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Where Are All the Dungeon Masters?
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7757155" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>I mean a story in the literary sense - a series of fictional events which involve an initial situation, some rising action, and then a climax and resolution.</p><p></p><p>A lot of RPGers, especially those whose experience is only of D&D or other games modelled on it, think that you can't get that unless the GM (i) writes it in advance, and (ii) uses various techniques (eg overt railroading; the "three clues" rule; "node-based" desgin; etc) to make sure the players play through it.</p><p></p><p>This creates one perceived need for prep - creating the plot, and then writing up all its elements, working out the "hooks" and the "nodes" and the rest that will make it happen at the table.</p><p></p><p>There are also mechanical aspects of D&D (and many similar games) - eg its reliance on maps for evaluating quite a bit of action declaration (not only in combat; most dungeon exploration play relies on maps also); the mechanical complexity of NPCs/creatures; its emphasis on detailed treasure rewards - that create a perceived need for prep.</p><p></p><p>Eliminating prep means eliminating these things. I ran <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?653231-Cthulhu-Dark-session" target="_blank">a RPG session on Sunday</a> with no prep and a story in the sense I described above, which I (as GM) learned at the same time as the players did.</p><p></p><p>The previous two sessions I GMed were Prince Valiant - no prep was required, and the story elements that I didn't just make up I was able to take from two-page scenario write-ups that came with the game.</p><p></p><p>I've run Marvel Heroic RP, Cortex+ Heroic Fantasy Hack, and Classic Traveller sessions on the back of no prep other than (for MHRP) reviewing the rules and a module to get some scenario ideas, (for Cortex+ Fantasy) pre-genning some PCs, and (for Classic Traveller) pre-genning some worlds.</p><p></p><p>None of those involved the sort of effort that is being described by some of the posters in this thread. And it's not because I'm some sort of GMing prodigy - it's because these systems don't rely on prep to make them go.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 7757155, member: 42582"] I mean a story in the literary sense - a series of fictional events which involve an initial situation, some rising action, and then a climax and resolution. A lot of RPGers, especially those whose experience is only of D&D or other games modelled on it, think that you can't get that unless the GM (i) writes it in advance, and (ii) uses various techniques (eg overt railroading; the "three clues" rule; "node-based" desgin; etc) to make sure the players play through it. This creates one perceived need for prep - creating the plot, and then writing up all its elements, working out the "hooks" and the "nodes" and the rest that will make it happen at the table. There are also mechanical aspects of D&D (and many similar games) - eg its reliance on maps for evaluating quite a bit of action declaration (not only in combat; most dungeon exploration play relies on maps also); the mechanical complexity of NPCs/creatures; its emphasis on detailed treasure rewards - that create a perceived need for prep. Eliminating prep means eliminating these things. I ran [url=http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?653231-Cthulhu-Dark-session]a RPG session on Sunday[/url] with no prep and a story in the sense I described above, which I (as GM) learned at the same time as the players did. The previous two sessions I GMed were Prince Valiant - no prep was required, and the story elements that I didn't just make up I was able to take from two-page scenario write-ups that came with the game. I've run Marvel Heroic RP, Cortex+ Heroic Fantasy Hack, and Classic Traveller sessions on the back of no prep other than (for MHRP) reviewing the rules and a module to get some scenario ideas, (for Cortex+ Fantasy) pre-genning some PCs, and (for Classic Traveller) pre-genning some worlds. None of those involved the sort of effort that is being described by some of the posters in this thread. And it's not because I'm some sort of GMing prodigy - it's because these systems don't rely on prep to make them go. [/QUOTE]
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