Will You Respect Your Game Mechanics In The Morning?

A quick aside: A while back, I was having a discussion about Champions Online with a friend and while describing the game, I mentioned that CO had crowd control mechanics, but didn't respect them. He asked me what the heck that meant, and to be honest it took me a couple of minutes to work it out in my own mind... but I think it is a valid concept.

RPGs and MMOs consist of lots of little game mechanics that interact to form the entire experience. When a design "respects" a particular mechanic, that means that the mechanic is a viable way to solve problems encountered in the game universe. In terms of combat and adventuring, a character can be build around this mechanic and perform to the level of his peers who use other means to get the same job done, or perform a specific useful function in a group situation to the expectation of the group... (that was a mouthful).

So, you can take holds, stuns, sleeps and other crowd control powers in Champions Online for PvE, but they last only a couple of seconds, are often resisted, and easily broken. You are really better off piling on the damage. It is much easier to kill enemies in CO than it is to hold them and thus the "controller" character does not perform up to the standard of the "damage dealer."

Compare that to the late City of Heroes, where crowd control could stop an entire group of enemies cold, allowing the controller to pick enemies off at a leisurely pace. In WoW and Everquest, crowd control was not that powerful, but performed a very specific function of handling adds and keeping encounters manageable. No such function exists in CO, and so I say that game does not respect its crowd control mechanics whereas WoW, EQ and CoH do.

While the discussion started with MMOs, I think that it applies to tabletop rpgs as well. An example that hit home for me was with my own game, Runebearer. I have an extensive alchemy section in the current game, but over the course of many years, it was barely used. Talking to a few long-time players, they said that alchemy was cool and had lots of neat stuff to offer, but was simply too much of a hassle with lots of limitations and costs associated with it. One player said, "I can collect ingredients, trade with town alchemists, take lots of time and spend lots of money, or I could just be a mage."  My design didn't respect the alchemy system, and so it was ignored by my players.

What other games have systems they don't respect? If you have any thoughts or examples, comment here and let's discuss them.

Combat Systems -- Positional Systems

Next, there are Positional systems. A positional system is one where your character's position on the game board is most important to winning a fight. I would put 4th Edition D&D, Gurps, normal-powered Hero System games, Aftermath, and my own game, Runebearer in this space.

Positional games tend to have lots of combat modifiers for things like having the high ground, facing, fighting near obstructions, or on rough ground. Build may be important, but can be overcome using terrain, by ganging up on an enemy, or taking advantage of situational modifiers.


I think there are two main advantages to positional rpg combat systems. The first is that they play a lot like war games. Of course to many of you, that might not seem like much of an advantage. However, there are quite a few gamers that, though they like the tactical depth of old-school war games, or miniatures games, they aren't inclined to play them. Perhaps because of time, or dislike of the adversarial aspect of most war games, or because of the lack of a larger context, there are quite a few gamers I know who get their war game fix from rpgs.

Personally, I love the fact that rpgs provide a continuity and context for battle that traditional games do not. I know that given the chance to play a one-shot game reenacting some distant historical conflict, or play an ongoing series of games where I have a vested interest in each and every battle, I choose the latter every time. As a good friend of mine once said, "I want a tactical war game in the middle of my rpg and a soap opera in the middle of my tactical war game."

The second thing I like about positional games is that they tend to encourage group play and teamwork a little better than build-based games. Build-based games tend to focus on the maneuvers that a single character can pull off. Positional games focus on your position relative to your allies and enemies and lots of situational modifiers. I like the idea of PCs working together -- fighters forming up to protect the weaker group members, characters rushing to the aid of their companions who have gotten separated from the ranks, holding the enemy at a choke point.

Positional games also have flaws. A simple one is that they tend to be fairly rules-heavy and contain lots of situational modifiers. Another is that since the game is designed for two groups battling it out, one-on-one combats can tend to be a bit stale.

And, like the build game and its "one trick pony" syndrome, positional games have their own style of monotony that can come from a couple sources. One is when the players find a set of tactics that works really well (either through the GM being unable to counter them, or due to quirky game mechanics) and they use those tactics in every combat. The other comes from the combat scenarios themselves. If every fight is between equal numbers of equal combatants on a flat empty plain, then all of those rules and modifiers go away, and you have a dry exercise in dice rolling.

I think the key for both build-based and positional combat games is for the GM to mix up the combat he presents. Interesting terrain, non-standard opponents, crazy set pieces, and even a few rule changes can all make for exciting combats regardless of the type of game you play. We'll talk a little more about mixing it up next time...

