|
Ao is the Worst.
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2016 23:11
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 19:08 |
|
|
Doresh posted:And what do eeevil S&M guys usually wear? Leather. You know, that game apparently was based on their home tabletop campaign. That would be an interesting document.
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2016 23:26
|
|
|
Kurieg posted:The fact that their answer to "Well then how should have they adapted FR to 4e" is "4e should have been designed so that FR didn't have to change" just makes the whole thing all the stupider. Ouch. Sure, make D&D be custom-tailored to the Realms, a setting that's not even all that special/interesting (IMO at least) and which you can easily avoid for your entire grog life in favor of other stuff. Like Planescape. Or I dunno, your own setting. And there have been settings that have made used of multiple different systems throughout their history. I'd hate to see their reaction if we get something like Savage Realms. Nessus posted:Pretty sure it would be the cow god, perhaps as seen in the Russian game Pathologic. I was actually contemplating on using the cow god, but then I picked the hunting god anyways. Must be scheming together I guess. Doresh fucked around with this message at 23:40 on Dec 3, 2016 |
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2016 23:38
|
|
|
Anyone who can base Pathologic on their tabletop game needs serious help.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 00:59
|
|
|
Alien Rope Burn posted:I think the real problem is that we just don't have nuance in our terms of racism. Somebody who does something racially insensitive or ignorant and literal racial supremacists get the same term, and that's what the argument boils down to. I don't think anybody's arguing that equating dark skin with evil qualities is problematic, but just on the original intent of such. The issues are kind of worse as a package than individually, too. Geographically isolated, racially othered group + sexualized matriarchy + disturbing religious rituals reads like a collection of tropes grabbed directly from an H. Rider Haggard novel, which would be fine if it were still 1887.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 01:01
|
|
|
unseenlibrarian posted:Honestly I think Spider-gods get a bad rap so the next D&D campaign I run the Spider god will be the Lawful Good patron of a nation of Paladins (Who honor him because a spider once saved the paladin-king's heir from traitors by spinning a web over the door of the room he was hiding in, thus making the villains looking for him not bother to look in there, thinking it long-abandoned.) Oh, what wicked webs we un-weave.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 01:05
|
|
|
Spider-God Spider-God Does whatever a Spider-God Does Can she swing From a web? Yes she can She's a god Look Out! She is the Spider-God!
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 02:10
|
|
|
Was it JMS or Bendis who retrofit a whole Spider God/Spider Totem thing into Spider-Man? Madame Web and all that? I don't think it fits the tone of the comics, but it could easily work in D&D.
|
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 03:40
|
|
|
Count Chocula posted:Was it JMS or Bendis who retrofit a whole Spider God/Spider Totem thing into Spider-Man? Madame Web and all that? I don't think it fits the tone of the comics, but it could easily work in D&D. JMS. Nowadays there's even a group of universe hopping Spider themed heroes who have a base built around the literal Web Of Life and Fate and read it's patterns to see where they are needed, which could be pretty easily adapted for the right adventuring party.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 04:00
|
|
|
Mover posted:JMS. Nowadays there's even a group of universe hopping Spider themed heroes who have a base built around the literal Web Of Life and Fate and read it's patterns to see where they are needed, which could be pretty easily adapted for the right adventuring party. There was also a Spider God in the Spider Man Broadway musical.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 04:35
|
|
|
Mover posted:JMS. Nowadays there's even a group of universe hopping Spider themed heroes who have a base built around the literal Web Of Life and Fate and read it's patterns to see where they are needed, which could be pretty easily adapted for the right adventuring party. I've been wanting to do a Multiversity-style "bounce around the multiverse and fight trans-cosmic threats" for ages, but I feel like it wouldn't as effective as something like Multiversity or Spider-Verse because it wouldn't be based on a long-established continuity.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 05:36
|
|
|
That'd be fun to do with something like Savage Worlds. Go through established settings like Deadlands, Rippers, and Weird Wars, picking up different characters as you go. You could do something like that with a lot of systems, especially if you were up for translating settings your players are familiar with into the game.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 06:01
|
|
|
Yeah, you could do something like that in Savage Worlds, Fate, GURPS, quite a few systems. One of these days I'm going to get around to doing a Torg to Fate conversion.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 06:17
|
|
|
It's why we need a proper Eternal Champion or Jerry Cornelius game. Or Sliders, starring Jerry O'Connel, who is clearly another incarnation of Jerry Cornelius. I remember abusing the spider summoning idol in Balfour's Gate 2.
