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Post by kilsern on Dec 30, 2010 22:07:20 GMT -5
I don't have much T&T related yet, but I do have session reports of our last three sessions. We're using The Phoenix Barony as the campaign world and a bastardized version of T&T 5th edition. I plan on posting stats for new or converted monsters (from that other popular RPG), plus a few odd spells and perhaps some game master scenarios. All are invited to stop on by, comments, suggestions and boos and hisses are welcome. If you have a T&T blog of your own, I'd love to hear from you. kilsernsrandomencounters.blogspot.com/
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Hogscape
11th level Troll
Stalwart of the Trollbridge
It's not the years, it's the mileage.
Posts: 2,126
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Post by Hogscape on Jan 3, 2011 0:07:15 GMT -5
Nice one. I used Phoenix Barony as a T&T base for a little while. Might go back to it one day.
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Post by kilsern on Jan 3, 2011 0:31:33 GMT -5
Thanks Hogscape. While reading the setting, T&T just seemed right for it.
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Post by kilsern on Jan 6, 2011 20:11:03 GMT -5
Hmmm, my campaign came to an abrupt stop with a TPK. I suggested starting new next week with new characters, but my players talked me into running some WFRP for them.
I still love T&T, and have no plans of abandoning it; however, I have to go with what pleases the masses. I still plan on posting T&T material on my blog, perhaps some game master adventures, I've also been wanting to try my hand at writing solos.
Thank you to all who checked out my blog, and I encourage you to stop on over when ever you'd like. the door is always open.
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quoghmyre
7th Level Troll
The Summer Troll
Posts: 1,048
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Post by quoghmyre on Jan 6, 2011 21:17:14 GMT -5
Level 1 SR on Luck to run away! Level 1 SR on Luck to dodge! I've never had a TPK in 30yrs of playing.
Saving Rolls are the ultimate Interrupt.
In my games the characters have to fail 3 SRs in a row to die. 1. IQ SR this Monster is going to kill you! 2. DEX/SP/Lk SR to Flee 3. LK SR for the amazing event that saves your life.
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Post by kilsern on Jan 15, 2011 2:17:29 GMT -5
Level 1 SR on Luck to run away! Level 1 SR on Luck to dodge! I've never had a TPK in 30yrs of playing. Saving Rolls are the ultimate Interrupt. In my games the characters have to fail 3 SRs in a row to die. 1. IQ SR this Monster is going to kill you! 2. DEX/SP/Lk SR to Flee 3. LK SR for the amazing event that saves your life. My opinion, all of those SR must drag combat out. Where is the risk if the players know the GM will rarely kill them? I don't look to kill players, but in my 30 some years of gaming, I've rarely saved them. Call me heartless, but death is part of the risk. Let the dice fall where they may.
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quoghmyre
7th Level Troll
The Summer Troll
Posts: 1,048
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Post by quoghmyre on Jan 15, 2011 3:02:30 GMT -5
Oh don't you worry, players in my game know what it is to have their character die. There is no fear of them forgetting that. The trick is to balance the suspense. As you said yourself, they don't come for more if you kill them outright, my current T&T campaign has been played weekly going for 3 years now.
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Post by kilsern on Jan 15, 2011 13:23:09 GMT -5
Oh don't you worry, players in my game know what it is to have their character die. There is no fear of them forgetting that. The trick is to balance the suspense. As you said yourself, they don't come for more if you kill them outright, my current T&T campaign has been played weekly going for 3 years now. Three years. that's an awesome run. Game on.
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machfront
11th level Troll
Stalwart of the Trollbridge
"Let's go dark!"
Posts: 2,147
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Post by machfront on Jan 15, 2011 22:07:27 GMT -5
Level 1 SR on Luck to run away! Level 1 SR on Luck to dodge! I've never had a TPK in 30yrs of playing. Saving Rolls are the ultimate Interrupt. In my games the characters have to fail 3 SRs in a row to die. 1. IQ SR this Monster is going to kill you! 2. DEX/SP/Lk SR to Flee 3. LK SR for the amazing event that saves your life. My opinion, all of those SR must drag combat out. Where is the risk if the players know the GM will rarely kill them? I don't look to kill players, but in my 30 some years of gaming, I've rarely saved them. Call me heartless, but death is part of the risk. Let the dice fall where they may. The GM shouldn't kill them. Nor should the GM save them. Nor should the dice kill or save them. The only thing that should save or kill a character in a role-playing game is the player's skill or lack of it. At the end of the day, it's a game, and to participate successfully, you must have at least passing skill in said game. No one says in Chess (or any other game for that matter), "Oh, okay. You're a swell guy and I'd sure like you to come over again and not cry even though you're a grown man...so...you can win this time."
