Over on The Master’s Council, MtFierce asked a huge question:
What were your defining moments as a GM? What have you seen other GMs struggle with? Have you got answers, solutions, a rule-of-thumb system?
That’s quite a question. I’ll try answering it in pieces, but if I fail… it’s quite a question.
Rainy lunch hours are great for guilt free blogging.
That is all.
I was cleaning my desk and found, buried deep in a pile of papers, a scrap of paper with some names and numbers. After peering at them for a while, I realized that it dated back from when I spent some time on Launch, looking for new music. Here’s what I had.
From Blog, Jvstin Style:
Our fifth IRE is another slam dunk, since today is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Today is the Winter Solstice.
So what would I do with the day that allows the least amount of sunlight of the year?
A twisted Nephandus cabal has been waiting for this moment for a very long time. They’ve managed to gather a huge force that has captured a daughter of Helios, the spirit of the sun. With their bargaining chip, they’re making demands on the spirit– which it can’t resist. Using the bloodline linkage, the Nephandi have already started introducing dark spots that swim about in the sun…
This would be interesting; probably very experienced Magi or Technomancers would have to storm a Nephandi labyrinth to save the daughter and get Helios out from under their thumb. Woe to them if his daughter should die in the attempt…
From Li
I had lunch with Narrative Guy (whom some of you may remember from a previous Lunchtime Poll) a few days ago, and he posed the question “Why are people who are role-playing for the creativity of it not writing novels instead?” Good question, I thought.
I’m going agree with many of the previous commenters- there are two major reasons. First, a novel takes a huge investment of time upfront and may never see the light of day. A game on the other hand is immediate– the adventure you’re musing on today could be Friday’s game– must be Friday’s game if you’re GMing, people will be showing up, and nothing else is coming to mind. You never have to come up with everything (doing so is a recipe for disaster)– either you’ll have opportunities and obstacles thought out (as GM), or you’ll just have your character’s mindset (as a player). When they interact, you get a whole game, from less individual investment.
The second big reason is interaction. I could probably come up with a more satisfying story that the group as a whole does– it’d have one character you could identify with, an actual plot, etc. Unfortunately, writing it wouldn’t involve hanging out with my friends; board gaming might be able to fill the void, but I’d rather hang out more often and do both.
Lefties were good at ending fights. An interesting look at the prevalence of violence and the proportion of lefties. Now I know why Eric was so powerful…
Clear Skies Not as bad as we think. That’s good to hear; the way it got so demonized is just depressing though.
For sillyness: Giblet’s practical plan to balance the budget.
Leguin on race & the (really bad) adaptation of Earthsea. Her interview.
An analogy Dad will appreciate: Schools & dentists.
Ampersand summarizes the current status of Roe in a good summary post.
Are we in a Housing Bubble?
Really, you thing social security is the biggest problem? (from Brad DeLong).
(from Blog, Jvstin Style)
Our fourth IRE, is a slightly obscure, but important anniversary in history.
On December 14th, 1287, the Zuider Zee sea wall in what is now the Netherlands collapsed. killing 50,000 people. It is the most massive such flood in the history of Holland; the Zuider Zee is one of the most massive projects in the history of engineering.
Thus, this disaster is the theme of this week’s IRE.
I like keeping the components man-made and semi-natural. After reading a thread on the Forge about using DitV for a Valedemar series, I’m quite interested in combining them.
Underneath the palace is (essentially) a heartstone, a device that ties Valedemar together magically. (Think of it as an artificial node, formed by dragging ley lines to the palace). It concentrates power, feeds the vrondi, and does other nifty magical stuff.
Set around the time of the Arrows trilogy, mages have been absent for hundreds of years. The power in the heartstone is building up and going unstable. The PCs are the first new generation of mages, and have to decide what to do. Dismantle the system that powers truth spells? Try some kind of an emergency hearthstone creation/transfer? Repair it? Import an expert on heartstones? If they delay, energy discharges in remote nodes, strange spikes of power interfering in their magics, and a shuddering palace will focus them on the problem.
What’s your favorite take on Atlantis as it pertains to gaming—Aliens? Mer-people? Exceptionally ancient Greeks?
