Post by logan9a on May 2, 2019 13:42:06 GMT
These are some random thoughts that I will put down. Hopefully, other people will ask questions and such which will help me fill it out.
1. You get your own zone. Don't use Logan's zones.
That being said if you say "I have a great plot for Burlyton!" it is TOTALLY acceptable to make your own Burlyton. You can have all of the stores, NPC's whatever. Put in a couple minor clues that 'hey, this is a different Burlyton' and you're golden.
2. What you can do within your own zone is pretty amazingly big.
Would you like to make all of the PC's otters? Fuck, make them otters. You want the world to be made of cheese? Whatever. The game has been set up so that not only are all of these things possible, but logical within it.
3. Don't use Amber or the Courts of Chaos.
If you really want to, you can have a plot that goes on in Shadows of these. Just like in #1 above. Hell, if I like it, I may even steal parts of the plot (shadows resonate).
4. Your stuff stays in your zone.
If you want to be stingy with the loot or do a Monty Haul, great - just let everyone know that the stuff doesn't leave the zone. That way, it doesn't interfere with me being stingy.
5. Plan for one game.
Some people have told me they want to GM multiple games. First, wait and see how your first session goes. If people are excited about it, maybe you can GM another session late in the season when Logan is running short of material, ideas and sanity.
6. Don't plan for specific players in the game.
Sometimes people have to drop out and new people join. Sometimes this happens at the last minute. Just plan for a good story regardless of who is in.
7. Plan forfive THREE hours of play time.
That's probably as much as you've got. Until you GM a session there is no way to tell if the players will beg for more time or be happy the session is ending. Or maybe they have stuff to do after the sessions end time. Adjusted the amount of time to prep for as hey - shit happens.
8. Don't go over the top grand for your first session.
Some shit works, some shit doesn't. If you run a session and it didn't seem to work, the next time you run you can have some totally different zone and adventure to run something in. Making a whole bunch of crap is daunting and exhausting. Anyone (provided they are not chronically lazy) can come up with five hours of stuff.
9. For the players - stay put.
While the players may have nifty ways to travel between the realms, contact NPC's that only Logan can run and such, it would be a dick move to do so during the guest GM's time. In good news, the clock probably won't be going forward so you're other adventures won't go stale while on vacation in a guest GM's realm.
10. Wrap up your plot within your game. Even if the same people are somehow scheduled to play again, there is a good chance of something coming up and some people needing to drop, etc. Also, the amount of time between the games may be long enough that people will forget everything.
11. CARDS.
This is one of the hardest things for new GM's to remember to do - give the players cards. Lots and lots of cards.
I know that normally the players don't keep track but during a session with a couple players that are doing pretty good it is not unusual to pass out 50 cards TO EACH PLAYER.
That's a lot of cards.
And they're important.
Unless the players have a constant flow of cards (given for anything the GM loosely approves of) into their hand that means they are down to using their Hero Points. Considering that you only get probably 3 hero points total for the session - if you did well - that's not a bunch.
Hence, it is important for guest GM's to remember to 'award cards'. Adorn your monitor with post it notes. Rig up something to give you random shocks. Award in batches every few minutes - whatever it takes. It is a hard habit to get in to but it is really needed.
GM advice - how to 'stat' monsters. (Note - if this part grows, it may find its way into the rules).
When I stat monsters, here is my standard form I copy paste in:
Travel rate:
Maneuver%; Combat move:
To hit/Damage:
Armor/HP:
SANITY ROLL:
Special attacks:
Special defenses:
Special weaknesses:
Special other:
Diet:
Where/when found:
Default disposition toward PC's:
Other notes:
Pretty standard stuff. Though travel rate doesn't often come in, sometimes it is helpful to know. If I don't care or don't think I need a field, I leave it blank.
The most important question that I have to ask and answer is 'generally how dangerous do I want this creature to be'? Rather than the 30 = hobbiest, 60 = do it as a living and 90 = expert, they become:
30 = not horribly dangerous critter
60 = pretty dangerous critter
90 = very dangerous critter.
Let's take a look at a couple of my standard critters out of my monster manual. Yes, I have one - consistency doesn't irritate players as much as inconsistency.
WOLF
Maneuver%; Combat move: 60%, 5/15m
To hit/Damage: 30%/d6
Armor/HP: None/13
SANITY ROLL: nil
Special attacks: They go for flank and rear and avoid frontal attacks.
Note - the rest of the spaces are blank because "I don't care" is the answer to most of them.
People might ask, why only a 30% chance to hit - have they not been using that all of their lives to hunt and feed? Yes, but how dangerous of a critter are these to be? On their own, not that dangerous. In a pack of half a dozen or more, it can get nasty.
Don't they get 'one point of armor for fur'? Could do and give them say 8 HP each but the less I have to remember armor the better. And on what is a fairly inconsequential critter, I just gave them 13 HP. They are rough and big and nasty wolves. If I wanted to rule they all had six HP or whatever for an encounter, I could. No XP BS to worry about - do what you want!
