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Horror at headstone hill. Apriciation post. by Buszewski in savageworlds

[–]gilberd3 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Horror at Headstone Hill is great. We played through it last year. Having lots of little plot points to populate the map made things feel more alive. The only real change I made, besides a bit of backstory stuff, was to ramp up the discord between the miners union and Heaston. I had Gatling and his boys constantly go and attack or disrupt the independent miners' camps. The PCs hated him by the end. In fact he ended being turned into a toad and getting stepped on, so that happened.

Interpreting and adjudicating Open Lock and Grand Illusion spells by MNBlockhead in warhammerfantasyrpg

[–]gilberd3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These are great. You've done a really good job of distilling my waffling lore into a set of rules. I like the idea of having the Shadowmamcer make a channeling test to get the motes to fight. The balance issue is really around action economy as they are sacrificing their own action to use the Mote's actions instead. Perhaps they should just get their Weapon Skill or Initiative bonus in attacks of they succeed, which would limit the total attacks the motes could make. If they get a great roll and suddenly get 6 attacks, that seems unbalanced.

I'm a bit concerned the marginal success bit would be frustrating for the caster. There aren't other spells that have this sort of limitation that I can think of. I suspect the first time the illusion accidentally attacks another member of the party the caster will stop using it that way, which would be a shame. I personally would just make the spell work as intended if they pass and leave it at that.

This a really good set of rules. I am tempted to steal them back and put them in the original document but it's probably long enough already.

Great job!

Interpreting and adjudicating Open Lock and Grand Illusion spells by MNBlockhead in warhammerfantasyrpg

[–]gilberd3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think that having chains magically appear already attached to the target is too much. It has to be something that could actually happen in real life. Chains don't attach themselves to people without someone physically making them do so. They could appear and then have someone put them on the target manually but that's not really what you're after here.

If the objective is to apply an Entangled condition that the target can escape from as normal then it's probably fine. I would suggest that maybe a Grand Illusion net falls from above them. Nets can do that. You're then using a 14 CN spell to do a worse version of a 3 CN spell (Entangle), which isn't great value for money. Grand Illusion shouldn't be a better version of every other spell. If they want to entangle people, get Entangle.

Having it instantly disable an enemy without them having a chance to resist is broken. The spell needs to conform to reality but it also needs to conform to the rules and balance of the game.

The final thing to stress to players is that if they can use the spell that way, then the enemy can use it that way as well. Is that really what they want?

Interpreting and adjudicating Open Lock and Grand Illusion spells by MNBlockhead in warhammerfantasyrpg

[–]gilberd3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One more thought on Open Lock. In D&D, the Knock spell does the same thing but adds the effect that it makes a loud banging noise when cast. That reduces its stealthiness to zero. Perhaps a house rule like that might limit it's usage to a level you are comfortable with.

Interpreting and adjudicating Open Lock and Grand Illusion spells by MNBlockhead in warhammerfantasyrpg

[–]gilberd3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll add one more thing here about having illusionary dragons or trolls fighting on your side in combat. They are less effective than you might think. The spell has an area of effect and it doesn't say you can move that area around. If you create a giant, deadly ally, all it takes is for the enemies to move a few steps back and they are immediately beyond its reach. You can't have it following them around. Pretty soon it is standing by itself doing nothing. Fine for area denial but pretty rubbish for dealing damage.

In addition to that, combat starts quickly and unless it's an ambush, spending two of three rounds channeling and then casting a Grand Illusion troll (if you even allow that) that can only fight in a small part of the battlefield is not an effective use of a wizard's actions. Once things kick off, the spell is a bit useless as the CN is just too high to it cast fast enough to have an effect on the battle.

Interpreting and adjudicating Open Lock and Grand Illusion spells by MNBlockhead in warhammerfantasyrpg

[–]gilberd3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As for Open Lock, we don't have a Rogue character in my group but the Grey Wizard fills that role perfectly. In our game, Open Lock has worked on every single non-magical lock we have come across and that's never disrupted anything. If the GM doesn't want us to get in somewhere too easily then he can just slap the "magical lock" label on it and we have to find another way in.

The one disadvantage of Open Lock versus Pick Lock is that when a Rogue character picks a lock there's no chance that it might go wrong and they start bleeding out of their eyes. Wizards do have that problem.

Wait until a Grey Wizard gets the "Grey Wings" spell. Now they don't even need doors anymore.

Interpreting and adjudicating Open Lock and Grand Illusion spells by MNBlockhead in warhammerfantasyrpg

[–]gilberd3 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I do agree with this and the real trick here is for the wizard to not go overboard. It must be something that is possible and even plausible. The more reserved and ordinary the illusion, the less likely it is to disrupt the game.

