Advice for a n00b Storyteller?

[Mempo]

All right, while I admit I'm not precisely a n00b, this will be my first time actually running a tabletop Exalted game. Our previous ST is stepping down, because work is eating him alive, and I'd rather step up than have him drop out completely and risk the whole group falling apart.


It'll be a new game, so everyone's rolling up new characters. I'm setting it in the East, probably around/in Halta, since I have the 1E books for that (KoH, tSL, RoR)


Oh, also? We might be getting two 100% new players who've never played a tabletop RPG before.


Halp.


*A*N*Y* advice is appreciated. I feel overwhelmed. ;_; I can put together a decent plot, but balancing the game mechanics and vetting characters for combat (and survival) scares me.


Any of you veteran STs want to share a few tips for making a game go smoothly?

 

[strawberryleaves]

Start with getting the newbies familiar with the game mechanics (and the others a refresher if need be). Once you've done that, walk them through the chargen process. Emphasize that their characters are not a collection of stats.


Running each character's Exaltation with the player may be a good idea as well, to get them used to the setting. What Exalt type is this game, anyway?


Once you have the characters, getting a feel for their combat capabilities will be easier.

 

[Virjigorm]

Firstly, congrats on taking the reins, you'll find that running can be at least as fun as playing and sometimes more so.


My best games have always started slow, and I think that would serve you well here. I highly recommend playing through Exaltation, and I have a specific way I like to do it, especially with new players.


First, get them to make characters as people who have lives and goals before any magic power comes into play. Taking extra time and effort making detailed, fleshed-out characters will invest your players in the success of the whole game while also making them think about the setting and themes they want to use. This process also gives you insight and can be a great source of ideas for adventures and plots. As for sweet power, leave it off for now. Have them make the characters as per Exalts, but without charms, sorcery, or combos yet. Let them use bonus points only for backgrounds and note how many they have yet to receive out of the starting 15.


Second comes the pre-Exaltation, which should be a brief adventure based on the character's background and leading up to a heroic or stressful situation. A soldier may be ordered to commit atrocities and stand up to his leaders, a trader may be waylaid by bandits and fighting for her life... Whatever works for the character and the story. I usually allow a few charms and 4 bonus points to be taken at this stage, saving the rest for later as needed. This is also a good way to legitimize backgrounds taken at character creation. The soldier-turned-Dawn may find his comrades inspired and swearing fealty (followers). Or the trader may find that the bandits were more than they seemed as their leader was carrying an orichalcum dagger (artifact). Any extra effort here will pay off in player engagement later.


Finally, after the initial Exaltation, ease into the story you plan to run and let them develop new charms and spend bonus points little by little along the way. A prolonged travel period can be a good time to spawn much-needed survival charms. A few fights here and there let them round out their fighting abilities. The most important thing here is that power is gained in small bursts at dramatically appropriate moments. There's nothing like a shiny new Presence charm just in the nick of time to talk your way out of trouble. An interesting part of this style is that new characters may take a few sessions to finish acquiring their starting charms and bonus points, and all the while they are getting Exp. I have found that this is fine and works as a sort of reward for going along and putting the effort in to do it this way. Spending Exp to buy up an ability at low level and then topping it off with a dot or two bought cheaply with bonus points can be advantageous to players, but won't unbalance a game. Once everyone has all their starting stats, it's business as usual.


Some seasoned Twinks will balk at this, as they like to "build" characters at creation with artifacts, charms, and abilities all in line and tuned perfectly to one another. Those characters are not interesting. They have no depth or purpose, and the player isn't even really invested in them. This method can create the same character, but with a better story and a well rounded charm set that can do more than just make coleslaw out of behemoths.


After all this, you should have well developed characters, some lead-in plot lines that can be expanded on if you wish, and players who care about their characters and the game as a whole. From this foundation, you can build the game into whatever you like, and you also have enough social capital with the group to make some mistakes without major fallout. :mrgreen:


Hope you find something in there that helps.

 

[Alconoth]

Find out your players' strengths and weaknesses along with their likes and dislikes- The game is meant to be fun for them and you. Unfortunately you'll occasionally get the player that does nothing but combat and those who prefer things more complex and interesting, so you'll want to try and find a balance between the two to make things go smoothly for everyone.


But, as Virjigorm said, your best bet to break in the new characters is to start as mortals. This allows for the players to warm themselves to the system and learn how to survive. All too often you'll have players want to start at 250 experience exalts- My suggestion? Never allow this. The characters generally are not people but numbers and dice. Be strict at first with what you let the players spend experience on, mostly relating to abilities and traits they've used recently and excess.


