2nd Qtr. GM Poll

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2nd Quarter GM Poll

Poll ended at Sat Jul 08, 2017 11:11 am

10. BEST IN THE WORLD!!!
0
No votes
9. He's very competent.
0
No votes
8. He doesn't screw up that much.
0
No votes
7. He's better than the average GM
0
No votes
6. He need help, pretty badly
4
100%
5.
0
No votes
4.
0
No votes
3. He sucks. WE WANT A NEW GM!!!
0
No votes
2.
0
No votes
1.
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 4

User avatar
Capt. Murdok
Posts: 166
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2016 4:36 pm

2nd Qtr. GM Poll

Post by Capt. Murdok »

2nd quarter GM performance poll. As always, be honest,
User avatar
Deezy Klatta
Silver Patron
Silver Patron
Posts: 337
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2016 12:40 pm

Re: 2nd Qtr. GM Poll

Post by Deezy Klatta »

Alright, so...we should talk about pacing maybe. 1 GM post a week feels really slow to me. This second fight took literally the entire quarter, and I think it's been what...3 rounds? 4 tops? This is especially an issue because there's things on the board...both character advancement and access to board privileges...that depend on player post rate. Watching the weeks tick by without the game progressing enough for me to post can get kind of frustrating sometimes.

I get that not every game can be a frenzy of activity, but...surely there's a happy medium somewhere? :)

It's hard to rate the game on content yet, because after 6 months, we're two encounters in, and the second encounter was pretty much the same kind of opposition as the first, only a few more.
OOC Comments
Player Name: Salmon Max
Google Handle: samminmax@gmail.com

Character Name: [urk=http://savagerifts.com/sr/viewtopic.php ... =167#p1803]Dorothy Zane “DZ” Klatta[/url]
Rank:Novice Experience: 10 (7/30/17) Advances Left: 0
Race: Human
Iconic Framework: Techno-Wizard
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Charisma: -1; Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 12 (6); PPE: 20
Skills:
Knowledge: Arcana d10
Knowledge: Engineering d10 (+1)
Knowledge: Science d6
Knowledge: Electronics d10 (+1)
Repair d10 (+2 Edge, +4 armor (inc TW bonus))
Investigate d6 (+2)
Techno-Wizardry d10
Fighting
Notice
Shooting d6 (+3 w/revolver)

Hindrances
Overconfident (Major): Never give up...NEVER SURRENDER!
Greedy (Minor): Building something like this is going to take a load of bread to capitalize...where’m I gonna get the money?!
Habit (Minor): Too hyperactive!

Edges
Edge: Master of Magic (mega-magic ENGAGE)
Edge: Extra PPE (+5 PPE)
Edge: Mr Fixit (+2 Repair, halve time required on raise)
Edge: Investigator (+2 to Investigate, Streetwise, and Notice to sort through evidence)
Edge: Improved Recharge (recover 1 PPE/.5 hour)

Gizmos (spells):
AEGIS (Active ElectroGravitational Interception System)
Armor (2PPE, +2 armor/+4 on raise, duration 3 (+1/rnd), touch)
Greater Armor (5PPE, +5 MDC armor/+10 on raise, duration 3 (+1/rnd) touch)

Omniblaster
Bolt (1PPE/2d6 missile (up to 3), 2PPE/3d6 missile, 12/24/48)
Onslaught (2PPE/3d6MD missile (up to 4), 4PPE/6d6MD missile, 18/36/72)

TIAMAT (Thaumic Imaging And Magical Ambiance Testing)
Detect/Conceal Arcana (2PPE, sense supernatural creatures, objects or effects)
Exalted Detect/Conceal Arcana (4PPE, gain more info, 2PPE to analyze creature)

ROCKET BOOTS (No acronym; just rockets in boots)
Flight (3PPE, fly at Pace; 6PPE, 2x Pace, duration 3 (+1/rnd), touch)
Swift Flight (8PPE, 4x Pace and -1 to be hit; 10PPE 8x Pace and -2 to be hit, duration 3 (+1/rnd) touch)

Gear
Triax T-13 Field Mechanic
Armor 6, +1 Toughness, Full environment, 18lbs
Laser Torch, 3d6MD, RoF 1, AP 3, 4/8/16
Extensible Manipulator: Reach 1, Str 1d6, 1d6+1d4 dmg in melee w/laser finger
Optical Enhancements; 10x mag, thermal vision, spectrographic scanner, +2 Repair
10 mile communication, nightvision, loudspeaker, laser rangefinder


TW Revolver
2d6+2 dmg, RoF 1, AP 4, 6 shots, 12/24/48
+1 Shooting skill (Minor TW Augmentation)
2PPE to charge, 2PPE to make Mega-damage


TechnoWizard Specialized Toolkit
I use it for techno things that also involve wizardry.

