Best posts made by Thenomain

@Bobotron

I have been fighting going down the list of desires and asking, "How would you do this?" I've been resisting because my ideas of doing things is fiercely limited.

In the Fallout/Wasteland case, the setting has a lot of people trying to live their lives in a fairly small area. Even New Vegas was pretty small; Washington DC was big enough to explain why people would come and go regularly to allow new players to just appear. I presume Boston will be the same way.

This is the same as the small-town WoD problem. How on earth do you explain this?! And nobody can, so we just accept it as an artifact and try repeatedly to push it out our mind. It's even worse for family-tree systems.

Note: I'm not saying we should talk about this; these are just my thoughts concerning this issue. Would be happy to start another thread for this issue.

@Rinel said in RL things I love:

@Tinuviel said in RL things I love:

@Thenomain Should just copy and paste Sebastian enemies and level design into every few DA2 images plot points you can find. Since that's what Bioware did.

Fixed.

I'm still fucking bitter.

I didn’t get any of the DLCs for Dragon Age 2 because it, you know, sucked.

So instead, here is Modern Day Cassandra. This is the kind of Mush I want to play in.

@derp said in Changeling the Lost: 2nd Edition:

Ogres were true monsters that did truly mostrous things. If you don't come out of Arcadia feeling regret for that, you're gonna have some issues

I'm with @Kay, but let's take the Ogre premise at its word.

"I must spend 1 glamour to Beat Down someone for my own reasons instead of when doing it on behalf of someone else" does not feel in-line with what Glamour or The Wyrd is. It feels like a game mechanic enforcing character behavior.

Here's another example: In Buffy (and later Angel), Angel is a mean-ass vampire who regains his soul and becomes all mopey and remorseful. Spike is a mean-ass vampire who regains his soul and then shrugs about it gets on with life.

This Ogre thing isn't going to stop me or anyone from playing someone with shades of monster still in their character concept, but the "takes more Glamour" part strikes me as outside player agency. At least with Clarity breaks, the player can decide whether or not this is the direction they want to go.

(Ogres risk Clarity damage if an ally runs or cowers in fear from them. That makes sense.)

--

@derp said in Changeling the Lost: 2nd Edition:

@thenomain said in Changeling the Lost: 2nd Edition:

Beaten Down: Must spend Willpower each time they want to take a violent action.

It should be noted that the aggressor also has to spend WP to keep going in this situation. It's not quite as haxx as it sounds.

Not in this book it doesn't. The victim gets Beaten Down for three turns. The Beaten Down description says nothing about maintaining it, but the victim gets Willpower and a Beat if they acquiesce.

@crayon said:

I believe you mathed wrong?

Then math correctly, please.

In any event, the type of code being utilized doesn't really much matter so much as the design philosophy

Explain? Or ask for an explanation and don't just assume that I mathed wrong because you disagree on how I'm evaluating? That is, don't just assert; discuss.

It's little things like your statement being definitive ("you're wrong because I'm judging on a different context") is what I believe is your part of creating the us-versus-them atmosphere.

I'd like to have a discussion about what makes a MUSH and not an RPI, or at the very least what the heck you mean. If I opened a new thread, would you participate?

Mind you, a due warning: I think you're wrong, and I believe people here have a more vested interest in this distinction than you do so that you should listen to them. I am biased, but I am willing, nay eager, to be wrong. I'm more eager to transform this thread into something productive.

Because it's, y'know, very one-sided on both sides, and I'd rather build bridges than ... this.

Thanks.

edit: Another due warning: If you don't want to discuss here, I will gladly take Soapbox to the Mountain. I hear that this kind of stuff goes on at OR all the time.

@saosmash said in Dead Celebrities 2019:

Toni Morrison.

I know she wasn't young but just...

Just Toni Fucking Morrison.

She has left the world a better place for her being in it.

@arkandel said in Changeling the Lost: 2nd Edition:

@thenomain I read an interview by the series' showrunner and director a few days ago. She seemed super excited to be doing this, calling Buffy "her generation's Star Wars".

There's no way to tell yet if it's going to be any good of course but usually where there's passion good things can happen. I'm optimistic.

Well let's be honest here: Buffy wasn't very good.

Xena wasn't very good.

Babylon 5 wasn't very good.

Hell, Star Wars wasn't very good.

They were evocative and transformative and new and exciting and that's what I'm looking for. Well, that and Eliza Dushku.

