Author Topic: How often do you ________ in game  (Read 4318 times)

Offline fantazero

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 1217
    • View Profile
How often do you ________ in game
« on: February 27, 2012, 03:30:54 PM »
How often do you/or a player

Make Compels
Make Declarations
Have inter-party Social/Mental/Physical Conflicts?
Law break?


Offline admiralducksauce

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 577
    • View Profile
Re: How often do you ________ in game
« Reply #1 on: February 27, 2012, 04:30:12 PM »
Compels?  Many times. Probably 2-4 times per character per session, with another 1-3 group-wide Compels based on campaign aspects or situational things that affect everyone. My players' self-Compels are included in there, but most Compels are started by me.

Declarations? Between 0-3 total all session. And most of the time they're the answers to questions my players ask me.  "Is there a back window I could get in?" and then I say "Spend a FP or make a roll and there is."

I have yet to have a conflict between PCs that had to go to the game mechanics. They've had conflicts, but it was solved through RP alone or OOC discussion.

I don't have any wizards in my group, so Lawbreaking doesn't apply. Even so, they generally seem to try to keep human opponents alive (rock salt/beanbag rounds, leg shots, beatdowns vs. outright murder). They're not superheroes but they save the ultraviolence for the monsters.

Offline Orladdin

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 514
  • The Undauntable
    • View Profile
Re: How often do you ________ in game
« Reply #2 on: February 27, 2012, 05:15:39 PM »
Declarations? Between 0-3 total all session. And most of the time they're the answers to questions my players ask me.  "Is there a back window I could get in?" and then I say "Spend a FP or make a roll and there is."
I go one step further to promote a more engaged storytelling experience.  When the players ask, "Is there a back window I could get in?" I respond with something like, "I dunno, is there?" and nod to their FP cup.  Perhaps it's not so important a situation and they "Investigate" it.  Most of the time, though, it gets them to shift gears and come back with "It's a good thing I checked behind that shrub and found the underused basement window that I couldn't see when I first approached," and throw a fate point accross the table at me. 

I have yet to have a conflict between PCs that had to go to the game mechanics. They've had conflicts, but it was solved through RP alone or OOC discussion.
My preferred method, too.  In my games, the mental stress track is generally reserved for supernatural or magical interference and social is more for courtly situations.

... they generally seem to try to keep human opponents alive (rock salt/beanbag rounds, leg shots, beatdowns vs. outright murder). They're not superheroes but they save the ultraviolence for the monsters.
That's great!  I always appreciate it when I have a group like this.  It's far more fun, for me, to run a game of songworthy heroes than to arbitrate peoples' violent fantasies.
« Last Edit: February 27, 2012, 05:21:48 PM by Orladdin »
There is never a blanket answer to an ethical question.  This includes the Laws of Magic.

Perpetrator of The Cold Days Release FAQ

"I never make stupid mistakes. Only very, very clever ones."
-- The Doctor, Timewyrm: Genesys

Offline Mr. Death

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 7965
  • Not all those who wander are lost
    • View Profile
    • The C-Team Podcast
Re: How often do you ________ in game
« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2012, 05:29:32 PM »
How often do you/or a player

Make Compels
About 2-3 times per session. I'm always a little worried that I'm not compelling enough, but it always seems to work out.
Quote
Make Declarations
Yeah, with us, these things are usually along the lines of, "Is there a way I can get in?" "Sure, what'd you have in mind?"
Quote
Have inter-party Social/Mental/Physical Conflicts?
Social stuff's typically covered by RP, Mental haven't had anything, and physical only once (The party tank got some bad juju dumped on her, and ended up basically replacing the boss battle that I'd originally had in mind. The party generally agreed it was pretty awesome.)
Quote
Law break?
I've yet to throw anything at the party that was non-human, but that's about to change, and it should be interesting to see how they handle it.
Compels solve everything!

http://blur.by/1KgqJg6 My first book: "Brothers of the Curled Isles"

Quote from: Cozarkian
Not every word JB rights is a conspiracy. Sometimes, he's just telling a story.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_T_mld7Acnm-0FVUiaKDPA The C-Team Podcast

Offline sinker

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 2115
    • View Profile
Re: How often do you ________ in game
« Reply #4 on: February 27, 2012, 05:47:04 PM »
Make Compels

2-3 times per scene. I like to keep things lively.

Quote
Make Declarations

Once or twice per scene. It should be noted that we really only make declarations (I.E. the mechanical function) when it has a direct benefit to the character. If my players just want to add details to the scene then there's no reason to stop them.

Quote
Have inter-party Social/Mental/Physical Conflicts?

