Go then Roll vs Roll then Go
I think I don't run into the conversational issues as often but I might be more willing than most GMs to retcon that a given NPC has secret info that explains why they aren't persuaded by a given interaction. When it's a raw attempt to ingratiate with an NPC, I always find the line of "hmm, you said all right words but this seems a bit too convenient or neat and they suspect you have an ulterior motive" to work decently well.
Of course, it could always be that I'm just bad at detecting my own bullshit 😅 Either way, on the whole, I'm very drawn to more collaborative models of role-playing and letting the players have more reign of the narrative, but I do feel like they need to be coaxed into the mindset. So many players are used to playing RPGs as though they are piloting their characters like mechs in an imagined environment—very simulationist, in other words. I want to play more like a writing room of screenwriters workshoping a story. I just need to find systems and mechanics that let players dip their toes in the water before they're asked to swim.
Hot damn that game sounds rad
What's TEETH? I'm new to any Forged in the Dark games, and that abbreviation promises to be tricky to find in Google 😅
I feel like Go then Roll is more typical in (at least modern) d&d, which is my primary experience with role-playing. I'm actually really drawn to giving players more creative control over the scenario but I've found it's not uncommon for players to be reluctant to assume that kind of control. The one exception is when there is a critical success with an attack or an otherwise crazy high roll on some skill check; in those cases, they universally seem to appreciate narrating their over-the-top accomplishment.
But when you start handing over the reins of the larger narrative? Or inviting them to have some creative control of the setting and world? That seems to be challenging to some players' suspension of disbelief, like they're seeing the man behind the curtain (indeed, being invited behind it themelves) when they wanted the wizard. Obviously d&d doesn't really have a ton of support for these kinds of interactions at the table, so it's perhaps not too surprising that players feel like they're in uncharted territory when I spring it on them.
I found my two groups (both online, play vis VTT) through the /r/lfg community on Reddit. Not sure where I would look now.
I have no familiarity with Burning Wheel but everyone I know who's ever played it seems to consider it one of their favorites. I always got the impression it's quite mechanically sophisticated without being altogether combat focused, which is a bit unique among ttrpgs in my experience.
The two I would recommend are both centered around GM prep:
- The Lazy Dungeon Master by Mike Shea (@slyflourish@ttrpg.network , @slyflourish@chirp.enworld.org )
- Never Unprepared by Phil Vecchione (@dnaphil@dice.camp)
I don't think either of these are perfect, but they both offer really good, actionable advice. The philosophies/systems described in these two don't naturally mesh, and I think that's a plus. Every GM needs to figure out for themselves how to prepare to run a game, because the things each GM needs are unique. I think having two books outline pretty drastically different approaches can help you triangulate your own needs and methods
Flee, Mortals! is so excellent and makes me so sad that it's likely to be the only monster book MCDM produces 😭
I mean I don't want to give the impression I ran it with any great success myself. I gave it a shot but scheduling doomed that campaign. I was just sharing the impression that I got from the discord when I was lurking at the time. Plenty of gaps to compensate for, though, no doubt.
Ah that's fair. I mean, at the time you recorded the video I couldn't have named any kbin or Lemmy groups that were even rpg focused (I didn't know any either) so it would have been by far the most embryonic of the options you listed. We're watching the plane get built mid-flight! Credit to the other shout outs you gave, though; I did notice them at the time and they do all present legit alternatives for controlling your life on the internet.
I'm playing in a Curse of Strahd game right now. I had actually bought the module some months ago and it's sheer luck that I didn't get around to reading it before my Sunday GM decided to run it. All I know is it has a big reputation as a celebrated module, so we'll see 🤷
I'm also running a D&D 5e game set in my own homebrew setting & story. I'm basically trying to cram as much occult mystery, political intrigue, and high society manners and drama as I can into it, but I'm leaving myself open to the prospect D&D simply might not be cut out as a system for what I'm interested in. So I might be forced to transition to something else eventually, but so far so good for the most part. I've had more than a few sessions already without any combat, and I know I'm a bit over the skis of the rules at that point, but players seem to be enjoying it; and ChatGPT has been a godsend with helping me patch together loose plot threads and brainstorm explanations such as e.g. why there's a dungeon full of gelatinous cubes beneath the count's country estate.
I'm a fan of the 3rd party campaign module Odyssey of the Dragonlords and it's hilarious how much this is the consensus on the dedicated Discord community for that adventure. Everyone loves the bones of the module, but everyone also agrees it needs a lot of love and polish.
I was a bit bummed to see that Mike didn't mention any of the Fediverse options but honestly Lemmy and kbin are still cooking as technologies so I don't exactly fault him. I was surprised to hear him skeptical of Patreon—the same incentives are there, surely, but I wasn't aware of any recent actions they had taken.
Replacing Discord will definitely be painful if/when it comes.
You can see a list of the communities here: https://ttrpg.network/communities
While I appreciate the change as it allows me to actually login, there's been a lot of issues with spam accounts reported at a lot of Lemmy and kbin instances. For example: https://mstdn.social/@stux/110582137637837383
Huh. In the list with "fastest growing #Lemmy instances" are only spam instances now
I'm currently creating an instance ban list for Geddit to block those instances if they don't take action.. This is a disaster waiting to happen
...
Lemmy ‘total users’ has now reached the million..
That’s ~200K new spam accounts in the past hours or so 🙀
All to say, anything you can do to fix the email issue and get email verification back on would be appreciated 🙏