Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game Discussion Thread

[dbm]

That's explicit in DF2

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

I recall the "under the hood" for Backstab being Telegraphic attack?

I thought it was Telegraphic, All-Out (Determined) plus three turns of Evaluate. Although I may be confusing myself with what the Ninja's player did in my game.

[tbone]

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

I recall the "under the hood" for Backstab being Telegraphic attack?

Telegraphic Attack was one of the first things I checked for in DFRPG. It's indeed not there. I'm glad that "combat toolkit" options like Deceptive Attack and Rapid Strike are included, and would have liked to see Telegraphic Attack included among them. It's such a great, simple tool for getting attacks just right.

It's particularly useful for backstabbing – and, hey, maybe it does exist in the rules for that action: " The sneak’s first attack roll on that foe is at +4 because it’s perfectly set up". I'm guessing that's a veiled invoking of Telegraphic Attack.

Still, I'd rather see it offered explicitly as an option here and anywhere. Players would find it useful in other situations – and I think it's the way roaring, clumsy brute-monsters generally should fight.

Oh well, it's an easy house rule for GMs who are familiar with it.

[MrTim]

Just caught a typo: Adventurerers, p. 79, under Jumping: "Also use the higher of Jumping/2 or Basic Move/4 as your basic horizontal jumping distance" is backwards; it should be Jumping/4 or Basic Move/2. The jumping rules on p. 20 of Exploits have the correct values.

[sir_pudding]

Posting errata on the forums isn't a good way to make sure it gets to the right people. You should submit it to errata@sjgames.com.

[Boomerang]

When is the DF box set due to arrive in Australia for Australian kickstarter backers?

[MrTim]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Posting errata on the forums isn't a good way to make sure it gets to the right people. You should submit it to errata@sjgames.com.

D'oh! I really should know better . . .

[tbone]

More observations:


Book names

* The DFRPG "GM book" has a name worth noting: Exploits. It's explicitly about how to do stuff, which is a welcome focus. (The sections "Treasure" and "Game Mastering" don't quite fit perfectly under an Exploits label, but they're fine where they are.)

I also like the name because it places "Fighting" as just one subset of the much broader range of things characters can do. Rather than, as games often have it, making combat the core focus, followed by an obligatory "and other miscellaneous actions".

(Then again, Exploits certainly devotes the most pages to combat. The genre is what the genre is...)

* The included adventure, too, has an interesting label above its title: Dungeon. Not "Adventure", not "Module", but "Dungeon". Very on-point for DFRPG. Though if the line does release wilderness or town adventures in the future, I suppose the label "Dungeon" might have to be swapped....


The book of Monsters

* Repeating an earlier wish regarding character sheets, I'd like to see color used in monster write-ups, too. It could look nice used in stat blocks, but above all, I'd like to see the headings in color. Or just bigger. Or both. As it is, I think the headers (i.e., monster names) don't stand out enough.

* Dragons are in there, and that's great. Though IMO they look low on ST and HP for their size. (I know, they're dangerous enough as they are, but...)

* The "Monster Prefixes" section from DF Monsters 1 would have been really nice to see in Monsters. Oh well. Surely there will be more Monsters books in the future that could carry such goodies.


A thought on organization

* I like the category organization used for some monsters, such as placing a number of creatures under "Goblin-Kin". I wonder whether this should have been extended a bit more, such as placing those oozes, jellies, puddings, slimes, and molds under a single category ("Goo"?).

Hm, that same thought goes for some skills in Adventurers, too. I like how many weapon skills are bunched under the categories "Melee Weapon Skills" (which even has sub-categories!), "Missile Weapon Skills", "Thrown Weapon" (side thought: why not "Thrown Weapon Skills"?), "Unarmed Grappling Skills", and "Unarmed Striking Skills".

So it's little odd to see Bolas, Cloak, Garrote, Net, and Shield just floating out there among Skiing and Forgery and dozens of other unsorted skills. Seems to me these, too, belong in Melee or Thrown weapons, or possibly a small "Other Weapons" category for ones that just don't fit...


