tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.comments2024-03-07T16:20:50.007+00:00Librarians & LeviathansShimmin Beghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350037986748679919noreply@blogger.comBlogger624125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-58394313751474861162024-02-29T14:55:00.860+00:002024-02-29T14:55:00.860+00:00 Hi,
I revisited this older post today, and noti... Hi,<br /><br /> I revisited this older post today, and noticed that the original post you linked - just like many others - is no longer available, sadly :(. Fortunately, the post here still remains interesting, just like your previous one on Deathwatch balance. Alanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01373638985773125018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-42604500279294120892023-09-15T12:36:38.683+01:002023-09-15T12:36:38.683+01:00It never really came my way. I started with 40k RP... It never really came my way. I started with 40k RPGs (still running them until this day, over a decade now), then Pathfinder, Mage: the Ascension, Eclipse Phase, some others. But I never tried GURPS, and no one in my gaming group proposed it, and as a dedicated GM it always fell on me to pick a system and I generally went with ones that caught my attention.<br /><br /> I know GURPS has it's dedicated fanbase, but from what I heard everywhere it is quite hard to run, even compared to something as crunch-heavy as Eclipse Phase or 40k RPGs. Maybe one day I'll try.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-4532376714921951932023-09-12T15:09:05.880+01:002023-09-12T15:09:05.880+01:00I encourage you to write up a treatment. I'll ...I encourage you to write up a treatment. I'll post it ^_^Shimmin Beghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10350037986748679919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-17963815206502447972023-09-12T15:08:07.247+01:002023-09-12T15:08:07.247+01:00Oh yes, and I must get round to a leviathan-themed...Oh yes, and I must get round to a leviathan-themed post at some point. You're right, those are sorely lacking. Abject failure to play up to the theme on my part.Shimmin Beghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10350037986748679919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-70851355019840304952023-09-12T15:07:26.459+01:002023-09-12T15:07:26.459+01:00Sorry Alan, for some reason your posts got flagged...Sorry Alan, for some reason your posts got flagged for moderation! Thanks, it's always lovely to get comments and I do indeed have a nice warm fuzzy feeling for getting something published.<br /><br />I find it quite playable myself, honestly. Roll 3d6 and add something, mostly. Chargen and vehicles seem to be what mostly turn people off. Was there anything particular that kept you away from it, or has it just never come your way?Shimmin Beghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10350037986748679919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-27933750828002631322023-09-10T23:50:08.246+01:002023-09-10T23:50:08.246+01:00The thing about Reduced Range and Max is really ab...The thing about Reduced Range and Max is really about projectile attacks. It's basically implausible to have a bullet that drops from 3d at 200 yards to 1d+1 at 201 (itself a crude approximation) simply drop out of the air at 210. If it's not about that kind of kinetic energy attack, I'd be much more inclined not to use 1/2D in the first place.<br /><br />I mostly agree with you on Warp - it's close enough to Long-Range Modiiers that it's not worth fussing over the distance. But the top end of LRM is -2 per ×10, not -1 the way Warp is.<br /><br />We're so close to a custom range table generator. No, no, hear me out. <br /><br />There are two components to a logarithmic range table: the zero value, and the multiplier. Standard speed/range is ±6 per ×10; Psi Range is ±3; Long-Range is ±2; Warp is ±1. Zero values are two yards, half a yard, 1/10 mile, 10 yards. All you need is a point cost for the scale and for the zero value (which latter is quite easy, it's the cost of the bonus you'd need to hit at that value rather than at the universal baseline 2 yard).<br /><br />Bear in mind also that range tables and the range of a thing are fairly disjoint. GURPS doesn't care whether you're shooting a 1/2D 75 flintlock or a 1/2D 1,000 battle rifle, if your target is 100 yards away you're -10 to hit. Choosing which range table you use is primarily about changing <i>that</i>, not how far the thing can reach in the first place.RogerBWhttps://blog.firedrake.org/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-69908851179990013782023-08-19T09:17:27.221+01:002023-08-19T09:17:27.221+01:00The only circumstances where I've used random ...The only circumstances where I've used random encounters in the last decade or so has been in Infinite Cabal, for travel on the astral plane. There aren't any mundane folk travelling foe basic economic reasons there. John Dallmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01184719865727491672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-81865901011864044972023-08-17T13:38:52.455+01:002023-08-17T13:38:52.455+01:00A while ago, Michael Cule and I talked with Mike M...A while ago, Michael Cule and I talked with Mike Mornard about the early days of D&D. One thing we got from that was that wandering monsters in a dungeon, the original random encounters, were introduced as a way to stop the party arguing about what to do and just <i>do</i> something. (Remembering that in those days "the party" might be 20+ players, hence the use of a "caller".) That's why they don't have treasure: they're explicitly designed as a tax on your resources for taking too long to decide what to do. I assume that this principle got extended when adventures moved from dungeon to wilderness, in effect a well-connected dungeon with a hexagonal floor plan, and became another sort of random encounter table.