Pineapple Express: Someone Is Wrong on the Internet?

[Scribe]

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Ugh, I know you are just the messenger, and its a prediction, but why. I guess it will be a niche that exists for someone else to fill.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Yeah, I believe thats what they call the Oberoni. It isnt broken or bad because the GM can just fix it.

I am sympathetic to choosing to remove some game mechanics for preference sake, but sometimes the mechanics are too far into the machine to be removed without breaking everything.

Or the related problem where sometimes a simple looking thing has a bunch of ripple effects you didn't expect. I learned that one the hard way with a house rule in another system decades ago.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Or the related problem where sometimes a simple looking thing has a bunch of ripple effects you didn't expect. I learned that one the hard way with a house rule in another system decades ago.

I see a lot of these sorts of discussions in other forums:

"Very excited to play this game, although I'm not going to use (signature rule) because it's obviously a bad idea and stupid."

"Uh, you should probably play once with the rule, to see how it works in play."

"No, it's obviously bad. I've been playing RPGs for X years, I know what I'm doing."

Two weeks later:

"I don't understand why you all are raving about this game. It doesn't seem to work right at all."

 

[Maxperson]

You might be thinking, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

The enemy of my enemy is me.

 

[Maxperson]

1. Without more, do you consider that a compliment or an insult?

Compliment. I hear it a lot here in Southern California where we have good food of all types everywhere. Usually by folks referring to themselves in a positive manner. The rest of the time it's in reference to someone else in a positive way.

2. If you called someone that, how are you using it?

Positively.

3. If someone called you that, how are you using it?

I'm not. They're using it.

How would I take it? Positively unless their tone and/or expression indicated otherwise.

4. Finally, what context (if any) would you need to make a determination?

See above. Absent other obvious indicators, I would assume it was positive.

 

[Maxperson]

When I hear the word "foodie" my first thought is "have you never heard the word 'gourmand?'"

Isn't that the vampire that knows Lestat?

 

[Thomas Shey]

I see a lot of these sorts of discussions in other forums:

"Very excited to play this game, although I'm not going to use (signature rule) because it's obviously a bad idea and stupid."

"Uh, you should probably play once with the rule, to see how it works in play."

"No, it's obviously bad. I've been playing RPGs for X years, I know what I'm doing."

Two weeks later:

"I don't understand why you all are raving about this game. It doesn't seem to work right at all."

Well, occasionally its reaction in the "This old **** again?" There are some things you've seen enough times to have a pretty clear idea that at the least it won't work with the people you play with. (Combing experience and metacurrancy in one pool, I'm looking at you).

But you do have to look at a rule in the context its being used in; before you discard it, you at least need to be clear on adjacent mechanics, and I get the feeling some people aren't even that patient.

(And of course in regard to the last line you posted--sometimes the answer is "That's because its doing a perfectly fine job of doing something you don't happen to like or doesn't suit your group, but its not a design flaw to be serving other masters."

 

[TiQuinn]

So, topic to think about.

If someone calls you a foodie, is that an insult or a compliment?

Obviously, people call themselves whatever they want. And context always matters. Although some terms don't require context.*

But I was pondering this issue recently (it happened because I saw a job position listed than mentioned that foodies would it. And it reminded me of a viral story from a few years ago of a police department that was recruiting "Gamers", "Influencers", "Techies", and "Foodies."

I remember when the term was still rare, and then it was ubiquitous, and then there was pushback. So I am throwing this out for general discussion-

Someone calls someone else a foodie.

Three questions**-

1. Without more, do you consider that a compliment or an insult?
2. If you called someone that, how are you using it?
3. If someone called you that, how are you using it?
4. Finally, what context (if any) would you need to make a determination?



*Bless your heart- context required. Bless your cotton socks? Not so much.
Karen? Usually you don't need context, unless it's, um, someone's name.

**I refuse to abide by the petty limits I make! Take that, me!

I call myself and others foodies and i mean it as someone who really likes good food - going to restaurants, cooking, getting into the nuances, etc. Because “good” is subjective, and can end up with someone declaring something to be “bad” versus “good”, I’m well aware that this can come off as snobbish. But look, I grew up in a part of the country known for having lots of great food. It was definitely part of the culture. Then I moved to an area that considered IHOP the best breakfast in the county. (This has largely changed because we’ve got plenty of good options now)

 

[TiQuinn]

Here's my spicy hot take, mostly in response to a Reddit thread, but also here:

I don't understand the "Sandbox" vs. "Railroad" argument. Why are so many people troubling their blood pressure over this? It's a game, you're here to have fun. Why are you letting this, of all things, stop you?

"If the players turn left, they will go to the castle."
"If the players do anything at all, they will go to the castle."

If the castle is where the fun is happening, why do you care? You're never going to be able to tell the difference, nor will you ever be able to prove it, or change it. At the end of the day you either trust your fellow gamers or you don't, and that level of trust has much to do with your ability to enjoy things you can't control, and less to do with whether you're playing in a "sandbox" or riding a "railroad."

So here’s my counter argument. The problem isn’t being railroaded. It’s noticing you’re on a railroad, and then realizing the DM is so locked into the railroad and they can’t adjust the game, therefore you have to simply go along.

It’s like that scene in the Blues Brothers.

“Oh, we play both kinds of music! Country and Western!”

I realize this is subjective and there’s always a point where expecting the DM to have a full detailed adventure ready in every direction you want to go is not practical or fair. Having a reason why you can’t simply leave the adventure is sometimes part of the conceit of the game, and I accept that. The railroading becomes a problem for me when the DM says “You give the guards pursuing you the slip, but a street vendor sees you and knows you were being pursued, and calls attention to you. You’re immediately swarmed by the guards who put manacles on you.”

It is the point where you lose enthusiasm for a game because suspension of disbelief was broken and now you can’t get back to that place. So in a way, it is about the fun being spoiled. It would’ve been better to set expectations upfront that the game is linear and you’re expected to go along than let people think it’s not.

 

[Thomas Shey]

It is the point where you lose enthusiasm for a game because suspension of disbelief was broken and now you can’t get back to that place. So in a way, it is about the fun being spoiled. It would’ve been better to set expectations upfront that the game is linear and you’re expected to go along than let people think it’s not.

This is why I had a sit-down with people at the start of the Scion 1e campaign I ran. Because there's such extreme power swings possible there, there are elements that just have to fit together in particular ways, including combats where Character A goes after Opponent A because if they swap opponents with someone else, both they and their opponent will flatten who they're fighting like a pancake. Similarly, a lot of noncombat elements have to link up properly or they're just about walk throughs and there's no, well, game there. Everyone understood, and the late Steve Perrin said "Yeah, it was very much a railroad, but we enjoyed the trip."