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I've had one more thought - sorry not sorry - on how this game looks quite different from D&D/PF in an important way: the action economy.
In the games we're normally used to, bad guys act once per turn, same as PCs, it's just a question of who goes when. But in THIS game it looks like after each PC has gone it reverst to the GM who presents the situation and offers a new threat for the next PC to step into the spotlight, is that right?
In the example of gameply I linked to earlyer, the zombie is doing something every time a PC acts, which is pretty much the oppposite of how PF plays.
Fab! I've got stuff going on this weekend too but realy looking forward to getting into this game!
Insomnia for the win! Game is live.
I've had one more thought - sorry not sorry - on how this game looks quite different from D&D/PF in an important way: the action economy.
In the games we're normally used to, bad guys act once per turn, same as PCs, it's just a question of who goes when. But in THIS game it looks like after each PC has gone it reverst to the GM who presents the situation and offers a new threat for the next PC to step into the spotlight, is that right?
In the example of gameply I linked to earlyer, the zombie is doing something every time a PC acts, which is pretty much the oppposite of how PF plays.
I'll take "not sorry" if we're being given a choice. Because you make a really good point. I hope no one breaks out in hives over this.
D&D style initiative says a round lasts six seconds and everyone takes their turn, PC & NPC alike.
LitM doesn't call it a turn, it calls it "the spotlight" which seems a bit precious, but actually... if you think of it as a battle scene in a movie, lots of things are happening at the same time, but the camera is telling us about one thing at a time.
So this is how it works:
Establish
The Narrator presents the scene, describing:
• where your Heroes are and what is happening around them
• what the stakes are (why your Heroes are there and why it matters)
• what the Challenges are (anything in your way to your goals), and what Threats are posed to your Heroes or their goals, if any. The Narrator then asks “What do you do?” and gives one Hero the spotlight, so everyone is now listening to them.
ACTION
When your Hero is in the spotlight, you describe what your Hero is doing in the scene, responding to all that has been Established. The Narrator may choose one of three ways to determine the outcome of the action: rule what happened or give you further details about the scene
(Simple), ask you to roll the dice (Quick), or ask you to roll the dice and, if you succeed, spend your Power on Effects according to your Hero’s action (Detailed).
CONSEQUENCES
The Narrator delivers negative Consequences for your action if any of the following happened:
• you ignored a Threat,
• your roll generated Consequences, or
• the Narrator chooses to invoke your weakness tags for Consequences. The Narrator may add Effects.
The Narrator may also allow you to lessen these Effects by making a reaction roll.
rinse and repeat
The Narrator (in theory) re-establishes the scene as EACH Hero takes the spotlight. The Narrator also responds to each Hero's action before they surrender the spotlight. Note that the Narrator never has a turn, never takes an action. I present threats, I deliver consequences.
I do have some concerns about this in a PbP scenario, because it puts everyone at the mercy of my posting schedule. If anyone has any thoughts about a work-around, I'm open to suggestions.
I was thinking about this a bit a couple weeks ago -- thought of a Tag (or even Theme) of 'Fast Thinking' or 'Quick to Act' or something. But ultimately I figured that, I dunno, I think we just have to see how it plays out before we can, um, see how it plays out. I was mildly concerned about the Spotlight thing from the Demo -- what if the old lady PC had a brilliant roleplay idea but the Master of Ceremonies gave the "turn in Initiative" / Spotlight to the Town Ranger. Or what if the Apple Mischief Girl didn't want Spotlight 'first' and is bummed she could only think of, blech, throwing an apple at a pile of hay. .... But I dismissed my concerns because one of the Core foundations of the game is Trust. We trust the MC to guide us through making a great story. We trust the MC to be fair in sharing Spotlight, and we trust the MC -- and each other -- to get a feel for the kinds of 'Themes' each of us really want the Spotlight for roleplay. I actually wonder -- and we don't know yet -- if PbP is much better here. There will be times where Monday is too busy at work and Tuesday & Wednesday I'm just exhausted and stressed. And I turn around and it’s Thursday, and I haven't posted since Last Friday. That's okay because there's no Initiative and Spotlight is given to someone else twice while the DM bots my minor action. But again, let's wait to see how it plays.
