Oofta
Legend
But people will be amazed by it for ages to come, so it's probably a decent trade-off.
D&D 5E How many players would use a service like this
- Thread starter Thomas Rainsborough
- Start date
BDave Walters used to have a patreon where he would run around 2 games a day for members. But that clearly wasn't sustainable.
overgeeked
B/X Known World
I don’t think he’s as amazing as all that. He’s great, sure, better than any DM I’ve ever had, certainly. But man, he loves his pointless lore dumps, long-winded descriptions, and session padding. Shopping, extended pointless dialogs, etc. And damn is he addicted to pointless skill checks. “I look at the harbor. Are there any ships docked?” “Roll perception.”This is a good thing, though. As much as I love Critical Role, my friends and I could never afford to hire Matt Mercer to run games for us.
That would be like hiring Rembrandt to paint my house.
If I was ever going to pay a DM, it would be Mercer (or Ashley) but I’d pay him extra just to get on with it.
I suspect that this is actually an example of a GM practice that a lot of us have - which is using the random roll result to help us improvise and also getting the player to fill some time while we think of a response.
I'll respond with a "roll some skill" as a reflex when a player asks about something I didn't think to put into my notes both to get a random result that isn't just me rolling and then having to also interpret what the results mean and to fill time with something other than me looking up and muttering "I dunno, would there be ships docked here" or something like that. A player result gives me something to riff off of and also a short bit of time to get my act together and figure out an answer. I know I'm not the only GM to do things like that because it was pretty common advice when I was a baby DM.
overgeeked
B/X Known World
It isn't gated, it's informed. Huge difference.
overgeeked
B/X Known World
Po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe.
Just because you assert something doesn't make it true. Especially when it is demonstrably wrong.
overgeeked
B/X Known World
Just because you assert something doesn’t make it true. Especially when it’s demonstrably wrong.
MarkB
Legend
Some may see it as a way into the more streaming-based GMing market, though. If they have a portfolio of successful paid GM gigs with positive feedback from players, that could be a useful thing to have on the CV when looking to get into one of the various groups / companies that run organised streamed play these days.
See, the difference is you said that "gated" and "informed" were the same thing, which is demonstrably wrong because -- and get this, it's wild -- those are different words with different meanings. Crazy, right?
And just to be clear, I'm not white knighting Mercer. i don't care one whit about that. But using random skill checks as a part of improvisation is a tried and true method with a long history that is not related to gating content at all.
Haven't made the case that "gated" and "informed" are different words with different meanings?
I have no idea what you are talking about.
Mannahnin
Scion of Murgen (He/Him)
Example of gating content behind a roll: If the PCs fail to find the secret door, they can't find the big bad or the treasure horde.
Example of informing content with a roll: Requesting a roll when a player asks a question and gauging how much info to give to them by how well they roll.
Somewhat related but different things.
Example of informing content with a roll: Requesting a roll when a player asks a question and gauging how much info to give to them by how well they roll.
Somewhat related but different things.
Even beyond that: A player asks what the mood of the tavern is when they walk in, and since I hadn't decided I have them roll Persuasion -- NOT because the character is doing anything to please the crowd, but because the results of the roll will give me the answer.
Vaalingrade
Legend
To be fair, I'm still upset about people paying other people to drive cars for them to get from place to place. Especially that guy that drives like a really big car and makes the city pay him to just drive around all day picking up people who could very well driver themselves.
overgeeked
B/X Known World
Now, for the trifecta. Explain what the difference is to the player in those cases. Answer: none. They're identical.
That's why I objected. The player doesn't know and cannot tell the difference between them. That the referee claims it's one vs the other is great and all, but it they're functionally identical to the player in that situation. Either way, the amount of info the player receives is determined by a roll.
And, importantly, when there is no reason to have information behind a roll...like say having to roll to see ships in a harbor your character is a short distance away from, on higher ground, on a cloudless and non-foggy day (yes, that's an actual example from a Critical Role episode)...it's a tedious waste of time. It's a verbal tick of the referee to stall to decide. Just take a moment and decide. Or, if you absolutely have to have a roll to help decide go ahead and roll it yourself.
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MichaelSomething
Legend
Any person here can make the business model unsustainable by running games on the pay for site and just charge a token 1 dollar fee. Those payers exist because they don't know how to find groups.
Vaalingrade
Legend
Only if a rectangle is a square.
The problem comes when the entire session/adventure/interaction ends because you failed a roll. If the second one continued on to 'as a consequence, you missed important things you have no chance of getting to now', then they would be identical.
Vaalingrade
Legend
Or they've found enough groups where the DM is a jerk or the other players are creeps and they want a curated experience now.
