My Pattern

[Judd]

I really want to go back and re-read PTA because I've run it three or four times now and how the rules work for me is in my head but I want to make sure that is how the rules are said to work.

Step #1 Brainstorming

- we talk about what kind of shows or issues we do not want in the game

- I tell them that we will be brainstorming ideas and that some will get rejected, possibly many and that is okay.  When we have our idea, things will start to come together and there will be an almost audible *CLICK* in the air.

- Brainstorm, but as the Producer, I guide it and I ask leading questions and I write down key words.  Sometimes I stop the brainstorm and read over what we have.  I make sure no one is getting walked over an dmake sure everyone is having their say.

- There it is...*CLICK* and characters just flow out of that...

Step #2 Scenes

- I tell the group that we will be going around in a circle for scene framing but this format might break down a bit and that is okay, as long as we get back on track and everone get's their turn.

- If someone can't think of a scene, others should help and scenes you propose do not have to have you in them.

Step #3 Conflict Resolution

- Set stakes that aren't about success but about price.  It isn't about whether or not Buffy defeats the Big Bad but about what price she must pay to do so. I set rocking stakes for those first few conflicts so that others see how it is done and before long, everyone is helping with the stakes setting.  THis communal stakes setting is really important.

- We role-play for a while and then come up to the conflict.  Make sure no one is dancing away from the conflict but heading towards it.  If stakes are set right, people will be looking for conflicts and welcome it.  Sometimes a scene opens and the player won't know what to do until a conflict is resolved.  That's cool.

- Rarely, maybe once or twice an episode there is a scene with no conflict.  THat's cool but if there are more I get nervous.  Watch out for folks avoiding using the system.  It could mean stakes setting is going wrong or there is some other disconnect.

Step #4 Fan Mail

- If you, as a player, chuckle, wince or have some other visceral reaction, you should be throwing Fan Mail.  If the group is shy about it, I will loudly note a good contribution that is fan mail worthy but that is rare and usually only in the beginning of the episode.

- The finger wave of Fan Mail at the Producer is an honor and should be explained, it is also useful when fan mail is depleted.

- As the Producer I put Fan Mail on the table and drive play towards conflict so that I can put more.  If we are out, I put more out on the next conflict.  Sometimes I put more budget into a conflict because it is a big deal conflict but most of the time it is so the players can show their appreciation for one another.

I just wanted to jot down my thoughts on this wonderful game.

[Judd]

My Pattern...good lord, I look like a pompous ass.

I didn't even realize until I was scanning the forum and saw the title and wondered what shmuck had written it.

I just meant this has been the patterns tha tI have seen when I have played not that I created 'em.  Shit, I was reading over Moose in the City like it was the Bible before Judgement Day before I ran PTA for the first time.

[Glendower]

I don't think you sounded like an ass.  I found the breakdown of how you get stuff done helpful, thanks!

[Georgios Panagiotidis]

I'm curious about the comments under "Conflict Resolution". Do you set stakes first, and then play out the scene as it leads up to the conflict?

[Arturo G.]

Hi, Judd!

For me it was also a good remind or how-to for PtA. My experiences are so far good, but not completely satisfactory because we are yet too immature on setting rocking stakes. Thanks for remind me it!

The finger wave of Fan Mail at the Producer is an honor and should be explained, it is also useful when fan mail is depleted.

Finger wave at the producer? I think I'm not getting what does this mean. Perhaps it is my english; perhaps I'm forgetting something from the rules. Please, could you clarify it?

Thanks,
Arturo

[Krista E]

Finger wave at the producer? I think I'm not getting what does this mean. Perhaps it is my english; perhaps I'm forgetting something from the rules. Please, could you clarify it?

Because the GM cannot get fanmail, the "fingerwave" has been adopted as a way of saying the GM deserves fanmail for something s/he said or did. Basically, you point your hands towards the GM and wiggle your fingers in his/her direction.  (Hope that makes sense).


On another note, Judd mentioned that if someone is having trouble with a scene or with setting stakes for a conflict, the other players could/should help out. I found that to be very true. Even with trying to figure out how a certain part in the scene should play out, it is good to encourage the players to speak out their ideas. During our PTA - The Hare and the Hound session, I found that the storyline was often improved because someone said "You know, it doesn't feel right to me that X is happening. What if character Y does this instead?" And the idea was more often than not a brilliant one. It also brought the players closer together, which encouraged a more open and enjoyable environment to game in.

[Nathan P.]

I'm curious about the comments under "Conflict Resolution". Do you set stakes first, and then play out the scene as it leads up to the conflict?