NG-S2 Survival Pack
2 person tent, +20% water supplies
Sleeping bag
Flashlight w/knife; solar
Inertial compass (+2 to Survival to navigate)
Short range (5 mile) radio
First aid kit (+1 to healing; 3 uses)
Hunting/Fishing kit (+1 to Survival to forage)
Three ‘saw wires’
Fire starter
Survival Knife, hatchet, wooden cross
4 signal flares
Climbing kit w/30 rope
Soap and washcloth
Canteen
2 weeks rations


Credits: 2000
Norona

Re: 2nd Qtr. GM Poll

Post by Norona »

Personally I am ok with one post a week. I generally do that in my own group - sometimes twice if everyone replies quickly. However, one post a week for three months to reconcile one combat is worrisome.

Like Deezy, I was thinking about pacing this morning too. My experience so far is that combat in SW should only take one to three weeks in PBP, even posting once a week. Combat is useful but makes rapid posting by players impossible since you can't engage in a lot of dialogue (like Moira et al are doing now)

This combat took extremely long for two reasons:

1) We only had one effective weapon against the opposition. In fact, some of our biggest hitters (ATV rail gun, plasma ejector, etc) were useless in the fight.

2) Recognition of #1 by the GM. Once we had a strategy of "wipe 'em out with holy glitter fire" then the GM could probably could have just wrote a single post describing how Beretta moved into position and took them out - maybe requiring a few rolls under the quick combat rules.

My general policy is: if it's taking too long narrate your way out of trouble.

Norona
User avatar
Deezy Klatta
Silver Patron
Silver Patron
Posts: 337
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2016 12:40 pm

Re: 2nd Qtr. GM Poll

Post by Deezy Klatta »

Arr, as I look at other games, I see your point that frequent GM posts aren't necessarily the problem here. The combat lasting 3 months may be more the culprit. And not just that there is combat, but a very particular KIND of combat.
OOC Comments
Player Name: Salmon Max
Google Handle: samminmax@gmail.com

Character Name: [urk=http://savagerifts.com/sr/viewtopic.php ... =167#p1803]Dorothy Zane “DZ” Klatta[/url]
Rank:Novice Experience: 10 (7/30/17) Advances Left: 0
Race: Human
Iconic Framework: Techno-Wizard
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Charisma: -1; Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 12 (6); PPE: 20
Skills:
Knowledge: Arcana d10
Knowledge: Engineering d10 (+1)
Knowledge: Science d6
Knowledge: Electronics d10 (+1)
Repair d10 (+2 Edge, +4 armor (inc TW bonus))
Investigate d6 (+2)
Techno-Wizardry d10
Fighting
Notice
Shooting d6 (+3 w/revolver)

Hindrances
Overconfident (Major): Never give up...NEVER SURRENDER!
Greedy (Minor): Building something like this is going to take a load of bread to capitalize...where’m I gonna get the money?!
Habit (Minor): Too hyperactive!

Edges
Edge: Master of Magic (mega-magic ENGAGE)
Edge: Extra PPE (+5 PPE)
Edge: Mr Fixit (+2 Repair, halve time required on raise)
Edge: Investigator (+2 to Investigate, Streetwise, and Notice to sort through evidence)
Edge: Improved Recharge (recover 1 PPE/.5 hour)

Gizmos (spells):
AEGIS (Active ElectroGravitational Interception System)
Armor (2PPE, +2 armor/+4 on raise, duration 3 (+1/rnd), touch)
Greater Armor (5PPE, +5 MDC armor/+10 on raise, duration 3 (+1/rnd) touch)

Omniblaster
Bolt (1PPE/2d6 missile (up to 3), 2PPE/3d6 missile, 12/24/48)
Onslaught (2PPE/3d6MD missile (up to 4), 4PPE/6d6MD missile, 18/36/72)

