tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post9074110108295782802..comments2024-02-27T01:17:39.925-08:00Comments on The Nine and Thirty Kingdoms: The Infamous OD&D CallerTalysmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02162328521343832412noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-78217291400633897342017-05-16T23:47:28.166-07:002017-05-16T23:47:28.166-07:00Hey, I never played with a caller either. But here...Hey, I never played with a caller either. But here's what I imagine a caller does<br /><br />1) in a loud environment like a convention he can help "whip" the other players and make sure game turns keep moving at a good pace. <br /><br />2) in a more formal game, the several players discuss actions. Only when the caller tells the DM what they do are their actions "locked in"... no arguing after the caller calls what's happening. <br /><br />3) in combat, in a game with initiative by sides and a large number of PCs, the caller may be in charge of keeping track of declared actions. This is sort of like #1. <br /><br />While I could see a caller for a large table it seems like added procedural clutter in most situations. <br /><br />But remember Dave and Gary had big tables sometimes, like ten guys at once. And a lot of those guys didn't get rule books, let alone know any rules. So having a more experience player help them along by whipping and wrangling might have seemed perfectly normal. Scott Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067161332003628237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-7336757464287926702017-04-07T10:46:24.827-07:002017-04-07T10:46:24.827-07:00I'm betting the key to why it didn't work ...I'm betting the key to why it didn't work is the fact that the DM was trying to use a caller. Callers aren't something the DM uses. Callers are just a role that a player can take on to make their expedition more successful. Like "chronicler", the guy who takes notes on everything the party did or found.<br /><br />What the DM does is respond to the use or absence of a caller in particular ways. As I said, if the players don't use a caller, the DM should assume that the party is having discussions in the underground hallways about where to go next, at whatever volume the players are having that discussion.<br /><br />And I think callers are used far more often than people believe. I think informal callers happen naturally. Especially if there's mapping going on. If a group is taking a more informal approach to mapping and not making the dungeon itself a puzzle for players to solve, then callers are useless and would bog down play.Talysmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02162328521343832412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239577512598038009.post-31050794446862604892017-04-07T06:05:22.231-07:002017-04-07T06:05:22.231-07:00I recall a DM trying to use a caller years ago, it...I recall a DM trying to use a caller years ago, it didnkt work for long.<br /><br />What does work now and again is a mission or task leader. One player acts as the ledaer and makes the decissions for the party and the other players mostly go along but are not actually restricted to those actions. It works to focus a raid, or scout mission. It only seems to work for half a session or so at most.JDsivrajhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10674833512849495283noreply@blogger.com