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So to celebrate Homestuck's riveting finale, I decided to share the SBURB sessions I hosted roughly a year ago, covering the first session and little bit of what my plans were before things came to a halt. My memory of everything isn't the clearest, so bear with me. Some of my decisions strayed from the comic's canon, formed off radical interpretations, or were just flat-out bad choices. Nonetheless I hope you guys can get something out of this.

To begin, I decided to go with FATE as my system of choice. The basics consist of four main actions, those being OVERCOME (the catch all), ATTACK, DEFEND, and CREATE AN ASPECT. Aspects are basically story details that can be called upon for a bonus to your dice rolls, or influence the story itself in some way. Additionally there are FATE points, which let you reroll, INVOKE (gain +2 from an ASPECT), COMPEL (X happens because of ASPECT), or declare a story detail. That's the short of it. It uses dice with (+), (-), and (0) to determine outcomes, meaning rolls range from -4 to +4. I can go over the modifications made to the system later if anyone's interested.

SBURB itself is a mystical game that exists to create the next inhabitable universe, like a cross between the sims and an rpg. The player characters find themselves at home before obtaining a copy of the game, and set out to avoid the impending doom that awaits Earth. SBURB itself sort of plants its in-game systems over reality itself, and reality itself sort of has game systems of it's own. Part of the fun is seeing how the characters stumble through the learning process (in the earliest stages of the game), and that managed to actually carry over to the table despite my player's varying degrees of knowledge on the source material.
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>>46732046
PLAYER 1 was a close friend of mine, and had literally no knowledge of the comic whatsoever. Despite this he was eager to hop on board and did a great job fumbling his way through things and figuring just what in god's name was going on. He agreed to being kept in the dark for as long as the session kept going, which made his "experience" about as authentic as it gets. PLAYER 2 was another good friend, who despite having read up to ACT 6, ended being very indecisive in his actions, never wanting to abuse his knowledge of the comic. PLAYER 3 joined us from /tg/, and had vague recollections up to ACT 5.1 or so. PLAYER 4 I believe read up to around ACT 3, and was a fa/tg/uy as well. All in all they were a really enjoyable bunch of players, and everyone did a great job stepping into the shoes of their characters. PLAYER 5 comes in later so I'll introduce him when appropriate.

RICH MONK was PLAYER 1's kid, all of whom were at age 13. explosiveZealot as he was also know by, was something of a FREEDOM FIGHTER with NO SELF CONTROL. An ANARCHIST to put it bluntly. Despite this he was very EMPATHIC towards his BROTHERS IN ARMS, whom he communitacted with using an OUTDATED COMPUTER, which needed a few whacks every now and then to keep working. His main interest was EXPLOSIVES, from setting them off to making them, but he also dabbled in RELIGION. Obviously his KIND ABSTRATA was set-up for FIREWORKSKIND. Being a bit of a WILD CHILD, Rich wasn't very of fond of his guardian's ZEN ROCK GARDEN, nor the ORDER his fatherly figure tried to impose. Living in MIDWEST AMERICA in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, Rich's home was ZEN BHUDDIST TEMPLE, with his adoptive father being the lone, head monk. The boy played a mean HARMONICA for someone so young, which he retrieves using his MINESWEEPER fetch modus.
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You actually tried to run a Homestuck session? That sounds hella fun
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>>46732093
Retrieving items were an intentional hassal at first, determined by a single dice roll, but eventually the need to wrestle with their fetch modi became less frequent as time went on. Much like the comic, focus on certain features of the game would gradually shift, but were never quite forgotten or left out entirely.

We also used Pesterchum for chat, Monk's quirk was the C's were turned to K's, and friend was turned to Comrade. Dick was the only other player with a quirk, a 10% of misspelling words.

Not unlike Monk's chaotic nature, DICK JOHNSON was DEFIANT against SOCIETY. PLAYER 2's character, aka affluentCommander, was a SPOILED RICH KID. A bit of a CONTROLLING ASSHOLE, he was determined to conform the world to his will. He was a HISTORY NERD, interested in the Earth and it's secrets. While Dick had a neat collection of FOSSILS to examine and study, he just couldn't understand his father's OBSESSION with DUMB ROCKS (precious jewels and gemstones). Being a member of the ELITE, Dick would use nothing less than his PC MASTER RACE COMPUTER, which was constantly updating to the point of uselessness. However his MAD SKILLS were not wasted. Instead, they were put to use against his CPU SYLLADEX, which let him convert ITEMS into DATA so long as his sylladex didn't OVERHEAT, CRASH, or CORRUPT. Truly a device fit for a KING, and as such, he used CANEKIND. Being as pampered as his father's wealth was overflowing, Dick had taken extensive lessons in CELLO, and lived in a MANSION so big you could get lost in it.

>>46732104
As long as the system you use can support the more free flowing nature of the comic, you should be fine. It's a bit of work to convert the key aspects of the game into systematic features, but it's not impossible.
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>>46732093
>MINESWEEPER fetch modus.

Wut? Did you literally have him play some minesweeper to see if he got his items?
I've always wondered how fetch moduses would actually work
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>>46732160
maybe each tile could hold an item but if you try to put an item in a tile with a bomb in it, the item explodes
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>>46732141
PLAYER 3's kid was MARY CHANCE, aka antiqueDigger. Mary DREAMED of EXPLORING and FINDING NEW THINGS, IDOLIZING characters like INDIANA JONES. However, despite her passion she was a bit of a COWARD when all things were said and done. Fond of HISTORY and ARCHEOLOGY, Mary's love of KNOWLEDGE made her the group's LYNCHPIN in times of disorder or distress. Living UP NORTH close to THE WOODS, Mary's home was a LOG CABIN with a HUGE BACKYARD. As such she tended to go digging outside with her SHOVELKIND abstrata. Courtesy of her father, a MATH PROFESSOR, she was stuck using a QUIZ SYLLADEX to retrieve her tools. At times he could be downright OVERBREAING, and that's not even mentioning his UNHEALTHY OBESSION with CLOCKS. At the very least, she could use PESTERCHUM MOBILE on her SMART PHONE to communicate with her friends, even if the UI was a little CLUNKY. Mary's instrument of choice was the TRUMPET.

Lastly is PLAYER 4's kid, JACK O'DOYLE, known on pesterchum as bromethianBarkeep. A total MYTH BUFF, Jack was both a JOKER and DANCE ENTHUSIAST. Despite his good intentions he sometimes let his NERVES get he better of him, telling JOKES at the most INNAPROPRAITE OF TIMES. While fond of VIDEO GAMES, the same could not be said for his father's CLASSY HATS. The two lived on the second floor of their PUBHOUSE, the father being something of an INTERNET ENTHUSIAST and BORDERLINE ALCHOHOLIC. Jack used both BATKIND and FISTKIND abstrata, and a DDR fetch modus.

>>46732160
Imagine if every time you dug into your pockets you had to play a game of minesweeper. Failure means a relatively harmless explosion goes off on your person that may or may not incinerate the contents of your wallet. For awhile he was intent on actually playing a turn of minesweeper for each retrieval but that got old fast. Instead it was just a dice roll, and the importance of the item determined the difficulty of a challenge.
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This actually sounds good, like you really captured the essence of the game in a playable way. I am impressed and more than a little jealous.
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>>46732227
With the characters introduced, I'll be green texting from here on out. Since everyone was separated for a good while, I'll just post things in chunk's from each player's experience. I tried to keep turn times at around roughly ten minutes so everyone could actually accomplish something before perspective switched, and I think text IM helped alleviate the initial disconnect.

