On my last session of d&d combat took too long and I had to apologize for it to my players. One player, who is a Pathfinder 2e player, said it’s nothing compared to long fights he had in that system, where between party of high level casters, boss, minions and enemy spellcasters, he would be waiting a whole hour for his next...
My last big boss fight in PF2 lasted about 3 hours and there were 10 rounds in that time - so about 1 round every 18 minutes. The party consisted of six level 12 characters - counting the GM, that means the average turn was about 2.5 minutes long.
(That includes some RP as well, villainous monologues, rescuing the hostage, etc)
Granted, I use the Foundry VTT, which speeds things up quite a bit. (And is also how I was able to review this data). And most of us are experienced with the PF2 system at lower levels and had jumped up to level 12 for a oneshot.
My D&De campaign wrapped up at level 20 after five years of regular play, and we are playing some one shots and stuff as a break before we decide what to do next. The D&D DM volunteered to GM again....
This is one of my favorite systems and I’ve learned a lot playing it, so I apologize in advance for what will probably be a wall of text. You can TL;DR the bold bits.
Black dice are like salt, sprinkle some on everything - Black dice are a great way to add adversity from the world (poor visibility? suspicious guards? time crunch?) and a good way to use generated threat (distracted, damaged gear). Also, many PC talents allow them to peel black dice off of skills they specialize in - and players really enjoy telling the GM they don’t have to roll the bad dice.
Blue dice are like pepper, add a little to most things - They’re a great way to reward players who have a clever approach, tie in to character backstory (my former-pirate probably knows who to fence stuff to around here), good roleplaying, or good preparation.
Facing a player with something they’re good at is cool, facing a player against something they’re bad at is interesting - You want a healthy mix of both. A gunslinger PC wants to take out hordes of mooks and absolutely should get the chance to let loose now and then. But if the party disguises themselves as maintenance personal as part of a heist, that same low-int gunslinger should be flagged down by one of the staff and asked to fix a broken grav-lift. It puts the PC in a tense situation where they have to think (I can shoot my way out, but that blows our cover. I can try to fix it but raise suspicion if I fail. Can I create a distraction? Can I talk my way out?). Making scenarios like this happen isn’t too hard because…
Splitting the party is a great idea - As others here have said, combat balance is basically non-existent in this game, so a split party isn’t a death sentence in combat (and even losing combat isn’t usually lethal). Also, escaping from combat is much easier in this system than others (Hop on a speeder, hack a door closed, or just use a destiny point and shoot the door controls). Comms exist to keep the party in contact and allow them to coordinate/affect each other. (One character can make a distraction to allow the hacker to slip into a building - the hacker can then help the thief get past security, etc.) A combination of multiple objectives and time-pressure is a great way to get the players to split up. (And the Obligation system is great at creating secondary objectives for this purpose)
There’s plenty of time to get things done in combat - Unlike DND, combat doesn’t put a dead stop to everything else that’s going on. The rules say that one full round of combat in this system is “one to several minutes”. If combat breaks out, party members can still use skills, hack things, get to places, have conversations (probably away from the firefight). Very often in EotE, my players found themselves in a “fighting retreat” after tripping an alarm and needing to finish the objective or escape, it keeps tension up and you can use minion groups as reinforcements for added time pressure.
Clean shaven arms and legs, combed hair (with highlights?), and an earring all imply that the goblin does care about and maintain her hygiene/appearance
Meanwhile the village idiot is being flogged for heresy for daring to suggest that the prayer this stranger priest was chanting moments before his sister tumbled into the fire may have been responsible.
I know Rooster Teeth isn’t perfectly game related per se, but their machinimas and miniseries using game assets were transformative for many of us in the gaming community I believe. So I think it fits....
Hbomberguy has a really good video about all of the problems that plagued production. It’s a pretty interesting watch that covers the way the story was put together, where the writers got their ideas from, and a bunch of behind the scenes stuff.
And that’s only if they recognize what’s going on. If you’re just minding your business and suddenly it’s dark and hard to breathe, there are a bunch of monsters, spells, and magical phenomena that are possible culprits.
You might want to try Lies of P. All of the highlights of Dark Souls combat and if you play your cards right pretty much every NPC gets a happy ending.
It’s free on Game Pass right now too, if you have that.
Most of the video games I’ve played were pretty good. The only one I can think of that I didn’t like was MySims Kingdom for the Nintendo DS. Dropped that pretty quickly. It was a long while ago, but I’ll guess it was because there were too many fetch quests and annoying controls.
The thing about the From Software games is that they’re (mostly) fair. Most action games give the player a huge leg up compared to the enemies - the boss has a glowing weakpoint that can be revealed with the item you found in the dungeon - or you’re a badass cyborg assassin vs rank and file goons.
In Dark Souls, you’re just a stubborn dude with a sword - and even the lowliest enemy can take you out if you get careless. But everyone is playing by the same rules, it sucks when an enemy staggers you and hits you while you can’t move - but you can figure out how to do the same to them. And the bosses really are doing everything in their power to make you dead.
