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Tabletop Games are RADch

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    3cl1ps33cl1ps3 I will build a labyrinth to house the cheese Registered User regular
    t3gissmbdkge.jpg

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    tzeentchlingtzeentchling Doctor of Rocks OaklandRegistered User regular
    Baidol wrote: »
    Strahd Update

    Major spoilers for the flooded village
    In the last session, we found Baba's goat pen and got the skull fence howling, which summoned Baba in their flying, hollow dragon head. This session begins with the party trying to stealthily scatter. I (cleric) succeed, but the rest of the party either fails to stealth or breaks stealth to attack Baba as they get into range. Baba responds by fucking the party up with Pristmatic Spray. That is, everyone except me hiding behind a tree. I walk out and break the enchantment keeping the skull in the air causing Baba to plunge to the ground.

    The party proceeds to CC the shit out of Baba using Grease to put her on the ground and then Silence to defang her. Baba eventually gets out and Misty Steps, but not before several good hits land. Before disappearing, Baba calls forth their giant walking house, only for our Dwarf Kenku hunter to mimic her voice and deceive the house into sitting back down for a turn. Eventually, the house gets going and walks towards us. I throw a mass cure wounds at the party, put Sanctuary on myself, and stroll towards the walking house with my trusty golem Stand sidekick.

    [Jojoohyouareapproachingme.jpg]

    Baba is standing in the doorway and takes some hits as a result and responds with ineffective return fire, although they do manage to counterspell my attempt at banishing the house. The house, because it is unable to target my Sanctuary-protected backside, proceeds to start throwing giant vines at my golem and the hunter's pet boar. They both go down several turns later (better them than us), but not before I order the golem to throw me at the house's door. Our warlock casts Featherfall as a reaction allowing me to proceed safely, if more slowly, on target. On the way, Baba stuns me with Powerword: Stun and I crash into the back of the home completely rigid. I make the saving throw and stare down Baba. By this point, another Silence spell has been cast over the house and Baba cannot cast spells nor give orders to the house (rip our golem and boar). Baba is pissed, polymorphs into insects, and flees out the back of the house leaving behind a room with a mysteriously high quality crib and baby. Baba returns to human form on the ground ready to rumble.

    Trying to follow me in, the party wizard chef goes invisible and, eventually, manages to climb to the front porch with the goal of releasing ravens in two cages hanging outside the door. Unfortunately (?), our hunter makes two shots that release the cages and frees the ravens. For their efforts, the chef fails a dexterity save and flies off the house having accomplished nothing in the house. Fortunately, being invisible, our party sees none of this.

    Our fighter climbs a nearby tree and makes a running jump off a branch to the house. They lock eyes with me as I, being unable to speak due to Silence, point them out of the back of the house. Throwing caution to the winds, they leap out the back window and, seeing Baba on the way down, use a magical artifact to throw scorching rays to great effect. Their heroism is rewards with a hard landing followed by the house knocking them unconscious with its giant vine whips as our golem and boar meatshields are no longer around to absorb blows.

    Simultaneously, our warlock also takes a huge hit from the house and is on their last legs. They see Baba, singed and withered, approaching. Seeking to put an end to the fight, they activate their own magical artifact and necrotic Baba into unexistence.

    This does not calm the house. I am the only one inside of the house. I nearly get bucked off of the house, but a maximum roll Bardic Inspiration bonus given to me early in the fight allows me pass a dexterity save and grab onto a railing by the skin of my teeth. Having previously discovered the crib and baby to be illusions, I tear open the floorboards to find a glowing green gem. An initial attempt at extracting the gem meets with magical wooden teeth, so I use my hammer to keep the teeth at bay as I try again and succeed resulting in the house settling to the ground.

    The reward for our fighter? The Sunsword.

    The reward for the rest of us? Probably a Vistani vampire-hunter if we figure out how to turn those goats back (presumably) into people.

    Fun fact: Despite being by far the tankiest party member, I took the least damage. Would have been none if not for the magic trap.

