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Scorpions and Shujenga: Tabletop Games Folded 1000 Times

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Posts

  • QuidQuid Definitely not a banana Registered User regular
    Anyone have experience with a D&D evil character who was more like It's Always Sunny evil rather than Voldemort evil? Feel like between the piracy and stealing I can't really justify Gideon being neutral, but I don't plan on murdering babies for any reason either.

  • BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User regular
    The alignment grid is trash, throw it in the garbage can.

    BahamutZERO.gif
  • MrMonroeMrMonroe passed out on the floor nowRegistered User regular
    Quid wrote: »
    I am excited for this week's game. I get to introduce Gideon Yaboi who is totally just a rogue and not at all a warlock with a rapier possessed by a demon please stop asking questions.
    Quid wrote: »
    Anyone have experience with a D&D evil character who was more like It's Always Sunny evil rather than Voldemort evil? Feel like between the piracy and stealing I can't really justify Gideon being neutral, but I don't plan on murdering babies for any reason either.

    Ok I'm seeing someone who arrives late to whatever bar/party he's headed to of an evening, as coked up as possible, and loudly announces "IT'S YABOI" to everyone in attendance's collective embarrassment.

    Am I... getting warmer here?

  • QuidQuid Definitely not a banana Registered User regular
    The alignment grid is trash, throw it in the garbage can.

    I don't plan on following it religiously or anything but the DM would appreciate it since I'm joining their group late in the game.
    MrMonroe wrote: »
    Quid wrote: »
    I am excited for this week's game. I get to introduce Gideon Yaboi who is totally just a rogue and not at all a warlock with a rapier possessed by a demon please stop asking questions.
    Quid wrote: »
    Anyone have experience with a D&D evil character who was more like It's Always Sunny evil rather than Voldemort evil? Feel like between the piracy and stealing I can't really justify Gideon being neutral, but I don't plan on murdering babies for any reason either.

    Ok I'm seeing someone who arrives late to whatever bar/party he's headed to of an evening, as coked up as possible, and loudly announces "IT'S YABOI" to everyone in attendance's collective embarrassment.

    Am I... getting warmer here?

    En fuego

  • DepressperadoDepressperado I just wanted to see you laughing in the pizza rainRegistered User regular
    Chaotic Neutral

    that way you can do basically anything and it's not out of character

    "I just felt like it."

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    I’ve lost my nice drawing but in order to appease both the old school gridders and my sane friends I proposed that the alignment thing is more a dart board, with mortals edging more towards the centre (neutral) while only things like angels and devils hit the absolute edges.

    An evil bandit is not an evil lich.

  • StraightziStraightzi Here we may reign secure, and in my choice, To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered User regular
    Quid wrote: »
    Anyone have experience with a D&D evil character who was more like It's Always Sunny evil rather than Voldemort evil? Feel like between the piracy and stealing I can't really justify Gideon being neutral, but I don't plan on murdering babies for any reason either.

    Plenty of people play weak good, I don't see any problem with playing weak evil.

    I think part of it becomes a thing for the DM, honestly. If you know one of your players is playing that sort of evil character, make sure they're not the only evil person in the world. Provide non-antagonist NPCs who are also ultimately evil people. Have evil people who either don't have their villainous sights set too high or don't have the means of really achieving the sort of evil actions that they could if they were born into a position of power.

    And yeah, if you're worried about the other players being weird about it, just don't write it on your character sheet (assuming they can see your sheet), or talk to your DM about having a fake alignment listed for the other players. Obviously that goes out the window if someone does evil detection stuff in game, I'm not saying like, cheat your way around it, just... discourage metagaming.

  • QuidQuid Definitely not a banana Registered User regular
    edited November 2019
    They'll be able to see my sheet. I hadn't thought through him hiding his magic until we did a one shot last week, so everyone already knows OOC.

    I'm going to cross a line through warlock and write "100% Rogue" above it.

    Quid on
  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    Quid wrote: »
    The alignment grid is trash, throw it in the garbage can.

    I don't plan on following it religiously or anything but the DM would appreciate it since I'm joining their group late in the game.

