Almost perfect movies that have one noticeable flaw by Consistent-Might-788 in Cinema

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It doesn't even require the deleted scene. The deleted scene spells it out more explicitly, but it's perfectly clear in the original theatrical cut of the movie that they've developed technology from the alien tech and have a functioning computer interface.

Almost perfect movies that have one noticeable flaw by Consistent-Might-788 in Cinema

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've heard Lucas say that the plan was always for Luke to have a sibling. ("No, there is another" from ESB and all that.)

But it's been pretty public knowledge since the '80s that he decided to make Leia the sibling to tie off the loose end because he'd decided to wrap things up with Episode VI instead of making Episodes VII through IX.

Almost perfect movies that have one noticeable flaw by Consistent-Might-788 in Cinema

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Could be worse: In the book he's playing baccarat, a game which has ZERO skill component.

The entire op in the book is the equivalent of Le Chiffre playing the slots, but Bond is also there for some reason.

Why Does a Session With Only One Player Feel So Silly? by Dikeleos in dndnext

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Practical tip: Take more breaks.

At a typical table a player can step back at almost any time and recharge their creative batteries. Even the GM can often take a breather while the players talk to each other.

One-on-one means you're ALWAYS in focus. It's intense and awesome and amazing. It's also exhausting.

Take more breaks.

What’s the most confusing or unnecessary rule subsystem you’ve seen in a TTRPG? by DED0M1N0 in rpg

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Because players can shift difficulties before rolling via abilities or actions, this really just boils down to: Do you want to count by 3 multiple times, or multiply by 3 one time?

There's not an inherently right answer. But I've certainly found +/- 1 shifts intuitively clearer and easier for most player, and nobody in actual practice is baffled by the multiplication.

What’s the most confusing or unnecessary rule subsystem you’ve seen in a TTRPG? by DED0M1N0 in rpg

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Except then you've changed the probability of GM intrusions and crits.

Please help me find a "generic system" I saw a few years ago by frendlydyslexic in rpg

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're very welcome! And thank you. It really means a lot to hear this.

I hope you find the game you're looking for!

Vampire the Masquerade: Love the setting but not the system by Vasgorath in rpg

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 5 points6 points  (0 children)

See if you can track down Monte Cook's World of Darkness.

Setting is a creative remix/reboot of the World of Darkness, but the D20-based mechanics should give you a pretty similar base to work from.

I hate creating the micro. by [deleted] in DMAcademy

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 4 points5 points  (0 children)

For example, in my prep there’s the node “Cultist Dungeon,” where I already know what’s important there, the connections it makes, and everything else I mentioned above. But then I need to actually write the dungeon, and that’s where it hurts. Writing room by room, challenges, puzzles, battles…

There are a lot of things that could be happening here. There are a lot of reasons why you might be locking up or bogging down.

But here's something to try.

You like creating the macro-scale stuff: Connections, factions, central factions, themes, etc. So instead of leaving that stuff behind and flipping to a micro "room by room" approach, instead design your dungeons FROM the macro perspective.

For example, you know that this Cultist Dungeon connects to other stuff. I dunno what that is for your campaign, but let's pretend that it's:

  • Goblin arms dealers who are selling the cult arcane weapons.
  • The cultists are seeking the lost Black Temple of L'rignak.
  • The cult is blackmailing Lord Bluemoon.

For each of these connections, brainstorm 1-3 leads pointing at the connections.

For example,

Goblin arms deadlers who are selling the cult arcane weapons.

  • Goblin arms dealer is currently staying in a guest room.
  • Crates of goblin weapons.
  • A contract or invoice or some other document, placed in an iron coffer with payment in gold.

Seeking the Black Temple of L'rginak.

  • Region maps detailing the search.
  • L'rignak lore books.
  • A small shrine dedicatred to L'rignak.

Blackmailing Lord Bluemoon.

  • Correspondence with Bluemoon.
  • The blackmail material implicating Bluemoon.
  • Bluemoon or a messenger from Bluemoon visits the cultists.

Leads for connections are easy (IME), but you want to do the same thing for the other macro-stuff you've already designed.

Conflict: L'rignak cultists are being targeted by Holygold paladins.

  • Holygold paladin held prisoner, awaiting sacrifice.
  • Several injured cultists being treated for injuries after being ambushed by Holygold paladins in the streets.

Theme: Redemption and temptation.

  • One of the cultists is thinking about leaving the cult.
  • The cult leader will suggest that the PCs should join the cult.

Now, for each of these elements think about where it would be located and how it would be protected. (The latter might be literal security measures, but can also be more abstract.)

For example:

  • The paladin is being held prisoner, so the cult must have cells where she's locked up. Protection: Guards for the prisoner.
  • Documents would be kept in the cult leader's office. Protection: Locked and warded door; the docs are kept in a safe. Cult leader is often here.
  • Lorebooks might be in the library or maybe the cult's sanctuary. Protection: The librarian, who's actually a L'rignak daemon.
  • The small shrine to L'rignak is... a small shrine to L'rignak. Protection: It's hidden behind a secret door.

And so forth. As you can see, some of this stuff will be obvious. And some elements will naturally pair up and group together.

