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Ross Winn

@ rosswinn @ttrpg.network

Posts
27
Comments
57
Joined
1 yr. ago

Old school RPG guy, 59, in Florida US. Traveller, Hero, Cyberpunk, Action! System, and about a hundred others.

  • 100 Ways to Improve Your GMing

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  • Scatter ideas… players are unlikely to move in any specific order or direction because that’s what’s expected. Most experienced players are terrified to do what the GM wants because they believe they’ll all die. Players and GMs are commonly perceived as adversaries, but they should be collaborators. So the GM can scatter ideas and little bits of business al over the place and then the group can choose. Members of the group can ask for elements and the GM can choose. Create the series together, allow the players to affect change in the setting, and never let an NPC do what a player does. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

  • A real excerpt from Mike Pondsmith's Wikipedia page [Mekton]

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  • Back in the 80s we were just guessing most of the time. At least until Akira was released in the United States in 1988 and only then white people started realizing there was a market.

  • What are some tools you personally use for prep?

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  • Notes, and links, etc: UpNote Fantastic app, Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, Android; Markdown support.

  • My custom Mongoose Traveller GM screen

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  • Mongoose was an OGL approach, hence the SRD. However with all the fuckery regarding OGL they switched to a different approach and now have two affiliate programs that allow anyone to publish their own supporting content.

  • Linux options for note organization?

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  • I very much appreciate UpNote for three reasons. First it is a flexible and straightforward notes app. Second, there is a one time purchase option. Third, I can use it for Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Nothing else combines these value propositions.

    I was an Evernote user since version 2 but it has just become a bloated terrible experience, and it’s egregiously expensive. UpNote gives me those key features without any cruft.

  • AI Content banned on TTRPG Network

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  • Generally, I agree with you. While I don’t like it, I think AI art is going to be with us for a while especially for individual games. I’ve never been an artist and I’m never going to be. That being said, I think it’s important for creators to preserve the craft of art. And I believe it’s the responsibility of publishers to purchase and use that art. Made by humans for humans.

  • AI Content banned on TTRPG Network

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  • Yes, but I thought it was an interesting idea and question for the wider community.

  • Largest "Small Craft"

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  • There have been multiple classifications for different sizes of ships in the Imperium. So that’s anyone’s guess. I think that most system craft overall will be under 1000 dtons.

  • I basically had to unfollow everyone on the latter platform

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  • Some people just love to bitch, especially if that's all they do. James Wallis said (IIRC) "Game designs aren't tools, but some game designers are".

  • Kosmos 68 - A character sheet for the Soviet sci-fi setting

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  • So much white space and so bare.

  • Dungeons & Dragons Shifts to Franchise Model, Dan Ayoub Named as Head

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  • Fuck Hasbro

  • Thoughts on a GM-less Traveller game?

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  • Are there any updates on this yet? I'd really like to see more information as you move forward.

  • Thoughts on a GM-less Traveller game?

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  • Just a few ideas. First of all, I think using Pirates of Drinax is an excellent idea because it's a great sandbox. Second, I think it's a great opportunity to collaboratively run your game between the three of you. You can say, "I want to do this." One of your friends can say, "I want to do that," and somebody else can say, "I want to do that." Using those three things, you can build a concept. I'm really interested to hear regular updates, Maybe even a blog that each of you writes an entry into in sequence; so you write the first, the second person writes the second, the third person writes the third, so that we can really get a multiple perspective view of what's going on and how it works. Also consider documenting by either audio recording or YouTube video or something so that you guys can reference it when you're in the next session. Definitely record keeping is gonna be a big part of this.

  • conversation

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  • Well, to start out with, Traveler was the second game I ever played in 1977, just a few weeks after I started playing Dungeons & Dragons. I think the pulpy goodness and the references to the Age of Sail give a really great roleplaying environment. Traveller really created the concept of the big story arc within the game, and the lifepath system. Both really give you a lot of information that you can use to create a fun character. Combat is pretty deadly and I think that helps encourage role-playing. There are some anachronisms and things that don't really make sense in a modern context. However, I think you can really leave those if the rest of this setting makes sense to you.

  • conversation

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  • Can't wait to hear it.

  • Battle Dress

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  • What do you think are the most important things to have as auxiliary systems on battle draft?

  • Traveller @ttrpg.network
    Ross Winn @ttrpg.network

    Battle Dress

  • Thoughts on "This is Free Trader Beowolf"?

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  • If you’re not interested in the product, that’s one thing but this isn’t something that they’re printing 5 million copies of. This is a prestige format book on a niche in industry. I personally paid upwards of $150 for a single history text, so I don’t know what you’re talking about. Not all books are the same.

  • Thoughts on "This is Free Trader Beowolf"?

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  • Definitely NOT outrageous. $20 in 1982 is equivalent to $66 now. SOURCE. (The purchasing power of the US dollar is a third of what it was in 1982.) I have a copy of the book on my desk and it is incredibly well researched and printd and bound on good quality paper with excellent art in four colors. Look at Shannon's other work on RPG history and you will see some fantastic work.

  • RPG design: The Essential Reading List

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  • VTM illustrates all of the pros and cons of the Storyteller milieu. It is still the game that people talk about, even more than WoD.

  • Thoughts on "This is Free Trader Beowolf"?

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  • Shannon's work on game history is stellar. I ordered it immediately upon publication and it sits proudly on my coffee table.

  • Traveller @ttrpg.network
    Ross Winn @ttrpg.network

    IMTU: Aging in Traveller

  • Traveller @ttrpg.network
    Ross Winn @ttrpg.network

    Design Language or Method

  • rpg @ttrpg.network
    Ross Winn @ttrpg.network

    Your Ideal RPG Series or Campaign

  • Sci-Fi RPGs @ttrpg.network
    Ross Winn @ttrpg.network

    Come on over to Traveller

    ttrpg.network /c/Traveller
  • Traveller @ttrpg.network
    Ross Winn @ttrpg.network

    Alternative Rules & Influence

  • Traveller @ttrpg.network
    Ross Winn @ttrpg.network

    Welcome to Traveller