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+--- Thread: Crystik DM (/thread-4356.html)
RE: Crystik DM - Folian - 11-25-2021
Key/Character: Majin Okabe
Which Event: Demonic Water Lotus Hallucination Cave
(I don't do out of ten because it's a dumb scale of measurement for this, ptoo)
Responsiveness: While it wasn't a perfect response time, Crystik was able to narrate to three different groups of us who were all separated at us to provide a really cool experience during the event -- And even then, we still didn't have to wait that long for narrates.
Balance: For the injuries dealt out and the rewards we got, I'd say just about everything here was perfect. Much of our injuries were due to our own fault, and the puzzles were really fun to figure out (even if the IC move for some of us was literally brute force.) Each reward was fantastically tailored to the environment of the event and the story that was being told there, as well as fitting into what everyone asked for.
Storytelling: The event had a really gripping atmosphere and sold its antagonist very well. The buildup to the actual fight against the one EC we had was fantastic, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Each of the parts of the event we went through also had a really cool way of tying into our ICs as well, and really helped us all get a look at our characters.
Fairness: The EC's moveset was incredibly fair to fight against, not terribly spammy or hidden-reliant at all, and every round felt extremely close and won by the skin of our teeth (especially the final round, phew)
Overall: Honestly? One of my favorite events that I've been on, fantastic job king.
Additional Comments:
![[Image: index.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/909660762589503518/913282690504073266/index.png)
RE: Crystik DM - ludster - 12-15-2021
Character: https://youtu.be/mQER0A0ej0M
Which Event: the labyrinth staring david bowie as the goblin king
Responsiveness:
crystik, i always praise them for being fast. though i do want to say there were a few hiccups here and there. i think itll help mentioning these to the group in the future in looc so they know when theyre waiting for a narrate and when something is happening to the dm. were usually understanding on that front anyways! apart from that, when things went smoothly, the narrates came in good pace.
Balance:
this part i think i may get a little critical on for this once, only because ive come to understand a few things here and there and i think itll help make crystik events moving forward. that and having gone onto multiple crystik events and having other dms to compare this with, ive gotten a more well-build opinion. first off, autohit spells. if i think theres one thing an ec shud not be sporting, its a wild strong hitting auto hit spell, specifically cloudburst for the first ec.
the problem with spells like this is when you have an automatic spell hitting for assured damage while sporting 400+ pow, it usually doesnt end well because unless you have an invul, youre pretty much done. with cloudburst in particular, its p much stay far from it because you never know when cloudburst drops. (though i will always love the styx gimmick in moderation). its a fun gimmick, but at moderation. id like to think some players might be sad when they get downed due to unavoidable damage (*cough illusion users cough*).
the problem with spells like this is when you have an automatic spell hitting for assured damage while sporting 400+ pow, it usually doesnt end well because unless you have an invul, youre pretty much done. with cloudburst in particular, its p much stay far from it because you never know when cloudburst drops. (though i will always love the styx gimmick in moderation). its a fun gimmick, but at moderation. id like to think some players might be sad when they get downed due to unavoidable damage (*cough illusion users cough*).
majority of my critiques are over the first ec. the second is quite better tuned i feel. the gimmick was actually pretty nice, the rotation was there and you knew when to go in and when to retreat and try to survive. i think the balance on the second ec had a more interesting set (albeit the balance was still tipped to people who had invuls and can heal or not but it was less oppressive on the group's end). i know it can be a struggle at times to balance out people who come super prepared for events, but sometimes you got to give them props and roll with the punches.
now, it comes to my next critique which is puzzles. i like a good puzzle/non-combat situation, in fact a few of my favorite non-combat blockades are on crystik events. however i think this comes to a problem ive seen many dms come into (when i say dms i meant ttrpg dms, ive seen a few): failure. matthew colville has a lovely video on this actually (its focused on ttrpgs in general, but the conceptual parts of it does fit pretty well in the eternia event setting; in fact many of his videos might be helpful to aspiring dms that may be reading this). i understand the appeal of puzzles and non-combat situations, however i do want to place a suggestion here where a puzzle can have multiple ways to be answered; most especially for the more open-ended ones. id like to believe that a block in the path should have multiple ways through to at least give a sense of creativity for the group to shine and prevent being walled and people standing confused for an hour or something.
