You guys misunderstand what I mean, I mean that people would still take the hit WHEN ITS APPROPRIATE, but not WHEN ITS NOT APPROPRIATE.
If it doesn't pass AC, you're unscathed, you blocked it with your armor, you dodged it by a fraction, you reflected it, all doing it easily.
If it passes your AC, you're worse for wear. You either took the blow blunt, and received a wound, or you spend WAY too much energy in your efforts to dodge it, probably not even accomplishing dodging it.
In reality, your ability to stay on the field is not dictated by how much flesh you have left. Its by how close you are to falling unconscious.
[QUOTE=elowin;45101434]
How do you trip someone if you don't actually hit them?[/quote]
You would end up tripping them like normal.
[quote]And how do you disarm someone?[/quote]
You would end up disarming them like normal. HP doesn't factor into either of those things anyway.
[quote]How does a called shot to the arm make it harder to attack, if you didn't even hit it anyway?[/quote]
If you made a called shot to the arm you would probably hit it, or scrape it. The GM would make a judgement on when things dont hit. I used the rogue getting his fancy suit torn because that would be a big fucking deal to a rogue.
[quote]How the hell does poison work?[/quote]
It... poisons you?
[quote]And how about damage resistance?[/quote]
You have a built defences against certain types of hits.
[quote]What about touch attacks, they pretty clearly only work if you're touching someone, so how can they work if you actually "missed"?[/quote]
Oh I get what youre thinking now! You think everytime you lose HP you don't actually hit them. I don't agree with that at all. For my example I specifically stated that a barbarian would take the blow for a reason. Touch attacks would be the kind of attacks that hit ALL the time.
[quote]And how in the name of all that is holy do you grapple someone without being able to touch them?[/QUOTE]
As above.
Honestly, I don't know what you guys are shitting at me over.
Or we could just
not freak out about it because it's AN ABSTRACTION of a fantasy world with magic and dragons and elves and all sorts of other non-realistic things
seriously you're all just going on about this way too much
After all, it's just
[img]http://i.imgur.com/SFMY8iX.gif[/img]
[QUOTE=ElTacoLad;45103439]After all, it's just
[img]http://i.imgur.com/SFMY8iX.gif[/img][/QUOTE]
there is no such thing as imagination
this is real life
[QUOTE=elowin;45103675]there is no such thing as imagination
this is real life[/QUOTE]
All my RPGs are about nerds sitting around a table and pretending to be evil lesbian winter elves.
My favourite role to play is the GM, the guy with the power fantasy who tells everyone what they have to do because hes a weakling in real life.
[QUOTE=gufu;45089619]To be honest, I would love to see a game where a bunch of WW2-era soldiers end up in D&D/fantasy setting.[/QUOTE]There was a book someone wrote a while ago about God basically saying "fuck it", and letting Hell have it's way with Earth. Demons proceed to get their shit fucked by modern military technology (one part in particular where a flying demon resembling some sort of twisted version of a bee gets blown up with a Sidewinder). I'd like to see an RPG in that setting, though the demons would have to become a bit more competent to make a good foe.
[QUOTE=Sgt Doom;45104558]There was a book someone wrote a while ago about God basically saying "fuck it", and letting Hell have it's way with Earth. Demons proceed to get their shit fucked by modern military technology (one part in particular where a flying demon resembling some sort of twisted version of a bee gets blown up with a Sidewinder). I'd like to see an RPG in that setting, though the demons would have to become a bit more competent to make a good foe.[/QUOTE]
Salvation War
Good read if you like military fiction, even if it's pretty silly concept
Also because Bill Clinton kills a succubus with a shotgun and an angel gets laser-beamed by a naval targeting radar
[QUOTE=Funktastic Dog;45103122]I used the rogue getting his fancy suit torn because that would be a big fucking deal to a rogue.[/QUOTE]
Why's this guy going into dungeons?
So, how does one create monster encounters, and how does one balance them? And is there an appeal for a campaign story where the players are more facilitators to an NPCs goals? Had an ultra-short campaign story in mind but unsure if it's really suitable.
[QUOTE=DiscoInferno;45104733]So, how does one create monster encounters, and how does one balance them? And is there an appeal for a campaign story where the players are more facilitators to an NPCs goals? Had an ultra-short campaign story in mind but unsure if it's really suitable.[/QUOTE]
In the short term it's fine, in the longer term the players will probably want to strike out on their own a bit.