|
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 08:32
|
|
|
Any multiverse game involving at least one D&D setting needs Torg-like Axioms for how linear the warriors and how quadratic the wizards are.Count Chocula posted:Was it JMS or Bendis who retrofit a whole Spider God/Spider Totem thing into Spider-Man? Madame Web and all that? I don't think it fits the tone of the comics, but it could easily work in D&D. Super heroes can get weird if writers try to retcon their power source. Remember when it turned out that Wolverine's immortality was not a result of his healing factor, but is ability to punch the angel of death in the face? (Actually, that would be a pretty kickass class ability for Fighters and Barbarians.) Doresh fucked around with this message at 12:01 on Dec 4, 2016 |
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 09:28
|
|
|
Doresh posted:Super heroes can get weird if writers try to retcon their power source. Remember when it turned out that Wolverine's immortality was not a result of his healing factor, but is ability to punch the angel of death in the face? "What you've gotta understand is the guy assumes everyone will go for the chess game. He's been perfecting that chess game for the last eternity. He ain't ready for a fist to the face instead."
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 14:24
|
|
|
Night10194 posted:"What you've gotta understand is the guy assumes everyone will go for the chess game. He's been perfecting that chess game for the last eternity. He ain't ready for a fist to the face instead." The recently deceased Barbarian to the slightly nerdy angel: "You get me back in that fight ASAP! And if I get even a single negative Level from this, I swear I'll die on purpose just so I can give you the biggest atomic wedgie the multiverse has ever seen!"
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 15:21
|
|
|
Spiders could be good symbols for the heroes in a mecha game as well. "I'll form the leg!" "I'll form the leg!" "I'll form the leg!" "I'll form the leg!" "I'll form the leg!" "I'll form the leg!" "I'll form the leg!" "I'll form the leg!"
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 18:36
|
|
|
Mover posted:Spiders could be good symbols for the heroes in a mecha game as well. Kumo Sentai Arakunenger.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 18:52
|
|
|
Reminder that the very first monster in Kamen Rider was named Spider Man. I mean, it was Kumo Otoko, but that's what it translates to.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 19:19
|
|
|
Waffleman_ posted:Reminder that the very first monster in Kamen Rider was named Spider Man. I mean, it was Kumo Otoko, but that's what it translates to. Kuuga's first monster was also a spider dude, probably as a callback. Did the first Rider also have a Bat Man? That was a recurring villain in Kuuga. Oh, and then there was this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ51514spHg (Fun fact: This show is responsible for Super Sentai having Giant Robots. The Giant Robot suit was also stolen less than 1/5 through the show's run, forcing them to use a crapton of stock footage.) Doresh fucked around with this message at 19:50 on Dec 4, 2016 |
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 19:45
|
|
|
And now he's in the comics!
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 20:11
|
|
|
unseenlibrarian posted:And now he's in the comics! The mainstream comic book industry is officially saved.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 20:15
|
|
|
Doresh posted:The mainstream comic book industry is officially saved. They kill him off moments later to prove how unstoppable the villain is.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 20:17
|
|
|
Night10194 posted:They kill him off moments later to prove how unstoppable the villain is. Perfectly in-character. The show did some very weird Jesus-like symbolism with his mentor. He'll surely return in 3 issues.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 20:19
|
|
|
Doresh posted:Super heroes can get weird if writers try to retcon their power source. Remember when it turned out that Wolverine's immortality was not a result of his healing factor, but is ability to punch the angel of death in the face? It was more like:
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 20:21
|
|
|
Alien Rope Burn posted:It was actually an attempt to undo previous bad writing and cement Wolverine's mortality... but was done in a remarkably ham-fisted and confusing way that didn't have anything to do with his healing factor. But, to be fair, Wolverine did die under later writers and it's stuck so far, so at least that's been consistent. Didn't they already have at least one katana that straight up ignores healing factor?
