I don’t have a current game. Too damn busy. I have one consistently free time slot available on Sunday nights, which you think would be a good day, but all the games I’ve found for the systems I’m interested in have been for Saturday and weekdays. Why people play on weekdays is beyond me, don’t you people have work or school?
As a GM yes, but i am worried my players arent having fun. They are not very interactive with the world and i feel like i have to push them to do things, but i dont want to do that, i want them to actually have things they wanna do.
Its probably because my last group was interactive that i feel this way.
Similar camp, kind of. It's my first time GMing and well prepping is really easy, trying to roleplay and set pacing is hard.
One of my players is my twin brother, and he is fairly blunt with it. Where he complains all the time during the session about how long everything takes.
Another player is our usual GM, and he says he's enjoying it, but I feel like that's only because he doesn't have to GM for once.
The third player seems pretty neutral on it. But he straight up says if his character dies then he'll quit rather than make a new character. Which means I have to at times, kind of fudge the game so that doesn't happen.
>But he straight up says if his character dies then he'll quit rather than make a new character.
I would rather not play than play with someone like that. Leaving a game entirely because your pet character died is so incredibly selfish, might as well not be friends if you're that disrespectful. People have pulled that on me, but when their death hits they don't leave, but I guess there's a first time for everything. If it ever happens I know I'll be fricking furious with them for a long time.
Running a campaign for 2 people right now, as others had IRL things preventing their playing right now. It is going well, they both need to be on the ball at all times which can be a chore but when they are it goes great, and when they aren't it still works, just not as good as 3+. Maybe I'm just prideful when I find the leaving to be a red line, but I will say one thing: my game runs infinitely better when I do not feel emotionally blackmailed by the players. I try to be the best GM I can, and run my game accordingly - I can't do that when I'm walking on eggshells around someone because they'll freak if their character gets hurt.
We play, or we don't. My plaque says "GM", not "Therapist".
>>But he straight up says if his character dies then he'll quit rather than make a new character >mfw I'm in this picture and I don't like it
I like the other players and I like my PC and I like the DM but I do not like the system.
I'm still in because I'm invested in all the shit around my character but idk what I'll do if he dies.
Hopefully, if your character dies, you'll be upset and then roll up a new one. Taking a week or two break is fine, being attached to your character is normal and people who act like emotional numbness is a life goal are fricking freaks. But once you're done being upset, you reroll, and you keep playing, and you keep having fun. There's a big difference in attitude of needing a moment to catch your breath, and being so protective of your imaginary guy that you'll sack gaming nights altogether if they die.
But I can say that the few times I've had someone feel like leaving after their character died, they stopped feeling that way after the character did die. Because what makes us feel this way is the same thing that makes us not want to restart in a video game, or throw out a cardboard box we can totally find a use for some day; it's just hoarding. Once you rip the band-aid off and get over the mental hurdle, you'll probably wonder why you even felt so protective in the first place.
My current guy has peaked so fricking hard in one campaign I'm actually thinking of leaving it if it he dies because I won't be able to tap into the same energy tbh
I wouldn't fathom continuing if my character died.
Make a new guy with a completely different goal, preferably diametrically opposed. Amazing wealth? Give all your wealth away. Most powerful warrior? Try to solve all your problems without personally dirtying your hands. Greatest wizard? Worst thief. Not saying wanting your character to be an expression of linear growth is a badwrong way to play, but I don't see the appeal. I'm here to roleplay and make cool things happen in the imaginary world, and I run the game so others can do the same. I'd be pretty disappointed if I found out one my friends was just in it for the loot grind. Especially when we all agreed to play a game with character death to begin with.
Alright, I'll run through whatever happens, with no regrets.
A fine choice. Regrets are worse than the worst consequence. I wish you luck in the outcome.
>and you keep having fun
That's the problem. I hate the system and I'm only still in it because role-playing my dude is the fun part. It isn't JUST that I'm attached to the character (although I am) but without him my investment in the campaign drops to 0 and my interest in the system itself is already negative.
2 months ago
Anonymous
This is me currently with Curse of Strahd. Absolutely detest the module and only sticking around because of how much I enjoy my character and the party as a whole.
I wouldnt wipe my ass with this fricking module.
2 months ago
Anonymous
This is me currently with Curse of Strahd. Absolutely detest the module and only sticking around because of how much I enjoy my character and the party as a whole.
I wouldnt wipe my ass with this fricking module.
"Hey, now that my Mario is dead, can we switch modulesystemwhatever to [something I enjoy more]?"
Simple as that. Take a break until the rest of the players are done with the current stuff if you can't abide i. I can only speak for myself but this would make me happy, even if we end up not agreeing to keep playing then at least there's a request for a compromise. As I said, not wanting to play is very different from refusing to play. The former is an issue we can work out together, the latter is blackmail. Sometimes we don't want to play the same thing, that happens, it sucks but what can you do?
>I would rather not play than play with someone like that.
While outright quitting is a bit extreme Ill agree, Id rather play with that 100 times over than some autistic munchkin who treats the hobby like an MMO or Dark Souls.
I mean, you're right. It gets my blood boiling because I hate it when people disrespect each other, but while I want to; I have never kicked a player who said they would quit if their character died. I call their bluff but I don't agitate them. I have kicked munchkins, many times. In that regard they are definitely worse, but I view them the same way I'd someone jerking off at the table. Remove the offending person, resume playing.
2 months ago
Anonymous
Ill offer the middle ground is HOW the character dies. I know grognards would just label me a theatre kid but I think losing a character is alot more digestible when it has some kind of positive context to it. Dying because you took a hit for a friend or holding theine while everyone escaped feels alot better than "Uhhhhh lol you fell into this unwinnable pitfall/situation you had no way of knowing about unless you run around poling 12 ft poles at everything and casting Detect Magic 24/7."
Curse of Strahd is filled with that kind of shit and its made me understand why people wi just make John McWizardman and play in the cheesiest, "gameiest" way possible.
2 months ago
Anonymous
I played into a player wanting their character to die in a heroic way once, it was alright. The skeleton still shanked him to death like a b***h but in our heads it was happening in slow motion like a scene from Gladiator.
2 months ago
Anonymous
Just out of curiosity, what system?
2 months ago
Anonymous
PF2e with a bunch of homebrewed items and a couple houserules. Normally I'd try and withhold judgement a little since there's so much homebrew flying around but none of the problems I have with the game intersect with what the GM has actually changed; most of his changes have actually fixed or ameliorated smaller issues.
I just don't agree with any of the major design decisions made in the system. >legions of feats to choose from, some of which sound kinda cool but most of which are going to be useless or irrelevant unless you happen to be stacking a particular skill bonus >there's a few things that require feats that really feel like they shouldn't, like being friendly with an animal or using your shield properly >action economy is all weird and unintuitive; can't run and draw your sword at the same time, gotta pause mid-sprint which may also take up your opportunity to actually swing with it even if the enemy is within 60ft >you can make stuff for free if you're a crafting class but also it disintegrates at the end of the day because I guess you're mildly moronic or something >if you're holding a sword and a shield you can't shove someone >you need a hand free to trip someone >flight rules are so punishing that none of the flying PCs in my party even bother >several class and archetype defining skills require you to make a check against nobody just to see if they work or not and, at best case, are a coinflip between giving allies within 10ft of you +1-3 damage in a system with huge HP bloat or wasting an action
It just sucks ass to play, man. It's got the same round-robin combat issues as 5e does but with added, boring build autism on top of it and a bunch of unintuitive gamist shit going on on the side that doesn't make any sense except in the confines of its own book.
2 months ago
Anonymous
>>you need a hand free to trip someone
That doesn't sound unreasonable, unless you're using a polearm or something
2 months ago
Anonymous
"Trip" is literally a weapon trait for an incredibly wide variety of common weapons both martial and simple, and 1 handed and 2 handed, that allow you to use the trip action without a free hand. Same goes for push. You can also get feats that let you use the trip action with weapons that don't have the trip weapon trait, same for push.
