Thursday, January 23, 2020

Phandelver Notes - remaining Prep

Current Challenges.

I quit facebook > I cannot find other gamers

In the Philippines Facebook is everything. If you want to know what is happening, the most reliable way to keep in touch is facebook. Facebook in the Philippines has a lot of social mass that the gravity makes it a very difficult habit to manage and a source of unpredictable stress and complication. 

I quit it on October Last year (2019-10) and If I want to find gamers in my neighborhood I'd have to go back on Facebook. I think I'll just limit my posts... the thing is it tends to be a slippery slope that's why quitting was what happened, I'm not capable of moderating myself in Facebook. Quitting is easier than Moderation in some cases and in some people. 

So I'm in a Stalemate: Cons of Going back to Facebook and Breaking my Streak, and Finding Other Players. 

Finding Time to Play

Prerequisites for playing. 
  • within a 5-10 minute Radius of where I live. That's about 500-800 meters. 
  • 2.5 hours of Game Time. 
  • I can bring my son
  • in a 2-3 hour game 1 to 2 other players are fine. 
Minecraft as my Father-Son bonding experience has some serious challenges, particularly my Spatial Nausea I've developed because of my Age. I want to transition to TRPGs or storytelling.

Phandelver Preparations

200111 D&D5E Phandelver NPCS detailed stats.

Summary of NPCs

This is a Table of NPCs
1) Name and Vital Statistics 3.5 D20 Vital Statistics using Headings, hyperlinking him to the Entry in the MAIN story notes. 
  • Age - Age as a Number and In Parthenthis Appearance
    • Very Young Adult (VYA) = Starting Adventure Age, 20 and below.
    • Young Adult (YA) =  20s 
    • Middle Age (MA) = 30s  
  • Gender - M/F
  • Class - will use the Abbreviation and Note Subclass
2) Function. How they serve the story. are they a Hook for a Quest, Information about the Main Quest, Dressing, etc...

3) Pages of Information. Something like an Index where the NPC was mentioned and relevant. 

Summary of Encounters

This is a Table of Encounters that Happen in the Adventure.
1) Encounter Description. typically named after the challenges faced. "Goblins Guards" "Maurading Orcs" etc...
2) Encounter Function, what part of the story does it move forward or is it dressing, or scope limitation or an Opportunity.
3) Encounter Page Reference.  where to find it.
4) Code of Accounts or Work-Break-down Number. The numbering system that shows which Encounters are Sub-Encounters of a Main Encounter Body. So an encounter that is 1.2 means its a sub-Encounter of an Encounter 1. 

Body of Notes

This is the long body of notes that breaks down information into Bullets and Sub-Bullets. Its easier to visually see things as discrete itemized elements. Its meant for Phone or Tablet Reading. 
Also centralizing all the mentions. 

Appearance. I but more detailed appearances here. Both for Role-playing and Describing it to Players. As well 

Plot Twist. These are notes for Additional Depth and Complication in the Game. It provides details that can be taken at face value or leads to or foreshadows more complicated twists. Its used when:
  1. Players are Metagaming or Murder-Hobo-ing.  
  2. Players find the Simple Plot Flat. 
Tactics and How to Play. Instructions and how to use this NPC Optimally.  

The estimated Work remaining is about 20 hours. About 10 evenings after work If I'm not busy with studies.  

After this I'll go back in Prepping Dungeon Fantasy. 

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