SirGuido
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Post by SirGuido on Jul 29, 2013 4:32:23 GMT -8
On the subject of Con Game prep:
You guys have hashed and rehashed this subject a million times(I'm not complaining, just observing), but there is one thing you keep missing when you talk about it... HOW?!? Explain "I write scenes." What does writing a scene mean? What does writing a "scene" entail? What kind of notes do you give yourself? Things like that would be immensely helpful I think.
On the subject of the ENnies:
Like most gaming awards the ENnies are biased and pointless. Several of the judges have been judges many times over. To my mind there needs to be a panel of specialist judges for each award. Each panel should include 3 people. An industry insider(designer, exec, etc), a media person(blogger, news person, some sort of press), and a consumer. So, for example, for Best Podcast the judges could be Lisa Stevens(Paizo CEO), Chatty DM(Blogger), and... me. We vote together for 5 nominees. Then the fans vote. Done.
Oh and btw Fear the Boot has never nor will they ever... win an ENnie. They have been banned for life. In the early years of their show on an episode they made a comment about how easy it would be to rig the voting by having each host and each listener log in to the voting process from various accounts and vote multiple times thereby stuffing the ballot box so to speak. The powers that be at the ENnies were none too pleased with this and punted then out of all possibility.
On the subject of making characters:
In my history I have almost always made a character on my own and showed up to the table with said character. I say almost always because in the most recent game I joined(Pathfinder homebrew), we made our characters together at the same time around the table. THIS IS AN AMAZING EXERIENCE! We made very interesting and interwoven characters. Each character has a connection to the other characters in multiple ways. We have an actual reason to be together and adventuring. This also means that we made sure to cover all of our general bases for a standard party(magic, fighty, healer,thievery) while having room to play around with concepts and make interesting characters. I'm playing the rogue... but I'm a con man not a thief. My strengths are in Bluff, Disguise, and Diplomacy. If you've ever seen Leverage, or the (sorry) much better British forebear Hustle, then you get the idea I was going for. I wouldn't have been able to make that character if we hadn't made our characters at the table together like that.
I am working on a game right now off and on(off lately because of Gen Con prep), where I intend to do a campaign but I'm going to make all the characters, write some background information give some generalities about possible personalities, and basically write up a file which I'll put into a file folder and literally seal with some tape or something(I want to get some of those files with the metal tab thingy at the top on both sides sort of like a police case file)with nothing showing about the character save the name on the tab. Then have my players choose a character based on those tabs, then take some time to discuss with them what their character is like and create a personality profile for them, then we start playing. I think it might be an interesting way to start a campaign.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2013 5:58:57 GMT -8
Keepsakes - This is something I've also found to be nice for the players, the last in person convention game I ran I had little rubber ducks that the players could keep in addition to artwork of the characters for them to take away.
Character sheets - I cannot emphasise how much I agree with having the character sheets prepped in advance, as somebody who puts a decent amount of effort into my character sheets it really pisses me off when GMs show up with incomplete sheets. Not only does it waste time that should be spent playing but it really doesn't fill me with confidence that the GM has put enough effort into planning the rest of the game.
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Post by Kainguru on Jul 29, 2013 6:12:25 GMT -8
Well I wonder if stuffing ballot boxes is seen as being as sinful as 'an ENnies' friendly episode? Could our favourite podcast have stumbled at the starting block already? Eh, fuck 'em who needs an ENnie anyway . . . Aaron
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Post by rickno7 on Jul 29, 2013 6:41:58 GMT -8
I think it would be hilarious to do a satire based "Ennies" episode. Stu could bring out the sound board. Every curse word would get an animal sound. Every 10 minutes would be a "in D&D news" break. You could have segments "why D&D kicks the (elephant noise) out of Savage Worlds" and "D20, why its a better universal system than GURPS". You could have a segment called "We Introduce Our Characters" and mention zero backstory, only talk about their feats. Have an interview with Gary Gygax where after each question is 5 minutes of silence.
It could go on and on and be wonderful... terrible yes, but wonderful as well.
