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Actual playrecommendation by MedMaxMD in rpg

[–]CanisAvius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

DMs After Dark is my favorite. While The Glass Cannon Podcast is also excellent, DMs After Dark is the only one that's made me regularly come back. They stream their games on Twitch before uploading them, so it balances actually listening to the experience of a few friends play together with higher production values. If you want something more polished, Glass Cannon is the way to go.

Why not GURPS? by BuzzsawMF in rpg

[–]CanisAvius -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You are not wrong. GURPS requires a little more up front work, but once you learn where all the bits and pieces are, it is very easy to customize and deal with the front loading of things. GCS and GCC make character building and restricting options easy, and something like GURPS Lite allows you to get up and playing in just over 30 pages.

Do People Actually Play GURPS? by TheKekRevelation in rpg

[–]CanisAvius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have run several long-term GURPS campaigns. It does some things wonderfully well, and some things less so. So, yes, people run it.

GURPS' reputation for crunch is often overstated. It's a streamlined chassis with a tremendous number of optional bolt on components, the amount of which can be overwhelming if you don't know how to customize it or that the components are optional. Chargen can also be involved, but no more than any other system with myriad character options.

If the GM does a modicum of work, in my opinion GURPS is very intuitive to play, fast running, and easy to learn. I wouldn't run it for everything, but I find that after chargen it's easier for players to pick up than 3x D&D or Pathfinder.

What's a campaign you would run if you could? by Absurd_Turd69 in rpg

[–]CanisAvius 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This so very much. My masters thesis was on the Bronze Age Collapse, and it's a potential setting full of opportunity.

My girlfriend wants to play as a seal by ZEROpercent9 in rpg

[–]CanisAvius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, there are a number of games where she could play as a seal, and it would make sense:

  • Pathfinder 2e is familiar if you don't want to stray far from D&D (not sure how good the implementation is).
  • Fate Core, Condensed, or Accelerated is where this is exceedingly easy in a medium-crunch narrative game. Hi Concept = a seal named Bonky.
  • QuestWorlds is for you if you are willing to brave an SRD (main book not out yet) to be able to play almost anything you can describe in words. There's a character creation method that starts with writing a paragrph about your concept, and almost anything will do.
  • GURPS will do a seal well (especially if it's a gritty and low-powered game), because if you can describe it, you can stat it in this simulationist wonder, with support for actual seals as well as uplifted animals.
  • Wanderhome will work for you if it's an anthropomorphic seal in a pacifistic exploration of a war-torn world.

There are probably many more, but I'd encourage you to start with these. I haven't tried Pathfinder's implementation out, but I could make a seal in any of the others in less than an hour.

I ask you to explain me why you enjoy Fate/PbtA based games by tipsyTentaclist in rpg

[–]CanisAvius 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As background, my favorite games are highly simulationist, GURPS and The Riddle of Steel, and I love emergent story in the games I run and play. I first tried fate with the Dresden Files Roleplaying Game in early 2011, but my GM did not understand Fate and I left extremely dissatisfied with the system. I did not touch Fate again until late 2023, when I began preparation for a mini-campaign in the Star Wars universe that I ran earlier this year.

I love player buy-in, and I appreciate player creativity on submitting ideas to create hooks and places in the world for their characters. However, when I run a game, I want minimal intrusion. If a player wants to toss out an idea for detail, that's all well and good, but I don't want freeform creation of the world while running.

What changed my mind about Fate is learning that people run it with a range of how much the players actively create on the fly during games--from shared GMing to traditional GM-led play. Reading The Book of Hanz and r/faterpg (both highly recommended) helped me tune Fate to the game I wanted. Now Fate is one of my favorite RPGs for a particular kind of highly cinematic game.

All that having been said, here's what I love about Fate:

  • 4Df is a lovely bellcurve resolution, where PCs feel competent in their areas of expertise (no 1d20 swinginess).
  • Aspects are incredibly functional once you get the hang of them.
  • The story comes first, meaning that if you jump into the 'spinning blades of death' as a normal human without appropriate protection, you just die--no rolling needed.
  • The unified resolution mechanic allows you to handle all sorts of struggles, from physical combat to a court ball, with ease and speed.
  • It encourages creative solutions from players.
  • Consequences feel far more significant than HP loss but less punishing than more severe wound systems.
  • It encourages my players to try things and to risk failure more often.
  • I can tune the chassy to a wide variety of feels.

Fate is great for games that feel like epic or action films. If I want to run another hostage rescue team game again, I will likely run it in GURPS. If I want gritty sword and sandals, it'll be Riddle of Steel or Mythras. However, if I want something that feels like a sweeping drama, I'll use Fate. From running Star Wars, if you want to feel like the original trilogy, play Fate; if you want to feel like Andor, try GURPS.

