I've gotten lots of feedback on this still, and the common questions are "What character is [Insert TV Personality or My Favorite PC Here] To a certain extent, that defeats the point of why I posted it. I meant it to be a pro-active post, as opposed to reactive. However, I should have suspected that people would treat it like it was awesome and try to apply it, even if they were having a perfectly good time in their game with their PC as is. So, in an effort to get everyone in in the awesomeness of thinking just a little bit more like Mitchell, here's a few examples to feed the ever growing hunger and need to have a label put on things!
Let's go with some of your basic gaming scenarios.
The tried and true "everyone is in an inn drinking when a mysterious stranger implores all the noble adventurers for help against a wicked, evil force" in your Tolkien Style Dungeon XP and Gold Coins Adventure.
The Hero: starts putting on their armor and weapons, getting ready whether people are with them or not. They then rally anyone who does not wish to go with a passionate, noble speech.
The Enablers: Ask the Stranger for details on the wicked evil force.
The Narrator: Warns the party that this force is not as simple to defeat as the Stranger says.
The Foil: States that the Narrators and Heros plan is foolish and that the party should go with their approach. Or they ask the stranger what the reward is, and refuse for the party when it is too low.
The Monkeywrench: Seeing danger ahead, gets himself good and drunk to prepare.
The Nevish: has to be dragged kicking and screaming because they have an ability that will help the quest.
Or, to use a politico example in everyones favorite "Yelling Vampires: The Bad Outfits" game. The Prince of the City is finally challenged for his decadence and security lapses by the Hero, who attempts a very gauche coup in the middle of Vampiric sacred ground.
The Hero: Stands tall after his monologue, ready to face the consequences, even if they mean death.
The Enablers: Distract the Princes cronies, block his escape, and prepare their magic powers to protect their friend.
The Narrator: Has already let the Hero know that they may die in this action, but that doesn't mean it does not need to be done. They provide the Hero the Princes Dark Secret to use should the going get rough.
The Foil: Take this opportunity to take out a few of his Court rivals who support the Prince and blame it on the Hero and Enablers later.
The Monkeywrench: Tries to attack the Prince directly in support, and in turn gets captured and has their life turned into a bargaining chip.
The Nevish: Sees things get out of hand and hides in the corner hoping its all over soon.
And lets say you're playing Magical Samurai in The Land Of Epic Yet Mediocre Fanfiction. The battlefield lines have been drawn, as the Daimyos of the two rival clans make one final parley before the bloodshed begins, and the PCs watch from their regiment.
The Hero: finally comes to peace with his distant father, and draws the katana he swore he would never use for the first time.
The Enablers: Make offerings to the ancestors and Shinto spirits to bless the battle, and if possible, profess their love for one another before it is too late.
The Narrator: Rallies the peasant soldiers as the noble samurai make their own preparations, understanding that every man fears death and needs to know they are not alone.
The Foil: Convinces the Monkeywrench to fire the first shot in hopes that the Daimyo will be caught off guard...the Foil is next in line for the job of course.
The Monkeywrench: Tries to be a big hero, and fire the first arrow, throwing all the planned strategy into chaos.
The Nevish: is busy trying to figure out how to fit a second set of armour over their first one.
I'll post more of these if people like them, but I think people maybe starting to get the point.
Anyways, I is off.
-M
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
The Difference
I haven't forgotten my blog, I swear! I have eight million half finished posts, but the stupidity of players keeps increasing to the amount where I can't keep up!
Let's see if I can finish this one.
"That guy sucks, he just plays to "win", how lame is that?"
"Yeah seriously. Doesn't he get what roleplaying is about, let's tell a story here!"
"Yeah. That's what Mitchell would want and man does he have a sexy ass!"
