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Post by ishmann on Oct 20, 2023 13:55:09 GMT -5
I've been thinking about starting a T&T campaign online with my friends (we all live in different states).
I've run T&T a few times so I know the basics, but I know I can learn a lot from you fine folks who have been running T&T for years.
Are there any pitfalls to avoid that might "break" the game? Any tips and tricks would be appreciated.
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Post by houndle on Oct 21, 2023 0:33:17 GMT -5
Hi ishmann, As you are already familiar with T&T itself, I'd say a good starting point is to look at some of the house rules used in past and current online games on this board. Some were for previous versions of T&T (or for alternative rules based on T&T), but most are still relevant and they are all useful. Many of the games have a separate section for house rules. The game narratives themselves can be quite long, but they are good examples of how an online campaign can work out in practice, and pretty entertaining too. Good luck and I look forward to reading how the campaign goes!
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Post by nialldubh on Oct 21, 2023 6:12:16 GMT -5
Is it 5E or Deluxe ishmann? Are you going to use Trollworld: Trollworld (Dragon Head) MapSaving Rolls (SR) are an important part of game.. I think judging them properly will allow a more fun and exciting encounter, whether trap or avoiding an arrow shot from an Uruk's bow... A Delver that misses by 6 or more points is in danger, but those that near miss should be treated differently with perhaps other rolls to avoid, or take less damage from source... As houndle state, see folks houserules.. LotLE HouserulesSee also Stunts... Varied Stunts...These stunts are mostly created by me, or base on what a player wanted, and I changed into a Stunt... Some are from LotLE, so you got to buy the book for them... The Lair of the Leopard Empresses RPG
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Post by bigjackbrass on Oct 21, 2023 11:33:27 GMT -5
Don't let anyone persuade you to overcomplicate the game. It thrives on broad strokes, fast action and liberal use of Saving Rolls.
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Post by gringnr on Oct 21, 2023 21:14:31 GMT -5
Don't let anyone persuade you to overcomplicate the game. It thrives on broad strokes, fast action and liberal use of Saving Rolls. Seconding this!
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Post by ishmann on Oct 22, 2023 16:22:34 GMT -5
Is it 5E or Deluxe ishmann? Are you going to use Trollworld: Trollworld (Dragon Head) MapSaving Rolls (SR) are an important part of game.. I think judging them properly will allow a more fun and exciting encounter, whether trap or avoiding an arrow shot from an Uruk's bow... A Delver that misses by 6 or more points is in danger, but those that near miss should be treated differently with perhaps other rolls to avoid, or take less damage from source... As houndle state, see folks houserules.. LotLE HouserulesSee also Stunts... Varied Stunts...These stunts are mostly created by me, or base on what a player wanted, and I changed into a Stunt... Some are from LotLE, so you got to buy the book for them... The Lair of the Leopard Empresses RPGIt will be 5e. Just looking to keep it quick and easy. Will add in Spite damage though.
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jeffb
2nd Level Troll
Posts: 66
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Post by jeffb on Oct 22, 2023 20:18:14 GMT -5
I'm no expert, but something I posted awhile back when someone was trying to wrap their head around T&T combat Old thread here...
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Post by houndle on Oct 23, 2023 0:13:44 GMT -5
Thanks jeffb, that is insightful. I'd add, if I may, that specifically in the context of PbP it's good to agree such things as part of the "contract" between GM and players so that everyone knows how the game is going to be played. Depends on how well you already know your players of course. I'd perhaps emphasize the key role played by the GM in making combat work by inventing interesting twists. One of the pleasures of the PbPs I am playing in is reading about the special attacks of the monsters and trying to think of creative ways to respond; though I'm sure it does make life more difficult for the GM when trying to "balance" the encounters. One small note of caution, specifically for PbP; detailed discussion will slow things down, and this is exacerbated if you have several players responding at different rates. Even some relatively modest episodes can take weeks to resolve.
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Post by nialldubh on Oct 23, 2023 6:22:35 GMT -5
Spite is good to keep players concerned for their characters. I allow for an opposing format, where the 1s cancel the 6s and therefore no spite (if enough 1s). Something (if not most) this lowers the chance of spite greatly.
So, a theory is perhaps allow some monsters or players against certain weaker (or more vulnerable) monster to gain spite on a 5 and 6, reduced by any 1s...
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Post by houndle on Oct 23, 2023 7:44:32 GMT -5
Without turning this into a detailed discussion on Spite, it is something to bear in mind for a long-running campaign; accumulating Spite damage will eventually put an end to even the toughest of characters unless they have access to healing, chapter-end save points or similar. apn's house rules mitigate this, but can have the effect that the GM has to rely on other methods to damage the PCs. The risk of losing a PC is part of the fun!
