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Post by foxroe on Sept 21, 2017 0:25:55 GMT -6
Interesting, but not too surprising. I can count on one hand (that's missing fingers) how many times Hollywood has done a book-to-film justice. It's always about money and not the story. [/opinion]
With regards to Burrough's popularity, if you've seen the Wonder Woman movie, there's a direct nod to him in it. They're looking through their supply of bribes/gifts/wares for the front line troops (WWI), and the items for the Americans(?) are Burroughs novels. I thought that was a nice touch.
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Post by foxroe on Sept 20, 2017 18:47:14 GMT -6
OK, so we'll take on the 3 high and 3 middle passengers; one passenger comes with a 10 ton ATV + 5 tons of cargo. If we store the ATV in the Ship's Boat, that leaves 22 tons of cargo space. We can fill that with the 20 ton cargo. I'm not sure if we can/should bother with the electronics - it's expensive, and there's no guarantee we'll make a profit at the other end.
Are we good with that?
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Post by foxroe on Sept 20, 2017 18:24:59 GMT -6
foxroe I really like your intro! What about also using this handout as an intro: docs.google.com/file/d/0B3UwU25ULT8HeXM2Mk1qaF90b1E/editThis is from the The Eye of Joyful Sitting Amongst Friends blog author. I think that both of these gives potential players a basic feel for the setting without bogging them down with too much detail. Thanks! Yep, that's a good one too. I deliberately left out all references to the Humanspace origins of Tékumel because I want players unfamiliar with the world of the EotPT to discover that themselves.
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Post by foxroe on Sept 19, 2017 22:42:58 GMT -6
Welcome, piper! I dislike: drama, so please leave me out of editions wars, picayune rules discussions, or character assassinations of big names in the hobby. I whole-heartedly agree. Fortunately, it doesn't get too bad around these parts - bad apples tend to fall off the tree here.
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Post by foxroe on Sept 19, 2017 18:47:07 GMT -6
Avast! I would say 'tis already 95% compatible wit' Holmes. 'tis a bloody good introductory adventure t' 'ave in yer arsenal that ain't th' usual "Goblins/giant rats/bandits be attackin' Ole Man Wilson's farm!".
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Post by foxroe on Sept 19, 2017 18:31:33 GMT -6
Victor could afford one ton of electronics if you wanted to pick that up. Have we heard from Ronin84 lately? OOC: Before we do anything else, I'd like us to decide on a few things.
1. We all agreed to "equal shares", right?
2. So, are we pooling our money to buy cargo, supplies, etc.?
If the answer is yes, here's how much I think we have:
Logan Schmidt 46,000
Henry Porto 22,010
Zebulon Vorn 9,780
Victor Pérez 90,000
Sharron "Leftenant" Ochenfeld 1,150 (owes Mother 1,450)
Mother 2,600 How much are each of us pooling into the Ship's Fund? Logan will put in 45,000. Fill in the blanks below for your characters (0 is fine, but we need to know what the Ship's Fund is so we can buy cargo and/or supplies:
Logan Schmidt 45,000 Henry Porto ______ Zebulon Vorn ______
Victor Pérez ______
Sharron "Leftenant" Ochenfeld ______(owes Mother 1,450)
Mother ______ TOTAL 45,000 3. Are we going to ship any freight/cargo? We have 27 dtons of space (37 if we don't have a ship's boat) we shouldn't jump with it empty, I'd say ship some freight at 1 Kcr, if nothing else. And if we have the money in the Ship's Fund, are we buying a dton of the electronics on spec?
4. I *think* we have 8 double occupancy staterooms and 2 single occupancy staterooms. If that is correct, we could accommodate we 6 crew members, plus up to another 12 passengers! We have lined up 3 High and 3 Middle Passengers, and I think they pay (correct me if I'm wrong) 10Kcr/High and 8Kcr/Mid that would be 54 KCr to add to the kitty! So, are we going to carry them?
5. I think the rules say that the Scout Service will provide fuel and life support free of charge. Is that true, or do we need to buy our refined fuel (300cr * 60=18Kcr) and live support (2kcr/stateroom, occupied or not * 9=18Kcr)?
Eris All OOC: 1) I believe so. 2) I think we should all pitch in what we can, especially for this first jump. We can come up with something more formal later. Sharon ante's up a whopping Cr600, and Mother forks over Cr1500. 3) We absolutely should. I vote for one or two tons of the electronics, the 5-ton and 20-ton cargoes, and the ATV in the Ship's Boat. 4) If we double up for this trip and hot-rack the staterooms, we can take those passengers (As long as Sharon gets to interrogate interview them first...). 5) Who doesn't like free?
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Post by foxroe on Sept 18, 2017 23:47:34 GMT -6
OK. If you ever have the urge to role-play a giant trucker crab... click here. NSFW.
