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Post by Rigil Kent on May 17, 2014 20:43:46 GMT -6
Two sessions in and I'm looking for feedback. What do you like? Dislike? Think we could do better? What do you want to see in future installments?
Sent from my ADR6325 using proboards
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Post by Gigermann on May 18, 2014 11:36:34 GMT -6
Going quite well ATM, IMO, FYI (LOL) - Doing a good job of keeping things moving, except in some of the Mankiller-solo instances—need a way to get everyone else involved in those; someone playing the sword will help (maybe enough to keep everyone entertained). This is going to get harder to do when things get more sandboxy; no A-B-C progression
- Need a way to start to integrate Lee's/Carter's Obsession-cases (guess that's already started with the "keys," in Carter's case) without feeling tacked-on
- Gonna start a Case Clues page on the spreadsheet
- We're still easing into the setting—hard to say what we want to see at this point; Harry cameo could be fun, though
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Post by LabRat on May 19, 2014 13:03:01 GMT -6
I think it is going rather well. I was a bit concerned during the first session when we were all fragmented. I didn't really do much that night. There were definite lulls, but last week was much better in terms of pacing. I like how you make us involved with the storytelling, and that everyone can jump in when someone else is trying to figure out a problem. A lot of what makes this so fun in player input, so depending on the day, that will either go really well, or very poorly. Let us hope that we have more good days than bad days. I think it is a bit too early to give any further opinion in terms of what I would like to see. I like the setting, the story, and I am curious to see where this is going to go. I think I need a few more sessions to get comfortable, then I can start thinking up some ideas.
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Post by thedefiantbudah on May 19, 2014 13:11:04 GMT -6
so far I think it's going good...it definitely has a different feel to it, and that's not a bad thing.
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Post by Magman on May 21, 2014 18:39:43 GMT -6
Enjoying so far.
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Post by Rigil Kent on May 26, 2014 10:54:05 GMT -6
Doing a good job of keeping things moving, except in some of the Mankiller-solo instances—need a way to get everyone else involved in those; someone playing the sword will help (maybe enough to keep everyone entertained). This is going to get harder to do when things get more sandboxy; no A-B-C progression True. Keeping everyone involved is definitely a goal. Not just Lee & Carter. Mankiller has an Obsession as well. With Lee, I needed to figure out the specifics of his case which I worked on during the vacay. Did you already do this? Inevitably. Amusingly, in book 5, there's a reference to him visiting Oklahoma to do a task for the Summer Lady. I like how you make us involved with the storytelling, and that everyone can jump in when someone else is trying to figure out a problem. A lot of what makes this so fun in player input, so depending on the day, that will either go really well, or very poorly. Let us hope that we have more good days than bad days. Yeah, I'm trying to approach this game a little differently in terms of player agency. Getting you guys to help write the story seems like a cool way to take this - so that means I'm going to be leaning on the lot of you quite frequently. Thanks for the feedback.
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Post by Rigil Kent on May 31, 2014 16:00:51 GMT -6
Session 3 thoughts: - A little rocky at times - I'm still not totally pleased with how so much of this initial arc revolves entirely around the OSBI, but that's the nature of the beast. I appreciate how all players are working to ensure they can get the other PCs involved.
- As before, I want to get Budah (and thus, Mankiller) involved more. This session was a good start with him displaying the Bad Temper disad. Giger suggested a homework assignment I may use wherein every Player is tasked to look over one other PC and make notes. Not official, yet, but it's something. If nothing else, all PCs are on the Portals and I recommend you all at least look over the other characters. That way, you might recall that a Player has an advantage or disad that might come into play.
- My highlight was LabRat's reaction to the booming bass line. As she's actually read most of the books, that's actually what I was hoping for especially since her character is in the know.
- It also amazes me (in a good way) that we have the knowledge base among this group for so much of this to work. Need to know about forensic stuff? LabRat can give you at least a clue. Cop channels? Budah! Tres cool.
What about you? Good? Bad? Ugly?
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Post by LabRat on May 31, 2014 17:22:34 GMT -6
I thought it went perfectly fine. I agree that it was nice that all of the players keep trying to involve the all of the characters, so that some don't sit out for a long while. There's always going to be pacing issues with sandboxes, but we seem to be handling it pretty well.
Probably the biggest issue for me personally is defining what I know OoC vs. what Sofia should know in character. If she were a full blown wizard, I wouldn't be as concerned about it, but since she's a 2 year apprentice, I am a bit more cautious in terms of information. That's why I keep asking if my character would know x,y,or z. Maybe it would be easier for me to just assume that she would know things and if you think otherwise, you would let me know.
I think this campaign is going to be rather successful. We have great chemistry in terms of characters ( I love Giger's and McNurlen's character bromance), and Sofia is just fun as hell to play considering that I've never really had a character with a secret, and we have suspicious characters. I almost don't want to use magic next week to fight the zombies just so I can keep her true identity hidden for a bit longer. I think once we get ChrisIII really into his character, and SQ back, we are going to see some really strong sessions in the future.
