And Now, A Word From Fekul-Hoof

Today's article comes from Jerry Wargate, who recently won (again) our Warhammer Fantasy Battle campaign The Brightflow Gap.  Jerry's done well recently in our campaigns, and his armies are one of the main reasons the Wargate is such a horrible place, filled with monstrous creatures, nasty warped mutants and general vitriol.

I wanted to put down in writing any strategy, technique, or thoughts I have on this recent end to this particular Wissenland Campaign.  I send out a big shout out to Dave Bone for concocting, arranging, and documenting this event week after week, his efforts to shape and create fun campaigns and events is the life blood of our club.  Big shout to Cap’n Video who was the fuhrer minor of my campaign battles and map movements in my leave during this campaign (had to work!), this year he really came through in some tight places and made some awesome games and moves happen.  Also an Accolade goes out to all competing generals that participated… General Jake, Bone Lord Skimulah, Iron Gut Joe, General Bone, and General Greg… without friends to play there is no game.  Weekend after weekend these fellahs have shown up and taken time to enjoy the sport and share in brotherhood with friends and family. Hurrah Wargate!

Okay now to the details I want to point out. This was the build I used the most at 1000pts:

• Fekul Hoof – Lvl 4 Great Bray Shaman (Lore of the Wild) – 235pts
• Feebs – Lvl 2 Bray Shaman (Lore of Beasts) – 125pts
• Sacks the Giant – 225pts
• Gor Herd (20 Gors w/ 2 hand weps, 1 banner, 1 musician, 1 Boss Gor) – 185pts
• Gor Herd (20 Gors w/ 2 hand weps, 1 banner, 1 musician, 1 Boss Gor) – 185pts

Total:  955pts 

This is a super light detachment in its structure.  We are talking two bases of 20 Gors, who aren’t well armored at all the way I build them (no saves), a Giant, and two spell casters.  The real fist is in the spell workings.  If both casters take the same spell list, one will get the spell I want.  On average I rolled Fekul’s four spells first and feebs last for his last two.  Focusing on Fekul getting the Savage Dominion spell to summon more giants is my first priority, as Feebs  makes an excellent jack of all trades on the table.  Sometimes Feebs will get Transformation of Kadon but its still not all bad, as Fekul will switch spots and roam the table with the herds using his powers to make chaos.

Reserving one unit of Gors for Beastman Ambush is a must!  On average I come out in a bad spot on the table but when I do roll good it can sway the tide for me.  Arriving directly behind an enemy breaks more morale and makes more sad faces than almost any other play I've seen on our table top.

I make a priority to keep my Giant Summoner Caster hidden and out of sight.  This is my key piece as he summons Giants that arrive almost anywhere on the table.  This is the bread and butter.  Primal Fury is an awesome advantage when it rolls right.  To reroll misses in hand to hand is epic!  It made a few battles go down in a flash.

Giants… Okay here it is.  They are awesome havoc makers and life takers but like all things in Warhammer they have their weaknesses as well.  Other than being totally clumsy, falling down a lot, and being a complete arrow and battle magnet they are awesome pieces to field all around.

I feel the tactics I used most were the most simple.  Don’t be afraid to change plans during the battle as far as movements go.  Beastmen move 10 inches at a march and eat up distance quickly.  Reforming a spearhead movement must be done, sometimes twice in a battle before hand to hand is made.  If disreguard is made for this idea you will never get 1 Gor into Hand to Hand, their low leadership of 7 makes it an easy “Run Away” squad, so use Gors wisely!

Also the spell Viletide is an awesome warmachine breaker.  5D6 Str 1 hits!  You're gonna roll a couple 6s!
All in all I enjoyed this campaign and send out a big awesome to all who participated.  I am thrilled to have won with so much more aggressive and hostile opposition than last year.  This was no give away game.  Ill be looking forward for the next engagements.

- Jerry Wargate, October 2013

Bone Method: RPG Rules As Written

There's been a lot of talk around the web about RPG gamers who stick too closely to the rules.  I've been called all sorts of things for even suggesting that the letter of the rules be upheld in all circumstances, from just flat wrong to all sorts of names that describe various vulgar acts being performed on various vulgar objects.  Today I'm going to elaborate on why we use RAW, how it's used at the Wargate, and why it's better than using GM fiat in our particular group.

