The GM and Battle Sight

I had a couple of comments from my Pentacon players that they liked how I ran Battle Sight in my games. I thought it would be a good idea to talk about how I do it.

When people are playing I give no more information during a combat than I feel they would naturally get during the chaos of combat.

Initiative rolls: At the start of each round I ask for the initiatives of the players. The characters would have a good idea of which of them is going when, especially if they have an active Link. I do not mention when their opponents will be going. I change that in a subtle way when Battle Sight is operational. If the initiative of my cast is 8, After Battle Sight is active I ask who has an initiative greater than 8. That change in my question gives the characters an idea of when the cast will be going. That change is directly related to Battle Sight.

Combat Damage: When characters strike cast members I simply tell them that they did damage, or not, to the target. When they ask for more detailed information I ask them if they have Battle Sight up. If they say no, then I say they can't tell and move on. When someone does have Battle Sight up I change what I tell the characters. Now I start saying things like "she looks badly hurt" or "he does not seem to be hurt bad". Sometimes I may add phrases like "it looks like it is on it's last legs". These changes in my game descriptions come directly from an Active Battle Sight.

GM's in Dragon Storm are more creative than in most RPG games, and we expect a lot more from them. We also expect more from our players and I was gratified when three of them noticed the change in information when Battle Sight became active.

I rarely turn to a dice roll for Battle Sight. I only make players perform a contest roll if they are asking for very detailed information. This is especially true if their opponent is also running Battle Sight. One observation they may well get from a detailed look is that their opponent is also running Battle Sight and is reacting intelligently to them. They could also realize that their opponents are running a Link for communications. What other types of information would be available to characters through Battle Sight is up to the players. They need to compose specific, relevant questions to ask. The GM just decides if the information they want is available.

GM'ing and playing an RPG like Dragon Storm is an art form rather than a set of firm rules. It can be difficult to be flexible, but it should be our goal.

If players do not have Battle Sight active I allow them to use an Action and make a Perception contest roll. This gets them one piece of focused information. Players need to ask a specific question to get specific answers. If they ask a muddled question that confuses the GM, then they get back a muddled answer. I really do try to make the players be creative. It forces me to do the same.

Good Day and Good Gaming!

-- Post From My iPad