Tabletop Roleplaying Games (D&D, Pathfinder, CoC, ETC.)

[Ghostse]

That's why I like the "distant gods" concept. Yes, the gods are real, they channel their powers through worthy worshippers and can bless and curse... But they still need mortals to do the heavy lifting. They don't manifest physically and don't mess directly with creation. Why? We don't know. They're gods, we cannot comprehend them.

In my worlds I usually go with a "The God-Gods, even the evil ones, after a big dust up came to an agreement (or were forced to, or if they manifest it might awake Titans/Cthulhu old gods, etc) that they are barred from physically interacting on the material plane. However there are no rules about using mortals as conduits for thier power." The gods can only answer mortal prayers, not take action on their own.

This also means that some summoned Titan fragment or River-Spirit might not be as powerful as Moradin, but it might be more powerful in that moment and in that place than Moradin could conduit power to.

 

[Fuck Bankers]

Something that has been always a bug in my opinion in RPGs is the transactional nature of religion and gods. I know it's done for mechanical purposes but for me it often cheapens worlds if handled poorly like it often is. Something like "am I acting in my god's principles," should always be on the mind of every one, even subconsciously given indifference to religion is a very modern concept in human history.

Before you make a religion you should think about the setting of your game. The religion and philosophy of Call of Cthulhu is not the same as cyberpunk which is not the same as runequest which is not the same as Lord of the rings. I generally break them down into technology levels which correspond to popular religious forms. The religious forms of other tech levels should be represented, but in small doses as cults and schisms.

Strictly speaking of fantasy there are three basic forms. The world as conflict of wills, found in Conan the barbarian. The world as conflict of good vs evil found in Lord of the rings. The world as conflict to find "the good" between two opposing forces as in elric of melnibone.

Level 1 stone/bronze age: think of the word as collections of particulars which are constantly in conflict. For inspiration read the illiad, the vedas, the theogany, the enuma elish, Gilgamesh. This lines up with the Conan conflict of wills world.

Level 2 the classical age: this is a reaction of the stone age to the works of Plato specifically the euthpyro. If the gods are in constant conflict how can someone be good or pius. This pantheon has a more defined heirarchy and has more complex theology. For more read plotinus' enneads and proculus, or sallust "on the gods and the world" For more eastern flavor read the dao de ching. This relates to the works of elric of melnibone.

Level 3 the medieval age. This is the world of unity of goodness. Of clear or fairly clear ideas of goodness and evilness. Obviously this is a Christian type of setting similar to the Lord of the rings. Read the bible or st Augustine's city of God and many others for more.

For other setting and genre you should think of different kinds of philosophy. For cyberpunk I focus on materialism, nihilism and post-modernism. For call of Cthulhu nihilism and pessimism etc.

 

[LovisXVI]

"I Nyarlathotep"

Strictly speaking, according to Kemetic linguistic convention, "I love Nyarlathotep" would be read as "I love beloved by Nyarlat". Try "Nyarlathotephotep" for true Kemetic authenticity.

Level 3 the medieval age. This is the world of unity of goodness. Of clear or fairly clear ideas of goodness and evilness. Obviously this is a Christian type of setting similar to the Lord of the rings. Read the bible or st Augustine's city of God and many others for more.

Minor quibble: but Platonism posits universal Good also, though a Good above intelligibility rather than the intelligible benevolence of Christian theology. I would say that very few, if any, can really do "Level 2", beyond maybe the Elder Scrolls in the Morrowind era. The Daedra, while often malign and totally inhuman in their morals, are consistent principles and beyond question divine, and the setting does not posit benevolence as equaling divine truth. Most D&D settings are fundamentally Bronze Age with a layer of Hellenistic and Christian aesthetics as paint over it.

 

[FiveStarAce]

I need a recommendation for a system + setting which isn't pozzed as fuck, simple but not too roleplay heavy and allows for quick dungeon dives that you can finish in 3 to 4 hours.

 

[LovisXVI]

I need a recommendation for a system + setting which isn't pozzed as fuck, simple but not too roleplay heavy and allows for quick dungeon dives that you can finish in 3 to 4 hours.

ACKS and DCC I hear are pretty good as D&D style dungeon crawlers, though I have never played or ran them.

 

[Ghostse]

I need a recommendation for a system + setting which isn't pozzed as fuck, simple but not too roleplay heavy and allows for quick dungeon dives that you can finish in 3 to 4 hours.

