Post by blakeryan on Nov 16, 2016 6:45:27 GMT
Important episode I thought!
My thoughts below -
Contests : These should include siblings, rivals and contacts from pc backgrounds to gain pc emotional involvement.
Strength=cabre tossing, smashing wood, carrying buckets. / Dexterity=hurdles, dodging swinging logs, diving.
Constitution=drinking, marathon, rowing. / Intelligence=chess, puzzles, translating scrolls.
Wisdom=ignoring distractions, hide & seek, fire walking. / Charisma=debating, chatting up people, playing music.
Why do these things? 1-there's a reward, 2-someone challenged them, 3-they have to stand in for someone they know, 4-everyone else is, 5-cute person is watching, 6-provide a distraction for something else.
Re Group vs Individual I alternate, So session 1 has a Mike & Greg event and a solo Tom event, session 2 has a Greg and Tom event and a solo Mike event, etc.
Re Planning ahead downtime events - I always plan a bunch of non combat events in advance so I can just pull one out of the list and enjoy playing it, instead of stressing about thinking on the fly.
Example : The Party Wizard is abit greedy, which is fine. On the way to the Mystic Academy he sees another PC's sibling getting attacked by Kobold muggers. Why Kobolds?-because they were in the adventure 2 sessions ago. Why muggers?-because it plays against the Wizards personality and should generate a reaction. Why rescue the sibling? because it improves party cohesion without the party even being there. It doesn't matter when it happens, just throw it in when things are slow. So in one encounter (that will probably last 2 combat rounds) you've deepened the campaign timeline, linked the pcs and given a Wizard abit of action time.
Re Game vs Downtime - A good game actually blurs these, just like real life work/family/hobby time can get blurred in different amounts.
Adventuring is not a 9-5 job, there should be the odd combat encounter in downtime, there should be the odd sibling show up during an adventure, there should be something in the dungeon you can use in your hobby.
NPC's have lives too : If someone is doing nothing, maybe they have a contact/sibling that needs : 1-help at work, 2-help in a hobby, 3-dealing with another npc, 4-birthday/funeral, 5-marriage/divorce, 6-want to change their life in some way, 7-introduction to another pc they've been watching, 8-non combat skill use eg translating ancient language or performing for the queen.
My players in downtime : One of them will always try to improve his armour and weapons, another will create a spy network with urchins, another will get a small cabin as a base and keep improving it until its a fortress.
As a player : I like to leave a legacy, so in downtime if i'm not getting statues and libraries named after me, I sponsor schools & orphanages-upgrade them more and more until they're the best in the continent.
Shopping : (touchy subject Number 1)
In 3rd edition there were Magical item shops, and everyone knew what spells/monster parts went into each item.
But back in 1st and 2nd edition there were no magic item shops, and 5th edition seems to have returned to this.
But this doesn't mean you can't get cool items, it just means its not a coin exchange.
A cleric or wizard may : 1-Know the where the item is, 2-Know how to make it but needs the ingredients, 3-Know who has as item, 4-Have the item but requires a favour (quest) first, 5-Pretend one of the previous four but take off because they are dodgy, 6-Have it and wants to 'test' it on the PC first before selling it.
Why do all this? because what your characters do in game should add to the story, not just be a metagame thing your players require.
Also just like training or contests, its a chance to roleplay and interact with the world.
Training : (touchy subject Number 2)
Skills, spells, tool use, feat use. You don't immediately know anything, you learn it. So between quests you spend some time learning from mentors & peers. It doesn't have to be detailed, you can just say i'm spending each morning for two weeks training.
If you want to detail some of it then this is a chance to roleplay, they have to ask for training or swop favors/information.
Later on you can use these contacts to springboard quests. For example - Maybe the Mage that taught you Transmutation magic has a thing for your sister, but through her you find out the Mage is upto some dodgy stuff on the side, like hiring Kobolds to mug people in alleys for bodyparts...
My thoughts below -
Contests : These should include siblings, rivals and contacts from pc backgrounds to gain pc emotional involvement.
Strength=cabre tossing, smashing wood, carrying buckets. / Dexterity=hurdles, dodging swinging logs, diving.
Constitution=drinking, marathon, rowing. / Intelligence=chess, puzzles, translating scrolls.
Wisdom=ignoring distractions, hide & seek, fire walking. / Charisma=debating, chatting up people, playing music.
Why do these things? 1-there's a reward, 2-someone challenged them, 3-they have to stand in for someone they know, 4-everyone else is, 5-cute person is watching, 6-provide a distraction for something else.
Re Group vs Individual I alternate, So session 1 has a Mike & Greg event and a solo Tom event, session 2 has a Greg and Tom event and a solo Mike event, etc.
Re Planning ahead downtime events - I always plan a bunch of non combat events in advance so I can just pull one out of the list and enjoy playing it, instead of stressing about thinking on the fly.
Example : The Party Wizard is abit greedy, which is fine. On the way to the Mystic Academy he sees another PC's sibling getting attacked by Kobold muggers. Why Kobolds?-because they were in the adventure 2 sessions ago. Why muggers?-because it plays against the Wizards personality and should generate a reaction. Why rescue the sibling? because it improves party cohesion without the party even being there. It doesn't matter when it happens, just throw it in when things are slow. So in one encounter (that will probably last 2 combat rounds) you've deepened the campaign timeline, linked the pcs and given a Wizard abit of action time.
Re Game vs Downtime - A good game actually blurs these, just like real life work/family/hobby time can get blurred in different amounts.
Adventuring is not a 9-5 job, there should be the odd combat encounter in downtime, there should be the odd sibling show up during an adventure, there should be something in the dungeon you can use in your hobby.
NPC's have lives too : If someone is doing nothing, maybe they have a contact/sibling that needs : 1-help at work, 2-help in a hobby, 3-dealing with another npc, 4-birthday/funeral, 5-marriage/divorce, 6-want to change their life in some way, 7-introduction to another pc they've been watching, 8-non combat skill use eg translating ancient language or performing for the queen.
My players in downtime : One of them will always try to improve his armour and weapons, another will create a spy network with urchins, another will get a small cabin as a base and keep improving it until its a fortress.
As a player : I like to leave a legacy, so in downtime if i'm not getting statues and libraries named after me, I sponsor schools & orphanages-upgrade them more and more until they're the best in the continent.
Shopping : (touchy subject Number 1)
In 3rd edition there were Magical item shops, and everyone knew what spells/monster parts went into each item.
But back in 1st and 2nd edition there were no magic item shops, and 5th edition seems to have returned to this.
But this doesn't mean you can't get cool items, it just means its not a coin exchange.
A cleric or wizard may : 1-Know the where the item is, 2-Know how to make it but needs the ingredients, 3-Know who has as item, 4-Have the item but requires a favour (quest) first, 5-Pretend one of the previous four but take off because they are dodgy, 6-Have it and wants to 'test' it on the PC first before selling it.
Why do all this? because what your characters do in game should add to the story, not just be a metagame thing your players require.
Also just like training or contests, its a chance to roleplay and interact with the world.
Training : (touchy subject Number 2)
Skills, spells, tool use, feat use. You don't immediately know anything, you learn it. So between quests you spend some time learning from mentors & peers. It doesn't have to be detailed, you can just say i'm spending each morning for two weeks training.
If you want to detail some of it then this is a chance to roleplay, they have to ask for training or swop favors/information.
Later on you can use these contacts to springboard quests. For example - Maybe the Mage that taught you Transmutation magic has a thing for your sister, but through her you find out the Mage is upto some dodgy stuff on the side, like hiring Kobolds to mug people in alleys for bodyparts...