[Ptolus/AD&D] OOC Thread #1

[Imperator]

For me, the map of this first rom has been absolutely key. So kudos to Ben for it.

OTOH, I will probably have very limited online access from Friday to Monday night due to a massive party, so I let you know in advance. Before that I'll tell you what I intend to do so it doesn't become a hassle.

[Benoist]

Excellent. Thanks for the warning, mate.

[Cole]

In my experience, no matter how detailed an explanation or description I provide the players, they will each have formed a different mental picture of what I outlaid from each other and myself.  It's just natural when there is no visual reference; the mind searches for a mental image of what has been described, and each person's brain has a different file for a particular image.  I feel that providing some kind of visual reference, no matter how simple (i.e. kindergarten level drawings, or stick figures) or cheesy, helps to bridge that natural gap between the different minds and provides an anchoring point for everyone to be in the same metal parking lot, if not on the same mental bus.

I see your point, and to some extent I agree, but as a DM and Player (especially as a player) it is more important to me that I am, and presumably the other players, are directly engaging with their mental construction rather than the translation to the crude image. Corner cases do emerge where the disagreement is jarring, "no, it's east, sorry" but I don't like the tradeoff to avoid those.

But it's a matter of personal preference. As a DM, I'm usually perfectly willing to provide a sketch if a player asks for clarification, etc.

[Drohem]

I see your point, and to some extent I agree, but as a DM and Player (especially as a player) it is more important to me that I am, and presumably the other players, are directly engaging with their mental construction rather than the translation to the crude image.

Rather than viewing the picture, drawing, image, figures, battleboard, and etc. as an actual translation, I view these as merely tools in the GM's and players' toolbox as an aid for everyone to be in the same imaginary construction yard using the same equipment to build their own mental image of the same thing in the shared imaginary space.

[Cole]

Rather than viewing the picture, drawing, image, figures, battleboard, and etc. as an actual translation, I view these as merely tools in the GM's and players' toolbox as an aid for everyone to be in the same imaginary construction yard using the same equipment to build their own mental image of the same thing in the shared imaginary space.

Makes sense to me; I only mean that just for me, personally, my eyes inevitably end up being distracted by the image/battleboard as if it were an actual translation, which is not a good tradeoff for me in the name of shoring up the likelihood that the imaginary space is the same for me as the other players'.

Again, it's only my personal preference. Different people's have different interactions of their verbal and spatial and visual thinking, I believe.

[Benoist]

LOL Love the PCs' dialogs people. Awesome and hilarious stuff.

[Cole]

LOL Love the PCs' dialogs people. Awesome and hilarious stuff.

Yet not a single stakes die raised, nor a single narrative fallout suffered. Mystifying.

[Benoist]

Oh no... I do not understand how that could be! Maybe I should bring some philosophically fulfilling storylines and shakespearian conundrums into the mix, just to make things a little more artsy, you know...

[Cole]

Oh no... I do not understand how that could be! Maybe I should bring some philosophically fulfilling storylines and shakespearian conundrums into the mix, just to make things a little more artsy, you know...

Still, sorry to be an asshole, been a long week in the trenches of the internets. It's a nice relief from that to just play.

Couple of quotes about stories that I think may speak to RPGs, though only by way of analogy.

Ask playwrights what their plays are "about," and they will answer "about two and a half hours."

Investigation of theme, a poem's or a play's is not an attempt to discover what the work means. A play doesn't mean anything. It is.

-- David Ball, Backwards & Forwards : A Technical Manual for Reading Plays

[Drohem]

Makes sense to me; I only mean that just for me, personally, my eyes inevitably end up being distracted by the image/battleboard as if it were an actual translation, which is not a good tradeoff for me in the name of shoring up the likelihood that the imaginary space is the same for me as the other players'.

Again, it's only my personal preference. Different people's have different interactions of their verbal and spatial and visual thinking, I believe.

Sure, I got that from your posts.  Good conversation.

Yet not a single stakes die raised, nor a single narrative fallout suffered. Mystifying.

Oh no... I do not understand how that could be! Maybe I should bring some philosophically fulfilling storylines and shakespearian conundrums into the mix, just to make things a little more artsy, you know...

*snickers* :rotfl:

Still, sorry to be an asshole, been a long week in the trenches of the internets. It's a nice relief from that to just play.

Dude, you've been on fire here in the last week.  You've written some excellent stuff in response to the latest wave of Forge Warriors showing up to do battle.  Seriously, great stuff.

[Cole]

Thanks, Drohem. All I meant though is that I ought not to be sarcastic about things, since I'm not invested with fighting some kind of putative "swine war;" I usually have the position "I think that X, you think that Y; we disagree, but that's okay, and knowing so we can discuss this."

But it's the internet and all, so sometimes in the way of that is the response "No, you think Y too, you just don't know it." or "No, you think Y too, don't try to pretend otherwise to me," both of which are frustrating - I am totally okay with someone having different opinions and learning from them, and so I may well look forward to discussion. And it's trying at times when I have to get past people assuming everyone is a frontline soldier in one or another invisible nerd war.

So my catty side comes out, but it's counterproductive to let it.

But I digress. Back on topic. This game's showing a lot of promise and has been really engaging already. And thanks again for that, Ben, and the rest of you guys too.

[Cole]

Ben, at what height is the buoy basket at the time that the giant appears, per that last post?

[Benoist]

The room's basically a half sphere with a radius of about 50 feet. So when the giant appears, you're at about... 30 feet maybe? That's about 6d6 points of fall damage, halved with a successful saving throw...

[Cole]

The room's basically a half sphere with a radius of about 50 feet. So when the giant appears, you're at about... 30 feet maybe? That's about 6d6 points of fall damage, halved with a successful saving throw...

If the giant proves hostile, which seems most likely, would it be possible to make ranged attacks from the basket?

[Benoist]

Dude, you've been on fire here in the last week.  You've written some excellent stuff in response to the latest wave of Forge Warriors showing up to do battle.  Seriously, great stuff.

Yeah, I agree. Totally awesome stuff you posted lately.