Comments on: Scion Snag and Shadowmoor Silliness

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:24:10 +0000

I suspect that in a different multiplayer game type than what my group’s playing now, Shadowmoor could work better. Something like Cutthroat, perhaps, or as I think you’re suggesting four- or five-player Predator-Prey.

The first kill clause we’re working with puts too much emphasis on racing, for this block, while Lorwyn worked somewhat better under this condition. Lorwyn also felt like a more fun set overall though.

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:22:13 +0000

I was wondering if multi player Shadowmoor would be cooler than what I had experienced thus far. I was thinking that perhaps I four or five player Shadowmoor game could be interesting simply because it might actually bring the attrition into real play and limited the “race” effect.

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:41:48 +0000

Since persist has a built-in safety mechanism, it was hardly in need of muzzling. Yet wither, and the amount of -1/-1 counters in general, make persist’s recursion a rare effect for me too. Kind of a lame ability in this context.

I haven’t experienced the same problems per se with power cards, but I think casual multi-player also tends to be a very different environment than drafting.

I will say that with the current game type my mini-league features, Shadowmoor is not my favorite set. We are playing three-player Predator-Prey, first kill = win and game over. This keeps anyone from being stuck on the sidelines and makes the games go relatively quickly, but Shadowmoor’s lack of good defense often means that one player can grab victory easily if they get off to a fast start. We haven’t seen too many comebacks, which may tell you something.

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:31:47 +0000

I haven’t played Scion but almost feel the need to sound a note in its defense here. In a game that’s more about role playing a more loose structure is often part of what opens the game up for greater interpretation. It’s almost a natural side effect that such a system would allow combinations which produce untouchable foes.

I’m not saying that’s a good thing, merely a likely consequence of having greater freedom. Comes with the territory, so to speak. In such a situation I’d probably do the same as many other GMs (or Storytellers): cheat, since bending the rules on the spot is probably easier than trying to ferret out every such combination up front.

Still, it stinks when it happens. On a similar note, last time I ran a Shadowrun game a player mind-controlled one of my NPCs and caused me significant problems. It was my own fault because I didn’t apply the appropriate modifiers which would have made their attempt far more difficult, and next session I resorted to a cheat to shore things up, though it felt dirty to do so (sorry guys).