Tabletop RPG |OT| I cast a spell

[dragonchild]

I heard about this the other day. Damn, really sucks - with the recent White Wolf scandals and now D&D facing issues it shows that the tabletop hobby has just as many issues to contend with as other parts of nerd culture.

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Nerd culture has seldom come off as progressive for well-deserved reasons, but I think it's relevant to point out that these scandals are simultaneously coming to light in churches, sports franchises, academia, Hollywood, and politics. Massive, mainstream establishments all. I think we're well past the point that we can declare this a ubiquitous, endemic problem. That's not to take any responsibility off the gaming community -- old-school gamers like me have long known the TTRPG community has had chronic issues with sexism -- but I think getting insular about the problem has prevented us from seeing the forest for the trees. "Nerd culture is sexist" is a serious issue but it feels limited in scale, seems manageable with incremental improvements, but if it was that easy why's it taking so long. I sense it's because we're all thinking small about a VERY big problem, like cleaning up a local beach when it's the ocean itself that's polluted.

We're now going through a cultural shift signaling that the way we handled these issues in the past -- by ignoring them -- is no longer acceptable. So far from being an exoneration-by-association for the TTRPG community, it's a crossroads. Some factions have decided that abuse is A-OK. Others are going through a purge of sorts. So FWIW I'm not saying, well it's everywhere, so gamers don't have to do anything in particular. To the contrary, if tabletop gamers -- or nerds in general -- want to join the rest of society in the 21st century, they'll want to jump on the #MeToo bandwagon. Because I think this community (overall) is too small to make a significant difference, even with the best of intentions.

The reason I'm saying all this is because by an amazing coincidence, this isn't the first Zach Smith abuse story I've seen recently.
http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...nt-zach-smith-clarifies-details-police-report
Ohio State's football coach also had a Zach Smith that was abusive. They knew he was abusive, and they protected him. Eventually they were forced to fire him, which was easy because he was bad at his job, but unfortunately, the program otherwise suffered no discipline . Smith wasn't charged. Urban Meyer (Smith's boss) was untouchable in Ohio, but more disturbingly, barely anyone tried to touch him.
What this tells me is that the anti-abuse movement (FFS we need a movement to end abuse, don't we) is still too fragmented relative to the problem. Those of us on the same side all have a common enemy, but each institution is still dealing with the same problem in their own ways, and this is resulting in losses I feel can be avoided. Because to me, there is no flippin' difference between Zak Smith and Zach Smith, and I don't mean the similarity in names, yet one of them has already been swept under the rug as an aberration.

I probably sound crazy (if it looks, acts, and rambles like a crazy guy. . .) but if this is allowed to be handled "in house" and not part of a larger problem, I get the sinking feeling WotC will do the same, cut loose one guy to save face, and nothing will change.

 

[absolutbro]

As far as I'm concerned, if Mearls backed that piece of shit, Mearls can get fucked. He should resign and let someone that's not a piece of shit take the reigns.

I also realize that I've been super fortunate in the groups with which I have played. My groups have usually been very open and seeing things like "D&D is for girls" gets a head scratching "well no shit, it always has been" for me. This goes back to elementary school for me, playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and other Strangeness every day at lunch. More and more I realize how lucky I have been, and my experience has not been the norm. Which sort of breaks my heart.

 

[MrLuchador]

I'm new to this hobby, really new. I only started playing towards the back end of 2016. If I knew what I knew now, I'd have probably avoided it knowing it was full of influential people that seemingly protected arseholes.

absolutbro Yeah, even though I'm new to this its always been a game for everyone. I've always had an open table whenever I've DM'd, with the only people I've turned away are people I've had to speak to privately three or four times about their behaviour at the table. I've just let one person back in that I've not allowed to play for 6 months as they've said they want to improve their behaviour and show that they've changed - so we'll see how that goes.

The real eye opener for me that this hobby has a lot of people who sexualise and objectify women was when I was browsing for minis on Kickstarter. So many sleazy looking designs getting funded heavily - do people actually USE those? I mean, do people REALLY run games and use minis where female elves are tied up like S&M dungeons? Really??

I'll admit to being really skeptical about TTRPGs due to the imagery I've always associated with it - nerds in basements drooling over scantly clad everything. For the most part I haven't seen any of this, and I've even started to broaden my range in what I'll read fantasy wise too (some of those covers wtf).

