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Post by kaitoujuliet on Dec 7, 2016 8:04:33 GMT -8
I've been teaching myself the Leverage RPG in preparation for running it for my group soon. I would love to get tips from other people who have run it if there are any on this board.
I have some specific questions too. For example, do you have any suggestions about what makes a good Recruitment Job?
I've generated some basic scenarios using the tables in the book, but what sort of prep do you do once you have the situation and key players? How many locations do you usually plan for? How do you choose traits for the locations? Do you typically plan out opportunities for the Crew to get at the Mark--for example, "The Mark will be attending the governor's ball in two days"?
Do you make any effort to ensure there will be something for each Crewmember to do, or do you let them figure that out for themselves?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2016 11:44:55 GMT -8
I've run Firefly quite a lot which is built off of the same version of Cortex+ and have read but not run Leverage.
Regards locations I would probably try and think of a couple that are important to the mark such as home and place of work as they're both places that the PCs will immediately think about. Having a location where the mark is publicly available early on is good but not essential, it lets the PC's gather Intel and start laying the groundwork of their con.
For any locations I'd then have 2-3 scene traits based on the initial description, any more and I'll add them in during play. In general the system works really well with filling in details on the fly if you are comfortable with that.
The other thing I personally think is important is that Leverage isn't as much a heist game as it is a con game, even when a heist is the end goal the con is often the most important part of it.
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Post by kaitoujuliet on Dec 8, 2016 13:08:04 GMT -8
Thanks for the tips, @whodo! The other thing I personally think is important is that Leverage isn't as much a heist game as it is a con game, even when a heist is the end goal the con is often the most important part of it. Can you expand on that? How does it affect the Fixer's (GM's) job, in your opinion?
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cybereverything
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Post by cybereverything on Dec 8, 2016 20:55:21 GMT -8
Perhaps one of ways of thinking of the differences between the focus on 'heist' versus 'con' might be it's less about getting (to) the MacGuffin and more about the movement of gears around the goal object - the 'con' is also all the social aspects around it.
I haven't run Leverage per se, but we do run Cortex+. One of the things I've been trying to focus on is getting individual talents highlighted, but also making sure certain tasks can be done by at least two PCs in different ways. Do you talk your way into the gala, or sneak in? Do you let them split the party because half can do each?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2016 1:23:05 GMT -8
Yeah, a heist is all about the theft. If you're doing it well you might be able to get in and out without being noticed but ultimately it's about stealing something.
A con on the other hand is about fooling somebody, it requires deception and typically social interactions. I'd call Leverage a con game due to the focus on the mark. In the show they typically interact with the mark and build them into the deception even if it's just part of distracting then from the theft. The actual theft tends to become a minor part of any given episode.
For the GM I think the most important bit too remember here is to make the mark distinctive and be willing to work them into the plot even if it might not make sense outside of a genre point of view. Trying to rob a corporate vault, well of course the rarely present jetsetting CEO is the only person with the access codes. Hence you need an elaborate party to get them drunk, kidnap them then lock them inside a mock up of their own vault.
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Post by chronovore on Dec 12, 2016 21:03:52 GMT -8
I loved the Leverage show, and am curious about the game, so I'm mainly bookmarking here for further conversation. However, I'm curious if there's a mechanic for the often-used show RETCON trope where a flashback is shown where the crew show that the current predicament is actually of their own design, or the problem has already been solved, etc.
It seems like Red Markets also has a similar mechanic, though I've only listened to APs for that. The negotiations for jobs are role-played, and the non-negotiating characters are able to RP little vignette scenes where they address complications that can affect the negotiations.
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fredrix
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Post by fredrix on Dec 12, 2016 21:44:04 GMT -8
I'm curious if there's a mechanic for the often-used show RETCON trope where a flashback is shown where the crew show that the current predicament is actually of their own design, or the problem has already been solved, etc. There is
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2016 3:14:27 GMT -8
Yeah the retcon mechanic is in there and is pretty good. Essentially you spend plot points to add extra details to a previous scene. For example you could use it to say "remember when I unexpectedly got beaten up by the mark earlier... I let that happen so I could slip a tracker into their pocket during the fight." I can't remember the full rules for it but it is very much in keeping with the tone of the show.
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Post by kaitoujuliet on Dec 13, 2016 7:15:01 GMT -8
There's even a Hacker talent called "Do You Have That Thing I Gave You?" where the Hacker can spend a plot point to say that someone in a fix has a clever device created by the Hacker that will help out in the situation.
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Post by kaitoujuliet on Dec 19, 2016 7:16:01 GMT -8
Well, my group kind of stumbled through the Recruitment Job. Despite being almost all fans of the show, I don't think they were ready to fill in the details quite as aggressively as the book suggests. Partly as a result of this, inviting people into spotlight scenes didn't work so well either, so we ditched that in favor of "Just think up a situation where you might be able to roll for your secondary traits." Interestingly, that usually led to the player volunteering to insert him/herself into someone else's spotlight scene!
Despite that part being a little rough, I do think a good time was had by all. We have a fun group of characters that have the potential to really mesh, and the players are eager to play some more.
Big lesson learned: 2d6, which the book suggests rolling for things that don't have specific stats in advance, is generally not enough to challenge a PC. So either try to stat out plenty of stuff in advance, or make that 2d8. Thank goodness for complications, as they still insure that PCs have obstacles to negotiate.
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Post by kaitoujuliet on Jan 14, 2017 9:45:34 GMT -8
Okay, I've run my second session. Still only a partial success--we're all having fun, but we're definitely still mastering the system and stumbling a bit. I'm trying not to panic about the fact that I've committed myself to run this game at a con at the end of the month!
