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Post by ilina on Nov 25, 2016 20:42:04 GMT -8
here are some tips. though some players will argue that these moves are dick moves.
the First Tip is common sense (or at least universal consistency) trumps rules. while some fantasy elements are fine, and matching what would be common sense for the genre is important, it is bad form to include a Katana Wielding Vampiric Japanese Schoolgirl Samurai Assassin in a horror based setting where the point is to make the characters (and the players by proxy) feel helpless. now, a character inspired by Saya would be better suited to a story about elite monster hunters. another thing that is bad form, is allowing a special forces soldier in a zombie apocalypse setting while one person plays an unemployed Otaku, another plays a nurse and the third plays an elderly Wal-Mart greeter
the second Tip is to when your NPCs are forced to fight, to remember your NPCs are fighting to preserve their own lives. because of this, they shouldn't continue to fight to the death against suicidal odds and should generally use every asset available in their Arsenal. if a specific kobold mine is loaded with pit traps and alarms, the kobolds inside have the technology to make gunpowder, work firearms, the required ammunition and speedloaders, said kobolds have enough knowledge of metallurgy, engineering, alchemy and architecture to carve a complex kobold sized tunnel system for easy reinforcements throughout the mines as well as make a steady supply of potions, medicine and poisons, and have plenty of large numbers with which to provide reinforcements, quick retreats. and resupplies. those kobolds should be using every one of those assets, from the poisons and potions, to the firearms, the gunpowder, the traps, the alarms, the tunnel system and the fact they can procure an easy retreat or seemingly massive number of reinforcements to ward off invaders. don't be afraid to retreat when nearing death. and don't be afraid to surrender when you know you have lost.
the third tip, is that every item you give an NPC will eventually end up in the hands of one of the player characters at some point. because of this, you should control the loot you give your players by limiting the amount of long term items you give your NPCs. most NPCs generally have far more limited resources than their PC counterparts and are thus more likely to carry consumable items that they are more likely to use because NPCs usually think for what will immediately help them rather than what will help them in the long term. a missing potion is far easier to replace than a missing magic sword. a lot of munchkin players will bitch that you are reducing their treasure and increasing the challenge beyond what is intended, but that is an assumed part of what makes humanoid or sapient NPCs so deadly and something they need to keep up with the monsters. not every NPC is a dragon with a mountain of high value items sitting in a horde in some vault. they use what they have, and they don't always carry everything they own. in fact, encumbrance and the weight of an item, even if it is common sense based encumbrance, is a good way to force players to hire Valets and Teamsters to haul their stuff. in fact, hirelings are a great gold sink. it bothers me that few GMs allow them. Extra PCs per player are also a great gold sink.
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sbloyd
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Post by sbloyd on Nov 26, 2016 9:24:20 GMT -8
it is bad form to include a Katana Wielding Vampiric Japanese Schoolgirl Samurai Assassin in a horror based setting where the point is to make the characters (and the players by proxy) feel helpless. I think this is actually a separate issue, and the advice against this would be that the PCs are the Protagonists of the story. The last time I played D&D - as a player - this was precisely the setup: we were all flunkies to the GMPC knight. What he should have done (as Stu Venable found out by experience) is kill off or otherwise remove the knight early on, and let the players get on about the business of being Big Damn Heroes (or Evil Damn Vampires, in the case of the Mote, or Struggling Damn Nobodies in your horror game). Unless, as players often do, the PCs have garnered a reputation for killing prisoners and others who surrender. This goes for the GM side of things, too; if you, as a GM, build a rep for killing those who surrender, don't be surprised of your PCs would rather go down fighting - because there's really no difference! I see what you did there. (And take umbrage at the hint that I might be a, quote, munchkin player, endquote.) My point, in that other discussion thread, was that if you consistently throw potion-buffed NPCs against your PCs, then mechanically what you are doing is raising threat level while simultaneously lowering reward.
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Post by Kainguru on Nov 26, 2016 9:38:57 GMT -8
You should really separate intended loot from NPC arsenal. Buff your NPC's to match the PC's but don't leave the potion chest empty - in game logic? The potions left, i.e. The loot list, are the extra potions the NPC's had for the next crew of adventurers intent in stealing their shit. NPC's shouldn't blow their entire wad in single combat because that'd be like setting one self up for a Pyrrhic victory - winning a battle to lose the war. PC's don't do that, unless you want to fucked by the next encounter because you have no buffs left. Aaron
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sbloyd
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Post by sbloyd on Nov 26, 2016 9:45:52 GMT -8
(As an aside, are Potion Miscibility Tables still a thing? Back in the day, if you chugged more than one potion you were in for, as they say, a Bad Day.)
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sbloyd
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Post by sbloyd on Nov 26, 2016 9:57:45 GMT -8
Here's one that sort of goes with that first one:
Don't punish your players for making the kinds of characters they want to play. If you're shooting for a particular genre, let them know up front - and I am certainly all for the Session Zero meeting where character generation is done, and world/setting info is hashed out.
But if you have a Big Dumb Fighter PC, don't go out of your way to punish that player for making a Big Dumb Fighter. The Big Dumb Fighter is a standard trope in fantasy games. People are at your table to play a game and have fun, not be taunted by the GM for not making the kind of character the GM would have made instead... though if the Game Master were clear during Session Zero, and the group made their characters together, you probably wouldn't end up with three 'My Parents Are Dead I'm A Loner' guys and a stand-up comedian.
Session Zero is also your best opportunity to forge backstory between the characters (assuming the game in question isn't one that has this built in, like Dresden or Traveller).
