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Author Topic: Not really my thing, but i purchased Munchkin on Clearance....  (Read 5048 times)

Razor 007

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I've been sifting through the cards, and removing the ones I don't want to expose children to; such as Change Your Sex, Crabs, Half Breed, etc.  Otherwise, it looks like it might be a little bit fun to play.

Basically; it's a silly card game, that makes fun of D&D style RPGs.  Perhaps I'll bastardize it, and do something crazy with it?
« Last Edit: July 10, 2019, 12:58:49 AM by Razor 007 »
I need you to roll a perception check.....

rawma

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Not really my thing, but i purchased Munchkin on Clearance....
« Reply #1 on: July 09, 2019, 08:34:48 PM »
Quote from: Razor 007;1094920
I've been sifting through the cards, and removing the ones I don't want to expose children to; such as Change/Lose Your Sex, Crabs, Half Breed, etc.  Otherwise, it looks like it might be a little bit fun to play.

Basically; it's a silly card game, that makes fun of D&D style RPGs.  Perhaps I'll bastardize it, and do something crazy with it?


I thought it did a pretty good job of spoofing munchkins, and was still fun; depends who you're playing with, though.

Changing sex is sort of a significant mechanic for the game (with items that are usable only by one gender or monsters that react differently to each gender); what is so objectionable about it? (I can see explaining the joke of Crabs to a child would be more than a little awkward.)

Thornhammer

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Not really my thing, but i purchased Munchkin on Clearance....
« Reply #2 on: July 09, 2019, 09:46:31 PM »
It's a fun enough little time killer.   If you got it on clearance, awesome.

Razor 007

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« Reply #3 on: July 10, 2019, 01:03:53 AM »
Quote from: rawma;1095045
I thought it did a pretty good job of spoofing munchkins, and was still fun; depends who you're playing with, though.

Changing sex is sort of a significant mechanic for the game (with items that are usable only by one gender or monsters that react differently to each gender); what is so objectionable about it? (I can see explaining the joke of Crabs to a child would be more than a little awkward.)


Changing sex isn't a subject which is encouraged, supported, affirmed, or even joked about at my house.  It's akin to saying you no longer want to be a human, you'd rather be a fish.  It's just nonsense.
I need you to roll a perception check.....

HappyDaze

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« Reply #4 on: July 10, 2019, 01:24:42 AM »
Quote from: Razor 007;1095064
Changing sex isn't a subject which is encouraged, supported, affirmed, or even joked about at my house.  It's akin to saying you no longer want to be a human, you'd rather be a fish.  It's just nonsense.

Isn't it a bit more on the same level as saying you no longer want to be a human you want to be a dwarf/elf/halfling? Those effects are in the game too IIRC. Raise your kids as you like, but it seems like a weird place to draw a line in the sand.

Razor 007

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« Reply #5 on: July 11, 2019, 12:58:28 AM »
Quote from: HappyDaze;1095069
Isn't it a bit more on the same level as saying you no longer want to be a human you want to be a dwarf/elf/halfling? Those effects are in the game too IIRC. Raise your kids as you like, but it seems like a weird place to draw a line in the sand.


At least Dwarves, Elves, and Halflings are real.  Gender Blender Fluidity is Not.
I need you to roll a perception check.....

rawma

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« Reply #6 on: July 14, 2019, 12:42:02 PM »
Quote from: Razor 007;1095064
Changing sex isn't a subject which is encouraged, supported, affirmed, or even joked about at my house.  It's akin to saying you no longer want to be a human, you'd rather be a fish.  It's just nonsense.


It was an undesirable curse in original D&D (although we thought ourselves clever to recruit NPCs who wanted to change sex to test out unknown magic items); people didn't want it. For the munchkin player, it would just be something to work with or around, and the Munchkin game captures that attitude. Players use the curse on other characters to deprive them of the use of some gender-specific item.

I don't think fish is a race in any Muchkin expansion, but certainly players change race at a whim for advantage in the game. Not because they don't want to be human but because whatever other race gets great perks and they can deal with the disadvantages imposed by the rules. Do you not allow non-humans in your RPG games?

I would think you would be more concerned about exposing children to the murderhobo attitude of such a game. (The rules encourage viciousness to other players and explicitly allow cheating; a penalty for getting caught but contributing to a valid win if nobody catches you.)

jeff37923

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« Reply #7 on: July 15, 2019, 12:25:57 PM »
Quote from: rawma;1095045
Changing sex is sort of a significant mechanic for the game ; what is so objectionable about it?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3599[/ATTACH]
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Timothe

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« Reply #8 on: July 16, 2019, 03:48:48 AM »
Quote from: Razor 007;1094920
I've been sifting through the cards, and removing the ones I don't want to expose children to; such as Change Your Sex, Crabs, Half Breed, etc.  Otherwise, it looks like it might be a little bit fun to play.

Basically; it's a silly card game, that makes fun of D&D style RPGs.  Perhaps I'll bastardize it, and do something crazy with it?

