TTRPG history (for over an hour, mind you).

I'd just listen to this while you're doing other things.

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1934302

Video is over 2 hours long and goes over 1970s history of D&D and other tabletop RPGs inspired by D&D during this time.

Here's the description:

Just one year after the publication of Dungeons & Dragons, four other games debuted and helped define the new genre that would come to be called "Role-Playing Games." Learn about Boot Hill, Tunnels & Trolls, En Garde!, and Empire of the Petal Throne in this video: who created them and why, the game mechanics they used, and their legacy in shaping the future of roleplaying games for decades into the future.

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Enjoy, y'all.

Listen to it while you're doing other things, ig

I highly recommend subscribing to this channel, even if you're not going to watch or listen to the video, as he does other more shorter videos, and it's always nice listening to the history of D&D and tabletop RPG games from someone that worked on them during his prime.

Welp, again, enjoy.

We've had threads on how D&D itself has a colonial mindset, but I think that undersells how fucked up and racist players can be. I want this thread to be about players who go out of their way to make characters that break the fourth wall and ruin friendships outside of the game.

I'll start: I had a player come to me with their character: "Gucci, the rapping goblin bard". The details were what you would expect. Like he literally put a picture of Gucci Mane in the chat. I told him that this was blackface and I wouldn't allow it. He had a tantrum about being called racist, and now we no longer speak (lol).

I've got competitive tree felling, log flume riding, and caber tossing. There's archery and boxing/wrestling. There's chess, there's a pie eating competition, even an obstacle course.

That gives me all the mechanics I'm interested in settling the players into immediately - ranged and melee attacks, skill checks, saves, skill challenges, and roleplay - but I need more fun side bits to help set the scene. There's food stalls, a bar, a little gambling, and I'm probably going to have a children's storytime place the players can go and make up wild tales, but what other kinds of flavour do you pepper around your festivals for the players to interact with?

The campaign is Abomination Vaults for anyone with setting specific ideas.

Hey, so I'm hosting a campaign of Comrades and next session I'm thinking of having the party on site when a spontaneous strike starts. For context the setting is homebrew, WWI ish with fantasy elements. Obviously they can participate in organizing the workers and talking with people who attempt to intimidate or buy off the strikers but I'd like to have a few more tricks and nudges on standby to keep things going just in case. Any suggestions? Currently I've got "dealing with potential police actions" and "the company sends Pinkertons/infiltrators" but I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Jennell Jaquays is a unsung game developer. She has a really rich history in games and design. Itchio had a game jam in her honor.

Salute to a real one 🏳️‍⚧️

Check out her website. It's old-school and good.

Hey everyone. What the title says. I've run a few sessions in my setting already, but my group is filled with s so I wanna try this campaign idea with a new group.

Setting? Political Space Opera. Big inspirations include: Star Wars (OT, The Mandalorian, Andor) , Firefly, Disco Elysium, Metal Gear Solid, Deus Ex.
You can read and look through a visual guide of my setting here:
The Aesthetics of the universe, and a brief guide to some big planets: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1yaC3-gXn-mO-4nwrXv3vNTBuspqe7XBO3zxCNpS8NTc
A brief guide to the political structure of the universe, and the megacorporations: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1fYSHPLo0NV3nhrM9ayiAkY7TG_KPSCDnyPc1fCYC91c

System? My preferred sci-fi system is Stars Without Number. It's light-weight and easily modifiable, so it can handle adding new content unique to my game and playgroup. Quick to learn, especially for dnd veterans.

When? I'm located in europe, in the CET time zone. I'll be running the game in the evenings, which means if you're an american, you'll be playing right after waking up. Expect the game to start somewhere around 6PM CET, and run for 3 hours weekly. Which day of the week we play can be decided later, but it will likely be a weekday.

How long do I have to commit for? It's hard to sign up for a game and then feel like a weekday is locked in for months for a specific activity. We'll start things with a one-shot adventure, and if that goes well, we can plan out another month of sessions.

I'm interested! Great! Please send me a private message with a little about yourself here on hexbear and include your discord, I'll contact you from there.

About me as a DM I have 5 years experience DMing and playing. My style of DMing can be read about here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zcJZyZId7biVoC2iFk2DTQjyNkylmjWEKN5FytCT79s/edit

Review from a satisfied player: "I always felt like we as PCs had the opportunity to make our mark on the world. There were clearly things going on, "hooks" one might say, but if we wanted to handle those in a completely different way than what was obvious, Moondog let it play out. One of the most, if not the single most immersive DMs I've played with to this day in that sense. Real sense of verisimilitude in the world. I think a major highlight for me was playing a wizard and using my spells, even illusion ones. Moondog as a GM plays with you, will ask you to explain your intention and then you'll find a way it would work in the world. "

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1672667

Hello and thanks for the interest, I've been running a weekly cyberpunk roleplaying game for hexbear users for over a year now, and I'm looking for new people to join a heist/anti-corporate aktion/criminal syndicate intrigue campaign.