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Post by Kainguru on Nov 26, 2016 10:40:57 GMT -8
Hmmm the katana wielding vampire school girl samurai assassin not suitable for a horror game? I think, with only a little effort, it could: splatter horror and the ennui losing what little remains of ones humanity, the sacrifices already made to face the darkness not being enough. Grab hold of the old Vampirella comics . . . no one ever seems to win, despite their supernatural advantages, the best that can be hoped for is an uneasy stalemate or a brief respite Aaron
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Post by chronovore on Dec 12, 2016 20:58:32 GMT -8
the second Tip is to when your NPCs are forced to fight, to remember your NPCs are fighting to preserve their own lives. because of this, they shouldn't continue to fight to the death against suicidal odds and should generally use every asset available in their Arsenal. if a specific kobold mine is loaded with pit traps and alarms, the kobolds inside have the technology to make gunpowder, work firearms, the required ammunition and speedloaders, said kobolds have enough knowledge of metallurgy, engineering, alchemy and architecture to carve a complex kobold sized tunnel system for easy reinforcements throughout the mines as well as make a steady supply of potions, medicine and poisons, and have plenty of large numbers with which to provide reinforcements, quick retreats. and resupplies. those kobolds should be using every one of those assets, from the poisons and potions, to the firearms, the gunpowder, the traps, the alarms, the tunnel system and the fact they can procure an easy retreat or seemingly massive number of reinforcements to ward off invaders. don't be afraid to retreat when nearing death. and don't be afraid to surrender when you know you have lost. Our current DM (DnD 5E) is fond of this, and it still bites us in the butt. Not only are the goblins frequently using solid tactics instead of conveniently rushing onto our swords and spear tips, but once it's clear they can't win, they'll surrender and ask to be allowed to clear the field. It's funny because I've been listening to enough of the KARTAS backlog that Alignment quirks are heavily on my mind. Is it morally acceptable to suffer a goblin or bugbear to live? Aren't they just going to continue causing problem for us upstanding Good or Neutral folk? We let them withdraw from the field, but I'm still wondering when we're going to get bit in the ass by the massive horde of goblinry that we previously let go.
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maxinstuff
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Post by maxinstuff on Dec 12, 2016 22:26:39 GMT -8
Is it morally acceptable to suffer a goblin or bugbear to live? Aren't they just going to continue causing problem for us upstanding Good or Neutral folk? We let them withdraw from the field, but I'm still wondering when we're going to get bit in the ass by the massive horde of goblinry that we previously let go. This is a good point, and an pertinent one. It's becoming increasingly clear that we'll eventually need a final solution of some sort to this goblin problem. I'm not suggesting any rash action.... just think on it.
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Post by ilina on Dec 13, 2016 0:46:08 GMT -8
Is it morally acceptable to suffer a goblin or bugbear to live? Aren't they just going to continue causing problem for us upstanding Good or Neutral folk? We let them withdraw from the field, but I'm still wondering when we're going to get bit in the ass by the massive horde of goblinry that we previously let go. This is a good point, and an pertinent one. It's becoming increasingly clear that we'll eventually need a final solution of some sort to this goblin problem. I'm not suggesting any rash action.... just think on it. Goblins are sentient creatures with free will, they only take things because they lack a means to learn the skills to procure those things for themselves due to the prejudice of more civilized species. nobody is willing to sit down and teach goblins how to farm, sew, read, write, and trade. and nobody is willing to trade with goblins either. they are pretty much alone and have nobody to teach them, so they resort to banditry.
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fredrix
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Post by fredrix on Dec 13, 2016 0:53:08 GMT -8
Whoosh!
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maxinstuff
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Post by maxinstuff on Dec 13, 2016 1:19:11 GMT -8
But if we built a train..... we could resettle the goblins.
In the east!
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Post by Kainguru on Dec 13, 2016 2:48:29 GMT -8
But if we built a train..... we could resettle the goblins. In the east! They would be happy there living their goblin lives without the taint of our cultural superiority Aaron
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sbloyd
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Post by sbloyd on Dec 13, 2016 5:20:31 GMT -8
Just send them to live at a farm upstate.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2016 6:18:11 GMT -8
This is a good point, and an pertinent one. It's becoming increasingly clear that we'll eventually need a final solution of some sort to this goblin problem. I'm not suggesting any rash action.... just think on it. Goblins are sentient creatures with free will, they only take things because they lack a means to learn the skills to procure those things for themselves due to the prejudice of more civilized species. nobody is willing to sit down and teach goblins how to farm, sew, read, write, and trade. and nobody is willing to trade with goblins either. they are pretty much alone and have nobody to teach them, so they resort to banditry. One, free will is something people debate in humans (and I for one am on the side of it being bullshit). Two, did the goblins ever try to change that circumstance? The idea that no one would prefer to teach a goblin to farm over being raided constantly seems far fetched. Three, nearly every fantasy monster has a nature that drives it to do what it does. They are not some kind of oppressed or underprivileged kid from the wrong side of the tracks. They'd kill you as soon as look at you. I'm pretty sick of SJW's turning every evil thing from fantasy into an allegory for minorities. Goblin's are an existential threat in settings like Lord of the Rings. They've basically sacked the great dwarven halls and are now threatening to choke off the 'good' peoples from one another by taking control of the passes. It would be as if ISIS showed up in the US and took a bunch of major cities and was blockading others, and we were sitting around saying that they just needed to be taught better. No, just no.
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Post by Kainguru on Dec 13, 2016 6:59:12 GMT -8
A Goblin Reservation we could call Territory's or a Nation of sorts, protected from us except when we want sell them things that they enjoy - like booze or opium or codiene. Then they might develop a culture that exploits loop holes in our own laws and caters to our cultural vices in turn - like gambling . . . The Goblin Nations Gaming Cartel Aaron
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