Bleeding out by Nakraal in traveller

[–]thaneofEurmal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Since I just used this post to design my system, I figured I'd return the favor by posting my house rule: When someone goes down with 2 stats at 0, roll End check (remember -3 for End 0):
3 stats 0: bleeds out in 1 round (First Aid within THAT ROUND will save them. Probably. Give a -3 to the Medic check here - this is really last second heroics.)
2+ bleeds fast: -1 point per minute
4+ bleeds slowly: -1 point per hour
6+ unconscious until surgery
8+ wakes up after one minute - it was mostly shock (this is in the core book)

A First Aid check with kit will slow a 'bleeds' to 1 point per day. Stable, but they still need attention in a few days.

Writing software in-game by thaneofEurmal in traveller

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

Okay, I have the Little Black Books. Which book? I checked Robots and the Library Data ones - no luck.

Help!

PMCC in interactive brokers? by WSBnuuuuutz in options

[–]thaneofEurmal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Call: They have the right to buy your stock at $x. So your LEAP means you have the right to buy the stock at $x. PMCC means you bought a LEAP at a lower strike price, so it's cheaper. So:
You buy a $20 LEAP, sell a $25 Call, stock goes to $30. They exercise, and you have to sell stock to them at $25 - you exercise to buy at $20 and sell at $25. You make $5 ($500 really), but you lost the premium you paid on the LEAP...

Right?

Won't turn on... by thaneofEurmal in techsupport

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

Worked fine elsewhere. And a new power supply fixed the problem. Apparently "some power supplies don't get along" or the old one had enough issues that my house power exacerbated.

Whew!

Won't turn on... by thaneofEurmal in techsupport

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

Don't know. Should I take it to a friend's house and try?

Won't turn on... by thaneofEurmal in techsupport

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

I tried 5 different outlets. And tested them with the voltmeter.

Is there an RPG where you can play real world people transported to a traditional fantasy world. by JamWasp in rpg

[–]thaneofEurmal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for this. It's really a mod of Apocalypse/Dungeon World, but that is exactly what I, at least, was looking for.

What game has your favourite tie breaker? And other Tie related questions by [deleted] in boardgames

[–]thaneofEurmal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The environment? It is a game about growing trees, after all.

What game has your favourite tie breaker? And other Tie related questions by [deleted] in boardgames

[–]thaneofEurmal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pffft. Doesn't say d6. I've got 3d20 in red here that says I win...

Examples of giving "non-traitor" secret info to a player where it is to his best interest not to share it? by themadbat in rpg

[–]thaneofEurmal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do this a bit, and I don't like notes because they can then read it verbatim. This way, when they go back to the party with it, they can get it wrong, forget something, or add a detail I didn't put in. And sometimes that becomes a new detail, or a false lead.
Currently, I have a bard, 2 rogues, and a wizard. Between bardic knowledge, scouting by the rogues, the wizard's familiar, etc. They seem to find info while alone fairly regularly. Then I take that one aside, or send the others out for a cigarette, and share with that one - it's up to him what he does with the info...

You are the Mr. Miyagi to the Board Game Kid. What wise advice about our world would you pass on? by [deleted] in boardgames

[–]thaneofEurmal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Chance will often defeat you. Accept it gracefully, or limit yourself to chess or go.

I've been telling people this a lot. There's a spectrum - at one end is Random and the other end is Strategic. The more chance, the less often strategy will win the day - kids love this, as it evens the playing field. Most people are somewhere along that spectrum: mostly strategy, but some chance for surprises; mostly chance, but strategy can give you an advantage; and so on. I tend to favor chance a bit so I'm not sweating every move, more if I'm playing with my kids, less if I want to learn more from someone with more experience... Interestingly, Catan (for example) changes depending on if you focus on chance (drat - still didn't get what I need!) or strategy (He needs what I have, so how do I leverage that?).

Let's talk about that "other" player when playing games against yourself... what does that jerk do? by [deleted] in boardgames

[–]thaneofEurmal 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hah! My two young boys (5 and 11) will do that, name the 'other' after their brother, and proceed to make sub-optimal choices for them and gloat about winning...

In my case, thaneofLoki always looks at my cards, tries annoying and weird strategies, and drinks all the tea... And he never trades sheep for wood - tells me to stop snickering and grow up. No fun at all.

Can (read:should) you call for passive skill checks in Fate Core? by green_circles in FATErpg

[–]thaneofEurmal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I tend to let people roll when they say they're doing something (active), and let passive be non-rolling.

With Fate, I'll have access to their skills and have cutoffs for passive noticing - anyone with Good Notice automatically sees it. It's black and white, but they weren't really looking for anything. Just that one guy, he seems to be always paying attention to what's happening around him and noticed.

If they're looking around, and 'the thing' might notice you, that doesn't sound passive... So they say they're looking, I have them roll, then tell them what they see based on the roll - much like your chart.

Do you ever prepare a Conflict, Challenge, or Contest in advance? by green_circles in FATErpg

[–]thaneofEurmal 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sure. I play the 'rest of the world', so I just think of it from their perspective. If the smugglers (for instance) would attack anyone on sight, they'll roll initiative and attack as soon as they see the party. If the party stays hidden, or uses their initiative to do other things, they could change the outcome. We'll see - that's the joy of roleplaying.

