Quick notes on Ithildur's DMing

[Ithildur]

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.

[kid]

Let the games begin.

[zilvai]

*Clicks the like/thumbs up button.*

[I-KP]

[Adanu]

Long as you don't mind perfectionists like me soaking up information OOCly and hating when information is withheld because the DM think it 'creates suspense' (I don't deal with suspense well). I deal with choices and consequences, and prefer knowing details OOC and IC so I can separate what my character would do from what I would do, since my PC would know things I don't and vica versa.

If you can handle this, I invite you to bring Zyrus into your fold.

[Castano]

The DM is in charge of the game and therefore your enjoyment, please let him do his thing.

[Adanu]

The DM is in charge of the game and therefore your enjoyment, please let him do his thing.

I'm going to be staying on MS for a while probably, and more than likely going to be seeing how he does. I'm allowed to give a hands up with my 'player style' so there is no confusion.

[Ithildur]

*whistles a cheery tune*

[Ithildur]

Note: these are OPTIONS that you may find helpful for your character outside the game engine. You don't need to feel you have to be an expert; you can always ask 'can I take 10 or 20 with this?' if you're unsure.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/usingS ... m#taking10

The above is a core rule in 3.5e DnD that I'm happy to allow when the situation is appropriate.

If you have a high search modifier and want to do something like a routine, unhurried search of a corpse, there's no reason you have to end up rolling a 2 or so and failing to find something that should easily be found. If you have batman stealth skills and have time to find an appropriate hiding place to settle into to eavesdrop on mooks, chances are simply taking 10 will be a better option than rolling (note this doesn't work using the combat engine of NWN2; you'll have to notify me that you're taking 10, I'll add your modifier and roll for the mooks etc manually and set them to be non hostile).

On the other hand, if you wish to roll and RP that your character occasionally has really bad days where they can't find the sock that they're already wearing (it does happen in RL), or want to go for a comedic effect and accept the consequences, that's perfectly fine as well.

I also recommend:

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/usingS ... m#taking20

for things like where your character would want to take their time to thoroughly go over something they're searching with a fine toothed comb, trying repeatedly to undo the rope you're tied up in (if no one's watching), etc. If you're Batman-like epic with Escape Artist and someone's dumb enough to tie you up and leave you for 20 minutes, you probably can get out!

The following are some skills taking 20 for is usually appropriate in my book (not exhaustive):

-Escape Artist: there is no penalty for failure (unless it's an opposed check i.e. escape from grapple, or circumstances disallow it, such as if you are in a cell and watched once a minute for unusual activity), so you can keep trying repeatedly, though you do need about 20 minutes to do this.

-Gather Information: there is no penalty for failing the check (you don't usually anger bar patrons simply by asking). Taking 20 on Gather Info does mean that you spend several days scouring the town for information and spend 20x as much gold as normal. Note that repeated asking for info of the same group may annoy them and give you an overall penalty for the take 20 result, and you also may draw attention to yourself.

-Open Lock: this is one where the game engine already takes 20 every time outside of combat

-Search: there is no penalty for failure (if you don't find what you're looking for, you're no worse off than if you had never looked in the first place, so there isn't a penalty), so take your time and keep looking if you suspect something important might be hidden. However note that searching an area/room thoroughly by taking 20 will mean a fair bit of time will go by. Note also this isn't the same as disable device; you can take your time and repeatedly keep searching for a possible trap on a door for instance, but once you find it you cannot take 20 tries to disarm it without it going off!

-Use Rope: there is no penalty for failure (while not getting the rope to perform as desired is disappointing, you're not damaging the rope and can try again). Taking your time to make sure that knot is really, really secure might be a smart move.

As always there's room for discussion as long as it does not unduly hold up the game for other people. My goal is to often make a character's skills crucial, the difference between success/failure or even life/death sometimes! Don't be surprised if it's not combat that jacks your PC, but challenging circumstances that rely on non combat skills!

[Ithildur]

Note: the above is, of course, pending Castano's or Curm's not having issues with any of it.

[Ithildur]

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. You must first FIND a trap/trigger/switch/device before you can attempt to disable it. Find means 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.