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Messages - StuartM

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1
Dungeon World / Interesting Article
« on: October 12, 2012, 05:38:37 AM »
Hey All,

Thought this might be of interest.

http://www.pelgranepress.com/?p=9270

Stu.

2
The Regiment / Re: "The regiment" and modern warfare
« on: August 04, 2012, 11:05:24 AM »
Hi Guys,

I'd be interested in taking things in the other direction.

How about "Sharpe's Rifles", "Hornblower", or The French and Indian War? Rorke's Drift could be fun. 

I think the game would fit very well with late 18th-early 19th century tales of derring do.

Stu.




3
Dungeon World / Re: weapons, tags, weirdness
« on: July 10, 2012, 07:29:35 AM »
Hi Noofy,

Despite that post I wholeheartedly agree with you. It's the story that matters and the descriptive tags are golden for this.

Still, if you are going to use historical weaponry and descriptive tags why not make them real?

It costs nothing and can increase immersion for martial arts folks.

Stu

4
Dungeon World / Re: weapons, tags, weirdness
« on: July 10, 2012, 06:28:08 AM »
Some questions I've been meaning to ask for a while:  

Hi All,

Also waiting for the official answer but I'd say it is a legacy thing. The people who made D&D originally didn't actually bother to do any research...on anything. Seriously, they made it all up.

Anyone who has done any historical fencing with accurate steel blunts can tell you that a rapier is not really more reliant on dexterity than a single handed sword.

Ironically, rapier fencing is quite reliant on strength as a rapier is longer and heavier than your average single handed sword and the lunge requires more leg strength and flexibility than the footwork used in early single handed sword systems.

Strength beyond a very low level makes little difference compared to skill at arms in terms of getting a hit and even when actually cutting and certainly not with a thrust unless you are trying to put a "can opener" type weapon through plate, a coat of plates or chain.

I actually think that strength modifying chance to hit is kinda bogus. I'd sooner see strength and Con melded into one ability and a skill at arms trait added.

Knife fighting *is* heavily reliant on pure reflex and judgement but you get hits from non telegraphic movement and clever feinting. (The real trick is avoiding the "double kill") There is no defence against a knife other than careful distance control. Trying to parry will get you cut unless your knife is of machete length and even then you are better off using distance to defend.  If you are going to award any weapon a tag that rewards high dex, it should be this one though so I definitely agree.

The best weapon against an unarmoured target in real life is a quarterstaff (or forest bill which is a Qstaff with a small light blade on it). The Qstaff has reach over all but a pike, is heavy but able to be manipulated easily, is fantastic both offensively and defensively as you can attack and defend with the shorter end (butt), the longer end (queue), or the section between your hands (mids)  

Quote
2) Aside from the fighter's signature weapons, no weapons (even magical ones) are Forceful or Messy.  No weapons at all have the Awkward tag.  Why not?  

There are a bunch of weapons that should be awkward. Anything with an axe or hammer head should be as these weapons sacrifice ability in defence for the ability to penetrate armour.  

Unless we are talking about truly massive swords, a two handed sword of average length, actually called a longsword,  is lightning fast. Much faster than a shortsword. A short sword is characterised by it's use in one hand, and is not necessarily all that short. My accurate replica shortsword has a 35 inch (ish) blade and my longsword is about 40 inches.

When I play Dungeon World I just let all this go and run with the fiction. :) Making it realistic would pretty much require dropping a lot of the D&D stuff entirely.

Cheers,

Stu.

5
The Regiment / Re: Rules Suggestions. :)
« on: July 08, 2012, 09:16:02 PM »
Hi Paul,

You are right. Blow off steam probably shouldn't *need* something personal shared. I still think the idea is sound though so maybe my game will get a separate move for this. :)

Have you tried some bayonet fencing? It's quite enlightening :) An unarmed man actually has a chance against one whereas against a knife, you are probably toast if the knife wielder has a clue.

Cheers,

Stu.

6
The Regiment / Re: The Regiment Ap- The Remnants.
« on: July 08, 2012, 11:30:35 AM »
Hi John,

No probs so far although I tend to be a little fast and loose with even the simplest rules. Would be happy to play test any experimental rules for you on any given Sunday though. :)

Somewhat off topic, can you please tell me which software you use to make character sheets. With your kind permission, I'd like to do some hacking of my own.

