I'm trying to create a Trait(chosen at character creation)in my tabletop RPG that simulates Insanity. Any ideas on what type of mechanic it should be? It should have upsides and downsides.
If it matter, it's a GURPS type RP
Head over to tvtropes, they have a whole catalog to choose from.
Personally, I can't stand sociopathy PR psychopathy anymore. And that "superpowered evil side" has been done to hell. Try making someone with down syndrome or a deadpan snarker with some kind of autism and ADD.
>>46652672
>I'm trying to create a Trait(chosen at character creation)in my tabletop RPG that simulates Insanity.
Nothing good will come of this.
I have never in my life understood the whole alignment debate thing and what is wrong with it - mostly because a lot of people seem to approach it from the wrong angle, assuming you pick an alignment first and then try and make a character's personality fit it, when in fact you're supposed to do the opposite, figure out the character's personality and motivations first and then, based on that, pick your alignment. Most of all the fact that alignments can and do shift over time is an open admission that what starts as a Chaotic Good character is not bound to always act Chaotic Good - he or she could become Neutral Good, or Chaotic Neutral, or really anything else, as the character grows and develops.
So what is the deal, really?
>>46651741
Mostly debate over the definition of the alignment and what actions fit what alignment.
Imo there's a lot of people projecting their values onto alignment descriptions, instead of taking the descriptions at face value.
If you have multiple people doing that, then they're each going to come up with their own version of the alignment which they believe is correct, and they believe the other version is wrong. That's when you get issues.
Ex. From the pathfinder alignment list.
"A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs her. Order and organization are paramount. She may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard, or she may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government.
Lawful neutral means you are reliable and honorable without being a zealot."
So lawful neutral as listed is all about living by a code, or believing in order, or tradition or one of the things there.
So for example, a character who has some personal code that they firmly believe is the most important thing, which they stick to above all else, including, at least potentially, their own personal benefit, would be lawful neutral (per pathfinder alignments, good would be going out of your way/code potentially for the benefit of others, evil would be the same for the benefit of your self, neutral is just about the code).
Because of this, if you actually take lawful neutral as it's written, which is the only way to avoid conflicting personal opinions of what the alignment is, you can be basically anything as long as you're consistent.
You could easily play a lawful neutral assassin who works for some order of assassins which he believes in and has some tenants or whatever that he's obsessed with, and he'd willingly die for that code or kill other people for it, whatever. The code matters, not yourself, not others.
The problem is that everyone in this hobby is insane, so we all have different and often bizarre interpretations of what the alignments mean.
The mistake most people make is assuming alignment describes your actions.
anyone use completely different backgrounds than the norm for their races in game.
Examples:
>halflings are monuntain dwelling folk, their lithe frames being perfect for getting around.
>Gnomes are the underground dwellers, their love for ancient magics and treasures pushing them ever deeper into the underdark.
>dwarves are semi-nomadic, their crafting/construction abilites heralded across the lands. Clans still exist and hold powerful city-states across the plains
>elves are mainly sea fairing/costal folks, being perfectly suited for sailing and fishing.
>orcs are woodland dwelling creatures, mostly peaceful, but protective of their forests, their strength of arms creating a monoply on mass lumber prodction.
>humans are an ancient desert folk slowly expanding into the other realms with powerful armies, however they remain peaceful with a large reserve of magical might.
>pic unrelated but still great.
Yes.
Halfings are a small people considered vermin by many, but always less. Even their name, Halfling, denotes that they aren't a whole thing and they are always lesser. Halflings are found in the lowest runs of society chiefly in Hill Dwarf and Human settlements.
>>46650395
Yes.
>Elves are a Loose Confederation of various states, dwelling in the taiga forests to the north, each with their own culture and religion, but united mostly in their hated of the formerly space faring faction of humans who forged an Empire to the south of them. Except for the Trading City Estan, which are are human fuckers according to Elven stereotype.
>Halflings are Nordic Vikings, excellent at sailing and buff as shit, basically shorter, angrier stereotypical dwarves with a nautical fetish.
