The Shaman
First Post
Hope everyone had a good Canada Day/Independence Day! 
Now to recover the CD case without getting busted...again...
Now to recover the CD case without getting busted...again...
Piece of Mind: a d20 Modern horror/sci fi campaign [METAGAME]
- Thread starter The Shaman
- Start date
The Shaman
First Post
In the next day or two I'm going to post some tips for you based on my GMing style that will hopefully make this a little easier for you - I'm thinking through what I want to tell you so that I don't give away too much...
The Shaman
First Post
Okay, more like a week than a day or two.
FIrst, I'd like a roll call - who is planning to continue with this game? If you're not, I'd like to give the alts a chance to join if they're still interested.
Second, I said I would give you some hints that might help you to 'decode' my GM style. I've been searching for a post by Celebrim on the General RPG board that describes his style and mine pretty well. I haven't found the actual post, so I'll paraphrase the example:
Celebrim described setting up a hidden trap door in a room with the floor covered by straw. He also placed a broom as a prop in the room. He assigned a +8 to the Search check if the players indicated that their characters removed the straw - the broom was intended as a hint.
This is very similar to how I set up my clues - I like player thought and interaction with the environment through their characters to influence whether or not a skill check succeeds.
In the example of the CD case, I planted the clue in the repeated descriptions of Gold's interest in blues: the blues festival posters, the visits to the blues club downtown indicated in his credit receipts, the names in the CD collection. When it appeared that you guys were stalling a bit, I used a Knowledge check to help trigger an association for you. For investigative scenarios like this one, this is how I use skill checks and dice, rather than saying, "A 20 on your Research check? 'Mr. Lucky' is the name of a CD by John Lee Hooker that Gold has in his collection."
This is how I try to strike a balance between character knowledge and player knowledge. Hopefully that will help to provide some additional guidance for you.
As I mentioned earlier, you have two of three clues in your characters' possession already: the existence of the CD case is one, another is in the records you have of Gold's spending and activity. That's my last hint to you for now...good luck! Your missing scientist awaits!
FIrst, I'd like a roll call - who is planning to continue with this game? If you're not, I'd like to give the alts a chance to join if they're still interested.
Second, I said I would give you some hints that might help you to 'decode' my GM style. I've been searching for a post by Celebrim on the General RPG board that describes his style and mine pretty well. I haven't found the actual post, so I'll paraphrase the example:
Celebrim described setting up a hidden trap door in a room with the floor covered by straw. He also placed a broom as a prop in the room. He assigned a +8 to the Search check if the players indicated that their characters removed the straw - the broom was intended as a hint.
This is very similar to how I set up my clues - I like player thought and interaction with the environment through their characters to influence whether or not a skill check succeeds.
In the example of the CD case, I planted the clue in the repeated descriptions of Gold's interest in blues: the blues festival posters, the visits to the blues club downtown indicated in his credit receipts, the names in the CD collection. When it appeared that you guys were stalling a bit, I used a Knowledge check to help trigger an association for you. For investigative scenarios like this one, this is how I use skill checks and dice, rather than saying, "A 20 on your Research check? 'Mr. Lucky' is the name of a CD by John Lee Hooker that Gold has in his collection."
This is how I try to strike a balance between character knowledge and player knowledge. Hopefully that will help to provide some additional guidance for you.
As I mentioned earlier, you have two of three clues in your characters' possession already: the existence of the CD case is one, another is in the records you have of Gold's spending and activity. That's my last hint to you for now...good luck! Your missing scientist awaits!
James Heard
Explorer
I'd actually love to continue, but I agree that with the stress on other sorts of skills than he's built on Brandon's woefully unsuited for the game and this would be a perfect time for him to bail.
For the alts out there, I'd recommend maxing out Bluff, Search, & Research w/maybe Spot too. Those seem to have a lot more weight in the game so far, and the party needs more specialists in at least a few of them.
Anyways, everyone have fun and good gaming!
For the alts out there, I'd recommend maxing out Bluff, Search, & Research w/maybe Spot too. Those seem to have a lot more weight in the game so far, and the party needs more specialists in at least a few of them.
Anyways, everyone have fun and good gaming!
The Shaman
First Post
Thank you for letting us know, James Heard - much appreciated!
Let's hear what the others players have to say. One thing to consider is this: do you have all of your team's needs covered with three rather than four? The adventure right now is a lot of intrigue and skulking around, but that may change - for example, Falkus hasn't had his day in the sun yet, but I wouldn't recommend tackling the adventure without having Hawk's skills available.
One more thing about my GMing style: I don't have a 'plot' or planned encounters for this game. What I have are extensive notes on the bad guys, their goals, and their tactics. Everything that happens in the game is in response to what your characters do and how the baddies respond - there are no real set-piece encounters or 'scenes', only some encounter locations (the baddies' places of operation) and a sort of decision-tree based on what the bad guys do if their plan is exposed or interfered with. This is pretty freeform - your only limits on what your characters can or can't do are in-game considerations, like how many of the bills Dr. Martin is willing to pick up, and even that's not a limitation if your characters decide to pay for something themselves.
Hmmm...I generally like the dynamic that four players bring to a game, but it isn't essential.Bobitron said:
Let's hear what the others players have to say. One thing to consider is this: do you have all of your team's needs covered with three rather than four? The adventure right now is a lot of intrigue and skulking around, but that may change - for example, Falkus hasn't had his day in the sun yet, but I wouldn't recommend tackling the adventure without having Hawk's skills available.
One more thing about my GMing style: I don't have a 'plot' or planned encounters for this game. What I have are extensive notes on the bad guys, their goals, and their tactics. Everything that happens in the game is in response to what your characters do and how the baddies respond - there are no real set-piece encounters or 'scenes', only some encounter locations (the baddies' places of operation) and a sort of decision-tree based on what the bad guys do if their plan is exposed or interfered with. This is pretty freeform - your only limits on what your characters can or can't do are in-game considerations, like how many of the bills Dr. Martin is willing to pick up, and even that's not a limitation if your characters decide to pay for something themselves.
kmdietri
Explorer
I’d definitely like to continue, if you guys will have me. I’m impartial to having 3 or 4 characters, but I agree that four characters covers more ground.
I’m sorry to hear you’d like to leave James I think Brandon would be fine in this adventure, and he’s a lot of fund to have around.
I’m sorry to hear you’d like to leave James I think Brandon would be fine in this adventure, and he’s a lot of fund to have around.
The Shaman
First Post
Glad to hear you're still on board. Any thoughts on continuing with three or inviting an alternate to make four?
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