A Thread For Random RPG Musings

[tkdguy]

I recognized Vengeance of Alphaks and Castle Caldwell and Beyond off the bat.

[Old Man]

6 hours ago, Cygnia said:

Some NSFW words, so I'm just posting the link

https://mediachomp.com/renamed-dungeons-dragons-modules/

 

"Drunk on Ghost Wine" and "Pyramid Scheme" were great modules.

[Cygnia]

 

[Ninja-Bear]

On 7/19/2022 at 1:03 PM, Scott Ruggels said:

…not be upstaged by a screenwriter’s self insert who is more competent than you as a blow against the patriarchy.  

I figured Rey was a girl just because but more competent? I don’t see it. She was a natural talent and lets face it, if you’re strong in the Force then you’re strong. 

[Cygnia]

[Cygnia]

 

[Scott Ruggels]

Fascinating YouTube segment. Shows you can find "That guy". in any gaming group if you aren't careful.

[tkdguy]

 

[tkdguy]

On 8/31/2022 at 8:43 AM, Scott Ruggels said:

Fascinating YouTube segment. Shows you can find "That guy". in any gaming group if you aren't careful.

 

Having had to deal with several incarnations of "that guy" over the years, I've decided on a zero-tolerance policy when dealing with them. I don't like having to do that, but I've found that trying to be diplomatic about it doesn't work.

[tkdguy]

 

[tkdguy]

I've been watching a lot of videos about painting pictures as well as miniatures. Many of the videos suggest limiting your palette to improve color harmony. I'm not new to this advice; I remember reading an article suggesting that you limit your miniature painting to five colors per miniature.  Here's my list for a limited palette for miniatures. These colors may have been oils or acrylics. They probably have different names when sold by game companies.

 

Manganese Blue
Quinacridone Red
Cadmium Yellow Light
Ivory Black
Titanium White
Silver

 

I chose these colors because the primaries make vibrant secondary colors. Black and white are added to change the value and to produce neutral tints, earth tones, and even flesh tones. I added silver to mix metallic colors. If you're good at nonmetallic metal painting, you can drop the silver. I suck at NMM painting, so I have to add the silver.

[Ninja-Bear]

@tkdguy, I usually go with the base color being a medium version. Then I apply a wash with a darker color version. Then I go with a dry paint of the lighter color. It doesn’t always work to my satisfaction. 
 

I’ve also been going with the the good enough principle. Skin color, clothes and weapons mainly and thats good enough! Move on to the next miniature.

[tkdguy]

That's basically my approach. I also tend to apply my paints a little thicker than most painters do, but not to the extent that it covers up any details.

 

I'd love to try out the new Army Painter Speedpaints. I can't afford them right now, but I'll try to save up for them, and for miniatures to try them on. While I'm ranting about painting miniatures, here are some thoughts about the speedpaints. I've seen videos about them, but none of them have answered these questions about this line.

 

1. What kind of secondary colors will you get by mixing two primary colors?

2. What kind of neutral tone will you get by mixing three primary colors?

 

I have yet to see a video that does that. I will definitely experiment once I get my hands on those paints.

[Cygnia]

[Cygnia]

[Cygnia]

[Cygnia]

[tkdguy]

What makes a campaign unique or distinctive? That's a question I struggle with a lot. Names of countries and gods aside, there has to be enough detail to make cultures distinct, so it the game actually feels like a (say) Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance game instead of some generic fantasy.

You can make a case about having specific creatures (like the Draconians in Dragonlance) or organizations (such as the Harpers in the Forgotten Realms) making the game unique, but not every DL/FR game will include these elements.

You have a bit of wiggle room if you use one of the official game settings, but what if you want to set your game in Lankhmar or Middle-earth? What can you do to make sure your players feel like they're adventuring in those worlds, as opposed to playing in a generic fantasy set in those places?

[tkdguy]

 

[tkdguy]

On 9/6/2022 at 2:09 AM, tkdguy said:

I've been watching a lot of videos about painting pictures as well as miniatures. Many of the videos suggest limiting your palette to improve color harmony. I'm not new to this advice; I remember reading an article suggesting that you limit your miniature painting to five colors per miniature.  Here's my list for a limited palette for miniatures. These colors may have been oils or acrylics. They probably have different names when sold by game companies.

 

Manganese Blue
Quinacridone Red
Cadmium Yellow Light
Ivory Black
Titanium White
Silver

 

I chose these colors because the primaries make vibrant secondary colors. Black and white are added to change the value and to produce neutral tints, earth tones, and even flesh tones. I added silver to mix metallic colors. If you're good at nonmetallic metal painting, you can drop the silver. I suck at NMM painting, so I have to add the silver.

 

I found the video that helped me choose my limited palette. Skip to 4:49 to get to the meat of the video.

 

 

[tkdguy]

Shorter video, meant for acrylics. This one uses a split palette. Note that these videos assume you're painting on a canvas, but I have used these paints for miniatures, and they work just fine.

 

 

[Scott Ruggels]

4 hours ago, tkdguy said:

What makes a campaign unique or distinctive? That's a question I struggle with a lot. Names of countries and gods aside, there has to be enough detail to make cultures distinct, so it the game actually feels like a (say) Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance game instead of some generic fantasy.

You can make a case about having specific creatures (like the Draconians in Dragonlance) or organizations (such as the Harpers in the Forgotten Realms) making the game unique, but not every DL/FR game will include these elements.

You have a bit of wiggle room if you use one of the official game settings, but what if you want to set your game in Lankhmar or Middle-earth? What can you do to make sure your players feel like they're adventuring in those worlds, as opposed to playing in a generic fantasy set in those places?

Well the first thing is research. You will have to read and immerse yourself in the source material. If based on short, or pulp fiction, you will have to infer a lot of missing background from the clues presented. From that you are going to have to put the economy together and concretize the various factions.  Material from published game books is much easier as the authors are often also GMs.  I like to homebrew, still, but that is perhaps a bit more work than someone with a wife, a job, and kids can really do much of anymore. Think about it when jogging or walking to the store (put the phone away). And ask yourself questions, and then answer them, sometimes in character of some campaign notable. 

[Ninja-Bear]

@tkdguy, one of my problems is remembering which color I chose for what. Another is, if I use this brown for spear shaft is it ok to use it as leather too? Stuff like that. 

[tkdguy]

7 minutes ago, Ninja-Bear said:

@tkdguy, one of my problems is remembering which color I chose for what. Another is, if I use this brown for spear shaft is it ok to use it as leather too? Stuff like that. 

 

I usually don't mind using the same color for different things, but I often change it a bit. I may change how light or dark it is or add another color to get some variation.

 

I painted a few miniatures with the Zorn Palette. The modern version is usually cadmium red (in place of vermillion), yellow ochre, ivory black, and titanium white.

[tkdguy]

I have no plans for streaming my solo games, but I have a couple of ideas if I were. Nothing revolutionary, just a couple of thoughts in my head that I need to share.

 

If I were going to use an overhead camera mount, I'd definitely try to use a battle mat with some features. Loke BattleMats has several books with premade dungeons and wilderness settings (Note that I am not endorsing Loke or any other product; I just need a convenient example). I would use 2D tokens in place of miniatures; they'd be easier for the audience to discern. I would have the camera angle wide enough to see my dice rolls, ideally on a dice tray.

 

If I were going to use a regular tripod instead, I'd hang a magnetic whiteboard with grids on a wall. I would have to draw the terrain. I would still use tokens, but they would be glued to magnetic bases. The audience wouldn't be able to see the dice rolls, so I'd have to announce the results. This way is less visually appealing, but it may be simpler and possibly cheaper.