2 months ago
Anonymous
I actually really like P2e, at least I'm having way more fun with that than I ever did 5e. It's very much a tactical wargame more than a roleplaying game, and it needs people who think it's fun to build characters. And you're right that it's so rigidly codified that some abilities end up being gated behind feat or equipment requirenments that don't really make sense.
>you need a hand free to trip someone
You're thinking you should be able to do it with your legs? That's fair, same goes for shove I guess. The 'free hand' requirenment can be removed from some of the attack options and it'll have 0 effect on balance, since using attack options without weapon enhancement bonuses quickly becomes irrelevant.
>if you're holding a sword and a shield you can't shove someone
This actually was probably an oversight, 'cause they explicitly added shields with the shove trait later, as well as shields that can be thrown and other silly shit.
Going through the same shit right now. Ive become insanely invested in my character and how he impacts and feels about the others in the party and losing him would hurt and its making me stressed to the point where Im playing to protect him rather than let him be who he should be.
Its a weird feel anon, but dont let others judge you for it. Youre among fellow autists.
My current guy has peaked so fricking hard in one campaign I'm actually thinking of leaving it if it he dies because I won't be able to tap into the same energy tbh
>I would rather not play than play with someone like that.
While outright quitting is a bit extreme Ill agree, Id rather play with that 100 times over than some autistic munchkin who treats the hobby like an MMO or Dark Souls.
Kinda, i'm running a 3.5e game as courtesy for a couple of friends of mine (one is a 3.5e forever gm and another is a 3.5e gay) and while having enough sysmastery with it (i basically run 3.x for the vast majority my gm experience) isn't exactly my favourite game to tackle with (i pretty much tried to branch off multiple times over the course of my gaming experience and had a lot of other games that i preferred playing with instead: brp, gurps, wfrp, merp, and some others) so while i'm having a great time session-wise i actually have to force myself during the week to sit down and prep the next game (if not i automatically end daydreaming about designing other games with other rulesystems).
no, I infact am not. the GM has no concept of money and I have a five-digit monthly income and routinely awards us with piles of money for quests, but doesn't understand economy in any way so spending said money is a huge pain in the ass unless it's done at his pre-planned stores that stock mainly the same five or six items.
>Dungeon of the Mad Mage
how come hasbro is allowed to use the m word, but shadow of the weird wizard had to be changed to accomodate with DEI requirenments???
Because it was previous to when the Twitter comitee decided that "Mad" was a slur.
My condolences
If it's any consolation, the prequel is probably worse
This. I tried 4 times to give Dragon heist a chance, and all of them the campaign ended up dying because the DMs didn't know how to save such a dogshit module. I love waterdeep as a setting, but this ain't it, chief.
Yup. After playing with multiple parties with various degrees of seriousness, all I can really say that the hatred on Volo is pretty much universal. Apparently everyone roleplays him as a piece of shit.
I haven't had a consistent game in 3 years and have been a player in a game for 6. Really sucks but I don't know if I want to go through the frustration of finding a suitable game for me. Where does everyone find players or DMs? Forums? Here?
No way, really? I put DoMM into my game and it was a real big hit. I changed it so that you can go through any of the portals at any time, and spiced things up by making the internal floor to floor faction conflicts more striking. As I type this I am realizing I really only used the map and enemy placements and made up the rest myself.
>I changed it so that you can go through any of the portals at any time, and spiced things up by making the internal floor to floor faction conflicts more striking.
We haven't had a single portal, the descriptions are just of archways that can't be activated. We've been descending only and don't know we can activate any portals or that there's even anyone left up, we just know we have to go down to leave as we pass that intel along. Over 20 people have died, sometimes people dying twice a session, as we keep meatgrinding one level at a time.
>Saturday game: having a lot of fun during roleplay and am heavily invested in my character >enjoyment takes a nosedive whenever I try to actually play the fricking game and run face first into an encyclopedia of weird constraints >at least the GM has smoothed some things over with houserules, like letting us draw weapons and stride in the same action
>Friday game is fine I guess but it's 5e, my rogue hasn't had a lot to do, and I miss playing Nechronica
I guess. Kinda starting to realize that the big draw /tg/ stuff had for me has been the collaborative writegayging that my main group does, and that I am too ADHD for traditional turn-based stuff like 5e and Pathfinder where the combat loop consists of >do 2-3 things >wait 20min for your turn to come back around and hope nothing goes totally off the rails
I need to sit down and figure out how to bring the AP and Timing system from Nechronica to a grid-based game someday, otherwise I'll probably never be happy.
>Add more zones to battles instead of the original 5. >Zones can have tags like cover, darkness, suffer damage, one-way access >Zones might not have LOS to all other zones >Still denote the names, I use extra names myself that can count toward character abilitied (Purgatory, Tuonela, Valhalla, so on).
Now you can use any kind of battlemap to fight. Just draw some borders and denote zones when steel is drawn.
I tend to let players with zone-related abilities to choose where their zones are first. This way even the quick set-up involves player action.
After playing like this for a while I've started to seriously question the point of grids in general.
Relatively few fights in RPGs take place on open fields and in enclosed spaces you really do care mostly which room you're in or which side of an obstacle you are.
>After playing like this for a while I've started to seriously question the point of grids in general. >Relatively few fights in RPGs take place on open fields and in enclosed spaces you really do care mostly which room you're in or which side of an obstacle you are.
I don't really disagree with you. The only real advantage of grid maps is being able to finesse AoE effects in combat, imo (bomb the frick out of some dude messing with your pal instead of bombing the frick out of both of them, stuff like that). At least if you aren't doing stuff like tracking facing, flanks, etc.
The real reason I want to adapt those aspects of the system is to just get them out of Nechronica so I can get more players. I love Nechronica but it's a hard sell (even to the degens in my secondary group) and if I have to learn another system with 30min voids in the action because Wizard McGee forgot what all his spells do again I'm going to put my head through my monitor.
Honestly, I could probably just start creating my own maps and then sectioning them into zones like you said. Solves the main problem of people having trouble visualizing the battle area at the very least. Other shit can come later.
My point is that you -don't- need to make your own maps. I literally use random battlemaps from Pinterest and use 10 seconds with draw line tool when combat starts.
Moving the system away from zombie e-girls will be way harder when so many mechanics are body horror.
Nechronica is begging for a normie-friendly Mecha skin of paint. Madness becomes bond strain, the thing with the parts is your mech instead of you, combat is mech only, and rename everything away from Zombie Gun into Ultra Shotgun type shit. It would be a pile of work but it's basically all right there.
>DnD 5e game >is fun but a bit too railroaded for my taste, it's kinda clear that the GM is the "fun before sense" kind which means nothing matters because your chances of success are more reliant on how much he wants you to do that and how against his plans you are. Most magic spells, effects, diseases and such are all homebrew and made up. Magic items arte all homebrew too and barely follows any rules RAW, so we really don't have much to hold on to affect the world since we have no idea what will work and what won't.
>PF2 game >Fun and cool for a first time GM. The battlemaps were almost pointless due how empty they were and there were no rewards at all during the campaign. DM also lacked proper "tard wrangling" and redirection skills so awkward silences were the norm until I or the other "face" player would break it.
I think I just enjoy GMing way mroe than playing, and I'm too ahrsh on them for first time GMs for trying to make their own stuff so soon when I did the same. But I quickly realised I was trying to grasp more than I could hold and started a new campaign, while the 5e game keeps piling up more concepts, tiems and stuff that he clearly pulls out of his ass and bites him back later.
Not really but that is because i am a miserable person that doesnt know what they want. You could sit me down and i could give you the lowdown of the two games im in and get nothing but genuine praise to the GM and the other players, but I'll still say im not happy.
I'm in two 5e games and a PF2 game. One is Adventurer's League.
