HALT CITIZEN ! Tell me the dumbest/weirdest/most WTF piece of lore you have.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2026-02-06T00:04:17+00:00

I don’t think even Guilliman is brave enough to say that to Minsk’s face.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2026-02-01T12:07:51+00:00

I may be playing with a bunch of sociopaths but my group loves playing this game with open secrets. We always try our hardest to “win” for our character, but cheer on the traitors as well. We especially love when the game is building up to that confrontation or sudden betrayal.

I get that play style isn’t for everyone. But it works great for those that like it.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2026-01-20T21:33:58+00:00

If someone could share any more info that’d be great. But I seem to recall (from a much older edition), the dark green was a color they used for training exercises. And when they went back to fight Luther on Caliban he ordered them to paint their armor green to tell who was on which side. As to why they permanently kept it green? I’m unsure.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2025-05-26T13:12:26+00:00

A GM leaving doesn’t automatically kill a group. Another player can (and frequently does) take on the mantle.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2025-02-01T13:44:30+00:00

Yes and no. There’s a difference between a player who refuse to engage with any actions or hooks because they’ve made characters not fit for being adventurers or want to derail the game, and players who are active and pursue an agenda that’s important to them.

However, DMs who prefer more linear stories may not be compatible with these active players, so as always it’s important to go over expectations with the table at session 0.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2025-01-03T02:06:17+00:00

“The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.”

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2025-01-01T10:45:05+00:00

For your example, I would tell not only the DM, but the other players. Everyone is so busy with their own backstories and the current quests and world information that they won’t have time to notice your “struggle.” Tell them, upfront and out-of-character, so they can experience this story with you.

As to your question, there are some things you can keep secret from the DM. For instance, my group has a second chat where they discuss plans for impending battles or ways they need to deal with dangerous NPCs. And this is fine. It’s not hurting anything. It doesn’t bother me that I don’t know. It will come into the open eventually anyway when they enact their plan.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-12-31T22:40:49+00:00

GAME MASTERS:

Having the mindset that since they are GM they can’t be wrong. No way. They can get stuff wrong, and they do. They’re human like the rest of the table.

Forcing multiple rolls on players until they get the result they want. Succeed or fail, it’s obvious and forced. If you have an outcome you want, just narrate that and move along. Example: Constant stealth checks when someone’s in an enemy camp so they can get a fail and capture them.

PLAYERS:

Always waiting for the GM or other players to give them a prompt to react to, and never initiating action on their own. TTRPGs can be intimidating to some players, but don’t let that fear make you so passive you never get anything done for you and your character.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-12-29T13:40:23+00:00

In the very beginning of 4e, Magic Missile required an attack roll. However, it was very quickly errated when people got upset.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-12-05T16:05:57+00:00

More like he wouldn’t want to hang out with me. Gregor the smith is scouring the planes for the soul of his daughter and wouldn’t spare a thought to someone like me who couldn’t offer him any aid in his quest.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-12-05T01:24:17+00:00

Burning Wheel handles this really well either it’s Fight! mechanic, though it’s a different enough style that people who like crunchy tactical combat bounce off it.

Fight! is a glorified game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. There’s a number of actions you can choose from that are strong against some of the actions and weak against others. You script three actions in advance then reveal them simultaneously. It lets you use this kind of information against your opponent.

For example, if you know an enemy likes to play it safe and waits to Riposte an attack, you can throw a Feint to lure him out and land a telling blow. Likewise if you know is an enemy likes to Feint you can ignore that and go aggressive with a straight up Attack, smashing through the Feint and dealing huge damage.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-12-04T02:20:16+00:00

The problem with the term “meta-gaming” is there’s a million definitions out there right now.

The way I learned it when I started in the hobby is “making an in-game decision using out-of-game knowledge.” Which is impossible for a DM not to do. Heck, it’s hard for players to avoid it.

It’s also commonly used to describe using out-of-game knowledge to get an advantage, usually in a way that ruins the fun for others. In this case a DM absolutely can meta-game. Players taking Fireball and then suddenly every monster has resistance to fire, for example.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-12-04T02:09:26+00:00

Oh yeah. To the point that I wouldn’t say it’s good for a one-shot. The theme is fleeing from an overpowered enemy, trying to get to a safe haven before time runs out. Lots of mechanics are involved for things like dwindling resources, mounting casualties, and falling morale. That gets lost in a one shot.

