Smart Jason

All right, mages playing today, I know that book is crazy. Mage is probably the worst game line in the whole franchise when it comes to density. But, hey, for the most part, y'all chose mage (although some had mageness thrust upon you) and mages are also the most powerful beings in the world. Just please make sure that by our session tonight, if nothing else, you've read over every order (The Adamantine Arrow through The Silver Ladder, PDF pages 39 through 51) and every Path (Acanthus through Thyrsus, PDF pages 93 through 105). You will need to know those in order to make informed decisions during character creation and they're too hefty to read as we go like you can with Merits and things. Also, going by yesterday's session with the Hunters, be ready to be asked questions about your character that don't directly relate to the verbs with which they play. You should have a name. You should have a family. You should have a lifetime's worth of years behind you. We went like twice as long as we'd planned to yesterday and obviously that's on me, but we could save a lot of time if you're ready when I ask you where you live, when you were born, and so on. I know you may not have reason to expect those questions - and I certainly don't hold it against my players yesterday - but I'm warning you all now to start thinking so that we can Sonic the Hedgehog this thing tonight. Speaking of which, I know this time's been set in stone for a while, but is there any way we could renegotiate it again? I think it's Reyturner who can't do any earlier than 8PM PST? Does that go for every day? Talk to me. P.S. Latecomers start speaking up.

Ah, well, OK, let's just say you're out for now and you can join as a latecomer when you do get things working. There may or may not be a contingent of such people growing. (Lansbury, perhaps? Plus I had a Twitch chatter seem to be making a character for himself as we went yesterday without any provocation from me.) P.S. Can we take all communication about this game to https://www.idlethumbs.net/forums/topic/10702-chronicles-of-darkness-at-both-ends/

There go my Valentine's Day plans.

Boooooo. Tomorrow's session is unmissable, so go camless if you have to. Try using your phone camera? Replace it as soon as possible. If it's going to be more than another week tell me now.

Ah, OK, I didn't know. Don't worry about what version you have right now, but just to note I'm replacing the World of Darkness core book (first edition) with the Chronicles of Darkness core book (second edition), whose rules I'll be incorporating. Mage hasn't been specifically revised yet, but Hunter's had an addendum released - Mortal Remains, which mostly addresses other games in the line but also updates Hunter to second edition rules. That's uploaded now as well. I'll cover all of this during character creation to make sure we're all on the same page.

Great article. Please link anything else like that you think could help the campaign (read: me).

Again, is there still anyone who hasn't gotten access for and downloaded either the Hunter or Mage book to read and the core World of Darkness book for reference?

Would we all be cool moving this up to the weekend following next (Saturday 13/Sunday 14) to avoid the Super Bowl and XCOM 2 launch? It'd give everyone more time to read. Would anyone be busy that particular weekend?

I guarantee you'll have an idea for a character as you read the book. That's probably the greatest strength of this system - they dangle just enough information in front of you to ensure you think of something on your own. Since the book stuff's now on the previous page, here it is again: I believe someone still hasn't requested access to the books?

OK, rad. It sounds like everyone but Andre is good for the Sunday group. Maybe he could join late after the dumb ol' Super Bowl ends; if not I'll catch him up later. Everyone else is clear that next Sunday conflicts with the Super Bowl, right?

Yes?

Can the forum do group PMs?

Awesome, thank you so much for bearing with me. I should have employed this system from the beginning of my very first ill-fated NWOD game - to have everyone start out as one thing (in this case two). So that I could learn how to run the game and the rules for just that. And then if they died (which allows me to include more threatening life or death stakes), they can come back as a different class. And at that point, I can incrementally learn additional books. But to keep from having people just kill themselves to get to what they really want to play, obviously, they'd have to start at base power level in their new character. No bonus XP. Still waiting on Fingus, Twig, Reyturner, and Wooben.

It's come to my attention that next Sunday is SPORTS. Stupid jock Andre is out. Let me know if you other three can still make it, if maybe you could do Saturday instead, or if we should wait until next week.

