GM Mastery
Extract from GM Mastery Ezine, because I just keep agreeing.
The whole article is quite huge btw, so I've bumped chunks to comments and still left stuff out which is mostly tabletop relevant.
( Read more... )
The whole article is quite huge btw, so I've bumped chunks to comments and still left stuff out which is mostly tabletop relevant.
( Read more... )
Comments 3
Every adventure must have situations that directly and truly
threaten the lives of the characters participating. If there
is no true threat, it is not an adventure, it's a tour.
I'll go so far as to say there should be situations designed
specifically to kill characters. A monster that's way too
tough. A trap that's going to claim a victim. Save or die.
These sorts of things. Every. Single. Time. The key is to
put these "expected death" situations in places where it
isn't necessary to encounter them. The players must choose
to engage in these areas and situations.
Teach them that the game world isn't scaled so they can kill
everything.
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Every adventure must have meaningful choices that the
players must make, and these choices must significantly
alter the flow of the adventure for them to have any
meaning.
The absolute key to good gaming is the ability of players to
choose their character's actions. Any adventure that
dictates what a character thinks or feels or does (barring
magical enchantments, of course) is a terrible, terrible
adventure.
The choices made must be real choices. "Floating locations"
of the "Well, whichever inn they stop at will be where the
adventure happens" sort is not a real choice, it's a mere
illusion. This is worse than railroading because it is
dishonest in its methods.
Choices should not only be offered, but forced: things are
happening, and the players have to do something, and none of
the options seem to be all good. Of course, if they choose
to not do anything, they've still made their choice and the
consequences should be different (and more severe!) than if
they'd done something.
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There are two standards that adventure rewards must meet:
they must be enough, and they must be not enough.
Enough that everyone involved doesn't think that they've
completely wasted their time... and not enough to leave
anybody really satisfied with what they have. They need
more! Where next to plunder?
Note that concealing the rewards well may wind with the
players not finding it. Tough. As a referee, just make sure
it's there. Don't help the players to actually find it.
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