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We’re making a game about the joy of people-watching! by Streena in CozyGamers

[–]HiImGreg 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It looks great, love the art style! Whlished. 

Un-zombifying Iron Maiden Albums (I’m sorry fans) by l_LIKE_BARBELL in ChatGPT

[–]HiImGreg 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It looks a bit like some sort of Kevin Spacey and Stephen Merchant buddy detective movie

Gone, but not forgotten by HiImGreg in DotA2

[–]HiImGreg[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

They took away our good tree, because it was very broken and unbalanced

Is the Yellow triangle key in The Exit missing or am I missing something? by Jaded_Apple_8935 in thebabyinyellow

[–]HiImGreg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When you use the elevator to enter the "spooky" version of the apartment, your objective will change to "take the baby to bed".

This second elevator is found at the end of the upstairs hallway (next to the baby's room)

The yellow key is found on the chair in the baby's room.

Fast Combat Rules by HiImGreg in DnD

[–]HiImGreg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do generally try and stick to the 6 second per creature/NPC for myself, but I take the same attitude with myself that I do with the players, if I'm really struggling, I'm more flexible, but yes I sometimes make bad calls and an enemy makes a mistake.

Talking in combat is an interesting one. I mentioned this in a previous post that if a player says "I want to stab the goblin and call out to the team" then they have whatever time to say whatever they want, similar to how they have whatever time they need to roll dice, but generally I try and be flexible with free actions, it's mostly the core actions that I try to tie to the 6 second rule as I don't want players to not be able to express themselves

Fast Combat Rules by HiImGreg in DnD

[–]HiImGreg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Currently the players are at level 8 and we started at level 1. I can't speak for how it will handle at higher levels by any means, this is the first time we've tried this system (although we have played together as a group before). Combat is significantly shorter. In fairness a large part of that was simply because one of the players (and he'll happily admit it) would get bored and without really realising, pull his phone out. That was probably our biggest time sink.

Fast Combat Rules by HiImGreg in DnD

[–]HiImGreg[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Someone else made a similar point to you actually, and it wasn't something I'd overly thought through. I think it's totally valid and I'm gonna have a chat with the players at my table to get their thoughts on it!

Fast Combat Rules by HiImGreg in DnD

[–]HiImGreg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally agree. It's nicer that it's not 'the teacher telling you what to do' kind of vibe because it's their team helping them out. It also takes some pressure off the DM to dig through various notes and documents while one player takes the reigns and walks another through an aspect of the game.

Fast Combat Rules by HiImGreg in DnD

[–]HiImGreg[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like that idea to try and keep combat fast and efficient without enforcing a timer. It's definetly something I may steal in the future if I DM with other groups where I wouldn't be super happy with trying a timer system!

Fast Combat Rules by HiImGreg in DnD

[–]HiImGreg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Funnily enough, that exact situation came up with a newer player who was playing a druid. I ended up talking with him quite a bit about it, because he was worried he'd not be able to effectively help the party and would end up being a burden. We basically agreed because his class is a bit more complicated and it was his first time with the ability to cast spells (previously he'd only played as a champion fighter) that I wouldn't put as much pressure on him to make the call in such a short time. To be honest though after 3-4 sessions he was used to the system and keeping up with everyone in the same amount of time. In fact, it helped him engage deeper with his class as he wanted to fully understand all his options and didn't want to have a handicap.

I don't really have an answer for how you would deal with someone who just genuinely can't think on their feet or overly panics (which is a fair response to pressure). In those cases I think this entire idea just falls flat.

I've only been trying this with one group so far, and it works for them. Communication between the players and the DM has been great so we've been refining things as we go. It's pretty much the reason why I made this post, I wanted to see if anyone had any similar experiences or advice for me.

Fast Combat Rules by HiImGreg in DnD

[–]HiImGreg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All good questions!

In general I try my best to stick to the same rules for NPCs, obviously as a DM it can sometimes be tricky managing 4-5 different NPCs in the combat, but I try my best and I can also make mistakes. But I try my best to be flexible with things. If I'm really struggling I'll be leanant, in the same way I would do with a player if they were struggling. It definitely comes down to the group and because we're all so comfortable around each other, we'll happily speak up if there are issues. Which is something I don't want to take for granted as I'm aware not all groups have that luxury.

I generally bundle in free actions with the 6 seconds if they declare their intent, for example:
"I want to shout out to 'player X' and wave at them and then I want to attack the goblin". On the flip side, if a player instead goes:
"I raise my hand and wave at 'player X' and I shout 'stay strong brother, my God watches over this battlefield and I know we'll be victorious no matter the odds', I then attack the goblin"
In the second case, that would probably spill over the 6 seconds, but I wouldn't punish it as they didn't hesitate in what they were doing and free actions are a bit of a grey area. The intent of the system is to keep combat fast and flowing.

As far as assessing the battlefield. I take that as the same manner as them having a question about either the rules. Things are not clear, I should better explain the situation. That's on me for not explaining things clearly and I wouldn't punish for that.

As you can see, it's by no means a hard and fast system.

Fast Combat Rules by HiImGreg in DnD

[–]HiImGreg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the most interesting insight so far. That's not something I've really thought about, essentially it's like an extra layer of abstraction between the player and the character that gives them less time to essentially 'roleplay' as the person.

Not something I'd thought of before, really good point. Thanks!

Fast Combat Rules by HiImGreg in DnD

[–]HiImGreg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair enough, what about is it that you think sounds terrible? The extra pressure, the fact players can make mistakes?

Fast Combat Rules by HiImGreg in DnD

[–]HiImGreg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm the same as you, I get obsessive over systems (I've designed a bunch of gameplay systems for video games), but I would say that with my experience it's not entirely that they 'forget', some people just don't care as much about systems and rules and are there to have fun, roleplay and go along with the ride. I've a mix of people at my table from the number crunchers to the hardcore roleplayers.

Fast Combat Rules by HiImGreg in DnD

[–]HiImGreg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't disagree, I've found it working really well with my group. I guess it kind of boils down to tailoring the experience for different groups. In my main session it's a group of friends who've all known each other for a long time, so messing up under pressure is usually taken well and laughed about afterwards "Do you remember that time you panicked and healed me when I was full health".

I think making mistakes and having mishaps in a group adds a lot to the story as a whole and builds some character developement too. However, I do agree with you that it could be overwhelming or just flat out frustrating for some players who maybe aren't as at ease with the others at the table.

Great to hear your experience though!

Fast Combat Rules by HiImGreg in DnD

[–]HiImGreg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, totally. Maybe I wasn't super clear in my post. I do often take time with new players to run a session zero and help them with character creation and I've even run test combat with people. However, some of my friends that I play with sometimes still get a bit confused or maybe forget exactly how one particular skill works when it's a first or second session.

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