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Just talk it out with them. Should work fine if it’s irl good friends.
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Sep 29, 2018 23:46
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Turtlicious posted:They gave both sides of the war the plague, collected a much smaller check for "securing the area" instead of "securing an alliance in the area." and went home. Well, at least you won't be lacking for plot seeds!  Meanwhile my group ended up unleashing an incredibly murderous (and ancient) assassin droid (read: a HK-50) on the galaxy because the players promised him his freedom if he would assassinate their target (who happened to be the guy running the auction said psychopathic assassin droid was an auction item in). This may or may not come back to bite them (it totally will). Imagined posted:Have you ever completely lost your fun and motivation to play like 75% through a campaign but just plowed on to the end just to be nice? I'm not sure if playing with good IRL friends was such a great idea. I've got one player who's just itching for more, always like let's play let's play this is great, another who I'm pretty sure is like me at this point, cruising on autopilot to be polite, and a third who is enthusiastic but refuses to do any outside reading (not even a cheat sheet), any character bookkeeping, or even remember what he specifically learned about the rules from his own actions yesterday. Like water off a duck's back, rules and this guy. Why did I do this to myself. I talked them into it! Yeah, I'll second Wrestlepig's suggestion here. If you're not enjoying yourself then it might be worth talking to your friends and figuring out amongst yourselves the best way to bring it to a graceful but swift conclusion. If they're as good friends as you say they'll understand (indeed, one or two of them might have felt too awkward to broach the subject themselves!).
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Sep 29, 2018 23:58
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Imagined posted:Have you ever completely lost your fun and motivation to play like 75% through a campaign but just plowed on to the end just to be nice? I'm not sure if playing with good IRL friends was such a great idea. I've got one player who's just itching for more, always like let's play let's play this is great, another who I'm pretty sure is like me at this point, cruising on autopilot to be polite, and a third who is enthusiastic but refuses to do any outside reading (not even a cheat sheet), any character bookkeeping, or even remember what he specifically learned about the rules from his own actions yesterday. Like water off a duck's back, rules and this guy. Why did I do this to myself. I talked them into it! Usually end up switching up system or setting or at least taking a "mid season break" before coming back to it much later Tldr; there's nothing wrong with abandoning it now even if you ever play again. But yeah, speak to your players and maybe change things up or take a break or something
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Sep 30, 2018 16:44
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Still trying to figure out a good way to include the party's Ranger into my game. We're basically diving into a set of ruins that's exposed to the elements, but rebuilding itself into the wilderness as time goes by. I'm considering having monsters and animals from the surrounding wilderness make their nests and living spaces on the outskirts of the dungeon and potentially migrating inwards as well. I'm hoping that this plus looking out for ways to let the Ranger's hawk do cool poo poo will prevent the class's entire shtick (overlands exploration) from being invalidated during the dungeon crawling.
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Sep 30, 2018 18:13
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Yeah, wilderness taking over parts of the dungeon will totally help. If you want to go full wild with it do an Etrian Oddyssey thing and stick a giant magical forest 50 feet underground.
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Sep 30, 2018 18:26
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tankfish posted:Asking for some advice for 5e I wanna add some type of maneuvers for the martial classes just so they are not so one note. I.e. champion. Is there a decent way to do it, or should I try to cludge something like the mighty deed dice from DCC? What Cephas said and in addition I ended up putting this together to systematically add maneuvers for all martials. There's a pay what you want version around if you're just curious though I'm about to update the $2 version to 1.3 once I get some new high level maneuvers in shape. It's up to about 80 maneuvers with a table laying out which classes get what.
