GM’s Hotseat, Part I

As part of keeping folks engaged and making sure I’m aware of what the players are thinking, I periodically send out a questionnaire to the players in my games to ask various things, like what their characters’ goals are, what their character fears, etc.  Just so I can keep ‘in touch’ with their story and its progress.  This time around, I asked the players to ask questions of me!  I’m in the hotseat!!

Here are the questions and my answers, in random order:

Q. I’m struggling a little bit as a fish out of water, in and out of character.  Do you have any advice to help me mesh better?

A. This one’s a bit tricky and I’ll be making a more ‘targeted’ response privately.  That said, I can suggestion some relatively generic ‘techniques’ that I think are effective when you’re working on getting your character to mesh better with the group.  The biggest thing, of course, is to keep any conflict ‘in character.’  No doubt, we all get emotional when RPing, its one of the great things about roleplay, but there should always be a little reminder in the back of your head that the conflicts should be character-based.  With that in mind, think of your character as a living, breathing being…how have they resolved conflict in the past?  Do they run from it?  Do they talk it through?  Are they straight-talkers who bluntly state what they have a problem with and why?  Or are they schemers who might resolve a conflict by enlisting someone else to handle it for them?  Does the character even realize they’re not meshing?  Basically, try to think in terms of how your character reacts to conflict and go from there… which isn’t to say they can’t change when their ‘go to’ doesn’t work.  If its important enough, people will try different tactics to resolve a conflict they know needs resolving.

That said, don’t be afraid of conflict either.  Conflict between characters in the group can and should happen!  It doesn’t need to get physical, of course, but conflict of any nature is a means to advance your own character’s individual story.  Embrace it!

Q. To varying degrees, a GM’s decisions are guided by their priorities.  On a scale of 1 (unimportant) to 10 (paramount) how important are the following:

1. I have specific story elements that I wish the players to encounter. 6 – There are story elements I hope the characters encounter, but if they don’t, its not that big a deal. And, it should be noted, that the vast majority of story elements I plan for are ones the players or their characters have decided upon, either through how they created their character, the goals they’ve laid out or the choices they’ve made.
2. I want the players to collaborate in telling the overall story.  ?? – I can’t really put a numerical value on this.  The way I see it, the players are collaborating by showing up every game and interacting with one another.  On the other, I wouldn’t want to see folks collaborate on how their characters will interact or what they want to achieve in an ‘out of character’ conversation.   I really don’t see much of a need for it.  If there is a conflict between how two characters want to proceed, it should be roleplayed out, rather than discussed.
3. I want each player to focus on telling her or his character’s story. 8 – Yes?  In the end, I’m hoping each character will focus on playing the role of her or his character, which will lead to that character’s story being told, whatever form that takes.
4. The setting is essential to the story. 10 – Setting is a big deal to me.  I see the setting as an NPC in the game, one that is constantly interacting with the characters in telling their personal stories.
5. Supporting NPCs (i.e., not antagonists) are essential to the story. 8 – ‘Essential’ is a strong word… I can see parts of the story progressing without any NPC involvement at all.  That said, Supporting NPCs, from characters who journey with the group to Random City Guard #5 are all significant and I work to give each a distinct personality.  I tend to view NPCs as part of the setting, that living, breathing, vibrant part of it.
6. I want encounters to be enjoyable. 9 – Absolutely.
7. I want encounters to be challenging. 8 – Mostly, to varying degrees.  Some encounters will be easier, some will be harder.  I don’t tend to think in terms of how challenging any particular encounter is when setting it up.
8. I want encounters to be engaging (i.e. encourage active participation). 5 – To me, this smacks of a GM trying to ‘engineer’ encounters so that each person has something to do.  That’s just not going to happen.  Combat-heavy encounters will lend themselves more towards the combat-oriented characters, social encounters towards social ones and so on.  Almost never will an encounter be specifically designed to encourage active participation… hopefully, the presentation of a conflict within an encounter will be enough to engage folks, even if its not their character’s bailiwick.
9. I want encounters to be memorable. 5 – Yes?  I want them to be challenging, to make sense within the context of the world.  Some encounters will be, I hope, memorable because of their context (fighting the Big Bad or something like that).  In the end, if all encounters are memorable, none of them are.
10. I want to ensure that all mechanics are handled properly, by the rules. 8 – Yes.  While I typically don’t shy away from ‘winging it’ from time to time, right now its essential to make sure the rules are being followed properly.  When we’re more comfortable with the existing rules, I’m likely more willing to assign penalties and bonuses to skill rolls on the fly.  In the end, following the rules set is the fairest way to ensure everyone’s on the same playing field.
11. I want to encourage intra-party RP. 9 – I absolutely want to encourage RP among the players, though I won’t force it.  In the end, this is y’all’s story and interaction between the PCs is absolutely essential to telling those stories.
12. I want to encourage RP with NPCs. 8 – Sure.  Again, I won’t force it, but RP with the NPCs is an important part of developing the PCs individual stories and overall story of the group.  On an individual basis, of course, its up to the players as to who they interact with and how extensively.  Its very important to me that each NPC be unique, so I try to ensure that there is just as much depth of character with, say, an NPC traveling with the group as there is with Random Guard #3 checking carts as they pass through the city gates.  But if folks choose to interact with any NPC on a limited basis, I’ll certainly not force them to interact more.
13. I want characters to feel in control of their own choices. 10- I want players to feel they are absolutely in control of their character’s choices.  Characters may feel forced into certain actions, though really we’re talking consequences here.  A character may want to charge the castle and kill the Queen by themselves, but that’s not really a viable choice.  Still, if someone chose that path, I’d kick back and support them through to to the very bloody end.
14. I want characters to feel like they are influenced by forces beyond their control. 3 – While characters are certainly going to be influenced by powerful forces, generally they will at least be able to choose to ignore those forces, if the players’ feel that’s what their character will do.  And just because something is beyond your control in the short term doesn’t mean that they’re going to be beyond your control in the long term.
15. I want characters to have a sense of destiny. 6 – I do want the players to feel that their characters have a purpose and, at the least, are _capable_ of great things.  In the end, nothing is really inevitable and I do not have a ‘greater plan’ in place that I intend on railroading the PCs towards.  Of course, the Destiny Advantage/Disavantage throws all this out of the window, at least on an individual basis.  But, in the end, this is the story of your characters, both as a group and on an individual level.  They are the most important people in the world, even when they’re not 😉
16. I want characters to cooperate with each other. 4 – I expect the players to cooperate with one another, but it’d make for a really boring story if the characters always cooperated.  All of the great ensemble stories have some level of conflict between the protagonists… Lord of the Rings had Boromir; Avengers have the Hulk; X-Men has Wolverine; Agents of SHIELD has Ward, Bobbi and Mac; Buffy has Faith; Reservoir Dogs has Mr. Orange and so on.  In the end, if character conflict arises, I won’t do anything to try to stop it.  I have had campaigns fall apart because the group, essentially, ended up in a massive fight with each other that resulted in chracter’s dying.  I’m still willing to let that happen, if that’s where the story takes us.

