Randoms & You

I've heard it said that the easiest way to make an event decent is to run randoms every 20 minutes.  For me, that doesn't make my event, and I don't really like randoms at all as a PC.  Usually they are not presented in any interesting way, they can break game momentum, they can roll PCs who just want a break, and as Staff they can drain resources that PCs would prefer to use on mods.  And worst for me, they don't make sense.  Why did a squad of orcs decide to attack superior numbers of armed adventurers in what is supposed to be a well-established and guarded settlement?  I don't know :)

That being said, I think they might be necessary in a lot of games, and can add a lot.  So how can randoms work for you?

That being said, randoms can work to your advantage.  When you have a larger PC group, they're not going to be going on all your mods, and giving them something to fight can help entertain them.  Newer players or players who just like the thrill of killing things can enjoy random monster slaying.  And you also don't want your PC areas to feel too safe - the thrill of danger is part of the draw for a lot of players. 

So, how to do it right?

First, timing is everything.  If you send randoms out at the wrong time, you could derail mods - which most people enjoy much more than any random!  Be aware of what the rest of your team is doing and what mods need to get done.  Don't take resources away from them if you can help it (you can be a one-man random!).  And try to keep an eye on what the PCs are doing.  Ask your NPCs who were just in town, or PCs who are at the shack, how things are going.  Also, if your PCs have set up some major event, like a ceremony or festival, try not to ruin it (unless it's good plot, of course! :) ). 

Second, scaling is still important.  If you're sending out goblins into a town that's all above level 20, it's probably not going to be as fun (unless there's plot or you do something interesting).  And if you send down a horde of death knights and there are only 2 people awake, that can make for grumpy PCs.  Again, ask people what the town atmosphere is like and scout it out. If you're not sure if people are around, try starting out with something small and work your way up to the big guns if needed.  Also, make sure that your NPCs aren't out to kill people. Always make sure they know the limits you want on the encounter and how tough they should be.  No one likes to resurrect from random spiders :)

Make it worth their while.  PCs hate it when they get through a fight and the NPC doesn't have treasure.  Don't over-reward, but make sure and put appropriate treasure on the monsters.  You can then use this to even out treasure distribution for your event as well.  If you have the space, put a couple random minor magic items on the occasional kobold, and people will be more interested in engaging them!

Spread the love - alternate where the randoms come from and what they're doing.  If you do the same thing every time, you can get those types of folks who just sit and splatter the NPC as it spawns before anyone else can get to it.  Especially if you start giving out good items here and there.  Changing it up can help keep more people entertained.

And finally, my favorite point.  Try to make the randoms make sense.  A pack of wolves isn't going to attack a town under normal circumstances, so think about things that might.  You can really use this to your advantage to reinforce plot lines.  If there's an evil druid plot, maybe they are sending their new twisted tree creations in to test their strength.  Maybe the goblin army has suicide bombers trying to destroy morale.  Or the mad alchemist is sending minions to plant poison distributors.  Or the ancient elder dragon's presence is driving the forest creatures mad.  Not only are you entertaining people, you're fleshing out your plot lines!

If you run out of those ideas, try "hook randoms."  These are mini encounters that take place within eye/ear shot of town. They're not just monster x attacking the PCs, but they can still be of any level, and the entire town can engage.  Example - a traveling merchant runs in saying orcs attacked his wagon on his way to the tavern. Something that requires basically no prep, and you can run it in town.  You're adding a little bit of extra depth to the random to have it make sense and be a little more exciting to the PCs, but you can use the exact same resources and monsters.  All you need is a little creativity and a few minutes of planning to figure out an idea that will work.  This is basically putting hook mods in Staff's hands from time to time.

Don't forget that role-play NPCs entertain people too.  Not every random has to be for fighters!  Your role-players and puzzle-solvers are also waiting around town for their next mod, so send in a strange merchant, an old story-teller, or some other engaging NPC.  These tend to entertain smaller amounts of people, but can be very welcome to those PCs who don't like killing poor, defenseless bugbears all day :)  You can use random time to put in an informative NPC for your plot line, or to engage a character's back story.  Or just for fun.  To get a little wider appeal, have them do things like host impromptu contests (riddles? singing?  stories from the PCs?). You can even use these types of characters to help recharge a drained PC group by selling or giving out supplies or recharges - for the right price. 

Purposeful randoms can be a great chance for Staff & NPCs who had some wacky ideas that don't quite work for plots or mods to use them!

In smaller games where PCs can go on more mods, randoms may not be as necessary.  In these cases, if the PCs aren't modding, they're probably resting or refreshing and randoms can actually hurt more than they help by draining resources on both sides of the table.  But then again, you can use a few of these ideas to bring danger into the town - instead of hooking a mod, have it happen there! 

What ideas do you have for making random monsters fun and useful?

Last Resort: Banishment

We play a game where characters in a universe filled with fighting and death and adventures.  No matter how real we try and make it, there are certain concepts that will never actually translate well.  Characters will never really feel pain.  Characters often don't fear death, especially in games where death is not necessarily the end*.

So what is the worst possible thing you could do to punish someone in a world like this?

Banishment.

Really, Banishment should be reserved for the worst of the worst crimes, like Treason or Serial Murder.  And yet, I have seen a lot of people throw it around lightly in my years at NERO.

