Hey guys. I haven't started my game yet, but from reading the book, I think this is one of the things I'm most unsure of (specifically, how powerful it should be and where it's limits are).
So what are your opinions on this? What are some of your favorite examples from your games?
Hey guys. I haven't started my game yet, but from reading the book, I think this is one of the things I'm most unsure of (specifically, how powerful it should be and where it's limits are).
So what are your opinions on this? What are some of your favorite examples from your games?
I presume you mean about spending Destiny Points for events to occur? I would follow some of the guides in the GM portion, and keep them logical and small.
Use them for things like cover, improvised weapons, a needed escape route. Nothing too big or adventure derailing.
You can get some great ideas from Skill Monkey if you listen to some of his Triumph and Despair ideas.
Used this twice today, once to allow a PC facing down 4 speeder bikes to run away from them, falling down a hole in the process, and a second time to allow a PC gunning a speeder bike out of a moving ship, into a river, to conveniently remember they left their valuable medpac on the ship, as they landed in the water and proceeded to lose grip on their pistol, stimpaks and anaesthetic.
I use a system suggested by someone on this forum by which every extra DS destiny point adds an Exp point at the end of a session, to encourage their use. The Deus Ex Machina I generally interpret as a potentially live saving incident, or substantial save.
Left something on the ship? {Flip} No you didn't!
Need some backup? {Flip} A couple mooks to your aid!
Need to succeed? {Flip} Reroll the pool.
No Cover! {Flip} Look! A Manhole with the cover off!
Pinned down? {Flip} a couple of the bad guys run out of power.
No Traffic to hide in? {Flip} Turn the corner and get lost in the oncuming rush as the locals let out for a ball game.
Left something on the ship? {Flip} No you didn't!
Need some backup? {Flip} A couple mooks to your aid!
Need to succeed? {Flip} Reroll the pool.
No Cover! {Flip} Look! A Manhole with the cover off!
Pinned down? {Flip} a couple of the bad guys run out of power.
No Traffic to hide in? {Flip} Turn the corner and get lost in the oncuming rush as the locals let out for a ball game.
Aren't you worried that letting your players make rerolls just by using a Destiny point will render the "reroll this skill once per session"-talents kinda worthless?
This feature is a tip-of-the-hat to Declarations in Fate, which are really cool and can create some heroic moments but I'd really keep a lid on them. The rebreather example in the book is even an odd foot to start on, imo. "I don't have this or I don't want to spend money on this, so POOF, I have it." That can get out of control and feel really cheap if you let it run wild. It's cool initially but your old d20 friends will abuse it once the lightbulb goes on. I've had success treating as another "Yes, but" situation that is relevant to the scene the players are currently in. "You find an old, barely functional rebreather that will work for a few minutes to get you inside the base". That sort of thing. Believe me when I tell you that PC's will stuff their cargo holds full of rare gear and build a Death Star with Destiny Points if you don't establish some quick, easy guidelines.
My plan for the players using Destiny points for things like this, or for finding a piece of useful equipment with a Triumph or similar, is to sit them down beforehand and explain to them that such equipment is temporary.
Imagine a situation where a lone PC is fleeing from armed assailants. He finds his way into an office or something and searches for some useful item with a Perception roll. It comes up a Triumph, and he finds the person who owns it keeps a small blaster in a desk drawer. It needs to be understood by everyone at my table that he may take that blaster and use it, but after the encounter it stops working or gets broken (or he simply chooses to return it to where he found it). Under no circumstances would I allow Triumph or Destiny points to be a way or amassing lots of equipment.
I like to think of it as a way the player can shape the story in a small way. For instance during my last session a player pass a check to unlock a door but generated a decent amount of threat. I played it as he made noise while opening it so the people inside would most likely check the area.
Now on his check he got a triumph. He wanted to use it to say the guards thought the sound was a rat or some type of vermin running around. What I did was say it was actually a rat that ran out. Basically they actually added something in not just made someone mistake something for something else.
I would do the same with destiny points. Allow them to shape the scene enough to give them an advantage. I would limit them on getting items by using the points but if it helps their character and adds to the narrative i'm all for it.
I definitely like the idea of temporary gains and "yes, but" answers to these. Getting those rebreathers for a Destiny point if you actually end up needing them may seem like a good deal, but is it still a good deal when you have to spend that Destiny point EVERY time you need them? I like that.
And that blaster example is nice. I feel like saying "and the blaster breaks because I said it did" could get some resistance at the table, but I suppose that's why you said it should be a prior understanding.
Last session they found the most use as GM tips.
"Yes you could go talk to the guard and ask for a job but you really don't need to...in fact it might just hurt your cover.."
There were a few points where they were used to improve dice but overall they were used for the inspirational 'Ah Ha!' moment or as advice if things were getting bogged down.
That then left me with the problem of having all the dark side dice but not wanting to obliderate them in combat or totally muck up their skill rolls.
Has anyone found a good way of 'burning' dark side to give them back to the players.
Has anyone found a good way of 'burning' dark side to give them back to the players.
If one of your PCs is pretty good at something, and he gets to make a roll against a low difficulty, I wouldn't hesitate to upgrade the difficulty if I saw my players were a little low on Destiny points. Also, any combat or interaction scene where a Nemesis-level NPC was involved would be an excellent candidate. Since you, as the GM, have the advantage of knowing which skill checks are truly important and which are mostly flavour or have non-essential outcomes, you can always upgrade those.
Left something on the ship? {Flip} No you didn't!
Need some backup? {Flip} A couple mooks to your aid!
Need to succeed? {Flip} Reroll the pool.
No Cover! {Flip} Look! A Manhole with the cover off!
Pinned down? {Flip} a couple of the bad guys run out of power.
No Traffic to hide in? {Flip} Turn the corner and get lost in the oncuming rush as the locals let out for a ball game.
Aren't you worried that letting your players make rerolls just by using a Destiny point will render the "reroll this skill once per session"-talents kinda worthless?
Not at all. It's a use they seldom wanted to use for destiny, and they'd already used their once-per-session ones. It was sheer desperation mode. I don't allow it for trivial stuff, either. It's for cases like when they are facing the big bad, and rolled 3 despair, no successes... My players were generally scared to use destiny...