Jump to content

Spence

HERO Member
  • Posts

    8,678
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    8

Reputation Activity

  1. Thanks
    Spence got a reaction from Duke Bushido in Western Hero 6th edition   
  2. Haha
    Spence reacted to Greywind in Does anyone use hidden die rolls?   
    Yes, but that may remove any desired resultant confusion.
  3. Like
    Spence got a reaction from Duke Bushido in Does anyone use hidden die rolls?   
    I don't comprehend this one.
     
    The purpose of a hidden roll is for the GM to maintain mystery and prevent the players from seeing information that the character wouldn't know.  There is no reason for a player to conceal anything from the GM.  Other players maybe.  But not the GM.
  4. Like
    Spence got a reaction from Vanguard in Does anyone use hidden die rolls?   
    Players make their rolls and the GM makes their rolls.
     
    When I GM, if we have new players at the table, either new to roleplaying or new to the game system, then I usually have all rolls made on the table with each person rolling, including myself, explaining the roll and how I, or they, calculated it. 
     
    If I am playing with experienced players or players that have gotten the hang of things, then I only ask the players for the results and as GM I do a lot of hidden rolls.  I run a LOT of games that have mystery/investigative themes which means that there are events/rolls that the players cannot know about if those plots are to be preserved and lead on to the big reveals.  A whodunit is not a whodunit if you read the last page first.
     
    For the die rolls themselves.
     
    If a player is actually cheating as in they are not making a mistake or misunderstood some game mechanic, but are actually rolling one thing and claiming another.   Then why am i bothering to play with them?  I'll be courteous,  but once you have cheated in my game, I'll never invite you back.  And if the rest of the table insists, I will just walk away from the game all together.  I've done it in the past and do not see myself changing in the future.
     
    If a player distrusts me enough that they cannot trust me to roll a set of dice or run a game even evenhandedly, then they don't trust me.  Since they don't trust me, why are they in my game?  I am up front in the kind of games I run and what the intended feel and rule restrictions the game will have.  You have a choice, play or sit this one out.   If not enough players like what I have planned, I am more than glad to be a player instead.  If no one else is ready to run I have no problem building a different adventure.  
     
    But an RPG game is a game not a forced participation with guards. 
    You don't like the way I run, don't play.  It really isn't going to darken my world.
     
    I love to create stories that allow the players to solve mysteries, resolve ancient curses and be heroic.  If you know the answer from the beginning it is not a mystery. 
    I tend to use die rolls for NPC decisions, will they A or will they B.
    I have loose event flow charts that incorporate some random results such as "how long until the Thieves Guild becomes aware of X?" 
    These are secret rolls that can directly impact the entire game and no, I am not going to trash an entire plot line because one player had a crappy GM in the past. I have had hundreds of very crappy players in the last 30 years and I don't treat every player at my table as crap because of that. 
    RPG's are game and you play or run them as a choice for entertainment. 
     
    If you don't like the way I run my games, then don't play them.  I mean seriously why would anyone subject themselves to that?  Playing something they don't like. 
     
    I have a friend that is a seriously good GM, but I do not play in his games and vice versa.  Why?  While we can talk for hours about gaming and have a lot of common beliefs, his games have a lot of PvP intrigue and backstabbing.  He and his players love the White Wolf betray everyone games.  I don't.  I love games that actually have good guys.  But I am straying from point.
     
    Yes, as GM I frequently make hidden rolls especially if the die roll could reveal something that is hidden.  I never put in a threat of obstacle that is beyond the players abilities.  There is always a way.  I tell new players that at the beginning, there will always be a way.  Just because you cant knock it down by force doesn't mean there isn't a way around.  I also do not make people roll for every skill.   Just asking the question is enough for me to reveal a clue, especially one that the PC would know.  The player may not have that knowledge, but the PC they are playing does.
     
    But a player having an issue with me making hidden die rolls in a game that I am running?  That is not my problem, it is theirs. 
    If that means that particular game doesn't happen, well that is life.
  5. Like
    Spence got a reaction from massey in Does anyone use hidden die rolls?   
    Players make their rolls and the GM makes their rolls.
     
