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[Dread] Jenga beat up my dice! My results from the indie horror RPG.
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<blockquote data-quote="Eunomiac" data-source="post: 5752390" data-attributes="member: 6686214"><p><strong>Tips from a Newbie Host</strong></p><p></p><p>Okay, here are some of the tips/advice/ideas/etc. I picked up while playing through my first game as Host.</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>Questionnaires:</strong></span></p><p></p><p>Given the time it takes to fill in questionnaires, the value of filling in questionnaires at the table instead of handing them out in advance, and the difficulty for the Host to meaningfully fold so many answers into a scenario, I think there's a solid argument to be made <em>against</em> including "fluff" questions that aren't going to be incorporated into the story. </p><p></p><p>Casual players especially are going to struggle over something like "Did Shakespeare really write all his plays?" only to get frustrated when all their struggling "doesn't matter" because there wasn't a Shakespeare-zombie to make their answer relevant. Sure, there are reasons in favor of them, but overall I just think the cost/benefit ratio is against them in a game with so little time for character development.</p><p></p><p>Three things that worked <em>really </em>well after my experience with the questionnaires:</p><p></p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">As much as possible, use the <em>actual language</em> in each players' answers, particularly unique turns of phrase that stick out. These verbal cues are subtle yet effective ways to alert them that their answers are mattering. E.g. my Economics Major, Chad, regretted murdering his mother when it was only his Dad he was out to kill (swell guy, really). His answer ended with, <em>"she wasn't supposed to be there... she wasn't supposed to be there... she wasn't supposed to be there..."</em>. So, when the Fashion Major was in danger, I turned to Chad's player and said "she's got a two-year-old waiting for her at home... she shouldn't be here... <em>she isn't supposed to be here...</em>" It was great to see his eyes light up upon realizing the connection to his answer; that surfacing awareness packs more of a punch than the more direct "she's a mom too, and here's your chance for redemption" or some such. Simpler cues work too, of course: the Freshman didn't want to die a "coward", so any time I used the word "coward" he knew exactly what I was getting at; the Engineer went into chemical engineering for chemical weapons design to <em>"Make. Them. Suffer."</em>---so I'd encourage him to go chasing after monsters after a hit-and-run <em>"...to make. It. Suffer."<br /> <br /> </em></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">This one's perhaps obvious, and goes with my advice in the first paragraph of this section: Try to find something meaningful in each answer, however strange. Kind of like Aspects in FATE, I was always looking for both a benefit and a detriment. I struggled over "cake decorator" for awhile, until I came up with "steady hands" and "focused" -- which was very useful when it came to suturing up wounds or keeping watch. Equally obviously, this doesn't have to come from the answers: failing a botany exam implies some knowledge of plants, whatever the answer given.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>RELATIONSHIP MAP. </strong><u>So useful</u>. Write each character's name down on a piece of paper, including key NPCs, in a rough circle. As interpersonal questions come in, draw connecting lines labeled with things like "hates" or "stole money from" or "played prank on", etc. Not only does it make a very easy reference, it helps you set up PvP when you need tower attrition, and it can give you big-picture insights into group dynamics you might otherwise miss.</li> </ol><p><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>THE TOWER:</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong></strong></span></p><p>One thing I noticed about the tower has to do with "pull thresholds" (i.e. the level of complexity/difficulty at which you would ask someone to make a pull). At first, I thought it was best to keep this consistent: If it would take two pulls to suture up a wound with a stable tower, it should <em>always</em> take two pulls. But then I realized that this game is about <em>pacing</em> and <em>feel</em>. As long as you aren't being inconsistent (e.g. reducing something that once took two pulls to a single pull), I think it's perfectly fine to reduce the pull threshold when the tower is more rickety, especially if you're trying to preserve the tower for an imminent climax. My rule of thumb is that, as long as my players are fearing that tower and dreading my pulls, then all I need to worry about is pacing: not having the tower fall <em>immediately</em> before a satisfying climax.</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>SOUND:</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong></strong></span></p><p><strong>It. Is. <em>WORTH IT. </em></strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Music:</strong> Grab some solid horror/sci-fi/surreal movie soundtracks <em>(Donnie Darko, 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, Dog Soldiers, Inception) </em>and/or video game scores <em>(BIOSHOCK, BIOSHOCK 2)</em>, load 'em into your iPod, and rate them 1, 2 or 3 for three levels of "Dread". I use "Isolation" (light fare, with a surreal or creepy twist, for most of Act 1), "Dread" (dark fare, but still fairly ambient -- pretty much anything obviously horror but not heart-pounding fits here -- for most of Act 2), and "Panic" for climactic scenes, as well as high-energy scenes in earlier acts (e.g. rapids). </p><p></p><p><strong>Sound Effects: </strong>Even moreso than music, my players responded VERY well to ambient sound effects: campfires, running water, insects & birds, wind, etc. You can run multiple versions of WinAmp simultaneously, for an impromptu layering of sounds: have owls hooting in one WinAmp, crickets in another, a campfire in a third and you have a perfect night scene. A fourth WinAmp can include short cues, like monster sounds or snakes rattling or what have you. Then run iTunes for your music, with three playlists for each of your three categories of music, then switch between those playlists when the mood shifts -- all on a single laptop screen, which you can set aside and move over to whenever someone's making a pull. You might need to fiddle with the volume balance a bit, but it's not hard to do that in-game from your laptop while people are pulling.