Hidden Lore (Spirits)

[Tom H.]

Originally Posted by tbone

I've been working on a big setting/adventure of my own,

Cool. Any highlights you want to share or have shared somewhere?

[tbone]

Originally Posted by Tom H.

Cool. Any highlights you want to share or have shared somewhere?

Just lots and lots of notes right now.

But stuff like this would be good fodder for a new thread: Suggestions for interesting ways to challenge skills & other traits in DFRPG. Especially ways to make skills matter in expected places, ways to test abilities that can be hard to work into an adventure, etc.

(Spirits are actually pretty good for this, what with the common trope of ghosts & spooks having some sort of obsession, mission, etc. Like a spirit that will only allow certain persons to pass (tests Disguise, Acting, etc.), or asks aid in understanding something that confused it in life (appropriate skill + Teaching), or demands some sort of contest or performance (Poetry, Mimicry (Bird Calls), anything). In just about any language. It doesn't have to make a lot of sense, because, hey, ghosts.)

[Tom H.]

Originally Posted by tbone

Just lots and lots of notes right now.

But stuff like this would be good fodder for a new thread: Suggestions for interesting ways to challenge skills & other traits in DFRPG. Especially ways to make skills matter in expected places, ways to test abilities that can be hard to work into an adventure, etc.

That's cool, but currently I tend to downplay skill sophistication in my games.

I was a bit more curious about any highlights of story elements such as setting, background, quests, and plots.

I'm about to run the second iteration of my own adventure at a convention in February and hope to share some more story elements in my demo thread when I get a chance.

[tbone]

Originally Posted by Tom H.

I was a bit more curious about any highlights of story elements such as setting, background, quests, and plots.

Sorry, I thought you were referring to the skills discussion. Regarding setting/background/plots instead: Heh, you know how to target a weakness. : ) I come up with zillions of ideas for encounters, but am really slow to work out settings and backgrounds and plots. So anything I show off on that front is still down the road.

(That's probably why I lean toward the dungeon-raider genre so much. Setting and plot are great things to have there, and I love 'em – but it's a genre where you can get by on just encounters when the worldbuilder well is running dry.)

[Tom H.]

Originally Posted by tbone

Regarding setting/background/plots instead: Heh, you know how to target a weakness. : ) I come up with zillions of ideas for encounters, but am really slow to work out settings and backgrounds and plots. So anything I show off on that front is still down the road.

Cool, no problem.

I'm finding setting and adventure design can become challenging. For better or worse, I tend to rework several creative elements as they grow and merge with a need to make things fit more plausibly.

I find this tension between wanting the story to go in dramatic directions and making sure the motivations are consistent and rational.

Even though I have a high standard, I'm becoming more aware of how much professional entertainment and fiction ignores many "plot holes."

[Dalin]

Originally Posted by Tom H.

Even though I have a high standard, I'm becoming more aware of how much professional entertainment and fiction ignores many "plot holes."

Yes! I find my GMing nerves get tweaked a lot by serialized TV shows. I roll my eyes, thinking, "My players would never buy that!" or "Most players would do this other thing that would totally short circuit the plot." Sometimes, upon reflection, I forgive them because it's really a different genre than whatever I'm running at the RPG table (and genres have appropriately different expectations for logic, characterization, plot plausibility, etc.). Other times, however, it's just sloppy writing, and they should have had a good GM on the writing team to help them come up with a better solution to the problem.

[Tom H.]

Originally Posted by Dalin

Sometimes, upon reflection, I forgive them

Yes. I understand too that episodic TV can have grueling schedules. Some writers may not have the luxury to rework some holes before production starts.

Also time pressure in filming and editing can compromise the believability of a story. Some scenes may be compressed and the character interactions feel awkward even though they conveyed the plot.

I was watching an episode of Stargate SG-1 last night from Season 4 named Scorched Earth. They had to rush to wrap up the conclusion. The ending could have realistically occurred, but it fell apart in the short time the characters were forced to convey it.

However, there was a large inconsistency in the middle of the episode that would have taken more work to resolve.

I like Stargate SG-1. I never got to watch it all but have been buying up seasons cheaply at Half-Price Books.