Erol K. Bayburt <ErolB1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> writes:
> Ben Finney <ben@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
> >I'm hoping to start a new campaign with a bunch of new players soon,
> >and am thinking about ways to encourage their creativity in building
> >fun characters that they have a personal investment in, yet are
> >coherent and fit well with the setting and premise of the campaign.
>
> Are the "new players" new to gaming, or are they more-or-less
> experienced players who are just new to you as a GM?
Most of them are new to RPGs completely, hence:
> >I imagine asking things like "What story role do you want to play?
> >... and recording the answers so that later I could create their
> >game stats.
>
> I personally have a galloping allergy to games where the GM creates
> the character for me.
.... these are players who are averse to lots of rules, so I'm doing it
as a way to introduce them to how RPGs work, rather than requiring
them to know loads of rules before play begins. I'll certainly discuss
the resulting character stats with the player before the first session
of play, and make any changes resulting from a misunderstanding of
what they want the character to be.
> If any of your players have a similar allergy, you'll have a problem
> with the "so that later I could create their game stats" part.
Your cautionary advice is well taken. I'll make it clear to the
players that they can get involved in the minutiae if they choose, or
leave it to me to do most of the crunchy work.
> Maybe ask: "What *kind* of fun are you looking for from the game?"
> "What conventions in fiction (and in gaming) do your really like,
> and which ones really annoy you?" "What do you see as your
> character's place in the game world?"
All good suggestions, thankyou.
> One other thing you might need to deal with is the difference
> between design-at-start and develop-in-play players.
Good point. I might even allow each player to give their character a
couple of "Schrödinger's Traits" of a certain level of power, that are
left indeterminate for the first session or so until the player (with
GM's approval) decides what they actually are.
--
\ "For my birthday I got a humidifier and a de-humidifier. I put |
`\ them in the same room and let them fight it out." -- Steven |
_o__) Wright |
Ben Finney
|
