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Iceforge
2011-06-07, 06:01 AM
Thinking about the Green Ronin edition, not the earlier "A Game of Thrones" by Guardians of Order.

Has anyone actually played this game with a gaming group and can tell something about how it runs?

Does the whole creation of the player's house bug things down and prevent a smooth start of the game or does it get the players more involved with their surroundings as they take part creating them?

Any rules in the rulebook you'd advice modifying? And why/how?

I purchased it online as a pdf and has read a very good deal of it and it seems very interesting, very different than most other roleplaying games out there, and is hoping to find a group to play it in the future, once I got hold of all the books and read through them

caden_varn
2011-06-07, 10:03 AM
I've played it, although just a short intro adventure.

Personally, we found creating the house to be a good intro, and made it much easier to get a consistent and believable group of characters, and to get into the whole spirit of the game. It does take a reasonable amount of time, but I definitely thought it was worthwhile. The game is designed to be much more politically oriented than most games I've played, and boasts an interesting intrigue mechanic to aid with this. Combat can be quite deadly from what we've seen so far.

I like the skill mechanic, although I did not think they explained it terribly well (it is quite simple once you actually see what they are talking about).

Nothing I'd change on the basis of what I've done so far, but as I said I haven't done much as yet. Looking forward to playing more though.

A couple of minor things I am not so keen on - I think starting characters are a little samey - each stat starts at 2, then it costs 10 points to raise to 3, 40 points to raise to 4 and 70 points to raise to 5. As 210 is the 'standard' amount of starting points, you can see that they can go quickly, so you end up with a lot of stats at 3. (there are something like 15 stats)
I noticed this especially as I planned to play a senior figure in the house, so I was obliged to buy my Status up to 5 before anything else, meaning that I had to invest a third of my build points in status alone, which kind of forced my hand a bit.

The difference in build points between an adult (18-30 I think) and young adult (12-17, again from memory) was only 30, which I thought was too small a difference to make the younger characters feel less experienced than their older compatriots. This is not necessarily a problem, but it did hit my immersion a little bit when my 15 year old page basically turned out to basically as good or better than me at everything except Status...

Also, there seem to be some very useful stats which are used much more than anything else - such as Awareness, which is used in both Physical and Social defence, making it a sort of super-stat. Not necessarily a problem, but if you don't realise this in character creation you may end up a bit gimped.

Iceforge
2011-06-07, 10:21 AM
I've played it, although just a short intro adventure.

Personally, we found creating the house to be a good intro, and made it much easier to get a consistent and believable group of characters, and to get into the whole spirit of the game. It does take a reasonable amount of time, but I definitely thought it was worthwhile. The game is designed to be much more politically oriented than most games I've played, and boasts an interesting intrigue mechanic to aid with this. Combat can be quite deadly from what we've seen so far.

I figured if you had a group of players who was all big on character baggrund and almost method actors in style, then this would be an ideal game, and I am glad to hear that making a house worked as I hope it would, at least for your group.



I like the skill mechanic, although I did not think they explained it terribly well (it is quite simple once you actually see what they are talking about).

Maybe it is fortunate then that I had to purchase it in pdf format then, as that means I will have to make my own introduction sheets and stuff for potential players who might not have access to the book, at least not initially.


Nothing I'd change on the basis of what I've done so far, but as I said I haven't done much as yet. Looking forward to playing more though.

A couple of minor things I am not so keen on - I think starting characters are a little samey - each stat starts at 2, then it costs 10 points to raise to 3, 40 points to raise to 4 and 70 points to raise to 5. As 210 is the 'standard' amount of starting points, you can see that they can go quickly, so you end up with a lot of stats at 3. (there are something like 15 stats)
I noticed this especially as I planned to play a senior figure in the house, so I was obliged to buy my Status up to 5 before anything else, meaning that I had to invest a third of my build points in status alone, which kind of forced my hand a bit

The difference in build points between an adult (18-30 I think) and young adult (12-17, again from memory) was only 30, which I thought was too small a difference to make the younger characters feel less experienced than their older compatriots. This is not necessarily a problem, but it did hit my immersion a little bit when my 15 year old page basically turned out to basically as good or better than me at everything except Status...

Didn't your 33% extra specialties sort of make up for that?
But it is a interesting thing in this RPG tho, that stuff that would usually be seperated from other traits are purchased from the same pool in this game, for instance, in a VtM game, status belongs in background (but can't be compared directly to the status baggrund from VtM) and would not hinder your other stats at all, which basically means that the higher born you are, the less able you are for your age group in all other areas than status, as you pointed out.


Also, there seem to be some very useful stats which are used much more than anything else - such as Awareness, which is used in both Physical and Social defence, making it a sort of super-stat. Not necessarily a problem, but if you don't realise this in character creation you may end up a bit gimped.

Oh, I had missed that, I better try and make a list of the super-stats then and recommend not dumping those (leaving at 2 or even decreasing to 1) to any potential players, as people usually get a bad impression of a game if their first character ends up underpowered.

EDIT:

Have you had any combat in your campaign yet? I like the idea that you select yourself how you receive your damage (as either health damage, injuries or wounds) to some degree and that a player has to be tactical even in how he receives damage

kyoryu
2011-06-07, 12:34 PM
The difference in build points between an adult (18-30 I think) and young adult (12-17, again from memory) was only 30, which I thought was too small a difference to make the younger characters feel less experienced than their older compatriots. This is not necessarily a problem, but it did hit my immersion a little bit when my 15 year old page basically turned out to basically as good or better than me at everything except Status...


