2:40 PM - Wind: I wanted to give some feedback in regards to the Saturday games.
2:40 PM - MechaGM: Aye?
2:41 PM - Wind: So, more than once you've ran into an inspirational dead-end and we've had to drop games. I think I might have something of a solution to this.
2:42 PM - Wind: I was recently re-listening to a lot of Spoony's tabletop stories as well as Ironicus' Six Feats Under crew and that got me thinking on two trains.
2:43 PM - Wind: 1. It doesn't often feel like there's a whole lot of world establishment. As a result, there's not much for the players to latch on to and get attached to.
2:44 PM - Wind: And 2. While you make a point of saying that we're not obligated to follow your hooks and etc, at the same time, there's not really much to get the attention of the players for things that we want to go out of our way to do.
2:45 PM - Wind: This reminded me of a DMing trick I've learned from listening to Ironicus DM and I think it could help both of these without interfering with your general plot frameworks.
2:47 PM - Wind: Basically it goes that any time some lengthy travel, large time skip or entry upon a new town happens, the DM says something along the lines of, "But as you reached X point, something happened that tripped you all up, what was it *Insert player here*?"
2:47 PM - Wind: At which point the called out player makes something up and then it goes around the group on events and solutions.
2:49 PM - Wind: My observations of this helps with worldbuilding and gets people attached to people and places that weren't strictly on the schedule, resulting in more autonomy on the player's parts.
2:49 PM - Wind: of this is that it helps*
2:51 PM - Wind: I figure that would have up end up kicking up more hooks to throw around and keeps ideas flowing.
2:51 PM - Wind: -have up*
2:52 PM - Wind: Your thoughts?
2:56 PM - MechaGM: It's the sort of thing I often do in face to face settings where I find it easier to adapt to changing situations
2:57 PM - MechaGM: Also, it's something I'm much more comfortable doing when I am actually in the swing of things.
2:59 PM - Wind: Well, any way we as players could facilitate that?
3:00 PM - MechaGM: Honestly, I'm hoping that once we get back into a more regular schedule I'll get my feel back on that sort of thing
3:00 PM - Wind: Fair enough.
3:00 PM - MechaGM: Honestly, I'm at my best when I'm reacting to the players
3:01 PM - Wind: I understand that wholesale.
3:01 PM - MechaGM: which I haven't been for a few months now
3:01 PM - Wind: I have kind of noticed that.
3:01 PM - MechaGM: I think I mentioned that in group chat a while back
3:01 PM - MechaGM: not sure if I said it to you directly
3:02 PM - Wind: I had not heard that, no.
3:02 PM - Wind: I have noticed that on Grognards you tend to speak higher of your Tuesday and Thursday groups than the Saturday group.
3:03 PM - Wind: Which is fine, you're face to face with those and you've known them far longer than us.
3:03 PM - Wind: I don't take that as a slight.
3:03 PM - MechaGM: oh, indeed
3:03 PM - MechaGM: they're people I've been gaming with for over a decade now
3:04 PM - MechaGM: that helps a LOT
3:04 PM - Wind: I do however hope we could achieve that same sort of conversational reverence.
3:04 PM - MechaGM: totally understandable :)
3:05 PM - Wind: It's kind of hard to discuss this for me, really.
3:05 PM - Wind: I find it difficult to draw comparrisons between your meatspace groups and us without it feeling like I'm complaining.
3:05 PM - MechaGM: hehe
3:05 PM - MechaGM: it's not a problem
3:06 PM - MechaGM: also, as I've said, in all honestly, I've not been on my A game
3:07 PM - Wind: That's why I've been thinking on how we the players could help make the games better.
3:07 PM - Wind: 'Cause realistically there's only so much you can do and when you're off your game, then if we're not doing anything, it makes for a less than satisfying show.
3:08 PM - Wind: My relistening to the Spoony stuff got me thinking about player autonomy.
3:08 PM - Wind: And how they would get invested with given things.
3:08 PM - Wind: So that made me think, "So what's the difference here?"
3:09 PM - Wind: And I basically came to the conclusion that there's not much to get attached -to-.
3:09 PM - Wind: Like, in the recent 4e game.
3:09 PM - Wind: The Dwarf place.
3:09 PM - Wind: I couldn't tell you a thing about it other than it was a city, it had dwarves and it was hot.
3:10 PM - Wind: I don't know what kind of trade goods they're known to be involved wtih, I don't know any of their customs, I don't know anything of their politics outside of their walls.
3:11 PM - Wind: So when it was time to go, the only thing I had to say in response was my little mud-sling campaign against the guy who made us have to hang around there for a week.
3:12 PM - Wind: Eramia had no investment nor interest in the place. It was just a landmark on the dotted line that was the world map, as it were.
3:12 PM - MechaGM is now Online.
3:12 PM - MechaGM: sure
3:12 PM - Wind: That got me thinking on, "So how do we improve worldbuilding?'
3:13 PM - Wind: Which reminded me of the Ironicus stuff that I've spoken about.
3:13 PM - MechaGM: Sure
3:15 PM - MechaGM: and, honestly, if I'm not providing enough of that sort of thing, asking me about stuff like that during game would force me to do one of three things
3:15 PM - MechaGM: 1) give you the missing info that I already have, 2) make up info I haven't come up with yet on the spot or 3) let you all add to the world in some areas
3:15 PM - Wind: Right.
3:16 PM - Wind: Maybe it would be a good idea to compile a list of standard questions we should be asking at given times.
3:16 PM - MechaGM: this obviously works better in worlds I've made than in official published worlds ;)
3:16 PM - Wind: Most of the time I spend so much focus on listening that I forget to interact.
3:17 PM - Wind: So if I had a list like that to give me kind of a mental kick, I'd remember to ask information I should be asking.
3:18 PM - MechaGM: bring this up with the group. Hash out what info you all should be getting.