Best posts made by Thenomain

@Misadventure said in CofD and Professional Training:

Singing: How much is that Pain Bot in the window? (Bark bark!)

@Ganymede said in Social Combat: Reusing Physical Combat System?:

@Arkandel said in Social Combat: Reusing Physical Combat System?:

You guys should roll to see who wins.

I'm rolling to see if I'm getting drunk.

Are there any girls there?

@Auspice

I think what you mean is"people are weird".

@Coin said in Social Combat: Reusing Physical Combat System?:

Or you could treat plots the same way real life is treated, where a large majority of people use their social and mental aspects far, far more often than they do their physical ones when it comes time for conflict resolution, and where the physical approach is seen, by society, as something rather barbaric.

Since many of us here know World of Darkness, I will point out: This was the point of the Morality system to begin with. Not how others see you, but as a system to punish people for being more bestial than societal.

It was not perfect—heck, it wasn't even good—but it did push people to not do certain things. There are a lot of small rules that were implemented in nWoD and CoD to make sure that people aren't getting into combat with the expectation that 'kill or be killed' is the only end result. They are ignored. Because:

[...] the problem continues to be people, not the system.

However, I am going to point out @Sparks' suggestions as an exception of my usual rule: "Be very careful when applying a code solution to a social problem." If you walk into a game knowing what the expectations are, and those expectations are codified, then you're more likely to accept them.

--

Related: There is a game called Dogs In the Vineyard, about Mormonism in 1800s America. It has a social system and a physical system. The rough rule is this:

• People escalate to violence when talking fails.
• People escalate to talking when violence fails.

The comment about "rather barbaric" reminded me of this, and it rings to me, an absolute wuss, as true.

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(edit) In the modern Dr. Who RPG, action resolution happens in a certain order. 'Talk' is first. I like that.

@Ganymede said in How Do I Headwiz?:

@Thenomain

I would concur with that extension, mostly because I see any non-game-owner as a player, regardless of their assigned duties or lack thereof.

Do you remember long ago our argument of whether or not a staffer is a player? I know the discussion was more nuanced than this, but I too have adjusted my take on this. I still believe a staffer is "just a player with extra responsibilities", but what I consider a player as being has refined. I think we've met in the middle on this one, old lawyerbot.

@icanbeyourmuse

<facebook>"Share" if you remember random emitters for everything from weather to room ambience; "Like" if it made you grit your teeth.</facebook>

@HelloProject

Everything is a remix:
http://everythingisaremix.info

Connections (with David Burke);
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connections_(TV_series)

@Kanye-Qwest said in Coming Soon: Arx, After the Reckoning:

That's somewhat the point of a forum like this.

Wait...what?
Who are you?
I am confused and frightened.
GET OFF YOUR LAWN!

...

(that was a joke)

...

But seriously, A++ (plus a few more plusses) for the direction Arx is taking on the ever-present XP problem. I would far, far rather a game where the top tier is nearly impossible to attain than one where it's too easy to attain; I imagine it will keep the "End Game" problem far, far away.

Of course not everyone is going to be happy with it, but erring on the side of caution rather on the side of free candy for everyone is exciting. I can't wait to see what the result of this will be in a year. I'll wait, lacking time-travel.

Kudos.

@Runescryer said in Which canon property/setting would be good for a MU* ?:

Space 1889: Classic Steampunk adventure before Steampunk was even a thing.

You can bypass the "steampunk" label and add so much depth to it by calling it what it is: Verne.

Its tag-line is even more descriptive: "Everything Jules Verne should have written. Everything H. G. Wells could have written. Everything A. Conan Doyle thought of, but never published because it was too fantastic." Bam! You are there!

edit: Or for Fantasy Victorian, Castle Falkenstien (preferred for originality) or Victorianna (aka Shadowrun 1889).