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 20:23
|
|
|
iirc you're talking about the masamune which would only cut through his adamantium skeleton, which would be very inconvenient. They do the mystery metal carbonadium which can cancel the healing factor. Comics can get weird.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 20:52
|
|
|
unzealous posted:iirc you're talking about the masamune which would only cut through his adamantium skeleton, which would be very inconvenient. They do the mystery metal carbonadium which can cancel the healing factor. Comics can get weird. I'm pretty sure the sword creates wounds you can't healfactor away. I think he killed Sabretooth with that (at least for a while). Even weirder, I also seem to recally the sword is partially made out of Wolverine's soul or something. Still beats bullets that send you on a wild journey through time while having it look like you've just been shot to death.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 20:56
|
|
|
Way of the Wicked - Book 1 - A Kickstarter for Evil When last we left our maltagonists they had completed their induction into the service of Asmodeus and their master Cardinal Thorn had feted them in an unholy feast. ACT THREE: FIRE AXE (PCs are 3rd level) Unbeknownst to the PCs Cardinal Thorn commands the 7th Knot to begin a campaign of subversion and murder all along the Watch Wall to weaken the Northern defenses ahead of the PCs mission. They are summoned next to receive their orders. quote:“Your mission is war, my children. You will bring war to Talingarde.” Part two is a bit harder; nearby is Castle Balentyne, one of the key defensive points of the Watch Wall. Bugbears are dumb and no amount of arms and armor from the civilized world will get them past this fortification. The PCs will need to destroy the defenses of Castle Balentyne, kill it’s commander Lord Thomas Havelyn(Cardinal Thorn’s brother), raise the gates and allow Sakkarot’s horde to pass. Cardinal Thorn hands the PCs an enchanted clay tablet to break once their mission is complete. After some promises of reward for success and threats of eternal torment for failure he toasts the group and sends them off.  Now We’re on a Boat The Frosthamar is an over sized Viking longboat; it sits low in the water thanks to the the 24 tons of weapons and armor, bearing the sign of the Fire-Axe, earmarked for the Bugbear Horde. The ship is crewed by a half dozen foreign sailors commanded by Captain Kargeld (NE Human Barbarian 4). The ship is sturdy and well made but without comforts; the PCs will sleep on deck with the crew. Kargeld heads down river and out to sea proceeding north along the coast; it’s slow going with such a heavy cargo. Kargeld refuses to stop at the port of Daveryn for fear of being caught; you have now been at sea for a week. Further north beyond the Watch Wall the seas grow rougher and we’ll face a series of events before Act III is complete.  1 - The Blade of St. Martius - As the ship passed the eastern terminus of the Watch Wall it is approached by a patrol vessel. The PCs and Captain Kargeld get a Perception check to notice “The Blade of St. Martius” before it arrives. Otherwise they are surprised and have less than a minute to prepare. “The Blade” is a fast 30 footer crewed by a dozen soldiers and it’s Captain, Edward Sambryl. The Frosthamar cannot hope to outrun it. The Blade will come along sides and prepare to board. The book lays out a few ways this can go. If the PCs let Kargeld take the lead he rages as soon as Sambryl and the 4 soldiers come aboard, meanwhile the 8 still on The Blade open up with arrow fire focusing on any obvious magic users. The PCs can also try deceiving Sambryl using their iron circlets or forged documents. 2 - The Hope of the Haunted - Nerianus is a Triton Oracle of Mitra (level 4) (Oracles being the divine version of Sorcerers in Pathfinder). How a fishman ends up being devoted to Mitra is a good question, but whatever. Lately he’s been having visions of a terrible evil force rising and has gathered a level appropriate group to attack the PCs. Two dolphins, four Triton Warriors, a Small Water Elemental and Nerianus himself attack the Frosthamar. Once defeated Nerianus will make the following prophecy with his last gasps: quote:“The shining sun has seen the wickedness you hide in hearts. And thus it will be the son who brings your doom.” 3 - Seal Isle - Far in the frozen north is an island that is home to the richest fur seal nesting ground in Talingarde. Captain Kargeld will divert the ship there for 3 days to harvest as many pelts as possible. Hunting parties will make Survival checks gathering more pelts based on the margin of success. Lurking in the water is a pair of Bunyips that will try to dump boats into the water. (The thought of Swim checks and water based combat in Pathfinder gives me indigestion so I just skipped this encounter.) 