fredrix
Master Douchebag
Posts: 2,142
Preferred Game Systems: Fate, L5R, Pendragon, Gumshoe, Feng Shui
Currently Playing: Pendragon, Song of Ice and Fire, L5R, Feng Shui, Traveller
Currently Running: Fate, Coriolis, Nights Black Agents
Favorite Species of Monkey: 1970's NTV, dubbed by the BBC (though The Water Margin beats it)
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Post by fredrix on Apr 29, 2017 9:55:05 GMT -8
Still listening but SOOOO much to talk about already. All the murder mystery advice was good, but I don't think I heard my favourite thing for sowing suspicion which is simply to give each character a secret to keep. I've found the secrets themselves can be very innocent, but just having them makes the player suddenly coy and they can't help acting suspiciously.
There's a great Firefly RPG scenario where each suspect has a motive and an alibi, and the players investigate until they've cleared most of the suspects and then they work how the last uncleared one did it ...
Lots of gumshoe campaigns, especially The Dracula Dossier Jane innocence cent and guilty backgrounds for EVERY npc
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Post by chronovore on Apr 30, 2017 0:21:04 GMT -8
Still listening but SOOOO much to talk about already. All the murder mystery advice was good, but I don't think I heard my favourite thing for sowing suspicion which is simply to give each character a secret to keep. I've found the secrets themselves can be very innocent, but just having them makes the player suddenly coy and they can't help acting suspiciously. There's a great Firefly RPG scenario where each suspect has a motive and an alibi, and the players investigate until they've cleared most of the suspects and then they work how the last uncleared one did it ... Lots of gumshoe campaigns, especially The Dracula Dossier Jane innocence cent and guilty backgrounds for EVERY npc I love this. I think I'll retroactively fit it into my current game. We've been wide-open on sharing, but I think it will add a dimension to have each person have something they don't want to hit the table.
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fredrix
Master Douchebag
Posts: 2,142
Preferred Game Systems: Fate, L5R, Pendragon, Gumshoe, Feng Shui
Currently Playing: Pendragon, Song of Ice and Fire, L5R, Feng Shui, Traveller
Currently Running: Fate, Coriolis, Nights Black Agents
Favorite Species of Monkey: 1970's NTV, dubbed by the BBC (though The Water Margin beats it)
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Post by fredrix on Apr 30, 2017 1:43:20 GMT -8
Inappropriate lullabies: when my daughter was born (almost 16 years ago now, her birthday is this week) I used to sign her to sleep with The Old Main Drag by The Pogues - the story of a drugged up rentboy having the shot kicked out of him by the police.
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TheGerkuman
Apprentice Douchebag
Why you no problem make
Posts: 76
Preferred Game Systems: Any variety of D&D or WFRP 2e.
Currently Playing: Anything I can find
Currently Running: I haven't run in a long time. Either sort.
Favorite Species of Monkey: Capuchin or Spider.
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Post by TheGerkuman on Apr 30, 2017 2:02:51 GMT -8
Man, some detective fiction fans are going to hate the 'party will end up being right' idea.But then, fans of detective fiction often subscribe to a lot of rules, and presumably would be ok with losing cases if they were playing a tabletop campaign.
My idea would be that at the end the players would know who the villain is, but if they hadn't collected enough evidence to prove it the bad guy would be able to walk. (Which could lead to a return visit later on down the line, which the players would be eager to beat)
It all depends on what your group wants in the end, like most questions.
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Post by chronovore on Apr 30, 2017 4:47:56 GMT -8
Man, some detective fiction fans are going to hate the 'party will end up being right' idea.But then, fans of detective fiction often subscribe to a lot of rules, and presumably would be ok with losing cases if they were playing a tabletop campaign. My idea would be that at the end the players would know who the villain is, but if they hadn't collected enough evidence to prove it the bad guy would be able to walk. (Which could lead to a return visit later on down the line, which the players would be eager to beat) It all depends on what your group wants in the end, like most questions. Man, not just the crime fiction fetishists, but the whole "Is the ogre on the left path or the right one?" group will probably find much fault with this. I subscribe to Stu's philosophy: If the PCs' theory makes more sense than what I had come up with, ESPECIALLY if there are holes in the scenario I devised, SWITCH TRACKS, make it a better story. We're all here, collaborating on a shared story. If I wanted an awesome detective mystery, there are shelves of that at the local library.
