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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sir Elton" data-source="post: 1511621" data-attributes="member: 14486">Yes, it is possible to have an ensemble story.  Take a look at any Ensemble Adventure T.V. Series, and every character plays eight basic roles.Buffy the Vampire Slayer Buffy is the protagonist.  Her role is to drive the plot forward, she considers and persues her goals.Merrick is the Guardian.  His role is to act as Buffy's conscience and to help Buffy.Willow is a Complex character.  She feels emotions and she has logic, and is mostly in control of herself (like a reason character), although at times she acted uncontrolled as an Emotion character will.Angel and Willow's lover are Contagonists.  They act as tempters and they seek to hinder Buffy's goal of destroying evil, or Willow's goal to use her occult powers for the good of others.  The Vampires and Monsters are Antagonists.  They try to get Buffy to reconsider and represent avoidance of her goals.Zander and Dawn act as sidekicks.  They lend their faith and support to Buffy in her time in need. Spike is the Skeptic.  He represents disbelief and he opposes Zander's and Dawn's support.At least, that was what the characters were like in the beginning.  That is an Ensemble cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  According to Dramatica theory, these eight archetypes are all that are needed to run a story effectively.What you are suggesting is to run a campaign like an American T.V. Series.  I have nothing against that, as there are episodes where the camera turns it's attention on them.   So, lets use Dramatica theory on a typical D&D party that a DM can run.  Suppose there are eight players: seven player character players and one DM.A typical D&D party consisting of eight player characters to roleplay through the problems or issues the DM presents would consist of:1. The Paladin.  The Paladin represents the archetypical protagonist.  He considers the goals the group takes and persues them.2. The Dungeon.  The Dungeon represents the archetypical Antagonist, as the DM plays all the denizens of the Dungeon.3. The Sorcerer or Druid.  The Sorcerer or the Druid can represent the Guardian, so he has to be typically of a higher level than the Paladin so that they can act as the Paladin's help and conscience.  This typically the same relationship that Luke Skywalker and Ben Kenobi had.4. The Rogue or Ranger.  Both classes are contagonistic.  The Ranger suffers from overwhelming hate (favored enemies anyone?), and the Rogue is either an outlaw or a para-legal.  Both hinder and tempt the Paladin.  One to give in to his hate, and the other to present a Machiavellian way of doing things.5. The Barbarian or Bard.  The Barbarian and the bard are classically emotive. They feel strong emotions and are uncontroled.  The Barbarian expresses this through overwhelming rage (RAAAWGGH!) and the Bard creates emotions through song.  Both are typically uncontrolled, the Barbarian beats doors down and the bard can't contain the ironic or satirous songs he usually sings.6. The Wizard.  Having the Guardian's place taken over by the Sorcerer or Druid, the Wizard is relegated the role of Reason.  His scientific approach to magic allows for control and logic to exist in the party.  So he gives balance to the Barbarian or Bard.7. The Cleric.  The cleric is archetypically predisposed to being the Sidekick.  She lends faith and support to the Palladin and the rest of the group through her healing spells.8. The Fighter.  The Fighter can act the Skeptic of the party.  He balances the Cleric's faith and support with Disbelief and Opposition.And there is your typical D&D party.OF course, anyone can create a complex character.Conan the Barbarian combines the Persuit of the Protagonist with the Uncontrol of the Emotional.Gandalf combines Conscience, Help, and Reason together.Aragorn acts the part of Sidekick, but when he separates from Frodo, he becomes the Protagonist to Oppose Sauron's Antagonism. The One Ring acts blatantly as the Contagonist.  The One Ring tempts and hinders Frodo from his goal of destroying it.  However, due to a soul link to Sauron, the One Ring represents the true Antagonist.  Every time Frodo puts the ring on, he distracts Sauron's attention towards him.Samwise is the Sidekick all the way.Gollum is an Emotion character, but he also represents hindrance.Gimli is pure Emotion.  He feels strongly and no one can completely control him.Isamu Dyson from Macross Plus combines Emotion, Uncontrolability, and Pursuit.Guld Boa Bowman also from Macross Plus combines Control with Reconsider.Sharon Apple Combines avoidance with Temptation.The point is, not everyone in an RPG group can play the Protagonist.  All of them are Main Characters and they act like Impact Characters toward each other, but if everyone tries to consider and persue what they percieve as the main goal of the campaign, you will have chaos and the DM's problem will never get solved.  The idea is for the group to lend support and help to each other.  They act as a team, so this means that some characters can't play the protagonist, they have to play one of the other characters in order to jointly solve the problem the DM presents.IN short, everyone acts together in the Storymind to solve a certain problem. They are creating their own myth with them as the principle actors.  Game groups that work together have solved these relationships and have fun.  Everyone will get their chance to have the camera shine on them in a Character Focus episode.However, in Ensemble, Change of Pace, and Continuity episodes, the camera collectively shines on all of them and everyone has to work together to solve the problem.  That's how it works.  That is how it is supposed to work in a roleplaying game.Check this link out: <a href="http://www.dramatica.com" target="_blank">Storymind Theory</a>.</blockquote>

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