In addition to a partisan playbook, I want to do Pacific Theatre which will mostly be flavour stuff and Vietnam which will be smaller scale, have more interesting ways to get into trouble off base (drugs and the like), civilian casualties & morals therein, PTSD etc.

Cheers,

Stu.

7
The Regiment / Rules Suggestions. :)
« on: July 08, 2012, 11:24:15 AM »
Hi Guys,

I took one look at the "blow off some steam" move and made an immediate change for my game. I changed it to:

When you have some downtime and share something personal about yourself, roll plus smokes spent (0-3) etc. This change does three things IMO.

1. It models the classic "So where are you from" scene that happens in rather a lot of war films.
2. It humanises the characters in each other's eyes. (Oh no not Jimmy! You BASTARDS! he has 5 kids to feed and a beautiful wife and a retriever named Rex etc.)
3. It helps the players to get into their characters heads without having to invent more "who the hell are you" rules than a game like this probably wants.

Observations:
1. An SMLE is not IMHO a carbine. (See your latest AP) It's not as long as some other rifles but it's still heavy and fires a .303 cartridge I'd count it as a Battle Rifle myself.   

2. There is no reason why a bayonet attached to a rifle is going to do more damage than one detached. It will have reach though.

3. Pistols really aren't very accurate at long ranges. It might be best to make them close combat weapons that "out-reach" all others. (possibly allow the engagement of 2 targets at hand range? Like spray only not as good?)

4. Rifle grenades are more powerful,  longer ranged and more accurate than hand grenades. I'd suggest making them the same damage as hand grenades.

Cheers,

Stu.






8
The Regiment / Re: Market Garden AP
« on: July 08, 2012, 10:34:02 AM »
Hi Paul,

Very entertaining AP!

I've not had time to play again recently but I do know that I will never go to the trouble of working out the strategic detail that you do. Your attention to detail in this regard is awesome.

You obviously enjoy the strategic/historical part of this so more power to you but
I've played twice now and so far am a much bigger fan of keeping the team at squad level and below and having them not really understand the strategic situation at all. This creates something of a "fog of war" which feels very atmospheric. This also keeps a lid on the number of "backup characters" which again increases the pressure and makes everyone feel every casualty.

I'd be keen to see what you've done with the moves for your latest version as I thought that the game already worked pretty well. (Gunna post some suggestions in another thread)

Thanks so much for the game. Most tactical RPGs get boring and slow. This one manages to make decisions meaningful and stories vivid without this becoming a problem.
Stu.

(I think this game might be awesome done in the Pacific. I'll have to give it a crack sometime.)


 

9
The Regiment / The Regiment Ap- The Remnants.
« on: June 19, 2012, 09:04:45 AM »
Hi All,

I ran my first game of "The Regiment" on Sunday and had a lot of fun. I would have liked to use a historical scenario and make maps and everything but I quite literally had zero prep time. I decided on a "unit has been destroyed except for you guys" type of scenario and had a vague idea that the group would eventually hook up with the resistance and be hidden in another village somewhere.

I figured that if the game ended up being a campaign then it would be cool to have a human element where the group had to deal with reprisals for Resistance activity as well as shortages of equipment and members of what would become their community being killed.

I had a vivid image of a young boy slashing the tyres on a German Staff Car and the threat of random public executions if the culprit were not given up.   

Anyway-

We had three player characters in the group. (All Corporals actually)
McCaffrey, the weather beaten old soldier,
Riley, a shattered man running on instinct
Barnes, a young man aged beyond his years. 

And a few NPCs.
Sarge. We never actually named him LOL! He was delirious/unconscious most of the game anyway
Neville Adams, a young soldier. wide eyed and innocent.
Stuart (not my idea) Neville a sniper with passion for his job. The Nevilles were really good mates.

I started the players off with a bang (heh) and had them running up a hill towards a ruined house in a random French village whereupon they threw themselves over the partially destroyed front wall amidst a hail of incoming fire. The building was on top of a small hill with a steep slope on all but the side with the door.

Once the players were all in cover, I told them that they counted only 6 men left from their squad including the Sarge who probably wasn't going to make it. As far as any of them knew, the rest of the platoon had been wiped out by the panzers that were not supposed to be in this area. The team was not equipped to deal with tanks.

