Lamentations of the Flame Princess: my job as GM
Roger:
Quote from: lumpley on November 08, 2011, 09:26:47 AM
3rd, to make the safe, conventional life - settling in a place to work a job - under no circumstances a source of XP (this is by the rules), but more, to make it appalling and horrible, unthinkable to a person of imagination and spirit.
Could you talk a bit about what you did to fulfill this role? That sounds like something that would be fun to hear about.
happysmellyfish:
I'm about to start running an OSRIC campaign, embracing the sandbox concept wholeheartedly. One thing I'm uncertain about is the treasure economy, and basically how much freedom I should have in generating rewards.
Vincent - what would have happened if the party had taken your spider bait, and traipsed out to the treasure? After the (probable) fight, would it have been a random amount of coinage? Would it just be that monster's lair? Or something else?
I don't want to mess up the tight economy - although maybe I'm over thinking it. Even so, I have absolutely 0 D&D experience, so anything you can shed on this would be helpful.
Marshall Burns:
Quote from: Roger on November 09, 2011, 02:26:37 PM
Quote from: lumpley on November 08, 2011, 09:26:47 AM
3rd, to make the safe, conventional life - settling in a place to work a job - under no circumstances a source of XP (this is by the rules), but more, to make it appalling and horrible, unthinkable to a person of imagination and spirit.
Could you talk a bit about what you did to fulfill this role? That sounds like something that would be fun to hear about.
I'm interested in this as well. I've been working on a game with a similar structure, and the solution I arrived at was to make all PCs, by definition, people who for one reason or another can't or won't fill a functional role in mainstream society. At worst you're a sociopathic psycho killer, and at best you're, like, a farmer who has had it up to HERE with trying to make a living with a farm and so has abandoned it to seek his fortune. All of them are unhinged in some shape, form, or fashion.
stefoid:
Quote from: lumpley on November 09, 2011, 08:39:58 AM
Uh. No seriously guys, I disclaim responsibility for the game's pacing. Advice for how I can better pace the game, or worries about how the game's pacing might go poorly, are plain misplaced. It's not my job!
My job does include setting and holding standards for when we roll dice and use other rules, and those standards do affect the game's pacing, but I'm not taking pacing into account as I set and hold them. Frank's right: the game's narrative comes out of play, a result or even a byproduct. It's not a concern of play. Same as for football or Chess or any other normal game. It feels weird, but I'm pretty sure that'll go away with familiarity. No fixing required.
Frank, yeah, I came up with the spider on the spot. I've primed myself really well - it's just me doing my Vance impersonation. Thanks!
-Vincent
Vincent, on what basis do you decide that rolling dice is appropriate? Also, who chooses the next scene and if/when you do that, on what basis do you do it?
thanks
Georgios Panagiotidis:
Quote from: lumpley on November 08, 2011, 05:06:37 PM
I figure that if what I'm saying entertains me, my enthusiasm will rub off on everyone else, and I won't have to make myself nuts trying to guess what they want. And if it doesn't, well, at least I've had fun! Their having fun is their lookout.
That's pretty much where I am right now, both as a player and as GM. All I can do is drive towards the things that make the game exciting for me and hope that the others are willing and able to riff off of that and spin it towards something that excites them, too. Crazy southern accents are one way of getting there. ;)
But especially when it comes to one-shot games with people I haven't really played with before (at a con for example), I've also found myself forced to pick up the slack. Especially as the GM. I've met quite a few people who - for one reason or another - aren't used to pushing the game forward themselves (be it in terms of plot, theme or style). So I sometimes take it on myself to set a course. I guess you could call some of it pacing, but I link it closer to direction or even form.
Given your comments how the dice control the pacing in your game, does that make things refreshingly unpredictable or frustratingly uneven? I've played and run fantasy-style games which were vaguely comparable to what you're describing here, and I've had both experiences. Our Warhammer games were unpredictable in the most entertaining and exciting sense of the word, but our few stabs at D&D just made the whole experience very draining.
What do you think makes the dice-based pacing work for you?
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