None of them seem to understand the concept of shutting the frick up while the DM is narrating.
nope. playing pathfinder and i find it boring. too many stupid skills and actions are dumb. but my gm insists on playing it. wish i could try something else.
Yes, but there's always some small gripes here and there. Been playing a Renevant Rogue since the Shadow of the Weird Wizard playtest, and man they did both the ancestry and path so dirty on the official release. He went from being the party's tank to arguably the weakest PC on the table, with a somewhat mediocre damage throughput compared to the fighters and mages. I don't want to abandon this character yet because there's a master path that looks very interesting, but there's not much else going of for him, sadly.
Not really. Its a mixed bag of in game and out of game issues. My biggest issue is the monty haul and the fact our GM is complaining about it while continuing to overload us with excessive exp. Its like a parent who complains how spoiled we are while taking us out to buy a Lamborghini every week.
I think the other issue is just the general lack of engagement with some players. 2 are just content to sit on their phone, one we all just ignore because 90% of the time its moronic rambling not even related to the game, so the only ones who actually push the plot are me and another player.
Honestly the group has been suffering for a while and I might just bail once I enroll for the fall semester. Prolly gonna be too busy with school to play anyway.
>vampire >act as GM >cursed game, 3rd attempt >only GMing because of a promise I made >would rather do something else with my time
>changeling the lost game >act as GM >only GMing because of a promise I made >fun game with lots of good moments
>werewolf dark ages game >act as GM >only GMing because someone asked me to >fun game with nice moments >recently got back on track after getting fixed players >hoping things go alright
>werewolf game >acting as player >favourite game >responsible for the dark ages game I'm GMing >nice NPCs >nice setting >almost ended because of drama >got solo for a while >still wholesome >GM asks if it's okay to open slots for other players again >reluctantly say "yes" >new players joined recently >they are lazy frickers who don't read the setting >regret not having a backbone and just saying "no" >still the game is going pretty well
>vampire game number 2 >acting as player >same GM as werewolf game >however he's been through some rough issues recently >helped him with setting, searching on material in books, etc >note things down in a shared convo so he can always get back to it >when session comes all our notes aren't in game channel >felt I was having an "unfair advantage" of knowing commom knowledge of the setting other players didn't know >interest dropped hard after that >only got on track with my character on third session >now interest is rising up again
Oh frick yeah I am.
The group is kind of a mess and D&D 3.5e is really inefficient, but they are good guys and the system does have some really fun options for players to engage with.
And the DM is a chad among gods.
I'm really liking playing with this group, I only wish we could have a more consistent gaming schedule, but alas life happens.
>Lancer
Absolutely, the players seriously carry it and they're invested to the point where they're roleplaying outside of the session, too. >Honor + Intrigue
Not sure why, but statting up npcs is really tiresome for me. I also hate how the rules are laid out so poorly, it's hard to find anything. Otherwise, game has gone from swashbuckling to pulp swords and sorcery and I love it. >Pathfinder 2e
Love the group and the interactions, but I've been having zero fun with the game as well as the AP the GM is running (Kingmaker).
I'm mostly having fun with the games I run or play in. One of them's been spinning its wheels for a few months but the GM has been made aware due to one of the other players, and one I run I'm not entirely happy with cause I'm not the guy who should be running that genre of game but it is what it is we're too deep to just drop it.
Gonna be playing the first session of a new game wednesday though, looking forward to that.
>Are you having fun with your current game?
Haven't had a game in like four years, and this is the longest period of time in the last 20 years that I don't hate rpgs
GMing it and it has barely started so it is pretty ordinary so far. Will pick up given a few more sessions when my players get into the setting and their characters.
I have an online game that's been meandering for years because it's text only and an irl game where I have to pretend to be ok with the general gaygery of liberals despite us all being white and straight.
I'm running 3 games. One is solid as a rock, it's a megadungeon with a town next to it. Players show up and shop for 10 minutes and then dungeoncrawl for 3 hours and 50 minutes or they dungeon crawl for 4 hours.
One is more hexploration-based and I feel like the last few sessions have been a little meandering but until now it has been good. I need to introduce a specific conflict like a foe lurking in the region threatening what the PCs are building instead of leaning on the general thrill of adventure being the driving force.
The other game is a pre-written adventure that I'm running for too large a group. The bones of the thing are solid but where I'm slipping up is the pacing, I feel like 50% of the sessions are hits that everyone loves and the other 50% are a bit of a mess because like 3 people in the 7 person group never really have a good chance to strut their stuff. I always try to introduce something into a session to unify everyone but that something is usually just combat which is the great equalizer.
Eh. It's not great because its a fricking month (at best) in-between sessions and we have WAY too many people. The group takes forever to make decisions and I have let myself check out a lot resultingly. 3 of us are online and the other 5 are IRL which causes another bit of a disconnect, and partly because of that I don't try harder to lead the party to making decisions more quickly. So rather than having a 1-2 or even 2-3 hour session max we have 4-5 hour sessions where we accomplish much the same amount as a shorter session and then frick off for a month before doing it again.
It's also almost all flaming liberals with me being the only moderate, which would be fine if more of the game wasn't constantly pulled in a political direction consistently + OOC chats/socializing being politics (More than one character actively distributes Not-Das Captial in the Feywild, which is only as a "tongue in cheek" because they want to do it IRL). If these were one off bits it'd be fine, but they keep pulling the active storytelling/rp towards shit like that while not being willing to actually run the campain/module off the rails to actually follow through with it.
I'd probably honestly quit if it wasn't my only way to socialize with friends from back home now that I live halfway across the world.
Theres nothing liberal about Marx. Either you dont know what liberalism is, or what Marxism is. Politics aside though, the struggle of online/offline play and slow checked out players is one I can empathize with, hope it improves anon.
>monthly sessions >8 fricking players >mix of irl and online participation >long sessions where nothing happens >players talking politics in and out of game
Jfc anon you win worst current game on /tg/. Seriously, I get wanting to socialize with old friends, but you fricks could be playing videogames or something.
I'm over ttrpgs in general and would quit if I was not one to two sessions from a break off point. When I get there, I'm stepping away and not coming back.
I stepped away a few years ago and took 2 years off not enjoyed after returning. Both when others run or when I do.
i understand this mood as a gm. if it wasnt for two major changes i made, id be in your shoes.
- i only run systems or homebrew that arent battlegrid balancing nightmare planning fiestas like PF1
- i tell players in no uncertain terms the things i do not like about how they play and i expect them to say the same about my gm'ing. if we arent compatible, we part ways.
>i tell players in no uncertain terms the things i do not like about how they play and i expect them to say the same about my gm'ing. if we arent compatible, we part ways.
Do you live in some kind of alternate reality of Platonic ideals? Fricking envious.
>run Pathfinder >group btfos every encounter in 1 round, 2 rounds tops >group of six level 9 characters, up against four CR 12 monsters >they still btfo it in 1 or 2 rounds >bring gf to game >she basically just sits there and gets maybe one turn tops >let her refrain a feat to improved Initiative so she actually has a turn >game is basically players competing to roll as high as possible so they can actually play the game >as soon as I add enough monsters for the fight to last more than 3 rounds, PCs start getting btfo and players whine about overpowered enemies >game is basically a bunch of snowflakes and freakshit rushing into battle like kids swarming candy under a pinatas, it's not even about winning it's about who does the most damage >the rest of the time they act like living meme >I hate Pathfinder so much it's unreal, but they won't play anything else.
Yes, when we actually meet.
I'd have more fun if I wasn't GM
See game 2 but one guy dropped, one is a flake, so it's actually just playing board games with the PDA IRL/in-character flirting couple
All PF2.
Problem exists between GM screen and chair, assuming this greentext actually happened. 2e my biggest struggle learning the system, or with new players, is not accidental TPKs.
I secretly make freakshit start with an NPC attitude penalty because there's rules for normal people wanting your half-catgirl half-tiefling to frick off back to hell.
