How's your game prep going?
>>97983105The Florida men were the police all along. They just want the dungeon to themselves.
>>97983105I want to believe this is real.
>>97983105I want to incorporate character's backgrounds more into the game, but one player is playing a hacker and I'm absolutely inep about anything to do with programing and I'm trying to bullshit my way into sounding like I know how computers actually work.
It sucks. Im trying to make an abandoned dwarven abjurer stronghold infested by grells, constructs, and drow elite on a recovery mission for stolen artifacts, as well as cool magic glyph trap puzzles, but it's hard to do and it's gonna require so much creative output to come up with new one-use magic items that have some downside to them, stuff to give the PCs a boost. I printed special graph paper and divided it into sections so that each is the size of my fold out battlemat, so that each dungeon section can fit somewhat cleanly onto the map as they explore it. I've made dungeons even bigger than this before but that was long ago when I still had new ideas. I appreciate any suggestions.
The paper in question. I could just sue different sheets of normal graph paper but I like seeing the whole thing. This means I can't draw the rune floor trap puzzles right on there but I can shade the area and number it and draw it out on the key and maybe that'll work fine.
>>97983211If he's Jewish it might be
>>97983228Is this Shadowrun? The easiest way to make a Hacker feel special is if you get an E-Ghost or AI stalking them. Make it cute or cool. Eventually it can offer them a secret mission with a cool payoff.
>>97983105I haven't done game prep in soon to be three monthsIt's GURPS so it takes the players four sessions to clear a small dungeon
>>97983105>preppinglmao do people still do this?
>>97983328No, WoD. Since it happens in the "real world" I can only babble "eeeh, a techno wizard is messing with your stuff, you see"
>>97983630Prep can be as complex as designing an entire conspiracy to as simple as populating a dungeon.
>>97983630My prep is writing the game mechanics.
>>97983630even creating new tables with random encounters to introduce a new biome is considered prep
Most of it is notes from what characters did, who they know, and the contingent outcomes from last session. A little bit of exposition. A big block of announcement text that the players will recieve in one of the documents. I have a document with NPCs that are/can be recurring. Stat blocks are stat block cards in a PDF.Most of my prep, honestly, is coming up with youtube music playlists for the session and perusing image sites for inspiration images.
>>97983228>but one player is playing a hacker and I'm absolutely inep about anything to do with programing and I'm trying to bullshit my way into sounding like I know how computers actually work.just do some 90s hackerman stuff like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msX4oAXpvUE if they have any sense of humor or enjoy having fun they'll probably roll with it.
I made two dungeons and a handful of NPCs four weeks ago and my players are only half way through that prep. Easy cheesy.
>>97983283Gonna need system/edition and approximate power level if you want ideas. Abjuration I can work with.
>>97983211florida arrests are public record you can go look it up right now if you want
>>97983630he lives in a hurricane zone yes you prep for societal breakdown when its guaranteed at least once every few years, only a fool doesn't have supplies for a few months built up down heroh you mean preparing for a session
>>97983105What was he gonna use for monsters?>Capture some stray dogs>Dig up and transport a wasp's nest>Allow homeless people to camp out in your tunnel and take drugs>Trick your friends into entering the basement>Lock them in>The only way out is through "The Gauntlet"
>>97983105>lots and lots of creativity brewing for my various project>3 campaigns on standstill with players waiting>Can't engage with any of that because of a sudden combination of like 2 massive shitstorms at work that have been eating up 80% of my waking time and cognitive resources for the last 2,5 weeks and keep me stressed as fuckSuffering
>>97983630Fags still can't think ahead?Still playing baby's first rpg?Play something other than D&D and get back to us.
>>97983630my prep is trying to remember what happened last session
>>97983105The charges officer?
>>97987622Trespassing
I've got a fun scenario that I want to use, but my party is potentially months away from getting to use it:>party checks out a bazaar in a port town and finds a shady-looking guy who sells magic items>shady guy notes they party has an eye for quality and asks them if they'd be interested in a map he bought off an old pirate>map leads to an out of the way, unsettled island>players follow the instructions on the map, solving puzzles or avoiding traps, make their way to the place where the X is marked on the map>they're ambushed by a mimic, who had been brought there by the shady man to kill adventurers so that he could retrieve their weapons to sell in the bazaar
>>97986540kino
>>97987622Accessing the Underdark without a charter from the King.
>>97987561Your pals know how hellish work can be, at least you’re not doing the slimiest excuse for calling off a session,>Sorry guys, I’m just not feeling it tonight
>>97987971>ScandalousDon't mess with the underdark. Best case scenario, you kill a flumpf out of shock when you see them approaching and start a war, worst case, your brain gets eaten.