>Orcs used to be the dominant race in the setting due to their drastic lead in arcane magic, till a faction of humans crashed a colony ship in their backyard and overthrew them with laser guns and powered armor till the Elves got sick of that shit and cast a giant tech bane ward. Now they're mostly three large cities in a dense jungle region to the far east of the main continent, raging about the good old days.
>Dwarves are basically Edo Period Japanese.
>Humans come in two flavors, Landers and Natives. Landers crashed a colony ship and took over about half the setting before their tech stopped working, but managed to forge a functional empire after they stole the twin sun and moon deities from the Elves (At least thats how the Elves tell that story). Natives are in a bunch of different flavors, from Magical BEST KOREA, to Drake Riding Knights, to Woad Barbarians, to the Fantasy Genoa to Estan's Fantasy Venice.
>anyone use completely different backgrounds than the norm for their races in game.
No, because if I wanted something different I wouldn't bother with the classic fantasy races at all and just make an all-humans setting.
For reasons relating to a friendly argument and my need to run a certain one-shot game, requiring whatever information and/or ideas you might have on any of the following themes:
>What if A Game of Thrones took place in the Novgorod Republic instead of the War of the Roses
>What if the Terran Confederacy from Starcraft was based on Joseon Korea instead of the Deep South
>What if Sunnydale from Buffy The Vampire Slayer was located in Alaska
>What if Norway had been the target of a decently sized but not completely disastrous nuclear attack
>What if every third patient of a certain mental institution (the realistic kind, not a 19th century rape asylum) suddenly gained superpowers
>What if Thailand was secretly ruled by vampires
Also which one of those is the least stupid/would be best to run. We're going with something like "exotic twists on existing ideas" and whether or not the players would be able to recognize the source material (it's actually more complicated than that, but that's the pitch for now).
Any help'd be appreciated.
>>46650166
Well, I like the look of
>What if Thailand was secretly ruled by vampires
As for
>What if every third patient of a certain mental institution suddenly gained superpowers
I direct you to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KE0njnZXyY and the follow-up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOE7qTAK87o
>>46650166
>>What if the Terran Confederacy from Starcraft was based on Joseon Korea instead of the Deep South
There's actually a novel by Ken Macleod called Newton's Wake - backstory is that the singularity kicked off during a war between some sort of Eurasian super state and the US, warmachines with super intelligence ravaged the earth, the remnants of the US and EU military fucked off into space and seemed to disappear, then the superintelligences on earth transcended or something and basically stopped being an active thread, and humanity rebuilt around, North Korean Cosmonauts who colonise deep space and asteroid belts, Japanese Zen Buddhist Physical Adept version of the brotherhood of steel who only care about teching up by studying singularity tech, American Survivalists who worship "jesus khoresh" and are basically amish and reject technology, and the Carlyse Family who are glaswegian gangsters who discovered the network of portals that is spread across the galaxy and thus have a monopoly on instantaneous travel between stars.
>>46650166
>Starcraft is now Korea
Too meta for me
Hey, 5e player here. I want to try out a strength-based valor bard, dragonborn with a greatsword. Any tips for getting the most mileage out of that build?
- Lighting is the damage type the fewest MM critters are resistant to
-Bestow Curse may be a third level spell, but one of the options for it is to emulate Hex and Hunter's Mark.
>>46649559
Aw man. I love lightning, but I used that for my last dragonborn character, I wanted to try something different. Opted into Acid this time. I figured maybe I could use it to burn through metal bars at some point.
How aggro should I play a bard with a greatsword? I mean, I'm an off-healer and party-inspirer, on top of the sword-swinging.
>>46649476
Are you looking to make it big in the competitive imaginary monster slaying scene?
That DM thread?
>characters die in every campaign
>DM legit kicks you out of the campaign until it ends
>okay guys im gonna run out of the abyss now! its gonna be extra hard
>yeah fuck you nigga
>buy the book
>read it cover to cover
>make a super fucking min-maxed monk, get the group to vote in favor of rolling over array
>roll all 18's(did this in front of witnesses, so it wasnt a cheat)
>dm makes me give up 3 of them for 12's.
