Post by Hez on Feb 5, 2015 10:15:34 GMT -5
Lesson 0107: Force Resistance
Attended: Rinoa (Instructor), Lii, Thayta, Sky, Kattarina, Zan'sa*, Novaa, Eisran, Himari
This week was originally going to be the week I got preachy about making your RP believable (yes, I know, in a universe with laser swords, evil space wizards and blue aliens), but Rin actually came up with a pretty great idea about doing opposed checks using the /roll mechanic.
You see, in the ancient days before MMOs, nerds gathered by candlelight and invented a ritual known as a "role-playing game", casting chicken bones about, which they called "dice", and recording the outcomes in Sanskrit on papyrus, also known as "paper". In all seriousness, the games we play today are derived from tabletop RPGs, and often good roleplaying techniques can still be gleaned from them. Obligatory "Edge of the Empire" plug here.
In a traditional RPG context, sometimes two party members would have a disagreement about what direction the party would take. When looting, for instance, a player could try to pocket some coins before his or her party members noticed it. To resolve this, a DM would take two complimentary stats (say, perception versus deception) from the opposing players to determine their respective dice pools, and have them roll for it. Whoever won the roll got their way, leaving the two players to argue over it out of character and completely ruin their friendship over a game until the next week. Not wanting friendship to rule the day, the developers included the /roll mechanic in SWTOR.
For our purposes, we had players pair off against Force users. The Force user would ask a question, and if their target beat them in a simple /roll (which by default picks a value between 1 and 100), they resisted the mental probe. You can specify a different range by adding a number to the command. Typing /roll20, for example, will change your range of outcomes to 1-200. By default Roll will only display on your screen, unless you're in a group, in which case your entire group can see it. I wouldn't recommend using it across faction unless you really really really trust the other person involved.
Using /roll can be a valuable RP technique, especially on a server where people hit buttons in a better sequence than you while wearing dumb-looking PvP gear and think that means they've killed your character in RP. It's also the basis for our gambling RP, which is hopefully returning soon.
Instructor Evaluation
Conducted by: Hez
Instructor being observed: Rinoa (First-time Instructor)
Lesson: Force Resistance
• Started off a bit nervous at first, but spoke with confidence once she found her voice
• Subject matter: resisting Force-users
o Relevant, given current ‘extra-curricular activities’ involving the academy
• Class participation level high
o Few interruptions from cadets
o Reflects well on instructor
• Attempted to use me as a class example
o Rinoa correctly guessed there was more than I was letting on in regards to my recent injury. After all, a mere fall down a flight of stairs doesn’t normally cause a double-knee replacement in a healthy individual. She attempted to use the Force to persuade me to reveal the whole truth. My willpower triumphed ultimately, however, so I revealed neither the extent of the damage nor the circumstances surrounding the fall.
o Attempting to embarrass the Headmaster reflects poorly on the instructor
• Separated the class into groups for an activity.
o Generally a very good teaching tactic
o With the nature of this particular activity, this may not end well, especially with one ‘cadet’ in particular. Good thing class is almost over…
o If she insists on doing this here and now, hopefully she’s prepared to act on it. I’ve warned the only other person here I can trust to lead. Can’t do much myself with these knees.
• Reminder to self: order more unif
Conducted by: Hez
Instructor being observed: Rinoa (First-time Instructor)
Lesson: Force Resistance
• Started off a bit nervous at first, but spoke with confidence once she found her voice
• Subject matter: resisting Force-users
o Relevant, given current ‘extra-curricular activities’ involving the academy
• Class participation level high
o Few interruptions from cadets
o Reflects well on instructor
• Attempted to use me as a class example
o Rinoa correctly guessed there was more than I was letting on in regards to my recent injury. After all, a mere fall down a flight of stairs doesn’t normally cause a double-knee replacement in a healthy individual. She attempted to use the Force to persuade me to reveal the whole truth. My willpower triumphed ultimately, however, so I revealed neither the extent of the damage nor the circumstances surrounding the fall.
o Attempting to embarrass the Headmaster reflects poorly on the instructor
• Separated the class into groups for an activity.
o Generally a very good teaching tactic
o With the nature of this particular activity, this may not end well, especially with one ‘cadet’ in particular. Good thing class is almost over…
o If she insists on doing this here and now, hopefully she’s prepared to act on it. I’ve warned the only other person here I can trust to lead. Can’t do much myself with these knees.
• Reminder to self: order more unif
Attended: Rinoa (Instructor), Lii, Thayta, Sky, Kattarina, Zan'sa*, Novaa, Eisran, Himari
This week was originally going to be the week I got preachy about making your RP believable (yes, I know, in a universe with laser swords, evil space wizards and blue aliens), but Rin actually came up with a pretty great idea about doing opposed checks using the /roll mechanic.
You see, in the ancient days before MMOs, nerds gathered by candlelight and invented a ritual known as a "role-playing game", casting chicken bones about, which they called "dice", and recording the outcomes in Sanskrit on papyrus, also known as "paper". In all seriousness, the games we play today are derived from tabletop RPGs, and often good roleplaying techniques can still be gleaned from them. Obligatory "Edge of the Empire" plug here.
In a traditional RPG context, sometimes two party members would have a disagreement about what direction the party would take. When looting, for instance, a player could try to pocket some coins before his or her party members noticed it. To resolve this, a DM would take two complimentary stats (say, perception versus deception) from the opposing players to determine their respective dice pools, and have them roll for it. Whoever won the roll got their way, leaving the two players to argue over it out of character and completely ruin their friendship over a game until the next week. Not wanting friendship to rule the day, the developers included the /roll mechanic in SWTOR.
For our purposes, we had players pair off against Force users. The Force user would ask a question, and if their target beat them in a simple /roll (which by default picks a value between 1 and 100), they resisted the mental probe. You can specify a different range by adding a number to the command. Typing /roll20, for example, will change your range of outcomes to 1-200. By default Roll will only display on your screen, unless you're in a group, in which case your entire group can see it. I wouldn't recommend using it across faction unless you really really really trust the other person involved.
Using /roll can be a valuable RP technique, especially on a server where people hit buttons in a better sequence than you while wearing dumb-looking PvP gear and think that means they've killed your character in RP. It's also the basis for our gambling RP, which is hopefully returning soon.