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Brainstorming TotM
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<blockquote data-quote="iserith" data-source="post: 7604162" data-attributes="member: 97077"><p>I prefer maps and tokens and use Roll20 even for in-person games.</p><p></p><p>But one thing I learned about TotM is that the standard play loop is even more important and the DM is well-served by internalizing that process and using it. The standard play loop is (1) The DM describes the environment, (2) The players describe what they want to do, and (3) The DM narrates the results of the adventurers's actions.</p><p></p><p>The key thing here (and this applies to any game, not just TotM) is that this is a <em>loop</em>, meaning that after you've narrated the result of someone's action and their turn is over, <em>start back at (1) The DM describes the environment.</em> Many DMs just go "Okay, John, you're up next..." skipping over (1) and going straight to (2). By doing so, this opens up the floor to questions about who is standing where and what the current PC is in the position to do. A side conversation ensues between the DM and player that interrupts the flow of the game while everyone gets back on the same page. With a map and tokens (or minis), these questions are answered just by looking at the map. With TotM, we need the DM to serve that purpose.</p><p></p><p>So, after (3), <em>go back to (1)</em> and re-describe what's going on succinctly and with an eye toward positioning, plus anything that has changed since the last time you described the environment (e.g. "the orc next to Ragnar was slain..."), laying out the basic scope of options that present themselves to that character. Then proceed to ask that character's player "What do you do?" Get into the habit of following that play loop as an ingrained habit. This simple thing will clear up a lot of issues and is already built into the rules, no house rules or special techniques required. It's good to do this for those times when you are using a map, too.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="iserith, post: 7604162, member: 97077"] I prefer maps and tokens and use Roll20 even for in-person games. But one thing I learned about TotM is that the standard play loop is even more important and the DM is well-served by internalizing that process and using it. The standard play loop is (1) The DM describes the environment, (2) The players describe what they want to do, and (3) The DM narrates the results of the adventurers's actions. The key thing here (and this applies to any game, not just TotM) is that this is a [I]loop[/I], meaning that after you've narrated the result of someone's action and their turn is over, [I]start back at (1) The DM describes the environment.[/I] Many DMs just go "Okay, John, you're up next..." skipping over (1) and going straight to (2). By doing so, this opens up the floor to questions about who is standing where and what the current PC is in the position to do. A side conversation ensues between the DM and player that interrupts the flow of the game while everyone gets back on the same page. With a map and tokens (or minis), these questions are answered just by looking at the map. With TotM, we need the DM to serve that purpose. So, after (3), [I]go back to (1)[/I] and re-describe what's going on succinctly and with an eye toward positioning, plus anything that has changed since the last time you described the environment (e.g. "the orc next to Ragnar was slain..."), laying out the basic scope of options that present themselves to that character. Then proceed to ask that character's player "What do you do?" Get into the habit of following that play loop as an ingrained habit. This simple thing will clear up a lot of issues and is already built into the rules, no house rules or special techniques required. It's good to do this for those times when you are using a map, too. [/QUOTE]
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