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

[EleventySeven]

Gentlemen, I am once again putting out the call. I snagged a player from this thread many moons ago, and it worked out great. I am going to be running another PF1e game starting in the new year. It will be set in the same semi-homebrew setting as the other campaigns I have mentioned in this thread. It will primarily be about fighting demon cults and delving the setting's equivalent of the Underdark. We're shooting for Tuesdays at 7pm CST. If you're interested and/or have any questions, you can DM me or just ask them here and I'll do my best to answer them.

Update: We have found our fifth player. Thank you, gentlemen.

 

[Booger1488]

Has anyone read the new Forgotten Realms books? Here's a part which I think encapsulates the problems with modern D&D (emphasis mine).

Characters in the Forgotten Realms are larger than life. A character is never just a simple adventurer; they might be the heir to a kingdom, have an Artifact for a heart, or secretly be a vampire. They might be Chosen by a deity, be tutored by the greatest wizard that ever lived, or be descended from an archfey or demigod. They might be the sole survivor of a long-lost culture, an artificial person created by an alliance of powerful wizards, or a revolutionary eager to bring down the corrupt and cruel society from which they've narrowly escaped.

Such characters might not fit in other settings. A royal heir trapped in Ravenloft is just another prisoner, and in the world of Eberron, deities don't interfere in mortal affairs. But in the Forgotten Realms, characters with illustrious histories or campaign-changing secrets are common. Keep an open mind when players suggest such characters for your campaign, and try to accommodate them. For players that create more down-to-earth or grounded characters, brainstorm ways to make their characters stand out from other adventurers. Few players will argue when you give their character an epic destiny.

Epic characters are often more powerful than other adventurers. They might carry unique magic items or an Artifact, wield mundane authority, or even command an army! It's important to spread these benefits around so that every player shares in the epic adventure. Consider each character's unique niche, and protect that niche as the campaign proceeds. For example, if one player wants their character to be heir to the throne of Sembia, the other characters shouldn't also be potential rulers of realms of their own. Instead, encourage them to pursue interests that don't overlap with those of other players.

What's with the need for every character to be an überspecial snowflake all of a sudden? (Rhetorical question). As an aside, I actually fucking despise the Forgotten Realms as a setting, though I hope WOTC uses it as much as possible so they don't pozz Greyhawk.

 

[Imperial Citizen]

As an aside, I actually fucking despise the Forgotten Realms as a setting, though I hope WOTC uses it as much as possible so they don't pozz Greyhawk.

There is a reason for why WOTC always uses the Forgotten Realms; they are contractually required to do so. Ed Greenwood’s contract for using the setting states that WOTC has to make at least one FR novel and sourcebook each year or Ed gets it all back.

Also, he designed the game to be a heroic fantasy setting, so PC are going to be larger than life adventurers.

 

[Capsaicin Addict]

What's with the need for every character to be an überspecial snowflake all of a sudden? (Rhetorical question). As an aside, I actually fucking despise the Forgotten Realms as a setting, though I hope WOTC uses it as much as possible so they don't pozz Greyhawk.

They're coming at it backwards though. Characters should advance to become larger than life, not start out that way. I'm willing to accept the idea of 'seeds of greatness', but you have to walk before you can fly.

That being said, FR is what would be termed a high fantasy setting, so high level characters should be generating their own plot equivalent of gravitational fields.

 

[AnOminous]

Ed Greenwood’s contract for using the setting states that WOTC has to make at least one FR novel and sourcebook each year or Ed gets it all back.

Even though I never really used Forgotten Realms, I don't think it sucks (at least it didn't start that way), it's just been pozzed all to fuck. I used to borrow bits of it ages ago for my usually Greyhawk (with loose adherence to canon) based campaigns.

I'm glad Ed Greenwood at least carved out a profitable niche for himself. He's a pretty cool guy imo and if his setting got pozzed, at least he got paid.

 

[p1138]

They're coming at it backwards though. Characters should advance to become larger than life, not start out that way. I'm willing to accept the idea of 'seeds of greatness', but you have to walk before you can fly.

It gets even dumber than that if you talk to some 5e players who have at least attempted to play other games.

They'll want to start out with a backstory that'd put them at lvl 10 or whatever, but then complain that other systems allow stats to get too high and characters get too heroic, while they consider Forgotten Realms to be "low fantasy".

