Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
UNSAFE
It’s a sum m e r’s d ay and I’m running a gam e in m y
b ack gard e n. M y onl y pre paration for th e gam e is
scrib b l
e d w ord s: “D e coy te am ”, “H ote l
”, “Som e th ing
bl ow s up”.
Five ye ars ago, I coul d n’t h ave run a gam e th is w ay. I’d
h ave pre pare d for h ours b e fore a gam e , arriving w ith
sh e ave s of note s, rail road ing pl aye rs th rough m y
ad ve nture .
Play 1
Play ...........................................................................2
Stop w ork in g............................................................ 3
D on 'tplan ah e ad ......................................................4
H old id e as ligh tly ..................................................... 5
Be ave rage .................................................................6
A borin g e xpe rim e n t.................................................7
Be obvious .................................................................8
A n obvious e xpe rim e n t............................................ 9
Letyour guard d ow n ..............................................10
D on 'tpre te n d .........................................................12
M ovin g forw ard ..................................................... 13
GM in g an ad ve n ture w ith outplan n in g................ 13
Build 15
Build .......................................................................16
Sh ootin g id e as d ow n ...............................................16
Buildin g on id e as ....................................................20
Ye s, A n d ................................................................. 21
Im agin e ife ve ryon e builton e ve ry id e a..................22
Sh ootin g id e as d ow n d e libe rate ly ...........................23
M ovin g forw ard ..................................................... 24
ii
Status 25
Status ..................................................................... 26
Storie s an d status ...................................................26
Status be h aviours ...................................................28
R e ason s to play low status ..................................... 29
R e ason s to play h igh status ....................................29
Status is e m otion al.................................................30
Com ic an d se rious status ....................................... 31
H ow to roleplay re alistic re lation sh ips ...................31
Status in roleplayin g gam e s ...................................32
Type s ofstatus ........................................................33
M ovin g forw ard ..................................................... 34
Te lls torie s 35
Te llstorie s ...............................................................36
Cre ate routin e s an d bre ak th e m ..............................37
Cre ate platform s an d ad d a tilt...............................39
Cre ate a status re lation sh ip an d alte r it................. 41
Cre ate a m yste ry an d solve it................................. 42
D e live r on your prom ise s ....................................... 43
R e in corporate ......................................................... 44
A n um be r guid e lin e ................................................45
Th e trouble w ith trouble.........................................46
A n ord e rin g guid e lin e ............................................47
Tw o good w ays to startstorie s w ith trouble...........49
M orald ilem m as ......................................................50
Ge tto th e action ..................................................... 51
K e e p th e action on stage .......................................... 52
Justify ..................................................................... 53
M ovin g forw ard ..................................................... 54
iii
W ork toge th e r 55
W ork toge th e r.........................................................56
Give th e oth e r guy a good tim e ...............................57
Lose grace fully ........................................................58
Trust....................................................................... 58
Scre w w ith e ach oth e r.............................................59
Tak e risk s ................................................................ 61
D o th in gs you d on 'tw an tto d o.............................62
D o itagain ..............................................................63
Puton a sh ow .........................................................63
En e rgy .................................................................... 64
Fitin to th e group ................................................... 66
Afte rw ord 68
Th ank s 73
iv
Introduction
Th e n, in Buil d , I'l
ld e scrib e h ow w e ofte n k il loth e r
pl aye rs' id e as. If, inste ad , w e tak e id e as and run w ith
th e m , gam e s tak e fligh t.
Final l
y, in W ork Toge th e r, I'l
ltalk ab out pl aying w ith
oth e rs. W h e n you w ork w e l lw ith oth e rs, w h e n you
put on a sh ow , w h e n you scre w w ith oth e r pl aye rs,
your gam e com e s to life .
v
Th e Z e n ofgam ing
For e xam pl
e:
• “D o noth ing!”
• “Stop trying to b e cl
e ve r!”
vi
W h e re do th e s e ide as com e from ?
Explanations
O fte n, in th e se e xam pl
e s, I assum e th at gam e s h ave a
GM (Gam e M aste r), w h o runs th e gam e . Som e m od e rn
gam e s d o noth ave a GM : h ow e ve r, th e e xam pl e s m ak e
se nse ifyou re ad “GM ” as “A noth e r Pl aye r”.
vi i
Play
R ole pl
aying gam e s can ge t too se rious. W e b uy sh e l
ve s
of th ick b ook s. W e pl an d e tail e d ad ve nture s. W e
m e m orise rul
e s.