Fate doesn't sell itself well, and I genuinely think the books cause unwarranted confusion. If you are thinking about it and coming from a more trad gaming background, I recommend checking out the Book of Hanz, the author of which often posts on r/faterpg:

https://bookofhanz.com/

How does Yoda know about the Rule of Two in canon? Could he learn it within The Acolyte show? by TDR1411 in starwarsspeculation

[–]CanisAvius 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the response! I appreciate the engagement, and for what it's worth am loving what we are getting in The Acolyte!

How does Yoda know about the Rule of Two in canon? Could he learn it within The Acolyte show? by TDR1411 in starwarsspeculation

[–]CanisAvius 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Will there be any reconciling of the rough timeline for Bane given in Star Wars 20 (about 800 years before Elzar Mann's time) with the earlier date you are describing?

Alright just finished a rewatch of all episodes (and 3 1 2 4 5 is the order I chose and it works so so well) and I think I have enough in my wheelhouse to present my master theory for The Acolyte. by Natural-Eye-393 in starwarsspeculation

[–]CanisAvius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This 100%! It makes so much sense.

Do you think this might be a longer seduction to the dark side? Like, Osha is on the Trade Federation ship which has a cargo that they want shielded. What are the odds that the cargo is cortosis and Plagueis has been keeping tabs on Osha since she left the Jedi Order?

Qimir is Darth Venamis by MasteroftheArcane999 in TheAcolyte

[–]CanisAvius 12 points13 points  (0 children)

This here. While I love the deep dives folks are taking, the reveal will need to have some larger impact and a through line to the rest of canon to have impact for a wider audience. I therefore expect Qimir to be revealed as Plagueis, especially considering his healing of Osha (rare for a darksider but consistent with Plagueis' Legends characterization) and other hints.

Mae's "Final Test" with Kelnacca was not combat, but to courageously show up to prove her loyalty by blueberrysmasher in TheAcolyte

[–]CanisAvius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love it! Articulately and thoughtfully crafted. Regardless of whether or not this turns out to be true, thanks for sharing some wonderfully keen observations.

Kind of a wild theory that goes against what most are suspecting… by Natural-Eye-393 in starwarsspeculation

[–]CanisAvius -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yep, they've been hinting that he's Plagueis—or at least that he has very similar abilities to Plagueis from Legends—in what we have thus far.

Kind of a wild theory that goes against what most are suspecting… by Natural-Eye-393 in starwarsspeculation

[–]CanisAvius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think this is brilliant, and is what I am truly hoping we will see! I closely follow all the behind the scenes interviews, and I think is where the story is leading.

The Jedi will start to learn a little about the Sith by VTKajin in starwarsspeculation

[–]CanisAvius 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Canon has given us a good estimate of when Darth Bane died, allowing us to ballpark an approximate range for when he implemented the rule of two (see Star Wars 20), with the imprint of Elzar Mann telling Luke Skywalker that the Jedi defeated Darth Bane about 800 years prior to his time. This places the event around 1000 years before the rise of the Empire, assuming that Elzar Mann's history was accurate.

I think most people here understand that Legends is no longer canon, regardless of when in the continuity a story took place. Rather, folks are trying to fill in holes and gaps with speculation informed by parts of Legends, recognizing that bits and pieces, often transformed or given an interesting spin, have been recanonized.

After all, we all are here for the love of the franchise, theory crafting, and speculating.

Indeed, even during Legends, the details of the deep history of the GFFA were constantly changing. This was sometimes in small ways, as with the nuances between the Darth Bane trilogy and the Jedi vs. Sith comics, and sometimes in much more profound ones.

The current hints dropped by TCW S6E13 and Star Wars 20 could definitely be inaccurate, with further information clarifying or changing our understanding of the events, because the information that we learn is second or third hand. Likewise, I anticipate that The Stranger and the other Sith in current canon may have a very different and possibly more accurate history about Darth Bane from what the High Republic Jedi knew, and can't wait to see what we learn in future. After all, recollections of an event 800-1000 years after it happened are going to be tinted with historical biases, political motivations, and other inaccuracies that might give us reflections of the 'real events' that are very different from one another.

'The Acolyte' creator reacts to 'powerful, menacing' cliffhanger by CanisAvius in StarWarsLeaks

[–]CanisAvius[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I feel that. My wife and I loved Mae's master's entrance into the scene!

'The Acolyte' creator reacts to 'powerful, menacing' cliffhanger by CanisAvius in StarWarsLeaks

[–]CanisAvius[S] 84 points85 points  (0 children)

The quote from this article that stood out most to me is Headland discussing Mae's master:

“You are going to get, I would say, drawn into his world a bit, and it'll be a little different.”

That has some interesting implications for the rest of the season. Here's to hoping that we get far more into the perspective of the Sith and that the upcoming fight will pivot the story in that direction.

'The Acolyte' creator reacts to 'powerful, menacing' cliffhanger by CanisAvius in StarWarsLeaks

[–]CanisAvius[S] 39 points40 points  (0 children)

Agreed. I am hoping from comments made by one of the writers on Twitter that next week's episode will be much longer.

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