Tabletop roleplaying

[JennyDK]

This is the chat for tabletop roleplaying in general, meaning you can talk about more than one of these if you want or switch around as you like. General chat is accepted to a certain extent.

[Shazman]

So I figured I'd start this discussion off... Has anyone here tried playing lancer? I'm getting a campaign together for my own table for the first time so If like to hear from other people's experiences.

[JennyDK]

35 minutes ago, Shazman said:

So I figured I'd start this discussion off... Has anyone here tried playing lancer? I'm getting a campaign together for my own table for the first time so If like to hear from other people's experiences.

I have never heard about it. When is it from and what is its draw?

Also...thank for joining my social club. I really appreciate it!

[Shazman]

No problem!

So lancer is a very anime mech style rpg. Set about 15000 years in the future, The players take on the roles of being ace pilots controlling custom war machines. It does lean towards more of a war narrative but the background lore presents Humanity as being on the cusp of new golden age, with the idea about the players are going to be the ones protecting and building that new era.

[JennyDK]

Oh, I see. So pretty much a more hopeful and positive version of Warhammer 40K: Only War?

[Shazman]

I wouldn't say that's a one to one comparison but for the sake of brevity I'll say yes. Your not limited to working for the army though. You can be knights, mercenaries, ronin, corporate security or a whole slew of other options. 

There is a YouTube channel dedicated to the rpg if you want to take a gander

link

[JennyDK]

Ronin? What kind of stuff is that?

I am not sure, I usually steer clear of animu-style roleplaying tabletop. I will consider it.

Currently, I run a Warhammer Fantasy campaign with my group.

[sandystorm]

On 11/11/2022 at 04:50, Shazman said:

So I figured I'd start this discussion off... Has anyone here tried playing lancer? I'm getting a campaign together for my own table for the first time so If like to hear from other people's experiences.

 

Hi!   I have heard of Lancer but I never played it myself. DId you end up running the game? was it fun? 

 

[JennyDK]

Which systems have you guys tried before?

[IsabellaRose]

22 hours ago, sandystorm said:

 

Hi!   I have heard of Lancer but I never played it myself. DId you end up running the game? was it fun? 

 

I would also be interested in hearing about your Lancer game. I'm a fan of having printed copies of books and you just can't find Lancer anywhere anymore, so the PDF will have to do... I'm considering running it for one of my tables, but so far we haven't had a chance.

[IsabellaRose]

7 hours ago, JennyDK said:

Which systems have you guys tried before?

I've been playing since... forever? My older brother conscripted me into his RPG habit before I was even old enough to add the numbers on the dice quickly. Back then we played AD&D, then moved into Marvel FASERIP, Traveler, Star Frontiers, Gamma World, the Indiana Jones RPG, Call of Cthulhu, Paranoia, some Star Trek RPG I don't remember much about, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness, Car Wars (which wasn't actually a TTRPG but we made characters outside of it using some system my brother had), the original Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Beyond the Supernatural, the old d6 Star Wars by WEG, and Shadowrun... there's probably a pile more, but those were the ones I remember and what he left behind when he went to college.

Life steered me away from that hobby for a while, but when I got back into it, I started back up with D&D 3.5, then Pathfinder. Since then we've tried d20 Star Wars and some d20 Modern custom stuff, Dresden Files, some custom FATE games, Mutants & Masterminds, Fiasco, D&D 5e, the Smallville RPG, Dungeon World, Night's Black Agents, the Chaosium Basic Roleplaying system (d% skills-based system), FFG Star Wars, Delta Green, Bubblegumshoe, Thirsty Sword Lesbians, and a bunch of solo and two-player games I've run for myself or just one friend, like The Beast, The Magical Year of a Teenage Witch, Fetch, Her Odyssey, The One, A Place to Fuck Each Other, Breaking the Ice, Punk Pride Pixies, See You Space Cowboy, Dragonhearts, and a pile of others I'm forgetting along the way. 

 

I'm a huge fan of cooperatively creating an engaging and entertaining narrative over more simulation type games. When I was younger the maps and minis fascinated me, but as I got older and began to play games that allowed my players to participate in worldbuilding, I found that kind of thing limiting. I lost interest in the wargaming aspect of TTRPGs early on, and moved progressively toward narrative focused stories. I am absolutely IN LOVE with the Cortex Drama System (I have yet to try the DramaSystem from Robin Laws' Hillfolk, but it seems very functionally similar and very intriguing) and the way it doesn't force your character to act a certain way, but provides real-seeming and mechanically relevant consequences for social and dramatic situations. I love how it gives you a mechanical effect from arguments and social conflict, and also promotes playing those scenes where your friends are our shoulder to lean on (and lets that mechanically matter, too!)

