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Old 08-22-2018, 05:44 PM   #1
CardDiceian
 
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Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Berkshire - UK
Default The first attempt at my campaign.

I've only just started re-playing this, after a break since the 80's, and then I just played Melee or Wizard - So have never been the GM or story teller.

I wrote the story, filled it with characters, and built storylines for them - Then let my son loose in the tavern to see what would happen - He created slightly more experienced characters (34 pt instead of 32), and I tried to have the adversaries as a bit weaker - (so the ones he had to fight had a start of about 33) - Unfortunately they still proved to be too powerful,and in 2 combats his main characters were killed.

First combat, because it was in town none of the NPCs or player characters were in armour except one on each side, and that figure was also carrying a weapon rather than a club or dagger. It was supposed to be more of a pub brawl than a fight to the death - but even when my winning characters tried to end it calling a truce the fight continued and my sons team were pounded.

I sent them back to the tavern to recover (Not sure how many rest days they should have had - but I had them fighting fit again in a couple of days.)

Anyway, 2nd encounter, I suggested (via the inn-keeper that perhaps they should remain in their armour and carry their weapon, as it's a rough area)

With a strong townsman accompanying them, making a party of 5 + a reduced number of bad guys (one had been killed)down to just 2 - they still managed to get their main man killed and a couple of others seriously wounded.

Now I'm left thinking - what is the best way to run this story, so they can enjoy it, not get killed so quickly. Maybe I should give the NPCs weapons that are a bit low for their ST? Perhaps I should give his party a few more attribute points so they are considerably stronger than the foes?

Part of it might have been some lucky dice rolls - But even so - If they come up against the pair of black bears I had in store for them, that would be the end.

Not sure
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Old 08-22-2018, 06:58 PM   #2
Rick_Smith
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Coquitlam B.C.
Default 1st campaign is too deadly...

Quote:
Originally Posted by CardDiceian View Post
I've only just started re-playing this, after a break since the 80's, and then I just played Melee or Wizard - So have never been the GM or story teller. ...

Part of it might have been some lucky dice rolls - But even so - If they come up against the pair of black bears I had in store for them, that would be the end. ...
Hi CardDiceian,
Some might argue that the essence of TFT is to kill lots of characters off. Your players are supposed to enjoy the death and failure.

However, if you want to make your campaign less deadly, some suggestions...

-- Relax the death rules a bit. For example: Unconscious at ST 1 and 0, mortally wounded at -1 ST to -3 ST (but can be healed), dead at -4 ST or lower. (I think that this is the biggest thing. In TFT there is an unrealistically narrow gap between the active and the dead.)

-- Allow them to gain XP and advance other ways than just fighting, and then give them chances to earn XP that way.

-- Not every session needs a tough fight.

-- The typical fights that you throw at them should be pretty easy. There is enough randomness, that an easy fight can turn bad very quickly.

-- Plan big fights so that they A) seem more dangerous than they are, and B) you can quietly make them tougher if they prove too easy. By 'quietly', I mean that they can't tell it was not that dangerous all along.

-- Get in the habit of throwing a weird ass event (or two) into most fights. This teaches that combat is chaotic, and it allows you to toss in something to help the players, without it seeming like an obvious save.

-- Encourage players to take heavy armor as soon as possible.

-- Most groups won't fight to the death. After enemy has taken 1/3 to 1/2 their total hits, they should be seriously thinking about running.

-- Let the PC's know that THEY can run, if the going gets too tough.

-- Allow fights to turn into running fights. PC's start losing so they run. Enemy chases. Now the players have to do clever tricks to increase their lead and escape. Less dangerous, and makes losing a fight seem like a victory. (Hooray! we lost them!)

-- Have non-violent confrontations. Bad guy needs to be stopped with diplomacy, cutting his supply lines, causing his ally to abandon him, burning a key bridge, convincing a monster to move into area, winning a legal case, finding an important document, convincing his bride-to-be to marry a PC instead, etc.

-- Allow the PC's more allies in fights. Animal handlers get a pet giant scorpion, apprentice fighters who work for quarter shares of treasure plus training, mercenaries they hire to bulk out their force, etc.

-- Goal of adventure is to gain information and piece together a mystery / puzzle.


My campaign has puzzles within puzzles. Maybe one session in 3 has a big fight. The players spend much of their time plotting and figuring, trying to figure out how to get more information, and test hypothesis.

Hope some of this helps!

Warm regards, Rick.
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Old 08-22-2018, 07:00 PM   #3
larsdangly
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Default Re: The first attempt at my campaign.

I think campaign play with TFT works best if you try not to organize/schedule specific fights for your PCs, and instead just focus on creating a cool environment that the can wander around in sandbox style. This way, they will avoid things they aren't up for, and if they miscalibrate and get their butts handed to them, it was their own decision. For this reason, I try to get out of the 'encounter' mindset of GM'ing. Or at least organize encounters in such a way that there really is a totally valid option to walk away.
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Old 08-22-2018, 07:01 PM   #4
larsdangly
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Default Re: The first attempt at my campaign.

Also, plants and nuisance creatures are the GM's best friend: fun, interesting, varied, and not too deadly
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Old 08-22-2018, 07:12 PM   #5
red2
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Default Re: The first attempt at my campaign.

