It was hard to tell how high the water was last night. But, yes. Providing there are no tall steps leading up to the building, a lot can get in through doors and windows — even boarded up. That's certainly true.
Oh. And the answer to that thought about "general effect spoofing"... What Elyse did during the Manetheran battles was to purposely spoof background action. Random troops crossing through the battle, the state of the soldiers' morale on each side, the sounds heard from the far side of the battlefield. Stuff like that. She also arranged that important NPCs — dreadlords, human commanders, fades, powerful monsters — were spoofed either by herself or by some of the rest of us such that every PC involved in the scene had someone else to play against and couldn't twink out by deciding that they faced hoards of stupid Trollocs that just walked willing up onto their brandished blade. It not only kept things honest, it help hold people's attention. It heightens the "What's going to happen next?" suspense and engages the player more fully. The number of compliments I've heard given to Elyse over her handling of that last battle in Manetheren stems almost entirely from that. She took the time to direct the scene without scripting in, merely reasoning out what the logical consequences of any given action might be.
Last night, I felt it would have been useful for a few more poses focused on just how high the waves were, how high the water was rising and how quickly, when it reached what level, how successful various actions would be in the pull of the current, and other similar environmental reactions in addition to Joran's rantings. In essense, I would have liked a better sense of the stuff that was happening in the background and in the overall environment. Just a personal preference, really. And an observation. I, for instance, didn't know whether or not to assume Rwn and Wyntere's link had succeeded or whether the Angreal had done something else, or whether something else had happened to prevent it... stuff like that. I felt that I wanted someone to play against so that the struggle wasn't just me coming up with some sort of super-channeller rescue — which is generally a no-no in Malkier.
Of course, that's just my personal preference, in scenes like that. I've always felt it's more helpful to have a designated DM who can drive the shape of the scene without dictating its outcome. It's both a skill and an art, I admit. But, one I've found well worth developing and encouraging. In the end, I simply figure it just makes for more interesting scenes.
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momijizukamori
Re: Pandora's box...
Date: 2003-04-23 11:03 am (UTC)Oh. And the answer to that thought about "general effect spoofing"... What Elyse did during the Manetheran battles was to purposely spoof background action. Random troops crossing through the battle, the state of the soldiers' morale on each side, the sounds heard from the far side of the battlefield. Stuff like that. She also arranged that important NPCs — dreadlords, human commanders, fades, powerful monsters — were spoofed either by herself or by some of the rest of us such that every PC involved in the scene had someone else to play against and couldn't twink out by deciding that they faced hoards of stupid Trollocs that just walked willing up onto their brandished blade. It not only kept things honest, it help hold people's attention. It heightens the "What's going to happen next?" suspense and engages the player more fully. The number of compliments I've heard given to Elyse over her handling of that last battle in Manetheren stems almost entirely from that. She took the time to direct the scene without scripting in, merely reasoning out what the logical consequences of any given action might be.
Last night, I felt it would have been useful for a few more poses focused on just how high the waves were, how high the water was rising and how quickly, when it reached what level, how successful various actions would be in the pull of the current, and other similar environmental reactions in addition to Joran's rantings. In essense, I would have liked a better sense of the stuff that was happening in the background and in the overall environment. Just a personal preference, really. And an observation. I, for instance, didn't know whether or not to assume Rwn and Wyntere's link had succeeded or whether the Angreal had done something else, or whether something else had happened to prevent it... stuff like that. I felt that I wanted someone to play against so that the struggle wasn't just me coming up with some sort of super-channeller rescue — which is generally a no-no in Malkier.
Of course, that's just my personal preference, in scenes like that. I've always felt it's more helpful to have a designated DM who can drive the shape of the scene without dictating its outcome. It's both a skill and an art, I admit. But, one I've found well worth developing and encouraging. In the end, I simply figure it just makes for more interesting scenes.