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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Scott Christian" data-source="post: 8088591" data-attributes="member: 6901101">I will try one more time. I will try to be concise with the info, this way it doesn't get lost.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Our campaigns (with many different groups in different places of different age ranges) are player driven. They have character arcs. They have story arcs.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">We have not played those. Our list of played games is: D&D (all editions), Dangerous Journeys, Conan, The Witcher, Middle Earth, Rolemaster, Numenera, Pathfinder I & II, Gamma World, Top Secret, and a few others.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Video won't help. Got it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The problem comes from players deciding the direction of the story, hence prep. Or the DM guiding the story, hence prep. Or no one really needing a story, hence dungeon crawls. You know, like all the D&D games you can find online in a video or at a convention or at a gaming store.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There is no problem. Never said there was a problem. Just thought it would be fun to attempt this new approach some people espouse.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">No lack of engagement. Players and GM's are having fun.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">No lack of imagination. Last campaign we were inside the body a giant turtle floating through the astral sea. Going from the lungs to the stomach to the liver trying to keep it alive.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">No something else.</li> </ul>I asked for a visual of this unique GM'ing style for D&D. Thought it might be fun to try. Instead I get met with a didactic commentary about the following:1. You are inexperienced in these things, so it is difficult to explain. (So I ask for a video.)2. Why do you need a video? Read summaries of a game that is not D&D. (At first I reject it because I thought these approaches could be fictitious and inside the minds' of the GM's or a ruleset that forces the game to embody them - unlike D&D.)3. Here is how we play. (I accept it at face value, still knowing it could false. But give the benefit of the doubt and accept they know what they are doing. I ask for tutelage, a video for D&D specifically.)4. It is rare, therefore it doesn't exist in video for D&D. Use Blades in the Dark. (Spent two hours watching. It was almost exactly like some writers' round-tables that I have been fortunate enough to be a part of. But, I think the rules must have propelled it to be like this. Very different than D&D's rules. Still doesn't look like it can be used for the ruleset that accompanies D&D unless we make many house rules. Ask again for a video of D&D, then I can see what rule changes may be needed because it is certainly more than a GM technique.)5. Your reasons for why you need videos are full of fallacies. (I exit stage left.)You see. This is why many players and GM's (go ahead and call out anecdotal!) I speak with that follow forums choose to be dismissive in the end outside of concrete advice. It is why GM advice with large numbers on the web are primarily straightforward speakers. They can take a concept, say a GM describing a setting, and explain it to the masses. It takes smarts to do that. To obfuscate it behind a philosophical diatribe generally means that they are describing their utopia play - not their everyday practice. I have seen this with my very eyes as a player.  Here is an example of something concrete:When you describe settings to the players try to keep the focus on two things: senses and atmosphere. Use your senses to describe it to the PC's. Describe the people the PC's might come in contact with or describe the group as a whole. Describe the objects that might catch the PC's eyes. Use sound and smell to trigger investigation or foreshadowing. Use your descriptive words to describe atmosphere. A simile or metaphor can invoke a powerful feeling. Even a pause in the right place can cause suspense. Now, try writing it down. Practice saying it out loud. Then during sessions, use your pre-written setting, but also try to adlib. Practice makes perfect.   Here is an example of philosophy written almost always how I see it - with the word I thrown in a lot:I use setting as a primary motivator for my players. It delineates their actions, and once their actions have become notable fiction within the story environment, I then use that to encompass moral decisions. Not by my choosing of course, but by their thoughts and actions. I also use the setting to foster the growth of contacted cultures and places for the players. Making the world vivid and real. (Then there is always the, "For example.") For example, when I describe a river, I don't just say it is a large fast moving body of water. I use it to describe an infinite number of choices the players might take action upon. Game theory is great. I am not knocking it. I read and participate in its discussions. But there does come a time when if someone who uses the theory can't speak directly and clearly on a subject, the audience has to wonder whether it's really valid.I chose not to argue. I chose to believe at face value what people said. But these defensive postures make it very difficult to believe. It is like the person that overreacts right before their falsehood is exposed. I hope that's not the case, since I chose to believe that this exists and it is not just the GM Jedi mind-tricking themselves. And I will continue to believe. And I will also keep looking for videos. If I find one, then I will post it so you can describe the nuances and I can learn.</blockquote>

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