What is the point of GM's notes?

[tetrasodium]

At that point, the other major source for the campaign, the GURPS Transhuman Space series of sourcebooks, comes into play. That provides me with quite detailed background for the game, most of it not specific to scenarios.

Copper wire is a commonplace industrial material, and when they were faced with the problem of ships with different performance, the characters were at a naval base in Earth orbit. So if they needed ordinary cabling, for a purpose in accordance with the mission the Navy had given them, the base would be willing and able to supply it. If it was very unusual cable, getting it would take longer, because the Navy would have to get it manufactured, but provided the PCs had a sensible reason for needing it, they'd get it. Their successes over the course of the campaign have made the Navy look good, so it is quite helpful to them.

This is why I assume the wire situation is an in the field need it now but cant just get from the rack situation that could warrant cannibalizing it from some other situation when o brought up fate's gold & silver rule.

 

[pemerton]

@John Dallman, did my description of the cable episode from my Traveller play make sense to you, or seem reasonably familiar in approach?

 

[pemerton]

I might have a note of "Belaraz the Cutpurse has still been successful in tailing the PC's. He's seen them talking with both the Mayor and the High Paladin of the Order of Tyr, so he knows they are probably all working together. He will report back to Guildmaster Khorbal after the PC's go to sleep for the night".

That gives me an idea of what the Thieves Guild is doing in regards to the PC's poking their noses in their business. It also lets me have 'targets' if the PC's get up to 'no good' and start to do drastic things (like arresting/killing thieves), then maybe the Mayor's family gets threatened or his house burned down. Or if they do nothing, then the Guildmaster will be informed of everything the PC's have been doing up until the end of that day.

Can you say a little more about how this relates to actual play? What difference does it make to what happens at the table that you as GM have written down all this stuff about what the Thieves' Guild is doing?

 

[John Dallman]

@John Dallman, did my description of the cable episode from my Traveller play make sense to you, or seem reasonably familiar in approach?

It made sense for Traveller, as far as I understand that game. But I think I may be missing some aspect of what you're talking about.

 

[Emerikol]

This appeals to the skilled play angle, I'd say, in that the challenge isn't really to engage in protagonism, but instead efficiently defeat the challenges presented in the AP. @Manbearcat did a good job with this summation above.

It's generalizations like this that get people angry with you. I get you like your style but you constantly misrepresent the motivations and payoffs of my style. You honestly don't know what you are talking about which is why I present my arguments as if you don't understand my style. You may claim to play my way on occasion but based on what you say I don't see you really playing my way.

Skilled play is a thing unto itself but it in no way impacts roleplaying or protagonism. You can have it or not have it. It's more of an opt in. So sure in an AP that has no world under it and devotes everything to skilled play lacks the roleplaying elements. By definition. That is just one tiny case of skilled play.

On the other hand, I would say that I engage in a campaign based upon skilled play and yet the roleplaying is very deep and the protagonism is quite strong in my games. There is zero railroading in my campaigns. Skilled play is just a characteristic of adventures. Player agency is very much front and center in my games. So having a game where skilled play is one ingredient doesn't imply anything else. Think of it like sugar. You can make a cake or a pie with sugar.

 

[Ovinomancer]

Speaking for myself, I very much concur with this statement given my experience.
AP's are without doubt more work for me than when I do my own stuff, this could be due to my failing of wanting to include the myriad of ideas on the net about the specific AP.

Unlike Ovinomancer though I am a fan of AP's - although Descent into Avernus did not appeal to me.

If I truly disliked them, I wouldn't be running one. There just aren't near the top of my preference list.

 

[Manbearcat]

It's generalizations like this that get people angry with you. I get you like your style but you constantly misrepresent the motivations and payoffs of my style. You honestly don't know what you are talking about which is why I present my arguments as if you don't understand my style. You may claim to play my way on occasion but based on what you say I don't see you really playing my way.

Skilled play is a thing unto itself but it in no way impacts roleplaying or protagonism. You can have it or not have it. It's more of an opt in. So sure in an AP that has no world under it and devotes everything to skilled play lacks the roleplaying elements. By definition. That is just one tiny case of skilled play.

On the other hand, I would say that I engage in a campaign based upon skilled play and yet the roleplaying is very deep and the protagonism is quite strong in my games. There is zero railroading in my campaigns. Skilled play is just a characteristic of adventures. Player agency is very much front and center in my games. So having a game where skilled play is one ingredient doesn't imply anything else. Think of it like sugar. You can make a cake or a pie with sugar.

I don’t understand your response here.

@Ovinomancer clearly was talking about what I was talking about above which you seemed to (at least nominally) agree with; the AP as my # 4 in my original post here...Skilled Play exclusively like Gloomhaven or a CRPG.

He not only wasn’t talking about your games, but he actually went out of his way to dilleneate your described play from the type of play depicted in his post (which I spoke of upthread and you didn’t find terribly controversial).

The only contentious point in his post (which I don’t find contentious at all) was his disagreement with the position that running an AP wasn’t prep-intensive (it clearly is).

 

[Emerikol]

Can you say a little more about how this relates to actual play? What difference does it make to what happens at the table that you as GM have written down all this stuff about what the Thieves' Guild is doing?

I can't answer for him but for me knowing what is going on behind the scenes in the sandbox helps in interpreting the response to PC actions. I don't just make it up. I make an informed decision based upon the knowledge of the environment I have. It's a combination of knowledge about the current state of affairs and the history behind it. Thus if the Thieves guildmaster is a calm cool customer or a hot head, that might dictate the sort of action that is taken if the PCs cross them. It's all just feeder information when the GM is figuring out what happens as a result of PC actions. I find, in my experience, that having this backdrop makes the game seem more real and authentic. I guess verisimilitude is the word. Does the world seem to have a life of its own outside the group. Do things appear to happen and time pass around the group even without them prodding the environment.

A good example might be the group deciding to take a month of downtime. I will consult my calendar and figure out what is going to happen during that month in the world and to the degree the players would experience it I let them know. It's like having consistent holidays and festivals. If the players see a particular festival that happens every year happen right on the day it is supposed to happen as opposed to whenever it might fit some plot, they players will feel like the world is real.

 

[Emerikol]

I don’t understand your response here.

@Ovinomancer clearly was talking about what I was talking about above which you seemed to (at least nominally) agree with; the AP as my # 4 in my original post here...Skilled Play exclusively like Gloomhaven or a CRPG.

He not only wasn’t talking about your games, but he actually went out of his way to dilleneate your described play from the type of play depicted in his post (which I spoke of upthread and you didn’t find terribly controversial).

The only contentious point in his post (which I don’t find contentious at all) was his disagreement with the position that running an AP wasn’t prep-intensive (it clearly is).

Well, the way he stated it was that "skilled play" games are typically railroaded APs. It's fine to say that railroaded APs often use skilled play as a payoff. But skilled play does not necessarily lead to any style of game besides skilled play. You can have a deep immersive world with skilled play or you can have a fully railroaded AP. It's an independent variable. I was taking issue with his wording indicating it was a dependent variable.

 

[TwoSix]

Well, the way he stated it was that "skilled play" games are typically railroaded APs. It's fine to say that railroaded APs often use skilled play as a payoff. But skilled play does not necessarily lead to any style of game besides skilled play. You can have a deep immersive world with skilled play or you can have a fully railroaded AP. It's an independent variable. I was taking issue with his wording indicating it was a dependent variable.

It's not dependency, it's just demographics. Way more people play APs than do OSR style sandboxes.