[ludster]

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*).

 

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.