[LoL] On-Line Campaign

[dindenver]

Hi
  OK, the game system is mine. And we are playing on-line using VASSAL every Saturday night.
  The players are:
  Cheryl - My wife, she has really only played in my games or games held at my house. She is shy has a knack for figuring out numbers and plays conservative. She made a Triclops Priestess.
  Nate - Friend of a friend. Hard-core video gamer and occasional power-gamer. A bit Passive-Aggressive and a little enthusiastic about the system. He made a Leshy Mage.
  There were supposed to be two more players, but they flaked out.

  So, we are up to the 6th session

Session 1
  I usually spend the first session or two letting the players explore the game world. This way I can gauge personality, motivation, etc. That did not work with these two. Neither one wanted to tell the other what to do or where to go.
  This session went OK overall. Neither player has taken a leadership role, so I had to have stuff happen to the characters. In this case, they got caught up in a political struggle between Elveny and the Western Empire. Once things got rolling, it went pretty well.

  From this session I started to realize the need for narrative license (That's when I started posting about my proposed Destiny system)

Session 2
  Players get fully wrapped up on the Elvish side of the conflict and volunteer to do a little spying. They got a chance to explore the town the started in, discover they were being followed and get going on the quest.

  From this session (and other sessions in other campaigns), I started to suspect that my skill system was a little shallow. I re-wrote it the way I originally wanted it to be and it turned out great).

Session 3
  Pleayers get jumped by bandits on the road to the border where they are supposed to do the spying. Combat goes well.  There is a good mix of tension and fun. Players discover new tactics and I figured out that Charge and Set vs. Charge pretty much work the way I had hoped. I also feel pretty vindicated that the game works the way I had hoped. A starting Priest and Mage are able to fend off 4 mounted Bandits. The Priest did nearly get knocked out, but that is pretty good for a first battle.

  From this session I figured out that the combat system worked in practice as it did in earlier arena-style playtests

Session 4
  Random encounter. Here a chance meeting between the players and a Huntress starts and ends abruptly. The player's Characters have a weird mix of personalities and the NPC is put off by them right away. Ultimately we all settle for the NPC bringing news from the front and the PCs aiding her.

  This session was hard to read. I had expected more to happen, but the players were able to communicate some news to the elves.

Session 5
  Caravan detail. The players hook up with a caravan and land a job guarding it. The session goes well as they really start to interact with the world and start to do some of the more encouraged behaviors (like talk to other members of their profession). On a side note, part of the session got REAL tense. Apparently I missed a line that Nate typed and he got bent out of shape when I treated him like he never typed it. It was resolved in a couple of minutes and we got back on track.

  This session went real well, after talking to the players a little, they finally started to undertand that the only way to get new spells was either to find them (hard) or to talk to other spell casters and trade for them (easy).

Session 6
  Dynomite! This was a great session. The players got to make a little moeny doing side jobs, but more importantly, the actually used the Destiny system. Cheryl went first. and it was a little weak, but she was happy. Cheryl suggested to Nate to try it, and that went real well. He ignored her suggestion and asked for what he wanted. The give and take of the Player/GM approval went smoothly and Nate waas real happy with the outcome.

Destiny 1: Cheryl suggested that her character get paid to deliver a sacred relic from here to the Western Empire (where they wetre headed already). It seemed reasonably, so we RP'd it after the details were ironed out.

Destiny 2: Nate wanted more spells. So we narrated a scene where he was to deliver a tome from the village they were in to the Western Empire. He was to return the book the local Mage had borrowed and send another book along with. During the trip he was free to copy any spells out of the book that he wanted.

  What I picked up from this session was that the Destiny System works. It was a lot less clumsy than I had hoped, it really rewarded the players for creativity and it got them involved in the story.

  I have a bigger game running on Fridays, and Cheryl is running a game on Thursdays, I'll post on those as they make milestones.

  As far as feedback from the Forge, I guess I should ask, what kinds of questions are you sasking your playtesters and what do you think of my progress so far?

[Adam Dray]

Can you reconstruct a bit of the back and forth example of the Destiny system? I'd love to see how it actually played out. Maybe you can use that Destiny system to jump-start all characters right into the game?

