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<blockquote data-quote="Arilyn" data-source="post: 7818467" data-attributes="member: 6816042">I definitely cater my GMing to the players' characters. This is the fun part for me. If there's a character searching for someone or something, or has interesting hooks in their backstory, I'm going to use it, or ensure the player has opportunities to pursue their goals/interests. The story which emerges from play is, after all, a shared collaboration. From a purely practical point of view, less work for the GM. We had a campaign that started fairly traditional, but the players had their own goals, and pretty soon, I didn't have any prep at all. Characters just did their thing, while I looked for potential obstacles and challenges to their beliefs to throw in their way. It turned into this large epic, which we often discussed between sessions, with players adding cool twists to the mythology of the world. There was adventure and angst and tragedy. We still talk about those characters. Players adding their own ideas to the story enhances the experience. I've never had anyone complain that their immersion was broken, even when assuming it would be.We don't always play at this level, however. Sometimes it's fun to just whip up some characters and fight monsters. Sometimes a player will have a cool idea for an adventure and take over GM duties for a session or two. This can help relieve GM burnout, as well as mix up the flavour a little. We really enjoy this at the table. It's also great for someone who wants to try GMing without a big commitment. This means characters are shared around a little, which might not go over well with all groups. Works really well with troupe play like Ars Magica, or a super hero team with a stable of potential characters.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Arilyn, post: 7818467, member: 6816042"] I definitely cater my GMing to the players' characters. This is the fun part for me. If there's a character searching for someone or something, or has interesting hooks in their backstory, I'm going to use it, or ensure the player has opportunities to pursue their goals/interests. The story which emerges from play is, after all, a shared collaboration. From a purely practical point of view, less work for the GM. We had a campaign that started fairly traditional, but the players had their own goals, and pretty soon, I didn't have any prep at all. Characters just did their thing, while I looked for potential obstacles and challenges to their beliefs to throw in their way. It turned into this large epic, which we often discussed between sessions, with players adding cool twists to the mythology of the world. There was adventure and angst and tragedy. We still talk about those characters. Players adding their own ideas to the story enhances the experience. I've never had anyone complain that their immersion was broken, even when assuming it would be. We don't always play at this level, however. Sometimes it's fun to just whip up some characters and fight monsters. Sometimes a player will have a cool idea for an adventure and take over GM duties for a session or two. This can help relieve GM burnout, as well as mix up the flavour a little. We really enjoy this at the table. It's also great for someone who wants to try GMing without a big commitment. This means characters are shared around a little, which might not go over well with all groups. Works really well with troupe play like Ars Magica, or a super hero team with a stable of potential characters. [/QUOTE]

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