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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Shaman" data-source="post: 5292124" data-attributes="member: 26473">We are at an impasse, I'm afraid; I couldn't agree less.The only story I'm interested is the recounting of the adventurers' exploits.D'Artagnan shows up in Paris with a letter of introduction to the captain-lieutenant of the Musketeers - he has no friends, no family, no patron. The aid which M. de Tréville can offer proves limited; D'Artagnan makes his fortune on the basis of the relationships he builds following his arrival in Paris, during the course of his adventures.Pre-existing relationships are significantly overrated, in my experience.Perhaps.My preparation consists of creating a web of interconnected npcs, organized by family ties, professional affiliation, political factions, and so forth, a slew of genre-appropriate random encounters, and a rough timeline of future events. That's pretty much it. There are intrigues by the bushel, but none of them presume the involvement, or even the existence, of the adventurers; really, I do most of my prep before I know anything about the adventurers at all. The intersection of the adventurers with this environment is driven by the choices the players make on behalf of their characters.If you consider this a "theme and situation," then perhaps we share a common approach, at least to some degree.For me, I don't see the need to create "well-established relationships" right at the giddyup. If the adventurers are pursuing their goals, these relationships will spring up around them in no time.Characters in Flashing Blades may begin with resources such as a Contact or a Secret Loyalty to an npc; in FB terms, M. de Tréville is a Contact with which the character D'Artagnan begins the game. This is the extent of the adventurers' connection to the setting. For the Top Secret, the agents have a case officer as their sole contact; everything else they must build in play.So I not sure if we approach our games with the same idea of "cohesive background/situation/characters." A theme or basic situation, okay; character motivations, definitely. Relationships? Not really.This is of course an entirely valid approach, but it's not one which I personally enjoy or utilize.</blockquote>

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