 

[dragonchild]

As far as I'm concerned, if Mearls backed that piece of shit, Mearls can get fucked. He should resign and let someone that's not a piece of shit take the reigns.

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I doubt it'll happen in a vacuum. We're gonna have to come after him. This is where it helps to have more numbers, probably, because I don't know how many in the TTRPG community at large can be counted on to make a fuss over it.

I'm new to this hobby, really new. I only started playing towards the back end of 2016. If I knew what I knew now, I'd have probably avoided it knowing it was full of influential people that seemingly protected arseholes.

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That would've been sad because from what I've seen here, you've been a great addition to the fam.

If there's a point to my nigh-incoherent rambling, though, it's that this problem is darn near everywhere. I like sports but the sports world is a gorram cesspool of institutional sexism. I like music but the music industry is so brazenly abusive it's assumed that any pop tart will grow up a headcase. And then there's my nerdy vices. If I yielded ground everywhere I saw abuse, what would I have left? Again, that's not to diffuse the culpability of the TTRPG community but to say that if we handed these institutions to the assholes*, well. . . maybe that's the problem. They've infiltrated literally everything because old farts like me stood by and allowed it to happen. The hobby has a regrettable history but like so many other things, no inherent evil baked into it -- just a bunch of crazy, creepy uncles that need to be kicked out of families & parties until there's nowhere left to go.

*TBH I should probably count myself as one of them, but recently I'm trying to not be one of them.

 

[MrLuchador]

That would've been sad because from what I've seen here, you've been a great addition to the fam.

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Thanks for that.

I understand what you're saying, there does seem to be a sea change in attitudes and acceptable behaviours across many industries right now. It needs a follow through now, and it seems as though Mike Mearls is being called out on his bullshit 'non apology', which when I've read it again really is weak. Doesn't name the person, degrades the influence they have from 'consultant' to 'playtester', and names WotC rather than 'Mike Mearls'.

A few women streamers and youtube players have spoken recently about the shit they get online from comment sections - all of it the same "this character is annoying". It all seems very familiar to what Marisha had to put up with during Campaign 1 of Critical Role. All of this led to me discovering this 'Old School Renaissance' (OSR) push lately is fronted by a bunch of twatbags that deride women in the hobby, hate 'storytelling' games, and basically want it to be a bunch of neckbeards playing together back in the 80s.

I don't understand this at all, the way someone plays a game, or a character, doesn't suddenly stop the way you play it from being an option. That's what I like about TTRPGs there's so many different settings, systems and styles that things always feel fresh and new. Then I meet new people and they have new ideas, new ways of phrasing or presenting information as a DM/GM. It's wonderful.
I sort of feel sorry for the old guard who perhaps didn't have the resources we have now to learn and grow, and discovered what they knew and accepted by hand-down knowledge within groups and DMs. It's easy to see how they might think that 'this is the way it should be played' if that's all they've ever known and experienced.
The first DM I played under was over 40, and looking back I can see that they probably thought they way they DM'd was the right way as back in their youth that was the way he played or played under. It was very much MONSTER OF THE WEEK with no rhythm or reason. They wanted to destroy the player characters each encounter. Thankfully, they've chilled out a bit now, and have even taken to buying a few guides and pre-written adventures to try and improve, which is great to see.

 

[Brashnir]

The first DM I played under was over 40, and looking back I can see that they probably thought they way they DM'd was the right way as back in their youth that was the way he played or played under. It was very much MONSTER OF THE WEEK with no rhythm or reason. They wanted to destroy the player characters each encounter. Thankfully, they've chilled out a bit now, and have even taken to buying a few guides and pre-written adventures to try and improve, which is great to see.

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First off - apologize for the non-sequiteur response ignoring the other issue at hand. I don't feel like I've read enough to really have an opinion on that one, other than that the abuser guy is a piece of shit and I hope he never gets work in an industry he loves again.


As for the segment I quoted, I'm a DM over 40, and it's crazy to me that it took your DM so long to adjust. Did he have a long layoff and just picked back up with the way he used to run things 25 years later or something? I only ask because my DMing style has changed so much since I learned the game in the 80s and 90s that it's crazy.

I would love to run an old-style meat grinder campaign though - or honestly, I'd prefer to play in one - but nobody at my table does, so it's never going to happen.