As for backgrounds, again I agree with Virjigorm. An example from my gaming group as to why its generally best to leave backgrounds assigned by the storyteller: Serinity Cloud is a Solar Exalt that has mastered Air Dragon style. Her player wants her to start with a sword whose artifact ability is that its compatible with this form and likewise wishes for a sifu who can later teach her Charcoal March of Spiders. The two problems with this: First off the artifact is dumb. Second, the character took no face, acts nothing like a martial artist, and is a pile of dice. The best way to keep things running smoothly and fun is to control things so that they flow with the game. Players will protest at first, but if you can make it interesting their cries will quickly subside

 

[wordman]

Have you run any game before? If so, you might need to "unlearn" some stuff. My standard example of this is "money control". In many other games (D&D, Shadowrun, etc.), accumulation of wealth is one of the points of the game. Consequently, seasoned GMs develop a notion of "pacing" how quickly wealth gets accumulated in the game. This instinct prevents these other games from going off the rails, but is almost entirely useless, even counterproductive, in Exalted. Exalts who really crave monetary wealth can gain it with ridiculous ease; it's just really not that useful in the context of the game.


Some of this also applies to "magic item control" as well. Magic items can get out of control in Exalted, but this is actually sort of hard to accomplish. Because of the way artifacts are attuned, even throwing a hundred daiklaives at a circle is just likely to result in a big pile of unused daiklaives. At some point, it isn't worth having the essence bound up in the toys. Also, Exalted expands in power level pretty well, so even giving your circle weapons of mass destruction and the Five Metal Shrike doesn't really need to ruin your game; it will just change its dynamics.


You are right that balancing opposition for combat with your circle is hard; it's the hardest thing to get right in Exalted, as far as I'm concerned. My circle regularly trounces what I thought would be a tough opponents, then get their asses handed to them by a single ghost because none of them could attack dematerialized creatures. Generally, it is better to make the opposition stronger than you think the circle can handle, for two reasons: 1) you'll often be wrong and 2) when you are right and the opposition starts housing your circle, you can always choose to have them "forget" to use certain charms or tactics or what have you to keep the playing field more level. I also think that sharing your concern that you might not have the right balance with your players is a good idea, but this depends on your group.


Making NPCs for Exalted is much more of a pain in the ass than for most other games. Running NPCs is as well. I've adopted a system of writing down an NPCs exact combat strategy with each NPC I build, so that I run them "properly" when the time comes. It is very easy to forget this.


It is sometimes useful to take advantages of average results to do things quickly. Every two dice generate one success on average, so if for some reason you have 100 bowmen firing individually, or whatever, you can save time if you just assume they get an average result without rolling.


I'm also going to state, without explanation, that I mostly disagree with just about everything Virjigorm said. Maybe I just have better players than he does.


Moving on...


Take a good look at how your players build their characters. Make sure that if they use any funky rules (like grappling, for example) you know exactly how those work. It's also a good idea to have players give you a tentative list of how they think they might spend their next, say 50 or 100xp. This will give you a decent idea of where they see their characters going, and how they want to be challenged.


I highly recommend using the rules for training times, especially if this will be a long-running campaign. Training takes a long time in Exalted, so much that circles will often have more xp to spend than training time in which to spend it. Training, combined with access to trainers, is the primary method available to you for controlling the pace of the power curve in your game. It also tends to force players to focus on charms over traits, as charms take much less time to learn. This actually acts as a brake on development, because it keeps dice pools from ballooning for a while. Also, think of any kung-fu movie you've ever seen... odds are, it had a "sifu" character who was the most interesting character in the movie. Training in Exalted should be like that.


I strongly recommend adopting my terminology changes from the very start of the game, especially if your players are rules lawyers.


Also, you should figure out which version of the rules for defense value you intend to use.


And, since you are starting a new game, I'd be very grateful if you gave my rules for aspects a look. I'm just starting to use them myself, and am very interested if they work for other groups. (A benefit of their design is that if you start to use them and wind up not liking them, they can be easily dropped without the need to retrofit anything.)

 

[Kyeudo]

Some seasoned Twinks will balk at this, as they like to "build" characters at creation with artifacts, charms, and abilities all in line and tuned perfectly to one another. Those characters are not interesting. They have no depth or purpose, and the player isn't even really invested in them. This method can create the same character, but with a better story and a well rounded charm set that can do more than just make coleslaw out of behemoths.

