Player Agency and You (Reminder)
Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 12:56 am
Hi all!
I just want to give a friendly reminder to everyone, as well as express permission, the games in the New Winds setting are all about player agency. This a about you and your characters, and the story you are all telling.
Each game will have a large Plot (like part 1 being the "We were all selected for this experimental dojo and need to do well!" and part 2 being "This is the Topaz Championship, who will be named the Champion?")
However, that does not by any means mean that you as a player cannot tell many other stories WITHOUT the need for a GM to intervene! I WANT you to feel like you have the freedom to make things happen, as this is a growing world that we are all working on together. Feel free to interact with some peasants, shopkeepers, guards, other samurai, etc without needing to ask a GM! You don't need to ask for permission to buy an item (just shoot me a PM for a price). You don't need to ask me for permission to roll a commerce check to haggle (just shoot me a heads up if you do so I can let you know if you succeed or not)
Create your own event for people to come see, like a play, or a game tournament, or a demonstration! Host a party! Conduct a heist! Break in somewhere! Spy on someone! Train in a dojo!
Don't feel like you MUST only get story from interacting with my named NPCs and events! And make up your own too! It makes a fuller and richer world.
All I ask is that you stay without the bounds of the Lore as presented by Fantasy Flight Games (and represented here on the forums in the Lore section)
For a lot of TN's, you don't need me to tell you what they even are. Assume that everything is base TN20! So, if you roll a Lore: Nature check, make up what you find!
Interact with other players in their threads, don't be afraid to just hop in!
Essentially, what I am trying to say, is this is an Open World, Sandbox feel. We have guided elements via Events, Timeline Updates, and Votes, but outside of that, you and your character should be free to make up and do things you wish to do!
I just want to give a friendly reminder to everyone, as well as express permission, the games in the New Winds setting are all about player agency. This a about you and your characters, and the story you are all telling.
Each game will have a large Plot (like part 1 being the "We were all selected for this experimental dojo and need to do well!" and part 2 being "This is the Topaz Championship, who will be named the Champion?")
However, that does not by any means mean that you as a player cannot tell many other stories WITHOUT the need for a GM to intervene! I WANT you to feel like you have the freedom to make things happen, as this is a growing world that we are all working on together. Feel free to interact with some peasants, shopkeepers, guards, other samurai, etc without needing to ask a GM! You don't need to ask for permission to buy an item (just shoot me a PM for a price). You don't need to ask me for permission to roll a commerce check to haggle (just shoot me a heads up if you do so I can let you know if you succeed or not)
Create your own event for people to come see, like a play, or a game tournament, or a demonstration! Host a party! Conduct a heist! Break in somewhere! Spy on someone! Train in a dojo!
Don't feel like you MUST only get story from interacting with my named NPCs and events! And make up your own too! It makes a fuller and richer world.
All I ask is that you stay without the bounds of the Lore as presented by Fantasy Flight Games (and represented here on the forums in the Lore section)
For a lot of TN's, you don't need me to tell you what they even are. Assume that everything is base TN20! So, if you roll a Lore: Nature check, make up what you find!
Interact with other players in their threads, don't be afraid to just hop in!
Essentially, what I am trying to say, is this is an Open World, Sandbox feel. We have guided elements via Events, Timeline Updates, and Votes, but outside of that, you and your character should be free to make up and do things you wish to do!