CORE RPG – LoR Play Test – Combat Demo 1

The 1st Play Test did not quite go to plan. I the GM made the mistake of attempting to run a full fledged campaign rather than use this introduction adventure to test rules, this was not helped with the fact that I actually forgot to update all the rules and characters on Fantasy Grounds.

However, I continued with the game and you can watch the results here and read the full play test feedback below.

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Overview

Thank you to all the players who took part.

Despite technical difficulties it was very productive and there was some positive outcomes to the play test. Here are some of the observations:

1. I tried to run the play test as a proper campaign, where we have not fully developed the rules and tested every avenue, so the first change will be to the mind set. Rather than going for a deep campaign the first section of the game will concentrate on testing as much of the rules system as possible. With role-play etc of course, But I will remove the music and gradually bring it in once we have mastered the game and are in full swing.
2. Live Stream: We will go live for the play test but not for a few sessions until we have ironed out some of the basic kinks. I had not updated the Perks, Spells or Skills which was confusing to us all. I will get these sorted ASAP.
3. Momentum, Shall we keep it? OR shall we remove it and use Hubris for it? So if you roll 10 over target value you gain Momentum, Also can be used to reward some clever ideas etc but Hubris is a double edged sword, any evil acts looses hubris or any act that defies the gods MWHAHAH! But Hubris will be able to be used for all the purposes that Momentum was used for… +1 Mod, Re-roll, Recover to PHY LVL Health from KO’d, PLOT CARD (See Below)
4. Perks, Are we OK with the Perks are do you think there is too many modifications flying around for starting characters?
5. Soft Actions & Hard Actions, I know you liked the AP system, but I want a faster round and found the Soft & Hard actions fulfil this.. Is this ok? Did you find it restrictive, tactical or was you fine with it?
6. Stun – I am going to remove Stun and add in a stun effect that certain Perks and Spells will cause. Keiths comment about I only got 1 Round stayed with me this morning and I thought you know that isn’t exactly fun, so should it be removed?. Stun was never in the original set of rules (Neither were Perks, Momentum or soft/hard actions)
7. DMG – Is this too deadly? or does it give your character mortality? Make you think more tactically about where you are on the battle board? It didn’t help that your rolls last night were dire! and mine were for once in years, really good!
8. Ranged weapons: I totally messed up with the Thrown Skill, it had worked out in the text that people who threw weapons with minimal STR could throw up to a 2 Squares away! This will be amended for next session. … So this will be revised to be actual base distant just like Bows and slings.
9. Modifications : Is there too many mods in a way that the game became to mechanical? I am going to test this with the old rules that was more dice orientated than mods…
10. Spells: These will be updated for next session so feedback for them can come then.
11. PLot Cards: These will be removed .. I am thinking of replacing it with a table to roll on… unless you want them then they can stay.. Hrefn if these are replaced you get a FREE Version of what they are replaced with, if they are Removed you will gain a new gift to it’s equivalent.

Supporters Feedback:

Dragongirl7403/01/2019
I actually liked the stun altering initiative order. It makes sense. Not sure about giving it to everyone for that first attack where we had no chance to prevent it (l could have used my protective aura to deflect it maybe) There were only 2 rounds of combat.

Spike03/01/2019
point 6 i am a afraid i dont like it, needs to be something that is like shaken in SW but its not shaken as we want it to be our own thing and not copying from another system if we can help it, point 3 great idea to change it to hubris

Woadan03/01/2019
Point 1 yes we need to metagame a bit more to work out the kinks in the system rather than work on the IP, point 2 probably best not to get exposure for the system just yet until its more of a finished item, point 3 I’m fine with the momentum so long as i get to use it all :p , point 4, perks/feats/traits, whatever you want to call em. these give your character the option to give your character more uniqueness, point 5 i like the this as its not limiting like other systems to a set number of actions per tern, point 6 stun seems like a good mechanic as it seems to deture any recklessness from players and inclines them to think more tactically, point 7. damage seems fine and balanced with the abilities to heal although I’m not sure how balanced this will be at later levels, point 8 no comment, this seems to be a WIP, point 9 mods seem to be fine. its always the case in any system that these things can get over looked and players remember later the benefits the could have employed after the fact. This is part of the fun of RP IMO, point 10 again this is a WIP.

