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RPG Evolution: Oh No, Everyone's Here!
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<blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 8815293" data-attributes="member: 3285"><p>Our group is balanced to have six players so that when one or two can’t play, we still have enough to move forward. But sometimes everyone shows up, and that can be overwhelming.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]265381[/ATTACH]</p> <p style="text-align: center">Portrait courtesy of <a href="https://overheadgames.com/epic-character-generator/" target="_blank">ePic Character Generator</a> and <a href="https://www.artstation.com/widfara" target="_blank">Bob Ash</a>.</p><p></p><h3>The Gang’s All Here</h3><p>My Fifth Edition <strong><em>Dungeons & Dragons </em></strong>group consists of the following player characters: a tiefling sorceress and her clone brother, a tiefling hexblade; a gnome artificer; a human rogue; and an elven druid and ranger. The hexblade does most of the tanking with support from the rogue, while the artificer and druid (and, in dire need, the ranger) manage healing. Mostly, the party keeps monsters off the sorceress until she can start slinging <em>fireballs</em>.</p><p></p><p>The steadiest players are the sorceress, hexblade, artificer, and druid. The ranger and rogue show up on occasion as their time permits. Those two extra players deal significant damage (at a distance and up close, respectively) and can strongly swing things in the party’s favorite if they win initiative … which the rogue often does.</p><p></p><p>We play over Zoom for about three hours each week, but regularly cancel due to not having enough players or my own schedule not accommodating our game time. Each session is self-contained, a game show-style contest with occasional role-playing interludes “off camera” in between.</p><p></p><p>The session in question involved a Breakout-style combat with rows of descending blocks and a giant flying stone head, guarded by smaller stone heads, behind those blocks. The idea was to shoot through the seams of the blocks, which gave cover to whoever was on the other side.</p><p></p><p>That’s not how it played out.</p><h3>"<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1XgFsitnQw" target="_blank">You're still here?</a>"</h3><p>As the blocks began to descend, two things became apparent: for one, the ranger had an <em>oathbow </em>and once she swore the main bad guy as her enemy, the arrows ignored cover. The bad guy’s main defense was totally circumvented. For another, the hexblade <em>dimension door</em>ed the rogue over to the monster, bypassing all the blocks and guardians to deliver a very stabby assassin right in the enemy’s face.</p><p></p><p>The other heroes busily blasted away at the descending blocks. The sorceress got off two <em>fireballs </em>to open a hole in the defenses while the druid and artificer worked to protect her.</p><p></p><p>The combination of the ranger’s punishing strikes that ignored cover and the hexblade/rogue combination eliminated the main monster in three rounds. And just like that the players defeated the main bad guy.</p><p></p><p>I had a decision to make.</p><h3>"<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1XgFsitnQw" target="_blank">It's Over.</a>"</h3><p>There were a few considerations at play.</p><p></p><p>Our heroes have been in punishing situations before where they barely survived. They needed a win. The game before, the three players who showed up (sorceress, druid, artificer) <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/when-half-the-party-shows-up.692450/" target="_blank">came through by the skin of their teeth</a>, but they really enjoyed that game.</p><p></p><p>In this session, two of our players weren’t feeling well and wouldn’t be able to play for very long.</p><p></p><p>And the party did everything right. The head monster’s death caused the blocks from above to fall in one final strike for those who were still underneath them, but all told the game was short (just an hour in total).</p><p></p><p>I decided to call it a win and end that session.</p><h3>"<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1XgFsitnQw" target="_blank">Go Home!</a>"</h3><p>Each of these sessions is an experiment in terrain and tactics. Some sessions play to their strengths while others capitalize on their weaknesses. A similar battle involving Space Invader-style monsters descending from above was much harder <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/when-half-the-party-shows-up.692450/" target="_blank">because there were only three characters present</a>; with the additional characters, this game was a lot easier.</p><p></p><p>And that’s okay. The players were having a rough day, the characters rightfully outsmarted my (admittedly dumb) monsters, and they circumvented the obstacles using the powers at their disposal. The players greatly enjoyed the win and had a laugh at how quickly they overcame the obstacles.</p><p></p><p>That said, I didn’t end the session without careful consideration. Because we play weekly, we always have another chance at a longer session. If we didn’t get together as often I might have come up with more content to play.</p><p></p><p>Conversely, as busy adults with households that are often sick or stressed, I’m grateful when we can get together at all. Sometimes that time together is necessarily short, and that’s okay.</p><p></p><p>But mostly it was about putting my ego aside as a DM. The heroes did everything right, I was experimenting with a different set of monster tactics, and they “solved the puzzle” quickly and efficiently. That deserved a reward in feeling like a hero. There will be other opportunities for long, drawn-out battles … and sure enough the next session was just that.