A Thread For Random RPG Musings

[tkdguy]

3 hours ago, Cygnia said:

 

I'll take the last option over those other ones anytime.

[Rich McGee]

3 hours ago, tkdguy said:

 

I'll take the last option over those other ones anytime.

Agreed, but you have to admit that it sounds more like an involuntary eructation than a roleplaying game, and pretty much always has.  I seem to recall an old ad joking about that.   

 

At least MERPS sounds like a cute Muppet noise.

[Duke Bushido]

6 hours ago, tkdguy said:

 

I'll take the last option over those other ones anytime.

 

 

I, too, prefer "What."

 

 

[tkdguy]

4 hours ago, Rich McGee said:

Agreed, but you have to admit that it sounds more like an involuntary eructation than a roleplaying game, and pretty much always has.  I seem to recall an old ad joking about that.   

 

At least MERPS sounds like a cute Muppet noise.

 

I am actually playing in a MERP campaign via Discord. Our next session is on Saturday.

 

I haven't played GURPS in a long time, though.

[Rich McGee]

1 hour ago, tkdguy said:

I haven't played GURPS in a long time, though.

I believe I'm a full edition out of date myself, although I did play some nostalgic TFT when it finally re-released if that's close enough to count. 

[Ragitsu]

Magic swords may captivate audiences, but sling bullets win the war.

[Old Man]

20 hours ago, tkdguy said:

 

I am actually playing in a MERP campaign via Discord. Our next session is on Saturday.

 

I haven't played GURPS in a long time, though.

 

I own several GURPS supplements but have never actually played GURPS.

 

I've played MERP, though that was thirty years ago.  A couple months ago I couldn't remember anything about the system other than percentile dice, so I went back and looked up how to play.  You know, at one point I almost had those tables memorized?

[tkdguy]

1 minute ago, Old Man said:

 

I own several GURPS supplements but have never actually played GURPS.

 

I've played MERP, though that was thirty years ago.  A couple months ago I couldn't remember anything about the system other than percentile dice, so I went back and looked up how to play.  You know, at one point I almost had those tables memorized?

 

I played a lot of MERP decades ago. I ran a short-lived campaign on Tabletop Simulator during the lockdown. 

 

I have run GURPS once or twice, but I used the GURPS Lite version. I figured it was easier for the players to learn the system. 

[Rich McGee]

19 minutes ago, Old Man said:

I own several GURPS supplements but have never actually played GURPS.

Many of them are well-written and well-researched enough to be useful reference even if you never touch the game itself.  Wouldn't give up my copies of GURPS Lensmen, Uplift and Humanx if you held a gun to my head despite the latter two being old and a bit outdated now.  And the GURPS Traveller books are my favorite of the entire franchise outside of the original Little Black Book run from GDW - and those only win out on nostalgia and looking stylish as all get-out.

23 minutes ago, Old Man said:

I've played MERP, though that was thirty years ago.

My last game of it was even further back, but I came into it through dabbling in Rolemaster and Spacemaster so the engine was familiar already.  If nothing else it made Adventurer's Club a more interesting read in the period where Hero was sharing space with ICE articles.

[Michael Hopcroft]

On 11/12/2023 at 10:09 PM, tkdguy said:

I was just listening to the song "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" and got an adventure idea about a UFO cult with the leaders scamming the followers. The "aliens" are part of the con.

Given that Klatuu (the band) was itself a scam (Random musicians trying badly to sound like the Beatles so people would think they were the legendary group reunited), this fits the profile.

 

The obvious denouement would, of course, be when the real aliens show up and the cultists' efforts to control them prove somewhat unconvincing...

 

[Michael Hopcroft]

I just found out that the Virtual Tabletop Roll20 offers a compendium for Champions Complete. I'm not sure quite how much this makes for Hero, but it is there. Rather than a PDF, Roll20 Compendiums are non-downloadable and look more like old-fashioned, link-heavy websites. I only found out about it because I dropped some money on the recent (now expired) Roll20 Humble Bundle, which included things like Dragonbane and several of the Modiphus media tie-in games. (It also included a web version of Pathfinder Second Edition: Player Core).

 

( ran a couple of games on Roll20 in the past. I might do so again if I can find the time between work, writing, and trying to get some rest.

 

 

[Cygnia]

[Rich McGee]

"If you didn't want me to be a murderhobo you shouldn't have saddled me with the ring that needs hearts to power it."  - Ma-Ti, misreading "Ring Power: Heart" on his character sheet like a pro.

 

[tkdguy]

D&D pencils?

[Duke Bushido]

On 11/17/2023 at 6:28 PM, Rich McGee said:

Many of them are well-written and well-researched enough to be useful reference even if you never touch the game itself. 

 

 

Agreed.  GURPS Old West (second or third edition is fine: same book; different covers) really is _the_ definitive sourcebook on the genre from a gaming perspective.

 

 

[Ragitsu]

Let's say I'm in the mood for Italian.

 

I can head to my kitchen and throw something together with available ingredients; whatever I cook will be fully under my control. Of course, I'm not exactly a master of the culinary arts and a substantial investment of time plus effort is required.

 

Alternatively, when I am craving a particular style of Italian cuisine, I can visit a chef; I may - on occasion - have to put up with his eccentricities (e.g., adding a pinch of salt or removing a vegetable), but at least I know what to expect.

 

Spoiler

GURPS versus Dungeons & Dragons.

 

[Rich McGee]

18 hours ago, tkdguy said:

D&D pencils?

Oh good, I've been waiting forty years to get some use out of my TSR AD&D pencil sharpeners. 

[Rich McGee]

3 hours ago, Ragitsu said:

Let's say I'm in the mood for Italian.

 

I can head to my kitchen and throw something together with available ingredients; whatever I cook will be fully under my control. Of course, I'm not exactly a master of the culinary arts and a substantial investment of time plus effort is required.

 

Alternatively, when I am craving a particular style of Italian cuisine, I can visit a chef; I may - on occasion - have to put up with his eccentricities (e.g., adding a pinch of salt or removing a vegetable), but at least I know what to expect.

 

  Hide contents

GURPS versus Dungeons & Dragons.

 

I hate it when the local restaurant gets bought out by a giant soulless Food Corp and turned into a bland franchise joint.  And then you find out about all the dodgy corporate shenanigans they're up to behind the scenes and they start talking about how they aren't making enough profit on their food. 

[Ninja-Bear]

The older I get the more convinced that it is the players that make the game rather than the system.  Yesterday a friend of my son came over. He wanted to play D&D. I pulled out my Basic Fantasy and he rolled up a character and chose a magic user. I pulled out a small map. Long story short, he had a blast! Well throwing a dagger at the kobold shaman and getting a 4 on the damage die and I only rolled too on the hit die did help set the tone.  My brother was visiting and and he rolled a natural 20. The best part was my son twice rolled a natural 1  and in another book I picked up has Critical Hits and Failures. He was dazed on the first rolled 1 and then trip and fallen prone the second time. I allow him to attack from prone at a disadvantage to hit and damage and he still killed that kobold! The short scenario was a rousing success. I feel that there were several factors involved. Good dice throws always help. And yes D&D is limited but I’m fairly comfortable now if just making rulings on the fly. But overall it’s the players that make or break a game. Oh and my son kept saying “let’s separate the party” to jibe my brother was priceless!

[tkdguy]

 

[Cygnia]

[Cygnia]

[Rich McGee]

I see Aneska is a proper Orlanthi.  Good for her - just keep Ernalda's lesson in mind too. 

Edited November 22, 2023 by Rich McGee
typo

[Cygnia]

[Cygnia]