Had to share this great part from my session tonight, we had a lot of fun!
Cast: A Bard, Paladin, Druid, and Mesmer
Druid and Paladin or new into the group, Bard and Mesmer have been playing for a bit, enough to get into some interesting situations around the town.
The group returns from exploring an old temple to find that the Town Council wants to meet them. Since this is their first meeting, I decided that everyone gets to create what one council member looks like (five council members total, I get to create the last one :D).
Me: Ok bard, your first
Bard: Umm, he’s a dwarf, with a fancy hammer and an epic beard that braids into his normal hair!
Me: Done! Let’s call him Moonhammer, he was a silver smith before being a town councilor
Bard: Sweet, he has silver accessories all over his body
Me: Done deal! Let’s move on, who want’s to go next?
Paladin: Ooh! My guy is tall, like 6’6″ with white long hair and an awesome beard too. He has nice ceremonial robes as well.
Me: Are these merchant robes, or more of a magical-like robes?
Paladin: Definitely a dabbler in magical arts
Me: (righting down notes) What’s his name?
Paladin: Peter!
(laughs around the table)
Me: Peter what? (No answer) Let’s go Arcanum, maybe he had changed his name or something weird.
(Head nods)
Druid: I’m next! This one is a woman, but FAT. Like super fat and has to have a special chair to sit in or it breaks.
Me: Like that last level of fluffy from Gabriel Iglesias?
Everyone in unison: DAAAAAAMMMN
Druid: (laughing) Exactly! and she wears waaaay to risque clothing, like showing too much skin. (everyone laughs in disgust)
Bard: She’s going to like me, huh?
Me: Oh, her eyes haven’t left you at all (smiles at bard’s groan)
Mesmer: Ok, my guy is old, and short, like 4’5″
Me: You sure he isn’t a halfling?
Mesmer: No, just small and wrinkled, plus he is bald across the top of his head and has long white hair. Oh, and he is wearing nothing but a loincloth.
Bard: …he’s a pygmy?
Mesmer: An albino pygmy!
Me: (groans) and his name?
Mesmer: Picscacoru!
Me: Allright, but everyone calls him Pic, why is this dude on the council?
Mesmer: Cause he is a friend of the forest
Me: Like a shaman? cool!
Me: My turn! (Pull out a drawing of a suave, 40ish man with a scar on his face) This is Councilor Dunham (turns to Mesmer) and you recognize him.
Mesmer: S***, I do?
Me: Yes, he’s the husband to that one wife you got caught in bed with, you know the one who gave you that health potion.
(everyone laughs and calls the Mesmer on his shenanigans)
Paladin: I take it that Dunham hates our friend Mesmer?
Me: Oh, he hasn’t stopped staring daggers into the Mesmer’s face since he walked in.
Mesmer: (Laughing and cursing at his situation) Oh man, I knew that was going to bite me in the ass.
Its great to have the players co-author the world, but there is a fine line between the GM’s part and their part.
When players create, you have to be able to say WHY their characters would know it. What town do you come from? Who is the guy you met yesterday? What did he look like? The chick you went out with last night, what food does she like?
If, however, the characters meet someone/something for the first time, they have no fictional reason to know it, so that lies within the GM’s domain. The GM gets to create it.
To illustrate the difference:
GM: “You recognize the room, it is the one you were kept captive in as a child. What does it look like?”
and
GM: “You’ve never been in this place before. It is a dark room with old, broken furniture lying around. In one corner, there is an iron safe with the door broken open. What do you do?”
I know it seems like splitting hairs, but I think it does make a difference to the players suspension of disbelief. It may make sense or not.
At least think about it.