One of my group’s PCs got hit by the Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity in the AD&D Temple of Elemental Evil module...the greedy bastard.

rawma

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« Reply #9 on: July 16, 2019, 09:38:06 PM »
Quote from: jeff37923;1095930
[Triggered]


I always thought having a stalker would be more dramatic.

Sorry you were triggered, though; it must have really spoiled your Nathan Bedford Forrest Day buzz. I'm guessing you haven't played Munchkin, either.

jeff37923

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« Reply #10 on: July 17, 2019, 07:54:17 PM »
Quote from: rawma;1096105
I always thought having a stalker would be more dramatic.

You're more just a target of opportunity. Not worth much effort.

Quote from: rawma;1096105
Nathan Bedford Forrest

Who?

Quote from: rawma;1096105
I'm guessing you haven't played Munchkin, either.

You'd be wrong, but you should be used to being wrong by now.
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rawma

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« Reply #11 on: July 17, 2019, 10:53:09 PM »
Quote from: jeff37923;1096205
You're more just a target of opportunity. Not worth much effort.


But you made the effort to post off-topic nonsense in a forum you haven't posted in for years, just to respond to my post.

Maybe you could actually comment on Munchkin, if only by way of proving that you have played it.

jeff37923

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« Reply #12 on: July 18, 2019, 06:56:36 AM »
Quote from: rawma;1096220
But you made the effort to post off-topic nonsense in a forum you haven't posted in for years, just to respond to my post.

Maybe you could actually comment on Munchkin, if only by way of proving that you have played it.

Bwahahahahahaha!! Shine on you crazy diamond!

OK, I'll play, Munchkin is a parody game that uses cards dice and a gameboard and is selling extremely well and is the primary product of Steve Jackson Games right now. I own d20 Munchkin and enjoy it, but the Village of Ommlet from the Munchkin GMs Screen was a stale joke back in the 80's and has not improved with age.

So now it is your turn. Prove to the readers that you had an interest in Munchkin prior to the negative comment on sex changing in the game.
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rawma

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« Reply #13 on: July 18, 2019, 11:10:21 PM »
Quote from: jeff37923;1096244
OK, I'll play, Munchkin is a parody game that uses cards dice and a gameboard and is selling extremely well and is the primary product of Steve Jackson Games right now. I own d20 Munchkin and enjoy it, but the Village of Ommlet from the Munchkin GMs Screen was a stale joke back in the 80's and has not improved with age.


The first sentence looks like it was cobbled together from a web search. There's no gameboard in most incarnations, but they do exist in fancy boxed sets, as a way to track going from level 1 to level 10; I got a copy of Munchkin Zombies Deluxe that includes such a gameboard from a convention I volunteered at (volunteers could choose a reward from various donated merchandise), but I gave it unopened to a Munchkin fan. I've played with the original set, several of the D&D themed expansions, the Cthulhu themed one and a ninja themed one, never using a game board - mostly used pennies to track levels.

But d20 Munchkin is a completely different game; an actual d20 supplement, apparently. I've never seen it or its GM screen. A GM screen would be pointless in the card game. (If you want bad D&D derived jokes, you might look at SPI's Swords & Sorcery.)

Quote
So now it is your turn. Prove to the readers that you had an interest in Munchkin prior to the negative comment on sex changing in the game.


Readers? I expect everyone else is already too put off by your creepy obsession with me.

You could search and find that I mentioned Munchkin (along with Talisman and the Greyhawk supplement) in a post over a year ago; searching through my old posts would certainly gratify your fixation with me. Heavy-handed effects like changing sex are annoying in role-playing games; they are more appropriate for a no-investment-in-your-character parody like Munchkin. But I am happy to chat about Munchkin in general as long as you would like. Is there something your web search failed to turn up that you would like to know?

The first time I played Munchkin, someone did indeed fight the Gazebo alone; I inferred (and nobody at the table knew better) that it was an inside joke from the designer about putting up a gazebo, but later discovered that it referred to an anecdote about a player who thought a gazebo was some kind of monster (and ended up being eaten by it alone). The "run away" game mechanic to escape a monster you can't deal with was uncomfortably close to the evasion table in original D&D.

Races and classes confer various advantages and disadvantages: elves can gain a level by helping another player in a combat; a dwarf can carry multiple big items and have an extra card in their hand (if I recall correctly). Great strategy to play a curse to force a player to lose their race when they depend on its abilities or an item usable only by that race, and similarly for class. If you eliminated a particular race from the deck because it offends you, then all the treasures usable only by that race are pointless, but at least they could be sold or discarded to power some ability. Eliminating the change race or class curse would also be a more significant change than eliminating one monster, but probably less so than the change sex curse, because players would still have a mechanism to become another race or class (just no way to force another player to stop being that race or class).

I inferred that the "Half Breed" card was objectionable to the original poster as a racial slur; the card would allow a player to have one race card in play without suffering its disadvantages, or to use two race cards and have the benefits and disadvantages of both. So you could be an elf-dwarf half breed; maybe the objection was to the implied miscegenation. The Super Munchkin card is equivalent for classes; we would have called it "Split Class" back when.

