[QUOTE=RearAdmiral;47175627]Bard is very much seen as the ultimate support class - you don't excel in any particular field (except for social situations) but you can function as a support in just about everything else. They can buff the party, they get a lot of skillpoints and some casting ability and even healing ability if you consider they're one of the few arcane spellcasting classes that get Cure wounds.
But you're mostly going to function as the party face unless you have someone else like a Sorcerer or Paladin that's more adept at that sort of stuff.[/QUOTE]
Bards are known as a jack of all trades class, though in most RPGs they're also spell casters, which means they get OP at high levels.
[QUOTE=gufu;47175726]Which also brings a point that CoC Vietnam-set game would be awesome.[/QUOTE]
Currently it's World War II and the entire party is working for the Germans
werfing and flammen are of course involved
also shady incompetent italians
[QUOTE=doomkiwi;47175733]Bards are known as a jack of all trades class, though in most RPGs they're also spell casters, which means they get OP at high levels.[/QUOTE]
They're secondary casters, though, capped at 6th level spells.(In Pathfinder at least, and probably D&D 3e/3.5 as well. Granted, they do get 9th level spells in 5e.)
[QUOTE=Rats808;47175932]They're secondary casters, though, capped at 6th level spells.(In Pathfinder at least, and probably D&D 3e/3.5 as well. Granted, they do get 9th level spells in 5e.)[/QUOTE]
Also you're not playing right if you're not fucking every bar wench you meet.
PF's skald is good fun, basically a bard that instead of giving everyone a +whatever to skills and attack rolls, they put people into barbarian rage. They also get full BAB and an ability that lets them use other classes spells once per day.
[editline]20th February 2015[/editline]
Bardbarians, basically
[QUOTE=gufu;47175726]Which also brings a point that CoC Vietnam-set game would be awesome.[/QUOTE]
[img]https://www.peginc.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/wjpg2-e1334693770679.jpg[/img]
Weird Wars, not CoC, but still that was the first thing I thought of
speaking of Weird Wars: Wing, game when
[QUOTE=gufu;47175726]Which also brings a point that CoC Vietnam-set game would be awesome.[/QUOTE]
Cthulhupunk is radical as well
[QUOTE=elowin;47177604]Cthulhupunk is radical as well[/QUOTE]
Bleh, kinda overplayed tbh
the only reason I suggested we do WW2 was because of the nutso gutso rumors of the nazis looking into the occult stuff and whatnot. A cool time-period with plenty of different events to call on, some great experimental technology, and a great backboard for anything spooky you wanna throw in
[QUOTE=SiberysTranq;47175890]Currently it's World War II and the entire party is working for the Germans
werfing and flammen are of course involved
also shady incompetent italians[/QUOTE]
Weird Wars and Achtung Cthulhu fit that bill
[QUOTE=No Party Hats;47177665]Bleh, kinda overplayed tbh
the only reason I suggested we do WW2 was because of the nutso gutso rumors of the nazis looking into the occult stuff and whatnot. A cool time-period with plenty of different events to call on, some great experimental technology, and a great backboard for anything spooky you wanna throw in[/QUOTE]
overplayed wat
Anything involving Cthulhu is overdone
[QUOTE=RearAdmiral;47178951]Anything involving Cthulhu is overdone[/QUOTE]
Cthulu is worst waifu.
[QUOTE=RearAdmiral;47178951]Anything involving Cthulhu is overdone[/QUOTE]
well i can agree on that but to me it sounded like he meant cthulhupunk specifically
CthulhuPunk is also GURPS, which comes with its own issues.
[QUOTE=Rats808;47179246]CthulhuPunk is also GURPS, which comes with its own issues.[/QUOTE]
As does any system.
[QUOTE=No Party Hats;47177665]Bleh, kinda overplayed tbh
the only reason I suggested we do WW2 was because of the nutso gutso rumors of the nazis looking into the occult stuff and whatnot. A cool time-period with plenty of different events to call on, some great experimental technology, and a great backboard for anything spooky you wanna throw in[/QUOTE]
In my Call of Cthulu game the badguys were the Thule Society, basically proto-nazis back in the 1920s. If everyone hadn't died they would have fought HERR IMMORTAL FHURER before WW2 had even started, as he was going to be traveling to America to "Raise Support" for his cause . In truth he was going to be looking for the secret to immortality and undisputed power to help enact some sort of solution to some such plan of his, finally. I don't remember what it was, not really important.
[QUOTE=Chronische;47175565]Depends on the edition. In 5e they are FANTASTIC, in prior editions... eh.[/QUOTE]
We're playing 5e.
Any reccomendations for 5e bard?
[QUOTE=PrivRyan;47180042]We're playing 5e.