>Rich Monk, along with all the other kids, start the session by checking their mail for the copy of SBURB they ordered
>everyone dicked around with their fetch modi for awhile once they realized they couldn't just reach over and grab stuff
>Monk finds that his father had already collected the mail, and instead left a note pinned to his door with a list of chores:
>Sweeping the floor, cleaning pigeon cages, and maintaining the garden
>everything goes fine until the rock garden
>giving into his LACK OF SELF CONTROL, Rich Monk literally blows up all the rocks in the garden using his fireworks
>while his father is nowhere to be seen, Monk feels a PIERCING GLARE coming from deep within the temple shadows
>with his chores "done," he searches for his father deep with in the bowels of the monastery
>after travelling through several secret passage ways and a a dozen temple halls, he finally finds him
>sitting peacefully in front of the temple bell, the head monk challenges his son to take the game from his hand
>a simple task that he narrowly manages to succeed at

>>46732305
Thanks m8. My group didn't get very far but I had a blast running it.
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>>46732141
>Instead, they were put to use against his CPU SYLLADEX, which let him convert ITEMS into DATA so long as his sylladex didn't OVERHEAT, CRASH, or CORRUPT.
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>>46732351
>Dick Johnson starts his day with a game of online chess
>winning the game against his online opponent, his father suddenly kicks down the door
>he carrys a full set of chess pieces in his arms, and the look of defeat across his face
>STRIFE
>he begins a CALVARY ASSAULT, hurling chess pieces at his son from across the room
>Dick manges to catch every piece, and proceeds to crush the Black King piece to dust with his bare hands.
>"I've already won."
>Dad experiences UNPRECEDENTED MENTAL DURESS and atempts to ABSCOND
>Dick successfully throws a chess piece to trip his father, who tumbles down the staircase to the first floor
>What the fuck PLAYER 2?
>he just barely manages to scurry away into the depths of the mansion
>while searching for his Dad, Dick fumbles his NAVIGATE rolls, and falls into a BEDAZZLER trap, bedazzling his BUSINESS SHOES with real gemstones
>now he really means business
>eventually Dick finds his father's office, and kicks the massive cherry-wood double doors open
>his father had refitted the entire office into a giant chessboard with lifesize chess pieces, the big man himself sitting in a throne on the other side of the room
>Dick shatters the giant Black King piece into a million pieces with his cane, causing his father to flip the fuck out and abscond out the window
>this time he leaves behind the copies of SBURB
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>>46732423
holy shit Dick
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>>46732423
>Mary Chance starts her day in bed, and decides to blow off some stress with a good book
>instead she finds an invitation for one of her father's quiz shows crammed into what she was reading at the time
>the prize of course is her copy of SBURB
>because who just gives their kids their personal belongings?
>after mentally preparing herself for the battle ahead, she opts to sneak through the ventilation system of her home and steal it
>the vent runs through the ceiling, and through the grate she can see her father ominously waiting in his chair with the fireplace at his back
>the vent grate breaks, Mary falls into her desk, and the quiz show begins
>after more INTENSE MENTAL DURESS, Mary prevails against the onslaught of questions, only to struggle with her inventory in separating the copy of SBRUB from the trophy holding it
>she also has fuckton of screws from opening the ventilation duct which makes retrieving the game even harder
>THE QUIZ SHOW MUST GO ON

>now Jack I can't remember much about, but he starts by realizing he has no idea where his father after he checks the mail
>after searching the entire house, he then prcoeeds to THE BASEMENT
>opening the steel door to the dark depths below, Jack enters the dimly lit room
>candles and towering body pillows turn the basement into both a LABRYNTH and SHRINE to some ANIME GODDESS
>not only is this a serious FIRE HAZARD, but Jack has to avoid being crushed and suffocated by anything he knocks over
>crawling through poorly made pillows forts, Jack eventually finds his copy of SBURB with the rest of the mail at the head of the shrine
>time for everyone to install their games and see what all the hype is about
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>>46732518
>Rich Monk boots up the game, becomes Jack's host
>instantly begins to torment Jack by clicking the shit out of him with his cursor
>with a +4 development he decides to take a book off of Jack's shelf
>a book about ghosts
>and put it next to Jack without him noticing
>Jack fails his Will/Notice roll and thinks he's haunted for several rounds
>(eventually Rich admits to pranking him because he's nice like that)
>Dick places all Rich's equipment from SBURB's registry in the monastery courtyard
>given the description of the cruxtruder, PLAYER 1 comes to the conclusion that it was supposed to be opened somehow
>he promptly covers it in fireworks and home-made explosives, and blows the lid the fuck off
>the kernal sprite, a floaty sentient orb, and totem, a candy-colored cylinder, are both retrieved
>Rich's sprite proceeds to wander into his room, observing his belongings
>in an attempt to show some it some fireworks from his fetch modi, Rich explodes, having failed his game of minesweeper
>(PLAYER 1 actually had a game of minesweeper open for awhile until he agreed to just do rolls)
>Flames of Rebellion firework flies into sprite
>Monk is knocked the fuck out in the process, and dreams of a landscape embellished with purple spires and Gothic structures

>Dick Johnson sets up his game and gets his deployables from whoever his host was
>pops open the chamber with his cane no problem
>throw's a white king piece into the sprite
>a fucking white king chess piece
>my mind is boggled
>there's no way that can't be a big deal later on, but I try to ignore that for the time being
>his Sprite simply evolves and resembles the chess-piece, talking in eligible chess symbols that do little to help anyone
>his sprite turns out to be a royal asshole too, acting very high and mighty
>despite being only a floating orb he still manages to treat Dick like a peasant, moving around dismissively and ignoring him for the most part
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>>46732656
>Mary finally retrieves her game, and installs it onto her phone via QR code
>pops open the lid with a shovel like Dick did, and decides not to spend too much time on the sprite
>Dick notices he can't see into the attic of Mary's home and decides to compel her to face her fears, because that's what friends do
>(Mary had never gone into the attic before, and thus it was shadowed out on Dick's monitor)
>Mary concedes, ascends, and realizes she had nothing to be afraid of
>all there is, is old holiday decorations
>at this point the group decides to come up with our own made-up Holiday, which is a combination of both Halloween and Christmas
>Mary's dream self also awakens for overcoming this trial, although that isn't revealed until later
>the sprite meanwhile had followed Mary up into the attic, and merges with the skeleton of Christmas past
>AHAHAHAHAH
>May flips the fuck out, and locks her self in the backyard
>mr. skeltal watches ominously from the window inside, and I'm pretty sure that's the last time Mary sets foot in her house

>Jack dances crazy, and installs his game onto his tablet
>deploys, ect.
>rips the fucking lid off his cruxtruder with a +4 using his FISTKIND specubus
>(originally I considered making Jack a void player, which is why he has fistkind, but I never got around to removing it from his character sheet)
>from then on Jack is declared the party's strong man, a reputation he never has the opportunity to live up to
>while in his room with the sprite, PLAYER 1 declares that a Medusa statue falls into the sprite
>after defending himself from the gorgon with a mirror, Jack realizes all it actually does is hiss
>this is actually the first to T1 prototype of the group, and when we first learn of the meteorites
>via radio broad cast, he learns the meteorites have been crash landing across the city
>the information quickly passes around the party, and everyone realizes what those creepy timers on their cruxtruders actually meant
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>>46732834
>void players use their fists because they are DEVOID of a weapon

goddamnit

>the sprite meanwhile had followed Mary up into the attic, and merges with the skeleton of Christmas past


please tell me you drew this
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>>46732834
>Monk finally wakes up to a civil war general, who talks in bayonet swipes and gun shots
>Rich Monk is pestered the fuck out by his sprite until he finally leaves to linger around the cruxtruder and other deployed equipment
>during this period Rich takes the time to make a memo board using his development skills, which goes a long way in the game of telephone everyone has been playing up until now
>(IC dialogue was more or less done through both pesterchum and skype)
>in the clear sky of the Midwest, the oncoming meteor is plain as day, and the group sets out on figuring out what to do with their pre-punched cards and totems
>Monk's totem lathe creates a waterfall, with a koi fish at the bottom that's desperately trying to swim up
>he attempts to help the koi fish by using fireworks
>fireworks
>PLAYER 1 has evidently never heard of this story before
>he tries to help the koi fish two fucking times
>with a +4
>nothing happens except for nearly blowing the fish out the goddamn pond

>Dick Johnson's totem lathe produces a high tech battle board, depicting a massive war on a chess like grid
>he is in control of the white army, and the odds are clearly not in his favor
>in fact, every strategic decision he makes results in a loss of units
>defeat seems inevitable, and eventually his army is surrounded

