Posts made by Pyrephox

@sunny Oh no! I love Michelle West. Admittedly, they're not WRONG that her books are doorstoppers and I've never seen her really resolve a plot so far. XD But that's sort of what I like about them. So...yeah, I might have to join this patreon.

@sunny Man, all of that. People are SO HAPPY to be able to do 'their character's thing'. If you give a character a chance to do the thing the player built them to do, or show interest in the character's Thing, you will see a character COME TO LIFE so many times.

Not always - I've definitely had those moments where I do everything to try and draw a character in based on the hooks they've written for that character and get nada. But those are a minority. Usually, you get the best RP from other people when you show even the slightest interest in them as characters.

Trying to think back to social scenes I've really enjoyed -

1. Use the setting and environment. A scene that's grounded in something that's true for the game is a lot more fun to me than a scene that could happen anywhere. This includes incidental things like weather and NPC saturation/diversity.

2. Use NPCs. Now, this doesn't mean forcing other players to just play with NPCs and never even speak to your character (I've had a scene like this on a game, and it was BAFFLING), but a couple of colorful NPCs can give diverse PCs an immediate 'hook' to react to, and bond over.

3. Have things happen. This doesn't mean have STUPID things happen, but having a scene where something is happening outside of 'PCs meet and talk' adds flavor, depth, and hooks for people. A scene at a boxing match is usually more exciting than a scene sitting on a bench in an empty park. Fender-benders, bad minstrels, sudden weather changes, whatever.

4. Be passionate or strong-minded. I don't mean be pointlessly aggressive and escalate every situation to murder. But looking back, the most fun my social scenes have been were when PCs had strong opinions that they didn't immediately roll over on, or had personalities that /sparked/ on one another in exciting ways - which means that the PCs had to have personalities to spark with. Where social scenes feel like pulling teeth is almost always when I'm with a PC who just...has no real opinions about anything, wants to smooth out all disagreements, and is very live and let live to the point where it's like they're a frictionless sphere. Give me something! Be human!

@solstice said in Good Anime:

@cupcake

I do not care for the way he puts his romantic interest up on a giant pedestal, but hard agree.

I don't think anyone's supposed to care for it. Every relationship in that show is /gloriously/ fucked up.

@cirim13 Hidden Legacy would make a very fun setting for a tabletop game, but I suspect it would be a TRAINWRECK in a MU*. Mind you, it would be an entertaining trainwreck, and I would absolutely play there.

If you go into a 'social' scene with the idea that it's going to be a waste of your time, then you will never be wrong. And yes, RP social scenes often do have a little more 'plot contrivance' than most aspects of RL - and one of the things I like to do is take a look at the other character's wiki or finger to see something I can hang a scene hook off of that makes our conversation a little LESS 'hello random person' - it can be something as simple as 'oh, they have tattoos, so let's make a remark about that' or in a game where the theme and setting have been built with purpose, you can USUALLY find an org or faction hook between two random characters, even if it's only, "Hey, do you work at X? I think I saw you there one time."

There's nothing wrong with wanting a scene that has 'purpose', but that means, you know, put in the effort to build the scene with purpose. Concentrate on the people in the scene with you, figure out why your character might be interested in them, whether it's benevolence, manipulation, or hunger. Don't expect other players to do it - a lot of them just don't. But if YOU do it, then you can often find some satisfaction and way to advance your character's agenda in even the most mundane of social RP.

Even a 'bar RP' scene can be meaningful, if you consider the setting, the NPCs, and your characters' purposes for being in that place at that time. The only real problem with bar/coffee shop RP is that people have a tendency to 'white room' it - where a couple/group of PCs pose to each other as if they were standing in a white room for no particular reason.

I don't always succeed, but I always try to have a reason to be in a public place - my character is there to do something, and there are things in the environment that complicate that or change that, and hopefully engage other people in the scene by bringing those elements to the forefront on occasion, whether it's an NPC or an element of the setting, or even the weather. It's one of the reasons descs really ARE important.

@runescryer said in Good TV:

Getting back on topic...

Leverage: Redemption.

Almost the entire band is back together, and it's a thing of beauty. Then cast chemistry still sings, even with 2 new additions. The writing, pacing, humor, banter, and twists are all spot on.

8 episodes released so far, and it's great.

It's SO damn good. The two new characters fit in very well, and I love everything about it.

@botulism New one works, thanks!

@botulism Just a head's up: I'm getting a 404 Not Found from the link you've posted.

Four is my preference, but I'm flexible to what the game requires, although I do wish artwork were more acceptable across games. I would rather have a character sketch of /exactly/ how my character looks, then spending hours trying to find a model or actor that gets 80% of the way there, and becoming sadly resigned to the fact that no one will read or note the physical characteristics that differ.

I also usually only have one or two pictures; I try to find the one that best fits the tone of the game and the 'emotional feel' of the character - the same actor can look a lot different from different angles or in different outfits, and I like to keep it as consistent as I can.