    Alignment is just all over the place because people can't help mapping their own behavior to it and a whole lot of folks shudder at the results. Because of that I'd try and talk to the GM and have them pick one and tell ya why they think that. If those reasons feel in line with the character then go with it, otherwise kibitz until you're on the same page character-wise.

    I tend to push characters into alignments towards the evil end. A system where you really have to actively try and be good. You don't fall into by accident. So I'd probably slap NE on Gideon. I could easily see an other GM putting them somewhere in the Neutral alignment band though.

    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
  • FencingsaxFencingsax It is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understanding GNU Terry PratchettRegistered User regular
    This character will be the dirtbag friend everyone has.

  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    The thing about alignments is that there are multiple different interpretations of each one, with no hard rules, so in many many cases you can make arguments that a certain action obviously adheres to this desired alignment over here, because of these very sensible and defensible reasons.

    Hackmaster 4th Edition - the game that's a fairly coherent game on its own but is also a parody of D&D 1st Edition - has the knight errant class, which is similar to the old-school paladin, complete with the alignment restriction, but they will not violate their alignment restriction as long as they can justify why their action fits with the alignment. "Yes, I did behead that lonely traveler on the road as soon as I saw him, without giving him a chance to speak, BUT it's clear that only thieves and bandits are out on the roads at this hour of the night; if I didn't kill him, he might have gone on to escape and rob some poor innocent. Striking first is tactically advantageous, so killing him before he could speak means I protected countless travelers on the road; the greatest good! Oh, and taking his clothes to sell for a few coppers in the next town is only sensible, it avoids waste and helps to finance my righteous crusade in the name of the weak and defenseless!"

  • DirtyboyDirtyboy Registered User regular
    Not a game I ever expected to become a board game.

  • QuidQuid Definitely not a banana Registered User regular
    I think Imma go with chaotic neutral. Selfish but not, like, starve a town for gold selfish.

  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    Dirtyboy wrote: »
    Not a game I ever expected to become a board game.


    Must be a big game board.

  • TallahasseerielTallahasseeriel Registered User regular
    Just make it a dexterity game.

    Flick little disks into stand up enemy soldiers

  • Albino BunnyAlbino Bunny Jackie Registered User regular
    Finally finished the Alien one shot.

    I don't really want to say exactly what happened at the end due to Big Spoilers of something I think ya'll should look at but:

    We started with 14 PC/NPCs and finished with seven.

    The alien alone got like, three or so of those.

    I had the biggest darn smile on for half of it. It's really good.

  • GrogGrog My sword is only steel in a useful shape.Registered User regular
    Uriel wrote: »
    Just make it a dexterity game.

    Flick little disks into stand up enemy soldiers

    on a hit flip the board to a cross section of the human skull, with a jigsaw of parts laid out that the player then fires another puck at

  • ToxTox I kill threads he/himRegistered User regular
    edited November 2019
    Quid wrote: »
    Anyone have experience with a D&D evil character who was more like It's Always Sunny evil rather than Voldemort evil? Feel like between the piracy and stealing I can't really justify Gideon being neutral, but I don't plan on murdering babies for any reason either.

    I've seen Neutral Evil explained as "they only care about themselves, self-preservation and self-advancement is all that matters." Said player had his PC tied to the rest of the group asap, making their survival integral to his own, and their willingness to continue adventuring with him essential to his prosperity. So "self" became the group, because he saw objectively that he was a lot better off with them.

    You can add a twist of the demon is kinda dumb, and wants to use the party as cover/minions, without them knowing his true nature. So he's like "I should probably make sure to buy them off, so they don't ask questions." But they have no idea how money works, so they're like "oh this beggar wants money for information. Here is a bag of platinum, is that enough?"
    Quid wrote: »
    I think Imma go with chaotic neutral. Selfish but not, like, starve a town for gold selfish.

    "We're not gonna actually starve them if they refuse to pay. But they won't refuse to pay. Because of the implication."

    Tox on
    Twitter! | Dilige, et quod vis fac
  • MaddocMaddoc I'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother? Registered User regular
    Looking into the L5R stuff more, I'm glad they finally gave Scorpion a Bushi school

  • astrobstrdastrobstrd So full of mercy... Registered User regular
    edited November 2019
    Had our first character creation/first bit of Mines of Phandelver session with my friend and his niece (just found out she is transitioning which put my pronouns to the test) and son. It went well, even if they both immediately jumped into murder hobo mode like all new players do.

