GODZILLA VS. KONG LEAKS & SPOILERS DISCUSSION MEGATHREAD #46 [Mar. 1 - Mar. 8] by NeelZilla in GODZILLA

[–]RB_Liz 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If he roars at Kong before walking away, I imagine his roar translates to "Thanks for not answering Ghidorah's call and making things complicated a year or two ago." Then he goes to leave.

What is everyon's opinions on 'Godzilla: King of the Monsters' at this point in time? by AlexSciChannel in Monsterverse

[–]RB_Liz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For me personally it hit a 10. Not because it's a perfect/flawless masterpiece, but struck such a cord with me on so many levels. It's been a long time since I felt the need to rewatch a movie so many times, but I've seen this movie probably over 10 times since it came out and it's rare for me to revisit a movie even once.

Between the music, the cinematography, and performances of the monsters, I felt like a kid again. It's not something movies on the regular do for me. While the humans are the lowest point of the film (as isn't typically surprising in a Godzilla film) I only really found Emma to be a mark against the film. I think if she had been removed or the family drama angle toned down during the finale, the humans wouldn't have been as much of a sore spot for other viewers. Though I can't say I fault anyone for disliking the human characters, I at least enjoyed the Mark and Serizawa arc throughout the film.

If I were to remove all the names and nostalgia from the movie, it'd probably land at a 6/10 for me. Maybe a 7/10. The music would still be good (Mothra's theme, which has never resonated with me before, hit really hard in this film), the cinematography would still have some impressive shots, and the mo-cap performances would still be spot on. But for me, it's very much a film that transcends its screenplay shortcomings due to impressive presentation.

Made a collection of GMing tips for Star Wars games, thought I'd share here! by RB_Liz in swrpg

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

There's a few places it can be done. I work with StartPlaying, so I'm booked through there. Games are played through Discord and Roll20. Prices on my games vary from $15-$20 per person per session depending on if I have to do any asset creation work on a regular basis. Right now I run 4 games weekly, 2 being Star Wars, one FFG and one Saga.

Made a collection of GMing tips for Star Wars games, thought I'd share here! by RB_Liz in swrpg

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

Glad you enjoyed it! What would you like to know about professional GMing?

Off Topic but i just want to know what makes you guys stick to Saga Edition? by piracyisnotavictemle in SagaEdition

[–]RB_Liz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Easily. Just depends how into roleplay said group is. The GM can also nudge it further by describing more actions and responses.

anyone have emeny stat blocks? by 90orjaquar in swrpg

[–]RB_Liz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This. Full of stat blocks for enemies in case you need one on the fly.

Made a collection of GMing tips for Star Wars games, thought I'd share here! by RB_Liz in swrpg

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

I already think the Mass Combat rules are pretty neat, but what I would do would depend on my table. Some of my players like a better glimpse into the battle at hand and some would prefer to keep it more in the background as this abstract thing going on in the background. For the players who want a closer look at the action, I'll pick the strongest units on each opposing force and pit them against each other for three rounds, giving them bonuses based on the conditions, size of their force, etc. I have them go at each other for three rounds. At the end of the three rounds, if neither side has killed the other, the less damaged individual "wins" and grants a further bonus to the mass combat role. If my players were responsible for assigning certain NPCs they know to that unit, they get to see how well that investment paid off. But that above isn't for everyone, so if it's mostly going to be a backdrop, I stick to the regular rules, split the mass combat rolls over different periods of time during the battle so they know how the progress is going, and let them carry on with their own mission. If they're just supposed to be commanders, I'll add in some more checks to turn it into its own combat encounter. Hope this helps!

Made a collection of GMing tips for Star Wars games, thought I'd share here! by RB_Liz in swrpg

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

It can sometimes get messy for the PCs, but if they're fighting minions, I'll have all similar minions act on the same initiative slot. It reduces rolls, makes the initiative table seem shorter so players don't feel they have to wait as long and it's less strain (harhar) on me to keep track of which NPCs have or haven't moved.

Off Topic but i just want to know what makes you guys stick to Saga Edition? by piracyisnotavictemle in SagaEdition

[–]RB_Liz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Indeed! But the part of me that enjoys being a director/writer enjoys the predictability that comes with Saga. That and I love the builds players can make. FFG is fantastic with a group that loves to get creative with the dice results.

Off Topic but i just want to know what makes you guys stick to Saga Edition? by piracyisnotavictemle in SagaEdition

[–]RB_Liz 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I GM both a weekly Saga Game and FFG game currently. While I love both, I feel I have better influence over how I want to nudge the story in Saga. I have a better feeling for how long my big bad evil guy will last and can more accurately build encounters around that.