Nobody quite knew who should take charge so each player started to do their own thing which was quite interesting. McCaffery started to lay down suppressing fire to keep the German's from advancing. (suppress the Enemy. Hit on a 10+), the group closest to the house were unable to advance and stuck at the bottom of the hill with little cover. The Neville's took advantage and rolled grenades down the hill knocking out the 5 Jerries attempting to advance. (GM Fiat. Really, a reward for the suppression)

Balmy Barnes as he became known decided that he would take matters into his own hands. He opened the side door, threw out a couple of smoke grenades for cover and shot off around the back of the building and down the hill. This was pretty crazy given the circumstances so xp was marked and the dice rolled. (Are you crazy? Hit on a 10+ made it round the back of the building)

Meanwhile, Riley decided to see what could be done about the Sarge's chest wound. He taped gauze over both the entry and exit wounds and applied pressure to try and stop the bleed. (Medic! Hit on a 7-9, patient stabilised) I ruled that this took quite some time.

McCaffery and the Neville's kept up their withering fire although the grenades eventually started running low. The enemy was starting to mass forces for a push and time was running out. When the mortar rounds started crashing all around, the team decided it was time to leave in another cloud of smoke. (spend more gear. I wanted them low on stuff)

Meanwhile, Balmy Barnes made it around the house and realised that he was well concealed from the incoming forces by the slope which extended 50mtrs or so from the house. He assessed the situation (Hit 7-9. Asked about the biggest threat, I told him that a mortar team was setting up 30 mtrs or so away near the edge of the ditch.) Barnes raced along the ditch as fast as he could until he got close to the enemy position. (The enemy had popped off two mortar rounds by this time that were landing increasingly close to the house.)Barnes popped up out of nowhere, raked the mortar crew with submachinegun fire and killed them all. As he was pocketing their kit, he heard a continuous rattle and squeak coming from over the next hill. (Assess the situation Hit 7-9. TANK!) Balmy scarpered back towards the house.

The team indoors picked up Sarge on his stretcher, and moved off as quickly as possible out the side door and across the field behind. (Act under fire. Roll plus Guts. Everyone made it but Riley took a minor wound to the arm. Just then the farmhouse exploded from an HE round fired from the Tank which crested the hill a few moments later.

The team sprinted across the field under mortar fire and almost made it into the woods when poor Adams was killed outright by a mortar fragment. This was made worse by the fact that he was carrying the back end of the stretcher. He dropped Sarge as he died inflicting another wound and the Sarge maxed out his stress and started screaming. Riley prepped a big hit of morphine. (spend gear) and knocked Sarge out with it.

The team escaped far enough into the woods that the pursuit was broken off and stopped to deal with stress and wounds. I can't remember what was and wasn't rolled but the mechanic to deal with stress via passing out smokes is gold. It worked really really well.

I'll try and post the rest of the AP tomorrow. It's 23:00 here. :) (I hope this made sense, I'm too tired to proof it.)

Stu.






10
The Regiment / Re: Market Garden AP
« on: June 13, 2012, 10:39:45 AM »
G'Day Paul,

Just wanted to chime in and tell you that I'm really enjoying your AP and am looking forward to trying the game out. (After Uni assignment...)

I've actually been thinking that for a really cinematic game, using a "Commando" comic for inspiration might actually be better than a movie. I have a collection of them in a volume all about ANZACS which might be fun to mine for scenario ideas. These comics concentrate on small unit actions that are big on heroics and drama.

Cheers,

Stu.

11
Dungeon World / Re: Gasp Actual Play Report
« on: May 23, 2012, 02:48:58 AM »
Hi Stras,

Nice writeup.

It sounds like a great game well run. Managing the time during one shots can be tricky.

Quote
In terms of the game, how would you handle something like 'multishot'?  Namely 3 goblins were attacking Bill the mule.  If the ranger was trying to save him by rapid-firing some arrows to try and scatter the assaulters.  He hit, and killed one, but everyone wanted to know since you guys have mob rules against a PC if there was an attack-a-mob-back series of rules for the PCs in return (attacking 3 goblins? roll 3dDamage*w?)

This is not in the rules at all but I allow players to carryover damage from one target to another when they deal more than is required for a kill (if fictionally appropriate). If I deal 8 damage to a goblin with only 4 hit points left I allow 4 points of damage to go to the target next door.

I have had a fighter character in my game obliterate a target with a "messy" weapon and declare that his 2 extra hit points of carried damage are fear taking its toll on the target.

This I feel models multiple attacks beautifully in that fighters and the like are far more likely to get "extra attacks" than other classes due to their damage dice. The players of course love this. There is nothing more heroic than cutting a swathe through hordes of creatures.   

