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expects parameter 1 to be array, null given [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file /includes/functions_reimg.php on line 126: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() WorldWorksGames • View topic - D&D with pre-made terrain...too much prep time?
Post subject: D&D with pre-made terrain...too much prep time?
Posted: 11-23-2012, 07:35 AM
Piston Joined: 02-27-2007, 07:43 AM Posts: 518 Location: Tennessee
So I'm thinking about asking for some Terraclips stuff for Christmas as I don't have any yet. The stuff looks ridiculously awesome, so I'm really wanting to use it for my game. That being said, one of my goals over the past 6 months was to minimize the amount of prep work, planning, etc in order to keep the game more open ended and free flowing. I've started using the "Act" method for designing my adventures, and keep all of my notes to one page. Basically I just write one paragraph for each act of the night (usually a total of 3-4) in order to summarize what I THINK might happen if the players follow my plan exactly. Of course it doesn't turn out that way, but I'm never caught without a general idea of where the adventure should go if they do something spontaneous. That means I don't have to have tons of NPC's, encounters, areas, etc all planned out in advance and I can just let the game flow.
With that in mind, I'm wondering if Terraclips will in fact impede my goal here? I know the whole idea of Terraclips is easy and quick terrain, but will I be locking myself down too much to pre-made encounters and maps?
Also, my players have a tendency to look at the visual aid so much that they don't use their imagination. If I present a dungeon and it has a statue in the middle (3D everything), they won't think about looking for a torch, or looking for a lever or something because it's not represented visually on the table. Thoughts?
Who do you think would win a fight between pirates and ninjas? I think pirates would, but just because they say "booty" a lot.
Post subject: Re: D&D with pre-made terrain...too much prep time?
Posted: 11-23-2012, 07:52 AM
Dirigible Joined: 12-06-2010, 07:16 AM Posts: 1487 Location: Massachusetts
Mix and match! I did a "session" with my kids while doing the dishes one night. No dice. No pencils. No character sheets. We talked our way through some section of the adventure because there were no real encounters to be had. When we do this sort of thing, though, I'm very much leading the story - my kids look to me to really elaborate on the scenes. Part of it involved having their ship get wrecked. They managed to float/paddle to an island, where I wanted them to encounter my Atlantis pieces. I had a TLX map set aside for a specific encounter there.
I would bet TCP would be great for making town/city environments, if it's a place the characters will roam around and visit NPCs and stuff. Having something like that helps me and my kids have a sense of time passing when visiting places, and also a sense of how NPCs might interact with each other. Since I don't play with adults, maybe it's more important for the kids to see some of this stuff. When it's a complete sandbox, sometimes they are paralyzed by choices.
Best rule for initial use of terrain: use it for set pieces. And TCP is great for that. Think of a couple of really cool set pieces for combat, and build those out prior to the session.
When I started with terrain I wanted to map entire dungeons/adventures. It was a chore, and frankly, it was boring for the players. ("Another 35' of corridor. Exciting.") Eventually I moved to only using terrain for the important or atmospheric bits - key encounters, a town, or just to set the state/scale of something. That worked much better for many reasons, with some of the obvious ones being less prep time and a great effect of the terrain.
A lesser but notable effect of doing terrain in terms of set pieces is that my imagination really fires on set pieces now. Plotting out a whole dungeon is work, but thinking about all the cool stuff I could jam into a single piece is a lot of fun, and gets my creative juices flowing differently.
When you can't run anymore, you crawl. When you can't crawl, find someone to carry you.
Post subject: Re: D&D with pre-made terrain...too much prep time?
Posted: 11-23-2012, 11:59 AM
Boiler Joined: 05-20-2010, 07:12 PM Posts: 243
My favorite cheat for quick unplanned encounters is rocks and tree tops. Find a couple nicely shaped rocks (any size) and tree tops for bushes etc, and you have your campsite, ambush, cave entrance, chambers, cabin, city gates (easy builds) river/canyon/rope bridge crossings etc...
To get the players really into the scene let them build their campsite or pinch point for ambush. When they have control they come up with better ideas than the DM. Mostly. Also reserve the right for final say on placement of pieces, leaving you room to crush them with hidden danger.
Some key set pieces and props go a long way, broken architecture, wagons, bridges, taverns, and the like. Any thing that foreshadows the coming adventure helps.
Easy fast unplanned set ups. My two cents.
There is one thing for sure, I'll die with my boots on.
Think of it as the set for a TV series - build the scenes that will be most used or most memorable.
If there are settings where several encounters take place then build those - I had a build of the Zocolo for a B5 game, as an example. I also had a section of corridor.
Ditto for similar settings - the B5 game also had some Ambassadorial Suites - the details would be changed out for specific apartments.
If there are pivotal scenes - ones that will shape the campaign, then build those.
For the minor encounters... a quick sketch on paper will work just fine.
The Auld Grump
Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiae fuit.
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