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I was in a game (via roll20) yesterday in which we successfully tracked a band of orcs & goblins and found them camped at the base of a rocky outcropping. The LM described a possible path to the top of the rocks, and we concocted a plan to send our best archers to the top of the rocks, and started asking the LM for specifics so we could determine if it were possible. I.e., all the standard RPG stuff.

Suddenly it occurred to us that we should have done things a bit differently. We should have all rolled Battle, and if we had extra successes we could have described how we are using them.

In other words, instead of:
"Can we get on top of the rocks? What bonus will that give?"
We should have said:
"I get on top of the rocks and shoot down at the orc leader. The higher ground gives me an advantage, so I'm going to use one of my success dice on the roll."
Another player could have chimed in:
"I'll give him one of my success dice, too, just to make sure..."

Does that sound right? That is, instead of the LM making all the decisions, the players determine what the dice mean, and thereby participate in the narration.

Question: the LM might have required a stealth or athletic check to get there....could we have used Battle dice for that, even if it occurred before the battle actually started?

Sounds good to me.

I wouldn't get the players spend Battle Dice on the Athletics check to climb the cliff, but I'd have awarded them bonus Battle dice for getting to the higher ground; the risk of the perilous climb has to be balanced against the potential reward of Battle dice.

Mytholder wrote:Sounds good to me.

I wouldn't get the players spend Battle Dice on the Athletics check to climb the cliff, but I'd have awarded them bonus Battle dice for getting to the higher ground; the risk of the perilous climb has to be balanced against the potential reward of Battle dice.

Oh that's an interesting way of doing that. I like it. So you can get Battle dice by rolling, but also through preparation that carries risk (in the form of required rolls with negative consequences if failed).

Mostly the descriptive stuff was setting the scene as without a map or minis it's more difficult to convey a complex scene. I did mention a path up the tor and specified an Athletics check would be required but IIRC you were AFK at the time. I also offered a +2 circumstance bonus for firing down from the tor but pointed out the overhang restricted your view of the goblins and your ability to pick certain targets.

I was all for dealing with the Battle rolls next time but some got rolled before we ended.

One thing I have noticed is that I need to offer more opportunities for characters to ham it up with narration about their die rolls rather than simply allowing the roll and dealing with the result. I also need to narrate the adversaries attacks rather than just dealing with die rolls and results. The players need to claim trait usage for AP's more as well which will boost the narration/role play a bit as well.

I wonder if lowering the Hobbit from the top of the crag/tor into the goblin cooking pot might represent us rolling an Eye somewhere along the way... Hmmm

No criticism of LMing implied. I'm just trying to get my head around how TOR could be played differently from other RPGs, perhaps in a way that requires less LM preparation.

Yeah sure. Battle dice and specialities transfer some narrative power to the players. They already had it before if they wanted it, but the use of this stuff encourages it. A bit like FATE points, just smaller.

Xavi

Interesting - wouldn't sneaking up be an 'ambush' - rolling stealth etc (sounds like, that was how it was played), then once combat started - roll Battle, for those bonus die to be used in the fight (not before).
But here is another question, the bonus dice (for battle, travel & encounters) do you guys decide to use (or give) a bonus die before rolling against the target number or do you roll as normal, and if failed decide you use the bonus dice (if still failed boost it again with hope)?

Clawlessdragon wrote:Interesting - wouldn't sneaking up be an 'ambush' - rolling stealth etc (sounds like, that was how it was played), then once combat started - roll Battle, for those bonus die to be used in the fight (not before).
But here is another question, the bonus dice (for battle, travel & encounters) do you guys decide to use (or give) a bonus die before rolling against the target number or do you roll as normal, and if failed decide you use the bonus dice (if still failed boost it again with hope)?

That's also a good question: do we need to invent the modifiers for the situation, or is it just Ambush rules with player/LM narration? And what's more fun?

Elfcrusher, we play exactly the way you propose already, on roll 20.

Pre battle they roll battle dice. Then players describe, "I shoot down onto the hapless orcs from a high angle...I hide myself in a tree so that i get a shot at one with his back turned." Each gets a dice. I let the dice flow, and encourage players to narrate, "I charge thick and fast ahead, straightoward their tents, my blade whistling in an arc as it deals death and blood."

All good stuff. I'm lucky to have players that try really hard. There's ten of us.