Decline Critical role ruined PnP

[WhiteShark]

Another system that helps with this was this very simple mechanic for one-shots. I forgot the name but you were rolling d6 + modifier for everything, and results were interpreted as:
<=1 = you failed AND something bad happened
= 2 = you failed
= 3 = you failed BUT something good happened
= 4 = you succeeded BUT something bad happened
= 5 = you succeeded
>= 6 = you succeeded AND something good happened

Strike! had a system like this. I'm not a huge fan of it for a couple of reasons. It feels like the game designer is just offloading the work onto the GM. Instead of instituting logical outcomes for failure/success within the game itself, the designer just makes the GM come up with it all on the fly. These designs also typically push a more narrativist and meta approach that I don't like. I've seen examples like, "If the player gets a success with consequence when picking a picking a lock, you could rule that they succeed but there was a guard on the other side of the door." That rubs me the wrong way because the presence of the guard is logically unrelated to how well the PC picked the lock.

I know as GM I don't have to create consequences like that, but then you end up just coming up with the same reasonable consequences repeatedly. If a "consequence" when picking a lock pretty much always just ends up being "it takes longer than it should have costing you valuable time", then it might as well have been baked into the system from the beginning.

 

[odrzut]

That's just about how you sell it to the players. "The guard that was on the other side of the doors heard you and woke up" vs "now there's a guard on the other side of the doors". I like having more pieces to work with as GM even if it requires more work occassionally.

A couple of other options:
- "your lockpick broke"
- "you unlocked the doors" then next time you try to pick a lock "your lockpick is missing, must have left it in the last lock"
- "you cut yourself on a rusty nail"
- "the lock is open but the handle broke off, how do you pull the doors"
etc. The point is that it solves one problem but creates another.

 

[Stella Brando]

"I try to push the door open"
"Roll for strength"
roll
roll
"Nothing happens"
roll
roll
"Nothing happens. Roll for intelligence"
roll
"success"
"you easily pull the door open"

 

[WhiteShark]

That's just about how you sell it to the players. "The guard that was on the other side of the doors heard you and woke up" vs "now there's a guard on the other side of the doors". I like having more pieces to work with as GM even if it requires more work occassionally.

A couple of other options:
- "your lockpick broke"
- "you unlocked the doors" then next time you try to pick a lock "your lockpick is missing, must have left it in the last lock"
- "you cut yourself on a rusty nail"
- "the lock is open but the handle broke off, how do you pull the doors"
etc. The point is that it solves one problem but creates another.

But now we enter the territory of comical incompetence and bad luck, and in a system like this it's going to crop up all the time. Some of these sound like crit fumbles and most people won't like having their expert lockpicker constantly breaking his tools or cutting himself on rusty nails. It ends up feeling like the world is conspiring to produce these weird outcomes instead of the natural and obvious ones. Basically, it feels inauthentic and inorganic.

 

[aeternalis]

Another system that helps with this was this very simple mechanic for one-shots. I forgot the name but you were rolling d6 + modifier for everything, and results were interpreted as:
<=1 = you failed AND something bad happened
= 2 = you failed
= 3 = you failed BUT something good happened
= 4 = you succeeded BUT something bad happened
= 5 = you succeeded
>= 6 = you succeeded AND something good happened

Strike! had a system like this. I'm not a huge fan of it for a couple of reasons. It feels like the game designer is just offloading the work onto the GM. Instead of instituting logical outcomes for failure/success within the game itself, the designer just makes the GM come up with it all on the fly. These designs also typically push a more narrativist and meta approach that I don't like. I've seen examples like, "If the player gets a success with consequence when picking a picking a lock, you could rule that they succeed but there was a guard on the other side of the door." That rubs me the wrong way because the presence of the guard is logically unrelated to how well the PC picked the lock.

exactly right on the narrativism. that [Yes|No]/[And|But] method comes straight out of short story writing courses

 

[Bara]

Just a random article from a nobody talking about how they've fallout out of love with CR. I found some particular bits pretty funny as they're basically complaining CR is too white and not indie enough.

Spoiler

When it was revealed that the third campaign of Critical Role would be taking place in Marquet ... [which] contains deserts and oases, some members of the Critical Role community and beyond were concerned about how such a location would be depicted. As stated in a blog post on the Critical Role website, despite being a fantasy land Marquet “holds nuggets of inspiration from Earth cultures and locations”, with writer and dungeon master Matthew Mercer not confirming what these inspirations and locations were.

As a cast made up entirely of Caucasian people, many were worried that Critical Role would attempt to wade into cultures that they had no personal connections to or representatives of. Regardless of Mercer’s assurances that he and his team would be working with “professional cultural & sensitivity consultants” throughout the campaign, and that he would attempt to present certain aspects of languages and cultures “without appropriating them”, many were still concerned that it would still come across as a group of people engaging with cultural touchstones that they aren’t a part of. As one Twitter user put it: “Cultural consultants are incredibly important, but they are not a shield [...] given CR’s influence, Marquet is going to be THE setting people look to evoke SWANA [SouthWest Asian/North African] cultures for the foreseeable future.”

I cannot speak for SWANA communities and individuals, but I was certainly a little baffled as to why Mercer and co. had decided to go down this route. Fantasy settings and elements are often at their best when they don’t take direct inspiration from real-world cultures, especially if the people involved aren’t from those cultures.

That last bit I put in bold just what the actual hell are they smoking.

Or that players can only play characters of matching skin color or in regions where their skin color is typically associated or its racist.

