dorgin_malgard
First Post
Leon for Jay
Saturday AM: The Hunt (Star Wars Saga) FULL Including Alts
Rel
Liquid Awesome
I had an idea on the way home that I thought I'd throw out there for you:
You and I talked a bit on Sunday about how you didn't like using a battlemat and figures (which is totally fine) but how Star Wars has some abilities that rely a bit on character positioning and things like that. I know that a few other people that I've gamed with recently have adapted the "Arena system" from Old School Hack to games where they don't want to count squares and such but need at least a little bit of a graphical representation of where everybody is in the fight.
What if you used Arenas to give everybody a general idea of where the various characters were in the combat? You could also note that some abilities (like the one that aided any other PC within 6 squares) would aid anybody in the same Arena.
I think that it might be a good fit for that system and pretty easy to manage at the table.
You and I talked a bit on Sunday about how you didn't like using a battlemat and figures (which is totally fine) but how Star Wars has some abilities that rely a bit on character positioning and things like that. I know that a few other people that I've gamed with recently have adapted the "Arena system" from Old School Hack to games where they don't want to count squares and such but need at least a little bit of a graphical representation of where everybody is in the fight.
What if you used Arenas to give everybody a general idea of where the various characters were in the combat? You could also note that some abilities (like the one that aided any other PC within 6 squares) would aid anybody in the same Arena.
I think that it might be a good fit for that system and pretty easy to manage at the table.
John Crichton
First Post
Thanks for running and if I have one bit of unsolicited advice/feedback: Don't use graph paper to substitute for a battlemat or just placement on the table in a 4 hour game. Too small and too time consuming!
Oh, and this could absolutely be my fault but some explanation of the system you are running (at the table) would be helpful, most importantly the things the PCs have for resources like Force Points. I say that it could b my fault because there may have been an expectation by you that we'd all know the system enough to just go off what was on the sheets. And I'll say that some of my character's abilities were on the sheet but didn't specify number of squares/area of effect that the ability would be useful in. Again, this could just be a communication thing on my part about how much knowledge of the system the players were expected to have.
All that said, I had fun.
Oh, and this could absolutely be my fault but some explanation of the system you are running (at the table) would be helpful, most importantly the things the PCs have for resources like Force Points. I say that it could b my fault because there may have been an expectation by you that we'd all know the system enough to just go off what was on the sheets. And I'll say that some of my character's abilities were on the sheet but didn't specify number of squares/area of effect that the ability would be useful in. Again, this could just be a communication thing on my part about how much knowledge of the system the players were expected to have.
All that said, I had fun.
Dungannon
First Post
Thanks for running and if I have one bit of unsolicited advice/feedback: Don't use graph paper to substitute for a battlemat or just placement on the table in a 4 hour game. Too small and too time consuming!
Oh, and this could absolutely be my fault but some explanation of the system you are running (at the table) would be helpful, most importantly the things the PCs have for resources like Force Points. I say that it could b my fault because there may have been an expectation by you that we'd all know the system enough to just go off what was on the sheets. And I'll say that some of my character's abilities were on the sheet but didn't specify number of squares/area of effect that the ability would be useful in. Again, this could just be a communication thing on my part about how much knowledge of the system the players were expected to have.
All that said, I had fun.
I'm glad you had fun and I welcome your input. Like I said, this was a learning experience for me so the more advice you offer the more I can learn.
I don't usually play with a battlemat, I don't even own any minis, and I wasn't even planning on using graph paper but it occurred to me at the last minute that some players might be more comfortable with something to show placement so I made the graph paper map as a weak compromise late Friday night. If I run something like this again I'll probably borrow a mat to use to make it easier for all.
And I agree with you that I could've & should've done a better job of explaining the system once everyone was at the table.
John Crichton
First Post
Sweet.I'm glad you had fun and I welcome your input. Like I said, this was a learning experience for me so the more advice you offer the more I can learn.
I always do a terrible job of forgetting to bring minis so I just have the players use different colored dice and leave a small pile in front of them so I can tell who is who.
Also, the OSH arena system has been a revelation for me and I will likely use it for any game requiring placement during battle in future one-shots!
No worries on that one except for the Force points thing which we kinda figured out half way through. Poker chips or the like are excellent reminders for stuff like that. As for the for the other rules stuff that was really just a quibble that only came up a few times. As the GM you can also hand-wave some of the rules-y stuff like squares and just use the spirit or gist of the rule. I always add at the start of my games that I run "rules light" to attempt establishment of the hand-waving that is likely to come.
And you were you fair and consistent in your rulings which is really all that matters!