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D.T. Pints
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Currently Playing: D&D 5e, Pathfinder, DUNGEONWORLD, Star Wars Edge of the Empire
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Post by D.T. Pints on Jul 29, 2013 7:52:36 GMT -8
On the subject of Con Game prep: You guys have hashed and rehashed this subject a million times(I'm not complaining, just observing), but there is one thing you keep missing when you talk about it... HOW?!? Explain "I write scenes." What does writing a scene mean? What does writing a "scene" entail? What kind of notes do you give yourself? Things like that would be immensely helpful I think. Yeah this. I heard the topic and I thought to myself "Self, haven't they done this a few times? Maybe this time they'll get to some new aspect of prepping for con games like scene writing (see the Mook's breakdown of his con games...). Do they create stat blocks for each scene, detailed descriptions ? Or just a few jotted down notes ?" Then my wife told me to quit talking to myself it was creeping her out, I excel at that. Thats fuckin' hilarious. And why booters and jackers typically get along so well. We both hang out in the bad side of town. Careful there Sir! You kinda sound like your describing the way Dungeon World goes...with the characters and their relationships created right at the table. This was mentioned in the episode as well. Having most of the character completed with few 'fill in the blank' opportunities for the player to make the character their own. I'm imagining some guy in Osaka jumping up and down a bit yelling at some speaker (maybe yelling at his headphones) "that is exactly what DW does..." but he tends to do that. But, I think for many con games such at the table connection building is a GREAT idea. It allows for all their to know and expect certain aspects of relationships between characters to come out during the very short 4 hours. A sort of quick summary the group gets to make of how it got to this point and why they are still together and why things are dysfunctional.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2013 9:26:52 GMT -8
On the subject of Con Game prep: You guys have hashed and rehashed this subject a million times(I'm not complaining, just observing), but there is one thing you keep missing when you talk about it... HOW?!? Explain "I write scenes." What does writing a scene mean? What does writing a "scene" entail? What kind of notes do you give yourself? Things like that would be immensely helpful I think. Yeah this. I heard the topic and I thought to myself "Self, haven't they done this a few times? Maybe this time they'll get to some new aspect of prepping for con games like scene writing (see the Mook's breakdown of his con games...). Do they create stat blocks for each scene, detailed descriptions ? Or just a few jotted down notes ?" Then my wife told me to quit talking to myself it was creeping her out, I excel at that. I'm officially joining the "I'd like more" camp! This would interest me: An actual play of sorts with 3–4 hosts preparing for a hypothetical convention game. I bet with multiple heads in the room, you could establish basic game concept, outline character concepts, and sketch a handful of key scenes with 90–120 minutes (assuming you stay system agnostic). But who am I to assign you work? After listening to discussion of opening topic, my own question about convention games: Have any of the hosts, or folks here on the board, ever purposely allowed for denouement? I infer from the discussion on the mikes that convention games frequently end with the climax. If you did allow for denouement, how did you do that and how did it work out?
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Post by Kainguru on Jul 29, 2013 11:20:56 GMT -8
I think it would be hilarious to do a satire based "Ennies" episode. Stu could bring out the sound board. Every curse word would get an animal sound. Every 10 minutes would be a "in D&D news" break. You could have segments "why D&D kicks the (elephant noise) out of Savage Worlds" and "D20, why its a better universal system than GURPS". You could have a segment called "We Introduce Our Characters" and mention zero backstory, only talk about their feats. Have an interview with Gary Gygax where after each question is 5 minutes of silence. It could go on and on and be wonderful... terrible yes, but wonderful as well. To be fair to GG that would not have a lot of mileage a) he absolutely believed in backstory b) he hated the way players were describing their characters as a collection of feats c) if you look at the other games he wrote you'll see why he'd agree with you (cheap copies if Ledjendary still haunt the ebays. Dangerous Journeys was a different animal with a strange pedigree and represented more of an experiment - including some backroom collaboration with Steve Jackson) d) they don't really like GG because of how he said just what you said before splitting from WoTC totally. The person you want is Monte Cook . . . But he's gotta die first before earning a silence (though his split from WoTC could be seen as a sort of death) Aaron
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Post by jazzisblues on Jul 29, 2013 11:57:00 GMT -8
Ask and ye shall receive ... Well sometimes ...
I create scenes for convention games thusly:
Once I have the idea for the game, and some sketched in characters I figure out what scenes I might like to have.
1. the Setup (Where I give the pc's some idea of what's going on and set the tone and atmosphere of the game. 2. the Problem (Where the pc's begin to identify what sort of problem is going on though they will certainly not know everything.) 3. sorting things out (Where the pc's begin to make sense out of what's going on around them though they may not know what to do about it yet) 4. resolution (Where the pc's confront the problem or the big bad or whatever is causing trouble and things get resolved) 5. epilogue (Where all is finally revealed for good or ill)
I don't use stat blocks though I do use some pretty straightforward headers for things.