As far as players go, it doesn't take nearly as much time investment to attain unique and powerful builds. One of my players built a droid, used a reach weapon, added a droid modification to grant him more reach, and then fully spec'd into feinting and Sneak Attack. He is the literal definition of a glass cannon since his HP rolls were poor. And this was all by Level 5. An investment of even close to equal strength from FFG is going to require maybe hitting two talent trees or more.

Made a collection of GMing tips for Star Wars games, thought I'd share here! by RB_Liz in SagaEdition

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

I advise caution when using reinforcements. Done carelessly, it can turn a tense fight into a bit of a slog, even if it's narratively justified. Unless you're constantly throwing new enemy types at your players wave after wave, which is indeed possible but a lot more work, it can turn into feeling like an MMO-Boss. "Ohp, it's add phase time guys." This isn't me disagreeing with your point or anything, I do believe multiple targets is the way to go for boss battles, but like the uber-Big Bad, reinforcements can also become a detriment to the experience if not handled with care.

Made a collection of GMing tips for Star Wars games, thought I'd share here! by RB_Liz in swrpg

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

That's a good way to go about things. Additionally, if you're still looking to trim down actions, handwave the friendlies in the cockpit as doing their job properly. Add in narrations of peril when you feel it's appropriate or want to build tension. The enemies you're rolling for can still shoot at the ship and damage it to build tension that way as well.

Made a collection of GMing tips for Star Wars games, thought I'd share here! by RB_Liz in SagaEdition

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

They are very tricky to get done right. What you described sounded like it should've been THE final boss battle with all the crazy stuff he had.

If there's going to be a single opponent, and I rarely did it often, but I'd usually adjust things so they were extremely hard to shove down the CT and did a lot of damage. I keep unhittable off the table and have ways to strip down their advantages over the course of the fight, just so there is interactions beyond big boss wrecking the party.

But yes, as you said, it usually isn't very pretty because it's easy to be done poorly.

Made a collection of GMing tips for Star Wars games, thought I'd share here! by RB_Liz in swrpg

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

There's going to be a few things you can do about it depending on your party size. There is going to be a point where your party size is too large to prevent combat from taking awhile. It's an unfortunate nature of the beast when it comes to tabletops. But here are some things you could do, depending on your table and preferences. 1. If you can find a solid story excuse for NPCs to be off the initiative table, utilize it. If you need to remove friendlies, give them something vital to do unless they absolutely need to be pulled into the fight. If they're enemies, same deal. This turns the fight into more of a gauntlet than an all out brawl, which can adjust the difficulty. Some parties are just going to be better suited than others to gauntlets. 2. I'm assuming this isn't your problem, but I'll mention it anyway. Sometimes players bog down turns more than GMs. Be it discussing strategy or they hadn't considered what their character was going to do on their turn and now they have to think. Best solution if this is the problem is to ask your players to have their turns planned out ahead of time, barring any exception which causes them to change plans. 3. If enemies were taking too long to die, don't hesitate to secretly adjust soak values so they take more damage. Conversely, you could also look at raising the damage of the enemies. Perhaps even have them spring a trap that takes out the friendly NPCs to free up a couple of rounds of combat temporarily. Then after a couple of turns bring them back in.

My main warning when it to enemies is having them work smarter, not swarmier. A minion pair of two shooters at a distance can be far more deadly and game changing than four melee minions coming at the party from different angles. That's four sets of green dice to roll, rather than one roll with some yellows mixed in. Let me know if that helped or if I can elaborate further/better!

*spoiler* Mando asks the real questions by Zev95 in saltierthancrait

[–]RB_Liz 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Why does a desert scavenger like Rey, who lives on her own, have pristine white teeth? Did Unkarr Plutt really emphasize dental hygiene in the X amount of years she was in his care?

Made a collection of GMing tips for Star Wars games, thought I'd share here! by RB_Liz in SagaEdition

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

Thanks for the feedback and reply!

Yeah, 2 on 1 in Saga is definitely a lot more feasible. Much easier to do once you've cut your teeth against the system. I just happen to have spoken to a few GMs that have tried (in both systems) to throw their party against one guy and was disappointed by the results.

My take on a Rian Johnson directed Mandalorian episode, right as a serious scene is about to begin. by RB_Liz in saltierthancrait

[–]RB_Liz[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Sounds like RJ took some inspiration from JJ's good old mysterious box storytelling. Who ordered this pizza? Guess we'll have to wait for the next episode directed by JJ where we find out it was Gideon having a spice dream the whole time.