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| Thread: Tabletop games: DnD, WoD, GURPS, etc | |
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DagothGares
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posted July 11, 2013 12:07 AM |
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Tabletop games: DnD, WoD, GURPS, etc
There's a topic about this from like 8 years ago, but that devolved into someone explaining what DnD was, so I'd thought I'd make a new one. So:
(The link is a pretty graphic cartoon image. Click at own risk.)
Yes, members I am down with the devil. I roll the dice as a crazy dungeon master and have been doing so about 3 years, but I'm still not that good at it. I have been running two different groups for about a year, now (one in RL, one through TS.) And I love tabletop roleplaying games so much, I decided I would open a topic on it. I started out with 4th edition, because back in the day, you could get most information about that on a free "trial" and it was also the easiest DnD system, to my knowledge.
Then I went with 3.5/ Pathfinder, because a friend of mine wanted me along to play in a session of Pathfinder. Then the DM cancelled because he broke up with one of the would-be players (I didn't know any of these people, except my friend.) And then I was asked to take up the mantle by my friend (because he played 4th E with me and he thought I did the job competently) and so I became a crappy Pathfinder DM two years ago. Even today I'm still learning small rules about 3.x DnD, but you know, in the end it all revolves around the interesting stories you can tell about the games you had, rather than, say, complete mastery over the rules and finer points of the game.
So I cordially invite anyone to share experiences over the gaming table or experience of different systems. I am going to play a vampire: the masquerade game this month, as a player. I know there are people here who like WoD, so if they've actually played a VtM or VtR game, please share. I suspect it's gonna be hilarious.
Also, some of the best tabletop stories (if there are any good ones) are the ones where players died. I have been called a killer DM on some occasions, but I've only downed three Player Characters in the three to four years that I've hosted tabletop games (A reasonable number!).
PC #1 was a wizard who sniffed around a wizard's tower, accidentally summoned a demon and got killed by it. His friends managed to drive the creature too late, but it was too late. This happened on my 5th session or so. I barely had any idea of what I was doing.
PC #2 was a rogue who didn't inform the party he was going to scout around their camp site in search of any possible dangers. The players were informed the area was rife with goblins and had several goblin camps nearby. Upon seeing an encampment he tried to climb up a tree to get a better view. He fell down. He tried two more times and on his third attempt he fell down hard and was unconscious, about an hour's walk away from the rest of the party. He was found by goblins who gave him a chance for freedom, but failed and got himself stabbed and eaten afterwards, his friends not knowing of his fate. Happened a year ago.
PC #3 was in a foreign city, trying to sneak in a place he wasn't allowed to be and tried to steal the uniforms of some strange men clad in black who seemed to be able to enter that place freely. Asking around revealed they were agents of "the inquisition" in the city. Sadly enough he'd been following them and saying weird things to them, before he found out. He got surrounded by them in an alley, got away, but turned himself in later (God knows why) (I suspect he thought he'd get away or he was daring me to do something or he thought he'd get more answers) and lost his hand in the interrogation process (Not one of my proudest moments) and was sent away to a prison camp, effectively taking the character out of the game.
I have also been made to impersonate a wolf and a horse (one of my prouder moments), because the druid always had his "talk to animals" spell prepared and demanded information from animals.
Anyway, guys, I'd be happy to hear from other people who play or have played tabletop games.
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If you have any more questions, go to Dagoth Cares.
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mvassilev
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Undefeatable Hero
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posted July 11, 2013 12:43 AM |
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I recently finished a 3.5 campaign playing as a human fighter named Fat Pinocchio.
- We started out as guards for a small caravan fleeing a war. In it were several families from the same village, among them a family consisting of Steven Stevenson (a librarian), his wife Maggie, and his son Bo. When the campaign began, Bo was immediately kidnapped by goblins. When we found him, he was possessed by an ancient priest's amulet. For some reason, our party didn't think of removing the amulet, so we just killed little Bo. When we got back to camp, we told his parents and they were extremely upset. Then our rogue rolls for diplomacy, and has something like a +12 bonus. She said something, and in one moment Steven Stevenson went from inconsolable wailing to flatly saying, "Oh, it sucks that that happened to Bo. Thanks for trying. Good job."