You can see this with the critical role shit too(it's definitely easier with the cartoon rather than sitting through hundreds of 3+ hour sessions). The guy with the gun is the heir to some super rich mega household ruling a large town. The elven druid is the heir to the entirety of the elven people to the point of being the one who can form pacts with elementals or whatever. The rogue is chosen by a goddess and constantly bestowed with powers. Even in the latest series the tiefling cleric has a personal god, the monk is a super badass part of some super order of detective monks for the kingdom, the wizard is a member of some super wizard order, etc.

And you see this same shit in Baldur's Gate 3 as well. The human wizard was fucking the goddess of magic, and got dumped into being a lvl 1 character with a world ending magic bomb in his chest. The half-elf cleric is some special chosen one. The tiefling barbarian has been fighting in the blood war for a decade already and somehow managed to get her heart replaced with some hell demon engine. Even the vampire was running around Baldur's Gate for multiple centuries and still somehow never got beyond lvl1? And that's just companions, not even the main character where you can choose a background that's even more ridiculous where you're a bhaal spawn that raided mephistopheles' vault and stole some crown that can cause another fucking spellplague that was originally when the god of magic was assassinated or some shit along those lines yet still somehow you're a level 1 shitter who doesn't know anything.

 

[Overly Serious]

You can see this with the critical role shit too(it's definitely easier with the cartoon rather than sitting through hundreds of 3+ hour sessions). The guy with the gun is the heir to some super rich mega household ruling a large town. The elven druid is the heir to the entirety of the elven people to the point of being the one who can form pacts with elementals or whatever. The rogue is chosen by a goddess and constantly bestowed with powers. Even in the latest series the tiefling cleric has a personal god, the monk is a super badass part of some super order of detective monks for the kingdom, the wizard is a member of some super wizard order, etc.

I've never watched Critical Role and don't know them from Adam. But from references here and there, it sounds like they need a good dose of 1e Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. "Wait, you're a rat catcher? That's awesome. I wish my beggar rolled well enough to be a rat catcher."

What's the view on channels that play on stream? Like if there were (or is) a channel that wasn't as desperately woke and stagey as Critical Role sounds like it is, would people/do people watch it? I mean real people, not Redditors.

 

[p1138]

I've never watched Critical Role and don't know them from Adam. But from references here and there, it sounds like they need a good dose of 1e Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. "Wait, you're a rat catcher? That's awesome. I wish my beggar rolled well enough to be a rat catcher."

What's the view on channels that play on stream? Like if there were (or is) a channel that wasn't as desperately woke and stagey as Critical Role sounds like it is, would people/do people watch it? I mean real people, not Redditors.

Critical Role at least in cartoon format is fine, because it's not trying to show these characters as up and coming adventurers, they don't have levels, etc. But the problem is that it's all based off of their played campaigns, and watching any amount of those you get everyone being a snowflake badass at lvl 1 really quickly.

I've never heard of such a channel with an actual audience. It's almost always a bunch of theater kids, hollywood rejects, people that took an improv class at the local theater, trying to ham everything up. I think the biggest reason why such a thing doesn't exist, is that anyone interested enough to watch a 3-4 hour long weekly session of other people playing a TTRPG that isn't just some redditor, would just play a game themselves instead of watching other people do it. It's kinda like watching someone play games on twitch... unless there's some constantly goofy shit happening, why would you watch someone else play I don't know... battlefield or arc raiders or whatever the hell is currently popular when you can just do it yourself instead?

 

[Overly Serious]

I've never heard of such a channel with an actual audience. It's almost always a bunch of theater kids, hollywood rejects, people that took an improv class at the local theater, trying to ham everything up. I think the biggest reason why such a thing doesn't exist, is that anyone interested enough to watch a 3-4 hour long weekly session of other people playing a TTRPG that isn't just some redditor, would just play a game themselves instead of watching other people do it. It's kinda like watching someone play games on twitch... unless there's some constantly goofy shit happening, why would you watch someone else play I don't know... battlefield or arc raiders or whatever the hell is currently popular when you can just do it yourself instead?

Well, there is a difference. Playing a video game is either a solo activity or if it is a group one, usually not dependent on any social compatibility just skills and time zone. Whilst with RPGs it is insanely difficult for some people to get a group together. There's even a market for paid DM'ing now. So maybe if there were a less obnoxious play group (which may exist, I haven't really looked), maybe then?