So, why are we so finnicky about using the rulebooks here?  It probably has to do with all the wargames, which are competitive and the letter of the rules is often used to resolve attacks correctly and any disputes that might come about during the game.  Happens all the time really, and there's two ways a club can deal with such situations.  For us, we simply consult the rulebook and have a 3rd party interpret as well.  Since most of us are very technical, the legalese in the books reads very easily and most arguments are clear cut once the rules are read aloud.  However, there are a few occasions upon which a player has read fluff passages to me indicating they were rules and that's what was happening.

During our game sessions, whichever game that is, you can bet there are at least two basic rulebooks at the table.  At least.  Those get passed around quite a bit, and over a decade ago I got used to the idea of RPG players having their own Player's Handbook (or equivalent) for that game in their hands.  I also got used (surprisingly quickly) at players coughing up passages from the rulebook when I was about to rule something, and that sorta started the trend of the players here being able to jockey the rules as well as I.  Keep in mind, I was used to being the only person who had even read the book, let alone knew what rules to call up during the game.

After a few games like this, something dawned on me.  It was much easier to adjudicate the rules if the players had the damn books as well.  Being freed from having to look up every spell description, every skill DC, every piece of equipment with a special effect or what happens with this or that characters' feat was a great boon to me as DM.  It was so awesome in fact that I swiftly integrated it into the game, and made it clear to the players that any time they could find something that overruled me in the book I would (without fail) adjudicate the scenario from the book.

Today, this is the unspoken writ of the Wargate, but today...well it's now actually writ.  There are usually three Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbooks for our 1st Edition game hanging around the table.  Navigating the MESS that is AD&D 1e's ruleset, we've learned quite a bit about it, and feel that our take on the adjudication of combat is quite stellar compared to some attempts I've read about.  Certainly, we have more than one rulebook at the table with more than one person helping to determine how actions are resolved.  We adjudicate the rules RAW as best we can, but that brings me to another point.

We actually prefer games that have more delineated rules so that we can reference them easier.  It's amazing how fast a game goes when everyone is on the exact same page, literally.  In fact, at this point it's anathema to suggest not using the rules, and any DM who repeatedly threw out sections of the rules manual (for whatever reason) would find themselves quickly deposed.  Unless, of course adjudicating a scenario in a certain way was dictated in the scenario notes themselves, whereupon the DM would conduct the resolution of actions in the manner so noted.

Some folks feel that that sticking to the rules so hard actually somehow limits the reign of the DM in designing scenarios, but how could that even be?  It's done nothing but make my job easier and easier over the years, and I can't really stress that enough.  I really don't understand some trains of thought on this, and I'll reiterate one last time.

It's better when all your players know the game, and can have free access to the game rules.

For games that don't present a coherent set of rules, but that we feel we want to play anyway (we're looking directly at you, Siembieda) we'll be taking a different approach.  There will be a sort of FAQ or other document on the table that will take the place of the rulebooks in certain scenarios.  The first of these will be available when we return to the Palladium Megaverse, and will compile all combat sequences and protocols from across the entire line to present a coherent reference for our games.  Since they can't be bothered to do this, we will.

Next weekend, have your Player's Handbook ready...you'll need them to reference your spells and (most likely) roll up a new character - because AD&D 1e RAW is so far the most deadly design of any RPG game we have thus far encountered.

Shrodinger's Doan - A Short Essay on Group Timing

Howdy folks!  Happy Christmas weekend!

Today I'm going to talk about one of the ways we can move a huge group through the stages of encounters in an RPG.  Yes, I'm going to tackle that bugbear - splitting up the group.

We have a large regular turnout here at the Wargate, and sometimes all those characters can't be doing the same thing at the same time.  Forcing that can take it's toll on your verisimilitude, but fortunately you don't have to worry about it anymore.  Using a theory I call "Shrodinger's Doan" and using the scientific principle (or at least a hollowed out idea) you too can run split groups in the same session with relative ease.

Sometimes groups become split apart by chance or misfortune, and sometimes they do it by design.  No matter how it happens, you'll eventually have to narrate actions from different groups happening in different locales but at the same point of game time.  This can happen during any narrative action, but is most prevalent during combat.

