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 Post subject: First Sessions with New Players: Key Mechanics to Highlight?
PostPosted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 8:34 pm 

Joined: Wed Nov 26, 2014 11:22 pm
Posts: 4
Hello everyone. I expect the questions that will follow have been asked and answered a thousand times on these boards, so if it's easier to link to older threads that I've missed, please feel free.

I played Arcanis for the first time this past year at Origins and was very impressed with the system (and possibly met many of you, so thanks for making it a great event!) to the point that I promptly went out and found myself a copy of the Core rulebook and the Codex of Heroes. Now, seven months later, my playgroup's current home game is winding down such that it will very likely not last past the new year, and since I have the remaining handful of sessions codified to the greatest extent errant PCs will allow, I have bent my thoughts toward switching to Arcanis for our next series of adventures.

Before I lose myself too fully in the lore of Arcanis and the shades of the stories my players may be able to tell, however, I'd like to compile a checklist of sorts of important mechanics to which I'll need to introduce my PCs over the first handful of sessions to help them (and me!) become more comfortable with the system. I find that games tend to flow much more smoothly and my players are more immersed in their characters and the world when they can confidently describe what their character says or does without worrying about how, mechanically, different actions will affect their chances of success during any given event.

Everyone in the group has plenty of experience with tabletop RPGs and tabletop games in general, but in some ways that's as much a curse as it is a blessing, for most other games reward players for carefully considering myriad mechanical interactions before taking their turn rather than trying to do away with the meta-game construct of turns entirely and rewarding players for making highly personal decisions swiftly and naturally (and for which success or failure isn't necessarily clear cut).

With that lengthy background rambling out of the way :oops: , aside from the truly obvious (the clock, push, recovery, strain), what are some of the most different or jarring mechanics that I should be trying to reinforce early to ease the transition to Arcanis?

Thanks in advance for the help, and I'll be happy take any unsolicited advice you have as well :)

~ James


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 Post subject: Re: First Sessions with New Players: Key Mechanics to Highli
PostPosted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 8:56 pm 
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Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:59 am
Posts: 813
Location: Ontario, Canada
Hi James,

First off, welcome to the forums and Arcanis! It is always good to have new players trying the setting.

I suspect that the first thing your players are going to notice is that character creation is a very involved process. As a player who grew up with D&D 3.5, I was initially surprised (and a little intimidated) by the fact that creating a single character in this system can easily take an hour, even if you are familiar with the process. While this may seem daunting, one of my favourite things about Arcanis is the fact that the system permits such a wide range of characters. Unlike some systems ::cough::D&D 4.0::cough:: there is no such thing as a cookie-cutter character. Encourage your players to really explore the different races, backgrounds and archetypes. Make sure they know that there are many different ways to build a character, such as an Arcane archetype front-line fighter, or a divine-focused Martial archetype character. I always enjoy looking at other people's characters to see what they have designed!

It may seem minor, but one thing I was irritated by when this system was first introduced was the use of 2d10 instead of 1d20. At the time, I thought that it was simply change for change's sake. It has since been explained to me that statistically speaking, 2d10 are more likely to result in a number in the middle range, with fewer very high and very low results. I have actually come to prefer the 2d10 since, and find that 1d20 now feels far too random (why do I keep rolling twos?).

As far as core mechanics go, make sure your players understand strain and recovery (which you have already mentioned). Along with the clock, these are likely the things that new players will have the most difficulty with.

We have a lot of great players here who are more than happy to answer questions. Don't hesitate to ask!

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Akira Currier
aka Raseri 'Crash' val'Emman - Master of the Incandescent Flame (Martial 3.7)
aka Leif - Skohir Warped One (Martial 2.6)
aka Rurik - Nol Dappan War Priest (Divine 2.3)
aka Karthik - Tultipetan Stonemason (Expert 1.4)


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 Post subject: Re: First Sessions with New Players: Key Mechanics to Highli
PostPosted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 1:04 am 
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Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 1:06 am
Posts: 2109
Location: Portland OR
Some things I would note:

(1) "Rule of 3s" - mechanically the game expects you to start with a +3 bonus to hit (with something. A sword, spells...whatever) in combat and for you to raise that skill by 3 over every tier. Otherwise you get to the point where you can't hit anything...because the 2d10 creates a bell curve of probability and outlier numbers are outliers.

(2) I'd note that there is very little resource management in the game. After each fight you usually get all your "hit points" and "spells" back. Similarly wealth doesn't mean as much since there is a lot less to buy. No magic shops.

(3) The above makes arcanis a little more of a high adventure fantasy game than D&D ... And simultaneously less of a high fantasy game which I still find a little weird. HORROR checks might also be examined and also fall into the later.