    You know, I never thought about it this way until I read your post, but 4e Shamans were 100% Stand users.

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    Albino BunnyAlbino Bunny Jackie Registered User regular
    Lunar Exalted are out.

    Boy these are, incredibly my speed compared to Solars or Dragon blooded folk.

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    BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User regular
    So a small setting splash book I backed on Kickstarter came out recently and is rad: A Visitors Guide to the Rainy City is something I'd definitely pick up. Either as the backdrop for a D&D style fantasy romp or to be an alternative, weird bottle city for Blades in the Dark.

    s1o78yeezd2p.png

    Highlights include all four seasons being weird as heck and predominantly based off of how much rain/moisture there is (it's always raining though). All of which have an accompanying bit of art that highlights the season and it's festivals/events.

    There's a full spread on food, drinks, pets and other universal culture tidbits before going into big write ups of every district of the city (including some more wilderness bits).

    ibpi1jbclk6c.png

    Each district includes highlighted areas to visit, people to interact with as quest givers/NPCs and also a very helpful just "Things to do" section. It basically boils over with ideas to use.

    Oh also it features a wizard named Iambic Pentacular.

    Which is the best wizard name I've ever heard.

    HEY this is basically a setting idea of mine, city of perpetual rain. Grumble grumble.

    BahamutZERO.gif
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    SolarSolar Registered User regular
    It's a thing in a few settings

    SLA industries, notably. It's always raining on Mort

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    GlalGlal AiredaleRegistered User regular
    Lunar Exalted are out.

    Boy these are, incredibly my speed compared to Solars or Dragon blooded folk.
    I've only ever played a single game of Exalted. All I remember is giggling my ass off as I rolled the entire table's worth of D10s.

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    BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User regular
    Solar wrote: »
    It's a thing in a few settings

    SLA industries, notably. It's always raining on Mort

    I just love the mood of a rainy day so much I want to live in a world where it always rains T_T

    BahamutZERO.gif
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    SolarSolar Registered User regular
    Ex3 is one of my favourite games ever and also I hate it

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    admanbadmanb unionize your workplace Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    Solar wrote: »
    Ex3 is one of my favourite games ever and also I hate it

    Honestly this seems like the quintessential Ex3 opinion.

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    SolarSolar Registered User regular
    In all fairness, I ran the game, so it's fair to say it hates me as well. I have never encountered a game which is more determined to make life hard for the GM

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    Albino BunnyAlbino Bunny Jackie Registered User regular
    Solar wrote: »
    In all fairness, I ran the game, so it's fair to say it hates me as well. I have never encountered a game which is more determined to make life hard for the GM

    It seems exactly like shadowrun where it’s intended for gms to be asspulling 99% of stats and intimacies but also gives you zero advice or frameworks to make that functional when you’re learning.

    That and the just “not sure I could write this cool a story scale wise” are why I haven’t really pitched it to the group in spite of owning all the books.

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    SolarSolar Registered User regular
    I have, incidentally, run both and Ex3 was ten times worse than Shadowrun, but yes I agree in principle

    It's actually a fantastic game to run in many ways though. The setting is incredible, and if you can get the game right then it's absoutely cracking

    Although I would say that probably the XP system is FAR to fast for my liking

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    Albino BunnyAlbino Bunny Jackie Registered User regular
    Look I’m just saying if you want an enthusiastic player to practice with I’d do solo sessions as a weird Lunar bounty hunter or social crafts lady.

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    SolarSolar Registered User regular
    I might tbh

    I always enjoy Exalted and with a smaller group would be easier

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    MahnmutMahnmut Registered User regular
    So a small setting splash book I backed on Kickstarter came out recently and is rad: A Visitors Guide to the Rainy City is something I'd definitely pick up. Either as the backdrop for a D&D style fantasy romp or to be an alternative, weird bottle city for Blades in the Dark.

    s1o78yeezd2p.png

    Highlights include all four seasons being weird as heck and predominantly based off of how much rain/moisture there is (it's always raining though). All of which have an accompanying bit of art that highlights the season and it's festivals/events.

