LogFAQs > #905325631

shadowsword87 posted...

I just feel like it would be better to ask the player what they want, and then building the world with them.

Okay, I can get where that's coming from. But I also think most DMs will tend to build their world (or at least pick a world to run) without catering it entirely to the players. Yes, player expectations and desires will indeed influence narrative decisions (and some DMs can absolutely build up from whole cloth from scratch solely based on player input), but I don't necessarily think that's the most common way anyone runs games.

Like, you can decide you want to play a game heavy with transhumanist themes, complete with high technology, jacking into the Matrix, and go for a Tron motif for your character design, but if I want to run a game in Faerun you're kind of fucked. And I think it's pretty acceptable for a DM to say "I'm going to run a game in [insert setting here]", thus giving the players a more limited palette of ideas to work with, rather than sitting quietly with their hands folded while players

Especially since a DM may absolutely hate whatever themes the given player wants to delve into, meaning they're going to be miserable running the game (especially since the DM isn't getting paid to run the game, in spite of being the one who is by far doing the most work to run it well) - and that disinterest and distaste will likely bleed into the game, making it less fun for the player as well. The ideal campaign should involve a setting and story both DM and players enjoy, so everyone's having fun.

Just off the top of my head, in most of the really enjoyable games I watch online, not a single one involved player input in the world or story. For DCA, Chris Perkins basically just said "We're playing in Faerun, and the plot is going to reflect whatever rules book WotC is selling next". For Critical Role, Matt Mercer basically made up his own entire world which is mostly homebrew and detailed enough to fill multiple sourcebooks. The High Rollers game started in one world and just switched to another, both of which were homebrewed mostly from scratch by Mark Hulmes. And the PA Acq Inc games almost border on fanfiction Jerry Holkins has written for his character from the main games becoming the entire campaign for the C-Team (and all of which is set in Faerun).

Yes, it's cool to have players come up with character backstory, and then integrate that backstory into the overarching plot and setting, but I don't feel like every aspect of the setting needs to be explicitly tied to a request or concept introduced by a player. DMs can easily spend months designing a world and a rough plot outline before even recruiting a single player and still run a damned good game (as long as their willing to compromise rather than railroad once the players start doing unexpected shit).



shadowsword87 posted...

So instead of asking what the player wants to do, and how to get minions, you're saying "robots! Robots everywhere!".

Not really. The player could still HAVE minions (probably handled in similar fashion to how stuff like followers and strongholds have been referenced in earlier rulesets, or maybe using Matt Colville's rules if he ever finishes his Kickstarter book), or even an army, if their actions in-game allow them to gather and recruit such.

If anything, what I'm suggesting is more offering "Robots everywhere!" (or more accurately, "A limited number of robots occasionally!") as replacements for the rest of the hypothetical party of PCs they're missing. Though they could just as easily be a collection of DM PCs (but that's way more work), or some form of enslaved spirits, or whatever.


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