Performance Review
Well ain’t this a twist! Someone besides Patches has finally noticed the shifting balance between the cosmic forces of Evil and Catgirl. On the one hand, Succubus is all kinds of evil herself. She’s in the Evil Party after, and will no doubt play this situation to her advantage. On the other hand, the friendship between Succubus and Magus is long-established in the deep lore of Handbook-World. Perhaps she’ll want to help?
Plots continue to stew. But this week, I find myself stewing on the topic of player feedback. We’ve touched on the subject before, focusing on session zero questionnaires and pausing to take stock in other comics. The former is a preventive measure, surveying player opinions before the campaign has started. The idea here is to offer your buddies a chance to make their voices heard before common issues crop up. The latter technique tends to come after an oopsy at the table. Someone is unhappy with a rules call or a plot development, so you break character and swim up out of the narrative long enough go over your options as a group. There is a third way way though, and it’s one that doesn’t happen often enough. I am talking about the proactive approach.
Just last session, one of my GM pals demoed the technique expertly. He sent around a survey to all us players. It was adapted from the TTRPG Safety Toolkit over at Monte Cook Games, but it came with some interesting changes compared to the usual lines and veils approach. In the first place, it arrived a few sessions in rather than Session Zero. That might not be standard practice, but it did allow us to get a sense for the table before responding about comfort level. It also came with this bonus question: “Is there content you definitely DO want to see in the game?”
What a question! It was an open invitation to help steer the story. And unlike my own attempts at soliciting feedback, it hadn’t waited until a negative moment had gone down at the table to ask. Six sessions into the campaign, the timing couldn’t have been better. As a payer I felt as though my input mattered. A low-pressure, mid-campaign, “What do you want out of this game?” is a proactive step that any GM can take. And it seems a whole hell of a lot better than 1) the overly-critical griping that bubbles over when you never ask, or 2) the milquetoast verbal feedback that comes with an on-the-spot, “Did you guys have fun this session?”
So how about it, Handbook-World? What do you say to a group exercise for today’s discussion? Imagine your GM just asked that question: “Is there content you definitely DO want to see in the game?” What would you tell them? Give us all your best collaborative storytelling suggestions box suggestions down in the comments!
ADD SOME NSFW TO YOUR FANTASY! If you’ve ever been curious about that Handbook of Erotic Fantasy banner down at the bottom of the page, then you should check out the “Quest Giver” reward level over on The Handbook of Heroes Patreon. Thrice a month you’ll get to see what the Handbook cast get up to when the lights go out. Adults only, 18+ years of age, etc. etc.
Hmm, interesting…! Succubus has very little reason to like DQ – she seemed afraid of her, more than anything – but Queen Scratchypaws…?
I see that Woolantula the Servile’s silence and loyalty have been secured, anyway. 😉 He’s looking shiny with his new bling; sooo many stars…
I wish we had the dosh to make a Woolantula the Servile plush. I kinda want one.
You could do a kickstarter?
When we finally get around to doing a Kickstarter, it’ll likely be for a Handbook of Heroes: Some Comics We Liked book compilation. Stretch goals to include an actual multi-panel comic with the Heroes.
Could I tempt you guys to create an actual Handbookworld Gazetteer. ^^;
Invest in knitting skills.
The bard’s save against petrification was unsuccessful even before her first turn. After firing a salvo of arrows, the paladin also turned to stone. One bloodrager was all that stood between the three hasted, smite good, save three times every round or become a statue medusae and their intended victim.
What the…? This appears to be a random snippet from one of my own gaming stories.
Ooh, what a question… let’s see.
If we’re only giving one suggestion – consequences (injuries, madnesses, diseases etc.) that stick to the PC, being challenging to remove and possibly better to just accept. If permitted a second suggestion, a stronghold and domain management element.
The trick is figuring out CONSEQUENCES that represent an interesting challenge rather than a crippling one. Do you have a mechanical example that would help your GM find that range?
Injury rules as done in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay are pretty good: you can heal from most more common stuff but it’s going to take a lot of rest, and then there are a few bigger things that might push into crippling territory but come up rarely. Makes combat a bit more of a risk-reward than most games, plus of course acquiring scars and missing Limbs is just darned cool.
If this is session 0, then I want Trinkets! Gimme a weird attachment object for me to build a backstory around and wonder about as I level up.
If this is mid-campaign, then I’d like some nonlinear dungeoneering, please. Sure, if we sweep the rooms clockwise, we’ll find X that’ll help us in Y, but if we clear the level widdershins, we’ll hit Y first, but find a minor macguffin that makes it easier to overcome the guardian of X. (And if we tackle all the rooms randomly, y’know, like normal, we’re still not totally screwed and can still clear this sector of the dungeon without fear of the dreaded “sequence break.”)
I liked Monte Cook’s “blue steel doors” for this purpose. They’re magical barriers between sections of dungeon. If you’ve got the password they open. If you don’t then you go the long way around.
He instituted them because the “Dungeon a Day” site was literally building the dungeon one room at a time, and sometimes there wasn’t anything beyond the door. The effect was a dungeon that *could* be explored via shortcuts, but also had a clear “expected route” for a GM to prep.
“What, you think I somehow body-swapped with some catgirl during a failed summoning ritual? Don’t be ridiculous! I’m TOTALLY Demon Queen! We’ve CERTAINLY never done each other’s hair!”
I should probably ask my players the Question of the Day. I’ve got a few ideas, but it’s good to be sure.
As for myself, I want to take on Sorcerer Kings and The Dragon!