4 - The Whale-Hunters - The ship is approached by a small group of kayaks and a canoe around noon of some day. These boats are crewed by Yutak hunters heading south to trade furs and ivory with the Talireans. The hunters are lead by White Tusk a young chieftain of the Yutak (N Human Ranger 4) and a shaman Joseph Calls-Fire-From-Water (CN Human Druid 3). The Yutak are interested in trade and have a bountiful haul from their recent expedition; 15 walrus tusks totaling 1200gp and a large 8ft narwhal horn worth 2000gp. The narwhal horn proves easy to enchant and reduce the time and cost if made into a magic staff, rod or wand. Throughout the AP the PCs will find similar unique quasi-magical components that can serve as trophies of their journey. I really like this element the authors included. The Yutak don’t work metal and value it highly; they will make generous trades with the PCs. If it comes to violence there aren’t any consequences and the PCs sail off with a tidy haul. If trade is concluded peacefully White Tusk can provide information about Event 5 and may be a useful ally later in the campaign. 5 - The Laughing Storm - Sometime in the dead of night the temperature plummets and snow starts falling on the open deck of the Frosthamar. The crew lights torches which offends a local ice spirit, Kiliketz (N Ice Mephit). Kiliketz is accompanied by 4 ice elementals (yah! para-elemental planes) who terrify the crew. It’s up to the PCs and Kargeld to fight this encounter. If Kiliketz is capture alive he can be intimidated into serving the PCs. 6 - The Bugbear Camp - North of Seal Island is a bay that leads to the river Taiga, a passage to Lake Tarik. Kargeld deftly maneuvers the Frosthamar through the ice floe that crowds the bay. The river winds through an ancient, snow-covered forest and between towering mountains to their destination. On the northern bank of Lake Tarik sprawls the camp of Sakkarot Fire-Axe, thousands of Bugbears can be seen even from a distance. The PCs can also make out goblins, polar bears and few giants in the camp. A crude pier extends into the lake, the only place for the Frosthamar to dock. At the end of the pier are 4 bored Bugbear thugs that will try to attack the ship as soon as it docks to kill the PCs and seize the cargo for themselves. If not dealt with quickly more Bugbears will join in hoping for a share of the spoils. Shortly after Sakkarot will arrive and demand to know who sent them, any appropriate response will satisfy him.  Hail Asmodeus! quote:“These humans are my guests. I will deal with anyone who harms them. They are our allies!” He walks over to the boat and rips open one of the crates revealing finely made axes with in. He tosses one to a nearby bugbear warrior who until this time only had a crude club to wield. “Behold, they bring us steel!” This earns the PCs a terrifying chorus of growls and cheers from the monstrous assembly. 7 - A Private Audience - As the festivities abate Sakkarot invites the PCs to speak privately and dismisses his lieutenants. If for whatever reason a fight breaks out his guards aren’t far off and the Fire-Axe(LE bugbear Fighter 8 with elite ability scores and a +2 unholy flaming greataxe) is no pushover. Sakkarot wants to learn what the PCs know about Thorn’s plan and proves to be far above average intelligence for a Bugbear. In casual conversation he’ll reveal a couple of things; burned onto the fur of his chest is the unholy symbol of Asmodeus and he is the leader and only member of the 1st Knot. This is also an opportunity for the PCs to learn more about the conspiracy they have joined. With role-playing and Skill checks Sakkarot will reveal that he intends to betray the Bugbear horde in service of Thorn's plan and he knows that Cardinal Thorn was once a priest of Mitra. When the conversation peters out Sakkarot will close the evening. quote:“Tomorrow you must depart this camp. It will never be truly safe for you here. Over the next week, more tribes will rally to my banner. I will promise them blood and give them steel. Then at last I will be ready to march. A week after that – I will be poised to strike. I will move my horde to the valley just north of Balentyne. There we will wait for your signal. Fire this rocket into the air. Within the hour, we will attack. Make sure that the way is ready. 