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Sep 30, 2018 20:06
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clusterfuck posted:What Cephas said and in addition I ended up putting this together to systematically add maneuvers for all martials. There's a pay what you want version around if you're just curious though I'm about to update the $2 version to 1.3 once I get some new high level maneuvers in shape. It's up to about 80 maneuvers with a table laying out which classes get what. I'll definitely take a look and send a couple bucks your way
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Sep 30, 2018 20:16
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Pollyanna posted:Still trying to figure out a good way to include the party's Ranger into my game. We're basically diving into a set of ruins that's exposed to the elements, but rebuilding itself into the wilderness as time goes by. I'm considering having monsters and animals from the surrounding wilderness make their nests and living spaces on the outskirts of the dungeon and potentially migrating inwards as well. I'm hoping that this plus looking out for ways to let the Ranger's hawk do cool poo poo will prevent the class's entire shtick (overlands exploration) from being invalidated during the dungeon crawling. I'm not sure how helpful it'll be but it might also be worth considering ways to make getting to the dungeon an adventure in itself - perilous terrain, the need for shelter from the elements, that sort of thing.
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Sep 30, 2018 20:31
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Gumball Gumption posted:Yeah, wilderness taking over parts of the dungeon will totally help. If you want to go full wild with it do an Etrian Oddyssey thing and stick a giant magical forest 50 feet underground. I kinda envision the dungeon being the corpse of a dead god, so it's more of a sprawling complex of ruins. That said, maybe I'm getting too ahead of myself...I should be drawing maps and leaving blanks. I do know what kind of prep I've done, though. Wilderness/foresty poo poo is one thing, but then there's the fact that Rangers are about overland travel and perilous wilds...which is why I wonder if I shouldn't have limited the selection of playbooks for the kind of game I wanted to play. Oh well. Soup Inspector posted:I'm not sure how helpful it'll be but it might also be worth considering ways to make getting to the dungeon an adventure in itself - perilous terrain, the need for shelter from the elements, that sort of thing. Perilous terrain and shelter from the elements (e.g. a stomach dungeon, a lungs dungeon) is definitely going to be a thing, but I don't expect it to be anything even approaching a hexcrawl. Very very much not up for that at the moment.
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Sep 30, 2018 21:03
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Pollyanna posted:I kinda envision the dungeon being the corpse of a dead god, so it's more of a sprawling complex of ruins. In that case its even easier to justify an underground wilderness type area. The gods lungs or digestive tract or whatever. Or just straight rip off the Bionis from Xenoblade Chronicles (maybe scale it down a little).
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Oct 1, 2018 00:46
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Rohan Kishibe posted:In that case its even easier to justify an underground wilderness type area. The gods lungs or digestive tract or whatever. Or just straight rip off the Bionis from Xenoblade Chronicles (maybe scale it down a little).  Why didn't I think of that? Holy poo poo, I loved those areas.
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Oct 1, 2018 02:41
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Either that or La-Mulana.
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Oct 1, 2018 05:02
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La-Mulana was the original reason I went with this premise, though I’m a little worried about sticking too closely to a specific example.
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Oct 1, 2018 14:09
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Imagined posted:Have you ever completely lost your fun and motivation to play like 75% through a campaign but just plowed on to the end just to be nice? I'm not sure if playing with good IRL friends was such a great idea. I've got one player who's just itching for more, always like let's play let's play this is great, another who I'm pretty sure is like me at this point, cruising on autopilot to be polite, and a third who is enthusiastic but refuses to do any outside reading (not even a cheat sheet), any character bookkeeping, or even remember what he specifically learned about the rules from his own actions yesterday. Like water off a duck's back, rules and this guy. Why did I do this to myself. I talked them into it! How close to the end are you? Maybe you can just kind of freeform it with less combat or easier combat just theater of the mind uncomplicated stuff and cruise towards an interesting narrative end. My players in my 4e game are a mix of enthusiastic studious player, enthusiastic but more RP focused players and player who likes to be someone who participates in DnD but couldn't ever be bothered to look at their character sheet before the game begins to review. I found that shaving down encounters to being single easier baddies and a lot of RP/skill based encounters went a long way to giving the majority something they were more engaged with and easier to plan and run through the end of the campaign.
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Oct 1, 2018 14:48
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Why have you lost the motivation for the game? Is there maybe a specific reason that can be addressed? Or is it just fatigue? If it’s the latter, I agree with wrapping it up freeform and taking a break ASAP.
