It's Working!

[oldgrayrogue]

So maybe its just cyclical. Or maybe we have more active DMs lately. But this is the second time in recent memory that the infestation mechanic has led to a clear uptick in gameplay. There are infestations going on right now on TSM (goblins) and on BG (Rats). I know they make me log in more.

I see this as a very easy way to keep things fresh in ALFA. It provides context for RP and for adventuring. Thanks DMs for doing this on both servers (and Zelk for creating it!). DMA should think about speaking with all HDMs and DMs about making regular infestations ongoing ALFA wide policy.

[kid]

This is true.

Well, at least the it's been fun part. No idea what's the policy needed, but either way, mechanics work splendidly.

[Mick]

Agreed. This has been a lot of fun. Thanks to HEEGZ and JLM for overseeing the mayhem on TSM!

Also a big thanks to Zelk for creating such an interesting and powerful tool!

[Duck One]

Content is attractive. Who knew? JLM has been putting out a ton of content, and it we're eating it up. Heegz has been stepping up too. It's fresh, engaging, challenging, and rewarding. A party of 11 roaming for hours in the mountains. Another of 6 up to the glacier. Not sure how Zelk's tool works, but if it allows these DM's to create this stuff quicker, I rather like it. I saw a peak of 14 players on TSM (12 PC's, 2 DM's). Lots of fun. Thanks fellas.

[kid]

We'll need to ask the supervising DMs, but as far as I know (never tested yet), the Zelk tool spawns the the bastards, litters the area with them, spawns loot bags, allows for the creation of bosses who guide the forces.
The infestation spreads from screen to screen without DM involvement, and the part thickest with them -should- be the center of the infestation.

It's quite possible our DMs spawned a few things on their own of course (I think that the mechanics doesn't spawn traps - but not sure). Either way, it helps a lot.

[oldgrayrogue]

In terms of policy, my suggestion would be that each ALFA server have one infestation, with or without DM involvement, active at all times, and that the HDM of the server (or his/her designee) Make at least one forum post providing story based context for the infestation. I would also suggest that, unless story driven, the infestation must be changed a minimum of 4 times per calendar year.

Of course, DMs are always free to do more than that, but it would be great if all HDMs and the DMA could get together to agree on this at a minimum. So for example, you could change your infestations more often, or have more than one going at the same time, or design a whole campaign around them if you want, but you should at least have one going at all times.

This simple policy would inject a sense of life, realism, randomness, adventure and an overarching context for player RP on every server. And it works.

[Zelknolf]

We'll need to ask the supervising DMs, but as far as I know (never tested yet), the Zelk tool spawns the the bastards, litters the area with them, spawns loot bags, allows for the creation of bosses who guide the forces.

Yes. It does those things. Though I should clarify that the boss' ability to lead doesn't actually affect the infestation. The growth rate of the infestation is directly proportional to the number of bosses-- and so a DM looking for an effect like "this horrible pile of black puddings is taking over the land," they'd just pick more black puddings as the "bosses" to make it grow (and fill every tier with more black puddings), and PCs would have trouble telling whether they've actually scorched enough black puddings to make them stop growing (which makes some sense, on account that black pudding can't surrender).

Not sure how Zelk's tool works, but if it allows these DM's to create this stuff quicker, I rather like it.

It's about ten clicks to build a simple infestation, even if you've lost one hand and only have one finger on the other hand (click to open the creator, click to pick a monster, click to place that monster, click to open infestations, click add monster, click the placed monster, click to pick a monster, click to place that monster, click add boss, click placed monster).

The complexity of the workflow doesn't change, though it does become more time consuming if you want some of the special effects (like minibosses, which requires that you select and add minibosses, or especially-densely-packed areas, which require at least three tiers of spawns, or diversity of spawn types, which requires that you pick a lot of different kinds of monsters at each tier). Still, the tool operation is pretty quick. About five minutes once you know what you want. DMs usually spend more time selecting their challenge than actually operating the tool.

In the past, such an effect would be hours in the toolset and would mean disabling work done in the affected areas, as you'd have to plan for the eventual rollback.

In terms of policy, my suggestion would be that each ALFA server have one infestation, with or without DM involvement, active at all times, and that the HDM of the server (or his/her designee) Make at least one forum post providing story based context for the infestation. I would also suggest that, unless story driven, the infestation must be changed a minimum of 4 times per calendar year.

I'm not sure that we're best served as a community to put these on every server. In part because infestations are designed to feel like (and in many senses, actually be) a meaningful threat to the homes and vitality of the people on the server, and we don't want to have people pressured to be on every server at once. We also seem to be able to burn out on infestations (which we've seen -- toward the end of our attempt to just always have an infestation up, people stopped logging in because everything was becoming the same, and then I spent a couple weeks having Tess sweep up... which had some perks, I guess. That's where the prizes I gave out at Greengrass came from).

Four a year, ALFA-wide, though? That sounds like a pace that wouldn't lead to burnout, and we do have a set of players who are very adventurey. That style of play usually needs some routine threats and some PC turnover to keep the game fresh, which infestations can absolutely provide. Especially if we had a rotating locale for it, so that the RP doesn't become as strained (like a seasonal invasion of Luruar seems a bit much-- but if we just had each major region in our build meaningfully threatened about once a year? We did pick some fairly-militaristic regions to build that are full of untamed surrounds that might generate trouble).