@crayon said:

Your sum isn't even accurate to the number of community partners we have, total.

I explained where my information came from. "No it isn't" isn't really what I would call a convincing reply.

I think the burden of proof is actually on you, here, to explain why it does matter in this particular context.

I don't know what you think I'm talking about, but you said there were several MUDs that you would classify as MUSHes. I don't know how that's up to me to disprove.

If you're asking me to explain what I think a MUSH is, then that's one thing. Saying it like this, however, is just being a dick.

I don't mean this to be a "no, you", but I think my points are pretty salient.

---

edit: Sorry, I missed the actual question at the very bottom of @crayon's excessive and inappropriate antagonism. The buried lede:

What argument are you trying to make by counting the games in our community partnership, and miscounting at that?

Because you can't read, doesn't give you the right to get all pissy at other people, Sancho Panzer:

@Jaunt said, in post http://musoapbox.net/topic/341/optional-realities-project-redshift/624:

Half of our community are MUSHes.

Now, what Jaunt has also been doing is defending the Three Laws as to what your site represents, and that other people can come along too, but his overall thrust has been the site is for games following The Three Laws.

So sure, let's count the list from your site of partners. Go on. Look up what your website says. Here, since you can't seem to figure it out, and are happy to blame other people for your dementia, let me list the URL.

http://optionalrealities.com/partners/

OH WOW! THAT WAS SO HARD TO FIND!

Now, Captain Know-It-All, let's count the number of games. It's under +Games.

Nnnnnniiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnne?

Oh, yes, it's nine. My total? Nine. My oh my, how stupid I am, what an idiot I must be for getting it right as per the conditions I explained not one line above the list of games.

Did I mention you were being a dick? Excessively so? Now either counter with facts or I shall taunt you a second time.

And a third.

I have the time to waste, now. Just for you.

@Tyche said in RL Anger:

@insomniac7809 said in RL Anger:

@Tyche said in RL Anger:

@Arkandel said in RL Anger:

Good news everyone!

This July was the hottest month in recorded history.

No wait, that's not good news.

I could have sworn it was July 1936. For the US that is. But they keep changing the data though.

The 1936 heat wave lost its spot (highest average monthly temperature across the continental USA) in July 2012. Your information appears to be seven years out of date.

I wish they would make up their mind

I don't think this is trolling. I mean, I think it's trying to be because, y'know, @Tyche, but in this case it's just ignorance on how modeling works.

I'm far less concerned about "is this the hottest month on record" than I am "why is it that no matter how much I shake and push out my pee, I always manage to dribble a little down my leg when I'm done".

If you want a model to concern yourself with, here:

https://xkcd.com/1732/

In the long term, who the fuck cares if this is the hottest July on record?

Enjoy your existential terror.

@arkandel said in Changeling the Lost: 2nd Edition:

@thenomain said in Changeling the Lost: 2nd Edition:

Buffy wasn't very good.

How dare you sir.

Like this:

While the whole season with Dawn was pushing the Scrappy Doo Effect (which thank god they admit), I think once Buffy's mother died the whole series could not transition into adulthood. It was quite painful for me to watch, and painful to remember as mainly all I do remember is Spike and Buffy fucking being a plot point. And the robot. Dadist Buffy Robot was funny. I come back too around Lesbian/Dark Willow segment because damn Amber Benson was a breath of fresh air for the series, and the resulting plot had weight. And "The Zeppo" was a better episode than "Hush". Sorry. Not sorry.

@crayon said:

@Thenomain said:

Can you explain to me where I said there were 9 MUDs on that list?

@Thenomain said:

Final Count. Mush-types: 2. Mud-types: 9. Moo/Muck-types: 1.

Oh for fuck's sake, Theno.

No, you're right. Edited.

Also, I'm sorry for the exploding part of that.

---

I'll look for your What Is A... thread because it's interesting, but I'm not sure if I'll have much to contribute to it personally, though we'll have to see when it splits.

If you're not going to participate, then what's the point? This is to explore what you think a Mush is, since you're ready to redefine how we describe things, which is a very common theme in this thread. Again, on both sides. In the interests of bridge-building, I thought it might help.

It's like a lot of people here saying that RPI means something different than you do. Would you want to understand, or would you say, 'No, you're wrong.' Both heavily rely upon authority of the topic at hand, and social dynamics.

