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Post by TheObligatorySQL on Sept 4, 2014 17:45:28 GMT -6
I'm going to do it. No minis. Just the way I run OD&D but with slightly different rules. That's the way to do it! That's how I've been running my game at my FLGS: No minis or map. Compared to when I was running the 4th Edition Encounters, doing it that way is so much more flexable.
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Post by jeffb on Sept 4, 2014 19:38:05 GMT -6
Way to go Fin! Looking forward to writeups if you have the time/inclination.
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Post by Finarvyn on Sept 10, 2014 20:14:23 GMT -6
Ran the first session at the game store tonight. Six players, two of which were total newbies so it took a while to get started. I ended up sketching crude maps on notebook paper and used RISK pieces as "minis" so they could get a bit tactical (mostly to deterime who could shoot at whom). They seemed to have a blast! Pretty old school overall, even with 5E rules. I did end up killing one character, which made me a bit sad, but I was making all of my rolls outside of the screen for everyone to see and the player took it pretty well. I'd say the experiment was a success!
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Post by blackbarn on Sept 10, 2014 23:07:04 GMT -6
Cool, I'm glad it worked out and you had a good time. Any tips or thoughts about the rules and how you felt running a game with them?
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Post by Finarvyn on Sept 11, 2014 4:39:46 GMT -6
A couple of thoughts come to mind.
(1) 5E is designed so that each player is supposed to know what's on his own character sheet. The DM doesn't need to learn all of the rules because the player should be responsible enough to look up damage for weapons, spell effects, and so on.
(2) If I forget a rule, I wing it. Just like in OD&D. I was talking to the guy who is the Adventure League coordinator for my area of the country and he basically agreed that this was the way to go.
(3) I made a "cheat sheet" for the monsters I needed the most. Name, Initiative, AC, HP, weapon attack and damage. Short monster block, essentially OD&D-short. This way I didn't have to look around various books to find the stats. (This will ease off a bit when the Monster Manual comes out, but I still like my "cheat sheet.")
What was strange for me was to construct a GM screen, because 5E doesn't seem to require most of the stuff that I typically put on one. Look at the OD&D Judges Guild screen or the AD&D TSR one and you see lots of stuff about saving throws and combat charts. That's all on the character sheet. I really struggled to fill a couple of panels of my screen, and one of them is still empty. I probably should put my monster sheet in there or something...
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Post by coffee on Sept 11, 2014 8:08:21 GMT -6
If you don't need something on your DM screen, don't put anything. It could just distract you. Instead, put one of the classic cartoons from the DMG on there (I'm thinking of the party wearing mouse ears and noses, but whichever one you like). Inspiration can be just as good as preparation, sometimes.
Just my two coppers.
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Post by Falconer on Sept 11, 2014 9:18:35 GMT -6
If I were running 5e, the first thing I would do is make my own simplified character sheet. Or just use the OD&D sheet, if I thought that would be adequate.
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Post by Finarvyn on Sept 11, 2014 17:29:22 GMT -6
If I were running 5e, the first thing I would do is make my own simplified character sheet. Or just use the OD&D sheet, if I thought that would be adequate. I have my own version I've been using for my home game. My design goal was to keep everything contained on one side of a piece of paper. The interesing thing is that as play continues I slowly keep adding extras so that it is starting to look more like the WotC version. For example, I don't play OD&D with skills but 5E skills are really pretty slick. Not that many of them and they're tied to stats so it's a lot like a stat check. Anyway, that recently found its way onto my home sheets.
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Post by tkdco2 on Sept 12, 2014 1:53:25 GMT -6
I like how the 5e skill system is more streamlined than 3e version. I didn't really have a problem with the latter, though, since the layout was similar to MERP.
But I think I can adapt the 5e skill system for OD&D and B/X, with a few adjustments.
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Post by rastusburne on Oct 24, 2014 4:27:35 GMT -6
I know we talk 5e on Dragonsfoot sometimes Marv, but for my 5e games (which is officially run for D&D encounters) I have been able to decide whether everything in the PHB is optional or not. I allowed it all to be used, but my experience has been it's pretty flexible. If you just used basic rules I don't think Wizards should mind.
I still think it runs pretty 'old school' even with all the rules. I find the barbarian class especially is a really nice addition.
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Post by Finarvyn on Oct 24, 2014 7:18:53 GMT -6
I know we talk 5e on Dragonsfoot sometimes Marv, but for my 5e games (which is officially run for D&D encounters) I have been able to decide whether everything in the PHB is optional or not. I allowed it all to be used, but my experience has been it's pretty flexible. If you just used basic rules I don't think Wizards should mind. Except that one of my players is the Regional Coordinator for the Adventurer League. He tends to want things done "by the book" and not allow for as much tweaking of rules.
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Post by tkdco2 on Oct 24, 2014 15:42:00 GMT -6
If you're the DM, that should be your decision, not his, despite whatever position he holds. It's your game, which they asked you to run.
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Post by Falconer on Oct 24, 2014 18:30:47 GMT -6
Is that BTB mentality a permanent principle of the league, or is it temporary, i.e., for the purpose of giving an accurate first impression of the 5e rules? In other words, do you think it will relax after the DMG comes out and many of the options (including the trumpeted “make your game old school” options) ARE by-the-book?
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Post by rastusburne on Oct 25, 2014 4:14:03 GMT -6
Fair enough Marv, I guess it's different for every group.
It's tricky with organised play. I find with my group I often simplify things to fit within the game store Dungeons & Dragons game paradigm. It's very different from how I'd run a home game say.
So while the guy who organises D&D encounters in Auckland may be relaxed, it is nonetheless taking place within a constructed paradigm rather than something organic. In that sense there is an inflexibility that may not be present otherwise, but that's not reflective of edition in my opinion.
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Post by Vile Traveller on Oct 25, 2014 5:07:00 GMT -6
Is that BTB mentality a permanent principle of the league, or is it temporary, i.e., for the purpose of giving an accurate first impression of the 5e rules? It's more likely for almost the same reason Gygax was keen on people sticking to AD&D BtB - in the latter case so that tournament games could be judged against the same baseline, in the former so that players gravitating between League games will slot in without difficulty. Mind you, I reckon that's imagining a problem that doesn't really exist: player turns up with a way-out character sheet, referee looks it over, and says, "no way, Jose." It's that overthinking wall that all organisers have trouble seeing over.
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Post by Finarvyn on Oct 25, 2014 5:09:18 GMT -6
Is that BTB mentality a permanent principle of the league, or is it temporary, i.e., for the purpose of giving an accurate first impression of the 5e rules? In other words, do you think it will relax after the DMG comes out and many of the options (including the trumpeted “make your game old school” options) ARE by-the-book? That's a wonderful question and one I'm certainly going to ask after I get to see the DMG, depending upon how the options are put together. Don't get me wrong -- my group so far has been pretty low-key about rules and our characters have been pretty AD&D-ish overall: wizard, monk, ranger, cleric. As time passses, assuming that the group remains relatively static, I probably can tweak ruls as I see fit. The problem is the "organized play" thing, where a player theoretically can take a character from one DM to another or one store to another, so if I do something really funky rules-wise then a player wanting to go elsewhere with his character may have problems. For example, if I give out Excalibur to a player's character and he goes to GenCon to play he wouldn't get to use his character as-is any more. Some players would be fine with it, others might pitch a hissy over it. Then the powers-that-be might ask how he acquired Excalibur and it bounces back to the store, etc. I may be over-thinking the whole thing. I'm sort of cautious overall in most things that I do; the anti-rebel.
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Post by rastusburne on Oct 25, 2014 15:49:06 GMT -6
I don't know whether this is the case in your group, but in mine we get given 'magic item' certificates to hand out to the players when they find a magic item. I think for those who love organised play it's a good way to ensure their items are validated and legitimate. For instance, if someone found a 'staff of defense' there is a cert titled 'staff of defense' which the DM signs with their DCI number, then hands to the player. I feel a bit wanky signing stuff, as though my signature carried some sort of special DM authority, but whatever.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2014 8:14:12 GMT -6
No, not a "Traitor", have fun! Not something I could do, I could never fit myself under that many restrictions, so on that part all I can do is wish you good luck!
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