So, we tried out a session with v6 and overall we had a blast. The expected snags of everyone getting used to something new, but a success I would say.
The one bit I, as GM, struggled with is dtermining effect. I read the examples and think, “That makes sense”. However, for some frustrating reason when we played it didn’t click as well as I thought it would and I kept having to re-read those pages. I felt like an idiot!
Is there any advice somebody can give me? I see the genuis with it but for some reason adjudicating effect is eluding me.
Oh, John, one other bit: on the Lurk playbook it lists “Darksight mask” but in the equipment section it’s “Darksight goggles”. It’s beyond minor, but I figured you’d want to know.
Glad you had fun Ben š
And don’t worry about fudging effect – we all do it! I forget about it all the time, as do long standing playtesters in the community.
My advice for adjudicating effect is to assume standard, then if issues of scale or potency come up in the fiction, adjust to suit.
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It really only makes mechanical difference when calculating segments on obstacle clocks, but the fictional implications of effect levels are just as important to the gameĀ and you’ll get better at re-incorporating those decisions into the narrative consequences the more you do it. Practice makes!
I’m really trying to go easy on myself and go with the flow. What’s crazy is that I’m quick when creating narrative stuff in other games, but here…lol Anyway, thanks! I’ll hit it again and I’m sure it’ll only get better.
Process I’ve used (and it’s barely a “process”; this is me transcribing what the “eh” in my head looks like):
– If there’s a playbook rule that says the effect goes a certain way, it goes that way.
– If the dice say the effect goes a certain way (i.e., “you do it, but there’s limited effect”), it goes that way.
– Otherwise, it’s whatever effect makes sense. I try not to get too worked up over pluses and minuses (“well, you have potency, but they have scale, but you have this, so …”).
– If all else fails, standard effect (2 wedges).
– (This is a house rule of mine; I don’t think it’s in the books) Nothing reduces effect below “Limited” (1 wedge) or above “Great” (3 wedges). If someone takes the frankly frightening risk of rolling the dice in this game, they get something out of it.
More great advice, thank you.