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A lesson so many need to learn

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Pathfinder
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  • A archpawn@lemmy.world

    Mutants and Masterminds is kind of interesting. I like how it’s designed so character creation is entirely point buy. There’s no classes. No spells. You pay for skills and abilities directly. There’s basic powers, and modifiers you can use to make them more interesting. It’s also geared towards balance as opposed to simulation, which means you can make whatever type of character you want instead of having to stick with what’s optimal.

    Unfortunately, it’s not well-done. For example, they frequently forget the game uses a log scale and cut numbers in half. Someone with a Dodge rank of -2 who is Vulnerable has their active defenses halved, which brings their Dodge rank up to -1. Equipment is 3 to 4 times cheaper than Devices, with the only differences being flavor (Equipment is something a normal person can get) and a different method of calculating Toughness that very often makes Equipment stronger. I ended up making a list of house rules trying to fix all of them (and admittedly including a few alternate rules that aren’t clearly better or worse) that’s so long that it would probably be easier to make a new RPG.

    I don’t suppose I can get any advice on something I would like? My requirements are:

    1. A point buy system that lets you make any character you want.
    2. Costs are based on making characters balanced, and not how literally expensive a piece of equipment would be and that sort of thing.
    3. Must be balanced as far as reasonably possible without massive flaws like M&M.
    4. I’d really like having a wide variety of characters you can make and things you can do. Make it so you can just play a Swarm, or a character of any size class, or anything else you can think of.
    rebekahwsd@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
    rebekahwsd@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
    rebekahwsd@lemmy.world
    wrote last edited by
    #118

    The only way I managed to make a character for M&M was with a generator we found and downloaded. Mostly because my character was a bit…complicated, but it still made it go from an extremely long ordeal to a merely mildly long ordeal! I liked the setting though.

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • X xm34@feddit.org

      Agreed, Shadowrun overdoes it with its thousands of rules and The Dark Eye also has its problems. Especially when it comes to combat. But DnD is on the other side of that spectrum. It’s just severely lacking any kind of character depth.

      That’s why I’m working on my own system trying to balance the complex, but meaningful character creatuon choices of system like Shadowrun and The Dark Eye with the combat of DnD.

      And yes, it seems like we do have different preferences here. The only thing I always wonder is: Why do people who obviously prefer a rules light set of rules play something as rigid and overcomplicated as DnD. Wouldn’t you find far more enjoyment in systems lile fate or savage worlds?

      T This user is from outside of this forum
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      thirdconsul@lemmy.ml
      wrote last edited by thirdconsul@lemmy.ml
      #119

      Why do people who obviously prefer a rules light set of rules play something as rigid and overcomplicated as DnD.

      Because the entry barrier is low, a lot of groups playing DnD/Pathfinder, tons of content, it’s mainstream, celebrities play it so the rules are shallowly known to a lot of people.

      At least that’s my take.

      Wouldn’t you find far more enjoyment in systems lile fate or savage worlds?

      Fate is Fudge, and as I mentioned I prefer it over DnD

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • KichaeK Kichae

        But they definitely can do the thing, because it’s a game of make-believe. Again, this is not hammering in a screw, it’s mental systems for deciding how imaginary doings transpire.

        susaga@sh.itjust.worksS This user is from outside of this forum
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        susaga@sh.itjust.works
        wrote last edited by
        #120

        I literally just explained a thing you cannot do. You cannot play Dragon Age in D&D. It either won’t be Dragon Age, or it won’t be D&D. This game of make-believe is still a game with rules and limits, and it can’t do everything.

        1 Reply Last reply
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        • StametsS Stamets
          This post did not contain any content.
          HossenfefferH This user is from outside of this forum
          HossenfefferH This user is from outside of this forum
          Hossenfeffer
          wrote last edited by hossenfeffer@feddit.uk
          #121

          Runequest

          No character classes: everyone can fight, everyone gets magic, everyone worships a god (with a few exceptions), and your character gets better at stuff they do or stuff they get training in. The closest there is to a character class is the choice of god your character worships (which dictates which Rune spells your character might have) but there is plenty of leeway to play very different worshippers of the same god.

