I would not want an inexperienced GM to run IKRPG, and IK really assumes you are using miniatures - and no grid, combat is really close to a direct port from the tabletop game. That said, the short-lived adventure I was in did not use any physical representation of combat at all and it worked out fine.
I'm not really sure about power creep, either, since everything printed since the core book are magazine and web articles (Urban Adventures is just a collection of magazine articles that didn't actually get printed in No Quarter). And most of it is NPC stuff, unless you really want PCs to be Doom Reavers. That said, Kings, Nations, and Gods is due out soon.
There is very little in the way of monsters/bad guy stats to draw from and very, very little of that in the core book. No Quarter/Web supplements have added a lot to that and I think the book after K,N,G is a monster book.
I love the book, though, and recommend it. It has some great ideas and a ton of fluff.
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VanguardBut now the dream is over. And the insect is awake.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
I would not want an inexperienced GM to run IKRPG, and IK really assumes you are using miniatures - and no grid, combat is really close to a direct port from the tabletop game. That said, the short-lived adventure I was in did not use any physical representation of combat at all and it worked out fine.
I'm not really sure about power creep, either, since everything printed since the core book are magazine and web articles (Urban Adventures is just a collection of magazine articles that didn't actually get printed in No Quarter). And most of it is NPC stuff, unless you really want PCs to be Doom Reavers. That said, Kings, Nations, and Gods is due out soon.
There is very little in the way of monsters/bad guy stats to draw from and very, very little of that in the core book. No Quarter/Web supplements have added a lot to that and I think the book after K,N,G is a monster book.
I love the book, though, and recommend it. It has some great ideas and a ton of fluff.
From my very limited look at it, it seems that if you were determined to use a grid, it wouldn't be that hard. Just assume 1 square = 1" and that people in adjacent squares are engaged/engaging. You could keep the templates and just treat each character’s square as its base for the purpose of determining hits, etc.
I’m sure it gets more complex than that, but you could probably get around it.
Currently Playing:
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
From my very limited look at it, it seems that if you were determined to use a grid, it wouldn't be that hard. Just assume 1 square = 1" and that people in adjacent squares are engaged/engaging. You could keep the templates and just treat each character’s square as its base for the purpose of determining hits, etc.
I’m sure it gets more complex than that, but you could probably get around it.
My players can't function without a grid, (and are the kind of folks that would have seen a tape measure and screamed "WARGAME!!! ONOES WE CANT ARRPEE!!!" ( :oops: ) and we did the above almost word-for-word, with the exception that we assumed engaged characters shared a square or squares. While I'll confess we didn't try it without the grid, it did seem to make things move a lot smoother than busting out the measuring tape every time something changed positions.
If my role play is hindered by rolling to play, then I'd prefer the rolls play right, instead of steam-rolling play-night.
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Iron WeaselDillon!You son of a bitch!Registered Userregular
edited August 2013
I admit that I have also become accustomed to the comforting confines of The Grid.
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Currently Playing:
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
Don't let those lines define you, man! Break free of the prison! That's what those so-called perfect rectangles are, creativity jail! Right angles are the epitome of conformity, man!
A grid makes for easier counting if you're using physical aids, but Roll20's ruler feature makes me wonder if it's easier to go gridless if the ruler becomes a simple click-drag execution. The downside is that if you're using a big screen as a digital tabletop, only the active player can measure stuff. With a grid, people who are on the ball can sort out movement, AoE targets, etc. before their next turn.
From my very limited look at it, it seems that if you were determined to use a grid, it wouldn't be that hard. Just assume 1 square = 1" and that people in adjacent squares are engaged/engaging. You could keep the templates and just treat each character’s square as its base for the purpose of determining hits, etc.
I’m sure it gets more complex than that, but you could probably get around it.
It would probably work fine that way. Despite loving the wargame, using those rules for RPG is unusual and I'm skeptical about how well it works. As a DM I'd be concerned about finding the space and terrain / maps for multiple combats each week, where with a grid (or no minis at all) that isn't a big problem. The downside to the grid is that it introduces premeasuring, which is not available RAW. In the wargame that's a big deal, but I don't think it is in an RPG. Most of the other things I can think of that a grid would change are edge case scenarios that don't come up often.
Were I to run it I'd go abstract except for very important (big boss battle) or tricky combats (lots of cover/special terrain/etc where positioning is really important), and do RAW for those.
You're boxing yourself in with all this talk of squares.
True freedom comes only from the hex.
The hex allows me to only smash the faces of 6 adjacent foes at once. A grid allows me 8, which barely sates my need for smashin'.
