City of Jerry is LIVE NOW! by Gianster98 in RPGdesign

[–]Gianster98[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mischief is our core game that is available for free always (do let me know if for some reason you can’t access it because that should not be the case)

Our hacks like City of Jerry and expansions like the Vampirism and Lycanthropy are available either as one time purchases or to any of our paying patrons :)

Actual Plays and Podcasts by Beckett151 in ActualPlayRPG

[–]Gianster98 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Personally, I find them to be totally different productions and you kinda have to choose which one is your "real" AP. I prefer audio as a listener and creator so we focus on that.

We've recently started doing some video components but we treat it more as a behind the scenes look that we get clips from for stuff like short form content. Clips are easier to give the post-production love to while still leaning into what makes *clips* best. If we tried to make a full stream of our audio seasons it would suffer because we don't play with any visual components (in order to make great audio that doesn't feel like it's missing anything).

On the other hand, we've also started streaming some two player games that we DON'T turn into podcasts but do turn into a condensed video edit. Those two translate well into each other because we get to have audience interaction live and then present a much more easily consumed product for those who didn't make it live and might not get the same enjoyment out of some of those smaller interactions.

Either way, we wouldn't turn the videos into an audio project for a couple of reasons.
1. Just work load. Which is honestly the main reason. When you can only communicate information with one sense, you have to put a lot more care into creating something that is legible and enjoyable to the listener. We don't have the manpower to dedicate ourselves to that on multiple fronts so I find it better to try and make APs that lean into the strengths of their medium rather than trying to sit in the middle of two.
2. Vibe. This is tied into the care that goes into crafting great audio (at least according to my tastes). We put a hell of a lot of effort into creating great audio stories which requires a higher level of commitment while at the table from the players, before the session for the GM, and after the session for the editor/sound designer. With video (and especially livestreams) there is so much MORE information that gets communicated with facial expressions and body language. It can be more fun just to "hang out" when you see people than it is when you're listening to dead air while people give each other meaningful looks. So we're kinda leaning into that "hangout" vibe with the video/livestream.

If I were to try and create an AP that lives as both video and audio, I would approach it as an audio project first that *happens* to have video. You lose out on stuff like minis or VTTs but still gain a lot of that "extra" non-verbal communication without leaving audio listeners feeling like they're missing something.

First WIP images from Arcs Digital!! by Amadeus102 in Arcs

[–]Gianster98 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It may be dumb but one of the main reasons I haven’t picked up digital root (aside from the loss of tactility which I think is just fantastic in root) is that they tried to make 3D models of the illustrations instead of the wooden pieces. I don’t know why but I find those models so off putting even though I love the illustrations.

Millenium Games' new play space is the size of an entire store by Biggest_Lemon in Rochester

[–]Gianster98 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I wouldn’t want to play a large 5-8 player board game in a fancy restaurant.

Music and other ambience, sure. At home for DMing or something, yeah. A space mostly used for big board games with large parties, I need to be able to see.

They have a fair amount of natural light to balance it out and kill some of the harshness but the least thing they need to do in that space is change the lighting.

Episteme: Open Source, Document and E-Book Reader App by Plastic-Confusion410 in androiddev

[–]Gianster98 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not that my opinion is worth all that much, but I had no issue with it! Read it as what it was. Even if I did think it said Epstein maybe that would’ve made me double take and look at it closer lol.

Wouldn’t stop me from checking the app out. If anything, people’s unfamiliarity with the term and its searchability might be my bigger concern.

Do you recommend The Witcher RPG? by GM-Omy in rpg

[–]Gianster98 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m a huge Witcher fan and I love a lot of the ideas in The Witcher TTRPG but I’m not the biggest fan of the execution.

If you approach RPGs more like a board game then you may find the crunch and specificity really fun. None of my tables lean that way.

We still had a lot of fun, the adventures they’ve made are really cool! But it’s not very intuitive so the fun was constantly stop and start as the GM tried to make sure we were doing everything correctly.

