Great Size, Adversaries, Favoured Abilities and Weariness

[Otaku-sempai]

I've said earlier, "If 13 dwarves and a hobbit can't take 3 trolls...what chance do you have?"

Fortunately, LM Tolkien was a nice guy and said 'Okay, I don't want a TPK here, I'll have Gandalf come back and save everybody.'

Movie aside, the dwarves might have fared better if they had attacked as a group.

[Glorelendil]

I've said earlier, "If 13 dwarves and a hobbit can't take 3 trolls...what chance do you have?"

Fortunately, LM Tolkien was a nice guy and said 'Okay, I don't want a TPK here, I'll have Gandalf come back and save everybody.'

Movie aside, the dwarves might have fared better if they had attacked as a group.

Would that be an example of that "tactics" thing that Stormcrow was talking about?

[Feanor]

well. I think some people are missing a point.

As a player its vital to feel cool and that ones character is a very good fighter, even vs enemies bigger than human size. At least with say a seasoned adventurer, of wisdom valour 4 and ones preffered weapon to 4.

To ALWAYS either have the group killed, or to ALWAYS send in the cavalry ( gandalf aragorn whatnot ) can be detrimental to the players feeling and roleplaying experience of the game. On occasions, against bigger monsters if they keep getting sent in against the group, the players need to be able to have a good chance in the fight. They are HEROES.

I state this knowing that a group seems to have a very slim chance of fighting of the werewolf, trolls etc.

RULES or not. They are there to advize, and help, not make people abuse powers or having the players have NO chance of fighting and winning.

A 1/20 chance of a piercing blow going through seems a very slim and boring way to look at the system and the game. With such slim odds of winning, id as LM let players abuse the rules all they want while i wouldnt fight optimally with my opponents for them. IF any LM does that its just an exercise in futility of haveing the campaign played through, since the players would leave the campaign if the feelign of being a hero wasnt there.

The main job of a LM/GM is to balance and makes situations interesting. Keeping the story going.

Thats my 5 cents.

[Stormcrow]

My gaming philosophy is quite different than yours, Feanor. I'll point out some of those differences. I do not intend to denigrate yours opinions by doing so.

As a player its vital to feel cool and that ones character is a very good fighter, even vs enemies bigger than human size.

In whatever game I'm playing, I usually prefer characters that aren't masters of combat. In The One Ring I once played a hobbit named Filibert Puddifoot, his name chosen to be the least cool I could come up with. Why? Because it was funny. He stayed out of close combat and used a bow. In supers games I've played a character whose powers were entirely based on luck and another whose powers let him create illusions. Neither were particularly good fighters, but both were great infiltrators.

Combat characters have their place. I once played in a "create anything at all" game, and created a barbarian warrior. I knew the game was going to be futuristic, so this character wasn't meant to be a combat monster. In another "create anything at all" game which I also knew was going to be futuristic I made a Roman centurion. In both cases his fighting skill came in handy, but it wasn't the center of the adventure.

To ALWAYS either have the group killed, or to ALWAYS send in the cavalry ( gandalf aragorn whatnot ) can be detrimental to the players feeling and roleplaying experience of the game.

Sure. But who said anything about always doing either of these things?

There should be a reasonable spread of fights possible, from way easy to nigh-impossible. It's up to the players to decide which is which and which is worth fighting.

On occasions, against bigger monsters if they keep getting sent in against the group, the players need to be able to have a good chance in the fight. They are HEROES.

Heroic stature is not free; it needs to be earned. And it's not just measured in fighting ability. Besides, being a hero doesn't mean you always win... or even that you automatically survive.

A 1/20 chance of a piercing blow going through seems a very slim and boring way to look at the system and the game.

If you were just to roll a dice and look for unlikely results, yes, that'd be boring. If you do something other than just hack at everything, you won't be doing that, and you won't be bored.

The main job of a LM/GM is to balance and makes situations interesting. Keeping the story going.

The main job of a referee is to present the world including problems to solve and to tell the players how their choices pan out. It is not to adjust the difficulty of what the players want to do.

[bluejay]

Got to agree with Stormcrow here, Feanor. What you're suggesting is merely one way of playing a role playing game but certainly not the only way to play.

No one here is talking about playing the LM vs the players as some kind of power struggle. I feel my goal as an LM is to entertain my players. Sometimes that means that they get to feel awesome and successful, sometimes terrified of crazy powerful monsters. Sure the characters are heroes but that doesn't mean they're unstoppable.

[Feanor]

granted.

My post was maid to make people think in OTHER ways than my comments refferred to as ALWAYS. I dont need a lecture in that area.

To help the players at times when they cant fight themselves against anything worse than great orcs, is to me very boring and dissatisafactory. Im arguing its merit since it wont help the players feel like heroes.

No need to apologize to me. My tip for you guys was that in your groups your players should want the same thing as you. Im not so sure they do, especially not while reading the threads posts. My concern is FOR you. Not against you., i,e it helps you completing your camapign if you are LMing in a way where the players can feel cool about their characters.

THAT was my main point.

And of course, im speaking from a players point of view.

[bluejay]

Haha, my group have taken out mountain trolls and a dragon. They've defeated the Beast of Mirkwood and daunted the Lieutenant of Dol Guldur ... They don't need to worry about feeling like heroes!