TTRPG Thread

[P__]

Assuming the classes work similarly to Pathfinder:
Mebediel's options seem good, but I'd also suggest

Mikkel might also be half-orc, due to his bulk and physical prowess. And since he's not that good a healer, low-WIS cleric would make sense. Or healing-oriented Druid, since he's also in charge of the cookery and whatnot
I'd rather cast Tuuri as a bard, since that's the more scholarly/linguistics class
Lalli's role could also fit to a rogue (sneak-attacking the trolls and such). Considering rangers can also get magic but are not as good at it, I'd pick ranger rather than druid. Is multiclassing an option?
Onni would then be the Druid, or the Bard (with a kantele of course). Finnish magic is really druidic/bardic
Reynir, yes Wizard would do, that's the kind of magic Icelanders get. But what we've seen from him was pretty spontaneous, so maybe Sorcerer just for him?

[Purple Wyrm]

I got curious enough to find an Icewind Dale wiki and do some research. I'd tend to go with an Undead Hunter Paladin for Sigrun, a Totemic Druid for Lalli, an Abjurer for Reynir, a Priest of Lathander for Onni, and a generic Fighter for Emil.

I'm not sure what to do with Tuuri or Mikkel, although it's tempting to suggest Jester for the latter :'D

[P__]

Yes! Paladin Sigrun sounds great. Although... is smiting evil in any way similar to burning trolls with a flame-thrower? Nah, Emil is more in the "lobbing explosives" business (but I really don't see him as an alchemist, just a well-equipped fighter)

[RanVor]

I didn't consider casting Sigrun as a paladin, but it's an interesting idea, to say the least.

My original idea was something along the lines of:

SIGRUN EIDE - Barbarian/Fighter, Chaotic Good
EMIL VÄSTERSTRÖM - Fighter with lots of explosives, Neutral Good
MIKKEL MADSEN - ??? (it would make sense for him to be a cleric, but, you know, an atheist), Neutral Good
LALLI HOTAKAINEN - Ranger/Cleric or Druid (I'm a little torn on this one. His spell selection seems to be more druidic, but the nature of his magic is more clerical), True Neutral
TUURI HOTAKAINEN - Rogue (to represent her mechanic skills)/Bard (Skald), Chaotic Good
REYNIR ARNASON - Wizard (Abjurer), Neutral Good

And thanks for all the replies, they will definitely help.

[Ragnarok]

Okay.
I killed a ghost with a potato in our last Starfinder session.

Background:
My new Operative, Pavel, is the embodiment of every single Russian stereotype possible, at least on the surface. I even put on the accent when playing.
One of his numerous quirks is that he doesn't pray to any deities: no, he prays to a potato. A literal potato, which he carries with him.

So, we're investigating this abandoned undead base and come under attack by these weird ghost-things. Which are immune to physical/projectile weaponry.
Pavel has only projectile weapons.
So Pavel starts praying to his potato. The GM rolls, nods, and says they leave Pavel alone.
However after the first round they've done a massive amount of Wisdom damage to one of our guys and are going to definitely kill him next round unless something happens. Pavel is the only one able to do anything because everyone else has had their turns and failed to kill all the ghosts.
Pavel considers for a moment, then throws his potato at the ghost.
It does full damage, pops the thing like a balloon, and terrifies the remaining ghost so badly it fails to attack and is killed by the rest of the team.
Somehow.
This is a potato. There is literally nothing special about it.

[Sc0ut]

I can't believe I missed this thread so far! I'll make sure to check all your stories after posting this, since they are always gold.

But first, I bring a question! How do you settle on a personality for a character you made in a rush just to join a game that was starting soon? I'll give specifics if necessary but for now I just want to hear ideas. I will say that my game is roleplay-heavy so my character's personality does matter. I'm pretty new to TTRPG and not used to creating characters in any other context. For some reason this doesn't come easily to me at all.

[Rhynerd]

I would probably take into acount the following:
1: how do i plan to mechanically play this character?
2: what kind of setting and/or tone will they be a part of?
2.5: what’s an interesting aspect of this setting that the character would fit into?
3: what’s a notable detail about them and how can I work a personality out of it?

From there, I would then try and build out the character in ways such as this:
-finding songs that would fit them
-doing a long ramble in-character
-find a video of others playing a TTRPG and drop your character into situations the players face

[Sc0ut]

Thanks Rhynerd, that's very helpful! I've never thought about finding songs or doing an in-character ramble. That's all very new to me but I'm excited to see the results of the exercise.

The problem is a bit compounded by the fact that I've actually played 3 whole sessions and I still couldn't pin down my wizard's voice or personality. For instance, I initially wanted to make him a coward, but in the last session, he ended up risking his life to try to save an almost certainly doomed party member that he had no strong connection to (they both made it, exclusively thanks to luck). I'm not sure if I'm able to stay in character or the only way I can play right now is to do what feels right for me, ha

[Rhynerd]

The finding songs and long rambles ideas were techniques I've heard/seen other players do. I've only managed to try the song search with one character. Hopefully it helps!