Eh. It's not great because its a fricking month (at best) in-between sessions and we have WAY too many people. The group takes forever to make decisions and I have let myself check out a lot resultingly. 3 of us are online and the other 5 are IRL which causes another bit of a disconnect, and partly because of that I don't try harder to lead the party to making decisions more quickly. So rather than having a 1-2 or even 2-3 hour session max we have 4-5 hour sessions where we accomplish much the same amount as a shorter session and then frick off for a month before doing it again.
It's also almost all flaming liberals with me being the only moderate, which would be fine if more of the game wasn't constantly pulled in a political direction consistently + OOC chats/socializing being politics (More than one character actively distributes Not-Das Captial in the Feywild, which is only as a "tongue in cheek" because they want to do it IRL). If these were one off bits it'd be fine, but they keep pulling the active storytelling/rp towards shit like that while not being willing to actually run the campain/module off the rails to actually follow through with it.
I'd probably honestly quit if it wasn't my only way to socialize with friends from back home now that I live halfway across the world.
>I'd probably honestly quit if it wasn't my only way to socialize with friends from back home now that I live halfway across the world.
Anon, this sounds cold but maybe you outgrew your friends? It sounds like you've matured, and they're still teenagers who like the idea of government being their stepmom more than having actually read and understood the real document they're trying to distribute.
I get that being halfway around the world and probably having a language barrier is rough, but you're an adult now and you need friends that will grow with you. Be courageous, go out there, and try to meet new people. Listen more than you talk, be interesting, and be confident that you're interesting. You've put who these codependent teens used to be on a pedestal, time to smash the idols and make new friends.
its been going for over a decade and i'm just less interested in it now. Its ending soon and I can't wait so we can be done and literally play anything else.
>CPRED
Easily the best game I've ever had the pleasure to run, entirely thanks to the absolutely based four dudes I'm running the game for. After having to deal with bullshit in three other games, two of which I was GM in, having a proper game free of that toss is glorious.
not really >miss last session >another player at the table messages me and fills me in, also adds the DM wants us to all pay 10 bucks each a fortnight >we have been playing for a few sessions for free >ask why tf he wants $10 each >DM says hes done a lot of hard work helping us make characters, teaching us the game (5e, all of us have come from different editions) and that he has also dumped 100s of dollars of his own money into buying expensive shit that no one asked for such as custom tokens, battlemap, carved wooden DM screen, etc >me and the player ask in our chat if we could discuss the payment idea again >DM is immediately aggressive, asks why >me and friend both admit we arent comfortable paying considering this was never mentioned at session 0 and feels a little bit weird to suddenly ask for money >instantly gets defensive and upset >starts saying we're taking him for granted >says all the work he has put in should be compensated monetarily because we havent contributed anything >he also goes on to say that he would like this to be an ongoing payment for the entirety of the campaign >asks us if its a matter of price and says "30 dollars is the industry standard for a DM" >says we value a cheeseburger meal more than him
for context we are all friends, have been for years. The DM actually lives with 3 of the 4 other players. we play for 6 hours sometimes, he doesnt cook or cater for us, we pay for our own food, and we just play in the living room on the dining table
Eh, it's alright. One of my German friends is running a military isekai using Only War, and it's okay. Kind of just been shooting orcs and goblins so far, but maybe things will pick up once we have a goal beyond "find civilization and figure out what to do next."
No. Like another anon in this thread I have grown overly attached to my character in a meatgrinder of a setting and its made whats supposed to be a fun game with wonderful people an absolute mess of stress and anxiety.
Its unbelievably frustrating because I've never had this problem since my very first TTRPG character way way back when I was a younger man.
But something has so profoundly resonated with me with this character that the thought of losing him or hell, the people he's come to love (the party) just fricks me up and keeps me up at night.
Whats worse is that this isn't a character I could ever use for another campaign or story. Not only would like 90% of your "average" tables not get or appreciate him, but it would be a disservice to their journey with the current group and our experiences with one another.
I just don't know if I've peaked or if theres some deep psychological reason Im so attached to them.
Autisms a b***h and sometimes I wish I wouldnt get so emotional about such trivial things and just be normal.
>I just don't know if I've peaked or if theres some deep psychological reason Im so attached to them.
The kind with this kind of obsessive attachment is that it can happen randomly. Maybe this character or this table is a step above the normal, so your brain has decided to latch onto the character as the cause, or the spoils of war. Worth defending.
I recommend you find a way to ease off of that obsession, and try to spin it to something positive. Having a character you really enjoy should be a good thing, not a source of anxiety. Personally I'd consider killing him off for my own sanity's sake as a form of exposure therapy. But surely just relaxing and reminding yourself it is a game, and that you can have the same experiences with the same people even if the character is gone, should be enough. Just remember to actually remind yourself.
>But surely just relaxing and reminding yourself it is a game, and that you can have the same experiences with the same people even if the character is gone, should be enough.
The worst part is is that Im fully aware of this. I know if he dies everyone at the table is going to cry like a baby and then next week we'll all hop back in the saddle and continue because the friendships Ive made are more important.
Without waxing too poetically, I think part of it was when I realized how, subconsciously, I put way more of myself into this character than I ever intended to. It hit me how much his current journey has mirrored my life experiences over the past 3-4 years, and might explain why I resonate with the character on such a deep emotional level.
It doesnt help that we're stuck in Barovia, which is just one of the biggest misery wanks in fiction.
But holding onto something so nebulous with white knuckles is both really frustrating and really embarrassing.
I'm having a blast. The weeb of the group is DMing this time and the campaign takes place at a magical school for adventurers in training. The mix of coming age stories, YA novels and shonen anime bullshit is palpable and I'm here for it. There's even a time skip from where the school turns out to be training child soldiers for a big civil war and there's a berserk style eclipse event. Tomorrow's our last session and we're at the BBEG. I'm gonna miss it. Next campaign is gonna be some gothic van helsing type shit, can't wait.
>5e
DMing custom setting, players are having fun interacting with the world, seeing the sights, fighting weird homebrew monsters I find or make up. Only problem is half the group can't meet IRL, so we're forced to use owlbear rodeo instead of physical maps and minis. All in all a good time though.
>Starfinder
Pretty solid group, GM puts up with our nonsense and actively plays along with it sometimes. We livestream our adventures and make jokes about selling nordvpn and raid shadow legends, stuff like that.
>PF2
Same group as starfinder, every other week. I'm GMing this one, homebrew setting, mostly just dungeon crawling with a vague 'plot' about an evil wizard and some mercenaries. Next week they should finally meet the wizard unless they screw around too much in his dungeon, so that'll be fun. Not sure how I want to keep going after that, honestly.
>Other 5e game
Just started, online, old college friends. Playing our old setting 200 years into the future. It's cool seeing how our old characters shaped the world during their adventures, and the DM is a master at describing food, which comes up all the time. Seriously, you have to eat dinner before playing, it's great.
All in all, pretty solid! The games I'm running I sometimes feel like I'm flailing around at with no idea what the players are going to do next, but that's part of DMing, and I like to think I'm pretty good at making stuff up on the fly.
Yup! I'm GMing a DnD 5e game for some friends. Just had our third session, which quickly devolved into fricking loony toons shit because of goblins and the players failing difficult terrain checks.
And then they discovered a mega evil talisman that puppeted the party for a bit. So naturally they tied a rope to it and are planning to drag it into town.
its better if you read it backwards
>backwards it read you if better its
>sdrawkcab ti daer uoy fi retteb sti
Why?
It would be better that way if there was a female character instead of the dwarf.
That is a dwarf female.
They wear fake beards when in soldier garb to be able to display their medals of honor.
that bit of lore is now going into my next setting that features dwarves. fantastic
I don’t have a current game. Too damn busy. I have one consistently free time slot available on Sunday nights, which you think would be a good day, but all the games I’ve found for the systems I’m interested in have been for Saturday and weekdays. Why people play on weekdays is beyond me, don’t you people have work or school?
