One day 2015

What did you think of the last event? Post your opinions and disucss the comments of others here!

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Abaddon
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One day 2015

Post by Abaddon »

The plots on this plot were very engaging. I don't usually get pulled in the way I did this time. Fighting in the snow was annoying and hard but the parking lot was a sea of cars and boyscouts.

I want everyone to give Joe a pat on the back for me hitting him in the face with water and not even getting mad.!

I had some logistical issues at the end, but mike took wind out of my sails by agreeing with me:).

The food was all amazing an I am glad I didn't have to take any home.

The best surprise was Melissa showing. That was awesome. Too bad she's an elf so I don't care about her.
Thanks to Jared for telling us to just wait for all the stuff to arrive.

Favorite quote. :
"Was it an elf you killed?" - Alinar
"no." - npc
"Ohh then I don't care." Alinar
"I would only teach them Necromancy as part of a balanced breakfast."
pluflove0890
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Re: One day 2015

Post by pluflove0890 »

I had a great time this event until real life intruded and I was too tired to participate any longer. Thank you to everyone who was so willing to help me try and get things done. This event I really felt involved, which for me is unusual.

Thank you to the GM staff for including quite a bit of story and non-combat skill use. This means a great deal to me, as I don't enjoy combat.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the pot-luck. It was all delicious (except for the yucky mushroom soup, of course). :-)

Waiting impatiently to see if the rest of the year is this interesting.

Bad: The cold! It was fine inside, but both times I went out, I felt very cold (Big thanks to Louie for loaning me a jacket to wear, without which I would have definitely frozen).

Also, at game end, when there is one more plot to be run and people are trying to leave, it is very frustrating to have the way blocked by plot. I would understand more if it was the only place the story could continue, but with a whole other building, that doesn't seem to be the case. It made it quite difficult to get everything out of the kitchen without trudging through the snow and potentially slipping. I appreciate the willingness of several GMs to listen to our complaints without arguing.
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Alinar
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Re: One day 2015

Post by Alinar »

A good event. Using several NPCs to represent the various phases of the Big Bad End Boss was a nifty way to divy up stats that might have been too complex for a single person to memorize, and also allow exhausted NPCs to be swapped out for relatively fresh ones.

The event started slow, but once things started happening we were kept busy rather consistantly. Pacing is often an issue at FH - either too much going on or not enough. The afternoon of this event felt just right.

I was fearful the event was starting with a babysitting plot. When the fire sword arrived, it looked like PCs were required to move it every minute or so to keep it from turning the entire region to ash. Fortunately that issue apparently got dealt with. I don't know what the solution was as I got out pretty quickly - I was stuck on a such a plot last year and wasn't going to do that again.

The combat was fun, immersive, and entertaining for the most part. GMs ought to always give stats to the NPCs, though. Leaving them on their own can result in some ridiculous numbers.

Similarly, interrogation/torture answers *need* to be well policed by the GMs to ensure they are actually answers. They must be complete and address the obvious intent of the question. Much of the process of interrogation/torture is to break down resistances and work passed useless/bogus responses.

"For Redemption" is not an answer to the question "Why were you torturing this man?"

By that logic the 'answers' acheived for the rest of the day could have been:

"The redemption would be to correct a failing."
"The failing was that one of my men didn't do his job correctly."
"His job was to do what I told him to do."
"I told him to keep us secure."
"What he actually did was not keep us secure."
"He failed to keep us secure because he didn't do his job correctly."
etc.

The NPCs split the PCs into two groups to handle a combat plot - which is a great way to address low NPC numbers. However, this can lead to a lot of inexperienced NPCs now on the field. It was good to see the primary NPCs wrangle in the PC-NPCs who were hitting us with waves of wolves too quickly for us to spend any time on the puzzle. It would have been nice to have some indication as to whether these waves were infinite (magically spawned, perhaps) or not as that would have a *huge* impact on PC strategy. I'd think infinite wolves vs. a single pack would be pretty obvious very quickly. An announcement like "You see a bright flash and more wolves appear!" transmits such obviousness.

Also, puzzles and cold weather do not mix well. Better to plan for such things to be done indoors.

Overall the event seemed very well organized and run. I was engaged and entertained nearly entire time and had a lot of fun. Situations arose that gave all my characters' abilities a chance to shine (I didn't use them all, but the opportunities were there and that's what matters). The food was great, as were the in-game and OOG interactions.

