DarkMatter D20: Drunk Southern Girls with Guns ... UPDATED - 8/18/05!

[jonrog1]

I think that the only appropriate title for Andy's type of playing would be the (Brian) Van Hoose Award.

I wouldn't know which to be more afraid of playing in that game, Andy or the DM

Is he like this in 'real life', coldly logical/ amoral?

Hatchling Dragon

Not at all. He's funny, charming, an all around great guy. But he does constantly have the escape route planned. He just totally screwed me in the Scarred Lands campaign by coming up with an out-of-the-box way of killing the guy menat to be a recurring villain.

Both of us being writers, he's usually looking for the "cool scene" resolution, knowing I've either a.) planned it or b.) going to let it happen, because it is so frikkin' cool. And that's what the game is about, not yanking somebody down because they blew their junp check by 1. If they're just jumping a pit, yeah. But if they're leaping atop a barricade, planting their hand on their opponent's head and vaulting over the poor git, I tend to give a "cool factor" modifier because they're increasing enjoyment of the game for all.

I would suggest that for any DM whose PC's have got their heads down on the Battlemat -- tell them they get a +1 to attack if the attack is described in a particularly cool/anime way. Combat perks right the heck up.

 

[Breakstone]

That sounds like a great idea, jonrog. I'll have to remember that.

Woo hoo! Post #301 in the story hour!

 

[paulewaug]

get them involved

that is a great idea jonrog,
anything that gets the players 'into the game' and having fun is a good thing.

I will let my players Try just about anything they want, even if their character has practically no chance of pulling something off I'll let them roll and succeed on a Natural 20 if they are really into the game and it is keep that level of excitement up. Even without the 20[/]i they may be partially successful- just to keep things Dynamic!

I also reward 'cool' scenes and things that keep the fun level up in game with Action Dice that they can use for re-rolls.
Sometimes they earn them over the course of many small things adding up, and sometimes they just do something that has to rewarded with something besides xp's.

On the flip side anything that they can have critacl success with they can have crtical failure in my game. But that does not always mean they have to be beaten down just because of a bad roll of the dice.. It is just a good chance to make things tense for our heroes!

Even the most Evil bad guy doesn't always have to try to kill the good guys. The James Bond approach "Now that I have you at my mercy..and I have none-allow me to gloat over you and show how I am better than you are, rather than just killing you like some commn thug..bwahaha!"

Keep up the great work!! Love the story hour-
mmm..."Brains.."

 

[dreadnought]

Jonrog1:
BEWARE INSANTA

 

[KidCthulhu]

It's all about encouraging dramatic combat. Which is why Feng Shui is so much fun. My Scarred Lands players are great at stumbling right in to my dramatic scenes, bless 'em. And recurring villains are the only way to get them moving. I can point to the "Great heap of Evil and EXP over yonder" until I'm blue in the face, and they just shrug. But they'll hunt the 0 level fishmonger who short changed them to the ends of the earth. Shrug. You gives the people what they want.

BTW, JonRog. PC and I saw the preview for "The Core" yesterday. Normally we'd not touch this kind of thing with a ten foot pole, but we're going to trust you on this one. The hot pockets line is a keeper.

 

[jonrog1]

BTW, JonRog. PC and I saw the preview for "The Core" yesterday. Normally we'd not touch this kind of thing with a ten foot pole, but we're going to trust you on this one. The hot pockets line is a keeper.

Yes, well that's the damn problem with the genre . Real world sci-fi used to be Fantastic Voyage and Andromeda Strain, then the big loud dumb pseudo-science of Armageddon and others made the whole style of movie suspect.

What kills me is that even in testing audience members will say confidently (and often condescendingly) "I loved it, but, of course, all that science stuff must be made up like Hollywood always does." That is a direct QUOTE.

But except for the ship itself -- and most parts of the ship can exist, just don't in present form -- all the science is pretty dead on.

Having a guy in a football shirt and a mullet who's test-screening your movie in a f*#&ing mall disparage your two years of geoscience research, that's a thrill.

Ah, but soon I can retire to write comic books and gaming supplements ...

 

[Heap Thaumaturgist]

My Health: Check
My Mental Health: ...
The Girl: Check

Now all I need is JonRog's career and my life will be complete. Hrmmmm.

I didn't know you were responsible for The Core, JonRog. Actually, truth be told, I saw a preview for it in the theater with the guys and we all turned to eachother and said, pretty much: "That sounds like a load of bull... or ..."

It looked like fun, but the science isn't widely bandied about and we're all Computer Science Dorks and (I am) an English: Rhetoric/Composition dork so it's not like we know that much specifically about geothermal goings-on within the core of the planet. No mullets here.

I'll check it out, though.

--fje

 

[barsoomcore]

I was already planning to see The Core (disaster movie junkie, here), but hey, seeing as how it's yours, jonrog, I'll try and make it opening weekend.

Watching the trailer I thought, "What a great idea for a disaster movie. You get earthquakes, tidal waves, fires, storms -- right on. AND those incredibly tragic last-minute-guy-closes-the-bulkhead-door-from-the-other-side-thus-sacrificing-himself-to-save-his-friends moments. Remember Grey Lady Down? Anyone? Man, I had nightmares for weeks.

Anyway, cool, that. Hope it does well.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

I don't know what possessed me to pop in here, since the subject line clearly indicates no update, but I am glad I caught the fanboy blathering.

THE CORE is yours, jonrog? All right, count me in.

I am going to have to speak to you about all that rummaging around in my head, by the way. First I see your Tesla-themed story hour, which of course is a telepathic map of my planned League of Extraordinary Gentleman adventure I will be running in Boston; and here recently I've been catching up on my Jules Verne and now I hear 'bout this Core thing.

Can I go back to having my own ideas again? Not that there's anything wrong with yours, heavens no, it's just starting to disturb me.

Although... I've always wanted to play the trumpet, so if you could just zap that over, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

Wulf

 

[Piratecat]

KidCthulhu says "Don't let the mullets get you down."

I'm curious. You always hear horror stories of good scripts getting savaged in actual production. On a scale of 1 to 10 (where 10 is word-for-word), how close is the final movie to the script you wanted to see filmed?

If answering this prior to the movie's launch is inappropriate, not a problem. But it'll give us that many more tertiary bragging rights when we go see it if we know how much is your original vision!