Tips for a game starting soon?

[Woodclaw]

I'm still not sure how important the distinction is. IME skill checks in every RPG are sometimes initiated by the player, and sometimes initiated by the GM. In TOR those different instances happen to be tagged with different terminology..... and I've never put much thought into the task/test dichotomy.

Same here. Now I'm curious why this is deemed important.

I think it's important because in many demo games I run (I do this at least once a month), I noticed that players (especially those coming from other fantasy RPGs) are reluctant to ask for a skill check and narrate its consequences, many seem to prefer to lay back and wait for the LM to tell them what to do. Because of the way Advancement Points works in this game I think it's bad for the players not getting more involved into the narrative. Plus giving the players a chance to be the narrator of their own success and failures is a good way to get them more involved in the game.

[Eclipse]

One thing I have learned to do more consciously since I started playing alternative games: I seldom create do or don't Tests and Tasks anymore, refraining from creating walls for the players that block their path. Taking a page out of Mouse Guard, Fate et al, I like to create successes with consequences. Failed rolls introduce twists and consequences, but do not block story advancement in the way they often do in more traditional systems. I have been doing that before, but without thinking about it; now I actively create fitting scenarios. This actually mirrors the travel rules; I just do it for most rolls outside of combat or encounters.

For example: player-characters are searching for tracks and fail their roll? They do find them, but they took quite long, and something other found them, too. Cue combat or an encounter, maybe even a detour with a little side quest.

[Evening]

I think it's important because in many demo games I run (I do this at least once a month), I noticed that players (especially those coming from other fantasy RPGs) are reluctant to ask for a skill check and narrate its consequences, many seem to prefer to lay back and wait for the LM to tell them what to do.

Ah, I see. Thank you for the explanation.

[Etarnon]

my input. Don't worry so much about the rules, if you do it will feel mechanical. Use the rules as a guide, and narrate, narrate.

Have the player propose something and when they roll it out for good or ill, have Them narrate. do not have a fixed thing in mind, and allow a lot.

Be flexible in the story, their narrations can be great. If they are stuck in a mechanical this is how it was in System X, what do I need to roll, free them off that, and have them narrate, instead.

I run it like it's a TV show or a movie.

Use the travel rules but in the end don't be a slave to them, make sure plot twists and interesting things happen, just like in a novel.

Good luck. It's both a tough job to run it (not because of mechanics, but because a large portion of it I have to make up as I go), but also the most rewarding game I've ever had the pleasure of running. I am lucky to have great, inventive players.

[delazar]

Had first session today, all-in-all we had a good time. It was a nice change of pace from DnD, no more wizards every corner or everburning torches to light the way...

Rules-wise, as I expected there was a bit of stress about assigning advancement points based on invoking a trait. In the end, we decided that to get the AP, you should invoke the trait in a tense, dramatic, heroic moment, not just every time you think it may apply.

One thing that confused me; we played the Marsh-bell, and the text states:

The part of the Long Marshes that is inside Mirkwood qualifies as a blighted place. As the region is a Shadow land, all companions must pass a Corruption test every day or gain a Shadow point.

but in the Loremaster screen I saw a table that says I have to roll 3 Feat dice, and if one comes out with a Sauron, then they have to make Corruption tests... or am I reading that wrong?

[Hermes Serpent]

The screen has some changes from the rules due to discussion on the forums as the section on whether an area is Blighted was unclear in the LM book. Basically the authors indicated that a whole area while indicated as Blighted on the map was just shorthand for this area could be Blighted but really the LM should make a hex, or just a`location, Blighted to avoid too many rolls.

So the change is that an area indicated as Blighted may have a hex or location that is Blighted by rolling the appropriate number of Feat dice and the area is Blighted (and the TN is raised) if an Eye is rolled.

Francesco's post from March 5 2012 follows as the old clicdev forums are not linkable.
"below you will find an extract from the upcoming Loremaster's Screen, part of a box addressing the rules for Corruption rolls due to blighted places. It came to my mind to preview this here when I read a post about expanded journey rules, where the author directly pointed to the number of Corruption rolls required to traverse any part of Mirkwood as one of the weaknesses of the journey rules as written. I hope this clarification will address most of the concerns about Corruption (the full text included in the LM Screen features also a 'quick and dirty' rule to determine whether a place is blighted or not, to be employed if the LM doesn't want to determine it, or if the adventure does not specify it).

Concerning Blighted Places - a Clarification
The rules found at page 57 of the Loremaster’s Book detail what happens when a company of adventurers enters an area qualifying as a blighted place. From the way the rules have been presented in that chapter, it seems that players are required to make Corruption tests every time they cross areas rated as Wild lands, Shadow lands and Dark lands, making for a rather unforgiving rule.

The original intent of the rule was that it is always left to the discretion of the Loremaster to determine whether a place must be considered blighted or not. The Blighted Lands table must be used when the Loremaster has decided that an area is indeed blighted, to determine the frequency of the required Corruption tests.

For example, the text for the Marsh-bell adventure applies the rule as intended, when at page 130, under the Entering Mirkwood paragraph, the bulleted text states that “The part of the Long Marshes that is inside Mirkwood qualifies as a blighted place.”

Under this interpretation, it is entirely possible for an area found within a region classified as Wild, Shadow or even Dark not to require any Corruption test to traverse. As far as the accumulation of Shadow is concerned, the various region types as classified in the Loremaster map serve as guidelines for the Loremaster to decide whether the region currently traversed by company is blighted or not, with Free lands being rarely blighted, and Dark lands being mostly so."

[delazar]

Ok, then I think I played it right: I rolled 3d12s every day, and if one came up with a Sauron, I had them make Corruption rolls.

Luckily enough, Sauron never showed its ugly eye...

[Hermes Serpent]

You could just as easily place a specific event that would happen in a particular hex (rather than rolling for a Blighted area) and had them roll a Corruption test as part of investigating the source of the Corruption. Naturally you wouldn't tell them "This place is Corrupted" beforehand. Just let them wander in, possibly with some foreshadowing if you felt nice, say mentioning the gloom and sense of despair in the area.

[Stormcrow]

Rules-wise, as I expected there was a bit of stress about assigning advancement points based on invoking a trait. In the end, we decided that to get the AP, you should invoke the trait in a tense, dramatic, heroic moment, not just every time you think it may apply.

This is essentially correct. The circumstances for granting advancement points are listed on p. 30 of the Loremaster's Guide. There are three circumstances that grant the first advancement point in a group: invoking a relevant trait, knowing that failing will bring serious consequences, and overcoming a severe or daunting difficulty. It's not stated, but you're not supposed to be able to just walk into a room singing and expect a point in Custom. The action has to be relevant to the adventure, but need not be particularly tense or heroic.

You should be pretty free in handing out the first advancement point in a group. The second and third are harder.

The second point should only be given when you do one of the above, and you do something out of the ordinary. It doesn't have to be staggeringly awesome, just something remarkable.

The third point is only awarded when you do one of the above and it's staggeringly awesome. If mouths haven't dropped open or cheers haven't erupted among the players, it's not worth a third point.

[delazar]

We completed the scenario in the LM book. It took us two sessions, the heroes earned a total of 5 experience points (2 in the first session, 3 in the second).

Advancement-points-wise, we had an average of 3 points per character... would this be normal? It seems a bit low to me, especially considering that Common Skills cost more to advance, and there are more of them.

What has been your experience about this?