How NOT to learn the system

[Azar Kel]

Being ever ambitious and sometimes downright silly, I thought that since the PG came out Wed. that I could pick it up, read it at work on Thursday...maybe into Friday and then take our scheduled game time Saturday to convert characters. Now when I say convert, I mean use the advanced character rules to put our LUG characters onto the CODA system. The following was my experience.



T--I decide to gather all of the players around, hand out the new character sheets and walk them all through character creation together, fielding whatever combined questions may arise thus educating my whole group and myself further on the CODA system.

T+0:05--I tug on the hem of my shirt and give my players a Picard-o-louge about forgetting that they ever played LUG, this is a new system, and no I don't think comparing this to your LUG sheet is going to accomplish anything.

T+0:08--"No, it doesn't matter that your great-grandfather was a quarter Bolian....no you can't be Kirk's long lost siamese twin. Go home."

T+0:35--"No, there are no specialization levels. [Ok let's see if I can explain this fundamentaly simple]You have a skill level. Period. If you have a specialization you get a +2 bonus. Period. So if you have a Energy Weapons (Phaser) Level 2 and you fire your phaser...that's 2 for the skill plus 2 for the specialization...so then you would have?....Cool...you got it."

T+0:37--"THERE ARE NO SPECIALIZATION LEVELS!!!"

T+1:05--Two of my players went home to go to bed...the final two(the ones who have an inkling of a clue) are following the process beautifully and neither can wait to try it out.

T+3:15--Two characters are complete, a third is at 50% and the fourth has yet to write his name. It is 3am and the coffeepot only has some floating grinds, its time to call it a night. But through it all we have two more Starfleet officers, baptized by the fire that almost consumed the very paper they are written on, and ready to serve the Federation. Three things have made themselves evident to me this evening:

1. To avoid serious injury you should not attempt to operate a CODA game if your IQ is surpassed by the room's temperature.

2. There are no levels in specializations.

3. It was completely worth it. DecTrek team--Thank you.

[Phantom]

Originally posted by Azar Kel
Being ever ambitious and sometimes downright silly, I thought that since the PG came out Wed. that I could pick it up, read it at work on Thursday...maybe into Friday and then take our scheduled game time Saturday to convert characters.

Alright three questions:

1) You start your games at mid-night?

2) WHERE DO YOU WORK?!?

And after holding back for about 1/2 a year:

3) Where is Joppatowne? Other then "in MD."

[Azar Kel]

1) You start your games at mid-night?



No I just used the T+0:00 as a measurement of time where T=starting time.


2) WHERE DO YOU WORK?!?


I work for an engineering consulting firm that requires me to sit in my car and monitor construction companies.



And after holding back for about 1/2 a year:

3) Where is Joppatowne? Other then "in MD." [/B][/QUOTE]


Joppatowne is the first town above Baltimore County into Harford County. About 3 miles north of White Marsh (8 or so miles N of Baltimore)

[Don Mappin]

You should really wait for the conversion document, as a suggestion. Converting an Icon character to Coda is like a 10 minute process. They convert across really well. (Our whole playtest group did a number of conversions.)

[Azar Kel]

Please! If a thing is worth doing its worth over-doing!

[jedimuldoon]

LUG conversion?!

where? where? where? where?....etc.

[Imagus]

Originally posted by Azar Kel
1) You start your games at mid-night?

No I just used the T+0:00 as a measurement of time where T=starting time.

Actually, I looked askance at this too! I think what Phantom is getting at is as follows:

Originally posted by Azar Kel
T +3:15--Two characters are complete, a third is at 50% and the fourth has yet to write his name. It is 3am and the coffeepot only has some floating grinds, its time to call it a night.

(italics added by yours truly )

To my limited knowldge of mathematics, you seem to have started your game around midnight!

So are we actually looking at around 7 or 8 hours total? If so I can understand your frustration with the players...

[danltaylor]

Originally posted by Azar Kel
T+0:35--"No, there are no specialization levels.

2. There are no levels in specializations.

Let me get this straight... There are no levels in specializations?

[Don Mappin]

Yea, but I've still got one question...

How do I raise my specialization level?

[runs]

[Azar Kel]

ahh coming from Don Mappin...that's about the best laugh i've had in a while....

[Azar Kel]

(italics added by yours truly )

To my limited knowldge of mathematics, you seem to have started your game around midnight!

So are we actually looking at around 7 or 8 hours total? If so I can understand your frustration with the players...




Yeah...you see...there must have been some sort of temporal anomoly that caused a brief compression of the time/space within the confines of my house that evening. Either that or I just guessed at the times in my post.



In truth, the events were a little exagerrated by nessecity to prevent my story from causing drowsiness. However, there was one other "truth" that I omitted and that is, "Don't let the Vulcan drink."

[Silverthorne]

I tried to learn an old system called universe, a friend and I spent 4 hours just making startign characters, and then decided that we did not want to game that badly..

[danltaylor]

Originally posted by Azar Kel
ahh coming from Don Mappin...that's about the best laugh i've had in a while....

but, nothing from the new guy?

[Azar Kel]

Well, sure....it was funny when you said it too....

[P'l]

Originally posted by Silverthorne
I tried to learn an old system called universe, a friend and I spent 4 hours just making startign characters, and then decided that we did not want to game that badly..

Ever tried to create a character for Rolemaster?