Brain Dead

Not exactly, but starting a new job at a large international company is a LOT different than all the jobs I've had the last 40 years. I am used to pretty much jumping in and start figuring things out in the first couple of days. Now I have a month of training and onboarding. And to be honest, it is still very confusing to me. I almost quit after the 1st day - I could be quietly retired and not have to worry about this! 

Acclimating to a new job takes a heavy mental and emotional toll on me. And so my last gaming session we just yakked. I let everyone know ahead of time that I was overburdened with all the changes as well as being short 1 player, and by the end of that talk we had moved to let someone else lead a game for a while. I still have a few things I want to accomplish in the Kinunir game, so I do plan on getting back to it. But right now, after work I am just exhausted. And until I make that transition that is the state I am in. I do not make transitions easily!

But there is a bright side to this: I can now see how a very high law world that is full of rules would work! It reminds me a bit of the Exit Visa/Stranded on Arden adventure. Adventures in bureaucracy which does not appeal to a lot of players! Think the version in the magazine I have actually has a flow chart. 

Now for an idea of a better way to handle the same situation. 'As you leave the port warden's office, a clerk at the counter catches your eye." At this point, roil for his reaction to the crew. It's a 6, unreceptive, but he still looks like he might be able to help, Since the players don" know what skills might come into play, allow the entire group to approach, but single out one player in the crew to talk; he might not have the best skill level for the task, but he should have some appropriate skill level. In this case, either the Captain (character 1) or the Supervisor (character 6) should be told to talk to the clerk. 

"Ok, I'm trying to engage the man in conversation." says the Supervisor. 

"He'll talk, but seems brusque." Encourage the players to figure out the procedure themselves. "He seems kind of officious." 

"Maybe we could slip him some cash?" interjects the merchant 3rd Officer (he has bribery skill). 

"Do you want to try that?" Let the character make the decision while giving enough data to allow a reasonable response. One without bribery skill should be rebuffed, while one with skill might be told, "He's not acting friendly enough to be bribable at the moment." 

If necessary, push the players to ask the official if he can help. Note, if necessary, who does the asking, and use that player's skills to modify the die roll. Roll the dice secretly, but let the players know they are being rolled. The result is 5, with enough DMs to allow the clerk to give some help. The referee should say, "The clerk thinks maybe you should make an appointment to see the Customs Inspector in Building 134 tomorrow. He might be able to help." There is a basic scheme to the types of skills which will be useful to the players as they deal with the various officials. It may prove useful to mention to the players, as the adventure proceeds, some of the following facts, perhaps as each comes up. If they can remember these facts, they can better determine which of their number should deal with various types officials. 

A. Clerks are affected by Administration skill. 

B. Supervisors are affected by Liaison skill. 

C. Customs workers are affected by Liaison skill. 

D, Immigration workers are affected by Streetwise skill. 

E. Security workers are affected by Liaison skill. 

Early in the adventure, these details may not make any impression, but later on, the players may be able to understand that some of their number are better suited to some situations, even if they do not know all of the possible skills which could affect the encounter.

Anyway, mostly a filler post as my brain is full of trying to understand far too many new terms, meet too many new people, and get frustrated by bureaucracy!

June Bug is becoming my therapy cat!