>fine faggot
>sitting in prison cell with future NPC buddies
>suprise, I'm a monk
>pop my bonds over
>kill all of the NPCs that turn out to evil, betray us in some way, or have no value so only the best possible ones will stay
>DM asks me what teh fuck
>tell him I read the book
>WHAT THE FUCK CAMPAIGN OVER
>everyone acting like i'm "That Guy" because I actually made the campaign fun and not full of fucking dick fuckery
I HATE THIS GROUP AHHHHHHHHHHHHH
>>46649332
You and your GM both sound like immature shitheads. You deserve each other.
>>46649332
>buying a $50 book
>spending days reading it
>just to troll the GM for 5 minutes
Ace plan, sperglord. Shit thread, moving on.
>>46649332
>roll all 18's
Yeah, okay buddy.
Hi fa/tg/uys, sc/out/ here.
I come seeking your wisdom and recomendations.
The spring seasons first outing is around the corner and I'm hiking out with some friends in a week. Now, we plan on getting a bit drunk, stoned and play some games around the campfire. I'm not too familiar with smaller scale games though since we normally play RPGs or the likes of Mansions of Madness. I'm bringing Werewolves of Millers hollow, but I'm looking for something new.
I have concidered cards against humanity aswell..
Any recomendations would be very much welcome.
What are your favorite campfire games?
Oh, and there will be about 5-7 of us.
I have no contributions, but I'm bumping your question anyway.
>>46648549
Best is the "who can blow the other till he comes".Sorry wantd to be the first to make the sex-game joke at the campfire
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2470/extraordinary-adventures-baron-munchausen
Always one of my favorites
Welcome to town edition!
Previous Thread >>46616424
Each character gets 1 PCA. Anything that requires a PCA will state so, otherwise have fun at the market.
>[Kill Bounty] =Match=
>Find Match, a Blunder wearing a welding mask in the Cave of Blunders. Kill him. Little bastard has been stealing town resources to craft firearms for it's clan mates. Keep whatever you find on him as a reward.
>[Trade Notice] =Gems 4 Trade=
>Will buy or trade for Element Stones. 25z per Stone or an item of equivalent value from the shop. Visit any Shade to make the transaction.
>[Poptart Notice] =Borf=
>Want me to sniff out some information? Give me some food and I'll tell you anything! Well, if the food is good. Foul eats makes for achy feet.
>Gun Runner Shade: Sells a pair of one-handed Blast weapons for 15z each. Can sell ammunition. Buys or trades for Element Stones.
>Drick: Teaches monster skills to Ferox or Golems. Have to at least encountered the monster, and seen them use the skill. Uses a PCA.
>Kitten: Loves stories. Can give money or grant boons if she likes one you tell her. Uses a PCA.
>Maniacle: Merchant that sells general goods, such as food, consumables, and offers a special deal of 1z for a 'Surprise Bag' which has a random item from his wares within it. Surprise Bag uses a PCA.
>Vaw: Attunes items to the Element of the previous Run's location. Currently can attune any single item with the Earth Element. Uses a PCA.
[Cont.]
>>46643590
>The party encounters a strange golem with a pair of wheels for feet, and some form of lens in place of their face. It beams a projected smile and extends a hand to the party, a bottle with a golden liquid resting gently on the palm.
"Greetings travelers! I wish you good fortune in your ventures through the land. Mayhaps you would partake in a sampling of my 'Fortune Brew' made most recently? Guaranteed to lift your spirits if not burden your inventory."
>Link to this post and roll 2d6 if you wish to try a sample.
>One sample per person allowed.
>Delete your roll or attempt a reroll for any reason forfeits the sampling.
>>46627167
>Only the refreshing taste of honey and texture of milk hits your tongue. A small piece of paper in a tiny vial follows. Upon opening the vial, a small drawing of a smiling face reads 'You're destined for greater things.'
>Kitten's ear twitches after hearing the end of the story, yawning and then batting a couple of zenny off of her counter onto the floor.
>Gain 2z
>>46626878
>Maw takes the Earth Scepter to Poptart, who sniffs it once and bounds excitedly enough in a circle to knock over some of the Shade's ammunition nearby.