In th is se ction, w e 'l
le xpl ore w h at h appe ns w h e n you
th row th e se rious stuff aw ay: w h e n you stop trying,
stop pl anning and l e tyour guard d ow n. In pl ace of th e
se riousne ss, I'll d e scrib e an e ffortl e ss w ay to pl ay,
w h e re you stop trying to b e good b ut, ofte n, you're
b rill
iant.
Play
2
Stop w ork ing
3
D on’tplan ah e ad
M any rol e pl
aye rs pl an ah e ad . Th e y h ave an age nd a for
th e ir ch aracte r, w h ich th e y push forw ard , l ittl
e by l
ittle.
D on’tpl
an ah e ad . Th e re are m any re asons notto.
4
H old ide as ligh tly
I e njoy re se arch ing for along th e Th am e s. It
gam e s. I re ad H P w oul d b e a m istak e to plan
Love craft storie s to inspire for th is: insisting our
Cth ulh u gam e s; I re se arch ch aracte rs se arch th e
Z e ppe l
ins for pul p gam e s; Th am e s, insisting w e go to
I pore ove r Victorian m aps Lond on.
of Lond on for d e te ctive
gam e s. H ow e ve r, if w e ’re
se arch ing Lond on, we
Th is re se arch provok e s m igh t go to a tave rn ne ar
id e as. I w ant a ch ase , l
ik e th e Th am e s. W e m igh t
th e one in Th e M ountains se arch , in th e Th am e s, for a
O f M ad ne ss! I w ant to fl
ya b od y, using a b oat.
Z e ppe lin! I w ant to sailup
th e Th am e s! K e e p your id e as vague .
“Sail ing al ong th e
But isn’t th is pl anning Th am e s” is unspe cific,
ah e ad ?Sh oul d I stop? ad aptab l e to m any storie s.
“Se e ing th e m urd e re r
Le t’s tak e a ste p b ack . O f th rough a te l e scope ” is
course , it’s fun to re se arch m ore d ifficul t to b ring into
for gam e s. O f course , it’s a gam e . “A m otorcycl e
inte re sting to im agine ch ase th rough th e
th ings to h appe n in gam e s. H igh l and s of Scotl and ” is
unl ik e l
y to h appe n
But k e e p th e se id e as at th e w ith outrail road ing.
H old ide as ligh tly
5
But th at’s th e fun. If you re act instantl y, if you h ave no
pre conce ive d id e as, if you d on’t th ink into th e future ,
you’l lh ave a b e tte r gam e . You’l
lb e m ore fun to pl ay
w ith , too.
Be ave rage
6
M oorh ouse and Le onard A boring e xpe rim e nt
Gross inte rvie w e d
ath l
e te s w h o h ad b rok e n O n an Inte rne t forum , I
w orld re cord s. ask e d pe opl e to te l la
b oring story. M any
None of th e se ath l e te s re sponse s, far from b oring,
w e re fascinatingl y
h ad trie d to b e good .
d e tail
e d . H e re is an
W h en inte rvie w e d , e xce rpt from a story b y
th e y’d say th ings l ik e : Jarod Scott:
“I d id n’tfe e lw e l lth at I yaw n , look outsid e an d se e
d ay...I d on’tre m e m b e r th at it's still d ark . Th e re 's
any particul ar m om e nt n ot m uch to se e , but I gaz e
d uring th e e ve nt. Ital l casually at th e groun d th at
se e m e d so e asy. A tth e fully surroun d s th e tave rn . I
finish , th e w ay th e coun t to a th ousan d , an d it is
crow d w as ch e e ring stilld ark . M aybe h ours from
tol d m e I’d d one w e l l, n ow , th e sun w ill rise an d
b utI h ad th e fe e l ing th at w illm e an on ly five m ore
th atifI h ad onl y trie d a d ays be fore th e soup of th e
littl e h ard e r I coul d d ay is m utton ste w .
h ave d one m uch Ye ste rd ay w as ch ick e n broth ,
b e tte r.” w h ich is alrigh t. O h , but th at
m e an s it w illbe five d ays till
If you’re striving to scal e
m utton ste w . I try coun tin g
th e h e igh ts of Aw e som e ,
A boring e xpe rim e nt
to tw o th ousan d th is tim e ,
w e d on’t se e Aw e som e : an d roll se ve ral d ice to se e
w e se e you trying. Stop h ow far I ge t. Th irty-se ve n .
trying, aim to b e ave rage , So I start coun tin g from
and you’l le njoy yourse lf th e re be fore ch e ck in g outsid e
m ore . again . Stilld ark . I look back
in sid e . Th e re 's a couple
w h ore s d oz in g at a corn e r
table. I d on 't care to spe n d
m y m on e y.
