| From: | "S.F. Eley" <gt6877c@*****.GATECH.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: gamemastering (an afterthought) |
| Date: | Tue, 22 Aug 1995 20:10:44 -0400 |
that my preceding outburst needed a point of clarification.
What bothers me, Mr. Amburgey, is your continuing insistence that most of us
see Gamemastering as a ME-VERSUS-THEM scenario. A GM "wins" if the players
are forced to follow his plots. A GM "cheats" if he alters dice rolls to
suit his ideas on the game world. The unspoken implication, I suppose, is
that a GM "loses" if the players manage to exert their independence and
force the GM to alter his plans.
You're wrong. Gamemastering is NOT a confrontational position. It is NOT
me-vs.-them. If you feel that I hold this viewpoint, you are wrong. If you
hold this viewpoint yourself, you are wrong. Anybody else who holds this
viewpoint is wrong. SRII p. 196. SRII p. 10. Period. End of rant.
You offend me because you seem to believe the confrontational method of
GM'ing is common. More, you seem to believe that the members of this list
who are arguing with you (me, in particular) hold this viewpoint. Worst,
you seem to believe that several standard tools of GM'ing (including the
fact that he even _HAS_ a game world, and didn't make building his plotlines
a player exercise) are evidence of confrontation. In short, you turn the
effort that I put into Shadowrun into a control game, and an exercise in
character manipulation. This is the FURTHEST thing from what I actually do,
and your implications offend me strongly because of the effort I put into
doing things the "right" way as I see them.
Just because traditional gaming is NOT a democracy doesn't make it a hostile
dictatorship. GM's aren't out to get players; they're out to give them a
good time. It works, too. I'm sincerely sorry you fail to understand that.
Blessings,
_TNX._
--
Stephen F. Eley (-) gt6877c@*****.gatech.edu )-( Student Pagan Community
http://wc62.residence.gatech.edu| "Heathen: A benighted creature who has the
My opinions are my opinions. | ignorance to worship something that he can
Please don't blame anyone else. | see and feel." _The Devil's Dictionary_