You can also ASK for the spotlight if you have a good idea and can't wait to put it into action!
@GM - thanks for opening gameplay - I'll think up something to post soon.
Department of OCD: Svetozar, your timeline isn't quite accurate. Not sure if that's intentional or not.
I was thinking about this a bit a couple weeks ago -- thought of a Tag (or even Theme) of 'Fast Thinking' or 'Quick to Act' or something. But ultimately I figured that, I dunno, I think we just have to see how it plays out before we can, um, see how it plays out. I was mildly concerned about the Spotlight thing from the Demo -- what if the old lady PC had a brilliant roleplay idea but the Master of Ceremonies gave the "turn in Initiative" / Spotlight to the Town Ranger. Or what if the Apple Mischief Girl didn't want Spotlight 'first' and is bummed she could only think of, blech, throwing an apple at a pile of hay. .... But I dismissed my concerns because one of the Core foundations of the game is Trust. We trust the MC to guide us through making a great story. We trust the MC to be fair in sharing Spotlight, and we trust the MC -- and each other -- to get a feel for the kinds of 'Themes' each of us really want the Spotlight for roleplay. I actually wonder -- and we don't know yet -- if PbP is much better here. There will be times where Monday is too busy at work and Tuesday & Wednesday I'm just exhausted and stressed. And I turn around and it’s Thursday, and I haven't posted since Last Friday. That's okay because there's no Initiative and Spotlight is given to someone else twice while the DM bots my minor action. But again, let's wait to see how it plays.
At the table, it's easy to see who wants the spotlight and who doesn't. In PbP it's a bit harder, and we are all on at different times of day. I'll most likely try to establish broadly enough so that each PLAYER can post when they're able. Then I'll resolve and respond as I am able.
Ah, oops.
.... Yeah, rereading the posts I see I made a few mistakes -- including missing that I was described in the private room from the beginning rather than arriving a couple minutes late. You know, sometimes while taking a break from work to play on the internet one's mind isn't 100% focused on what one is doing. Perhaps especially on a Friday, the end of a long week -- though I'm confident in making mistakes early in the week, on hump-day, and on the weekends as well.
.
Also, while I had originally articulated my Tags in my Profile to better understand and share my Crunch, I see now that I have left behind all the heart and soul therein. So sometime Sunday or next week I will add to my Profile.
Now I'm going to bed.
Sorry, what a weekend. I'm back now and should be posting more regularly from here.
So, are we good with harbormaster in the morning and then recon tomorrow night?
No one else has said much -- I have no ideas on how to get 100 yards out unless Kora has a little dinghy we can borrow. If she doesn't, well, a PC clever'er('er) than I shall come up with a brilliancy. (I'm still envisioning Kora in a little jon-boat rowing out to The Blue Nixie looking for Lavinia Vanderboren.)
And with a dinghy 100 yards out, even at night, I don't think Stealth happens until our Stealth-guys creep out of the boat and slink through the last few yards of water to sneak on the Blue Nixie while we big-mouths try talking -- and providing a distraction.
Like, the Stealth-guys hide in the bottom of the boat so the two guards think it's just us mouths. But we're all still hoping for a touch of info from the Harbormaster so we can come up with an opening gambit to say to the guards. ....Also-- since we will have the day, there's no harm in visiting the House of Lords to see if we can get some information on the Vanderborens. The more knowledge we can muster the better. And we will have the whole day, after all.
No one else has said much -- I have no ideas on how to get 100 yards out unless Kora has a little dinghy we can borrow. If she doesn't, well, a PC clever'er('er) than I shall come up with a brilliancy. (I'm still envisioning Kora in a little jon-boat rowing out to The Blue Nixie looking for Lavinia Vanderboren.)
And with a dinghy 100 yards out, even at night, I don't think Stealth happens until our Stealth-guys creep out of the boat and slink through the last few yards of water to sneak on the Blue Nixie while we big-mouths try talking -- and providing a distraction.
Like, the Stealth-guys hide in the bottom of the boat so the two guards think it's just us mouths. But we're all still hoping for a touch of info from the Harbormaster so we can come up with an opening gambit to say to the guards. ....Also-- since we will have the day, there's no harm in visiting the House of Lords to see if we can get some information on the Vanderborens. The more knowledge we can muster the better. And we will have the whole day, after all.
A boat won't be the problem, the approach will be the problem. (Also, I got the giggles imagining Annelise, Trails and Honeylyn hiding out in the bottom of a halfling sized rowboat)
An alternative, of course, is recon tonight and harbormaster after the fact.
Or, anything else anyone wants to do.
Recon tonight and,...
I thought that the recon happened and we learned we could see two guards on the Blue Nixie, 100 yards out.
If anyone can think of any other way to get to the Blue Nixie -- or better recon from shore, I'm all-in.
And I have no idea how to Stealth from the rowboat to the Blue Nixie. .... But I did assume that Kora would have used a Vanderboren rowboat rather than one she may own herself back when she was looking for Lavinia.
.
Uh, anyone else chiming in?
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I'm all in favour of trying stuff and seeing if it works - otherwise you spend ages just asking the GM if you can do x, y and z and wasting time. I would hope that our characters would be aware of what is and is not feasible!
I'm all in favour of trying stuff and seeing if it works - otherwise you spend ages just asking the GM if you can do x, y and z and wasting time. I would hope that our characters would be aware of what is and is not feasible!
You never know what details someone will fix on and what someone will take for granted. I will do my best to communicate the situation on the ground as clearly as possible.
In this case, I thought it's a harbor, there's going to be boats around. You'll take one.
Now Svetozar has me thinking about if the Vanderborens have any boats unaccounted for...
Hi all - I've been lurking here since the recruitment thread (where I decided first that it looked like you had enough interest and second that I'm the sort of person who needs to have read all the rules before I can enjoy playing) and am reading along with interest. It looks like a fascinating game system and I'm keen to see how it plays out!
Hi all - I've been lurking here since the recruitment thread (where I decided first that it looked like you had enough interest and second that I'm the sort of person who needs to have read all the rules before I can enjoy playing) and am reading along with interest. It looks like a fascinating game system and I'm keen to see how it plays out!
Hello! I wonder how many other people are reading along :) I think I saw you in Doug's recruitment thread that fizzled out?
Honeylyn thinks a bit and says, "I've got something that may help our approach."
She begins murmuring under her breath, as a purple glow forms on her hands. Fog begins to swirl around the boat, but for some reason, it's easy for them in the boat to see through it.
It looks like that might need a dice roll, the first of the game, excititng! @GM, how do you want to play this? In the pbp game I ran, we handled dice rolls in the discusion thread because every roll was meaningful and there needed to be understanding of what effect people were going for and what the possible consequences were, we then used the gameply thread to narrate the results of the rolls.
In order to keep things moving my suggestion would be for the player to make the dice roll and say what tags they want to rely on, the GM can then rule on which tags are helpful and add in (minus?) any unhelpful tags, which will give the final result of the roll. Same with consequences, player rolls the dice and adds useful tags and GM then says whether those tags are apropriate or not.
If that's not helpful then please ignore!
Honeylyn thinks a bit and says, "I've got something that may help our approach."
She begins murmuring under her breath, as a purple glow forms on her hands. Fog begins to swirl around the boat, but for some reason, it's easy for them in the boat to see through it.
It looks like that might need a dice roll, the first of the game, excititng! @GM, how do you want to play this? In the pbp game I ran, we handled dice rolls in the discusion thread because every roll was meaningful and there needed to be understanding of what effect people were going for and what the possible consequences were, we then used the gameply thread to narrate the results of the rolls.
In order to keep things moving my suggestion would be for the player to make the dice roll and say what tags they want to rely on, the GM can then rule on which tags are helpful and add in (minus?) any unhelpful tags, which will give the final result of the roll. Same with consequences, player rolls the dice and adds useful tags and GM then says whether those tags are apropriate or not.
If that's not helpful then please ignore!
I am divided on rolling in discussion vs rolling in gameplay. Your reasons make perfect sense, but I notice there is less participation in the discussion thread.
I'd like to hear others' thoughts, if there are any.
@Honeylyn:
I was under the impression that Cloaked Casting was more about keeping casting unnoticed, rather than casting to be unnoticed. If I am mistaken, by all means use the tag.
On the plus side, though, I think you can also use sorcerous trickster.
So, roll 2d6 with a +2 (Sorcerous Trickster, Illusion) or +3 (Cloaked Casting, if I misunderstood)
Either add the roll to the gameplay post or post it here.
I prefer an active Discussion Thread -- so much out-of-character dialogue is overwhelmingly beneficial in roleplay, especially when we're not sitting around a table.
For example, there's not really anything for my PC to say right now -- other than think to himself, I'm not that strong (especially for a front-liner) and get ready. But in Discussion I can be like, 'I'm ready to go!'
Further, when we're going back through Gameplay, the more blue, Out-of-Character text and the more cluttered dice roll space, the harder it is to read Gameplay as our collaborative story.
I'm a fan of lots in the Discussion Thread and all Dice Rolls under Spoiler Tags.
But that's me.
P.S.: Sorry for not making it on the weekend -- not much to say in-character and I didn't really get to the PbP that much anyway.
I prefer dice rolls in gameplay but I can learn to adapt. It just make more sense to me to have the rolls with the action. It could be hard to discern which rolls go with which actions if you go back to look at things.
@Honeylyn:
I was under the impression that Cloaked Casting was more about keeping casting unnoticed, rather than casting to be unnoticed. If I am mistaken, by all means use the tag.
On the plus side, though, I think you can also use sorcerous trickster.
So, roll 2d6 with a +2 (Sorcerous Trickster, Illusion) or +3 (Cloaked Casting, if I misunderstood)
Either add the roll to the gameplay post or post it here.
You're right that Cloaked Casting is about keeping casting unnoticed. That's what I was trying to do, make it not look obvious that Honeylyn was casting a spell to hide the boat.
"Keep your distance, Chewie, but don't look like you're tryin' to keep your distance."
*QUESTIONING ROAR*
"I don't know! Fly casual!"
Rolling!
We can just add Cloaked Casting's +1 if you think it's relevant here.
I'm used to dice rolling in gameplay but I have no strong opinion either way and will definitely go with the consensus
@Honeylyn:
I was under the impression that Cloaked Casting was more about keeping casting unnoticed, rather than casting to be unnoticed. If I am mistaken, by all means use the tag.
On the plus side, though, I think you can also use sorcerous trickster.
So, roll 2d6 with a +2 (Sorcerous Trickster, Illusion) or +3 (Cloaked Casting, if I misunderstood)
Either add the roll to the gameplay post or post it here.
You're right that Cloaked Casting is about keeping casting unnoticed. That's what I was trying to do, make it not look obvious that Honeylyn was casting a spell to hide the boat.
"Keep your distance, Chewie, but don't look like you're tryin' to keep your distance."
*QUESTIONING ROAR*
"I don't know! Fly casual!"
Rolling!
2d6+2
We can just add Cloaked Casting's +1 if you think it's relevant here.
I was thinking you were too far off for Cloaked Casting to be making a difference (you weren't going to wait until they were watching you to cast) BUT... your clever use of Han Solo trumps common sense, so we'll use it.
So you got 3 power: Creating a Story Tag (2 power) of "Illusory Fog" over an area large enough to hide the boat (+1 power) sound good?
A story tag is available for anyone to use as long as they're in the boat.
My vote is Dice in Gameplay under Spoiler Tags.
Inside the Spoiler it doesn't clutter the Story texts. In Gameplay rather than Discussion it's automatic to correlate the roll with the post, instead of making a guess if it's in Discussion. Also, if there is ever a time (this system seems less likely but still) where the DM is considering what a Success would be, maybe like an opposed roll -- having the PC result hidden could be helpful.
But either way, in any case, it's not a deal breaker for me. I have my vote for my reasons but it's not the end of the world.
I would like the story to move forward, though. Hoping to get to the Blue Nixie soon.
That works for me! Was about to post my dice roll here but I will edit my post in gameply to roll using a spoiler tag.
I think we'll do rolls in the gameplay thread. We can certainly spoiler them, but I'm not making that a rule.
The way PbtA works, the Narrator NEVER rolls. If you roll 9 or less, I (usually) get to hit you with a consequence. Sometimes, you can make a follow-up roll to lessen that consequence, but you cannot use any of the tags that you used in the originating action. IF everyone agrees, it may be faster for me to make those lessening rolls. OR, you can make them preemptively in your post when you see your result is 9 or less.
I think the tags used in the lessening roll will depend on the consequence. E.g. if the consequence is "bad guy stabs you" then tags relating to armour will come into play, but if the consequence is "bad guy trips you" then armour tags won't be useful.
So preemptive rolling might not do much becasue it will need you to tell us what the consequence is.
I think the tags used in the lessening roll will depend on the consequence. E.g. if the consequence is "bad guy stabs you" then tags relating to armour will come into play, but if the consequence is "bad guy trips you" then armour tags won't be useful.
So preemptive rolling might not do much becasue it will need you to tell us what the consequence is.
This is true. I was thinking that you guys could roll, and trust the Narrator (hahahahaha!) to apply tags fairly. It would be effectively the same as if I rolled, only you'd execute the dice command - I know some people are funny about letting other people roll "their" dice.
Is a success with 2 power enough to get us to the Blue Nixie and on board without being detected?
It gets the group to the Blue Nixie and gets YOU on board.
Let me get a sneak roll from everyone else boarding.
First batch of rolls, so, worth sharing my thoughts.
Honeylyn rolled 10+ to cast her spell. Success
Annelise, Trails rolled 10+ to sneak aboard. Success
Milton rolled a 9 to sneak in. Success AND consequence, and since he gave me the idea of being light-blinded by the lantern, I used it.
Honeylyn rolled a 5 to sneak in. Consequence, but I didn't want to take away the successes, so... that's what happened.
ALSO, Honeylyn was the first to use a Weakness tag. She should mark growth by that theme.
We are going to have to track stuff like that.
Remind me again how marking growth works, please?
Just so I'm clear, Svetozar stayed in the boat and Honeylyn fell back there, so it's just Annlise, Milton and Trail on board the Blue Nixie, is that right?
Svetozar Lanezra is on the little boat -- knowing he couldn't really attempt a good stealth, and knowing a distraction / gambit could be helpful.
I looked at my own roll but not anyone else's -- I heard the guard call out an alarm so I don't know how many or how badly the stealth team, uh, didn't work. Looking at the texts in Gameplay my guess is that only one or two PCs were unsuccessful.
But Svetozar Lanezra is still on the little boat -- hoping for the best.
Remind me again how marking growth works, please?
Every time your Weakness tags are invoked - either by you, when you choose to take a -1 to a roll because of one, or by me, when I invoke it to make your lives more interesting - you mark growth on that theme. When you get to 3 growth, your theme improves - you can get another tag, you can get some "special" improvements, etc.
It's one of the ways your character develops.
Just so I'm clear, Svetozar stayed in the boat and Honeylyn fell back there, so it's just Annlise, Milton and Trail on board the Blue Nixie, is that right?
Correct.
Svetozar Lanezra is on the little boat -- knowing he couldn't really attempt a good stealth, and knowing a distraction / gambit could be helpful.
I looked at my own roll but not anyone else's -- I heard the guard call out an alarm so I don't know how many or how badly the stealth team, uh, didn't work. Looking at the texts in Gameplay my guess is that only one or two PCs were unsuccessful.
But Svetozar Lanezra is still on the little boat -- hoping for the best.
FWIW, I'm fine with you looking at each other's rolls. I am going to work on the assumption that we're all adults and are all going to prioritize storytelling over munchkinny squeezing for advantage. I encourage transparency!
Looking at the numbers can sometimes give you a clearer idea of what's happening. But, I 100% respect your choice to keep the veil in place.
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Also, if everyone could look at each other's spoilers for rolling in the gameplay thread.
Everyone used tags correctly!
The way Annelise and Honeylyn did it was the Easiest For Me. Just listing the tags in OOC. Honeylyn also indicated that they were + or - which helps.
Svetozar named the spoiler with the tag, which works as well, but will work less well when you start using more than a couple of tags.
What Trails and Milton did (making a sentence out of it, including the tag names) is fantastic... but it's a little more work for me to sort out what is and isn't a tag.
Going forward, I would ask that, however you choose to do it, you bold the tags and include (+) or (-).
Understood
@GM, I'm not clear on the situation. Are you saying there's no way to avoid the guards even if we roll a success? So discovery is inevitable? Or are you saying it's possible but there are no tags that could help us because of the lack of cover on deck?
I'd like to avoid them but if it's obviously not feasible then better to hit first with the advantage of surprise.
@Svetozar: holding off on replying in gameplay til we see how our sneakers do.
@Annelise: No helpful tags. Discovery is by no means unavoidable, but you'll have to be creative.
Update: there is now a [Is that a portal to the Hells?] tag that is distracting the guards, so that should help!
Regarding my Devilish Visage, I was leaving it open for the Master of Ceremonies to control -- like, my 'roaming birthmark' isn't something I can say, "Okay, now it's a pentagram on my forehead"; or later, "Hey, I don't want it on my forehead now so it's hidden on my shin."
Something I have no control over.
Or maybe, if or when the DM isn't willing/able to control a PC 'thing' as well as all the other things in the game, I guess I can come up with a random dice roll to see whether the Devilish Visage reveals itself.
How about for this case (unless the Maser of Ceremonies wants to engage it) I will roll, um,....
1d20)
1 = Devilish Visage is visible on my neck but looks like a 'nothing' birthmark giving me no possible usage this encounter but I mistakenly *Think* it is showing itself
2-8 = No visible Devilish Visage this encounter
9-15 = Nothing visible right now but it may roam somewhere during this encounter later
16-19 = It is visible and looks like a pentagram or something on my forehead
20 = It's visible and terrifying, with DM going a little extra
Regarding my Devilish Visage, I was leaving it open for the Master of Ceremonies to control -- like, my 'roaming birthmark' isn't something I can say, "Okay, now it's a pentagram on my forehead"; or later, "Hey, I don't want it on my forehead now so it's hidden on my shin."
Something I have no control over.
Or maybe, if or when the DM isn't willing/able to control a PC 'thing' as well as all the other things in the game, I guess I can come up with a random dice roll to see whether the Devilish Visage reveals itself.
How about for this case (unless the Maser of Ceremonies wants to engage it) I will roll, um,....
1d20)
1 = Devilish Visage is visible on my neck but looks like a 'nothing' birthmark giving me no possible usage this encounter but I mistakenly *Think* it is showing itself2-8 = No visible Devilish Visage this encounter
9-15 = Nothing visible right now but it may roam somewhere during this encounter later
16-19 = It is visible and looks like a pentagram or something on my forehead
20 = It's visible and terrifying, with DM going a little extra
** spoiler omitted **
Honestly, while I'm sure there is some obscure 3PP for 1e with a Wandering Birthmarks Table, that's not how I (ahem) roll.
If you're GIVING me control, I'll be happy to use it. I just didn't want to TAKE it unasked. I'll put it in play when it seems dramatically appropriate. You should feel free to do the same.
I give you Control! (And will feel free to play with it when it seems like good drama, too.)
....
My idea for this comes from a Forgotten Realms novel by Monte Cook from the mid '90s, 'The Glass Prison.' The protagonist has an Abyssal birthmark that roams over his body and provides a few moments of cool roleplay in the novel.
Dumb question: who's on the ship and who isn't? Honeylyn's going to ask for a boost.
I've sorted that, assumng there's a spare rope I can throw down to let them climb up, but another dumb question, why are we on this ship again? I've lost track, sorry. I think we're searching for something or someone?
We are looking for the owner of the boat and his sister.
Dumb question: who's on the ship and who isn't? Honeylyn's going to ask for a boost.
Now the guards are down, no roll required.
We are looking for the owner of the boat and his sister.
Correct.
Vanthus had been living here since he and his sister had a huge fight.
Lavinia (his sister) came here looking for him to try to make peace.
She hasn't been seen since.
Thanks!
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ALSO, Honeylyn was the first to use a Weakness tag. She should mark growth by that theme.
We are going to have to track stuff like that.
I've adopted something from another game I was in and put a series of empty boxes (❑❑❑) next to each of my Themes and Quests in my charcter profile. As they fill in, I'll replace each with a filled box (▣). Feel free to copy if it helps!
I am putting asterisks next to mine. We'll see how that works.