"Yes? Yes? Have food, have sniffed out info!"
>The dog excitedly pats the counter with his forepaws, panting as well.
[Cont.]
Reposting Deployment rules for any potentially new players.
Please keep your stat sheets to the following format:
[n#] Name
Speed [#] Health [#] Armor [#]
Equipment
Wielded:
Worn:
Inventory: (4 Slots Base)
[Finished]
[Replies may now be made]
Rolled 3, 1 = 4 (2d6)
>>46643639
Planescape General and Q&A
Thread starter question: Would it be a good idea to remove the Phlogiston from the Prime and have the space in between crystal spheres be the Deep Ethereal instead, so that the Deep would be full of spelljammers crossing from sphere to sphere via the Wall of Colors?
Discuss Planescape and the Great Wheel here, whether the original AD&D 2e version, the 3.X version, the 4e version (yes, it exists in 4e, down to the baernaloths, the yugoloths, the Heart of Darkness, Maeldur et Kavurik, Tenebrous, Pelion, and the Last Word all being canon as of Dragon #417), the 5e version, or your own original blend.
I am exceedingly well-lanned on Planescape canon under a holistic blend of 2e, 3.X, and sometimes even 4e lore. If you have any questions at all about the setting's lore, feel free to ask, and I will give you direct quotes and citations from as many primary sources as I can, unlike afroakuma. I will note when something is open to GM interpretation, and explicitly note whenever I give merely my own personal interpretation.
>Basic setting summary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planescape
>Comprehensive Planescape reference index: http://www.rilmani.org/psIndex.txt
>Planewalker.com planar encyclopedia: http://mimir.planewalker.com/encyclopedia/plane
>Canonfire.com planar encyclopedia: http://canonfire.com/wiki/index.php?title=Outer_Planes
>Rilmani.org planar encyclopedia (contains unmarked fanon, so beware): http://www.rilmani.org/timaresh/Outer_Planes
>List of all the multiverse's gods (contains all gods mentioned in D&D products, but also has plenty of speculation and fanon for mythological deities and for powers with few details on them): http://mimir.planewalker.com/forum/list-dead-gods#comment-58090
Old threads with previous questions and comprehensive answers: https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/search/text/%22comprehensive%20planescape%22/
Explain the post-Faction War faction makeup please. I learned the "original" 15 so well I could practically write their manifestos, and then BAM suddenly everything's a clusterfuck. The Mercykillers split back into their original two, some merged (Bleakers merged with either the Dustmen or the Doomguard, right?) some are still around, some are gone, there's new ones in town (The Ring-Givers are in Sigil now, right?) And some are chilling at the Base of the Spire, like, what the hell
>>46642790
First of all, it is probably *not* a good idea to run post-Faction-War Planescape. The "Faction War" adventure was meant to be the first part of a trilogy; the other two parts were to involve bringing the factions back to their original state and in an improved form. However, the Planescape line ended before such adventures could be published, and so 2e Planescape ended on an empty and dissatisfying note.
In my opinion, the Faction War as it currently stands diminishes the setting rather than adds anything worthwhile to it. The aftermath of the adventure takes away from the diversity of Sigil and the interplay of the many factions; most of them become insular and isolationist, barely interacting with one another, which defeats the point of the factions to start with.
The changes to the setting are very, *very* long, too much to summarize in a single post. The most important parts to note are:
- Almost all of the original factols have either been Mazed or placed out of commission.
- The Lady of Pain gave a direct edict to the factions to abandon Sigil, but it was worded ambiguously, such that different factions interpreted the edict differently. Technically, Sigil no longer has any factions (they have since moved their headquarters elsewhere and become isolated), but many factioneers still maintain their philosophies in the City of Doors.
- The Believers of the Source and the Sign of One have since merged into a new faction, the Mind's Eye, with a brand-new philosophy.
- The two most politically powerful people in Sigil are now Rhys, former factol of the Transcendent Order; and Shemeshka the Marauder, furry fox arcanaloth and crime lord extraordinaire.
If you would like a comprehensive overview of the changes, I would suggest downloading the "Faction War" adventure and reading through pages 114-128 and the summary appendix, which is where I am getting my information from.