The satisfaction of Dark Souls comes from meeting those challenges head on and beating them at their own game - or being clever enough to bypass or weaken the obstacle. It’s not for everybody, and it’s certainly not for anybody all the time - but it’s pretty awesome when you get to be David finally taking down Goliath.
Mine was a battle against a rival gang (we are working with them for backstory reasons), they had a manticore and we are level 3 so it was intense. Most of us finished with 2 or so hp! But looking forward to finally be level 4 after a year.
Assuming you’re being hyperbolic at the end there - the samey, no-actual-options feeling of DND is what drove me to Pathfinder 2e. And all the rules are officially free here.
But if you weren’t being hyperbolic and want something in the same fantasy-action genre: Genesys is pretty awesome.
If you want something really real off-the-wall and different, try the one-shot friendly slapstick-comedy The Sorcerer Supreme (also free).
Since my polymorph meme has only garnered three downvotes so far I thought I’d offer a bit more controversial take, and see if I can manage to stir the pot a bit with this one.
Over the years, I’ve found it’s less helpful to think of the campaign as a planned road trip - and more helpful to think about it like you’re in a car chase and your brakes have been cut.
Don’t plan out meticulously, just prioritize steering into the next interesting thing that can happen, ideally one that the party is already kinda heading towards. You can have some ideas about things that could happen afterward, but you have no idea what your players will do yet.
They could befriend the lich’s minions, commit the crime before the villain has a chance to, or just straight up die to terrible luck.
I have been running a DnD campaign which is only getting longer and more complex as time goes on. Keeping track of every bit of lore, every NPC that is relevant to the party and major events that have happened is getting increasingly difficult. I am currently mostly trying to just keep everything in mind while taking notes here...
How long does combat in PF2e take?
On my last session of d&d combat took too long and I had to apologize for it to my players. One player, who is a Pathfinder 2e player, said it’s nothing compared to long fights he had in that system, where between party of high level casters, boss, minions and enemy spellcasters, he would be waiting a whole hour for his next...
Tips for first-time GM running FFG StarWars?
My D&De campaign wrapped up at level 20 after five years of regular play, and we are playing some one shots and stuff as a break before we decide what to do next. The D&D DM volunteered to GM again....
Gobbo disappointment
Due to a lack of content I will be pushing the Tiamat Agenda, I will not apologize (yiffit.net)
wisdom posting (lemmy.world)
smol bean geeky zionist 🥺 (hexbear.net)
I just can't be bothered with these questions (sh.itjust.works)
Rooster Teeth, home of Red Vs. Blue and RWBY, shutting down after 21 years (arstechnica.com)
I know Rooster Teeth isn’t perfectly game related per se, but their machinimas and miniseries using game assets were transformative for many of us in the gaming community I believe. So I think it fits....
Their ideas are as interesting as they are frightening (ttrpg.network)
I once had a player that wanted a Decanter of Endless Water just to waterboard people 😳
Maybe I should have made it more clear? (lemmy.world)
What difficult games/game challenges did you give up on?
Be it a game that’s difficult in its entirety, or a particular challenge in a game that you just couldn’t complete....
Guys!!! It gets good around chapter 1176. (lemmy.world)
When the setting has no magic, but you're playing a wizard anyway (lemmy.sdf.org)
Probably my favorite DnD trope (startrek.website)
When your friends have money. (comicpress.socksandpuppets.com)
This comic is part of an ongoing story that might make more sense with full context....
Not counting games that were unfun because of bugs, what’s the most unfun video game that you’ve played and what made it unfun? (kbin.cafe)
Most of the video games I’ve played were pretty good. The only one I can think of that I didn’t like was MySims Kingdom for the Nintendo DS. Dropped that pretty quickly. It was a long while ago, but I’ll guess it was because there were too many fetch quests and annoying controls.
How was your last game?
Mine was a battle against a rival gang (we are working with them for backstory reasons), they had a manticore and we are level 3 so it was intense. Most of us finished with 2 or so hp! But looking forward to finally be level 4 after a year.
Cooking Up Contingency Plans (i.imgur.com)
Since my polymorph meme has only garnered three downvotes so far I thought I’d offer a bit more controversial take, and see if I can manage to stir the pot a bit with this one.
My brain hurts (ttrpg.network)
the things this game makes you search for (ttrpg.network)
It’s a whole new world (lemmy.world)
Managing a large campaign
I have been running a DnD campaign which is only getting longer and more complex as time goes on. Keeping track of every bit of lore, every NPC that is relevant to the party and major events that have happened is getting increasingly difficult. I am currently mostly trying to just keep everything in mind while taking notes here...
Opinions: What is a movie you genuinely like, that is rated below 60% on rotten tomatoes? (xkcd.com)
Inspired by the linked XKCD. Using 60% instead of 50% because that’s an easy filter to apply on rottentomatoes....
Eating meat creates four times more greenhouse gases than being vegan, landmark study finds (www.independent.co.uk)