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Post by Rigil Kent on May 31, 2014 17:50:28 GMT -6
I almost don't want to use magic next week to fight the zombies just so I can keep her true identity hidden for a bit longer. Ah, you just have to figure out how to do it subtle-like!
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Post by Gigermann on May 31, 2014 18:51:43 GMT -6
I think it's revolving around the OSBI thread right now because that's the easiest to follow—an easy a-b-c connection—plus there are two characters directly tied to it. The others are a bit more amorphous, I think. I suspect that further down the road, the Wizard thread is going to take over. Nothing good or bad about it; just is.
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Post by thedefiantbudah on Jun 1, 2014 8:28:14 GMT -6
I'm really liking how it's going....
Two things:
Need to do that homework assignment on my own character..
And labrat....(Not sure if you were apart of the star wars game with rigil as gm) you could always do magic like josh used the force... Very subtly... none of our characters knew he was a force user
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Post by Rigil Kent on Jun 10, 2014 13:44:13 GMT -6
Session 4 thoughts: - Overall grade: Adequate.
- The zombie fight (naturally) dragged out much longer than I expected/intended it to (which is mostly my fault cause I was operating on information that the PCs didn't have.) I will endeavor to do better this week.
- As always, trying to be cryptic sucks. GMing a Sidhe is going to be tough, I can tell.
- The last scene - 18 - was a lot more rushed than I wanted it to be, but thanks to the before-mentioned fight running long and the visible faltering of certain players, I pushed it a little faster than I should have. More fodder for latter reflection.
- The groovy Tarot thing is actually turning out to be a bit more helpful than I would have expected - I had this week's session mentally mapped out before the card drawing, but made some changes after that took place which are all for the better.
- I'm attempting to ensure that each PC has a part in the story, but upon reflection, it's turning out to be a little more difficult than anticipated. Expect to start relying on the group a bit more to incorporate the other characters (especially Mankiller, who is turning out to be problematic in terms of keeping him involved.
Hoping this week will go over better...
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Post by Gigermann on Jun 10, 2014 13:55:08 GMT -6
This week was a bit "unfocused" (for lack of a better explanation)—but they can't all be the best. Definitely have to give the "cryptic" stuff a good pre-scripting; if it doesn't quite match up to the questions actually asked, it's just more cryptic I think a better goal than getting everyone in the same location is getting everyone doing something at the same time, regardless of where they are—split-screen it. Spose you could use a "long turns" thing and bounce between locations in some sort of sequence.
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Post by Rigil Kent on Jun 10, 2014 14:02:16 GMT -6
This week was a bit "unfocused" (for lack of a better explanation)—but they can't all be the best. I blame MikeE. Ah, but the hopeful goal is that the characters are more proactive and seek out things, which could lead to "I want to ask this irritatingly cryptic person a question you've never thought of, GM" and I need to come up with something off the cuff. Agreed for the most part. FOUL PLAY will hopefully be better for that - I'm intending to have multiple "plots" (investigations, events, whatever) happening simultaneously with the goal of all characters being involved in at least something instead of just sitting around and waiting until it gets back to them. Perhaps, in these situations, I should have a timer? So, for example, if all PCs are off doing their own thing, I only spend a maximum of 5-10 minutes with a single PC and then move on to the next? Something to consider...
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Post by Gigermann on Jun 10, 2014 14:08:34 GMT -6
Perhaps, in these situations, I should have a timer? So, for example, if all PCs are off doing their own thing, I only spend a maximum of 5-10 minutes with a single PC and then move on to the next? Something to consider... I was thinking you could treat it like movie/TV and break up the scene into natural chunks and cut away between them—harder to do in a sandbox, but I think there are some natural break-points that could be followed even then. FREX, w/ the Fairy, every couple of questions, then break.
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Post by Rigil Kent on Jun 16, 2014 12:55:02 GMT -6
The Good: - MikeE's stuff with the sprinklers was pretty inspired. Really enjoyed that.
- PCs were (mostly) engaged throughout.
- Everyone (mostly) seemed to have fun.
The Bad: - Lack of AC sucked
- The dice hated MikeE so he basically sat out most of the fight, which really bothered me.
- I made some stupid mistakes, particularly with MikeE's desire to access the Church for holy water and the like. He should have made a Contact roll for that instead of me arbitrarily deciding it didn't work
The Ugly: - Did I mention the lack of AC
- The fact MikeE sat out the fight turns out to really irritate me more than I expected
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Post by Gigermann on Jun 16, 2014 13:04:52 GMT -6
We've seen what happened to SQ eleventybillion times before. Fixing that isn't easy: - Could have handed him Mankiller's character when it started looking like he would be delayed getting into the fight
- Could have had a civvie standing by to accidentally get sucked into the fight
- Give him the demon(s)?
All I can think of right now
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Post by Rigil Kent on Jun 16, 2014 13:10:12 GMT -6
The demon(s) didn't actually have character sheets. All I had were their NPC cards which I was using for initiative.