This actually simplifies things. I can just pretend that the Faction War never happened like I intended, instead of listening to the people who said I have to treat the "end state" as the new setting- thanks!
Does anyone play Traveller here?
>pic related, the space furry shit i'm trying to play
yes. don't let your group use the rotating GM rule. my yes is pretty much a lie because of it...
fun when we do play though
The Vargr are only "Furry" if you have an asshat in the group.
>>46641800
>i'm trying to play
Is he from the Imperium or Julian space, or from Vargr space? With Vargr, that makes a difference. Left to their own cultural devices, they tend to be pack and charisma driven. If someone else is around running things or imposing some outside order, the Vargr respond by also stabilizing. Imperial and Julian Vargr are much less driven by instinct. Either could be played as a slightly more distractable human, but even that difference need not be mentioned.
Good sense of smell, poor color vision, and attracted to success and confidence.
>At the DM’s option, you may choose an alternative curse effect, but it should be no more powerful than those described.
>• Choose one ability score. While cursed, the target has disadvantage on ability checks and saving throws made with that ability score.
>• While cursed, the target has disadvantage on attack rolls against you.
>• While cursed, the target must make a Wisdom saving throw at the start of each of its turns. If it fails, it wastes its action that turn doing nothing.
>• While the target is cursed, your attacks and spells deal an extra 1d8 necrotic damage to the target.
What are some good curse ideas within this scope of power?
>While cursed, the target no longer can taste their favorite foods
>While cursed, the target loses their sense of time (they incorrectly assume they spend either twice or half as long [randomly decided] doing any given task)
>While cursed, the target has disadvantage on all strength and dexterity checks and saving throws made to climb or avoid falling, and they take an additional 1d6 damage from any fall.
Which game are you playing? What does your party consist of?
>>46641775
These are the 5e D&D Bestow Curse rules.
>>46641751
The target can't get a good night's sleep.
/tg/ I need your help.
I'm going to dm for a few new players this weekend and I don't have any inspiration for a main quest ,I was thinking of them retrieving a magical and legendary item or maybe them slaying an ancient monster or something but I just can't be sure.
Also my setting is sort of iron age like so I was thinking of doing something like the norse or celtic hero stories where they slay monsters and acquire magical items.
The first adventure should be the one that explains how all these people from different corners of the world with violently opposed ideologies even teamed up.
Read their backstories and think how you can solve this.
>>46651188
I was thinking of starting in one of the last big metropolitan cites and let the players determine their reasons for themselves.
>>46651232
>New players
Chances are they won't create their own back stories. Force 'em into one. An easy one is they all know someone they all respect regardless of their creed.
>last big metropolitan cities
Are we talking post apocalyptic here? Have them retrieve some ancient piece of technology, a la Fallout 1.
So is Warhammer Fantasy gone forever as a lore thing/advancing storyline?
Warhammer Fantasy? Surely you mean Age of Sigmar!
4 now. Endhammer is apparently trying to salvage the setting, but I'm not impressed.
He's dead Jim.
Is there a point for bugbear/hobgoblin/goblin raiding group to operate from a remote ruin? Advantages I can think of are pre-set escape routes (with traps), chance to engage in combat under own conditions(and in darkness, protected from sun), chance to set up traps/murderholes. Would surroundings of such a place be patroled?
>>46649773
It's a mythology thing, you always had thieving fairy shits operating out of ruined castles and crumbling towers.
>>46649773
Unless the raiding party is large enough to defeat every organized effort to get rid of them, having a fixed base is kinda retarded. Why would whatever authorities there are not just wipe them out?
>>46650086
OP here. My thoughst exactly.
You know what, I feel bored.
Let's make a pen and paper RPG for Takeshi's Challenge.
I'd be more interested in a LARP.
>>46649214
Pick any system of your choosing, be That GM the entire time, and then if your players actually stick around through the entire thing, yell at them about how they're fucking retarded for putting up with all the unacceptable bullshit you pulled during the game.
I meant more like an RPG where the players are salary men/woman who have a surreal adventure in the same style/universe as the game.