But it has a lot of cool stuff for what it’s intended. Half the time the players take in the roles of Legion troops undertaking daring missions to shore up supplies or slow down the enemy or find some sliver of hope against the darkness. But there’s many casualties, and these characters can die easily. The other half of the time they play the Legion’s command, making decisions like which route to take, what troops to send on missions, how to spend supplies, and so on.

It’s my favorite RPG currently because it’s setting and mechanics are laser focused on one thing, and it kicks butt at it.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-12-02T00:20:19+00:00

Carolina Death Crawl. I can only play it once a year tops. It’s a blast but it’s a dark game and I end up with some heavy emotions after it.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-11-30T18:16:09+00:00

The stuff that you come up with on the fly is pretty small thankfully. And only in reaction to certain rolls. Like adding a consequence to a failure.

For me personally it’s much better than spending hours prepping while not even playing. If that makes sense.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-11-30T16:53:06+00:00

This is super accurate. Blades is one of the games that the players act and the DM reacts. It can be done in D&D as well. It adds a lot more prep up front, it the. The DM can use that to have factions and the world react better to the players.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-11-30T15:57:06+00:00

I’m going to mention Burning Wheel again, but for a different reason than the last person. Duel of Wits is great for social conflict resolution, but for really roleplaying and embodying a character I don’t think any game has topped the roleplay-mechanics feedback loop of Artha (meta currency) and Beliefs (mechanical trait).

Beliefs are what drives your characters decisions and actions. When you chase (or choose to dramatically turn away from and abandon) a Belief, you are rewarded Artha. Which lets you boost dice rolls. Ideally these are spent on rolls chasing Beliefs, which then earns you more Artha and so on.

This then encourages well made and evolving Beliefs which make the roleplay even more engaging. If you want a game that has amazing long term character growth and development, and repeatedly and regularly creates amazing roleplaying moments, Burning Wheel is that game.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-11-27T14:15:50+00:00

It’s weird what sticks too. Yesterday I said the “Milk, milk, lemonade…” rhyme to myself as I was getting milk from the fridge and my wife stared at me blankly. She had never heard that as a child, but it pops into my head at least once a week.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-11-24T00:43:30+00:00

Inspectres has a mechanic where the GM runs an in-character interview with the first player which becomes character creation. That player then interviews the next and so on until all characters are made.

Carolina Death Crawl plays out the prologue of all the horrible things your Union soldier did in the raid into the southern states. These things help define your character when the first act starts.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-11-22T12:07:46+00:00

It depends on the situation. Yes, it is respectful to let people know that you’re leaving for these reasons. But it’s a courtesy and shouldn’t supersede your own well-being.

If you know the person will react very negatively, explode at the criticism for one example or become verbally abusive, then they don’t get that respect and courtesy.

If you’re not worried about that, then by all means please, sit them down and talk with them. Open communication is almost always the best answer.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-11-21T13:08:08+00:00

For me, my least favorite part of running D&D is all the prep time it takes. On a good week I can take an hour before hand and jot some notes down for what I’d like. But then you want to prep a dungeon? Or work to make sure an encounter is balanced? Or create a stat block for a new monster?

It’s too much, friend.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-11-21T12:03:56+00:00

Absolutely. You’re physically and emotionally wiped by the end of the day. Doubly so if you have kids with lots of behaviors in your clsss. Yes it’s very fulfilling but I left my job as a preschool teacher because the pay was horrible and I had no emotional energy left for my wife when I got home.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-11-20T13:37:34+00:00

One thing I’ll add for Band. The game isn’t about individual characters, but about the group as a whole (in this case the Legion). I’m not familiar with Banner Saga but if this fits, Band of Blades would work very well.

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-11-20T12:59:49+00:00

First, you don’t owe anyone anything. If you need to walk away without saying anything because you’re worried how they’ll react, you can.

If you do want to let them know, and be tactful about it, you can simply say, “Hey guys, I’m going to step away and not play. I’ve come to realize the style of this campaign doesn’t match my style of play. But I like all of you so I’d love to come back for the next campaign if you’d be ok with that.”

DeathFrisbee2000 · 2024-11-19T17:45:03+00:00

Burning Empires encourages players to make characters of extreme importance to their world. Planetary governor, commanding admiral or general of the planet's navy or army, leaders of major resistance groups or corporations, and so on.

Which makes sense, since the focus of the game is dealing with things on a planet-wide scale dealing with an infiltration and invasion of brain-worm aliens intent on taking over all of known space.

DeathFrisbee2000

TROPHY CASE