As a GM yes, but i am worried my players arent having fun. They are not very interactive with the world and i feel like i have to push them to do things, but i dont want to do that, i want them to actually have things they wanna do.
Its probably because my last group was interactive that i feel this way.
Similar camp, kind of. It's my first time GMing and well prepping is really easy, trying to roleplay and set pacing is hard.
One of my players is my twin brother, and he is fairly blunt with it. Where he complains all the time during the session about how long everything takes.
Another player is our usual GM, and he says he's enjoying it, but I feel like that's only because he doesn't have to GM for once.
The third player seems pretty neutral on it. But he straight up says if his character dies then he'll quit rather than make a new character. Which means I have to at times, kind of fudge the game so that doesn't happen.
>But he straight up says if his character dies then he'll quit rather than make a new character.
I would rather not play than play with someone like that. Leaving a game entirely because your pet character died is so incredibly selfish, might as well not be friends if you're that disrespectful. People have pulled that on me, but when their death hits they don't leave, but I guess there's a first time for everything. If it ever happens I know I'll be fricking furious with them for a long time.
It is kind of annoying, especially since I know if we went down from 3 players to 2 it might as well be over for the campaign.
Running a campaign for 2 people right now, as others had IRL things preventing their playing right now. It is going well, they both need to be on the ball at all times which can be a chore but when they are it goes great, and when they aren't it still works, just not as good as 3+. Maybe I'm just prideful when I find the leaving to be a red line, but I will say one thing: my game runs infinitely better when I do not feel emotionally blackmailed by the players. I try to be the best GM I can, and run my game accordingly - I can't do that when I'm walking on eggshells around someone because they'll freak if their character gets hurt.
We play, or we don't. My plaque says "GM", not "Therapist".
Alright, I'll run through whatever happens, with no regrets.
>>But he straight up says if his character dies then he'll quit rather than make a new character
>mfw I'm in this picture and I don't like it
I like the other players and I like my PC and I like the DM but I do not like the system.
I'm still in because I'm invested in all the shit around my character but idk what I'll do if he dies.
Hopefully, if your character dies, you'll be upset and then roll up a new one. Taking a week or two break is fine, being attached to your character is normal and people who act like emotional numbness is a life goal are fricking freaks. But once you're done being upset, you reroll, and you keep playing, and you keep having fun. There's a big difference in attitude of needing a moment to catch your breath, and being so protective of your imaginary guy that you'll sack gaming nights altogether if they die.
But I can say that the few times I've had someone feel like leaving after their character died, they stopped feeling that way after the character did die. Because what makes us feel this way is the same thing that makes us not want to restart in a video game, or throw out a cardboard box we can totally find a use for some day; it's just hoarding. Once you rip the band-aid off and get over the mental hurdle, you'll probably wonder why you even felt so protective in the first place.
Make a new guy with a completely different goal, preferably diametrically opposed. Amazing wealth? Give all your wealth away. Most powerful warrior? Try to solve all your problems without personally dirtying your hands. Greatest wizard? Worst thief. Not saying wanting your character to be an expression of linear growth is a badwrong way to play, but I don't see the appeal. I'm here to roleplay and make cool things happen in the imaginary world, and I run the game so others can do the same. I'd be pretty disappointed if I found out one my friends was just in it for the loot grind. Especially when we all agreed to play a game with character death to begin with.
A fine choice. Regrets are worse than the worst consequence. I wish you luck in the outcome.
>and you keep having fun
That's the problem. I hate the system and I'm only still in it because role-playing my dude is the fun part. It isn't JUST that I'm attached to the character (although I am) but without him my investment in the campaign drops to 0 and my interest in the system itself is already negative.
This is me currently with Curse of Strahd. Absolutely detest the module and only sticking around because of how much I enjoy my character and the party as a whole.
I wouldnt wipe my ass with this fricking module.
"Hey, now that my Mario is dead, can we switch modulesystemwhatever to [something I enjoy more]?"
Simple as that. Take a break until the rest of the players are done with the current stuff if you can't abide i. I can only speak for myself but this would make me happy, even if we end up not agreeing to keep playing then at least there's a request for a compromise. As I said, not wanting to play is very different from refusing to play. The former is an issue we can work out together, the latter is blackmail. Sometimes we don't want to play the same thing, that happens, it sucks but what can you do?
I mean, you're right. It gets my blood boiling because I hate it when people disrespect each other, but while I want to; I have never kicked a player who said they would quit if their character died. I call their bluff but I don't agitate them. I have kicked munchkins, many times. In that regard they are definitely worse, but I view them the same way I'd someone jerking off at the table. Remove the offending person, resume playing.
Ill offer the middle ground is HOW the character dies. I know grognards would just label me a theatre kid but I think losing a character is alot more digestible when it has some kind of positive context to it. Dying because you took a hit for a friend or holding theine while everyone escaped feels alot better than "Uhhhhh lol you fell into this unwinnable pitfall/situation you had no way of knowing about unless you run around poling 12 ft poles at everything and casting Detect Magic 24/7."
Curse of Strahd is filled with that kind of shit and its made me understand why people wi just make John McWizardman and play in the cheesiest, "gameiest" way possible.
I played into a player wanting their character to die in a heroic way once, it was alright. The skeleton still shanked him to death like a b***h but in our heads it was happening in slow motion like a scene from Gladiator.
Just out of curiosity, what system?
PF2e with a bunch of homebrewed items and a couple houserules. Normally I'd try and withhold judgement a little since there's so much homebrew flying around but none of the problems I have with the game intersect with what the GM has actually changed; most of his changes have actually fixed or ameliorated smaller issues.
I just don't agree with any of the major design decisions made in the system.
>legions of feats to choose from, some of which sound kinda cool but most of which are going to be useless or irrelevant unless you happen to be stacking a particular skill bonus
>there's a few things that require feats that really feel like they shouldn't, like being friendly with an animal or using your shield properly
>action economy is all weird and unintuitive; can't run and draw your sword at the same time, gotta pause mid-sprint which may also take up your opportunity to actually swing with it even if the enemy is within 60ft
>you can make stuff for free if you're a crafting class but also it disintegrates at the end of the day because I guess you're mildly moronic or something
>if you're holding a sword and a shield you can't shove someone
>you need a hand free to trip someone
>flight rules are so punishing that none of the flying PCs in my party even bother
>several class and archetype defining skills require you to make a check against nobody just to see if they work or not and, at best case, are a coinflip between giving allies within 10ft of you +1-3 damage in a system with huge HP bloat or wasting an action
It just sucks ass to play, man. It's got the same round-robin combat issues as 5e does but with added, boring build autism on top of it and a bunch of unintuitive gamist shit going on on the side that doesn't make any sense except in the confines of its own book.
>>you need a hand free to trip someone
That doesn't sound unreasonable, unless you're using a polearm or something
"Trip" is literally a weapon trait for an incredibly wide variety of common weapons both martial and simple, and 1 handed and 2 handed, that allow you to use the trip action without a free hand. Same goes for push. You can also get feats that let you use the trip action with weapons that don't have the trip weapon trait, same for push.
I actually really like P2e, at least I'm having way more fun with that than I ever did 5e. It's very much a tactical wargame more than a roleplaying game, and it needs people who think it's fun to build characters. And you're right that it's so rigidly codified that some abilities end up being gated behind feat or equipment requirenments that don't really make sense.
>you need a hand free to trip someone
You're thinking you should be able to do it with your legs? That's fair, same goes for shove I guess. The 'free hand' requirenment can be removed from some of the attack options and it'll have 0 effect on balance, since using attack options without weapon enhancement bonuses quickly becomes irrelevant.
>if you're holding a sword and a shield you can't shove someone
This actually was probably an oversight, 'cause they explicitly added shields with the shove trait later, as well as shields that can be thrown and other silly shit.
