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Fimbulvinter

Started by Steerpike, January 22, 2012, 05:04:09 PM

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HippopotamusDundee

Depends what time on the 30th - anything earlier than 12pm is too early for me, I'm afraid.

Steerpike

For the 30th, it'd either be from 1-4 or from 4-7 (give or take). I'm sort of inclined to favour later in the day since Llum hasn't had a chance to play yet, but if more people can make the earlier time then Llum can always jump in on the 3rd, when it looks like we'll have a large group anyway.


Polycarp

I'm afraid I can't help much, since as usual I don't know whether I can make a time until pretty much the day before.  All I can say right now is that I'm not aware of any commitments on the 30th or the 3rd.

Edit: Though 4-7 Pacific is very unlikely to ever work for me on any day, because it's right at dinner hours.  Anything before or after then is potentially manageable.
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"The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." - Marcus Aurelius

Llum

Something has come up and I am unlikely to be able to make the game on the 30th!

sparkletwist

Oh. I hope you can make the next one, Llum! :(

With that said, the earlier time (1pm PST) would work better for me on the 30th too, so with Llum out of the picture maybe it is a better time?


Rose-of-Vellum

#367
Much belated feedback (due to holiday goodness):

Steerpike, your GMing is amazing. I've previously only experienced it second-hand via copious log-reading, so it was great to enjoy it first-hand. Your descriptions, scripts, and characters were amazing. I loved the descriptions of the various locales and personages; the backstories, names, and visualizations of the latter were succinct, yet rich and evocative. Even the minor characters like the ironmonger were memorable. The adventure was thick with moral-ethical ambiguities and/or quandaries (e.g., it remains unclear how much Thordis knew of Hamdir's alleged misdeeds, and if aware, the degree to which she is responsible for them), while still allowing murder-robbing-hobo affinities their due (e.g., getting to kill a dude and take all his stuff and then get paid for it). You also did a really good job with writing an adventure that was able to be started and wrapped up in the allotted time. This was really impressive, especially as the adventure seemed neither rushed nor simplistic. Do you have a heuristic or whatnot you use when crafting adventures (e.g., 2 encounters (social/martial/etc) per hour IRL)? I'm sorry we didn't get to battle the demon-wolves and black-haired rider, but I thought it was great to still include the scene.

You seemed ultra-prepared, and it payed off. I'm curious, how much prep time do you think you spent for the session? Both in coming up with the plot, character names, scripts, treasure, and music? Also, how much of the writing do you have done prior to the session? How much pre-written stuff did we not use/see?

I loved the music you provided as well. How do create the onrepeat links? Do you upload your own youtube audio files or cherry-pick others? Regardless, I really enjoyed the links. Having two was nice, as I switched to the alternative if a scene lasted a while and/or the previous music got old for me (although one music file per scene would have been great).

Regarding my own participation, I have mixed feelings.

I definitely enjoyed playing with the group, and I like Mjorðir as a character. Kennings are fun.  

During the session, however, I felt like the character was talking more than I personally wanted -especially for me being a newcomer to the group and campaign. In trying to role-play, I kept feeling compelled to have the Cha 16, Diplomacy-maxed paladin of justice & law speak out. Above and beyond being in a group whose average Cha has a negative modifier, he kept trying to socially/verbally influence scenes because the scenes kept focusing on concepts that are central to his faith, code, and character (e.g., justice, law, children). Regardless of how justified that verbosity was, I still felt like I was taking up too much 'screen-time' as well as game-time (e.g., typing up a lot of statements takes a while, but so does trying to come up with good wording on the spot -both tasks that can lead to brain-fatigue and fumbles).  For example, I felt like I was holding up the entire party during the thief-chat (and it didn't help that I ooc fumbled some of my words).

Additionally, I worry that Mjorðir's persona might not best fit with the group's personality. I'm fine with intra-party conflict, but I worry that Mjorðir's force of personality and strength of conviction might cause too much inter-PC conflict, given the number of staunchly un-lawful, areligious PCs. There's a reason there's a trope of the stick-in-the-mud paladin who always rains on the party's parade. Particularly in a campaign-style where we play almost one-shot episodes, I think most people would want to spend it stabbing trolls and collecting hack-silver than debating ethical and religious priorities. Consequently, I worry that inter-PC conflict spent on the latter might well lead to inter-player conflict and frustration.