    When I GM, if we have new players at the table, either new to roleplaying or new to the game system, then I usually have all rolls made on the table with each person rolling, including myself, explaining the roll and how I, or they, calculated it. 
     
    If I am playing with experienced players or players that have gotten the hang of things, then I only ask the players for the results and as GM I do a lot of hidden rolls.  I run a LOT of games that have mystery/investigative themes which means that there are events/rolls that the players cannot know about if those plots are to be preserved and lead on to the big reveals.  A whodunit is not a whodunit if you read the last page first.
     
    For the die rolls themselves.
     
    If a player is actually cheating as in they are not making a mistake or misunderstood some game mechanic, but are actually rolling one thing and claiming another.   Then why am i bothering to play with them?  I'll be courteous,  but once you have cheated in my game, I'll never invite you back.  And if the rest of the table insists, I will just walk away from the game all together.  I've done it in the past and do not see myself changing in the future.
     
    If a player distrusts me enough that they cannot trust me to roll a set of dice or run a game even evenhandedly, then they don't trust me.  Since they don't trust me, why are they in my game?  I am up front in the kind of games I run and what the intended feel and rule restrictions the game will have.  You have a choice, play or sit this one out.   If not enough players like what I have planned, I am more than glad to be a player instead.  If no one else is ready to run I have no problem building a different adventure.  
     
    But an RPG game is a game not a forced participation with guards. 
    You don't like the way I run, don't play.  It really isn't going to darken my world.
     
    I love to create stories that allow the players to solve mysteries, resolve ancient curses and be heroic.  If you know the answer from the beginning it is not a mystery. 
    I tend to use die rolls for NPC decisions, will they A or will they B.
    I have loose event flow charts that incorporate some random results such as "how long until the Thieves Guild becomes aware of X?" 
    These are secret rolls that can directly impact the entire game and no, I am not going to trash an entire plot line because one player had a crappy GM in the past. I have had hundreds of very crappy players in the last 30 years and I don't treat every player at my table as crap because of that. 
    RPG's are game and you play or run them as a choice for entertainment. 
     
    If you don't like the way I run my games, then don't play them.  I mean seriously why would anyone subject themselves to that?  Playing something they don't like. 
     
    I have a friend that is a seriously good GM, but I do not play in his games and vice versa.  Why?  While we can talk for hours about gaming and have a lot of common beliefs, his games have a lot of PvP intrigue and backstabbing.  He and his players love the White Wolf betray everyone games.  I don't.  I love games that actually have good guys.  But I am straying from point.
     
    Yes, as GM I frequently make hidden rolls especially if the die roll could reveal something that is hidden.  I never put in a threat of obstacle that is beyond the players abilities.  There is always a way.  I tell new players that at the beginning, there will always be a way.  Just because you cant knock it down by force doesn't mean there isn't a way around.  I also do not make people roll for every skill.   Just asking the question is enough for me to reveal a clue, especially one that the PC would know.  The player may not have that knowledge, but the PC they are playing does.
     
    But a player having an issue with me making hidden die rolls in a game that I am running?  That is not my problem, it is theirs. 
    If that means that particular game doesn't happen, well that is life.
  6. Like
    Spence got a reaction from Steve in Is it wrong to power game?   
    Actually they are miles apart.
     
    "Efficient Character Building" is when a player tries to build their character the best they can within the boundaries set by the GM.
     
    "Powergaming" is when the player fully understands the parameters and intent for the game, and yet deliberately circumvents them in a planned and deliberate manner intended to undermine or break that game.
     
    Powergaming has such a bad meaning for so many people because there is no good to it. 
     
     
    Coming up with a more efficient build for your 1 1/2d6 KA blackpowder six shooter for a 1830s historical western game is being "efficient".
     
    Showing up with the 6d6 AP KA gatling gun because "I had the points and they existed!" followed by the standard "I'm being railroaded" whining is not. That is pure "powergaming".
     