 

[Paradox Mystic]

What's the view on channels that play on stream? Like if there were (or is) a channel that wasn't as desperately woke and stagey as Critical Role sounds like it is, would people/do people watch it? I mean real people, not Redditors.

The issue is that most of those groups are left-leaning unless it's a genre/system that skews Rightwing for some reason. Also I don't think Chuds tend to have the patience to want to filter through them to find which ones are neutral or at least low levels of leftist cringe. People might think Sargon's Nazi Germany VtM campaign ran by Arch Warhammer is chud-coded but it's ruined by ShortFatOtaku playing a loli.


Actually typing this up I remember Kikoskia's Paranoia XP and Call of Cthulhu campaigns are probably a pretty good recommendation, I remember they didn't seem to have IRL political talk although they are old series that are over, not a ongoing weekly live series.

 

[p1138]

Well, there is a difference. Playing a video game is either a solo activity or if it is a group one, usually not dependent on any social compatibility just skills and time zone. Whilst with RPGs it is insanely difficult for some people to get a group together. There's even a market for paid DM'ing now. So maybe if there were a less obnoxious play group (which may exist, I haven't really looked), maybe then?

Maybe? But even then it seems like a stretch. Think about it.

You're not a redditor
You've actually played TTRPGs before
You have the time to play a TTRPG campaign
You hate the special snowflake faggot backgrounds that would be suitable for someone at lvl 10 and make no sense for someone at lvl 1.

Why spend hundreds of hours watching someone else's game? Want to play, but also want to be able to filter who is at your table to build yourself a stable of players and DMs over time? DM a game yourself. It's like playing an MMO and wanting to get into groups for dungeons or whatever, play a DPS good luck unless you're the best around, but a tank or healer? You're basically guaranteed to always be able to get a group together yourself unless you become known as a shithead. And the time constraints aren't even as much of a factor these days either. Maybe you live in San Francisco and everyone is a faggot, setup a game online and play with people from elsewhere. Just looking back a few posts, it seems there's even kiwis doing that again having done so previously with success. You're not limited to the people at your local game store anymore for a TTRPG.

 

[Overly Serious]

Maybe? But even then it seems like a stretch. Think about it.

You're not a redditor
You've actually played TTRPGs before
You have the time to play a TTRPG campaign
You hate the special snowflake faggot backgrounds that would be suitable for someone at lvl 10 and make no sense for someone at lvl 1.

Why spend hundreds of hours watching someone else's game? Want to play, but also want to be able to filter who is at your table to build yourself a stable of players and DMs over time? DM a game yourself. It's like playing an MMO and wanting to get into groups for dungeons or whatever, play a DPS good luck unless you're the best around, but a tank or healer? You're basically guaranteed to always be able to get a group together yourself unless you become known as a shithead. And the time constraints aren't even as much of a factor these days either. Maybe you live in San Francisco and everyone is a faggot, setup a game online and play with people from elsewhere. Just looking back a few posts, it seems there's even kiwis doing that again having done so previously with success. You're not limited to the people at your local game store anymore for a TTRPG.

In most of Europe there is no such thing as a "local game store". And such as there was, they were almost never places where people would hold publicly open games. You had some wargaming clubs around that sometimes you'd have a room where people did RPGs. It's not unknown but I think you wildly underestimate the difficulty many people have in getting a group going and keeping it going. Especially once people are adults and have other normal commitments. Throw on top of that the plague of troons and other gender-specials and related, yeah - it's verging on impossible for many people. And I imagine in the USA it's still very bad for many.

Yeah, I could see this appealing to a bunch of people and if you could get a channel that was actually just normal-approximate people who weren't pushing some Progressive angle in ways subtle and not, yeah. And the level thing isn't really the focus of my question. That's just one example of how people might be annoying. I would care more about if one of the people on screen was a troon or something. A bit of "I'm special" is normal for a PC character. It's how you do it and what degree.

 

[p1138]

In most of Europe there is no such thing as a "local game store". And such as there was, they were almost never places where people would hold publicly open games. You had some wargaming clubs around that sometimes you'd have a room where people did RPGs. It's not unknown but I think you wildly underestimate the difficulty many people have in getting a group going and keeping it going. Especially once people are adults and have other normal commitments. Throw on top of that the plague of troons and other gender-specials and related, yeah - it's verging on impossible for many people. And I imagine in the USA it's still very bad for many.

