Posts Tagged by rewards
| October 21, 2011 | Posted by Phil Vecchione |
I just recently kicked off a new campaign, running Triple Ace Games’ All For One. I had the fortune of having two months to plan this campaign before I ran my first session, while I was closing out my most recent Corporation game. While I was getting ready for this campaign, I had some discussions with my players about our views of how the campaign would run, the types of stories to tell, themes, etc. I wanted a way to easily capture and document the output of…
| September 29, 2011 | Posted by Kurt "Telas" Schneider |
Over at the Suggestion Pot, Gnome Stew reader and high-level Cleric BishopOfBattle cast Divination (or maybe it was Find the Path; I’ve taken too many negative levels in d20 to be an expert). Anyway, he asked: How do the Gnomes go about getting better player feedback? Often articles mention "Ask your players" but I often have difficulty getting useful (or sometimes any) feedback from my players. In a beautiful example of irony, this picture is from “stock.xchng” This is not an uncommon topic. I’ve seen…
| May 20, 2011 | Posted by Kurt "Telas" Schneider |
My object all sublime I shall achieve in time To let the punishment fit the crime – Gilbert & Sullivan, “The Mikado” Consider the following: A player has just conceived and executed a plan so audacious, clever, and funny that she gets a big fat XP bonus for it, a rarity in this campaign. Courtesy of a player’s poor judgment, grievous injury is visited on his character. He should be dead, but the group has an unwritten rule against PC death. Instead, he loses a…
| December 22, 2010 | Posted by Patrick Benson |
Treasure, magic items, technology – the sorts of things that player characters usually acquire by facing challenges or spending resources. That is the typical formula for most games. The players must have their characters accomplish something in order to gain the reward of an item. Why not just give these things to the PCs though? Some readers might be laughing at this idea right now, and others might be screaming “Blasphemy!” To give the PCs items of great wealth, value, or usefulness just does not…
| July 16, 2009 | Posted by Kurt "Telas" Schneider |
Rule-Breaker Cards My previous article on rewards mentioned ‘rule-breaker cards’ (also known as ‘swash cards’ or ‘adventure cards’). Put simply, a rule-breaker card is a one-shot exception to the normal rules of the game. Some gamers find that they add a welcomed element of chaos and opportunity to the game, and provide everyone with a ‘spotlight moment’. But some gamers don’t like that they also mess with established tactics, and may apply to the NPCs as well. Rule-breaker cards are nothing new, although they may…
| July 13, 2009 | Posted by Kurt "Telas" Schneider |
What’s your party fighting for? Traditional RPGs like D&D reward the party for overcoming obstacles and defeating foes. Many modern RPGs reward the party for advancing the plot, playing to character traits or goals, or even for losing a challenge (Dogs in the Vineyard). Some groups simply give a standard reward each session. Why is this important? Because your players will work hard to earn those rewards, and you can use them as incentives to create the game that you feel will work best for…
