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<blockquote data-quote="Campbell" data-source="post: 9279050" data-attributes="member: 16586">Vampire and Exalted were very instructive games early on. The idea that you could start play with all these existing connections to the setting (Mentor, Allies, Contacts, etc.) and that should matter to play. What really got to me was the idea that who the character is personally and mentally was a thing that a game could like represent and that it could be central to play really struck a chord with me. The next set of games that really sort of blew my mind were the early scene framing games (Sorcerer, Dogs in the Vineyard and Burning Wheel). Like not could we make who your character is and how they relate to the setting matter, but like it can be the entire point of playing the game. They also helped me realize that players can take on a more active role in helping to define the setting and that we didn't have to prep everything or direct the game to any particular ending point to have a compelling narrative.Apocalypse World, Monsterhearts and Masks really helped refine my sense of how to telegraph threats and how to let things snowball. The overall soft move / hard move GMing structure has really improved the way I run games by encouraging transparency of what success and failure mean. The call to be generous with the truth and to stop being so coy has also had a very strong impact. Embracing saying the quiet parts out loud and using my descriptions as way to indicate what an NPC is not saying has really helped remove that grasping at straws feeling I have experienced in the past.Recently the Bridlewood Bay games have kind of taught me that you can have a mystery without solving the mystery be the entire point of the game.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Campbell, post: 9279050, member: 16586"] Vampire and Exalted were very instructive games early on. The idea that you could start play with all these existing connections to the setting (Mentor, Allies, Contacts, etc.) and that should matter to play. What really got to me was the idea that who the character is personally and mentally was a thing that a game could like represent and that it could be central to play really struck a chord with me. The next set of games that really sort of blew my mind were the early scene framing games (Sorcerer, Dogs in the Vineyard and Burning Wheel). Like not could we make who your character is and how they relate to the setting matter, but like it can be the entire point of playing the game. They also helped me realize that players can take on a more active role in helping to define the setting and that we didn't have to prep everything or direct the game to any particular ending point to have a compelling narrative. Apocalypse World, Monsterhearts and Masks really helped refine my sense of how to telegraph threats and how to let things snowball. The overall soft move / hard move GMing structure has really improved the way I run games by encouraging transparency of what success and failure mean. The call to be generous with the truth and to stop being so coy has also had a very strong impact. Embracing saying the quiet parts out loud and using my descriptions as way to indicate what an NPC is not saying has really helped remove that grasping at straws feeling I have experienced in the past. Recently the Bridlewood Bay games have kind of taught me that you can have a mystery without solving the mystery be the entire point of the game. [/QUOTE]

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