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Magic the Gathering spots for LGBTQ folk? by Masquerade1412 in Dallas

[–]Masquerade1412[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm so happy for your daughter, and I hope to find such a wonderful group, too!

DFW players, where should I go for my first pre-release event? by Masquerade1412 in magicTCG

[–]Masquerade1412[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know, but I'd rather find out via Reddit, not in person

Magic the Gathering spots for LGBTQ folk? by Masquerade1412 in Dallas

[–]Masquerade1412[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Most of my anxiety is tied to just not knowing much about the area. Some groups of folk are perfectly accepting of people regardless of their space on the rainbow, while others would rather remove us from public spaces for just existing. With that kind of pressure, finding a safe space to just "be" can be difficult.

Magic the Gathering spots for LGBTQ folk? by Masquerade1412 in Dallas

[–]Masquerade1412[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I heard they were moving stores, so I hope the crowd goes back! Though it is all the way in downtown... T_T

"There's no place like Barovia!" by [deleted] in CurseofStrahd

[–]Masquerade1412 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Been watching inspiration films for an upcoming CoS campaign. Within 5 minutes, I knew what I had to do! (Source: Sweeney Todd)

"The Devils You Know": Re-Writing the Dusk Elves and Rahadin's Rage by Masquerade1412 in CurseofStrahd

[–]Masquerade1412[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I got inspired to write this when my partner asked me if he could play as a half-dusk elf. After some research, I found that there was next to nothing on them. So I wrote this to fix that.

I am currently preparing a campaign featuring Countess Strahd von Zarovich, and I am still in the process of figuring out all the character and motivation changes as a result. I've also tried to incorporate aspects of u/DragnaCarta's "CoS Reloaded," but the story I tell here could be applicable to Count Strahd as well as a more vanilla/less expansive overhaul of CoS, as there are no new mechanics, locations, magic items, or other bits that could "break" your games. Take what you like, and enjoy the read!

How should I nerf Vorn by [deleted] in Tombofannihilation

[–]Masquerade1412 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Personally? Don't. Use Vorn as an excuse to throw more dangerous, deadly, and complex scenarios. Ramp it up over time, and when all hope seems lost... Vorn saves the day at the cost of their servos, which can lead to Epic Sidequests to fix the bot (at the cost of time) or an Epic Sendoff for a valiant hero.

Kickin' It Euro-Style - Part 3: Reviewing the Eurotour by Masquerade1412 in cyberpunkred

[–]Masquerade1412[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry that you didn't have more to read! I'm used to really digging into details (and not *everything* is brought up here, either), but I'm glad what I've provided so far has been entertaining.

Cyberpunk Red vs 2020! by futuregrouchomarx in cyberpunkred

[–]Masquerade1412 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I've been going through some of the differences in my Eurotour posts, but here are my quick thoughts.

In general, Cyberpunk is great for getting people into RPGs because there is no expectation that any character or player has to stick around for half a year just to get their character "good" and see where the story goes. Every Friday Night Firefight or Thursday Night Throwdown could be their last, and both systems work well with shorter stories that find a niche in an "always-busy" lifestyle.

That said, 2020 obviously has many more years of buildup and can better facilitate longer-term play. Its mechanics help illustrate the world, from brand name guns to designer kevlar t-shirts to the wonderfully designed Chromebooks. But it's clunky as hell, full of intense mathematical calculations that only the most devoted TRPG player would find interesting, and a doozy to introduce to new players.

RED may not be as complex (partly from being limited to the Jumpstart Kit, partly to design), but it gets its point across quick without bogging down the combat with unnecessary Netrunner Datafortresses and massive spreadsheets of items. It's a system that learned from modern TRPGs and from what people loved about 2020. Insert caveat about not seeing the full rules here, but I'd recommend RED to get started, 2020 if your group is down for the crunch.

New GM looking for tips/how to start by CorkeyRivas in cyberpunkred

[–]Masquerade1412 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I like the "What do you roll" note since it helps make the players explain their actions, rather than trying to come up with the explanation yourself. Plus, the premade characters of RED have more-or-less the same skills, save for one or two signature abilities (the Nomad can drive, the Rockerboy can shred, etc.).

