Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 21:20:20 -0400 
From: William Henry Timmins <wt0b+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Improvisation!
	<1992Aug17.150812.58213@cc.usu.edu>

>> Well, you generate what makes sense. "SHOULD there be a gem there?" I
>> think, based on how built the place, lived in it, etc. Same as I'd do
>> with prepared games.
>
>No, not the same as with prepared games, because the players are impacting
>the game, and you react. When you prepare your scenarios, you are preparing
>a little peice of the players' reality which you will set in motion when 
>the players arrive. The players respond to that little slice of their 
>environment the way the would if they really were their characters.

	Well, this argument rests on the assumption that preparing ahead of
time would be impartial, while improvisation is heavily influenced.
There are times I have been influenced (occasionally for the worse) by
players- but if I had prepared, I would probably have been influenced
anyway.
	Let's put things this way- I prepare completely, about 30 seconds to 20
minutes in advance. As things happen, I begin to build the rooms and
people in my head. Does that make things more sensible? My players react
to what I present as their characters would (to the best of their
ability). Preparation doesn't seem to make a big difference in their
reactions... it just builds on their knowledge (or distracts).

>> I don't have 'prizes'. I think that's rather simplistic. The goal is
>> not 'find the treasure, kill the monster!', the goals are ongoing
>> desires of the party. If a character NEEDS MONEY, finding a gem is a
>> prize. If a character needs food and is miles from civilization, finding
>> a gem is an annoyance.
>
>You're either trying to start an argument, or you missed the point of 
>the original statement. The point wasn't what you find, the gem in the 
>example above could have easily been a sandwhich. The matter at hand 
>referred to how characters get their rewards. In the improv game, the GM 
>rewards the players, in the prep game, the environment rewards the players 
>(like in real life). To reality freaks like those in my campaign, that's 
>good.

	?? In my games, the environment rewards the players. I influence things
occasionally, but no more than I'd do with preparation. (ie- generally,
only stupid actions result in death, but not always, and I could do that
even if I was preparing to a high degree) My NPCs reward or punish,
situations reward or punish. The reality is there.
	You seem to be indicating that without preparation, the GM is easily
influenced by the players? I don't see how preparation solves the
problem. You need to follow your conception of the game world,
regardless of influence. I don't see this as a very strong argument.

>> No. What does it matter when you thought it up?
>
>It matters, because if you are making it up while the players are 
>sitting there, they are having an effect on the game. They might find
>the gem just because they searched, not because it was there. A clever,
>flattering player, or a player who knows the GM really well, can use his
>influence to ``run'' the game.

	Who's trying to start the argument?? NWIRM! (Not While I'm Refereeing,
Mate!) If a gem makes no sense, it's not there. I usually 'prepare' what
is in a room when they enter. Either that, or I have a good enough
picture of what the room is to decide what SHOULD be there. If you have
a person influencing the game that much, preparation is not going to
help. IMO.

>And people who wing it are too lazy or unorganized to prepare things in
>advance. As they get more mature and in control of their lives, they 
>find time to prepare meaningful, epic-like campaigns, for which their
>players will eternally remember them. 

:) Good... a more obvious example of previous messages... })

Actually, I am known among players at CMU as one of the top two GMs...
(admittably, I don't consider my acting of NPCs to be very good, and my
plots are disorganized... go figure)

>> Props can be made on the fly, or can be made
>> after things come up (ie- scroll they find is shown to them the next
>> session)                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>  ^^^^^^^
>
>That's preparing, isn't it? I guess you're not intelligent or talented
>enough yet. Keep trying. 

Yup, it is preparing. Some of the more observant will note that I never
said preparation should be avoided.... just that excess is a sign of
slow thinking... :)

	To be serious, preparation of materials is good for visual help, 'toys'
for the players, etc. Preparation of the adventure, IMO, is best when it
is broad and sweeping. (ie- the history of the Glen Aruhk, the politics
in the Southern wastes, the life cycle of the Drdrynn fly, etc)
	But preparing detailed plotlines is something I cannot imagine anyone
wasting time on... specifics are either wrong, or you end up railroading
your players.

	Maybe a definition split is in order- props vs preparation vs plotline?

-Me
[Pooh Bear incarnate.]
<B1 c+ f+ w g+ k+ s+ r- e+ p>