Exalted Game: Style and Flow of Play
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:20 am
So, in playing these last few sessions, and seeing the way the game works, i have come to a few conclusions about what I want to see, and what i think would make for a good game. Please comment/discuss these:
1. Combat
a. Exalted combat is interesting, but the dice system shares the flaws of its owod predecessor in that it takes forever and multiple attacks bog it down.
b. Combat is an integral part of the system, and the characters are engines of death, so fighting should occur.
c. Combat, in stories and in games, is there to highlight story, increase drama, and illustrate important ideas.
Conclusion: Combat should only be detailed when it shows something dramatic, exceptionally cool, or forwards the storyline. Showing the characters killing an army is cool, at least the first time, or at least until it becomes monotonous. Killing another solar, or fighting a wyld hunt is equally cool. Grinding however is not cool, nor is playing out a fight that the numbers are self-evident for. This just drags out the fighting, and takes away from the important part, which is telling the story. epics only show the cool fights, the highlights, not the grind.
Proposal: Combat, unless it is highly important, should not take up more than a third of any game, preferably a quarter, and dramatic glossing should be used to deal with petty combat (already doing this in part btw, which makes me happy).
2. Table talk
a. Table talk is an inherent part of gaming, especially with this group. it enhances the pleasure of playing games, allows for social bonding, creates greater understanding of the system, and passes the time for those not involved in the current plot.
b. Table talk can become distracting and derail the entire game, especially when the GM is drawn into it.
c. We have limited play time, with at most 5 hours normally.
Conclussion: People should talk during game, but should catch themselves when it gets out of hand, and people should try to stay in the game for the central hours, leaving the majority of table talk for the beginning and ending of the game, rather than the middle.
Proposals: 1)an XP point for staying in the game. perhaps for everyone, or for the best, as the group prefers, 2)no more than 1/5 of time after the game has actually started should be spent on bs conversation, 3)limit especially the talk of mechanics not related to the current needs of the game, and of "uber-l33t-cool" powers, as it pulls people out of the story and into mechanics land (i'm bad about this too btw, not pointing fingers).
3. Story Progression
a. The storyteller system is designed to tell a story, not to adjudicate fights, or to get phat loots, or to be an xp whore (me). These things can be done, but if you read the books, the primary goal is to tell cool stories with lots of movement and drama.
b. Stories are bogged down by monotonous action and characters without significant motivation.
c. The GM has stated that he has no story in particular to tell.
Conclusion: The onus of responsibility regarding story progression falls on everyone, especially in this game, as steven is going to be using the referee style of GMing (perfectly fine btw). We have to start looking at the bigger picture (our motivations) for our characters, setting small goals, and discussing them with the party. We also have to catch ourselves when we begin to become bogged down by some action or goal if it is making the game boring for everyone else (i should have given up on the rock long ago...) and the GM is likewise responsible for reducing things to die rolls and not making people go into infinite detail on how they are doing something in order to streamline the storytelling.
Proposals: 1) XP award for moving the plot along and making the game fun for everyone else, 2) Characters need to write down their motivation, and a small list of goals and hand them to the GM, who then needs to create plot to make such things occur, and 3) the players need to work together to make cool story happen, whether it is epic or just a night in the city.
---
For my part, several of my character goals are as follows:
End Suffering (by ending the world)
Destroy the realm, and the dragonblooded rulers that killed my village
free myself of servitude
OC- bring my character toward a more balanced perspective on entropy and the world
Help my friends
have pleasant experiences
OC- explore the shadow lands
OC- build a kingdom
Alot of what i want is kind of large scale. i want to take over territory, and then make it cool while fighting other kingdoms. i want to destroy the leaders of kingdoms and fight other abyssals. i want to destroy my deathlord, and eventually destroy the neverborn i'm attached to. I want to have epic plots orchestrated by the sidereal mentor that is working behind the scenes. i want to form a party bond, and create shared goals and ideas. I want personality from the characters, and to respond to that personality (and thus need a setting that brings that personality out in people).
thats all i gots for now.
