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

[LovisXVI]

A campaign with 4e rules that started with this module and the Urban Operations supplement would be another sick all Kiwis game.

One of my players has been trying to get me into Twilight for years now (which is funny because I have been trying to get him into Traveller for an equal amount of time, given they were both GDW products), but the base Poland setting never grabbed me super hard. But this sounds way cooler imo.

 

[Sayer of the N-Word]

One of my players has been trying to get me into Twilight for years now (which is funny because I have been trying to get him into Traveller for an equal amount of time, given they were both GDW products), but the base Poland setting never grabbed me super hard. But this sounds way cooler imo.

GDW has a whole series of modules set in America and supplements for other countries as well. The Poland stuff gets the most attention because it was the default when the game was first published, and because starting a campaign there is so unusual.

 

[Imperial Citizen]

How about focusing on other eras if you crave diversity and representation so much like an 80s or 90s setting?

I’m not bothered that much by having black characters on the cover, hence my disagreement on your earlier post.

If they are trying to go with angle of having more stories which could include non-whites, they can still stick with the 20s. Classic voodoo, esoteric writings from Harlem, perhaps the Moorish Society was a secret cult.

 

[titty skeleton]

The amount of effort that gets put into TTRPG products is very low, and despite that they expect a premium for it.

If you think that's bad I suggest you look at some of the 'classic' digital mapmaking software such as Hexographer/Worldographer and Campaign Cartographer.

The asking prices are astonishing for such old and clunky programs.

Compared to their modern contemporaries in Wonder/dungeondraft et al that ask for 25 bucks or less it's certainly eyebrow raising.

Recently I indulged in a hex mapping venture following ACKS2's realm creation guidance to experiment. I found it very frustrating that Worldographer is seemingly the only program that does multiple map scale layers in the same file. Flipping from 6 mile scale to 24 mile scale for convenience is handy; you keep consistent features between the layers while swapping between exploration and long distance travel perspectives. Plus you can overlay the larger grid over the smaller.

I did find some web applications that attempt to do similar. Unfortunately they are either too narrow in scope or expect a subscription.

The only saving grace is that a Python script exists, and can be found on search engines, to generate pre-2025 Worldographer license keys. The 2025 update fixes some ancient jank and adds some nice features, but nothing worth the asking price.

I'm pleased that ACKS2 offers so much guidance for sandbox creation. The Judge's Journal is an interesting read if the concept or philosophy of ACKS clicks with you. It tickles my particular flavor of autism nicely.

 

[HomosexualCheezeMaker]

I found FGU's Psi World in a corner of the web and I swear that it's calling to me so I printed it out. It's kind of like the Scanners/Scanner Cop franchise I'm a fan of. You're either ostracized psychics trying to survive in a near future (for the 80s) setting or the ones hunting them. I already wrote down some notes for a campaign set in the restored Kingdom of Hawaii but I'm up to my neck in CoC and WFRP and will be for a time.

How's Conspiracy X? I was really into Ufology in my younger days so it looks like my jam.

Excellent but revised edition is is 150 physical
I have a full set of classic which is definitely a Ufology paradise and a great read
Some of the rules are janky like using Zener cards for psychic abilities
I won't spoil the rest but you can find everything on the internet archive

 

[Ghostse]

If you think that's bad I suggest you look at some of the 'classic' digital mapmaking software such as Hexographer/Worldographer and Campaign Cartographer.

The asking prices are astonishing for such old and clunky programs.

Compared to their modern contemporaries in Wonder/dungeondraft et al that ask for 25 bucks or less it's certainly eyebrow raising.

Recently I indulged in a hex mapping venture following ACKS2's realm creation guidance to experiment. I found it very frustrating that Worldographer is seemingly the only program that does multiple map scale layers in the same file. Flipping from 6 mile scale to 24 mile scale for convenience is handy; you keep consistent features between the layers while swapping between exploration and long distance travel perspectives. Plus you can overlay the larger grid over the smaller.