All right, let's start getting important. Hunters: Saturdays, 12PM - 4PM Pacific (9PM - 1AM Norway, 7AM - 11AM Sydney) 1. Lunnaku (Confirmed) 2. Fingus (Confirmation needed for books and Saturday) 3. Twig (Confirmed) Mages: Sundays, 8PM - 12AM Pacific (5AM - 9AM Norway, 3PM - 7PM Sydney) 1. Andre (Late?) 2. Reyturner (Confirmed) 3. Vulpes Absurda (Confirmed) 4. Wooben (Confirmed) OK, so, as of now, you can see I'm looking for personal confirmation from everyone here on two things: 1. You have the books downloaded. 2. You are available this coming weekend (webcam and headphones/headset ready to go) for our first pre-game session. That is to say, you'll read the indicated chapters (Introduction, Chapters 1 - 3) and begin concepting your character. Then as a group, we'll merge you all together into a semi-shared background and create character sheets for everyone, and nail down a setting for the game itself that suits the characters you've come up with. A slight change that particularly affects Vulpes Absurda. I've gotten even weaker. My friend, do you mind if we make this an all Mages/Hunter game? Do you absolutely hate the idea of playing a Mage? Would you try to play Mage now and, if you hate it, we could kill you off and introduce you as a Changeling later? It would, again, really simplify things and get the game and story started much more smoothly. I hope you haven't lost a lot of time to the Changeling book already. Please, if you can, switch over to the Mage book. Everyone else, please confirm that this weekend, at the aforementioned times, works for you, and you'll be ready with your character thoughts then. (Don't stress about the latter point. You'll be in a company of people also making characters of the same class, so you can just listen for what sounds good, and keep the book open, if you're really a lazy scumbag.) P.S. Consider subscribing to this thread if you're playing?

All right, here are the books we'll be using: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B57oGcIkk9hjMXhHWHppTFp4VzA So, please tell me who are when you request access because, I know I'm being paranoid, but I want to limit my sharing of copyrighted materials to just people playing the game. (Are you Jacob, Vulpes?) You'll want to download the core book of the class you'll be playing (Hunter, Mage, or Changeling). Start reading it. You can skim flavor text, but typically you want to read all of the Introduction, and chapters one (setting and lore), two (character creation), and three (systems). You needn't bother with the rest on your own, we'll go over it if necessary. You should also all download the main core book, World of Darkness, just to have for reference, but you don't have to read it at this point either. Don't worry about making your character yourself or writing out your own character sheet. I have my own editable PDFs which we'll eventually use and I like to be very involved in character creation, which can be an hours long process with me as I use it to really probe for story ideas and details of the character. In this case, I'm heavily considering streaming the process - particularly as, since it's exclusively a group game, it would make sense to conceptualize all of your characters as having known one another previously. I.e., come up with a concept (the books are wonderful at inspiring your own take on their themes), but don't worry about nailing down anything concrete as concerns your history just yet, since it will be most convenient for all factors to coordinate your character with two or three others rather than having you all meet in the tavern on night one.

Hunters: Saturdays, 12PM - 4PM Pacific (9PM - 1AM Norway, 7AM - 11AM Sydney) 1. Lunnaku 2. Fingus 3. Twig Mages and Changelings: Sundays, 8PM - 12AM Pacific (5AM - 9AM Norway, 3PM - 7PM Sydney) 1. Andre (Mage) 2. Reyturner (Mage) 3. Vulpes Absurda (Changeling) 4. Wooben (Mage) Am I right so far?

Quick note: Nobody's expressed interest in being a Vampire, so if someone's got another class in mind in addition to Mages, I can axe Vampires from the monster group and include them.

All right, so, am I now missing any Thumbs who want to join? 1. Reyturner 2. Twig 3. Vulpes 4. Wooben 5. Fingus You latter two that are not in North America, we'll have to do a specific test video chat soon just so I can see your webcam quality is OK for streaming. Schedule-wise, there will be two groups: Hunters: Saturdays, 12PM - 4PM Pacific (9PM - 1AM Norway, 7AM - 11AM Sydney) Vampires and Mages: Sundays, 8PM - 12AM Pacific (5AM - 9AM Norway, 3PM - 7PM Sydney) Please post here which you'd prefer in terms of time and in terms of role (again, if you want to play something besides Vampire, Mage, or Hunter, talk to me, but restricting it to these three will get the game going much quicker). At some point soon, I want to test out http://roll20.net with as many of you as I can. I've never used it before but it seems like pretty Ubiquitous Software. I want to make sure we all understand it, can use it, and enjoy it.

