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Ternaugh

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Posts posted by Ternaugh

  1. Irksome players

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    Re: Irksome players

     

    I knew a player who wanted to take a Ninja even though the oriental type worlds were very very far away, and meant as a future mega exploration caimpiagn for the PC's in the future. When told of the distance issues, he says, "how about if he came over on a boat", as if rowing yourself across an ocean in a dory is an easy and sane thing to do.

     

    I've noticed that when I roll characters and consider the statisics involved that the about 90% of people bring in characters whose stats are above the statisical probablility and generally much so. It is to the point that normally rolled characters just seem a bit weak and plain.

    Again, maybe god just hates me, but it seems most players cheat to some degree or another.

    My player's character was probably on the same boat. When he kept getting accosted by his Hunteds in various ways, he complained that they should have been in the homeland, not following him in the campaign area. I pointed out the standard Hero disad mantra*, and he asked me how they managed to get there. "Maybe they used the same ship you did".

    It all worked out okay a few adventures later, when he dishonored his clan by violating his Code of Honor. He's the one that decided that the penalties for dishonor matched the historic Samurai code. :eek:

     

    JoeG

    *A Disadvantage that isn't a disadvantage is worth no points. Moral of the story: don't take Hunted 14-, More Powerful, Non-Combat Influence, Wants to harshly punish or kill character, if you don't want to roleplay the consequences frequently.

  2. Irksome players

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    Re: Irksome players

     

    Most of my irksome players fall into a few categories:

     

    1. The Samurai in a world without 'em: I've had several players insist on creating characters, who, if not exactly a Samurai, were close enough copies. One player even had the chutzpah to be Hunted by a rival House at 14-. His Hunted showed up a lot, much to his surprise. Another based his combat on achieving first strike. And he was devastating, until an opponent blocked his first strike.

     

    2. The Cheater: I'm always truly amazed that someone would cheat in one of my games. I play things cinematically, and it's really difficult (though not impossible) for a character to be killed off. And I base challenges more on roleplaying than on die rolls. It's therefore amazing that I've had players use loaded dice, trick rolls, character sheet "editing", and various other methods of cheating. I even had one person attempt to read my notes while I was out of the room. For the various dice problems, I've either provided my own pool of dice, or (for the trick roller), asked for rolls that would then be used for the npc that they were opposing. For the note reader, well, he was up against two problems. First, I'm left-handed, so my notebooks tend to run back-to-front, so his information was out of order for a right-handed reader. Second, I frequently change my mind about future adventures, based upon the actions of the players. This player revealed his cheating when the adventure that he was expecting changed direction in the middle. He made the mistake of acting on what he had read, rather than what I had just described for an encounter, with disasterous results.

     

    The Bully: I've been extremely lucky with the quality of many of my players. With most player groups, there will emerge a leader, who will influence the general game type. And my long-running campaign has had its battle-hardened commanders, political manipulators (Jason Vester of Broken Kingdoms fame), quest-seekers, and mystery solvers. But one player that was recommended to me wanted the game to go in a totally different direction. He didn't like action; during one plot hook, he decided to find a quiet tree, and read a book, rather than participate. The worst part of it was that he actively bullied the other players into following his actions, even though they didn't want that type of game. And when he didn't get his way, he decided that they weren't allowed to play anymore. He used real-world leverage; two of the players shared the apartment with him, and he bullied and threatened them until they withdrew from the game.

     

    JoeG

  10. Compensating for PC Abilities

    in Champions

    Posted

    Re: Compensating for PC Abilities

     

    So, what happens if they accidentally target the wrong person with the mental attacks? "Your Honor, I will show that that so-called 'hero' did willfully and maliciously assault my client, and then ripped his personal memories from his mind..."

     

    What if the information that they need is in the mind of a schizophrenic? Or someone high on drugs? Heck, tinfoil hats just might work as effective shields. Maybe, with all of the combat, they just hit someone a little too hard, and he has a case of amnesia.

     

    Detect Truth? How about on someone that insists in speaking in metaphors or euphemisms? Or a pathological liar? Or someone who always tests bad, even when telling the truth? How about a villain who tells each henchman a different story, so that the party doesn't know who to believe.

     

    What if the target is overly sensitive to mental damage, and enters a coma, or worse yet, dies?

     

    There are lots of roleplaying options here.

     

    JoeG

  13. What Are You Listening To Right Now?

    in Non-Gaming Discussion

    Posted

    Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now?

     

    My brother is a big Hacket Fan. Had me lstening to GTR ...

     

    Steve Hackett links in on my "Genesis" side of things, and GTR bridges it to "Yes" and "Asia" through Steve Howe. And I've got lots of stuff from all of 'em.

     

    Since you mentioned it,

     

    Now playingWhen the Heart Rules the Mind by GTR

     

    JoeG

  21. Comparing starship speeds.

    in Star Hero

    Posted

    Re: Comparing starship speeds.

     

    I really shouldn't do this, but...

     

    Remember Star Trek V? The Enterprise reaches the galactic core in what seems to be a relatively short time, as such things go. Given the distances involved, that does make warp drive pretty darn fast.

     

    (And I say "I shouldn't do this" because there are so many things wrong with that movie -- and I don't mean in just the 'science' sense -- that it makes me cringe to even think about it. But I did. So there. )

     

    Which makes Voyager all that amazing for how fast it couldn't go. But, you know, when God needs a starship...

     

    JoeG

  22. Comparing starship speeds.

    in Star Hero

    Posted

    Re: Comparing starship speeds.

     

    And just to mess everything up, the Millenium Falcon's hyperdrives are broken in "Empire", so they can't jump anywhere. Instead, they have to find a repair facility--Lando's Cloud City on Bespin. Problem is, it's in another star system altogether, so the trip would have to be done sublight. That they manage to do it in anything shorter than several hundred years either shows that Bespin is part of the Hoth system, or that the "speed of drama" truly is faster than hyperdrive jumps, and definitely functions in normal space.

     

    Of course, it's easy to overlook this bit of plot, because the rest of the movie is so enjoyable.

     

    JoeG

     

    *Now, if I can only believe that Jack Bauer can drive across the LA basin in 5 minutes, I can enjoy "24".

  25. What Are You Listening To Right Now?

    in Non-Gaming Discussion

    Posted

    Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now?

     

    Haha PDQ Bach... I'd always thought he was a creation of my departed pedophile boys choir director. Kind of fun to find out someone actually recorded something under that name.

     

    PDQ Bach....the last and the least of the many children of Johann Sebastian Bach...is the alter-ego of Peter Schickele. Think of it as the "Weird Al" of the Classical set.

     

    Oh, and I'm now listening to "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John through the usb line from my Hi-MD unit into my computer.

     

    JoeG

     

    No choirboys were harmed in making this posting.

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