Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="MGibster" data-source="post: 8854446" data-attributes="member: 4534">For fear of railroading or making the player feel as though they have no choice, I sometimes don't just come out and tell them their actions are going to have severe and permanent consequences.&nbsp; Instead of being direct, I'll present a situation I think should be obvious to the player and let them make their decision.&nbsp; But of course, what's obvious to me might not be obvious to them.Many years ago, I was running West End Games' Star Wars, and the PCs were making an attmept to get off the planet when several Star Destroyers and Tie-Fighters show up.&nbsp; I described the sheer number of Tie-Fighters in the area, explaining that no matter how many you destroy there's going to be more where those came from, and it was only a matter of time before the minor damage they had suffered became major damage.&nbsp; Most of the players got the hint and suggested to the captain that they find a hiding place to lay low for a while. He chose not to and their ship ended up being blown out of the sky.&nbsp; Another game, Deadlands (original rules), one PC decided to wander off on his own knowing there were dangerous creatures lurking about.&nbsp; Naturally, he get gets jumped by a Wendigo, and he is literally on his own because all the other PCs are quite far away.&nbsp; In the original Deadlands, you could spend an meta resource called Fate Chips (poker chips) to mitigate some of the wounds your character takes.&nbsp; The player character starts racking up some wounds, and I remind the player that he can spend some of those Fate Chips to mitigate damage.&nbsp; He decides not to, and his character is pretty close to death.Player #2:&nbsp; Uh, you might want to spend a Fate Chip next time you take damage.&nbsp; Wendigo Chow:&nbsp; Nah, mgibster isn't going to kill my character during the first adventure.&nbsp;&nbsp; Me:&nbsp; Staring at Wendigo Chow with hunger in my eyes. Player #2:&nbsp; You're about to die.&nbsp; Me:&nbsp; Okay, so the lumbering beast bellows, striking you, doing X damage.&nbsp; Do you want to spent any Fate Chips?&nbsp; Wendigo Chow:&nbsp; No.&nbsp; Me:&nbsp; Allright, you go down and as the world goes black you hear the echoing howls of a raging beast grow ever more distant.&nbsp; Let's see what the other players are doing. Some time later....Me:&nbsp; You guys got here as quickly as you could after hearing gunfire come from the railroad coal depot, but your friend isn't to be found.&nbsp; You follow his tracks until you reach a grisly scene; the body of your friend lies in the snow, but portions of him are missing, as if he's been chewed on by an awfully large critter.Wendigo Chow:&nbsp; &lt;obvious hurt&gt;&nbsp; What?&nbsp; I'm dead?&nbsp; Why didn't you just tell me?Me:&nbsp; I thought it was more dramatic this way.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="MGibster, post: 8854446, member: 4534"] For fear of railroading or making the player feel as though they have no choice, I sometimes don't just come out and tell them their actions are going to have severe and permanent consequences. Instead of being direct, I'll present a situation I think should be obvious to the player and let them make their decision. But of course, what's obvious to me might not be obvious to them. Many years ago, I was running West End Games' [I]Star Wars, [/I]and the PCs were making an attmept to get off the planet when several Star Destroyers and Tie-Fighters show up. I described the sheer number of Tie-Fighters in the area, explaining that no matter how many you destroy there's going to be more where those came from, and it was only a matter of time before the minor damage they had suffered became major damage. Most of the players got the hint and suggested to the captain that they find a hiding place to lay low for a while. He chose not to and their ship ended up being blown out of the sky. Another game, Deadlands (original rules), one PC decided to wander off on his own knowing there were dangerous creatures lurking about. Naturally, he get gets jumped by a Wendigo, and he is literally on his own because all the other PCs are quite far away. In the original Deadlands, you could spend an meta resource called Fate Chips (poker chips) to mitigate some of the wounds your character takes. The player character starts racking up some wounds, and I remind the player that he can spend some of those Fate Chips to mitigate damage. He decides not to, and his character is pretty close to death. Player #2: Uh, you might want to spend a Fate Chip next time you take damage. Wendigo Chow: Nah, mgibster isn't going to kill my character during the first adventure. Me: Staring at Wendigo Chow with hunger in my eyes. Player #2: You're about to die. Me: Okay, so the lumbering beast bellows, striking you, doing X damage. Do you want to spent any Fate Chips? Wendigo Chow: No. Me: Allright, you go down and as the world goes black you hear the echoing howls of a raging beast grow ever more distant. Let's see what the other players are doing. Some time later.... Me: You guys got here as quickly as you could after hearing gunfire come from the railroad coal depot, but your friend isn't to be found. You follow his tracks until you reach a grisly scene; the body of your friend lies in the snow, but portions of him are missing, as if he's been chewed on by an awfully large critter. Wendigo Chow: <obvious hurt> What? I'm dead? Why didn't you just tell me? Me: I thought it was more dramatic this way. [/QUOTE]

Verification