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<blockquote data-quote="Campbell" data-source="post: 8085664" data-attributes="member: 16586">[USER=6901101]@Scott Christian[/USER]I think you are conflating prep with plot to a certain extent. In the game I am currently running (Beam Saber) I do a lot of prep, probably more than some plot oriented GM styles. I keep my prep focused on the present and past because we are playing to find out what the future will be. I prep characters, factions, sub-factions, opportunities, and the like. I do not prep arcs because we play to find out what those will be.I think after 6 sessions we probably have around 15 named NPCs kind of orbiting the PCs all with different personal goals that in some way intersect with the player characters. I have countdown clocks for all the factions representing how close they are to achieving their present goal along with clocks for specific NPCs. This clocks just represent what is likely to happen without PC interference. I am currently in process of building a wiki to have this information readily available to the players.Those distinctions might not be personally important to some, but they are absolutely critical to me. It's a big part of what led me on my journey to games like Apocalypse World, Burning Wheel, and Dogs in the Vineyard. It was the source of my dissatisfaction with most of my early experiences on both sides of the screen.I think one of the things we often miss in these discussions is that the things we regard as inconsequential are often vital to other people.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Campbell, post: 8085664, member: 16586"] [USER=6901101]@Scott Christian[/USER] I think you are conflating prep with plot to a certain extent. In the game I am currently running (Beam Saber) I do a lot of prep, probably more than some plot oriented GM styles. I keep my prep focused on the present and past because we are playing to find out what the future will be. I prep characters, factions, sub-factions, opportunities, and the like. I do not prep arcs because we play to find out what those will be. I think after 6 sessions we probably have around 15 named NPCs kind of orbiting the PCs all with different personal goals that in some way intersect with the player characters. I have countdown clocks for all the factions representing how close they are to achieving their present goal along with clocks for specific NPCs. This clocks just represent what is likely to happen without PC interference. I am currently in process of building a wiki to have this information readily available to the players. Those distinctions might not be personally important to some, but they are absolutely critical to me. It's a big part of what led me on my journey to games like Apocalypse World, Burning Wheel, and Dogs in the Vineyard. It was the source of my dissatisfaction with most of my early experiences on both sides of the screen. I think one of the things we often miss in these discussions is that the things we regard as inconsequential are often vital to other people. [/QUOTE]

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