#classic gm videos

[avesdraws]

gmans day out

#half life #half life 2 #gmod #classic gm videos

[bunny-heels]

BOB AND BILL EPISODE🔥🔥‼️🔥‼️🔥‼️ WHAT THE FUCK IS A HEALTHY FRIENDSHIP🔥🔥‼️‼️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️

#the bun talks #classic gmod videos #classic gm videos #gmod arg #garrys mod arg #garry's mod arg #gmod #garrys mod #garry's mod

[vintagerpg]

Skate Wizards is another zine that feels like it should forever be a zine, never a book. A collaboration between Michael C. Hsiung and Loot the Body, it's about, well, skating, cool tunes, wizards and…uh…pipe weed that is totally medicinal. The back cover perhaps says it best, “Once the world was cool. Then it sucked for a really long time. How it has a chance to be cool again or suck forever. It’s all up to the Skate Wizards!”

The system is based on Maze Rats (which I am unfamiliar with) and Nate Treme’s In the Light of a Ghost Star (which I am). This boils down to a lite, three attribute D&D derivative with some unusual spells. Each skate wizard gets the same Permanent spells that they can cast at any time — Ramp, Sidewalk and Rail — which conjure the necessary skating surface. They can also cast one Rando spell per day, the effects of which are determined by rolling on a table and mixing descriptive words, which are then hashed out by the player and the GM. I just rolled “Dope Expanding Fire Tree.” Finally, a Skate Wizard has one Bootleg spell prepared from their collection of skate videos that allow them to perform a specific reality bending trick, like defying gravity for five minutes. There are skater specific magic items and if a Skate Wizard’s health drops to zero, they become a Poser and roll on a table of six lame-o fates they suffer in their new normie existence. A big heap of adventures and a table for generating skate trick names rounds out the package (though, online, you can also listen to the kickin’ soundtrack).

It’s a real treat to have so much of Michael’s wizard art in one place. I love his bold, clean linework and how he often flattens details and patterns so they look like textiles or stitching. And the illustrations are just bursting with humor and personality. Classic.

#roleplaying game #tabletop rpg #dungeons & dragons #ttrpg #d&d #rpg #Skate Wizards #noimport

[christiansorrell]

RPG Read-through: .dungeon//remastered

For a while on Twitter, I've been doing read-through threads where I post my thoughts as I'm reading through a game for the first time. I recently did the same with Snow's .dungeon//remastered, a TTRPG where you are players logging in to a dead/dying MMO and exploring the digital fantasy world. I'm adapting those thoughts here for a proper Tumblr post! Enjoy!

First up, credits! Good folks who do good work in my experience. Also, we get the first of what seems to be a common through-line here that I enjoy: an online fandom bent to this all being a sort of GameFAQ style guide for an in-universe game.

My initial impression from most of the interior spreads I've seen just flipping through it is that I really love the style and layout. I think black and white layouts are underrated generally, but it really pops here with the pixelated text/symbols and the old school GUIs.

It's interesting to have these kind of "no bigotry" rules you see in many games couched within an in-universe framing. I think this more personal angle actually makes them land better for me than they typically do in games.

Of course, the author is still powerless to stop the players (just like with any instance of these rules, and all game rules in general tbh) BUT this is worldbuilding too, and it gives me a greater sense for the kind of in-universe fandom that's risen up around .dungeon.

Similarly, here's the game's unique version of safety tools - an in-game help menu that reworks things like lines/veils, x-card and more into the game world itself. I really like this.

Once again, the art in this is just great. I love the Fez-like runes/symbols. My ARG brain wants to know if there's a hidden message here.

I was surprised it was jumping right into the starter adventure, Tutorial Town, but I quickly found out that this is character creation AND a starting area/adventure all wrapped into one, video game-style, and that's so cool.

Each room of the starting area introduces a step of character creation. It's interesting that stats are based on real-world (not you the player at the table real-world but your PC at the "real-world" computer playing the game) ability. Your game knowledge, response time, etc.

As a long time Dota player, I also just really enjoy that the saving throw-like stat here is TILT. I have tilted many times and known many of my teammates to tilt regularly. Just fun to see that phrasing in a TTRPG.

There's more of the in-universe real-world player here than I expected coming in. Definitely has some really intriguing potential. I do wonder though if the intent is to be playing a "real-world" level character or if you are "playing" as yourself at that layer. Both would work.

Monster statblocks. Easy to parse and straightforward to run as the GM (tho at time the layout does have one two many things laid on top of one another that can make them hard to read at first glance - like where "GOBLIN" is here):

Health here is SYNC, and it's shared across the whole party - I'm interested to see how that full mechanic plays out and how it may affect play.

Reaction rolls. I'm surprised to see them given the video game setting, cus mobs in MMOs just always attack you. I've gone back and forth on it with my video game-inspired TTRPG. Don't think it's a bad choice, just one that means the game world is more than a usual video game.

So you have your real-world level Job (based on your characters' out of game job) and your in-game "Role" which follow the classic "holy trinity" of MMO design:

PCs and monsters can team up to attack and can forego damage for stunts - potentially fun/interesting moments happening from that. Monsters deal dmg to SYNC but only per type is interesting, means a crowd of one-enemy is more a long trickle of damage than an overwhelming burst.

Not knowing the ramifications of SYNC damage yet, I'm not sure what the Risk v Reward looks like for Respawns but it's intriguing. Letting your avatar die to keep the party in a stronger position overall (but being able to re-join after a fight) is definitely unique.

This is another fun room (and I like that other than saying late 90s/early 2000s it leaves appearance options open). I am not sure where to find the starting origins tho (they aren't on this spread and there's no page reference). Sadly, the PDF isn't bookmarked either, it seems.

This feels like a smart roadblock to place in player's paths early on. It's unlikely they'll have a lockpick at this point so really, it's about getting players into that creative mindset. What is in the room for you to exploit? What gear do you have you can use in a new way?

Might seem basic, especially to the OSR-experienced out there, but you'd be surprised how many players don't have experience with thinking more freeformly about the game in this way. No fault to them, most trad games condition you to use your PC's abilities/skills as a menu.

Another cool interaction between the layers of the game here (tho I do wish they all played more off of something more than just the tarot card being in the real-world layer). Still wondering if most folks play as themselves or as a real-world level PC.

This is interesting. I wonder if there is going to be a real-world layer to play or if this is meant to be the amount your party can heal between sessions of play (like when the actual real you stops playing in actual real life - this meta layer stuff is tricky to communicate).

I like this - a very short and sweet travel system.

I continue to love this art. Also, this tease here around dual-wielding requiring the discovery of new Roles out in the game world somewhere first is really enticing (I added the highlighter there btw).

This is fun - there are both in-game NPCs and PUGs which are other real-world players' in-game avatars. That extra layer to those types of NPCs is really fun and them running the gamut of fully out-of-character chatting to being hardcore RPers is fun to consider.

Whenever it leans into the digital world aspects, I'm super into it. Very much my kinda thing. I do wonder though how often players can swap their Roles. I don't believe I've seen that said yet - my inclination would be once on the fly (like Final Fantasy's Job systems).

And if these various layers weren't enough, .dungeon also features in-game collectible cards that are sort of enchantments and buffs. I wonder if my real-world level character can spend real money to buy Bytes to buy more packs from a merchant in town? lol

I won't spoil/detail too many more of these but these kind of fun (and common to video games but rarely seen when thinking of the world of a game or the intended way to play) moments are really appealing. Also, this game has Goons in it. Oh no.

Now I'm thinking the intention is the "real-world" level of play should be the real actual you, the person playing .dungeon the TTRPG (as opposed to a real-world level character still within the fiction of the game) since stuff like this would be tricky to track. Cool item!

Tutorial Island is cool, a good blend of char creation, intro to what the game is, and just a fun adventure with a session or more of play to it. I'd have to run/play this to really see but I find the Sync being tied to essentially your real-world session length interesting.

This stuff is cool and leans into that meta/fan-level play that only comes out of these big community-driven games, both MMOs but also things like Dark Souls.

A lot of these kind of possible secrets come as comments in the text, possibly just to inspire the GM and to get players interested in ways that the table can build out on their own over time. So far, I don't see some of the more esoteric secrets to be laid out (which I like).

The rest of the book, as far as I've seen, is lots of resources, gear tables, monsters, etc. to build out the game after player's leave Tutorial Island. The game world here has that anything goes Final Fantasy bent to it. There's swords & wagons, but laser guns & skateboards too.

The setting here is also explicitly queer (mostly seen so far in the "real-world" PUGs) and includes things like sex workers and other elements that it maybe could not have had but that would certainly lessen the richness of its world, the fandom presented throughout, etc.

The spellcasting uses the in-game money as mana points essentially. That's a cool way to limit spellcasting and motivate player's, especially spellcasters, to get out there and make some $$$.

Okay, here's the real-world explanation I was waiting for (after the in-game gear lists and such). This is cool - it's fun to have a real-life layer to this and to have the game's world support that sort of dropping in and out, doing things outside of a full party session, etc.

I know a lot of folks do this with ongoing campaigns anyway, but this is one of those fun things to include here to build that in as an expectation in play. You have your raid nights with friends and you have your little solo sessions after work where you sell your loot.

Now, the rest is a nice collection of random dungeon, NPC, settlement, hexfill tables and more. Everything you'd expect from an OSR-like ruleset but occasionally with some fun added meta-layers.

