NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Campbell" data-source="post: 6401929" data-attributes="member: 16586">What works for one group may not necessarily work for any other. The best way to play a particular game is highly dependent on particular mix of players, what the GM's strengths and weaknesses are, as well as the vagaries of the game being played.For my part, when I run a game what I value most are engaged and energetic players who play characters with meaningful dramatic needs that will seek out rather than avoid conflict, build relationships rather than go it alone, and who take ownership of the game as a whole.We're currently in the character creation process for the Demon - The Descent game I'll be running. Here's what I outlined to my players: From there my job has been to ask questions like:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">How did you fall from the God Machine's grace?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Who would you trust with your secret?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Where do you go to blow off steam?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">How does (Character 1) know (Character 2)?</li> </ul>So far I have a mind-reading gypsy fortune teller stuck in Detroit (or so the Demon's cover states), a stay at home husband socialite who is planning to bring down Detroit's electrical grid, a rumor mongering street preacher, and a homicide detective all with meaningful hooks into the game's setting and defined relationships with each other that their players are intimately aware of because they wrote them. I have inklings of places, characters, and situations I could present but no particular plans. When we start play a week from this Sunday I'll present a situation with open questions for them to solve together while pursuing their own ends. I don't really have a firm setting prepared. For me the fun part of running a game is letting players run wild and seeing how they respond to conflict and dealing with the consequences of the decisions they make.I'm running the game in the way I do for a couple of reasons. I'm not great at intricately plotted scenarios with a lot of secret back story. I have little interest in world building and setting exploration, but character motivation and finding out what happens deeply interests me.  I have players who identify strongly with the characters they make and portray. That being said I don't think the open ended way I'm running this game works for all games or groups. If I were running an exploration focused B/X D&D game I'd be using different principles. With different players I'd have to adjust my approach. I'm going to have more procedural conflicts than I would prefer in a perfect situation because a couple of my players are not big on dramatic conflict. As sessions go on I'll adjust my principles based on the results of play. I don't think there really is such a thing as a great GM in a vacuum. There are only great game/group fits. This goes for players as well.  I think the most fruitful approach is to simply know your players, know yourself, and try to determine the best way to do things for a particular situation and not be afraid to make adjustments over time. I think when you focus on who has a right to do a thing you're starting out on bad footing. It doesn't matter who is right and who is wrong. What matters is what approach will lead to the best gaming for your particular group.</blockquote>

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