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Respect Mah Authoritah: Thoughts on DM and Player Authority in 5e
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<blockquote data-quote="FrogReaver" data-source="post: 8436630" data-attributes="member: 6795602"><p>Makes it sound like you've already dismissed it before considering it</p><p></p><p></p><p>That's not the kind of fiction I'm talking about. </p><p></p><p>As an example. </p><p>PC Backstory is I want to take vengeance on my brother's murderer. 2 factions start to war. PC's learn of this and approach their preferred faction. The player makes it clear his PC isn't interested in gold but in information about the person and location of who killed his brother. The faction agrees to provide that information in lieu of gold if he will assist by helping to raid an important outpost. He assists, they provide the info and instead of continuing to help that faction he leaves to find his brothers killer. The faction war continues in the background with DM behind the scenes mechanics determining which faction comes out on top and the consequences of that. PC's probably hear news of this as they track down the killer. How is that player not driving the story?</p><p></p><p></p><p>Not really. In a living sandbox situations activate without need for the PC's. The world goes on without them so to speak.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>*They need not be though. </p><p></p><p>The DM can have a general world in mind and modify it to incorporate PC backstory elements after receiving them. Say who your brothers killer is and his relationship to the various people in the world. To me that makes the game about your characters quest to avenge his brothers death and this was not something independently established by the GM. </p><p></p><p>Action resolution is going to be often determined by reference to notes. But the situations the characters find themselves in are of their own choosing - not independently established by the GM.</p><p></p><p>To me that would sound like character and situation first and backstory last. While backstory is important and is the means of action resolution, getting to the point where backstory really starts mattering is even more important for sandbox play. That is handled by players choosing what situation to act on and how they go about it which depends on their character and his strengths/weaknesses/motivations/goals. I don't see how sandbox play ever gets to action resolution without character and situation, which IMO makes them more important.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>In a living sandbox game it's also important to engage players priorities/goals and aspirations for their PCs. The principles of living sandbox play might be described as: Maintain the believability of the world, Don't wait on the PC's for events to start to unfold, Honor success and failure, Give PC's freedom to decide what to do and what to engage with, Provide plenty of events and factions and characters for them to potentially engage with.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Instructions like that are not uncommon for living sandbox style play either.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="FrogReaver, post: 8436630, member: 6795602"] Makes it sound like you've already dismissed it before considering it That's not the kind of fiction I'm talking about. As an example. PC Backstory is I want to take vengeance on my brother's murderer. 2 factions start to war. PC's learn of this and approach their preferred faction. The player makes it clear his PC isn't interested in gold but in information about the person and location of who killed his brother. The faction agrees to provide that information in lieu of gold if he will assist by helping to raid an important outpost. He assists, they provide the info and instead of continuing to help that faction he leaves to find his brothers killer. The faction war continues in the background with DM behind the scenes mechanics determining which faction comes out on top and the consequences of that. PC's probably hear news of this as they track down the killer. How is that player not driving the story? Not really. In a living sandbox situations activate without need for the PC's. The world goes on without them so to speak. *They need not be though. The DM can have a general world in mind and modify it to incorporate PC backstory elements after receiving them. Say who your brothers killer is and his relationship to the various people in the world. To me that makes the game about your characters quest to avenge his brothers death and this was not something independently established by the GM. Action resolution is going to be often determined by reference to notes. But the situations the characters find themselves in are of their own choosing - not independently established by the GM. To me that would sound like character and situation first and backstory last. While backstory is important and is the means of action resolution, getting to the point where backstory really starts mattering is even more important for sandbox play. That is handled by players choosing what situation to act on and how they go about it which depends on their character and his strengths/weaknesses/motivations/goals. I don't see how sandbox play ever gets to action resolution without character and situation, which IMO makes them more important. In a living sandbox game it's also important to engage players priorities/goals and aspirations for their PCs. The principles of living sandbox play might be described as: Maintain the believability of the world, Don't wait on the PC's for events to start to unfold, Honor success and failure, Give PC's freedom to decide what to do and what to engage with, Provide plenty of events and factions and characters for them to potentially engage with. Instructions like that are not uncommon for living sandbox style play either. [/QUOTE]
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