Posts made by Ganymede

@arkandel said in Social Systems:

Thoughts?

Sorry, man, I can't say that I favor what you're suggesting.

I wrote the following up for my Mass Effect RPG regarding "social actions." Note that "checks" are rolls, and "Drama Points" are earned and can be used to get re-rolls in combat and other stressful situations:

2.4.3 Players Determine their Characters’ Actions – Always

The thorny issue: can a player undergo a task to convince another player’s character to sleep with his?

The answer: not unless the other character’s player agrees to it.

Players should be able to create characters that are socially or mentally powerful, and have that mean something. Many times, this is not the case, and, where players can compete against other players, it becomes a bit of a problem. Finding the balance between player-control and skill-efficacy is often a struggle, but here are some general guidelines and systems.

A. Players can use checks to manipulate and convince NPCs. As above, GMs are there to tell a story and provide challenges. NPCs, or non-player characters, are story elements. The GM controls them. Whereas a player may have personal investment in their character, a GM’s NPCs are simply tools.

B. Players can use checks to manipulate and convince other PCs regarding their character. A PC can seem genuine. A PC can seem convincing. When it comes to talking about themselves, players can use checks to convince other PCs that they are telling the truth or being sincere. Concealing or shading a fact may require a contested check, but the results of these checks must be respected. If the game’s events give rise to a situation where the other PC may doubt the lying PC’s story, then another check may be necessary if the liar is confronted.

C. Players cannot enforce checks to cause other PCs to act one way or another. This is where it gets tricky, so consider the following example: a player wants another player’s character to sleep with theirs. Suppose that the defender’s player does not want to sleep with the aggressor. The aggressor’s player can make a check for success, but, if successful, the defender can elect not to abide by the results. If this occurs, then the aggressor cannot attempt to seduce the defender for a reasonable period of time, like the rest of the scene, a day, a week, or whatever’s reasonable to the GM or the players involved; however, the aggressor gains a Drama Point. On the other hand, if the defender’s player decides to abide by the results, then the defender gains a Drama Point for accepting the result of a check that he had the right to refuse.

Ultimately, players should respect one another. GMs should keep an eye out for abusers of this system, and remind them that this game is about everyone having fun, not forcing one’s will on others.

@faraday said in Social Systems:

Sounds like RfK was just putting some carrot incentives around it so everybody comes away with something (either what they wanted, or a 'beat'). Nothing wrong with that, but did it really help? Was the beat-carrot enough incentive for someone to take a social dive when they otherwise wouldn't?

I think so. And it was kind of fun because socializers don't always win those rolls. There's always a chance of failure. The system rewarded people who engaged in it, one way or another, so I think that it encouraged rolls. It was brilliantly simple, and gave power to social-oriented folks that wouldn't have otherwise had it.

@thenomain said in General Video Game Thread:

But whatever we think, that we had different experiences and still enjoyed the game means it deserves some kind of Most Amazing RPG To Date award.

That award clearly goes to The Last of Us. Still.

The Witcher 3 is awesome, but I think I enjoyed Horizon Zero Dawn more.

Still, bewbs.

@faraday said in Social Systems:

5. Agency. I have one job on the game, and that's to decide how my character acts/reacts. When you start enforcing social behavior, it's like you're taking the controller out of my hand and telling me how to play the character. That bugs the heck out of me. I do not feel the same at all if you tell me that my character got shot, or missed their shot, or anything else external to the character's thoughts and behaviors.

I want to hook on just this.

Obviously, my response was pretty tongue-in-cheek, but it was meant to highlight what I believe the issue to be: the temperament of the players involved. I'm one of those players that honestly couldn't give fewer shits if you want or don't want to roll something, mostly because I think I am forceful and clever enough to manipulate you and your PC without rolling anything, if that's what I think my PC would do.

(Pro-tip: Part of this also means adhering to my stats, which I try to do as hard as I can. That said, I simply can't RP as a doofus or brick wall.)