>Mary, with the help of Dick, successfully figures out how to utilize punch cards
>as the linchpin she's the main reasons everyone learns the process of creating their carved totem lathes
>later on she also informs them how to utilize alchemy with captcha cards, and how to create infinite inventory space
>Mary's totem creates a treasure map out of her backyard
>following it, she eventually finds an X
>with the meteor's heat on her back she digs using her trusty shovel
>and digs
>until her shovel eventually breaks

>lastly, Jack's lathe produces a locked journal
>honestly, I can't remember much about his trial
>I think he -tried- to brute force break the chains
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>>46732949
>Rich Monk resigns, his koi fish slowly ascending up the waterfall undisturbed, until it finally reaches the top and becomes a roaring dragon
>Dick Johnson concedes to his fate, and offers a peace treaty to the opposing army before any more casualties are lost
>Mary Chance continues digging, using her bare hands as shovels until she strikes treasure, the dirt clinging beneath her nails
>Jack O'Doyle unlocks his book by finding a weakness in the chain's structure, revealing the classes and aspects of the four kids
>"A knight, a prince, a thief, and a seer," it reads. "Together these four Saviors wield hope, mind, time, and space."
>all the kids are engulfed in a bright flash of light as their entry challenges are resolved
>4X ENTRY COMBO

>>46732890
Sadly I don't have any OC of the sessions, but Mary's nightmares are far from over.
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>3 males to 1 female
Wonder what them there shipping charts would have ended up looking like :^}
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>>46733069
>Rich Monk enters the land of Chaos and Inferno
>Scorched earth as far the eye can see, while firey tornados whirl in the distance. It's a hot, barren landscape with the occassional thicket of blood-red grass. Fog like clouds fill the crimson sky, brimming with energy that ebbs and flows like lightning. The temple is erected atop a massive plateu, and massive chains ensare the planet's atmosphere.
>Dick Johnson enters the Land of Scriptures and Sandstorm
>A harsh wind tears through the manor, and sand carrys in with it. It quickly begins piling up along the windows, which give view to the clear, creamy orange sky and its scorching sun. Dick's mansion is surrounded on all sides by sand dunes of epic proportions. While he cannot see them yet, his planet's rivers run dry. Azure flowers dot the land, and marble ruins allude to a fallen civilization.
>Mary Chance enters the land of Machinations and Fumes
>The earth is black and cracking, Mary's cabin erected above a massive chasm. Great mechanical structures, rusted over and abandoned, pierce the landscape. Toxic fumes spill out of the planet from cracks and crevices, green crystals decorating pathways and caverns. A beautiful aurora can be seen above, it's green and blue hues shifting through charcoal skies.
>Jack O'Doyle enters the land of Neogenesis and Frostbite
Atop a mountain peak rests the pubhouse. Concrete jungles and tangles of highway cover the land, while glass spires remained frosted and forgotten. The skies are bleak and gray, allowing only a faint image of the starts above to seep through. Despite the advanced megastructures filling the skyline, the earth feels dead and cold.

>>46733085
Shipping aside, Dick and Monk had the strongest relationship until Mary partners up with Rick, who is the replacement kid for Jack. The former two eventually go on a rampage through Derse, while the latter explore a desolate skyscraper.
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>>46733190
And that concludes the first session. After this PLAYER 4 ollies out due to scheduling conflicts, and a PLAYER 5 enters. The second and third sessions detail their ascension through the first gates and land exploration, and the fourth conclude's Rick's short lived story. I'm not sure when, but at some point Jack O'Doyle achieved a T2 prototype before leaving.

>while interacting with his deployed devices Jack is confronted by his Father who may or may not be drunk
>carrying a body pillow, Jack's Father awkwardly moves in for a hug, which quickly turns into a STRIFE
>Jack manages to dodge his Father's advances, but instead his Sprite takes a blow from the body pillow
>blinding suddenly fills the room as the gorgon sprite undergoes its second prototype
>BANCHO MEDUSA-SENPAI is born, as dubbed by the party, and promptly scares the father off into the icy wasteland that is the Land of Neogenesis and Frostbite
>armed with only a bottle of vodka, Jack's father swears to return and prove his unyielding affection

For the time being I'll just go into what I had in mind for the kid's denizens and quests since they get that far to work them out. If anyone's still interested I can move onto the later sessions when I have the time. Now that they've entered, they get to explore combat, alchemy, T2s, and more shenanigans.
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>>46732046
>Homestuck
I will never understand why people want to adapt this abomination to the tabletop, and not what is by all accounts the superior MS Paint Adventure
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>>46733550
>I designed their lands to always have two things for them choose between pursuing, in addition to their personal quests and denizens. LoCaI for example was home to Crocodile consorts, and the first point of interest Monk later comes across is a humble town resembling those seen in medieval times.
>Except it's scorched and partially on fire, but more less the same.
>From there he'd notice a dark tower in the distance, which would serve as a sort of vertical gauntlet, and the remains of a castle keep for him to explore and battle through.
>Ideally I wanted to have them constantly exploring, fighting enemies and finding new tidbits of information to lead them towards their personal quest and denizen, while the agents of Derse worked as a more traditional opposing force to the kids
>So if Monk were to travel to the castle keep, he'd eventually come across a massive pane of stained glass depicting some of his land's history, or maybe he'd find a piece of nonsensical poetry locked away that vaguely reference his six winged denizen

>the idea behind each land was that the consorts were in life threatening turmoil due to their planet's natural chaos
>the agents of Derse, under orders of the Gray Queen, were all responsible for the planet's catastrophes in some way
>the great tree of LoCaI had been burned to ash
>LoSaS's scales of justice were cut and deface
>LoMaF's grand clock hands had been broken
>and LoNaF's core systems had been infected with a virus
>all four denizens came to the conclusion that the consorts were responsible, and in some way turned their back on them
>and so, the kid's quests were all related to saving their consorts in some way, while also appeasing their denizen to restore the lands to their former glory
>the Beta kids were known as Heroes, and the Alpha kids Nobles, so I figured a unifying theme between their lands would be a good way to develop a plot within SBURB, outside of creating the next universe and all that jazz
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>>46733607
No argument there, PS was a masterpiece, but I would imagine people want to adapt homestuck so that they can take the very compelling opening scenerio and play it as it would go without introducing all the bullshit trolls and resets and extradimensional horrors that appeared later on.
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>>46733765
>Monk's denizen was Lucifer, a white serpent with six wings that lived within an underground Cathedral
>said cathedral was located at the bottom of a bottomless pit (think the pit from Army of Darkness, but massive and not spewing blood)
>Lucifer's most prized creation was The Great Tree, so he simply let the fires consume the planet once he felt its death
>Lucifer was intended to speak very eloquently, albeit reserved, making him one of the easier denizens to communicate with
>Lady Justice, Justitia, was Dick's denizen, a blind giantess made of stone
>she had blessed the land with her scales only for them to be vandalized, and in turn cast judgement upon the planet's inhabitants
>a very direct and short-tempered denizen, the only form of talk she accepted was action
>her lair was at the bottom of the Sea of Sand, in a massive judicial courthouse
>Quetzalcoatl was Mary's denizen, or at least that's what I have written down (I could have sworn it was a different Aztecan god of earth)
>Quetzal's lair was a massive dome, and he sped up the decay of his planet once the clock he spent millennia working on was destroyed
>Inari the fox god was the denizen of Jack O'Doyle's replacement, a cryptic overseer that grew tired of his land once it became infected with a virus
>PLAYER 4 had been replaced by the time I came up with denizens, but King Arthur is the first figure I think of as a potential candidate for Jack, even if he isn't an actual deity

And that's all she wrote. If anyone cares I can continue the actual story later.

>>46733607
SBURB resembling a game is probably the main reason. It's intentionally vague and cryptic and leaves a lot for the mind to run wild with. Problem Sleuth on the other hand is a lot more contained. Shit just happens and you roll with, which doesn't leave as much material to work with.
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>>46733936
>SBURB resembling a game is probably the main reason.

But that's literally what Problem Sleuth was

Did you miss all the meters and leveling up and taskbars?
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It's finally dead?