    There's a full spread on food, drinks, pets and other universal culture tidbits before going into big write ups of every district of the city (including some more wilderness bits).

    ibpi1jbclk6c.png

    Each district includes highlighted areas to visit, people to interact with as quest givers/NPCs and also a very helpful just "Things to do" section. It basically boils over with ideas to use.

    Oh also it features a wizard named Iambic Pentacular.

    Which is the best wizard name I've ever heard.

    HEY this is basically a setting idea of mine, city of perpetual rain. Grumble grumble.

    Ah this looks absolutely great. The woodcut styling is real cute. I agree this would be a really appealing Blades setting.

    Steam/LoL: Jericho89
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    webguy20webguy20 I spend too much time on the Internet Registered User regular
    Twilight did it first.

    Steam ID: Webguy20
    Origin ID: Discgolfer27
    Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
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    Albino BunnyAlbino Bunny Jackie Registered User regular
    It's also more or less exactly the pitch I'd give for the central city in one of my dumb setting pitches for fantasy.

    That being of a magical 'debug' ocean that countries/people/boats wind up in when big rituals (typically teleportation) go awry: A place where the gods just dump the shit they can't figure out and it's just a vast, ever slightly shifting ocean.

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    BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User regular
    the bathtub underneath the planes that catches everything that falls out

    BahamutZERO.gif
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    Rhesus PositiveRhesus Positive GNU Terry Pratchett Registered User regular
    Just wrapped up a Session 0 with a new GM and three new players, where we basically went through a test combat against some goblins

    It ended with the Sorcerer, Warlock and Cleric unconscious but stable, and the Rogue at 1HP finishing off the final goblin with a natural 20

    The Sorcerer is now shuffling cantrips to ensure he isn't completely screwed in melee, and the Warlock is rerolling as a Barbarian, which will take some of the pressure off my Cleric to be a front line presence as well as the party healer

    The Rogue is happy to the point of smugness :P

    [Muffled sounds of gorilla violence]
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    gavindelgavindel The reason all your software is brokenRegistered User regular
    the bathtub underneath the planes that catches everything that falls out

    I see your bathtub and raise you Old One bug gods:

    1000?cb=20190219044533

    Book - Royal road - Free! Seraphim === TTRPG - Wuxia - Free! Seln Alora
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    Desert LeviathanDesert Leviathan Registered User regular
    Both previous versions of Lunars had a brief honeymoon period where people thought they were the greatest shit ever written. And then opinions soured hard. If you're thinking about buying this 3rd one, I strongly recommend waiting about 6 months and then looking for reviews that come from actual play experience.

    Realizing lately that I don't really trust or respect basically any of the moderators here. So, good luck with life, friends! Hit me up on Twitter @DesertLeviathan
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    Albino BunnyAlbino Bunny Jackie Registered User regular
    Both previous versions of Lunars had a brief honeymoon period where people thought they were the greatest shit ever written. And then opinions soured hard. If you're thinking about buying this 3rd one, I strongly recommend waiting about 6 months and then looking for reviews that come from actual play experience.

    The books being in the Kickstarter preview/hardcore fans having the text for about that long before the public release and there’s some comparison threads between both ex3 to ex2 Lunars and Lunars vs Solars that all come out pretty satisfied.

    Though to be honest I’m just a huge mark for ‘animal person trickster god who has a sloppy romance with another god and whose curse manifests in weird hyper fixations’.

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    GlalGlal AiredaleRegistered User regular
    Everyone in our group is a huge fan of Shadowrun's setting, but repeat attempts to actually run the system for more than a session have failed. We've successfully run Hero System and Starfinder, but Shadowrun just ends up with all of frustrated as we spend hours building just a single character and trying to hunt and peck all the rules for this one thing across the entire book in the middle of combat.

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    DrascinDrascin Registered User regular
    edited October 2020
    Both previous versions of Lunars had a brief honeymoon period where people thought they were the greatest shit ever written. And then opinions soured hard. If you're thinking about buying this 3rd one, I strongly recommend waiting about 6 months and then looking for reviews that come from actual play experience.