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Oct 1, 2018 14:57
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is it true that you have to do year long campaigns? i have major commitment issues, and long terms goals turn me really off. I feel like i might tick people off that we end a session after several weeks.
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Oct 1, 2018 16:15
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You don't "have to" do anything. You should communicate with your players about what they want, make clear commitments and meet them, and give people notice as far in advance as you can if and when you can't meet them. Apart from that, run one-shots, run fixed-length campaigns, go indefinite if you can, whatever. Some games benefit from actually following characters from low- to high-level (or racking up tons of XP / build points / whatever) but at the same time, often the only thing stopping you from just starting a campaign at a high level is it's a lot of decisions to make at once for inexperienced players.
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Oct 1, 2018 16:23
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Fruity20 posted:is it true that you have to do year long campaigns? i have major commitment issues, and long terms goals turn me really off. I feel like i might tick people off that we end a session after several weeks. Running shorter series kicks rear end. Everyone gets to try more things, and there's no reason you can't go back and revisit old stuff with old characters.
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Oct 1, 2018 16:29
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Pollyanna posted:Why have you lost the motivation for the game? Is there maybe a specific reason that can be addressed? Or is it just fatigue? If it’s the latter, I agree with wrapping it up freeform and taking a break ASAP. A combination of boredom with 5e and my brokebrain inability to maintain enthusiasm for anything for more than a month or two before something else is shiny.
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Oct 1, 2018 16:36
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Imagined posted:A combination of boredom with 5e and my brokebrain inability to maintain enthusiasm for anything for more than a month or two before something else is shiny. Also, while I first encountered it in PbtA games, the concept of "play to find out" is huge in preventing burnout and should be more or less universal in games. Because the GM hasn't pre-planned the entire story, they are actively curious about discovering the answer to "what happens next?" Done diligently, it's the difference between trying to write the perfect novel and watching a really good TV series; one is something you look at as a chore, the other is something you look forward to.
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Oct 1, 2018 16:53
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I started building my own game based on a friend's idea using the GUMSHOE system and it's really making me want to play something other than D&D, which I really do enjoy. But some of my players clearly lean more toward doing weird/exciting/crazy stuff that would play better in a narrative environment rather than with a roll saying "nope, you don't climb up the wall." And would be a nice palate cleanser. I think you should put your campaign on hold and try a couple games of something else that's a lot easier on you and relies on the players to help build the world if they're cool with it. Then you can come back to your campaign if the demand is there. I have a question which might be more of game design related but everyone has great ideas with character and challenges and puzzles so I'll ask here. The game I'm putting together needs a system wherein all the players are both working together to solve a case while simultaneously competing to become the "winner" and impress the boss. So I need a side-system that I can tack on to determine a winner. My original idea was a simple point based system where a player accrues points for successes at using their abilities or good RP. The "boss" would have a randomized set of abilities/character qualities that offer a bonus when there are successes in those areas. So if the boss is most impressed by good shooting and bravery, a success in shooting a bad guy would count for an extra point. I'm worried that this will simply randomly benefit players who happen to select builds that sync up with the boss' bonus abilities. It's more fluff than anything but I don't want anyone to feel like all things being equal they've lost as soon as they've built their character. Maybe there needs to be a couple "special" clues or encounters where you get a bonus if you find or solve them and then it's more accessible to everyone and it's just first to discover or succeed gets the boost?
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Oct 1, 2018 17:39
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Has there been any thought of respinning this thread? OP hasn't been updated in 6 years, several of the links are dead or point to malware redirects now. Masterplan appears to be dead and gone in general.
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Oct 2, 2018 22:21
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Next session of my game is tomorrow night! I have an explicit mission alongside my agendas and principles: - play to the party’s strengths - provide opportunities for level ups - litter the dungeon with strange and magical treasure - portray a weird and mysterious world - keep the action snowball rolling I’m still super nervous and still wanna figure out a way to get everyone involved and happy, but I also realize that comes with time. For now, I’ll focus on sticking to my principles.
