Earlier this evening the brave adventurers found themselves fighting side by side with a pair of wolf-mounted orcs. They were taking on a small group of devils/demons over by a large scarred valley. Within the valley was a (relatively) small portal, and some potential caverns and buildings for demons to live in. There was very little other than a fierce battle against that small group, but I could see the terrain offering a very cool dungeon to explore later on.
I'm imaging the players fighting through waves of hellish minions to reach the portal, and then needing to explore the buildings and eventually the cave to accomplish their task. The heroes hack their way through the cave, and encounter periodic reinforcement from behind as more demons enter through the portal. The details will have to be worked out, but I can see this idea turning into a good module that will fit in with a lot of different campaign settings. I've even got some ideas on how to make the module customizable in itself.
P.S. Extra posts coming this week. I spent the weekend on the lake, so I didn't get much done.
-Lance of the Hill People
~~~~
To catch up, last week our party was exhiled from Villhelm, the town encampment in hills. After fighting off attacking hill giants, we (with the exclusion of Flint and Val who had to miss the session) we escorted to the town council, led by a old Paladin of Pelor. After the doors closed we were held at sword point by war forged guards, while the mayor revealed himself as a demon in disguise, who was not pleased that we had engendered ourselves so to his unbeknownst townfolks. Also, he informed us that the children who had taken our hard won mushroom cure had mysteriously died, and we would take the fall.
We were escorted from town, and left to die by a vicious orc encampment.
We slept that night, our Eladrin dozing, before preparing our vengeful return to the city when we were come upon by a couple of orcs. More intelligent than the demon leader had perhaps known, we talked our way into proving ourselves to their camp. And after beating down some of their battle hungry adolescents we were given safe passage in their 2.5k strong encampment. Battle!
Which brings us to tonights adventure- a demon fight. We started off the session by catching up with Val and Flint, still heros in town, who had come to find us. We made a bit of a plan to retake the town. But the orcs offered us another choice. Build up our skill on nearby demons.
Having a plot-lite session was nice for a change. Combat became the big event, and since our party has grown a few people since we started, it was good for us to learn to work as a team. Also, many of us had leveled up, and it gave us a chance to test out our new utility powers. The plot-filled adventures help drive the campaign, fo sho. But an evening of straight forward combant was a nice breather. Sometimes hack and slash is just what the DM ordered.
~Lady of the Hill People
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Making a Board Game Fun
I'm trying to consider the facets of gaming that really apply to board games, and why someone chooses to play, and enjoy, one.
Things that I dislike about board games -
I absolutely hate it when there's multiple paths to victory, but one of them in particular is the fastest path to victory every time. This means that once everybody you play with has mastered the game, they will all attempt the exact same process to achieve victory every time the game is played. I will avoid this at all costs in my game through a balance of randomization, and the ability to quickly change a strategy based on events that transpire.
I also do not like a game that is entirely luck either. It proves nothing, and the competitive spirit is crushed after the first round of play. Take the game Risk, imagine instead of 52 countries, there are now two countries, and only two people can play. The game ends up being nothing more than chance at that point, and would not be a fun game. The current version doesn't get that much different when the players hit a certain skill level and it gets to the end of the game, though. This is something that I also want to avoid.
Some games have a balancing factor that comes into play when one player gets too far in the lead. Often times, this balancing factor can get out of hand quickly, and make it nearly impossible for the player who was first winning to actually achieve victory. And other times, it will make it almost impossible for the winning player to be stopped. The trick is to teach people over time that ganging up on the person who is winning first, can be worse for your victory position than doing nothing at all. As a general rule, it is best to consider every players motivation for participating is to win. This is not the rule for everything, but simply for balancing the game.
Slow turns also get me down. It has to be easy to decide what's going to happen on your turn before you even begin it. One possible way of doing this is to have the resolution of all of your actions be taken during the turn, and then you have everyone elses turn to plan. Whether players take the opportunity or not is up to them, but that it is there is the important part here.
Next week I'll be working on logistics in particular. I want to understand how things are going to happen, and then worry about balancing it all.