- We were visiting a large city, and for some reason Maggie Stevenson went to check out the local apocalyptic priests' tent. We found her dead outside, with Steven Stevenson wailing over her. One of our party members had the bright idea of drugging him with a flower we found (which, as we found out later, gave him permanent brain damage, but at least calmed him down). After we realized what we had done, our party decided to make the best of things by asking a local impoverished woman and her young son to come with us and pretend to be Maggie and Bo Stevenson, in exchange for food and being treated like family. When Steven Stevenson (whom we had taken to the inn) regained some level of conscious thinking (though he'd never recover his full faculties), we introduced him to "Maggie" and "Bo". "Steven, don't you remember?" I asked him, "These are your wife and child, Maggie and Bo. If you don't remember, it's because of the magical explosion, which you probably can't remember either." He was brain-damaged, so bluffing him wasn't a challenge. And so Steven Stevenson had a family again.
- The final quest involved defeating a bandit army leader who wore a Teletubby costume.
We had a really good DM. I could (and probably will) tell more stories about this highly entertaining campaign.
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Eccentric Opinion
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DagothGares
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Undefeatable Hero
No gods or kings
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posted July 11, 2013 05:18 PM |
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Relevant image to +12 diplomacy. DnD has weird rules sometimes. I try to avoid "You have a good bonus and rolled a 15, well, now you know EVERYTHING. Or: NOW HE LOVES YOU FOREVER." I prefer making it more like: "He collects himself for a moment and tells you the relevant information and then seems like he's about to be weep inconsolably again. I like to think I run campaigns with some seriousness in it. Maybe that's the mark of a bad DM. 
That conflicts with the players sometimes. Some players go in, expecting something mostly comedic and being the easy heroes and having Big Damn Heroes moments and of course, I try to cater to them, but I'm of the belief that those moments only feel big in contrast to something bleak. Conversely, I don't feature that much magic, except as outliers, weirdoes, excentrics, vicious snows and the like, because making wizards commonplace (and making it out as if everyone could become a wizard by buckling down and studying) entirely devaluates and demystifies magic. Same deal with dragons and orcs. When you fight twice your number of adult orcs that are armed, you're going to have a rough time. If you meet a dragon, you're going to have to find a way to impair his flight or fight him in his cave or you'll die to aerial bombardment. I don't kill them (try not to), but pulling punches and just giving them token challenges isn't that engaging. I try to make them think and give them choices or make them look for creative solutions.
This has mixed results and sometimes I just made terrible encounters (10 orcs attack you! You only have a tiny bit of cover), but hey, I try.
Obviously, when one of the player characters is like: "I go to the most prestigious clothing store to be dressed in the latest fashion of the nobility here." I improvise an entire store in the merchant district, complete with excentric shop keeper and terribly tasteless, gaudy and expensive clothing (to you barbarians! These are the finest silks in all the land! That'll be 200 Gold Pieces.)
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If you have any more questions, go to Dagoth Cares.
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JoonasTo
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What if Elvin was female?
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posted July 11, 2013 05:35 PM |
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Edited by JoonasTo at 17:36, 11 Jul 2013.
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Sounds like I should come over to your place for your RPing to get some magnificent dead ones with my exceptional finnish luck!
I only play board games with social or strategic elements and even them rarely.
Having friends mostly far away from you has a tendency to do that.
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DagothGares
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Undefeatable Hero
No gods or kings
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posted July 11, 2013 05:47 PM |
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DnD wizards don't have to roll snow! They're like: "I cast magic missile..." and it hits!
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If you have any more questions, go to Dagoth Cares.
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JoonasTo
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What if Elvin was female?
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posted July 11, 2013 05:49 PM |
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That's why everyone takes dem missiles. And Isaac storms 
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