Scott Ruggels

Read the Jaggiri Thread to get an idea of how I put things together (Blast from the Past Part Two, in the FH Sub-genre). But I was a little disappointed that the players voted to do the Near future thing, as that was one of three campaigns I proposed, So I have to work on that and I have a lot of id3as. Technically they "ARE" atomic rockets as they are using Helium 3 to keep their engines thrusting all the time at 1G or less. for manned ships to get anywhere in the solar system in any reasonable time and without the crew deconditioning into noodle armed invalids due to prolongues Zero G Exposure. So it became an interesting mental excercise, though as I said before writing out all the background materials is slow, and comes after my paying artwork.

You are absolutely right. HERO by it's very structure only supports Hard and Rational magic systems. it takes GMs Vast amount of work to create that "sensawunda" necessary for soft magic to seem unlike GM Fiat, especially for this system. It's mostly why I tended to run low to no magic Fantasy. As a player, I never ran casters, because I am still math-tarded, and just run straightforward characters with just stats and a list of skills (and levels).

No set ending date for me. But I have my preferences for late classic period, Age of exploration/ Empires. or depending on the GM< Modern Urban Fantasy. Typical Medieval Feudalism iass getting a bit old and dry for me, but I have to grin and bear it, as that is what is being run by most gamers, so.....

This is quite possibly true. ooking at my own Bookshelf, The only adventurews I have, I recieved as Comp Copies of projects I had illustrations in. The rest are various editions of the core rules, Genre books and things like Spell Grimoires and Equipment and monster books. I had my own homebrew campaign worlds and such, and still prefer homebrew backgrounds so The Old Folks here are probably not going to be buying adventures. This is not to say not to produce adventure books. The younger players, especially coming from the WOTC or Paizo games grew up on produced adventures, of various and that is probably what needs to be made, for the younger generations.

Except, like Zslane, I run the game as a Sandbox, rather than a linear progression, usually I do play a "Dice Don't Lie" style, but I do on occasion, fudge. "Retconning a mistake, after the fact has cratered my campaigns in the past so I am loathe to do that and am more sensitive to the room than I was.

It's Steam Punk, but with magic and D&D creatures, and Industrial magic, and "air ships", with floating hulls and sails. Steampunk for me is a turn off, because I do like Victorian Steam. I do not like uneducated, style over substance, Pseudo-victorian steam. Awwww man, I love maps. But I do get your point. However seafaring maps, and Roman Ground maps were different things and Roman Maps, like what the PCs would get a hold of, would look like the London Tube poster or map with lines and vague directions and "times" to various stops on the road.

Look up Greek Fire sometime. It is what the Byzantines used to flame Muslim ships. It may be an early form of Napthalene, and original Napalm, was NApthalene and PALM oil as a thickener. Gasoline though was more plentiful and economical.

I can, but not always do. Sometimes I let the TPK Or equivalent happen, some times I dont, but it depends on reading the room YMMV. But yes I agree that limits breed creativity.

The Tabletop Simulator module is in playtest. https://youtu.be/UJcEtNXG2n4

Hard science. Basically the solar system Gold Rush, after Elon Musk establishes the Mars Colony, and the Moon is the last exit before the deep black. no aliens, no FTL, but a bit lawless.

Lynard Skynard's "Freebird".

FYI: Diesel Punk is late 20's through WW2, atomic Punk or atomic age is from the end of WW2 until 1970. ect.

THIS!!! THIS!!! SO MUCH THIS!!!! I am Out of Trophies, so THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

To a point. As a GM I do not tell the players where to go, or what to look at. I may be forced to quickly fill in NPCs and backdrops for places I had not foreseen the characters to go. But the die rolls are the die rolls in front of the screen.

