"All dis schemin' an' plotterin' and plannin' be makin' Bob's 'ead spin! It's toim ta do somefin' about all dese villens and make it possibru ta remembah who's who! Dun worry guys, it'll be jus like trimmin' a book down written by an auther dat forgot wot he was writin' repeatedly an' keeps writin' up more plot points, so we's just 'elpin' 'im along!" -- Bob, Da One an' Only Wun
So, in a week or so, I'mma get back into DMing. But wait, but how, aren't I busy at the usual questing times? I still am, and although there are random days where said time frees up, ultimately I can't schedule things more than an hour in advance like that, which is never gonna work with just about everyone else. Instead, although I know some of you can't make it unfortunately, I'm gonna be doing late-night DMing for this quest. It's gonna be fairly informal, not to the extent of DoubleEx's Luchadore derailing a quest by his sheer existence, but instead of following the game's rules exactly, I'mma be a little carefree about 'em. Your character doesn't have to be up-to-date w/ the latest changelogs, you can switch characters from session to session, and for god's sake, frigin' Bob is your NPC Ally for the quest, what's better than that?
Also, in the off-chance I get a free evening somewhere along the line, I might derail the quest myself and see who's available to join on shenanigans. Cause this quest... well, let's just say everyone's forgotten most of the story elements, and Da Mastah DM needs to find a way to "thin the herd" so he can focus on just a few. Not all at once of course.
So, in a week or so, I'mma get back into DMing. But wait, but how, aren't I busy at the usual questing times? I still am, and although there are random days where said time frees up, ultimately I can't schedule things more than an hour in advance like that, which is never gonna work with just about everyone else. Instead, although I know some of you can't make it unfortunately, I'm gonna be doing late-night DMing for this quest. It's gonna be fairly informal, not to the extent of DoubleEx's Luchadore derailing a quest by his sheer existence, but instead of following the game's rules exactly, I'mma be a little carefree about 'em. Your character doesn't have to be up-to-date w/ the latest changelogs, you can switch characters from session to session, and for god's sake, frigin' Bob is your NPC Ally for the quest, what's better than that?
Also, in the off-chance I get a free evening somewhere along the line, I might derail the quest myself and see who's available to join on shenanigans. Cause this quest... well, let's just say everyone's forgotten most of the story elements, and Da Mastah DM needs to find a way to "thin the herd" so he can focus on just a few. Not all at once of course.
Various things we tweaked and should feel less rigid as a result:
- No turn order! There's a roll a the start of the battle to see if anyone's got bonus turns, but that's it. If you're faster at making actions than others, your actions will happen first. For anyone that's slow or likes doing crazy things, I'd recommend having notepad up on the side and typing your action there so you can still defend fine.
- Using actions as reactions! If you're getting attacked and you're not confident about your defense in that stat, and you haven't done your actions for the round yet, perhaps you could try a wand blast, jump to higher ground, cast a defensive spell, or whatever boats your float!
- Enemies don't have full profiles written up. While you can see their stats and the names of their abilities, you won't actually know what they do until you fight them for a little while. On the DM's side, they're much simpler in design, yet still powerful.