 

[Ultron]

All of this led to me discovering this 'Old School Renaissance' (OSR) push lately is fronted by a bunch of twatbags that deride women in the hobby, hate 'storytelling' games, and basically want it to be a bunch of neckbeards playing together back in the 80s.

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Yeah, I'll say I wasn't shocked to hear Zak was more heavily involved in that side of the hobby. I don't think every OSR preferring person is an alt-right misogynist jerk or anything like that, but the percentage there sure seems higher. And it feels like an OSR book is way more likely to have stuff that makes me go "gross" (ugh, Hot Springs Island). I think they even have some interesting ideas for how RPGs can play, even if stuff like "extremely expendable characters" isn't really the kind of game I want to play.

I do appreciate that the RPG genre as a whole, and especially as you get into the indie/story game spaces, feels like a relatively diverse space that is pretty supportive of social justice, inclusivity and diversity. The explosion of people getting into the hobby due to stuff like Critical Role, the Adventure Zone, etc has certainly helped that.

 

[dragonchild]

All of this led to me discovering this 'Old School Renaissance' (OSR) push lately is fronted by a bunch of twatbags that deride women in the hobby, hate 'storytelling' games, and basically want it to be a bunch of neckbeards playing together back in the 80s.

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Goodness gracious, is this why my AD&D2 callback went over like fart cologne?

I don't understand this at all, the way someone plays a game, or a character, doesn't suddenly stop the way you play it from being an option.

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I dunno. If there's a sexist bigot of a player at the table, I doubt he'd be able to compartmentalize those characteristics well enough that it's not an in-campaign problem, even in the highly unlikely case the guy's not causing problems out-of-game as well. On a somewhat less damaging level, I've been frustrated by "Chaotic Neutral" rogues and such undermining everyone else's experience because their idea of fun is to have it at others' expense. I don't think that's what you mean, necessarily, but my point is that players very much influence each other. A bad influence is detrimental to everyone's experience.

The flip side, though, is that good influences also feed off one another. The group I'm in was rather frustrating for the DM when they first banded, because some players were loose cannons with little regard for things like story or character development. But they're overall a nice bunch so I appealed to them to take a more collaborative approach that facilitated things like campaign theme and character arcs, and they've embraced it. The designated loonie is still a loonie and while I can't say he's toned it down, he's found ways to channel his loonieness more productively as comic relief instead of campaign saboteur. But getting back to point, if by OSR you mean powergaming & killboxes then all that would have to be suppressed at any table where the collective experience was priority, to say nothing of a creep like Zak Smith. If he was at my table, I presume we'd have little choice but to kick him out.

Anyway, the immediate problem here sits firmly in reality. I don't care if Smith and Mearls are Oscar-level players who can keep their issues under a lid; this is a #MeToo reckoning.

 

[MrLuchador]

Goodness gracious, is this why my AD&D2 callback went over like fart cologne?

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haha - possibly! Although, at the time I had no idea that OSR was riddled with bad intentions.

As for the segment I quoted, I'm a DM over 40, and it's crazy to me that it took your DM so long to adjust. Did he have a long layoff and just picked back up with the way he used to run things 25 years later or something? I only ask because my DMing style has changed so much since I learned the game in the 80s and 90s that it's crazy.

I would love to run an old-style meat grinder campaign though - or honestly, I'd prefer to play in one - but nobody at my table does, so it's never going to happen.

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I don't think he had a long layoff, rather a lack of options and diversity to play with. The core group he gets to play with now I'd say are under 40 and looking at it, it's a very mixed group that includes men, women, someone who took the time to explain what asexuality is to me, a transwoman, and someone with narcolepsy! So, I think he's had to finally grow up mentally, as they'd often lace EVERYTHING with innuendos and smut, which put alongside his meat-grinder monster of the week sessions started to grate on people. However, I do believe he is trying to understand and improve. I'm playing for the first time in a year as him as the DM and he really does seem to have tried hard to change what he says, how he says, etc. No idea if this is just 'at table' or as a whole, but I feel like it's a step in the right place.

I've been frustrated by "Chaotic Neutral" rogues and such undermining everyone else's experience because their idea of fun is to have it at others' expense

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Ah yeah I understand what you mean. Having fun at the expense of everyone else at the table isn't cool. It's not what I meant, but I agree with you, totally. I tend to do away with alignments as an out in the open character sheet trait. I keep a private track of them when I'm DM of how I believe the characters have acted. If they start to skirt and break from any pacts, deals, blessings, favours of deities, gods, partons, etc. then I make sure they're challenged on it in-character as a game beat.
Likewise, if they act like a bunch of murderhobos they're treat like such. Towns shut shop when they arrive. Law enforcement watches them closely. Bounty hunters track them down, etc.