Well, in my case I specifically agreed to the game to play a very specific character concept, so.
If he dies, I'm out.
Going through the same shit right now. Ive become insanely invested in my character and how he impacts and feels about the others in the party and losing him would hurt and its making me stressed to the point where Im playing to protect him rather than let him be who he should be.
Its a weird feel anon, but dont let others judge you for it. Youre among fellow autists.
My current guy has peaked so fricking hard in one campaign I'm actually thinking of leaving it if it he dies because I won't be able to tap into the same energy tbh
I wouldn't fathom continuing if my character died.
>I would rather not play than play with someone like that.
While outright quitting is a bit extreme Ill agree, Id rather play with that 100 times over than some autistic munchkin who treats the hobby like an MMO or Dark Souls.
I don't have a current game.
>image title
I see you know the old ways
Of course. RPGs are fun!
Yeah, and that image is very topical. The BBEG is a yuan-ti abomination, and she's got a liking for our paladin
Kinda, i'm running a 3.5e game as courtesy for a couple of friends of mine (one is a 3.5e forever gm and another is a 3.5e gay) and while having enough sysmastery with it (i basically run 3.x for the vast majority my gm experience) isn't exactly my favourite game to tackle with (i pretty much tried to branch off multiple times over the course of my gaming experience and had a lot of other games that i preferred playing with instead: brp, gurps, wfrp, merp, and some others) so while i'm having a great time session-wise i actually have to force myself during the week to sit down and prep the next game (if not i automatically end daydreaming about designing other games with other rulesystems).
no, I infact am not. the GM has no concept of money and I have a five-digit monthly income and routinely awards us with piles of money for quests, but doesn't understand economy in any way so spending said money is a huge pain in the ass unless it's done at his pre-planned stores that stock mainly the same five or six items.
Pay for his economics degree.
Dungeon of the Mad Mage sucks ass. I don't even feel like writing the rest, it just sucks, frick it.
>Dungeon of the Mad Mage
how come hasbro is allowed to use the m word, but shadow of the weird wizard had to be changed to accomodate with DEI requirenments???
Because it was previous to when the Twitter comitee decided that "Mad" was a slur.
This. I tried 4 times to give Dragon heist a chance, and all of them the campaign ended up dying because the DMs didn't know how to save such a dogshit module. I love waterdeep as a setting, but this ain't it, chief.
>Dragon heist
That the one with no dragon and no heist?
Yup. After playing with multiple parties with various degrees of seriousness, all I can really say that the hatred on Volo is pretty much universal. Apparently everyone roleplays him as a piece of shit.
My condolences
If it's any consolation, the prequel is probably worse
I've heard its even worse and contrived, yeah. Least its mostly filler, but man, frick this thing.
I haven't had a consistent game in 3 years and have been a player in a game for 6. Really sucks but I don't know if I want to go through the frustration of finding a suitable game for me. Where does everyone find players or DMs? Forums? Here?
No way, really? I put DoMM into my game and it was a real big hit. I changed it so that you can go through any of the portals at any time, and spiced things up by making the internal floor to floor faction conflicts more striking. As I type this I am realizing I really only used the map and enemy placements and made up the rest myself.
>I changed it so that you can go through any of the portals at any time, and spiced things up by making the internal floor to floor faction conflicts more striking.
We haven't had a single portal, the descriptions are just of archways that can't be activated. We've been descending only and don't know we can activate any portals or that there's even anyone left up, we just know we have to go down to leave as we pass that intel along. Over 20 people have died, sometimes people dying twice a session, as we keep meatgrinding one level at a time.
I dunno.
>Saturday game: having a lot of fun during roleplay and am heavily invested in my character
>enjoyment takes a nosedive whenever I try to actually play the fricking game and run face first into an encyclopedia of weird constraints
>at least the GM has smoothed some things over with houserules, like letting us draw weapons and stride in the same action
>Friday game is fine I guess but it's 5e, my rogue hasn't had a lot to do, and I miss playing Nechronica
I guess. Kinda starting to realize that the big draw /tg/ stuff had for me has been the collaborative writegayging that my main group does, and that I am too ADHD for traditional turn-based stuff like 5e and Pathfinder where the combat loop consists of
>do 2-3 things
>wait 20min for your turn to come back around and hope nothing goes totally off the rails
I need to sit down and figure out how to bring the AP and Timing system from Nechronica to a grid-based game someday, otherwise I'll probably never be happy.
>Add more zones to battles instead of the original 5.
>Zones can have tags like cover, darkness, suffer damage, one-way access
>Zones might not have LOS to all other zones
>Still denote the names, I use extra names myself that can count toward character abilitied (Purgatory, Tuonela, Valhalla, so on).
Now you can use any kind of battlemap to fight. Just draw some borders and denote zones when steel is drawn.
I tend to let players with zone-related abilities to choose where their zones are first. This way even the quick set-up involves player action.
After playing like this for a while I've started to seriously question the point of grids in general.
Relatively few fights in RPGs take place on open fields and in enclosed spaces you really do care mostly which room you're in or which side of an obstacle you are.
>After playing like this for a while I've started to seriously question the point of grids in general.
>Relatively few fights in RPGs take place on open fields and in enclosed spaces you really do care mostly which room you're in or which side of an obstacle you are.
I don't really disagree with you. The only real advantage of grid maps is being able to finesse AoE effects in combat, imo (bomb the frick out of some dude messing with your pal instead of bombing the frick out of both of them, stuff like that). At least if you aren't doing stuff like tracking facing, flanks, etc.
The real reason I want to adapt those aspects of the system is to just get them out of Nechronica so I can get more players. I love Nechronica but it's a hard sell (even to the degens in my secondary group) and if I have to learn another system with 30min voids in the action because Wizard McGee forgot what all his spells do again I'm going to put my head through my monitor.
Honestly, I could probably just start creating my own maps and then sectioning them into zones like you said. Solves the main problem of people having trouble visualizing the battle area at the very least. Other shit can come later.
My point is that you -don't- need to make your own maps. I literally use random battlemaps from Pinterest and use 10 seconds with draw line tool when combat starts.
Moving the system away from zombie e-girls will be way harder when so many mechanics are body horror.
Nechronica is begging for a normie-friendly Mecha skin of paint. Madness becomes bond strain, the thing with the parts is your mech instead of you, combat is mech only, and rename everything away from Zombie Gun into Ultra Shotgun type shit. It would be a pile of work but it's basically all right there.
I actually am. We're having dinner with Strahd tomorrow. I can't wait to shit my pants in front of him.
>DnD 5e game
>is fun but a bit too railroaded for my taste, it's kinda clear that the GM is the "fun before sense" kind which means nothing matters because your chances of success are more reliant on how much he wants you to do that and how against his plans you are. Most magic spells, effects, diseases and such are all homebrew and made up. Magic items arte all homebrew too and barely follows any rules RAW, so we really don't have much to hold on to affect the world since we have no idea what will work and what won't.
>PF2 game
>Fun and cool for a first time GM. The battlemaps were almost pointless due how empty they were and there were no rewards at all during the campaign. DM also lacked proper "tard wrangling" and redirection skills so awkward silences were the norm until I or the other "face" player would break it.
I think I just enjoy GMing way mroe than playing, and I'm too ahrsh on them for first time GMs for trying to make their own stuff so soon when I did the same. But I quickly realised I was trying to grasp more than I could hold and started a new campaign, while the 5e game keeps piling up more concepts, tiems and stuff that he clearly pulls out of his ass and bites him back later.
Not really but that is because i am a miserable person that doesnt know what they want. You could sit me down and i could give you the lowdown of the two games im in and get nothing but genuine praise to the GM and the other players, but I'll still say im not happy.
Fun is a buzzword.
I'm in two 5e games and a PF2 game. One is Adventurer's League.
None of them seem to understand the concept of shutting the frick up while the DM is narrating.
