Tabletop Roleplaying Games (D&D, Pathfinder, CoC, ETC.)

[Adamska]

"Then run one of the Star Wars systems, you've got four of them, take your pick."

West End is probably the most annoying to get meatspace books for, Fantasy Flight works best in meatspace due to their stupid proprietary dice (though it's not hard to convert if you color code dice) and being easier to get splats for. I like both quite a bit, and had a wild ride in the latter as a Rodian Mechanic. I also know that fans updated some of the core stuff for West End and there's a lot of modules for it too if you don't like the thinky think.

Didn't really care for the d20 variant. There's also a PbtA mod that creates playbooks for that sort of thing but it's a mess to gather.

Just shit or get off the pot if you want to run, because it's the way to learn to be a DM. If you cock up, you just cock up; it means you likely won't do that again.

 

[LovisXVI]

West End is probably the most annoying to get meatspace books for, Fantasy Flight works best in meatspace due to their stupid proprietary dice (though it's not hard to convert if you color code dice) and being easier to get splats for. I like both quite a bit, and had a wild ride in the latter as a Rodian Mechanic. I also know that fans updated some of the core stuff for West End and there's a lot of modules for it too if you don't like the thinky think.

Didn't really care for the d20 variant. There's also a PbtA mod that creates playbooks for that sort of thing but it's a mess to gather.

Just shit or get off the pot if you want to run, because it's the way to learn to be a DM. If you cock up, you just cock up; it means you likely won't do that again.

I run the game via the Foundry module which is very good, though before then I used a physical set even when running online due to the fact that they are really hard to do.

 

[Imperial Citizen]

It's time to go to the Moon and fight the non-descript Authority with PbtA mechanics! Dice Scum reviews Moonpunk live at 9 pm ET!

 

[anti SJW]

I absolutely fucking hate the FFG Star Wars RPG system.

Its all abstract. I like minis and a grid, tactical. We wasted an hour trying to find blast radius of grenades and thermal detonators in the rules. We couldn't find them. Because they not listed. Its all just narrative.

The dice are a huge issue. Not learning the symbols, that's fine. But you have to come up with a story for every single die roll. Depending on how many success' and advantages you got.

I just want to know if I did the thing or not. I don't want to keep coming up with a story for every single die role.

End of rant.

 

[LovisXVI]

But you have to come up with a story for every single die roll.

You really don't. Most of the time success or failure is what matter. The symbols take the often flawed success with complications idea and smooth it over significantly if that's what you're going for. Unless triumph or despair is generated by the result, the results are strange and I feel like I have a story for the roll, or it's a combat check, I'll just ignore advantages or threats.

 

[Judge Dredd]

"Then run one of the Star Wars systems, you've got four of them, take your pick."

v

I think the setting plays better in Savage Worlds, but that resulted in so much confusion I decided to never try doing it again.

Didn't really care for the d20 variant.

Is that Star Wars 5e that people put out for free a while back?

I never tried it, but from a skim of the book, it seemed like a lazy reskin.


To clarify what I mean about baggage. Star Wars, Star Trek, and to a certain degree Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, and Alien fall into this trap. I'd mention Shadowrun, but I don't want to upset the thread again.

I'm a casual fan. For Star Wars I saw the prequels and original trilogy, and played some of the games. Never saw the sequel trilogy, Mandalorian, Solo, Rogue One, etc. So either A: People will know less than me, and will have to give a primer on Star Wars, or B: They are a fan of Star Wars and by promising a Star Wars game, there's a good chance I'll disappoint them by getting something wrong.

There's also the inherit problem of balancing a campaign. I'll either have to have it be all jedi which means setting it in the prequel timeline, or make it no jedi and it's basically world war 2 with tuscan raiders.

 

[The Bogwater Rises]

To clarify what I mean about baggage. Star Wars, Star Trek, and to a certain degree Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, and Alien fall into this trap. I'd mention Shadowrun, but I don't want to upset the thread again.

Genesys is a freeform version of that system you can tailor make to do whatever you want.

If you don't like the system that's fine, but taking a system and doing other things similar to the setting the system was made for does make sense.

 

[The Ugly One]

Traveller I've not looked into rules wise, but I always dismiss it because of the lore. Everyone is a space trucker. There are no aliens, everyone is human except for the token furry race. You never own a ship, and if you do it'll be broken down all the time as jobs don't make enough to keep it maintained, if you do keep it maintained you'll be up to your eyeballs in debt and megacorps will send god tier spec ops squads to collect.

Like all games, comes down to the GM. In Traveller, Space Trucker is like D&D's Murder Hobo. You're not really supposed to be doing that late game. At its heart, there is a system for resolving light speed jumps, trade, combat on foot, in space, and in ground vehicles, and everything else you could really want to do in a sci-fi game. If your GM's only idea is 'HURRR UHHH LOOKS LIKE IT'S TIME TO SHIP 500,000 CREDITS OF GOODS AGAIN, KEEP IN MIND ONE HIT IN COMBAT DOES 600,000 CREDITS OF DAMAGE TO YOUR SHIP LMAO," that's your GM, not the game.