My original comment was more along the lines of people who bemoan how other people play and enjoy a style - such as Roleplayer heavy, storytelling, ruining D&D. "THAT'S NOT HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE PLAYED!" comments. All styles are valid and enjoyable if that's what you want to play. Back when I first started I didn't know what 'style' I wanted to play in, I just wanted to play. So I played under a few DMs (all different) and sort of found one I liked and stuck with them. Then I thought 'hey, I'd love to DM and create an ongoing story with friends', so I did. We played for a few months had a good time before parenthood, and adult life meant we took a break (and never found the time to start again).

Now I DM on a Sunday at a tabletop group and I've learned so much DM for people I didn't know before hand. There is a autistic guy there who can't help but be a rule lawyer, so that's been a great learning experience for me on how to manage that without it being a horrible experience for us both. If anything they've been one of the best at the table at changing what they do, they've really got lost in their character and rarely worries about the rules now. There's a person that really doesn't like it when the noise gets loud, with lots of cross chatter, so I've had to make sure we're all clear that we all keep cross table talk low. They're also the most empathetic too, really in touch with their character's emotions. So that's been a wonderful challenge work with, weaving a story around the character and the redemption they seek.
And I've even had my first experience with a min-maxer who just wants to be the best build they can be because 'fuck it, why wouldn't I'. So that's challenged me as a DM to be creative in overcoming their build without becoming a onetrickpony myself!

Now that I'm looking to play again I'm actually looking for the opposite of what I run as DM (Evolve story campaign) and want to hit a meatgrinder dungeon to see how creative I can be with a class and survive.

The way I see it is the more you experience (the good and bad) the better you'll become. There's something good to take from all the possible ways to play D&D, from all the different people you could play with and from all the different DMs you could play under.

I do appreciate that the RPG genre as a whole, and especially as you get into the indie/story game spaces, feels like a relatively diverse space that is pretty supportive of social justice, inclusivity and diversity. The explosion of people getting into the hobby due to stuff like Critical Role, the Adventure Zone, etc has certainly helped that.

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Absolutely!

Good people and good times, should help change all around them. I know there's a feeling that youtubers and streamers might have too much influence. I've seen a few twitter people use a term 'the Mercer effect' in regards to the expectations of DMs changing to be more cinematic with grand sound effects, music, voices, etc.
However, Matthew Mercer seems to be the first person to say that this isn't THE way to play, just a way to play.

If people expect the DM to be Matthew Mercer, then the DM should expect his players to be the rest of Critical Role :P

 

[ShadowSwordmaster]

Yeah, I'll say I wasn't shocked to hear Zak was more heavily involved in that side of the hobby. I don't think every OSR preferring person is an alt-right misogynist jerk or anything like that, but the percentage there sure seems higher. And it feels like an OSR book is way more likely to have stuff that makes me go "gross" (ugh, Hot Springs Island). I think they even have some interesting ideas for how RPGs can play, even if stuff like "extremely expendable characters" isn't really the kind of game I want to play.

I do appreciate that the RPG genre as a whole, and especially as you get into the indie/story game spaces, feels like a relatively diverse space that is pretty supportive of social justice, inclusivity and diversity. The explosion of people getting into the hobby due to stuff like Critical Role, the Adventure Zone, etc has certainly helped that.

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Yep. You can see in DnD nowadays with what they are trying to do.

 

[Cybit]

Oh sweet, there's a Tabletop RPG OT.

Didn't ever think to look for one here. Long time D&D player, used to run games at the local game stores in Seattle (Mox Boarding House, both of them). Enjoying the heck out of 5E. Watch Acq Inc (main shows), and basically would be DM'ing a game every night of the week if I could. :D

 

[MrLuchador]

What's the feeling on Zweihander?

 

[dragonchild]

I don't feel like I've read enough to really have an opinion on that one, other than that the abuser guy is a piece of shit and I hope he never gets work in an industry he loves again.

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I mean, do you need another opinion? It sounds to me like you got this.

 

[ShadowSwordmaster]

Oh sweet, there's a Tabletop RPG OT.