Players getting a quest from an in-game Moderator and then being able to become a Mod themselves is a really fun idea and something I could envision becoming a long-term goal for one or more players at a table. The threat of encountering an Admin is scary as well!

To finish it up, we've got a cool AASCII-style character sheet, complete with MingLiU-ExtB font (my beloved)!

And that's .dungeon//remastered! I really enjoyed reading this, and I think it has a strong core that's really enhanced by its real-world interaction layer. Gonna put this on "Play Soon" list. There are some smart rules in particular I'll likely steal for a future project.

.dungeon//remastered is available digitally NOW with, I believe, physical copies coming soon. I backed the Kickstarter to get this digital version. CHECK IT OUT HERE!

#ttrpgs #ttrpg #indie ttrpg #fantasy #mmorpg #rpg #dnd

[rpgsandbox]

Welcome to Yeld! If this is your first time visiting the Magical Land, you're about to discover a hidden world full of adventures and danger! If you've discovered Yeld before, get ready to continue your adventures with a brand new book full of exciting new options and improvements!

The Magical Land of Yeld: 2nd Edition is an all-ages tabletop RPG with a focus on teamwork, exploration and shared storytelling. Our new edition refines and polishes the easy to learn Yeld ruleset and offers new Jobs, new art and lore, new monsters and plenty of quality of life improvements! Check out our Patch Notes to see what's new in Yeld: 2nd Edition!

Backwards compatible! Yeld: 2nd Edition is fully compatible with all of our previously published expansions. No need to re-buy any of those Job Guides! We appreciate your investment and assure you that you'll be able to continue to use your collection of Yeld expansions!

In The Magical Land of Yeld you'll take on the roll of children from our world (called Friends) who discover a land of magic and adventure hidden on the other side of a secret door! Take on heroic Jobs like Shepherd and Witch and set out on a quest across the Magical Land to challenge the infamous Hunters of Yeld and win their keys so you can unlock the door and return home! 

But hurry! If you turn 13 while in Yeld you'll become a monster, and you'll never be able to go home again!

In each Yeld adventure the Game Master leads players through a story full of challenges and monsters, to a final confrontation with a Boss Monster! If the players can defeat the Boss Monster they'll collect treasure and Reward Dice that they can use to customize their Friends!

As players continue their adventures they'll be able to take on the Hunters of Yeld. Each Hunter is a powerful Boss Monster with their own unique story, adventure and treasure. Defeating the Hunters awards the players with their Key, and advanced the players to the next Rank. where they can equip their Friends with more powerful equipment and unlock new Advanced Jobs and benefits!

Once the player defeat all 7 Hunters, collect their keys and advance to Rank 4 they can unlock the magic door and return home! Or they can choose to confront the sinister Vampire Prince Dragul and continue their adventures in Yeld!

New to Yeld? Download the full 1st Edition Rulebook for free! We're proud of our game and we think the best way to learn about Yeld is to get your hands on it! That's why we're offering the original Yeld 1st Edition rulebook for free! Download it and see what our game is all about!  Building Adventures: Adventures in Yeld are a story that you create and tell together. In each game of Yeld the Game Master will guide players through a story. But once the game ends the role of GM will pass to a new player. You'll tell the new GM what you’d like to see in your next game (More sword fights! Explore the Ogre Caves! Learn to cook Snake Cakes!) and the new GM will build a new adventure for you to play, using your suggestions to continue the story where the last GM left off. You’ll take turns as Game Master, making sure each player gets a chance to shape the story. We think you’ll discover that your adventures are more fun because they’re stories we’ve created together!

Fights: Fights in Yeld take place on an 8x8 grid called the Action Board and are similar to video games like Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem. We've taken inspiration from classic fantasy video games to provide deep turn based, team based action! In Yeld you’ll win fights with teamwork, combo building and improvisation, and every Friend will get a chance to shine! Here's the basics rules for fights:

Travel and time: Time and distance are important in Yeld. As you travel you’ll create a map that will show you where you’ve been and help you keep track of every town, cave and castle you discover. Traveling takes time, so you’ll mark off each day on your calendar. Yeld is full of special Holidays like the Blue Wind Kite Flying Festival and Black Opera Tournament, and if you arrive in the right town in time for these holidays you can participate in special events to gain unique rewards!

You may have arrived in Yeld as children, but each day you'll get older, and if you turn 13 while you’re still in Yeld you’ll become a monster! You’ll take on a Monster Job (like Vampire or Deep Mage) and be stuck in Yeld forever! Your time in Yeld is a race against the clock to see if you can unlock the door home before you become monsters! 

Speaking of Monsters... Yeld is full of strange and creepy creatures. Not everything you meet in Yeld wants to eat you, but Vampires, Fairy Soldiers, Mermaid Raiders, Toothfacer Bandits, Tunnel Mummies, Serpent Oracles, Scuba Snakes and all kinds of horrible creatures are lurking around every corner and in every cave, and their favorite prey is young heroes! We’ll be providing a whole bunch of neat monsters for you to choose from, so you’ll be able to fill your fights with all kinds of fun challenges. But our game will also come with a revised Monster Formula, allowing you to easily create custom creatures for your Friends to face!

Lots of comics! We like to present our rules visually. While Yeld features a full comprehensive game text it also has lots of instructional comics to help make learning the rules simple and easy! Plus, comics are fun! Here's a comic about using magic:

Creating characters in Yeld is an ongoing process that continues even after your adventure starts! Your characters, called Friends, start as normal children from our world. Each Friend is between the age of 7 and 12, and each Friend Type (like Liar, Big Sister or Brat) has a different set of Core dice, Special dice and personality traits. You'll choose your Friend Type and age before your first game.

Once you step through the magic door and start to explore Yeld you’ll get to take on a heroic Job like Witch, Black Mage or Oathbreaker. These Jobs will give you powerful abilities that allow you to face down dangerous monsters and take on difficult adventures. They'll also allow you to customize your Friend with new Core dice and Special dice and new weapons.

As you set out on your quest and explore Yeld you'll have even more chances to customize your Friend. You may decide to switch Jobs, taking some of what you learned from your last Job to a new one. You'll collect Special dice and win Good or Evil dice through heroic deeds or cunning and underhanded acts. You'll discover treasure and trade for loot. You may even go on special quests to learn powerful Advanced Jobs like Vampire Hunter and Drudge Angel! In each adventure you'll have an opportunity to continue to customize and build your Friend!

If you can't escape Yeld before you turn 13 you'll take a Monster Job like Deep Mage and Serpent Oracle. Monster Jobs represent a change in your body and mind as your Friend grows older and becomes more accustomed to Yeld. Being a monster can be scary, but it can also be exciting! Some Friends discover that they love the power that comes with being a monster. And just because you've become a monster doesn't mean you're a bad person. You'll continue to travel with your Friends and help the people of Yeld. Being a monster will just make your adventures more... interesting!

Here's an example: Kiandra starts her adventures as a Big Sister. When she first comes to Yeld she chooses the Oathbreaker Job. She focuses on heavy armor and strong attacks to protect her Friends. Later, she goes on a  quest to unlock the Boulder Knight Advanced Job, offering a nearly impenetrable defense to her Friends! When Kiandra turns 13 she chooses the Werewolf Monster Job. Being a Werewolf is a big change for Kiandra. She still wants to protect her Friends, but now when she loses control she can be a danger to them. Thankfully her supernatural strength and furry fury makes the challenges of being a Werewolf worthwhile. And the Special dice she collected as an Oathbreaker and Boulder Knight still help her protect her Friends as a Werewolf!

Yeld is a vast and mysterious land, built on the back of the slumbering Serpent God and harboring ancient secrets. No one knows how old the Magical Land is, and no one has ever seen its edges. The Fairies claim to be the oldest of Yeld’s people, and even they have barely explored Yeld’s secrets. Much of the Magical Land is dangerous wilderness, wildlands where Monsters roam and magic runs free. The people of Yeld make their homes in areas of relative safety, where magical disasters are rarer and Monsters less likely to hunt. Even these territories can be dangerous, and Yeld is littered with the ruins of crumbled cities and lost civilizations. Few kingdoms last long in the Magical Land.

he lands and climates of Yeld are varied. Harsh mountains give way to rainy foothills and plains. Rivers crisscross the lands, intersecting in swampy marshes. Deep forests stretch from coast to coast, and great oceans divide distant land masses. Burning desserts, frozen tundra and even stranger lands can be found in Yeld’s most remote regions. Yeld has always been a place of magic. The Fairies are the oldest inhabitants of Yeld, and they say that when they made their home there they found magic buried deep in the darkest forests and caverns. Some scholars suspect Black Magic is a gift of forgotten gods, all that is left after their magic destroyed them. Others think that all magic comes from the same source, the sacred and unknowable well of power that spawned the great ancient Witches and other monstrous god creatures.

Yeld is the name of the vast Magical Land, but also the name of a Kingdom that lies at the heart of that land. King's People. However, the King’s People are not the only ones who make the Kingdom their home. Fairies, Goblins, Mermaids, Vampires, Squidfolk, Toothfacers, Pi-Rats and the Animal Tribes all live within the territories of the Kingdom, as do other stranger creatures. 