Keep in mind that even with creatures that only have a 30% chance to hit, the PC's may end up having to spend some Hero Points on them. Sometimes, quite a bit. Here's an example that several people have fought against:
MORLOCKS
Travel rate: Per human
Maneuver%; Combat move: 30%, 3/8m
To hit/Damage: 30%, grapple or claw (d4) or whip (d4 or grapple) or throw shit (d4)
Armor/HP: None/13
SANITY ROLL: 0/d4 (toward Morlock, max of 8)
Special attacks: If they grapple you it is against STR of 50% to escape.
Special defenses:
Special weaknesses: Light. Bright light will drive them away (as it effectively puts them at -30% making their skills basically zero), torches and such make them us their whips to try to keep away.
Special other:
Diet: Human, Eloi.
Some people might be quite surprised that on paper these are so weak - however in numbers, with the right mood lighting, etc they can be nasty.
Here is a more dangerous example:
Ogres
Travel rate: 40KM/day
Maneuver%; Combat move: 30%; 3/10m
To hit/Damage: 50% (any handy weapon)/ d12
Armor/HP: 0 (usually)/20
Special attacks:
Special defenses:
Special weaknesses: Bonus to hit them due to massive size, +10 if you're under 10m away
Description: These are the 2-3m tall 'ogre sized'.
Diet:
Other notes:
Where/when found: Variable
Default disposition toward PC's: They want to eat them.
Notice how nothing has quite gotten up to 60% yet? It's fairly rare. By math, let's do some rounding and talk about average damage per round. I'm sure someone with better math skills will hasten to correct me but here is my stab at it. If an ogre is doing d12 damage, that means that on average it inflicts around 6. With a 50% chance to hit that means that every round one PC will be taking - on average - 3 HP per round. This is reduced if they're able to parry (if they're not at least 'strong' they can't) or if they dodge a lot but figure in five rounds, that PC will go squish. Five ogres vs one PC equals one round probable squish (by math) or a massive Hero Point drain.
It took awhile to find a creature in my book that had 60% chance to hit (usually those are 'special' creatures) but here is one I won't identify:
Travel rate: 100KM/day
Maneuver%; Combat move: flying, 60%, 10/30m per round; walking 5/15m rnd
To hit/Damage: Dive bomb: 60%/d10 plus KD if 5+ points of damage; bite (not while flying) 50%, d8
Armor/HP: ONE/17 HP
So there you have an example of something small, but fierce.
In conclusion, stat lower than you think you'll need to. If the heroes rock through the monsters you can tweak the next encounter up a bit. Not like you're handing out too much free loot and (shudder) XP.
Questions? Please ask and I can add them onto this post.
1. You get your own zone. Don't use Logan's zones.
That being said if you say "I have a great plot for Burlyton!" it is TOTALLY acceptable to make your own Burlyton. You can have all of the stores, NPC's whatever. Put in a couple minor clues that 'hey, this is a different Burlyton' and you're golden.
2. What you can do within your own zone is pretty amazingly big.
Would you like to make all of the PC's otters? Fuck, make them otters. You want the world to be made of cheese? Whatever. The game has been set up so that not only are all of these things possible, but logical within it.
3. Don't use Amber or the Courts of Chaos.
If you really want to, you can have a plot that goes on in Shadows of these. Just like in #1 above. Hell, if I like it, I may even steal parts of the plot (shadows resonate).
4. Your stuff stays in your zone.
If you want to be stingy with the loot or do a Monty Haul, great - just let everyone know that the stuff doesn't leave the zone. That way, it doesn't interfere with me being stingy.
5. Plan for one game.
Some people have told me they want to GM multiple games. First, wait and see how your first session goes. If people are excited about it, maybe you can GM another session late in the season when Logan is running short of material, ideas and sanity.
6. Don't plan for specific players in the game.
Sometimes people have to drop out and new people join. Sometimes this happens at the last minute. Just plan for a good story regardless of who is in.
7. Plan for
That's probably as much as you've got. Until you GM a session there is no way to tell if the players will beg for more time or be happy the session is ending. Or maybe they have stuff to do after the sessions end time. Adjusted the amount of time to prep for as hey - shit happens.
8. Don't go over the top grand for your first session.
Some shit works, some shit doesn't. If you run a session and it didn't seem to work, the next time you run you can have some totally different zone and adventure to run something in. Making a whole bunch of crap is daunting and exhausting. Anyone (provided they are not chronically lazy) can come up with five hours of stuff.
9. For the players - stay put.
While the players may have nifty ways to travel between the realms, contact NPC's that only Logan can run and such, it would be a dick move to do so during the guest GM's time. In good news, the clock probably won't be going forward so you're other adventures won't go stale while on vacation in a guest GM's realm.
10. Wrap up your plot within your game. Even if the same people are somehow scheduled to play again, there is a good chance of something coming up and some people needing to drop, etc. Also, the amount of time between the games may be long enough that people will forget everything.
11. CARDS.
This is one of the hardest things for new GM's to remember to do - give the players cards. Lots and lots of cards.