Resultantly, and even after some reflection, I think the group might benefit if I table Mjorðir and try playing a different character. For example, a bastard-thief (rogue).

I spoke with Steerpike about these concerns and potential solutions, but I definitely welcome feedback from the other players.

Regarding other's participation:

I was really impressed by Ragnvaldr last session. I feel like he really came into his own, particularly during the duel. I loved his name-boasting mingled with his impassioned command for Hallvard to 'hold tight' to his blade. His parting words to the child-thief were also cool.

Steerpike

Thank you for the very flattering assessment, Rose-of-Vellum!

Quote from: Rose-of-VellumDo you have a heuristic or whatnot you use when crafting adventures (e.g., 2 encounters (social/martial/etc) per hour IRL)?

Sort of. I generally think that each session of 3 hours should have at least 2 significant encounters. In the Glima session it was the gate-guards and Thrivaldii, in the Drake-hunt the Myling and the Drakes, in the Widow/Outlaw the pickpocket and Hallvard. However I always have a store of "modular" encounters (the Myling, for example) that can be placed in different locations as required and as time permits.

I have not always been very good at judging the length of the adventures I prep. Spaceships, Sixguns & Cyclopean Horrors, for example, always took 1-2 sessions more than I'd planned.

Quote from: Rose-of-VellumI'm sorry we didn't get to battle the demon-wolves and black-haired rider, but I thought it was great to still include the scene.

You definitely weren't "intended" to fight her - she was more foreshadowing than anything. "Huh, we're being watched by a scary woman who rides with Vargar. Well, this probably isn't good..."

Quote from: Rose-of-VellumYou seemed ultra-prepared, and it payed off. I'm curious, how much prep time do you think you spent for the session? Both in coming up with the plot, character names, scripts, treasure, and music? Also, how much of the writing do you have done prior to the session? How much pre-written stuff did we not use/see?

I prepped most of this material awhile ago although the Outlaw quest was newly-written. Not sure exactly how long it took, but it was 3500 words including all of Hallvard's stats which were mostly copy/pasted and all of my GM-only notes that tell me thngs like DCs and the effects of weather and stuff. I'm a very fast writer these days - I can probably knock that off in an afternoon/evening, although in reality it's more something I plug at when I have a spare hour or two. I prep a lot more heavily for IRC than face-to-face gaming, though, because improvising descriptions over IRC is a recipe for an extremely slow game. You used pretty much all of the stuff I had planned, although if there'd been time I would have placed 1 more combat encounter. However there were a bunch of differnt solutions I had in mind for the quest which mostly weren't used.

Quote from: Rose-of-VellumeHow do create the onrepeat links? Do you upload your own youtube audio files or cherry-pick others? Regardless, I really enjoyed the links. Having two was nice, as I switched to the alternative if a scene lasted a while and/or the previous music got old for me (although one music file per scene would have been great).

The tabletop audio ones repeat automatically, but you can make any youtube video repeat simply by replacing the word "tube" in the URL with the word "repeat." A few videos' uploaders restrict this but it works for pretty much any video.

By the way, sometimes when I post two links (one ambient, one music) I'm imagining you guys listening to both simultaneously (i.e. arctic wind + music or tavern sounds + tavern music), although of course what you listen to and how you'd like to listen to it during the game is totally your prerogative. I would've liked to include a few more tracks for the Wulfheim sections, I think. Finding "Norse town music" that isn't from Skyrim is quite hard!

I certainly don't mind Mjorðir at all and think he could be a good addition, but I don't want to speak for the other players - but we've already talked, so I'll let the others respond.

Ghostman

#369
I for one don't have any complaints about Mjorðir's contribution to the latest game session. He seems to fall naturally in the role of "the party's face", something that we havent' really had in prior games because none of the other PCs fit that niche. He didn't come across as overbearing, although maybe a bit more zealous than I'd expected from a man of the old faith.

