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Post by Ash Kingston on Jan 30, 2013 9:21:01 GMT -5
So with Spoony deciding to upload all of the episodes of Counter Monkey onto YouTube, I was just wanting to get everyone's thoughts on the series. I mean, I realize full well that not everyone is into tabletop RPGs/gaming, but I personally find it entertaining at the very least, and has made me want to get back into it... Here's the link to the YT channel, and I'll also include the written blog he initially started (which contains a lot of stories he's already done in the videos, but is still a decent read)... www.youtube.com/user/countermonkeybardcountermonkeybook.blogspot.ca/
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Post by SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman on Jan 30, 2013 10:25:56 GMT -5
I like it. I find the anecdotes really fun and so are his advices on how to tun a game. And the strangest part is that I like this show a lot even though I have never played a tabletop RPG ever, even though I'm way into videogame RPGs (both Western and Japanese). This show makes me want to try it, though.
I kind of wish he did a "RPG for dummies" video where he'd explain the basic concepts and mechanics as I don't think I'm alone in saying that some of the stuff he mentions goes way over my head (how does GURPS work? How does one cleverly create and improve a character? How far ahead is a DM supposed to plan? That kind of stuff).
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Post by Red Impact on Jan 30, 2013 10:29:45 GMT -5
While I don't play D&D or any of the games he's made videos about, I have played a version of the D6 Star Wars and a lot of his stories still ring true for the most part (although I disagree with his video on stealing stuff from PC's. I've tried that to get a group to move in the right direction, and they ignored it).
But I still have had some really interesting things I've seen in games, both running and playing.
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Post by Red Impact on Jan 30, 2013 11:11:13 GMT -5
I kind of wish he did a "RPG for dummies" video where he'd explain the basic concepts and mechanics as I don't think I'm alone in saying that some of the stuff he mentions goes way over my head (how does GURPS work? How does one cleverly create and improve a character? How far ahead is a DM supposed to plan? That kind of stuff). Never played Gurps, but the other stuff are things I have experience with. A lot of it is experience. You find out what works and what doesn't as you play a system, and invariably the first character or two you make will probably be bad, just because you're new to it. But as far as making a good character goes, I'd always start with coming up with the basic concept and the role they'd play in the party. Then come up with a backstory and personality that you can play. Take traits and elements from characters you like and build around it. Giving your character an actual backstory and longterm goals goes a long way to making them interesting, and if you have a good GM, they'll be able to use that for the adventures. As far as skills go, when you're just starting out, go stereotypical. Playing and messing with them is hard until you know the system really well, so when you're first making a character, I'd stick to a basic class and go through there until you know it well enough to specialize. The skills don't make a character interesting, they just make him survive and useful. As far as DM'ing goes, how far you plan is entirely up to the DM. When I've done it, I've had campaigns I've planned down to the conversation the NPC's have and I've also run campaigns that I spent an hour making a basic concept and just ad-libbed the rest. Both of them can work, but it's up to your style and level of OCD. I'd say it's best for me to have a general idea of what major events are going to happen, who the major villains are, and other big picture events planned out, but keep how they get there flexible. Too rigid makes... well, Final Fantasy XIII. Too loose and you get frustrated players who have no information. One of the best adventure I've run was when the players made their own sidequest as payment from the NPC who gave them a mission.
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