Default-roll attempts at Connoisseur (Art)

* I like the lovely overkill on the cover of Monsters: Skeleton Guy is summoning a skeleton ghost and releasing a flaming skull, while raising skeletal zombies. This villain has a theme, and he's sticking to it.

* Hey – the Spells and Monsters covers go together to make one picture! Am I the very last person to notice this?

This is particularly obvious (I see now) just by glancing at the GM Screen... which also repeats the covers from Adventurers and Exploits. These don't appear to make one picture, but I think they do depict some before-and-after in the same room. In the first, the Red Cultists are up to tricks at an evil altar (who's the cringing guy at left?); in the second, adventurers have broken up the party and are giving the head cultist what for. Yes?

(SJG, if there are some interesting tales behind these art pieces, we'd like to hear them!)


Picturing monsters

* I was really hoping that Monsters would include a piece of artwork for each entry. That, for me, is a big selling point in any bestiary. I know, it's a big request, too, meaning lots more artwork to buy and lots more pages needed. A small disappointment, but I understand the difficulty.

(Hmm. You know, SJG, even if some sort of "community content program" is a far-off dream, perhaps it'd be pretty easy for you to set up some social network image-sharing page, to solicit fans' renditions of DFRPG monsters. It'd be fun for the artists, helpful for GMs who want to show players a Doomchildren horde but couldn't draw an eggplant, and maybe useful for drawing newcomers' attention to the game through sharing.)

* Final thought on Monsters, and more a question than an observation: It's long seemed to me that D&D enjoys (and has earned) one nice little advantage in the fantasy gaming market: monsters that aren't just part of the catalog, but that have become iconic. The beholder, the mind flayer, the owlbear, the gelatinous cube, many others. These just "say" D&D. They're recognized widely throughout the hobby; they pop up in fan art, in humor memes, and countless "Most Iconic D&D Monster" listicles.

I'd love to see GURPS gain some "iconic" monsters. That's not easily done with GURPS itself – "it's a toolbox, not a setting" and all that – but sure could happen with DFRPG. How? I dunno; declaring "The Dinoman will now be iconic!" will work about as well as an auto executive announcing "Our new model will henceforth be loved like the Beetle!"

But setting "how" aside: Anyone have a thought on what monster(s) might be set to "break out" as fan favorites, even becoming informal spokesmonsters for DFRPG? I like the Crushroom for its name, and the Demon from Between the Stars for its Lovecraftian touch (and a nice weirdness that fits SJG itself). But I'm not sure that anything in Monsters is jumping out at me as "our" beholder (not even the knockoff-ish Eye of Death and Sphere of Madness).

Anyone else have opinions on this? Or is it just an odd thought to begin with?

[dbm]

Originally Posted by tbone

* Hey – the Spells and Monsters covers go together to make one picture! Am I the very last person to notice this?

I'm pretty sure there was a KickStarter post discussing it :-)

This is particularly obvious (I see now) just by glancing at the GM Screen... which also repeats the covers from Adventurers and Exploits. These don't appear to make one picture, but I think they do depict some before-and-after in the same room. In the first, the Red Cultists are up to tricks at an evil altar (who's the cringing guy at left?); in the second, adventurers have broken up the party and are giving the head cultist what for.

The two people crouching in those pictures are both listening at the same door from different sides...

I'd love to see GURPS gain some "iconic" monsters. That's not easily done with GURPS itself – "it's a toolbox, not a setting" and all that – but sure could happen with DFRPG.

Clearly only fans can ultimately decide what become fan favourites, however the iconic D&D monsters are distinct, have a shtick and are challenging. Rust Monster, Owl Bear, Ithillid and Beholder. Other too. There are more humourous favourites (like the flumph) and for GURPS that would surely be a killer psychic blueberry muffin?

[lachimba]

Doom Children