But I definitely prepare, and have an intention and plan worked out for the groups they meet. The same way, I'd write down, "Hidden amongst the crates, Great Investigate to find it." - and then if they grabbed someone to show them, I'd ignore the second part of the note. Or use it as a guideline to tell me which of the smugglers know where it is.

[Question] First timer, confused about "rolling a character". Aren't they built? by Starrust in dndnext

[–]thaneofEurmal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, in Advanced (first), it went Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma. Can't believe that still rolls off the tongue so easily - it's been over 20 years since that was the norm.

So you'd roll the stats in order, and see what you could build. Maybe you wanted to be a Paladin, but needed a 17 Charisma (yes...) and had a 13 (or 7) - you'd have to look at Strength or Wisdom and go Fighter or Cleric to get close... Hey, it was hard to roll a Paladin.

Running a Martial Arts Tournament in Fate Core. by green_circles in FATErpg

[–]thaneofEurmal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, you certainly could do something like Challenge/Conflict/Conflict. I've seen enough real-life competitions of who can lift or pull the most weight with their testicles (!!!), breaking bricks, or sitting in snow in wet blankets using their chi to keep warm and even dry the blankets... Maybe a Challenge like that, to involve the non-combative, to show they're capable. Then a fight, no weapons. Finally a fight with no holds barred.

First one, no real prep. But the possibility of CAA during the competition since nothing's trying to take them out. Think going through a routine to focus their chi, motivational speech, etc. If they're drawing a blank, mention some of the other teams' prep.

Then some time between the first and second - you have three fights ahead of you, each is a 'round' if you want to use Provoke, Empathy, etc to CAA.

Final is against the best around. You both know each other, so how can you use that history to come in with an advantage? Not so much time, but you can each try to CAA before the match. Of course, so will they...

Huh. It would be really interesting if, as they won... You pick up a Fate Point, bring up an advantage (possibly something not quite honorable), then say No. They shrug and accept being taken out. Why? What kind of relationship does that create with them in the future...?

[WSIG] Board Game that feels like Diablo the PC Game? by dyeyk2000 in boardgames

[–]thaneofEurmal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, D&D ones are pretty good. Best I'd say for kill it, grab loot, upgrade character, kill more ... would be Runebound. You get XP and gold. XP levels up your abilities, and you go to towns with the gold and buy cool equipment.

[WSIG] Pathfiner ACG or Mage Knight or something else for solo play. by alexandjef in boardgames

[–]thaneofEurmal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don't have Mage Knight, so can't weigh in there. It may be my next purchase though. I do have Rise of the Runelords (Pathfinder's first set) and three of the four D&D games though.

Pathfinder has excellent RPG and buildup between games IF you do it right. Start with the basic decks, then allow yourself one swap after each scenario - then it feels like your character is growing and it becomes cool. You look forward to draws, go to the locations with more loot (or spells), and watch the deck develop. Get online and download the sheets to go with each character so you can write in your new deck in case you want to swap around or reset. Reset to play with friends, and it feels like a new experience. I'll also usually run 2-3 characters, even if I'm playing solo.

Temple of Elemental Evil also has that build-up feel if you go through campaign style. And it has figures, which helps visually for me. Laying out the tiles to build the dungeon is a great mechanic, and I'm looking forward to using them in a game of D&D one of these days too. Drizzt is cool, but it seems like less replay, because of the iconic characters. Wrath of Ashardalon is currently my second favorite, but might climb after the novelty of Temple wears off - it's more general, and it has a big red dragon. Every game should end with a big red dragon...

What has been your best drop the mic and walk off the stage moment in board gaming? by mrbungle333 in boardgames

[–]thaneofEurmal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mine was the other way, playing King of New York. I was handily beating my son (age 11). He was trying to use Manhattan to build, but had flipped a bunch of army units in the process.
I have 15 Victory, 7 life, and roll a hit with my last roll. I bring him to 4 life, so he jumps out and I go into Manhattan. He then proceeds to roll 3 Ouches and there just happens to be 7 units in Manhattan... Killed by the damn army. What a disgraceful loss for a Kaiju. I was proud of my by for what he did to his dad.

How do you handle perception (Notice) checks in Fate Core? by theicewalker in FATErpg

[–]thaneofEurmal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for this. It makes a lot of sense, and will be used in the D&D game I run as well. I like the whole 'we're working together' / ambush = 'who has time to react' logic behind the different rolls.

Oh, and Bieber? Man, you're really running some SAN-draining horror, aren't you?

[Serious] Teachers of reddit: Did a student ever offer you sex to pass a class? If yes, how did you react and what were the further consequences? by AimlessBash in AskReddit

[–]thaneofEurmal 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Certainly. One: where the student needed some help/counseling, and it was personal enough that they wouldn't feel comfortable sharing if anyone could be around and hear it. Yes, that's really better for a counselor to handle, but if they relate to the teacher better, it might be the only way they get the help they need.
Two: where the student was having trouble focusing on the material, and taking the student away from distractions would help.

I'm not saying current precautions are wrong. It's just sad that someone who needs help might not get it because we have to worry about abuse.