7
Be obvious
If, w h il
e gam ing, you can’t b e cl e ve r or try h ard , w h at
can you d o?Th e answ e r is: b e ob vious.
w as ob vious.
Natural l
y, not e ve ry “ob vious” th ing you say w il lb e
b ril
liant. O fte n, w h at you th ink is an ob vious ne xt ste p
in th e story w ill, ind e e d , b e an ob vious ste p in th e story.
8
An obvious e xpe rim e nt
I poste d th e fol low ing • Sh e turns, h ol d ing th e
story on an Inte rne tforum . sh ining ob je ct. It’s a
k nife . “Th at w as th e
A th ie f m ove s across th e noisie st B& E I’ve e ve r
rooftops, k e e pin g to th e h e ard .”
sh ad ow s. H e cre e ps to a
w in d ow , re ach e s th rough an d • Th e th ie f d ash e s into
ope n s it. H e se e s a w om an h id ing w atch ing th e
an d , be h in d h e r, som e th in g w om an continue to ge t
sh in in g on a d e sk . re ad y for a m agnifice nt
b allor som e such .
Th e n I ask e d :
Constrastingl y, m ost
1. W h at d o you natural ly answ e rs to 3 w e re
e xpe ct w il lh appe n ne xt ove rb l ow n, cl e ve r id e as.
in th e story?
• From th e w aist d ow n,
2. W h at w oul d you l ik e to h e r b od y consists of a
h appe n ne xt? d oz e n w rith ing
te ntacl e s tippe d w ith
3. W h at is th e cool e st, te n-inch se rrate d
cl e ve re st th ing you can spik e s, w h ich te ar h im
th ink up to h appe n lim b from l im b . H e An obvious e xpe rim e nt
ne xt? laugh s h yste rical ly th e
w h ol e tim e .
Al l answ e rs to 1 and 2
w e re , in d iffe re nt w ays, • Be h ind th e d e sk , a
natural e xte nsions of th e grand iose ch air sw ive l s
story. Som e se e m e d to face th e w om e n. Bil l
b rilliant. Cl inton d raw s on h is
cigar. K l axons b l are and
• I w ant th e w om an to b e orange l igh ts fl ash . A
b e autiful and to countd ow n com m e nce s.
e m b race th e m an. H is b ath rob e fal ls to th e
floor.
9
Th at’s fine . W h e n you re spond ob viousl y, 9 0% of th e
tim e , you’l lcarry th e story forw ard natural ly. If you'd
trie d to b e cle ve r, 9 0% of th e tim e , you'd h ave th row n
th e story off course . A nd , w h e n you're ob vious, one
tim e in te n, you’l lb e b ril
liant.
Try to b e b ril
liantand you’l
lfail
. Be ob vious and , ofte n,
you’llb e b rill
iant.
10
Th e n I b e cam e uncom fortab le . W as I, w ith out k now ing
it, re ve al
ing a se xualfantasy? W oul d th e oth e r pl
aye rs
th ink I w as a pe rve rt? W as I, accid e ntal l
y, giving aw ay
som e th ing ab outm yse l f?So I stoppe d .
W h e n rol
e playing, w e ofte n pl
ay safe . W e d on’t w ant
to give anyth ing aw ay ab outourse l
ve s.
A nd , ye t, pl
ay is m ore inte re sting w h e n w e l
e t our
guard d ow n.
11
D on'tpre te nd
Pe rsonal l
y, I narrate sh ooting pre gnant w om e n and
fe e lnoth ing. But I ne ve r narrate m y ch aracte r’s fath e r
into rol e playing gam e s: b e cause I d on’t w ant to pl ay a
ch aracte r w h ose fath e r suffe rs. It’s too cl
ose to th e b one .