Combat Systems -- Build-Based Systems

I love combat in RPGs -- hard, crunchy, tactical, futzy combat with lots of variables and moving parts. Often, when I talk about this aspect of RPGs, people assume I like various versions of D&D and/or Pathfinder because they have very involved combat systems. I generally reply that, though I don't mind Pathfinder, I much prefer positional combat systems as opposed to build-based ones.

And then I get a slightly strange look, which I always take to mean that I have taken the conversation to a level of geekiness to which my conversation partner is unwilling to go...

So, let's talk about combat systems and their various flavors:

First, you have Build-Based combat systems. In a build-based system, the way you construct your character is the most important factor in how well you fare in combat. I put 3rd Edition D&D, Champions, and Pathfinder firmly in this camp, along with most MMOs (though we will limit our discussion to table top rpgs, a lot of these concepts apply to video games).

 In these games, your powers, feats and stats are the key to combat. Position on the field of battle might be good for a modifier or two, but ultimately, the combatant with the better build will win the day. Builds are often elaborate, complex, and might take lots of work, or even lots of sessions of play (and experience points) to come to fruition. There is a lot of character differentiation, even among characters of the same type/class, because every character has a build that performs differently in combat.

What is great about build-based systems is... well... builds. It is awesome to see all the different character builds that players invent, and to see how they stack up against the opposition. You know that each of the builds will perform differently in combat. Each PC's build interacts with every other PC's build, and that of the enemies to create a cool, tactical experience.

In addition, as characters gain experience, the players tweak their builds, reacting to the needs of the campaign, and perfecting their ultimate combat machine. For most players, this is great fun and can lead to lots of off-table battle recaps and discussions about different combinations of powers, skills and feats.

One way build systems get into trouble is the "One-Trick Pony" syndrome. If, in your game, builds are specific and take a lot of resources to construct, then players will tend to go down a path and pick all of the powers and skills which allow them to best execute that one path. In Pathfinder, you may see someone create a Trip Build, or a Disarm Build, or a Two-Weapon Fighting Build.

These builds might take all of a character's feat selections for many levels -- meaning there isn't much room to branch out. So, you build to optimize this one trick, and you spend most of your character's resources doing that. When players optimize for a single trick, the combats become exercises in making sure they can perform that one trick over and over and over. As a GM, if you don't counter this, combats become somewhat boring as you watch the PCs do the same maneuvers every round. If you do counter it, then you are negating powers that the PCs have spent a great deal of time and resources on... depending on how often you make their one trick useless, this could be a jerk GM move.

That's all I have for now. Next post, we will talk about positional systems...

Repost: Remind Me Why I Rolled on Freedom? (Or One PUG's Story)

This is a repost of a blog post I made in 2008... Pathetic to repost, most certainly, but dammit, I miss CoX!!!!!! So, here is one great memory of that great game.

...

Generally, I run with a group of what I call "post-modern" CoX players (I'll talk about them some in a future post). They are good friends and great players, forming uber farming teams and rolling through pretty much everything they come across. It's great XP ... but sometimes boring. See, these guys have been playing pretty much straight through since beta. I've been offline about half that time and so every time I reopen my account, there is something I've missed. Of course, these guys have mostly seen it all, or don't care to see it all and so while I can farm to 50 with these guys all day... I might never see most of the game.

To experience the rest of the game, I created a new character on the heavily populated Freedom server and decided that I would level to 50 in pick-up groups with only the occassional interlude of soloing. Thus a new Plant/Storm controller, Song of Land and Sky, was born. Yes, I know, the name is fruity... but I sort of like it... and do you have any idea how hard it is to get a reasonable name on Freedom???

So, after a few solo runs and a few more pick up groups (have I ever told you how much I truly love the Hollows?), I have leveled Song to 16. Late last night, I am tooling around, trying to figure out what to do, or if in fact, I should just head to bed, when I get that fateful tell:

"Can you heal? We need another healer."

I sadly replied that I did not in fact, heal, but instead brought confusion and holds to the table. I figured this would kill the conversation, but surprisingly I got another tell:

"That might work. We are fighting CoT." And along came the invite.

Now, I should have been wary. I generally feel that most teams in CoX don't need any healers and this guy indicated that they needed another healer. Not one...another. With that single word, I created an entire scenario in my mind; a scenario of scrappers charging into a horde of purples, of wanton fire blasters firing Rain of Aggro... I mean Fire, of team wipes.

Sign me up!!!! I accepted, greeted the team and headed straight to the mission door.