TIAMAT (Thaumic Imaging And Magical Ambiance Testing)
Detect/Conceal Arcana (2PPE, sense supernatural creatures, objects or effects)
Exalted Detect/Conceal Arcana (4PPE, gain more info, 2PPE to analyze creature)

ROCKET BOOTS (No acronym; just rockets in boots)
Flight (3PPE, fly at Pace; 6PPE, 2x Pace, duration 3 (+1/rnd), touch)
Swift Flight (8PPE, 4x Pace and -1 to be hit; 10PPE 8x Pace and -2 to be hit, duration 3 (+1/rnd) touch)

Gear
Triax T-13 Field Mechanic
Armor 6, +1 Toughness, Full environment, 18lbs
Laser Torch, 3d6MD, RoF 1, AP 3, 4/8/16
Extensible Manipulator: Reach 1, Str 1d6, 1d6+1d4 dmg in melee w/laser finger
Optical Enhancements; 10x mag, thermal vision, spectrographic scanner, +2 Repair
10 mile communication, nightvision, loudspeaker, laser rangefinder


TW Revolver
2d6+2 dmg, RoF 1, AP 4, 6 shots, 12/24/48
+1 Shooting skill (Minor TW Augmentation)
2PPE to charge, 2PPE to make Mega-damage


TechnoWizard Specialized Toolkit
I use it for techno things that also involve wizardry.

NG-S2 Survival Pack
2 person tent, +20% water supplies
Sleeping bag
Flashlight w/knife; solar
Inertial compass (+2 to Survival to navigate)
Short range (5 mile) radio
First aid kit (+1 to healing; 3 uses)
Hunting/Fishing kit (+1 to Survival to forage)
Three ‘saw wires’
Fire starter
Survival Knife, hatchet, wooden cross
4 signal flares
Climbing kit w/30 rope
Soap and washcloth
Canteen
2 weeks rations


Credits: 2000
User avatar
Beretta Le Rouge
Posts: 92
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2016 8:53 pm

Re: 2nd Qtr. GM Poll

Post by Beretta Le Rouge »

One post a week is honestly a good measure, no complaints there -- in fact I prefer one GM post a week unless the group as a whole is comping at the bit. I tend to struggle a little with all my characters, work, and other non-EU related things when two GM posts a week start ramping up. It can get pretty hard to balance that, for all parties.

To speak on the matter of pace, I can probably chalk that down to the fact it seemed sluggish because, as previously mentioned, it was combat, which in turn leaves very little room for IC interaction. Normally peeps can get a deluge of replies in very quickly in non-combat scenarios, making things feel a bit more involved from the PC end.

The prime culprit however, was the utter lack of tools we possessed as a group to combat this particular type of enemy. Not to mention the only weapon we ended up hodge-podging together was Deezy's enchantment on the boomgun -- which pretty much made anyone but Beretta largely helpless.

I will say, I think that made it seem like the GB was a bit of a glory hound -- even though MW's can pretty much wipe their ass with a GB in melee, the second round of combat was very much tilted in our favor, which allowed for those proverbial silver bullets to hit home. Considering Beretta was pretty much the first, almost casualty on Savage EU -- I rest my case. (Here's a big honorable mentions for the saving efforts on behalf of the party!!!)

Clearly there was some tension as a result of that scenario, regardless of my own OCC intentions. I didn't really enjoy the negative connotations associated with my character because of miscommunications, or what have you; simply put, I wasn't trying to kick sand in anyone's face OCC. Even from an IC standpoint, Beretta wouldn't flex-nuts. Regardless, there was some burnout on my part as a result of that.