When I played with him, and when I play in general: the scene gets set, we know which characters are involved, and we go from there. Sometimes there will be a discussion of the general intent of the scene (this scene is where the prositute and the wife meet for the first time, with disasterous results), but not always. At some point during the scene it will often become apparent that there is a conflict brewing, but sometimes someone will see a good conflict to drop in, and proposes it. Now is when we set stakes, in the manner of "If I lose, X happens, but if I win, Z happens." Deal cards, spend Fan Mail, flip, and then the high card narrates the how of X or Z.

I think you certainly could set stakes at the very beginning of the scene, but I personally prefer playing through the first part of it to kind of see where it goes, and shape the stakes accordingly.

Hope that helps.

[Judd]

As Nathan says, I like to play a bit.

There were a few scenes where the player would say, "I've got a conflict right away.  X or Y." and we'd play off of that.

But most of the time we would play up to a conflict, hit the conflict and then play a bit for the consequences.

[Judd]

The finger wave of Fan Mail at the Producer is an honor and should be explained, it is also useful when fan mail is depleted.

Finger wave at the producer? I think I'm not getting what does this mean. Perhaps it is my english; perhaps I'm forgetting something from the rules. Please, could you clarify it?

Thanks,
Arturo

The finger wave is a tradition among PTA gamers whenever I've played.  It means you think the Producer has done something so awesome that it warrants Fan Mail.  It is a wave of the fingers, fingertips towards the Producer.  I'm not sure how else to describe it.

It is also used when there is no Fan Mail to send to a player or when the PRoducer wants to send Fan Mail but can't.

Hope that makes more sense.

[Arturo G.]

Nathan described pretty well how we are playing it now. We arrived at it after trying to always set the stakes at the beginning of the scene. It was too rigid and some players were not feeling comfortable. Now we let players do as they feel for each scene. Sometimes they are claiming a scene to produce a stated conflict and the stakes are fixed from the beginning, sometimes they have something in mind and they are not even declaring the focus or a clear agenda before playing the scene.

Because the GM cannot get fanmail, the "fingerwave" has been adopted as a way of saying the GM deserves fanmail for something s/he said or did. Basically, you point your hands towards the GM and wiggle your fingers in his/her direction.  (Hope that makes sense).

It is also used when there is no Fan Mail to send to a player or when the PRoducer wants to send Fan Mail but can't.

Ok. Now I get what the term means physically, but I'm still not sure about its implications.
Does really the producer earn a fan-mail token? Does this mean that the producer, or any other player, may start a finger-wave to send fan-mail to another player when there is no fan-mail in the pool?

Arturo

[Chris Goodwin]

Ok. Now I get what the term means physically, but I'm still not sure about its implications.
Does really the producer earn a fan-mail token? Does this mean that the producer, or any other player, may start a finger-wave to send fan-mail to another player when there is no fan-mail in the pool?

I think it's more symbolic, a way of saying "I thought that was cool and would give you fan mail if I could, but I can't for whatever reason." 

[Judd]

Ok. Now I get what the term means physically, but I'm still not sure about its implications.
Does really the producer earn a fan-mail token? Does this mean that the producer, or any other player, may start a finger-wave to send fan-mail to another player when there is no fan-mail in the pool?

Arturo

NO, NO and NO.

It is purely a way of saying that you enjoy what he producer has contributed to the scene.  Perhaps it was a line, stakes or a gesture or facial expression.

It means nothing on paper and there is no fan mail involved.

However, it is just so awesome that PTA gets people in the habit of letting the other gamers at the table know how and when they are enjoying one another.

It is a beautiful thing.

The finger wave is just saying that I dig ya, but the system has nothing for me to give you.

Producers do not give nor receive fan mail.

[Arturo G.]

Got it. What a relief! It is what I expected from the first, but I was confused by some sentences here and there.
Indeed, I think almost any group develop a way to do this in one informal way or another. It is so natural.

I understand it may be an important feed-back for the producer, and it may confer continuity to the reward mechanism on those moments when there is no fan-mail in the pool.

I have used something similar a couple of times when I was playing with new people, to introduce them to the system. It is different because there was fan-mail in the pool. I started as a producer a couple of finger-waves and if there was still no one sending fan-mail I was saying aloud something like: "All of you liked it, is nobody going to aware a fan-mail point for this?". A couple of times and they were immediately beginning to send the fan-mail on their own.

Arturo

[Iskander]

- Set stakes that aren't about success but about price.

This is a very good thing you said, that I don't recall being articulated elsewhere, but am ignorant and ill-read.
- Alexander

[Judd]

- Set stakes that aren't about success but about price.

This is a very good thing you said, that I don't recall being articulated elsewhere, but am ignorant and ill-read.
- Alexander

I think Nathan said it in another thread.

Yeah, it is solid and is a big part of why some gamers who come from traditional skill-based systems have a big problem with PTA.