Once in, we were faced with a gaggle of level 19 purple CoT. The first few battles went... ok. Slow, but steady and we didn't get into too much trouble. However, the first room we came to, the tank charged in and three Ruin Mages (and sundry minions) started pounding him... He dropped like a stone. I missed my Seeds of Confusion... which would not have handled the bosses anyway... and managed to buy my team an entire 0.3 seconds to flee as they eviscerated me and chuckled over my corpse. Within seconds, everyone was at the hospital heading back to the mission.

You know it is going to be a long night when you find yourself thinking how convenient it is that the hospital is less than 300 yards from the door.

Now, the tank is talking about finding another healer and though I usually try to stay off the soapbox, I felt the need to point out that healing wouldn't have helped much in that room. No healer of our level would have kept up with that onslaught.

We decided to pull.

Pulling goes OK for a few minutes and then people start getting antsy. Inevitably, "corner" pulling degrades into "hallway" pulling, degrades into "at the door of the room" pulling, degrades into "I will go with you pulling". So, our dark defender was essentially following the tank into the room, forgetting he had his targetted heal on auto...

At least this hospital serves Jello!!!

We head back and surprisingly, we've learned our lesson. The non-pullers stay back somewhat and we have a couple good pulls and start slogging through the room pull by pull. Hey, debt's gone... time to make more!

This one is totally my fault. We have mostly cleared the first room. There is maybe a group left and we have charged it. I am spamming confuse and holds and the occassional attack (I have serious energy issues at this stage). It is tough, but we are doing well. Suddenly, I see a flash of red in the corner of my screen. It seems we have an add or perhaps a runner. I WILL TAKE CARE OF HIM!!!!

So I dash after him... and am instantly gutted by the dozen or so of his buddies sitting just around the corner. I pull the adds, die, and then the baddies roll up the rest of the team.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to get bloodstains out of Lycra?

Ok, lesson learned... no need to be the hero... or at least use some stealth when dashing willy-nilly around corners.

A few more battles and we have our collective stuff together. We cap a couple more groups and head into the next hallway. I am following the tank closely when we walk through a doorway and back out again, pursued by a convention of angry CoT. Strangely enough, this doesn't cause another team wipe. We pull the CoT through the door and the controllers manage to get the fight under control. As the enemy comes through, they are held, confused, debuffed and subsequently slaughtered. The doorway is clear... we are still standing...

And that's when the dozen or so Unbound Nictus start pouring through...

Not a Kheldian in sight, but somehow, we spawn a Crystal. And while we were valiantly fighting the CoT, what we didn't see is that there were two crystals spawning their little black clouds of death the entire time. There are at least a dozen of them and they make quick work of our unprepared team.

Back to the hospital... again... and again... and

See, those crystals had built up quite a head of steam and had filled the antechamber with nictus. We had to zip through that mess to get to the crystals and engage them. All the while, more nictus are spawning. It made quite the gauntlet to run. Finally, we bust through, attack the crystals and...

BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh right, forgot about the blowy uppy thing when you kill one of the crystals... and presumably our blaster has never seen it because she is dead and spouting a whole load of WTF!!! on the team chat.

But now the final door is in sight. Victory is ours with just one more room. Click the door and there are no less than 3 bosses sitting right there, all in a tight clump, staring at us and daring us to cross the threshold.

It is at this time that my own boss... my wife gently reminded me that it was 1:00 am in the morning and the baby was awake and perhaps I should tend to him. And so I had to leave my team in the lurch... I wonder if they ever got that other healer?

Now, it might sound like I had a miserable time. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I had a great time. The mission was hard. The players were fun and did a nice job given the circumstances. I was laughing the whole time. This is why I still play CoX and why I rolled on Freedom!!

More wolves than you can put on a sweater!

Wolves

Wolves are common in Bostonia. The Bostonian wolf is quick and powerful. Wolves travel in packs and well generally leave humans alone unless provoked or controlled in some way. However, farmsteads on the edge of the wilderness often find their livestock the target of a hungry wolf pack.

Common Wolf

Phys	10	Atk	Bite: 10, 2d6 Leap: 10, special
Swift	13	Def	11/10/9
Ment	5	Arm	Loc AV 1 1 2-4 1 5-7 1 8-9 1 10-12 1
Perc	13
·          Hear, Smell	23
Hits	28
Init	+1
Move	8

Special Abilities

Go For The Throat: If a wolf attacks a prone opponent, it gets a +1 to hit and +2 damage.

Leap: Wolves can leap at their opponents, knocking them to the ground (STR, AGI 12).

Dread Wolf

Phys	15	Atk	Bite: 16, 2d8+2 Leap: 15, special
Swift	15	Def	11/10/9
Ment	15	Arm	Loc AV 1 4 2-4 4 5-7 4 8-9 4 10-12 4
Perc	15
·          Hear, Smell	23
Hits	45
Init	+2
Move	9

Special Abilities

Alpha: Dread wolves can control normal wolves in a 200 hex radius and lead unusually large packs when hunting.