The Kingdom is ruled over by its regent, the Vampire Prince Dragul, and a council of nobles, knights, advisors and generals. The Prince and many members of this council are immortal Vampires, and have been alive and in power for over 1000 years since the Prince stole the kingdom from the rightful Princess after the death of the Old King. The Prince’s chief lieutenant’s are the notorious Hunters of Yeld, powerful warlords and monsters who bend their knee only to Dragul. As a reward for loyalty the Prince has given each Hunter control over one of the Kingdom’s territories. Some Hunters have interest in governing, or at least maintaining, their territories. Others have left the lands in their charge to ruin, in favor of waging war or running criminal enterprises such as the notorious Crimson Ministry.

=============================

Kickstarter campaign ends: Sun, February 11 2024 6:00 AM UTC +00:00

Website: [Yeld Stuff] [facebook] [twitter] [instagram]

#RPG #kickstarter #The Magical Land of Yeld #all ages game

[theresattrpgforthat]

I'm a TTRPG designer, and also a big fan of the video game Terraria. I'm stuck on fun ways to handle material gathering and crafting. Send me some inspiration! Thanks!

THEME: Gathering and Crafting

Hello friend! Putting this one together was very fun. I hope you enjoy it!

Stoneburner, by Fari RPGs.

Stoneburner is a sci-fantasy solo-friendly demon-hunting community-building tabletop role-playing game.Inspired by the new school revolution movement, players take on the role of a group of dwarves who must assume control of a demon haunted mine, along with its accompanying settlement, which they inherited after the death of their distant relative.The game focuses on the dwarves' journey as they navigate the challenges of their new responsibilities, rebuild a new thriving community, and clear the mine of its fire spitting monsters.

A techno-fantasy game of exploration and survival. You’ll be delving into a mine to extract resources and attempting to maintain and protect your community not just from magical beasts, but also greedy and plotting rivals. The system is built on Breathless, which is pretty rules-lite on the face but has a lot of possibility to expand, borrowing quite a bit from the NSR but giving the GM specific cues where they have a license to complicate the story. You’ll find a lot of familiar pieces here, with character classes, special abilities, and loot tables. Stoneburner isn’t fully ready to be published quite yet, but in the meantime you can check out the free preview!

Hostile (Rules and Setting), by Zozer Games.

Welcome to the gritty, retro-future universe of HOSTILE. Based on the Cepheus Engine, these rules add in realistic combat rules as well as setting-specific rules from some of the eighteen HOSTILE supplements. When combined with its companion book, the HOSTILE Setting, you will have a complete, stand-alone, retro-future sci-fi game. HOSTILE is a gritty, near future roleplaying setting that is inspired by movies like Outland, Bladerunner and Alien. It is a universe of mining installations, harsh moons, industrial facilities, hostile planets and brutal, utilitarian spacecraft.

When I looked up info about this game, HOSTILE was described as not an ALIEN RPG, but rather an RPG that you could plug Alien into. It’s a space horror setting, but what kind of space horror is up to you. The Rulebook has rules on trade, salvaging, and other pieces of resource management, while the setting book contains construction rules for your own mega-ton spaceship. There’s also plenty of colonies, survival rules, campaign advice and encounter tables. If this is interesting to you, I’d recommend checking out the Double Shift Bundle, which offers both the Rulebook and the Setting Book for 20% off.

Forbidden Lands, by Free League Publishing.

Forbidden Lands is a new take on classic fantasy roleplaying. In this open-world survival roleplaying game, you’re not heroes sent on missions dictated by others - instead, you are raiders and rogues bent on making your own mark on a cursed world. You will discover lost tombs, fight terrible monsters, wander the wild lands and, if you live long enough, build your own stronghold to defend.

As raiders and rogues, in Forbidden Lands you will need to scavenge to survive. Built on Free League’s Year Zero Engine, this game uses an abstract resource called consumables which your characters will have to find regularly, because food goes bad and you can only carry so many things. The game focuses on the dangers of the road, although not all dangers are terrifying - you’re not fighting orcs all the time - sometimes you’re just battling mosquitoes and cold weather. There’s also rules about building, maintaining, and defending a stronghold, which sounds kind of similar to building and defending your house in Terraria. There’s a lot to keep track of in Forbidden Lands, and as long as you don’t mind playing characters with a somewhat loose moral compass, this game might be for you!

A Fistful of Darkness, by monkeyEcho.

A Fistful of Darkness is a Weird West Fantasy hack of Blades in the Dark with heavy emphasis on the fantasy part. It’s not intended to be an accurate history lesson or a simulation of past times. It is designed to be a cinematic game which lets you play all those Weird West tropes towards the end of the world.

Imagine a world with the magic and mystery of the frontier: wide open plains of the Old Wild West in all its beauty and madness, where violence and sacrifice dominate every single day. Now add the Hellstone rush, underground mayhem in mines and brand new sciences & machines. Don’t forget immigration, injustice, vigilante justice, outlaws, gunslingers, slick talkers and setting suns. This all in the face of an impending doom: Demons and the four riders bringing the end of the world as you know it. How do you make it to the top of this powder keg, which side will you take in the impending war and how much will your soul suffer? Let’s play to find out!

Forged in the Dark games abstract your resources a bit, but the Hellstone of A Fistful of Darkness is so important to the setting that you’ll find yourselves doing whatever you can to get your hands on it. It’s a crafting material, it’s currency, and it’s the bringer of mutations and curses, what with it being a demonic material and all. Because you’ll be running a group playbook alongside your own characters, you’ll be working together to improve your tools, allies, abilities and home base, especially if you choose the Scavengers Posse. If you like action and suspense as much as you like inventory and communal goals, then this game is for you.

LOOT, by Gila RPGs.

Do you love loot? Then you're in the right place.

Go on quests, find loot, do it all over again. Your character is entirely defined by the loot they wear and carry. Loot is generated and passed out at the end of each quest with a dynamic loot pool system.

This is an application of the LUMEN system that eschews dice. Players have a number of uses for each of their approaches, which can be spent to overcome obstacles. Complications arise when you have to cobble together a solution using a different approach, or when you avoid marking an approach at all. This is a game still in a free playtest, so the designer is happy to hear feedback if you decide to give it a whirl!

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #dnd #game recommendations #asks #gathering #crafting #resource management

[fisshbones]

Who would the obey me characters main in overwatch?

Summary: what rank would they be and who would they main? (Head canons)

Characters: (Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, simeon, thirteen.) Gn!reader (Only referred to as you) cw: just cursing i think.

a/n: Firt time writing for obey me. Also I have only started playing both of these games again after like a 1-3 year break so inaccuracies may have occurred 😬

Lucifer - Reinhardt + Sigma

- rank ~ Master

- He does not find video games appealing at all. But for you he’s willing to give it a try. He learns pretty fast, and after a while in his very little free time he ranks up to Master.

- For some reason he can’t manage to get to grandmaster or higher, and it HURTS his pride so much 😭

- He’s a Reinhardt main, a true classic. But he frequently also plays Sigma! The tank role is his favorite. It’s the most important role in his eyes, so it makes sense that he takes control and shields the team.

- Is pretty good callouts wise, slightly toxic if you go against the plan though. 💀

Mammon - Baptiste

- rank ~ Gold

- I KNOW Baptiste is a support but Mammon DOES NOT use him as one. Maybe that’s why he’s hard stuck gold (and the fact that he rarely gets a kill) 💀 The only person he’s supporting is himself (and maybe you too if you praise him a lil)

-Gives terrible callouts too, that is if he even joins voice chat 😒

- He’s spent days trying to get to at least diamond but he just can’t. Levi makes fun of him hardcore for it too. Please reassure him that it’s okay for him to be in gold ☹️

Leviathan - Dva + Genji

- rank ~ GM/top 500

- I could see him rank 1 but I can’t decide for what role. 🧐

- Levi is a flex role. He prefers tank or dps, but he has no issues with playing support either. If you give him puppy dog eyes he’ll be your pocket Mercy.

- He is the only Genji main in 2024 history to get a team wipe with dragon blade 💀 He also really likes Dva because she’s fun and a gamer like him 🥹

- SO GOOD WITH CALLOUTS A LITERAL PRO

- does Overwatch League take applications from hell?

- He isn’t too toxic but if anyone is toxic towards you he’ll be as mean as possible. Also challenges assholes in 1v1s and makes you a spectator. Just so you can watch him kick their ass 😎

Satan - Kiriko + Brigitte

- rank ~ platinum

- Satan could easily be higher if he really wanted to but he doesn’t really care.

- Cat girls enough said. Okayyyyy I know Kiriko ultimate is a kitsune but close enough.

- You’re probably sitting here like “vee brig isn’t a cat girl though?” Yes you’re technically right but she has a cat and that’s all that matters.

- Satan is a toxic brigitte/kiriko main, how iconic of him 🤩

- He’s good with callouts, but his account has been suspended multiple times for roasting the hell outta his “incompetent” teammates.

Simeon - Mercy

- rank ~ bronze

- This man is TERRIBLE with technology. Did you really expect him to be anything higher than the lowest rank?

- Yes he mains Mercy cause she’s a “guardian angel.” Also because as an angel he believes it is his duty to protect you. He is 100% your pocket mercy, even if you’re also a support.

- Callouts? What are callouts? Someone help this man. Even if you’re giving out the best callouts it doesn’t matter because he will still die. He does NOT understand a single thing you’ve said. Poor guy 😭

Thirteen - Ashe + Widowmaker

- rank ~ diamond

- Why those characters you may be asking? Because they serve cunt and so does Thirteen. It only makes sense for her to play the baddest bitches in the whole game 🥰

- She did not intend to get so high rank wise, she barely even plays the game 😭

- If you’re a Mercy main she expects you to pocket her. What about your other teammates? Nah don’t worry she’s got head shots for days. Your Ana can handle the rest of the team.

