#24: Balancing Characters and Stories

[RPGnet Columns]

http://www.rpg.net/columns/kosher/kosher24.phtml

Summary:

Character-focused and story-focused players in RPGs.

Go to the column (http://www.rpg.net/columns/kosher/kosher24.phtml) for more information.

[pawsplay]

Okay, you lost me.


What I've discovered is that most character-focused players are interested in "the journey." This journey is as old as the first incarnation of Dungeons & Dragons. Character-focused players wish to create characters that are strong as entry-level allows, and then take those characters on a journey to become more and more powerful, enabling them to overcome greater and greater challenges.... Character-focused players are annoyed when they can barely take on a pack of one armed kobolds. They want to play the invincible, katana-wielding swordsman that can stare down a dragon. Unfortunately, they realize that they need a boatload of experience points to get there


So character-focused players like starting off incompetent, but wish to be competent? This seems kind of contradictory. Also, drawing on my own experience, it seems to me that players who enjoy "the journey" vary wildly in their preferences for beginning competence (and the capacity for advancement). Many players, for instance, like to play D&D from 6th level to about 12th; others want to go from 1 to 20 and beyond. Some like "the journey," but don't want anything to do with the Epic handbook because its basic assumptions aren't what they like out of D&D.

[Old Geezer]

Were you trying to be offensive, or was it merely a side effect of a message otherwise lost? Because all I got was "These people are guilty of badwrongfun."

[Walter S Ciechanowski]

Sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of getting a column in on time, I come out a bit garbled.

I never meant to imply that character focused players like starting out incompetent. What I meant was that early RPGs, primarily in class-and-level systems, don't allow players to play heroes out of the gate. They have to start small and work their way up. By contrast, many modern RPGs allow players to start out as competent heroes. No player, character or story focused, enjoys being smacked around for several hours.

I also didn't mean to take a stab at character focused players. The original intent of this column, somewhat lost in translation, was that GMs that are trying to engage players in the story can get frustrated as "the journey" takes precedence.

I erred when I said that GMs should try to eliminate "the journey" if they want effective stories. Providing that the GM incorporates "the journey" into his adventures, interesting stories can be told.

Walt

[Old Geezer]

Sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of getting a column in on time, I come out a bit garbled.

I never meant to imply that character focused players like starting out incompetent. What I meant was that early RPGs, primarily in class-and-level systems, don't allow players to play heroes out of the gate. They have to start small and work their way up. By contrast, many modern RPGs allow players to start out as competent heroes. No player, character or story focused, enjoys being smacked around for several hours.


Actually, as long as I know I will advance, I don't mind. I don't want to continually be creating new characters, but I don't mind starting at first level. Those first adventures really test your ingenuity and tactical acumen.

I DON'T want to stay that way forever, however.



I also didn't mean to take a stab at character focused players. The original intent of this column, somewhat lost in translation, was that GMs that are trying to engage players in the story can get frustrated as "the journey" takes precedence.

I erred when I said that GMs should try to eliminate "the journey" if they want effective stories. Providing that the GM incorporates "the journey" into his adventures, interesting stories can be told.

Walt

Okay, I'll go along with this.

[Von Ether]

Can you be a hybrid?

I don't have to be a ninja master, but I don't relish the idea of killing kobolds for weeks of real time so I can just glimpse the "story" in between dungeons until we're of an adequate level that we can handle the real plot threads. At which point it seems some GMs completely dump the dungeons entirely.

Of course I run how I'd like to play so most of my DnD games start off at 5th. (Eberron is a different beast and even 1st level can be "high adventure"). In other game systems, like Savage Worlds, begining characters are competent enough as is.

Just my .02 cents.

[Rich Stokes]

This is somewhat similar to one of my own pet theories about Active and Reactive player types. The main thread where I explain this is here:

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=244472

I probably ought to go back and tidy it up. There was a lot of interesting things bought up in that discussion by other people which make the whole thing hang together a bit better.