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

[Gingervitis]

So tabletop stuff has been getting the retarded political sperging treatment a lot lately but I think at the end of the day it means nothing. The key to playing these games is that you play them with a group of friends who cooperate to have a fun time. The mongoloids they pander to are incapable of maintaining this. They may be able to set up a discord game and run on roll20 for a time but eventually the lack of social skills and staggering autism will eventually dismantle those games.

The big thing about gaming for me is that I make friends with the people I game with. I've played and ran campaigns that have lasted for years on a weekly basis that would not have held up if I wasn't friends with the people I was playing with. I've been in two weddings and have attended many more with people I met because I liked rolling dice with them. I've discovered weird personal lolcows too but I don't really play with them anymore... just keep tabs on them through twitter.

My point is, whatever the system you're playing doesn't really matter. When you know enough to just like the people you're gaming with you'll figure out how to have fun. It is my belief that insane programmer socks wearing autists can never maintain an interest in the hobby for long and because of that we're all going to be okay.

Where do you find these close friends irl and how do I join them

 

[Snekposter]

The best part is that Larry Correia is a major TTRPG nerd, and that he published his own MHI RPG using the Savage Worlds system. I bought a copy, but I have literally no idea if it's good or not because I haven't played it (and probably never will).

Yeah, while I was searching for the post that got me reading the series I saw @Capsaicin Addict brought it up earlier in the specific Urban Fantasy thread.

 

[That Guy George]

Where do you find these close friends irl and how do I join them

You know I remember when I invited you to a game. You made a char sheet, a whole elaborate backstory, the works. It wasn't a good sheet or backstory mind you, you legit wrote yourself into a corner fucking yourself out of the prestige class you wanted. But that could have been fixed which i tried to do. You were in decent shape before the game.... shame you never fucking showed. No warning, no sorry. Nothing.
Thats was pretty consistent with you behavior in the group. You talked a big game, but I think You only showed up to a grand 1 sessions.
Maybe this is why you don't get games?

 

[Mr. Manchester]

Where do you find these close friends irl and how do I join them

Time. Join games and pick out the people you like. Run your own games with the people you like and get rid of the people that you don't. If you find an asshole or an idiot don't invite them back. You will slowly form your own group this way. The ones you don't invite back give you stories.

Enjoy being around people bad or good, keep the good and make fun of the bad once they're gone.

 

[Capsaicin Addict]

The best part is that Larry Correia is a major TTRPG nerd, and that he published his own MHI RPG using the Savage Worlds system. I bought a copy, but I have literally no idea if it's good or not because I haven't played it (and probably never will).

Yeah, while I was searching for the post that got me reading the series I saw @Capsaicin Addict brought it up earlier in the specific Urban Fantasy thread.

The madman ran a seventeen player Savage Worlds one-shot. I am in awe.

 

[Corn Flakes]

I get what you’re saying, but there are far too many low-effort “101 things found in a modern criminal’s pockets” or “100 Asian Names” pdfs for it to be a coincidence.

Look at them less as "content" and more like the RPG equivalent of the cheap baubles you can buy on Etsy, or those asset swaps on Steam. They're things people buy because "ooh, shiny!". Some do have interesting concepts you can use in games, but most are just low-effort decorative crap.

Time. Join games and pick out the people you like. Run your own games with the people you like and get rid of the people that you don't. If you find an asshole or an idiot don't invite them back. You will slowly form your own group this way. The ones you don't invite back give you stories.

Enjoy being around people bad or good, keep the good and make fun of the bad once they're gone.

Addendum: don't be an asshole or an idiot yourself. Having the self-awareness to recognize and attempt to correct our negative aspects is what puts us above monkeys and SJWs.

 

[Techpriest]

The crayon eating retards who deem themselves Blue Curtain analysts took a literal shitpost game and tried to make up bullshit to validate it.

On the other hand, Clown Helsing sounds amazing, and I'd probably play Hammer and Stake at least once, since I do like old socialist art about as much as futurism and Duce Dracula is a weird/cool concept.

I would play Hammer and Stake in a heart beat as long as we all agree we must speak in stereotypical Russian communist fashion. It feels like a pulp novel style of concept.

