=== ANCHOR POEM ===
════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CW: re: more D&D/Pathfinder venting │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
@user-1005
If you'd like, I can try and explain "killer instict". Though I get the
impression you would prefer to play games that don't emphasize combat, which
is 100% okay and valid and should be encouraged.
My understanding of the rules of D&D is that combat is a contest between
two or more entities. Contests need rules, and combat being based on physical
prowess (or magical, or spiritual, or w/e) can be defined. Other kinds of
contests, like "how well did the ranger do at the archery competition" or "did
the rogue manage to convince the diplomat to share the plans" are impossible
to genericize because they are based on situational factors, rather than
physical (or magical, or spiritual, or w/e)
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────┘
=== SIMILARITY RANKED ===
--- #1 fediverse/2175 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────
@user-1056
I just got my copy of Knave version 2 and there's this line that stuck out to
me:
SCHEME
Think laterally, not linearly. Avoid risky plans that require you to roll dice
and instead create plans so bulletproof that success is certain. Use
psychology, magic, allies, equipment, and the environment to overcome
obstacles rather than relying on ability checks.
I can't wait to try doing that in my next D&D campaign. This was listed
under "player responsibilities" and there's some other bangers in there too -
like this:
TAKE INITIATIVE
Set your own goals and make your own fun. Seek out adventure rather than
waiting for it to come to you.
I wish every player I ever had read that single page. And I wish I had read
the "DM responsibilities" listed just one page prior. It's a really great
game! I'm also into OSE, or Old School Essentials. What kind of D&D do you
like?
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┘
--- #2 fediverse/2180 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────
@user-1056
heh true - my roots in role-playing games are directly from the playground, so
it makes sense that I'd gravitate away from dice that are hard to roll when
you're on a hike or bike ride. Can only really play D&D on a bike when
you're in the country though, otherwise the sounds of a city are too noisy.
Also, systems that are so simple you can keep a character sheet in your mind.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┘
--- #3 fediverse/6334 ---
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────┐
║ a D&D rulebook can double as tarot if you need it. place one hand/bookmark │
║ at the start of a chapter, and the other at the end. flip to a page randomly, │
║ or randomly gain a percentage value from physical objects and then use that │
║ value to determine roughly where in the chapter you jump to. then, read words │
║ randomly, jumping back and forth, or try and divine some meaning from the │
║ words that are printed there. with D&D it's easy because you can say "ah I │
║ landed on the rogue section, that means this guy is probably pretty suave" │
║ (confirming your expectations) "hmmm, here's the rules for fatigue and │
║ drowning. maybe I need to take a break." (validating your unconscious │
║ decisionmaking) "oh neat, treasure!" (needs to explanation) but with other │
║ kinds of books it's usually better to pick the next-best word from the things │
║ your subconscious eyes can take in and process multi-laterally (you lost your │
║ audience, circle back) oh uh so if you wanna randomize it just put the words │
║ in the page in an array and pick one random. │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║ similar │ chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╧════──────┘
--- #4 notes/dungeon-looting-methods ---
═════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
the reason dungeon masters should give the gold value of the items distributed
is because the number represents what it eventually sells for. and the players
will try and appraise and haggle at the market and such but that all happens
off screen between sessions. so anyway during the adventure, the dm will say
"you find some precious gemstones" or "there's some high quality silk here" or
"these bears are renowned for having magic livers" or "the mold growing on the
walls can be scraped into a vial and sold to an alchemist"
then the dm will say "this treasure is worth 50gp" or "this treasure is worth
25gp" and players can "buy" the items from the other players. so player 1 has
50gp, the item costs 20gp, so in a party of 5 he gives every other player 5gp
this way, the relative treasure hordes of the players stays the same.
then, when the players find treasure, it can be evenly split - it's only fair.
when in town, players will feel more impulse to buy things if they can sell
them too. like "here's an enchanted axe that does some mundane thing like
never dulls" well, that's probably going to be very valuable to a small village
or "an enchanted quill that writes down everything you tell it to" could
increase the education level of the area ever so slightly. Then, after several
generations of adventurers, the surrounding area will be ripe with magical loot
the players distributed from the dungeons and such. it can trade with neighbors
and so over time the markets will have better and better goods for sale - for
example, maybe after trading with the swamp people, now there's a supply of
healing potions that runs out both over time (to represent other adventuring
parties buying the supply) and when the players buy some (to represent
consumption in their minds). Trade with the dwarves? Now you can buy +1 swords
for a while. village attacked? the militia can be armed with the holy relics
plundered from the evil priest-lich. boom development!
