Posts Tagged by Combat
| September 13, 2012 | Posted by Scott Martin |
Sometimes you need to remember to slow down and take a breath. Intermediate steps can provide a different sense of structured time. A scene is emphasized if it builds up and maintains dramatic focus. Unfortunately, exhortations to “play it out”, relying on the table to maintain dramatic narration and pacing, out often fall by the wayside. (How many of you have played in games where the rules recommend describing your actions in detail, but after a few sessions players report “I hit for seven damage”?)…
| December 12, 2011 | Posted by Guest Author |
Back in October we partnered with Fear the Boot to run a charity auction benefiting the March of Dimes and raised $200. One of the things that the winner of this auction, Gnome Stew reader JavaDragon, won was the opportunity to write the first-ever guest article on the Stew — this one. JavaDragon did a killer job, and turned out exactly the sort of article the Stew is known for: system-neutral GMing advice you can put to use today. We’re proud to be able to…
| May 5, 2011 | Posted by Kurt "Telas" Schneider |
Gripe all you want about 4E, but I’ve learned more than a few things from everyone’s favorite whipping-boy RPG. As a player, I spent more than a few tense moments at the beginning of many encounters, wondering how the party was going to survive this onslaught. Once I recognized the pattern (thanks to a comment by Martin), it all made sense. A number of factors contribute to the feeling of impending doom at the start of a 4E encounter, but the one that can be…
| December 21, 2010 | Posted by John Arcadian |
Sometimes being a Game master feels like being in a five on one bar fight, with every other person in the fight having had time to workout and prepare for it for the last 3 months. Games are often weighted towards the players, providing many more options and possibilities for the players than there are for Game Masters. Most splatbooks and setting books provide new powers and skills for players, and when it comes to new combat options for Game Masters, the scales are…
| July 27, 2010 | Posted by Martin Ralya |
Over in the Suggestion Pot, Gnome Stew reader renner asked us to write an article on this topic: How do you handle a narrative combat? Mainly, if you are used to miniatures and maps, and don’t want to use them anymore. Prior to D&D 3.0, the majority of RPGs used narrative combat — IE, combat that’s largely descriptive, with a sketchy map if a map is used at all. From D&D 3e’s launch onwards, battlemap-driven combat, complete with minis, grids, and tactical movement, has become…
| October 6, 2009 | Posted by Phil Vecchione |
In yesterday’s article we looked at the character creation system in HackMaster, but let’s face facts, if you are interested in HackMaster, you want to know about the Combat system. So let’s not waste any time and get right into it… Combat Overhaul With the new edition of HackMaster gone is THACO! The new combat system focuses around competing attack and defense rolls, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. There are a number of innovative elements that make up this system, and…