I hear this conversation ALL the time. (Okay the last part not ALWAYS.) But I see lots of players throw the "munchkin" tag at people when they're guilty of the munchkins motivations, and use this as the holier then thou attitude to get away with it. Now mind you, as you know, the Munchkin is as wrong as farting on an escalator. But at least they're blatant about it. It's these "emotional munchkins" that really get in the way of us people trying to tell a story, because they want to get neck deep in all of our stories while using the munchkin tactics, and people don't notice but scratch their heads wondering why all these "great roleplayers" are having such a sucky game. They're "stealth munchkins" if you will.
"Aha, yeah, I see what Mitchell is saying, people want power in terms of status within the in character group are as bad as the.."
Okay stop. No.
Playing to win doesn't just mean playing to be respected, playing to have the most points, kill the most PCs, or even playing to be liked by the group. Playing to win means playing to succeed. And that means playing to avoid failure.
Now, this is a tough one...because nobody in real life ever tries to lose unless they have some serious issues. (Mind you, you'd be surprised how many characters are supposed to have these same issues but play to succeed.) It's counter intuitive, so I don't fault people for this as much, except at extreme levels, which are frighteningly common.
However, I'm seeing an increasing number of players who are INCREDIBLY argumentative. With STs, with other players, vehemently defending every point about their characters decisions or ideas as if they are going to be killed if their characters are wrong even once. They'll say their character is very flawed, but all of those flaws are only ever roleplayed on their own terms. It's as if they have them just to say that they are there, so they can't fail at proper character creation either. No matter what, their character may be tragic, broken and sad, but they're never ever wrong unless someone actually proves it through long arguments that they can't refute on an out of character level. What happens to these players? They don't get in trouble, no. They may even succeed a lot, in fact they often do. But they also don't get played with very often, because they're a chore to interact with and even if you do, the potential is nowhere near as interesting for good play as that guy who could flip out at any time. They're just not as fun to play with.
If we go by six character theory, all six have to fail to succeed on a dramatic level. (Fail to succeed, I like that.)
1. The Hero is defined by their struggle. No failures, no struggle. Heroes should fail the MOST. Luke misses the first shot at the death star, loses his fricking HAND when he fights his father, gets captured by Jabba and all sorts of bad things. Buffy quits and moves back to LA for a Summer and starts sleeping with Spike. Frodo continually uses the One Ring when he knows he shouldn't.
2. The Enablers have to fail at things so the Hero can do them, and make it clear when people are really screwed. Princess Leia can't stop them from blowing up Alderan, Willow goes evil when he girlfriend dies.
3. The Narrators can't always be right, otherwise they just become mouthpices for the plot with no character of their own. By being opinionated, but biased, they provide a human element to their very necessary wisdom. Giles won't advise Buffy she's outgrown him because he hasn't outgrown her. Obi-wan doesn't tell Luke about his father and Luke pays for it. Gandalf thinks he can convince Soromon the error of his ways.
4. Monkeywrenches need to fail ALOT, because it's much better drama then when their problem causing drama is done on purpose. Accidents and failures keep them endearing to the other characters as opposed to spiteful. Dawn can't help but get captured every time something bad happens. RDD2 gets captured by jawas.
5. The Foil needs to fail to explain why they are not the Hero despite being their equal in some manner. Plus, failure can motivate a foil like nothing else. (I find people who play Foils are the worst for playing to succeed.) Spike helps people he shouldn't and burns bridges left and right. Jane Cobb sells the crew to the Alliance, and begs for his life afterwards.
6. Nevish's should just fail at nearly everything out of principle, the more they want it, the harder they should fall.
The next game you play, I challenge you to go out and make a mistake with your character. A big one. See if you feel like you're about to die. (It may be realy uncomfortable at first, it was for me.) See if the world collapses around you. I bet it won't, and if it does, it will be fun. Every player I know, when asked, would prefer their character to go out in a blaze of glory rather then get bored, yet people don't go out in a blaze of glory for doing and saying the right thing at every turn. And you don't have to.
Failure sucks in real life, I know. But it's fun in LARP, I promise.
