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General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Which are you, The plan everything out GM, or the Ad lib?
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<blockquote data-quote="zarionofarabel" data-source="post: 9771295" data-attributes="member: 7026405"><p>How so?</p><p></p><p>Nah. As long as I have even a general idea of what happened, coming up with clues is pretty easy. Then again I haven't watched a TV or movie mystery or thriller that contained anything truly surprising in a couple of decades, so that might make a difference. While I do try to throw in a plot twist at times, playing it straight works just as good. Having everything be some kind of <em>gotcha</em> is just cheesy IMHO.</p><p></p><p>Coherence comes about over time as narrative momentum builds, it's only after the story emerges that one knows how it all ties together. Once play happens then you look back at the story to see how it unfolded and how events fit together. As for locations, thats also easy to do as long as you don't feel the need to have a drafted floorplan. It's easy enough to take a couple minutes to sketch out a location map if the players demand one. Most of the time, I've found anyway, mapped out locations aren't needed as the minutae of the location isn't the point, the events that happen in said location are.</p><p></p><p>Why do I need to come up with better plans? Who's to say that if I planned out something it would, by default, be better than an idea I came up with on the fly?</p><p></p><p>When did being a GM mean it's my "sacred duty" to be a secret keeper?!? Also, why do I need to prep something beforehand for it to be a secret? Can't I just decide something in a moment during play, and not tell the players immediately, is that somehow not a secret? As for being reliant on the players for content.and ideas, it depends. Sometimes I wholly riff off of, or outright steal, ideas from "overheard" conversations amongst the players. Alot of the time however, it's all just what I decide cause I'm the GM.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="zarionofarabel, post: 9771295, member: 7026405"] How so? Nah. As long as I have even a general idea of what happened, coming up with clues is pretty easy. Then again I haven't watched a TV or movie mystery or thriller that contained anything truly surprising in a couple of decades, so that might make a difference. While I do try to throw in a plot twist at times, playing it straight works just as good. Having everything be some kind of [I]gotcha[/I] is just cheesy IMHO. Coherence comes about over time as narrative momentum builds, it's only after the story emerges that one knows how it all ties together. Once play happens then you look back at the story to see how it unfolded and how events fit together. As for locations, thats also easy to do as long as you don't feel the need to have a drafted floorplan. It's easy enough to take a couple minutes to sketch out a location map if the players demand one. Most of the time, I've found anyway, mapped out locations aren't needed as the minutae of the location isn't the point, the events that happen in said location are. Why do I need to come up with better plans? Who's to say that if I planned out something it would, by default, be better than an idea I came up with on the fly? When did being a GM mean it's my "sacred duty" to be a secret keeper?!? Also, why do I need to prep something beforehand for it to be a secret? Can't I just decide something in a moment during play, and not tell the players immediately, is that somehow not a secret? As for being reliant on the players for content.and ideas, it depends. Sometimes I wholly riff off of, or outright steal, ideas from "overheard" conversations amongst the players. Alot of the time however, it's all just what I decide cause I'm the GM. [/QUOTE]
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Which are you, The plan everything out GM, or the Ad lib?
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