Topic: Feedback From First HARP Session

[drsmitty]

OK, just played my first HARP session this weekend.  I must confess that it was a little bit of a rough start.  It has been a while since I GMed, and I am still learning the system.  One thing I found tiresome after a while was all the math I was having to do.  I realize it is not higher mathematics, but  having to add the attack, then subtract the DB, then (using Hack-n-slash) having to add the initial concussion hits and the critical concussion hits, then having to keep track of all this just seemed to detract a bit from the flow of the game.  In a combat situation with several player characters and numerous NPCs, both foe and friend, it started to feel like a math drill.  The players seemed to like the system for the most part, but did find this aspect of the game to be something of a drawback.

Did anyone else have this experience their first time using the system?  Any thoughts on how to address this?

[Thos]

It was a bit overwhelming for me as well when I first GMed HARP. I found that after a few sessions it became quite easy to keep track of everything. I guess it was just a matter of becoming more experienced and comfortable with the system. My advice is to just give it a bit more time.

[Blakkrall]

Was hard for me to. Came to the point that I wondered if it wouldn't be better for Vilains to run away before the fight...

[WoeRie]

Same problem here, even after a lot of HARP (and RM2) sessions. At our games the problem starts mainly after 1 o?clock in the morning
We have a few guys who are very good at math, these are sometimes calculating for other players and two of us use pocket calculators. I also don?t request exact numbers, because the values are only interesting up to the next 0 or 5.

We use H&S, too, however I combined the two separate tables in a single Excel sheet with all the duplicate data. It was a lot of work, but now all hits are combined and I don?t have to look up two different results. I still have only one reference sheet for each critical type (so I don?t use hit locations at the moment).

I also thought of dividing all values by 5 and using a d20, but everybody at our table hate this dice 

[janpmueller]

Hi,

still have the problem, though I've GMed a couple of sessions now. Things I do that make things a little easier:

• Let players calculate. I usually give away the foe's DB, so players can calculate their own attacks. They also look up their criticals, so I just note foe's hits, stun, bleeding and penalty in one row per combat round (a friend of mine uses roman numbers for bleeding, so he has 4 columns for each foe:
  68   2   II   -10 (then, a feeble strike for 12 hits occurs, plus 2 for bleeding, stun is reduced of course)
  54   1        -10
  Having a planned structure for writing things down helps me a lot.
• Combine OB and DB and memorize that number. Usually, players and foes end up duelling, and they often stick with the same actions. Attacking again just means using the overall modifier (my OB, his DB, situational modifiers all add up to +14). Since my players do their own math, they also like to stick with their OB/DB ratio.
• Relax . After one terrible combat where I felt it took me ages to get through one round, players gave me feedback that it was absolutely fine for them. I tend to go for quick, exciting combats, but obviously people know that RP-combats take a while, and everybody was very easygoing. I take my time to write down the things I need, they take theirs to figure out what they're doing. After all, if you use HnS, combats won't last that long anyway

I sometimes consider rounding (drunkard's rule in Harp core rules), but the one guy in our round who knows his math doesn't like that, so he helps us out a lot

[WoeRie]

• 68   2   II   -10 (then, a feeble strike for 12 hits occurs, plus 2 for bleeding, stun is reduced of course)
  54   1        -10
  Having a planned structure for writing things down helps me a lot.

I second that. I created a small combat tracker (much simpler than the one in the forum download section), which looks nearly that way.
It has ten tables (same as above plus name and initiative) on one sheet and I normally have a couple of them printed out before a game session.

[Mattiyaho]

Calculators go a long way to help in our games

[Dr_Sage]

I agree with some janpmueller  points.

My strategy is:

1) One of my players write down and control initiatives

2) Another player usa the calculator machine (trust me this helps a LOT).

[Dr_Sage]

Calculators go a long way to help in our games

PS: its like pencil and paper to HARP games. 

[jurasketu]

I was a champion cipherer and star member of our Math Team in high school [I was named Mathlete of the Year by the school paper]. My college degree is in Mathematics. So trust me, I'm really fast and accurate even at age 44 - but even I find all the mental calculations rather annoying (even after many years of RM and Chaosium games). So, after about four months, I began using the "Drunken GM Rule" - we just round D100 calculations up. Skills bonuses are kept accurately - we just round 66 up to 70 during play. Defense, spell casts, offense, etc. Works great. Calculations are a snap for everyone and the game really picks up speed. On open end roles - add the rolls first THEN round up, add bonuses, subtract minuses - otherwise certain ranges get skewed. The HARP charts are designed clearly with this rule in mind and I think Tim mentioned the monsters stats are all rounded up anyway.

Good Luck!

Robin

[drsmitty]

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone - and the good tips!

I was a champion cipherer and star member of our Math Team in high school [I was named Mathlete of the Year by the school paper].

I, on the other hand, was named most likely to suck at anything having to do with numbers...so I went into computers...

[jurasketu]

LOL

[Hawkwind]

I agree with janpmueller - life is much easier if you let the players know the bad guys DB and let them do the calculations. I know its a bit of metagaming knowledge they shouldn't have, but I haven't found its causing any problems so far.

And if you're not good at mental arithmetic, a calculator is a necessity.

Hawk

[Dr_Sage]

And if you're not good at mental arithmetic, a calculator is a necessity.

Hawk

I am good at arithmetic, but even knowing thatits not dificult to add  numbers,  its tiresome after a couple of hours. Basicaly to DM a serious game is brain demanding. So I use a calculator and when there is no secret involved I say to my assistant DM "23 +58 -40". Its even faster than type the numbers myself. 

[Alwyn]

I use a calculator myself, as do my players when required.

But remember:  Math is the Devil's alphabet.    
 

[Dax]

... when there is no secret involved I say to my assistant DM "23 +58 -40". Its even faster than type the numbers myself. 

Same here, one of our players is very fast at calculation and do it for me.
Because I'm also a player there is seldom a secret involved 

...
I also thought of dividing all values by 5 and using a d20, but everybody at our table hate this dice 

And here's the difference:
Another player like his d20, so we play RM as a d20 game, after adjusting skill rank progression.