Let's see if I can finish this one.
"That guy sucks, he just plays to "win", how lame is that?"
"Yeah seriously. Doesn't he get what roleplaying is about, let's tell a story here!"
"Yeah. That's what Mitchell would want and man does he have a sexy ass!"
I hear this conversation ALL the time. (Okay the last part not ALWAYS.) But I see lots of players throw the "munchkin" tag at people when they're guilty of the munchkins motivations, and use this as the holier then thou attitude to get away with it. Now mind you, as you know, the Munchkin is as wrong as farting on an escalator. But at least they're blatant about it. It's these "emotional munchkins" that really get in the way of us people trying to tell a story, because they want to get neck deep in all of our stories while using the munchkin tactics, and people don't notice but scratch their heads wondering why all these "great roleplayers" are having such a sucky game. They're "stealth munchkins" if you will.
"Aha, yeah, I see what Mitchell is saying, people want power in terms of status within the in character group are as bad as the.."
Okay stop. No.
Playing to win doesn't just mean playing to be respected, playing to have the most points, kill the most PCs, or even playing to be liked by the group. Playing to win means playing to succeed. And that means playing to avoid failure.
Now, this is a tough one...because nobody in real life ever tries to lose unless they have some serious issues. (Mind you, you'd be surprised how many characters are supposed to have these same issues but play to succeed.) It's counter intuitive, so I don't fault people for this as much, except at extreme levels, which are frighteningly common.
However, I'm seeing an increasing number of players who are INCREDIBLY argumentative. With STs, with other players, vehemently defending every point about their characters decisions or ideas as if they are going to be killed if their characters are wrong even once. They'll say their character is very flawed, but all of those flaws are only ever roleplayed on their own terms. It's as if they have them just to say that they are there, so they can't fail at proper character creation either. No matter what, their character may be tragic, broken and sad, but they're never ever wrong unless someone actually proves it through long arguments that they can't refute on an out of character level. What happens to these players? They don't get in trouble, no. They may even succeed a lot, in fact they often do. But they also don't get played with very often, because they're a chore to interact with and even if you do, the potential is nowhere near as interesting for good play as that guy who could flip out at any time. They're just not as fun to play with.
If we go by six character theory, all six have to fail to succeed on a dramatic level. (Fail to succeed, I like that.)
1. The Hero is defined by their struggle. No failures, no struggle. Heroes should fail the MOST. Luke misses the first shot at the death star, loses his fricking HAND when he fights his father, gets captured by Jabba and all sorts of bad things. Buffy quits and moves back to LA for a Summer and starts sleeping with Spike. Frodo continually uses the One Ring when he knows he shouldn't.
2. The Enablers have to fail at things so the Hero can do them, and make it clear when people are really screwed. Princess Leia can't stop them from blowing up Alderan, Willow goes evil when he girlfriend dies.
3. The Narrators can't always be right, otherwise they just become mouthpices for the plot with no character of their own. By being opinionated, but biased, they provide a human element to their very necessary wisdom. Giles won't advise Buffy she's outgrown him because he hasn't outgrown her. Obi-wan doesn't tell Luke about his father and Luke pays for it. Gandalf thinks he can convince Soromon the error of his ways.
4. Monkeywrenches need to fail ALOT, because it's much better drama then when their problem causing drama is done on purpose. Accidents and failures keep them endearing to the other characters as opposed to spiteful. Dawn can't help but get captured every time something bad happens. RDD2 gets captured by jawas.
5. The Foil needs to fail to explain why they are not the Hero despite being their equal in some manner. Plus, failure can motivate a foil like nothing else. (I find people who play Foils are the worst for playing to succeed.) Spike helps people he shouldn't and burns bridges left and right. Jane Cobb sells the crew to the Alliance, and begs for his life afterwards.
