The first of the Needle's guest sessions is over and a new
one has began. As I mentioned a few weeks back I had come up with the idea for
a Guldspar descriptor. A player from the community by the name of +Andrew Wieland took up the mantle. You'll find out later on this week how he plays his
Guldspar but his character was definitely something me and my players were not
expecting. In fact the Guldspar has joined the group as a permanent member.
However there is a flip side to this. Due to new commitments, Chance's
character is now retired indefinitely. If you've been following from Season One
you would know him better as Chloe. So I would just like to say thank-you to
him for playing and I hope we play again soon.
However I still want you at my table! If you've been
watching Real Rollplay on itmeJP's channel on You Tube, they've been running
West Marches. It a DnD 5e living town, for multiple one shots, to help build a
universe. I've used this as inspiration for Season 2. Your character and your
actions will be added to the Needle's lore, placed in the character hall of
fame on the Wikia and will hopefully not brutally murdered. If you like the
idea of the possibility of the chance of not being brutally murdered by your
GM, come join me on Saturdays at 2pm EST. Give me a shout ahead of time on
either twitter @proftesla, on here or on Skype professor_tesla.
Now that's out of the way I can talk about what I really
want to, Lady Luck. She's fickle, loves everyone but you and dresses up as
RNJesus and sits on your shoulder as you play. By the time you've finished a
game she probably owns your soul an immeasurable amount of times over and
cursed your dice forever. In the Numenera universe, I personally don't see
enough of her. If your characters keep back enough XP, she can be easily
dismissed. Training and skills knock her down to size along with any relevant
extras. If players essentially control the difficulty then how can fate
intervene.
Now the Cypher System does have that in place with the GM
Intrusion but this is human. A person decides when things are thrown into
chaos. I've been trying with my games to keep myself as far removed from chance
when it comes to skills. I use GM Intrusions to throw complications at the
players that perform a functional role, such as changing combat situations, ambient
assaults and for when things slow down a little. I've given Lady Luck the
chance to mess things up for my players herself by increasing the amount of
rolls they do.
For my game nothing is ever certain and nothing is ever
guaranteed, unless the difficulty is zero. I've found all too often from other
players that as soon as someone becomes skilled it becomes far too varied a
skill and applicable in more than one situation. In life someone can become
trained as a runner, but they will become specialised in long distance, sprint,
cross country etc. This is how I've been
working my skill system. A player can be trained in the Numenera, but Skilled
in a special subsection such as mechanical or biological. This has helped my
characters not only get a better understanding of their characters, it also
invites chaos as specialising will always have its inherent flaws giving rise
to chaos and complication
.
I also try to get characters to roll as much as possible.
Sometimes a player will give a long rant about their actions and for some of
them, a GM could allow without a roll. However nearly everything has a chance
to go wrong so as they talk, I create them as a series of events. Conflicts
between players involve a modified dice rolls from both parties and not just a
one sided affair. Also psychologically, sometimes I will be mean and just ask
for a dice roll even if nothing is involved. Sometimes a failed perception
check is just that, or perhaps you just missed your doom. Never knowing what's
real, where's safest to go, and what lies ahead are my key tools for woo-ing
Lady Luck. There is one huge caveat to
all of this, it suits my campaign and my play style. I play completely ad-hoc
with some notes and an general idea and the more rolls my characters do, the
more the narrative develops for me and the game becomes more interesting and
more deadly for them. I will keep saying this, your style is what makes you a
GM, improving your skills is always good. If it doesn't feel right, don't force
it because it's a good idea, or a lot of people suggested. You will always know
what suits you.
GMs: How do you deal with a player who talks about multiple
rounds of action? Do you allow it, break it down into rounds, get them to roll
for part of it or something completely different. Do you invite Lady Luck to your table often,
could you throw something at your players that puts everything into chaos in
just one dice roll?
Players: When has
Lady Luck cut you down in your prime, or given you a vast wealth. Was that down
to pure luck or did something in the game help you with your aim. If so, try to
find other assets that have been unused, ask your GM for anything to help you
out. Throwing chaos into your solution
not only brings excitement and intensity, both you and your GM will become more
engaged (and for me as a GM, really happy).
Talk you guys next week and hope you enjoy this weeks now permanent
player. Remember to get in touch via the comments or on twitter @proftesla and
please come join!
/Drew - Tesla
No comments:
Post a Comment