Ithildur's DM plans

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Ithildur
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Ithildur's DM plans

Post by Ithildur »

Hello folks, I'd just like to say one thing: if you have plans for a low lvl PC on TSM, give me a holler.

And especially so if you wish to play a bard type! I have some fun planned for bard lovers who deserve more support in ALFA than they tend to get; very handy that Silverymoon is known for it's arts and lore and the Fochlucan!

Otherwise, this still mostly holds true:

http://www.alandfaraway.org/phpBB3/view ... 93&t=49007
Just a few quick things that may be helpful to avoid uncertainty or confusion

1. Please be patient when things don't seem to be moving quite quickly; I tend to have longer area loading times than many folks, as well as having plenty of room for improvement on the client. Plus the Chooser and Creator bring my system to its knees.

2. Trust that I'm not out to intentionally screw anyone if things seem to be going south; I will strive to be as fair as I possibly can be while providing opportunities, possible risks, and consequences good or bad.

3. I generally encourage use of skill checks even when I don't call for it; you might've thought of an angle that I've not considered. Just make sure to let me know what/why you're rolling exactly. I'm generally quite open to PC's solving things by thinking outside the box/outside the game engine or doing something unexpected, and not having to juggle a large group facilitates this much more readily. However, refer to #1, and also please understand there are limitations due to the fact everything simply will not be 100% like PnP (i.e. polymorph, summon, etc might get you a few things beyond what the game engine allows if you provide in advance stats on something non crazy already in our game and compliant with the SRD/comparable to NWN2 default options).

4. I do utilize occasional secret rolls as well as 'dummy rolls' from time to time, especially when it comes to things like Bluff, Sense Motive, stealth, spot etc. Sometimes I'll ask for a straight d20 roll without specifying what it is, and take your modifier plus any circumstantial bonuses/penalties into account for the result. Refer to #2, this isn't to pull one over on you, but rather to keep things that are better kept as mysteries/unknown to you as just that, until/unless you (or your PC rather) pieces things together. If your character gets bonuses that are not reflected on your character sheet for whatever reason (i.e. rangers' favored enemies) please let me know ahead of time what those are.

So if you're asked to roll xyz or see a series of rolls being rolled by me... don't assume things oocly! You might end up quite surprised...

5. Ask questions if something's unclear oocly, as opposed to ICly; there will be times when your PC isn't quite sure what's up and it's intended, but ooc confusion is a different matter I'd prefer we try to get cleared up asap.




Just want to remind folks a couple of things with me DMing:

1. taking 20 for applicable skillchecks might not be a bad idea if you've a bit of time to work with. Taking 20 on a search check on a small area/item/corpse takes a couple of minutes, and might mean the difference between success and failure.

Or take 10 if not threatened just to get an average result if you believe that should be good enough for the job.

2. Sometimes I will use out of game engine traps. For these you often need to FIND a trap/trigger/switch/device before you can attempt to disable it, i.e. you generally need to search a specific area or areas for it; trap mechanisms are usually hidden well enough that a simple spot check will not reveal the means to disarm it (if it can be disarmed), and the more difficult traps require someone with rogue training to have a chance to find them

And yes, you CAN take 20/take 2 minutes to search a specific location within 5 to 10 square feet (canon is 5 foot square but I think a bit of leeway is fine especially since it's hard to figure out exactly how big/small 5 feet looks like in the game engine, just think relatively small area or single object of reasonable size/complexity); if you suspect that the stairstep you just stepped on is what might've triggered the trap, easy enough to thoroughly search that step for 2 minutes/thoroughly to find the hidden pressure plate or whatnot.

However, you can NOT take 20 on Disable Device.
Formerly: Aglaril Shaelara, Faerun's unlikeliest Bladesinger
Current main: Ky - something

It’s not the critic who counts...The credit belongs to the man who actually is in the arena, who strives violently, who errs and comes up short again and again...who if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement, but who if he fails, fails while daring greatly.-T. Roosevelt
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Ithildur
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Re: Ithildur's DM plans

Post by Ithildur »

I feel I need to add a couple of things:

I'll be experimenting occasionally with elements of the game/RP that hopefully serve to add to the flavor of the setting/server; i.e. the North is a very wild, dangerous, tough kind of place outside of settlements. Expect that at times (especially this time of the year) that weather may unexpectedly become a significant factor, even potentially deadly at times. Keep in mind it is wintertime currently, even if what you see in the module doesn't seem to reflect that.

