Saturday Night(s)

Cory Walker

Cory Walker

Scholar
Hey All!

Just wanted to bring this up that we are attempting to change our formula and wanted to make PCs aware in OOG fashion that that you spend your resources accordingly.

We are going to try to break the mold of Saturday Night Fights every weekend (unless it makes sense organically for this to happen). That isn't to say that if the town bonds together that we won't facilitate that, but by design we won't be planning that every weekend.

This isn't to say big fights won't happen and we have cool ideas we are looking forward to trying out to fight more iconic monsters that PCs can weakened these monsters ahead of said fights, so chances are you will know about the big bads before you encounter them.

We are excited to kick of the 2018 Season and look forward to all the stories we have to present to you and watch how the PCs interact, add, and change the story.

-Plot Team
 
I'm on the fence about lack of Saturday night fights in the region. They are definitely very polarizing. They can either be great experiences that players remember for years to come. (Closer 2016) or they can be frustrating cat herding experiments with over stated crunchies due PC/NPC numbers differences.

There is something to be said about having an encounter that everyone can go on without needing the leading PC's permission. Often times Saturday night fights are where you get the most cross group player mixing. (For good or bad)

On the other hand I can see the player benefit of being able to spend your resources when you want to. I can do mods all day Saturday and then go to bed, or RP, without fear of missing the big Loot split.

Looking forward to the season and how you guys manage your weekend plot.

Joe
 
(Sorry I realize I just repeated a lot of what Cory had to say) Thank you for the input Joe. We agree with you on the polarizing for sure. We have had a significant number of players voice concern over town events and feeling lost in the crowd so to speak so we are trying a couple of new approaches. We do have some big town encounters planned for the year and they should be fun. But we are just not making them a priority and a must have for every Saturday night. That is not to say that if you as a town decide to go smash something together that we wouldn't allow it, just that we won't force them as much on people. As always please give us feedback good or bad so we can hopefully continue to improve all of your experiences :).
 
After the SoMi event, where they tried something similar, I'd like to say a few words on the matter as we try it up in Traverse.

Overall, it wasn't all bad, and it certainly gave a ton more opportunity to RP and for groups to go do their own thing, which is amazing. However, it also had a very negative overall effect on the player's sense of time, and resource allocation. A very sizable number of PCs went to bed extremely early both nights, because it felt like there was nothing specific to be accomplished/done. I usually stay up to blue-thirty every night, but the lack of an impending fight that needed to be prepared for, and also worked around if so wanted to do other things, took all the kick out of my step. It felt... directionless. To liken it to a video game, it was like suddenly having no quests in my log, and it made the weekend feel lazy.

Moreover, it had a very prominent polarizing effect among the PCs. Suddenly, anyone who didn't have a pre-set group of companions was kicked to the curb, left behind to talk in the Tavern. I, and several other players, spent a majority of my time sitting around trying find people to do something with, but there wasn't any reason for them to bring me along, because they were given so much freedom (or little freedom, Contracts ) in their group scaling that they could safely bring only their tight knit group.

Town mods, for me, are essential to the game. Most times, it's one of the few mods I'll actually get to interact with PCs in guilds and groups, since they naturally push others away by constantly running mods and staying occupied. I'd hate to lose that, especially when many of my best Larp memories are from those massive fights.

Finally, I'm worried if we move away from town mods every Event, how will new players really get involved? They're already shafted in build, usefulness, game knowledge, and social interactions, and town mods were a big way for newbies to "prove themselves", I feel. Remember, not all potential players will give the medium a second chance, as I learned with my friend Blake (Gen, in game), so that one event with no Town Mod could be someone's first AND last. I can't speak for all of them, but one of the reasons we haven't seen Clock back consistently is because she feels like an outsider every time she plays, not really invited to go anywhere without begging. Now, obviously, this extends past just the discussion Town mods, so I'll leave the new player issue for another time.

Overall, I just don't want to see those big group activities fall to the wayside. Sorry if I rambled a tad, and I trust Plot to do what they think is best for the game.


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Town mods are not going away completely. No, not every event will have a big town mod. When there is a big town mod planned/plotted, it might not always be Saturday night. If the town decides that a problem requires the whole town, go for it, bring everyone. We as a plot team are aware that this means we will have to have more, "smaller" mods. We know that limiting town mods will require us the attempt to hook individuals and groups. We will also have a job board. This all being said, it is up to the PCs to bite those hooks and do things from the job board. We as a plot team cannot keep 1 player/group from going up to the job board and take all the jobs. We can discourage and frown upon it and ask people not to do that, but that's it. One thing about the way we designed our game is that you can always go "island hopping". You might need to wait for a plot member to be available, but we are happy to accommodate.

I hope this has helped ease concerns and that you will keep an open mind as we try something new to improve our game.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on Friday!
 
I look forward to seeing how the changes play out :)
Thanks for being willing to think outside the box.
 
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