Didn't ever think to look for one here. Long time D&D player, used to run games at the local game stores in Seattle (Mox Boarding House, both of them). Enjoying the heck out of 5E. Watch Acq Inc (main shows), and basically would be DM'ing a game every night of the week if I could. :D

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Nice.

 

[Brashnir]

I mean, do you need another opinion? It sounds to me like you got this.

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Well, I mean that part is pretty obvious, but re: the actions of others in the scenario (like Mearls) - I'd need to know a little more.

 

[Cybit]

Nice.

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Thank ya! I turned from a video gamer into a TTRPG gamer (primarily D&D) over the last 10 years or so. It's been fun watching 5E become so insanely mainstream (and bring back a lot of closet nerds into the fold, and openly so). Kinda enjoying it. :-) Lot of credit to the 5E design and development team for that and for D&D management not trying to kill the golden goose with too many splatbooks.

Currently playing in a Star Wars Saga game, and DM'ing 2 5th Edition games (Curse of Ravenloft and TBD on the second one, it's about to start). Trying to figure out what a good module would be for a group of newbies for the most part on that second game.

Regarding the current news in TTRPG, I can't be impartial - Mearls and some of the dev team are friends.

 

[Fairy Godmother]

Anyone backing this game?
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dragonturtlegames/carbon-2185-a-cyberpunk-rpg?ref=backerkit

The system is similar to 5e, but I'm unsure I can convince my players to give it a try.
The art is so nice though.

 

[dragonchild]

It looks pretty but the pitch has almost nothing about the gameplay mechanics. Where'd you get info that it's similar to 5E? I couldn't find anything on their official site either.

P.S. Either way they don't seem to need the help -- it's well over 1000% funded

 

[Fairy Godmother]

They must have removed the references, but it was built based on 5e OGL
On their official twitter there are references to its use: https://twitter.com/DragonTurtleG/status/1095782477065531402

I was thinking of doing a small pledge to get quickstarter and try it out.

 

[ShadowSwordmaster]

Seems like something that I might back.

 

[absolutbro]

I'm hoping you all can help me find something. My Call of Cthulhu group was talking last night about what we might move to next, and as they're a fairly new group it's easier to try a few new things my Saturday group cannot or will not try. I'm trying to remember a fantasy book that I could have sworn was Earthdawn, but none of the art covers match. It is definitely a fantasy setting, and the cover I'm thinking of had a small group sort of standing around one person who was holding a red gem in their hand. One of the people was either a rock person or was covered in quills, and another was (I think) holding a staff that looked like a shepherd's crook or a classic final fantasy knotted white made staff. It's driving me insane that I can't find the book. I'm almost positive that the title is one word. HAAAALP

 

[ShadowSwordmaster]

I'm hoping you all can help me find something. My Call of Cthulhu group was talking last night about what we might move to next, and as they're a fairly new group it's easier to try a few new things my Saturday group cannot or will not try. I'm trying to remember a fantasy book that I could have sworn was Earthdawn, but none of the art covers match. It is definitely a fantasy setting, and the cover I'm thinking of had a small group sort of standing around one person who was holding a red gem in their hand. One of the people was either a rock person or was covered in quills, and another was (I think) holding a staff that looked like a shepherd's crook or a classic final fantasy knotted white made staff. It's driving me insane that I can't find the book. I'm almost positive that the title is one word. HAAAALP

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I will try and help you.

 

[dragonchild]

Man, C2185's quick-start sheet is lean.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DzRyU66XgAAbVh1.jpg
They're playing up how easy it is.

 

[bmfrosty]

Anyone backing this game?
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dragonturtlegames/carbon-2185-a-cyberpunk-rpg?ref=backerkit

The system is similar to 5e, but I'm unsure I can convince my players to give it a try.
The art is so nice though.

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I'm really excited about it. I'm definitely going to buy both it and the settings books.

 

[Fairy Godmother]

It beats learning a new system, I suppose. (We tried Shadowrun before.)
I popped in minimal amount of pledge so I can decide to up-pledge it later, or just get it on release on Amazon.

Man, C2185's quick-start sheet is lean.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DzRyU66XgAAbVh1.jpg
They're playing up how easy it is.

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Just signed up, waiting for email.
Lean is fine, I'm just afraid it's not deep enough for customisation.

 

[MrLuchador]

So Steamforged have said they will be a delay on the Critical Role figures, as they didn't mean the desired quality. They pictured the old (left) and the new (right). The new ones still look poor.