That's actually pretty much in theme with the books. Consider that


Robb was what, 15? 16? when he was crowned King of the North. Jaime was accepted into the Kingsguard when he was 17, and won his first tournament at around age 15 or so. Daenerys manages to lead her khalasar at 15 or so, given that she starts the series at age 14 (I believe, could be younger).


Lots of characters in the young adult category, in the books, are highly competent - life in the Seven Kingdoms apparently forces you to grow up fast.

caden_varn
2011-06-08, 07:09 AM
Maybe it is fortunate then that I had to purchase it in pdf format then, as that means I will have to make my own introduction sheets and stuff for potential players who might not have access to the book, at least not initially.


To clarify, it is really easy once you explain it properly, but how test and bonus dice worked exactly was not clear to me until I read an example which was a bit further down the rules (I can't remember whether this was in the quickstart rules though - if so they may have done a better job in the main book).



Didn't your 33% extra specialties sort of make up for that?
But it is a interesting thing in this RPG tho, that stuff that would usually be seperated from other traits are purchased from the same pool in this game, for instance, in a VtM game, status belongs in background (but can't be compared directly to the status baggrund from VtM) and would not hinder your other stats at all, which basically means that the higher born you are, the less able you are for your age group in all other areas than status, as you pointed out.


Ah, that would make sense. I was not aware I got a whole load of extra points (I don't own the rulebook myself, so I just know what I have read from my DM's copy, so my knowledge is not too detailed :smallsmile:
Extra specialities would make up for it - I hadn't really looked at that aspect.



Oh, I had missed that, I better try and make a list of the super-stats then and recommend not dumping those (leaving at 2 or even decreasing to 1) to any potential players, as people usually get a bad impression of a game if their first character ends up underpowered.


To be honest I doubt it will make a tremendous difference. Awareness is the only one I really remember except for the obvious things (if you want to be good at fighting, make sure your fight skill is high for example. However, you may want to warn them that if they want a high status they will need to pay for it, so it is something to consider when coming up with a character concept. I think you probably can be great at one thing, reasonable at two or three, or a bit above average at most things, so you need to consider where you want to go with your character. Having a very high-status knight who is equally at home with the intrigues of the court and the carnage of the battlefield won't really happen at the start (which is fair enough). You have to consider status to be something that is earned and worked for, rather than just a natural consequence of high birth, for it to make sense (at least for me).



EDIT:

Have you had any combat in your campaign yet? I like the idea that you select yourself how you receive your damage (as either health damage, injuries or wounds) to some degree and that a player has to be tactical even in how he receives damage

I have had one honour duel. I think the guy was fairly similar to me stats-wise, with one less bonus die, and lesser armour. It really did show the benefit of spending Destiny points - they really helped me out a lot, and they regenerated soon afterwards anyway. We did note that once you start taking wounds and losing dice, it is a bit of a slippery slope - best to get the first damage in there and consolidate your advantage...

Iceforge
2011-06-08, 05:15 PM
To clarify, it is really easy once you explain it properly, but how test and bonus dice worked exactly was not clear to me until I read an example which was a bit further down the rules (I can't remember whether this was in the quickstart rules though - if so they may have done a better job in the main book).

Figured they are pretty simple, but I was confused myself too when I first read it and when I explained them to my roommate who also playes roleplaying games he got confused initially as well, so probarly best to make a sheet that explains it simply and clearly before gaming, need to make my cheat sheets and my DM screen anyway, so not that much more work to make that.


Ah, that would make sense. I was not aware I got a whole load of extra points (I don't own the rulebook myself, so I just know what I have read from my DM's copy, so my knowledge is not too detailed :smallsmile:
Extra specialities would make up for it - I hadn't really looked at that aspect.

Okay :) Well, just means you could get 8 specialities at rank 1 rather than 6, but seems to me that those bonuses can really make a difference, I think I would much rather have rank 3 and specialty 2 for a task than rank 4
(For those who do not know the system, with rank 4 you roll 4D6 and total them, and with rank 3 and 2 specialty for the task, you roll 5D6 and keep the best 3)


To be honest I doubt it will make a tremendous difference. Awareness is the only one I really remember except for the obvious things (if you want to be good at fighting, make sure your fight skill is high for example. However, you may want to warn them that if they want a high status they will need to pay for it, so it is something to consider when coming up with a character concept. I think you probably can be great at one thing, reasonable at two or three, or a bit above average at most things, so you need to consider where you want to go with your character. Having a very high-status knight who is equally at home with the intrigues of the court and the carnage of the battlefield won't really happen at the start (which is fair enough). You have to consider status to be something that is earned and worked for, rather than just a natural consequence of high birth, for it to make sense (at least for me).

Like any game should be, but I think you could also view it as even if status is just the result of a high birth, someone who is high born might not struggle as much to learn stuff and improve themselves, as they are initially told by the world that they are great already by being who they are, while others of the same age and of a lesser bird has had to struggle for everything they got.


I have had one honour duel. I think the guy was fairly similar to me stats-wise, with one less bonus die, and lesser armour. It really did show the benefit of spending Destiny points - they really helped me out a lot, and they regenerated soon afterwards anyway. We did note that once you start taking wounds and losing dice, it is a bit of a slippery slope - best to get the first damage in there and consolidate your advantage...

Seems really realistic as well, seems very logical that the first to inflict damage that makes for an actual injury or wound rather than just a scratch, should have the clear advantage in a fight