    I showed up with a list of 50 names for my bro-monk Beef to call on as tales from his past came up including: Too Much Jerry, Smudge, and Corys Haimandfeldman. And got to unleash the line: "Wanna know my secret? I'm ALWAYS chill!" as I ended our first combat.

    His son with ASD picked a lot of languages from class and background choices, so he leaned hard (without knowing it) into our plan to teach social skills.

    astrobstrd on
    Selling the Scream Podcast: https://anchor.fm/jeremy-donaldson
  • HefflingHeffling No Pic EverRegistered User regular
    MrMonroe wrote: »
    Quid wrote: »
    I am excited for this week's game. I get to introduce Gideon Yaboi who is totally just a rogue and not at all a warlock with a rapier possessed by a demon please stop asking questions.
    Quid wrote: »
    Anyone have experience with a D&D evil character who was more like It's Always Sunny evil rather than Voldemort evil? Feel like between the piracy and stealing I can't really justify Gideon being neutral, but I don't plan on murdering babies for any reason either.

    Ok I'm seeing someone who arrives late to whatever bar/party he's headed to of an evening, as coked up as possible, and loudly announces "IT'S YABOI" to everyone in attendance's collective embarrassment.

    Am I... getting warmer here?

    Note to self: make Lot5R character themed around being the party samurai named Yaboi. Focus on stuff like diplomacy and organization skills.

  • WearingglassesWearingglasses Of the friendly neighborhood variety Registered User regular
    "Hai hai, Yaboi desu"

  • ToxTox I kill threads he/himRegistered User regular
    Anyone got a bead on a good, either searchable or at least somewhat sortable rote database for Mage Awakening?

    Twitter! | Dilige, et quod vis fac
  • Duke 2.0Duke 2.0 Time Trash Cat Registered User regular
    Priest who is such a paragon of morality that he sees his involvement in a society that jails people in dungeons, leaves people to starve and wages war over land as inherently evil. No ethical consumption under feudalism. He so believes this outweighs any good that his alignment changes to evil. After all, from his perspective he is just as bad as these cruel oppressors he chooses to accept living with. Otherwise completely scans as an empathetic good priest.

    VRXwDW7.png
  • FencingsaxFencingsax It is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understanding GNU Terry PratchettRegistered User regular
    I couldn't find my update post, because I posted in the wrong topic in the wrong subforum:
    Fencingsax wrote: »
    I don't know if I mentioned it, but apparently dealing with all of the abyss leaks by burning a bridge and calling the power company to remove the damaged pylon and so on got us the attention of the local Vampires.

    Who operate out of the assisted living community.

    And we have now been told to "pick a side".

    I don't know how many of us are getting out of this stupid town alive. We're certainly not getting the scroll back. Which the Vamps have.



    We will see how screwed we are tonight, I guess.

  • JacobkoshJacobkosh Gamble a stamp. I can show you how to be a real man!Moderator mod
    Tox wrote: »
    Anyone got a bead on a good, either searchable or at least somewhat sortable rote database for Mage Awakening?

    A couple years ago I made a searchable wiki document for the Awakening rules specifically to help me GM it but I can't remember if I actually finished entering every spell or not. I'll see if I can dig it up later today.

    rRwz9.gif
  • Albino BunnyAlbino Bunny Jackie Registered User regular
    L5R's new edition is gorgeous and it's system is interesting (plus the Kitsune school was made for my garbage).

    But I still don't think I'll ever find a group or be entirely comfortable with the big Asian Pastische element of it.

  • SolarSolar Registered User regular
    I've run it a few times

    Not the new edition though

  • lwt1973lwt1973 King of Thieves SyndicationRegistered User regular
    The comment from one of the players in a game I'm in:

    "We shouldn't roleplay as it causes drama."
    I don't think he knows what RPG stands for.

    "He's sulking in his tent like Achilles! It's the Iliad?...from Homer?! READ A BOOK!!" -Handy
  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    I wonder how alarmed he'll be when you tell him that there's an RPG called DramaSystem.

