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Jun. 20th, 2009
Roleplaying Peeve
Jun. 20th, 2009 09:12 pmA lot of GMs say they "don't like to push their players." They don't like to guide or railroad or otherwise drag the players and their characters from one plot hook to another. Instead, they say they're running a "character-centric" game.
In my experience here is what they're really trying to say. "I have a plot in mind, but I don't know too much about pacing, so I figure I'll let you guys ramble about and do whatever. If you do something interesting enough to warrant a reaction or some gamemastering, I suppose I'll get involved. I'm not sure what I'll do if none of you have a plot in mind and a way to make it happen. Probably be upset with you."
This is why, while character development is really important to me to be able to have fun RPing, I don't like "character-centric" RPs. In my experience that's not what it means. It means that the GM wants more than a table of pro-active RPers. They want a table of people who'll take over plot and pacing, an interesting choice considering that the GM is usually the only one who really knows the plot.
Now why in the world would you put the responsibility for pacing on people who don't know what's going on? It's a recipe for people to stand around talking in-character, killing time and hoping that the GM will notice them waiting.
Players throwing a creative wrench into the plot by acting in-character and doing unexpected things are gems, and they help create much richer plots than the GM could create by him or herself. But a GM has to have a backup plan, a plot in mind and something interesting to offer in case they have to be the engine of plot and pacing. Because guess what? That's part of your job, gamemasters and storytellers. The buck stops at you.
In my experience here is what they're really trying to say. "I have a plot in mind, but I don't know too much about pacing, so I figure I'll let you guys ramble about and do whatever. If you do something interesting enough to warrant a reaction or some gamemastering, I suppose I'll get involved. I'm not sure what I'll do if none of you have a plot in mind and a way to make it happen. Probably be upset with you."
This is why, while character development is really important to me to be able to have fun RPing, I don't like "character-centric" RPs. In my experience that's not what it means. It means that the GM wants more than a table of pro-active RPers. They want a table of people who'll take over plot and pacing, an interesting choice considering that the GM is usually the only one who really knows the plot.
Now why in the world would you put the responsibility for pacing on people who don't know what's going on? It's a recipe for people to stand around talking in-character, killing time and hoping that the GM will notice them waiting.
Players throwing a creative wrench into the plot by acting in-character and doing unexpected things are gems, and they help create much richer plots than the GM could create by him or herself. But a GM has to have a backup plan, a plot in mind and something interesting to offer in case they have to be the engine of plot and pacing. Because guess what? That's part of your job, gamemasters and storytellers. The buck stops at you.
Roleplaying Peeve
Jun. 20th, 2009 09:12 pmA lot of GMs say they "don't like to push their players." They don't like to guide or railroad or otherwise drag the players and their characters from one plot hook to another. Instead, they say they're running a "character-centric" game.
In my experience here is what they're really trying to say. "I have a plot in mind, but I don't know too much about pacing, so I figure I'll let you guys ramble about and do whatever. If you do something interesting enough to warrant a reaction or some gamemastering, I suppose I'll get involved. I'm not sure what I'll do if none of you have a plot in mind and a way to make it happen. Probably be upset with you."
This is why, while character development is really important to me to be able to have fun RPing, I don't like "character-centric" RPs. In my experience that's not what it means. It means that the GM wants more than a table of pro-active RPers. They want a table of people who'll take over plot and pacing, an interesting choice considering that the GM is usually the only one who really knows the plot.
Now why in the world would you put the responsibility for pacing on people who don't know what's going on? It's a recipe for people to stand around talking in-character, killing time and hoping that the GM will notice them waiting.
Players throwing a creative wrench into the plot by acting in-character and doing unexpected things are gems, and they help create much richer plots than the GM could create by him or herself. But a GM has to have a backup plan, a plot in mind and something interesting to offer in case they have to be the engine of plot and pacing. Because guess what? That's part of your job, gamemasters and storytellers. The buck stops at you.
In my experience here is what they're really trying to say. "I have a plot in mind, but I don't know too much about pacing, so I figure I'll let you guys ramble about and do whatever. If you do something interesting enough to warrant a reaction or some gamemastering, I suppose I'll get involved. I'm not sure what I'll do if none of you have a plot in mind and a way to make it happen. Probably be upset with you."
This is why, while character development is really important to me to be able to have fun RPing, I don't like "character-centric" RPs. In my experience that's not what it means. It means that the GM wants more than a table of pro-active RPers. They want a table of people who'll take over plot and pacing, an interesting choice considering that the GM is usually the only one who really knows the plot.
Now why in the world would you put the responsibility for pacing on people who don't know what's going on? It's a recipe for people to stand around talking in-character, killing time and hoping that the GM will notice them waiting.
Players throwing a creative wrench into the plot by acting in-character and doing unexpected things are gems, and they help create much richer plots than the GM could create by him or herself. But a GM has to have a backup plan, a plot in mind and something interesting to offer in case they have to be the engine of plot and pacing. Because guess what? That's part of your job, gamemasters and storytellers. The buck stops at you.
Roleplaying Peeve
Jun. 20th, 2009 09:12 pmA lot of GMs say they "don't like to push their players." They don't like to guide or railroad or otherwise drag the players and their characters from one plot hook to another. Instead, they say they're running a "character-centric" game.
In my experience here is what they're really trying to say. "I have a plot in mind, but I don't know too much about pacing, so I figure I'll let you guys ramble about and do whatever. If you do something interesting enough to warrant a reaction or some gamemastering, I suppose I'll get involved. I'm not sure what I'll do if none of you have a plot in mind and a way to make it happen. Probably be upset with you."
This is why, while character development is really important to me to be able to have fun RPing, I don't like "character-centric" RPs. In my experience that's not what it means. It means that the GM wants more than a table of pro-active RPers. They want a table of people who'll take over plot and pacing, an interesting choice considering that the GM is usually the only one who really knows the plot.
Now why in the world would you put the responsibility for pacing on people who don't know what's going on? It's a recipe for people to stand around talking in-character, killing time and hoping that the GM will notice them waiting.
Players throwing a creative wrench into the plot by acting in-character and doing unexpected things are gems, and they help create much richer plots than the GM could create by him or herself. But a GM has to have a backup plan, a plot in mind and something interesting to offer in case they have to be the engine of plot and pacing. Because guess what? That's part of your job, gamemasters and storytellers. The buck stops at you.
In my experience here is what they're really trying to say. "I have a plot in mind, but I don't know too much about pacing, so I figure I'll let you guys ramble about and do whatever. If you do something interesting enough to warrant a reaction or some gamemastering, I suppose I'll get involved. I'm not sure what I'll do if none of you have a plot in mind and a way to make it happen. Probably be upset with you."
This is why, while character development is really important to me to be able to have fun RPing, I don't like "character-centric" RPs. In my experience that's not what it means. It means that the GM wants more than a table of pro-active RPers. They want a table of people who'll take over plot and pacing, an interesting choice considering that the GM is usually the only one who really knows the plot.
Now why in the world would you put the responsibility for pacing on people who don't know what's going on? It's a recipe for people to stand around talking in-character, killing time and hoping that the GM will notice them waiting.
Players throwing a creative wrench into the plot by acting in-character and doing unexpected things are gems, and they help create much richer plots than the GM could create by him or herself. But a GM has to have a backup plan, a plot in mind and something interesting to offer in case they have to be the engine of plot and pacing. Because guess what? That's part of your job, gamemasters and storytellers. The buck stops at you.