This 3D render they used to showcase what they would look like (I wasn't expecting anything close to that but the current end results are baaaaaaaad)

Jester's mini is just... ergh

 

[ArkkAngel007]

So Steamforged have said they will be a delay on the Critical Role figures, as they didn't mean the desired quality. They pictured the old (left) and the new (right). The new ones still look poor.

This 3D render they used to showcase what they would look like (I wasn't expecting anything close to that but the current end results are baaaaaaaad)

Jester's mini is just... ergh

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Woof that is rough. SFG aren't terrible in their miniature quality, but man do things seem to go wrong for them one way or another.

Didn't even realize this was a thing. Hopefully the Vox Machina and Mighty Nein sets won't be difficult to order once the KS is fulfilled. Already looking into getting Twiggy and Orly.

 

[ShadowSwordmaster]

That Jester model has a weird head. The cheeks seemed to be bigger than her face.

 

[Brashnir]

Ran a D&D one-shot tonight, it went way better than anticipated.

It was set at level 12, and the premise was a murder mystery where the captain of the guard was murdered and the Marquis (a vampire) invited renowned problem-solvers to find out who killed him. Long story short, the answer was that his wife (also a vampire) killed him, because he had come down with a degenerative neurological condition, and she knew he was the only human the Marquis liked. He was to rise as a Vampire at midnight, as a means to save him from this disease. She had political business to tend to, so she left town for the day.

So the players went about the adventure, finding clues, (including a bunch of red herrings I had placed in the adventure to distract them. They were also coincidentally all of the murder weapons from the board game Clue - which the players eventually got wise to in a hilarious moment) and eventually put the pieces together - more or less - and took their evidence to the Marquis.

The players were all members of the Thieves' Guild, and the guild had tensions with the Marquis over some incidents in the past, and had hoped to get the players to work out a more favorable deal with him since they were at the party.

And then the party took a turn that I had zero anticipation would happen - they decided to side with the Marquis, and work with them to eliminate the Guild leadership so they could take over the guild. Like I said, I had no anticipation that this might happen (though in retrospect, maybe I should have) so I had to set up some conversations with guild leadership, stat out the guild boss and his lieutenants in my head, and then let the players lead them into the ambush.

The final confrontation was relatively brief, but very violent and the alliance was agreed upon, thanks to a very tense persuasion roll.


I think the Guild and its leadership will come up in the next arc of my campaign in some fashion. Now I just need to figure out how.

 

[MrLuchador]

So ANOTHER rape accusation has occurred this weekend within the TTRPG industry. Matt and Michelle McFarland this time, who

Back in October 2017 Matt McFarland was accused of sexual assault on the RPG.net forum, and shortly thereafter he was removed as his position as...mod, I think?

His wife, Michelle Lyons, had this to say in response: "It's been less than a week, and we're still working to figure out a way forward. What I can tell you is that we take this very seriously. For that reason we are not rushing something out the door just because. We want to do things right, not just quickly. Growling Door appreciates everyone's patience in this matter -- I know, perhaps more than most, that this is hard to wrap your head around and figure out what steps are necessary. I hope that you and others will bear with us as we regain our footing and determine what the next steps should be."

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https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2151679/further-development-matt-mcfarland-accusations

My name is Matthew McFarland. I've been working tabletop roleplaying games professionally for over 20 years. A few weeks ago, I made the decision to close down my company (Growling Door Games, Inc.) and step away from the profession permanently. I want to talk about why, what happened, and what should happen going forward.

What happened was this: In October 2017, I was accused of sexual assault and statutory rape, anonymously but publicly, on RPG.net. The accuser stated that these events happened some 18 years ago. At the time, I was a moderator there. When the accusation went up, I resigned as a mod, and the staff there made the decision to ban me from the site a few days later. Also at the time, I was freelancing as a developer and writer for Onyx Path Publishing (OPP). OPP made the decision to suspend their relationship with me; they didn't "fire" me per se because I wasn't employed with them. Although books that I worked on for them have since been published, and a couple more have yet to be published, I received no new work from them since then.

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More at:
https://medium.com/@blackhatmatt/st...4l2qr3FsE02AWYGX_hfSJ1rSaFrua0jQ3idIJ1tFg47rU

 

[ShadowSwordmaster]

Yikes. That is pretty bad.