Things that I dislike about board games -
I absolutely hate it when there's multiple paths to victory, but one of them in particular is the fastest path to victory every time. This means that once everybody you play with has mastered the game, they will all attempt the exact same process to achieve victory every time the game is played. I will avoid this at all costs in my game through a balance of randomization, and the ability to quickly change a strategy based on events that transpire.
I also do not like a game that is entirely luck either. It proves nothing, and the competitive spirit is crushed after the first round of play. Take the game Risk, imagine instead of 52 countries, there are now two countries, and only two people can play. The game ends up being nothing more than chance at that point, and would not be a fun game. The current version doesn't get that much different when the players hit a certain skill level and it gets to the end of the game, though. This is something that I also want to avoid.
Some games have a balancing factor that comes into play when one player gets too far in the lead. Often times, this balancing factor can get out of hand quickly, and make it nearly impossible for the player who was first winning to actually achieve victory. And other times, it will make it almost impossible for the winning player to be stopped. The trick is to teach people over time that ganging up on the person who is winning first, can be worse for your victory position than doing nothing at all. As a general rule, it is best to consider every players motivation for participating is to win. This is not the rule for everything, but simply for balancing the game.
Slow turns also get me down. It has to be easy to decide what's going to happen on your turn before you even begin it. One possible way of doing this is to have the resolution of all of your actions be taken during the turn, and then you have everyone elses turn to plan. Whether players take the opportunity or not is up to them, but that it is there is the important part here.
Next week I'll be working on logistics in particular. I want to understand how things are going to happen, and then worry about balancing it all.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Chronicle: Another Day in Villehelm
Please re-read the previous chronicle first. There was a late edit, and should be reviewed for continuity. Thanks.
Shreev knew something that Krellion did not. For hours that day, he sat motionless on the wall, staring off into the hills. Wylven had abandoned him almost immediately on introduction, and Krellion had nothing to do but to listen to Shreev. Shreev had very little to say though, and they spent most of the time just looking off into the distance. There was some small talk, Shreev asked about the weather where Krellion was from, and paid little attention when the Eladrin started elaborating on his home town and the people he knew. It was a quiet day on the wall. Too quiet for the Warlord's liking.
"Do you know something, Shreev? Is there something out there?" Krellion asked, as it was nearing sundown.
"Ah, yes. I forget that not everyone can sense it. The battles. They have their own ebb and flow, and one is nearing us." He spoke, but no part of him moved in order to do so, Krellion wondered exactly where the words came from.
"Are you saying you were built to sense a battle just as I was born to see the sky or feel the wind blow? I find that highly unlikely, Captain." Krellion said as he ruffled the hair on the left side of skull.
Shreev turned to look more to the west, still not facing Krellion. "It is the same way when a man or elf approaches me and tells me how wonderful it is to be alive. I cannot fathom life, and the concept confuses me greatly. I was built for war, and my life is war."
Krellion stopped short. He sat down with his back against the wall and thought about this until the 8th bell rang. It was getting late, and he was ready for a short rest. Just as he began to enter a meditative state, the warforged jabbed him in his chest with a rounded wooden truncheon.
"When you meditate tonight, meditate not on my words, for they will bend you to do wrong. Every warforged leader needs at least one among the living to advise." Shreev uttered the words as if they would be Krellion's last. And Krellion meditated on them for a full four hours.
Krellion snapped out of his trance just as he heard the final bell of the night. It was dark, but he could still see fairly well with his keen fey-like eyes. "I understand Shreev. And I am prepared to do exactly what you need of me, even if it means destroying you if necessary."
"That's what I needed to hear. Glad to be serving with you, Captain Krellion."
Shreev knew something that Krellion did not. For hours that day, he sat motionless on the wall, staring off into the hills. Wylven had abandoned him almost immediately on introduction, and Krellion had nothing to do but to listen to Shreev. Shreev had very little to say though, and they spent most of the time just looking off into the distance. There was some small talk, Shreev asked about the weather where Krellion was from, and paid little attention when the Eladrin started elaborating on his home town and the people he knew. It was a quiet day on the wall. Too quiet for the Warlord's liking.
"Do you know something, Shreev? Is there something out there?" Krellion asked, as it was nearing sundown.