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Post by foxroe on Sept 18, 2017 18:27:02 GMT -6
- no need for a d6 check. How about the old school viewpoint that if there is no rule stopping it, you can do it. It just might not work out like you expected. = LOL, very true! However, I'm a softy and like to give my players plenty of warning: "As you approach Lord Vringha to have words with him, your path is immediately blocked by two rather imposing Shén with nasty looking barbed spears..."
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Post by foxroe on Sept 18, 2017 15:39:14 GMT -6
What is it that you think makes the setting "uniquely fascinating"? It's departure from traditional Western Medieval fantasy and its many layers of detail. I'm much more a gamest than a simulationist so a roll for proper etiquette instead of worrying about using the correct pronoun, of the 64, in a sentence, is fine. It's not something I would worry too much about either. In a "normal" D&D-type game, the players usually know not to piss of the local Lord. In a Tékumel game, I would expect the players to behave similarly - no need for a d6 check.
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Post by foxroe on Sept 17, 2017 18:51:23 GMT -6
You have to ask yourself, you have a group of friends together to play, what do they want to do? Can you do that in EPT? How do you let them know that not only Can they do it but that it is a Good Idea / Fun? I'm assuming your Welcome to the Empire of the Petal Throne is intended to do that. Do you feel that is provides that? Only you can say because each player group is pretty much unique. = Thanks for the response, greentongue. I agree. I'd also like to add that the GM really needs to know the setting as well, and be willing to adapt it to the tenor of his or her players. If your players are more the hack-n-slash treasure-hunter types, then I think EotPT/Tékumel can be boiled down enough to not torture them with the setting minutiae. It's a fine line though, I feel. If one takes away too much, then the setting loses much of what makes it so uniquely fascinating. My goal is to have this as a resource not just for myself. I want it to be useful for anyone starting a campaign in this setting, so as bare-essentials and "player-friendly" as I can make the intro, the better I suppose. I'll make some more minor tweaks and post up a final PDF soon, but I'll always welcome more feedback.
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Post by foxroe on Sept 17, 2017 18:34:50 GMT -6
Finally, it has arrived! Well, the PDF at least. It's a whopping 622 pages, so if players get out of line, you know you can beat them into submission with it! New sub-classes, new magic, more monsters (the daemon section is several pages), fantastic new art, a detailed town, and an intro adventure! I'm a little kid cracking open that Holmes box for the first time and buying my first Players Handbook all over again. It's grand. Ghul and gang have really outdone themselves. I can't recommend this enough.
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Post by foxroe on Sept 17, 2017 0:24:15 GMT -6
Well, based on greentongue's and Scott Anderson's posts above, should I further simplify the text by de-emphasizing the social aspects, and thus create some space for a "What Next?" section? Dunno - it's tough to say. On the one hand, if the goal is to "turn on" more new players, de-emphasis may be warranted; but, on the other hand, there are folks out there that enjoy a "rich tapestry" approach and don't mind stepping outside of their comfort zone ('though I suspect it's a small subset of hobbyists).
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Post by foxroe on Sept 17, 2017 0:06:11 GMT -6
This is good. I have no idea about the specifics of the setting, only an overall vibe. This handout gives me, the noob, some concrete ideas about how to make up a EPT guy character and how to play him. Are there character classes too? Thanks for the feedback! If one is using the original Empire of the Petal Throne rules, then yes there are classes (called character "Types" or "Professions" in the rules): Warrior, Priest, and Magician. It's very much a "cleaned-up" version of OD&D.
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Post by foxroe on Sept 16, 2017 23:58:41 GMT -6
Hmmm. It's working normally in my case (tested on Win7 + SeaMonkey and Slackware/Linux + Firefox). Try restarting the browser maybe? Worst case you can clear your cache and site cookies and start over... but you probably don't want to do that just yet...
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Post by foxroe on Sept 16, 2017 23:52:51 GMT -6
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Post by foxroe on Sept 16, 2017 8:33:17 GMT -6
Grrrr! Still many things to fix. I'll update it tomorrow.
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Post by foxroe on Sept 16, 2017 0:14:59 GMT -6
OK, Rev.4 to the original post. I've laid this out for printing, and unfortunately I'm right at my one-page limit, so I don't have room for a "What Can You Do Next" section. It would be up to the ref/DM to provide those details. I suspect a new player will be filled with questions upon reading the handout anyway, and that's OK - I would want new players to be engaged. I'm still welcoming criticism and advise, of course.
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Post by foxroe on Sept 15, 2017 21:08:03 GMT -6
I think I may also add a sentence mentioning the physical homogeneity of humans as well.