 

[MrLuchador]

I started reading the apology, and I was expecting denials, but they never happened. 20 years of opportunities to abuse and rape. I wonder how many more people will be called out now, I'm starting to feel like the industry is full of people taking advantage of their position.

 

[kai3345]

after playing resident evil 2 my friends have been wanting to play a zombie themed TTRPG. anybody know of any good systems for this? I came across this hack of apocalypse world that seemed pretty cool called End of the World (as far as I know unrelated to the other game of the same name): http://www.mediafire.com/file/rakev...ocWorldHack_gamestormedition_reduced.pdf/file

Anyone ever tried this system or have one they'd recommend for a zombie-themed game?

 

[MrLuchador]

Zombicide is supposed to be great, never played it myself but it has been recommended to me a number of times. If you're looking for less board game more paper and pencil then there's always 'All Flesh Must Be Eaten', which I've only ever played a one-shot in, but enjoyed.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/627/All-Flesh-Must-be-Eaten-Revised

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Outbreak Undead may be another avenue to check out.

 

[ShadowSwordmaster]

I second All Flesh Must be Eaten and Outbreak Undead.

 

[MrLuchador]

Outbreak Undead is on sale currently: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/223734/Outbreak-Undead-2nd-Edition--Survivors-Guide; https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/265566/Outbreak-Undead-2nd-Edition--Gamemasters-Guide

 

[Ace Harding]

I have recently gotten into the idea of TTRPGs, and am reading a bunch of books (D&D, Shadowrun, Mothership, Ironsworn). It's fun enough just reading rulebooks and campaign modules and imagining playing the game. But I don't know anyone that actually plays these games and it's a huge bummer that I may not be able to have that experience.

I have a group that I play board games with but they aren't interested in RPGs. I know about Roll20 but I don't have a PC (just iPad and iPhone). I'm thinking about PBF options but that's not the same as playing live.

Anyone else have success finding total strangers to play with somehow? How did you do it? Was it a positive experience?

 

[MrLuchador]

Meetup did well for me: https://www.meetup.com/topics/role-playing-games-rpgs/
Also: https://www.rpgtablefinder.com/
and of course... Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/lfg/

Also your local comicbook stores, Forbidden Planet-esque stores will no doubt have a few posters and slips with details on local clubs or meetups. Also, welcome to the party!

 

[Ultron]

Ace Harding my best results for playing with strangers have been at conventions or by attending "One Shot RPG Nights" at local game stores or board game bars that I found via Meetup.com. Those have always just been single game experiences, but could probably become longer term campaigns if I was looking for that.

So I'd recommend checking for event calendars at your local LGS, or checking places like Meetup.com to see if there's an RPG group in your local area and try to meet some people that way.

Stinks that your board game group isn't interested, I assume you've offered to run a game for people before? I was able to convert my board game group to RPGs just by being consistent with offering to DM and getting some folks to sit down with a D&D starter set for a couple hours.

 

[dragonchild]

FWIW roll20 is web based. You don't need a PC.

 

[kai3345]

Outbreak Undead may be another avenue to check out.

Click to shrink...

I second All Flesh Must be Eaten and Outbreak Undead.

Click to shrink...

Outbreak Undead is on sale currently: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/223734/Outbreak-Undead-2nd-Edition--Survivors-Guide; https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/265566/Outbreak-Undead-2nd-Edition--Gamemasters-Guide

Click to shrink...

Thanks for the recs everyone! Outbreak Undead looks cool (getting a lot of Shadowrun vibes with the amount of dice being rolled) but might be too crunchy for our group. Gonna look into All Flesh Must be Eaten too!

 

[Ace Harding]

FWIW roll20 is web based. You don't need a PC.

Click to shrink...

Ace Harding my best results for playing with strangers have been at conventions or by attending "One Shot RPG Nights" at local game stores or board game bars that I found via Meetup.com. Those have always just been single game experiences, but could probably become longer term campaigns if I was looking for that.

So I'd recommend checking for event calendars at your local LGS, or checking places like Meetup.com to see if there's an RPG group in your local area and try to meet some people that way.

Stinks that your board game group isn't interested, I assume you've offered to run a game for people before? I was able to convert my board game group to RPGs just by being consistent with offering to DM and getting some folks to sit down with a D&D starter set for a couple hours.

Click to shrink...

Yeah I've offered to DM. I think RPGs are just a level of nerddom too deep.