</p><p></p><p><strong>Your Turn: What happens when you get more players than you planned for?</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="talien, post: 8815293, member: 3285"] Our group is balanced to have six players so that when one or two can’t play, we still have enough to move forward. But sometimes everyone shows up, and that can be overwhelming. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="ohnoeveryoneshere.jpg"]265381[/ATTACH] Portrait courtesy of [URL='https://overheadgames.com/epic-character-generator/']ePic Character Generator[/URL] and [URL='https://www.artstation.com/widfara']Bob Ash[/URL].[/CENTER] [HEADING=2]The Gang’s All Here[/HEADING] My Fifth Edition [B][I]Dungeons & Dragons [/I][/B]group consists of the following player characters: a tiefling sorceress and her clone brother, a tiefling hexblade; a gnome artificer; a human rogue; and an elven druid and ranger. The hexblade does most of the tanking with support from the rogue, while the artificer and druid (and, in dire need, the ranger) manage healing. Mostly, the party keeps monsters off the sorceress until she can start slinging [I]fireballs[/I]. The steadiest players are the sorceress, hexblade, artificer, and druid. The ranger and rogue show up on occasion as their time permits. Those two extra players deal significant damage (at a distance and up close, respectively) and can strongly swing things in the party’s favorite if they win initiative … which the rogue often does. We play over Zoom for about three hours each week, but regularly cancel due to not having enough players or my own schedule not accommodating our game time. Each session is self-contained, a game show-style contest with occasional role-playing interludes “off camera” in between. The session in question involved a Breakout-style combat with rows of descending blocks and a giant flying stone head, guarded by smaller stone heads, behind those blocks. The idea was to shoot through the seams of the blocks, which gave cover to whoever was on the other side. That’s not how it played out. [HEADING=2]"[URL='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1XgFsitnQw']You're still here?[/URL]"[/HEADING] As the blocks began to descend, two things became apparent: for one, the ranger had an [I]oathbow [/I]and once she swore the main bad guy as her enemy, the arrows ignored cover. The bad guy’s main defense was totally circumvented. For another, the hexblade [I]dimension door[/I]ed the rogue over to the monster, bypassing all the blocks and guardians to deliver a very stabby assassin right in the enemy’s face. The other heroes busily blasted away at the descending blocks. The sorceress got off two [I]fireballs [/I]to open a hole in the defenses while the druid and artificer worked to protect her. The combination of the ranger’s punishing strikes that ignored cover and the hexblade/rogue combination eliminated the main monster in three rounds. And just like that the players defeated the main bad guy. I had a decision to make. [HEADING=2]"[URL='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1XgFsitnQw']It's Over.[/URL]"[/HEADING] There were a few considerations at play. Our heroes have been in punishing situations before where they barely survived. They needed a win. The game before, the three players who showed up (sorceress, druid, artificer) [URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/when-half-the-party-shows-up.692450/']came through by the skin of their teeth[/URL], but they really enjoyed that game. In this session, two of our players weren’t feeling well and wouldn’t be able to play for very long. And the party did everything right. The head monster’s death caused the blocks from above to fall in one final strike for those who were still underneath them, but all told the game was short (just an hour in total). I decided to call it a win and end that session. [HEADING=2]"[URL='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1XgFsitnQw']Go Home![/URL]"[/HEADING] Each of these sessions is an experiment in terrain and tactics. Some sessions play to their strengths while others capitalize on their weaknesses. A similar battle involving Space Invader-style monsters descending from above was much harder [URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/when-half-the-party-shows-up.692450/']because there were only three characters present[/URL]; with the additional characters, this game was a lot easier. And that’s okay. The players were having a rough day, the characters rightfully outsmarted my (admittedly dumb) monsters, and they circumvented the obstacles using the powers at their disposal. The players greatly enjoyed the win and had a laugh at how quickly they overcame the obstacles. That said, I didn’t end the session without careful consideration. Because we play weekly, we always have another chance at a longer session. If we didn’t get together as often I might have come up with more content to play. Conversely, as busy adults with households that are often sick or stressed, I’m grateful when we can get together at all. Sometimes that time together is necessarily short, and that’s okay. But mostly it was about putting my ego aside as a DM. The heroes did everything right, I was experimenting with a different set of monster tactics, and they “solved the puzzle” quickly and efficiently. That deserved a reward in feeling like a hero. There will be other opportunities for long, drawn-out battles … and sure enough the next session was just that. [B]Your Turn: What happens when you get more players than you planned for?[/B] [/QUOTE]
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