Dear All, I am starting to encounter a problem with some of our newer players; namely that you are treating Maladon like the game you and your friends play once a week at home with 6 players, or even worse, like your latest CRPG. PLEASE don't make this mistake as it is starting to cause tension between different groups of players. This is particularly the case between those who want to explore and/or role-play and those who just want to 'kill things and take their stuff'. Maladon might use 5e rules but it is FUNDAMENTALLY different to standard
5e. Maladon is based on the West Marches style games inspired by Ben Robbin's original game as popularised by ItmeJP's
Twitch TV channel. If you don't know what these are, please take the
time to understand them a bit as it will make playing here a better
experience!! I am NOT saying that West Marches gaming is the 'OneTrueWay' to game; you can play D&D a hundred different ways and all of them will be fun and will work. But this is MY game and this is how I want to run it. Maladon is NOT vanilla D&D; please don't make the mistake of thinking you understand Maladon because you have played 5e before. Maladon is totally different. Let me explain why. Vanilla D&D 5e is built around the following core ideas: 1) Encounters/dungeons are all that matters! D&D has been an encounter/dungeon focused game since the 4th ed era. 2) Encounters are mainly 'level appropriate' and scale with the PCs 3) Danger level is largely controlled by the DM 4) Since the 'encounter' is the focus, things like travel and roleplaying are glossed over; you 'rush from dungeon a to b to c bascially 5) XP is awarded for killing monsters 6) Exploration is a peripheral activity (as evidenced by the fact that the rules for travel and exploration are actually very sparse and inadequate). 7) Resource tracking is not important 8) Because the DM controls much of what happens in game, the danger level is often fairly low. Here are Maladon's assumptions 1) West Marches style games are primarily games about exploration focused travel. Dungeon bashing and fighting are side activities. 2) Encounters/monster might be generated MONTHS before they are revealed in play. And even if I invent them on the fly, I have an encounter level in my mind that is based on area you are traveling through. Hence encounters are designed with game world realism in mind, not with 'this is fair to the PCs' type logic 3) Danger level is largely controlled by PC choices about where and when to explore 4) In West Marches, Travel and Roleplaying are the whole point of the game; indeed in Maladon, the journey is often more important than the destination 5) XP is awarded more for exploring and finding new locations than fighting monsters. On average 75% of the XP I award is from finding lore and locations. 25% is for fighting monsters. If you go looking for monsters to slay all the time, you are going to DIE!! 6) Exploration is a CENTRAL activity in Maladon. I want to hear no more whining about it from players when it takes 'hours to get to the dungeon'. Have you actually READ the starting material for this site? It actually spells this out. A 'mission-focussed' approach is missing the point of the game. If you don't like it, please find another game; because every other game is the same. We are trying to be different and have 650+ hours of campaign time behind us to suggest our formula is working. 7) Resource tracking is ALL important. Maladon is a gritty game that models opening up of a new land. 8) Because players control the danger by making choices without much information, danger level is very high compared to vanilla D&D Please take time to think about these issues; I have heard players who have played 5 sessions in Maladon lecturing me and some players who have been playing in Maladon since session 1 that we ' aren't doing it right' ! Oh really! So GLAD you shared that!! I suggest instead you actually read and understand the game before making uninformed comments. /Rant off
