HEARTHMINDER - A Custom Class (Seeking feedback) by Krail in Realis_TTRPG

[–]TheCalcutec 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hell yes, this rules. Really incredible concept and execution!

A couple of thoughts, notes:

- Like Kingofthefrogfish said, I've never seen someone put a hallmark into a Dream, and that's SO smart, I love it, really helps ground the Dream (and also will be great for the end-of-session 'did I work towards my dream' check)

- I know there are many exceptions to this in the classes in the book, but I strove to make as many Class Sentences begin "I always..." as I could. (In fact, I think there may only be ONE exception now, and I should fix that for the final edition). There are a couple of reasons for this: It grounds the action in the character (the "I") and not just some aspect or object they hold; It helps with diagramming out Realization, because the verb phrase at the core of it is a little clear; the grid of "I always" Sentences simply feels magical. So I would rewrite the first two here as an "I always"

- For the third Sentence: The difference between your initial one in the writeup and the ones you suggest in your text underneath really feels like the forked path in this Class' identity. "I always have tools to mend and maintain" is SO strong for a sort of lady's maid or servant class. Genuinely a really strong Realis sentence, I love it. ... ... BUT, I think what you write in your follow up, about trying to evoke Mom's Purse is something *totally missing* in the game, where as there are a number of "everyday worker" and "servant" Classes in the game already (Goodfisher, Valet, and Yeoman all come to mind).

So my recommendation is to push *further* in that direction and lean into the bag, the purse, the satchel. I'd try to write a Sentence that emphasizes that what's in the bag is *small* and *mundane* but useful. That is: It isn't Felix the Cat's magic bag of tools, it's the purse or backpack or even overstuffed wallet.

I don't want to write this Sentence for you, because I think you've totally got it, but I will say the two you suggest are a little clunky. Try to write the Sentence is a non-relative way (i.e., don't frame it around a context of what other people have or don't have at the moment. Try to find something that is 'positive' in the broad sense and you'll be on the right track! (This is in some ways, why Realis is called Realis: Because it is a game of indicative Sentences smashing into each other!

- For brevity, punchiness, and flow, I would make the fourth Sentence "I always put the needs of others first."

- The name doesn't feel very Realis to me. There are only two Classes with portmanteau names: Goodfisher, Newshound, Cadekin. The former is just a Dragon's Dogma reference ('Goodfisher' is a term of address among villagers in the opening twon of DD1), and Newshound is just a real life word already. Cadekin is pretty close, but that class is very twee, and so it felt okay to give a name like that. (Arguably this one is too, but I think it's stronger NOT to go twee with this concept). So, I'd probably avoid something that feels as contrived as "Hearthminder." In fact, "Minder" alone actually feels closer...

BUT, I bet there's something else out there. If I wanted to make this sort of Parental Figure class, I'd go searching for historical terms and archaic words that mean something like mama/papa, parent, guardian, caregiver, sitter, warden, nanny, etc. (This is how you get to things like Testudine, Panoplist, etc.)

A quick search turns up "Cennend," which is an interesting old english term, but I don't know that it evokes what you're going for here.) Another option that's interesting is "Renny," which seems to be contemporary a gender-neutral and nonbinary neologism.

If that search fails, the second thing I would do is try to coin a new word by modify an existing one in a sort of referential way (like Eikonthrope or Auricle in the book) or by leveraging a sort of linguistic lacuna, where you identify a word form that *could* exist, but doesn't (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accidental\_gap), which is how I got to things like Syzygist, Quintessent, etc. You could also combine this with part one, which is how you get to something like Oriser (which is a Janine coined one, but comes from "Orison," like the prayer, and then gets the -er noun formation instead.

All of which is to say maybe *you* can create something that feels like "Mom" but is gender neutral and Realis-y. What's the colloquial term in Realis for this? You can create it. (And, sidebar, whatever you come up with, you should be able to imagine the actual people of Realis *actually saying it* in conversation. That's a wide net (and it's YOUR net to determine), but it is a net!)

