From:	Jeff Long jalong8@****.com
Subject:	Independent Characters
Date:	Mon, 2 Oct 2000 18:29:22 -0500

----- Original Message -----
From: "Wordman" <wordman@*******.com>


> It is the _player's_ job to tell the story. It is the GM's job to
_mediate_
> the story. The GM is there for the players, not the other way around.

Actully I've always considered it to be more of a group effort of BOTH the
GM and the players to tell a story. While it may be possible to have one
without the other, it's far eaisier to have both.

> Say you are a GM, and you spent a lot of time and effort coming up with an
> adventure. If the players start moving off in a totally different
direction,
> guess what? You are presenting a story that the players don't want to tell
> right now. Let them move it where they want it to go. I know it's a drag
to
> have put in a lot of effort and not see the result right away, but suck it
> up and make it good for the players. That's what the GM is there for.

One thing that can always help is to listen to your players. It'll save a
lot of headaches later if you do. In the games I'm in, our groups tend to
talk about the games before &/or after the nights session. A GM who listens
to the talk going between the players (or even between the Player and the
Gm ) can get a fair idea of what plans and concepts the players have for
thier characters.

One example is that I've recently gotten a new player to my Friday night
Shadowrun Game. The players concept for his character was that of a Jewel
thief. During the first run while everyone else was talking to thier
contacts about the run, he was talking to his cantacts about possible good
Jewel heists. So I decide to place a small plot hook out to see what his
reaction it it is and have his contact pass on some small bit of news about
a Showing that will be going on at the Seattle Museum, one month from when
he asked,that will feature some 'rare and valuable jewels', including the
largest Diamond in the world that was just recently unearthed in South
America.

He bit. Hook, line, and sinker. Of course he's trying to recruit the other
players into his little scheme of heisting the Diamond currently. But from
one little 'rumor', News bit, whatever you want to call it, a new run is in
the development.

Which reminds me, does anyone have any general floorplan (Maps) of Seattle
Museums? Or could someone at least point me in the right direction on the
web?

Jalong1