GM Aid in Mods

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  • June 28, 2015 at 7:19 pm #151903
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    As part of the Kickstarter for the Blessed Lands I got the full pdf package. The pdfs have proved used useful in one major regard. For my characters and mods when I run them, I create a cheat sheet or play aid where I cut and paste all the spells, talents, tricks, martial techniques etc. that I need to keep at hand. Makes running both characters and mods really handy since I don’t have to keep flipping through books. Lots easier to flip through a few pages stapled together instead (I make a Word doc and then save it and print out as needed). My question is this, would it be possible to add something like this as an appendix to a mod? I’ve seen this done in some cases for certain things but never as complete as what I’m talking about. I’m thinking this would really help out new GMs trying to run mods. Is this something worth doing?

    June 28, 2015 at 8:25 pm #268799
    frootsnax
    Participant

    It’s certainly something mod authors could be asked to do.

    I think at one point this was discussed awhile back and the was a concern by someone that having that info in cheat sheet format would be a disincentive to buying the books. Not sure if that was campaign staff or a player who voiced that. Or if that concern is relevant now.

    Usually for BIs and the crazy Arcaniscon 3 rounders there is a sheet like this for the judges.

    June 28, 2015 at 8:37 pm #268800
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    One compromise measure could be having just the spells or martial techniques listed. Especially spells since I find them the most complicated thing to run, what with all the variations one can use. As for buying the books I get that. Are the pdfs available for purchase for those who want digital versions? Last I heard the web store is not up. Am I wrong on that?

    June 28, 2015 at 11:13 pm #268801
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    PDFs are available from some third party sites.

    Henry should be able to chip in with who their ‘preferred’ store partner is.

    June 28, 2015 at 11:18 pm #268803
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Good to know. What third party sites? Drive Thru Rpg?

    June 28, 2015 at 11:48 pm #268805
    drafit
    Participant

    Hello,

    What third party sites? Drive Thru Rpg?

    Correct or RPGNow.

    And Eric is correct – we cannot put full text of the rules in the adventures for the reasons stated.

    June 29, 2015 at 1:08 pm #268810
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Fair enough, I can understand the reasons why. Comment still stands though, I do recommend GMs who can make a pregame cheat sheet. Flipping through books at that table interrupts the flow of the game. Even looking it up on a tablet takes time unfortunately. \":(\" On a totally unrelated note (since I’ve been thinking about it) I want to congratulate Henry on the mod Hide and Seek. It’s not often I get suprised in a mod, but I really did not see the ending of that mod coming. Well done sir!

    June 29, 2015 at 1:22 pm #268811
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    When stats are written, under the “Special” section, I list the martial techniques with a Speed/recovevery and the bare bones effect. The only thing the judge has to do is the quick math if he makes them advanced maneuvers.

    As for Talents, if the Talent can be already factored into the stat block, it is (such as weapon mastery). I have been thinking of putting in non-factored Talents into bold or italics fonts to differentiate. I would eliminate the Talents that are already factored in, but I sometimes re-skin stats and if I delete Talents, I will not remember how the opponent was built.

    As for spells…well, spells suck. They take up a TON of room in stat blocks beccause of the various adaptations/manipulations. IIRC, i wrote out the combat options for Elemental Bolt for some of the Harvesters at this year’s Arcanicon…it nearly doubled the size of the stat block. (and that was only 1 of their spells)

    June 29, 2015 at 2:04 pm #268812
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Martial Techniques are pretty straight foward to deal with in my experience compared with spells. As for talents I like to keep my cheat sheet handy for my characters so I don’t forget something at a critical moment, especially Tiered talents where things change based on the Tier. Spells are the 800 pound gorrilla in the room. \":(\" Still compared with Pathfinder/D&D I love the Arcanis magic system, way more flexible and flavorful. I know you have metamagic feats in PF/DnD, but I like the on the fly nature of adaptation, it just feels right and cool to me. Plus who doesn’t like dice “explosions.” \":)\"

    June 29, 2015 at 2:07 pm #268813
    drafit
    Participant

    Hello Michael,

    I want to congratulate Henry on the mod Hide and Seek. It’s not often I get suprised in a mod, but I really did not see the ending of that mod coming. Well done sir!

    Thank you! Very kind of you to say so.