As for backgrounds, again I agree with Virjigorm. An example from my gaming group as to why its generally best to leave backgrounds assigned by the storyteller: Serinity Cloud is a Solar Exalt that has mastered Air Dragon style. Her player wants her to start with a sword whose artifact ability is that its compatible with this form and likewise wishes for a sifu who can later teach her Charcoal March of Spiders. The two problems with this: First off the artifact is dumb. Second, the character took no face, acts nothing like a martial artist, and is a pile of dice. The best way to keep things running smoothly and fun is to control things so that they flow with the game. Players will protest at first, but if you can make it interesting their cries will quickly subside

I have to argue with you guys here. Yes, you can make flat characters who can shiskabob the Mask of Winters in ten seconds flat, but you can also make the same characters awesome characters with all the living hopes and dreams. That all comes down to your skill as a roleplayer.


Serenity Cloud sounds like she's got what could be the foundation for a good character if done well. Explaining how she mastered Air Dragon Style in secret (to justify the 0 Face) and as a Solar is probably the hardest part (I'd suggest a Lunar for a teacher). The rest sounds more like a wish list for later and a basis for much roleplay. As for the artifact being dumb, there is a DEATHLORD that fights with an UMBRELLA! One man's trash is another man's treasure, as they say. Oh, sure, she could be poorly done and be a raging Mary Sue, but then any character background can be done that way.


Still, I would recomend the "Start as Mortals then have them Exalt" method. It works awesomely. I'm currently running a mixed Exalts game and let my players choose when they Exalt. Only one's cashed in just yet, Exalting while fighting to defend his family and his village. I've got two who want to see how long they can hack it as Heroic Mortals, a Terrestrial that I let start as Exalted (Terrestrials get more of their power from their Backgrounds than others), one who's just waiting to die (is planning on an Abyssal), and one looking for a good moment.

 

[Virjigorm]

I suppose there are as many game styles as people who play.


I tend to agree with wordman on mechanical points. Training time is very important and helps to keep things believable (within the game's context at least). Artifacts are a sticky subject and I've known several Storytellers who have gotten into trouble with them. Usually, though, I don't find them to be an unbalancing force. You may consider limiting the rating of starting artifacts so that if anyone does get a hold of a level 5, it will be on your terms and a part of the story.


As far as extra homemade rules, I'd suggest forgetting about it. The rules as published run just fine and you'll find what you want to change (if anything) when you come to it. Second Ed. took care of pretty much everything that was wrong in 1st Ed and is well balanced almost everywhere.


My suggestions approach the game as a dynamic story instead of a computer program. Mechanics and rules are a means to an end (the story and everyone's good time), and as such should serve that end, not rule it. I know players who can generate a great character all at once starting with 1000 exp and give him/her depth and story value right off the bat. A brand new player, however, will not have an easy time with this, especially if they don't know the setting yet. The slow-building Exaltation and start-up process takes the pressure off for new players and you as a new ST. It puts you in close touch with what the players want and helps to generate story ideas that are meaningful to the characters.


NPCs are a wealth of story material and are, in my opinion, easier to develop in Exalted than just about any other game I've played. The trick is, if they are enemies, make some combat stats, but you do not need to fully write-out every NPC before you introduce them. You need to figure the character out and get an idea of how they will interact with the PCs. Get some powers and abilities figured out and maybe make some notes. Unless you only use NPCs as combat props, this is sufficient until you know if they will take well into the story. It's senseless to spend hours on writing out NPCs that get killed as soon as they show up, or who the players or characters just aren't interested in. Once an NPC gets involved, stat them out the way you want. The only pitfall here is consistency. If they used a power in the story, make sure it shows up on the character sheet legitimately when you finish the character.


Since you've played before, you probably know all the rules you need to. It's not how to play Exalted that you asked about, it's how to run Exalted. This is a supremely cinematic game, and that's what makes it great. The fun of the group and the story they are creating are the most important things you need to think about. All the rules and mechanics concerns in the world don't really matter if everyone is having a good time.

 

[Alconoth]

A little bit I forgot to mention earlier and I feel are important for any Story Teller to remember: You can say no. You are the first and final say on anything. That aside? So long as fun is being had then you're doing just fine. Run a few test sessions as mortals or what have you to figure out everyone's play style- You can either look at them as your friends and run a happy rainbow game (excuse the exaggeration) or see them as the enemy and run a grittier game.

 

[cyl]

Halta hmmm...


Well my advice is: see Mononoke Hime over and over again til you know every detail of the movie, then read the setting of Halta in the East book, and think of something nice for them to play in a cool setting, and don't burden them with logistics, especially if you have two noobs.


First talk with them about what they want to do, what they like (adventure, discovery, politics, combat, sorcery, etc etc), and then develop their backgrounds with them so they feel a connection between them and their pcs (hard to do with noobz sometimes). Find a catchy plot for them as players and characters, and work it free form from then, just a few key events, and the rest is up to them, and you.


