The author starts with Where to begin, and so will I.
Where to Begin?
Where to Begin?
You can begin with as much detail or as little as you like. If you already have a setting in mind then you have a strong head start, but that doesn't mean there isn't work to be done. If you don't have any thing except a genre direction a character (Chapter 5), a Scene Setup (Chapter 6), and an Adventure Setup (Chapter 7), you are still ready to play. The difference in starting with some degree of predetermined setting and starting "from scratch" all comes down to the number of Fate Questions about the setting you will need to ask.
"Whether you start detailed or with a blank slate, if you are running a Mythic adventure, the key word to keep in mind is “evolution.” Since the Mythic adventure engine is guiding the progress of the adventure, there is no telling what details about the game world this will reveal. Players could begin with their characters in a very generalized concept of a game world and, by the end of their first adventure, have a much more concrete picture of where it is their characters live." pg. 85
"Whether you start detailed or with a blank slate, if you are running a Mythic adventure, the key word to keep in mind is “evolution.” Since the Mythic adventure engine is guiding the progress of the adventure, there is no telling what details about the game world this will reveal. Players could begin with their characters in a very generalized concept of a game world and, by the end of their first adventure, have a much more concrete picture of where it is their characters live." pg. 85
The focus on Evolution, makes this a masters class in emergent setting design.
Evolution of a Setting
"Everything from setting details to adventure specific rules will evolve out of a gaming session." pg. 85
If you know a few or maybe even a books worth of setting details, or if you are coming tabula rasa you are going to still have a lot of questions. In the case of a game set in the bucolic woods of "Wind in the Willows", you already know a lot of the characters, and there attitudes, and some of the comings and goings at the River and beyond, but you don't know what is going on in this very moment. That is what inspiration rolls on the Action/Subject Tables and Specific Fate questions will tell you. If you only know that you want to play a science fiction game on an alien world with fabulous but poorly understood ancient technology, though that is a good start, you will still need to ask many Fate and inspirational questions. As you do either the life on the River or the Alien World will start to take on a more and more definite shape. Even if you just start with your character, decide to add a bit of action, such as they are in a speeding car at night, and currently in a state of fright, that is enough that you can start narrowing down the infinite possibilities, one scene at a time, and in the process building up a list of facts about the evolving world your character has found themselves in. With that said their are still some tools and guidelines that will make the task both easier and feel actualized.
Issues of Control
If you know a few or maybe even a books worth of setting details, or if you are coming tabula rasa you are going to still have a lot of questions. In the case of a game set in the bucolic woods of "Wind in the Willows", you already know a lot of the characters, and there attitudes, and some of the comings and goings at the River and beyond, but you don't know what is going on in this very moment. That is what inspiration rolls on the Action/Subject Tables and Specific Fate questions will tell you. If you only know that you want to play a science fiction game on an alien world with fabulous but poorly understood ancient technology, though that is a good start, you will still need to ask many Fate and inspirational questions. As you do either the life on the River or the Alien World will start to take on a more and more definite shape. Even if you just start with your character, decide to add a bit of action, such as they are in a speeding car at night, and currently in a state of fright, that is enough that you can start narrowing down the infinite possibilities, one scene at a time, and in the process building up a list of facts about the evolving world your character has found themselves in. With that said their are still some tools and guidelines that will make the task both easier and feel actualized.
Issues of Control
"If playing without a GM, the situation is more controlled by Mythic. Still, the course of the adventure is largely shaped by the questions the players ask and the scene ideas they generate." pg. 85
If you are flying with no map, you still have a lot of control over your game. Do you want to play in a game with some form of magic, or hyper tech? If you do, forgo asking if it exist. As a solo player you only have to please yourself. Let your setting have the goodies you want to play around with. Instead start asking specifics about the magic. Or if you want to play a police officer who works in a particular department, don't ask if you do are a police officer in that department. Ask instead if your boss is a hard ass, if you have a partner, and whether you have any open cases. The presupposition on your part is more than fine, it means you will have the game you want, but your questions will steer the bits that need steering. Of course, you you want to go out on the high wire, with absolutely no presuppositions, that will work fine too, because Mythic will still answer any question you have right down to how gravity works. The world will be defined with a yes or a no to any particular question. So, when world building pick your questions with an eye towards creating.
Tools of the Trade
If you are flying with no map, you still have a lot of control over your game. Do you want to play in a game with some form of magic, or hyper tech? If you do, forgo asking if it exist. As a solo player you only have to please yourself. Let your setting have the goodies you want to play around with. Instead start asking specifics about the magic. Or if you want to play a police officer who works in a particular department, don't ask if you do are a police officer in that department. Ask instead if your boss is a hard ass, if you have a partner, and whether you have any open cases. The presupposition on your part is more than fine, it means you will have the game you want, but your questions will steer the bits that need steering. Of course, you you want to go out on the high wire, with absolutely no presuppositions, that will work fine too, because Mythic will still answer any question you have right down to how gravity works. The world will be defined with a yes or a no to any particular question. So, when world building pick your questions with an eye towards creating.