>>97987622He didn't try not playing D&D.
>>97986164If you're still here, it's 5e DnD (cause honestly it's one of the easiest DND systems to homebrew for) and they're level 7.
>>97983283For single-use magic items, potions can be a good one. You could draw some inspiration from PF2e's mutagens, which are special potions that give you some kind of benefit with some kind of drawback, like +2 Strength but -2 Charisma for 1 minute.Feel free to take this entirely: I had an idea for a magical eye (literally the organ) that could be invested/attuned/connected/whatever your system calls it, replacing one of the character's normal eyes but pushing that eye harmlessly into their skull, so they don't lose it. You can spend a turn/action/etc. to activate it and see through illusions/shapeshifters for a limited time, like 1 minute, 10 minutes, 1 day, whatever you think fits. After it's activated, it falls out of the person's eye socket and dissolves. The person is then partially blinded for the next 1d10 days as their regular eye readjusts, maybe making enemies concealed from them, or giving them disadvantage on Perception rolls and search checks relying on sight, something like that. Fit it to your system and go wild.
>>97983105no games running, prep for me is usually;1.) the paragraph of whats "supposed" to happen or get accomplished1a.) this includes approximate rewards and a selection of specific loot based on accomplishment2.) making sure I have a charge in my laptop or a good notebook to record what actually happens so I can log it and adjust.3.) picking up my players (cause none of them have a car)3a.) picking up anything the missus wants me too since she sees to the snacks.
this is my 10th year running games and I'm having an existential crisis because I've realized every TTRPG is basically identical>there's a dangerous place>go in it and fight some evil stuff>move on to an even more dangerous placeI want to run a campaign about steampunk corporate boardroom drama, or leading a resistance cell in occupied !notFrance, but my players just want to blast gremlins with spells and die to traps
>>97983105It's fine, I haven't really started but in My head I know what's in the dungeon they want to go to and what's in the city they'll spend some time in. Just gotta write it out and build the Talespire map.>>97984200I'm curious, what is the announcement? What image sites do you use?>>97986117Ha, last session My guys only got part way through (but very close to the end of) the dungeon too.>>97987877>potentially months away from getting to use itWhy's that?>>97991483Time to write your own system. Get to work nigga.
>>97991577>Time to write your own systemit's funny that you say that, because I have tried to stray from the formula beforeI ran a cyberpunk detective campaign in the style of Chinatown, where a tangled narcotic conspiracy actually had an extremely simple root cause. but my players never tugged on a single thread of evidence despite being police officers. They would discover forged shipping manifests and barrels full of sci-fi heroin tied to bankrupt pharmaceutical firms, but then they just sold the sci-fi heroin on the street for money to buy better gear.
>>97991483do you have an open table? having the same people meet every game is the mistake
>>97991483Honestly? Both of those scensrios are probably better handled by a boardgame with dueling progress and threat tracks.The Roleplaying game genre has it's legs in dungeon crawls, and in any case, broadly speaking, nosr adventure stories involve exactly what you describe; some people go somewhere dangerous and do some difricult shit.Why? Because that's the archetype of adventure itself.
>>97991617>my players were police officers>they just sold the sci-fi heroin on the street for money to buy better gearFucking classic lmfao
>>97991617>my players never tugged on a single thread of evidence despite being police officers10/10 realistic roleplay.
>>97991617S-Tier players IMO. That's how you're "meant" to do it as a sci-fi cop.>>97991483Probably time to run something like Shadowrun for your players, that way they can still blast gremlins and die in traps but they also need to suck n' fuck (formerly Sneed's) corporate princes and enjoy the visceral pleasure of Food Fight!And if you do that, for the love of god give them an iPhone with an AI on it. You do not want to teach first-timers how to handle hacking.
>>97991577>Why's that?We only get one game a month if we're lucky, and this would be along one of the branches that will be offered to the players once they've finished up the current part of the adventure.
Do you guys prefer physical in-person games or online games?Ever since Covid no one around me plays in-person games anymore
>>97994074I've trained myself on text-based roleplay for so long and so thoroughly that I don't think I could or want to do voice-based roleplay. I earned my spurs on the NationStates roleplaying forums and eventually moved onto Myth-Weavers and, now, Discord. I'm very comfortable talking with people both in-person and online, so this isn't some issue with autism, but it definitely feels "silly" to put on a character voice instead of, y'know, writing what the character says and how he says it.Also, most of my campaigns are sex-pest adventures where the PCs are fucking, and you can't exactly do ERP over voice.
>>97983211It's Florida. Very likely it is.
