Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Timon

In a game recently there was a hole with a rope hanging down into it that everybody had to get down into, leading to tunnels etc.

Some people jumped, I climbed, it took ages. How would you speed up this process?

My thoughts:

-as GM I announce that I allow jumping or climbing, roll and say if you fail
-I just decide that everyone makes it
-I call for a group agility and impose bumps and bruises if it fails
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Reef · Novice Joined: 16 Feb 2009 Posts: 56

Was there some reason they'd be in a hurry? Middle of combat? Chased by rabid penguins? If not, I'd personally just say they make it down.

TheLoremaster · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 8:00 am Post subject:

Yep, unless they're being attacked, there's no reason to roll. From SWDEE, pg. 24:

Lysander · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 8:15 am Post subject:

... or the rope itself is in bad shape...
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Timon · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 12:30 pm Post subject:

Not the in-game speed, but the table time. It took ten minutes to just go down a rope into a room through a hole. There was nothing chasing us.
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Reef · Novice Joined: 16 Feb 2009 Posts: 56

Bavix · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 5:11 pm Post subject:

Honestly, if there's no challenge to doing an action, there should be no die rolls. Player charactrs are usually adventurers who should be able to do adventurous things. After years of gaming, I've found that it's not very fun to have a hero who just slayed a dragon, banished a demon lord, and saved an entire empire fall from a rope because of a crappy dice roll and die.
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Timon · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 6:11 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the replies - when I read them I realized that it is easy to fall into the trap of making and asking for too many rolls: they are only needed when you are some kind of pressure.
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ogbendog · Heroic Joined: 29 Jul 2004 Posts: 1913

Unless it's a skill challenge type thing

The Dread Polack · Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 10:05 am Post subject:

I always thought one of the more clever things D&D ever came up with was the "Take 10" and "Take 20" rules. I think you can eyeball it easily enough with SW. With a standard TN of 4, anyone with a d8 can do it easily. Anyone with a d6 can do it carefully. Anyone with a d4 can do it with help. Someone with a a d4-2 and the GM should decide if it's dramatically appropriate to roll. I've seen some dramatically tense scenes in movies about climbing, but they aren't all that way.

If you assume the character without training, wounded, fatigued, and heavily encumbered lowered his gear seperately, used climbing gear, took his time, and relied on the help of his fellow adventurers, it should still be fine unless the GM wants to insert a little more tension of bleed off some bennies. The hale, unhurt, unencumbered thief with d8 climbing probably shouldn't have to roll (unless everybody is).

ogbendog · Heroic Joined: 29 Jul 2004 Posts: 1913

Well, if it's just climbing down a ladder, or a knotted rope, meh, they make it.

If it's not knotted, or it's wet, or etc., I'd let anyone "take 2", so if they ahve a Professional edge, they don't have to roll.

the other way is to assume that everyone can make it in general, esp if there are a lot of climbing rolls. Then, if you roll a "hazard" encoutner, you can just say, "while climbing up/down, someone slips, everhone roll a climb test"

that way climb will come up sometimes, but not bog down your session