Free ST advice

[Joseph]

I had me an idea, that Senior Mal agreed I should bring up here. Every ST from pups to old dogs look to improve their games. Why not share the wealth?

Post some of your advice here, from hints at making those NPC's more memorable to how to not take out the entire group of PC's in the first scene. Everyone runs their games differently, so it may not apply to all, but it could still be helpful.

I'll toss my two bits in when the ball gets rolling some.

-Joseph

[Thingmaker]

Ask your players flat out for their input. What do they enjoy? What pisses them off?

After they answer the what, ask "WHY?"

Example: do they like Divas Mal or think he sucks?

Do they think Divas Mal is cool because he's a philosoper or because he's the world's most powerful Nova?

Do they think Divas Mal sucks because he's inhuman in his musings or because they don't like uber NPCs?

Do they need more intrigue in the games? Less?

What about Romance? Action? Intellectual challenges?

This next part is very important: Don't take their dislikes personally!! If they say "I don't like that everything centers around the characters and that life seems it can't go on without us," then look honestly at what degree of importance the characters have in the world and what if any changes can be made. If they say "It's too gritty and scientific," then look at what degree of suspension of disbelief everyone would be comfortable with. After all, you are asking them for constructive criticism, yes?

:Yin Yang

Later on this week, I'll regurgitate my infamous "how to make kewell NPC that your players also think are kewell" speach.

[needle]

Feeding the players goes a long way towards improving mood, but make sure they wash their hands afterward. Try not to burn out as the Gm. Patience goes along way.  preperation helps. Common sense here. Get to know your players as people not as speedbumps in the storys. Give everyone a chance to shine in the story. Make them feel involved in the decesion making process.  :bored

[Joseph]

Okay. My turn to add a little. Thingmaker and Needle have posted some excellent thoughts. Things that I find myself doing often, too.

I'll admit from the start that I'm a lazy ST. I'm also cautious. I have some players that will derail a game before I can open the first scene. (That's you, Pete, if you're reading this. Harlequin at least lets me think that things are going well before crushing me.) I've learned through many years of gaming that a novel-style story, point a through z with all stops in between, rarely works. Players want to do things their way. So I let them. I feed off of them.

When creating a story, I create the opening and closing scenes, some locations and NPC's (important and filler), and a few random elements if they strike me. The rest is up to the players, as they typically go way off course into waters unknown. I follow their lead, staying a few steps ahead of them, taking the occasional note for reference.

This isn't for the faint of heart, or unexperienced ST. It takes a while to figure out just what will and won't work. I'm lucky enough to have  players who will brazenly do their own thing with little prompting from me. Perhaps Harlequin can post a comment as to how my games go.

An example:

In my first Adventure game, the players were on a lost island. They were travelling through the dreaded Valley of Lost Souls, supposedly inhabited only by vengeful ghosts. I had planned to have them set upon at night by a few outcasts that lived in the area. These were originally my "ghosts." The players too quickly dispatched the raiders, and dismissed the ghosts as being nothing more than savages. Being somewhat evil, I turned the table on them the next night. They were visited by a real ghost.

That's all for the moment. I'll post more as I think of it.

-Joseph

[Senior Mal]

I have to admit that I go for the same storytelling style myself however my players have a tendancy to replace 'storytelling style' with 'the art of blagging'. But hey, I know how destructive some players can be so at that point the looser the story the better.

[CHILL]

blag? ......  BLAG?

Senior Mal I feel you belittle the skills your wonderful players have mastered

:Devil

[Dr.Dorothy]

Believable NPCS:

First, think about the non-gamer people you know (there's gotta be at least one or two) and think about their personalities. Need a personality for an on the fly NPC? Use somebody real as a template! I once had to come up with a ship's crew. The number of crew members just happened to match the number of folks in my department at work at the time... Carla became Carlos. Freddy became Frederico. John became Joanna.

Second, think about the TV shows you watch. Again, they will be rife with personality templates. Need a cold & calculating type? Tuvok the Vulcan to the rescue! Put him in a suit & give him biokinesis and nobody will ever recognize him. Need a scrappy femme with a sense of irony? Babylon 5's Susan Ivanova can be disquised as an Adventure! Daredevil just by changing her hair and eye color.

Now, how about schtick? Have you always lived & played where you do now with who you do now? If not, you've got another resource. Other peoples old PC's can be recycled into shiny new NPCs. All you have to do is throttle them back enough that they remain "supporting characters." Works every time!

Try these techniqes a bit at a time at first. You'll soon realize you have the Story Teller's equivalent of leggo blocks.

[Thingmaker]

Gods, but I feel like an idiot. I just impersonated my wife.