          No levels: your character gets better at stuff they do or stuff they get training in. As they progress in their god’s cult they also get access to more Rune spells.

          Intuitive percentile ‘roll under’ system: an absolute newbie who’s never played any RPG before can look at their character sheet and understand how good their character is at their skills: “I only have 15% in Sneak, but a 90% Sword skill - reckon I’m going in swinging!'”

          Hit locations: fights are very deadly and wounds matter, “Oh dear, my left leg’s come off!”

          Passions and Runes: these help guide characterisation,and can also boost relevant skill rolls in a role-playing driven way, e.g invoking your Love Family passion to try and augment your shield skill while defending your mother from a marauding broo.

          Meaningful religions: your character’s choice of deity and cult provides direction, flavour, and appropriate magic. Especially cool when characters get beefy enough to start engaging in heroquesting - part ceremonial ritual, part literal recreation of some story from the god time.

          No alignment: your character’s behaviour can be modified by their passions, eg “Love family” or “Hate trolls”, and possibly by the requirements of whatever god you worship, but otherwise is yours to play as you see fit in the moment without wondering if you’re being sufficiently chaotic neutral.

          Characters are embedded in their family, their culture, and the cult of the god they worship: the game encourages connections to home, kith, kin, and cult making them more meaningful in game and, in the process, giving additional background elements to take the edge off murder hoboism (though if that’s what the group really wants then that’s a path they can go down (see MGF, next)).

          YGMV & MGF: Greg Stafford, who created Glorantha, the world in which Runequest is set, was fond of two sayings. The first is “Your Glorantha May Vary”. It is a fundamental expectation, upheld by Chaosium, that while they publish the ‘canonical’ version of Glorantha any and every GM has the right to mess with it for the games they run. Find the existence of feathered humanoids with the heads, bills, and webbed feet of ducks to be too ridiculous for your game table? Then excise them from the game with Greg’s blessing! The second is the only rule that trumps YGMV, and that is that the GM should always strive for “Maximum Game Fun”.

          While we’re on the subject of Glorantha, the world of Glorantha! It’s large and complex and very well developed in some areas (notably Dragon Pass and Prax) but with plenty of space for a GM to insert their own creations. It is, without doubt, one of the contenders for best RPG setting of all time.

          To continue on the subject of Glorantha, there is insanely deep and satisfying lore if you want to go full nerdgasm on it. But you can play and enjoy the game with a sliver-thin veneer of knowledge: “I’m playing a warrior who worships Humakt, the uncompromising god of honour and Death.” The RQ starter set contains everything you need to get a real taste for the game (ie minimal lore) and is great value for money since it’s what Chaosium hope will draw people in.

          Ducks: ducks are cool and not to be under-estimated.

          underpantsweevil@lemmy.worldU 1 Reply Last reply
          8
          • StametsS Stamets

            And I’m sorry that I wasn’t clear. At first I missed the emoticon before catching it after. I should have been more clear my frustration was at the concept you were also poking fun at, not at you yourself. I was just waking up and the frustration I have for that line of thinking took full force there, the jokey lines in my head just didn’t materialize.

            I’m just supremely tired of seeing the people who actually do it, full throated. Doesn’t even matter if it’s dnd, just stuff in general. Like it seems to be harder and harder to find a conversation about the alternative of something that isn’t just “This sucks so mine is better.”

            Sorry. I need to actually wake up before getting on lemmy, not looking at it from the toilet first thing. That’s on me

            southsamuraiS This user is from outside of this forum
            southsamuraiS This user is from outside of this forum
            southsamurai
            wrote last edited by
            #122

            No worries man, we all have days like that. I certainly do!

            I’m the same way with food snobbery tbh. I see even jokes about it, and it just gets under my skin, even when I am fully awake and can tell it’s a joke. There’s that flash of “this motherfucker” before I exert control of my brain. So I totally get it.

            I’m just sorry I picked a bad joke to try. Like I said, they can’t all be winners, but looking back at it, it was a lame attempt.

