tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post3065468308105681639..comments2024-03-28T01:53:34.870-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Dwimmermount, Session 17James Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-30621126318501275472009-08-14T15:24:09.782-04:002009-08-14T15:24:09.782-04:00We play on a large glass-topped table that I scraw...We play on a large glass-topped table that I scrawl on with dry-erase markers. It is quick and dirty and very effective, especially because I have some small modicum of artistic talent and can normally capture the scene with just a few quick strokes. <br /><br />This also obviates the need for mapping on paper to a large extent because the table is big enough that I can just draw out each room that the PCs enter and they can just look at the level. One of the players has a digital camera and takes pictures of the tabletop before I erase anything and then he emails the group the pics from the last session. <br /><br />This has been awesome, everyone has a collection of maps and drawings of huge battles to look at when they are jonesing for the next session!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07648499022366444265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-16901550405881276882009-08-14T14:47:52.031-04:002009-08-14T14:47:52.031-04:00We use mini's in our Labyrinth Lord combats be...<i>We use mini's in our Labyrinth Lord combats because you can have much bigger battles than without.</i><br /><br>Yes, that's something I've noticed as well. I've run combats with 20+ combatants with ease thanks to the combination of OD&D's rules and the way minis enable me to see the whole fight with ease.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-56730022233763517492009-08-14T13:37:34.174-04:002009-08-14T13:37:34.174-04:00Hi, James, I'm a recent lurker. Your posts ar...Hi, <b>James</b>, I'm a recent lurker. Your posts are consistently fun to read. Thanks!<br /><br />I've never run or played in a game that used lead miniatures and rarely played any upon hexes or grids. However, almost every game made use of representative tokens or drawings at some point in the action. Often the tokens were simply spare dice.<br /><br />At the moment I'm taken with the idea of amassing a collection of generic pawns in various colors. It seems to me a solution with comparatively small expense or fuss.<br /><br />Of course, if I had all the time in the world, I'd create customized paper miniatures galore. ;)<br /><br />As for leeway for players, from what you describe it doesn't seem to me you're making shameful allowances. Rather, you're basking in your collective cleverness, which is pretty swell.Jon McNallyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06349882237118956838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-35343091884545776022009-08-14T12:40:47.960-04:002009-08-14T12:40:47.960-04:00To be honest, it always seemed to me that Minis we...To be honest, it always seemed to me that Minis were one of the very foremost old-school accessories, largely because my 3.5 group staunchly rejected them.<br /><br />I do, however, consider off-topic discussion to be practically essential to what is at its core a social activity.<br /><br />Lastly, letting your players have a little leeway if they're being spectacularly clever about how to go things is the golden rule a DM should always remember. Namely, "If it's a really cool idea, you can afford to fudge." Always remember you're running the game, not vice versa.Rachel Ghoulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04765944479141792643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-69690210396587921722009-08-14T11:38:15.063-04:002009-08-14T11:38:15.063-04:00We use mini's in our Labyrinth Lord combats be...We use mini's in our Labyrinth Lord combats because you can have much bigger battles than without. For example, it's much easier to work out the positions of a dozen enemies with minis than without... and you can increase the numbers to much larger levels with ease. It's also fun to make the fighters scramble to try and protect the party mage when they spy a miniature heading right for him...Pete Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03438651595079082035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-58310154953563073342009-08-14T09:41:17.928-04:002009-08-14T09:41:17.928-04:00On minis: by minis, I meant any representational m...On minis: by minis, I meant any representational marker not only actual figures. The new 'old school' movement seems against any form of visual representation as far as I can tell.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10024855613036001112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-11636723887958351952009-08-14T09:27:24.573-04:002009-08-14T09:27:24.573-04:00There is exactly one reason why I don't like m...There is exactly one reason why I don't like minis: They are huge sinks of both time and money, and I could never afford either. I think last I checked, they sold a pack of maybe two figures for $12.00. Shenanigans on that.<br /><br />So we never used them, and we learned not to need to. In your average dungeon room, the setup is just not complicated enough to really require a map. If it *is* a complicated setup, a quick pencil sketch and Lego guys or extra dice work just fine. Our paladin has permanent dibs on a Lego Predator, which we all think is absolutely hilarious.Big McStrongmusclehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07067031012393190130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-11193067766351000012009-08-13T20:03:29.960-04:002009-08-13T20:03:29.960-04:00Oh,yes sure,well,I will be waiting for some more a...Oh,yes sure,well,I will be waiting for some more action in the future then. Keep up the good work J.Valandilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02736239726821755165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-75883260648542331232009-08-13T19:50:26.429-04:002009-08-13T19:50:26.429-04:00The last few sessions have been shorter and filled...The last few sessions have been shorter and filled with minutiae, like buying supplies in town, interviewing henchmen, and working out the kinks in the party's maps. I have been summarizing these sessions, because they'd be rather tedious if I went over every bit of detail about the characters' commercial endeavors.