- She really doesn’t gaf about rank, she prefers quick play honestly. Her being a reaper takes up a lot of time so quick play is better for her time wise.

- She does pretty good callouts, sometimes she’ll make a passive aggressive remark to one of her teammates. But nothing too toxic.

Likes and reblogs appreciated! <3

#mouse speaks #mouse talks #lucifer x reader #obey me nightbringer #obey me shall we date #obey me lucifer x reader #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me x reader #obey me x mc #gn reader #male reader #female rader #mammon x reader #leviathan x reader #obey me leviathan #obey me levi x reader #obey me thirteen x reader #obey me thirteen #thirteen x reader #obey me simeon x reader #simeon x reader #satan x reader #obey me satan #obey me headcanons #overwatch #omswd #omnb

[geminison]

modern-ish things I would like to show dishonored characters

I got inspired by this lovely post by @dogg-teethh and kinda made my own thing but with dishonored protagonists and some side characters so, low and behold

Daud

blues music in general, he would enjoy brooding while listening, and Fleetwood Mac

thriller movies, can't abide the mysteries so would be glued to the screen until the very end. would get mad if it ends on unexplainable cliffhanger

radio dramas, something to fill the silence while doing paperwork

antidepressants, no comments

rope bondage, but not in a sexual way (yeah, I've seen it in ff and thought, yep, seems like his thing)

Corvo

90s fashion, a bit awkward but appealing somehow?

David Bowie, that's so specific? complex and diverse but funky

takeout food, he doesn't really cook, has terrible eating behavior and just plainly starvs when there no food around, so that would be helpful

absurdism, whole "acceptance without humility" thing? i dunno

Lord of the Rings, a small hero with a great burden and greater stakes, it would resonate

Emily

punk rock, 80s pop, industrial and Corvo would also show her "Rebel Rebel", she would vibe with it

Satoshi Kon's movies, great female characters and a bit of insanity

comics, variety of styles and stories to tell! she did enjoy drawing while she was younger, maybe it would inspire her to pick a pencil again

asian cuisine, a lot of different flavours, I wonder how she would like it

marine biology, so much info about whales and other weird ocean creatures, again little Emily would be so happy

headphones, she would feel even cooler while jumping from one roof to another and kicking asses

Billie

airplanes, speed, freedom and views! you are already a captain of the ship, time to tame the sky!

anarchism, yeah, fuck the government!

family therapy, grab your old man by the hand and fucking go, you need it, it wouldn't be easy but please

Killing Eve

heavy metal music and jazz, Emily and Corvo approve. Daud, well, tolerates, it's a bit too much for him

Outsider

video games, all kinds of it!

DnD, especially GM role, you don't have to be a god to feel a little bit like one, and he also has this dramatic side it would def suite him

sci-fi and horror genres

techno, ambient and modern classical music

programming and hacking, he's a nosy young man, he'd like to know all your secrets, and it's just fun ehehe

Delilah

big fashion shows for stylish and powerful lady

therapy, again, no comments

expensive cars that people own and don't drive

Florence + the Machine and MARINA

iPad, Apple pencil and some software for drawing digitally

social media

#dishonored #dishonored 2 #daud #corvo attano #emily kaldwin #billie lurk #the outsider #delilah copperspoon #if you have something else in mind please share it would be so interesting to see what others think! #corvo and daud predictably were the easy ones #then emily and the outsider were alright #and in the end i struggled with billie and delilah #but i was adamant on including them all so yeah #a good half of these things might be too specific #i don't have access to my drawing tablet so i entertain myself by writing silly little posts

[moghedien]

I've seen you say a few times that a lot of modern magic systems aren't really magic and are basically science or math (or sci-fi), and specifically mention Brandon Sanderson's systems. Maybe it's just because I'm not very familiar with his work (I've only read mistborn era 1 and the first 3 books of the stormlight archive) but it seems to me his magic systems are god-given, explained to death, video-gamey magic with basically an energy bar, and I don't really understand how that'd be science, math or sci-fi. Would you mind explaining that to me? (I also don't really understand the whole hard magic vs soft magic thing. E.g., to me classic spells and wot weaving seem functionally the same yet the former is generally considered soft and the latter hard)

Describing it as video gamey is actually exactly it, because video games and even table top games that use magic are basically the same thing, because they have to be. They have very specific rules that are always going to the constant. Once you know the rules, you can minmax and manipulate scenarios around those rules, but the rules are still very much in place and very constant.

Video games are like that because they have to be, they’re programs. Table top games are like that also because they have to be to be useable for a general audience, but a GM can in theory decide to throw out said rules and decide something else happens based on vibes. That’s the simplest example I can give on the difference between hard and soft magic. Magic that follows rules is hard magic. Magic that follows vibes is soft magic.

When it comes to Sanderson, I call his magic systems math because they’re so intentionally formulaic. Doing X thing will always cause Y action. You may be able to manipulate situations around that formula in unexpected way. You may be able to throw in unexpected variables or you may unexpectedly encounter something you didn’t account for that throws off the expected outcome, but the formula is always going to be the same. No matter how many times you do it. No matter who is doing it (as long as they have the basic ability to use the magic), x+y will always equal z

The reason why I say that isn’t magic is because it’s extremely orderly and predictable. If you look at like, most magical representations in antiquity, it’s very much a chaotic force. You can try to harness it and do things with it, but you can’t control chaos and you’ll probably end up with some unexpected outcomes even if you’re skilled and careful. Also it’s largely used in like stories just to like, deliver some moral or cause some problem so it’s literally just a tool to add chaos that can’t otherwise be accounted for.

People can write “hard” magic all they want and I like Cosmere and all, but Branderson specifically as well as a lot of other fantasy writers have a problem with thinking that any magic that isn’t clearly defined for readers is bad. Branderson specifically seems to think that it’s poor writing and a mistake on the writers part if they somehow forgot to come up with never changing magic rules for the readers to obsess over.

If that’s the case though then the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit were the worst fantasy books every written because Tolkien is like THE best example of soft magic in fantasy. No one knows what the fuck the rules of magic are in those books, but somehow it still isn’t bad writing when Gandalf comes back from the dead or dropping a ring in some lava kills Satan. Like even when we get explanations it’s just like “accept this is the case for this one situation but apply it to nothing else.” A more recent example of soft magic is in the Poppy War, which is a book I would love to hear Branderson or his fans try to say is poorly written because of the magic

Wheel of Time has a sort of combination of hard and soft magic though, which is where a lot of the criticism toward Branderson came up because he seems to ignore this when discussing the books/show. Weaves and channeling and such are on the harder side and have rules that do largely remain constant (except when they don’t), but then there’s things like Tel’aran’rhiod and the Ogier and ter’angreal in general and the horn of Valere and the heroes attached to it and taveren where it’s just largely like “yeah this is how it is don’t worry about it”

Anyway, all this to say I really do actually hate the terms hard and soft magic but they’re the most useful terms we have

[thehomelybrewster]

How Much Do Systems Matter?

This post is directly inspired by the video "You shouldn't use DnD for narrative campaigns." by Questing Beast (aka Ben Milton) about the Polygon article "Worlds Beyond Number is teaching me things that no D&D book can" by Charlie Hall.

The video and article basically posit the following:

TTRPGs can use concretely designed procedures for certain types of challenges and scenarios while having much looser procedures for other types of challenges or scenarios

Just because a TTPRG has less thorough rules on a type of challenge or scenario than a different RPG tackling the same subject matter doesn't automatically make the former worse at being used for these scenarios than the latter

Depending on the preferences of the table, having a robust mechanical framework for one element of gameplay while lacking that for other types of gameplay may be preferrable than having robust mechanical frameworks for both

Having distinct game mechanics for narrative progression and character interactions is uncommon in D&D and derived games, but is very common in story games, e.g. most Powered by the Apocalypse games.

The Polygon article includes this quote by Worlds Beyond Number's Brennan Lee Mulligan: "[People say that] because D&D has so many combat mechanics, you are destined to tell combat stories. I fundamentally disagree. Combat is the part I’m the least interested in simulating through improvisational storytelling. So I need a game to do that for me, while I take care of emotions, relationships, character progression, because that shit is intuitive and I understand it well. I don’t intuitively understand how an arrow moves through a fictional airspace."

This intuitive knowledge on handling emotional beats, narrative, and characters of course stems from years of experience Brennan has as a writer, actor, improv teacher, comedian, camp counsellor, and professional TTRPG GM and player.

Using Ron Edwards design language (s. his 1999 essay "System Does Matter"), Brennan wants to run primarily narrativist games, while 5e would fit Edwards' idea of a Gamist system, i.e. one which involves the pursuit of "winning" against NPCs.

Now let's look at 5e: it's generally agreed upon that 5e is opinionated on combat, while also being vocal that exploration and social encounters, while less fleshed-out, are still part of its pillars alongside combat, meaning the game is still encouraging you to pursue these types of play.

Combat is a very fleshed-out series of systems. The action system is centered on combat, both in terms of time and types. Spellcasting is very distinct and allows for casting mostly offensive or defensive spells. Class progression usually focuses on improving one's combat capabilities.

Exploration and social interactions are much more bare-bones.