            StametsS 1 Reply Last reply
            1
            • dfyx@lemmy.helios42.deD dfyx@lemmy.helios42.de

              Without saying anything negative about D&D 5e, let me tell you about two of my personal favorites:

              The Dark Eye

              Under the name “Das Schwarze Auge”, this is one of the most popular systems in Germany and has existed since the mid 80s and the latest edition has been available in English for about a decade now. There are dozens of source books and hundreds of official campaigns and standalone adventures, all set in the same world and a single ongoing canon (apart from a few early works that have been retconned). There are decades of detailed in-world history that you can use as a background for your own campaign if you want or selectively ignore if you want to focus on your own interpretation of what the world should look like.

              Mechanics-wise it’s a lot less board-game-like than some 70s/80s/90s systems while not going the full “storytelling first” route that many more moderns systems seem to prefer. On top of the eight basic attributes, characters can select from a pool of skills and feats that cover everything from combat to magic to social interaction to crafts and hobbies. The system focuses a lot less on combat than other high fantasy systems and it’s absolutely viable to have a group of purely social-focused characters that never get into a single fight but still get to use a lot of the system’s mechanics.

              Overall it’s relatively complex if you want to use absolutely every rule but at the same time very versatile and can be customized to your playstyle.

              Opus Anima / Opus Anima Investigation

              Sadly out of print and never officially translated to English so I’ll focus on the one thing that works without the official setting: it’s one of the simplest systems I’ve ever seen. It uses a pool of D2s (odd/even on D6, coins, red/black cards, whatever you have on hand) where the number of dice is determined by a basic attribute and a skill that can be combined however the situation requires. Dexterity + mechanics to build something, perception + mechanics to recognize a mechanism, knowledge + mechanics to understand the underlying principles or remember who invented something. To avoid experienced characters failing an easy check out of pure bad luck, everything over 10 dice is not rolled but gives half a success (rounded up) automatically. That’s it. That’s the whole system.

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              X This user is from outside of this forum
              xm34@feddit.org
              wrote last edited by
              #123

              I absolutely live The Dark Eye in every aspect except for its combat! About half of my campaigns are run in that system and I absolutely love the amount of customization it allows for your characters.

              1 Reply Last reply
              1
              • dunstabzugshaubitze@feddit.orgD dunstabzugshaubitze@feddit.org

                d&d 5e is a fine system, it’s just more than i want to gm and more than my friends want to learn. so simpler systems like shadowdark or black hack are really great for us, but if your group knows d&d 5e and has fun playing it, than why the hell not just play 5e?

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                alexanderthedead@lemmy.world
                wrote last edited by
                #124

                I play 5e, but:

                I feel that the reason people are hating on 5e is not because the system is bad, it is almost exclusively because Wizards and Hasbro tried to fuck everyone over.

                There might be certain systems that some people subjectively prefer because they do certain things in a way they prefer, but that literally doesn’t matter, that is subjective. DnD5e is practically a house name at this point. It is popular and well regarded, especially by new players. Anyone who wants to make the claim that the system is bad will have bang their subjective arguments against the steel wall that is its popularity.

                So that is to say… the reason to not play 5e is because it’s important to punish WotC and Hasbro, and it’s important to support rising publishers.

                KichaeK 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • samskara@sh.itjust.worksS samskara@sh.itjust.works

                  I used to play Cyberpunk with GURPS rules. It was great.

                  agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.worksA This user is from outside of this forum
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                  agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works
                  wrote last edited by
                  #125

                  The Secret Service has traced your IP address and is converging on your location as we speak.

                  samskara@sh.itjust.worksS 1 Reply Last reply
                  1
                  • A alexanderthedead@lemmy.world

                    I play 5e, but:

                    I feel that the reason people are hating on 5e is not because the system is bad, it is almost exclusively because Wizards and Hasbro tried to fuck everyone over.

                    There might be certain systems that some people subjectively prefer because they do certain things in a way they prefer, but that literally doesn’t matter, that is subjective. DnD5e is practically a house name at this point. It is popular and well regarded, especially by new players. Anyone who wants to make the claim that the system is bad will have bang their subjective arguments against the steel wall that is its popularity.

