[Capes and impro] Not getting it / making it work

[Callan S.]

This is certainly one of the things that makes me improve my role-playing: When I think "shit, that session should have been better. I can do much better than that!"

What is needed for this to happen is some yardstick, something you can measure yourself by

Cool.  So if creating adversity for other players were something you wanted to get better at, I think you'd be all set.  Unfortunate that it's not, since you seem to be in just the right mindset to use Capes, otherwise.

It sounds like the desire in Mat to have adversity applied to him, so as to be a yardstick to judge himself by. But if no one else is interested in applying that adversity to him...tricky.

[matthijs]

It sounds like the desire in Mat to have adversity applied to him, so as to be a yardstick to judge himself by. But if no one else is interested in applying that adversity to him...tricky.

Nope, not what I'm saying.

When I'm happy with a session I've GM'ed, it's because I've prepped properly so all the players have had engaging stuff happen to them, the right sort of stuff so they pick it up, run with it and play off it.

When I'm happy as a player, it's because I've gotten into my character and channeled him, playing out issues that he and I want to do something with and about; and because I've interacted well with the other players, getting into their troubles and joys.

[Callan S.]

Nope, not what I'm saying.

When I'm happy with a session I've GM'ed, it's because I've prepped properly so all the players have had engaging stuff happen to them, the right sort of stuff so they pick it up, run with it and play off it.

When I'm happy as a player, it's because I've gotten into my character and channeled him, playing out issues that he and I want to do something with and about; and because I've interacted well with the other players, getting into their troubles and joys.

For the first part, it sounds like you start with a bunch of players all sitting ready and then want to work from there into everyone getting into some fun stuff.

For the second, it sounds similar, where you want to start out from a reasonable base and work upwards.

To me, it still sounds like adversity. It's the adversity of a blank page...the blank page gives you lots of options, but there is still the adversity that nothing is on it. It's a milder form of adversity (then again, sometimes it can be over powering in its adversity...writers block). If that sounds right at all, perhaps you'd enjoy people throwing you blank canvases/blank pages to work on.

Don't get me wrong about the blank bit. You can have someone declare a castle undersieg by dragons while inside undead are helping good aligned elves...if they've just described that and no exploration of it has happened yet, that's a blank page to me. Blank = no exploration yet.

[matthijs]

Noon, I think we're just splitting words now. If "adversity" can include anything anyone does, including doing nothing, well, yeah, I thrive on adversity.

[TonyLB]

Uh, yeah, Callan... I think you've gone a bit far, terminology-wise.  I was just noting that Matthijs wanted an easily perceived yardstick against which to measure his success in the game.  That would help him to improve.  

If he wanted to improve how well he provided adversity to other characters then Story Tokens would (I would argue) be an easily perceived yardstick against which to measure his success.  But it's not an area he wants to improve in, so Story Tokens aren't going to help him.  It's like measuring the lap-time for a high jumper.  No matter how consistently you tell him how many jumps he can cram into a minute, he's going to tell you "I don't care how many, I care how high!"

He needs some other game that provides an easily perceived yardstick of how well he's achieved his goal.

Matthijs:  Have I understood your earlier comment?

[matthijs]

Yeah, Tony, that's more what I meant! (Short reply day today ;)