Post by Andy Davy on Mar 12, 2022 20:24:13 GMT
I like that downtime exists. I think it provides quite a bit of extra world immersion.
I also like that there is a basic choice in downtime that feels meaningful:
You have a Taxing slot, or two Light slots. What are you going to do?
In basic terms, your choice is:
1x Taxing Slot - because you didn't split your time you get; a potentially better version of the reward, potentially better chance of achieving it, but higher chance of a complication risk happening
2x Light slot - not doing one thing exclusively? Well; reduced reward, reduced chance of success, but less risky for complications AND, you can do another DT activity
It's a balanced choice.
Both options have pros and cons, but they are balanced to each other and make sense.
If you want to do taxing Tool Training you can. If you want to do taxing Pit Fight you can. If you are low on gold to pay for your Tool Training, well; you can do a light slot in Tool Training to reduce the cost and do a light slot in Pit Fighting to see if you can earn a bit of coin, whilst still doing a bit of tool training that same week.
I think the need to travel between DT/session-start-locations adds an unnecessary complication though.
I think travel makes narrative sense in the game. It should take longer to travel from PF to DH than FE to DH. So, I like that that is reflected in DT travel.
It also makes sense that if a PC has a trainer for Tools/Languages, that trainer will be fixed to a location.
I think it can be frustrating though that travel needs to be accounted for as part of DT, when I think PCs should only have to consider the basic choice: am I taxing or doing 2 light slots?
For example, let's say you have a trainer in FE and your next adventure starts in DH, and you finished your last adventure in either DH or FE. Thanks to the travel rule between DH and FE, you can travel back and forth in 1 Light slot, which is great, and allows you to do 1 light slot of tool training (if you couldn’t do this it would add an undesirable difficulty curve to completing all your training sessions which is a bit out of your control) but... if you started in DH and your trainer was in DH, said PC could choose to do a taxing slot of training. This isn't an option for the PC whose trainer is in FE and their next adventure is not in FE. I don't feel the consideration of where the next adventure starts should be a factor in DT, so I wonder if travel should be a consideration in downtime?
Undoubtedly, many of you have probably already considered this point, so there could be some factors that I'm currently being a bit ignorant about. Please share your thoughts with me on this, I'm interested to see what you think.
I might be alone thinking that DT travel adds an unnecessary complication, or maybe others think that not being able to do a taxing slot of Tool training some weeks is just a reflection of real world complications in the game. Maybe it’s all just a difference in preferences. But, this also brings up questions like:
- Should sessions take longer than 3 days to complete, since doing so will remove the availability of a taxing slot for DT?
- Should players have to consider where they choose to undertake tools/language training based on the popularity of session starting locations? I.e. pick DH for an instructor, because most adventures start there, meaning increased likelihood of using taxing slots?
It doesn’t seem to me, as a non DTDM that people’s use of the traveling DT light slot to get to their next location is policed - it would also seem like unnecessary extra work, but if there is any work done in relation to it, removing traveling as a DT activity might actually reduce a tiny bit of work.
What are your thoughts?
I also like that there is a basic choice in downtime that feels meaningful:
You have a Taxing slot, or two Light slots. What are you going to do?
In basic terms, your choice is:
1x Taxing Slot - because you didn't split your time you get; a potentially better version of the reward, potentially better chance of achieving it, but higher chance of a complication risk happening
2x Light slot - not doing one thing exclusively? Well; reduced reward, reduced chance of success, but less risky for complications AND, you can do another DT activity
It's a balanced choice.
Both options have pros and cons, but they are balanced to each other and make sense.
If you want to do taxing Tool Training you can. If you want to do taxing Pit Fight you can. If you are low on gold to pay for your Tool Training, well; you can do a light slot in Tool Training to reduce the cost and do a light slot in Pit Fighting to see if you can earn a bit of coin, whilst still doing a bit of tool training that same week.
I think the need to travel between DT/session-start-locations adds an unnecessary complication though.
I think travel makes narrative sense in the game. It should take longer to travel from PF to DH than FE to DH. So, I like that that is reflected in DT travel.
It also makes sense that if a PC has a trainer for Tools/Languages, that trainer will be fixed to a location.
I think it can be frustrating though that travel needs to be accounted for as part of DT, when I think PCs should only have to consider the basic choice: am I taxing or doing 2 light slots?
For example, let's say you have a trainer in FE and your next adventure starts in DH, and you finished your last adventure in either DH or FE. Thanks to the travel rule between DH and FE, you can travel back and forth in 1 Light slot, which is great, and allows you to do 1 light slot of tool training (if you couldn’t do this it would add an undesirable difficulty curve to completing all your training sessions which is a bit out of your control) but... if you started in DH and your trainer was in DH, said PC could choose to do a taxing slot of training. This isn't an option for the PC whose trainer is in FE and their next adventure is not in FE. I don't feel the consideration of where the next adventure starts should be a factor in DT, so I wonder if travel should be a consideration in downtime?
Undoubtedly, many of you have probably already considered this point, so there could be some factors that I'm currently being a bit ignorant about. Please share your thoughts with me on this, I'm interested to see what you think.
I might be alone thinking that DT travel adds an unnecessary complication, or maybe others think that not being able to do a taxing slot of Tool training some weeks is just a reflection of real world complications in the game. Maybe it’s all just a difference in preferences. But, this also brings up questions like:
- Should sessions take longer than 3 days to complete, since doing so will remove the availability of a taxing slot for DT?
- Should players have to consider where they choose to undertake tools/language training based on the popularity of session starting locations? I.e. pick DH for an instructor, because most adventures start there, meaning increased likelihood of using taxing slots?
It doesn’t seem to me, as a non DTDM that people’s use of the traveling DT light slot to get to their next location is policed - it would also seem like unnecessary extra work, but if there is any work done in relation to it, removing traveling as a DT activity might actually reduce a tiny bit of work.
What are your thoughts?