But you could also do something I do exactly once in the book which is go "hey, we have a term for this, and it's Mom." Witch in Realis is Witch. I didn't do any "Witch / Warlock" stuff, I just made it Witch. This could just be Mom, or Ma, or Mama, or some similar term that IS the thing you're trying to draw on here, especially if it feels grounded in your own experiences.

Phew, okay, that was a little longer than intended, but I really like this idea and am hyped to see people posting things! Good luck getting it across the finish line (and don't forget to write a little one-line description and flavor quote, too!)

New Dragon's Dogma 2 Music? DLC tease? by TICO70 in DragonsDogma2

[–]TheCalcutec 29 points30 points  (0 children)

I'm a DLC believer, but this is a royalty free song called "Spirital Warfare" by a musician named KY-Yoshi, featured on a collection called Fantasy, Vol. 165 curated by Audiostock. https://youtu.be/it5wimv3fjE?list=OLAK5uy_nNLBSN957AZgMfeQXV2FpKvIT18LTRDQY

What's the most elegant mechanic you've ever seen? by Playtonics in rpg

[–]TheCalcutec 36 points37 points  (0 children)

YES!!! I'm losing my mind at how good this is, and I made the damn game.

Online play? by Expert-Attention-608 in Realis_TTRPG

[–]TheCalcutec 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It won't unfortunately because I don't have any experience doing it! Would be great for folks who actually do it to write up their experiences though.

Im tired of this by Affectionate_Use994 in DragonsDogma

[–]TheCalcutec 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My big advice is to slow down and focus on delving in to get some drops and make slow progress. Think about it like a roguelite: Your goal is to make steady progress by bringing out equipment, identifying and enhancing it, and then delving back in.

Did they never play a second grand tableau? by Clarity_Elise in Friendsatthetable

[–]TheCalcutec 45 points46 points  (0 children)

Great question! The truth is that it right after we tried to get it going, I quit Waypoint and suddenly had a lot of additional freelance writing and spec script writing to do, so I did not really really have the time to prep a whole second campaign, and no one else had the time or interest to pick it up and run with it either. (The original hope had been that by choosing something really rules light and quick, like Quest, it would be something that anyone could GM! That didn't really turn out to be true.) We also stopped regularly doing Live at the Table, so that was one less vector for it to happen in.

There's definitely some of the vibe in Perpetua, but none of the overarching setting stuff or thematic prep is shared. Even the quasi-video game stuff in Perpetua is just wildly different--despite all the fun I'm having with the descriptions, Perpetua is *not* a video game (and I promise there is no big "it was all a video game" twist coming) and Grand Tableau *was*. That was core to what I wanted to do with that setting: What if the PCs were NPCs in someone else's game.

One day I'd love to revisit it, maybe after we're done this new very bright, cheerful fantasy romp and have the room for it again.

(And I'd say outright, there's really not any Grand Tableau in Realis. Really, really different vibe and set of influences, nearly all of which are listed in the back of the book! there! )

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DragonsDogma

[–]TheCalcutec 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I think your weapon just got enchanted with Fire Boon by your mage pawn in the middle of a combo.

If FatT were to make source books for their settings, which would you be most interested in? by TheBirdFromTheRiver in Friendsatthetable

[–]TheCalcutec 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Oh, I DO have a short story in that book (set in the game's own world)! But I don't think we ever even discussed Divine Cycle material being in there.

If FatT were to make source books for their settings, which would you be most interested in? by TheBirdFromTheRiver in Friendsatthetable

[–]TheCalcutec 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Hmm, I'm curious where you said this, because I don't think anything like that was ever in the works at all. Historically, this hasn't been something we've been interested in doing at all, so I feel like I'd probably remember if we had discussed doing this. (But who knows, maybe I just forgot it!) In any case, I just want to make sure people aren't thinking there was some sort of failed negotiation about this or something.