 

[Judge Dredd]

I get what you’re saying, but there are far too many low-effort “101 things found in a modern criminal’s pockets” or “100 Asian Names” pdfs for it to be a coincidence.

It depends on the book.

There are books like that, but some are good for ideas or can help out in a pinch. Good wild magic tables are few, as many aren't even true d100 or are stuffed with filler. I made good use of a d20 random scary things table when my PCs kept wandering around a haunted house. I've heard good things about the Central Casting books, though that might be because they were recommended on Counter Monkey. The Tome of Adventure Design was shilled on Questing Beast, and seems good if you need help with some element or other.

 

[Anonymus Fluhre]

The thing is, I've never once heard of anyone even considering playing any of those fringe games. Except for people playing them for youtube clicks over how shit they are. I've played a whole fucking lot of games over the years, lots of systems, lots of settings, some homebrew stuff, online, in person, and I've never seen any ad for, "Want to play joyless slog where everyone's a troon and Republicans are vampires, looking for players."

Like, these things are being printed, and they're getting kickstarter money from idiots, but I'm pretty sure they aren't being played.

In some cases the Kickstarters aren't even being shipped so even if they want to play, they can't.

 

[ZMOT]

Addendum: don't be an asshole or an idiot yourself. Having the self-awareness to recognize and attempt to correct our negative aspects is what puts us above monkeys and SJWs.

if they had those abilities they wouldn't be disphits in the first place tho. besides, at some point the train has left the station, lot of genderspecials and soitards are 30+, you don't get to that point at that age being socially well adjusted or emotional intelligent.

 

[Pentex]

The Case for Orc Wizards—and Why You Should Play RPGs 'Wrong'​

TL;DR
Stop gatekeeping, grognards! So what if I don't bother to learn the rules, don't like the setting, and want to derail the campaign with how queer, disabled, neurodivergent, SPESHUL I am? You should also let me ERP in any game, whether it's appropriate or not, like my yummy Numenera! If you don't like woke faggots into the game, you're totes killing the hobby! Please ignore the slow death of RPGNET thanks to woke infiltration. Also, MUH MERCER EFFECT.

NEAR THE END of last year, cosplayer, singer, and tabletop enthusiast Ginny Di uploaded a video titled “ Why You Should Build Your D&D Character ‘Wrong’,” a 10-minute discussion about exploring unconventional character creation and playstyles—which she’d personally been heavily discouraged from, despite enjoying them immensely.

The video added fuel to the ongoing conversations around gatekeeping in nerd spaces, coming from both fan communities and the companies that market to them, which have generally aimed to expand and diversify what fandoms look like.

Gatekeeping is a tired, boring phenomenon whereby a fanbase dreams up an imagined complexity and reverence for the thing they enjoy, and weaponizes it condescendingly toward their new or casual peers to make them feel out of place in those spaces.

Motivated by the same momentary rush of power that fuels bullies, gatekeeping hurts both the communities it infects and the industries that create and refine the things they love. When tolerated, gatekeeping prevents the growth or evolution of a fanbase, guaranteeing its slow death from within.

As Di discusses in her video, the D&D old guard is stereotypically known for tearing apart anything that doesn’t resemble the motifs that have come to exemplify their subculture. A wood elf ranger is a perfect combination, so anything less is a kind of error, let alone abominations like an orc wizard.

Search results reveal dozens of vlogs and articles about the cardinal sins of roleplaying, which range from not understanding all the rules to being too excited at the table. The concept of “problem players” has been around for ages, and the toxicity players discuss is often legitimate, but it’s the hyper criticality the community also often demonstrates that fuels the gatekeeping impulse.

Tabletop Podcasts Are Partially to Blame
It’s worth contextualizing the recent rush of new players to D&D and tabletop gaming in general, thanks both to new releases such as D&D’s Fifth Edition in 2014 as well as all sorts of wildly popular podcast series.

Adventure Zone fans join the game after seeing their favorite characters’ constant jokes, massive creative license with the rules, and the construction of grandiose, epic tales of identity, love, and justice.