    Big, no HUGE difference.
     
     
  7. Like
    Spence got a reaction from Hugh Neilson in Is it wrong to power game?   
    Actually they are miles apart.
     
    "Efficient Character Building" is when a player tries to build their character the best they can within the boundaries set by the GM.
     
    "Powergaming" is when the player fully understands the parameters and intent for the game, and yet deliberately circumvents them in a planned and deliberate manner intended to undermine or break that game.
     
    Powergaming has such a bad meaning for so many people because there is no good to it. 
     
     
    Coming up with a more efficient build for your 1 1/2d6 KA blackpowder six shooter for a 1830s historical western game is being "efficient".
     
    Showing up with the 6d6 AP KA gatling gun because "I had the points and they existed!" followed by the standard "I'm being railroaded" whining is not. That is pure "powergaming".
     
    Big, no HUGE difference.
     
     
  8. Like
    Spence got a reaction from unclevlad in Is it wrong to power game?   
    Actually they are miles apart.
     
    "Efficient Character Building" is when a player tries to build their character the best they can within the boundaries set by the GM.
     
    "Powergaming" is when the player fully understands the parameters and intent for the game, and yet deliberately circumvents them in a planned and deliberate manner intended to undermine or break that game.
     
    Powergaming has such a bad meaning for so many people because there is no good to it. 
     
     
    Coming up with a more efficient build for your 1 1/2d6 KA blackpowder six shooter for a 1830s historical western game is being "efficient".
     
    Showing up with the 6d6 AP KA gatling gun because "I had the points and they existed!" followed by the standard "I'm being railroaded" whining is not. That is pure "powergaming".
     
    Big, no HUGE difference.
     
     
  9. Like
    Spence got a reaction from Christopher R Taylor in End   
    I've never understood the issue.  When I GM, if the player is new to the system, I or another player will help them.  But overall l let my players track their own.
     
    I'll admit I preferred the original 1 END for 5 over the current 1 END for 10.  But tracking END isn't a difficult concept and it was one of the key factors that brought me to Hero in the first place. 
  10. Like
    Spence got a reaction from Christopher R Taylor in Western Hero 6th edition   
    I remember Alpha Flight from back before Marvel stopped producing comics.  I really enjoyed the series.
     
    IIRC they shuttered their doors in the mid 90s.  I've always thought it sad that comics no longer exist.
  11. Haha
    Spence reacted to Tjack in Does anyone use hidden die rolls?   
    There is also the evil GM reason for hidden die rolls. If your players start getting a little too complacent about things like sneaking into a villain base for example, nothing amps up a players real world paranoia like seeing their GM rolling dice and writing down numbers...
      A little adrenaline does wonders for keeping things moving and people focused.  Asking players to roll dice without telling them why does the job even better.  
      But keep these tactics on reserve for when it’s really needed for optimum effect.
        And yes I am a mean son of a mother.
  12. Like
    Spence reacted to Ninja-Bear in Does anyone use hidden die rolls?   
    Speaking of hidden rolls, my older son ran a short Basic Fantasy Dungeon crawl. And I saw somewhere that back in the day the DM would roll the thief’s skill on the account that you would think you disabled the trap but that may not be the case.  Anyways since I was running a thief I said let’s try it this way. Well it was fun and I even survived falling in the pit trap! 😂 I called that character the bungler instead of burglar. 
  13. Thanks
    Spence got a reaction from Hugh Neilson in Hey "Forum" why so stingy with the Up-Votes?!?   
    Go to your profile and right under the green Community Reputation there is a "see reputation activity" link. 
    You will see your reputation totals.  It won't directly link you to the posts though.
  14. Thanks
    Spence got a reaction from Brian Stanfield in Does anyone use hidden die rolls?   
    Players make their rolls and the GM makes their rolls.
     
    When I GM, if we have new players at the table, either new to roleplaying or new to the game system, then I usually have all rolls made on the table with each person rolling, including myself, explaining the roll and how I, or they, calculated it. 
     