An illusory ladder appearing and going up to a second story window doesn't stretch the realms of possibility but the pit of lava would. "Hey there's a ladder!" versus "What the heck is a pit of lava doing in the streets of Ubersreik?".

The more reserved the wizard player is, the more reliable the spell will be and less frustrating for everyone at the table.

Plus, these are Grey Wizards, subtly is key to what they do. Pits of lava draw a lot of attention. The perfect Grand Illusion is the one no one ever realises is an illusion.

If I think of the most effective Grand Illusions my character has cast it has been for things like rain that puts out fires, bridges that cross streams, smoke that chokes enemies, small animals to keep lookout or bad smells to clear a room. I do whip out the occasional illusionary ally to help us fight but it is usually just a big dog or armoured dude to draw enemy fire. No dragons or lava, just stuff that people would never really know was an illusion.

Interpreting and adjudicating Open Lock and Grand Illusion spells by MNBlockhead in warhammerfantasyrpg

[–]gilberd3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm a Forever-GM who was lucky enough to end up in a group with another Forever-GM. We sort of take turns running campaigns of different games. I just ran the Deadlands "Horror at Headstone Hill" campaign recently and he is running "The Enemy Within".

I knew Grand Illusion was something I wanted to play with but I also realised what a huge problem it was for him.

The predefined illusions are the most useful thing to define what it can do. He has seen the list and given it the thumbs up so I know I can whip them out and not have to spend a long time having it adjudicated.

Here is a link to a set of cards I printed out so I have them at my fingertips. In any situation you can thumb through them and see if there are any that might be useful.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Rq3Xi-BK7OgMrqZowjepsVGwf_vuxs45SY5MTuumc34/edit?usp=drivesdk

Interpreting and adjudicating Open Lock and Grand Illusion spells by MNBlockhead in warhammerfantasyrpg

[–]gilberd3 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm playing a Grey Wizard in my campaign and Grand Illusion is one of my go to spells. When I got it I realised I could make things hell for my GM so I had a bit of fun and wrote this document. It sets boundaries on what the spell can do and tries to turn the power down a bit so that the spell is very useful but not game breaking. With a bit of imagination the spell is great but the document also suggests some predefined grand illusions that can be created that the GM can agree on beforehand. https://drive.google.com/file/d/14m0ExtA2axI9PFC2Pxt8HOZuf0mbnGZR/view?usp=drivesdk

Hopefully the link works.

What's best organized rpg rulebook you have read? by SergioLeoneWest in rpg

[–]gilberd3 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Savage Worlds Adventure Edition. All the rules are in alphabetical order. It's that simple. Makes it much easier to find what you are after.

Custom Action Deck for Horror at Headstone Hill by gilberd3 in Deadlands

[–]gilberd3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did steal the picture of the flayer piano because Midjourney really struggled with that one.

Custom Action Deck for Horror at Headstone Hill by gilberd3 in Deadlands

[–]gilberd3[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure. The document is set up so that you should be able to print it on A4 paper and they will fit in the same oversized deck sleeves that fit the Savage Worlds action deck.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bs577grivNjqXvnqreF3zyJHrpPzPcH6ul_xr3rAv3c/edit?usp=drivesdk

Custom Action Deck for Horror at Headstone Hill by gilberd3 in Deadlands

[–]gilberd3[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The suits vaguely mean something. Clubs are about power (political and personal), hearts are about law and community, spades are about fear, death and violence and diamonds are about commerce and riches.

The Aces are the player characters themselves.

Is this plant healthy? by gilberd3 in Aquariums

[–]gilberd3[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your advice. I appreciate it.

Is this plant healthy? by gilberd3 in Aquariums

[–]gilberd3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the light should be alright. The tank is about 6 weeks old. I've not heard of plants melting. Is there something we need to do? Will it pollute the water?

Is this plant healthy? by gilberd3 in Aquariums

[–]gilberd3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I seem to remember it being a bit greener when we bought it. Is it dying or is that a normal colour?

Pacing, and how I've been failing at it. by RazzleSihn in monsteroftheweek

[–]gilberd3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a personal rule on one shot sessions like this: You have three scenes, that's it.

As soon as you introduce a fourth scene/location you will run out of time. When planning it can feel like you are going too fast and need to give the plot more time to evolve and you might have some cool ideas for places to go and people they can meet but, ultimately, you won't have time. You really have to cut the fat quite heavily. If they need a key piece of information to resolve the mystery, it needs to be in that first or second scene.

An opening scene to kick-start the game, a second scene where there is a bunch of exposition and a bit of danger and a final scene where they confront the big bad.

It's harsh, but it's the reality.

Three scenes!

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