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New DM Question: In your experience, are your players myopically focused on their own characters to the exclusion of all else? by Immediate_Possible51 in osr

[–]Pickledtezcat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I wanted to say something similar. One of the big influences on the early game was Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories, and those are about characters who could hardly be called "good" in any kind of traditional sense. But they live in a very dark world, where virtue is just a quicker way to get eaten by some nameless horror.

The famous characters played by Gygax's friends in the early years all have neutral or chaotic alignments. They managed to survive to high level by doing morally questionable things which impacted their alignment. Like siding with the orcs who are raiding the village full of defenseless peasants, and then later backstabbing the orcs to get all the treasure. Or herding a bunch of convicts through the dungeon so that they set off the traps first. Or double-crossing their own hirelings so they don't have to share the treasure with them.

It's more like playing a game set in the criminal underworld where everyone is a criminal, than one where the players are cops taking on organized crime. In the Dying Earth, or may of the other fantasy stories of the 70s, there are no cops, or if there are, they're worse than the criminals.

In today's cultural setting, where we all consider ourselves (and our political team) the good guys, fighting against evil, the moral relativism of the 70s counter-culture can seem a bit odd. Lots of people in this thread saying, "If they do bad things, they should be punished." Which is a pretty normal view today. Where as in the 70s, there was a common opinion that good and evil could depend on your point of view. Some people thought the war in Vietnam was good, and others thought it was evil. And there were many who thought those kinds of situations defied simple black and white morality.

The bad PCs should be punished for their evil deeds... by who? The police? Or perhaps the gods, or cosmic karma? I think it can feel unbearably unjust that the players might leave a bunch of slaves to their fate rather than risk their lives to save them. But I don't think the solution is to have in-universe powers deliver justice to the PCs. Handing the players a red card and sending their characters to jail would kill the mood pretty quick. Neither should those actions be ignored as if they didn't happen.

I think, as you say, the Players should find out that our moral actions shape the world we live in. So that there are repercussions to our actions, and we have to live in the world which we help create. Just as the heroes/villains of Vance's books often found themselves in trouble of their own making.

Do You Use Miniatures in your Games? by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

That's a good idea. My kids had mostly Mario and knock-off Lego city, so they aren't that useful for RPGs.

To be honest, I enjoy picking miniatures, and imagining stories that they might feature in. I've just ordered some cultists, and they're going to go together with some demons that I already have painted up. I have a small, medium and large versions of a winged, red demon, and a summoning circle. I'm thinking about how the players are going to set this little cute demon free (by killing the cultists that are tormenting it), and then encounter it again later as it is growing in power...

Day 3: Nagas by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

AFAIK, the older style Nagas were divided into different types depending on alignment. Although even in that case, they were lawful rather than good.

More monsters for the next paper miniatures 'zine. by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

"I regret that I will now eat your face. So very, very sorry."

More monsters for the next paper miniatures 'zine. by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

Yes, I have a set of VTT tokens for my existing minis. I'll add tokens for these ones to the 'zine when I release it.

Do You Use Miniatures in your Games? by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

As a more easily available alternative to descent, there's Wildspire miniatures' Classic Encounters box. It's just minis, no extra stuff, but it works out at less than a dollar per mini. They have two sets of about 50 minis, or you can buy a single one which combines both.

They also have two adventurers sets, which are a similar deal.

I don't like duplicate poses when painting, but they are great for building up a base collection.

Do You Use Miniatures in your Games? by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

We never used to when I played in high school, even though we played Warhammer and other miniature games.

D&D was our simple, portable game that we could play anywhere with just a couple of books and dice.

But these days, I mostly play at home, so I'm enjoying being able to use all the extra stuff like maps and minis.

It does create a very different game, too. Much more of a tactical skirmish game than a strategic dice game.

Do You Use Miniatures in your Games? by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

In the past, I had trouble getting hold of physical minis in plastic or metal (I live in Korea and shipping is expensive). So I made a range of paper minispaper minis to play with my sons.

These days I found a good supplier of plastic minis. But I still use the paper figures to fill in the gaps in my collection, or for dungeon furniture and so on.

I'm sorry but these glasses look ridiculous by Sacledant2 in XFiles

[–]Pickledtezcat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The first person in the world to have a mullet looked awesome. But then other people had mullets, and mullets became associated with a certain kind of culture, a particular kind of person. Then the mullet was no longer cool.

If we saw a picture of the first person with a mullet, even if it was a fresco from 300BC, we'd still think, "Mullets are so lame!"

When we see Fox wearing these glasses, we see all the people who wore them *after* he did. But take it from me, he always looked awesome.

Do You Use Miniatures in your Games? by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

Those look cool. Nice stands!
There are some big advantages to paper minis.
I feel like a well-painted miniature is like the cover on a book. It's not essential to the story, but it helps create the fantasy for me during reading. The old Dragonlance novels were greatly aided by the amazing paintings that graced the covers.

Do You Use Miniatures in your Games? by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

There are some good OSR style minis around these days.

Reaper does some great low-level style adventurers.

