Exile Game Studio

[Dr. Floyd Fallweather]

How combat intensive is everyone's game? My group is very much D&D oriented, so I think they believe that combat gains XP. However, XP in HEX is for overall play. My latest session was one massive combat session that was intended to be simply a "you are outnumbered and have no chance of winning situation"--which of course was intended to set them up for a more interesting easier fight. In hindsight, I know how I would do it "the right way" as I realized that I kinda gave them no choice.

Should the party have some faith that the GM is not going to simply do away with them efficiently? That some other more colorful fate is in the works and that they should take the hit for now only to have a real pulp challenge?

Dr. Fallweather[color=yellow][/color]

[Prof_Scrumtumbler]

I've had some experience with these kinds of groups. The first step, I think, is to have a discussion to find out what everyone wants from the game. Are they looking to do the D&D style "kick down the door and kill the orcs" because they want to, or because they don't know there are other options? You might find that they want a totally different kind of game from what you want, but you might also find that they're willing to try something new.

The other important thing is style points. In pulp stories, the heroes are ALWAYS getting captured and disarmed, but players hate that. If you say "you just ate drugged food" they'll scream and throw things at you. But if you say "you just ate drugged food. I know you hate that idea, so here are some style points" then the players don't feel like they've done anything wrong and they haven't "lost" the game.

Hope that helps.
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--M. Sechin Tower, EGS Lead Developer
Get some game ideas: www.sechintower.com/blog/
Get HEX scenarios and more: www.sechintower.com/exile.shtml


"What's the point of science if nobody gets hurt?"

[P_Clapham]

Heh, my games tend to be the kick down the door style. Typically that happens when the plot slows down. Or as Chandler put it.

"When in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand."

I tend to use the mook rules pretty regularly. Thugs, faceless nazi soldiers, and cultists just have their wounds based on the body attribute, which is typically 2. As far as combat, must mooks will have a maximum of four dice (pre-weapon) on attack rolls.
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"When in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand."
— Raymond Chandler

[Doc Nova]

I found that the Prof has it spot-on when it comes to forcing, or suggesting issues. A favorite tactic of mine is to put a stack of style points in the center of the table and tell everyone: You guys get these if you go along with X, but I take one away for every (round/whatever interval) that passes. Sometimes, the PCs really wanted to accomplish something first and the stack could dwindle. Other times, they got snatched immediately.

It actually became a running joke during the campaign that any time a leader invited them to dinner to celebrate their victories, that the PCs were getting captured.

However, I am also fortunate enough to have an incredibly trusting group. They know that everything I do at the table is in the interest of the story and their enjoyment within it. That has spoiled me in a lot of regards, as they do let me get away with a lot more.

Also! If you find your group is combatting all the time and it is eating up more game time than you want, I highly recommend using the Averages for all values for the NPCs, and maybe even suggesting the same to the PCs (maybe excepting the big league bad guys, if the PCs want to stick to their rolls -- a house rule in my campaign was averages were allowed for all encounters, except those that were Named, you could average against every Nazi you want, but you couldn't average against Stellenleiter Hellstrome, for example). You can also announce attack results ahead of time to save time, as well. "These Nazis fill the air with lead. Everyone, defend against a 5-point attack and tell me how much you wind up taking."

But, to run full-circle, Scrumtumbler's suggestion of giving out style points to occasionally railroad an event (captures are the most common example) does, typically, work.

[Prof_Scrumtumbler]

I can tell P_Clapham is an expert GM, and I already know Doc Nova is. Great advice, both of you.

I thought this was such a good question that I ended up writing way too much on it. The short answer is that I go fairly high combat, especially in convention games because it is a big crowd-pleaser. For the longer answer, I'll be posting it over the next few days in Scrumtumbler's Lab: http://www.sechintower.com/blog/
_________________
--M. Sechin Tower, EGS Lead Developer
Get some game ideas: www.sechintower.com/blog/
Get HEX scenarios and more: www.sechintower.com/exile.shtml


"What's the point of science if nobody gets hurt?"

[P_Clapham]

Thanks for the kind words. I'm less a GM, and more a amateur scholar of the pulps, but it tends to work out anyway.
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"When in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand."
— Raymond Chandler

[Doc Nova]

Thanks Prof! Those're kind words, and mean a lot, even coming from a mad scientist!

And having just read your first entry, I both laugh and cringe. I've dealt with players like that before. Definitely a challenge and easily (although not always) a fun-sapper. Fortunately, it has never been the entire group, and I was never afraid of having the story slap back. I always tried to make sure I measured the response appropriately and tried to never react personally. I look forward to your upcoming posts about it!

[Nestor]

[Prof_Scrumtumbler]

My "7 rules for playing with munchkins" turned into a 4-segment thing. Part 1 is up now, and the next 3 will post each morning through Wednesday.

http://www.sechintower.com/blog/

I hope there's something interesting in there for you.
_________________
--M. Sechin Tower, EGS Lead Developer
Get some game ideas: www.sechintower.com/blog/
Get HEX scenarios and more: www.sechintower.com/exile.shtml


"What's the point of science if nobody gets hurt?"

[P_Clapham]

I found this example delightful.

Whenever possible, instead of chasing the characters, let them be the pursuers. They won’t run when pursued by Rommel’s entire armored division, but they would be happy to CHASE that same armored column if one of those tanks contained a kidnapped NPC of interest. Pushing players rarely works, but pulling players rarely fails.
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"When in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand."
— Raymond Chandler

[Nestor]

Very nice start there, sir.

I especially liked your point about positive reinforcement since it's an aspect of HEX that attracted me to the game in the first place.

In HEX, a GM uses Style points to reward good roleplaying, but there is no punishment for bad roleplaying (other than not getting Style points). So you coax the players out of the "kill, loot, burn" mentality with the carrot of immediate and explicit gratification, rather than drag them out by hitting them with the stick of GM fiat.
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"I've got a degree in kicking arse and I'd have a doctorate in not giving a damn if I'd bothered to attend the ceremony."

[P_Clapham]

I was unaware of the 'offical' Mook Rules off of the Mythic Eras site. I'll be using those rules, along with the occasional elite group of Mooks with two wounds. Funny the mechanics reminds me of the Goalsystem pulp wargame Chaos in Cairo.

[SoulCatcher78]