6. Nevish's should just fail at nearly everything out of principle, the more they want it, the harder they should fall.
The next game you play, I challenge you to go out and make a mistake with your character. A big one. See if you feel like you're about to die. (It may be realy uncomfortable at first, it was for me.) See if the world collapses around you. I bet it won't, and if it does, it will be fun. Every player I know, when asked, would prefer their character to go out in a blaze of glory rather then get bored, yet people don't go out in a blaze of glory for doing and saying the right thing at every turn. And you don't have to.
Failure sucks in real life, I know. But it's fun in LARP, I promise.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
And now for something completely...okay it's just more ranting.
Heeeeeeey everybody!
(Hi You Insufferable Prick!)
Actually insufferable is not the right word. You folks suffer me all the time. Prepare for more.
Todays topic: The Sell-job.
All you perverts can close your Firefox tabs opening up Urban Dictionary, because I just made this word up and it's not something you can do to a hooker.
Well, not quite. What many of you don't realize about your Angry Storyteller, is that his debt inducing theatre degree had one very interesting job result: I was once a referee on the professional wrestling circuit. The strange and chaotic theatre-of-the-round that it is of course has it's own century long carnival sub-culture. The term "sell" is used to mean when one person throws a punch, kick, or Spinning Ocean Cyclone Pumphandle Dragon Bomb that doesn't actually cause physical harm, the recipient acts in such a manner that convinces the audience it does indeed cause them a great deal of pain.
It has more to do with LARP then you might think.
No matter what anyone says, everyone wants their character to look cool or at the very least interesting. No matter if they are focusing on supporting other players or hiding in the corner, they want their time to shine. Maybe not today, maybe not tommorrow, and more commonly, they want it every fricking possible second.
The common problem is that no matter how cool you FEEL, it means very little if you're not treated like it as a result of your actions. You could be speaking the greatest monologue in the world, but if you're doing it in the corner and no one hears, it doesn't matter.
In the world of wrestling, both performers have to sell to make the drama mean something, to make it look like it is a competition. If one performer does NOT sell, they make the other person look like a chump. If their actions don't matter, if the cool things that wrestler does are easily ignored, there is no drama. More importantly, the person doing all this work to create drama gets PISSED OFF. If they stop selling in response, then nothing matters and there is no drama. If both sell for the other, then their actions have meaning.
Here's the key.
It's the person who sells MORE who looks cooler, not the person who sells LESS.
Not only does everyone want to interact with them (because they have a reputation for making their character look cool and interesting) not only are people more likely to sell for them (because their egos are inflated by the previous selling enough to let them be deflated a bit by selling themselves) but people will actually...what's the word...oh yeah GIVE A SHIT about the character, because they are human and they suffer.
Now in television and film characters get to look like badasses on a MUCH more regular basis then any character in a LARP will, because they get extras and flunkies to do so whose development doesn't matter, who can be made to look like peons so you can look cool. You don't have that luxury in LARP. Every character is important, and if you make them look like a loser with no effect, the only story you have the possibility to tell is for them to come back and prove you wrong. Because there are no extras. Not everyone can be the hero, but no one can be untouchable.
And btw, only selling for NPCs doesn't count. I see lots of players do this and say their character has flaws and struggles. I am not hear to put on the You Show, so I'm even less inclined to run the You Show AND make sure it's cast the way you want.
You know what wrestlers do to a guy who wont sell? They force them to with a good old REAL kick to the face. The players can't do that in LARP, but if you don't sell, they may feel like it. Or worse, they will use their Almighty Character Sheet to do so. That's a bad cycle.
For fucks sake get over yourself and your Totally Awesome Character and just sell, people.
Mitchell
(Hi You Insufferable Prick!)
Actually insufferable is not the right word. You folks suffer me all the time. Prepare for more.
Todays topic: The Sell-job.
All you perverts can close your Firefox tabs opening up Urban Dictionary, because I just made this word up and it's not something you can do to a hooker.
