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Story Elements in RPGs...
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<blockquote data-quote="Jack7" data-source="post: 5682136" data-attributes="member: 54707"><p><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">I think that sometimes a role playing team develops a main character. Or even a leadership team or pair (which could function as a team of main characters). </span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Although I'm not sure this is true in the same sense as is true in literature. To me the "team" is often far more like a military unit (than a cast of characters), with "main characters" being those who can best respond to or lead (although some really good players and characters might eschew a formal leadership or even main character role) in any given situation.</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">So to me both leadership roles and main character status is usually fluid in a role play situation, and sometimes almost circumstantial, rather than being fixed and static. I think that one of the fundamental problems with later editions of D&D, for example, is that it tried to more or less fix or emplace leadership roles, rather than let them evolve either naturally or situation, and this is probably due to the emphasis on combat leadership, rather than stressing the leadership principle in general.</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">To me the players will affix leadership roles and situational "status" positions through role play, and that these positions need not, and often are bets not, fixed ahead of time by some artificial class relationship, or some idea that certain classes (or similar constructs) make better leaders, followers, etc. Role assignments in any team of co-equal volunteers is not about rank, or privilege, or even theoretical supposition (or maybe especially not about theoretical supposition), but about actual performance in the field in any given situation. Players determine such standings and relationships by how they play, and to what end, and how they react to any given circumstance. Rather than predetermined role assignments can still be used, if desired, after one sees how the actual, on the ground relationships evolve and develop. </span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">I could go on and on about heroism, how it relates to leadership, how it is similar to and different from leadership, and how it ultimately involves self-sacrifice, as well as how it affects others (say within the same party). So I won't do that. </span><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">But I will say that heroism is a particular kind of role, and involves a particular kind of leadership, that may very well be entirely different from more standard leadership roles. Although ideally all leaders should be at least capable of, if not actual exemplars of heroism.</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">As for me, and my ideas about storytelling in role play games. To me storytelling in role play games should be 50% preparation. That is to say the DM creates and prepares the skeleton of the story, or the framework and foundation if you will. And role play storytelling should be 50% inspiration, that is to say it is the job of the characters to "grow flesh upon the frame" by their personal actions and deeds and manner of acting in the created world.</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Or put another way the DM develops the Macro-World of the milieu, and the players develop the Micro-World of the Milieu. Both are extremely important and complimentary and mutually reliant ventures and this is one of the things that makes role play games unique, in the sense that they are truly interactive. Psychologically as well as imaginatively interactive. The best stories are a collaborative effort between DM (Story-Creator) and Players (Story-Developers).</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jack7, post: 5682136, member: 54707"] [FONT=Verdana]I think that sometimes a role playing team develops a main character. Or even a leadership team or pair (which could function as a team of main characters). [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana] [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]Although I'm not sure this is true in the same sense as is true in literature. To me the "team" is often far more like a military unit (than a cast of characters), with "main characters" being those who can best respond to or lead (although some really good players and characters might eschew a formal leadership or even main character role) in any given situation.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana] [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]So to me both leadership roles and main character status is usually fluid in a role play situation, and sometimes almost circumstantial, rather than being fixed and static. I think that one of the fundamental problems with later editions of D&D, for example, is that it tried to more or less fix or emplace leadership roles, rather than let them evolve either naturally or situation, and this is probably due to the emphasis on combat leadership, rather than stressing the leadership principle in general.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana] [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]To me the players will affix leadership roles and situational "status" positions through role play, and that these positions need not, and often are bets not, fixed ahead of time by some artificial class relationship, or some idea that certain classes (or similar constructs) make better leaders, followers, etc. Role assignments in any team of co-equal volunteers is not about rank, or privilege, or even theoretical supposition (or maybe especially not about theoretical supposition), but about actual performance in the field in any given situation. Players determine such standings and relationships by how they play, and to what end, and how they react to any given circumstance. Rather than predetermined role assignments can still be used, if desired, after one sees how the actual, on the ground relationships evolve and develop. [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana] [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]I could go on and on about heroism, how it relates to leadership, how it is similar to and different from leadership, and how it ultimately involves self-sacrifice, as well as how it affects others (say within the same party). So I won't do that. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]But I will say that heroism is a particular kind of role, and involves a particular kind of leadership, that may very well be entirely different from more standard leadership roles. Although ideally all leaders should be at least capable of, if not actual exemplars of heroism.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana] [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]As for me, and my ideas about storytelling in role play games. To me storytelling in role play games should be 50% preparation. That is to say the DM creates and prepares the skeleton of the story, or the framework and foundation if you will. And role play storytelling should be 50% inspiration, that is to say it is the job of the characters to "grow flesh upon the frame" by their personal actions and deeds and manner of acting in the created world.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana] [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana]Or put another way the DM develops the Macro-World of the milieu, and the players develop the Micro-World of the Milieu. Both are extremely important and complimentary and mutually reliant ventures and this is one of the things that makes role play games unique, in the sense that they are truly interactive. Psychologically as well as imaginatively interactive. The best stories are a collaborative effort between DM (Story-Creator) and Players (Story-Developers).[/FONT] [/QUOTE]
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