Yes, I'm having a great time with the three campaigns I'm in.
nope. playing pathfinder and i find it boring. too many stupid skills and actions are dumb. but my gm insists on playing it. wish i could try something else.
Yes, but there's always some small gripes here and there. Been playing a Renevant Rogue since the Shadow of the Weird Wizard playtest, and man they did both the ancestry and path so dirty on the official release. He went from being the party's tank to arguably the weakest PC on the table, with a somewhat mediocre damage throughput compared to the fighters and mages. I don't want to abandon this character yet because there's a master path that looks very interesting, but there's not much else going of for him, sadly.
Not really. Its a mixed bag of in game and out of game issues. My biggest issue is the monty haul and the fact our GM is complaining about it while continuing to overload us with excessive exp. Its like a parent who complains how spoiled we are while taking us out to buy a Lamborghini every week.
I think the other issue is just the general lack of engagement with some players. 2 are just content to sit on their phone, one we all just ignore because 90% of the time its moronic rambling not even related to the game, so the only ones who actually push the plot are me and another player.
Honestly the group has been suffering for a while and I might just bail once I enroll for the fall semester. Prolly gonna be too busy with school to play anyway.
Sometimes my only fun is making the new guy happy or the new 'that guy' shut up about how everything that isn't in the media doesn't exist.
Doesn't that just mean he needs to expand his view of media? Nihil novi sub sole, and all that.
running a homebrew 5e, and finally got to a dungeon so it's going alright
also running Star Wars WEG Tatooine Manhunt again (because I liked the adventure a lot) and it's going well with my chaotic party
also playing two other not very notable 5e game (god i want to play anything else)
and lastly finished a Monster of the Week game, thank god
No. God, I wish my group could take shit a little more seriously.
>vampire
>act as GM
>cursed game, 3rd attempt
>only GMing because of a promise I made
>would rather do something else with my time
>changeling the lost game
>act as GM
>only GMing because of a promise I made
>fun game with lots of good moments
>werewolf dark ages game
>act as GM
>only GMing because someone asked me to
>fun game with nice moments
>recently got back on track after getting fixed players
>hoping things go alright
>werewolf game
>acting as player
>favourite game
>responsible for the dark ages game I'm GMing
>nice NPCs
>nice setting
>almost ended because of drama
>got solo for a while
>still wholesome
>GM asks if it's okay to open slots for other players again
>reluctantly say "yes"
>new players joined recently
>they are lazy frickers who don't read the setting
>regret not having a backbone and just saying "no"
>still the game is going pretty well
>vampire game number 2
>acting as player
>same GM as werewolf game
>however he's been through some rough issues recently
>helped him with setting, searching on material in books, etc
>note things down in a shared convo so he can always get back to it
>when session comes all our notes aren't in game channel
>felt I was having an "unfair advantage" of knowing commom knowledge of the setting other players didn't know
>interest dropped hard after that
>only got on track with my character on third session
>now interest is rising up again
All-in-all.. I'm okay on fun levels, I guess?
Oh frick yeah I am.
The group is kind of a mess and D&D 3.5e is really inefficient, but they are good guys and the system does have some really fun options for players to engage with.
And the DM is a chad among gods.
I'm really liking playing with this group, I only wish we could have a more consistent gaming schedule, but alas life happens.
>Lancer
Absolutely, the players seriously carry it and they're invested to the point where they're roleplaying outside of the session, too.
>Honor + Intrigue
Not sure why, but statting up npcs is really tiresome for me. I also hate how the rules are laid out so poorly, it's hard to find anything. Otherwise, game has gone from swashbuckling to pulp swords and sorcery and I love it.
>Pathfinder 2e
Love the group and the interactions, but I've been having zero fun with the game as well as the AP the GM is running (Kingmaker).
No. Pathfinder 2e sucks ass. It might be the only system worse than DnD 5e.
I'm mostly having fun with the games I run or play in. One of them's been spinning its wheels for a few months but the GM has been made aware due to one of the other players, and one I run I'm not entirely happy with cause I'm not the guy who should be running that genre of game but it is what it is we're too deep to just drop it.
Gonna be playing the first session of a new game wednesday though, looking forward to that.
The people are wonderful but I despise the module we are running. Im stuck between two extremes.
My current game is still in the planning phase. My GM is in the hospital and needs to recover before they're ready to do a Session 0.
I'm having fun making it.
>Are you having fun with your current game?
Haven't had a game in like four years, and this is the longest period of time in the last 20 years that I don't hate rpgs
I'm the GM. That is the only reply I can think to say.
GMing it and it has barely started so it is pretty ordinary so far. Will pick up given a few more sessions when my players get into the setting and their characters.
Yes. Both of them.
I have an online game that's been meandering for years because it's text only and an irl game where I have to pretend to be ok with the general gaygery of liberals despite us all being white and straight.
I'm running 3 games. One is solid as a rock, it's a megadungeon with a town next to it. Players show up and shop for 10 minutes and then dungeoncrawl for 3 hours and 50 minutes or they dungeon crawl for 4 hours.
One is more hexploration-based and I feel like the last few sessions have been a little meandering but until now it has been good. I need to introduce a specific conflict like a foe lurking in the region threatening what the PCs are building instead of leaning on the general thrill of adventure being the driving force.
The other game is a pre-written adventure that I'm running for too large a group. The bones of the thing are solid but where I'm slipping up is the pacing, I feel like 50% of the sessions are hits that everyone loves and the other 50% are a bit of a mess because like 3 people in the 7 person group never really have a good chance to strut their stuff. I always try to introduce something into a session to unify everyone but that something is usually just combat which is the great equalizer.
Eh. It's not great because its a fricking month (at best) in-between sessions and we have WAY too many people. The group takes forever to make decisions and I have let myself check out a lot resultingly. 3 of us are online and the other 5 are IRL which causes another bit of a disconnect, and partly because of that I don't try harder to lead the party to making decisions more quickly. So rather than having a 1-2 or even 2-3 hour session max we have 4-5 hour sessions where we accomplish much the same amount as a shorter session and then frick off for a month before doing it again.
It's also almost all flaming liberals with me being the only moderate, which would be fine if more of the game wasn't constantly pulled in a political direction consistently + OOC chats/socializing being politics (More than one character actively distributes Not-Das Captial in the Feywild, which is only as a "tongue in cheek" because they want to do it IRL). If these were one off bits it'd be fine, but they keep pulling the active storytelling/rp towards shit like that while not being willing to actually run the campain/module off the rails to actually follow through with it.
I'd probably honestly quit if it wasn't my only way to socialize with friends from back home now that I live halfway across the world.
>distributes Not-Das Captial in the Feywild
You mean he's handing political philosophy books to fey creatures?
What?
Why?
To what end?
>distributes Not-Das Capital
>flaming "liberals"
Theres nothing liberal about Marx. Either you dont know what liberalism is, or what Marxism is. Politics aside though, the struggle of online/offline play and slow checked out players is one I can empathize with, hope it improves anon.
tbf Marxists love skin walking as liberals, so much so that to most Americans they can't tell the difference
>monthly sessions
>8 fricking players
>mix of irl and online participation
>long sessions where nothing happens
>players talking politics in and out of game
Jfc anon you win worst current game on /tg/. Seriously, I get wanting to socialize with old friends, but you fricks could be playing videogames or something.
I'm over ttrpgs in general and would quit if I was not one to two sessions from a break off point. When I get there, I'm stepping away and not coming back.
I stepped away a few years ago and took 2 years off not enjoyed after returning. Both when others run or when I do.
i understand this mood as a gm. if it wasnt for two major changes i made, id be in your shoes.
- i only run systems or homebrew that arent battlegrid balancing nightmare planning fiestas like PF1
- i tell players in no uncertain terms the things i do not like about how they play and i expect them to say the same about my gm'ing. if we arent compatible, we part ways.
gm'ing is so, so much better for me now.
