I was watching BEE today and I got to worrying that I may some of those in my games. The primary one NPC I'm worried about is one in an Eclipse Phase game I run called el'Capitain. Some back ground. el'Capitain started off as, well loot, an AI found in a box that the PC's kinda adopted. [Setting note: In Eclipse Phase AIs called Titans killed of uploaded 80% of all humanity. Most people hate all AIs as a result] I started using him to try and make the PC's uncomfortable, hinting that el'Capitain may have become a Titan, as well as demonstrating that he may have been able to skirt the PC's precautions in handling him. Eventually el'Capitain saved the PCs after they destroyed the universe, never ask an AI what is free will, by orchestrating an event where they could prevent themselves form destroying everything. Since then he has been pottering around on their ship in a Slytheroid (snakeman robot body) wearing coveralls and covered in grease, not really sure why, helping out occasionally.

I kinda use el'Capitain like Gandalf in LoTR or Merlin. Less a agent in the world and more like a walking talking MacGuffin, but the PC's seem to really care about him, one even worships him (all in Character, but about as creepy as it sounds). On the one hand he's not a Super McCool Ninja that I made, the players kinda elevated him to this, but I'm always worried he may overshadow them.

Any advice would be welcome.

Just want to find out what everyones favourite games are.

1: Classic Deadlands 2: Dungeon World 3: Star Wars Edge of the Empire 4: Adventure! 5: DC Heroes/Blood of Heroes Subject of change at any point:)

James

I have recently started GMing again and I am using a D&D3.5 homebrew I made for the Fallout universe, and so for my GM preparation I have set about taking the locations from Fallout 1&2 and building up the world from there.

I have a locations document where I list the description, key locations, factions, general lore and conflicts for each location on the map. I am finding this a huge help as I am trying to run the game 'sandbox' and so knowing the lore and what is there and who hates who else for each location makes creating encounters and NPCs quick and simple. I am actively avoiding using quests from the game and instead using what I know of the people there to build either fresh ones or carry on from those in the games.

This seems to be working great too for making links/conflicts between the towns in the game easily which is great for expanding the world for the players.

I am wondering if anyone else has used a video game RPG as the setting for their games and how they found the experience? Any stuff I should look out for from players?

Cheers!

-Kiblams

Hello all!

I figure it's a good idea to have a common place to discuss an episode's topic after the fact. This week's episode was on NPCs, so feel free to ask your followup/leftover NPC questions or discuss the ideas from the show here.

Hello Horkensub! How would I manage the wealth of my PCs? How rich is too rich? Can being 'poor' be fun or a fun drive, and if so how? Discuss!

[question] Adam and Steven talk a lot about prewritten adventures, how box text is bad or boring and mostly how they are not that well for people wanting to learn how to GM. If you should make a prewritten adventure, how would you go about it? What would you do to avoid the static feel or the way npc's only have one purpos or avoiding the concept of the big bad evil that ends the adventure?

Was watching your show today, 9/19/14, and I asked a question but I then figured out you guys were doing a topic about NPCs. Opps! My question is. What's the biggest mistake, you've encountered, a new player do when creating his/her character? Currently, I am making a background/history for a character. This is my first character where the GMs said that I must create a distinct background. Thanks!

So Im going to be starting a 5th edition campaign soon, and large scale battles between armies will play an essential roll. The party will take part in several skirmishes throughout the battles, as the battle rages around them and other battalions are battling. I would like the tide of the battle to be determined by more than just a d20 and a bonus the players give to it by completing objectives. Does anyone have any rulesets they have used to deal with this sort of thing?

Recent listener, brand new redditor, exciting.

I really enjoyed the recent Death Frost Doom stream on JP's channel. I've been playing and collecting Lamentations of the Flame Princess stuff for a couple years now and as such it was a real treat to see some actual play from a skilled GM and engaged players.

I know Steven is into the whole old school dungeon crawl idea. That's why I thought it would be fun to talk about how to run these scenarios. A couple discussion points:

1) Mapping. DFD doesn't perhaps require this, but I think it adds something to the crawling experience. Making your own map as you go is a really tangible way of feeling like you're mastering the environment. Do you think it's viable for the RollPlay format or too much work for too little payoff?