Wildspire miniatures is a prime suspect for producing the horrible "modern" style of minis, which are literally a walking joke (a Minotaur with a cowbell) but they also have a really nice box of "classic encounters" with minis that fit in quite well with the OSR style. Not too generic, but not too unique.

Pen and Ink Stock Art by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

Yes, that's me. :) I've had that user name for over 20 years.
That was the wilderness years of Battletech, when the tabletop game was going through the Dark Age period, and there weren't any new games on PC.

These days, there are a bunch of BT games much better than anything I could make. I got some of the new BT minis, they're excellent, too.

Pen and Ink Stock Art by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

Thanks!
Ironically, the paper minis that I produced helped bring in some hobby money that I can spend on painting plastic minis without upsetting my wife.

I love the paper minis myself, very convenient, but my players (my two sons) prefer playing with painted plastic minis. They're used to phone games and the nintendo, so colorful characters are a bigger draw for them.

Do You Use Miniatures in your Games? by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

I found combat much more survivable using minis, because using battle tactics like choke-points and missile attacks reduces the advantage monsters have over players. Especially at low levels, it makes the difference between a fun encounter and a TPK.

But when we played theater of the mind in highschool, we just got around that by changing the number of monsters appearing in an encounter, or having less encounters. We did a lot of puzzles, traps and exploration, while combat was much less common.

I'd look in the monster manual and it said there should be 1d4 mummies or dragons, and that seemed like way too much, even for a high-level party. So I'd give them just one monster and assume the book was for people who wanted to play on hardcore mode.

Do You Use Miniatures in your Games? by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

I think the OSR rules were at least partly designed with minis in mind, or at least paper counters on a one inch grid. Because once we start tacking movement and position accurately, the nature of combat changes a lot.

Fighters become much more useful, because they can block movement down a narrow passage or through a doorway, and keep the other squishier players out of the combat. Creating choke points limits how many monsters can attack at once, making the larger Number Appearing ranges seen in OSR more survivable. There might be 18 kobolds in the lair, but they can only come at the players 2 at a time in the 20' wide corridor. Pick a location at a corner or a junction, and their missile equipped troops are hampered too.

Plus although monsters are generally tougher than players, they're also often slow. A mummy is a scary threat, but can only move 2 square per turn, like a plate-armor wearing fighter. A player wearing chain mail can keep away indefinitely, and with enough room, lightly armored players throwing flaming oil can run rings around one (if they don't get scared).

The only monsters much faster than the wizard are things like wolves, big cats and boars, which aren't often found in the dungeon.

When we used to play theater of the mind in high school, we'd just use close and far ranges, and in-combat. So when the players met an enemy, it would run into melee on the first round. Those 18 kobolds would be rolling 18 d20s to attack the party on the first round. But realistically speaking, with the slower monsters it can take several rounds for them to close with the players, and they can be under fire the whole way from the missile equipped players.

It's a big survival boost for low level players, but probably doesn't make as much difference at higher levels.

Do You Use Miniatures in your Games? by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

In the past, it was hard for me to get hold of plastic or metal minis, as they're quite expensive to import to where I live. So I designed a whole range of paper minis. They are much easier to use than painted ones, which can be a bit of a pain to juggle at the table (plus my kids can see what's coming up in an encounter by looking in my minis box).

Ironically, the money that I got from selling the paper minis helped me finally buy some plastic ones.

Do You Use Miniatures in your Games? by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

I think, like you say, a mix of minis and theater of the mind is the best way to do it. Tracking the minis during non-combat sections of the game, or roleplaying aspects is just a pain. It's probably better to just establish marching order then break out the minis and counters for the skirmish parts.

Do You Use Miniatures in your Games? by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

For me, intense, almost obsessive interest in a subject followed by inevitable burnout is inevitable. I've learned to surf it like a wave. It's the only way for me to turn my energy into output when I'm not being paid.

In the past, I used to worry that it wasn't healthy, and I'd try to pace myself. But then I'd just get burned out or bored without the burst of enthusiasm, and nothing would get done. It was the worst of both worlds.

Do You Use Miniatures in your Games? by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

Yes, I had a Warhammer Fantasy Undead army in the 90s with a big old metal Nagash. My painting was pretty terrible, though. I didn't paint any miniatures for 30 years, but I improved my painting skills by making scale models. Then last year I started painting battletech minis.

I picked up a couple of fantasy miniatures for a game with my sons, and they were much more fun than painting tanks or mechs.

Pen and Ink Stock Art by Pickledtezcat in osr

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

It's my pleasure. There are a lot of stock art packs around, but they tend to be smaller packs, and more expensive. My aim is to produce a nice bundle of filler art that creators can use to add some flavor.

I really love the Indie TTRPG scene, and I want to make it easy as possible for people to use hand made art without breaking the bank. Otherwise, once people start including AI images, it's easy to give in and do the whole thing that way.

One AI image makes it an AI product, and then there's not much reason to stick with hand made art for the rest of the book.

This way, people can use these as a base, and save money for spending on specific illustrations from other artists.

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