Again, a common theme in this thread.

"Fye-eye."

Confuse people into thinking you really meant "wifi" or something.

"Fye-eye. Like, I'm telling you something, a thing I'm telling you. Fye-eye."

Bonus points if you huff like it's obvious and they're just being stubborn.

@derp said in Changeling the Lost: 2nd Edition:

@thenomain said in Changeling the Lost: 2nd Edition:

It only starts to work when you apply the guilt onto the character's foundational personality (where The Wyrd's psychoactive nature taps into), which seems to me to be a silly act of an RPG reducing player agency over their character.

No, it works when you take into account that it's in their very magical nature to do this.

Please define "this". We are getting into Pronoun Trouble territory.

Nevermind; see below.

Look, no player has 100% control over his character.

Just so you know, this is where I'm going to stop replying, because you're getting very adamant to prove me wrong starting with something that we agree with and I have said I agree with and given examples where I agree with this.

Which means I don't think you know what my point is.

Which means I am not going to argue trying to get you to understand.

Because this is no longer a discussion.

--

More Changeling news as I read it.

@Jennkryst said:

As is my standard wish, it should include SPACE of some kind.

Space:1889

I just want to know what perfect future gives us even more Into the Spiderverse.

Chapter Three: Character Building.

Regaining Willpower

I welcome the return of oChangeling's Archetypes, in oWoD called Nature and Demeanor, here called Needle (what you show the world) and Thread (inner self). For those who don't know, this replaces nWoD Virtue and Vice, which I thought was okay but not great.

I imagine a good storyteller could tint all Wyrd and Hedge with a character's Thread, but the idea that Wyrd is sociopathic is because what we want comes from our Id and Ego, not something that's under our control. If we gave into what we wanted in our deepest heart I imagine that we could find the Gentry buried in our own dreams.

That Bonus Attribute Dot

Changelings also get a bonus Attribute, putting them in parity with the rest of the Chronicles of Darkness. Did you know that from core CoD rules, normal humans get only 7 dots of Merits, but all supernaturals get 10? It's things like this that people don't even register when you quietly give M+ their 10 dots. I know that Humans are largely considered bit players in the greater world, but two more dots of Merits is barely enough to start risking power imbalance.

Touchstones: The Bane of Some People For Some Reason

And we also have Touchstones. Ah, Touchstones. In Promethean I get them since the system pretty much relies on them. For ghosts I get them because something like them has been in World of Darkness since very early on. For Changelings?

I suppose I'm okay with this because faerie tales and ghost stories have been greatly intertwined for millennia, and Changeling has always had an element of being grounded to it, tho the original Changeling was very much that being grounded was bad. Honestly, I think this is the better option, though not the best.

Touchstones give you bonuses to resisting Clarity loss. Not having Touchstones give you penalties to resisting Clarity loss. That's it. Nothing exotic. Moving on.

Wyrd

Wyrd, the power stat, has a few little changes.

The biggest one: Wyrd is added to the dice pool of fae creatures trying to track them (max +5). Whhhaaaaaaaaat? I'm sure this is covered in great detail later on, but the biggest retooling for this version of Changeling is to give Arcadia teeth, and that means no more handwaving the risks to your escapee, give Freeholds and Courts meaning.

The lesser one: You start gaining Frailties a lot sooner. At Wyrd 2, in fact. I'm rather terrible at coming up with these, but I could see "cannot let an insult go un-answered" for a(n in)famous character I once played.

Clarity As Health Track

Hello, oChangeling! How've you been? I saw you looking around the corner with Archetypes. Don't be shy. Come on in. What's that you have with you? Is that your old Glamour/Banality track? Oh that's okay, you still have a place here. Come in, sit down, get comfortable.

So when you lose enough Clarity you gain a Persistent Condition. Oh hi, Fate Core, I didn't see you there. Come on in, grab a drink and stay a while.

-- Out of time -- More later.

4. Ignore them.

There's not a lot that we're saying that isn't just blah blah blah words blah blah blah. Which words said are beating the shit out of anyone? Ephemera is what it is.

To be honest (that is, not trolling the troll), the point I was trying to make to you with regards to @crayon was that when he said "ah, no, you're wrong right here" and nothing else, did I continue to rant? Did I spazz out again? Did I troll? No, I backed down and admitted my mistake, apologizing in the meantime. Sometimes I let my nerd rage get the better of me and I try to make this right when I recognize it.

