[PTA] Players wanting their PCs to fail?
Halzebier:
Quote from: Ron Edwards on July 02, 2008, 05:07:07 AM
Ummm ... how brutal should I be? Should I go with the cestus or with the talk on the porch?
I'm not familiar with either figure of speech, but I get your meaning, I think. So, after some consideration: Be blunt, don't spare me, ask what you want to know. I'll try to answer to the best of my ability and to keep an open mind. I think I can take criticism - and your warning will help with that, so thanks for that - and I certainly want help.
Regards
Hal
Valamir:
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You're spot-on, almost eerily so. I think we are intoxicated by (a) a lot of interesting stuff happening (the pace of our regular fantasy game is so slow that I dropped out six months ago) and (b) having unprecedented power to contribute meaningful decisions and new story elements. We're happily rolling along right now, but I agree 100% that more focus would benefit us.
I've repeatedly suggested the players "get into character and just play as you used to" (i.e. tell the GM what your character is trying to do), but I'm not pushing hard because I don't want to break the good mood.
I'll just interject to say that in my experience this is very very common for players newly introduced to unfamiliar levels of player authority. I've seen this dozens of times in my own Universalis games. It almost always lasts until the novelty wears off and 1) players realize that being extremely crazy isn't as much fun as not being extremely crazy, and 2) this isn't a trick, the rug's not going be yanked out from under them, they don't have shoot their load now before the authority gets revoked again.
I liken it to someone just released from 10 years in prison who goes on a week long binger of excess in celebration of his new found freedom.
You may be able to draw your current game back to a more desired level, or you may just let it play out as is and look for tighter focus next time around.
Marshall Burns:
This is a small thing and only partly related, but a few months ago I tried pitching some RPGs to some friends of mine who are writers and poets but not gamers at all. I was trying to explain the Story Now process and what the rules are for, and one guy said something about, "This reminds me of something I read about Charlie Chaplin. When he was going to make a movie, he would build sets before writing the script. The sets provided the structure and inspiration for the script."
That is precisely what the rules are for.
Ron Edwards:
I'm sorry, Hal, but I'm completely swamped by many commitments. I'll get back to this thread as soon as I can, but I can't say when.
Everyone else is bringing up good stuff, so please, continue with the discussion.
Best, Ron
Halzebier:
Quote from: Valamir on July 02, 2008, 06:44:15 AM
I'll just interject to say that in my experience this is very very common for players newly introduced to unfamiliar levels of player authority. I've seen this dozens of times in my own Universalis games. It almost always lasts until the novelty wears off and 1) players realize that being extremely crazy isn't as much fun as not being extremely crazy, and 2) this isn't a trick, the rug's not going be yanked out from under them, they don't have shoot their load now before the authority gets revoked again.
I think you're spot-on, Ralph. The power-creep I mentioned is a sign of "being extremely crazy" -- sure, you can narrate lots of cool things, but it doesn't necessarily make for a better story, particularly in the long run. Tellingly, the players expect that the storylines resulting from PTA play must end up only slightly less crazy, jumbled and over-the-top as those of our (brief) game of InSpectres this spring. From what I have read here and what you are saying, it doesn't have to be that way.
(Not that there's anything wrong with crazy stories -- but sometimes restrictions and prudence can yield results you couldn't get any other way. Sort of like a sonnet. And what Marshall said.)
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You may be able to draw your current game back to a more desired level, or you may just let it play out as is and look for tighter focus next time around.
I've been thinking the same thing, particularly as Carl has already been asking about a possible continuation, i.e. another PTA game (He's excited about pirates in that same fantasy world and if the others are on board with that, I'd be very interested indeed).
*-*-*
Ron: Thanks for the quick note. There's no rush.
Regards,
Hal
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