Hurray! Hopefully some of its fans decided they couldn't live without it. I'd hate to imagine what new cancer they would latch onto in order to fill that hole in their lives.
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>>46734940
It's got game systems but that's as far as it goes from what I remember. Although that's not to say it'd be particularly difficult to run a Problem Sleuth inspired game.
>>46735175
>I'd hate to imagine what new cancer they would latch onto in order to fill that hole in their lives.
Now we wait for the epilogue.
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>>46735175
Thanks to the enormous pauses towards the end most of the worst bits of the fanbase already moved on, usually to Steven Universe or more recently Undertale. The ending being a complete dud drove off all but the diehards.

God I miss Problem Sleuth
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>>46735403
>Everyone is Problum Sleuth

I'd play it.
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Do you have any provisions for troll or any other alien pc's?
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>>46735705
Not quite. If trolls were going to be involved then I'd have made an all troll session, and I had a hard enough time as it was finding players with the way things were. The only differences between creating a kid and troll would be psychic powers, blood caste, lusi, and actually committing to the nuances of troll society outside of convoluted shipping. I can't export character sheets, but I can list all the details if you'd like. Those are actually structured unlike the introductory paragraphs.
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>>46732834
>the sprite meanwhile had followed Mary up into the attic, and merges with the skeleton of Christmas past
Spooky.
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>>46732834
>>mr. skeltal watches ominously from the window inside
This is the most hilarious shit I've ever read
>>
RICK SILIN was the kid of PLAYER 5, a YOUNG GRASSHOPPER with SOMETHING TO PROVE. To him EVERYONE IS A POTENTIAL FRIEND, and he'll fight to the death to prove it. Despite his honest and pure heart, sometimes his words got LOST IN TRANSLATION. Rick was fond of MANGA and MAKING FRIENDS, although he wasn't the greatest at the latter. He also owned a bunch of STATE OF THE ART WORKOUT EQUIPMENT, which he never put to good use. Living in a SMALL APARTMENT in NEW ORLEANS, Rick's Mother made her living as a FORTUNE TELLER, who DISTASTEFULLY decorated the home with NUMEROUS THROW PILLOWS. Rick used a NUNCHAKU kind abstrata, and communicated using one his Mom's LAPTOPS. His wifi connection was SHODDY at best though, the ROUTER constantly moved when not buried under a MOUNTAIN of throw pillows. Thanks mom. To top it off, every item in his fetch modus generated its own unique password. THANKS MOM. Rick Silin also played the KOTO, a TRADITIONAL JAPANESE STRING INSTRUMENT that created the most BEAUTIFUL of MELODIES.

I figure I may as well finish the highlights off. There's not too much left for me to tell now that I think about it.
>>
>>46740724
>Rick Silin, having replaced Jack, quickly go through the steps of entering his session
>with his mother coming up the stairs, Rick promptly hides himself in a tower of throw pillows
>unlucky for him, his mother has a bad habit of spraying down the house with perfume
>unable to hold his breath any longer, Rick is forced to engage in STRIFE
>a battle that ends as quickly as it began, Mom giving a peck on the cheek before heading back to her room
>Rick was born in the shadows though, or so he says, and has no problem slipping in behind
>the room is dimly lit by a crystal ball, and the copy of SBURB can be seen poking out his mother's purse
>Rick barely manages to retrieve the purse unseen, knocking over the table in the process and just narrowly ducking out before the lights are turned on
>with his game installed, Rick quickly gets to down business with the help of his friends
>his sprite is freed, and a myriad of objects are properly thrown at it until one finally hits
>A CLASSIC TALE of PIRATES and SCALLYWAGS, giving his sprite a SCAR across it's poorly drawn face and a STRAW HAT atop its head
>the metorite waits for no man though, and Rick's totem lathe creates a SHADOW CLONE
>besting the clone with his WITS rather than his BRAWN, Rick enters the session
>instead of creating another land entirely, LoNaF is refitted to suit Rick in minor tweaks
>with the meteorite dealt with, a T2 prototype is quickly achieved as Rick Silin attempts to BEFRIEND the sprite with a game of cards
>the sprite absorbs the DECK OF TAROT CARDS and becomes the ORACLE OF THE 22 SEAS
>once Rick is done turning his AUTHENTIC NINJA HEAD BAND into a PLASTIC PIECE OF SHIT through the power of ALCHEMY, the two being their ascension
>the apartment layout is highlighted and cloned, and Rick moves through room after room, rushing up fire escapes as a massive serpent like creature chases behind
>choosing flight over fight, Rick enters through the first gate without a scratch
>>
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>>46741379
>Rick Monk starts his game off by considering that LoCaI may or may not literally be hell
>with that considered, he begins to make the best of his afterlife with some ALCHEMY
>one BOTTLE ROCKET is increased in size to MEGA BOTTLE ROCKET, illegal in 49 states
>his COMFY EVERYDAY ATTIRE is alchemized with a FIRE RETARDANT BLANKET, making his clothes SILVER and FIREPROOF
>mashing together THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS and THE ANARCHIST'S COOKBOOK, Rick creates THE ALBUM OF THE ANTICHRIST, a vinyl record in a leather black sleeve
>the track list is comprised entirely of QUEEN songs
>following up, the ALBUM OF THE ANTICHRIST is merged with a group of CHERRY BOMBS, forming his main weapon: BLACKFIRE BOMBS
>Rick makes quick work of the imps crawling into the temple, his BLACKFIRE BOMBS erupting with THE SCREAMS OF THE DAMNED and BLACK WISPY SMOKE
>while Rick was busy cleaning up shop, he failed to notice that his sprite wandered into the HALL OF HEAD MONKS, which displays an urn containing all the past monks ashes
>LEGION in then born, a war general that wields the knowledge of 100 legendary monks
>with a dragon like monster now encircling the temple, Rick decides that it's time to bail
>Dick Johnson decides to compel his friend to use a firework to get through the first gate
>"Do I go through that floating Spirograph?," he asks his sprite
>"If one cannot go down, then they only have on option, do they not?"
>"..."
>taking that as a yes, Rick rides the bottle rocket to his fiery doom
>as soon as he enters through the gate he loses control, the bottle rocket sending him face first into the ashen dirt, before his person is consumed in its entirety by a raging tornado of hellfire
>DEAD
>>
Amazing. You said you would provide the tweaks you made to FATE?
>>
>>46741904
So I guess he could go down after all.
>>
I made a Savage Worlds conversion for running SBURB games once upon a time. It was almost definitely shit, but there's some good memories there.

FATE makes a hell of a lot more sense though.
>>
>>46741904
>PSYCH
>a doomed timeline is declared, and the session switches to before Rich decided to use an unstable firework to propel himself through the sky
>this time he combines his MEGA BOTTLE ROCKET with the WANDERER'S BACKPACK (a great monk relic) to create the ORIENTAL EXPRESS
>with twin sticks and straps, Rich is now able to STEER with SEMI-PRECISE CONTROL
>his sprite informs him that not all battles are to be fought, which Rich takes as his queue to leave
>this time he enters his first gate without harm, finding himself in the middle of his land
>arriving at remains of small shanty, Rich befriends of a family a CROCODILES, who incessantly NACK without pause
>he is completely unable to get any semblance of information out of them, except for the direction of the nearest city
>taking a nap before his journey, Rich Monk heads out to the scorched remains of the medieval looking town
>while there he picks up a SWEET FRAYMOTIF whom's name I can't remember
>the town square's main points of interest are the SHOP, CHURCH, and BAR
>a trip to the CHURCH gives a little insight as to the crocodile's culture
>stained glass windows depict a magnificent tree with chains springing forth behind it
>while the priest is of little help, Rich Monk comes to the conclusion that these people may or may not be OPPRESSED by some form of cruel DICTATORSHIP of the ruler of the land
>with that in mind, the next stop is the bar, which is hosting a FULL HOUSE BRAWL
>the ALBUM OF THE ANTICHRIST is thrown on the record player, and the fight reaches its peak
>seeing no point in flaming the fire even more, Rich discovers something of a DUNGEON within the bar's CELLAR
>booby traps are dodged, imps are slain, and a BLOOD CROSS is looted
>with the town fully explored, Rich flies back to home base

I just realized I had been calling Rich: Rick. Fuck.

>>46742375
Sure thing. There's not too much, but I'll list my tweaks once I lead into the Derse Jailbreak.
>>
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>Homestuck RPG
>using anything but Nobilis

one job
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>>46742940
>Nobilis

This board is for discussion of traditional games.