12
M oving forw ard
13
Build
In th is ch apte r, I'l
ld e scrib e re asons w h y w e sh oot
d ow n id e as uninte ntional l y, e ve n unconsciously. Th e n
I'l
l d iscuss h ow to pl ay coope rative l y inste ad , b y
b uil
d ing on e ach oth e r's id e as.
Pl
aye r: “I se arch for anoth e r e ntrance !”
GM : “No, th e re ’s onl
y th e m ain d oor.”
Pl
aye r 1: “I force you to k ne e lin frontofm e !”
Pl
aye r 2: “I b re ak fre e and stand up.”
16
It’s h ard to d e fine “sh ooting id e as d ow n” e xactl
y, b ut
you’l lk now itw h e n you se e it. It’s ab out:
• Saying an im pl
icit“No”.
1. W e sh ootid e as d ow n in life
O th e r pl
aye r: “I k nock on th e tave rn d oor, l oud l
y.”
Me: “I stop you! I grab your h and and pul lyou
into th e sh ad ow s.”
H e re , th e oth e r playe r sh ot m y id e a d ow n, th e n I sh ot
d ow n h is: h e nce , noth ing e nd s up h appe ning.
18
3. O ur guard is up
Pl
aye r 1: “I fling m anure atyou!”
Pl
aye r 2: “Itm isse s!”
Pl
aye r 1: “I force you to your k ne e s!”
Pl
aye r 2: “I ge tup.”
19
Building on ide as
Pl
aye r: “I se arch for anoth e r e ntrance ”
GM : “O K ! Th e re ’s a sm al
ltrapd oor b e ne ath th e
ram parts.”
Pl
aye r 1: “I force you to k ne e lin frontofm e .”
Pl
aye r 2: “I b e g for forgive ne ss.”
Pl
aye r 1: “I force you to k ne e lin frontofm e .”
Pl
aye r 2: “I ge tup and force you againstth e w al l
!”
Pl
aye r 1: “Sh e m ove s tow ard s you se d uctive ly.”
Pl
aye r 2: “I run h e r th rough w ith m y sw ord .”
Building on ide as
D oe s th is se e m e asy? W e l
l, it is, and it isn’t, and th e n it
is again. To e xpl ain…
20
3. A nd ge tting your m e ntalb l ock s out of th e w ay, so
you can use th e te ch niq ue , is h ard .
Ye s , And...
W h e n you b uil d on an Try pl aying w ith e ve ryone
id e a, you say an im pl icit saying "Ye s, A nd ...".
"Ye s, A nd ..." to th e id e a. If
w e m ak e ite xpl icit: Playe r 1: "Sh e m ove s
tow ard s you
Pl
aye r 1: "Sh e m ove s se d uctive l y."
tow ard s you Pl
aye r 2: "Ye s! A nd I run h e r
se d uctive l
y." th rough w ith m y
Pl
aye r 2: "Ye s! A nd I run h e r sw ord ."
th rough w ith m y Pl
aye r 1: "Ye s! A nd sh e d ie s
sw ord ." on th e fl oor."
Pl
aye r 2: "Ye s! A nd h e r
Try saying "Ye s, A nd ...", in fath e r figh ts m e ."
re sponse to oth e r pe opl e 's
id e as, b e fore you've You'l l b uil d a story
Ye s , And...
21
Im agine ife ve ryone builton e ve ry ide a
Firstl
y, you couldn ’t plan ah e ad . Eve ryth ing you d id
w ould b e b ase d on som e one e l
se ’s id e as: th e re ’d b e no
ch ance to plan.
th e y gave you.
For e xam pl
e , ifI say:
• “I k ne e lin frontofyou.”
22
Th e n, to m e , th at’s an id e a Sh ooting ide as dow n
I can re actto:
de libe rate ly
• “I b e g for m e rcy!”
Som e tim e s, sh ooting id e as
d ow n can ad d to a story,
A nd you can re actto th at:
b y ad d ing te nsion:
• “R e al
ly? W h at w il
l GM : You’re trappe d in a
you give m e for m y prison ce l l.
m e rcy?” Pl
aye r: I callth e guard .
GM : No-one com e s.
To pl ay l ik e th is, your Pl
aye r: Il ook atth e w al ls.
