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Dungeon Master Advice The Importance of Story: Adventures tend to have a beginning, a middle, an end. Just like a television show, a novel, a video game, or whatever else, but in RPGs? End the story and your just rolling dice. One of the best cartoon shows I've ever watched is Gargoyals on the Disney Afternoon. The story has so many avenues, villians, and developed characters that everything is messed together. Miss an episode and your in the dark. I believe the same is true with RPGs. Without a story, characters can't relate to each other or develop a personality. Playing unrelated moduels and stories is great for gathering experience points and spending an evening, but when you role-play your character how can he/she relate to past events that are unrelated? It becomes, "Yeah, remember my character found that gem in that chest last time." instead of, "I stole that gem from that Castle weeks ago," knowing very well that the King will have a price on your head, "and you want me to go back there? Are you mad!" So if you want your story to be more than a numbers game, a strong story is probably your only avenue. The Impartial DM: The party was trying to Zhentil Keep from Dagger Falls by buying passage on a boat. The Captain charged a high price, since most of the trip will be through a basic battle zone. The party couldn't pay, so Chaul, a Dwarven Cleric, gets mad and decides to challenge the Captain. |
Copyright 1996, 2001, 2002 by Joseph Delgado. |