Any reccomendations for 5e bard?[/QUOTE]
Depends on what you want to do. Lore bards are widely considered the most powerful in this edition, and they have some fun abilities. They also get a couple more spells from other class lists, to widen your repertoire. Valor bards are fun too as hero-types. Running up front after buffing up with Bardic Inspiration and Bless, or just being a general helper.
Lore Bards can use their Bardic inspiration as a debuff, applying it to saving throws, ability checks, and attack rolls. It's really fucking handy. Especially since you can, for example, cast an enchantment on a foe. They make their save, then you use the Inspiration to make them fail. It's a great clutch ability.
You should look at Half-elves for a bard. They are pretty much perfect. +2 cha, +1 to 2 other stats, bonus starting skills and languages. Pretty tailor made for bards, though HEs are good at any of the Cha based classes this time around to make up for how shitty they have been since they first appeared.
[QUOTE=gufu;47160564]A good GM can make FATAL playable.
Arguably, everything would need to be Deus Ex Machina to save people, but since it's CoC, it's either that, or NOT SEND OUT SUPERNATURAL HORRORS IN THE FIRST SESSION![/QUOTE]
Little late but...
Brah... he didn't actually. At all. He actually did 3 sessions I think, but they all blur into one since it went on for so long.
Nitrowing is a great GM, but that session just got out of hand in a game setting he was unfamiliar with.
[QUOTE=RearAdmiral;47178951]Anything involving Cthulhu is overdone[/QUOTE]
Honestly, the best way to do Cthulhu is to not do [I]Cthulhu[/I] Cthulhu. The idea of cultists secretly scheming in high places is perfect for a mystery game however.
I was gonna do a game where it was all detective work, and I'd have two PCs who act as sort of buddy cops have to figure out the cases, and eventually start to figure out that something fucked is afoot.
The cultists would never summon shoggoths or byakhees or shit like that, because that isn't really scary. Spooky monsters are only scary to children. You create a good horror setting by making them genuinely uneasy. NPCs that they trust turning out to be horrible, vile people. That sorta shit.
Just my two cents.
[QUOTE=Funktastic Dog;47186577]Honestly, the best way to do Cthulhu is to not do [I]Cthulhu[/I] Cthulhu. The idea of cultists secretly scheming in high places is perfect for a mystery game however.
I was gonna do a game where it was all detective work, and I'd have two PCs who act as sort of buddy cops have to figure out the cases, and eventually start to figure out that something fucked is afoot.
The cultists would never summon shoggoths or byakhees or shit like that, because that isn't really scary. Spooky monsters are only scary to children. You create a good horror setting by making them genuinely uneasy. NPCs that they trust turning out to be horrible, vile people. That sorta shit.
Just my two cents.[/QUOTE]
Siberys's game is stark proof that monsters can in fact amplify the uneasy factor by a million. It's about being tasteful and smart about it. Very rarely is a person capable of creating horror that is genuinely scary, if you can't do it, it's not your fault. It's just VERY tough to pull off.
The key is not to show the monster, obviously
show that it exists. Show the effects of it's passing. Show other people reacting to it. But never, ever, put it in the spotlight if it's not the final, fatal confrontation.
And you need to build up to that. You can't just throw it at them from day 1.
AKA, if you're playing Call of Cthulhu, don't be Dead Space
DMed a decent size group for the first time today (party of 4). most eventful thing to happen was our orc throwing our pet bear out our boat and onto a bandit archer on the other side of a river.
Well, just witnessed my first hilariously stupid character death tonight.
In our 5e campaign, our Rogue who had just joined (This was his second session) decided to try harvesting poison from something we had killed while the rest of our party was elsewhere. He managed to fail the roll so much that he somehow poisoned himself, went down from the poison damage, and failed his death saves.
[QUOTE=SiberysTranq;47187449]The key is not to show the monster, obviously
show that it exists. Show the effects of it's passing. Show other people reacting to it. But never, ever, put it in the spotlight if it's not the final, fatal confrontation.
And you need to build up to that. You can't just throw it at them from day 1.
AKA, if you're playing Call of Cthulhu, don't be Dead Space[/QUOTE]
What I like to do is show the monster, and describe it as an unmistakable horror with blood dripping out of its teeth after it's killed something. You leave things that strongly infer that something is out there....
But I only show it to one person.
Why? So that I can roll their perception for them. Maybe the monster's real, maybe it's not. Nobody else saw it, so they can't confer with one another as to see if it's real.
Speaking of which; Hey Nitrowing, the beast is still waiting for you in the forest!
My Mekton game is proceeding along well. The party was sent into this farmland valley to rescue a bunch of friendly troops from a supply like that were captured by Russian forces.