And I have in my hand at this very moment (I borrowed it from a serious Munchkin player) "The Official Munchkin Bookmark of Braaaaaaaains" which includes the following text:
Quote from: The Official Munchkin Bookmark of Braaaaaaaains
You may use this bookmark in any game of Munchkin or its sequels, or Munchkin Quest. It may be used at any time when you are in combat. You may only use one bookmark (of any kind) per game unless you change sex. If you change sex, you may use a second bookmark. You may not use more than two in a game, no matter what.

If you run a Munchkin tournament and ban the change sex curse, you would probably piss off some serious player who has multiple bookmarks, not because they care about changing sex per se but because they want to take advantage of two of their bookmarks if they can.

I had a different official Munchkin bookmark (another promotional goody from a convention) once upon a time that you had to tear in half, declare "I'm digging for gold!" and stick half in the treasure deck; when it came to the top you got the treasure card after it (and the sucker who should have gotten the treasure got nothing). Usable once. Not surprisingly, I no longer have that bookmark. :)

I think more than a few traditional RPGs would be better off using the quite abstract inventory/encumbrance rules of Munchkin. You can carry any amount (except for the Big item limit) but only "equip" a limited number of each that require a hand or are footgear, headgear, etc. so that their bonuses/effects apply. (But a hand of cards containing potential wandering monsters, curses to inflict on other players, races/classes to change to, etc. would make no sense in a traditional RPG.)

jeff37923

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« Reply #14 on: July 19, 2019, 06:45:11 AM »
Quote from: rawma;1096318
The first sentence looks like it was cobbled together from a web search. There's no gameboard in most incarnations, but they do exist in fancy boxed sets, as a way to track going from level 1 to level 10; I got a copy of Munchkin Zombies Deluxe that includes such a gameboard from a convention I volunteered at (volunteers could choose a reward from various donated merchandise), but I gave it unopened to a Munchkin fan. I've played with the original set, several of the D&D themed expansions, the Cthulhu themed one and a ninja themed one, never using a game board - mostly used pennies to track levels.

But d20 Munchkin is a completely different game; an actual d20 supplement, apparently. I've never seen it or its GM screen. A GM screen would be pointless in the card game. (If you want bad D&D derived jokes, you might look at SPI's Swords & Sorcery.)



Readers? I expect everyone else is already too put off by your creepy obsession with me.

You could search and find that I mentioned Munchkin (along with Talisman and the Greyhawk supplement) in a post over a year ago; searching through my old posts would certainly gratify your fixation with me. Heavy-handed effects like changing sex are annoying in role-playing games; they are more appropriate for a no-investment-in-your-character parody like Munchkin. But I am happy to chat about Munchkin in general as long as you would like. Is there something your web search failed to turn up that you would like to know?

The first time I played Munchkin, someone did indeed fight the Gazebo alone; I inferred (and nobody at the table knew better) that it was an inside joke from the designer about putting up a gazebo, but later discovered that it referred to an anecdote about a player who thought a gazebo was some kind of monster (and ended up being eaten by it alone). The "run away" game mechanic to escape a monster you can't deal with was uncomfortably close to the evasion table in original D&D.

Races and classes confer various advantages and disadvantages: elves can gain a level by helping another player in a combat; a dwarf can carry multiple big items and have an extra card in their hand (if I recall correctly). Great strategy to play a curse to force a player to lose their race when they depend on its abilities or an item usable only by that race, and similarly for class. If you eliminated a particular race from the deck because it offends you, then all the treasures usable only by that race are pointless, but at least they could be sold or discarded to power some ability. Eliminating the change race or class curse would also be a more significant change than eliminating one monster, but probably less so than the change sex curse, because players would still have a mechanism to become another race or class (just no way to force another player to stop being that race or class).

I inferred that the "Half Breed" card was objectionable to the original poster as a racial slur; the card would allow a player to have one race card in play without suffering its disadvantages, or to use two race cards and have the benefits and disadvantages of both. So you could be an elf-dwarf half breed; maybe the objection was to the implied miscegenation. The Super Munchkin card is equivalent for classes; we would have called it "Split Class" back when.

And I have in my hand at this very moment (I borrowed it from a serious Munchkin player) "The Official Munchkin Bookmark of Braaaaaaaains" which includes the following text:

If you run a Munchkin tournament and ban the change sex curse, you would probably piss off some serious player who has multiple bookmarks, not because they care about changing sex per se but because they want to take advantage of two of their bookmarks if they can.

I had a different official Munchkin bookmark (another promotional goody from a convention) once upon a time that you had to tear in half, declare "I'm digging for gold!" and stick half in the treasure deck; when it came to the top you got the treasure card after it (and the sucker who should have gotten the treasure got nothing). Usable once. Not surprisingly, I no longer have that bookmark. :)

I think more than a few traditional RPGs would be better off using the quite abstract inventory/encumbrance rules of Munchkin. You can carry any amount (except for the Big item limit) but only "equip" a limited number of each that require a hand or are footgear, headgear, etc. so that their bonuses/effects apply. (But a hand of cards containing potential wandering monsters, curses to inflict on other players, races/classes to change to, etc. would make no sense in a traditional RPG.)

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