We've all probably seen this.  An artist draws a thing incorrectly, or a writer describes something you know is not how it really should be.

I was going thru my copy of Palladium books Phase World dimension book (sort of a Star Wars universe, but with lots of magic and power armor). 

This is an image of a Wolfen race, dressed as a Marshal I believe.  However, as a gun owner I cringe.  Nobody in their right mind should hold their loaded rifle by the muzzle.  Even Alec Baldwin should know that one.

Another bad game mistake is in White Star.  There are vehicles called Sky Boosters (2-man hot rods), and Sky Cruisers (small cargo aircraft).  Both have a maximum altitude of only 1500 feet.  Old biplanes from WW-1 could get to 20,000 feet even without oxygen masks.  1500 is nothing. 

How about you?  Which RPG makes such an egregious error that you want to pull your hair out?

OMG!

Context, I'm a merchant seaman, marine electrician, and was an electronics tech in the Navy for 10 years.

Everything to do with ships and the maritime world in games is so far out of whack that I don't even look at any games that feature anything technical at all.  Ship's crews and organizational structure don't resemble anything like how a real ship works.  Areas of responsibility for member of ship's crew and shore side personnel is also really bad.  (It's not just RPGs, Hollywood is shit in this category too.  Captain Philips and Contraband were both really bad.)

When it comes to electricity, electronics, radios, radar, etc. The vast majority of people just don't have a clue.  Most often, it's so wrong in gaming materials that I just hand wave it away.  One particular book really irks me though.  GURPS has a book about electricity and electronics that reads like the author ready a bunch of wikipedia articles and just didn't understand any of it.  it got under my skin so hard that I refused to look any Steve Jackson Games material ever again. 

Quote from: BadApple on August 29, 2024, 11:27:09 AMOMG!

Context, I'm a merchant seaman, marine electrician, and was an electronics tech in the Navy for 10 years.

Everything to do with ships and the maritime world in games is so far out of whack that I don't even look at any games that feature anything technical at all.  Ship's crews and organizational structure don't resemble anything like how a real ship works.  Areas of responsibility for member of ship's crew and shore side personnel is also really bad.  (It's not just RPGs, Hollywood is shit in this category too.  Captain Philips and Contraband were both really bad.)

When it comes to electricity, electronics, radios, radar, etc. The vast majority of people just don't have a clue.  Most often, it's so wrong in gaming materials that I just hand wave it away.  One particular book really irks me though.  GURPS has a book about electricity and electronics that reads like the author ready a bunch of wikipedia articles and just didn't understand any of it.  it got under my skin so hard that I refused to look any Steve Jackson Games material ever again. 

I'm curious to know if you've ever read Raiders of Rlyeh: From the Tideless Sea. It's a mega-campaign, playable with Raiders of Rlyeh (but that means by default playable with Call of Cthulhu), which is a maritime campaign set on tramp steamers in the early 20th century. It seems really detailed and accurate, but I'm definitely not a maritime historian...

Quote from: RPGPundit on August 29, 2024, 12:51:31 PM

Quote from: BadApple on August 29, 2024, 11:27:09 AMOMG!

Context, I'm a merchant seaman, marine electrician, and was an electronics tech in the Navy for 10 years.

Everything to do with ships and the maritime world in games is so far out of whack that I don't even look at any games that feature anything technical at all.  Ship's crews and organizational structure don't resemble anything like how a real ship works.  Areas of responsibility for member of ship's crew and shore side personnel is also really bad.  (It's not just RPGs, Hollywood is shit in this category too.  Captain Philips and Contraband were both really bad.)

When it comes to electricity, electronics, radios, radar, etc. The vast majority of people just don't have a clue.  Most often, it's so wrong in gaming materials that I just hand wave it away.  One particular book really irks me though.  GURPS has a book about electricity and electronics that reads like the author ready a bunch of wikipedia articles and just didn't understand any of it.  it got under my skin so hard that I refused to look any Steve Jackson Games material ever again. 

I'm curious to know if you've ever read Raiders of Rlyeh: From the Tideless Sea. It's a mega-campaign, playable with Raiders of Rlyeh (but that means by default playable with Call of Cthulhu), which is a maritime campaign set on tramp steamers in the early 20th century. It seems really detailed and accurate, but I'm definitely not a maritime historian...

I have the book but have only skimmed to so far.  What I did read of the adventure, I liked it.  I completely skipped the whole maritime part as I have my own way of handling that.  I'll give it a thorough read thru and do a proper review with a critical eye on how they handle the maritime stuff.

As a side note, I generally handle ships as if they were city buses or perhaps a lot like modern aviation.  I don't let the PCs be sailors but have ship officers and crew be NPCs, even if they own the vessel.  This is common historically as much as it is today.  I would make an exception if there were a player that was really into the whole being a sailor thing and they did their homework but most players I've encountered just want the adventure and the flavor, not the details. 

Quote from: weirdguy564 on August 29, 2024, 10:55:46 AMThis is an image of a Wolfen race, dressed as a Marshal I believe.  However, as a gun owner I cringe.  Nobody in their right mind should hold their loaded rifle by the muzzle.  Even Alec Baldwin should know that one.

Is it loaded though? How do you know?
Its a Breaux piece. Odds are he was reffing something where they are holding a rifle like that. I suspect I know where he likely got the ref from.

The art direction for d20 Modern Gamma World was just god awful.
The art for 4e D&D GW was so utterly out of place for what was touted as a "hah hah funny funny!" setting.