As for balancing monster encounters, very carefully. And when I say that, I mean the exact opposite.
[QUOTE=DiscoInferno;45104733]So, how does one create monster encounters, and how does one balance them? And is there an appeal for a campaign story where the players are more facilitators to an NPCs goals? Had an ultra-short campaign story in mind but unsure if it's really suitable.[/QUOTE]
I'd give you pointers, but that'd imply I balance my fights in any way shape or form. If my party chooses to get into a fight, I cant guarantee it's level appropriate, if the odds are on their side, or even if they'll survive, at the end of the day, it's their choice, and it makes victory all the sweeter if there was an actual chance of them fucking up badly.
Well, can I at least get some advice on the bare bones construction for a monster encounter?
[QUOTE=DiscoInferno;45106681]Well, can I at least get some advice on the bare bones construction for a monster encounter?[/QUOTE]
select monsters, place randomly, encounter finish
[QUOTE=DiscoInferno;45106681]Well, can I at least get some advice on the bare bones construction for a monster encounter?[/QUOTE]
What system, setting, area, what are the players? There's a lot of stuff that goes into planning combat encounters.
[QUOTE=Dwarfy77;45105946]I'd give you pointers, but that'd imply I balance my fights in any way shape or form. If my party chooses to get into a fight, I cant guarantee it's level appropriate, if the odds are on their side, or even if they'll survive, at the end of the day, it's their choice, and it makes victory all the sweeter if there was an actual chance of them fucking up badly.[/QUOTE]
Case in point: He had us run into the final boss in Mekton, and then the NPC that brought us there told us to run. Then we beat the final boss. :v:
[QUOTE=MeltingData;45107556]Case in point: He had us run into the final boss in Mekton, and then the NPC that brought us there told us to run. Then we beat the final boss. :v:[/QUOTE]
Case in counterpoint: He dropped us onto a planet, and gave us only two quest hooks. One was an obvious sidequest, the other involved a giant monster on the loose. Said giant monster proceeded to absolutely wreck our shit - a glancing blow (close to minimum damage) nearly killed me, then (after healing) a direct hit killed me about five times over.
In post-game discussion, it seems that wasn't even on the main questline, it was just a random sidequest we weren't leveled for (still no clue about the actual main quest). And due to the weirdities of the game I'm not quite dead yet, but still.
I'm fine with having monsters that are too tough, but you need to provide some sort of hint that it's too tough other than killing a player.
As for my own strategies for designing battles, preplanning is good but will never be perfect. I've found it's best to be able to adjust things on the fly without seeming to. Here's some strategies:
1) Normally, I put several lower-level battles towards the beginning, escalating things until a final battle. This way I can tweak the balance up or down if it's too easy or hard, without players being able to tell, by either adjusting enemy counts or by adding/removing some hit dice before they get there.
2) Have a gang of enemies, and introduce them over the battle. This gives the same escalating effect, without having disposable mooks that might not make sense story-wise. These work best when designed as NPCs instead of monsters - basically, whip up some characters that are about the same level as your players. This time you'll adjust the pacing - if they're annihilating one guy, throw two more in rapid order; if they're having trouble, don't introduce the new one until the last is almost down.
3) On the other hand, putting just one enemy into the encounter can make it stand out more. Give her a variety of attacks, and use stronger or weaker ones to tweak the balance.
4) Stole this one from video games: three-way battles. Have two enemy factions that are fighting each other, plus your players. Depending on how well your players are doing, you can make them gang up or focus more on each other. It even makes logical sense - if Faction A is wrecking B and C's shit, B and C will focus on A rather than C or B.
[QUOTE=DiscoInferno;45106681]Well, can I at least get some advice on the bare bones construction for a monster encounter?[/QUOTE]
I'm probably not the best person to advise you with my lack of experience but I'd say be generous to the monsters upon setting it up. You can always ease off if the players are having a hard time, fudge a monster's HP lower or something, but if it's the other way around and your players are smashing what is supposed to be a difficult encounter, it's harder to tip it back in the favour of the opposition without it being apparent that you're contriving to do so.
I would usually think of what creature/s are going to be in an encounter, and then draw the map based on that to make it interesting. Dunno if that's just me.
Also you can hide them on the map, make them visible at a distance but have a lot of openings or places where other enemies could pop out of (or have no direct path to reach them, and when the player go the long way around they're gone), or have them make noise from concealment and force the players to go into the lion's maw or smoke them out somehow. I like scenarios that could play out several different ways
Feng Shui trip report: it's fucking great!