1. Combat
a. Exalted combat is interesting, but the dice system shares the flaws of its owod predecessor in that it takes forever and multiple attacks bog it down.
b. Combat is an integral part of the system, and the characters are engines of death, so fighting should occur.
c. Combat, in stories and in games, is there to highlight story, increase drama, and illustrate important ideas.
Conclusion: Combat should only be detailed when it shows something dramatic, exceptionally cool, or forwards the storyline. Showing the characters killing an army is cool, at least the first time, or at least until it becomes monotonous. Killing another solar, or fighting a wyld hunt is equally cool. Grinding however is not cool, nor is playing out a fight that the numbers are self-evident for. This just drags out the fighting, and takes away from the important part, which is telling the story. epics only show the cool fights, the highlights, not the grind.
Proposal: Combat, unless it is highly important, should not take up more than a third of any game, preferably a quarter, and dramatic glossing should be used to deal with petty combat (already doing this in part btw, which makes me happy).
2. Table talk
a. Table talk is an inherent part of gaming, especially with this group. it enhances the pleasure of playing games, allows for social bonding, creates greater understanding of the system, and passes the time for those not involved in the current plot.
b. Table talk can become distracting and derail the entire game, especially when the GM is drawn into it.
c. We have limited play time, with at most 5 hours normally.
Conclussion: People should talk during game, but should catch themselves when it gets out of hand, and people should try to stay in the game for the central hours, leaving the majority of table talk for the beginning and ending of the game, rather than the middle.
Proposals: 1)an XP point for staying in the game. perhaps for everyone, or for the best, as the group prefers, 2)no more than 1/5 of time after the game has actually started should be spent on bs conversation, 3)limit especially the talk of mechanics not related to the current needs of the game, and of "uber-l33t-cool" powers, as it pulls people out of the story and into mechanics land (i'm bad about this too btw, not pointing fingers).
3. Story Progression
a. The storyteller system is designed to tell a story, not to adjudicate fights, or to get phat loots, or to be an xp whore (me). These things can be done, but if you read the books, the primary goal is to tell cool stories with lots of movement and drama.
b. Stories are bogged down by monotonous action and characters without significant motivation.
c. The GM has stated that he has no story in particular to tell.
Conclusion: The onus of responsibility regarding story progression falls on everyone, especially in this game, as steven is going to be using the referee style of GMing (perfectly fine btw). We have to start looking at the bigger picture (our motivations) for our characters, setting small goals, and discussing them with the party. We also have to catch ourselves when we begin to become bogged down by some action or goal if it is making the game boring for everyone else (i should have given up on the rock long ago...) and the GM is likewise responsible for reducing things to die rolls and not making people go into infinite detail on how they are doing something in order to streamline the storytelling.
Proposals: 1) XP award for moving the plot along and making the game fun for everyone else, 2) Characters need to write down their motivation, and a small list of goals and hand them to the GM, who then needs to create plot to make such things occur, and 3) the players need to work together to make cool story happen, whether it is epic or just a night in the city.
---
For my part, several of my character goals are as follows:
End Suffering (by ending the world)
Destroy the realm, and the dragonblooded rulers that killed my village
free myself of servitude
OC- bring my character toward a more balanced perspective on entropy and the world
Help my friends
have pleasant experiences
OC- explore the shadow lands
OC- build a kingdom
Alot of what i want is kind of large scale. i want to take over territory, and then make it cool while fighting other kingdoms. i want to destroy the leaders of kingdoms and fight other abyssals. i want to destroy my deathlord, and eventually destroy the neverborn i'm attached to. I want to have epic plots orchestrated by the sidereal mentor that is working behind the scenes. i want to form a party bond, and create shared goals and ideas. I want personality from the characters, and to respond to that personality (and thus need a setting that brings that personality out in people).
thats all i gots for now.