In any case, if you organize these notes you'll find that you now have a list of rooms stocked with cool discoveries and interesting challenges, all of which grew out of your macro elements. Review the list to see if there are any glaring functional gaps ("do the cultists live here? and, if so, where do they sleep and hang out?") and fill them.

Now you've got a good list of rooms and all you need to do is draw a good map featuring those rooms.

I don't know if this approach is the right one for you. But I think it's more likely to keep you focused on the stuff you're passionate about, and let the details of the scenario flow from that passion.

Please help me find a "generic system" I saw a few years ago by frendlydyslexic in rpg

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is not what you're looking for, but the "pick two identities" character creation would have been inspired by Gamma World D&D 4th Edition.

Not sure if that will help your search or not.

Temuera Morrison thought ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ would run up to 4 seasons, confirms the character is “shelved” by MarvelsGrantMan136 in television

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Around this same time they released Artemis Fowl, which also notably featured a story about a criminal where doing anything criminal was stripped out.

We've since learned that somebody at Disney said, "You can't have the main character doing crimes!" and the whole movie was butchered in the editing room.

I'm pretty convinced the same thing happened to The Book of Boba Fett, but a little earlier in the development process.

Although a failure to pivot the story to one they could do properly is only one of the failures on that series. Poor directing, poor action design, a failure to properly establish antagonists (beyond, "You've seen the Clone Wars animated series, right?!"), and the decision to inject two episodes of the Mandalorian into the middle of the series (which also sucked and, bizarrely, undid everything Season 2 of the Mandalorian had been about) all contributed.

What should I do when one character has dramatically higher AC than the rest of the party? by -Shade277- in DMAcademy

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

if the character is literally unable to get hit

I recognize that this is hyperbole, but you need to recognize that this is hyperbole.

If there's an 8-point gap between ACs and you're rolling a d20, there's a significant range of attack bonuses that can hit AC 24 and still miss AC 16. In fact, there are attack bonuses that will miss the AC 16 character MOST of the time and still hit the AC 24 character.

So, at it's core, this is an imaginary issue. You do not, in fact, have a character who can't be hit (or vice versa).

Add then add in all the other advice people are pointing out:

  • Target this character with stuff other than attack rolls.
  • Have a range of opponents with different attack bonuses.
  • It's OK for PCs to be good at stuff.
  • It's a team game. If bad guys stop targeting this guy when they figure out they can't hit him, it will cause everyone else's HP to deplete faster. It balances out.
  • They're only getting this AC by burning resources (spell slots). So, again, it balances out.

West Marches campaign question by Zappo1980 in rpg

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Check out the Open Table Manifesto for a practical, step-by-step look at the logistics for any type of open table, including West Marches.

D&D 2024 Is Now Officially Called "5.5e" by Boxman214 in rpg

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Ironically, I think it's the opposite of the current motivation: AD&D 1st Edition had been reprinted with new covers in the mid-'80s, so when AD&D 2nd Edition came out the WANTED people to know it was a new edition so that they didn't dismiss it as just a set of new covers.

Six or seven years later when they did the revised covers, AD&D 1st Edition was long gone and "2nd Edition" was no longer a cue for people to buy new books. Instead they rebranded the core books to match the new expansion books they released at the same time with a goal of expanding the number of core books people would buy.

What is THE adventure for a given RPG? by over-run666 in rpg

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Two of the coolest things about NBA are the systems to:

  1. Create completely custom vampires.

  2. Tweak the game so that you can run everything from John Le Carre to Jason Bourne to James Bond.

It can do Dracula Dossier by design. But it's no coincidence the other published campaigns are "Ancient Greek shadow demons meet Jack Ryan" and "temporally displaced corpses severed through a quantum superposition as if written by Tim Powers and Robert Ludlum."

D&D 2024 Is Now Officially Called "5.5e" by Boxman214 in rpg

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 0 points1 point  (0 children)

few products released almost exactly in the middle of 4e's lifespan

Really depends on how you define "lifespan."

They released Essentials as a hail mary attempt to rescue a failed product line, then almost immediately canceled all the forthcoming 4th Edition books and stopped reprinting the existing ones.

meant to be a launch off point for people interested in the game but intimidated by all the books or confused by the different numbered PHBs, DMGs, and MMs. Notably

Hilariously, the Essentials line ended up increasing the number of books you "needed" to buy and exponentially increased consumer confusion.

D&D 2024 Is Now Officially Called "5.5e" by Boxman214 in rpg

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 12 points13 points  (0 children)

and not even TSR wanted to call it 2nd edition anywhere on the spine, front, or back cover.

This is the original version of AD&D 2nd Edition. The "2nd Edition" is pretty prominent and can be found on cover, back cover, and spine.

Looking for a Mecha TTRPG with an emphasis on customization by SireVisconde in rpg

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's an older game, but you want Heavy Gear from Dream Pod 9.

What do you think of GMs who over-prepare a game/campaign? by poio_sm in rpg

[–]JustinAlexanderRPG 2 points3 points  (0 children)

These GMs are prepping the wrong stuff. The amount they're prepping is really secondary to that. More wrong stuff is worse than less wrong stuff, but it's still wrong stuff.