the players should also have choices about large scale effects. for example,
the heart of the forest could be a) preserved, b) burnt down, or c) studied by
the local wizards. each choice would have different effects on the populace,
and so the world would change to adapt to the player's choices.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘════════─┴╧══─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #5 fediverse/209 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────────
┌──────────────────────────┐
│ CW: dungeons-and-dragons │
└──────────────────────────┘
osr vs 5e style D&D has a subtle distinction that I think often goes
unnoticed. In osr games (and often in the early levels of 5e style games)
characters are encouraged to conserve their resources simply due to the fact
that they have so few of them at their disposal. While higher levels encourage
you to be more consumptive of your talents and virtues - for example a 6th
level character has more spell slots than a level 2 character, meaning the 6th
level character is going to be casting all the time while the level 2 will
probably use just a handful of spells per day.
unless you run a style of game where long rests become less frequent as you
level up. like... exploring a LARGE dungeon means there's little chance for
sleep. Especially if you are being hunted.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #6 notes/star-realms-balancing-tradeoff=2 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─
what if I use equal signs instead of dashes, so prevent people from assuming
they're duplicates?
hmm okay.
right so anyway the star realms balancing tradeoff between combat and authority
is measured against the duration of a hand (does it fit balanced between other
cards of it's playcost) instead of balancing it for the duration of the game
(how long does the player want the game to go on for) one of which is just
inverse combat damage / healing, and the other of which is an enablement of
different strategems.
put this in symbeline-gen-realms please
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════┘
--- #7 messages/1066 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────
"alright everyone, you're now an adventuring party and your DM is the DJ. Your
stat blocks are whatever you feel internally. Your skills are written on your
character sheet, which is stored in your memories. Your bank will store gold
notes for you, and you can find most things at the store or barge."
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────┘
--- #8 fediverse/744 ---
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────────────┐
║ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
║ │ CW: alcohol-mentioned-protests-games-laughter │ │
║ └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
║ │
║ │
║ Protests are great because they give you the opportunity to make friends with │
║ 2-5 other people who you've never met before, and who've never met each other. │
║ │
║ People who you could play DND with - for those who don't know, DND is a fun │
║ activity you can do with friends that involves chips, soda, sometimes beer, │
║ and plenty of laughter and loud voices. │
║ │
║ It's essentially a game where a group of people create plans, solve problems, │
║ and organize solutions to roadblocks on their path to success. │
║ │
║ It's also great because it's a planned activity that you don't have to take │
║ your phone to - in fact, it's best when you don't make a reminder for for the │
║ event anywhere digital or easily misplaced. │
║ │
║ There aren't too many rules, and whatever you can't remember you can make up │
║ on the fly. It's not like there's any consequences in a game, not like anyone │
║ could die. │
║ │
║ Most people don't like playing games with me though because I have a pretty │
║ bad memory. Call it a quirk of fate or something │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║ similar │ chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧══════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────┴──────────┘
--- #9 fediverse/2643 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────
@user-1292
You don't have to come up with the WHY for why a character does something -
only that it happened.
if the "WHY" leaps out at you, sure, yeah, go for it, until of course your
players sitting around the table say something like "I bet they did this thing
because of this reason" and you're like "shit that's better than what I got,
okay that's how it's gonna be"
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────┘
--- #10 fediverse/4676 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────
... but I needed to choose lawful-good at character creation in order to play
a paladin.
the guard looks at you with confusion, decides you're hallucinating and
dangerous (because of the sword) and forcibly detains you
wait, what did you think I was going to say? Did you think I was going to
advocate for crimes on a public forum?? what am I a gopher? do you take me for
a lemur in jamaica? am I truly so triceratops to you that you'd think I'd do
something so washing machine? Get real, I'd never byzantium my way into such a
utterly coherent and clearly intentional and not at all arcane situation.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────┘
--- #11 fediverse/2178 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────
@user-1056
whoa, sounds like we have un-similar influences! Together, with our powers
combined, we could be unstoppable >: )
I love systems, but I like writing them, not reading them. I guess that
difference is why I gravitated toward OSR style games and you to AD&D and
4e! Pathfinder 2e I haven't read all the way through but what I did read felt
like "the good parts of 5th with the good parts of 4th" which I thought was
pretty neat.
