So, I was going to set up a Tome game, but because of some changes to life, I no longer have the regular free night or the spare to time to DM that game.
However, I still want to play in one, and especially having gone back through a lot of community classes, mine and others, really would like to have one go for some time.
I can try to work out something at the same time every week, or something PbP, I'm not that picky.
What I am picky about though, is that the game needs to have some kind of overarching plot, and take place in a concrete setting even if that setting is pretty fluid (Like the Elemental Plane of water, herp derp).
Sorry, Mask that last game was pretty much crazy made up spur of the moment stuff, that had nothing to do with anything before or after. That's really not my style. And yes Koumei, that means you probably shouldn't be allowed to play, because you can't take anything seriously for more than ten seconds.
I don't care it it's a module, or your own thing, or what level between 3-19, but there should be an actual plot or story to deal with.
Tome game, Again, exactly like every other time.
Moderator: Moderators
Tome game, Again, exactly like every other time.
Last edited by Kaelik on Tue Mar 08, 2011 10:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The U.S. isn't a democracy and if you think it is, you are a rube.DSMatticus wrote:Kaelik gonna kaelik. Whatcha gonna do?
That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want police protection from their slaves.
Re: Tome game, Again, exactly like every other time.
I don't think anyone has much luck here. You could try a gaming-related IRC thing like sup/tg/ or or whatever, but... well, I'd advise against it. I have reason to believe the recent influx of 4rry Trolls was caused by one of them.
There is, however, a somewhat serious (not Grim And Dark, just not stupid) think I want to run, but frankly, I don't have the time. It starts in a bad situation with a build-up to war if the PCs can't solve the crisis, probably flows from 3-10 ish, and then ends with the PCs outgrowing the setting.
So when I have time available to run this, I'll put you first in line if you want? Basic rule of "if you were run through a SGT, you should score a 50-75% rating" which means "I don't have to build challenges while dealing with one PC with AC 11 and another with AC 45".
In general I totally pay that. I am not disputing it or taking issue.Kaelik wrote:And yes Koumei, that means you probably shouldn't be allowed to play, because you can't take anything seriously for more than ten seconds.
There is, however, a somewhat serious (not Grim And Dark, just not stupid) think I want to run, but frankly, I don't have the time. It starts in a bad situation with a build-up to war if the PCs can't solve the crisis, probably flows from 3-10 ish, and then ends with the PCs outgrowing the setting.
So when I have time available to run this, I'll put you first in line if you want? Basic rule of "if you were run through a SGT, you should score a 50-75% rating" which means "I don't have to build challenges while dealing with one PC with AC 11 and another with AC 45".
Last edited by Koumei on Thu Mar 10, 2011 2:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
Count Arioch the 28th wrote:There is NOTHING better than lesbians. Lesbians make everything better.
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Josh_Kablack
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I really should quit clicking HERE to view this post
In face-to-face we could just get into a fistfight and then apologize over booze and be bestest buds. For online gaming, I would prefer to avoid the inevitable ragequitting that would ensue if we tried to game together.Kaelik wrote:Thank you gaming den, good to know how you really feel about me.
"But transportation issues are social-justice issues. The toll of bad transit policies and worse infrastructure—trains and buses that don’t run well and badly serve low-income neighborhoods, vehicular traffic that pollutes the environment and endangers the lives of cyclists and pedestrians—is borne disproportionately by black and brown communities."
Um, well, hard to pin down, but a typical session in Masks game went something like:fectin wrote:Let me dust off some old notes. I think I have something I threw together, and had to abort out of IRL.
What does serious mean to you?
Koumei has big boobs, Uber wants to touch them. Then a Giant Drill appears out of nowhere, and we recruit the ghost like inhabitants, then a giant tree grows out of the ground and becomes our dungeon, but it's also stone, we run into some emo elf vampires, who then are convinced to kill themselves, then to beat the tree itself, koumei forces it into an orgasm.
I think you can appreaciate that this is not serious enough. If you want in jokes about elves being emo, I can handle that, but there has to be some other purpose to the elves, and they had better not die from being convinced to emo themselves to death.
The U.S. isn't a democracy and if you think it is, you are a rube.DSMatticus wrote:Kaelik gonna kaelik. Whatcha gonna do?
That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want police protection from their slaves.
Masks game sounds like fun actually, but I take your point.
