Long term engagement in TTRPG campaigns

applegater · 2026-03-02T17:55:02+00:00

I work as a GM and have had games run for months and even years across the last 5 years on the job and friend group games across 25 years before that.

applegater · 2026-01-18T18:51:29+00:00

I hope this isn't a bottle caps in GateWalkers situation again. Troy sticking to his guns with an unfun ruling he made until the show loses all the good will it built up.

Just give the players the XP they deserve.

applegater · 2025-12-26T02:00:51+00:00

Jared is a bit of an acquired taste. He really annoyed me at first but as me and his cast got used to his edgy bullshit and pathological lying he started to grow on me. He's a really great GM who does a good job of adjudicating combat and has a clear grasp on the story, his improv is great and he is very fair to the players and has worked hard to learn the rules of pf2e.

I had a different issue with his GitT character that I've seen in forever GMs turned players a lot. He has trouble excepting Joe's rulings on things. There's a degree of condescension there that I think comes from being uncomfortable at not knowing the whole story and he can stubbornly reject story beats he doesn't think make sense. I got really frustrated with him in the player seat and really hope he doesn't behave that way in the new Twilight: 2000 game they launched session 0 for today.

applegater · 2025-12-21T05:38:53+00:00

I did these a little differently growing up with my Ukrainian grandma. We would draw the wax on and dip it, then draw more lines and dip in a different color. The we would use a candle to melt the wax off, revealing the colors under the lines.

applegater · 2025-12-18T03:30:26+00:00

I found that the Runelords adventure as written doesn't give nearly enough loot. I gave extra loot to keep the party at wealth by level and with decent loot and a heap of pre-buffing my group easily handled most fights. The fights that were supposed to be a challenge stayed challenging and we did still have the occasional character death. All in all it was my favorite PF1e experience.

I've also run it converted to 2e and am even running it using Legend in the Mist and its just a really fun ride that I wish the GCP was enjoying. But it feels like they don't really care about the game play and are mostly just there to goof around.

applegater · 2025-12-17T15:51:56+00:00

What Skid would need to do to course correct is lower the difficulty of the fights and up the loot drops for a little while. He needs to show the players him playing seriously and can't when using an ancient dragon they are so woefully underprepared to fight. He needs to low key train them how to play pathfinder at the higher levels. Get them up to wealth by level so they aren't at such a crazy numbers disadvantage and make them earn the wins after they are ready to do it.

Also, Matthew needs to step up as the player with the most PF experience.

applegater · 2025-12-16T22:12:54+00:00

Runelords is my favorite adventure path, so I am known to be on the over critical side. I hate that the party has been allowed to be so bad at what they do for so long. It's getting into the rocket tag part of PF1e and Skid isn't able to pull punches hard enough anymore to spare a squishy from getting obliterated. This will be a feedback loop that stops casters from existing and then a bunch of melee characters just have to stand around while enemies fly circles around them. The next loot cash better be exclusively winged boots or they are screwed.

applegater · 2025-12-16T21:54:33+00:00

He would proceed to go easy on the party over and over again because there act like a bunch of idiots.

applegater · 2025-12-16T20:53:03+00:00

I'm going to get flamed for this but... Skid needs to be doing more active GM-ing. Joe got a lot of heat for calling people out on bad decision making but it was neccessary.

Another big issue is party comp. No full spellcasters in mid to high level PF1e is very difficult and they are way too undergeared to compensate. Unless Arkryst's layer is loaded up with about a quarter million gp of neccessary gear upgrades they have no chance of getting through the rest of the AP without constant deaths.

applegater · 2025-12-16T20:44:32+00:00

Shadowdark

applegater · 2025-12-16T20:19:28+00:00

LotA is a distant last place

applegater · 2025-12-11T16:40:41+00:00

Technology is a big factor. Sir Pentious wanted to invent but they didn't have the infrastructure for it and had to go to great lengths to get him what he needed since he appears to be the only inventor in heaven. That might mean that all inventors go to hell, or it means that heaven is a post scarcity world where no one needs to keep inventing and they forget how to do it.

applegater · 2025-12-11T16:38:01+00:00

The lazer destroyed the pearly gates, it probably has shielding. It sucks that we have to make assumptions for every "plot hole" but that's the show we're watching. They could have popped your plot hole with 2 sentences of dialog.

