I have just run my best session in years...

[John Crichton]

Re: Re: I have just run my best session in years...

Rock on!

Seriously, I now hate battlemats. The little bastards. I just ran the first non-dnd game our group has ever played today. It didn't use a battlemat. What was it? It was . . .

FENG SHUI.

No battlemat, just but-kicking action. The players took to it like fish to water. Lobsters went flying, old men were sent flying, old ment sent others flying, almost everything you can rationalize went flying. A car went flying, with a (yet another) old man and an assisin in the front seats and a back-alley brawler on the hood. The upper 3 stories of a building went flying (while the rest crashed in flames), while still containing a hostage, the hostage taker, and a PC. The dice went flying, in my general direction, when I told Curran the damage rating of a 25 story fall.

It was, to be concise, damn fun.

That sounded like a ton-o-fun. I'm going to try running some high-action stuff w/o a battlemat. I used to do it ALL the time but with all the rules and feats and the like in 3e; well you get my drift. I'll give it a shot and see how it works out. I have high hopes.

Originally posted by haiiro
Congratulations! It's great when everything clicks like that - really makes you glad you're a gamer.

The best session I've ever run was a one shot Call of Cthulhu module: In Media Res by John Tynes, from The Unspeakable Oath #10. It's a brilliant module, and I ran it for two fairly experienced players and one novice player. We used a few props and played it mostly as a LARP - it's a twisted setup that relies heavily on player interaction - and it was awesome.

That was 1993, and I still look back on it very, very fondly.

I'll have to give that a look because my players have not had a really good CoC run thrown at them yet (I have yet to GM it because of time). And modules are so helpful these days because of life getting in the way of proper planning.

 

[Quickbeam]

That's fantastic!! I'm glad to see that the success of your recent session has you revitalized, and I hope the emotion and energy carry over into the coming weeks and months for you!!

 

[John Crichton]

That's fantastic!! I'm glad to see that the success of your recent session has you revitalized, and I hope the emotion and energy carry over into the coming weeks and months for you!!

Thanks, man. It does feel good and I'm hoping that this will have a carry over effect.

Was anyone else in my position and get out of it or possibly still in it?

 

[barsoomcore]

It's funny, I was in a similar rut to you, JC, and Saturday's game totally kicked butt. It was twelve hours of high-flying action. The funny thing is, in stark contrast to most of the posts here, it was the battlemat that made the night.

Or rather, my customized arena floor battlemat.

I ran a version of the gladiator adventure in the current Dungeon magazine and pitted the party against a series of tougher and tougher opponents, culminating in a "naval" duel with the party on rafts fending off a couple of massive "hull rippers" (from Monsternomicon). Great balance checks from the rogue, a Nantucket sleigh ride, inspired use of an iron maiden (also from Monsternomicon) and all combined to create a wild and wooly night.

So beforehand I printed off a set of six pages to create a to-scale map of the area floor, complete with stands and everything. Even the players who weren't in the current battle moved their figures around in the stands so they could watch the action and shout encouragement.

It was good dumb fun, is what it was.

 

[John Crichton]

It's funny, I was in a similar rut to you, JC, and Saturday's game totally kicked butt. It was twelve hours of high-flying action. The funny thing is, in stark contrast to most of the posts here, it was the battlemat that made the night.

Or rather, my customized arena floor battlemat.

All shapes and sizes, the way I see it. I don't see battlemats as the devil but I think I may have become too reliant on it for every combat. An arena combat like you did really needs one because of the size, IMO so that works.

And I am always up for some good dumb fun, in any form. So a big *thumbs up* from me.

 

[KnowTheToe]

Glad to here the story.

I feel burned out on D&D a little and am planning on taking a break from weekly gaming to clear my head. Sometimes I forget how much d20 can be like a war game and not the traditional high flying by the seat of your pants role playing of my youth. Maybe I will take time to try something different.

 

[Jeph]

You want to try something different, a bit more rules light, and much less like a wargame?

/me pimps Feng Shui

 

[barsoomcore]

Two BIG thumbs up on Feng Shui from this corner. Check out Burning Shaolin from Atlas Games -- it's a d20/Feng Shui crossover module with lots of ideas on how to up the wild creativity in d20 play. The module itself is kinda so-so but the ideas on play were a great contribution to my "big dumb fun" game on Saturday.

Feng Shui ROCKS.

 

[KnowTheToe]

I just may see if I can't find a game. I will put an add in the local games stores. Thanks for the advice.