 

What have you played? Do you have a favorite system? What do you like in your TTRPGs?

[TechVelour]

On 10/11/2022 at 22:50, Shazman said:

So I figured I'd start this discussion off... Has anyone here tried playing lancer? I'm getting a campaign together for my own table for the first time so If like to hear from other people's experiences.

I've played this one! It's very fun, I especially like the combat mechanics. If you haven't already heard of it, I'd recommend checking out COMP/CON, it's a fantastic tool for running and playing the game both: https://compcon.app/#/

I ran a brief campaign. The main thing I'll say is that level 0 is still fairly versatile in what players can build, and that the general idea of one combat per session is what I stuck to. Combat can take a while, but my usual group enjoys crunchy mecahnics, so that was ok. Can't speak too much for the roleplaying mechanics and how those worked out, it's much softer in that regard. But feel free to ask some questions if you'd like.

13 hours ago, JennyDK said:

Which systems have you guys tried before?

As for other systems...I've played Pathfinder(1e, haven't touched 2e yet) and D&D 5e. I like them both, but I don't enjoy running 5e, it feels like there's a lot of "figure it out/do whatever you want" as GM advice, which I think is cool if you're running a campaign more about the roleplay, but that's usually not what I come to tabletops for. I would love to find more systems that facilitated roleplaying and worldbuilding more though, as I think most tabletop systems aren't suited for that(even if most people jump to D&D as their 'default').

5 hours ago, IsabellaRose said:

I'm a huge fan of cooperatively creating an engaging and entertaining narrative over more simulation type games. When I was younger the maps and minis fascinated me, but as I got older and began to play games that allowed my players to participate in worldbuilding, I found that kind of thing limiting. I lost interest in the wargaming aspect of TTRPGs early on, and moved progressively toward narrative focused stories. I am absolutely IN LOVE with the Cortex Drama System (I have yet to try the DramaSystem from Robin Laws' Hillfolk, but it seems very functionally similar and very intriguing) and the way it doesn't force your character to act a certain way, but provides real-seeming and mechanically relevant consequences for social and dramatic situations. I love how it gives you a mechanical effect from arguments and social conflict, and also promotes playing those scenes where your friends are our shoulder to lean on (and lets that mechanically matter, too!)

Would you recommend Cortex mechanically, or is it kinda soft in terms of numbers? Basically, I'm curious how far it shifts towards the improv side of things, or if there are...I guess ways to define the character mechanically?

Edited May 13, 2023 by TechVelour

[JennyDK]

7 hours ago, IsabellaRose said:

I would also be interested in hearing about your Lancer game. I'm a fan of having printed copies of books and you just can't find Lancer anywhere anymore, so the PDF will have to do... I'm considering running it for one of my tables, but so far we haven't had a chance.

I often have found books on Amazon, personally. Not sure if you have considered a secondary market.

@TechVelour With Pathfinder 1st edition basically just being D&D 3,75, that would pretty much just cover D&D in general. Is there any reason you have not tried to run other systems? I have tried a whole lot and even learned to run a fair few over time. I would argue you cannot "systemize" roleplaying, only rules for combat, skill tests and the like. I will be happy to help you out, if there is something you are having trouble with. I have GMed Call of Cthulhu most of all and one of my clubs here even using the Modern Age RPG system.

[TechVelour]

20 hours ago, JennyDK said:

@TechVelour With Pathfinder 1st edition basically just being D&D 3,75, that would pretty much just cover D&D in general. Is there any reason you have not tried to run other systems? I have tried a whole lot and even learned to run a fair few over time. I would argue you cannot "systemize" roleplaying, only rules for combat, skill tests and the like. I will be happy to help you out, if there is something you are having trouble with. I have GMed Call of Cthulhu most of all and one of my clubs here even using the Modern Age RPG system.

It's not for lack of interest, it's more that convincing a group to try different things can be difficult, particularly with how hard it is to get everyone together in the first place with general life responsibility. So we kinda default to what's familiar or what we're really interested in(which is the only reason I was able to convince them to try out Lancer).

As for systemizing roleplay, I tend to agree. Though I do like it when systems provide a basis for your character's traits or roleplay-specific attributes. In my case, I've got one improv theater person in my usual group, and they're great at roleplaying with their character. The others appreciate a general guideline of how their character can approach a situation, since they're less adept at it. All of them are interested in roleplaying to an extent, but things like skills or stats that guide them into an idea of what their character is like as a person helps immensely. I just think something like D&D is really lacking in this regard - you have skills and associated stats for that, but often those come at the sacrifice of combat stats, which I really don't like. Lancer actually completely separates the two, which is super nice and doesn't make people feel bad that they're good at rolling diplomacy but bad at their in-combat roles, or vice versa.

