Problem with LP awards and short sessions: Need advice

Discussion on game mastering Earthdawn. May contain spoilers; caution is recommended!
Michael
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Problem with LP awards and short sessions: Need advice

Post by Michael » Fri Aug 23, 2019 3:37 pm

I am running an online 4th edition game 1/week that is about 4 hours (more like 2 if I can keep the party focused.)

They have all made circle 2 fairly quickly and are closing on 3 using the alternate talent advancement (I also allow them to take as many talent options as they want but none become discipline.) I'm using the LP award table out of the GM book p 120.

So my concern is that I'm awarding LP for 8 hour sessions when they are really doing 4. I don't know if this scales or it's nothing to worry about. This is the first time I have run 4th ed and also the first time online with only 4 hours. The party does a lot of rpg/housekeeping in discord chat over the week but there is 1-2 players that can't so I don't want to further the story without them in that manner.

The question is do I need to scale back the LP awards? Maybe in half since its only a 4 hour session?

thanks

Spader
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Re: Problem with LP awards and short sessions: Need advice

Post by Spader » Sat Aug 24, 2019 2:53 am

I would say, don't worry too much about this.

The true question I ask myself when I award legend point is how fast I wish my players to advance.
And for my current campaign, I asked the question to the players themselves.

Try to figure how long do you think you campaign will last and how strong do you wish your character to become and the end of the campaign.

Earthdawn is very fun for the many ways a character can progress, but it comes a moment (around 7th or 8th circle) where the players are very powerful. It goes a step further once they reach Warden level. So from that point, the game is still fun, but the story and thus the quests have to adapt. Most of the time, that means more politics.

If you're looking forward for that kind of gameplay you could keep your Legend Award as it is or even increase it. But if what you prefere is more modest than you get the picture.

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Mataxes
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Re: Problem with LP awards and short sessions: Need advice

Post by Mataxes » Sat Aug 24, 2019 2:59 am

Michael wrote:
Fri Aug 23, 2019 3:37 pm
So my concern is that I'm awarding LP for 8 hour sessions when they are really doing 4.
What?
I don't know if this scales or it's nothing to worry about.
It's nothing to worry about. A "session" is however long you want it to be. The term is used as the base dividing point of a longer campaign because it's easily definable:

A session is the discrete period of time you are around the table -- virtual or otherwise -- playing the game. When you wrap up play to go off to your "normal" lives, the session ends. That can be 8 hours, or 4 hours, or whatever. A story can take up one session, or many, but a "session" should be pretty clear. (I'm not sure where you got the idea that a "session" is 8 hours... that's not in the text at all.)

The main purpose behind the recommended legend awards in the GM Guide is to pace advancement, which I wrote a blog post about a few months back:

https://fasagames.com/earthdawn/under-t ... nd-awards/
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Belenus
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Re: Problem with LP awards and short sessions: Need advice

Post by Belenus » Sun Aug 25, 2019 9:01 am

I'm playing once each week for around 8 hours with my main group and we became circle 7 after around one year, something I managed with an ED 2 group in around 3 years before.
This is when I finally checked the Legend Point distribution in both editions and ED 4 gives more than double the award than ED 2:
Image

We are using the old award table since then :D

Lursi
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Re: Problem with LP awards and short sessions: Need advice

Post by Lursi » Sun Aug 25, 2019 2:30 pm

I can confirm the speed in ED2 from earlier experience with the same frequency.

So everyone can tune their desired speed of advancement.
Of all things I lost, sanity I held dearest.

Indragnir
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Re: Problem with LP awards and short sessions: Need advice

Post by Indragnir » Mon Aug 26, 2019 7:58 am

Belenus wrote:
Sun Aug 25, 2019 9:01 am
I'm playing once each week for around 8 hours with my main group and we became circle 7 after around one year, something I managed with an ED 2 group in around 3 years before.
This is when I finally checked the Legend Point distribution in both editions and ED 4 gives more than double the award than ED 2:
Image

We are using the old award table since then :D
You like slow advance better as a player? Just asking.

Michael
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Re: Problem with LP awards and short sessions: Need advice

Post by Michael » Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:22 pm

so let me further explain my question. The players are 2nd circle at the moment and we play about 4 hours. Let's say we do 1 social and 1 combat encounter with 1 goal. According to the chart, it's about 800 average give or take.

If we played 8 hours and did 2 social, 2 combat and 1-2 goals, its about 800 average. Or am I supposed to double it up to 1600 on average?

I don't mind that they blasted past 1st circle but it's been about 2 months of play and most are very close to circle 3. Granted, some thread items are going to slow that down quick enough but I'm just thinking out loud as to how long should take to get to say 5th circle?

I know many GMs have problems challenging the group, combat wise, after say 7+ circle but I won't. I don't want the players to circle too slow but also not so fast.

thanks

JetBlackJoe
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Re: Problem with LP awards and short sessions: Need advice

Post by JetBlackJoe » Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:51 pm

Training costs silver as well, which has actually been one of the main limiting factors on advancement in our group, especially for magicians since spells cost silver too, and there are no freebies anymore.

If you want to slow advancement and encourage LP sprinkling in other areas, you could simply limit their loot.
"Mind over Body. Body over Mind."
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Michael
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Re: Problem with LP awards and short sessions: Need advice

Post by Michael » Tue Aug 27, 2019 3:26 pm

actually I would see more thread items as slowing their progress

Belenus
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Re: Problem with LP awards and short sessions: Need advice

Post by Belenus » Tue Aug 27, 2019 5:28 pm

Indragnir wrote:
Mon Aug 26, 2019 7:58 am
Belenus wrote:
Sun Aug 25, 2019 9:01 am
I'm playing once each week for around 8 hours with my main group and we became circle 7 after around one year, something I managed with an ED 2 group in around 3 years before.
This is when I finally checked the Legend Point distribution in both editions and ED 4 gives more than double the award than ED 2:
Image

We are using the old award table since then :D
You like slow advance better as a player? Just asking.
Lets say I prefere "moderate" advancement as a player :D
And given the ingame time of around 1,5 years (nearly the same as outgame), I think from circle 1 to 8 is a "bit" to crazy :shock:

Michael wrote:
Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:22 pm
so let me further explain my question. The players are 2nd circle at the moment and we play about 4 hours. Let's say we do 1 social and 1 combat encounter with 1 goal. According to the chart, it's about 800 average give or take.

If we played 8 hours and did 2 social, 2 combat and 1-2 goals, its about 800 average. Or am I supposed to double it up to 1600 on average?
You could still use the single Legend Awards. So if 2 goals are reached in this 4 hours, its around 400 LP. If they somehow manage to reach 4 goals, it's 800 LP. If it were smaller goals, give the smaller amount, if it were big goals like the final of an adventure, give the maximum and so on ;)

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