Games night

[caddyman]

Well, games night is now a Monday, with a revised cast of players. The first session went off well enough, creating some Serenity characters and getting going.

Shiny.

I wouldn't say that things played out badly plotwise, but by the end of the first session, we were minus our ship. Now we have to work out how the hell to get it back.

We ain't even left the planet yet.

Pyen juh duh jiou cha wen!

Comments

[jfs.livejournal.com]

I call it Heisenburgian plot - the decision isn't made until the box is opened, and it's a perfectly valid (if somewhat scary) way to run plot.

I think it's something that can be overused - after all, if the players catch on that's what you're doing, then it stops being as fun for them. On the other hand, if you're sparing with it, they get the buzz of 'we worked it out' with less effort / preparation on your part.

With regard to plot in general, I like answering Kipling's Six Honest Serving Men to see where the plot is going, and I'm not sure that the genre of the game affects that particularly.

So with the example of carrying a case from A to B -
What are they carrying?
Why?
When does it have to be there by?
How are they going to get it there?
Where does it have to go?
Who are the interested parties?

By the time you've answered all those questions (and if you want to vary the plot, have different answers to the questions the next time) you're a good way along to sorting the plot.

SF isn't really a different genre - Seven Samurai becomes Magnificent Seven becomes Battle Beyond the Stars. The technology can change - katanas become six shooters become laser guns, but the stories you tell can be just as valid.

*grin* I do go on sometimes, but I think that my point is that if you're an imaginative Storyguide (and I'm certain sure that you are) the genre isn't really an issue :-)

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

YOu're not going on at all:-) it's all useful stuff; good for helping me think outside the box, and of course, you are very right about the migration/evolution of story lines. It's too easy for me to freeze on Sci-fi stuff because though I love watching it, my first experiences of it in roleplay were via Traveller *shudders at memories of crew arguing over the ship's salary structure*

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

Sorry, excuse those gratuitous caps; keyboard's distinctly dodgy!

[jfs.livejournal.com]

Well .... *looks at floor* I might have had a very long discussion about a similar sort of thing in an Ars Magica game once (Grog wages :-)).