DotM: Simplification!

[drcpunk.livejournal.com]

I like simple. Simple is good.

At the same time, as crash_mccormick pointed out, something that is just fine for a 4 hour larp may be too simple for a weekend long larp.

That said, one of the major concerns both I and zrealm have had about Dark of the Moon is the complexity of the senses system. mnemex has maintained that it's complex from the gms' point of view, as we need to frontload a lot, but simple from the player's point of view. zrealm said that either the system would be a disaster or it would work as mnemex said it would. And there matters rested for a time.

But a few days ago, mnemex found a way to simplify the system. Previously, the plan was to have three levels of senses as follows:

0 level: This is what you should be able to tell about a character just by looking at him or her. No envelopes. This is information encoded on the badge or in a Who's Who sheet that almost everyone gets. I say "almost everyone" because I can forsee that there might be reasons for very specific exceptions.

1 level: This is what you should be able to tell after five minutes of speaking with a character. The character's player gives you an envelope. You read its contents and hand it back so that the player can give it to the next person.

2 level: This is what certain people will be able to find out about certain characters if they use their limited use special senses, whether that's a Sense Trouble, a Dog's Nose, a Great Detective roll or whatever.

What mnemex has suggested is simplifying the 1 level senses as follows:

1 level: If my character already has reason to know your character, I should already have your character's level 1 information in my character sheet. For example, one character has clearly spent at least five minutes prior to the game conversing with his family and the other people they traveled with. Therefore, the information in these characters' level 1 envelopes should appear verbatim in that character's sheet, probably in a What You Know About Whom section.

This should cut down on a lot of annoyance on the players' end.

DotM: Simplification!

[drcpunk.livejournal.com]

I like simple. Simple is good.

At the same time, as crash_mccormick pointed out, something that is just fine for a 4 hour larp may be too simple for a weekend long larp.

That said, one of the major concerns both I and zrealm have had about Dark of the Moon is the complexity of the senses system. mnemex has maintained that it's complex from the gms' point of view, as we need to frontload a lot, but simple from the player's point of view. zrealm said that either the system would be a disaster or it would work as mnemex said it would. And there matters rested for a time.

But a few days ago, mnemex found a way to simplify the system. Previously, the plan was to have three levels of senses as follows:

0 level: This is what you should be able to tell about a character just by looking at him or her. No envelopes. This is information encoded on the badge or in a Who's Who sheet that almost everyone gets. I say "almost everyone" because I can forsee that there might be reasons for very specific exceptions.

1 level: This is what you should be able to tell after five minutes of speaking with a character. The character's player gives you an envelope. You read its contents and hand it back so that the player can give it to the next person.

2 level: This is what certain people will be able to find out about certain characters if they use their limited use special senses, whether that's a Sense Trouble, a Dog's Nose, a Great Detective roll or whatever.

What mnemex has suggested is simplifying the 1 level senses as follows:

1 level: If my character already has reason to know your character, I should already have your character's level 1 information in my character sheet. For example, one character has clearly spent at least five minutes prior to the game conversing with his family and the other people they traveled with. Therefore, the information in these characters' level 1 envelopes should appear verbatim in that character's sheet, probably in a What You Know About Whom section.

This should cut down on a lot of annoyance on the players' end.