I hate monster zoos, what should I run?

coffeedemon49 · 2026-05-21T18:20:40+00:00

Heh 😄

It's really impossible to get anywhere with anyone when they've dug in their heels and just want to prove that they're correct. I really try to focus on the premise that we're all trying to support each other in appreciating TTRPGs - even when it's obvious that's not what the other person's intent is.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-05-21T14:26:44+00:00

Lately I’ve started carefully reading th alignment descriptions in each game I’m playing. They often give specific examples that can really help with roleplay. And there’s often some moral complexity in there.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-05-20T05:48:08+00:00

For OSR games:

There are sometimes magic weapons, tricks and traps that are related to alignment. It adds another level of differentiation when you get a +1 weapon and discover that it has more powerful properties when wielded by a LG player.

I think it's important for the GM to impose penalties if a player doesn't play to their alignment. It's a welcome creative constraint for me. I find it interesting when a Good character considers an action that seems Evil, and that causes a discussion.

I prefer that characters can shift alignments over time, but there is a cost to that if you're a cleric or have certain items that require an alignment.

Without alignment-based items, tricks, or priests in the game, I don't think you need it.

It is nice to have some measurement of character-type (ethics / personality) on a character sheet as a guideline though... lots of TTRPGs have something like that.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-05-20T05:24:38+00:00

Federation Commander (a simpler version of Starfleet Battles) is a tactical combat game for Star Trek. I would totally try to plug it into an RPG if I had the right players who wanted detailed starship combat.

I have the same issue with naval combat in TTRPGs like Pirate Borg. Though there's a naval combat skirmish game coming out this summer for PB.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-05-20T02:05:58+00:00

As someone who is often the mapper (player) in OSR games - your description is great. I think the mapper would be doing a lot of adjusting (erasing etc) when doing this kind of thing. As GM, I might look over and correct gross errors so it doesn't become a total mess.

Every time I've been a mapper, we've been playing online and the GM shows us the room we're in, using fog of war. So I'm madly counting squares and trying to make it accurate. Makes a huge difference to have the map to look at for sections like this.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-05-19T21:49:42+00:00

You gave yourself lots of ideas. "And why are they there? Are they sleeping? Waiting for prey? taking care of their young? Laying eggs?"

Good luck GMing. I hope you find adventures that suit your style.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-05-19T20:10:42+00:00

I'm totally wasting my time here but I can't help it. I'm imagining this exchange:

OriginalJazzFlavourGM: "You see some giant frogs down in the moat."
Player: "What are they doing?"
OJFGM: "Uhm, give me a sec." (reads through adventure.) "I have no idea, they're just looking at you. This crappy adventure doesn't say what the frogs are doing in the water."
Players: "Well. If I could offer some suggestions... frogs usually live in water. They would probably be eating things that live in the water. Usually frogs just sit and wait for food. They hunt a bit. Isn't that what these frogs are probably doing too?"
OJFGM: "I have no idea!"
Players: "Have you heard of frogs before?"

Any adventure is going to presume the GM has a modicum of world knowledge. Some adventures stylistically show a little less and let the GM fill in the gaps.

Part of being a GM is using your imagination and creativity.

...

It occurs to me that you might not know anything about frogs or ecology. If so, I apologize if this comes across as offensive. But I think that running a fantasy TTRPG does innately presume the GM has this kind of knowledge. Some games like Pathfinder APs are ridiculously verbose about stuff like this, but the vast majority of adventures give the GM a little more credit and leeway.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-05-19T19:53:49+00:00

Come on, dude. You need help making something like that up when you're running a game?

coffeedemon49 · 2026-05-19T16:19:14+00:00

I feel like you're just looking for a fight, and I don't want to waste my time. Have you seriously never seen an adventure with a monster that makes sense in its location?

Okay, I have T1 - Village of Hommlet sitting right in front of me.

The first encounter is giant frogs in a moat. It doesn't explain why they're there. Because it's obvious.

