Quote from Nothic2SeeHere2 >>

My social life is entirely separate from DDB, with limited overlap from a few specific IRL friends. This extends to social media.

 I basically agree with Nothic on this one.

Quote from WoodsGirl0402 >>

Quote from Nothic2SeeHere2 >>

My social life is entirely separate from DDB, with limited overlap from a few specific IRL friends. This extends to social media.

 I basically agree with Nothic on this one.

It’s a somewhat sad system that also works perfectly.

Quote from Nothic2SeeHere2 >>

Quote from WoodsGirl0402 >>

Quote from Nothic2SeeHere2 >>

My social life is entirely separate from DDB, with limited overlap from a few specific IRL friends. This extends to social media.

 I basically agree with Nothic on this one.

It’s a somewhat sad system that also works perfectly.

 Agreed!

When playing a realistic video game, what’s the first thing you look for in the graphics?

For me, it’s hair. It’s either to stiff, not moving when character moves, or too free, sometimes clipping through clothing or the body when you move.

Quote from DrakenBrine >>

When playing a realistic video game, what’s the first thing you look for in the graphics?

For me, it’s hair. It’s either to stiff, not moving when character moves, or too free, sometimes clipping through clothing or the body when you move.

 Whether my character can lie prone or not. If I can't then it's a minus.

Footsteps in snow or grass. Water ripples or splashes.

Destructible terrain in FPS. It's super annoying to shoot at somebody hiding behind a canvas tent and nothing happens to the tent, and nothing happens to the guy hiding behind it.

Touching things and getting no response. Similar to what Wysperra said about bullets, it's really telling when you walk your character into a wall and they just keep walking in place, or you step into water and it doesn't get disturbed by your presence. But idk if that counts as graphics.

I get bothered mostly by clipping. The worst is hair and beards clipping through hats and clothes. Long swords and staffs clipping through legs is also pretty common, and I can't believe how many games include capes, cloaks, robes, and dresses with no regard for even getting the base character model to not clip through them constantly.

Quote from DrakenBrine >>

When playing a realistic video game, what’s the first thing you look for in the graphics?
For me, it’s hair. It’s either to stiff, not moving when character moves, or too free, sometimes clipping through clothing or the body when you move.

 
I don't have a high end PC, and my latest console was the first XBOX One.

If I had to say something it'd be - Hair is always the most noticeable thing however. Because it's constant. Because cloaks, swords, staffs might come and go but the hair is constant.

Like I have Baulder's Gate and Diablo IV running on my Windows 11 machine, but everything is turned as low as it can possibly be. And it's (the hair, especially) atrocious. lol

When I see youtube videos of actual, proper, gaming video cards, it doesn't look as bad.

But for me, graphics are never really an issue (in terms of appearance). It's the gameplay and story.

Heck, I just recently relaunched the original EverQuest because I was bored and been playing that. And those are outdated graphics compared to games these days. But I still enjoy it.

Quote from DrakenBrine >>

When playing a realistic video game, what’s the first thing you look for in the graphics?

For me, it’s hair. It’s either to stiff, not moving when character moves, or too free, sometimes clipping through clothing or the body when you move.

 For me it’s both the Shaders and foliage. i can’t get into a game if the shaders aren’t good and if the grass and foliage aren’t as well. Even more important is if they cooperate since most games down have grass and shaders that work well together

didja miss my vital spots?

Quote from AEDorsay >>

didja miss my vital spots?

Quote from BlackBear_ >>

Both of those are very helpful. The only problem is it’s hard to engage and find something that everybody will like especially when there is 6 people. It’s especially annoying when people get more than 1 attack per action and decide to narrate every single attack which can make it draw on. It’s also easier for everybody to use online even though that causes distractions, I feel like people may get bored if they have to keep pen and paper and bring everything.

I think explaining that it took time for me to dm is a great idea and if nobody’s listening then that’s really frustrating for me especially when they ask, “wait what did you say?” I’ve actually addressed this with one of them who I’ve been DMing for longer and he said, “What me? Nooo pshaww I wasn’t gaming.” When he quite clearly was and he said it in a very joking tone.

I also like the idea of asking for feedback, that can help me understand what they want in dnd and help me cater for them.

My next question is what to do when you’ve spoken to somebody about this and they just don’t care, continue to do it and even make a joke out of it, going so far to make blatant lies that he wasn’t gaming.

 
Narration can be done by the DM -- set a time limit on saying what you do when you jump in for combat -- and remind everyone you can't do things like chop at heads and stuff like that.

My table has a 30 second rule that is really like 15 seconds, lol. THe younger, newer players take the full 30, but it reduces the diversion stuff and shorten the time. COmbat is not the focus for us -- and my personal size is usually 7 to 9 players, but I've had much larger groups frequently.

