and the name of the thread is [POD CATS]

Grey Ghost

Straightzi wrote: »

admanb wrote: »

Straightzi wrote: »

admanb wrote: »

Straightzi wrote: »

What are your overall thoughts on The Sprawl? As a system that doesn't quite click for me (despite pretty much every indicator that it should click for me), I'm always interested in hearing how other people feel about it.

I really like The Sprawl for one-shots and short campaigns, but I would have a tough time running a full campaign for it. It has a very restrictive structure that works well for the genre it's emulating but allows very little flexibility. It also has a very disposable approach towards PCs, which again works for the theme but is rough in the context of a PbtA RPG.

Yeah, this covers a lot of my feelings as well. My biggest complaint is that it doesn't feel punk enough, which is a direct result of its restrictive structure. I can understand why that structure is in place, but I can't help but feel that any character I tried to create for the game would lash out at the structure of the game as much as they were lashing out at the fictional structures in the game itself, which... doesn't make for a good character, essentially.

To me it's the perfect emulation of first wave Gibson Sprawl/Bridge trilogy cyberpunk, in which the protagonists are largely people who suddenly found themselves in a terrible situation and are just doing what they can to avoid dying.

Yeah, but that only works for me for like, one or two stories. Which... I think is some of where you're coming from too, if you prefer it for one-shot sort of things. But at a certain point, the character who is constantly hustling for a new job standing a razor's edge away from oblivion just stops feeling fun or interesting to me. It isn't necessarily an unrealistic portrayal of people - that sort of person absolutely exists - but it isn't really what I want out of a game. And The Sprawl really feels like it locks me into that hustle with its gameplay cycle.

I don't recall that we've ever talked about RPG stuff, so I'm curious what kind of characters you find attractive

Quetzi

Grey Ghost wrote: »

Straightzi wrote: »

admanb wrote: »

Straightzi wrote: »

admanb wrote: »

Straightzi wrote: »

What are your overall thoughts on The Sprawl? As a system that doesn't quite click for me (despite pretty much every indicator that it should click for me), I'm always interested in hearing how other people feel about it.

I really like The Sprawl for one-shots and short campaigns, but I would have a tough time running a full campaign for it. It has a very restrictive structure that works well for the genre it's emulating but allows very little flexibility. It also has a very disposable approach towards PCs, which again works for the theme but is rough in the context of a PbtA RPG.

Yeah, this covers a lot of my feelings as well. My biggest complaint is that it doesn't feel punk enough, which is a direct result of its restrictive structure. I can understand why that structure is in place, but I can't help but feel that any character I tried to create for the game would lash out at the structure of the game as much as they were lashing out at the fictional structures in the game itself, which... doesn't make for a good character, essentially.

To me it's the perfect emulation of first wave Gibson Sprawl/Bridge trilogy cyberpunk, in which the protagonists are largely people who suddenly found themselves in a terrible situation and are just doing what they can to avoid dying.

Yeah, but that only works for me for like, one or two stories. Which... I think is some of where you're coming from too, if you prefer it for one-shot sort of things. But at a certain point, the character who is constantly hustling for a new job standing a razor's edge away from oblivion just stops feeling fun or interesting to me. It isn't necessarily an unrealistic portrayal of people - that sort of person absolutely exists - but it isn't really what I want out of a game. And The Sprawl really feels like it locks me into that hustle with its gameplay cycle.

I don't recall that we've ever talked about RPG stuff, so I'm curious what kind of characters you find attractive

Variations on Odysseus, essentially.

It's actually a way more complicated answer than that, but I think that sums it up pretty dang well.

Inquisitor

Grey Ghost wrote: »

Straightzi wrote: »

admanb wrote: »

Straightzi wrote: »

admanb wrote: »

Straightzi wrote: »

What are your overall thoughts on The Sprawl? As a system that doesn't quite click for me (despite pretty much every indicator that it should click for me), I'm always interested in hearing how other people feel about it.

I really like The Sprawl for one-shots and short campaigns, but I would have a tough time running a full campaign for it. It has a very restrictive structure that works well for the genre it's emulating but allows very little flexibility. It also has a very disposable approach towards PCs, which again works for the theme but is rough in the context of a PbtA RPG.

Yeah, this covers a lot of my feelings as well. My biggest complaint is that it doesn't feel punk enough, which is a direct result of its restrictive structure. I can understand why that structure is in place, but I can't help but feel that any character I tried to create for the game would lash out at the structure of the game as much as they were lashing out at the fictional structures in the game itself, which... doesn't make for a good character, essentially.

To me it's the perfect emulation of first wave Gibson Sprawl/Bridge trilogy cyberpunk, in which the protagonists are largely people who suddenly found themselves in a terrible situation and are just doing what they can to avoid dying.