and if the puzzle requires a singular solution, then occasional hints and a way to push the ball forward is probably ideal. i think people getting stuck in a puzzle and the following radio silence is one of the most painful things i can find myself in as a dm. id suggest maybe even the smallest narrates to push things ahead or giving more information as the players prod, investigate, and search. nothing can be more demoralizing as an event goer than hitting a wall and nothing that you try working on it.
Storytelling:
the overarching narratives of ur events r always a treat. i love seeing how the story plays out and i always look forward to what discoveries there is to be had for your events. not to mention the lore drops after every event. ive said it once and ill say it again, this is your strong suit. i love that each narrate is tailored to what players do and there a resulting narrate for most (if not all) things that someone does, no matter how major or minor it may be.
i also just want to include this also, tho this is nitpicking at best, but i think pacing can be made better by adjusting how narrates are done by having all information or better hooks for people to rp at off the bat. for example, the entire cricket scene, though it was cute and was lovely, could have been condensed into a single narrate with it revealing its gnawing properties and revealing the main ec. i say this because the event took roughly 8hrs (which to some is alright; but i am not part of that 'some' im afriad), but it can really hurt the event goer's attention and keeping engaged w the story.
some recent psychological research actually shows that milennials' attention span is roughly averaging at 12s at a time. now imagine how those zoomers' attention span is like, am i right? yikes. my point being, longer events can rly burn ppl out easily these days.
either way, this isnt to say this is the only right/good way to do it as this is just personal preference when i dm, but i usually keep it to the rules of a three act play. i try to keep an 'act' to an hour or two at best before moving the story on. it helps pacing and prevents people from losing interest. if the players arent rolling the ball, dont be afraid to roll it yourself. as the dm, u have the power to move the pace along.
Fairness:
apart from the above, the case and point of the rewards was alright. everyone got to go home with something, even if we had to switch someone last minute. flexibility on that end was grand.
tho idk where to put this next part so im just gonna put it under here: i love a good joke, it helps break the tension. but a realization did kick in to me when i got one of the injuries. its funny to prod at stuff but i think in the future u shud keep it to looc and narrates and at moderation as a dm. i figure some people seeing joke descs in permanent injury descs (before they get edited to the real desc ofc) might grate some people, esp when theyre rolling poorly and getting injured; or maybe not and im just overthinking this.
that and jokes like getting told 'you can just shoulder the group's injuries and get a -40' might be demoralizing to some. its all fun and games until someone's actually carrying a perm and a few injuries and then theyre told 'lmao get good, just dodge', you can imagine theyre probably not having a good time on your event at that point. ofc that exactly didnt happen here, but i figure i shud at least mention it if ever since people's humor is not synonymous.
Overall:
a good time! im usually v casual w these reviews but i came in here because i really think ur events can go through the roof if some of these little critiques help out. i had fun and i will forever be scarred by the fact that goethe is leonidas' pikachu along with the canon fact that buff sheldon leonidas can carry three full grown magi without any problems.
Any other comments:
i just want to assure that me writing this review means well. i only ever write reviews when either the dm asks me to or i believe some opinions can help someone run events better. i am very appreciative that you ran this event. dms come rarely now, and really experienced dms at that. i do like to believe you're one of the more experienced dms that have things under their belt and im glad ur continuing to run events. i hope u continue doing these because despite my review, i always have fun during ur events.
i wrote this review tired so my apologies if this looks all ovr the place.
![[Image: unknown.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/895180482868817920/920564661454245918/unknown.png)
RE: Crystik DM - CrystikRage - 08-11-2022
I'm owned. Will run events once more.