It was SpellJammer, so everything is a little tongue-in-cheek, but basically played straight (no space hippos in the plan, mostly an excuse for naval combat and easily mixing terrains). I don't know whether I'll have time to get that back to where I'd want it to be able to run something. Before I try though, is that basically awsome, interesting, or uninteresting?
It was SpellJammer, so everything is a little tongue-in-cheek, but basically played straight (no space hippos in the plan, mostly an excuse for naval combat and easily mixing terrains). I don't know whether I'll have time to get that back to where I'd want it to be able to run something. Before I try though, is that basically awsome, interesting, or uninteresting?
Last edited by fectin on Fri Mar 11, 2011 4:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Avoraciopoctules
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Yo. I am writing up a module for my meatspace RPG group. I would be willing to try running it as a play by post game on TGD. However, next week is Finals for this quarter, and I expect to spend a decent chunk of next week stranded in the desert. It might be a month or so before the module is in a fit state to run.
I feel more optimistic about this module than Desire and the Dead. Partially because it will be my own work I am running, partially because the PC's mission is more focused, and partially because I have learned enough from the last time I tried running a game here to establish some firm ground rules, a few exceedingly specific.
Example:
I feel more optimistic about this module than Desire and the Dead. Partially because it will be my own work I am running, partially because the PC's mission is more focused, and partially because I have learned enough from the last time I tried running a game here to establish some firm ground rules, a few exceedingly specific.
Example:
- Rule 6. Your PC cannot be someone from a higher level campaign you played a while ago who got level drained and is grinding this module for the EXP. They also cannot have a posse of high-level friends who will teleport in to resurrect your PC's corpse as soon as it moves off-camera.
Rule 7. Your PC cannot start as "Friendly" with any of the factions
1) Nothing about Spelljammer or Naval combat has ever sounded interesting to me in the context of D&D.
2) Sounds mostly fine, but FYI, Akula was only a problem because he was Co-Dming, tell me JE isn't involved, that's a bonus.
2) Sounds mostly fine, but FYI, Akula was only a problem because he was Co-Dming, tell me JE isn't involved, that's a bonus.
The U.S. isn't a democracy and if you think it is, you are a rube.DSMatticus wrote:Kaelik gonna kaelik. Whatcha gonna do?
That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want police protection from their slaves.
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JigokuBosatsu
- Prince
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I'm interested. Write me down in pencil, though, in case something comes up.
He jumps like a damned dragoon, and charges into battle fighting rather insane monsters with little more than his bare hands and rather nasty spell effects conjured up solely through knowledge and the local plantlife. He unerringly knows where his goal lies, he breathes underwater and is untroubled by space travel, seems to have no limits to his actual endurance and favors killing his enemies by driving both boots square into their skull. His agility is unmatched, and his strength legendary, able to fling about a turtle shell big enough to contain a man with enough force to barrel down a near endless path of unfortunates.
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
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Avoraciopoctules
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- Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2008 5:48 pm
- Location: Oakland, CA
I am 3 quarters of the way through finals, and I think I can afford a little downtime. I wrote up a summary of the scenario I’m contemplating. The idea is something kinda Planescapey that lets me play a few entertaining villain personalities and experiment with in media res starts + precisely defined PC objectives.
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The setting is Whitespire, an ancient city built on top of a powerful Ice Magic-producing power site. A few hundred years ago, the site flared into full power after a long period of dormancy, which coated most of the buildings in ice and plunged the region into perpetual winter. On the plus side, the people of Whitespire are resistant to the cold and can mould ice like wet clay, the most talented often becoming Snowscapers. Unfortunately, people rarely develop innate ice magic without living in Whitespire for a fairly lengthy time, so contact with other regions is pretty limited compared to an average metropolis. However, Whitespire does contain several useful planar portals open seasonally that cause trade and travel to have a definite role in local economics and politics. Currently, Whitespire’s neighbors are experiencing Winter, and each of the 3 active portals opens to a frigid area on a fairly unpleasant plane. There are a large number of planar merchants staying in the city while they wait for more hospitable portals to open in Spring.
