Dragonbane general thread

[Aldarc]

It’s an old problem. The best bit of advice on this is: don’t lock the adventure behind a die roll. Just give them the rumors.

That is one criticism that I would give some of the adventures anyway. They sometimes lock things up behind die rolls, and I think that there are better ways to handle these situations. But I also sometimes like to run things straight to test how it handles in practice.

 

[overgeeked]

That is one criticism that I would give some of the adventures anyway. They sometimes lock things up behind die rolls, and I think that there are better ways to handle these situations. But I also sometimes like to run things straight to test how it handles in practice.

I get that. I'm a big proponent for running things RAW the first few times. But there are exceptions. To me, this is one of them.

 

[Wolfpack48]

I think it would behoove you to create some obvious ways for the players to avoid or weaken encounters first, to teach them that such is possible and how to do it. I think sincethis seems to be their second session and their first dungeon you have two choices:

• Let them take it as is with some buffs, but still make it a pretty difficult time that teaches them to "fear" dungeons.
• Show them how they can manipulate the environment to their advantage, and then go through Riddermound on your own and lay down some "sign posts" indicating where your partner can do this.

The first option is how most people learn OSR-style games IMO, which is basically negative reinforcement. It works, but it filters people, and it isn't as fun IMO.

The second option is using positive reinforcement. It'll still be hard, but remember, your partner is a noob so she won't think she's in "no danger." In other words, by making Riddermound into a tutorial, you can boost your partner's confidence and game ability for the future.

I hope this helps! Love that you are doing these write-ups. Please do. They are invaluable

One thing we learned when we switched over to BRP style games (Call of Cthulhu being our first) is that player strategy and the ability to use the environment to plan ahead is a BIG advantage when encountering tough foes. Brute force loses to thoughtful planning (almost) every time. Now, surprise encounters, that's a different (and scary) thing.

 

[overgeeked]

One thing we learned when we switched over to BRP style games (Call of Cthulhu being our first) is that player strategy and the ability to use the environment to plan ahead is a BIG advantage when encountering tough foes. Brute force loses to thoughtful planning (almost) every time. Now, surprise encounters, that's a different (and scary) thing.

Yeah, it's also a very old-school approach. Modern games have a lot to answer for in training players to blindly charge in constantly instead of doing anything approaching planning or thinking about the situation or the environment.

 

[Shardstone]

Yeah, it's also a very old-school approach. Modern games have a lot to answer for in training players to blindly charge in constantly instead of doing anything approaching planning or thinking about the situation or the environment.

The main reason for the new school approach is because it's a simpler game, and a lot of people only have time to play a simpler game.

When I say simpler, I don't mean mechanics. I mean in what you're doing narratively.

In 5R, I'm an Elf Paladin, there's a story goal of some sort (defeat someone, investigate something, expedition somewhere), and I'll either be talking, rolling dice to see what happens, or doing combat.

In OSR games, you have to really seriously plan how you want to navigate the dungeon because most things in there can one-tap you, you have no abilities, you can maybe cast one spell today, and your equipment includes a bag for clothing and a rusty dagger. It's a different kind of critical thing, one geared towards problem-solving using the in-world environment as your tool. It's different then being someone who has the direct capacity to effect the world via their own power, as seen in modern games.

As a professor, I can say that the OSR-style of critical thinking is invaluable, and brings a lot to the experience. But not everyone has the time or energy to devote to that kind of stuff. A lot of people just want to meet up with friends, fight some things, have a few dramatic moments, and call it a night. In that way, being given a character sheet with some powers and enough HP to brute force enemies from time to time is a boon.

It's like this for everything IMO. People who like to really get in-depth with something, be it games or anything else, are always the smaller population. For example, a lot of video games have amazing mods that can change and elevate the experience...but most people don't use mods, because it just takes more effort to figure all that out. Some people prefer simple action movies, and others want slowburn thrillers with lots to think about. Many people enjoy both, but not everyone always has the capacity to sit down and plop on a 3 hour thriller, and are so burntout that they just want to be entertained.

As it goes.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I get that. I'm a big proponent for running things RAW the first few times. But there are exceptions. To me, this is one of them.

To me there's a distinction between running the rules RAW, and running adventures RAW. As I said upthread, I'm altering the official adventures (where I can figure out how) to prevent things from just being GM-initiated die rolls.

 

[Bill Zebub]

A lot of people just want to meet up with friends, fight some things, have a few dramatic moments, and call it a night. In that way, being given a character sheet with some powers and enough HP to brute force enemies from time to time is a boon.

I will grudgingly admit the truth to that.

 

[Von Ether]

I haven't gotten Dragonbane, but I do have a number of its predecessors. One of the advantages of a flatter system is that monsters remain challenging.

In D&D, you have a progression where you start fighting orcs, and then move on to fighting ogres, ettins, and hill giants.

If you look over Piazo's Adventure Path series, you will notice the early one go from 1-20 and it seems they all end up with a climax somewhere in the planes. A few years later and the paths' final levels are 12 to 15.

 

[Von Ether]

To me there's a distinction between running the rules RAW, and running adventures RAW. As I said upthread, I'm altering the official adventures (where I can figure out how) to prevent things from just being GM-initiated die rolls.

For Riddermound, I offered Myth and Legend rolls to reveal the main' monster's weakness.

 

[overgeeked]

If you look over Piazo's Adventure Path series, you will notice the early one go from 1-20 and it seems they all end up with a climax somewhere in the planes. A few years later and the paths' final levels are 12 to 15.

And in DCC you start somewhere on the planes or fighting reawakened Chaos Lords.