randy
New Member
Posts: 34
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Post by randy on Jan 20, 2011 19:51:31 GMT -5
Encounter design reminds me a lot of a good science fiction story. In science fiction we can have awesome technology, robots, aliens, strange worlds, etc. These things can surprise us or intrigue us or amaze us, but...
In the end a good science fiction story is about us, i.e. human beings and our relationships with either ourselves or the rest of the universe (even if no humans are in the story).
In an encounter we can put in lots of bells and whistles, fancy creatures, traps, etc. I think those things all have their place and time. In the end, however, the important thing is did the encounter engage the players and provide a satisfactory (or awesome!) experience.
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Post by anarkeith on Jan 21, 2011 14:13:31 GMT -5
I agree, Randy. I read a good blog post yesterday (I'll have to track the link down) that talked about the linear nature of 4e D&D versus the more-branched nature of older versions of the game. Per the post, 4e D&D rules encourage encounter design, whereas older rules encouraged encounter development to evolve more organically.
I'm GMing a bunch this month (six times, compared to my normal two!), and as a result, I'm messing around with less design and more emphasis on motivation. What are my NPCs and monsters trying to accomplish? What happens when the PCs make choices that oppose those goals? How do the PCs choose to resolve conflict when it is presented?
I think both the Dragon Age video game and the RPG encourage players to think about the NPCs and their PCs in the context of the story, rather than just rolling initiative and getting down to combat.
I ran an encounter last night in Dark Sun and the players were ready to throw down, they charged. But the NPC responded with an attempt at negotiation. They halted their charge, and talked. The NPC was very scary. The two parties eventually went their separate ways, but the players were left with the uneasy sensation that they had just avoided a royal ass-kicking, and that they would see more of A’narrahks, The Burning Man. Heh. No combat. Brief encounter. Fun for everyone at the table (I hope.)
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Post by anarkeith on Jan 22, 2011 14:49:44 GMT -5
Hey, Mike? Can you post a link to your blog about your Serenity/Firefly adaptation of the DA/AGE system?
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Post by wrathofzombie on Jan 24, 2011 8:40:49 GMT -5
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Post by wrathofzombie on Jan 24, 2011 8:46:56 GMT -5
On your comment Keith. 4e really strives for "balanced" encounters. They will be challenging and may cause pain to the party, but it is supposed to be something that the party can beat. This is something that 4e states openly and the players have that in their mind.
I remember in older versions of dnd and other games that when you faced an opponent you really had no idea if this was someone you could beat. The DM would give you subtle hints to whether the enemy would crush you.. but you may have all missed that until one of the party members falls in a spray of blood and tears.
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Post by wrathofzombie on Feb 2, 2011 10:31:38 GMT -5
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steve
New Member
Posts: 8
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Post by steve on Feb 2, 2011 21:47:07 GMT -5
Oooo!!!!
I'm absolutely head over heals totally in love with Firefly. To see it's demise after only one season is a sure sign of the end times, the rise or Mordor and the doom of the universe succumbing to the final stages of entropy. I've got all the books and DVDs I can find. Earlier this week I got my Serenity sweatshirt and some obscure fan oriented DVD inthe mail. I've been drooling over the RPG but have never had the nerve to haul my friends (kicking and screaming) into a game ("Vee hoft vayes of makin yoo play ziss game, ja?").
Linking it with Dragon Age? Oooo!!!!
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Post by wrathofzombie on Feb 4, 2011 8:18:10 GMT -5
lol. Well I'm glad I garnered some excitement from ya Steve. When you get a chance you let me know if this gorram thing is worth anything or not;)
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Post by wrathofzombie on Feb 7, 2011 16:39:32 GMT -5
Made quite a bit of changes this weekend to Firefly. Here is a listing of the changes. Let me know what you think. Here's the link to my blog so you can view it. wrathofzombie.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/1163/Added descriptions to Classes. Added descriptions to Backgounds. Added Starting Platinum. Added a medium armor, Ballistic Wave, and redid the ratings and penalties of armor. Made Changes to Central Planets Born and Bred, Frontier Bumpkin, and Shepard background charts. Complete reworking of the Drifter Class. Changed Sneak Attack to a Talent rather than class ability. Changed the Novice ability of Gunslinger Talent. Reworked many of the Talents that are available to Classes. Slightly changed Noble’s level 1 ability, Inspiring Words. Added descriptions to Armor. Changed the purpose of the Heartline Health Suit. Added Small and Full Riot Shields. Added Laser Pistol. Added some further explanations to Know Your Ship. Clarified the Parts of the Ship section and changed layout and added photo. Lemme know whatchu think!
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Post by wrathofzombie on Feb 15, 2011 15:09:54 GMT -5
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Post by wrathofzombie on Feb 18, 2011 8:58:09 GMT -5
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Post by anarkeith on Feb 20, 2011 12:15:14 GMT -5
Hey, Mike! Did you see that Science Channel is going to rerun Firefly (converted to hi def, and introduced by Michio Kaku, a cool physicist talking about the Firefly verse)?
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Post by wrathofzombie on Feb 21, 2011 7:45:33 GMT -5
Yeah I heard There is also rumors going around that SyFy is working with Wheadon to restart the series. It is possible it will be an entirely new crew or that they will get back together to shoot a few episodes to be ran with the normal crew (after the movie).
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Post by wrathofzombie on Feb 22, 2011 10:09:02 GMT -5
I'm curious if any of you have had more experience with the AGE system and your thoughts on it?
I got to run Firefly this weekend and it was so much fun. Every time I have played the AGE system (3 times now) I just realize HOW much I like it.
To me, because it's rules lite, but not just a retro-clone, it really does facilitate narrative and player interaction rather than a huge collection or rules that guide a player down a path.
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steve
New Member
Posts: 8
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Post by steve on Feb 23, 2011 18:54:49 GMT -5
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