RE: Crystik DM - LaxForce - 08-20-2022
Key/Character: LaxForce
Which Event: Climbing the Tower; Sunscorned Abyss.
Responsiveness (Were their narrations posted within a reasonable time-frame and were they quick to respond?): 10/10. Responses were quick, barely had to wait at all.
Balance (How entertaining were the battles, and any obstacles/traps?): 9/10 Was pretty balanced, the ECs weren't too weak, nor too strong. The last one did have a spike in its strength compared to the others, but it made sense overall. Crystik clearly thoroughly planned the obstacles/traps in the event, they were very creative and interesting. If anything disappointed me it was the way my team approached said traps/obstacles, but that's an entirely different matter.
Storytelling (Did it feel like an adventure, did the content of the narrations meet your expectations?): 10/10, it was very immersive and fun, would do it again.
Fairness (Were the punishments justified and earned, was the risk to reward ratio good?) Everything was justified.
Overall: Great event, Crystik knows what he's doing and I'd love to go on another event DM'd by him in the future.
Any other comments: N/A
RE: Crystik DM - Nana - 08-20-2022
[BLANK]
RE: Crystik DM - Libre - 08-20-2022
Did a great job keeping track of everyone and their RPs really cool item drops and lore of the Tower and the floor we were on. Enjoyed it very much 10/10 event
RE: Crystik DM - Oracle - 07-13-2023
Key/Character: Tyr
Which Event: Journey to the Old (Bad)Lands
Responsiveness (Were their narrations posted within a reasonable time frame and were they quick to respond?): 9/10
Balance (How entertaining were the battles, and any obstacles/traps?): 10/10 Fight balance was good. Would've packed out the EC if I got the 1v1, trueeeee
Storytelling (Did it feel like an adventure, did the content of the narrations meet your expectations?): 9/10 Background & Flavour on Dev Materials were 10/10. Creativity gave wiggle room for snowflakes. Path was linear but let's be real we would've been up until sunset if I kept being a snokeflake.
Fairness (Were the punishments justified and earned, was the risk to reward ratio good?): 8/10, Injury scale makes me believe this was a CoD, but the dev mats were too epic. Not enough risk, blame dice gods & admins for not letting Sovereign keep the deadly !
Overall: 9/10
Any other comments: Thank you for picking up the event! It was two long months . . .
RE: Crystik DM - bumbleebumblebee - 08-06-2023
Key/Character: Beesomethinganother/Kieran Amelyn
Which Event: Tower of Aetius: Transcendence
Responsiveness: 8/10 (Narrations were on point.)
Balance: The fights actually had unique gimmicks, all but the optional super dangerous battle. While the first rounds were scuffed, due to balancing around a lot of people, the final rounds were pretty fair. 8/10
Storytelling: 10/10 , it was perfect.
Fairness: 10/10 .
Overall: 8/10.
Any other comments: I ate realm 24.
RE: Crystik DM - Illfort - 08-06-2023
Key/Character: Elendriel
Which Event: Tower of Aetius: Transcendence
Responsiveness: 9/10 (Some minor delays but understandable considering the amount of people/injuries being given out)
Balance: Great event overall, fights were pretty balanced. Hard but felt fair at all times, maintaining a sense of risk justified by the proposed challenges. 9/10
Storytelling: 10/10
Fairness: 10/10
Overall: 9/10
Any other comments: All my perms were avoidable but taken due to events that transpired because of IC.
RE: Crystik DM - Reddle - 08-06-2023
Key/Character: Rerzin Frull
Which Event: Tower of Aetius: Transcendence
Responsiveness: 10/10 didn't have to wait long for Narrations
Balance: 9/10 I really like the gimmicks the battles had and they all seemed balanced other then the first one but it was worked out in the ended
Storytelling: 10/10 ,
Fairness: 10/10 .
Overall: 9.9/10.
Any other comments: I went into the event with the ability to walk and a sane mind, came out of the event almost dead and now having to live everything over and over again and I'm a cripple now. 10/10 would go down 9 times and walk out almost dead again!