I liked the ideas in Randall Garrett’s Gandalara Cycle. A quick gloss is that there’s a civilization of near-humans that live in a desert… at the bottom of the future Mediterranean Sea. They’re adapted to the thicker atmosphere (since they’re below sea level) and they can’t (easily) get out & take over Africa and Europe. He created a pretty good analogue culture– close enough to human to be very identifiable, with a few sci-fi/fantasy elements. Their culture wasn’t much stranger than most foreign cultures appear today- easy enough for most role-players to adapt to.
This week Li asks:
This question comes out of an absolutely fascinating discussion between longtime GMs and gamers. It was fun to watch.
Narrative Guy says, “Some of the best games I’ve ever played didn’t involve a single die roll; we decided what our characters could do and the GM took us through a story.” System Mechanic says, “That’s not gaming. If you don’t have a mechanic, then the characters are subject to the capricious whims of the GM. And how can you make sure everyone is on the same page? Also, you lack the random element.” So…what do you think? Make your case!
I’m not going to agree with either directly. In either case, everyone has to agree (at least largely) about character competence and system results or you’ll have frustration. If an Amber Diceless game has characters wandering around on simplistic quests and failing constantly like first level D&D characters, you’re suffering from the whims of a capricious GM. But that’d be true whether you rolled dice or not- it’s the style of adventure, the way the GM has statted the opposition and such considerations that make the adventure futile. The same thing can happen (easily) when a hostile or incompetent GM railroads the characters through a diced plot.
The random element is handy at times; I like the extra suggestions that they make- often they’ll twist an adventure in a way that planning wouldn’t. They can be frustrating though- once people have dice, DM’s will have them roll them, even for critical plot elements… then poorly shoehorn the required results in, no matter the dice result.
Summary: Diceless gaming is still gaming, but I prefer the added “impartiality” of dice, handled reasonably. When dice are thrown around to cover for lack of plot, etc., you’re much worse off than not picking the dice up to begin with.
In the King’s Service by Katherine Kurtz
A solid start to a trilogy, set in one of my favorite universes. I like some of the characters quite a bit: the King and Alric’s mother Alyce are solid. The relationships between the children of Corwyn are well drawn; I can easily imagine siblings having such relationships.
The plot is a slow boil; there’s a lot of low-key action, but no clear villain or overarching threat. It works, since the established books do a good job of illustrating the world (as it will be), and this book fits the pattern. There are some surprises (such as the Jessamy subplot), but most of the book’s events fit the world’s logic well enough to be “non-surprises”. The specific events that have to happen (because later books mention them) do happen– but usually in a natural seeming way. Over all, it’s not the book to introduce people to Gwynedd, but it’s a good book for people who already enjoy the world.
One More For The Road by Ray Bradbury
A collection of short stories. Many are fine- none were exceptional. Many of the main characters are writers, novelists, or have some similar profession. There may be an overt sense of the fantastic, but usually the stories are of the “slice of life” variety.
It may have been better than I’m remembering, but for me it was only an OK book. It wasn’t bad, but I doubt I’ll read it again. None of the stories screamed “must read again”. [For comparison: I really liked Fahrenheit 451, but didn’t think much of Dandelion Wine.]
Sorcery Rising & Wild Magic by Jude Fisher
I read these two novels and enjoyed them somewhat, but they’re not high on my list of books to recommend. I largely agree with this (from Books for a buck.com)–
Author Jude Fisher writes a frustrating combination of fabulous world-building with one-dimensional characters. Katla is a brat-tomboy. Her brother is a crazy coward. Her father is obsessed. Saro is a whiny baby. His brother is a cowardly bully. Growth comes slowly to these characters, especially as few of them are pursuing any particular goal (this makes for fine realism but disappointing reading). Of the major characters, only Aran Aranson seems to have a goal. On the other hand, Fisher’s world is fascinating with its different cultures, religions, and the strange trinity that created it and still plays an active force within it.
The world is sketched competently, though the dramatic north/south divide reminds me strongly of many other novels. The cultures in conflict should be in conflict, so that’s well done. The rise of magic plays out interestingly… but through such weak characters that it’s hard to care at times. Too many of the characters can be defined in a phrase- or two, if they have a cover motivation.
Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson
A good book; a bit dated but still vibrant. The story seems straightforward, and it is. It’s punchy and short, doesn’t involve extensive “leveling up” play, but builds solid relationships among fantastic people. The “critters” are suitably human yet retain their alien nature Some things (like Holger’s fitness) seem too easy, but have been anticipated by the author.
All in all, a great fluffy read.