That's what I did, and my tabletop game went on for 4 years (had to drop it when I moved abroad) and this was my second STing experience (L5R a few months ago being the first).

 

[Mempo]

Thank you all! I feel slightly less overwhelmed now. :roll:


As of now, everyone has been sick for the past two weeks, so I've really only managed to get one of the players started on his character; I think his character will be excellent, though, he's got a good concept. :mrgreen: Hopefully next week, I'll be able to start crafting the game in earnest.


I think I'll definitely start the two new players off as Mortals and let them Exalt during the game - I'll have to talk to the others and see what ideas they have for their characters, and see if that works for them as well.


"Mononoke Hime" is an excellent movie, and I own it. Any other suggestions for inspiration for a Halta game?

 

[Kkat]

First, make sure you've read Ledaal Kajiri's post on this topic here.

Now, since others have done so well covering the basics and core issues, here are a few suggestions of my own to toss in:

• Keep notes. It will really help you keep names, places and little details straight over the course of the game. I always bring a notepad.
  
• Pass out 3x5 cards to the players and have them write down their characters' names, motivations, known languages, attributes above three or below two, a few abilities that they consider most important to the character, and (if you use them) any merits and flaws. When planning sessions, try to come up with ways to make use of these things.
  
• If you have easy access to a copy machine where you game, get copies of the players' character sheets every so often. That way, if somebody loses his, you have a backup on hand that isn't too outdated.
  
• Likewise, make sure you have extra dice on hand, and an extra pencil or two. Somebody always forgets.
  
• If you have a music player nearby, chose a "theme song" for the game. Something appropriate, probably preferably instrumental. When you are ready to start, play the song. This will help players get into the mood, and signal the end of pre-game "kibitz" time.
  
• Keep track of XP handouts (preferably on a spreadsheet or something similar). At some point, somebody is going to lose track and need to know.
  
• Try to avoid having the PCs split into groups of less than two. Let the players know ahead of time that this is something you want to discourage. This way, it's easier to give everyone time, and no one ends up doing all the important stuff alone. This also ensures that each PC always has somebody to converse/roleplay with.

I hope you find at least a few of these helpful.

--Kkat

 

[wordman]

I think I'll definitely start the two new players off as Mortals and let them Exalt during the game

Looks like you are set on a course, but for others reading, I'd like to voice reservations about the "starting as mortals" thing. This sort of just doesn't sound fun to me. The game's called "Exalted", not "guys who play as mortals for a while and eventually become Exalted". Unless you're trying to play up the whole mortal/immortal duality thing as a campaign theme, or something.


Anyway. Tomato, tomahto.

"Mononoke Hime" is an excellent movie, and I own it. Any other suggestions for inspiration for a Halta game?

I can think of an example of how not to run forest combat: In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, another colossal waste of actor talent from Uwe Boll. One decent example might be the bamboo forest scene from Crouching Tiger.


Also, since you're going to be in the forest, you might want to brush up on how poison works.

 

[Ledaal Kajiri]

Myself, I actually find that the mortal to Exalt game is a good choice. Why? First, it lets them get a feel for the basic system without immediately having to get into charms and so forth. Second, it lets them get a feel for the world a little, and, in many ways, it gives you an out. If it turns out Heroic John and Heroic Jane aren't up to something you were sure they were...you have a chance to not only save their poor heroic behinds, but also, if you do it right, make it epic and interesting, while seeming part of the plot all along. They don't need to know you were actually hoping to Exalt them a session or two later.


On the other hand, I personally enjoy the feel of Heroic mortal games, or Godblood games or what have you. Particularly in the first case, you get to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and show that not everyone has to depend on the magnaminous power of jaded bored gods doing coke lines off of eachother to be badass and cool. Enlighten your Essence, learn a Martial Arts or three, some Thaumaturgy, maybe a bit of Sorcery or Necromancy...and a mortal hero can be pretty awesome. Like Rock Lee, you get to be the hero of hard work...instead of that Solar over there who got things handed to him on an Orichalcum platter because Lytek was bored and thought a blond guy with big pointy hair and a huge sword was just the thing this week.


Not that I mind playing Exalted characters in the slightest, note. Just Heroic mortals can be impressive and epic too. Though I will agree, long term, if you want to lead people into the setting, you'll likely want them to Exalt eventually...and sooner, rather than later. I'd suggest either having the first or second session be the time of Exaltation, if you are just going after having people experience their Exaltation, or waiting until around the 4th or 5th, if you're trying to show them the difference between what they were, and what they are now.