"Ah, yes. I forget that not everyone can sense it. The battles. They have their own ebb and flow, and one is nearing us." He spoke, but no part of him moved in order to do so, Krellion wondered exactly where the words came from.
"Are you saying you were built to sense a battle just as I was born to see the sky or feel the wind blow? I find that highly unlikely, Captain." Krellion said as he ruffled the hair on the left side of skull.
Shreev turned to look more to the west, still not facing Krellion. "It is the same way when a man or elf approaches me and tells me how wonderful it is to be alive. I cannot fathom life, and the concept confuses me greatly. I was built for war, and my life is war."
Krellion stopped short. He sat down with his back against the wall and thought about this until the 8th bell rang. It was getting late, and he was ready for a short rest. Just as he began to enter a meditative state, the warforged jabbed him in his chest with a rounded wooden truncheon.
"When you meditate tonight, meditate not on my words, for they will bend you to do wrong. Every warforged leader needs at least one among the living to advise." Shreev uttered the words as if they would be Krellion's last. And Krellion meditated on them for a full four hours.
Krellion snapped out of his trance just as he heard the final bell of the night. It was dark, but he could still see fairly well with his keen fey-like eyes. "I understand Shreev. And I am prepared to do exactly what you need of me, even if it means destroying you if necessary."
"That's what I needed to hear. Glad to be serving with you, Captain Krellion."
Monday, August 11, 2008
A Very Special Episode.
I've been behind on our adventure recaps, so let me catch you up: The altar staircase led down to an Eldritch dungeon, teaming with undead-which we discovered after one of our warlocks passed out in the tomb (missed the session) and was snacked upon while we were distracted, by zombies who ventured up the open staircase.
The dungeon wound up being a winding affair with many doors. The walls and floors were finely carved with what seemed to be magically engineered designs. Throughout the dungeon were large elven numbers carved into the floor. Two sets, 0-9. There were a few books on pedestals, written in draconic- fortunately we had a dragonborn in our party.
If we made a wrong turn in the dungeon zombies and skeletons were released from one of the closed rooms, also, a nearby number would begin to fill with liquid. That liquid formed slowly into some variety of intelligent golem. Once the dungeon doors locked behind us at our first wrong turn, the fun began.
Our last session finished the dungeon in a way I've never seen Lance run a session before.
No combat.
Not a lack of opportunity for fights, but each encounter had an opportunity for non-combat resolutions. Taking the hack and slash out of D&D may sound sacrosanct, but in action it encouraged aspects of gameplay often overlooked in favor of a good spanking. Problem solving, roleplay, and skill checks won the day, singing harmony to an epic storyline. Here's how it worked:
Intelligent monsters
While the golems that grew our of our wrong turns were out for souls, they could, and were, reasoned with. With our paladins head trapped in a giant fist of blood, the party agreed to pay the unnamed passage fee in lieu of the 'word' the blood golem sought. With that, the entire defender was absorbed, suspended breathlessly and unharmed inside. The golem, calm and poised, waited as the party negotiated, pondered, and reexamined their surroundings. Examining one of the tomes, the dragon-born wizard found 'the word', simply the draconic word for the number which had born the golem.
But still, it would not release its prize without an equal or superior replacement. While the core of the group- Val the archer, Flint the cleric, and Gahala'la the warlock- went to hunt a worthy replacement, Yorma the halfling sat down to a game of chess with the golem. Using perception and insight checks, Melori the paladin was able to be another pair of eyes for Yorma in the game.
As the rest of the party returned, Yorma defeated the golem, and replaced Melori in her prison. The golem vanished just as he had come, and there went our young warlock. Yes, for reals. We lost a player character. Avoiding combat doesn't mean avoiding danger.
The Voice of God
While many of us have run multiple campaigns with our resident DM, this is the first time he's introduced serious puzzle solving. The mindset of maximizing combat doesn't translate to puzzles. All combat questions are answered in the PHB. So, with the dungeon timed to collapse, the door locked behind us, wailing zombies behind every door, and deadly golems popping up seemingly randomly- solving an old draconic puzzle could have wiped the party. We were unpracticed.
