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Post by Gigermann on Nov 12, 2011 16:21:10 GMT -6
11-11-11= Re: Support Characters—really, the GM can only do so much, here, before it becomes the responsibility of the respective players to make some opportunities. More often than not, the fighters get more action because they are simply played more aggressively. OTOH, sometimes circumstances just don't favor you—if you recall, in Dispensables, at the taking of the ship's bridge, where a bunch of PCs got stuck behind the couple in front, who did most of the work. Re: Alignment—This is N8's first time playing a more-or-less "sane" character, and we're all going to have to get used to it, a bit; he needs to get used to how to work with the rest of the group and still play his alignment, and we need to get used to dealing with his "differences of opinion" when he does. It probably wouldn't hurt to establish a few expectations as to alignments and associated actions, so we don't end up bickering and/or misunderstanding—this affects McN as well, playing CN; we need to be in agreement as to what constitutes neutrality vs evil, or we're all going to be dissatisfied with the game. Re: Realism—personally, I have a beef with enemies who continue to fight after it's become painfully obvious they can't win, but it's so much easier to ignore that… I empathize. Morale has always been difficult to model.
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Post by LabRat on Nov 12, 2011 17:25:01 GMT -6
Session rating- ;D RE: combat- My character is finally in a position to actually do what I intended her to do. I knew the first two levels would be awkward for me so I wasn't entirely sure how to handle her. I can now do some decent damage and so don't mind the risk so much in close combat. I'm sure a veteran could make more use of her in earlier levels but I'm still learning the class. Granted there will be some times that I can't get a good position but that's why I have a crossbow just in case.
RE: alignment- I know I still fall under the category of 'new to roleplaying', but if we as a group can't work around someone who wants to play a LG character then that sends up a red flag for me but for an entirely different reason. Its not like n8 is playing an evil character who wants to steal our souls. We should look at this as a opportunity for a more immersive role play than a problem that will never be fixed. If the latter is the case then we should just all play humans that are neutral good and be done with it. Our culture is filled to the brim with stories of people with different backgrounds coming together to solve a common problem. As long as the core values are the same then it should work with a bit more effort. I think last night was more of a misunderstanding than a real problem. And I don't think that N8 was unreasonable with his reaction, just as I don't think that DanL was unreasonable with his. We just need to lay some ground rules so that they can be avoided in the future. Characters can have conflict outside of their alignment and it never is pegged as being game destroying. One wants to go east, the other wants to go West. Some want treasure to be divided equally, to others, its finder's keepers. I just don't like the idea of if its an alignment issue then it can never be fixed when we RP through conflict all the time.
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Post by Rigil Kent on Nov 13, 2011 13:49:21 GMT -6
I don't disagree with you in any facet - mostly, I look at it in terms of the whole Batman-Superman friendship. They may not agree with one another's tactics (Lawful v Chaotic), but they both share core principles (both Good.)
Once we get a better grasp of the new character, I think it'll be better. We just need a session or three to work the kinks out.
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Post by WxMAN on Nov 19, 2011 14:30:59 GMT -6
Nov 19 = ;D
Not anything negative to say really... couldn't ask for much more, very interesting encounters and a really cool plot setting (climbing stairs being chased by water while an orc army floods in as well)
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Post by Gigermann on Nov 20, 2011 11:44:48 GMT -6
19 Nov= ;D A bit short, but the rising water was an excellent tension-builder—a well-designed encounter
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Post by Gigermann on Dec 6, 2011 11:25:25 GMT -6
25 Nov 11—doesn't count; holiday 2 Dec 11— GM bailed, w/ warning
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Post by thedefiantbudah on Dec 11, 2011 9:55:31 GMT -6
9 dec 11 -
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Post by WxMAN on Dec 16, 2011 10:11:40 GMT -6
Dec 9, 2011 => Pros - It was D&D, the chase mechanic was very interesting... Cons - The "brawl" excluded many characters due to the nature of the fight, though what the GM could have done different I have no idea as McN kinda triggered the fight...