>>97991483>I want to run a campaign about steampunk corporate boardroom drama, or leading a resistance cell in occupied !notFranceBoth unironically sound like GURPS fodder
>>97994097>we can't do voice because i cant have the sound of grow men fapping and grunting while trying to erp
>>97994190Literally yes. That's why we do text.
>>97994074Online. I feel like I get better groups with people more dedicated to showing up regularly. Plus, I don't like smelling nerds at my LGS.
>>97994065Ah, I see. Bummer dude.>>97994074In person brutally mogs but I haven't gotten to play that way for a few years now because we all moved.
>>97991407I really like that idea anon. Thank you for finishing one of the rooms for me
>>97994528No problem bro, glad I could help.Also forgot to specify, the eye (as I've written it but of course do whatever you want to fit your game) only dissolves after the illusion seeing effect expires, otherwise I think the penalty to sight-based rolls would probably nearly cancel out the ability to see through illusions. That's probably implied but just in case I thought I'd mention it anyway.
>>97991617>They would discover forged shipping manifests and barrels full of sci-fi heroin tied to bankrupt pharmaceutical firms, but then they just sold the sci-fi heroin on the street for money to buy better gear.Very cyberpunk
>>97994074In person is better, by far. I get to see and hang out with my friends, share junk food, consume intoxicants, and have entertaining side conversations without being forced to type for 6-8 hours. Also I get to constantly derail the session by cracking terrible inside jokes and getting into autistic arguments over how the spell Fog Cloud works with just one person, out of the several people sitting at the table (or whatever the autistic derailing topic of the week is). It's not even close to the same, online. No one can talk over one another, you're always having to stop and apologize to allow someone else to speak, you can't read body language so you never know when someone is nervous or isn't having a good time, people are always getting up and walking away from the computer because their priorities at home are different than when they travel to meet at someone else's house, microphone quality and connection is a diceroll. Online has it's charms like higher fidelity maps in VTTs and easier access to Audio Visual effects, but almost none of the innate strengths of online are not reproducible on a tabletop without a little bit more effort. No contest. It's Friday night LAN pizza party from back when you were a teenager, in person. It's a work meeting with an interesting subject, online. Not even close.
>>97983105I'm supposed to get a one-shot rolling and I keep scrapping what I have and starting over. Nothing seems good enough.
>>97991483>want to run a campaign about steampunk corporate boardroom drama, or leading a resistance cell in occupied !notFrancewait until you realie those will also boil down to "go to dangerous place, kill bad guys, move on"
>>97996630If you want, wanna openly brainstorm Anon? Maybe I could help ya out.
>>97996630Yeah, what's the system? If you want an excellent example of a one-shot, check out Food Fight!
>>97996977>>97997111Thanks guys. Here's the lowdown. >D6 system>Custom setting, sci-fi, sort of between StarCraft and Firefly. >PCs were passengers on a "sleeper service" ship,.cryofrozen for an interstellar flight >PCs wake up to find they've crashed on a desert planet. Nearest settlement is many kilometres away.>Either nobody's coming, or pirates will be first on scene. No choice but to scavenge the wreck and try and walk to the nearest town. >Pirates, alien wildlife, abandoned terra forming equipment, maybe a Moria-like detour through a mine.
>>97997139>Pirates, alien wildlife, abandoned terra forming equipment, maybe a Moria-like detour through a mine.You listed StarCraft and Firefly, that makes it easy. Don't look at it as some sort of strange, alien wilderness. It's the Wild West, and their wagon broke down. This means they're haunted by freaky alien space coyotes, maybe somebody gets bitten by a space snake which raises the stakes of getting away from the space coyotes. Have a brief and intense need to seek water, and if you're feeling ambitious the cave they settle into during a shard storm (the sand is really sharp, okay) is occupied by a space bear.Grand finale is a gruff pirate captain and his hideous posse of like, two goons.. Maybe they're standing just outside the cave, nice framing there with dusters and hats. They've got space bikes and a speeder car. They commend the group's gumption, but announce they're here to take 'em "somewhere a bit more comfortable." Big smile, shows off gold teeth. Either they talk them down, kill them, take the offer or whatever. Either way, they're dead, "captured" (which can lead to more plot) or have just killed a captain and taken their shit (which means they could also take his ship.)
>>97997179You know - I definitely have been overcomplicating this. All I need to do is take your framework, scatter some Western gins and loot (with sci fi keywords sprinkled on them) and I'm good to go. I'm definitely gonna have Kaprosuchus "coyotes" as a particular encounter. Thanks, anon. You're a gem.
>>97997292>You know - I definitely have been overcomplicating thisThe deadliest poison that infects every GM is the thought to make something more complicated than it needs to be. I've done it many times as well. Have a great game, anon.
>>97996977>>97997111There are heroes left in man.
