Post date: May 05, 2011 7:40:42 PM
Sorry, the title is a pun about something I learned today.
It's funny how people carry what they learn (right or wrong) from one game to the next and it takes just a simple question to shatter an assumption and bring something better to light.
When I first learned to play Deadlands, before there was even a Savage Worlds, the GM who was running the game dealt us our initiative cards face down. It kept the scene suspenseful as you didn't know when you were going to act or when the bad guys were going act. So when I got to running Savage Worlds I just kept doing it that way, cards were dealt face down to players and no one knew when they were going to go.
Now admittedly it made combat slow as you counted down initiative but it kept the tension high, at least until the bad guys went.
Then last game session, where I am now a player, the GM dealt the cards face up in front of him and it really sped up combat a lot, we knew when we were to go and it kept the pace up. I liked it.
Then today on the Pinnacle Entertainment Groups Forum, someone asked the simple question: Are initiative cards dealt face up or face down? The answer was like a breath of fresh air: Face Up.
So for over a year I did it wrong. Do I regret my choice? No, but I am glad to see there is another way, and having seen it in action once, I like it! It quickly deals with "Quick" and "Level- Headed" Instead of waiting for the player to decide what card to keep and which to ditch and whether or not they need another card because the one they were dealt with 5 or less or both, even. It means as I deal I can see what is going on.
So I built myself a little something to help with that, called my card-board (yes another horrible pun).
It is simply a piece of felt with outlines for 6 player cards and 3 GM cards. I just deal cards on to the mat and away we go!
As we go through the initiative cycle I can either just flip the card over or remove them from the board.
I hope to give it a spin when I get to demo a game I intend to run for a convention with my friends here soon.
So with that all said, I think it is perfectly fine for a GM to admit they have been doing something wrong for a long time, and even if you had good reasoning behind it, you need to accept you messed up and embrace the change. As long as the change stays true to the system, and to the fun of the group.
Game on!