tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post5128273534906806405..comments2024-03-27T23:28:19.341-07:00Comments on Telecanter's Receding Rules: Trick TypesTelecanterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07238356788092725244noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-31396319207434465312010-09-09T02:19:49.193-07:002010-09-09T02:19:49.193-07:00Thanks, I think I'd even seen some of those po...Thanks, I think I'd even seen some of those posts, but forgotten. Some good ideas: I like the idea of the broken machine and the problem (these can actually emerge from play without needing the DM's invention), and the idea of the mythic; how archetypal stuff will fit better even if unexplained. Thanks!Telecanterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238356788092725244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-31687743081154274032010-09-08T08:41:55.098-07:002010-09-08T08:41:55.098-07:00You may enjoy my discussion of tricks and problems...You may enjoy my discussion of tricks and problems in <a href="http://rolesrules.blogspot.com/search/label/Text%20Adventures" rel="nofollow">this series of posts</a>. From these, I would add the Resource Problem - cross this chasm/scale this wall/ford this river with only random materials at hand - and the Social Trick - interaction with a sentient being who has an agenda that must be figured out.Roger G-Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08594440701279968693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-67585804041435802812010-09-07T20:19:42.354-07:002010-09-07T20:19:42.354-07:00@Telecanter: I once submitted a "shrine of ch...@Telecanter: I once submitted a "shrine of chaos" to a blog contest. In it, there was a sacrificial pit of flame with a cage hanging over it from a chain. If any living creature is pushed or thrown into the pit and dies, it counts as a sacrifice to Chaos, possibly causing problems with the antagonist's alignment standing. That's sort of a Nefarious Scheme, the aim being to spread Chaos, the result being potentially inconvenient to the person "blessed" by Chaos, but on the other hand potentially beneficial. In contrast, an Alien Machine would, as you say, probably be incomprehensible but only accidentally dangerous; knowing how it works may eliminate the danger, but learning how a Scheme works merely allows avoidance.<br /><br />If a lost wizard's tower contained a room that summoned swarms of ordinary snails, that might be a Whimsical Obstacle, but it might fit better into thinking of it as a Personal Obsession of the deceased wizard. It was created for entertainment or scholarly purposes, rather than as a torment for the user... but unlike an Alien Machine, it would be relatively easy to understand what it did, even if no one understands why or how. From the way you describe Alien Machines, I think of them as more incomprehensible, unless you are familiar with the alien context. Some alien machines, like cell phones, would be completely incomprehensible and possibly useless, although they may do some fascinating things; others, like that microwave you mentioned, might be possible to work out, but only for *some* of the functions; they probably won't figure out what the "Popcorn" button means, and the Clock button might actually confuse them.Talysmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02162328521343832412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-2079227606322905412010-09-07T19:41:01.842-07:002010-09-07T19:41:01.842-07:00Hey, thanks for the comments.
I should say in my ...Hey, thanks for the comments.<br /><br />I should say in my uncaffeinated state I calle the Mythic Underworld "mystic" twice. Sorry, see here for the original reference:<br /><br />http://www.philotomy.com/#dungeon<br /><br />Talysman: It would help me to have an example of Nefarious Scheme and Personal Obsession. My first thought is that without context these would both just be Alien Machines, but maybe you are thinking of something else?<br /><br />Grim: I think any trick could waste a party's time, if it's crafted with that purpose in mind I would put it in the Whimsical Obstacle category.Telecanterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238356788092725244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-5612546667789595262010-09-07T18:34:52.231-07:002010-09-07T18:34:52.231-07:00@Grim: I actually thought of Time Wasters after I ...@Grim: I actually thought of Time Wasters after I commented, but I think they are a function-based category rather than a reason-based category. Types III through V can all be Time Wasters.<br /><br />I wound up <a href="http://9and30kingdoms.blogspot.com/2010/09/hazard-puzzle-trap-trick.html" rel="nofollow">writing about tricks on my own blog,</a> mostly to work out some stuff I'd been thinking about for a while.Talysmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02162328521343832412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-26339659627271690532010-09-07T16:41:58.397-07:002010-09-07T16:41:58.397-07:00Time Wasters are always fun.Time Wasters are always fun.Grimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10790771329858521422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-4444912824307399582010-09-07T15:19:27.852-07:002010-09-07T15:19:27.852-07:00Only other categories I can think of off the top o...Only other categories I can think of off the top of my head are "Nefarious Scheme" and "Personal Obsession". Both of these are sort of like "Whimsical Obstacle", but less random. Both exist for an express purpose, like an Arcane Test, but a Scheme is part of a plan to make specific changes in the world that someone desires, while an Obsession is more of an irrational entertainment and might even have been built specifically to affect the owner, in which case, it can be used to reverse its own effect. Obsessions will be reasonably-well labeled, although the meanings might not be clear until after use; Alien Machines will be incomprehensibly labeled, while Whimsical Obstacles will be maliciously labeled.Talysmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02162328521343832412noreply@blogger.com