I upgraded and snagged the ME through DTRPG, along with all the goodies that came with it. There are a few pieces of, I think, new ground covered. That means I have some new questions about running the system and some of the inbuilt expectations.
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(p 86) Milestone Rewards – If milestones are every other session, that’s 14 sessions to a maxed Mechanic, for example, assuming you don’t use Paths. How long does a “campaign” last? On average? (And what does a story arc in a game as… rough-and-tumble… as ICRPG look like against any traditional structure we’d look at as GMs trying to bring our players through a story.)
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Milestones vs Path Milestones? When for when? Player choice? Does the GM say, “That’s good for Milestone, but not big enough for Path?”
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Timers vs Clocks: there’s room for both, but when to use which? I’ve become a big Blades in the Dark fan, and I’ve started importing clocks everywhere as a mechanic. I feel there’s an important distinction, but it’s just outside my grasp to understand.
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The art of making treats. Hiding treats behind rolls (Scouting Check example, p 93) they may never make feels like punishment, but… just leaving them there is maybe not rewarding?
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Sharpshooter vs Deadeye – “next shot” vs “next successful hit.” This feels a lot like it should have been the same ability, ported from one setting to the next, but it’s a huge mechanical difference. Was this a deliberate choice, or an editing issue that slipped through the cracks? And regardless of what it was, how would you align it (and align player expectations)?
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I don’t like Pilots. As a class, or a job, or as a player option, in general. It becomes their own special sub-game where others watch and/or go out for pizza, or their primary function is useless 90% of the time. What’s a better archetype, or how to fix the trope/trap? (I’ve sat for Star Wars and seen it happen, Shadowrun does it with deckers and/or riggers, and even the excellent Starforged has some piloting/ace assets that… if the story takes A Turn, become a dead character choice that never sees play. I don’t want to see that repeated, or just left at the mercy of a GM to do the kind of extra lifting to make it work. This is, I guess, just a trauma-based question.)
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(p 94) Damage – Players used to both sides being “fair” might want to also break their weapon jagged for an additional d6 (or more damage with new hearts)… How do acclimate players moving from… “other systems” to this without just GM fiat/because I said so’s?
There’s going to be more later, I’m sure, but these are the ones that jumped out at me on my first pass. At least, from the text I’m going to use with players I’m trying to get away from other systems.
Thanks for entertaining these so far.