9.16.2015 Discussion: The Report Cards and Improvements

I'm good at what I do. So good, in fact, I need to make money off of my GMing techniques and concepts. The report cards were a great idea. I was able to speak with everyone, discuss where you are in gaming, and most importantly, see where the game is lacking overall. This report card idea is genius; if I start a vlog, it'll be a topic.

Improvements: Wording is so damn important. Rather than using the term "changes" or "shit I'm going to do because the game is going kinda shit", I used the positive term "Improvements" - and here they are.

1. More structured play

Borrowing from traditional board games, I'm implementing "turn sequences". This will make sure everyone gets a chance to play their character, rather than sit quietly. The game will still be very open, free-form, but there will be a structured basis.

There are three stages to a D&D game. Description, Action, and Discussion.

Description: I describe what the party sees.

The group enter a room; I describe the room: You're in a chilly stone room. The floor is bare, there is one window but only the doorway is the one through which you entered. In the center of the room is a stone statue of a demon pointing out the window. There is a red stone set in the center of the demon statue.

Action: I will go around the room, asking each party member what they want to do. Everyone is free to jump in during someone's "turn", asking me a question about what they experience or generally interact with other players - but be respectful and polite. I am going to each person; your turn will come.

Discussion: This is the open forum part. If Dave and Matt decide to investigate the library for 10 minutes, Mike might want to explore another room. This "breaks" the structure of the stages, forcing the structure to be flexible. Mike will enter another room, I'll describe it, he tells me his action, and I jump to the next person at the table.

Combat already has a set structure, based on initiative order. This new structure will mimic that. (Mike suggested this last game. Good idea.)

This will require ironing out. I appreciate your patience.

2. Team work.

This is on ya'll. Team work is currently lacking. Everyone is looking out for themselves most of the time. It's like ya'll are loners, still. An X-men composed entirely of Wolverines. I could have helped with this by introducing everyone in a more cooperative challenge initially; specifically, make everyone roll characters together one night and the next session be placed against a common, unifying threat. But by this point, everyone should be working together more.

Here's what you can do:
- Let players play their characters. REDUCE METAGAMING; if you're not in the room with a character, you can't tell them what to do.
- PAY ATTENTION. Even if it's not your turn, observe to what others are doing. This will draw you further into the game.
- You live or die as a group. You guys don't have a leader, so you don't have one person calling the shots. This means the kitchen is full of cooks (well, not Emily or Stacie, they need to speak up more). That's fine, but realize this means your characters have to COMPROMISE or bicker all night. Bickering all night is perfectly fine for me, it means I get more time to develop further challenges. But it sucks for you.
- When suggesting a plan of action, assess other's ideas, acknowledge them, and then suggest your own. Don't talk over each other. LISTEN TO OTHERS, DON'T WAIT TO TALK.

3. Mechanics

Describe attacks - As I mentioned before, remember to describe HOW you are attacking the opponent and WHERE. No need for lengthy descriptions, just cover how and where.

Below are a few new mechanics that might help with team work.

Simultaneous Strike
When a player shares the initiative of another player OR holds their attack to sync up with another player, the player that attacks second gains advantage. Note, this only works if players communicate AND attack simultaneously.

Distract - At any point during your combat turn, you can distract a target enemy in active combat. If you do, there's a chance the opponent will react; granting the character its fighting either advantage or potentially an attack of opportunity. For example, you could shout "The ceiling is falling". I will roll to see if the enemy believes you, (roll a d20 + cha vs. 10 + your cha + your proficiency points)

Re-position Opponent - In the description of your attack, you can add a free action of kicking the opponent in the direction of another player. If that other player is about to act, they roll with advantage.

Shared Defense - This is Straight Outta Pando. Two players become one seemingly unstoppable force. Big Bubba Orc is too much for Eluna or ArorA to defeat alone. Instead, based on initiative order, who ever acts BEFORE Big Bubba Orc *holds their turn* and interrupts BBO's attack with one of their own OR adds to the AC of BBO's target. This also gives the defending character advantage if they attack their attacker.

Specifically, ArorA has an init of 18, BBO of 15, and Eluna of 10. ArorA holds her attack and adds her attack bonus (+5) to Eluna's AC. This means, when BBO attacks, ArorA swings her sword to deflect the attack - granting Eluna advantage on her next attack.