[dindenver]

Hi!
  Ask and you shall receive:
Before these were posted, Cheryl and Nate PM'd each other, so the posts here goes pretty quickly.
Nate's:
<Nate> - I'll look for someone to trade spells with
<Dave_M> - Cool, where are you looking?
<Nate> - At the signs adorning the shops
<Dave_M> - Cool, you can finda shop with a gold circle over the doorway
<Nate> - Ok I'll spend one too
<Nate> - I'll politly knock
<Dave_M> - A wizined old man opens the door for you, "Greetings fellow
Mage! What can I do for you?"
<Dave_M> - You spedning a destiny point or just looking?
<Nate> - I'll spend one
<Dave_M> - Oh, you did want to, OK.
<Dave_M> - Well, the way it works is you suggest something cool that
more or less fits in with the current story that benefits your
character, whatcha want?
<Nate> - Maybe he needs somthing delivered and a can't make it
<Dave_M> - Well, the way it's supposed to work, is you add something
to the story that benefits you. You want to add a quest?
<Nate> - Yeah
<Dave_M> - OK., are you more interested in the story or the reward?
<Nate> - Little bit of both
<Dave_M> - •    When a player declares that they want to use a Destiny
Point, that Player and the Judge need to talk about what they want to
do. What needs to be understood: •      What is being added to the story (a
character, an item, an event, subplot, etc.)? • What is the urgency of
the addition (does the element need to be added immediately,
eventually, gradually)? •       What characters are affected (PCs, NPCs)?
•       What characters are required for the addition (more relevant with
subplots, but it is vital to consider)? •       How the current plot will
transition into the addition (simple if it is an item added to the
scene, but could be more complicated for events and subplots)? •        How
the addition will transition back into the current plot (simple if it
is an item added to the scene, but could be more complicated for
events and subplots)?
<Dave_M> - That's the process
<Dave_M> - OK, well, it's your point, you tell your story and we'll go
with it, cool?
<Nate> - k
<Dave_M> - You tell the shpeel and I'll set the reward, or we can do
it the other way, whichever is more important to you
<Nate> - Well I kinda want more spells with ranged attacks for a
reward if that is cool
<Dave_M> - Totally
<Dave_M> - OK, so you know what the reward is, we'll say a book of spells?
<Nate> - alright
<Dave_M> - With at least 4 spells you cna use
<Dave_M> - OK, and we can spend it on this guy, unless you got
something in mind, I'll give the shpeel , since we know the reward. If
you have a good shpeel, we can use yours though
<Nate> - I didn't have anything specific in mind
<Dave_M> - Cool
<Dave_M> - Go ahead and reduce the Destiny stat on your sheet by one
<Nate> - done
<Dave_M> - and I'll write something
<Dave_M> - Old Mage: So, what brings you to my fine establishment
<Nate> - I was looking to exchange spells kind sir
<Dave_M> - I see, seeking knowledge eh?
<Dave_M> - Well, I know many spells, but I do need a favor?
<Nate> - Always
<Dave_M> - Ah, that's the spirit lad!
<Nate> - Never hurts to make a friend
<Dave_M> - Truer words were never spoken, it's a breath of fresh air
to meat some one so young who is so wise
<Dave_M> - Well, if you don;t mind, I have finished using a dear
friend's tome, but I am getting too old to mkae the long trip
<Nate> - Which direction do you need it take?
<Dave_M> - Not far, just a few days SW, a Western Empire village known
as Invictus
<Nate> - Well then the gods have smiled upon you and I happen to be
headed that way
<Dave_M> - My goodness, the gods really do provide eh?
<Dave_M> - Feel free to read as much of it as you like, but do get it
to my dear frienn d Simon
<Nate> - As soon as I can
<Dave_M> - Also, here is an Ethereal Almanac he might find useful
<Dave_M> - That's all a body can ask isn;t it?
<Dave_M> - OK, so we know what is added, who is involved and when it
begins and ends, cool?
<Nate> - Yeah
<Dave_M> - Cool, so Destiny points don;t refill like Luck
<Dave_M> - They are awarded by Judge (me in this game) when a player
does something "in character" that helps the story and is unexpected,
cool?
<Nate> - alright
<Dave_M> - Like I would have given you Destiny Points for defending
that Fort in the first session if destiny existed back then
<Dave_M> - And you can always nominate someone for Destiny Point
awards, in case my head is in the clouds, lol
<Dave_M> - Old Mage: Is there anything else I can do for ya kiddo?
<Nate> - I would like to see if you could use any of my spells
<Dave_M> - I'll take a gander, who knows!
<Dave_M> - Sorry son, as I am sure you will discover from reading that
tome in your hand, I'm familiar with all those
<Dave_M> - Quite a collection though
<Nate> - One does try
<Dave_M> - Better than I was doing at your age
<Nate> - Well thank you for your time I'll give Simon your best
<Dave_M> - Take care son!