Honestly, the MW's were a pretty advanced opponent -- without trying to meta too hard, I will say the only possible way anyone (besides Beretta) could have scratched one was on a very improbable Ace. Something like ~23 points of (holy/magic/silver) damage to actually kill one, that's a damn steep order. Especially considering they're melee juggernauts that can very easily wreck shit. d12 Fighting, d12+4 Str, and invulnerability is no joke, that's a damn scary baddie. Seriously, for the PC's that haven't read that entry -- look at it and be very damn afraid! :twisted:

Anywho's that's just the situation at large, I've expressed confidence in your GMing skill in the past, and I'll stand by it. I just think this quarter was particularly rough. Normally I wouldn't critique the choice of villains but the unique nature of PbP coupled with the comparatively low experience of the group resulted in a mostly negative experience for the PCs. That being said, I do believe the game should be challenging for players.
Beretta Le Rouge
GB stats: Pace 10 (swim 6); Parry 6; Toughness 30 (18); Bennies - 2
Wilk’s 227 Pulse Pistol; Range: 18/36/72; Damage: 2d6+1; RoF: 2; AP: 2; Shots: 22/24; Notes: Semi-Auto, 3RB, +1 to Shooting rolls.
User avatar
Conrad
Posts: 388
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2016 12:01 am

Re: 2nd Qtr. GM Poll

Post by Conrad »

I think the biggest issue this quarter was the map and how long that took to resolve. This slowed everything down and is a prime reason why posting rates are so low.
User avatar
Moira O'Dugan
Posts: 95
Joined: Mon Mar 27, 2017 8:39 pm

Re: 2nd Qtr. GM Poll

Post by Moira O'Dugan »

I guess it was pretty good I joined when I did so I could handle the deads inside :)
Character sheet: http://savagerifts.com/sr/viewtopic.php ... 5387#p5387

Magical knight of the Sidhe (pronounced she) court.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d12+5, Vigor d8
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 33 (18) MDC

Bennies: 3

It's all about the Bagpipes and the Cellos...
Celtica: Beyond Avalon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN0e39ALWpU
2CELLOS - Thunderstruck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT3SBzmDxGk
Norona

Re: 2nd Qtr. GM Poll

Post by Norona »

Moira O'Dugan wrote:I guess it was pretty good I joined when I did so I could handle the deads inside :)
Very true!

Without you we'd be facing down more of the same inside with no boom gun!

Norona
User avatar
Capt. Murdok
Posts: 166
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2016 4:36 pm

Re: 2nd Qtr. GM Poll

Post by Capt. Murdok »

So, I have read your critique and do appreciate it. I don't want to sound like i'm making excuses, and there are quite a few things I need to improve on.

First off, when the mission first started there was a different team configuration.

There was an option to rest for the night to regain abilities. The team voted to proceed after 4 hours of rest.

The map is something I fight with all the time. I have something that does work, but I am looking for a better solution. I am probably going to be looking to "commission" map work inside the site (if anyone is interested).

The topic of the fight taking all quarter, is a tough topic for me personally. As a GM in general, I will gloss over social interactions much easier then combat.

Please feel free to message me in Hangouts, or PM me on the boards. I try to be as responsive as possible.

Capt. Murdok.
User avatar
Johnny Whateley
Posts: 86
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2016 5:25 pm

Re: 2nd Qtr. GM Poll

Post by Johnny Whateley »

sorry I wasn't able to get to the poll until today. I'd have to go with "6" as well.

my biggest complaint was the confusion on teams for the big combat because what was with OOC wasn't the same as what ended up in the IC section. a confirmation of the plan and logistics might be a good idea for fixing that.

also, Murder Wraiths are hardcore deadly outside of a high magic party. even without the party changes it would still be rough. considering that they tore through one set of GB armor and both times it took magicked-ammo from one GB to take them out. the set-up made it next to impossible for the group to use alternative approaches like retreat and return or to be sneakier. If the targeting priority was different and something happened to Deezy or Beretta in our last GB this combat would've been disastrous. It's true that can happen in any game, but the threat level and a dependency on two characters to get everything right is a bit frustrating as a player.

as an aside, is it possible walkies or comms were doled out to the team before hand? I planned on using Johnny's GB for comms, but just realized that we probably should've had that as part of equipment or purchase before things started--even though there are some distance limits outside of close proximity.
OOC:
Character Sheet: http://savagerifts.com/sr/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=146

TOTAL BENNIES: 3
Quarterly Card: Revelation: "Your hero finds all the information available when doing research, or realizes critical information when confronting some obstacle such as a monster’s weakness, the answer to a riddle or cipher, etc."


Power Points/PPE: 10 (of 10)

Schoolboy's "Greatest Covers":
* The Devil's Right Hand
* Purple Haze
* Amazing Grace

EP: 1
Played by: Martin Coulter
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