A note: I run an open world setup that can have multiple groups going on at the same time. they do occasionally come together, lol. SO I have run sessions with dozens of folks.

The time limit is a hard limit. If they don't answer or don't finish their answer, they either don't attack or move and they don't get to do all the things they wanted to do. The reason we give 30 seconds is to *include the dice rolling* and adding everything up and all that. All of it, in 30 seconds, or we move to the next person and they didn't get anything done.

Or they hit but didn't do damage. Or they stood there and got attacked.

And the basis of all of it is that being distracted is disrespectful to everyone else. If the game isn't fun switch it up. instead of combat, have a lead baddie fall to its knees and weep.

Have the bad guys be as distracted as the players. Maybe they all have some kid of small mirror and they have a micromanaging boss who is telling them how to fight, and they have to say "yes, boss" before they do anything.

use humor -- people laughing will draw out even someone involved in a flame war. 

Trials and tribulations of forum vacations: 

It was decided that we needed a more uniform way of dealing with magical items, and I was asked not to have a third book in my sets. So the character book will end up being bigger, and I have to re-do how I do magical items. The conversation devolved into a whole thing of "how to make magical items", so that's what I am doing, lol.

On one hand, it means that classifying existing items is easier, on the other hand it also means getting more into the lore of magical items for wyrlde.

I note that I have 14 days left to finish. 

Quote from AEDorsay >>

Quote from BlackBear_ >>

Both of those are very helpful. The only problem is it’s hard to engage and find something that everybody will like especially when there is 6 people. It’s especially annoying when people get more than 1 attack per action and decide to narrate every single attack which can make it draw on. It’s also easier for everybody to use online even though that causes distractions, I feel like people may get bored if they have to keep pen and paper and bring everything.

I think explaining that it took time for me to dm is a great idea and if nobody’s listening then that’s really frustrating for me especially when they ask, “wait what did you say?” I’ve actually addressed this with one of them who I’ve been DMing for longer and he said, “What me? Nooo pshaww I wasn’t gaming.” When he quite clearly was and he said it in a very joking tone.

I also like the idea of asking for feedback, that can help me understand what they want in dnd and help me cater for them.

My next question is what to do when you’ve spoken to somebody about this and they just don’t care, continue to do it and even make a joke out of it, going so far to make blatant lies that he wasn’t gaming.

 
Narration can be done by the DM -- set a time limit on saying what you do when you jump in for combat -- and remind everyone you can't do things like chop at heads and stuff like that.

My table has a 30 second rule that is really like 15 seconds, lol. THe younger, newer players take the full 30, but it reduces the diversion stuff and shorten the time. COmbat is not the focus for us -- and my personal size is usually 7 to 9 players, but I've had much larger groups frequently.

A note: I run an open world setup that can have multiple groups going on at the same time. they do occasionally come together, lol. SO I have run sessions with dozens of folks.

The time limit is a hard limit. If they don't answer or don't finish their answer, they either don't attack or move and they don't get to do all the things they wanted to do. The reason we give 30 seconds is to *include the dice rolling* and adding everything up and all that. All of it, in 30 seconds, or we move to the next person and they didn't get anything done.

Or they hit but didn't do damage. Or they stood there and got attacked.

And the basis of all of it is that being distracted is disrespectful to everyone else. If the game isn't fun switch it up. instead of combat, have a lead baddie fall to its knees and weep.

Have the bad guys be as distracted as the players. Maybe they all have some kid of small mirror and they have a micromanaging boss who is telling them how to fight, and they have to say "yes, boss" before they do anything.

use humor -- people laughing will draw out even someone involved in a flame war. 

 That’s a good idea, how do you measure it though? Do you have a stopwatch there?

Quote from BlackBear_ >>

Quote from AEDorsay >>

Quote from BlackBear_ >>

Both of those are very helpful. The only problem is it’s hard to engage and find something that everybody will like especially when there is 6 people. It’s especially annoying when people get more than 1 attack per action and decide to narrate every single attack which can make it draw on. It’s also easier for everybody to use online even though that causes distractions, I feel like people may get bored if they have to keep pen and paper and bring everything.

I think explaining that it took time for me to dm is a great idea and if nobody’s listening then that’s really frustrating for me especially when they ask, “wait what did you say?” I’ve actually addressed this with one of them who I’ve been DMing for longer and he said, “What me? Nooo pshaww I wasn’t gaming.” When he quite clearly was and he said it in a very joking tone.

I also like the idea of asking for feedback, that can help me understand what they want in dnd and help me cater for them.