On the social side, a few more recent supplements have reintroduced the classic Attitude table present in earlier editions and which are a mainstay of the OSR community. Additionally the DMG spends merely three pages on how to run NPCs, mostly using fairly general advice instead of concrete game mechanics. Interaction between player characters is also barely discussed in 5e rules.

Exploration is similarly simple, mostly related to the omnipresent but simple skill system, as well as some relatively simple rules on weather, hazards, overland travel speed, and tracking rations.

5e's shift towards simplified rules for these two pillars, including simplifying the skill system into a mostly binary failure-success affair is a shift away from earlier D&D editions and some of its direct competitors, e.g. Pathfinder, Rolemaster, GURPS, and The Dark Eye, which often would involve subsystems for various aspects of social or exploratory encounters, s. Edwards' "System does Matter" essay and his point on simulationist games.

So if Brennan wants to run a narrative game where we can realiably use his knowledge of narratives and character writing to create a compelling story while having a set system as his backup to run situations where violence becomes a factor... Using a game like 5e is a decent choice.

Of course other systems might be even better for that. Shadowdark for example may just be the perfect fit for someone wanting to run a narrative game with occasional combat. The combat rules are thorough enough to cover the fundamentals. Sure, you may just need to get rid of real-time torches, the key mechanic which sets Shadowdark apart from other OSR games, but subtracting a mechanic, instead of modifying it, is a relatively uninvasive procedure.

Personally I too like it when my TTRPG, especially stuff intended for medium- or long-term play, doesn't touch social and narrative elements much mechanically.

Meanwhile games like Ironsworn and Heart - The City Below, which are much more narrative-focused, do have issues where their resolution mechanics clash with the fiction in ways that would pull be out of the story we're trying to tell. Heart has the issue with the Supplies resistance not being shared within the group, and Ironsworn's fulfillment of vows can be glacially slow (s. A. A. Voigt's "Ironsworn: A Narrative Dilemma" video essay).

Ultimately, it all comes down to preference. Personally, if I wanted to run a fantasy game with magic and a strong narrative (like Worlds Beyond Number), with the clear goal of not getting bogged down in combat or minis, I'd legit use Shadowdark as described above. If I knew I wanted to tell a specific type of story and knew of a game that was designed for these types of stories, I'd definitely give it a read and talk about it with my players before we adopt it.

However, I do implore folks to not Ship of Theseus a game with tons of homebrew and houserules so that it's no longer recognizable as its original game. If you ever feel compelled to do that, ask other players what systems might be a better fit for your needs.

#thehomelybrewster #d&d 5e #rant tag #dungeons and dragons #ttrpg community #indie ttrpg

[bunny-heels]

CLASSIC PLEASE

#THE BUN TALKS #GMOD #GARRYS MOD #GARRY'S MOD #GMOD ARG #GARRYS MOD ARG #GARRY'S MOD ARG #CLASSIC GM VIDEOS #AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA #Youtube

[madaboutmunson]

Again - Part 5

Part 1 | Part  4 | Part 6 | Full list of Again series links inc AO3 Link

Steddie fic where Steve and Eddie are in their mid 30's and everyone has sort of drifted apart

Taglist: @adaed5 @grtwdsmwhr @swimmingbirdrunningrock @mightbeasleep

Thank you to @callme-keys for all their help with this 💚💚💚

================================================

Eddie talks him through the painting process, and soon enough, they have their own little silent two-person production line going. Eddie breaks the silence first without tearing his eyes from the little figure he is painting in front of him. "So how did super jock Steve Harrington manage to raise two little nerds? Is their mom one? I mean, it's obvious they're biologically yours. Unmistakably!" His last exclamation makes Steve smile happily at the dwarven hero in his fingers.

"No, their mom isn't a nerd either. Very business minded, though. I get why you'd think that, but Corey would give you a run for your money on a basketball court, and Zee, well, the only sport she hasn't excelled at, that she's tried so far, is Tennis, and that's mainly because she hates it" Steve gushes. He wasn't more proud of their sporting prowess than anything else they were into. It was just an area he was proficient in. He understood sports. He could be useful in helping them with that.

"Shit, you and your wife made the ultimate hybrids?"

"Ex-wife", Steve corrects almost a little too quickly.

Steve sees Eddie's shoulder sink in his peripheral vision, and another apology starts. "Sorry, man. I didn't mean to-" 

"It's not like that. Just sometimes, things don't work out. I'm real lucky it was amicable, we're still good friends, and that's good for the kids, you know? Me too, of course. It's nice to have someone to talk to about parent stuff, isn't it?" Steve prods the subject ever so gently, so maybe Eddie will talk about Morgan, and Steve can apologise.

"Yeah, of course," Eddie replies, cleaning his brush, but says nothing more. Damn it, Eddie! Steve would have to drag it out of Eddie now, especially because Steve had glared daggers at Morgan last time.

"Has…um…has Morgan been running games for a long time?" Steve asks

"Oh yeah." Eddie says like it was common knowledge, "We started him eaaaarly" Eddie laughs, "He's one of my best GMs, to be honest, which you wouldn't think if you talked him when he wasn't in the hot seat."

"Makes sense," Steve says, smiling at the pride on Eddie's face as he looks around the shelf at Morgan, and the guilt comes crashing down on him. "Listen, Eddie. I'm sorry about last time. I didn't know Morgan was with you-"

"And he's a teenage boy talking to your teenage daughter, looking like he just jumped out of a Sum 41 video. Dude, I would be the same if I was in your shoes. We've both been fourteen-year-old boys," he says, shaking his head.

"He's only fourteen??!!" Steve exclaims, his apologetic look swiftly turning into one of absolute shock, "What is he eating for breakfast? What is Sum 41??" 

Eddie snorts out a laugh, making a delicate paint stroke across part of the new model he's picked up. "Yeah, those genes belong to his Mama's side of the family. Loooong line of lumberjacks. Count yourself lucky on the Sum 41 front. I've tried getting him into actual Metal, but he says it's Classic Rock. Cheeky little shit." Eddie adds with a fond smile

Steve looks around the shelf again at Morgan, "Jesus Christ. Are you sure they aren't Goliaths?" Instantly a loud cackle emerges from Eddie, almost tipping his seat too far back and falling backwards. Making Steve erupt with laughter too.

"Hey!! Some of us are trying to immerse ourselves in a game here! Can you two keep it down back there?!" Zee's voice rings out, stopping the chuckling painters immediately. They raise their eyebrows at one another and bite their lips, trying to hold back any more loud laughter and setting for repressed silent giggles that make their shoulders shake.

A few deep breaths later, Eddie is calm enough to talk again, "I tell you what, Harrington. I don't think you've got anything to worry about on the Zee front. She's got it covered." Eddie picks up his model again, "and honestly, I know you'll think I'm biased, but Morgan is a good kid. He might look and sound like a poster child for trouble, but he couldn't be anything further from it." Eddie's tongue presses against his top lip as he concentrates on painting the tiny boots of the elf, then stops and tuts."Ok, so maybe he is a little bit of trouble, but nothing like we did when we were kids. He doesn't smoke, drink, do drugs or get handsy, but being bigger than others, he often gets singled out as the guy to beat, you know? So he's had a few scrapes these last couple of years, and looking the way he does, he gets the sharp end of the stick, whilst the little shit that started it gets off scott fucking free. Assholes."

Steve narrows his eyes at Eddie, who is either avoiding looking at him or is deeply engrossed in the model. He couldn't help but feel that this sounded an awful lot like he was putting in a good word on Morgan's behalf, but on the flip side, Steve had made an incorrect judgement about Morgan, so maybe Eddie just thought he needed to clear his name, and it was clear why that would be something Eddie would want to do for his son.

"Yeah, it's not all rainbows, being the big guy at school. Lots of different expectations. They asked him to try out for any teams yet?"

"Not just yet, but when the summer's over, he'll hit high school, so just a matter of time. I remember them trying to recruit me into the towel-flicking club too. That was very short-lived," Eddie laughs, but the smile lingers on his face.

Steve sees an opportunity not just to extend an olive branch but also to get to know Morgan a bit more. Eddie had done as much for Zee. "Not saying you guys don't have it covered, but if Morgan was interested in getting some practice in, I'd be happy to help where I can, though honestly, Zee is probably more up to date on things than me these days, but I could do with the exercise."

Eddie completely stops what he's doing, "You'd do that?"

Steve gestures his hand between Eddie and Zee, "Didn't you? I will not be outshone by you, Munson" Steve points a finger at him and covers his genuine kindness with a thin veil of competitiveness, making Eddie break into a toothy grin.

"I'll ask him. He doesn't talk to me about sports much, so I don't know the lay of the land in that department. I mean, who would, right? But I'll ask to see what he says" Eddie goes back to painting, "Thanks, Steve."

Wow, he liked how his name sounded just then, all wrapped in fondness and softly spoken like that. He hadn't heard his name like that in a very long time. A buzz pulls Steve out of his enchantment, and he rushes to pick up his phone, but it's just a message from his cell provider. A voice murmurs softly next to his ear, "How many languages do you speak, Harrington?" 

Steve's soul nearly leaves his corporeal form, "Jesus Christ, Eddie! Don't do that, and…Hey! Why were you snooping anyway? That could have been private!!" Steve frowns at him, pulling his phone to his chest to hide it.

"What, I'm supposed to sit here and not be alarmed when you almost give yourself whiplash to check your phone? Is it some sort of top-secret coaching project? Is that why you have it in Chinese?"

