| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Naroon Shimmerflow
Learned Scribe
Norway
104 Posts |
 Posted - 26 Feb 2004 : 08:36:59
|
As i am about to start my own campaign soon, (when i get home to Norway) i have some questions about game time and real time
first; when youre party travel by horse or by foot do you play out every day, the encounters which happends are they planned or are they random?
second; when in battle, do you let the players use as long time they need to decide what to do that round?
how about if someone are charging the party and they start to dicuss strategy? how much time do you let them have?
what about talking while fighting?
i could have made a whole list of questions but i think you get what I`m asking here. if someone have some good suggestions or could tell me how you do it in youre game world, please do so.
|
Good dice rolls, beats good tactics anytime[/size=1] |
Edited by - Alaundo on 26 Feb 2004 08:57:31
|
|
|
Lord Rad
Great Reader
United Kingdom
2080 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2004 : 08:45:19
|
Good points Narooon!
To your first question - I dont tend to play out every day of travel, if the journey is to take more than one day then ill play out the first day, however mundane and uneventful, just so the players get a feeling for it. After which ill probably skip a couple of days (maybe still run the nighttime camping just to get the players on edge in anticipation of an encounter....just to see their relief when you announce "morning arrives without incident"  ). The encounters are pre-planned, I never use random encounter tables by the roll of a dice.
Secondly, ill give the players a reasonable amount of time to decide on their actions.....if I get impatient then ill crank up the stakes and describe that the situation is getting heated (there mere mention of the goblin raising its spear does wonders to speed up the players decisions  )
On your last point, if you mean discussing combat moves whilst fighting then I dont have a problem with that. Given the situation, it would be quite feasible for characters to shout over to each other "quick Kaladorn, fire an arrow at the mage... hes escaping"! Just adds a little more flavor.
Hope this helps |
Lord Rad
"What? No, I wasn't reading your module. I was just looking at the pictures"
|
 |
|
|
Alexander Heppe
Seeker
Germany
62 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2004 : 15:42:15
|
I would like to second Rad here.
I donīt play out every day of travel, just do it once in a while. Besides, I narrate every day of travel. Meaning, that if Iīm pretty sure as to where the characters are heading and what areas and landmarks they pass, Iīll copy references to the pagenumbers of the FRCS, or regional Sourcebooks Iīm using, and read or paraphrase them to the players:
("On your second day of travel towards Deadsnows, the Nether Mountains seem to grow larger with every step you take, you can make out the snowy mountaintops, all the while hearing the waters rush down to the valleys in innumerable waterfalls and creeks..." - translated from my native German I think that passage has lost most of itīs flavour, beg your pardon)
I do random encounters, because I just love rolling on charts. But I do so beforehand, not willing to interrupt the session for having to look up certain monsters. I also fell free to change any result that I think is unappropriate. I also limit the Encounter Chance, because I believe that if the charts would work as they do not only for PCs but also for common people, Overland Travel would be DEADLY!
I do allow my players time for deciding on an action, but limit it down when things move to slowly, saying :"Quick, what do you do? 10, 9, 8, ... Ok, since you didnīt think of anything I rule that you just used the refocus-action..." |
|
|
|
Naroon Shimmerflow
Learned Scribe
Norway
104 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2004 : 16:18:23
|
Great answers Raad and Alexander, thank you.
while i`m in the question mood : one of my players are a very experienced player, he is my playing groups DM and always have these great plots and sub plots. he are realy good at playing on the players if you know what i mean.
I`m always feeling that my campaign or story/plot becomes boring and dull for him. do you have any good point on how to make him feel on the edge, and how to better prepare the sessions?
oh... one more question:
if the players drink more than one potion within a short period of time, do you make a dice roll if they react to one and another? i know there can be reactions if sertan potions are mixed. |
Good dice rolls, beats good tactics anytime[/size=1] |
|
|
|
Bookwyrm
Great Reader
USA
4740 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2004 : 07:32:23
|
First, if he's a good DM, he can divorce his desires for his character's well-being from his need for a good story. My suggestion is to ask him if he has any suggestions on the plot, encounters, etc., and if that works out, let him be sort of an assistant -- if he wants it, anyway (he might be wanting to get away from DMing in this game).
Second, there's an old 2e chart for rolling potion mishaps. I looked at it recently, and I wasn't terribly impressed. Personally, I'd use my judgement. Obviously a potion pair for hiding and silent movement would be alright (unless you want to have a small possiblility for a mishap). However, some others might not work as well -- like, say, a potion of hiding and a potion of speed.
I'd say just use your judgement. If the character has a high constitution, he might be able to down multiple potions -- but if you actually mix them at the same time in your stomach, a DM would be well within his bounds to say that something else happens. After all, the carfully balanced elixers, mixed with each other and with stomach acids and whatever else was in there, could have an adverse effect.
That chart did have some interesting parts to it -- like a small chance that the two potions will duplicate a permanancy effect with one of the powers, so a character could gain a permanent bonus or penalty to a check or action. That can be a nice way of suddenly rewarding (or punishing) a player. |
Hell hath no fury like all of Candlekeep rising in defense of one of its own.
Download the brickfilm masterpiece by Leftfield Studios! See this page for more. |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Real time?