GM : Th e y’re sh e e r stone .
guard m ust be d ow n : if
Pl
aye r: I use th e m agic I
you’re se l f-ce nsoring, you sw ore I’d ne ve r use .
can’t re act im m e d iate l y. GM : R igh t…
Al so, you w il l find th at
your guard com e s d ow n: H e re , w h e n e arlie r id e as
b e cause you’re b e ing are sh ot d ow n, we
23
M oving forw ard
24
Status
In th is ch apte r, I'l
ld e scrib e h ow status te ch niq ue s can
b ring your ch aracte rs to l ife .
I'l
le xpl ain h ow to pl ay h igh status - k ings, h e roe s,
god s - and l ow status - se rvants, b e ggars, fools. I'l
llist
trick s you can use , at th e gam ing tab l e , to raise and
low e r your status. I'l
lconsid e r th e d iffe re nt sorts of
status in role pl
aying gam e s.
Al
lstorie s, in som e w ay, are ab outstatus.
• Ste ph anie is a m il
k m aid from a poor fam il
y
26
Th e n e l
e vate h e r to h igh status:
Sim il
arl
y, tak e a h igh -status ch aracte r:
A nd b ring h im l
ow :
... untilh e l
ose s itin a card gam e .
A gain, you h ave a story.
But you can use status in any gam e . You can inve nt
Storie s and s tatus
27
Status be h aviours
• H ol
d e ye contact
• K e e p stil
l, e spe cial
ly your h e ad
• Tak e up l
ots ofspace
• Rel
ax
Sim il arly, to pl
ay l
ow status - a se rvant or a fool- try
th e follow ing:
im m e d iate l
y
• Tak e up as l
ittl
e space as possib l
e
28
Re as ons to play low Re as ons to play h igh
s tatus s tatus
1. Low status ch aracte rs 1. H igh status ch aracte rs
are , ge ne ral l
y, m ore are b e tte r ad m ire d th an
lik e ab le th an h igh - low status one s. W e
status one s: th ink of R 2- w on’t l ik e you, b ut
D 2 com pare d to C3PO ; w e ’l
lre spe ctyou.
Passe partout com pare d
to Ph il
e as Fogg; 2. Th e story ne e d s you.
Cind e re l la com pare d to W h e n you are b rough t
th e Ugl y Siste rs. W e low , e ve ryone w ill
ad m ire k ings, b ut l ik e e njoy it. R e al ise you’re
th e ir se rvants m ore . se tting yourse l f up for
a fal land e njoy it. Pl ay
2. Th e story ne e d s you. If a b ul l
y; pl ay a k ing;
e ve ryone ’s h igh status, pl ay a h ate -figure .
it’s b oring. Be sid e s, if You’l lge tyour d ue .
you rise to h igh -status
late r, th at’ll m ak e a 3. R e m e m b e r you ne e d n’t
supe rb story. b e nasty: you can b e
h appy in your h igh
3. R e m e m b e r you ne e d n’t status. Th ink of Bil l
b e m ise rab l e : you can Cl inton, Tom Cruise or
b e h appy in your l ow Tony Bl air: you can b e
status. Be a re taine r ch arm ing b ut h igh
whol ove s to se rve or a status. W e ’l l stil
l be
Re as ons to play...
29
• Be ne rvous
• Spe ak h e sitantl
y, as th ough you e xpe ct to b e
inte rrupte d
Status is e m otional
1. H ate it.
2. Can't.
30
Com ic and s e rious H ow to roleplay
s tatus re alis tic re lations h ips
W e can d e scrib e th e sam e Try k e e ping your status
status sh ifts com ical l
y or sligh tly ab ove or b e l ow
se riousl
y. W h e n a K ing is som e one e l se : b e sl igh tl
y
b rough t low , th at can b e supe rior or infe rior.
com ic or tragic. Ch ange , fre q ue ntl y, so
th at you go from sl igh tl
y
Com e d y ofte n use s q uick supe rior to sligh tl
y
status sh ifts: th e K ing falls infe rior and b ack again.
in m ud ; th e tram p d re sse s
as a k ing. Th is prod uce s natural ,
l
ife lik e re l
ationsh ips.
Trage d y ofte n use s sl ow
status sh ifts: K ing Le ar
slow lyl ose s h is m ind .