So I believe my four definites are: 1. Andre (friend and prior tabletop alumnus) 2. Lunnaku (fellow streamer) 3. Reyturner 4. Wooben If anyone else is interested (Twig? Wasn't clear on where you stood.) I'll open up a second group of Hunters on a different night. Would either Reyturner or Wooben prefer to be a Hunter rather than a Vampire or Mage, right now? Additionally, definites, gives me your best free times. Four hour blocks (even if we end up only going for three), any day of the week.

I'd like to float something out here in extremely early form to see if anyone would be interested. As I've mentioned before (ad nauseam if you're a regular in the Slack chat), I've been streaming regularly on Twitch for a couple of months now and I've recently struck up the idea to do a tabletop game there as well. I have experience running Classic World of Darkness and would like to try either the rebooted Vampire in that system or New WOD, which I'd planned to run for a long time but never did. I've also played and run a bit of an obscure Final Fantasy system that's pretty simple to pick up, if that interests anyone. Scheduling has always been a nightmare for any game in which I've been involved, so I'd be really keen on a Twitch game that specifically only plays in group sessions (since as Storyteller/DM I veer toward solo/double sessions) and only once a week: for example, Sundays at six to midnight, Pacific time? Is anyone tickled by this idea? I'm a bit tickled. The only catch is that everyone involved needs a webcam to make it more vibrant on Twitch (and subsequent YouTube highlights). Not that many people need to say yes, either. I've got a couple of corners to pull from, and only need (and can bear) four regulars. Anyone else who's interested can easily pop into the story as a special guest star - again, as long as you've got a camera. Please, let me know! Edit: If you haven't got a camera, maybe we could even get by with a really nice custom made character portrait ??? Quick update based on the interest being shown: Looks like it will definitely be New World of Darkness (which, I've discovered, has been rebranded Chronicles of Darkness). Learn more about it here. So far everyone seems intimidated by six hours a week, which surprises me since I thought that would be too few - so we'll definitely scale that back to just three or four. Hit me up for any Chronicles of Darkness books based on which game lines interest you, but please bear in mind that limiting this to Vampires, Mages, Hunters if we do a second group, and maybe Changelings, because I adore them, will make this astoundingly, unspeakably, easier for me. Please only pick another if your heart is truly set on it. I promise there's a lot of diversity in the single games. If there are really enough people, I may end up doing two separate groups of three in the same game (i.e., Sunday Night Monsters, Monday Night Hunters), because the thought of giving players conflicting objectives has always intoxicated me.

Every game possibly contains a dead cat before you play it. Whoever contradicts this joke is a DORK. THIS IS DORK BAIT.