<br /><br />On the simulation side, I think there are two sorts of random encounter to think of here, the thinking (1) and the unthinking (2).<br /><br />(2) An animal typically attacks (a) because it's hungry, or (b) because you've crossed into its territory and it's perceiving you as a threat. Randolph the Egg doesn't do (b): he knows where the dagger hornets nest and what a maracasnake's warning sounds like. (In GURPS, this would be Naturalist with the Hyper-Specialization perk.) Sometimes you just have to wait for the creature to move on. PCs (without a druid or similar) aren't that skilled, and they don't wait. (Variant of "Protagonists are Outsiders".)<br /><br />As for (a), that's still a possibility, but once Randolph the Egg gets eatan, again the local lads will band together and have a hunt. (Indeed, if you have a local noble, this is one of his jobs.) So it won't happen <i>often</i>. Again, PCs don't wait for that.<br /><br />(1) is trickier. Your actual bandit gang will probably look at a party of PCs, think twice, and say "nice day isn't it lads". (Unless the party is very battered from their latest dungeon exploits.) Randolph is the bandits' natural prey: they rough him up a bit, they get to eat for another few days. Again, if that's a persistent problem, it's the local noble's job to fix it.<br /><br />Yes, probability is a thing (and a thing that humans are bad at): an event that happens one time in 100, which is about the limit of most games' resolution, has a 9.5% chance of having happened at least once after ten tries, 18% after twenty, 40% after fifty. The party rolls once or twice as they pass through; Randolph rolls every week.<br /><br />Of course from a narrativist point of view you <i>want</i> things to happen to the PCs. (Protagonists are Special.) But if one wanted to be simulatonist, I think one would set a danger level for the area – and the higher that is, the fewer isolated farms there will be, and the more little forts that ten local farm families rush into when the bad guys (or stab-tooth tigers) arrive. Indeed, that would be an indication of the level of civilisation that's in the area.RogerBWhttps://blog.firedrake.org/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-85407714581445608892023-08-11T18:23:54.836+01:002023-08-11T18:23:54.836+01:00You really wrote an article about librarians? Now ... You really wrote an article about librarians? Now you just need one about leviathans ;).<br /><br /> Jokes aside, congratulations! Being in a fanzine must feel amazing. Never played the Generally Unplayable Role Playing System myself, so can't really comment on the article itself, but nice to see this blog (and you) still alive and kicking.Alanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01373638985773125018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-67444259875986277802023-07-15T23:12:09.421+01:002023-07-15T23:12:09.421+01:00What you are really missing here is Champions, the...What you are really missing here is Champions, the original throwing-some-poor-bugger-through-a-wall RPG.Jon Hancockhttps://social.vivaldi.net/@BigJackBrass/109423612854980033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-43594311407288595732022-09-30T11:16:26.999+01:002022-09-30T11:16:26.999+01:00It seems to me that a principal problem reconcilin...It seems to me that a principal problem reconciling feudal and good is the question of choices. If in the real feudal world you are born a farmer's son, you can be a farmer, you can be impressed as a peasant footsoldier, or you can run off and be a bandit; and that's about it. Want to be a shopkeeper, or a craftsman, or a priest? Tough. For me "good" would really imply some sort of universal education, or at least aptitude testing, and of course there's self-interest too: if Wat the Peasant turns out to have magical potential, and we lift him out of the mud and send him to Wizard School, he may feel vaguely positively towards us. If magery is some combination of innate talent and the education to use it, the more people we test for talent and give the early education to the more mages we have. (But this is perhaps for a future episode.)<br /><br />A quick search for personal water use estimates in the modern UK gives me about 150-180 litres per person per day – so about 40-50 US gallons. That obviously includes flush toilets and so on. If that apprentice <i>did</i> work an 8-hour shift, they'd make enough water for about 200-250 people at modern standards. (Whereas the Goblet of Quenching can apparently only manage 2 US gallons per day, per d20pfsrd.com.)<br /><br />I suspect that if you "clean" human waste you might well get useful non-disease-bearing fertiliser.<br /><br />Create Food & Water seems to be level 3, which I'm guessing you can't expect from village priests, and each casting feeds 3 × (caster level) people for a day. So you are still going to need farmers.<br /><br />As far as Mending is concerned, I think you've reinvented the tinker. A single village wouldn't produce enough broken or worn-out things to support the tinker full-time, so they'd travel from place to place. So I'd like to propose the Tinker's Backpack: they arrive in the town, they get their bedroll and whatnot out of the pack, and then they start putting people's mending jobs into it.