Q.  What are some ways we can improve the GM experience for you?

For the most part, I’ve had a blast.  One thing I’m struggling a bit with is distractions at the table.  When folks aren’t involved in what’s going on, I don’t care who’s texting or playing video games, but this past weekend I noticed at least once when I was trying to build a scene everyone in the room had their head tucked down at a device (now, I think at least some of you were taking notes, but definitely not everyone).  I’m honestly not sure how to deal with it yet… I won’t ban devices altogether because I know some folks are taking notes and some are keeping in touch with their families/SO’s during game, which is cool.  Its just something I need to mull over a bit more.

Q.  How large are the various churches Dracia?  Where are specific Churches dominant?

The dominant faith in Dracia is that of Minos and all cities and some towns have temples to the Cockerel in them.  There are also no small number of Treasuries, Monasteries and Abbeys of Minos sprinkled throughout the countryside.  Its central Temple is in Kzerna, the capital.   Cebren the Piper, god of music, and  Erato Redheart, god of love, are both very popular in urban areas.  Furinus, god of wine, is a major influence in more rural regions and Dracian wine is renown throughout Aurea, exceeded only by the various wines of Narbonne in popularity.  There are even rumors of a major Temple to Dagon in the northern foothills of Dracia, though such rumors are unconfirmed.

More specific to the party’s interests, Majestas the Lawgiver has a presence in most cities and a few towns along the Temesh River valley, where they mainly serve in the roles of clerks and legal advisers for the local nobles’ or civil courts.  One of the most major centers of worship for the Lawgiver is Pevnost Práva, the “Fortress of Law,” located in the Vojvodina of Inalt Antova in northern Dracia.  Lead by a formidable litigator named Mother Patricie, it is generally held to be the foremost temple of Majestas in Dracia.

More will be written on where various churches are dominant on Aurea, including the locations of the known High Temples, but that’s much more exhaustive than what can be included here.

Q.  If we return trip thru places we’ve already been will that speed up travel….do you roll random encounters every day or what?

I do roll random encounters every day.  Travel takes time… few things annoy me more in a game than hand-waving travel time.  That said, you certainly needn’t _stop_ in every town, village and hamlet you come across.  I think part of the reason travel has been as slow as it has been so far is because you guys are realizing certain things you need to pick up for your new life, including false papers, traveling gear and so on.   Regardless, I encourage players to think of travel, particularly over long distances, as part of the advancement of the story, not an an unnecessary distraction between major events.

Q.  Can you enchant normal arrows to have on-hit effects? Or do you have to buy special arrows?

You must have the Enchantment Potential Advantage to create enchanted items of any sort.  Without that advantage, you’ll have to find someone willing to sell them to you.  Needless to say, finding an Enchanter who isn’t already a client of a powerful noble and is willing to sell can be tricky at best.  Generally, such craftsmen are only found in the largest of cities (or way out in the countryside living as hermits).

