goes. Then later in that same day I ran a game for a different group than my usual crew.
It was my first time in years starting a new game from scratch since my other group has stuck with their characters for quite some time. I used a combination of the "Perilous Wilds" Dungeon World supplement for collaborative map-making as well as a few community resources for "running one shot games" (just to help start, we're hoping to continue after session 1) and "things to do in the first session", like questions to ask about their characters and about the world. The result was absolutely fantastic. We have made this great map, details about the world and their races (for example: our elves have retreated from the world and hidden their cities in underwater and underground caverns. Hey, at least it's beating the stereotypes!), some big events/past battles that shaped the PCs' lives for me to draw on later, a bit of political tension between kingdoms, and a rampaging barbarian horde.
This is all with zero prep from me and it just came out of that first session. One of the best parts is since we did it together, a whole bunch of stuff all over the map is directly related to the party. Couldn't be happier with how the whole thing turned out.
Played a bit as a player (well, we made characters and some of the map), which was awesome. I have been DMing for so long it was great to settle in with a cool character concept of my own and see where it goes. Then later in that same day I ran a game for a different group than my usual crew.
It was my first time in years starting a new game from scratch since my other group has stuck with their characters for quite some time. I used a combination of the "Perilous Wilds" Dungeon World supplement for collaborative map-making as well as a few community resources for "running one shot games" (just to help start, we're hoping to continue after session 1) and "things to do in the first session", like questions to ask about their characters and about the world. The result was absolutely fantastic. We have made this great map, details about the world and their races (for example: our elves have retreated from the world and hidden their cities in underwater and underground caverns. Hey, at least it's beating the stereotypes!), some big events/past battles that shaped the PCs' lives for me to draw on later, a bit of political tension between kingdoms, and a rampaging barbarian horde.
This is all with zero prep from me and it just came out of that first session. One of the best parts is since we did it together, a whole bunch of stuff all over the map is directly related to the party. Couldn't be happier with how the whole thing turned out.
Jest Chillin
Member
That sounds awesome!
Noisy Ninj4
Member
After playing the system for the length of a year, I feel confident in saying that GURPS gives you results if you pit in the work. The campaign is a galaxy-spanning space opera with crazy psionicists running around and multidimensional human-AI hybrid abominations toying with mankind's evolution. No system could encompass the magnitude of scale that goes on without breaking down, even though it does require the work of 2 people to make things work smoothly.
We've gotten to the point where all things are about to end. My character has made a wager that the party can uplift a version of humanity that won't destroy itself but remain capable of advancing on its own. If we succeed, humanity gets its freedom and is basically saved from certain doom. The only catch is that the party first has to win a civil war against a usurper of a royal house (think Dune), hijack the jump drive of a ten mile long dreadnought, and send a lone pilot on a suicide mission to kill one of the hybrid AIs before it decides to wipe out the home planets of half the party.
We've gotten to the point where all things are about to end. My character has made a wager that the party can uplift a version of humanity that won't destroy itself but remain capable of advancing on its own. If we succeed, humanity gets its freedom and is basically saved from certain doom. The only catch is that the party first has to win a civil war against a usurper of a royal house (think Dune), hijack the jump drive of a ten mile long dreadnought, and send a lone pilot on a suicide mission to kill one of the hybrid AIs before it decides to wipe out the home planets of half the party.
Megalosaro
Banned
Took a look through Green Ronin's A Song of Fire and Ice rules.
Never have I seen a more complicated ruleset for social encounter. YOU basically run it like you would a combat encounter in dnd.
Pretty trippy stuff
Never have I seen a more complicated ruleset for social encounter. YOU basically run it like you would a combat encounter in dnd.
Pretty trippy stuff
RaySpencer
Member
Ive started playing 4e as a Warlock, which is awesome. But now Im looking for some good Warlock's Curse plastic tokens to use. Anyone have any suggestions for tokens? They can be from any game, as long as they look neat.
Bear Force One
Banned
We just hang multiple color milk.rings.
Picked up the new Adventures in Middle Earth Player's Guide.
Looks good, excited to get it on the table. I always wanted to play The One Ring but many of the supplements are out of print, plus people don't want to purchase a lot of new books and materials.
I hope the publishers find success with Adventures in Middle-Earth, would like to see more crossover properties use the D&D5E ruleset.
Looks good, excited to get it on the table. I always wanted to play The One Ring but many of the supplements are out of print, plus people don't want to purchase a lot of new books and materials.
I hope the publishers find success with Adventures in Middle-Earth, would like to see more crossover properties use the D&D5E ruleset.