8 - Loose Ends - With the feast and private meeting concluded the PCs can complete the last leg of their journey. Kargeld is anxious to be away from the camp. The ship crosses the mist covered lake and deposits the PCs on the southern shore; from here Kargeld plans to betray them and flee beyond Cardinal Thorn’s reach.  If he is not dealt with Castle Balentyne will receive a warning within a few days and Act 4 will be much more complicated. Assuming standard murder-hoboism and a healthy dose of evil this won’t come to pass. With the captain and crew murdered roughly 6200gp in coin and sundries can be gathered from the ship. The PCs stand on the shore of Lake Tarik ready to begin the next phase of Cardinal Thorn’s plan; they have 4 weeks to complete their mission. The Act closes like this: quote:You are close now. Just a few miles from here sits the small market town of Aldencross and less than a mile from there is the watchtower of Balentyne – your goal. Already Sakkarot’s horde gathers and prepares to move. Within two weeks, they will be in a small valley north of the lake awaiting your signal. Fire the rocket into the air at just the right moment and you will take the first step towards claiming vengeance against Talingarde. Acts 2 & 3 establishes one of my favorite things about this AP, a sense of time elapsing. In the other Pathfinder APs I’ve done you go from zero to hero in a few months. This AP takes place over 5-6 years which feels more reasonable and reflects the earlier conceit that villains need to execute plans that take time to develop while heroes react to threats. NEXT TIME: We didn’t start the Fire.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 21:06
|
|
|
potatocubed posted:Assuming a nice slow stroll of 3 mph (converted to 4.8 kph) and an increase of +25% with each Trailblazer, a group of 41 people would clock 45,138 kph -- which is 12.5 km/s, which is just slightly faster than the 11.2 km/s required to achieve escape velocity at sea level. Green Intern posted:So if I fired off one arrow, then rolled a 17 on my Visual Acuity check, I'd find two arrows? ZeroCount posted:In the grim darkness of Middle Ages Europe a small duchy is terrorized by local Birdlord who keeps sending his swarm of Trailblazer pigeons to join the parties of hapless travellers and immediately propel them into the stratosphere ZeroCount posted:Every time I try to put out a warrant for the Birdlord's head a crow appears outside my window and psychoanalyses me so hard that I spend 2d6 hours as a completely helpless wreck. Middenarde  I apologize for starting off so many of these posts with quotes, but I some of these comments really help illustrate the bonkers poo poo in Middenarde, and it'd be a shame if they weren't in the archive, too. Thanks for helping make this review entertaining! 8 - SETTING  WHORES WHORES WHORES posted:Towns and cities still found walls important even after their defensive use had waned because they forced citizens to use the gate, so their governments could tax and monitor trade going in, and pass useful laws controlling who did what where. For instance, cities banned whoring within their walls, or dictated that all brothels must be within one street of a certain gate. What is it with RPG's and rules/trivia about whores, harlots and wanton doxies? quote:Rather than the fantasy staple of town guards ringing a bell and shouting “twelve o’clock and all’s well,” most big towns and cities had proper bands who would play brief musical bars every hour on the hour to let people know the time, and remind them the guards were still on duty. I am in no way enough of a history buff to know how much of this stuff is true, so I'm counting on some passing good samaritan to do my work for me, and really just posting the things that seem almost hard to believe. Also Dear God, some of this is useful to know, like which names were commonly in use, in order to give a different atmosphere to a 1450's England than a 2000's England, but then we start drifting into irrelevant garbage like who takes whose name after marriage. And why the gently caress are you dropping irrelevant trivia on what underwear peasants own? REALLY, THIS IS IN THE .PDF. Peasant Pants posted:The average peasant farmer