John Morrow <morrow@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> writes:
> On Thu, 10 May 2007, Ben Finney wrote:
> > Yes. If the GM can maintain separation between fantasy and
> > reality, there's no reason a player can't.
>
> I don't generally run NPCs as a GM the same way I run PCs as a
> player. Do you?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. The longer I play, the more I've evolved
to a style where acting parts is the shared responsibility of all
present -- the GM acts more parts, for less screen time per character,
but no less intently.
What differences, significant to this thread, are you thinking of
between GM and player character ****trayal?
> > There are many who do seem to think that "evil" is license to be a
> > base thug, yes.
>
> You say that as if running an evil character might mean something
> else. What do you have in mind?
There are many flavours of evil. Greedy thuggery is but one possible
facet; I bring it up only because it's a common desire (among players
whom I'd prefer not to game with), and asking to play an "evil"
character is often how this desire is expressed.
The megalomaniacal mastermind, the manipulative schemer, the righteous
holy man -- none of them are necessarily greedy or thuggish, and any
of them can be ****trayed such that we perceive them as evil.
> > Hopefully you'll also accept an anecdote then: I've played
> > successful games where the players seriously explored evil in
> > their characters' motives and actions, and neither I nor anyone
> > associated with them has ever expressed the opinion that those
> > players might be evil.
>
> Were the characters actually evil and was the intent to run evil
> characters?
Yes. In one case it was discussed in private between the GM and
player, and the character then began a long insidious undermining of
the party toward wicked ends. In another case, the character was
disturbed by events that occurred linked to their past, and the player
decided the appropriate and entertaining response would be to have the
character slowly slide from good to evil -- with the others trying to
stop it or join it, as determined by their players.
> Did the players find the evil that the characters explored
> distasteful or good clean fun?
In both cases, it was challenging and entertaining for all
concerned. The players found depths of emotion and psychological
dilemma they'd not explored before, and everyone agreed it was far
more interesting than if it had not happened. We talked about the
ramifications of decisions made by the characters for months
afterward.
--
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Ben Finney
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