--

My issue with the "steampunk" label is that it doesn't describe setting or theme or time-period. It describes technology, and only just. It describes fashion more than it describes anything else. It's like a bunch of 90s kids started running around in ripped jeans writing stories about being poor and unhappy and saying that makes the story "grunge".

@Rook said in MSB MU*?:

Why does MSB not have a MUSH/MUX to hang out on?

I have a more informative response to this: Because I can't keep up on conversations happening live on a non-archived system like a Mu*. I have a job that keeps me away from a computer, and it's far far far far easier to catch up in a forum format than the cramped, repetitive nature of a Mu*. I'd rather an IM system like Skype or Slack, which would be the best of both worlds, than a Mu*.

@Kanye-Qwest said in How Do I Headwiz?:

@Thenomain you stab that straw man, if it makes you feel better.

What happened to "go fuck yourself"? I missed those days.

@Tinuviel said in How Do I Headwiz?:

The main thing is distancing your emotional attachment from the project. Don't let whatever you're working on define you.

Yeah. You already define the project. You are the project.

On top of that, everyone notices. You may tell other staff or players what ethics are, what is expected of them, or how to play, but everyone will be watching you for the clues you give them. You cannot "do as I say, not as I do" in this hobby, everyone will attempt to do as you do, because if the Headstaff does it then it must be okay.

Hello. I'm currently doing a little spring cleaning with older and necessary systems for the Chronicles of Darkness games, although this applies to a few nWoD systems as well.

The Challenge

There are many traits where you can spend "XP" or a kind of "Flavored XP". In Mage, for instance, this is Arcane XP.

Normally, people spending XP only need to do something like this:

xp/spend Arcane=4

And boom, 20 XP deducted and all is well in the land. Except that what if you wanted to spend 8 XP and 12 Arcane XP?

What would you, the reader, want to type?

Right now, the best I have is:

xp/spend Arcane=4, 8 Normal, 12 Arcane

If I can make the 'normal' optional, I will. However, this still isn't wonderfully clear.

The Bribe

"Why should I help?" you may be asking. Well, because you have design thoughts? Because if you play CoD games you will see this? Because you're creative? Nobody has to help, but I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

@SunnyJ said in Straw Poll: XP Spending in nWoD/CoD:

If you WANT a suggestion

I want any and all suggestions. I'm asking for input from the people who might end up typing this monstrosity in.

maybe something like...

xp/spend Prime=4, 8/8

Where the first 8 is for Normal, and the second is for Flavor XP?

Not bad. A lot I could do with this. However, what if someone could use just Arcane XP?

xp/spend prime=4, 0/16

@Sammi said in Straw Poll: XP Spending in nWoD/CoD:

Just to be different: I could see a world in which some people prefer to use a syntax that explicitly drops them into a prompt that captures all of their input. For example, this would be faster than typing it all out:

Didn't you upvote this? ::

@Thenomain said in Straw Poll: XP Spending in nWoD/CoD:

One of the things that @program does is lock the player into no other input. If you're in the middle of this, you cannot type, say, 'p staff=Hey, question!'

I would really like to avoid that part. Maybe I have no imagination when it comes to input, but inadvertently locking someone out of responding to any other input but not stopping the other input doesn't feel like a good idea.

Like every time I hit the backtick (`) in Mass Effect: Andromeda, engaging console mode, and start yelling at the screen, "Why is nothing responding!" Or when I get locked into a conversation in Mass Effect: Andromeda and start yelling at the screen, "Why are you letting these people attack me!"

I know where you and @ThatOneDude were going for, and as someone who learned how to program for a terminal (CICS mmmmm, crunchy), I get it. I just can't see it working. If I'm missing some core component to this that would make it work without the lockout, I could give it a try. Maybe a less than non-useful 'Huh?' message. You know, like, "Huh? (You're trying to type things; if you want to quit this type 'nuh-uh' and you can get back to the main game.)" This would involve absorbing everything. I mean $*:@pemit %#=Nope! style everything. I've done this. Er, once.

@Derp

Then yes, you are also insane. Gratz?

