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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5424524" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Magazine Issue 218: June 1995part 3/8Spice of life: Having A plots and B plots in the same episode of a TV show is a well established convention. Similarly, in a show with continuity, there will generally be at least one plot thread per main character, and these will alternately get the spotlight at some point or another. Now, how can we make that principle work for our games? For a start, a large group with multiple characters is going to have problems. You have to make sure people are paying attention and don't get confused. And you have to move back and forth between plots quickly enough that they seem concurrent rather than separate episodes in a larger metaplot. This all becomes a lot easier if you're all operating from a single location like a city, and characters can split up for short periods and then get together again without too much trouble. The big reward of this style of plotting is that it makes games less likely to peter out after you've accomplished some big objective, as there'll always be more plot threads lying around to pick up on. Some of you'll already be doing this instinctively, but for those who aren't, this is another pretty decent bit of GM'ing advice. We've said many times that you've got to be a good observer if you want to be a great storyteller, and this is another angle on getting that across. The game wizards: Hmm. As with spellfire, it looks like the Blood Wars CCG is encouraging you to do things that they strictly forbid in the RPG. This time it's having open warfare in Sigil. All the factions are being dragged in, and the gods aren't far behind. So as with actively encouraging twinking in CCG's while discouraging it for AD&D play, this shows a definite developing double standard between the games. You can of course break it in your own game, and there are several instances they'll casually do something in the name of metaplot that would also get a rather sniffy reception if ordinary PC's & DM's did it and then wrote into the magazine about it, (kill an entire city and turn them into undead? surely in any decent adventure the PC's would get to foil this successfully? ) but it is very much there. Who's really having the badwrongfun these days? All I know is it sure ain't me, and this article gives me more reasons to be grumpy. Forum: Nigel Epsley points out how many things were wrong with the player throwing a tantrum about 1st level characters standing up to his 11th level wizards. Discipline, force of numbers, the frequency and level of wonder magic has. You can't just drop out of the sky and expect people to worship you in a world where weird <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> happens all the time. Robert Melvin points out the problems with a spell/fatigue point system for magic. Wizards pump their Con ridiculously, and spam a few spells over and over again. it's a good deal less fun than D&D's regular one in actual play. Greg Detwiler praises issue 216's Paths of Power. He offers his commentary on the advantages and disadvantages illusionists would face under this system. Double-bluffing is always a good idea for deceitful types to really keep others on their toes. Alex Plocki reminds us that paladins need to be lawful as well as good. That should be a priority for them over whatever god they serve. I am dubious. Do you serve your employer, or the principles your employer ought to serve? I know which one is more likely to get you fired in the real world. The forum welcomes it's first email contributor, who is simply called Steve. New technology is penetrating everywhere. He is also rather interested in Paths of Power, offering a little contribution on how bards fit into this new system. They might have trouble getting a foothold on the arcane arts, but become real jacks of all trades once they've picked up enough paths, which seems appropriate. Floyd Adams III is one of those people who sees the strengths of the cleric, both statistically and socially. Magic-users and thieves'll really have to struggle to get the respect and breadth of powers clerics can claim as standard. Godly backup and worshippers count for a lot. CLS Innis thinks giving characters xp bonuses for high stats is exacerbating the unfairness. We've heard that one before and it continues to make sense from a metagame perspective, if not a realism one. Stephen Carter points out the difference between dark and mature games quite rationally. It's quite possible for a game to be one but not the other. In the end, fun is more important than either. Amen to that. Mike Clair is suffering from insecurity about being a DM. Afraid he's not doing it properly, he asks for help. Oh just get on with it. 20 years ago people had no-one to learn from, they did ok. Philip Crawley suggests modelling the character's hometown on the player's real hometown to help ease them into playing, make it as familiar as it should be. That presumes they stick around their hometown and come back, which many adventurers don't.  Joe Walker has found his game ramping up to ridiculous monty haul levels, and not being able to do much about it. Well, of course not, now you're there. This is what the reset button is for.</blockquote>

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