Drizzt
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Posts: 20
Joined: Fri 02 Jul 2021, 15:09

The Eye of Mordor same issues as in Alpha

Wed 06 Oct 2021, 16:43

Hi, I see that some updates are done to the rules but in general they are still based on static number which when breached raises revelation episode. Changes were done on per character calculation to just group score if it has elfs or dunedain - that keeps total lower but they've increased score per famous weapon or armor and this again broke the logic. Example our group of 5 players are all valour 4 and everyone already has at least one famous weapon or armor. So our total is 17. We almost brake border land score. Which again raises question how to play out situation when after revelation you reset to number which again raises revalation and loops the cycle. In Alpha famous weapon increased by 1 that would help a little bit but I thought why it's not done as in AIME when you roll against possible Revelation every time hunt score increases with increasing difficulty ? It's universal rule which always works...
 
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Aiden Harrison
Posts: 133
Joined: Sun 18 Apr 2021, 09:49

Re: The Eye of Mordor same issues as in Alpha

Wed 06 Oct 2021, 18:10

Surely that group would be attracting the attention of the enemy? Bunch of powerful dudes decked out with bling.

That means they are going to have to travel in disguise, on paths seldom trodden etc - Like the Fellowship of the Ring.

The Fellowship was passing the threshold quite often and having to deal with all sorts of problems - Crebain, Wargs, Cranky Mountains, Watchers in the Water etc (and that's before they've even entered Moria).
 
Drizzt
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Joined: Fri 02 Jul 2021, 15:09

Re: The Eye of Mordor same issues as in Alpha

Wed 06 Oct 2021, 18:48

That's not the answer. I mean those bonuses won't help and I'm talking about situation when the threshold autofails always. You won't be doing Revelation every second... You'll still as LM will start looking for ways how to fix this because rule is failing todo it's job. You need workarounds which are not defined.
 
Asgo
Posts: 143
Joined: Tue 29 Jun 2021, 12:18

Re: The Eye of Mordor same issues as in Alpha

Wed 06 Oct 2021, 19:45

I hadn't looked at those rules before in detail.

Your basic concern is that since the starting threshold is fixed it actually defines a ceiling how much a party can progress before ending up in an endless loop of revelation episodes.
Nothing there states that there is a reduction of that start value as part of the revelation and since the revelations are supposed to be episodic modifiers of the events and not a continuous state we end up in undefined state of the game.

So the rules should define something, eg:
- end of game, you are too famous for your own good
- some sort reduction process, e.g., the respective revelation that would trigger the loop has to reduce the number of points by removing items, chars or specific chars ;)
- or the counter some stackable +hunt modifiers
- trigger some next stage in the eye or mordor process
 
fahrgast
Posts: 37
Joined: Sat 03 Jul 2021, 16:20

Re: The Eye of Mordor same issues as in Alpha

Thu 07 Oct 2021, 10:58

Drizzt, I think you are quite right.

A simple ruling that might fix this problem is this:

"A Company is revealed to the Enemy when the Eye Awareness score of the company is raised (by rolling an Eye) and matches or exceeds the current Hunt threshold."

This way, if your group with EA 17 is travelling through a Dark Land, they would suffer a revelation episode every time they roll an Eye.

Also, keep in mind that, by the rules, "the resolution of a Revelation episode should be held off, until an appropriate situation appears (possibly even waiting for the following session of play)."
 
Asgo
Posts: 143
Joined: Tue 29 Jun 2021, 12:18

Re: The Eye of Mordor same issues as in Alpha

Thu 07 Oct 2021, 11:48

...
This way, if your group with EA 17 is travelling through a Dark Land, they would suffer a revelation episode every time they roll an Eye.

Also, keep in mind that, by the rules, "the resolution of a Revelation episode should be held off, until an appropriate situation appears (possibly even waiting for the following session of play)."
that would be a way to make it work, although not technically RAW.
You variant basically would trigger on each change of the eye value,
REVEALING THE COMPANY
A Company is revealed to the Enemy when the Eye Awareness
score of the company matches or exceeds the current Hunt
threshold. When this happens, the Lore master will intro-
duce a Revelation episode, a dangerous event reflecting the
increased hostility of the game world towards the members
of the Company.
that just states whenever your eye value exceeds the threshold, which would be continuously once the reset to the start value won't go below the threshold. But since the revelation is designed as episodic not as state with some modifiers that isn't necessarily workable.
However, your variant would be indeed workable - I don't know how much fun it will be if every eye triggers one but it would be practical.
 
fahrgast
Posts: 37
Joined: Sat 03 Jul 2021, 16:20

Re: The Eye of Mordor same issues as in Alpha

Thu 07 Oct 2021, 12:12

I don't know how much fun it will be if every eye triggers one but it would be practical.
I agree, but obviously the Loremaster is not forced to trigger a revelation episode if it's not appropriate. Even in some cases it might be fun not saying anything and letting the players think that something bad is happening without their knowledge.
 
Asgo
Posts: 143
Joined: Tue 29 Jun 2021, 12:18

Re: The Eye of Mordor same issues as in Alpha

Thu 07 Oct 2021, 12:40

agreed, I think revelation episodes might also be fun as actual off screen events where the players have to deal with the consequences of that, but not being the direct target.
For example, a revelation could lead some bad guys to somone who sheltered you on your last stay in town - basically tracking you.

Another not immediate use would be to do a bit of accumulation during this adventure phase just to see how bad something will be when it is gonna happen.

The Scouring of the Shire would be basically an example for a combination of both.

There is definitely a bit of fun to be had with both the eye score and the respective thresholds
Also aside from triggering anything specific it is also a nice mechanical guidance to shift tone and change the status quo.
 
Drizzt
Topic Author
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri 02 Jul 2021, 15:09

Re: The Eye of Mordor same issues as in Alpha

Thu 07 Oct 2021, 14:40

One thing what I will apply from Alpha rules - lower the famous weapon impact to 1 point from 2 per item. Reason is I'm concerned that party will than leave such items or have cultural rewards for such juorneys just to lower the result. Such behaviour we never saw in Lotr or Hobbit that someone is dropping there equipment just to hide from an Eye.
 
Asgo
Posts: 143
Joined: Tue 29 Jun 2021, 12:18

Re: The Eye of Mordor same issues as in Alpha

Thu 07 Oct 2021, 16:14

One thing what I will apply from Alpha rules - lower the famous weapon impact to 1 point from 2 per item. Reason is I'm concerned that party will than leave such items or have cultural rewards for such juorneys just to lower the result. Such behaviour we never saw in Lotr or Hobbit that someone is dropping there equipment just to hide from an Eye.
while I understand the concept of using the famous weapons as part of the abstract famous factor, story-wise it only makes limited sense to the idea of being revealed.
I personally would count that having a famous weapon contributes to a chars fame not because he happens to have the item on its person, but by being known for having earned it.
So using a lower per item value, but using it irrespective of the question if it is at home in a stash or on your body.

Also you could vary the impact of famous items based on a narrative connection to the likely foes that you might encounter or would be spotted by. Some might not care any notably for anything you have others might react strongly to specific items (basically using a 0 -2 range depending on context for each item). Distinctions could range from specific items to items of a certain craftsmanship/heritage.

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