31
Pe rsonal ly, I can't b e h igh status for long, w ith out
b e com ing e m b arrasse d and apol
oge tic.
Th is m ad e gam e s d ul l. Pl
aye rs clung to th e ir status
je al
ousl y, afraid to d o anyth ing e xtraord inary, for fe ar
ofre trib ution.
32
Type s ofs tatus
Th e n, in role pl
aying gam e s, th e re is Pl aye r Status and
Ch aracte r Status . A pl aye r w h om e ve ryone ad m ire s
(h igh status) m igh t pl
ay a b e ggar (l ow status). A noth e r
pl aye r m igh t ne rvousl y (l ow status) d e scrib e h is
pal ad in sm iting non-b e l
ie ve rs (h igh status).
w il l
, ofte n, play th e l e ad e r of th e party. A l ow -status
pl aye r, w h o find s it h ard to inte rrupt, w il l h ave
d ifficulty pl aying a h igh -status ch aracte r.
33
M oving forw ard
W e 've b e gun to talk ab out storie s. Le t's d ive in, now ,
and e xpl ore h ow storie s can pow e r your gam e .
34
Te lls torie s
In th is ch apte r, I'l
ld e scrib e trick s to te l
lstorie s: to start
th e m , e nd th e m and m ak e th e m spark l e . M any of
th e se trick s ove rl ap, b ut th e y're b e st consid e re d
se parate l y.
Te lls torie s
36
Cre ate routine s and bre ak th e m
H e re 's a sim pl
e , e ffe ctive trick to starta story.
• W e are h unting in th e w il
d e rne ss.
37
... w h e n w e sm e l
lsm ok e .
You'l lintuitive ly se nse w h e n th e routine ne e d s to b e
b rok e n. W h e n you fe e lsom e th ing ne e d s to h appe n,
b re ak th e routine .
• W e are h unting in th e w il
d e rne ss...
... w h e n w e h e ar a roar l
oud e r th an w e h ave e ve r
h e ard b e fore .
• W e go tow ard s th e roar...
force ...
38
Cre ate platform s and add a tilt
For e xam pl
e:
Pl
aye r 1: "I sitd ow n. 'Eve ning, D ave .'"
GM : "Th e b arm an l ook s atyou. H e fl ick s h is
e ye s to a tank ard ofal e h e 'd poure d as
you cam e in. 'You'l lb e w anting th at.'"
Pl
aye r 1: "'Ye ah ,' I say, d rink ing it. 'Q uie tin h e re ,
isn'tit?'"
and so on.
W h e n you ad d a til
t, you introd uce th e d ram a.
Pl
aye r 1: "I d raw m y sw ord and aim th e pointath is
39
Inste ad , w e b e gin w ith pl
atform -b uil
d ing:
...and so on. A l
lth e non-d ram atic d e tail
s ad d to th e
story.
40
Cre ate a s tatus re lations h ip and alte r it
41
Cre ate a m ys te ry and s olve it
Tilts are good for cre ating m yste rie s. H e re are som e
m yste ry-cre ating til
ts:
• "You re al
ise th e b e e r is poisone d !" (W h o poisone d
it?)
Th e y're stil
ltilts, b ut th e y're w e ak e r: th e m yste ry h as
gone and , w ith it, te nsion and anticipation.
42
D e live r on your prom is e s
For e xam pl
e:
44
A num be r guide line
You sh oul d usually Be yond th re e , you m ust
re incorporate once , tw ice incorporate m any tim e s, to
or m any tim e s. d e ve lop a th e m e . Th e final
tim e , itch ange s.
R e incorporating once is
sim pl e: you introd uce • Th e ol d m an give s you
som e th ing e arl y in th e a m yste rious scrol l
,
story; it re appe ars tow ard s w h ich you cannotre ad .
th e e nd .
• Th at nigh t, you l
ook at
• Th e old m an give s you a th e scroll, b ut cannot
m yste rious scrol
l, w h ich re ad it.
you cannotre ad .
• You sh ow it to th e
• But, as th e d ragon b e ars sh opk e e pe r, who
d ow n on you, you cannotre ad it.
sud d e nl
y und e rstand it.
• You sh ow it to th e
R e incorporating tw ice use s k nigh t, w h o cannot
th e R ul e of Th re e . re ad it.