@Derp said in Straw Poll: XP Spending in nWoD/CoD:

In this example, though, how would you mix xp types for those that wish to allow such things?

'xp/bank' is taking a flavor/type of XP to load into the spend-cannon. 'xp/spend' is firing that cannon for a particular trait/stat.

Breaking it down a bit:

> xp/bank <xp type>=<amt to bank>
> xp/spend <stat to buy>=<value to set it to>

"Arcane" is an XP Type. In WoD, there is nearly one per splat. Cover, Arcane, and Vitriol (for Promethean; don't get excited that there is a game about Internet Trolls) are three typical types.

"Strength" and "Gnosis" are stats that are being raised.

Sorry about the confusion, there.

--

edit: I realized just now that I may be confused about the question and can answer it a second way.

In this example, though, how would you mix xp types for those that wish to allow such things?

Let's say that there are three types of XP. Let's call them "Normal", "Arcane", and "Awesome".

• Normal: Default XP, you never have to say this if you want it.
• Arcane: XP for doing magical and arcane things.
• Awesome: XP you gained for being awesome and you can spend on anything.

So let's say you really want that super-power Gnosis raise, but you don't have enough XP for it unless you spend some Awesome for it. Gnosis costs 5 XP.

> +xp/bank Arcane=2
You have banked 2 Arcane XP for your next spend.
> +xp/bank Awesome=1
You have banked 1 Awesome XP and 2 Arcane XP for your next spend.
> +xp/cost Gnosis=4
Raising Gnosis from 3 to 4 would cost 5 XP: 1 Awesome XP (banked), 2 Arcane XP (banked), and 2 XP.

Pausing here for a moment, notice that the system filled in the missing part with 'Normal XP'. This is because this certain coder is insane and believes that default means default. Besides, the whole point of the system working like this is so that people don't have to remember how much things cost.

Because people get it wrong.

All the time.

Even staff.

Hopefully between one of the two responses, it answers the question.

--

edit for the edit: Yes, I know that WoD/CoD does not have more than one special XP type, but a) once you start going with multiples it doesn't matter, and b) I don't trust either White Wolf or Onyx Path not to change this for fun.

@Coin said in Working on Theme, Focus and Challenges:

@Collective said in Working on Theme, Focus and Challenges:

@Coin Definitely! Artisanal PRPs and Staff Plots would still be the gold standard (once I stop laughing about using 'artisanal' in this sentence) but the canned ones could give people things to do with minimum lead time and a pace they get to set, even when nobody wants to run a full plot scene.

I'm thinking of it as 99 percent mush, but with a couple of the more labor intensive things automated to allow for maximum fun. (Like quick start characters, the plot in the box idea and whatever else I can think of and either figure out how to code or get a coder to make for me.)

Man, I would kill for this plot-in-a-box thing, but @Thenomain fights me so hard on that stuff by showing an absolute disinterest whenever I bring it up.

<.<

ahem

Stop giving me shit to do. Punk-ass greedy Millenial.

@Aria

What I apparently forgot to do is add a linking word like "although". Star Wars is compelling even if it's not "what is humanity". I don't think science fiction needs to ask that question. I think it's best defined as asking "what is humanity now that this happened".

Star Wars answers that question as: One of just another race. (Or later in the expanded universe: Can be a bunch of species-iest dicks.) And that's a notable science fiction aspect of Star Wars.

We can agree on this, but even "pew pew!" has something that would normally be considered a little jarring until you get into it.

@HelloRaptor said:

I don't care if anyone wants to TS or doesn't, but every time somebody makes a snide "I'm here to role play, not to TS." comment I want to just stab them in the neck.

Can we lump all these people's comments into a general "WrongFun" category?

As an aside, I do believe in WrongFun when it breaks theme, setting, or possibly game rules. I know Mages have the kinkiest sex, but are any of them worried about the Abyss during it? No. It should at least be part of the game-play, like it is any other time.