(TFT) Developed logical settings, deadly risks, and motivation

[pvk@oz.net]

On Fri, September 21, 2007 2:01 pm, Jay Carlisle wrote:
>> And finally I've noticed that the longer players live in an area the
>> more detailed/compleate they become.
>
> The PLACES become more real.
> As for the players...
> I think therefore I am covers me. I've not yet been able to reach You
> think therefore you are.

> From: ErolB1@aol.com
> >> Similarly, if I'm in a high-lethality game where one bad roll can
kill my PC right out of the gate, then I can only view my PC as being
bugshit crazy to even CONSIDER an adventuring career. And I have a
limited ability to roleplay such bugshit crazy characters.

>From the above ideas (yes, the quoted lines below are all relevant to what
I'm suggesting), consider that if you have a nicely
detailed/complete/sense-making setting, and your players thought like
Erol's quote, that then the situation would only lead the players and
their characters into dangerous "adventure"-like situations, when there
was a really compelling game-world reason for it. In fact, one of the main
themes of the game could be "at what point does each player/character
decide that the situation warrants risking his life on adventurous
action?" That sort of campaign is far more compelling to me than
"adventuring is a common pastime since it's so un-risky".

This pattern describes many of the games I've played in as an adult. The
GM introduces the players to the setting and society, establishes their
relationships with each other and NPCs, and leads them through some common
events and then starts adding more and more interesting leads and events
for them to react to, and the characters are drawn one by one from casual
actions that make sense and get the players familiar with the setting,
into trying to enlist each other in more adventurous actions. Even if the
characters end up "becoming full-time adventurers" after this, it can be a
far more effective way to get players into the setting and their own
characters, than to start them off as generic "adventurer types" with a
story and motivations that they haven't experienced themselves.

Now, players with the sentiment Erol expressed may still revert to "I'd be
crazy to keep sticking my neck out", but the GM can take that opportunity
to do the same thing again. Down time between the next interesting
situation, then build things up until characters have motivations. Maybe
some characters SHOULD "retire" at least temporarily at some points. Etc.

PvK
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