I did find some web applications that attempt to do similar. Unfortunately they are either too narrow in scope or expect a subscription.

The only saving grace is that a Python script exists, and can be found on search engines, to generate pre-2025 Worldographer license keys. The 2025 update fixes some ancient jank and adds some nice features, but nothing worth the asking price.

I'm pleased that ACKS2 offers so much guidance for sandbox creation. The Judge's Journal is an interesting read if the concept or philosophy of ACKS clicks with you. It tickles my particular flavor of autism nicely.

Tried DungeonDraft?
Honestly I do all my mapping in MapTool, its just easier and better performance to build in there.

Though honestly $70 for niche software isn't something I'm going to blink at it if does what I want. Where I'm going "yeeeee" us the $20-25 for icon packs.

 

[Manly_Brony]

I’m not bothered that much by having black characters on the cover, hence my disagreement on your earlier post.

It's not just the covers, it's the race swaps I'm already expecting like in the Arkham supplement's case. I own a physical copy of the Escape from Innsmouth campaign and there are 0 Black people in that accursed town. The only minorities are Europeans: Poles and Portuguese. The Hybrids running Innsmouth are the actual POCs because their seafaring ancestors had children with tainted Kanakas/Polynesians. They will most likely fall over themselves to balance this with a dozen good POCs.

If they are trying to go with angle of having more stories which could include non-whites, they can still stick with the 20s. Classic voodoo, esoteric writings from Harlem, perhaps the Moorish Society was a secret cult.

I would like this but they're afraid of the South if you ask me. That's why they stick to New England/Lovecraft Country. It's safe. The Tatooine of CoC if you will. Harlem was tried but the retarded author ruined it with the bullshit that America was built by Blacks, Klansmen are everywhere, cops will practice their aim on you on sight, there is no reverse racism and Whites are only allowed to use his book if they follow his rules: no stereotypes, no blaccents and no period accurate talk AKA N bombs. Call me a dumbass but you can just feel that Black America has a ton of superstitions, delusions and cults often tied to existing Mythos deities you're not supposed to touch unless some sensitivity reader approves. Like the Afrocentrist Black Egyptian Pharaoh Nyarlathotep Avatar parallel which reaches all the way to Hollywood if you remember the Netflix documentary about Cleopatra.

 

[HomosexualCheezeMaker]

Cease purchasing luxury pulp. Intellectual property isn't real.

It's crazy how expensive books are, but it also makes sense considering how bulky and heavy they can be. It still blows my mind that people want like $10 for a dozen page PDF of slop with bad artwork meanwhile you can buy amazing indie games off steam for like $5. The amount of effort that gets put into TTRPG products is very low, and despite that they expect a premium for it.

I only buy decent quality hard covers with some some exceptions like Conspiracy X or All Flesh must be eaten

Usually don't even bother with the slop books like modern WoD
>Was out of the loop and bought Werewolf, Vampire and Hunter 5th and regretted everything

If it's slop I don't even bother like the pride bundle they did on drive thru rpg that had one single page about arguing with conservatives on Thanksgiving

 

[LovisXVI]

Though honestly $70 for niche software isn't something I'm going to blink at it if does what I want.

Considering the opposed business model: recurring payment, it would likely hover around 10 dollars, so you'd surpass the cost in only 7 months. I am simply happy I can pay once and call it a day.

I would like this but they're afraid of the South if you ask me. That's why they stick to New England/Lovecraft Country. It's safe. The Tatooine of CoC if you will. Harlem was tried but the retarded author ruined it with the bullshit that America was built by Blacks, Klansmen are everywhere, cops will practice their aim on you on sight, there is no reverse racism and Whites are only allowed to use his book if they follow his rules: no stereotypes, no blaccents and no period accurate talk AKA N bombs. Call me a dumbass but you can just feel that Black America has a ton of superstitions, delusions and cults often tied to existing Mythos deities you're not supposed to touch unless some sensitivity reader approves. Like the Afrocentrist Black Egyptian Pharaoh Nyarlathotep Avatar parallel which reaches all the way to Hollywood if you remember the Netflix documentary about Cleopatra.