They join Critical Role fans who expect deep realization of fascinatingly crafted characters played with practiced delivery, building powerful bonds of friendship and camaraderie with their party.

These influxes may find themselves sitting at tables run by the D&D old guard, prepared to present the traditional knights and wizards largely inspired by middle-earth or The Forgotten Realms who expect arduous quests to slay great monsters and loot their treasure to bring glory to their kings or gods.

These different expectations have introduced a new layer of friction to the already fraught experience of roleplaying, which was gatekept enough without eager teens flocking to it.

Every roleplaying group is different, but what never changes is that these games are powered by imagination, which means everyone’s vision is valid. Tabletop roleplaying is nothing other than a shared adventure. When there’s friction at the table, it’s important to examine if it’s because not everyone is present to engage and collaborate with one another fairly.

Patience and empathy are vital, and if a player can’t bring acceptance to the experience, it might be because they’re attending with inflexible expectations. Adherence to conventions, exploitative min-maxing and flawless recall of the rules has never been the goal of D&D, and neither has it been an utterly freeform improv art piece in which rules and structure are irrelevant. The goal is to have fun with the people you’re playing with, which means you need to show up prepared to listen and compromise with your party.

Can someone not remember their spells? Then suggest they write them down. What about forgetting their character’s backstory? Perhaps they could rehearse it before the session. Are they not contributing enough? Then give them opportunities to make decisions, find a way for the greater plot to feature them, or ask them what they’d like their character to do between sessions. Communicate!

If you can’t meet your fellow roleplayers in the middle, you’re not really roleplaying.

The common solution is to find like-minded players, and while that’s unfortunately the only option sometimes, it shouldn’t be. The community is divided enough, and it’s about time we spent a little longer examining what we consider to be the “wrong” way to roleplay.

The Discrimination Conversation
While perhaps beside the point, it’s worth mentioning how much work has gone into bringing diversity and inclusivity into media in our time, a trend that geeky interests have particularly embraced.

Last year, Twitter welcomed a small explosion of homemade content supporting the presentation of wheelchair accessibility in Fifth Edition D&D. Together with Thomas Lishman and Strata Miniatures, Russ Charles created a set of tabletop figures with personalized wheelchairs for use with Sara Thompson’s “combat wheelchair” rules.

Not long after, actor and producer Jennifer Kretchmer contributed to the release of the Candledeep Mysteries sourcebook, with an explicitly wheelchair accessible adventure, a style of play for which she has compiled many resources for free.

Speaking to Polygon, she explains, “As an ambulatory wheelchair user, I wanted people to have the opportunity to see themselves represented in-game. We have the ability in fantasy to imagine things. We don’t have to pay to make those accommodations.”

The terrifying backlash over these wholly optional resources shows how gatekeeping can be directed in the ugliest ways.

The inclusivity that creators have prioritized in fantasy has thrown open the doors for new people to feel safe at roleplaying tables. Nerdy communities have always been a refuge for those out of place or other, and the work to encourage minority, queer, neurodivergent, and differently abled people to feel included in adventuring with their own character is something to celebrate. Everyone should be welcome.

It doesn’t always work that way, though.

I can certainly recall being called the F-word at a table, presumably for being the only bisexual player present in the company of exclusively straight men, or for playing the sole character who wasn’t a straight, white, able-bodied man in the predictably Eurocentric and monoethnic setting of our campaign.

Whether that incident was a throwaway slur normalized into a regressive upbringing or a pointed statement about who was and who was not welcome to participate in high fantasy, I couldn’t say. I wasn’t much interested in finding out. But my experience is not unique. Many people can attest to the toxicity that can bubble to the surface with gatekeeping, revealing a more sinister side to the problem. One arguably being fueled by the source material.

The Evolution of Roleplaying
As with any culture in history, roleplaying has changed since its inception. Dungeons and Dragons was invented in 1974, in a form barely recognizable next to its interpretations today. Its continued evolution into new forms is natural and necessary, both as a game and as a tool for representing and inspiring people.