FWIW roll20 is web based. You don't need a PC.

Click to shrink...

Huh - did not know that. So totally doable on an iPad?

 

[jon bones]

i'm still so bummed i got too busy and forgot to get all of those humble torment books

is there a kind soul willing to send them to me?

 

[Brashnir]

after playing resident evil 2 my friends have been wanting to play a zombie themed TTRPG. anybody know of any good systems for this? I came across this hack of apocalypse world that seemed pretty cool called End of the World (as far as I know unrelated to the other game of the same name): http://www.mediafire.com/file/rakev...ocWorldHack_gamestormedition_reduced.pdf/file

Anyone ever tried this system or have one they'd recommend for a zombie-themed game?

Click to shrink...

All of the zombie-themed games I've tried have been pretty bad. I'd recommend a more generic system, like Cypher or Savage Worlds, and build up a zombie theme from there.

 

[OmegaDragon]

I have recently gotten into the idea of TTRPGs, and am reading a bunch of books (D&D, Shadowrun, Mothership, Ironsworn). It's fun enough just reading rulebooks and campaign modules and imagining playing the game. But I don't know anyone that actually plays these games and it's a huge bummer that I may not be able to have that experience.

I have a group that I play board games with but they aren't interested in RPGs. I know about Roll20 but I don't have a PC (just iPad and iPhone). I'm thinking about PBF options but that's not the same as playing live.

Anyone else have success finding total strangers to play with somehow? How did you do it? Was it a positive experience?

Click to shrink...

Last summer I looked for new groups. I used meetup.com and a boardgame forum (which I found by googling something like "DnD group my city"). Formed 2 groups from scratch in about a months time. In one we're still playing, 2 players (including myself) had experience with TTRPGs, 3 are new. We've had someone leave, catalyst was personal issue. Scheduling is an issue, but we manage. One thing that really helped keep the group together/playing is that we have a standard place to play at.
The other group sadly didn't work out. We played a total of 2 sessions in 2-3 months. I think having played so little in the first few months killed it, along with scheduling, not enough interest I guess and other issues (3 players met via work, but their department got axed or something).
Currently I'm trying to set up another new group with the one of the players from the failed group. Like half a year ago, there a quite a number of people looking to play, especially DnD.

EDIT: Similar to what Ultron suggested: I've been to a couple of Meetup event where they play one shots. During one of them, one of the members of the table I played at asked the rest if they wanted to form a regular group.

 

[Crow Pudding]

So I'm planning to direct a Numenera campaign. The setting (perhaps by the videogames) and the rules seems very attractive. Is there anyone playing it? Any advice?

 

[kennah]

So today's humble bundle is like ALL of Pathfinder.

 

[ShadowSwordmaster]

So today's humble bundle is like ALL of Pathfinder.

Click to shrink...

I just saw that on Twitter. I'm going to get it.

 

[Deleted member 13645]

I've been running a Dungeon World campaign lately and... I think I really love Dungeon World. I never felt good running D&D. I wanted to be a good GM and really pull my party into the story and world, but I always felt like I fell short at it. There are 5 players and myself, and it felt like combat would break down into the most basic tactical stuff. After someone's turn or failed roll, that was it for them and they'd check out for a bit until it went back to them. I'd look over to see someone on their phone, or etc. I asked them multiple times and they all said they had fun and enjoyed it, they showed up each week, but something just always felt off and I never felt satisfied with how I was running it.

Dungeon World feels completely different. The session we ran last week was the most I've ever seen them invested and engaged. No one was ever looking at their phone, people were making plans and thinking outside the box, they were really engaging with the world. I told them to imagine it like they were a character in a book, tell me what that character would do in this situation, and we'd base the actions/Moves off that. It felt great and I felt like I was an effective GM for the first time. I still have my worries about the longevity, i've heard a lot of people say that there's not nearly as much character progression ("zero to hero") in DW as D&D, but it felt more like what I wanted my D&D sessions to be but could never pull off.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with swapping around games like this, or tips for how I can make make GMing D&D feel more engaging? I just couldn't really figure out how to balance it well with 5 people, you wait 5 minutes for your turn only to fail an attack roll and now you wait another 5 minutes. Dungeon World at least feels great in that regard because every roll is going to do something, the narrative will always move forward. It's not "well your arrow missed. Alright Katho, you're up." Has anyone been able to mix the two styles well so there's less dead rolls?