I keep reading over various internets communities, how being a GM is hard, how player are ungrateful spoiled kids, and how much GM struggles.

So which games have tools/mechanics to ease the GM job, and which are these.

For this discussion I would focus on the game itself, rather than on method used by groups.

Even though I feel like I know some answers, judging how active the community is at the moment, I try to open that thread and may-be a few others to keep the /c/ alive

  • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
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    10 months ago

    Tangent: It’s kind of a peeve of mine when like part of the group is doing standard RAW D&D move 30’ and attack, and part of the group is doing like “can i make an acrobatics check to run on the wall, then athletics to jump next to the orc, and a perception check so i know which of his hands is likely to be dominant, and then stab him in that hand???”

    I’m usually in the first group, and I’m annoyed that Bob is over there spending thrice as long. Just say you cast firebolt and let’s keep this going, bob. If you want to play a game that has rules for engaging with the scene, I’d love to play Fate. I’d even try Exalted.

    • h3rm17
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      9 months ago

      I sincerely do not know how you people can meadure space and time in your games. Like what the fuck is 30 feet? What are 6 seconds really? it sounds lile a shit quantity, but is it enough to flourish something? How long is 30 feet? Do I really need measurements and rulers or squaremaps to have fun? Especially as a non american, it baffles me

      • el Stiko (he/him)@dice.camp
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        9 months ago

        @h3rm17 only use those bits if they make sense to you and your group, otherwise just guess. So many indie games nowadays have a variation on abstracted relative distances to explain how long it takes you to get somewhere or how hard a target is to hit, like hand/close/near/far

        • h3rm17
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          8 months ago

          Will try this as well! Maybe move to abstract units will be better for us

        • h3rm17
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          8 months ago

          Problem with visualizong time and measures, I think, more than that. Like I know what 6 seconds is, but what is really enough for? How useful are 6 seconds? 1 minute? Same with distance, how far it feels to do what?

          • Pteryx the Puzzle Secretary@dice.camp
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            8 months ago

            @h3rm17 Ahh, I see. As far as the 6 seconds part goes, there is something of a mismatch between the conceit (everything in a single round happens in the same 6 seconds) and how it actually tends to feel in practice (as though while what *each individual* does on their turn may take 6 seconds, the turn-based structure makes rounds feel like a consecutive string of 6-second actions, at most overlapping with the previous and next action, especially if combined with lots of mid-stream dialogue).