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Adventure Writer's Block
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KageRyu
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Joined: 06 Jul 2005
Posts: 1385
Location: Lost in the cracks

PostPosted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 12:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Guardian_A wrote:
Bren wrote:
Guardian_A wrote:
Having characters help create unimportant information is always a great idea. Just make sure to have a pen & paper handy so you get the information down for future use.
Smile And you can try getting one of the players to act as the scribe, but I find that is usually only of mixed success.


Thats one of the things that we do in our games with the poker chips. Whoever takes notes for the GM gets an extra chip at the start of the game that they can spend during play. We're actually pretty lucky, we have two people in our group who like taking detailed notes during games (Yet somehow neither manage to slow the game down in any noticeable way.) Then when the game is over, I can take those notes and organize them on my computer by both location and timeline for future use.

I tried with this group...it's actual something I offer when characters are created and give a bonus skill Die for... it showed up in Metabarons, but I encountered it long ago in a game called Amber, Campaign Duties (Campaign Notes & Diary, Campaign Artist, and GM's asistant) are all offered for a 1D bonus in most games I run...but few ever wnat to deal with them. For the Artist one I even tell people, you don't have to be Davinci or Rembrandt, I don't expect everyone to be up to my level, I just need to see that effort was made (not just stick figures with colored lines for laser blasts). No one in this group wanted any of those. Heck I can't even get them to write down the stuff important to their characters (and normally when this becomes an issue, after the third warning it becomes "Oh well, you can't remember where your cargo was bound for" or "Your blaster does 3D+2" "But I am sure it was 5D" "Really, show me the stats your wrote down...oh...that's right, you didn't". Normally that will get the message across (at least, it always has in past).
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Bren
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Joined: 19 Aug 2010
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 9:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

KageRyu wrote:
Sorry, have to do this Wink
Laughing Some of those answers are so good, it makes me want to have a character ask those question. This one was particularly good:
KageRyu wrote:
After asking your CO, he respond "What do I look like, a fajooking cook? All you need to know is it will keep you alive. If you're that concerned send an inquiry in to the DOD." Following this advice and sending in an inquiry... and waiting the required 4-6 weeks the response informs you they are unable to answer your question as you failed to fill out form NI-232-DD-C0.1 Find it enclosed with this response, fill it out, return it, and wait four to six weeks for processing. Do you wish to fill it out? Give me a bureacracy roll Smile.


On the serious side, you seem to have a player problem. I'd have a talk about what they want out of the game, what they are willing to do as players, and what you are willing to do as GM then see if there is enough overlap to justify continuing to play together.
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Fallon Kell
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Joined: 07 Mar 2011
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Location: Tacoma, WA

PostPosted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 7:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

KageRyu wrote:
Guardian_A wrote:
Bren wrote:
Guardian_A wrote:
Having characters help create unimportant information is always a great idea. Just make sure to have a pen & paper handy so you get the information down for future use.
Smile And you can try getting one of the players to act as the scribe, but I find that is usually only of mixed success.


Thats one of the things that we do in our games with the poker chips. Whoever takes notes for the GM gets an extra chip at the start of the game that they can spend during play. We're actually pretty lucky, we have two people in our group who like taking detailed notes during games (Yet somehow neither manage to slow the game down in any noticeable way.) Then when the game is over, I can take those notes and organize them on my computer by both location and timeline for future use.