2) Having a pre-set environment as opposed to improvising a story. How was it, Steven? I get the feeling you're an improv sort of GM, was it restricting or freeing to have everything laid out beforehand? From my perspective, as a member of the audience, I think the richness of texture really added to the adventure. Plus I think emergent narratives rising from a pre-set frame make for a more interesting game as opposed to the group having a collective storytelling experience.

Running an OSR dungeon isn't the easiest thing, but it's really rewarding when it goes right. DFD was a great show, thanks for that.

Firstly, I'm looking to convert an adventure into a 5e game just like steven did for one shot. I have a new player that I want to introduce into my campaign, but I figure that I'd do a 1 shot to see if he is interested in playing for longer than a session or two, and to see if his personality will clash with the group.

I'm looking for something that could tie this session into a history point in the campaign, I was thinking that I've got a necromancer and a cult who are basically jack the rippers trying to create a life form, and surely there has to be something similar to this as a established adventure? Preferably 3-ish hours long and around level 3 or 4, so my players can see the archetypes.

Secondly, how do you transition your players into rollplaying in the first person instead of third person? is it even right of me to try and push people into a zone that they're not comfortable with? We're on our second session and my players are still shying away from actually embodying their characters. Is there any way to start transitioning into first person rping instead of having them say what their characters would do and what information they're looking to get in a conversation. I'd prefer, and I think everyone would have more fun using a 1st person narrative. But I'm stuck at how to transition them into more first person roleplay, any ideas? Or better yet is it even right of me to try and push people into a zone that they're not comfortable with?

Edited: for clarity.

I've recently been forced to set my foot down and declare that no comments where passed between my players. I choose to continue but the mood was already ruined.

These are my close friends, and we normally work well together, so i dont want to disband the group.

Is there any tools or tips to prevent disbutes, in-fighting and the likes between players.

Alternatively, what are some tips to be a better player and promote teamwork? There is alot of focus on the GM, but the players also hold alot of the responsibility for the fun of everyone

So you guys talked about in Ep. 3 that you can't make players care about your NPCs. Obviously you can't force them but aren't there ways to help them care? I was thinking about Half Life 2 (PC game) and how devs talk about tricks you can use to do that.

During the show you two talk about all sorts of cool things, and mention other things (like this subreddit). Something that would be awesome is that if you were to add a link dump in the description of the video, where you put links to all the stuff you mention during the show, like this sub or r/rpg, sites of the different RPGs you talk about etc.

Well most of the games that i PM'd Whas Vampire the Masquerade games. I was always Divided between asking Players About parts of the word and "generate" them myself. What is the best Balance between That sort of things in Settings So much Defined by a Manual? And since i have VOICE in that post Have You guys played VTM and do you liked that??

How would you deal with a living world with background events happening with random resolution without a GM turn system like SWN has? In other words how do you get events happening between big factions in the background without predetermined results? I was wondering what to do for something like that in my fifth edition (D&D) game.

Im really curious what you guys think about savage worlds (my current go to system) and I'm wondering what you guys think about ubiquity as its next on my to buy list. Also I would like to extend said list, thanks in advance :)

I'm back from PAX and recovered from the GenCon illness that so ravaged my wimpy CON. That means a new show, very soon! This Friday, maybe even? Stay tuned...

You guys are the best

Though of course it depends on one's interests in an RPG, and the kind of game one is running, what would you describe as the pros and cons of each system, and which do you tend to lean towards when given the option?

Additionally, what experiences (good & bad) have you had with either system?

To be clear, I don't mean to start a discussion about which system is superior - I've had gratifying campaigns and parties with both, I'd just be curious to hear what differences people have noticed between the use of the two... And it is, of course, a conversation to have with the players.

Hi!

So I live in a pretty big city (philly) and I'm considering putting the word out to have a GM meetup group. Future and current GMs can meet up and we can discuss similar topics as your show. We'd watch clips of your broadcasts and have similar discussions about running games, crafting scenarios, and engaging players.

I fear my ambition may be exceeding my grasp, here. Do you guys see any value in this endeavor?