I need a system that does triangular grids so I can break my foot off in no less than 12 adjacent rear ends.
Sir what you want - no, need - is the 7x7x7x7 hypercube. With this fine shape serving as your basic measuring unit you can shove your foot up more asses than Red Forman.
"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible." - T.E. Lawrence
You pretty much do whatever you want. I've only played it once, but we created a medieval world that was slowly becoming polluted through the use of magic. By the end of the game, after a Mage-King took over a country and slaughtered all of the non-gifted, the entire world was torn asunder by demons and deities.
In Microscope, you build a world/universe, determine its overall arc through time, and drill down and spell out particular points in the timeline, as they interest the players.
That's too much set up time for me as a GM. Player, meh.
Not really, since there is no GM and the game doesn't use any dice. You basically collaboratively build a world/universe/whatever and take turns describing time period, new events, and occasionally homing in and acting out a scene. It took us two hours to do the above.
That's an awfully self-limiting rule. Everything has a time and a place, and in Microscope it sounds like everything has a place in time. If d1000 is a legitimate conceit of the game and things are designed with it in mind, who knows? Maybe it's positively sublime in its execution. I'd need to know more before judging.
Sometimes I have ideas for things.
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ElldrenIs a woman dammitceterum censeoRegistered Userregular
That's an awfully self-limiting rule. Everything has a time and a place, and in Microscope it sounds like everything has a place in time. If d1000 is a legitimate conceit of the game and things are designed with it in mind, who knows? Maybe it's positively sublime in its execution. I'd need to know more before judging.
d1000 is Rifts
Microscope is diceless
fuck gendered marketing
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VanguardBut now the dream is over. And the insect is awake.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
That one session of Microscope is among my favorite gaming experiences ever. It definitely feels much more like a free form board game.
If my players can grok Torchbearer, I plan on using Microscope to create the world we play in for a Burning Wheel campaign.
I also think it would be a great way to create a world that multiple DMs design. It puts some simple restrictions in place and gives everyone a common history to work from.
That sounds really neat. I can't believe I haven't heard of it before. I'll suggest it to the group.
"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible." - T.E. Lawrence
That one session of Microscope is among my favorite gaming experiences ever. It definitely feels much more like a free form board game.
If my players can grok Torchbearer, I plan on using Microscope to create the world we play in for a Burning Wheel campaign.
I also think it would be a great way to create a world that multiple DMs design. It puts some simple restrictions in place and gives everyone a common history to work from.
Yeah, we used Microscope to develop a Traveller setting
the Traveller game never materialized but the Microscope session was still brilliant, if really really hard to do
fuck gendered marketing
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VanguardBut now the dream is over. And the insect is awake.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
That sounds really neat. I can't believe I haven't heard of it before. I'll suggest it to the group.
They're working on a follow up game called Kingdom (successful Kickstarter in the last month of so) where you focus in on one of the Kingdoms made from the Microscope game (or just starting anew).
I highly recommend you check out both.
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VanguardBut now the dream is over. And the insect is awake.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
That one session of Microscope is among my favorite gaming experiences ever. It definitely feels much more like a free form board game.
If my players can grok Torchbearer, I plan on using Microscope to create the world we play in for a Burning Wheel campaign.
I also think it would be a great way to create a world that multiple DMs design. It puts some simple restrictions in place and gives everyone a common history to work from.
Yeah, we used Microscope to develop a Traveller setting
the Traveller game never materialized but the Microscope session was still brilliant, if really really hard to do
It took us about 45 minutes to really feel like we were playing a game.
Once we got the rhythm down though, it just opened up. I felt that the quality of the roleplaying was significantly better than normal for our group.
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ElldrenIs a woman dammitceterum censeoRegistered Userregular
I wonder if theres some like business software that lets you rearrange notes spatially in a shared environment
fuck gendered marketing
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VanguardBut now the dream is over. And the insect is awake.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
I wonder if theres some like business software that lets you rearrange notes spatially in a shared environment
Google Draw, share with the other players, give them modify permission, use text boxes in place of note cards. As long as everyone manages not to alter the text, it'll work. You can even color code the boxes if that's a thing in the game.
Sometimes I have ideas for things.
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VanguardBut now the dream is over. And the insect is awake.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
I wonder if theres some like business software that lets you rearrange notes spatially in a shared environment
Google Draw, share with the other players, give them modify permission, use text boxes in place of note cards. As long as everyone manages not to alter the text, it'll work. You can even color code the boxes if that's a thing in the game.
Holy fuck this is an amazing idea. You are the best.
