Current Play: Portland Debacle

oldwolf · 06-01-2019, 08:12 AM

With TFT, I think it is critical to point out the deadliness of the combat. That in an actual campaign, any time the PCs find themselves in anything resembling a fair fight, they have screwed up spectacularly in the prior planning department.

TFT requires players to approach combat the way a police swat team approaches a raid on a drug dealer: total surprise and overwhelming force.

The combat does, however require a fair bit of practice. This can be done a couple of ways. 1. Start off a game session with some quick arena combat between NPCs run by the players. The PCs are assumed to be in the audience watching the poor gladiators get their livers carved out. Afterwards the PCs can discuss what worked, what didn't and why they would never be gladiators, while having a brew at the local tavern. This then transitions to their planning for the sessions main adventure. Or. 2. Arrange to start with in character combat training using practice weapons that leave marks and some bruises but no actual injury. In this case the players use their normal PCs and the training is part of the roleplay. This works quite well if the PCs are all part of some organized group: A mercenary company, local militia, retainers of the local minor lord, etc. Once more, after the practice combat the PCs gather someplace, perhaps the mess hall, and plan the sessions main adventure.

06-01-2019, 08:12 AM	#10
oldwolf Join Date: Oct 2018	Re: Current Play: Portland Debacle With TFT, I think it is critical to point out the deadliness of the combat. That in an actual campaign, any time the PCs find themselves in anything resembling a fair fight, they have screwed up spectacularly in the prior planning department. TFT requires players to approach combat the way a police swat team approaches a raid on a drug dealer: total surprise and overwhelming force. The combat does, however require a fair bit of practice. This can be done a couple of ways. 1. Start off a game session with some quick arena combat between NPCs run by the players. The PCs are assumed to be in the audience watching the poor gladiators get their livers carved out. Afterwards the PCs can discuss what worked, what didn't and why they would never be gladiators, while having a brew at the local tavern. This then transitions to their planning for the sessions main adventure. Or. 2. Arrange to start with in character combat training using practice weapons that leave marks and some bruises but no actual injury. In this case the players use their normal PCs and the training is part of the roleplay. This works quite well if the PCs are all part of some organized group: A mercenary company, local militia, retainers of the local minor lord, etc. Once more, after the practice combat the PCs gather someplace, perhaps the mess hall, and plan the sessions main adventure.