"How do you know it's in Chinese?" Steve asks in total confusion.

Eddie raises and looks at Steve from under his eyebrows expectantly, and Steve slowly moves the phone away from his chest so Eddie can see the screen again. "Because that says Options in Chinese" Eddie points his finger at the tiny phone screen, resting his arm on Steve's shoulder as he does so, forcing Steve's functions into primary survival mode. All Steve can do is hold the phone up, breathe and look at Eddie like a being from another planet. What can't he do? Or is this a case of just being impressed by tech basics?

"Do you like it in Chinese, or would you like me to switch it to English for you?" Eddie asks, and Steve only manages a Corey-like grunt of a Huh and moves the phone slightly in a concerned Eddie's direction, "Well, alrighty then. English coming right up…are you…are you ok, Steve?" Oh, there it is again, the special Steve. He manages a nod at Eddie.

"Okaaaay then," Eddie says with still a lot of concern etched on his face, but that's fine because Steve's brain has already put a soft lens filter back on the scene. Eddie taps many buttons and hands the phone back with a smile, "There you go, good as new". As Steve looks through his phone in a language he can understand again, Eddie lifts one of the many painted figures that are lined up in a queue in front of Steve and holds it up to his eyes and the light, "Wow, these are really neat. Have you painted before?" Eddie asks gently placing the figure back in line.

"Do paint by numbers and ceramics count?" Steve says with a laugh like Eddie would find those things stupid.

"Judging from this. I'd say yeah," his words drawn out in some serene fascination. His big brown eyes gorged on every detail the tiny gnome had to offer. Steve wishes he was into something as deeply as Eddie was. He seemed to be so talented at many things, and not just Ok like Steve was. He was in deep with his loves. Music, guitar, these games, and everything they touched. Steve can't help but wonder what that might feel like, to be something that Eddie is entirely fascinated by, to be scoured over with those deeply intense eyes, to enchant him so completely his words slow down like that, or his face explodes into one of his vast smiles of unabashed joy. Steve lets out a tiny sigh, watching him twirl this piece of plastic in his fingers like it was an ancient lost artefact.

Carl, the silent rolling dice kid from two weeks ago, runs right up to their arts and crafts table, “Mr Munson, I know you said to act like you weren’t here because you aren't supposed to be here, but there is a rules dispute on table two, and it's getting out of hand, someone threw a peanut M&M,, and someone on table three is allergic, and-”

“Ok buddy, slow your roll,” Eddie says kindly, putting the figure exactly back in line and then raising his hand in stop motion, “Look at me, take a deep breath, think carefully, is this something you think you can’t handle or is this because it's not what you planned in your mind,” Eddie speaks calmly and looks over at Carl, waiting for his response. Though those words were meant for the kid, Steve can help but heed them too.

“It’s chaotic, Eddie”, Carl says finally after a short pause, and Eddie nods in response before turning to Steve and giving him an awkward smile and a shrug before following Carl through the shelves to the fantasy realm.

Steve takes the opportunity to check in with Mackenzie, obviously, from afar. He shifts over to the side and can see her eyes following some dice tumbling down the table, her hand going to her head, as the player next to her slumps in his chair. She’s saying something, but Steve can’t quite make it out, she shakes a die in her own hand, and it rolls before her. She speaks again with concern on her face, directed to the head of the table. Steve shifts his viewpoint so he can see Morgan, who smiles and then nods, causing the table to erupt with smiles. As he moves back to look at Zee, he expects the usual acting out of her praying to her deity or a mace swing, but instead, he sees some very vicious stabbing motions with both of her hands as she grins wildly down the table at Morgan. Steve moves again to see Morgan’s response. No. No-no. He did not just tuck his hair behind his ear whilst exchanging grins with his daughter. Steve, without thinking, immediately stands up out of his seat, knocking the cup of water over the table, “Shit!” he whisper shouts to himself. Trying to save all the mini-figures from the encroaching pool of water.

“And that is why I always bring these with me”, Eddie chuckles, pulling out a roll of kitchen towels and a little trash bag.

Steve tries to stay quiet, “I’m so sorry, Eddie, I just…er…well, I-I stood up too fast and got a head rush.”

“Is that what we’re going with, Steve, really?” Eddie looks at him with disappointment, “I’ve been standing back there a while, watching you doing your best meerkat impression. I get the worry. I do, but uh…please don't take this the wrong way, Steve…you’re very…sorta” Eddie puts down some of the paper towels to soak up the spillage and then waves his hand vaguely over Steve, “urgent. You know? Are you alright?”

Steve looks at Eddie, runs his hand through the side of his hair and swallows nervously. He wanted to be honest, but he had apologised for judging Morgan only earlier today. Eddie gives him a saccharine sweet smile, “Steve, let me level with you. We are in the same boat here, so let's be honest. They seem to like one another, but nothing has happened. If either of us goes marching on in there and tells them no, You know what happens?”

“They sneak around behind our backs,” Steve says, folding his arms.

“And?” Eddie prompts

“And we have made the other person even more attractive because they aren't allowed,” Steve mutters in defeat.

Eddie claps his hands and points at Steve in celebration, “Bingo! So if we want this to just fizzle out, we gotta not meddle, ok?”

Steve has an idea, “Ok, yeah, well, what about if we back it like all-in, one hundred per cent,. Shall I write my wedding speech now, kinda thing? Would that do the opposite?” Steve says excitedly at Eddie, who looks at him pitifully and shakes his head.

Eddie walks over and hands Steve the trash bag as he collects up the soaked papers and throws them in, “Number one, Steve-o, I, seconds ago, told you we shouldn’t meddle, and your bright idea is to do exactly that” He throws a wad of wet paper into the bag like he’s taking a hoop shot. “Number two, if that backfires on you, and they’re like, oh, it's fine, my Dad’s on board, he won't mind if you stay over, he likes you.” Steve’s eyebrows raise in alarm, “but then there is Number three, and this really is the worst one. Your plan works, and then I have to ferry his sad-sack ass around, listening to the greatest break-up songs of all time whilst he cries his eyes out.”

“And that would be bad because?” Steve asks hopefully.

“Because the first place I would drive him to is your stupid house, so you can deal with it, ok? Because I will suffer a variety of music genres for that kid, Steve, I will not, and I can’t emphasise this enough, will not listen to All by myself on repeat again. It will become your problem immediately.”

“Again?” Steve asks in alarm.

“Yes! Again Steve! Look at him. Just look.” Eddie points his hand over at where Morgan is, and Steve’s eyes follow. The players are chatting, and Morgan looks up at them occasionally and then scribbles something down.

“I don't get it. He’s taking notes or plotting or something.” Steve says with a frown.

Eddie walks over, puts his hand on his shoulder, and turns him back to the table. “Look closer, Steve. Is that the face of someone plotting their next move and making notes? Or is that the face of someone taking in the details of someone’s face whilst they sketch them on their notepad?”

At first, Steve looks and doesn't understand how he is even supposed to tell the difference when he is half behind a screen, but then he does start to see what Eddie is talking about. Morgan’s eyes don't move around the table. Instead, they go back to the same place, and he’ll tilt his head and disappear behind the screen for a while, then pop back up, shake out his hair a little, nods like he’s listening, and then repeats the same thing all over again.

“Is he gonna be ok?” Steve says with actual worry for Morgan’s well-being. He wasn't trying to take on just any girl. This was Mackenzie Robin Harrington.

“He’s just a romantic. He bounces back well enough, but gods, the mourning period is deeply dramatic. The music, the movies, the ice cream, the eyeliner. I have no idea where he gets it from.”

“How many girlfriends has he had?” Steve asks, with the concern moving back to Zee now.

“Girlfiends…one…unrequited crushes… I’ve lost count. Don’t worry. None of the girls concerned have to deal with that side of things. He’s mostly a bumbling mess around them that he probably gets from his Dad.” Eddie says, straightening up and looking at Steve with a smile, making him burst out laughing.

“So, we just stand by and watch this…happen?” Steve says, still a little nervous, but he feels a lot more reassured. It sounded like Eddie had been through this many times already, and it could be good to have him on his side.

Eddie's eyes go to the ceiling and his hand to the back of his neck, “I mean, we could compare notes if you get worried or wanna talk about it sometime?”

"Oh," Steve says with relief immediately, "That would be so helpful, Eddie. Thank you. Can I get your number?" Steve quickly pats himself for his phone, realising he had left it on the table. Which surprised him. He usually had it within reach of his fingertips. So he reaches for his phone and navigates his way to contacts.

"Er…it's kinda already in there," Eddie says almost a little bashfully, but he plays it off with a much bolder wink.

"Ah, when you…ah..yeah", Steve points between the phone, the table and Eddie several times and struggles to grasp onto the English language as the wink hits him like a shotgun spray of numbing agent. He attempts a laugh to play it off, as, of course, how stupid of me, but it emerges as a giggle. Mortified. Jesus Christ. Steve quickly goes back to cleaning, but the interaction only emboldened Eddie. Or at least that's how it appears to Steve. He's much closer during the clean-up, talking a lot about topics that Steve had little to no opinion on, like the state of heavy metal these days or how he's worried that the new Lord of The Rings movies won't hold up to the books, occasionally reaching for the same things as Steve. Of course, it could all be in his imagination, but it definitely feels like there is a shift back to the Eddie he remembers from being a kid. Not that he's hugely different, but a few times today, there is something just beneath what he's letting Steve see. Something darker.

