ry's Threats, Rewards, Assets, and Problems (TRAPs)

[Slapzilla]

Ry, when you mentioned Factions and Themes that got my brain going. I've been thinking about each of these things and how they relate to TRAPs already and I think scale is the only issue.

You've mentioned encounter/story level TRAPs before and I think there is no real difference with the Politics of the Empire TRAPs (Story-campaign) and the Assassin at the Royal Wedding Banquet TRAPs (Story-session) and the Pursuit through the Palace TRAP (encounter). The campaign TRAPs lead out and 'down' to session TRAPs and the encounter TRAPs are derived from the session's TRAP sets.

Factions have motivations and are a part of the Politics TRAPs and of course, filter down into the session TRAPs. Individual encounters may or may not involve any factions, but to guide Themes... depends on your story.

Themes, like mood, are the lifeblood of making any game memorable. Like a good book, there is more to the action than the actions themselves. Context, mood and underlying themes are vital to making a work of imagination come alive. Make a Faction represent a Theme! If a Politics story involves a ruthless dictator and the struggle against him/her/it, then what it means to be free could be a Theme of the Resistance Faction. It could be a Theme about the struggle of Nature against the onslaught of Civilization represented by the Freedom Fighters' clash with the Tyrant of Order. Make it interesting and make Civilization a really likeable Faction and the Freedom Fighters just as likeable. Forcing the characters to choose sides always makes for railroading, but letting the characters choose sides creates a personal connection to the Theme. Intimate involvement from the players means a better time had by all.

Festive dances by the Bonfire of Freedom or orderly rows of tents and a Communal Dinner in the (totally not a) Mess Hall are natural Themes predicated by the Factions themselves. All these things add flavor to what is already an imaginative exercise. More Power to Us All!

 

[Ry]

I see what you mean. I want to emphasize for lurkers / readers that when I talk about Factions / Themes / etc. I'm talking about making these things out of TRAP-shaped blocks.

For example, if you're designing a theme of nature vs. the unclean, you're going to want Threats from the aberration family, Rewards bestowed by those connected to nature, Assets that involve nature's defenders, and Problems that involve nastiness taking over the natural world or how to get people to choose nature over the alternative.

 

[Slapzilla]

All of these things lend a natural flow to the story. Factions have their own motivations and the Themes they represent have a life of their own, just as your example of nature vs. the unclean suggests. Building TRAPs around them is easy.

 

[Ry]

If I wasn't writing a GMless game, working on an open fantasy iconography, and imminently apparent (i.e. a parent), I'd be trying to rewrite that first post to get the idea across in a cleaner, easier way.

 

[wargear]

So. Threat, Resource, Asset, and Problem. Great idea.

I'm going to go back and apply it to my campaign...see what effects it will have...

 

[Ry]

Thanks wargear! Remember it's not designed to stifle, just to transform the things you create into things that the players will really interact with.

Let me know if it works!

 

[Ry]

I don't have time or resources to work TRAPs up into a .pdf - at least in the near future. I was going to write "Please treat TRAPs as 100% OGL" but here's one better.

All my posts in this thread are 100% OGL except where they cannot be OGL because they reference another work (like when I was talking about Dark Sun).

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TRAPs: Threats, Rewards, Assets, and Problems Copyright 2007, Ryan Stoughton[/sblock]

 

[Slapzilla]

Sweet.

Any ideas on how you're going to finalize things yet?

 

[Ry]

See this thread.

It might be a while.

I also have another project that is ahead on the queue. That could change if J's time opens up and he's still interested but we'll see.

 

[Slapzilla]

YAHOO!

Congrats!

I'll see what I can do and submit it to you soon enough for your perusal of my understanding of the process. See what you think, if we're on the same page and all.

Have fun!