 

[wordman]

I personally enjoy the feel of Heroic mortal games...

Yeah. I just really... don't. For two reasons:


1) When I want to play a game with a feel like you describe, there are just vastly better choices for rules-sets than Exalted's for running them.


2) All of the "mortal creep" stuff you mention exists mainly to make mortals survivable and interesting in the setting, but when you use it, you're not really playing "mortals" anyway. So, I don't really see the point.

 

[Ledaal Kajiri]

Thing is, from the get go it was stated, right out in the 1E Core book that certain mortal martial artists could learn to channel and use their Essence. If it's been there from day 1, I really don't see how it's Mortal Creep. It's detailing what all a mortal can and cannot do, nothing more. Will they ever be the equal to an equally experienced and powerful Exalt? Certainly not. They have to struggle and fight for every inch of power in ways an Exalt does not. Sometimes, this may require deals with vile or enlightened beings beyond mortal ken...sometimes it will require harsh and difficult training. Myself, I find that interesting. Others may disagree, and that's their choice, too. I enjoy playing the mortal Gunzosha soldier, or the Thaumaturgist, or what have you. You do not. That's your choice, the same as mine.

 

[Virjigorm]

Personally, I think the Exalted system and setting are some of the best I've ever seen for running an epic or fast-paced cinematic game. Most systems are rules-heavy, very clumsy and class-based which limits the game in the wrong ways. Power level in Exalted may be a little tricky to reign in, but in exchange for an exciting and dramatic flow of play that really adds to the story, I'll pay that price. I feel that the system is built well for any character type, including pure mortals. The trick is in how you run it, the tools available are just fine.


Anyone who doesn't like Exalted's system should try Rolemaster....worst....thing...ever

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

Hahahaha, but I thought you enjoyed the eight hour character creation process.

 

[wordman]

Personally, I think the Exalted system and setting are some of the best I've ever seen for running an epic or fast-paced cinematic game.

Spirit of the Century... Savage Worlds... Mist-Robed Gate... hell, even Wu-Shu are far better at "fast-paced cinematic games" than Exalted is. If doing a "mortals" game, I'd pick any of them over Exalted, system-wise. (Frankly, I've been toying with several of them for all my Exalted games.)


I agree that the setting is top-notch, though.

 

[Virjigorm]

Hahahaha' date=' but I thought you enjoyed the eight hour character creation process.[/quote']
Character creation?! A round of combat takes 8 hours in that system. Character creation takes about 3 sessions, 5 hours each and that's only if you have enough books to go around!


I can't imagine why anyone ever built a system that convoluted. Even Rifts is simple by comparison. Some folks just seem to think of game systems as fancy gadgets and the more complex the better. Simplicity is what keeps a system good and fast-paced. Everything else that makes a game interesting is in the setting and characters.

 

[wordman]

Simplicity is what keeps a system good and fast-paced.

I agree with this principle, but am a little stunned that anyone thinks Exalted is an example of it. I mean, yes, compared to Rolemaster, it is, but in significant ways Exalted is more crunchy than d20.

Everything else that makes a game interesting is in the setting and characters.

I don't believe this statement at all. Both Spirit of the Century and A Dirty World are counterexamples, where what makes the game interesting is not simplicity, setting or characters, but rather the way the mechanics promote role-playing.

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

The debate begins!

 

[Arthur]

The first page of this thread is so good, informative and useful that I think Flagg should make it sticky.

 

[Virjigorm]

The first page of this thread is so good, informative and useful that I think Flagg should make it sticky.

Agreed. The second page seems to be turning into a senseless debate, my apologies. We can take this up in a new thread perhaps...


As for advice for new Storytellers, I would point out one big mistake many people make: burning out. Make the process fun for your players, but don't forget about yourself. If you aren't enjoying it, you won't keep it up for long. If you hate homework, figure out how to run with less preparation. You can wing it in many different ways without taking anything away from the fun of the game, don't be afraid to try it. If, on the other hand you can't stand running unprepared or you have trouble creating stories on-the-fly, be diligent with your preparations, or you will find game nights very stressful. I've seen many STs quit because they couldn't stand being without prepared material, but didn't have time to get it all together (which sounds like what may have happened to the original poster's ST). Finding a method that works for your players and you will keep it all going strong. The whole process can be a lot of serious work, but it can also be a great and fun artistic endeavor. The key is finding your balance.


I'm sure most of us would be interested in hearing how your first few sessions go, Mempo. Best of luck!

 

[Heaven's Thunder Hammer]

So, any updates?