  • BucketmanBucketman Call me SkraggRegistered User regular
    The alignment grid is trash, throw it in the garbage can.

    I recently saw a post on Facebook that said this was how they do alignment, and I think its an upgrade for sure:

    Lawful: Rules matter more then individuals

    Chaotic: Individuals matter more then rules

    Good: Other's well-being is more important then my own

    Evil: My own well being is more important then other's

    Neutral: I make my decisions for who and what matters on a case by case basis.

    I like this because you could play a character who's technically evil and your just a prick. Sure you might also worship a Chaos god or something, but you don't have to be so restricted.

  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    Bucketman wrote: »
    The alignment grid is trash, throw it in the garbage can.

    I recently saw a post on Facebook that said this was how they do alignment, and I think its an upgrade for sure:

    Lawful: Rules matter more then individuals

    Chaotic: Individuals matter more then rules

    Good: Other's well-being is more important then my own

    Evil: My own well being is more important then other's

    Neutral: I make my decisions for who and what matters on a case by case basis.

    I like this because you could play a character who's technically evil and your just a prick. Sure you might also worship a Chaos god or something, but you don't have to be so restricted.

    That is surprisingly good. I feel like it flattens the group nature of the Law/Chaos accent a bit but it is also a set of single sentences so that's really not bad, all things considered.

    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
  • BucketmanBucketman Call me SkraggRegistered User regular
    Yeah but like I recall the one time I played a Lawful Good Paladin and the DM wanted to punish me for it, so we had to go through a place where slavery is legal. What do I do? I mean its legal! Its the law. I had a personal and character struggle with this and ultimately my character decided to give money and aid to a group fighting to change the law to make the slavery no longer legal but I couldn't like run around freeing slaves without breaking my alignment and pissing off my god.

    So that fits for me. He was lawful. The letter of the law itself mattered more then the people being mistreated. Lawful Good is great in a place where the laws are great. Lawful Good in a fascist country to someone from somewhere else looks evil.

  • AnzekayAnzekay Registered User regular
    Well, my Pathfinder Monk died again in tonight's session. For like the 5th time. And it was the second time to Level Drain, the most bullshit and obnoxious mechanic in any d20 system ever created.

    Honestly the whole session, coming from having played a lot of 5e, Call of Cthulhu and Ryuutama the past few months, was a massive reminder of how much I've come to dislike Pathfinder. If it weren't for how much I enjoy the campaign we're doing and that I am playing with a bunch of people I like (even if our GM is... very Pathfinder-focused) I probably would've quit this ages ago. It's so large and unwieldy and excessive, with bonuses on top of bonuses, feats upon feats, too many spells and extra abilities and tiny little incremental things to remember and slot together... and so many rules conflicts that I find myself googling for answers constantly, a whole host of fundamental design and balance flaws... and this is only using maybe 5 or 6 total source books, and even using the core books only it's this same level of mess.

    Just feeling a bit vexed so, pardon the mini-vent. I think I've just really decided that aside from finishing this campaign I don't ever want to play Pathfinder ever again. Not even the 2nd edition, because I've read the books a good bit and they haven't fixed anywhere near enough of my major issues with the game.

  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    Anzekay wrote: »
    Well, my Pathfinder Monk died again in tonight's session. For like the 5th time. And it was the second time to Level Drain, the most bullshit and obnoxious mechanic in any d20 system ever created.

    Honestly the whole session, coming from having played a lot of 5e, Call of Cthulhu and Ryuutama the past few months, was a massive reminder of how much I've come to dislike Pathfinder. If it weren't for how much I enjoy the campaign we're doing and that I am playing with a bunch of people I like (even if our GM is... very Pathfinder-focused) I probably would've quit this ages ago. It's so large and unwieldy and excessive, with bonuses on top of bonuses, feats upon feats, too many spells and extra abilities and tiny little incremental things to remember and slot together... and so many rules conflicts that I find myself googling for answers constantly, a whole host of fundamental design and balance flaws... and this is only using maybe 5 or 6 total source books, and even using the core books only it's this same level of mess.