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Post by LabRat on Jun 17, 2014 12:21:30 GMT -6
Other than what Giger said, I can't think of anything else to do if a PC gets knocked on their ass for the fight. Overall I think it was a nice conclusion. I think combat was a bit boggy, and therefore the ending seemed a bit rushed. However, I don't think that was really anyone's fault per se, but rather the nature of the beast. Combat seems to go slower in GURPS. Plus it didn't help that we were all rolling like crap. Overall it was a good chapter, and I can't wait for the next one.
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Post by Rigil Kent on Jun 17, 2014 13:18:47 GMT -6
Regarding "boggy" combat - how could we make it go by faster? What do you think slowed things down? I think the reason combat seems to go slower in GURPS is because we don't do it quite as frequently so at least half of the group isn't as familiar with the capabilities. Compare, for example, my character from the Saturday game. You'll note that he has a lot of advanced skills and yet, because I know what he's really capable of (having trademark moves is really helpful - essentially, they're maneuvers he does most of the time during combat), I am almost always the quickest in terms of "It's Gabriel's turn. What's he doing?" Giger is second, but he's usually trying something even more complicated (or experimental) so it slows him down. In a really big group - we've got seven PCs in that game - during a combat, I find myself twiddling my fingers more often than not because I'm the 'get in, get done' thing. Which, thinking about it, Trademark Moves might be a solution. It might be a good idea to have you all consider picking one or two up so, in a combat situation, you could automatically grab it and go. Sofia could probably have a Trademark Spell (Giger - do you know if anything like this already exists?) I think that, once we get more comfortable with it, things will go quicker. The magic, for example, isn't something I'm super familiar with so I'm learning it alongside you.
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Post by Gigermann on Jun 17, 2014 13:28:27 GMT -6
I think it does come down to familiarity with the systems and proper expectations of what can be done (resulting in fewer "can I do x?" questions). That's why I kept doing UFC/Dispensables in an attempt to get everyone familiar. I'd recommend a couple of things: - Do have a stable of moves planned out, and just use them (includes GMs)
- Don't bite off more than you can chew—stick to the basic maneuvers until you get used to them
- Remember it's 1-second rounds; don't try to do too much at once
- Figure out what to do next while everyone else is doing their turn (but be flexible)
- If you have to look it up, save it for later
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Post by LabRat on Jun 17, 2014 13:32:44 GMT -6
Oh, I completely agree with you. I don't think there isn't much to be done except to get more familiar with the system. I think GURPS combat just takes longer in general. Like for spell casters (depending on the spell), you have at least 2 rounds before you can really do anything damage wise. And that is if you aren't interrupted. That doesn't exist in D&D really and so things just seem to take longer. On top of that you really have to plan out your attack, and of course the guy before you makes a move that totally screws it up. Now it's your turn and you have to take a while to think up something different.
As I said, it is just the nature of the beast. There really isn't anything that can be done to make things go faster except the usual. You are always going to have to look something up, or reorganize yourself. Honestly, I thought it was going to bog down a lot more than it has, so kudos to everyone for that. It is just getting used to the new combat system and settling in in terms of expectations.
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Post by Rigil Kent on Jun 17, 2014 13:35:09 GMT -6
Do have a stable of moves planned out, and just use them (includes GMs) I'm tempted to make that a Homework...
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Post by Gigermann on Jun 17, 2014 13:49:42 GMT -6
To be fair, this last combat wasn't that slow. But if everyone is ready to go when their turn comes up, combat takes little time—it's a matter of how prepared everyone can be when it's time. Turn's up; say what you're doing; roll your dice; move on—it's ideal, but it can happen. If your action takes multiple turns, it's even faster
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Post by Rigil Kent on Jun 24, 2014 10:29:12 GMT -6
Feedback? I thought this session went fairly well, although as usual, I'm second guessing myself in certain areas.
How is the "other players play NPCs" working out for you guys? I'm trying to ensure that everyone has something to do, even when their character is not involved...
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Post by Gigermann on Jun 24, 2014 11:12:59 GMT -6
How is the "other players play NPCs" working out for you guys? I'm trying to ensure that everyone has something to do, even when their character is not involved... These things are always entertaining—there's just something about that adversarial play that we don't normally allow for. Which makes me wonder: when was the first time we did that? Was it the Deadlands/vampires thing?
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Post by LabRat on Jun 24, 2014 12:19:32 GMT -6
I love playing NPCs because it keeps me entertained, and I get to try things that are a bit more daring that I wouldn't normally do with my PC. One of these days I have an NPC try to pick up Mankillers sword just to see what happens. Overall nothing really stuck out in terms of low points during the night. I was quite chuffed with the whole experience.
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Post by Rigil Kent on Jun 24, 2014 12:27:12 GMT -6
One of these days I have an NPC try to pick up Mankillers sword just to see what happens. I guess I better figure out what's gonna happen, huh?
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Post by thedefiantbudah on Jun 24, 2014 18:56:22 GMT -6
Really enjoying the game, getting more comfortable with my character helps, I like the npc's being played by the others...gives everyone something to do and keeps them involved...as far as a NPC picking up Saba...that's gonna be one helluva strength check if it returns at a speed of 12....
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Post by Magman on Jun 24, 2014 19:04:59 GMT -6
Enjoyed the session Running the NPC's always! entertaining. Almost did but thought better of it
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