Cheryl's:
<Cheryl> - Ok, so I want to find a priest to see if I can deliver a
tome for him, for a donation or for access to the tome itself
<Dave_M> - So, you want to spend a Destiny Point?
<Cheryl> - Yes, to find a priest who wants a tome delivered to the
Western Empire
<Dave_M> - How about a relic?
<Cheryl> - That would be fine
<Dave_M> - I was thinking a human priest here in town that wants a
relic returned to his home village?
<Cheryl> - Is that village in the western empire or on the way to it?
<Dave_M> - So, if you can find a Temple of the Father, I bet there
just might be a human there
<Dave_M> - Wanna head over?
<Cheryl> - Yes, I will head there
<Dave_M> - Make a theology roll, just to be sure you know your Elvish religions
*** 2d6 = 3 *** <Cheryl>
<Cheryl> - 13
<Dave_M> - Cool
<Dave_M> - OK, afer some wandering you find it behind the Mayor's mansion
<Cheryl> - I greet the priest at the door wiht the appropriate greeting
<Dave_M> - There, you are met by a Human Priest performing the
greetings of a Priest of the Father in Wood Elvish
<Dave_M> - You know our faith, very impressive, what brings you to our chapel?
<Cheryl> - I'm on a quest to gain priestly knowledge that I will
eventually return home with, I am traveling to to the Western Empire
at this time
<Dave_M> - How fortuitous, the Father must be smiling down on us this
very second.
<Dave_M> - I need a relic of the Pope of Heaven returned to my home village
<Dave_M> - I have decided to stay here and support this community
<Dave_M> - But my Abbot must be informed and this sacred item returned to him
<Cheryl> - Which village is that?
<Dave_M> - Peridot, it is near the border
<Cheryl> - I would be happy to take this sacred item to your village,
what is the name of the priest I will return it to?
<Dave_M> - Abbot Costello
<Dave_M> - do you need any travelling money?
<Cheryl> - Very well, Is the relic in a container or bag? will I be
able to carry it on my person to keep it safe?
<Dave_M> - It is this gilded, cherrywood triangle, symbol of our faith
in the Western Empire. Keep it with the point facing down if you can
<Cheryl> - Fine, I will do that
<Dave_M> - Thank you kindly
<Dave_M> - Oh, and remove a Destiny Point from your char Cheryl
<Cheryl> - You are welcome, I hope my travels bring me back here some day

  I aksed Cheryl what she thought, she said it was getting her more invested in the game and storyline and that she was encouraged to use it again. And Nate said he liked it alot too.

[Adam Dray]

Very cool. I like how the Destiny thing works.

Question is, if Nate had his character go in and ask for the spellbook, would he have gotten it anyway? Is it a good tactic for a player to try to get what he wants through normal means before spending the Destiny point?

Also, since Destiny points create such cool play, why limit them at all?

I found it interesting that Nate used his Destiny point to gain an item, and that led to a side-quest, where Cheryl spent hers for the quest directly. Did she get less than Nate out of the deal?

[dindenver]

Hi!
  She specifically asked for money, so the Priest at the end will give her some dough. Without Destiny, characters trade spells. As they get more spells, it becomes harder and harder to find the one guy who has the spell you are missing. And you might have to pay or do chores in order to get your new spells, if they already have all the spells you have. And usually, you only get one or two.

  I am going to have Nate pick at least two of the spells he wants. Maybe more if he doesn;t get too greedy.

  As for putting mechanics behind it, characters start out with between 5 and 10 and all they have to do in order to get more is think outside the box. The purpose is to get people engaged, let them pick their own rewards and reinforce what my game is about (breaking stereotypes).

  I hope that once they get more used to the system, they'll get more creative. But, we'll see.