Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="The Shaman" data-source="post: 2892388" data-attributes="member: 26473">When I want unlimited creative control, I sit behind the screen.When I want to explore someone else's creation, I sit in a player's chair.When I'm running a character instead of running the game, it's because I want to enjoy the fruits of someone else's imagination. I enjoy the challenge of creating a character that is at home in the setting - I neither want nor expect the setting to morph to conform to my character.Many years ago an art history professor presented us with six different paintings depicting <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1a/Sebastia.jpg" target="_blank">the martyrdom of St. Sebastian</a>. The subject matter was the same for all six works, but each artist offered a unique portrayal of St. Sebastian and the circumstances of his martyrdom, while holding true to the core narrative. All of these artists took a familiar story and made it uniquely their own.It's with that in mind that I have a hard time accepting the idea that a player cannot create an interesting, engaging, unique character within a set of boundaries that define the setting and the rules system. For me, this is a big part of the fun of giving up control of the reins and sitting in a player's seat instead.I reject the notion that a player is less invested in a game if the player doesn't have a level of input comparable to that of the game master. In my experience as both a player and a game master, it comes down to this: offer the players a world with intriguing people to meet and exotic places to explore, and give them the chance to do something exciting and meaningful, and you will gain their buy-in.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="The Shaman, post: 2892388, member: 26473"] When I want unlimited creative control, I sit [u]behind[/u] the screen. When I want to explore someone else's creation, I sit in a player's chair. When I'm running a character instead of running the game, it's because I want to enjoy the fruits of someone else's imagination. I enjoy the challenge of creating a character that is at home in the setting - I neither want nor expect the setting to morph to conform to my character. Many years ago an art history professor presented us with six different paintings depicting [url=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1a/Sebastia.jpg][color=blue]the martyrdom of St. Sebastian[/color][/url]. The subject matter was the same for all six works, but each artist offered a unique portrayal of St. Sebastian and the circumstances of his martyrdom, while holding true to the core narrative. All of these artists took a familiar story and made it uniquely their own. It's with that in mind that I have a hard time accepting the idea that a player cannot create an interesting, engaging, unique character within a set of boundaries that define the setting and the rules system. For me, this is a big part of the fun of giving up control of the reins and sitting in a player's seat instead. I reject the notion that a player is less invested in a game if the player doesn't have a level of input comparable to that of the game master. In my experience as both a player and a game master, it comes down to this: offer the players a world with intriguing people to meet and exotic places to explore, and give them the chance to do something exciting and meaningful, and you will gain their buy-in. [/QUOTE]

Verification