About every depiction of a halfling in the 5e D&D core books. WTF?

Quote from: Omega on August 29, 2024, 04:01:57 PMThe art direction for d20 Modern Gamma World was just god awful.
The art for 4e D&D GW was so utterly out of place for what was touted as a "hah hah funny funny!" setting.

About every depiction of a halfling in the 5e D&D core books. WTF

What's wrong with 5E halflings?

I don't own 5E.   

Not so much in games but in books that supposedly take place on earth...

Moon phases!

Just the other day a story I was reading described the "waning moon setting in the early hours before dawn."

No, no.

It's like Brick Tamlin. "Are you just writing words you see in other stories?"

Quote from: BadApple on August 29, 2024, 11:27:09 AMAreas of responsibility for member of ship's crew and shore side personnel is also really bad.  (It's not just RPGs, Hollywood is shit in this category too.  Captain Philips and Contraband were both really bad.)

I hear this.

One of the reasons the BSG reboot miniseries struck me was in the battle scenes the XO was in charge of damage control while the captain fought the ship. That is as normal to me as anything (certainly that was submarine policy from 86-95 when I was in).

Haven't seen it before or since.

Quote from: weirdguy564 on August 29, 2024, 07:01:14 PM

Quote from: Omega on August 29, 2024, 04:01:57 PMThe art direction for d20 Modern Gamma World was just god awful.
The art for 4e D&D GW was so utterly out of place for what was touted as a "hah hah funny funny!" setting.

About every depiction of a halfling in the 5e D&D core books. WTF

What's wrong with 5E halflings?

I don't own 5E.   

I hate to provide this link, but you wanted to know...

https://www.dndbeyond.com/races/14-halfling

Quote from: Aglondir on August 29, 2024, 07:41:59 PM

Quote from: weirdguy564 on August 29, 2024, 07:01:14 PM

Quote from: Omega on August 29, 2024, 04:01:57 PMThe art direction for d20 Modern Gamma World was just god awful.
The art for 4e D&D GW was so utterly out of place for what was touted as a "hah hah funny funny!" setting.

About every depiction of a halfling in the 5e D&D core books. WTF

What's wrong with 5E halflings?

I don't own 5E.   

I hate to provide this link, but you wanted to know...

https://www.dndbeyond.com/races/14-halfling

Sweet mother of god!  Kill it!  Kill it with fire!

That's not a hobbit or legally distinct analog.  That's what happens when amateur artists draw a character on the day they teach perspective at the junior college art class.

Remind me to

Quote from: BadApple on August 29, 2024, 11:27:09 AMOMG!

Context, I'm a merchant seaman, marine electrician, and was an electronics tech in the Navy for 10 years.

Everything to do with ships and the maritime world in games is so far out of whack that I don't even look at any games that feature anything technical at all.  Ship's crews and organizational structure don't resemble anything like how a real ship works.  Areas of responsibility for member of ship's crew and shore side personnel is also really bad.  (It's not just RPGs, Hollywood is shit in this category too.  Captain Philips and Contraband were both really bad.)

When it comes to electricity, electronics, radios, radar, etc. The vast majority of people just don't have a clue.  Most often, it's so wrong in gaming materials that I just hand wave it away.  One particular book really irks me though.  GURPS has a book about electricity and electronics that reads like the author ready a bunch of wikipedia articles and just didn't understand any of it.  it got under my skin so hard that I refused to look any Steve Jackson Games material ever again. 

Remind me to choose you as a naval or electronics consultant for anything of that nature in Radical High

Quote from: Zalman on August 29, 2024, 07:15:21 PMNot so much in games but in books that supposedly take place on earth...

Moon phases!

Just the other day a story I was reading described the "waning moon setting in the early hours before dawn."

No, no.

It's like Brick Tamlin. "Are you just writing words you see in other stories?"

I understand why it might chafe someone, especially if that person is an astronomy enthusiast.

I'm sure you're right, and I know it has to do with the relative position of the sun, moon, and Earth at the specified time, but I'm having a hard time picturing it in my head. I would actually have to draw a diagram. I can't honestly say it would have ever occurred to me that something about this was wrong if I hadn't read your post.

Quote from: weirdguy564 on August 29, 2024, 10:55:46 AMWe've all probably seen this.  An artist draws a thing incorrectly, or a writer describes something you know is not how it really should be.

-snip-

How about you?  Which RPG makes such an egregious error that you want to pull your hair out?

I love science fiction and most SFRPGs toss the science out the window first thing. Most SFRPGs are more science fantasy than anything else. I have just had learned to live with it because if I focused on every misconception in science or technology that is there, I would suck all the fun out of gaming for myself.

Artwise, lack of internal consistency bugs me. Traveller, the artwork for Aslan and Vargr hasn't been the same in various editions. GURPS and Classic got the artwork right where the races have a vague similarity to leonine or canine creatures while other versions make the Aslan look like something out of Thundercats and I want to punch every AI art shitbag who shoves a dog head on a human body and claims it is stunning and beautiful.

Quote from: BadApple on August 29, 2024, 02:53:47 PMI have the book but have only skimmed to so far.  What I did read of the adventure, I liked it.  I completely skipped the whole maritime part as I have my own way of handling that.  I'll give it a thorough read thru and do a proper review with a critical eye on how they handle the maritime stuff.

Have you read "Two Years Before the Mast"?  One of my favorites and which I used as a bible for sea faring adventures, because sailing ships are closer to the D&D fantasy feels.