NPCs, ST Plotlines, and the Risk / Reward Dichotomy
Dec 30, 2017 4:32:45 GMT
Post by The Northern Lights on Dec 30, 2017 4:32:45 GMT
I feel that I must comment on this common misconceptions that many players have or have developed over time by playing bboard games: The ST is not the enemy, and as an extension of that, the NPCs are not the enemy either. Or, well, not all of them are the enemy. Obviously, some of them are, and are designed to be that way. Lets set that part aside, as its obvious - the point remains is that the other Garou, Sept positions, and higher up NPCS like neutral spirits and things of that nature - they're not your enemy unless you want to make enemies of them.
Its not that kind of system. The whole point of the Storytelling system that White Wolf uses is to tell a collaborative story. So, that means that I will play antagonists as well as allies, friends and foes, spirits and mortals. My character, per the werewolf book, is the world itself, and the world is built by all of these things. Its there to 'enforce genre' as much as I hate that term, though the more appropriate way to put it may be its there to 'set the tone for this specific game and setting' as there are so many ways to do genre. Without that framework, players would be nothing but gods and Mary Sues. If you didnt' want to play in the Werewolf Universe with all its rules and problems and whatever else the system calls for, you wouldn't play Werewolf. So, much as we might hate baring our belly to a higher ranking NPC that we hate, well, tough noogies, that's the world that werewolf is.
But, just as your characters have collaboration with me in order to get fully fleshed out and fit in, so does my "character" involve a lot of collaboration with you. Its there FOR you. It may not always do or seem like what you want, but it is there for the players to tell their story with and around. The NPCs have a purpose, they have plans, they have character hooks built into their plots and personalities. They are there for PCs to work with and around and yes, sometimes against. That is the point. If I didn't want that, I wouldn't have made them. When you hit the wall of an Athro telling you no, please consider this fact. That isn't the ST telling you to pack up your plans and go home - that's my NPC telling you that you have to work for what you want.
And here we hit the dichotomy of this post. Nothing you do in any life situation is without the balance of risk and reward inherent in it. Its up to players to measure the worth of either side and make a choice about what they can and can't accomplish to get what they want. In my experience, players tend to be very cautious. Their characters mean a lot to them, and often the risk of losing said character far outweighs whatever the rewards might be. And that is perfectly fine. However, be aware that characters that are very risk averse won't get far in the Garou world in general and in mine particularly. If you can't take risks with your character, you will not change any of the status quo of the game that you may wish to change, and you may not progress how you want to. This is why we don't get renown for things like having babies in this game, and why renown is subjective and depends on who is doing it. The reward tends to be greater for those who take greater risks, and staying at home getting it on with your kinfolk is pretty low on the risk meter.
Its all about risk and reward. Just consider that when wondering why getting answers, changing things, learning gifts, or any number of other situations may be harder than you anticipated: what are you really putting at risk in your current plan of action? If you can't think of much, well, that's probably why that Athro is telling you no. Just asking him may be the path of least risk. There is no auto-fail state in this game. I will let you try anything, roll anything, put yourself in any situation you might want to. The world is your oyster. Think outside the box. Try something a little scarier. The rewards will be greater.
Generally, if its something game breaking or something that simply won't happen, we'll have a talk about that OOC, and I'll make sure we all understand why that's the case. In all other situations, the choice of whether to take the risk or forgo the rewards of whatever it is you want will be up to you. I'm pretty liberal with a free 'common sense' merit for my players who are willing to suggest risky things, so there's only a plus side to all this. I promise, its more fun when you pull off the crazy stunt.
Check out this video of Matt Mercer (a much better GM than I) explaining this very idea. Risk and Reward
Its not that kind of system. The whole point of the Storytelling system that White Wolf uses is to tell a collaborative story. So, that means that I will play antagonists as well as allies, friends and foes, spirits and mortals. My character, per the werewolf book, is the world itself, and the world is built by all of these things. Its there to 'enforce genre' as much as I hate that term, though the more appropriate way to put it may be its there to 'set the tone for this specific game and setting' as there are so many ways to do genre. Without that framework, players would be nothing but gods and Mary Sues. If you didnt' want to play in the Werewolf Universe with all its rules and problems and whatever else the system calls for, you wouldn't play Werewolf. So, much as we might hate baring our belly to a higher ranking NPC that we hate, well, tough noogies, that's the world that werewolf is.
But, just as your characters have collaboration with me in order to get fully fleshed out and fit in, so does my "character" involve a lot of collaboration with you. Its there FOR you. It may not always do or seem like what you want, but it is there for the players to tell their story with and around. The NPCs have a purpose, they have plans, they have character hooks built into their plots and personalities. They are there for PCs to work with and around and yes, sometimes against. That is the point. If I didn't want that, I wouldn't have made them. When you hit the wall of an Athro telling you no, please consider this fact. That isn't the ST telling you to pack up your plans and go home - that's my NPC telling you that you have to work for what you want.
And here we hit the dichotomy of this post. Nothing you do in any life situation is without the balance of risk and reward inherent in it. Its up to players to measure the worth of either side and make a choice about what they can and can't accomplish to get what they want. In my experience, players tend to be very cautious. Their characters mean a lot to them, and often the risk of losing said character far outweighs whatever the rewards might be. And that is perfectly fine. However, be aware that characters that are very risk averse won't get far in the Garou world in general and in mine particularly. If you can't take risks with your character, you will not change any of the status quo of the game that you may wish to change, and you may not progress how you want to. This is why we don't get renown for things like having babies in this game, and why renown is subjective and depends on who is doing it. The reward tends to be greater for those who take greater risks, and staying at home getting it on with your kinfolk is pretty low on the risk meter.
Its all about risk and reward. Just consider that when wondering why getting answers, changing things, learning gifts, or any number of other situations may be harder than you anticipated: what are you really putting at risk in your current plan of action? If you can't think of much, well, that's probably why that Athro is telling you no. Just asking him may be the path of least risk. There is no auto-fail state in this game. I will let you try anything, roll anything, put yourself in any situation you might want to. The world is your oyster. Think outside the box. Try something a little scarier. The rewards will be greater.
Generally, if its something game breaking or something that simply won't happen, we'll have a talk about that OOC, and I'll make sure we all understand why that's the case. In all other situations, the choice of whether to take the risk or forgo the rewards of whatever it is you want will be up to you. I'm pretty liberal with a free 'common sense' merit for my players who are willing to suggest risky things, so there's only a plus side to all this. I promise, its more fun when you pull off the crazy stunt.
Check out this video of Matt Mercer (a much better GM than I) explaining this very idea. Risk and Reward