Ran a game for Dan/Aperturefan and Wing/I think he goes by cdr[numbers] on here? after having them create characters. Ryan was there too, but he had to drop out cause he was sleepy as a motherfucker. Data decided to sit this one out.
Aanyway, we started the sample adventure from the book - [i]Baptism of Fire[/i] - and did the Eating Counter fight.
The characters - Dan's ninja swordsman (with TWO SWORDS) and Wing's magic cop brought back from the dead - were just sitting there, enjoying the cozy atmosphere and the great food, when a whole bunch of mean looking gangers busted in, led by a giant bruiser with a scarred face and a perma-scowl! They started shaking down the elderly owner and shaking his niece around, and Zhong Wuchang the Magic Cop obviously couldn't have none of that, so he stepped up and got into the bruiser's face. Then, Dororo "Twoslice" the Ninja threw a shuriken at the bruiser's leg, throwing him off balance and letting Zhong kick the bastard into the restaurant's lobster tank!
A hand-to-hand fight ensued, with Dororo slicing the gangers with his TWO SWORDS, and Zhong flash-frying the bruiser with a blast of electricity while dodging the mooks' attacks. Finally, two gangers turned tail and fled, a third one got knocked out by Dororo with a sword hilt to the face, and the wounded bruiser got arrested by Zhong, much to my surprise. We cut it there cause it was getting hella late.
I gotta say, this game's really easy to GM when compared to CP2020. The mooks are pretty much an enviromental hazard rather than regular enemies, so you don't even have to bother with health or anything - either they're in the fight or out of it. A lot less shit to track feels really good. Also, there's a lot less skills, and the players are expected to describe their own awesome stunts themselves, so really, the GM only has to maintain the story and the enemies. That, and it just does its best to encourage the player to be creative, and that is just fuckin' awesome. Get it unless you're a boring bastard and/or you don't like Hong Kong action cinema but who doesn't like HK action?
oh and if you wanna read the log, [url]http://pastebin.com/9TtNgz92[/url] (game proper starts at 04.50)
Just curious, but is there a thread for tabletop/PNP games in general, or is that kind of talk OK in this thread?
[QUOTE=ElectricSquid;45108207]Just curious, but is there a thread for tabletop/PNP games in general, or is that kind of talk OK in this thread?[/QUOTE]
Nobody here actually plays D&D. It's fine.
[QUOTE=Mastahamma;45108379]Nobody here actually plays D&D. It's fine.[/QUOTE]
:(.. I do
Pathfinder counts, right?
I don't even like D&D.
Savage Worlds is my jam
Naruto for everyone
I was thinking about running a pathfinder game.
It'd begin with you guys being in the employ of a noble, beginning as sort of a more standard fare, investigations and dungeon crawls, but from there it would go anywhere. And I mean [i]anywhere[/i]. Maybe they'd become pirates, maybe they'd go on and rule the kingdom, maybe theyd go to some exotic locale. There's so many different things to do in pathfinder that it's almost mind-boggling.
So yeah, if you think you might be into that, give me a hoot!
(Also, my other game is still running, unless like, everyone in it suddenly decides they'd rather do this).
[QUOTE=Funktastic Dog;45110160]I was thinking about running a pathfinder game.
It'd begin with you guys being in the employ of a noble, beginning as sort of a more standard fare, investigations and dungeon crawls, but from there it would go anywhere. And I mean [i]anywhere[/i]. Maybe they'd become pirates, maybe they'd go on and rule the kingdom, maybe theyd go to some exotic locale. There's so many different things to do in pathfinder that it's almost mind-boggling.
So yeah, if you think you might be into that, give me a hoot!
(Also, my other game is still running, unless like, everyone in it suddenly decides they'd rather do this).[/QUOTE]
i would give you a hoot but you hate me ;-;
btw Disc if you do decide to run something I want to reserve a spot!
[QUOTE=MakoSkyDub;45110950]btw Disc if you do decide to run something I want to reserve a spot![/QUOTE]
Alright, but I can't garuntee I will. I'm not someone who's made of motivation.
[QUOTE=DiscoInferno;45110176]i would give you a hoot but you hate me ;-;[/QUOTE]
I don't hate you at all! I just think you're a little too steadfast for roleplaying games.
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