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Post by uncommonman on Mar 17, 2018 23:28:15 GMT -8
The entire "I'm no mere Hedge-mage" situation wouldn't have happened if Stu added hit points to his bad guy... Yeah, but he decided not to in that moment, and so it happened that the no-mere-hedge-mage moment happened. Other times, GMs like Stu and I will add hit points, if it looks like the players will appreciate the win more that way. It's up to the GM. In each moment. To know their group and what would make it a more rich experience for them. I like you, dude, but neither of us is EVER going to convince the other one. I SAID "GOOD DAY," SIR. GOOD DAY! My opinion is that you are less likely to have experiences like the hedge mage if you don't follow "rules as written". Take care buddy :-)
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Post by ayslyn on Mar 18, 2018 3:28:39 GMT -8
Aaaaand, my point is reinforced..... Sorry, Chronovore, for stoking the flames....
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Post by OFTHEHILLPEOPLE on Mar 18, 2018 4:04:59 GMT -8
Not entirely the point I was making but I'm camping and responding in full will need to wait.
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tappy
Journeyman Douchebag
Host
Posts: 192
Preferred Game Systems: Apoc World, Monsterhearts, L5r, Wod
Favorite Species of Monkey: Space Monkey
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Post by tappy on Mar 18, 2018 16:04:07 GMT -8
It has been my experience that things not happening as you expected is more fun than if things go exactly as planned. Being open to new experiences allows you to figure out the new, unexpected puzzle before you. This is true for both GMs and Players
Even a TPK can lead to more story and drama. What if the significant others of your characters banded together to go find them after they were gone for a year?
A no mere hedge mage can lead to more story too... what if he was your contact? What if you killed the invisible swordsman who was going to lead you to the singing bush?
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Post by ayslyn on Mar 18, 2018 17:18:28 GMT -8
It has been my experience that things not happening as you expected is more fun than if things go exactly as planned. Given the last few years worth of experiences that I've gone through, I would happily argue this point. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. That's why I prefer to trust my gut and go with what feels right. My players always seem to enjoy my games, and ask for more, so..... It's quite possible that I choose wrong, and the more entertaining option gets put aside, but it's equally possible that I would do the same hewing strictly to the "script". So, since we're equally screwed either way, pick one and own it.
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Post by weaselcreature on Mar 19, 2018 7:27:03 GMT -8
I suppose I better chime in, since I started this. I agree with the philosophy that it is group dependent. However, a GM shouldn't do it unfairly to the players. And that doesn't mean adding HP to a bad guy is always unfair to the players. In the Hedge Mage example, if Stu had added HP to the mage to let him get off at least 1 spell in the first round, I think that would have been unfair to the players; they heard the threat and as a team went balls-out at him and took him down before he could do anything. It was awesome. But he was also not some big bad guy they'd been trying to nail for awhile. If it was an enemy that was supposed to be more powerful, and had been a thorn in their side for several sessions (or the entire campaign arc), it could have been anti-climactic to take him out so easy. "What the fuck were we scared of this guy for?" While I tend to NOT change things and let them fall as they may, I won't say I HAVEN'T changed things if I felt it would be more rewarding for the players. I know I've posted it here before (about dice fudging) where I had an arc coming to completion and the party was ROFLSTOMPING the entire group of bad guys, and I had a serious case of Storkitis and couldn't roll a hit to save my life. I fudged a couple die rolls to get some minor damage on some of the players to give them a sense of danger. It wasn't a 1-shot situation (where if they had focused on the leader and taken her out right away, I would have given it to them; rather it was a bigger, multi-round battle). If I HAD started rolling a bunch of crits and had characters in actual danger, I would have fudged it back. They WERE winning fair and square, and they deserved that win, so I wouldn't steal it from them with the fudging, I just wanted them to have more of a sense of accomplishment.
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Post by StrangeLikeThat on Mar 22, 2018 11:38:23 GMT -8
#1. Thanks all for the love! I've signed up for a future episode and will be back, though sexy voice may or may not get deployed. #2. Regarding rules and GMing...as anyone who's watched me GM Razor Ridge, you know that I sometimes ignore or update rules/lore as written. I don't do it a ton, but when I do, I am pretty upfront about it. That alone makes a big difference. Now when it comes to bad guys and HP, sometimes you do have to scale in the moment. Sometimes the players are going to smash a pivotal baddie in Bambi Meets Godzilla time because they are rolling like mad and my dice have apparently forgotten what a nat 20 (or 10) looks like. That's not any fun for folks at the table, GM included. On the reverse, there are times when the dice is on the other foot and your players are being decimated by a run-of-the-mill monster and no one is having fun. And if you're not having fun, what is the bloody point? I've been in games where the GM consistently (like, nearly every session) damn near TPK'd us, and it gets really boring to be brought back six thousand times by the party's necromancer. I want my players to walk away from the table feeling like goddamn champions and that their choices/ideas matter.
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andreasdavour
Patron (Supporter)
Posts: 257
Preferred Game Systems: M0, Savage Worlds, Over the Edge, Warhammer FRP 1st ed.
Currently Playing: None
Currently Running: Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate
Favorite Species of Monkey: Llama
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Post by andreasdavour on Mar 26, 2018 11:08:24 GMT -8
I * adore* the accents, and reading in voices! For those of you who have not heard the * absolutely fabulous* southern accents of Bill Roper you need to go through the backlog!
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mysterycycle
Apprentice Douchebag
Living in a van down by the river.
Posts: 50
Preferred Game Systems: Dragon Age, GURPS, Fate, D&D retroclones
Currently Playing: Ryuutama
Currently Running: Marvel Super Heroes (FASERIP) NYC 1940
Favorite Species of Monkey: Chimpanzee
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Post by mysterycycle on Mar 30, 2018 21:59:05 GMT -8
I had my own No Mere Hedge Mage moment in an Earthdawn game I ran. The PCs stomped all over this evil wizard who’d been plaguing them through his minions for a while, and it was a dramatic throne room battle sort of set-up. They got initiative, good rolls, and I only had the one guy to throw at them. But I stuck with what was rolled, shrugged, and said “Well, you earned that victory fair and square.”
I should have planned him out better mechanically (made him a higher Circle [level] than he was) or given him more flunkies to provide a wall of flesh between him and the PCs. Maybe provide some obstacles they’d have to overcome before they get to him, or give them a time limit before he triggers a death trap or escapes.
But there’s always the next villain. No reason to get too attached.
I’ve also been in a game where the players offered to let the GM reroll or re-do a scene that they thought was anticlimactic. In the end I think it’s more a matter of whether the players enjoyed it or not. I certainly don’t want to penalize them for being clever or effective. I just need to play villains smarter.
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