I know that normally the players don't keep track but during a session with a couple players that are doing pretty good it is not unusual to pass out 50 cards TO EACH PLAYER.
That's a lot of cards.
And they're important.
Unless the players have a constant flow of cards (given for anything the GM loosely approves of) into their hand that means they are down to using their Hero Points. Considering that you only get probably 3 hero points total for the session - if you did well - that's not a bunch.
Hence, it is important for guest GM's to remember to 'award cards'. Adorn your monitor with post it notes. Rig up something to give you random shocks. Award in batches every few minutes - whatever it takes. It is a hard habit to get in to but it is really needed.
GM advice - how to 'stat' monsters. (Note - if this part grows, it may find its way into the rules).
When I stat monsters, here is my standard form I copy paste in:
Travel rate:
Maneuver%; Combat move:
To hit/Damage:
Armor/HP:
SANITY ROLL:
Special attacks:
Special defenses:
Special weaknesses:
Special other:
Diet:
Where/when found:
Default disposition toward PC's:
Other notes:
Pretty standard stuff. Though travel rate doesn't often come in, sometimes it is helpful to know. If I don't care or don't think I need a field, I leave it blank.
The most important question that I have to ask and answer is 'generally how dangerous do I want this creature to be'? Rather than the 30 = hobbiest, 60 = do it as a living and 90 = expert, they become:
30 = not horribly dangerous critter
60 = pretty dangerous critter
90 = very dangerous critter.
Let's take a look at a couple of my standard critters out of my monster manual. Yes, I have one - consistency doesn't irritate players as much as inconsistency.
WOLF
Maneuver%; Combat move: 60%, 5/15m
To hit/Damage: 30%/d6
Armor/HP: None/13
SANITY ROLL: nil
Special attacks: They go for flank and rear and avoid frontal attacks.
Note - the rest of the spaces are blank because "I don't care" is the answer to most of them.
People might ask, why only a 30% chance to hit - have they not been using that all of their lives to hunt and feed? Yes, but how dangerous of a critter are these to be? On their own, not that dangerous. In a pack of half a dozen or more, it can get nasty.
Don't they get 'one point of armor for fur'? Could do and give them say 8 HP each but the less I have to remember armor the better. And on what is a fairly inconsequential critter, I just gave them 13 HP. They are rough and big and nasty wolves. If I wanted to rule they all had six HP or whatever for an encounter, I could. No XP BS to worry about - do what you want!
Keep in mind that even with creatures that only have a 30% chance to hit, the PC's may end up having to spend some Hero Points on them. Sometimes, quite a bit. Here's an example that several people have fought against:
MORLOCKS
Travel rate: Per human
Maneuver%; Combat move: 30%, 3/8m
To hit/Damage: 30%, grapple or claw (d4) or whip (d4 or grapple) or throw shit (d4)
Armor/HP: None/13
SANITY ROLL: 0/d4 (toward Morlock, max of 8)
Special attacks: If they grapple you it is against STR of 50% to escape.
Special defenses:
Special weaknesses: Light. Bright light will drive them away (as it effectively puts them at -30% making their skills basically zero), torches and such make them us their whips to try to keep away.
Special other:
Diet: Human, Eloi.
Some people might be quite surprised that on paper these are so weak - however in numbers, with the right mood lighting, etc they can be nasty.
Here is a more dangerous example:
Ogres
Travel rate: 40KM/day
Maneuver%; Combat move: 30%; 3/10m
To hit/Damage: 50% (any handy weapon)/ d12
Armor/HP: 0 (usually)/20
Special attacks:
Special defenses:
Special weaknesses: Bonus to hit them due to massive size, +10 if you're under 10m away
Description: These are the 2-3m tall 'ogre sized'.
Diet:
Other notes:
Where/when found: Variable
Default disposition toward PC's: They want to eat them.
Notice how nothing has quite gotten up to 60% yet? It's fairly rare. By math, let's do some rounding and talk about average damage per round. I'm sure someone with better math skills will hasten to correct me but here is my stab at it. If an ogre is doing d12 damage, that means that on average it inflicts around 6. With a 50% chance to hit that means that every round one PC will be taking - on average - 3 HP per round. This is reduced if they're able to parry (if they're not at least 'strong' they can't) or if they dodge a lot but figure in five rounds, that PC will go squish. Five ogres vs one PC equals one round probable squish (by math) or a massive Hero Point drain.
It took awhile to find a creature in my book that had 60% chance to hit (usually those are 'special' creatures) but here is one I won't identify:
Travel rate: 100KM/day
Maneuver%; Combat move: flying, 60%, 10/30m per round; walking 5/15m rnd
To hit/Damage: Dive bomb: 60%/d10 plus KD if 5+ points of damage; bite (not while flying) 50%, d8
Armor/HP: ONE/17 HP
So there you have an example of something small, but fierce.
In conclusion, stat lower than you think you'll need to. If the heroes rock through the monsters you can tweak the next encounter up a bit. Not like you're handing out too much free loot and (shudder) XP.
Questions? Please ask and I can add them onto this post.