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Post by kilsern on Jan 15, 2011 22:19:19 GMT -5
I make all of my dice rolls in the open, so at my table, sometimes the dice do kill them. Dice are randomizers, and random results can lead to chaos. It's just the nature of the beast. I do agree though, that normally it is the actions of the players that kill them.
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quoghmyre
7th Level Troll
The Summer Troll
Posts: 1,048
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Post by quoghmyre on Jan 16, 2011 22:43:15 GMT -5
I feel that the death of a character can be bad dice, bad choices, bad play, but the death of the whole party point towards an error on the GMs part.
The first question that would spring to my mind, is Did I as the GM give the players enough information to make an informed choice. If the Monster was so dire, did I let the players know they faced certain death if meet in combat.
In the real world, a car driver, can fail to take a corner, plunge over a cliff and take his passengers with him. But in my games I don't allow a single player to make a choice or fail a roll that will kill the whole party.
If there isn't some emotional attachment to the characters, why play? Sometimes the death of a character does have an emotional outburst and as a GM we should expect that. I've had players cry, rip up their Character Sheets, storm out of the room. Not because they are "Bad Losers" but because they just lost something very valuable to them.
It helps if the GM, takes some time to prep the players if there is a high likelyhood of death. Explain what is expected. I insist that they die like Heros and Role Play the final scene. They don't end it with a dice roll, but a round of applause.
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Post by kilsern on Jan 17, 2011 16:09:48 GMT -5
I admit that my unfamiliarity with T&T didn't help them. I was converting monsters from that other famous rpg. I may have converted them wrong. If I were running WFRP (my usual mainstay) or Basic Fantasy RPG (my usual dungeon delving stand-by), then maybe things would have been different, who can say.
My acquaintanceship with T&T is primarily as a Solo engine, and even that is minimal. this was the first time I'd cracked open a T&T book in close to 10 years and was only the second time I'd GM'd it. The first time was a one night stand many moons ago.
But, I feel no guilt. I gave the players more then enough hints that they were walking into a trap. They still not only walked into it, they danced into it blindfolded. Investigation would have revealed a way for them to get a drop on the ratlings, instead of the other way around.
So, almost 30 years of game mastering experience, three TPK's that I can remember (the other two being when I was in the age range of 10 t0 13 when the goal of me and my buddies WAS to kill the characters). Sorry, not feeling guilty.
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Post by monstermike on Jan 17, 2011 16:27:06 GMT -5
Well said, Quoghmyre. If the risk of death isn't real, there's no tension. And a GM should give players a heads-up through hints and dialog that what they are about to face could spell their doom. But I'm much more willing to give a player a chance to win like a hero if they are willing to die like a hero, and if they die like a hero, that's probably the most satisfying way for a player to go out. That player will probably want to play again at your table.
That's one of the reasons why I think Insta-death scenarios really don't belong in well-designed delves. I gave up on those in my teens when I figured out that they really took the fun out of a game for everyone. Challenges to overcome or fail? Certainly. But part of the joy, from a player's perspective is the lateral thinking involved in finding creative ways to overcome those challenges.
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quoghmyre
7th Level Troll
The Summer Troll
Posts: 1,048
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Post by quoghmyre on Jan 17, 2011 18:15:56 GMT -5
not trying to make you Guilty, but you brought up an interesting topic. One of the criticism of the T&T solos is the insta-death paragraphs. Just a little concerned that had influenced your GM style.
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Post by monstermike on Jan 17, 2011 18:37:46 GMT -5
No. I played my first solo about a year ago. My opinions on insta-death predate that by a few decades. I think a solo is fundamentally a different type of animal than an interactive game with a GM and players. Do you really get attached to a PC you are running through a solo in the same way that you do in a real game? You might, but I don't. I just roll up a new character and try again, perhaps a little wiser the second time. For me, anyway, this is because you don't breathe life into a PC in a solo the same way you do in an over-the-table game because there isn't really any role-playing in a solo. A solo is more of a mental exercise like a solitaire puzzle - you just keep trying until you get it. In an interactive game, you only get one chance. If a player is going to die, they should at least have the opportunity to have that happen in a way that makes them still glad they played the game, rather than leaving them crying bitter tears into their bowl of cheetos.
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