I tried with this group...it's actual something I offer when characters are created and give a bonus skill Die for... it showed up in Metabarons, but I encountered it long ago in a game called Amber, Campaign Duties (Campaign Notes & Diary, Campaign Artist, and GM's asistant) are all offered for a 1D bonus in most games I run...but few ever wnat to deal with them. For the Artist one I even tell people, you don't have to be Davinci or Rembrandt, I don't expect everyone to be up to my level, I just need to see that effort was made (not just stick figures with colored lines for laser blasts). No one in this group wanted any of those. Heck I can't even get them to write down the stuff important to their characters (and normally when this becomes an issue, after the third warning it becomes "Oh well, you can't remember where your cargo was bound for" or "Your blaster does 3D+2" "But I am sure it was 5D" "Really, show me the stats your wrote down...oh...that's right, you didn't". Normally that will get the message across (at least, it always has in past).
I just run an audio recorder in the background.
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Bren
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 5:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fallon Kell wrote:
I just run an audio recorder in the background.
What do you do with the recording after the session?
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Fallon Kell
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 9:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bren wrote:
Fallon Kell wrote:
I just run an audio recorder in the background.
What do you do with the recording after the session?
I listen to it and write out a "novelized" version of the day's events in an email, and send a copy to each of my players and one to my buddy Zarm.
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vanir
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 2:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kage, have you tried asking them if something about your gaming style is frustrating them? I mean they could be an alien species with a conspiratorial agenda, or they might just be people who react to things as they see fit. Meaning they're probably reacting to something when they act in a way you don't like, given it is oh so obvious that nobody would like the way they're acting. You seriously think they don't know this?




Look I told you I've had hard arse gamers before. I had one PC who made a thug, the old 1e "tough native" archetype who was basically a human gun-thug hanging around a Tatooine canteena at Mos Eisley. He wouldn't take any adventure hook. He killed anybody interesting I had try to approach him like an ally. He ran from anyone remotely resembling an antagonist adventure hook. He didn't want to become involved in any of the events I tried creating within the Canteena, he wouldn't go anywhere else where I could create adventure hooks from events. All he did was hang around in the canteena buying drinks and waiting around, if he even suspected an NPC around him was an adventure hook he ran the other way.

Until I had some guy walk in wearing a suit of storm commando armour (no helmet) under a thick brown overcoat, then get in a firefight in the canteena with some stormtroopers in front of this guy. His curiosity was piqued. He wanted to befriend this interesting character, this NPC I finally got his attention with. That took about four hours of gameplay and I was about to give up on this guy and the game. (to be honest I actually sent him in as a Clint Eastwood type "man with no name" to kill the guy and end the game).

Seriously bud, you're GM. Everything is on you. But hey be a person if you want, if you don't want to play with this group or on a particular day, don't play. It's up to you. But if a group isn't working, find a way or don't find a way. It's still up to you.

That PC by the way wound up being a rival to Vader. Further down the track he became a Stormtrooper, then Sovereign Protector and finallly a dark jedi because that was what it took to keep that PC in the game. But it turned out to be a fun dark side campaign. One beyond anything I could've come up with, but I kept it within the rules.
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Bren
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 11:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fallon Kell wrote:
Bren wrote:
Fallon Kell wrote:
I just run an audio recorder in the background.
What do you do with the recording after the session?
I listen to it and write out a "novelized" version of the day's events in an email, and send a copy to each of my players and one to my buddy Zarm.
That's cool. 8) We have a few adventures we have written up at about that level, but overall no one has or makes the time (or types fast enough) to do that. But it would be really cool if someone did. Sometimes the players take detailed notes and try to capture actual dialog, but that's a mixed thing as it is great to capture good lines and interactions but it really slows play. I'll have to look into the recording option though. I think it would work best if we could record and then give everyone a copy - but I don't know how one would do that.
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MattMartin23
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Joined: 25 Jun 2012
Posts: 102

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 12:11 pm    Post subject: Re: Adventure Writer's Block Reply with quote

KageRyu wrote:
I was curious, how do some of you deal with it?
I am scheduled to run tonight, but a critical part of my adventure is not ready - not even close. I knew what I wanted to happen back before my surgery but never got a chance to get it on paper. Since getting out (and continuing to battle after-effects) I just haven't been able to get my thoughts together and get what I need on paper. I can't clearly remember what I had planned either. Every time I sit down to work on it I just draw a complete blank.
My groups getting antsy because it's been 3 weeks, and they wish to play. I could probably wing something, which would undoubtedly end up taking my campaign off course (and be no wheres near as rewarding as if I have it planned).
Worse, a new player is joining, and I have no idea what type of character he will want, or if I'll be able to stear him towards a template that will be easily incorporated into the campaign I planned.

