A Problem of Compatibility

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Sat May 28, 2011 5:58 am

Chamomile wrote:Bring a FATAL character to the table.

The mind boggles.

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Sat May 28, 2011 3:50 pm

Chamomile wrote:Bring a FATAL character to the table.

That would probably work okay. I mean, you'd have all these extraneous stats (anal circumference), but they wouldnt interact with anything.

Also, you would die immediately. As you should.

darkmaster · Post by **darkmaster** » Sat May 28, 2011 4:13 pm

How do you mean?

TheFlatline · Post by **TheFlatline** » Sat May 28, 2011 11:03 pm

Your party would beat you to death because you actually knew the circumference of your character's penis at erect, semi-flaccid, and flaccid states.

darkmaster · Post by **darkmaster** » Sun May 29, 2011 2:58 am

Oh, I see.

TheFlatline · Post by **TheFlatline** » Sun May 29, 2011 3:04 am

We're not exaggerating. You roll for dick size and anal circumference.

darkmaster · Post by **darkmaster** » Sun May 29, 2011 4:16 am

Ah, FATAL is a game system and not an aspect of the character's combat potential set in ALL CAPS for emphasis.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Sun May 29, 2011 4:21 am

darkmaster wrote:Ah, FATAL is a game system and not an aspect of the character's combat potential set in ALL CAPS for emphasis.

It used to mean "Fantasy Adventure To Adult Lechery"

It's since been changed to "From Another Time, Another Land".

It is filled with racism and misogyny. It is it made out of "Oh ho ho so edgy!" and failure. Not just as an RPG setting, but as a person. The author should be given a a pen-knife, locked into a room, and expected to do the honorable thing.

Here's a review. Enjoy the review.

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14567.phtml

TheFlatline · Post by **TheFlatline** » Sun May 29, 2011 9:34 am

Wow that took forever to read but it was mind-burning.

And then I stumbled across Somethingawful.com's list of 10 reasons why they will never review FATAL.

EDIT: I can't leave that up. If you're curious, google it, and prepare to scream.

Dominicius · Post by **Dominicius** » Sun May 29, 2011 9:41 am

Do people really still not realize that FATAL is sarcasm?

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Sun May 29, 2011 9:42 am

Dominicius wrote:Do people really still not realize that FATAL is sarcasm?

Yes. The authors did not realize it was sarcasm.

They were trying to make a game that was more realistic and edgy than previous RPG offerings.

-Username17

Dominicius · Post by **Dominicius** » Sun May 29, 2011 9:52 am

How can look at a book that has an item called Armor of [EDITED] Nincompoopery that makes you think your penis is larger than it actually is and think that people were writing it with a straight face?

It even has a spell to end the world so it is like the authors admit that they don't intend for anyone to ever run a campaign using the book.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Sun May 29, 2011 10:00 am

Dominicius wrote:How can look at a book that has an item called Armor of [EDITED] Nincompoopery that makes you think your penis is larger than it actually is and think that people were writing it with a straight face?

It even has a spell to end the world so it is like the authors admit that they don't intend for anyone to ever run a campaign using the book.

Uh... you haven't read the old Gygax material, have you?

-Username17

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Sun May 29, 2011 10:15 am

So... it sounds like he's taking that "Essentials is compatible with ALL D&D" line seriously?

darkmaster · Post by **darkmaster** » Sun May 29, 2011 11:18 am

That review mad me think of the Angry Vedo Game Nerd... Now I have to go watch his starwars review again...

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Sun May 29, 2011 2:34 pm

Maxus wrote:
darkmaster wrote:Ah, FATAL is a game system and not an aspect of the character's combat potential set in ALL CAPS for emphasis.
It used to mean "Fantasy Adventure To Adult Lechery"

It's since been changed to "From Another Time, Another Land".

It is filled with racism and misogyny. It is it made out of "Oh ho ho so edgy!" and failure. Not just as an RPG setting, but as a person. The author should be given a a pen-knife, locked into a room, and expected to do the honorable thing.

Here's a review. Enjoy the review.