Mazerats. Its free-to-your-account on DTRPG and there are probably copies floating somewheres.
Its B/X-friendl, d6-based, combat is fast 2d6 opposed rolls with casters getting random spells from tables each day.
For setting, just 100% roll you own or port in whatever B/X shit you like.

ACKS and DCC I hear are pretty good as D&D style dungeon crawlers, though I have never played or ran them.

DCC/Goodman games is megapozzed, they have gone full Trannysuck. I can't overly speak to their olderstuff, I wasn't a huge fan of the overly complicated d30 magic system.

 

[Fuck Bankers]

but Platonism posits universal Good

It posits the existence of a universal good, but what that universal good is was always up for debate. Plato gives you an answer, Aristotle gives a different answer etc.

DCC

I bought it before I knew goodman games were super gay. It was my first not 5e game. It uses a "dice chain" where as you move up in level you use a different dice. I did hate having to keep track of more dice as if I didn't have enough already. I liked the magic mishaps. The game is just so simple and fast to setup and play. I wish there was something else that competed in the gonzo weird fantasy/sci fi space that did it better.

 

[Sayer of the N-Word]

The dice chain is a fun mechanic in concept, but it rarely sees use in low level play, and even then it's mostly used to consult one of a million tables (there are so many tables that Goodman had to republish some of them). To really take advantage of the dice chain, Goodman would probably have to abandon the OSR ecosystem, which, despite the claims of its evangelists, is less about reviving the "spirit of old school gaming" and more about churning out piles of supplements which are compatible with each other.

Mighty deeds, patron disfavor, and spell misfire are truly great, though - they rebalance the classes in the warrior's favor despite being a magic-heavy game while also helping to differentiate the caster classes. It's too bad the spells are so complicated and table heavy that playing a caster is not practical if you're relying on the rulebook (I had to print out my character's spells when I played in a DCC game, which turned a single page character sheet into a zine...)

As for the HIV positive nature of Goodman Games, all you have to do to confirm it is look back at my posts about the Judges Guild shenanigans Joseph Goodman got involved in and watch the video where he literally cries like a faggot because he had a business arrangement with someone who was racist.

 

[Rapier Ape]

but when i try to encourage other player to play other systems other than DnD i get stonewalled. i want to encourage some diversity in my local TTRPG groups but i feel like i dont know how.

That's honestly a tough one to do if they've been brought up on 5e. You could always just Stonewall them back and refuse to run anything else.

 

[Ghostse]

I bought it before I knew goodman games were super gay. It was my first not 5e game. It uses a "dice chain" where as you move up in level you use a different dice. I did hate having to keep track of more dice as if I didn't have enough already. I liked the magic mishaps. The game is just so simple and fast to setup and play. I wish there was something else that competed in the gonzo weird fantasy/sci fi space that did it better.

I bought my copy on one a sale they had. It was Gamebook, DM screen, some splats, set of their weird dice for $50. Then like 6 months later they came out sucking the nigger cock and Tranny cock quickly after.
I'd have donated or tossed the rulebook, except its one of the ones before they did their pozzed out "Year 0" shit with the "DCC creed", so I'd like to try find it a home with someone who likes the system.

I have conflicting feelings about DCC's magic system. I like the concept (or at least the idea of the concept) of "pour too much juice (or have it poured) into your spell and its likely to get away from you"* but from my reading of the rules there didn't seem to any way for upper level mages to control their spell power which seems dumb.
What made me decided I hate it is was it turns every spell into a page, minimum**, to cover all the results.
also their typesetting is fucking awful. I get they want to recreate that 70's/80's vibe, but my nigga desktop publishing is a thing now. We don't need 700 pages of newspaper columns.

I guess that's the other thing, I don't like "gonzo" settings and have mixed feelings on Weird Fantasy, and in most cases dislike Science Fantasy. So I might just not be the audience.


*I have thought about ways to do instead of an anti-magic feild do a "super magic" field as a trap/hazard - cast a spell and suddenly its wayyyyyy more powerful than you expect. 5e's wild magic is too retarded, too random, and too general; and DCC's system would be great for it, but I'm very meh on the rest of the system.

**I hate the space that this requires go into the magic system or if you wanted to make your own spells, but NGL if they had better typesetting/layout discipline making every spell have its own page or two-page spread would be kinda cool to have a "spell book" with one spell per page. like in the game!

 

[demicolon]

But what I think I would do is make the Paladin class a "Crusader" instead.