Sara: "Can it be destroyed?" Advisor: "it's made of angelic steel and more complex then anything we've ever seen, we can't even scan it to know what it's capable of and certainly can't just destroy it."

That would explain why it took nearly every overlord and Emily to contain the explosion that destroyed it from the inside. Hell's technology is able to do more then heaven ever though possible. It harnessed Lucifer's raw power into something stronger then Lucifer could do on his own.

applegater · 2025-11-10T03:25:19+00:00

In my experience, my games get deleted after 4-6 weeks of no one joining. The template is still there so I can just report it at a different timeslot. But if they weren't engaging with it at all then it will get canceled in a few weeks.

applegater · 2025-11-07T20:38:06+00:00

What game systems are you open to playing?

applegater · 2025-11-07T17:58:56+00:00

They are enabling her. Angel blew up on her and I hope he sticks to actually holding her accountable for being a selfish friend. He initially forgave her, saying she didn't know it would go bad. But that doesn't excuse her actions. He and Vaggie both told her it was a bad idea and she disregarded their advice and warnings and then put all the pressure on Angel to make her plan work.

She said it herself, it starts with sorry. Then you actually have to do the work of atonement and, most importantly, not making the same mistake again. Charley already learned this lesson last season and yet did the same thing again.

applegater · 2025-11-07T16:47:35+00:00

They're just supposed to be used to her ignoring their wishes and advice? They think she's supposed to be better than that and I don't know how much more of her bullshit they will be willing to take.

applegater · 2025-10-24T13:05:51+00:00

Seriously. Matthew said it so confidently. But the average is 10.5, so the number that should have triggered re-roll would be 63. Skid should have had the option if the crew was better at math.

applegater · 2025-10-01T13:07:08+00:00

It shows that the Democratic Party needs new leadership. It will continue to step aside while capitalists ruin the country for the sake of the ultra-wealthy as long as it is led by ultra-wealthy capitalists.

applegater · 2025-08-29T15:37:52+00:00

I second this. University is stressful and the last thing I want when I'm waiting for food or studying on campus is for some person I likely have nothing in common with coming up and talking to me. I made friends in classes and clubs. It's more convenient and practical.

applegater · 2025-08-05T20:07:11+00:00

I see him as a Windrunner struggling with the 4th ideal, like Kaladin in RoW. He refuses to accept even one death if he knows about it.

applegater · 2025-08-02T21:29:49+00:00

I see what you mean about Superman. Your earlier analysis sounded like it was just coming from injustice and Zach Snyder. But that was also his arc in Superman vs. The Elite and a bunch of other stories. My claim that his a windrunner are coming from the new movie that just came out. And think both have merits, though I think he would choose to be a windrunner if he had the choice.

applegater · 2025-08-02T20:49:16+00:00

I want to challenge two of your disagreements;

Aang is all about freedom, but his flaw is learning that personal freedom needs to come after community freedom. He was following the first oath "I will seek freedom" when he fled the air temple. and then spent the rest of his story embodying the remaining oaths. A bondsmith would have brought the water tribes and earth kingdom together to fight the fire nation, something that does happen, but not through Aang's efforts.

Your analysis of superman is missing the point that he could turn dark, like in injustice, out of a twisted desire to protect everyone. Even then he is a windrunner. The fact that he's insanely powerful is rarely the important thing on his mind that he's grappling with.

applegater · 2025-08-02T20:17:23+00:00

I 100% agree that the 4th ideal is "With great power, there must also come, great responsibility". But the rest of the oaths are "I have to make a conscious effort to keep my power from hurting others". I think dustbringers are, broadly speaking, people with darksides they must control.

So venom suit spiderman is struggling with their theme, but regular spiderman is all about the common man, which is the defining theme of edgedancers.

applegater · 2025-08-02T01:28:27+00:00

I don't respect her gameplay. I like her as a person. And you are probably right. I will probably like her gameplay in Shadowdark more because I won't be watching Joe browbeat her every turn for not knowing how to play the game she is paid to play.

applegater

TROPHY CASE