Episode 72 (S2-19) - "Drama!"

[Oneiros]

OR: Privileged Information

Well, more tensions are brewing as Hamid keeps disappearing... until his spell slots run out and his past catches up with him somewhat. And, like many managers, he's seemingly insistent on a team-building night at the opera. And look, it might even coincide with the mission. Almost definitely. The laws of narrative causality say it will. Right?

Well, Bertie's on his side... um...

And now that Bertie knows why the sword of his ancestors was forged, might he be a little less antagonistic? What deeds can they do when they're a united front? (Anyone else getting Glinda & Elphaba vibes here?   )

Jokes aside (and I was definitely guffawing heartily), the argument between Grizzop and Hamid does showcase some interesting points about storytelling tropes and narrative structuring, particularly where the tensions between story, 'realism' and gameplay intersect to create drama that is satisfying for both plot and players. Those GMs out there, how would you go about handling this? Players, what would you prefer to see if you were LOLOMG?

[Brave Sir Robin]

I had so much fun with that argument. I think my favourite line was "but if you were doing that in real life... which this is!" from Ben.

[urchin]

Hamid's alignment is shifting towards Chaotic Opera-loving. He seems so much more committed to seeing the opera than stopping Kafka (or anything else) that I have to wonder if he knows something about it that everyone else doesn't.

Also, if characters take a psychic damage every time they break out of the setting, how much has each taken at this point?

> Those GMs out there, how would you go about handling this? Players, what would you prefer to see if you were LOLOMG?

Depends on the tone of the game.  I wouldn't have much tolerance as a player or GM for this in a serious game or at a particularly serious moment.  In lighter games it can be fun, but tends to derail progress.  It's really hard to push people back on track, though.  Poor Alex.

[Brave Sir Robin]

Well, he knows his sister is in it - which is perhaps causing him to obsess over it a little more than is healthy.

There's also a little bit of IC/OOC game playing here. By having Hamid be convinced that the climax of the ritual will be at the Opera house I make it more likely that Alex will have that happen. And that is a story beat that Bryn will enjoy. You'll notice that the suggestion that the centre of the leylines was colocated with the Opera House came entirely from me (whilst it is perfectly possible that Alex was planning it all along). In some games I certainly wouldn't do this - if I feel like the GM is going to have written a thing that they are keen to see play out, but RQG has a pretty improv based approach, and therefore I feel able to suggest ideas in this manner with a reasonable confidence that the GM and other players will accept and build on them. And in return I do the same for suggestions they make in the same way.

In terms of the IC conflict, Hamid genuinely thought the best way to combat Kafka is to go somewhere they 'know' he will be. But he was very much convinced by Grizzop that they should attempt to disrupt and weaken the ritual *as well* as disrupting the culmination.

[urchin]

Heh, well done planting the leyline idea! The opera showdown theory does imply that Kafka is a bit of a showboating villain, though, and the professors seemed to think he was more insane than vain. Unless his plan is to kill and reanimate everyone at the opera or something like that, and that’s why he might attack when it’s full of people.

Some GMs are definitely more willing to modifying their plans to hew closer to player expectation than others, but I think it’s usually a good thing when it can be done well. I’ve definitely been in games where players fixated on throw-away NPCs or low-level enemies, and those characters became more important and powerful to reflect player expectation. It’s strengthens the narrative from a player perspective when that happens.

[Alex Newall]

*cough* Brutor *cough*

[Oneiros]

Nov 15, 2017 19:02:41 GMT urchin said:

Unless his plan is to kill and reanimate everyone at the opera or something like that

When 'Phantom of the Opera' involves real undead