Torment Torment: Tides of Numenera Beta Thread [GAME RELEASED, GO TO NEW THREAD]

[Prime Junta]

But the intrusion puts the GM in control of the narrative instead of being a reactive entity. Even if you don't have the intention to railroad, you're strongly nudging the player towards a certain response because the situation you present to him is purely arbitrary and he's punished for not following it.

I never had a particular response in mind when throwing interventions at the players. They were made up at the spur of the moment, I didn't have time to think of any. There was this one time they faked a fire as a distraction, for example -- a straw mattress next to a window, producing a lot of smoke -- and I intervened with a change of wind direction that pulled the smoke into the building rather than out of it: if they stayed there they'd suffer smoke inhalation and the fire risked spreading, if they got out, they'd have to walk into the enemies they wanted to distract. I didn't have any particular response in mind; in fact I had no idea what they were going to do about that. (I think they ended up using a Phasing cypher to phase the burning mattresses out.)

This inversion of roles just does not feel right for me.

Perhaps my style of GM'ing is different from yours; I always saw it as a game of give-and-take. The GM throws shit at the players, who throw it back. The narrative emerges from that. This is just another way to bat the ball back and forth. What I like about it is that it encourages improvisation and thinking on your feet.

Also, the players have similar possibilities in the system, which also work well -- for example, spend 1 XP for a "situational advantage," with the requirement that it has to be plausible. "Oh look, I've got this bit of wire in my pocket which I scavenged from the ruins yesterday, I'll use it to connect the whoosis to the whatsit." I'd allow that, "Sure, that makes it a level 5 Mechanics task." Without the XP cost, I'd at least be a lot more reluctant as it woudl feel like cheating. ("Well that's convenient!")

(Obligatory disclaimer -- while IMO the Cypher System has a few neat ideas and is attempting something that's definitely worth attempting, on the whole I'm not a fan; there are too many 'fatal' flaws in it for it to work all that well. The good ideas are salvageable though and would work well in a system with better core mechanics.)

 

[Excidium II]

Perhaps my style of GM'ing is different from yours; I always saw it as a game of give-and-take. The GM throws shit at the players, who throw it back. The narrative emerges from that. This is just another way to bat the ball back and forth. What I like about it is that it encourages improvisation and thinking on your feet.

Yes, that approach does not work for me.

Also, the players have similar possibilities in the system, which also work well -- for example, spend 1 XP for a "situational advantage," with the requirement that it has to be plausible. "Oh look, I've got this bit of wire in my pocket which I scavenged from the ruins yesterday, I'll use it to connect the whoosis to the whatsit." I'd allow that, "Sure, that makes it a level 5 Mechanics task." Without the XP cost, I'd at least be a lot more reluctant as it woudl feel like cheating. ("Well that's convenient!")

This is just weird. Why should the player have to spend meta resource to benefit from circumstances and make a task easier with some creativity? Though perhaps it's just the example that is too plausible

 

[FeelTheRads]

Beekers: But it does work differently. That’s a system that works very well in pen-and-paper and you really have to just make it work on computer, so we’re doing something similar but it’s different. We’re at the stage now where this is something you have to play to see how it works, so anything we say right now will be a bit up in the air because we’re going to have to play it and see how it works and then adjust it to make it work.

lulz, Brother None really learned PR-speak.

 

[Prime Junta]

This is just weird. Why should the player have to spend meta resource to benefit from circumstances and make a task easier with some creativity? Though perhaps it's just the example that is too plausible

They're minor retcons. He didn't say before that he picked up that piece of wire, he did it only when he needed a bit of wire. If he had said before "I'm picking up some bits and pieces from this device in case they come in handy later" then no XP expenditure would've been required.

 

[Darth Roxor]

GM intrusions are essential in Numederpa to introduce even a shred of interest into what would otherwise be rolling the same die against the same TNs.

 

[HatTrick]

Who even gives the slightest fuck? Numenera is a joke system, you jsut tell the DM what you want to do and then he gives you a difficulty. He has for every single task. Once you're high enough you can just grunt a level 10 task down to level 6 with effort alone

I'm not sure how expending Effort on Might or Speed will ever let you do something like teleport or freeze time for a few seconds like the Nano can.

In any case, I'd rather just play Numenera in some other system like 13th Age or even fucking FATE.

