Stunting on PbP
- Thread starter Persell
- Start date
Flagg
The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment
Thanks, man. You're a sport.kakitashinsumi said:
-S
Murdrak
Bust :(
I love to come up with a cool stunt. Â Any time the dice are rolling I'm thinking what scenery can I use to get that two die stunt. Â Stunts are what I think makes exalted a lot more fun than most of the other RGPs I've played over the years because they really encourage the players to be creative and over the top and not just sit back and let the ST do all the work. Â
When it comes to thinking up a stunt in combat I find it hard to keep coming up with new ways to say "I hit him". Â I like playing Martial Artists as I personally have an easier time thinking of new and cool descriptions for that kind of combat then other sorts of combat. Â With melee I can't get much past "diaklave meet face".
When it comes to thinking up a stunt in combat I find it hard to keep coming up with new ways to say "I hit him". Â I like playing Martial Artists as I personally have an easier time thinking of new and cool descriptions for that kind of combat then other sorts of combat. Â With melee I can't get much past "diaklave meet face".
That is too bad. Â But no matter, it seems you have fun with your niche.Murdrak said:
So... Â I was kinda expecting more help from this thread in regards to the original topic.
I am also glad to see, at this point, no one has selected the first option of the poll. Â Glad to see non of us are lame-o's.
Flagg
The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment
I'm a lame-o. I'm just too lame to vote properlykakitashinsumi said:
-S
Unfortunately my players, although excellent roleplayers, do not stunt so well. I don't want to rub their faces in it, so instead I let my NPCs stunt exceedingly. I also stunt for them from time to time, when they roll really well and don't describe it in detail, I just take over and tell what happens. This is mostly in combat, though. They are great at talking and acting appropriately and with consequence. Come to think of it, they are a strange lot. Getting bored with too much combat and dice rolling.
Obsidian Silence
New Member
I typically describe what i'm doing and so does the rest of our circle pretty well but after 4 years coming up with something really cool and unique takes a bit. Â it's rare we get the big bonuses anymore.
StarHawk
Member
most of my exalted experience has been with my changing moon fruit bat lunar. She's a pretty out there character so it lends me opportunity to stunt for just about everything she does. I once got a 3-die-stunt bonus from a social encounter. And like others have said, after 3 years it's hard to come up with original stunts that give more than one die bonuses. But will all the stunting between me and one other player it's helped newer unexperienced players get the feel for stunting and what one could do with it.
Hanat-Osul
Elder Member
What was your 3-dice stunt, StarHawk?
Standard Stunt
If there are ever any extra successes on rolls, I make sure that there is a cool effect. Â Not full "stunt" type effects, unless the extra successes exceed four. Â I am a comedian/clown so most of the time the effect is highly exaggerated (like it should be) and gets a quite a few laughs from my players.
I'm not sure if I'm just being picky about what a good stunt is, but my players haven't had a single two or three die stunt so far. Â The best they have come up with is something like:
"I jump into the air with Monkey Leap and fly really fast at the guy and swing my sword down super hard on the guys head with Excellent Strike. Â While flying, I flip a couple of times and walk on peoples heads with Spiderfoot Style. Â And it looks totally cool."
*player looks at me with those excited puppy eyes expecting bonus*
If there are ever any extra successes on rolls, I make sure that there is a cool effect. Â Not full "stunt" type effects, unless the extra successes exceed four. Â I am a comedian/clown so most of the time the effect is highly exaggerated (like it should be) and gets a quite a few laughs from my players.
I'm not sure if I'm just being picky about what a good stunt is, but my players haven't had a single two or three die stunt so far. Â The best they have come up with is something like:
"I jump into the air with Monkey Leap and fly really fast at the guy and swing my sword down super hard on the guys head with Excellent Strike. Â While flying, I flip a couple of times and walk on peoples heads with Spiderfoot Style. Â And it looks totally cool."
*player looks at me with those excited puppy eyes expecting bonus*
I've got 7 players in my game and so stunting can be problematic... Combat takes long enough without everyone taking ten minutes to describe each drop of water that rebounds of their daiklave as they swing their sword with precision at their enemy in the middle of a dark and stormy night.
I try to stunt my players as much as possible, essentially since I've got players who can't help but stunt... it's the way they've always played since before we started playing Exalted. Â But I also have some greener players who haven't stepped up to bat yet when it comes to really fleshing out their characters with interesting narrative so I use stunts really sparingly with them to set certain expectations and strongly encourage them when they start to open up.
I definitely agree though that "brevity is the soul of wit", generally if it's too long, no matter how cool it is I will default to 1pt just because often those long descriptions often blow the limits on what can acceptably occur during a single tick of combat. Â I personally like stunts that are gritty and show that the character is strongly invested in the combat, not just in winning but in totally overcoming the enemies. Â Witty one liners and even just describing the look on the character's face as they recover from a strong flurry with a attack of their own can earn some strong points from me.
I try to stunt my players as much as possible, essentially since I've got players who can't help but stunt... it's the way they've always played since before we started playing Exalted. Â But I also have some greener players who haven't stepped up to bat yet when it comes to really fleshing out their characters with interesting narrative so I use stunts really sparingly with them to set certain expectations and strongly encourage them when they start to open up.
