Re: [BNW] Meta-Plot vs Static world

["g. m." <gm1970@hotmail.com>]

>Game companies can just put out supplements and not advance the storyline 
>to
>avoid this, but then you would just have splatbooks and GM's Guides and
>other books that do the same thing; add more stuff to the game, and can 
>step
>on your toes.

IE: What every other superhero game does. And remember how well Champions 
sold? (sarcasam) That world was so disjointed, even after they published a 
book that codified their game world(Champions Universe), they still decied 
to scrap the whole thing and start over with a new (and worse IMHO) system 
and world that "Made Sense(tm)" and it has 4 books out and a 5th that never 
materlized. The "Living World" idea works better. Keeps people interested.

>What if some bit of history in said 'static' game contradicts
>what you established, and causes your game to wildly diverge at this point?
>Or if a new power is released?  Unless you expect the company to release 50
>books at once, with the 'whole story' developed, there will be
>contradictions.  Don't use them if you don't like them.

And this happens in EVERY game! The second your players enter the world and 
start adventuring, YOUR GAME BEARS NO RESEMBELENSE TO THE PUBLISHED WORLD! 
There are people there, your PCs, that have a dramatic effect and Change 
Things. If it's a good game. If your players have no effect on the game 
world, why are they adventuring? "No, you can't catch that guy, he might 
need to be free in case a future suppliment from AEG uses him."

The main bit that this appears to come down to is that people are affraid 
that their decisions will make their game "different" from the published 
one. SFW? It's happened. See above. Your world is different the second you 
roll the dice. So what if it takes a left turn from what gets published? 
Then your game, and your world is now more YOUR WORLD. Your Game. And that 
means its a better game. You might not be able to use part of some future 
suppliments. Aw, too bad. You have to be creative. Isn't that part of being 
the GM? Comming up with the npcs for the players to interact with?  Figuring 
out what king Jack wants to do next? Be a GM! Write your own plots! Be your 
own person and dare to create a more personal world!

In my campagin, the two main players decided that they wanted to break into 
the Fortress and break out Yellow Journalist, since they found plans for the 
prison when they stopped another breakout plan. (The one on 
encaffinatedONE's web page - The Revelers) They also found out about some 
"classified" deltas and wanted to see what they were. They were the packages 
from Steve Crowe's cool web page, and the packages were rare, therefor 
classified. I could of told them no, but they had the plans and the way in. 
So I ran with it. The got some of those hand-held impellers that the SEALS 
use and made their way with them and SCUBA gear and went on their way. Just 
a Tough and a Telleporter. Gustsy. On the way, I used this as an opprotunity 
for them to run into the Aquarians, who let it slip that they had helped 
other Deltas escape the Fortress, and would help them as well since they 
agreed with the cause. Then then got to the prison, snuck in, and since they 
had a cunning plan that had "The virtue of never having been done," they got 
around, found the Deltas they wanted to recruit for their own group and made 
their escape. This culminated in a standoff on the beach, racing the 
Armourgeddon suits to the water and edge of the suppression field. Very 
tense, very cool. One of the best games I've run. And I did it all without: 
a map of the Fortress, "official" NPCs there, and idea why or how the 
suppression field worked, or any idea that they would not get caught. Could 
have been the end of the game, but they made it. As for the supression 
field, I just told them that as they reached a certin point, they felt a 
chill, then a sense of loss and their powers didn't work anymore. And that 
worked fine. And I'd have much rather had that game than said "Sorry, have 
to wait for the Fortress suppliment guys."


>The focus of your game should be your players, but without a changing 
>world,
>you might as well have them act in front of an oil painting.  I'd rather
>have a chance to do something that can affect the game's story, than just
>read about the history of obscure characters that I would never use in some
>splatbook.  Comic books have stories and evolving characters; it is what
>make them interesting.

Exactly. If your players can't make an impact on the game world, they will 
eventually get bored and want to play something else. So just run with 
whatever good idea you've got and have fun. If you're wrong, so what? And if 
the characters in the game world don't know where X comes from, then why 
should the players? The source of Delta powers is currently a mystery. So? 
Were you planning on having that as a major plot point? If so, why? Powers 
aren't the point of BNW, or any other Supers RPG out there. They exist. 
They're just there to allow the players to do the things they do, but 
they're not the STORY. They're a device. The story is fighting for freedom 
from an oppressive state, and remembering the price of freedom. Powers are a 
sideline.

--
GAry m, minor epot
   aka "Sneezy the Squid" · www.geocities.com/sneezythesquid
------------------------------
If life is a lesson, it's a crash course.
   - Derek Lin

DNRC Member since 1995 · ICQ#: 8391493 · #dragoncon on DALnet mIRC

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