Emphasis on game.
>>
>>46743008
>emphasis on game
homestuck is only a game in hypothetical, nobilis fulfills it far more effectively than anything else
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>>46742817
>leaving his sprite to fight a dragon turned out to not be the greatest idea
>the temple has turned into something of a BATTLEFIELD, and TWO dragons now search for blood
>together, Rich and his sprite formulate a BATTLE PLAN, sealing one dragon within the temple hall while the other his promptly EXECUTED in a BLACKFIRE MINEFIELD
>the remaining dragon's roar quickly joins the SCREAMS OF THE DAMNED, and Rich is rewarded with a BODACIOUS amount of grist for his effort
>hell yeah
>with home base secured, Rich creates one last thing before setting out through his SECOND GATE, utilizing the ORIENTAL EXPRESS'S mobility to its fullest potential
>Rich combines his BLOOD CROSS with a KOMUSOU and his OLD COMPUTER
>The CRUSADER'S CAP is created, a holy device that allows Monk to both WALK and TALK while communicating with his comrades, CRIMSON LIGHT emitting from the eyeholes when he speaks
>with a pendant gained from his sprite, Rich flies off through his second gate, CRASHING his HEAD directly into the underside of one of Dick Johnson's copy-pasted MANSIONS
>K.O.
>>
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>>46743184
>>46742557
I'll cut away from Dick Johnson's upcoming reign of terror to explain some of the changes I made to the FATE system before it gets any later. I lost my notebook containing all the details and errata, but the character sheets still have mostly everything.

CRAFTS became DEVELOPMENT, the skill for using SBURB's game features (like housebulding), while INVESTIGATE was renamed RESEARCH, the skill for leaning lore and more about Skaia's inner machinations. The MELEE and RANGED skills were removed completely, and instead the PC's weapon of choice was assigned a skill level and served the same functions. This way they'd be doing more damage when their equipment was upgraded, which in turn was tied to their character's progress both in SBRUB, and on a personal level.

Homestuck to me was, at it's core, about growing up, so I wanted the system to reflect that in some way. In the background I was always keeping track of the more drastic decisions the player's made, and how their character's responded to the challenges they faced. If they made a mistake did they own up to it, did they deny responsibility, or were they just ignorant to the damage they had done? Stuff like that. In doing so I wanted to try and get an idea as to how their character was shaping up, and whether or not fate would punish them for their actions should they not be strong enough to overcome the consequences. Their DECISIVE MOMENTS, as I called them, would also shape how they utilized the abilities of their CLASS and ASPECT to a small extent. The way I saw it, their title would either lead them into a dangerous extreme that would harm their session, or a controlled form of godly power that help create the next universe. However, all of this really only comes into play when they reach God Tier.
>>
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>>46742940
>>46743008
>>46743153
http://orngjce223.net/chuubo/A%20User's%20Guide%20to%20the%20Apocalypse%20unfinished.pdf

Have fun
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>>46743428
None of the players were informed of their Titles until they worked it out from within the game, meaning I chose them based on their character's background and personality. The aspect up front when they bought their fraymotifs, and I told the players once they correctly deduced them from their. Mary's first fraymotif was TERRACOTTA DOWNTEMPO, which let her steal an enemies turn once per session. This lead PLAYER 3 to correctly assume she was the Thief of Time. Otherwise they could figure out through scrounging their land with lore, or waiting to go god tier.

Their titles served as a sort of hidden aspect (in regard's to FATE's mechanics, not SBURB's) that would influence the fraymotifs (stunts in FATE) they could purchase (currency being another abritary form of progress and development). Because you normally start out with three stunts in FATE, unlocking their fraymotifs wasn't something I intended to drag out. Their weapons too had stunts to make up for the initial lack there of. Additionally, their title would also work as a skill, but things never progressed that far to see how it would all work out when put into action. Overtime their skills, including their aspect, would grow the same way skills normally grow in fate, which confines their actions to a certain limit. John upon reaching GT would be able to roll to "do the windy thing" right away, but wouldn't be able to roll to "retcon the game." You could probably narrow my design philosophy into the same as SBURB's rpresentation in the comic: keep things open enough to be interesting, and the realm of possibilities distinct to each player. So long as the proposal were reasonable, I intended to let my players craft out their GT abilities on their own. Ideally, no two titles would play the same. A Heir of Void and Knight of Void might able to achieve the same thing through different means, while a Heir of Breath and Heir of Blood might use the similar means to achieve different things entirely.
>>
>>46743674
And that's actually it. FATE's free form nature very easy to utilize in SBURB's environment. I'm down to answer any questions regarding how I GM'd, but I think I covered most of my "design philosophy" and system changes. Other than that I list the aspects and minor details that went into making each character sheet. Roll20 doesn't allow exports so here's another wall of text.

>ASPECTS
>[Kid Personality]
>[Childish Flaw]
>[Additional Personality Aspect] (possibly in relation to interest)
>[Chum History]
>[Current Outlook] (character's response to their environment. Are they worried about their parents? Is there a prototyped Jack Noir killing off their friends? Basically, how they're reacting to being transported into a life or death video game, be it a serious aspect or something more lighthearted)

Fraymotifs take the place of stunts, with the first being a solo ability, while the later are to be used with a partner. All that I really have left to share is the character sheet fluff.
>>
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>>46743998
[Interests]
What your kid is interested in. Broad or narrow, items of relation will be spread throughout their bedroom. Their may or may not be some meaning behind why they have their interest. Kid should have at least one major interest, and one minor, with the major interest helping to define their individuality.

[Dislikes]
What your child dislikes that their guardian likes, be it out of genuine dislike or some sort of childish misunderstanding. This can be seen as a [Guardian Interest] as items in relation will be spread out through the rest of the home.

[Instrument]
The instrument your kid can play. This may or may not be relevant later.

[Home]
The home your kid will be stuck in. Think about the location, the type of home it is, and it's general layout.

[Guardian]
Who is it that looks over your kid? What's their general persona and how does your kid interpret them?

[Dead Thing]
Think of a dead thing that's could be found in your kid's home. It should have been of some sentience.

[Means of Communication]
What electronic device does your kid use to communicate with his fellow chums? What makes it difficult to communicate with his fellow chums? This could even be a personal trait or aspect.

[Kind Abstrata]
What kind of item your kid strifes with.

[Fetch Modus]
How your kid stores and retrieves items. This should be needless complicated, but with potential for the kinks to be ironed out. This will work like an obstacle you'll need to constantly overcome, or as some type of minigame.

[Color and Symbol]
Your kid's shirt symbol and their color of choice. Keep it simplistic. Purely narrative fluff.

All of the above was crammed into the EXTRA box, and was purely narrative detail that helped detail their origin. It probably looks like overkill, but I think it helped flesh things out a lot.
>>
>>46735500
Oh!
So, my issues with those two properties are the fact that most of its fans are the most toxic geeks on the planet, who I had previously been protected from until the containment failed?
Oddly, that makes me feel better.
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>>46744081
Alright gang, I think I'm done for the night. There's still Dick Johnson's and Mary Chance's exploration into their lands, followed by an escapade in Derse, and the thrilling conclusion of Rick Silin's journey. I'm glad some people found this even a little but entertaining, so I'll probably continue it tomorrow or the day after.
>>
>>46744448
This is beautiful. Hopefully some interest in a similarly run game sparks up around here, it could be awesome.
>>
>>46744081
>Think of a dead thing that's could be found in your kid's home. It should have been of some sentience.

I'm probably going to regret asking this, but why?
>>
>>46744957
Have you read homestuck?
>>
>>46745038
Only seen the fanart. Apparently there are aliens with candy corn horns and sometimes those aliens get into fancy costumes, which constitutes a power up. That is the extent of my knowledge. Also the human characters are literally white, but possibly not of the white race.
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>>46744654
One of these days I'll get around to hosting another game. Transcribing all of this has made me remember how much fun it was.
>>46744957
For your sprite. They're naturally attracted to dead objects and help influence their personality. This is a double edged sword though depending on what get's mixed like a bird and an evil puppet. In the comic everyone's sprite ends up prototyped with a dead thing (Nana's ashes, Rose's kitten), but I break this "rule" several times. To further explain, sprites act as guides to help the players understand what they're doing in SBURB.
>>
>>46745082
It's kind of hard to explain, but you have to transform the dead thing into your personal ghost guide.
>>
>>46745082
>Also the human characters are literally white, but possibly not of the white race.