Also, I want to acquire an Elven Man-O-War and hunt pirates and slavers! In SPAAAAAAACE!
Quick gang! Hop in your Spelljammer! The pirate armada in service to the Sorcerer King Empire have mind-slaved The Sith Dragon, and plan to turn him against our elven shipwright allies!
“Is there content you definitely DO want to see in the game?”
Hmm… Yes. At least one situation centered around needing to make ethical trade-offs that result in having to chose between different consequences. In other words, at least one choice with no “good” options.
But I admit it’s a difficult request to make, so I normally don’t bother. People tend to treat Trolley Problems as exercises in finding ways to obviate the need for choices, precisely because they don’t like the need to make difficult ethical trade-offs. For me, on the other hand, this is part of the point of fictional worlds; the ability to explore these sorts of things because the only impacts will be to imaginary people.
Is there a favorite trolley problem that you’ve encountered in a game? What’s your go-to example?
The party was having a pretty bad case of Obnoxious NPC Tag-Along, and in this case the ONTA was cosplaying as a guardsman from a local Barony. They were pretending to be on the run from the local Thieves’ Guild, but they’d actually managed to anger a dragon that laired nearby. When the dragon caught up with us we killed it (barely), and then its mate showed up. In no condition to fight another dragon, we wound up talking to it. It was… displeased and looking for vengeance. Seeing the surcoat the (now dead) ONTA was wearing, it was going to fly off and torch the city… or we could tell the dragon where the thief had lived. Given the choice between the dragon burning down a city and burning down the village which was the ONTA’s hometown, we gave up the village.
We debated the ethics of that one for hours after the session.
*Don’t say sexy girls. Don’t say sexy girls. Don’t say sexy girls.* Se…duction mechanics?
I had to ask Laurel if Demon Queen had always worn Daisy Dukes. Apparently she has.
Her first appearance in her Queen Scratchypaw form also included fishnet stockings.
I have informed our continuity editor.
Did Her Majesty, Queen Scratchypaws of the Demon Web Pits lose her horns during the body swap? (scurries off to check).
Yes, yes she did:
https://www.handbookofheroes.com/archives/comic/meanwhile-in-the-abyss
I never noticed that before
Yes… Yes… Scroll back through the archives! Increase my metrics! Mwa-ha-ha!
Webcomics are weird like this. You make sure to put those little details in, but it’s so easy to binge at high speed that you’ll often miss out on them.
For example, I remember being shocked when Questionable Content made a point about a character having a southern accent. I’d simply skimmed past all the apostrophes in her dialogue, and had never picked up on it.
Wooh! Another QC fan.
one of my DMs had a „do you like my homebrew“ survey
he was pretty unanimously told that his GrimmDark scenarios where
a) too grimm
and
b) too dark
That seems like important knowledge for a DM to possess.
I don’t get why Magus has to be so indirect. If anything, she’s suspicious for not involved in any conspiracies against other demons.
*not being involved
I realize proofreading standards in comment sections tend to be pretty poor, but I still feel dumb for this mistake.
So like… What should she be doing instead?
Overtly invite Succubus to secret plotting sessions? I dunno, I was trying to make a silly joke.
Gotcha… That would make sense. But Magus ain’t so good at thinking up clever plans.
I often have trouble with this biz myself. I’ve got a clever plan, but how can my dumb character justify coming up with it?
One month of reading later and I have rejoined the present! Hello present! Alas, binge over. Enjoying the comic immensely thus far!
Cheers, Robert! Glad you enjoyed the binge. Hit me if you’ve got any burning topics that we haven’t covered yet.
At the end of last year, I sent all my players a survey, which I will probably do again this year. The questions:
– What is something you have really enjoyed about the campaign so far?
– What is something that you have not enjoyed about the campaign so far? How could that be improved?
– What was the most memorable moment, scene or encounter in the campaign for you?
– Are there any changes to the game’s basic structure and methods (including scheduling, Discord, Roll20, die-rolling procedures, initiative, etc) that you would like to see?
– Are there any issues you have had with my GMing style? Are there any issues you have had with other players in the group that you would like me to be aware of? How could these issues be improved?
– Are there any plot threads, NPCs or PC character qualities that you would like to see get some attention in future sessions?
– Are there things you would like to see or explore in future campaigns? (Monster types, challenge types, cultures or environments, certain themes, certain game styles, a particular tone…)
The survey generally went well, though I didn’t get too many “I don’t like this thing” comments, so… success?
That’s not a bad template for this sort of thing. I also like that you do it annually, which seems like about the right pace.
You might get more useful critique by changing “what was one thing your dislike” to “what is one thing you would change.” There lies the path to “concrete and actionable.”
Um. Laurel actually made Queen Scratchypaws look kinda… sexy this time.
Does that mean Magus is getting more comfortable with her new bod, or is it related to the approach of Halloween?
Being an English major, I propose an alternative theory.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/reader-response-theory
😛
I make the plot, i don’t answer that question i make it 😀
https://media.tenor.com/AF9piIF5myUAAAAM/star-wars-i-am-the-senate.gif
Does the little spider have a name yet?
They definitely deserve one, considering the amount of gold stars!
Pitter Parkfiend? 😛
Woolantula the Servile
Copyright pending :p
I shared that consent form with my group. The considered response of the table was, “dude, why the actual fuck would this stuff be in a game?”
Which I guess summarises where we are on these continuums.
I dunno, I think ruling in the Abyss would be great. Change the culture! Make the Abyss a great place to live and work! What else would be more chaotic than upsetting literally everyone’s expectations?
I’m not sure Magus has the tools to change an ingrained workplace culture.