5th Edition Convention Games

[KakitaKaori 280]

It seems to me so far that 5th Edition is extremely GM-dependent.  One GM will play it out in an entirely different way than another GM. For example, one GM might rule that advantages apply very narrowly, while another might rule that they apply very broadly....especially the Virtue advantages. Working towards your Giri and Ningo is also very much up to GM interpretation.  But there are many other things that seem entirely dependent on the GM to interpret...more so than previous editions except maybe the high-lethality first ed.

This may not be a big issue with pre-made modules with pre-made characters, but it seems that in games of 5th ed in a convention setting this could be extremely problematic.  Has anyone run these sorts of games for 4th Ed? Do you have any ideas how you are going to rein in or standardize things in 5th Ed for something like a Heroes of Rokugan game?

Do any other players in Convention games tend to make defensive, versitile characters who can bear a certain degree of GM abuse to handle the buffets of a less-than-optimal con GM? If you do, how would you go about building such a character in 5th Ed?   What school/families, etc, do you recommend?

 

[Avatar111 553]

the game is very, flexible and abusable. in my humble opinion there are two types of group who will mostly enjoy this game;

1- a group that doesn't really play the system, mostly just telling a story and rolling to know if succeed or fail without crunching anything. a group that don't really argue over rules even if they got everything wrong etc.

2- or, a group with a GM that knows the rule to an insane degree, that can manipulate and tweak them, that have good authority over the players, and that can put limits once it is starting to break.

for most casual playgroups that wants to just play and read the rules as they go and that are able to think and/or that like to make "character builds" and are a bit gamey, the system will quickly devolve into an argument fest because a lot of things are unclear, don't make sense, or are relatively easy to abuse.

 

in your case, i'd make a shugenja. they are probably the easiest character to "break" the GM with. though they require more reading and knowledge of the book/techniques.

or, if you don't like finding rules, reading etc...and want to play it safe, make a bushi. most of them will work in lots of different situations. special mentions to Hida, Hiruma, Mirumoto, Shiba, Moto, for all around good and putting the power in the players hands. though some other options are good too.

i'd avoid courtiers. with a bad gm, you will have a bad time. or with a combat heavy gm... you will also have a bad time. there are just more chance for you to have a bad time by playing courtier if you don't know the GM.

Edited December 27, 2018 by Avatar111

[nameless ronin 706]

GM-dependency doesn't have to be all that bad. It's still a roleplaying game: the whole concept involves GM and players working together. Experiences may differ from one table to the next, but as long as everyone tries to ensure everyone has fun that's not a big deal. It's extremely easy for GMs (and players) to spoil the fun in pretty much any system anyway, it's not going to be the mechanics of this edition that are to blame if things don't work out that way. I will agree the GM will need to put a bit more work in finding the right compromise in this edition than previous ones though.