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Eric Gorman

AKA Ambassador Tukufu, man of letters, tomb raider and Master Sword Sage
. . . and Sir Szymon val'Holryn, Order of the Phoenix
Formerly Sir Jaeger val'Holryn. Weilder of the Holy Avenger: Thonanos. Gave his soul to help free King Noen


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 Post subject: Re: First Sessions with New Players: Key Mechanics to Highli
PostPosted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 9:03 am 

Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2013 12:46 pm
Posts: 1353
One of the mechanics which is under-utilized in my opinion but is a good thing to understand is the flexible nature of skills and associated stats. Larceny is Quickness to do things like picking pockets or locks. Want to case the place and evaluate the difficulties instead? Larceny (Intuition) could be used to pick out where locks, guards, traps etc. are likely to be. So you spot a lock and you'd like to assess how difficult it would be to pick without actually trying as you're under evaluation, make a Larceny (Logic) check. Need to play an instrument until dawn to keep an infernal at bay? Perform (Resolve) or perhaps Perform (Vigor) would be a good choice. Need to learn and participate in a tea ceremony or something similar without making a mistake could be Etiquette (Quickness) to show deftness of action or Etiquette (Insight) to be able to understand and interpret how it's supposed to work and do it smoothly.

Try and get the players thinking about unconventional approaches. It makes skills more flexible, and more approachable for characters who may not have the right touch. To be honest I'm not as good with this as I should be on either side of the table. It is a great element of the system though.

Other mechanics I'd make sure they understand are Push and what you can and can't do under it. Attacks of opportunity is worth understanding as well.

Eric mentioned recovery and strain which implies casting and some sort of combat maneuvers. Building advanced maneuvers out of 2 basic martial techniques might be handy depending on the group and characters.

With a sweep of his hat,

Paul


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 Post subject: Re: First Sessions with New Players: Key Mechanics to Highli
PostPosted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 9:38 pm 

Joined: Wed Nov 26, 2014 11:22 pm
Posts: 4
First of all, thanks for the responses. I definitely have some new things to think about. The complexity of character creation mixed with the fluidity of play was definitely a huge draw for me personally, and I expect for my group as well.

I'd like to continue to use this thread for simple questions for which I can't find the answers until I have a better grasp of everything if there are no objections, as I expect many of them are things which shouldn't merit their own threads so much as more reasons I should go get my eyes checked.

And in that vein, the first question for which I cannot seem to find an answer, though I'm sure one is right in front of me: may a caster target himself with spells that have a range other than self (e.g touch or 30' [1 target])?


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 Post subject: Re: First Sessions with New Players: Key Mechanics to Highli
PostPosted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 5:05 am 
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Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 1:06 am
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Location: Portland OR
Yes a caster may target himself. Happens all the time with diminish fatigue and restore senses.

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Eric Gorman

AKA Ambassador Tukufu, man of letters, tomb raider and Master Sword Sage
. . . and Sir Szymon val'Holryn, Order of the Phoenix
Formerly Sir Jaeger val'Holryn. Weilder of the Holy Avenger: Thonanos. Gave his soul to help free King Noen


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 Post subject: Re: First Sessions with New Players: Key Mechanics to Highli
PostPosted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:17 am 
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Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:59 am
Posts: 813
Location: Ontario, Canada
Just keep in mind that you are not your own ally for abilities that affect all allies within X range such as Leadership.

_________________
Akira Currier
aka Raseri 'Crash' val'Emman - Master of the Incandescent Flame (Martial 3.7)
aka Leif - Skohir Warped One (Martial 2.6)
aka Rurik - Nol Dappan War Priest (Divine 2.3)
aka Karthik - Tultipetan Stonemason (Expert 1.4)


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 Post subject: Re: First Sessions with New Players: Key Mechanics to Highli
PostPosted: Tue Dec 09, 2014 4:40 am 

Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 5:01 am
Posts: 84
They shouldn't charge. Ever.


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 Post subject: Re: First Sessions with New Players: Key Mechanics to Highli
PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2015 4:13 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2015 7:03 pm
Posts: 4
Location: Dayton, OH
As a new player, I made index cards with my abilities and how to use them.
For example this is one of my cards:

Short Bow (Exceptional)
Speeds 3 Range 40'
TO HIT 2D10+D10+7 (-4 in melee. see below)
Dmg 2D10+D8+2

Fine Lightning Rune
Speed +1 per scene to activate. Gives +1 to all Dmg rolls.

Martial Technique
Precise Aim
Speed +2 Range 30'
Fire into melee combat without penalties

(On the back)
Quick Draw Talent- Readying weapon is trivial
Perceived Weakness Talent- If enemy is wounded +4 Dmg



This REALLY helps. I have one for each of my weapons, my loyal companions, and a "How to move" card.
I'd recommend it for any new player just to keep all the dice and bonuses straight.

_________________
Holga, Archer, Tir Boteqi Dwarf, T1.7

Loyal Companions:
OSHA, Wardog, peg-legged, horribly scarred, great sense of humor
Ursella, Combat Riding Black Bear


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