Almost never. My local group has been gaming together for 10-20 years though (depending on which member we're talking about) so we all have a fair expectation of how each of us behaves. No one's terribly surprised when disagreements pop up and we're quick to find a solution outside of the game.

Quote
Law break?

I would look at the underlying question here. We don't necessarily break the laws often because we aren't always mortal spellcasters. There are several of us who regularly draw on that kind of drama though, who like the dark side and playing with that line.
« Last Edit: February 27, 2012, 05:56:56 PM by sinker »

Offline Orladdin

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 514
  • The Undauntable
    • View Profile
Re: How often do you ________ in game
« Reply #5 on: February 27, 2012, 05:51:28 PM »
How often do you/or a player
Make Compels
Usually a lot when the story starts to stall or when starting a new session.  Once the group starts getting a plan underway I find I need to compel considerably less (or not at all).

Make Declarations
Constantly.  I find that (as I mentioned above) encouraging players to declare as often as possible makes them start to imagine/visualize the scene and stay engaged.  It also makes for a better story.

Law break?
The first time I had a mortal wizard in the game, I made the first encounters against non-human opponents.  It wasn't until he had been warned of the laws that human opponents started becoming likely.  The warden who warned him about losing his head was so convincing and scary that he was ever-vigilant from then on.
There is never a blanket answer to an ethical question.  This includes the Laws of Magic.

Perpetrator of The Cold Days Release FAQ

"I never make stupid mistakes. Only very, very clever ones."
-- The Doctor, Timewyrm: Genesys

Offline CottbusFiles

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 135
    • View Profile
Re: How often do you ________ in game
« Reply #6 on: February 27, 2012, 06:52:58 PM »
Compel?

Self-Compel i think at least once per scene, up to 3.
As a GM i try to get to the more or less the same numbers. 2 compels per scene should be a minimum but sometimes it's hard in the mist of things...

Declare
Depends how much the GM is willing to improvise. In general, a lot

Inter party conflict
Didn't happen until now but i would have no problem with that (burning wheel mindset)

law break
didn't occur until now
Trouble Aspect : The nazis are trying to kill me
                       I have a phoenix inside of me
                       Nothing goes like i want it to

Offline Silverblaze

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 1150
    • View Profile
Re: How often do you ________ in game
« Reply #7 on: February 27, 2012, 08:20:41 PM »
How often do you/or a player

Make Compels
Make Declarations
Have inter-party Social/Mental/Physical Conflicts?
Law break?

From a player's perspective-

Take Compels: I've only bought off about 3 in the long term game I'm in that we've been playing since we got the books (well over a year). I think our game needs a few more compels per character each session in fact. (self and GM related)  I self compel a bit less than I should also, mainly because I'm afraid of bogging down the game by constantly trying to get another fate point and seeing if the compel is contested by the GM.  Dunno if it would happen, but I'd rather not have it become an issue.  That's a personal issue our group needs to work on.

Make Declarations: As needed.  More the longer I play the game and get used to the idea.  At present I'd say between 2-3 a game, meanwhile I maneuver about double that....roughly.

Inter-party conflict: Social - all the time - always handled through roleplay. Mental - none since we lost the White Court PC. Physical - about once every other or every two games; much less lately.  We strictly roleplay our characters and often knock each other around when speaking doesn't get the job done.  It happens less the more our characters mature and the threats grow greater.

Law Break: Only law broken so far: was seeking outside lore and that was 90% plot device, only one character suffers from that due to a roleplaying situation where he chose to go farther than the rest of us...awarding him the permanent change to his sheet.  Awside from that we don't break laws of magic.

Grey areas though....
« Last Edit: February 27, 2012, 08:23:26 PM by Silverblaze »

Offline CottbusFiles

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 135
    • View Profile
Re: How often do you ________ in game
« Reply #8 on: February 27, 2012, 09:18:18 PM »
Inter-party conflict: Social - all the time - always handled through roleplay. Mental - none since we lost the White Court PC. Physical - about once every other or every two games; much less lately.  We strictly roleplay our characters and often knock each other around when speaking doesn't get the job done.  It happens less the more our characters mature and the threats grow greater.
Grey areas though....

Why don't you use the social conflict system? You can still roleplay all your stuff but you have a rules solution to get moving and not bock down play. Also the social characters get a few more bang for their buck.
(again, i am coming from a burning wheel perspective here)
Trouble Aspect : The nazis are trying to kill me
                       I have a phoenix inside of me
                       Nothing goes like i want it to

Offline Mr. Death

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 7965
  • Not all those who wander are lost
    • View Profile
    • The C-Team Podcast
Re: How often do you ________ in game
« Reply #9 on: February 27, 2012, 09:28:26 PM »
Why don't you use the social conflict system? You can still roleplay all your stuff but you have a rules solution to get moving and not bock down play. Also the social characters get a few more bang for their buck.
(again, i am coming from a burning wheel perspective here)
It's been my experience that any dice rolling tends to slow things down. Any fight I've had in freeform roleplays tends to be done a lot quicker (30-minutes for, say, a 5-on-5 scuffle), while fights in Dresden tend to take an hour or more, since in addition to deciding what to do, everyone has to figure out the mechanics of it.

And my groups are composed of mainly freeform gamers, who're just more comfortable acting out the social situations than rolling dice for it.
Compels solve everything!

http://blur.by/1KgqJg6 My first book: "Brothers of the Curled Isles"

Quote from: Cozarkian
Not every word JB rights is a conspiracy. Sometimes, he's just telling a story.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_T_mld7Acnm-0FVUiaKDPA The C-Team Podcast

Offline Silverblaze

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 1150
    • View Profile
Re: How often do you ________ in game
« Reply #10 on: February 27, 2012, 09:31:27 PM »
It's been my experience that any dice rolling tends to slow things down. Any fight I've had in freeform roleplays tends to be done a lot quicker (30-minutes for, say, a 5-on-5 scuffle), while fights in Dresden tend to take an hour or more, since in addition to deciding what to do, everyone has to figure out the mechanics of it.

And my groups are composed of mainly freeform gamers, who're just more comfortable acting out the social situations than rolling dice for it.

Worded more eloquently than I would have done.

Exactly my sentiments.

EDIT: point of fact - 3 does not belong in the word Worde(3)d.

Offline CottbusFiles

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 135
    • View Profile
Re: How often do you ________ in game
« Reply #11 on: February 27, 2012, 09:56:33 PM »
It's been my experience that any dice rolling tends to slow things down. Any fight I've had in freeform roleplays tends to be done a lot quicker (30-minutes for, say, a 5-on-5 scuffle), while fights in Dresden tend to take an hour or more, since in addition to deciding what to do, everyone has to figure out the mechanics of it.

And my groups are composed of mainly freeform gamers, who're just more comfortable acting out the social situations than rolling dice for it.

Then why put points into the social skills?
Trouble Aspect : The nazis are trying to kill me
                       I have a phoenix inside of me
                       Nothing goes like i want it to

Offline Mr. Death

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 7965
  • Not all those who wander are lost
    • View Profile
    • The C-Team Podcast
Re: How often do you ________ in game
« Reply #12 on: February 27, 2012, 09:58:36 PM »
Then why put points into the social skills?
Generally the GM in my games takes them into account, just without the rolls, but admittedly they do end up considerably lower than the physical and mental skills.
Compels solve everything!

http://blur.by/1KgqJg6 My first book: "Brothers of the Curled Isles"

Quote from: Cozarkian
Not every word JB rights is a conspiracy. Sometimes, he's just telling a story.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_T_mld7Acnm-0FVUiaKDPA The C-Team Podcast

Offline Silverblaze

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 1150
    • View Profile
Re: How often do you ________ in game
« Reply #13 on: February 28, 2012, 12:01:28 AM »
Again, Mr. Death's answer is pretty close to mine but...

Also, some powers require them.

Also, sometimes you can gloss over situations like convincing unimportant NPC's (security guards, store clerks, etc with a quick.  (I explain I'm in a hurry to the guy giving me a speeding ticket, or I intimidate the security guard - insert quick roll - game moves on seemlessly)

Offline Harboe

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 48
    • View Profile
Re: How often do you ________ in game
« Reply #14 on: February 28, 2012, 01:28:50 AM »
Make Compels
As often as I can make it interesting. A lot. Some sessions have been almost nothing but handing out Fate Points to fuel the awesomeness that was going on :P
If it makes for a more interesting game (my players wishes are interpreted by me through their aspects, so), then I offer Fate Points.

Quote
Make Declarations
Annoyingly, almost never. I'm trying to get the players to utilize it, but it seems only one player "gets" the concept.

Quote
Have inter-party Social/Mental/Physical Conflicts?
None yet. It'll come though.
Never run a long-term campaign where there wasn't at least one conflict in-party where someone needed a good beatin'/talkin' to/mind control ;)

D&D and WoD both make such things all too tempting :)
Thankfully, with the right players it can be a blast!

Quote
Lawbreak?
Hasn't come up either. No mortal spellcasters IMC and main enemy is Red Court anyway, so it hasn't been much of an issue.
And considering that (if I ever get to play *sigh*) want Cassandra's Tears more than any other power, I don't think any character I'd play would get there anytime soon.