None of the action has started in my campaign yet. So far it's all been back-story, role playing, and interaction. The Campaign is Pre-Empire, Pre-War timeline. One player is a Privateer/Freighter captain who's father was killed by pirates, so he hunts them. The other is a Jedi apprentice, who's master (and odd one of sorts) is a travel obsessed Duros who knew the other players father and rents space on the ship. The players are on Balmorra, for several Reasons, and already have some clues and information leading them to Ithor once they finish on Balmorra. I'd love to get some action in there, but don't want to have a random bar fight, or throw off the campaign. Unfortunately, a lot of the easy ideas for incorporating quick action I can't see easily happening on a highly developed world on the edge of the core worlds (though I know big cities have crime).
I'm thinking maybe have the Privateer catch sight of soemone, or a group, with the insignia of the Pirates that killed his father...but I am concerned this may be too "cliche" (though since Balmorra is known for weapons and Battledroids, and is not truly part of the Republic, just an ally that draws criticism for it's trade practices, this could make sense the pirates are purchasing weapons or ordinance here).

Any thoughts or suggestions?


I have some suggestions for quick action on Balmorra:

1.) The pirate idea is not cliche if it happens on a grand scale. Have several pirate ships invade Balmorra. It could be a major event where thousands of pirates have invaded Balmorra eager to take over the world and its resources. All the capital cities are raided. For the sake of good storytelling, have them be the same pirate group that killed one of the character's fathers. This would fuel that character's actions. Adds drama. Faster, more intense. As GM, you determine if the pirates win or lose the conflict. I say they should win and you have the pirates set up a blockade around Balmorra so the characters have to engage in some space conflict when they leave Balmorra. Don't have them leave immediately. Steer them toward the Jedi ruins you plan on them visiting.

2.) This would compel the characters to head to the Ancient Jedi Abode you spoke of as both a potential hiding place and as your location for the next leg of the adventure. I would have a Dark Jedi search the ruins for Jedi artifacts along with some hired armored mercenaries. Nothing like a good skirmish on an archeological dig. The dark jedi could be an agent for the regent Sith Lord of the Era, and the dark jedi is willing to die before giving up information. You should allow the Dark Jedi to escape the ruins with an artifact. Example, Jedi gets sand in the eye and as he clears his vision, Dark Jedi flies away in vessel. Perhaps Dark Jedi gets away with artifact and chase is on. The pursuit should occur, but let the Dark Jedi get away with the artifact. This creates a subplot for you. Also have the Jedi secure a homing beacon to the craft so he can track down his jump point. This already sets up a future adventure session.

3.) Heroes will need to flee Balmorra or you can have them attempt to sneak into the capital building to overthrow the pirate commander. Either scenario sets up a major exciting battle as it will either be a grand scale ground conflict in the capital building or a fight to get out of the atmosphere, avoid laser fire from the pirate vessels and get to hyperspace en route to Ithor. My suggestion for fleeing Balmorra is this. Say you wait a week or a few weeks before leaving Balmorra. By that point word has gone out to the Republic about the seizure of Balmorra. They are sending in a military armada to overtake the pirates. You can use the ensuing battle between the pirates and the republic as your opportunity to either flee Balmorra to Ithor or defeat the pirate commander and the characters are honored for their defense of Balmorra. This would be epic and fun. I'd do this as an adventure.

Also, request your players to put their characters to paper with all listed stats and equipment. If you think they are lazy, prick their pride by creating your own character sheet for their characters determining what their approximate skills would be for them. This will encourage them to take the time to make their own characters and allows you the peace of mind that you are prepared to adventure.

Best,

Matt
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