As we ascertained afterward, most of this session was ad libbed. Why would the Golem swallow Yorma, but not Melori? It's a plot hole, but it leads to Yorma now being a dungeon NPC who can prod our thinking. Later in the dungeon we find a tome of his thoughts up until his death, which insinutes we have a time limit, and that our puzzle seems somehow related to the earlier puzzle we solved to open the dungeon door.
Finally, Yorma's tormented soul- trapped by the dungeon's magic, waited us in the final chamber. By now we had figured out the puzzle, and how to escape. However Yorma, giving us a few final cryptic answers to our questions, was forced to materialize and fight us, stoppable only by revealing our most prized possession, and what Yorma had meant to us. This would apparently put him to rest, as would a second death- at which point the dungeon collapse began. Even so, the DM was clearly planning to wipe the floor with us, as he fingered his dice.
Melori removed her emblem, a shell of Melora, and approached Yorma.
"You offer me your holy symbol?" Yorma asked, affronted by it's destructive power.
"Yes." She knelt to the halfling. "And this is what I feel for you." Closing her eyes, Melori placed a chaste kiss on Yorma's cold lips.
Lance rolled a d20, seemed flabbergasted, and began the collapse of the dungeon. What followed was an immediate evacuation, following the puzzle correctly, dodging golems and dragging each other to safety.
No combat, plenty of danger, and in the end- a well rounded plot-rich session. It definitely goes down in my book as a favorite.
Finally, Yorma's tormented soul- trapped by the dungeon's magic, waited us in the final chamber. By now we had figured out the puzzle, and how to escape. However Yorma, giving us a few final cryptic answers to our questions, was forced to materialize and fight us, stoppable only by revealing our most prized possession, and what Yorma had meant to us. This would apparently put him to rest, as would a second death- at which point the dungeon collapse began. Even so, the DM was clearly planning to wipe the floor with us, as he fingered his dice.
Melori removed her emblem, a shell of Melora, and approached Yorma.
"You offer me your holy symbol?" Yorma asked, affronted by it's destructive power.
"Yes." She knelt to the halfling. "And this is what I feel for you." Closing her eyes, Melori placed a chaste kiss on Yorma's cold lips.
Lance rolled a d20, seemed flabbergasted, and began the collapse of the dungeon. What followed was an immediate evacuation, following the puzzle correctly, dodging golems and dragging each other to safety.
No combat, plenty of danger, and in the end- a well rounded plot-rich session. It definitely goes down in my book as a favorite.
Frustration
I make it a personal rule to not play a video game when I get frustrated with it. This isn't for any reason except that it's not fun to play a game when it's not fun anymore. Games are fun, enjoyment, and entertainment. There is no good reason to continue on when the game has lost the enjoyment factor.
So! Because of this rule I have, I am dedicated to keep the frustration levels at a minimum in games that I take part in developing. The frustrating part of a game should be done on purpose, and not as a punishment to the players. Frustration in a game should be a result of the events that transpire. It is frustrating to never find the real princess in Mario, but it is more frustrating to spend all your lives trying to get past the same flying koopa who seems to have random flight intervals just to throw you off.
Running an instance in WoW: Frustrating. Mostly.
Dungeons in WoW are not always frustrating, it really depends. However, by not being fully prepared with the perfect group and gear and specs throughout the instance, you will find yourselves being punished frequently. You take extra time dying and running back to your corpses, and that is boring. There is a such thing as a penalty, and there is a such thing as a punishment. Penalties are good. Dying should not be the end of the world. IN A VIDEO GAME. It's not in most, but the penalty is a silent march back to your corpse. What would be a good alternative? A demerit to your inventory. Some sort of penalty that you must commit some play time to make up for, but not right then, not when it's late and you spent all night getting a group together. Repair bills are a great incentive to not die, but put another spin on it. Let people earn or purchase revive tokens. You can res where you died with certain amounts of health and mana. And you could even trade in your Badge of Justice for one! It would be more of a penalty, and less of a punishment.