Most of the rest I haven't heard of before, alas, that's what we get for
contributing to and engaging with a scene. =P
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┘
--- #12 fediverse/4794 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│ CW: roleplaying-games-mentioned │
└─────────────────────────────────┘
I want to play a roleplaying game! anyone wanna do TTRPGs? I've got a map of
the county jail, we can pretend to be wizards sneaking in to retrieve the
staff of Dolomis the Wanderer who coincidentally must be carried by the last
person who fought the one who slayed the last person to hold it.
... what? oh, so, like... it can only be carried by your enemy?
something like that. anyway it's currently held by a zealot for a religious
order who's intent on NOT following you out, so you better be ready to
incapacitate and retrieve a still quivering sack of bones and malice.
... I don't actually have a map of the county jail. lost it in transit, oh
well. Well, we'll come up with something. maybe make something up. or perhaps
someone else has something...?
... no?
okay I'll just play Baldur's Gate again. boooooring
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────┘
--- #13 fediverse/204 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────────
┌────────────────────────┐
│ CW: re: guns-mentioned │
└────────────────────────┘
@user-95 hehe true. I have a Pathfinder 1e one shot tomorrow and I haven't
built my character yet D: to say nothing of all the long term "productive"
things I've been directed away from... Oh also my best friend wants me to
write a program in C that cracks a 9 character password (all lowercase
letters) and I sooooorta know how to do that but getting high certainly won't
help
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #14 notes/streaming-consciousness ---
═════════════════════════──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
10-22-22
train the ai from the perspective of the game master. the one who arbites
the rules. whose word is law, and the rules of the game are then given. the one
who deals the cards, who picks the game, who hosts and brings snacks... you
know, the reason the game exists at all.
take star realms - there are actually three players in that game. player 1,
player 2, and the invisible third player who plays the role of "chance". who
decides the cards to play? is it random, or is it weighted? perhaps with enough
oomph that a whole player was designed for that role.
but how would they be scored? what kind of game is theirs to play?
choosing the board is such a fun role, like designing a story or helping
with chores. you're building something special, unique and so charmed.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
--- #15 fediverse/5277 ---
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────┐
║ ┌──────────────────────┐ │
║ │ CW: ~dnd │ │
║ └──────────────────────┘ │
║ │
║ │
║ @user-1788 │
║ │
║ if a dragon on a pile cannot claim what it yearns for, it can throw piles of │
║ minerals at the ape warriors made of steel and then it's fate will appear. │
║ what trifles does all else seem to compare! you should give me your whole │
║ hoard because I dazzled you with my charisma score -..- │
║ │
║ ha, like I'd fall for that again twice. oh? I already did? and this is the │
║ second twice? well, then no-more of that behavior, I say, with my elven │
║ tongue, "beware! for dragons blood runs silver when unicorned." │
║ │
║ the bigger the hoard, the bigger the dragon. if you want me to come along, │
║ you'll need to hire at least 3 other men to carry my ballista. In addition, │
║ I'll need seven weeks worth of supplies. If all else comes to ruin, me and my │
║ boys will have that dragon-sized-spider impaled on it's own fate threadwheel │
║ before... well... y'know it might take more than seven weeks, we just... can't │
║ find the dragon. We've been wandering all through the blasted peaks, and │
║ there's nothin'! Maybe it requires climbing gear? │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║ similar │ chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════───┴──────────┘
--- #16 notes/symbeline-design-the-guild ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────
design the guild, design the capital, then design their path through mordaunts.
easy peasy.
design the guild like a museum. Each spot there's an exhibit which teaches the
randomly generated rolled statistics hero something new. Maybe it teaches them
how to use certain weaponry, maybe it teaches them how to use a bow. Whatever
the spell might be, they can learn it, and use their randomly rolled statistics
to cast spells that scale differently depending on how their character has been
built.
design the capital like a flow diagram, if horses need feed and forged steel
(for their shoes) then send the outputs of a blacksmith and the outputs of the
farmers to the inputs of the stables. Everything has to go somewhere, but the
streets are only so wide. You'll have to coordinate the traffic diagram if you
want it to go anywhere useful.
design the path through the mordaunts. Fighting skeletons teaches you about
perseverence and the ability to crush bones, while goblins teach you to always
be wary of attack. The sacred grove held blessed berries, and now that the land
is liberated from the evil bandits preying on villagers those berries can be
carted into town and used to make an antidote which heals death poison caused
by the scorpions in the desert (and city rats)
design the ruler's schedule like a calendar where each event gives them a bonus
on all the ones that come later. Just make sure that they don't get knifed in
the posterier or driven mad by the whispers of the orb... or perhaps just the
stress of running a kingdom.