Then it just falls out of his mouth, as Eddie looks particularly tempting as he leans against the table, with his back to it, on his hands, gesturing and talking at Steve, who is facing the table, packing away someone the dry figures into their little foam beds.

"Why do you do that?" Steve asks suddenly as Eddie is mid-sentence.

Eddie's body visibly tenses, "Er…do what, Steve? Talk too much?" He laughs, and Steve can tell his humour defence is ready to be deployed.

"No, not too much", Steve smiles at the tiny paint pots he's organising, "it's er the topics."

"Oh, well, that's easy. I'm seeing what else I don't know about Steve Harrington 3.0 The Dorky Dad Edition" Eddie chuckles, "We haven't spoken really in fifteen years, and I don't know how much had changed…or how much hasn't" Steve looks up at him, and he's already waiting for him to look his way. However, the connection is short-lived as Eddie folds his arms around himself, looks away and says, "I can only talk about what I know, and I don't wanna put my foot in it by asking the wrong question, you know? It's been nice catching up, teenage drama aside" he punctuates with a laugh.

"Yeah, it has been nice," Steve agrees, and Eddie's arms unfold, "I know sometimes I don't talk enough."

"Well, that's just because you seem to live in your thoughts, Steve", Eddie says fondly, "It wouldn't be awful for you to share them with someone sometime." Eddie's eyes dart between Steve and the rings that he's twisting around his fingers, "I don't mind being that someone if you're comfortable? Maybe it would help with all the…um…being on edge stuff too? A problem shared is a problem halved and all that," Eddie sends him a gentle smile. Suddenly a part of Steve wants to defend himself against this friendly onslaught of observations. Tell the nosey little nerd he's talking complete shit. Snap at him with purposefully sharpened thorny words that, no matter what they said, all translated to Danger! Keep Out! Steve observes Eddie again. Most of his clothing and accessories screamed he could be a threat, the metal chains and jewellery of skulls and tusks. Rugged boots, worn jeans, no doubt under the polo shirt is some kind of horrific band name with a hellscape as an album cover. But the rest of him, the real Eddie, couldn't be any further from that. He remembers an insecurity Eddie shared only moments ago and decides to put the defensive words down.

"Yeah, you're right," Steve says with a half smile, "I guess old habits die hard, huh?" 

#steddie #steddie fan fiction #eddie munson x steve harrington #steddie fan fic #steddiefanfiction #steddiefanfic #madaboutmunson #madaboutmunsonagain #eddie munson #steve harrington

[dungeonofthedragon]

Ttrpg Recs: my bookshelf!

I don't have that many games in physical form. But inspired by the lovely Dael Kingsmill's recent video, I want to do a little post about the ones I do own.

Animal Adventures by Steamforged Games

Animal Adventures is a third party setting for 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons. I picked up Secrets of Gullet Cove on clearance, and it's full of fun adventure hooks for a younger audience than usual for 5E. However, a member of my dnd group wants to run this at some stage, so it has a wider appeal among fans of cute critter rpgs too.

It's fairly easy to incorporate ideas from this book into your home games. A guest in my Strixhaven campaign wanted to play a character who had been transformed into a cat. The cat stats from this book fit right in with the other characters, who were all created using official 5E materials.

Fate Accelerated by Evil Hat

The first rpg I ever purchased! It's simple, streamlined, and flexible enough to run in any setting you can imagine. We'd planned to play 'card games in space' at one stage (after watching too much yu-gi-oh), and the system works as well for that as it does for urban fantasy, pirates, or magic schools. You can access the rules of this game for free at the link in the heading.

The main issue I ran into with Fate is that it uses a specialised set of dice called Fudge dice- but as long as you have a device that can download a dice app, you're good to go!

Girl By Moonlight by Evil Hat

I backed this one on Kickstarter. It's not the easiest book to navigate but, gosh, it's just so beautiful and the game is a great time once you get the hang of it! I ended up ordering five copies, because a bunch of my friends wanted the game too and Expensive International Shipping is more manageable if you split it. Tragic magical girls from the creators of Thirsty Sword Lesbians? It is just as excellent as I'd hoped.

Just the other week we played At the Brink of the Abyss using the core book and relevant one-session playkit. Transcendence is a great mechanic- players get to describe their character's unique transformation and feel powerful with the addition of new abilities! Our Midnight Quill was running around invisible for half the game. Raven's mother was knocked out with a well-flung shoe. It was very fun and very silly.

Girl By Moonlight is a Forged in the Dark game. If you're familiar with Blades in the Dark, Brinkwood, Court of Blades, or my own simplified fitd game Voidwalkers, the system is easily picked up.

Lex Arcana by Quality Games

Lex Arcana is an interesting one. It has a fascinating premise: a Roman empire that never fell, in a low-magic setting. I had a lot of fun running this as a short adventure for my classics-buff brother's birthday last year. However, the group agreed that it would be difficult to play this one long term.

This has nothing to do with the rules system, which has an enjoyable amount of crunch for those who like their games that way, but enough abstraction that running it was not a complete nightmare for a more narratively inclined GM such as myself. Rather, it was difficult for us to get past the fact that so many of its adventure modules involve you preventing indigenous populations from breaking away from the empire, often casting their spiritual views in a negative light.

I had an idea for a campaign called 'Enemies of the Empire', which involves the party having to go up against it, but we'll see if it ever comes to fruition.

Tales of Xadia by Fandom Tabletop

I love the Cortex system. I love systems that use dice pools, and my first experience with that was the Tales of Xadia playtest. I couldn't afford the full version when it released, and so I was very excited when I received it for my birthday last year in glorious hardcover!

Tales of Xadia is set in the world of the Dragon Prince (even if you're not into ttrpgs, the book is excellent for additional lore nuggets. For a year or more it was our best resource for what earthblood elves might look like.) It's a world of high magic, mages and assassins and bold warriors, imperious dragons and reclusive elves. And it's totally classless- score one for the fans of classless systems!

#tales of xadia #cortex rpg #girl by moonlight #forged in the dark #animal adventures #dungeons and dragons #lex arcana #fate rpg #fate accelerated

[thrythlind]

Video Games Mimics and Time Travel

Recently WhatCulture Gaming did a video about open world games that manage to trick players and one of the examples was the mimics in Dark Souls. Which were treated as if they were this new and innovative thing... at 2011 when Dark Souls released.

And this sort of boggles my mind.

This is the illustration from the 1977 Monster Manual in which the mimic appeared for the D&D game.

At the time mimics were described as being able to perfectly mimic stone or wood and would appear as tables, chairs, doors, and yes... treasure chests.

In D&D anything can be mimic.

They quickly became a favorite tool of GMs such that they were practically a meme already in the 80s with numerous anecdotes, comic strips, and horror stories already being common knowledge to the tabletop roleplaying community well before the internet was much of a thing.

There were also many different variations of the mimic, including one that could mimic metal. There were also already described to be two kinds of mimics, a smaller intelligent kind that could be friendly to PCs that fed them and tell them about things in the area or larger "killer mimics" of the sort that Dark Souls players most know about.

But beyond the mimics there were Trappers which are essentially mimic floors:

the Lurkers which are mimic ceilings:

Cloakers which are mimic cloaks:

and Piercers which are mimic stalactites:

Basically, there was a good 15-20 years in which it was popular to populate adventures, published or homebrew, with some variation of a carnivorous beast that hunted by mimicking some inanimate objects. Enough so that I'm surprised that the infamous gazeebo story was not just determined to be a mimic once the PCs had decided in their heads that it was a creature.

Note also, that there have been numerous other variations of the mimic in the time since then.

Dark Souls isn't even the first video game that the mimic appears in. It seems that Dragon Quest is the video that first settled on mimics always being treasure chests. Though the first Dragon Quest was released in 1986 and it was Dragon Quest 3 in 1988 that introduced mimics:

And Ultima I also had mimics appearing only as chests (probably due to the ease on assets)

It's probably more fair to say that Dragon Quest established mimics as fake-chests to the Japanese video community.

When I've pointed this out, I've been told "Dark Souls did it better" and no... they really didn't. They have better graphics, but they're not nearly the meme that D&D mimics already were by the time I got into the hobby in the mid 80s.

Dark Souls mimics are well executed and do provide a narrow sort of paranoia as far as chests are concerned, but they're still a pretty basic and reduced rendition of the classic D&D mimic.

As far as video games go, Dark Souls does do a good job at creating the need to check chests to see if they are a mimic or not, though.

And this is something that some other Souls-Likes have taken. Such has how you can tell whether or not a mujina is hiding in a chest or not in Nioh 2.

That said, there is a prior video game entity that functions entirely the same as the Dark Souls mimic and that's the mimics in Ultima 9 released in 1999. Where they are creatures with bird-like legs that appear as treasure chests.

There is absolutely no question that Dark Souls did mimics better than Ultima 9, which is one of the sad cases of a potential masterpiece being eviscerated by corporate meddling. But the Ultima 9 mimics work very much like Dark Souls mimics and seem to be the most direct relation.

As far as innovative mimics... ehhh... I hesitate to label Nioh 2's mujina as a mimic in the same sense. They serve the same purpose, but they're a shapeshifting badger that will hop out to impersonate you when you open their chest. The interesting thing they take on their implementation is that encountering one doesn't have to be a fight (they are a fairly tough fight, btw, attacking you with your own skills). They will perform a gesture and if you perform the proper gesture quickly enough, they will clap and vanish leaving you loot behind. Get it wrong, take too long, try to run, or attack them and they will tear into you.