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Post by Gigermann on Dec 16, 2011 10:59:29 GMT -6
9 Dec 2011=
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Post by Gigermann on Dec 18, 2011 22:43:13 GMT -6
16 Dec 2011= I didn't mind the "Christmas theme" so much…I think that was a first for this group, anyway. I think the fight, though, is a classic case of a CR mismatch. When the Bad Guy has to roll really crappy to not hit the highest AC in the party, and at the same time, has to roll really crappy to not deal 50-100% of the highest character's HP, the GM should re-think using that enemy against the party just yet. We've seen this happen before in other cases, too—the business with "Spectres" in McN's game comes to mind ("appropriate" CR, but the abilities they had nearly wiped out the party). It comes down to knowing the PCs' capabilities, and making sure the threats are "appropriate." OTOH, having said that, we didn't exactly catch it where we were "supposed to."
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Post by Mike E. on Dec 19, 2011 12:27:17 GMT -6
As the GM, I cannot take total credit for that.
That encounter could have been accomplished with 0 bloodshed.
It could have also been done w/o anyone dieing except the ogre.
I specifically designed that to be a hard/difficult encounter. A risk/reward kinda thing.
Hindsight is always 20/20 I guess...and only 60'.
Sent from my Ally using ProBoards
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Post by WxMAN on Dec 19, 2011 16:25:51 GMT -6
Dec 16, 2011 - What to say... Friday was a complete clusterfrell.... but where to put the "blame"? The group (by and large) was completely off the rails and silly to the point of distraction (I'm guilty as charged of this)... So I'm sorry to those who were annoyed by this, it is hard to stop silliness once its started and I should do better in the future... though it doesn't help it is nice to see the group and just enjoy hanging out... I enjoyed the "christmasy" feel, though I don't think doing "theme" nights would be all that great overall - but annually wouldn't be so bad... The group however got completely bushwacked... It was one of those things where things go poorly and you ask "how did we get here?" Maybe it is group teamwork, who knows, but somehow things went horribly awry and we wound up nearly going 1v1 vs a single monster encounter, which I am sure is not how it was "supposed" to happen. I am sure if the entire party jumped that Ogre, we'd of dropped him within 1 or 2 rounds, we were lucky to only lose 1 PC honestly the way things unravelled... maybe we need to think through our actions a bit more, instead of just rushing headlong into things?
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Post by thedefiantbudah on Dec 19, 2011 17:21:27 GMT -6
so, i'll take some blame for the battle since i drew out the ogre, but it felt rather one sided...but i think that had to do with the party being split up, i did like the christmas on the fly part of it though...as far as my effectiveness in combat (reaching back in the thread) at my current level i am very much support/distraction right now until i get higher up in levels ... but i'm ok with that...however, overall...i liked the session
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Post by Gigermann on Dec 19, 2011 17:24:40 GMT -6
maybe we need to think through our actions a bit more, instead of just rushing headlong into things? Actually, my theory is that we didn't just rush headlong into it, and that's why we got into trouble—if we had all gone down the chimney together, this wouldn't have happened. Maybe it's just a case of "never split the party." Live & learn, I suppose. @gm: I have no doubt that the encounter was designed so as to not require any bloodshed (which, incidentally, is what I was expecting, and therefore, why I did what I did ). However, you just can't count on that happening. An encounter should be a challenge, I agree, but I really think that even under ideal conditions, some folks would have died (or nearly)—too much damage, too easily delivered. Personally, I think it might be worth a test-run at some point, just to prove it—maybe I'm way off.
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Post by WxMAN on Dec 20, 2011 9:40:24 GMT -6
Actually, my theory is that we didn't just rush headlong into it, and that's why we got into trouble—if we had all gone down the chimney together, this wouldn't have happened. Maybe it's just a case of "never split the party." Live & learn, I suppose. I guess... I don't know... It seemed like the plan was for Shelley and me to scout the house and call if there was an issue.... that plan didn't survive 3 rounds and then things went down hill from there... maybe it was just something I missed but yeah... scouting party is alright, but never ever split the party seems to be the lesson... Isn't that rule #1 in D&D? An encounter should be a challenge, I agree, but I really think that even under ideal conditions, some folks would have died (or nearly)—too much damage, too easily delivered. Personally, I think it might be worth a test-run at some point, just to prove it—maybe I'm way off. That's actually pretty easy to do, with MATHS! You just need the HP, AC, to Hit, ave DMG, and any kind of regen ability of the ogre... then the same for each of the PCs... though I am guessing 7 v 1 that ogre wouldn't of killed anyone without getting very lucky and probably would have dropped within 1 or 2 rounds...
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