When you banish someone's character, you're telling them that the player can never play that character at your game ever again.  In most cases, it ends up being an OOG punishment for IG actions made by the player.  And that's fine for certain crimes, as this offers the risk that games with limited death can't offer.  You know, "Go Big or Go Home."

So what's the point of this article?

You should only be banishing characters for premeditated and extreme crimes and you should never banish someone for something that's accidental or may not have been clearly illegal.

I remember Galavast, where for a time the PCs had made the punishment for every crime "Death, Banishment, and loss of all possessions."  On the surface, it looks like it's just someone trying to prevent crime with harsh punishments.  But, in essence, a PC was punishing players OOG for committing crimes by banishing them.  That PC was essentially banning players from playing at Galavast for anything, even victimless crimes.

That's a terrible business model.

Now, in some games I've seen a much better punishment that banishment.  Characters are permitted to remain, but they are no longer protected by the laws of the land.  They lose the security that they once had but they can continue to hang out with their friends and participate in the game, albeit more difficult to stay safe.

So let this be a public service announcement - Banishment is a heavy handed punishment reserved for high risk crimes.  PCs should never have the ability to issue banishment, and plot should only ever use banishment for premeditated crimes where the players know the cost of failure.


*Players may fear death, but they don't fear it in the same way as real life.  They fear losing their character, but they don't fear the unknown that accompanies death.

Dealing With Drama

Last week I talked a bit about women in LARPing. There’s a stigma that women cause drama – and that’s true. But just as much as men. Drama can be minor, but here I’m thinking of things like injuries, cheating, stealing, fighting, and the accusations of all that and more. How to deal with drama? Here are a few tips.

Rule 1: Don’t get involved. Especially as someone running a game, try to stay away from gossip, rumors, and taking sides. If you can avoid it, it’s best to stay as neutral and as calm as possible. Except, of course, you can't avoid it! So...

Rule 2: Be prepared. Some drama comes in the form of injuries or illness, so know who your on-site first responders are, have a first aid kit on hand, and have the information and route to the nearest hospital. Players and Staff alike! Know how to get a hold of the ranger or camp owner. And in the worst case, something might happen where you’ve got to call in The Law, so have the number or location for the nearest enforcement on hand. Also, if you haven’t already, you may want to check in with a lawyer from time to time – if something comes down to a legal issue you’ll be able to get advice asap.

Rule 3: Don’t wait. If you experience or witness something directly, take it to someone in charge as soon as you can. Even if the information is just a rumor (but a serious one, not that Bobby called Sam fat). If it’s true, it should be nipped in the bud right away – or at least investigated. If it’s not true, the object of that rumor would probably appreciate it if everyone didn’t think they’re a dirty cheater :) Once you hand it off, step back, and see Rule 1.

Unfortunately you have to use best judgment on what is serious. It should be something that will impact the game and/or players’ safety. Staff might like to know about personal issues as well, if they might impact the game, but it can be done more informally.

Rule 4: Hear them out. Whenever someone brings you an issue, and it could be whether you run the game or are just someone they trust, try to listen to whoever is reporting and promise to investigate their issue and get back to them. Then do that – even if it’s just to give them a generic response or to confirm that you passed on their concern.

Rule 5: Investigate. Get all sides of the story first and get as much truth as you can before you respond. Try not to spread rumors, and keep the information to who needs to know. If it’s a major thing, make sure and tell your Staff and anyone else so they are warned and so they know the real deal.

Rule 6: Safety in Numbers. When going to talk to someone, don’t go alone. I’m not just talking about safety, since physical altercations are pretty rare at LARP, but so that there’s another witness to the discussion. If you are sending someone an email, make sure to keep a record of these messages, and/or copy other appropriate people. In fact, it’s good to keep all the messages you send saved if you can. Aside from the c.y.a. aspect, it's great to have easy-to-access reminders!

Rule 7: Stick to the point. When it comes to having "a Talk" in some format, sugar-coating, or dancing around the point, or sugar dancing, may cause your message to be misinterpreted. Smiley faces and the like are ok if you want to soften the blow, as being over-professional can come off as rude. :( See how that works? :)

Finally, try to let it go once you've dealt with it. Easy, right? :)

Got any other tips?

Anniversary! Prizes! No Tuberculosis!

Today, we're celebrating the Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary for the LARP Ohio blog. Sunday will be 1 year for the blog, making it official that this blog lasted at least 10 months longer than expected.

We've had our ups and our downs. Discussions a plenty. Maybe an argument here or there.

Tim asked me "Now that you've done a year of LARP blogging, what do you plan on doing next?" To which I responded, "I'm going to Disney World." But seriously. I am. And I leave on Sunday.

ENOUGH ABOUT MY AWESOME VACATION.

So, here's some statistics for the blog.

Posts: 254
Posts/Week: 4.875 (pretty close to the goal of 5 per week)
Views: 35,000+ (since Google started tracking it in July)
Comments: 1025+
Quantity of Rock: Too much rock for one hand.


But seriously, none of this could be possible without the support of the local players and especially the local games.

The local games,
The ones who are going to give you stuff,
For free,
Free stuff,
Free stuff for you,
Get it?

We're giving 12 prizes away, courtesy of the local games. 12 prizes! Total value is worth more than $350! Interested? Better read on!