Meta-Gaming Technique: Outside reading for DP
Adam Riemenschneider:
Ah, Amber. A game I keep wanting to actually play, one day.
Although I wouldn't characterize it as a problem per see, I would like my players to be as engaged with the material as possible. By this, I wouldn't say the players "don't get" the material; I'd like them to get more of it. For example, if I were running a game set in the Civil War, I'd want to get the players as familiar with the period as possible. The more they'd know about the setting, the deeper they could imagine themselves in it.
Myself, I find the Civil War to be an interesting time period, and have a few books about on the subject. Still, I wouldn't feel comfortable in running a game with my limited knowledge... I'd want to bone up a bit and "study," and I'd want my players to do so, too. I'm pushing for a deeper Actor stance, where the player is more familiar with what their character might know about the setting.
Again, I'd like to stress that this outside reading is *not* being required of the players. Also, the readings are not dry tomes on Ritual Magic theory or the like, but are instead popular fictions which have a lot in common with the game setting (selected works by Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Charles DeLint, and a few others).
So, sure, it's homework, but I wouldn't call it busy work. I'm not doing this simply to keep the players busy... I want to get them thinking more about the setting.
I suppose I could reframe my first post this way:
"I like my players to have a lot of the same knowledge as their characters do regarding the setting, because I find heavy Actor/SIM play to be enjoyable. I'm currently using in-game rewards as an incentive to get my players to become more acquainted with the setting, by reading selected novels and comics. Has anyone else tried this, and what experience have you had? Do you have any other suggestions along these lines?"
SoftNum:
I think that your players are willing to go out and seek information about your setting off-line is as much a testament to your GMing as it is your reward.
I currently play a World of Warcraft d20 game. I mostly get into it because my friends were doing it. I'm continuing to play because I'm engaged in the story, and I like the players and GM. But I have no desire to spend my non-gaming hours reading up on WoW information. If we're going to a new area, I'll generally try and find one of the players during non game time and ask general questions my character should reasonably know.
But some groups I've been in would rebuke any off-line 'homework' that is assigned. Especially the larger a given group gets, the more likely there are people playing with friends with little interest in the story. I think this is mechanic just servers to push those people further out of the spotlight.
Just my two cents.
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