12
Dungeon World / Re: Combat options (and minor errata
« on: April 25, 2012, 02:01:06 AM »
Hi All,

Noofy, the answer is a resounding yes. Bad rolls exacerbate this problem. I've always thought that the 1d8 for healing was too much of a range. I might house-rule that in combat, the 1d8 stays, out of combat you can heal 4  (or maybe 5 ) hit points or roll. The idea of offering an opportunity with a cost is a good one. I hadn't thought of doing this with spells.

Stras, you are quite right. Thinking about it, I usually don't let them have the "free" hitpoints until they've slept. A good solution to this problem might be to let them have the free ones first.

Also...your reference to the all powerful BOO was not missed in the other thread. "Go for the eyes Boo, THE EYES!".

So do you guys find the Ranger overpowered in terms of damage dealt?

Cheers,
 
Stu.

 

13
Dungeon World / Re: Combat options (and minor errata)
« on: April 24, 2012, 12:20:39 AM »
Hi All,

Ran another game on Sunday night. The advice to slow down and take your time on decisions is golden.

The game ran a lot more smoothly and was a lot more fun with less people. I'm going to cap my games at 4 players plus me in future.

I still think Rangers are unbalanced to an unacceptable degree. They should not do more damage than fighters. IMO

Does anyone have any issues with the tedium of between encounter healing? The dice rolling sometimes seems endless.

Cheers,

Stu.

14
Dungeon World / Re: Combat options (and minor errata
« on: April 21, 2012, 07:52:06 PM »
Hi All,

Thanks for the responses chaps.

I've run this game 5 times now and each has been a lot of fun until the last game. I foolishly let 6 people onto the table at once (I believe games run best with 3-4 players plus GM) and the game dragged a bit for it. The fact that there was one player who decided to work against the party would have been fine in AW (with fewer players) but not really in DW (with rather a lot more). I think my confidence is a little down after that game.

Thanks for your response on damage vs bad stuff happens Iserith. I guess I do what you do here. Damage unless I can think of something more interesting. I think I need to take my time a little here and not be so concerned with an instant decision. I suspect this problem was due in part to the large group and the slow pace of the game.

Noofy, heavy use of "Consequences and ask" is a good idea. That way I can bring things in that the players have options on and everything seems a little less arbitrary.

You know, last game I printed a list of moves and Agenda and everything and didn't refer to it once. Further proof that I need to slow down whilst making decisions occasionally I guess.

Thanks Iserith, I guess the tags do what I thought they did. I must keep a list in front of me of all the tags so I don't forget.

The ranger animal damage thing still rubs me the wrong way a little. I love that you just roll extra damage on a hit, the mechanic is nice and simple. What I don't love is the model for the animal being damaged. Killing it outright by fiat seems wrong. Maybe I could go with injuries similar to debilities when it is employed recklessly. (I reckon the character sheet should have a list of names for animals...)

In reference to Ranger animal balance, I was was actually referring to balancing with themselves. I should have been more clear. Here they are. Option 4 is just way better than any of the options. You are as good or better than all of the other options with the exception of cunning.   

Ferocity 2d4 Cunning+1 Armour +1 Instinct +1
Ferocity 2d4 Cunning+2 Armour +0 Instinct +1
Ferocity 1d4 Cunning+2 Armour +1 Instinct +1
Ferocity 2d4 Cunning+1 Armour +2 Instinct +2

Cheers all,

Stu.

15
Dungeon World / Combat options (and minor errata
« on: April 20, 2012, 03:17:33 AM »
Hi Guys,

I played a session last week and ran into a bit of a quandary.

Two of the players had rotten luck with the dice and kept rolling 6 and below. I tried to think of interesting things to happen to them instead of just damaging them and felt like I ran out of ideas pretty quickly.

What does everyone think about the balance between narrative consequence and straight damage on a 6-?

Do you find yourselves mostly dealing damage or mostly doing other things? How severe do you tend to make these consequences?

Also, I'd love some examples of adjudicating the more nebulous weapon tags. (forceful, huge etc) What can these do and when?

Also, how does everyone feel about adjudicating ranger animal damage? Our Ranger managed to put himself in a number of situations in our last game where his bear was not able to enter combat. He seemed cool, but I couldn't help thinking that I was cheating.

Errata; I don't think the ranger animal options balance. I don't have the material to hand, but there is at least one option (I think the last) that has everything another does and more. (Should the Ranger end up doing more damage than the fighter btw?)

Looking forward to any replies. 

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