FableTop Tips

I thought it might be interesting to start a series of threads where we feature an aspect of running or playing games each time. Based on the theme you could chip in with your words of advice, complementing the GM/Player guide with your perspective. Maybe even provide snippets of gameplay where you pulled something off or messed something up.

This thread is just to see if you think this would be useful or fun (the existing guides do cover a lot of ground). Possible topics could be:

-Preparing combat encounters and boss fights
-Starting campaigns and one-shots
-Speeding up and assisting CC
-Player agency
-Tips on improvising
-Creating villains
-Properties of different styles of adventures (RP heavy or Dungeoncrawl, etc)
-House rules
-Party sizes
(thanks vechmaster for ideas)

I believe this could help out new GMs, and also simply be entertaining. There are many sources out there (youtube channels, text guides, podcasts) that could also be gathered here to showcase tricks and tips.

Sounds like a good idea! Not sure really what we're meant to contribute to this thread, but I could probably say a few words on any of those topics

Ah right... forgot to ask the most important thing: What other topics can you think of? And which one would be a good one to start with?

You've got a good list to get started with! Choose one and start a thread :)

I think you should go the way of Matthew Colville and take it from the top! FableTop has a How to Play article, but what about the layperson who stumbles his way into the Glade, reads everything in the How to, and says "Ok, but... where do I go from here?"

I could see the threads being numbered chronologically, starting from the point a person decides to GM.

.

RUNNING THE GAME: FABLETOP

1: Properties of different Adventures and/or Genres
. . . = So you want to start a game. What kind? When? Where? Why?

2: House Rules vs Core System
. . . = This is uh... probably going to be a long forum.

3: Party Sizes and CC
. . . = Should a beginner host for one or two players? Are there advantages/disadvantages in having a small party or full party? And how do I get folks into the world as characters?

4: Starting Campaigns
. . . = I know what I want to host, and where, and with whom. Now what?

5: Player Agency
. . . = AKA "That Special Something That Keeps Us From Murdering Each Other"

6: Preparing Combat Encounters
. . . = RP is fun, but these guys need to roll dice sometimes. What do I put in front of them to throw dice at? How do I explain it all?

7: Creating Villains and Bosses
. . . = Ok, we've fought wolves and bugs for three sessions. How about a change in scenery?

8: Tips on Improvising
. . . = For when that twenty page Word Doc you've written as a storyboard goes out the window in the second session because your players fall in love with a minor NPC and now you need to focus the story around them or risk losing some interest...

.

This list could be added to and could spurn some great discussion here and in the Glade. Great idea, solbor/vechmaster.

This thread is only good if it's modified and heavily watched by a Mod. Stopping annoying posts that don't contribute or clutter up the threads with arguments. (This post is about 50% of that)

Just because we host, doesn't meant we are capable of giving good advice or even should be giving advice.

Solbor, this is a great Idea however.

Don't worry Jedi, I always keep a close eye on the forums. :)

I'll only comment on this thread of the "Fabletop Tips" but I did something similar way back in march. I just now saw these threads but I wanted to quickly share this with those that read this thread.
fabletop.com/forum/topic/7300.3/dares-masterpost-f...
I've plugged my forum for new players around a few times, but this seems to be where it would do a lot more good.

Solbor, feel free to take chunks of my post and use it however you want, just give me a little credit for the parts you took. Also might help you in offering your own tips.

I think the key difference here Dare is that this thread is designed to be a tip exchange from the community as a whole, where as your own forum can only ever be your own take on things.

It's a shame this thread has gone quiet actually.

I'm quite new and inexperienced to both site, and forum, as oman can attest ;D
So while I'm still figuring out this system, I've been a tabletop rpg player for a long time now. I won't try to articulate great ideas, but I will say I've learned a lot since trying my hand as a GM from this guy's channel, and would recommend checking it out to any tabletop enthusiast.
For players. Particularly if they're new to tabletop rpg's in general:
youtube.com/watch?v=Sym1sTA5e2k&list=PLsHhMRkG9uA5...
For GM's:
youtube.com/watch?v=aBOH8YLUPjE

a tip from me: try not to be a sadist when you dm

nice tip

It can be fun sometimes, if the GM is a sadist. I remember one of my first rounds as GM with just one player. His paladin fought nearly an hour against a crystal spider, a monster I ... well... made too strong. It was fun though and something everyone will remember, as the boss fight against the Golden Golem was only half as long.

how does exp work

Probably my biggest *Fabletop* tip is: don't try to circumvent the core rules, play to their strengths! Here's an excerpt from the Common Questions section of the site:

"Fabletop focuses on the unique strength of tabletop games, which is creativity and collaborative storytelling.
Having fewer rules gives to more creative freedom for players and GMs. Fabletop sessions move at a satisfying pace, without getting bogged down in minutiae."

All too often people try to bend the rules to have more mechanics, numbers, the "crunch". The rules were meant to liberate you from those things!
I used to wonder why players are allowed so little HP. Now I think I understand: it's to discourage combat as the *primary* gameplay. Most of your rolls are supposed to be spent on affecting the story and not the numbers behind your characters! If you can help it, don't try and bend the core rules out of shape; try going with the flow.