One
of my constant complaints is that I never get to play a game; I’m always the DM
or Storyteller. Don’t get me wrong. I love to run games and create NPCs and the
city and the adventures. Everything
about being a Storyteller is exciting to me.
However, being the Storyteller is a lot of work if you do it right. In order to run a good game, you have to do a
lot of preparation: create NPCs, develop
a plot, decide on settings and themes, etc.
While each aspect of preparation is rewarding, I do get bogged down with
all of that work.
West End Games Star Wars Revised Edition |
I get a bit jealous of the players
who only have to create one character and one back story. Also, because I am currently doing an
internship (which is basically a full time job), I feel a bit pressed for time
and my preparation hasn’t been as thorough as I’d want. I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to
running a game or anything else for that matter.
All of this stems from the fact that
I have almost always been the GM or Storyteller in my groups. From the first time I started role playing, I
was the GM. The story goes something
like this. I’d never role played before
college, but during my sophomore year, I met a lot of people who were really
into D&D and CWoD. I played one or
two games of D&D and maybe a session of Vampire: The Dark Ages. After that I purchased a copy of West End
Games Star Wars Revised Edition from my local comic shop.
I knew nothing about GMing, so I read
the book and dove into running it. I did
an average job, I guess. Most of my
players had fun, but I had a lot to learn.
I railroaded them a bit and had a couple of dilemmas that only NPCs
could solve. What I remember most about
that game, was the guy who wanted to be a Jedi.
He was dead set on getting a lightsaber as quickly as possible. He
gathered the pieces over a couple of sessions, but when he put them together he
rolled poorly. I’m not sure if I warned
him or not, but I recall that I told him, “You realize you probably rolled
poorly. It might be a bad idea to turn
it on.” He turned it on anyway, and it
exploded in his face, killing him. He
wasn’t happy, and left the room angry.
The Attack on Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back |
I’d set the campaign on Hoth, during
the months prior to the events of The Empire Strikes Back. When the Imperials attacked, I let the
players use a rocket launcher to slow down the AT-ATs, but during the
evacuation, I put the players on a transport that I’d decided was a specific
transport from a Star Wars novel that I had recently read. This transport was disabled and saved by a
pair of bounty hunters, Zuckuss and 4LOM.
The players tried repeatedly to fix the transport and I just put up road
block after road block. They became
frustrated, and eventually the bounty hunters arrived to save them. I’d taken the agency away from the players,
they felt not only useless but inconsequential in the campaign.
I like to think that I’ve learned
from that experience. That game took
place in 1997 or 1998, and I still remember those two events clearly. I’ve
repeated those mistakes too, especially when I ran a game set in the Star Wars
Universe because I thought of that setting as something immutable. However, when I ran a Star Wars Saga Edition
campaign several years ago, I finally let go of my desire to keep the setting
unchanged by players’ actions. They
eventually murdered the Emperor and Darth Vader alongside and NPC that had
originally been the campaigns primary antagonist. The players loved being able to change the
outcome of the movies or explore alternative histories of the setting.
Gehenna Source Book |
The Classic World of Darkness offers
similar potential for Storytellers to get caught by the setting’s
metaplot. That metaplot can constrict
player choices in the same way my adherence to the Star Wars canon constricted
my players. Events in the World of
Darkness are important for the overall growth of the game during the original
run, but they are not sacred texts. The
setting only offers a jumping off point for the players as they enter the
world. Beyond that, the players should
be the key movers and shakers in the world.
They are the stars of the movie or the heroes of the novel. The story revolves around them. If the Storyteller or GM gets too caught up
in the metaplot when introducing the Assamite Schism, for example, the players
could get bored or frustrated that they don’t have any way to contribute to the
story.
Let
the details of the setting change to fit what the players want. Nothing is carved into stone. And if someone wants to build a cool gadget
or weapon in your game, don’t blow them up if they screw up one roll.
An enlightening tale.
ReplyDeleteI think Star Wars is a difficult setting in which to play. What GM can resist pitting characters against classic villains or including cameos by heroic rebels? Allowing the PCs a chance to change Star Wars history is serious business.
But you're right, the PCs should be the focal point of a campaign. Doesn't matter what the RPG is.
It took me many, many campaigns to learn that lesson. These days I don't hold the "canon" as sacred when I run games. But I don't make it easy for players who decide to go collect the scalps of the movie heroes.
Delete