Peach-colored, anon. Peach-colored.
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>>46745273
Okay, so they're white.

>>46745095
>>46745147
Thank you. Would something like a cherished, well used antique work? I would love something like a sprite ghost sword.
>>
>>46745450
Could go a lot of ways. A reputation or "personality" would go a long way toward making it able to communicate.
>>
>>46745095
I've been considering running the game, godbound it's up for free here :

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B4qCWY8UnLrcRGxjSmFqSWEyMk0&usp=drive_web

After playing with it for a few sessions and reading over the rules I feel it could work well, especially with the mortal character creation rules. The Fact system basically works as a fate aspect.
>>
>>46746073
>>46745095
Wrong link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4qCWY8UnLrcRGxjSmFqSWEyMk0
>>
>>46745273
Their race is deliberately ambiguous. The solid white color isn't supposed to represent any skin tone.
>>
This was a fun read, OP.
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>>46744081
Capped for convenience.
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>>46732949
>he attempts to help the koi fish by using fireworks
I finally learnt what tumblrinas mean when they say 'I can't even'
>>
You did a fantastic job, OP. I really want to run a campaign like this now.
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>>46744238
ironically the author agrees with you about the fans
>>
>>46743428
Do you still have the character sheets? Can you share what they looked like?
>>
>>46753626
He's probably had to interact with more of them than any other human being on the planet. If anyone is qualified to make that assessment its him. Although given that he created them in the first place you could say its karma.
>>
>>46753841
I honestly think Hussie is a brilliant author. Homestuck is a very clever postmodern epic that was largely a big joke at the expense of the readers. I can only imagine his years of confusion and horror at the bizarre aggression of so many emotionally aching teens and young adults who latched so tightly onto his work as a source of support. Though his regret and distaste was often overt enough, I still feel really bad for all the stress and unhappiness so many of his "supporters" have caused him.
>>
>>46753975
I'd say HS was gud until a little bit into A6. Hussie seemed to lose interest in what he was doing.
>>
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>>46744238
That side of the fanbase has been very well ousted by the pauses and ending, and what remains is no longer native to this website.

It's basically never been a better time to talk about the comic and talk with existing fans.
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>>46753841
If Andrew created that tribe of fans, it was in the same sense that a man releasing a baby bird to take flight created a cat's dinner. Unintentional, and entirely predicant on a dangerous thing (the fan-mentality of Axis Hetalia fans, Bronies etc.) already existing.

Hussie basically did realise that the trolls - which for all intents and purposes are a pretty cool fictional race - is fucking crack to this sort of fanbase. The comic's popularity rocketed once this sort exploded on-board, and Hussie thought it was at least a neutral thing for a while before he realised the voices of reason were no longer the norm.

He made a character who just loves to kill Trolls, and travels around the afterlike double-killing their ghosts. Make of that what you will.
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>>46754618
Definitely so, and the only thing I can fault him on regarding that is not being upfront with the fans on it. Then again, such is the nature of emotional turmoil that you also can't blame him for not knowing how to broach it himself.

And for those not in the know, turmoil really is the right word. Andrew got ripped off by a dodgy studio to the tune of 400,000 dollars and a ton of wasted time and effort, and then his father died. That probably put his real interest in the comic to bed.
>>
>>46732046
>Homestuck's riveting finale
It's over? Great. What's Hussie on to next?
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>>46755219
*did NOT realise. Bit of a crucial typo there.
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>>46754618
oh yes absolutely
>>46755269
oh wow I knew about the studio ripoff but I didn't know about his father dying. That does explain more of it
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>>46755078
thank goodness for that
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>>46755291
Maintaining radio silence at the minute, and cryptically alluding to an "epilogue" to cover the myriad of loose ends not in the finale.

>>46755353
It really must have hit him hard. Andy and his dad (also Andy, so it's Andrew Hussie Senior and Junior) were a double act of colour designers. They've made their money of a bunch of colourimetry patents they put together.

You know Homestuck panels, important or inconsequential, have a tendency to look absolutely smack-bang gorgeous? Andy Senior taught Hussmeister everything about colour. That so many things in Homestuck use colour as a mechanical or identifying key no-doubt descends from this father-son relationship.
>>
>>46755430
(another example of a Homestuck panel with examplary colour use, this time more plot-centric to contrast)
>>
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Honestly Homestuck feels a lot like Fallout New Vegas at this point, you can see the skeleton of some really cool and interesting mechanics, story threads and characters that the creator wanted to develop a lot more given the time, but which never went anywhere. Unlike New Vegas, which was rushed out the door to meet a deadline, Homestuck was dragged out far too long, leading to an incomplete finale that ended everything just for the sake of ending it, instead of telling the story the author really wanted to tell.

>>46755269 was obviously a huge factor, but even if the money hadn't gotten stolen it honestly would have gone badly. Kickstarters that get more funding than they need often do worse, because the creators have to expand their offer to compensate and end up promising more than they can deliver (see Kingdom Death, Barkley 2, etc)
>>
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>>46755483
Pretty much. La Mulana 2 - whose main character is this piece of art here >>46732227
>>46732227 coincidentally enough - is an example of a project I liked and backed, that has taken too long for the sake of implementing overelaborate lighting systems and other junk no-one cares about. This is purely to justify the amount of money entering the project. Every demo of the game I've played has ran slow like a bitch compared to the cheap, action-packed initial piece put out before the kickstarter.

In contrast, the band Electric 6 (remember Gay Bar? yeah those guys have been going non-stop since) has run TWO successful kickstarters. Reasonable amount of money asked and recieved, delivered quickly and comprehensively, excellent rewards, no drama. They're thinking about doing a third. That's how you kickstart.
>>
>>46755430
>>46755472
Wow. That adds another level to all of this. Thanks for sharing that, anon. If it weren't for the fact that he will assuredly never publish a biography for entirely understandable and respectable reasons, I'd be all over it.
>>46755483
I think for the most part it was the story he wanted to tell, considering how he said he came up with the ending in its rough form at the start and seemed to have a good idea for it years ago. That said, you're probably right.
>>
>>46755430
It's funny that PS was so largely colourless. I bet part of the initial draw towards doing HS as his next project in the first place was that he'd get to put that colour know-how to work.
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>>46755897
People keep saying he knew exactly what he was doing and had it planned from the start, but keep in mind that the only real evidence for this is his own word, and he's notorious for misleading or tricking his readers
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>>46755897
No problem, knowing is caring (or something, I don't know). Hussie has written extensively about himself in the past but I reckon that time is over, what with nuking all his twitter account, old websites, the MSPA forums and such. He can't talk about the fund theft in detail on account of an OOC agreement.

>>46755981
You could definitely tell he was hankering towards the end with the more elaborate combat gifs. Jailbreak must've been tough.
>>
>>46756096
Fair point. Hopefully we'll find out one day if he ever finds the desire and time to talk about it.
>>
>>46756096
I think it's safe to assume that the finale was planned from the start, given the amount of time and effort it would take to make something like that. However, that doesn't mean the story developments near the end were planned from the start; he was probably making up those as he went along without a clear idea of how they'd connect to his planned finale, hence the reason it addressed so few plot points.
>>
>>46758427
To be more precise, Hussie had elements of the ending envisaged since before he finished Problem Sleuth. Act 7 was entirely drafted about four years ago, when Act 5 ended and the leviathan that is Act 6 begun.

Which explains why vast reams of the plot elements introduced in Act 6, especially post-retcon, went unresolved. The gane fiasco ate so much time that Hussie couldn't update the sequence to match his own plot.
>>
>>46758762
>>46758427
Do you think the retcon was planned from the start?
>>
>>46758984
You mean the cheap plot device that served no other purpose except to allow Hussie to ignore character arcs and longstanding plot elements?
>>
>>46758984
That's an interesting question. Events very similar to the retcon happen constantly in the comic, with doomed timelines and Scratches and whatnot.