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I'm not really sure about power creep, either, since everything printed since the core book are magazine and web articles (Urban Adventures is just a collection of magazine articles that didn't actually get printed in No Quarter). And most of it is NPC stuff, unless you really want PCs to be Doom Reavers. That said, Kings, Nations, and Gods is due out soon.
There is very little in the way of monsters/bad guy stats to draw from and very, very little of that in the core book. No Quarter/Web supplements have added a lot to that and I think the book after K,N,G is a monster book.
I love the book, though, and recommend it. It has some great ideas and a ton of fluff.
I didn't mean to come off as a jerk! I thought those were questions and was trying to be helpful.
They were hypothetical questions from the skim reader.
Hugs.
I’m sure it gets more complex than that, but you could probably get around it.
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
A grid makes for easier counting if you're using physical aids, but Roll20's ruler feature makes me wonder if it's easier to go gridless if the ruler becomes a simple click-drag execution. The downside is that if you're using a big screen as a digital tabletop, only the active player can measure stuff. With a grid, people who are on the ball can sort out movement, AoE targets, etc. before their next turn.
True freedom comes only from the hex.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
It would probably work fine that way. Despite loving the wargame, using those rules for RPG is unusual and I'm skeptical about how well it works. As a DM I'd be concerned about finding the space and terrain / maps for multiple combats each week, where with a grid (or no minis at all) that isn't a big problem. The downside to the grid is that it introduces premeasuring, which is not available RAW. In the wargame that's a big deal, but I don't think it is in an RPG. Most of the other things I can think of that a grid would change are edge case scenarios that don't come up often.
Were I to run it I'd go abstract except for very important (big boss battle) or tricky combats (lots of cover/special terrain/etc where positioning is really important), and do RAW for those.
I need a system that does triangular grids so I can break my foot off in no less than 12 adjacent rear ends.
Sir what you want - no, need - is the 7x7x7x7 hypercube. With this fine shape serving as your basic measuring unit you can shove your foot up more asses than Red Forman.
LET'S DO THIS!
LEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYYYYY JEEEENNNKKINS!
With the hypercube, you just stick out your foot and kick 9000 asses in 6 different dimensions simultaneously.
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
Tabletop:13th Age (mm-mmm), D&D 4e
Occasional words about games: my site
Coming Spring of 2014:
Dimensions: The Matrix of Time and Space RPG.
check your local FLGS for your pre-pre-alpha version today!
Microscope bills itself as a fractal roleplaying game with a similar tagline.
You pretty much do whatever you want. I've only played it once, but we created a medieval world that was slowly becoming polluted through the use of magic. By the end of the game, after a Mage-King took over a country and slaughtered all of the non-gifted, the entire world was torn asunder by demons and deities.
In Microscope, you build a world/universe, determine its overall arc through time, and drill down and spell out particular points in the timeline, as they interest the players.
So yeah, sure, armies are a subset of that.
(My Rifts DM has a d1000 in the form of percentile dice. He gets to use it sometimes.)
It really isn't
It's v difficult to do online (spatial arrangements of notes is hard), but in person there is pretty much 0 set up
The one time I played Microscope we created a gothic dubstep space empire controlled by intergalactic wubs
Not really, since there is no GM and the game doesn't use any dice. You basically collaboratively build a world/universe/whatever and take turns describing time period, new events, and occasionally homing in and acting out a scene. It took us two hours to do the above.
The full rulebook is 80 digest-sized pages.
d1000 is Rifts
Microscope is diceless
If my players can grok Torchbearer, I plan on using Microscope to create the world we play in for a Burning Wheel campaign.
I also think it would be a great way to create a world that multiple DMs design. It puts some simple restrictions in place and gives everyone a common history to work from.
Yeah, we used Microscope to develop a Traveller setting
the Traveller game never materialized but the Microscope session was still brilliant, if really really hard to do
They're working on a follow up game called Kingdom (successful Kickstarter in the last month of so) where you focus in on one of the Kingdoms made from the Microscope game (or just starting anew).
I highly recommend you check out both.
It took us about 45 minutes to really feel like we were playing a game.
Once we got the rhythm down though, it just opened up. I felt that the quality of the roleplaying was significantly better than normal for our group.
There has to be.
This is what our finished game looked like.
The rulebook doesn't suggest this, but at the end I narrated the whole of our game from start to finish.
Google Draw, share with the other players, give them modify permission, use text boxes in place of note cards. As long as everyone manages not to alter the text, it'll work. You can even color code the boxes if that's a thing in the game.
Holy fuck this is an amazing idea. You are the best.