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Post by uncommonman on Apr 30, 2017 5:39:26 GMT -8
I would feel cheated if the GM changed the villain no matter the reasons.
Thats just as bad as dice cheating...
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fredrix
Master Douchebag
Posts: 2,142
Preferred Game Systems: Fate, L5R, Pendragon, Gumshoe, Feng Shui
Currently Playing: Pendragon, Song of Ice and Fire, L5R, Feng Shui, Traveller
Currently Running: Fate, Coriolis, Nights Black Agents
Favorite Species of Monkey: 1970's NTV, dubbed by the BBC (though The Water Margin beats it)
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Post by fredrix on Apr 30, 2017 8:10:58 GMT -8
I would feel cheated if the GM changed the villain no matter the reasons. Thats just as bad as dice cheating... But would you know?
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Post by uncommonman on Apr 30, 2017 8:32:15 GMT -8
I would feel cheated if the GM changed the villain no matter the reasons. Thats just as bad as dice cheating... But would you know? I wouldn't want my wife to cheat on me even if I never found out...
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Post by jonas on Apr 30, 2017 10:42:11 GMT -8
You can usually suspect when the gm change things on the fly to humor your theories.
And it's nothing wrong with failing a mystery once in a while; it just steers the story in a new direction.
Lets say that the players point out the wrong suspect as the murderer. That's a golden opportunity. The real murderer escapes and you must give chase immediately before he strikes again! What player doesn't love a good chase scene? And what about the poor sap that the players accused - isn't that going to be an amazing future enemy to the party with a cool motivation? "The investigators humiliated me before the police and my wife. I will ruin their lives as they ruined mine!"
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Post by chronovore on Apr 30, 2017 15:59:42 GMT -8
But would you know? I wouldn't want my wife to cheat on me even if I never found out... I feel like we should have a sit-down talk about the differences between make-believe and real life.
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Post by ayslyn on Apr 30, 2017 17:43:56 GMT -8
I wouldn't want my wife to cheat on me even if I never found out... I feel like we should have a sit-down talk about the differences between make-believe and real life. Not to mention the difference in the vows taken... Your spouse vows fidelity to you. Your GM "vows" to provide you with the best story possible.
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Post by chronovore on Apr 30, 2017 17:55:44 GMT -8
I feel like we should have a sit-down talk about the differences between make-believe and real life. Not to mention the difference in the vows taken... Your spouse vows fidelity to you. Your GM "vows" to provide you with the best story possible. Which is arguably MUCH more preferable than a GM who promises to be faithful, and a spouse who promises the best story possible.
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HJRP 19-06
Apr 30, 2017 19:36:02 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by uncommonman on Apr 30, 2017 19:36:02 GMT -8
I feel like we should have a sit-down talk about the differences between make-believe and real life. Not to mention the difference in the vows taken... Your spouse vows fidelity to you. Your GM "vows" to provide you with the best story possible. The GM vows to follow the rules.
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HyveMynd
Supporter
Dirty hippie, PbtA, Fate, & Cortex Prime <3er
Posts: 2,273
Preferred Game Systems: PbtA, Cortex Plus, Fate, Ubiquity
Currently Playing: Monsterhearts 2
Currently Running: The Sprawl
Favorite Species of Monkey: None
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HJRP 19-06
Apr 30, 2017 19:44:55 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by HyveMynd on Apr 30, 2017 19:44:55 GMT -8
The GM vows to follow the rules. Isn't Rule Zero of many game systems something along the lines of the GM should ignore/modify any rules that people feel don't fit?
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sbloyd
Supporter
WHAT! A human in a Precursor service vehicle?!
Posts: 2,762
Preferred Game Systems: Storyteller; Dresden; Mage
Favorite Species of Monkey: Goddamnit, Curious George is a CHIMP not a monkey! Stop teaching my daughter improper classification!
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Post by sbloyd on Apr 30, 2017 20:26:25 GMT -8
The GM vows to follow the rules. And this is why, in a previous thread, I pointed out that some people would have a problem with a Big Bad given vague (though appropriate) powers rather than being Built By The Rules.
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