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Oct 3, 2018 00:48
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Good plan! Let us know how it works out!
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Oct 3, 2018 00:54
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I have been Shanghaid into running a Halloween game for people. I want to do basically a recreation of Hocus Pocus where they are the witches and want to use a rules light (as in one of those single sheet) systems for this so we can jump into the game and get running with little prep and have everything done in a single session. I'm not familiar with any of the rules light systems, so was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for systems?
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Oct 3, 2018 02:06
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I need a bunch of malfunctioning magic/hypertech items/artifacts/etc. Comedy malfunctions are fine. Interesting malfunctions are also fine. The items still have to do something so that a creative person might find a use for them. Is there a good source for this somewhere, or can anyone come up with some cool stuff? Dameius posted:I have been Shanghaid into running a Halloween game for people. I want to do basically a recreation of Hocus Pocus where they are the witches and want to use a rules light (as in one of those single sheet) systems for this so we can jump into the game and get running with little prep and have everything done in a single session. I don't know Hocus Pocus. Could it be a candidate for a Lasers and Feelings reskin?
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Oct 3, 2018 08:07
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AlphaDog posted:I need a bunch of malfunctioning magic/hypertech items/artifacts/etc. Garmin-style GPS that promises an acre-large map of the current surroundings but blue-screens 1 second in.
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Oct 3, 2018 14:31
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Wait, no. Garmin-style GPS that only shows the party’s position relative to New Jersey. And everything is labeled as a Sam’s Club.
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Oct 3, 2018 14:33
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AlphaDog posted:I need a bunch of malfunctioning magic/hypertech items/artifacts/etc. What about a personal shield generator that's fritzing out and isn't gas permeable so you eventually run out of oxygen when using it? Or you can only shield inorganic matter with it.
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Oct 3, 2018 15:52
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1000-times folded katana of protein folding. Anyone struck with the blade gets an incurable prion disease that will kill them in 20 years. Once a deadly poison causing hallucination and mental overload, it has now degraded to a lesser form that simply causes dyslexia. Exceedingly polite and accommodating haircutting robot that secretly only remembers how to make faux hawks and hopes you're okay with it.
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Oct 3, 2018 16:02
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A taser that launches backwards. You can still use it if you remember to hold it wrong. A multi-tool that picks whatever tool it wants to pop out and has a cooldown. A scouter that estimates power levels on everything: enemies, asteroids, control panels, space rats (it always overshoots the power on those). A crawling drone that navigates everything as if in a maze: it hugs the right wall until it find the way.
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Oct 3, 2018 16:46
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Rather Watch Them posted:A taser that launches backwards. You can still use it if you remember to hold it wrong. The first one would be hilarious to fumble and drop and get your enemy to use The third I would probably gladly use on literally everything in sight.