It honestly (c.f, above) baffles me that the two of you are offended by the non-making-fun-of-you things that we're saying. If you're not offended, then it sure reads that way to me and, looking at what others have said it's baffling them too.

I don't have an easy solution to the feeling of being dogpiled on, except don't let it affect you. It might take a moment or three, or a week or three, to stabilize, but the idea that once you start acting like a dick means you have to keep acting like a dick, for instance, is downright ... well, you don't have to be That Guy.

If you are, that's your choice. That's the thing about forums, everything you say is you. This is why I spend about two-thirds of my life worrying about what I say, because when my nerd-rage hits, I become That Guy.

@Ganymede said in Good or New Movies Review:

@Thenomain

I'm pretty sure that the Spiderverse is separate and distinct from Spiderman's involvement in the MCU. I believe Sony Animation handled it.

Then I have to believe that Disney buying Sony is not something I would want to see. I also want a chance for Squirrel Girl and Elasti-Lass vs. Spider Gwen. That pilot was ten tons of awesome.

Chapter Three, Continued.

Kenning

As previous. Does not penetrate hidden anything, so no contest of wills needed.

I just noticed that 'Success' is being listed first under 'Roll Results'. This is a great decision.

Mask & Mein

Fae beings and other supernatural creatures with mystical senses can see through the Mask.
[...]
Characters using sensory magic can oppose [strengthened Mask] with a Clash of Wills (p. 126).

Welp, that answers that!

(My 'Mages are to be 100% Avoided' philosophy as a Changeling is renewed. Sheesh.)

While her Mask is [scoured], treat each success- ful rolled Contract use as though you rolled an excep- tional success, regardless of the actual successes rolled. If the number of successes is important, use whichever is greater from among your rolled successes, your char- acter’s Wyrd, or her Mantle rating.

Well, that's a thing!

The act of tearing away the Mask also opens any gateways to the Hedge within 10 yards or meters per dot of Wyrd she possesses. Additionally, she leaves a magical trail, making it easy for fae creatures to track her in the mortal world. Gentry and Huntsmen automatically succeed on rolls to track or follow her within the same range while her Mask is down there.

Again, being found out is a major point of this version of Changeling, but damn that's an amazing benefit.

Portals: This Was a Triumph

(Hah, take that lack of downvotes!)

"Portalling" is what they call giving every Changeling the level of Contracts of Separation that allowed escape from handcuffs and other bindings, only now every Changeling can pass through any door, window, handcuffs, rope, or grapple with a dot of Glamour. Clash of Wills may apply with no retry limit. None. Just the number of Glamour you've got.

Oh, and iron. You can't escape iron.

Hedge doors must now be 'closable portals' instead of just 'archways'. Sorry, Czcibor; no more using the archway of a bedframe to escape captivity!

Bedlam

I never liked Bedlam, but with CoD's Conditions it's a little more understandable and makes Bedlam a different way of tagging people with Conditions.

Merits

What I've called "Location Merits" are now "Motely Merits", those merits that are shared among the group. There are a few new twists.

1. If you don't add to the merit pool you don't get any benefits.
2. While a merit can have more than 5 dots this way, the effects are never higher than 5. (Or, I imagine, if a merit goes to 4 the greatest effect would be at 4 dots, etc.)

There are a few new Seasonal Court merits (reflections of Vampire 2e), and building a Hollow has changed again, but there's nothing surprising in this list.

Contracts

This is probably the change most Changeling players were looking forward to: Contracts are now much more like merits. You buy the thing, you get the effect, the end.

Well, the end-ish. Some Contracts give certain Seemings free add-ons. Anyone can buy one of these benefits for 1xp.

Goblin Contracts are still a thing. Sight of Truth & Lies is still there. But to use a Goblin Contract, a Storyteller gets to mess around with your character later. The options are pretty weak (subtract dice, related tilt, related persistent condition) but hey, at least that puts some weight on some Contracts that were essentially 'Be A Dick For Free'.

I have also said that I didn't mind the weekly updates. This makes three times now.

And yes, Jaunt, you are here officially representing Optional Realities. You are staff there, you are talking about it, you can't get away from that. This is the way the world works. Sorry. (Also the third time I've mentioned this.) Just because you don't want it to be this way doesn't change the world.

@surreality said in Random funny:

@Aria A fat cat dragon, no less.

Chonkmerica.