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Scene Framing and "Surprising the GM" -- An Innerdudian Case Study
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6122492" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>A lot of RPGs try to deal with this by addressing it as part of char gen.</p><p></p><p> [MENTION=22779]Hussar[/MENTION] has talked about using a "group template". My table (to date, at least) has been less formal, but we workshop PC ideas, connections, etc. And in my current 4e game, I gave two instructions to accompany the mechanical aspects of PC building: (i) there must be something/someone to whom your PC is loyal; (ii) your PC must have a reason to be ready to fight goblins.</p><p></p><p>It turned out that these instructions - in conjunction with the default 4e mythic history and cosmology, which establishes a lot of conflicts and allegiances while leaving their trajectory and resolution open- were enough to seed a solid game where I've had no trouble framing and pitching good scenes.</p><p></p><p>My view is similar to yours, but perhaps different overall (it can be hard to tell sometimes because all our terminologoy here is a bit up in the air).</p><p></p><p>I think the reason to have a GM is because the <em>players</em>, turning up to have a fun session, want their PCs to experience challenge/pressure, but the players, <em>in playing their PCs</em>, have a natural reason to try to avoid and minimise pressure. So outside of play, in PC-build or kibitzing between sessions or whatever, the players, the GM etc all talk about what sorts of things would be cool, who the PCs could be friends with, who their enemies are, etc. But then, <em>during play</em>, when the players are playing their PCs and pushing as hard as they can in their PCs' interests, someone else has to do the job of applying the pressure. And that is the GM - who draws on backstory (whether co-created or sole-authored), makes stuff up, follows the players' leads, etc, to frame the pressure-applying situations.</p><p></p><p><em>Story</em>, for me, is what results from play. Not that there's a big time delay - we don't have to wait until the end of the sesssion, or the end of the campaign, to learn what the story was, we can see it emerging as we play. But no one set out with an idea of the story in mind. They had particular <em>story elements</em> in mind - these PCs, here and now, being confronted by this thing - but how it would end up (the plot, the resolution), that wasn't in anyone's mind in advance.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 6122492, member: 42582"] A lot of RPGs try to deal with this by addressing it as part of char gen. [MENTION=22779]Hussar[/MENTION] has talked about using a "group template". My table (to date, at least) has been less formal, but we workshop PC ideas, connections, etc. And in my current 4e game, I gave two instructions to accompany the mechanical aspects of PC building: (i) there must be something/someone to whom your PC is loyal; (ii) your PC must have a reason to be ready to fight goblins. It turned out that these instructions - in conjunction with the default 4e mythic history and cosmology, which establishes a lot of conflicts and allegiances while leaving their trajectory and resolution open- were enough to seed a solid game where I've had no trouble framing and pitching good scenes. My view is similar to yours, but perhaps different overall (it can be hard to tell sometimes because all our terminologoy here is a bit up in the air). I think the reason to have a GM is because the [I]players[/I], turning up to have a fun session, want their PCs to experience challenge/pressure, but the players, [I]in playing their PCs[/I], have a natural reason to try to avoid and minimise pressure. So outside of play, in PC-build or kibitzing between sessions or whatever, the players, the GM etc all talk about what sorts of things would be cool, who the PCs could be friends with, who their enemies are, etc. But then, [I]during play[/I], when the players are playing their PCs and pushing as hard as they can in their PCs' interests, someone else has to do the job of applying the pressure. And that is the GM - who draws on backstory (whether co-created or sole-authored), makes stuff up, follows the players' leads, etc, to frame the pressure-applying situations. [I]Story[/I], for me, is what results from play. Not that there's a big time delay - we don't have to wait until the end of the sesssion, or the end of the campaign, to learn what the story was, we can see it emerging as we play. But no one set out with an idea of the story in mind. They had particular [I]story elements[/I] in mind - these PCs, here and now, being confronted by this thing - but how it would end up (the plot, the resolution), that wasn't in anyone's mind in advance. [/QUOTE]
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Scene Framing and "Surprising the GM" -- An Innerdudian Case Study
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