The PCs are an experienced band of career adventurers. All of them know and at least respect each other, and they have gotten through more than a few tough situations together in the past. Most recently they have been employed by Simon Borgia, a somewhat disreputable but influential local politician who has been building power in Whitespire through a combination of huge monetary investments in organizations willing to back him and a small army of followers who have made partially successful efforts to take over local criminal activities. Borgia has paid the PCs quite well in the past for retrieving the souls and key body parts of various fire-powered outsiders in the past, and most recently made them an offer that eclipsed the scope of all his previous payments (2 magical items more powerful than anything the group then possessed for each member, plus a high-quality map of portal connections) if they retrieved the Sceptre of O’Kal (a powerful magic item that allows an already-proficient wielder to better command fire magic) from a guarded volcano castle about a month away. The PCs accepted, and succeeded at their mission with some difficulty. The scepter was retrieved and they also came away from the encounter with all the black onyx and rubies they could carry.
When the PCs returned to Whitespire, they discovered that Borgia has staged a revolt and seized control of the city. He has large numbers of soldiers (including a few powerful lieutenants), and after launching a surprise attack that left all of the ruling council of Frost Mages dead or vanished, he has gotten the grudging service of the city guard as well. Moreover, Borgia has used the various fire-themed magics he accumulated to set up towers around the city which radiate Fire magic that messes with the innate mana of Whitespire. The ice city is very slowly melting under the oppressive warmth, and the magic of Whitespire’s denizens is weakened near the towers. He claims that this is the weakest setting of the towers, and that Borgia will react to rebellion by turning up the towers and causing a catastrophically rapid thaw.
Borgia receives the PCs cordially enough, but the moment he sees the scepter he shrieks in fury and sets his guards on them. This is where the game starts. The expected PC goal is to escape Borgia’s immediate grasp, then rally enough support to take revenge for his betrayal.
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The setting is Whitespire, an ancient city built on top of a powerful Ice Magic-producing power site. A few hundred years ago, the site flared into full power after a long period of dormancy, which coated most of the buildings in ice and plunged the region into perpetual winter. On the plus side, the people of Whitespire are resistant to the cold and can mould ice like wet clay, the most talented often becoming Snowscapers. Unfortunately, people rarely develop innate ice magic without living in Whitespire for a fairly lengthy time, so contact with other regions is pretty limited compared to an average metropolis. However, Whitespire does contain several useful planar portals open seasonally that cause trade and travel to have a definite role in local economics and politics. Currently, Whitespire’s neighbors are experiencing Winter, and each of the 3 active portals opens to a frigid area on a fairly unpleasant plane. There are a large number of planar merchants staying in the city while they wait for more hospitable portals to open in Spring.
The PCs are an experienced band of career adventurers. All of them know and at least respect each other, and they have gotten through more than a few tough situations together in the past. Most recently they have been employed by Simon Borgia, a somewhat disreputable but influential local politician who has been building power in Whitespire through a combination of huge monetary investments in organizations willing to back him and a small army of followers who have made partially successful efforts to take over local criminal activities. Borgia has paid the PCs quite well in the past for retrieving the souls and key body parts of various fire-powered outsiders in the past, and most recently made them an offer that eclipsed the scope of all his previous payments (2 magical items more powerful than anything the group then possessed for each member, plus a high-quality map of portal connections) if they retrieved the Sceptre of O’Kal (a powerful magic item that allows an already-proficient wielder to better command fire magic) from a guarded volcano castle about a month away. The PCs accepted, and succeeded at their mission with some difficulty. The scepter was retrieved and they also came away from the encounter with all the black onyx and rubies they could carry.
When the PCs returned to Whitespire, they discovered that Borgia has staged a revolt and seized control of the city. He has large numbers of soldiers (including a few powerful lieutenants), and after launching a surprise attack that left all of the ruling council of Frost Mages dead or vanished, he has gotten the grudging service of the city guard as well. Moreover, Borgia has used the various fire-themed magics he accumulated to set up towers around the city which radiate Fire magic that messes with the innate mana of Whitespire. The ice city is very slowly melting under the oppressive warmth, and the magic of Whitespire’s denizens is weakened near the towers. He claims that this is the weakest setting of the towers, and that Borgia will react to rebellion by turning up the towers and causing a catastrophically rapid thaw.
Borgia receives the PCs cordially enough, but the moment he sees the scepter he shrieks in fury and sets his guards on them. This is where the game starts. The expected PC goal is to escape Borgia’s immediate grasp, then rally enough support to take revenge for his betrayal.
That is absurdly dumb.
I mean, I've gone through more bullshit beginnings in an effort to get a good game before, but that is a terrible opening. It's possible that the rallying support thing might not suck, but it would be hard, because rallying support bullshit is retarded 99/100 times, where you have to get a bunch of level 6 allies to go fight the other level 6 enemies while you fight the level 15 BBEG, which is dumb.
