JamesonCourage
Adventurer
When I GM, I don't have my players be the Heroes. By "Heroes," I don't mean 'altruistic good guys'. I mean, 'the setting does not revolve around them'. They are but a few humble characters in the world.
Now, the plot seems to revolve around them, because it's all they interact with. While it progresses, however, the world does not stay stagnant. Skirmishes between other nations happen on the same continent; demons invade the homeland of the immortal races in an attempt to steal their immortality; powerful creatures imprisoned long ago have agents working to free them from their magical bonds. These are not things merely to keep the world seeming "alive" in my game. No, these things happen because it is more realistic.
When I GM a game for my players, we play out the story of these characters. They are not more important to fate than any NPC. They are not more important than any other PC. They are one in a million, in the most mundane sense of the word. They are a statistic. Should they reach hit die 20, and a rain of arrows fall upon them, or they fall 150 feet, or they are poisoned with the most lethal poison one can craft, then they will almost certainly die.
The players in my game are part of a larger story. The focus is on them, and that's the part we will all invest ourselves into. The setting is important, but it not nearly so interesting without the characters, and specifically the player characters. However, in my game, they are not special. They are not unique. They are not "heroes" when compared to others in their field, unless their skill dictates it so.
In short, the player characters are entitled to nothing in my game. Should they act a certain way, they should expect the realistic consequences of those actions. Kill someone in a bar fight? Depending on the government, there is a real chance that you will be imprisoned or executed. However, should you skip town and make it to a nearby forest, they probably will not pursue you -after all, who knows where he's going, how far it will be, etc? Get reports of him (armor, weapons, race, temperament, distinguishing features, etc.), and tack it to the wall in the barracks, then forget about it eventually if he doesn't resurface. Punishment for crimes are usually more brutal, though it's much harder to track down those who run away*.
At any rate, enough about me and my style. My players like it, and I like it, and that's all that matters for our particular group. I want to see how many people have a similar mindset (mind you, not the same mindset):
When you run your game (or when you play in a game that your GM runs), are the players the Heroes? Are they those special few which fate smiles upon even from lower levels? Or, rather, are they a small part of the multiverse, entitled to nothing, even at high levels? Are they something in between, or even more extreme?
I'm curious.
*We are playing my own creation of a game, where magic is rare, though powerful. Divinations are rare, and only divination specialist magicians would have the power to track down someone like they wish. Also, transportation magic has been greatly reduced in power, and it is difficult to even move miles with a single spell (again, a transportation specialist can achieve such feats of transportation).
Now, the plot seems to revolve around them, because it's all they interact with. While it progresses, however, the world does not stay stagnant. Skirmishes between other nations happen on the same continent; demons invade the homeland of the immortal races in an attempt to steal their immortality; powerful creatures imprisoned long ago have agents working to free them from their magical bonds. These are not things merely to keep the world seeming "alive" in my game. No, these things happen because it is more realistic.
When I GM a game for my players, we play out the story of these characters. They are not more important to fate than any NPC. They are not more important than any other PC. They are one in a million, in the most mundane sense of the word. They are a statistic. Should they reach hit die 20, and a rain of arrows fall upon them, or they fall 150 feet, or they are poisoned with the most lethal poison one can craft, then they will almost certainly die.
The players in my game are part of a larger story. The focus is on them, and that's the part we will all invest ourselves into. The setting is important, but it not nearly so interesting without the characters, and specifically the player characters. However, in my game, they are not special. They are not unique. They are not "heroes" when compared to others in their field, unless their skill dictates it so.
In short, the player characters are entitled to nothing in my game. Should they act a certain way, they should expect the realistic consequences of those actions. Kill someone in a bar fight? Depending on the government, there is a real chance that you will be imprisoned or executed. However, should you skip town and make it to a nearby forest, they probably will not pursue you -after all, who knows where he's going, how far it will be, etc? Get reports of him (armor, weapons, race, temperament, distinguishing features, etc.), and tack it to the wall in the barracks, then forget about it eventually if he doesn't resurface. Punishment for crimes are usually more brutal, though it's much harder to track down those who run away*.
At any rate, enough about me and my style. My players like it, and I like it, and that's all that matters for our particular group. I want to see how many people have a similar mindset (mind you, not the same mindset):
When you run your game (or when you play in a game that your GM runs), are the players the Heroes? Are they those special few which fate smiles upon even from lower levels? Or, rather, are they a small part of the multiverse, entitled to nothing, even at high levels? Are they something in between, or even more extreme?
I'm curious.
*We are playing my own creation of a game, where magic is rare, though powerful. Divinations are rare, and only divination specialist magicians would have the power to track down someone like they wish. Also, transportation magic has been greatly reduced in power, and it is difficult to even move miles with a single spell (again, a transportation specialist can achieve such feats of transportation).
