thread: 2009-06-15 : GM Agenda
On 2009-06-16, Ron Edwards wrote:
Is that really describable as an agenda? It sounds to me more like simple "job," in the sense that to contribute to this particular game, this is what you as GM need to do.
I'm having an interesting time refining the ashcan of Instar Inc for GenCon regarding this very issue. One of the game's features is that the GM is to play completely benevolently, specifically constantly to offer opportunities that are consistent with the character's two wistful, plaintive statements on each character sheet:
- "I guess I'll never get to ..."
- "... never seems to happen to/for me."
Situational adversity is strictly a matter of the other player-characters, or rather, the nasty psychic-parasite larvae implanted in their chests. Mechanics adversity is exacerbated by the within-character instar too, depending on how you wish to take action.
As I say, I'm having an interesting time writing it. "The GM" as a phrase tends to carry so much weight that I find myself having to clarify this point over and over.
So I think I know what you *mean,* John, and I agree it's a big deal. I don't want to split hairs over terms unnecessarily, but "agenda" does strike me as not quite the thing because we're simply talking about a concrete context for whatever the GM does. And whether you care about consistency/clash with existing Big Model terminology, I dunno, but if you do, the term agenda is pulling special weight in it, and what you're describing isn't the same thing.