Now in regards to how they set now, I can still see a way to make this combination work. You ever seen Courage: The Cowardly Dog? Maybe you can build your wizard's personality around that. Have them try and avoid most situations that seem threatening but end up quite able to get into the thick of a situation if it means keeping somebody safe.

[Bhaskara]

Been gaming for years but don’t, currently, have the time to run or even play.

I have like three campaigns practically ready to run, but just never seem to find the time where the folks I enjoy gaming with can make it to a game.

I’m nore if a fan of systems like GURPs or Fantasy Hero, but for ease of play DnD works in a pinch.

[RanVor]

Uh, I really don't know if it's the right place to come with this. If it's not, I apologize, please, don't kill me.

So I've recently started a Genestealer Cult army in Warhammer 40k, and I figured that I should create some background for my force to get the hang their fighting style before I start investing absurd amounts of money into it. The problem is, I'm out of ideas. For that reason, I decided to ask the best, the nicest and the most helpful people in the world (that's you). I am aware that most of you are probably unfamiliar with Warhammer 40k, so I'll try to explain the best I can what a Genestealer Cult is about. Brace yourselves, it may get a bit long.

Wait a sec. What are you even talking about? Oh well. Warhammer 40k is a science fantasy tabletop wargame, in which you control an army on the battlefield. It is set 40000 years into the future in our galaxy, except it's full of space magic, evil gods, bloodthirsty maniacs, war machines the size of a small country and aliens suspiciously similar to classic fantasy races (except dwarves). Also, a corpse in a chair is a god of humanity.  It's notoriously dark and expensive to play. I hope this short description will clear things up for you if you've never heard of Warhammer 40k at all.

Alright. What is a Genestealer Cult? Simply put, it's a horde of alien-worshipping mutants posing as freedom fighters for good publicity. They worship mighty hive fleets of the Tyranids, known to them as Star Children, as gods. The head of the cult is a Magus, a space wizard with mind control powers. They infiltrate the downtrodden society of their home planet, luring people in with promises of equality and revolution against the tyrants, to prepare for the coming of their alien masters. They fight using mostly repurposed industrial tools and vehicles but have access to some military grade equipment too. A cult is founded when a Genestealer (think xenomorph with brainwashing powers) lands on a planet and starts infecting people with its genetic material, turning them into its loyal servants. Any children they have bear a physical resemblance to it, which becomes less and less pronounced over the generations. When the cult grows large enough, it exports Genestealers to other planets, starting the process anew.

But Ran, what are those Tyranids you mentioned? Well, if you're familiar with StarCraft, they're basically meaner, hungrier Zerg. If you're not familiar with StarCraft, they're an extra-galactic alien race travelling across the stars in vast swarms known as the hive fleets, attacking planets with hordes of bio-engineered monsters with the intention of consuming them. Every individual organism, by itself no more than a vicious animal, is controlled by an outrageously intelligent Hive Mind binding the entire race together.

Creepy. What do you have so far? My Genestealer Cult is known as the Sons of Jormungandr and hails from a cluster of space stations. They worship the Great Serpent in the Sky, also known as Hive Fleet Jormungandr, which favors subterranean assault as the tactic of choice. They dress mainly in black and yellow, mimicking the colors of the aliens they revere. Originating from a relatively isolated community, they've been able to spread relatively unimpeded and have already expanded to several planets in the sector.

What do they want? Main goals of the cult consist of spreading their influence, keeping their true nature secret and acquiring weapons and equipment to prepare for the great uprising and the coming of the Star Children.

If you have any ideas on how to expand upon that, please, let me know. If you have any questions regarding the source material, I will gladly answer them. And once again, I'm sorry if it's not a good place to ask.

[wavewright62]

I have no input on the query, alas, but I can say as a mod that I have no problem with the thread's existence.

[Purple Wyrm]

Vile Xeno scum on our message board?! By the Emperor!!

If they hail from a cluster of space stations they probably have a lot of pilots and technicians. You could customise the models with some Mechanicus bits (scattering some Skitarii heads among the rank and file can be really effective) and maybe have them disguise their cult as a version of the Cult Mechanicus. The Great Serpent in the Sky could be claimed to be an aspect of the Omnissiah. Maybe they could concentrate on recruiting tech adepts, and take over planets by subverting the infrastructure - a few tech priest with multiple servo-arms could be nice count-as Hybrids.

Hope that provides some inspiration!

[RanVor]

Thank you for your input, Purple Wyrm! That will certainly help.

If you don't mind, I'm going to name my Patriarch after you. 

If somebody else has something to add, please, don't hesitate to do so! Every idea counts!

EDIT: My cousin has some Skitarii, so the conversion bits shouldn't be hard to acquire. 

[Purple Wyrm]

If you don't mind, I'm going to name my Patriarch after you. 

As long as you don't tell my Valhallans!

Glad to help out!