Hey guys,
So, normally I try to space out my Actual Plays, both to give others time to read them and myself the needed time to proofread and edit the posts (as that is a never ending struggle). But, I went ahead and posted all of the ones for my Clash of Wills play, as I need some honest feedback.
Does this structure work? Is it an enjoyable read? Does it make sense and can you follow the "plot"? Should I include more mechanics? Or cut back? Any other brutally honest advice or recommendations you can give me? I'm trying to figure out a format for this project that works, especially before I share it more widely.
Thanks!
http://www.chimericalrealm.com/2017/08/clash-of-wills.html
(bookmarked for reading tonight)
ReplyDelete(doing the same as Todd Zircher does)
ReplyDeleteI'm through to Part Two; going to start on three shortly. I'm having some trouble with the factions; the Earl was going to will his lands to the church but the PCs convinced him to sign them over to their lord instead? Wouldn't a living heir like the son be a problem for that, or even for reassigning to the crown?
ReplyDeleteI like the balance of story and mechanics!
This was an enjoyable read, and read pretty quickly. I'm glad you broke it up into three parts, as one single AP would "look" really long.
ReplyDeleteI liked your mix of mechanics and storytelling, with an emphasis on storytelling.
I am interested in the mechanics in using the module in solo play, but that may be more of a post-game review than an in-game comment.
There were some things that came up that I wondered if you had decided them or if it was background information from the module. For example, did all the NPCs have motivation in their background (like the True Faith of Jill) or was that something that occurred because of an Oracle? I assume it was from the module because you made it clear when you rolled.
Also, were your scenes specific scenes/encounters in the module? Did you have to make anything up? How much and what? But again, I think you were pretty clear when you had to roll an Oracle or something similar, so I could go back and figure that out.
I think the most important thing is: does this format work for you? Is it in a style that you like and that you are happy to write in? Because you are the one doing all the work and readers are fickle ;)
Tam H The plot is a bit goofy, but that's from the module directly. Maybe I should have spelled it out more ? Because a lot of these modules have bizarre plots--theg weren't written by history majors.
ReplyDeleteI think it'd be really helpful to have a scoresheet up front with who is what and why and what's constrained by the module! I really liked the beginning of part 4 with updates on what each faction would try to do.
ReplyDeleteIt might also be helpful to have a brief "these is WoD vampire strengths and weaknesses" for those of us of not too familiar with the specifics.
Which character(s) are you most interested in following next?
Hey guys,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. If I'm not mistaken, it sounds like:
PRO:
Length of each post
Balance of narrative to mechanics
Basic writing
Which is good! It means I don't need to reinvent the wheel
CON: (i.e. things that can help)
Clarifying what is in the module and what is derived naturally through narrative
Basic understanding of what the characters DEAL is/what they can and can't do, and why
Updating the situation (and current character status?) at the top of each part
Given that, I'm thinking of doing a "basic intro to vampire" post, that I'll link to at the beginning of each story.
Secondly, I need to play around with blogger and see if there's a way I can section off part of for the current updates
as well as to have a way to include "GM notes" to indicate what's in the module and where and why they vary.
Chris Stieha All the NPC's were presented in the module--Jill and her faith, Stephen the Hunter (though he was originally Samuel, I had to change
ReplyDeletehis name due to the PC), Karin, Alfred, all the rest. The first few scenes were scripted, though the module assumed that the party would rush to Jill's aid (ha!), and the game flowed pretty much as written up until the met the Earl. In theory, the party leaves him alone to mull over the weight of embracing him, and then Alfred does it, and the subsequent drama comes between the father and son. As I thought about it more, the more I realized NONE of my players would ever ACTUALLY consider embracing him, and what's he going to do
one they drain him of blood, anyway? Killing him is not an option presented in the module.
After than, things quickly went away from the script--Johann escorting the girls and deciding to inflict violent retribution--that was all character driven. Jill and Stephen--the logical result of Godfrey's actions.
And Karin and Alfred? They're supposed to become "unlikely allies" of the party against the crazed Earl and the Toreador vampires. But there's really no way to organically bring them in, they just kind of show up at the end.
As for the style, I enjoy it. But I'm not a fast or naturally talented writer, so it takes me a while to write these Actual Play's up. My notes are a bewildering mishmash of phrases, dialogue scenes, scribbled mechanics, and things like "blah blah, asshole assholes, cause what are you gonna do?" I wish I had the skill to post my game play notes like some of the folks around here are able to do
Tam H In addition to the "Basic Vampire" setup, do you think posting the character sheets for each character in the "intro" post would be worthwhile?
ReplyDeleteAs for which character is next, it's gonna be Johann and his adventures in Jerusalem. I was REALLY worried when he got knocked down to Torpor, but I have a weakness for the overly violent righteous do-gooder.
I enjoyed the reading!
ReplyDeleteIntroduction: I like the characters but there is no mention of the solo system (Mythic appears only in part two), this is weird because it's a solo play therefore the solo engine is as important as the rpg used.
Part 1: mostly narrative with few mechanics. nice reading
Part 2-3: more mechanics (in scene 5 the random choice of the place is freeform , i.e. not Mythic, right?) BUT the mix with the narrative is a little difficult to read. IMO mechanics and narrative should be separated (fonts, paragraphs, bold etc.).
one last note: "and to defy him is to defy G-d himself!"
nothing to do with the review, I'm just curious, the "G-d" word is not pronounced by Godfrey because a vamp cannot say it? I find it difficult to imagine someone pronounce "G-d"
lino pang Good points about clarifying the system (both WHAT I'm using, and WHEN). I think I need a "template" for each Introduction post which will precede each Module/Story set.
ReplyDeleteAnd I really need to figure out the best way to properly separate out Narrative and Mechanics in Blogger without having to delve into HTML...
As for the "G-d" thing...it was a bit of a joke on my part. Back in the day (this is set in the Dark Ages...crud, I need to clarify that), people wouldn't write the word God. Obviously he's saying it, but it wouldn't have been written down. I just thought it was funny.
I think a character sheet, even just a short summary, would be very helpful!
ReplyDeleteDoes blogger support css? That would be relatively painless; that's how I do it on my blog. I didn't have any trouble keeping the mechanics separate from the prose, but I definitely am always interested in more mechanics.
This is great. I love the method you at using to emulate pc characters. Especially for character driven games like vampire, it seems to work really well.
ReplyDelete