There's an obscure roguelike based on open license 3E DnD called "Incursion: Halls of the Goblin King" that has interesting spins on various FR gods. The paladin god Erich is Lawful Evil, and is more of a Teutonic Order ideal of a paladin than the goody two-shoes one. It even specifically mentions that paladins will have to eventually choose between loyalty to Erich or to their ideals. If they choose to stay, Erich gives them powers to replace the class ones they lose after falling. Orcs and other goblinoids are not considered "people" under his theology and the player is penalized if he ever tries to fight fair against them. It's also verboten to question the order of things - it is your duty to protect the peasantry with your life, but it is also their duty to toll for your benefit and never think about rebelling.

 

[Ghostse]

Orcs and other goblinoids are not considered "people"

This is the only correct stance.

it is your duty to protect the peasantry with your life, but it is also their duty to toll for your benefit and never think about rebelling.

Based.

a Teutonic Order ideal of a paladin than the goody two-shoes one.

In my mind/my games, a Paladin is an upholder at good. They will fight, they will kill, they will root out evil but they will not compromise principals and find "another way". This doesn't mean they can't be a little flexible in the pursuit of noble goals or victory,
I guess I go to the origin of the term as a chivalrous knight. Holding yourself to the terms of Chivalry doesn't mean being a frothing retard, it means deciding if this particular situation warrants a compromise of personal honor and if so, attempting to make recompense at the earliest opportunity.
And in exchange for this, they are rewarded with extremely powerful abilities because the Gods like this shit and want more of it.

For example, if a Paladin general leads a siege of the city, he will not poison wells (or if he does because its the only way, he'd warn the city about what he's going to do). He will cut off food supplies and starve out the city if needed - if the population doesn't want to starve, they are welcome to come out and surrender. Its not that he won't circle and flank or undermine walls, but those would be tactics of last resort.

When the city falls, the Paladin will demand there is no looting or pillage. But that doesn't mean he won't gather up the city's elite and hand them a bill for what the seige cost them and demand payment. It also doesn't mean he won't put certain enemy commanders on trial for warcrimes and execute them if found guilty.

It also doens't mean that if a Paladin knows someone is Lex Luthor but can't prove it he won't just run them through and go do his atonement after.

 

[demicolon]

It also doens't mean that if a Paladin knows someone is Lex Luthor but can't prove it he won't just run them through and go do his atonement after.

Fun fact: medieval monasteries were full of criminals because becoming a monk gave you amnesty, and a common saying was "I'll kill you, then join the order".

 

[Fuck Bankers]

Holding yourself to the terms of Chivalry doesn't mean being a frothing retard,

I've got a paladin and other religious classes in my ACKs game. We just took out a necromancer they're using his church connection to destroy the evil alter. After that the party is going to leave that church for a schismatic branch. This I already ok with them because they're still worshiping the same God just in a different way. this branch is associated with a movement to restore a fallen duke. In this aim they're going to help operate a gun smuggling operation. This too I'm deeming lawful. However to raise money they're going to start smuggling opium. This I'm deeming to be unlawful.

What is everyone's opinion on gun running vs drug smuggling vs overthrowing dukes in terms of alignment.

 

[Judge Dredd]

I need a recommendation for a system + setting which isn't pozzed as fuck, simple but not too roleplay heavy and allows for quick dungeon dives that you can finish in 3 to 4 hours.

Depends how you define "pozzed" and "simple".

Knave is good. Super simple, and quick to play.

As for setting. Eberron is good though might be a bit wasted on dungeon crawls.
The thread pointed me to 4e's default setting a while ago. Super simple, configurable, and existed before all the political shit we see today.

 

[Ghostse]

What is everyone's opinion on gun running vs drug smuggling vs overthrowing dukes in terms of alignment.

The first two are almost certain to slide to Chaotic alignment.
Drug Running is almost certain to be evil; you are profiting from ruining the lives of others.
Gun Running is going to be a "depends"; are you just dumping weapons into an area, or are you helping an oppressed peasantry arm themselves?

Overthrowing dukes is going to come down to "Is the duke you are overthrowing good or evil?"

The thread pointed me to 4e's default setting a while ago. Super simple, configurable, and existed before all the political shit we see today.

Fuck. No no no stop getting libtard soytroons to discover the 2nd best part of 4e (the best is minions). The Nentir was dropped and thus much like Dark Sun is safe from modern politics stop making it popular so WotC ruins it. Fuckfuckfuck.

 

[Fuck Bankers]

Gun Running is going to be a "depends"; are you just dumping weapons into an area, or are you helping an oppressed peasantry arm themselves?

Overthrowing dukes is going to come down to "Is the duke you are overthrowing good or evil?"

