tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post3498341322245313728..comments2024-03-07T16:20:50.007+00:00Comments on Librarians & Leviathans: Psykers, Howling at the Moon, and the Paladin ProblemShimmin Beghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350037986748679919noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-26239461792693024962014-05-24T14:23:30.748+01:002014-05-24T14:23:30.748+01:00Ah, that makes sense.
I think this is a low-key p...Ah, that makes sense.<br /><br />I think this is a low-key problem I have with those kinds of systems actually, where a particular random event mandates something "interesting" to happen. If the GM is forced to improvise a random consequence for a werebear rolling well on their "break out from ropes" effect, it's pretty much inevitable that they'll target the "stop the werebear" device.<br /><br />But yes, I suspect that I would have found it quite tiring, although of course mileage seems to vary.Dan Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05711867728179306264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-33678382803737096712014-05-24T07:47:42.428+01:002014-05-24T07:47:42.428+01:00On Howling:
I would tend to agree. As with the pl...On Howling:<br />I would tend to agree. As with the players, I don't particularly think the GM had consciously registered how it interacted with the Howling, only that the music box was a thing that could be affected. Since oddities are somewhat game-mechanical anyway it's a slight step away from flavour, although it's role in Howling is not, so that probably muddies the waters. On the whole though, the impression I get is that the KOTN group is less concerned about that kind of thing - they talk a fair bit about making stories and so on, I think they're more interested in events that are narratively interesting than in mechanical advantage, so they may well view it as a plus that a flavour decision had mechanical consequences.<br /><br />What strictly happened what that the bear rolled a 19 to break free of the ropes, which called for a minor effect, and the GM ruled that either the snapping ropes or flailing arms knocked the music box away. It's tricky because the bear isn't exactly Teela; I suppose it was technically in the bear's <i>independent</i> interests not to be calmed, but it wasn't in Teela's, which an effect is supposed to be. Once was a little eyebrow-raising, but then then she almost fell over onto the dropped music-box and he had to roll to snatch it away. Then she got hit with a sort of web-shooter cypher and bust out of <i>that</i> with a 20, and he had the webbing gum up the box so another cipher had to be used to clean it up - I'm really not sure what they'd have done if they didn't happen to have that. Personally I found it got old fast and felt rather pointed, but I think it's just that he mentally locked onto the music box and other stuff didn't occur to him.<br /><br />Again though, they were doing a one-shot and someone deliberately took lycanthropy, so the feeling I get is that they wanted to explore being an unwilling lycanthrope and its consequences, so not having her go on a rampage would perhaps have felt like a damp squib to the KOTN.<br /><br />On Paladins:<br />True enough, and I don't think Paladins are unplayable or anything. Game-annoying moral codes can apply to any character. It's the mechanical reinforcement of Falling that turns the heat up, I think. As you know, I do think Paladins are an unsuitable class in general, but that's a different issue.Shimmin Beghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10350037986748679919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533573536330092840.post-2657677812935165072014-05-23T22:46:50.693+01:002014-05-23T22:46:50.693+01:00On Howling:
The real issue I have here is the GM ...On Howling:<br /><br />The real issue I have here is the GM targeting the music box. Obviously mileage varies, and people have very different attitudes to this kind of thing, but I have a nigh-unbreakable GMing rule that you should *never* penalise a player for something that they only take as flavour text. Doing so actively discourages players from being flavourful and actively encourages them to do everything with one eye on their mechanical advantage.<br /><br />On Paladins: I actually think Paladins have the potential to be okay as long as you're a bit more flexible with your definition of "Lawful Good". Basically you need to make certain that your interpretation is "Lawful Good" and not "Uptight Stupid". There's a big difference between a character who draws the line at torture (perfectly acceptable in a non-Evil game) and a character who refuses to countenance stealth, deceit, or in extreme cases ranged weapons.<br /><br />I agree that "see no evil" and its related, more dickish cousin "by any means necessary" are cheesy ways to circumvent the code, but I think you can have a reasonable stab at playing a 'din who abides by a strict code of behaviour that *doesn't* include "harass your party members while they're trying to play the game".Dan Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05711867728179306264noreply@blogger.com