thread: 2010-06-14 : A Bit of Hardcore
On 2010-06-14, bg Josh wrote:
Being a good fiat GM is extremely hard and no one can tell you how to do it.
You need to read people and understand their personal psychologies. You need to craft a story that entertains that psychology and you need to constantly react to their inputs and rapidly give them what they want. Just thinking about it tires me out.
The bugaboo is not the story of breaking into the safe. The bugaboo is experiences like this:
Player: I break into the safe
GM: you find nothing
Player: I hack his computers
GM: you find nothing
Player: I question his partner
GM: you find nothing
Player: I tail him for a day
GM: you find nothing
Player: I give up
GM: So soon? Remember 5 sessions ago he mentioned his mother? Why don't you question her?
Player: I question his mother
GM: She tells you he's the killer! You win
Player: ick
If the GM had included documents leading to the mother in the safe, the issue would not have come up. But the issue can never come up if the game uses task resolution.
So on one hand a game that depends entirely on the memory, skill and talent of the GM and in the other all that is taken care of by a simple mechanic.