Adventure Zone alone has already bent the Fifth Edition formula around illustrating drag races, magic gameshows, and wrestling matches, all while maintaining a full cast of vibrant and unique characters. This isn’t to say that every game of D&D ought to be unrecognizable from the last, but goes to show how much the game can be used to do, and more importantly, how that cultivates the community around it.

“Playing the game wrong” is a start because winning isn’t everything, especially in roleplaying, where failure is only one dice roll away. Dice games are about catastrophe as often as they’re about triumph. But true evolution comes from redefinition. Players shouldn’t be punished for playing the “wrong” characters; the rules should be able to fairly accommodate what they want.

The creation of custom assets and rule-waiving by players is nothing new, though some changes are still frowned upon by diehards. This is something Wizards of the Coast has actually explicitly encouraged a number of times through their ongoing Unearthed Arcana series, which appears poised to reimagine the way racial bonuses work in-game, likely more along the lines of Pathfinder 2nd Edition’s ruleset, due to the growing discussion about how two-dimensional that system is.

The developer of Numenera, a science-fantasy tabletop RPG launched in 2013, goes further. Shanna Germain’s Love and Sex in the Ninth World is a sex-positive supplement exploring the queer identities of orientation and gender at its core in bringing romance and erotica to the table in quite explicit terms.

Ultimately, the mechanics of roleplaying serve as a vessel for our fantasies. They work best when the imaginations of the people playing them fit their shape, but the reverse can be true too.

The Case for Orc Wizards—and Why You Should Play RPGs 'Wrong'

Breaking the conventions of tabletop roleplaying is great for everyone.

www.wired.com

The Case for Orc Wizards—and Why You Should Play RPGs 'Wrong' | WIRED

archived 5 Jul 2021 02:32:18 UTC

archive.is

 

[Adamska]

I would play Hammer and Stake in a heart beat as long as we all agree we must speak in stereotypical Russian communist fashion. It feels like a pulp novel style of concept.

It does depend on what system they use. I will 360 moonwalk away if it's PbtA.

The Case for Orc Wizards—and Why You Should Play RPGs 'Wrong'​

TL;DR
Stop gatekeeping, grognards! So what if I don't bother to learn the rules, don't like the setting, and want to derail the campaign with how queer, disabled, neurodivergent, SPESHUL I am? You should also let me ERP in any game, whether it's appropriate or not, like my yummy Numenera! If you don't like woke faggots into the game, you're totes killing the hobby! Please ignore the slow death of RPGNET thanks to woke infiltration. Also, MUH MERCER EFFECT.

The Case for Orc Wizards—and Why You Should Play RPGs 'Wrong'

Breaking the conventions of tabletop roleplaying is great for everyone.

www.wired.com

https://archive.md/7R6M4

You literally can't build a character wrong anymore since they've gotten rid of the negative attributes of race, made everything balanced, and want to get rid of the fantasy races in general.

Also Mercer's fake and gay and his show is filmed on a porn set where women get pounded by cock in between his sets.

 

[Corn Flakes]

The Case for Orc Wizards—and Why You Should Play RPGs 'Wrong'​

TL;DR
Stop gatekeeping, grognards! So what if I don't bother to learn the rules, don't like the setting, and want to derail the campaign with how queer, disabled, neurodivergent, SPESHUL I am? You should also let me ERP in any game, whether it's appropriate or not, like my yummy Numenera! If you don't like woke faggots into the game, you're totes killing the hobby! Please ignore the slow death of RPGNET thanks to woke infiltration. Also, MUH MERCER EFFECT.

The Case for Orc Wizards—and Why You Should Play RPGs 'Wrong'

Breaking the conventions of tabletop roleplaying is great for everyone.

www.wired.com

https://archive.md/7R6M4

What are these people talking about?

I've played an orc wizard before, and not the "adopted by a civilized culture" kind either. Sure, that hit to Int made her a smidge less powerful wizard than your average human or elf. But a fireball is a fireball is a fireball. She roasted kobolds with a single 3rd level spell slot just like everybody else. And actually playing the character was very interesting. For example: instead of a standard spellbook, she carried strings of baubles and trinkets that she carved glyphs onto. And the roleplay was just amazing, because she was definitely the type to join in and knock some heads when the bar brawl started. The point is, new players are discouraged from playing less optimal builds because most people don't like leaving potential on the table. But if you're experienced enough for it, and the group is amenable to it, just... go right the fuck ahead. Play a plate-armored elf. Play a half-orc bard. Play a dragonborn monk. You won't be as numerically powerful as an optimized character, but numbers aren't everything.