 

[Anonymus Fluhre]

What collab? They adding Warframes to Starfinder?

https://paizo.com/starfinder/warframe

 

[Wilson The Ball]

I genuinely mourn the fact that no one I've ever met wants to play Pendragon. It is the White Man's RPG, devoid of gay niggas demons and fat chicks wanting to be fairies.

 

[anti SJW]

Is that Star Wars 5e that people put out for free a while back?

WOTC got the Star Wars RPG license from WEG in the 2000s and put it out using the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 system.

Never played it. But I heard good things about it.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Like all games, comes down to the GM. In Traveller, Space Trucker is like D&D's Murder Hobo. You're not really supposed to be doing that late game. At its heart, there is a system for resolving light speed jumps, trade, combat on foot, in space, and in ground vehicles, and everything else you could really want to do in a sci-fi game. If your GM's only idea is 'HURRR UHHH LOOKS LIKE IT'S TIME TO SHIP 500,000 CREDITS OF GOODS AGAIN, KEEP IN MIND ONE HIT IN COMBAT DOES 600,000 CREDITS OF DAMAGE TO YOUR SHIP LMAO," that's your GM, not the game.

I had no idea. Might have to give it a look then.

How is the lore? Is it Eberron/Points of Light where it's made with flexibility in mind, or is it like Forgotten Realms/Golarion where you have to be careful where you put things because there's 40 years of canon?

What's your take on Stars Without Number? I gave that a skim ages ago, and that seemed to be his fantasy game with bow find replaced with blaster.

I genuinely mourn the fact that no one I've ever met wants to play Pendragon. It is the White Man's RPG, devoid of gay niggas demons and fat chicks wanting to be fairies.

I've heard the name but know nothing about it. I assumed it was OSR flavour of the month.

 

[Anonymus Fluhre]

WOTC got the Star Wars RPG license from WEG in the 2000s and put it out using the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 system.

Never played it. But I heard good things about it.

I was closer to Modern d20.

 

[The Ugly One]

How is the lore? Is it Eberron/Points of Light where it's made with flexibility in mind, or is it like Forgotten Realms/Golarion where you have to be careful where you put things because there's 40 years of canon?

The rule books come with a baked-in setting with factions and whatever. At least from what's in the books, it's more "1982 World of Greyhawk" than "2025 Golarion." I do not know or care if there are 200 crappy little pulp novels expanding the lore, because personally do not care about lore and have always done whatever the hell I wanted. The only reason I liked premade settings is I am not actually very creative, so I like having a map and other random stuff done for me. But I'll do what I want with it, and if lorefags don't like it, that's their problem, not mine.

What I like is the systems work. The prices and economics work out reasonably well, skills resolve nicely, warp drives and vehicles work, gadgets and gear work, and it works in a realistic setting where no, a highly experienced pilot can't take an asteroid to the face and live. Feels like you could build anything on it, really, as long as there's no magic.

Edit: The sci-fi aspects of Starfinder don't work, and that's the problem. The only part that really works is D&D-style dungeons.

 

[40 Year Old Boomer]

I absolutely fucking hate the FFG Star Wars RPG system.

Its all abstract. I like minis and a grid, tactical. We wasted an hour trying to find blast radius of grenades and thermal detonators in the rules. We couldn't find them. Because they not listed. Its all just narrative.

The dice are a huge issue. Not learning the symbols, that's fine. But you have to come up with a story for every single die roll. Depending on how many success' and advantages you got.

I just want to know if I did the thing or not. I don't want to keep coming up with a story for every single die role.

End of rant.

I used to be like you. You have to change your approach to the game. Stop worrying about numbers and stats and other shit. You're the star of a B action flick. Get a dice roller app so you don't have to interpret symbols and can just spit out the result. Stop worrying. You can just do things in FFG Star Wars and it'll all work out.

 

[The Bogwater Rises]

I used to be like you. You have to change your approach to the game. Stop worrying about numbers and stats and other shit. You're the star of a B action flick.

This is exactly why I want the system for a space adventure game where the PCs are the action stars of the game. I want other systems for more serious things or a more intensive system. I know a lot of people hate the narrative nature of the system, but I like it.

 

[Brain Problems]

Spoiler: Changing spaces sperg

Incredible write-up. There's a lot of depressing shit on this site/thread but for some reason this just really bummed me out. Not to derail too much but my town used to have two alleys, one trashy and dark and smoke-filled (perfect) and the other brighter and less-smoke filled but both in strip-malls. The first closed years ago and turned into a totally inefficiently laid out Not Mafia Front Tavern that just closed recently, the second lasted a long time and had super cheap games but got purchased/re-branded and is now hilariously expensive to take advantage of birthday parties and college kids on dates.

Similarly, I'm curious how long before the FLGS goes then way of the dodo. It's been said before but I think nerds playing Tragic the Gathering really are the only thing keeping a lot of these places alive, not like people are running D&D/TTRPG campaigns on a regular basis or in such a way that a store could survive.