I am of the mind that a Darkest Africa CoC campaign would be fun, iirc Masks hits it briefly.

 

[titty skeleton]

Tried DungeonDraft?

I quite enjoy Dungeondraft. I've used it for dungeons from small to large. It really shines with a solid asset pack and a shadow pack. I think I saw someone made a mod and hex terrain asset pack but I've yet to try those out.

Wonderdraft is a good compliment for world maps, but not particularly great for fine detail. It has a more scattered asset market but the stock assets will still make a nice looking big picture map. The developer has some impressive timelapses on his YouTube if I'm remembering right.

Honestly I do all my mapping in MapTool, its just easier and better performance to build in there.

I tried MapTool a long time ago and appreciated what it was doing. Didn't stick with it but it's one of those things you can instantly tell will let you do what you need if you give it the time. I do really enjoy TokenTool which I think is from the same guys. Solid stuff.

 

[MazonLabs Recruitment Rep]

I would like this but they're afraid of the South if you ask me. That's why they stick to New England/Lovecraft Country. It's safe. The Tatooine of CoC if you will. Harlem was tried but the retarded author ruined it with the bullshit that America was built by Blacks, Klansmen are everywhere, cops will practice their aim on you on sight, there is no reverse racism and Whites are only allowed to use his book if they follow his rules: no stereotypes, no blaccents and no period accurate talk AKA N bombs. Call me a dumbass but you can just feel that Black America has a ton of superstitions, delusions and cults often tied to existing Mythos deities you're not supposed to touch unless some sensitivity reader approves. Like the Afrocentrist Black Egyptian Pharaoh Nyarlathotep Avatar parallel which reaches all the way to Hollywood if you remember the Netflix documentary about Cleopatra.

At least the previous edition of CoC did have an adventure centered around the blues music scene and thus had parts in Harlem. It had a small blurb that said "Hey, we know this is the 1920's, racism is a thing, segregation is a thing, here's what Harlem culture was, "Nigger", "Blacks" is still a used word, but it's up to you and your table how you want to handle it." and that was the end of it.

And also, I adapted one of the old Mansion's of Madness scenarios that take place on an old Georgia plantation (Yig tries to manipulate the party into doing his dirty work to kill an uppity sorceress trying to usurp his worship and followers in the area. Snakes snakes snakes and more snakes), and it had a similar blurb, but it was sparse, non preachy, and emphasized "Read the room, handle it how your players are comfortable with, the end."

I'd actually like to do more Creole centric scenarios, come to think of it. New Orleans is a gold mine of ideas and the bayou is easy to make horrific.

 

[Imperial Citizen]

It's not just the covers, it's the race swaps I'm already expecting like in the Arkham supplement's case. I own a physical copy of the Escape from Innsmouth campaign and there are 0 Black people in that accursed town. The only minorities are Europeans: Poles and Portuguese. The Hybrids running Innsmouth are the actual POCs because their seafaring ancestors had children with tainted Kanakas/Polynesians. They will most likely fall over themselves to balance this with a dozen good POCs.

I would like to see how they present the NPCs. If they go with the isolated town of Innsmouth having a family with the last name Mankambe, that’s some woke shit. If it’s like a passing journalist for a New York City African American paper, then it makes sense in context.

Call me a dumbass but you can just feel that Black America has a ton of superstitions, delusions and cults often tied to existing Mythos deities you're not supposed to touch unless some sensitivity reader approves.

Going that route does require an understanding of these mystical traditions. Because they are real to many people and it does a disservice to just relegate all spiritual practices to being associated with the eldritch.