Q. Can you share the basics of your GMing style with group?

Whew, that’s a big one.

I think one of the biggest things I strive for in my style of GMing is verisimilitude.  I mean, its a fantasy game… there’s magic, dragons, gods, zombies, etc.  But I try to create a setting that’s internally consistent, rational and projects how people in a world where magic is real would act.   The antagonists of the game aren’t usually going to see themselves as ‘evil’… they’re going to have a perspective of the world and feel they’re doing the right thing or, at least, what needs to be done for the greater good.  And someone who may be an ally to the party one day because your goals align might be the party’s antagonist the next day when their goals are at cross-purposes.

This also means that I don’t shy away from character death, whether its a major villain, an anonymous NPC, a major ally of the group or a player character.  I see the dice as one of the central movers of the story and if chance ends up leading to a character death, so be it.

I’ll also admit I enjoy a good mystery, so intellectual challenges are often a major part of my games.  Rarely is anything absolutely straightforward (though, really, sometimes it is… gotta keep you on your toes!).

Q. This question is inspired by the article you recently posted concerning mystery encounters, though I think it also applies to RP encounters. When resolving combat encounters, the general expectation is that the character’s mechanics determine the results. However, in mystery or roleplaying encounters, the player’s skill with those types of encounters (as opposed by the character’s skill) may influence success more than their character’s mechanics. What are your thoughts on this?

1. Players should always be encouraged to RP. After all, the game is specifically about roleplaying, not dice-rolling.
2. Players should limit their RP to constrain it to what their characters would be capable of. If they come up with ideas that their characters would not have, or roleplay more convincingly than their characters would be capable of, they are not playing their characters properly.
3. How players brainstorm or RP does not significantly affect the flow of an encounter. Results are determined by choices and skill rolls.

4. All of the above.  And none of the above.

Choices 1&2 are not mutually exclusive.  If anything, I’d consider them the same thing.  When confronted with a mystery, you certainly should brainstorm in-character, relying on the skills your character has, their perceptions of the world and, from time to time, information gleaned from dice rolls (which I consider just as much a part of the story, if not one of the central agents of story advancement).    Let’s take a search of a house for a maguffin of some sort that’s hidden under a mattress… one player might say “I search the house.”  I have them make some Perception checks, or Search or something similar and they get additional information based on that roll.  If they crit, they may find the Maguffin.  Another player says “I search the bedroom.”  They, too, get similar rolls, but might find out a bit more information specific to that person’s bedroom, depending on the situation and are likely to find the Maguffin on a success.  Then a third player says “I lift up the mattress and look under there.”  They find the Maguffin straight away, no rolls necessary, even if they have the worst Search skill.

The point is that the skills matter, but the more information you can give me that might narrow your search down (or history roll or whatever), the more likely you’re going to get the specific piece you’re looking for.  If you narrow things down far enough, you’re likely going to get what you’re looking for without a search.

Take Fast-Talk as another example.  Using Fast-Talk on a guard requires some RP and a roll that might influence how well your RP goes (and vice versa).  Using Fast-Talk and offering a silver piece to the guy is likely going to go better.  Offering a 100 silver coins to your average guard will likely get you what you want without any rolls at all.  Conversely, RPing it out well (maybe guessing he has a sick mother or something like that in the process) might make a roll all but unnecessary.

The reverse is also true… if you don’t think your character is bright enough to look under the mattress, then don’t do it.  If you’ve played a witch-hunter in a previous game, don’t use that knowledge with your bard to solve a mystery involving witches.  Just because a player can figure something out doesn’t mean their character should.

This can even come out in combat… though most of us, as non-combatants, think in terms of ‘I’m just rolling here’, strategy and tactics can be a huge boon.  Playing with former military, someone who has extensive tactical experience is a HUGE difference in combat… not because of the rolls being made, but because they know how to fight smarter and get people organized.  A really brilliant tactical solution might resolve a fight without a single initiative roll being made.

Really, what it comes down to is that you should create a character that suits your own strengths and weaknesses, to a point.  If you really like solving mysteries and would get frustrated not doing that, don’t play someone with below-average intelligence.  If you want to play a slick social character, but have difficulty understanding social nuance or basic psychology, you might want to reconsider your character.  Of course, I also think a little basic research can go a long way to playing a character with strengths you don’t have… if you’re playing a blacksmith, an hours worth of research on the Internet can go a long, long way towards being able to portray that character’s understanding of things.  And if you’re playing any sort of combat character other than your basic dumb thug, you should get familiar with military tactics… they can and will help you in round-to-round combat.

…but only if you’re playing a character that’s of a tactical mind.

Summary: rolls influence RP, RP influences rolls.

Q. Is training going to take up real time or can we fast forward a bit thru it?

What’s the rush?

That said… training likely will be fast forwarded through a bit, similar to the Gladiator training montage early on in the game.  I might describe a few things, maybe a bit more about the personality of the trainer.  If the whole group is involved, I might run a scene or so showing a typical training session, but otherwise it’ll go by pretty fast.

Part II is here!