                    So that is to say… the reason to not play 5e is because it’s important to punish WotC and Hasbro, and it’s important to support rising publishers.

                    KichaeK Online
                    KichaeK Online
                    Kichae
                    Forum Master
                    wrote last edited by
                    #126

                    alexanderthedead@lemmy.world said in A lesson so many need to learn:

                    Anyone who wants to make the claim that the system is bad will have bang their subjective arguments against the steel wall that is its popularity.

                    Yes, but this is a thing that people want to do. They want to try and dent that popularity, and they want to shift some of it towards their own preferences. It doesn’t matter that it’s a subjective opinion on what is better or what is bad, it doesn’t feel subjective to the person interjecting.

                    They believe their preferred game is better, they probably have had this discussion numerous times with people who have ignored them or chewed them out for trying to evangelize, and they are infinitely frustrated that others won’t see the light.

                    People who leave popular things behind for niche things often just have this habit of having to bury the thing they left behind. It can’t be good. The new thing is better, but the new thing is better both because it is better, and also because the old thing was just objectively bad.

                    People do this with a lot of things. TV shows, ice cream flavours, toys they used to play with as kids. There’s a sense of shame attached to having liked the old thing, not just a sense of joy of having found the new one. It’s one of the reasons the people they evangelize to get so defensive: They can sense that they are being judged.

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    1
                    • HossenfefferH Hossenfeffer

                      Runequest

                      No character classes: everyone can fight, everyone gets magic, everyone worships a god (with a few exceptions), and your character gets better at stuff they do or stuff they get training in. The closest there is to a character class is the choice of god your character worships (which dictates which Rune spells your character might have) but there is plenty of leeway to play very different worshippers of the same god.

                      No levels: your character gets better at stuff they do or stuff they get training in. As they progress in their god’s cult they also get access to more Rune spells.

                      Intuitive percentile ‘roll under’ system: an absolute newbie who’s never played any RPG before can look at their character sheet and understand how good their character is at their skills: “I only have 15% in Sneak, but a 90% Sword skill - reckon I’m going in swinging!'”

                      Hit locations: fights are very deadly and wounds matter, “Oh dear, my left leg’s come off!”

                      Passions and Runes: these help guide characterisation,and can also boost relevant skill rolls in a role-playing driven way, e.g invoking your Love Family passion to try and augment your shield skill while defending your mother from a marauding broo.

                      Meaningful religions: your character’s choice of deity and cult provides direction, flavour, and appropriate magic. Especially cool when characters get beefy enough to start engaging in heroquesting - part ceremonial ritual, part literal recreation of some story from the god time.

                      No alignment: your character’s behaviour can be modified by their passions, eg “Love family” or “Hate trolls”, and possibly by the requirements of whatever god you worship, but otherwise is yours to play as you see fit in the moment without wondering if you’re being sufficiently chaotic neutral.

                      Characters are embedded in their family, their culture, and the cult of the god they worship: the game encourages connections to home, kith, kin, and cult making them more meaningful in game and, in the process, giving additional background elements to take the edge off murder hoboism (though if that’s what the group really wants then that’s a path they can go down (see MGF, next)).

                      YGMV & MGF: Greg Stafford, who created Glorantha, the world in which Runequest is set, was fond of two sayings. The first is “Your Glorantha May Vary”. It is a fundamental expectation, upheld by Chaosium, that while they publish the ‘canonical’ version of Glorantha any and every GM has the right to mess with it for the games they run. Find the existence of feathered humanoids with the heads, bills, and webbed feet of ducks to be too ridiculous for your game table? Then excise them from the game with Greg’s blessing! The second is the only rule that trumps YGMV, and that is that the GM should always strive for “Maximum Game Fun”.

                      While we’re on the subject of Glorantha, the world of Glorantha! It’s large and complex and very well developed in some areas (notably Dragon Pass and Prax) but with plenty of space for a GM to insert their own creations. It is, without doubt, one of the contenders for best RPG setting of all time.