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Oct 3, 2018 18:09
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Man, I really gotta start studying the actual books ‘n poo poo I’m using. Perilous Wilds seems to depend rather heavily on the system it’s defined, and I think me taking it piecemeal is loving me over instead.Pollyanna posted:- play to the party’s strengths We had a new member join the party today, a wizard! Unfortunately, I'm not sure if I managed to take advantage of the party's strengths. Part of it is that I'm following Perilous Wilds, which had me pre-build some setpieces and areas for the ruins - the stuff I built had little to nothing to do with rangers or bards, and only a little bit of wizardry. When you're making areas in advance, and all you know is that it's an abandoned ruin, it's kinda hard to link that to the stuff the characters do. I'm actually considering throwing out what I currently have in terms of area knowledge to just start making some new dungeons that are specifically about the kinds of stuff rangers, bards, wizards, and fire-lizards do. quote:- provide opportunities for level ups In a way, yes. I still need to get better at spouting lore, but I managed to keep in mind the alignments and goals of my players! The bard goaded the team into tasting the potions, the ranger freed the bard from the bonds of the stone wall they were trapped behind, and the wizard solved the magical mystery of what these weird vials contained. They'll have to take care of their bonds, sadly - I just don't know how to push them in situations to resolve them. quote:- litter the dungeon with strange and magical treasure Kinda sorta? I didn't really litter it everywhere, but we found some strange potions in a leather bag, and some technological odds and ends. I need to come up with some generic puzzles and traps and stuff to offer treasure and riches at a price. I should also start taking advantage of the Discoveries/Dangers table in Perilous Wilds. quote:- portray a weird and mysterious world This could be improved. All the weird stuff I came up with entirely on the fly, and I have yet to put together an interesting almanac about the world. I should finish reading Perilous Wilds, but I just wish I had a physical copy of the book... quote:- keep the action snowball rolling Not really a thing if you aren't literally in combat, which we never entered. Things I also found difficult were linking whatever the hell the players were doing directly to the adventure front. The adventure front included "the Goblets construct the Metal Trees" and "the Cantambor sings the Yellow Song", which means fuckall in terms of what happens and I just sorta stared at them wondering how the hell I was going to advance them. I still just don't get how to use fronts. I understand what they represent, and how to build them (sort of), but not how to set them in action. Things I need to do : - build a deck of Minor Magic Items to draw from whenever I want them to find something cool - build a deck of Interesting Obstacles and Puzzles to give them problems to solve - brainstorm more monsters that they could find and be menaced by - loving PRINT OUT THE PERILOUS WILDS TABLES N poo poo CMON - practice my German accent Pollyanna fucked around with this message at 02:26 on Oct 4, 2018 |
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Oct 4, 2018 01:41
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If you need some springboards for ideas, might I suggest the Fourth Page, the Fourth Page, the Fourth Page, or the Fourth Page? (World of Dungeons took exactly three pages, and the joke is the fourth page was some randomizer tables. Don't take 'em straight, necessarily; if you find that when the penny is up in the air you suddenly know what you're hoping, use the result that speaks to you.) Aside from that, as far as adventure fronts go? Yeah, you need to know how things are going to flow from one to the other, at least roughly. If you can't imagine how a front is going to progress without the PCs there it's not going to get easier when they're running around setting things on fire. Glazius fucked around with this message at 04:34 on Oct 4, 2018 |
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Oct 4, 2018 04:31
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Rather Watch Them posted:A multi-tool that picks whatever tool it wants to pop out and has a cooldown. Those two are great. Running with the first one, it's gonna be an intelligent multi-tool that's supposed to pop out the right tool and tell you how to use it, but instead will always produce a tool that could be (mis)used to do the job at hand, and then loudly explain to the user that it's fine, only the whiniest of goddamn whiny babies would complain about it, and it'll get the job done if they just stop bitching and start working. I'm going to use the second one as-is for a reliable but incredibly, frustratingly slow way to get to the destination. It will also stop at every closed door and spend 10 seconds just whirring before saying "Door opening protocol not found, report for maintenance. Maintenance override in place. Overriding. Continue to destination." Every. loving. Time. Elector_Nerdlingen fucked around with this message at 02:24 on Oct 5, 2018 |
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Oct 5, 2018 02:20
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I can't remember if I posted this to the thread already, but a magical spider-detecting sword. It glows blue and speaks a warning if a spider is about to attack you, or if a spider is attacking you right now, or if you're about to take a course of action that might, at some point, risk you being attacked by spiders.
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Oct 5, 2018 08:10
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It does this by shrieking SPIDERS SPIDERS SPIDERS really loud
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Oct 5, 2018 08:55
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Hey pal. Wanna buy a ring of conjuring? Only 10 gold pieces. Detect magic identifies the magic as conjuration. Once purchased and the salesperson leaves the ring disappears in 10 minutes.
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Oct 5, 2018 10:07
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Or it's a ring of teleportation Detects for teleporting magic 1 hour after you buy it, it teleports off your finger
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Oct 5, 2018 10:15
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dreadmojo posted:Or it's a ring of teleportation this is better. 
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Oct 5, 2018 10:23
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