Looking past the powers

[Ginnel]

I ran a 4th edition game the other night total improv and lots of fun.

One addition I think that helped alot with my group was that as well as power cards they had an extra card too which I wrote for them which basically went.

:Schnee the Necromancer, you are a vile necromancer capable of manipulating dead flesh and bones with magical powers and rituals if you want to do anything along these lines blag the DM.

:Meep the Werekobold, you are nimble and quick an expert climber in your lycanthrope form and more than competent with the set of Thieves Tools you carry on your person when in kobold form, anything you want to do along these lines blag the DM.

Everyone got one of these according to how they presented the character to me and how they wanted it to play, it took the characters minds away from just using powers all the time and really added to the roleplay and theme of the characters and if I ever run a campaign I will be making it abundently clear that I want improvisation of the same order.

Examples, the necromancer got extremely inventive creating zombie eyes and looking through them, making a bone throne which moved with skeletal legs same speed as a horse, the blue was randomly melting groups of animals brains out which the necromancer animated, the carcass (a savage tarzan wannabe) announced several death defying leaps onto enemies which I allowed him to make a charge with an at will attack from a height.

I think it made a real difference to the game especially with those players not so quick to improvise normally, those who spend minutes looking through their sheets and cards for what their powers/abilities say they can do rather than just doing what their characters would.

 

[LostSoul]

That's cool. 4e apparently doesn't do a good job of making it clear that you can do all those cool things. Anything that helps remind people that it's possible is good.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I am still trying to come up with an idea on a how to motivate people to try the "stunt" options.

Maybe a "stunt" part given out per session would help:

Describe a stunt you want to do. If the DM says he doesn't want it, spend this power. The stunt still works. (Adjudicated by the p.42 DMG rules - and should be no less effective then an encounter power)
Special: If you have expended this power, remember that you can still try to ask your DM, you just don't get this overriding card.

Maybe this would take away the "fear" of trying of attempting such a stunt? At least it serves as a nice reminder "You still have a resource you haven't used yet!"

 

[Cadfan]

I'd like to merge stunt mechanics with ritual mechanics.

Splug only knows how that would work.

 

[Ginnel]

I'd like to merge stunt mechanics with ritual mechanics.

Splug only knows how that would work.

Wing it, a player wanted to create a chair out of bone that carried him around, fine I said 10 min ritual go for it.

 

[Oni]

That's a cool idea Ginnel, that I can see how an excessive amount of winging it might be stressful to some DM's.

 

[Angrydad]

Winging it can be scary, but I find that if I set the DC for crazy stunts at a reasonable amount, which depends on the level of the party and their skill levels, then they are more willing to try strange tactics (like the Hulking Hurler throwing the dwarf fighter/rogue/dragon disciple at the Frost Worm they were fighting). Personally, as DM, I find it very satisfying when my players are willing to try doing things that aren't necessarily covered in the specifics of the rules/system.

 

[Hypersmurf]

That's cool. 4e apparently doesn't do a good job of making it clear that you can do all those cool things. Anything that helps remind people that it's possible is good.

In case I haven't made it clear, I just want to say that I really like the way you're handling non-power actions.

It's a lot easier to try cool stuff when you know the DM has your back. (Even if Invisible Castle doesn't.)

barsoomcore is a great GM for this sort of thing as well - in his Dino-Pirates of Ninja Island games, when a player asks "So is there any sort of rope or vine hanging around here anywhere?", his answer is usually along the lines of "I can't imagine any possible reason that there wouldn't be..."

And consequently, his DPNI games have usually contained more awesome cinematic stunt action that any two other games I've ever played in

-Hyp.

 

[Ginnel]

In case I haven't made it clear, I just want to say that I really like the way you're handling non-power actions.

It's a lot easier to try cool stuff when you know the DM has your back. (Even if Invisible Castle doesn't.)

barsoomcore is a great GM for this sort of thing as well - in his Dino-Pirates of Ninja Island games, when a player asks "So is there any sort of rope or vine hanging around here anywhere?", his answer is usually along the lines of "I can't imagine any possible reason that there wouldn't be..."

And consequently, his DPNI games have usually contained more awesome cinematic stunt action that any two other games I've ever played in

-Hyp.

Heh yeah there were sections in the game where the players were like hmm is there a cliff where I could hide behind then jump off? is there a window around here somewhere? etc.

I just grinned and went yes absolutely, and they hid behind the rock and leaped off or barreled through the window to get round some flanking.

Now some people won't like it, giving players this amount of control in the explanation of the gameworld, myself I see it as I can't think of everything so when a player says something like this they're doing part of my job for me, without even knowing it

EDIT: infact you've just reminded me a player ate some suspicious mushrooms they found in a wizards lab the other week and I forgot to do anything with it, right that goes on the top of my list of priorities for next Tues.

 

[Hussar]

I remember back in the old 007 game that you got points for doing exactly this. You had a limited resource of points that could be spent changing the scene. I completely endorse the idea of adding this to D&D. Giving players limited narrative control over the scene is one of the absolute best things to engage players in the game.