The Duke lost territory to another dukedom 11 months before current game time. There was a peace treaty signed because of an invasion from the west into the broader empire. As a part of the peace treaty a secretly evil baron was installed in a razed city. The inhabitants of which were going to be raised as an undead army. This is where the necromancer came in. The invading Duke had no knowledge of the necromancer or the secret allignment of the baron, he was advised by a secretly evil member of his council to do so. The starting city's ruler is a regent baroness who is getting revenge for the death of her husband, oldest son, and the forced marriage of her daughter to the invading Duke's son. The party believe that the other invading dukedom is far worse and the ruling duke is to weak to properly defend the lands. Despite them not knowing that the other duke is generally just as good/evil as their home dukedom. There's also an evil cult helping facilitate all the immoral shit on all sides. The gun running was funded by a Medici like merchant family, but they were caught by the players working as a double agent for the invading duke. So now the rebels don't have a mechanism to fund the gun running. This is where the drugs come in. In the setting the only people that have the ability to make firearms or powder are dwarves. The only people with a license to trade with the dwarves are the invading duke. The goal of the rebels is to get the guns from the dwarves to a southern allied duke then invade the home duke's personal domain and the invading dukedom.

 

[AnOminous]

Orcs and other goblinoids are not considered "people" under his theology and the player is penalized if he ever tries to fight fair against them. It's also verboten to question the order of things - it is your duty to protect the peasantry with your life, but it is also their duty to toll for your benefit and never think about rebelling.

Oddly, that's kind of how I did it, even though I did base it generally on Christianity. Orcs, goblins, kobolds, and that kind of throwaways were just evil animated. You could always kill them (torture was still off the table except as a form of execution by the secular authorities).

They did also sometimes put down a peasant rebellion.

 

[Ghostse]

The Duke lost territory to another dukedom 11 months before current game time. There was a peace treaty signed because of an invasion from the west into the broader empire. As a part of the peace treaty a secretly evil baron was installed in a razed city. The inhabitants of which were going to be raised as an undead army. This is where the necromancer came in. The invading Duke had no knowledge of the necromancer or the secret allignment of the baron, he was advised by a secretly evil member of his council to do so. The starting city's ruler is a regent baroness who is getting revenge for the death of her husband, oldest son, and the forced marriage of her daughter to the invading Duke's son. The party believe that the other invading dukedom is far worse and the ruling duke is to weak to properly defend the lands. Despite them not knowing that the other duke is generally just as good/evil as their home dukedom. There's also an evil cult helping facilitate all the immoral shit on all sides. The gun running was funded by a Medici like merchant family, but they were caught by the players working as a double agent for the invading duke. So now the rebels don't have a mechanism to fund the gun running. This is where the drugs come in. In the setting the only people that have the ability to make firearms or powder are dwarves. The only people with a license to trade with the dwarves are the invading duke. The goal of the rebels is to get the guns from the dwarves to a southern allied duke then invade the home duke's personal domain and the invading dukedom.

So definitely Chaotic as zero percent of this is being done through official channels.
The gun running seems kosher, but the drug ring to finance it isn't and that would be a "find another way" moment. Like just finding the drug lords and inform them they are making a donation to the "Anti-Necromancer Liberation Fund". The Druglords' only choice on if that donation will be post-humous or not.

I'm still not able to really follow exactly who is evil and doing what, but really the "good" solution would be make everyone stop doing civil war and go fight the actual invaders.But if the party believes the guy they are fighting is evil then fighting him is good.

 

[Tactical Wizard]

Depends how you define "pozzed" and "simple".

Knave is good. Super simple, and quick to play.

As for setting. Eberron is good though might be a bit wasted on dungeon crawls.
The thread pointed me to 4e's default setting a while ago. Super simple, configurable, and existed before all the political shit we see today.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=NRj78px9FgQ

Not while this book exists.

It's completely edition agnostic, comes with a foldout map and gives you all of the setting info that you could ever need while leaving things up to the DM to put where he'd like while having a large amount of analog cultures to what we see in the real world. They're not as on the nose as the ones in Mystara but if your characters want to head into the desert for Arabian Nights style action, they're set. If you need to know what ethnic groups settled where in the dim prehistory of the setting? The LGG has you covered.

Where I'll dip into 4th edition is for their info on the Moonshae Isles for Forgotten Realms. They really fleshed that corner of the setting out and if you want a setting analagous to the Matter of Britain, that's purpose built for that; gritty, low medieval ethnic conflict in a world with actual magic and fae.