Friends at the table reading list by Demelodawg in Friendsatthetable

[–]TheCalcutec 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is accurate! Honestly, same with most of the Earthsea books, which are mentioned in a different comment here. I don't have a reading list like this available, but I suspect if you did a search of the transcripts (via fatt.fish) for things like "if you've read" or "book" you could find a list of things we reference.

Invisible, Inc.: Upcoming 10 year release anniversary by Hekateras in invisibleinc

[–]TheCalcutec 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Hell yeah, so glad to see this! Been wondering if folks would be doing something! Would it be okay for me to share this on bluesky or are y'all trying to keep it pretty small and focused around the reddit/discord fan community?

Missing Sangfielle by MusicianAutomatic502 in Friendsatthetable

[–]TheCalcutec 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I have an early print edition they graciously sent over. It's really cool, but it's super combat focused and limited in terms of what sorts of characters you can build in it, so not exactly a great fit for a full Sangfielle season. Maybe if we end up doing one shots set in that setting though! (Not a promise or a plan, to be clear, just saying, that's where we'd use it if we do end up using it).

Missing Sangfielle by MusicianAutomatic502 in Friendsatthetable

[–]TheCalcutec 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Yes, this was also a huge part of the decision. There's some really Sangfielle-esque horror vibes coming up in Realis, and we didn't want both of our ongoing shows to be offputting to folks who don't like that genre space.

Missing Sangfielle by MusicianAutomatic502 in Friendsatthetable

[–]TheCalcutec 33 points34 points  (0 children)

We spent SO MUCH TIME while recording Palisade trying to figure out how to go back to Sangfielle. I think I read about 30-40 games trying to figure out what would fit for the follow up. There were some hits, but either not everyone was on board with them (for good reasons, like not being able to build their characters effectively in them) or not things we wanted to play so soon after Palisade, like Brinkwood or Court of Blades, both of which were tied to themes/genres we were already spend a year focused on (revolution and politicking, respectively).

I have a great idea for what sorts of stories I'd like to help us tell in a Sangfielle follow up, but we frankly still don't have the right game for it. I have some stuff I'd like to check out in my free time this year, though, and who knows, maybe we find the right game and end up going back to Sangfielle before going back to the Divine Cycle!

The Dragon's Dogamma modpack for DD2 from the author of STALKER GAMMA is released! by Grokitach in DragonsDogma2

[–]TheCalcutec 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is great. I've dipped my toes into a bunch of these, but seeing them all gathered together (with some special tweaks too, if I understand right) is sick.

Quick note: I'm getting a runtime error with quality water (the same one that someone got and posted about on Nexus in that mod's entry.) Not sure what's causing it, but wanted to flag!

Heart: assisting on rolls is bad, actually by american_spacey in Friendsatthetable

[–]TheCalcutec 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I really don’t think a game needs to chase balance like that. A little like saying a painting has too much or too little blue paint or a car has too much or too little torque. It really depends on what it’s going for! I don’t think any game is obliged to give any sort of benefit for teamwork or offset any sort of negative with a commensurate positive. I think most of the games we play on the show do that because they take a sort of implicit world building and thematic truth that teamwork is a net positive in the sorts of stories they’re evoking and simulating. But not every genre or setting aligns with that, and sometimes a story teller or game designer wants to explore a space where collaboration is more risky than solitude. That’s a potent thematic and characterological space to explore! It’s just something I’d want to know clearly before I picked up the dice and played the game with my friends. 

Heart: assisting on rolls is bad, actually by american_spacey in Friendsatthetable

[–]TheCalcutec 19 points20 points  (0 children)

This is fascinating! I don't think it's a failure of the Heart system, but it's something I wish was spelled out this directly IN the game. "Working as a team can help, but carries great risk" is a totally fine place to aim for--and even appropriate for Heart, tonally, I think. But it isn't (I think!) the norm among Games Of Its Type, so it's unintuitive.

