HAM2D6 Discussion

[tbgg]

BTW, I just want to be clear that Kell's hissy fit is purely for dramatic interest. When I read that the body switcheroo was not a freak accident but rather an intentional act, it hit me that it was sort of the thing that Kell would view as being manipulated and be really ticked off by.

If the GM likes to mess with the players, it's only fair to be able to mess a bit with the GM right back!

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

It's fine. I'll probably post after work.

Wednesday was a snow day, which
is why I was so responsive over PM.

 

[Ireth]

Back earlier than expected! Glasses are bought and paid for, and they'll be ready in a couple weeks.

 

[tbgg]

Dang it! The bit in single quotes was supposed to be Kell thinking to herself trying to understand the secret mission, but not speaking out loud.

When I post from my iPad using Tapatalk, I don't have an option to italicize, which is what I do for her thoughts when I'm on my computer and access MS from my web browser.

Can we fix that at all, LS?


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[Legendary Sidekick]

Deleted. I'll replace the reply when I can.

 

[tbgg]

No worries. Sorry about the trouble!!! I'll try to be better about adding descriptions that make it clear when Kell is thinking something.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

@Ireth, in case you were wondering, I was adding your rolls to Penni's for each score.

@tbgg, no trouble. I just didn't notice the single quotes when I was reading on my phone.

 

[Ireth]

I was amused that our rolls added up so nicely even before I noticed the scoring! Shame about that pesky zero, though.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Penni had it covered... this time.

 

[Ireth]

Edited my combo shot into my last post.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

That went well. Good thing we dodged the weak attacks. The strong attack was the easiest to dodge, but we both totally blew it rolling zeroes!

I think I'm going to stop for the night. Story stuff next time I post.

 

[Ireth]

Yeah, I'm about ready to go to bed myself. That was fun!

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

I was toying with the idea of rolling defense. Now that we tried it that way, I like it!

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

After sleeping on it, I can see how rolling defense works well for cards! Rolling defense is actually done in tabletop--it's just popular to use 10ac for d20 defense since randomizers still do their thing with one constant value. For card games, all enemy numbers (atk, def, damage) can be constant. (And this is actually common.)

This also makes combos a player-only thing, which I think is best. With 4 dice, I've actually rolled 5-hit combos. (20 damage if 4 per hit!) That kind of luck on the GM's side could crush a player.

I could see defense working like this:
• Instinct = dodge (vs. fight, shoot, anything that can be dodged)
• Talent = outsmart (vs. magic, mental effect that can't be dodged)
• Power = overpower (vs. grapple, physical effect that can't be dodged)

Because of the cards, the player wouldn't have to memorize what defense works on what. Instead, I'd have the monsters attacks on the monster cards, and player turns would be "defend against X" then attack freely or make some other move like running away or taking cover or whatever.

It would also simplify player stats even more (same three dice, but none of those things you need to remember like if you have X dice you have X cards).

The other thought I was having anyway is to have a few light weapons and magical arrows that use talent. Likewise, some of the "magic" would use power (martial arts) or instinct (traps). That way, no character is stuck rolling the weak stat—which is what could happen to the nymph if she can only roll power/instinct when out of spells.

Damage will be tied to the weapon instead of the character, and……… really, there are so many details I'm better off not going into it right now.



Short version: last night's play-test gave me an idea that will make characters less likely to get screwed over by stats differences, which was a thing I worried about. I definitely think Puff played out exactly how I'd want a monster card to play. (I wasn't rolling for him at all! Just set damage if you failed to dodge his attacks!)

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

First of all, thanks, tbgg for posting so I'd get this game going again. And thank you, Ireth, for play-testing last night.

Funny thing about the test was that I ran it EXACTLY the way I should run all my fights (or how I do run them when I don't feel like keeping track of hp), which is that I simply create conditions and behaviors for the enemy based on whether you hit or miss, and he dies in X hits.

For Puff, I just thought: 1st hit, he tosses fire at you. Beat a 1 to not get hit. 2nd hit, he tosses 2 fireballs at you. Beat a 2. 3rd hit would've been 3 fireballs, but Ireth combo'd, so we skipped to the fart cloud which was extremely potent: double damage! Not the best time to roll zeroes!

So I'm going to simplify things a bit more, so all you'll really have are # of dice rolled, and health bar size—and that's it! Sorry to keep messing with this stuff, but it's really a change for the way better.

 

[tbgg]

All of the changes have been a bit confusing at times - you're clearly an idea person, LS - but I'm glad you've been able to make some good refinements. I know for me, I went back and re-read some of the earlier chapters, and was reminded of how much fun it's been to co-create a story involving some random elements with other people.


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[tbgg]

D'oh! When I had Kell address Helix in my latest post, My intention wasn't actually for her to be attempting telepathy. It was more like if you needed to talk to Joe, and in your head you were thinking something like, 'Joe, I sure hope you're ready for this!' It's funny how these things can be so clear in one's head when one writes them and then someone else can interpret it really differently and their take isn't unreasonable. Stupid ambiguity!


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[tbgg]

LS: since I still have time to edit my last post, where should I have Kell wind up at prior to the return to the main thread?


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[Legendary Sidekick]

On the way to the mansion will do. You'll see something happening outside the mansion when I post in the main thread.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

All of the changes have been a bit confusing at times - you're clearly an idea person, LS - but I'm glad you've been able to make some good refinements. I know for me, I went back and re-read some of the earlier chapters, and was reminded of how much fun it's been to co-create a story involving some random elements with other people.

Thanks for that.

Hopefully, I'm going in a less confusing direction. (I really will stick to one, eventually!) Explaining the stats is much easier now, though I almost want to break the health bar into parts just so the number of hits is apparent. But then, my reason for not is by design: so a GM can change the amount of health, as long as the amazon has more and the fairy has less.