    Lunars 2E were thought to be a massive improvement on 1E Lunars for a while (which they were in every way, what with, you know, actually vaguely gesturing at being a splat allowed to do things, and actually working mechanically for a whole three roles!). In the later years opinions soured a lot and people started to realize that "worse Solars", while still better than 1E Lunars, was not a great place for charm design.

    Plus, well, writers started gesturing about going back to the whole RAR BARBARIAN DEATH TO CIVILIZATION dumbass thing, which was not what 2E Lunars were, so people had to spend their time shitting on what few good things 2E Lunars had, because it's important to be with the "in" crowd.

    Drascin on
    Steam ID: Right here.
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    Albino BunnyAlbino Bunny Jackie Registered User regular
    3e Lunars explicitly has a side box about how they don’t use the words savage or barbarian and how said words are about powerful cultures/nations denigrating smaller rivals.

    Which is neat and definitely given more context now I know that 2e apparently was not good at that.

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    Rhesus PositiveRhesus Positive GNU Terry Pratchett Registered User regular
    The etymology of 'barbarian' is the ancient Greeks making fun of what they thought non-Greek languages sounded like ('bar bar bar')

    It's like if we called Vikings *Swedish Chef muppet sounds*

    [Muffled sounds of gorilla violence]
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    ToxTox I kill threads he/himRegistered User regular
    I'll never forget the time I was on an ooooold RPG chatsite (webchat broadcasting) and it was sort of just all the different RPs thrown into one big chatroom someone randomly decided to rp as the Swedish Chef trying to catch a griffin because he wanted to cook, "da chickee wif de fyeer droom sticks"

    Twitter! | Dilige, et quod vis fac
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    BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User regular
    It's funny you used vikings as an example, since the culture they came from did not name themselves that either. "Viking" was just their noun for a ship-borne raid and a "vikingr" was a person who does a viking, a job name like pirate.

    BahamutZERO.gif
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    CalicaCalica Registered User regular
    Steelhawk wrote: »
    admanb wrote: »
    Steelhawk wrote: »
    The issue with illusion magic in D&D/traditional fantasy RPGs is that it does not interact with the encounter and HP/resource use structure in a way that will work properly.

    It either works and lets you smartly skip stuff (for one spell slot? Shame on you).

    Or it doesn't and lets you get like, what, a sneak attack if the GM's nice?

    Why is the focus always on the mechanical result though and not the way you got there?

    Nobody tells people about how they got a sneak attack on the whozits for extra damage. They tell stories the about the time the wizard used this awesome illusion that fooled all the bad guys and the rogue got to sneak around because of the distractions and landed a sweet backstab on the big bad guy and everyone cheered.

    This gets into the larger philosophical arguments about D&D so I'm not sure you're going to get a satisfying response, but let me give you my perspective as someone who has played a lot of D&D but kind of doesn't like it anymore.

    The first part is that combat in D&D is always a mechanically-based system with mechanically-based results. In many groups you'll never hear the sweet backstab story because they did the math and decided that everyone getting the jump on the bad guys and the wizard having an extra 2nd level spell was more important than the rogue getting a single sneak attack, especially since the rogue would likely have trouble finishing the job when the warrior couldn't get past the mooks to engage the big bad and get them more sneak attacks.

    Now maybe it's a big bad that's a terrifying sorcerer with no HP and your rogue is an assassin so they get an auto crit and one-shot them. That's pretty sweet. But D&D isn't a game about one big dramatic combat and your wizard only has so many spell slots. Every time they choose the illusion they're filling a slot that may potentially do nothing for the chance that it one-shots a sorcerer.

    Alternately, your group figures out it's quite mechanically efficient. Now your open each of your session's 2-4 combats per session with the wizard casting illusion so the rogue can get in a free sneak attack. The 17th time your wizard makes an illusion of a big troll and says "boo" is a lot less exciting than the first, and your wizard is probably pretty bored at looking at their list of 2nd level spells and just picking illusion over and over again.