It can be jarring to have to bounce between each player as you would normally, as they are in different scenes and the setups can be very different.  Also, it sometimes leads to a lot of player confusion in a larger group that has seven or more players, and therefore actions, going on.  Therefore, I believe the best way of dealing with these sorts of situations is to deal with them entirely separately from one another with each individual group..

When one group strays from another, focus on one group above the others for a while.  Leave the others in sort of a "momentary pause", sort of like you see in movies and on television.  Something dramatic happens to one group, whose members are left at that spot ready to jump into the action from that point.  Switch to the other group and take their actions and resolve the scene, then go back to the group you left on pause.  It's really that simple, but technique issues arrive when certain questions pop up.

What happens if one group's outcome is dependent on another?  What if they need to accomplish a certain action in a certain combat round at the same time?

This answer might be hollow, but my advice is try to avoid those situations.  Try not to engineer a scenario so it's hinged on actions like this, as it can be a nightmare to run unless you happen to have a second GM and table to help with the book keeping.

It's not just the book keeping, however, that can drag this sort of thing down.  You have to maintain a steady pace of entertainment to keep the whole group engaged.  While one group is waiting, keep the immersion steady by asking members of the second group questions about their combat readiness, or any other dramatic inquiry that might engage the player in that scene.  Kind of like rolling dice behind the GM screen for no reason other than to get your player's attention.

It's ok to leave one group on cliffhanger for a few minutes while you resolve a certain set of actions for another.  In fact, you will probably have to deal with this sort of split in your group at some point.  Don't worry too much about it, and split the groups up so they can be dealt with one at a time.  If one group's goal must happen before the other, you know which group to focus on first.  If not, go with the smaller group - these can usually be dealt with as a minor "off" scene before you return to the larger group, and other players tend to have the attention span to remain interested in smaller vignettes.

I'll leave you with an short example from one of Captain Video's Hunting Humans game:

Agent Doan manned the helicopter bay's machinegun, fixing it on the guard towers and making sure they had their heads down.  There was a rocket or two, but no problem.  The rest of the team disembarked the heli as we sat it down in the middle of the compound.  In a few short seconds, the assault team was away - but we had one issue.  Who was going to stay with the chopper?


Doan volunteered, and as the assault team entered the building the guards on the compound's perimeter regained their composure and closed in on the vulnerable helicopter with Agent Doan inside.

What happens next is where the art form begins.  Remember when I said smaller groups should be done first? That's just a rule of thumb.  In this example, the action follows the assault team inside the compound.  Thus, Shrodinger's Doan - is Doan alive when the assault team returns to the chopper, or is he dead?

For purposes of the scenario above, it was dramatically superior to follow the assault team - since Agent Doan's untimely demise would definitely change the course of the mission and would have immediately prompted metagame responses - such as returning to secure the chopper.  The Storyteller decided to resolve Agent Doan's battle around the helicopter after the assault team had exited the building, out of time with the other group.  This was a longer stretch of downtime for Doan's player (me!) but in the end it was a great example of split groups.

Even though one group was like eight and the other was only one.

We're going to be in session on Christmas Day this year, so if you're in the neighborhood and want to stop by for a game or two feel free!  It's the last weekend for our Q4 game, so get in the final battles this weekend and  prepare for the New Year - which will be filled with more games than the last two combined!

We've grown a lot in the last year and a half, and we're only gaining momentum.  My sincere thanks goes out to everyone who's made that possible and contributed to our club by participating in our games.  Next year's going to be fantastic for the Wargate!

See you on Game Day!

Prep Work Isn't Homework

Howdy folks!  Sorry for my absence for nearly a week, but the Wargate is back in session this week with some serious fun for everyone!  All our current games are running strong, and I have a little less time to write these days.  Interestingly, that's going to be today's topic - the work we put into our games.

Every Game Master knows by now that they have to be truly into the game in order run one.  GM's will devote more of their "real time" to the game than any other player, simply by virtue of having to prepare a game.  Preparing the game takes time, but it's not that much out of our weekly schedule - unless you're just pouring details onto the page.  Nevertheless, it's still something that has to be done on a weekly basis by a Wargate GM.  The bad part is that players who haven't GM'd don't always understand this.