Cursed Bite: The dread wolf’s bite curses his victim (SPI 13). This curse can only be removed by the blessing of a priest or priestess of the victim’s religion.

Fear Aura: At night, opponents that fail a SPI save vs. DL 13 are chilled.

Go For The Throat: If a wolf attacks a prone opponent, it gets a +1 to hit and +2 damage.

Leap: Wolves can leap at their opponents, knocking them to the ground (STR, AGI 12).

Night Vision: Dread wolves can see in the dark.

Description

Dread wolves are huge, intelligent and evil. They are found in the darkest Bostonian forests leading wolf packs that number from a dozen to over a hundred. They have gleaming red eyes, and jet-black coats.

Earthen Wolf

Phys	13	Atk	Bite: 12, 2d6
Swift	13	Def	13/12/10/9
Ment	5	Arm	Loc AV 1 2 2-4 2 5-7 2 8-9 2 10-12 2
Perc	17
Hits	34
Init	+1
Move	8

 

Special Abilities

Body of Earth: Earthen wolves are made of earth. Blunt weapons do no damage. Piercing weapons do ½ damage. Cutting and slashing weapons do full damage.

Earth Walk: Earthen wolves burrow into the earth and tunnel to move. They may disengage without suffering a free attack.

Go For The Throat: If a wolf attacks a prone opponent, it gets a +1 to hit and +2 damage.

Not Alive: Elementals take no penalty for wounds sustained, as they feel no pain. In addition, they do not have to roll for unconsciousness.

Vines: Earthen wolves can create tendrils of vines that grab and drag opponents to the ground. The vines can extend 3 hexes and require a save to avoid (AGI 13). If the victim fails their save, they are entangled and dragged to the ground (STR 13 to escape).

Description

The earthen wolf is a minor earth elemental. It looks like a wolf made of branches, mud and leaves as opposed to flesh and muscle. Its favorite mode of attack is to subdue its target with vines before snapping at its exposed throat.

Mountain Wolf

Phys	17	Atk	Bite: 17, 2d10
·          TOU	25
Swift	10	Def	15/12/10/7
Ment	5	Arm	Loc AV 1 4/10 2-4 4/10 5-7 4/10 8-9 3/7 10-12 4/10
Perc	10
·          Hear, Smell	18
Hits	58
Init	0
Move	9

Armor Piercing: The claws of the mountain wolf are said to “see no metal or stone.” Their attacks have Pierce (9) against such armor, cannot be blocked or parried by metal implements.

Blends Into Background: The mountain wolf has a dull gray coat, mottled with brown. In mountainous and hilly terrain, this gives it stealth at a skill level of 14.

Climbing: The claws of the mountain wolf allow them to move on any stone slope as though it were level terrain.

Tough Hide: Mountain wolves have hide that is strong and repels metal. Against metal weapons, use the higher armor values. Against wooden weapons, use the lower armor values.

Description

Mountain wolves are extremely large (the size of a pony), 6-legged, wolves that dwell in the Teeth Mountains to the west of Bostonia. They are quick, strong and can move through any rocky terrain. Though they often stay in their mountainous hunting grounds, small family groups will occasionally wander into the lower lands and plague towns by killing much of the livestock. Their size, strength and incredible staying power make them one of the most feared beasts in all of Bostonia.

Winter Wolf

Phys	13	Atk	Bite: 14, 2d6+2 Leap: 14, special
Swift	15	Def	14/12/11/9
Ment	8	Arm	Loc AV 1 1 2-4 1 5-7 1 8-9 1 10-12 1
Perc	13
·          Hear, Smell	23
Hits	38
Init	+1
Move	8

Special Abilities

Blends Into Background: The winter wolf has a white coat, mottled with brown. In icy terrain, this gives it stealth at a skill level of 14.

Go For The Throat: If a wolf attacks a prone opponent, it gets a +1 to hit and +2 damage.

Frost Breath: Once each day, the winter wolf can breathe a cone of frost that is 1 hex wide by 3 hexes long. It does 2d8 damage. Armor will reduce this damage, but if any of it gets through, it chills the victim for 2-5 rounds.

Leap: Wolves can leap at their opponents, knocking them to the ground (STR, AGI 12).

Description

Winter wolves are wolves native to the northern edge of Bostonia. They are very rare, but when encountered it is usually in small packs of 3-6 creatures. They are regular-sized wolves with white, or light gray coats. Their eyes are ice blue and their breath is misty with frost.