Well, not quite. What many of you don't realize about your Angry Storyteller, is that his debt inducing theatre degree had one very interesting job result: I was once a referee on the professional wrestling circuit. The strange and chaotic theatre-of-the-round that it is of course has it's own century long carnival sub-culture. The term "sell" is used to mean when one person throws a punch, kick, or Spinning Ocean Cyclone Pumphandle Dragon Bomb that doesn't actually cause physical harm, the recipient acts in such a manner that convinces the audience it does indeed cause them a great deal of pain.
It has more to do with LARP then you might think.
No matter what anyone says, everyone wants their character to look cool or at the very least interesting. No matter if they are focusing on supporting other players or hiding in the corner, they want their time to shine. Maybe not today, maybe not tommorrow, and more commonly, they want it every fricking possible second.
The common problem is that no matter how cool you FEEL, it means very little if you're not treated like it as a result of your actions. You could be speaking the greatest monologue in the world, but if you're doing it in the corner and no one hears, it doesn't matter.
In the world of wrestling, both performers have to sell to make the drama mean something, to make it look like it is a competition. If one performer does NOT sell, they make the other person look like a chump. If their actions don't matter, if the cool things that wrestler does are easily ignored, there is no drama. More importantly, the person doing all this work to create drama gets PISSED OFF. If they stop selling in response, then nothing matters and there is no drama. If both sell for the other, then their actions have meaning.
Here's the key.
It's the person who sells MORE who looks cooler, not the person who sells LESS.
Not only does everyone want to interact with them (because they have a reputation for making their character look cool and interesting) not only are people more likely to sell for them (because their egos are inflated by the previous selling enough to let them be deflated a bit by selling themselves) but people will actually...what's the word...oh yeah GIVE A SHIT about the character, because they are human and they suffer.
Now in television and film characters get to look like badasses on a MUCH more regular basis then any character in a LARP will, because they get extras and flunkies to do so whose development doesn't matter, who can be made to look like peons so you can look cool. You don't have that luxury in LARP. Every character is important, and if you make them look like a loser with no effect, the only story you have the possibility to tell is for them to come back and prove you wrong. Because there are no extras. Not everyone can be the hero, but no one can be untouchable.
And btw, only selling for NPCs doesn't count. I see lots of players do this and say their character has flaws and struggles. I am not hear to put on the You Show, so I'm even less inclined to run the You Show AND make sure it's cast the way you want.
You know what wrestlers do to a guy who wont sell? They force them to with a good old REAL kick to the face. The players can't do that in LARP, but if you don't sell, they may feel like it. Or worse, they will use their Almighty Character Sheet to do so. That's a bad cycle.
For fucks sake get over yourself and your Totally Awesome Character and just sell, people.
Mitchell
Thursday, April 17, 2008
I'm back and ornery
I have been moving, and now I will take it out on the people I love, my loyal readers. I am sure somewhere, someone is going to point out that either my anger or my sucking up to my readership is false. This is likely true. Don't think about it too much. This statement is a lie.
So after a week or so of not telling you how lame you are, it's time for me to get back into form.
STOP WHINING AT YOUR STORYTELLER. ESPECIALLY DURING GAME.
No, seriously. Yes, the storyteller is there to address all of your concerns and any side scenes you may wish to run. Yes, a good game isn't heavy handed with plot and the ST should be there to enhance your own actions. But there's a limit.
If you're just starting game for the first time, I am glad to have you there. If it takes half the session for you to finish writing it up, I am not going to go over it in the middle of game with a fine tooth comb. Get it done before curtain up or go in without stats. Any character sheet shoved in my face while I am trying to run a game will not get my Stamp of Approval. It will get my: Stamp Of Don't Give A Fuck.
If you ask whether you can use XP for something in the middle of the game, one of two things will happen. I will say "No, because you asked me in game" if I am feeling nice. Or I will say "Yeah sure, whatever" and then the next time you try and use it, I will make sure it leads to the most boring death for you possible.
