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Dorjcal
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun 11 Jul 2021, 10:22

Re: New Journey System - yay or nay?

Wed 28 Jul 2021, 08:34

I am not sure though how easy would be to come up with a satisfying event that does not becomes a main scene (especially if you need to think it on the spot)
As I mentioned in the Council thread, I've changed my mind about the Journey rules. I think they are totally fine...for when the LM has nothing prepared and just wants to resolve something with dice rolls.

What I intend to do, however, is have some thematically appropriate (to the adventure) Events planned out, with meaningful decision-making.

Examples (I'm including the Role and Event Type from the rules, but really prepared Events don't have to map to those rules):

Hunter/Shortcut: While stalking (animal) you notice what could be a hidden path through the (terrain). If you go back to tell the company you will lose your game. If you chase your game and come back later you might not find it. What do you do?
Mechanically it's an Explore test to find it again, or a Hunting test to avoid giving everybody Fatigue

Scout/Terrible Misfortune: The path over the (danger) is doable but risky. You can search for safer crossings, but there is a chance you will yourself have a mishap. What do you do?
Mechanics: the Scout can make an explore test. Any extra successes means that a better crossing has been found, and all companions will get +d6 equal to those successes. But a failure means (something bad) and a failure with an eye means (something really bad). This can be repeated as many times as the Scout wishes.
EDIT: Left out that all companions will have to make an Athletics test to safely pass; the Scout is looking for an easier one, represented by those +d6's.

Lookout/Despair: Something spooky happens during the night. You can wake your companions and face it together, or let them sleep and face your fears alone. What do you do?
Mechanics: a Shadow test that gets easier if you have friends to share it with, but everybody awake must make the same test.

How I like to implement these sorts of things at the table is to not tell the player(s) what the options are, but to let them first describe a possible course of action and then tell them what the mechanics are. So in the first example a player might say, "Will I be able to find the path again if I continue chasing the deer?" And I'll say, "It would take an Explore check." And the player says, "How plentiful is the game around here?" And I'll say, "This was the only thing worth chasing you've seen in the last two days. If you let this one go it will take a Hunting check, or everybody gets 1 Fatigue." (Or whatever.).

I do want them to make an informed decision (knowing what skill will be used, and what the consequences of failure are), but I don't want to constrain their solution to the options I thought of. And although I might make some notes about obvious solutions, a clever solution I didn't think of might result in not having to roll any dice or make any trade-offs.

Yes, in the supplements they always provided some more extended example of hazards linked to the region. Some offered a choice, others did not

E.g. Fatigue hazard (Add Fatigue again, twice on an Sauron)
The Huntsman spots a wild boar crashing through the swamp. If they choose not to hunt the beast, the company goes hungry tonight, and everyone adds 1 Fatigue.
If the Huntsman pursues the quarry, the animal blunders into a pool of sucking mud and starts to drown. Recovering the beast from the mud requires an Athletics test. Fail, and the hunter adds Fatigue again (twice with an Sauron) from the effort of trying to rescue the animal. Succeed, and the company eat well tonight!


Note: According to the Core rules a Hunter test should have been hunting, here was athletics. Their 2E "more flexible" system was already in place long ago
Last edited by Dorjcal on Sat 31 Jul 2021, 10:26, edited 1 time in total.
 
MDuckworth83
Topic Author
Posts: 73
Joined: Tue 06 Jul 2021, 03:32

Re: New Journey System - yay or nay?

Fri 30 Jul 2021, 19:43

That is an interesting observation, I never noticed those alternate skills used before! And yes, your example is exactly what I was talking about regarding how the adventure supplements really fleshed out the event system (implying this is the LM's job), and the table is for the odd moment where you need a random event and nothing is pre-written. I'm perfectly happy if that continues to be the case in 2e, be really interesting to see the first adventure released.

I think what I and some others don't like is the idea of the players (rather than LM) choosing the type of journey event test EVERY time. That makes it seem like it doesn't matter whether your hunter is good at hunting or good at athletics, as long as he is good at one... and thus dilutes the two.
 
Themadviolinist
Posts: 67
Joined: Sat 10 Jul 2021, 16:01

Re: New Journey System - yay or nay?

Fri 30 Jul 2021, 23:48

Yes, I've felt free to ignore the player choice aspect, unless they can justify it narratively. I'm willing to take on that burden.
 
RichKarp
Posts: 120
Joined: Tue 29 Jun 2021, 19:37

Re: New Journey System - yay or nay?

Sat 31 Jul 2021, 00:30

I really hope the region books will continue to provide “interesting places” as hooks for random scenes or tie-ins for adventures. I loved many of those locations like the creepy statues of the petrified people frozen in terror at the edge of the forest, and the Parliament of Spiders. Just brilliant and so long as they can find a way to loop those kinds of places seamlessly into Journeys, I am not going to complain too much about simplified/reduced hazards.
 
gyrovague
Posts: 591
Joined: Tue 28 Apr 2020, 16:52

Re: New Journey System - yay or nay?

Sat 31 Jul 2021, 00:54

I think I would like journey Events better if suggestions/guidelines for creating meaningful events were presented beforehand, and then the Journey Events Table were offered as, "And if you don't have time for that, use this table and have the players roll some dice..."

I mean, I guess I would still roll on the table (using Favoured or Ill-favoured according to the rules) but then just take the resulting theme as a starting point. E.g., "Great Misfortune" might be a scenario that could lead to a dangerous fight, where in theory some of them could end up Wounded (which, according to the table, is the consequence for a failed roll.)
 
Dunheved
Posts: 494
Joined: Wed 11 Mar 2020, 02:07
Location: UK

Re: New Journey System - yay or nay?

Sun 01 Aug 2021, 11:29

I think I may have missed something obvious.* Apologies if I have failed to find this covered already

Using RAW Alpha.... (And wearing my " I am so naive" hat)
If my elf is the guide, she spends 1 hope, uses a magical Travel roll, (G rune result) and the whole party succeed, ALSO regaining 1 hope (including the elf) with zero fatigue in summer, 1 fatigue in winter (per stage of the journey). Surely that is the way to travel: Elf Class = Business Class. Gandalf should have given all the choices to Legolas.

(I mean Glorfindel was a guide from the Trollshaws to Rivendell, and even Aragorn found his pace demanding, although his cordial probably did recover some hope on that journey.)

* Edit it's ok. It's not the same roll. I am being thick! (Not for the last time!)
Well it was good while it lasted!
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