I know some guys used to run games at a great old British style pub and had a great arrangement where they'd occupy a decent bit of space for a long time but bought food and drinks so the pub owners didn't give a fuck and enjoyed knowing they had business from them on a regular basis even if it was (if I'm recalling correctly) one of their busier nights. I'm too cheap to do that especially paying ~$10x∞ a pint and ~$20 a meal on weekly regular basis but it always sounded pretty damn cozy to me.

 

[The Ugly One]

Similarly, I'm curious how long before the FLGS goes then way of the dodo. It's been said before but I think nerds playing Tragic the Gathering really are the only thing keeping a lot of these places alive, not like people are running D&D/TTRPG campaigns on a regular basis or in such a way that a store could survive.

There's one near me whose business model is basically having a lot of tables to play whatever and a well-stocked snack aisle. Most people try to buy a Coke or a candy bar or something out of respect. And of course, they sell a ton of high-margin Warhammer minis and MTG cards. But plenty of people go to play off-beat games. It's been there for ten years.

 

[Ghostse]

Incredible write-up. There's a lot of depressing shit on this site/thread but for some reason this just really bummed me out. Not to derail too much but my town used to have two alleys, one trashy and dark and smoke-filled (perfect) and the other brighter and less-smoke filled but both in strip-malls. The first closed years ago and turned into a totally inefficiently laid out Not Mafia Front Tavern that just closed recently, the second lasted a long time and had super cheap games but got purchased/re-branded and is now hilariously expensive to take advantage of birthday parties and college kids on dates.

Similarly, I'm curious how long before the FLGS goes then way of the dodo. It's been said before but I think nerds playing Tragic the Gathering really are the only thing keeping a lot of these places alive, not like people are running D&D/TTRPG campaigns on a regular basis or in such a way that a store could survive.

I know some guys used to run games at a great old British style pub and had a great arrangement where they'd occupy a decent bit of space for a long time but bought food and drinks so the pub owners didn't give a fuck and enjoyed knowing they had business from them on a regular basis even if it was (if I'm recalling correctly) one of their busier nights. I'm too cheap to do that especially paying ~$10x∞ a pint and ~$20 a meal on weekly regular basis but it always sounded pretty damn cozy to me.

There's a lot more to sperg about with the Alleys (where the entertainment complex was having a bit of a crisis because they had their beer-tap license but a number of parents were uncomfortable with allowing their kids into a facility where beer was served, and there were incidents of highschool kids scooping unattended beers or especially the girls trying to get 'league regulars' to buy them beer. And it was more difficult with mixed groups of college aged kids. But beer sales accounted for a very nice cashflow as well as being able to weedle business items [signage, etc. I think it was Miller even gave them logoed balls to put out] out of vendors and get them to sponsor leagues. They were trying to cut down by doing things like you only drink in the "bar" area during, effectively work hours - the idea was most of the business during that time was retired or unemployeed drunks who could warm stools as well as lanes, and if any parents complained about Little Jimmy snatching a beer or Precious Angel Susie using her clevage to beg drinks, they should be done with work and able to keep an eye on their kids.)
but again the Alleys were sort of boned because with all their mechanical stuff that needs someone to maintain, capex and opex were very high. It means existing alleys might be able to coast but its very difficult to get a new alley in place, unless its like a couple lanes in like a Dave and Busters.

But for the FLGS the capex and opex is much lower, and almost as importantly - if something like a bowling alley takes a shit, the pin machines are worth little more than their value in spare parts. If the FLGS decides to shutter, their inventory is still technically worth MSRP and the loss is just in retail shelving.

My recently closed FLGS moved because they got eminent domained for a roadworks project. They hosted game nights but it was largely a card shop with a small WOTC RPG nook. The owner didn't seem to try to profit from game hosting, the only thing was official shop tourneys got priority and first pick of tables.
But in reality: staying open for gaming nights pretty much just cost them electricity (and I guess febreeze cause nerds) since they already had the space. And I guess technically whatever they valued their time at. Which if they sold a couple extra packs of cards that easily paid for itself.

Honestly I just wouldn't want to eat the usually extremely mid (and very unhealthy) pub food on the weekly.

There's one near me whose business model is basically having a lot of tables to play whatever and a well-stocked snack aisle. Most people try to buy a Coke or a candy bar or something out of respect. And of course, they sell a ton of high-margin Warhammer minis and MTG cards. But plenty of people go to play off-beat games. It's been there for ten years.

The next closest FLGS I'm looking at seems run that model.

I didn't care for Cowboy Beebop when I saw it as a teen.

Leave.

 

[Tom Bombodildo]

My city has too many card/RPG shops for its size and they all suck; the last good one was on its last legs and closed permanently during covid. I like most of the people running these places, but the interior/locations of these stores suck. The only one with a decent storefront is run by an asshole who'll never get my business again. Covid and the Biden economy has probably culled the amount of stores significantly, but I haven't looked for or gone to one of these places in years.

The best places to play RPGs anymore are these weird everything stores. The one in my area is a combination of cards, RPGs, wargames, gunpla, retro games, DVD/blu-rays, and figurines with plenty of table space for which they don't charge. It's a very corporate sort of place, but it stays in the black and doesn't tolerate stinkies.