                      To continue on the subject of Glorantha, there is insanely deep and satisfying lore if you want to go full nerdgasm on it. But you can play and enjoy the game with a sliver-thin veneer of knowledge: “I’m playing a warrior who worships Humakt, the uncompromising god of honour and Death.” The RQ starter set contains everything you need to get a real taste for the game (ie minimal lore) and is great value for money since it’s what Chaosium hope will draw people in.

                      Ducks: ducks are cool and not to be under-estimated.

                      underpantsweevil@lemmy.worldU This user is from outside of this forum
                      underpantsweevil@lemmy.worldU This user is from outside of this forum
                      underpantsweevil@lemmy.world
                      wrote last edited by
                      #127

                      Ducks: ducks are cool and not to be under-estimated.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      2
                      • StametsS Stamets
                        This post did not contain any content.
                        underpantsweevil@lemmy.worldU This user is from outside of this forum
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                        underpantsweevil@lemmy.world
                        wrote last edited by
                        #128

                        I think part of the problem is that 5e is so pervasive and baked into the “people who play TTRPGs” population that you need to sell them on why 5e isn’t good before you can get them to consider why your alternative is good.

                        Frankly, I’m a White Wolf die-hard. I love Exalted. I love Werewolf. I love Mage. I tolerate Vampire. But as soon as I show someone a set of d10s and try to talk them out of the idea of “Leveling” they get scared and run back to the system they’re familiar with. I also have a special place in my heart for Rollmaster/Hackmaster/Palladium and the endless reams of % charts for every conceivable thing. And then there’s Mechwarrior… who doesn’t love DMing a game where each model on the board has to track it’s heat exhaust per round? But by god! The setting is so fucking cool! (Yes, I know about Lancer).

                        I will freely admit that these systems aren’t necessarily “better” than 5e (or the d20 super-system generally speaking). But they all have their own charms. The trick is that selling some fresh new face on that glorious story climax in which three different Traditions of Magi harmonize their foci and thereby metaphorically harmonize fundamental concepts of society is hard to do on its face. By contrast, complaining about the generic grind of a dice-rolling dungeon crawl is pretty straightforward and easy.

                        J 1 Reply Last reply
                        2
                        • Count Regal InkwellV Count Regal Inkwell

                          Okay but as long as we are complaining about shit we see on RPG forums

                          “I wish I could do $thing in DnD”

                          “$otherSystem has a very cool subsystem for $thing”

                          “Omg how dare you”

                          Had this conversation enough times to make it a pet peeve of mine

                          Anyway the only thing about 5e that does suck is Wizards of the Coast. Otherwise it’s fine. It’s just fine. You can have fun with it.

                          I’m more of a Pathfinder 2e guy tho.

                          (And pf2 is basically a more advanced take on what 5e was doing so…)

                          underpantsweevil@lemmy.worldU This user is from outside of this forum
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                          underpantsweevil@lemmy.world
                          wrote last edited by
                          #129

                          Anyway the only thing about 5e that does suck is Wizards of the Coast.

                          The race/class system, the leveling mechanics, the Vancian Magic mechanics, and the general need to get into conflicts in order to progress the story / advance your characters has been a thorn in the side of the entire d20 universe from day one.

                          5e stripped out a lot of the math (which is good for bringing in new players but bad because actually having lots of gritty math in a game can be part of the fun of designing and playing) and smoothed the edges off 3.5e. But 4e also did this arguably too aggressively, giving us a game that was so bland and so generic that people flocked to alternatives for a good five years.

                          WotC is a mixed bag of old school TTRPG nerds and corporate suits that have somehow managed to keep the game cheap and fun while heavily investing in promotion. As enshittification goes, it could have been a lot worse. They’re a meaningful improvement over TSR, which is a low fucking bar. Lots to dislike, but nothing I can point to that I wouldn’t find in another system easily enough.

                          I’m more of a Pathfinder 2e guy tho.