 

[HatTrick]

Who even gives the slightest fuck? Numenera is a joke system, you jsut tell the DM what you want to do and then he gives you a difficulty. He has for every single task. Once you're high enough you can just grunt a level 10 task down to level 6 with effort alone

I'm not sure how expending Effort on Might or Speed will ever let you do something like teleport or freeze time for a few seconds like the Nano can.

In any case, I'd rather just play Numenera in some other system like 13th Age or even fucking FATE.

in the corebook the gm advice says to let players do it if they really really wanna.

also teleporting and freezing time are focus abilities idiot, so glaives can equip them fine

I can't remember them, but 20 bucks says those Foci are Intellect focused, and the poor Glaive will have to fuck himself over to get them because of the moronic decision to make the pools double as health pools (so of course the Glaive is double fucked because 75% of the things in this game damage Might), so forgoing your Edge in Might or Speed means you damage yourself when you use your attacks.

Jesus Christ, I hate this fucking system.

 

[sstacks]

Hi all, FYI Colin McComb and George Ziets from inXile will be on the show this weekend talking Torment: TON

 

[Prime Junta]

Who even gives the slightest fuck? Numenera is a joke system, you jsut tell the DM what you want to do and then he gives you a difficulty. He has for every single task. Once you're high enough you can just grunt a level 10 task down to level 6 with effort alone

I'm not sure how expending Effort on Might or Speed will ever let you do something like teleport or freeze time for a few seconds like the Nano can.

In any case, I'd rather just play Numenera in some other system like 13th Age or even fucking FATE.

in the corebook the gm advice says to let players do it if they really really wanna.

also teleporting and freezing time are focus abilities idiot, so glaives can equip them fine

I can't remember them, but 20 bucks says those Foci are Intellect focused, and the poor Glaive will have to fuck himself over to get them because of the moronic decision to make the pools double as health pools (so of course the Glaive is double fucked because 75% of the things in this game damage Might), so forgoing your Edge in Might or Speed means you damage yourself when you use your attacks.

Jesus Christ, I hate this fucking system.

Monte hates jocks, what did you expect

 

[Ninjerk]

Hi all, FYI Colin McComb and George Ziets from inXile will be on the show this weekend talking Torment: TON

You're on fire.

 

[Mustawd]

sstacks is becoming the Barbara Walters of the cRPG world.

 

[sstacks]

sstacks is becoming the Barbara Walters of the cRPG world.

However, I hope never to ask someone if they were a tree, what kind of tree they would be.

 

[Kem0sabe]

However, I hope never to ask someone if they were a tree, what kind of tree they would be.

Do you have a casting couch?

 

[Mustawd]

In a backroom somewhere?

 

[Jaesun]

Hi all, FYI Colin McComb and George Ziets from inXile will be on the show this weekend talking Torment: TON

 

[sstacks]

Ok, we're now talking casting couches, back rooms and heavy breathing.

 

[Ninjerk]

Ok, we're now talking casting couches, back rooms and heavy breathing.

Are you going to ask them if they want to make 1 to 2000 dollars a day?

 

[kwanzabot]

honestly im surprised they hired that thomas "brother none" beekers guy, i always thought he was a retard


funniest part is i guarantee the guy does nothing of value so they're probably paying him for literally no reason

 

[Ninjerk]

OK I actually laughed at that one.

 

[sstacks]

Colin and George are live at the moment:
http://saleminteractivemedia.com/ListenLive/player/KHTEFM

 

[Infinitron]

Waitin' for Youtube.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Kem0sabe]

honestly im surprised they hired that thomas "brother none" beekers guy, i always thought he was a retard


funniest part is i guarantee the guy does nothing of value so they're probably paying him for literally no reason

He was hired as a line producer (lol), then moved on to writing... Which only goes to show:

1. The low standards at inxile;
2. How far shilling for a company can get you despite a complete lack of qualifications.

Sea was only hired as a body double for cmc, he even went as far as shaving his head and letting that ridiculous thing on his face grow, just to look more like that famous author himself.

 

[Prime Junta]

Qualifications don't mean shit when it comes to writing though. It's not like a degree in Creative Writing means you can, actually, creatively write.

 

[veevoir]

Qualifications don't mean shit when it comes to writing though. It's not like a degree in Creative Writing means you can, actually, creatively write.

Yes, you can creatively write to a degree.