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Rel's Faded Glory III: Glory Reborn (FINAL UPDATE 6/22 - SHE'S DONE, BABY!!)
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<blockquote data-quote="Rel" data-source="post: 1796546" data-attributes="member: 99"><p>Well, I'll be the first to admit that the Story Hour smooths out a lot of rough edges. For example, there was probably at least 15 minutes hammering out all the logistics for the Orcish Fleet with the party trying to make darn sure that they were not headed for the barbarian lands of the Fodor. But you, the reader, don't want to hear all that junk, and I sure as hell don't want to type it (not to mention that I couldn't even if I wanted to). I condensed that down to a fairly succinct conversation with Marcus being the one to put a pin in it. I don't recall necessarily that Marcus' player was the one who pushed strongly on the idea that the Fleet must be headed for the Empire but it seemed to make sense that his character would due to his religious knowledge.</p><p></p><p>Just for the record, I do this in a lot of other minor areas too. I have no idea who it was who Spotted this enemy or that monster. I do know that Marius often scouted ahead a bit or that Speaks had a high Spot skill thanks to his good Wisdom so I'll just assign whoever seems appropriate for the moment as the one who saw the bad guys coming.</p><p></p><p>The "dream sequence" where he met the Shining Lady played out as somewhat less mystical than I've portrayed it above. But that is mostly a product of the disconnect between the fact that we're sitting in a clean, well-lighted room with a big battlemat in the middle, drinking soda with bags of chips all over the place and Marcus being in a dreamcrafted room with a direct servant of his god offering him a choice that will change his life. The player certainly roleplayed it well and was very impressed by coming into contact with the Shining Lady. This also sets him up for some other important dealings with his Church as you'll see in the next update or so.</p><p></p><p>I guess my general assessment is this: If you try and pull off a dramatic scene in your game, you really need two things, Mood and Impact. I don't get all "method-acty" and dim the lights and wrap myself in a cloak and talk in a funny voice to set the mood. Instead, I usually just talk normally but a bit quieter so that the players have to shut up to hear what I'm saying. It makes the room nice and quiet and gives me some range to raise my voice a bit for dramatic effect. We are normally a very joking group who cracks irreverent comments at every turn, so you've also got to avoid setting the scene in such a way that it lends itself to being made fun of.</p><p></p><p>For example, in the scene above, I specifically avoided mentioning anything about the Shining Lady's appearance other than the fact that she glowed from within. If I say, "You see a beautiful glowing woman in a dress cut down to here and a bodacious set of knockers that must be held aloft by the power of Mount Celestia itself!" then I've pretty much ceded any chance of having the group take the scene seriously. This can be a rough crowd sometimes and you've got to go over your description carefully to make sure that you avoid anything phallic or dung-like. Otherwise they're merciless.</p><p></p><p>Then there's the Impact. I generally don't throw in a lot of dramatic scenes just for the sake of coolness and style. When I go into "dramatic mode" it usually means that something important and perhaps unexpected is taking place that has meaning to the party. This means that I don't wear out my welcome by doing too many such scenes and it also means they know to pay close attention when I start talking in that somewhat quiet and reverent voice.</p><p></p><p>I suppose that the players can comment further if they like about whether I do an effective job at this. How well I think I do is probably a lot less important than how well THEY think I do.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rel, post: 1796546, member: 99"] Well, I'll be the first to admit that the Story Hour smooths out a lot of rough edges. For example, there was probably at least 15 minutes hammering out all the logistics for the Orcish Fleet with the party trying to make darn sure that they were not headed for the barbarian lands of the Fodor. But you, the reader, don't want to hear all that junk, and I sure as hell don't want to type it (not to mention that I couldn't even if I wanted to). I condensed that down to a fairly succinct conversation with Marcus being the one to put a pin in it. I don't recall necessarily that Marcus' player was the one who pushed strongly on the idea that the Fleet must be headed for the Empire but it seemed to make sense that his character would due to his religious knowledge. Just for the record, I do this in a lot of other minor areas too. I have no idea who it was who Spotted this enemy or that monster. I do know that Marius often scouted ahead a bit or that Speaks had a high Spot skill thanks to his good Wisdom so I'll just assign whoever seems appropriate for the moment as the one who saw the bad guys coming. The "dream sequence" where he met the Shining Lady played out as somewhat less mystical than I've portrayed it above. But that is mostly a product of the disconnect between the fact that we're sitting in a clean, well-lighted room with a big battlemat in the middle, drinking soda with bags of chips all over the place and Marcus being in a dreamcrafted room with a direct servant of his god offering him a choice that will change his life. The player certainly roleplayed it well and was very impressed by coming into contact with the Shining Lady. This also sets him up for some other important dealings with his Church as you'll see in the next update or so. I guess my general assessment is this: If you try and pull off a dramatic scene in your game, you really need two things, Mood and Impact. I don't get all "method-acty" and dim the lights and wrap myself in a cloak and talk in a funny voice to set the mood. Instead, I usually just talk normally but a bit quieter so that the players have to shut up to hear what I'm saying. It makes the room nice and quiet and gives me some range to raise my voice a bit for dramatic effect. We are normally a very joking group who cracks irreverent comments at every turn, so you've also got to avoid setting the scene in such a way that it lends itself to being made fun of. For example, in the scene above, I specifically avoided mentioning anything about the Shining Lady's appearance other than the fact that she glowed from within. If I say, "You see a beautiful glowing woman in a dress cut down to here and a bodacious set of knockers that must be held aloft by the power of Mount Celestia itself!" then I've pretty much ceded any chance of having the group take the scene seriously. This can be a rough crowd sometimes and you've got to go over your description carefully to make sure that you avoid anything phallic or dung-like. Otherwise they're merciless. Then there's the Impact. I generally don't throw in a lot of dramatic scenes just for the sake of coolness and style. When I go into "dramatic mode" it usually means that something important and perhaps unexpected is taking place that has meaning to the party. This means that I don't wear out my welcome by doing too many such scenes and it also means they know to pay close attention when I start talking in that somewhat quiet and reverent voice. I suppose that the players can comment further if they like about whether I do an effective job at this. How well I think I do is probably a lot less important than how well THEY think I do. [/QUOTE]
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