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Post by kaitoujuliet on Jan 18, 2017 7:31:11 GMT -8
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. I finally found it in the rulebook (page 64, under "Picking Up Dice"). It is a trait, and the player does roll it if it benefits the PC. I dunno, it works just as well if they do it by accident. And Leverage is supposed to be about very, very competent people, after all.
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Post by kaitoujuliet on Jan 20, 2017 14:44:41 GMT -8
I'm pleased to say that the third session this week felt like a real breakthrough! Before we started playing, I told the group that while I wouldn't say there would never be a client with more than meets the eye, I'd always give them an opportunity to find out about it during the job. I also said that I thought we were all getting too bogged down in the information-gathering phase, and that I would try to feed them more information at the beginning of a session instead of making them work for it--about as much information as they'd get in a typical Hardison briefing. I reminded them that doing things outside their core skills could generate plot points, and reassured them that even rolling 1s didn't necessarily mean failure. Finally, I figured out ahead of time where I would put in a fight for the Hitter, in this case tied to the character's backstory.
All that seemed to make a big difference. I think I also managed to create the first Mark that they've truly hated, which is good.
Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions on how to handle these problems!
But now I've got another wrinkle: due to some schedule weirdness, I've had five players at each of the previous sessions, but not the same five. Next week, I'm going to have six--two Hackers. And I've promised them a "big job." I've been reading the section in Leverage Companion vol. 2 on doubling of roles, and I think the best way to deal with the duplication is to have a challenge that really needs two Hackers working at the same time. But I'm kind of stumped on what form that might take. Any ideas??
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2017 1:07:13 GMT -8
But now I've got another wrinkle: due to some schedule weirdness, I've had five players at each of the previous sessions, but not the same five. Next week, I'm going to have six--two Hackers. And I've promised them a "big job." I've been reading the section in Leverage Companion vol. 2 on doubling of roles, and I think the best way to deal with the duplication is to have a challenge that really needs two Hackers working at the same time. But I'm kind of stumped on what form that might take. Any ideas?? What are their secondary roles? A hacker/mastermind might be running the operation from the van by hacking into the buildings camera feeds or security radios. Meanwhile a hacker/thief might be the one who is inside, hooking up a digital cracker to keypads or a computer controlled drill to a safe. Give them an enemy with technical sophistication so that there is lots to hack, then draw on their secondary and tertiary rolls to differentiate who will do what (in addition to attributes). As a note in general, some of the best scenes in leverage are when team members are placed outside of their comfort zone. Anyone remember Parker stabbing the mark with a fork? A grifter, she is not. From a meta perspective, as a GM I'd much rather latch onto problems made from interaction than create ones from whole cloth. Either way, there will be a similar number of problems, so you might as well reap the plot points and drama. Don't forget that you can create assets and get help from other characters when you are forced to act in your weak roll.
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Post by kaitoujuliet on Jan 21, 2017 8:33:04 GMT -8
What are their secondary roles? One's a Hacker/Hitter, and the other's a Hacker/Thief. Distinctions: Hacker/Hitter: Known Convict / Master of Disaster / When in Doubt, Take It Apart Hacker/Thief: Never Give Up, Never Surrender / Smartest Guy in the Room / Laid-Back And of course, I want to be sure they don't duplicate what the actual Thief would do (less worried about duplicating the Hitter's job).
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2017 3:45:09 GMT -8
For a 'big job' I would be tempted to try and put together something that includes multiple locations and requires a team at each. Have hackers needed at each location then vary the other details based on the proficiencies of the remaining characters.
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