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Post by foxroe on Sept 14, 2017 19:05:20 GMT -6
I've looked at and almost purchased some of the more involved D&D boardgames, but what I'd really like would be an expansion to Dungeon. Sounds like an excellent opportunity to create your own. You could even get your daughter involved in the creative process - some new player "classes", more treasures & creatures, and maybe even a wilderness crawl type of map to lay beside the dungeon board.
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Post by foxroe on Sept 14, 2017 18:56:52 GMT -6
Hmmm. Yes. Needs a little more emphasis on Clans, and maybe a "What Do You Do Now?" section. I'm just trying to keep it on one 8.5"x11" sheet, and I also don't want to cast a Wall of Text spell on my players.
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Post by foxroe on Sept 13, 2017 22:59:00 GMT -6
Awesome! Dungeon is a great little board game.
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Post by foxroe on Sept 13, 2017 19:53:03 GMT -6
Oh and sorry; no diacriticals yet. ñôt ëâsy tö do hérè
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Post by foxroe on Sept 13, 2017 19:51:51 GMT -6
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Post by foxroe on Sept 13, 2017 19:37:11 GMT -6
I wrote up what I intend to be a one-page player handout summarizing the bare essentials of what a neophyte EotPT player should know at the beginning of play. It's rules-agnostic and aimed at the traditional start of "just off the boat in Jakalla". It's in a first-draft state, so I'm soliciting for any advice or constructive feedback. I know that there things like this out there, I'm just trying to "roll my own." Oh and sorry; no diacriticals yet. Edit: Revision 5, 9/21/17 - improvements to the text; fixed typos Here it is in printable PDF form: Welcome to the Empire of the Petal Throne.pdf (138.37 KB)
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Post by foxroe on Sept 13, 2017 2:28:55 GMT -6
[T]he truth is in any case "Dungeons & Dragons" was chosen by a preadolescent girl. Priceless. Indeed! Of course, we could have ended up with Ponies & Princesses...
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Post by foxroe on Sept 13, 2017 1:12:23 GMT -6
OK, so... Using the "anydice" program to compare the two mechanics (a roll-under 3d6+xd6 pool mechanic versus a straight 3d6+x mechanic), it seems that in the dice pool mechanic, extra dice provide slightly more "bonus" for the first two dice, with successive die additions providing diminishing returns. However, I foresee issues with using it in actual play: - Negative bonuses and positive penalties may be non-intuitive for some players. - Players will likely find it easier to roll 3d6 and add or subtract a few points, than to roll a handful of dice and hunt for the three lowest/highest die. - Adding/subtracting points encourages more "spread", while adding more dice causes headaches (a subjective opinion, of course). And now back to your regularly scheduled thread.
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Post by foxroe on Sept 13, 2017 0:35:33 GMT -6
Now my question is, what would be the probability distribution of the 3-18 results in each case? anydice.com/program/cea2Click "At Most" to get chances of success or "At Least" for chances of failure in your roll under system (it would be reversed in a roll over system). EDIT: Try the link again. I made some goofs. Sweet, exactly what I wanted! Thanks! Hmmm. It's not as elegant as I expected. The jump from 3d6 to 3d6+1d6 is significant, 3d6+2d6 less so, and 3d6+3d6 is negligibly different from 3d6+2d6. It makes a bigger difference at the extremes of the scale. I'll have to look into this some more and see how it compares to a straight 3d6+x mechanic.
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Post by foxroe on Sept 13, 2017 0:04:31 GMT -6
And an excellent thread it is - it should be required reading for anyone looking to ref EotPT (or a Tekumel-based campaign in general).
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Post by foxroe on Sept 12, 2017 19:34:38 GMT -6
A fascinating thread as usual krusader74 , even if a bit over my head at times (and I'm an engineer!). A query, if you will (and this may already be answered up-thread)... I'm thinking about a 3d6 sum roll-under mechanic where bonuses and penalties are applied with additional dice (usually one die, but sometimes two, and rarely three). In a bonus situation, (3+x)d6 are rolled, and the lowest three die are totaled. In a penalty situation, (3+x)d6 are rolled, and the highest three die are totaled. Hopefully that's clear. Now my question is, what would be the probability distribution of the 3-18 results in each case? I'm trying to determine if the "fiddliness" of the mechanic is offset by significant changes in the bell curve, or if I would be better off sticking with a simpler 3d6+x method. I tried looking into your Palamedes program, but I couldn't figure out what code to input to simulate the conditions.
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Post by foxroe on Sept 11, 2017 19:30:22 GMT -6
BWAHAAHA! Despite the moniker, the title is simply a simple description of the scale of the game's mechanic. At one end is cold logic, reasoning, and technology (Lasers), and on the other end is empathy, intuition, and passion (Feelings). It's also inspired by this song.
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