But, as for agency, I think the best way to encourage people to use a social system is to put player agency on both sides. For the aggressor, the option to use a social mechanism should always be available; for the target, the option to opt-out of the result should always be available. To that end, I really like RfK's system, where a player could roll to affect another's PC, but the target PC's player could: (1) pre-emptively accept what the aggressor PC's player wants, and gain a beat; (2) see the result; or (3) negate the result, which gives the aggressor's PC a beat. Regardless of the outcome, the aggressor PC cannot attempt another roll to the same effect for the rest of the scene.

@sunnyj said in Social Systems:

When looking for good social systems in a game, what is it that you are looking for? Does it need to be quick and not that mechanic extensive? Do you like a complex showdown?

I like the Storyteller System of just having a contested roll.

It's always the players that fuck that shit up.

I also like WoD 1E's Social Combat system.

But then the players fuck that shit up.

CoD's Doors? Nifty.

And players fuck that shit up.

I'm thinking that I just hate people.

Which is why I like the World of Darkness.

@jaded said in General Video Game Thread:

In fact, when asked in an interview Sapkowski did not canonize the games or say that he considered it an alternate world but that he considered it a new piece of art inspired by his works that should stand on its own.

Still, I am overjoyed that he is involved in the Netflix series.

Also: Triss. Can't really get into Keira, as that's my daughter's name.

@ortallus said in General Video Game Thread:

The games made him out to be WAY more of a lech than he was in the books.

Maybe. It's more the players, though.

@quinn said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

A month and a half? Where do you live? Cause dude, where I live it's $3900 a month for the two of them and it's only that cheap because the youngest just got out of the infant room. Still better than the $4500/month we were paying last year, though.

They are not fucking around when they say kids are expensive.

I've got two, and they are $1,200/4 wks. Thankfully, I live in a place where the cost of living is dirt-cheap.

But, I help put my partner through college too. And I have a mortgage. Full-time employment. Can guarantee around $7,000 in health care payments every year too.

I'm a lawyer. I charge $250/hr. on average. I'm still struggling to make ends meet.

Welcome to America.

@faceless said in General Video Game Thread:

Yeah, I've been told I could skip Witcher 1. I've even been told by a couple people I should just skip Witcher 2. Go straight to Wild Hunt/3.

If you remember the Overlord expansion for Mass Effect 2, that's what they do in The Witcher 3. You can literally make up the story in the previous 2 to fit how you want to be.

And, yes, it has actually ramifications in the game, depending on how you write Geralt's backstory.

Which is why you should play The Witcher 3. Nothing but that.

Spend the money. Play. You will not regret it.

(There's an awful lot of brothels in that part of the world.)

Ermahgerd, Jehanne.

All right. Fine. I'm going to Reno.

@faraday said in ROGUE: It is coming...:

This. I have played on a lot of different games, but I have never had a harder time finding RP than I did on the few Star Wars games I tried. And given that I'm a pretty motivated self-starter when it comes to finding RP, that's saying a lot.

I concur, but, to be fair, my hours are kind of sketchy at times.

@magee101 said in Vampire Requiem 2nd Edition Bloodlines Question:

I have no idea how bloodlines are proposed to function in 2e, because some of what I've read in this thread suggests they work differently than they do in 1e, but that's my two cents on why I would want bloodlines.

As stated above, Vampire 2E seems to like to do away with the 'unique discipline' that some (but not all) of the bloodlines got, and replace that with a Bloodline Boon and a set of bloodline-specific devotions (which is how they re-made the Khaibit). The Kerberoi have access to a set of 'unique' Merits, but those are horridly overpowered in use.

Otherwise, everything you said is why I like bloodlines.

So bloodlines allow you to add another dimension to a character, be it a sickness like Malkovians, that mark them so differently from their base clan, to an extreme burden to all of Kindred society (some of the Mekhet bloodlines come to mind here). It adds more flavor, adds more variety in mechanics and combinations.