Som e th ing h appe ns; it
h appe ns again; b ut th e • Eve n th e sage , in th e
th ird tim e , itch ange s. h ill
s, cannotre ad it.
45
Im portantly, th e ite m you re incorporate w il lofte n b e
part of th e pl atform . Th is is an im portant re ason to
b uil
d platform s: th e m ore d e tail s in th e pl
atform , th e
m ore opportunitie s th e re are to re incorporate .
46
An orde ring guide line
As a guid e l
ine : Butth is is b e tte r:
re incorporate th ings in th e
re ve rse ord e r th e y w e re 1. W h e n you l e ave h om e ,
introd uce d . your fath e r give s you a
sil
ve r k e y.
For e xam pl
e , th is story...
2. Th e m an in th e tave rn
1. W h e n you l e ave h om e , w arns you not to l
ook at
your fath e r give s you a th e d ragon.
sil
ve r k e y.
3. Th e re are m yste rious
2. Th e m an in th e tave rn w ord s w ritte n on th e
w arns you not to l
ook at city w al
l.
th e d ragon.
4. Th e m yste rious w ord s
3. Th e re are m yste rious ope n th e d ragon's l
air.
w ord s w ritte n on th e
city w al
l. 5. You d on't l ook at th e
d ragon as you k il
lit.
4. Th e sil
ve r k e y ope ns th e
d ragon's lair. 6. Th e silve r k e y ope ns th e
ch e st th e d ragon
5. You d on't l ook at th e guard e d .
d ragon as you k il
lit.
An orde ring guide line
...is O K .
47
• A b om b goe s off!
• Sw ord sm e n b urstin!
• Sh e pul
ls a gun!
Tw o particul
ar m istak e s th atGM s m ak e are :
48
Tw o good w ays ofs tarting s torie s w ith trouble
H e re are tw o e xce ptions to 2. O nl y afte rw ard s w oul d
th e rule : d on't start a story th e re b e a m urd e r: a til
t.
w ith troub l e. Th e inve stigation
w oul d occupy th e ne xt
1.Th e Jam e s Bond w ay partofth e b ook .
M any Jam e s Bond m ovie s
start w ith action b e fore th e 3. Final ly, in th e "th ird act",
cre d its: sk i-ing, e xpl
osions, th e m urd e re r w oul d be
gunfire , stunts. re ve aled.
49
M oraldilem m as
W e ad d th e d il e m m a: w il
lyou h e l
p your col
le ague s or
tak e th e tre asure ?
By forcing in a m orald il
e m m a:
50
Ge tto th e action
• W e 're going to k il
lth e usurpe r!
So w e stal
l. W e putob stacl
e s in th e w ay.
l
ik e th is.
51
Inste ad , d o th e th ing th at you th ink is h appe ning too
e arl
y:
... W e k il
lth e usurpe r!
... W e d iscove r th e tre asure !
... W e uncove r th e m urd e re r!
Th e n, d e cid e w h ath appe ns ne xt:
52
Jus tify
W h il
e pl aying Lacuna, a pl aye r d e cid e d a M r
Ph ylacte ry w as invol ve d in a m yste ry. W e d id n't k now
w h o M r Ph yl acte ry w as, b ut truste d h e w oul d be
introd uce d , l
ate r. In th e follow ing gam e , w e e xpl ore d a
h ospital, and d e cid e d th e m anage r w as M r Ph yl acte ry.
Note th e ove rlap w ith cre ating m yste rie s. By cre ating
som e th ing to b e justifie d , you im pl icitl
y cre ate th e
m yste ry "W h at's th is th ing?". W h e n you justify, you
solve th atm yste ry.
finalch apte r.
53
M oving forw ard
54
W ork
toge th e r
Firstl
y, I'l l d e scrib e th e positive sid e : giving oth e r
playe rs a good tim e , trusting, l
osing grace ful ly.
56
Give th e oth e r guy a good tim e
57
Los e grace fully
W h e n you l ose , l
ose e nth usiastical l
y: re l
ish l
osing
figh ts, b e ing caugh t, b e ing b e rate d .
Trus t
58
D uring a re ce ntgam e , th e gam e r opposite irritate d m e .
H e w as l oud , forth righ t and insiste d on pl aying a
particular ch aracte r.