Unless you're using a published adventure, it can take a long time to sit around coming up with ideas.  A brainstorming session is always the best way to start a new campaign or adventure, and I for one know that my brainstorming is best done under certain conditions - that is, when I'm completely alone.  Sometimes I listen to music while I write notions down, sometimes I need the silence to help me concentrate.  It's critical for me to come up with all the ideas I can before distilling them into new RPG stories.  

It also helps clear a little bit of the confusion left by reading certain passages.

That said, I usually brainstorm long before I actually write an adventure.  Getting everything you want to explore in the game out on the table (of your mind) prior to when you actually sit down to write can speed you along when it comes time to start planning encounters.  I have several "Story Workshops" in an Excel spreadsheet (many of you who know me know of my predilection for spreadsheets) and write outlines there for specific campaigns.  I wrote the outline for The Rough Edge of Night almost a year ago, and a printed version of that outline now accompanies my composition pad for the game.

That is to say, I only brainstorm and blog on the computer.  There's just something about putting pen to paper for me, I use composition pads to actually write adventures in.  It helps to organize things long before you sit down, and having a general idea of an story can help you develop a further outline for the adventure without having to spend time brainstorming week to week - other than taking last week's character actions into account.

Most GM's have something similar - a spiral notebook, a trapper keeper, it's all the same: A Game Tome.  It's a place to work and keep ideas.  The Wargate has a lot going on, and I have several spreadsheets to keep track of all the festivities.  However, for those of you working only from the notepad - carve out the first few pages of your Game Tome with outlines and ideas for your campaign.  Having thought out the whole plot through key points, you can guide the campaign by writing your weekly adventures as you go.  You have a point of reference, a plot idea to go by and your player characters to guide the action.

Even with all that in place, it still takes time to do the work.  With the proper preparation, you can reduce the amount of time you spend on a game, but nothing is so important as your work area.  You'll need space to write in your Game Tome, of course - but you'll need space to open important reference manuals as well during that time.  A large table where you won't be disturbed is best.  Get all the manuals you need for the adventure, your outlines and your Game Tome.  Then put the pen to paper.

The Wargate has regular gaming schedules, so you can plot your adventure by your time slot.  Each of our game days have a certain time and length they normally run.  Sunday's Schedule 1 games begin at 6pm, and last 3-4 hours on average...but we've had sessions that run 6 and 7 hours.  Thursday night Schedule 2 games also begin at 6pm, but only last 3 hours normally and 4 or 5 hours maximum.  So generally speaking, we'll be doing RPG's on Sundays and Thursdays from 6-11pm.

Using this as a rule of thumb, you can now determine how long your adventures will take.  The way in which the club approaches these sessions is actually conducive to building games, since it lends itself to an episodic manner but is frequent enough to RP day by day, depending on the nature of the individual game.  These methods mean it takes me about three to five hours during my week to write a night's worth of gaming.  If I'm ready to write, the encounters and game minutiae flow easy.  Having an established idea, with a well planned outline and enough space to work in a comfortable and quiet spot - that's the best time for me to write an adventure.

It's important that each GM have a real passion for his game, since he'll be spending the most time within the world as he writes his adventures.  As players, it's important we understand and appreciate the amount of time that goes into developing the games we play.  If  players abandon an adventure when you were sure they would follow through, or a game night gets curtailed for some reason, can be harrowing to a new GM.  While we're in GM's game, we should play the game they want to play, whether that's heroic adventure against an evil order or evil backstabbery in the land of Mordor.

In general, open sandbox games at the Wargate do not work.  There are too many players, and they can come up with some wild agendas in the context of a certain plotline - never mind free rein to do whatever they wanted.  Don't be angry if you're not doing what you want to do in a game - it's just not possible in all games, or even most of them.  Most of them will have a narrow focus, like on a band of warriors or mob of orcs.

It goes without saying that GM's enjoy the game they are running - for those with a passion for gaming, the prep work is not homework at all.  It's a great experience to design a run a game, and more fulfilling than simply writing a story for a great many reasons.  It takes a lot of passion to keep coming back with a game week after week, especially when everyone tries so hard to bring something new to the table with every campaign and adventure.

If you don't like a game or for some reason don't want to follow along with the story, wait until the GM and game changes or run a different game.  After all - there's always another game on the Schedules...and there's always room on the Schedules for another GM.