Oh, and that picture? That was Tylth and Ragnrak switching glasses via webcam. Tylth spent a good while entertaining a few of us from CT by doing sweet webcam tricks. We think he could start his own business, and I want to find a way to market it on a website somehow.
So! Because of this rule I have, I am dedicated to keep the frustration levels at a minimum in games that I take part in developing. The frustrating part of a game should be done on purpose, and not as a punishment to the players. Frustration in a game should be a result of the events that transpire. It is frustrating to never find the real princess in Mario, but it is more frustrating to spend all your lives trying to get past the same flying koopa who seems to have random flight intervals just to throw you off.
Running an instance in WoW: Frustrating. Mostly.
Dungeons in WoW are not always frustrating, it really depends. However, by not being fully prepared with the perfect group and gear and specs throughout the instance, you will find yourselves being punished frequently. You take extra time dying and running back to your corpses, and that is boring. There is a such thing as a penalty, and there is a such thing as a punishment. Penalties are good. Dying should not be the end of the world. IN A VIDEO GAME. It's not in most, but the penalty is a silent march back to your corpse. What would be a good alternative? A demerit to your inventory. Some sort of penalty that you must commit some play time to make up for, but not right then, not when it's late and you spent all night getting a group together. Repair bills are a great incentive to not die, but put another spin on it. Let people earn or purchase revive tokens. You can res where you died with certain amounts of health and mana. And you could even trade in your Badge of Justice for one! It would be more of a penalty, and less of a punishment.
Oh, and that picture? That was Tylth and Ragnrak switching glasses via webcam. Tylth spent a good while entertaining a few of us from CT by doing sweet webcam tricks. We think he could start his own business, and I want to find a way to market it on a website somehow.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
As a Player...
Try to remind the DM that it's not solely his responsibility for supplying the fun. It's important that the players play an equal part in providing entertainment to the whole group. This could be through comedy, serious roleplaying, or just being respectful of the DM and the other players. Find the balance that your group needs, and try to understand when it's right to chime in with something that might be off the beaten path.
I played a PC earlier tonight, it was a good session, and I managed to get some interesting character development in. I'm finding that I make a good leader, not just because of my choice of powers, but that I understand the basic needs of my fellow combatants. I can bark out orders on my turn, and hope that the other PC's follow along. In the long run, it makes positioning for everyone easier, and I can use it for optimal survivability by being able to see everyone to heal them. Other players have different challenges to overcome though, and there ends up being a lot of reasons as to why you should be paying close attention to battles.
About DM's and fun: We're starting to find that this particular DM (who is fairly new at DM'ing) is very easy to verbally accost with questions. We find that what drives his NPC's tend to be things that are easily scrutined, and we end up ganging up on the DM in some ways. While pillaging the brains of his NPC's is fun for us, it might not be the greatest feeling for a DM to have all of his characters reduced to befuddlement by a band of swift-talking adventurers. However, this is a great opportunity for the DM to realize the direction his players want to go, and he now gets to decide if they continue down that path, or if he decides that the adventurers are not so savvy after all, and end up in some very dark and foreboding scenarios.
-Lance of the Hill People
I played a PC earlier tonight, it was a good session, and I managed to get some interesting character development in. I'm finding that I make a good leader, not just because of my choice of powers, but that I understand the basic needs of my fellow combatants. I can bark out orders on my turn, and hope that the other PC's follow along. In the long run, it makes positioning for everyone easier, and I can use it for optimal survivability by being able to see everyone to heal them. Other players have different challenges to overcome though, and there ends up being a lot of reasons as to why you should be paying close attention to battles.
About DM's and fun: We're starting to find that this particular DM (who is fairly new at DM'ing) is very easy to verbally accost with questions. We find that what drives his NPC's tend to be things that are easily scrutined, and we end up ganging up on the DM in some ways. While pillaging the brains of his NPC's is fun for us, it might not be the greatest feeling for a DM to have all of his characters reduced to befuddlement by a band of swift-talking adventurers. However, this is a great opportunity for the DM to realize the direction his players want to go, and he now gets to decide if they continue down that path, or if he decides that the adventurers are not so savvy after all, and end up in some very dark and foreboding scenarios.
-Lance of the Hill People
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