    Just feeling a bit vexed so, pardon the mini-vent. I think I've just really decided that aside from finishing this campaign I don't ever want to play Pathfinder ever again. Not even the 2nd edition, because I've read the books a good bit and they haven't fixed anywhere near enough of my major issues with the game.

    Sooo, are you up for a RIFTS campaign? Everybody gets a glitterboy!

  • AnzekayAnzekay Registered User regular
    Anzekay wrote: »
    Well, my Pathfinder Monk died again in tonight's session. For like the 5th time. And it was the second time to Level Drain, the most bullshit and obnoxious mechanic in any d20 system ever created.

    Honestly the whole session, coming from having played a lot of 5e, Call of Cthulhu and Ryuutama the past few months, was a massive reminder of how much I've come to dislike Pathfinder. If it weren't for how much I enjoy the campaign we're doing and that I am playing with a bunch of people I like (even if our GM is... very Pathfinder-focused) I probably would've quit this ages ago. It's so large and unwieldy and excessive, with bonuses on top of bonuses, feats upon feats, too many spells and extra abilities and tiny little incremental things to remember and slot together... and so many rules conflicts that I find myself googling for answers constantly, a whole host of fundamental design and balance flaws... and this is only using maybe 5 or 6 total source books, and even using the core books only it's this same level of mess.

    Just feeling a bit vexed so, pardon the mini-vent. I think I've just really decided that aside from finishing this campaign I don't ever want to play Pathfinder ever again. Not even the 2nd edition, because I've read the books a good bit and they haven't fixed anywhere near enough of my major issues with the game.

    Sooo, are you up for a RIFTS campaign? Everybody gets a glitterboy!

    Rifts is a cool setting but I know very little about the rules system

  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    Anzekay wrote: »
    Anzekay wrote: »
    Well, my Pathfinder Monk died again in tonight's session. For like the 5th time. And it was the second time to Level Drain, the most bullshit and obnoxious mechanic in any d20 system ever created.

    Honestly the whole session, coming from having played a lot of 5e, Call of Cthulhu and Ryuutama the past few months, was a massive reminder of how much I've come to dislike Pathfinder. If it weren't for how much I enjoy the campaign we're doing and that I am playing with a bunch of people I like (even if our GM is... very Pathfinder-focused) I probably would've quit this ages ago. It's so large and unwieldy and excessive, with bonuses on top of bonuses, feats upon feats, too many spells and extra abilities and tiny little incremental things to remember and slot together... and so many rules conflicts that I find myself googling for answers constantly, a whole host of fundamental design and balance flaws... and this is only using maybe 5 or 6 total source books, and even using the core books only it's this same level of mess.

    Just feeling a bit vexed so, pardon the mini-vent. I think I've just really decided that aside from finishing this campaign I don't ever want to play Pathfinder ever again. Not even the 2nd edition, because I've read the books a good bit and they haven't fixed anywhere near enough of my major issues with the game.

    Sooo, are you up for a RIFTS campaign? Everybody gets a glitterboy!

    Rifts is a cool setting but I know very little about the rules system

    Well see there's two different types of damage, SDC and MDC. Standard damage, like a person might do to another person with say a revolver or a baseball bat, and megadamage, which an aircraft may do to a tank with a missile.

    SDC is fucking worthless outside of hand-to hand combat between unarmoured humans, so if you don't have a way of dealing MDC in combat your character is almost completely useless.

    Hence, everybody gets a glitterboy!

  • MsAnthropyMsAnthropy The Lady of Pain Breaks the Rhythm, Breaks the Rhythm, Breaks the Rhythm The City of FlowersRegistered User regular
    Grey Ghost wrote: »

    But I play RPGs to get away from my day-to-day life!

    Luscious Sounds Spotify Playlist

    "The only real politics I knew was that if a guy liked Hitler, I’d beat the stuffing out of him and that would be it." -- Jack Kirby
  • A duck!A duck! Moderator, ClubPA mod
    edited November 2019
    Maddoc wrote: »
    Looking into the L5R stuff more, I'm glad they finally gave Scorpion a Bushi school

    Man, they had one with a great rank 4 or 5 skill once upon a time. If someone missed you their TN was reduced to 5 + armor on your next attack.

    A duck! on
This discussion has been closed.