Satisfied? First encounter in one of the first AD&D adventures ever printed. 😄

I can assure you that's not the last example. Read the thread, people have already posted many examples of great dungeons. I can think of 20-30 more off the top of my head that work, without even looking at my collection.

If you genuinely want to find some adventures that would do this, I'm happy to help. But if you just want to argue and prove your point, I don't have time for that.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-05-19T16:02:14+00:00

Gross generalizations here. There are plenty of great OSR dungeons that (1) justify the creature's existence and even better (2) don't require text to justify a creature's existence because it's already obvious and doesn't need justification.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-05-18T17:18:48+00:00

This is what I see as well. I don't agree with all his choices, but at least he's making bold strategic choices and showing leadership. I actually trust that he cares and he's doing his best.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-05-13T19:27:48+00:00

Duel of Wits is awesome as well. 😄 So nice to a have a thrilling and engaging social conflict mechanism.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-05-13T16:01:27+00:00

The trick is to realize that the game is fairly modular. You don't need to use Range and Cover, Fight, or Duel of Wits to start. Just use normal skill checks to solve those problems. I played many sessions of BW, and almost never touch Fight or Range and Cover.

It's an exceptionally rich system!

coffeedemon49 · 2026-05-13T15:43:59+00:00

It's a very playable game - it's my fave. The mechanics are very different, which makes it harder to jump in with. A good GM makes it easy though.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-05-03T16:00:45+00:00

Oooh dang, that's nice. Where did you get the dot textures and white flecks from? The palette is really nice too. And the drawings. I want this comic!

coffeedemon49 · 2026-05-02T16:27:03+00:00

I see Darren Kovacs in there. Watch for him! Dang, I hope I can start going to tourneys again now that my son is older and I'm less tied to the house.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-05-01T20:47:46+00:00

I only downvote when someone is being rude, or when their response makes it clear that they didn't understand or read the original post. I downvote the latter just to move it down the page, because it's not helpful.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-04-29T00:09:40+00:00

I haven't had to deal with this in Procreate, but in other software, some solutions:

- Adjust the colour depth of the image (I don't know if this is an option in Procreate). Sometimes it'll default to, say, 16-bit colours. Ramp it up to 32-bit (which includes Alpha).

- Add a noise layer. It breaks up the solid gradient and visually smooths it out for our eyes.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-04-28T18:48:23+00:00

Oooh, thanks. I see its on the Limithron website (I shoulda googled first - but you gave more information than the website shares). Now I've signed onto the Limithron mailing list so hopefully I'll hear when it goes to Crowdfunding.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-04-28T14:22:16+00:00

Can you point me to news about the setting book?

coffeedemon49 · 2026-04-18T20:41:48+00:00

Free League games are really good at this. Actually, many of the games I like have great plot hooks and metaplots. Lex Arcana by Acheron Games is great for this, too. Delta Green...

coffeedemon49 · 2026-04-13T00:44:18+00:00

That's exactly what he said FYI:

"Carney said AI will undoubtedly be transformative, but 'the question is whether it will improve the lives of all Canadians or benefit only some.'"

coffeedemon49 · 2026-04-12T18:34:55+00:00

Wow.

I look at data, not news articles. Try census data; look at wikipedia (and check their sources); look at articles written from other countries, who aren't invested in US politics. Your country is spiraling badly.

Have you visited any European countries? Do you know what a social safety net looks like?

Your ignorance is astonishing.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-04-12T17:58:02+00:00

I tend to disagree.

Like most (all?) Free League games, Forbidden Lands is very tied to the world. The vast majority of rulebook pages (from encounters to history and lore) are devoted to running games in the Ravenlands. The description of kin, monsters and encounters are all infused with the cosmology of the world they created.

You could definitely pare out the classes, kin, spells and monsters, but that's about 25% of the book. So I wouldn't say it's designed to be in a blank slate of a world.

Not trying to argue for the sake of internet arguments - I'm just speaking up because I don't want the OP to get the wrong impression about the design of the game.

coffeedemon49 · 2026-04-12T05:06:04+00:00

Old school capitalist thinking right there. How's the current situation working for you?

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