I also picked this game up to play with my kids after not playing since the early 80s, when I really only played melee. I went through the same thing - how to keep it fun without killing them off too fast (they are still quite young and get attached to their characters). A good trick that isn't too obvious is to give the opponents a low dx, like 9 or 10. That way they don't get hit too often. Even a 20 st giant isn't that hard to beat if his dx is only 8.
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Old 08-22-2018, 07:42 PM   #6
malchidael
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Near Milwaukee, WI
Default Re: The first attempt at my campaign.

TFT is particularly brutal - for a tactical game, it's wonderful. For a role-playing game where you want to tell a story, and have characters that survive (especially if the players are young - you didn't mention age), it can be tough.

My opinion is, if you want to play rules-as-written, and you want the PC's to have a high chance of survival, the opponents have to definitely be under-strength and cowardly.

Here are a bunch of random suggestions, in no particular order, and completely IMHO. I'm in a very stream-of-consciousness mood right now :)

Sentient foes run away or surrender at first blood (or an indication that it will be a "fair fight") - after all, no one wants to die, especially if the people they are fighting seem hell-bent on slaughter.

Instead of 33 point adversaries, use 28 point adversaries (an "average" person is 30 points, and half the people they meet will be weaker than that). Heck, a few 24-point adversaries are still a threat - just not a huge one.

If they're fighting in a bar, their opponents might be drunk - give them -2DX.

In general, unless they are facing trained warriors, most of their foes will have daggers, clubs, spears or small axes, regardless of their strength. That old man in the bar with a broadsword at his belt.... He's someone to be scared of. The drunk thug with a dagger - less so.

Don't forget - Defend is a fantastic tactic - it allows one character to engage foes and defend, while the other characters flank or use archery/spells to take out the enemy. That's a perfect use for the strong townsman NPC.

Two bears will be a bit much for 34-point characters - a black bear is a 37-point creature. Wild dogs, or Rodents of Unusual Size would be a better choice (IMHO, of course).

Give them a wizard NPC. Blur, Drop Weapon, Fire and Illusion are fantastic spells with good defensive uses. I wouldn't have the wizard fight - just support.

Give them each the Warrior and Veteran talents for free. That extra 2 points of armor can be a game changer, and it really doesn't cause much of a problem in the long run. If you want to balance it out, make them buy those talents as soon as they meet the requirements.

Good luck!
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Old 08-22-2018, 07:45 PM   #7
JohnPaulB
 
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Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Portland, Maine
Default Re: 1st campaign is too deadly...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick_Smith View Post
Hi CardDiceian,
-- Not every session needs a tough fight.

-- The typical fights that you throw at them should be pretty easy. There is enough randomness, that an easy fight can turn bad very quickly.

-- Get in the habit of throwing a weird ass event (or two) into most fights. This teaches that combat is chaotic, and it allows you to toss in something to help the players, without it seeming like an obvious save.

-- Most groups won't fight to the death. After enemy has taken 1/3 to 1/2 their total hits, they should be seriously thinking about running.

Warm regards, Rick.
Have the enemy not interested in killing the heroes, just capturing them for ransom or robbery. If robbery, they take their weapons. But the best scenario would be ransom, because now the heroes are held in a dungeon and must work social skills to survive while their friends work on a way to get them out or break them out. And guess what: The players make additional friend characters to do this. Your heroes are still in play and you got a whole different style of play for your next scenario.
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Old 08-22-2018, 10:47 PM   #8
larsdangly
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Default Re: The first attempt at my campaign.

Combat in TFT is designed to be competitive, meaning you might lose. It's just intrinsic to the game because of its roots as a head to head board game. No one wants to play chess when the game is stacked for one side. So, the trick as a GM is to figure out how to play several hours of roleplaying when actual fights are always dicy affairs.
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Old 08-22-2018, 11:05 PM   #9
Jim Kane
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Default Re: The first attempt at my campaign.

Combat in TFT is brutal, fast, and deadly.

If you want to fight as a Melee contest and not risk death, use the rules about fighting until "first blood" only, or use rules where you do 1/2 damage by hitting with the flat of your blade (or take the tips off your arrows).

However, if you want to adventure on Cidri with a higher survival-rate, you must avoid combat when at all possible; and focus on more expedition and discovery type adventures - hired to survey an unmapped territory is a good one, or hired to collect exotic plant samples by a naturalist or wizard - as opposed to playing "Storm the Goblin Palace"; where many shall surely die.

JK

Last edited by Jim Kane; 08-22-2018 at 11:39 PM. Reason: Typo
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Old 08-23-2018, 02:24 AM   #10
CardDiceian
 
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Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Berkshire - UK
Default Re: The first attempt at my campaign.

Thanks all - Some really great suggestions there - (I had already tried a couple of them - ie, the orcs trying to call off the fight once they had the upper hand. Also using a much more relaxed 'death' so that the losing characters can be hauled away to recover over time.

I'll be printing off a lot of these suggestions and working them in - If it's OK, I'd like to start a thread which is a sort of battle / campaign report, perhaps in story form with stats? - which should help develop the campaign, might be useful to others who are relative newcomers,and would welcome any tips to improve the next chapters.
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