wore a loose collarless shirt or undershirt of cotton, hemp, or linen, with either no underpants or loose linen or hemp underpants with open flies front and back, held up with string or linen ribbons. Undershirts often went down to the knee and split into two tails at the groin, so they fulfilled the role of underpants. They were often worn to bed. WHY WOULD ANYONE NEED TO KNOW THIS FOR THE PURPOSE OF AN RPG. When the players crash through a peasant's bedroom because they brought too many Trailblazers and their experimental tank made out of tower shields went too fast, he'll either be wearing pants because no one wants to look at his poxy balls, or he'll not be wearing pants because it's being played for comedy. We don't need to know which is more realistic. Cock of the walk posted:The more phallic you could make your footwear the manlier a man you were, although the priesthood threw a fit about shoes with points so long they turned back over to touch the top of the shoes, referring to them as the “devil’s claws.” When the nobles and merchants started wearing pointy shoes with testicle shaped bells, the priests declared it to be a sign of the end times. No one cared about this until peasants started to do it, at which point the nobility decided that whilst very phallic footwear for nobles is fine, if it spread to the lower classes it will eat away at their moral fibre and cause chaos, and the fashion ended overnight. This is why by Tudor times stylish shoes are square-cut at the toe. I... okay, I know sometimes crazy poo poo happens sometimes. But this just sounds too bugfuck insane and apocryphal to be real. But, even assuming it was real, why would it matter, if your GM is spending his time describing how much the blacksmith's shoes look like cocks, it's time to start inching slowly away from him at the table, by the time he starts in on the testicles bells, you can probably dive out the window with only moderately crippling cuts and run down the street. 90% of this section is just utterly irrelevant trivia about clothes, names, titles and warfare. Well, I guess the warfare might not be totally irrelevant... except that there are no rules for mass combat or war in the main .PDF or any of the others. So if you wanted any sort of proper war campaign, you'd need to abstract like crazy, make poo poo up, or roll those potentially 10 times for every single member of a 500-man force involved in a fight... and their numerically similar opponents, too. And the two-hundred war dogs the PC's bring to the fight. There are a few relevant bits, like mentioning that medieval medicine wasn't very advanced and was composed of 90% leechcraft... but then a bunch of pointless trivia about what diet a physician will prescribe if you're tired and have no sex drive(mostly onions). Butt medicine posted:Suppositories, made of drugs mixed with beeswax or tallow, are good for patients who need a slow release of drugs to cure an ongoing, long term illness. If someone is too weak to feed themselves a doctor should try liquefying their food, adding some medicine, and pouring it down their throat. If that fails, a large funnel can be used to “feed” the patient via their anus; if they can’t keep their food down without it coming up again, just pour it in the other way and hope that helps. Because what I need to know for an engaging game in an interesting setting isn't about any on-going conflicts or dramatic cases that could be used as examples or quest hooks, instead I need to know when the local witch doctor is going to jam a funnel into my character's rear end and pour chopped onions in there. There's a lot on the horrors of medieval surgery and amputations... somewhat mollified by the fact that we know that if our character loses a leg, prosthetics will make him walk as good as new. This gets all of four pages, while religion barely gets two. Because rear end funnels are more likely to drive medieval adventures than, you know, the loving Church. There's also some TERRIBLE focus, the section with the medicine is known as "Food and Medicine," then we get the Church section, and then after that a Meals section. Wouldn't that have fit better under Food and Medicine? The religion section, of course, wastes no time in telling us where whores a legal and what they're called. Thank you, Middenarde, thank you. I don't particularly mind that there's a chapter on "meals," though, again, what was historically eaten could be a nice bit of flavour for a game that