Jack Swade
DORA
If you're leaving tracks, you're being followed.
Posts: 34
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Post by Jack Swade on Jul 17, 2019 18:02:50 GMT
I had an idea and I wanted to throw it up on the wall and see what sticks.
Logan, would you be willing to work with the players to achieve a season long goal?
Example: If the players wanted to destroy the Ice Tower for next season’s big goal. Can there be some type collaboration between players and you to achieve this. I am thinking of several small adventures than different players can participate in to help in a final goal .
Week One: Players recon Zones with Ice dudes in it.
Week Two: Players Do mission in Zone A.
Week Three: Players Do mission in Zone B.
Week Four: Players Do mission in Zone C .
The difficulty of the Final mission can be determined by each smaller mission’s level of success.
You can post Goal Mission play dates in schedule for players to join in on before the season start or keep them secret and surprise the players.
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Idea
Jul 17, 2019 18:11:29 GMT
Post by logan9a on Jul 17, 2019 18:11:29 GMT
No reason for anything that formal - that's what the IG boards are for.
I'm unwilling to go anything this formal as sometimes the players do this or that etc. Wild cats.
To me, it's totally up to the players to make stuff happen. I'm not going to structure it. If someone wants to fix stuff, they can. If they want to ignore it, totally fine.
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Idea
Jul 17, 2019 18:32:20 GMT
Post by logan9a on Jul 17, 2019 18:32:20 GMT
Plus, on top of that, we have various players/groups with their own agendas. Also, I am working on stretching the material by re-running mods when I can (for reasons stated on some other thread). So it will always be pretty messy.
After Swade gets more powerful, he can begin to direct at least his group and convince them to help him deal with various objectives. Till then, recon and grow, etc.
(I think the 'messyness' is also something that helps. Well, helps me. The players, not so much.)
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Jaypay
DORA
Raslen Rad
Posts: 295
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Idea
Jul 17, 2019 18:35:35 GMT
via mobile
Post by Jaypay on Jul 17, 2019 18:35:35 GMT
I like the idea, personally. I think it could be hard to implement in a game like this where there are 20 or so players, many of which have different goals and directions they're heading in and one primary GM. In a group of 4 regular players, sure.
Add to that the fact that people will have to cancel at last minute and the schedule is constantly shifting.
Now add to that, players wanting to give detailed backgrounds, motivations, and plans, which is exciting and creative for the players, but in reality much of it ends up being a huge time suck for Logan, that players never follow up on.
The best feedback I can think of in this game is Planning is good... with other players. But don't expect Logan to be in on the planning too much because he's learned from experience that players get inspired with an idea, then it fizzles out.
On the other hand I think it's a good idea to give Logan a 'general idea' of what we'd like to do, to avoid complete surprise.
Now for the catch-22: you never know when you're going to end up in some forest that takes half a session to get out of so you can do the stuff you'd like to do.
My 2 Schmekels.
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Idea
Jul 17, 2019 18:59:31 GMT
Post by logan9a on Jul 17, 2019 18:59:31 GMT
Holy shit - I agree with pretty much everything Jay said.
I'd also like to point out that prior to this session, the players that were going to play it got together via video (I think) and had a conversation about it. Last night. I only wish that someone had recorded it. I'd release that as a 'bonus episode'.
But yes - everything Jason said seems to be right on the money.
Plus - in addition to that - I do my best to make a 'living world' hence, new shit is going on in some of the zones (as many as I can) sometimes (as often as I can). So, I do my best to make this an 'ever changing shit show with loads of stuff going on'.
And that can sometimes (often) thwart plans of (all but the most determined) PC's.
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PotatoJedi
DORA
Alex. Apparently Freddy now.
Posts: 1,823
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Post by PotatoJedi on Jul 17, 2019 19:03:25 GMT
Honestly there's nothing stopping players from doing this already, but I don't think there's any need for Logan to get involved. I remember last season we kind of did this one time.
One group went and did some reconnaissance on the ice tower and got supplies etc, then told the next group to go and deal with it. Which they did. So I think provided the players are willing to communicate and plan with each other, what you suggested is completely possible. In fact just the other day Russ, Matt and I got into a short call to plan for our session for today. We went over several plans and things to try and look into for the mission. Granted what we actually ended up doing was not even remotely close to what we discussed, but it still helped to come together and come up with a half decent plan of action before the session.
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Idea
Jul 18, 2019 20:10:58 GMT
Post by logan9a on Jul 18, 2019 20:10:58 GMT
One of the things that I love (and to be honest adds a lot to the campaign) is what I call 'festers'.
Like the one that is continuing to go on and on and get worse and worse. (Freddy has the details).
By the players being (and remaining) disorganized, it really does keep things super interesting for them.
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PotatoJedi
DORA
Alex. Apparently Freddy now.
Posts: 1,823
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Post by PotatoJedi on Jul 18, 2019 20:15:40 GMT
Like the one that is continuing to go on and on and get worse and worse. (Freddy has the details).
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Idea
Jul 18, 2019 20:20:55 GMT
Post by logan9a on Jul 18, 2019 20:20:55 GMT
The fester (as Ralph probably remembers from the old days) is what happens when the 'French Tickler' is employed.
Also, it highlights the value of team work (not just the people you are currently playing with but the WHOLE team) and taking good notes.
As well as being ruthlessly cruel to those who don't do any of those things.
In short, 'working as intended'.
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Scott
DORA
(Scott)
*Sigh*
Posts: 1,919
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Post by Scott on Jul 19, 2019 14:46:20 GMT
The fester does not suit this type of game.
It's wonderful if you have the same players every session. They keep ignoring a thing, you keep bringing it up, a little more tense each time. After 10 or so session the pot boils over and bad stuff happens. (AKA, punish players for constantly ignoring obvious stuff.)
But in ATAW, Logan will run those 10 sessions over 2 weeks or so. Logan will describe the situation a little more tense each time, but it doesn't make sense because only Logan is present for all of those session. (And they aren't published until next year.) Now one of your more active players might only play in 2 of those sessions. But from their perspective, it's like session 1 someone sneezes, and then the next session they play everyone has already died of plague. So in effect you just end up punishing players for nothing.
...
(It's not that the world shouldn't change. Living world is good. It just needs to change slower with an irregular player base. Maybe change one thing in each zone per season.)
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Idea
Jul 19, 2019 18:35:42 GMT
Post by logan9a on Jul 19, 2019 18:35:42 GMT
The fester rocks better in this sort of game. It is a LARP thing. With lots and lots of players. Some of which only come out once a year.
And keeping track of these sort of things - well, you have a whole IG board for this sort of thing.
Also, I wouldn't say that the changes are happening all that quickly usually.
I don't look at it as 'punishing' the players so much as 'keep the world interesting, changing and vibrant'.
[If I had tons more time to write stories about what NPC's are doing and let the players in on that (news, etc) I would. Since I don't, this works.]
Edit:
Also, there are some GM's out there who like the 'if my players didn't do it, nothing is happening in my world' type of game. I personally find that static and boring. This allows stuff to go on (some of which players caused, some of which they didn't, some of which they allowed to fester and people either didn't read the IG boards or whatever) that is more out of control of the players and stuff goes on. I think that gives a much more dynamic, changing world. Of course, I can see how it may be frustrating HOWEVER, with so many different zones and places to do stuff, it's not like the only world the players have is getting FUBAR.
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