You wouldn’t present the Eucharist as an apocalyptic cult cannibalizing their god every time you encounter a Christian group. You do that when you want to show that this an actual Lovecraftian cult.

Same goes for a ritual in Voodoo or Santeria or any other African-derived syncretic tradition. Draining the blood of chicken to summon the power of Ogun is occult, but not unnatural. Draining the blood of an orphan to strengthen a Lloigor masquerading as Ogun is unnatural.

 

[Manly_Brony]

I am of the mind that a Darkest Africa CoC campaign would be fun, iirc Masks hits it briefly.

Kenya (I ran some scenarios here), the Congo and the Sudan have official or unofficial Miskatonic University Library Association supplements. The first two were the superior ones.

 

[CrunkLord420]

Sometimes I think about playing in a group and then I watch an actual play, any actual play. It's always awkward cringe. I'm not just talking about the big name voice actor type ones. Even the tiny livestreams. They all have like 6 players. 5 people are just blankly staring, waiting for the GM and active player to sort out whatever is going on. Just kill me when someone tries to do in-character roleplaying. I'd rather get the third person narration.

Recordings of people playing solo are legitimately less cringe, just saying.

 

[Flipendo]

Sometimes I think about playing in a group and then I watch an actual play, any actual play. It's always awkward cringe. I'm not just talking about the big name voice actor type ones. Even the tiny livestreams. They all have like 6 players. 5 people are just blankly staring, waiting for the GM and active player to sort out whatever is going on. Just kill me when someone tries to do in-character roleplaying. I'd rather get the third person narration.

Recordings of people playing solo are legitimately less cringe, just saying.

Cringe? In MY roleplaying game?!?

 

[LovisXVI]

I watch an actual play, any actual play.

Why would you do that?

They all have like 6 players. 5 people are just blankly staring, waiting for the GM and active player to sort out whatever is going on. Just kill me when someone tries to do in-character roleplaying. I'd rather get the third person narration.

You see, that sounds like a them problem, because in my group I have very much cultivated a strong sense of roleplay and enthusiasm in the characters. Of course, I was a theater kid in high school, so I also am completely immune to cringe in a way that most mortal men aren't, but the rest of my players aren't, but still go into the voice anyway. I dunno, I think most people are too self-conscious and should just do it, its much more fun to actually roleplay.

 

[p1138]

Sometimes I think about playing in a group and then I watch an actual play, any actual play. It's always awkward cringe. I'm not just talking about the big name voice actor type ones. Even the tiny livestreams. They all have like 6 players. 5 people are just blankly staring, waiting for the GM and active player to sort out whatever is going on. Just kill me when someone tries to do in-character roleplaying. I'd rather get the third person narration.

Recordings of people playing solo are legitimately less cringe, just saying.

Watching play alongs of TTRPGs is and always will be fucking weird, unless you're specifically watching to see how people interact with mechanics or something.

Why would people actually RP'ng be a problem? Best case scenario(in my opinion) is when you can repeatedly engage the entire table into actually RPng all at once assuming the characters are in a sensible position to do so. Sure it'll be fucking cringe, because most tables aren't filled with professional actors, but so what?

 

[Overly Serious]

What's your opinion on "it's what my guy would do"? Should RP always take the back seat to efficiency? If not, what's the limit?

I've had this. After endless weeping by other players I finally had to explain to them in tones of disbelief: "But... you go along with it. If you think his plan is stupid, stop him."

"We tried. He didn't listen."
"You didn't try. Your character didn't do a thing."

I try to get players to understand they need to act through their characters. I have zero problem as GM if the other PCs wrestle the one PC to the ground and gag him to stop him bad mouthing their patron; or stand back and let the guy go charging off into a doomed combat by himself.

Get a big bit of paper, write "It is not my job to stop you doing dumb things. It is your job to stop you doing dumb things". Prop it up in front of your screen and if they don't learn to police themselves, let them suffer.