actually tries to be historically accurate. You know, assuming that this game in any way succeeded at that. I'd also like to point out that the "setting" section only focuses on England. Not even the British Isles in general, no Scotland, no Wales, no Ireland, literally just England. Not even goddamn France. Not sure we needed the "schedules," section, either, since it just tells us that people wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, go to work, eat dinner, go to bed in the evening. JEW MAGICS posted:Magic was believed to exist, many church scholars claim to have memorized the true names of devils as laid down by Solomon, and thus can command them to do God’s bidding and leave good Christians alone. One bishop of York claimed to have a fairy manservant, also bound in a similar way. After the 1480s, the church quietly cracks down on these claims, mostly for being based in Jewish Cabbala. After the 1480s alchemy is largely also left to the Jewish minority of Europe, but of course anything useful alchemists find becomes the property of trade guilds, particularly any advance in metalworking. Jewish alchemists in Prague in the 1460s experimenting with lead will stumble upon adding antinomy, making lead hard enough to cast into letters that hold their shape, and so inventing mobile type, a technology that Jews are promptly banned from using, and kick-starting the Renaissance. These intellectual forms of magic in England existed only within fringe groups of the church, which at this point includes all the universities. Wait, is he saying that type-casting and printing are "intellectual forms of magic"? These wandering paragraphs are a wonder. GM's Guide  The GM's Guide is relatively short, so I figured I'd have it here at the end of the main book and then do the Adventure Modules book on its own afterwards. What is the GM? posted:The GM is not playing to win. A tabletop campaign is not merely an asymmetrical game that the Game Master is attempting to achieve victory in. A Game Master has absolute control over the proceedings and therefore must exercise restraint. In truth, the GM is not even constrained by the rules laid out in any of the books. You may strike your own path if you so choose, so long as your players find it fun. That is the only goal you are really trying to achieve: to give your players a good time. As much poo poo as I give the writer of Middenarde, this is a good pair of paragraphs, and in general, the section on how it's the GM's roles to adjudicate and arbitrate, to keep everyone having fun, not just one person(and especially not if that one person is himself), to stay prepared, to be the guy who keeps track of the rules, is pretty solid. Wouldn't quite be Middenarde without some sketchy stuff in there, though, would it now? Oops posted:In general, Middenarde allows for and even encourages characters to be manipulated and fought just like NPCs, and conflict might be resolved in-character through a duel, but if tempers grow heated, it is up to the GM to intervene and resolve matters. This seems to suggest that PC's are subject to social skills just like NPC's. That's always a horrible idea. Never take away player agency that way, and especially don't let another player take away a player's agency, because once that poo poo is going down, unless one of them agrees that it would be an interesting situation or whatever... you've almost certainly got some antagonism going that's gonna be hard to tone down. But reading this section, for the most part, you get the impression that the writer has played in his fair share of games(probably even GM'ed a lot of them, considering how much he lauds the GM for being such an amazing and important person willing to do all the truly hard work...), some of which met painful ends due to drama, bad GM's or scheduling issues, and is trying to help future GM's avoid those things. 90% of the rest of the book is just a bunch of pre-made NPC and animal/monster enemies. This place does confirm that "Hyperborea" exists, however, since it's apparently where Griffons come from. Why not tell us something about that place, jackass? Seems more interesting than Cockboot County in England. And then a bunch of gems with magical powers like "is made from piss"(no other qualities) and "can cure any disease." In fact most of these gems are related to curing poisons and diseases, it gets a bit same-ish. But, at least the GM's Guide got us another sweet piece of cover art. Could've been worse!