In addition, a lot of plot points in Homestuck heavily resemble those in Wizardy Herbert, an earlier novel Hussie wrote but never finished. FWIH Hussie said he wouldn't finish writing WH precisely because a lot of his ideas for it ended up in Homestuck in some form or other.

Now I haven't read all of Wizardy Herbert, but if something like the characters escaping from canonical events happens in there, it could be the retcon was planned from the start. However, parts of the retcon do feel like post-hoc decisions to me. So little of the events post-retcon made it into Act 7 that I think the retcon was planned at the earliest in mid Act 6, if not shortly before it was implemented.

Basically, for the first time since Bardquest Hussie wrote himself into a corner. Or at least at tight alleyway.
>>
>>46758984
Well, presumably he'd already had the white house juju planned when he storyboarded the last flash. Whether or not it was supposed to give John his retcon powers in addition to the function it served trapping them, I couldn't say.
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>>46759398
I think he wanted the retcon to happen from around the start of act 6, if not slightly earlier, mostly due to his shift to a lot of WH material.
But I also think that because Act 6 dragged on so long and added so much he couldn't wrap everything up with the retcon, which led to a lackluster ending and a lot of unresolved stories.
>>
>>46745450
Stuffed animal Cthulhu-style monsters and harlequins have been prototyped, but neither of those could communicate with the character. Even a dead pet cat spoke only in "meows" and it's unclear if the character could actually understand them
>>
>>46762579
I need to go back and read the early days of Homestuck again. Remember the reason I liked it in the first place.

I wish I could play in a game like OP ran, it sounds like they really captured that charm.
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>>46762579
Actually, Jaspers was fully capable of speech after he was prototyped. So were the trolls' lusus naturae; some of them expressed happiness that they could finally hold a conversation with their custodians.
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It says this thread is on page eleven, does that mean it's still alive?
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>>46769827
I hope so. I'm holding out for OP to come back and drop those last bits of storytime.

In the meantime, has anyone else played in a tabletop game of Sburb?
>>
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Welcome back to SBURB ladies and gentlemen, where the classpects are made up and the doomed timelines don't matter. We turn back to potential psychopath and megalomaniac, DICK JOHNSON.

>upon entering, most of the kids either dicked around with their sprites or began alchemizing
>with the first T2 previously established, Dick throws in one of his many fossils into the King sprite
>KNEEL BEFORE THE KING OF THE DEEP
>Dick's sprite now resembles a cross between a royal king, and an eldritch horror that you might find at the bottom of the ocean, it's eternal slumber undisturbed until some rich asshole came and woke it up in hopes of saving the human race
>now given the power of DIRECT COMMUNICATION, the King wastes no time berating Dick for his lack of servitude
>rather than butt heads, Dick moves onto alchemy
>owning a sweet collection of VIDEO GAMES, Dick throws in a copy of THE PRINCE OF PERSIA and his CANE, creating the SANDKING'S SCEPTER
>a sandy marble cane that seems to capture the erosion of time within its swirls, an alien skull as the grip
>his DAY TO DAY UNIFORM and a LIFE SIZED BLACK KING PIECE are also thrown together, creating MIDNIGHT MONARCH'S BATTLE REGALIA
>A sleek liquid-black uniform, adorned with light, plastique armor along the right shoulder and forearms.
>lastly, a FANCY ANALOG WATCH and his DESKTOP COMPUTER are combined to make a CLOCKWATCH COMPUTER
>Refined and stylish, Dick gains the power of a super computer at his wrist, all of which can be access through the touch of a button
>a single button
>THE CLOCKWATCH COMPUTER works on a MORSE CODE COMMAND SYSTEM, and being a member of the ELITE, Dick just so happens to be an expert at it
>after clearing out the imps invading his home, Dick prepares to ASCEND
>rather than build a series of CHUTES AND LADDERS, or COPY-PASTE his home, Dick Johnson commands his host to erect a SPIRAL STAIRCASE despite my prior warnings about stairs
>a support pillar is erected, and the spiral staircase is made
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>>46772480
>warnings about stairs

Oh no. No nonnononnooooo
What I think is about to happen better not be happening
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>>46772480
>it's ten in the morning and an errand just came up
I'll return to this story in an hour or two, fuck! Sorry for anyone actively reading.
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>>46745273
>>46745450
Only when they activate Trickster Mode though
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>>46755291
An epilogue at some point for one, continuing the recovery of the game after the money was stolen for two, and then who knows.
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>>46772774
>Dick Johnson however isn't as quick as the rest, and is forced to STRIFE with a burly CYCLOPS
>Dick's poor frame is BRUTALIZED by the giant, and the abrasiveness winds of LoSaS don't let up for a moment
>with one bad dice roll after another, Dick is forced to take a MINOR CONSEQUENCE, his MORALE SHATTERED as his stress reaches its peak
>even with the help of THE KING, who attacks with BLADED TENDRILS and the GAZE OF THE ABYSS, the two barely manage to come out on top
>nonetheless, Dick is rewarded with an ABUNDANCE of GRIST, and the first gate is conquered
>before the young man begins to explore his land however, a nap is in order
>ENTER RELUCTANT TAXWORKER, a carapacian who has been dealt the unsavory job of taxing the citizens of this ruinous planet
>despite his RELUCTANCE, no one would dare defy the wrath of the GRAY QUEEN should they value their life
>A (RELUCTANT) TAXATION is made, and Dick is pilfered of what GEMS and GEMSTONES he brought with him
>as due process, a receipt (and apology) are left behind
>upon waking, any LACK OF MORALE is replaced with SEARING RAGE
>it is time to pay the piper
>fear is struck through the hearts of imps before they explode into grist, Dick Johnson annihilating what foes stand between him and retribution
>following the taxman's footsteps to a small SALAMANDER VILLAGE, Dick climbs onto the nearest roof and makes his intent clear
>while it is questionable whether or not they understand ENGLISH, the glowing eyes of the SANDKING'S SCEPTER, and the enigmatic RUNE MARKINGS that begin to hover around Dick Johnson makes it clear he means BUSINESS
>salamanders quickly being to lock themselves in their homes, fearful of their lives, and the nervous chattering of teeth can be heard beneath the howling winds
>the taxworker is quickly found out
>however, Dick Johnson is not nearly as good as at tripping parental figures down stairs as he is at INTERROGATION and obtains little information
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>>46774470
>what he does find out is that said Taxworker is an employee of Derse, the purple moon that orbits Skaia
>taking back what was his and then some, Dick lives the carapacian penniless, heading out for the next stretch of his journey
>to the north he spies the green foliage of an OASIS, and a nearby sign claims an ARCHIVE lies to east
>a course to the OASIS is quickly plotted, and Dick Johnson soon finds himself in the bottom of a PIT
>not even several steps through the bushes and shrubs does he fall victim to an NEFARIOUS BOOBYTRAP, an situation he finds COMPLETELY INESCAPABLE
>unable to claw his way out, the young man decides to make the best of his situation
>using the same FRAGILE PLANKS that broke beneath his feet, Dick turns the tables by building a FORT
>NOW WE'RE COOKING WITH FIRE
>before he even realizes it, his imagination takes full control, whisking away his mind to the purple spires and endless streets of DERSE'S MOON
>with both Rich Monk and Dick Johnson resting softly, the two find each other's dream selves and meet for the first time
>with a new playground beneath their feet, the two make earnest headway in unraveling the mysteries of SBURB
>Rich is able to learn a little about the current politics between Derse and Prospit, and Dick begins PROVOKING the nearest city guard he can find
>Derse and Prospit are currently at war, the tides recently turning in the former's favor
>he also takes note that despite the Dersite's being an inky, licorice BLACK, their queen is oddly referenced as being GRAY
>with the rest of the newspaper filled with poorly drawn political comics, Rich turns his attention to Monk's declaration to take over the kingdom
>any attempts to calm the AMBITIOUS DIGNITARIAN down are of ill use, and Dick shoves Monk away, the momentum causing his floating body to fly away down the many streets and alleyways
>while Rich Monk is given a tour of the moon's many back roads, BACKUP is called to detain the THREAT LEVEL-5 Dick Johnson
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>>46775077
>Dick Johnson SCADATTLES the fuck out before any guards can detain him, and reuintes with his comrade in an UNSAVORY ALLEYWAY
>ENTER BACKALLEY DEALER, the friendliest seller of illegal contraband you'll ever meet
>with a pretty penny burning some SICK FIRES in his pocket, Dick spots Monk the money needed to buy an entire STOCKADE of FIREWORKS, which turns out to not be very much
>BD makes out like a BANDIT, a profession he had given up many years ago, and both parties are pleased with the transaction
>stepping back onto main street, both Derse dreamers are ARRESTED and sent to jail
>awaiting process in the holding cells, Monk decides now is a good time as any for a JAILBREAK
>the ENTIRE CACHE OF FIREWORKS are used, and police station is turned into a RAGING HELLSTORM of DANGEROUS EXPLOSIVES
>the point blank usage of fireworks kill several Derse law enforces, and a fire begins to engulf the office
>"oh god why is there blood?"
>"this isn't a game anymore"
>tearing away from his realizations, Monk focuses on grabbing the nearby keys and opening the cell door
>Rich and Dick are free, but with the fire blocking they exit they can only ascend
>the second floor is entirely jail cells, all of which are free
>several nondescript Dersites join the party, along with the WARTORN MERCENARY, his title unknown to the group
>much like the Queen mentioned earlier, WM's "flesh" is gray in color unlike his cohorts
>with the fire licking their heels, the group takes the stairs to the rooftop, where a particularly SWEET RIDE is waiting for them
>it is none other than DICK'S FATHER, an AIRSHIP parked on the building ledge
>eagerly the group shuffles in, the fire swallowing the building as our party sails away into the stars
>the Father hasn't the time to explain, but leaves his son with a parting gift that expresses both his pride and affection in his beloved son
>taking the side boat, Dick's father heads off to DERSE'S CASTLE
>he has his own crimes to answer for
>>
>>46775635
>neglecting to check the captain's quarters for a map, the duo unknowingly sets course for THE FURTHEST RING, home to the NOBLE CIRCLE OF HORRORTERRORS
>but before they can probe the depths of Paradox Space, a voice calls out to them, reaching deep into their minds
>the voice foretells of an OUTCAST that will reign destruction upon their session, and implores them to embrace their INNER TRUTHS
>to give in to DESTRUCTION, and CONTROL all those who OPPOSE
>realizing this may not have been the best idea, the crew does a quick 180°, dark thoughts lingering in the backs of their skulls

