The Gaming Den

Hm, I suppose the question is what method of resolving mass combat encounters are you using? Then we can better analyze what the PCs' actions can affect. At the moment I'm not. My original approach was to use handwavium and take the approach of, "If the PCs survive X number of monsters then by...

I'm interested in codifying guidelines for PC influence in a traditional sci-fi/fantasy mass battle encounter while avoiding having an abstract RPG become a six-way Warhammer session. My goal is for a PC to play only his character but to have his successes and failures influence the outcome of the e...

On the 4E Character Optimization boards, back before the game started to dwindle, people used to run round-by-round playtests of heavily optimized characters and compare them to the 'average'. In fact I think there is still an ongoing project to playtest them. That kind of feedback is valuable--of ...

Stahlseele wrote:if it's smooth, try using a rubber. like the one you use for removing pencil scribbles . .

We call those "erasers."

People will enthusiastically playtest your product for free if you give them enough advance notice. No. No they will not. Players will say that they want to play test because it feels like it gives them an "in" with the process. But when it comes to documenting actual bugs in the system, ...

Someone should let the management of the Hard Rock Cafe know that their "no nuclear weapons allowed" signs are going to cause trouble.

You're not going to be able to completely remove the stain but you can lighten it by using turpentine and a cloth. Make sure you wear gloves.

Maybe try nail polish remover if you're sure it won't eat the mat.

Don't be a hater. Abram's Lobsters are awesome.

For the sake of comparison, Seattle 2072 is 200 pages, full color, and $44.99 retail. However the writing isn't as awful.

Eberron is Forgotten Realms with trains and without deities. Eberron exists because D&D players want a pre-existing setting without the FR setting bloat. There's only so much designers can do with traditional D&D d20 mechanics other than tweaking and replacing monsters and remixing terrain f...

Seriously, if somebody wanted me to run a game where they could do literally anything they could think of in-character and expected me to do all the work of maintaining consistency within the setting and inventing all the NPCs and I had to run with it no matter how randomly off the beaten path it t...

I would posit that 4E Dark Sun got the short-shrift as it was produced prior to the focus shift to Essentials. Dark Sun was probably the most unique setting a D&D license holder has produced (which isn't saying much) and has a pretty big following for that fact alone. Not Forgotten Realms or Dra...

Took a glance at the product lines on display at Gen Con's Catalyst booth. CGL's really pushing their new game lines; Cosmic Patrol, Leviathans, Hex-A-Gon, and Merchants. Attendees were showing off their Leviathans pieces to each other so it seemed popular. A fiberglass Battletech mech was on displa...

The wife and I watched Sucker Punch on Saturday. Alright movie but I'm obsessed with Bjork's Army of Me right now.

My teeth hurt quite a bit these days. It's annoying that I don't have any money to get extensive dental care. Receding gum lines are a natural part of aging. You might try switching to a less abrasive toothpaste and softer brush and see if it makes a difference. If it's a persistent stabbing pain o...

Just call the next edition "Dungeons & Dragons 2012," use a year-released convention for all future editions and call it a day. No one is offended by playing up edition war 2/3/4 bullshit, it drops stupid comparisons to software platforms, and no one is confused about what's an older o...

Do you have an existing office-friendship with this female?

Avoraciopoctules wrote:Animated gif that always reminds me of one of my favorite MS-DOS games.

Strike Commander?

My rule of thumb is nothing with more than four legs and if it's an organ it had better be a muscle (I'm actually okay with tongue, heart, etc. as long as it's prepared right). I'm fine with fish so long as it's COOKED but shell fish and shrimp are overpriced bugs and oysters have the consistency of...

$pider. The other options give me a headache.

I have never, ever understood the mentality of Missions, probably because I have never played a convention game or had any real desire to do so. You're not the target audience. And neither am I as I rarely play them except as a demo/intro to the system. But there's a significant audience of people ...

Is the phrase "street samurai" used anywhere else outside of Gibson's early novels and Shadowrun?

I wouldn't hold my breath in regard to the SR license moving away from CGL. Despite all the crookedness, raw deals, and crappy product CGL is still a pretty significant presence (for a game company). BattleTech and Shadowrun are licenses to print money with built-in fans who don't care about politic...

Brain-hacking with some sort of drain makes sense from a balance/mechanics standpoint but doesn't that toss it into the category of technomancy? Then it's a magic/sci-fi hybrid concept rather than a pure tech approach. The second issue is that without some sort of direct interface (be that a datajac...

There's a difference between making someone your brain slave on the fly (which is something that should not happen) and having a paralysis taser. That's not what I'm seeing posted here. Let's flip it. How does a magician use magic to re-write the pickup schedule of a garbage drone? The concern is t...