Right, so, when making The Descent's bloodlines, I added a thought: how does this bloodline fit into the setting? For The Descent, the setting was post-apocalyptic, spiritual, and otherworldly: there was less emphasis on the First Tradition because there were spirits, ghosts, and monsters prowling about in public (like The Witcher). I crafted each of them to fit into some relevant niche:

Adroanzi: The post-apocalyptic world is being overrun by nature, and these vampires have mastered nature.
Ahrimanes: Vampires that live in and watch the spirit world, who have emerged to preserve the boundaries between worlds.
Alucinor: Shadows that dwelled too far into the realm of dreams, they manipulate and control their herds in their sleep.
Azerkatil: Vampires are monsters too; the Azerkatil hunt them down and destroy them on contract.
Blood Brothers: Wasteland-dwelling survivors that use their group strength to protect themselves from predation.
Dragolescu: Ghosts are not always bad; these vampires have learned to deal with them for fame and fortune.
Galloi: Self-appointed Lords and Ladies of civilization whose twisted, vice-ridden predilections turn their herds into harems.
Khaibit: The world's historical defense against the Strix and other Horrors.
Icarians: PURGE THE UNCLEAN. These monster-hunters live for battle, and are sworn to rid the world of Horrors.
Myrmex: Hive-mind evangelical apocalyptic cult members that all march to the same beat.
Nelapsi: Lords over the herds that steal from others that have mastered their supernatural hunger.
Oberlochs: Savage warlords that fiercely protect their herds like alpha dogs.
Septimi: Humanists sworn to protect humanity and exorcise the evil that preys upon it.
Shepherds: Conservationists that follow the Fourth Tradition.
Sta-Au: Predators from the Land of Worms, these vampires feed on and slay the ghosts that stray into the real world.

What a lot of 1E games lack is focus or direction for their bloodlines. It's not enough to just be flavor; if bloodlines are to be meaningful, they have to be acknowledged and affixed within the setting somehow. So, in my opinion, game designers need to pay heed to what they want to do with the bloodlines, and not be afraid to reject requests to add more.

@buttercup said in The Basketball Thread:

How no team has never gone far with that guy baffles me. By the numbers he is fantastic.

Because he used to play on Sacramento and now he's on New Orleans.

Because he couldn't shoot a three worth a damn for his first five seasons. (In one year, his 3P% was an impressive .000.)

Because he was a ball-hog who only now is on a reasonably-talented team.

@zombiegenesis said in Vampire Requiem 2nd Edition Bloodlines Question:

What you've done is fantastic, thank you! And absolutely invest no more time in this. You've already done more than I could have asked and I thank you for that!

You're welcome, but ... the ideas aren't complete. What I made was just a proposal. You probably want something as thorough as I provided for The Descent if you want things to be attractive.

Like, the Otaku. What's their link to Hotei? And how does that affect their outlook on existence? What's their relationship with other bloodlines? Why? And so on. Like, there's a lot of work to be done on each of the bloodlines proposed, from boons to banes to devotions.

Just let me know if you want me to work on that. That's what I mean.

Adding in proposed bloodlines for the other three Clans.

Mekhet

Iktomi (Kokyangwuti): Minions of the Hopi Spider Grandmother, the Shadows that prowled California before its borders were drawn still watch over its people, aid those that deserve it and terrorizing the evil among them. Auspex, Celerity, Nightmare, Obfuscate. (Custom.) (Think Vampire Sluagh, with a leaning towards the Lynx.)

Iltana (Ishhara): These Shadows claim descent from Queen Iltani, an ancient ruler in Babylon, who mastered and managed her husband’s household with ruthless efficiency, and was supposedly sent by the Scorpion Queen herself. Animalism, Auspex, Celerity, Obfuscate. (AB, p. 145.) (Scorpion wins. Also, Merges Sorcery)

Otaku (Hotei): Some Shadows don’t like to stay there; some of them enjoy being in the spotlight, or, in the case of the Japanese Otaku, becoming the culture that they have watched from afar. Auspex, Celerity, Majesty, Obfuscate. (BL:Legendary, p. 117.) (The Players, but with a sinister, macabre, Japanese anime twist, with Devotions similar to The Moulding Room.)