And that opening is terrible. He couldn't wait for us to hand him the artifact, we have no reason to not hand him? He couldn't be slightly sane?
Why do you have to Railroad all our characters through a bunch of fucking adventurers, couldn't you have just let us do those adventurers, they sound more fun than this other crap, and give actual context to our later search after a betrayal that makes sense.
I mean, I've gone through more bullshit beginnings in an effort to get a good game before, but that is a terrible opening. It's possible that the rallying support thing might not suck, but it would be hard, because rallying support bullshit is retarded 99/100 times, where you have to get a bunch of level 6 allies to go fight the other level 6 enemies while you fight the level 15 BBEG, which is dumb.
And that opening is terrible. He couldn't wait for us to hand him the artifact, we have no reason to not hand him? He couldn't be slightly sane?
Why do you have to Railroad all our characters through a bunch of fucking adventurers, couldn't you have just let us do those adventurers, they sound more fun than this other crap, and give actual context to our later search after a betrayal that makes sense.
Last edited by Kaelik on Wed Mar 16, 2011 4:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
The U.S. isn't a democracy and if you think it is, you are a rube.DSMatticus wrote:Kaelik gonna kaelik. Whatcha gonna do?
That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want police protection from their slaves.
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Avoraciopoctules
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- Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2008 5:48 pm
- Location: Oakland, CA
The idea is that a crucial component of the magic scepter is missing and the evil politician guy sees that. Also that I skip the dickering over who gets payed what that would likely take up the first 2 weeks.
However, the whole set-up is highly tentative right now. If people have suggestions for other sorts of games they would be interested in, I would welcome suggestions. My one stipulation is that there have to be towers oppressing the land which the PCs can blow up.
However, the whole set-up is highly tentative right now. If people have suggestions for other sorts of games they would be interested in, I would welcome suggestions. My one stipulation is that there have to be towers oppressing the land which the PCs can blow up.
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Avoraciopoctules
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I could run the volcano temple fort dungeon thing as an adventurer. It would be all classical D&D, with the unspecified patron of the PCs sending them to get the magic dingus from the volcano temple of O'Kal the God Salamander and his cultists. There would be a variety of gimmicky lava and fire traps, wheeling and dealing with treacherous efreet, and at least one gimmicky puzzle door hiding an optional treasure.
Akula suggests something about some rival adventurers too.
Akula suggests something about some rival adventurers too.
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Avoraciopoctules
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Given the absence of feedback on these alternative options, I will return to the original idea. I have thought very little about factions in the city so far, but there's a sort of sketchy concept I may expand during my trip. I'm contemplating the idea of 5 factions, each of which likes 2 others and dislikes the remaining 2. Sort of like the color wheel in Magic: the Gathering.
One vague possibility
What sort of things would prospective players like to see in factions?
One vague possibility
I hate when I ask for a Tome game and get someone who wants to DM shit that I want no part of, and then I never actually get a game.
The U.S. isn't a democracy and if you think it is, you are a rube.DSMatticus wrote:Kaelik gonna kaelik. Whatcha gonna do?
That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want police protection from their slaves.
Time and a place, Av. This isn't either.
I'd be happy with a dungeon crawl, myself. Where doesn't matter too much to me, I just want to play and try a few things along the way.
I'd be happy with a dungeon crawl, myself. Where doesn't matter too much to me, I just want to play and try a few things along the way.
He jumps like a damned dragoon, and charges into battle fighting rather insane monsters with little more than his bare hands and rather nasty spell effects conjured up solely through knowledge and the local plantlife. He unerringly knows where his goal lies, he breathes underwater and is untroubled by space travel, seems to have no limits to his actual endurance and favors killing his enemies by driving both boots square into their skull. His agility is unmatched, and his strength legendary, able to fling about a turtle shell big enough to contain a man with enough force to barrel down a near endless path of unfortunates.
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
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Avoraciopoctules
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- Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2008 5:48 pm
- Location: Oakland, CA
Avoraciopoctules wrote:[offers to run an In Media Res game with established backstory]
Kaelik wrote:[Indicates disinterest in adventure proposed, but belief that running the adventures in the proposed backstory would be more fun]
Avoraciopoctules wrote:[indicates that if people offer suggestions as to what they want to play, he will listen. Specifically adds that he could run one particular adventure out of the proposed backstory, since that seemed be what Kaelik expressed interest in. 3 days later, gives up on getting feedback and starts thinking aloud about the original idea again.]