I definitely agree though that "brevity is the soul of wit", generally if it's too long, no matter how cool it is I will default to 1pt just because often those long descriptions often blow the limits on what can acceptably occur during a single tick of combat. Â I personally like stunts that are gritty and show that the character is strongly invested in the combat, not just in winning but in totally overcoming the enemies. Â Witty one liners and even just describing the look on the character's face as they recover from a strong flurry with a attack of their own can earn some strong points from me.
Obsidian Silence
New Member
good idea on that last bit sato
Silence In Daylight
One Thousand Club
Re: Standard Stunt
 If you're interested in helping them improve, here's a couple of points you may might to make during downtime:
1) Describe what the charms you're using do. How does Excellent Strike improve your attack? How does the character walk on people's heads?
2) 'Super' and 'cool' are for the people commenting on the stunt, not the stunter. And 'really fast' isn't helpful; how fast is he? Is there a mini-sonic boom? Are cherry blossoms strewn in his wake?
 If the player looks at you blankly, there's one final thing: ask him to describe the stunt as if you knew nothing about Exalted, anime, or whichever movie he's ripping off for inspiration.
 Your players simply don't have enough experience with proper stunting, then.PartisanGerm said:
 If you're interested in helping them improve, here's a couple of points you may might to make during downtime:
1) Describe what the charms you're using do. How does Excellent Strike improve your attack? How does the character walk on people's heads?
2) 'Super' and 'cool' are for the people commenting on the stunt, not the stunter. And 'really fast' isn't helpful; how fast is he? Is there a mini-sonic boom? Are cherry blossoms strewn in his wake?
 If the player looks at you blankly, there's one final thing: ask him to describe the stunt as if you knew nothing about Exalted, anime, or whichever movie he's ripping off for inspiration.
Silence In Daylight
One Thousand Club
Re: Standard Stunt
 If they deliver the above in a Valley accent, I'd take away dice.Safim said:
Jukashi
Four Thousand Club
One-die stunts are really cheap, gentlemen, I should remind. Anything better than "I hit him with my sword using my combo" gets a one-die stunt. Even sticking in an adjective, so long as they don't keep saying the same thing repeatedly.
Silence In Daylight
One Thousand Club
One-die stunts are the 'E for Effort' grades of Exalted; Jukashi, I suspect that most of the animosity directed against PG's players is that they don't seem to be trying very hard.
Real Life Stunting
Player A has two dots in his Imagination Attribute and one dot in his Creativity Skill.  He rolls three d10s to attempt to describe a stunt, and gets 6, 4, and 1.  He botches the roll.  Storyteller Steve reaches his Limit Break and unleashes his fury according to the Limit Break Sloth Intolerance.
(Imagine Beethoven's Requiem, at the exciting part, in the background)
Storyteller Steves face blushes entirely as his gaze fixes upon Player A, silencing the unsuspecting victim, and everything else within a block.  SS bursts from behind the DM screen with unnatural speed, hastened by his unrivaled frenzy and strengthened by pure rage.  Rulebooks, character sheets, and dice fly wildly from the path of the angered Storyteller as though whirlwinds picked up at the onset of every step during his berserker sprint.  Distance and time are not factors, the gravity of a dozen planets could not slow the movement of such a powerful force nor could the speed of light pass up such instantaneous traveling.
SS's openhanded slap meets the face of PA simulating the collision of the climax of a supernova into a barren (or soon to be) side of a planet.
Storyteller Steve rolls his Dexterity + Brawl to make a reflexive attack on Player A.  His Dexterity is 3 and his Brawl is 2, he rolls six dice because of stunt bonus, and gets 10, 8, 7, 5, 3, and 2.  SS gets an extra success for the 10, making for three successes altogether.  Player A aborts to a full dodge and get his whole pool of 4 dice.  He rolls 9, 4, 3, and 3.  SS's attack succeeds.  PA rolls two 4s on soak and receives two levels of Bashing damage.  He has a -1 penalty on all rolls.
Player A has two dots in his Imagination Attribute and one dot in his Creativity Skill.  He rolls three d10s to attempt to describe a stunt, and gets 6, 4, and 1.  He botches the roll.  Storyteller Steve reaches his Limit Break and unleashes his fury according to the Limit Break Sloth Intolerance.
(Imagine Beethoven's Requiem, at the exciting part, in the background)
Storyteller Steves face blushes entirely as his gaze fixes upon Player A, silencing the unsuspecting victim, and everything else within a block.  SS bursts from behind the DM screen with unnatural speed, hastened by his unrivaled frenzy and strengthened by pure rage.  Rulebooks, character sheets, and dice fly wildly from the path of the angered Storyteller as though whirlwinds picked up at the onset of every step during his berserker sprint.  Distance and time are not factors, the gravity of a dozen planets could not slow the movement of such a powerful force nor could the speed of light pass up such instantaneous traveling.
SS's openhanded slap meets the face of PA simulating the collision of the climax of a supernova into a barren (or soon to be) side of a planet.
Storyteller Steve rolls his Dexterity + Brawl to make a reflexive attack on Player A.  His Dexterity is 3 and his Brawl is 2, he rolls six dice because of stunt bonus, and gets 10, 8, 7, 5, 3, and 2.  SS gets an extra success for the 10, making for three successes altogether.  Player A aborts to a full dodge and get his whole pool of 4 dice.  He rolls 9, 4, 3, and 3.  SS's attack succeeds.  PA rolls two 4s on soak and receives two levels of Bashing damage.  He has a -1 penalty on all rolls.
Silence In Daylight
One Thousand Club
Now, that is a three-die stunt. Â 8)