    Now at this point you may be thinking, who the hell thinks that much or that broadly about D&D? And the answer is people who play a lot of D&D. And there are a lot of people who play D&D. In fact I would venture that there are more people in the world who are playing in two simultaneous D&D campaigns than there are people who are playing any other RPG. If it's not more, it isn't far off. So D&D as a game that encourages people to play a lot of and nothing but D&D, whether in its mechanics, its marketing, or its socialization, falls prey to the consequences of people who play enough of a game that they can't not see the "game" part.

    Now you're probably thinking, wouldn't we be better off if they played an RPG other than D&D? And yes, yes we would.

    I too have played a lot of D&D, for a long time now, and I think I might like it more than ever! And I can state, which just as much confidence as you are now, that not every group reduces itself to shaving HP off a monster on a battlemap. Not every group falls into a boring routine that repeasts every session. A routine that, by your description, seems that all the fun is sucked out of the game at all. I don't know anyone who plays like that, and I've been playing D&D for more than 20 years now. If that's been your experience for all the D&D that you've played? Well.... that sucks for you, man. But you are painting with a brush that I do not think is as wide as you think it is.

    I think there are some groups that can make any game fun, much as there are some students who will find a way to learn even if the teacher is terrible.

    I have not played in any groups like that.

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    CalicaCalica Registered User regular
    Steelhawk wrote: »
    Delduwath wrote: »
    Steelhawk wrote: »
    Saying that a DM having to make a call on the mechanical results of loosely defined action, be it a spell or trying to swing from a chandelier, as not partaking in the rules anymore is an intolerant (? I don't know if that's the correct word I'm going for) criticism of the system.
    Would you mind elaborating on this a bit more? To me, it seems like if there is no rule defined for a situation, and a DM has to make their own decision on how to handle it, then they are by definition not partaking of the rules anymore - there are no rules to partake of!

    No game is going to cover 100% of what comes up at the table, but some omissions are more impactful than others. In a game about swinging swords and casting spells to clear out monsters from their lairs, I think it's more glaring that there are no resolution rules for a category of spells than that there are no rules for swinging from chandeliers.

    That's correct. No game ruleset is going to 100% of what comes up at table. So why does D&D get deuces dropped on it, and other systems don't?

    Someone above spoke to Dungeon World, and while there was not a Major Image equivalent in that game if there was that they would handle an illusion pretty much the same as in D&D. Determine an appropriate mechanic that already existed in the game that would fit the situation and apply it here. Does that mean one is no longer engaging in the Dungeon World ruleset and is now improvising? I would say no, but some in this discussion should be saying yes.

    Because DnD pretends to be a much broader game than it actually is. It thoroughly undersells the amount of heavy lifting GMs are required to do to make most of its rules work, and offers them little to no guidance on how to do so.

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    BaidolBaidol I will hold him off Escape while you canRegistered User regular
    I am seeking advice on some technical obstacles for remote gaming.

    During October, my board game group plays horror-themed games at our weekly meet-up. One of these games is Mansions of Madness (2nd Ed.). Lacking the existence of a full digital version of it, I am looking to essentially stream the game to play live with my friends.

    The game uses physical components (map, figures, cards, etc.) and uses a companion app (mobile device, Steam) to provide instructions on what to do (expand map, take card, etc.) and track stats. What I am envisioning is using my iPad as a top down view for the board and Steam for the companion app both on the same computer where I share my screen via Zoom (or similar service). My friends would tell me what to do and I would move figures, use the app, etc. Are there any suggestions on how to make this process as smooth as possible?

    Steam Overwatch: Baidol#1957
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    TynnanTynnan seldom correct, never unsure Registered User regular
    Baidol wrote: »
    I am seeking advice on some technical obstacles for remote gaming.

    During October, my board game group plays horror-themed games at our weekly meet-up. One of these games is Mansions of Madness (2nd Ed.). Lacking the existence of a full digital version of it, I am looking to essentially stream the game to play live with my friends.

