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Stonetop RPG - Session post-mortems
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<blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 8588386" data-attributes="member: 6785785"><p>Interesting question! This session had such momentum that it's a bit trickier to pull out each individual moment to examine. There are a few moments that were surprising, so I'll list those, though not all were the result of mechanics pushing play in a surprising way.</p><p></p><p>The first thing I can think of is the presentation of a choice in how to approach the camp. a more difficult but physically riskier path versus an easier path that was more obvious. The sneaky route included crossing a narrow strip of rock with a significant fall below. I only considered the sneaky route for a moment before deciding that didn't make any sense for Cullen, and I was glad to see Trys's player agreed. Neither character is really one for sneaking about, and neither of us wanted to face significant harm before even reaching the camp. So in this we leaned not so much into our strengths, but away from our weaknesses, I'd say.</p><p></p><p>The most surprising moment wasn't about mechanics so much as the two players having different ideas on how to proceed. When the priestess presented her offer of truce to Cullen, I weighed it and decided he'd agree as it seemed the best chance to effectively save all the Garretts, and though the result was distasteful to say the least, he viewed it as a test of his faith put to him by Aratis. No sooner had I decided this than Trys's player simply said "No, Trys isn't down with that" and charged. It was a great moment and it led to things being more frantic as we scrambled to try and salvage the situation.</p><p>EDITED TO ADD: Trys’s player reminded me that her decision to attack was based on her failed roll to control the rage she had triggered earlier in the scene. So it turns out this surprising moment was more mechanically dependent than I had recalled. </p><p></p><p>I think that another element that came up was how my use of Cullen's Censure ability established some fiction that I was later able to leverage. He declared the priestess as an agent of chaos which gives me the choice of three effects, the one I chose was that she balks or hesitates for a moment. [USER=6696971]@Manbearcat[/USER] narrated this as a flinching at the name of Aratis, and implied there was perhaps some history between whatever entity she worshipped and Cullen's. So later, when Cullen was charging the camp and the remaining tribswomen were threatening to cut the Garrett womens' throats, I knew there was no way I'd make it in time, so I had Cullen shout threats from Aratis in an attempt to scare them off.</p><p></p><p>In deciding to grab the priestess's cloak, Trys somehow communed with the air spirit bound to the cloak, and so now that's an ongoing challenge that's lingering. She'll need to overcome this thing's presence or influence in a series of tests.</p><p></p><p>Finally, I think that Cullen's plea to the merchants failing was surprising because it resulted in a debility. He was disheartened by the lack of compassion, which had a mechanical effect on play in the form of penalties to both Constitution and Charisma checks. I wasn't expecting that as a consequence, and it would be a significant one if it had not happened so close to the end of the adventure and our return to Stonetop.</p><p></p><p>Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. [USER=6696971]@Manbearcat[/USER] may have more to suggest from a GM standpoint.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="hawkeyefan, post: 8588386, member: 6785785"] Interesting question! This session had such momentum that it's a bit trickier to pull out each individual moment to examine. There are a few moments that were surprising, so I'll list those, though not all were the result of mechanics pushing play in a surprising way. The first thing I can think of is the presentation of a choice in how to approach the camp. a more difficult but physically riskier path versus an easier path that was more obvious. The sneaky route included crossing a narrow strip of rock with a significant fall below. I only considered the sneaky route for a moment before deciding that didn't make any sense for Cullen, and I was glad to see Trys's player agreed. Neither character is really one for sneaking about, and neither of us wanted to face significant harm before even reaching the camp. So in this we leaned not so much into our strengths, but away from our weaknesses, I'd say. The most surprising moment wasn't about mechanics so much as the two players having different ideas on how to proceed. When the priestess presented her offer of truce to Cullen, I weighed it and decided he'd agree as it seemed the best chance to effectively save all the Garretts, and though the result was distasteful to say the least, he viewed it as a test of his faith put to him by Aratis. No sooner had I decided this than Trys's player simply said "No, Trys isn't down with that" and charged. It was a great moment and it led to things being more frantic as we scrambled to try and salvage the situation. EDITED TO ADD: Trys’s player reminded me that her decision to attack was based on her failed roll to control the rage she had triggered earlier in the scene. So it turns out this surprising moment was more mechanically dependent than I had recalled. I think that another element that came up was how my use of Cullen's Censure ability established some fiction that I was later able to leverage. He declared the priestess as an agent of chaos which gives me the choice of three effects, the one I chose was that she balks or hesitates for a moment. [USER=6696971]@Manbearcat[/USER] narrated this as a flinching at the name of Aratis, and implied there was perhaps some history between whatever entity she worshipped and Cullen's. So later, when Cullen was charging the camp and the remaining tribswomen were threatening to cut the Garrett womens' throats, I knew there was no way I'd make it in time, so I had Cullen shout threats from Aratis in an attempt to scare them off. In deciding to grab the priestess's cloak, Trys somehow communed with the air spirit bound to the cloak, and so now that's an ongoing challenge that's lingering. She'll need to overcome this thing's presence or influence in a series of tests. Finally, I think that Cullen's plea to the merchants failing was surprising because it resulted in a debility. He was disheartened by the lack of compassion, which had a mechanical effect on play in the form of penalties to both Constitution and Charisma checks. I wasn't expecting that as a consequence, and it would be a significant one if it had not happened so close to the end of the adventure and our return to Stonetop. Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. [USER=6696971]@Manbearcat[/USER] may have more to suggest from a GM standpoint. [/QUOTE]
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