Eusi03/01/2019

point 1 – the game does need a good bit more testing to work out the kinks as woadan rightly said; this will take a bit of time, but time well spent now will get the game moving faster when finalised and ready to play for real. 2 – yes, let’s keep the glitches to ourselves for the time being, we will be able to maybe concentrate a bit more on constructive criticism and then you can mend as you see fit. 3 – (wait, i need to use it up quick) i like the momentum idea, it lets us see, in a way, when we can inflict more damage to the enemy by using it up before they do, hence deterring them from getting any benefit from it. 4 – perks/abilities – i like these, as you can use them as and when/how you see fit to help yourself/the group – as we progress i am sure we will get more of them to add to our char to make them even more unique and in doing so will help make the group stronger. 5 – again, i like this – it is a bit different, but again you can (with a good dice roll) have some fun with it. 6 – i like stun and in the context it was used at the start of the game last night, it was fitting, in my mind. without stun, would we have suffered more damage to our characters in the opening scenario? i would rather have had a stun – which heals each turn without having to actually do anything – than be lumbered with a large amount of damage which could take a couple of rounds to get healed. so my vote is for stun to stay.7 – i reckon that if you take away stun, then the damage will increase significantly and could maybe see some fatalities in the group, but otherwise damage is ok as is. 8 – again i agree with woadan on this. 9 – dunno what others think, but i for one did not think the game was too mechanical, let’s see what happens when you test the older set of rules, by the way, i would like to be one of the testers on this or any other test playing for the game. 10 – this is going to sound selfish, but i have not used any spells yet so will have to wait and see on this one. 11. as we don’t use plot cards, no problem them not being used.when all is said and done, i am looking forward to seeing how everything plays out and enjoying some quality time playing with quality players, playing a game we all enjoy

Hrefn03/01/2019
CofD uses things like stunned as a ‘condition’ they give some sort of modifier to your rolls until the condition is resolved, also environmental stuff is explained as ’tilts’ again giving modifiers until the environment is changed. I haven’t seen it done in any other system that I’ve played, I mention it only to maybe give other ways of looking at it. I can show you how they work if you’re interested.

Additional amendments and suggestions

Hi Play Testers!! A Couple of things: As play testers your feedback is incredibly important. The feedback so far has been amazing and extremely helpful.

1. Change Skills to Specialisations? Because skills in the Core RPG represent a master of a certain skill that increases your chance of success (Rolls more than one dice) ?
2. Thrin suggested that the Play Tests be split down into two smaller groups. Both doing the same Adventure. Group A on Week 1 & 3, Group B on Week 2 & 4 OR Just 1 Group of 8?
3. Also remember that this is not a Campaign, it is a Play Test. If your character dies you will get to come back to life in the next scene. So take risks and test out the tactics and Perks, see how fragile or strong a character is, really test the game.

Changes: Changes will happen often. All changes will be explained at the start of each session and we will take out time through battle there is no rush to get through the story, as every scene is about learning the rules and testing them. So it will take longer to do a round of combat than usual. If one player understands something another will not. Also your character’s Perks & Skills will be nerfed or improved from session to session, No need to become frustrated. It isn’t about your character it is about what is balanced or Overpowered. What looks good on paper might not work in game. So if some thing doesn’t seem to be working well or it seems overpowered lets discuss it. The Play Test is a fantastic opportunity for me to get as many views as possible. I will try to use votes to obtain opinions etc on certain ideas I have during game. Also There will be errors in Fantasy Grounds that I will overlook, hopefully not as many as last play test when the whole thing had not been updated. I plan to fix that issue for next play test.

WoadanLast Friday at 9:37 AM
specialization seems more an accurate term, as players can always default to a base stat to us a skill

EusiLast Friday at 11:27 AM
i like the specialisations thing and i also think that smaller group for testing would be more beneficial than the larger sized group

SpikeLast Friday at 11:41 AM
Yes to both things

Alternate initiative suggestion

What do you think of this alternate initiative?

• Each side nominates a scene leader.
• Scene leader makes a Battle Lore Roll winner goes first and gains difference in momentum.
• Leader Tactician nominates the player to act  then the next, then the next etc until all players have acted.
• Then the loosing side acts.

New momentum: 3 MOM to gain extra soft action 5 for extra hard action. SOC scene leader would make a Diplomacy check Stealth Scene leader would make espionage Or it can alternate 2 from one side 2 from the next etc …

SpikeYesterday at 10:54 AM
would have to see it in action to decide

Dragongirl74Yesterday at 11:01 AM
I liked the initiative used in the latest playtest, but without stopping people getting to act at all.

EusiYesterday at 11:11 AM
i kinda have to say i like the initiative the way it is atm

HrefnYesterday at 1:09 PM
I too like the initiative the way it is currently & it was just an unfortunate roll that stopped Keith from being able to act. 2 smaller groups would likely allow more thorough testing tbh and specialisations sounds good to me.

It appears the initiative change has been thwarted!

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