This went surprisingly well I thought, given play over TCP/IP and using an unfamiliar tool. We did run some quick trials before game time to show those unfamiliar with MapTool how it worked with the macros that we had set up, and since MapTool was only really used for die rolling and tactical play, we did not rely on it a lot for general gameplay, which consisted mostly of the party talking and reveling in their non-heroicness. The biggest technical problem we had, amazingly, was Wendy’s Skype dropping a few times, and the biggest non-technical problem in my view was that it took almost twice as long to do the writeups than it did to actually run the session.
Notes regarding improvements for the MapTool framework:
- Add an auto-tiebreaking roll to the initiative tool add macro, since mooks tend to have the same initiative often.
- Add halos around characters and tokens when initiative activates in order to tell whose turn it is.
- During slow moments in play, make up some generic macros for the players based on their typical weapon damage, etc. to make things easier for everyone involved.
Unfortunately we did run longer than expected, and had to call it quits just as the first mass combat was about to take place. We’ve scheduled a wrapup session for Saturday around 4:30 or so. I really want to finish this first adventure off so that the players can get a little more control over the party’s direction, as the first adventure tends to be a little too plot-directed for my taste (although the players may disagree :P).
Players:
- Randy (Lord Geoffrey Spaulding)
- Tony (Reed Groom)
- Wendy (Nan)
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