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Post by mahrundl on Oct 23, 2023 8:50:06 GMT -5
Random thought: for monsters, spite can be used to trigger special abilities (poison, flame breath, etc.), but the usual PC character kindreds don't generally have such abilities to trigger. So what if we allow PC spite points to be used to cancel the monster special abilities? A giant scorpion MR 80 (2/poison) rolls four 6s; the Warrior fighting it rolls three 6s, and can prevent the poison from taking effect. If the Warrior had only rolled two 6s, the scorpion's poison effect would still activate. This is somewhat analogous to apn 's use of Swordsmanship rolls to counter special abilities, but doesn't require the use of talents. Also, Warriors are better at cancelling special abilities due to their ability to use weapons with more dice. Caveat: no idea if anyone has suggested this previously, and it's too late at night for me to want to go searching for earlier examples...
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Post by houndle on Oct 23, 2023 9:00:25 GMT -5
Random thought: So what if we allow PC spite points to be used to cancel the monster special abilities? I like that. I also liked apn's latest twist, the fire breathing monsters that required a separate save meaning that, on the whole warrior should do no better than anyone else. Balance again (though it nearly went horribly wrong for one of the PCs...)
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mosker
5th Level Troll
Posts: 533
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Post by mosker on Oct 23, 2023 9:11:30 GMT -5
Without turning this into a detailed discussion on Spite, it is something to bear in mind for a long-running campaign; accumulating Spite damage will eventually put an end to even the toughest of characters unless they have access to healing, chapter-end save points or similar. apn 's house rules mitigate this, but can have the effect that the GM has to rely on other methods to damage the PCs. The risk of losing a PC is part of the fun! Goes triple for magic. The T&T magic economy in terms of spell cost--both WIZ and GP--is an absolute mess and it's worse in DT&T. It demands a lot of house-ruling, GM on-spot adjudication and scenario adjustments if there are players who are just wizards (as opposed to rogues, M!M! types, Witcher knock-offs, whatever is happening in other RPGs...). Personal experience: I've made some boneheaded moves in apn 's game, but the required contortions in story and rules are not entirely due to player blunder. You can always find ways to nerf OP magic (hell, bring back old edition kris knives) but keeping the magic players meaningful and engaged requires work and collaboration. Frankly, I'm really enjoying my PBP games on the bridge, but there is a strong case for running a campaign with wizards as NPCs only.
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Post by houndle on Oct 23, 2023 9:22:25 GMT -5
running a campaign with wizards as NPCs only. Or at least allowing them to team up with a "meat shield" under the control of the same player. That is sort of what I was trying to do in nialldubh's PbP game, but my other characters are proving endearingly incompetent. That's what I keep telling myself each time my vicious streetfighter falls over his own shoelaces.
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apn
5th Level Troll
Posts: 578
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Post by apn on Oct 23, 2023 9:53:25 GMT -5
With regards the claw/claw/bite/tail attacks we sorta do this with the attack results counting dice from two to five and having that as a Level of Saving Roll to counteract (with the players own skill. The warriors in our game are *very* proficient.) or to contest with a Dex/Int/Con/Str etc SR. For an example a 10D6 attack comes up with 2,2,2,4,4,5,6,1,3,3
2) Claw Attack, inflict an extra +1 damage for every 2 rolled 3) Bite - make a Dex check or be bitten! Level is 1 per pair of 3s rolled. If you are bitten any damage you take in the round is TRIPLED 4) Tail - be swept from your feet unless you make a STR SR vs Level 1 per pair of 4s rolled. If failed you are at half HPT next round as you clamber to your feet! 5) Breath Weapon! - arrrgh! FIRE! make a LUCK check against Level 1 per pair of 5s rolled. Failure means you take damage (ignores armour unless your armour somehow protects against fire) equal to 2 points per pt you fall short of the SR!
Some of the special effects can't be batted away with a sword (flame breath for example) and to avoid the one hit=death with the rules as written (a 'competent' TTYF! say, 20 points, will kill rather a lot of 'competent' starting Delvers regardless of armour) we implemented the damage to other stats. Hit to the Head? IQ loss. Strike to a Leg? Loss of Dex. Muscle tear? Str. A scar the chicks (probably won't) dig? Cha. With the loss of other stats you might be able to stagger away from the fight but you'll lose adds and fail a lot of SRs with the reductions so will need to find a place to heal up but at least you (might) survive instead of relying on CON alone.
This isn't a criticism on the T&T system, rather an observation. CON tends to be one of the later stats to increase as Adds are vital as are WIZ and Luck. Seeing your newly advanced 3rd Level warrior go down with one hit from a 17 point TTYF! from a Goblin Shaman regardless of armour kinda leaves a sour taste in the mouth.
In turn Wizards get to play with something we call 'Chaos' Magic which as the name suggests adds a random element to spell casting which can power up/down/do nothing all depending on the dice... So far our Mages haven't had a proper play with it yet but I'm expecting at some point that to be 'a thing'.
So 'best GM advice' I'd say is to take a look at the game, see what you perceive as weaknesses/flaws/issues/loopholes for your particular campaign and have a play about to make an alternative/fix/patch.
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