My next question is what to do when you’ve spoken to somebody about this and they just don’t care, continue to do it and even make a joke out of it, going so far to make blatant lies that he wasn’t gaming.

 
Narration can be done by the DM -- set a time limit on saying what you do when you jump in for combat -- and remind everyone you can't do things like chop at heads and stuff like that.

My table has a 30 second rule that is really like 15 seconds, lol. THe younger, newer players take the full 30, but it reduces the diversion stuff and shorten the time. COmbat is not the focus for us -- and my personal size is usually 7 to 9 players, but I've had much larger groups frequently.

A note: I run an open world setup that can have multiple groups going on at the same time. they do occasionally come together, lol. SO I have run sessions with dozens of folks.

The time limit is a hard limit. If they don't answer or don't finish their answer, they either don't attack or move and they don't get to do all the things they wanted to do. The reason we give 30 seconds is to *include the dice rolling* and adding everything up and all that. All of it, in 30 seconds, or we move to the next person and they didn't get anything done.

Or they hit but didn't do damage. Or they stood there and got attacked.

And the basis of all of it is that being distracted is disrespectful to everyone else. If the game isn't fun switch it up. instead of combat, have a lead baddie fall to its knees and weep.

Have the bad guys be as distracted as the players. Maybe they all have some kid of small mirror and they have a micromanaging boss who is telling them how to fight, and they have to say "yes, boss" before they do anything.

use humor -- people laughing will draw out even someone involved in a flame war. 

 That’s a good idea, how do you measure it though? Do you have a stopwatch there?

 well, yes -- on most phones and watches, lol.

We've been doing it for a really long time, so we haven't timed it in several years -- but back when we started (pre-2006), we used an egg timer. I had found a bunch at a dollar store, so everyone had one, lol.

It is how I can do a five round combat with 1.5 enemies for every player in well under an hour. I do have to point out that it also includes the DM -- they have 30 seconds to describe what is going on. Given our success with the map effort we use when needed, I am willing to bet that it goes even faster with the digital maps so many use these days. And it is awesome if you are using figurines in person.

We also have been laying a really long time and we all trust each other a lot, so we also do "pre-rolls" -- rolling ahead of your turn to just dive right in. However, that is a lot of trust, and not everyone has that.

Quote from AEDorsay >>

 
Narration can be done by the DM -- set a time limit on saying what you do when you jump in for combat -- and remind everyone you can't do things like chop at heads and stuff like that.

My table has a 30 second rule that is really like 15 seconds, lol. THe younger, newer players take the full 30, but it reduces the diversion stuff and shorten the time. COmbat is not the focus for us -- and my personal size is usually 7 to 9 players, but I've had much larger groups frequently.

A note: I run an open world setup that can have multiple groups going on at the same time. they do occasionally come together, lol. SO I have run sessions with dozens of folks.

The time limit is a hard limit. If they don't answer or don't finish their answer, they either don't attack or move and they don't get to do all the things they wanted to do. The reason we give 30 seconds is to *include the dice rolling* and adding everything up and all that. All of it, in 30 seconds, or we move to the next person and they didn't get anything done.

Or they hit but didn't do damage. Or they stood there and got attacked.

And the basis of all of it is that being distracted is disrespectful to everyone else. If the game isn't fun switch it up. instead of combat, have a lead baddie fall to its knees and weep.

Have the bad guys be as distracted as the players. Maybe they all have some kid of small mirror and they have a micromanaging boss who is telling them how to fight, and they have to say "yes, boss" before they do anything.

use humor -- people laughing will draw out even someone involved in a flame war. 

 
RE: Narration can be done by the DM.
You have to be careful with that one, however. You don't want your players to feel like they're not a part of the telling of the story. Some people, really visualize the events, and want to tell how their character is doing something. Granted, it shouldn't take 5 minutes to talk about how you, as this level 5 wizard, are summoning fey to help in battle. But, for myself, I encourage players to tell their story. So it gets away from just "I shoot my bow", "I swing my sword", "I cast fireball." It becomes, "I position behind the stone and steady my arm, peering down the shaft of the arrow and let loose!", "Gripping the hilt of my blade, I clench it tightly, trying to thrust my blade through the foul demon's heart!", "I summon the energy around me, the magic crackling, as the air around me gets warmer and warmer - channeling it into a fireball!" Each of those can be said in 30 seconds, and still allow your players to really feel like they're helping tell the story.

One of the things I love doing - whether it's a tough fight or some kind of boss, when a player kills something, I will say, "Tell me how you killed it." And sometimes, if they get fancy - I might make them do some rolls - and see how well their executed plan works. Like I had a half-orc paladin (who honestly, he players her like a barbarian) - but he said "I want to spin around, cleave my sword through their neck, and then soccer kick their falling head into the wall." So I had them roll a strength for the cleave and a dex for the kick, and then I narrate the results, just for fun. Especially if the rolls don't roll high, because then I can narrate some comedy.

