I don't suffer fools well. Not in 'real life' and certainly not at the gaming table. This can make me GM that rarely gives a sucker a break (sorry, but 'they had it coming') and it also means that I find myself 'facepalming' when my fellow players do something painfully silly.
Gosh, that sounds rather arrogant, and it's really not meant to. I don't think I'm one of those 'difficult' players than GM bemoan (but then I would say that, right?) and would like to think I'm a team player.
Take tonights game as a perfect example of having to suffer fools amongst the people at the table (and I apologise to my friend - but you really did deserve that title tonight).
Picture the scene. We're fighting some nasty fungoid-skeleton things that hit rather hard with their scimitars. My Paladin of Iomadae (we're playing D&D 3.5 BTW, and the Pathfinder AP 'Curse of the Crimson Throne') is up front battling away. The party is spread out acros a rope bridge and the Halfling Rogue is in a bad way. One of the skeletons is after him.
The halfling is hit for 13HP which puts him on 0HP. He's conscious but any standard action will cause 1HP and cause him to fall over unconscious and start to die. He tumbles away to safety (a move action), and says
Rogue: "Oh! I don't have any healing potions!" (it's worth noting at this point that the same rogue was sent out the previous day by the party to buy every oil of Bless Weapon he could find in Korvosa..)
Me: "What?!"
Rogue: "Yeah I gave my last one away" (to our cleric of all people, and from a Neutral rogue, of all people..")
Me: OK....*shaking head slowly*.
The next thing the rogue does (from his place of relative safety now), is use his Cloak of the Mounteback to dimension door back into the middle of combat - a standard action (activating the item), which means he falls over and starts dying. One of the the characters (our bard) then has to use a spell to save him.
Me: *facepalm*
See? I just don't know what to do with some people!
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Interesting NPCs
The moment a PC says 'what does the weaponsmith look like' some GMs start to panic.
NPCs make a game come alive, but also are perceived to require a lot of work. It doesn't have to be like that. Here's a few tips to help.
1. Names! Spend 10 minutes on Google and you'll have list of names appropriate for your setting. Print them off and keep them close to hand. When you need a name, don't flounder, just pick one.
2. Quirk. There are loads of resources; for Pathfinder the Gamesmastery Guide has a number of tables. Roll a couple of dice and let the NPC build himself.
3. Make notes. Write down what the NPC is like. Just a few scribbles will do especially if you have the time later to write them up. Nothing emerses the players in the mundane more than that weaponsmith (you know, the old guy with the burnt forearm) says 'so, killed anything with that masterwork sword I sold you? I put a lot of work into that...'
NPCs are supporting characters in your novel. Have a read of this for some inspiration - http://io9.com/5896488/10-secrets-to-creating-unforgettable-supporting-characters
NPCs make a game come alive, but also are perceived to require a lot of work. It doesn't have to be like that. Here's a few tips to help.
1. Names! Spend 10 minutes on Google and you'll have list of names appropriate for your setting. Print them off and keep them close to hand. When you need a name, don't flounder, just pick one.
2. Quirk. There are loads of resources; for Pathfinder the Gamesmastery Guide has a number of tables. Roll a couple of dice and let the NPC build himself.
3. Make notes. Write down what the NPC is like. Just a few scribbles will do especially if you have the time later to write them up. Nothing emerses the players in the mundane more than that weaponsmith (you know, the old guy with the burnt forearm) says 'so, killed anything with that masterwork sword I sold you? I put a lot of work into that...'
NPCs are supporting characters in your novel. Have a read of this for some inspiration - http://io9.com/5896488/10-secrets-to-creating-unforgettable-supporting-characters
Monday, March 5, 2012
Rules Rules Rules
Roleplaying games are crazy.
As I look at my bookshelf now I see loads of books filled with rules; Pathfinder Core Rules alone has nearly 600 pages of the things! And yet us roleplayers don't bat an eyelid at them; we just seem to suck them up and then vom them out all over Internet forums to get one over some other loser that's also sucked them up with the same intent.
I play board games and bolt at the sign of a rules pamplet more than 6 sides, and yet I will happily wade though half a tree of rules for an RPG and long as they 'make sense' (whatever that means).
If IT books were as 'easy' to suck up I'd probably be darn sight better at my job!
As I look at my bookshelf now I see loads of books filled with rules; Pathfinder Core Rules alone has nearly 600 pages of the things! And yet us roleplayers don't bat an eyelid at them; we just seem to suck them up and then vom them out all over Internet forums to get one over some other loser that's also sucked them up with the same intent.
I play board games and bolt at the sign of a rules pamplet more than 6 sides, and yet I will happily wade though half a tree of rules for an RPG and long as they 'make sense' (whatever that means).
If IT books were as 'easy' to suck up I'd probably be darn sight better at my job!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Terraclips
After years of drawing on tactiles for D20-based combat I bought some Terraclips 3D scenery. This stuff is pretty cool actually - very sturdy and makes some awesome multi-tiered environments. In my excitement I forgot to take any picture though.
The dungeon was a multi-level mausoleum and worked rather well I thought.
I try to remember next time - and there will be a next time!
The dungeon was a multi-level mausoleum and worked rather well I thought.
I try to remember next time - and there will be a next time!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Watching the progress of D&D..
I'm not a 4E fan, but I am a D&D fan. It was my first love blah blah, and for many reasons the hobby can't afford for it to fail.
A healthy D&D is a healthy roleplaying industry.
EN World has a good page of the latest 'what we know' news. Check it out at http://www.enworld.org/index.php?page=dnd5e
Can they do the impossible? 'Cause at the moment it's looking like it's going to need a Miracle to deliver all the design goals, and we all know there aren't that many Clerics that can, or will, knock that spell out on demand..