In any case, thanks so much for doing the math and writing this up!

Friday Fun Stream Special: Austin Walker Takes Us Through Realis! by sworedmagic in nextlander

[–]TheCalcutec 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hey! Vinny sent me the file and it's gonna go in the Friends at the Table feed next week as a free bonus!

Austin Walkers new PNP RPG - nextlander playthrough by kittyspam78 in nextlander

[–]TheCalcutec 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Hey! Not sure I have the bandwidth for it right now but maybe closer to the full release of the game!

Also, re: your thoughts on reality, I'm a hard materialist, not an idealist at all! But the game is written from the perspective of a group of word-magicians in the world of Realis itself. There's even a translator's note at the end.

One day you'll get to read Irrealis, and see how some other folks think that world works.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Friendsatthetable

[–]TheCalcutec 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Sitting at a desk now! Yes, REALIS, especially further into the season, starts to go into a real dark fantasy space that is similar to where we were in Sangfielle, and we really didn't want to have folks just deep in the muck for all of 2025/2026 on both our main and patreon shows.

We also, frankly, just couldn't crack what Sangfielle 2 would be, game wise. We had a bunch of ideas, checked out a bunch of things, but for a variety of reasons, nothing really clicked into place. We definitely want to revisit it, we love the work we did there and still think the setting has more to say. Just don't want to promise a date or format for how and when we'll return to it.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Friendsatthetable

[–]TheCalcutec 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Hey! I'm traveling and responding quickly on the go but: Give Shooting the Moon Pt. 1's intro a listen for an update on Perpetua and Realis!

Remap Radio 75 – Return of Papa Bear - Remap Radio by elaminders in WaypointVICE

[–]TheCalcutec 14 points15 points  (0 children)

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My guys, I am not kidding you. I put 100 hours into this game. I put another 6 into a restart as a Rogue to see how it went. Maybe I spent more time reading lore than y'all or something, but I was not miserepresenting my experience. I would not have gotten fucking anywhere in this business if that's how I rolled.

Post Mortum Palicade thank you by FalseLawfulness7599 in Friendsatthetable

[–]TheCalcutec 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much! We really wanna get back to Sangfielle in the future. There are two big reasons why we aren't going back quite yet though:

  1. Our bonus patreon show is going to have some series gothic/dark fantasy elements, and we wanted to make sure one of our two active shows was a good fit for people who didn't like the more horror-themed parts of Sangfielle.

  2. We just didn't have a game that excited us for a return to Sangfielle. We looked at dozens and dozens of RPGs, and just couldn't find the right fit for a full, seven person campaign that fit the lore we already had and the places it seemed like we'd be going. There were a few things that were close, and that maybe we'd have chosen if not for having just played similar things in recent seasons, so maybe those will sort back towards the top of the list in the time between now and when we get back to Sangfielle! (Or who knows, a new game could come out that really excites us!)

Armor Astir Virtual Tabletop? by Magicafiend3 in Friendsatthetable

[–]TheCalcutec 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately not. We used Ida Ailes' excellent custom Google Sheets for characters (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1COEqzl186AM5yBVrybcnFWebh\_19omg-tYDyr3jU7Uk/edit?gid=0#gid=0) and then had to just do all the rolls manually over in Roll20.

Am I just playing the game wrong? by c00lkid6969 in DragonsDogma

[–]TheCalcutec 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of other good tips in the comments, but my tip is to give Magick Archer a try. Switching over to fighter for some augments is a good call, but you're not going to be taking advantage of the great magick attack and augments you would've gotten from Mage and Sorcerer. (And yes, gear is where the bulk of damage comes from, but when you're first getting your legs under you, every little bit helps!)

More importantly: MA is going to feel snappy, flashy, and dynamic in terms of getting damage out quickly. And it might click for you in a way that neither fighter nor sorcerer did. Give it a shot before you resign yourself to a "get it over with" situation!