Nosferatu

Cauldron-Born (Arawn): Allegedly spawned from a magic cauldron, these Haunts are the undead servants of Matholwch, an ancient Irish King who fought against the giants of Britain before the coming of Rome, who have mastered the power of death, which they use to rule their underground fiefdoms. Dominate, Nightmare, Obfuscate, Vigor. (BL:Legendary, p. 10.) (The non-Lancea Sanctum side of the Bron, and more in line with what the Mabinogion described.)

Stone-Clad (Atahsaia): The quixotic Stone-Clads prefer the sanctity of the mountains and open spaces than the concrete of cities, but their patron demon of Zuni mythology has other ideas for the foreigners that have spoiled the land. Nightmare, Obfuscate, Resilience, Vigor. (Custom.) (Stoneskinned cannibals (you may recall the same as nunnehi), I sort of see these guys as being bruisers that would rather spend their evenings staring up at the sky)

Rakshasa (Mahishasura): The divine opposites of the Shakti, these monstrous Haunts claim lineage from a great buffalo demon, and seek enlightenment in battle to become true demons. Nightmare, Obfuscate, Protean, Vigor. (BL:Hidden, p. 116.) (The opposite of the Shakti, who feast on the fear of their enemies.)

Ventrue

Dayyani (Tiamat): Whereas the Kerberoi claim that they were the first arbiters as to who should be embraced, the Dayyani claim that they were the first judges in the first cities of Mesopotamia. They believe their authority was usurped by the male priests of the Storm-God Marduk. Now, they seek a reversal of fortunes for patriarchal society. Animalism, Dominate, Nightmare, Resilience. (Custom.) (Sort of a new idea, intended to play off with the Iltani; probably have some ancient sort of magic, but I'm not sure what yet, if any.)

Kupua (Maui): What can I say except “you’re welcome”? These Polynesian seafarers are known for playing pranks on others, some of which have had deadly consequences. Animalism, Dominate, Protean, Resilience. (Custom.) (Because Sharkhead, that's why. Also, plays into West Coast surfer culture -- basically, Polynesian Rotgrafen)

Nahualli (Huitzilopochtli): A relatively-new bloodline, the Nahaulli derive their beliefs from Aztec philosophies, and more often than not give their sacrifices to the Aztec God of War. Animalism, Auspex, Dominate, Resilience. (BL:Hidden, p. 78.) (As per the Bloodline book.)

That's what I've come up with so far. I haven't written anything out in detail. ZG, if you want me to work on these, I can, but it might take a few weeks; that batch I did for The Descent took my three or four weeks of constant work, and my RL work and life schedule is pretty hectic.

@scissors said in Sci Fi/Opera Originality:

In my estimation, that's why SF games based on Star Wars or Star Trek are more popular: simply because they use shared settings that are popular and well-defined, which take the guesswork out of the roleplay.

The main problem I had with Star Wars games is that they did explain things, like why the Force exists because MIDICHLORIANS ARGH DRAMATIC FAILURE RAGE ROLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!

That aside, I wouldn't mind working on an original sci-fi setting. I took a crack at some sci-fi writing when I was a younger person, and have some ideas. Otherwise, you could take an existing setting and use it because no one else has -- that's about as original as you need to be, at times.

If you're going the second route, I'd suggest Exo-Squad.

@arkandel said in Random links:

What's even more interesting in this case is that this is Netflix we're talking about. There's no price differential here - both critically acclaimed and guilty-pleasure stuff are a click away, already paid for... yet people still chose the latter.

I liked Bright. I think critics need to shut the fuck up most of the time.

Things can be critically-acclaimed and guilty pleasures. Daredevil shamefully did not get the attention it should have, and I am pissed off that The Punisher got nothing while Stranger Things Season 2 got recognition.

