LostKnightsRPG.org

[rydi]

As we transition to Act II of our story, I thought it might be helpful to discuss a few things.

First, Act II will start 2 years from the end of the last session. This gives time for the characters to evolve a bit, both as individuals as a group. This is a good time to take stock of the characters as you’ve been playing them, and ask who they should become and how you can most effectively portray them. Questions such as the following may help you with that:
-How does your character relate to the rest of the crew after 2 years, and what is their role on the ship (not just their job, but their social function)
-What has your character done with their spare time in the last 2 years, and how have they evolved as a person?
-What goals does your character have? Not just their Motivation, though defining how the Motivation interacts with the day to day experiences of the character is also important, but their lesser goals as well.
-Who do you have a special relationship with? Who are you close to on the ship, and who do you hate?
-Why are you still working with this crew?
Notice that these are not related to the dots on your sheet, but rather involve meaningful development of story. While you are not required to answer these questions in writing, I believe it will be helpful to at least pause a moment and consider them for each of your characters.

Second, Act II will be driven more by the characters. You will have a list of optional paths presented to you, and the crew will choose how to proceed. This means that you will all want to take an active part in pushing the plot and development of the various scenarios. There are still rails, but not many. Considering the questions above may help you to act on the plot productively.

Three, an observation regarding the game: so far I’ve found the “lesser” characters more interesting. They are forced to fall back on engaging with the plot on a narrative level and are defined by weaknesses as well as strengths, whereas the “powerful” characters are often reduced to what they can do rather than who they are, and avoid showing weaknesses. It is akin to the classic elder problem in vampire, in which players given a neonate with dominate will think of endless uses for their level 1 command power and create a highly engaging and interactive plot, while characters given elders will throw around high level powers in ways that would never have allowed them to survive to become elders in the first place. Not that people have been particularly bad about that so far, and I am not bothered by high level powers or I would not have allowed them… Its just a cautionary comment as we move toward a new segment of the game. I just want to make sure that the high powered characters continue to develop and remain more than a collection of capabilities and a few cute tropes. I know from experience both as a GM and a player that it is easy to lose sight of a character as you are filling up your sheet with neat toys.

Four, there are some basic advancements that I will hand out at the beginning of the next game, related to the stated interests for the characters. These are somewhat negotiable, though I don’t want to spend a bunch of time on it. These are not dots in powerz and such (that goes up at your discretion, except for power stat) but rather backgrounds and story advancements. Also, I have posted a summary of the events in Act I (let me know if I missed important stuff) to help you remember the plot, and I posted some of what you have found out about the ship (its name is Wanderer, btw).

Fifth, a note on game pacing, timing, scheduling, and attendance. I want to get more play time in, as the pace will need to pick up and we’ll need to get more done per session if we are going to finish our story in a timely and satisfying manner. This also means that those missing a session will be a bit more “out of the loop” than they were during Act I, and that their absence will be felt more keenly. I suggest that if you can’t make it with some regularity, you consider whether you want to continue playing. So, that said:
-I want to meet at 7, with everyone fed, and begin play at 7:15, or when I have at least 3 players present.
-Game ends at Midnight, +/- 10 minutes.
-The “3 on, 1 off” schedule is not fixed in stone. Rather, it is an average, with the “1 off” as a floating off day scheduled as needed (holidays, GM family issues, group plans, mass absences, etc.) The goal is to maintain the basic “3 on, 1 off” schedule, but ultimately it is a negotiation that balances the availability of all participants.

Sixth, post any related questions or comments below.