                          IMHO, the math on PF2e is bad. They stripped out a lot of the more interesting abilities and features of 1e to make the game simpler. But, as a result, writing encounters is a balancing act between “trivially easy” and “functionally impossible”. Like, why even use the d20 if you’re going to build a game this way? Just make it an entirely points-based resource management game, with High Fantasy color.

                          I’d rather run up against the Big Red Dragon and have my DM say “You swing with all your might, but the beast barely notices” than to get handed a d20 while the DM laughs up his sleeve.

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          1
                          • agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.worksA agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works

                            The Secret Service has traced your IP address and is converging on your location as we speak.

                            samskara@sh.itjust.worksS This user is from outside of this forum
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                            samskara@sh.itjust.works
                            wrote last edited by
                            #130

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • StametsS Stamets
                              This post did not contain any content.
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                              dandelion (she/her)
                              wrote last edited by
                              #131

                              Basic Role-Playing (BRP), which is the system Call of Cthulhu is based on, is a great alternative to D&D as a roleplaying system. It is much easier to learn and understand, everything is based on percentages, and the system can be as mechanically crunchy or open as the DM prefers.

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              3
                              • underpantsweevil@lemmy.worldU underpantsweevil@lemmy.world

                                I think part of the problem is that 5e is so pervasive and baked into the “people who play TTRPGs” population that you need to sell them on why 5e isn’t good before you can get them to consider why your alternative is good.

                                Frankly, I’m a White Wolf die-hard. I love Exalted. I love Werewolf. I love Mage. I tolerate Vampire. But as soon as I show someone a set of d10s and try to talk them out of the idea of “Leveling” they get scared and run back to the system they’re familiar with. I also have a special place in my heart for Rollmaster/Hackmaster/Palladium and the endless reams of % charts for every conceivable thing. And then there’s Mechwarrior… who doesn’t love DMing a game where each model on the board has to track it’s heat exhaust per round? But by god! The setting is so fucking cool! (Yes, I know about Lancer).

                                I will freely admit that these systems aren’t necessarily “better” than 5e (or the d20 super-system generally speaking). But they all have their own charms. The trick is that selling some fresh new face on that glorious story climax in which three different Traditions of Magi harmonize their foci and thereby metaphorically harmonize fundamental concepts of society is hard to do on its face. By contrast, complaining about the generic grind of a dice-rolling dungeon crawl is pretty straightforward and easy.

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                                jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
                                wrote last edited by
                                #132

                                try to talk them out of the idea of “Leveling” they get scared and run back to the system they’re familiar with.

                                I still think about the time in college I tried to get a D&D friend to consider Mage. I was telling him about how you can just do magic, and the real limitation is paradox and hubris. Like, it’s often not about ‘can you?’ but rather “should you?”

                                He couldn’t get over “you can just cast whatever you want? Fireballs every turn?”

                                “Yes, but that’s probably going to make a lot of paradox, and probably isn’t the best way to solve your problem”

                                “Sounds broken,” he said, and lost interest.

                                underpantsweevil@lemmy.worldU 1 Reply Last reply
                                4
                                • southsamuraiS southsamurai

                                  No worries man, we all have days like that. I certainly do!

                                  I’m the same way with food snobbery tbh. I see even jokes about it, and it just gets under my skin, even when I am fully awake and can tell it’s a joke. There’s that flash of “this motherfucker” before I exert control of my brain. So I totally get it.

                                  I’m just sorry I picked a bad joke to try. Like I said, they can’t all be winners, but looking back at it, it was a lame attempt.

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                                  Stamets
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #133

                                  Nah dude. You have literally nothing to apologize for. It’s all on me for not thinking first and not even waking up first before commenting. I can be bitchy as hell before all the gears are grinding properly and I definitely didn’t hold the leash on that one.

                                  Don’t apologize. It’s all on me. I’m sorry buddy.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • M morgoth_bauglir@lemmy.world

                                    I just started DMing an Ironsworn campaign for my wife. I like that it’s fiction-forward rather than mechanics-forward, and being able to run a campaign built around having only 1 player makes scheduling so simple, reliable, and just an all around good experience.