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 21:08
|
|
|
PurpleXVI posted:The more phallic you could make your footwear the manlier a man you were, although the priesthood threw a fit about shoes with points so long they turned back over to touch the top of the shoes, referring to them as the “devil’s claws.” When the nobles and merchants started wearing pointy shoes with testicle shaped bells, the priests declared it to be a sign of the end times. No one cared about this until peasants started to do it, at which point the nobility decided that whilst very phallic footwear for nobles is fine, if it spread to the lower classes it will eat away at their moral fibre and cause chaos, and the fashion ended overnight. This is why by Tudor times stylish shoes are square-cut at the toe. Now I'm picturing a version of Victorian England in which every noble wears dick-shaped clown shoes.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 21:15
|
|
|
The bit about shoes is true - and they had fallen out of fashion when it became too impractical for battle and they had to cut the bits off to run better - much like the author needed to do with a chunk of the "flavor"
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 21:23
|
|
|
Doresh posted:I'm pretty sure the sword creates wounds you can't healfactor away. I think he killed Sabretooth with that (at least for a while). Alright, I had to look it up and the explanation is about as crazy as you'd expect from comics. Muramasa made this sword (the second muramasa apparently) with a piece of wolverines soul and it does stop the healing factor letting wolverine kill sabertooth for a few weeks. I still stand by my statement that comics got weird.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 21:23
|
|
|
Every Monday I make the hike to the apothecary for all of the beeswax suppositories I can carry for my mother in law who got a fever from losing both of her legs but getting an infection before she got her new prosthetics. I can't tell if the apothecary is undercharging or overcharging me; I can't read and I don't know if a songbird is actually capable of writing by dipping its beak in ink. I just keep giving it money until it stops looking angry and starts nodding. When I walk home, my dick shoes slap against the pavement in a rhythmic beat. Sometimes I like to walk in such a way that it becomes music. Sometimes I'll see patrols of dog soldiers being lead by a bear lieutenantant with a bird sergeant perched on its head. I like to walk so my loud steps match up with the time of their exercises and drills, but if it's hot the beeswax melts all over my hands so most of the time I just go home quickly. When I get home and finish cramming all the pills up into where they need to go, sometimes I like to take the wife and kids out to the meadow where we can watch the town doctor roll bodies down the hill until they come back to life. It's become a bit of sport to bet on how long it takes for them to live again. When there are no more bodies to resurrect, I head to work manufacturing rifles. My job is to figure out how to streamline the speed-loading process. I dunno, I guess my life is sort of average and boring. Vox Valentine fucked around with this message at 22:10 on Dec 4, 2016 |
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 22:06
|
|
|
Hostile V posted:Sometimes I'll see patrols of dog soldiers being lead by a bear lieutenantant with a bird sergeant perched on its head. I like to walk so my loud steps match up with the time of their exercises and drills, but if it's hot the beeswax melts all over my hands so most of the time I just go home quickly. This is starting to turn into Princess Tutu.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 22:15
|
|
|
Sounds more like an acid trip experienced while staring at a Bosch triptych for 12 hours.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 22:18
|
|
|
There are a lot of games that are like "the GM's job is to create fun!" but then if rest of the book has poo poo about punishing players for their temerity, I'm not sure one right cancels out multiple wrongs. I mean, I think even Play Dirty 2 is all about "oh your only job is to create fun for the players!" at one point and then... then there's the rest of the book.
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 22:29
|
|
|
FATAL and Friends 2017: The more phallic you could make your footwear the manlier a man you were
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 22:51
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 19:08 |
|
|
Hostile V posted:Every Monday I make the hike to the apothecary for all of the beeswax suppositories I can carry for my mother in law who got a fever from losing both of her legs but getting an infection before she got her new prosthetics. I can't tell if the apothecary is undercharging or overcharging me; I can't read and I don't know if a songbird is actually capable of writing by dipping its beak in ink. I just keep giving it money until it stops looking angry and starts nodding. 
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2016 22:58
|
|