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Re: (TFT) I realized
(DEMATRIOUS)
Kikadale would answer any question free of charge. He always told the
truth. It was never a straight answer. The players quickly started
refering to him as the "Mad Hobbit". He could always be found drunk and
drinking at the ``Whistling Demon'' and talking into his wooden mug. He
slept in a wicker basket across the street next to a wall. Anyone who
looked into his mug would see an eye looking up from the bottom. It was
great. What ever the players made of this, what ever tangent they took off
of it, it didn't matter. I made it true.
Kikadale was a little confused at first. Every time he dealt with the
players, campaign events seemed to follow from the conversation. When he
couldn't deny that his words were always coming true, he developed an
occasional stutter. When he guessed at the probable location of a lost
treasure, and was always right, he got really scared of characters that
asked those questions. Then when he realized that even overhearing the
players speculate caused it to become fact, he started laughing at the
oddest times.
Between having Mr. Marious or Kikadale to go to, the players started
getting exactly the types of adventures they wanted every time they played.
The campaign was working. Word of mouth started bringing in new players,
and once again I never saw it coming.
"Ohhhh, look at Kikadale go." Said Steven in his most sarcastic voice.
"Go Kikadale go. Can't touch Kikadal. I wish I was Kikadale."
He had me there. I couldn't figure out how to make that one true and
it didn't matter. He had the other players rolling in the isle. From that
time on new players were indoctrinated in a different way. We used to show
them how to make a character, teach them melee', improve their tactics, and
preach the virtues of fighting as a team. Now the new players were told
about the major NPCs. Which ones were cool, and who to stay away from.
"If you can aford it, go to Marius for information."
"If you need ideas go to Kikadale."
"For the best weapons see Mr Fitch."
"Lady Gina makes the finest upper class clothes, and gives personal
attention to each customer."
"Lord Aragorn may be King of the Island, but he never gets anything
done. Don't go see him, it's a waste of time."
"If you have literacy you must join the Gentleman's club. They have a
cool Library, maps of the pits of hell, and a billiard room."
"And a map in Branya will always get you killed??.." It did'nt matter
where the map was to, it would get you killed.
New Followers became the most popular talent. The players came to the
table with an air of conspiracy about them. They would take breaks and talk
among themselves away from my hearing. I started getting surprised by
hidden agendas and concealed motives. I liked it. Faced with a new group
consciousness, one that operated in spite of my influences, I revisited the
details of the game system itself.
Each character sheet was scrutinized. The only way to tell what might
happen is to know every talent each character has. As well as the magic
items, money, and easily readied weapons. I became a stickler for detail.
If it wasn't written down, it didn't exist. Don't have any arrows written
down, oh well, guess you forgot them at home. According to this, your iron
flesh ring is the seventh magic item written on your character sheet. Sorry
you can't spend that new IQ point, because you don't have any talents listed
under studied. It's not my fault none of you actually wrote down the
crystal ball. What is this written diagonally at the bottom of your
character sheet? It says `five thousand silver' pieces, but where is it?
There is no pack or bag anywhere on here. Is it piled up around your feet
in the middle of the street? Is it just laying around for anyone?
I didn't see this coming at all.
Joel Miksa got up from the table and started pounding his right fist
into his left palm. "You've heard of the Fantasy Trip, but have you ever
heard of the Reality Trip." And with that every player was out of their
chair. The kitchen turned into a wrestling match, and it all ended up in a
big laugh festival.
I realized the players were hooked. They couldn't get enough of the
campaign. They felt my respect for their characters. Some would leave
notes on their character sheets so when I did one of my surprise inspections
I would find it and none of the other players would see them passing me a
secret note. Edd Ott started keeping a journal at the game table, written
entirely from his characters' perspective. Hilariously distorted to his
favor. Years later one player actually thanked me for forcing him to
improve his penmanship.
Now to speed things up, I started seating the players around the table
by order of natural DX. Highest at my right hand going counter clockwise
around the table. Every combat turn I started with the player seated to my
right. Because of the seating arrangement no player ever got skipped.
Players stopped interrupting each other. They only had to wait a few more
seconds. Combat turns started going faster and faster. New players fitted
in seamlessly, and really felt they had a place at the table.
A fight involving twenty to thirty characters took about ten to fifteen
real minutes to resolve. By the time the five second rule was strictly
enforced the players were only taking two or three seconds to state their
actions and roll. They actually started to outrun the adventures and kill
all the monsters in time to spend the rest of the session playing politics
and spending money. Buying new equipment became something players did at
the end of the session.
I never saw this next bit coming either.
"Ha! I got a 22 Dex." Said Joel to Edd. "Move over."
The players stopped putting character points into any attribute other
than DX. Everyone wanted to sit in the first spot, and had at least a
sixteen DX. I realized that dexterity in TFT is a strange thing. No matter
how high your DX gets it depends on your opponents DX if you get hit or not.
Only armor and magic makes a difference in defense. There is no reason to
have a 22 dexterity unless you want to shoot a long bow twice a turn at
someone's leg.
My arch villains became high IQ wizards. One guy would use hirelings
to kidnap a character and ransom him back to the party. Another villain
would send people to join the party, get close to a character, and try to
assassinate him. Another guy used a crystal ball to scout, insubstantiality
to penetrate the players' base, and teleport to plunder. You get the idea.
So did the players. They started putting more points into IQ, and learning
the bigger spells.
Shawn Doucet invented zombie cows. He took a cow and shape shifted it
into a hobbit. Cow ST:30 DX:11 IQ:5 to a hobbit ST:4 DX:34 IQ: 8 then he
killed it and turned it into a zombie. A zombie has what ever ST the wizard
gives it and -2 to what ever DX it had in life. The result was usually a
zombie of ST:100 DX:32.
I realized that when killed, the hobbit reverted to a cow.
Joel started using his strength battery to cast 26 dice wizards wrath
and took to hunting dragons. His favorite was tactic was an aimed shot to
the head "To choke them to death" he said.
I realized most dragons have enough IQ to learn reverse missles.
Edd invented invincible armor. Fine plate with Iron flesh, Warrior and
veteran, and +5 hits; stops a total of 19 points. This is the most even a
great sword can do on a normal hit. Even from behind. Even lying on the
ground.
I realized that a wish would have to be commissioned for the person who
wanted to fight that character.
In summary, the biggest thing I realized is that one has to make room
for the players in a campaign. Not just the setting, monsters, motives,
or even the treasure. A player has to have the room to make their own
destiny, to be heard, and to be remembered.
David Michael Grouchy II
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