>i tell players in no uncertain terms the things i do not like about how they play and i expect them to say the same about my gm'ing. if we arent compatible, we part ways.
Do you live in some kind of alternate reality of Platonic ideals? Fricking envious.
Yes, but sadly it doesnt have snaik breasts!
>run Pathfinder
>group btfos every encounter in 1 round, 2 rounds tops
>group of six level 9 characters, up against four CR 12 monsters
>they still btfo it in 1 or 2 rounds
>bring gf to game
>she basically just sits there and gets maybe one turn tops
>let her refrain a feat to improved Initiative so she actually has a turn
>game is basically players competing to roll as high as possible so they can actually play the game
>as soon as I add enough monsters for the fight to last more than 3 rounds, PCs start getting btfo and players whine about overpowered enemies
>game is basically a bunch of snowflakes and freakshit rushing into battle like kids swarming candy under a pinatas, it's not even about winning it's about who does the most damage
>the rest of the time they act like living meme
>I hate Pathfinder so much it's unreal, but they won't play anything else.
Yes, when we actually meet.
I'd have more fun if I wasn't GM
See game 2 but one guy dropped, one is a flake, so it's actually just playing board games with the PDA IRL/in-character flirting couple
All PF2.
Problem exists between GM screen and chair, assuming this greentext actually happened. 2e my biggest struggle learning the system, or with new players, is not accidental TPKs.
I secretly make freakshit start with an NPC attitude penalty because there's rules for normal people wanting your half-catgirl half-tiefling to frick off back to hell.
>I'd probably honestly quit if it wasn't my only way to socialize with friends from back home now that I live halfway across the world.
Anon, this sounds cold but maybe you outgrew your friends? It sounds like you've matured, and they're still teenagers who like the idea of government being their stepmom more than having actually read and understood the real document they're trying to distribute.
I get that being halfway around the world and probably having a language barrier is rough, but you're an adult now and you need friends that will grow with you. Be courageous, go out there, and try to meet new people. Listen more than you talk, be interesting, and be confident that you're interesting. You've put who these codependent teens used to be on a pedestal, time to smash the idols and make new friends.
its been going for over a decade and i'm just less interested in it now. Its ending soon and I can't wait so we can be done and literally play anything else.
>CPRED
Easily the best game I've ever had the pleasure to run, entirely thanks to the absolutely based four dudes I'm running the game for. After having to deal with bullshit in three other games, two of which I was GM in, having a proper game free of that toss is glorious.
not really
>miss last session
>another player at the table messages me and fills me in, also adds the DM wants us to all pay 10 bucks each a fortnight
>we have been playing for a few sessions for free
>ask why tf he wants $10 each
>DM says hes done a lot of hard work helping us make characters, teaching us the game (5e, all of us have come from different editions) and that he has also dumped 100s of dollars of his own money into buying expensive shit that no one asked for such as custom tokens, battlemap, carved wooden DM screen, etc
>me and the player ask in our chat if we could discuss the payment idea again
>DM is immediately aggressive, asks why
>me and friend both admit we arent comfortable paying considering this was never mentioned at session 0 and feels a little bit weird to suddenly ask for money
>instantly gets defensive and upset
>starts saying we're taking him for granted
>says all the work he has put in should be compensated monetarily because we havent contributed anything
>he also goes on to say that he would like this to be an ongoing payment for the entirety of the campaign
>asks us if its a matter of price and says "30 dollars is the industry standard for a DM"
>says we value a cheeseburger meal more than him
for context we are all friends, have been for years. The DM actually lives with 3 of the 4 other players. we play for 6 hours sometimes, he doesnt cook or cater for us, we pay for our own food, and we just play in the living room on the dining table
Eh, it's alright. One of my German friends is running a military isekai using Only War, and it's okay. Kind of just been shooting orcs and goblins so far, but maybe things will pick up once we have a goal beyond "find civilization and figure out what to do next."
No. Like another anon in this thread I have grown overly attached to my character in a meatgrinder of a setting and its made whats supposed to be a fun game with wonderful people an absolute mess of stress and anxiety.
Its unbelievably frustrating because I've never had this problem since my very first TTRPG character way way back when I was a younger man.
But something has so profoundly resonated with me with this character that the thought of losing him or hell, the people he's come to love (the party) just fricks me up and keeps me up at night.
Whats worse is that this isn't a character I could ever use for another campaign or story. Not only would like 90% of your "average" tables not get or appreciate him, but it would be a disservice to their journey with the current group and our experiences with one another.
I just don't know if I've peaked or if theres some deep psychological reason Im so attached to them.
Autisms a b***h and sometimes I wish I wouldnt get so emotional about such trivial things and just be normal.
>I just don't know if I've peaked or if theres some deep psychological reason Im so attached to them.
The kind with this kind of obsessive attachment is that it can happen randomly. Maybe this character or this table is a step above the normal, so your brain has decided to latch onto the character as the cause, or the spoils of war. Worth defending.
I recommend you find a way to ease off of that obsession, and try to spin it to something positive. Having a character you really enjoy should be a good thing, not a source of anxiety. Personally I'd consider killing him off for my own sanity's sake as a form of exposure therapy. But surely just relaxing and reminding yourself it is a game, and that you can have the same experiences with the same people even if the character is gone, should be enough. Just remember to actually remind yourself.
>But surely just relaxing and reminding yourself it is a game, and that you can have the same experiences with the same people even if the character is gone, should be enough.
The worst part is is that Im fully aware of this. I know if he dies everyone at the table is going to cry like a baby and then next week we'll all hop back in the saddle and continue because the friendships Ive made are more important.
Without waxing too poetically, I think part of it was when I realized how, subconsciously, I put way more of myself into this character than I ever intended to. It hit me how much his current journey has mirrored my life experiences over the past 3-4 years, and might explain why I resonate with the character on such a deep emotional level.
It doesnt help that we're stuck in Barovia, which is just one of the biggest misery wanks in fiction.
But holding onto something so nebulous with white knuckles is both really frustrating and really embarrassing.
I'm having a blast. The weeb of the group is DMing this time and the campaign takes place at a magical school for adventurers in training. The mix of coming age stories, YA novels and shonen anime bullshit is palpable and I'm here for it. There's even a time skip from where the school turns out to be training child soldiers for a big civil war and there's a berserk style eclipse event. Tomorrow's our last session and we're at the BBEG. I'm gonna miss it. Next campaign is gonna be some gothic van helsing type shit, can't wait.
>5e
DMing custom setting, players are having fun interacting with the world, seeing the sights, fighting weird homebrew monsters I find or make up. Only problem is half the group can't meet IRL, so we're forced to use owlbear rodeo instead of physical maps and minis. All in all a good time though.
>Starfinder
Pretty solid group, GM puts up with our nonsense and actively plays along with it sometimes. We livestream our adventures and make jokes about selling nordvpn and raid shadow legends, stuff like that.
>PF2
Same group as starfinder, every other week. I'm GMing this one, homebrew setting, mostly just dungeon crawling with a vague 'plot' about an evil wizard and some mercenaries. Next week they should finally meet the wizard unless they screw around too much in his dungeon, so that'll be fun. Not sure how I want to keep going after that, honestly.
>Other 5e game
Just started, online, old college friends. Playing our old setting 200 years into the future. It's cool seeing how our old characters shaped the world during their adventures, and the DM is a master at describing food, which comes up all the time. Seriously, you have to eat dinner before playing, it's great.
All in all, pretty solid! The games I'm running I sometimes feel like I'm flailing around at with no idea what the players are going to do next, but that's part of DMing, and I like to think I'm pretty good at making stuff up on the fly.
Yup! I'm GMing a DnD 5e game for some friends. Just had our third session, which quickly devolved into fricking loony toons shit because of goblins and the players failing difficult terrain checks.
And then they discovered a mega evil talisman that puppeted the party for a bit. So naturally they tied a rope to it and are planning to drag it into town.