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14567.phtml

the so-called "rebuttal is better. Or maybe worse. Either way, it drives the point home.
http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/FATALReviewRebuttal

Red_Rob · Post by **Red_Rob** » Sun May 29, 2011 2:52 pm

FATAL is one of the funniest books I've ever read. Almost every page had a complete "WTF?!?!" moment, and there are over a thousand pages. Several of the rules and phrases have become in-jokes in our gaming circle, from rolling low Int giving you Retard Strength (Actual FATAL rule!) to succeeding a grapple check meaning, as they say, "a rape may occur"

. There are still some who think it has to be a parody despite all the signs to the contrary.

Personally I think if the author had passed it off as a satire of terrible games once it became apparent everyone hated it most people would have believed him.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Sun May 29, 2011 4:20 pm

Except doing a thousand pages as satire, with exhaustive mechanics that had complex interactions thought out, does not lend credence to it being satire.

Or, for that matter, doesn't make it good satire.

It's one thing if you can toss in a reference in a rule that makes people go "Haha, yeah, that's how that happens in D&D" when your setting contains a store called Genies-R-Us.

But Fatal does not set off my satire/sarcasm bells. They're generally pretty good.

At the least, if the guy meant it to be sarcastic, he's a little too aware of ethnic stereotypes and quick with descriptions of turning someone into a Jew or Asian. The items that turn you into different racial groups may have been intended as a joke, but what jokes someone finds funny says much about them.

They do not say good things about Byron Hall.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Sun May 29, 2011 7:54 pm

fectin wrote:
Maxus wrote:
darkmaster wrote:Ah, FATAL is a game system and not an aspect of the character's combat potential set in ALL CAPS for emphasis.
It used to mean "Fantasy Adventure To Adult Lechery"

It's since been changed to "From Another Time, Another Land".

It is filled with racism and misogyny. It is it made out of "Oh ho ho so edgy!" and failure. Not just as an RPG setting, but as a person. The author should be given a a pen-knife, locked into a room, and expected to do the honorable thing.

Here's a review. Enjoy the review.

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14567.phtml
the so-called "rebuttal is better. Or maybe worse. Either way, it drives the point home.
http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/FATALReviewRebuttal

I'm willing to bet there's an actual review of the rebuttal somewhere, which is probably even more amusing.

fectin · Post by **fectin** » Sun May 29, 2011 8:22 pm

review: So, basically, FATAL is the date rape RPG.
rebuttal: Another faulty conclusion drawn by Darren. Where is dating included?

Technically, I guess he has a point.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Sun May 29, 2011 8:26 pm

fectin wrote:review: So, basically, FATAL is the date rape RPG.
rebuttal: Another faulty conclusion drawn by Darren. Where is dating included?

Technically, I guess he has a point.

I could only get roughly half way through the rebuttal. Hall and Burnout's rebuttal reeks of too much psuedo-intellectualism and point by point nitpicking for me to be able to stand it. It actually almost makes me want to find them and ask them serious questions to try and get them to understand why the game seems so fucked up to most people.

It also makes me want to answer their implied challenge and read through all 1000 pages of the damned thing, possibly even playtest it, and then review it with... as few personal attacks upon them as possible.
Or at least review the rebuttal for meta-hilarity.

darkmaster · Post by **darkmaster** » Mon May 30, 2011 12:31 am

On a slightly related note, are 4e fighting men still dogshit?

Psychic Robot · Post by **Psychic Robot** » Mon May 30, 2011 12:34 am

In the sense that everyone is now equally dogshit.

darkmaster · Post by **darkmaster** » Mon May 30, 2011 12:38 am

So spellcasters aren't gods anymore? Somehow that seems like the wrong way to go about it.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Mon May 30, 2011 4:37 am

Byron Hall, Author of FATAL, in Rebuttal to RPGnet Review wrote:By the way, I think Cannibal Corpse is awesome musically, lyrically, and athletically.

Oh, I'm sorry, clearly you lack a sense of the ridiculous, I see the issue here now.