<br /><br />Looks as though you can cycle Mending multiple times to bring a thing back to good-as-new if it has lost more HP than a single casting can fix.RogerBWhttps://discussion.tekeli.li/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-53748795038378229072022-09-29T11:28:13.762+01:002022-09-29T11:28:13.762+01:00> The kingdom management system has provision f...> The kingdom management system has provision for setting tax rates, but all that does is affect the high-level economy and unrest<br /><br />That seems to be about the size of it, yes. There's no attempt to set up an economic model in Pathfinder - which I suspect is for the best because I don't think you'd get one that both makes sense and looks like the typical game world.<br /><br />> Presumably this setting makes the standard American assumption that health care is something you pay for as needed.<br /><br />That plus charitable healing, so very American! I intend to look at it in part 2.Shimmin Beghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10350037986748679919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-53573364803340548312022-07-21T11:27:28.963+01:002022-07-21T11:27:28.963+01:00Thank you. If it 's not available, shame, I re... Thank you. If it 's not available, shame, I remember liking that post, but at least L&L is still up :).<br /><br /> Ah, you don't want to know, trust me. I caught COVID (despite working remotely, ordering food home and not going out unless I was forced to... stupid virus). Thanks to the vaccine I'm alive, but it wrecked me so bad it's been nearly 9 months and I still can't walk without my cane sometimes and can't leave home (and I was a young, fit guy before, used to work to work and back on foot all the time). Also lost my job without any warning at all, and with me being unable to work outside of home it kinda sucks to search for a new one.<br /><br /> And so many other bad things. But, I'm alive, have supporting girlfriend and mom, and will probably recover 90% of my health in a year or two, so not all is bad. Few weeks ago I started feeling good enough to run an RPG campaign, and it's the main source of happiness in my life these days.<br /><br /> ... I still remember when I first found your blog, in 2014. I was just starting my DW campaign - which ended up with me loving the system and running it for almost a decade until now. I was searching for any information of any issues, balance, and problems, and your blog proved to be a good source of it.<br /><br /> I think my first comment here was under BC discussion about mutations. I still remember it like it was yesterday.<br /><br /> Time flies fast, what can I say. I hope you're alright, and everyone else who participated in this blog over the years. Alanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01373638985773125018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-11539232794931827572022-07-18T15:49:27.204+01:002022-07-18T15:49:27.204+01:00Hi Alan! Yeah, I haven't really posted here fo...Hi Alan! Yeah, I haven't really posted here for ages - just too much else going on. I hope you're alright?<br /><br />I know that blog went offline a while back - that's the downside of external links I suppose. Most likely I can't do much about it, but if I do manage to get in touch and get permission, I'd be fine with posting a copy here.Shimmin Beghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10350037986748679919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-77056661993049511612022-07-12T16:02:17.363+01:002022-07-12T16:02:17.363+01:00Hi,
I wanted to read about the Heavy Bolter agai... Hi,<br /><br /> I wanted to read about the Heavy Bolter again, but it seems that the first link is private now (dreams and dice pools). Considering it's age, would it be possible for you to repost it here? I remember there were some interesting damage calculations of bolter vs lascannon ang generally some good balance points.<br /><br /> Also, hi, I think it's my first comment here this year. Crazy year it is, I hope you're all safe and healthy.Alanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01373638985773125018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-84458640103713586172022-04-09T22:49:56.408+01:002022-04-09T22:49:56.408+01:00...and on Itch, here: https://librarians-and-levia......and on Itch, here: https://librarians-and-leviathans.itch.io/system-neutral-miscellaneaShimmin Beghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10350037986748679919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-43656664292349858352022-04-09T00:45:54.245+01:002022-04-09T00:45:54.245+01:00Monsters and spells and stuff are now up - at leas...Monsters and spells and stuff are now up - at least, the handful of ones I've done so far - at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/393071/SystemNeutral-Monsters-Magic--MiscellaneaShimmin Beghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10350037986748679919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-35934018758413773762022-04-08T11:36:10.687+01:002022-04-08T11:36:10.687+01:00And also DriveThru RPG at https://www.drivethrurpg...And also DriveThru RPG at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/392962/Pixie-PartyShimmin Beghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10350037986748679919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-59988573525384605432022-04-08T01:10:47.095+01:002022-04-08T01:10:47.095+01:00As promised, the £500 incentive game is now up on ...As promised, the £500 incentive game is now up on Itch! https://librarians-and-leviathans.itch.io/pixie-partyShimmin Beghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10350037986748679919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-81983989913421655842022-04-02T21:45:02.304+01:002022-04-02T21:45:02.304+01:00> "You can earn half your Profession check...