GM Authority (Edited For Clarity, Post #148)

[Maxperson]

GOT has no PCs. That's the point of the setting.

All the PCs died in the Age of Heroes. And the Age of Heroes had nonhuman PCs.

It has PCs. Anyone who read the books or watched the series can see that. They are the ones that the focus is on. Cersei, Bronn, Tyrion, etc. They just have a very high mortality rate in that setting.

 

[Minigiant]

It has PCs. Anyone who read the books or watched the series can see that. They are the ones that the focus is on. Cersei, Bronn, Tyrion, etc. They just have a very high mortality rate in that setting.

It's less about the high mortality rate as much as the show and the books lack a single focal points. There are so many stories going on that are interconnected that it would you would have to say their are 80 PCs or 0 PCs.

There are so many important characters of power and skill that it would be difficult to say which ones where being played.

This is different from the older eras where who was the PCs would be obvious.

 

[nevin]

It has PCs. Anyone who read the books or watched the series can see that. They are the ones that the focus is on. Cersei, Bronn, Tyrion, etc. They just have a very high mortality rate in that setting.

I don't think you could run a game where all of those characters are PC's. You'd have to run multiple games with multiple groups to make that argument valid. It's a really big stretch. big world wide stories with people spread out all over them just don't really work for an RPG setting. Now DM can change up other parts of the world as the PC's progress giving a campaign that feel that there are other movers and shakers.

 

[Maxperson]

I don't think you could run a game where all of those characters are PC's. You'd have to run multiple games with multiple groups to make that argument valid. It's a really big stretch. big world wide stories with people spread out all over them just don't really work for an RPG setting. Now DM can change up other parts of the world as the PC's progress giving a campaign that feel that there are other movers and shakers.

I have a friend who ran 5 Forgotten Realms groups and tracked where they were with pins on a large map in his room. When they crossed paths they met each other in passing. It was really cool and a lot more work than I would do.

Another way to do it is with one group that has multiple PCs and switches around.

 

[Maxperson]

It's less about the high mortality rate as much as the show and the books lack a single focal points. There are so many stories going on that are interconnected that it would you would have to say their are 80 PCs or 0 PCs.

There weren't anywhere near 80 focal points. If you read the books, it was a small handful that the story revolved around in each book.

There are so many important characters of power and skill that it would be difficult to say which ones where being played.

Most of the people of power were NPCs. They didn't get their own chapters and even when around in the show, the focus was on the other characters around them.

 

[zarionofarabel]

Another way to do it is with one group that has multiple PCs and switches around.

That would be the best way if one were to want to directly emulate the TV show. Each set of main characters would be a group and the players would have a PC in each group. So one group with Cerci, one with Jon, one with Daenerys, one with Tyrion. That actually would kind of be a fun way to play a game!

 

[BookTenTiger]

That would be the best way if one were to want to directly emulate the TV show. Each set of main characters would be a group and the players would have a PC in each group. So one group with Cerci, one with Jon, one with Daenerys, one with Tyrion. That actually would kind of be a fun way to play a game!

I have always wanted to play a game like that!

Right now in the game I play in, the characters have split for a month between two major coasts. The players without characters rolled up new, temporary characters. What is fun is that this allows the story to focus on a few "main characters" while everyone else plays supporting roles, until we switch locations and the players switch roles.

 

[Minigiant]

There weren't anywhere near 80 focal points. If you read the books, it was a small handful that the story revolved around in each book.

80 was a bit of an exaggeration but the series follows at least 8 families with at least 3 branching stories in each. Some were focused on more than others but there were so many it would be hard to say which one are the PCs.

Almost impossibe without choosing a specific game system and picking the ones that best match the games base assumptions on what PCs are. Or lazily choosing whose name come up most.

 

[Maxperson]

80 was a bit of an exaggeration but the series follows at least 8 families with at least 3 branching stories in each. Some were focused on more than others but there were so many it would be hard to say which one are the PCs.

Not hard at all. There are few people who the story truly revolves around. The rest are tangential. They come in and out of the stories of the few that the story revolves around.

Almost impossibe without choosing a specific game system and picking the ones that best match the games base assumptions on what PCs are. Or lazily choosing whose name come up most.

I don't need a game system at all to know who the GoT story revolves around.

 

[jasper]

Player 4: I want to play an elf.

DM: See ya next campaign!

Player 2: I want guns.

DM: See ya next campaign!

Player 3: Shadow Monk!

DM: See ya next campaign!

Player 4: Let's start at Level 5!

DM: See ya next campaign!

DM sitting at empty table: Finally, the perfect GoT campaign!

Player 5 to 9 show up. We heard you have a GOT campaign with no guns, elfs, monks, and start a 1st level we are in.
9 months later.
Player 5. DM Player 4 is here. He is willing to play a human now. He said he no game since last year.
DM, "BEEP Him.
Player 5, "Sorry we don't have room at the table. And tell the other three that too."