Thank you GMs and NPCs - your efforts are appreciated!
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Kayla
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Re: One day 2015

Post by Kayla »

I NPCd on account of leaving Xil's character sheet somewhere (still haven't found it...) and not having gear and garb for Dakkon. This has something to do with my car's power steering going out Friday morning and me having to scramble to get it fixed and therefore leaving later Friday night than I wanted to. (Actually, I almost didn't make the event and I had to leave the friend I was bringing at home on account of car concerns...)

I felt like I didn't do a lot, even though I was helping with plots all over the place. Must have been because it was a one day instead of a weekend.

I liked the way plots were run from my perspective and it was fun to have a little plot of my own to run. I thought the event was well balanced between RP and combat.

I'm excited to see some more rules updates, now.
Xil Zymasi, Crew of the Red Wind // Dakkon Wrynn, Dark Elf Outcast

Feel free to PM me if you have any forum/website questions/issues. I can take care of them for you.
Also, note that although my name is red, I am not a GM and therefore cannot answer logistical questions (such as rules) definitively. That said, I'll certainly try to help!
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Zydana
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Re: One day 2015

Post by Zydana »

I think the event was pretty good for a one day.

I didn't care for the main plot ending in outdoor combat then add to it being after dark. The idea of someone falling and cracking their head open on the cement steps we were fighting around sent shivers down my spine. The snow was nicely packed and hardened enough where we could walk on top of it near the bottom of the steps, but take a step or two to the right or left, and you fell into the loose stuff a foot deep. During the last battle, I took a fall (not accidentally, due to lack of life points), and someone walked over and stood on my hand. I yelled and yelled, "You're standing on my hand! YOU'RE ON MY HAND!" I'm pretty sure they didn't hear me because when they finally got off my hand, they just stood on the other one. I was mad. Very mad.

In a previous battle inside the tavern, I witnessed a fight where I felt the NPC involved was the definition of "Going to Town" in the rulebook. I however, was not involved in the fight and wasn't being hit. This person could have had very controlled swings and hitting feather soft - it just didn't appear that way from my perspective. I figured if this was actually a case of Going to Town, that PC could report the NPC, rather than me with my assumptions. I just know that I can feel taps just fine, and anything more than that starts really hurting me - I'm a wuss. So just a reminder, taps.. not beatings!

Mike, I think you made the event for me with your constant harassment. As much as I love the character of Sir Bartholomew, I was disappointed when you swapped out to play him. Ah well - it gave Kami a much needed break.. I think. I'm saddened that I didn't notice Cenric sitting next to Smitty and he heard me speak - oh well. One of my favorite moments was while I was sitting on the bench in the kitchen and someone screamed from the common area, then heard Cenric yell to Kami, which prompted Kami to bolt out the door and go hide for a bit. Another was much earlier in the day when Brad came in, pointed at me, and very forcefully said, 'YOU!" Afraid, Kami slowly backs away to find it was Cenric who was the target of this man's anger... and just happened to be standing directly behind Kami at that moment. I also liked Cenric inquiring to someone if they had a voice to sell or trade so that I may be given one... Good stuff!

I did enjoy the time Sir Reginald, Sir Bartholomew, and Steve(?) Miser (and later the addition of Allen Prentice (har - har)) just sat around talking about things and insulting each other. It was fun to just sit there and eavesdrop, but after a bit I wished it had been more interactive since it began to feel like we were watching a play... but of course, I wasn't going to be the one to try to interact.

There was a really good quote I was going to remember and write it down in my feedback - but I have forgotten what it was and am saddened by that.

It felt a little odd having many of the WinterHaven characters in the FinalHaven setting - but I'm very glad those who showed up did. I think FinalHaven as a game is just fantastic, and you guys should come more often.

I'm glad there wasn't any of the Yucky Mushroom Soup to take home - that stuff's disgusting! Everyone else's food was good though. I heard Mike's Chicken Stuffing was so awesome, you had to add some Yucky Mushroom Soup on top of it to even it out and make the soup palatable.

I think in previous years, the one day was a tad shorter, or started earlier and ended earlier. I would have been okay with the event ending closer to 7.

I think for a one day plot resolution, I would have liked to see something like an interactive puzzle that involved the people of town (kinda like the ending of the sunshine/rainbow kids event) and have it indoors, rather than having combat in the cold, outside, after dark. Something non-combat oriented and interactive inside could have made this event a bit better... Unless you count the hour or so worth or torturing inside the tavern, then just consider me a bit bias and ignore my last comment.

Also, please continue to consider this quote from Baymax in Big Hero 6 - "Flying makes me a better healthcare companion."

Thank you for the event. I eagerly await the next!

(Also, Jim... where was your hat?)
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