I also got to laugh at the whole fact Mercer had to put out blogs and hire consultants if he dares want to run a game set in a desert with oasis. But thats the audience he's cultivated and wants i suppose.

 

[Casual Hero]

That's like saying that my 9th grade essay on the Monomyth ruined Star Wars.

 

[Tacgnol]

I also got to laugh at the whole fact Mercer had to put out blogs and hire consultants if he dares want to run a game set in a desert with oasis. But thats the audience he's cultivated and wants i suppose.

Fuck him and his whole crew. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

 

[Berengar]

"Fantasy settings and elements are often at their best when they don’t take direct inspiration from real-world cultures"

 

[deuxhero]

What real world cultures does Morrowind take direct inspiration from? Mercer's problem is his stuff is just plain old uninspired period.

 

[MajorMace]

First time I ever hear of "SWANA"
what's wrong with the good ol' muslim world / arab countries expressions.

 

[vonAchdorf]

First time I ever hear of "SWANA"
what's wrong with the good ol' muslim world / arab countries expressions.

If I call an Arab SWANA he probably will hit me because he mistakes it for swine or something.

 

[Viata]

would attempt to wade into cultures that they had no personal connections to or representatives of.

And this is why we don't have good rpgs taking placing in great settings. People fear they would be criticized for having "a team full of white people making a rpg that takes place in Africa".

 

[Raghar]

As a cast made up entirely of Caucasian people

If he means whites from Europe or descent, that's actually great. I found in Twitch RPG streams, they had interesting playtroughts.

Fantasy settings and elements are often at their best when they don’t take direct inspiration from real-world cultures, especially if the people involved aren’t from those cultures.

That's actually true. Fantasy worlds are not Earth. And copying Earth stuff hurts.

 

[mediocrepoet]

I cannot speak for SWANA communities and individuals, but I was certainly a little baffled as to why Mercer and co. had decided to go down this route. Fantasy settings and elements are often at their best when they don’t take direct inspiration from real-world cultures, especially if the people involved aren’t from those cultures.

I cannot speak for anyone else, but I'm certainly a little baffled by anyone who doesn't agree that SJWs and others who might say any of this shit unironically should burn in hell, preferably sooner rather than later.

 

[Eldagusto]

I used to love critical role now its circled by a fandom of creeps and ghouls who lick their lips at the chance to pounce if the Crew doesn't pander hard enough. Man when will I be able to rate posts here? do I need a minimum amount of posts?

 

[Morblot]

I used to love critical role

Lol, what a dumbass.

Welcome to the Codex, you'll fit right in.

 

[Tacgnol]

I used to love critical role now its circled by a fandom of creeps and ghouls who lick their lips at the chance to pounce if the Crew doesn't pander hard enough. Man when will I be able to rate posts here? do I need a minimum amount of posts?

Wait till March 2022 or give DU monies.

 

[Reinhardt]

"game is set in a world based on medieval europe - only white players allowed"

 

[baud]

I used to love critical role now its circled by a fandom of creeps and ghouls who lick their lips at the chance to pounce if the Crew doesn't pander hard enough. Man when will I be able to rate posts here? do I need a minimum amount of posts?

Wait till March 2022 or give DU monies.

nah, that's for GD access. For ratings, you need to have 50 posts

 

[Eldagusto]

I used to love critical role now its circled by a fandom of creeps and ghouls who lick their lips at the chance to pounce if the Crew doesn't pander hard enough. Man when will I be able to rate posts here? do I need a minimum amount of posts?

Wait till March 2022 or give DU monies.

Oh so its like a Probationary period to separate the wheat from the Chaff?

 

[Eldagusto]

I used to love critical role now its circled by a fandom of creeps and ghouls who lick their lips at the chance to pounce if the Crew doesn't pander hard enough. Man when will I be able to rate posts here? do I need a minimum amount of posts?

Wait till March 2022 or give DU monies.

nah, that's for GD access. For ratings, you need to have 50 posts

Ah a goal to work towards! What is GD access though?

 

[Viata]

I used to love critical role now its circled by a fandom of creeps and ghouls who lick their lips at the chance to pounce if the Crew doesn't pander hard enough. Man when will I be able to rate posts here? do I need a minimum amount of posts?

Wait till March 2022 or give DU monies.

Oh so its like a Probationary period to separate the wheat from the Chaff?

It's one year to check if you are here to talk about games or shitpost about politics. If you equip the ring, you can shitpost about politics earlier.

 

[Eldagusto]

I used to love critical role now its circled by a fandom of creeps and ghouls who lick their lips at the chance to pounce if the Crew doesn't pander hard enough. Man when will I be able to rate posts here? do I need a minimum amount of posts?

Wait till March 2022 or give DU monies.

Oh so its like a Probationary period to separate the wheat from the Chaff?

It's one year to check if you are here to talk about games or shitpost about politics. If you equip the ring, you can shitpost about politics earlier.

Hoho this place is like a magical land one finds behind the mirror. Did I step into a time machine to enter here? I'm used to the mods being avowed communists and smiting anyone for dissenting against the Collectivist Hivemind!

 

[Eldagusto]

I used to love critical role now its circled by a fandom of creeps and ghouls who lick their lips at the chance to pounce if the Crew doesn't pander hard enough. Man when will I be able to rate posts here? do I need a minimum amount of posts?

Wait till March 2022 or give DU monies.

nah, that's for GD access. For ratings, you need to have 50 posts

I have over 50 posts now how do I do the thing?!