    If I am playing with experienced players or players that have gotten the hang of things, then I only ask the players for the results and as GM I do a lot of hidden rolls.  I run a LOT of games that have mystery/investigative themes which means that there are events/rolls that the players cannot know about if those plots are to be preserved and lead on to the big reveals.  A whodunit is not a whodunit if you read the last page first.
     
    For the die rolls themselves.
     
    If a player is actually cheating as in they are not making a mistake or misunderstood some game mechanic, but are actually rolling one thing and claiming another.   Then why am i bothering to play with them?  I'll be courteous,  but once you have cheated in my game, I'll never invite you back.  And if the rest of the table insists, I will just walk away from the game all together.  I've done it in the past and do not see myself changing in the future.
     
    If a player distrusts me enough that they cannot trust me to roll a set of dice or run a game even evenhandedly, then they don't trust me.  Since they don't trust me, why are they in my game?  I am up front in the kind of games I run and what the intended feel and rule restrictions the game will have.  You have a choice, play or sit this one out.   If not enough players like what I have planned, I am more than glad to be a player instead.  If no one else is ready to run I have no problem building a different adventure.  
     
    But an RPG game is a game not a forced participation with guards. 
    You don't like the way I run, don't play.  It really isn't going to darken my world.
     
    I love to create stories that allow the players to solve mysteries, resolve ancient curses and be heroic.  If you know the answer from the beginning it is not a mystery. 
    I tend to use die rolls for NPC decisions, will they A or will they B.
    I have loose event flow charts that incorporate some random results such as "how long until the Thieves Guild becomes aware of X?" 
    These are secret rolls that can directly impact the entire game and no, I am not going to trash an entire plot line because one player had a crappy GM in the past. I have had hundreds of very crappy players in the last 30 years and I don't treat every player at my table as crap because of that. 
    RPG's are game and you play or run them as a choice for entertainment. 
     
    If you don't like the way I run my games, then don't play them.  I mean seriously why would anyone subject themselves to that?  Playing something they don't like. 
     
    I have a friend that is a seriously good GM, but I do not play in his games and vice versa.  Why?  While we can talk for hours about gaming and have a lot of common beliefs, his games have a lot of PvP intrigue and backstabbing.  He and his players love the White Wolf betray everyone games.  I don't.  I love games that actually have good guys.  But I am straying from point.
     
    Yes, as GM I frequently make hidden rolls especially if the die roll could reveal something that is hidden.  I never put in a threat of obstacle that is beyond the players abilities.  There is always a way.  I tell new players that at the beginning, there will always be a way.  Just because you cant knock it down by force doesn't mean there isn't a way around.  I also do not make people roll for every skill.   Just asking the question is enough for me to reveal a clue, especially one that the PC would know.  The player may not have that knowledge, but the PC they are playing does.
     
    But a player having an issue with me making hidden die rolls in a game that I am running?  That is not my problem, it is theirs. 
    If that means that particular game doesn't happen, well that is life.
  15. Like
    Spence got a reaction from Lee in Does anyone use hidden die rolls?   
    Players make their rolls and the GM makes their rolls.
     
    When I GM, if we have new players at the table, either new to roleplaying or new to the game system, then I usually have all rolls made on the table with each person rolling, including myself, explaining the roll and how I, or they, calculated it. 
     
    If I am playing with experienced players or players that have gotten the hang of things, then I only ask the players for the results and as GM I do a lot of hidden rolls.  I run a LOT of games that have mystery/investigative themes which means that there are events/rolls that the players cannot know about if those plots are to be preserved and lead on to the big reveals.  A whodunit is not a whodunit if you read the last page first.
     
    For the die rolls themselves.
     
    If a player is actually cheating as in they are not making a mistake or misunderstood some game mechanic, but are actually rolling one thing and claiming another.   Then why am i bothering to play with them?  I'll be courteous,  but once you have cheated in my game, I'll never invite you back.  And if the rest of the table insists, I will just walk away from the game all together.  I've done it in the past and do not see myself changing in the future.
     