@silverfox I hope they come through, and I hate that misinformation and anti-vax lies even made it a possibility.

@arkandel said in Returning to MU*ing, looking for recommendations:

@wizz Sorry to derail the thread a bit but am I completely wrong in thinking WoD used to not work well for Ares due to its internal combat system limitations?

Has this been addressed or are folks using workarounds?

People are using workarounds. Ares and CoD/WoD don't play well together, so people are storing sheets on Google Drive, and using other dice rollers. It's awkward, which is a shame. I do think that the lack of modern conveniences in a WoD/CoD friendly format is keeping people who might make games from doing so.

Thomas@DW here! Glad to see you around and about!

@carma Thank you. And people can find self-reflection and meaning in all sorts of things, including gaming. I'd never deny that. But it's not a process that you're (probably) qualified to facilitate, and if something goes wrong - if something is too raw, or triggers self-harm impulses, you're not in a position to be able to intervene for someone's safety. So it's best not to get involved in that side of things as a game.

But good luck with the game!

You had me completely up until: "Likewise, the Silent Heaven community exists as a way for players to heal from issues that may be affecting themselves and others. We all need therapy, but not everyone can afford it. By fostering a safe space to explore sensitive issues, we can help each other, and have fun in the process by dipping our toes into some psychological horror."

And then you lost me completely.

Please, do not do this. This isn't snark or MSB slamming, but professional concern from a mental health professional. Please do not set vulnerable people up to think that a game, a HORROR game, is going to be a stand in for therapy. It is not a safe space to explore genuine psychological trauma, it cannot be made to be a safe space without a lot more pre-assessment than any game is going to want to do, more professional support than any game has, and it is not fair nor safe to put other players in the position of supporting other players' unknown mental traumas.

This is a recipe for disaster that can do actual harm to actual people. People should seek out qualified, professional help for their trauma, and seek out games with internet strangers for entertainment and creative outlets only.

@l-b-heuschkel said in Battling FOMO (any game):

I find that open scenes and open plot events are a very big deal when it comes to battling this. Make it hinge less on me to reach out -- I am putting myself somewhere and signaling I'm available, and if people secretly hate my company they can just not turn up.

Alas, then no one turns up to your open scenes, either, and there's nothing quite as crushing as sitting for an hour or two with an open scene, uh, open and no one showing a lick of interest.

Events aren't so bad, because if no one signs up, then you just don't run it. But man, those open scene deserts hurt.

@sunny I do this all the time.

I start out being friendly and social and really trying to push making IC connections and putting scenes out there. And then the tiny voice starts thinking, "You know, no one really asks me for RP. I always ask other people. Maybe I'm actually being overwhelming for them, and they'd like some space. I'm going to stop asking for a bit so that people can have space, and surely, if they've enjoyed our scenes together, they'll ask for RP when they're ready for it."

And then...time passes. And no one asks for RP. And the little voice goes, "Oh. OH. So I was bothering people, and no one actually enjoys playing with me. That sucks. Now I feel bad that I was being a pain in the ass for people."

@carma said in Battling FOMO (any game):

Explicit directions on how to follow hooks is super useful as well. Some places I've been able to find the info, but then I have no idea how to turn it into a scene.

This is really important, I think. A lot of people are interested in following on hooks, but a lot of times, they don't necessarily know how, and they don't want to look stupid or foolish by doing The Wrong Thing, so they just fade back. The more explicit you can be about how to engage the more people you'll have who are willing to try and engage.

@il-volpe said in A healthy game culture:

@pyrephox It seems like a lot of the PKs I remember and have chatted about had OOC motivations first. Someone saw a chance to PK somebody who pissed them off in pages and get away with it IC, and did it. We all decided to play Let's Hunt and Kill Darke and damn the consequences, he was ruining the game anyway. Ones between players who are friendly or neutral to one another much much more often included either a warning and an out or hiring a third party to do the dirty deed.

I think there's definitely an OOC aspect to a lot of PKs. Sometimes, it's because people are trying to correct an OOC problem through IC means (the 'this guy is ruining the game' issue where the game doesn't have a way to say 'this player is actively making the game unfun for a lot of players, can we uninvite them' but it DOES let you just kill any of their PCs who cause a problem until they give up trying to play), and sometimes because people get caught up in the Righteousness of a PK (the 'this guy dumped my BFF - HE MUST DIE' issue), etc.

I tend to think that the most valuable PVP is not fatal to anyone's PC. I'd rather see PVP that focused on competing desires and rivalries where it isn't 'winner take all' but characters could have wins that aren't stable and losses they can recover from - and where IC losses don't translate into OOC assumptions that the player doesn't know how to play/the character isn't competent.

Which, again, comes back to that culture issue and - as mentioned above - staff that are invested in setting up that culture and spending their time mediating and promoting it. And that's a hard thing to find. There's not a lot of people who want to spend their time herding angry, anti-social cats instead of having pretendy fun times.