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

[Scream Aim Fire]

Makes sense, something I've also noticed the people who only play those D&D also never choose to be humans as their race. Its just strange that they don't even try something else I guess.

Eh, some people prefer playing monsters over regular humans in settings; before Woketards of the Coast fucked them up and turned everything into the same gendercultist blob, even 5E had a pretty solid selection of races. I think part of it is that a lot of RPGs already offer humans as a playable race, and these guys wanted to try something "different"; little bit ironic these days, as the prior versions of the game provided better playable monsters.

It's why I prefer 3E; the lore and general race designs all have a bit more development compared to the slop pushed out by WOTC.

1. Anything not D&D, including older versions of D&D, is just Temu D&D because the latest version is clearly the superior version
2. Lazy assholes.
3. These people want to appear to be playing D&D as it is a lifestyle brand because popular people play D&D, they don't play other games.

Don't forget how some people like to make games but not play them. For a certain kind of nerd, making up rules is more fun than using them.

Aside from these, I've also found that older versions of the game tend to be more "difficult" to get into. Not that because they're different, but because of either:

1. Older versions are just simply played less than 5E; like I said, advertisement.

2. Grognards that actively push newer players away. Not like how @Konigsberg did it, I'm talking about fucks that actively push even people genuinely interested in the older games away out of some "superiority complex" that they have. There's "gatekeeping", then there's "actively trying to kill your preferred Edition"...

Man all the GURPS talk in the funny picture thread really makes me want to play some GURPS we should get a campaign started

I really need to take a look at that setting, thanks for reminding me.

As an aside, I swear my current group didn't set out to make a stereotypical dnd party the dice made us (we rolled 3d6 down the line).

We're have a Human Barbarian, Halfling Rogue, Dwarf Cleric, and Elf Sorcerer.

I mean... if it works, don't bother changing it. My group tends to do the same; some races just work better with certain classes than others - not that making a "non-optimized" character is bad, it's just that some concepts are more interesting.

 

[Konigsberg]

Well, that falls under my "All roads lead to Ravenloft" rule in number 2.

Honestly, that went right over my head. I was lost in my flow state and pondering the platonic Form of D&D and its implications.

 

[Halbschwanz]

That's not how any of this works. True neutral actively tries to maintain a balance, so if it's unbalanced towards evil, they'll generally act good

Or morally noncommittal. Not actively malicious but not possessed of strong convictions. I have never IRL seen someone do the "active keeper of cosmic balance" shtick without turning into a contrarian retard in play.

On the topic of "it's what my character would do". I usually have my characters just leave the party if their goals become too unaligned and just roll a new one.

There's this strange apprehension among a lot of RPG players that you're only supposed to have one character in a game. Having a PC bow out or handle other business for a bit while you bring in a new one is reasonably common in games I've played even in non-meatgrinders. It's not even terribly hard to integrate if you talk about it with the GM and aren't doing it every other session or something.

He's a fine player and friend but I think this may genuinely be a generational issue.

I'm in the guy's age cohort but I've never specifically encountered this issue. Then again, most of the players I snag are either older than me or have played games other than D&D 5e.

 

[JJLiautaud]

Has anyone ever run a Banestorm campaign?

 

[AnOminous]

Or morally noncommittal. Not actively malicious but not possessed of strong convictions. I have never IRL seen someone do the "active keeper of cosmic balance" shtick without turning into a contrarian retard in play.

I'd just call that Neutral. The most common type of True Neutral I'd have is classes like the Druid. Tom Bombadil would be I think the best fictional character example of this. Since most of the evil monsters are direct threats to the nature and balance they care about more than people, the True Neutral adventurer would generally do the same thing as the Lawful Good, although they had completely different motivations for it.

They wouldn't just say "welp the world is a little too nice let's release the dickwolves."

No alignment should ever be an excuse for being a retard and fucking up the game.

 

[p1138]

He's a fine player and friend but I think this may genuinely be a generational issue. All the younger Zoomers I know seem to suffer from a combination of obsession over the surface level details of things, and a complete lack of vocabulary to express their inner thoughts or understand deeper level topics.

I don't know about it being a generational issue. I've got friends I'll play TTRPGs with, known them for years, no issue. The moment a wargame comes up, they're the biggest dickhead on the planet and it isn't even just about being obsessed with winning. I've also got friends I've known for years, that I'd never consider playing a TTRPG with because of either shit I've seen them do at the table or crap that comes out of their mouth regarding the topic without ever having even tried it.

This also extends beyond "nerd" hobbies. Same thing goes with going to the shooting range, I know plenty of intelligent people who have self awareness and normally a self preservation instinct but if a couple of them get to the range they just go full retard even if you've taken courses with them and they should know better. I've got a pile of friends that like to go fishing, they hardly catch shit, and mostly just sit at the ass crack of dawn looking bored to death not even holding conversation but will spend hundreds and even thousands on fishing gear, but I know that shit's not for me so I just don't interact with them if that's what they're up to as I'd just make everyone miserable the entire time.

And I'm not talking about people in a certain age range either. I mean people in their late 20s, all the way into their late 50s can fall into the "yeah you're cool but, you clearly can't do this without fucking it up for everyone".

What might be a generational thing(and really it's just more of an age/experience thing) is that knowing which friends you can do what with, and that not every friend needs to be a friend involved in every activity.

 

[Capsaicin Addict]

Question for all the RL bros out there: how do you guys handle the dark powers checks? Do you go by the book, simplify it, expand it? Same for failures and what not.

Addtionally, one of the things I wish I spent more time on and maybe is easier now because I can just crack the whip on the machine, is to make cleverer curses from Vistanis or other characters.

Depends on which book you use.

I would strongly avoid powers checks for basic mechanical systems (if I recall right, one edition had PCs making a powers check every time they leveled up). A powers check should be the result of, at the very least, a poor decision if not an overtly immoral or unethical choice.

 

[Scream Aim Fire]

Current talk about Ravenloft reminds me; any predictions for the upcoming book next month? I mean, we know it's (most likely) going to be complete shit; any ideas on how it'll fail specifically? I mean, we know they're bringing Cthulhu in...

Surprised they're bringing back the Lupin, especially as the 3E version and not Mystara's; I know it's pissing at least a few grognards off.

 

[Manly_Brony]

Chaosium is desperately trying to reel in that modern audience again...

 

[HomosexualCheezeMaker]

Chaosium is desperately trying to reel in that modern audience again...

View attachment 9047429View attachment 9047430

I've honestly just given up on most modern books
Why would I buy something worse than a pre-made fan or old set online?

 

[HomosexualCheezeMaker]

Anyone have some less talked about Rpgs?

Recently got Pilgrims of the murky dome which has a wooden cover
Conspiracy X set for 90$
Mortasheen
And Red markets

I'm looking to expand my collection again and want something different from DnD CoC or WoD

 

[LovisXVI]

Anyone have some less talked about Rpgs?

HarnMaster/HarnWorld, a low fantasy world with an attached system that has a 50-year-long history, which my players have really come to like, as both are super detailed with a focus on authenticity.
But don't take my word for it, here's convicted murderer Varg Vikernes's take: