streamlining the combat method |
streamlining the combat method |
Oct 24 2004, 07:20 AM
Post
#1
|
|
Target Group: Members Posts: 2 Joined: 14-October 04 Member No.: 6,759 |
tonight we ran our first session after a long hiatus. while trying to pick things up after so long has been fun, i find that i need a means to speed up combat. first and foremost, is there any resource that acts as a combat tracker?
how do people handle the initiative and the turn sequences? just looking for a general method that i can either adopt or that will kickstart the creation of my own method. |
|
|
Oct 24 2004, 08:27 AM
Post
#2
|
|
Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,133 Joined: 3-October 04 Member No.: 6,722 |
Initiative? With scrap paper, basically. I get the runners to make their own initiative checks, then make test for the bad guys (I may make one test for all bad guys of an identical type if there's loads of them, which is less realistic but faster). Then I just scribble them across the top in a quick matrix and count down from highest to lowest.
EG: Wolf (Amerind pseudo-street sam with Synaptic 2), Catfish (Sea Shaman with Incr Reflexes +3d6), Gaunt (Gun Kata physmage with Imp Ref 2) and Satin (Otaku with no meatworld reflexes worth a damn) are facing off against a half-dozen Supporting Artist* Halloweeners (no reflex mods) plus one Guest Star* with Incr Reflexes +2d6 on a sustaining focus. The round 1 matrix looks like this: W C G S H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 GSH 16 15 13 7 6 7 8 11 8 9 14 06 05 03 01 04 I might have made one roll for all the SA Halloweeners and a separate one for the Guest Star; using the first roll (pitiful, wasn't it? ;) ) they would all have acted on 6. In fact, in this case it would have made no difference. Another speed option is, don't make fresh intiative tests for each round. Again it's quicker, but it does hammer someone who rolls low to start with. *I use psuedo-acting nomenclature for how important an NPC is: Supporting Artist (basic contact-level template - the gangers from down the block) Minor Hero/Villain (recurring character with slightly improved stats - most Level 2+ contacts, a gang leader the PC's tangle with occasionally) Major Hero/Villain (major recurring character with expanded background and notable stats - the Lone Star homicide detective who keeps pulling the PC's cases) Nemesis/Guest Star (the "series" main villain or a particularly special NPC central to that episode's plot, always handcrafted the same way as a PC is). |
|
|
Oct 24 2004, 08:35 AM
Post
#3
|
|
Target Group: Members Posts: 82 Joined: 6-August 04 Member No.: 6,544 |
I have a numbered list stretching from 50 to 1 and several pieces of scrap paper, some with PC's names and some with my victims of the week's names. When the initative checks are done, I paper ckip the names by the numbers and read them down in order, moving them as needed when they get wound modifiers. After each pass, I remove the bottom ten points worth.
|
|
|
Oct 25 2004, 04:53 AM
Post
#4
|
|
Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 519 Joined: 27-August 02 From: Queensland Member No.: 3,180 |
Some tricks for a GM;
As mentioned above, roll initiative once only for the NPC's. Forget the condition monitor and consider NPC's as either unhurt, wounded (moderate wound) or dead. That means the first hit makes them moderate and the second kills. Give NPC's a base rating, from 3 to 5 typically, that is used for all skills, attribute and gear ratings. No variables to remeber or check then. Only use these with secondary NPC's rather than the key ones, and let the PC's keep busy doing all things by the book. |
|
|
Oct 25 2004, 04:59 AM
Post
#5
|
|
Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,006 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
My advice is to play puzzle games and calculate powers of 2 in your head until you can hold the status of an entire group of opposition in your mind at a time.
Then again, I'm a nut :grinbig: ~J |
|
|
Oct 25 2004, 05:00 AM
Post
#6
|
|
Senior GM Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 1,406 Joined: 12-April 03 From: Redmond, WA Member No.: 4,442 |
3.14159265358979323846264338327950288
good enough? |
|
|
Oct 25 2004, 11:54 AM
Post
#7
|
|
Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 334 Joined: 17-November 03 From: Texas Member No.: 5,828 |
I give NPC's a standard initiative roll based on their 'level', usually between 2 and 5. That level is also the rating of all their attributes, skills, gear, spells, etc ... everything with a rating, basically. It makes things very easy to track, as I can write down a name, rating, and quick description on a sheet with a quickie condition monitor.
|
|
|
Oct 25 2004, 02:26 PM
Post
#8
|
|
Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 903 Joined: 11-December 02 From: The other end of your computer screen Member No.: 3,724 |
One possibility is to borrow a concept from card game versions of these games.
Counters. The little beads and "jewels" that you use to keep track of various things a card might have like Magic's "manna". But First of all, to help you remember the rotation of play in an initiative easier, have the players sit in circular pattern so that the potentially fastest character is directly to your left and the potentially slowest character is directly to your right. Pretty much, you'll always know the order and if not, they will. (now back to the beads) -Each player could have a color only they use. -For a Combat Round, they hold as many counters as they have Intiative Passes. -Each player will lay their beads out in a row in front of them from left to right (first action to last) -With your "goons" and all that, you should have a color of bead for them. After determining what the goons initiative is, hand their bead to the player they are before or after. If they are after a player, then they will be placed under the turn-bead they are after. If they are before a player, then they will be placed above the turn-bead they are before. If the goon is before everyone, keep their bead. -If two characters have a simultaneous action, remember this by having them trade as many beads as they have a simultaneous action with eachother, and placing the other players bead in place of their own bead that represented their action that they will have a simultaneous action on. Here's a diagram to help exlpain this idea Look at the diagram and it makes more sense. It's really easy once you understand it, and it makes things go faster because the only thing you'll really care about is what your first numbers were and how many beads that gives you. After that, you won't care what the numbers were anymore. If you have the ability, you can even use alternate color beads for each goon. |
|
|
Oct 25 2004, 04:34 PM
Post
#9
|
|
Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,754 Joined: 9-July 04 From: Modesto, CA Member No.: 6,465 |
I have an MS-Access 2000 Database that I use just for this purpose. It will track PC/NPC damage, Initiative (rolls if you want) and basic stats as well as handle suprise rolls, and some other basic things.
My latest additions added commonly used tables and chart as pop-up windows. If you are interested, send me an e-mail and I'll send you my latest version. |
|
|
Oct 25 2004, 04:46 PM
Post
#10
|
|
Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 120 Joined: 26-February 02 From: UK Member No.: 1,873 |
I also went the electronic route, and whipped up a very simple Excel spreadsheet. I just plug in the names of the PCs and NPCs, and their initiatives, and then let it do the rest for me.
Before that, I used paper. |
|
|
Oct 25 2004, 05:14 PM
Post
#11
|
|
Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 903 Joined: 11-December 02 From: The other end of your computer screen Member No.: 3,724 |
*shrug* I guess one cannot compete with electronics :grinbig:
|
|
|
Oct 25 2004, 05:47 PM
Post
#12
|
|
Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 6,640 Joined: 6-June 04 Member No.: 6,383 |
I write everyone's name on a piece of paper across the top and each turn I write their new initiative score under their name, going down the sheet as the turns roll by. I put a single slash mark through each init score higher than 10 for every time everyone eligable has already acted once.
I mark wounds, stun, and amount of combat pool used above each name in erasable pen or in pencil and erase or revise as necessary. I strongly recommend not fudging the damage done to NPCs, but rather to keep trac of it, and combat pool, precisely. If you mess with that, you are throwing off the balance of the game and undermining the strategic/tactical aspect of the game. The number of pool that someone has, the amount of damage they have, and their exact wound mod is crucial, and if you fudge them the careful player who thinks in terms of the numbers will notice and will (rightly so) be annoyed. I also tend not to fudge dice rolls. I used to, when I first started GMing, but I decided that if you fudge random spikes of chance then you're undermining the point of having a random system in the first place. Statistical calculations is part of the tactics/strategy of the game and I think that it would be unfair to the players to go and Tooth Fairy a statistically improbable roll. I mean, you don't have to worry about the role of random chance if really strange or unfavorable rolls will get screened out by the GM anyway. |
|
|
Oct 25 2004, 05:57 PM
Post
#13
|
|||
Immortal Elf Group: Validating Posts: 7,999 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,890 |
:love: It's always great to see people who get that. Nothing makes me cringe more than seeing people not only admit to fudging on a regular basis, but recommend it on a whim just to "move the story along." Blargh. |
||
|
|||
Oct 25 2004, 06:00 PM
Post
#14
|
|||
Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 903 Joined: 11-December 02 From: The other end of your computer screen Member No.: 3,724 |
What story? :grinbig: |
||
|
|||
Oct 25 2004, 06:25 PM
Post
#15
|
|||
Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,754 Joined: 9-July 04 From: Modesto, CA Member No.: 6,465 |
Oh I did the same thing for most of my SR life, but rolling all those initiatives for my bad guys was a time-sink. Players still like to roll their own dice, so we can resolve 5-50 person combat initiative rolls in the same amount of time with a little software. I was always partial to using water souble markers on my maps and no run was complete without a case of "Blue hand". :D |
||
|
|||
Oct 31 2004, 10:08 AM
Post
#16
|
|||
Target Group: Members Posts: 82 Joined: 6-August 04 Member No.: 6,544 |
That sounds like a personal problem to me. :eek: |
||
|
|||
Oct 31 2004, 10:54 AM
Post
#17
|
|
Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 201 Joined: 13-August 04 From: Fort Smith, Arkansas Member No.: 6,560 |
Well, if you want to do it the old fashioned way or use computers to roll, you could always do it prior to the fights. For example, if you've got 8 goons roll initiative for them all for say 15 rounds (which should be more than plenty). Then, all you have to do is slap on modifiers to those that are injured. :D
|
|
|
Oct 31 2004, 10:59 AM
Post
#18
|
|
Target Group: Members Posts: 65 Joined: 3-April 02 Member No.: 2,507 |
It's just a little thing but I've found pre-rolling my NPCs initiative a real time saver, the night before I grab some dice and roll away.
If I'm putting in a large scene I roll a set of five or ten, that way I can keep recycling initiative scores as needed. |
|
|
Oct 31 2004, 08:34 PM
Post
#19
|
|
Target Group: Members Posts: 56 Joined: 24-July 04 Member No.: 6,512 |
Heck with rolling. I go to random.org the night before and print out a few 20*20 tables of 1d6, 2d6, and 3d6 die roll results. Even crossing out each roll as I use it, one table can last me 2-3 adventures.
|
|
|
Nov 1 2004, 05:31 PM
Post
#20
|
|||
Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,754 Joined: 9-July 04 From: Modesto, CA Member No.: 6,465 |
I used to make charts of Initiative Rolls ahead of time too, I just have the PC spit out a few hundred 1d6, 2d6, and 3d6 rolls and tick them off as I went. But my quest to eliminate all that extra paper has pushed me onto my laptop and some custom software. |
||
|
|||
Nov 1 2004, 05:43 PM
Post
#21
|
|
Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 6,640 Joined: 6-June 04 Member No.: 6,383 |
A dice bot for a computer or graphing calculator is easy to make and use.
The best part is that computer generated random numbers seem to spike high more often than physical dice do and they also tend to come in runs. So it leads for some dramatic sessions where a PC suddenly rolls a 24, a 17, and a 17. |
|
|
Nov 1 2004, 06:11 PM
Post
#22
|
|||
Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,754 Joined: 9-July 04 From: Modesto, CA Member No.: 6,465 |
Hopefully that's not a constant, else that's a bad number generator. Problem is computers can't really generate a random number, so they are only as good as the algorithm that creates them and the seed-values they draw from. Needless to say, not all pseudo-random number generators are the same. My old Vic-20 used to have a terrible generator if you managed to discover what the seed value was that made it rather predictable. My VB apps seems to do a considerably better job of keeping things "more random". |
||
|
|||
Nov 1 2004, 06:12 PM
Post
#23
|
|
Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 903 Joined: 11-December 02 From: The other end of your computer screen Member No.: 3,724 |
man...I really need to figure out how to export our dice roller from RPGi.
Check this out. Remember that annoying problem of having a TN 7. The problem being that there is no way you can miss that 7 if you roll a 6. And it applies further on up with numbers like 13 and such... People have gotten crafty and used 8 sided die and done tricky little things to make the dice fit into the system. Well, get this. Our Dice roller allows you to say that you are rolling 'X' amount of 7 sided dice for a TN of 7 with a subtraction of "-1" from the result of each die. What does that give you? A 7 sided die that's 0-6 on it's faces. That means that a roll of a 6 with a TN 7 doesn't mean you automatically get the 7 because your re-roll might be a 0. I love that roller! |
|
|
Nov 1 2004, 06:15 PM
Post
#24
|
|
Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,006 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
Lifesaver for some, solution in search of a problem for others.
~J |
|
|
Nov 1 2004, 06:17 PM
Post
#25
|
|||||
Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 6,640 Joined: 6-June 04 Member No.: 6,383 |
I've seen that happen with virtually every random number generator I've used. Rolls of 24+ just don't happen with physical dice, but they do (rarely, thankfully) happen with computer programs. |
||||
|
|||||
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 18th April 2024 - 07:58 PM |
Topps, Inc has sole ownership of the names, logo, artwork, marks, photographs, sounds, audio, video and/or any proprietary material used in connection with the game Shadowrun. Topps, Inc has granted permission to the Dumpshock Forums to use such names, logos, artwork, marks and/or any proprietary materials for promotional and informational purposes on its website but does not endorse, and is not affiliated with the Dumpshock Forums in any official capacity whatsoever.