The current system is Shadowrun 5e and I can provide all the information to play the game on Roll20 the web-based tabletop simulator we use to play and utilize discord for voice. We'll build a character together to join the existing group of:

Mafia Orcish Gun-guy Ex-corporate Human Medical Mage Ex-corporate Elven Infiltration Mage Shadowy Human Drone Operator

We are looking for one to two people to join us on Sundays for three hours starting at 8:00PM CET / 2:00PM EST

Please leave a comment or send a DM if interested or have any questions

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/3382952

Why don't we want D&D characters to die?

I'm not interested in your PCs (or PCs you've heard/seen elsewhere), I want to know what the best PC someone else has played at a table with you is.

One of my friends doesn't have lots of TTRPG time, so generally just joins the odd fantasy game with the same character at different levels: Himbo Clerrick. Himbo lives up to his first name, being utterly gorgeous (think young Fabio on the cover of some sword and sorcery romance novel), incredibly heroic, and incredibly dense and oblivious, but not to his second name, being a Paladin.
Himbo had been a simple monk who had taken a vow of chastity to serve his god, but his incredible looks put the other monks' and nuns' vows in danger, so they gave him some weapons and armour, told him to go fight the forces of evil for his god, and then took a very cold bath. Powered by his devotion to his god and complete asexuality, he now travels the land looking for evils to defeat and goods to do.

Now, I'll admit the player has an impressive CV to begin with (experience in film and TV leading to setting up his own media company, Cambridge Law degree, nationally ranked cross country runner, decent jazz saxophonist, amateur boxer, etc), but Himbo inventively combines and subverts tropes in a way I only otherwise see from very experienced players, and the player has been happy to dive into and engage with the worlds as Himbo from the word go. Makes a great change from the people whose first character is Half-Elf Ranger #3752 and are scared to say or do anything even when directly asked.

Good video.

I really like Dicebreaker.

Hey folks,

I've put out feelers before, but it's the new year and I wanted to look at offering to run some tabletop RPGs. Right now, I'm feeling pretty open system-wise (although would prefer the lighter-weight side of the hobby) and can help figure out schedule at some point. Also not necessarily looking for a long term commitment, but thought it might be fun to meet some folks and try out some games together.

So I'm in 2 campaigns now and while I was using some shitty AI slop for my first character I feel like I need something better now

Any artists who could cut me some kind of comrade discount? I don't have a lot of spare money but I can pay at least a bit

Would also take tips on how to make the AI slop better if I can't afford character artwork

Thank you

I think this TTRPG series is based off of some books?

My party consists of five people across multiple states playing using roll20. Because of people traveling for the holidays, all but one of us will be near the same place, so we're going to have our first in-person session, a one-off where they'll have to climb a tower, fighting enemies and solving puzzles.

I've set it up where the absent player is trapped at the top of the tower near the big bad and they're going to charge up and rescue him.

My idea is that he can overhear what the boss is saying and communicate telepathically with the rest of the party to tell them hints about puzzles or enemy weaknesses and such. He's down to do this by phone or text.

Does anyone have any ideas for puzzles that could incorporate the missing member in a fun way?

I am sorry if this is something basic that has been discussed to death before but I feel like I need to get this out of my system before I ruin friendships by wishing centuries of humiliation on people for the way they play pretend.

I had a casual chat with a friend and fellow GM about our current campaigns and worldbuilding. At some point beast races come up and I mention I like gnolls and give a few short details about their society in my setting. In response I get an explanation that he can't have this kind of characterization because of Goebbles level bullshittery about how beastmen are inherently savage and destructive and basically a swarm of pests that has to be put down. And how this is necessary in order to address the moral issues of what to do with beastmen non-combatants. Essentially giving players moral license to commit genocide and still be considered "good" in-universe.

It felt so fucking unreal seeing how normally chill people can almost reproduce word for word the vile shit that Zionists are using right fucking now as a justification for mass murder and not have a single moment of "oh shit wait wtf am I saying". I had to step away from the keyboard and calm down. I hate how concept of "sapient creatures that are completely and irredeemably evil and are specifically designed to be slaughtered" is seen as something completely normal and even expected. Gygax was a piece of shit genocide enthusiast who deserves to rot in hell and it's high time that we move on from colonial plunder sims with dragons and obligatory others that exist only to be killed and looted.

You are building an imaginary world and there are no limits. The genre is literally called imagination. There is no excuse for consciously designing entire species that are designated for slaughter and reproducing some of the vilest ideologies ever thought up by humans as a pillar of your worldbuilding.

That's it I guess. That's the rant. Thanks for reading. I am doing my best trying to give positive portrayals of non-human societies in my games and also trying to get my friends to play other games that aren't built from around breaking into others' homes to kill them and take their stuff.

It's not a game out here.