I of course am the biggest fan of the idea of building infestations to contain important plot elements-- include lieutenants in your infestations, and if they're still alive for next week's session, well then those lieutenants are around to make life difficult on the heroes. Adding urgency adds a lot of narrative tension, and gives people a strong incentive to group up and seek help from people they'd not normally play with-- after all, they might not be able to afford to turn back if things get dicey.

[oldgrayrogue]

I think 4 a year ALFA wide would be fine. Also gives PCs a reason to travel. And come to think of it, I'm not sure how you would do an infestation on WHL since most of the "set" areas are towns. Unless you could do an infestation on the travel map that translates to the encounter areas.

DMA, HDMs what say you?

[Dorn]

Will certainly make the next horde war on TSM easier:)

[HEEGZ]

I made the current infestation on TSM in about ten minutes. The old infestations on BG (I had made three total I think) also took less than 15 minutes each to create. I plan them out in advance and making them is pretty trivial really.

Also, the traps were all DM placed by me, and not part of infestations.

[Brokenbone]

I know infestations have been mentioned in two or three threads, and it's usually only when Zelknolf posts that I learn new tidbits about infestation features.

Example: other day my PC strolled around in what I thought was a cleared area near Rivermoot. A little young timber wolf came running at my PC. Whatever, bashed it on the head and killed it. Oddly I got 10xp for it (rather than 0 or 1), and a placeable bag with a name like "Things you found in the area" appeared. Presumably due to my PC's wealth being too high, the bag happened to be empty, but I was left thinking that the wolf must've been the very last critter in an infested zone, for that day at least. Maybe it was the boss, by default, since no one else in terms of hostiles was alive on that screen? I still have no idea. I figure though that the unusual amount of XP must have been an "attaboy" of some sort for eliminating the infestation's final toe hold on an area.

It's possible that this wiki page could use a couple more words in terms of hints for players that an area is secure, like any "Things you found" bag appearing, or if you notice an unusual amount of Xp for something minor that your PC murders, those are clues that you're doing well vs. the infestation? http://www.alandfaraway.info/wiki/Infestation_Quests

[kid]

Yes, this means you killed the only critter in the area.

The problem with the ongoing infestation (as far as I can see it)
Is that we cleared each area it infests several times.
The problem is that we start be clearing area 1, 2, 3, by the time we clear area 4, area 1 already respawns critters.
Sometimes even while we're clearing area 3 it spawns new critters.

This is even more true in FP area which is very large, or where you have caves that are linked into one screen. I poke my head in one, clearing it, moving to the second (which is on the same screen but different AT - so out to FP, back to another cave) clear it too.
And by then the first cave has respawned critters. Now I have to go back to the first cave and clear it again, even though I was there a minute ago. So... in order to fully end in the infestation I have to act in a very OOC manner.

The mechanics is a good one in general, and i've no ideas what other parameters should be set to say it is over, but the current ones (nearly simultaneously having every area cleared) require just a bit too much of OOCness imm.

I don't think this necessarily requires a tech fix, again, cause I struggle to come up with a decent parameter for ending the infestation, other than the clear one of "all critters are dead"... but perhaps a bit of DM supervision, saying this has run its course, and that last single goblin somewhere is not going to raise an army, again, could be helpful.

If not, well, we'll keep on beating goblins from time to time I geuss. The XP is more than decent

[Brokenbone]

Hah, I forgot that caves are also AT spreading points, I was only thinking of outdoor maps and asking myself where things may or may not spread as a level 1, 2, 3 infestation as per that wiki page. Odd though if an area can be reinfested as quickly as you're saying, I thought it took a game day (which isn't as long as a real day) to have a cleared area be a candidate for re-infestation.

That said, yes it's still fun. A problem though is that even if a handful of people log in every day, AND try to bash the stuff up in around that region, those people log off and an IG day is likely to pass before the next gang of PCs congregates and decides to nip at the infestation's edges, so it's hard to get ahead of the problem I guess. Particularly if, as you say, reinfestations seem to be happening even during a single cycle of play (i.e. the cave thing being mentioned).

[Zelknolf]

Still not quite accurate.

Any area cleared does damage to the infestation. They don't have to be simultaneous or sequential or have any other sort of pattern to them. Think of it like hit points-- a big fat army that has like 20 "doom army hit points" or whatevs. They're smeared out across the land so it's actually an area with 5 hit points, an area with 4 hit points, one with 3, two with 2, four with 1 (with the areas with more hit points having more monsters in them, and the area with the most hit points being where the bosses hang out).

If you're a group of lowbies and you run amok through those four "1 hit point" areas, you've done 4 damage to that infestation, and now it has 16 doom army hit points left. It'll reshuffle its remaining hit points on the next tick (which is once per game day) to be 4/3/2(x2)/1(x5) (unless there's a living boss, the boss will "heal" a doom army hit point on the tick, and one of those areas will be a little stronger for it).

If you're a group of highbies and drive to the heart of the infestation, clearing an area at each tier 1-5, you've done 5 damage to the infestation, and probably killed a boss. So it reshuffles its areas with its 15 remaining hit points at the next tick, and heals one fewer doom army hit point. Even before the next tick, the areas that were 2/3/4/5 are dropped to 1/2/3/4, and if their natural respawn happens before the tick, they just spawn without the benefit of potentially being reinforced by their neighbors.


I'll of course agree that areas with aggressive respawns break this rapidly-- servers should probably get tickets about that anyway. It's bad build before infestations show up, and gets more annoying after.

[Brokenbone]

I really like that doom army hit points analogy.