Hope that makes sense as to why I might want some sort of system/mechanics backing to the roleplay. I don't want it to restrict roleplaying, but to guide it for those that need the help.

Edited May 14, 2023 by TechVelour

[JennyDK]

I would personally get really bored and tired of doing the same system over and over again. We change ours fairly often - I am currently running Warhammer 4th edition, for instance. Sorry to hear that your group seems either cautious or fairly unwilling to venture into new stuff.

D&D is a lot more focused on action in terms of rules and the like - for instance, many of the feats only really affect your prowess in combat or around combat. My favourite system, by far, is Call of Cthulhu for many reasons, such as you being able to build your character more or less as you like and you can even develop it between each session, rather than the rather stale and "milestone-y" feeling of levels. I can easily recommend plenty of stuff you can suggest or at least consider, as well as help out with anything you may be having trouble with.

Actually: Modern/Fantasy Age has stuff that directly affects stuff like exploration, roleplaying and the like, when you roll. So those are two amazing options.

[sandystorm]

I clearly need to up my game lol. I personally only played AD&D and DND 5e, vampire the masquerade, and pathfinder. We have been looking to try out a more sci-fi setting next which is why I was asking about Lancer. 

[JennyDK]

FATE is a system that can fit any setting and is really easy to play as well. I would highly recommend it.

[sandystorm]

I'll be sure to check it out 

[IsabellaRose]

On 13/05/2023 at 14:26, TechVelour said:

Would you recommend Cortex mechanically, or is it kinda soft in terms of numbers? Basically, I'm curious how far it shifts towards the improv side of things, or if there are...I guess ways to define the character mechanically?

@TechVelour - It depends on how much work you want to put into a game and how much crunch you like in a system. Cortex isn't a system so much as it's a toolbox - you can have as simple or as complex a system as you want. 

The basic mechanic has you build a dice pool from at least 3 dice and keep the two highest. If you're trying to emulate a D&D feel, it could be Attributes (Str, Dex, Con, etc.), Skills, and Signature Weapons. Each has a rating from d4 - d12, and your pool is made up of those dice. So a dexterous character (Dexterity d10) with a Fencing Skill d8 and a signature weapon My Father's Rapier d8 would roll 1d10 and 2d8 and keep the two highest rolls. There are ways to add more dice, Special Effects linked to almost anything you want to link them to, and lots of other ways to setup your game. It's versatile, and I can setup a custom game in a custom setting fairly quickly.

But "out of the box", so to speak, it's not really anything. I love the drama setup for interpersonal drama games. I don't even rate the characters on Str/Dex/Con etc, we don't use hit points, nothing you're used to out of a typicla RPG. we use Values (Duty, Glory, Justice, Love, Power, and Truth) and Relationships customized to every other player (and some important NPCs) as well as Distinctions (special abilites/skills), Assets (things your character has), Extras (really minor NPCs that can aid you), and Locations (places with equipment or power to assist you). When you take damage you get Stress in one of 5 tracks - Afraid, Angry, Exhausted, Insecure, Injured. It's decidedly different from most games, but it's not meant to be a simulation or combat focused game. We run that for interpersonal drama and it's actually been amazing at building a game focused on a small group of interrelated characters. 

But I also find that gamers who enjoys the simulation aspect and tactical combat of D&D and similar games usually don't enjoy the Cortex rules as much. They want more difference between a short sword and a long sword. For me, if you get stabbed by either it's going to suck, and I don't care about the size of the blade unless there's a narrative reason for it to matter, like fighting in enclosed spaces or something. I'm content with using a Sword d8 instead of a Long Sword +1 (1d8+Str mod damage). But combat was never really the thing for me. Storytelling has always been my jam, and Cortex focuses more on what I want when I play a game - cool characters doing cool things, their relationships, and an amazing story.

Dragon Prince is a VERY fleshed out version of Cortex, and I think the system looks fun, but still haven't played it yet. 

Edited May 16, 2023 by IsabellaRose

[IsabellaRose]

On 13/05/2023 at 15:39, JennyDK said:

I often have found books on Amazon, personally. Not sure if you have considered a secondary market.

Oh yeah, definitely. I buy from Amazon and Noble Knight most often, but I've found decent used copies on eBay, thriftbooks, waynesbooks, troll & toad and I often find treasure troves of games I didn't know I had to own at one of the local gaming stores.