Objection! There is a clear contradiction in this testimony, Your Honor!Kaelik wrote:"I hate when I ask for a Tome game and get someone who wants to DM shit that I want no part of, and then I never actually get a game."
http://objection.mrdictionary.net/go.php?n=4866844
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You are either touchingly innocent or good at suppressing memories.ubernoob wrote:Av, that is one of the stupidest ideas I've ever heard of.
Here:
http://www.tgdmb.com/viewtopic.php?t=51 ... sc&start=0
(Though I might be interested in hearing which idea of the several in this thread you referred to and why. If it's the faction relationship wheel, I could totally defend that from the perspective of somebody who wants to add replay value to the module)
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Dungeon crawl it is then. Which of the following two adventures sounds more interesting?Maxus wrote:I'd be happy with a dungeon crawl, myself. Where doesn't matter too much to me, I just want to play and try a few things along the way.
- Citadel of the God-Salamander
The dreaded salamander warlord O'kal has stolen a spark of divinity from the sun god and trapped it in his magical scepter. Now O'kal lurks in his volcano-top stronghold, basking in the adulation of his followers and slowly becoming one with the power he has claimed. If O'kal is not stopped, he may become a true god, and he's kind of a jerk. Many desire to seize his power for their own, but few have dared thus far.
Contains huge amounts of fire-themed enemies, lava, and other things mostly negated by fire immunity. Contains some encounters with neutral and potential ally monsters.
- Temple of the Maelstrom
The dread whirlpool Charybis used to be the scourge of the Sea of Tempests, but the powerful magics unleashed at the great underwater Temple of the Maelstrom managed to quiet it for a century. Now, the time of Charybdis' reawakening is nigh, and there are many interested in ventures to the long-abandoned temple that might uncover a way to keep the Sea of Tempests calm. Or perhaps just a means to twist the storms to their own advantage.
Involves some underwater areas, some incorporeal undead, and medium-to-large numbers of evil outsiders.
Maelstrom sounds like a blast.
Mainly because a temple like that could contain about anything. Rooms containing a small permanent hurricane, indoor waterfalls, etc.
And I have a predilection towards water and storms for the aesthetics.
Mainly because a temple like that could contain about anything. Rooms containing a small permanent hurricane, indoor waterfalls, etc.
And I have a predilection towards water and storms for the aesthetics.
He jumps like a damned dragoon, and charges into battle fighting rather insane monsters with little more than his bare hands and rather nasty spell effects conjured up solely through knowledge and the local plantlife. He unerringly knows where his goal lies, he breathes underwater and is untroubled by space travel, seems to have no limits to his actual endurance and favors killing his enemies by driving both boots square into their skull. His agility is unmatched, and his strength legendary, able to fling about a turtle shell big enough to contain a man with enough force to barrel down a near endless path of unfortunates.
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
--The horror of Mario
Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath. He is a terrible person and a hack at writing and art. His cultural contributions are less than Justin Bieber's, and he's a shitmuffin. Go go gadget Googlebomb!
Indeed Maelstrom is an excellent sounding romp. I vote that.
FYI, saying that I don't like X does not mean that I have to give you the entire plot of the game or else I must really like X. It means I don't like X, and I don't have an adventure stored in my head (Well, not one I could tell you, I'm saving them.)
FYI, saying that I don't like X does not mean that I have to give you the entire plot of the game or else I must really like X. It means I don't like X, and I don't have an adventure stored in my head (Well, not one I could tell you, I'm saving them.)
The U.S. isn't a democracy and if you think it is, you are a rube.DSMatticus wrote:Kaelik gonna kaelik. Whatcha gonna do?
That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want police protection from their slaves.
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Avoraciopoctules
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Maxus wrote:Maelstrom sounds like a blast.
Very good then, I'll do some work on Maelstrom during the time I am away and post what I've come up with when I get back.Kaelik wrote:Indeed Maelstrom is an excellent sounding romp. I vote that.
FYI, saying that I don't like X does not mean that I have to give you the entire plot of the game or else I must really like X. It means I don't like X, and I don't have an adventure stored in my head (Well, not one I could tell you, I'm saving them.)
Kaelik, I apologize for being snide.