    If a player distrusts me enough that they cannot trust me to roll a set of dice or run a game even evenhandedly, then they don't trust me.  Since they don't trust me, why are they in my game?  I am up front in the kind of games I run and what the intended feel and rule restrictions the game will have.  You have a choice, play or sit this one out.   If not enough players like what I have planned, I am more than glad to be a player instead.  If no one else is ready to run I have no problem building a different adventure.  
     
    But an RPG game is a game not a forced participation with guards. 
    You don't like the way I run, don't play.  It really isn't going to darken my world.
     
    I love to create stories that allow the players to solve mysteries, resolve ancient curses and be heroic.  If you know the answer from the beginning it is not a mystery. 
    I tend to use die rolls for NPC decisions, will they A or will they B.
    I have loose event flow charts that incorporate some random results such as "how long until the Thieves Guild becomes aware of X?" 
    These are secret rolls that can directly impact the entire game and no, I am not going to trash an entire plot line because one player had a crappy GM in the past. I have had hundreds of very crappy players in the last 30 years and I don't treat every player at my table as crap because of that. 
    RPG's are game and you play or run them as a choice for entertainment. 
     
    If you don't like the way I run my games, then don't play them.  I mean seriously why would anyone subject themselves to that?  Playing something they don't like. 
     
    I have a friend that is a seriously good GM, but I do not play in his games and vice versa.  Why?  While we can talk for hours about gaming and have a lot of common beliefs, his games have a lot of PvP intrigue and backstabbing.  He and his players love the White Wolf betray everyone games.  I don't.  I love games that actually have good guys.  But I am straying from point.
     
    Yes, as GM I frequently make hidden rolls especially if the die roll could reveal something that is hidden.  I never put in a threat of obstacle that is beyond the players abilities.  There is always a way.  I tell new players that at the beginning, there will always be a way.  Just because you cant knock it down by force doesn't mean there isn't a way around.  I also do not make people roll for every skill.   Just asking the question is enough for me to reveal a clue, especially one that the PC would know.  The player may not have that knowledge, but the PC they are playing does.
     
    But a player having an issue with me making hidden die rolls in a game that I am running?  That is not my problem, it is theirs. 
    If that means that particular game doesn't happen, well that is life.
  16. Thanks
    Spence got a reaction from Ninja-Bear in Hey "Forum" why so stingy with the Up-Votes?!?   
    Go to your profile and right under the green Community Reputation there is a "see reputation activity" link. 
    You will see your reputation totals.  It won't directly link you to the posts though.
  17. Haha
    Spence reacted to Brian Stanfield in Western Hero 6th edition   
    Yosemite Sam? I mean, c'mon, he's the rootin'est, tootin'est, gosh-darn shootin'est . . . .
  18. Like
    Spence got a reaction from Ranxerox in What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it...   
    I've read all the books that are out and am watching the most recent episodes.  So far the TV show has kept the tone and style of the books even with the changes needed for live action.  The TV show is one of the best scifi shows I have seen in the last 20 years.  Great hard scifi that would be a great Traveller setting. 
  19. Like
    Spence reacted to Ranxerox in What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it...   
    I been intrigued by the trailer for Syfy's The Expanse, so I read the first book of series it based on, Leviathan Wakes.  It's a good page turning read and I would recommend it to any fan of science fiction.  The authors (James S.A. Corey is the pen name for team of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) describe it as working man's science fiction.  They have tried to make the book with enough science as to not pull the reader out of engagement with obvious mistakes but if they don't have to explain how something works scientifically, they don't.  This is an approach that worked well for me, and there was only one place in the book that I read something and thought 'that's wrong'.  
     
    I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in the series and to upcoming TV show, though I wish that they were doing it through animation rather than live action.  There are scenes in the book that they are never going to be able get right on the special effects budget of a TV show.  Heck there is stuff that would be hard to get right in a big budget movie.  Still, I'm interested in seeing how they tackle them and hope that it won't be too painful.
  20. Like
    Spence got a reaction from Bozimus in What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it...   
    Monster Hunter Legion (Monster Hunters International)
     
    Heard about this series because of the game adaptation.  Great series, but it escalated too quickly and could have been a 6-7 book series.  I am a fast reader and really hate it when I find a great series and then it writes itself to an ending....
     