Oh, I am not at all against climbing the tech tree in fantasy at all. In fact I wanted to run a "Early Nation states colonizing a distant continent." which would be 17th Century, or so, with plusses and minuses due to magic, but with Firearms, massed tactics, and printing presses. The players, however wanted something else, and opted for a near future solar system game, which I am finding hard to write.

oh, man... Where do I start? Mythic or Fairy tale Cosmology. Said on the other thread. not a fan of Geocentric flat earths on the backs of turtles going all the way down, and "breathable space". Eberron. Nope. related: I dislike steam punk because it all ways devolves into goggles,, and gears on hats, and two gun feminism. It's about as related to anything Victorian, as Star Wars is to NASA Illiterate does not mean stupid. Peasants had to know the land, the seasons and the growing cycles , and how to make and repair their tools (outside of blacksmithing), and manage their animals. Unsuccessful peasants starved to death or became wards of their smarter relatives. Barbarians aren't stupid, they just have different priorities. I could go on, but I will keep this one short.

It is cooperative in the sense, we all want to have fun at the table. But which side of the GM's screen a person is sitting determines the final authority about control of the narrative, or in my case, situation. Players do not get a veto on GM dice rolls.

As it should be. Playing 5e on Role Playing it took us about a year to find a stable player group, after kicking all the spoilers, asshats, and control freaks out of the group, usually after three sessions a piece. The GM (not me) had the patience of a saint, but We have a good, stable group.

Okay... I think here we have the point of diametrical opposition. I , as a GM, am not here to present a story, but as to present a world, and a situation, even tactical problem, for my players to solve. I present puzzles, moral quandries, travelogue, and character interaction, as well as combat, for players to inhabit characters in that world to interact with and adress the situation presented in character. A story is what the players tell afterwards, as in, "No shit, there I was, thought I was gonna die!" They are just dicks. You do run into them, especially if you run open tables at public events or conventions. As a GM you have to take a firm hand and nip that in the bud. As for your "home" tables, you need to be able to trust your players, which is why most game groups add in new players sparingly if, at all, because Roleplay at its core depends on trust, so that people can be open with their performances. I make it clear at the start, the party, or group has to be a team, so no asshole loners or Chaotic Evils in the party. You may be right, in that I am concentrating on my character, his perceptions of the world presented around him, and his relationships with the other party members. I am not there to ruin the other player's fun, but if I as a player see railroad tracks, I am stepping off at the next station. I do not know what triggered the rant, but I am sorry for your poor experiences. I do think we need to get the thread back on track for the discussion, here, but I can see where the split lies.

Back from the con, and not having to type on an iPhone. Having an adventure or plan come down to one roll may be dramatic, but it's not very smart, In the provided scenario of it all depending on Hawkeye-expy to make a clutch shot at the buzzer, to take down Mechanon is poor planning on the heroes part. You have a table full of heroes who can do something. Never every make a plan that is dependent on one die roll for a win. Mechanon usually needs a whole team to beat on him to take him down, and that needs the active cooperation and participation of most if not all of the characters present. Everyone should get a chance to deliver that finishing blow, not just The Hawkeye expy, who could blow his roll. What's the fallback plan, then? There had better be one. The difference between HAP, and Fudging the rolls is that the HAPs are player controlled, and the Fudged die rolls or poor but internally consistent decisions by the villains are secret from the players, and so the emotional tension is not diffused for the players, and the perception of the stakes is not changed. The GM is basically stage managing things for the players to move through the situation presented, to provide a fun experience, and for me the fun is keeping the players players, and NOT having them make authorial decisions outside of their roles are active participants in trying to solve the situation I have presented to them.

Who says Batman doesn’t wear armor? Also comics and films and their respective audiences are different animals.

And that is a smart way to handle it. The dice come out if there is a chance for failure. The skill roll can be more of an indicator of that character’s ability to perform a task. It would only have to be rolled or under stress, or if contested, or if the player insists. I may toss a single D6 to determine the quality of the results behind the screen, assuming a success but how good of a success.

Thank you for making my point. Role playing is playing a role. The quality of that role is dependent upon the skill and the depth the player puts into it. Certainly the background and the intended tone of the campaign influences, but it’s ultimately the player’s creation. Bingo!

That’s fine! That’s what they were built for. It may be in the citation of Steve Peterson above is apt in that Champions was built as an anathema tonlinear narrative structure.

I have known of GMs that do not allow NPCs to push.