(I liked ST s2 a lot, but The Punisher was brilliant in the same way that The Wire was, and notably had an impressive number of women writing and directing episodes for what is ostensibly a man's revenge-fantasy character.)

No doubt, critics will have a mouthful about The Witcher when Netflix releases it, but I am comfortable and confident that it will be one of those critically-acclaimed / guilty pleasure things for me.

@skew

What? What did I do this time?

@zombiegenesis said in Vampire Requiem 2nd Edition Bloodlines Question:

RE: oWoD clans as bloodlines

• Those seem to be pretty popular on other games (Bruja, Toreador, Sangiovanni) so I figure why not? They're familiar and popular, sounds good to me.

They fall easily intro tropes, to the point where you don't have to think about it. That said, I know very few people who've played a 2E Toreador, or a 1E Toreador. Because Toreador suck.

That said, I thought about your game.

The last MUSH I played onset in LA was LA: A House Divided. It was pretty neat because you had factions ruling over bits and pieces of the city. And taking the name 'City of Angels', I thought I'd put a deity/religious spin on the bloodlines too, thinking that, maybe, you could tie that in somehow with how a vampire practices blood sorcery.

Like Reno, I see each of the bloodlines having a bloodline gift and boon, an extra in-clan discipline, and a series of devotions to buy or a non-clan form of blood magic instead of the gift and devotions (like the Tzimisce). For each Clan, I am coming up with three lines, each linked to a deity; those deities are from American, Old World, and Asian World traditions, and there is one for each group.

So far, I've come up with the following (patron/matron gods are next to the bloodline name):

Daeva Bloodlines

Malintzin (Tzazolteotl): Named after the mistress of Cortes, the Malintzin are preoccupied with artistic expression, licentiousness, and the proliferation and preservation of Ando-American cultures. Celerity, Dominate, Majesty, Vigor. (SoM, p. 101; VtR, p. 246.) (Kind of like Toreador, with more emphasis on using art and culture to enslave people.)

Ombosines (Set): Masters of emotional manipulation, the ever-subtle Ombosines practice a secret form of magic passed down through the millennia said to have been taught to them by the desert itself. Celerity, Majesty, Obfuscate, Vigor. (Mekhet, p. 92; V:20, p. 52.) (Will probably have some form of Setite Sorcery, like what you might find in oWoD Vampire or in the Mekhet Clanbook under the Followers of Seth.)

Shakti (Durga): Descendants of the Supreme Being, the Shakti see themselves as the pen-ultimate form of divinity on Earth, and revere the universe as a matronly source of creation, inspiration, power, and destruction. Animalism, Celerity, Majesty, Vigor. (AB, p. 43; Circle, p. 165.) (Basically, the Amara Havana, but under a different name and with a different twist.)

Gangrel Bloodlines

Bohagande (Coyote): Followers in the tradition of Coyote, the Bohagande manipulate the threads of fate for survival and personal profit. Animalism, Auspex, Protean, Resilience. (BL:Hidden, p. 38.) (Will have to alter that bloodline flaw because it blows for a MUSH.)

Taifa (Kusor): Gangrel hailing from the Iberian Peninsula claim descent from Kusor, the Carthaginian god of intellect, and are known for being genial, well-mannered, and scholarly, despite their propensity for savagery. Animalism, Majesty, Protean, Resilience. (BL: Chosen, p. 75)

Xiao Laohu (Li Shou): These Chinese Gangrel are noted for being able to blend into the cityscape like no other urban predator, but are also known for being a little lazy as a result of those abilities. Animalism, Obfuscate, Protean, Resilience. (Custom.) (Think City Gangrel Cats, but kind of lazy because cats. Also, will have blood magic akin to the Gilded Cage, but with an emphasis not just on knowledge but on concealment.)

Will continue to work in spare time.

@skew

Yeah. And the Onyx Path took them as a basis for Beast.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.