> "You can earn half your Profession check result in gold pieces per week of<br />> dedicated work."<br /><br />My main question here is what "earn" means. Obviously this is a simplified model, so we don't have to worry about the costs of raw materials for whatever it is that Jay is making. Presumably it's also intended to include the general costs of doing business, whether in practice that takes the form of of taxes, bribes, robbery, protection money, etc., and leave you with the amount of cash in your pocket at the end of the week.<br /><br />What this means is that we have no way of determining what the costs of doing business _are_.<br /><br />The <a href="https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/other-rules/kingdom-building/" rel="nofollow">kingdom management system</a> has provision for setting tax rates, but all that does is affect the high-level economy and unrest -- there's nothing to connect that with how much a worker has in their pocket. But… I can set an economy bonus of anything from +0 to +4, but all that does is feed into the Income Phase economy check, and I divide that result by 5 to get my BP of income, so it's unlikely to make a difference at all. Also, it's independent of the size of the kingdom.<br /><br />> "10 gp/month: The character lives in his own apartment, small house, or<br />> similar location—this is the lifestyle of most trained or skilled experts or<br />> warriors. He can secure any nonmagical item worth 1 gp or less from his home<br />> in 1d10 minutes, and need not track purchases of common meals or taxes that<br />> cost 1 gp or less."<br /><br />Ooh, I can rummage around for d10 minutes and find a day of trail rations, or a sledge, or a waterskin, ten square yards of canvas (will go well with the sledge), a grappling hook… I like what they're doing here but there seems to be potential for abuse.<br /><br />(Also, have you seen the Geffrye Museum / Museum of the Home? It's very noticeable just how much less _stuff_ there is in a typical room until suddenly you get to about the 1870s and stuff gets cheap because of machines.)<br /><br />Presumably this setting makes the standard American assumption that health care is something you pay for as needed.Roger BWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-29516492700742331522022-01-15T04:47:58.329+00:002022-01-15T04:47:58.329+00:00Thanks. I look forward to listening.Thanks. I look forward to listening.Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05786460140698364294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-41897817220238001722021-12-06T13:59:57.464+00:002021-12-06T13:59:57.464+00:00Slightly updated now with some examples and variat...Slightly updated now with some examples and variations on the theme.Shimmin Beghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10350037986748679919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-14371238909790200042021-12-05T20:23:43.055+00:002021-12-05T20:23:43.055+00:00One-Task Wonder is a good shout. I like the other ...One-Task Wonder is a good shout. I like the other suggestions too - I did actually consider Connoisseur and wasn't sure it would stretch that far.<br /><br />I forgot to mention this in the post, but the example that I was actually inspired by was "cat fancier" and that sort of thing. And of course, it's fairly common for e.g. kids to have a passion for dinosaurs.<br /><br />And now I've remembered another couple of perk ideas I had, which I should throw together into another post...Shimmin Beghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10350037986748679919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-56625233093464175222021-12-05T20:18:19.837+00:002021-12-05T20:18:19.837+00:00Interesting!
I think the usual way of doing this ...Interesting!<br /><br />I think the usual way of doing this would be an IQ-based (relevant skill) roll. Animal Handling, Driving, Guns, etc., with modifications for rarity and so on.<br /><br />If you don't have the skill, you could get One-Task Wonder (Power-Ups 2 p. 17) to make it a straight IQ roll rather than default.<br /><br />Many GMs allow Connoisseur to go beyond "art and luxury items" to anything with a significant secondary market -- for example Connoisseur (Pistols) is definitely a skill that people have, and there's no hard line between "interesting historical gun" and "gun you can buy today in suitably lax places".<br /><br />And there's always the last refuge of Expert Skill (but it's a very blunt instrument and I try not to use it unless I have to).Roger BWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-47716589353281107592021-11-24T15:52:55.819+00:002021-11-24T15:52:55.819+00:00> 'the system didn't matter because... ...> 'the system didn't matter because... well, it didn't'. More like an improv training session?<br /><br />Yes, very much this. I'd prefer there to be more (some?) structure to the actual gameplay. I'm not sure it even explains how you're meant to know what a "good" or "bad" ending is, or on what basis you would make the call, or how long you should let a scene run before deciding.<br /><br />> This, on the week in which two of your co-Wharties look at a Coen Brothers movie on their other podcast? Oh, I can hear Nick in the distance...<br /><br />Well, that's going to be fun! I just looked at the synopsis for it, and... yeah, not remotely my cup of tea.Shimmin Beghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10350037986748679919noreply@blogger.com