    The game uses physical components (map, figures, cards, etc.) and uses a companion app (mobile device, Steam) to provide instructions on what to do (expand map, take card, etc.) and track stats. What I am envisioning is using my iPad as a top down view for the board and Steam for the companion app both on the same computer where I share my screen via Zoom (or similar service). My friends would tell me what to do and I would move figures, use the app, etc. Are there any suggestions on how to make this process as smooth as possible?

    It looks like there are a few entries for Mansions of Madness on the steam workshop page for Tabletop Simulator. They're unrated, so I can't comment on how well-made they are, but that could be worth a look.

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    3cl1ps33cl1ps3 I will build a labyrinth to house the cheese Registered User regular
    edited October 2020
    Calica wrote: »
    Steelhawk wrote: »
    Delduwath wrote: »
    Steelhawk wrote: »
    Saying that a DM having to make a call on the mechanical results of loosely defined action, be it a spell or trying to swing from a chandelier, as not partaking in the rules anymore is an intolerant (? I don't know if that's the correct word I'm going for) criticism of the system.
    Would you mind elaborating on this a bit more? To me, it seems like if there is no rule defined for a situation, and a DM has to make their own decision on how to handle it, then they are by definition not partaking of the rules anymore - there are no rules to partake of!

    No game is going to cover 100% of what comes up at the table, but some omissions are more impactful than others. In a game about swinging swords and casting spells to clear out monsters from their lairs, I think it's more glaring that there are no resolution rules for a category of spells than that there are no rules for swinging from chandeliers.

    That's correct. No game ruleset is going to 100% of what comes up at table. So why does D&D get deuces dropped on it, and other systems don't?

    Someone above spoke to Dungeon World, and while there was not a Major Image equivalent in that game if there was that they would handle an illusion pretty much the same as in D&D. Determine an appropriate mechanic that already existed in the game that would fit the situation and apply it here. Does that mean one is no longer engaging in the Dungeon World ruleset and is now improvising? I would say no, but some in this discussion should be saying yes.

    Because DnD pretends to be a much broader game than it actually is. It thoroughly undersells the amount of heavy lifting GMs are required to do to make most of its rules work, and offers them little to no guidance on how to do so.

    Also it's synonymous with "tabletop RPG" in many peoples' minds so it's a much larger target for criticism. Nearly anyone who's played a TTRPG of some kind has played D&D at some point, so everyone has an opinion on it.

    fake edit: Realized this came off a bit as "leave D&D alone it's so unfair!" which is not my point, just, when something has such a broad cultural impact you'll get way more people weighing in and more criticism as a result. D&D also has real problems when it tries to be anything other than a tactics game.

    3cl1ps3 on
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    DrascinDrascin Registered User regular
    edited October 2020
    Personally, I'm back to D&D. I spent years playing not touching D&D and doing other stuff (Mutants&Masterminds being the foremost one, as it works much better as a generic for the tone I like to set in my campaigns than something like GURPS. Plus, you know, less annoying baked-in assumptions), and I still am PBPing as player in both a Chris Perrin's Mecha and a FFG L5R game, but I have returned to DMing D&D and am having a blast with it.

    I've been considering trying Lancer, but well, the sheer amount of prepwork involved in actually making battlemaps and shit for playing it online sounds like suffering. I have never prepped more than fifteen to thirty minutes at the absolute most for a session in eighteen years of GMing, I'm not going to suddenly go to "three hours to prepare a single fight", thank you!

    Drascin on
    Steam ID: Right here.
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    The Zombie PenguinThe Zombie Penguin Eternal Hungry Corpse Registered User regular
    While i'm still working on the Supernatural part of my Grand Beast Generator, i took a break to make some critters.

    Movement/Limbs/Aesthetic.

    1)Bouncing Six limbed Moth-Feline

    Weaponry: Inflatable Belly, Sticky Sludge Tail
    Utility: Sticky Tar-armor, acidic blood.