Tools of the Trade
As you can see with the Fate Questions you ask about the world, you already had that tool in your pocket since Chapter 3. Well the other tools you need for world creation are already in your pack as well. These are the Resolution Tables and the Scaling Box.
"Notes are crucially important for keeping track of this evolving game world." pg.85
By filling out these two forms (go ahead and have a stack of them) you can keep track of the mechanical aspects of your unfolding world. With the Resolution Table, you can make game specific rules, covering things like Magic, Hyper Tech, the effects of the use of special Abilities, etc. With the Scaling Box you can create baselines, that you will refer back to with some regularity. Even if you can't copy off the exact form, it quite easy to take legal pad and construct a pile of them.
As for general world details, a few copies of the Adventure Worksheet, and a couple of legal pads will see that you don't lose track of any important facts, people, or events.
By filling out these two forms (go ahead and have a stack of them) you can keep track of the mechanical aspects of your unfolding world. With the Resolution Table, you can make game specific rules, covering things like Magic, Hyper Tech, the effects of the use of special Abilities, etc. With the Scaling Box you can create baselines, that you will refer back to with some regularity. Even if you can't copy off the exact form, it quite easy to take legal pad and construct a pile of them.
As for general world details, a few copies of the Adventure Worksheet, and a couple of legal pads will see that you don't lose track of any important facts, people, or events.
Global Questions
"Everyone, even the least educated, knows something
about the society and world they live in. Even if you begin
an adventure knowing nothing about the campaign world,
your characters know more than you do. It is fair to ask fate
questions that reflect general knowledge. For instance, if
players are adventuring in a generic sci-fi universe, which
they know nothing about, some questions they might ask
right away are: Is faster than light travel possible? Are
aliens common? Does everyone speak the same language?" pg. 86
Your first few sessions will probably focus on global questions. More if you are working from scratch and less if you have a more established setting. Even you are playing Mythic in a well known fictional or historical world there will be things you need to figure out as a precursor to other questions. For example if your game is set during the Hundred Years War, maybe you don't know what part of it you are currently in, or whether it is one of the many lulls in the conflict. Even if you decide you are in the thick of things from go, you will want to know what side currently holds the advantage. If you just know you are on a desert planet in a far future, there will be many Global Questions that will come to mind. It is ok if you start with some assumptions (gravity pulls you towards the center of the Earth), but it is equally ok for you to ask about the basic mechanics of physics. A yes or no answer, depending on the question can create a truly unique gaming environment.
An important factor about Global Questions is that your character already knows the answers, even if the player is just learning them. Global Questions reflect the basic truths of the setting. Your character probably doesn't know how gravity works as a fundamental force of nature (I sure don't'), but they will know it keeps there feet on the ground... or they may not know such a thing at all, and be able to move freely through three dimensional space unhampered. The point is, though, that they know these things for the very basic reason of being alive in this setting.
Ok, you have your sheets, and scrap paper, a character sheet. Ready to ask a few Global Questions, make an Adventure Setup, and Scene Setup. You are pretty much ready to play Mythic RPG.
Go ahead and start playing, the next chapter is Character Advancement, so you probably want to be ready for it.
Your first few sessions will probably focus on global questions. More if you are working from scratch and less if you have a more established setting. Even you are playing Mythic in a well known fictional or historical world there will be things you need to figure out as a precursor to other questions. For example if your game is set during the Hundred Years War, maybe you don't know what part of it you are currently in, or whether it is one of the many lulls in the conflict. Even if you decide you are in the thick of things from go, you will want to know what side currently holds the advantage. If you just know you are on a desert planet in a far future, there will be many Global Questions that will come to mind. It is ok if you start with some assumptions (gravity pulls you towards the center of the Earth), but it is equally ok for you to ask about the basic mechanics of physics. A yes or no answer, depending on the question can create a truly unique gaming environment.
An important factor about Global Questions is that your character already knows the answers, even if the player is just learning them. Global Questions reflect the basic truths of the setting. Your character probably doesn't know how gravity works as a fundamental force of nature (I sure don't'), but they will know it keeps there feet on the ground... or they may not know such a thing at all, and be able to move freely through three dimensional space unhampered. The point is, though, that they know these things for the very basic reason of being alive in this setting.
Ok, you have your sheets, and scrap paper, a character sheet. Ready to ask a few Global Questions, make an Adventure Setup, and Scene Setup. You are pretty much ready to play Mythic RPG.
Go ahead and start playing, the next chapter is Character Advancement, so you probably want to be ready for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment