Hey, ya'll. So I was listening to a play podcast that was running a starfinder campaign, and since they were all relatively new to the mechanics of the game, they decided to split up rules expertise into groups that were then divided amongst the players.
I absolutely loveeee this idea.
1) It allows players to invest in the hard-working aspect of the game "you get more out when you put more in"
2) It removes the annoying "rules-lawyer" role from the table since now nobody is the know-it-all. Instead, they are a group of players who all contribute as a local resource of expertise on what is a very complex game.
3) It hopefully speeds up gameplay by reducing the number of debates and looking up the rules online or through a sourcebook.
4) and my favourite reason, less of a hefty burden on the GM so they can focus more on the story writing, keeping up with the campaigns details, and controlling the NPCs as well as everything else.
I'm about to start an AP, and while I've both GM'd and played before, I've yet to take on a 6 book adventure before. It's also of my experience that while player's are experts of what THEIR character does, they can still know very little about the rest of the game.
My question here is. Since I will have 5 players, In what ways can I divide the majority of the rules into 5 groupings?
So far I have: Basic combat features, conditions/afflictions, skills, but I know there are more.
Suggestions would be awesome, thanks guys
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I would recommend to different player types as you advance through the AP:
1) strategy type player
- rule 0 (have fun)
- movement and mounts and positioning
- permutations of AC modifiers (denied dex vs flat footed, prone, etc)
- combat actions, order, and events that disrupt the order (ready action to dispel, when is a 5’ step legal)
- surprise round (also actions that take one turn vs full round vs using these in a surprise round)
- senses and perception (scent, invisibility, distance etc)
- DR and overcoming DR
- SR and overcoming SR
2) detail oriented player
- rule 0 (have fun)
- buffs and types of bonuses that stack or don’t
- conditions and penalties, ability damage vs drain
- ways to easily record these
- how grapple, dispel, concentration, and spellcasting really works
3) photographic memory player
- rule 0 (have fun)
- fine details of each skill, what it can and can’t do, how long it takes, conditional modifiers, and retries
- spells/abilities that have saves or partial saves and which save they use
4) narrative type player
- rule 0 (have fun)
- keeping notes on names/places (not a rule, but should be)
- limits to diplomacy, bluff, intimidate
- how compulsion/domination works
- overland movement, town size rules, large scale combat
- how divination works
- how scrying in particular works
5) power gamer type
- rule 0 (how most other players have fun)
- how to defend against the stupidly powerful attack combination you just used to wipe out a camp of goat herders (they will come back at you with cheese of their own)
- polymorph
I would recommend to different player types as you advance through the AP
You... have brilliant suggestions. Thank you