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-24737714255753817992009-08-13T19:28:04.071-04:002009-08-13T19:28:04.071-04:00James,is it me,or are your Dwimmermount posts gett...James,is it me,or are your Dwimmermount posts getting shorter and less focused on what happened in the session? <br /> Since the 13th or 14th post you seem to sumarize a lot,giving us less and less details. Are you doing this on purpose? Or there isnt a lot happening in the game?Valandilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02736239726821755165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-69107973136106125482009-08-13T16:52:50.817-04:002009-08-13T16:52:50.817-04:00On Minis - I'm not a big fan. There...I've...<b>On Minis -</b> I'm not a big fan. There...I've said it. I know I'm the odd man out in this discussion, but I have my reasons. One of them being that I find that it often breaks the "pace" of the game. And during a battle, I find pace to be nearly as important as anything else. <br /><br />I suppose I'd better explain myself. When you're building the suspension that leads up to the inevitable encounter you're relying partially on pace. It absolutely kills the mood though when you have to take a break to pull out the minis, draw a map or what have you. I'm having some issues with just this in our 4E game. (along w/ a few other things...if you can imagine.)<br /><br />Now saying all that, I can imagine that if you had a set group if minis that you used all the time for "monsters" and another for "PCs" and didn't draw anything, but just used the table top, then maybe the time factor wouldn't be a big deal.<br /><br />Me, I like using a piece of paper with letters for the PCs and numbers for the monsters. Works pretty well...<br /><br /><b>On chatting during a game -</b> I've vacillated back and forth on this one. When we were in University and used to play huge long sessions on a regular basis, then chatting was a completely acceptable thing.<br /><br />Then we got older and our time got tighter. I was often perturbed at the chit chat that would break into the flow of the game. And like Brunomac, I found that it was distracting and took away from our limited time to play.<br /><br />Fast forward to today. I don't worry about it so much anymore. I've come full circle like you James, and have realized that this is a social game, a little bit of chit chat isn't a bad thing...as long as it involves the whole table. I still take issue with those small side chats between two players while something's going on between the DM and the rest of the table.Gamer Dudehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05006232842482959060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-3381579580918531442009-08-13T16:03:59.656-04:002009-08-13T16:03:59.656-04:00"Though I hate to admit it, if my players amu...<i>"Though I hate to admit it, if my players amuse me, I tend to be far more lenient on them than when they don't. I realize this makes me a bad person."</i><br /><br />Yes, you are. You should have rolled for wandering monsters, at the very least.<br /><br />If would have been quite amusing to watch Brother Candor placing his fate in the hands of the Lady and hoofing it barefoot back across the room, with Dordagdonar floating above the middle yelling "Pull me back!" to him as hobgoblin crossbows are leveled at them both.FuriousDavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06593831395664210540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-15097906376435390042009-08-13T15:41:28.398-04:002009-08-13T15:41:28.398-04:00The chatter is both before and during the game. Wh...The chatter is both before and during the game. What will happen is something occurs in-game that reminds someone of something and that leads to discussion of this or that related topic and, before you know it, 15 minutes have elapsed. <br /><br />Like I said, this doesn't bug me in the slightest. Part of the fun of the campaign is finding an excuse to get together regularly. Efficiency isn't a factor and if we take a little longer to do stuff nowadays than when we were 12, so be it. I have no complaints about our pace.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-52632090571600462872009-08-13T15:37:25.741-04:002009-08-13T15:37:25.741-04:00I still benefit greatly from the use of miniatures...I still benefit greatly from the use of miniatures and dungeon models<<br /><br />After around 30 years of using them, I don't know how anybody does it without them. The sheer fun and chaos of the battlefield is made so easy with something to represent, even if it's dice or boardgame counters.<br /><br />Like Jeff I find the anti-mini thing kind of baffling. When I got back into gaming last year, I was suprised by so many people saying "it takes away from the imagination." I just don't get that. I really think it comes from a mindset of not wanting to have to buy minis.<br /><br />So James, is all the outside of game chatter before the game, or throughout? A little beforehand is natural, but with limited time on a weeknight I hate when somebody keeps taking us out of it. And there is usually one gung ho player who is like "let's get on with it." Do you not have one of those? I do, but also our kind host has a habit of going into some 5 minute or so story about some girl conquest he made years ago (I never really believe him) or some BS like that. Back in the day when we had 6 hour games chatter was cool. But we are here for a reason. Even at a friendly Friday night poker game you have to get down to brass tacks at some point.Kevin Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14122665488285424578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-61961524429413769172009-08-13T15:34:37.429-04:002009-08-13T15:34:37.429-04:00I think a lot of the invective against minis is du...I think a lot of the invective against minis is due to the increased relevance of their use in WotC <i>D&D</i>. My experience is that lots of gamers used them in olden times but just as many didn't use them. They weren't essential and, in the drive to differentiate old school <i>D&D</i> from its by-blows, lots of grognards over-extol the virtues of "minis-less" play.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-68752800057285308412009-08-13T14:58:04.126-04:002009-08-13T14:58:04.126-04:00Good for you not throwing the baby out with the ba...Good for you not throwing the baby out with the bath water. I find the use of mini's very helpful to keep track of fights and find the anti-mini screed a little silly. I also let my party get away with cool stuff so I will join you in DM heck.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10024855613036001112noreply@blogger.com