The most notable event to occur was the fight against our friend, the Kung Fruskie. The Kung Fruskie was born when several sessions ago their military academy came under live fire by squads of Russian troops killing without regard. The party got to the armory, loaded up, and managed to hijack a miniature mecha (still a 10 foot tall robot suit), and they entered combat with one squad. After downing the first 3 members of this group, the final one absolutely would not get hit. He critically dodged 3 rolls back to back. When it was his turn, he shouts in heavily accented English, "I know Kung Fu!" and jumps out a window.
Later they encountered him piloting a mini mecha, and after he avoided death plenty of times then too, he popped out of the hatch and surrendered, shouting "Shoot of not! I know Kung Fu!"
Finally, we come to today. They enter combat with a bear-shaped mecha. A bear-shaped mecha which spends its first turn to run towards the heaviest armored mecha of the party and instantly tear one of its arms off, where it then critically dodges fire from another party member 3 times in a row by chucking the severed arm in the line of the bullets. He also dodged 2 backstabs without even turning to face his attacker. After his front leg was blown off by a point-blank missile and his back leg got eaten up by a preposterously lucky burst fire, he shouts "I know Kung Fu!" over the mecha comms, then ejects from his mecha and swan dives into a nearby river.
Kung Fu Ruskie, the Kung Fruskie, lives to fight another day.
[QUOTE=doomkiwi;47189088]What I like to do is show the monster, and describe it as an unmistakable horror with blood dripping out of its teeth after it's killed something. You leave things that strongly infer that something is out there....
But I only show it to one person.
Why? So that I can roll their perception for them. Maybe the monster's real, maybe it's not. Nobody else saw it, so they can't confer with one another as to see if it's real.
Speaking of which; Hey Nitrowing, the beast is still waiting for you in the forest![/QUOTE]
But then you've made the biggest mistake in horror and shown them what they're fighting.
The best thing to do is leave a lot of it vague. The players' imagination is way more terrifying than anything you can describe/show.
Eg in Sib's game, all we've seen of the monster so far was a black puddle of stuff on the ground we saw when we tried to light it on fire. That's all we got, a black pool of liquid that immediately retreated beyond what light sources we had, and that may not even be the monster itself, but merely something that drips off of it.(Especially given that we also saw a tree full of black gunk earlier. Who knows, though.)
[QUOTE=Rats808;47189143]But then you've made the biggest mistake in horror and shown them what they're fighting.
The best thing to do is leave a lot of it vague. The players' imagination is way more terrifying than anything you can describe/show.
Eg in Sib's game, all we've seen of the monster so far was a black puddle of stuff on the ground we saw when we tried to light it on fire. That's all we got, a black pool of liquid that immediately retreated beyond what light sources we had, and that may not even be the monster itself, but merely something that drips off of it.(Especially given that we also saw a tree full of black gunk earlier. Who knows, though.)[/QUOTE]
Generally yes, this is a good rule of thumb, but people need to know that they're up against something, at least for some games. In cinema showing the monster doesn't work all the time since everyone is getting the same visual information and will interpret it in similar ways.
In Call of Cthulu games however your descriptions only help solidify the worst possible thing that the players can imagine in their minds. You can never convey precisely what's going on in your head, nor should you, because that scares you on a base level, not your players, instead they have to pick up a description from the chunks you give them and piece it together themselves into what scares them.
People always forget that the monster is shown in a lot of great horror movies. Alien showed the monster a few times, but only for quick glimpses. The Thing showed itself a LOT but retreated back into hiding at any time. Slasher movies thrive off their big iconic villains, and as long as they're seen somewhat sparingly it's totally fine to show at least part of what they are. Bruce is actually the exception in movies, not the rule.
Not to say that the "don't show the villain" idea is bad in tabletops, just that it's not the only option.
Today in Pathfinder as my Kobold Barbarian, I only landed 1 of my 4 total attacks the entire session, which was a crit. I sliced a guard in half and got 5 bonus exp for saying "Now you're down to my size!" after killing him. I later convinced a guard that I was a dragon and walked past him, after two of our other party members had convinced him they were just ordinary rats (one of the players is ratfolk, I think the other was a goblin or something small). And then that guard, who was super confused by thinking two rats and a dragon had walked by him, later got trampled by a horse and died.
We basically broke up a drug cartel and two of our players who are alchemists invented a new drug. We're unsure of its effects but they called it "Vertigo". It was some mixture of crack and weed.
You know what I hate? Getting all ready and prepared to run a game and then being told by one of the players on the day we play: "sorry, I will not be free on Saturday for the next 18 weeks." That leaves me with two measly players and I require a minimum of three.
Welp, to think I was finally gonna be able to run a [url=http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/124685/Interface-Zero-20-Full-Metal-Cyberpunk]cyberpunk game that wasn't Shadowrun or CB2020.[/url]
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