Re: the thief scene specifically, I think Mjorðir's involvement made that scene much more interesting than it would have been otherwise. Had it been up to her alone, Katla might have simply spanked the boy publicly or something, she certainly wouldn't have thought to start lecturing him about Tyr losing an arm to the Fenris wolf to make a point about morality. Then again, my own PC being involved in that same scene affects my POV; I won't argue with other players should they they feel that it dragged on for too long.
¡ɟlǝs ǝnɹʇ ǝɥʇ ´ʍopɐɥS ɯɐ I

Paragon * (Paragon Rules) * Savage Age (Wiki) * Argyrian Empire [spoiler=Mother 2]

* You meet the New Age Retro Hippie
* The New Age Retro Hippie lost his temper!
* The New Age Retro Hippie's offense went up by 1!
* Ness attacks!
SMAAAASH!!
* 87 HP of damage to the New Age Retro Hippie!
* The New Age Retro Hippie turned back to normal!
YOU WON!
* Ness gained 160 xp.
[/spoiler]

sparkletwist

Quote from: Rose-of-VellumI felt like I was holding up the entire party during the thief-chat
A little bit, but for what it's worth I personally wasn't bothered. At least Dagny is so obnoxious that when I start getting a bit impatient, she can get impatient too, and it's usually funny. Personally, I actually had a worse time during the conversation with Hallvard, because she had to be stealthy and couldn't engage in her usual antics.  :grin:

Quote from: Rose-of-VellumI worry that Mjorðir's persona might not best fit with the group's personality.
Maybe, but adventuring with this odd group is a chance for Mjorðir to grow as a character and see things in a different way, which seems like a good thing, and a fun and rewarding roleplay experience... and will allow him to mesh better as the story goes on.

Quote from: Rose-of-VellumI worry that inter-PC conflict spent on the latter might well lead to inter-player conflict and frustration.
I think this is only a real problem if the conflicts between the characters go beyond interesting ideological disagreements and witty banter and result in behavior that actively disrupts the game or the story, like trying to actively sabotage each other's plans or refusing to join an adventure or whatever. For example, Dagny wasn't really all that excited about Mjorðir's solution to the whole thing but she grumbled and dragged herself along because she was in it for Ragnvaldr's and Katla's sake, and it made for a better game for us if she wasn't completely difficult. I'd hope and expect you to show similar slack if Mjorðir was along on an adventure he might have some reasons to be opposed to, and possibly treat it as a chance for him to grow and become more open-minded.

Kindling

#371
Ragnvaldr doesn't like Mjorthir much. That doesn't mean that I don't like Mjorthir though, and it's also no reason Ragnvaldr can't work with him - how many of us have had "that guy" who rubs us the wrong way at work but put up with him for the sake of an easy life?

I'd say it's up to you, Rose-of-Vellum, if you want to carry on with Mjorthir that's great and I look forward to the - potentially somewhat strained but probably very fun to roleplay - interactions with him. If you want to try a different character, that's super cool too.

Also thanks for the compliments on Ragnvaldr! He's super fun to play, I love his duality of easy-going bon vivant and grim, hard-as-nails warrior. Like he's happy to coast along and sup mead and laugh at Dagny's jokes RIGHT UP UNTIL the point when a spear needs sticking in someone and then it's all business. And I imagine his (largely undefined) past is probably very very dark. You don't spend your life raiding and pillaging without getting your hands dirty....

EDIT: I'd also second what Ghostman said about it being natural for Mjorthir to become the face-type character for the party - I didn't feel like it trod on anyone else's toes at all, it was fun have happen!

EDIT2: I would also love to see Mjorthir meet Andreas.
all hail the reapers of hope

Steerpike

#372
Everyone gets 800xp for this last session - that doesn't include the story award, which will be more generous than normal but which you'll get once the quest is finished (since we had to call it early). Which brings me to an announcement - as Polycarp put it, we have basically run up against some of the limits of what can be done on IRC with Pathfinder. While there were some high points to last session, general consensus was that it got spatially quite confusing (heck: I got occasionally confused) and that a grid, visible to everyone, would greatly facilitate combat. I think I got a bit over-ambitious - a moving herd of aurochs, plus the wild hunt, plus two groups of PCs... yeah, it got fiddly!

After some searching Roll20 seems like the easist and most convenient option. You can create an account in about 2 minutes and it's as easy as clicking a link to join a game. I'm going to try and stick to IRC for the game itself (as sparkletwist has noted the chat and character sheet for Roll20 are not the best) and just use the program for the map. I'm going to be keeping the map super simple - it's basically just a grid. We'll refer to it as needed rather than playing primarily "on the map," so to speak. I think the little time setting up and spent manipulating things on the map will actually speed up the game quite a bit while preventing headaches. I think this could help a lot, and enable some of the more tactical aspects of pathfinder combat while alleivating confusion.

Rose-of-Vellum

Thanks, everyone, for their feedback, both here and post-game IRC chat.

I'm good to give the map a chance; it's certainly worth the try.