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Post by Nestor on Apr 26, 2015 19:56:24 GMT -5
I picked up the Test Drive adventure for the upcoming Save The Day and was wondering if this would be the proper forum to bring up questions, comments, etc.
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Post by David Okum on Apr 27, 2015 13:35:04 GMT -5
I picked up the Test Drive adventure for the upcoming Save The Day and was wondering if this would be the proper forum to bring up questions, comments, etc. Nestor, go ahead and ask. This would be a great place to ask. I am working on a few tutorials and there is also a video detailing character creation and play, but I will slow it down and break it down so people can see how it plays out. |
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Post by Nestor on Apr 27, 2015 15:09:53 GMT -5
Great. I didn't want to step on any toes by posting in the wrong place.  One thing that jumped out at me during my first read-through was the concept of rolling a d6 to determine how many action points the character has for the turn. What's the rationale for that? My concern is that a player's actions are constrained by a totally random element that they have no control over. |
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Post by David Okum on Apr 27, 2015 16:05:15 GMT -5
Great. I didn't want to step on any toes by posting in the wrong place. One thing that jumped out at me during my first read-through was the concept of rolling a d6 to determine how many action points the character has for the turn. What's the rationale for that? My concern is that a player's actions are constrained by a totally random element that they have no control over. That's it in a nutshell. It's designed to reflect the confusion of battle and even the playing field in a game with powers and trucks getting tossed around. There is an alternate rule called "Take 5" which basically assumes a roll of 5 and lets the players act as they like without that random element, but I don't find it half as satisfying as an activation roll. |
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Post by emergencyoverride on Apr 27, 2015 19:49:24 GMT -5
I thought it was weird as well back when I first started playing the other okumarts games that use the mechanic, but it completely works! Just that little addition of randomness makes for a more suspenseful and fun game. You have to think on your feet instead of being able to "Game" the system, like in some games. Good stuff! Also, welcome to the forums Nestor!  |
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Post by Nestor on Apr 27, 2015 20:21:46 GMT -5
Admittedly I haven't had the chance to try the adventure to confirm, but having had the experience with other systems that have random action phases, the concept troubles me. Let me see if I can illustrate what I'm thinking about. I'm playing Speedy the speedster teaming up with Clank the Tank. When time comes to act, we both roll our 1d6s. I get a 1, Clank gets, say, a 5. Next turn, I roll a 2, Clank a 6. This continues for the next five turns, me not rolling anything above a 2, while the other player is rolling 5s and 6s. Do you see where I'm going with this? It's one thing to try something and failing because of a bad roll. It's quite another (and a bit more frustrating) to not be able to do anything at all because the dice don't like me.  |
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Post by David Okum on Apr 27, 2015 23:00:06 GMT -5
Admittedly I haven't had the chance to try the adventure to confirm, but having had the experience with other systems that have random action phases, the concept troubles me. Let me see if I can illustrate what I'm thinking about. I'm playing Speedy the speedster teaming up with Clank the Tank. When time comes to act, we both roll our 1d6s. I get a 1, Clank gets, say, a 5. Next turn, I roll a 2, Clank a 6. This continues for the next five turns, me not rolling anything above a 2, while the other player is rolling 5s and 6s. Do you see where I'm going with this? It's one thing to try something and failing because of a bad roll. It's quite another (and a bit more frustrating) to not be able to do anything at all because the dice don't like me. OK.. Speedsters get to move a good distance despite a crummy activation roll based on the power, not the dice roll. The only time it might be an issue for them would be if they roll a one (-1 to Ability checks) or a six (+1 to Ability Checks). That said, you could try the "take five" approach for the game and not have to worry about that. The bad rolls happen. Hero points can be spent to increase the effect (essentially adding 3 to the roll). As a GM, I like to describe it as being surprised or pinned down, depending on the situation. Your mileage may vary, but I quite enjoy the fickle nature of the random activation roll. |
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Post by Nestor on Apr 28, 2015 6:40:27 GMT -5
Fair enough. Different strokes and all that. Myself, I prefer that sort of thing to occur from the situation and the character's actions, not a random roll. Thanks for listening. |
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Post by David Okum on Apr 28, 2015 14:41:25 GMT -5
Fair enough. Different strokes and all that. Myself, I prefer that sort of thing to occur from the situation and the character's actions, not a random roll. Thanks for listening. Well, that was why there is a "Take 5" alternate rule in the book... Not everyone wants that random, though, I tell ya... sometimes it is just hilarious and it keeps some players out of trouble long enough that they can swoop in and save the day when the baddies smack down the first wave. |
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