Neil`s comments about politics

[RMoraza@aol.co]

First of all, Neil, I have to agree with you. It is the political flavor of
BR that drew me to the game as well, and is what seems to be one of the most
enjoyable aspects for my players. In a recent meeting we held to discuss
problems with the game, my players demanded MORE information about their
kingdoms - one or two of them I don't think will be happy until they know the
names of everyone including the chambermaids!

But it can be a daunting task for a DM. Yes, I am the idiot who let her
players chose kingdoms all over the place. It isn't as bad as it used to be -
the guy who picked the Vos kingdom of Melyy had to quit playing and everybody
else is at least on the same side of the continent. If I could start the game
all over again, I'd insist that PC regents play bordering realms so that they
would have more common issues. We work very hard to keep our game running
smoothly, and everybody as happy as possible. Domain turns are where we have
the most problems, primarily due to differences in playing styles. Some
players want a lot of detail and can (and have) spent hours roleplaying a
single action. Other players can wrap up their entire turn in 10 minutes.
It's all in finding a balance. I do one-on-one roleplaying with some of my
players; others I give detailed written reports to; and still others I simply
talk to inbetween game time. We make it work anyway we can because we love
the game, and in the end, we have more than a game - we have a story with
living, breathing characters, who have good days and bad days, marital and
financial problems, and yet, still manage to be heroes.

I may gripe and complain sometimes, but I'd rather have all this depth than
cardboard hack-n-slash characters any day.

Alison
PS - Be careful with political marriages. We've had three so far. One is
working out ok, so far. Another has been a disaster since the ceremony. And
the third is about to put the PC regent involved in a very tight situation,
as his mistress has just been arrested for murder.

[Neil Barnes]

Alison wrote:
> In a recent meeting we held to discuss
> problems with the game, my players demanded MORE information about their
> kingdoms - one or two of them I don't think will be happy until they know the
> names of everyone including the chambermaids!

Interesting. Based on my experiences, I was wondering whether there's a
difference between internal focussed campaigns (where regents interact a
lot with their minions :) and externally focussed campaigns (where players
interact more with other regents. When I've been playing we've never had
the time to develop the various NPCs of each kingdom in great depth, both
because we play infrequently (3-4 times a year in university holidays) and
because such concentrated one-on-one play leaves the other players at a
loose end and disrupts the flow of the game. So that side of things is
dealt with using a fairly broad brush approach, leaving us to focus on the
various things that concern all or some of the players.

In the campaign I'm going to start at university, I'm considering getting
the other players to play each character's various minions as bit
characters, allowing them to feel involved while the spotlight is on a
particular character. It's a technique that's usually worked in the games
where I've seen it used, but demands quite a lot of maturity from the
players.

> But it can be a daunting task for a DM. Yes, I am the idiot who let her
> players chose kingdoms all over the place. It isn't as bad as it used to be -
> the guy who picked the Vos kingdom of Melyy had to quit playing and everybody
> else is at least on the same side of the continent.

I'm curious as to how you get your players to come together? I'd have
imagined that their local concerns would keep them tied up a lot. And when
the round trip time from one realm to the other becomes a domain turn
long, then travelling becomes a much riskier proposition.

> If I could start the game
> all over again, I'd insist that PC regents play bordering realms so that they
> would have more common issues.

I'm planning a campaign set along the Zhainge river in Khinasi, which
scares me somewhat as it's entirely possible that I won't find anyone
willing to be ruler of Ariya.

> Some
> players want a lot of detail and can (and have) spent hours roleplaying a
> single action.

This doens't happen too much with us (when I play) since some players tend
to start grubling loadly after a certain point. Your other players must be
pretty tolerant.

> We make it work anyway we can because we love
> the game, and in the end, we have more than a game - we have a story with
> living, breathing characters, who have good days and bad days, marital and
> financial problems, and yet, still manage to be heroes.
>
> I may gripe and complain sometimes, but I'd rather have all this depth than
> cardboard hack-n-slash characters any day.

I agree. Your campaign sounds like one I'd enjoy playing in. It's the
commitment on the part of the players & especially the GM that makes these
games worth playing.

> PS - Be careful with political marriages. We've had three so far. One is
> working out ok, so far. Another has been a disaster since the ceremony. And
> the third is about to put the PC regent involved in a very tight situation,
> as his mistress has just been arrested for murder.

Heh. Aubrae has a bit of a blind spot when it comes to arranging a
political marriage for _herself_, rather than for her brother and friends
(ie the other PCs). What's good for the Gander isn't necessarily good for
the Goose :)

neil

[RMoraza@aol.co]

In a message dated 97-10-07 07:16:51 EDT, you write:

>

The idea was that after I brought them together for the first time they would
form a bond of friendship that would inspire them to want to get together and
hang out. That didn't quite work out as well as planned. The "world-shaking
disaster" scenarios can only be used infrequently (IMO), so I use a lot of
NPCS to bring them together. They have a lot of mutual friends who get them
involved in various things and since they did save the world once they get
invited to a lot of gatherings. We've been playing for about 10 months now
and it's getting easier to get them together, as they have developed common
issues just through role-playing.

Alison