As for ERPing at the table... Jesus Fucking Christ on a motorbike...

I've played the stereotypical bard that fucked anything that moved a couple of times through the years. Not once in my life I demanded or even suggested that any kind of description of the act should go beyond "fade to black" and "you wake up sore the next day and make a mental note on dwarven bar wenches". Even at peak horny, back in my teenager years, I thought trying to describe sex scenes over the tabletop was cringy beyond belief. And now I'm a grown-ass adult with a loving wife, and I know what sex actually is, it's even more cringe.

Even in the moments when sex was part of the scene, like a character bedding an NPC in order to try to steal something from them mid-coitus, it was all described objectively. It wasn't meant to be a sexy scene. It was meant to be a functional scene where a character was trying to do something besides getting their rocks off. Infiltrating a pleasure cult's ritual orgy? Great, the GM says "yeah, everybody is fucking" and the scene moves right along. If anyone ends up joining (either by choice or to try to maintain cover when the cultists insist they join), their character is effectively put on hold until it's appropriate for them to perform a non-sex action. There is no situation in which a detailed description of peen-go-in-vaj or related acts is called for at an RPG table.

Seriously, does anyone but sexually-repressed losers cladding themselves in the mantle of "queer" out of sheer desperation in their search for a pity-fuck ever play these fucking games? Because I can tell you without fear of exaggeration that every single person who tried to get into erotic roleplay at a table I was present at was just that: a horny loser trying to get laid vicariously through their character, to the detriment of the GM and everybody else around the table. There's nothing that will result in a break (or the end of the session) being called faster than that someone trying to pull off that shit.

 

[Gingervitis]

Play a half-orc bard.

As for ERPing at the table... Jesus Fucking Christ on a motorbike...

I've played the stereotypical bard that fucked anything that moved a couple of times through the years. Not once in my life I demanded or even suggested that any kind of description of the act should go beyond "fade to black" and "you wake up sore the next day and make a mental note on dwarven bar wenches". Even at peak horny, back in my teenager years, I thought trying to describe sex scenes over the tabletop was cringy beyond belief. And now I'm a grown-ass adult with a loving wife, and I know what sex actually is, it's even more cringe.

Even in the moments when sex was part of the scene, like a character bedding an NPC in order to try to steal something from them mid-coitus, it was all described objectively. It wasn't meant to be a sexy scene. It was meant to be a functional scene where a character was trying to do something besides getting their rocks off. Infiltrating a pleasure cult's ritual orgy? Great, the GM says "yeah, everybody is fucking" and the scene moves right along. If anyone ends up joining (either by choice or to try to maintain cover when the cultists insist they join), their character is effectively put on hold until it's appropriate for them to perform a non-sex action. There is no situation in which a detailed description of peen-go-in-vaj or related acts is called for at an RPG table.

Seriously, does anyone but sexually-repressed losers cladding themselves in the mantle of "queer" out of sheer desperation in their search for a pity-fuck ever play these fucking games? Because I can tell you without fear of exaggeration that every single person who tried to get into erotic roleplay at a table I was present at was just that: a horny loser trying to get laid vicariously through their character, to the detriment of the GM and everybody else around the table. There's nothing that will result in a break (or the end of the session) being called faster than that someone trying to pull off that shit.

I might be a disgusting degenerate who’s cool with ERP games, but that shits for online games. Not irl games, where you can see the faces of the other players, and certainly not in games meant for normal play. That shit is disgusting, and possibly gay.

Also, aren’t sex repulsed asexual people part of the LGBTQ+? Wouldn’t grossing them out of the table be acephobic?

 

[DeagleNationRefugee]

Is this a good module to run for ERP?

 

[Snekposter]

Play a plate-armored elf.