As of now I still have Undertale and Else Heart Break sitting in my queue. It would be a pleasant surprise if they upended my top bunch, but I've got my doubts. I preferred 2014 to 2015 on the whole (with 2013 being so much better in class than any in its vicinity that it's pathetic), so Life is Strange gets the win almost by default for checking the boxes of what I want most in a game (contemporary setting, non-violent plot, choice-driven narrative, etc.) without really raising the bar in any particular area. Likewise, Fallout 4 would have been my de facto second on account of its reliably large, explorable world and all the other good things a Fallout game does, delivered without major disappointment. However, I want to make special mention of the fact that I got a PlayStation 4 for Christmas, mostly looking ahead toward Persona 5 (and a few other things, but if I'm really being honest, Persona 5). To make the purchase seem justifiable at the moment, I picked up Until Dawn, whose sleeper hit reviews intrigued me. I've not finished it yet (and, in fact, I'm now holding off on playing it because I'm doing so with my father - and the denial of it is likely making it even more succulent to me), but I have to say I'm extremely impressed. Obviously the comparisons to Quantic Dream titles (of which I'm an outspoken fan) come easily, and while it's deliberately not a stellar drama, there's a charm in how campy and derivative it is as well - although admittedly there are limits to that charm. I love that the game attempts to (or at least makes the player think that it) systemize not only the emotional state and relationships between the characters, but the collectible clues you find. I love that you can track the choices you make and their effects like any other section of your inventory - it doesn't subtract from the immersion of the game, it actually adds to the layer of dehumanizing, voyeuristic cynicism fundamental to slasher films. The totem system is a brilliant hint guide at first glance, turning arbitrary choices into meaningful ones. I would actually say that I love the sheer mechanics of the game so much that I'll miss them more than anything when the game is over; it's too bad this isn't the narrative game blueprint being constantly recycled by Telltale. I would say it very quickly eclipsed Fallout 4 as my second favorite game of the year. I've been saying that until I started writing this post. Now, once again, that denied urge to play it more is getting to me and I want to say that, based on how it ends, how I optimistically believe you'll be able to replay it for variety, trophies, choices, etc., it may just be my favorite. But that could be the fact that I haven't totally devoured it in one sitting speaking. I'll have to come back to this post later. Let it be here, though; let it be said that 2015 was a lot more exciting with Until Dawn in it. Here are the rest of the games I played from this year (in the order in which I started them), for the record: Life is Strange (PC, 2015) Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 (PC, 2015) Grand Theft Auto V (PC, 2015) Rock On (iOS, 2015) Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor - The Bright Lord (PC, 2015) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PC, 2015) Batman: Arkham Knight (PC, 2015) Her Story (PC, 2015) WWE 2K15 (PC, 2015) SongPop 2 (iOS, 2015) République Remastered (PC, 2015) Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (PC, 2015) Rocket League (PC, 2015) Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PC, 2015) 80 Days (PC, 2015) Saints Row: Gat out of Hell (PC, 2015) Fallout Shelter (iOS, 2015) Duelyst (PC, 2015) Fallout 4 (PC, 2015) Until Dawn (PS4, 2015)

I never thought I'd be posting here. I'll try to keep this short and sweet. Early this month, after a few flirtations with the site over the years, I finally started streaming over Twitch in earnest, nightly. Thank new medication, the inspiration of watching more streams on my own time, or finally finding the right game to play in my beloved favorite, Final Fantasy VII, I've been able to maintain a regular schedule without becoming discouraged and ashamed like I do over everything else in life. My Twitch channel is here: http://twitch.tv/smartjason Perhaps even more importantly, and why I'm finally making this post, my YouTube channel is here. There, you can find what I'm working especially hard on, which are highlight videos of my streams. I've just uploaded the third tonight. In chronological order, these are them: I want these to be good. I'm very, very close to them. I trust the readers of this forum to have intelligent opinions about games and comedy and the Internet and all the other elements I'm employing in this tincture that I'm coming to you to ask for your time and your brutal, honest feedback if you can spare it. I have no preference which video you watch. I don't know that is necessarily an improvement on . I'm still extremely nervous that the anger I made a running joke of in wasn't funny from the start. Whatever you can offer me, I appreciate. And I want no punches pulled. Believe me, I can take it, and I've sat through enough college class crits to know how much more valuable it is to cut to the heart of the matter if you dislike something than attempt to be polite about it and bury your point in the process. I won't give up on this project because my feelings get hurt now, but I might do if weeks from now I feel like I've made no progress creatively. Now I do I want to specify: I don't believe that brutally honest implicitly means negative. I make no guarantees, or even optimistic notions that you'll find these amusing. However, if any of do, please tell me. I am not only looking for constructive criticism here. Some affirmation would be a godsend, as well. Thank you all. I only come here out of respect for you guys.

By now, I bet most people here have watched at least some of this cool, cool video: This video is unique among Double Fine's Devs Play series because it's virtually the only one (besides Romero on Doom, I think) to feature developers providing insight and commentary on a game they actually worked on rather than one that inspired them. I find this sort of thing enormously fascinating and entertaining, and surprise myself with the attention I have for it. This thread is a repository for collecting all such videos of developer commentary across the Internet, because it's the best thing. Some favorites of mine for years now have been courtesy of Idle Thumbs, of course. There's JP playing through Arcadia: (Continued for embedding.)