The closest video games have gotten to proper D&D level mimic paranoia is 2017's Prey.

Where I've seen mimics impersonate chairs, potted plants, weapons, medkits, and even the dead bodies of other mimics.

Then in Moonlighter you get the chance to get a mimic pet that helps improve your inventory.

And while they're mostly just setting fluff, Potionomics has mimics appear in many places including all of one character's personal gear, the vending machine you're given by them later, and the teleporting coffin mimic the gothy bard uses to travel in (also their guitar).

This isn't the only video game where I've encountered this phenomena of someone declaring something is amazing and incredibly innovative which just barely impacts me.

For years Bioshock Infinite's story and ending had been built up as this amazing mind-blowing stuff. And when I watched it.... it was stock time-travel story resolution.

It's literary terrain that has been well worn by Robert A Heinlein and Ray Bradbury.

By comparison, the infamous Bioshock "would you kindly" twist IS amazing and hinges sharply on the interactive nature of video games and is something that a novel or short story really couldn't pull off.

Again, I'm not saying Dark Souls and Bioshock Infinite did these things badly. They did things especially well. It just seems odd to me that they get upheld as these amazing innovative ideas. And the build up they give these concepts just causes the competent execution to fall flat with me once I understand it's nothing new.

Some of my friends probably put it very succinctly.

"For a lot of people it was their first visceral experience with mimics."

"A lot of people were unborn back when the innovative mimic happened, let alone the definitive ones."

"First experience of something is Formative for people."

#explore multiple media types #video games #what's old is new again #older than you think #not as innovative as you said it was #you're doing a disservice to excellent execution of an old trope when you pile on expectations that it is something new.

[niche-drama]

Chess Drama: The PIPI Saga

Part 1: Setting the Stage

It’s September of 2020, half a year into the pandemic. It’ll be months before there’ll be vaccines for COVID-19, and all the “normal”, “respectable” chess tournaments have been on hiatus, because they dare not meet IRL and they’re too set in their ways to go virtual.

Online chess events with less clout but bigger prize pools have stepped forward to fill this gap, including the “PRO Chess League” (PRO being an acronym for Professional Rapid Online), a team-format championship where teams from different places compete against each other for a title.

This year, the winners of the tournament are a shock: the Armenia Eagles, a lesser-known team even in this lesser-known format for pro-level chess. Their all-star for the tournament is GM Tigran Petrosian (no, not the former World Chess Champion by that name, but another guy whose dad named him after the former champion), who won three of the four games he played and tied the fourth - an almost unbelievably good result at the top level of chess.

In fact, it was so unbelievable that even one of the other players in the tournament started to imply that he didn’t believe it.

GM Wesley So (a top-10-in-the-world grandmaster who was playing for the St Louis Archbishops in this tournament, who won 2nd place) commented on the chess.com article announcing the Eagles’ win with this:

The “secret gin” was a reaction to Petrosian’s joking interview comment that he’d achieved his results in this tournament because he’d had a glass of gin to drink as he played.

The second part of the comment, though, is a deeper cut. On chess.com, often instead of publicly banning titled players who’ve been found to cheat, they’ll just contact those players and ban them privately.  Basically “your account won’t show that you’re banned, but never log in again if you want it to stay that way”. In other words, Wesley was implying that:

Andriasian and Sargsyan had been cheating in a previous event and were quietly told to leave town, and

Petrosian had possibly achieved this result by committing the same sin.

Part 2: Wait, cheating at chess?

Yes, it’s possible. To oversimplify... it’s like copying the answer to a hard test question off your genius deskmate, except the “deskmate” is your desktop computer. Chess programs have been better at chess than humans for decades now; in theory, all you need to do to beat a human is enter the game into Stockfish and see what it thinks is the best move.

In practice, it’s much harder than that. Try logging into a chess website and rocketing up the ranks by copying the computer’s homework, and you’ll be banned pretty quickly. It turns out that computer moves don’t look like human moves, and people playing computer moves don’t behave like people playing their own moves either; the big chess websites all have secret sauce to try to detect cheaters, or to investigate games where they think cheating has occurred.

Of course, in an officially organized, professional event, the most straightforward way is just for the players to be watched while playing, so that it’s clear whether or not they have Droidfish open on their phones - whether by a live tournament rep in the player’s house, or just by setting up enough cameras that the judges can see what’s going on. That’s the “proctoring” that Wesley mentions in his followup comment to the thread:

The PRO Chess League finals, despite being an online-native event, only requires the players to set up a single facecam - not the multi-camera setup that would be necessary to see what the contestants are actually doing. And the “single facecam” video from the event does show Petrosian repeatedly glancing down at... something... during the tensest moments of his games.

Part 3: Classics of Post

Early the next morning, Tigran Petrosian catches wind of the conversation going on in the article comments, and decides to reply to Wesley’s accusations. But the way he chooses to do it, well... take a look for yourself.

This pretty much instantly ascended to copypasta status in the chess fandom. The /r/chess subreddit had to install an automod to remove reposts of it. Meanwhile, /r/AnarchyChess installed a bot to automatically post it whenever any of the main characters or catchphrases of this story were mentioned.

Wesley accepts the offer for an IRL money match, with a final snide remark: “You are clearly the king of online chess, man. But I will dare fight you over-the-board.”

Unfortunately, the “PIPI Invitational”, as GM Hikaru Nakamura called it in a Twitch stream, ends up not happening. Later that day, chess.com and the Pro Chess League make a joint announcement that, after conducting an investigation, they determined that Tigran Petrosian was, in fact, cheating in the semifinals and finals of the tournament. Petrosian is banned from the PCL for life, the Eagles get tempbanned, and the prizes get redistributed... thereby proving Petrosian right that, one way or another, “liers will kicked off”.

#chess #pro chess league #anarchychess #blitz chess #blitz #tigran petrosian #wesley so

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hey there, I was wondering if you knew of any systems that could facilitate a Fullmetal Alchemist-like Campaign!!! Thank you!!!

THEME: Fullmetal Alchemist

Hello there friend, here's what I've got for you today. (I've only seen a few episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist, but I have many friends who have seen much of the series!)

Break!!, by Grey Wizard.

BREAK!!is a tabletop roleplaying game of exploration and adventure, whose setting and aesthetics are inspired by classic anime and SNES era video games. It’s a 470-page, full-colour book loaded with diagrams and infographics to make learning and playing the game as fast and fun as possible. It’s perfect for anime and JRPG fans looking to try out tabletop games for the first time. 

As an adventurer, you will journey across shattered landscapes, encounter and interact with Outer World’s many unusual inhabitants, craft items, magic and mechanical, and create social bonds with the friends you meet along the way. Experience the wonder, humour, tragedy and triumph of adventuring!

Break!! has the potential to emanate the magic land of Fullmetal Alchemist, in a world broken and torn apart, with forgotten knowledge and treasures to discover - similar to Ed and Al’s quest for answers. When it comes to the compelling and complicated villains, the weight might fall more solidly on the shoulders of the Game Master, but your characters will be granted a number of powers that will rival Ed’s unique alchemical skills, even if they don’t replicate them. 

Currently the Kickstarter is ramping up to release, but you can check out a sample document from the Kickstarter page!

A Power Without Rival, by TK Haughton.

Have you ever found yourself in a tense standoff with a powerful foe, and then thought to yourself: "You know what would make this better? If there were six more of these guys, each one stronger than the last."

A Power Without Rival is a one page RPG about generating numbered groups of powerful guys, ala The Seven Warlords of the Sea from One Piece, The Phantom Troupe from Hunter x Hunter, or the Seven Sins from Fullmetal Alchemist. Generate a group of guys, give them a purpose, figure out their powers and allegiances, then drop them into your RPG of choice. 

Remember: you may have defeated me, but my friends won't lose so easily.

This is an add-on that you can use in other tabletop RPGS in order to create a group of villains that will challenge your adventuring party in meaningful and dramatic ways. If what you like about Fullmetal Alchemist is the constant challenges posed to push the protagonists to test their physical and emotional limits, then this might be a supplement worth looking into. All you need is a deck of cards and you are ready to go!

JACOB & ESAU by Justin Joyce.

JACOB is the runaway paladin of the Lord, destined to declare the end times. ESAU is the undead, beheaded twin that JACOB wears on their belt.  Together, the twins march into the wilderness to forge their own fates, and to make the world a better place.

They are pursued. By Angels. By Fiends. By God's Will. And by the Serpent Of Paradise borne out of exposure to God's pure, primordial creation. 

JACOB&ESAU is a tabletop roleplaying game designed for 2 players and 1 GM. It is made using the MARKED&MADE rpg system, and began life as a hack of GUN&SLINGER that precedes the third party license. 

This game can be played using only a standard deck of 52 playing cards.  This game is inspired by the biblical tale of Jacob & Esau, the equally biblical tale of Cain & Abel, and Fullmetal Alchemist.

The game that inspired this one - Gun&Slinger - uses rules similar to Go Fish and Blackjack, as well as a unique character sheet that carries special abilities, triggered by your use of cards. If you’re interested in stories of two closely-bound individuals on an epic quest, I’d recommend checking out both this game and the one that inspired it.

#fullmetal alchemist #indie ttrpgs #game recommendations #dnd #asks #anime #tabletop games