R e ce ntl
y, I pl aye d R une q ue st, and w asn't e njoying it.
A n h our in, a d ragon fl e w tow ard s us, re ad y for a
figh t. Se ve ral tim e s, I rol le d to attack and m isse d .
Bore d , I d e cid e d to m isb e h ave .
59
fly at m e ." H e l
ook s surprise d , so I ch e ck : "Is th at O K ?
I d on'tw antto m e ss up th e gam e ."
60
Tak e ris k s
61
D o th ings you don'tw antto do
Th e re is a gam e cal l
e d Bacch anal , ab out se x and
d e b auch e ry, w h ich I am afraid to pl ay. I'm too ne rvous
to sugge st pl aying it, too appre h e nsive to run it. W h e n
I m e ntion itto oth e rs, th e y l
ook ne rvous too. Be cause it
scare s m e , I sh oul d play it.
I re ce ntl
y pl aye d Trave l le r at a conve ntion. I'd ne ve r
pl aye d Trave l le r and im agine d it b oring. Inste ad , it
w as gl oriousl y ol d -fash ione d : I fe l
tl ik e a te e nage r,
pl aying a space m an w ith a l ase r pistol . For th re e
h ours, I conspire d against oth e r pl aye rs, e njoying
e ve ry m om e nt.
62
D o itagain
Puton a s h ow
63
K e ary Birch , w h o runs Cal lof Cth ul h u gam e s, sits
playe rs at a tab l e , w h il
e h e stal
k s around th e m . In one
gam e , h e d e scrib e d a sub -h um an cre ature , staring and
w h ining. H e continue d w h ining, staring at us, untilw e
w e re th orough l y d isturb e d .
Ene rgy
Le t's b e b l
unt: your job , as a pl
aye r, is to pl
ay w ith
64
e ne rgy. If you're uninspire d , if you sit d ow n tire d , if
you e xpe ct oth e rs to e nte rtain you: you're not d oing
your job .
• Sitting q uie tl
y for a fe w m inute s, pre fe rab l
y in th e
sun.
W arm up
• W al
k ing around .
• Fl
ick ing th rough th e gam e te xt.
65
• Ensuring I h ave e ve ryth ing I ne e d .
Fitinto th e group
Fitinto th e group
• Th e GM sh oul
d run th e ad ve nture .
66
• Pl
aye r-ve rsus-pl
aye r gam e s are fun.
• Gam e s sh oul
d tack l
e se rious issue s
• Be ing l
oud is good ! Itm e ans you're e nth usiastic!
• Be ing l
oud is inconsid e rate to pe opl
e around you.
67
Afte rw ord
A nd th at's th e e nd .
68
Glos s ary ofGam e s
D un ge on s an d D ragon s
Now pub l ish e d b y W iz ard s O fTh e Coast
h ttp://w w w .w iz ard s.com /d nd
CallofCth ulhu
Ch aosium , Inc
h ttp://w w w .ch aosium .com /
W h ite W ol f
h ttp://w w w .w h ite -w ol
f.com /
In m y l
ate tw e ntie s, I pl
aye d th e l
ive -action ve rsion of
Vam pire , cal
le d M ind 's Eye Th e atre . Th rough out th e
69
b ook , I've re fe rre d to itas th e "Vam pire LA R P".
H e roQ ue st
Pub l ish e d b y Issarie s, Inc
h ttp://w w w .gl oranth a.com /
Th e gam e s
A sm al
l-pre ss fantasy gam e b y R ob in D . Law s.
70
Bacch an al
b y PaulCz e ge , H al fM e m e Pre ss
h ttp://w w w .h al
fm e m e .com /
71
Trave ller
O riginally pub lish e d b y Gam e s D e signe r's W ork sh op,
now d iffe re ntve rsions pub lish e d b y d iffe re ntpub lish e rs
Stitch
b y Iain M cA l l
iste r (in d e ve l
opm e nt)
h ttp://w w w .giantb rain.co.uk /
R un e que st
O riginal
ly pub l
ish e d b y Ch aosium
Th e gam e s
72
Th ank s
73
gam e s.com ), K nife Figh t (w w w .i-w oul d -k nife -figh t-a-
m an.com ) and Col le ctive End e avour (w w w .col le ctive -
e nd e avour.com ), w h e re I h ash e d outid e as.
74