Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 6058250" data-attributes="member: 6696971">I understand.&nbsp; Through the course of my gaming &quot;career&quot;, I've had various table dynamics and all manner of diverse Social Contracts and Creative Agendas.&nbsp; That diversity has pared itself away and basically honed itself to a coherent singularity.&nbsp; For the last 6 years I've had 3 players, all with the same Creative Agenda, Genre Expectations, etc.&nbsp; As such, we don't get what you've described above.In my experience though, there will always be players at the table who implicitly shape the Creative Agenda, Genre Expectations and Techniques/System by the authority (implicit or explicit) granted to them by the other players.&nbsp; If the other players cede to them then you are naturally going to have a game tailored to their preferences. The way I've always approached the more introverted, indecisive brand of players is to never ask them open-ended questions.&nbsp; Give them well-defined choices that they can relate to and go from there:Genre Tropes/Expectations - A)&nbsp; Star Wars/Indiana JonesB)&nbsp; Lord of the RingsC)&nbsp; Game of ThronesD)&nbsp; Pirates of the Carribeanetc.Getting into Creative Agenda is always a more difficult conversation.&nbsp; You can talk about PC stances, metagame transparency and agenda, etc...but in the end, you're usually just better off trying out different systems/mechanical resolution tools in order to discern their tastes as most folks can't extrapolate/thought-experiment/inductive reasoning their way into an informed opinion (Jefferson and the plow).&nbsp; After enough of that, you can typically have an informed discussion.&nbsp; However, like you said, plenty of players just want to sit down and have a Step on Up (Heavy Gamist) + a smidge of Right to Dream (Simulation) and kill bad guys, take their loot, fiddle with the setting and level up in a Shared Imaginary Space and rinse/repeat.&nbsp; If you use techniques (such as a transparent metagame) that is foreign to them it may be &quot;jarring&quot; (as folks like to put it).&nbsp; That being said, enough exposure to them and they might find that they're useful to the dynamics at the table.&nbsp; But, maybe not.&nbsp; Whatever works for you guys and I'm sure you know your table well enough by now.So.&nbsp; You think you're going to go with A and then have a &quot;PC lost &gt; kidnap combat encounter&quot; scene framed after a failed Exploration Skill Challenge?&nbsp; If you're good enough at it and your players are &quot;tuned into the same collective frequency&quot; then my guess is that you'll get just what you're looking for.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Manbearcat, post: 6058250, member: 6696971"] I understand. Through the course of my gaming "career", I've had various table dynamics and all manner of diverse Social Contracts and Creative Agendas. That diversity has pared itself away and basically honed itself to a coherent singularity. For the last 6 years I've had 3 players, all with the same Creative Agenda, Genre Expectations, etc. As such, we don't get what you've described above. In my experience though, there will always be players at the table who implicitly shape the Creative Agenda, Genre Expectations and Techniques/System by the authority (implicit or explicit) granted to them by the other players. If the other players cede to them then you are naturally going to have a game tailored to their preferences. The way I've always approached the more introverted, indecisive brand of players is to never ask them open-ended questions. Give them well-defined choices that they can relate to and go from there: Genre Tropes/Expectations - A) Star Wars/Indiana Jones B) Lord of the Rings C) Game of Thrones D) Pirates of the Carribean etc. Getting into Creative Agenda is always a more difficult conversation. You can talk about PC stances, metagame transparency and agenda, etc...but in the end, you're usually just better off trying out different systems/mechanical resolution tools in order to discern their tastes as most folks can't extrapolate/thought-experiment/inductive reasoning their way into an informed opinion (Jefferson and the plow). After enough of that, you can typically have an informed discussion. However, like you said, plenty of players just want to sit down and have a Step on Up (Heavy Gamist) + a smidge of Right to Dream (Simulation) and kill bad guys, take their loot, fiddle with the setting and level up in a Shared Imaginary Space and rinse/repeat. If you use techniques (such as a transparent metagame) that is foreign to them it may be "jarring" (as folks like to put it). That being said, enough exposure to them and they might find that they're useful to the dynamics at the table. But, maybe not. Whatever works for you guys and I'm sure you know your table well enough by now. So. You think you're going to go with A and then have a "PC lost > kidnap combat encounter" scene framed after a failed Exploration Skill Challenge? If you're good enough at it and your players are "tuned into the same collective frequency" then my guess is that you'll get just what you're looking for. [/QUOTE]

Verification