"In point of fact it's the truth! They are killing off characters that deserve to live, prematurely, because they can't roll the saving numbers that are required!" - Colonel Louis Zochhi, Game Science

I am SICK of having my incredible accomplishments (rolling dice and making up stories about them) dismissed as mere "luck". I HATE listening to people complain about how badly they roll. Today, I am going to reveal to you the secrets of how to make the most of your rolls and pull off incredible gaming achievements:

rule 1: Believe in the Heart of the Dice

Just like Yugioh from hit children's cartoon series Yu-gi-oh!, you need to believe in your dice, and they need to know that you believe in them. When they roll poorly, don't swap them out, keep using them, demonstrate that you believe they can do it. Punishments like Dice Jails won't help them reform their behaviour, so instead show the dice you care for them: cradle them in your hand, even when you don't intend to roll; find them private furnishings where they can relax with their closest friends between sessions; whisper affirmations to them while they're sleeping - show them you love them.
DO NOT FUCK THE DICE: Not only will it result in a very embarrassing hospital visit where you have to explain that you proceeded to engage in sexual intercourse with one or more small polyhedrons despite being warned not to by an owl that's a professor, but it will also result in a permanently awkward vibe between you and your dice, and you'll have to get rid of all of them and buy new ones that don't know about the whole dice-fucking situation.

rule 2: Stack the deck

Just because you're doing something dangerous doesn't mean it has to be difficult. Did my Paladin manage to 1v1 a Purple Worm despite the party giving up all hope because I rolled nothing but 20's? No, he won because 5e's rules are so unbalanced that he didn't need to roll higher than an 8 on a d20 to hit. Also a moment of tactical genuis where he leapt down its throat so it couldn't keep hitting him with its incredibly damaging tail sting, but mainly the low chance to fail.
You can't expect your dice to always bring out their absolute best, so give them lower targets they can hit consistantly. They will appreciate it, and pay you back by giving it their all when it really counts.
NB: You may find people claiming that this is a simple matter of probability; These people work for Big Statistics and are liars. Your dice do have feelings and appropriate targets are important for their growth.

rule 3: Once you do take a risk, make it an outrageous risk

Dice can't resist the tension of a high stakes roll, so raise those stakes as high as you can. Dramatic tension is key to keeping a die's interest, so if you need a really high roll for a plan to work, make sure it's really life or death.
Imagine the scene: A colossal dragon blue dragon is swooping and attacking a ship, far from land, surrounded by churning waves. A handful of arrows and magical rays fly from the deck, but if they are hurting her, she's undeterred - she seems determined to see this ship and its inhabitants reach the bottom of the ocean. On the deck stands a Minotaur Warden, frustrated as the dragon's speed keeps her far from his reach. He eyes her as she lines up her next swoop, starts running to where he thinks she'll attack, and takes a mighty leap - but where?
If you think he might grab her leg to hold on, or onto her wing to pin her and bring her down, you do not undestand drama. He jumped directly into her mouth, so he could hit her in the face. Obviously this prompted her to crunch down on the tasty morsel, but the dice were determined to see him live long enough to see his absurd scheme though, so, clinging onto consciousness by a handful of HP, he was still able to deliver one final blow with his warshovel.
Of course the die rolled a natural 20 and ensured it was a killing blow. In a situation that tense, who wouldn't? Just like you, the dice want something to really get excited for - you just need to give them the opportunity.

That's it.

Encouragement, achieveable goals, and stimulation. That's everything you need to almost guarantee your dice will always give you their best numbers. They will of course sometimes make mistakes, but these 3 rules will ensure that those mistakes never spiral out of control, and a critical success is never too far away.

mods I don't know what the hell this is but I needed it out of my head so feel free to delete

Rant spoiler-ed below, because its mostly just complaining, but it feels like a lot of games lately have added 'gamified xp' to their systems, and I don't understand the appeal at all. The most positive any player I've talked to has felt about the systems are 'meh, I could take it or leave it', with most slightly disliking them.

So, mostly, I'm looking for people that like these kinds of mechanics (I have to assume they're out there if so many games feel like they're adding them), and what you is it you like about them.

But I feel like Milestone XP just makes the most sense for any traditional coop party RPG.

Really, only Call of Cthulhu and Paranoia feel like their gamified XP fits, and that's largely because the games are supposed to feel hopeless and unfair, and in the case of Paranoia, gamified and playing favorites.

Cover of T1-4: The Temple of Elemental Evil.

Love his work, shame he died so young.

Love Parkinson's work. Been digging his D&D stuff. I used to know him from the Everquest boxes.

Taken from FRC1 - Ruins of Adventure

Maybe it's about a system, a specific mechanic, lore, builds, types of players, ttrpg-adjacent products - whatever they are, share them.

I like solo play, was wondering if I can spice things up by throwing an LLM in the mix. The way I tried currently becomes messy real soon, so I was wondering if someone who's successfully tried something like this could give me some pointers