[IsabellaRose]

On 15/05/2023 at 03:53, sandystorm said:

I clearly need to up my game lol. I personally only played AD&D and DND 5e, vampire the masquerade, and pathfinder. We have been looking to try out a more sci-fi setting next which is why I was asking about Lancer. 

FATE is awesome and even has some pre-made sci-fi settings. Bulldogs! (space opera adventures) comes to mind. They also have Diaspora which is hard sci fi using FATE and is supposed to be very good. There are others, but those are the two I'm familiar with. Depending on the atmosphere you're looking for, there are a TON of really good sci-fi options.

• If your players are used to D&D and don't want to stray too far from those kinds of mechanics, Stars Without Number comes HIGHLY recommended by dozens of my gamer friends, although I've never played it. Even people who dislike D&D mechanics love the star system and planet generation tables and use those all the time.
• We used to play Traveler all the time, and even ran a very "Cowboy Bebop" game using those rules which was loads of fun. 
• The Alien game uses the Year Zero engine and is quite good if you want some horror injected into your sci-fi. With two modes of play, it has variety built in - Cinematic Play is high stakes, fast, and brutal, designed to emulate an Alien(s) movie; you are not all expected to survive. Campaign Play is more sandboxy and designed to let you keep your characters alive for longer sessions and more exploration. I've also heard good things about Mothership, which seems like a close second to Alien for spce/horror, but haven't read it.
• Uncharted Worlds (space opera/discovery/adventure) and Impulse Drive (ship crew making a living on the fringe) are both "powered by the Apocalypse" games that are highly recommended, but I have not yet played.
• My friends have been trying to get me to run Scum & Villainy, which is a FitD space game described as "you and your crew steal, pirate, smuggle, and crime your way across the galaxy." It's basically Blades in the Dark in space, if you're familiar with that.
• Eclipse Phase looks good for some transhumanist hijinks in a horror-ish sci-fi setting, but I haven't finished reading it yet.

[sandystorm]

8 minutes ago, IsabellaRose said:

FATE is awesome and even has some pre-made sci-fi settings. Bulldogs! (space opera adventures) comes to mind. They also have Diaspora which is hard sci fi using FATE and is supposed to be very good. There are others, but those are the two I'm familiar with. Depending on the atmosphere you're looking for, there are a TON of really good sci-fi options.

• If your players are used to D&D and don't want to stray too far from those kinds of mechanics, Stars Without Number comes HIGHLY recommended by dozens of my gamer friends, although I've never played it. Even people who dislike D&D mechanics love the star system and planet generation tables and use those all the time.
• We used to play Traveler all the time, and even ran a very "Cowboy Bebop" game using those rules which was loads of fun. 
• The Alien game uses the Year Zero engine and is quite good if you want some horror injected into your sci-fi. With two modes of play, it has variety built in - Cinematic Play is high stakes, fast, and brutal, designed to emulate an Alien(s) movie; you are not all expected to survive. Campaign Play is more sandboxy and designed to let you keep your characters alive for longer sessions and more exploration. I've also heard good things about Mothership, which seems like a close second to Alien for spce/horror, but haven't read it.
• Uncharted Worlds (space opera/discovery/adventure) and Impulse Drive (ship crew making a living on the fringe) are both "powered by the Apocalypse" games that are highly recommended, but I have not yet played.
• My friends have been trying to get me to run Scum & Villainy, which is a FitD space game described as "you and your crew steal, pirate, smuggle, and crime your way across the galaxy." It's basically Blades in the Dark in space, if you're familiar with that.
• Eclipse Phase looks good for some transhumanist hijinks in a horror-ish sci-fi setting, but I haven't finished reading it yet.

I'll check them out, I've been looking at fate for the past couple of days so that's probably what I'll use as I like what I am reading so far. But I'll keep the others in mind. Too bad my players don't like to branch out too much or I'd have them try out a bunch of them but oh well lol 

[IsabellaRose]

21 hours ago, sandystorm said:

I'll check them out, I've been looking at fate for the past couple of days so that's probably what I'll use as I like what I am reading so far. But I'll keep the others in mind. Too bad my players don't like to branch out too much or I'd have them try out a bunch of them but oh well lol 

I ended up moving away from Fate as my go-to system, but we played the hell out of it for a couple years. It's very easy to use any of their (mostly free) books to find bits you want for almost any setting and make/run an entire game in no time. Also, character creation is a breeze once your players wrap their heads around Aspects. 

[JennyDK]

So my weekly group's newest campaign is one I am running:
A mix of SCP Foundation (the players are a team working for them) and Backrooms.

We are using Modern AGE as the system!

So far, it has been very fun overall.

[JennyDK]

Which system(s) are all of you playing lately?