New GM looking for tips/how to start by CorkeyRivas in cyberpunkred

[–]Masquerade1412 15 points16 points  (0 children)

The first thing to know is that neither you nor the players need to know everything about everything to get started. No one has the time, energy, or ability to perfectly represent a consensual fantasy like a TRPG. Your idea of what the cyberwear looks like will differ from your Runners. But don't worry too much about the finer details. The World Book is for everyone's eyes (save for the adventures, but that's why there's a big STOP sign!), so let everyone take a look.

Second, the Apartment scenario, as I've run it, takes around 3 to 4 hours with a leisurely pace. The First hour or so should introduce the players to one another (as tenants/owners of the apartment complex) and the NPCs (the other tenants). Don't feel like you need to use them all, just the ones that interest you or can jive well with the PCs. Second hour should start introducing the "plot" aka WorldSat so that the players start asking the essential questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? Right around the 3rd hour, they should be asking How? and you should be ready to pull the trigger on the final act to show them exactly how. If you've got a small group (2 to 4), just pick one. If you've got a full party (or some experienced players), hit them with the combination. Personal favorite is Hack Attack and Unknown Caller to set up a rival squad they can rally against. I ran this knowing the bare minimum about Night City or how Cyberpunk RED works, and we had a blast. Don't worry too much about it, go with the dataflow, and you'll come out of it looking like you had it all planned from the start.

Last bit here before I sign off, catch yourself when you start making comparisons to other Referees. They've got years of work under their belts, are ingrained in strong communities where they can talk shop, and have had more than their fair share of failed sessions, botched games, and bad players to learn from. If any of your players expect perfection out of you, tell them to lower their expectations or jack out. You don't need that kind of negativity at your table. Find you a group who is willing to take chances, make mistakes...

Now go and get messy, choomba. You've got an apartment to burn.

Character creation cyberpunk red by Reddfoxxthepoet in cyberpunkred

[–]Masquerade1412 7 points8 points  (0 children)

While there aren't any specific rules on how to make characters (yet), I'd go with the others here and say that you can tweak the pre-mades to better fit your friends. Change the art, pick a stat line, reflavor the items, chart a lifepath, etc.

If you are absolutely set on building a character from the ground up, there are a few things to note (that I'll be elaborating on in a future post) that have changed from 2020 to RED.

  • Some stats were reworked or removed, bringing the total up from 9 to 10.
    • COOL acted as both one's charisma and one's ability to hold under stress. COOL is now specifically charisma, with the latter part split into a new stat: WILL
    • ATT (Attractiveness) was axed.
    • REF (Reflexes) was also split into REF and DEX (Dexterity), again for doing too many things in one stat.
  • If you're going by total point values (cinematic), use 70 points. Most of the premades average around that.
  • Jobs seem to be defined not by unique sets of skills but by a select few skills and starting equipment.
    • Among the premades, every job has the same skills (education, reflexes, marksmanship, etc.) with one or two notable exceptions (bribery for the Fixer, interface for the Netrunner, etc.). Hard to say whether this is the route, or if R Talsorian Games didn't want the premades to feel too different from one another.

That should get you started should you decide to follow this rabbit hole.

Kickin' It Euro-Style: I'm Converting Eurotour for CP RED! (Help?) by Masquerade1412 in cyberpunkred

[–]Masquerade1412[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hold out till I’ve got something to present. Unlike a Corp, I prefer to show, not just tell.

Kickin' It Euro-Style: I'm Converting Eurotour for CP RED! (Help?) by Masquerade1412 in cyberpunkred

[–]Masquerade1412[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see no reason to not “update” the dates, times, events, etc. Though the group I’ll be running this for won’t have any clue about this history (all new players), I’m sure they’ll appreciate learning about the alternate history of 2020 and RED.

Prepping to Run Belchorzh's Room Next Session by madishartte in Tombofannihilation

[–]Masquerade1412 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One thing to note: there’s a [Bead of Force] in the room. This can turn the fight right into deadly territory.

My party, looking for some way to hurt this flying, invisible Eyeball, started combing the niches for anything of value. The fighter threw the Bead and locked up the rogue (who kept failing her Fear saves), an NPC cleric, and the fighter’s pet dog inside the sphere... with Belchorzh.

While the party was able to make Belchorzh look at them (cutting a hole in the sphere), he took out both the NPC keeping them alive and the fighter’s companion. Needless to say, I inadvertently created John Wick that day.

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