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2004-06-26

Act 1 Scene 2: Taking to the Hunt

In the confusion several things happen at once.

Ofriox slides over towards what is presumed to be the cats owner. He telepathic sending is registered by all in the room. "Who are those men, and who are you? If we chase after your cat how will we find you again? Do you have any tokens or information that will help make the hunt a short one, and what will you offer if we are successful? Speak quickly!"

Drift charges out into the street calling for his comrades to follow him. Vyu and Soekkiu rave after Drift. Iwan launches into the air and follows watches Drift from above.

Anibka slowly looks over the damage done to her common room. She gathers some supplies and heads towards the door. She is watching Bremi and trying to read his reaction to the damage done to the inn. After a few moments She move to the door.

McKinley watches Anibka go over the battle scars on the walls as he strides to the bar and finishes his drink. He drops a coin down on the bar "Here you are barkeep. Keep the change. Bless you and your fine ale!" He turns, heads for the door first grumbling "Here we go again." He sees Anibka striding out the door and shouts "Anibka don't forget me!"

2004-06-25

Game Dream #2

Mitch Evans has posted Game Dream #2

One of my favorite plot complications that I like to introduce as a GM is to create an environment where the players are forced to deal with unsavory characters that they would otherwise destroy. From either a player or GM/ST point of view, what is your most vivid recollection of this occuring in your games?
I have never successfully introduced this as a GM. The players always seem to have baulked at the idea, or purposefully failed at tasks.

In a very short campaign run by a friend of mine. I was playing a very opportunistic bard, and along with a fighter from the group we hired on to transport some merchandise from our current location to an outpost some three days away. The packages were quite small and we were paid quite well. We jumped at the job.

Now, on to the out of character information that I knew but Belak (the bard) did not. The rest of the party (a druid, a paladin, a fighter, and a cleric) had hired on to patrol the trail between the town and an outpost three days away. They were charged with the capture and return of any persons who were caught smuggling. The bard and the fighter dutifully went along to help our friends, all the while they were actually looking for us.

As time went on we discovered that the smugglers were actually transporting ingredients for potions. These potions were used to free slaves. I (not my character) later found out that the disreputable characters were assisting the freedom fighters, and the "good" characters were hunting down people for the slave traders. I thought it was a brilliant plot twist. The game came to an unfortunate halt before the rest of the party caught on to the smugglers in thier midst.

2004-06-24

Game Dream #1

Mitch Evans has posted Game Dream #1

After reading the last 2 Game Wish posts I was very pleased to see the start of the game dreams. I have net been keeping up with this blog very well so hopefully this will be the kick in the ass I need to keep it going.

When Role Playing Games are discussed, the subject of first-person versus third-person character narratives sometimes surfaces. When you play a character, do you assume first-person, using your voice as his or hers, or do you use third person, simply describing what he or she is doing? Do you switch between first and third person, or try to adhere to one? When other players are in character, does the use of first or third person affect your immersion in the game?
I actually try to use first and third person for different effects.

First person is for 'real time' interaction. If the players are talking to the watch guard and the conversation is going to go on verbatim. I will assume first person. On the other hand, if the conversation is just a back drop for something else, I will use third person to summarise the key things that happened in the conversation. For example if the players are talking with the bartender looking for info about the location of someone. I will summarise the key information they gleaned in third person. I had a player describe this as first person for the game, third person for the 'cut scenes'.

All combat is described in third person though. That's mainly because I describe what the players can see is happening not what the opponent is planning. It is not until the opponent act that they get to hear what actually happened.

Finally, to be completely honest this behavior is just a goal. I stick to it for the first hour or two of a session the slowly slip into more and more third person.

As A player I try to use first person to say what the character is saying, and third person for out of proposed action descriptions. For example, if I am going to try to rob a storekeeper, I might say "I was wondering if you can show me some pearl earrings.",then add, "He is going to try to force the clerk to the floor and tie him up once the display case is unlocked."

I don't find that the mixing of voices interferes with the enjoyment of the game. I think it might change the immersion of the game, where third person leads to more of a spectator of events rather than participant in the events.

I do find that the group speaks together. If one member starts off in third person, then those that follow will continue in third person.

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