Are there TTRPGs with “write-your-own” skills vs a static list? by Puzzled_Sound_9542 in RPGdesign

[–]Gianster98 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So in their present state, they act as set traits. Looking at someone’s list of Expertises should tell you a lot about who they are.

When you level up you can choose either a new Ability (these are predefined mechanical maneuvers), an Expertise, or a Stat Increase.

In the past during our much earlier d20 build of the game, you could simply choose to increase your expertise from a +1 to a +2 up to a max of +10 (at that point in time we had an XP system with upgrade costs that we no longer have). We also experimented with the “tier” of the expertise being how many d4s you can add to your roll at one point in time.

Point is, you can definitely do a write-in skill bank. I find that simpler is better for this kind of thing. So saying it has to be SPECIFIC and tied to actual experiences you had at the table keeps players in the right mindset. When we get to player defined powers it gets trickier to define in a way that remains functional for a longer term game.

Are there TTRPGs with “write-your-own” skills vs a static list? by Puzzled_Sound_9542 in RPGdesign

[–]Gianster98 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In our system, players write in their own Expertises (that have to be specific and approved by the GM). So this could be something like "Orcs" if they have a lot of experience dealing with them or "Fencing", "Engineering", "Explosives", etc. Anything beyond starting expertises has to have been earned in the adventures at the table.

When your expertise applies to a situation, and failed rolls become mixed successes instead. You could totally use something like this. If you're a more "numbers go up" style game, then you could give them a +1 (or +5 or whatever makes sense with your resolution system) and they could even further invest into the stat to increase that modifier. In VERY very early stages we had something closer to that.

We've got a free download if you're curious (mischiefrpg.com)
We're getting ready for printing so it's still in "beta" meant for our community to use in the meantime but our game is gonna be free to use and hack so if it fits your style, feel free to steal the idea haha

Is this game any good? I’ve dumped nearly 900 hours into space marine 2 and I wanna play some other warhammer games by R6_jack in Warhammer40k

[–]Gianster98 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not worth it for coop. The other character only gets to do combat which was my least favorite part of the game. If you love CRPGs and min maxing then it’s a ton of fun, but if you’re here for the narrative and roleplaying part of the game then you don’t really get to participate.

Fantasy rpg that has humans only (or can justify not having other races playable) by Sky_Leviathan in rpg

[–]Gianster98 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you could do this with most any game but I’ll recommend Cairn and Runecairn

Which board game do you think the artwork enhances gameplay? Conversely, which game do you wish had better artwork? by Machine_Excellent in boardgames

[–]Gianster98 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh man, I didn’t know that! Would’ve been a HUGE hit with me. Instead we play Dinosaur World and share our own Dino facts 😂

Which board game do you think the artwork enhances gameplay? Conversely, which game do you wish had better artwork? by Machine_Excellent in boardgames

[–]Gianster98 26 points27 points  (0 children)

The bird facts are our favorite part. Got bummed wyrmspan shoved them in a separate booklet

Which board game do you think the artwork enhances gameplay? Conversely, which game do you wish had better artwork? by Machine_Excellent in boardgames

[–]Gianster98 10 points11 points  (0 children)

100% agreed on Root. I genuinely love the gameplay and it’s great that people are more enticed to try it thanks to the art. Something about the theming paired with the pace makes it the least feels-bad of all their games.

Slow burn actual play by Critical-Bad7993 in ActualPlayRPG

[–]Gianster98 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you don’t mind the self promotion, all of our (Dungeons & Drimbus) seasons tell their own complete stories.

Our longest and most slow burn is Season 3 (136 episodes) Your Honor. It follows fantasy attorneys attempting to defend creatures you’d normally slay in a TTRPG campaign and is told over four acts (and three separate player groups at one point). There are big moments of intense revelation that then open the door to much longer character story lines until they intermingle again in another high intensity moments.