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                                    bramkaandorp@lemmy.world
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #134

                                    And a great developer, with an active and very friendly community.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
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                                    • J jjjalljs@ttrpg.network

                                      try to talk them out of the idea of “Leveling” they get scared and run back to the system they’re familiar with.

                                      I still think about the time in college I tried to get a D&D friend to consider Mage. I was telling him about how you can just do magic, and the real limitation is paradox and hubris. Like, it’s often not about ‘can you?’ but rather “should you?”

                                      He couldn’t get over “you can just cast whatever you want? Fireballs every turn?”

                                      “Yes, but that’s probably going to make a lot of paradox, and probably isn’t the best way to solve your problem”

                                      “Sounds broken,” he said, and lost interest.

                                      underpantsweevil@lemmy.worldU This user is from outside of this forum
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                                      underpantsweevil@lemmy.world
                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #135

                                      👅 Thank goodness for D&D, a game where character optimization and mechanical balance has never been an issue.

                                      The thing about Mage is that you probably can engineer a way to fling fireballs every round if you’re reasonably clever. It’s a modern setting, hand grenades and incendiary bombs and flame throwers exist, and shoving a rag (covered in arcana) into a beer bottle would probably be enough to cause any witnesses to accept what they were seeing at face value.

                                      But the game isn’t D&D. Who do you think you’re throwing that fireball at? As often as not, the primary antagonists are The Cops, the Corporate Executives, the Pharmaceutical Industry, and Silicon Valley. You can’t beat a Pentex sponsored Facebook smear campaign or an FBI/Palantir partnered surveillance state by spamming it with Fire damage.

                                      sigh

                                      Easy enough to hash out between folks who have seriously played the game. Much harder to explain this to someone who only ever knows how to roll for initiative.

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                                      • StametsS Stamets
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                                        sambeastie@lemmy.world
                                        wrote last edited by
                                        #136

                                        Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but I actually like D&D and much prefer it to every other family of games I’ve tried (WoD, GURPS, PbtA, etc). What i dont like is the current iteration of D&D, which is why my recommendations are:

                                        Swords & Wizardry Complete: it’s OD&D with some of the rough edges sanded off and all the optional material added. Tons of classes, lots of tools for procedural world building, and very easily hackable. It’s simpler to teach to a new player, and its more flexible than 5e for experienced players. The tick-tock of the dungeon turn structure makes it easier to keep pace as a GM, and when in doubt, rolling x-in-6 always holds up. If you want a classic dungeon crawler, this is it.

                                        Whitehack: Still D&D but more narrative. Skills are replaced with groups that can give advantages to tasks directly influenced by membership in that group. Magic is super flexible and everyone has access to some form of it, but the “magic user” class gets to just make up their own spells and pay some HP depending on effect size. Great rules for base building, good GM advice for making adventures that aren’t dungeon or wilderness crawls (but are structured like those things). The core mechanic minimizes table math so even your players who struggle with addition can play fast. Less deadly than actual old D&D but keeping the same vibe. It’s my favorite for those who prefer narrative to mechanics. In a lot of ways, it’s D&D rewritten for the way a lot of people actuslly play 5e.

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                                        • Z ziggurat@jlai.lu

                                          Out of curiosity, what is the 3 action system?

                                          I know FATE has 4 actions (overcome, attack, defend, create an advantage) so did PF merge attack and defend? Or is it a different choice?

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                                          dahgangalang@infosec.pub
                                          wrote last edited by
                                          #137

                                          Other guy gave an okey explanation, but to try my hand at explaining:

                                          On a typical round of combat, you get three actions. You can spend them in a variety of ways. An attack is one action, movement (“stride” action) is one action, most offensive spells are 2 actions, etc.

                                          A lot of classes get ways to “discount” actions. For example an early feat fighters and barbarians can take is “Sudden Charge” which let’s them stride twice and attack an adjacent creature and costs 2 actions.

                                          The whole thing lends so much freedom and takes a lot of burden off the DM for needing to homebrew / make up things on the fly. The whole system is very crunchy though (very detailed and particular on its rules) and so doesn’t fit everyone’s vibes.

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