plethora

u/plethora@lemmy.world
3 posts · 36 comments

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The core systems seem strong but with lots of asterisks to keep them backseat to player agency.

I think it's more that the mechanics take a backseat to the fiction, and largely the GM is more responsible for that than the players. It's definitely not for everyone. I run a regular 5e game and I suspect half of my players would be into it and half would very clearly say "no thanks".

lots of pressure valves to reduce the impact of unlucky dice

That's an interesting interpretation, considering that success with fear is just as likely as failure with hope. I don't see this as primarily existing to make things easier for the players. Rather it's there to make each roll more interesting.

Fear seems like it only exists to give the GM permission to do normal GM things

The communication around Fear could be better in the book. GMs can do normal GM things whenever they want. Fear is used to up the stakes by using special adversary moves, taking more "turns" than they can naturally, or interrupting the players in ways that would likely seem unfair in 5e.

For what it's worth, there are definitely people using traditional initiative in Daggerheart. For one thing, the book has optional rules for an "action tracker" that limits how much an individual player can hog the spotlight. And I saw somebody on Mastodon who was borrowing a cool initiative system from Dragonbane.

Hope and Fear are more central, if that mechanic turns you off, it's probably not the game for you. Personally I love it, it gives us all improv cues when we need them, and it makes rolls more dynamic than just pass/fail.

I’ve got the whole family giving it a go this time around.

That's awesome! My 13 year old wrote a few hundred words the first day, but I'm not sure if he's continuing. He started Skyrim recently, so...

I’m finding it difficult to motivate myself to be creative after work… Any tips?

Is there a better time when you feel more creative? I like to write in 15-20 minute sprints 2-3 times a day (although of course some days I do more or less or don't write at all). Maybe after work would be a good time to work on your outline or other meta-writing? Describing scenes or characters, etc. Then perhaps before work you set a 15 minute timer and just chug out what you can based on the outlining work you did the night before?

I always find it easier to be creative when I already have some prep to lean on. Putting on the right music can help, too!

FWIW, I'm not shooting for 50k this year. Just want to write every day, build a better writing habit overall. Last year I felt pretty satisfied doing 35k, and it was fun just to be trying something like this with a community.

Glad to help! I'm somebody who wishes more videos were blog posts so I totally get it. I tend to enjoy Matt Colville's videos, though.

There's a short summary at https://shop.mcdmproductions.com/collections/the-talent-and-psionics/products/the-talent, with a few excerpts from the PDF (in images, unfortunately), but I felt like in this case the video covered it better.

And yeah, I feel like strain could be so much fun to roleplay, compared to spell slots.

Hi! Sorry if this came across as a specific complaint about you. It's a trend I've seen on YouTube that I don't understand, is all. By all means, express yourself however you want! But of course, don't be surprised if old fogies like me don't engage with that style of content.

And thanks for the blog post! I'm a DM trying to find the best way to distribute fun magic items to my party. I have one character who wants to craft a stronger shield but lacks the necessary skills. This could be a good approach to get him the effect he wants without losing the shield he's been spending time and effort on.

You really don’t have to watch the video

I didn't. I'm curious about the content, though.

And I'm genuinely confused about this style of video being so common, but since it is common, I have to assume that it works for some people. I'm glad it works for you.

Typically I'd agree here, but I wonder if that would work when the rest of the party is also paying the consequences? An eight year old might be absolutely thrilled about this outcome...