Interesting times.
A healthy D&D is a healthy roleplaying industry.
EN World has a good page of the latest 'what we know' news. Check it out at http://www.enworld.org/index.php?page=dnd5e
Can they do the impossible? 'Cause at the moment it's looking like it's going to need a Miracle to deliver all the design goals, and we all know there aren't that many Clerics that can, or will, knock that spell out on demand..
Interesting times.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Why 4E = Fail
There are loads of opinions.
For me it can summarised in one statement - "They included Agro Management"
Anyone who plays MMOs will know what Agro, or Threat is. For the uninitiated/people with lives, it's a very simple (in principle) mechnanism in a computer MMO which controls which person a MOB (that's a critter/monster/bad guy) attacks. There's no intelligence behind it but the appearance is that there is.
Simply put - The MOB attacks the person it 'hates' the most.
Or to but it another way, it will attack whoever 'threatens' or 'aggrevates' it the most. So if you do alot of damage will attack you unless someone else does more for example. This is really only noticeable in group play of course. Computer RPGs will has classes specifically designed to create a lot of threat to ensure that the MOBs attack them; leaving the rest of the party free to do their thang. Agro managment is a defining part of MMO gameplay and understanding it forms the basis of every fight in the game.
In a pen and paper RPG (like D&D) the DM controls what or who the monsters attack. It's a defining principle of those games (and the opposite of MMOs) and a part of what makes them as special as they are. Like the fact you, as a player character, can try to whatever you want - it's up to the DM with the help of the rules that decide the result. That's why roleplaying is better than a board game in many respects; that sandbox approach, limited only your imagination. The bottom line is that you don't need to introduce agro management mechnics to the game, and you shouldn't. Real life isn't constrained by such basic things and never should a monster in a game. If a particular goblin really hates elves (because elves killed his family etc etc), then why should he be forced to attack some random Paladin when there's a horrible elf over there pewing pewing him?
But they did in 4E. Why? I don't know, but the fact that they did in the first place shows that the designers had lost touch with what makes a P'n'P RPG different from a Computer RPG/MMO. The mindset rippled down throughout the entire ruleset and is a perfect example of why 4E fails as a roleplaying game. The Agro mechanic was not absolute; they didn't screw it up that badly, but it was it was enough to make combat more forced, and less believable as a story telling element. That hurts a roleplaying game, and in 4E - killed it.
Note, I'm not saying it's not a good game. It IS a good game, but it's not a good roleplaying game, and that's why it failed.
For me it can summarised in one statement - "They included Agro Management"
Anyone who plays MMOs will know what Agro, or Threat is. For the uninitiated/people with lives, it's a very simple (in principle) mechnanism in a computer MMO which controls which person a MOB (that's a critter/monster/bad guy) attacks. There's no intelligence behind it but the appearance is that there is.
Simply put - The MOB attacks the person it 'hates' the most.
Or to but it another way, it will attack whoever 'threatens' or 'aggrevates' it the most. So if you do alot of damage will attack you unless someone else does more for example. This is really only noticeable in group play of course. Computer RPGs will has classes specifically designed to create a lot of threat to ensure that the MOBs attack them; leaving the rest of the party free to do their thang. Agro managment is a defining part of MMO gameplay and understanding it forms the basis of every fight in the game.
In a pen and paper RPG (like D&D) the DM controls what or who the monsters attack. It's a defining principle of those games (and the opposite of MMOs) and a part of what makes them as special as they are. Like the fact you, as a player character, can try to whatever you want - it's up to the DM with the help of the rules that decide the result. That's why roleplaying is better than a board game in many respects; that sandbox approach, limited only your imagination. The bottom line is that you don't need to introduce agro management mechnics to the game, and you shouldn't. Real life isn't constrained by such basic things and never should a monster in a game. If a particular goblin really hates elves (because elves killed his family etc etc), then why should he be forced to attack some random Paladin when there's a horrible elf over there pewing pewing him?
But they did in 4E. Why? I don't know, but the fact that they did in the first place shows that the designers had lost touch with what makes a P'n'P RPG different from a Computer RPG/MMO. The mindset rippled down throughout the entire ruleset and is a perfect example of why 4E fails as a roleplaying game. The Agro mechanic was not absolute; they didn't screw it up that badly, but it was it was enough to make combat more forced, and less believable as a story telling element. That hurts a roleplaying game, and in 4E - killed it.
Note, I'm not saying it's not a good game. It IS a good game, but it's not a good roleplaying game, and that's why it failed.
When did Monsters become MOBs?
Or conditions become 'buff's?
I've been P'n'P roleplaying for decades but it's only recently that I've noticed that we've started to refer to monsters as mobs (which I thought was game from MMOs e.g World of Warcraft). Also my wife noticed that we were also calling spells like 'Haste' buffing spells! That seems to have happened as well.
I'm not sure when it started in our games, and I'm not against it, but it's interesting how the lexicon has gone full circle from P'n'P > MMO > P'n'P.
Don't get me started on the game play! (4E anyone?)
I've been P'n'P roleplaying for decades but it's only recently that I've noticed that we've started to refer to monsters as mobs (which I thought was game from MMOs e.g World of Warcraft). Also my wife noticed that we were also calling spells like 'Haste' buffing spells! That seems to have happened as well.
I'm not sure when it started in our games, and I'm not against it, but it's interesting how the lexicon has gone full circle from P'n'P > MMO > P'n'P.
Don't get me started on the game play! (4E anyone?)
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