03-28-2018, 01:04 AM | #21 |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
|
Re: [Spoilers] Experience running ISAR and some concerns
|
03-28-2018, 08:07 AM | #22 |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
|
Re: [Spoilers] Experience running ISAR and some concerns
Every profession, every race-profession combo, and every customization choice falls somewhere on the "total losing"-to-"OVERWHELMING POWER" spectrum. Nothing is at 0 or 100 . . . it's all somewhere in the middle. Of course, some choices are easier to play than others.
This isn't a design flaw! There are players for whom "fun" = "making a marginal character work" and others for whom "fun" = "dominating out of the gate." The game aims to deliver both. We shouldn't be unduly harsh on people new to the DFRPG, the GURPS engine, fantasy RPGs, or even all RPGs for not knowing this, and therefore running into trouble. I wrote Advice: Scaling Encounters (p. 3) to minimize the odds of such difficulty, but ultimately it's impossible to plan for every combination of professions, abilities, gear, and player strategies. I will make two lists that could help new groups, though. First is the list of professions in order from easiest to hardest to play usefully if you lack system mastery: Barbarian – Hits hard and can take hits. All you really need are three magic words: "I hit it!" Don't sweat gear; ST makes any weapon effective, and Tough Skin can cover for no armor. Bonus: Useful out of combat, thanks to noncombat abilities like Stealth and Tracking.Second is the list of importance to a well-rounded adventuring party, which isn't the same thing: A-List
__________________
Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
03-28-2018, 08:30 AM | #23 | |
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Sydney
|
Re: [Spoilers] Experience running ISAR and some concerns
Quote:
Even a 250 pt NPC Cleric |
|
03-28-2018, 02:28 PM | #24 | ||
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
|
Re: [Spoilers] Experience running ISAR and some concerns
Quote:
I've yet to see one played consistently for a long stretch as the Players always decide that the Profession just isn't working out for them. Quote:
|
||
03-28-2018, 11:57 PM | #25 |
Join Date: Jan 2011
|
Re: [Spoilers] Experience running ISAR and some concerns
Excellent lists, thank you!
I feel that now I understand the assumptions behind DFRPG better, which will help avoid trouble in the future. I still think that it's at least a bit weird to design classes such that they'll be useless most of the time (or unless you pick one specific way to optimize them) but I'm more aware of the traps now, so I can help my players better. lachimba, I did. I kinda made them bring henchmen the second session. But remember, they're newbies - they didn't consider henchmen even though I specifically told them they exist. It was simply not part of their experience and corpus of ideas to deal with "suboptimal party". Again, I didn't want to force anything on them and so they went without henchmen.
__________________
A Literate Programmer's Blog: My blog about whatever comes to mind, including GURPS. |
03-29-2018, 12:09 AM | #26 |
Join Date: Jan 2011
|
Re: [Spoilers] Experience running ISAR and some concerns
Oh yeah, and just to be clear - what quirky combat rule that only applies to scouts are you referring to, Kromm?
__________________
A Literate Programmer's Blog: My blog about whatever comes to mind, including GURPS. |
03-29-2018, 01:10 AM | #27 |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
|
Re: [Spoilers] Experience running ISAR and some concerns
Probably the Move and Attack Maneuver rule about taking a -2 or the weapon's bulk as a penalty which Heroic Archers are immune too, but Scouts are the only Profession to really ever do.
|
03-29-2018, 02:19 AM | #28 | ||
Join Date: Aug 2004
|
Re: [Spoilers] Experience running ISAR and some concerns
Quote:
Quote:
I suppose it's possible that those are four rather arbitrary roles, and the genre has shaped itself over the decades to keep them at the forefront. But I suspect, instead, that Gygax and friends perceived from the start that those four make up something special.
__________________
T Bone GURPS stuff and more at the Games Diner: http://www.gamesdiner.com Twitter: @Gamesdiner | RSS: here ⬅︎ Updated RSS link | This forum: Site updates thread (occasionally updated) (Latest goods on site: GLAIVE Mini levels up to v2.4. Update to melee weapon design tool, with more example weapons and commentary.) |
||
03-29-2018, 07:42 AM | #29 |
Doctor of GURPS Ballistics
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Lakeville, MN
|
Re: [Spoilers] Experience running ISAR and some concerns
Why "alas?" DFRPG is not getting another *print run*. It's not "please don't send us ideas for new products."
__________________
My blog:Gaming Ballistic, LLC My Store: Gaming Ballistic on Shopify My Patreon: Gaming Ballistic on Patreon |
03-29-2018, 07:55 AM | #30 | |
Join Date: Jan 2006
|
Re: [Spoilers] Experience running ISAR and some concerns
Quote:
|
|
Tags |
i smell a rat, isar, party composition |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|