Overland travel. Yes, we all know the OLM has some issues; I understand many don't like to spend any more time on it than necessary. But keep in mind the distance between various areas represented in the module; per the sourcebooks a trip from Silverymoon to Sundabar is over 150 miles and takes a tenday, sometimes double that time if the weather is bad enough. The distance from Silvy to High Hold is about 50 miles and is likely a smoother trip thanks to the more temperate conditions of the vale by the River Rauvin (and the well patrolled road). Similarly the trip from HH to Rivermoot is about 50 miles as well; both of those distances should be covered in about 3 days for most groups that have people in heavy armor.

While we might not RP all that out to the T every session (especially as time remains a very vague thing in ALFA), it's something to keep in mind. Sometimes it'll just end up taking too much time to RP out and should be assumed; however expect that at times these elements will become a factor during sessions.

Not all encounters are going to be scaled to serve up just the right level of CR; there are going to be times when fighting is not the best option. Conversely, some fights might turn out easier than you expect. Sufficiently high Knowledge (and other types of) checks may be invaluable in helping you assess encounters (though not always), at times life savers.

Not all traps are going to be interactive via game engine... (see above post)

Not all dangers/challenges, as well as potentially beneficial means of interacting with the environment, are going to be interactive/represented via game engine. Some creativity and use of imagination are greatly encouraged.
Formerly: Aglaril Shaelara, Faerun's unlikeliest Bladesinger
Current main: Ky - something

It’s not the critic who counts...The credit belongs to the man who actually is in the arena, who strives violently, who errs and comes up short again and again...who if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement, but who if he fails, fails while daring greatly.-T. Roosevelt
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Re: Ithildur's DM plans

Post by HEEGZ »

Sounds good! Looking forward to whatever you (guys) have planned for us. 8)
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Re: Ithildur's DM plans

Post by oldgrayrogue »

Same here Ith. Love all of these elements.

A few observations/suggestions from last nights session:

OOCly as players some of us (certainly me) were lost as to "directions" at the start of the session. A lot of time was wasted with us wandering around because we did not know OOC where to go. While being lost IC can certainly be a very fun part of the game, being lost last night was a result of the players not remembering/knowing things that their toons would certainly know. When this happens I'd suggest that you clear it up for us with a little OOC direction sooner rather than later. It just saves time.

A related issue is with the use of teleports. If you are ultimately going to port us to a prepared encounter areas (like the awesome area in the hills last night -- loved it!) just drop an OOC direction on that. Part of my confusion last night as to where to go was the result of me thinking as a player "Hmm where is Ith going to be able to set this encounter?" and walking in that direction. Just a quick //I am referring to the area above the plantation by the ruin, will port from there// from you will put us all on track to RP accordingly.

So just some constructive feedback. From my perspective the more realism you can create from weather, distances, terrain etc the better, but many of use are used to just RPing according to what we can do or see within the confines of the game engine as a default, unless told otherwise. A little setting of the scene OOCly by the "director" will help the actors out tremendously. You ultimately did this last night when you saw us fumbling about. My suggestion is if it is IC fumbling, let us walk around in circles, if it is OOC fumbling, give us a little push in the right direction, or even better just map out where we travel etc OOC from the get go.
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Ithildur
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Re: Ithildur's DM plans

Post by Ithildur »

Yeah, eventually I realized folks who were there for the session when the kobold was spotted weren't sure they needed to go. I thought it would be fairly intuitive (directions to go NE towards where the dude was spotted and beyond) but upon further thought I could see it wasn't the case, especially with a couple folks missing.

When I saw the group looking into the temple ruins I thought you guys were stopping there to do a static quest or something, which is why I stopped and asked for clarfication on what options you guys were pursuing.

Will work on clearer ways to provide clues in situations like this, though note that sometimes getting lost/wandering might lead to adventurers both glorious and unpleasant... and sometimes I plan to purposely leave things open ended/ambiguous (though not the intent last night) when traveling the wilds. Makes survival/outdoorsy skills much more important, which is imo quite important in a setting like TSM.
Formerly: Aglaril Shaelara, Faerun's unlikeliest Bladesinger
Current main: Ky - something

It’s not the critic who counts...The credit belongs to the man who actually is in the arena, who strives violently, who errs and comes up short again and again...who if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement, but who if he fails, fails while daring greatly.-T. Roosevelt
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Re: Ithildur's DM plans

Post by Ithildur »

Some basic 'rules' I'd like to experiment with:

Special Attacks/Combat Manuevers - we don't offer the option to take various Improved versions of stuff like Grapple, Bull Rush, etc other than Disarm and KD/trip. If you feel that such an attack might be appropriate for a situation for your character, these are some baseline rules I'd like to use:

1. ignore the AOO rules upon attempting such without the Improved feats (since we don't have them available, plus we lack streamlined ways to calculate/apply extra AOOs), i.e. no AOO provoked by attempting special attacks (other than the usual AOOs provoked for say, moving past a hostile without tumble/spring attack) even if you lack the 'Improved X' feat.