I see you Quar1on....

Quote from SirTawmis >>

Quote from AEDorsay >>

 
Narration can be done by the DM -- set a time limit on saying what you do when you jump in for combat -- and remind everyone you can't do things like chop at heads and stuff like that.

 

 
RE: Narration can be done by the DM.
You have to be careful with that one, however. You don't want your players to feel like they're not a part of the telling of the story. Some people, really visualize the events, and want to tell how their character is doing something. Granted, it shouldn't take 5 minutes to talk about how you, as this level 5 wizard, are summoning fey to help in battle. But, for myself, I encourage players to tell their story. So it gets away from just "I shoot my bow", "I swing my sword", "I cast fireball." It becomes, "I position behind the stone and steady my arm, peering down the shaft of the arrow and let loose!", "Gripping the hilt of my blade, I clench it tightly, trying to thrust my blade through the foul demon's heart!", "I summon the energy around me, the magic crackling, as the air around me gets warmer and warmer - channeling it into a fireball!" Each of those can be said in 30 seconds, and still allow your players to really feel like they're helping tell the story.

One of the things I love doing - whether it's a tough fight or some kind of boss, when a player kills something, I will say, "Tell me how you killed it." And sometimes, if they get fancy - I might make them do some rolls - and see how well their executed plan works. Like I had a half-orc paladin (who honestly, he players her like a barbarian) - but he said "I want to spin around, cleave my sword through their neck, and then soccer kick their falling head into the wall." So I had them roll a strength for the cleave and a dex for the kick, and then I narrate the results, just for fun. Especially if the rolls don't roll high, because then I can narrate some comedy.

I see you Quar1on....

 
That is why we went with the 30 second rule, instead of a shorter time period. There is still time to describe what one does -- the catch is that you have to think of it before your turn comes.

I also kinda have the opposite problem -- a lot of our stuff is "i attack the goblin nearest me". THat's been true since long before the rule was put in place. So to spice it up I narrate what happens, adding a little flair.

The reason we put in the rule was people taking forever to decide what they were going to do -- or being distracted. Storytelling is never going to be limited!

I think the reason that the "crit does damage to armor" thing we do became a hit because I described a gnoll or something dropping his weapons to cover his private parts and trying to get away while turning shades of green after a critical hit wiped out his armor. Was a spur of the moment thing for me to say he had no clothes on underneath and decide that modesty was a gnoll thing.

Played well, and we've done it ever since.

On page 9 of the DMG, there are a series of Core Assumptions that influenced the design of 5e, but are also not set in stone and there are some ways to approach them on the same page.

QOTD:

What are the Core Assumptions of your World(s)?

Quote from AEDorsay >>

On page 9 of the DMG, there are a series of Core Assumptions that influenced the design of 5e, but are also not set in stone and there are some ways to approach them on the same page.

QOTD:

What are the Core Assumptions of your World(s)?

 Basically my core assumptions are the same as theirs, plus the idea that the world is heroic with just a hint of tragedy.

Quote from AEDorsay >>

On page 9 of the DMG, there are a series of Core Assumptions that influenced the design of 5e, but are also not set in stone and there are some ways to approach them on the same page.

QOTD:

What are the Core Assumptions of your World(s)?

 The Powers That Be Oversee the World

There are a bunch of beings that don't fit the standard "domain" set up, at all levels, in a very strange mix of animism, ancestor worship, and peculiar states of being.

The World has Become Feral and Wild

City, Towns, and Villages are built to provide safety from the wild and feral world filled with danger. Beyond 30 miles of a settlement, there's no protection, and a frontier type of mindset as developed.

The World has only about 2500 years of History

While no one is certain, the history of the world is fragmented and much is lost, but they generally know about half as much as we do of the daily life and such of the world in 500 BCE. They just don't really believe it, because so much of it sounds fantastical, even to people who deal with magic -- which wasn't around then.

Catastrophe Shapes the World's History

Much of the major historic events, and even the general ideas around organizing it, are based in a series of catastrophes and disasters, from meteor showers that dropped multi-ton boulders onto the earth (but did not create craters), to events like the emergence of magic.

The World is Magical

Magic has been around for only about 1500 years -- and while divine magic existed earlier, it vanished for a long while, during a period where it was needed the most.

My underlying premise is a colonized planet that went through some shit, lol. I drew from both Pern's background ideas and from the Heorot series for the initial ideas, then just started having some apocalyptic events happen.