Sort of like this ...
Scenes
Title: Welcome to Tender's Key Purpose: Tone setting and introduction Where: Outside the coastal town of Tender's Key, and in the Bell and Anchor Tavern Who: PC's, Ghost of Maire, Townsfolk, Ginny Events:
1. On their way into town the storm that's been brewing all day bursts upon them in a howling gale. 2. Someone will see Maire walking along the cliffside from a distance. Whether they investigate or not she disappears in a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder. 3. In the tavern the pc's will see Ginny come in to get dinner for herself and Toman (the blacksmith). The townsfolk are suspicious of Ginny and look relieved when she's gone. If pressed, the townsfolk will say that she is a witch.
Those are the key elements of the scene. At some point I will write out prose of some sort that describes the scene(s) but that is more an exercise in thinking it through than actually putting down precise text. (I wouldn't read or use block text anyway)
If the scene involves treasure of some sort that will be noted as well.
The whole point of this is that I can glance at it and know what the scene is about without reading a bunch of extra crap.
That's it really...
JiB
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Post by Kainguru on Jul 29, 2013 12:37:23 GMT -8
@dtpints : you nearly had a gun to the head ending in Dark Heresy - Father Torch was so going to blow himself up with the false emperor - til he realised a) He IS a direct descendant of THE Emperor, cue megalomania 'fuck this I wanna live now' and b) an attempt must be made to try and rescue the childlike psyker because she's a witness to the truth. Gun to the head endings for campaigns are very very cool. Nice and final. Like in Angel Heart when he goes thru all that shit only to find out . . . (spoilers) Aaron
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Post by Stu Venable on Jul 29, 2013 12:42:50 GMT -8
We'll discuss this on Friday as well.
It seems to me we did a show on crafting scenes, though. Must be high-time for another.
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Post by rickno7 on Jul 29, 2013 12:44:45 GMT -8
That wasn't a dig at Saint Gygax, it would be a zany joke(in bad taste) for the Enworld(a notorious D&D and D20 news blog)website.
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Post by bloodsparrow on Jul 29, 2013 12:47:41 GMT -8
I was screaming "Hobby Lobby"! At my iPhone. Thankfully, I'm working from home today.
I used to hear all the time among my knitting friends how awesome hobby lobby is. Then I got here and realized I lived within walking distance of one. Then I needed something on a Sunday.
They're closed on Sundays...
Also yes I was the one who got the GURPS books from Stew.
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Post by rickno7 on Jul 29, 2013 12:50:19 GMT -8
I was screaming "Hobby Lobby"! At my iPhone. Thankfully, I'm working from home today. I used to hear all the time among my knitting friends how awesome hobby lobby is. Then I got here and realized I lived within walking distance of one. Then I needed something on a Sunday. They're closed on Sundays... Yep. Hobby Lobby shares a retail parking lot with Chik-fil-a near here. On Sundays they are empty, but when I was a kid, it was the place for teenagers to cruise around and gather before the start of the school week. All my current gaming habits involve stuff I find there. You can get some nice wood crafts or wood versions of things you'd only find in plastic at Walmart(like art easels).
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Post by Kainguru on Jul 29, 2013 12:55:58 GMT -8
That wasn't a dig at Saint Gygax, it would be a zany joke(in bad taste) for the Enworld(a notorious D&D and D20 news blog)website. I don't think he's a Saint I just think he gets a lot of stick and his name is invoked far too often by both sides. Guess I wish people would remember the man and not the myth, because he was always very open to discussions on the Internet and very polite even when he disagreed. As to shoving a redhot poker up the arse of the ENnies - hell yeah!!!! For years they kept sending me email newsletters I'd never ask for and every now and again I'd forget how shit they were and open it up and start yawning or spitting venom. WoTC lick spittle, funny to see them change tack when editions changed . . . Aaron
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D.T. Pints
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Posts: 2,857
Currently Playing: D&D 5e, Pathfinder, DUNGEONWORLD, Star Wars Edge of the Empire
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Post by D.T. Pints on Jul 29, 2013 12:57:44 GMT -8
We'll discuss this on Friday as well. It seems to me we did a show on crafting scenes, though. Must be high-time for another. Oh maybe ! So then I'll just look through the show notes and then I'll ...hmmm ...oh that's right...*wanders off*
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