2. to balance the fact that the above means special attacks may become more attractive options, I'm going to reduce the size modifier advantage to +2 for each category vs SRD's +4, and small defenders get their penalties reduced to -2 per size category. Hopefully this means stuff like grapple from large folks is still scary, but not quite as roflcrazy as it gets in pnp. HOWEVER, if by the book a creature gets Improved versions of the special attack feats (or stuff like Improved Grab), they'll get the full +4 bonus, and small defender has normal penalties (increments of -4).

3. Initiating most special attacks requires an attack roll, either touch or regular; as much as possible I prefer to use the combat engine's standard attack rolls to keep it simple, though at times that doesn't work as the attack shouldn't do dmg. In such cases dice rollers will be used to resolve success/failure of the attack rolls; please try and be aware of what your attack roll modifier is if you plan on using special attacks (usually STR bonus + BAB + any size modifiers, unless you have Weapon Finesse then DEX. Weapon focus, weapon enhancement, etc do not apply unless you're using the weapon, i.e. disarm).

4. resolve the special attack/maneuver once it's confirmed that the attack roll connects (if one is required; note Bull Rush and Overrun do not require attack roll) usually via opposed checks (both PC and NPC roll) done by dice roller:

Bull Rush: straight STR check + size modifier
Grapple: BAB+STR+size
Disarm or Sunder: (weapon) attack roll vs defender's (weapon) attack roll+size modifiers+2hander/light weapon bonus/penalty
Overrun or Trip: STR + size (defender can oppose with Dex + size)

Bull Rush, Overrun, Trip defenders add any extra stability bonus (more than 2 legs, dwarf). Grappled targets can use Escape Artist to escape.


There are some elements that will have to be handwaved a bit to avoid a situation where say a single grapple attempt takes 30 minutes to resolve, but as much as possible I'd like to present options outside the game engine as long as it doesn't get out of hand.
Formerly: Aglaril Shaelara, Faerun's unlikeliest Bladesinger
Current main: Ky - something

It’s not the critic who counts...The credit belongs to the man who actually is in the arena, who strives violently, who errs and comes up short again and again...who if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement, but who if he fails, fails while daring greatly.-T. Roosevelt
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Re: Ithildur's DM plans

Post by Ithildur »

A clarification on Scent ability vs Invisible creatures in combat:
A creature with the scent ability can detect opponents by sense of smell, generally within 30 feet.

The creature detects another creature’s presence but not its specific location. Noting the direction of the scent is a move action. If it moves within 5 feet of the scent’s source, the creature can pinpoint that source.
'Pinpoint' is what's required to make an attack vs the actual 'space' that an invisible creature occupies, with 50% miss chance even then (hence the Displacement); otherwise you're flailing at the air guessing and hoping he's somewhere within reach. The first round after he drank the pot, those surrounding him knew exactly where he was even if invisible so no further checks were required. After he started running however, perception checks were required to pinpoint, and Keasel would've had to stay step for step with target to pinpoint with Scent.

Also, Listen checks normally require an extraordinarily high result to pinpoint a target's location:
A Listen check that beats the DC by 20 pinpoints the invisible creature's location.
Pinpointing an invis person with DEX 10 and no Move Silently ranks requires Listen check of 30 to pinpoint if they're actively trying to move quietly/slowly and taking 10 (outside of combat) or getting a very average roll.

DC goes down to 20 if invisible creature is 'in combat or speaking'.

If target is running, DC is lower still (usually their MS check) to pinpoint, but the idea is... even a creature running in panic while bleeding on snow requires a pretty good listen check to pinpoint (not detect, pinpoint exactly where they are; somewhat comparable to Bane knowing exactly where Batman was in the dark in Dark Knight Rises).

I did grant circumstantial bonuses due to the situation (blood on snow, panicked mage, etc. though in retrospect it was probably overdone), and that proved to be enough for 2 folks to stay on him, and for Bjorn to pinpoint and get a swing in (with 50% miss chance still), and roll well enough to connect.
Formerly: Aglaril Shaelara, Faerun's unlikeliest Bladesinger
Current main: Ky - something

It’s not the critic who counts...The credit belongs to the man who actually is in the arena, who strives violently, who errs and comes up short again and again...who if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement, but who if he fails, fails while daring greatly.-T. Roosevelt
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Re: Ithildur's DM plans

Post by Ithildur »

btw, planning on a followup session tonight (a shorter one).
Formerly: Aglaril Shaelara, Faerun's unlikeliest Bladesinger
Current main: Ky - something

