(RP) The Driven
With more than one person recently, I've had cause to discuss my observation about characters and how their goals, or lack thereof, seem connected to the richness of the game's story...
Waaay back when, it seemed pretty normal to my eyes as player and GM that PCs frequently go with the flow. That often seems the state of newer players, and some people always stick with that. Evil warlord terrorizes the town? Well, the PCs go to stop him for glory, gold, or good. Then... the respond to the next threat.
For the GM, that's really easy to manage. It's easy to tell whatever story might have been envisioned for a campaign. And, yeah, everyone can be perfectly happy with that. No argument.
But... as I was exposed to more games, I started seeing some that actively encouraged PCs who made goals and pushed at the storyline rather than simply being carried along with it. By this time, I'd seen players who gave their characters goals, and I'd reacted to that by altering the story to suit. That seemed to evolve out of what we had been doing, at least for some people. This tends to be more work for the GM, but gets away from the "railroading" that seemed to be the evil buzzword of the day.
My own thoughts on the matter have surely bounced, shifted, and settled numerous times. I strongly value story. I'm still uneasy with totally open narratives that don't have the usual GM/players format. But, drawing from my own personal observations, I am finding that characters without goals and purpose tend to contribute less to scenes and seem less interesting or fun than those who have motivation.
It's probably easiest to see in my own characters. A couple brief samples:
- Alexandra (Exalted): Motivated with major goals, active (to the point of being party lead most of the time), fun to play
- Fang (Shadowrun): No real motivation (I never could come up with a real good reason to be a 'runner save, perhaps, thrill-seeking or something). He took some tactical lead at times, but that was more my own want to move on. Not all that interesting to me as a character.
Two examples that sum up my experience pretty well. I find that when my character is motivated and has an overall goal (even if basically out of reach), it makes them/me more invested in the game. It gives a perspective that's more than just going along with whatever shows up, there's some actual depth and bias.
And that... seems to me to make the game and story more fun and interesting overall. If a character is simply there to follow bread crumbs, take swings in combat, and occasionally bounce ideas would... I have to ask myself if the game/story would be any different if they were replaced with an NPC. PCs, perhaps, do not have to be more, but they definitely can. And I think one of the great aspects of the medium of roleplaying is that PCs can contribute to the story in ways scripted characters cannot.
... Such are my rambling thoughts for the moment.
Waaay back when, it seemed pretty normal to my eyes as player and GM that PCs frequently go with the flow. That often seems the state of newer players, and some people always stick with that. Evil warlord terrorizes the town? Well, the PCs go to stop him for glory, gold, or good. Then... the respond to the next threat.
For the GM, that's really easy to manage. It's easy to tell whatever story might have been envisioned for a campaign. And, yeah, everyone can be perfectly happy with that. No argument.
But... as I was exposed to more games, I started seeing some that actively encouraged PCs who made goals and pushed at the storyline rather than simply being carried along with it. By this time, I'd seen players who gave their characters goals, and I'd reacted to that by altering the story to suit. That seemed to evolve out of what we had been doing, at least for some people. This tends to be more work for the GM, but gets away from the "railroading" that seemed to be the evil buzzword of the day.
My own thoughts on the matter have surely bounced, shifted, and settled numerous times. I strongly value story. I'm still uneasy with totally open narratives that don't have the usual GM/players format. But, drawing from my own personal observations, I am finding that characters without goals and purpose tend to contribute less to scenes and seem less interesting or fun than those who have motivation.
It's probably easiest to see in my own characters. A couple brief samples:
- Alexandra (Exalted): Motivated with major goals, active (to the point of being party lead most of the time), fun to play
- Fang (Shadowrun): No real motivation (I never could come up with a real good reason to be a 'runner save, perhaps, thrill-seeking or something). He took some tactical lead at times, but that was more my own want to move on. Not all that interesting to me as a character.
Two examples that sum up my experience pretty well. I find that when my character is motivated and has an overall goal (even if basically out of reach), it makes them/me more invested in the game. It gives a perspective that's more than just going along with whatever shows up, there's some actual depth and bias.
And that... seems to me to make the game and story more fun and interesting overall. If a character is simply there to follow bread crumbs, take swings in combat, and occasionally bounce ideas would... I have to ask myself if the game/story would be any different if they were replaced with an NPC. PCs, perhaps, do not have to be more, but they definitely can. And I think one of the great aspects of the medium of roleplaying is that PCs can contribute to the story in ways scripted characters cannot.
... Such are my rambling thoughts for the moment.
I'm definitely in the camp of 'the PCs should have goals'. If the characters don't have a purpose, there's really no point in them being PCs. Let's see my list. Rei of Doma (Exalted): His goal was to be a recognized servant of the Unconquered Sun, and to act as bodyguard to the group's Eclipse. He considered the bard of the group (said Eclipse) to be a motivating factor in Creation, and ensuring she can tell her stories safely was quite important. Deveron (Star Wars): His motivation was to learn about what lay offplanet, and to discern how well his homeworld could integrate with the rest of the galaxy. With recent events, his goal is now to rescue one of the few living friends he has, and to punish the people responsible for the destruction of the Jedi Academy he was a member of. Karl Marcos (Scion): He wants to hit the top ranks of the UFC, so he can be an inspirational figure for the masses. This also goes with his plan of taking the fighters, honing their skills, and getting them prepared for the inevitable war to come. These warriors, with the proper assistance, might be an effective force to use against the Titan Spawn. Johnathan Chase (M&M): His goal is to dismantle the yakuza his father was a member of, and to scour the city clean of crime and injustice. Because of his upbringing, his methods are pretty brutal, but the other heroes around him are teaching him restraint and moderation.
ReplyDeleteAddendum thought: It occurred to me that there are some character creation commonalities, too. Generally, if I'm inspired with some vision of a character, they will have some degree of purpose, goals, and... well... depth. On the other hand, when I find myself in the position of making a character for a new game without any prior ideas, that's when I tend to tend up with a character who is sound of theme on paper, perhaps, but ends up more as "a presence to participate in the game" than a character with motivation.
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