Larian Studios Forums Divinity: Original Sin 2 Divinity - Original Sin 2 - Game Master - D:OS2 GM Mode - Ideas!

The GM Mode is already looking really great, and I'm pretty excited. There's one thing that has me a little worried right now: all the demos of DM mode were 1 DM and 4 Players. This is okay, but frankly I have a very large group of pen & paper gaming friends. I would really love if more players were supported. It's a lot easier for me to get buy in on a campaign if I can get 5-6 players, and I have no issues running a group of that size :)

I posted too early! I forgot a few things that I'm not sure if they already support. I saw that you can create custom items, but:

*In the feature video it doesn't look like you can grant a skill/talent/ability with a custom item. This can certainly be faked by actually granting the user that skill/talent/ability in the UI while they wear it, but it would be nice addition to remove some of the micro-management.

*I believe I saw somewhere that it is supposed to be supported, but I think being able to make custom skills/talents/abilities would be extremely useful in making games more flexible. I want to run a Pathfinder Adventure Path and would like to be able to do things like create the Campaign Traits inside the engine.

*It would be nice to use custom abilities similar to the way a lot of pen & paper systems use skills, which means that integration with the dice roller would be a nice quality of life improvement. That way I can easily roll something like, die + strength modifier + climbing.

For the most part it seems like these things can be faked, but in particular I think custom skills (using the Divinity terminology) is probably the most micro-management intensive to fake. For the rest I suspect if support doesn't exist in game, I will keep a second monitor or laptop open which track character's "out of game" abilities.

YES
YES
This is VERY important.
Our group has seen the capabilities of the GM Mode and Divinity, but none of us will buy the game if we can't play all together, and we are usually 6 players and a GM.
I don't know why anyone would think 4 people is enough (or fun) for roleplaying. And roleplaying it's what it's all this about... because frankly, combat turns are slower in a tabletop regular D&D game with the same amount of players, so, PLEASE. ALLOW MORE PLAYERS

One of the things that I think will be most disappointing fore is that players can scroll around the map. I really wish there was a "fog of war" type mechanic.

Four players and a GM is pretty standard for tabletop RPGs. It's what the creators of D&D originally envisioned for the game, but having said that, I'd love if the player limit was six as well. Right now, I'm having to consider who I want to invite to participate in the game rather than just announcing it to everyone. It's a bit of a drag and hopefully will be addressed by the devs at some point.

Yes, I totally agree with that. I really hope there will be some way to obscure an area for the players.

It's a check box in the editor.
We decided to create maps without fog of war but like the main campaign, fog of war can be added to any map you create

I love you! ahah.

As a game dev and a D&D player I've always dreamed of a NWN like games with DM options and Turn Based combat. Probably this is the closest thing to that dream.

I hope the editor will provide enough flexibility.

Cool, but will FoW be there for "players only" or will the GM have it too?

I'd like a feature to set the PCs to be controlled by AI in combat -- the hardest AI difficulty in the game. Also an option to only possess one or two monsters during combat, while the rest remain controlled by the AI.

Can I ask you in which case this could be useful ?

Yes, you may. Go ahead and ask.

Wow. In what case PC controlled by AI is useful?

There are many different story applications it would be useful in. For example, perhaps the player or players are possessed by a malevolent entity forcing them to fight and kill guards, etc.

Another way would be if the player was infected with lycanthropy... or under mind control.

Wouldn't be a great opportunity for the player to roleplay ?
I am sure players will have more fun fighting guards, or attacking innocent virgins in werewolf form themselves, instead of watching the AI do it for them.

They can roleplay the segments where they are in control, but I want my players to feel the feeling of helplessness of not being able to stop their bestial form taking over. I want them to not be like, "I'm trying my hardest to let my girlfriend get away before I attack her." No, they should have not been in the vicinity of someone they loved on a full moon and now they get to suffer the consequences. Secondly, the HARDEST AI in this game is INSANE. It can think of and do the most genius things most people wouldn't be able to think of, which makes it seem like a superhuman entity really has taken over their mind and body.

lol and roleplay being under mind control? Are you kidding? If the DM does a great job telling the story, you are going to HATE the main villain. The last thing you are going to want to do is role play your mind is under control and you have to do his bidding. If it's a weak DM, you may not come to hate the main bad guy that much.

No, but I surely thought you were when you asked for ai control of players.


If a DM does a great job he ain't the one telling the story, but lets the players tell the story to begin with and then the hate, if it needs to be there, will be even greater.

Any decend roleplayer would love such an opportunity to roleplay, and only a weak DM would have trouble preventing players to exploit or cheese the situation.

More playercentric propaganda. There is no magic formula between the players and the GM and people can have just as much fun in a game where the GM tells the story and calls the shots... As they can with a completely player run story where the GM only acts as a distant arbiter.

A DM does a great job if everyone, including the DM, is having fun (Unless it is a paid DM I guess... they don't have to have fun)

True that.

That's where we disagree. In my opinion and experience, weak DMs have no plot line when it starts, which includes no villain and no strategy of character building -- that includes no strategy of building up hostile feelings towards the antagonist. The players do have a part to play in shaping the story, but if you let the players run with telling the story, it is going to turn out quite sloppy.



Different DMs have different strategies of cultivating that "fun". Some DMs sloppily let the players guide the whole story, which turns into a lucid dream simulator and gets boring fast, without any anchor and anticipation or long term goal to work towards. These typically are Joe DM with no experience in writing or story building whatsoever.

I, on the other hand, am a professional writer as my primary source of income and have years of experience doing so. This experience in writing and story building carries over to my DM endeavors and produces a more suspenseful, goal oriented experience for my players.