    2) Lumbering Ten-Limbed Amphibian-Beetle.

    Weaponry: Explosive slime, thousand-spine tail.
    Utility: Rubbery extendable limbs. Crystalline armored growths.

    3)Racing Four-Limbed Plant-crustacean.

    Weaponry: Devastating Roar
    Utility: Reflective hide, Sticky Tar armor.

    4) Lumbering Ten-Limbed Mollusc-Amphibian

    Weaponry: Needle Spit, Blinding Tail Crest
    Utility: Ink Smog, Snail eye-stalks.

    5) Rolling No-limbed Undead Feline Reptile.

    Weaponry: Electric Saliva Spit, Taser Tail.
    Utility: Deceptive Mimicry-hide.

    Can i just say i love the things this spits out. These are great.

    Ideas hate it when you anthropomorphize them
    Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/id/TheZombiePenguin
    Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/thezombiepenguin/
    Switch: 0293 6817 9891
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    Duke 2.0Duke 2.0 Time Trash Cat Registered User regular
    Drascin wrote: »
    Personally, I'm back to D&D. I spent years playing not touching D&D and doing other stuff (Mutants&Masterminds being the foremost one, as it works much better as a generic for the tone I like to set in my campaigns than something like GURPS. Plus, you know, less annoying baked-in assumptions), and I still am PBPing as player in both a Chris Perrin's Mecha and a FFG L5R game, but I have returned to DMing D&D and am having a blast with it.

    I've been considering trying Lancer, but well, the sheer amount of prepwork involved in actually making battlemaps and shit for playing it online sounds like suffering. I have never prepped more than fifteen to thirty minutes at the absolute most for a session in eighteen years of GMing, I'm not going to suddenly go to "three hours to prepare a single fight", thank you!

    Want to try Lancer, but insisting on using a hex grid is a surprisingly big technical hurtle for free VTTs. Either the program uses lazy hexes, doesn't know how to understand a token that's 3 hexes connected to eachother or handling more than 3 layers. Whole process would go much faster by just saying Fuck It and using square grid. Or Inches.

    VRXwDW7.png
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    DrascinDrascin Registered User regular
    Duke 2.0 wrote: »
    Drascin wrote: »
    Personally, I'm back to D&D. I spent years playing not touching D&D and doing other stuff (Mutants&Masterminds being the foremost one, as it works much better as a generic for the tone I like to set in my campaigns than something like GURPS. Plus, you know, less annoying baked-in assumptions), and I still am PBPing as player in both a Chris Perrin's Mecha and a FFG L5R game, but I have returned to DMing D&D and am having a blast with it.

    I've been considering trying Lancer, but well, the sheer amount of prepwork involved in actually making battlemaps and shit for playing it online sounds like suffering. I have never prepped more than fifteen to thirty minutes at the absolute most for a session in eighteen years of GMing, I'm not going to suddenly go to "three hours to prepare a single fight", thank you!

    Want to try Lancer, but insisting on using a hex grid is a surprisingly big technical hurtle for free VTTs. Either the program uses lazy hexes, doesn't know how to understand a token that's 3 hexes connected to eachother or handling more than 3 layers. Whole process would go much faster by just saying Fuck It and using square grid. Or Inches.

    There is that, and also all the huge work involved in finding/making tokens, setting them up in the VTT of choice, setting the maps, etc. I'm used to running stuff in theatre of the mind where I can just write rough descriptions for things. Transitioning cold from that to full on Straight Up A Tactics Videogame is daunting!

    Steam ID: Right here.
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    Albino BunnyAlbino Bunny Jackie Registered User regular
    Yeah TBH while Compcon is really good what Lancer desperatley needs is a VTT package that's easy to set up and contains generic assets and junk.

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    MaddocMaddoc I'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother? Registered User regular
    IIRC, the game also basically explains that you can run it using a square grid just fine

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    MaddocMaddoc I'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother? Registered User regular
    Also before the Great Plague, I had been looking into a half dozen or more different games to find good mech minis that would suit the various manufacturers

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