Lesson learned from last time: get to the briefing as fast as possible. I made the mistake of giving my group just the client's contact information and basic situation, assuming they'd get in touch with him and find out who the mark was. Instead, they spent about an hour of real time researching the situation, investigating the client, and trying to find hidden agendas behind the arson at the client's business. Even when the client told them what was going on, they assumed that wasn't the whole story and kept looking for deeper motivations on the mark's part ... when just going to the mark's restaurant would have showed them that he was an egotist and micromanager. The players did admit afterward that they were "Shadowrunning" rather than diving right in, so maybe they'll make more of an effort to do that next time.
But is there any way I can encourage them to just get moving rather than spending all their time on gathering information? In addition to not matching the genre and only giving the Hacker and/or Grifter much to do, it also puts a lot of pressure on me to invent stuff, instead of reacting to the Crew's plans. And it doesn't generate many Plot Points either.
(Speaking of Plot Points, do they carry over from one Job to another? I haven't been doing that, but it seems like players would be able to do more if they did. I know they can also reference earlier Jobs for plot points.)
Also, how do I encourage players to have their characters try things that aren't their primary Roles? I don't want them just sitting around feeling like I'm not giving them anything to do if they're not rolling their D10s.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2017 13:19:05 GMT -8
First thing I'd do is to put them under time pressure. The client needs something done within a time frame, up coming court case, mark is closing his business, big presentation to rival etc. The other thing is to let their initial investigation then have the client throw a spanner in the works by mentioning a detail they really needed at the start.
As for the giving other people stuff to do intel gathering should require the whole team. Again this isn't shadowrun, they're not up against a megacorp just regular old people. The hitter could go beat somebody up or challenge a security guard to a drinking contest. Likewise gathering intel should require rolls, providing two things - the opportunity to earn plot points and to generate complications (such as the mark spotting they're being tailed so they call in bodyguards. Now the hitter has something to do). Might be worth reminding them that when they roll off of their lesser roles they're more likely to earn plot points. Failing in shadowrun might equal death but it's what is required in order to generate drama. Off the top of my head I don't know if plot points carry over between jobs, I'd rule no but would allow them to carry over between sessions that are part of the same job.
Final thing I'd say is you'll need to get used to inventing stuff on the fly, with how assets and complications work in C+ games it's an important skill for the GM to have.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2017 23:08:30 GMT -8
A couple things about the mechanics of Cortex+ to start. Opposition does not have to be overwhelming to be threatening. Players earn plot points when they use a distinction against themself (opting to take a d4 instead of a d8) and when the GM buys their 1's. Every die the players roll has a chance to come up a 1 (thus more dice mean higher likely totals, but more chances to roll a 1). So even if your players handily outclass Security Guards 2D6, they could still be stacking up complications. Also remember that leverage is a competence porn game. None of the crew should be struggling against trivial encounters. Complications (and plot points) make the world go round. Not only do they introduce hurdles in the fiction, but they add to the oppositions dice pools (which can make even a 2D6 threat into something bigger).
Leverage is a very funky game in how it is supposed to play. You don't need a plan for how to con the mark. That is what the Mastermind's role is when everything gets all tied together at the end. Much like the flashback is used to explain your way out of a jam, when you wrap at the end is when you pull at the parts of the heist together to explain how you succeeded or failed. Its hard to get players to buy in to jumping off the cliff. The mechanics are their parachutes, but most of them aren't used to that style of play. It wouldn't work at all, except that the game is based on competence porn. They can jump because they know they have the skill and tricks (flashbacks) to make it through. Thus why you should be careful about upping the challenge. If what should be a trivial encounter turns into a threatening one, they are not as likely to do anything without a plan.
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Post by kaitoujuliet on Jan 16, 2017 10:12:56 GMT -8
As for the giving other people stuff to do intel gathering should require the whole team. It should, but they're relying heavily on the Hacker and only sending out other people (almost always the Grifter) when there's information they want that can't be found online. I think next time I'm going to experiment with just handing them more information in a dossier at the start of the Job. It might make the Hacker feel less useful, but then he could concentrate on doing stuff that will actually hurt the Mark. Thanks, I'll try that. Sure; I just felt like they were asking me to feed them their plan--like they expected their research to tell them what they should do to attack the Mark, and that's supposed to be their job. Every die the players roll has a chance to come up a 1 (thus more dice mean higher likely totals, but more chances to roll a 1). Yeah, that was another weird thing about last session: verrrrry few complications. I think only one player ever rolled a 1 (actually, he rolled double 1s). I'll try putting it that way to them. Thanks for the metaphor. *** Also, new question: What happens when a player is rolling to convince an NPC of something, and the NPC has a trait that's relevant but should work in the PC's favor? Do I roll it as part of the stakes or not? For example, if the Mark has the trait "Greedy D8," and the PC appeals to his greed, how is that reflected in the roll? P.S. What's particularly odd is that my group all enjoyed Marvel Heroic Roleplay, and they're all at least familiar with Leverage the show, so I don't know why they're finding it harder than MHR. (Which I absolutely could not grok, btw.)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2017 12:12:50 GMT -8
So I can't remember the exact rules for it and don't have the rulebook handy but I'd do it in one of two ways: If the Greedy is a distinction then I'd roll it as a d4, increasing the chance of failure for the NPC and also the chance of an opportunity for the PCs to take advantage of.
If it's an actual trait (I can't remember whether NPCs in leverage use the standard traits or not) then I would work it one of two ways - either don't add it or let the PCs add it to their pool instead. My inclination would be towards the latter but I would first be tempted to make them 'discover' the greedy nature of the NPC first before revealing the trait.
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