Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 7732366" data-attributes="member: 29398">Yes Saelorn's sentences seem to contradict each other, but I kinda think I see what he's getting at.At session 0 he-as-DM says something like &quot;The basic idea I've got here to start with is the rescue of some Elves - keep that in mind while generating your characters - and we'll see what happens after that.&quot;&nbsp; I might say something similar at the start of a campaign.&nbsp; But - and here's the key - as DM I know full well (and I think from his second sentence Saelorn also knows) that once the puck drops and the players get going that I might very quickly find myself in react mode e.g. when by session 3 they've in-character decided the poncy Elves aren't worth bothering with (no reward is worth this!) and are instead headed to the coast to jump on a ship and see where it takes them.When they throw me a curveball I have to react to it.&nbsp; A railroady DM would react by saying or enforcing something like &quot;you can't do that, you have to rescue the Elves&quot;.&nbsp; A not-so-railroady DM would react by simply reacting neutrally to what the players (in character) do.&nbsp; They go to the coast?&nbsp; DM the trip to the coast - that's what your regional or national map is for.&nbsp; They want to get on a ship and sail into the sunset?&nbsp; DM them finding a ship and sailing into the sunset.&nbsp; They want to go and beat people up in a waterfront tavern?&nbsp; DM that...and then DM the consequences. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Neutrally reacting doesn't make the game world any less the DM's.&nbsp; The DM is going to be the one determining - probably by a somewhat random roll in all cases, taking any relevant skills etc. into account - what and how many ships are in port, how long it takes to get passage on one (or buy one outright), what the weather does once they leave harbour, and how good their navigation is.&nbsp; It's even possible the DM has already made notes on what ships are in port...who knows?&nbsp; But it's not the players' place to be determining any of these things, it's the DM's; forced in this case by the unexpected decision of the players/characters.&nbsp; What the players have to do is react, preferably in character, to the world presented to them.I know nothing about Fate beyond what I've read on these forums, but I think that might be the first and only time I've ever seen anyone write anything positive about it.&nbsp; 13th Age, on the other hand, I've seen all kinds of positive things about.Lanefan</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 7732366, member: 29398"] Yes Saelorn's sentences seem to contradict each other, but I kinda think I see what he's getting at. At session 0 he-as-DM says something like "The basic idea I've got here to start with is the rescue of some Elves - keep that in mind while generating your characters - and we'll see what happens after that." I might say something similar at the start of a campaign. But - and here's the key - as DM I know full well (and I think from his second sentence Saelorn also knows) that once the puck drops and the players get going that I might very quickly find myself in react mode e.g. when by session 3 they've in-character decided the poncy Elves aren't worth bothering with (no reward is worth this!) and are instead headed to the coast to jump on a ship and see where it takes them. When they throw me a curveball I have to react to it. A railroady DM would react by saying or enforcing something like "you can't do that, you have to rescue the Elves". A not-so-railroady DM would react by simply reacting neutrally to what the players (in character) do. They go to the coast? DM the trip to the coast - that's what your regional or national map is for. They want to get on a ship and sail into the sunset? DM them finding a ship and sailing into the sunset. They want to go and beat people up in a waterfront tavern? DM that...and then DM the consequences. :) Neutrally reacting doesn't make the game world any less the DM's. The DM is going to be the one determining - probably by a somewhat random roll in all cases, taking any relevant skills etc. into account - what and how many ships are in port, how long it takes to get passage on one (or buy one outright), what the weather does once they leave harbour, and how good their navigation is. It's even possible the DM has already made notes on what ships are in port...who knows? But it's not the players' place to be determining any of these things, it's the DM's; forced in this case by the unexpected decision of the players/characters. What the players have to do is react, preferably in character, to the world presented to them. I know nothing about Fate beyond what I've read on these forums, but I think that might be the first and only time I've ever seen anyone write anything positive about it. 13th Age, on the other hand, I've seen all kinds of positive things about. Lanefan [/QUOTE]

Verification