I have tried. God help me, I have wanted to make that work so badly. But Dex in 5e is just too godlike to pass up since its a get-out-of-free card for AoE spells and if some asshole decides to sit on a ridge like A FUCKING PUSSY being able to fire a longbow arrow to the face is just too damn handy. Its also, unlike plate mail, cheap. That said, I have done a Heavy Weapons Elf build in 20th Anniversary SR hilariously well since 5 BOD plus elf AGI plus a gyromount plus... yeah, I'll cut the sperging short.

 

[The Demon Pimp of Razgriz]

You know, (thank you to whoever recommended MHI to me), that's already a book series. Oh wait, its about independent contractors battling an asshole Federal government that is just as incompetent at fighting unspeakable horrors as it is doing anything else, and yet just as unwilling to stand back and let actual competent people handle things out of arrogance.

The best part is that Larry Correia is a major TTRPG nerd, and that he published his own MHI RPG using the Savage Worlds system. I bought a copy, but I have literally no idea if it's good or not because I haven't played it (and probably never will).

Funnily enough, I have a PDFs of both RPGs (there are apparently two, the newest one containing all of the info from the most recent novels). I've read through the much of the newer one's rulebook. Its an interesting setting, not least of which because half the fight really is filing your government paper work correctly and on time, like running a real business.

Another interesting urban fantasy RPG is The Laundry RPG; like MHI, its based on a novel series, though it leans into the Lovecraftian more than MHI, and is a unique mix of urban fantasy and spy fiction. That RPG also focuses on the utter insanity that is the government, though from the point of view of someone who works for said government (the British government at that). Its like Yes, Minister, except for a government MIB agency. Also, the American equivalent of The Laundry (that's the actual nickname of the British supernatural spy agency in question), the Black Chamber, is pure fucking evil and probably made a deal with an eldritch abomination. Fun times.

 

[Big Nasty]

View attachment 2317817
Is this a good module to run for ERP?

Judges Guild = gnarly old troons

Probably

 

[Capsaicin Addict]

You know, Hero Builder's Guidebook actually sat down and gave ideas as to how to play X race Y class, even if they weren't optimized.

What the hell is this Wired 'writer' blithering on about, besides his lack of contact outside his bubble?

 

[Ghostse]

Fucking hell. Whoever called the person who wrote that article a faggot was spot on.

The last thing I need is more tards with poorly thought out gimmick characters they create for shockvalue and with zero forethought on how they'll work in the setting. You know the player. They would make a purposely irritating or dumb/chaotic monkeycheese character, and then just have this weird one-trick pony that has run it course after session or two. So they either derail the game trying to get to do their one-trick again, or they get bored, disengage, and want to roll another gimmick, while aguing how their gimmick should be able to break the game rules. Or they get pissy when the whole game isn't built around them being able to gayflirt with every male to make some bishiyaoi fantasy come true for them.

Which isn't to say every character needs to be grimdark serious. I had a dwarven law-school dropout- played as a stereotypical fratbro - from a dwarven society where the judicial system was trial-by-combat. The character was a silly good time, and worked in the context of the world. (And I got to yell "Objection!" for every opportunity attack.)
I also had someone who played a Troll sorcerer who only knew fire spells - so would lose his shit every time he cast fireball.
@Corn Flakes Orc Wizard is another great example of 'it doesn't need to be mixmaxed, just be actually playable'

Making a deliberately gimped character to get a rise out of people is not a substitute for creativity.

This makes me think of this video I watched about a DM tips guys - where he was offering advice on how to play characters, and his "best example of a good character" was when he played CoC and played a skeptic character who refused to believe all the shit happening around them, and made deliberately dumb choices because of it. I am not a super serious sweaty player, but I'd have throttled him or left the table after the first real encounter.
I don't watch his videos anymore.

Also, JFC, the last thing any tabletop needs is ERP. I shouldn't be able to tell if your character is gay, straight, or only can achieve full sexual arrousal in a room full of cooling pies.
If you want to make some weird Magical School girls vs. Tentacle demons system to write weird collaborative erotica, ok fine, you do you.
But these queers really need to stop trying to inject their weird fetishes into the games.