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Jubilex
Faceless Lord of Chaos
Posts: 4589
(9/25/05 12:16 pm)
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A Meta-gaming Moment
The campaign has taken a sharp turn, if you haven't noticed, and I wanted to open up the state of the campaign for discussion.
I thought a lot about the campaign while I was at Pennsic and was generally dissatisfied with what I saw. I have a lot of ideas for the game and I think, due to its slow pace, that I breathed life into too many of them. In my opinion my plots got too convoluted, and I was getting frustrated that you guys weren't picking up on a lotta the threads - when it was really my fault for making them so confusing. This led to me leading the party around by the nose so I could explain all the crap that was going on. Questions are always more obvious to the one that already knows the answer.
Soooooooo, all this body-displacement time travel stuff with the dragonewts (which I was only going to do once) has changed history, wiping out a few extraneous plots and side characters. Most of the PC-centered plots will still be intact but may be slightly different than before, though hopefully in an interesting and entertaining way. Once this adventure is over I promise to step back and quit railroading you guys into one adventure after another. In short I'd like to give you back control of your individual destinies.
As for the current adventure, it will conclude with what you may consider a more traditional "module" that should wrap things up nicely - at least for those that survive it.
I'm open to comments and suggestions.
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yucatanyeti
Sangraal
Posts: 1616
(9/25/05 1:02 pm)
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Re: A Meta-gaming Moment
Cool, a nice sharp turn to spice things up and a little dash of death.
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Tarondor
Madragar
Posts: 1704
(9/25/05 9:03 pm)
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Re: A Meta-gaming Moment
I think you may be overthinking this, Scott. I've enjoyed the game, and have certainly been aware that there are plots we only dimly understand. I don't think that you've been too convoluted - and it's not leading by the nose to have NPCs discuss what they know.
It's a game, and to the extent that you expect realism, that's the extent to which you will be disappointed. It's a simple fact that plot information does need to be repeated and reinforced more than happens in a fantasy novel - players just are rarely going to get all the clues the first time. No matter how smart and focused our PC's are, we just have a lot of other stuff going on. So I'd urge you to get comfortable with using the clue bat. None of us mind - we're happy when we finally get it and see what you've been up to. It's an "Aha!" moment for us, even if it's a "Finally!" moment for you.
I'm also a bit wary of the "make your own destiny" thing. It's what everyone talks about, but it rarely actually works out. It's a recipe both for Slow Down Sauce and for splitting the party. The trick, I think, is not to make it open-ended so much as multiple choice. You will always know Moagara better than we will, so it's best if you act as tour guide!
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Ulwe
Ulwe
Posts: 1571
(9/25/05 11:40 pm)
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Re: A Meta-gaming Moment
I agree to a large extent with Herr Nolan. I enjoy the story, escpecially because ther world is wide and My character will never grasp it all. I'm just all about trying to play up to the heroic ideal. Wherever we are taken and whatever we do I enjoy. I like the illusion of free will, but ultimately appreciate a constructed narrative. Also The PC's would realistically have better grasps of what is going on more so than us players. We all have work, spouses, kids, love lifes, other hobbies and everything else to boot. How can I know as much about what is going on as Ulwe who is 'living' it. So the clue-by-four is not only tolerated it is in my opinion necessary to keep us players on track.
But I will leave with the caveat that whatever you do, I'll still enjoy it.
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Jubilex
Faceless Lord of Chaos
Posts: 4593
(9/26/05 6:51 am)
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Re: A Meta-gaming Moment
I definitely expect too much realism, and can't stand events that don't have logical causes. I just felt the need to simplify a bit, if only for my own sanity and satisfaction.
And believe me, things were very convoluted. I was going to need a whole lumber yard full of clue-by-fours to straighten things out. There's still plenty of mysteries to discover, though, they're just more well defined and reasonable in scope.
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doggius
Pogar
Posts: 1267
(9/26/05 9:44 am)
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Re: A Meta-gaming Moment
I try not to "rationalize" whats happening as a player, as Pogar the character, will not realize or wont figure things out as quick as say, Khelzhad or someone else. Pogar isnt the most intelligent.
However, I did enjoy the interlude, with the dragon newts, so I tried to play Nryl a little different.
However, my life is so pathetic that I look forward to waking in the morning, just to come into work and play this game.
Wow....I didnt really realize how pathetic I am.....
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squarefodder
Khelzhad
Posts: 758
(9/26/05 3:57 pm)
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Re: A Meta-gaming Moment
Since I did not join from the start I have had a hard time understanding the plot at times so some thinning out will probably help me out a bit. I think the amount of real time it takes to play also makes things foggier - there have been several times when I have had to ask myself "why are we here again?"
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Kenner
Draxim
Posts: 1394
(9/27/05 3:11 pm)
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Re: A Meta-gaming Moment
This all reminds me of the Steven Wright joke.
I came home this morning and everything in my apartment had been replaced with an exact duplicate. I looked at my roomate and said, "look at this stuff it's all exact replicas," and he said, "do I know you?"
I tend to agree that I liked the the world being so complex. It gave me a sense that there never needs to be an end, just more fun. If only we could get to it. Sort of like King's Dominion. If anything I would have wanted a bit more in the way of clues. I definitely think that would help move the campaign along.
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Jubilex
Faceless Lord of Chaos
Posts: 4600
(9/27/05 4:05 pm)
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Re: A Meta-gaming Moment
The world is no smaller, and its complexity is only limited by how much my brain can handle. The plots I was working with were just too inter-related and deep. I doubt you'll notice much difference, to be honest.
As for clues, the campaign is rife with them. Almost every action or sentence spoken by an important character provided clues to one of several sub-plots. Investigation into these clues was sporadic, and only a few of you took what in my mind is a fairly necessary and obvious step to figure things out: notes.
As Nolan will tell you, any good GM desperately wants the players to figure it all out. We don't pour our creative energies into this stuff to keep it a secret.
Edited by: Jubilex at: 9/27/05 5:06 pm
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Atan
Atan
Posts: 1052
(9/30/05 9:55 pm)
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Re: A Meta-gaming Moment
I regret not being able to give the time necessary to dig into this game as I think it should be delved into. Scott has gone way beyond any expectation I had. Moagara is so intricate and complex it is like a real living world. I just truly wish that I had more time to pour into it and uncover all the secrets....shoot, I wish I just had time to be post a sentence or two.
I also would like to apologize to all for my non-player status recently. My job seems bigger then I ever imagined it would be, and coupled with a feisty 1 year old (he's great), makes my own time scarce.
So Scott, don't change a thing. That's my 2 cents.
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