"Can I have this power?
"Absolutely. Go nuts."
"I use this power. I am awesome!"
"It gives you air cancer."
"What's air cancer?"
"It's where you die if you touch air."
"That doesn't even make any sense. Cancer doesn't work that way."
"You're awfully talkative and opinionated for being dead. I should have suspected. I better give your next character extra powerful air cancer."
"I hate you."
"It's so sad when air cancer makes a person bitter. No one is going to throw a fundraising 5k marathon in your memory with THAT attitude!"
If I make an announcement at the beginning of game and you were busy yakking with your friends, that's fine. If you come up and ask me again for details on something I already told you, I will rub my ass on your cats face so that no matter which way it decides to wake you up in the morning, it will smell like ass. And trust me, my intestinal tract has worse things then Friskies in it. You will BEG for regular cat-ass.
If you ask me a question that's in the main source book, not open for interpretation, and something anyone who has read it should know, don't expect me to give you the correct answer. I don't expect you to have it memorized but any good storyteller has one handy for reference. The more obvious the question, the more angry this will make me.
"Can vampires fly?"
"Only if they eat powdered unicorn hooves."
"Really?"
"Really. It's in the book, go check it out. Or just go ask some of the other characters for some. They will be more then willing to help, and not laugh at you all."
"Awesome! I am gonna go fuck that helicopter up! Dave, do you have any powdered unicorn hooves?"
On the other hand, don't expect me to have the book memorized either.
"Alright, so the evil villain casts Death of Ages..."
"Actually, Death of ages is a necromancy spell and he just used an illusion spell earlier on me. The rules say that can't happen."
"Oh, you're right! YOU WIN! The evil wizard dies of embarrassment and you get six million dollars and a pony. Whew, good thing you read that book. WINNER! I am going to the bar now."
(Actually most games end with me saying I am going to the bar now so that was just added for authenticity.)
Or worse, correct a minor detail that nobody cares about but you.
"So, they burst the door open revealing a thousand spiders! The insects crawl towards you en masse..."
"Actually, spiders are arachnids, not insects. They have eight legs..."
*Mitchell blinks at player*
*Blinks again*
"The spiders eat your flesh alive now that you have discovered their terrible secret. If only you had kept your mouth shut. Everyone, throw his character a funeral or something, I am going to the bar now."
(See? I told you.)
The STs job is to tell a story. There's lots of tools we use to tell a story; sourcebooks, character sheets, and point systems. However, these are just that: tools. Spending more time worrying about the tools then the story gets nothing built. Using your ST as an authority is okay. Using them as an administrator is not. Getting them to help you make a character that fits in with the game world and progresses with the rest of the cast is part of their job. Doing so while they are providing the drama that it's all about is not. Every minute you take away from the Storyteller once curtain is up is a minute they could be enhancing someones story. I promise you if you've asked them twice if your character can have an obscure specialization in some Himilyan ice-cream-on-a-nunchuk martial art while he's in the middle of a scene, you're at the back of the list for story.
Great, I suppose I have to write plot now....
Mitchell
So after a week or so of not telling you how lame you are, it's time for me to get back into form.
STOP WHINING AT YOUR STORYTELLER. ESPECIALLY DURING GAME.
No, seriously. Yes, the storyteller is there to address all of your concerns and any side scenes you may wish to run. Yes, a good game isn't heavy handed with plot and the ST should be there to enhance your own actions. But there's a limit.
If you're just starting game for the first time, I am glad to have you there. If it takes half the session for you to finish writing it up, I am not going to go over it in the middle of game with a fine tooth comb. Get it done before curtain up or go in without stats. Any character sheet shoved in my face while I am trying to run a game will not get my Stamp of Approval. It will get my: Stamp Of Don't Give A Fuck.