So like I said... do it online, it's easier. No LGS? Fine, don't bother, play online. No locals in your timezone? As long as you can find people willing to speak English and can play at the designated time who cares if they're in the US, Australia, or wherever? You're the DM, just boot the trannies and genderspecials, or if they're really that obvious just don't accept their application to begin with.

What you're doing is giving excuses, that in this context don't even make sense. Is it going to be easy? No. But it's not impossible to find 3-4 people online to play with when you've got a quarter of the planet as a pool to pick from with people in timezones all over the place. Once you've established this group of people who aren't fucking weirdos, figure out who else in the group might be willing to DM something. I've got a stable group of sane people I game with, there's been people given the boot over time and it's taken years to get a reliable group together, but the point is to actually do it.

Otherwise you're just going to be left eternally never having a game to play.

 

[robobobo]

What's with the need for every character to be an überspecial snowflake all of a sudden? (Rhetorical question). As an aside, I actually fucking despise the Forgotten Realms as a setting, though I hope WOTC uses it as much as possible so they don't pozz Greyhawk.

Specifically, those things listed in your excerpt are the characters from Baldur's Gate 3. Artifact heart, vampire, deity's fucktoy, etc, those are the cast from that game. So whoever wrote that was so unimaginative that they didn't even come up with their own ideas for weird uwu so unique characters.

 

[Overly Serious]

So like I said... do it online, it's easier. No LGS? Fine, don't bother, play online. No locals in your timezone? As long as you can find people willing to speak English and can play at the designated time who cares if they're in the US, Australia, or wherever? You're the DM, just boot the trannies and genderspecials, or if they're really that obvious just don't accept their application to begin with.

What you're doing is giving excuses, that in this context don't even make sense.

What you're doing is dismissing factors by saying "it's possible" and ignoring that the context is whether people might struggle enough that they'd watch some other people play. Yes, many things are possible. Can I play online with someone in the USA? Sure, but their early evening is going to be my midnight. Do I want to be running a game at three in the morning? No. So we can take out five days of the week, and now I'm looking for people to play with on a Sunday or Saturday afternoon. What you're doing is dismissing every factor that makes it difficult and saying I'm "making excuses". No, I'm saying that all these factors compound to the point that there are a lot of people who struggle to get a group together and to keep that group consistently gaming. Even when you have got a group together as adults, it's routine that you miss that weekend slot because now two people can't make it. But sure, that's "making excuses". I'm not discouraging anybody from trying. I'm not saying I wouldn't try. I'm saying, that it is difficult enough for enough people, that I expect the prospect of watching a game - if you're into the hobby - probably appeals to a whole bunch of people into the hobby. Assuming they can find a channel where there isn't a guy doing a raspy "female" voice with "she/her" written under him on the screen.

First you said it was the same as a video game on Twitch. I pointed out the very significant reasons it ain't. Now all these factors are "not impossible". Never said they're "impossible". But they're significant and they pile up. If my argument is really so troublesome to you (for reasons I do not understand but seem to be you reading what I say as "excuses" for me not being able run a consistent group with people I enjoy gaming with), then we could do it empirically. We could see if any other people in this thread struggle to keep a group together and gaming consistently. If somehow I am not alone in this, then maybe reality beats your assertions.

I mean, you say yourself it's taken you years to get to this point. And you seem to have the geographic advantage on your side to boot. So what's so implausible that during these years of getting there, people might watch others play? That's how we started off. I said they might, you said people wouldn't want to because they'd game instead.

 

[Rapier Ape]

They also sell reaper bones, so can see them

They're pretty solid IMO. They remind me a lot of let's say OG Heroes Quest or the old school late 90s/early 2000s plastic minis but a bit more detailed. Nice and easy to paint.
The price ranges on them are good as well.
Reaper needs a retailer map on their website.
I just like their concept art really.

 

[p1138]

More excuses

Can I play online with someone in the USA? Sure, but their early evening is going to be my midnight.

So? Find someone in the US working a graveyard shift. Again, you've got timezones all across the globe between Australia, Europe, and the US with people working all sorts of schedules.

Do I want to be running a game at three in the morning? No.

I never said run a game at 3 in the morning. Run it when it makes sense for you to be running it, and find people who fit that schedule.

So we can take out five days of the week, and now I'm looking for people to play with on a Sunday or Saturday afternoon

Well no shit? Friday evenings, Saturdays, and Sundays are when most people can find some time to play. You aren't special being busy during the week.