(how do you simulate that? you can't! you can't simulate humans!)
ha I bet I can. They're not so different, you and I, so if given a team I
will...
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────┘
--- #17 messages/442 ---
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════──────────────────────────────
In symbeline, they aren't monsters. They're "Mordaunts" and they need your
help.
When slain, their essence flows back to the villain who remakes them in a new
form. As time passes the villain gets more and more essence, as heroes are
slain.
They have taken several ancient guardians (many types, randomized at the start
of the game) and they protect their sanctum in the center of the island. The
heroes need to level up to defeat them and slay the villain, but the villain
gets stronger as well.
If too many heroes die, the villain wins. And the villain can focus their
efforts on one area or another, while your heroes fight with the kingdom next
door.
Brigands arrive on ships as well. If you implement the law saying only
approved members may travel on boats, they'll arrive in little dingies on the
coast, meaning less trouble in the city but same amount of trouble.
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧══════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────────┘
--- #18 fediverse/4031 ---
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────
if you want to "not think about a purple elephant", the first step is to
imagine yourself slaying it
... okay how about cthulu - if you don't want to imagine cthulu nomming on our
gravity well, then picture yourself wielding a bright burning blade of fire
and vengeance and pay special attention to the way that you cauterize each
tentacle as you slice them one by one at first, and then in a massive flurry
at best, ultimately leading to the incomparable brightness that radiates out
from your shining blade of the sky, which blinds the poor beast who can't see
you as you approach, piercing the skull and then going home for some toast
if you can get good at that, then you can wield magic
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧═══════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────┘
--- #19 fediverse/814 ---
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────────────┐
║ ah that's weird, I don't usually cry. I wonder what's going on. I should │
║ probably put myself on psychiatric drugs. Surely it's an expression of the │
║ implementation of my impending doom. │
║ │
║ ... what are you even saying bro │
║ │
║ ... um, hang on feels like some of the circuitry is off. is something wrong in │
║ my brain? yeah that's surely it, surely nothing I say would resoinate with │
║ anyone that has a non-malfunctioning brain. Surely I don't speak of logical │
║ failures in the hard founded truths of our asset [society I think? like, our │
║ conditions, our institutions, our {gosh that just... does not translate}] um │
║ right what was I saying │
║ │
║ oh yeah there's this game I'm really into called Knave, it's like D&D │
║ except the rules are very fewer. Like there's onyl 11 pages in the rulebook │
║ and it's mostly taken up by random roll tables. Like, everything boings down │
║ to a few simple rules, like rock paper scissors, or go-fish, or something like │
║ that with just afew mechanids. something timeless and pure, something that is │
║ isolated and en │
╟─────────┐ ┌───────────┤
║ similar │ chronological │ different │
╚═════════╧═══════════════════════════════════─────────────────────────┴──────────┘
--- #20 fediverse/3023 ---
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════────────────────────────────
I love the game Running with Rifles
if you live for 5-10+ minutes, you can learn a lot of interesting things about
how to engage a foe.
like, the importance of cover at all times, until you successfully outmaneuver
your foe.
when an enemy approaches, don't step out to meet them
wait for them to attack, and then throw explosive devices at them. easy peasy.
or, y'know, bullets
you cannot defeat an enemy head on - that's why the world wars were so
devastating, we put ALL our soldiers at 100% on ALL flanks. We had to to
contest the foe who was doing the same thing.
it is mindboggling how many people died. The utmost scale of destruction that
should ever yet be. because they were never allowed to outmaneuver their foe.
a good way to strike is to feint your foe, and let your foe enroach on your
edge, spreading their surface area across a large, thin, useless piece of land.
basically, make them fight a bit of the land war in asia in your borders.
then, you can strike at the hinge, where they are weaker
┌─────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ similar │ chronological │ different │
╘═════════╧╧════════════════════════════════════════════════───────────────────────────┘
|