If you ask whether you can use XP for something in the middle of the game, one of two things will happen. I will say "No, because you asked me in game" if I am feeling nice. Or I will say "Yeah sure, whatever" and then the next time you try and use it, I will make sure it leads to the most boring death for you possible.
"Can I have this power?
"Absolutely. Go nuts."
"I use this power. I am awesome!"
"It gives you air cancer."
"What's air cancer?"
"It's where you die if you touch air."
"That doesn't even make any sense. Cancer doesn't work that way."
"You're awfully talkative and opinionated for being dead. I should have suspected. I better give your next character extra powerful air cancer."
"I hate you."
"It's so sad when air cancer makes a person bitter. No one is going to throw a fundraising 5k marathon in your memory with THAT attitude!"
If I make an announcement at the beginning of game and you were busy yakking with your friends, that's fine. If you come up and ask me again for details on something I already told you, I will rub my ass on your cats face so that no matter which way it decides to wake you up in the morning, it will smell like ass. And trust me, my intestinal tract has worse things then Friskies in it. You will BEG for regular cat-ass.
If you ask me a question that's in the main source book, not open for interpretation, and something anyone who has read it should know, don't expect me to give you the correct answer. I don't expect you to have it memorized but any good storyteller has one handy for reference. The more obvious the question, the more angry this will make me.
"Can vampires fly?"
"Only if they eat powdered unicorn hooves."
"Really?"
"Really. It's in the book, go check it out. Or just go ask some of the other characters for some. They will be more then willing to help, and not laugh at you all."
"Awesome! I am gonna go fuck that helicopter up! Dave, do you have any powdered unicorn hooves?"
On the other hand, don't expect me to have the book memorized either.
"Alright, so the evil villain casts Death of Ages..."
"Actually, Death of ages is a necromancy spell and he just used an illusion spell earlier on me. The rules say that can't happen."
"Oh, you're right! YOU WIN! The evil wizard dies of embarrassment and you get six million dollars and a pony. Whew, good thing you read that book. WINNER! I am going to the bar now."
(Actually most games end with me saying I am going to the bar now so that was just added for authenticity.)
Or worse, correct a minor detail that nobody cares about but you.
"So, they burst the door open revealing a thousand spiders! The insects crawl towards you en masse..."
"Actually, spiders are arachnids, not insects. They have eight legs..."
*Mitchell blinks at player*
*Blinks again*
"The spiders eat your flesh alive now that you have discovered their terrible secret. If only you had kept your mouth shut. Everyone, throw his character a funeral or something, I am going to the bar now."
(See? I told you.)
The STs job is to tell a story. There's lots of tools we use to tell a story; sourcebooks, character sheets, and point systems. However, these are just that: tools. Spending more time worrying about the tools then the story gets nothing built. Using your ST as an authority is okay. Using them as an administrator is not. Getting them to help you make a character that fits in with the game world and progresses with the rest of the cast is part of their job. Doing so while they are providing the drama that it's all about is not. Every minute you take away from the Storyteller once curtain is up is a minute they could be enhancing someones story. I promise you if you've asked them twice if your character can have an obscure specialization in some Himilyan ice-cream-on-a-nunchuk martial art while he's in the middle of a scene, you're at the back of the list for story.
Great, I suppose I have to write plot now....
Mitchell
Monday, April 14, 2008
Suck It
On the official game lists, I am gracious. To my players, I am humble. But to you guys, I am honest.
I had 32 players at my last game and I feel like King Shit of Shit Mountain.
So I guess I am doing something right.
Yeah...I'm awesome. Wooooooo!
I just had to get that out somewhere.
I had 32 players at my last game and I feel like King Shit of Shit Mountain.
So I guess I am doing something right.
Yeah...I'm awesome. Wooooooo!
I just had to get that out somewhere.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Ooops
Anonymous comments have been turned on. Feel free to tell me how much I suck for mocking your 12 Year old asian with nuclear eyeblasts and six redhaired super model hermaphrodite significant others.
Mitchell
Mitchell
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