What you're doing is dismissing every factor that makes it difficult and saying I'm "making excuses". No, I'm saying that all these factors compound to the point that there are a lot of people who struggle to get a group together and to keep that group consistently gaming.

Because is IS a bunch of excuses. With something like 40k or another miniatures game, all you've really got as an alternative to playing in person is tabletop sim, and frankly it fucking sucks in addition to pretty much eliminating the hobby aspect. TTRPGs don't have this problem and there's been multiple VTTs around for years now that people have been using.

Even when you have got a group together as adults, it's routine that you miss that weekend slot because now two people can't make it. But sure, that's "making excuses".

No, it's called being an adult, realizing shit comes up, and then re-scheduling or just skipping a week. My group just skips the end of November and the entirety of December due to people being busy during the holidays and traveling. It's not an issue.

I'm not discouraging anybody from trying. I'm not saying I wouldn't try.

Seems to me like you want to just keep coming up with excuses not to try, like having to play at 3am to play with people in other timezones as if the entire planet only works bankers hours. I never said the shit was easy, I even said it can take years. But if you never even start, or even try then you'll never have a group.

I mean, you say yourself it's taken you years to get to this point. And you seem to have the geographic advantage on your side to boot. So what's so implausible that during these years of getting there, people might watch others play? That's how we started off. I said they might, you said people wouldn't want to because they'd game instead.

Geographic advantange? You've got an entire fucking planet to filter out trannies, people who can't speak the same language you do, and find people willing to play at the time you want to play. Where you're located means fucking nothing so long as you have an internet connection and a computer that can run a VTT.

First you said it was the same as a video game on Twitch. I pointed out the very significant reasons it ain't. Now all these factors are "not impossible". Never said they're "impossible". But they're significant and they pile up. If my argument is really so troublesome to you (for reasons I do not understand but seem to be you reading what I say as "excuses" for me not being able run a consistent group with people I enjoy gaming with), then we could do it empirically. We could see if any other people in this thread struggle to keep a group together and gaming consistently. If somehow I am not alone in this, then maybe reality beats your assertions.

I know there's people in this thread who can't keep a group together worth a shit. I never said there weren't. Congratulations, you've bested me over a point I never made. All while apparently ignoring what I said about a play group formed literally IN THIS THREAD and that they were recruiting another player just the other day implying that most of the table managed to stick together and the guy doing that recruitment for that group isn't posting here making excuses about why he can't find a game... he's doing the work to recruit people so he can have a regular table just as I'm saying you can do.

edit: And since you seem to have missed this right at the top of the page, here's what I'm talking about.

Gentlemen, I am once again putting out the call. I snagged a player from this thread many moons ago, and it worked out great. I am going to be running another PF1e game starting in the new year. It will be set in the same semi-homebrew setting as the other campaigns I have mentioned in this thread. It will primarily be about fighting demon cults and delving the setting's equivalent of the Underdark. We're shooting for Tuesdays at 7pm CST. If you're interested and/or have any questions, you can DM me or just ask them here and I'll do my best to answer them.

Update: We have found our fifth player. Thank you, gentlemen.

This is a guy literally doing what I said is possible to do, here of all places, and not making excuses of why it can't happen.

 

[2LtMashengo]

For any of you guys that use foundry, I found out recently you can set custom turn markers. I love seeing a gold septim spin around under my thief.

 

[Imperial Citizen]

After last week's rpg review being about the romanticism of revolutions, Dice Scum is looking at the classic planetary romance, John Carter of Mars. What other setting has a Confederate veteran fall in love with a barely clothed red-skinned Martian?

 

[Tactical Wizard]

What's with the need for every character to be an überspecial snowflake all of a sudden? (Rhetorical question). As an aside, I actually fucking despise the Forgotten Realms as a setting, though I hope WOTC uses it as much as possible so they don't pozz Greyhawk.

That’s just FR returning to form, rather third edition form but form nonetheless. In third edition, Forgotten Realms was the “MORE!” option; more epic, more grand, more high power, more high stakes and overall larger than life. As opposed to the Dungeons and Dragons core books which gave you Greyhawk, chopped up and spread throughout all of the books and Dragon Magazine.

All of which, I’m currently chasing down because I am a Greyhawk and Dragonlance enjoyer.