@Ghost They also sponsored an episode of Critical Role playing the game, which might have been a factor in the decision to make it in the first place.
"Professional RPG design" budget can probably fit comfortably in the loose change of "national fast food chain marketing" budget.
@RDC I think IT is among his best work. (Even if, yeah, I'll give him some shit for making Will such a self-insert.)
The thing about King is that he's such a... I dunno. His process is always so freeform, coming up with an idea and then just putting in the hours to write it. He doesn't really 'do' outlines, and y'know, it shows sometimes. (Often at the end!) The kid-sex thing... I see what he was trying to do, how he had the idea, and he isn't really the sort to really sit down and think over if it's a good idea. It winds up weird and jarring, and kinda dominating discussion of what's otherwise a great book with like two pages of concentrated WTF? out of 1100.
(King is also, like, the worst PSA on the planet. "It was out of control, the booze, the drugs. I'd lose days, come to from a blackout, lying next to a NYT best-selling manuscript and a film deal.")
@Arkandel I'm not saying that you can't have a dungeon crawl with RP elements.
I'm putting forward that a rust monster is a thing that exists to fuck with the players, and expecting this fuckery to be met with 'well, my character might not know how to respond to this!' seems a bit disingenuous.
@Tinuviel True! But since the specific example is a rust monster...
I mean, a rust monster. This is not a creature that shows up in a game because it has a deep resonance in fantasy or mythology, or because it's a part of a rich world-building that makes rust monsters a part of the setting. Gary (RIP) took a five-cent Chinese plastic supermarket toy and gave it mechanics specifically to fuck with the players. It exists because it's funny to watch the guys who'd charge an orc army run screaming from a friendly bug/dog thing.
So, like, in the spectrum between OOC puzzle-solving exercise and IC dramatics, having a rust monster shows up inclines me toward the former.
@Arkandel I'd put this above a 'peeve.'
But... yeah. An American journalist gets murdered, but we're still buds with the Saudis because "they pay cash."
Oh, and for what staff should be doing:
@Thenomain has a good bit of it, "mak(ing) sure everyone is playing the same game." 90%+ of actual interactions are going to be between PCs. If you're, say, running a game set in a small rural town, maybe... gently suggest that a PC who owns a hopping nightclub is a great PC for a different game.
Restrictions aren't a bad thing.
I've never been a fan of super involved backgrounds.
Like, I'll usually start out with maybe a couple paragraphs painting in broad strokes, with room to fill in details as I go. I've always been a very 'develop in play' sort of guy; I actually really like whichever FATE system encourages you to put your sheet together after start, once you've gotten a feel for them.
And I really don't like being asked to explain every single number on my sheet. "Why does your law student have the stat profile of a Navy SEAL," okay, legit. "Where and how did your petty criminal pick up some basic larceny skill," man, I don't know, get off my back.
When did we all decide backstory was the be-all of a new character, anyway?
@Aria said in The Work Thread:
I wish managers would accept honest feedback! Someone questioning an idea or even saying outright "I'm not sure this is going to work and here's why" is not the same as "You're a turd and also bad at your job and PS, you should be embarrassed in front of all of our colleagues." Unless they fall into the category of sleazy office politics asshole, they're honestly probably trying to help you make the underlying thing you're trying to achieve work.
Yeah. The idea is dumb, and the effort being put into it would be better spent digging holes and then filling them back in--at least that would be pointless, rather than counterproductive. But if management is married to it and all I'd get for pointing this out is looking like a malcontent troublemaker, well, fuck that; I'll keep my head down and hope someone above me suffers an unexpected attack of good sense.
I mean, I get paid either way.
Co-workers! I'm sorry you're on the outs with your respective significant others, but additionally, I don't actually care! Please hold off the loud arguments until you're on your own time!
Boss' boss! I'd really like to know, when you ask for "feedback" on the new decision, if you're actually looking for feedback or if you're just looking for us all to tongue your asshole about what a great idea this is. My answers would be dramatically different depending.
Hah. No, nothing so weird or severe. Stuff like "Hey this guy is a former metal musician like me and I love talking music and wrestling with them BUUUUUUT..."
Treat them like Drug Friends.
Hang out. Have fun. Don't trust them with anything or stand the first round.
Never forget that your Drug Friends are assholes. If they weren't they'd just be friends.