</p><p></p><p>I can't emphasize enough how effective this is, and how worth the effort it is to put it together!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Eunomiac, post: 5752390, member: 6686214"] [b]Tips from a Newbie Host[/b] Okay, here are some of the tips/advice/ideas/etc. I picked up while playing through my first game as Host. [SIZE=3][B]Questionnaires:[/B][/SIZE] Given the time it takes to fill in questionnaires, the value of filling in questionnaires at the table instead of handing them out in advance, and the difficulty for the Host to meaningfully fold so many answers into a scenario, I think there's a solid argument to be made [I]against[/I] including "fluff" questions that aren't going to be incorporated into the story. Casual players especially are going to struggle over something like "Did Shakespeare really write all his plays?" only to get frustrated when all their struggling "doesn't matter" because there wasn't a Shakespeare-zombie to make their answer relevant. Sure, there are reasons in favor of them, but overall I just think the cost/benefit ratio is against them in a game with so little time for character development. Three things that worked [I]really [/I]well after my experience with the questionnaires: [LIST=1] [*]As much as possible, use the [I]actual language[/I] in each players' answers, particularly unique turns of phrase that stick out. These verbal cues are subtle yet effective ways to alert them that their answers are mattering. E.g. my Economics Major, Chad, regretted murdering his mother when it was only his Dad he was out to kill (swell guy, really). His answer ended with, [I]"she wasn't supposed to be there... she wasn't supposed to be there... she wasn't supposed to be there..."[/I]. So, when the Fashion Major was in danger, I turned to Chad's player and said "she's got a two-year-old waiting for her at home... she shouldn't be here... [I]she isn't supposed to be here...[/I]" It was great to see his eyes light up upon realizing the connection to his answer; that surfacing awareness packs more of a punch than the more direct "she's a mom too, and here's your chance for redemption" or some such. Simpler cues work too, of course: the Freshman didn't want to die a "coward", so any time I used the word "coward" he knew exactly what I was getting at; the Engineer went into chemical engineering for chemical weapons design to [I]"Make. Them. Suffer."[/I]---so I'd encourage him to go chasing after monsters after a hit-and-run [I]"...to make. It. Suffer." [/I] [*]This one's perhaps obvious, and goes with my advice in the first paragraph of this section: Try to find something meaningful in each answer, however strange. Kind of like Aspects in FATE, I was always looking for both a benefit and a detriment. I struggled over "cake decorator" for awhile, until I came up with "steady hands" and "focused" -- which was very useful when it came to suturing up wounds or keeping watch. Equally obviously, this doesn't have to come from the answers: failing a botany exam implies some knowledge of plants, whatever the answer given. [*][B]RELATIONSHIP MAP. [/B][U]So useful[/U]. Write each character's name down on a piece of paper, including key NPCs, in a rough circle. As interpersonal questions come in, draw connecting lines labeled with things like "hates" or "stole money from" or "played prank on", etc. Not only does it make a very easy reference, it helps you set up PvP when you need tower attrition, and it can give you big-picture insights into group dynamics you might otherwise miss. [/LIST] [SIZE=3][B]THE TOWER: [/B][/SIZE] One thing I noticed about the tower has to do with "pull thresholds" (i.e. the level of complexity/difficulty at which you would ask someone to make a pull). At first, I thought it was best to keep this consistent: If it would take two pulls to suture up a wound with a stable tower, it should [I]always[/I] take two pulls. But then I realized that this game is about [I]pacing[/I] and [I]feel[/I]. As long as you aren't being inconsistent (e.g. reducing something that once took two pulls to a single pull), I think it's perfectly fine to reduce the pull threshold when the tower is more rickety, especially if you're trying to preserve the tower for an imminent climax. My rule of thumb is that, as long as my players are fearing that tower and dreading my pulls, then all I need to worry about is pacing: not having the tower fall [I]immediately[/I] before a satisfying climax. [SIZE=3][B]SOUND: [/B][/SIZE] [B]It. Is. [I]WORTH IT. [/I][/B] [B]Music:[/B] Grab some solid horror/sci-fi/surreal movie soundtracks [I](Donnie Darko, 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, Dog Soldiers, Inception) [/I]and/or video game scores [I](BIOSHOCK, BIOSHOCK 2)[/I], load 'em into your iPod, and rate them 1, 2 or 3 for three levels of "Dread". I use "Isolation" (light fare, with a surreal or creepy twist, for most of Act 1), "Dread" (dark fare, but still fairly ambient -- pretty much anything obviously horror but not heart-pounding fits here -- for most of Act 2), and "Panic" for climactic scenes, as well as high-energy scenes in earlier acts (e.g. rapids). [B]Sound Effects: [/B]Even moreso than music, my players responded VERY well to ambient sound effects: campfires, running water, insects & birds, wind, etc. You can run multiple versions of WinAmp simultaneously, for an impromptu layering of sounds: have owls hooting in one WinAmp, crickets in another, a campfire in a third and you have a perfect night scene. A fourth WinAmp can include short cues, like monster sounds or snakes rattling or what have you. Then run iTunes for your music, with three playlists for each of your three categories of music, then switch between those playlists when the mood shifts -- all on a single laptop screen, which you can set aside and move over to whenever someone's making a pull. You might need to fiddle with the volume balance a bit, but it's not hard to do that in-game from your laptop while people are pulling. I can't emphasize enough how effective this is, and how worth the effort it is to put it together! [/QUOTE]
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