| From: | "Fisher, Victor" <Victor-Fisher@******.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Long Range Game Designs [was: Re: We Don't Need No |
| Date: | Thu, 17 Jul 1997 18:52:26 -0400 |
> Design the campaign, work with the players to get the characters to
>mesh,
>then go from there... formula for a perfect campaign.
>
>To which Kohl replys:
> Okay! First off, I've got to say, TopCat, you bring a whole new meaning
>to GM fasism!
> Design the campaign, design out the characters, dictate who goes and
>knows where and what? Why don't you just play all the PCs and NPCs yourself?
> The whole point of the game is to allow the players to run a character
>they LIKE to run, WITHIN REASON. NOT dictate to them what they can and cannot
>have or do!
> I ran into a GM like that during a gaming convention in Buffalo, when I
>was visiting a couple of friends. He had the whole thing laid out to a T,
>with NO flexibility for personalization whatso ever! And it was a tournament
>game slated for 3 nights! having been a Gm for awhile, I can tell someone new
>to the game, so I figured I'd play dumb, like I'd wasn't familiar with the
>game, and just enjoy the ride [OKAY, I'm an EVIL person! Never said I was an
>angel.]
> But as the game went on, it became more apparent that the whole thing
>was just set up so the Gm could see HIS characters played out in HIS story
>HIS way. Having a viscious streak a klick long, I proceeded to use my
>familiarity with the game, mechanics and setting, to 'accelerate'a little
>chaos into the game.
> After the end of the first session, he asked me when we were leaving if
>I'd played before, and I said a little. I suggested he shouldn't be so heavy
>handed in pushing his players, and things would go easier. I was still
>enjoying myself, and thought the storyline was pretty decent.
> The following two days actually were a bit more fun. He allowed the rest
>of the group to tweek their characters to fit how they saw them [NOT power
>wise, but laterally, like a confidence man should have more than 3 Charisma
>and Social Ettiquette, instead of 6 Firearms, etc.]. When it was over,
>everyone had a good time. I ended up being voted, MUCH to my surprise [No,
>really!] best player for the tourney. I'd managed to literally sign a deal
>with the devil, seemingly betray my comrades, and the do an about face, and
>take out the NPC bad guy, escape with my now bewildered comrades [one a troll
>who kept giving me noogies on the top of my head!], and keep the NPC's
>datachip for my self! <pats self on back shamelessly!>
> My self agrandizement aside [What?!? If there's anything around here
>bigger than my ego, I want it found and shot right now!], the point I'm
>TRYING to make is, a GM ruling with an IRON HAND doesn't ensure a MUNCHIE
>proof game, where everyone is compatible and gets along. Try the velvet glove
>instead of the mahogany stick. You might get better results. Of course you'll
>run into powergamers and munchies, it comes with the territory. That's life.
>Taking away a player's free will won't eliminate that.
> The game I'm running now, I set the parameters and pretty much let
>everyone design out their own characters. It was MY job as GM to make a
>scenerio that would eventually unite them in a common cause, and maybe
>forming links lasting long after the story's over. Maybe it will work; maybe
>it won't. But I figure I'd at least try, and if my players like the
>'experiment' I think I did okay.
> DOH! Enough talk. Back to the shadows for this ork. Audi.
>
>Kohl.