    June 29, 2015 at 2:32 pm #268814
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Hey what can I say? Call ’em like I see ’em, good and bad. Overall that was one of the better mods I’ve played in a while. Looking forward to running it when I have more time to spin out the story. Just curious I assume there are things in the mod that will play out in future events? Cause I love foreshadowing…. \":)\"

    June 29, 2015 at 3:00 pm #268815
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Fair enough, I can understand the reasons why. Comment still stands though, I do recommend GMs who can make a pregame cheat sheet. Flipping through books at that table interrupts the flow of the game. Even looking it up on a tablet takes time unfortunately. !

    That’s when I just start making things up (that are reasonable and fun for the table)

    John

    June 29, 2015 at 3:21 pm #268816
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Oh I do that too, but more from a RP perspective than a game mechanics side. For example there’s a particular scene in Blessed are the Heretics. One of the characters in a game I ran at Origins is a val’Mehan who runs around with a pair of Infernal “bodyguards.” When they entered a room [No spoilers] they stopped, looked at each other and started taking ‘notes.’ Everybody at the table got a chuckle out of that.

    But when it comes to game mechanics I want to get it right and do things by the numbers if at all possible. Best way to find out what works and what doesn’t is to try it in game. Something that sounds good on paper may actually prove suboptimal in a fight.

    While I will make up things on the fly I try to limit that, to avoid player perceptions that I am playing too fast and loose with the rules.

    June 29, 2015 at 3:23 pm #268817
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    As for Talents, if the Talent can be already factored into the stat block, it is (such as weapon mastery). I have been thinking of putting in non-factored Talents into bold or italics fonts to differentiate. I would eliminate the Talents that are already factored in, but I sometimes re-skin stats and if I delete Talents, I will not remember how the opponent was built.

    Indicating which talents are included would be helpful. Perhaps 2 sections: Talents (Included in stats) and Talents (Please review) would be easiest for GM’s.

    I’ve said this before and I’ll throw it out there again. Can we consolidate the stat blocks? In general, most enemies don’t need to show 10-12 spells they can cast. Combats just don’t go that long and some spells do very similar things. Most of these enemies are meant to be defeated, so whether they have 8,9 or 10 spells isn’t important.

    Perhaps it could work to categorize the types of spells they have:
    1) Attack Spells: Elemental Bolt, Storm of Knives
    2) Defense Spells: Inertial Shield, Arcane Shield
    3) Healing Spells: Pound of Flesh

    Really, I’d love us to take a look at 4th Edition in how they wrote their stat blocks for monsters/enemies. It was very simple. I understand when building an Encounter it’s important to know what the bad guys get for the purposes of their EV, but once that’s known, can the stat block be simplified and put in only the critical Adaptations that the casters can do with Passive Arcanum?

    Here’s an example:

    Attack Spells:
    Elemental Bolt (Base) [CTN 18; Spd/Str: 4 (+2); Instant; 30′ (1 Target) vs. Avoidance]
    Damage: d6 (Primary)
    Adaptations:
    2 Targets [CTN +3; Spd/Str: +0 (+2)]
    30′ (10′ Radius) [CTN +6; Spd/Str: +2 (+4)]
    +30′ Range [CTN +2] (Multiple)
    Die Bump [CTN +3; Spd/Str: +0 (+1)] (Multiple)

    Not sure how much time this adds to the “Stat Person” but it would greatly help any GM’s.

    John

    June 29, 2015 at 3:25 pm #268818
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    But when it comes to game mechanics I want to get it right and do things by the numbers if at all possible. Best way to find out what works and what doesn’t is to try it in game. Something that sounds good on paper may actually prove suboptimal in a fight.

    While I will make up things on the fly I try to limit that, to avoid player perceptions that I am playing too fast and loose with the rules.

    My views (correct or not) are that “What happens behind the GM Screen, stays behind the GM Screen.” If the choice is to spend 5 minutes looking up a spell to get it 100% correct or make something up that seems reasonable, adds to the fun, and doesn’t insta-kill the players, I’ll always choose B.

    I always feel that it is more efficient to have 1 person spend 1-2 hours to go through and put in enough detail in the stat blocks for ALL GM’s running it, rather than every GM who runs it putting in 2-3 hours time to do the same.

    John

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