Merova
First Post
Running Metaplot Games
Hi all!
The encumbrance of the metaplot has been vastly overstated, in my decade long World of Darkness experience. You structure the game around that which you know. As future setting supplements arrive, you introduce into play those elements that you see as beneficial to your game's premise.
In the rare case that a product introduces something that you'd like to include in your game, yet is contradictory to that which you've previously established to your players, then you can either "retcon" the experience or tailor the new situation so as to fit seamlessly with your game.
Yes, sometimes a game can "jump the shark." Many WoD players may point out such things as the "Avatar Storm" in Mage Revised or the Eshu splatbook for Changeling as examples of where the metaplot faltered in execution. However, the GM is the ultimate arbiter of the campaign setting, regardless of the metaplot.
So, why use a metaplot? Metaplots are techniques by which a gaming group explores a setting with a basic underlying mystery. When the campaign starts, the GM constructs her campaign around the information granted within the game as written. The explorationist play is delineated within these focused restrictions. Then as a new product arrives, the boundaries of exploration are widened to incorporate these new elements of metaplot.
Like a good dungeon-crawl, a well-structured metaplot has levels which the PCs need to fully investigate before they move on to the next one.
Now, the logistics of publishing and distribution can be a pain. A metaplot heavy game needs to have releases at a steady pace, not too fast but definitely not too slow. You don't want to bury the GM under metaplot advancements, but you also don't want to leave her "running on empty." The next Morningstar book, "Whispers of the Prophecy," is due out in February (according to GTM #46.) If you're worried about the metaplot element of this game, you might want to take a "wait and see" stance until you get feedback about this supplement.
In any case, I really like Morningstar. The "signature" elements of the setting are wonderful concepts that make this world distinct. The creature names seems just fine to me.
Thanks for reading.
---Olivia
Zaukrie said:
Hi all!
The encumbrance of the metaplot has been vastly overstated, in my decade long World of Darkness experience. You structure the game around that which you know. As future setting supplements arrive, you introduce into play those elements that you see as beneficial to your game's premise.
In the rare case that a product introduces something that you'd like to include in your game, yet is contradictory to that which you've previously established to your players, then you can either "retcon" the experience or tailor the new situation so as to fit seamlessly with your game.
Yes, sometimes a game can "jump the shark." Many WoD players may point out such things as the "Avatar Storm" in Mage Revised or the Eshu splatbook for Changeling as examples of where the metaplot faltered in execution. However, the GM is the ultimate arbiter of the campaign setting, regardless of the metaplot.
So, why use a metaplot? Metaplots are techniques by which a gaming group explores a setting with a basic underlying mystery. When the campaign starts, the GM constructs her campaign around the information granted within the game as written. The explorationist play is delineated within these focused restrictions. Then as a new product arrives, the boundaries of exploration are widened to incorporate these new elements of metaplot.
Like a good dungeon-crawl, a well-structured metaplot has levels which the PCs need to fully investigate before they move on to the next one.
Now, the logistics of publishing and distribution can be a pain. A metaplot heavy game needs to have releases at a steady pace, not too fast but definitely not too slow. You don't want to bury the GM under metaplot advancements, but you also don't want to leave her "running on empty." The next Morningstar book, "Whispers of the Prophecy," is due out in February (according to GTM #46.) If you're worried about the metaplot element of this game, you might want to take a "wait and see" stance until you get feedback about this supplement.
In any case, I really like Morningstar. The "signature" elements of the setting are wonderful concepts that make this world distinct. The creature names seems just fine to me.
Thanks for reading.
---Olivia