    H.E.R.O. - Nightmonger   This makes Kevin Rau's 12th book in the primary storyline. He has two shorter ones that cover side stories.  He started as self published and his writing is getting better.  But the setting and story are well thought out and one of the very few Supers series/book out there that are actually about superHERO's.  You may have to put up with some grammar and dialog issues, but on the whole this is a solid story.   Omega Night (Wearing the Cape)
     
    The other series that actually features superHERO's.  This series is also a good solid read for anyone looking for superHERO storys.
     
  21. Like
    Spence got a reaction from Armory in DC Movies- if at first you don't succeed...   
    I'm pretty sure Marvel comics ended in the late 80s. 
  22. Haha
    Spence reacted to Duke Bushido in Hey "Forum" why so stingy with the Up-Votes?!?   
    I tend to get mine from people who don't like it when I find a trending negativity to be hilariously petty instead of "the right thing to do, dammit!" 
     
     
    Indeed!  Great minds think alike!  
     
    of course, soft minds run together......
     
    We should be careful.   
     
    There was a misquote I heard some years ago that I absolutely love:  "Great minds like a think."
     
    It's right up there with Pinkard and Bowden's "Hey, won't you play another somebody done somebody's song wrong."
     
    Humor that I can really get behind.   
     
     
  23. Haha
    Spence got a reaction from Duke Bushido in Hey "Forum" why so stingy with the Up-Votes?!?   
    Hey, we both have the same number of downvotes   Great minds must think alike
     
    Mine all come from the same person, from what I can tell is was mostly from pettiness.  For amusement I started to return the favor but then forgot about it. 
  24. Like
    Spence reacted to Scott Ruggels in DC Movies- if at first you don't succeed...   
    interesting essay on the problems with Snyder’s interpretation of The DC Superheroes. 
     
    https://arkhavencomics.com/2020/12/30/the-superheroic-virtues-prudence/
     
     
    Wonder Woman 1984 was overlong, self-indulgent, boring and crushed under the burden of its caricatures of 1980’s MEN.  However, its biggest problem was handed to it three or four movies ago, when Diana told Bruce Wayne that after she had lost the love of her life, she had withdrawn from the world, apparently for 100 years. 
    Snyder turned Diana Prince from Wonder Woman into the Dread Ayesha waiting thousands of years for her one true love to be reincarnated.  He never had any kind of handle on the character.  This is about as bad as Padme “dying of sadness” because Anakin had turned to the Dark Side (admittedly, Lucas is pretty autistic in his own right). 
    Simply put, Wonder Woman wouldn’t do that.  She is the embodiment of too many of the heroic virtues of…
    Prudence: the ability to always discern which is the path, that is right to take.  Whether or not it will be the easiest is immaterial it is the Right thing or it isn’t. 
    Temperance: the practice of self-control and moderation.  Self-restraint in all things from extremes in emotions to extremes in pride and grief.  This is critically important in those that have great power.
    Justice:  Having a strong sense of fairness.
    Courage: The strength to carry out the other virtues.  To able to confront fear, uncertainty and extreme opposition.  To follow those virtues regardless of the painful burdens of personal sacrifice they will entail.   The strength to keep going when all hope is lost.
     
     
  25. Like
    Spence got a reaction from Scott Ruggels in DC Movies- if at first you don't succeed...   
    I didn't mean to imply anything.  
    I really was surprised by her being "famous" because I didn't recognize her at all.  Once I googled her name I realized she was in Ghostbusters. 
    All I remember from that was it being boring with a lot of cussing that was supposed to be funny, but I couldn't name the cast without looking it up.   
     
    But you are right that so far the cast is doing well and definitely better than I could do.  But so far the movie has been just dragging and I have yet to work up the interest needed to go back and finish it.
×
×
  • Create New...