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<blockquote data-quote="The Shaman" data-source="post: 5181121" data-attributes="member: 26473">Agreed.I've read posts in this thread and elsewhere suggesting that anything that's happening in the setting is a &quot;plot&quot; or a &quot;story,&quot; but this is a semantics exercise which, in my opinion, obscures the point that these exist independently of the players and their characters, and they remain so unless or until the adventurers encounter them while playing the game. These are not &quot;stories&quot; or &quot;plots&quot; the adventurers are expected to follow, and they are not prepared with the adventurers' interaction or particiption assumed or prescribed.If the adventurers become involved with an npc, or encounter some other event due to proximity or the like, in the course of their travels, then the events associated with the npc or the background of the setting change as a result of the adventurers' involvement, so whatever &quot;plot&quot; or &quot;story&quot; that may be said to exist in my notes effectively ceases to exist as such.In <a href="http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/le-ballet-de-l-acier" target="_blank">Le Ballet . . .</a>, there are numerous rivalries and schemes among the npcs in the setting, many of them historical in fact. None of these are written for the adventurers specifically, in large part because I have no idea who the adventurers will be or what they will pursue. Maybe they will become involved in one of them, but I have no specific expectations of that: I'm not casting about plot hooks to snare them into the Chalais conspiracy or Montmorency's rebellion.As I noted upthread, my goal is for the adventurers to create their own &quot;plots,&quot; in pursuit of their own goals, rather than searching for &quot;plot hooks&quot; to snag. Let them develop allies and rivals through their actions and choices, not by my contrivance.And whatever 'story' can be said to exist is created on their side the screen, not mine.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="The Shaman, post: 5181121, member: 26473"] Agreed. I've read posts in this thread and elsewhere suggesting that [I]anything[/I] that's happening in the setting is a "plot" or a "story," but this is a semantics exercise which, in my opinion, obscures the point that these exist [I]independently[/I] of the players and their characters, and [I]they remain so[/I] unless or until the adventurers encounter them while playing the game. These are not "stories" or "plots" the adventurers are [I]expected[/I] to follow, and they are not prepared with the adventurers' interaction or particiption assumed or prescribed. [I]If[/I] the adventurers become involved with an npc, or encounter some other event due to proximity or the like, in the course of their travels, then the events associated with the npc or the background of the setting change as a result of the adventurers' involvement, so whatever "plot" or "story" that may be said to exist in my notes effectively ceases to exist as such. In [url=http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/le-ballet-de-l-acier][i]Le Ballet . . .[/i][/url], there are numerous rivalries and schemes among the npcs in the setting, many of them historical in fact. None of these are written for the adventurers specifically, in large part because I have no idea who the adventurers will be or what they will pursue. Maybe they will become involved in one of them, but I have no specific expectations of that: I'm not casting about plot hooks to snare them into the Chalais conspiracy or Montmorency's rebellion. As I noted upthread, my goal is for the adventurers to create their own "plots," in pursuit of their own goals, rather than searching for "plot hooks" to snag. Let them develop allies and rivals through their actions and choices, not by my contrivance. And whatever 'story' can be said to exist is created on their side the screen, not mine. [/QUOTE]

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