It’s not the critic who counts...The credit belongs to the man who actually is in the arena, who strives violently, who errs and comes up short again and again...who if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement, but who if he fails, fails while daring greatly.-T. Roosevelt
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Re: Ithildur's DM plans

Post by HEEGZ »

ok. i'll be on
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Re: Ithildur's DM plans

Post by kiyoti »

I should be there as well.
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Ithildur
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Re: Ithildur's DM plans

Post by Ithildur »

Just a heads up, RL looks to be picking up again as I expected, and some priorities need to be juggled. I'm hoping to get some time in on the DMC this week, but it may be spotty or at best limited to Euro hours on a couple of days.

My plans for trying to get a plot going again have definitely slowed significantly atm, simply because of other things preoccupying my attention/concern.

The good news for all TSM folks: Wynna has picked up the wand again and started to thwack people with it, on top of lots of building/fixing the module. Rejoice. 8)

And I still have specific plans to kill certain individuals sometime soon. :twisted:
Formerly: Aglaril Shaelara, Faerun's unlikeliest Bladesinger
Current main: Ky - something

It’s not the critic who counts...The credit belongs to the man who actually is in the arena, who strives violently, who errs and comes up short again and again...who if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement, but who if he fails, fails while daring greatly.-T. Roosevelt
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Re: Ithildur's DM plans

Post by Ithildur »

Bleh. I've been sick as a dog for over a week now. This is the worst I've been sick in a long time. :(
Formerly: Aglaril Shaelara, Faerun's unlikeliest Bladesinger
Current main: Ky - something

It’s not the critic who counts...The credit belongs to the man who actually is in the arena, who strives violently, who errs and comes up short again and again...who if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement, but who if he fails, fails while daring greatly.-T. Roosevelt
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Re: Ithildur's DM plans

Post by dergon darkhelm »

Ithildur wrote:Bleh. I've been sick as a dog for over a week now. This is the worst I've been sick in a long time. :(
Been going about here. Take care of yourself... lots of sleep, hydration all that.

Get well soon!
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Re: Ithildur's DM plans

Post by HEEGZ »

Ithildur wrote:Bleh. I've been sick as a dog for over a week now. This is the worst I've been sick in a long time. :(
Sorry to hear it! Hope you get well soon.
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Re: Ithildur's DM plans

Post by Ithildur »

I'm currently considering a somewhat experimental mini (2 or 3 sessions, NOT comic book timed; your PC may be stuck and largely unplayable outside of the sessions other than RPing with others who are stuck with you) plot/quest for the purposes of trying out/possibly incorporating elements that work into future DMing.

Some details:

-Low to mid lvls, around lvl 1 - 6 range
-Combat will likely be minimal, though if PCs wish to seek out combat they can choose to do so, likely at much greater peril than most folks these days are accustomed to
-Dangers from the environment (i.e. weather, terrain, etc) will play a much bigger role than in most ALFA sessions; having at least 1 PC with outdoorsy skills will make life a lot easier. One of the goal is to have skills and wits in general be much more useful than combat builds; another is to highlight the fact that this is the Savage Frontier, the North, and a lot of places are extremely dangerous with or without monsters.
-Moderately slow-ish pace; will attempt to build a cinematic feel with descriptions of environment, creatures, etc. in some detail whenever appropriate or timely, with space for PC's to respond to/interact with such. Feel free to frequently ask for descriptions/details if such is not given; sometimes they may mean difference between success/failure/life or death
-In spite of combat not being a focus, this will be a fairly high risk/challenging adventure; success will not be easy, and things could turn very deadly in unexpected ways. There will be chances to turn back and accept failure, though if the choice to turn back is made too late, it may be, well, too late.
-Rewards for success will match the risk factor
-The -6 'floor' may be removed if it's deemed to have a negative impact on the sessions.


I would recommend being fully prepared to lose your PCs, possibly to a kind of death that makes you say 'That was... not at all fun.' A semi-disposable alt might hurt less than your main PC.

It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea and/or may turn out to be less than successful, which is why I put out all these caveats and am putting out a feeler to see if there's interest at all. If you're a fan of, say, Jon Krakauer books (Into the Wild) you might enjoy this even if your PC ends up dying.

If anyone is in fact interested, post here and let me know.
Formerly: Aglaril Shaelara, Faerun's unlikeliest Bladesinger
Current main: Ky - something

It’s not the critic who counts...The credit belongs to the man who actually is in the arena, who strives violently, who errs and comes up short again and again...who if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement, but who if he fails, fails while daring greatly.-T. Roosevelt
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