Welcome Nanoka

Nov 30, 2021 6:41 pm
Welcome Nanoka.

I see you are new here. What at you hoping to get from this game?

Do you have any past experience: with this game system, PbtA (Powered by the Apocalypse) games in general, other RPG systems, or with PbP (Play by Post)? It is fine of you don't, we can teach you as we go along.

Take a look at the Help! thread for guidance. Feel free to ask any question here or in the General Chat depending on where they seem relevant.
Dec 1, 2021 3:39 am
Hello.

I don't have any experience with this system or PBTA games in general. I have played a few other systems, such as D&D past the 2nd edition, 13th Age and BESM (boy that's an ancient trip). I have some PbP experience (am coming off a 13A PbP actually) though this one seems a lot structured than the last one I was in.

As for what I'm looking forward to in this game, I have personally always been a more "rules/combat-heavy" person when it comes to TRPG ruleset, but for various reasons I have wanted to branch out and experiment with a more narrative ruleset for a while now. I've also been interested in the OSR style gameplay since I never had a chance to participate in the very early days of Basic D&D etc, and World of Dungeons looks like an interesting take on the subject especially by being so rules-light that I don't have to read 300 pages before I begin, plus the freeform class system means I don't have to be pidgeonhole'd into the usual Fighter/Mage/Rogue dynamic.

One of the mechanical things I do wish to interact with though is hirelings, since those have been considered a defining trait of earlier D&D editions that have fallen out of favour nowadays.

First immediate question I believe I have would be how to proceed from here on - do I head to the character creation thread to talk about my intended character concept? I'm new to gamersplane so I'm still unfamiliar with all the features such as how to submit a character. (Edit: My first immediate question was that I was reading around and I believe there's some kind of stat array system that's possible to be used rather than random rolls? Amusing as it is to be unable to use my character concept because I bungled the stat roll on Charisma)
Last edited December 1, 2021 3:42 am
Dec 1, 2021 4:26 am
Nanoka says:
I don't have any experience with this system or PBTA games ...
Not a problem, we can teach as we play and will help you get started.
Nanoka says:
Nanoka says:
... I have some PbP experience ... though this one seems a lot ??? structured than the last one ...
Err? A lot what? more? less? :)
Nanoka says:
...I've also been interested in the OSR style gameplay ... World of Dungeons looks like an interesting take on the subject ...
World of Dungeons is definitely not OSR, though. For whatever that means.
Nanoka says:
... especially by being so rules-light ...
OSR and 'rules-lite' are often conflated with each other, but many OSR games are not rules-lite.
Nanoka says:
... don't have to read 300 pages before I begin ...
Though, as with many 'rules-lite' games, they are actually 'rules omitted' and assume we already know how to play. Having knowledge of PbtA (Powered by the Apocalypse) games definitely helps. But I don't expect my players to read the the books for full-fat games either, so we will manage.
Nanoka says:
One of the mechanical things I do wish to interact with though is hirelings, since those have been considered a defining trait of earlier D&D editions that have fallen out of favour nowadays.
There are reasons for hirelings falling out of favor, they have always been a difficult element in RPGs. While they are listed under Equipment in this game (better than in Apocalypse World where they were listed under "Gear and Crap", and since they clearly are not 'gear', what does that make them?:), they obviously don't behave the same. If a player spends money on equipment they can expect it to do what they want, but a hireling is a person who might disagree with the player and refuse to be put at risk. Paying them money only goes so far.

Also, with the Fresh Faced level of our adventurers: We are more likely to be the low-paid hirelings. I believe the most anyone has made this game is enough to pay for two days of a Torch Bearer's time. (But then things have not gone that well (those dice, I tell you!), we have only been on the road for a day.)
Dec 1, 2021 4:30 am
Nanoka says:
... do I head to the character creation thread to talk about my intended character concept? ...
You are welcome to head over there and chat about things.
Nanoka says:
... I'm new to gamersplane so I'm still unfamiliar with all the features such as how to submit a character.
Once you create a New Character (select 'Custom' (the default now) from the list of templates) you will be able to submit it on the Game Details page.

You are welcome to submit an empty one, I am not actually 'approving' them or anything, just accepting them. We can fill out the sheet once we know more about the character.

Most of us are just using a simple pure text sheet, but there are new features for adding rolls and such to the sheets that we can look into (but they are a bit overkill for a simple system like this:).
Nanoka says:
(Edit: My first immediate question was ...
First, rather don't edit, just add another post with the extra question. Adding in an edit does not let us know that there something more to read and will often get ignored/overlooked.
Nanoka says:
... I believe there's some kind of stat array system that's possible to be used rather than random rolls?
There is no system in place, we have spoken about it, but everyone has opted to roll random stats per the rules, so we have not devised a fair stat array.
Nanoka says:
... Amusing as it is to be unable to use my character concept because I bungled the stat ...
Yeah. It is weird for such a 'fiction first' game to force mechanics on us before we can start with the fundamental fiction.

I am generally not a fan of rolling for stats 'in order' (don't get me started on how the English language may have screwed us all over on those two words) for anything other than one-shots or throw-away characters. No one should be saddled with a character they don't like or want to play.

I have played games where the more of the starting choices you choose to roll randomly, the more XP you start with, and thought about such a system for this, but those who went full-random did not receive such a bonus, so it may be too late now?

If you really have your heart set on a specific character type, we can talk about. Maybe you roll and hope, and if it really does not work we can work out a cost to swap stats, or an array or something?

Rolling for stats can result in some interesting characters. Ones that we might otherwise not have thought to play. I have always enjoyed what I ended up with.
Dec 1, 2021 4:53 am
Quote:
Err? A lot what? more? less? :)
More, whoops!
Quote:
There are reasons for hirelings falling out of favor, they have always been a difficult element in RPGs. While they are listed under Equipment in this game (better than in Apocalypse World where they were listed under "Gear and Crap", and since they clearly are not 'gear', what does that make them?:), they obviously don't behave the same. If a player spends money on equipment they can expect it to do what they want, but a hireling is a person who might disagree with the player and refuse to be put at risk. Paying them money only goes so far.

Also, with the Fresh Faced level of our adventurers: We are more likely to be the low-paid hirelings. I believe the most anyone has made this game is enough to pay for two days of a Torch Bearer's time. (But then things have not gone that well (those dice, I tell you!), we have only been on the road for a day.)
Yeah, that's something I definitely noticed with the starting 60 SP. Interesting comments on the history of hirelings I suppose.
vagueGM says:

If you really have your heart set on a specific character type, we can talk about. Maybe you roll and hope, and if it really does not work we can work out a cost to swap stats, or an array or something?

Rolling for stats can result in some interesting characters. Ones that we might otherwise not have thought to play. I have always enjoyed what I ended up with.
For what it's worth, the only stat which I hope to be positive is Charisma and maybe Con. I'm perfectly willing to let the chips fall as it were on the other stats. If it so ends up that my rolls fall that way then great! Otherwise, perhaps swapping some other stats would be nice. Either way, I'll move any further talk to the Character Creation thread now.

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