Yeah, but that only works for me for like, one or two stories. Which... I think is some of where you're coming from too, if you prefer it for one-shot sort of things. But at a certain point, the character who is constantly hustling for a new job standing a razor's edge away from oblivion just stops feeling fun or interesting to me. It isn't necessarily an unrealistic portrayal of people - that sort of person absolutely exists - but it isn't really what I want out of a game. And The Sprawl really feels like it locks me into that hustle with its gameplay cycle.

I don't recall that we've ever talked about RPG stuff, so I'm curious what kind of characters you find attractive

Sexy ones.

Inquisitor

Not that the question was even addressed at me the characters I like to play are the ones that I think best interface with the themes and mechanics of the setting. I am not a fan of the “oh
I’m a dwarf barbarian but I hate beer and love elves because of backstory” type of character, I don’t like playing exceptions. I like playing everymen.

For example in my l5r game everyone made “samurai but I actually like peasants” or “samurai but I’m naive and positive” and I made a samurai ass samurai who says fuck anyone that tries to break the social order, knows the ins and outs of the social order, knows when to follow and when to break those rules, how honor is a shield and how honor is a trap, etc.

Moriveth

If I played D&D or something again I'm actually not sure what kinda character I would play

I've only ever really played one character, who was a Bernard Black inspired Warlock in D&D 4E. But that was years ago.

admanb

Straightzi wrote: »

admanb wrote: »

Straightzi wrote: »

admanb wrote: »

Straightzi wrote: »

What are your overall thoughts on The Sprawl? As a system that doesn't quite click for me (despite pretty much every indicator that it should click for me), I'm always interested in hearing how other people feel about it.

I really like The Sprawl for one-shots and short campaigns, but I would have a tough time running a full campaign for it. It has a very restrictive structure that works well for the genre it's emulating but allows very little flexibility. It also has a very disposable approach towards PCs, which again works for the theme but is rough in the context of a PbtA RPG.

Yeah, this covers a lot of my feelings as well. My biggest complaint is that it doesn't feel punk enough, which is a direct result of its restrictive structure. I can understand why that structure is in place, but I can't help but feel that any character I tried to create for the game would lash out at the structure of the game as much as they were lashing out at the fictional structures in the game itself, which... doesn't make for a good character, essentially.

To me it's the perfect emulation of first wave Gibson Sprawl/Bridge trilogy cyberpunk, in which the protagonists are largely people who suddenly found themselves in a terrible situation and are just doing what they can to avoid dying.

Yeah, but that only works for me for like, one or two stories. Which... I think is some of where you're coming from too, if you prefer it for one-shot sort of things. But at a certain point, the character who is constantly hustling for a new job standing a razor's edge away from oblivion just stops feeling fun or interesting to me. It isn't necessarily an unrealistic portrayal of people - that sort of person absolutely exists - but it isn't really what I want out of a game. And The Sprawl really feels like it locks me into that hustle with its gameplay cycle.

Absolutely.

I'm sure there's a Blades in the Dark hack in the pipeline that implements a more flexible style of classic-ass cyberpunk game, which is probably where I'd go for that kind of campaign. Blades is sooo flexible and sooo suitable to long-term games.

Ms Dapper

I'm rather sad cause I played a character in a one off D&D game and fell in love with them and now have nowhere to play them.

OmnipotentBagel

Ms Dapper wrote: »

I'm rather sad cause I played a character in a one off D&D game and fell in love with them and now have nowhere to play them.

I have a few of these.

Ms Dapper

OmnipotentBagel wrote: »

Ms Dapper wrote: »

I'm rather sad cause I played a character in a one off D&D game and fell in love with them and now have nowhere to play them.

I have a few of these.

They're a cool bird person who drinks a lot, is mute and kicks people's asses with a drunken fist style.

Also a member of fantasy anti-fa.

Their name is Clock

I needed anime to post.

now i have to check, is their name Clock, or is their name (bird imitating the sound of a clock)

Ms Dapper

It is the sound of a bird imitating the sound of a clock

The party had to just come up with a name for them.

I needed anime to post.

yesssss

cooljammer00

Over on G+T, someone wrote a big story involving forumers and some sort of weird Roman bunny god apocalypse that ended with me basically enslaving humanity for our leporine overlords before being sacrificed (as all humans were)

A little while later, this person wrote a different story about a crew of people stuck in a spaceship in the future, or something.

I had the silly idea to make both characters essentially the same guy, or maybe reincarnation of the same guy.

Anyway, I finally listened to the Beastcast Holiday RPG episode and while I thought it was amusing enough, I sorta felt like something was missing. There were dicerolls and whatnot and it wasn't just "X happens because it's a good story moment" but it still felt kinda abstract. I am under the impression Friends at the Table is even looser than this?

Bluedude152

OmnipotentBagel wrote: »

Ms Dapper wrote: »

I'm rather sad cause I played a character in a one off D&D game and fell in love with them and now have nowhere to play them.

I have a few of these.

RIP my gunslinging frog

Reynolds

Look, if you all need somewhere to RP your fursonas, I can recommend many places.