And that sadly, is as far as Rich Monk's and Dick Johnson's story ever got. When I have more free time I'll foretell Mary's and Rick's.

>>46772636
I did actually make him roll athletics as part of the challenge to Ascend, but at worse he just took stress instead of falling all the way back down. His rolls were crazy bad during that segment, so I'm pretty sure he tripped over his own ass at some point. He also took an athletics check when he exited his room, which resulted in a successful slide down the railing. There's still one more instance of stairway ineptitude that I'll get to later.
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>>46776408
>DESTRUCTION, and CONTROL
Was there supposed to be a hint to their aspects? Destruction is probably a Prince (Dick? I mean, come on, his name is Dick), and Control could be either Knight or Seer, but more likely Seer. Was Rich a Seer?
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>>46776408
Question here. How did you handle the solitary nature of the earlygame of Sburb? A series of solo sessions? Haphazardly doing them all at once? I think that problem is basically the reason I never tried GMing a Sburb campaign.

>>46775635
>WM's "flesh"
Carapace. Hence, 'Carapacian'.
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>>46777353
Oh yeah, I revealed to the players their aspects about the time they all set off past their first game. Monk was the Prince of Mind, Dick was the Seer of Hope, Mary was the Thief of Time, and both Rick and Jack were Knights of Space.

Monk was a turning out to be freedom fighter, but so quick to act that he had the potential to cause more harm than good, and even go so far as to forsake order completely and give in to the joy of destruction. Horrorterrors desire for Skaia's fall, and attempt to lead Derse dreamers down a path of destruction both through direct contact and nightmares. I interpreted Prince as one who destroys, and Mind relating to both logic and choice. Basically, Monk would either learn to embrace Mind, and use it as a powerful tool to aid him and his friends, or destroy his own sense of Mind, and wreak havoc. These of course are both extremes, and the best/worst case scenarios.

Dick was controlling, and a Seer of Hope would either see hope in themselves, or hope in others. So he'd either wall himself in and become a selfish force that inadvertently condemns his allies to fates he could have prevented, or learns to put his Hope in people other than himself, and aid them.

The Thief of Time was simply fitting to Mary's backstory, given her affection of relic-stealing adventurers. There was a deeper and more justifiable reason for her being given that Title, but it alludes me for the time being. Possibly having to do with stealing death to save herself, rather than -always- being the group linchpin and putting herself second.

Knight of Time was one who would weaponize reality itself. Jack O'Doyle came off as very reserved, and secluded, choosing to hide himself in folklore and legend instead of seeking that out for himself. On the flipside, Rick Silin actively desired to be the hero with lots of friends. For both these kids their Title was a sort of challenge, beckoning them to step up to the plate and put their mettle to the test.
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>>46777658
We went round and round early game in rapid fire bursts of roughly five-ten minutes. The hardest part was giving every scene enough attention so that the players could adequately feel like they had accomplished something, while the other players remain entertained long enough for the narrative to reach their perspective. The best thing you can do is take a page out of Hussie's book and learn how to transition from one scene to another with cleaver imagery or wordplay. For example:

>Rich Monk is having the show down with his father
>head Monk informs his son to simply take the game from his hand
>his fingers slowly unfurl like a blossoming flower
>to reveal [turn and face PLAYER 2] the chess battle between Dick Johnson and his Father
>Dick Johnson obliterates the black king, ect. ect.

It'd be crazy to come up with this stuff every time you switched turns, but it helps alleviate the disconnect every now and again and make for some hype moments. Pesterchum or whichever chat client of your choice gives the players the opportunity to interact with one another IC while things play out, which is another way of bridging the gap. Once or twice I had my players to skip them so they could finish up their character's conversations, which you might see as solid character building, or as a distraction that muddles the flow of the game. Something to consider either way. Unlike the comic, it shouldn't take too long for the kids to actually meet with one another if they plan accordingly or get lucky with their alchemizations. The Oriental Express would have made traversing their lands E.Z. if not for the multitude of pending natural disasters, but even then it's a huge step up from travelling on foot, and at the very least gives them interplanetary travel outside the use of gates.
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>>46778343
>>46777658
The only problem with running solo sessions is the host/player format of the game. In doing so you cut out any opportunities for house building shenanigans and early relationships forming based on that. Honestly though, no one really bothered to dick around with SBURB in that fashion, although I could have probably thrown in a few more DEVELOPMENT skill checks. Nonetheless I don't think it's an unreasonable option to consider, and could probably work better for some player bases. There's just no guarantee that everyone will meet up in a timely fashion after they enter the game either though. How much you value the dynamic of the first two "acts" is ultimately up to you.

One thing I think important to keep in mind when running a SBURB game is that everyone is on the same page. Even if the players are completely ignorant to the convoluted processes that are going to take place, they should probably know beforehand that everyone is going to be split up, and that the game runs on several different tones simultaneously. That the game will share moments that are lighthearted and funny, but also heroic and epic, or gravely serious and full of despair. Capturing all those different flavors and swirling them together into a wonderful rainbow sherbet mix is one of the things I think early Homestuck did best, and I think the best way to try and capture that yourself is with the help of your players. Everything went so wonderfully with my group that I don't know if the game itself was set-up in a way to allow everything to flow without clashing, if it was just a group of solid role players, or if it was because everyone had a mutual understanding like I mentioned before. So take that for what you will. Hopefully this drawn out explanation can actually you give some useful insight to build off of.
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PLAYER 3/Mary Chance here, I remember this game. It was pretty alright, I really wasn't that familiar with either FATE nor Homestuck, but it was still pretty fun anyway.

Like the GM has been saying over the course of the thread, from the players perspective, the worst part was when it wasn't my turn, which I think could be remedied some by ignoring the "rules" of Homestuck and just starting everyone together once you get in SBURB proper. Besides that, it was a pretty good recreation of the Homestuck comic as far as I remember it.
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>>46778697
>>46778343
That was really insightful. Thanks for the story and the explanation.
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