convention characters: all in the GM's hands or a little player input?
In which our heroine finds herself wondering about character portrayals and if providing entirely complete player characters is a bad thing.
A:AKW is a traditional role-playing game in that it has a GM driven setting. I don&'t like to drive story, rather I enjoy setting up a world in which the player characters explore and interact. I don't sit down and GM with an ending to the story in mind so players have a lot of freedom in the directions they may take.
This is all well and good during home games as the players get a fair amount of hand with the setting when they create and explore their characters. As the beliefs and desires of their characters change and develop, I happily go with the flow and run the world they are ultimately changing around them.
Convention scenarios are different. Unlike a home game, the characters and their driving beliefs are born from my imagination. I'm not so certain if this is what I want to continue doing. By putting the same pieces on the table at each session, the same situations and story come about nearly every time. I'd far rather players have a bit more "hand" in what unfolds.
Here's the rub: character creation is too complex to do before a game.
Maybe I should I leave one of the characters' beliefs blank. Player characters have 3 beliefs, one regarding what they want, one regarding another player character, and one regarding the world around them. It may be interesting to leave the "other player character one" blank.
I already start a session describing the characters and their place in the local society. Once players choose their character, I can then have them read the backgrounds and ask them to write a belief about another player character that is in play. The last part is important as very often I don't have a full table of 6. Sure, Lagaine would naturally have a belief in regard to his sister Jaila. But if Jaila isn't in play for the scenario, the belief isn't important.
If a player has trouble coming up with ideas, I could always have a list of possible beliefs that they could use.
Would this be something of interest to players in a convention environment? Tell me - I'm curious.
A:AKW is a traditional role-playing game in that it has a GM driven setting. I don&'t like to drive story, rather I enjoy setting up a world in which the player characters explore and interact. I don't sit down and GM with an ending to the story in mind so players have a lot of freedom in the directions they may take.
This is all well and good during home games as the players get a fair amount of hand with the setting when they create and explore their characters. As the beliefs and desires of their characters change and develop, I happily go with the flow and run the world they are ultimately changing around them.
Convention scenarios are different. Unlike a home game, the characters and their driving beliefs are born from my imagination. I'm not so certain if this is what I want to continue doing. By putting the same pieces on the table at each session, the same situations and story come about nearly every time. I'd far rather players have a bit more "hand" in what unfolds.
Here's the rub: character creation is too complex to do before a game.
Maybe I should I leave one of the characters' beliefs blank. Player characters have 3 beliefs, one regarding what they want, one regarding another player character, and one regarding the world around them. It may be interesting to leave the "other player character one" blank.
I already start a session describing the characters and their place in the local society. Once players choose their character, I can then have them read the backgrounds and ask them to write a belief about another player character that is in play. The last part is important as very often I don't have a full table of 6. Sure, Lagaine would naturally have a belief in regard to his sister Jaila. But if Jaila isn't in play for the scenario, the belief isn't important.
If a player has trouble coming up with ideas, I could always have a list of possible beliefs that they could use.
Would this be something of interest to players in a convention environment? Tell me - I'm curious.
posted by Spring at
12:38 PM
2 Comments:
I think its a great idea. Allowing the player (who is almost assuredly having their first experience with the material) to have a tiny bit on input, without the daunting task of full character creation, might make their characters feel more personal and make the sessions a bit more varied for you.
i would have thought that most players would have brought a little of them selves to the characters anyway, but if it helps them slip into the characters. Go for it.
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